Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Pelosi: Republicans Should be Embarrassed by Outrageous Fast Track Vote
June 26, 2002

Washington, D.C. -- House Democratic Whip Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) issued the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives this afternoon, in strong opposition to an unusual rule proposed by the Republicans to instruct members of the conference committee on fast track. The rule was approved by a vote of 216 to 215.

Mr. Speaker, I rise not only to oppose this outrageous rule, but to implore my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to disassociate themselves from it.

This is not a rule proposed by the Grand Old Party. This is not about Republicans in our country. This rule is outrageous. It is a rule that limits freedom in this, the people’s House

American people think of this as the people’s House, where issues and policies are debated, a marketplace of ideas. They do not think of it as a place of bait and switch. This House voted on a bill; I opposed it. It won by one vote, but it would be the House’s bill to go to conference.

Because the majority did not like how the other body treated this same legislation on trade promotion, they decided that they would usurp the power of this House and give that power to one person, Mr. Thomas. He went to the Committee on Rules and inserted more than 50 pages of changes on a 191-page rule. By passing this rule, my colleagues are deeming these provisions passed, provisions that have never been debated and considered in this House. We might as well tear up the book on how a bill is passed in terms of process, in terms of precedent, in terms of policy.

This is a very dark day for the House of Representatives. We had all hoped, many of us, that the bill would come back in a form we could support, to give the President trade promotion authority. Instead, the chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means has made matters worse with these outrageous procedures and this outrageous bill.

We are the model of democracy to the world. The world is watching what we do here. Children study what we do here. Instead of setting an example, we are a place where today freedom and democratic debate are being greatly diminished.

It is no wonder the gentleman from New York has no speakers on this rule. It is no wonder that in the course of the debate many people spoke up to defend the minority position and only two people could speak in favor of this rule. It is an embarrassment to this House, and it should be an embarrassment to the Republican Party.

Why do we not want to have this debate in the light of day instead of just by stealth into the Committee on Rules and on to this floor? Because this is a disgrace and a disservice, a disservice to American workers. It deprives them of the debate on their health benefits, on workers’ rights.

We can come together in a bipartisan way. I implore my colleagues to reject this outrageous rule.