[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.

                          ____________________