[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 14 (Tuesday, January 24, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H556]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                          ARTIFICIAL DEADLINES

  (Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, first I wanted to correct a 
mistake which I made last night. I referred to prior rules which 
prohibited at the objection of any one Member the meeting of a 
committee while the 5-minute rule was in process. I had not mentioned, 
in fact I was incorrect in not mentioning, that had been changed in the 
last Congress. I want to correct that error of mine. But that does not 
change my unhappiness with this procedure, particularly now that proxy 
voting has been done away with.
  I face a situation where as a member of the Committee on Banking, 
Finance and Urban Affairs, I may be asked to be at a hearing and 
perhaps a markup on the question of guaranteeing the Mexican debt and 
pushing for the kind of social and taxpayer safeguards I think are 
important. As a member of the Committee on the Judiciary, I want to be 
on the floor fully to participate in the balanced budget amendment.
  What we are facing is an artificial deadline made as part of a 
campaign approach, and it is one thing to as part of a campaign 
approach, and it is one thing to try and meet that. It is quite another 
to degrade the legislative process to meet this arbitrary deadline. I 
hope the other side will stop doing that.

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