[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 4 (Friday, January 9, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H143]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           ENSURING FAIRNESS IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Gillibrand). Under a previous order of 
the House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Price) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. PRICE of Georgia. Madam Speaker, here we find ourselves at the 
end of the first week of this new session of the 111th Congress. There 
is a lot of talk and has been a lot of talk since the election about 
bipartisanship. There has been a lot of talk on both sides of the aisle 
about bipartisanship, and that is important. I am a strong supporter of 
bipartisanship, and everybody talks about it. Bipartisan discussions, 
however, require bipartisan action. If action in a bipartisan way 
doesn't follow those discussions, then credibility is denied.
  Now, I firmly understand and appreciate that elections have 
consequences, and the election of this past November resulted in a 
House, the United States House of Representatives, with a membership 
ratio of 59 percent on the Democrat side and 41 percent on the 
Republican side. So on the floor of this House, that is the ratio, and 
it is reflected in votes even this week.
  Nobody would argue, I don't believe, Madam Speaker, that every single 
Member, every single Member of this House is important. We all 
represent virtually the same number of people, and it is pivotal that 
each and every Member be given the appropriate and equal opportunity to 
be involved in the process, because that is what gives credibility to 
representative government.
  Now, as you and I both know, Madam Speaker, and as our colleagues 
know, the bulk of the congressional work is done in committees. That is 
where the critical issues are debated, that is where the hard work is 
done, that is where the issues are tossed back and forth and where 
solutions are hammered out.
  Now, when voices are silenced, either by not being able to speak in 
committee for various problems with rules or when individuals are not 
even allowed to sit in committees, then it does a disservice to each 
and every American. We are better when we are tussling with those 
ideas, when we are working as hard as we can to come up with the 
appropriate solution for our Nation. We are not better when we are just 
talking about politics.
  Again, in reviewing the ratios on the House floor, they are 59 
percent Democrat, 41 percent Republican. Most Americans, if you asked 
them, would say that is what ought to be reflected in the committees, 
because that is where that hard work is done, that is where those 
issues are hammered out. I agree those ratios should be reflected in 
committee. If they aren't, then America is cheated and democracy is 
cheapened. The committee ratios are incredibly important because they 
determine the work product that occurs in this House. So, again, Madam 
Speaker, the House of Representatives, 59 percent Democrat, 41 percent 
Republican.
  Now, when we look at committee ratios that have just come out this 
week, it appears that on some of the most pivotal committees where 
issues like taxes and financial services and health care are going to 
be decided, that ratio has not held. The ratio appears to be closer to 
63 percent Democrat, 37 percent Republican. This is a significant 
decrease of a significant number of seats, and it disenfranchises many 
Americans across this Nation. It is a matter of fairness, Madam 
Speaker. It is a matter of fairness. The American people may not care 
about the specific processes here, but they do care about fairness.
  So I call on the Speaker, I call on the majority leader, I call on 
the majority party, to make certain that the committee numbers, the 
numbers, the ratios of Democrats to Republicans in our committees, 
reflect the appropriate ratio that is reflected on the floor of the 
House of Representatives. Madam Speaker, it is a matter of fairness.

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