[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 110 (Tuesday, July 21, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1862-E1863]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2010

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                               speech of

                         HON. MICHELE BACHMANN

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2009

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 3170) making 
     appropriations for financial services and general government 
     for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mrs. BACHMANN. Mr. Chair, last week the House voted on legislation, 
H.R. 3170, the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations 
Act of 2010, which included an important provision to reinstate the 
economic rights of auto dealers whose franchise agreements were 
recently terminated by GM and Chrysler. Along with 242 of my 
colleagues, I am a cosponsor of two pieces of legislation that are 
similar to that provision: H.R. 2743 and H.R. 2796, both known as the 
Automobile Dealer Economic Rights Restoration Act of 2009.
  Unfortunately, I was unable to support the overall appropriations 
bill, H.R. 3170, due to concerns entirely unrelated to the auto dealer 
provision. For instance, I am concerned that the bill allows for 
publicly funded abortions in Washington, DC. For years, there has been 
a prohibition on taxpayer-funded abortions in the District of 
Columbia--a ban which restricted the use of both federal and local tax 
dollars for abortions. However, this bill makes taxpayer funded 
abortion quite possible.
  The legislation also eliminates the DC Opportunity Scholarship 
Program, a school voucher program which has successfully improved the 
DC public school system since its inception. Under the bill, no new 
students will receive funding for this program, which aids low-income 
children by giving them scholarships of up to $7,500 to attend 
nonpublic schools in Washington, DC. The bill also removes the current 
ban on legalizing medical marijuana in DC.
  I strongly believe that the franchise rights of hundreds of dealers 
across the nation were wrongfully violated throughout the course of the 
automakers' restructuring, and I believe that the heavy hand of 
government which

[[Page E1863]]

clearly influenced the proceedings had a lot to do with that. I 
continue to call upon Congressional leadership to bring H.R. 2743 or 
H.R. 2796 to the floor for an up-or-down vote on their own merits. It 
should not be tucked into unrelated legislation, from which it can be 
plucked in conference committee. This is a serious issue and it 
requires our full attention.

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