Steny Hoyer

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his comments. At some point in time perhaps we can discuss further the regular order. I observe only that it is my understanding there is a bill coming over from the Senate that will not be referred to committee, will not be subject to amendment, will be taken up and passed as the Senate passed it, and it is my understanding that will be done because of the view of the majority how important it is to pass that bill immediately. That is the partial birth abortion bill. Am I correct that is the procedure which the majority intends to follow?

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. It has not passed the House yet. It is coming from the Senate, and obviously there may be amendments on it. It is our understanding that will be taken in effect from the desk as the Senate bill, voted on, and sent to the President.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for that comment. The gentleman indicated that next week we will be taking up the budget. Can the gentleman tell me whether or not all substitutes that are requested from the Congressional Black Caucus, from the Progressive Caucus, from the Blue Dogs and from the Democrats on the Committee on the Budget will be made in order? I see the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Rules is standing.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I respectfully inform the majority leader, we were very concerned about the fact that we were shut down today in terms of offering amendments or substitutes. I will respectfully advise the majority that if that continues to occur, there will be actions on our side of the aisle to try to express our deep concern about that.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman and express the fervent hope that the committee will be able to reach its goals. They are commendable goals to achieve, and I hope they are achieved. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about the Amber bill and adding things to it. We had a bill a week and a half ago on the floor. That was to aid our men and women in the armed forces whom we are sending in harm's way. We were not able to pass it the week before. We have not passed it this week. Can the gentleman advise us as to the status of that bill.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for his comments.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I advise the distinguished majority leader that I am authorized on behalf of the minority to tell the gentleman that if that bill were reported out without any additional items attached to it, we would be prepared to give unanimous consent so it could be passed either next Tuesday night or Wednesday. Mr. Speaker, lastly, it is my understanding that we obviously want to accommodate those who want to go to that dinner, but am I correct in observing that the normal practice on Tuesdays will continue to be 6:30?

Mr. HOYER. I will be glad to yield to the majority leader.

Mr. HOYER. I yield to the gentleman from Texas, the ranking member of the Committee on Rules.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank the gentleman for his comments.

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. As long as the gentleman yielded to me. Mr. Speaker, these tactics demean the People's House. Hear me. Hear me. These tactics demean the People's House, demean democracy, demean freedom, and they fly in the face of commitments by Republicans when they regained the majority to run an open and deliberative process. These comments are on the record. Here is how Gerald Solomon, the former Republican Chair of the Committee on Rules, explained it in November of 1994 when you were just about to take power. This is a quote, on the record: ``The guiding principles will be openness and fairness. The Rules Committee will no longer rig the procedure to contrive a predetermined outcome. From now on,'' the Republicans said, ``the Rules Committee will clear the stage for debate and let the House work its will.'' The year before, Congressman Solomon remarked, ``Every time we deny an open amendment process on an important piece of legislation, we are disenfranchising the people and their representatives from the legislative process.'' Mr. Speaker, this side of the aisle represents at least 140 million people. This side of the aisle represents 140 million Americans, and you have shut them up today, and you shut them up last week, and you may be considering shutting us up next week. Not 204 or 205 Democrats, but 140 million Americans. I submit that this is precisely what we are doing today under this closed rule, which is what Mr. Solomon said you would not do. But you do it this day, and you demean this House. I would say to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Fletcher), yes, that is why we talk about process, because we want to show why we are not serving doctors this day; why in State after State after State that have capped recovery premiums have not gone down. Doctors will not be served by this legislation you offer, and you will not allow us an amendment to do something that will protect doctors, that will protect patients, that will protect injured people. This is a travesty of democracy, and it is a travesty for people who are injured severely by the negligence of others. Vote against the previous question, vote against this bill, vote for fairness and equity in this House.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to say to my friend from Kentucky, who says that we rise to focus on process, I tell my friend from Kentucky there is a reason for that, because your Committee on Rules does not have the courage to allow us to debate substance. It does not have the courage to allow us to offer a substitute and amendments to your bill so that we could discuss substance. Have courage on your side, that substance is what ought to be at risk here. We are prepared to debate it. Allow us to do so. Mr. Speaker, once again today the Republican leadership is employing outrageous tactics that trample the rights of the minority and rig the rules of this debate.

Mr. HOYER. We yielded on our side.

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield on that point?

Mr. HOYER

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I want to join the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier) in his comments about Mr. Djindjic, the Prime Minister of Serbia. Serbia in the 1990s, like Iraq has gone through, was under the heel of a despot who was vicious and who in my opinion was a war criminal. When the United States acted to displace the Milosevic regime and ultimately Milosevic was voted out of office because we went into Kosovo, it was Mr. Djindjic who showed the courage and the moral commitment to ensure that Mr. Milosevic would be transferred to The Hague to answer for his crimes. That trial currently is going on. It is going on because Mr. Djindjic had the courage to facilitate the transfer out of Serbia to The Hague of the alleged war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. He has now been assassinated. We do not know yet who the perpetrator of that assassination is. Suffice it to say, we have lost someone whose courage and commitment to freedom and human rights was an important aspect for his country and for the international community. We are a lesser international community for his loss.