Waiving Requirement of Clause 6(a) of Rule XIII with Respect to Consideration of Certain Resolutions
WAIVING REQUIREMENT OF CLAUSE 6(a) OF RULE XIII WITH RESPECT TO CONSIDERATION OF CERTAIN RESOLUTIONS -- (House of Representatives - September 29, 2006)
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Oklahoma for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this martial law rule.
It is not unusual for a rush of bills, especially conference reports, to come to the House floor in the final hours before a recess or a final adjournment no matter who holds the majority. We are used to seeing that. But the manner in which this House has conducted business over the past week should be a matter of grave concern to all Members no matter what side of the aisle they sit on.
Closed rules have become a norm in this Chamber. Bills that have not gone through committee hearings, markup, or open debate or with a chance for Members to offer and debate thoughtful amendments, bills that magically appear out of thin air with the Republican leadership asking Members to vote ``yes'' on far-reaching legislation that nobody has actually read.
Mr. Speaker, we cannot continue to operate the United States House of Representatives in such a fashion.
It demeans our democracy. It is bad enough that this House is passing bills that will be signed into law that undermine our system of justice and due process both here at home and internationally. But the very way in which this House has carried out legislative business this week is an affront to the Democratic process.
I know that we all want to return home to our districts to meet with our constituents and prepare for the upcoming elections, but I genuinely worry about how we are living up to our oaths of office when I look at how the Republican leadership has shut down debate on some of the most significant issues facing our country.
Mr. Speaker, there are only a few hours left before Congress adjourns to go home. After the most do-nothing Congress in the history of the country, Republican leadership continues to ignore critical issues that are absolutely important to the American people in a rush to get out of Washington.
Some of us, Mr. Speaker, have spoken in the past about the culture of corruption that exists in this institution; and it is more than just about the antics of Mr. DeLay and Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Abramoff. This culture of corruption that we talk about is also about a corruption of the process that allows for this Congress to become a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. It is a process where rank and file Members of both parties, not just Democrats but Republicans, routinely get locked out of the ability to offer amendments and to be heard on the floor of the people's House.
Now, Mr. Speaker, when gas prices went sky high, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress gave tax breaks to the oil companies. They did not give us an opportunity to debate and to vote on a real energy bill that would provide funding for alternative sources of renewable energy. But that is how they responded to that crisis.
When our troops in Iraq and Afghanistan needed body armor, we got ``mission accomplished''. Mr. Speaker, the headlines of the last week alone should show not only how messed up things are in Iraq but how this administration has deceived the American people and deceived this Congress.
And what has been the response of Congress over these many months? Has it been to hold the administration accountable? Has it been to conduct proper oversight?
No. It has been a rubber stamp. Just let things go on as they are. Stay the course, which has become code for stay forever. With American workers crying out for an increase in the minimum wage, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress forced through an estate tax cut benefiting only the wealthiest people in this country.
Mr. Speaker, the Federal minimum wage is at $5.15 an hour. $5.15 an hour. It has been frozen that way for 9 years. Now, during those same 9 years, this Congress has given itself pay increases of $31,600. I mean, we have the time. We have the time to give ourselves a pay raise in this body, but we do not have the time to give the American workers a pay raise? $5.15 an hour is what the current Federal minimum wage is.
And would you not think that there would be a sense of urgency in this House of Representatives to not adjourn until we have a clean up or down vote on the minimum wage? No, that is not part of why we are having a martial law rule here today. They are not doing this so they can bring up the Federal minimum wage, an increase in the Federal minimum wage. That is not what this is about.
Mr. Speaker, with the cost of college tuition skyrocketing and student aid not meeting the need, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress instead give us a bill congratulating Little League teams. We have done nothing in this Congress to address the real concern and the real need out there by so many American families to help pay for the cost of a college education.
And as thousands of our senior citizens fall into the doughnut hole of the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress answered their pleas for help by naming more post offices. We were not given the opportunity to fix the doughnut hole in that prescription drug bill.
We have not been given the opportunity to do what Democrats have been demanding for a long time, and that is to give the Federal Government the ability to negotiate lower drug prices for our senior citizens. That is how the Veterans Administration does it. The VA negotiates on behalf of all of our veterans, thereby getting a better price so that our veterans do not have to pay as much for prescription drugs.
Why cannot we do the same thing for Medicare beneficiaries? We are not doing it because the prescription drug industry and the pharmaceuticals do not want it, and they have contributed mightily to the majority party's campaign for reelection.
Mr. Speaker, it is time for a new direction; and I hope that my colleagues will indicate their frustration with the way this House has been run and demonstrate their dismay at the lack of accomplishment of this Congress by voting ``no'' on this martial law rule.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my friend saying he looks forward to working with us. I look forward to the day that the majority decides to work with those of us in the minority in this Congress.
You know, one of the frustrations that we have, and, again, we have not been given an answer to this question, is why on some of the most important pieces of legislation that have come before this Congress, issues involving wire tapping, issues involving torture, would these bills be brought to the floor under a closed process when there were Democrats and Republicans both coming before the Rules Committee who wanted to have input, who wanted to make their amendments in order, who had some good ideas.
You may not agree with everything. You do not have a monopoly on good ideas. But the fact of the matter is, to shut people down, to just shut everybody out, that not only diminishes this institution, it diminishes this democracy. It is why we believe that there is a culture of corruption that exists in this Congress. You have corrupted this process.
You know, my friend likes to say he is very proud of the record of the Republican Congress. Well, the fact of the matter is, he and a handful of others may be the only people who think that this Congress has done a good job. There is a reason why only 25 percent of the American people approve of the job that this Congress is doing. They are disgusted with the lack of accomplishment on issues that make a difference in their lives.
I do not know about my colleague from Oklahoma, but when I go home, you know, I have a lot of seniors telling me that they have hit that doughnut hole in the prescription drug bill. They do not know what to do about it. I have a lot of my senior citizens say to me, why in the world will you not give the Federal Government the ability to negotiate lower drug prices for our senior citizens? What is so radical about that?
I mean, that is one of those best-business type practices. Why cannot you allow our Government to negotiate lower drug prices for our senior citizens? The reason why is because the people who have funded the Republican National Committee and the campaigns, the pharmaceutical industries, do not want that.
There are people asking me all of the time, you know, why has this Congress not implemented the 9/11 Commission recommendations to make our country safer? You know, a nonpartisan commission that has set forth an agenda that I think almost everybody agrees with, and yet we cannot implement those recommendations.
On the minimum wage, you play politics with the minimum wage. If you cared about the workers of this country who are earning a minimum wage, then you would bring up a minimum wage that would pass. But, no, in order to help low-income workers, you have got to help the richest people in this country. You want to play politics with that issue.
The minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 an hour for 9 years. You do not have the time to give these workers an increase, but yet we can all give ourselves a pay increase. No wonder why the American people are so fed up with this Congress.
On student aid, students returning to college continue to confront skyrocketing tuition costs; and yet the Republican Congress made it harder to pay for college by cutting $12 billion in student aid. Congress needs to pass and approve the Labor-HHS appropriations bill that restores the massive cuts in college tuition and expands the size and availability of Pell Grants.
You know, why cannot we focus on that? Pass an energy plan that decreases our dependence on foreign oil. Your energy law, you know, written in secret by the Cheney task force and Big Oil and energy lobbyists, gives billions of special interest giveaways to oil and gas companies that are enjoying record profits.
I mean, yeah, you passed some things but things that really do not make a difference to the average working person out there. So you can be proud of your record in this Congress. But I want to tell you, there is a reason why only 25 percent of the American people approve of the way that this Congress has handled its job.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I would just again remind those who may be listening that the Republicans control the White House, they control the House of Representatives, and they control the United States Senate. So if they really wanted to increase the minimum wage, they would be able to do it, but they do not; and if anybody believes that it is in their heart to try to increase the minimum wage somehow after the elections are all over with, I think you are in for a rude awakening.
For 9 years, Republicans in Congress proudly refused to raise the minimum wage for hardworking Americans, even as their own pay increased by $31,600. This year the Republicans are playing politics with a pay raise for millions of Americans, killing a minimum wage by attaching it to tax cuts for the wealthiest people in this country. This is how they chose to kill it this year, and they have been killing it every year for 9 years. I mean, that is their legacy and we need to change that, and hopefully come November that will change.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Corrine Brown), a champion for increasing the minimum wage.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I want to associate myself with the comments of the gentlewoman from Florida who just spoke. Again, the leadership in this Congress, the majority in this Congress, gave themselves a pay raise, but they cannot bring themselves to giving hardworking American families a pay raise, those who earn the minimum wage. There is something wrong with that equation.
The bottom line is we work for the people of this country, and the Federal minimum wage has been stuck at $5.15 for 9 years. It is disgraceful; and for 9 years this leadership, this majority has proudly stood to fight against increasing the minimum wage. They should be ashamed of themselves. We give ourselves a pay raise, but we cannot give hardworking American families a pay raise.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I once again want to express my deep disappointment in the lack of accomplishment of this Congress. I mean, this really is a do-nothing Congress, and there are issues that one would have thought we could have come together in a bipartisan way on, for example, allowing the Federal Government to negotiate cheaper drug prices for our senior citizens that the majority in this House chose not to want to reach out and work with us.
There are issues of energy independence that we could have worked together on that they did not want to work with us on. In fact, as I said in the very beginning, every time we have an idea, every time we want to express a different opinion or want to present a different alternative, we go to the Rules Committee and we are told, no, you are not welcome; no, you are not allowed; no, we are going to shut you out.
That has been the hallmark of this Congress. This is probably the most closed Congress in the history of the country. I don't remember a time when we have had more closed rules, more restrictive rules than we have in this Congress. I am going to tell you, that is something maybe my friend from Oklahoma wants to take some pride in, but I find that shameful. My expectation is that if the Democrats have the privilege of taking over this Congress, Leader Pelosi has already indicated we will have a whole different tone here, and all ideas, not just Democrat ideas but Republican ideas, will be welcome as well.
That is what the American people expect. Every one of us represents the same amount of people in our congressional districts, yet you would never know that when you go to the Rules Committee and people routinely get shut out.
We debated a bill on torture, we debated a bill on wiretaps dealing with people's civil liberties, dealing with the values of this country, and people had some strong opinions, not just Democrats but Republicans, and they were told no, no, no, no, no, you have no right to come to the floor and offer your opinion.
That is not a democracy. That is not the way this place is supposed to run. This is supposed to be a deliberative body, and we are routinely shut out. I think people are sick of that. People don't want politics as usual. People want a change. They want a new direction. And a new direction is not just in terms of policies but also in terms of tone.
My friends on the other side of the aisle run everything. They run the White House, they run the House of Representatives, and they run the Senate. Yet they cannot get things done. They can't even work with their own Members in the other body. So I think it is time for a change to get people put in places of power who are going to actually be not only advocates for working families in this country but who will deliver and who are going to reach out a hand and try to work in a bipartisan way. That doesn't exist here. There is no bipartisanship here at all. There is none.
So this talk about we want to work together in the future on this issue or that issue, it has not happened in the past, so why should it happen in the future?
Mr. Speaker, before I talk about the previous question, I want to urge Members of this House to vote against this martial law rule. This rule allows the Republican leadership to bring up virtually any piece of legislation with only a few minutes notice to this House. That is just plain wrong. We have no idea what may be coming our way. I mean, they could bring anything up with a few minutes notice. I do not think that is the right way to do business here. I do not think that is the way we should conduct ourselves in the House.
Mr. Speaker, before I get into my previous question speech, my good friend from Virginia (Mr. Moran) just came to the floor, and I want to yield him 3 1/2 minutes.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, once again, I will be asking Members to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that I can amend this rule and allow for the immediate consideration of the five bills that we on this side of the aisle believe will really make a difference to our Nation's working families.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment and extraneous materials immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, these bills are the same ones I talked about yesterday; the same ones I have talked about today. Every Member of this House of Representatives should support the goal of these important legislative initiatives. My amendment would allow each of them to be considered immediately.
The first bill will implement the long-overdue recommendations of the highly respected bipartisan 9/11 Commission. My friends on the other side like to talk about their great record on national security, yet the 9/11 Commission has given them D's and F's for the implementation of their recommendations to better protect our homeland. This would allow that bill to come up immediately.
The second bill would allow us to bring the minimum wage up to $7.25 per hour. It has been stuck at $5.15 an hour for 9 years. You have given yourselves pay raise after pay raise after pay raise. How about giving the American worker a pay raise?
The third bill would let the Secretary of Health and Human Services negotiate for lower prescription drug prices for senior citizens and people with disabilities. Why not? What is wrong with free enterprise? What is wrong with doing what the Veterans Administration has done so effectively? Let us get those prices down lower and keep them low.
The fourth bill would repeal the massive cuts in college tuition assistance opposed by the Congress, and it will expand the size and availability of Pell Grants. People can't afford to go to college any more, and you have made it more difficult. We say we want a 21st century workforce, that we need to make sure our young people get the education they need, and that means they have to be able to afford to go to college.
And, lastly, the fifth bill will roll back the tax breaks for big oil and invest those savings in alternative fuels to achieve energy independence. We are tired of tax break after tax break after tax break and subsidy after subsidy after subsidy for big oil. It is time to be on the side of working families.
Mr. Speaker, each of these bills has enormous potential to help the quality of life for tens of millions of deserving hard-working Americans and their families. We have one more day before we adjourn for more than a month. Let's use this opportunity not for suspension bills but for something that will really make a difference in people's lives, to provide people these opportunities by passing this important legislation that will truly help so many.
So vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can bring up these measures.
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