home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- CHANGE
-
- (Mr. GUTIERREZ asked and was given permission to address the House
- for 1 minute.)
- Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, we have heard my friends on the other
- side of the aisle talk a lot about change. That is good. This
- institution needs some change. But in the past 3 weeks, Mr. Speaker,
- the American people have found out what type of change many of my
- colleagues were really talking about. We have discovered that a new
- criteria exists for being able to speak the truth on the floor of the
- House. We found out when the subject is questionable dealings by
- powerful Members of the House leadership, speaking the truth on the
- floor of the people's House is often prohibited. But that is not the
- only change, Mr. Speaker.
- We passed a Congressional Accountability Act that is far worse than
- what was passed by this House just last year because it did not
- eliminate a ban on gifts from lobbyists and allows Members to continue
- to use their frequent flyer miles for personal use. There are other
- changes, too. We are no longer talking about lobbying reform or
- campaign finance reform, the real critical changes that will truly make
- a difference in the way we conduct the people's business.
- Yes, many of my friends marched into this institution waving a banner
- that said, ``reform and change,'' but all we see today is the white
- flag.
-
-