[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 114 (Thursday, July 14, 2016)]
[House]
[Page H4988]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
POLITICS RATHER THAN POLICY
(Mr. COHEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, late Governor of Tennessee Ned McWherter used
to say: If you don't want to work, you shouldn't hire out.
Speaker Ryan, if you don't want to work, if your team doesn't want to
work, you shouldn't have run for office and hired out.
We are taking off for nearly 8 weeks of vacation when we should be
here dealing with gun violence; when we should be dealing with the
voting rights extension, which we have not done with elections coming
up; when we should be dealing with the Zika virus, which threatens the
health of our people; when we should be dealing with the Flint water
crisis. We are leaving for 8 weeks of vacation.
This Congress started 8 years ago with terrible political priorities.
Rather than policy, it was politics. Mitch McConnell said their job was
to see to it that Barack Obama didn't get reelected. What did we do
this week? We had hearings about Hillary Clinton and emails. That is
politics. We didn't have questions of the U.S. Attorney General about
voting rights or gun violence.
If you don't want to work, don't hire out. Ned McWherter was right,
Speaker Ryan. You shouldn't have come here without being willing to
work.
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