Providing for Consideration of H.R. 5893, Investing in American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010

Floor Speech

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Ms. FOXX. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Florida for yielding time, and I appreciate very much and accept his comments, in particular about how we are concerned personally for each other's children and each other's family. I believe that is absolutely true. And I appreciate the comments that the gentleman made yesterday in Rules in that respect, and also here.

Madam Speaker, Merriam-Webster's dictionary defines outrageous as ``going beyond all standards of what is right or decent,'' ``deficient in propriety or good taste.''

The outrageous rule before us today represents a sickening embarrassment for this institution that the American people have charged with the responsibility to provide effective solutions to their real problems.

Unfortunately, the ruling liberal Democrat majority has taken this opportunity to devise a cynical plot to ram through this misguided, partisan legislation which has had no committee consideration, no CBO cost estimate, and was sprung on the minority party only 90 minutes before its consideration in the Rules Committee yesterday. Despite these atrocities, the ruling liberal Democrats couldn't bring themselves to allow for any amendments, choosing instead to present us with this closed rule containing same-day ``martial-law'' authority through Sunday.

Although we've grown accustomed to this type of process under the reign of the current liberal Democrat majority, their arrogance and contempt for institutional integrity never ceases to shock and amaze us.

This is a far cry from 2006 when then-minority leader Nancy Pelosi promised regular order for legislation in her ``New Direction for America.''

At that time she pledged that bills should be developed following full hearings and open subcommittee and committee mark ups with appropriate referrals to other committees.

Members should have at least 24 hours to examine a bill prior to consideration at the subcommittee level. Bills should generally come to the floor under a procedure that allows open, full and fair debate consisting of a full amendment process that grants the minority the right to offer its alternatives, including a substitute.

The third point she made, ``Members should have at least 24 hours to examine bill and conference report text prior to floor consideration. Rules governing floor debate must be reported before 10 p.m. for a bill to be considered the following day.''

``Should,'' I guess, is the operative word here, Madam Speaker. Speaker Pelosi could say she didn't promise, she just said ``should.'' How times have changed. With hypocrisy like this, it's no wonder the American people are shaking their heads watching the shenanigans of this most leftist, liberal, elitist, arrogant, and out of touch Democrat regime in the history of our great Nation.

The liberals will undoubtedly excuse their shameful actions today by blaming George Bush, as they always do, and relate their actions to certain instances under Republican congressional leadership, but it makes no sense to criticize in one breath and emulate in another what they identify as the sins of the past.

My friend across the aisle talked about tax cuts and how Republicans love tax cuts but don't want investments. I want to point out to my colleague that in the 2001 tax cuts which were passed, there were many Democrats who voted for those tax cuts, both on the House and Senate side. The same thing with the 2003 tax cuts. Democrats supported those. And we were very grateful for that. In the final consideration of the Iraq war authorization, many Democrats supported that also. So we do have revisionist history, Mr. Speaker. And I would like to insert into the Record the record of the votes on those various items.

Let's be clear about what this bill does, Mr. Speaker. We are spending more of taxpayers' money on plans that will kill private-sector jobs. We know we have the largest deficit in history, and we need to stop this spending. Let me say to you again, there are four parts to this bill. Let me mention what they are in terms the American people can understand.

Number one, it provides for up to $5 billion for the Welfare Emergency Fund, doubling a new welfare program that Democrats created in the 2009 stimulus. The bill has $31.8 billion in revenue increases that will hurt an already weakened economy and could threaten our international competitiveness. The bill spends $25.6 billion on State infrastructure programs while abandoning small businesses, and will not create the private-sector jobs that we need. Also, we know that this bill wouldn't be needed at all if the stimulus that our friends tout so much had not been the huge failure that it has been and had actually worked.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this rule and reject this bill so we can begin to restore a semblance of sanity in this noble institution.

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