Providing for Consideration of H.R. Equality Act; Providing for Consideration of H.R. Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe Reservation Reaffirmation Act; and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Marketing and Outreach Restoration to Empower Health Education Act of 2019

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon) for yielding me the time.

So maybe it is just me. You know, I am still suffering from trauma, having served in the minority under my Republican friends for 8 years where, routinely, we were given a process where we were almost always shut out.

In the last Congress, we had a record-breaking 103 closed rules on major bills--completely closed. You can't amend it. And they talk about all the amendments they made in order, but they don't talk about the thousands they did not make in order.

Now, look, I don't want them to feel the same way that I did in the minority. I want them to not have to go through the trauma that so many of us went through where we were routinely shut out. And that is why, when we came up with the Rules package, we did things like required that bills had to have hearings in committees of jurisdiction before they came to the Rules Committee, that they had to have markups in the committee of jurisdiction before they came to the Rules Committee.

I mean, they routinely brought legislation to the floor where committees of jurisdiction never had a hearing, never had a markup. They mysteriously appeared. They would come to the Rules Committee; they would get a closed rule; and then we were forced to vote up or down on it.

So I don't really appreciate being lectured on process. Yes, we need to do better, and, yes, I understand that my Republican friends want more amendments in order, but let's not forget why we are here today. We are here to pass a historic civil rights bill. We are here to pass the Equality Act.

When I look at the amendments that were brought to the Rules Committee, amendment after amendment would target trans Americans and carve out ways for discrimination to continue. This is on a bill that is meant to eliminate discrimination. They were trying to enshrine discrimination. They were trying to weaken the Civil Rights Act. And, quite frankly, I think most of us felt: You know what? We are not going to allow that to happen.

That is not an appropriate use of the rules of the House, to try to take away the rights of people in this country, to try to allow discrimination to continue.

We believe too strongly in the ideals of the Civil Rights Act to risk letting it be transformed into another weapon for division and discrimination. I mean, we listened to groups like the National Urban League, the National Action Network, the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and others that asked us to give this bill a straight up-or-down vote.

And let's be clear, Madam Speaker, a good process is about more than just amendments, as I mentioned. This bill had a hearing, and it had a markup.

On the healthcare bill that we are going to deal with, it is about lowering the cost of prescription drugs.

My friends on the other side of the aisle spent what seemed like an eternity trying to rip away healthcare protections for people, I mean, bringing up one bill after another after another to the floor that never went through regular order, that would literally take away protections from people with preexisting conditions.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, they did nothing to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Then we had an election in November, and the big issue was healthcare. People didn't want to have their healthcare protections ripped away. And now, all of a sudden, they are converts, and they say they want to protect people's healthcare and expand healthcare protections.

The bottom line is this: We are not perfect all the time, and we need to do better, but I believe that we are improving the process. I look forward to working with the gentleman, the ranking member from Oklahoma, to try to find ways forward.

But on the legislation here today that we are going to consider, this is important legislation. This is historic legislation. Quite frankly, every Member of this House who wants to end discrimination in this country ought to support the Equality Act, and every Member of this House who wants to deal with the high cost of prescription drugs ought to support that bill as well.

Madam Speaker, with that, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

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