[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 136 (Friday, October 4, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6254-H6262]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS
RESOLUTION, 2014
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 371, I call up
the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 85) making continuing appropriations
for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for fiscal year 2014, and
for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 371, the joint
resolution is considered read.
The text of the joint resolution is as follows:
H.J. Res. 85
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and out of
applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts, and funds,
for the Federal Emergency Management Agency for fiscal year
2014, and for other purposes, namely:
Sec. 101. (a) Such amounts as may be necessary, at a rate
for operations as provided in the Department of Homeland
Security Appropriations Act, 2013 (division D of Public Law
113-6) and under the authority and conditions provided in
such Act, for continuing projects or activities that are not
otherwise specifically provided for in this joint resolution,
that were conducted in fiscal year 2013, and for which
appropriations, funds, or other authority were made available
by such Act under the heading ``Protection, Preparedness,
Response, and Recovery--Federal Emergency Management
Agency''.
(b) The rate for operations provided by subsection (a) for
each account shall be calculated to reflect the full amount
of any reduction required in fiscal year 2013 pursuant to--
(1) any provision of division G of the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-
6), including section 3004; and
(2) the Presidential sequestration order dated March 1,
2013, except as attributable to budget authority made
available by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
(Public Law 113-2).
Sec. 102. Appropriations made by section 101 shall be
available to the extent and in the manner that would be
provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.
Sec. 103. Unless otherwise provided for in this joint
resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal
year 2014, appropriations and funds made available and
authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution shall be
available until whichever of the following first occurs: (1)
the enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or
activity provided for in this joint resolution; (2) the
enactment into law of the applicable appropriations Act for
fiscal year 2014 without any provision for such project or
activity; or (3) December 15, 2013.
Sec. 104. Expenditures made pursuant to this joint
resolution shall be charged to the applicable appropriation,
fund, or authorization whenever a bill in which such
applicable appropriation, fund, or authorization is contained
is enacted into law.
Sec. 105. This joint resolution shall be implemented so
that only the most limited funding action of that permitted
in the joint resolution shall be taken in order to provide
for continuation of projects and activities.
Sec. 106. Amounts made available under section 101 for
civilian personnel compensation and benefits in each
department and agency may be apportioned up to the rate for
operations necessary to avoid furloughs within such
department or agency, consistent with the applicable
appropriations Act for fiscal year 2013, except that such
authority provided under this section shall not be used until
after the department or agency has taken all necessary
actions to reduce or defer non-personnel-related
administrative expenses.
Sec. 107. It is the sense of Congress that this joint
resolution may also be referred to as the ``National
Emergency and Disaster Recovery Act''.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ``Federal
Emergency Management Agency Continuing Appropriations
Resolution, 2014''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The joint resolution shall be debatable for
40 minutes, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations.
The gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter) and the gentleman from North
Carolina (Mr. Price) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
General Leave
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 85, and that I may include
tabular material on the same.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. CARTER. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to present to the House a bill to fully sustain
funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, commonly known as
FEMA.
Right now, at this very moment, dedicated men and women at FEMA are
preparing for the possible landfall of Tropical Storm Karen along our
gulf coast, and they're not being paid. Right now, at this very moment,
FEMA has begun to recall furloughed employees in Atlanta, Georgia, and
Denton, Texas, as the agency prepares for a potential significant
natural disaster.
According to the National Weather Service, a hurricane watch is
currently in effect from Grand Isle, Louisiana, eastward to Destin,
Florida. A tropical storm watch is currently in effect from west of
Grand Isle to east of Morgan City, Louisiana, and New Orleans and east
of Destin to Indian Pass, Florida.
Mr. Speaker, this is a major storm, and we have to take it seriously.
So this bill before us provides for continuing appropriations to ensure
FEMA can fully render assistance to the impacted States and fully
support our citizens and our brave first responders.
Mr. Speaker, all of us were aware that the government is shut down
despite numerous attempts to move forward. We have repeatedly offered
visions of a continuing resolution to sustain this government's
operations, but to no avail. Furthermore, we have offered to negotiate,
to convene a conference, and to work out the differences in a
professional and orderly manner, but such offers have been refused out
of hand. So, Mr. Speaker, this bill is yet another offer to the other
side of the aisle to at least fund vital components of this government.
We have a duty to ensure that our Nation is adequately prepared for
disasters and that our States are fully supported when they require
Federal assistance. This bill does so without increasing the rate of
spending and in a manner entirely consistent with the text of the
noncontroversial H.J. Res. 59.
In short, this bill before us today is all about getting our
priorities right. It's my hope that passage of this bill will not only
support our Nation's emergency preparedness but also lead to a
reopening of the entire Federal Government.
In closing, I urge my friends on the other side of the aisle to lower
their partisan blinders, come to the table, and work out our current
impasses so that we can get on with the business of fixing our Nation's
budgetary mess.
Mr. Speaker, with that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, how much longer are we going to continue this charade?
At what expense are we going to continue this charade?
The Federal employees who serve our country are being disserved, as
well as the American people who depend on their services. How much
longer are we going to continue this same tired old dishonest debate?
Today it's about FEMA. We appreciate the Republicans' concern for
FEMA. Like them, we are also anxiously watching the approach of
Hurricane Karen. It's too bad that our Republican friends didn't think
a little bit more about such things on Monday midnight when they shut
the government down.
The issue, of course, is not whether we want to provide funding for
FEMA or for any other particular activity or particular group of
Federal employees. I'll take a back seat to no one when it comes to
supporting the men and women who serve on the front lines of our
national disaster preparedness and response efforts. And we know they
will be there, whatever Hurricane Karen amounts to.
The issue here is whether we are going to pick winners and losers by
providing temporary funding for governmental services, operations, and
personnel when everyone in this body knows that we could reopen the
entire
[[Page H6255]]
Federal Government in one fell swoop this afternoon by calling up the
Senate-passed continuing resolution. That's what Democrats and a
growing number of Republicans are advocating, and it's the only path
that will get us out of this mess.
Instead, the House majority continues to bring to the floor piecemeal
measures like this one, measures that may be red meat for Ted Cruz, but
they have no chance of passing the Senate or being signed by the
President because they don't solve the basic problem.
{time} 1515
Therefore, they are a cynical and cruel deception. We all know that.
So let's quit playing games, and let's actually do our job for the
American people.
Mr. Speaker, if we're going to resume funding for parts of the
Department of Homeland Security, I'd like to ask, where's the bill
that's going to fund the Secret Service, whose importance was on full
display yesterday?
Where's the bill to ensure our aviation system remains safe and
secure through TSA?
Where's the bill to keep us safe from cyber attacks?
Of course we all want to provide funding for FEMA, but what about all
the other employees of the Department of Homeland Security who work
every day to ensure the security of our Nation?
What about the Border Patrol agents, Customs and Border Protection
officers, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents?
They're all protecting our Nation, and they're protecting it without
pay at this moment.
Well, maybe the House majority will eventually get to them or, then
again, maybe they won't. It's becoming more and more difficult to tell
whom the Republican majority cares about at any given moment.
Now, there have been charges of a lack of willingness to negotiate
and compromise on the part of the President and congressional
Democrats.
Let's be clear: the only ones who have compromised on anything
related to funding the government are Democrats. We have compromised to
the tune of $60 billion, that is, agreeing to a short-term continuing
resolution well below the President's budget request, well below the
Senate-passed budget resolution.
And by the way, that's the same budget resolution that Republicans
have refused to work on with the Senate and that would have headed off
this shutdown in the first place. It really must take some nerve for
our colleagues now, all of a sudden, to be singing the praises of
conference committees!
But as to the Senate's clean bipartisan funding bill, we don't need a
conference committee. We don't need to talk. We need a vote. The clean
continuing resolution would pass this House easily, right this minute,
if the Republican leadership would simply put it up for a bipartisan
vote.
So let's dispense with this political theater. Let's get back to our
basic job description which, surely, by any measure, involves keeping
the government open. It also involves paying the country's bills, and
it must involve a comprehensive budget plan that lifts sequestration,
revives our economy, and reduces our deficit.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield as much time as he may
consume to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of
the Appropriations Committee.
Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this
time.
And I say to my colleague from North Carolina, my friend, whom I've
served together with on the Appropriations Committee and subcommittees
for a number of years, I say to him, where is the bill for the Secret
Service?
Stay tuned.
Where's the bill for ICE?
Stay tuned.
Where's the bill for Border Patrol?
Stay tuned and be ready to talk about those when they come up
shortly.
Now, I rise in support of this bill, which will help ensure that our
government can help prepare for emergency situations. As we well know,
you can never be too prepared.
Over the past year, we've seen the damage natural disasters can
wreak. From Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, to the tornados in the
Midwest, to the raging wildfires out West, no area is immune to Mother
Nature's wrath.
And now, with a tropical storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, we are
reminded, once again, that disaster can strike when you least expect it
to, or when you can least stand it, though we hope that's not the case
with Karen.
This bill will provide immediate funding for the Federal Emergency
Management Agency at the current annual funding rate of $10.2 billion.
As with the previous five short-term funding bills this House has
passed in the last 2 days, this will last until December 15, but could
end sooner if we can find a way to fund the entire Federal Government
before that time.
And as with the previous five short-term funding bills, this
language, for all intents and purposes, mirrors that of the clean CR
that I offered several weeks ago.
Passing this bill today is important to fulfill our duty to the
people of this country that their government should help communities
prepare for disasters and be there in their times of greatest need.
However, our end goal isn't to fund each government program bit by
bit; it's to reopen the whole Federal Government as soon as possible. I
believe this bill inches us closer to that goal, but there's obviously
much more to be done.
And let me point this out, Mr. Speaker: if this bill is approved
today, this will be the sixth clean, short-term funding bill we send to
the other side of the Capitol. These bills provide more than $300
billion in annual funding so far, and at the sequester level. That's
one-third of the discretionary budget, and it's one-third of the
original continuing resolution that we filed in September; one third of
the way toward opening the entire Federal Government with clean funding
bills.
This is what the Senate says they want. So why aren't they voting on
these bills?
In addition to these clean bills, we've also sent over to the Senate
seven other appropriations bills to fund portions of the Federal
Government. The answer: a loud snore.
This House, since the Republicans took over in 2011, has been serious
about trying to return to regular order; but it takes two to tango, Mr.
Speaker, and the Senate has passed zero regular appropriations bills
this whole year. Zero.
I say we must come together. On Monday night, the House passed
another amendment, sent it to the Senate, that would have funded the
entire government. And we asked for a conference with the Senate. We
even appointed our conferees, the House, sent that to the Senate.
What have we heard from the Senate since that time?
Another loud snore. They will not agree to talk.
It's the time-honored tradition of this Congress, in the United
States of America, that when one body disagrees with the other body,
which is quite frequent, what happens, we appoint conferees to work out
the differences.
The House appointed its conferees. The Senate has refused to appoint
conferees. Otherwise, we could sit down and talk and solve this problem
and put people back to work in the government and make sense of the
mess that we're in. It just takes the Senate agreeing to go to a
conference.
What's difficult about that?
That's as simple as pie. It's what we've done since we've been a
Nation.
I would urge the other body to appoint conferees. Let's sit down and
work out the differences. We've got a table waiting downstairs, or we
can meet over there, whatever. We can meet in their conference room or
ours. We can sit down, as gentlemen and gentleladies, and work out the
differences between the House bill and the Senate bill as we normally
do.
We've got to come together, Mr. Speaker, Senate, House, Republican,
Democrat, Mugwump. We've got to have a meaningful discussion on how we
can fund the entire Federal Government, first, to reopen its doors,
then to fund it as it should be funded, with regular order, full-year
appropriations bills.
[[Page H6256]]
The bill before us continues trying to make sense of the situation
we're in, working toward ending the shutdown, and to ensure that from
today forward FEMA has the resources it needs to prepare for whatever
should come our way.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
My friend from Kentucky, the chairman of the full committee is, in a
time-honored House tradition, criticizing the other body. I've done
some of that myself.
But let's be clear about a couple of things. Our Republican friends,
as I recall, for years were badgering the Senate to pass a budget
resolution. This year they did it. They did it and were ready to go to
conference months ago; they were ready to go to conference with a
budget resolution that was comprehensive in dealing with the deficit.
And had that been agreed upon between the two Houses, it could have
prevented this whole mess.
From all indications, it is the House Republicans, the leadership of
this body, that has refused to go to conference. I don't really think
that's in dispute.
Secondly, my friend from Kentucky, and many speakers in the last few
days, have talked about all those appropriations bills and how they
didn't make it to the floor of the Senate. What they didn't tell you
was why they didn't make it to the floor of the Senate.
Again, I don't think this is open to dispute. The Transportation-HUD
appropriations bill was ready for floor action on the Senate side. It
was a threatened Republican filibuster that kept it off the floor and
that has kept all subsequent bills off the floor.
I assure you, the Senate leadership and Senator Mikulski, the
appropriations chairman in the Senate, were more than ready to take
those appropriations bills to the floor. In many cases, they had been
written with good bipartisan cooperation.
But it is the Republican leadership who dictated that the Senate
would not pass those appropriations bills.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs.
Lowey), my friend, the ranking member of our full committee.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the reckless
Republican shutdown.
Of course we support disaster assistance. Time and time again,
Democrats have voted to provide expeditious disaster assistance; but
FEMA also needs State and local first responders, the National Weather
Service, transportation, housing assistance, and other items that are
not funded in this bill.
This bill is perhaps the most cynical political ploy Republicans have
put forward since the shutdown began. Just a week ago, this body
strongly supported Federal assistance for devastating floods in
Colorado. I'd like to remind my friends that its sponsor, ironically,
voted against much-needed recovery funds following Superstorm Sandy.
Too many of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not
believe in the Federal Government until they need it; and, boy, do they
need the Federal Government now. Since it shut down, they are paying a
political price and using irresponsible bills like this one to shift
the blame.
Not only should the Federal Government be available to respond to
every Federal disaster; it should be open to keep Americans on the job,
to support law enforcement, to ensure Head Start centers are open so
parents can work, and to continue lifesaving medical research, to name
a few of its vital functions.
You claim to want to negotiate. We have already said we will vote for
your spending bill at your funding levels, and I know my friends on the
other side of the aisle understand that.
So let's stop playing games. Allow a vote on your bill to end the
shutdown that the Senate passed and the President will sign.
We can open this government in the next 30 minutes.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), the hardworking chair of the
authorizing Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness and Response and
Communications.
Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the Committee on
Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Emergency Preparedness, Response
and Communications, I rise in support of the National Emergency and
Disaster Recovery Act, which does provide the vital funding for Federal
Emergency Management Agency, funding that can make a difference right
now.
And it is right now that we need to be caring about the citizens of
Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi, as Tropical Storm Karen is in the
Gulf of Mexico headed toward the gulf coast. Landfall is expected this
weekend. We don't know what to expect, much like we didn't know what to
expect when Hurricane Sandy hit.
FEMA has begun its response of preparations and has recalled those
furloughed staff because they know it's their duty to serve and
protect. So this bill would ensure that all FEMA personnel and
capabilities are available to respond to this storm and support the
States in its path.
{time} 1530
Hurricane season doesn't end this weekend. It doesn't end officially
until November 30. We have to make sure that these agencies are ready
to respond, whether it's a natural disaster, a terrorist attack, or
other emergency needing Federal support.
I have tell you, this is not a game. This is not a charade. And until
now, I have been so pleased to serve on Homeland Security, where it
enjoys so much bipartisan support. We have much bipartisan support when
it comes to FEMA and homeland security. And I would like to say that,
until now, they do not play games when it comes to supporting first
responders, when it comes to supporting flood victims, when it comes to
supporting storm and hurricane victims.
But I must say the time to act with Congress is now. Do the right
thing. We are encouraging our colleagues across the other side of the
aisle to put the politics aside and join us in supporting this
resolution.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), ranking member of the
Homeland Security authorizing committee.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Thank you very much, Ranking Member
Price, for yielding this time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.J. Res. 85. This
is the latest in a string of measures that the Republican majority has
brought to the floor in an attempt to cherry-pick what gets funded in
the Federal Government, or a piecemeal approach to running government.
Later this weekend, Tropical Storm Karen is expected to hit the gulf
coast. Last night, there were strong reports of tornados in Nebraska,
and a strong storm is expected in our area. I guess that explains this
cynical exercise where FEMA is funded in a mini-CR.
When the majority learned that tourists could not visit our national
monuments, they whipped up a mini-CR for the national parks. A storm is
coming so their answer is a mini-CR for FEMA. The way the majority does
business, there will need to be another West, Texas, explosion before
they try to fund CFATS.
We can't fund the government crisis to crisis. FEMA should have its
full staff available this week to begin preparations for Tropical Storm
Karen. Instead, FEMA is beginning to recall furloughed employees
today--a rush to prepare for the storm.
And as we know, restoring FEMA's funding alone is not enough to
ensure a successful disaster response. We need the full resources of
the Federal Government--from the Department of Transportation to the
Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Small Business
Administration. We also need the full resources of the Department of
Homeland Security.
It's time to stop the games. The events on Capitol Hill yesterday
should have served as a wake-up call. The Speaker must allow a vote on
a clean CR.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I yield the gentleman an additional 30
seconds.
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Federal employees who return to work to help to respond to Tropical
[[Page H6257]]
Storm Karen, the forecasted tornados, or any other disaster that
strikes should be able to do that work with the peace of mind that
their paychecks are coming and that their bills will be paid. All
Federal employees deserve that.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 2 minutes to my good
friend, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Cassidy), whose State seems
to be possibly in the path of this coming storm.
Mr. CASSIDY. First, let's put in perspective exactly what is before
the House for overall government funding.
House Republicans have put forward a bill that would fund the
government. We had two amendments, which are opposed. One would end the
special deal that only Senators and Members of the House of
Representatives get as regards ObamaCare exchanges. The other would
treat employees of the employers whose mandate has been postponed the
same. So if an employer's mandate to purchase insurance for employees
has been postponed, the obligation of the employee to purchase is also.
It's on these two amendments that these folks object, Mr. Speaker.
One, they want to preserve the special deal for Members of Congress;
and, two, they don't want workers to have the same deal as does the
employer.
Now that said, this brings us to this. If we can't fund the
government because we have to preserve a special deal for Members of
the Senate and of Congress, then at least we can mitigate its harmful
effects.
My gosh, a hurricane bearing down on your coastline is the ultimate
in a harmful effect. I don't think we should hold hostage protection
for those in harm's way so that Congress can preserve a special deal
that only accrues to Members of Congress, speaking of cynicism. We
cannot sacrifice the security of those on the gulf coast.
I call upon the Senate to call on a vote both on these special
amendments, but if not that, at least on funding of FEMA. In so doing,
we can do something really good for those who do rely upon the Federal
Government not all the time but in times of need.
And also, if we can vote on those two special amendments, we can do
something good for the taxpayers who really, despite all the effort to
obfuscate, are beginning to understand that our budget agreement is
being held up by the need to preserve a special deal for Senators and
Representatives.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from California (Mr. Farr), a fellow Appropriations member.
Mr. FARR. Thank you for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I'm an appropriator, like a lot of the speakers here
today; and every time we have to deal with the CR, we're embarrassed.
That's not our work. Our work is in appropriations bills, which we
spend all year putting together. And we've been doing that.
We were in the same situation last year, everything being the same.
The Obama health care bill was in the law, Members of Congress had
their insurance, and whatever issue was being brought up--we can't
approve the CR because--those were the same issues last year. And guess
what? We moved the CR without rancor and without partisan politics. So
what's the difference here?
I feel very sorry for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to
now have to defend appropriations by choice.
Ronald Reagan used to be fond of saying, Here we go again. And today,
it's open choice. It's pick your government. We've got 10 items on the
menu.
Mr. Speaker, I want the whole menu, not just the Tea Party special.
What an irony that we are bringing up the first of these menus, FEMA,
the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Shut down the whole
government, but we want to keep those emergency employees. I was a
firefighter. I was a first responder. I was part of a team like the
team that was lost in Arizona--the Hot Shot crew--when I was in
college. They're not a part of FEMA. They're not a first responder. So
firefighters are out.
All of the cleanup that has to be done from the Colorado fire and the
Rim fire in California, those people aren't part of the first
responders. They're not in this.
This bill is a process of just selection, of chaos, and of a menu--
pick off what you can support, take the popular things and pass those.
But guess what? These first responders have children. They have no
access to the school lunch program. These responders have spouses.
There's all kinds of programs for families that they have no response
for.
This first responder bill doesn't go to school cops, Centers for
Disease Control, food safety officers, or any of the others.
Please defeat it.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, how much time does each
side have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from North Carolina has 6\1/2\
minutes remaining; the gentleman from Texas has 7 minutes remaining.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Moran), another appropriations colleague,
the ranking member of the Interior Subcommittee.
Mr. MORAN. I thank my good friend from North Carolina.
Let me first address the issue that we just heard about on the floor
and I seem to hear about every time I turn on the news when a Member of
the other party is speaking about it. It's this suggestion that Members
of Congress want to keep some special treatment for themselves in terms
of health insurance.
The fact is that the vast majority of large employers pay for most of
their employees' health insurance costs. Members of Congress are part
of what is called the Federal Employees Health Benefits plan. On
average, about 72 percent of our insurance is paid for by our employer.
I know in my case, since I have a family and had a daughter that had
a massive malignant brain tumor, I'm not going to go without insurance.
But I pay $6,000 a year, which I suspect a lot of my colleagues do. And
then I pay another few thousand in terms of copayments and deductibles.
And yet mine is one of the best plans that you can get with Blue Cross
Blue Shield. So that's not out of the mainstream in terms of health
insurance.
The fact is that the President only delayed a reporting requirement
with regard to large employers.
Now, let me get back to this case in point with regard to FEMA. When
we have a natural disaster, such as this hurricane that's bearing down
on the coast of Louisiana, the Federal Government comes in as a team.
We know that. I know Mr. Carter knows that. I know my good friend from
Kentucky knows that the Federal agencies all get together as a team.
And they know how important, for example, the Army Corps of Engineers
is. The Army Corps of Engineers works hand-in-glove with FEMA. The
Interior Department provides firefighter and emergency response before
and after a disaster. We just had these large fires in California and
Idaho. The fire is out so now they're furloughed. Is that really what
we want to do?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I yield the gentleman an additional 1
minute.
Mr. MORAN. I greatly thank my close friend from North Carolina.
The U.S. Geological Survey has to activate stream gauges and storm
surge measurements. It's technical, but it's important. But 99 percent
of the USGS is furloughed.
The Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Assistance comes
in in an emergency and tries to help small businesses that have been
wiped out, which invariably happens and will happen with this storm,
unfortunately. But they're all furloughed. They're not going to be able
to be there.
The Natural Resources Conservation Service, they play a critical
role. Ninety-nine percent of those employees are furloughed. The Farm
Services Agency, 99 percent of those employees are furloughed.
That's the problem. They need to work as a team, and here we are with
these bits and pieces of the government, and we think we're going to
patch this up. We're not. The fact is that the whole of government
needs to be put back to work. That's our argument.
Let's do this the right way, not in this kind of piecemeal fashion.
That's
[[Page H6258]]
why we're forced to vote against these things. The fact is we voted to
keep them open. The side that's proposing this piecemeal approach voted
to shut down the government.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I don't believe we ever took a vote to shut
down the government. If we did, I certainly missed it. I don't believe
anybody ever took a vote recently to sustain the government.
But it's an interesting comment, and I thank my friend for making it.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), the ranking member of the
Border and Maritime Subcommittee of Homeland Security.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from North
Carolina for his courtesies.
I am sad that I have to rise to debate this conflicted position from
my good friends on the other side of the aisle. Yes, they care about
homeland security. It's a committee I've served on since 9/11. We have
a great camaraderie. We work in a bipartisan manner, but today I'm
saddened by the approach that's been taken, particularly since they all
know that this is a fool's errand.
USA Today said that this piecemeal process is like seizing a school
bus full of kids and then offering to release the cutest ones.
We don't have time to fool around with the cutest ones.
FEMA works closely with States, cities, tribes, and territories, and
communities large and small. Those of us who are now looking to the
barreling down of Karen on the gulf region understand about hurricanes
and tornados and other disasters.
So I offer to my colleagues Allison, which killed 23 in 2001, with
some $5 billion in damages. We need FEMA.
{time} 1545
Or Hurricane Ike, that cost some $29 billion in damage in Galveston.
We need FEMA. Or the tornados in Oklahoma on May 31 that killed 23. We
need FEMA. Or maybe talking about the issues of dealing with Hurricane
Katrina--the largest and most devastating hurricane that we have seen.
We need FEMA. But yet my friends are willing to piecemeal. And by doing
so, Homeland Security is dashed, Border Patrol Agents are not funded,
and the Secret Service protection activities are not funded.
I am aghast at the fact that Federal air marshals'--as we thank our
Capitol Police, who yesterday showed themselves willing to sacrifice
themselves, and other law enforcement--Federal air marshals' travel and
training is shut down. And then ICE is shut down.
Homeland Security is comprehensive. It deals with fighting al Qaeda
and the terrorists who would do us harm, and it deals with being a
helping hand, as FEMA is, as I've worked alongside of FEMA in the gulf
when people were devastated.
Mr. Speaker, we can't do this. Put a clean bill on the floor, the CR,
vote for it, and open the government now. And let Homeland Security and
FEMA do their job as Hurricane Karen barrels toward us.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee
and the Ranking Member of its Subcommittee on Border and Maritime
Security, I rise to speak on H.J. Res. 85, the ``National Emergency and
Disaster Recovery Act,'' which makes continuing appropriations for the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for FY 2014.
I note the Administration strongly opposes House passage of piecemeal
fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation that restores only very
limited activities.
I agree that consideration of appropriations bills in this fashion is
not a serious or responsible way to run the United States Government.
Instead of opening up a few Government functions, the House of
Representatives should pass the clean CR passed by the Senate to end
this Republican shutdown and reopen the Government and end the damage
that the shutdown is causing to our economy and the lives of the
American people.
Mr. Speaker, FEMA works closely with states, cities, tribes,
territories, and communities large and small to help prepare for and
respond to disasters and emergencies of all kinds. It provides funding
through homeland security grants, support training and exercises,
assess state and local response capabilities and recommend needed
improvements. FEMA supports recovery and rebuilding efforts after a
disaster. Cuts to FEMA would have significant, negative impacts on our
nation's disaster preparedness, response and recovery efforts.
Weeks after Congress passed the recent FY 2013 Disaster Assistance
Supplemental Act (P.L. 113-2) to aid the victims of Hurricane Sandy,
sequestration reduced the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) by over $1
billion, which adversely affected recovery efforts in the communities
struck by Hurricane Sandy, the tornadoes in Tuscaloosa and Joplin, and
other major disasters across the Nation. Sequestration cuts could also
require FEMA to implement Immediate Needs Funding Restrictions late in
the fiscal year during what is historically the season for tornados,
wildfires, and hurricanes, which would limit funding for new projects
in older disasters.
Finally, state and local homeland security grants funding has been
reduced to its lowest level in the past seven years, leading to
potential layoffs of state and local emergency personnel across our
country.
Hurricane Sandy, recent threats surrounding aviation and the
continued threat of homegrown terrorism demonstrate the continuing
importance of vigilance and preparation to protect our nation and its
people. Threats from terrorism and response and recovery efforts
associated with natural disasters will not diminish because of the
House Republicans' desire to reduce funding for DHS and FEMA and
continue their shutdown of the government.
Even in this current fiscal climate, we do not have the luxury of
making significant reductions to our capabilities without placing our
Nation at risk. If we are to continue to prepare for, respond to, and
recover from evolving threats and disasters, we will need sufficient
resources to sustain and adapt our capabilities accordingly. While we
will continue to preserve our frontline priorities as best we can, no
amount of planning can mitigate the negative effects of sequestration.
The bill before us today, is $40 billion less than what we have been
working with as a result of the draconian sequestration. H.J. Res. 85
will significantly and negatively affect frontline operations and our
Nation's previous investments in homeland security. This bill, while
providing minimal funding for FEMA, is wholly inadequate because it
does not provide funding for:
Army Corps of Engineers which supports emergency preparedness and
response for critical infrastructure such as dams, flood control levees
and navigation channels.
Interior Department which performs firefighting and emergency
response on Federal lands during and after a disaster. Currently, all
damage repairs have stopped except for emergency repairs. While
firefighting personnel are on call to deal with any fires, post-fire
work has stopped, including damage assessments of the recent large
fires in California and Idaho. Hazardous fuel projects to prevent
future fires have been put on hold during the shutdown.
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) would normally activate additional
stream gages and storm surge measurements but instead will have to rely
on existing monitoring stations for any hurricanes that happen during
the shutdown. 99 percent of USGS employees are furloughed.
Small Business Administration, Office of Disaster Assistance provides
affordable, timely and accessible financial assistance to homeowners,
renters and businesses following a disaster. Employees in the Office of
Disaster Assistance continue to work without being paid.
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) provides
assistance to communities to address watershed impairments that pose
imminent threats to lives and property. 99 percent of NRCS employees
are furloughed.
USDA, Farm Services Agency (FSA) provides funding and technical
assistance to farmers and ranchers to restore farmland and forestland
damaged by natural disasters. 99 percent of FSA employees are
furloughed and therefore can't begin to survey the damage and preparing
estimates of the need.
Mr. Speaker, so far this past year our nation has experienced several
major floods, record snowfalls, catastrophic disasters and terrorist
attacks. In fact, many communities throughout our great nation and
country are continuing to recover from previous disasters and terrorist
attacks. We must provide aid for our constituents and not allow
politics to get in the way of protecting our homeland.
A fully functioning FEMA is needed to continue the work of helping
communities recover from recent disasters and terrorist attacks. It is
Congress's responsibility to ensure that FEMA has the needed resources
to respond to future disasters and terrorist attacks. I assure you that
I am aware of the challenges our communities face once we are
confronted with a catastrophic event or a domestic terrorist attack.
My constituents in Houston understand that our capacity to deal with
hurricanes directly reflects our ability to respond to a terrorist
attack in Texas or New York, an earthquake in California, or a
nationwide pandemic flu outbreak.
[[Page H6259]]
I would like to say a few words about the devastating hurricane that
struck Texas several years ago because the response to those events
demonstrated the need for significant improvement. During Hurricane
Ike, there were insufficient quantities of generators forced hospitals
to evacuate patients. Local governments waited days for commodities
like ice, water, MREs, and blue tarps. Evacuees from Texas arrived in
Shreveport and Bastrop shelters that were grossly unfit for occupancy,
and 2,500 people were forced to use the same shower facility.
Emergency preparedness is not the exclusive responsibility of the
Federal Government or individual agencies within it. State and local
officials, nonprofit organizations, private sector businesses, and
individual citizens must all contribute to the mission in order for our
nation to succeed at protecting life and property from disasters.
Recovery and mitigation are critical to protecting communities from
future threats, and our ability to respond will suffer if we do not
focus attention and resources on those missions.
My fervent prayer is that Texas and the nation will be spared the
wrath of another devastating storm this hurricane season, but we cannot
avert disaster indefinitely. By continually testing, evaluating, and
improving our emergency response capabilities, we increase the
possibility that we as a nation may one day answer the question ``Are
we ready?'' with a resounding ``Yes.'' That is the purpose to which we
will dedicate our efforts here today and for the foreseeable future.
Since the terrorist attack in Boston, Massachusetts, this Nation has
recognized how remote threats and distant trouble can pose near and
present dangers to our shores. We have learned as a nation that we must
maintain a constant, capable, and vigilant posture to protect ourselves
against new threats and evolving hazards. But we have also learned that
vigilance and protection are not ends in and of themselves, but rather
necessary tools in the service of our national purpose. Just as today's
threats to our national security and strategic interests are evolving
and interdependent, so too must our efforts to ensure the security of
our homeland reflect these same characteristics.
As we develop new capabilities and technologies, our adversaries will
seek to evade them, as was shown by the attempted terrorist attack on
Flight 253 on December 25, 2009. We must constantly work to stay ahead
of our adversaries. Among the forces that threaten the United States
and its interests are those that blend the lethality and high-tech
capabilities of modern weaponry with the power and opportunity of
asymmetric tactics such as terrorism and cyber warfare. We are
challenged not only by novel employment of conventional weaponry, but
also by the hybrid nature of these threats. Countering such threats
requires us to adapt traditional roles and responsibilities across the
national security spectrum and craft solutions that leverage the
capabilities that exists both inside and outside of government.
The attempted terrorist attack on Flight 253 on December 25, 2009,
powerfully illustrates that terrorists will go to great lengths to try
to defeat the security measures that have been put in place since 9/11.
More specifically, the threats and hazards that challenge U.S.
interests from a homeland security perspective include:
High-consequence weapons of mass destruction (WMD), in particular,
improvised nuclear devices and high-consequence biological weapons,
which would have the greatest potential effects if used against the
United States. We know that non-state actors actively seek to acquire,
build, and use such weapons and technologies, and that foreign states
continue to develop high-consequence weaponry with the intent to
intimidate or blackmail the international community and proliferate to
other potentially hostile state or non-state actors.
Dangerous materials, technology, and know-how circulate with ease in
our globalized economy and are controlled unevenly around the world,
raising the possibility of theft or accidental use and making it
difficult to track and prevent proliferation.
Al-Qaeda and global violent extremism, which directly threaten the
United States and its allies. Terrorist networks exploit gaps in
governance and security within both weak and advanced states. Some
terrorist organizations benefit from active state-sponsorship and from
the failure of other states to counter known terrorist organizations or
sources of support within their borders. Terrorist organizations have
expressed the intent to employ mass-casualty WMD as well as smaller
scale attacks against prominent political, economic, and infrastructure
targets in the United States and around the world.
High-consequence and/or wide-scale cyber attacks, intrusions,
disruptions, and exploitations, which, when used by hostile state or
non-state actors, could massively disable or impair critical
international financial, commercial, physical, and other
infrastructure. This in turn could cripple the global movement of
people and goods worldwide and bringing legitimate and vital social and
economic processes to a standstill. These cyber attacks involve
individuals and groups who conduct intrusions in search of information
to use against the United States, and those who spread malicious code
in an attempt to disrupt the national information infrastructure.
Pandemics, major accidents, and natural hazards, which can result in
massive loss of life and livelihood equal to or greater than many
deliberate malicious attacks. Certain public health threats, such as
disease outbreaks and natural hazards (e.g., hurricanes and floods),
occur organically. Others can be introduced into the United States
through the movement of people and goods across our borders.
Illicit trafficking and related transnational crime, which can
undermine effective governance and security, corrupt strategically
vital markets, slow economic growth, and destabilize weaker states.
Transnational crime and trafficking facilitate the movement of
narcotics, people, funds, arms, and other support to hostile actors,
including terrorist networks. Importantly for the American homeland,
the dramatic detrimental effect of illegal trafficking and
transnational criminal organizations is apparent in societies within
the Western Hemisphere.
Smaller scale terrorism, which may include violent extremists and
other state or non-state actors conducting small-scale explosive and
cyber attacks and intrusions against population centers, important
symbolic targets, or critical infrastructure.
In addition to these specific threats and hazards, America's national
interests are also threatened by global challenges and long-term
trends. These include:
Economic and financial instability that can undermine confidence in
the international order, fuel global political turbulence, and induce
social and political instability in weak states abroad.
Dependence on fossil fuels and the threat of global climate change
that can open the United States to disruptions and manipulations in
energy supplies and to changes in our natural environment on an
unprecedented scale. Climate change is expected to increase the
severity and frequency of weather-related hazards, which could, in
turn, result in social and political destabilization, international
conflict, or mass migrations.
Mr. Speaker, on any given day the City of Houston faces a widespread
and ever-changing array of threats, including' terrorism, organized
crime, natural disasters and industrial accidents.
With an increasingly vast array of enforcement issues at hand,
including ``arms trafficking, identity theft, environmental crime,
money laundering, theft of cultural property, drug trafficking, crimes
against women and children, organ trafficking'' and cybercrime, it is
increasingly clear that coordinated, strategic criminal intelligence
must be employed, bringing together diverse agencies and employees in
the fight against serious and organized crime. Cybercrime, especially,
will only continue to increase as globalization fosters higher levels
of digital interconnectivity.
Every day, ensuring the security of the homeland requires the
interaction of multiple Federal departments and agencies, as well as
operational collaboration across Federal, State, local, tribal, and
territorial governments, nongovernmental organizations, and the private
sector. This collaboration and cooperation undergirds our security
posture at our borders and ports, our preparedness in our communities,
and our ability to effectively react to crises.
I believe it is important to acknowledge the efforts and commitment
of the men and women who are our law enforcement personnel, first
responders, emergency managers, and other homeland security
professionals not only in our home State, but also across the country
who have worked tirelessly to make this Nation secure.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I note the Administration strongly opposes
House passage of piecemeal fiscal year 2014 appropriations legislation
that restores only very limited activities.
I agree that consideration of appropriations bills in this fashion is
not a serious or responsible way to run the United States Government.
Instead of opening up a few Government functions, the House of
Representatives should re-open all of the Government.
The harmful impacts of a shutdown extend across Government, affecting
services that are critical to small businesses, women, children,
seniors, and others across the Nation.
The Senate acted in a responsible manner on a short-term funding
measure to maintain Government functions and avoid a damaging
Government shutdown.
We should settle our differences and allow a straight up or down vote
on the Senate-passed H.J. Res. 59.
Mr. CARTER. I continue to reserve the balance of my time.
[[Page H6260]]
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire, does the
gentleman have additional speakers?
Mr. CARTER. No, I don't believe so.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. I yield myself 1 minute.
Mr. Speaker, I had the honor of attending the annual awards dinner of
the Partnership for Public Service, the so-called Sammies Award. These
are awards that are given each year to outstanding public servants.
Last night's awardees had touching, inspiring stories of the work
they had done within the Centers for Disease Control in polio
eradication, the National Institutes of Health, the Center for Missing
and Exploited Children--an agency we know very well in Homeland
Security. The Central Intelligence Agency, story after story of devoted
public service--public service, I must say, that has taken place in
recent years in an atmosphere where public service is often denigrated
and public servants often have their pay frozen by virtue of the budget
nonsense of the sort we are witnessing here this week.
Half of those awardees last night were on furlough. What a disgrace.
What a commentary on the honor that we should be paying to those who
serve our country so well. So we're asking today, it would take about
30 minutes; there would be a bipartisan majority easily in this body
for ending this shutdown and opening the Federal Government.
And on the issues before us--the budget, health care, whatever--you
know, you live to fight another day. But we have no business in this
body demanding a ransom for doing our basic job, which is to keep the
lights on, keep the government running, and to pay our country's bills.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman
from Arizona (Mr. Barber) for a unanimous consent request.
Mr. BARBER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring
up the Senate amendment to the continuing appropriations resolution,
H.J. Res. 59. Enough is enough. We must get our people back to work and
bring services to the people of this country. Enough is enough.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the guidelines consistently issued by
successive Speakers, as recorded in section 956 of the House Rules and
Manual, the Chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it
has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leaderships.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman
from California (Ms. Chu) for a unanimous consent request.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up
the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, the clean continuing resolution,
and go to conference on a budget so that we can end this Republican
government shutdown that is undermining public health by preventing the
CDC from working on its annual flu vaccine or detecting disease
outbreaks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman will suspend.
As the Chair has previously advised, the request cannot be
entertained absent appropriate clearance.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of
my time.
Mr. CARTER. In brief closing, Mr. Speaker, we have a storm coming
toward our shores. We need to get this done.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res.
85, a bill which claims to fund operations at the Federal Emergency
Management Agency, but in reality is a piecemeal approach to funding
government operations in order to score political points.
Let me be clear, I support FEMA and appreciate greatly the dedicated
men and women who work on behalf of FEMA, but I do not support this
bill because, in the end, it does more harm than good.
I believe the proper way to fund FEMA is for Congress to fulfill its
constitutional responsibility and pass regular appropriations bills.
The House passed a full year funding bill for DHS in June that would
provide $40.1 billion more for DHS than the bill before us today.
Using a piecemeal approach to fund selected programs within an agency
neglects other important programs within that same agency. In this
case, supporting H.J. Res. 85 funds FEMA at the expense of the Secret
Service, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Office of Disaster
Assistance at the Small Business Administration.
The fact is that by taking up the Senate's clean continuing
resolution and sending it to the President for his signature tonight,
we can fund FEMA, DHS and all the other important programs and services
of the government. That is why I call on my colleagues to bring up the
Senate CR so we can end this shut down and get all our federal workers
back on the job.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 371, the previous question is ordered.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint
resolution.
The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third
time, and was read the third time.
Motion to Recommit
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at
the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the joint
resolution?
Mr. BISHOP of New York. In its current form I am, yes.
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve a point of order on the
gentleman's motion.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. A point of order is reserved.
The Clerk will report the motion to recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Bishop of New York moves to recommit the joint
resolution H.J. Res. 85 to the Committee on Appropriations
with instructions to report the same back to the House
forthwith with the following amendment:
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the
following:
That upon passage of this joint resolution by the House of
Representatives, the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 59) making
continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2014, and for other
purposes, as amended by the Senate on September 27, 2013,
shall be considered to have been taken from the Speaker's
table and the House shall be considered to have (1) receded
from its amendment; and (2) concurred in the Senate
amendment.
Mr. BISHOP of New York (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask
unanimous consent to dispense with the reading.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New York?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
York is recognized for 5 minutes in support of his motion.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, my motion to recommit would
allow a vote on H.J. Res. 59, the Senate continuing resolution. If we
were to pass the continuing resolution, the entire Federal Government
would reopen, not just an isolated slice of it. All we're asking for is
a vote on the Senate resolution.
I would ask: Is not taking a vote on issues of great importance to
our country the very essence of our democracy? And I would further ask
what it is that our friends on the majority are afraid of in terms of
allowing such a vote to happen on the floor of this House?
Mr. Speaker, Tropical Storm Karen is bearing down on the gulf as we
speak. It is expected to be upgraded to at least a category 1 hurricane
and could reach my district along the east coast as soon as Tuesday of
next week.
We're still picking up the pieces from Sandy, and we can't afford to
be hit by another storm. Have we forgotten the lessons of Katrina? of
Sandy, which clobbered the shores of New York and New Jersey?
If we are funding FEMA, why aren't we providing funds for every
single agency so that human lives can be protected and storm damage
taken care of immediately? These storms require all hands on deck, and
yet 800,000 employees are currently furloughed.
After Sandy took eight lives, destroyed thousands of homes, and shut
down dozens of businesses in my district, my district needed much more
than just FEMA. We needed the Departments of Housing and Urban
Development, Health and Human Services, Interior, not to mention the
Army Corps of Engineers and the Small Business Administration, to name
just a few of the agencies that joined together in the coordinated
recovery effort to deliver emergency relief and to begin the rebuilding
process.
Why are the Republicans in favor of closing down the Federal
Government
[[Page H6261]]
and denying taxpayers the protections from natural disasters that
they've already paid for? This makes absolutely no sense to people who
have to work hard every day to make a living and are now concerned that
they are in the path of an oncoming storm.
I just want to raise one point about how destructive this government
shutdown has been. I have just come from a meeting of the Board of
Visitors of the United States Merchant Marines Academy--one of the four
service academies that each Member of this Congress has the honor to
nominate outstanding young men and women to be able to attend. That
service academy right now is closed, it is shut down. No classes are
being offered. So we have nominated the cream of the crop that this
country has to offer to this academy, and they are attending a school
which cannot schedule and hold classes. This is madness. This is
madness. And the capacity to change that is right here within our
grasp. It's called H.J. Res. 59.
Let's schedule a vote on that and let's see what happens. I'll bet
that if we do have a vote on H.J. Res. 59 it will pass, we'll be able
to send it to the President, and he will sign it. And we'll be able to
reopen the government within hours.
So I would urge my colleagues to support the motion to recommit, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
Point of Order
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I make a point of order that the
instructions contained in this motion violate clause 7 of rule XVI,
which requires that an amendment be germane to the bill under
consideration.
As the Chair has recently ruled on October 2 and 3, 2013, the
instructions contain a special order of business within the
jurisdiction of the Committee on Rules, and therefore, the amendment is
not germane to the underlying bill.
So, Mr. Speaker, I must insist on my point of order.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from New York wish to be
heard on the point or order?
Mr. BISHOP of New York. I do, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized on the point of
order.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. I would just raise a couple of questions.
The first is, the bill before us funds a slice of the Federal
Government. What I am struggling to understand is why funding the
entire Federal Government would be out of order and not germane, when
it is germane to schedule or to fund a piece of the Federal Government?
It strikes me as illogical in the extreme that it is in order to fund a
piece of the Federal Government, but not in order to fund the entire
Federal Government. I would ask the Chair to explain why it is that the
motion to recommit would not be germane.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from Virginia seek to be
heard on the point or order?
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Yes, Mr. Speaker.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized on the point of
order.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. This should be ruled germane because we have
to look to see where we are in the process.
If the point of order had not been raised, the next order of business
would have been the motion to recommit, which would open up all of
government.
He has made the point of order, and the Speaker has indicated the
previous rulings have been to sustain the point of order. And if the
normal course takes place, the next motion will be to appeal the ruling
of the Chair. If that motion were to prevail, if we were to sustain the
appeal of the Chair--not table it, but sustain it--we would in effect
make the motion to recommit in order and we can finally get an up-or-
down vote on keeping the government open.
So I would hope, Mr. Speaker, that the ruling would be that we would
forego all of that and just let us have an up-or-down vote on keeping
the government open without having to overrule the ruling of the Chair.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is prepared to rule.
The gentleman from Texas makes the point or order that the
instructions proposed in the motion to recommit offered by the
gentleman from New York are not germane.
The joint resolution extends funding relating to the Federal
Emergency Management Agency. The instructions in the motion propose an
order of business of the House relating to other funding.
As the Chair ruled on October 2 and October 3, 2013, a motion to
recommit proposing an order of business of the House is not germane to
a measure providing for the appropriation of funds because such motion
addresses a matter within the jurisdiction of a committee not
represented in the underlying measure.
Therefore, the instructions propose a non-germane amendment. The
point of order is sustained.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, I appeal the ruling of the
Chair.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Shall the decision of the
Chair stand as the judgment of the House?
Mr. CARTER. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the appeal on the table.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. BISHOP of New York. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a 5-minute vote
on passage of the bill, if arising without further proceedings in
recommittal.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 224,
nays 185, not voting 22, as follows:
[Roll No. 521]
YEAS--224
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachmann
Bachus
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Cook
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Daines
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Hensarling
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Joyce
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Lankford
Latham
Latta
LoBiondo
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Marchant
Marino
Massie
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Nunnelee
Olson
Palazzo
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Petri
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Radel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Runyan
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schock
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stewart
Stivers
Stockman
Stutzman
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IN)
NAYS--185
Andrews
Barber
Barrow (GA)
Beatty
Becerra
Bera (CA)
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Brady (PA)
Braley (IA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Carney
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
[[Page H6262]]
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Enyart
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Fattah
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hahn
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Himes
Hinojosa
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Matheson
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McIntyre
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Michaud
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Nolan
O'Rourke
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters (CA)
Peters (MI)
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sinema
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Welch
Wilson (FL)
NOT VOTING--22
Bass
Cardenas
DeGette
Garcia
Grayson
Heck (WA)
Herrera Beutler
Higgins
Jones
Lummis
McCarthy (NY)
Miller, Gary
Pittenger
Rush
Sanchez, Loretta
Sires
Tipton
Vargas
Visclosky
Waxman
Yarmuth
Young (FL)
{time} 1626
Ms. SCHWARTZ and Ms. DeLAURO changed their vote from ``yea'' to
``nay.''
So the motion to table was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Foxx). The question is on the passage of
the joint resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas
and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 247,
nays 164, not voting 20, as follows:
[Roll No. 522]
YEAS--247
Aderholt
Amash
Amodei
Bachmann
Bachus
Barber
Barletta
Barr
Barrow (GA)
Barton
Benishek
Bentivolio
Bera (CA)
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Braley (IA)
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Broun (GA)
Buchanan
Bucshon
Burgess
Bustos
Calvert
Camp
Campbell
Cantor
Capito
Carter
Cassidy
Chabot
Chaffetz
Coble
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Conaway
Cook
Cotton
Cramer
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Daines
Davis, Rodney
DelBene
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers
Farenthold
Fincher
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Foxx
Franks (AZ)
Frelinghuysen
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia
Gardner
Garrett
Gerlach
Gibbs
Gibson
Gingrey (GA)
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (MO)
Griffin (AR)
Griffith (VA)
Grimm
Guthrie
Hall
Hanna
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings (WA)
Heck (NV)
Hensarling
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurt
Issa
Jenkins
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jordan
Joyce
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kingston
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Labrador
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Lankford
Latham
Latta
Lipinski
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Long
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Maloney, Sean
Marchant
Marino
Massie
Matheson
McCarthy (CA)
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McIntyre
McKeon
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Nunnelee
Olson
Palazzo
Paulsen
Pearce
Perlmutter
Perry
Peters (CA)
Peters (MI)
Petri
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Polis
Pompeo
Posey
Price (GA)
Radel
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rogers (MI)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce
Ruiz
Runyan
Ryan (WI)
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schneider
Schock
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Southerland
Stewart
Stivers
Stockman
Stutzman
Terry
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walorski
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westmoreland
Whitfield
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Wolf
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IN)
NAYS--164
Andrews
Beatty
Becerra
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (NY)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Carney
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu
Cicilline
Clarke
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Costa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
Delaney
DeLauro
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Enyart
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Fattah
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hahn
Hanabusa
Hastings (FL)
Himes
Hinojosa
Holt
Honda
Horsford
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lee (CA)
Levin
Lewis
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maffei
Maloney, Carolyn
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Michaud
Miller, George
Moore
Moran
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Negrete McLeod
Nolan
O'Rourke
Owens
Pallone
Pascrell
Pastor (AZ)
Payne
Pelosi
Peterson
Pingree (ME)
Pocan
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rahall
Rangel
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Schwartz
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Tierney
Titus
Tonko
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watt
Waxman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
NOT VOTING--20
Bass
Cardenas
DeGette
Grayson
Heck (WA)
Herrera Beutler
Higgins
Jones
Lummis
McCarthy (NY)
Miller, Gary
Pittenger
Rush
Sanchez, Loretta
Sires
Tipton
Vargas
Visclosky
Yarmuth
Young (FL)
{time} 1633
So the joint resolution was passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________