Date: 2005-05-10
Speaker: JACKSON LEE (democrat)
Chamber: H
State: fered

an amendment that would have exempted from -the Act any clergy. godparents. aunts. uncles. or first cousins. and would require a study by the Government Accounting Office (emphasis added). This combination of the two distinct amendments give an inaccurate representation of the amendments that I offered during Committee and therefore. muddled the import of the very substantive amendment on which I joined my colleagues during our debate of the bill on the Floor on I would like to cite the insightful and sagacious words of my colleague. the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Rules on April 27. 2005 on this matter: There is no question that we can debate and disagree over the impact the bill can have. We can argue over the impact the bill can have. We can argue over how well it has been written or what language it should include to be more effective. but regardless of the way the debate turns out. the caption on the top of that bill or amendment serves to instruct the American people as to what the original intent of the legislation was. It serves as an unbiased reading on what the amendment aims to accomplish. To falsify and rewrite that description as a political attack is not only unprecedented. it is fundamentally dishonest and an abuse of the power given to the majority by the American people and their votes. As my colleague stated. the amendments "instruct the American people as to what the original intent . . . was." It took a resolution of privilege introduced by the Ranking Member JOHN CONYERS. a point of personal privilege. and a wealth of time and debate before the Committee on Rules to move the leadership of the Committee on Rules to even tender an action to redress the problem. The lack of accuracy in the supplemental report just underscores and reiterates the initial malintent to commit a malfeasance. Under rule IX. paragraph (1) of the House Rules. Mi. NADLER justifiably asserted his point because not only his but my "rights and reputation" have been offended by the conduct of the Chairman in publishing House Report 10951. To reiterate. the language used in pages 4549 patently malreported and maligned the authors of amendments to H.R. 748. the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act of 2005. On May 3. 2005. the ranking member of the Committee on the Judiciary led debate on his resolution of privilege. H. Res. 253 that concerned the ways in which the act of the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee negatively affected the "rights of the House collectively. its safety. dignity. and the integrity of its proceedings." So too. was this resolution properly and justifiably introduced because. .in that case. the privileges of "dignity" and "the. integrity of [the Houses] proceedings". have been patently violated. To purposefully misreport the goodfaith amendments that have been offered by Members of this venerable House debases the nature and trustworthiness of the House Report. After this debacle. Members will still have to scan committee reports with a finetoothed combnot for substantive value.. but for accuracy and veracity of their reporting value. This is the diminution of the dignity of the process. This is the diminution of the integrity of the House. The American people must be made aware that we. the authors of the amendments on pages 4549 of House Report 10951 do not associate ourselves with the misreported portions thereof. House Report 10951 not only improperly made negative inferences as to the import and intent of my amendments. and the supplemental report still combines two distinct and separatelyoffered amendments into one. In terms of the personal privileges violated by the report. the misreportingand the malreporting of the amendments offered by my colleagues Mr. ScoTr. Mr. NADLER. and me affected our rights. reputation and conduct. As founder and chair of the Congressional Childrens Caucus. a report that cites an amendment offered by me that would exempt sexual predators from liability is at the very least offensive. My constituents and the constituents of my colleagues do read House Rdports. and the nefarious language that the chairman avers as representative of his true intentions should be highlighted as contrary to the ideals on which this House. this Government. and this Nation were established. [From the U.S. Fed News. Apr. 26. 2005]