Mark Gordon: “Thank you, Dennis, for giving us that overview of the Congressional Study Groups. I have been asked to elaborate a…”

“Thank you, Dennis, for giving us that overview of the Congressional Study Groups. I have been asked to elaborate a little bit on that with specific details, but first, Pete has asked me to give a quick tutorial for our Irish friends. We are glad you are here. This is really sacred ground for us and Members of Congress. This is the House Chamber. It is sort of like church, how you go back to the same pews. Over here on this side is where the Democrats normally sit. You have heard the expression ``side of the aisle.'' That is the aisle. Republicans normally sit over here. It is really an opportunity, since we don't have specific chairs, to interact, to go talk with somebody about a bill that may be coming up. Of course, here, where Barbara is, is where the Speaker would sit, but the Speaker really doesn't come in very often. Normally, it is a Speaker pro tempore. Next to her is the Parliamentarian to make sure that the Speaker doesn't get in trouble, and then Susan Cole is the Reading Clerk. There is a variety of other clerks down here. They are all part of the family and all make sure that things work well. When bills come before the Congress, you will see these tables behind us where there are microphones. What happens is we have a Rules Committee. The Rules Committee will say, okay, we are going to have a certain bill that Fred brought out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is going to have 4 hours of debate, equally divided between the Democrats and Republicans.…”