[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H4969-H4978]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the 
House and offer the resolution I previously noticed.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 757

       Resolved, That the office of Speaker of the House of 
     Representatives is hereby declared to be vacant.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution qualifies as a question of 
the privileges of the House.


                            Motion to Table

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

       Mr. Cole of Oklahoma moves to lay the resolution on the 
     table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to table.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the ayes appeared to have it.
  Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 208, 
nays 218, not voting 7, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 518]

                               YEAS--208

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Bost
     Brecheen
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gooden (TX)
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harris
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luttrell
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Ogles
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Self
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                               NAYS--218

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Biggs
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Buck
     Budzinski
     Burchett
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)
     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crane
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davidson
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gaetz
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Good (VA)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
     Keating

[[Page H4970]]


     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Mace
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McClellan
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Mills
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Rosendale
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Spartz
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Bush
     Carter (TX)
     Luna
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Sykes
     Wilson (FL)


                Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There is 1 minute 
remaining.

                              {time}  1443

  So the motion to table was rejected.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 2(a)(2) of rule IX, the 
gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz) and the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. 
Cole) each will control 30 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Good).
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Before the gentleman speaks, may I remind my 
colleagues that all parties need to be heard. Would you please clear 
the well and clear the aisles, and any extraneous conversations need to 
be taken from the floor.
  Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, like so many others, I deeply 
regret that we are here in what was a totally avoidable situation.
  I must take you back to January, however, which for many of us was 
about not repeating the failures of the past and letting Republican 
voters across the country down once again, when in the past for many 
years, when Republicans have had majorities in this Chamber, we have 
passed our major spending bills predominantly with Democratic votes; 
something the other side of the House has never and would never do with 
majority control.
  Back in January, I expressed my concern that the previous 2 years 
during my first term here in this House, we had not used every tool at 
our disposal to fight against the harmful, radical Democrat agenda that 
is destroying the country, bankrupting the country, and under which the 
American people are suffering.
  Most in here wouldn't know that I helped persuade my five colleagues 
who comprised the remaining resistance in the wee morning hours of 
January 7 to switch our votes to ``present'' to let Mr. McCarthy become 
Speaker.
  I went to him on this very floor to tell him that he was finally 
going to become Speaker on the next vote. In that moment, it was clear 
to me that I or we could have asked for anything in exchange for 
switching our votes to ``present,'' but I and we asked for nothing.
  The very next week, I requested and had a meeting with Speaker 
McCarthy to tell him he had my full support and that I wanted him to be 
successful because the country needed him to be successful.
  In the ensuing months, I helped him narrowly pass the Parents Bill of 
Rights and the Limit, Save, Grow bill--I think both of those by just 
one or two votes--helping persuade some of my most conservative 
colleagues to come along despite some of the concerns they had with 
those bills.
  We remained united as a Conference through the Limit, Save, Grow vote 
as we passed a bill that was cutting spending to pre-COVID levels for 
nondefense discretionary spending or just over $100 billion, historic 
spending cuts, as the Speaker had committed to do in January. It also 
included a host of other conservative fiscal reforms.
  Unfortunately, however, that unity and that commitment to significant 
year-one cuts and spending reforms were discarded in the failed 
responsibility act, as I call it, which passed overwhelmingly, once 
again, with a majority of Democrat votes, validating the concern many 
of us had in January.
  Many of us had begged the Speaker, pleaded with the Speaker 
repeatedly, to utilize the debt ceiling to leverage spending cuts and 
reforms.
  Instead, he negotiated an unlimited increase to the debt ceiling 
through January of `25, as much as we can come together and gleefully 
spend through January of `25, with no significant wins for the American 
people in that FRA or failed responsibility act.
  The Speaker then said that we would use appropriations to bring the 
fight and finally reduce our spending.
  He said the levels of the FRA were the ceiling and not the floor, and 
recommitted multiple times to go back to the $1.471 trillion that was 
the Limit, Save, Grow levels, radically, historically saving $100 
billion and lowering the deficit this year under Republican majority 
from $2.2 trillion to $2.1 trillion. That is what we were asking the 
Republican House to do, to go to $2.1 trillion.
  Meanwhile, the Speaker had committed to bring a balanced budget vote 
to this floor, something that still has not happened despite the work 
that has been done in our Budget Committee to mark it up and have it 
ready to come to the floor.
  He also promised that we would bring all 12 appropriations bills well 
before the September 30 fiscal deadline. We did not.
  We simply, as Republicans, needed the Speaker to cast the vision, 
request the support of the entire Conference, all of whom voted for the 
Limit, Save, Grow levels, except for four who wanted to go even 
further, to lead us in joining him, sticking with him, supporting him, 
and sending the most conservative spending bills with the most 
conservative cuts possible to the Senate as the best starting position 
for negotiations with the Senate. Many of us begged and pleaded with 
the Speaker to do that over the past 5 months.
  When the Speaker failed to lead us to pass our spending bills, 
bringing only 1 of 12 to the floor before the August district work 
period, Members began to negotiate amongst themselves without the 
Speaker to find compromise.
  I was among those who reluctantly agreed last month to split the 
difference between failed responsibilities, $1.526, and the Limit, 
Save, Grow, $1.471. I reluctantly agreed to do that, to go to $1.526, 
in order to pass our bills on to the Senate.
  We then essentially forced the Speaker with the pressure of the 
shutdown threat of the calendar to bring those four bills to the floor 
last week, all of which I voted for, despite some of them not cutting 
to the levels we agreed to and other concerns I had with the bills.
  I reluctantly voted for a 30-day conditional CR, continuing 
resolution, because it cut an additional $10 billion in the month of 
October, going back to the pre-COVID $1.471 levels for defense, 
nondefense discretionary, 30 percent, and it had border security. I 
voted for that.
  However, when that vote failed, the Speaker, this past Friday in the 
Republican Conference meeting, made it abundantly clear that he was 
willing to do anything to avoid the temporary discomfort and the 
pressure of a pause in the 15 percent of the nonessential Federal 
Government operations, which would guarantee that we would lose to the 
Senate Democrats and the White House. If you are not willing to say no, 
then you are guaranteed to lose.

  That was confirmed with the passage of the unconditional 45-day CR 
this past Saturday, once again with 209 Democrat votes. The Republican 
bill, 209-1 Democrats; 51-0 on the Senate side.
  The Speaker fought through 15 votes in January to become Speaker but 
was only willing to fight through one failed CR before surrendering to 
the Democrats on Saturday. We need a Speaker who will fight for 
something, anything,

[[Page H4971]]

besides just staying or becoming Speaker.
  If there was ever a time to fight with $33 trillion in national debt, 
a $2 trillion deficit this year, 40-year high inflation, 20-year high 
interest rates, a downgraded credit rating, and for the first time in 
modern history and despite all the help of the media blaming 
Republicans in the House, the polls showing that the public was blaming 
Biden and the Democrats for an imminent shutdown. If not fight now, 
when would we fight? Now is and was the time.
  With the Democrats driving the fiscal bus off the cliff at 100 miles 
an hour, we cannot simply be content to be the party that slows it down 
to 95 just so we can sit in the front seat and wear the captain's hat.
  Our current debt and our spending trajectory is unsustainable. We 
need a Speaker, ideally somebody who doesn't want to be Speaker and 
hasn't pursued that at all costs for his entire adult life, who will 
meet the moment and do everything possible to fight for the country.
  A red line was crossed for me, I regret, on Saturday, and so it is 
with regret that I must vote against the motion to table, as I did, and 
vote to vacate the Chair.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I share one thing in common with my friend 
from Virginia. This is a very sad day and certainly a day I never 
expected to have to live through.
  I think, broadly speaking, as I look across this floor, you can 
divide Members into three groups. I am very happy to be in the first 
group, the overwhelming majority of my party who supports the Speaker 
that we elected.
  We are proud of the leadership he has shown. We are proud of the 
manner in which he has been willing to work with everybody in our 
Conference, and I believe in this Chamber.
  There is a second group, a small group. Honestly, they are willing to 
plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for 
reasons that only they really understand. I certainly don't.
  Then there are friends on the other side--I mean friends, honestly, 
with great sincerity--I have a lot of friends over there, and I 
recognize that my friends on the other side have a very complex set of 
partisan, personal, and political calculations to make.
  I certainly wouldn't presume to give them any advice about that, but 
I would say think long and hard before you plunge us into chaos because 
that is where we are headed if we vacate the speakership.
  I personally think there are really three reasons why we have come to 
this point, and that is because at each three of these critical 
minutes, the Speaker did the right thing.
  First, there was a Speaker vote. He got 85 percent of the vote in our 
Conference; 90 percent of the vote from Republicans on this floor.
  Yet, we had a small group that decided no, they would dictate what 
they want. He didn't let that happen. He fought. Now, he fought for 
himself, but he fought for 90 percent of us too that wanted him to be 
the Speaker, and I appreciate that.
  Then, of course, we had the debt ceiling deal. Nobody here thought he 
could pass a bill. Nobody in America thought he could pass a bill.
  He did what Speakers are supposed to do. He passed the bill. Then he 
sat down and negotiated with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic 
President and came back with a good deal, a deal that will limit 
spending. He did the right thing.
  Finally, last Saturday on this floor, we were on the verge of a 
government shutdown, a government shutdown that the vast majority of 
Members in this Chamber did not want, a substantial majority on my side 
and an overwhelming majority on the Democrat side.

                              {time}  1500

  He put his political neck on the line, knowing this day was coming, 
to do the right thing--the right thing for the country without a doubt. 
My friends and I agree on that, whether or not we agree on the Speaker. 
He did the right thing. He did the right thing for this institution. He 
showed it could function in a time of crisis. Finally, he did the right 
thing for our party. He made sure that we could continue to negotiate 
and achieve some of the very objectives my friend from Virginia laid 
out, and achieve them in divided government, which calls for some 
degree of give-and-take.
  Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of this Speaker. I am very proud to 
stand behind him. Tomorrow morning, whether I win or lose, I am going 
to be pretty proud of the people I fought with and I am going to be 
extraordinarily proud of the person I fought for, the Speaker of the 
House, Kevin McCarthy.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, my friend from Oklahoma says that my 
colleagues and I who don't support Kevin McCarthy would plunge the 
House and the country into chaos. Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is 
somebody who we cannot trust with their word.
  The one thing that the White House, House Democrats, and many of us 
on the conservative side of the Republican caucus would argue is that 
the thing we have in common, Kevin McCarthy said something to all of us 
at one point or another that he didn't really mean and never intended 
to live up to.
  I don't think voting against Kevin McCarthy is chaos. I think $33 
trillion in debt is chaos. I think that facing a $2.2 trillion annual 
deficit is chaos. I think that not passing single-subject spending 
bills is chaos. I think the fact that we have been governed in this 
country since the mid-1990s by continuing resolution and omnibus is 
chaos. The way to liberate ourselves from that is a series of reforms 
to this body that I would hope would outlast Speaker McCarthy's time 
here, would outlast my time here, and would outlast either of our 
majorities.
  Mr. Speaker, these are reforms that I have heard some of the most 
conservative Members of this body fight for and some of the reforms 
that we have been battling for that I have even heard those in the 
Democratic Caucus say would be worthy and helpful to the House--like 
open amendments and understanding what the budget is.
  We have been out of compliance with budget laws for most of my life 
and most of many of your lives. By the way, if we did those things, if 
we had single-subject bills, if we had an understanding on the top 
line, if we had open amendments, if we had trust and honesty and 
understanding, there would be times when my conservative colleagues and 
I would lose. There might be a few times when we would win. There would 
be times when we would form partnerships that might otherwise not be 
really predictable in the American body politic, but the American 
people would see us legislating.
  These last few days, we have suspended the momentum that we had 
established the week earlier when we were bringing bills to the floor, 
voting on them, and staying late at night working hard. That is what 
the American people expect. It is something Speaker McCarthy hasn't 
delivered. That is why I moved to vacate the Chair.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), my very good friend.
  Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, Kevin McCarthy has earned this. Under Speaker 
McCarthy's leadership, our House Republican majority has actually 
defied all odds and overperformed expectations again and again and 
again.
  It all started with the Speaker's race when our Speaker, Kevin 
McCarthy, showed the American people how he would never give up. It 
carried over into the Speaker spearheading a Rules package to create 
the most transparent, Member-driven legislative process that I have 
ever seen since I have been here.
  Since then, Speaker McCarthy's Republican majority has been 
successful in bringing common sense back to our Nation's capital by 
passing legislation to affirm a parents' right to be involved in their 
child's education, bolster American energy production, fully fund 
veterans' care and benefits, fight back against the regulatory state, 
and continue delivering on our promise to rein in Democrats' reckless 
spending by passing fiscally responsible appropriations bills.

[[Page H4972]]

  We have also achieved historic conservative wins like passing the 
strongest border security legislation in history, passing the first 
Republican-only NDAA in history, and passing the first Republican-only 
State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill.
  So many Americans are better off because of Kevin McCarthy's 
leadership: American families, jobs creators, entrepreneurs, 
servicemembers, law enforcement officers, and the list goes on and on. 
These are just a few of our House Republican majority successes.
  Make no mistake, we need Kevin McCarthy to remain Speaker if we are 
going to stay focused on our mission of delivering commonsense wins for 
the American people. We have shown Americans what success looks like 
when we come together as a team.
  Now it is time for us to stand together stronger than ever so we can 
get back to the work our majority was elected to do.
  I am proud to support the Speaker as we continue championing 
conservative priorities that will put our country on a better path. Mr. 
Speaker, I thank Speaker McCarthy.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, the opening line of my colleague's speech was 
that Speaker McCarthy always overperforms expectations, but after 
tweeting ``bring it'' and after engaging in profane-laced tirades at 
House Conference, he just lost a motion to table. I wouldn't 
necessarily consider that overperforming expectations.
  Time and again, I have heard my colleagues say: Well, he deserves it 
because he went through a tough Speaker contest. Let me let everyone 
know, he prevailed in that Speaker contest because he made an agreement 
to fulfill certain commitments to make this an open and honest process, 
and he has failed to meet those commitments. That is why we are here.

  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Jordan), my very good friend.
  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, on January 3 we said the 118th Congress is 
about three things: pass the bills that need passed, do the oversight 
work that needs to be done, and stop the inevitable omnibus that comes 
from the United States Senate right before the holidays.
  Kevin McCarthy has been rock-solid on all three. We have passed the 
bills we told the American people we would pass: the 87,000 IRS agents, 
that bill passed; Parents Bill of Rights, that bill passed; energy 
legislation, passed; border security immigration enforcement 
legislation, the strongest bill ever to pass the Congress, passed 
earlier this year.
  We have done what we told them we were going to do. We can't help 
that the Senate won't take up those good commonsense bills. They will 
have to answer to the American people come election day.
  Oversight. We have done the oversight that we are supposed to do. 
Because of our oversight, we know that parents were targeted by the 
Department of Justice. Because of our oversight, we know that 51 former 
intel officials misled the country weeks before the most important 
election we have.
  Mr. Speaker, because of our oversight, the Disinformation Governance 
Board at the Department of Homeland Security is gone. Because of our 
oversight, the memo attacking pro-life Catholics has been rescinded. 
Because of over oversight, unannounced visits to Americans' homes by 
the Internal Revenue Service has stopped. That happened under Speaker 
McCarthy.
  On the third one on this side, we know there is a big, old, ugly bill 
coming at the end of the year with all kinds of spending and garbage in 
it. We are still in that fight. Frankly, to Mr. Gaetz' point, we don't 
know how that one is going to shake out.
  We do know this: On Saturday, we didn't take the Senate's bill. The 
Senate tried to send it over and shove it down our throats on Saturday, 
but we didn't take that bill. The Speaker was in a tough position.
  There were five options on the table last week. Option one was to 
send a long-term CR over there that would have leveraged the 1 percent 
cut--something a bunch of us voted for, both parties. We couldn't get 
the votes for that one.
  The second option was to focus on the one issue the country is now 
completely focused on, the border issue. We couldn't get the votes for 
that one either. When the Senate tried to send us that bill, he said 
``no'' to it.
  Mr. Speaker, I think the Speaker has kept his word. I know my 
colleagues and friends are saying different, but I think he has kept 
his word on those three things that we talked about on January 3 and, 
frankly, that entire week.
  Mr. Speaker, he has kept his word, and I think we should keep him as 
Speaker.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, the problem with my friend from Ohio's 
argument is that many of the bills he referenced as having passed are 
not law. We are on a fast track to an omnibus bill, and it is difficult 
to champion oversight when House Republicans haven't even sent a 
subpoena to Hunter Biden. It is hard to make the argument that 
oversight is the reason to continue when it sort of looks like failure 
theater.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Arizona (Mr. Biggs).
  Mr. BIGGS. Mr. Speaker, this is a serious time. My mind immediately 
goes to the young deputy from Cochise County who 2 nights ago, while 
trying to apprehend a runaway vehicle smuggling humans across the 
border, suffered major injuries. He was transported to Pima County 
where he is in a Tucson hospital fighting for his life.
  I am talking about a border that remains wide open where drugs come 
through. The Tucson sector has the most got-aways known and unknown of 
any sector along the border. There are terrorists coming in, people 
conducting criminal conduct coming in, criminal gang members, human 
smugglers, and sex traffickers. They are coming across our border to 
the tune of hundreds of thousands every month.
  Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my colleagues and their position, but I 
would suggest something: I don't think you can just skip to last 
weekend and say, oh, my goodness, a CR came out last weekend on 
Saturday. I think we need to go back to January.
  I will say this. This body came together on the Republican side and 
we passed a good border security piece of legislation, H.R. 2. That is 
good.
  Last week we passed the DHS bill and the DOD bills which had funding 
for our CBP, ICE, military leaders, and military men and women. Why 
were we successful in doing that? What happened to motivate us to get 
there?
  Well, for one thing, we didn't bother to pass the 12 appropriations 
bills as required under the Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. 
We didn't do it. Do you know how many times that has not been done?
  That has not been done 25 years in a row.
  Do you know how many CRs this body has passed in that same period of 
time?
  It is 130.
  Do you know what that gets you?
  A $2 trillion-plus structural deficit like we had in fiscal year 
2023.
  Do you know what that leads you to?
  A $33 trillion national debt, which is where we sit today. It leads 
you to somewhere north of $700 billion in interest payments.
  Do you know why that happened?
  Because this body is entrenched in a suboptimal path and refuses to 
leave it. It refuses to leave that path. You cannot change if you are 
unwilling to change. We had every opportunity to change. We were 
promised change.
  We were promised we were going to go ahead, and we were going to get 
those 12 bills done. If we got those 12 bills done--do you know why you 
do 12 bills?
  Because it allows you to reduce spending and get rid of wasteful 
duplicative programs. It allows you to set an agenda to restore fiscal 
sanity. We chose to not do it again. We were promised we would do it. 
That is why at the end some people said: We will vote present. We will 
go ahead. We are going to put our trust in Mr. McCarthy to become the 
Speaker. That didn't happen. I suspected that would be the case. That 
was my struggle. That was my struggle last November and December. I 
iterated it to this body, our Conference anyway.
  When we got to the debt ceiling, again, that seemed to spring upon 
everybody like a surprise. When that happened, I was in there for some 
of those

[[Page H4973]]

negotiations on where that number would be, and I was astonished how 
that $1.5 trillion number was negotiated. Unbelievable. Unbelievable.

                              {time}  1515

  However, I will tell you this: To his credit, the Speaker told us one 
thing that I believe to be true. He said that is basically the ante in 
a poker game. You can sit down at the table.
  I told my colleagues who supported that: That $1.5 trillion in 8 
months that you are willing to raise the debt ceiling, that is the 
opening marker.
  Indeed, it was. Now, projections are many trillion dollars above 
that.
  Yes, I think it is time to make a change. I am not the only one, and 
thus, it is somber. But what have we failed to accomplish? Why didn't 
we get this stuff done?
  When we are campaigning, we are talking about an extension of the 
debt ceiling to January 2025.
  We are talking about additional Ukraine funding. Maybe that is good 
in your districts. Maybe it is not. That money is not offset. We are 
not paying for it. We haven't designated how we are going to pay for 
that--the same with the disaster package.
  The IRS remains 80 percent increased. I could go down the list, but I 
will just tell you why this happens. When you don't do your 12 budget 
bills and you rely ultimately on a CR--and I will get to the calendar 
in a second--what happens is, you cannot leverage this administration 
to actually enforce the border laws that you need to have enforced.
  This is a lawless Biden regime. They will not enforce border laws. We 
can pass them until we are blue in the face, but until you leverage the 
budget and the spending, you will not see enforcement by this 
administration.
  Now, take a look at the calendar that we were just provided last 
week. We are supposed to finish our 12 bills by November 3. By November 
17 is when we are supposed to see that the conference committees have 
come together, both sides, and we have resolved this. I don't believe 
that that is going to happen.
  It wasn't going to happen before. You were betting on the come again. 
At some point, I would urge you to stop betting on the come and bet on 
the reality. That is why I can't support the Speaker any longer, and I 
will be voting for the motion to vacate.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman), my very good friend.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Selah, s-e-l-a-h, selah. This unique word, scattered 
throughout the Psalms, signals to the reader to pause, reflect, 
consider, and maybe take a deep breath before moving on.
  Psalmists use selah to emphasize the significance of a statement. For 
example, King David wrote: ``Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our 
burden, the God who is our salvation. Selah.'' That is a profound 
statement with huge implications. It deserves more than a cursory 
consideration.
  Within the next hour, this House will vote ``yea'' or ``nay'' to 
vacate the Speaker's chair, a profound action with huge implications. 
This was last tried in 1910. Joseph Cannon won the vote. One hundred 
thirteen years later, my office is in the Cannon Office Building, and 
Uncle Joe Cannon's statue sits just outside this Chamber.
  No living human has taken the vote we are about to take. It deserves 
that we pause and reflect, that we consider deeply the ramification of 
our actions.
  To my fellow Republicans who would consider voting ``yes'' to 
removing our Republican Speaker, please pause and ask yourself two 
questions: Will your ``yes'' vote make America stronger? Will your 
``yes'' vote strengthen conservative policies?
  If you believe ``yes'' is the right vote, please stand before this 
body and the American people and articulate your plan--not your 
grievances or your wishes, your plan. Convince the vast majority of the 
Republican Conference that strongly disagrees with you to follow you.
  If you cannot do that, which you have failed to do so far, then 
voting ``yes'' is, at the least, a disruptive overreaction. In reality, 
it is selfish, bad for conservative policies, and bad for America.
  That is why I strongly support Speaker Kevin McCarthy and why, 
without hesitation or reservation, I will vote ``no'' on this 
disastrous resolution.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing selfish about wanting a 
Speaker of the House who tells the truth. I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Kentucky (Mr. Massie), my good friend and fellow member of the Rules 
Committee.
  Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, as the only still-serving coauthor and 
cosponsor of the motion to vacate Speaker Boehner, I can tell you this 
motion to vacate is a terrible idea. As the only Member who is serving 
here who took every chance to vote against Speaker Boehner and to vote 
against Speaker Ryan, I can tell you that this Chamber has been run 
better, more conservatively, and more transparently under Mr. McCarthy 
than any other Speaker that I have served under.
  As a member of the Rules Committee, one of three conservatives who 
was placed there out of trust--the Speaker gave us a blocking position 
by putting three of us on there to keep an eye on the Rules Committee, 
to make sure the process was fair and even--I can tell you it has been 
fair and even. None of us are voting against the Speaker today.
  Regular order is at odds with predetermined outcomes. Yet, the 
Speaker is being accused of not holding to regular order and 
predetermined outcomes at the same time. It is not possible. You cannot 
be for both at the same time.
  I was a party to the January agreement, and I can tell you that there 
were promises in there, but there was never a promise for an outcome. 
There was never a promise that you could force Joe Biden to sign 
something. There was only the promise that we would try, and try we 
have. We have tried in the Rules Committee. We have tried on the floor. 
We have been trying since this summer.
  There is enough blame to go around for why we don't have 12 bills, 
but part of it was a relitigation of the debt limit deal.
  By the way, there was no promise on the debt limit deal. There were 
no conditions on that in January--zero--whatsoever. I was in the room 
for that.
  The 12 bills were delayed over what? $100 billion. That is a lot of 
money, but it is nothing compared to the $2 trillion that I came here 
to object to when Speaker Pelosi and President Trump pushed that bill 
through.
  We have had over 500 amendments. Listen, this is a referendum on this 
institution. We have tried regular order. Speaker McCarthy has tried 
regular order. If regular order fails today, if you vote to vacate the 
Speaker, no one is going to try again. This institution will fail. 
Please do not vacate the Speaker.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. McClintock), my very good friend.
  Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, if there was ever a time for sobriety, 
wisdom, and caution in this House, it is right now.
  If this motion carries, the House will be paralyzed. We can expect 
week after week of fruitless ballots while no other business can be 
conducted. The Democrats will revel in Republican dysfunction, and the 
public will rightly be repulsed. It will end when the Democrats are 
able to enlist a rump caucus of Republicans to join a coalition to end 
the impasse.
  This House will shift dramatically to the left and will effectively 
end the Republican House majority that the voters elected in 2022. 
This, in turn, will neutralize the only counterweight in our elected 
government to the woke left's control of the Senate and the White House 
at a time when their policies are destroying our economy and have 
opened our borders to invasion.
  There are turning points in history whose significance is only 
realized by the events that they unleash. This is one of those times. 
We are at the precipice. There are only minutes left to come to our 
senses and realize the grave danger our country is in at this moment. 
Dear God, grant us the wisdom to see it and to save our country from 
it.

[[Page H4974]]

  

  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, there is nothing sober, wise, or cautious 
about the path we are on. We are on a path to financial ruin if this 
House does not take a different posture, a different procedure, and 
yield toward different outcomes and a better future. I reserve the 
balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Gimenez), my very good friend.
  Mr. GIMENEZ. Mr. Speaker, I stand before my colleagues and the Nation 
as a proud Representative of the great State of Florida. I truly am 
beyond blessed to represent the paradise that is Miami-Dade County and 
the Florida Keys. I am beyond proud to represent my community before 
this Congress, to stand with a leader who has consistently demonstrated 
an unwavering commitment to our country and to the principles that 
define us as Americans, Kevin McCarthy.
  Today is historic for a lot of reasons. For one thing, this is the 
first time in over 100 years that this has been attempted, but it is 
also because we are part of a Congress with historically tight 
majorities for the Republicans in the House and the Democrats in the 
Senate, and we have a Democratic White House. Divided government is 
what we have.
  The need to negotiate to find solutions to the issues facing this 
country, that is a reflection of the principles that are uniquely 
American, principles that make this country exceptional. They are 
principles that allowed me, an exile who came here from Cuba, fleeing 
Communist Cuba, to serve in this very institution.
  I wasn't born here, but everything that I am, everything that I ever 
will be, is thanks to America. The best part about it is that my story, 
the story of the community I am so proud to represent, and the story of 
many in this body is that we are not the exception in America. We are 
the rule. That is the America that Kevin McCarthy has fought for his 
entire career. Kevin McCarthy is a champion for the American Dream, and 
he has proved it as our Speaker.
  Thomas Jefferson once said: I predict future happiness for Americans 
if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the 
people under the guise of taking care of them.
  Let's keep Kevin McCarthy as our Speaker. He is a great man, a great 
leader, and a great Speaker.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to my remaining time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Florida has 9\3/4\ 
minutes remaining.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Iowa (Mrs. Hinson), my very good friend.
  Mrs. HINSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of our Speaker, 
Kevin McCarthy.
  Let's be very clear here. We would not have a House Republican 
majority without the relentless efforts of this man, our Speaker.
  Under his leadership, Joe Biden's policies have had a check and 
balance. His policies have created a horrific border crisis--10,000 
illegal immigrants a day surging across our border. Under Speaker 
McCarthy, Republicans have passed legislation to secure our border.
  Joe Biden has done everything to squash American energy, selling our 
oil reserves to China. Under Speaker McCarthy, Republicans have passed 
legislation to unleash American energy dominance.
  Joe Biden has spent taxpayer dollars like there is no tomorrow. Under 
Speaker McCarthy, we have returned to passing single-subject 
appropriations bills and ending the status quo of omnibus spending.
  One of the most valuable pieces of advice that I received was from 
Kevin McCarthy when I got here to D.C. He told me to separate the 
signal from the noise. The noise is those who are causing chaos for 
their own personal benefit while ignoring the needs of their 
constituents and this country, grinding our work here to a halt. The 
signal is the many accomplishments that we have delivered for the 
American people with Speaker McCarthy at the helm. The signal is the 
failures coming out of the White House time and time again. The signal 
is the work that we must do today and going forward to save our country 
for my kids and yours.

  My colleagues here today have a choice: Be a chaos agent or get back 
to work. I call on my colleagues: Let's separate the signal from the 
noise. Let's support our Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, so we can get back to 
work for the American people.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I think I have caught the signal, too. The signal is for $33 trillion 
in debt, facing $2.2 trillion annual deficits. Our fellow Americans may 
be watching and wondering, how does that happen? How does the greatest 
country in the world have a process so broken that it would be laughed 
out of the rooms in the halls of the State legislatures where many of 
us come from?

                              {time}  1530

  Here is how it works. The law says we are supposed to have the very 
single-subject spending bills that my colleague referenced in the 
summer; that we are supposed to have that and move it. But there is a 
dirty little secret in this town, and that is, if you delay, if you 
hold the bills, if you make multiple contradictory promises--as Speaker 
McCarthy has done--and you back everybody up against shutdown politics, 
well, nobody wants to shut the government down. No one cheers for a 
shutdown and, of course, when people are backed up against shutdown 
politics, the decision calculus changes.
  So year after year, decade after decade, we break the law, and we do 
the same thing. We pass a continuing resolution, then we pass another 
continuing resolution, and then it is either another continuing 
resolution or an omnibus bill or a series of minibuses that lump these 
disparate things together.
  The American people want all of us to take votes on single-subject 
matters. They don't want to see these things all mushed together and 
logrolled. It was concerning to me to hear of a secret deal on Ukraine 
funding that would have logrolled more money with Ukraine with our 
southern border.
  Now, how offensive is that to our Customs and Border Patrol, to our 
ICE, to the people that are suffering as a consequence of our border 
that some of my colleagues are only willing to stand up and fight for 
our border if they can send billions to Ukraine to fund their border, 
too?
  Well, I have had enough of that, and that is why I brought this 
motion to vacate.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), our distinguished majority leader and my good 
friend.
  Mr. SCALISE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma for 
yielding.
  When we go back to January, as many people have, we knew that it was 
going to be a narrow majority. We also knew that it wasn't going to be 
easy. How many of us came here because we thought this job was going to 
be easy? How many of us thought the task ahead of us to address the 
problems of this country was going to be easy?
  One thing we did know is that if we were going to finally start 
confronting problems that had been ignored for years and years and 
years, we had to change the way this place worked, and one thing 
Speaker McCarthy embraced from day one is to start making those kinds 
of changes to this institution, opening up the process, allowing 
Members to be more engaged, having amendments come to the floor, 
single-subject bills, doing appropriations bills.
  Yes, making that happen overnight is not something that happens 
automatically, but it started to happen, and we are now seeing the 
fruits of it. Just last week, we had four different appropriations 
bills on this House floor, four different ones. Now, those bills took 
weeks and weeks to finally get to the floor, going through an open 
committee process, hundreds of amendments, each one of them where 
Republicans and Democrats could bring their ideas.
  We debated those bills on the floor, some until after midnight where 
Members could actually participate in the process. This has been a 
broken process for a long time, but it is a process where we, if we are 
going to confront the problems that families are facing, we need to 
resolve our differences inside this House Chamber before we can then go 
and fight for those families who are struggling. Every single day

[[Page H4975]]

across America families are struggling with real problems that we are 
going to have to get back to solving.
  Those problems are real for them. It is inflation. It is the economy. 
It is high energy costs. It is an open southern border that doesn't 
just affect the border States. It is affecting every State--Republican 
districts, Democrat districts. Everybody knows it, and it can be 
ignored by the White House, but this House is the only body that 
started to take action with H.R. 2 and then with the border bill last 
week. Plus, with the action we took last week, over 70 percent of 
government funding passed out of the House, however everybody voted, 
Republican or Democrat.
  This House passed funding for over 70 percent of the Federal 
Government's operation, and it is sitting over in the Senate where they 
passed zero, and we are going to beat each other up and talk about our 
internal processes and we need to get our internal processes working 
better, but so does that other body over there and so does the White 
House.
  Everybody in this town needs to be engaged in addressing these 
problems, but if we don't start here and if we don't focus these next 
45 days--because that is what we have got in front of us, we have got 
two bills this week, we have got two more appropriations bills next 
week, and if we are going to be confronting those, we have got to stay 
focused on our mission.
  What the other side does, let's continue to put pressure on them, but 
we also need to put pressure on ourselves to do our job. Speaker 
McCarthy has been leading at the top of the level to make sure that we 
have the tools to do our jobs in a different way than the House has 
done it before.
  This House is going to have to continue to make those changes, but 
the American people sent us here to confront those problems. We are 
finally starting to. This isn't the time to slow that process down. We 
need to keep doing our work. We need to keep fighting for those 
families who are struggling, but so does the Senate and so does the 
White House, as well.
  Let's keep doing this work that we were sent here to do.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I agree with everything that the majority 
leader said in those remarks, except one thing. It is astonishing to 
hear any colleague give Speaker McCarthy credit for moving on to the 
single-subject appropriations bills.
  As you heard my colleague Mr. Biggs say, that was never the plan from 
Speaker McCarthy. The week before we moved on to those single-subject 
appropriations bills, the plan was another CR. He pitched a CR. They 
tried to get us to vote for a CR, and a brave few said we are done 
governing by continuing resolution. We are here to eulogize the era of 
the continuing resolution. We will not do it. We will not pass it.

  These bills can go. The spending may rise and fall as the years pass, 
but the notion that we are going to lump in the Department of Education 
and the Department of Labor with our military and our troops and our 
Border Patrol is fundamentally unserious, and I would suggest chaotic.
  We cannot do that. It was only because we forced that to happen. By 
the way, if we continue with Speaker McCarthy, the appropriations 
process will go right back to what he wanted it to go back to--just a 
sideshow, just a puppet show, just something to keep the hamsters on 
the hamster wheel as they continue to back people up against a 
calendar, centralize power with the lobbyists and special interests 
that move all kinds of money through the leadership. That is how they 
get their way, and that is why the American people have been getting 
screwed decade after decade. I am not going to tolerate it anymore 
without a fight.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Mike Garcia), my very good friend and fellow member of 
the Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to recalibrate our 
minds on what is actually happening here today.
  This proceeding looks important. It feels consequential, but let's 
look at what else is happening across America.
  Today, about 300 Americans will die from fentanyl poisoning. Today, 
about 11,000 people will illegally penetrate our borders. Today's debt 
is approaching $34 trillion. Today's mortgage rates just hit a 25-year 
high now approaching 8 percent. Our energy prices are again at 
backbreaking highs with gas approaching $8 a gallon in my district. 
Today, China and the CCP grow stronger with an intent to go to war by 
2027, and our military is experiencing record-low retention and record-
low recruitment.
  This is the reality of today for 335 million Americans under 
President Joe Biden. It is a dark and scary reality. This Republican 
majority here today in the House is the only firewall against the 
damaging far-left policies of the Biden administration.
  The single-subject appropriations bills that we were supposed to be 
voting on this week will literally fight to reverse the darkness of 
these realities and fight inflation, cut spending, secure our border, 
while enhancing our Nation's security and investing in our soldiers at 
a meaningful level.
  Today, this body filled with people in fancy suits led by a few 
Republicans who are running with scissors and supported by Democrats 
who have personal issues with the Speaker, have uncertain intentions 
and even more uncertain goals, and they have decided to make today 
about drama. Today is not about solving problems and helping our 
constituents but about drama.
  We need to be the no-drama option for America--this party, this 
majority. I fear that this self-inflicted drama of today jeopardizes 
our majority and by definition removes the last layer of defense 
protecting America from this Biden administration.
  Let's dispense with the drama, do our jobs, and move on with 
defending this beautiful country.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I am here to solve problems, too, but we have 
decade after decade of history showing us that you don't solve any 
problems with continuing resolutions and omnibus bills. That creates 
more problems, more debt, more inflation, more pain for American 
families.
  So the way to solve problems is to break the fever dream of governing 
by continuing resolution and omnibus bills and instead return to the 
very single-subject spending bills that we will only get if my 
resolution passes to vacate Speaker McCarthy.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. McHenry).
  Mr. McHENRY. Mr. Speaker, every step of the way, Speaker McCarthy has 
been doubted.
  After the first Speaker vote, he was mocked, right? After 15, they 
called him Speaker, and even then it was the media and the left that 
mocked him.
  With the narrowest Republican majority in a generation, what did we 
achieve? We brought the President to the table when he stubbornly said 
for 100 days he would not negotiate on the debt ceiling. I took him at 
his word.
  The Speaker said, no, we will get him to the table, and sure enough, 
we did. The result: The most conservative spending package we have seen 
in generations, the largest spending cuts year over year that any 
Congress has passed. Conservative outcomes.
  I understand your position on the left. I understand that.
  But my friends on the right, why?
  Then this past weekend, I understand the frustration on the left at 
what happened on the continuing resolution, but why would we have 
conservatives object to that? Why would we have House Members object to 
that?
  We rolled the Senate. We never roll the Senate as a House. Moreover, 
we never roll the Senate to get less spending, and we got it this 
weekend, so I understand why the left is mad. What I don't understand 
is why some Republicans think that that is a bad thing.
  The frustration for me today--I understand where the liberals are. I 
know you support the constitutional order except in a moment like this 
when you are questioned on that. I understand that. You can't be 
counted on in a moment like this with the state of the speakership.
  For Republicans, why would we give up a conservative working majority 
for better outcomes and hand the keys over to the Democrats? Why would 
we do that?

[[Page H4976]]

  With this record of success that we have seen Kevin McCarthy and the 
Republican majority produce in a Washington run by Democrats, we are 
going to throw that away, resulting in more liberal outcomes, not more 
conservative ones. I understand why the left is where you are today. 
You don't like an effective conservative majority.

  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, it is lovely to hear from the principal 
architect of Mr. McCarthy's debt limit deal, but here is the reality: 
The only Republicans in America who believe that the debt limit deal 
was conservative are in this Chamber right now because all over 
America, Republicans think that when you negotiated that debt limit 
deal, they took your lunch money.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Oklahoma (Mrs. Bice).
  Mrs. BICE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of Speaker Kevin 
McCarthy.
  Under his leadership and a very small, five-seat majority, House 
Republicans have achieved, contrary to popular belief, numerous 
victories. We passed the Parents Bill of Rights; the Lower Energy Costs 
Act to lower the cost of gasoline and restore American energy 
independence; the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was one of the 
largest enacted cuts with enforceable spending caps in American 
history; and H.R. 2, the most conservative southern border security 
bill in history--all of this while fully funding our military and our 
Nation's veterans.
  Let me be abundantly clear: Attempting to remove Speaker McCarthy 
will put this House in a stalemate and paralyze our ability to fight 
for our constituents and instead create a fight amongst one another.
  We have 43 days to restore fiscal responsibility and advance 
conservative appropriations priorities, which is exactly what my 
colleagues have asked for. Instead, we are threatening any House 
proceedings.

                              {time}  1545

  This is an unnecessary distraction. Working together under the 
leadership of Speaker McCarthy is of the utmost importance.
  Mr. Speaker, I stand and strongly support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker 
of the House, and I encourage my Republican colleagues to do the same.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New 
York (Ms. Stefanik), my very good friend, and our distinguished 
Conference leader.
  Ms. STEFANIK. Mr. Speaker, anyone and everyone who knows Kevin 
McCarthy, whether they are a friend or foe, knows that Kevin McCarthy 
is a happy warrior. He is tireless. He has that uniquely American grit.
  Under Kevin's speakership, that lasted 15 rounds of him never giving 
up, this Republican majority have exceeded all expectations:
  We reopened the people's House.
  We passed the strongest border security bill in our Nation's history.
  We passed an energy plan to unleash American energy dominance.
  We passed Defense bills to support our troops.
  Under Kevin's leadership, he has brought hundreds and hundreds of 
bipartisan Members of Congress to Israel, our greatest ally.
  He elected the most diverse class of Republicans ever, with the 
largest number of Republican women ever in American history.
  This boy from Bakersfield, he cares deeply about his constituents, 
his country, and the American people, and that includes each and every 
one of his colleagues.
  He has been to our districts, toasted at our weddings, celebrated the 
birth of our children, mourned the loss of our loved ones, and has 
cheered us when we haven't believed in ourselves, which is why the 
Republicans strongly support Speaker McCarthy and are proud he is our 
Speaker.
  Now more than ever, the Republicans must unify. The stakes are too 
high. We need to save our country, which is why this Conference is 
proud to strongly support Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House of 
Representatives.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I will just say that if this House of Representatives 
has exceeded all expectations, then we definitely need higher 
expectations.
  While it is heartwarming and kind that the Speaker calls people on 
their birthday and visits their district and congratulates them on 
their children, please know this isn't a critique of the individual. It 
is a critique of the job. The job hasn't been done. We have had 
multiple contradictory promises.
  It is quite something, for those of you keeping track at home, the 
last three speakers you have heard opposing my resolution all voted for 
the debt deal. So if you believe that the debt limit deal that Speaker 
McCarthy brought into law was a good thing, maybe you agree with their 
perspective.
  I think the debt limit deal was a terrible deal, and it really was 
the original sin of the McCarthy speakership, and it is one of the 
reasons I seek to vacate the Chair now.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Graves), my very good friend.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Oklahoma for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, we have been here for 8 months with one of the tightest 
majorities in modern history. Yet, look at the accomplishments of this 
majority, this conservative majority, with the majority of Republicans 
voting for:
  The strongest border security in my lifetime.
  Fighting against this incomprehensible energy policy that is driving 
up energy costs 40 percent, utility and gasoline payments, pushing 
Americans into energy poverty.
  We passed legislation to unleash America's energy resources, pushing 
back this administration's brainless policies on energy.
  We passed legislation to pull back, to stop spending, $4.8 trillion, 
that--I want to make note--my friends that are carrying this motion to 
vacate opposed.
  We passed legislation to streamline regulations permitting 
environmental laws for the first time in 40 years. Again, my friends 
here opposed.
  We strengthened work requirements for welfare to get people back into 
the workforce. Again, my friends over here opposed.
  I keep wondering, what is going on? Are we redefining what 
conservative is? What is going on in this country today? What is going 
on in this body?
  We have FreedomWorks, Heritage, Chip Roy and   Jim Jordan say 
something is conservative and these folks say it is not, and they are 
right.
  All of a sudden, my phone keeps sending text messages, saying: Hey, 
give me money.
  Look at that. Oh, look: Give me money. I filed a motion to vacate.
  Using official actions, official actions to raise money; it is 
disgusting. It is what is disgusting about Washington.
  Mr. Speaker, we have watched as these folks right here that have 
brought up this motion to vacate have refused to pay our military 
servicemembers, refused to pay them.
  I would quote my delegation member, my Senator from Louisiana, John 
Kennedy. If we are not going to pay our servicemembers, if they are not 
going to be there to protect us, the next time someone invades America, 
``call a crackhead.'' Let me know how that works out.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Louisiana.
  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, I have heard people talk about 
bad faith here. I have heard them make reference to this January 
agreement--my friends from Arizona, Virginia, and Florida.

  Let me be crystal clear: Not a single one of them was in the room.
  You know what? The Speaker didn't meet the targets of that January 
agreement, he exceeded them. The greatest savings in American history. 
The greatest savings in American history.
  Mr. Speaker, this isn't about fundraising. This is about our country. 
It is about our children and our grandchildren.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentleman from Louisiana.

[[Page H4977]]

  

  Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, we need to stand behind this 
majority. We need to stand behind the greatest Speaker in modern 
history that has delivered the best conservative wins for this country.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, my colleague says we have passed the strongest border 
bills in history. Well, guess what? Look at the border right now.
  We didn't use sufficient leverage in the debt limit or in any other 
thing to actually get results on the border.
  The border is a disaster; really something I don't think you are 
going to be campaigning on that you fixed the border.
  Second, the gentleman said he streamlined regulations. What the 
gentleman from Louisiana doesn't tell you is that all of the regulatory 
reform he was just bragging about is waivable by the stroke of a pen of 
someone in the Biden White House.
  Do you really think you have anything for that? It is a total joke.
  Finally, the Welfare-to-Work that the gentleman from Louisiana said 
we have, the welfare programs that they said they streamlined with 
their Welfare-to-Work stuff, they are actually going to grow. While 
they did work requirements, they blew out those programs of expanded 
eligibility.
  I am really glad my colleagues didn't put work requirements on 
Medicaid. It probably would have resulted in Medicaid expansion.
  When it comes to how those raise money, I take no lecture on asking 
patriotic Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those 
who would grovel and bend knee for the lobbyists and special interests 
who own our leadership, who have--oh, boo all you want--who have 
hollowed out this town and have borrowed against the future of our 
future generations.
  I will be happy to fund my political operation through the work of 
hardworking Americans, $10, $20, and $30 at a time. My colleagues can 
keep showing up at the lobbyists' fundraisers and see how that goes for 
you.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Once again, the Chair would admonish those 
speaking from the floor to direct their comments to the Chair.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining for 
each side.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Oklahoma has 3 minutes 
remaining. The gentleman from Florida has 3 minutes remaining.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the 
gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Armstrong), my great friend.
  Mr. ARMSTRONG. Mr. Speaker, let's be clear why we are here: Because 
the incentive structure in this town is completely broken.
  We no longer value loyalty, integrity, confidence, or collaboration. 
Instead, we have descended to a place where clicks, TV hits, and the 
never-ending quest for the most mediocre taste of celebrity drives 
decisions and encourages juvenile behavior that is so far beneath this 
esteemed body.
  Kevin McCarthy has done more in 9 months to restore the people's 
House than any Speaker in decades. We have done regular order. We have 
had open amendments. Every single Member of this Chamber has the right, 
the ability, and the opportunity to be heard on the floor.
  It has been messy. It has been raucous, and at times, it has been 
chaotic. God bless every minute of it, because democracy is supposed to 
be hard. The alternative is a closed-door process where 2,000-page 
bills come out of the Speaker's office at midnight and are forced to 
the floor the next morning.
  Kevin McCarthy has broken that cycle. That alone is enough for him to 
remain our Speaker, but that doesn't deliver his opponents what they 
crave the most: attention.
  We shouldn't stand for it. I won't stand for it. I will stand here 
with our Speaker, with our leader, that the overwhelming majority of 
our Conference supports. You need to look no further than where the 
opponents are sitting today in this Chamber.
  They are not over here. They are over there.
  Mr. Speaker, we are going to face these challenges together. I say 
bring whatever comes next because we believe in the job our Speaker has 
done. We believe in his vision, and, most importantly, we are proud to 
call Kevin McCarthy our friend and our Speaker of the House.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, to be clear, I tried to get one of the three podiums on 
the Republican side, and my colleagues wouldn't let me have them, so 
they sent me over here.
  Mr. Speaker, you know what, I will make this argument at any desk in 
this building, from the well, from the Chair. I will make it on every 
street corner in this country that Washington must change.
  We have to break the cycle. We have to break the fever. I would hope, 
truly, that the reforms that we are fighting for are reforms that would 
last and be embraced and that would democratize power in this 
institution beyond the privileged few who back us up against 
shutdown politics and Christmases and deadlines in order to achieve 
their objectives.

  Mr. Speaker, high inflation is on the verge of bankrupting American 
families. Our economy is breaking in half. A typical American family 
can't afford to buy a House in 99 percent of U.S. counties. Inflation 
is stealing more than $700 a month from working Americans; nearly 
$9,000 a year.
  Kevin McCarthy is the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and he 
has failed to take a stand where it matters; so if he won't, I will. I 
make no apologies for defending the right of every hardworking American 
to afford a decent life for themselves and their families, and we have 
a greater opportunity to do that and to build coalitions under new 
leadership.
  We have to rip off the Band-Aid. We have to get back on a better 
course.
  Mr. Speaker, I don't know how this vote is going to go. Usually when 
a vote comes to this floor, it is pretty pre-determined. This one, I am 
not so sure.
  I am sure that we have made the right argument: that this place 
deserves single-subject spending bills; that we should have 72 hours to 
read a bill; that something that spends more than $100 million 
shouldn't be put on the suspension agenda such that we can't amend it; 
and there shouldn't be secret side deals made on a continuing 
resolution to lump Ukraine in with border security.
  That is not right for Ukraine or border security because it fails to 
give either of those issues the dignity that they would require.
  We can return that dignity to this House. We can get back on a better 
path. We can have single-subject appropriation bills. We can set a 
budget, a budget top line. We haven't had a budget in this place since 
I was in high school.
  Let's get a budget. Let's get our act together. Let's get on with it. 
Let's vacate the Chair, and let's get a better Speaker.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired. Without 
objection, the previous question is ordered on the resolution.
  There was no objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on adoption of the 
resolution.
  The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that 
the noes appeared to have it.
  Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 3 of rule XX, the Chair 
directs the Clerk to conduct the vote by a call of the roll.
  The Clerk will call the roll alphabetically by surname.
  The following is the result of the vote, and there were--yeas 216, 
nays 210, not voting 7, as follows:

                             [Roll No. 519]

                               YEAS--216

     Adams
     Aguilar
     Allred
     Auchincloss
     Balint
     Barragan
     Beatty
     Bera
     Beyer
     Biggs
     Bishop (GA)
     Blumenauer
     Blunt Rochester
     Bonamici
     Bowman
     Boyle (PA)
     Brown
     Brownley
     Buck
     Budzinski
     Burchett
     Caraveo
     Carbajal
     Cardenas
     Carson
     Carter (LA)
     Cartwright
     Casar
     Case
     Casten
     Castor (FL)
     Castro (TX)

[[Page H4978]]


     Cherfilus-McCormick
     Chu
     Clark (MA)
     Clarke (NY)
     Cleaver
     Clyburn
     Cohen
     Connolly
     Correa
     Costa
     Courtney
     Craig
     Crane
     Crockett
     Crow
     Cuellar
     Davids (KS)
     Davis (IL)
     Davis (NC)
     Dean (PA)
     DeGette
     DeLauro
     DelBene
     Deluzio
     DeSaulnier
     Dingell
     Doggett
     Escobar
     Eshoo
     Espaillat
     Evans
     Fletcher
     Foster
     Foushee
     Frankel, Lois
     Frost
     Gaetz
     Gallego
     Garamendi
     Garcia (IL)
     Garcia (TX)
     Garcia, Robert
     Golden (ME)
     Goldman (NY)
     Gomez
     Gonzalez, Vicente
     Good (VA)
     Gottheimer
     Green, Al (TX)
     Grijalva
     Harder (CA)
     Hayes
     Higgins (NY)
     Himes
     Horsford
     Houlahan
     Hoyer
     Hoyle (OR)
     Huffman
     Ivey
     Jackson (IL)
     Jackson (NC)
     Jackson Lee
     Jacobs
     Jayapal
     Jeffries
     Johnson (GA)
     Kamlager-Dove
     Kaptur
     Keating
     Kelly (IL)
     Khanna
     Kildee
     Kilmer
     Kim (NJ)
     Krishnamoorthi
     Kuster
     Landsman
     Larsen (WA)
     Larson (CT)
     Lee (CA)
     Lee (NV)
     Lee (PA)
     Leger Fernandez
     Levin
     Lieu
     Lofgren
     Lynch
     Mace
     Magaziner
     Manning
     Matsui
     McBath
     McClellan
     McCollum
     McGarvey
     McGovern
     Meeks
     Menendez
     Meng
     Mfume
     Moore (WI)
     Morelle
     Moskowitz
     Moulton
     Mrvan
     Mullin
     Nadler
     Napolitano
     Neal
     Neguse
     Nickel
     Norcross
     Ocasio-Cortez
     Omar
     Pallone
     Panetta
     Pappas
     Pascrell
     Payne
     Perez
     Peters
     Pettersen
     Phillips
     Pingree
     Pocan
     Porter
     Pressley
     Quigley
     Ramirez
     Raskin
     Rosendale
     Ross
     Ruiz
     Ruppersberger
     Ryan
     Salinas
     Sanchez
     Sarbanes
     Scanlon
     Schakowsky
     Schiff
     Schneider
     Scholten
     Schrier
     Scott (VA)
     Scott, David
     Sewell
     Sherman
     Sherrill
     Slotkin
     Smith (WA)
     Sorensen
     Soto
     Spanberger
     Stansbury
     Stanton
     Stevens
     Strickland
     Swalwell
     Takano
     Thanedar
     Thompson (CA)
     Thompson (MS)
     Titus
     Tlaib
     Tokuda
     Tonko
     Torres (CA)
     Torres (NY)
     Trahan
     Trone
     Underwood
     Vargas
     Vasquez
     Veasey
     Velazquez
     Wasserman Schultz
     Waters
     Watson Coleman
     Wexton
     Wild
     Williams (GA)
     Wilson (FL)

                               NAYS--210

     Aderholt
     Alford
     Allen
     Amodei
     Armstrong
     Arrington
     Babin
     Bacon
     Baird
     Balderson
     Banks
     Barr
     Bean (FL)
     Bentz
     Bergman
     Bice
     Bilirakis
     Bishop (NC)
     Boebert
     Bost
     Brecheen
     Buchanan
     Bucshon
     Burgess
     Burlison
     Calvert
     Cammack
     Carey
     Carl
     Carter (GA)
     Chavez-DeRemer
     Ciscomani
     Cline
     Cloud
     Clyde
     Cole
     Collins
     Comer
     Crawford
     Crenshaw
     Curtis
     D'Esposito
     Davidson
     De La Cruz
     DesJarlais
     Diaz-Balart
     Donalds
     Duarte
     Duncan
     Dunn (FL)
     Edwards
     Ellzey
     Emmer
     Estes
     Ezell
     Fallon
     Feenstra
     Ferguson
     Finstad
     Fischbach
     Fitzgerald
     Fitzpatrick
     Fleischmann
     Flood
     Foxx
     Franklin, C. Scott
     Fry
     Fulcher
     Gallagher
     Garbarino
     Garcia, Mike
     Gimenez
     Gonzales, Tony
     Gosar
     Granger
     Graves (LA)
     Graves (MO)
     Green (TN)
     Greene (GA)
     Griffith
     Grothman
     Guest
     Guthrie
     Hageman
     Harris
     Harshbarger
     Hern
     Higgins (LA)
     Hill
     Hinson
     Houchin
     Hudson
     Huizenga
     Hunt
     Issa
     Jackson (TX)
     James
     Johnson (LA)
     Johnson (OH)
     Johnson (SD)
     Jordan
     Joyce (OH)
     Joyce (PA)
     Kean (NJ)
     Kelly (MS)
     Kelly (PA)
     Kiggans (VA)
     Kiley
     Kim (CA)
     Kustoff
     LaHood
     LaLota
     LaMalfa
     Lamborn
     Langworthy
     Latta
     LaTurner
     Lawler
     Lee (FL)
     Lesko
     Letlow
     Loudermilk
     Lucas
     Luetkemeyer
     Luttrell
     Malliotakis
     Mann
     Massie
     Mast
     McCarthy
     McCaul
     McClain
     McClintock
     McCormick
     McHenry
     Meuser
     Miller (IL)
     Miller (OH)
     Miller (WV)
     Miller-Meeks
     Mills
     Molinaro
     Moolenaar
     Mooney
     Moore (AL)
     Moore (UT)
     Moran
     Murphy
     Nehls
     Newhouse
     Norman
     Nunn (IA)
     Obernolte
     Ogles
     Owens
     Palmer
     Pence
     Perry
     Pfluger
     Posey
     Reschenthaler
     Rodgers (WA)
     Rogers (AL)
     Rogers (KY)
     Rose
     Rouzer
     Roy
     Rutherford
     Salazar
     Santos
     Scalise
     Schweikert
     Scott, Austin
     Self
     Sessions
     Simpson
     Smith (MO)
     Smith (NE)
     Smith (NJ)
     Smucker
     Spartz
     Stauber
     Steel
     Stefanik
     Steil
     Steube
     Strong
     Tenney
     Thompson (PA)
     Tiffany
     Timmons
     Turner
     Valadao
     Van Drew
     Van Duyne
     Van Orden
     Wagner
     Walberg
     Waltz
     Weber (TX)
     Webster (FL)
     Wenstrup
     Westerman
     Williams (NY)
     Williams (TX)
     Wilson (SC)
     Wittman
     Womack
     Yakym
     Zinke

                             NOT VOTING--7

     Bush
     Carter (TX)
     Gooden (TX)
     Luna
     Pelosi
     Peltola
     Sykes

                              {time}  1642

  So the resolution was agreed to.
  The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.


                          personal explanation

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I missed a series of votes due to my 
participating in official memorials and honoring the legacy of my 
friend Senator Feinstein. Had I been present, I would have voted 
``nay'' on rollcall No. 518 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 519.


                          PERSONAL EXPLANATION

  Ms. BUSH. Mr. Speaker, I was not present during today's votes. Had I 
been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 516, ``nay'' 
on rollcall No. 517, ``nay'' on rollcall No. 518, and ``yea'' on 
rollcall No. 519.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Office of Speaker of the House of the 
United States House of Representatives is hereby declared vacant.

                          ____________________