[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 119 (Tuesday, July 16, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5835-H5845]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 3494, DAMON PAUL NELSON AND MATTHEW
YOUNG POLLARD INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEARS 2018,
2019, AND 2020; RELATING TO THE CONSIDERATION OF HOUSE REPORT 116-125
AND AN ACCOMPANYING RESOLUTION; RELATING TO THE CONSIDERATION OF
MEASURES DISAPPROVING OF SALES, EXPORTS, OR APPROVALS PURSUANT TO THE
ARMS EXPORT CONTROL ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.RES. 489,
CONDEMNING PRESIDENT TRUMP'S RACIST COMMENTS DIRECTED AT MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 491 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 491
Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 3494) to authorize appropriations for fiscal
year 2020 for intelligence and intelligence-related
activities of the United States Government, the Community
Management Account, and the Central Intelligence Agency
Retirement and Disability System, and for other purposes. The
first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points
of order against consideration of the bill are waived.
General debate shall be confined to the bill and amendments
specified in this section and shall not exceed one hour
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on
Intelligence. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. In lieu
of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by
the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence now printed in
the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-22,
modified by the amendment printed in part A of the report of
the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be
considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of
the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as the
original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the
five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. All points
of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are
waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall
be in order except those printed in part B of the report of
the Committee on Rules. Each such further amendment may be
offered only in the order printed in the report, may be
offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be
considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified
in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent
and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall
not be subject to a demand for division of the question in
the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of
order against such further amendments are waived. At the
conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the
Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the
House with such further amendments as may have been adopted.
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 one motion to
recommit with or without instructions.
Sec. 2. If House Report 116-125 is called up by direction
of the Committee on Oversight and Reform: (a) all points of
order against the report are waived and the report shall be
considered as read; and (b)(1) an accompanying resolution
offered by direction of the Committee on Oversight and Reform
shall be considered as read and shall not be subject to a
point of order; and (2) the previous question shall be
considered as ordered on such resolution to adoption without
intervening motion or demand for division of the question
except one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Oversight and Reform.
Sec. 3. (a) A joint resolution described in section 4
shall be privileged if called up by the chair of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs or a designee on the day after
the calendar day on which the Majority Leader or a designee
announces an intention that the House consider the joint
resolution. The joint resolution shall be considered as read.
All points of order against the joint resolution and against
its consideration are waived. The previous question shall be
considered as ordered on the joint resolution to its passage
without intervening motion except: (1) 20 minutes of debate
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their
respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit (or
commit, as the case may be). A motion to reconsider the vote
on passage of the joint resolution shall not be in order.
(b) On demand of the chair of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs or a designee, debate pursuant to subsection (a)(1)
shall be one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair
and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign
Affairs or their respective designees.
Sec. 4. A joint resolution referred to in section 3 is a
Senate joint resolution, or a House joint resolution reported
by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, prohibiting any of the
following under section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act (22
U.S.C. 2776):
(1) a proposed sale pursuant to subsection (b);
(2) a proposed export pursuant to subsection (c); or
(3) an approval pursuant to subsection (d).
Sec. 5. Sections 36(b)(3), 36(c)(3)(B), and 36(d)(5)(B) of
the Arms Export Control Act shall not apply in the House
during the remainder of the One Hundred Sixteenth Congress.
Sec. 6. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order without intervention of any point of order to consider
in the House the resolution (H. Res. 489) condemning
President Trump's racist comments directed at Members of
Congress. The resolution shall be considered as read. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the
resolution and preamble to adoption without intervening
motion or demand for division of the question except one hour
of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary.
{time} 1230
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Maryland is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the
customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall),
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. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be
given 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Rules Committee met and
reported a rule, House Resolution 491, providing for consideration of
H.R. 3494, authorizing intelligence community programs for fiscal years
2019 and 2020 and retroactively authorizing fiscal year 2018
appropriations under a structured rule.
The rule provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled
by the chair and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select
Committee on
[[Page H5836]]
Intelligence. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment from
Chairman Schiff that makes technical and conforming changes and adds
additional language that authorizes the CIA to expand death benefits to
cover officers killed abroad. The rule makes in order 31 amendments and
provides one motion to recommit.
Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of House Report
116-125 and its accompanying resolution recommending that the House
find Attorney General Barr and Secretary Wilbur Ross in contempt of
Congress for refusing to comply with congressional subpoenas under a
closed rule.
The rule provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled
by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Oversight and
Reform.
The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 489 under a closed
rule.
The rule provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled
by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the
Judiciary.
Finally, included in this rule is a process for consideration of
committee-reported or Senate-passed joint resolutions disapproving of
certain transactions under section 36 of the Arms Export Control Act.
This process allows for the chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee to
call up such a joint resolution 1 day after it is noticed by the
majority leader and provides 20 minutes or an hour of debate and a
motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, the Intelligence Authorization Act, H.R. 3494,
authorizes programs at 16 intelligence community agencies and offices,
including the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA, the
Department of Defense, the DIA, the National Security Agency, and the
FBI.
This authorization prioritizes the intelligence community's
collection and analytic capabilities against hard-target countries such
as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea.
This bill will help us better understand and counter Russian
interference in our elections. It requires reports to Congress on the
intentions and the designs of Russian political leadership with respect
to potential military action against NATO members and on the most
significant Russian influence campaigns taking place around the world.
This bill also creates a Climate Security Advisory Council to ensure
that the intelligence community prioritizes the threat of climate
change. Specifically, the bill requires analysts to incorporate climate
change into intelligence analysis and encourages collaboration with
executive branch departments focused on climate policy.
Finally, this legislation takes care of our intelligence community
workers by providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave for all employees,
in addition to the 12 weeks of unpaid leave Federal employees are
allowed to take under the Family and Medical Leave Act.
Mr. Speaker, on contempt, the Constitution of the United States
requires us to conduct a Census every 10 years, an actual enumeration
of the American people, everyone who is present in the country.
Secretary Wilbur Ross engaged in a process in order to add a
citizenship question to the Census for the first time in 70 years.
This was struck down by multiple Federal courts because of the
blatant violation of essentially every principle of the Administrative
Procedure Act. They did not conduct notice and comment; they did not
assemble substantial evidence; and they did not provide a reasoned
justification for why they wanted to do this completely outside of the
process that had been set up under the Census Act that had been running
for several years.
On June 27, the Supreme Court found that the Commerce Department's
argument for including the citizenship question in the 2020 Census was
``contrived,'' according to Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote:
``Several points, taken together, reveal a significant mismatch between
the Secretary's decision and the rationale he provided.''
Democrats on the Oversight and Reform Committee have been raising
questions about Secretary Ross' proffered justification for several
years now. We started asking questions back in 2017. Secretary Ross had
testified that the Department of Justice letter that he received was
the basis for changing the policy and imposing a citizenship question
on the Census. He said that this change was solely motivated by the
Department of Justice's request.
In fact, overwhelming evidence has surfaced completely contradicting
this account. We know from multiple different sources now that this was
a political effort designed to promote the electoral plans of the GOP.
The gerrymandering mastermind of the Republican Party, Thomas
Hofeller, was the one who first raised this question several years ago.
It was talked about during the Trump campaign. It was talked about
within days of the inauguration. We have substantial evidence
suggesting that Wilbur Ross, as Secretary of Commerce, was shopping
around for a justification for doing this when the motivations were
nakedly political.
The Oversight and Reform Committee began its investigation into the
administration's decision to add the citizenship question on March 27,
2018. Yet, the majority of the committee has been stonewalled at every
turn by the Departments of Justice and Commerce, which have refused to
turn over key documents requested by the Oversight and Reform
Committee, even after the committee, its members and staff, have worked
diligently to resolve the impasse by narrowing the scope of the request
to a very small subset of documents.
We know exactly the documents we need. Yet, still, we get nothing but
defiance, obstruction, and stonewalling from this administration.
Democrats requested documents from the Department of Commerce on
April 4, 2018. None of the requested documents were submitted.
On January 8, 2019, Chairman Cummings renewed the request, and the
Commerce Department responded by providing thousands of pages of
documents, most of which were already publicly available or completely
irrelevant, nonresponsive, or heavily redacted.
On February 12, 2019, Chairman Cummings renewed the request for
documents again, this time identifying a specific memo and note from
the Department of Commerce to the DOJ. The DOJ did not provide the
requested documents but, rather, produced several other documents that
were heavily redacted and off point, and so on and so forth.
Mr. Speaker, this is intolerable. The Congress of the United States
has a constitutional duty to conduct a fair Census.
Six former Census Bureau Directors wrote a letter denouncing the
imposition of this citizenship question and telling Wilbur Ross that
this would lead to a far less accurate account. The chief scientist of
the Census Bureau testified that this was going to overlook and
undercount as many as 6 million Hispanic Americans. We know that
potentially millions of other Americans too would not be counted.
The purpose of adding the citizenship question was not to get a more
accurate count. It was to get a far more inaccurate account. All the
Census experts agree with that.
We have an act, the Census Act, which was violated and ignored. We
have the Administrative Procedure Act, which was violated and ignored.
Now we have issued a series of subpoena requests to the Departments of
Commerce and Justice in order to get the information about what really
took place, and again, we are being defied, ignored, and essentially
belittled by the executive branch of government.
Mr. Speaker, I want to close my remarks on this with this point. The
Constitution begins with the beautiful phrase: ``We, the people . . .
in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure
domestic tranquility,'' and so on, do create this Constitution in this
country.
The very next sentence says that all the legislative powers are
vested in us. In other words, the powers of the people flow right
through the preamble of the Constitution into Article I.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly said, along with other Federal
courts, that integral and essential to the lawmaking function is the
factfinding function of Congress.
James Madison said, ``Those who mean to be their own governors must
arm themselves with the power that knowledge gives.''
[[Page H5837]]
The people armed us with that power by creating the legislative
function in Congress. But we can't legislate and we can't govern if we
can't get the information that we need, which is why the Supreme Court
has repeatedly emphasized our power is broad and it is expansive.
Our friends across the aisle, they know that. They know that from
their Benghazi hearings that went on for years and cost tens of
millions of dollars. They know that from the inquiry into Hillary
Clinton's emails, and so on.
Congress has the power to get the information that it wants.
Mr. Speaker, the Census is serious business. It goes right to the
heart of who we are as ``we, the people.''
Every 10 years, the Founders told us we have to go back and count
everybody up in order to conduct the reapportionment process and decide
how many Members of Congress are granted to each State, and, then,
hundreds of billions of dollars follow in the wake of the Census. So,
we have to make sure that every person is counted.
What we had was this rearguard, sneak ambush attack on the Census.
They got caught doing it. The courts blew the whistle. The Supreme
Court blew the whistle. But we want to know precisely what happened to
make sure it doesn't happen again, to make sure that there has been no
damage, and to make sure we can go forward with a real Census.
If you act with contempt of the Congress, if you act with contempt
for the Congress, if you act with contempt for the American people, we
will find you in contempt of Congress and the American people. We are
given no choice.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, on the resolution condemning the President's
recent remarks, the President of the United States told four Americans
who are Members of Congress to ``go back'' to the countries they came
from. Three of them, Representatives Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib,
and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are native-born Americans, and one of
them, Representative Ilhan Omar, was born abroad.
Mr. Speaker, this is an affront, not just of four American citizens
who are Members of Congress. It is an affront to 22 million naturalized
American citizens who were born in another country and made the journey
to America and made the journey to becoming full-blown, equal, and free
American citizens, 22 million American citizens.
{time} 1245
Indeed, if you think about it, it is an affront to the hundreds of
millions of Americans who understand and love how American democracy
and citizenship work. We are not a nation defined by race and blood as
the neo-Nazis and Klansman chanted in Charlottesville as they marched
down the street terrorizing the people of Charlottesville. We are
defined by our Constitution, which belongs to all of us, and we are
defined by the patriotism and by the service of our people.
Is there something wrong with being a naturalized citizen under our
Constitution, Mr. Speaker? No, there is not. This is something to be
honored and celebrated.
All Americans are equal in the eyes of the law. This is the meaning
of the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause. We have no kings
here. We have no queens here. We have no titles of nobility. We have no
monarchy. We have no taints of blood. We have no hereditary offenses.
We have no racial caste system. We have no slaves, and we have no slave
masters.
It is true that there are those in our history who have wanted
America to be defined as a White man's compact, and that is, indeed,
precisely what the Supreme Court found it was in the infamous Dred
Scott decision in 1857.
President Lincoln, a great and glorious Republican President,
rejected the Dred Scott decision from the beginning as the product of a
racist ideology and a racist political conspiracy, and it took a Civil
War, the blood and the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of Americans,
to defend the Union and to guarantee the passage of the 13th, 14th, and
15th Amendments to overthrow and destroy the Dred Scott decision and
the poisonous idea that America is a White man's compact. It is not.
All persons born in the United States are citizens of the United
States, we said, in the 14th Amendment, which guaranteed equal
protection of the law to all persons who are here. All of us are equal,
whether you are a naturalized citizen who was born in Ireland, as our
colleague Congressman Sean Casten was; or in Ecuador, as our colleague
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell was; or in Mexico, as our colleague Chuy Garcia
was; or in France, as our good friend and colleague Mark Meadows was;
or Thailand, as our colleague Tammy Duckworth was; or in Guatemala, as
our colleague Norma Torres was; or in Taiwan, as our colleague Ted Lieu
was; or in Canada, as our colleague Ted Cruz was; or in Poland, as our
colleague and author of this resolution, Tom Malinowski, was.
If these Americans and many more like them--we have 29 foreign-born
Members of Congress. If these Americans and many more like them don't
belong in Congress, tell it to the millions of people who elected them,
and tell it to the Founders of our country who specifically said that
you can run for the House of Representatives if you are a naturalized
citizen if you have been naturalized for 7 years, or you can run for
the Senate of the United States if you are a naturalized citizen if you
have been naturalized for 9 years.
Mr. Speaker, to tell naturalized American citizens to go back to the
countries they came from is nativist and antithetical to everything
that America stands for. It is the opposite of what we believe about
the values of the country.
To tell native-born American citizens who are people of color to go
back to the country they came from is antithetical to everything we
stand for, and it will be up to the House of Representatives today to
determine whether or not that is a racist statement.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I don't want to put any pressure on you, Mr. Speaker, but it comforts
me to see you as the Chair up there today. There are those days where
you need particular leaders to be there at a particular time, and I
will tell you that I am not telling anybody in this Chamber anything
they don't already know: You have made an entire career in this
institution reaching out, building unlikely alliances, making it work
where other folks said it could not work. And when my friend from
Maryland, whom I thank for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, talks
about what it is our constituents expect, what it is our citizenry
expects, I think they expect that, Mr. Speaker, and we have one of
those bills before us today in the intelligence reauthorization act.
There is more in this rule, Mr. Speaker, than I believe I have seen
in any rule in my 9 years in Congress and years serving on staff here.
We packed it all in there last night, and I don't want to miss the lead
on this rule, which is an intelligence bill that is named after two
congressional staffers who passed away last year. They spent their
lives in service to this institution and to the intelligence community,
and we are grateful for that service.
If you have not looked at the intelligence community recently, Mr.
Speaker, you will see Devin Nunes on the Republican side of the aisle
and Adam Schiff leading it on the Democratic side of the aisle. I can
picture those two faces because I usually see them on split screens on
FOX or MSNBC, and I can't think of many things they have had to say
where they agreed with one another over the past 4, 5 years, and yet we
have a bill today in sharp contrast to the partisan nonsense that was
the NDAA operation last week.
We have a bill that has come out of the Intelligence Committee with
two strident, passionate Republican and Democratic leaders there on the
Intelligence Committee, that came out unanimously, that they presented
unanimously in front of the Rules Committee last night and we have a
chance to pass here on the floor of the House.
You also find in this rule, Mr. Speaker, 31 amendments that have been
made in order to that intelligence reauthorization bill. Even though we
found bipartisanship in the committee, even though we found unanimity
in the committee, the Rules Committee, in its wisdom, last night,
decided to make 31 more ideas available to be considered here on the
floor of the House.
[[Page H5838]]
You see in this rule, Mr. Speaker, the ability for the House to take
up Arms Export Control Act measures. These are also measures you are
going to find bipartisan support for, also measures that you will find,
again, as my friend from Maryland referenced, the House doing what you
would expect the House to do, what our bosses back home sent us here to
do.
I know, Mr. Speaker, that there are times when folks feel their
deeply held beliefs cannot be compromised for the sake of
bipartisanship. I find that trying to find a way to get to yes is
better than trying to find a way to get to no. There is always a reason
to get to no.
Instead of looking for ways to oppose our political rivals, we have
to act as the Intelligence Committee did, in a manner where we can find
issues on which we agree. It is the only way to move this process
forward.
Mr. Speaker, America's national security and that of our allies,
which is what the intelligence community helps to protect and support
every day, is about more than scoring political points.
I mentioned those split screens on the TV where you do see folks
lobbing accusations back and forth. Sometimes it seems to be political
sport instead of serious legislating.
The measure we have before us today is not political sport; it is
serious legislating. And we are going to have a chance to come together
as a House not just to discuss it, not just to improve it, but to
implement it.
Mr. Speaker, among the things that you will find in this bill, the
foreign influences around the globe, and we have talked about them in
all of their various incarnations here on the floor of the House over
the last 2 weeks. This bill requires a report on China's influence over
Taiwanese elections.
Chinese influence around the globe is at an unparalleled high. We are
now rivaled by the Chinese in every single aspect of international
influence and policy, but they have outsized influence in Taiwan, and
we require that report.
We require a report not just on Russian interference in our
elections, Mr. Speaker, but in elections across the globe. It would be
naive to suggest that the Russians would limit their influence in
elections to trying to manipulate the greatest and freest country in
the world. They are working across the globe to influence elections
wherever free people live.
Combating Chinese and Russian aggression in elections, Mr. Speaker,
is not something, as is so often told in the media, that divides us; it
is something that unites us. We saw that in the Intelligence Committee,
and we are going to see that here on the floor of the House, and I am
very proud of that. I wish we could have continued that effort, Mr.
Speaker.
I agree with every word my friend from Maryland said about standing
up for Article I. Of all of my frustrations of 9 years in this
institution, the deference of the United States Congress to the
executive branch has been my greatest frustration. It exists for one
reason and one reason only, and that is that men and women, colleagues
like my friend from Maryland and I, have been unable to find a way to
speak with one voice on issues that are Article I versus Article II
issues.
Go down the list in your time in Congress, Mr. Speaker, whether it is
the contempt resolution this institution passed for former Attorney
General Eric Holder, that contempt resolution that passed on party-line
votes in committee and party-line votes here on the floor of the House
and went down to the executive branch where absolutely no action was
taken on it whatsoever; take production of papers, whether on Fast and
Furious or whether on the Census, production of papers, whether from
the President's counsel or from the President's press secretary, we
have these discussions and we cannot--no, we have not found a way to
come together to speak with one voice.
We have an opportunity, a model. You will remember some number of
weeks ago--now, months ago, Mr. Speaker--where we were very concerned
in this Chamber about anti-Semitic remarks that were broadcast in the
public domain. We came together as an institution to speak out against
anti-Semitism.
It didn't happen overnight. In fact, my friend from Maryland authored
that resolution, to his credit. But he didn't sit down with a pen and
put some words on a page and bring it here to the floor for
consideration. He had to work it. And I don't mean work it a little
bit; I mean work it hard: it was coming; it was not coming; it was
coming again; it was not coming. To find a pathway forward so that this
House speaks with one voice instead of divided voices was an effort
that was put in.
Now, granted, at the end of the day, it was a little more milquetoast
than the resolution that I would have drafted, but sometimes that is
the trade you make to be able to expand the acceptance of a resolution,
Mr. Speaker.
Every single time in this Chamber, as it comes to reining in Article
II or reining in the judicial branch, every single time we speak with a
divided voice, we weaken this institution.
I have never seen a resolution that tried to hold two Cabinet
Secretaries in contempt at the same time. Maybe that has happened
historically; I don't know that answer. I have not seen it in my time.
I heard last night from the chairman of the House Oversight Committee
and the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee, and the
ranking member was unwavering in his commitment to Article I and our
preeminence in the constitutional model. But he was also unwavering in
his commitment to there is more that we could do to work with the
administration as opposed to begin to poke that sharp stick, and so
this resolution does not have his support.
Well, if we begin our effort to do oversight over the administration
and we are already divided before that bill even leaves committee, I
tell you, Mr. Speaker, we are not going to have the outcome that we
want here on the floor of the House.
And then, of course, this rule in those contempt efforts is targeting
a United States citizenship question that would have gone on the
Census. We talk about that as if that is an outrageous thing.
I appreciate the kind words my friend from Maryland had to say about
President Lincoln. I am going to have to get the Clerk to read them
back to me because I am going to use that over and over again about a
wonderful Republican President, but I want to use the words that Mr.
Raskin used.
But when President Lincoln was presiding over this land, it was
common practice to have a citizenship question on the United States
Census.
{time} 1300
In fact, every single Census from 1820 to 1950 had a citizenship
question on it. It was noncontroversial. In 1950, we took it off of the
short form; it moved to the long form. And so from 1970 to 2000, that
question was on the long form every single Census. And then in 2000, we
took it off the long form and we put it onto the American Community
Survey, that half-decade measure that goes out to create the data that
Mr. Raskin rightly noted is so important to all of our communities back
home.
If, for the first time in American history, in the history of the
Census, we decide that citizenship is somehow now a forbidden topic,
that we can't find a way to discuss it, that it is not important to who
we are as a Nation and how it is that we look at ourselves, fair
enough.
That is not what the Supreme Court case was about, Mr. Speaker. As we
well know, the Supreme Court case simply said: You can put a question
about citizenship on the Census if you want to. You just didn't do it
the right way, and so we are going to ask you not to do it that way.
There are those ways and means of getting that done. You just didn't do
it the right way.
I raise that, Mr. Speaker, not because I am a Census guru. I am not.
I don't serve on any of those relevant committees. But in this era of
outrage, where folks have begun to confuse civility with weakness--and
that is a confusion that I think is to all of our detriments--the
desire to have a question about citizenship on the Census has nothing
to do with this President, this administration, Republicans, Democrats.
It has been that way since 1820.
Thoughtful men and women, concerned men and women, serious
legislators have been interested in this information for over 100
years.
If we want to have the conversation that somehow citizenship can't be
discussed anymore and we should ban it
[[Page H5839]]
from all Census documentation forever, I don't think that would
succeed, but it is certainly a legitimate topic of debate. But what is
not legitimate is to suggest that the only reason that anyone would ask
about citizenship is to pursue some sort of nefarious, xenophobic
purpose. It is simply not true.
I represent a majority minority constituency, Mr. Speaker. Twenty-six
percent of my bosses are first-generation Americans. You want to find
folks who love America, come down to where I live, find folks who have
waited in line, folks who have paid their money, folks who pinned all
their hopes and dreams to, ``If and only if I can get there, my
children and my grandchildren will have a better life.''
That is what brought us all here at one generation or another.
Whether you came in 1650 or whether you came in 1950 or whether you
came yesterday, those are the dreams that bring us here.
There is a lot to be outraged about in today's culture, but I haven't
seen any of it get fixed by being more outraged.
I have seen it get fixed by men and women like yourself, Mr. Speaker,
who value trust, who value candor, who value honesty, and who value
real relationships.
Anything that is hard, I can't solve with someone I don't trust. If
one side is good and one side is evil, where do you go from there? What
does that negotiation look like? That is not a conversation; that is
you have got to now destroy one another. That seems to be the path that
folks too often opt for in politics today.
There is more that unites us than divides us in this constitution and
in this country, Mr. Speaker. You might not know that by the parts of
this rule that are going to get the most attention today.
Adam Schiff, Devin Nunes, there are not two Members in this
institution who feel more strongly and differently about the direction
of public policy than those two men, and they came together, not to
advance themselves, but to advance the Nation. They came together, not
because it was easy, but precisely because it was hard and necessary,
and brought us this bipartisan package we have today.
Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Massachusetts, the chairman of
the Rules Committee, for bringing that resolution to the floor, and I
hope we will have ample time to celebrate those successes.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall) for his
very thoughtful and moving remarks, which are very appealing to me,
especially since I am a law professor first and only a politician
thereafter.
And, you know, we all have to deal with the political party system as
it exists in the America of today, but I like to think of the
Presidents who kept a kind of dual mind about it. They knew that they
had to be part of it in order to operate, as all of us do, but also to
try to think about the broader whole.
You know, Jefferson in his first inaugural address in 1800 said that
we are all Republicans, we are all Federalists. And he also said:
If I could only go to heaven with a political party, I
would prefer not to go.
George Washington said to us:
We have to keep in mind that the word party comes from the
French word partie, a part, and when we govern, we should try
to keep in mind the whole.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for at least the one cheer of a
potential three hip hip hoorays you might have given us on the
Intelligence Authorization Act.
We do think that the contempt citation is necessary precisely for the
reason you suggest: to uphold the institutional integrity of Congress.
We have gotten together in the past across party lines to demand that
the executive branch gives us the information we need, and we believe
that we are completely on that course.
Finally, as to the resolution about the remarks telling U.S. citizens
to go back to the country they came from; it is hard for me not to see
something that could be more unifying than that; that it is an
essential value that I know every Member of this body holds, that we
do not make a distinction in the legal or political rights or
entitlements or responsibilities of natural-born citizens and
naturalized citizens, and that it is utterly offensive to our system of
government to tell people to go back to where they came from just
because you have a political disagreement with them. It is wrong.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. McGovern), the chair of the Rules Committee.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Raskin) for yielding me the time and I want to thank him
for his service on the Rules Committee.
Mr. Speaker, I certainly support the rule, but I want to speak on one
underlying bill in particular, H. Res. 489.
Mr. Speaker, what we saw this week used to be reserved for the
darkest corners of the internet, some chat room somewhere where people
would be too ashamed to even use their real name when spewing vile
rhetoric.
But this isn't some online troll. We are not talking about using dog
whistles or speaking in some kind of secret alt-right code, Mr.
Speaker.
This is proudly using Twitter as a megaphone to attack fellow
Americans.
These are American citizens being turned into some kind of scary
``other,'' not because of their party, but because of their background,
their race, and their opinions. This is the same type of attack the
President has used against immigrants and refugees for years.
I have seen this administration carry out some deeply troubling
policies. I have heard some deeply offensive things. And I know I am
not alone in this, because when the cameras are off and the press isn't
around, some of my colleagues on the other side have told me the same
thing, that they are sickened by what is going on.
Well, these recent comments are in a completely different category.
This type of language isn't just offensive. It could lead to violence.
It is corroding our discourse. It undermines our values, and it doesn't
reflect who we are as a country.
Mr. Speaker, let me tell my Republican colleagues on the other side
of the aisle, more sternly worded press releases and disappointed
tweets aren't going to cut it. The only thing that matters here is
votes. Press statements are not enough.
This House needs to speak with unity and vote to condemn the
President's comments for what they are.
Now, I believe in the adage from Maya Angelou: ``When someone shows
you who they are, believe them.''
The President told us who he was long before he rode that escalator
down to announce his campaign.
It is time Republicans told the American people with their votes what
they whisper to one another in the Cloakroom, what many of them have
told me behind closed doors, because this dark world view is what will
be on the ballot.
Mr. Speaker, I implore my colleagues to think twice before they
follow the President off a cliff. Our credibility matters and their
credibility matters.
A Presidency lasts, at most, just 4 to 8 years. Some of us will get
the chance to serve here long after this administration ends, and we
will have to live with our conscience for a lifetime, but silence is an
endorsement, equivocation is an endorsement, blaming both sides is an
endorsement.
There is no gray area here. There is a very clear right and wrong. So
supporting this resolution isn't about standing with Democrats; it is
about standing up for decency.
The President showed us who he is. Now we have the chance to show the
American people who we are.
Now, it is no secret that I have profound policy disagreements with
this President. His economic policies favor the rich and his foreign
policy completely ignores human rights, but in all the time I have been
alive, I have always respected the office of the President and the
occupant.
I feel differently now. I feel embarrassed. I feel ashamed.
Mr. Speaker, let me remind my colleagues, our children are watching
us. So do the right thing. Do the moral thing. Condemn President
Trump's hateful and blatantly racist rhetoric.
And I don't care if it is out of order, but we need to be clear, we
need to call
[[Page H5840]]
it what it is, and we need to condemn it.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I think I misunderstood my friend from Massachusetts. I
think what my friend said is he does not care whether his words coarsen
this institution, he does not care whether or not his positions
diminish us as an institution, he does not care about the rules of this
institution, which prohibit exactly the kind of words that he knows
they prohibit and yet he uses anyway.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to ask my friend if he believes that his
cause of admonishing this President is going to be advantaged by
diminishing this institution?
Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern).
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that what I am saying on the House floor
supports the truth. I believe every word I said, and I feel strongly
about it. I would only wish my colleagues on the other side would feel
equally strong about condemning these horrific remarks.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time. If the President
believes every word that he said, does that excuse his behavior, in the
gentleman's mind? Does it excuse his behavior to believe it?
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the President can say whatever he wants. I
think we have a moral obligation to call out racism wherever it exists.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time. It is a perfectly
legitimate assertion and attestation my friend from Massachusetts
makes, and of course we all share that belief.
Mr. Speaker, when I was down here for the rule last week with my
friend from Massachusetts, the other side was admonished, not once, but
twice for violating the House rules for coarsening our debate, for
diminishing our civility, for violating our rules; not a social
contract about how we ought to treat each other, but rules where we
have committed about how we will treat each other.
Today during 1 minute speeches, Mr. Speaker, not once, but twice the
Chair admonished the other side to say: You are breaking our rules of
civility. You are violating our standards of decorum. Our children are
watching, and your behavior doesn't pass muster.
And now my friend--and he is my friend and I admire his work--he is
passionate in the causes for which he advocates, and I believe that it
is his passion, not his contempt for this institution, that leads him
to say those things that he says. I believe he loves this institution,
but he is misguided, when the Chair admonishes him again today now, and
he has no apologies for his colleagues, no apologies for this
institution.
We do have serious issues. I am not meaning serious like Russia and
China, which those are serious, I don't mean serious like the hate that
is fomenting in this country, which is serious. I mean all of it that
is serious that nobody in this institution can solve unless we solve it
together, and I want to find that pathway forward. This isn't it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield to my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts
(Mr. McGovern).
{time} 1315
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments, but
I would ask him: Where was he when President Trump was spreading lies
about President Obama's birth? Where was he when Representative Joe
Wilson shouted, on the House floor, ``You lie,'' to President Obama in
2009?
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time.
Mr. Speaker, does the gentleman remember when Joe Wilson
apologized, which is more than what my friend from Massachusetts has
done when the House has condemned him from the Chair today?
I remember when my friend Mr. Wilson lost his temper. I do remember
it. And I remember him apologizing for it because he didn't want to
bring shame on this institution.
I would welcome any time the Chair admonishes either side of the
aisle for violating our rules, coarsening our debate, doing those
things that we all agree we don't want our children to see on TV, I
welcome folks to correct that behavior.
Mr. Speaker, I fear my comments are falling on deaf ears, but I hope
I am mistaken.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Parliamentary Inquiry
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, before I go into my time, may I make a
parliamentary inquiry?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary
inquiry.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, do we take it to be against the rules of the
House to describe statements made by the President as racist as a
violation of House rules?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will not issue an advisory
opinion.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, launching into my time, I yield 3 minutes to
the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
(Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland for
his scholarship and his passion, the chairman of the Rules Committee,
my good friend from Georgia, and all those who have come to the floor
today.
Mr. Speaker, let me say that this is a somber moment. It is not a
moment that I cherish. My privilege in serving the greatest country in
the world has allowed me to serve with three previous Presidents. Not
one time from the three previous Presidents have I ever heard the words
that were uttered this weekend.
I believe in harmony. I just came out of a Helsinki Commission
meeting, an organization that deals with peace around the world. We
were talking about how we can impress upon the world to not use
religion for hatred. Religion is love.
One of the answers I gave was to show the examples here in the United
States, where religions from all different perspectives come together
in a time of disaster and need. It is something that touches our heart.
When we vote for a President, we want that President to touch our
hearts, to lift us up, and to make us better people.
I cannot argue with the fact that 49 percent of the American people
believe that this President is a racist. It hurts my heart because I
come in a skin color where I have been at the sad end of racist tactics
and words. I am a product of busing. But it does not diminish my love
for this Nation.
So it disturbs me for this wonderfully diverse group of new Members
who have come to the United States Congress from all over the Nation,
including the LGBTQ community, and among the 40 Representatives who
came was the Representative from the Seventh Congressional District of
Massachusetts, the State's first African American woman; the
Representative of the 13th Congressional District of Michigan, the
first Palestinian woman; the Representative from the 14th Congressional
District of New York, the youngest woman; and the Representative from
the Fifth Congressional District of Minnesota, the first Somali
American elected to Congress.
In the discharge of their duties, they went to the border--their
passion, their youth, just as I had done--and saw the appalling
conditions that children were held in. They came back and expressed
themselves, protected by the First Amendment.
They used no violence. They only wanted to wake up the Congress, as
all of us who went and could not accept the pain did. In fact, wherever
I go at home, people are asking: What are you doing for the children at
the border?
So, they didn't do anything extraordinary, in terms of what Members
should do, having the responsibility of oversight.
Then came, in the last 72 hours, these words: ``So interesting to see
`progressive' Democrat Congresswomen, who originally came from
countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the
worst, most corrupt, and inept anywhere in the world, if they even have
a functioning government at all, now loudly and viciously
[[Page H5841]]
telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful
nation on Earth, how our government is to be run.''
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. ``Why don't they go back and help fix the totally
broken and crime-infested places from which they came?''
I will be introducing a condemnation resolution that recounts the
life and legacy of this President while 49 percent of the people
believe that he is racist.
I only ask that we come together today to do the right thing, to do
what the 16th President said right after the Civil War: ``We are not
enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have
strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords
of memory'' will swell when again touched, ``as surely they will be, by
the better angels of our nature.''
Today, if we condemn this language, it will say to America that we
cannot accept this kind of behavior. That is what is bringing the
country together, that we accept each other's diversity.
Mr. Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees on the Judiciary
and Homeland Security, I rise in support of the rule governing debate
on H. Res. 489, a resolution condemning President Trump's racist
comments directed at Members of Congress.
Mr. Speaker, on November 6, 2018, in an election widely regarded as a
referendum on the performance and disapproval of the Administration of
President Donald J. Trump, the American people voted to vest control of
the U.S. House of Representatives in the Democratic Party to restore
the system of checks and balances designed by the Framers in 1787 in
Philadelphia.
The Representatives elected to the 116th Congress comprise the most
diverse class in American history with respect to its racial, ethnic,
and religious composition, and also includes the largest contingent of
female Representatives and the most members ever of the LGBTQ
community.
Among the cohort of the 40 Representatives first elected to the
Congress in the November 2018 election are several whose membership is
historic, including the Representative for the Seventh District of
Massachusetts, the first African American woman elected from the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts; the Representative from the Thirteenth
District of Michigan, the first Palestinian-American woman elected to
Congress; the Representative from the Fourteenth District of New York,
the youngest woman ever elected to Congress; and the Representative
from the Fifth District of Minnesota, the first Somali-American elected
to Congress.
In the discharge of their official duties as Members of Congress,
these talented and dedicated Members of Congress traveled to the
southern border of the United States to observe the living conditions
and treatment received by migrants and refugees seeking asylum in the
United States who are currently being held in detention facilities
operated under control or supervision of the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), some consisting of nothing more than tent villages
cordoned off under highways.
Upon their return to the Capitol, these Members of Congress reported
their shock and horror regarding the appalling and inhumane conditions
to which detainees were being subjected by CPB at a public hearing of a
House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
On July 14, 2019, the President of the United States reacted to the
criticism of his Administration's treatment of detainees by these
Members of Congress in a series of unhinged tweets that questioned
their loyalty to the United States and implied that due to the
circumstances of their birth they had no right to exercise the
responsibilities and privileges of duly elected Members of Congress.
Specifically, the President tweeted that it was:
So interesting to see ``Progressive'' Democrat
Congresswomen, who originally came from countries whose
governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst,
most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world (if they even
have a functioning government at all), now loudly . . . and
viciously telling the people of the United States, the
greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our
government is to be run. Why don't they go back and help fix
the totally broken and crime infested places from which they
came.
The President's statements are false in that three of Members of
Congress he impugned are in fact natural born citizens and the fourth
is a naturalized citizen.
Although the recent statements of the President are inaccurate and
offensive, they are consistent with prior statements he has made to
stoke to division, discord, and disharmony among the American people.
Let us not forget that the current President of the United States
burnished his political reputation by claiming falsely for more than 5
years that his predecessor was born in Kenya and not in the United
States and thus was an illegitimate President.
The current President of the United States launched his 2016 campaign
for the Presidency by saying of persons from Mexico seeking to
immigrate to the United States: ``They're bringing drugs. They're
bringing crime. They're rapists.''
The current President of the United States claimed that a Hispanic
federal jurist could not preside over a court proceeding to which then
presidential candidate Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization were
defendants accused of civil fraud because ``He's a Mexican!''
In January 2018 the current President of the United States is
reported to have inquired of his advisors: ``Why are we having all
these people from (expletive deleted) countries come here?'', referring
to persons from countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and Central and
South America.
And most contemptible of all, on August 15, 2017 the current
President of the United States said he regarded as some ``very fine
people,'' the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Ku Klux Klansmen who
descended on the peaceful community of Charlottesville, Virginia to
advocate racism and who were met by peaceful counterprotestors in a
clash that the white supremacists turned violent and resulted in the
death of Heather Heyer and left injured many other innocent persons who
were gathered to affirm the principles of the Declaration of
Independence and the U.S. Constitution, and to honor the sacrifice of
unsung American heroes who devoted their lives to the ongoing quest to
continue perfecting our union.
Mr. Speaker, the recent and past statements and actions of the
current President of the United States demean the office he holds and
falls short of the standard set by the 16th President, whose
administration was devoted to unity, healing, and ending racial
division.
In his famous March 4, 1861, Inaugural Address, President Abraham
Lincoln foretold the reasons why the efforts of the current President
of the United States to rend our union are destined to fail:
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds
of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when
again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels
of our nature.
Before closing, Mr. Speaker, I think it appropriate to share my
perspective on immigration and significant and positive impact it has
in the development of this, the greatest nation in human history.
Like the Framers did in the summer of 1776, it is fitting that we
gather in the nation's capital on a sweltering July day to reflect upon
America's long and continuing struggle for justice, equality, and
opportunity.
After all, all that any of us wants is an honored place in the
American family.
I am often reminded that as I speak there is a family somewhere about
to begin a dangerous but hopeful quest.
Somewhere south of the border, maybe across the Rio Grande from El
Paso, Laredo, Corpus Christi, or Brownsville or maybe just south of
Tucson or San Diego or Douglass, Arizona.
Somewhere there is a family in the Old Country anxiously about to
embark on their own journey to the New World of America.
They come for the same reason so many millions came before them, in
this century and last, from this continent and from every other.
They come for the same reason families have always come to America:
to be free of fear and hunger, to better their condition, to begin
their world anew, to give their children a chance for a better life.
Like previous waves of immigrants, they too will wage all and risk
all to reach the sidewalks of Houston or Los Angeles or Phoenix or
Chicago or Atlanta or Denver or Detroit.
They will risk death in the desert; they will brave the elements,
they will risk capture and crime, they will endure separation from
loved ones.
And if they make it to the Promised Land of America, no job will be
beneath them.
They will cook our food, clean our houses, cut our grass, and care
for our kids.
They will be cheated by some and exploited by others.
They work in sunlight but live in twilight, between the shadows; not
fully welcome as new Americans but wanted as low-wage workers.
Somewhere near the borders tonight, a family will cross over into the
New World, willed by the enduring power of the American Dream.
I urge all Members to join me in supporting H. Res. 489.
All American should take pride in and celebrate the ethnic, racial,
and religious diversity
[[Page H5842]]
that has made the United States the leader of the community of nations
and the beacon of hope and inspiration to oppressed persons everywhere.
And in addition to the love and pride Americans justifiably have for
their country, all persons in the United States should cherish and
exercise the rights, privileges, and responsibilities guaranteed by the
Constitution of the United States.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are again reminded to refrain from
engaging in personalities toward the President.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
While my friend from Texas is sometimes known for running over the
gavel at the end of her comments, it is only because it comes from the
heart. When I think about Members in this institution who are
unhampered by a lack of passion, I think of my friend from Texas. But
when I look for an honest broker, who will be true to her word and
partner when partnership is required, my friend from Texas embodies
that, as well. I appreciate both her words and her restraint here this
morning.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Will the gentleman yield?
Mr. WOODALL. I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that my faith, my
commitment to many people of different colors who respect the
distinction or difference but also the greatness of this country, my
love of those who serve, causes me to say, as many of my colleagues
here are ready to say: Let us sit down at the table of peace and
reconciliation.
I hope we will have some who will acknowledge that these actions--I
will try to be generic--and words were certainly not becoming of the
United States of America. The American people must see us work together
on that.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, reclaiming my time, I thank my friend from
Texas. I think that is a welcome invitation.
Mr. Speaker, thinking about the policies before us today, if we
defeat the previous question, I will amend the rule to bring H.R. 3965
to the floor.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment in the Record immediately preceding the vote on the previous
question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Georgia?
There was no objection.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, you have heard a lot about the
controversial citizenship question in the Census. Whether or not it
should be controversial is a different issue altogether.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Kentucky (Mr. Comer).
Mr. COMER. Today, I introduce the Citizens Count Census Act of 2019,
a bill that would require a citizenship question on the United States
Census.
If we defeat the previous question, as the gentleman from Georgia
said, then we will be able to consider my bill.
It has always been common sense to include a citizenship question on
our Nation's Census. The purpose of the Census Bureau and all Census
surveys is to include data used for apportionment and to better inform
the public about the population, business, and economics of the United
States of America.
The collection of citizenship information during a population census
is a common practice among countries. This is not new, and it should
not be controversial. A citizenship question is asked on the census in
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, and the United
Kingdom, to name a few. In fact, Mr. Speaker, the United Nations
recommends that countries gather citizenship information about their
populations.
Knowing how many legal and nonlegal individuals are within our
borders is a perfectly appropriate question to ask on our Census, and I
hope we can pass this measure to see that happen.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my congressional colleagues to
vote for this commonsense legislation to ensure we know exactly how
many citizens reside in this country.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, may I ask how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia has 7\1/2\
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Maryland has 2\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Ohio (Mr. Jordan), my good friend and the ranking member on the House
Oversight and Reform Committee.
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Justice
have given 31,000 pages of documents to the Congress. They provided
witnesses. In fact, we have another one coming in for a transcribed
interview later this month.
Secretary Ross came and testified for over 6 hours. He came in front
of the committee, raised his hand, swore to tell the truth, the whole
truth, and nothing but the truth, so help him God. He testified for 6
hours.
Secretary Ross and Attorney General Barr are doing their jobs. What
is their reward? The Democrats are going to hold them in contempt, hold
them in contempt because they are so focused on this citizenship
question.
As Mr. Comer, who has introduced legislation, said just a few minutes
ago, the citizenship question is nothing but common sense.
Listen to what Justice Alito said 2 weeks ago, ``No one disputes that
it is important to know how many inhabitants of this country are
citizens.'' And the easiest way to figure it out is to ask a question
on the Census.
That is about as common sense as it gets. It is so common sense, we
have only been doing it for 200 years, in one form or another. The long
form, the short form, the 10-year form, the annual form, we have been
doing it for 200 years.
But somehow, this year: No, you can't do it this year. You can't do
it this year.
As Mr. Comer said, the United Nations says it is a best practice.
Lots of countries do it. But somehow, the Democrats don't want us to do
it this year.
I support the legislation that the Representative from Kentucky has
introduced. I support the good work of our Rules Committee member from
Georgia. Certainly, I don't support the rule and the resolution that is
going to hold Secretary Ross and Attorney General Barr in contempt.
Again, doing their job and what do they get? A contempt resolution from
the Democrats.
Ask yourself a question or, better yet, go ask your constituents a
question. I would encourage Democrats to go to their districts and ask
anyone in their districts: Do you think we should ask a question on the
Census about whether you are a citizen of this country? My guess is
just about every single person you talk to in your district will say:
Heck, yeah, aren't we doing that already? Of course, my colleagues
would have to respond: Yes, we are, and we have been doing it for 200
years.
This is common sense. This resolution is not appropriate.
Mr. Speaker, I urge defeat of the rule, defeat of the previous
question, and if it gets to the floor, defeat of the resolution.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, on the question of holding the Attorney General and
Secretary of Commerce in contempt for refusing to turn over repeatedly
requested documents and witnesses, our good friends now confuse two
legal questions with a policy question.
The legal question is: Did they violate the law in imposing the
citizenship question on the Census? Yes, they did violate the law. They
violated the Census Act. They violated the Administrative Procedure
Act. They violated pretty much every administrative principle we have
in this country. Chief Justice John Roberts said it, someone who is
beloved to my colleagues over there.
{time} 1330
But the other legal question is: Can the executive branch decide
willy-nilly that they are going to stop cooperating with congressional
subpoenas and requests for documents? No, they can't, and I hope that
that would be a unifying dictum for everybody in this body that we
stand up for the right of the people's Representatives to obtain the
information that we need.
[[Page H5843]]
Now, my dear friend from Georgia made the point that he wished that
we could proceed in a more bipartisan fashion. I have actually been
very cheered by the number of our GOP colleagues who have denounced the
President's remarks over the weekend and this week.
For example, we get a statement from--I am not making it up. I know
that they are out there. Here we go. Mr. Fred Upton: ``Frankly, I'm
appalled by the President's tweets. There's no excuse. The President's
tweets were flat-out wrong and uncalled for.''
Pete Olson: ``The tweet President Trump posted over the weekend about
fellow Members of Congress are not reflective of the values'' of my
district. ``I urge our President immediately disavow his comments.''
Senator Murkowski: ``There's no excuse for the President's spiteful
comments--they were absolutely unacceptable and this needs to stop.''
John Kasich: ``What @realDonaldTrump said about Democrat women in
Congress is deplorable and beneath the dignity of the office. We all,
including Republicans, need to speak out against these kind of comments
that do nothing more than divide us and create deep animosity. . . .''
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, how much time is remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Georgia has 4\1/2\
minutes remaining. The gentleman from Maryland has 30 seconds
remaining.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, again, I regret that there is so much that is packed
into this rule. It is one of the reasons I urged defeat of the rule
today.
Everyone in this Chamber wants to vote to have this debate on the
national intelligence reauthorization bill. Everybody wants to be a
part of that. Again, 31 amendments made in order will improve that
bill, a bipartisan product coming out of a very contentious committee.
The rest of these issues are more complex. And I don't mean complex
because we shouldn't discuss them. We should. I mean complex because we
haven't discussed them.
I think I am prepared to yield time if the gentleman needs it. I know
my friend from Maryland is not the author of the resolution condemning
the President, but the gentleman mentioned my friend from Texas (Mr.
Olson) and Mr. Olson's comments on the Republican side of the aisle.
I ask the gentleman, was Mr. Olson consulted to try to create the
language that we see before us today?
I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I am sorry. Does the gentleman mind
repeating?
Mr. WOODALL. Was the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson) consulted as we
tried to draft this language that is before us today?
I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I am sure the gentleman was not,
unfortunately, just because of the press of time.
Mr. WOODALL. Reclaiming my time, was Mr. Upton, who the gentleman
referenced as having sympathetic words to say, was the gentleman
consulted about the drafting of this resolution?
I yield to the gentleman.
Mr. RASKIN. The vast majority of Members on both sides were not
consulted in the manner----
Mr. WOODALL. Reclaiming my time, so Mr. Kasich was also not consulted
and Ms. Murkowski also not consulted.
Mr. Speaker, if we are talking about a serious issue and we are going
to craft a serious response and we want to speak with one voice from
this institution, might it be a good idea for there to be at least one
conversation between Democrats and Republicans about how to proceed?
Might it be a good idea to have more than one conversation?
Might it be a good idea to put partisanship aside and actually do
those things that I know my friend from Maryland wants to do and I want
to do arm in arm with him?
We keep missing opportunities in this Congress, Mr. Speaker,
opportunities to make this institution stronger, opportunities to make
this Nation stronger. We are missing them, and we are creating scars
along the way.
What could be an operation in building trust has become an operation
in building distrust.
What could be an operation designed to heal, I suspect, is going to
be an operation that brings more needless pain.
We have a good bill in the intelligence reauthorization, Mr. Speaker.
We have a good series of bills in arms export control. We could be down
here talking about those because of the bipartisan work that has gone
into it already.
Not one conversation has been had between tweets over a weekend and a
resolution condemning those on the floor of the House, not one effort
made to speak with one voice in the United States House. That tells you
just about everything someone needs to know about why this resolution
is on the floor with these two contempt resolutions in this place at
this time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge defeat of the rule. I urge defeat of the previous
question.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule and the
previous question.
I will just take a second to say to my friend that there have been
hundreds of conversations that have been taking place here, but, of
course, the gentleman knows that the committee system works in such a
way that legislation is put in and not everybody is consulted. The
legislation he has praised so effusively today in the Intelligence
Committee, none of us outside of the Intelligence Committee were
consulted about it.
So I think we have got a consensus here rejecting and repudiating the
tenor and the meaning of the President's remarks, and I hope that this
process of dialogue which has been so wonderful today with the
gentleman from Georgia leads to an outcome where all of us will vote
for the previous question
The text of the material previously referred to by Mr. Woodall is as
follows:
Amendment to House Resolution 491
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 7. That immediately upon adoption of this resolution,
the House shall resolve into the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R.
3765) to amend title 13, United States Code, to require that
any questionnaire used for a decennial census of population
contains a question regarding citizenship, and for other
purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed
with. All points of order against consideration of the bill
are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and
shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Oversight and Reform. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five minute rule. All
points of order against provisions in the bill are waived.
When the committee rises and reports the bill back to the
House with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill
and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except one motion to recommit with or without
instructions. If the Committee of the Whole rises and reports
that it has come to no resolution on the bill, then on the
next legislative day the House shall, immediately after the
third daily order of business under clause 1 of rule XIV,
resolve into the Committee of the Whole for further
consideration of the bill.
Sec. 8. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the
consideration of H.R. 3765.
Mr. RASKIN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair
will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on
the question of the adoption of the resolution.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 230,
nays 189, not voting 13, as follows:
[Roll No. 478]
YEAS--230
Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Axne
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
[[Page H5844]]
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brindisi
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Carbajal
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Case
Casten (IL)
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Cox (CA)
Craig
Crist
Crow
Cuellar
Cummings
Cunningham
Davids (KS)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny K.
Dean
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Delgado
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Engel
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Finkenauer
Fletcher
Foster
Frankel
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Golden
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Haaland
Harder (CA)
Hastings
Hayes
Heck
Hill (CA)
Himes
Horn, Kendra S.
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Lamb
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Levin (CA)
Levin (MI)
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan
Luria
Lynch
Malinowski
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McAdams
McBath
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Morelle
Moulton
Mucarsel-Powell
Murphy
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
O'Halleran
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Richmond
Rose (NY)
Rouda
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shalala
Sherman
Sherrill
Sires
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Soto
Spanberger
Speier
Stanton
Stevens
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres Small (NM)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Van Drew
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wexton
Wild
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NAYS--189
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bergman
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Bost
Brady
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burchett
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cline
Cloud
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Conaway
Cook
Crawford
Crenshaw
Curtis
Davidson (OH)
Davis, Rodney
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan
Dunn
Emmer
Estes
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx (NC)
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallagher
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gonzalez (OH)
Gooden
Gosar
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hagedorn
Harris
Hartzler
Hern, Kevin
Herrera Beutler
Hice (GA)
Hill (AR)
Holding
Hollingsworth
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunter
Hurd (TX)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Katko
Keller
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Kustoff (TN)
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lesko
Long
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
Meadows
Meuser
Miller
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reschenthaler
Rice (SC)
Riggleman
Roby
Rodgers (WA)
Roe, David P.
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rooney (FL)
Rose, John W.
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Shimkus
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spano
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Timmons
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Waltz
Watkins
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Wright
Yoho
Young
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--13
Abraham
Biggs
Burgess
Cardenas
Doyle, Michael F.
Gohmert
Granger
Higgins (LA)
Higgins (NY)
Latta
Lipinski
Marchant
Williams
{time} 1402
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated against:
Mr. LATTA. Mr. Speaker, due to being the ranking Republican on the
Energy and Commerce Committee's Communication and Technology
subcommittee, we were detained in a hearing during the vote. Had I been
present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 478.
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. WOODALL. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 233,
nays 190, not voting 9, as follows:
[Roll No. 479]
YEAS--233
Adams
Aguilar
Allred
Axne
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brindisi
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Case
Casten (IL)
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Cisneros
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Cooper
Correa
Costa
Courtney
Cox (CA)
Craig
Crist
Crow
Cuellar
Cummings
Cunningham
Davids (KS)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny K.
Dean
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Delgado
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Engel
Escobar
Eshoo
Espaillat
Evans
Finkenauer
Fletcher
Foster
Frankel
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Garcia (IL)
Garcia (TX)
Golden
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gottheimer
Green, Al (TX)
Grijalva
Haaland
Harder (CA)
Hastings
Hayes
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Hill (CA)
Himes
Horn, Kendra S.
Horsford
Houlahan
Hoyer
Huffman
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson (TX)
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Khanna
Kildee
Kilmer
Kim
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Lamb
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lawson (FL)
Lee (CA)
Lee (NV)
Levin (CA)
Levin (MI)
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan
Luria
Lynch
Malinowski
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McAdams
McBath
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Morelle
Moulton
Mucarsel-Powell
Murphy
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neguse
Norcross
O'Halleran
Ocasio-Cortez
Omar
Pallone
Panetta
Pappas
Pascrell
Payne
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Phillips
Pingree
Pocan
Porter
Pressley
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Richmond
Rose (NY)
Rouda
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Scanlon
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schneider
Schrader
Schrier
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Shalala
Sherman
Sherrill
Sires
Slotkin
Smith (WA)
Soto
Spanberger
Speier
Stanton
Stevens
Suozzi
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tlaib
Tonko
Torres (CA)
Torres Small (NM)
Trahan
Trone
Underwood
Van Drew
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wasserman Schultz
Waters
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wexton
Wild
Wilson (FL)
Yarmuth
NAYS--190
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Armstrong
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Baird
Balderson
Banks
Barr
Bergman
Bilirakis
Bishop (UT)
Bost
Brady
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burchett
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Cline
Cloud
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Conaway
Cook
Crawford
Crenshaw
Curtis
Davidson (OH)
Davis, Rodney
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Duffy
Duncan
Dunn
Emmer
Estes
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx (NC)
Fulcher
Gaetz
Gallagher
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gonzalez (OH)
Gooden
Gosar
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Green (TN)
Griffith
Grothman
Guest
Guthrie
Hagedorn
Harris
Hartzler
Hern, Kevin
Herrera Beutler
Hice (GA)
Hill (AR)
Holding
Hollingsworth
Hudson
Huizenga
Hunter
Hurd (TX)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson (SD)
Jordan
Joyce (OH)
Joyce (PA)
Katko
Keller
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Kustoff (TN)
[[Page H5845]]
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Latta
Lesko
Long
Loudermilk
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Marshall
Massie
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
Meadows
Meuser
Miller
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Newhouse
Norman
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Pence
Perry
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reschenthaler
Rice (SC)
Riggleman
Roby
Rodgers (WA)
Roe, David P.
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rooney (FL)
Rose, John W.
Rouzer
Roy
Rutherford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Shimkus
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Spano
Stauber
Stefanik
Steil
Steube
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Timmons
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Waltz
Watkins
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Wright
Yoho
Young
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--9
Abraham
Biggs
Burgess
Gohmert
Granger
Higgins (LA)
Lipinski
Marchant
Williams
{time} 1411
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.
____________________