Waiving Requirement of Clause 6(a) with Respect to Consideration of Certain Resolutions Reported From Committee

Floor Speech

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Ms. DeLAURO. Let me begin by paraphrasing Sir Walter Scott, and I think it's really an accurate description of what is going on on the other side of the aisle with the Republican majority. Sir Walter Scott said:

Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive.

This is about deception of where we are moving forward.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this rule. It aims to put our country on the same radical, dangerous, ideological path that was decisively repudiated at the polls last November. We all know one definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over. Well, here we are again.

The House majority is trying to move one step closer to locking in the deep, automatic cuts caused by sequestration. Everyone in this room knows these cuts are destroying jobs all across America, robbing children of the education they need, slowing the pace of lifesaving research, and threatening everything from public safety to public health. Even the chair of the Appropriations Committee--I might add, a Republican--has said:

Sequestration--and its unrealistic and ill-conceived discretionary cuts--must be brought to an end.

This rule does exactly the opposite. It allows the majority to advance a budget that makes these dangerous cuts permanent.

This resolution also seeks--for the 43rd time--to deny quality, affordable health care to millions of Americans. In fact, the Affordable Care Act has passed the Congress--House and Senate. It was signed into law by the President. It was upheld by the Supreme Court. And it was reaffirmed by the American people at the ballot box.

Let me say to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle: get over it. The Nation doesn't want to repeal this bill. They do want, if there are problems, to make changes. In short, it is the law of the land--one that will help Americans lead healthier lives without having to worry about being bankrupted by an injury or an illness.

And what my colleagues want to do, quite frankly, is they want to return your decisions on your health care back to the insurance companies to make the decisions on your health care, and to tell you that they're not going to cover you for a preexisting condition. They won't cover your child who may have asthma or autism, or for someone like myself, who is a cancer survivor.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Ms. DeLAURO. And because they cannot repeal the law through the usual process, the majority is threatening to bring down the government--and soon, the economy--to get their way. This could not be more irresponsible.

They also want to push forward a rule that will move their farm bill with $40 billion in cuts in the food stamp programs, while at the same time providing $90 billion in crop insurance subsidies for wealthy agribusiness. Deep cuts to the food stamp program have nothing to do with cutting the debt and everything to do with the majority's radical ideology.

The Department of Agriculture reports it spent $14 billion on crop insurance last year alone. This majority chooses to force over 4 million low-income Americans to go hungry--children, seniors, veterans, and working families--while continuing to provide the richest of subsidies to the rich.

Let's be clear: we are at the eleventh hour. It is time for the majority to stop playing games, stop trying to repeal the last election, and stop trying to push a government and the entire economy into a shutdown. We have to do better.

I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule.

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