[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 170 (Wednesday, November 18, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H8346-H8350]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           THE PEOPLE'S NIGHT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Walker) is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, thank you for allowing us to engage in what 
we call People's Night 2. The House has been working diligently for the 
citizens of our districts. We have passed solid legislation that is 
good for the economy, that protects life, that helps small businesses, 
veterans, bills that reduce taxes. I would guess that maybe not all of 
our citizens are even aware that the House has actually passed a 
balanced budget. In fact, there are over 300 pieces of legislation that 
have been passed through the House but have been stalled in the Senate.
  Tonight, we want to highlight some of the legislation, but also, and 
with all due respect, we are calling on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell 
to get moving on these bills. I am joined by several colleagues this 
evening to share why we believe it is time to move on behalf of the 
American people.
  Our first Member, colleague and friend, from Pennsylvania, Mr. Ryan 
Costello. Mr. Costello is a freshman, along with myself, our shortstop 
on the baseball team, and a strong voice speaking out on those who 
sometimes cannot speak for themselves, and that is our veterans. We 
promise that we would go to Congress and work hard for the men and 
women who depend on us to get the Veterans Administration correct.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Costello).
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend 
from North Carolina for yielding. Mr. Walker has really been a leader 
in no time on so many issues. It is nice to be his hall mate and also 
his teammate on the baseball field, and I appreciate him putting 
together this Special Order to raise a number of issues that we have 
gotten through the House here and that we are respectfully calling upon 
the Senate to take up.
  I am here to speak about the crying need for change and increased 
accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs that can be 
facilitated by the immediate passage of H.R. 1994, the VA 
Accountability Act of 2015. This is a bill that myself and many others 
have cosponsored under the leadership of Chairman Jeff Miller, and it 
is a bill that I am requesting that the Senate take up and pass with 
bipartisan support here in the House in July.
  It gives the Secretary of the VA the additional tools he needs to 
accelerate the badly-needed culture change at the Department of 
Veterans Affairs. It gives the Secretary of the VA what he needs to 
rebuild the trust between the VA and this Congress, taxpayers, and, 
most importantly, the veterans of this country.
  H.R. 1994 includes many provisions to fix the broken personnel system 
at the Department. But, most importantly, this bill authorizes the 
Secretary to remove or demote any employee for poor performance or 
misconduct while also increasing protections for whistleblowers who 
have been, and continue to be, very important in the oversight role of 
the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
  Many of you know the Philadelphia Regional Office has seen scandal 
after scandal. It has experienced a gross lapse in management, 
mishandling of claims, the administration of improper payments, and 
fabricated data. On top of that, the hostile work environment and 
whistleblower retaliation occurred on a nearly daily basis.
  This bill brings accountability to the managers at the Philly VA 
responsible for these actions, as well as those across the country in 
the VA, who have acted improperly.
  I believe a majority of VA's employees--as we all do here in 
Congress--this is an important point to make--most people that work at 
the VA are hard-working public servants who are dedicated to providing 
quality health care and timely benefits for veterans.

                              {time}  2000

  I am sure the majority of these employees are just as frustrated in 
that most of us see that the VA problem employees continue to be moved 
to new positions as opposed to being removed from the payroll. We have 
seen time and again how poor performance can spread like a cancer 
through a workforce and how the presence of bad employees only leads to 
poor customer service and is an impediment to the quality of service 
our veterans have earned.
  Our veterans deserve nothing less than the highest quality of care, 
and it is our job as Members of Congress to do everything in our power 
to ensure that their care is placed before the interests of entrenched 
bureaucrats and poor performance. If we want what is best for our 
veterans, then the status quo at the VA is not acceptable. It is not 
working. It is failing the mission of the Department, and it is failing 
the veterans the VA is supposed to serve.
  Mr. Speaker, if we do not give the Secretary the tools that he or she 
needs to hold VA employees accountable, then we are just as culpable 
for any future VA failures. The antiquated civil service laws that have 
fostered the VA's cultural mess need to go. That is what the VA 
Accountability Act does. That is why we are calling on the Senate to 
take it up.
  After the largest scandal in VA's history--and, in my home State, the 
continued problems at the Philadelphia VA--the VA has only successfully 
fired three employees for wait time manipulation even though over 100 
hospitals have been identified as having gamed the appointment system. 
That is simply unacceptable. H.R. 1994 would give the Secretary the 
tools he needs to hold more employees accountable faster than can be 
done now under existing civil service rules.
  As Mr. Walker will continue to do this evening in pointing out a 
number of bills that have been ushered through the House--reform bills 
that improve the welfare of this country and that reform various 
bureaucracies--H.R. 1994 does just that. I urge the Senate to take 
action and push for accountability just as we have done here in the 
House on behalf of this country's veterans.
  I thank the gentleman for organizing this Special Order tonight.
  Mr. WALKER. I thank Representative Costello. His hard work on the 
Veterans' Affairs Committee is duly noted.
  Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, these bills are not making it to the 
President's desk. We are tired of the argument that the President will 
most likely veto these legislative bills or of the filibustering that 
we hear about sometimes in the Senate. We hear the word 
``reconciliation'' a great deal. Reconciliation is a simple majority 
vote. Fifty-one votes in the Senate is what is needed to get it to the 
President's desk under reconciliation.
  If we think back, this is how Harry Reid shoved ObamaCare into the 
culture and fabric of the American people--by reconciliation, by a 
simple majority. In fact, it has been Mr. Reid

[[Page H8347]]

who has blocked, filibustered, and sat on legislation to protect the 
President. That is why the American people elected Republican 
majorities in the House and the Senate. It was to clean up Washington 
and to stand against President Obama's far-left agenda.
  One of the ladies I have been able to meet who has worked hard and 
who has been a voice is a nurse, a small-business woman, and a former 
educator. I specifically like the nurse part, being married to one for 
23 years. She is the middle daughter of working class, Great 
Depression-era parents. Having had 40 years of experience in working in 
the healthcare field, she is uniquely positioned as a credible and 
effective leader on healthcare policy in Congress. She is a strong 
leader on fiscal and budget reforms, but her voice for life in these 
halls is one that is heard throughout the country.
  From Tennessee's Sixth District, Congresswoman Diane Black is that 
voice, and I would like for her to share a little bit more on her 
specific piece of legislation.
  Mrs. BLACK. I thank the gentleman from North Carolina, my good 
friend, Congressman Walker, for bringing us together for this very 
important conversation.
  Mr. Speaker, a lot of Americans worked very hard to deliver these 
historic majorities to Congress, but, today, there is a feeling that 
the more things change, the more they stay the same. We billed this as 
the ``New American Congress.'' Yet, like last year and the year before 
and the year before that, too many House-passed bills remain trapped in 
the U.S. Senate.
  The House passed the REINS Act in July, which would prevent the Obama 
administration from legislating in the form of government rule and 
would give Congress the final say over the major Federal regulations 
just like our Founding Fathers intended. But where is it today? Nearly 
4 months later, it continues to languish in the upper Chamber, awaiting 
for a chance for debate.
  More recently, the House passed the Justice for Victims of Iranian 
Terrorism Act, requiring Iran to make good on its $43 billion of 
delinquent payments to the victims of its state-sponsored terrorism. 
Once again, this good and decent bill is collecting dust in the Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, I understand the challenges that our Senate leadership 
faces. The do-nothing Senate majority of the last Congress is now the 
do-nothing Senate minority of this Congress. They are filibustering 
countless House-passed bills and bringing the wheels of government to a 
grinding halt, but we cannot let that stop us from bringing up these 
bills for full debate in the light of day and putting our priorities in 
front of the American people.
  While we are at it, it is time to change the rules of engagement in 
the upper Chamber. In a body of 100 people, a majority is 51. It really 
is that simple. The cloture rule is nowhere to be found in the U.S. 
Constitution. It is an antiquated Senate rule that is not effectively 
serving the institution today. I call on the Senate leaders to turn the 
page and break the logjam so that we can put the American people's 
priorities on the President's desk.
  I don't doubt that the President will veto many of these measures. 
For goodness sake, he vetoed a bill to fund our troops, so I put 
nothing past him. Let's put him on record. Let's ensure that President 
Obama is required to accept or to reject our ideas and to defend that 
decision to the American people.
  Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is this: The American people delivered 
us this majority, and they expect us to use it.
  Again, I thank my colleague from North Carolina.
  Mr. WALKER. I thank Representative Black and appreciate her heartfelt 
words.
  Mr. Speaker, in nearly a year of holding the majority, the President 
has only vetoed three of our bills. In fact, only once, I believe, he 
has had to do that in the last 8 months.
  Politico, back in February, published this prediction: ``Though 
Obama's three vetoes are thus far a record low...experts expect Obama's 
final 2 years to be packed with high-profile veto showdowns.''
  That hasn't happened.
  My next friend and colleague who would like to share a little bit of 
his heart is someone I have grown to admire and respect. I am 
privileged to serve with him on the Homeland Security Committee where 
just a few months ago, I heard one of the more powerful 5- or 6-minute 
talks that I have heard since I have been here in Congress in which he 
was willing to stand up for the Family Research Council and Tony 
Perkins against the tax from the Southern Poverty Law Center--
specifically the President--who had put them on a hate list.

  In fact, I am going to yield him a little bit of leeway so he may 
share some things that may be a little bit in context but that may be a 
little bit off as well. It is my privilege to introduce and to hear 
from a great Congressman from South Carolina, Representative Jeff 
Duncan.
  Mr. DUNCAN of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. I 
thank him for having this People's Night 2, so as to take the 
opportunity to speak to the American people about, really, what have 
become a lot of frustrations since they elected a Republican House and 
a Republican Senate.
  In fact, I did a tele-townhall last night, and a number of comments 
and questions that I had was: Why can't you guys get more bills to the 
President's desk? I had to explain that there is a 60-vote filibuster, 
the modern filibuster--a 60-vote threshold--over in the Senate. I had 
to explain what a modern filibuster rule is in the Senate.
  A Senator from the great State of South Carolina actually 
filibustered on the floor. He spoke for 48 hours without stopping, 
without sitting down. He held the floor of the Senate to make a point 
for 48 hours. That is the traditional filibuster that you hear about. 
Today, in the 21st century, when we hear that a Senator has filed a 
filibuster and that there is a 60-vote threshold to get over, what that 
means is a Senator has just put his name on a bill, and he doesn't have 
to go down and utter a single word, and he doesn't have to stand on the 
floor for a single minute. In fact, he can go to Charlie Palmer's and 
have a steak and call it a ``filibuster.'' America, this is wrong.
  I had a conversation with some Senate staff today because I think 
they ought to change their Senate rules.
  They said: Well, the Senator--and he is a Senator I respect a lot--
disagrees with your position. They pointed out that the Senate 
filibuster rule, the 60-vote threshold, has helped Republicans in the 
past to stop bad legislation. They said it stopped amnesty.
  I said: Well, hold on right there. Amnesty, actually, passed. The 
Gang of Eight bill passed, and we failed to bring it up in the House. 
We stopped it on the House side.
  They said: Well, it stopped gun control and a lot of other things.
  I said: Yes, but it is keeping right now a lot of good things from 
making it to the President's desk.
  America gave us this majority, and they really expect us to pass 
bills out that reflect the Republican principles, morals, values, and 
convictions of the electorate that sent us here and gave us this 
majority. They expect us to pass bills out of the Congress and to send 
them to the President's desk. Then the President can do whatever he 
wants with those bills, but I think, if he vetoes them, then America 
will see the dichotomy between the Republican governance and a Democrat 
President.
  Now the Senate rules. They are not in this book. This is the United 
States Constitution. It is a pocket copy that I carry with me. You 
can't find the Senate rules in this. It does say that both bodies--the 
House and the Senate--make their own rules to govern what goes on here, 
but they are not spelled out in this document. It is time for Mitch 
McConnell and the Republicans over in the Senate to actually have a 
``come to Jesus'' meeting and really talk about what is stifling the 
Republican work when the Republican electorate in this country has 
given us the majority and expects us to do the work.
  I want to shift gears for just a minute because this is the People's 
Night, and I want to talk about something that is on the minds of the 
American people--the safety and security of our Nation and the national 
security issues in the wake of the Paris attacks, in the wake of the 
Lebanon bombing, in the wake of a lot of things that we are seeing with 
stabbings and other things that are going on by ISIS, primarily, but 
you can throw Boko Haram

[[Page H8348]]

and some others who are committing acts of terror into the mix as well. 
Americans are concerned about the safety and security of our Nation.
  I chair the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee on the Foreign Affairs 
Committee. Just this afternoon, it was revealed that the Honduran 
police stopped five Syrians who were carrying falsified Greek 
passports, and they had flown all over Latin America before they had 
gotten to Honduras. They were headed north to the Guatemalan border. If 
they were headed north to the Guatemalan border, it tells me they were 
going to take advantage of our porous southern border, like many others 
have, to enter into this country. We don't know why. What we do know is 
five Syrians traveled to Honduras on fake Greek passports, and they 
were apprehended by the police.
  People are criticizing the Republicans for wanting to hit ``pause'' 
on the Syrian refugee program, and they are saying, ``You don't have 
compassion.'' Let me tell you that you don't lock the door because you 
hate the people on the outside. You lock the door because you love the 
people on the inside.
  We have to protect America. That is what we are charged to do. When 
we raise our hands and swear an oath to the Constitution--to uphold it 
and to defend this great country--we are charged as Members of Congress 
to protect this great Nation, first and foremost.
  I thank the gentleman for some leniency. I will continue to speak on 
behalf of the American people. It is time for Mitch to get moving on 
some bills that are Republican bills over in the Senate.

                              {time}  2015

  Mr. WALKER. Historically, I would like to put this inaction in some 
kind of perspective. We actually have to go back to James Garfield in 
the 1800s to find such a low number of vetoes. James Garfield only 
served 7 months, or about 200 days. President Obama has been in office 
nearly 7 years. Compared to other Presidents--for example, President 
Kennedy, though obviously never completing his term, however--he used a 
total of veto 21 times. Ronald Reagan used a total of 78.
  Why is this so important? Well, the answer is simple. This is not 
political theater. It is the process that exposes the President's 
continued desire to rely on government and not the private sector, 
which may explain the national debt skyrocketing from $10 trillion to 
nearly $20 trillion that is predicted by the end of his term next year. 
We need to end covering for the President or for other Members on these 
tough votes.
  When the President vetoes legislation, he has the obligation to 
explain to the country the reasons that he is against such bills that 
help the American worker and protect families and small businesses. It 
is one of the only measures that our Founding Fathers provided to 
Congress in holding the President accountable.
  It is a privilege to introduce a friend from Georgia's 10th 
Congressional District, a fellow freshman who is passionate about the 
cause of the American people, someone that is authentic, someone who 
founded the Cultures and Values Network and was the host of his own 
radio talk program. He has become a dear and close friend of mine. I 
would like for the American people to hear from Representative Jody 
Hice from Georgia's 10th Congressional District.
  I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
  Mr. JODY B. HICE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
North Carolina for hosting this People's Night for this Special Order. 
I appreciate all that you do, and I appreciate your leadership and your 
friendship. It is good to have another minister on the grounds. I am 
honored to serve with you.
  Like has already been discussed by so many tonight, I likewise 
experience a great deal of frustration. I have had conversations, as 
have others here, with individuals in the Senate frustrated over that 
60-vote threshold to even debate an issue over there.
  Like others, I have been told that they have protected our country 
from so many other horrible pieces of legislation or that, ultimately, 
it is irrelevant because the bill would probably be vetoed anyway. 
There are excuses after excuses.
  The fact of the matter is that the American people sent us here to do 
a job, to represent them to the best of our ability. I am honored to be 
here with my colleagues here tonight.
  I am proud of the fact that, over the 10 months or so that I have 
been here, we have passed probably hundreds of bills, meaningful 
legislation, legislation that would protect the American people, 
legislation that would strengthen our national security, that would 
care for veterans and provide the kind of care that they deserve, 
legislation that would empower American businesses and small 
businesses, legislation that would increase transparency and 
accountability within government agencies.
  For example, in order to protect the American citizens, as we all are 
so concerned about these days, we passed H.R. 3009, the Sanctuary 
Cities Act, that would not allow any State or local government to 
continue to receive funding if they harbor illegal alien criminals. 
Cities like San Francisco and many others would no longer be able to 
have a government-bankrolled sanctuary to provide such a thing for 
illegal alien lawbreakers.
  In addition, as the Representative from South Carolina just referred 
to moments ago, the threat of ISIS and the authentic threat against the 
West from terror attacks is real. We are living with that reality 
today.
  So we passed in this body H.R. 237, which would provide the Secretary 
of State with the authority to revoke or deny passports to individuals 
who are aligned with foreign terrorist groups.
  It would also provide critical assistance to law enforcement and 
intelligence service personnel to make it easier for them to flag 
suspects when they are traveling internationally.
  Perhaps most importantly, that bill would help prevent turned 
Americans who are now fighting alongside of ISIS from coming back to 
the United States undetected. Again, these bills and many others like 
these have not even received a hearing on the other side of the 
Capitol.
  This body has passed the VA Accountability Act, which would allow the 
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary new authority to fire bad 
employees in order to assure that our veterans are receiving the care 
that they deserve.
  Additionally, this body has passed the Death Tax Repeal Act, which 
would eliminate a tax which is unfairly imposed on family estates after 
a loved one has passed. That bill would ensure that farmers and small-
business owners would not be taxed for the success of their loved one 
who has passed away. It would help keep small businesses and farm doors 
open.
  This body has passed multiple pieces of legislation that would 
increase government transparency and accountability, which our 
constituents deserve. To that end, we have passed the IRS Email 
Transparency Act. We also passed the Prevent Targeting at the IRS Act. 
The list goes on and on and on, is my point.
  I am proud to stand here tonight. I am proud to state that we, this 
entire body, have successfully passed real and meaningful legislation 
that would vastly improve the lives of our constituents and our Nation.
  However, the reality is that, without a fully engaged and willing 
partner on the other side of the Capitol, all this work that we have 
done equates to nothing more than a vacant parking lot. It amounts to a 
wicked limbo of immobility or lethargic stasis. Quite frankly, the 
American people deserve more than this.
  I urge our friends on the other side of the Capitol to start taking 
up some of the legislation that this body has passed and to do so with 
a sense of urgency.
  I realize that they are described as the most deliberative body in 
the world, but, frankly, it feels as though they are helping create an 
environment of absolute dysfunction.
  I encourage them to take up bills and to move them forward so that, 
working together, we can become the most decisive body in the world.
  The clock is ticking. The American people are excellent timekeepers.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Hice for those 
passionate comments.
  You know, in life, sometimes you run across people who are authentic, 
who truly have a servant spirit. One of those people I have been 
privileged to meet is right here in the Halls of Congress.

[[Page H8349]]

  He is a Representative from Arizona's Eighth Congressional District. 
He is a Reagan conservative in his seventh term. He has one of the most 
powerful and passionate voices, a huge heart, but a strong voice for 
life. It is a privilege for him to be a part of our People's Night 2.
  I yield to my friend, my colleague, and the great Representative from 
Arizona, Representative Trent Franks.
  Mr. FRANKS of Arizona. Mr. Speaker, if I could, let me express 
sincere gratitude to Congressman Walker for leading this effort 
tonight.

  The people of North Carolina did a very wise thing to send this man 
to Congress. He has represented them faithfully. He is a Valley Forge 
American that I wish there were more of in the United States Congress.
  Madam Speaker, the direction of America and the world under the 
leadership of Barack Obama is alarming to any reasonable observer. To 
those outside the beltway, Republicans seem weak and unwilling to 
effectively respond.
  One of the hidden-in-plain-sight reasons for this false perception is 
the rules and present practices in the United States Senate controlling 
the parliamentarian instrument of the ``motion to proceed to 
consider.'' This is the mechanism that allows the filibuster in the 
United States Senate.
  Mr. Speaker, just very briefly, it takes 60 votes to allow a bill to 
come to the floor for debate in the United States Senate. It takes 
another vote of 60 votes to allow that bill to be actually voted upon.
  The truth is that, with 54 Republicans, it takes 6 Democrats to help 
allow either debate or a vote to occur in the United States Senate.
  Unfortunately, regardless of the nature of the bills, in recent 
years, this simply has not been allowed to occur. Mr. Speaker, this has 
become a boot on the throat of the Constitution and a stalemate to this 
Republic.
  I would suggest to you, Mr. Speaker, that, if we don't change it, the 
people of this country are going to become so wearied of this process, 
so convinced that we will remain in gridlock forever, that they will 
simply wash their hands of the American Government. If they do that, 
then the Founding Fathers' dream itself could die in this generation. 
It must not be allowed to happen.
  To put this in practical terms, Mr. Speaker, the House of 
Representatives passed some months ago the Department of Homeland 
Security appropriations bill. The only thing that we did, using our 
article I powers of the purse, was to say that we would not fund the 
President's illegal, unconstitutional executive order on immigration.
  That bill then went over to the Senate, fully funding the Department 
of Homeland Security. Democrats in the Senate said: No. We are not 
voting on the bill. You guys are shutting the government down.
  Democrats want very much to shut this government down because they 
know that the left-wing media will make sure that Republicans are fully 
blamed for that reality. That is what they want. It is not a deterrent 
to them. It is an inducement.
  Mr. Speaker, the choice for House leadership is either to dumb the 
bill down so the Democrats will support it and thereby completely make 
the Republican base heartbroken or allow the government to be shut 
down. No one is accountable under this scenario, and it has to change, 
Mr. Speaker.
  For my Republican friends that say, well, what if we are in the 
minority, well, we have been in the minority and ObamaCare passed and 
all of these other things passed because, unfortunately, the 
willingness of the Senate Democrats today to abuse this filibuster is 
so prevalent that it stops anything of consequence that matters to this 
country. Mr. Speaker, that has to change.
  Under the current rules and practices, the balance between the 
reasonable opportunity to deliberate or debate and the ability to 
actually make a timely decision in the U.S. Senate no longer exists. 
The technical remedy to fix this is to adopt a change in the rules that 
will satisfy both the majority and the minority, prevent gridlock, and 
allow for consensus and the spirit of bipartisanship to return.
  Tomorrow, Mr. Speaker, I will be introducing a resolution calling 
upon the Senate to adjust their rules to prevent this mindless 
stalemate and the practice of the current rules as written.
  The goal, Mr. Speaker, is not to do away with the Senate filibuster, 
but to maintain the ability of the minority to have leveraged objection 
to either majority overreach or deeply contested legislation while 
restoring the accountability and deliberation to what is called the 
world's most deliberative body.
  Mr. Speaker, I have one last example. Almost 2 months ago this House 
passed the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act. We have passed 
many bills that have never gotten to see the light of day in the Senate 
because of the Senate filibuster.
  The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act required that babies 
surviving an abortion be given the same treatment and care that would 
be given to any child born naturally premature at the same age.

                              {time}  2030

  This bill now languishes in the Senate. It is uncertain if it will 
even be allowed a fair and honest debate up or down. These are born-
alive children, Mr. Speaker--born alive--and no one can obscure the 
humanity and personhood of born-alive babies or claim that there is a 
conflict that exists between now separate interests of the mother and 
the child. Nor can they take refuge within the schizophrenic paradox 
Roe v. Wade has subjected this country to for now more than four 
decades.
  Mr. Speaker, protecting born-alive survivors of abortion is not a 
Republican issue. It is not a Democratic issue. It is a test of our 
basic humanity and who we are as a human family. Before my colleagues 
in the Senate vote against this bill or, far worse, do as they have 
done so often and use the Senate rules to filibuster and avoid a vote 
and to deprive this bill of an honest debate and a fair vote, I would 
implore each one of them to ask themselves two questions in the 
stillness of their own heart.
  First, is turning our backs on the most helpless of our born-alive 
children truly who the United States of America has become? Second, is 
voting against or filibustering against a bill to protect born-alive 
human babies from agonizing dismemberment and death who they have 
become as a Senate and what they want to be remembered for?
  Mr. Speaker, it is time that we recognize that there are certain 
bills that are worth a vote, bills like protecting this country from a 
potential Iranian nuclear option and bills like protecting this country 
from allowing its little born-alive children to be killed 
indiscriminately. Mr. Speaker, that time has come.
  I thank the gentleman for his kindness.
  Mr. WALKER. Thank you, Representative Franks. I think America just 
saw some of the eloquence as well as the passion with which you speak 
for America's unborn.
  As we have talked tonight about the many pieces of legislation that 
the House has worked on diligently over the last 10, 11 months, here is 
just a partial list that I hold in my hands: legislation that is good 
for the American family, a balanced budget, reduction of taxes, taking 
care of our veterans. Tonight, with all due respect, we are calling 
upon Mitch McConnell and the Senate to move, to move diligently and to 
move urgently. It is past time.
  Tonight before my closing comments, I yield to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania's 12th District, Representative Keith Rothfus. It is maybe 
just a bit off topic, but something that is very important about what 
has been going on over the last week.


                            syrian refugees

  Mr. ROTHFUS. I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his 
leadership in organizing this Special Order. I thank him for allowing 
me to take a few moments to again take a look at what has been going on 
across the world and the troubling news that we have from abroad.
  I rise tonight, Mr. Speaker, to call for a moratorium on the entry of 
refugees into the United States from Syria and all other countries that 
have been infiltrated by ISIS and other terrorist groups until security 
concerns can be adequately addressed.
  In the wake of the recent attacks in Paris, in Beirut, and on a 
Russian plane flying over the Sinai, my first

[[Page H8350]]

and foremost concern is for the safety and security of my constituents 
in western Pennsylvania.
  To put it simply, the safety and security of the American people are 
nonnegotiable. Right now we simply do not have the mechanisms in place 
to ensure that the 10,000 Syrian refugees that the President would have 
come into this country over the next year and other refugees from 
terrorist-controlled areas are properly vetted.
  FBI Director James Comey has said as much: ``If someone has never 
made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their 
identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our 
database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up 
because we have no record of them.''
  The Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of Homeland 
Security have said the same. It is both reasonable and prudent to 
insist that we know exactly who these individuals are before they 
settle into our towns and cities.
  Currently, we have neither the capability nor the capacity to do 
this. The recent attacks have awakened us to the reality that Islamic 
State terrorists have the worst of intentions not only for Christians 
and other religious minorities in their own region, but for the entire 
Western world. They are not, as the President has claimed, merely a 
setback. They are acts of war by a terrorist scourge against decency 
and humanity and freedom and everything that we as Americans stand for.
  It comes as no surprise, then, that ISIS has already stated it 
intends to attack the heart of the United States here in Washington, 
D.C., and it is not impossible that ISIS terrorists could enter the 
country by posing as Syrian refugees. In fact, reports indicate that a 
Syrian passport was found next to the body of 25-year-old Ahmad al-
Mohammad, one of the suicide bombers in Paris. He was born in Idlib, a 
city in northwest Syria, and the Paris prosecutor's office said his 
fingerprints matched those of a person who traveled through Greece last 
month.
  So the security concerns that the American people are raising are 
not, as the President and others have suggested, without merit. They 
are completely legitimate, especially as the number of refugees is set 
to increase to 85,000 in 2016 and 100,000 in 2017, a significant 
increase from the average 70,000 per year over the past several years.
  The truth is that the American people are an incredibly compassionate 
and generous people. We have a rich history of assisting people in 
other nations around the globe when they are suffering from a 
humanitarian crisis, poverty, oppression, or war. Since September 11, 
2001, the United States has resettled 748,000 refugees from around the 
world. The American people have also assisted innocent Syrian refugees 
fleeing from violence in search of a better life, providing $4.5 
billion in humanitarian aid since the start of the crisis in Syria to 
help them relocate in Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Egypt, and other 
nations.
  While we desire to assist those who need help around the globe, we 
have a solemn duty to protect our citizens. The bottom line is we need 
to put the safety and security of Americans first. The solution I am 
proposing today is indefinite, but not necessarily permanent. It is the 
only responsible thing to do under these circumstances.
  We need time to review and implement policies that will ensure that 
those who seek refuge in the United States are properly vetted.
  I also urge my colleagues in the Senate to act boldly and promptly to 
ensure the security concerns of the American people are addressed.
  Mr. WALKER. Thank you, Representative Rothfus.
  Our second People's Night was scheduled weeks ago before the 
terrorists struck Paris.
  I believe it is appropriate this evening to send out our sincerest 
thoughts and prayers to the Parisian families and others whose lives 
have been changed forever by these cowardly attacks. Though my heart is 
heavy, my discontentment with this administration has reached a new 
level of frustration.
  Last year President Obama stated that ISIS was not a serious threat. 
In fact, many of us remember him referring to them as the JV squad. 
Just hours before this barbaric attack, the President emphatically 
expressed that ISIS had been contained and they were no longer 
expanding.

  As a member of the Committee on Homeland Security, I couldn't 
disagree more. According to the FBI, there are more than 1,000 open 
investigations that are ISIS or terrorist related. ISIS is a clear and 
present danger to the American people.
  Earlier today, in a joint hearing with the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and the Committee on Homeland Security, General Jack Keane 
shared these words:

       ISIS is the most successful terrorist organization of our 
     time. The world does not believe that our country is serious 
     about taking on ISIS.

  The general added:

       ISIS is not contained, and they are at war with us, but we 
     are not at war with them.

  While President Obama plays down the threat, other world leaders are 
leading and exhibiting and showing strength. Even the Pope has been 
warning us that these attacks and others could be the beginning of 
world war III.
  After reviewing the evidence and testimony, I am convinced that it is 
only by the grace of God and the diligent work of our local, State, and 
national law enforcement that we haven't been hurt in the same manner 
that played out just last weekend in Paris. Sadly, President Obama has 
yet to offer any plan, any strategy, or any solution to slow down these 
sons from hell.
  There is more evidence, continuing evidence of the disastrous Obama 
doctrine. The words of the President this past weekend sounded more 
like a spokesperson for the United Nations than America's Commander in 
Chief.
  This is more of the same flawed foreign policy that we have 
experienced, just like we did in the recent Iran deal. May I remind us 
that 25 Democrats stood with Republicans, rebuking such a deal. Even 
more are calling on the President to speak with clarity and with 
boldness. The American people have grown weary of the constant swag and 
condescending responses.
  Mr. Speaker, how much longer can we afford to wait on a President who 
stubbornly refuses to identify these devils as radical Islamist 
extremists? I would hope and pray that all Members of this House would 
band together, demanding the President deliver a definitive course of 
action. It is time, Mr. Speaker, for the President to settle up.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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