mr. speaker , i yield myself the balance of my time . 
mr. speaker , i heard the gentleman from massachusetts refer to his 25 years of service in this distinguished body , and i have great respect for that ; but i want him to know , and i am certain he remembers this , that the democrats when they were in the majority , many times denied republicans an opportunity in the legislative and rulemaking process to have motions to recommit . 
in fact , the republican majority has given the minority that under this rule , as we have the entire time we have been in the majority . 
this vote today is simply on the rule . 
the committee voted for the bill 65-5 . 
members are going to have an opportunity during consideration of these amendments to voice their disapproval of the manager 's amendment and vote it down if that is what they choose to do . 
the purpose of these changes that we are talking about in the manager 's amendment is to prevent nonprofits from receiving these funds and engaging in political activity , to ensure that the scarce and available funds for housing resources are allocated effectively and for their intended purpose , pure and simple . 
we want to make sure that they are used for rebuilding houses with the primary emphasis in the gulf region . 
this legislation does not prevent nonprofit organizations from pursuing a political agenda if they so choose . 
it simply prevents them from accepting these funds if they put politics first . 
it is their choice . 
hurricanes do not take party affiliation into account , and these funds are being contributed by the housing gses to rebuild this important region of our country . 
it should not be done on a political basis . 
i am very proud of this bill and the underlying legislation . 
