Agriculture Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008

Floor Speech

AGRICULTURE RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2008

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Connecticut is recognized for 5 minutes.

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose this motion for several reasons, not the least of which is that it derails the bill. There is one word in this motion, ``promptly,'' which, as my colleagues know, takes the bill from the floor without reaching the question of passage.

Let me also add a critical point and be very clear: There are no funds in this bill which would authorize any actions for illegal aliens; not for rural housing, not for employment, not for any of the activities funded under this bill.

The President today accused the Congress of stalling on appropriations bills, yet that is exactly what you are doing with this motion. You are adding to the delay with a motion that means nothing.

As I have said earlier today during debate, this bill is the product of good, bipartisan cooperation and the result of many, many months of hard work; from hearings, to the subcommittee mark and up through the full committee. This bill strengthens rural America, it protects our public health, it improves nutrition in this Nation, it transforms our energy future, it supports conservation, it invests in research and it enhances all of society. We have every reason to move forward on this bill tonight.

Let me take the time to say thank you to the chair of the committee, Mr. Obey; yes, to the ranking member, Mr. Lewis; to the subcommittee ranking member, Mr. Kingston; to the staff, Martha Foley, Leslie Barrack, Diem-Linh Jones, Adrienne Simonson, Kelly Wade, Brian Ronholm, Ashley Turton, Leticia Mederos; on the Republican side, Martin Delgado, David Gibbons, Jamie Swafford, Merritt Myers, Meg Gilley; and on our side again, Rob Nabors, John Daniel, David Reich, Lesley Turner. They did incredible work to make sure that this bill got passed.

Let me just say to you now that I have had a lot of Members who have come up to tell me that they will vote for whichever side stops talking first. So with that, I end my remarks. Defeat this motion to recommit and pass this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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