[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 74 (Tuesday, May 8, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H3823-H3825]
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, the tradition of the House Chaplain dates to the earliest 
days of the House of Representatives, beginning in 1789;
  Whereas, the role of House Chaplain has been filled by 60 individuals 
of various religious denominations, serving Members of Congress of all 
faiths;
  Whereas, Father Patrick Conroy has served honorably as House Chaplain 
since May 25, 2011, when he was appointed by then-Speaker John A. 
Boehner in consultation with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi;
  Whereas, Father Conroy had been re-appointed and elected by the House 
of Representatives on three separate occasions, most recently January 
3, 2017;
  Whereas, on April 16, 2018, the Nation's first Jesuit--and only the 
second Catholic--Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives 
submitted his resignation before the full House;
  Whereas, the Chaplain had only eight months remaining in his term of 
service to the House;
  Whereas, this resignation was requested by the office of Paul D. 
Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives;
  Whereas, the Speaker's office said ``. . . the decision (to remove 
the Chaplain) was his (Speaker Ryan's);''
  Whereas, on May 3, 2018, Father Conroy submitted a letter retracting 
and rescinding his resignation, which was accepted by Speaker Ryan;
  Whereas, despite the Speaker's statement accepting this retraction 
letter, a number of Members of Congress remain concerned about what 
motivated the original request for Father Conroy to resign and the lack 
of adequate notification or explanation given to Members;
  Whereas, the rights of Members of the House of Representatives were 
undermined when the leader of one party made a unilateral decision to 
ask for the resignation of the Chaplain;
  Whereas, this resignation and the circumstances behind it has 
compromised the integrity and the dignity of the House of 
Representatives by politicizing the office of the House Chaplain;
  Resolved, that there is hereby established a select committee to 
investigate the circumstances around 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 
that led to the resignation of the Chaplain, including the decisions to 
remove the Chaplain and the process by which Members of Congress were 
notified of the resignation;
  The select committee shall provide a report to the House by July 13, 
2018.
  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 do.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 878

       Whereas, the tradition of the House Chaplain dates to the 
     earliest days of the House of Representatives, beginning in 
     1789;
       Whereas, the role of House Chaplain has been filled by 60 
     individuals of various religious denominations, serving 
     Members of Congress of all faiths;
       Whereas, Father Patrick Conroy has served honorably as 
     House Chaplain since May 25, 2011, when he was appointed by 
     then-Speaker John A. Boehner in consultation with Democratic 
     Leader Nancy Pelosi;
       Whereas, Father Conroy had been re-appointed and elected by 
     the House of Representatives on three separate occasions, 
     most recently January 3, 2017;
       Whereas, on April 16, 2018, the nation's first Jesuit--and 
     only the second Catholic--Chaplain of the U.S. House of 
     Representatives submitted his resignation before the full 
     House;
       Whereas, the Chaplain had only eight months remaining in 
     his term of service to the House;
       Whereas, this resignation was requested by the office of 
     Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives;
       Whereas, the Speaker's office said ``.  .  . the decision 
     (to remove the Chaplain) was his (Speaker Ryan's);''
       Whereas, on May 3, 2018, Father Conroy submitted a letter 
     retracting and rescinding his resignation, which was accepted 
     by Speaker Ryan;
       Whereas, despite the Speaker's statement accepting this 
     retraction letter, a number of Members of Congress remain 
     concerned about what motivated the original request for 
     Father Conroy to resign and the lack of adequate notification 
     or explanation given to Members;
       Whereas, the rights of Members of the House of 
     Representatives were undermined when the leader of one party 
     made a unilateral decision to ask for the resignation of the 
     Chaplain;
       Whereas, this resignation and the circumstances behind it 
     has compromised the integrity and the dignity of the House of 
     Representatives by politicizing the office of the House 
     Chaplain;
       Resolved, that there is hereby established a select 
     committee to investigate the circumstances around 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

[[Page H3824]]

     Ethics, and three by the ranking member of the Committee on 
     Ethics;
       The select committee shall investigate the motivations and 
     actions that led to the resignation of the Chaplain, 
     including the decisions to remove the Chaplain and the 
     process by which Members of Congress were notified of the 
     resignation;
       The select committee shall provide a report to the House by 
     July 13, 2018.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies.


                            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 to lay the resolution on the table.


                        Parliamentary Inquiries

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, is this motion privileged?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California has offered a 
motion to table the question of privilege.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am asking on the underlying resolution 
before you, is it a privileged resolution?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair announced that the resolution 
qualified as privileged.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary 
inquiry.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, could the House consider this motion 
immediately? The gentleman from New York requests: Can the House 
consider this motion immediately?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will first consider the pending 
motion to table.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York will state his 
parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Will the Chair rule as to whether or not the House could 
consider this motion immediately?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will first consider the motion to 
table. If the motion fails, then the House could pursue other 
dispositions of the resolution.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, one more further parliamentary inquiry.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from New York will state his 
parliamentary inquiry.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, the vote to table that you are speaking of 
will prevent this measure from coming to the floor today immediately. 
Is that not true?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The House will now consider the motion to 
table.
  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 vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 223, 
nays 182, not voting 23, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 172]

                               YEAS--223

     Abraham
     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amodei
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Banks (IN)
     Barletta
     Barr
     Barton
     Bergman
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (MI)
     Bishop (UT)
     Black
     Blackburn
     Blum
     Bost
     Brady (TX)
     Brooks (AL)
     Brooks (IN)
     Buchanan
     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
     Denham
     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
     Gibbs
     Gohmert
     Goodlatte
     Gosar
     Gowdy
     Granger
     Graves (GA)
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guthrie
     Handel
     Harper
     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
     Joyce (OH)
     Katko
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     King (IA)
     King (NY)
     Kinzinger
     Knight
     Kustoff (TN)
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Lance
     Latta
     Lesko
     Lewis (MN)
     LoBiondo
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Love
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     MacArthur
     Marchant
     Marino
     Marshall
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     McMorris Rodgers
     McSally
     Meadows
     Mitchell
     Moolenaar
     Mooney (WV)
     Mullin
     Newhouse
     Noem
     Norman
     Nunes
     Olson
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Paulsen
     Pearce
     Perry
     Poliquin
     Posey
     Ratcliffe
     Reed
     Reichert
     Rice (SC)
     Roby
     Roe (TN)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rohrabacher
     Rooney, Francis
     Rooney, Thomas J.
     Ros-Lehtinen
     Roskam
     Ross
     Rothfus
     Rouzer
     Royce (CA)
     Russell
     Rutherford
     Sanford
     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
     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 (AK)
     Young (IA)
     Zeldin

                               NAYS--182

     Aguilar
     Amash
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Bonamici
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brady (PA)
     Brown (MD)
     Brownley (CA)
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Capuano
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Cartwright
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu, Judy
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Clay
     Cleaver
     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
     Engel
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Esty (CT)
     Evans
     Foster
     Frankel (FL)
     Fudge
     Gabbard
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Gomez
     Gonzalez (TX)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al
     Green, Gene
     Grijalva
     Hanabusa
     Hastings
     Heck
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Kennedy
     Khanna
     Kihuen
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kind
     Krishnamoorthi
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee
     Levin
     Lewis (GA)
     Lieu, Ted
     Loebsack
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Lowey
     Lujan Grisham, M.
     Lujan, Ben Ray
     Lynch
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Matsui
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     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
     Rice (NY)
     Richmond
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan (OH)
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Scott (VA)
     Serrano
     Sewell (AL)
     Shea-Porter
     Sherman
     Sinema
     Sires
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Speier
     Suozzi
     Swalwell (CA)
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres
     Tsongas
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Visclosky
     Walz
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters, Maxine
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                             NOT VOTING--23

     Adams
     Blunt Rochester
     Brat
     Carson (IN)
     Cummings
     Gutierrez
     Jenkins (WV)
     Johnson, E. B.
     Jones
     Kuster (NH)
     Labrador
     Lipinski
     McCollum
     Messer
     Napolitano
     Pittenger
     Poe (TX)
     Renacci
     Rogers (KY)
     Rokita
     Rosen
     Scalise
     Scott, David

                              {time}  1714

  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.


                          personal explanation

  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been 
present, I would hae voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 171 and ``yea'' on 
rollcall No. 172.


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Mr. CARSON of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, on May 8, 2018 I was in my 
district for my primary election and missed rollcall votes 169, 170, 
171, and 172. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``Nay'' on 
rollcall 169, ``Nay'' on rollcall 170, ``Nay'' on rollcall 171, and 
``Nay'' on rollcall 172.

[[Page H3825]]

  

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