[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 106 (Thursday, July 9, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H4974-H4976]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to rule IX, I rise in regard to a 
question of the privileges of the House, and I send to the desk a 
privileged resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 355

       Whereas, at 4 p.m. today, July 9th, the Governor of South 
     Carolina will sign legislation to remove the display of the 
     Confederate battle flag;
       Whereas, on December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the 
     first State to secede from the Union;
       Whereas, on January 9, 1861, Mississippi seceded from the 
     Union, stating in its `Declaration of Immediate Causes' that 
     `[o]ur position is thoroughly identified with the institution 
     of slavery--the greatest material interest of the world.';
       Whereas, on February 9, 1861, the Confederate States of 
     America was formed with a group of 11 States as a purported 
     sovereign nation and with Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as 
     its president;
       Whereas, on March 11, 1861, the Confederate States of 
     America adopted its own constitution;
       Whereas, on April 12, 1861, the Confederate States of 
     America fired shots upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South 
     Carolina, effectively beginning the Civil War;
       Whereas, the United States did not recognize the 
     Confederate States of America as a sovereign nation, but 
     rather as a rebel insurrection, and took to military battle 
     to bring the rogue states back into the Union;
       Whereas, on April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee 
     surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court 
     House in Virginia, effectively, ending the Civil War and 
     preserving the Union;
       Whereas, during the Civil War, the Confederate States of 
     America used the Navy Jack, Battle Flag, and other imagery as 
     symbols of the Confederate armed forces;
       Whereas, since the end of the Civil War, the Navy Jack, 
     Confederate battle flag, and other imagery of the Confederacy 
     have been appropriated by groups as symbols of hate, terror, 
     intolerance, and as supportive of the institution of slavery;
       Whereas, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and other White 
     supremacist groups utilize Confederate imagery to frighten, 
     terrorize, and cause harm to groups of people toward whom 
     they have hateful intent, including African-Americans, 
     Hispanic-Americans, and Jewish Americans;
       Whereas, many State and Federal political leaders, 
     including United States Senators Thad Cochran and Roger 
     Wicker, along with Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn and 
     other State leaders, have spoken out and advocated for the 
     removal of the imagery of the Confederacy on Mississippi's 
     State flag;
       Whereas, many Members of Congress, including Speaker John 
     Boehner, support the removal of the Confederate flag from the 
     grounds of South Carolina's capitol;
       Whereas, Speaker John Boehner released a statement on the 
     issue saying, 'I commend Governor Nikki Haley and other South 
     Carolina leaders in their effort to remove the Confederate 
     flag from Statehouse grounds. In his second inaugural address 
     150 years ago, and a month before his assassination, 
     President Abraham Lincoln ended his speech with these 
     powerful words, which are as meaningful today as when they 
     were spoken on the East Front of the Capitol on March 4, 
     1865: 'With malice toward none, with charity for all, with 
     firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let 
     us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the 
     nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the 
     battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may 
     achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves 
     and with all nations.';
       Whereas, the House of Representatives has several State 
     flags with imagery of the Confederacy throughout its main 
     structures and House office buildings;
       Whereas, it is an uncontroverted fact that symbols of the 
     Confederacy offend and insult many members of the general 
     public who use the hallways of Congress each day;
       Whereas, Congress has never permanently recognized in its 
     hallways the symbols of sovereign nations with whom it has 
     gone to war or rogue entities such as the Confederate States 
     of America;
       Whereas, continuing to display a symbol of hatred, 
     oppression, and insurrection that nearly tore our Union apart 
     and that is known to offend many groups throughout the 
     country would irreparably damage the reputation of this 
     august institution and offend the very dignity of the House 
     of Representatives; and
       Whereas, this impairment of the dignity of the House and 
     its Members constitutes a violation under rule IX of the 
     Rules of the House of Representatives of the One Hundred 
     Fourteenth Congress: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Speaker of the House of Representatives 
     shall remove any State flag containing any portion of the 
     Confederate battle flag, other than a flag displayed by the 
     office of a Member of the House, from any area within the 
     House wing of the Capitol or any House office building, and 
     shall donate any such flag to the Library of Congress.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution presents a question of 
privilege.

[[Page H4975]]

                            Motion to Refer

  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to refer.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. McCarthy moves that the resolution be referred to the 
     Committee on House Administration.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized 
for 1 hour.
  Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, this resolution raises a number of 
important questions, and the House would be best served by committee 
action on this measure. Accordingly, I am moving to refer the 
resolution to the Committee on House Administration.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the 
previous question on the motion to refer.
  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.


                             Recorded Vote

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I ask for a recorded vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman asking for a recorded 
vote on ordering the previous question?
  Ms. PELOSI. I thought the motion was to refer it to committee.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair has not yet put that question.
  The question is on ordering the previous question.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, a parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman may state her parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I will stay where we are until the gentleman 
rules.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for a recorded vote.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman asking for a recorded 
vote on ordering the previous question?
  Ms. PELOSI. Yes.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair 
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on 
the question of adoption of the motion to refer.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 238, 
noes 185, not voting 10, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 425]

                               AYES--238

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Babin
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers (NC)
     Emmer (MN)
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hanna
     Hardy
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Hill
     Holding
     Hudson
     Huelskamp
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd (TX)
     Hurt (VA)
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jolly
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Knight
     Labrador
     LaMalfa
     Lance
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (MI)
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price, Tom
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney (FL)
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce
     Russell
     Ryan (WI)
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Young (IN)
     Zeldin
     Zinke

                               NOES--185

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Ashford
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clawson (FL)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Graham
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Honda
     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)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rangel
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takai
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--10

     Bishop (UT)
     Forbes
     Hastings
     Huizenga (MI)
     Lamborn
     Lofgren
     Miller (FL)
     Payne
     Peters
     Smith (MO)

                              {time}  1356

  Ms. CHU changed her vote from ``present'' to ``no.''
  So the previous question was ordered.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to refer.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.


                             Recorded Vote

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.
  A recorded vote was ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. This will be a 5-minute vote.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 238, 
noes 176, not voting 19, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 426]

                               AYES--238

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Babin
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Benishek
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Boustany
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Chabot
     Chaffetz
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Cramer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Dold
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Ellmers (NC)
     Emmer (MN)
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franks (AZ)
     Frelinghuysen
     Garrett
     Gibbs
     Gibson
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guinta
     Guthrie
     Hanna
     Hardy
     Harper
     Harris

[[Page H4976]]


     Hartzler
     Heck (NV)
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Hill
     Holding
     Hudson
     Huelskamp
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd (TX)
     Hurt (VA)
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jolly
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Knight
     Labrador
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (MI)
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Pitts
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Pompeo
     Posey
     Price, Tom
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Ribble
     Rice (SC)
     Rigell
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney (FL)
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce
     Russell
     Ryan (WI)
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Stutzman
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tiberi
     Tipton
     Trott
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Westmoreland
     Whitfield
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Young (IN)
     Zeldin
     Zinke

                               NOES--176

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Ashford
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clawson (FL)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Conyers
     Cooper
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Cummings
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Duckworth
     Edwards
     Ellison
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Grayson
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hahn
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Honda
     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)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Rangel
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takai
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Van Hollen
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--19

     Castor (FL)
     Costa
     Courtney
     Deutch
     Fattah
     Forbes
     Graham
     Graves (MO)
     Hastings
     Lofgren
     Miller (FL)
     Payne
     Peters
     Rice (NY)
     Rogers (AL)
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sewell (AL)
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (TX)

                              {time}  1404

  Mrs. LOVE changed her vote from ``present'' to ``aye.''
  So the motion to refer was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.


                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Collins of New York). The gentlewoman 
will state her parliamentary inquiry.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, now that the House has voted to refer my 
privileged resolution to committee, can the Chair inform Members of the 
status of the Thompson of Mississippi resolution referred to the House 
Administration Committee, the same committee that we are referring 
today. That resolution was on the floor 2 weeks ago and referred to 
committee 2 weeks ago.
  Can the Chair inform us of the status of it, especially in light of 
the action taken by the South Carolina Legislature and the Governor of 
South Carolina to take down the Confederate battle flag?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair cannot comment on pending 
committee proceedings.
  Without objection, a motion to reconsider the motion to refer is laid 
on the table.
  There was no objection.
  Stated for:
  Mr. ROGERS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 426 I missed the 
vote, but would have voted ``yea'' had I made it to the floor before 
was closed.
  Stated against:
  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 426 I would have 
voted ``no'' on this motion.
  Mr. DEUTCH. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 426, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``no''.
  Ms. GRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 426, had I been present, I 
would have voted ``no''.


                          Personal Explanation

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, due to being unavoidably 
detained, I missed the following rollcall votes: No. 424-No. 426 on 
July 9, 2015 (today).
  If present, I would have voted: rollcall vote No. 424--On Motion to 
Adjourn, ``nay;'' rollcall vote No. 425--Ordering the Previous Question 
on the Motion to Refer H. Res. 355, ``aye;'' rollcall vote No. 426--On 
Motion to Refer H. Res. 355, ``aye.''

                          ____________________