House Democrats' Patern Of Abuse

(Editor's note: these remarks were prepared for delivery on Saturday, August 4, but were denied the opportunity to be given on the House floor)

"Mr. Speaker, I rise today because enough is enough. The rules of the House have repeatedly been broken this week to give taxpayer money to illegal immigrants. And today we learned of yet another violation in this outrageous sequence of events.

"Thursday night a vote was taken on this floor that resulted in passage of a Republican motion-to-recommit. That motion, which passed by a vote of 215-213, should have sent the agriculture appropriations bill back to committee to be amended with language prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used to subsidize illegal immigrants.

"The gentleman from Maryland, the Majority Leader, has acknowledged Thursday night's events were a mistake. Yesterday Republicans accepted his apology, and offered a resolution to form a bipartisan select committee to investigate the incident and report back on how it took place. This morning, however, we were troubled to read in the Washington Post and elsewhere that the Speaker of the House, Ms. Pelosi, does not share the Majority Leader's view.

"The Speaker has not addressed this matter on the House floor, but she has apparently discussed it with the media. According to the Washington Post, the Speaker believes the disgraceful incident Thursday night was not a mistake. She dismissed it as merely an "inconvenience" for the minority, and accused us of obstructionism.

"I would submit to you that Leader Hoyer has it right. The majority's decision to overrule that vote Thursday night WAS a mistake - a mistake that will grow in infamy with each passing day that the Democratic leadership allows it to stand.

"The stolen vote wasn't just 'inconvenient' for Republican politicians; it was an affront to the millions of Americans we were representing when we offered legislation to stop the Democratic majority from allowing taxpayer dollars to go to individuals who violate the laws of our country.

"The stolen vote was not an isolated incident; it was part of a pattern of abuse we've seen all week long in this chamber by the Democratic majority.

"The Republican Whip and I discussed our concerns about this pattern with the Majority Leader and Majority Whip. Let me give you some examples of what I mean by a "pattern:"

"Health care legislation was rushed to the floor this week without even so much as a hearing. This legislation raises taxes and cuts Medicare benefits for seniors, and uses the money to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program in a way that would allow adults - including some illegal immigrants - to receive health benefits from the government.

"Members like Mr. Shadegg attempted to raise objections to this legislation and the process by which it came to the floor. They were silenced by the chair, arbitrarily, in violation of the rules. This took place more than 20 times.

"Then, on Thursday night, we all know what happened. The 215-213 vote was overturned. Republicans believe we won the vote, and the evidence shows we won the vote. But instead of doing the right thing and fixing the problem by allowing the vote to stand, the majority broke the rules - again.

"When Republicans came to the floor yesterday morning to raise objections about Thursday night's incident, they were cut off - again - by the Chair.

"When Republicans came to the floor last night to raise objections about the actions of the chair, we were denied the opportunity for debate after the Majority Leader spoke out against it - again in violation of the rules. You might recall the words the Majority Leader used: "enough is enough."

"I doubt there are many in this chamber who don't remember the Majority Leader uttering these words. But today, amazingly, they do not appear in the Congressional Record. These words show the majority abusing the rules of this House to shut down debate on a matter of enormous importance to American taxpayers. But like the 215-213 vote itself, the entire exchange has simply vanished from the public record. . .as if it never even happened.

"The right thing to do is add this matter to the list of questions that will be examined by the bipartisan panel we agreed to establish yesterday. And that's what we seek to do, through the resolution I've offered today.

"Mr. Speaker, this isn't about those of us in the minority. This is about the American people - most of whom believe their tax money should not be used to pay government benefits to illegal immigrants. The stolen vote Thursday, and the subsequent actions taken by the leadership to cover it up, are a breach of trust. They are a breach of trust between the Democratic majority and the American people you swore you would work in an open, bipartisan, accountable manner to serve.

"For this reason, I offer this resolution today - not as the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, but as an American citizen and taxpayer who believes enough truly IS enough."