Motion To Instruct Conferees On H.R. 2997, Agriculture, Rural Development, Food And Drug Administration, And Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010
Floor Speech
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Mr. OBEY. I thank the gentlewoman for the time. Let me say this is a very interesting institution, and we have all kinds of demands placed upon it which are often contradictory. Example: many a Member in this Chamber will loudly request that we limit earmarks.
And then they will also ask when we go into conference that their own earmarks be funded at the highest possible level. I've had two Members of the House talk to me just today about those matters. Didn't seem to be at all bothered by the conflict in what they're asking.
We have people who say these bills should be available for 72 hours before we vote on them, but some of those same people will not want the House to meet on Monday and they will not want the House to meet on Friday. And if that's the case, then that means that this bill, for instance, even if it is conferenced tomorrow could not be voted on any day in the remainder of the week.
We have people who want us to push these bills through before the end of the fiscal year, and yet, when we say, Well, can you go to conference at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, we were just told today, no, they couldn't; can you go to conference at 9 o'clock, no, they can't; and then when we talk to the Members of the other body and say can you go to conference at 11 o'clock tomorrow, no, we can only go to conference at 2, if it's in the afternoon.
So anyone managing a bill, as the gentlewoman from Connecticut is going to have to manage this one, is faced with all kinds of conflicting demands from Members who seem to be almost unconscious about the fact that their demands, in fact, are conflicting. And all I can say as chairman of the committee is we will try to give Members the maximum time possible to review the bills, consistent with our obligation to get the work done.
So I think if anyone is concerned about a specific item in the bill, I'm sure the gentlewoman and I'm sure the gentleman from Georgia will be willing to walk them through what the committee has in mind.
But in the end, I would simply--I'm not going to vote for this motion because I can't with a straight face both promise to make these bills available for 72 hours and meet all of the other conflicting demands that Members of the House are making. We've got an obligation to try to balance those requirements, and we will do that to the best of our ability. And in the end, I think we will have reasonable bills, and we will let the public be the judge of just how reasonable they are.
I thank the gentlewoman for the time.
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