Volume 165, No. 19 covering the 1st Session of the 116th Congress (2019 - 2020) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS ARE DETRIMENTAL TO NATION AND SHOULD NOT OCCUR” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1307-H1313 on Jan. 30, 2019.
More than half of the Agency's employees are engineers, scientists and protection specialists. The Climate Reality Project, a global climate activist organization, accused Agency leadership in the last five years of undermining its main mission.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS ARE DETRIMENTAL TO
NATION AND SHOULD NOT OCCUR
Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 79) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that Government shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 79
Whereas a portion of the United States Government was shut down from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019;
Whereas the Senate, on December 19, 2018, unanimously passed legislation to fund Government operations and avert a Government shutdown but that legislation was not enacted;
Whereas the Government shutdown lasted for 35 days, the longest Government shutdown in the history of our country;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations deprived Americans of important services and caused 800,000 Federal workers to go without pay for more than a month, imposing significant financial hardships on those workers and their families;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations detrimentally affected the Federal Government's ability to recruit and retain career public servants;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put at risk thousands of small businesses with Federal contracts and created severe financial hardship for tens of thousands of employees of Federal contractors;
Whereas the top economic advisor to the President of the United States predicted that the Government shutdown would reduce economic growth by 0.1 percent for each week it lasted;
Whereas the Congressional Budget Office has estimated the direct effect of the shutdown to have cost our economy
$11,000,000,000 in lost gross domestic product;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations forced Transportation Security Administration screeners and air traffic controllers to work without pay, causing many to be unable to afford to work and thereby putting at risk the safety and well-being of the traveling public, leading to flight delays, and harming airport security operations;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations put the health of all Americans at risk by curtailing and delaying food safety inspections;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations made our Nation less safe by impeding Federal Bureau of Investigation efforts to crack down on child trafficking, violent crime, and terrorism;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in the shuttering of and, in some cases, damage to, countless national parks, monuments and other public lands;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations furloughed numerous Federal employees at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), limiting the Federal Government's ability to help communities rebuild after natural disasters;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations resulted in a majority of Environmental Protection Agency employees being furloughed, with negative consequences for public health and the environment, such as halted clean-up work at hundreds of toxic Superfund sites across the country, a cessation in inspection and enforcement activities, and a stop to new chemical and pesticide safety evaluations and approvals;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed payment of Department of Agriculture loans, operating loan decisions, planting and marketing decisions and much-needed assistance for farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs imposed on American agricultural exports, prevented the implementation of a new farm bill with critical support for struggling dairy farmers and other operations, and cast damaging uncertainty on the nutrition assistance relied on by millions of vulnerable Americans;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed the issuance of tax refunds to America's hard-working taxpayers;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations penalized small business owners by halting the approval of Small Business Administration loans;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations impeded the operations of United States embassies abroad, undermining the ability of United States personnel to combat terror, enforce sanctions, and strengthen alliances;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations undermined the ability of the Department of Homeland Security to respond to increased cybersecurity threats, natural disasters, and terror threats;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations delayed approval of FHA-backed mortgages, putting Americans at risk of losing the house they were attempting to buy or sell;
Whereas the lapse in appropriations hobbled the ability of the Department of Housing and Urban Development to administer the Section 8 low-income housing program that allows for HUD to provide affordable rental housing to low-income tenants, including the elderly and disabled;
Whereas Senator Mitch McConnell has called shutdowns ``a failed policy'';
Whereas Senator Susan Collins said on January 23, 2019,
``shutdowns represent the ultimate failure to govern and should never be used as a weapon to achieve an outcome''; and
Whereas Senator Lamar Alexander said on January 24, 2019,
``it is always wrong for either side to use shutting down the Government as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations--it should be as off-limits as chemical weapons are to warfare'': Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that--
(1) the shutdown of the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, causes substantial damage to Federal employees, to every American who benefits directly or indirectly from Federal services, to our Nation's economy, and to the reputation of the United States around the world;
(2) shutting down the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, is not an acceptable tactic or strategy for resolving differences regarding policy, funding levels, or governing philosophy; and
(3) in the future the Congress must ensure the continued, uninterrupted operations of the Government of the United States and its services as well as its duty to protect and promote the security of the American people.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Missouri.
General Leave
Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 79.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Missouri?
There was no objection.
Mr. CLAY. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, I am relieved and grateful that the longest government shutdown in our Nation's history has ended. I am sure that many people share these same feelings, including my colleagues. The American people, and especially, the 800,000 Federal employees who were furloughed or forced to work without pay for 35 days, have to be relieved.
I hope that the one positive thing to come out of this experience is universal recognition that government shutdowns are almost always pointless exercises that are harmful to our country and our constituents.
The Federal Government should be open for business and not closed. That is why I strongly support H. Res. 79, the measure before us today.
Even though the recent shutdown affected only part of the Federal Government, its impact was deeply felt throughout the country. The Departments of Homeland Security, State, Treasury, Commerce, Justice, Agriculture, the EPA, and NASA, were shuttered.
Operations at these agencies essentially came to a screeching halt:
Phone calls went unanswered as Federal workers were furloughed;
Safety inspections of industrial sites, factories, and power plants, were halted because EPA inspectors were sent home;
Food inspections at the FDA ceased;
Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Fish and Wildlife Service were furloughed.
Law enforcement officers at the FBI, DEA, Secret Service, and Customs and Border Protection were the lucky ones. They got to work without pay. These dedicated men and women, many of whom make only $60,000 a year, missed more than a month's pay.
Just like other middle-class families, Federal employees have bills to pay also: food, mortgages, rent, medical bills, student loans, and car payments. And like so many other Americans, many live paycheck to paycheck.
It is simply cruel to inflict such financial hardship and unnecessary stress on workers who just want to do their jobs serving the American people.
The greatest irony of the last shutdown is that immigration enforcement and border protection suffered as a result, despite the President's fixation on a wall, a brilliant 14th century solution to a 21st century problem.
{time} 1215
The shutdown closed the immigration courts, contributing to an already significant backlog of cases and delays in deportation.
The harm ripples through our economy, touching everyone from Federal employees to Federal contractors, to private sector businesses, and, most importantly, to every American who relies upon the vital services Federal workers provide.
The CBO estimated that the economic cost of the shutdown is $11 billion--that is $11 billion--almost twice the cost of the funding the President seeks for his wall.
We must learn from this recent shutdown. We must not let it happen again in a few short weeks. We can and must do better and work together to prevent any future shutdowns, which I am certain my friends and colleagues from North Carolina and Ohio want to do. I am sure they will have a short response to opening statements and will probably join in with us.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I notice a smirk on your face. We find it laughable as well. But I enjoy the gentleman from Missouri.
Is that the way you say it, the gentleman from Missouri?
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, Missouri, like it is spelled.
Mr. MEADOWS. Missouri. Excuse me, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
Mr. Speaker, I enjoy the humor, but unfortunately, there is nothing funny about this.
I find it just unbelievable that the gentleman opposite would be talking about how important this resolution is. They just dropped it on Monday night. I mean, it hasn't been out there for any length of time. In fact, it violated the very rule that this Chamber passed in the beginning of this Congress, yet somehow this resolution is so unbelievably important.
It is nothing more than a message meant to go after the President of the United States. Quite frankly, I find this resolution nothing more than a political stunt. I am troubled by it, Mr. Speaker, because here we are today arguing over this resolution that could have been dropped--we were here working. It could have been dropped long ago, but the gentlewoman from Virginia drops it just on Monday night of this week.
Maybe they were working on the wording in Puerto Rico when they were down there caravanning with lobbyists, Mr. Speaker, that you know very well.
Maybe when Christmas was here, when the President was in the White House willing to negotiate, they were working and fine-tuning this message to make sure that it is here.
No, that is not what this is about. This is about a political stunt. This is literally a political messaging point meant to garner, hopefully, the support for some Member of Congress who has a swing district, so that they can send a message and take it.
Mr. Speaker, I am here today to let you know that we don't need words. We need compromise.
I take the gentleman from Missouri's word. If we are willing to work together and find a compromise, I think we all would prefer that there is never another shutdown.
In fact, I think that we ought to propose legislation that would suspend congressional pay for every Member of Congress if there is ever another shutdown. Hopefully, my Members opposite would join me in that, where we can put some kind of pain to make sure that we are there.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure my friends on the other side will agree it does no one good, it does this country no good, when we shut down government.
I don't know about you, but my friend from North Carolina, I believe he goes through airports sometimes. I will say this: Over the last 5 weeks, it was quite difficult for me to look in the eyes of my constituents who happen to be TSA agents and tell them: ``I am sorry, but you are going to miss a payday,'' or, ``You are going to miss another payday.''
We are better than that. We are better than that as a Congress, as an institution, and as a government.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), the sponsor of this legislation and my friend.
Ms. WEXTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) for yielding me time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 79, which is my resolution expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that government shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur.
Mr. Speaker, between December 22 and January 25, more than 800,000 Federal workers went without pay because of the Trump shutdown.
Saying that shutdowns harm the American people and the economy should not be controversial. These facts are not up for debate, or at least they shouldn't be. But yesterday, members of the Freedom Caucus basically tried to shut down the House of Representatives because they objected to a sentence in the resolution that said the President shut down the government to achieve a legislative end.
Now, he did. We all saw him say it on television, and we have seen it many, many times since then. But I am a brand-new legislator, and I am all about getting to ``yes'' and finding consensus, so the offending clause has been removed from this resolution and should not be a problem anymore.
For 35 days, our workers were forced to go without a paycheck. That is two pay periods that workers had to make difficult financial decisions for themselves and for their families.
Essential services were halted; national parks were shuttered; and our national security was compromised during this time.
TSA screeners and air traffic controllers were forced to work without pay. FBI offices had to delay indictments against violent criminals.
The CBO estimated the effect of the Trump shutdown to be $11 billion, with more than a quarter of that amount permanently lost.
The shutdown also impacted our Federal Government's ability to recruit and retain career public servants, with many Federal workers reconsidering their career choices after this shutdown irreparably harmed them.
On December 20, the President announced that he would refuse to sign legislation that had been unanimously passed by the Senate just the day before due to his insistence that Congress provide funding to build a wall along the southern border.
This was not a priority before Democrats took over the House of Representatives, but all of a sudden, it was a crisis. This resulted in the longest government shutdown in American history.
Mr. Speaker, my resolution highlights the substantial burdens that were placed on the American people from the President of the United States attempting to use a government shutdown to get a policy win. Nobody wins when the government shuts down.
My district is home to tens of thousands of Federal workers and government contractors, and the impact of the shutdown was felt in my district almost immediately.
I also have heard from people all over the country who were impacted by the shutdown, including an air traffic controller who told me about the stress that going two pay periods without pay added to what is already one of the most stressful jobs in the Nation.
I heard from a family who had to give up their Christmas entirely and who asked their children to hold their money, because they needed to make sure they had the funds to buy food during the prolonged shutdown.
I heard from the CEO of a small business in my district that relies on Federal contracts with the Federal Government who was worried about how he was going to continue to pay his workers when his invoices from the Federal Government were not being paid.
Meanwhile, the guidance from the administration to workers without paychecks was to suggest they take out loans, have a garage sale, babysit, drive for Uber, become a mystery shopper, or ask their landlord for an extension on their rent.
On January 24, the Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, made comments on live news expressing confusion about why Federal employees who have been furloughed or are working without pay had to receive assistance at food banks.
These unreasonable suggestions from the administration and the comments from Secretary Ross showed just how out of touch the administration is when it comes to our Federal workers, many of whom do live paycheck to paycheck.
We have an opportunity to make it clear that shutting down the Government of the United States is not an acceptable strategy to resolve policy differences.
Mr. Speaker, after all they have been through, we owe assurances to the millions of Federal civilian workers, including the hundreds of thousands who were furloughed earlier this month, that Congress will ensure continued, uninterrupted operations of the Federal Government.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).
Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, people at home think they are watching C-
SPAN, but this is more like ``Masterpiece Theatre.'' I mean, this is actually like a documentary where we record what happened in history, but here we see that we are going to change and revise history. We are going to remind everybody who is watching and everybody in this House that, under this minority leader, who was the majority leader at the time, we passed a bill in this House to keep the government open.
We didn't want to shut down the government. We wanted to keep the government open and fund border security. We passed it in this House.
Mr. Speaker, I know everybody is smiling over there because you voted against it, but we passed it in this House, and we sent it to the Senate. It was the Senate Democrats who said, ``Oh, no. Oh, no, we are not going to do any of that border security stuff. We want you to go ahead and have the shutdown, and then we will blame it all on you.''
Mr. Speaker, we are not here to revise history. We would like to get to the task at hand, which is solving this issue of border security.
We ask the other side, instead of engaging in this blame game, of which they are wholly part of, obviously--they didn't want to keep the government open. The Senate Democrats didn't want to do anything to keep the government open. Forget this charade, this theater, and let's get to negotiating on border security and making sure that the American people are safe.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, it is hard to respond to that last speech.
A bill came from the Senate unanimously, Republicans and Democrats, that would have opened the government. We would have voted for that bill, all of us, but after not moving on Department of Homeland Security for 11-2/3 of a year, the then-majority party added into that bill a piece of legislation they knew would not pass in the United States Senate. Democrats would not be for it. The gentleman is correct.
The gentleman knew they wouldn't be for it, and the gentleman knew they couldn't get 60 votes. Notwithstanding that, they passed a piece of legislation that directly resulted in the shutdown of government.
I say that those are the facts.
As a matter of fact, we thought the President of the United States agreed with that bill, but somehow, in the some 900 feet of there to here, he changed his mind.
Maybe he talked to Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity. I don't know who the operative adviser was, but he changed his mind.
As a result, we had the longest shutdown in history.
The CBO says it cost at least $11 billion. The economic adviser at the White House said that it was costing at least one-tenth of a point a week.
This resolution says: Shutdown is stupid.
I am sure some don't agree with that, because I have been in this Chamber when you have voted to keep the government shut down. And you don't like me saying that.
{time} 1230
Your Speaker asked you to open up the government and 144 of you--your Speaker, Mr. Boehner, not a Democrat, said: Look, this is stupid. We need to open up the government--voted no. Now, it passed because all of us voted with 87 Republicans, including your present leader, who voted yes to open up the government.
This resolution is so simple. A shutdown is stupid. That is all it says. We will see how you vote. And I am going to say something about some people who think it is stupid.
I want to thank my friend from Virginia, Ms. Wexton, for her leadership on this issue. She represents a district, as I do, where there are many hardworking Federal employees, who were negatively affected.
We had an argument here about whether we ought to give people a 2.6 percent raise, a COLA adjustment, to keep them even with the economy. And we voted to give them nothing--zero, zip. Not a cost-of-living adjustment. No pay at all.
I see my friend, the minority leader, on the floor. He said, not paying 800,000 people was unacceptable. I agree with him. I think it is unacceptable. I think asking people to work and then not paying them is not a moral thing to do.
This resolution, as I said, is simple. It is one I believe nearly every Member of this House ought to support, unless you support shutting down the government of the United States of America. It says, a shutdown should never be a strategy in negotiations over funding, period, full stop.
We just endured 35 days of a dangerous and unnecessary partial government shutdown that cost 800,000 American workers to be denied their paychecks and that the CBO says, as I just said, $11 billion was the cost. Those are the direct costs.
Our resolution makes it clear that such a use of shutdowns, or the threat of shutdowns, ought not to be tolerated in our political system. Now, this resolution says that, but I am going to have some other people who are going to say that as well.
No other country has this phenomena. I can't find another country that shuts its government down. In Australia, if you shut the government down, the government falls, so you have to form a new government.
There is no reason why Americans should have to live under the threat of being taken hostage, yet again, the next time there is an unresolved debate over an issue, whatever the issue might be.
Even many Republican leaders agree that using a shutdown is wrong. I think most leaders, as a matter of fact, not everyone.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell very definitively called shutdowns ``a failed policy.''
And Senator Susan Collins, rightfully, said, just a few days ago that: ``Shutdowns represent the ultimate failure to govern and should never be used as a weapon''--let me repeat that--``and should never be used as a weapon to achieve an outcome.''
Now, Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues all know Lamar Alexander, the former Governor of Tennessee, former Secretary of Education, a Member of the United States Senate, and someone who was prominently mentioned and regularly mentioned as a candidate for President of the United States on the Republican ticket. Here is what he said: ``It is always wrong for either side to use shutting down the government as a bargaining chip in budget negotiations.''
Now, Mr. Speaker, I want my colleagues to hear this, Senator Alexander: ``It should be as off-limits as chemical weapons are to warfare.'' Could Senator Alexander have said it any more powerfully that shutdowns are not an option? That is all this resolution says.
Sadly, I think a lot of you are going to vote no, I suppose, on the theory that you think: No, if we don't get our way, shutting down the government is our option. That is certainly what you told Mr. Boehner and then Leader McCarthy.
This resolution says, let's not allow that to happen again. We now have 3 weeks to avert the next shutdown. I am hopeful that the Appropriations Committee will present us with a bipartisan agreement on how best to invest in border security. We all need to do our job.
Mr. Speaker, I call on my colleagues to join us on this resolution to make it clear to our Federal employees, to our contractors, to the American people, and, yes, to the rest of the world that we don't believe shutting down the government of the United States of America is an option in negotiations. Vote for this resolution. You know that shutting down government is not a positive result of our failures.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time I have remaining?
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Cardenas). The gentleman from North Carolina has 15\1/2\ minutes remaining. The gentleman from Missouri has 8 minutes remaining.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, the comments that we just heard from the well, from the majority leader, fail to mention one critical point about this resolution.
This resolution doesn't do anything to stop a future shutdown. It is designed, in its purpose to give cover to a number on the other side of the aisle who voted in this very Chamber to not fund those who were deemed essential pay at a critical time. In fact, indeed, the very sponsor of this resolution voted against giving pay to those men and women who continue to show up to vote and now somehow are going to vote on a resolution and make it all okay. If we are going to have history, let's make sure it is accurate.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Jordan).
Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, what is stupid is not securing the border.
Mr. Speaker, let's just cut to the chase. If Democrats would support now what they supported then, there never would have been a shutdown. Ten years ago, all kinds of Senators--Senators Biden, Feinstein, Schumer, Obama, and Clinton--all supported money for a barrier on the border.
Senator Obama said this: ``We simply cannot allow people to pour into the United States undetected, undocumented, and unchecked. Americans are right to demand better border security and better enforcement of our immigration laws.''
Secretary Clinton said this: ``I voted numerous times as a Senator to spend money to build a barrier to try to prevent illegal immigrants from coming in.''
Oh, how times have changed.
Where are the Democrats today? What is the position of the left today?
Congressman Blumenauer: Abolish ICE.
Candidate Clinton: We need a borderless hemisphere.
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives said: Walls are immoral.
And the person they selected to give the State of the Union response, a gubernatorial candidate in Georgia, said she is okay with noncitizens voting.
Oh, how times have changed.
All we are asking for is, do what you said before, be for what you were for before, and let's build a border security wall.
Let's focus on one simple thing here. Let's do what is best for the country. Everyone knows a sovereign Nation should control its borders. Everyone knows that a border security wall will help with this caravan phenomena we have watched over the last several months. Let's build a border security wall. If we can agree on that--and Democrats were all for it just a couple of years ago--there never would have been a shutdown and we would be serving the American people.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, Mr. Clay of Missouri, and a distinguished member of our committee, for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I hope the American people are listening to what is being said here on the floor, because they are actually getting an honest flavor of where some of my friends on the other side of the aisle actually are.
Everybody, Mr. Jordan says, agrees we need a wall, a barrier on the border. Actually, not everybody does. Actually, most polls show most Americans don't support that, and that number is increasing: the opposition.
Federal workers make more than their private sector counterparts, despite the fact that the official study shows they are 31 percent behind their private sector counterparts, and there are differences because of the differences in the nature of the work.
What you are also hearing, besides Darwinian ``survival of the fittest'' rhetoric and Marie Antoinette, ``let them eat cake'' kind of rhetoric coming out of this administration and some Members of this body, which I think reflects poorly on an understanding about where the average American, including the average Federal employee, actually is and what their needs really are--and they don't demand much--but respect is something they do demand, and it is something we offer them. That is why this resolution in front of us is so important.
Is it that hard to come together? Yeah, it is nonbinding, but it is aspirational. And even that, apparently, some of my friends on the other side of the aisle find difficult to swallow: a commitment not to shut down government for any reason.
Mr. Speaker, let's not hold Federal employees, and the American public they serve, hostage ever again. We will deal with our policy disputes separately, but we won't engage in shutting down the Federal Government. It is disastrous, it is reckless, it is dysfunctional, and it is a disservice to the people who sent us here. It is that simple. Never again shut down government.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy).
Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from North Carolina for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, do you know what is hard to respond to?
It is hard to respond to my constituents at home who are witnessing the theater of the absurd.
It is hard to respond to Laurie Vargas, a mother in San Antonio, who lost her son, Jared, last summer to somebody who was here illegally, who was captured and released, captured and released, stopped by law enforcement, and then murdered her son.
It is extremely hard to respond to our members of the Border Patrol, who go down to the river, the Rio Grande in Laredo, and are down there with no cell signal, have no radio, can't see the river through the cane, they are down there by themselves, they know the cartels have operational control of the border, they know their lives are threatened if they speak out about the cartels, they know that there are terrorists who are leading cartel organizations across the border in Nuevo Laredo, and we are doing nothing to give them what they need to defend the United States of America.
I can't go home to the people in Texas 21 and explain to them why we are here for 2 days having show votes and then leave on a Wednesday. Explain that. Explain to the people why we are going to leave this afternoon at 1:00 not securing the border.
It makes absolutely no sense to the American people when they watch what happens in this body, and they wonder how the people's House leaves them with an unsecured border and nothing more than show votes, like we are going to have today, for political theater.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
{time} 1245
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the managers of the resolution, both of them, the gentleman from Missouri and the gentleman from North Carolina.
I thank Ms. Wexton and Mr. Connolly for capturing the essence of what this legislation is all about. It is not contentious. We don't intend to divide this House. We intend to unify this House.
But I think as we speak to our colleagues and the American people, it is clear that the opening sentence says that this body believes that shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation. That is a word that I think all of us can join on.
And if we look at the desperation of our Federal workers, 800,000--
270,000 in Texas, 4,000 in my district--you see the opening line: ``My landlord is calling and I must pay.'' And the follow-up is: ``I have no money.''
All that we are saying today is to affirm the value of our constituents, from the Coast Guard to FBI, to Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security, and Forest Service fighters who are on the front lines.
To my good friend from Texas, I can't count the times I have been to the border and seen barriers and fencing, but what I do know is, yes, Sheila Jackson Lee has voted over and over for border security here, years ago, and made the first crunch of dollars that dealt with increasing Border Patrol when they were barely in existence by providing laptops and providing the kind of vehicles that they needed and worked with landowners who didn't want any kind of fence, stone or otherwise, but to be able to give them the support.
Now we need smart border security, technology with drones, better infrastructure, more ports of entry. Today, we hope that will happen, because it will happen because appropriators are sitting down.
But can we reflect? This shutdown was in the midst of Christmas when we had bills that Republicans and Democrats had signed onto that came from the Senate. We could vote.
This is saying that whatever our policy differences are, you never hold a Federal worker, a person who is serving his or her Nation, hostage. You never make them desperate.
You never make them have to call a congressional office, ``I am about to be evicted,'' as my constituent did. We never let them lose their house. We never let them bring their children out of school, as some had to do.
You never let them do as they are doing in my district right now, going to get groceries. And you never let them hear the words: ``Go to a bank. I don't know why they just can't walk into a bank.'' Or someone else says: ``It is okay. They are doing it for their Nation.''
That is what this is about. It is simply allowing us to tell a reservist from the Middle East, Edith Banda, that she doesn't have to sell her belongings because she doesn't have a job because she is a Federal worker and she had been furloughed.
Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to support this resolution, and I ask them to stand for the American people.
Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of H. Res. 79, which expresses the strong sense of Congress that government shutdowns are detrimental to the nation and should never occur again.
I am pleased to be an original co-sponsor of this important resolution that condemns the President's callous decision to shut down the federal government for 35 days, furloughing 800,000 civil servants and forcing nearly half that many to work without pay, and which costs the economy more than $11 billion in lost productivity and economic output.
The collateral damage caused by the Trump Shutdown was substantial, long lasting, and unnecessary because it could have been avoided had the President not reneged on his promise to sign the continuing resolution passed by the Senate unanimously on December 19, 2018.
Because the President broke his promise, frontline federal employees, including law enforcement and public safety personnel, worked without pay from December 22 through January 25, 2019.
The way these federal workers, many of whom risk their lives in the service of this country, were treated was shameful.
This included around 14,000 FBI agents, 54,000 Customs and Border Protection agents, 47,000 Transportation Security Officers, and 6,000 Forest Service firefighters.
TSA employees received their last paycheck on December 28 and this single paycheck had to stretch much further than originally intended.
The shutdown forced some employees to look for new jobs or take on extra work, and the pressure was immense for employees and families with no other source of income.
Among those not receiving a pay check for their work were 3,200 Secret Service agents who risk their lives every single day to protect President Trump and his family.
Speaker Pelosi's decision to delay the State of the Union was in defense of the Secret Service agents who would be forced to work without pay.
In addition to the federal employees working without pay, hardworking federal employees at agencies like the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Agriculture, and NASA had been furloughed without pay, plunging them and their families into uncertainty.
These are real American families that were put through an unwarranted and unnecessary shutdown, and they suffered because of it.
Many federal employees were furloughed, and those deemed essential were expected to work without pay.
American families were stuck wondering how they were going to get by without an income, especially since things like rent, groceries, children's prescriptions and general day-to-day living costs must still be paid whether the government is fully functional or not.
The Trump Shutdown ended when the Speaker Pelosi made the President face reality that the vast majority of the American people and their representatives in Congress did not support wasting $5.7 billion on an unnecessary and immoral wall that the President promised Mexico would pay for.
Not only were Americans struggling to pay for their day-to-day expenses but veterans and military families were suffering as well.
The military was also suffering in other areas.
For example, changes of station for military personnel were delayed and facility and weapons maintenance was suspended.
Military commissaries (base grocery stores) were shut down and military families were forced to shop elsewhere, costing up to 30 percent more on average than at the commissaries.
The United States Coast Guard went without funding for thirty-five days.
This was an added expense that added up very quickly, especially for military families living in cities with a high cost of living.
Edith Banda who recently returned from a reservist deployment in the Middle East was among thousands of people in the Houston area who felt impact of the government shutdown.
Edith was unable to work her federal job in downtown Houston for 35 days.
Making matters worse, she and dozens of others in Houston were unable to seek temporary private sector work because such jobs require permission, and the people who process those requests were also furloughed.
Edith had begun selling her personal possessions to make ends meet.
There are so many other issues that could be tackled with the money Trump wants to spend on the border wall.
With an increase of $265 million the Department of Justice could hire 2,000 new police officers and make steps towards making many communities a safer place.
With an increase of $99 million the Office of National Drug Control Policy could support community-level efforts to address substance abuse programs in nearly 730 additional communities.
With an increase of $200 million the Economic Development Administration could create or preserve 31,000 jobs for our hardworking Americans.
With an additional $20 million Small Business Administration grants could support dozens more Women's Business and Veterans Outreach Centers providing business training, counseling and outreach to 47,000 additional US veterans and women.
These are the changes that American citizens deserve.
Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 79 could not come at a better time.
Having survived the Trump Shutdown, it is fitting and proper for the House of Representatives to go on record and state that the shutdown of the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, causes substantial damage to Federal employees, to every American who benefits directly or indirectly from Federal services, to our Nation's economy, and to the reputation of the United States around the world.
Mr. Speaker, shutting down the Government of the United States, or any portion thereof, is not an acceptable tactic or strategy for resolving differences regarding policy, funding levels, or governing philosophy.
Given the damage mercilessly inflicted on the American people and the economy by the Trump Shutdown, Congress has a fiduciary duty to the American people to ensure the continued, uninterrupted operations of the Government of the United States and its services.
I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of H. Res. 79.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, in consultation with my friend opposite, we are going to yield to the gentleman from West Virginia and then recognize the Republican leader after that, and then I will be prepared to close.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from West Virginia
(Mr. Mooney).
Mr. MOONEY of West Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this resolution talks about not having more government shutdowns. We don't need a resolution for that. Of course, there shouldn't be government shutdowns. That is why, last year, this body passed a resolution to fund government, including Trump's border wall that he asked for.
We passed that out of this Chamber. It went to the Senate. And what did they do? Nothing. The Senate did nothing. They did nothing for over 30 days. They just sat while the government shut down.
Why? Because the minority party in the U.S. Senate chooses to threaten to filibuster, and if they don't get everything they want, based on this threat to filibuster, they shut down government until such time as this Chamber or the President or whoever they want to bully around gives them everything. That is not the way government is supposed to work.
I had a conversation yesterday with a young man here in D.C. He said:
``How are you going to end these government shutdowns? What is going to happen now?''
Well, gosh, we have appointed a conference committee. That is how it is supposed to work. The Homeland Security conference committee meets today. There are four Republicans and three Democrats, which reflects the makeup of that Chamber. There are 10 from this Chamber, 6 Democrats and 4 Republicans, which reflects the makeup of this Chamber.
That is the committee where you meet and you work these things out. That is the system the Founders of our country set up for us here. The problem is we have gotten away from that. We do continuing resolutions like we shouldn't, and we sit here and one side has to get everything they want.
Why does it happen that way? Because one side, the Democratic side, wants to get everything they want. If they don't get everything they want, they want to shut down government and then falsely blame everybody else. That is not the way it is supposed to work.
I am glad we have a conference committee. My Senator from West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito is actually on that conference committee that is supposed to meet today to work out exactly what we are going to do with the border wall and funding Homeland Security.
That is what we should do with every bill. That is why, last year, when we were in the majority, we actually passed the appropriations bills over to the U.S. Senate. Do you know what they did? Nothing.
It doesn't take 60 votes to pass a bill. It takes 60 votes to invoke cloture. That is different than passing a bill.
The dysfunction in the U.S. Senate cannot continue to reign in this country and cause government shutdowns, particularly when the minority party wants everything.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
We have dozens of people who are willing to speak, but in the interest of time, none more important than the Republican leader.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy).
Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H. Res. 79, a glorified press release that the majority is having this Chamber spend time on during another yet underwhelming legislative week.
At a time when the country expects its leaders in Washington to look forward, this House majority is looking backwards. When our country expects solutions, they are using this Chamber to settle political scores.
As hundreds of thousands of Americans painfully experienced, portions of our Federal Government were shut down for 35 days, a shameful record under this majority's watch. It was a shutdown that never had to happen.
Let's recall last December when this House passed an appropriations bill that would have funded the government, secured the border, and provided disaster assistance to the millions affected by hurricanes and fires. Most importantly, it was a bill that would have been signed into law. This occurred after then-Leader Pelosi declared in the Oval Office earlier that month that a House majority couldn't pass such a bill.
That legislation went to the Senate and, alas, Senator Schumer stopped it. And in doing so, once again, Senator Schumer shut this government down.
From the moment Senator Schumer blocked consideration of that appropriation bill, President Trump and congressional Republicans offered solution after solution after solution after solution to solve the challenge. In all, the President offered four reasonable solutions to end the shutdown and secure the border.
The Democrats never offered one. In fact, they went on vacation and political fundraisers to Puerto Rico. They littered this Chamber with messaging bills that didn't come close to solving the problem and would never be signed into law.
Mr. Speaker, I want to focus on the very last solution the President offered. I want to focus on it because it met the Democrats halfway. It was the truest form of compromise this town has seen in quite some time. It would have secured portions of the border with barriers, and it would have provided certainty to the very communities that my friends on the other side of the aisle have stood on this floor for countless hours to claim they want to help.
Instead, Mr. Speaker, the actions of this majority when presented with that opportunity and following the shutdown tell you all you need to know about who they truly want to help.
Do you know who they want to help? Themselves.
After the President signed a 3-week continuing resolution, the Speaker gloated with a Presidential-style enrollment ceremony. Democrats marveled at her exercise of raw political motivation. Many in the media responded like they were beat reporters from their hometown team. This all sounds like a historic event.
What exactly was everyone celebrating? They were celebrating nothing. They were celebrating achieving nothing. They were celebrating the status quo that suits their political interest and personal pursuits of self-righteousness, a status quo that causes pain and suffering for Americans across this country.
Here are just a few examples:
There have been 266,000 criminal aliens arrested in the last 2 years. This includes charges and convictions of 100,000 assaults, nearly 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings.
Three hundred Americans die every week from heroin, and more than 90 percent of heroin comes from across the southern border.
Roughly 10,000 children are being smuggled into the U.S. every year to be sold for human trafficking.
They are celebrating a status quo that leaves 700,000 DACA-designated individuals unsure about their future.
It was the best display of politics that this country is sick and tired of seeing: zero-sum politics and nothing ever changes.
I would like to spend some time and reflect on Americans and their families who may not have been celebrating the status quo preserved by this majority:
Jerry David;
Sherri David;
Deputy Josie Greathouse Fox;
Pierce Corcoran;
Officer Ronil Singh;
Clinton Howell;
Robert Page;
Justin Lee;
Ellie Bryant;
Grayson Hacking;
Dominic Durden;
Edwin Jackson;
Grant Ronnebeck;
Kenneth Scott Mahr;
Officer Kevin Will;
Sergeant Brandon Mendoza;
Sergeant Cory Wride;
Josh Wilkerson;
Spencer Golvach;
Kate Steinle;
Detective Michael Davis;
Deputy Danny Oliver;
Bob Barry;
Parker Moore;
Officer Andy Chavez;
Lauren Bump;
Louise Sollowin;
Serenity Reedy;
Vanessa Pham;
Kathleen Byham;
Agent Brian Terry;
Officer Henry Canales;
Donald Mayle;
Breanna Schneller;
Jennifer Lee Hampton;
Officer Andrew Widman;
Officer Rodney Johnson;
Buddy Mason;
Adrienne Shelly;
Mollie Tibbetts;
Ronald da Silva;
Sarah Root;
Drew Rosenberg;
Kara Willingham;
Oscar Navarro;
Margaret Kostelnik;
Andres Duran;
Rocky Jones; and
Michael Grubbs.
These are just 50 names of Americans whose lives have been lost to illegal immigration. They no longer have their voice, but we can and must be their voice today. And if these names sound familiar, it is because we heard them on the news.
I would like to reflect on others who certainly weren't celebrating the status quo.
{time} 1300
The names may sound familiar because these are the same individuals who then-Leader Pelosi set a record on this floor just a year ago in February for more than 8 hours defending the passion of DACA and shutting the government down: Vanessa Rodriguez; Ana Sanchez; Juan Escalante; Cesar Vargas; Nicole Robles; Jacqueline Romo; Andrea Sibra; Cesar Espinoza; Denise Rojas; Ray Pineta; Kelly; Crystal; Carlos; Marian; Brittany; Hugo; Fernando; Javier Noras; Marco Dorado; Mayra; Fernanda Herrera; Emily; Claudia; Bruna; Cynthia Sanchez; Jose Castillo; Hugo Alexander Acosta; Denia Candela; Luis Galvin; Hector Rivera Suarez; Dalia Medina; Juan Carlos Navarro; Patricia Yulowa; Maria Praley; Jose Manuel Santobo; Carlos Emilio Diaz; Luis Roberto Ucerra; Sofia De La Varga; Novella Vladimar; Gloria Riconni; Alonzo Rivarola; Yuri Hernandez; Oscar Canajoe, Jr.; Ashley Lamadrid; Gladys Clompka; Denaya Joseph; Miriam Ochoa Garbay; Han Yoon Li.
Mr. Speaker, as this House adjourns for the week today--after just one rule bill--I implore my colleagues to take some time and think deeply about these individuals, their families, and what our country stands for. It certainly isn't this political stunt by this majority, and it certainly isn't the status quo they are so proud to protect.
As Members of the U.S. House of Representatives, we are a very small group with a very large responsibility. The burden on us 435 Americans is to represent 325 million Americans faithfully and to work together so tomorrow is better than today. Let us not let these political distractions get in the way of our duty. Instead, let's actually work together to give a voice to the voiceless.
Mr. MEADOWS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, these are powerful words by our Republican leader. There has been a lot of debate. I don't think a more somber moment have I experienced this week on the House floor than when the 50 names were read out, where their loved ones will never be able to welcome them home. There will be ball games that are missed. There will be calls that are no longer made of, ``Welcome home, Daddy,'' or ``welcome home'' to a son or a daughter.
Mr. Speaker, we have talked a lot about the pain and anguish of Federal employees. Indeed, there are real hardships there that are undeniable. But, Mr. Speaker, they are getting their pay back. For the lives of the 50 people who were just named on this House floor, there is no returning. Their lives were extinguished, Mr. Speaker, and we must do something about that as well.
I am committed to my colleagues opposite to work with them to protect Federal workers, as long as they are willing to work with us to protect the communities and the safety of moms and dads from coast to coast.
On that, it is important that we have no more show votes. This resolution is meaningless other than to provide cover for some on the other side of the aisle who voted against giving pay to those who were essential employees.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, let me thank all of the body for engaging in this debate and for the minority leader bringing forth those names. But let me say that H. Res. 79 is not about the undocumented, nor is it a political stunt. It is not messaging for some political purpose. This resolution is about compassion and respect for fellow Americans who happen to be Federal workers who deserve to stay on the job and deserve to get a paycheck, and for the work and the service that they give to the rest of the country.
My friends on the other side know better. They know better, that shutdowns are harmful to our economy as well as our national security. They know that. The Federal Government should always be open for business, and Federal employees should not be held as hostages.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a favorable vote on the passage of H. Res. 79, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 79, a resolution expressing the sense of the House that shutdowns are detrimental to the Nation and should not occur.
And as a Member of the Appropriations Committee, I know firsthand how terrible this shutdown has been. This past weekend I met with Coast Guard families impacted by the 35-day government shutdown.
Families told me they were skipping medications and couldn't afford to put gas in the car because of the shutdown.
Mr. Speaker, these families did nothing wrong.
In fact, they have gone Above and Beyond the call of duty by signing up to serve in the Coast Guard.
And how did President Trump reward their sacrifices?
By inflicting a needless, 35-day government shutdown on these families. By using these families as political pawns.
Let me be clear: these Coast Guard families deserve far better than this. And so do all our federal workers--who bore the brunt of this shutdown through no fault of their own.
The CBO estimates that this shutdown cost our economy 11 billion dollars--including 3 billion dollars that will never be recovered.
It also caused immeasurable fear and anxiety for families.
So, while we can never fully repair the damage that was caused by this dangerous, irresponsible shutdown, I hope that President Trump and Congressional Republicans will take these stories to heart and learn from the damage they caused.
Simply put, families can't afford another shutdown.
So, let's pass this resolution and get back to work for the American people. I urge my colleagues to vote yes.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 79, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. MEADOWS. 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 motion will be postponed.
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