[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 39 (Tuesday, March 31, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H1784-H1785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  THE CONGRESS HAS GONE WILDLY ASTRAY

  (Mr. VENTO asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, it is time for Congress to get to work on the 
people's agenda, the people's business, and to quit playing partisan 
games. Last year after passing a successful budget resolution the 
Congress today has gone wildly astray. The Republican Congress today 
cannot get along with the Clinton administration, it cannot get along 
with the Democrats and the Republicans in Congress, cannot get along 
with themselves.
  Look what has been going on the last 2 weeks in the House: Making a 
mockery out of campaign finance legislation yesterday, partisan bills 
considered under suspension where there was certainty such bills would 
fail. Secondly, last week giving short shrift to the environment and 
fortunately the so called Forest Health measure was defeated. The bills 
are failing; we cannot agree on subjects we should agree on and find a 
sound common ground upon.
  And today we have got a bill scheduled on financial modernization, 
the bill that we have been working on for a decade, and what is 
happening is that the Republican leadership is hijacking the credit 
union bill to put it onto this badly flawed bill, H.R. 10. It is like 
giving a ticket to somebody on the Titanic. This bill makes a mockery 
out of the due process and deliberate consideration. Substantive 
amendments will not be considered, we are going to have a total of 
about four or five hours to debate it, and it is all but immunized

[[Page H1785]]

from substantive debate on important issues in terms of our economy and 
the people we represent. When are we going to get to work and quit the 
partisan antics that seem to touch every item on the House agenda.

                          ____________________