Analysis · Floor speech · beta

Marcy Kaptur

Democrat on Honoring Cassy Dornbusch on Her Retirement 2026-07-22

403 words · 27 sentences · 31 clauses

Statement grade

Average 93 / 100

A score under 50 is red. Choose a measurement to see where it lost points and why; choose it again to clear.

The ask 8%Claims 67%Positioning 13%Procedure 2%Promise 3%The question 7%

This view breaks the statement into its steps and names what each one does.

Mr. Speaker, The ask · 19 wordsI rise today to say that the leaders of this Chamber need to allow a return to regular order. Claims · 174 wordsWe are far from that. We see the constant churn of failed rule votes, budget bills hopelessly behind schedule, Congress sent home, dozens and dozens and dozens of days wasted going away from this Chamber rather than passing the bills that are critical, such as appropriation bills not receiving consideration in the timetable allowed, and with a hail Mary pass pivoting to congressional continuing resolutions instead of passing bills to effectively govern. The Appropriations Committee worked on each of our 12 bills.¹ We did our job and tried to move them forward. For weeks, the Energy and Water Development bill impacting every Congressional District in our Nation has been purposefully delayed after a rule to consider it failed for no good reason.² Now we head home. We are being sent home again for the August recess and district work period without Speaker Johnson allowing our work to be completed to fund our country for the coming fiscal year.³ The fiscal year ends the last day of September.⁴ The new fiscal year begins October 1.⁵ Positioning · 7 wordsThis Congress has failed in its duty.Positioning Procedure · 6 wordsThe clock is ticking even louder.Procedure Positioning · 32 wordsI wish the leadership of this Chamber cared about returning to regular order. We are living through great disorder here, but they seem to be fine kicking the can down the road.Positioning Claims · 54 wordsThis hurts every American family. As they prepare income tax forms, people can’t get answers. It hurts the Department of Veterans Affairs. They can’t hire the staff they need. It hurts every single American calling in to the Federal Government and trying to get answers to questions they have because of understaffing and uncertainty. Positioning · 12 wordsThis isn’t the way to run a country of 340 million people.⁶Positioning The ask · 12 wordsSomeone has to restore regular order to this Congress and this House. Promise · 11 wordsMy fellow appropriators and I stand ready to do this work.Vague promise Claims · 5 wordsWe have done our work. Procedure · 3 wordsThe question is: ProcedureThe question · 15 wordsWill this speaker and his team choose to meet our constitutional responsibilities in Article I? Claims · 39 wordsIt is not at the end of the Constitution. It is not an amendment. It is Article I of the Constitution to meet our constitutional responsibilities to pass these critical bills to run the government of the United States, The question · 14 wordsor are they going to cede the field again to more uncertainty and chaos?

At a glance

Lost points for
Reasons givenThis statement drew 3 conclusions and gave a reason for each one.

Switch Claims on to list the checkable claims here.

What the tags mean

Signal · 82

7 of 8 deductions are Signal

Signal checks whether every part makes a point, gives a reason, or asks for action. A low score means the speaker filled time with fluff, pleasantries, or attacks.

Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “This Congress has failed in its duty.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The clock is ticking even louder.”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “I wish the leadership of this Chamber cared about returning to regular order.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “We are living through great disorder here,”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “but they seem to be fine kicking the can down the road.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Praise, blame or attack with no claim, reason or ask in it.What the tags mean “This isn’t the way to run a country of 340 million people.”Positioning: praise, blame or attack. No claim, reason or ask.
Throat-clearing: announcing what you are about to say, or the House’s routine business.What the tags mean “The question is:”Procedure or throat-clearing: no claim, reason or ask.

Relevance · no score

Not applicable: nothing to answer. Excluded from the average.

Relevance checks whether the speaker stays on topic and answers the question asked. A low score means the speaker dodged the issue.

Reasoning · 100

0 of 8 deductions are Reasoning

Reasoning checks for sound logic and solid support for any conclusion. A low score means the speaker made unsupported leaps or used weak arguments.

Nothing lost points.

Conclusions found · 3

Conclusion“I rise today to say that the leaders of this Chamber need to allow a return to regular order.”

Because“We see the constant churn of failed rule votes, budget bills hopelessly behind schedule, Congress sent home, dozens and dozens and dozens of days wasted going away from this Chamber rather than passing the bills that are critical, such as appropriation bills not receiving consideration in the timetable allowed,”

“and with a hail Mary pass pivoting to congressional continuing resolutions instead of passing bills to effectively govern.”

“For weeks, the Energy and Water Development bill impacting every Congressional District in our Nation has been purposefully delayed after a rule to consider it failed for no good reason.”

“We are being sent home again for the August recess and district work period without Speaker Johnson allowing our work to be completed to fund our country for the coming fiscal year.”

“but they seem to be fine kicking the can down the road.”

Reason given
Conclusion“This Congress has failed in its duty.”

Because“We see the constant churn of failed rule votes, budget bills hopelessly behind schedule, Congress sent home, dozens and dozens and dozens of days wasted going away from this Chamber rather than passing the bills that are critical, such as appropriation bills not receiving consideration in the timetable allowed,”

“We are being sent home again for the August recess and district work period without Speaker Johnson allowing our work to be completed to fund our country for the coming fiscal year.”

“The fiscal year ends the last day of September.”

“The new fiscal year begins October 1.”

Reason given
Conclusion“Someone has to restore regular order to this Congress and this House.”

Because“We are living through great disorder here,”

“This isn’t the way to run a country of 340 million people.”

“My fellow appropriators and I stand ready to do this work.”

Reason given

Respect · no score

Not checked: graded before this measurement existed. Excluded from the average.

Respect checks whether the speaker argued with people’s positions and records rather than attacking the people: insults, mockery, or bad motives assigned to them. Criticism of what someone did, however strong, is not marked.

Clarity · 96

1 of 8 deductions are Clarity

Clarity checks for plain speaking, clear ownership of actions, and honest limits on certainty. A low score means vague promises or evasive language.

A promise with no date, no measure and no one responsible.What the tags mean “stand ready to do this work”The commitment names no date, measure, or success condition for the promised work.

Claims · 6

This list shows the factual statements you can check for yourself: the words as said, and the claim restated to stand on its own.

1“The Appropriations Committee worked on each of our 12 bills”The House Appropriations Committee worked on all 12 annual appropriations bills.search
2“For weeks, the Energy and Water Development bill impacting every Congressional District in our Nation has been purposefully delayed after a rule to consider it failed for no good reason.”The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill was delayed in the House after a rule to consider it failed.search
3“We are being sent home again for the August recess and district work period without Speaker Johnson allowing our work to be completed”The House is leaving for the August recess before completing the appropriations bills to fund the coming fiscal year, with Speaker Johnson’s House not completing that work.search
4“The fiscal year ends the last day of September”The United States federal fiscal year ends on September 30.search
5“The new fiscal year begins October 1”The United States federal fiscal year begins on October 1.search
6“a country of 340 million people”The United States has a population of about 340 million people.search

Analyzed on 2026-09-15