House Proceeding 02-10-09 on Feb 10th, 2009 :: 1:02:40 to 1:07:20
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1:02:21 to 1:02:41( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: gentleman from california rise? mr. lewis: madam speaker, i have a motion to instruct the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: mr. lewis of california moves to instruct the managers on the part of the house they shall not record their approval of the final conference agreement in such terms as issued in clause 5-4 of rule 20 of the rules othe house of representatives unless the text of such agreement has

1:02:40 to 1:07:20( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Jerry Lewis

1:02:42 to 1:03:02( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: been available to managers in an electronic, searchable and downloadable form for at least 48 hours prior to the time described in such clause. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 7 of rule 22, the gentleman from california, mr. lewis, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. obey, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california.

1:03:03 to 1:03:24( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: mr. lewis: thank you, madam speaker. the debate over the pelosi-obey nonstimulus package has often focused on the nearly trillion it will spend. much of it in wa that will not stimulate our economy or create badly needed jobs. it will, however, stimulate tremendous growth in the size and scope of the federal

1:03:25 to 1:03:45( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: government and our national debt. while many people can disagree about this legislation, but the simple truth is that nearly two weeks after it passed the house we are still discovering every day what exactly is in this package. the senate still just passed

1:03:46 to 1:04:06( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: its own version this afternoon, and i'm certain thatenators, too, will discover aspects of this bill in the coming days that were simply -- they were simply unaware of when it came to a vote. what is most troubling is how some of the federal agencies will distribute the massive amounts of funding provided for in this bill.

1:04:07 to 1:04:28( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: for instan funding in the house passed bill for these endeavors. 30 million for salt marsh harvest mouse habitation restoration in the san francisco bay. 8 to million to 10 million for oyster restoration in the gulf

1:04:29 to 1:04:50( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: of mexico. 00 million for the acquisition of plug-in vehicles which are not made or currently available in the united states. sadly, the list goes on and on. while these may be worthy endeavors, they certainly don't meet the test of being timely,

1:04:51 to 1:05:12( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: targeted and and they certainly do not belong in an economic stimulus bill. i had hoped when this process began that the house and senate would embark on a bold new experiment, building a bipartisan consensus to reflect not only the tone set forth by

1:05:13 to 1:05:35( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: the president but to live up to the expectations of the american people. let's face it. my voters and your voters are sick and tired of the typical washington finger-pointing and want us to work together. the house leadership had a tremendous opportunity to use this legislation as a vehicle for bipartisanship.

1:05:36 to 1:05:57( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: much of my disappointment -- the decision was made to forego of bipartisanship in the name of expediency. i believe this expediency will prove costly over the long run. as the house and senate prepare to conference separate versions of the stimulus package, it is absolutely essential that house members and senators know

1:05:58 to 1:06:19( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: exactly what is included in the final conference agreement. it is for this reason that i'm making this motion to instruct house conferees not to sign the final conference agreement unless the text of such agreement has been available to the conferees in electronic, searchable and downloadable

1:06:20 to 1:06:40( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: format least 48 hours prior to their approval. if the house is about to cast its approval of the largest spending bill in history, the least we can do is to ensure that members have 48 hours to review what is in it. that is not an unreasonable request. to the contrary, it is the

1:06:41 to 1:07:01( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: reasonable and responsible thing to do. while this motion limits public availability to conferees, i think any final agreement should in practice be available to the public in advance as well. members have an obligation to their constituents to know the contents of the conference

1:07:02 to 1:07:21( Edit History Discussion )

Jerry Lewis: report before they cast their vote and what certainly will be one of the most important votes they will ever cast in this body. they should have a chance to know what's in it. we ought not act in haste when spending almost trillion of our taxpayers' money. i urge democrats and republicans alike to join me in