[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 171 (Tuesday, November 19, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H6085-H6088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1449, COMMITTING LEASES FOR ENERGY
ACCESS NOW ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 9495, STOP
TERROR-FINANCING AND TAX PENALTIES ON AMERICAN HOSTAGES ACT
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules,
I call up House Resolution 1576 and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 1576
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. 1449) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of
1970 to increase the frequency of lease sales, to require
replacement sales, 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 Natural Resources or
their respective designees. After general debate the bill
shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule.
The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order
against provisions in the bill are waived. No amendment to
the bill shall be in order except those printed in the report
of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each
such 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 amendments are
waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for
amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill to the
House with such amendments as may have been adopted. The
previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill
and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening
motion except one motion to recommit.
Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in
order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 9495) to amend
the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to postpone tax deadlines
and reimburse paid late fees for United States nationals who
are unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad,
to terminate the tax-exempt status of terrorist supporting
organizations, 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
Ways and Means 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 Ways and Means or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Minnesota is recognized
for 1 hour.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield
the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr.
McGovern), 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
Mrs. FISCHBACH. 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
gentlewoman from Minnesota?
There was no objection.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, we are here to debate the rule providing for
consideration of H.R. 9495 and H.R. 1449.
The rule provides for H.R. 1449 to be considered under a structured
rule. It provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled
by the chair and by the ranking minority member of the Committee on
Natural Resources, or their designees.
The rule further provides for H.R. 9495 to be considered under a
closed rule, providing for 1 hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on
Ways and Means, or their designees.
The rule provides for a motion to recommit for each bill.
Mr. Speaker, we have had our eyes opened to a lot in the wake of last
year's horrifying October 7 attack in Israel. We have been reminded of
how much anti-Semitism still somehow exists in our own country. As we
saw American citizens taken hostage by Hamas, we were also sadly
reminded of the many Americans who have been taken hostage or illegally
detained across the world.
H.R. 9495, the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American
Hostages Act is twofold.
First, it directs the IRS to disregard the time during which a person
being held hostage for purposes of when that person filed their tax
returns, paid income taxes, or filed a claim. This will also be true
for their spouses.
This is a small thing, given the circumstances they have endured, but
an obvious one. It is so obvious that it sounds silly to say it out
loud that someone should not have to worry about missing the deadline
to file their taxes because they were being held hostage.
This bill also addresses abuses within the nonprofit sector that
support terrorism by prohibiting these organizations from maintaining
their tax-exempt status if they are found to have provided material
support or resources to a terrorist or terrorist-supporting
organization.
After October 7 and the anti-Semitism that spread rapidly across
campuses, the House Ways and Means Committee began investigating tax-
exempt organizations to make sure they were not making contributions
that would benefit terrorists.
It seems fairly obvious that if your organization is supporting
terrorist activity in any way, shape, or form, you should at a minimum
lose your tax-exempt status.
This bill is so sensible it should have been able to pass under
suspension, and yet, somehow the Democrats still did not understand the
wish of the American people. Americans want to protect their citizens
and not support terrorism. It is that simple. I cannot understand how
many of my colleagues voted against this bill last week, but I will be
proud to vote for it again.
This rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1449, the
Committing Leases for Energy Access Now Act, or the CLEAN Act, which
will provide certainty for U.S. geothermal energy projects.
Right now, the Department of the Interior is required to have a
competitive lease sale every 2 years. However, some States have not had
a lease sale for much longer than that. Under this legislation, the
Secretary of the Interior must hold these sales annually and must
respond to the permit applications within 30 days of receipt to let
[[Page H6086]]
the applicant know if their application is complete. If it is, the
Secretary has 30 days to issue a final decision.
Geothermal energy is clean and renewable, making it a great way to
expand America's energy portfolio and meet our growing demand
domestically rather than relying on other Nations. I look forward to
supporting these two bills.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume,
and I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota for yielding me the
customary 30 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1449, the Committing Leases for Energy Access Now
Act enforces unreasonable deadlines on geothermal energy permitting
that shuts the public out of the process, so my colleagues on the other
side can do their favorite thing: Shut out the American people and rush
things through in a way that could harm the environment and hurt public
safety. That is what they are good at.
{time} 1215
The second bill is the so-called Stop Terror-Financing and Tax
Penalties on American Hostages Act. Mr. Speaker, I think we can all
agree that families who are held hostage shouldn't be responsible for
paying IRS fines or penalties. I think that is a no-brainer. I know
that it has already passed the Senate. We could take up that bill and
pass it today, send it right to the President's desk, or we could pass
a House bill that has been introduced which would do the same thing,
ensure that hostage victims don't get charged IRS fines.
If my friends had brought either of those bills up, they could be
sent to the President's desk and signed very, very quickly, as I said.
That is not what we are doing, and that is not what we are voting on.
This bill, the one they are bringing up, has been hijacked and turned
into a vehicle to give the incoming administration the ability to
revoke the nonprofit status of any advocacy group they want simply by
labeling them as terrorist sympathizers. That means the President will
acquire the power to just unilaterally accuse an American group of
terrorism and then shut them down.
I have to tell you, I just came back from a codel in El Salvador,
that is how they do things down there. The government doesn't like you,
boom, you are a terrorist.
I am sure the party that talks so much about weaponizing the
government, that talks so much about reining in the Federal Government,
they have put some guardrails in here, right? Wrong. There are no
guardrails, no guardrails for an administration that says it will go
after the enemy within, just a bill that gives them the power to do it
on day one. This is nuts.
A university has too many protests against Donald Trump: terrorists.
An environmental group suing the administration in court: terrorists.
Think tanks that think differently than Donald Trump: terrorists. That
is what this bill does.
People say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Mr.
Speaker, the road to fascism in America is paved with a million little
votes that slowly erode our democracy and make it easier to go after
anyone who disagrees with the government. There is no due process or
right to appeal in this bill, no proof required. Donald Trump says you
are a terrorist, so you are a terrorist. It is beyond nuts. My friends
on the other side of the aisle know that, even if they don't want to
admit it.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge a ``no'' vote on this rule and on the
underlying legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
My Democrat colleagues continue over and over and over to try to
demonize and vilify President-elect Trump. They just spent months
trying to turn him into the boogieman who is going to destroy this
country and create chaos. Voters flatly rejected this attempt by
Democrats to paint President-elect Trump as a fascist or dictator, all
kinds of names they came up with. Instead, they sent him back to the
White House and gave him a majority in the Senate and a majority in the
House.
Yet, here my Democrat colleagues are again trying to use Donald Trump
to scare their voters. The truth is, under President Trump's previous
administration, we had terrorists on the run, and Americans at home and
abroad were safer than they have ever been under this administration.
While my Democrat colleagues are desperately trying to find a way to
justify allowing American nonprofits to send money to terrorists, House
Republicans stand ready to defund terrorism and make America safe
again.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I just respond to the gentlewoman by saying it wasn't me but it was
Donald Trump who said he would be a dictator on day one. It was Donald
Trump who talked about the enemy from within and actually mentioned
individuals who are in the United States House of Representatives and
in the U.S. Senate.
Forgive me if I am a little concerned about somebody who would say
such things on the campaign trail and now coming into power again.
Forgive me if I am a little concerned about how he might abuse the
power that my friends on the other side of the aisle seem so eager to
give him. There would be no due process, no nothing. If Donald Trump
says we don't like you, he will label you as a terrorist and will shut
you down.
They are talking now about recess appointments in the United States
Senate. They don't want to do FBI background checks. They don't want to
do confirmation processes where Members of both sides of the aisle get
to question potential Cabinet officials and be able to find out whether
they are fit for office. No, rush everything through, no questions
asked, just take him at his word.
I am on the floor today sounding the alarm bells. We should be
concerned. We should be concerned. Maya Angelou had this great line.
She said: When somebody shows you who they are, believe them the first
time.
People did not vote for the stuff that we are doing today. People did
not vote for recess appointments. People voted their pocketbooks, and I
understand why.
I just want the record to reflect that there are some of us who are
raising the alarm bells because this is the time, quite frankly, when
people should be concerned, when we can actually do something about it,
when we can put some guardrails into place so the excesses that the
President-elect talked about on the campaign trail don't become
reality.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I do think it is rich that the Democrats are talking about President
Trump going after these groups because the Democrats, both under
President Obama and under President Biden, have gone after conservative
groups trying to make them look like terrorists and trying to call them
terrorists.
I think the bill simply wants to stop real terrorists and stop those
groups from receiving favored tax status under our tax laws and making
sure that we are addressing terrorism in the United States and abroad.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will
offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 12, a bill that would
ensure that every American has full access to essential reproductive
healthcare, including abortion care.
Since the Dobbs decision, there are now 21 States that have banned or
restricted abortion across the country. Without this fundamental right,
women are suffering. In Texas, in Georgia, and in Indiana, the number
of preventable deaths due to abortion bans is rising.
This is the grim landscape that the incoming administration wants to
maintain and even worsen. I wish I could say that it won't get worse,
but we know Republicans are fighting tooth and nail to strip more and
more rights from Americans.
That is why we must pass H.R. 12, to ensure that every American has
full access to reproductive healthcare and to
[[Page H6087]]
make sure that women's rights are protected no matter where they live.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my
amendment into the Record along with any extraneous material
immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, once again, I do not believe that any of what my
Republican friends are talking about on the floor today is in line with
what the American people voted for. They voted for cheaper groceries,
not whatever the hell this stuff is.
They are asking us to vote for a bill, my Republicans friends, that
would give the incoming administration the ability to revoke the
nonprofit status of any advocacy group they want just by labeling them
as a terrorist sympathizer, a bill that would give President-elect
Trump a new power to just unilaterally accuse an American group of
terrorism and then shut them down. Again, there are no guardrails for
an administration that says it will go after the enemy within, just a
bill that gives them power to do that on day one.
Meanwhile, every decision that has been made by this incoming
administration so far has not been about the American people. It has
been about them. I am reading in the newspaper again this morning that
they want to issue blanket pardons to those who committed crimes on
January 6. Republicans call them political prisoners. These are people
who were arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted by juries and judges
in courtrooms across this country for violently attacking our brave law
enforcement officers, people who smashed cops in the head with metal
barricades, who jammed them in doors until blood was coming out of
their mouths, and the incoming administration is thinking about
pardoning them? Let that sink in. Let that sink in.
Before I am accused of harping on January 6, I am not the one
bringing it up. The incoming President-elect is. He won't shut up about
it.
When I am talking about my concerns over the bill we are considering
here today, understand that these are not unfounded fears. The new
administration is leaking plans to court martial military officers who
are not sufficiently loyal. Isn't that usually how things go in
authoritarian dictatorships? They purge the military of anybody who
might have a spine and refuse to obey an unlawful order. What the hell
is going on here?
Their Cabinet picks so far, these are like beyond insane: someone who
is credibly accused of having sex with an underage girl; someone who
sucks up to foreign dictators and has attracted major concern that they
can't be trusted to protect America's secrets from our adversaries;
someone who paid hush money to cover up a sexual assault accusation to
lead our military--he is picked because Donald Trump likes him on FOX
News; and someone who says that tap water turns kids gay? This is the
dream team? Really?
Seriously, it would be funny if it weren't so sad. Hopefully, the
United States Senate has a backbone and insists on a thorough
confirmation process.
The truth is that this is not what people voted for. They voted for
their pocketbooks, and, frankly, I don't blame them.
You know who I do blame? I blame the billionaires who have rigged our
country against working people and spent the last four decades
squeezing every penny they could out of people. I blame the
politicians, including the incoming administration, who have abandoned
workers and who have done nothing while the rich get richer and
everyone else gets screwed.
{time} 1230
My friends on the other side want to blame trans people. Guess what,
Mr. Speaker? Trans people aren't the ones raising people's grocery
prices. Big corporations are. They want to blame immigrants, and here
is the deal: Immigrants aren't the ones denying health insurance
claims, Mr. Speaker. It is the billion-dollar insurance companies that
do that on a daily basis.
They want to blame woke this and woke that. What is woke about
thinking special interests should not be able to buy tax breaks? What
is woke about telling Chevron and Exxon that they can't dump toxic
chemicals into our air and water? What is woke about thinking it is
wrong to give tax breaks to billionaires while the rest of us get
screwed?
It is time for us to get serious about fixing this country and making
sure it works for everyone. Instead, we have BS bills that allow the
new administration to go after any group that disagrees with the
government and shut them down.
My friends on the other side can keep doing whatever the hell this
is. Good luck with that. Democrats will be talking about the economy.
We are going to talk about how we will make housing more affordable and
lower your grocery bills. We are going to talk about taking on
corporate greed and standing up to the donor class that buys off tax
breaks for the rich and powerful. We are going to talk about the fact
that billionaires pay less in taxes than teachers and police officers.
There is something deeply wrong with that, and it needs to change. We
are hearing from the Republicans already that they are planning a tax
package that will what? Not help the middle class, not help those
struggling to get into the middle class, but, again, more tax breaks
for the well off and the well-connected.
Really? Mr. Speaker, do you think that is what the American people
voted for?
We Democrats are going to talk about the inequality that has risen in
this country under Democratic and Republican Presidents, quite frankly,
and the wages that have stagnated for decades and decades as prices go
up and people get left behind.
Democrats will be the party of working people in this country, and we
are not going to go down every absurd rabbit hole that this majority
digs in order to divide and distract us from our mission.
As I have said before, and I am going to say it again today: We will
show up, and we will fight for the American people.
Our allegiance is to the American people, not to Elon Musk, not to
the billionaires and big donors, not to the oil tycoons and the
insurance company CEOs who rip people off on a daily basis. Our
allegiance is to the American people.
Mr. Speaker, as I just mentioned, we will show up, and we will fight
tooth and nail every one of these policies that is designed to
advantage those who are rich and powerful at the expense of those who
work hard for a living, regular people: teachers, police officers,
firefighters, and people who work in factories. Those are the people
whom we will champion, and we are going to do everything we can to make
sure that their voices are heard as my Republican friends move forward
their agenda that really is about rewarding those who are well-off and
well-connected.
Mr. Speaker, again, I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule, and I urge a
``no'' vote on this lousy legislation. I yield back the balance of my
time.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, again, my colleague can't move on from the tired old
lines. It is the same rhetoric we have heard for the last 4 years.
Throughout the election, we have heard it and heard it, but I want to
say that the election is over. I urge the Democrats to please stop
telling the American people what they voted for or what they should
think and start listening to the American people.
The House Republicans are committed to the security and prosperity of
the American people, and the two bills before us are further evidence
of that.
The CLEAN Act supports domestic geothermal drilling, expanding our
energy portfolio, and bringing more safe and efficient energy jobs to
our country. It also ensures a timely application process through the
Department of the Interior.
The Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act
[[Page H6088]]
takes away a small part of the burden for those who return to our
country after experiencing the horrors of being held hostage, and it
ensures that nonprofits that are receiving favored tax status are not
contributing to the terrorist organizations in any way.
These are straightforward pieces of legislation that are good for the
American people.
Mr. Speaker, I support the rule and the underlying legislation.
The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows:
An Amendment To H. Res. 1576 Offered By Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts
At the end of the resolution, add the following:
Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the
House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the
bill (H.R. 12) to protect a person's ability to determine
whether to continue or end a pregnancy, and to protect a
health care provider's ability to provide abortion services.
All points of order against consideration of the bill are
waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of
order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous
question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on
any amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening
motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and
controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the
Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective
designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the
consideration of H.R. 12.
Mrs. FISCHBACH. 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.
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 will be postponed.
____________________