Civilian Property Realignment Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. It was a privilege for 2 years to be the ranking member of this subcommittee, and I will tell you that this subcommittee has never been a partisan subcommittee, and I commend Chairman DENHAM for keeping that tradition of focusing on the issues and working with both sides of the aisle to try to get good products without getting into this partisan melee. So I commend the chairman for continuing in that tradition. He's done so in a marvelous way.

And here's another example: he sat down with the ranking member, and they worked out all these issues. The chairman actually went to the Rules Committee, testified in the Rules Committee in favor of making these amendments, the ranking member's amendments, so that they would be in order. Lo and behold, the Rules Committee did what both of them, in a bipartisan way, asked for. They allowed for those amendments to be in order.

Now, I have the highest admiration and respect for the ranking member. I have worked very closely with her, but I'm a little bit, frankly, intrigued. So the ranking member now says, well, if her amendments that the chairman asked to be made in order, the amendments that he supported, that he continues to support, that he says that he supported, that he supported in the Rules Committee, she says if those amendments don't pass, well, then she would vote against the bill, so therefore she's not going to bring up the amendments. Excuse me?

What usually happens is, heck, you bring up amendments even if the ranking member or the chairman doesn't agree with you. But if you have the agreement of the chairman of the committee, he's here again stating it, who's worked with you the entire process, the chairman of the committee helped you get those amendments made in order in the Rules Committee, they come to the floor made in order, here they are ready to discuss, and then you say, no, now I'm not going to put up the amendments because if they don't pass, now I'll vote against the bill.

I agree with the chairman. Put the amendments up. If the amendments don't pass, even with the support of the chairman and the ranking member, then there's good reason for the ranking member to vote against it. But to withdraw an amendment when you have everybody's support, when you are pretty much guaranteed----

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Mr. DIAZ-BALART. You're pretty much guaranteed as much as you are in this process that they're going to pass because you have the ranking member of one party and the chairman who has worked with the ranking member, they both agree, they're noncontroversial, they're ready to go, and, all of a sudden, the ranking member pulls them back and says, for some reason, I'm going to pull them back if they don't pass, I'm going to vote against the bill, well, bring them up. If they don't pass, vote against the bill. But we won't know in the democratic process if an amendment is going to pass even if the chairman and the ranking member agree with it until you bring it up.

So I would respectfully suggest that the ranking member, whom I admire, just bring up the amendments. The chairman has supported them in the Rules Committee, and he's supporting them now. Bring them up. Let's hopefully work on getting the votes because he is working with you to try to get the votes. If they don't pass, vote against it. But the chances are they're going to pass. Let's let the democratic process go forward.

And, again, I commend the chairman for keeping up the tradition of not bogging down in partisan politics. Mr. Chairman, you are to be commended for that. Thank you, sir.

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