[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H9263-H9264]
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, I rise to a question of the privileges of 
the House and offer the following resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Womack). The Clerk will report the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas the safety of the American people is urgently at 
     stake;
       Whereas the integrity of the legislative process has been 
     seriously undermined by the influence of a powerful lobby, 
     causing the House leadership to prevent the American people's 
     representatives from considering commonsense measures to 
     prevent terrorists from purchasing assault weapons and 
     firearms from any licensed firearms dealer in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the first duty of Members of Congress is to protect 
     and defend the American people, and that duty is forsaken by 
     the failure of the House leadership to withstand the 
     influence of a powerful lobby controlled by the gun industry;
       Whereas leaders of terrorist organizations have previously 
     urged sympathizers to exploit the United States' lax gun laws 
     in order to perpetrate domestic terror;
       Whereas suspects on the FBI's Terrorist Watchlist can go 
     into a gun store anywhere in America and buy dangerous 
     firearms of their choosing legally;
       Whereas since 2004, more than 2,000 suspected terrorists 
     have legally purchased weapons in the United States;
       Whereas in that time period, more than 90 percent of all 
     suspected terrorists who tried to buy a gun in a store in 
     America walked away with his or her weapon of choice;
       Whereas the House leadership ensures the ability of 
     suspected terrorists to continue to buy guns and refuses to 
     schedule legislation to close the terror list loophole;
       Whereas since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary 
     school nearly 3 years ago, more than 1,000 mass shootings, 
     90,000 gun deaths, and 210,000 gun injuries have occurred; 
     and
       Whereas mass shootings and gun violence are inflicting 
     daily tragedy on communities across America: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved, That--
       (1) a clear and present danger exists to the American 
     people; and
       (2) in order to protect the American people and the 
     integrity of the legislative process, upon the adoption of 
     this resolution, the Speaker shall place H.R. 1076, the 
     ``Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists 
     Act'', as introduced by Congressman Peter King (Republican-
     NY), on the calendar for an immediate vote.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentlewoman from California wish to 
present argument on the parliamentary question whether the resolution 
presents a question of the privileges of the House?
  Ms. PELOSI. I do, Mr. Speaker.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from California is 
recognized.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, it is shocking to the American people that 
Congress refuses to keep guns out of the hands of those on the FBI's 
terrorist watch list. The gun violence epidemic is a public health 
crisis that we have a responsibility to address. Failing to meet that 
responsibility brings dishonor to the House of Representatives.
  Public sentiment demands action. Eighty percent of Americans support 
legislation to close the outrageous loophole that puts guns in the 
hands of people, again, on the FBI's terrorist watch list. In the last 
decade, 90 percent of those on the FBI's terrorist watch list who tried 
to buy guns in America left the store with their weapons of choice.
  In closing, in the people's House, we do nothing. We have not even 
allowed an up-or-down vote. In just over 1,000 days since Sandy Hook, 
we have seen 1,000 mass killings, 90,000 gun deaths, and 210,000 gun 
injuries in communities across America.
  By refusing to act, we disgrace the House, we dishonor the American 
people, and we erode America's faith in our democracy. We have no right 
to hold moments of silence without action to end gun violence. Give us 
an up-or-down vote.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will rule.
  The gentlewoman from California seeks to offer a resolution raising a 
question of the privileges of the House under rule IX. The resolution 
directs the Speaker to schedule a particular measure for an immediate 
vote.
  One of the fundamental tenets of rule IX, as the Chair most recently 
ruled on October 8, 2013, is that a resolution expressing a legislative 
sentiment does not qualify as a question of the privileges of the 
House.
  By calling for a vote on a particular measure, the resolution 
expresses a legislative sentiment in violation of the principles 
documented in sections 702 and 706 of the House Rules and Manual. 
Accordingly, the resolution does not constitute a question of the 
privileges of the House.
  Ms. PELOSI. 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?


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. McCARTHY. 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.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion to table will be followed by a 5-minute vote 
on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 2795.

[[Page H9264]]

  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 242, 
nays 173, not voting 18, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 688]

                               YEAS--242

     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
     Clawson (FL)
     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)
     Farenthold
     Fincher
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fleming
     Flores
     Forbes
     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
     Huizenga (MI)
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd (TX)
     Hurt (VA)
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (OH)
     Jolly
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger (IL)
     Kline
     Knight
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Lummis
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Massie
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mica
     Miller (FL)
     Miller (MI)
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Mulvaney
     Murphy (PA)
     Neugebauer
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Nugent
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Peterson
     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
     Salmon
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     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

                               NAYS--173

     Adams
     Ashford
     Bass
     Beatty
     Becerra
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (FL)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capps
     Capuano
     Cardenas
     Carney
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     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
     Eshoo
     Esty
     Farr
     Fattah
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Graham
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Hahn
     Hastings
     Heck (WA)
     Higgins
     Himes
     Hinojosa
     Honda
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Israel
     Jackson Lee
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Kuster
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham (NM)
     Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McDermott
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Norcross
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez, Linda T.
     Sanchez, Loretta
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schrader
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Sherman
     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--18

     Aguilar
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Cicilline
     Emmer (MN)
     Engel
     Grayson
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Johnson, Sam
     Kildee
     McGovern
     Meadows
     Nolan
     Rangel
     Rice (NY)
     Scott (VA)
     Sessions
     Sinema

                              {time}  1715

  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________