[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15671]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY IN THE HOUSE

  (Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey asked and was given permission to address 
the House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, as we come today, it marks 
the one-quarter mark into the 110th Congress under now the new 
leadership of the Democrat leadership.
  And what has this leadership wrought for the American public? During 
this time, firstly, the largest tax increase on the American family in 
U.S. history; secondly, a breaking of the rules, a breaking of the 
rules and the promises of transparency and openness that they made to 
the American public and that the GOP, the Republicans, began to 
initiate in the last Congress; and finally, we learned last night from 
this new majority, they bring to us slush funds, slush funds under the 
direction of one man on the other side done at the late end of night to 
control billions of dollars.
  The Homeland Security bill that we were debating last night and will 
be debating today is too important to trivialize in this manner. It is 
too important to the American public, and it is too important to my 
constituents in the 5th Congressional District of New Jersey who live 
in the shadows of the World Trade Center.
  Mr. Speaker, this past November election, the American public has 
spoken. They say they want openness, they want transparency. We demand 
it of this House.

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