Louise Slaughter

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I yield to the Delegate from the Virgin Islands, Dr. Christensen. (Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.) Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Rules Package which once again removes the opportunity for Delegates to Congress and the Resident Commissioner to vote on amendments in the Committee of the Whole. It was our privilege in the past two Congresses to vote along with our colleagues on issues of importance to all Americans, especially the over 4 million of us who live and work in the U.S. territories. The people of the U.S. territories are a diverse group, much like their fellow citizens on the mainland. Some are born in the territories under the American flag, some have migrated there and embraced our culture and our values before naturalization, others were born in the states and have chosen by virtue of their chosen occupation or by love of our islands to make the territories their home. All are Americans in every sense of the word, except for full representation in the House of Representatives and the ability to vote for the President of the United States. Mr. Speaker, the people of the U.S. territories have served their country in all of its conflicts from the American Revolution to the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. They have given their youth, their time and even their lives for our country. We had hoped through our participation to obtain the good will of all of our colleagues to ensure full participation in the democratic process for all citizens of our country. The events of this week have proved to us once more that we still have a long way to go to ensure equality and justice for all.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I yield to the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr. Faleomavaega). (Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, at the end of this debate, if we defeat the previous question, Mr. Van Hollen of Maryland will offer an amendment to restore fiscal discipline in the House. I yield 4 minutes to the ranking member of the Budget Committee now, so that he may explain his amendment.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts, a member of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee). (Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Florida, a former member and missed member of the Rules Committee, Ms. Castor.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Vermont (Mr. Welch).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Rangel).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I ask Members on both sides of the aisle to vote ``no'' on the previous question so that we can take serious action described by Mr. Van Hollen to decrease the deficit rather than to simply make it easier to give tax breaks to billionaires. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to another gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Andrews). (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Schwartz).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen).

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill. A lot of us are going to sleep a lot better now knowing that this bill has been passed.

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1766 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Thank you for yielding. There are very few changes, if any. The caucus in the Democratic Party is really the most important part of our side of the House. The Speaker is meticulous about working with them to achieve consensus. Frankly, we had a rather raucous meeting this morning at the caucus and it was decided that it would be better if we recessed and took some time to see where we were and to make sure that all facets of the caucus had been listened to. But as I said, there will probably be very little change, if any, from the rule we had this morning.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. The gentleman is correct. There were many Members who felt that they needed that extra vote. At the proper time we will make the decision as to whether we will call and ask for a change in the rule.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I would be happy to respond to the gentleman. The only thing I can tell you, Mr. Dreier, as I said before, is that there is no change in this bill. We may or may not ask for an ability to have a separate vote, as you pointed out, so that people will have an up-or-down vote on the bill. As you know, we are dealing with the resolution, and if the Pomeroy portion of it should go down, then we wouldn't normally have that up- or-down vote. If it should pass, that would normally be the end of our proceedings, and it would go directly to the Senate. We are simply adding, as a precaution and for a number of Members who have requested it, an ability to have that up-or-down vote regardless of whether the amendment passes or fails.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. That is correct.

Ms. SLAUGHTER. I am now pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi).

Ms. SLAUGHTER

Ms. SLAUGHTER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I must say that I understand the point of the gentleman. I think spending this kind of money, over $700 billion over 10 years for 6,600 families in the United States, is a foolish expenditure. I do agree that what we want to do is get the deficit down, and believe me, that does not do it. Technically, though, this point of order is about whether or not to consider the rule and, ultimately, the underlying measure. And, in reality, it's about trying to block the measure. I believe that that's an abdication of our responsibility. We have to have the opportunity to debate, and without an opportunity for an up-or-down vote on the legislation, we are failing our responsibility. I think that is wrong. I hope my colleagues will vote ``yes'' so we can consider the legislation on its merits and vote accordingly and not stop it on a procedural motion. I have the right to close, but in the end, I will urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' to consider the rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.