[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 69 (Friday, April 27, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3726-H3728]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I 
rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges 
of the House.
  The form of the resolution is as follows:
  Whereas, Father Patrick Conroy has served honorably as House Chaplain 
since May 25 of 2011 when he was then appointed by Speaker John Boehner 
in consultation with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi;
  Whereas, Father Conroy had been re-appointed and approved by the 
House of Representatives on three separate occasions, most recently 
January 3 of 2017;
  Whereas, on April 16, 2018, the Nation's first Jesuit, and only the 
second Catholic, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives 
submitted his resignation before the full House;
  Whereas, this resignation was forced by Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and Members of the House Republican 
Conference;
  Whereas, the Speaker's team said ``. . . the decision to remove the 
Chaplain was his, Speaker Ryan's;''
  Whereas, the lack of notification of his forced resignation or 
adequate explanation provided by Speaker Paul D. Ryan is not reflective 
of the integrity of the House of Representatives;
  Whereas, on November 6, 2017, during debate on the GOP tax scam, the 
Chaplain led an opening prayer asking God to bless Congress and for 
Congress to guarantee that there are not winners and losers under the 
new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans;
  Whereas, this prayer reflects the core values of many Americans, in 
particular people of the Catholic faith, including care and concern for 
the poor and the marginalized;
  Whereas, on April 9, 2018, Pope Francis published his third apostolic 
exhortation entitled ``Gaudete et Exsultate'' or rejoice and be heard 
which states that Christians must care for the poor, the sick, and the 
immigrant;
  Whereas, under the GOP tax bill, more than 80 percent of its benefits 
flow to the richest 1 percent and the corporate special interests, 
ignoring the needs for struggling men and women and children;
  Whereas, this prayer has been reported to be the chief reason for 
Father Conroy's forced resignation by the Republican Congress;
  Whereas, the dismissal of Father Conroy following this prayer shows 
Republicans' true refusal to embody the values of faith and charity in 
their legislative work;
  Whereas, Father Conroy's forced resignation is concerning to a number 
of Members of both sides of the aisle;
  Whereas, the House of Representatives would benefit from being guided 
by a Chaplain with a commitment to caring about those most in need;
  Whereas, the rights of Members of the House of Representatives were 
undermined when the leader of one party made a unilateral decision to 
dismiss the Chaplain;
  Whereas, this forced resignation has compromised the dignity of the 
House of Representatives by politicizing the Office of the House 
Chaplain;
  Whereas, the circumstances behind his resignation compromised the 
integrity and dignity of the House of Representatives:
  Resolved, that there is hereby established a select committee to 
investigate the actions and motivations behind the resignation of the 
House Chaplain. The select committee shall be comprised of six Members, 
of which three shall be appointed by the chair of the Committee on 
Ethics and three by the ranking member of the Committee on Ethics;
  The select committee shall investigate the motivations and actions of 
the Speaker behind the resignation of the Chaplain.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will now recognize the gentleman 
from New York to offer the resolution just noticed. Does the gentleman 
offer the resolution?
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolution just noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Womack). The Clerk will report the 
resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 856

       Whereas, Father Patrick Conroy has served honorably as 
     House Chaplain since May 25 of 2011 when he was then 
     appointed by Speaker John Boehner in consultation with 
     Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi;
       Whereas, Father Conroy had been re-appointed and approved 
     by the House of Representatives on three separate occasions, 
     most recently January 3 of 2017;
       Whereas, on April 16, 2018, the Nation's first Jesuit, and 
     only the second Catholic, Chaplain of the United States House 
     of Representatives submitted his resignation before the full 
     House;
       Whereas, this resignation was forced by Paul D. Ryan, 
     Speaker of the House of Representatives and Members of the 
     House Republican Conference;
       Whereas, the Speaker's team said ``. . . the decision (to 
     remove the Chaplain) was his (Speaker Ryan's);''
       Whereas, the lack of notification of his forced resignation 
     or adequate explanation provided by Speaker Paul D. Ryan is 
     not reflective of the integrity of the House of 
     Representatives;
       Whereas, on November 6, 2017, during debate on the GOP tax 
     scam, the Chaplain led an opening prayer asking God to bless 
     Congress and for Congress to guarantee that there are not 
     winners and losers under the new tax laws, but benefits 
     balanced and shared by all Americans;
       Whereas, this prayer reflects the core values of many 
     Americans, in particular people of the Catholic faith, 
     including care and concern for the poor and the marginalized;
       Whereas, on April 9, 2018, Pope Francis published his third 
     apostolic exhortation entitled ``Gaudete et Exsultate'' or 
     rejoice and be heard which states that Christians must care 
     for the poor, the sick, and the immigrant;
       Whereas, under the GOP tax bill, more than 80 percent of 
     its benefits flow to the richest 1 percent and the corporate 
     special interests, ignoring the needs for struggling men and 
     women and children;
       Whereas, this prayer has been reported to be the chief 
     reason for Father Conroy's forced resignation by the 
     Republican Congress;
       Whereas, the dismissal of Father Conroy following this 
     prayer shows Republicans' true refusal to embody the values 
     of faith and charity in their legislative work;
       Whereas Father Conroy's forced resignation is concerning to 
     a number of Members of both sides of the aisle;
       Whereas, the House of Representatives would benefit from 
     being guided by a Chaplain with a commitment to caring about 
     those most in need;
       Whereas, the rights of Members of the House of 
     Representatives were undermined

[[Page H3727]]

     when the leader of one party made a unilateral decision to 
     dismiss the Chaplain;
       Whereas, this forced resignation has compromised the 
     dignity of the House of Representatives by politicizing the 
     Office of the House Chaplain;
       Whereas, the circumstances behind his resignation 
     compromised the integrity and dignity of the House of 
     Representatives:
       Resolved, that there is hereby established a select 
     committee to investigate the actions and motivations behind 
     the resignation of the House Chaplain. The select committee 
     shall be comprised of six Members, of which three shall be 
     appointed by the chair of the Committee on Ethics and three 
     by the ranking member of the Committee on Ethics;
       The select committee shall investigate the motivations and 
     actions of the Speaker behind the resignation of the 
     Chaplain.

                              {time}  1145

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


                         Parliamentary Inquiry

  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, does, in fact, the Speaker of the House have 
the right to remove the Chaplain?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman's inquiry does not relate to 
the pending proceedings. The matter that is before the House at the 
present time is a question of privilege.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, is it correct that the Chaplain is elected by 
the whole House to be the Chaplain of the House of Representatives?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair is not going to respond to the 
matter as expressed by the gentleman.
  As stated, the issue before the House presently is the question of 
privilege just offered.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry.
  Are we in the position where the House will be unable to speak to the 
issue of removing the official, i.e. the Chaplain, elected by the whole 
House?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is no longer recognized. The 
gentleman has not stated an inquiry that relates in a practical sense 
to a matter before the House.


                            Motion to Table

  Mr. McCARTHY. 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. McCarthy moves that the resolution be laid on the 
     table.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. CROWLEY. 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 agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, if ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 215, 
nays 171, answered ``present'' 3, not voting 39, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 166]

                               YEAS--215

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

                               NAYS--171

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

                        ANSWERED ``PRESENT''--3

     Joyce (OH)
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Taylor

                             NOT VOTING--39

     Black
     Blackburn
     Brownley (CA)
     Buchanan
     Butterfield
     Courtney
     Davis, Danny
     Denham
     Doggett
     Garamendi
     Gibbs
     Gowdy
     Harper
     Higgins (NY)
     Huffman
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson (GA)
     Jones
     Kuster (NH)
     Kustoff (TN)
     Labrador
     Larson (CT)
     Lewis (GA)
     Lofgren
     Napolitano
     Noem
     Reichert
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruppersberger
     Sanchez
     Scott, David
     Sewell (AL)
     Shuster
     Sires
     Vela
     Walz
     Wilson (FL)
     Young (AK)

                              {time}  1204

  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.
  Stated against:
  Mr. RUPPERSBERGER. Mr. Speaker, due to my attendance at an event off 
the Capitol Hill campus, I was unable to make rollcall vote No. 166. 
Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: No. 166 
``no'' On Motion to Table.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote 
166. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on the motion to 
table H. Res. 856.
  Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, on Friday, April 27, 2018, I 
missed rollcall vote 166, a Motion to Table H. Res. 856, a Privileged 
Resolution offered by Mr. Crowley of New York to create Select 
Committee to investigate the motivations and reasoning behind the 
forced resignation of the House Chaplain. I stand in full support of 
the Crowley resolution regarding the Speaker's decision to

[[Page H3728]]

forcibly push the House Chaplain Father Conroy to resign.
  If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: ``nay'' on 
rollcall vote 166.


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Ms. WILSON of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I was not present for the 
following votes because I chose to remain in my congressional district 
in Miami for an important district event.
  Had I been present, I would have voted: ``No'' on rollcall Vote No. 
162, ``no'' on rollcall Vote No. 163, ``yes'' on rollcall Vote No. 164, 
``yes'' on rollcall Vote No. 165, and ``no'' on rollcall Vote No. 166.


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Ms. KUSTER of New Hampshire. Mr. Speaker, during the week of Monday, 
April 23, 2018, I missed rollcall votes 148-166. Had I been present for 
these recorded votes, I would have voted as listed below: Rollcall Vote 
148: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 149: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 150: ``nay,'' 
rollcall Vote 151: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 152: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 
153: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 154: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 155: ``aye,'' 
rollcall Vote 156: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 157: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 
158: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 159: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 160: ``aye,'' 
rollcall Vote 161: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 162: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 
163: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 164: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 165: ``aye,'' 
and rollcall Vote 166: ``nay.''

                          ____________________