Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-12-31
From the Congressional Rscord.)

From the Congressional Rscord.)
Mr.. MnLIKEN. now call up the amend
ment which have sent to the desk to be In
| serted as an additional clause to be known
| as clause SO of Rule XII.
The clerk read az follows:
1t shall be the duty Of the committee having jurs-
dicton of the general appropriation bills, on or be-
fore the LIST day Of March In the long or on or
the first day Of February in the hort session of
Congress- to report the general appropriation bills.
Mr.. MILLIKEN. Mr. Speaker, desire to
say but q word in explanation OF my purpose
in Introducing this amendment. l suppose
that every member of this House has, among
q thousand others, two purposes in view, one
to have an opportunity 10 call up such legis-
latiop as he believes to be necessary, and
another, the opportunity to understand the
legislation upon what he is voting. Now,
will not discuss the question Of the use that
has been made by the committee on spprO-
priations of its powers in the past. That has
been all pretty well gone over My friend
upon my right Mr.. Mckinley whom l do
not now see in his seat, stated short time
ago that one of the greatest abuses was the
power in the hands of the appropriation COM
mittee to legislate. That | acknowledge.
But, Mr.. Speaker, one of its other great
abuses is its power to obstruct legislation by
the end of the session, and then use them as
club to knock out the propositions and
measures of every other committee that may
come up before the House or the country de-
mands the passage of. 1 desire, sir. that
there shall be some time in the session,
some period when these appropriation
bills shall have been passed, when
we will have an opportunity of discuss
ing other matters of legislation without the
power on the Fart of the committee on appro-
priations, or any other committee that has the
right of way in this House, of putting its
garrote around our necks and choking US of.
There is another purpose in view as l stat.
ed, and that is that the members of the House
should have one opportunity to understand
the legislation that we are called to vote up
on. These supply bills are great bills they
are matters of great consequence. | do no,
think that the committee on appropriations,
in their discussions in the House, have belit-
tied their consequence in that respect. Blu,
it is a matter of great Importance to every
member of the House to be able to under
stand the bills before he votes upon then
But as rule they do not come here until
toward the close of the session, too late for
consideration.
Mr. HlsCoCK Will the gentleman from
Name yield to me Tor suggestion vii
he accept an amendment to his proposition
that they shall report the bills within thirty
days after the general estimates are submit
ted to them
Mr.. MILLIKEN.-I have no objection &c
that. | only desire to fix some period when
they shall come in.
But a word, sir, further. l ask, gentle
men, what opportunity did we have in the
Forty-eiQhth Congress to understand These
matters? Why, the sundry civil bill came
into this House almost at the end of the SEES
sion, so that there vas not time even to reat
1t 1t was passed through the House under I
suspension of the rules, just as a mother
would make boy shut his ewes and open hi
mouth to take physic, and nobody except Goo
himself, and possibly the committee on ap
preparations, understood what on the greer
earth or in the heavens above we're in that bill
Then we had afterwsrd, in the vacation, am
pie time in which we could sit down and lool
over the bill and see what laws We had beer
passing in that hssty manner, for the peopl
Of this country. I believe that every man il
this House owes it to himself, owes it to hi
constituency, owes it to his country, that h
should vote to give himself an opportunity t.
examine this important legislation before h
IL BALLAD rpnn In votA upop