[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1286-H1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I have a privileged 
resolution at the desk, which I have previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Whereas, gun violence affects every community in our 
     Nation;
       Whereas, 30 people are killed every day by someone using a 
     gun;
       Whereas, more than 2,200 people have been killed this year 
     by someone using a gun;
       Whereas, there have been at least 34 mass shootings this 
     year;
       Whereas, while mass shootings often receive media 
     attention, gun violence is present every day in every 
     community;
       Whereas, since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, 
     the House of Representatives has held 43 moments of silence 
     to honor the memory of people killed by someone using guns;
       Whereas, most gun owners are responsible and law-abiding;
       Whereas, the Supreme Court, in its District of Columbia v. 
     Heller decision, recognized the right to keep and to bear 
     arms;
       Whereas, the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was 
     enacted on November 30, 1993;
       Whereas, background checks have been successful and every 
     day stop more than 170 felons, some 50 domestic abusers, and 
     nearly 20 fugitives from buying a gun;
       Whereas, over 2,000,000 gun sales were blocked since 
     enactment of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act;
       Whereas, 90 percent of all background checks are done 
     instantly;
       Whereas, the States that require background checks, 47 
     percent fewer women are murdered by intimate partners;
       Whereas, in States that require background checks, there 
     are 47 percent firearm suicides;
       Whereas, in States that require background checks, 53 
     percent fewer law enforcement officers are killed by someone 
     using a gun;
       Whereas, 97 percent of Americans polled support background 
     checks for all gun sales;
       Whereas, in many States, no background check is required to 
     buy a gun online or at a gun show; and
       Whereas, the President has said, ``Whether we are 
     Republican or Democrats must now focus on strengthening 
     Background Checks!'' Now, therefore, be it:
       Resolved That the House of Representatives should 
     immediately consider H.R. 4240, the Public Safety and Second 
     Amendment Rights Protection Act of 2017, and H.R. 3464, the 
     Background Check Completion Act of 2017.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Does the gentleman from California wish to 
present argument on the parliamentary question whether the resolution 
presents a question of the privileges of the House?
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, yes, I do.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is recognized on the question 
of order.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, it is our duty as lawmakers 
and Representatives to pass laws that will make our communities safer. 
So far, Mr. Speaker, Congress has done nothing in regard to gun 
violence prevention, and that is shameful.
  Every Member here knows that something must be done about gun 
violence. We may not all agree on what that is, but everyone, from the 
President of the United States of America to the inspiring young 
leaders who are leading a movement today out of Florida, agrees we must 
expand background checks. That is why we need this resolution and why 
we must take up the bipartisan background bill immediately. You cannot 
table the 30 people a day who are killed by someone using a gun.
  Let us have this vote, Mr. Speaker. We have had too many moments of 
silence. We have got a bill that is ready to come to the floor. It is 
bipartisan, Democrats and Republicans supporting the bill, coauthoring 
the bill.
  Ninety-seven percent of the American people believe that we should 
take up and vote for a measure regarding background checks. This is a 
good bill. It should be brought to the floor.
  The Republicans should not be silencing the wishes of the American 
people. The Republican majority should not disallow hearings and votes 
on this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, it is past time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The remarks of the gentleman must be 
confined to the question of order.
  The Chair is prepared to rule.
  The gentleman from California seeks to offer a resolution raising a 
question of the privileges of the House under rule IX. The resolution 
offered by the gentleman from California provides that the House should 
vote on two specified measures.
  One of the fundamental tenets of rule IX, as the Chair recently ruled 
on December 10, 2015, is that a resolution expressing a sentiment that 
the House should consider a particular bill does not qualify as a 
question of the privileges of the House. Similarly, on February 6, 
2018, the Chair ruled that a resolution providing that the House should 
act on a specified item of business does not constitute a question of 
the privileges of the House.

[[Page H1287]]

  By calling for a vote on two particular measures, 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.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. 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. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Burgess moves to table the appeal of the ruling of the 
     Chair.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. THOMPSON of California. 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 5-minute votes 
on:
  Ordering the previous question on House Resolution 748;
  Adoption of House Resolution 748, if ordered;
  Ordering the previous question on House Resolution 747; and
  Adoption of House Resolution 747, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 228, 
nays 184, not voting 18, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 83]

                               YEAS--228

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amash
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brat
     Bridenstine
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burgess
     Byrne
     Calvert
     Carter (GA)
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Coffman
     Cole
     Collins (GA)
     Collins (NY)
     Comer
     Comstock
     Conaway
     Cook
     Costello (PA)
     Crawford
     Culberson
     Curbelo (FL)
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     Denham
     Dent
     DeSantis
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donovan
     Duffy
     Duncan (SC)
     Duncan (TN)
     Dunn
     Emmer
     Estes (KS)
     Farenthold
     Faso
     Ferguson
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flores
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Frelinghuysen
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garrett
     Gianforte
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     Harris
     Hartzler
     Hensarling
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice, Jody B.
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Holding
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Hultgren
     Hunter
     Hurd
     Issa
     Jenkins (KS)
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson, Sam
     Jones
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Meehan
     Messer
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Perry
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Renacci
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rohrabacher
     Rokita
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sensenbrenner
     Sessions
     Shimkus
     Shuster
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smith (TX)
     Smucker
     Stefanik
     Stewart
     Stivers
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Thornberry
     Tipton
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walden
     Walker
     Walorski
     Walters, Mimi
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Woodall
     Yoder
     Yoho
     Young (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--184

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson (IN)
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Crist
     Crowley
     Cuellar
     Davis (CA)
     Davis, Danny
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     Delaney
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Ellison
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Gutierrez
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster (NH)
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Lipinski
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Moore
     Moulton
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Nolan
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     O'Rourke
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pascrell
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Peterson
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Polis
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Rosen
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Slaughter
     Soto
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Visclosky
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--18

     Bergman
     Black
     Carter (TX)
     Cleaver
     Cramer
     Cummings
     Engel
     Graves (MO)
     Huizenga
     Long
     Payne
     Pearce
     Smith (WA)
     Speier
     Torres
     Trott
     Velazquez
     Walz

                              {time}  1337

  Messrs. TED LIEU of California, NEAL, PANETTA, RUSH, THOMPSON of 
Mississippi, McEACHIN, and JOHNSON of Georgia changed their vote from 
``yea'' to ``nay.''
  So the motion to table was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________