Michael E. Capuano

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday I missed two votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: Roll Call No. 269--YES; and Roll Call No. 270--YES.

Mr. Speaker, this bill also authorizes $24 billion to build a stupid wall.

This bill also says it is going to be harder for family reunification by repealing two laws that already allow it.

This bill also says that 3 million people who have done the right thing and are in line to become citizens are now going to be shunted aside.

Don't kid yourself about what this bill says and what it doesn't say.

This bill also is a sham. You know it and I know it.

Now, previous speakers said that history is going to judge us. You are right. It will.

On this issue, God is going to judge you as well. When you go to those gates and there is a little thing in there that says you went out of your way to use children for your political purposes, you really think that is a good mark to have in your book? I don't think so.

When you talk about compromise, it takes a little bit more than just looking in the mirror and compromising with yourself. It actually means you have to deal with people who sometimes don't agree with you.

This bill is a lousy bill. You know it; we know it; and America knows it.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

There are some good things in this bill. I wanted to work with all of you to enshrine the good things and get rid of the bad things. We all did. We all offered it for years because Dodd-Frank is a good law, but it needs amending. We all agree. The limits are on it. We all have admitted that we just kind of picked them at the time. We were in a hurry, in a rush. But the amnesia around this place, I guess, is endemic.

Maybe it is hard for you today to look people in the eye and say: Gee, maybe you can't afford that loan.

But, for me, the hardest thing was looking people in the eye and saying: I am sorry you are losing your home. I am sorry you are losing your job. I am sorry your kids can't go to college because the economy just collapsed.

The numbers are the numbers. But didn't you get those phone calls? Didn't you hear from any of your constituents?

And what was your answer? Oh, the regulatory system is terrible.

You didn't answer that. You tried to help, and you couldn't because the economy had gone down the toilet.

If this bill passes, which it will--I know you wouldn't come to the floor unless you had the votes. I know that. I can count. When people ask you the next time we have an economic collapse, when they ask you what happened, here is the only answer you are going to be able to give them: I voted for this bill today.

Mr. Speaker, the details of this bill, getting rid of HMDA requirements, do you not care about discrimination? Do you not recognize that it is real and that it exists? But, apparently, you don't care.

Do you not care that your constituents had their information sold out from under them and then not protected? But now you are going to give free credit monitoring only for people in the military--not for your mother, not for your sister, not for your student children, just for the military.

The bill has some good provisions in it. I am happy to work with you on some of these.

This bill goes too far, and you are responsible.