[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 188 (Tuesday, November 14, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H5735-H5738]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5894, DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH
AND HUMAN SERVICES, AND EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
ACT, 2024
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I
call up House Resolution 864 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 864
Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this
resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule
XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of
the bill (H.R. 5894) making appropriations for the
Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and
Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending
September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. The first reading
of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order
against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate
shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking
minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their
respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be
considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. An
amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the
text of Rules Committee Print 118-13, modified by the
amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on
Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as
adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The
bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill
for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute
rule and shall be considered as read. All points of order
against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived.
Sec. 2. (a) No further amendment to H.R. 5894, as amended,
shall be in order except those printed in part B of the
report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution, amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this
resolution, and pro forma amendments described in section 4
of this resolution.
(b) Each further amendment printed in part B of the report
of the Committee on Rules shall be considered only in the
order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member
designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall
be debatable for the time specified in the report equally
divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent,
shall not be subject to amendment except as provided by
section 4 of this resolution, and shall not be subject to a
demand for division of the question in the House or in the
Committee of the Whole.
(c) All points of order against further amendments printed
in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules or against
amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution
are waived.
Sec. 3. It shall be in order at any time for the chair of
the Committee on Appropriations or her designee to offer
amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed
in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules
accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of.
Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be
considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally
divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority
member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective
designees, shall not be subject to amendment except as
provided by section 4 of this resolution, and shall not be
subject to a demand for division of the question in the House
or in the Committee of the Whole.
Sec. 4. During consideration of H.R. 5894 for amendment,
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Appropriations or their respective designees may offer up to
10 pro forma amendments each at any point for the purpose of
debate.
Sec. 5. At the conclusion of consideration of H.R. 5894
for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill,
as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may
have been adopted. The previous question shall be considered
as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further
amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion
except one motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1
hour.
{time} 0915
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the
customary 30 minutes to the Congresswoman from Pennsylvania (Ms.
Scanlon), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume.
During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the
purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, last night the Rules Committee met and
reported a rule, House Resolution 864, providing for consideration of
H.R. 5894. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 5894 under a
structured rule with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by
the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Appropriations or their designee.
The rule further makes in order 146 amendments. The rule also
provides that the chair and the ranking member of the Appropriations
Committee, or their respective designees, may offer up to 10 pro forma
amendments each at any point for the purpose of debate. Finally, the
rule additionally provides for one motion to recommit.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the rule and the underlying bill,
H.R. 5894, the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2024.
Mr. Speaker, the Republican majority is committed to fulfilling their
promises to the American people by ensuring that we pass H.R. 5894 to
fund our government and its crucial public health, education, and labor
programs.
This bill is a significant accomplishment and the most recent step
House Republicans are taking to restore fiscal responsibility to the
Federal budget after years of overspending. It is a fact that our
Federal spending is out of control, and H.R. 5894 is a step in the
right direction, encouraging responsibility and restoring
accountability.
H.R. 5894 provides $147 billion for vital programs at the Departments
of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education while still reducing
total Federal spending by over $60 billion.
The bill eliminates 61 programs, 50 of which are currently not
authorized. It reduces funding for an additional 54 other programs and
prohibits funds from unnecessary regulations and partisan executive
orders.
This Congress should aim to prioritize funding programs that can have
positive outcomes and deliver results for the American people. Inflated
spending for duplicative programs is a sure way to fuel the economic
situation in which we now find ourselves.
H.R. 5894 funds key priorities, including maintaining funding for
essential education, public health, substance abuse and mental health,
and veterans job training programs.
Republicans have fought to ensure that funding is prioritized to help
all school districts safely educate children, including children with
special needs. H.R. 5894 also contains provisions to support funding
for charter schools, Pell grants, and local career and technical
training programs for those students who are not seeking a college
degree to ensure that our next generation is given opportunity and
access to essential education programs.
Especially important to many districts around the country, including
mine, this bill maintains vital funding for the Impact Aid Program,
which supports school districts affected by a Federal presence such as
a military base.
H.R. 5894 promotes American values of freedom, faith, and family by
prohibiting the executive order requiring biological boys to be allowed
to compete in girls' and women's sports, protecting religious freedom
for students on college campuses, and strengthening parental rights for
children in school.
Republicans understand that our country is facing a mental health
crisis, along with record-breaking rates of substance abuse in the
United States; therefore, this bill has designated funding for programs
that combat opioid abuse in urban and rural communities. These crucial
programs allow Americans to access the proper care that they need,
including vital telehealth and response resources.
[[Page H5736]]
Democrats seem to disregard the value of the taxpayer dollar. They
have continuously proven that they prioritize additional spending,
progressive initiatives, and push through woke policies that will have
negative consequences on the health and well-being of the American
people.
When they were in the majority, congressional Democrats took drastic
steps to push through legislation, such as the Inflation Reduction Act,
saying that it would lower healthcare costs for America's seniors. In
fact, we have already seen that this legislation has resulted in a halt
to innovation and disincentivized investment into high-stakes research,
such as rare diseases.
This bill, H.R. 5894, contains provisions that fund and support
biomedical research programs that work to examine the cures for cancer,
Alzheimer's disease, chronic conditions, and rare diseases. Under
Republican leadership, the United States will continue to remain a
leader in healthcare innovation, while peeling back the partisan
politics that would limit access to lifesaving medicines.
The bill also maintains longstanding provisions of the Hyde
amendment, bipartisan protections which have been in place since 1976.
These pro-life policy protections prohibit Federal funds from being
used for abortion while also including essential protections for
healthcare providers who refuse to provide abortions.
Under the leadership of Democrats, the right for America's medical
professionals to operate under their own autonomy and authority was
under constant attack. Future medical professionals are being forced to
practice medicine outside their own standards or to not practice at
all. Protections placed in this bill ensure that any medical
professional who does not wish to perform procedures that are against
their religious or moral standards simply do not have to. The
Republican Party continues to fight to maintain the balance between the
professional practice of medicine and individual values.
Additionally, H.R. 5894 prohibits funding from being used to promote
gain-of-function research or from any funding going to EcoHealth
Alliance, the Wuhan Institute of Virology, or any other lab located in
the People's Republic of China, Cuba, Iran, or Russia.
Americans deserve transparency for the years lost due to the COVID-19
pandemic. The ability to perform biomedical research is a privilege and
should not be abused. It is our responsibility to ensure that American
dollars do not go toward dangerous research in adversarial countries.
Mr. Speaker, the United States is facing a significant healthcare
workforce shortage. The government continues to have a role in deciding
what is best for American doctors and their patients. This is, in fact,
unacceptable. The combination of low reimbursement rates in the
physician fee schedule, the burdensome compliance requirements through
the No Surprises Act, and the enforcement of unnecessary vaccine
mandates on healthcare workers has only fueled this ongoing shortage.
This bill prohibits the enforcement of regulations by the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services to force a vaccine mandate on healthcare
workers. Healthcare providers should not be forced to comply with these
mandates that infringe upon their individual freedom of choice.
We must come together and pass this bill and continue our commitment
to the health and well-being of our people. The United States is facing
record-breaking inflation, government spending is at an all-time high,
and our communities continue to face barriers to education, healthcare,
and recent partisan policies that stifle healthcare innovation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for
yielding the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
For the past 6 months, the Republican majority, embroiled in chaos
and dysfunction, has wasted valuable time. Because they are unable to
perform the most basic job of Congress, working with Representatives
from both parties and across the country to fund the government, they
have brought us to the brink of a shutdown twice in the last 2 months.
Before that, they threatened to tank the global economy, and if their
proposals pass this week, we will likely face new shutdown threats
again in the new year.
This isn't serious governance. It is not serious or governance at
all. They are playing politics with Americans' lives and our country's
future.
It is outrageous that my constituents are yet again subjected to the
uncertainty and fear that their paychecks won't come next week and that
services they rely upon, like LIHEAP and WIC, will be interrupted.
House Republicans still refuse to come to the table where the majority
of the American people are and work with us in a bipartisan way to pass
the spending bills that Americans expect and deserve.
The Senate is doing it. Why can't the House?
Instead, House Republicans continue to try to force the entire
country to go along with their farcical and extremist approach to
government funding. Unsurprisingly, they continue to fail, over and
over again, on the House floor. Their proposals are so extreme that
Members of their own party won't even vote for them. The MAGA majority
may have new leadership, but it is the same old story.
They plan to kick the government funding can down the road, once
again, so they can try to pass all 12 spending bills, which are now 2
months overdue, that cater to the most extreme and noisy fringe of the
MAGA party.
These are bills that reject any bipartisan input, bills that contain
harmful spending cuts that violate the Fiscal Responsibility Act's
spending levels that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed
into law last spring, and these bills include poison pill policy riders
to enshrine MAGA culture wars into law and force these extremist views
upon every American.
There is no clearer example of that than the unacceptable spending
bill they have brought to the House floor today.
The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations
bill is supposed to help Americans access education, jobs, and
healthcare. These are the foundations of our constituents' lives and
livelihoods.
Mr. Speaker, I don't know about you, but they are three of the issues
that I hear about the most when I have the opportunity to be back home
rather than debating meaningless bills and amendments here on the House
floor. Yet the majority has proposed legislation that slashes funding
for existing programs supporting these parts of Americans' lives by a
shocking 28 percent across the board, back to 2008 spending levels with
even deeper cuts in certain critical areas.
Let me outline what these cuts will mean for Americans.
{time} 0930
Mr. Speaker, our public schools are responsible for educating the
next generation of Americans: our civic leaders, our innovators, and
our taxpayers. They are the key to our country's present and its
future. However, this bill seeks to further efforts of MAGA extremists
to undermine our public school systems by ripping critical funding away
from the K-12 schools that need it the most.
This bill slashes billions--that is billions with a b; 80 percent--
from title I, the foundational Federal program that for over five
decades has helped schools ensure that low-income students have access
to a high-quality, well-rounded education to equip them for what lies
ahead.
These cuts will be devastating for the children who live in my
district, which houses one of the largest public school districts in
the country. Hundreds of millions of dollars in funding will be slashed
from Philadelphia public schools.
Thousands of teachers will lose their jobs, but it is not just my
district that will suffer. It is everyone's. Mr. Speaker, Virginia's
Sixth District will lose $23 million in title I funding. Mr. Burgess'
district, Texas 26, will lose $22 million. That is over 300 teachers
that will lose their jobs in each of those districts.
I challenge any of my colleagues to explain to the teachers and
families in their districts how they can support a bill that cuts
millions of dollars and hundreds of teachers from their local public
schools, particularly at a time when our children need extra help.
[[Page H5737]]
Members of Congress who vote for this proposal will be telling kids
and families clearly and cruelly that where they live or how much money
their parents make is the measure of whether they are worthy of a good
education and future success. That is un-American.
In addition to title I cuts, this bill also eliminates--not cuts,
eliminates--funding for programs that support English language
learning, academic achievement, professional development for educators,
and the emotional and mental health of our students.
In this bill, MAGA Republicans are going after preschool by slashing
hundreds of millions of dollars from Head Start, which has been proven
to provide young children with a critical early learning foundation
that sets them up for lifelong success and saves taxpayers dollars down
the road.
I want so much better than what is in this bill for our children, and
I find it deeply disturbing that my Republican colleagues don't feel
the same.
Early childhood and K-12 education aren't the only things on the
House Republicans' chopping block. With this bill, they are also
abandoning college students and hardworking people trying to improve
their lives and their futures through higher education and job
training.
This bill would eliminate the Federal Work-Study Program for hundreds
of thousands of hardworking students who use it to pay for a higher
education.
It would block regulations to implement income-based student loan
repayment programs, and this bill would rip need-based financial aid
away from over a million students. Consequently, it will be harder for
people from working families to get a degree, and it will stifle their
potential earnings and opportunities in the job market.
This bill also leaves behind Americans who want to work, who want to
access job training, or want to find a higher paying job to better
support themselves and their families. When employers across this
country are scrambling to find qualified job candidates, House
Republicans are defunding the programs that prepare Americans for the
21st century workforce.
The bill they have proposed eliminates job training for over half a
million Americans, the WIOA programs, youth job training, adult job
training, and employment programs for seniors.
The bill also cuts over a billion dollars from critical worker
protection agencies at the Department of Labor, including programs that
ensure worker safety and promote equality and economic security for
working women.
Every day, I see how my district's dozens of higher education
institutions, including community colleges, bring innovation and
prosperous futures to our region, but House Republicans' shortsighted
vision for our country undermines these accomplishments and jeopardizes
the strength of our workforce for generations to come.
Finally, the majority is using this bill to come after programs that
support Americans' health, safety, and well-being. My district and the
whole Philadelphia region is a hub for biomedical innovation, but the
bill before us would undercut this lifesaving work by slashing funding
for cancer and neurological research. Programs that help us fight
public health crises, like opioid misuse and HIV/AIDS, will be
eliminated.
As grieving Americans everywhere call out for action to bring an end
to senseless gun violence, MAGA Republicans in the House, rather than
answer these calls, want to eliminate funding for research on how to
keep communities safe from firearms, now the leading cause of death for
American children.
This bill also puts women's and children's health at risk. At a time
when the U.S. lags far behind all other developed countries in
addressing maternal mortality--not for lack of will and resources--and
outcomes for mothers, but particularly women of color, are getting
worse, this bill cuts hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for
programs that support safe pregnancies, healthy babies, and affordable
access to contraception and a full range of reproductive healthcare.
Of course, this bill also includes a toxic stew of unpopular,
extremist policy riders, yet another example of rightwing lawmakers
pushing their extreme agenda to ban abortion care nationwide.
This is a terrible bill, and the House majority knows it. It has been
dictated by its most extreme Members. It couldn't even survive a
committee markup. Therefore, the party that preaches regular order has
sent it straight to the floor. On the way, with no committee input,
this bill acquired additional policy riders, and no one in the Rules
Committee could explain last night how they got in there since they
didn't happen in committee.
This bill is so extreme it may have to be pulled from the floor, like
the two bills that preceded it last week, because it cannot win enough
votes even from the House Republican Conference. If it does pass the
House, it will not pass the Senate or be able to overcome a White House
veto.
The appropriations legislation that House Republicans have put in
front of us today does nothing to invest in Americans or America's
future. Instead, it slashes programs and support for children,
families, workers, and women. It is a cruel vision for our country as
House Republicans continue to worship at the shrine of trickle-down
economics, despite its failure for half a century. Instead of making
wealthy corporations and billionaires pay their fair share, they would
rather balance the budget on the backs of kids and hardworking
families, and undermine the U.S.' global reputation, credit rating, and
national security.
Americans, my constituents, are fed up. The people who send all of us
to Washington do so with a belief that we will work and fight to make
their and their families' lives better, but it seems too many of the
MAGA Republicans in the House aren't interested in keeping up their end
of that bargain. This bill doesn't live up to the promises I have made
to my constituents, and I absolutely can't support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker, I am
sorry, last year when the Democrats were in charge of the United States
House of Representatives, I do not recall the Labor-HHS bill being on
the floor as an individual bill. In fact, it was not. Everything was
grouped together in a large omnibus bill literally a year ago, last
December.
Here is the problem: We all recognize, both Republicans and
Democrats, additional spending was necessary during the pandemic to
protect Americans and get us through this unprecedented crisis.
However, last year, when everyone acknowledged that the effects of the
coronavirus were on the wane, discretionary spending increased by 15
percent.
Mr. Speaker, my constituents do not understand that. They do not
understand why that was necessary. The people struggling to buy gas and
groceries for sure don't understand why that was done to light the
fires of inflation.
I encourage Members on my side of the aisle to remember, if you do
not want a December omnibus, then vote for this bill today.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
The fact remains that under Democratic leadership, the House did pass
budget bills. It passed the actual bills. What we are seeing here is a
string of MAGA bills being brought to the floor and not passing and not
leading to an eventual budget, so we keep ending up in this Mobius loop
of potential shutdowns. The bills that we have seen so far will not
result in a budget.
Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an
amendment to the rule to make in order amendment No. 81, offered by
Ranking Member DeLauro from the Appropriations Committee, which strikes
section 239 of the bill, which prohibits funding to Planned Parenthood
and other similar women's health organizations.
Mr. Speaker, when will Republicans in the House learn? The American
people want them to stop trying to tell women what they can do with
their bodies. At the ballot box, in Congress, in State legislatures,
women want them to stop. Republican politicians have no place dictating
decisions about women's reproductive health. These decisions should be
made between a woman and her doctor.
This MAGA messaging bill callously prohibits funding to an
organization
[[Page H5738]]
that provides many different health resources to women across the
country. I, myself, used Planned Parenthood when planning my family.
Planned Parenthood also offers vulnerable communities services they
wouldn't otherwise have access to, including critical preventive
services like breast and cervical cancer screenings, contraception, and
sex education. Simply put, blocking this grant funding endangers
women's health across the country. There is no reason we should
restrict access to Federal grant money simply to score political points
for the MAGA base while limiting reproductive healthcare options.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material,
immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Pennsylvania?
There was no objection.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. If anyone is just
tuning in, the bill we have before us today is a bill to fund the
Federal agencies of Department of Health and Human Services, Department
of Labor, and Department of Education. It is not to provide public
funding to Planned Parenthood. That funding should come from someplace
else, but not the pockets of the American taxpayers.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. SCANLON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, as I said before, this is a terrible bill. I remind all
my colleagues that this is kids' futures that we are talking about. It
is the jobs that support American families. It is the health and safety
of our loved ones.
If the House's MAGA Republicans had their way, our workers, students,
children, women, and families would all suffer if the cuts in this bill
were implemented. Our public schools, the centerpieces of our
communities and our democracy, would be decimated. Hardworking people
would be underwater, unable to find good-paying jobs to keep themselves
and their families afloat. Devastating diseases would go uncured and
unchecked, and women would be denied the right to make their own free
choices about their own healthcare.
America and the people who live here are worth investing in so much
more than this, and I won't accept the bleak and nihilistic picture
that House Republicans are trying to paint. Our country's future can
and should be brighter. It is what our constituents and our children
deserve.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the previous question and
the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to
close.
Again, I remind colleagues on my side of the aisle that if they do
not want a December omnibus, a giant Christmas tree with all sorts of
things hung upon it like they saw last year, then they should
understand that we need to pass individual appropriations bills.
Colleagues on my side of the aisle should carefully look at this bill
and vote in favor of passing the rule and the underlying bill.
There are over 60 programs that are currently being funded that are
not authorized. Well, that is on us as authorizers in the authorizing
committees, to be sure. However, at the same time, we cannot continue
to write checks, to send money to programs that no one has bothered to
authorize. If these are important programs that need to continue, then
we on the authorizing committees should do the work, dig into the
details of the program, bring in the witnesses, take the testimony, and
do the appropriate authorization. The fact that that has not happened
in so many programs for so long indicates how broken the process is.
{time} 0945
We need to reverse that, reverse that curse, reverse that inexorable
spending that results if you just simply fund the government at a 15
percent greater level than you did last year before going back to
basics and seeing if the program was even necessary.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation has many conservative policies that
deliver results to the American people. H.R. 5894, the underlying
appropriations bill, works to reverse the harmful effects of
controversial executive orders and the woke politics that have really
damaged our country.
Republicans seek to protect life, promote American values in the
classroom, prioritize safe medical research, and combat the opioid
epidemic, all while reining in unnecessary spending and promoting
oversight and accountability. That is why I support the rule.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule. I support the
underlying bill and urge my colleagues to support the underlying bill.
The material previously referred to by Ms. Scanlon is as follows:
An Amendment to H. Res. 864 Offered By Ms. Scanlon of Pennsylvania
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 6. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
resolution, the amendment specified in section 7 shall be in
order as though printed as the last amendment in part B of
the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this
resolution if offered by Representatives DeLauro of
Connecticut or a designee. That amendment shall be debatable
for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the
proponent and an opponent.
Sec. 7. The amendment referred to in section 6 is as
follows:
``Strike section 239.''.
Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I
move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous
question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Ms. SCANLON. 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.
____________________