[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 195 (Friday, November 5, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6213-H6230]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5376, BUILD BACK BETTER ACT; AND 
                           FOR OTHER PURPOSES

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, 
I call up House Resolution 774 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 774

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5376) to 
     provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. 
     Res. 14. 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 117-18, 
     modified by the amendment printed in the report of the 
     Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, 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) two hours of debate equally 
     divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking 
     minority member of the Committee on the Budget or their 
     respective designees and the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective 
     designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 2.  House Resolution 188, agreed to March 8, 2021 (as 
     most recently amended by House Resolution 716, agreed to 
     October 12, 2021), is amended by striking ``November 18, 
     2021'' each place it appears and inserting (in each instance) 
     ``December 3, 2021''.


                             Point of Order

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I raise a point of order 
against consideration of the resolution because the resolution waives 
all points of order against consideration of H.R. 5376.
  The resolution is therefore in violation of section 426 of the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 prohibiting the consideration of a 
rule waiving the application of section 425 of the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act of 1995.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). The gentleman from Missouri 
makes a point of order that the resolution violates section 426(a) of 
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.

[[Page H6214]]

  The gentleman has met the threshold burden under the rule and the 
gentleman from Missouri and a Member opposed each will control 10 
minutes of debate on the question of consideration. Following debate, 
the Chair will put the question of consideration as the statutory means 
of disposing of the point of order.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, we have seen a circus here for 
the last 7 hours. We saw history: The longest vote held in this body in 
modern history, a motion to adjourn, just so some backroom agreement 
could be made.
  This point of order, the whole purpose of it, is to make sure that 
this budget bill that is before us--before there is a vote--that we 
know the true cost of this agreement from the Congressional Budget 
Office. That is what the rules are.
  We know that there are more than 150 different programs being created 
in this legislation, and we know that there are a lot of many--numerous 
different possibilities of unfunded mandates that would go to the 
States, that would go to individuals. And before there is a vote on 
this bill, a vote on this rule, we need to make sure that there is a 
Congressional Budget Office score. We do not need to violate the House 
rules and Federal statute by forcing through this piece of legislation 
without knowing exactly the cost.
  Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a letter that was sent to the 
Speaker of the House from five different Democrats of this body, 
following our lead, what we just said here, that there should not be a 
vote on this bill until the Congressional Budget Office does a score.


                                Congress of the United States,

                                 Washington, DC, November 2, 2021.
      Hon. Nancy Pelosi,
     Speaker, U.S. House of Representatives,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Madam Speaker: As we work to put the COVID-19 crisis 
     behind us and build back better than ever before, we applaud 
     your focus on infrastructure and on measures that help 
     children and working families across America.
       We continue to ask that you please schedule a floor vote on 
     the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework as soon as possible, 
     and we are pleased by the progress we are making on the Build 
     Back Better (BBB) Act. As we enter the home stretch of these 
     negotiations, we ask that you please provide additional 
     information so that we may make more informed decisions that 
     better serve our constituents.
       First, we applaud the commitment from both you and the 
     President that the BBB Act will be fully paid for. In order 
     to ensure the final bill is indeed fiscally responsible, we 
     must first have the proper CBO/JCT scoring information before 
     any floor consideration. Therefore, we cannot lend our 
     support to advancing the BBB Act until we have had a chance 
     to review these scores which provide the true cost of the 
     legislation. Moreover, the U.S. Senate cannot even consider 
     the BBB Act under reconciliation rules until it has received 
     an official CBO score.
       Secondly, we appreciate your public statements committing 
     to properly pre-conferencing the BBB Act with the U.S. 
     Senate. We continue to urge you to only bring a bill to the 
     floor for which we have a strong level of confidence that the 
     provisions in the bill will be ruled in order by the Senate 
     Parliamentarian and earn passage in the U.S. Senate.
       Finally, consistent with House rules and considering the 
     magnitude and complexity of the BBB Act, we ask that the 
     final text of the bill be posted at least 72 hours before its 
     consideration so that we--and, more importantly our 
     constituents--have time to review the bill before any vote.
       While we understand the needs of the nation are great, we 
     believe our job as legislators is to provide the due 
     diligence required to properly serve our constituents. It is 
     better to get this done right than to needlessly rush its 
     consideration only for our constituents to discover the 
     negative impacts of our unintended consequences.
           Sincerely,
     Ed Case.
     Josh Gottheimer.
     Kurt Schrader.
     Jared Golden.
     Stephanie Murphy.

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I hope that the five Members 
that are on this letter to the Speaker will follow through with the 
same commitment that they allowed on November 2, and to make sure that 
the American people get a valid, transparent score so that they know 
what exactly is in this piece of legislation.
  We know it is the largest spending bill in the history of the United 
States. We just don't know exactly how much. It is at least $4.5 
trillion, but we don't have the Congressional scorecards of doing it.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I claim the time in opposition.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is 
recognized.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler).
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend, Ranking 
Member Smith, for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, it was just 4 short years ago that Speaker Pelosi 
tweeted, ``Republicans shouldn't vote without an updated CBO score.'' 
Those were the Speaker's own words 4 years ago.
  The Speaker even doubled down later in that tweet. She accused 
Republicans of attempting to ``jam this bill through without an updated 
CBO score of its impacts.'' Again, that was the Speaker 4 years ago.
  Apparently, the Speaker has forgotten those words, because later 
today, Democrats plan to ram through this Big Government tax-and-spend 
proposal with no information from the nonpartisan CBO about the true 
cost and the true economic impact their spending spree will have on the 
American people.
  So I guess it is fair to say that the Speaker subscribes to that age-
old adage, ``do as I say, not as I do.''
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson).
  Mrs. HINSON. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri for 
yielding today.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to this massive tax-
and-spend plan that was only posted late last night.
  This entire process has been a sham. It has been full of nothing but 
partisanship, disrespect for taxpayers and late-night and all-day 
antics. No wonder my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are in 
disarray.
  Late last night, the 2,100-page bill was finally posted. We certainly 
have not had adequate time to fully read or digest what is in it, let 
alone figure out how much it is going to cost my constituents.
  Iowans deserve to know how much of their hard-earned paychecks are 
going to be wasted on frivolous, misguided priorities, like funding for 
butterflies or desert fish when my constituents are busy trying to put 
food on their tables, provide for their kids, and keep their family 
farms operating.
  But no, we can't even get the most basic information. We don't have 
an official cost estimate from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget 
Office. Instead, we have nonsense numbers, totally made-up numbers, 
handed down from the White House in the middle of the night. That is 
not how we govern responsibly in this body.
  Madam Speaker, I came to Washington, D.C., to be an advocate for 
taxpayers, to make sure that Iowans' voices are heard and to bring a 
little bit of that Iowa commonsense to the Capitol. This place clearly 
needs it.
  Working families in Iowa sit around their kitchen tables, they talk 
about what is important to them, they build a budget that fits within 
their means and they stick to it.
  I know what that is like. Moms across the country know what that is 
like. It is not easy. We have to make hard choices. And frankly, it is 
disrespectful and embarrassing that we are even having this debate 
right now.
  How can we spend taxpayers' money without knowing how much we are 
spending?
  In the Speaker's own words, we shouldn't vote without a CBO score. I 
agree. Americans deserve to know the impact legislation will have on 
their lives. The best estimates that we have, which don't even include 
all of the provisions that Speaker Pelosi stuffed in there last night, 
ring up in the trillions.
  We are spending approximately trillions of dollars on nonsense 
priorities when Iowans are dealing with real challenges, and we can't 
even give them the respect of waiting for a proper cost estimate. This 
bill bankrupts the economy, it benefits the wealthy, and it builds 
bureaucracy. It is a bust. Vote ``no.''

[[Page H6215]]

  


                              {time}  1530

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole).
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, we have heard repeatedly from the President 
of the United States that this bill costs nothing. That is obviously 
not true, it costs lots of money.
  Last night, my very good friend, the Rules Committee chairman, the 
distinguished Member from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), said it is 
fully paid for. I know he believes that. Unfortunately, he doesn't know 
that.
  We don't have a Congressional Budget Committee score. We have had 
five Members of the other party say they would not vote for this bill 
unless they had a CBO score. I hope they hold true to that.
  Madam Speaker, we should simply not proceed until we have a CBO 
score. We will have our differences of opinion, fair enough. But the 
American people and all of us in this Chamber ought to know what this 
bill costs before any of us are asked to cast a vote.
  Madam Speaker, I would urge the support of my friend's point of 
order.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I 
may consume.
  Madam Speaker, it has been quite a groundhog day when you watch what 
has been going on with this legislation over and over. It started out 
with a 2,400 page bill; last Thursday a new 1,700 page bill was 
dropped; this week on Wednesday an additional 2,135 page bill was 
dropped, and none of the bills have been completely scored.
  What we do know, after 11 p.m. last night they made additional 
changes to the 2,135 page bill that was dropped on Wednesday. And you 
know what their priorities were in those changes? It was to give 
millionaires larger tax breaks. That was their priority, to give 
already millionaires larger tax breaks.
  They try to tell you that this legislation was about the kids and the 
babies and it is all about the children. That is a bunch of hogwash, 
Madam Speaker. This bill is all about giving tax breaks to the 
millionaires. The largest portion in this bill, over $300 billion, goes 
toward their tax breaks for millionaires.
  They don't want a score because they don't want the American people 
to see the giveaways that they are giving to the most wealthy at the 
expense of the working class. That is unacceptable. We need to make 
sure that the only thing that is bipartisan in this legislation is 
bipartisan opposition.
  There is bipartisan support to make sure that this bill is scored 
before a vote, to make sure that the American people know what is in 
this bill. Don't you dare try to sneak this through. Don't you dare.
  The people of the United States deserve the huge tax break you are 
giving your millionaires in this legislation. Madam Speaker, I hope the 
five Democrats that sent this letter to the Speaker join with us and 
makes sure that we know how much the price tag is in this legislation, 
in this proposal, so we can tell everyday working-class Americans how 
much their cost of goods are going to be going up because of the 
reckless, irresponsible spending of the people on that side of the 
aisle.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind all Members to address 
their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Madam Speaker, let me first begin by suggesting, and I say this 
seriously, that the gentleman from Missouri take a chill pill. We ought 
to be able to discuss serious matters without getting hysterical and 
yelling and screaming all the time. The American people expect us to 
debate serious issues seriously.
  First of all, let me just say, this is another tactic to try to 
derail an effort to help reduce premiums for more than 9 million 
Americans, lower prescription drug costs, ensure that seniors never pay 
more than $2,000 a year for their drugs under Medicare part D.
  This is an effort by my Republican friends to derail a bill that 
would lower insulin prices; it offers access to universal and free 
preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, which would save American families an 
average of $8,600 per year per child. That is what they are fighting 
against here.
  This effort by my Republican friends is an attempt to derail a bill 
that would support the construction of affordable homes, boost our 
housing supply, deliver much-needed rental and downpayment assistance 
to our constituents; it would enhance and expand home energy and 
efficiency tax credits; it would bolster our domestic supply chains; 
creates thousands of new good-paying jobs right here in the United 
States of America; it would make historic investments in coastal 
restoration, forest management, and soil conservation; provides 
resources to reduce emissions and support our farmers; it creates a 
diverse new workforce for the establishment of the Civilian Climate 
Corps, which will conserve our land and improve resilience.
  Now, my friends on the other side of the aisle were talking about the 
cost. They are worried about the cost. Boy, it is nice that they 
finally worry about the cost of things. They rammed through a tax cut 
bill for the wealthy, for billionaires, for big corporations, and they 
never paid for it. It added $2 trillion to our debt. Where were they 
then?
  But here is the good news, Madam Speaker. This bill is fully paid 
for. The Joint Committee on Taxation and the White House has provided 
much of the detail. I appreciate the fact that my friends would rather 
shout than debate, but the American people expect a debate, expect a 
conversation.
  When people, by the way, come to the Rules Committee, they get as 
much time as they want to be able to speak, and we welcome the 
diversity of opinion.
  Madam Speaker, we also know that the Build Back Better bill will not 
become law without a CBO score. It will not go through the Senate 
without a CBO score. That will be coming, and my friends know that.
  So the bottom line is, this is a red herring. They are not concerned 
about a CBO score. They are not concerned about cost, they never have 
been in the past on any of their legislative priorities that benefit 
the well-off and the well-connected. The idea that somehow they are 
fighting for the middle class or those struggling to get in the middle 
class; give me a break. People know the record of my Republican 
friends, they know the priorities of the Republican Congress, they know 
the priorities of the previous occupant of the White House.
  Nobody buys that this is about protecting the middle class because 
most of my friends on the other side of the aisle never gave a damn 
about the middle class or those struggling to get into the middle 
class.
  So this is an effort to try to basically derail or stall or obstruct 
all the things that I mentioned. Madam Speaker, there is no merit to 
what my friends are complaining about here today, but they will 
complain, and they have a right to do so. We will grin and bear it. At 
the end of the day we will deliver for the American people.
  We have two major pieces of legislation that we want to get enacted 
into law: one is the Build Back Better initiative, which I just talked 
about all the priorities in it; the other is the infrastructure bill 
that was bipartisan over in the Senate, and maybe we will see if it is 
bipartisan over here, I hope so. It is about investing in our roads and 
our bridges and our water and our sewer facilities, and giving America 
basically a facelift because we have neglected our infrastructure for 
too long.
  And here is the difference. When they were in charge, when the 
previous occupant of the White House was in charge, we got 
infrastructure weeks and infrastructure months and infrastructure press 
releases, but no money, no resources to help build one single 
infrastructure project. That is going to change with this majority and 
this President.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject what my friends are 
peddling here today and vote ``yes'' on the question of consideration.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is, Will the House now consider 
the resolution?
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.

[[Page H6216]]

  

  Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and 
nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 215, 
nays 212, not voting 7, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 368]

                               YEAS--215

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Axne
     Barragan
     Bass
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bourdeaux
     Bowman
     Boyle, Brendan F.
     Brown (MD)
     Brown (OH)
     Brownley
     Bustos
     Butterfield
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Chu
     Cicilline
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Cooper
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crist
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis, Danny K.
     Dean
     DeFazio
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Delgado
     Demings
     DeSaulnier
     Deutch
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Doyle, Michael F.
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Frankel, Lois
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Golden
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Huffman
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs (CA)
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Johnson (TX)
     Jones
     Kahele
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Kind
     Kirkpatrick
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Lamb
     Langevin
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lawrence
     Lawson (FL)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin (CA)
     Levin (MI)
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lowenthal
     Luria
     Lynch
     Malinowski
     Maloney, Carolyn B.
     Maloney, Sean
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McCollum
     McEachin
     McGovern
     McNerney
     Meeks
     Meng
     Mfume
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Murphy (FL)
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Newman
     Norcross
     O'Halleran
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Pelosi
     Perlmutter
     Peters
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Price (NC)
     Quigley
     Raskin
     Rice (NY)
     Ross
     Roybal-Allard
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Rush
     Ryan
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Schrader
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Sires
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Speier
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Suozzi
     Swalwell
     Takano
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Veasey
     Vela
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Welch
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)
     Yarmuth

                               NAYS--212

     Aderholt
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice (OK)
     Biggs
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Bost
     Brady
     Brooks
     Buchanan
     Buck
     Bucshon
     Budd
     Burchett
     Burgess
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Carter (TX)
     Cawthorn
     Chabot
     Cheney
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cole
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     Davidson
     Davis, Rodney
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duncan
     Dunn
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Fortenberry
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fulcher
     Gaetz
     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia (CA)
     Gibbs
     Gimenez
     Gohmert
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gonzalez (OH)
     Good (VA)
     Gooden (TX)
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hagedorn
     Harris
     Harshbarger
     Hartzler
     Hern
     Herrell
     Herrera Beutler
     Hice (GA)
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Hollingsworth
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Issa
     Jackson
     Jacobs (NY)
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Katko
     Keller
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kim (CA)
     Kinzinger
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Long
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Mace
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McHenry
     McKinley
     Meijer
     Meuser
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Mullin
     Murphy (NC)
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunes
     Obernolte
     Owens
     Palazzo
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reed
     Reschenthaler
     Rice (SC)
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rosendale
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Stewart
     Taylor
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Upton
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Walorski
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Young

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Bush
     Gomez
     Jayapal
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Pressley
     Tlaib
     Zeldin

                              {time}  2018

  Messrs. WITTMAN, GRAVES of Louisiana, LaHOOD, and ISSA changed their 
vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
  Mses. SANCHEZ, ADAMS, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. LAWRENCE, 
Messrs. DeFAZIO, GOTTHEIMER, RUPPERSBERGER, CLEAVER, Ms. DAVIDS of 
Kansas, Messrs. HOYER, BLUMENAUER, Ms. LEE of California, and Mr. WELCH 
changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
  So the question of consideration was decided in the affirmative.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  Stated for:
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Madam Speaker, I missed Roll Call 368 on November 5, 
2021. Had I been present, my vote would have been yea.


    Members Recorded Pursuant to House Resolution 8, 117th Congress

     Axne (Clark (MA))
     Babin (Nehls)
     Baird (Mooney)
     Barr (McHenry)
     Barragan (Huffman)
     Bilirakis (Fleischmann)
     Boebert (Franklin, C. Scott)
     Brooks (Moore (AL))
     Buchanan (Smucker)
     Bucshon (Banks)
     Cardenas (Gomez)
     Cawthorn (Nehls)
     Clarke (NY) (Kelly (IL))
     Costa (Sanchez)
     Crawford (Stewart)
     Crenshaw (Ellzey)
     Cuellar (Veasey)
     Demings (Kelly (IL))
     Deutch (Rice (NY))
     Duncan (Rice (SC))
     Frankel, Lois (Clark (MA))
     Gaetz (Greene (GA))
     Gibbs (Smucker)
     Gonzalez (OH) (Meijer)
     Gonzalez, Vicente (Gomez)
     Gosar (Greene (GA))
     Green (TN) (Joyce (PA))
     Hagedorn (Carl)
     Hartzler (Walberg)
     Kind (Connolly)
     Kinzinger (Rice (SC))
     Kirkpatrick (Stanton)
     Krishnamoorthi (Spanberger)
     Lawson (FL) (Evans)
     Lesko (Miller (WV))
     Long (McHenry)
     Luetkemeyer (McHenry)
     Maloney, Carolyn B. (Clark (MA))
     McEachin (Wexton)
     Meeks (Kelly (IL))
     Meng (Clark (MA))
     Moolenaar (Bergman)
     Mullin (Lucas)
     Napolitano (Correa)
     Newman (Manning)
     Obernolte (Steel)
     Payne (Pallone)
     Pingree (Kuster)
     Porter (Wexton)
     Reed (McHenry)
     Rodgers (WA) (Herrera Beutler)
     Rush (Underwood)
     Sewell (Kelly (IL))
     Sires (Pallone)
     Smith (WA) (Courtney)
     Speier (Scanlon)
     Steube (Franklin, C. Scott)
     Strickland (Clark (MA))
     Swalwell (Gomez)
     Tiffany (Fitzgerald)
     Van Duyne (Jackson)
     Walorski (Banks)
     Waltz (Salazar)
     Wilson (FL) (Hayes)
     Wilson (SC) (Timmons)
     Yarmuth (Beyer)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. DeGette). The gentleman from 
Massachusetts is recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), 
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. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, yesterday the Committee on Rules 
reported a rule, House Resolution 774. The rule provides for the 
consideration of H.R. 5376, the Build Back Better Act, under a closed 
rule. The rule provides 2 hours of debate equally divided among and 
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Budget and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Ways and Means. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment from 
Chairman Yarmuth and provides one motion to recommit.
  Finally, the rule extends recess instructions, suspension authority, 
and same day authority through December 3.
  Madam Speaker, when Franklin Roosevelt stood before the American 
people in Chicago, Illinois, and accepted the Democratic nomination for 
President nearly 90 years ago, he promised them a New Deal, one built 
on equality

[[Page H6217]]

and fairness. That work is bigger than a single President or a single 
era, and it continues to this day.
  All these years later, this Congress is working to fulfill that 
promise. We will be considering a bill that will transform the lives of 
most people in this country for the better.
  The Build Back Better Act will help Americans access stronger and 
more affordable healthcare, better family care, and will set up a 
stronger response to the climate crisis. It will lower prescription 
drug costs, capping the cost of insulin at $35. It will establish paid 
family and medical leave and provide universal and free pre-K.
  Madam Speaker, I have talked to so many of my constituents who are 
sick and tired of working hard but falling behind. All they want is a 
country and a Congress that looks out for their interest and puts their 
needs first. That is what the policies contained in this bill will do.
  These are the kind of priorities that make me proud to be a Democrat. 
They are the kind of advancements that the American people have been 
demanding for decades.
  The Build Back Better Act finally turns the page on four decades of 
failed trickle-down economics. It invests in the people who built this 
country; in our workers, the middle class, and everyone fighting hard 
to get there. And at a time when the wealth gap between the richest and 
the poorest families in this country has more than doubled, this bill 
will stem the rising tide of income inequality by asking those at the 
very top to pay what they owe, to pay their fair share. It is bold. It 
is consequential. And it will transform the lives of so many Americans.
  By expanding the child tax credit, more than 35 million families with 
children will see their taxes go down.
  Older Americans and those with disabilities will also see expanded 
access to home care as part of this bill. People working two or three 
jobs to make ends meet--17 million of them--will have hope for a better 
future with access to an education that extends beyond high school.
  Parents of three- and four-year-old kids can breathe a sigh of relief 
as they gain access to universal pre-K, meaning that they can go to 
work safe in the knowledge that their kids are learning while they are 
earning.
  Nine million Americans will save money on their premiums through 
changes to the Affordable Care Act, and folks in States that have been 
cut out of healthcare--four million of them--will finally get 
healthcare because this bill closes the Medicaid coverage gap.
  By making the biggest investment ever to combat climate change, the 
Build Back Better Act will advance environmental justice and give more 
communities a fighting chance to respond to this crisis. There are 
resources here to cut pollution, grow small businesses, improve care 
for our veterans.
  This bill accomplishes all of this while being fully paid for. It 
finally demands that the largest corporations and the wealthiest 
Americans pay their fair share. And importantly, it keeps the 
President's promise not to raise taxes on those making under $400,000, 
not even one single penny.
  This is a seismic shift after my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle exploded the deficit to give tax cuts to the rich and the well-
off.
  And let me just say to all those Republicans who have been urging 
action on the COVID-caused supply chain issues, you should join us and 
support this bill because there are provisions here to bolster our 
supply chain and prepare for the next pandemic and future supply chain 
issues.
  Madam Speaker, I will put the values contained in this bill against 
the priorities of my colleagues on the other side any day of the week.
  It is about damn time that the wealthy were asked to pay their fair 
share. It is about damn time that workers and small businesses get a 
tax break. And it is about damn time that we focus on the middle class 
for a change.
  My Republican friends may stand here today and complain about the 
process, but the truth is 13 committees of jurisdiction have spent more 
than 165 hours marking up this legislation. They considered more than 
850 amendments. And all that was before the Committee on Rules did its 
work. Before the Committee on Rules met, not once, but twice, and 
talked about this bill--even before it was final.
  The committees have done their work. Members in this Congress, in 
this House and all across the Capitol have debated this bill over and 
over and over again.
  The American people are demanding action. Now is the time. Time for 
us to make real the promises of the New Deal. Time for us to put our 
government back on the side of working people in this country. And time 
for us to deliver the agenda that the American people voted for last 
November.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Members on both sides of the aisle, and 
especially staff. I know that this has been a long day and a long week. 
We have our differences, but I thank all of my colleagues for their 
patience.
  Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman, the chairman of 
the House Committee on Rules for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, 
and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Madam Speaker, you have to ask, What in the world have people been 
thinking today?
  Congress--which doesn't enjoy a high approval rating in general--the 
Democratic leadership and Speaker have shown such disrespect and 
disdain for every Member on both sides of the aisle that it will be 
very, very difficult to repair that damage.
  Now, exactly 12 hours late, we are considering a rule that provides 
for the consideration of a so-called Build Back Better Act. The final 
text of the bill, of course, does not have an opinion from the 
Congressional Budget Office, and the final text of the bill has been 
difficult to obtain, but now, there for all to see but none to read, it 
certainly does not provide for the American people.
  So let's just briefly recap the series of events: in an emergency 
August session, the House deemed passed on a procedural vote the budget 
resolution--not a real vote, a procedural vote--setting the top line 
reconciliation levels. In September, the 13 committees of jurisdiction 
did markup their portions. The Budget Committee held a markup on a 
Saturday night on a zoom call without a score from the Congressional 
Budget Office.

                              {time}  2030

  Speaker Pelosi, Democratic Senators, and the White House then engaged 
in a new round of negotiations, guaranteeing that after over a month of 
work--very partisan work--this bill would become wholly new legislation 
before heading to the House floor.
  With only a few hours' notice, the Rules Committee met last week on 
rushed reconciliation text that did not include language for every 
title. In the middle of this hearing, Speaker Pelosi decided to 
abruptly end testimony as her hastily crafted agreement completely 
collapsed.
  We were then called back on Wednesday of this week to restart 
consideration on even newer text with very little time to review. I 
wish I could tell you everything that is in this bill, but we really 
haven't had the time. I guess we will have to follow the lead of 
Speaker Pelosi at another time when she said we will have to pass the 
bill to find out what is in it.
  This is the most expensive piece of legislation in the history of the 
United States House of Representatives. The spending in this bill is 
five times America's annual defense budget, seven times the cost of the 
interstate highway system, five times annual Medicare spending, and 
more than the gross domestic products of Canada and Mexico combined. If 
enacted, new spending will be more than the total combined annual wages 
of the American people. Think about that for a minute. If you tax the 
American people every single dollar they earn, you still would not be 
paying for this bill, but Democrats seem unconcerned with this 
discrepancy.
  This bill includes a Methane Emissions Reduction Program. Methane is 
a pollutant if released into the atmosphere, but it is also a valuable 
commodity in the form of natural gas; it heats homes, it runs our 
plants that generate electricity. Domestic energy protection has 
skyrocketed over the past few decades, and yet at the same time methane 
emissions in the United

[[Page H6218]]

States of America have fallen 15 percent over that timeframe.
  Instead of building on this progress and welcoming the innovation, 
this provision would provide millions of taxpayer dollars to create a 
new natural gas tax, increasing the cost of residential natural gas by 
up to 34 percent.
  During the Rules Committee meeting, I submitted an amendment that 
would strike this methane language and instead provide incentives to 
build the infrastructure necessary to get this valuable product to 
consumers.
  Stranded gas in the Permian basin could be shipped to major 
population centers in the eastern part of the the country, or shipped 
overseas, but we couldn't find the necessary money to do that in a $5 
trillion bill.
  This package also provided billions of dollars to roll out electric 
vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure--basically toys for rich 
people. There are also subsidies for electric vehicles manufactured 
using union labor. Ironically, these pro-labor provisions could put 
thousands of nonunion auto workers out of a job. The subsidies would 
also breach international trade agreements. I submitted an amendment to 
remove this language, but it too was not considered.
  This bill contemplates an expansive drug pricing provision. This 
proposal claims to protect research and development, yet the Secretary 
still has the ability to set the price of any new drug at any level the 
Secretary wishes, even zero. There is no judicial review of arbitrary 
decisions.
  Additionally, disagreeing with the prices set by the Secretary will 
result in a 95 percent excise tax. Under this bill, the government will 
be the deciding factor determining which drugs and which cures can come 
to market and be available to the American people.
  I am specifically concerned about funding for some of the 
disproportionate share hospitals being cut from 100 percent of what is 
expected to be provided to 87 percent; and it will prohibit 
nonexpansion States from implementing uncompensated care pools, who 
provide healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured.
  When the American Rescue Plan was signed into law, it included a vast 
expansion of the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies. While these 
subsidies were intended to be temporary, this bill will provide a cliff 
that people will fall off in 2025, and premiums having risen during 
that time, people will be left in the lurch. It is bad that this has 
very shortsighted, very punitive policy on some of the poorest people 
in the country, and it hurts the very people we should be trying to 
help.
  Additionally, the American Rescue Plan eliminated the eligible income 
cap for the Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, permitting those 
with very high incomes to qualify. Experts estimate this will cost $34 
billion over the next 2 years and incentivize businesses to stop 
offering group health insurance. So 190 million Americans could be in 
jeopardy of losing their healthcare coverage. Remember that one, If you 
like your insurance, you can keep it?
  I am also concerned that during last night's Rules Committee meeting 
not one chairman or ranking member could tell me when I asked, All of 
these new gifts that are being given by this bill, in addition to the 
ACA credit, the paid time off, do any of these new benefits require 
American citizenship? Absolute silence from every chairman and ranking 
member because the answer is no. These benefits will be available to 
people who cannot provide proof or show that they are citizens of this 
country.
  The magnitude of the changes contemplated in this reconciliation 
package require the full input of Congress, not just a few privileged 
in a secret room somewhere; like we have seen all afternoon.
  Madam Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from New York (Mr. Morelle), a member of the 
Rules Committee.
  Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank the distinguished chair 
of the Rules Committee and my colleague for his incredible work and 
leadership.
  Madam Speaker, today we continue to make good on our promise to 
deliver real results for working families by moving another step 
forward with the Build Back Better Act.

  The pandemic put significant strains on my constituents, including 
increased costs of childcare and healthcare, amid continued disruptions 
in our labor markets. Today it is clear, we have their back.
  This landmark legislation will help 163,000 people alone in the State 
of New York gain much-needed health coverage, and save Monroe County 
families hundreds of dollars on healthcare costs annually.
  By lowering the cost of prescription drugs, like insulin, we can 
ensure no one ever has to choose between putting food on the table or 
paying for lifesaving medication.
  We are making long overdue investments in infrastructure that will 
result in good-paying jobs, upgrades to roads and bridges, broadband 
internet, and public transit, all without raising taxes on working men 
and women.
  We are expanding access to high quality and affordable childcare for 
over 1 million children, giving parents the resources they need to get 
back to work while supporting their families.
  These are real, impactful policies that will have a profound effect 
on my district and support middle class Americans at a time they need 
it the most.
  Madam Speaker, I look forward to voting in favor of the rule, and I 
remain focused on delivering real results to insure our families can 
thrive and succeed.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the ranking member of the House Committee on 
Rules.
  Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I want to thank my friend for yielding, but 
most of all, I want to thank him for waiting here hour after hour after 
hour, as our friends who couldn't get their show in order, broke arms, 
broke knees, did whatever they had to do to bring this to the floor. 
Thank you for being here and making sure that things were done 
appropriately in a procedural way.
  Madam Speaker, we have purportedly a $3 billion package in two 
different parts in front of us today. We are not going to talk a lot 
about the first part of the package, the so-called infrastructure 
package, but I want to talk about it because it didn't come through the 
Rules Committee, it didn't need to, and it is not going to be subject 
to much debate here, but we ought to talk about it.
  Now, of the two bills that we are purportedly going to deal with, it 
is the better of the two. It is abominable. It is unpaid for. The CBO 
has told us it is $400 billion--$398 billion to be precise.

                              {time}  2040

  The Senate process that produced it did not go through the committee 
of jurisdiction. Worst of all, it is the most egregious surrender of 
House prerogatives I have seen in my time here. It has not come through 
any committee. We have not had anything to do with it. We are going to 
simply accept what a few Senators negotiated and went through and call 
it a victory and call it bipartisan. It is nothing of the sort.
  Worse than that is the bill that this rule is to advance, and that is 
the so-called BBB bill. Now, my friends call it the Build Back Better 
bill. I call it the bad bad bad bill. It has been cobbled together in a 
convoluted process of missed deadlines, broken promises, and 
legislative sleight of hand. The defects are almost, Madam Speaker, too 
many to mention.
  My friends will say it is paid for. It is not. Quite frankly, they 
have about $1.5 trillion of revenue as far as we can tell, and they 
have ``$1.75 trillion'' with expenditures. But they intend to make 
every program here for 1 year or 3 years or 5 years permanent. So if 
you add them all together, it is a minimum of $4 trillion with $1.5 
trillion of revenues. So it is an outrageously unbalanced bill.
  Some of my friends are going to vote for this because it has 
immigration in it. Really? Immigration, frankly, will not survive the 
Senate Parliamentarian, and everybody on your side knows it.
  Some of them are going to vote for it because it has State and local 
tax reform, which is a nice way of saying, my gosh, tax breaks for 
millionaires and billionaires in blue States. That too, by

[[Page H6219]]

the way, will probably be changed in the United States Senate if you 
believe Senator Sanders and Senator Warren and look at what they have 
to say about this thing.
  Finally, we have some people who say: Well, I am going to vote for it 
because it is just the right thing to do.
  It is the wrong thing to do for the American people.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Oklahoma.
  Mr. COLE. This bill, by the way, will not get better in the Senate.
  Now, when it was sold to your side, you were told that we are not 
going to move ahead until we have an agreement the Senate will accept. 
The Senate won't accept this bill. We are going to send it over there, 
and a few Senators are going to write it and send it right back. If you 
don't like it now, you are going to like it less when it gets here.
  Madam Speaker, we should defeat the rule; we should defeat the 
infrastructure package; and when it comes, we should defeat the bad bad 
bad bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are, once again, reminded to address 
their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am not going to spend any time 
debating my friend from Oklahoma. We have spent 12 hours in the Rules 
Committee debating. But I do want to say that I have genuine admiration 
for him as well as for Dr. Burgess, Mrs. Fischbach, and Mr. 
Reschenthaler. We have strong disagreements, but I respect their 
service to this Congress and to this country.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Scott), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Education 
and Labor.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, every investment in the Build 
Back Better Act addresses an urgent challenge facing families, workers, 
and our economy.
  Within the jurisdiction of the Education and Labor Committee, this 
proposal makes childcare more affordable and invests in securing free, 
universal, and high-quality preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds. These 
provisions will give millions of parents the opportunity to reenter the 
workforce without having to worry that their children are safe.
  The Build Back Better Act makes nearly 9 million more children 
eligible for free school meals and invests in helping more children get 
healthy nutrition over the summer. It lowers the cost of higher 
education by increasing the value of Pell grants and making another 
major investment in historically Black colleges and universities and 
minority-serving institutions.
  The bill invests in high-quality job training programs so that 
workers can build their skills and increase their paychecks, and it 
will help employers find the skilled workers they need to grow their 
businesses.
  It shields workers from wage theft, unsafe workplaces, and violations 
of their right to organize by strengthening enforcement and increasing 
penalties for companies that break the law.
  And it funds service opportunities and job training programs that 
will help protect our communities from the climate crisis.
  The Build Back Better Act strengthens programs that provide vital 
services to millions of older Americans and Americans with 
disabilities.
  It lowers the cost of prescription drugs, particularly insulin.
  Madam Speaker, any of these provisions individually would 
meaningfully improve the lives of our constituents, but taken together, 
this historic proposal will lower costs for nearly every family, create 
millions of good-paying jobs, and set a strong foundation for the 
future of this country. It is fully paid for by making corporations and 
the wealthiest pay their fair share.
  Madam Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the 
Build Back Better Act and taking a critical step toward a monumental 
victory for the American people.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), who is a valuable member of the Rules 
Committee.
  Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I thank the Representative from Texas 
for yielding to me.
  Madam Speaker, this bill has gone through several versions just this 
week--possibly just today--too many for even the bill's sponsors to 
keep up with.

  During one of the several Rules Committee hearings, committee chairs 
could not even explain specific provisions of the bill.
  How does the majority think the American public can really know what 
is in this bill?
  The majority will stick very closely to the talking points, using 
words like ``transformational,'' ``bold vision,'' and ``values-based 
leadership,'' and they will say things about affordable housing, 
universal pre-K, and drug pricing.
  But do we know where all that money is really going? Our constituents 
deserve to understand each of these programs but also the ones that 
they don't include in their talking points.
  They have eliminated the bipartisan Hyde amendment protections that 
for 40 years have been preventing tax dollars from being used to pay 
for abortion. It is being reported that there is approximately $756 
billion in a welfare spending increase.
  How is that money being used? Where is it going?
  The bill also includes at least a few budget gimmicks. The bill 
offers partial funding for some programs, creating temporary programs 
that are clearly meant to be permanent. This means the cost estimates 
for the bills are not accurate into the future.
  The committee chairs even have a hard time explaining how those 
budget gimmicks work. One of the biggest ticket items is the $320 
billion in tax subsidies for electric vehicles, solar energy, wind, and 
other green energy, and an additional $25 million for the President to 
establish an environmental initiative.
  The American public might want to know that almost $45 billion is 
going to the IRS for increased enforcement and digital monitoring, 
especially since the Democrats have proposed spying on Americans' bank 
accounts.
  This bill pours billions of dollars into government agencies to 
further insert government bureaucrats into the daily lives of American 
citizens.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), who is the distinguished 
chairwoman from the Committee on Financial Services.
  Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman McGovern for creating 
this opportunity for me to share a few remarks with you this evening.
  For decades, we have failed to make the kinds of investments that 
allow families to access equal opportunities and communities to thrive, 
so I rise today in strong support of the Build Back Better Act to 
deliver the urgent investments our country needs to thrive.
  I have spent my career fighting for the dignity of safe and decent 
homes for all. In 2019, I coined the phrase ``housing is 
infrastructure.'' It hasn't been easy getting to this point, but I am 
incredibly proud to discuss the more than $150 billion for housing 
investments included in today's bill that will create or preserve over 
1 million homes.
  These investments include $65 billion to repair and rebuild our 
Nation's public housing; $25 billion for new rental assistance to 
support hundreds of thousands of people struggling to afford rent and 
help people escape homelessness and domestic violence; $26 billion to 
create and preserve hundreds of thousands of affordable and accessible 
housing units; and $10 billion in downpayment assistance to make the 
dream of homeownership possible for the millions of first-generation 
home buyers.
  Housing is at the heart of building back better.
  Madam Speaker, I urge Members to vote ``yes'' and help make safe, 
decent, and affordable housing a reality for every family.

                              {time}  2050

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Roy), the designated conscience of the Conference.
  Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for 
yielding.
  I am interested to hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle

[[Page H6220]]

who designate themselves as moderates running around saying that they 
need a CBO score. Yet, we know this isn't paid for. We all know it is a 
lie.
  But you know what you don't need a CBO score for? You don't need a 
CBO score to tell you that there is a 900 percent increase in OSHA 
fines because you are going to cause small businesses to go out of 
business because of mandates.
  You don't need a CBO score to know that there is an amnesty provision 
in here right when our border is completely on fire to provide amnesty 
for 7 million.
  You don't need a CBO score for the $500 billion of a unicorn energy 
strategy that is already crippling the country, causing gas prices and 
electric bills to go up while President Biden is across the Atlantic 
begging for oil and taking cold baths in Glasgow.
  You don't need a CBO score for that, and you don't need to know what 
is in this garbage bill that is going to hurt the American people. 
Reject it resoundingly this evening.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the distinguished chairman of 
the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Build 
Back Better Act.
  The Build Back Better Act builds on our efforts to make healthcare 
more affordable and accessible for all Americans. It extends premium 
subsidies that make healthcare more affordable for millions of 
Americans, and, finally, expands access to uninsured Americans who are 
unfairly caught in the Medicaid coverage gap.
  The legislation also provides critical relief at the pharmacy counter 
by finally giving Medicare the ability to negotiate lower drug prices 
with the pharmaceutical companies. It also caps out-of-pocket 
prescription drug costs for seniors at $2,000 a year, lowers insulin 
prices for Americans with diabetes to $35 per month; and penalizes Big 
Pharma companies that unfairly raise prices.
  It permanently reauthorizes the Children's Health Insurance Program, 
dedicates long overdue resources to provide maternal healthcare; and 
provides, for the first time, comprehensive hearing benefits under 
Medicare part B.
  The legislation also includes $150 billion in funding for home and 
community-based care so seniors and people with disabilities can get 
the care that they need in their homes.
  The Build Back Better Act also aggressively tackles the climate 
crisis with historic investments, moving us toward a clean energy 
economy while also producing millions of good-paying American jobs. The 
new $29 billion Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will accelerate 
innovation in low- and zero-emission technologies, while also 
prioritizing the needs of environmental justice communities.
  Rebates for homeowners to electrify and make their houses more 
efficient will save them money and reduce emissions. Investments in a 
21st century electric grid will get more renewable energy online. A new 
Methane Emissions Reduction Program will drive down pollution from the 
oil and gas industry.
  There is no time, Madam Speaker, to delay. Bold climate action is 
needed now, and the Build Back Better Act is a once-in-a-generation 
opportunity to invest in the American people and our future. It 
deserves strong support today.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), a valuable member of 
the Rules Committee.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend and fellow 
Rules Committee member, Dr. Burgess, for yielding me the time.
  Madam Speaker, let's just look at the cost of this. This bill comes 
in at $4.1 trillion. That is more than double what my friends across 
the aisle claim this comes in at. And how do we pay for this?
  I will tell you how, crippling taxes and budget gimmicks. This bill 
would levy $420 billion in tax increases on our Nation's small 
businesses, $800 billion in tax hikes on American companies, as well.
  So what does this mean for Americans? What does this mean for the 
American consumer? Well, it means fewer jobs. It means higher prices. 
It means more reliance on China for our everyday goods.
  If you thought that today's sky-high inflation, if you thought that 
our supply chain crises were bad, just wait until this bill goes into 
effect. H.R. 5376 includes a new tax even on retirement plans. It bans 
production of domestic energy, and it raises taxes on natural gas. All 
of these policies, all of them would be disastrous for American job 
creators, disastrous for American workers, and disastrous for American 
families.
  But it is not bad news for all Americans, Madam Speaker. Millionaires 
and billionaires have it made under this bill. This bill restores the 
SALT deduction, giving the wealthy up to $72,500 in tax breaks each 
year. These are the individuals that benefit under this, the wealthy, 
the elite.
  This legislation also includes $550 billion in green subsidies, 
ensuring that the top 1 percent that already benefits under this bill 
can put another Tesla in their garage.
  You can clearly see where the Democrats' priorities lie. It is not 
with the American worker. It is with the American top 1 percent elite. 
Americans deserve better.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished 
chairwoman for the Committee on Appropriations.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the Build Back 
Better Act that is before us today, a package of legislation that I 
believe ranks alongside the New Deal and the Great Society in its 
impact.

  We must pass this legislation. It delivers a once-in-a-generation 
investment in children, families, and caregivers, and, finally, a scale 
of investment in combating climate change that cannot wait.
  The Build Back Better Act expands and improves the child tax credit, 
the biggest cut in taxes for working families with children, a 
groundbreaking and transformative policy that I have been fighting for 
nearly 20 years. I am proud that families with children under 6 receive 
$300 a month, and children 6 through 17 receive $250 a month. It is a 
lifeline for the middle class, and it lifts over 50 percent of children 
out of poverty. It allows us to emerge from the shadows of the 
pandemic. It is Social Security for children.
  The Build Back Better Act adds to this with a first-time investment 
in childcare that guarantees that its costs will not exceed 7 percent 
of income. I am so proud that this package includes paid family and 
medical leave, which finally responds to the needs of workers and their 
families so that they can take time off to care for themselves or for a 
loved one when they are ill.
  We have an opportunity to build the architecture for the future for 
working families in this country. Working and middle-class families 
across the United States are counting on us to build a better and a 
stronger America.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), one of the newest members of 
the Texas delegation from out in west Texas, the Permian Basin.
  Mr. PFLUGER. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas for 
yielding.
  Madam Speaker, transparency, the American people deserve 
transparency, and they resoundingly rejected the bad policies proposed 
by the Democratic Party this week. Yet, my colleagues on the other side 
of the aisle are doubling down to pass legislation that will radically 
change our country for the worse.
  We are talking about transparency. We need transparency right now to 
understand the tax increases on all Americans; the outsourcing of 
energy and manufacturing jobs outside this country; and a half a 
trillion dollars to misguided, new green policies that will, no doubt, 
bankrupt this country and saddle our children and grandchildren with 
more debt.
  The misprioritized placating of green special interests that this 
administration has rushed to are unbelievable. It is Midland over 
Moscow; it is Odessa over OPEC; it is the Permian Basin over Putin, not 
the opposite. But blue State millionaires and journalists and those 
purchasing electric vehicles now, apparently--in the 2,000-plus pages--
are going to get a handout.

[[Page H6221]]

  I am voting ``no'' on this radical legislation, and I urge my 
colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, in a moment I will ask to amend the rule 
to correct a clerical error in the Rules Committee report. The 
amendment reinserts the text of the manager's amendment posted on our 
website yesterday which was inadvertently omitted from the copy of the 
report filed today. This is purely a clerical fix.


                   Amendment Offered by Mr. McGovern

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the 
pending resolution with an amendment that I have placed at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       In the first section of the resolution, strike ``the 
     amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules 
     accompanying this resolution'' and insert ``Rules Committee 
     Print 117-19''.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Massachusetts?
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution is amended.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I want to thank Dr. Burgess and Ranking 
Member Cole for their courtesy.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Nadler), the distinguished chairman on the Judiciary Committee.

                              {time}  2100

  Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and 
the Build Back Better Act. There are so many important provisions of 
this legislation, but I want to highlight just a few of the Judiciary 
Committee's contributions, which invest in our communities, our 
economy, and our people.
  We invest in communities by supporting community violence 
intervention programs, and we invest in our economy by providing 
resources to the antitrust enforcement agencies for their work to 
protect competition.
  We also invest in people by improving our immigration system to 
provide protections and stability to those who have made significant 
contributions to our economy.
  This legislation provides an opportunity for immigrants who have 
lived here since January 1, 2011, to receive temporary protection from 
removal, as well as work permits, if they are not inadmissible on 
criminal, national security, or other grounds.
  While this is not the permanent protection so many of us wanted, the 
peace of mind that comes along with protection from deportation is life 
changing for these people and their families. This legislation will 
provide security and stability to millions of people, including an 
estimated 1.6 million Dreamers, 1 million farmworkers, and 2.6 million 
other essential workers who kept us safe during the pandemic.
  The bill would also restore the availability of over 400,000 unused 
immigrant visas lost due to COVID-19 or bureaucratic delay and would 
enhance green card processing.
  This historic and transformative legislation makes the investments we 
need to continue growing our economy and strengthening our communities 
for many years to come. I urge all of my colleagues to support the rule 
and the Build Back Better Act.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).
  Mrs. BICE of Oklahoma. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong 
opposition to the build back broke act. A vote for the underlying bill, 
along with the infrastructure package, is a vote for trillions in new 
taxes and spending that will cause inflation to skyrocket and make 
businesses in America less competitive. Together, these bills would 
lead to nearly $3 trillion in spending before the government is even 
funded for next year.
  Of the many concerning provisions in this bill, perhaps the worst are 
those concerning American energy. Americans are already paying the most 
for a gallon of gas in 7 years; and now the Federal Government is 
warning Americans that their home heating bills could cost 54 percent 
more this winter as compared to last year. How is that helping middle-
income families?
  Many of my constituents have contacted me about a provision in this 
bill to assess a $1,500 tax on each ton of methane emissions. This 
would devastate oil and gas producers in my home State of Oklahoma, 
where this industry accounts for nearly 134,200 jobs and over $57 
billion in economic output, over a quarter of my State's GDP. Not only 
would this policy kill tens of thousands of American jobs, it would 
also destroy a major source of my home State's tax revenues, totaling 
over $13 billion annually, that fund schools, roads, hospitals, and our 
first responders. This is unconscionable.
  Madam Speaker, this rule would enable House Democrats to ram through 
a poorly written and ill-conceived bill that is not supported by the 
large majority of Americans.
  Despite the Biden administration's claims that it is fully paid for, 
a new analysis by the Wharton School of Business shows the full costs 
of this measure being nearly $4 trillion, with only $1.5 trillion being 
paid for. The Democrats' claims that this bill wouldn't raise taxes on 
middle-class Americans is also false. This bill is full of regressive 
taxes that will hurt middle- and low-income Americans, while it gives 
huge tax breaks to the wealthiest 1 percent in high-tax States.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Thompson), the distinguished chairman of the Committee 
on Homeland Security.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman 
from Massachusetts for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the rule and the 
underlying legislation.
  President Biden has a bold vision for getting our country back on 
track after a devastating pandemic and years of policies that ignored 
the struggles of so many Americans.
  What we are doing here today is about making government work for 
working people.
  The Committee on Homeland Security, which I lead, has used this 
historic opportunity to make significant long-term investments in three 
areas: cybersecurity; the protection of houses of worship and 
nonprofits from domestic terrorism and other threats; and reducing the 
Department of Homeland Security's environmental footprint. These are 
three critical challenges confronting our Nation and my constituents in 
Mississippi today.
  Last week, we marked 3 years since the deadliest attack on a Jewish 
community in United States history when a mass shooting took 11 lives 
in a Pittsburgh synagogue.
  Today, through the homeland security title of this act, we will be 
able to give $100 million in new funding to help protect our houses of 
worship.
  This act also includes targeted funding to bolster the Nation's 
cybersecurity posture in significant ways. With the $500 million 
included there, we can do just that.
  Finally, we include $900 million in strategic investment to help DHS 
reduce its carbon footprint. Such investments have far-reaching and 
direct impacts on our national security.
  I thank Budget Committee Chairman   John Yarmuth and Speaker Pelosi 
for their months of hard work and for prioritizing homeland security in 
this transformational legislation.

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
  Mr. MEUSER. Madam Speaker, after elections where the American people 
rebuked the left's tax, spend, and Big Government control agenda, our 
Democrat colleagues are doubling down on failed and unpopular policies 
that will exacerbate inflation, workforce and supply shortages that are 
hurting everyone, including waste, abuse, and fraud.
  Madam Speaker, this reconciliation bill has no return on investment 
for the American people. In fact, independent analysis shows it 
decreases GDP and it will weaken U.S. economic strength worldwide.
  The bill raises $420 billion in taxes on small businesses while 
giving a massive tax break for high earners in high-tax states.
  It gives amnesty and driver's licenses to illegal immigrants while a 
crisis rages at the border. It spends big on entitlements that 
disincentivize work and, as stated, are ripe for fraud. As well, it 
misses any mark for pay-for by $2 trillion to $3 trillion.
  This irresponsible spending bill, coupled, by the way, with a 
bipartisan

[[Page H6222]]

Transportation and Infrastructure bill, has made it very, 
unfortunately, impossible to support both, because the net effect of 
these dependent bills is detrimental to our economy, national security, 
and global competitiveness.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Oregon (Mr. DeFazio), the chairman of the Committee on Transportation 
and Infrastructure.
  Mr. DeFAZIO. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5376, the Build 
Back Better Act. By passing this landmark legislation, House Democrats 
are making lasting investments in the American people, our 
infrastructure, and are lowering taxes for working families across this 
country.
  It fights inflation. It is fully paid for. We accomplished this by 
making sure big corporations and the wealthiest pay their fair share, 
all while creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs that don't 
require a college degree. It is no wonder why this bill is popular with 
a strong majority of Americans and very unpopular with the Republican 
minority.
  As chairman of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I 
am particularly proud that the Build Back Better Act will provide a 
vital down payment in the fight against climate change. The 
transportation sector is the largest source of carbon pollution. 
Important investments in my committee, and others, included in this 
bill to decarbonize transportation will address the climate crisis with 
the urgency it deserves, something I have been pushing for a long time.
  The nearly $40 billion from the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure will support climate investments by reducing carbon 
emissions from surface transportation, aviation, ports, and public 
buildings; ensure critical transportation connections to affordable 
housing and reconnect bisected neighborhoods; robustly fund high-speed 
rail; supply ports as they struggle with the supply chain crisis; and 
ensure climate-resilient and affordable investments in our wastewater 
infrastructure.
  For working families, the Build Back Better Act will provide 
universal pre-K, childcare, lower healthcare costs, and establish a 
permanent program of 4 weeks paid family medical leave. It makes 
historic investments in housing and includes provisions to ensure 
affordable pricing for certain prescription drugs. This legislation 
also includes investments in tax enforcement to catch the tax cheats, 
the wealthiest tax cheats in America. Again, the Republicans don't much 
like that part of the bill.
  It should be clear: The Build Back Better Act will lower costs for 
families, put money back in the pockets of hardworking Americans, 
create hundreds of thousands of family-wage jobs, and good benefits.
  By passing this bill, along with the Infrastructure Investment and 
Jobs Act, we are truly catapulting Americans into the modern era, 
making the largest investments to combat climate change in American 
history.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

                              {time}  2110

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the 
rule to immediately consider the Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition 
Act, introduced by Mr. McClintock. This bill will prevent the Attorney 
General from making settlement payments to individuals and families who 
have entered the country illegally for claims arising out of the 
illegal entry.
  Madam Speaker, we have a crisis along our southern border, and this 
will only incentivize further unauthorized immigration, overwhelm our 
border officials, and expose additional immigrants to danger.
  Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my 
amendment into the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately 
prior to the vote on the previous question.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Texas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, to explain the amendment, I now yield 2 
minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock), my good 
friend.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Madam Speaker, if the previous question is defeated, 
we will take up the Illegal Immigrant Payoff Prohibition Act.
  Last week, our Nation was stunned by the revelation that the Biden 
administration is about to use our tax dollars to pay thousands of 
illegal immigrants $450,000 apiece and up to a million dollars per 
family.
  Why? Because they were separated from their minor child when they 
were arrested for the crime of crossing our border illegally.
  Now, remember, any American citizen arrested with a child is 
immediately separated from that child. The adult goes to jail, the 
minor is taken into protective custody. That is what happened.
  The penalty for illegal entry is supposed to be a fine and prison. 
The Democrats are literally changing it into a million-dollar jackpot.
  This administration has already made a mockery of our immigration 
laws by refusing to enforce them. This has now produced the greatest 
illegal border incursion in our country's history.
  Working- and middle-class Americans are the most harmed by this 
because it is their wages that are depressed by flooding the market 
with low-wage labor. It is their classrooms that are strained with non-
English-speaking students. It is their emergency rooms that are 
overwhelmed by illegal immigrants demanding basic services. It is their 
communities that are made more dangerous as gang activity increases and 
criminal, illegal aliens are released back into their neighborhoods.
  And now, to add insult to injury, the Democrats propose taking their 
tax dollars to make thousands of lawbreakers fabulously wealthy as an 
apology for President Trump actually enforcing our laws and securing 
our border. That is insane.
  The American people understand that quite clearly. Republicans will 
not allow this twisted travesty to go unchallenged. If there are any 
sane Democrats left in this House, I invite them to join us by voting 
``no'' on the previous question.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a November 4 Vox 
article titled, ``This May Finally Be the Year Congress Lets Medicare 
Negotiate Drug Prices.''

                             [Nov. 4, 2021]

Vox: This May Finally Be the Year Congress Lets Medicare Negotiate Drug 
                                 Prices

                            (By Dylan Scott)

       Democrats in Congress have managed to revive a prescription 
     drug reform proposal that would allow the party to finally 
     deliver on a campaign promise they've been making for 15 
     years: letting Medicare negotiate drug prices and lowering 
     drug costs for patients.
       The breakthrough was the result of negotiations with a few 
     moderate members of the Democratic conference who were uneasy 
     with an earlier version. That version was briefly dropped 
     from the Build Back Better Act, Democrats' wide-ranging 
     social spending bill.
       Nothing can be considered final until both the House and 
     the Senate pass the legislation, but the new draft of the 
     Medicare drug negotiations proposal appears to make some 
     concessions to centrists who share the drug industry's 
     concerns about the effect of price controls on medical 
     innovation.
       Still, the new plan would also be a rare loss for the 
     pharmaceutical industry, which fervently opposes every 
     version of such a proposal and has lobbied aggressively to 
     stop it.
       Under the revised plan, the maximum price Medicare would 
     pay would be 75 percent of what commercial US insurers pay on 
     average for drugs that have been on the market between 9 and 
     12 years, with the maximum decreasing the longer the drug has 
     been available. Democrats had originally set a maximum price 
     of 120 percent of the average of what other wealthy nations 
     pay for the same drug. The change should lead to drug makers 
     losing less revenue, the goal of moderates, though no CBO 
     score is yet available.
       Fewer drugs would also be subject to negotiation. Under the 
     new plan, the government would start by negotiating the cost 
     of 10 drugs in 2025, before gradually ramping up to 20 after 
     a few years. Under the original plan, the government would 
     have negotiated the price of 25 drugs immediately and that 
     number would have eventually increased to 50.
       The plan now also includes a moratorium on negotiations for 
     drugs that have been on the market for less than 9 years (for 
     small-molecule drugs) or 12 years (for biologics). Drug 
     companies would be penalized for price hikes that are higher 
     than inflation under

[[Page H6223]]

     the new proposal, a holdover from prior versions of the plan.
       Overall, the new plan would save the government about half 
     as much money ($250 billion, by the White House's estimates) 
     as the original plan ($450 billion). That has forced Dems to 
     cut down their health care spending plans, for example, by 
     nixing a progressive proposal to add dental and vision 
     benefits to Medicare. Nevertheless, Democrats can take the 
     savings from their new drug pricing plan and use it to lower 
     drug costs for seniors.
       The Build Back Better Act would set a hard cap on how much 
     seniors who enrolled in Medicare's prescription drug benefit 
     pay for prescription drugs: $2,000 out of pocket annually. It 
     would also require private Part D plans to cover more of the 
     cost of expensive drugs, which experts say may motivate those 
     plans to try to extract lower prices from drug makers on 
     medications not included in the new government-led 
     negotiations.
       The new proposal also adds a provision that requires all 
     insurers to cover insulin, so patients pay only $35 a month 
     of their own money for the medication.
       Democrats have finally built sufficient momentum to approve 
     Medicare negotiations for the first time. They have wanted to 
     do this since at least 2003, when Medicare Part D was first 
     created. While the party still has a long way to go on 
     figuring out what comes next in its health care agenda, this 
     was one priority they knew they wanted to get done.
       And with the moment of truth upon us, it looks like they 
     will.

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  With the Build Back Better bill, we are on the verge of finally 
allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, which will bring down the 
cost substantially for consumers.
  This has been decades in the making and is overwhelmingly supported 
by the American people. There is even a provision that caps insulin 
costs in this bill to just $35 a month. This is a big deal for so many 
of our constituents.
  We are making history here today. This bill will transform people's 
lives for the better.
  Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas 
(Ms. Johnson), the distinguished chairwoman of the Committee on 
Science, Space, and Technology.
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support 
of the underlying bill, the Build Back Better Act, and in favor of this 
rule.
  As chairperson of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and 
a Member of this body, I am steadfastly committed to ensuring that our 
country has a bright future. This bill provides the resources to help 
accomplish just that.
  The underlying bill we will pass, hopefully tonight, will make 
critical investments that ensure that we are able to address the 
challenges we face. These resources will help us address the climate 
crisis, rebuild after the pandemic, and renew and repair our research 
infrastructure. This bill and funding will strengthen our 
competitiveness and bolster our position as a global leader in science 
and technology.
  I thank my colleagues for their work on this bill. Investments in 
research and development now will pay untold dividends for the future 
health and prosperity of our country.
  I am proud to stand in support of the Build Back Better plan, and I 
urge that we pass this bill swiftly, as soon as we can pass this rule, 
and thoughtfully for the good of the American people today as well as 
future generations who will benefit from these investments.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), a member of the Republican leadership and a 
valuable member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
  Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule, 
but specifically against this massive, multitrillion dollar tax-and-
spend bill.
  Of course, we just got the text last night, over 2,300 pages. As we 
have been combing through it, I would like to point out a few pieces in 
this bill.
  Let's start with a natural gas tax. President Biden promised that 
anyone who makes less than $400,000 a year will not pay a dime in new 
taxes. He even whispers it into the microphone. The only problem is he 
breaks the promise right here in the bill with a tax that, according to 
the American Gas Association, will increase household electricity rates 
by 30 percent. By the way, it is low-income families that will be hit 
the hardest with that increase. Broken promise by President Biden right 
there.
  Then you go down and you look at amnesty. It has been talked about. 
Millions of additional people will get amnesty in this bill, and it 
comes at a time where President Biden is negotiating--initially, he 
said he wasn't, and then the White House had to go back up and say the 
Justice Department is negotiating--half-a-million dollar checks to 
people who came across our border illegally. And then they are going to 
give amnesty to millions more people. Estimates are 7 million more 
people. Can you imagine the flood that will come over when they hear 
that you can get half a million dollars per person if President Biden 
gets his way?
  Then you go down the line. There is more, unfortunately. We will comb 
through IRS agents. How many of us have our phones ringing off the 
hooks with people calling saying: Please add 87,000 more IRS agents to 
the rolls? Not one of us has probably gotten that call. Yet they put it 
in the bill.
  They call this infrastructure. They call this equity. Whatever they 
want to call it, it is an army of IRS agents that are going to comb 
through our bank accounts.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 
minute.
  Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, they are going to be combing through your 
bank account.
  Why? Because they have to generate hundreds of billions of dollars to 
spend on more inflation-inducing spending. That is right, according to 
the Penn Wharton Budget Model, you are going to have over $4 trillion 
of spending with $1.5 trillion of new taxes.
  By the way, that is $2.5 trillion of additional debt, even though the 
President says there is no cost. No cost, just $2.5 trillion of debt. 
But these IRS agents are going to have to account for over $200 billion 
to find money from your checking accounts. That is what they are trying 
to do by dark of night.
  We started the morning at 8 a.m. We are here after 9 p.m. starting to 
get into the details of this bill. No wonder they don't want a CBO 
score. No wonder they want to do this by dark of night. This is going 
to induce more inflation that is hurting families all across America.
  Listen to what the voters of Virginia said. Stop the madness. Defeat 
this bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.
  Mr. HOYER. Madam Speaker, by adopting this rule, we are now lining up 
at the runway in preparation to land the plane on Build Back Better.
  As we wait for the CBO to complete its work and produce its analysis, 
which I believe will confirm an estimate from the White House based on 
the Joint Committee on Taxation's analysis of the bill's revenue 
impact, and the preliminary scoring from CBO that this bill is fully 
paid for.
  Now, I am not saying it doesn't spend money. It does not create debt. 
When the Republicans passed their tax bill, of course, they gave 
themselves a ceiling of $1.5 trillion that they did not pay for on the 
assertion that that tax cut would pay for itself.
  The problem is none of their tax cuts have ever paid for themselves. 
None. Zero. Zip. This bill is paid for. And what it will do for the 
American people will be life changing for working families and moms and 
children in this country.

                              {time}  2120

  Today, we are going to pass a rule, which will allow for the 
consideration of this bipartisan infrastructure bill to invest $1.2 
trillion.
  I was talking about Build Back Better. I am now talking about the 
bipartisan infrastructure bill, 69 Senators voting for the bipartisan 
infrastructure bill, which will make an extraordinary difference in the 
lives of the people in this country and, as importantly, job creation 
in this country, a million jobs per year. That is what this rule will 
do.
  This bill will help our businesses create millions of good jobs here 
in our country, and it will make significant investments in promoting 
the deployment of clean energy technologies and making our 
infrastructure more resilient against climate change. That is what this 
bill will do.

[[Page H6224]]

  And again, I am referring to the bipartisan infrastructure act passed 
with 69 votes in the United States Senate, almost half of the 
Republicans voting for it. This legislation will mean that our majority 
has delivered a major victory for the American people in a bipartisan 
way, and passing this rule will mean that next up is the 
transformational legislation to invest in America's human 
infrastructure--our children, our families, and opportunities for the 
most vulnerable in our country to access the American Dream.
  Unlike our Republican friends who passed their tax bill, which was 
about 85 to 90 percent of it going to the wealthiest Americans, this 
bill deals with all Americans, particularly those who are the most 
vulnerable, most challenged, and having the most difficult time in our 
country.
  So let's get this done today and show the American people that their 
Congress works for them. We ought to vote ``yes'' on this.
  Now, let me say what this rule provides for: a bill which will add 
1\1/2\ million jobs per year. This bill, the Build Back Better bill, 
will add 1\1/2\ million jobs per year and, on average, across the whole 
decade, increase labor force participation and accelerate the return to 
full employment; increase our total GDP by $3 trillion throughout the 
next decade; keep prices stable and decrease inflationary pressures as 
we continue our recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
  The Nation has long underinvested in its infrastructure.
  Now, I am sure as my friends across the aisle will remember, in 2016, 
President Trump was then campaigning for office, and he pledged to the 
American people that he would present a trillion-dollar infrastructure 
program for this country. 2017, no such infrastructure bill. 2018, no 
such infrastructure bill. 2019, no such infrastructure bill. But in 
early 2019, the President said $1 trillion is not enough; we ought to 
do $2 trillion. That was President Trump. $2 trillion was his 
suggestion.
  And we asked him: Mr. President, we will support that. Tell us how 
you think we ought to fund it. Oh, we have to fund it?
  The President never came forth with either a bill or with funding for 
a bill. So we didn't pass that.
  This President said, no, we do need infrastructure, and the figure 
that Trump used is not, certainly, what this country needs, but it is a 
very good start. So he sent down a bill to accomplish that objective. 
That bill was not the one we passed because eight Senators from the 
Republican side of the aisle and eight Senators from the Democratic 
side of the aisle got together and talked about what we can agree upon.
  I hear so much, particularly when I have colloquies with the minority 
whip about bipartisanship, that we ought to come together, that we 
ought to work together. Well, eight Senators on the Republican side and 
eight Senators on the Democratic side did exactly that. And what 
happened? They then went down to the White House; they talked to the 
President; and the President worked with them, and they agreed.
  So this is a bill that the President, 19 Republican Senators, and 50 
Democratic Senators agreed was good for America. And that is what we 
are enabling tonight.
  The Nation, unfortunately, has long underinvested in its 
infrastructure and social needs and has been slow to respond to the 
threat posed by climate change. Our national security apparatus, 
including the four-star generals who lead our various service arms, has 
said the most existential threat to the security of the United States 
of America is climate change, global warming. This bill deals with that 
existential threat.
  The policies being considered would direct the benefits of the 
stronger growth to lower income Americans. Now, that may be why it is 
sort of not what my Republican friends think ought to be done. Although 
the whip talked about that somewhat, that is not what their bill did.
  It addresses the long-running skewing of income and wealth 
distribution in America, the richest country on Earth, where we have so 
many people in poverty, so many children who don't have a good 
education, so many children who don't have the healthcare they need. 
This bill addresses those issues.
  On November 3, 2021, according to the Economic Policy Institute, 
``The Build Back Better Act's macroeconomic boost looks more valuable 
by the day.'' They said their analysis shows that the U.S. economy is 
not overheating due to too much fiscal relief and recovery provided 
earlier this year. Expert after expert says that.
  Did we have pent-up demand? We did. Are we having a supply side 
problem because of the pandemic? That is absolutely accurate. The Build 
Back Better agenda will ease bottlenecks and improve the resiliency of 
our supply chains.
  It also boosts long-term growth and economic security through public 
investments and deeper social insurance. It provides a macroeconomic 
insurance policy against aggregate demand growing too slowly in coming 
years.
  An open letter from Nobel laureates in support of the economic 
recovery agenda said this: ``Success in the 21st century will require 
building upon the bipartisan infrastructure deal that has passed the 
Senate, which prioritizes investments in our Nation's `hard' 
infrastructure.'' That is what this rule will provide for.

  Furthermore, they say: ``The President's Build Back Better agenda 
employs a broader conception of infrastructure by making critical 
investments in human capital, the care economy, research and 
development, public education, and more, which will reduce families' 
costs.''
  ``Because this agenda invests in long-term economic capacity,'' they 
went on to say, ``and will enhance the ability to more Americans to 
participate productively in the economy, it will ease longer term 
inflationary pressures.''
  That was Nobel laureates talking about this economic recovery plan. 
It was signed by 15 of those Nobel laureates.
  Madam Speaker, the last 20 months have presented our Nation with 
challenges we could neither have foreseen nor envisioned. A global 
pandemic took the lives of nearly three-quarters of a million 
Americans. If you went out to the lawn surrounding the George 
Washington Monument, you saw rows and rows and rows of white flags 
indicating those over 700,000, almost now 750,000 Americans who lost 
their lives as a result of this pandemic.
  We responded in a bipartisan way, and because of it, we did not go 
into a depression. Because of it, we saved literally hundreds of 
thousands of lives, maybe millions of lives.

                              {time}  2130

  Because of our investment, we saved businesses. Because of our 
investment, we saved jobs for literally millions of Americans.
  From February 2020 to February 2021, 2.3 million women in our country 
left the workforce, in many cases, to care for children who had to stay 
home from school or care for a sick loved one. Very frankly, this bill, 
as well as the Build Back Better Act, will address the critical 
shortage of childcare in this country.
  Thankfully, because of the swift development and deployment of 
lifesaving vaccines, our economy is coming back. I don't know whether 
any of my Republican friends mentioned that we created over 500,000 
jobs last month. This administration has enjoyed over 5 million new 
jobs in America. That is twice the number of jobs that Mr. Trump had in 
his best year. And 7 million more jobs, because Mr. Trump in his last 
year lost 2 million jobs--now that was because of the pandemic, we 
understand that. But to say that 500,000 new jobs is not an economy 
that is growing and providing sustenance for its people.
  The delta variant continues to impact, of course, that recovery, 
which is slower than we would like to see. Our economy, however, has 
brought back nearly 5 million jobs since President Biden took office: 
now 5.5 million jobs. Americans are getting back to work. And what this 
bill will do is to encourage the continuance of the growth of our 
economy, continue to grow the ability to educate and raise our 
children, the ability of women and single parents--male and female--to 
be in the workplace. We need their expertise, we need their talent, we 
need their energy. And providing safe, reliable, affordable childcare 
will make such a difference.
  Madam Speaker, this bill that we provide for, being considered as we 
end

[[Page H6225]]

this debate, will help America grow. And the bill that the rule 
provides to consider at some time in the near future, will provide 
Americans with a better, safer, more secure life. For them, for their 
children, for their friends, and their neighbors, let's pass both of 
these bills.
  Let's pass the bipartisan infrastructure framework tonight. And let 
us in the very near future, as this rule provides, pass the Build Back 
Better Act.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains 
on our side?
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 3\1/2\ minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 4\3/4\ minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Khanna), my friend.
  Mr. KHANNA. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, as a progressive, I rise today to say that our party 
must unify, and we must vote ``yes'' today on both the rule and the 
bipartisan infrastructure bill.
  Now, I know there is all this jargon about rule and BBB and BIF, but 
really, to me, this is very simple. The question is: Do you trust the 
President?
  I trust President Biden. I trust that President Biden cares about the 
working class. And for 40 years, the working class has not had any 
support. On the other side, for 4 years under Trump, they gave tax cuts 
to the rich. President Biden wants to give money to working families in 
the child allowance. He wants to give them a tax cut. He wants to make 
sure they can pay for childcare. And he understands the working class 
experience.
  We will unify as a party. We will vote ``yes'' tonight. We will 
deliver. And this President is going to make history by finally looking 
out for the working class and the middle class in this country.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Pelosi), the distinguished Speaker of the House.
  Ms. PELOSI. Madam Speaker, I thank the chairman for his great 
leadership in bringing this important legislation to the floor, a rule 
of the House, to expand opportunity for so many people in our country, 
to protect our planet for future generations, to do so with great 
equity in a way that builds back better for women.
  Madam Speaker, thanks to the tireless work of so many in the House 
Democratic Caucus, all of our Members, our chairs of the committees of 
jurisdiction, the members of those committees worked so hard bringing 
their years of experience, knowledge, and judgment on how we would go 
forward to fulfill the President's vision.
  President Biden has a big vision for America and for our future, a 
vision that has equity in it so that we are building with fairness for 
all in our country to participate in the increased prosperity of our 
Nation.
  We thank the President for his great leadership, the vision that he 
has put forth, the knowledge of all of his years in the Congress, and 
as Vice President, in terms of legislation, and his respect for all of 
our Members, paying so much attention to their concerns and, more 
especially, to how we can work together to meet the needs of the 
American people. This is build back better with women, build back 
better for the people.
  It will be one of the most significant legislative undertakings that 
any of us has ever been part of. And I say that with great proprietary 
attitude toward the Affordable Care Act, which was transformative and 
historic. This is even bigger than that. In fact, it strengthens the 
Affordable Care Act.
  So if you are talking about how we want to have immediate and 
enduring difference for the workers and families, creating jobs, 
securing middle class tax cuts, lowering costs for families, and making 
the wealthiest pay their fair share, all while contributing to reducing 
the national debt--making everyone pay their fair share.
  Did I hear a laugh over there? Did I hear a laugh from those who 
added $2 trillion in tax cuts for the richest people in America, 83 
percent of it going to the top 1 percent?
  This is paid for. And more than paid for.
  In terms of jobs, together with the also historic bipartisan 
infrastructure bill, it will create an estimated 2 million jobs each 
year, 20 million jobs into the next decade. And that is just 
immediately to this legislation, not talking about what it will 
generate as many more women are in the workplace. If you look at any 
piece of the bill, it would be extraordinary.
  Madam Speaker, if we came to the floor and just talked about 
protecting our planet for our children, it is always about the 
children, the green aspects of this bill are for the children and their 
future. It is about creating good-paying jobs. It is about, again, a 
generational challenge that we have. It is about healthcare, the air 
our children breathe, the water they drink, an atmosphere in which they 
can thrive. It is about jobs--again, good-paying, green jobs, making 
America preeminent in the world in the new green technologies and 
sharing that information with other nations and underdeveloped 
countries, so that they can succeed as well.
  It is also about security. National security experts come to us and 
say that we must treat this as a security issue. Years ago, when I was 
still on the Intelligence Committee itself--I am still ex-officio--but 
then in the committee, we were even seeing the need for using our 
technology and our knowledge in terms of protecting our country, 
recognizing the assault on our planet that the climate crisis would be.
  And why? Because as you know, with rising sea levels, encroachment of 
deserts, drying up of rivers, the great rivers of Asia, all of the 
things that are happening, the thermal management of the planet, the 
list goes on and on, all of this has created, in many ways, drought, 
famine, floods, violent storms of record proportion.

                              {time}  2140

  So the experts say that the competition for habitat and resources 
that this causes can increase conflict. Migrations and the rest can 
cause conflict. We must anticipate that as a security concern, as it is 
already.
  And then when we talk about health for the children, jobs for their 
families, security for our country, we also recognize that this is a 
moral issue for us all. If you believe, as do I, that this beautiful 
planet is God's creation, then we have a responsibility to be good 
stewards.
  But even if you don't share that religious belief, we all agree that 
we owe it to our children--I would hope we all agree--that we owe it to 
our children to pass this planet on to them and future generations in a 
responsible way.
  So even if this bill were just about that, it would be historic in 
its proportion and its transformative nature, and worthy of just voting 
for that. But it isn't about just that. We will make historic progress 
to universal healthcare coverage in America, strengthening the ACA to 
make coverage more affordable for those who buy insurance on their own. 
It also contains the Medicare hearing benefit, making a major 
difference for seniors.
  As you probably know, Madam Speaker, I know you do, but there are 
some States that would not expand Medicaid. This is a great 
disadvantage to children, not only children but seniors who depend on 
Medicaid for long-term healthcare and the rest. In this legislation we 
expand not just Medicaid but the Affordable Care Act to draw those 
people into the plan at practically no cost to them, except their 
participation in an appropriate way.
  Build Back Better contains historic Medicare prescription drug 
negotiation. For the very first time, the Secretary of Health and Human 
Services would have the power to negotiate lower prices for some of the 
most expensive medicines our seniors use.
  What is in the bill is a compromise. I have, for a generation, been 
fighting for this important provision, for the Secretary to negotiate 
for lower prices, really since, on this floor, we passed Medicare part 
D, which was a real giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry. This now 
reins that in.
  Under this agreement, when people go to the pharmacy, instead of 
paying hundreds and hundreds of dollars for their insulin, their bill 
will be capped at just $35 a month. Think of what the difference that 
makes in people's lives and how important insulin is to them.

[[Page H6226]]

  In total, the most that any senior would be allowed to pay for their 
medications in Medicare part D per year is $2,000 and not one penny 
more. Big Pharma's outrageous price hikes above inflation will be 
halted, not only for seniors, but for all Americans. That is 
remarkable. That was one of the strong points of this agreement. There 
we are with healthcare.
  Under the green framework, we talked about climate. Under the health, 
we talked about the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, et cetera, and the 
prescription drug benefit. Now we are talking about Build Back Better.
  There is a hashtag: Care can't wait. Indeed, it can't, and help is on 
the way. In terms of family care, Build Back Better is the most 
transformative initiative in children and caregivers in generations. 
For decades, hardworking families have been struggling under a system 
that stacks the deck against them. A situation made even worse by the 
COVID pandemic. And that COVID pandemic sort of pulled back the veil on 
how hard it was for people to deal with many of these challenges.
  Our legislation, the Build Back Better, builds back better because it 
saves most families more than half of their spending on childcare; 
delivers free pre-K for every 3- and 4-year-old in America. Just on 
those two scores, parents earning, children learning. It is possible 
because of childcare and the universal pre-K; giving more than 35 
million families a major tax cut by extending the expanded Biden child 
tax credit; putting money in the pockets of families with children; 
expand access to high-quality home care for older Americans and 
Americans living with disabilities.
  Madam Speaker, even some of my colleagues in this body on both sides 
of the aisle have frequently told me that they spend more time caring 
for their parents when they are sick than they did when their children 
were small and they were sick because their parents are older and more 
in need of that attention.
  Well, this not only provides the high-quality care for older 
Americans and Americans with disabilities, it also recognizes the value 
of those people who are providing that care, treating them with respect 
and with proper pay.
  Then we make a significant contribution to workforce development. If 
we are going to build back better, even in this bill, the bipartisan 
infrastructure framework, it is important to have people be trained for 
the jobs; and not only in construction, but in home healthcare and in 
other ways.
  In doing so, it was very important to President Biden and to all of 
us, but this was a must for him in every aspect of the legislation, to 
advance equity and opportunity with investments in maternal care, 
nutrition, housing, and more. That equity is part of what is happening 
in the infrastructure bill and here. We must have equity. We cannot 
perpetuate disparities in income and living conditions and the rest, 
and to do so with respect for work, honoring work, and to do so in a 
way that has equity.
  We have included permanent universal paid family and medical leave, 
which is a pillar of our work for families. I hope that this will stay 
in the bill.
  We must get children learning, parents earning, as I mentioned, in a 
way that assures women can follow a career path as they meet their 
family needs. Just think of the liberation that this is, that women 
will be able to go to work, follow their career path, help provide for 
their families--maybe they are a single parent--provide for their 
families, all the while knowing that their children, or if it happens 
to be a parent, are well cared for. I am very excited about what it 
does in that regard.
  Again, I talked about the climate, and I won't go back into it, 
except to say that with all that we want to do in the climate sector, 
we have to meet our goals. If we are going to be true to any promise to 
our children, grandchildren, or future generations, Build Back Better 
will enable us to do so by cutting greenhouse gas pollution by over a 
gigaton, helping meet the President's vision to cut pollution in half 
by 2030, and protecting our children's health. It will drive forward 
the clean energy economy, creating good-paying jobs and lowing 
families' energy costs. It will advance environmental justice, back to 
that equity issue, as it will educate a workforce for the future and 
advance housing initiatives that are resilient and green.
  The Build Back Better is fully paid for and reduces the national 
debt. According to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation, this 
legislation is fully paid for with its tax increase provisions in the 
bill raising $1.5 trillion over 10 years, not including the additional 
savings from the prescription drug pricing and the IRS tax enforcement.
  Further analyses, based on CBO estimates, show that the legislation 
reduces the deficit by over $36 billion over the next 10 years--are you 
ready for this, Madam Speaker--then by at least $2 trillion over the 
second decade.

                              {time}  2150

  As it reduces the debt and grows the economy, Build Back Better will 
not increase inflation, according to experts. As 17 Nobel Prize-winning 
economists recently wrote: ``Because this agenda invests in long-term 
economic capacity and will enhance the ability of more Americans to 
participate productively in the economy, it will ease longer term 
inflationary pressures.''
  Inflation is very important. We must pay attention to it. That is why 
it is so essential to pay for the legislation. But I am a pay-as-you-go 
person. I always want to be able to pay for and offset any new 
investments that we have, so this legislation is consistent with that.
  President John F. Kennedy once said that to govern is to choose. To 
craft and pass this bill, choices had to be made. We see it is big; it 
is transformative; and it is historic, so it will be challenging. 
Different Members will have different views of how we go about 
prioritizing and the rest.
  In this very Chamber, when people come here, I love to tell them 
about the history of this Chamber. This is a chamber that abolished 
slavery, a chamber that declared war in World War II and before. It is 
a historic chamber, a place that we all must treat with great respect. 
And we will enhance the luster of this institution if we pass this 
historic, transformative legislation.
  No piece of legislation contains everything, and once we pass Build 
Back Better, more work will remain to strengthen the financial security 
of America's working families, to improve families' healthcare, to 
protect the planet, and more. But we cannot and will not miss the 
opportunity to build back better for women, for children, and for the 
people.
  The Build Back Better agenda creates more jobs, secures more major 
tax cuts for the middle class, and lowers costs to families while 
making the wealthiest pay their fair share. It is not punitive; it is 
fair share.
  It is an agenda for workers, for families, for children, for the 
planet, and, as I said, for women. The passage of this rule will take a 
strong step in achieving this goal.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule. I do so 
with, again, special congratulations and gratitude to the distinguished 
chair of the Rules Committee, Mr. McGovern; the distinguished chair of 
the Budget Committee, Mr. Yarmuth; and so many of the chairs that you 
have heard from here this evening: Mr. Richie Neal from Ways and Means, 
so important in all of this; Frank Pallone of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee; and  Bobby Scott in terms of the Education and Labor 
Committee--these are three really important committees in the 
legislation--and housing, Maxine Waters and her contribution in that 
regard; Mr. Grijalva, in terms of climate issues, from the Natural 
Resources Committee. The list goes on and on.
  It is a list that is really a gallery of heroes, of people who have 
brought their knowledge, their experience, their judgment, and their 
legislative skill to bear to get the job done for the people.
  We do all of this in such a way that it has equity.
  We thank the President of the United States for his extraordinary 
leadership, his encyclopedic knowledge of what is in the legislation 
because he has been working on these issues so long, affording the 
opportunity it will provide for families, children, dads, and moms who 
need to have help at home and to do so in a way that treats people with 
respect, respect for their work, respect for their families, and 
respect for their future.

[[Page H6227]]

  Madam Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the legislation.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, a couple of things come to mind. We are told that, by 
2050, the United States will no longer have carbon emissions and that, 
over that same 30 years, energy requirements in this country, energy 
consumption, are going to increase 50 to 60 percent. Those two facts do 
not match up.
  It is strange that in this massive bill we have in front of us--$4 
trillion, $5 trillion, $6 trillion, who knows--there is not one word 
and not $1 for nuclear energy, for advanced nuclear energy, for new 
nuclear technologies and reprocessing of spent fuel. You cannot produce 
50 to 60 percent more energy with windmills and solar panels. China 
can't produce enough solar panels for you to keep up with that kind of 
energy demand in a zero-carbon future.
  We have heard a lot this evening. In fact, the previous speaker 
recalled President Kennedy. His was the first inaugural I remember, 
back in elementary school, and he exhorted us, he exhorted the people 
of our generation: Ask not what your country can do for you.

  Yet, we find ourselves here tonight with this behemoth of a bill that 
is going to spend our children's and children's children's inheritance 
as far as the eye can see.
  This bill was finalized by just a couple of you in some secret room 
someplace in this Capitol behind closed doors with no input from 
Members, Members who represent literally one-half of the country. No 
one seemed to pay attention to when the voters spoke earlier this week 
and said: We don't want Big Government, and we don't want this creeping 
socialism that we are seeing.
  Yet, the response of this House was to double down on that and jam 
through this massive bill.
  This bill, we are told, is a messaging bill for House Democrats. I 
will say the Senate is going to rewrite it. I submit you will not like 
what the Senate rewrites and sends back to you. But I will tell you 
this: You will not have the opportunity to change anything. Once it 
comes back from the Senate, it will be a straight up-or-down vote. You 
will not be able to change one syllable of your bill, and it will 
become law with whatever the Senate puts in it.
  There is nothing here but a partisan social spending scam that is 
meant to bolster Democrat prospects. Unfortunately, your prospects 
really took a hit last Tuesday night.
  This bill will fundamentally change life in America for every 
citizen, and not in a good way. The magnitude of the changes 
contemplated in this massive reconciliation bill should require the 
full input of Congress.
  This should call on us and our various generations to be 
transformational. Instead, we have watched all afternoon while we are 
mired in the transactional. You can't be transformational if you are 
mired in the transactional.
  Madam Speaker, vote against this rule, vote against this bill, and 
vote against the infrastructure bill. Let's do the right thing for the 
people.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are again reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.

                              {time}  2200

  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Madam Speaker, I don't know what my Republican friends find so 
offensive about making historic investments in healthcare and family 
care and combating climate change. Maybe we just have different values. 
Maybe they are just angry that we are investing not in the wealthy as 
they did, not in large corporations as they did, but in our workers, 
and in the middle-class families all across the Nation.
  I am proud that we are finally allowing drug prices to be negotiated, 
proud that we are establishing universal free pre-K. I am proud that we 
are making the biggest expansion in healthcare coverage in a decade; 
proud that we are making the most transformative investments in 
caregiving in American history; and I am proud that we are making the 
biggest investments to combat climate change ever.
  I didn't run for office to help the well connected or just to hold 
the title. I came here to actually get something done for workers, for 
students, and for the next generation so we are not saddling them with 
a planet whose climate is out of control. I ran for office to pass big, 
bold, transformative legislation like this.
  This is the agenda the American people voted for in November. They 
demanded a clean break from the Republicans. They entrusted a 
Democratic Congress and a Democratic White House to use their power to 
change people's lives for the better. Today, we are delivering.
  I know it took a while to get to this point, some ups and downs, and 
I know this isn't everybody's idea of a great and wonderful and fun 
Friday night, but it is testament to this President, to the Speaker, 
and to the Democrats on both sides of the Capitol.
  We are on the doorstep of delivering once-in-a-generation legislation 
that builds on the New Deal and the promise that President Roosevelt 
made over 80 years ago. I urge all of my colleagues to seize this 
chance to vote for this rule and the underlying legislation so that the 
American people can truly have a fair shot in the 21st century.
  The system, as it exists, is still rigged against workers, against 
too many families, against too many who are struggling in our country. 
Let us change that reality. Let us pass the infrastructure bill, the 
BIF bill, and then let us pass the Build Back Better bill and let's 
transform this country for the better. I am proud to be here today to 
advocate for this legislation.
  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I ran for Congress to 
help people. To help people in Chicago, in Illinois and across the 
country achieve the American dream. The Build Back Better Act 
represents a transformative investment in children, families, workers, 
businesses, and the planet that will improve health and well-being, 
advance economic and environmental justice, meaningfully address 
climate change, and grow our economy while asking the wealthiest and 
most secure to pay their fair share.
  The pandemic has harmed tens of millions of Americans--
disproportionately hurting African Americans and other communities of 
color, women, seniors, and children. This legislation directly and 
profoundly helps individuals, communities, and businesses build back 
better by meeting immediate needs for food, shelter, medical care, and 
child care as well as long-term needs for quality education, good-
paying jobs, safe roads and water, and a healthy environment.
  I am deeply proud that many priorities that I have championed are 
included in this historic bill.
  It provides 4 weeks of paid family and medical leave for workers so 
that they do not face the inhumane choice of caring for loved ones or 
financial ruin. As Chair of the Subcommittee with jurisdiction over 
paid leave, I have worked closely with Ways and Means Chairman Neal and 
advocates to shape this amazing, equity-generating, universal benefit. 
Lower-income workers and workers of color are much less likely to have 
any paid leave, yet are more likely to need paid leave due to greater 
health challenges and less savings to weather caregiving without pay. 
Paid leave strengthens workers, families, and businesses, and I will 
continue to fight to enact this provision into law.
  The bill enhances the Earned Income Tax Credit to improve the 
economic well-being and increase the labor-force participation of 
millions childless workers and noncustodial parents--with special 
improvements to assist younger workers, foster and homeless youth, and 
seniors. This provision is expected to help 17 adults nationwide and 
over 600,000 in Illinois. I've fought for these improvements since the 
early 2000s as part of my Responsible Fatherhood Act.
  It provides $2 billion to train workers with barriers to employment--
including people with records--for careers in the allied health 
professions, simultaneously connecting people to the labor force and 
addressing health profession shortages. This success will help Chicago 
State which has a stellar Health Profession Opportunity Grant program 
and expand programs like those offered by the Safer Foundation and 
Johns Hopkins to help people with records become successful healthcare 
professionals.
  It helps vulnerable students by making Pell non-taxable and removing 
the lifetime ban on the American Opportunity Tax Credit for past felony 
convictions.
  It incents substantial private investment in solar energy that will 
put money in the pockets

[[Page H6228]]

of millions of low-income individuals by reducing electricity costs 
while making the air they breathe safer.
  It contains strong labor provisions so that our investments in green 
energy benefit workers as well as businesses.
  It includes $1 billion for to help justice-involved adults and youth 
to obtain employment and training services via the Reentry Employment 
Opportunities Program. It makes sure that people leaving prison have 
Medicaid coverage to improve health and successful reentry.
  It includes $2.5 billion for public health approaches to reduce 
community violence and trauma interventions. I have championed these 
interventions with Senator Durbin in our RISE from Trauma Act.
  It helps restore fairness to the tax code by rolling back the 
Republicans' punitive limit on the State and Local Tax deduction to 
hurt citizens and public employees in blue states like Illinois.
  The Build Back Better Act dramatically reduces child poverty via a 
substantial Child Tax Credit for 2022 coupled with making the credit 
refundable permanently, raising a projected 4.1 million children above 
the poverty line and cutting child poverty by more than 40 percent. In 
October alone, the advanced CTC gave caregivers in my Congressional 
District over $30 million to provide food, shelter, and other 
necessities for 121,000 children.
  It makes Americans healthier via substantial tax credits to cover 
health insurance, coverage for millions of people excluded from the ACA 
because their states failed to expand Medicaid, $1 billion for 
community health centers, Medicaid coverage for women after giving 
birth, tremendous funding to reduce health inequities, Medicare hearing 
coverage, and reduced medication costs. African Americans' risk for 
diabetes is 77 percent higher than that for non-Hispanic white 
Americans. This bill limits the co-pay for insulin to $35, which will 
help so many people I know.
  The bill addresses racial and economic inequities for communities of 
color and rural and underserved communities.
  It makes the largest investment in child care in our nation's 
history, saving most families more than half of their spending on child 
care. Child care is a fundamental component so that our economy and 
families can recover. Further, it makes historic investments to care 
for seniors and individuals with disabilities so that they can receive 
care in their homes and communities, recognizing the need to care for 
our aging population.
  It makes the largest expansion of free education since our country 
established public high schools a century ago. It provides universal 
and free preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds, promoting racial equity 
in education. In addition, it expands access to affordable higher 
education by increasing the Pell grants by $550 for more than 5 million 
students, creating grants to close the college completion gap, and 
investing in Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority 
Serving Institutions, including Predominantly Black Institutions like 
Malcolm X, Olive-Harvey, and Chicago State.
  It makes the largest investment in affordable housing and community 
development in half a century. It addresses the housing crisis with $25 
billion for rental assistance, $65 billion for public housing, $15 
billion to build or improve affordable homes, and another $40 billion 
for critical housing initiatives. The pandemic has hit Black renters 
with children especially hard, with 29 percent--or an estimated 1.7 
million renters--reporting that their household is not caught up on 
rent.
  It feeds the hungry with $10 billion for nutrition, including 
expanding free school and summer meals. In 2020, Black and Latino 
families with children were more than twice as likely to suffer food 
insecurity as white households. Hunger has no place in the United 
States.
  This bill invests billions in small businesses, including $1.6 
billion for minority owned business and $105 million for education and 
financial assistance for the formerly incarcerated to form businesses 
to create jobs in their communities. It invests over $3 billion in 
capital access for small employers and entrepreneurs. The SBA lending 
programs have been lifelines to local businesses during the pandemic 
and these funds will help businesses build back better post pandemic.
  This legislation ensures the largest effort combat climate change in 
American history by: putting money back in people's pockets as they 
shift to clean energy; promoting the manufacturing of clean energy 
technology in the US, creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying 
jobs; and advancing environmental justice to deliver benefits to 
disadvantaged communities.
  I am honored to vote for this once-in-a-generation legislation. I 
came to Congress to make this type of momentous change to make life 
better for tens of millions of people. I urge my colleagues to pass it.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this historic 
legislation and the related Rule to propel American progress. The 
infrastructure bill along with the Build Back Better Act will usher in 
a transformational 21st century for the American people. Rebuilding our 
nation's infrastructure will create millions of living wage jobs for 
the American people coast to coast. It will add value through work in 
every state, hamlet, district and territory of our nation.
  This measure rewards work in every sector--in both hardware and 
software. The motor vehicle industry, new carbon free energy systems, 
modern highways, airports, bridges, ports, rail grade separations, 
broadband, and so much more. These bills strengthen America's families 
and communities by relieving economic burdens that have held them back. 
It allows millions of Americans to access affordable health insurance 
and medications, child and elder care, and robust education and 
workforce training to meet new horizons in this new era.
  Major investments in education and health care for our children and 
seniors have been long overdue. And, the environmental provisions to 
heal our earth in an era of climate change will restore clean water, 
clean air, healthy forests, and regenerative soils.
  Please let me thank all the Committees and Members who have worked so 
very hard on this measure. The cost of the related bills is paid for 
and, as more jobs are created, and the overall wealth of our nation 
increases, not only the annual deficit but also the accumulated 
national debt will begin to be repaid. By passing these bills, this 
Chamber meets its obligations to the American people of today and 
tomorrow. Let us pass this transformative legislation as a critical 
step in advancing its content to the other body. We acknowledge more 
changes will likely occur as the bill moves forward. But tonight, this 
House embraces the future.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, as a senior member of the Committees 
on the Judiciary, on Homeland Security, and on the Budget, I rise in 
strong support of the rule governing debate, as well as the underlying 
bill, which is the Build Back Better Act (RCP 117-18, H.R. 5376 ), 
legislation making visionary and transformative investments to change 
for the better the health, well-being, and financial security of 
America's workers and families.
  Madam Speaker, the federal budget is an expression of the nation's 
values and the investments made to Build America Back Better are a 
clear declaration of congressional Democrats' commitment to ensuring 
that our government, our economy, and our systems work For The People.
  Madam Speaker, these long-overdue investments in America's future 
will be felt in every corner of the country and across every sector of 
American life, building on the success of the American Rescue Plan, 
accommodating historic infrastructure investments in the legislative 
pipeline, and addressing longstanding deficits in our communities by 
ending an era of chronic underinvestment so we can emerge from our 
current crises a stronger, more equitable nation.
  The Build Back Better Act makes the transformative investments that 
we need to continue growing our economy, lower costs for working 
families, and position the United States as a global leader in 
innovation and the jobs of the future.
  This $1.75 trillion gross investment will build on the successes of 
the American Rescue Plan and set our nation on a path of fiscal 
responsibility and broadly shared prosperity for generations to come.
  The Build Back Better Act is paid for by ensuring that the wealthy 
and big corporations are paying their fair share and Americans making 
less than $400,000 a year will not see their taxes increase by a penny.
  Let me repeat that: No American making less than $400,000 a year will 
not see their taxes increase by a penny.
  In sum, Madam Speaker, the investments made by the Build Back Better 
Act will expand opportunity for all and build an economy powered by 
shared prosperity and inclusive growth.
  During general debate, I will discuss in greater detail all of the 
salutary aspects of the Build Back Better Act, but today I will confine 
my remarks to discuss how the legislation holds substantial benefits 
for my home state of Texas.
  The Build Back Better Act will bring down costs that have held back 
families in Texas for decades by cutting taxes and making child care, 
home care, education, health care, and housing more affordable.
  These investments will provide new learning opportunities for 
children, help parents and especially working parents make ends meet, 
and position the economy for stronger growth for years to come.
  The Build Back Better Act will create good-paying jobs for residents 
of Texas, combating climate change, giving our kids cleaner air and 
water, and making America the leader in global innovation and 21st 
century manufacturing.
  Specifically, Madam Speaker, the Build Back Better Act delivers the 
largest investment

[[Page H6229]]

in child care and early education in history by providing access to 
affordable child care.
  Child care is a major strain for families in Texas, where the average 
annual cost of a child care center for a toddler is $9,428, meaning 
that a Texas family with two young children would on average spend 21 
percent of their income on child care for one year.
  The lack of affordable options also makes it difficult for parents, 
and especially mothers, to remain in their jobs, contributing to the 
26.1 percent gender gap in workforce participation between mothers and 
fathers in Texas.
  The Build Back Better Act will enable Texas to provide access to 
child care for 2,011,503 young children (ages 0-5) per year from 
families earning under 2.5 times the Texas median income (about 
$205,204 for a family of 4), and ensure these families pay no more than 
7 percent of their income on high-quality child care.
  The Build Back Better Act will provide universal, high-quality, free 
preschool for every 3- and 4-year-old in America.
  In contrast, today, only 24 percent of the 775,102 3- and 4-year-olds 
in Texas have access to publicly-funded preschool, and it costs about 
$8,600 per year for those who cannot access a publicly-funded program.
  The Build Back Better Act will enable Texas to expand access to free, 
high-quality preschool to more than 588,286 additional 3- and 4-year-
olds per year and increase the quality of preschool for children who 
are already enrolled.
  Parents will be able to send their children to the preschool setting 
of their choice--from public schools to child care providers to Head 
Start--leading to lifelong educational benefits, allowing more parents 
to go back to work, and building a stronger foundation for Texas's 
future economic competitiveness.
  The Build Back Better Act cuts taxes and reduces some of the largest 
expenses for workers and families, like education, health care, and 
housing.
  Madam Speaker, the average cost of a 2-year degree in Texas is $2,885 
per year, and $11,096 per year for a 4-year degree, straining many 
student budgets.
  To help unlock the opportunities of an education beyond high school, 
the Build Back Better Act will increase maximum Pell Grant awards by 
$550 for students at public and private non-profit institutions, 
supporting the 486,377 students in Texas who rely on Pell grants.
  The Build Back Better Act will also invest in Texas's 112 minority-
serving institutions and the students they serve, including 
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges 
and Universities (TCUs), and Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs).
  Madam Speaker, of the world's biggest economies, the United States is 
second to last in investing in workforce development, and funding for 
federal job training programs has dropped by almost half since 2001.
  The Build Back Better Act invests in training programs that will 
prepare Texas's workers for high-quality jobs in fast-growing sectors 
like public health, child care, manufacturing, IT, and clean energy. 
Fifty-nine public community colleges in Texas will have the opportunity 
to benefit from grants to develop and deliver innovative training 
programs and expand proven ones.
  Madam Speaker, 18 percent of children in Texas live in food insecure 
households, harming their long-term health and ability to succeed in 
school.
  The Build Back Better Act will ensure that the nutritional needs of 
Texas's children are met by expanding access to free school meals to an 
additional 1,642,000 students during the school year and providing 
3,631,226 students with resources to purchase food over the summer.
  When it comes to housing costs, more than 1.7 million renters in 
Texas are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30 percent of 
their income on rent, while homeownership remains out of reach for many 
families.
  The Build Back Better Act expands rental assistance for Texas 
renters, while also increasing the supply of high-quality housing 
through the construction and rehabilitation of over 1 million 
affordable housing units nationwide.
  The Build Back Better Act addresses the capital needs of the entire 
public housing stock in America, and it includes one of the largest 
investments in down payment assistance in history, enabling more first-
generation homebuyers to purchase their first home.
  Madam Speaker, access to affordable quality health care should be a 
right, not a privilege, and residents of Texas facing illness should 
never have to worry about how they are going to pay for treatment.
  The Build Back Better Act will close the Medicaid coverage gap to 
help millions of Americans gain health insurance, extend through 2025 
the American Rescue Plan's health insurance premium reductions for 
those who buy coverage on their own, and help older Americans access 
affordable hearing care by expanding Medicare.
  In Texas, that means 1,554,000 uninsured people will gain coverage, 
including the 771,000 who fell into the Medicaid coverage gap, and 
1,066,400 will on average save hundreds of dollars per year.
  In addition, the Build Back Better Act will support maternal health 
and invest in national preparedness for future pandemics.
  Finally, the Build Back Better Act will expand access to home- and 
community-based care to more of Texas's senior citizens and disabled 
citizens and improve the quality and wages of caregiving jobs.
  Prior to the pandemic, 15 percent of children under the age of 18 in 
Texas lived in poverty.
  The Build Back Better Act will bolster financial security and spur 
economic growth in Texas by reducing taxes on the middle class and 
those striving to break into it.
  Specifically, the Build Back Better Act extends Child Tax Credit 
(CTC) increases of $300/month per child under 6 or $250/month per child 
ages 6 to 17, which will continue the largest one-year reduction in 
child poverty in history.
  And critically, the agreement includes permanent refundability for 
the Child Tax Credit, meaning that the neediest families will continue 
to receive the full Child Tax Credit over the long-run.
  The Build Back Better Act will also provide a tax cut of up to $1,500 
in tax cuts for more than 1.5 million low-wage workers in Texas by 
extending the American Rescue Plan's Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) 
expansion.
  From 2010 to 2020, Texas experienced 67 extreme weather events, 
costing up to $200 billion in damages.
  The Build Back Better Act will set the United States on course to 
meet its climate targets--a 50-52 percent reduction in greenhouse gas 
emissions below 2005 levels by 2030--in a way that creates good-paying 
union jobs, grows domestic industries, and advances environmental 
justice.
  The Build Back Better Act represents the largest ever single 
investment in a clean energy economy--across buildings, transportation, 
industry, electricity, agriculture, and climate smart practices in our 
lands and waters.
  And the Build Back Better Act will create a new Civilian Climate 
Corps that will enlist a diverse generation of Texans in conserving our 
public lands, bolstering community resilience, and addressing the 
changing climate, all while putting good-paying union jobs within 
reach.
  In clean energy and in other sectors, the Build Back Better Act will 
also strengthen domestic manufacturing and supply chains for critical 
goods, benefiting American businesses, workers, consumers, and 
communities.
  To put it all in perspective, Madam Speaker, we have before us a once 
in a century opportunity to make gigantic progress in making ours a 
more perfect union, and to do it in a single bound with enactment of 
the Build Back Better Act, the most transformative legislation passed 
by this Congress since the Great Society and the New Deal.
  Madam Speaker, I urge all Members to join me in voting for the rule 
and voting to pass H.R. 5376, the transformative, life-changing Build 
Back Better Act.
  The material previously referred to by Mr. Burgess is as follows:

                   Amendment to House Resolution 774

       At the end of the resolution, add the following:
       Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the 
     House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the 
     bill (H.R. 5854) to amend title 28, United States Code, to 
     prohibit payments of compromise settlements arising out of 
     certain violations of the immigration laws, and for other 
     purposes. All points of order against consideration of the 
     bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All 
     points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. 
     The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the 
     bill and on any 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 the Judiciary; and (2) one motion 
     to recommit.
       Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the 
     consideration of H.R. 5854.

                               H.R. 5854

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Illegal Immigrant Payoff 
     Prohibition Act''.

     SEC. 2. NO PAYMENT OF COMPROMISE SETTLEMENTS ARISING OUT OF 
                   CERTAIN VIOLATIONS OF THE IMMIGRATION LAWS.

       Section 2414 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``No payment of a compromise settlement may be made in 
     relation to a civil action brought by an alien who is 
     inadmissible under section 212(a)(6)(A) or (7)(A)(i)(I) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(A) 
     or (7)(A)(i)(I)), or who entered the United States in 
     violation of section 275(a) of the Immigration and 
     Nationality

[[Page H6230]]

     Act (8 U.S.C. 1325(a)), in connection with conduct described 
     in any such section, unless expressly authorized by law.''.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and 
I move the previous question on the resolution, as amended.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous 
question on the resolution, as amended.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question 
are postponed.

                          ____________________