[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 43 (Wednesday, April 13, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H1902-H1903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          BRING BACK INTEGRITY TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to discuss the Republican 
majority's ongoing disregard for the democratic process in the United 
States House of Representatives.
  In the last Congress, the arrogance of power coming from the other 
side of

[[Page H1903]]

the aisle was breathtaking. This Congress, it is only getting worse.
  The majority has consistently used closed and highly-restrictive 
rules to stop Members of both parties from offering amendments to 
important legislation. They have rushed major bills to the floor 
without even giving Members a chance to read them. They have given 
special interests and their lobbyists unprecedented access and 
influence. Votes were kept open for hours in an attempt to threaten 
Members into voting a certain way, and they have completely gutted the 
ethics process here in the House.
  This blatant disregard for democracy shows disrespect, not just for 
Members of Congress but, more importantly, for the people we all 
represent; and it has to stop. We can start by reestablishing a real 
bipartisan Committee on Standards of Official Conduct and restoring the 
meaningful ethics rules that the Republican leadership threw away in 
January.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to bring back the integrity of 
this House.

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