[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7506-H7507]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP

  (Mr. SHERMAN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, when this House votes to adjourn, we will 
be voting to put politics above policies, to put the needs of us as 
politicians over the needs of the American people, for leadership will 
insist that we leave without dealing with energy independence; leave 
while our seniors are falling into the donut hole provided in the 
poorly planned part D of Medicare; leave before we deal with college 
affordability; before we deal with tax relief for the middle class, 
especially the

[[Page H7507]]

alternative minimum tax, the dreaded AMT; and as I get to in a second, 
leave before we raise the minimum wage.
  We should be working for the American people in October instead of 
spending the month going home to ask for their forgiveness for not 
working in October.
  Let us look particularly at the minimum wage. We should be dealing 
with H.R. 2129 which would increase the minimum wage from its 
incredibly low $5.15 to something approaching a minimum wage.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 2129.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Simpson). Under the guidelines 
consistently issued by successive Speakers, as recorded on page 734 of 
the House Rules Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the 
gentleman's request until it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor 
and committee leaderships.


                        Parliamentary Inquiries

  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may inquire.
  Mr. SHERMAN. What you are citing there is the mere custom of this 
House and not an official rule of this House; is that correct?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is part of the Speaker's guidelines for 
the exercise of discretion in recognition.
  Mr. SHERMAN. And, in fact, for the first 150 years of this House, we 
had no such guidelines.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the settled guidelines previously 
cited, the request cannot be entertained.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, point of parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman may inquire.
  Mr. SHERMAN. You say that we cannot bring up this needed raise in the 
minimum wage?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is saying that he cannot entertain 
the instant unanimous-consent request to that end.
  Mr. SHERMAN. You cannot even entertain the request because it has not 
been cleared by the leadership of both parties; is what you are saying?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. At both committee and floor levels, that is 
correct.
  Mr. SHERMAN. Well, it has been cleared by the Democratic Party. So it 
is really just the Republican Party that says we cannot raise the 
minimum wage.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is not stating a parliamentary 
inquiry.

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