mr. speaker , i rise to ask my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can change this restrictive rule . 
yesterday i appeared before the rules committee to offer three amendments . 
all were blocked by the rules committee from even the opportunity to be debated on the floor . 
the rules committee also blocked an amendment by congressmen markey and shays that would have required 100 percent check of cargo on commercial airlines . 
this restrictive rule also blocked 60 other amendments , forty-seven of which were democratic amendments . 
it is amazing to me that the majority would deny us even the opportunity to debate what we feel is important to the american people . 
what the rules committee did last night was deny us the opportunity to address the health needs of the heroes of 9/11 . 
one of my amendments was modeled after the remember 9/11 health act . 
this is a bill that would provide medical monitoring and treatment for individuals who are sick or injured as a direct result of the attacks of 9/11 . 
right now we have a 6 , 000-person waiting list just to be a part of this medical screening . 
for the 12 , 000 who have been screened , about 50 percent of them are still sick as a direct result of 9/11 . 
despite clear evidence that we have thousands sick , we have yet to provide a single dollar for treatment . 
this is unethical . 
these are men and women who were there for us on 9/11 and now we have turned a cold shoulder to them in their time of need . 
we have precedent for caring for volunteers who get sick . 
when a volunteer firefighter becomes sick or injured while fighting a forest fire , he or she immediately receives all the federal health monitoring and treatment he or she needs . 
if we can do it for volunteers for one disaster , we need to do it for volunteers from 9/11 . 
unfortunately the rules committee did not see it this way , because they would not even give us the opportunity to debate this on the floor today . 
the next amendment i wanted to offer was written by a republican , senator voinovich of ohio , and passed the senate by unanimous consent . 
it is modeled after the disaster area health and environmental monitoring act , h.r. 5329 in the 108th congress . 
the amendment realizes that there are times when the health of first responders is at risk , such as during the response to 9/11 , and with a presidential declaration , would establish environmental and health monitoring . 
this amendment would send a message to future responders that if you risk your life in responding to a disaster , we will be there for you if you get sick . 
this amendment would not have cost us anything . 
it would just be good planning . 
the final amendment i wanted to offer would give teeth to the civil liberty board established by the intelligence reform act . 
this amendment is modeled after h.r. 1310 , the protection of civil liberties act . 
this amendment would create the board as an independent entity and provide it with subpoena power , among other things . 
the only way we will have a robust protection of our civil liberties is to have a robust civil liberties board . 
all we have right now is a weak board that does not even have a single member appointed . 
by not allowing these and many other amendments , we are restricting the ability of this house to do the business of the american people . 
we have thousands who are sick from 9/11 who need our help , but this rule will not let their needs be heard . 
