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“PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 567, ESTABLISHING SELECT COMMITTEE ON BENGHAZI” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E735 on May 9, 2014.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 567, ESTABLISHING SELECT
COMMITTEE ON BENGHAZI
______
speech of
HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE
of texas
in the house of representatives
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule for H. Res. 567, which establishes a Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi.
I oppose this resolution because it is a distraction, intended by the House Republicans to divert public attention from their failure to address the problems Americans care about like creating jobs, raising the minimum wage, passing immigration reform, and extending unemployment insurance benefits to the long-term unemployed.
Mr. Speaker, instead of working with Democrats to address the priorities of the American people, Republican leaders are gearing up to exploit the tragic attacks in Benghazi with another deeply partisan review.
There have aleady been seven reviews of that terrible attack: one by the State Department Accountability Review Board, two bipartisan reviews in the Senate, and four reviews in the House--producing more than 25,000 documents and dozens of interviews with high-level officials throughout the government.
Mr. Speaker, responding to endless, repetitive and partisan congressional requests has cost the Department of Defense and other agencies thousands of man-hours and expenses running ``into the millions of dollars,'' according to Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs Elizabeth King.
Throughout these reviews, Republican Members have made numerous accusations in public that have turned out to be untrue after further investigation, undermining the credibility of their investigations and the House.
Mr. Speaker, our colleagues across the aisle have shown no interest in making the Select Committee on Benghazi any different from the extreme and counter-productive partisanship that has defined their previous investigations into the Fast and Furious and the IRS, and their dogged efforts to hold the Attorney General in contempt of Congress.
For example, in the resolution establishing the committee, Republicans stack the committee with seven Republicans to Democrats' five, and explicitly exempt the new committee from adopting written rules.
From the pointless vote to hold former IRS official, Lois Lerner, in contempt, to the latest committee on Benghazi, it is clear that Republicans will do anything to divert attention away from their do-
nothing record.
Mr. Speaker, the American people deserve better. They want and deserve for us to work together to solve the real problems facing our country.
I urge my colleagues to reject this rule and vote against the underlying resolution.
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