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louiseslaughter uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)
On Friday, Rep. Slaughter spoke on the House Floor about the proposed megabus appropriations legislation, and the failed leadership of the Majority...
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On Friday, Rep. Slaughter spoke on the House Floor about the proposed megabus appropriations legislation, and the failed leadership of the Majority. Portions of her remarks are below:
Mr. Speaker,
My distinguished colleague is absolutely right, this is the rest of the bus. But it's going to be a little while before we realize whether we are on that bus or whether we've been thrown under it. Obviously, as Mr. Dreier called attention to it, this is the bill we have today. None of us will make any pretense at all of having read it. Now I have been around long enough to know that things happen this way. The House, the country, is about to shutdown tonight, the agencies are all prepared to close and we can't have that. And so we find ourselves confronted here today with this completed, and going through this conference. And a lot of people are breathing a sigh of relief this morning, frankly, particularly federal workers and the rest of the country that they're not going to be faced with a shutdown of federal agencies.
Although, we have been able to avert that crisis today, the 2,000-page package is not a cause for celebration, and I don't believe Mr. Dreier thinks it is either, but it is a demonstration of failure. As I said, I have known cases, and been participants in cases, where things like this have happened before. But through a Congress that had promised at the beginning part of the campaign, what we were promised at the beginning of this term was that this would not happen anymore. Instead, it has happened over and over again.
Over the past 12 months we have witnessed the utter failure to responsibly legislate, a failure that has led to this massive bill that we are considering today....
...But this is a sign of a larger failure- a failure of governing. It's a vision we went through all this year, based on brinksmanship and threats, an all-or-nothing game of chicken with their colleagues and the American people. Everybody is exhausted from will we do it, won't we do it, can't we do it, must we do it. Part of that has resulted in a lessening of the credit rating of the United States of America for the very first time.
So instead of spending the year finding common ground with their Democratic colleagues, the Majority spent the year advancing legislation to dismantle the EPA and to talk about light bulbs, and to open federally protected lands to foreign mining companies.
I find in my constituency the idea we were going to give land to Russia around the Grand Canyon to mine for uranium is mind-boggling to people. We really ought to be worried about that. This is a very serious problem.
Instead of spending the year finding common ground, as I have said we have done nothing about that. So throwing bipartisanship to the side, the Majority pushed forward with this ideological battle at the expense of the nation's welfare and what we see this morning is the result of their divisive efforts.
What we know is the process that begins with brinksmanship and threats end with this- 2,000-page, $1 trillion megabus crammed through the house as the clock hits zero is all we have. This is our chance to keep the government from shutting down.
With proper priorities and a serious effort to engage legislators from both sides of the aisle, we could truly have a process and a product that would make the American people proud. But that's not what we have here today. It's not what's been done this year.
I hope sincerely and I know that many people on both sides of the aisle hope sincerely that as the calendar turns to 2012 we can put an end to the zero-sum leadership that has been provided and finally give the bipartisan leadership they want and deserve and I reserve the balance of my time.
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louiseslaughter uploaded a new video
(1 month ago)
SLAUGHTER, L. (D-NY): Mr. Speaker, I'm going to make an offer than none can refuse, or no one should refuse.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE If the gentlel...
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SLAUGHTER, L. (D-NY): Mr. Speaker, I'm going to make an offer than none can refuse, or no one should refuse.
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE If the gentlelady will suspend- the gentleman from Maryland remain on his feet in yielding time. The gentlelady from may -- the gentlelady may continue.
SLAUGHTER, L. (D-NY): Does that come off my time?
THE SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE:No madam.
SLAUGHTER, L. (D-NY): I'm pleased that the STOCK Act is something we can finally vote on today in this Congress. the stock act has bipartisan support from 231 members of Congress- the majority of the house, ranging from freshman members to senior members from both sides of the aisle. The bill has been around since 2006 and we do not need to study it another day.
The critical part of the bill is the registration of the political intelligence industry. The burgeoning K Street industry gathers information from Members and staff in order to enrich their Wall Street clients and it has been completely unregulated.
We will finally regulate through the STOCK Act this lucrative industry and make sure that Members of Congress and their staffs come to Washington to serve their constituents and not fatten their own bank accounts.
There are 535 of us privileged enough to serve in this Congress and we must hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards.
The American people have shown an incredible interest in this STOCK Act. If you fail to vote for this motion today you're going to tell them that you're not interested in their concerns- none of us on either side of the aisle want to do that. So i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of today's motion to recommit, to pass this bill that's been around for years and needs passing very badly, and to hold ourselves accountable to the American people and to the letter of the law.
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Also, republicans earn flack only when being liberal. Conservatism's foes can stick it up their butts.
keep on empowering others :)
BiggerVisions*com
However, I don't blame you for high-tailing it out of Harlan County --- or out of eastern Kentucky in general. It's a beautiful part of the commonwealth, but its inhabitants have devolved from fiercely independent and hardworking individualists to sloven, meth-mouthed rotten toothed, "what 'cha gonna' give me Uncle Sam" embarrassments who bristle at the thought of earning a living from the sweat of their brow.
Go play golf. Or ride the tricycle, or garden, or travel, or whatever. But do not run for re-election in 2012.
Most Sincerely,
Jimmy