[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 153 (Thursday, September 13, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H8181-H8184]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3798, SAVE AMERICAN WORKERS ACT OF
2017; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF THE CONFERENCE REPORT TO ACCOMPANY
H.R. 5895, ENERGY AND WATER, LEGISLATIVE BRANCH, AND MILITARY
CONSTRUCTION AND VETERANS AFFAIRS APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019; AND
PROVIDING FOR PROCEEDINGS DURING THE PERIOD FROM SEPTEMBER 17, 2018,
THROUGH SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 1059 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 1059
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be
in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 3798) to
amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to repeal the 30-hour
threshold for classification as a full-time employee for
purposes of the employer mandate in the Patient Protection
and Affordable Care Act and replace it with 40 hours. All
points of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
An amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the
text of Rules Committee Print 115-84 shall be considered as
adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read.
All points of order against provisions in the bill, as
amended, are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any
further 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 Ways and Means; and (2) one motion
to recommit with or without instructions.
Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider the conference report to accompany the bill
(H.R. 5895) making appropriations for energy and water
development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2019, and for other purposes. All points of
order against the conference report and against its
consideration are waived. The conference report shall be
considered as read. The previous question shall be considered
as ordered on the conference report to its adoption without
intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate; and (2)
one motion to recommit if applicable.
Sec. 3. On any legislative day during the period from
September 17, 2018, through September 24, 2018--
(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. 4. The Speaker may appoint Members to perform the
duties of the Chair for the duration of the period addressed
by section 3 of this resolution as though under clause 8(a)
of rule I.
Sec. 5. Each day during the period addressed by section 3
of this resolution shall not constitute a legislative day for
purposes of clause 7 of rule XIII.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1
hour.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Florida
(Mr. Hastings), my dear friend, 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. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and the
underlying legislation.
The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3798, the Save American
Workers Act of 2018, and H.R. 5895, Energy and Water, Legislative
Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations
Act of 2019.
Mr. Speaker, today is quite an unusual day, not only for our Nation,
but also for Members of Congress. As a result of that, I have had a
discussion with my dear friend, Judge Hastings, and we have decided we
are going to try to expedite that which we do today, so all Members
need to be advised we might finish the process of the rule on the floor
some 55 minutes early
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying
legislation. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 3798, the Save
American Workers Act of 2018 and H.R. 5895, Energy and Water,
Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veteran Affairs
Appropriations Act, 2019.
Since 2010, the American people have been dealing with the impacts of
the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare. As we now know, Obamacare
contains a number of provisions that have greatly impacted the labor
market, the workforce, and employers of all sizes. At the broadest
level, the bill created massive mandatory spending spending programs
that have contributed greatly to the
[[Page H8182]]
country's debt and financial burdens on the American tax payer.
At the center of this is the employer mandate. The employer mandate
impacts hiring and employees' hours because it requires employers with
50 or more full-time employees to provide health insurance and carries
a specific fine for noncompliance. Under this, employees who work 30 or
more hours per week are considered full-time. In addition, complex
reporting requirements make the burden of this provision even greater
for employers.
The employer mandate requirement has resulted in employers reducing
workers' hours to 29 hours per week or less in an attempt to minimize
the mandate's devastating impacts. These reduced hours have caused
millions of workers to receive less take home pay.
The 30-hour rule does little more than discourage employment and
financial stability for American workers--especially low wage workers.
According to a Hoover institution study, 2.6 million Americans making
less than $30,000 were at risk of having their hours and wages cut as a
result of Obamacare's 30-hour rule.
H.R. 3798 would give employers and workers more flexibility by
changing Obamacare's definition of full-time worker from 30 hours per
week to 40 hours per week and from 120 hours per month to 174 hours per
month for full-time equivalents. In addition, the bill gives employers
retroactive relief from the employer mandate penalty. Thus, any
employer that owed a penalty for failing to provide coverage during
that period would no longer owe it, a big help to some our small
businesses.
The bill also includes a provision that will delay the implementation
of the Obamacare tax on high-cost health plans, known as the ``Cadillac
tax,'' until 2023, granting employers one additional year of relief
from the tax.
Finally, in light of the repeal of the individual mandate penalty,
H.R. 3798 removes burdensome regulatory requirements on some providers
of minimum essential coverage.
Mr. Speaker, this rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 5895,
Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and
Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, 2019.
This three-bill Appropriations package provides funding for fiscal
year 2019 in three very important categories. This bill is a product of
members working across the aisle in a wonderful display of
bipartisanship and I am pleased to see this body take up such an
important measure.
The agreement addresses one of our fundamental responsibilities here
in Congress, taking care of our veterans. The bill provides $5.3
Billion above FY18 levels and ensures funding for VA medical care. It
funds VA medical care at $72.3 Billion, providing for 7 million veteran
patients to be treated in FY19. The bill strengthens veteran programs
like mental health care services, opioid abuse prevention, suicide
prevention, and rural veterans health initiatives. Additionally, the
legislation continues to rebuild infrastructure for our service members
and their families with $10.3 Billion for military construction
projects, an increase of $241 Million.
The second part of this appropriations package, energy and water,
prioritizes our national security and invests in American
infrastructure. The bill supports a strong nuclear national security
strategy with a total $560 Million above FY 18 levels for the
Department of Energy's nuclear weapons security programs. It also
provides a much-needed influx of funds into our nation's water
resources infrastructure by directing $7 Billion to the Army Corps of
Engineers.
Finally, the legislation directs a much-needed increase of $29.8
Million for our extremely dedicated and brave Capitol Police Officers.
This money will ensure their safety, the safety of our Capitol complex,
and the thousands of guests who visit every day.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1230
Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I thank the distinguished chairman, my good friend, for yielding me
the customary 30 minutes.
(Mr. HASTINGS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am going to truncate my original
remarks.
Mr. Speaker, today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by my
friends on the other side to undermine healthcare for millions of
Americans, all while recklessly adding billions of dollars to the
deficit.
This legislation not only guts vital provisions of the Affordable
Care Act, but also weakens the requirements on employer-provided
healthcare. I might add, even though we may not be bringing it up, we
do support the conference report and will be willing to go forward in
that regard.
The time has come for our friends across the aisle to abandon their
tired playbook, a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on
sabotaging and undermining healthcare, rather than plans to make our
healthcare system stronger and more inclusive.
Mr. Speaker, we are also here today, as I just said, on the
conference report, for a three-bill spending package, funding a portion
of our government, which runs out of funds at the end of this month.
This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred
we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order,
as the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should
operate when we consider legislation. We hold hearings, markups, go to
conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally, emerge with a
bipartisan compromise.
Good process makes for good policy. While this bill may not be one
Democrats would have written, I am glad this conference report rejects
House Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and
harmful antienvironmental riders.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this: We have learned that, as
Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the
administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency in order to move money to ICE. I am not going to
spend a lot of time on that. I think it is just wrong.
Mr. Speaker, this Republican-led Congress sets yet another record
with today's 97th closed rule. Week after week, my friends across the
aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons, but we should
not let this latest milestone go unrecognized because it is yet another
sad point in this Chamber's history.
In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have
used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the
cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable for our
children.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the
customary thirty minutes for debate, and I yield myself as much time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate the Rule for H.R. 3798, the Save
American Workers Act and the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5895.
Mr. Speaker, last year Republicans took one on the chin when their
Affordable Care Act repeal bill--a bill they spent all of 17 days
working on--went down in flames in a most public and spectacular
fashion. They learned that conspicuously snatching health insurance
from millions of people would probably cost them some votes.
So, instead of continuing with their more open, though admittedly
failed tactics, my friends across the aisle are pursuing an altogether
shiftier strategy today.
That strategy, with its aim of ridding the American people of their
healthcare coverage, can be summed up in one word: sabotage.
Today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by Republicans to
undermine healthcare for millions of Americans, all while recklessly
adding billions of dollars to the deficit. This legislation not only
guts vital provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but also weakens
requirements on employer provided healthcare.
Now is the time for us to face facts and accept truths. Fact, the
latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll found that 50 percent of Americans
hold a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act.
Fact, 75 percent of Americans want to keep the Affordable Care Act's
provisions that prevent health plans from discriminating against people
with pre-existing conditions. Fact, 72 percent of Americans want to
retain the provision of the ACA that prevents insurers from charging
sick people more.
The time has come for my friends across the aisle to abandon their
tired playbook--a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on
sabotaging and undermining healthcare rather than plans to make our
healthcare system stronger and more inclusive.
Mr. Speaker, we are also here today to consider H.R. 5895, a
conference report for a three-bill spending package--funding a portion
of our government--which runs out of funding at the end of this month.
This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred
we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order as
the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should
operate when we consider legislation: we hold hearings, markups, go to
conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally emerge with a
bipartisan compromise.
Good process makes for good policy, and while this bill may not be
one Democrats
[[Page H8183]]
would have written, I'm glad this conference report rejects House
Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and harmful
anti-environmental riders.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this, we have learned that as
Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the Trump
Administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency in order to move money to ICE for the continued
immoral detention of children.
The ability of this Administration to reach new lows is astounding.
To my fellow Americans who are in Hurricane Florence's path, our
thoughts and prayers are with you.
As a Floridian, I know all too well the effects these devastating
storms can have and I urge everyone to take all necessary steps to be
prepared, be safe, and listen to the direction of local authorities as
this storm impacts the Southeast.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, this Republican led Congress sets yet another record
with today's 97th Closed Rule. Week after week, my friends across the
aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons. But we should
not let this latest milestone go unrecognized, because it is yet
another sad point in this Chamber's history.
In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have
used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the
cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable.
These policies deserve consideration on the House Floor, yet they are
continuously blocked by the Republican Majority.
This discouraging record not only suppresses the voices of Democratic
and Republican Members, it also suppresses the voices of millions of
Americans.
Mr. Speaker, my Republican friends may claim today's three-bill
spending package gets the ball rolling to fully fund the government.
But we need to put into context what it means to fully fund the
government, it means that we must pass 12 appropriations bills in order
to fully fund our government.
So, before they take a victory lap over today's spending package, I
will simply remind the Majority that with precious few legislative days
remaining, we still must pass the remaining seventy-five percent of
bills that will fund our government.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the distinguished gentleman, his work with me is
appreciated. On behalf of not only Judge Hastings and myself, really,
the Rules Committee, which both of us represent, with great anxiety, we
recognize, as our Members do, about the storm that is headed to the
United States of America.
We want to wish all the people who are in the storm's way the very
best, but we are attempting to do what we can to make sure we complete
our work properly.
Thus, I ask for my colleagues to vote for this conference report,
which will do so much to move us not only to the point where we can
continue to work together, but to fund the important activities that
need to take place.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues support this bill and the
underlying bills.
Mr. Speaker, this is a good rule and so are the two underlying bills.
it has become abundantly clear that Obamacare has failed the American
people. Our nation's healthcare system is broken and only getting
worse.
The American people are counting on us to empower individuals,
families, and employers to spend their health care dollars the way they
want. They are counting on us to remove the federal government from
their health care and the first bill is another step in the right
direction.
The second bill is a wonderful example to bipartisanship--the package
isn't perfect, but it is a good bill. It takes care of our veterans and
our military, it provides much-needed funding for our infrastructure
and our waterways, and it ensures we are providing the Capitol Police
officers the funding they need.
I urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bills.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the
previous question on the resolution.
The previous question was ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. HASTINGS. 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 adoption of the resolution will be followed by a 5-
minute vote on the motion to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 1911.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 222,
nays 171, not voting 35, as follows:
[Roll No. 397]
YEAS--222
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Balderson
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Biggs
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cloud
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Curtis
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Denham
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
Higgins (LA)
Hill
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)
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamb
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
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Murphy (FL)
Newhouse
Noem
Nunes
O'Halleran
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Perry
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Royce (CA)
Russell
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
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
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NAYS--171
Aguilar
Barragan
Bass
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
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.
Engel
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
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
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Norcross
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Pascrell
Payne
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Rosen
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sires
Smith (WA)
Soto
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
[[Page H8184]]
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--35
Adams
Beatty
Blackburn
Butterfield
Cleaver
Cummings
Ellison
Eshoo
Gottheimer
Hice, Jody B.
Holding
Hoyer
Jenkins (WV)
Jones
Lesko
Lofgren
Maloney, Sean
Moolenaar
Nolan
Norman
Pearce
Pelosi
Pittenger
Price (NC)
Renacci
Rice (SC)
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Rouzer
Sanford
Speier
Taylor
Walters, Mimi
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
{time} 1300
Mr. KIHUEN changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________