Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the ranking member of the full committee and the manager of this presentation on the floor for dealing with H.R.…”

“I thank the ranking member of the full committee and the manager of this presentation on the floor for dealing with H.R. 788. Mr. Speaker, I rise to save lives. This baffles me when good work is being done and has been done over the years. No one has complained about misconduct of the recipients of the settlement funds helping people who have been impacted negatively, sometimes with irreparable harm. They are assisted by a number of organizations making a difference. Rather, we want to go forward with the corporate unaccountability act, making this an unreasonable attempt and unconstitutional attempt by Members on the other side to stop protecting victims and protect wrongdoers, which is a continuation of the dangerous behavior that has brought about this settlement. What do Americans look to their Federal Government for? They look to the government to be their rock, their anchor in times of natural disasters, man-made and otherwise. They look to their government in times of war and peace for us to defend this Nation. They certainly look to make sure that in the normal comings and goings of their work with their families, their communities, that someone is looking out for them. That is what the settlement opportunities give to our various agencies. This would allow the continued work, rather than the taking away of these dollars from legitimate groups that are helping to make life better. This weakens the Federal Government's ability to settle these issues.…”