[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 6 (Wednesday, January 18, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H46-H53]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 515, ADDRESSING A MOTION TO 
      PROCEED UNDER SECTION 3101A OF TITLE 31, UNITED STATES CODE

  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 515 and ask for its 
immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 515

       Resolved, That a motion to proceed with regard to a joint 
     resolution of disapproval specified in subsection (a)(2) of 
     section 3101A of title 31, United States Code--
        (a) may be offered even if the joint resolution has not 
     been reported to the House as contemplated by subsection 
     (c)(3) of such section; and
       (b) shall be in order only if offered by the Majority 
     Leader or his designee.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from South Carolina is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. For the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), 
pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During 
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose 
of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from South Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. The Budget Control Act of 2011, which 
was enacted into law on August 2, 2011, authorized increases in the 
administration's borrowing authority subject to a joint resolution of 
disapproval. The law provides for consideration of a joint resolution 
of disapproval with 2 hours of debate. Amendments to the joint 
resolution are not permitted under the law. H. Res. 515 allows the 
House to consider the resolution of disapproval in the House today, 
rather than tomorrow, as currently contemplated in the law. Simply put, 
we are moving up its consideration by 1 day to better accommodate the 
House floor schedule.
  I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying resolution. 
Mr. Speaker, I stand before you posing two very, very important 
questions. The first is an issue of scale.
  Where I come from in North Charleston, South Carolina, we have a 
little trouble digesting exactly what $1.2 trillion really means. To 
help get my own head around the number $1.2 trillion, I did a little 
factfinding. A last-minute flight from Charleston, South Carolina, to 
Washington, D.C., is about $1,100. You could fly back and forth every 
single day for the next 3 million years in order to spend $1.2 
trillion. I'm not sure about anyone else in the Chamber, but there 
aren't too many things I'm planning to do for the next 3 million years.
  Now that we have a little perspective on what $1.2 trillion really 
means, the second question is a simple one: Why is it so hard to say we 
can't afford it? It's a simple question. Why is it so hard to say that 
we can't afford another $1.2 trillion of debt?
  I asked the same question on my Facebook. Here are two responses to 
the question:
  What's not to understand? Just cut the darned budget just like the 
rest of us have to do.
  We the people, on an individual level, have got to demand less 
government. It's called courage, the courage to just say ``no.''

                              {time}  1240

  So, Mr. Speaker, it's bad enough that through the national health 
care bill, the Democrats raised taxes on the middle class by $500 
billion and then they raised another half a trillion dollars for 
Medicare, but now they want to borrow $1.2 trillion. From whom--it's a 
good question--from whom? Unborn Americans, unborn Americans and 
foreign nations in order to continue borrowing 42 cents on every dollar 
to spend in 2012.
  It's just not right, Mr. Speaker. The American people will not stand 
for the blank check culture of the past and I, for one, stand with the 
American people.
  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and the 
underlying legislation. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on 
this rule and ``yes'' on the underlying bill.

[[Page H47]]

  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank my colleague for yielding me the customary 30 
minutes, and I rise today in opposition to the rule and the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, what exactly are we doing here? We could be talking 
about creating jobs for the middle class. We could be talking about a 
payroll tax cut extension. We could be talking about corporate tax 
reform, individual tax reform, and most importantly, we could be 
talking about solving the national deficit, about reducing government 
spending, about solving the deficit issue.
  But, instead, we're here playing this game of Kabuki theater. Rather 
than pursuing an agenda that isn't a Democratic or Republican agenda, 
but an American agenda that both sides all can agree on, we're here 
playing a counterproductive and absurd game. In fact, not only playing 
a game, we're replaying a game.
  We all remember the debt debacle last August that almost shut down 
Federal Government and led to a downgrade, potentially increasing 
interest rates and costing the government billions or hundreds of 
billions of dollars more in interest payments. For the first time in 
history, Standard & Poor's downgraded our country's credit rating, 
citing brinksmanship and political gridlock as motivating factors for 
their decision.
  Look, this is all Monday night quarterbacking. It's after the fact. 
The money has been spent. The money has been spent, and 147 Republicans 
voted in December to spend $915 billion in the appropriations bill, the 
omnibus appropriations bill, 147 Republicans, $915 billion, all of 
which was deficit spending. One hundred forty-seven Republicans spent 
$915 billion in deficit spending December 17th. That's a Christmas 
shopping spree, and now the credit card bill has come in January, and 
here they are saying we don't want to pay that credit card bill.
  The answer, Mr. Speaker, is not to spend the money if you're not 
going to make good on your bill. Every American family knows that. Once 
the money's spent it's after-the-fact political finger pointing, not 
looking to a solution for a deficit problem.
  And the Republicans have not put a solution on the table. Even the 
House Republican budget, the Paul Ryan budget that ends Medicare, 
creates $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next 10 years, $5.1 
trillion in deficit spending. How many times will the Republicans have 
to raise the debt limit to have a deficit of $5.1 trillion?
  This Congress and the majority of this Congress on the Republican 
side are addicted to spending, Mr. Speaker, and until they are willing 
to entertain a real discussion--and the President of the United States, 
President Obama, has led the way by convening a commission, the Bowles-
Simpson Commission, to try to take a bipartisan approach to actually 
solving the deficit situation. But rather than bringing any of those 
bills before the House, the Republicans passed the budget that not only 
ends Medicare but leads to $5.1 trillion in deficit spending and as 
recently as December 17th, spent $915 billion of deficit spending, the 
entire deficit for this year, essentially, around December 17th, 
because we had already spent the money that actually came in. And here 
they are in January, Mr. Speaker, saying they don't want to pay the 
bills.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I find it quite interesting 
to hear Mr. Polis, who sounds like a good Republican over there, I must 
concede, sounds like a good Republican over there talking about 
excessive spending.
  But here's the question, the Democratic-controlled Senate hadn't 
passed the budget, next Tuesday, in a thousand days, and it's laughable 
that someone on the left would talk about deficit spending since the 
three records on deficit spending have occurred in the last three 
cycles, FY 2009 a $1.4 trillion deficit and FY 2010, $1.294 trillion 
deficit. Under President Obama in 2011, a 1.299--let's just round it to 
$1.3 trillion in deficit spending.
  Mr. POLIS. Will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. No, sir, but I yield 3 minutes to my 
good friend from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson).
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and 
I appreciate the leadership of Congressman Tim Scott on this very 
important issue.
  As South Carolina votes in the Presidential primary on Saturday, our 
State is grateful for the leadership of Congressman Tim Scott, along 
with my other colleagues who are on the floor today, Jeff Duncan, Trey 
Gowdy, Mick Mulvaney.
  We know that in November of last year, our Nation's annual debt 
reached $15 trillion and it recently exceeded the value of the entire 
American economy. Washington's out-of-control borrowing and spending 
must stop.
  The President has ignored our Nation's spending problem and once 
again asked Congress to increase the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion. 
This request is a chilling reminder of the out-of-control debt which 
threatens senior citizens' retirement security and saddles young people 
with a mountain of debt. The President in February of 2009 said the 
deficit is unsustainable, but then he proceeded to double the year's 
debt and has since.
  Our Nation's unemployment rate has consistently remained above 8 
percent for 35 months. This is tragic for American families.
  Instead of offering solutions to reduce spending and decrease taxes 
to encourage economic growth, the President and the liberal controlled 
Senate continue to support legislation calling for massive tax 
increases and funding for programs that contribute to our growing 
national deficit, which destroys jobs and hurts American small 
businesses.
  Americans have made it clear they expect their elected officials to 
make meaningful fiscal reforms today so as not to burden future 
generations with crushing deficits and debts tomorrow.
  House Republicans have remained committed to our projects by fighting 
to create jobs and promote job growth in the private sector. Last year, 
House Republicans passed 35 job-creating bills, most with bipartisan 
support. Instead of acting on these bills to create jobs, the liberal 
controlled Senate refuses to consider most of these pieces of 
legislation.
  By passing today's resolution that disapproves of the President's 
authority to increase the debt limit, Congress can help restore the 
American people's faith in our Nation's government by protecting future 
generations and limiting Washington's out-of-control borrowing and 
spending. Instead of giving the President more power to spend more 
money we do not have, Congress should work together to find ways to 
reduce spending and put America back on the path to fiscal 
responsibility just as Congressman Scott has pointed out families do.
  I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of this resolution.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield myself 30 seconds.
  Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from South Carolina complained about the 
President's budget, he complained about a lack of budget in the Senate. 
What he failed to acknowledge is that the budget the Republicans 
adopted in this body without a single Democratic vote not only ends 
Medicare, but leads to $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over the next 
10 years, several times the deficit over the last 10 years; $5.1 
trillion, a larger deficit spending than this country has ever had in a 
10-year period, was supported and voted on and enacted by the 
Republicans in this House.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Andrews).
  (Mr. ANDREWS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. ANDREWS. I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, as the Congress meets for the first time 
in 2012, the people of the country are burdened by a deficit of jobs, a 
deficit in our Federal budget, and a deficit of hope that things could 
get better.

                              {time}  1250

  It is our responsibility to work together to try to make them better. 
Now, to reduce the deficit of the country, yes, you should restrain 
spending. The parties came together in August and passed--with about 
half of each party voting for it--a deficit-reduction

[[Page H48]]

plan that cut spending in our departments by about 5 percent each, made 
reasonable reductions in defense spending and some reasonable 
reductions in social problems. We should keep those reductions on the 
books.
  We think that in reducing the deficit, that the very wealthiest and 
most successful in American society should have to pay a little bit 
more of their fair share. Not everyone agrees with that, but we think 
that is an important part of reducing the deficit. But by far the best 
way to reduce the deficit is to create jobs for the people of this 
country. You have a hard time creating jobs when there is a deficit, 
but you have an impossible time of reducing the deficit when there are 
no jobs.
  132 days ago, the President of the United States came to this Chamber 
and put forward four good ideas to create jobs in this country. First, 
he said that we should cut taxes for middle class and working 
Americans. Well, we managed to eke out a 2-month agreement to do that. 
Let's get to work today in extending that middle class tax cut for at 
least the rest of the year.
  The President then said that we should put people back to work, 
building science labs in our schools and fixing bridges and roads that 
need to be repaired. The Congress hasn't acted on that proposal at all 
in this House.
  The President said that we should cut taxes for small business people 
who hire people, who create jobs. This House has not acted at all on 
that proposal since September 8. The President took due note that as 
private sector jobs have risen, police officers and teachers and 
firefighters have lost their jobs in the public sector. And he said to 
help our States and cities keep police officers on the beat, keep 
firefighters in the apparatus, keep teachers in the classroom, let's 
give some aid to those States and cities to keep those people working. 
The House has not acted at all on that proposal.
  Ladies and gentlemen of the House and Mr. Speaker, rather than going 
through an exercise here where people can pontificate about how much 
they deeply care about the deficit, let's do something about it. Let's 
put on the floor of this House each of the President's proposals to 
create jobs and let's take a vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. ANDREWS. And to those who say they have better ideas, let's put 
their ideas on the floor. The American people did not take the month of 
January off; neither should we. Let's put these job-creating proposals 
on the floor, put them to a vote and do our job to help put the 
American people back to work.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, one of the comments by my 
good friend, Mr. Polis from Colorado, was that Republicans were trying 
to end Medicare. That's a laughable comment. As a matter of fact, it is 
so laughable that hot off the press, the PolitiFact, which finds out 
whether or not there is truth or not in words: The political lie of the 
year is that Republicans voted to end Medicare. PolitiFact just named 
the political lie of the year the comment that Republicans voted to end 
Medicare.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina 
(Mr. Duncan).
  Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my 
colleagues to support House Joint Resolution 98 denying this President 
the trillion-dollar draw on the Nation's line of credit. You know, just 
because you've got the credit limit that you've asked for doesn't mean 
you have to max out the credit card.
  How dare this President come back for another increase in the 
Nation's debt after the failure of the supercommittee. How dare he. 
This President did everything he could and successfully stopped the 
committee from producing any kind of cut to the size and scope of 
government, and now he wants to kick the can further down the road yet 
again. Another year, another trillion dollars in debt, Mr. Speaker.
  What has this administration done to stop the deficit spending that 
fuels the debt and brings about the need for an increase in the debt 
ceiling? Nothing. Mr. Speaker, this administration has done absolutely 
nothing to rein in this Federal Government.
  This is the same President whose party controls the other body. And 
on Tuesday, the United States Senate will mark 1,000 days since they 
last passed a budget, the same day the President delivers his State of 
the Union address. What an embarrassment, to continuously ask for more 
debt without even pretending to know how you've budgeted. If this were 
a private business, it would be bankrupt.
  This President and, sadly, this Congress continues to mortgage the 
futures of our children and grandchildren, drowning them in a sea of 
debt. After the failed policy of the President's stimulus package, we 
are swimming in deficit spending of this President's making.
  Mr. Speaker, our country stands over $15 trillion in debt, and after 
this increase we'll be over $16 trillion in the red. Congratulations. 
We've now joined the club of nations whose national debt is larger than 
our annual national economic output. This is simply an unsustainable 
position, and the only way we will get our debt under control is to 
stop the insanity of trillion dollar a year deficit spending. This must 
stop, and we in this House must be the responsible adults in the room 
to stop it. Now is not the time to go get another increase in the 
limit. Now is the time for us to cut up the credit card and buckle 
down, like millions of American families are doing across this great 
land. In an economy this difficult, American families have had to 
tighten their belts, get back to basics, and cut things from their 
budget. Surely now is the time for the Federal Government to do the 
same.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand the politics here. We'll thump our chests 
and we'll pass this resolution and we'll say we've done all we can to 
stop this increase. The other body, led by a party bent on destroying 
the American dream and taking us down the path of economic ruin to 
ever-greater government dependency, will table this. In the end, the 
President will get his increase. And we'll spend yet another trillion 
dollars that our children do not have. But the bill is coming due, Mr. 
Speaker, and sooner or later we're going to have to stop this debt 
train from derailing our country. God bless America.
  Mr. POLIS. Before further yielding, I yield myself a minute.
  Mr. Speaker, to hear the other side, they doth protest too much. Why 
does a party for whom 147 Members voted to spend $915 billion, causing 
the deficit, which is roughly a trillion dollars in size, essentially 
that $915 billion that they spent on their Christmas spending spree was 
the deficit, now they're complaining about it?
  And since the gentleman from South Carolina wasn't kind enough to 
yield to me, I'd like to ask him on my own time, the gentleman referred 
to whether or not ending Medicare was true, and obviously there's been 
a vital discussion about that, but the other assertion that I made is a 
very factual one, and I just want to confirm with the gentleman that 
the Paul Ryan Republican budget that the Republicans passed did indeed 
contain $5.1 trillion of deficit spending. Is that your understanding 
as well? Is that true?
  I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina for an answer.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. I do remember that the Paul Ryan budget 
came in at a number of $1.19 trillion in overall spending for the 
annual year. If you're talking about the 10-year impact of the Paul 
Ryan budget--
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield myself an additional 30 seconds.
  The 10-year figure for that deficit from the CBO itself, $5.1 
trillion in deficit spending. And again, the same Republicans who spend 
$915 billion here in December are again saying now that the credit card 
bill has come due, they somehow don't want to pay it.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I thank the gentleman from Colorado.
  I'd like to tell a fairy tale and the true story of the American 
people. The fairy tale, of course, is why we're here on the floor even 
today to actually tell a little story to the American people that we 
are doing something to impact the deficit.
  The bill we passed in August, of course, responded to the need to 
raise

[[Page H49]]

the debt ceiling to pay America's bills. But in order to cajole and 
drag our friends, the Republicans on the other side of the aisle, they 
did things like cut Pell Grants. They required the joint select 
committee that did not work to reduce the deficit. And, of course, they 
wanted us to have these shenanigans on the floor so that the American 
people could think they're doing their job.
  But here's the real story of the American people. First of all, the 
debt that was increased that we are now dealing with, $1.9 trillion was 
raised under Ronald Reagan; $1.5 trillion was raised under George Bush; 
Bill Clinton, $1.4 trillion; and George W. Bush, $6.1 trillion.
  What is the raising of the debt ceiling, which I think most Americans 
care about. It is responding to the debt that is now held by the 
public. It is doing our job. It is responding to the fact that the 
public should not burden America not paying her bills. What kind of 
bills? Debts that are owed to individuals, to our corporations that our 
friends say are of great friendship to them--banks and insurance 
companies; but most importantly, pensions, mutual funds. State and 
local governments will be left holding the bag because today we want to 
do a few shenanigans.

                              {time}  1300

  Mr. Speaker, let me tell you that the Kaiser Foundation has indicated 
in my own State that 5.6 million Texans are living in poverty--2.2 
million of them children. And 17.4 percent of the households in the 
State struggle with food insecurity. Not raising the debt ceiling means 
that the burden falls on those who get up every morning to work. That's 
a true story of the American people.
  What else will happen if we don't raise the debt ceiling? 642,500 
jobs will be lost. The gross domestic product will decrease by 1 
percent. Unemployment would go up. Every mortgage would increase by 
$19,175. Stocks would fall. The S&P dropping 6.3 percent. And every 
401(k) holder would lose $8,816.
  This is the real story of the American people. I want to stand on 
their side. I want to acknowledge that together as Republicans and 
Democrats, rather than writing the fairy tale story that you're seeing 
today, a resolution of disapproval, we can really work together as we 
have done in years past. 1997--the balanced budget amendment that 
created the Children's Health Insurance Program, helping children 
across America to be able to have health insurance. Or get rid of 
Medicare part D, passed by the past administration and the Republican 
Congress. Medicare part D, any senior will tell you, is one of the most 
devastating parts of their budget, causing them to pay three times more 
for their prescription drugs. We can get rid of that, as the Affordable 
Care Act did, and we would generate millions and millions of dollars.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentlewoman an additional 30 seconds.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Fairy tales are supposed to end with a 
wonderful ending, something such as never, never again or it ended 
happily thereafter. Well, let me tell you the true story of the 
American people. They don't want us on the floor today talking about 
not paying their bills to them. They want us on the floor right now to 
create jobs, to bring down the unemployment, to give them payroll tax 
relief, and to give extension for unemployment for those who are 
seeking jobs. And they don't want us to deny food stamps to young 
soldiers whose incomes don't allow them to provide for their families. 
They want us to get to work. Here I am. I'm ready to get to work.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Sullivan).
  Mr. SULLIVAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of House Joint 
Resolution 98, a resolution that would prevent President Obama from 
raising the debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion.
  This is a critical time for our Nation. Over 14 million Americans are 
unemployed, and our record-setting level of debt is more than $15 
trillion. The fact is the Obama administration will not lead on this 
debt reduction issue. I believe it is critical we send a message that 
we will not return to the era of continuing to run up the American 
taxpayers' credit card and endless increases to our Nation's debt 
limit.
  Let's look at President Obama's record. Since assuming office in 
2009, President Obama has proposed consecutive budgets that offer more 
than $1 trillion in deficit spending, the most of any President in our 
Nation's history. And under the President's budget plans, in 2018 the 
United States will owe more interest on the debt than will be spent on 
all defense spending, meaning we will owe more money to our creditors 
than supporting our national defense. That is crazy.
  Congress has a moral obligation to our children and grandchildren to 
stop the outrageous spending and restore fiscal sanity in Washington to 
ensure we don't leave them under a mountain of debt. Right now, every 
American faces $200,000 in financial obligations to pay for our debt, 
and this is unacceptable. This resolution of disapproval is a good 
place to start in getting our fiscal house in order, and I urge my 
colleagues to support it.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 30 seconds before further 
yielding.
  Every Republican that has spoken on this issue voted for a budget 
that included $5.1 trillion in deficit spending over a decade, more 
deficit spending than any 10-year period in the history of our country. 
They also, as part of that budget, voted for raising the debt ceiling 
by $8.8 trillion. They voted to do it, Mr. Speaker. They voted to raise 
the debt ceiling from $14.3 trillion to $23.1 trillion by 2021. Yes, 
Mr. Speaker, every Republican in this body, except for four, and zero 
Democrats, voted to double the national debt over the next 10 years.
  I'm proud to yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Connolly).
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. I thank my friend. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  It's winter in Washington, but apparently our Republican friends have 
returned thinking it's August at the beach, and they've packed their 
neon-colored flip-flops.
  Last year, this Congress came together in a bipartisan fashion to 
avoid America's first-ever default. The business community, economists, 
financial analysts warned of the economic calamity that a default would 
cause. Passing this resolution today--in fact by two-thirds vote in 
this body and the Senate--would produce just such a catastrophic 
result.
  The Budget Control Act we passed didn't appropriate one penny of new 
spending; it just provided for America to meet its previous 
obligations. Although the initial intransigence of some brought the 
Nation to the brink and the first downgrading by S&P in our history, 
ultimately 174 Republicans finally agreed to do the right thing.
  Today's vote is a direct repudiation of that vote. The debt limit 
increase in this resolution is the exact same one they supported as 
part of the Budget Control Act only 5 months ago. Today's vote is 
simply an opportunity for Republicans to give themselves cover and to 
flip-flop and say they're against what they in fact already voted for.
  Make no mistake, Mr. Speaker: Nothing Republicans have proposed this 
year would have forestalled an increase in the debt ceiling, not the 
Ryan budget, not the Republican Study Committee budget, not even the 
balanced budget amendment. Avoiding default was the difficult but 
responsible action last August, and it remains the responsible action 
today.
  I urge my colleagues to leave their flip-flops at the beach and do 
the responsible thing. Put country ahead of politics today.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Tom Graves.
  Mr. GRAVES of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I'll try not to follow up too 
much on the flip-flop comments, but I do prefer Crocs if anybody cares.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to President Obama's latest request 
to raise the debt limit. Mr. Obama's spending spree in just 3 short 
years accounts for almost one-third of our national debt, the most 
rapid increase in the debt of any U.S. President and more debt than the 
first 41 Presidents combined.
  And the Nation's debt level has recently reached a disturbing 
milestone. The U.S. debt is now as big as the entire U.S. economy. 
That's the value of

[[Page H50]]

all goods and services produced here in the United States. It's another 
stark warning that America cannot continue spending at the current 
pace. And alarm bells should be going off all throughout the Halls of 
Congress because this problem is not going away. Yet, here we are again 
poised to go down and continue down this Road to Ruin.
  The will to see the error of our ways and make significant spending 
cuts still doesn't exist here in Washington. Unless we start making the 
tough choices now, this Nation will reach a point where we have no 
choice at all.
  Mr. POLIS. Again, the Republicans doth protest too much. If there is 
concern about the budget deficit, why did every Republican who has 
spoken here today--every Republican except for four--vote to double our 
national debt over the next 10 years? Why has every Republican here 
voted for a budget that included $5.1 trillion in deficit spending, 
more deficit spending than this country has ever had in a 10-year 
period?
  I certainly hear complaints about President Obama and others. The 
President can't spend a penny--a penny--without congressional approval. 
So if the Republicans are concerned about the budget, why did they go 
on a Christmas spending spree where 147 Republicans voted to spend over 
$900 billion, every penny of it deficit spending? This makes no sense, 
Mr. Speaker.
  Let's address this budget deficit, as President Obama has charged us 
to do with the Bowles-Simpson Commission. Let's undertake a bipartisan 
approach to solve the deficit. This Nation shouldn't have a $5.1 
trillion deficit, as the Republicans have voted on and passed. This 
body should not spend enough money to double the national debt by the 
year 2021, which every Republican except for four has voted for.
  Let's get to work, Mr. Speaker. This is all fun and games, but the 
country is burning while we continue to work to solve this issue and 
avoid the hard ones.
  I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1310

  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Illinois, Mr. Randy Hultgren.
  Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of this important 
resolution of disapproval. I oppose raising the debt ceiling and will 
continue to oppose raising the debt ceiling without a real structural 
reform to how Washington works.
  A balanced budget amendment is what we need. We find ourselves in 
this position today because the President has come to Congress telling 
us that he wants to raise the Nation's debt ceiling again. Our Nation's 
credit card is maxed out because of his administration's reckless 
spending.
  My home State of Illinois is a perfect example of the truth that we 
cannot spend, borrow, and tax ourselves out of huge budget deficits; 
and now Illinois is the State in the worst financial shape of any other 
State.
  Today's vote will not just show which of our colleagues support more 
spending, but it will also reflect our positions on the greater 
philosophical divide confronting us: Are we for bigger government or 
smaller, more accountable, more effective government?
  Today's vote will clearly show the American people who in this 
Chamber wants to further grow the size of government, let it intrude 
further into the private sector, and give more power to Washington 
bureaucrats to meddle in the everyday lives of American citizens; and 
in contrast, it will show those of us who believe that a smaller 
government increases our constituents' liberties.
  By supporting this resolution of disapproval, we are sending a 
message that we are standing for smaller government and greater 
individual freedom. We must not increase our debt ceiling without real 
structural change to how Washington works.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask my friend from South 
Carolina if he has any remaining speakers.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Yes, sir. I suppose I have four or five.
  Mr. POLIS. I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Dan Burton.
  Mr. BURTON of Indiana. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  You know, this whole process amuses me because, when we passed the 
Budget Control Act, we, in effect, gave the President the ability to 
raise the debt ceiling by an additional $500 billion without us having 
any control whatsoever. And with this $1.2 trillion we're talking about 
raising the debt ceiling today, we really don't have any control over 
that either.
  Now, I voted against the Budget Control Act and I voted against 
raising the debt ceiling, or giving the President the authority to 
raise the debt ceiling by that first $500 billion, and I'm going to 
vote against the $1.2 trillion increase today.
  But here's how it works, and I don't think the American people 
understand it. We disapprove today and let's say the Senate 
disapproves, and it goes to the President and he vetoes it. It comes 
back to us, and we have to have a two-thirds majority vote to override 
it. So this is not going to happen. We have, in effect, given the 
President of the United States the ability to raise the debt ceiling 
without us having any control whatsoever, and that's just wrong.
  We should never have passed that Budget Control Act the way we did. 
This body should always have the ability to stop raising the debt 
ceiling. But when we passed the Budget Control Act the way we did, we 
gave the President carte blanche, and it's dead wrong.
  This President now has control that no President has had in history. 
He is making appointments without advice and consent of the United 
States Senate. He is able to raise the debt ceiling without us being 
able to do a darn thing about it. It's just wrong, and this body made a 
big mistake when we put that provision in the Budget Control Act, and 
the American people need to know it.
  Mr. POLIS. You know, Mr. Speaker, sometimes it seems like we're 
arguing about a different bill in this Chamber. Many of those who have 
spoken on the other side have risen to attack government spending; and 
yet they voted for a budget with a $5.1 trillion deficit over a 10-year 
period, a bigger deficit than this Nation has ever had. Many of them 
also voted to spend $915 billion December 17th on their Christmas 
shopping spree, all deficit spending. And now they're complaining about 
a deficit that their votes caused.
  Let me assure you of something, Mr. Speaker. This Nation pays its 
bills. Families across America pay their bills. When families spend too 
much on Christmas gifts, the answer is not to not pay your credit card 
bill in January. The answer is to cut back on spending. That's what 
families across America know. That's what this Congress needs to know. 
That's common sense.
  Every Republican in this body, except for four, voted for a budget 
that called for specifically raising the debt ceiling from $14.3 
trillion to $23.1 trillion. The House Republican budget voted to double 
the national debt over the next 10 years.
  We can and we must do better, Mr. Speaker. Let's get past these games 
and begin a real discussion about reining in the national deficit and 
starting to pay down our national debt.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Colorado has 12 minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from South Carolina has 13 minutes remaining.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Mulvaney).
  Mr. MULVANEY. I thank my colleague, and thank you, Mr. Speaker.
  I want to follow on to what my colleague said in his opening remarks 
about trying to get your hands around how big $1.2 trillion is. It's 
one of the things I struggle with. I know it's one of the things that 
my folks back home struggle with. So I look at it in a different 
fashion.
  If you are a family that is making $46,000 a year, which is just 
under the average household in the United States, this is the 
equivalent of borrowing an additional $14,000, which might not sound 
that much until you stop to realize that if you were that little family 
making $46,000 a year, trying to borrow an additional $14,000--which is 
what we're doing today--you also owe $305,000 on the credit card bill. 
You

[[Page H51]]

owe $305,000 on the credit card bill, and you are trying to borrow 
another $14,000.
  It raises the question in my mind, Mr. Speaker, a fairly 
straightforward and honest question: Does the President really ever 
intend to pay it back? Seriously. I think that is a legitimate question 
to ask.
  If someone came to me and said, ``Would you loan me an additional 
$14,000?'' and I knew that you already owed $305,000, I think asking 
that person a legitimate question would be to say, ``Do you ever really 
intend to pay it back?'' And if the answer is, ``Yes,'' which I assume 
it is, my question then would be, ``Well, when?'' Because you offered 
us a budget last year, Mr. President, that never balances, ever.
  We've heard a lot of nasty things today about Mr. Ryan's budget, 
about the GOP budget. At least it balances eventually and goes to 
surplus and provides for a method with which to pay off the debt. The 
Republican Study Committee budget, which many of us voted for, balances 
it in 8 years and allows us to pay off the debt. Yet the President has 
never offered us a budget that ever balances or produces a surplus to 
generate the money with which to repay the debt that he's asking us to 
take on today.
  The President's own words in 2006 have become somewhat famous. Back 
then when he was in the Senate, he said that the fact that we are here 
today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership 
failure.
  America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans 
deserve better.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the simple question: If the President would like 
to exercise some leadership, the opportunity exists for him to do so.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. I yield the gentleman from South 
Carolina an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. MULVANEY. And that would be to simply send us a budget that 
balances. In his lifetime would be great; in his children's lifetime 
would be okay; but send us a budget, Mr. President, that balances at 
some time. You are at the White House right now working on it to send 
to us next month. Send us a budget that balances sometime so at least 
maybe we can pretend that we will eventually pay off this money that he 
wants us to borrow today.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to quote from an article in The Hill. My friend 
and colleague Mr. Mulvaney from South Carolina said that this entire 
procedure ``is just a fig leaf for some Republicans to say they are 
against more debt, even though they essentially approved it.''
  That's what we know this to be. This money has been spent. It's out 
the door. My colleague, Mr. Mulvaney from South Carolina, agrees and 
has put it into the Record. Even the budget from the Republican Study 
Committee, which the gentleman cited, calls for specifically raising 
the debt ceiling by $5.6 trillion, increasing the national debt by a 
third. That's not the answer.
  The President has led the way through the creation of the Simpson-
Bowles Commission and their hard, bipartisan work to come up with a way 
to reduce the national deficit. The Republican Study Committee budget, 
the Paul Ryan budget, all of the budgets that the Republicans brought 
before the House increase the deficit substantially, more so than any 
Congress has in the history of this entire country.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from South Carolina, Mr. Trey Gowdy.

                              {time}  1320

  Mr. GOWDY. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. And I want to thank my friend and 
colleague from the great State of South Carolina, Mr. Tim Scott, for 
his outstanding work on the Rules Committee.
  So here we are again, Mr. Speaker, less than 6 months removed from 
last summer's so-called debt crisis, on the verge of committing another 
act of generational embezzlement. We are on the verge of assigning 
another trillion dollars of debt to our progeny because we can't muster 
the courage to make hard decisions.
  We're on the verge of $16 trillion in debt, Mr. Speaker, because we 
can't bring ourselves to say ``no.'' We're on the verge of $16 trillion 
in debt, Mr. Speaker, because we refuse to have a serious conversation 
about the role of government juxtaposed with the role of the 
individual.
  And at times like this, when leadership and moral courage, as my 
friend from South Carolina, Mick Mulvaney, so eloquently put it, when 
moral courage and leadership are needed we get slogans more befitting 
of a student body president race than a campaign to be the leader of 
the free world.
  This administration says it wants a ``balanced approach'' but a 
``balanced approach'' apparently doesn't include a balanced budget. 
This administration says it wants a grand bargain, a big, 
transformative deal, but the details of such a deal would fit nicely on 
the back side of a postage stamp.
  And my personal favorite, Mr. Speaker, this administration wants the 
``rich to pay their fair share.'' I've heard that phrase several times 
this morning. What I have not heard, Mr. Speaker, because they never 
seem to get around to defining who the rich are, and they never seem to 
get around to defining the word ``fair,'' which may be the most 
subjective word in the English language.
  So I would ask, is it fair, is 34 percent not enough? You want a 
half? You want two-thirds?
  When will your President define who the rich are and what's fair?
  And if sloganeering and class warfare were not insidious enough, this 
administration criticizes those who do have the moral courage to offer 
a way out. Where is the President's entitlement reform plan? Where is 
his tax reform plan? Where is his regulatory reform plan? Where is his 
litigation reform plan?
  Mr. Speaker, I have seen his reelection plan. Where is the plan to 
pay down the debt, balance the budget, and offer real opportunity to 
our fellow Americans who want it and need it?
  We had a town hall in Greenville, South Carolina, Mr. Speaker, over 
the Christmas break, and one of the people I work for gave me some good 
advice. He said, drop the trillions and billions and talk where real 
people can understand. And he was right.
  So, Mr. Speaker, assume a family makes $22,000 a year, but the 
family's expenses are $38,000 a year, and all the while they carry 
$142,000 in credit card debt. Do you think they really need an increase 
in their line of credit? Do you think another job or more hours will 
make ends meet?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. I yield the gentleman another 30 
seconds.
  Mr. GOWDY. Mr. Speaker, you don't decide to go to the matinee instead 
of the 9 p.m. movie and order a cheaper appetizer when you're $142,000 
in debt. You make real, dramatic, systemic transformative change.
  Each one of us received an inheritance, Mr. Speaker, from our parents 
and grandparents. We received a better, stronger, more vibrant country 
than the one they inherited, and we have squandered that inheritance. 
We have become prodigal sons and daughters, except we have a credit 
card.
  I hope the generations that come after us will have the courage the 
generations that came before us had, for we have been profiles in 
timidity and greed.
  Mr. POLIS. Well, the gentleman from South Carolina didn't give me a 
chance to answer the question that he posed to me. He said, what's rich 
and what's fair?
  What I and many others have proposed is that people making over $1 
million a year in income is who we're talking about, not people with a 
net worth of 2 or 3 million or less, but people who have an income, 
make $1 million or more a year in income, and the tax rate would go 
from 35 to 39.6 percent, a 4\1/2\ percent increase. That's what we're 
talking about as part of a comprehensive package. That's in the 
bipartisan Bowles-Simpson package, that's in the bipartisan Gang of Six 
package. That's some of the revenue that, along with cuts and 
entitlement reform, are part of the solution to this issue.
  Rather than bellyaching and complaining about having to do what 
Republicans themselves have said they

[[Page H52]]

were going to do in the Ryan budget and the Republican Study Group 
budget that's doubled the deficit--Republicans committed to doubling 
the deficit. I didn't support that. I voted against those bills. But 
Republicans promised to double the deficit. I opposed that. But here 
they are, now that they're doing the spending that they did, their 
massive spending spree in December, their budget that doubles the size 
of the national deficit, and here they are bellyaching, after spending 
all that money, that they don't want to pay the bill.
  Well, that's immature, Mr. Speaker. Let's rein in the spending, 
rather than not make good on the full faith and credit of the United 
States of America.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Fleming).
  Mr. FLEMING. I thank the gentleman, and I thank the Speaker.
  The reason why we're here today is because of the Balanced Budget Act 
of last year, which was a flawed bill, one which I voted against. Why? 
It set spending limits way too high. It guts defense by $1 trillion in 
a time when the world is becoming even more dangerous than ever. It cut 
funding to Medicare providers in a time when patients out there need 
access to their physicians and hospitals. And it finally creates a 
sham, this resolution that we're debating today, which is just that, a 
sham.
  All the President has to do is veto our vote of disapproval and it 
automatically goes into effect. We just basically handed the President, 
in a time when we have crossed that threshold, $15 trillion of debt 
more than our GDP, our gross domestic product, which puts us up there 
with Greece. We have now handed the President a gift of another 
spending of $1.2 trillion, which now brings him increasing the national 
debt.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. I yield the gentleman another 20 
seconds.
  Mr. FLEMING. This brings the President from a point which all 
Presidents, all the way through George Bush 43, bringing us to $10.6 
trillion, increasing that national debt by 70 percent, just in one term 
under President Obama.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for the disapproval.
  Mr. POLIS. Well, finally, Mr. Speaker, we have some bipartisan 
agreement. My colleague from Louisiana called this vote a sham. My 
colleague from South Carolina called this a fig leaf to disguise excess 
Republican spending. I think we have agreement on those basic concepts. 
Whether you call this a sham or a fig leaf, this bill, this process 
that the Republicans have put before us doesn't do a thing to solve the 
deficit, doesn't do a thing to rein in the national debt. It only 
perpetuates this Congress' addiction to spending, Mr. Speaker.
  By somehow pretending to say that we're doing something by making a 
fuss over whether we're going to make good on the full faith and credit 
of what we've already spent, rather than just not spend it in the first 
place, Mr. Speaker, we're misleading the American public into thinking 
that this Congress is tackling the national debt and the deficit, when 
all we're doing, as my friend from Louisiana said, is simply a sham.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, we're prepared to close.
  Mr. POLIS. I am prepared to close as well. I ask the Speaker how much 
time remains.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Colorado has 8\1/2\ 
minutes. The gentleman from South Carolina has 5\1/2\ minutes.
  Mr. POLIS. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, Americans are urging both parties, Republicans and 
Democrats, to work together to solve the basic challenges that this 
country faces, joblessness, a tax code that rewards those with well-
connected lobbyists rather than hardworking Americans, and yes, to 
solve the budget deficit and budget crisis and ensure that we don't 
leave a legacy of debt for our children.
  And yet, we will deal with none of these issues today, none of these 
issues in the 2 days the Republican majority has scheduled us to work 
this week, amidst the biggest national recession since the Great 
Depression. And each time that President Obama and Democrats have 
sought consensus on these issues, the majority have bowed to radical 
elements within their party that insist on an agenda that is far 
outside the American mainstream and will lead to doubling the national 
debt over the next 10 years.
  Time and time again, we've seen the Republicans choose gridlock over 
problem solving. We saw this most recently when the House Republicans 
refused to allow a vote on the bipartisan compromise to extend the 
payroll tax break.
  You know, the American people are tired of political games. They want 
action rather than rhetoric; they want progress rather than 
partisanship. And with today's move, the Republicans are again playing 
the dangerous game of signaling to the world that America might not pay 
its debt, might not make good on the very money that the Republicans 
voted to spend in December.

                              {time}  1330

  At a time when Standard & Poor's has moved to downgrade nine European 
countries' ratings, the last thing our Nation can afford is a risk of 
default. If we are further downgraded, Mr. Speaker, it would likely 
lead to an increase in the rate that we have to pay to finance our 
national debt. This would, in fact, increase the national debt even 
more than the Republicans want to increase the national debt--by $5.1 
trillion.
  Yes, that very same Paul Ryan budget that ends Medicare as we know it 
and has $5.1 trillion of deficit spending could have $10 trillion or 
$20 trillion of deficit spending if the Republicans succeed in 
jeopardizing our credit rating by playing games with the full faith and 
credit of the United States of America.
  Like millions of responsible Americans, our Nation knows that we must 
make good on our obligations. Every minute that we waste debating 
this--I'll use what the other side has called it--debating this sham, 
the gentleman from Louisiana, this fig leaf, the gentleman from South 
Carolina, every minute we waste debating this underlying rule and bill 
is a minute that could have been spent enacting practical, substantial 
legislation to end the budget deficit, to right the fiscal course of 
this Nation, and put our country back on the road to economic recovery.
  I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and the underlying bill.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina. Hypocrisy is nothing new in the House of 
Congress, unfortunately, and even in this House.
  My good friend from Colorado talks about what we're doing on the 
right-hand side. There's no question, however, that Mr. Polis himself 
voted for the Democratic Caucus budget proposed by Mr. Van Hollen, 
which would have increased spending by $4.5 trillion more than the Ryan 
budget.
  There is only one way to reduce the debt at that level of spending, 
and that's higher and higher taxes on the middle class. It's bad enough 
that, in one bill under the Democratic-controlled House, they increased 
taxes on the middle class by $500 billion and at the same time raided 
Social Security, men and women on a fixed income, by $500 billion--or a 
half a trillion dollars.
  It's unfortunate that not only were they increasing taxes, but they 
specifically targeted the middle class, creating a new 3.8 percent 
surtax on investment income on folks who have a middle class income.
  It is very unfortunate that the President went a step further than 
even the Democratic Caucus budget. He increased spending by $6.2 
trillion more than the Ryan budget.
  So everything we hear on the left right now about the spending and 
the debt, we need to frame it in the real conversation around what the 
left has already done under the Pelosi House $1.4 trillion annual 
deficit.
  In addition to that, we need to think to ourselves and ask the 
question, do we need $49 trillion of spending over the next 10 years 
that's been proposed by some on the left? Can we afford taking our 
national debt from $16.3 trillion, $16.4 trillion with this credit card 
extension into the $27 billion range at

[[Page H53]]

the end of this decade? The answer is obviously ``no.'' But the 
hypocrisy is just business as usual from the left.
  Mr. Speaker, today's vote is very clear. You either stand for 
reducing spending here in Washington or you don't. It is as simple as 
that.
  I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question 
on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 
XX, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be 
followed by 5-minute votes on adoption of H. Res. 515, if ordered; and 
approval of the Journal, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 238, 
nays 176, answered ``present'' 1, not voting 18, as follows:

                              [Roll No. 2]

                               YEAS--238

     Adams
     Aderholt
     Akin
     Alexander
     Amash
     Amodei
     Austria
     Bachmann
     Bachus
     Barletta
     Bartlett
     Barton (TX)
     Bass (NH)
     Benishek
     Berg
     Biggert
     Bilbray
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Bonner
     Bono Mack
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks
     Broun (GA)
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Buerkle
     Burgess
     Burton (IN)
     Calvert
     Camp
     Canseco
     Cantor
     Capito
     Carter
     Cassidy
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coble
     Coffman (CO)
     Cole
     Conaway
     Cravaack
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Davis (KY)
     Denham
     Dent
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Dreier
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers
     Emerson
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Flake
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Gallegly
     Gardner
     Garrett
     Gerlach
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gingrey (GA)
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffin (AR)
     Griffith (VA)
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hall
     Hanna
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hastings (WA)
     Hayworth
     Heck
     Hensarling
     Herger
     Herrera Beutler
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurt
     Issa
     Jenkins
     Johnson (IL)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Kelly
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kingston
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kissell
     Kline
     Labrador
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Lankford
     Latham
     LaTourette
     Latta
     Lewis (CA)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     Lungren, Daniel E.
     Mack
     Manzullo
     Marchant
     Matheson
     McCarthy (CA)
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McCotter
     McHenry
     McIntyre
     McKeon
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     Meehan
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Miller, Gary
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Myrick
     Neugebauer
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Nunnelee
     Palazzo
     Paul
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Pence
     Petri
     Pitts
     Platts
     Poe (TX)
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price (GA)
     Quayle
     Reed
     Rehberg
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rigell
     Rivera
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rogers (MI)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross (FL)
     Royce
     Runyan
     Ryan (WI)
     Scalise
     Schilling
     Schmidt
     Schock
     Schweikert
     Scott (SC)
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Southerland
     Stearns
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Sullivan
     Terry
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Turner (NY)
     Turner (OH)
     Upton
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walsh (IL)
     Webster
     West
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Wolf
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Young (AK)
     Young (FL)
     Young (IN)

                               NAYS--176

     Ackerman
     Altmire
     Andrews
     Baca
     Baldwin
     Barrow
     Bass (CA)
     Becerra
     Berman
     Bishop (GA)
     Bishop (NY)
     Blumenauer
     Boren
     Boswell
     Brady (PA)
     Braley (IA)
     Brown (FL)
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Castor (FL)
     Chandler
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clarke (MI)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly (VA)
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Costello
     Courtney
     Critz
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis (IL)
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     Deutch
     Dicks
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Donnelly (IN)
     Doyle
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Fattah
     Frank (MA)
     Fudge
     Garamendi
     Gonzalez
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Hanabusa
     Hastings (FL)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Hirono
     Hochul
     Holden
     Holt
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Israel
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson Lee (TX)
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kildee
     Kind
     Kucinich
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren, Zoe
     Lowey
     Lujan
     Lynch
     Maloney
     Markey
     Matsui
     McCarthy (NY)
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Michaud
     Miller (NC)
     Miller, George
     Moore
     Moran
     Murphy (CT)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Olver
     Owens
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pastor (AZ)
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree (ME)
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rahall
     Rangel
     Richardson
     Richmond
     Ross (AR)
     Rothman (NJ)
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Schwartz
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Shuler
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Stark
     Sutton
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Tierney
     Tonko
     Towns
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz (MN)
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watt
     Waxman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Woolsey
     Yarmuth

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--1

       
     Landry
       

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Berkley
     Campbell
     Cardoza
     Carnahan
     Farr
     Filner
     Giffords
     Grimm
     Heinrich
     Hinchey
     Inslee
     Marino
     Noem
     Olson
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Reyes
     Speier

                              {time}  1359

  Ms. EDWARDS changed her vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Messrs. MANZULLO and PALAZZO changed their vote from ``nay'' to 
``yea.''
  So the previous question was ordered.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  Stated against:
  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall 2, I was away from the Capitol 
due to prior commitments to my constituents. Had I been present, I 
would have voted ``nay.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
  The resolution was agreed to.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________