[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 24 (Tuesday, February 27, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H1254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             THE FARM BILL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Shays). Under the Speaker's announced 
policy of May 12, 1995, the gentleman from Missouri [Mr. Volkmer] is 
recognized during morning business for 5 minutes.
  Mr. VOLKMER. Mr. Speaker, I did not come here to talk about this. I 
listened to the gentleman from Florida, and we have a couple more from 
Florida maybe going to speak on the same issue, and I hear the 
criticism of the President on the Cuban situation, yet I do not hear 
them say one thing of what they would do different than what the 
President has done, not one. The gentleman from Florida did not mention 
one thing. I am just waiting to hear what the rest of them have to say. 
I wonder how many of them want to send troops into Cuba. Should they, 
should they not? They are from Florida, let them say.
  What I really came here to talk about is the autocratic running of 
this House of Representatives. This is not a democracy in this House 
any longer. When I say ``democracy,'' I mean a small ``D.'' At times 
back in my 20 years or 19 years before this, we had farm bills come to 
this House and every one of them, in 1977, 1981, 1985, in 1990, every 
one of them had an open rule. All amendments that were germane and had 
been printed in the Record before we took up the bill were eligible to 
be debated and voted upon. Now, what is the Committee on Rules of this 
autocratic leadership under his excellency, the Speaker Gingrich, going 
to do this afternoon with the rule on this year's farm bill? Should be 
1995; it is 1996. They are already late. They are going to restrict the 
amendments.
  There have been 74 amendments noticed to the Committee on Rules. I 
dare say not more than five or six or seven of those will be made in 
order by this Committee on Rules. What happened to the openness? What 
happened to Representatives, like myself and others, who have been 
elected from rural areas, having a right to get on this floor of this 
House and offer germane amendments to a farm bill that is going to 
affect our farmers for the next 7 years? What happened to it? Well, all 
is gone down the drain under this new leadership. They are told, they 
are telling us, you take what we are going to offer you or leave it; 
that is all there is to it.
  I, as a representative of my people, do not have a voice any longer 
in this House when we deliberate legislation that affects them. I think 
that is terrible. I think the American public should wake up to what is 
going on in this hallowed Hall of democracy, the one that stands firm 
above all others in this world for democracy. You do not have democracy 
in this House. It is gone.
  We have an autocratic society led by Speaker Gingrich. He only 
believes that he knows the answers and his people know the answers. The 
rest of us, we are just pawns. I do not know why many of his people 
even got elected to come here because they just follow his line right 
down the row, right down the rule. When he tells them to vote that way, 
that is what they do. They cannot think for themselves, they cannot do 
for themselves. Well, I, for one, believe that my people sent me here 
to represent them and to espouse ideas on this floor of the House when 
legislation comes about that affects them.
  I do not believe that I should be gagged by the Speaker of the House, 
which is going to happen this year on this year's farm bill. And what 
is really amazing about this whole thing is they are going to tell you, 
the American public, and the rest of this House that we have to hurry 
up and get this bill done. Well, folks, we have not been here all 
month. We have not been here all month. We could have done a farm bill 
last week. We could have spent a whole week on it, let every Member who 
has amendments the opportunity to offer it, to debate it and have a 
vote on it.
  Oh, no, we cannot do that. We have to go about campaigning. We have 
to go about trips to Europe. We have to go about trips to far off 
lands. We have to do all those things. We cannot work on a farm bill. 
Well, the real reason is that they do not want some Members to be able 
to offer their amendments. That is the real reason. They do not want us 
to be able to offer amendments on the floor. They say their answer to 
the farm problems, agriculture throughout this Nation, is embodied in 
their bill. None of the rest of us should have a right to have any say-
so in how that legislation affects our farmers.
  Now, if that is not an autocratic society, I would like to know what 
is. Well, maybe it is more like a dictatorship. Maybe that would be 
more appropriate than an autocratic society, under a dictatorship where 
Members do not have an opportunity to express their opinion.

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