Burgess Owens: “these are the closing days of the 104th Congress. I just wanted to again congratulate the American people or their…”

“these are the closing days of the 104th Congress. I just wanted to again congratulate the American people or their common sense. As we close out the 104th Congress, the situation in American political life is very different from what it was when we opened up the 104th Congress in January 1995. These are the closing days. It is important to note that we are going through the process of a large number of suspension bills. The public does not understand that fully. Suspension bills means that we suspend the rules and do not follow the rules. These are not bills that have necessarily gone though the full procedure. They are expected to be so popular that there will be overwhelming approval, to the point where two-thirds of the people will vote for them and they will be able to pass. The suspension process this year, large numbers of suspension bills at the very end of the session, is fraught with danger, because the abuse of the rules that has gone on all year in the 104th Congress is also taking place here, with some very important items that are being slipped into some of the suspension bills. That is nothing new. The abuse of the rules is one of the characteristics of the 104th Congress. The biggest action is yet to come, in the next day or two. We hope tomorrow the continuing resolution will be on the floor.”