[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 123 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3673-H3680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        SCHOOLS NOT SHELTERS ACT

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 597, I call up 
the bill (H.R. 3941) to prohibit the use of the facilities of a public 
elementary school, a public secondary school, or an institution of 
higher education to provide shelter for aliens who have not been 
admitted into the United States, and for other purposes, and ask for 
its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 597, the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Education and the Workforce, printed in the bill, is adopted and the 
bill, as amended, is considered read.
  The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows:

                               H.R. 3941

       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 ``Schools Not Shelters Act''.

     SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON USE OF SCHOOL AND INSTITUTION 
                   FACILITIES TO SHELTER CERTAIN ALIENS.

       (a) In General.--As a condition on receipt of Federal 
     financial assistance under any applicable program by a public 
     elementary school, a public secondary school, or an 
     institution of higher education, the facilities of the school 
     or institution may not be used to provide shelter or housing 
     for specified aliens.
       (b) Construction.--Subsection (a) shall apply 
     notwithstanding subparagraphs (B) and (D) of section 
     401(b)(1) of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
     Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(b)(1)) and 
     paragraphs (2) and (4) of section 411(b) of such Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1621(b)).
       (c) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
       (1) The term ``applicable program'' has the meaning given 
     such term in section 400 of the General Education Provisions 
     Act (20 U.S.C. 1221).
       (2) The terms ``elementary school'' and ``secondary 
     school'' have the meaning given such terms in section 8101 of 
     the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
     7801).
       (3) The term ``Federal financial assistance'' has the 
     meaning given such term in section 7501(a)(5) of title 31, 
     United States Code.
       (4) The term ``institution of higher education''--
       (A) has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the 
     Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1002); and
       (B) does not include an institution that is not located in 
     a State.
       (5) The term ``shelter or housing''--
       (A) means emergency shelter or housing provided exclusively 
     to specified aliens under order of the Federal Government, a 
     State, or a unit of local government; and
       (B) does not include short-term emergency shelter made 
     necessary by a specified disaster.
       (6) The term ``specified alien'' means an alien (as defined 
     in section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 
     U.S.C. 1101(a))) who has not been admitted (as so defined).
       (7) The term ``specified disaster'' means--
       (A) a fire on public or private forest land or grassland 
     described in section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
     Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187); and
       (B) any fire, flood, explosion, hurricane, tornado, storm, 
     high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, 
     earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, 
     snowstorm, or drought for which a disaster declaration is 
     made by the Federal Government or a State.
       (8) The term ``State'' means any State of the United 
     States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin 
     Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the 
     Northern Mariana Islands.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 
1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce or their 
respective designees.
  After 1 hour of debate, it shall be in order to consider the further 
amendment printed in part B of House Report

[[Page H3674]]

118-147, if offered by the Member designated in the report, which shall 
be considered read, shall be separately debatable for the time 
specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent 
and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for a division of 
the question.
  The gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) and the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx).


                             General Leave

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 3941.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentlewoman from North Carolina?
  There was no objection.

                              {time}  1615

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3941, the Schools Not 
Shelters Act. In simplest terms, this bill ensures that any public K-12 
or postsecondary education institution that houses illegal aliens will 
not receive a penny of funding from hardworking taxpayers.
  Tens of thousands of illegal aliens are pouring into cities across 
the country, and this administration does nothing to secure the 
southern border. At its height in May, the average number of illegal 
border crossings averaged 10,000 per day. It is unsustainable and a 
slap in the face of Americans and those who come legally.
  What is worse, Biden's allies at the State and local level have 
proposed using public school facilities to accommodate the influx.
  Schools are for educating students, not housing illegal aliens. That 
statement shouldn't be controversial. Yet, somewhere along the way, the 
left diverged from reality and lost sight of what is best for students.
  Take New York, for example. New York City Mayor Eric Adams recently 
announced plans to allocate up to 30 public school gymnasiums as 
overflow to house illegal aliens. Governor Hochul doubled down by 
expressing interest in housing 1,500 illegal aliens in dorms at a few 
SUNY campuses.
  Adult illegal aliens, not children, were already being housed in 
Brooklyn at Public School 188 facilities by mid-May. Because of the 
thousands of migrants coming into New York City every week, New York 
City officials have stated they are in no position to take anything off 
the table when it comes to housing migrants.
  Unfortunately, these actions set a precedent for other localities to 
follow. For example, in Chicago, 800 illegal aliens are being housed in 
two colleges.
  H.R. 4931 puts a stop to this and for good reason. First, housing 
illegal aliens in public schools diverts educational resources away 
from students already reeling from the effects of prolonged school 
closures during the pandemic.
  An entire generation of students has fallen behind academically. If 
you want proof, look no further than the latest NAEP student test 
scores for math, reading, civics, and history. They are abysmal.
  Every educational resource available must be aimed at getting 
students back on track. Unfortunately, that is not a reality for many 
school districts.
  In El Paso, surges in illegal aliens required the city to spend 
$300,000 a day in 1 month alone. That is nearly $10 million in 1 month, 
every dollar of which should have gone to students and our citizens.
  Second, these policies drain institution budgets. It was reported 
that campuses within the University of Maine system that considered 
housing illegal aliens found that doing so would require millions to 
renovate unused facilities.
  Beyond giving an old building a facelift, consider the recurring 
costs: electricity, water, and transportation, and those are just the 
basics. Make no mistake; institutions that bear increased costs to 
house illegal aliens will ultimately transfer that burden to students 
through tuition hikes or the American taxpayer.
  Third, these actions perpetuate this administration's illegal border 
policies. Like many of the left's policies, they are shortsighted and 
do not address the root challenges that they are intended to solve. 
Housing illegal aliens in educational facilities is no different.
  President Biden caused this mess at the southern border. He, along 
with his allies at the local and State level, should be the ones paying 
for their disastrous policies, not schoolchildren or postsecondary 
students.
  Above all, consider this: No State, no city, no school district, and 
no institution is immune to the effects of an open border. Because of 
President Biden, every State has become a border State.
  What we are voting on in the Schools Not Shelters Act is a change of 
priorities; putting students and taxpayers above the failed policies of 
President Biden. The Schools Not Shelters Act sends a message that 
Republicans will not stand for the left's sanctuary cities that 
continue to run cover for this administration. Nothing outweighs the 
success and safety of students.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I speak in opposition to H.R. 3941, the scapegoating not 
solutions act. It is frustrating that we are taking up another proposal 
that, among other things, purports to improve school safety, yet does 
nothing to address school safety, does nothing to address learning 
loss, does nothing to address gun violence in the schools or improve 
students' mental health.
  Regrettably, so far this Congress, House Republicans' priorities for 
K-12 education focused entirely on culture wars.
  First, they passed legislation that would facilitate the banning of 
books. Then the House advanced a bill to seek to bar trans students 
from participating in sports activities.
  House Republicans are currently working on a budget that makes 
devastating cuts to Federal support of education.
  Now the House is considering yet another proposal to threaten to 
strip away funding from schools and institutions of higher learning if 
they use any of their facilities to temporarily house asylum seekers or 
undocumented immigrants in an emergency other than those caused by a 
disaster.
  The message is clear: If you do not support this extreme agenda, 
congressional Republicans will pull your support for education.
  Republicans have also falsely implied that temporarily using school 
facilities to provide shelter diverts educational resources from 
students already impacted by learning loss, and yet, they present no 
evidence to support this claim.
  We can't meaningfully address learning loss or meet students' mental 
health needs if we are talking about taking away Federal funds from 
schools and institutions of higher learning that are not aligned with 
the Republicans' extreme agenda.
  Republicans also claim that this bill is about school safety. Let's 
remember that this bill prohibits emergency sheltering of undocumented 
immigrants except due to disasters.
  If it is not a disaster, and it is an emergency, you can't house the 
immigrants. If it is not an emergency, there is no prohibition. You can 
house the undocumented immigrants all year just so long as it is not an 
emergency. If it is a disaster, there is no prohibition.
  You can also house other people. If it is school safety, how about 
housing defendants awaiting trial in pretrial detention or those on 
work release? How about housing them? No prohibition against that.
  This isn't about school safety. We can't talk about protecting school 
safety without addressing gun violence. The reality is that Republicans 
have done nothing about gun violence in schools, which we know causes 
the greatest threat to our children's safety.
  We have repeatedly said that any conversation about school safety 
that doesn't meaningfully address gun violence is not a serious 
conversation.
  H.R. 3941 does not address the real issues confronting our students 
today, and that is ending gun violence and helping students address 
learning loss and threatens to take funds away from

[[Page H3675]]

schools and institutions of higher learning.
  I, therefore, urge my colleagues to oppose the bill and reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may 
consume to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this so-called Schools 
Not Shelters Act, which should be called the shutting out students act 
to reflect what this cruel legislation actually does. It would punish 
public schools and colleges and their students for showing humanity.
  This is the second time in less than a month that the majority is 
bringing legislation to the floor that discriminates against and 
scapegoats vulnerable people based on their identity. It is the 
continuation of a trend that, unfortunately, we have seen in this 
Congress.
  Republicans claim that there is a crisis in American education, but 
their legislation on the floor today would deepen disparities rather 
than improve public education.
  I am disheartened by the continued attempts by my colleagues on the 
other side of the aisle to delegitimize public schools, the only 
schools that are required to serve everyone and turn no one away.
  Mr. Speaker, public schools are often used as shelters. I hope this 
bill does not become law, but if it did, what would public schools have 
to do--check everyone for citizenship before offering shelter to those 
in need?
  I point out if this bill were to become law and schools lost Federal 
funding because of it, that hurts students--not the people making the 
decision; the students.
  Title I funding, for example, is designed to help schools with high 
populations of low-income students. Title II supports professional 
development for educators. IDEA helps students with disabilities. 
Losing any of that funding would be detrimental to students and 
educators for showing humanity toward those in need. I urge my 
colleagues to check their values before they vote on this.
  Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress to improve public education and to 
help all students succeed in school and in college and in life. I have 
said repeatedly in committee hearings and in this Chamber, I am ready 
to come to the table with my colleagues and work on serious solutions 
to the challenges faced by students and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I know the ranking member talked about gun violence in 
schools. When I was home in June, a student said to me, I only have one 
more week of school, and then it means I got through the whole year 
without getting shot. Mr. Speaker, that is what is on students' minds. 
That is what they are concerned about.
  Mr. Speaker, the so-called Schools Not Shelters Act is not a serious 
solution. I urge my colleagues to reject this harmful legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to note that words matter. Presence in the United 
States of America without proper documents is a civil offense, not a 
criminal one, and I object to calling people illegal.
  Mr. Speaker, again, this is not a serious solution to the challenges 
facing our schools today. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to reject this harmful legislation.

                              {time}  1630

  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. Molinaro), who introduced this legislation.
  Mr. MOLINARO. Mr. Speaker, I was here earlier today, and my 
colleagues on the other side of the aisle--and I heard it again 
repeated just moments ago--were talking a lot about what this bill 
isn't. I am very familiar with what this bill is not.
  It isn't a fix to IDEA, although children like my own living with 
disabilities would love for us to effectively engage in that.
  This isn't a bill about ensuring vocational training, yet we want 
vocational training.
  This isn't a bill about other aspects of education.
  It is about one basic thing: Our schools are not to be used for 
shelters.
  We wouldn't be here today, nor would I be compelled to present this 
legislation, were it not for a failure of this Federal Government--by 
the way, I acknowledge it is for generations. This administration is 
not taking seriously the crisis at our border, a true humanitarian 
crisis.
  Earlier today, I heard my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
argue that Governors across this country shouldn't be in the business 
of moving undocumented immigrants from one State to another State.
  While I might share, and I do, from a very compassionate 
perspective--I spent 12 years as a local elected leader responsible for 
finding housing and shelter for unaccompanied minors. It was my job to 
take those individuals seeking asylum and find them locations, all in 
accordance with Federal law, shelters established under Federal law for 
the purposes of caring for people.
  We would not be here today, nor would this bill be even necessary, 
were it not for the reality that the city of New York made a choice. 
The city of New York made a decision to be a welcoming, sanctuary city 
and, by definition, welcomed individuals from around the world, 
irrespective of their status.
  Then, when they were confronted with this very real crisis that the 
White House and the Federal Government have ignored, the city of New 
York chose to declare that schools within New York City could be used 
as shelters.
  In one elementary school in Brooklyn, the gymnasium was being 
prepared to house migrants during the school year while children were 
in class. This led to after-school activities, including sports, being 
canceled. Additionally, in New York, Governor Kathy Hochul announced 
plans to house as many as 1,500 migrants at three different State 
universities in Albany, Buffalo, and Stony Brook.
  We wouldn't be in this position if the city of New York worked 
effectively to address the crisis within the city.
  Additionally, I heard earlier today that Governors from other States 
should have simply asked the President for financial help. Well, the 
same is true in the case of Eric Adams. He, in fact, did ask the 
President and the Federal Government for emergency action and 
additional financial assistance to contain the crisis within the city 
of New York and not export it to other parts of the State, and he was 
met with deafening silence.
  This is a crisis of significance, and I respect, truly respect, this 
desire to be a compassionate people, but it is not compassionate. It is 
not compassionate to displace schoolchildren or to close down schools 
and convert them into shelters. Earlier today, I was told that that 
never would happen while students were there.
  Well, schools during the summer months and entering into fall all 
across this country are used as centers of community. In some of the 
most vulnerable neighborhoods in America, gymnasiums are used for 
after-school and summer activities, athletics. The cafeteria is used 
for nutrition and school lunches and breakfasts, all there to meet the 
needs of needy families.
  For children like my own, schools across this country in the summer 
months are used to provide therapies and services to those with 
intellectual, physical, and developmental disabilities.
  I understand what this bill is not, and based on my 30 years of 
experience in public office, it is not meant to be cruel to anyone. 
There are families in neighborhoods and parents and single moms and 
dads in urban centers all across this country who just want the school 
used for their children. They want their government to take 
responsibility for their actions, whether it is a city that welcomes 
people from around the world or the Federal Government responsible for 
containing and addressing this humanitarian crisis where it begins, at 
our borders.
  Like all the other families across this country, I simply ask that 
Congress state this very clearly. This isn't about defunding anyone. 
This is about making clear that schools are for a single purpose, 
centers of community, education, and opportunity for our neighbors. 
They are not shelters. That

[[Page H3676]]

is what this bill affirms, a very basic sentiment.
  It is one that I confront, no matter how many words others try to put 
in our mouths, from a very compassionate perspective. Our kids have 
already lost too much, and schools should be used for the purpose of 
educating and empowering kids in our neighborhoods.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, prior to yielding to the 
gentleman from New York, I yield myself 1 minute to remind the 
gentleman about what his bill actually does. It does not prohibit the 
sheltering of anyone other than undocumented immigrants in an emergency 
short term. I mean, long term and not in an emergency, that is okay. 
Other people, that is okay.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Goldman).
  Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to 
H.R. 3941, which is an inhumane, xenophobic messaging bill that seeks 
to punish the local governments that are welcoming and supporting 
migrants arriving from collapsing authoritarian governments to pursue 
their American Dream.
  I come from New York City, which has embraced, housed, fed, 
vaccinated, and supported more than 80,000 migrants in the past year in 
the finest traditions of the home of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis 
Island, where my grandmother arrived in this country.

  We in New York City are incredibly proud of being what my 
distinguished colleague from New York refers to as a sanctuary city. I 
wish all of America could be a sanctuary country in the finest 
traditions of welcoming immigrants to our shores.
  In the past year, there has not been a single violent incident at any 
of the nearly 200 shelters housing newly arrived migrants in New York 
City--not one. You tell me another community of 80,000 people where 
there is not a single violent incident. I challenge everyone.
  It is a remarkable feat, and it demonstrates these individuals' 
desires, basic desires, to come and settle in this country and escape 
regimes that are cratering in Central and Latin America.
  Despite the excessive burdens on the city's infrastructure and 
budget, many of the counties represented by the Republican sponsors of 
this bill have refused to accept migrants, and now they are trying to 
make it even harder to temporarily house migrants around the State in 
places that are empty for the summer.
  This is simply another attempt by my colleagues on the other side of 
the aisle to demonize immigrants seeking a better life in this country, 
a continuation of the effort to sow fear, division, and hate around the 
country.
  My colleague from New York is right. We are in desperate need of 
immigration reform so that we can streamline and modernize our 
immigration system, boost our economy, and secure our borders. However, 
instead of using their majority to address our broken immigration 
system, Republicans are putting forward a meaningless and useless bill 
designed to scapegoat immigrants instead of solving our problems.
  If my colleagues on the other side of the aisle truly wanted to 
address the influx of migrants into our communities, they would work 
with us to alleviate the financial strain on cities all around the 
country. They would come together with us to allow these migrants to 
work legally, which would not only allow them to support their families 
but would help businesses in desperate need of labor from a workforce 
shortage, would boost our economy, and, of course, would have the 
benefit of helping our local governments.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to 
the gentleman from New York.
  Mr. GOLDMAN of New York. Mr. Speaker, this bill is not about 
protecting schools or children. It is the summertime, and the schools 
are mostly empty. If Republicans truly wanted to protect our schools 
and our children, they would instead focus on cracking down on rampant 
gun violence in our schools.
  Just this year, there have been 20 school shootings, and gun violence 
is now the leading cause of death of children in America. Parents are 
not worried about migrants in schools during the summer. Parents are 
worried that their children won't come home from school. Republicans, 
instead, do nothing to keep our children safe at school.
  Mr. Speaker, you can put lipstick on a pig, but dressing up your 
anti-immigrant xenophobia by invoking our schools does not change the 
fact that this bill is, in fact, covered by mud. I urge my colleagues 
to vote against this harmful bill.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Good), chair of the Health, Employment, Labor, and 
Pensions Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce Committee.
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I support the legislation today 
that will allow the Department of Education to withhold Federal funding 
from schools that house illegal aliens at public school facilities.
  This bill focuses on schools, but the issue here is only a symptom of 
a much larger problem, a blatant disrespect for the Federal immigration 
laws by this President and the Democratic Party at large.
  It is no coincidence that cities like New York and Chicago have 
announced plans to shelter hundreds of immigrants in school gyms and 
college dorms. These sanctuary cities are breaking the law by refusing 
to enforce Federal immigration policy.
  These cities blatantly defy the law of the land and then beg the 
Federal Government for money when they can't handle the consequences 
that come with their participation in unchecked illegal immigration.
  Americans have been suffering under this pattern of lawlessness for 
years, and it is time for it to stop. President Biden has violated his 
Article IV, Section 4 constitutional duty to protect the States from 
invasion, and now it is our American schoolchildren who are paying the 
price.
  I think the mother of a kindergartner and a second grader at a New 
York school said it best: ``Why would I bring my child to a school 
where there [are] grown adult men in their gym? You won't let a 
stranger come into the school with no ID, but you will let them live in 
your school gym?''
  Our schools should not be left vulnerable to the lawless immigration 
policies pushed by Democrats. This legislation provides the incentive 
for mayors and Governors to protect our children instead of encouraging 
Biden's border invasion policies that are harming Americans.
  The Biden border crisis impacts every part of our Nation: our 
national security, our health security, our education system, our 
welfare system, and now, even more so, our children in our public 
schools.
  When is enough enough? What is the endgame of these Democratic 
policies?
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to stand against the Biden 
administration's disastrous policies that harm our schoolchildren and 
support passage of this bill.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman, my good friend, the 
former and I hope future chairman of the Education and the Workforce 
Committee, for yielding.
  Why are my friends on the other side of the aisle trying to punish 
those who show basic decency? The so-called Schools Not Shelters Act 
targets one thing--compassion.
  Let me tell you a story. In September 2011, my community faced a 
sudden weather emergency with flooding. The combination of blocked 
culverts and relentless rainfall created a flood that swept through a 
very vulnerable mobile home community called Holly Acres in Woodbridge, 
Virginia.
  The damage to Holly Acres was swift and severe. Sixty percent of the 
homes in that community were left wholly condemned and uninhabitable. 
People were put out of their homes immediately.
  Thankfully, our local emergency personnel sprung into action. They 
conducted swift water rescues to save the lives of women and children 
who lived in this predominantly Hispanic community, largely 
undocumented, and evacuated them to our local high school for shelter.
  Immediately, my team and I descended on the scene. The instincts

[[Page H3677]]

from my experience in local government kicked in. We coordinated 
provisions of toys, of which there were none, and clothes. All they had 
were the wet clothes on their bodies. They couldn't access warm clothes 
on their own. Hot meals from the Red Cross, none of which had been 
planned, were distributed to this dislocated community, many of whom 
were still in wet clothes from their evacuation.
  If the Republicans have their way, this kind of tragedy would have 
been compounded by robbing the school system of desperately needed 
funding because they were undocumented. Well, from my point of view, 
they were human beings in need, emergent need. My values said that we 
had to reach out, that we had to help. Their status was immaterial. 
Their need, their compelling need in front of our faces, is what drove 
our actions.
  Thank God the school was able to shelter them. Subsequently, they 
were able to get housing.

                              {time}  1645

  These kinds of things happen all over the place, and my community 
wants to express its values in offering a helping hand irrespective of 
one's legal status in this country.
  Human beings are human beings.
  This legislation punishes those who show kindness in the face of such 
an emergency, and it does nothing to benefit our students or children. 
All it does is take away from our schools the crime of caring for 
others.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Bean), who is chair of the Early Childhood, Elementary, 
and Secondary Education Subcommittee of the Education and the Workforce 
Committee.
  Mr. BEAN of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank Dr. Foxx for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, what do parents worry about? According to a National PTA 
survey, American parents worry most about their child being bullied, 
and they worry about their child struggling socially and emotionally.
  What is not on the list? Their school being taken over by illegal 
immigrants. You would think American parents wouldn't have to worry 
about that, but yet here we are, because this is crazy town, and here 
in crazy town, the Biden administration is fixated on transforming 
America's public schools, our institutions for learning, into shelters 
for illegal immigrants.
  It is happening now, and we are already seeing elementary and 
secondary school facilities in cities like New York being converted 
into housing for immigrants who have illegally crossed our border.
  Let me be clear. This type of activity emphasizes the notion that an 
open border is the new normal. This is an attack on law and order and 
on American families who pay taxes into these schools so their children 
can get a good educational foundation.
  Housing illegal immigrants in school facilities creates a host of 
issues, including safety hazards, security threats, health risks for 
our children, and let's not forget, America's students are facing 
severe learning loss because of school closures during the COVID-19 
pandemic.
  I believe our schools are for educating students, not for supporting 
unhinged policies.
  I believe teachers should be our educators, not ICE agents.
  I believe school gyms and rec spaces should be for physical education 
and not for motel rooms.
  House Republicans are calling President Biden into the principal's 
office. We refuse to let this happen, and that is why we are tackling 
this issue head-on with H.R. 3941, the Schools Not Shelters Act.
  It says no to this dangerous initiative that threatens our children 
and distracts our schools from their core mission--to educate America's 
kids.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Vasquez).
  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, at the appropriate time I will offer a 
motion to recommit this bill back to committee. If the House rules 
permitted, I would have offered the motion with an important amendment 
to this bill.
  My amendment would insert the text of the bipartisan American Dream 
and Promise Act, which provides a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. 
This is an issue that Congress has failed to address, although my 
colleagues on the other side have continuously committed to supporting 
this bill.
  Now, I find the response from some of our colleagues comical when 
they are so deathly afraid of immigrant children in our schools, but 
yet, when they are serviced by undocumented immigrants in the hotels 
that they stay at, when there are undocumented kitchen workers in the 
restaurants that they go to, when their houses and their homes are 
built by undocumented workers, we never see the same type of outrage.
  I see a lot of ignorance in the response that we are seeing as to 
what undocumented folks provide in value to our country, and we cannot 
ignore that.
  Now, there are nearly 2.3 million Dreamers in this country who are 
integrated into our communities already. They contribute to our 
economy. They participate in our workforce. They spend their wages. 
They pay taxes. We need to let Dreamers live and work in the only 
country they have ever known as home. We have a bipartisan bill right 
here to make that a reality.
  I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to take one of the 
first steps to fix our broken immigration system.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my 
amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to 
recommit.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I hope my colleagues will join me in voting 
for the motion to recommit.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
York (Mr. D'Esposito).
  Mr. D'ESPOSITO. Mr. Speaker, I am a little confused by my colleague's 
comments when he said that Members on this side of the aisle were 
``deathly afraid.'' No one is deathly afraid. What we are, though, is 
we are in support of my good friend from New York, Mr. Molinaro's 
Schools Not Shelters Act, to safeguard American children and prevent 
American schools from being forced to bear the burden of the Biden 
administration's ongoing migrant crisis.
  I am proud to cosponsor this important bill that will prohibit 
schools that receive Federal funding from being used as shelters for 
migrants, which is a misguided policy being advanced by Governor Kathy 
Hochul, Albany Democrats, and many other progressives across this great 
Nation.
  Due to the dereliction of duty by Secretary Mayorkas and the overall 
mismanagement of the Department of Homeland Security by the Biden 
administration, the United States has seen a record number of migrants 
cross into this great Nation.
  This deluge has placed a significant particularly strong strain on 
sanctuary States, such as New York, where Governor Hochul continues to 
place the interests of migrants ahead of students who we want to keep 
safe.
  The Hochul administration has made housing migrants at schools a 
priority, a fact that troubles many parents, educators, and students 
alike. Housing migrants whose histories are murky and intentions 
unknown at schools from the elementary level to the collegiate level 
endangers youth learners and puts students in a potentially dangerous 
situation of interacting with adult migrants in spaces that should be 
reserved for students.
  The fact that migrants are currently being housed in school gyms, 
particularly in New York City, is absolutely ridiculous. Instead of 
recognizing that this is a problem, Governor Hochul is seeking to 
expand this policy to SUNY campuses.
  You see, parents send their kids to school to be in a safe zone, and 
it is incumbent on the Federal Government to do everything possible to 
stop it. For this purpose, I support the Schools Not Shelters Act and 
encourage my colleagues to support this legislation I have cosponsored.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a statement from Third Way 
urging Members to stand up for students across the country and vote 
``no'' on this bill.

[[Page H3678]]

  


                    [From Third Way, July 18, 2023]

          Third Way Statement on the Schools Not Shelters Act

                          (By Lanae Erickson)

       Washington.--Third Way released the following statement 
     from Lanae Erickson, Senior Vice President for Social Policy, 
     Education, & Politics:
       ``House Republicans have found another target for their 
     'defund' campaign: schools. The Schools Not Shelters Act 
     would pull federal funding from any school that provides 
     undocumented immigrants with shelter, even temporarily. By 
     bringing this bill to the House floor, majority is yet again 
     signaling that their priority is to put politics over the 
     welfare of our country's students.
       ``During a time when teachers and students are working 
     tirelessly to overcome learning loss from the pandemic, 
     Republicans are threatening to defund schools to protest 
     something that has nothing to do with students' quality of 
     education. What's worse, schools in the poorest communities 
     across the country are the targets of this political stunt. 
     If Republicans really cared about students, they'd work with 
     Democrats to invest in our nation's schools and improve 
     educational outcomes. Instead, they're focusing on banning 
     books, banning history, and banning migrants. Teachers and 
     students have much bigger things to worry about.
       ``Republicans have backed out of every major bipartisan 
     immigration reform deal this century, leaving the system 
     outdated and overwhelmed. And now they're punishing American 
     students for the consequences of their inaction.
       ``We urge all Members to stand up for students across this 
     country and vote `no' on this bill.''

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record another 
letter from Council of the Great City Schools pointing out that the 
bill does nothing to help urban school districts and communities 
provide the needed educational and transitional services for newly 
arriving students and families.

                            Council of the Great City Schools,

                                                    June 12, 2023.
     Hon. Virginia Foxx,
     Chairwoman, Committee on Education and Workforce, House of 
         Representatives, Washington, DC.
     Hon. Bobby Scott,
     Ranking Member, Committee on Education and Workforce, House 
         of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Chairwoman Foxx and Ranking Member Scott: For more 
     than a century, urban schools have taken in children and 
     families from other countries who came to the United States 
     seeking a better life and who eventually served as the 
     backbone of the country. The nation's Great City Schools seek 
     to not only meet our legal obligations to provide educational 
     services to whomever comes through our doors but to do 
     everything we can in partnership with our local communities 
     to make sure that newly arriving students and families are 
     welcomed and prepared to give back to the country.
       In recent years, the nation's urban public schools have 
     opened their doors to families from Afghanistan, Ukraine, 
     Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala, Vietnam, Sudan, and many other 
     countries as they were seeking refuge, freedom, and a better 
     tomorrow. In addition to providing newcomer aid, instruction, 
     and social services to students, the Great City Schools are 
     helping families find housing, coordinating community 
     services, and providing much of their initial social 
     contacts, translations, and food services. They have also 
     provided cultural orientations, language lessons, and other 
     assistance for refugee families upon their arrival. The 
     Council has examples from school districts across the 
     country--including Anchorage, Sacramento, Indianapolis, St. 
     Louis, Tulsa, Charlotte, and countless other cities--that are 
     working with their local agencies, faith-based leaders, 
     charities, and financial institutions to welcome new 
     arrivals, align and coordinate services, and create a 
     seamless transition into the public schools and the 
     community.
       Unfortunately, the Schools Not Shelters Act (H.R. 3941) 
     before the committee does nothing to help urban school 
     districts and communities provide the needed educational and 
     transitional services for newly arriving students and 
     families. After decades of inaction, we urge Congress to 
     focus on bipartisan and comprehensive solutions to address 
     immigration reform rather than threatening federal funding or 
     intervening in local decision-making regarding housing for 
     those who need it.
           Sincerely,
                                                     Raymond Hart,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, it is unfortunate that my Republican colleagues are 
forcing through another proposal that contradicts our responsibility to 
help students succeed.
  This bill threatens to take funding away from schools if they are 
used for emergency shelter to shelter undocumented immigrants, except 
specifically exempting cases of disaster. It allows anyone else to be 
sheltered, just not undocumented immigrants in an emergency.
  We should be focusing on helping students make up for learning loss. 
They were out of school for a long time. Last Congress, congressional 
Democrats took critical steps to actually address learning loss by 
passing the American Rescue Plan Act, investing in students' abilities 
to offer after-school and summer mentorship and tutorial programs, yet 
not a single congressional Republican voted to pass the American Rescue 
Plan Act.
  Now, they are seeking to pass a bill that takes funding away from 
public schools while also considering a budget that makes dangerous 
cuts to Federal educational funding.
  If my colleagues want to address learning loss, we should be talking 
about evidence-based strategies that actually meet the needs of 
students.
  If my colleagues want to keep students safe, we should be confronting 
what is actually killing them. Parents, teachers, and students are 
demanding that we take meaningful action on gun violence. Yet, my 
Republican colleagues refuse to budge on that issue.
  Instead of coming up with meaningful solutions, Republicans are 
continuing to push their extreme agenda that does nothing to address 
learning loss or improve school safety.
  We should all agree that our students, parents, and schools deserve 
better.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to oppose this bill, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, housing illegal aliens in public educational facilities 
is downright dangerous, drains educational resources, and distracts 
school districts and universities from their primary mission of 
educating students.
  This Chamber sees many rigorous debates about all types of issues 
facing the American people. I never imagined there would be a debate 
over the primary function of schools. Since when did schools being used 
for learning become a novel idea?
  The Schools Not Shelters Act delivers a dose of reality to the Biden 
administration and the left who are putting students second to their 
open border policies. Enough is enough.
  I urge my colleagues to vote for this important bill and stand up for 
students' well-being and academic success.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in strong 
opposition to H.R. 3941, ``Schools Not Shelters Act of 2023''.
  This bill is an absurd measure to condemn the use of elementary and 
secondary school facilities that provide shelter for people caught up 
in emergencies, just like we do for other disasters.
  Using the facilities of a public elementary or secondary school to 
provides shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the 
United States should not be politicized, as this is humanitarian issue 
and failure of our broken immigration system.
  As a Member on the Homeland Security committee, and more specifically 
the Border Security and Enforcement subcommittee, I interact with those 
at the border and migrants frequently.
  I believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to find a lasting 
solution to the current immigration crisis.
  However, I think it is essential that migrants are brought and 
allowed into the country through legal immigration.
  I am a strong proponent of humanitarian aid efforts in the 
immigration context, from preventing the breakup of individual families 
because of a wrongful deportation to ensuring that victims of civil 
wars and national disasters around the globe receive a temporary 
protected status under the U.S. immigration laws.
  We should not condemn the use of public elementary or secondary 
schools provide shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted 
into the United States.
  I acknowledge that school are places of learning and development for 
students, but there are time periods when school campuses are not being 
used, such as during school breaks.
  Because of this, the space could be used for humanitarian aid 
purposes, such as allowing migrants to stay there while they wait for 
legal processing and paperwork to conclude.
  Other exceptions need to be reviewed, such as whether migrants could 
stay at schools when school is in-session, but humanitarian aid should 
not be overlooked in the immigration context.

[[Page H3679]]

  As a leading country on the global stage, it is our duty and 
responsibility to assist who we can in a legal manner.
  More importantly when it comes to schools in America, we should be 
addressing critical issues that are truly impacting our educational 
system--namely, the hostile state takeovers of majority-minority school 
district--as is what is happening in my district with the Texas 
Education Agency takeover of the Houston Independent School District.
  State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures, 
layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.
  The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by 
state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.
  With data ranging back to the late 1980s, researchers found that most 
state takeovers don't translate to academic improvements.
  We have to stop the State from intermeddling and overstepping into 
our educational systems--causing further harm and damage to our 
communities.
  That is why I have called upon President Biden and the Department of 
Education to investigate and take immediate action to address the 
recent systematic and dangerous efforts underway by state and local 
officials in Texas seeking to undermine and undo decades of civil 
rights protections and advancements in educational institutions and 
student populations.
  And so, I am here today to say that these are the issues that the 
American people truly care about and want us to be fighting for, for 
the protection and preservation of their educational rights.
  Emergency response agencies have always used school facility 
sheltering to provide emergency services to affected individuals and 
communities; the use of these facilities as a temporary shelter for 
migrants puts no students in danger.
  These school facilities have always been used as emergency shelters 
during disasters such as weather-related events.
  No colleges or public K-12 schools should lose federal funding 
because they provide temporary relief to migrants.
  If Republicans are really concerned about measure needed to ensure 
school safety, they should support all measures that address gun 
violence prevention and mental health issues.
  If my colleagues genuinely want to address students' safety, they 
should join with us to focus on the real causes of violent deaths in 
our country--guns.
  Gun violence is decimating our families and communities--mass 
shootings in schools, places of worship, shopping malls, concerts, and 
urban neighborhoods.
  A majority of Americans, including parents, teachers, students, and 
educational workers support common sense and meaningful actions that 
address the surging violence in our schools and I colleges.
  All that this bill does is to punish schools that Republicans think 
are helping migrants.
  By singling out emergency use for migrants, this bill is only about 
Republicans' continuous opposition to any effort that provides support 
for the migrant community.
  That is why I had offered the following amendments to be considered 
by the Rules Committee:
  Jackson Lee Amendment 13 would simply prevent the enactment of H.R. 
3941 until we actually address and enact comprehensive immigration 
reform in the United States such that the Federal immigration system 
operates efficiently and offers a fair, humane, and orderly pathway to 
citizenship.
  Jackson Lee Amendment 15 would also prevent enactment of this bill 
until, my bill the ``Grant Relief for American Children's Elevation 
(GRACE) Act of 2023'' is implemented such that the ``exceptional and 
extremely unusual hardship'' term as defined in Section 240A(b) of the 
Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 12229b(b)) is amended, to 
include hardship resulting from separating a family member who is a 
United States citizen, a lawful permanent resident or an individual 
lawfully admitted to the United States and a family member who is 
subject to deportation or removal from the United States.
  A study on Facts and Fictions of Race and Family in U.S. Immigration 
Policy found that the United States governing framework of family 
sponsorship is rooted in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, 
also known as the Hart-Celler Act.
  The act eliminated the 1924 national origins quotas while maintaining 
the principle of numerical restriction by specifying annual caps as 
well as per-country limits on immigration.
  Under the act, ``immediate family,'' specifically spouses, minor 
children, and the parents of U.S. citizens, are admitted without 
numerical quotas.
  After that, there is a system of hierarchical preferences in which 
the claims of U.S. citizens are placed above those of legal permanent 
residents.
  There is also a ranking of the family relationship that is based on l 
assessments of familial proximity and of age, especially in the caseof 
parents and children.
  The dominant political narrative of the 1965 act at the time of its 
passage was one of national values, family unity, and the American 
commitment to ending racial discrimination.
  However, according to the Washington Post, the Trump administration's 
immigration policies separated more than 5,400 children from their 
families, sending families to Mexico to await the chance to make asylum 
claims and seeking the chance to detain children indefinitely.

  My amendment, the ``Grant Relief for American Children's Elevation 
Act'' or ``GRACE Act,'' would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act 
to establish certain family separation as an exceptional and extremely 
unusual hardship.
  The American Academy of Pediatrics has noted that ``highly stressful 
experiences, like family separation, can cause irreparable harm, 
disrupting a child's brain architecture and affecting his or her short- 
and long-term health.
  This type of prolonged exposure to serious stress--known as toxic 
stress--can carry lifelong consequences for children.''
  Just last year, two pediatricians wrote in the Houston Chronicle that 
``this kind of stress makes children susceptible to acute and chronic 
conditions such as extreme anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress 
disorder, hypertension and heart disease.''
  As we take into consideration the long term negative psychological 
effects of family separation as the result of immigration, it becomes 
abundantly clear that we cannot move forward until this cycle is 
stopped.
  As a Member on the Homeland Security committee, and more specifically 
the Border Security and Enforcement subcommittee, I interact with those 
at the border and migrants frequently.
  I believe that a comprehensive approach is needed to find a lasting 
solution to the current immigration crisis.
  However, I think it is essential that migrants are brought and 
allowed into the country through legal immigration.
  Under the Jackson Lee Amendment, 15, the Immigration and Nationality 
Act would have no longer subjected human beings to extreme trauma by 
separating a family member who is a United States citizen, a lawful 
permanent resident, or an individual lawfully admitted to the United 
States and a family member who is subject to deportation or removal 
from the United States.
  And the Jackson Lee Amendment 16 strikes one word--``not'' from Sect. 
2(a) such that it reads as follows:
  In General:--As a condition on receipt of Federal financial 
assistance under applicable program by a public elementary school, a 
public secondary school, or an institution of higher education, the 
facilities of the school or institution may be used to provide shelter 
or housing for specified aliens.
  Thus, my amendment strikes the very language preventing the use of 
school facilities for the purpose of providing shelter or housing to 
individuals as defined by section 101(a) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) who has not been admitted (as so 
defined).
  I am a strong proponent of humanitarian aid efforts in the 
immigration context, from preventing the breakup of individual families 
because of a wrongful deportation to ensuring that victims of civil 
wars and national disasters around the globe receive a temporary 
protected status under the U.S. immigration laws.
  We should not condemn the use of public elementary or secondary 
schools provide shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted 
into the United States.
  Whenever appropriate, space in our schools should be made available 
for humanitarian aid purposes, such as allowing migrants to stay there 
while they wait for processing and paperwork to conclude their legal 
residency status.
  Other exceptions need to be reviewed, such as whether migrants could 
stay at schools when school is in session, but humanitarian aid should 
not be overlooked in the immigration context.
  As a leading country on the global stage, it is our duty and 
responsibility to assist who we can in a legal manner.
  More importantly, when it comes to schools in America, we should be 
addressing critical issues that are truly impacting our educational 
system--namely, the hostile state takeovers of majority-minority school 
districts--as is what is happening in my district with the Texas 
Education Agency takeover of the Houston Independent School District.
  State takeovers in other districts have led to school closures, 
layoffs, and no improvements in test scores.
  The vast majority of school districts that have been taken over by 
state agencies (TEA included) have not improved but declined.
  With data ranging back to the late 1980s, researchers found that most 
state takeovers don't translate to academic improvements.
  Republicans provide no evidence that the academic progress of 
students are negatively

[[Page H3680]]

impacted simply by attending a school which houses migrants.
  H.R. 3941 is distractive, it is uninformed, it is pointless, 
provocative, inflammatory, and at best, an absolute waste of time.
  Using the facilities of a public elementary or secondary school to 
provides shelter for non-U.S. nationals who are not admitted into the 
United States should not be politicized, as this is humanitarian issue 
and failure of our broken immigration system.
  Instead of denying innocent people temporary humanitarian relief we 
should focus on stopping the State from meddling in and overstepping 
the boundaries our educational systems--causing further harm and damage 
to our communities.
  Lastly, the Jackson Lee Amendment 19 was offered to add the word 
``freeze'' to be included in the definition of ``specified disaster''.
  This definition is particularly important to signify the dangers of 
deadly and disastrous weather conditions without snow.
  In February 2012, my home state of Texas experienced an unprecedented 
deep freeze that crippled our state as temperatures dropped to as low 
as six degrees.
  The freeze triggered the worst energy infrastructure failure in Texas 
state history, leading to shortages of water, food, and heat.
  More than 4.5 million homes and businesses were left without power, 
some for several days and at least 246 people were killed directly or 
indirectly, with some estimates as high as 702 killed during the 
crisis.
  These Jackson Lee Amendments 13, 15, 16, and 19 would have ensured 
that unaccompanied minors and migrants in need of temporary relief may 
be provided emergency shelter or housing using institutional facilities 
where appropriate.
  It is a shame that we not made in order, and that we here with such 
an offensive and counterproductive bill, and that we are spending time 
on ineffective efforts instead of focusing on real immigration reform 
and resolutions for our nation's broken pathways for citizenship.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.


                  Amendment No. 1 Offered by Mr. Ogles

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. It is now in order to consider amendment No. 
1 printed in part B of House Report 118-147.
  Mr. OGLES. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
  The text of the amendment is as follows:

       Page 4, after line 20, insert the following:
       (6) The term ``short-term'' means for a duration not to 
     exceed 72 hours.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 597, the 
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ogles) and a Member opposed each will 
control 5 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
  Mr. OGLES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment to 
define the phrase ``short term'' for the purposes of the Schools Not 
Shelters Act as being a period of up to 72 hours.
  The phrase ``short term'' has varying definitions for different 
purposes in law and in different States. In many cases, the law 
considers housing for as long as a year as short term.
  The underlying bill prohibits housing illegal aliens in taxpayer-
funded schools with an understandable exception for emergencies. If 
people are seeking shelter from a storm, we don't want to lock them out 
to face the elements, regardless of their citizenship or immigration 
status.
  My amendment protects the intent of this bill by ensuring that 
Governors can't abuse this emergency exception by opportunistically 
using an emergency or declaring an emergency that doesn't really exist 
so that they can house illegals in schools for months on end.
  My amendment still allows State and local authorities the flexibility 
to offer schools as shelter in moments of true crisis, but requires 
that they limit that to a few days to make sure it is a momentary stop-
gap solution rather than a long-term reality.
  Under the so-called leadership of President Biden, Vice President 
Harris, and Secretary Mayorkas, our southern border is open. Every 
State has become a border State as criminal cartels traffic aliens into 
our country by the thousands.
  Some sanctuary States have chosen to address this problem by housing 
these illegal aliens in our schools. Using our schools, our public 
schools, to house illegal aliens redirects resources the American 
people set aside for our children to foreign nationals who disrespect 
our laws.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the 
amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is hard to respond to the amendment because the 
underlying bill makes little sense. I am not sure what the amendment 
does because if the amendment is passed, undocumented immigrants would 
be properly sheltered in the schools because there is an exemption for 
disasters. After 72 hours, 3 days if the disaster is still going on, I 
guess you would have to kick them out to avoid liability, unless the 
emergency is over. If there is no longer an emergency and they are not 
being housed under an emergency, they can't be housed because only 
emergency sheltering is allowed.
  I don't know if this is good or bad, but I just oppose it, and I 
yield back the balance of my time
  Mr. OGLES. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear: Schools are meant for the 
purpose of educating our children. Housing those in violation of law, 
illegals, can put our children at risk and turns places of education 
potentially into dormitories for lawless individuals. We have Governors 
who have used and abused their authorities to circumvent Federal law, 
immigration law, all we are asking is that if it is going to be done, 
it is for a defined period of time.
  I have to admit as I have listened to debate, the violins were 
playing, widows were weeping, and my colleagues were pandering. We have 
people that are here violating the law. Keep that in mind. Our border 
is flooded with illegals. There is a pattern of illegals committing 
crime in our country. There is a pattern of gang members crossing our 
border, and there is a pattern of this reckless administration for 
ignoring the law.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption and support for my amendment.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DesJarlais). Pursuant to the rule, the 
previous question is ordered on the bill and on the amendment offered 
by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Ogles).
  The question is on the amendment by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. 
Ogles).
  The amendment was agreed to.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third 
reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.


                           Motion to Recommit

  Mr. VASQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to 
recommit.
  The Clerk read as follows:

       Mr. Vasquez of New Mexico moves to recommit the bill H.R. 
     3941 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce.

  The material previously referred to by Mr. Vasquez is as follows:

       Mr. Vasquez of New Mexico moves to recommit the bill H.R. 
     3941 to the Committee on Education and the Workforce with 
     instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith 
     with the following amendment:
       Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the text of 
     H.R. 16.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XIX, the 
previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit.
  The question is on the motion to recommit.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this question are postponed.

                          ____________________