[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 215 (Tuesday, December 14, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H7653-H7663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5665, COMBATING INTERNATIONAL 
                            ISLAMOPHOBIA ACT

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I

[[Page H7654]]

call up House Resolution 849 and ask for its immediate consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 849

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5665) to 
     establish in the Department of State the Office to Monitor 
     and Combat Islamophobia, and for other purposes. All points 
     of order against consideration of the bill are waived. In 
     lieu of the amendments recommended by the Committee on 
     Foreign Affairs now printed in the bill, an amendment in the 
     nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules 
     Committee Print 117-23, 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) one hour of 
     debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and 
     ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
     or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to 
     recommit.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is 
recognized for 1 hour.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield 
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. 
Reschenthaler), my good friend, pending which I yield myself such time 
as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time 
yielded is for the purpose of debate only.


                             General Leave

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. 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. Mr. Speaker, today, the Committee on Rules met and 
reported a rule which would provide for the consideration of H.R. 5665, 
the Combating International Islamophobia Act, under a closed rule.
  It provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the 
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
It self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Meeks and provides 
for one motion to recommit.
  Mr. Speaker, we are here today at a time when anti-Muslim hatred has 
risen to epidemic proportions. That is not my opinion; that is 
according to the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Religious Freedom and 
Belief.
  Epidemic proportions, we see it all around the world: in China, as 
the government there commits atrocities against the Uyghurs; in Sri 
Lanka, where its President silences dissenting voices; in India, as 
government-led crackdowns leave entire neighborhoods virtually empty; 
in Hungary, where anti-Muslim sentiment continues to build. 
Unfortunately, I could go on, all around the globe.
  Mr. Speaker, this isn't about the actions or misguided beliefs of a 
few. The U.N. Human Rights Council has found that an average of 37 
percent of the population in Europe held unfavorable views of Muslims. 
We are talking about millions of people and a rising tide of hostility, 
violence, and discrimination that we, the Government of the United 
States, must call out and condemn. To stand firmly and loudly for human 
rights demands nothing less.
  Mr. Speaker, I am also proud to announce today that we have reached a 
bipartisan, bicameral agreement on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention 
Act that will allow us to move quickly to get this bill through 
Congress and to the President because this isn't a partisan issue. It 
is a human rights issue, and America must lead.
  Mr. Speaker, just as we hold other nations to account, we must hold 
ourselves to account as well because the United States is not immune to 
these trends. The Council on American-Islamic Relations has documented 
over 500 complaints of anti-Muslim bias nationwide in just the first 
half of this year. That includes things like hate crimes, harassment, 
school bullying, and antimosque violence.
  Sadly, this uptick is part of a larger trend. A poll conducted by the 
AP and released this year ahead of the anniversary of 9/11 found that 
53 percent of Americans have unfavorable views toward Islam. This is 
the reality of what is happening in America today.
  Mr. Speaker, to be honest, we have even heard disturbing rhetoric 
from some right here in this institution. A Member of this House has 
told a completely fabricated story again and again that implies a 
Muslim colleague is a terrorist just because they are Muslim.
  It may have rolled off her tongue like some kind of laugh line, but 
this is a deadly serious matter because it led to our colleague, 
Representative Omar, who has already been the victim of years of anti-
Muslim bias, receiving even more heinous voice mails and even death 
threats. One man went so far as to tell her: ``There's plenty that will 
love the opportunity to take you off the face of this'' blanking Earth.
  Mr. Speaker, I hesitated to even quote that here on the floor, but we 
all must understand the gravity of what we are dealing with. To hear a 
Member of this Congress say those things, is there no bottom anymore? 
Have things sunk that low?
  Two decades ago, it was a Republican President, George W. Bush, who 
told the world: ``America treasures the relationship we have with our 
many Muslim friends, and we respect the vibrant faith of Islam, which 
inspires countless individuals to lead lives of honesty, integrity, and 
morality.''
  Today, it is a Republican Congressperson who made headlines for 
comments that disrespect not only Congresswoman Omar and fellow Muslim 
Members but is a stain on this entire institution. And virtually the 
entire Republican Conference has said nothing.
  Mr. Speaker, what on Earth has the Republican Party become?
  I think this House is better than the worst actions of a few here, 
and I think the Government of the United States can still stand for 
human rights here and around the globe. This rule and the underlying 
resolution is our chance to show it.
  Let's pass this measure so we can bring the full weight of our Nation 
in encouraging other nations to also confront and condemn the growing 
stain of Islamophobia.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume, and I thank my good friend and chairman of the Committee on 
Rules, Chairman McGovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes.
  Mr. Speaker, in 2018, southwestern Pennsylvania witnessed the 
deadliest act of anti-Semitism in our Nation's history when 11 Jewish 
worshippers were killed at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill. 
That was the first time I ever spoke on the House floor; it was to 
condemn acts of anti-Semitism and hatred in all forms.
  No one should ever be attacked and no one should ever be denied their 
human rights or dignity because of their religious faith. Republicans 
have opposed hate and discrimination of any kind, including 
Islamophobia, but the bill made in order under this rule is rushed. It 
is a partisan effort, and it fails to address real concerns highlighted 
by both committee Republicans and the Biden State Department.

  H.R. 5665 creates a new State Department office and a new special 
envoy position to combat ``Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement.'' 
Those terms are not defined in Federal statute. They are also not 
defined in the bill. Without clear definitions, even First Amendment-
protected speech could qualify for an investigation.
  Under this measure, it would be up to unelected career bureaucrats at 
the State Department to determine what constitutes this phobia and to 
single out groups, to single out governments, to single out individuals 
who do not share the political views of those unelected, career 
bureaucrats.
  My Republican colleagues on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs 
rightly noted the lack of definitions in this bill, and that lack could 
be used to promote anti-Israel sentiment. Unfortunately, efforts to 
address those concerns were wholly dismissed by committee Democrats. 
Further, committee Republicans highlighted that this bill is absolutely 
redundant.
  Mr. Speaker, the State Department already operates robust human 
rights and religious freedom efforts, and those include, and I will 
list: the Bureau of

[[Page H7655]]

Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; the Office of International 
Religious Freedom; and the U.S. Commission on International Religious 
Freedom. We already have offices for what this bill seeks to do.

                              {time}  1315

  Creating a new envoy and office would simply duplicate those efforts; 
it would further fragment this important advocacy; it would increase 
the potential for conflict and delays; and it would thwart our efforts 
to actually help persecuted people.
  Their concerns fell on deaf ears.
  If House Democrats are serious about addressing anti-Muslim 
sentiment, then I encourage them to join the longstanding Republican 
efforts to hold the Chinese Communist Party accountable for their 
genocide against the Uyghur people.
  Somewhere between 1 and 3 million Uyghurs are currently held against 
their will in modern-day concentration camps in Communist China. These 
people are subjected to atrocities that include forced labor, torture, 
and enforced organ harvesting.
  Families are torn apart. The CCP even prohibits parents from teaching 
their Islamic faith to their children. Women are suffering forced 
sterilization and forced abortion to suppress Uyghur Muslim birth 
rates.
  Anyone who truly supports religious freedom and stands against anti-
Muslim atrocities should want to hold the CCP accountable for their 
genocide against the Uyghur people.
  Yet, earlier this year Democratic leadership caved to the Biden 
administration and delayed a strong U.S. response to the Uyghur Muslim 
genocide, rather than sending the bipartisan, Senate-passed Uyghur 
Forced Labor Prevention Act to the President's desk. It was the Biden 
administration who slow-walked that.
  Last week, we were finally given the opportunity to vote on that 
bill, only after the press highlighted Speaker Pelosi's inaction. 
Further, during the committee's consideration of H.R. 5665, Democrats 
voted down an amendment to focus the new office's efforts on the plight 
of the Uyghurs.
  In closing, it is obvious this bill is not combating anti-Muslim 
violence and persecution. If it were, House Democrats would have worked 
with Republicans and the Biden State Department on this effort. 
Instead, the Democrats are advancing this rushed, partisan legislation 
that fails to address the religious persecution happening right now in 
China and across the globe.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for my friend from Pennsylvania, 
but I want to provide a little bit of a history lesson on the Uyghur 
Forced Labor Prevention Act.
  We actually passed that bill a year ago in the last Congress, and the 
Republican Senate and President Trump killed it. I didn't hear a peep 
out of any of my Republican colleagues urging that the Senate take the 
bill up then.
  Last week, the House passed by an overwhelming vote--only one 
Republican voted ``no''--my bill on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention 
Act.
  By the way, it is a stronger bill than the one that was passed in the 
Senate. Senator Rubio and I have come to an agreement on reconciling 
the differences. That bill will be voted on, perhaps even as early as 
today, and be sent over to the Senate, where I think they will take 
quick action on it and send it to the President's desk for signature.
  That is real. That is the strongest bill to deal with the horrific 
treatment by the Chinese Government of the Uyghurs that has ever gone 
to any President's desk. I am proud of the bipartisan support for the 
bill in the House and the Senate. Let's not politicize an issue that I 
think we have come together on. My hope is it will be done today.
  The bill that is before us is very similar to the bill that was 
passed in a previous Congress to create a post to deal with anti-
Semitism in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, I would urge my Republican friends, who I hope share our 
view, that anti-Semitism is intolerable wherever it may exist, and we 
need to do more to combat it. Please call your friends in the 
Republican Senate to stop holding up President Biden's nominee for 
special envoy.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a CNN story, ``Senate Democrats 
Say Republicans Are Holding Up Nomination For Anti-Semitism Post.''

                        [From CNN, Dec. 8, 2021]

  Senate Democrats Say Republicans Are Holding Up Nomination for Anti-
                             Semitism Post

                           (By Jessica Dean)

       (CNN) Democrats in Congress told CNN that GOP senators are 
     continuing to hold up the nomination of the woman President 
     Joe Biden tapped to become the next US Envoy to Combat and 
     Monitor Antisemitism, five months after she was nominated.
       Biden nominated Deborah Lipstadt, an Emory professor of 
     Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies, on July 30. 
     Lipstadt has thus far not even been offered a hearing by the 
     Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Lipstadt has previously 
     worked with both Democratic and Republican administrations 
     and enjoys strong support from a wide range of Jewish groups.
       ``Our Republican colleagues have refused to give her a 
     hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations committee,'' 
     Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, 
     told CNN. Typically both Democratic and Republican members of 
     the committee agree to have a hearing for a nominee.
       Menendez said they're approaching a time when he may go 
     against tradition to bypass the committee and move to 
     discharge Lipstadt's nomination straight to the Senate floor 
     where Democrats hold the majority.
       Republicans denied that they were stalling the confirmation 
     process.
       ``I wouldn't say we're holding it up,'' said Republican 
     Sen. Jim Risch, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign 
     Relations Committee, adding they are waiting on additional 
     materials from Lipstadt. An aide said they had spoken with 
     Lipstadt on Tuesday.
       When asked if he thinks they will ultimately give Lipstadt 
     a hearing, Risch replied, ``I think so'' but offered no 
     timeline.
       What's the hold up?
       Risch said there has been some concern from members over 
     Lipstadt's previous tweets.
       In one tweet from March 14, Lipstadt reacted to comments 
     from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who sits on 
     the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, writing, ``This is 
     white supremacy/nationalism. Pure and simple.''
       Lipstadt was referring to Johnson's comments that he might 
     have been concerned for his well-being during the January 6 
     attack had the protestors been affiliated with Black Lives 
     Matter instead of being a largely white, pro-Trump crowd.
       When asked about Lipstadt's nomination and the tweet, 
     Johnson said, ``I feel like we have so many nominations 
     floating around right now, I really can't comment at this 
     point.''
       Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who is also a 
     member of the committee, said he was not familiar with 
     Lipstadt's nomination.
       ``I am not sure I have reviewed that nomination yet. To be 
     frank, it doesn't ring a bell,'' Rubio told CNN.
       ``I want to make sure that whoever is there is someone we 
     can count on to be heard around the world and whatever they 
     have said in the past won't undermine their ability to do 
     their job,'' Rubio said. ``But I just don't want to comment 
     on a nomination that I haven't fully reviewed yet.''
       Menendez said there was nothing in her background that 
     should be a problem.
       ``If calling out anti-Semitism in the past is somehow an 
     obstacle to this nomination, and that would be an amazing set 
     of circumstances, because that's what we want this person to 
     do,'' he said.
       Strong support from the Jewish community
       In a rare joint statement, the Anti-Defamation League, the 
     Jewish Federations of North America, and the Union of 
     Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America sent a letter to 
     Senate Foreign Relations Committee on November 4 urging its 
     members to act.
       ``There is no question that Prof. Lipstadt has the 
     credentials to deserve a proper hearing before the Committee 
     on Foreign Relations--and that hearing is now overdue,'' the 
     letter read.
       The unified support of Jewish groups is important to note.
       ``To find this level of agreement about someone on such a 
     contentious issue as anti-Semitism is rare,'' Yair Rosenberg, 
     a writer who covers anti-Semitism for The Atlantic, told CNN 
     in an interview.
       ``And it's very rare to see that and it's rare to see 
     people then say, 'Well, we don't care what all these Jewish 
     groups think,''' Rosenberg said.
       In an attempt to move the nomination along, a number of 
     House Democrats who sit on the House Bipartisan Task Force 
     for Combating Anti-Semitism--led by Reps. Kathy Manning of 
     North Carolina and Ted Deutch of Florida--wrote a letter to 
     Menendez and Risch pressing them for a hearing for Lipstadt.
       ``In recent months, we have witnessed growing threats 
     against Jewish communities in our own country and 
     worldwide,'' the group wrote. ``We believe it is vital to 
     have a Special Envoy in place to confront these

[[Page H7656]]

     threats and ensure that the United States continues to lead 
     the world in the fight against antisemitism.''
       Rosenberg told CNN the stalled nomination is ``a much 
     broader effort to stall Biden's nominees and prevent their 
     confirmations.''
       ``It's typical partisan warfare, but this time, it's not a 
     victimless crime, right? There's the nominees themselves, and 
     then in this case, there's Jewish communities abroad that are 
     protected by the antiSemitism envoy position. And right now 
     that office is short-stringed because the Republicans will 
     not move forward on this confirmation.''

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
California (Ms. Chu).
  Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of today's bill 
to help monitor and combat Islamophobia.
  Targeting someone because of their religion is discriminatory and it 
is dangerous. Yet, across the world anti-Muslim prejudice is spreading. 
As a result, innocent people are being attacked, their mosques 
vandalized, and their rights curtailed. All of this is the deliberate 
result of anti-Muslim fearmongering, often from the highest levels of 
government.
  The violence and repression would not be possible without the 
propaganda that paints all Muslims as dangerous. We have seen that even 
in our own country, where a lie that Muslims are dangerous was used to 
justify a Muslim ban. This hate speech continues to echo in the halls 
of Congress today, even against our own Members of Congress. This must 
stop.
  The more these hateful lies spread, the more people will follow the 
words of their leaders and take action, leading to more violence like 
the shootings in Christchurch and around the world.
  With this bill we can help stop the spread of this Islamophobia and 
stop the violence these words cause. Let's ensure that everybody, 
regardless of race or religion, can feel safe in this country and 
around the world for being who they are.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad it was brought up, the so-called Trump Muslim 
ban, because it gives me a chance to set the record straight.
  Let's be clear, the seven countries that my colleague was referring 
to--the seven countries specifically targeted with travel restrictions 
in Executive Order 13769, they were actually countries that were 
determined by Congress in the Obama administration to be countries of 
particular concern for terrorism activity pursuant to the Visa Waiver 
Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015.
  In fact, the policies in the administration's travel restrictions 
apply to just 8 percent of the world's Muslim population, and according 
to Pew Research Center, only cover one of the top 10 countries in the 
world with the largest Muslim population, that country being Iran.
  The courts even found that Trump's travel ban was ``facially neutral 
toward religion.'' The court also ruled that Trump ``set forth a 
sufficient national security justification.'' So I thank my colleague 
for giving me the chance to put in the Record the truth about the so-
called Trump ban.
  Mr. Speaker, let's talk about something that the American people are 
focused on right now. Thanks to the Biden energy crisis, Americans are 
paying 56 percent more for a gallon of gas.
  In Pennsylvania, families are facing a 50 percent increase in their 
energy bills. Biden's war on fossil fuels continues to devastate the 
Nation this holiday season.
  That is why, Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will 
personally offer an amendment to the rule to immediately consider H.R. 
6235, the Strategic Production Response Act.
  This legislation would require the Secretary of Energy to develop a 
plan to increase oil and gas production on Federal lands if the 
President uses the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for non-emergency 
reasons.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my 
amendment into the Record, along with any 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 Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Upton), one of the authors of the legislation, to 
explain the amendment.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I do rise in opposition to both the rule and 
the previous question so the House can consider H.R. 6235, the 
Strategic Production Response Act, introduced by the top Republican on 
the Energy and Commerce Committee, Mrs. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of 
Washington, in the recent weeks.
  This President and the Democrats are waging a war on fossil fuels and 
affordable American energy, and American families are paying the price 
in the form of skyrocketing energy bills and inflation that is surging, 
frankly, out of control. We see that constant increase at the pump 
literally every time we get in the car and pass a gas station in 
virtually every State in the Union.
  Before this President came into office, the U.S. was more energy 
secure than ever before. Energy prices were low, stable, and 
manufacturing was coming back to the U.S. after decades of offshoring.
  Today, America's energy security is under siege by President Biden 
and the Democrats. In fact, in the span of a year the price of crude 
oil and many energy commodities has risen to a 7-year high. Gasoline 
prices have nearly doubled, while more Americans are struggling 
certainly to make ends meet.
  Forecasts--even before this winter's heating costs season started, 
American families were expected to pay some 54 percent more for 
propane, 43 percent more for heating oil, 30 percent more for natural 
gas, and 6 percent more for electric heating.
  Even as millions of Americans depend on reliable and affordable 
supplies of fossil-based fuels for home heating, electricity, 
transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture, Democrats have doubled 
down their anti-American energy agenda.
  It was a mistake when President Biden canceled the Keystone XL 
pipeline, which would have transported almost 1 million barrels a day 
of stable energy supplies to the U.S.
  President Biden issued a moratorium on energy development on Federal 
lands. Now the administration is even considering killing Line 5, 
another important pipeline that provides critical heating fuels and gas 
to the Midwest.
  Yes, faced with skyrocketing energy prices and low poll numbers, this 
President has begged OPEC--of all places--OPEC and Russia--to pump more 
oil. When OPEC and Russia refused to increase supplies, guess what, 
President Biden then turned to China and resorted to tapping America's 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve, rather than encourage drilling here 
domestically.
  This President turned to China for oil. China is persecuting more 
than a million Uyghurs, Muslims, and other ethnic minorities. They 
certainly don't share our values. America's Strategic Petroleum Reserve 
is one of the Nation's most valuable energy security tools, and this 
President and the Democrats are squandering it, using it for a 
political coverup for their anti-fossil fuel agenda.
  If allowed, this motion is pretty simple. It would protect the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve and lower gas prices by unleashing American 
energy production.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Michigan 
an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. UPTON. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created by Congress to 
respond to several oil supply disruptions, not as a bailout. This 
administration has to end its hostility to producing energy right here 
under our feet and reverse the policies that have contributed to the 
energy crisis facing Americans today.
  If this administration is serious about lowering gas prices it has to 
stop encouraging other countries, and rather encourage ours to produce 
gas and oil rather than relying on OPEC, Russia, and China.
  Mr. Speaker, I would ask my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous 
question so we can consider this resolution.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

[[Page H7657]]

  

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, when the heinous acts of 9/11 came, 
this Nation could have easily fell upon the splinters of divisiveness 
and begin to point fingers in a massive way toward our fellow human 
beings, Muslims around the world and in the United States.
  Isn't it interesting that the President of the United States, a 
Republican, George W. Bush, took to the microphone to denounce that 
kind of divisive action--a Republican.
  We came together, even though there were incidences that many 
confronted, to hold this Nation together. Even with the small 
percentage of Muslims in the United States, we recognize the 1.8 
billion Muslims in the world, which makes up nearly one-forth of the 
world's population. It is the world's second largest religion.
  I am proud to be able to serve or have served with former Member 
Keith Ellison, the first to be elected; Congressman Andre Carson, 
Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar. I am proud to chair the Pakistan Caucus, 
the Afghan Caucus, and to work with Muslims around the world; and I 
have visited the Middle East often, and engaged with Muslims who 
desired peace.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the rule and the underlying 
bill, to create the position of special envoy for monitoring and 
combatting Islamophobia that would be responsible for tracking and 
coordinating efforts to combat Islamophobia abroad. It would require 
the State Department to encourage reports on human rights practices and 
an annual report on international religious freedom, and include, where 
possible, the assessments on the nature and extent of Islamophobia and 
Islamophobic incitement that occur abroad.

                              {time}  1330

  My colleagues on this floor might take heed to the importance of 
recognizing the humanity of all people. The hijab is a thing of beauty. 
Muslim women can choose to wear it, they wear it in front of men who 
are not their family members. Our Member, Ilhan Omar, wears that. It is 
not a sign of terrorism, and that kind of language should be denounced 
whether it is on the floor of this House or in some kind of private 
interaction.
  We do not want the world to look at the United States as not caring 
about the rights of Muslims. America stands against the committing of 
acts of atrocities against the Uyghurs in China, or the Rohingya in 
Burma, or the brutal crackdowns on Muslim populations in other 
countries including Southeast Asia, scapegoating of Muslim refugees and 
other Muslims in Hungary and Poland, the acts of white supremacist 
violence against Muslims in New Zealand and Canada, or the targeting of 
minority Muslim communities in Muslim majority countries like those in 
Southeast Asia and Iran. I know that we are working hard to ensure that 
does not happen.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an 
additional 1 minute.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. This legislation is crucial and important. The 
reason is because it speaks to who we are as Members of the most 
powerful lawmaking body in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I am glad to sit on the Tom Lantos Human Rights 
Commission with Chairman McGovern and that we can talk about human 
rights for all people. And we need to get over it and recognize that it 
is important to unify the world. Let the United States be the leader 
for what is right and to be able to acknowledge the doctors, lawyers, 
and other leaders in our Nation who happen to be Muslim.
  So this legislation gives the United States the right hand, the upper 
hand to be able to assess this around the world and be the leader 
against anti-hate or anti-Muslim hate. Let's be the leader rather than 
the provoker of it.
  I end by saying this plea to my colleagues: Whether you are 
Republican or Democrat, is this, in essence, the reputation you want to 
give to this Congress, that we are attacking people for their religion 
and who they are?
  Let this bill pass but let it be a symbol that we will stop this kind 
of Islamophobia, and it starts with each and every one of us.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to vote for the rule and the 
underlying bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Rule Governing Debate of H.R. 
5665, the Combating International Islamophobia Act, which will address 
the increasing number of incidents of Islamophobia around the world.
  Specifically, this bill will:
  Create the position of Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating 
Islamophobia, who will be responsible for tracking and coordinating 
efforts to combat Islamophobia abroad.
  Require that the State Department's annual country reports on human 
rights practices and annual Report on International Religious Freedom 
include, wherever possible, assessments of the nature and extent of 
acts of Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur abroad.
  As Islamophobia rises globally, it is vital that the State Department 
have senior personnel in place charged with understanding, reporting 
on, and combating this scourge worldwide.
  In recent decades, we have seen a staggering rise in incidents of 
violent Islamophobia worldwide.
  Whether it is the atrocities being committed against the Uyghurs in 
China and the Rohingya in Burma, the brutal crackdowns on Muslim 
populations around the world. The scapegoating of Muslim refugees and 
other Muslims in Hungary and Poland, the acts of white supremacist 
violence targeting Muslims in New Zealand and Canada, or the targeting 
of minority Muslim communities in Muslim-majority countries. It is time 
for us as policymakers to understand these problems as interconnected 
and genuinely global.
  There are about 1.8 billion Muslims in the world, which makes up 
nearly one-fourth of the world's population. Islam is the world's 
second largest religion. Painfully, a staggering number of people have 
experienced anti-Muslim hate in their lifetime; a number that has only 
inflated since 9/11.
  America is home to one of the most diverse Muslim populations in the 
world, including people of almost every ethnicity, country and school 
of thought.
  Approximately one third of the community is African American, one 
third is of South Asian descent, one quarter is of Arab descent, and 
the rest are from all over the world, including a growing Latino Muslim 
population.
  While exact numbers are difficult to establish, there are between 3-6 
million American Muslims. About one half of this population was born in 
the U.S., a percentage that continues to grow as immigration slows and 
younger individuals start having families.
  American Muslims are present in all walks of life, as doctors and 
taxi drivers; lawyers and newspaper vendors; accountants, homemakers, 
academics, media personalities, athletes, and entertainers.
  Although American Muslims make up approximately one percent of the 
U.S. population, most Americans can name several famous American 
Muslims. Names like Muhammad Ali, Malcolm X, Mos Def, Fareed Zakaria, 
Shaquille O'Neal, Lupe Fiasco, Dr. Oz and Rima Fakih are part of our 
popular consciousness.
  Important business figures like Farooq Kathwari (CEO of Ethan Allen), 
Malik M. Hasan (a pioneer in the field of HMOs), and Safi Qureshey (a 
leader in PC component manufacturing) are all American Muslims.
  Many American Muslims are also civically engaged, working with their 
neighbors to better their communities. Well-known American Muslim 
leaders include Rep. Keith Ellison (DFL-Minn.), the first American 
Muslim to be elected to the U.S. Congress; Rep. Andre Carson (D-Ind.); 
Mohammed Hameeduddin (Mayor, Teaneck, N.J.); and Amer Ahmad 
(Comptroller, Chicago).
  Nevertheless, levels of Islamophobia are so high that the United 
Nations Human rights Council has declared it an issue of ``epidemic 
proportions.''
  Atrocities have been occurring across the globe, from hate-messages 
spray-painted on buildings in America to the violent genocide of the 
Uyghurs in China.
  The United States State Department estimated that up to 2 million 
members of Muslim minorities have experienced a system on detention 
centers in Xinjiang, known political indoctrination, forced labor, 
torture, and sexual abuse.
  The US, UK, and Canada have accused China of committing genocide and 
crimes against humanity against Muslim populations at Xinjiang.
  In 2018, UN investigators accused the Myanmar's military of carrying 
out mass killings of Muslim populations with ``genocidal intent.''
  There are reports of attacks on mosques in Southeast Asia and Iran, a 
history of anti-Muslim sentiments and attacks in Sri Lanka, police 
targeting against Shia Muslims in Southeast Asia again, massacres of 
Muslim people in New Zealand, and Islamophobic hate-speech in Canada. 
We have to demand justice for Muslims and better treatment for all 
religions.
  This global injustice must be addressed and rectified and the United 
States must step up to spearhead the movement.

[[Page H7658]]

  We need to establish a comprehensive plan for combating Islamophobia 
not only to ensure the religious freedom and human rights of Muslims, 
but to protect against a threat to international religious freedom and 
democratic principles.
  The Combating International Islamophobia Act will require the State 
department to create a Special Envoy for monitoring and combating 
Islamophobia answering the call of the American Muslim community for 
the past two decades.
  The envoy will work with domestic and international nongovernmental 
organizations and institutions to carry out its directives.
  The special envoy will give reports on acts of physical violence or 
harassment against Muslim people as well as acts of vandalism of Muslim 
community institutions like schools, mosques, and cemeteries.
  Regarding anti-Muslim government actions, the envoy will monitor 
instances of propaganda in media that attempt to justify or promote 
racial hatred or incite acts of violence against Muslim people.
  With the new wealth of information this envoy will bring, 
policymakers will have a better understanding of the interconnected, 
global problem of anti-Muslim bigotry.
  As part of our commitment to international religious freedom and 
human rights, we must recognize Islamophobia as a pattern that is 
repeating in nearly every corner of the globe.
  It is past time for the United States to stand firmly in favor of 
religious freedom for all, and to give the global problem of 
Islamophobia the attention and prioritization it deserves.
  I urge all members to join me in voting for the rule and the 
underlying legislation, H.R. 5665, the ``Combating International 
Islamophobla Act.''
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, my good friend and colleague from Texas mentioned George 
W. Bush in her remarks. That is certainly a blast from the past. I was 
actually too young to even vote for President Bush when he was running 
in the primary. So I say that respectfully for my good friend from 
Texas.
  But when we are talking about blasts from the past, the American 
people have not paid this much at the pump since the last time Biden 
was in the White House. It is true. The national average of gasoline is 
currently $3.32. Americans are paying 54 percent more nationally for a 
gallon of gas. In some parts of the United States the price for a 
gallon of gas has reached $7.59 a gallon.
  So with Biden in the White House we are repeating ourselves once 
again--a blast from the past--and the American people are, 
unfortunately, paying every day at the gas pump.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Mullin), my good friend, who is going to talk about that.
  Mr. MULLIN. Mr. Speaker, what we are seeing here from the Democrats 
is just a distraction. They are just trying to distract the American 
people from what is really happening.
  What is it the American people are upset about?
  What is it that they are concerned about?
  How about what they are paying. We can talk about the groceries, and 
we can talk about what they are paying at the gas pump, so let's talk 
about that real quick.
  If we are really serious about doing something that is important to 
the American people, then let's start with H.R. 6235 to address the 
high energy prices our country is seeing right now. Gas prices are at a 
7-year high. On November 23, the Biden administration announced the 
Department of Justice will sell 50 million barrels out of the Strategic 
Petroleum Reserve in an attempt to bring down gas prices.
  What a joke. We consume roughly 20 billion barrels a day in the 
United States, and to say we are going to release 50 billion out of the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve to bring down gas prices?
  That is nothing but another game, like this bill that we are talking 
about today debating. It is nothing but smoke and mirrors just trying 
to distract the American people to say: Hey, look, we are fighting; we 
are trying to do something.
  H.R. 6235 would require the Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to 
increase oil and gas production on Federal lands in conjunction with 
drawing down the oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.
  If any President attempts to tap into the SPR for political reasons, 
the Strategic Production Response Act would require a plan to increase 
U.S. energy production at the same time. The SPR was established by 
Congress to respond to an emergency, not to manipulate gasoline prices.
  The administration's anti-fossil fuel agenda is contributing to the 
record-high energy prices which is driving up inflation and household 
bills. It is projected to cost some families up to 54 percent more to 
heat their homes this winter. If President Biden and the Democrats want 
to be serious about bringing down costs to the families, they would 
stop the attack on American petroleum.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and 
take up this bill.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we are considering the Combating International 
Islamophobia Act right now, and my good friend from Pennsylvania in the 
very beginning made reference to the fact that Republicans are all 
united in condemning hate, prejudice, and bigotry wherever it exists. 
But I just want to point out why this bill is so important. It is 
because the last Republican President who we had, unfortunately, it was 
like gasoline on a fire in terms of promoting Islamophobia.
  In 2015, Donald Trump said that he would look at closing mosques in 
the United States. That same year he was open to the idea of creating a 
database of all U.S. Muslims. As President, he instituted a Muslim ban. 
So that is the Republican Party's recent history in terms of combating 
Islamophobia. Instead of combating it, he, again, threw gasoline on the 
fire and fanned the flames.
  So the reason why this is important is so that we can show the world 
that that is not who we are and that we reject bigotry, hatred, 
discrimination, and prejudice wherever it exists. The statistics are 
clear: we see a rising tide of Islamophobia all throughout the world.
  This should not be controversial. This, quite frankly, should be a 
suspension. That it has been politicized by some of my friends on the 
other side of the aisle is unfortunate, but I hope that some of them 
will at the end join with us in voting to pass it.
  I reserve the balance of my time, Mr. Speaker.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Burgess), who is my good friend and fellow Rules 
Committee member.
  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will immediately 
consider the Strategic Production Response Act which will require the 
Secretary of Energy to develop a plan to increase energy production on 
Federal lands if oil in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is used without 
a severe energy supply interruption. In November, the Biden 
administration announced the release of 50 million barrels of oil from 
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to manipulate the market and address 
high energy prices that were created by his policies.
  On his first day in office, President Biden weakened America's energy 
independence by rejoining the Paris climate agreement, blocking new 
energy development on Federal lands, and killing the Keystone pipeline. 
These are just a few examples of how this President's policies have 
slowed our Nation's economic recovery and will prevent us from 
reclaiming true energy independence.
  Releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve without an 
emergency declaration is unprecedented. No severe supply disruption 
exists, only a President who seeks to enact radical Green New Deal 
policies. Low Presidential approval ratings are not the emergency that 
Congress envisioned when the Strategic Petroleum Reserve was 
established in 1975.

  The path to affordable energy is simple: increase supply to meet 
demand. Congress must reverse the policies that limit production of 
energy here at home. Clean energy is a priority for all Americans, but 
hurting domestic producers will only increase our Nation's dependence 
on dirty energy products from Russia, China, and the Middle East which 
are inherently less clean than American energy.

[[Page H7659]]

  In conclusion, the Strategic Production Response Act ensures that a 
plan is in place to increase energy production before any President may 
use the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for purely political purposes.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous 
question so we can consider this amendment.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a September 7 Associated Press 
article titled ``Two Decades After 9/11, Muslim Americans Still 
Fighting Bias.''

                        [From AP, Sept. 7, 2021]

      Two Decades After 9/11, Muslim Americans Still Fighting Bias

       New York (AP)--A car passed, the driver's window rolled 
     down and the man spat an epithet at two little girls wearing 
     their hijabs: ``Terrorist!''
       It was 2001, mere weeks after the twin towers at the World 
     Trade Center fell, and 10-year-old Shahana Hanif and her 
     younger sister were walking to the local mosque from their 
     Brooklyn home.
       Unsure, afraid, the girls ran.
       As the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks 
     approaches, Hanif can still recall the shock of the moment, 
     her confusion over how anyone could look at her, a child, and 
     see a threat.
       ``It's not a nice, kind word. It means violence, it means 
     dangerous. It is meant to shock whoever . . . is on the 
     receiving end of it,'' she says.
       But the incident also spurred a determination to speak out 
     for herself and others that has helped get her to where she 
     is today: a community organizer strongly favored to win a 
     seat on the New York City Council in the upcoming municipal 
     election.
       Like Hanif, other young American Muslims have grown up 
     under the shadow of 9/11. Many have faced hostility and 
     surveillance, mistrust and suspicion, questions about their 
     Muslim faith and doubts over their Americanness.
       They've also found ways forward, ways to fight back against 
     bias, to organize, to craft nuanced personal narratives about 
     their identities. In the process, they've built bridges, 
     challenged stereotypes and carved out new spaces for 
     themselves.
       There is ``this sense of being Muslim as a kind of 
     important identity marker, regardless of your relationship 
     with Islam as a faith,'' says Eman Abdelhadi, a sociologist 
     at The University of Chicago who studies Muslim communities. 
     ``That's been one of the main effects in people's lives . . . 
     it has shaped the ways the community has developed.''
       A poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public 
     Affairs Research conducted ahead of the 9/11 anniversary 
     found that 53% of Americans have unfavorable views toward 
     Islam, compared with 42% who have favorable ones. This stands 
     in contrast to Americans' opinions about Christianity and 
     Judaism, for which most respondents expressed favorable 
     views.
       Mistrust and suspicion of Muslims didn't start with 9/11, 
     but the attacks dramatically intensified those animosities.
       Accustomed to being ignored or targeted by low-level 
     harassment, the country's wide-ranging and diverse Muslim 
     communities were foisted into the spotlight, says Youssef 
     Chouhoud, a political scientist at Christopher Newport 
     University in Virginia.
       ``Your sense of who you were was becoming more formed, not 
     just Muslim but American Muslim,'' he says. ``What 
     distinguished you as an American Muslim? Could you be fully 
     both, or did you have to choose? There was a lot of grappling 
     with what that meant.''
       In Hanif's case, there was no blueprint to navigate the 
     complexities of that time.
       ``Fifth-grader me wasn't naive or too young to know Muslims 
     are in danger,'' she later wrote in an essay about the 
     aftermath of 9/11. ``. . . Flashing an American flag from our 
     first-floor windows didn't make me more American. Born in 
     Brooklyn didn't make me more American.''
       A young Hanif gathered neighborhood friends, and an older 
     cousin helped them write a letter to then-President George W. 
     Bush asking for protection.
       ``We knew,'' she says, ``that we would become like warriors 
     of this community.''
       But being warriors often carries a price, with wounds that 
     linger.
       Ishaq Pathan, 26, recalls the time a boy told him he seemed 
     angry and wondered if he was going to blow up their 
     Connecticut school.
       He remembers the helplessness he felt when he was taken 
     aside at an airport for additional questioning upon returning 
     to the United States after a college semester in Morocco.
       The agent looked through his belongings, including the 
     laptop where he kept a private journal, and started reading 
     it.
       ``I remember being like, `Hey, do you have to read that?''' 
     Pathan says. The agent ``just looks at me like, `You know, I 
     can read anything on your computer. I'm entitled to anything 
     here.' And at that point, I remember having tears in my eyes. 
     I was completely and utterly powerless.''
       Pathan couldn't accept it.
       ``You go to school with other people of different 
     backgrounds and you realize . . . what the promise of the 
     United States is,'' he says. ``And when you see it not living 
     up to that promise, then I think it instills in us a sense of 
     wanting to help and fix that.''
       He now works as the San Francisco Bay Area director for the 
     nonprofit Islamic Networks Group, where he hopes to help a 
     younger generation grow confident in their Muslim identity.
       Pathan recently chatted with a group of boys about their 
     summer activities. At times, the boys ate watermelon or 
     played on a trampoline. At other moments, the talk turned 
     serious: What would they do if a student pretended to blow 
     himself up while yelling ``Allahu akbar,'' or ``God is 
     great?'' What can they do about stereotypical depictions of 
     Muslims on TV?
       ``I had always viewed 9/11 as probably one of the most 
     pivotal moments of my life and of the lives of Americans 
     across the board,'' Pathan says. ``The aftermath of it . . . 
     is what pushed me to do what I do today.''
       That aftermath has also helped motivate Shukri Olow to do 
     what she is doing--run for office.
       Born in Somalia, Olow fled civil war with her family and 
     lived in refugee camps in Kenya for years before coming to 
     the United States when she was 10.
       She found home in a vibrant public housing complex in the 
     city of Kent, south of Seattle. There, residents from 
     different countries communicated across language and cultural 
     barriers, borrowing salt from each other or watching one 
     another's kids. Olow felt she flourished in that environment.
       Then 9/11 happened. She recalls feeling confused when a 
     teacher asked her, ``What are your people doing?'' But she 
     also remembers others who ``said that this isn't our fault . 
     . . and we need to make sure that you're safe.''
       In a 2017 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. Muslims, 
     nearly half of respondents said they experienced at least one 
     instance of religious discrimination within the year before; 
     yet 49% said someone expressed support for them because of 
     their religion in the previous year.
       Overwhelmingly, the study found respondents proud to be 
     both Muslim and American. For some, including Olow, there 
     were occasional identity crises growing up.
       `` `Who am I?'--which I think is what many young people 
     kind of go through in life in general,'' she says. ``But for 
     those of us who live at the intersection of anti-Blackness 
     and Islamophobia . . . it was really hard.''
       But her experiences from that time also helped form her 
     identity. She is now seeking a seat on the King County 
     Council.
       ``There are many young people who have multiple identities 
     who have felt that they don't belong here, that they are not 
     welcomed here,'' she says. ``I was one of those young people. 
     And so, I try to do what I can to make sure that more of us 
     know that this is our nation, too.''
       After 9/11, some American Muslims chose to dispel 
     misconceptions about their faith by building personal 
     connections. They shared coffee or broke bread with strangers 
     as they fielded myriad questions--from how Islam views women 
     and Jesus to how to combat extremism.
       Mansoor Shams has traveled across the U.S. with a sign that 
     reads: ``I'm Muslim and a U.S. Marine, ask anything.'' It's 
     part of the 39-year-old's efforts to teach others about his 
     faith and counter hate through dialogue.
       Shams, who served in the Marines from 2000 to 2004, was 
     called names like ``Taliban,'' ``terrorist'' and ``Osama bin 
     Laden'' by some of his fellow Marines after 9/11.
       One of his most memorable interactions, he says, was at 
     Liberty University in Virginia, where he spoke in 2019 to 
     students of the Christian institution. Some, he says, still 
     call him with questions about Islam.
       ``There's this mutual love and respect,'' he says.
       Shams wishes his current work wasn't needed but feels a 
     responsibility to share a counternarrative he says many 
     Americans don't know.
       Ahmed Ali Akbar, 33, came to a different conclusion.
       Shortly after 9/11, some adults in his community arranged 
     for an assembly at his school in Saginaw, Michigan, where he 
     and other students talked about Islam and Muslims. Akbar 
     poured his heart into the research. But he recalls his 
     confusion at some of the questions: Where is bin Laden? 
     What's the reason behind the attacks?
       ``How am I supposed to know where Osama bin Laden is? I'm 
     an American kid,'' he says.
       That period left him feeling like trying to change people's 
     minds wasn't always effective, that some were not ready to 
     listen.
       Akbar eventually turned his focus toward telling stories 
     about Muslim Americans on his podcast ``See Something Say 
     Something.''
       ``There's a lot of humor in the Muslim American experience 
     as well,'' he says. ``It's not all just sadness and reaction 
     to the violence and . . . racism and Islamophobia.''
       He has also come to believe in building connections of a 
     different type. ``Our battle for our civil liberties (is) 
     tied up with other marginalized communities,'' he says, 
     stressing the importance of advocating for them.
       For some, 9/11 brought a different kind of racial 
     reckoning, says Debbie Almontaser, a Yemeni American educator 
     and activist in New York.
       She says many Arab and South Asian immigrants came to the 
     U.S. seeking the American Dream as doctors, lawyers, 
     entrepreneurs. ``Then 9/11 happens and they realize that 
     they're brown and they realize that they're minorities--that 
     was a huge wake-up call,'' Almontaser says.

[[Page H7660]]

       Some racial tensions play out today in U.S. Muslim 
     communities. The racial justice protests sparked by the 
     killing of George Floyd, for instance, brought many Muslims 
     to the streets to condemn racism. But they also spurred an 
     internal reckoning about racial equity among Muslims, 
     including the treatment of Black Muslims.
       ``For me, as a Muslim African American, my struggle (in 
     America) is still with race and identity,'' says imam Ali 
     Aqeel of the Muslim American Cultural Center in Nashville, 
     Tennessee.
       ``When we go to (Islamic) centers and we have to deal with 
     the same pain that we deal with out in the world, it's kind 
     of discouraging to us because we're under the impression that 
     (in) Islam, you don't have that racial and ethnic divide.''
       Amirah Ahmed, 17, was born after the attacks and feels like 
     she was thrust into a struggle not of her making--a burden 
     despite being ``just as American as anyone else.''
       She recalls how a few years ago at her Virginia school's 9/
     11 commemoration, she felt students' stares at her and her 
     hijab so intensely that she wanted to skip the next year's 
     event.
       When her mother dismissed the idea, she instead wore her 
     Americanness as a shield, donning an American flag headscarf 
     to address her classmates from a podium.
       Ahmed spoke about honoring the lives of those who died in 
     America on 9/11--but also of Iraqis who died in the war 
     launched in 2003. She recalls defending her Arab and Muslim 
     identities that day while displaying her American one and 
     says it was a ``really powerful moment.''
       But she hopes her future children don't feel the need to 
     prove they belong.
       ``Our kids are going to be (here) well after the 9/11 
     era,'' she says. ``They should not have to continue fighting 
     for their identity.''

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, a recent poll, as I mentioned earlier, 
found that 53 percent of Americans, unfortunately, hold negative views 
of Muslims--53 percent. Islamophobia isn't just a problem abroad. We 
need to combat it here at home as well.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a December 9 report released by 
the Department of Justice titled ``2020 Hate Crimes Statistics.''

                      2020 Hate Crimes Statistics

       In August 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 
     released Hate Crime Statistics 2020, an annual compilation of 
     bias-motivated incidents in the United States. Though the 
     number of reporting agencies decreased by 452 since 2019, the 
     overall number of reported incidents increased by 949, 
     contributing to a total of 8,263 hate crime incidents against 
     11,126 victims in 2020. While annual law enforcement agency 
     participation may fluctuate, the statistics indicate that 
     hate crimes remain a concern for communities across the 
     country.
       According to this year's data, 62% of victims were targeted 
     because of the offenders' bias toward race/ethnicity/
     ancestry, which continues to be the largest bias motivation 
     category. Participating agencies reported 5,227 race/
     ethnicity/ancestry-based incidents in 2020, a 32% increase 
     from 2019. Anti-Black or African American hate crimes 
     continue to be the largest bias incident victim category, 
     with 2,871 incidents in 2020, a 49% increase since 2019. 
     Additionally, there were 279 anti-Asian incidents reported in 
     2020, a 77% increase since 2019. The other largest categories 
     of hate crimes include anti-Hispanic or Latino incidents, 
     with 517, and anti-White incidents, with 869 in total.
       Incidents related to religion decreased 18% from 2019, with 
     1,244 total incidents reported. The largest category 
     included:
       683 anti-Jewish incidents, down 28% since 2019;
       110 anti-Muslim incidents, down 38%;
       15 anti-Buddhist incidents, up 200%; and
       89 anti-Sikh incidents, up 83%.
       Incidents related to disability decreased 17% from 2019, 
     with 130 total incidents reported. By category:
       Anti-mental disability incidents decreased by 29% since 
     2019, and
       Anti-physical disability incidents increased by 8%.
       Incidents related to gender and gender identity increased 
     since 2019 with increases in gender-related incidents by 9% 
     and gender identity-related incidents by 34%. There were:
       50 anti-female incidents, a decrease of 4% since 2019;
       25 anti-male incidents, an increase of 47%;
       213 anti-transgender incidents, an increase of 41%; and
       53 anti-gender non-conforming incidents, an increase of 
     13%.
       See the Hate Crimes website for more highlights from the 
     data: https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/hate-crime-
 statistics. The full data set can be found on the FBI's Crime 
     Data Explorer website at https://crime-data-
     explorer.app.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/hate-crime.
       The FBI Hate Crime Statistics is an annual compilation of 
     bias-motivated incidents in the United States. For the 
     purpose of the report, a hate crime is defined as a criminal 
     offense which is motivated, in whole or in part, by the 
     offender's bias(es) against a person based on race, 
     ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, 
     disability, gender, and gender identity. The 2020 data 
     provides information voluntarily submitted from 15,136 of 
     18,623 law enforcement agencies around the country on 
     offenses, victims, offenders, and locations of hate crimes.

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, according to FBI statistics, in 2020 there 
were 110 anti-Muslim incidents, and there were an additional 89 hate 
crimes against Sikhs who are often wrongly identified as Muslim.
  We know that hate crimes often go under-reported, so the actual 
number is likely much higher, which is another reason I think passing 
this bill is important.
  I include in the Record a September 10 Business Insider article 
titled ``House Republicans Mocked Ilhan Omar's Bill to Establish an 
Envoy to Combat Islamophobia Worldwide.''

               [From the Business Insider, Dec. 10, 2021]

  House Repubicans Mocked Ilhan Omar's Bill To Establish an Envoy To 
                     Combat Islamophobia Worldwide

                            (Bryan Metzger)

       In the wake of Rep. Lauren Boebert's Islamophobia comments 
     suggesting that Rep. Ilhan Omar was a suicide bomber, House 
     Republicans spent much of a Thursday hearing mocking a bill 
     put forth by the Muslim Minnesota congresswoman to combat 
     Islamophobia worldwide.
       ``I have many Pennsylvania Dutch that feel that they're not 
     treated properly,'' said Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania, 
     sarcastically calling for their inclusion in Omar's 
     Islamophobia bill. ``How about those that are gay, you know, 
     the LGBTQ community? That should be part of this bill.''
       ``Let's keep going, you know, there are people that are 
     overweight, and there are skinny kids that get picked on,'' 
     Meuser added. ``Why aren't they included in this as well?''
       Rep. Omar's bill, which she introduced in late October 
     alongside Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, would 
     require the State Department to establish a special envoy for 
     monitoring and combating Islamophobia and is modeled after a 
     similar position created in 2004 to combat anti-Semitism.
       ``For over a decade we have seen increasing incidents of 
     violent Islamophobia both in the US and worldwide--from the 
     genocide of the Rohingya in Burma, and Uyghurs in China, to 
     the attacks on Muslim refugees in Canada and New Zealand,'' 
     Rep. Schakowsky said at the time.
       ``Hate crimes against American Muslims saw a 17% spike in 
     2017, when then-President Trump imposed a travel ban most 
     focused on majority-Muslim nations.
       The bill ultimately passed the House Foreign Relations 
     Committee on Friday, with every Democrat voting in favor and 
     every Republican opposed, and is expected to head to a full 
     House vote on Tuesday. Democratic leadership is reportedly 
     considering a vote on the bill as way to respond to the 
     Boebert controversy, even as progressive lawmakers have 
     introduced a resolution to strip Boebert of her committees.
       House Republican leaders, including Minority Leader Kevin 
     McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise, have declined to 
     forcefully condemn Boebert's Islamophobia rhetoric or take 
     any meaningful action against her.


                      `Shameful and embarrassing'

       On Thursday evening, Republicans used both proposed 
     amendments to Omar's bill and comments during the hearing to 
     mock both the bill and Omar herself, in addition to 
     downplaying Islamophobia.
       Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio, who accidentally 
     posted an image from an anti-Semitic website in 2017, said 
     that Omar's bill would ``trivialize'' anti-Semitism, given 
     the existence of another State Department post to combat that 
     form of bigotry. ``We should avoid such a dangerous false 
     equivalency at all costs, as it could be used by some 
     extremists to actually justify further anti-Semitic 
     activity,'' said Chabot.
       ``If you ask 20 different people what Islamophobia means 
     today, especially in the Democratic Party, you're going to 
     get 20 different answers,'' said the Florida Republican. 
     ``And that answer is going to be what they decide best fits 
     their political narrative to go out there and attack you.''
       And Republican Rep. Ken Buck of Ohio offered an amendment 
     to specify that it ``shall not be considered Islamophobia for 
     an individual to criticize a brother marrying a sister for 
     the purpose of committing immigration fraud in the United 
     States,'' an apparent reference to long-standing right-wing 
     conspiracy theories about the congresswoman.
       As of publication time, the amendment was no longer 
     available on the House Foreign Relations Committee website 
     and was presumably withdrawn. Rep. Buck's office did not 
     respond to Insider's request for comment.
       But other amendments by Buck, including one mentioning 
     female genital mutilation, remained online. Another amendment 
     offered by Republican Rep. Scott Perry of Pennsylvania sought 
     to exclude ``any action (to include counter-terrorism 
     measures) taken by the Israeli Government'' from the bill.
       In a statement to Insider, Omar condemned Republican 
     behavior during the hearing.
       ``It is shameful and embarrassing that the Republican 
     Party's response to blatant Islamophobia and incitement of 
     violence is

[[Page H7661]]

     to double down on anti-Muslim rhetoric,'' she said. ``Instead 
     of engaging in a good faith discussion on how to address the 
     rise of Islamophobic violence, Republicans engaged in ad 
     hominem attacks, belittled Muslims, and minimized the pain of 
     Muslim communities around the world.''
       And Democrats on the committee sought to defend Omar's 
     bill.
       ``One reason the United States is doing a diplomatic 
     boycott of the Olympics in China is because China's engaging 
     in a genocide of Muslims, of the Uyghurs, because of their 
     religion,'' said Rep. Ted Lieu of California. ``The Rohingya 
     in Burma were slaughtered because they were Muslims.''
       He also called attention to Boebert's Islamophobic remarks.
       ``We had a congressmember from the Republican Party joke 
     about a congressmember in the Democratic Party, that somehow 
     she was a terrorist simply because of a religion,'' Lieu 
     said. ``That's Islamophobia.''

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't know what the hell is going on in 
some corners of the Republican Conference, but to have Republican 
Members mock this bill, as they did during a recent committee hearing, 
is disgusting. This is no laughing matter. In fact, it is a matter of 
life and death.
  We are talking about violence, death threats, bullying, desecrating 
mosques, and worse. Instances like that just show why we need to pass 
this bill.
  Again, my Republican friends, as they do oftentimes when we have 
important matters like this up, they want to talk about everything 
except what is on the floor. But the reason why this is important is 
because I think we should show the world that we speak with one voice; 
that we are against hatred; that we are against bigotry; that we will 
not stand by silently in the face of Islamophobia; that we want to be 
an example, and we want to lead the rest of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume 
to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise).
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Pennsylvania for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the underlying legislation that we 
are trying to bring to the floor which, if we defeat the previous 
question, would actually come up to confront a major problem facing 
families.
  If you look over the last few weeks, Mr. Speaker, this Congress has 
done a lot of things. It has spent a lot of money. There was a bill 
just 2 weeks ago to raise over $4.5 trillion in taxes and new spending, 
which would fuel inflation even higher.
  What families across America are telling us is: Why doesn't Congress 
work for those families who are struggling?
  Why doesn't Congress work to confront the challenges they are facing 
every single day?
  It seems as if this majority is tone-deaf to the real problems that 
are hurting families today. It is inflation, and it is the spending in 
Washington that is driving that inflation. And one of those leading 
indicators is the high price of gasoline because it is something that 
maybe multiple times a week families have to go fill up their car. They 
pay over $150 to do it, and they can't afford it.
  So we have a bill to actually do something about that, something we 
haven't seen on this floor for weeks. It is a bill to actually confront 
a crisis that was created by this President. Unfortunately, there are 
crises after crises that have been created by President Biden.
  One of those is an energy crisis self-created by President Biden. 
When he walked in the door prices were 40 to 60 percent less for 
gasoline. When you go to the grocery store everything is more 
expensive, Mr. Speaker; and if you are shopping for Christmas, things 
are more expensive if you can even find those gifts that you want to 
put under the tree.
  So here we bring a bill, if we are able to defeat this previous 
question, to confront one of these challenges. And that is how this 
President has abused the Strategic Petroleum Reserve because the 
Strategic Petroleum Reserve is not supposed to be a piggy bank to cover 
up for the failed policies of the Biden administration. Yet that is 
what they have done.
  Mr. Speaker, when you saw the President raid the SPR the other day, 
we actually had an increase in prices because people recognize this 
President isn't serious about addressing the problem.
  This bill by Republican Leader McMorris Rodgers of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee, as well as Fred Upton, myself, and others would 
force the Departments of the Interior and Energy to confront this 
crisis.
  By the way, when President Biden goes and begs OPEC and Russia to 
produce more oil, how about we start here at home where we have 
actually got a surplus?

                              {time}  1345

  We were exporting oil to our friends all around the world, helping 
our friends geopolitically. And that was undermined when President 
Biden cut off the Keystone pipeline, cut off production on Federal 
lands, but he greenlighted the Russian pipeline. He begged OPEC to 
produce more oil, which, by the way, emits more carbon if that is what 
you are concerned about.
  Mr. Speaker, why don't we focus on those things that will help 
American jobs and help lower carbon emissions? That is producing more 
American energy, and do you know what else it does? It lowers the price 
of gasoline. I urge rejection of the previous question.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Crenshaw), my good friend.
  Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, `tis the season of misplaced priorities. In the midst of 
rising inflation, labor shortages, open borders, and foreign policy 
blunders, my colleagues seem to think that Islamophobia is what 
Americans care about.
  I would rather talk about something that Americans actually care 
about: gassing up their cars and keeping the heat on. In November, 
President Biden said: `` . . . the reason Americans are facing high gas 
prices is because oil-producing countries and large companies have not 
ramped up the supply of oil quickly enough to meet the demand, and the 
smaller supply means higher prices. . . .''
  Well, that is true. But he is not making the point that he thinks he 
is. Yes, there is a lack of production, but the question is why. Why 
has the world's number one oil and gas producer, the United States, not 
been able to ramp up production? The answer is actually simple: because 
Joe Biden has made it a priority to kill the American energy industry.
  President Biden cancelled the Keystone pipeline, outlawed new oil and 
gas leases on Federal lands and waters, and has threatened even more 
burdensome regulations that put a freezing effect on any kind of new 
production that even Biden himself recognizes is needed.
  Of course, most recently, with the help of even my colleagues from 
Texas on the Democrat side, they managed to pass an unprecedented tax 
on natural gas through the House as part of their socialist spending 
package.
  It gets more interesting. In a letter to Speaker Pelosi, seven Texas 
Democrats put the natural gas tax in stark terms saying: This tax will 
``cost thousands of jobs, stifle economic recovery, increase energy 
costs for all Americans, strengthen our adversaries, and ultimately 
impede the transition to a lower carbon future.''
  These are very strong and very true words from my Democratic 
colleagues, but guess what? They voted for it anyways. And now 
Democrats are scrambling because they know Americans are starting to 
feel the pain of their policies. It has gotten so bad that Democrats 
are celebrating a two-cent decline in gas prices. Oh, I thank Joe Biden 
for the two-cent decline.
  It would be funny if it weren't so serious that the Energy Secretary 
doesn't even know that their plan to release from the strategic 
petroleum reserve was only about 2 days' worth of oil. There is nothing 
funny about this. And the administration responds by telling people to 
put on a sweater and buy an electric vehicle.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  You know, we face a lot of challenges in this country and, in large 
part, we are still trying to come out of a pandemic that the previous 
administration tried to ignore.

[[Page H7662]]

  We actually have done some good things. We passed a major 
infrastructure bill. In the previous administration we had 
infrastructure week and infrastructure month, and a press conference, 
but we actually passed a real infrastructure bill with bipartisan 
support over in the Senate and a handful of Republicans here.
  I say to the previous speaker, to suggest that the American people 
don't care about Islamophobia, I think, is insulting. I mean, you say 
that to the Muslim student being bullied in a classroom because of 
their faith, or say that to a Muslim worshipper at a mosque that has 
been attacked, or say that to a Muslim family that has been belittled 
because of ignorances being promoted by some, including some in this 
Chamber.
  I mean, please, the American people are good and decent. They do not 
want to accept prejudice and bigotry and hate and discrimination. They 
expect better.
  We heard some talk earlier about the Uyghurs, and we need to do more 
for the Uyghurs, which we are doing, but I got a little whiplash saying 
that we need to move faster to combat the atrocities against the Muslim 
Uyghur population, but then on the other hand, we are told that nobody 
cares. You can't have it both ways.
  But to suggest that the American people are indifferent to prejudice 
is something I won't accept.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  I didn't anticipate that we were going to talk about the pandemic, 
but since we are on the topic, let's just get one thing clear. There 
have been more deaths from this pandemic under President Biden than 
under President Trump. Remember, President Trump is the one that put 
forth Operation Warp Speed with our pharmaceutical industry to get a 
vaccine to market incredibly quick, in fact, in record-breaking time. 
So again, there were more deaths under President Biden than President 
Trump. So who is really ignoring the pandemic?
  Let's talk about the Uyghurs. The Chinese openly and proudly refer to 
Uyghur concentration camps as reeducation camps. It is a sin how the 
Chinese are trying to cover up the modern-day concentration camps they 
have. They claim they are necessary to ``rid them of terrorists and 
extremist leanings.''
  In these camps you have torture like sleep deprivation; people are 
being hung from walls; people are being locked in what is called a 
tiger chair, a steel chair with fixed leg irons and handcuffs that 
render their body immobile, often in very painful positions. Chinese 
officials have created a massive nearly week-long bonfire to burn 
documents that regard the oversight of these camps.

  It is time that we call out the Chinese Communist Party for the 
atrocities they are committing on the Uyghurs.
  When we are talking about legislation on this point it is actually 
the Speaker that slow-walked legislation by as much as 5 months. Let me 
explain the legislative history. The Senate passed the Uyghur Forced 
Labor Prevention Act, which bans imports of goods made with forced 
Uyghur labor, in July of 2021 unanimously. That was in the Senate. Top 
House Democrats pointed to a procedural issue and promised future 
action and then finally passed the bill in December. Again, a 5-month 
delay for what?
  Well, according to reports, the Speaker slow-walked this bill at the 
request of the Biden administration, who prioritized climate change and 
climate reforms over human rights violations in China. Further, the 
Biden administration asked that the bill be watered down, which is 
truly disgusting when you look at the human rights violations going on 
in China.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. 
Greene).
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the 
Islamophobia bill. One thing that seems to be missing from this bill is 
the definition of Islamophobia. What this bill does is it sets up, 
through the State Department, an envoy to monitor and combat acts of 
Islamophobia and Islamophobic incitement that occur in foreign 
countries. This is about Islamophobia in foreign countries and the 
State Department monitoring and combating these acts. This is what we 
need to talk about. What does that exactly mean?
  If we pass this resolution, does that mean our State Department is 
going to be monitoring how Israel responds when rockets are being fired 
from Hamas into Israel? If they defend themselves, does that mean the 
State Department is going to combat their actions because it will be 
considered Islamophobic? More questions need to be asked.
  In Europe, there are no-go zones with high crime statistics. As a 
matter of fact, rape is a modern occurrence that happens all the time 
in these no-go zones. So if women are raped by Muslims in no-go zones 
and they want to file charges against them, is our State Department 
going to be monitoring those trials and then combating these women's 
defense because they are claiming it is Islamophobic because Muslim men 
raped them and that becomes part of the conversation?
  What exactly does this mean, and why is our State Department taking 
this on? It shouldn't be. As a matter of fact, this is a bill that we 
should not be debating. This is a bill we should not be voting on 
because the United States State Department doesn't need to be 
monitoring and combating Islamophobia when it is not even defined in 
the bill for foreign countries; not the United States of America.
  I have heard a lot of conversation from my colleagues across the 
aisle about Islamophobia in America, which we completely are against 
hate of any kind against anyone. And that is why we have laws against 
such hateful crimes and actions. But monitoring what is happening in 
foreign countries, which the State Department does, doesn't mean that 
it needs to combat Islamophobia when it is not even defined in the 
bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman an additional 
15 seconds to summarize.
  Mrs. GREENE of Georgia. This is a vote for every single person in 
Congress that should be ``no'' because this is an open door with no end 
to the book of where this can go for the United States of America, and 
this is a role that we should not be engaging in.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I appreciate the fact that the gentleman yielded the gentlewoman more 
time because that made absolutely no sense to me.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania on 
the Uyghur thing; let me repeat the history again so it is clear to 
him. A year ago, we passed the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act in 
the House. It went over to the Senate. Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump 
killed it. Nobody said a word.
  The bill that passed last week that the gentleman was referring to is 
my bill. The bill that we are going to take up later today is my bill 
that we negotiated the differences between the House and Senate with 
Senator Rubio. The gentleman will be happy to know that the bill that 
we are passing today is stronger than the Senate-passed version. Maybe 
he would prefer a weaker version because that is what a lot of 
corporations that are very friendly to my Republican friends are now 
lobbying very hard for: a watered-down bill.
  So this bill is not watered down. It is a stronger bill than passed 
the Senate. I would even like it to be stronger. But please, don't 
politicize human rights in a way where I think, to be fair, my friend 
is mischaracterizing what the history of this issue is. I don't take a 
back seat to anybody when it comes to human rights or it comes to human 
rights with regard to the Uyghurs. We have been fighting for this for a 
long time and we finally have a Speaker of the House and a President of 
the United States who will sign this bill when it gets there. And I 
want to thank the leadership in the Senate. I want to thank Senator 
Rubio. I want to thank Congressman Smith here in the House, Ranking 
Member McCaul, and Chairman Meeks for their cooperation.
  But we are moving a bill forward that has teeth, that is real, that 
is tough. It is the strongest bill we have

[[Page H7663]]

ever passed on this. But please don't politicize it. I have been 
working on this too long.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time 
as I have no further speakers at this time, and I am prepared to close.

  I applaud Chairman McGovern for his work on this piece of 
legislation. I applaud Senator Rubio, of course, and my colleague, Mr. 
Smith of New Jersey, for working on the legislation. And just to 
clarify, when I was talking about the watered-down version that the 
administration is trying to water down, I was talking about the Senate 
version of this bill. If I misspoke, I want to clarify the Record now. 
That is what I was speaking to.
  But, again, I applaud anybody who is working on holding the Chinese 
Communist Party accountable for the atrocities they are committing on 
the Uyghurs. Let me be clear about something: House Republicans will 
continue to stand against all forms of hate and Islamophobia. We will 
continue to stand with Uyghurs in China and with all people 
experiencing religious persecution.
  Unfortunately, H.R. 5665, this piece of legislation, is a rushed 
bill. It presents serious First Amendment concerns. It will complicate 
existing efforts to protect human rights and religious freedom around 
the globe. It is also incredibly duplicative. We already have the 
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. We already have the 
Office of International Religious Freedom. We already have the U.S. 
Commission on International Religious Freedom. We already have 
institutions and bodies that are focused on this.
  For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the 
previous question and ``no'' on the rule. I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, let me just say again that this really shouldn't be 
controversial at all, and I am sad that it is being politicized by some 
of my friends on the other side of the aisle. We have heard one 
objection after the next to this bill which condemns Islamophobia as if 
somehow condemning Islamophobia is some sort of a radical idea.
  I never thought I would yearn for the Republicanism of George W. 
Bush. But maybe things have gotten so out of control in the Republican 
Party today that Members cannot even stand here and publicly defend a 
Muslim from bullying or worse. I pray that is not the case.
  Some things are about more than petty partisanship and towing the 
party line. This should be one of them.

                              {time}  1400

  We have kids being bullied in school, hate crimes on the rise, 
mosques targeted for violence. That is just here in America. Around the 
world, Muslims are being silenced from public discourse, forced into 
detention camps, or disappeared altogether.
  We are a Nation founded on the right to freedom of religion and 
freedom of worship. It is a fundamental part of being the United States 
of America. We must stand up and say that this is not right, the rise 
in Islamaphobia that we see globally.
  I want to recognize the leadership of Congresswoman Omar, 
Congresswoman Schakowsky, and Chairman Meeks. They understand that this 
is the right thing to do. It is the American thing to do. They have 
worked tirelessly to get this bill to the House floor.
  Now, we must get this bill over the finish line and on to the Senate 
because even today, even in this highly partisan era, the United States 
must and can still stand for human rights at home and abroad.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on this rule 
and the underlying legislation.
  The material previously referred to by Mr. Reschenthaler is as 
follows:

                   Amendment to House Resolution 849

       At the end of the resolution, add the following:
       Sec. 2. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the 
     House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the 
     bill (H.R. 6235) to provide for the development of a plan to 
     increase oil and gas production under oil and gas leases of 
     Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
     Agriculture, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of the 
     Interior, and the Secretary of Defense in conjunction with a 
     drawdown of petroleum reserves from the Strategic Petroleum 
     Reserve. 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 Energy and Commerce; and (2) one 
     motion to recommit.
       Sec. 3. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the 
     consideration of H.R. 6235.

  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 
move the previous question on the resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Johnson of Georgia). The question is on 
ordering the previous question.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. 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 are postponed.

                          ____________________