[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 16, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H2406-H2413]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6323, IRAN COUNTERTERRORISM ACT OF 
 2023; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H. RES. 1143, CONDEMNING IRAN'S 
    UNPRECEDENTED DRONE AND MISSILE ATTACK ON ISRAEL; PROVIDING FOR 
 CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4691, IRAN SANCTIONS RELIEF REVIEW ACT OF 2023; 
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5947, TO PROVIDE FOR THE RESCISSION 
    OF CERTAIN WAIVERS AND LICENSES RELATING TO IRAN, AND FOR OTHER 
 PURPOSES; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 6046, STANDING AGAINST 
 HOUTHI AGGRESSION ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 4639, 
                  FOURTH AMENDMENT IS NOT FOR SALE ACT

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on 
Rules, I call up House Resolution 1149 and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:

                              H. Res. 1149

       Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be 
     in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 6323) to 
     modify the availability of certain waiver authorities with 
     respect to sanctions imposed with respect to the financial 
     sector of Iran, and for other purposes. All points of order 
     against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment 
     in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
     Financial Services now printed in the bill shall be 
     considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be 
     considered as read. All points of order against provisions in 
     the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall 
     be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any 
     further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Financial Services or their 
     respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 2.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order without intervention of any point of order to consider 
     in the House the resolution (H. Res. 1143) condemning Iran's 
     unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel. The 
     resolution shall be considered as read. The previous question 
     shall be considered as ordered on the resolution and preamble 
     to adoption without intervening motion or demand for division 
     of the question except one hour of debate equally divided and 
     controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs or their respective designees.
       Sec. 3.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4691) to 
     provide for congressional review of actions to terminate or 
     waive sanctions imposed with respect to Iran. All points of 
     order against consideration of the bill are waived. An 
     amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the 
     text of Rules Committee Print 118-30 shall be considered as 
     adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. 
     All points of order against provisions in the bill, as 
     amended, are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any 
     further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their 
     respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 4.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5947) to 
     provide for the rescission of certain waivers and licenses 
     relating to Iran, and for other purposes. All points of order 
     against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall 
     be considered as read. All points of order against provisions 
     in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment 
     thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: 
     (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the 
     chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign 
     Affairs or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to 
     recommit.
       Sec. 5.  Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in 
     order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 6046) to 
     designate Ansarallah as a foreign terrorist organization and 
     impose certain sanctions on Ansarallah, and for other 
     purposes. All points of order against consideration of the 
     bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a 
     substitute recommended by the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
     an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the 
     text of Rules Committee Print 118-29 shall be considered as 
     adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. 
     All points of order against provisions in the bill, as 
     amended, are waived. The previous question shall be 
     considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any 
     further amendment thereto, to final passage without 
     intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally 
     divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
     member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their 
     respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
       Sec. 6.  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. 
     4639) to amend section 2702 of title 18, United States Code, 
     to prevent law enforcement and intelligence agencies from 
     obtaining subscriber or customer records in exchange for 
     anything of value, to address communications and records in 
     the possession of intermediary internet service providers, 
     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 the Judiciary 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 118-28 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. No further 
     amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except 
     those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules 
     accompanying this resolution. Each such further amendment may 
     be offered 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, and shall 
     not be subject to a demand for division of the question in 
     the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of 
     order against such further amendments are waived. At the 
     conclusion of consideration of the bill 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.

                              {time}  1215

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


                             General Leave

  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all

[[Page H2407]]

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 Pennsylvania?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in 
support of the underlying legislation.
  House Resolution 1149 provides for consideration of six measures: 
H.R. 6323, H. Res. 1143, H.R. 4691, H.R. 5947, H.R. 6046, and H.R. 
4639.
  The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 6323, the Iran 
Counterterrorism Act of 2023, under a closed rule, with 1 hour of 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Financial Services or their respective 
designees and provides one motion to recommit.
  Additionally, the rule provides for consideration of H. Res. 1143, a 
resolution condemning Iran's unprecedented attack on Israel, under a 
closed rule with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the 
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
or their respective designees.
  Further, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4691, the Iran 
Sanctions Relief Review Act of 2023, under a closed rule with 1 hour of 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their respective 
designees and provides one motion to recommit.
  The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 5947, which provides 
for the rescission of certain waivers and licenses relating to Iran, 
under a closed rule with 1 hour of debate equally divided and 
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs or their respective designees and provides for one 
motion to recommit.
  The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 6046, the Standing 
Against Houthi Aggression Act, under a closed rule with 1 hour of 
debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority 
member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their respective 
designees and provides one motion to recommit.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 
4639, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, under a structured rule 
with 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and 
ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their 
respective designees and provides one motion to recommit. The rule 
makes in order three amendments.
  Mr. Speaker, President Joe Biden's foreign policy decisions have been 
a complete disaster on the world stage and have emboldened our 
adversaries and empowered foreign terrorist organizations.
  Sadly, we were forewarned about all of this. Former President Obama's 
Defense Secretary, Robert Gates, stated nearly a decade ago regarding 
President Biden: ``I think he has been wrong on nearly every major 
foreign policy and national security issue over the past four 
decades.''
  He is right. Let's look at the facts.
  In the first year alone, the President green-lit Nord Stream 2 to 
provide Russian gas to Europe while simultaneously blocking the 
Keystone XL pipeline here at home. He issued 94 executive orders on 
immigration, which has led to an unprecedented invasion at our southern 
border. To appease his far-left radical base, he delisted the Houthis 
as a foreign terrorist organization, which directly led to this 
conflict in the Red Sea. He is responsible for the complete surrender 
of Afghanistan, which killed 13 American servicemembers, stranded 
thousands of Americans, returned the Taliban to power, and expanded 
ISIS-K and al-Qaida.
  In 2022, his policies of appeasement led to the largest invasion of 
Europe since World War II. To help his party in the mid-terms, he 
depleted the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to its lowest levels since I 
was born, 1983, and he sent millions of barrels of oil to Communist 
China.
  In the first days of 2023, he allowed a Chinese spy balloon to cross 
the entire country, which collected intelligence on innocent Americans. 
On the 22nd anniversary of 9/11, on the very anniversary, in an insult 
to the people who suffered those terrorist attacks, Joe Biden unfroze 
$6 billion in oil sanctions to Iran just days before an Iranian proxy 
group killed over a thousand people in Israel.
  How does Iran thank us? Our troops in the Middle East faced over 100 
attacks from proxy networks, which led to the death of three 
servicemembers in Jordan.
  Just this year, Biden waived billions of dollars in sanctions to 
allow Iranian energy exports into Iraq--and I kid you not--while also 
announcing an indefinite pause to new approvals of U.S. liquefied 
natural gas exports from here.
  Guess who benefits from that? It is not the United States. It is not 
the American worker. It is Russia, China, and Iran who benefit from Joe 
Biden's reckless foreign policy.
  This administration's policies truly embody the slogan: America last. 
That is why House Republicans are bringing to the floor this week 
legislation to condemn Iran's recent attack on Israel, block Biden's 
ransom payments to Iran, redesignate the Houthis as a foreign terrorist 
organization, and apply maximum pressure on the Iranian regime.
  We cannot stand idly by as the Biden administration hands over the 
keys to the Ayatollah; the dictator in Communist China, Chairman Xi; 
and the dictator Vladimir Putin.
  This week's votes will be very clear: Do you stand with our ally and 
strategic partner Israel, or do you stand with the authoritarian regime 
in Tehran?
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time 
as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I join the gentleman from Pennsylvania in condemning 
Iran's attack on Israel, and I also express my growing concern at this 
situation. I hope that President Biden continues working to de-escalate 
tensions. I don't think that any of us want this to turn into a broader 
conflict that puts even more civilians at risk.
  Mr. Speaker, I also thank President Biden because, as Commander in 
Chief, he ordered our military to shoot down more than 70 drones and 3 
ballistic missiles that Iran launched. Because of his actions and his 
work to unite our allies in the region, Israeli airspace was defended, 
and 99 percent of the projectiles fired by Iran were intercepted.
  That is real. That is concrete. That is tangible.
  Listening to my friends on the other side. I think they blame Joe 
Biden for everything. I mean, they blame him for Iran's attack more 
than they blame Iran. I think they have people on their side who blame 
Joe Biden for the earthquake, and I think one of my friends on the 
other side of the aisle blamed Joe Biden for the eclipse. This is 
crazy.
  At some point they need to stop playing the blame game and work with 
Democrats to address these global challenges in a thoughtful and 
bipartisan way. Instead of doing that, instead of bringing everybody 
together, what we have from Republicans is a fake response to a real 
crisis.
  The majority dusted off a bunch of old bills, some of which have 
never had a hearing and have never been marked up by committee, and 
they are bringing them to the floor. I guess they decided the original 
schedule for the week would have looked bad because they originally 
planned to bring up bills dealing with household appliances.
  You heard that right, Mr. Speaker. With all the crises going on in 
the world, the majority's plan this week was to bring up a bill about 
refrigerator freedom. Not just one bill or two bills; they had a whole 
week, six bills, dedicated to appliances. They wanted us to debate the 
Liberty in Laundry Act this week. It took an actual international 
emergency to get them to notice how out of touch and absurd their 
policy agenda is.
  Meanwhile, Democrats have been saying for months and months that we 
need Republicans to get serious about helping our allies, and for 
months we have heard excuse after excuse from Republicans.
  First, they said we had to wait until H.R. 2, their extreme MAGA 
border bill, became law. Then they changed their tune because they 
tanked their

[[Page H2408]]

own border bill. Next, they told us to wait until the Federal 
Government was fully funded. We did that, and the MAGA caucus moved the 
goalposts yet again. Then Democrats were told aid for Ukraine had to 
wait until the House reauthorized FISA.
  Guess what, Mr. Speaker? Republicans are out of excuses and our 
allies are out of time. Speaker Johnson's inaction has consequences. He 
has emboldened our adversaries and left our allies wondering: Where is 
America? I hear reports that he is in backroom discussions with Members 
to find a way forward on Ukraine funding, and I hope that we see the 
aid our allies need on the floor this week and that there is no 
partisan B.S. attached to it.
  What our allies need right now aren't more empty, do-nothing 
exercises and political messaging like we are doing today. They need 
our help immediately.
  These bills we are debating do not meet this moment at all. The very 
first thing we should have done this week is come back and debate a 
bipartisan bill that can provide real, tangible help to our allies. 
Instead, we get more wasted time, more broken promises, more useless 
rhetoric from this Republican majority.
  Has anyone even asked the Senate if these bills are going anywhere 
over there, Mr. Speaker?
  They passed the sanctions bill on Iran 6 months ago and haven't sent 
it to the Senate yet. Are they going to send any of these bills to the 
Senate or is this all for show, so they can send out a press release to 
say they did something?
  Meanwhile, the world is wondering when America will get our act 
together and when this Republican majority is going to get their act 
together, stop playing politics, and start doing their job.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, in recent days, far-left activists 
have chanted ``Death to America'' and ``Death to Israel.''
  In Chicago, cheers broke out over the weekend when Iran started 
attacking Israel during a meeting about the upcoming DNC convention. 
Just think about that for a moment. This isn't your grandfather's 
Democratic Party.
  In the 3 months following the October 7 attack, there has been an 
increase of 360 percent in anti-Semitic incidents in this country. It 
was reported earlier this year that there was an exodus of Jewish 
families leaving Oakland, California, because of the anti-Semitic 
radicalization of the teachers union in that city. This isn't 1930s 
Nazi Germany. This is 21st century California where we are seeing this 
happen.
  If you doubt me, just listen to the leaders of the Democratic Party. 
Here is Representative Rashida Tlaib, who said: ``From the river to the 
sea is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful 
coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate.'' This is an absolute 
lie. ``From the river to the sea'' is a call for genocide of the Jewish 
people and the destruction of the State of Israel. There is 
Representative Tlaib condoning a call for genocide.
  Let's not forget about Representative Ilhan Omar, who said: ``We have 
seen unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, 
Afghanistan, and the Taliban.'' Equating the United States, the U.S. 
military, and the Israeli Defense Forces to terrorist organizations is 
not only disgusting, it is absolutely disgraceful. She also said: 
``Israel has hypnotized the world,'' alluding to an anti-Semitic trope 
that we have seen for absolutely centuries.
  Now, here is Representative Jayapal, as well, who said: ``Well, we 
condemn Hamas' firing of those rockets, but I think you have to look at 
what prompted even that behavior.''
  It is very clear, far-left activists look to their leaders for 
direction. The Democratic thought leaders in that party sympathize with 
terrorists.
  I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), my good 
friend and the chairman of the Rules Committee.

                              {time}  1230

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.
  I rise today in support of this very important rule. Specifically, I 
rise in support of Israel following the attack on Israel by Iran this 
past weekend.
  This direct attack on Israel is unprecedented. It does mark the first 
time that Iran has directly attacked Israel from Iranian soil. In 
total, more than 300 drones were launched toward Israel, severely 
injuring a 7-year-old girl and damaging a military base.
  While the United States worked with longstanding allies to help 
assist in the interception of these missiles and drones, it is clear 
that the stability of the region is only as strong as the Israeli-
United States partnership.
  Understanding this and the gravity of Iran's attack, Republicans have 
put forth legislation this week to condemn the attack and reaffirm our 
support for Israel. Be assured, Mr. Speaker, Israel does have a right 
to self-defense.
  This rule and the underlying legislation in the rule reaffirms the 
United States' commitment to Israel's security, it designates the 
Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, and it holds Iran 
accountable for their support of proxy wars and terrorism in the 
region.
  Mr. Speaker, it is important that the United States take up these 
measures and ensure the safety of Israel and the safety of the United 
States. Undeniably, Iran should be held accountable for this attack. 
This legislation seeks to do just that.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the rule from my colleagues.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Let me just say I have never heard so much B.S. in my life, to be 
honest with you. Let me just remind my colleagues that Donald Trump, 
the guy they apologize for constantly, is the one who let Iran attack 
U.S. troops.
  Donald Trump is the one who allowed not one but dozens of Chinese spy 
balloons to fly overhead without telling us.
  Donald Trump is the one who gave classified Israeli intelligence to 
the Russians, intelligence they could have given to Iran.
  Donald Trump is the one who went to North Korea--remember that--and 
tried to get a brutal dictator to love him. He said, hey, Kim Jong-un 
and I are in love.
  Donald Trump is the one who tried to extort Ukraine by withholding 
our aid, and he was impeached over it.
  Donald Trump praises Putin, he fawns over Xi Jinping and Victor 
Orban, and he sends Kim Jong-un love letters.
  It is pathetic. It is pathetic.
  Donald Trump is the one who praised an angry mob who attacked the 
United States Capitol and injured people. That is all good for my 
friends on the other side.
  At every step of the way, Trump stood with America's adversaries and 
those who oppose democracy. I am sorry that is an inconvenient truth 
for my Republican friends, but it is the truth.
  Contrast that with Joe Biden. Joe Biden rallied the world to 
Ukraine's defense. He defended our ally Israel in their air space, and 
he has rebuilt our image on the world stage and has stood up for 
democracy.
  My friends on the other side said nothing when the previous President 
was apologizing and praising every tin horn dictator in the world who 
had no regard for human rights.
  Democrats are the party of democracy. Republicans can use whatever 
rhetoric they want about the far-left this and the far-left that. Their 
party has been radicalized by MAGA extremists.
  Here we are at this late date debating legislation that is going 
nowhere when, in fact, our allies, specifically Ukraine, is out of 
money and out of equipment to defend themselves against Russia, and my 
friends just sit there and twiddle their thumbs.
  This is pathetic. This is pathetic.
  I urge my colleagues to understand what is going on here. We are 
doing this exercise that is going nowhere. I do not know who it is 
designed to please--maybe to show that we are doing work when we are 
not doing work.
  We actually passed a bill on Iran--6 months ago to be exact--that is 
still here. They never even sent it over to the Senate. This is all for 
show. Meanwhile, we have a real crisis on our hands.
  I hope my friends will get serious. Let's waste this time doing these 
bills that are problematic and that are

[[Page H2409]]

going nowhere, but don't come and lecture us about democracy or about 
protecting Israel, about protecting democracy in Ukraine.
  It is because of House Republicans that the world right now is on the 
brink, and I hope that hopefully in the next couple of days you come to 
your senses and allow us to provide relief to our ally Ukraine. I hope 
that we do that because if not, it will be too late. You have waited so 
long, constantly giving in to the most extreme rightwing elements of 
your party, people who have nothing but contempt for Ukraine, for 
democratic movements who couldn't give damn about human rights.
  It is pathetic that at this late date we are here doing this and not 
doing what we should have done a long time ago--and that is provide 
Ukraine the assistance it needs to push back on Russia.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair reminds Members to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward presumptive nominees for the Office of 
President.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  You know, there is a lot of emotion coming from the other side of the 
aisle, but as a really good friend has told me before, facts don't care 
about your feelings. If you look at the facts it is pretty clear the 
difference between the Democrats, Obama and Biden, and President Trump.
  Let's just look at Russia. It is not a coincidence that Vladimir 
Putin moved into Crimea and parts of Georgia when President Obama was 
in office, and then for the 4 years President Trump was in office, 
there were zero military incursions. Then as soon as Joe Biden took 
office, he moves into Ukraine. Actions speak louder than words. Again, 
those facts don't care about your feelings.

  Let's look at Ukraine. You want to talk about conditioning aid? Joe 
Biden conditioned lethal aid on Ukraine, forcing the Ukrainians to fire 
a prosecutor that was investigating a corrupt oil and gas company that 
Hunter Biden just happened to be on the board of. I will let you draw 
your own conclusions on that, but it is very clear that Joe Biden 
actually did what President Trump was wrongfully impeached for, and 
then he actually bragged about it on TV.
  He also had many missteps. Remember at the beginning of the lead-up 
to the war, Joe Biden said that we would tolerate a ``minor incursion'' 
in Ukrainian territory, just whetting the appetite of Vladimir Putin. 
Then when the Russians did invade, and Joe Biden slow-walked lethal 
aid. Where were the MiGs that were sent? Why didn't we get the 
Ukrainians antiaircraft air batteries? Why didn't we jam the electronic 
abilities of the Russians to make sure that they didn't have air 
superiority?
  The Ukrainians still don't have the lethal aid because Joe Biden and 
his far-left radical administration slow-walked the aid from the 
beginning of this war. It has been an absolute disaster because of Joe 
Biden's incompetence and the incompetence of those he surrounds himself 
with.
  I find it very rich to then attack President Trump's record on 
Israel. Who was the first U.S. President to move the Embassy from Tel 
Aviv to Jerusalem? It was Donald Trump, making him the most pro-Israeli 
President we have ever had. Who was it that had the Abraham Accords? It 
wasn't Joe Biden. That was President Trump who had the Abraham Accords. 
If he was a Democrat, he would have won two Nobel Peace Prizes for 
that.
  Let's not forget about Joe Biden, who still up to today, is calling 
for a ceasefire when our number one ally in the world, Israel, is 
fighting for its life against a terrorist organization in Hamas. The 
people across the aisle and people in the White House are calling for a 
ceasefire on that. I think that is absolutely unacceptable.
  For all the talk about supporting our fellow democracies, let me 
remind you that there is one thriving democratic state in the Middle 
East. There is only one democracy in the Middle East, and that is 
Israel. It would be nice if my friends across the aisle would support 
that democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Langworthy), my good friend.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. LANGWORTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania 
for yielding the time today.
  I rise today in support of the underlying legislation to put a stop 
to the Biden administration's policies of appeasement and stand firmly 
with our friend and ally, the great State of Israel.
  On October 7, 2023, Hamas--bankrolled by the Iranian regime with 
funds that could have been spent on food or medicine or other 
humanitarian needs of the Iranian people--murdered and kidnapped 
children, they raped women, and they brutalized the elderly. It was 
barbarism that the world hadn't seen in years.
  The evil we saw on display on October 7 was done at the behest of and 
with the resources provided by Iran's fundamentalist leaders. These are 
the very same leaders that call for death to Americans, Israelis, and 
the extermination of the Jewish state and Jews everywhere. I want to 
remind everyone here today that we are still American, and we still 
have American and Israeli hostages in Gaza. They are still being held 
by a terror group whose lifeline has been and continues to be Iran.
  Mr. Speaker, the true cost of the Biden administration's failed 
policies of appeasing this terrorist state is on full display. Just 
this weekend, Iran launched a full-scale military assault on our ally 
with 330 drones, low-flying cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
  The time for appeasement has long since passed. Let me remind 
everyone that President Biden continued to allow Iran to access $10 
billion even after they funded the horrific attacks on October 7. It is 
ridiculous and frankly disgusting that any of my colleagues would 
continue to advocate and to serve as apologists for state sponsors of 
terrorism.
  In the face of so much aggression in the region, I am relieved to see 
that Israel, with the help of the United States, the United Kingdom, 
and so many other allies, were able to minimize the damage from Iran's 
recent attacks. We would not be at this point if it had not been for 
President Biden's relaxing of sanctions and disgraceful attempts at 
appeasement in a vain attempt to resurrect the failed Obama-era nuclear 
agreement, an agreement that did nothing but empower Iran and its 
proxies in the region.

  Once again, Mr. Speaker, I am here today on the House floor calling 
for this administration and my colleagues on the other side of the 
aisle to stop pretending that we can negotiate or appease a regime that 
wishes genocide on the Jewish people and the destruction of the State 
of Israel.
  I strongly support the underlying legislation to put a check on this 
administration's reckless policies toward Iran that have jeopardized 
the safety of the American people and the survival of our friend and 
ally, the State of Israel, as they fight to defend themselves.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Oh, my goodness, Mr. Speaker, listen to the gentleman from New York 
(Mr. Langworthy). He got up, and he blamed the President of the United 
States more for Iran's attack on Israel than he blamed the supreme 
leader of Iran.
  It is pathetic. It is pathetic.
  I say to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), yes, we 
are emotional when we talk about this stuff. We are emotional when we 
talk about this stuff because the bottom line is people are dying, and 
we have Members on the other side of the aisle who continue to use 
Putin's talking points in defending why we are not giving aid to 
Ukraine. That is not me saying that. That is the Republican chairman of 
the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  So, I mean, this is a really important moment here, whether we are 
going to stand with our friends in Ukraine, whether we are going to 
help them stand up to Russia, or whether following the example of Trump 
we are going to turn a blind eye. I mean, Putin is hoping that maybe 
Trump wins and the Republicans win because then he knows he can take 
over Ukraine.

[[Page H2410]]

  Yes, we are emotional because people are dying. Russia has launched a 
vicious war against Ukraine, and we are emotional when we talk about 
not only protecting Israel but protecting innocent people in Gaza as 
well because we actually think human rights matter.
  Human rights knows no political party, knows no country's boundaries. 
Everyone's human rights ought to be upheld. We are emotional because we 
are sick and tired of the rhetoric coming from my Republican friends. 
We are sick and tired of them apologizing for Putin all the time or 
turning a blind eye on human rights abuses in the Middle East or 
anywhere else in the world.
  Coming to the floor with bills that my friends know are going 
nowhere--I mean, we have done similar bills before that are still being 
held at the desk and have not been sent to the Senate. This is all 
about show business.
  Enough. Enough.
  We have an opportunity to come together, put politics aside, and do 
the right thing. I hope my friends will join us in that effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico 
(Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

                              {time}  1245

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for 
pointing out the importance of the moment we are in and the fact that 
there are people dying. There are children dying of hunger. How is it 
that we do not cry for that, and that we do not cry for solutions?
  Mr. Speaker, I, like all of my colleagues here today, strongly 
condemn Iran's heinous and unprecedented drone and missile attack on 
Israel over the weekend. We should all be proud of how President Biden, 
the United States military, and our allies struck down hundreds of 
drones to minimize the casualties and the damage from the attack.
  This is the mark of a strong President, bringing our allies together 
to combat the threat to democracies around the world. The United States 
should lead because we are the strongest when we lead coalitions of 
democratic nations.
  When the Republican majority scrapped this week's meaningless agenda 
of protecting the freedom of refrigerators, we thought this would be 
the moment when the Republican House leadership would finally rise to 
the challenge of funding the fight against tyranny. This rule, however, 
is a disappointment. It is incremental bills with titles condemning 
Iran, but the bills themselves, where it counts, the text of the 
legislation, does little. Lots of talk in the title but no real 
solutions in the bills.
  It is especially sad because we have a bipartisan bill that would 
provide the bullets that Ukraine needs to defeat Russia, that would 
provide the humanitarian assistance that the starving children in Gaza 
need to stay alive, that would provide more assistance to Israel, and 
that would combat China's increased aggression in the Indo-Pacific.
  I know the vast majority of my Republican colleagues want to do the 
right thing for Ukraine, but when extreme Putin-protecting Republicans 
fail to curb Russia's aggression, they support Iran.
  We cannot see these global threats in isolation. Iran's attack on 
Israel is tied to the efforts of Russia, Iran, and China to reassert 
themselves against the West, against America, and against democracy.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the 
March 2024 Breaking Defense article titled: ``'Extremely Concerned': 
American generals raise alarm over Iran's tightening ties with Russia, 
China.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. DesJarlais). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentlewoman from New Mexico?
  There was no objection.

                [From Breaking Defense, March 22, 2024]

    Extremely Concerned: American Generals Raise Alarm Over Iran's 
                   Tightening Ties With Russia, China

                            (By Agnes Helou)

       Beirut.--As wars rage in Gaza and Ukraine, senior US 
     military officials sounded the alarm to lawmakers about the 
     renewed relationships between China, Russia and Iran in both 
     the Middle East and Africa, suggesting alliances of 
     geopolitical convenience intertwining the three could 
     threaten America's position in both regions.
       ``I'm very concerned about this renewed relationship 
     between Russia, China and Iran,'' US Central Command head 
     Gen. Michael Kurilla told a House Armed Services hearing 
     Thursday. ``What we're seeing is Iran is reliant on China and 
     Russia is reliant on Iran.''
       Kurilla explained that China buys ``90 percent'' of Iran's 
     oil, which is sanctioned by the U.S. In return, China uses 
     Iran's influence as part of an effort to ``replace the US as 
     one of the dominant forces in the Middle East.''
       ``So in effect, China is funding Iran's subversive and 
     malign behavior in the region,'' he said.
       Iran, meanwhile, has provided thousands of one-way attack 
     drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine and now has even 
     ``built a factory in Russia'' to produce more locally, 
     Kurilla said. The general said he couldn't discuss in an open 
     setting what Russia is providing Iran for this help, but said 
     that it was ``concerning.''
       In his testimony Kurilla didn't get complete the triangle, 
     but US officials contend that China has provided at least 
     non-lethal aid to Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine 
     in February 2022, and just prior to the invasion Russia's 
     Vladimir Putin and China's Xi Jinping announced a ``no 
     limits'' partnership.
       Earlier this month, Iran conducted maritime exercise with 
     Russia and China, dubbed as Maritime Security Belt. The 
     exercise reportedly took place in the North Indian Ocean and 
     the Sea of Oman.
       Similarly US Africa Command chief Gen. Michael Langley said 
     the US also should be worried about Russian and Chinese 
     increased footprint in Africa.
       ``We should be extremely concerned because I would say that 
     both are very, very much exploitative when possible, but they 
     are also coercive when necessary,'' he said. ``They're trying 
     to get what they want. They're trying to replace the West 
     and, moreover, the United States in our access and influence 
     across this crucial continent.''
       Langley said Beijing and Moscow are offering ``shiny 
     objects'' to ``our African partners.'' The US counters those 
     temptations, he said, with a ``hole government approach with 
     USAID and the State Department'' as well as the military 
     there.
       Back in the Middle East, Kurilla said the region ``faces 
     its most volatile security situation in the past half 
     century'' in the wake of Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel, 
     Israel's massive, deadly counter-attack and the months-long 
     campaign of Yemen-based Houthis to strike at commercial 
     shipping targets in the Red Sea.
       ``The events of [October 7] not only permanently changed 
     Israel and Gaza. They created the conditions for malign 
     actors to sow instability throughout the region and beyond,'' 
     Kurilla said.
       He added that Iran, which backs Hamas and the Houthis as 
     well as Hezbollah in Lebanon, has exploited ``what they saw 
     as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the Middle 
     East to their advantage.
       ``Iran has worked for decades to encircle the region with 
     its proxies. And in the past six months, we have seen every 
     proxy and the Iranian threat network operationalized in Iraq, 
     Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, the West Bank, and Yemen,'' he said. 
     ``Iran's expansive network of proxies is equipped with 
     advanced sophisticated weaponry, and threaten some of the 
     most vital trade in the world with global and US 
     implications.''
       Kurilla stressed that Iran knows that its ``decade-long 
     vision cannot be realized if countries in the region continue 
     to expand integration with each other and deepen their 
     partnership with United States.''
       He said that American ``partners'' in the region ``are 
     committed to advancing the region, and the United States 
     remains their partner of choice for now.''
       The US leads two operations in the Red Sea: the defensive 
     Operation Prosperity Guardian, meant to protect ships from 
     incoming Houthi missiles and drones, and Operation Poseidon 
     Archer, an offensive series of strikes undertaken along with 
     the UK on Houthi targets in Yemen. Kurilla said a third 
     effort is aimed at interdicting Iran's supply of arms to the 
     Houthis.
       Prosperity Guardian's international membership has 
     fluctuated since its launch in December, but Kurilla said 
     Thursday it currently has 24 partners, 17 of which were 
     ``public.''
       But it's Iran that's the source of much of the problem, 
     Kurilla said.
       ``Iran must be compelled to cease their malign behavior and 
     their actions of directing and supplying funding and training 
     these proxies,'' he said. ``We want to deny [the Houthi's] 
     ability to be resupplied. That will take a whole tougher and 
     actually international effort much like we did with counter 
     piracy, to be able to go after that because only two ships 
     can resupply the vast majority of the equipment that we've 
     destroyed so far of the Houthis.
       ``We have to stop that we have to increase the 
     international effort to be able to do the inspections on the 
     vessels that are going into Hodeidah [port in Yemen],'' he 
     said. ``We need to isolate the Houthis in the information 
     environment, we have to impose costs on Iran. So there's 
     consequences to their behavior.''

  Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, in the article, the U.S. Central 
Command head, General Michael

[[Page H2411]]

Kurilla, says: ``I am very concerned about this renewed relationship 
between Russia, China, and Iran. What we are seeing is Iran is reliant 
on China and Russia is reliant on Iran.''
  We cannot waste another day of precious floor time instead of getting 
directly to passing the bipartisan security bill that would actually 
hurt Iran. The Senate sent us the security bill 63 days ago. Twenty-two 
Senate Republicans voted for that bill. That is as bipartisan as you 
will ever get in the Senate.
  Instead, we are in a holding pattern, waiting for Republicans to 
publicly share the text of bills they promise will provide humanitarian 
assistance and support Ukraine, the Indo-Pacific, and Israel.
  Why should we be waiting? The Senate bill has been available for 
review by every office for 63 days.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican colleagues to put real solutions up 
for a vote, and I urge all of my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
rule.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I guess I should congratulate my friends from across the 
aisle for finally realizing there is a link between Russia, China, and 
Iran. This has been U.S. foreign policy since at least the early 2000s, 
but better late than never, I guess.
  I am taken aback by the fact that there is an allegation that Joe 
Biden is a strong President because he shot down the drones that Iran 
sent into Israel. If the President was strong, drones would not have 
been sent to Israel in the first place.
  Again, let's not forget that under President Trump, Russia was not 
attacking Ukraine and Iran was not attacking Israel. It is the 
President's weakness and his policies of incompetence and American 
weakness that have invited this aggression.
  For the talk about Ukraine, we on this side of the aisle have 
intellectual honesty and consistency on this because you can be for 
defeating Russia and also for Israel defeating Hamas. You can also be 
for holding Iran in check.
  It is weird that the same people on the other side of the aisle who 
say if you talk about a peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine, 
that we are somehow using Russian talking points. Those same people 
will be the same ones who say we need to have a cease-fire in Gaza 
before the IDF is afforded their God-given right to destroy their 
enemy, Hamas. It sounds to me like the talking points of Hamas, but I 
will let others draw their own conclusion on that.
  Talking about more failures in the Biden administration, let's talk 
about the southern border and about how many terrorists have crossed 
that southern border.
  Since President Biden took office, there have been over 340 
encounters at the southern border from individuals who are actually on 
the terrorist watch list. Just this month, news broke that a terrorist 
from Afghanistan, whose organization is responsible for the deaths of 
numerous Americans, was released twice--not once, but twice--into the 
interior of the United States after crossing our southern border. He 
then roamed around unrestricted for almost a year before he was 
captured.
  Then earlier this year, a member of Al-Shabaab, which is an al-Qaida 
affiliate in Somalia, one of their members was able to live in the U.S. 
freely for almost a year, as well.
  It is absolutely crystal clear: Biden and radical, extreme leftist 
Democrats cannot be trusted to protect our communities and secure the 
southern border. The numbers speak for themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, talking about incompetence, let's go back and talk about 
the surrender of Afghanistan.
  Remember, under President Trump, there were zero fatalities for the 
last 18 months before Joe Biden took office. Yet, the President, Joe 
Biden, felt the need to surrender Afghanistan to the Taliban.
  In 2021, the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan was absolutely the 
worst military blunder in my lifetime. The Biden administration 
abandoned the Bagram Air Base and released terrorist fighters from 
prison, including one that killed 13 servicemembers at Abbey Gate. It 
has led to a rise in al-Qaida and ISIS-K. The CENTCOM Commander 
testified just last month that ISIS-K will have the capability within 6 
months to do external operations against the West.
  We know through our OIG reports that President Biden and his failed 
bureaucrats in the State Department are funding the Taliban and al-
Qaida through international assistance, but it didn't impact just the 
Middle East. This has also emboldened China, Russia, and Iran, the 
three countries that Democrats apparently just discovered there is a 
connection between in their anti-Western positions.
  Reports indicate that the withdrawal helped Putin justify his 
invasion of Ukraine. It is just another blunder in a long list of Biden 
foreign policy failures.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. 
Rutherford), my good friend and a sheriff.
  Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. It 
is good to stand with him on this very important topic.
  Mr. Speaker, I have to tell you, I rise today in strong opposition to 
H.R. 4639, which is the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act included 
in the rule before us today.
  I have to tell you, I am standing shoulder to shoulder here. Although 
you don't see them, every major law enforcement agency in this country 
is standing with me in this opposition. The Fraternal Order of Police, 
Major County Sheriffs of America, Major Cities Chiefs Association, 
National Association of Police Organizations, National Sheriffs' 
Association, and the list goes on.
  I am disappointed to say that the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale 
Act truly is one of the most antipolice bills I have seen since I have 
been in Congress.
  No one's Fourth Amendment rights are being bought. No one's Fourth 
Amendment rights are being sold. No one's Fourth Amendment rights are 
being violated.
  This bill will simply block law enforcement from accessing open-
source, commercially available, lawfully collected data that can help 
them solve crimes. It can help them develop probable cause.
  Google and Facebook can access this data. The Chinese can access this 
data. Cartels and criminals can access this data. But we are not going 
to let the police access this data.
  Now, my advocates will say: Private citizens and foreign adversaries 
can't put you in jail. Well, that may be true. Some of them can 
actually do worse to you.
  Here is the thing that we need to remember: No one can put you in 
jail without probable cause of committing a crime. This is open-source 
data. Only law enforcement will be blocked from collecting and 
accessing this data.
  The bottom line is, the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act will 
make communities far less safe, Mr. Speaker.
  I adamantly oppose this bill. I will still vote ``yes'' on the rule 
because I believe in our process of regular order that gives Members 
the opportunity to hear both sides, debate, offer amendments, and, 
ultimately, vote a bill up or down. I am absolutely good with that.
  Lately, some of my colleagues claim that they want regular order, yet 
they vote against regular order time and time again when they join with 
the Democrats to take down a rule. Seven times, I think, since I have 
been in Congress we have seen these rules go down. It is their way or 
the highway, and that is sad.
  We promised the American people we would do better. Voting down a 
rule is not doing better.
  Mr. Speaker, let's pass this rule. Let's pass the bills included in 
this rule that will punish Iranian aggression toward our ally Israel. 
Then, let's defeat the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, which is 
only going to make our communities less safe.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I think I have heard everything. The gentleman from 
Florida just talked about regular order, saying to vote for this rule 
because it represents regular order. I mean, he and I have a different 
opinion of what regular order is.
  There are six bills. Five of them are completely closed rules. Is 
that regular order?

[[Page H2412]]

  Two of these bills that are closed never went through committee or 
never had a markup in committee. Is that regular order?
  Boy, I need to send the gentleman a textbook on what regular order 
is. This is not what it is.
  The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler) is giving us 
lectures about Biden and leadership. I should remind the gentleman that 
the Republicans are on their second Speaker of this Congress right now. 
If reports are to be believed that were in the newspapers this morning, 
you have Republicans wanting to get rid of this Speaker and go on to a 
third Speaker.
  I mean, please, oh my goodness, lecturing us on leadership?
  You are upset that Joe Biden used the U.S. military to help intercept 
Iranian missiles into Israel. You say that is a lack of leadership by 
President Biden. On the contrary, that is leadership. It is protecting 
our ally from missiles from an adversary.
  When Donald Trump was President and 109 U.S. troops suffered brain 
injuries in a strike by Iran, what was the leadership that the former 
President demonstrated? He did nothing, no response. Iran just did it, 
and he did nothing. He downplayed it like it was no big deal.
  I am sorry, we have a different opinion of what leadership is all 
about. The fact of the matter is that we are looking for some 
leadership on the other side of the aisle to support Ukraine in their 
fight against Russia. I mean, the Senate acted a long time ago, and my 
Republican friends continue to do nothing but sit back and scream about 
Joe Biden and cover up all of Donald Trump's misdeeds and ignore all of 
his weaknesses. Meanwhile, Ukraine is literally at the edge right now.
  I mean, this is a strange way of defining leadership. Do you want to 
show some leadership? Let's help our ally Ukraine. Let's stop Russia in 
its tracks rather than giving comfort to Vladimir Putin.

                              {time}  1300

  Now, I know when the former President was in office, he had a lot of 
nice words to say about Vladimir Putin, praised him as this great 
friend and this great leader. Then again, the former President also 
said he and Kim Jong-un, one of the most notorious dictators in the 
world, were in love. How pathetic. How disgusting.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks 
to the Chair.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Davidson), my good friend and the author of the Fourth 
Amendment Is Not For Sale Act.
  Mr. DAVIDSON. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all of my colleagues to 
support this bill.
  We all swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution. The 
Fourth Amendment does not say that if you have nothing to hide, you 
have nothing to fear. It says as an American, you have a reasonable 
expectation of privacy. It goes on to say that you can have that 
privacy infringed upon if there is a probable cause warrant or a 
subpoena issued.
  What our agencies are doing, though, is they are buying data around 
that to avoid having to even get a warrant or subpoena in the first 
place.
  The Fourth Amendment is Not For Sale Act protects private 
information. Public information is not prohibited in any way. Whether 
you pay somebody to do the search for you or you do it yourself, public 
information is like the plain view doctrine. There is no limitation on 
that.
  Mr. Higgins is clarifying that. Clay Higgins, one of our colleagues, 
has served as a lifetime law enforcement officer. The Judiciary 
Committee, where numerous law enforcement officers serve, couldn't 
possibly be more pro-law enforcement because they have done the career 
themselves, and they have supported this bill out of committee.
  To clarify that this bill is for law enforcement, Mr. Higgins has 
offered an amendment to say what the intent of the bill is. Automated 
license plate readers are there. That information has already been 
disclosed to the government. You know you have disclosed it. The 
license plate is designed to be a plain-view item in public.
  Nothing about this should make policing harder, except that as 
Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Justice on the United States Supreme Court, 
said: The First Amendment is getting in the way.
  Of what? Filtering speech.
  If you think that the Fourth Amendment is getting in the way of 
enforcing the law, it is designed to. It is supposed to be a limitation 
on the ability of government to go after citizens because the 
government is entrusted with great powers.
  Mr. Speaker, this rule is an important process to getting a vote on 
the bill. I thank the leadership team for putting it on the floor 
today.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time for 
closing.
  Mr. Speaker, not one, not one of the bills under this rule, would 
prevent Iran from carrying on future attacks, not a single one.
  What are we doing here? The answer is simple. Republican leadership 
can't organize their clown show of a conference. MAGA members are 
playing politics with a global crisis, blaming Joe Biden instead of 
Iran, and to top it all off, many of them continue siding with Putin, 
an ally of Iran, in his war of aggression against Ukraine.
  The people of Ukraine have been bombarded by Iranian drones for 
months and months and months, and Republicans have refused to do 
anything about it, not a single thing.
  Republicans had an emergency Rules Committee meeting. They scrapped 
their whole agenda this week to debate these useless bills that we are 
talking about right now. There has been nothing for months and months 
while the people of Ukraine beg for our help, nothing. In fact, not 
only has this Republican majority done nothing, they have Members who 
echo Putin's propaganda and mimic Kremlin talking points. You can't 
make this stuff up.
  What do our allies see when they look at us now? When the Speaker 
even mentions potential action to support our allies, extreme MAGA 
Republicans threaten to remove the Speaker and shut down Congress 
again.
  Mr. Speaker, is this the message we want to send our allies when they 
need us most? This is shameful. We are at a turning point right now, an 
inflection point in human history. Are Iran, Russia, and their allies 
going to write the next chapter of the story, or are people around the 
world going to stand up and say democracy is worth fighting for? Is 
America going to fulfill our obligations and lead the free world as we 
have always done and as Democrats want to do, or are we not?
  We can't only do it sometimes or when it is politically convenient 
for one party or the other. We need to do it all the time. We need to 
do it in Ukraine, where people are fighting and dying for their freedom 
and begging us for support. It is beyond time we pass something real to 
help them.
  The bills that we are talking about right now are messaging bills. We 
don't even know whether, if they pass, they will even be sent to the 
Senate because we have passed bills on Iran before, and they are still 
being held up by the House. We haven't sent them to the United States 
Senate.
  I think people are sick and tired of my Republican friends going 
through the motions or making believe like they care about human rights 
or making believe that they care about ending the conflict in Israel or 
ending the fighting in Ukraine. I think people see through what my 
Republican friends are doing. They come to the floor and yell and 
scream and blame Biden for every single thing, yet they continue to do 
nothing.
  This is the last week before we have another break, and it remains to 
be seen whether or not there will be a package that comes to the floor 
that will actually help Ukraine stand up against Russia.
  I get it. There are a lot of Republicans who apologize for Putin and 
apologize for Russia; think Russia can do no wrong. The former 
President, in all of his meetings with Vladimir Putin, praised him and 
praised him and praised him and said they are really good friends. He 
doesn't really want us to help Ukraine at all and is imposing all of 
these new conditions.
  We are running out of time. We either do something now or it is too 
late. What a tragedy to basically hand

[[Page H2413]]

Ukraine over to Vladimir Putin, as if that is where he will stop.
  This is about human rights. This is about doing what is right. This 
is about standing up for the principles that this country is supposed 
to be all about. I just hope we do it.
  I say to my colleagues: Vote ``no'' on this rule. We are wasting the 
time of this Congress. What we need to do is do something concrete 
before the end of the week to help Ukraine.
  I know it is uncomfortable for my friend from Pennsylvania to hear 
that. I know he doesn't want to have to scold some of his Republican 
colleagues who would like nothing better than to turn a blind eye while 
Vladimir Putin invades Ukraine.
  I was in Ukraine. I met with not only Mr. Zelenskyy, but I met with a 
lot of average citizens in Ukraine. They are counting on us and the 
world community to help them protect their country from invasion. I 
hope that we do that. This, what we are doing today, is a colossal 
waste of time. That is what we do on a regular basis in this Chamber.
  The Republican majority has done a horrific job, and we are now out 
of time. Let's hope after we get this rule done and get whatever we are 
going to vote on done here, that before the end of the week we can 
actually bring a package to the floor that will help save Ukraine from 
a Russian invasion.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time 
for closing.
  Under President Trump's leadership, our Nation was safe and our 
adversaries were put on notice. He truly embodied the slogan: Peace 
Through Strength.
  As President, President Trump destroyed the ISIS caliphate and took 
Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and the founder of ISIS, Al-Baghdadi, 
off the battlefield.
  President Trump refocused our Nation on the Indo-Pacific and the 
growing threat of the Chinese Communist Party. He enacted a maximum 
pressure campaign on Iran by pulling out of the disastrous Iran deal, 
placing significant sanctions on the regime, and used military 
deterrence against their proxy networks.
  In stark difference to President Biden, the Trump administration 
designated the IRGC and the Houthis as foreign terrorist organizations.
  When former President Obama failed to enforce his own red line and 
allowed chemical weapons to be used against the Syrian people, it was 
President Trump who targeted the Assad regime through force.
  He also helped bring peace and stability throughout the globe by 
negotiating the Abraham Accords, pushed our NATO partners to do their 
fair share, and moved our Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. He stood up 
for the American worker, not the global elite, when he renegotiated 
NAFTA, placed tariffs on China, made America energy independent, and 
secured our southern border.
  In comparison, the Biden administration's foreign policy agenda is 
worse than simply a nightmare because it is reality. That is why House 
Republicans this week will stand up for our ally Israel and block some 
of the disastrous decisions that have helped fund Iran's terrorist 
network.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous 
question and ``yes'' on the rule. 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.
  Mr. McGOVERN. 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.

                          ____________________