[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 22, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H1509-H1513]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
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PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 2745, STANDARD MERGER AND
ACQUISITION REVIEWS THROUGH EQUAL RULES ACT OF 2015, AND PROVIDING FOR
PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM MARCH 24, 2016, THROUGH APRIL 11,
2016
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on
Rules, I call up House Resolution 653 and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 653
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be
in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 2745) to
amend the Clayton Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act to
provide that the Federal Trade Commission shall exercise
authority with respect to mergers only under the Clayton Act
and only in the same procedural manner as the Attorney
General exercises such authority. All points of order against
consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be
considered as read. All points of order against provisions in
the bill are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment
thereto to final passage without intervening motion except:
(1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the
Judiciary; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. On any legislative day during the period from
March 24, 2016, through April 11, 2016--
(a) the Journal of the proceedings of the previous day
shall be considered as approved; and
(b) the Chair may at any time declare the House adjourned
to meet at a date and time, within the limits of clause 4,
section 5, article I of the Constitution, to be announced by
the Chair in declaring the adjournment.
Sec. 3. The Speaker may appoint Members to perform the
duties of the Chair for the duration of the period addressed
by section 2 of this resolution as though under clause 8(a)
of rule I.
Sec. 4. Each day during the period addressed by section 2
of this resolution shall not constitute a calendar day for
purposes of section 7 of the War Powers Resolution (50 U.S.C.
1546).
Sec. 5. The Committee on Energy and Commerce may, at any
time before 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 31, 2016, file a report
to accompany H.R. 2666.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia is recognized for
1 hour.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only,
I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr.
Polis), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During
consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose
of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous materials on House Resolution 653, currently under
consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring this rule
forward on behalf of the Rules Committee.
The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 2745, the Standard Merger
and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules Act of 2015, or the SMARTER
Act.
The rule also provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee,
and also provides a motion to recommit. I would like to point out that
the Rules Committee put out a call for amendments, but none were
submitted for consideration.
Yesterday the Rules Committee received testimony from the chairman
and ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform,
Commercial, and Antitrust Law. A subcommittee hearing was held on this
legislation and it was marked up and reported by the Judiciary
Committee. The bill went through regular order and enjoyed discussion
at both the subcommittee and full committee level.
H.R. 2745 is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the
American Hospital Association because it is a matter of basic fairness
and reducing uncertainty.
This legislation makes two key changes to the procedures by which the
Federal Trade Commission litigates merger cases. First, it requires the
FTC to satisfy the same standards that the DOJ must meet in order to
obtain a preliminary injunction in Federal Court.
Second, it requires the FTC to litigate merits of contested merger
cases in Federal Court under the Clayton Act--just as the DOJ does--
rather than before its own administrative tribunals.
Currently the FTC is authorized to obtain preliminary injunctive
relief, whereas the DOJ must satisfy the generally applicable test for
obtaining preliminary injunction in Federal Court if it wants to block
a merger. Courts have sometimes held that there is a lower burden on
the FTC to obtain an injunction than the DOJ would have to face under
the traditional test.
Additionally, if the FTC loses a preliminary injunction in Federal
Court, it is able to litigate the merits of the cases in an
administrative proceeding ultimately adjudicated by its commissioners.
However, the DOJ does not have this power.
The SMARTER Act addresses these disparities, as recommended by the
Antitrust Modernization Commission.
[[Page H1510]]
Parties to a merger should not be subject to different treatment and
standards based on the reviewing antitrust enforcement agency.
Antitrust agencies are charged with reviewing transactions efficiently
and fairly in order to ensure that competition is preserved. But
current law leaves the impression that there is a divergence of
procedure and that whether or not a merger can proceed depends on which
agency reviews that particular transaction.
Importantly, this bill does not make it easier for mergers to be
approved. H.R. 2745 does increase fairness and efficiency by ensuring
that the antitrust enforcement agencies are not imposing unequal
burdens on the merging parties.
I thank the full committee, Chairman Goodlatte, Chairman Marino,
Congressman Farenthold, and their staff for their work bringing these
important reforms today. Again, as we look forward, I would encourage
all to support this rule and the underlying legislation as it will
bring some streamlined modern efficiencies to this program as we go
forward.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.
That was complicated. My colleague from Georgia, Mr. Speaker,
explained a lot of stuff. There were definitely a lot of big words in
there, and words that we do not use too often in Colorado.
It seems to me that this bill is designed to make it easier for very
big companies to merge and reduce the oversight in making sure that
those big mergers do not hurt consumers. Most mergers do not even go
through this. I think it was in our Rules Committee yesterday where Mr.
Marino testified it was maybe 3 percent of mergers. So only if both
companies are very, very, very big companies, multinational
conglomerates, then it goes up for review. This bill says that maybe
there should be a little less review. I think even the proponents say
there still should be review. There are several government agencies
involved.
But it seems to me, Mr. Speaker, that what this bill is really
doing--the Standard Merger and Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules
Act of 2015--it almost takes a few breaths to even say it. It is one of
the longer bill titles that I have heard, very technical--it is really
the stalling on the floor of the House bill until the Republicans can
figure out a budget. That is exactly what we are doing here, Mr.
Speaker.
I would hope that, as we stall, we could offer more substantive bills
that we could do in the meantime. This bill, the Standard Merger and
Acquisition Reviews Through Equal Rules bill, is really, truly a
solution in search of a problem.
Where does this bill come from?
I am certainly very pro-business. I founded several businesses before
I came here. I took a long and hard look at this bill today. I am all
for streamlining government processes, but I just can't imagine what
problem we are even trying to solve here. I don't know. I wonder where
the idea for this bill came from. Maybe it came from a town hall. I
know a lot of the best ideas that I get start from my constituents and
small businesses back home. That was the argument we heard very
passionately orated when we talked about brick kilns for an entire week
the other week.
Maybe Members are fighting for people back home. Maybe a constituent
approached somebody in Mr. Collins' district and said: We truly wish
review processes for the larger corporate mergers were streamlined;
something must be done about the FTC's administrative adjudication
authority.
Maybe that was the call that was resounding in town halls across the
country, but it did not come up in any of mine. In Colorado's Front
Range it simply was not the issue that my constituents were raising,
but I will certainly give my colleagues the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps there is a groundswell for addressing the FTC's administrative
adjudication authority for the largest companies and their mergers that
simply has not reached Colorado. Perhaps that is the case.
Mr. Speaker, there is an important point I want to make. Time is very
precious here on the House floor. Taxpayers are paying for this time.
In fact, apparently tomorrow will be the last day. This will be the
last bill we vote on before we all get sent home for a 3-week vacation.
We have very limited time to pass bills that benefit the American
people.
Six years ago, nearly to this day, the House took this workweek in
late March and passed a little something called the Affordable Care
Act. Now, that might not be popular with my friends on the other side
of the aisle, but it certainly was consequential. In fact, 15 million
more Americans have coverage today because of what we did this same
week 6 years ago. We passed the first major piece of healthcare reform
in a generation. Like it or not, we had conviction, and we passed bills
that helped Americans every day solve problems.
Now here we are 6 years later and we are debating a measure that
helps a few large corporations merge with each other to become even
larger. Look, if we want to help American business, let's find a
backbone, let's look at tax reform, let's look at comprehensive
immigration reform, let's invest in our infrastructure and in our
schools to have a better prepared workforce. Be courageous. Let's
present solutions to problems, not solutions in search of a problem.
Here we are passing yet another bill the Senate won't consider and
that will never become law, and then go reward ourselves with 3 weeks
of vacation. Look, maybe someday this bill will help one conglomerate
purchase another conglomerate, or save them a few dollars in legal fees
along the way.
Is that exciting, Mr. Speaker, to you? Is that something that
resounds across our country or would even contribute one iota to our
country's economic growth?
Mr. Speaker, this bill does not solve any of the problems this
Congress needs to take on.
What should we be doing this week?
We should be talking about making college more affordable. We should
be talking about growing our economy, investing in infrastructure,
reforming our bloated Tax Code, and simplifying taxes. We should be
talking about passing a budget.
Mr. Speaker, most households have a budget. My household has a
budget, but this Congress does not have a budget. Instead of having a
budget, everybody is going on a vacation.
Mr. Speaker, this bill does not find a solution to the 11 million
undocumented people in our country and fix our broken immigration
system. This bill does not secure our borders or does not make college
more affordable. It is a shame that we are spending an entire week
debating this nonsolution in search of a problem that maybe some years
hence will help one large company merge with another and reduce their
paperwork to the detriment of the public interest and consumer interest
in the American people.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
I think it is interesting. It does not help. As we come down here and
debate--and this is a floor to do that, Mr. Speaker--let's just be very
clear, this does not help companies merge. I am not sure why we are
putting forth a statement that helps companies merge. It simply takes
and it streamlines the process so that you are not having two divergent
paths in which the scrutiny of a merger takes place.
If we want to at least be faithful to the bill, which is what this
does, it does not make substantive changes to antitrust law. Rather,
this legislation standardizes the process between the two antitrust
enforcement agencies.
Look, I grew up in north Georgia, and there were a lot of times
especially--I have had some small businesses, and I appreciate the
gentleman from Colorado, but I bet there are many times in his
businesses that the things that you do every day, it is like being a
part of a family. It is doing chores, it is doing the work that needs
to be done. It may not hit the front page of the paper, it may not be
the glamorous piece that anybody would want to talk about. Those things
are getting discussed and those things are moving forward. Maybe not at
the pace that some would like to see, but we are moving forward with
legislation.
[[Page H1511]]
The question is if a bill that simply streamlines and provides some
efficiency that even this current Department of Justice assistant
attorney general for the antitrust division stated, I don't think that
there is a real practical difference in how courts assess the factual
legal basis for enjoining a merger challenged by the FTC on the one
hand or the Department on the other.
{time} 1245
Basically, we are doing some of the administrative work that needs to
be done to lay the groundwork so that we don't have divergent opinions,
so that we don't have two processes out there. If that is not exciting
enough, then I am sorry. There are a lot of things that we do that do
affect business, that do affect the streamlining of government. There
are a lot of things that I would like to see us work on and that we are
continuing to work on.
On this issue of ``will the Senate take it up or not?'' I, frankly,
Mr. Speaker, don't care. If they don't want to do their job, that is
their problem. If they have other agendas, then that is their problem.
That is why there are two separate bodies on the Hill--there is the
House, and then there is the Senate. We must work in tandem when we
can, but we also must work with our own individual agendas to move
forward what, in our perspective, is a conservative agenda for this
country.
The other thing that is very concerning is--and there are a lot of
issues here, and I appreciate the gentleman's speaking, Mr. Speaker,
about where ideas come from. I am very concerned--and I know the
Speaker is as well--about where ideas and processes come from for bills
here. The best place, as the gentleman stated, is from back home--being
with members and being with constituents and being with the businesses
and being with the school groups and being with the folks in the places
which we come from. I am born and raised in my district. As is the old
saying, good Lord willing, by August, it will have been 50 years I will
have lived in my district. I know my district and have gotten to know
their concerns.
Do I believe there are a lot of things we can do up here? Yes, but I
get to go home to my district, and I get to listen to people. I will be
happy to read my schedule for the next few weeks while I am in the
district, and if that sounds like a vacation to you, maybe we will have
a different opinion on what a vacation looks like, because I am going
to be going to businesses which, over the past few years, have been
hurt by a healthcare policy that was put in place, and they don't know
if they can hire new members. They have had to downsize--they have had
to stop progress--and they are just being, all the time, encircled with
regulations that keep them from hiring and from providing good jobs in
the Ninth District of Georgia.
I don't know about what others do on their time back in their
districts. I go to talk to school groups who ask the question: What do
their futures look like with an ever-increasing pile of debt? They look
at their futures, and they ask: What is this country? They look at the
future around the world when they see attacks, such as this morning in
Brussels, and they ask where their place is in the world. What is
America's role? These are the kinds of things that are discussed on my
time when I am in the district.
I believe we could work up here every day, and I will be supportive
of that; but when I go back home to the district, when it is scheduled
for us as Members to go home, then, frankly, maybe there is just a
definitional difference in vacations. For me, it is to go home and
listen and to be a part and to, yes, spend some time with my family. At
the same point in time, every day, I get up and go out and talk to the
district, and I talk to these people who have issues with Washington,
D.C.: with their tax burdens, with their regulatory burdens, with their
healthcare burdens, and with all of these supposed fixes.
Many times, like I said, I believe the Republican majority, in the
last 5 years, has had to undo and fix the problems that were so
forcefully allocated. We have got a banking system in our district that
is still having trouble with banks being able to make loans, banks
being able to do the things that they are supposed to be doing to help
our business community, because they are strangled with regulatory
burden.
You see, these are the issues that we can discuss here, and I
appreciate the argument. Also, as we go back to the bill before us,
sometimes it may not make the front page of whatever you read, but when
you have two agencies that do, basically, a similar function in the
merger arena and when they do it differently--and even the current
Department of Justice and the chairwoman for the mergers and
acquisitions were looking at this and were saying that this just needs
to be better--this bill is a positive step forward. As we move forward
to the debate that will happen this afternoon, I look forward to the
debate of the committee as it discusses the ins and outs of this bill.
Before we go any further, I think we just need to be honest with the
American people and say that these are ideas that are worth having and
that also, when we are back in the districts, their ideas are worth
having, because that is where the best ideas come from. That is where
our homes are, and that is who we represent up here. It is never a
burden to go home. Many times, it is a burden to come up here and fight
against values that you have in your district that are not valued on
the other side of the aisle. That is the burden that we will continue
to fight. We will continue to stand as a conservative bearer on this
side to say that this is a government that needs to work for the people
and not at the people. That is the biggest difference that you will see
on this floor today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I think the American people deserve to know what Members of Congress
are doing to earn their salaries.
This week--3 days--this bill is the only bill under a rule that this
Congress is even considering. Let me tell you how Congress calculates
days, Mr. Speaker, because most Americans think, ``Okay. A day, maybe I
go to work at 9 o'clock and come home at 5 o'clock. That is a day.''
Let me tell you that Congress has a different definition of a day for
Members of Congress.
Monday, we started at 6:30 p.m.--not a.m. but p.m. Now, Mr. Collins
and I got to come in at 5 p.m. to start. We started early. Mr. Collins
and I worked an extra hour and a half. I asked the Speaker if Mr.
Collins did, and he did start at 5 o'clock with me. We worked an extra
hour and a half; but you, Mr. Speaker--I don't think you started until
6:30. That is when the votes occurred.
On Tuesday--that is today--that is a real day. I will give you that.
We are working on Tuesday. I started this morning at around 8 o'clock,
and I fully expect we will go until 6 o'clock or 7 o'clock. That is a
good day. That is good. I can be proud of that for my kids that I
worked a good day and can tell anybody back home.
Tomorrow, Wednesday--this day, we are working today. I would ask my
colleague from Georgia: Does the gentleman know what time we expect to
finish tomorrow? I would ask Mr. Collins if he knows what time we are
scheduled to finish tomorrow.
I yield to the gentleman from Georgia.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. It is the majority leader's prerogative, as
the gentleman from Colorado is well aware.
Mr. POLIS. What is that?
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. After the final votes are cast tomorrow, it
is the majority leader's prerogative, as the gentleman from Colorado is
well aware.
Mr. POLIS. I heard it was around noon or, maybe, 12:30. I think I
heard a lot of Members discussing whether they could catch their
flights at around 1 o'clock or 2 o'clock. I don't know if they are
going off to the Caribbean for their vacations or what. So, in this
week, in which the Republicans are claiming we are working 3 days, I
call it 1 day--Tuesday--and maybe half a day on Wednesday and maybe an
hour or two on Monday.
Look, that is not the kind of job that the American people expect us
to do here. They want us to work full days. Why aren't we here all
week? Why aren't we bringing up more than one bill? Fine. This bill can
have its day in
[[Page H1512]]
the Sun, and, as Mr. Collins said, not every bill is glamorous. Maybe
there are some really big companies that want to be merged with other
really big companies, and they feel it is too much paperwork to do it.
Let's discuss it. Let's do that in a half a day. I mean, let's do that
on Monday. Instead of coming in at 6 o'clock, maybe we come in at noon
and sleep until 11 o'clock--that should be late enough for Members of
Congress to sleep--and debate it for a few hours. Then let's do
something else on Tuesday. Let's do a budget on Tuesday. Let's do
something about the Zika virus on Tuesday. Let's do something about the
Puerto Rico virus on Tuesday. On Wednesday, let's get to work and do
more, right? I mean, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work. Let's
not go home at noon.
Mr. Speaker, I have a very exciting motion I will be able to make
here. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to
the rule to prohibit the House from starting a 2-week recess tomorrow
unless we do our job and pass a budget.
I ask unanimous consent to insert that amendment in the Record.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Colorado?
There was no objection.
Mr. POLIS. Now, this is very exciting, Mr. Speaker, because I am
giving my colleagues an opportunity. As to this previous question vote,
if we vote it down--a ``no'' vote--it will mean ``Congress, don't go on
vacation. Do your job and pass the budget.'' A ``yes'' vote means ``go
on vacation, and forget about a budget.'' With this motion that I am
introducing here, if we defeat the previous question, I am really
calling on Members of Congress to account as to whether they think we
should do our job or whether we should go home after making it easier
for very big companies to merge.
I hope that the answer is the one that the men and women who are
listening at home would agree is the logical answer: that we should
stay here and do our jobs. We will see here in a few minutes what my
colleagues want to do: whether they agree with me that we should stay
here and do our jobs or whether they think that we should allow bigger
companies to have facilitated mergers and then go home.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers. I am
interested in whether the gentleman from Colorado has any more speakers
or if he is ready to close.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I am ready to close.
I yield myself the balance of my time.
It is interesting, Mr. Speaker, that my good friend and colleague Mr.
Collins from Georgia said that maybe this bill is important, that maybe
it is one of those things that might not be glamorous but that has to
be done, that it is important. Yet I think it speaks volumes, Mr.
Speaker, that not a single person even showed up to this debate besides
Mr. Collins and me, who have to be here. No Republicans who, I guess,
support this bill and no Democrats--and there might even be some
Democrats, I think, who support this bill or oppose this bill--I mean,
no one even came.
That is because everybody knows this bill is not going anywhere. The
Senate won't consider it. The President won't sign it. The American
people have not been crying out for it. Big multinational corporations
are perfectly able to merge today as long as they are not blocked by
the FTC or the DOJ for antitrust. This bill doesn't solve any problems.
Not a single Republican even came to the floor to argue about why we
needed this bill, with the exception, of course, of my good friend and
colleague Mr. Collins and me, who have to be here because we are
running the debate.
What does that mean when even the proponents of this bill don't even
come here to tell us why they want it? I think it shows a certain moral
bankruptcy, Mr. Speaker, and it exposes the veneer off the fact that
this is, simply, a time-stalling bill because Republicans don't have a
budget, and they want us to go on vacation right away.
Look, as to this bill that is being considered, I will address some
of its merits. It would alter the process in which the Federal Trade
Commission acts to regulate mergers and guarantee a competitive
marketplace and protect consumers. I am sure there are valid and
important arguments on both sides of this bill. The FTC was created in
1914 as an independent, bipartisan agency, and it has unique tools to
look after consumers in order to make sure that when two large
companies merge that it doesn't hurt consumers. Of course, because the
FTC and the DOJ have overlapping responsibilities, there are issues
between them. If there is a pressing problem, I would be happy to
consider this bill under an open rule.
Now, what does that mean?
It means that I believe--and the Democrats on the Rules Committee
yesterday made a motion to this effect--that we should allow Democrats
and Republicans to offer amendments on this bill to say: Do you know
what? Maybe there is a problem. Maybe we need to improve it. Maybe we
need to change it. Do you know what? That motion for an open rule was
voted down on a partisan vote.
Perhaps that is the reason, Mr. Speaker, that no Republicans or
Democrats bothered to come in on this bill, because the Republicans
have locked us out of participating. They have locked out the
Democratic and Republican rank-and-file Members, who represent great
districts across our country, like from Texas and California and New
York and Wisconsin--Democrats and Republicans. No one with any good
ideas can even try to make this bill better. No wonder people aren't
bothering to come to the floor in droves. It is because their ideas--
and they are good ideas, and good ideas even come from Republicans, Mr.
Speaker--are locked out of inclusion in this bill.
Do you know what? In 2007, Congress established the Antitrust
Modernization Commission, which released 80 recommendations for
revisions to antitrust law and policy. Of those recommendations, one of
them advocated for the elimination of the FTC's administrative
adjudication authority, and another proposed the adoption of a uniform
preliminary injunction standard. Those are two things that are in this
bill. To date, Congress has not considered the other 78 ideas that came
out of this obscure Commission that were reported back that only affect
the world's largest companies that merge with one another.
If we had an open rule, I could bring forward some of those other 78
ideas. If this is such a pressing problem and if we need to spend our
full day in session here this week in talking about making it easier
for corporations to buy one another, why not go all out and allow a
discussion of the other 78 ideas that the Antitrust Modernization
Commission recommended?
Mr. Speaker, this is a half measure that is a solution in search of a
problem. Instead of debating bills like the one here today, we should
be tackling problems that the American people sent us here to work on.
We should work an honest workweek rather than an hour on Monday, a full
day on Tuesday, a half a day on Wednesday, and take Thursday off and
take Friday off. The American people deserve an honest week.
They deserve us to get the budget done. Just like our households have
a budget, Congress deserves a budget. I am sure, in the past, my
colleague and many others have reminded us that Democrats, at times,
have also failed to produce budgets. I am saying neither side is
perfect. I am not proud that the Democrats, in the past, have failed to
produce a budget, but what we are talking about today are the
Republicans who are failing to produce a budget.
I remember very distinctly that, when the Democrats had difficulty
producing a budget, the Republicans said: How dare you. Produce a
budget. Our households rely on budgets. Why can't the Congress have a
budget?
That was one of the arguments that my colleagues made to the American
people, and the American people, for that reason and perhaps others,
gave control of this body to the Republicans. Now here we are with the
Republicans, who, instead of producing a budget, are sending every
Member of Congress home on vacation for 2\1/2\ weeks after working a
very taxing 1\1/2\-day week, making it easier for multinational
corporations to merge.
{time} 1300
Mr. Speaker, we can do better. As I mentioned earlier, when we do
defeat
[[Page H1513]]
the previous question on the vote, the amendment I have offered into
the Record will amend the rule to prohibit the House from starting our
vacation tomorrow, unless we do our job and pass a budget.
I strongly urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule, vote ``no''
on the underlying bill, and, instead, work to pass a budget and find
solutions to the big problems that we were sent here to face, like
improving our national security, like securing our border and replacing
our broken immigration system into one that reflects our values as a
Nation of laws and a Nation of immigrants, one that makes prescription
drugs more affordable and improves upon the Affordable Care Act,
improves our schools, invests in infrastructure, and so many of the
other issues that I hear about from my constituents at our town halls,
on the phone, and in letters.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the rule and the underlying
bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my
time.
I always try to be positive. There is one thing I do agree on with my
friend from Colorado just now, and that is that we can do better.
We can do better about explaining what is actually going on here and
talking about it in derisive terms, especially about a bill in which
there was--I serve on the Judiciary Committee--there was one amendment
brought to committee. This bill seems to be fairly tight because there
seems to be general agreement here.
There was one committee amendment brought to the committee, and it
was withdrawn. Then there was an amendment process put out.
It is interesting that, from this Antitrust Modernization Commission,
there were 78 other ideas. And then, when my friend just spoke about
the fact that, if we had an open rule on the floor, they might bring up
78.
I would just ask him where was he yesterday. We have talked about
showing up for work. Maybe he didn't punch in last night. He could have
brought 78 amendments last night to the Rules Committee. He chose not
to.
So we can do better. We can honestly discuss the procedures and the
fact that right now, while he and I are on the floor discussing this
rule and preparing for this rule, the rest of the 433 Members of the
House of Representatives--432 now--I think we still have one open
seat--are in committees right now.
They are meeting constituents. They are marking up bills. They are
going through regular order, which is the Republican Congress' way of
doing the people's business.
Also, as we have already discussed, whether the Senate signs
something or not--then he brought up the fact that the President would
never sign this piece of legislation.
Well, let's just remind the people what the administration doesn't
also sign. They won't also sign the Keystone Pipeline, which takes away
jobs from Americans.
He won't also sign a refugee bill that actually would just put an
extra measure of protection for protecting the American homeland from
possibly infiltration through the refugee program. They refuse to sign
that.
Yet, we will have the results of the world looking at that. He won't
sign that, Mr. Speaker. The administration doesn't seem to want to hold
Iran accountable for the testing that it is doing with its missiles.
So we can discuss what this administration doesn't want to sign. I
think using that as an excuse not to move a bill is an abdication of
responsibility.
So as we look forward, again, I have never thought anything that I do
up here, especially when it comes to my office or in committee work,
was not working.
I think, frankly, it is sort of disrespectful to the folks who come
to our offices and meet with us or the committee work that we do to say
that the only ``work'' is here before the cameras making speeches. If
that is what work is about up here, maybe we have just found the
problem with this Congress.
So, Mr. Speaker, parties to a merger should expect and receive the
same treatment and processes, regardless of the reviewing antitrust
enforcement agencies.
These parties should not be subject to attempts to extract
concessions or threat of administrative litigation by the FDC simply
because that is the agency reviewing the merger.
The underlying bill preserves key standards of review while removing
disparities. For that reason, I urge my colleagues to support this rule
and H.R. 2745.
The material previously referred to by Mr. Polis is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 653 Offered by Mr. Polis of Colorado
At the end of the resolution, add the following new
section:
Sec. 6. It shall not be in order to consider a motion that
the House adjourn on the legislative day of March 23, 2016,
unless the House has adopted a concurrent resolution
establishing the budget for the United States government for
fiscal year 2017.
The Vote on the Previous Question: What It Really Means
This vote, the vote on whether to order the previous
question on a special rule, is not merely a procedural vote.
A vote against ordering the previous question is a vote
against the Republican majority agenda and a vote to allow
the Democratic minority to offer an alternative plan. It is a
vote about what the House should be debating.
Mr. Clarence Cannon's Precedents of the House of
Representatives (VI, 308-311), describes the vote on the
previous question on the rule as ``a motion to direct or
control the consideration of the subject before the House
being made by the Member in charge.'' To defeat the previous
question is to give the opposition a chance to decide the
subject before the House. Cannon cites the Speaker's ruling
of January 13, 1920, to the effect that ``the refusal of the
House to sustain the demand for the previous question passes
the control of the resolution to the opposition'' in order to
offer an amendment. On March 15, 1909, a member of the
majority party offered a rule resolution. The House defeated
the previous question and a member of the opposition rose to
a parliamentary inquiry, asking who was entitled to
recognition. Speaker Joseph G. Cannon (R-Illinois) said:
``The previous question having been refused, the gentleman
from New York, Mr. Fitzgerald, who had asked the gentleman to
yield to him for an amendment, is entitled to the first
recognition.''
The Republican majority may say ``the vote on the previous
question is simply a vote on whether to proceed to an
immediate vote on adopting the resolution . . . [and] has no
substantive legislative or policy implications whatsoever.''
But that is not what they have always said. Listen to the
Republican Leadership Manual on the Legislative Process in
the United States House of Representatives, (6th edition,
page 135). Here's how the Republicans describe the previous
question vote in their own manual: ``Although it is generally
not possible to amend the rule because the majority Member
controlling the time will not yield for the purpose of
offering an amendment, the same result may be achieved by
voting down the previous question on the rule. . . . When the
motion for the previous question is defeated, control of the
time passes to the Member who led the opposition to ordering
the previous question. That Member, because he then controls
the time, may offer an amendment to the rule, or yield for
the purpose of amendment.''
In Deschler's Procedure in the U.S. House of
Representatives, the subchapter titled ``Amending Special
Rules'' states: ``a refusal to order the previous question on
such a rule [a special rule reported from the Committee on
Rules] opens the resolution to amendment and further
debate.'' (Chapter 21, section 21.2) Section 21.3 continues:
``Upon rejection of the motion for the previous question on a
resolution reported from the Committee on Rules, control
shifts to the Member leading the opposition to the previous
question, who may offer a proper amendment or motion and who
controls the time for debate thereon.''
Clearly, the vote on the previous question on a rule does
have substantive policy implications. It is one of the only
available tools for those who oppose the Republican
majority's agenda and allows those with alternative views the
opportunity to offer an alternative plan.
Mr. COLLINS of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my
time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.
=========================== NOTE ===========================
On page S1513, March 15, 2016, the following language appears:
DANNY C. REEVES, OF KENTUCKY, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES
SENTENCING COMMISSION FOR A TERM EXPIRING OCTOBER 31, 2021, VICE
DABNEY LANGHORNE FRIEDRICH, TERM EXPIRED.
The online Record has been corrected to read: DANNY C. REEVES,
OF KENTUCKY, TO BE A MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES SENTENCING
COMMISSION FOR A TERM EXPIRING OCTOBER 31, 2019, VICE RICARDO H.
HINOJOSA, TERM EXPIRED.
========================= END NOTE =========================
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