mr. speaker , i yield myself such time as i may consume . 
the gentleman from indiana tells us we should all be happy because the education committee deliberated on this and there were votes in that committee . 
i should remind the gentleman that there are 49 members of the education committee . 
there are 435 members of the house of representatives . 
the gentleman gets all upset when mr. miller xz4002781 talks about the fact that it is important for us to be an example to iraq about what democracy is , and that there are elections in iraq and , you know , here we are engaged in an undemocratic process here today . 
but i will say this . 
at least in iraq everyone has an opportunity to vote . 
here we are being denied an opportunity deliberately on this floor on an issue that impacts millions and millions of our fellow citizens . 
this is an outrage . 
you know , i am amazed that people on the other side , who only a few years back would decry a closed process like this , have now come to embrace this process . 
this has become the norm in this house , and it has to stop . 
this is not democracy . 
this is not a deliberative process . 
this is a closed process where legitimate , important debate on important issues is being denied routinely . 
mr. speaker , i yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from texas ( ms. jackson-lee ) xz4001990 . 
