[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 159 (Friday, September 29, 2023)] [House] [Pages H4861-H4869] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 5525, CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS AND BORDER SECURITY ENHANCEMENT ACT, 2024 Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 741 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 741 Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5525) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendments printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution 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 Appropriations or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit. Sec. 2. Upon passage of H.R. 5525 the title of such bill is amended to read as follows: ``Reducing spending, securing the border, and for other purposes.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Pennsylvania is recognized for 1 hour. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), 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. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that [[Page H4862]] all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Pennsylvania? There was no objection. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this rule and in support of the underlying legislation. House Resolution 741 provides for consideration of H.R. 5525, the Spending Reduction and Border Security 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 Appropriations or their respective designees, and provides one motion to recommit. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the underlying legislation, which fully funds programs for our Nation's veterans, servicemembers, and the Department of Homeland Security while reducing other discretionary spending. Additionally, H.R. 5525 secures our southern border by resuming construction of the wall, increases the number of Border Patrol agents, and reforms our asylum laws to disincentivize mass illegal immigration. Under the President's disastrous immigration policies, over 7 million illegal immigrants have entered our country, while nearly 50,000 pounds of fentanyl have flooded across our border. That is enough to kill every single person on the entire planet. This crisis must end. It will only end through efforts of House Republicans. Finally, this legislation includes an important provision authorized by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), which establishes a bipartisan fiscal commission that addresses our out-of-control debt. While the Senate figures out what type of clothes to wear, House Republicans have put forth a plan which averts a government shutdown, restores fiscal responsibility, and addresses the Biden border crisis. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this rule, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania, my good friend, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I will just take a moment first to recognize the loss of our dear colleague and historic trailblazer, Dianne Feinstein. The longest serving woman in the United States Senate, Senator Feinstein was a political giant. She fought hard for her constituents in California, passionately defended American civil liberties, and was a strong voice for national security as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee. She broke more glass ceilings in her career than most thought was possible, and she will be missed. She left behind an incredible legacy. May she rest in peace. Now, Madam Speaker, I have the unfortunate task of turning to the business before us, a CR that the Republicans have brought forward. Again, I mentioned legacy with regard to Senator Feinstein. I ask my friends, is this their legacy? Is this what they want people to remember their service by? This bill, that was just dropped on us a few hours ago, really is a piece of garbage, and that is putting it nicely. Madam Speaker, the clock is ticking; less than 40 hours from a total MAGA Republican government shutdown. Less than 40 hours, and today we are here to consider the Republicans' latest continuing resolution that has absolutely no chance of becoming law. This version of the CR we are considering won't pass the Senate. It just won't. We all know that. Hell, I don't even think it is going to pass the House, it is so bad; and it will not be signed into law by President Biden. We all know that. We got this text late last night, and thanks to the quick work of Democratic Rules and Appropriations staff, we have some preliminary analysis about what this CR means for the American people. Let me tell you, the cuts in this bill are even worse than what was proposed before. They are going in the wrong direction. House Republicans' earliest CR slashed essential programs by 8 percent, an 8 percent across-the-board mindless cut. This new version now has across-the-board cuts by 30 percent or more; by 30 percent or more. It is effectively a partial shutdown bill. They slash investments in cancer research. They eliminate public education by cutting funding for Head Start. They fail to support communities recovering from natural disasters. It cuts money for wildfire suppression by 50 percent. Haven't they been paying attention? The wildfires in Maui and in the western part of the Country. I mean, communities are desperate for help, and my friends propose a bill that would cut money for wildfire suppression by 57 percent. What planet are my friends living on? {time} 1030 They cut loans and grants for farmers in rural communities. They defund law enforcement. Republicans want to talk about fentanyl? They cut money from the DEA. What are they thinking? You can't make this stuff up, Madam Speaker. We estimate that if Republicans get their way, if this thing were ever to become law, up to 1 million seniors will be kicked off of Meals on Wheels. My friend from Pennsylvania talks about, oh, we are upholding our obligation to protect our national security. I will remind the gentleman and my friends on the other side of the aisle that national security means more than the number of bombs we have in our arsenal. It means the quality of life for our people. It means whether or not our senior citizens have security in their retirement years. It means whether they have access to food. It means whether or not people have jobs and whether or not people can have a decent living in this country. That has to be part of the discussion on national security, and this bill just blows all that up. We expect WIC to get at least a 30 percent cut. Women, infants, and children will go hungry because of Republicans' misplaced priorities. Talk about cruelty. In the Rules Committee just not too long ago this morning, I asked my friends, who claim that they were well-versed in all the details of this bill, is the 30 percent cut in WIC accurate? Is that correct? There was silence. How many women, infants, and children will be cut off from the benefit if this were to pass? There was silence. No one knows. We do know, thanks to the work of the staff, that there is a 30 percent cut and a 74 percent cut in LIHEAP, a program that keeps Americans warm during the winter. I come from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. We have cold winters. The gentleman comes from Pennsylvania. It gets cold in Pennsylvania, too. Winter is coming. Everybody represents constituencies that rely on this program to heat their homes, and my friends cut it by 74 percent. What are my friends thinking? Give me a goddamn break. This is wrong. What are you doing? When it comes to keeping seniors warm or providing pregnant mothers and their babies food, Republicans have a problem, but the sky is the limit if it is a defense contract--cost overruns be dammed. They have no problem with tax cuts for corporations or for millionaires or billionaires, no problem with heaping more subsidy giveaways to the fossil fuel industry. Let me just say, we do not share the same values, and this is proof of that, Madam Speaker. This is proof of that. This majority is a failure. The day Speaker McCarthy handed his gavel over to the MAGA/QAnon fringe, this was the inevitable outcome. The government will shut down tomorrow. Let me repeat that: The government will shut down tomorrow. Let me say to my Republican friends: You own this. You did this, and this is just plain stupid. Stop wasting time and work with us to get this done in a bipartisan way. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in defeating this rule. I mean, we are wasting time today. This is a total waste of time. Let's defeat this rule and force the Rules Committee to go back up and come up with a rule that will allow a bipartisan bill to come before the floor. Let's end this clown show once and for all. [[Page H4863]] The American people are watching. They are frustrated by all of this, and I hope that my friends on the other side of the aisle, my moderate friends on the other side of the aisle, will join us in defeating this rule. We appreciate the statements that have been made, calling out the incompetence of the Republican leadership, but now I think it is time to put your votes where your quotes are. We have to stop this. Now is the time to send that message, and I reserve the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from the use of profanity. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, if my friend from Massachusetts is worried about energy prices in Boston, there is an easy solution. You can import liquefied natural gas from Pennsylvania, which is cheap and abundant. Unfortunately, Democrats in New England and New York have refused to build the Constitution Pipeline, which would actually bring LNG into New England. Instead, people in Boston are paying higher prices for the petroleum that is coming in from tankers from--guess where--Russia. Again, just complete circular logic from my friends across the aisle. Now, let's talk about not only the high energy prices that the middle and working class have to pay because of Democratic policies but also how real wages are down. Inflation-adjusted average hourly wages were $11.39 when Biden took office. They are now at $11.04, meaning that Americans have seen a 3.1 percent pay cut under Biden. You might think that it is only 3.1 percent, but let's talk about inflation. Prices have risen 17.4 percent since President Biden took office. That is roughly a 20 percent cut, so who is really working for the middle class and looking out for the working class? It is not President Biden. You also have another crisis, which is totally ignored, and that is the immigration crisis. Before I yield to my good friend from New York, let's just talk about New York. In New York, the immigration crisis has led to over 100,000 migrant arrivals in 2022, which the mayor says is destroying the city. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said: ``We are about to experience a financial tsunami that I don't think the city has ever experienced.'' The mayor also said: ``The national government has turned its back on New York City.'' Well, Mayor, it is not the national government that turned its back on you. It is the Democratic President and the Democrats in Congress. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler). Mr. LAWLER. Madam Speaker, 75 percent of Americans believe we are headed in the wrong direction, according to nearly every single national poll. NBC News recently had a poll that showed Republicans outperform Democrats by 21 points on the question of who is better equipped to handle the economy. Why? Because Bidenomics has been an absolute disaster. There is record inflation, skyrocketing energy prices, higher grocery bills. People are struggling. This administration has increased spending by over $5 trillion in new spending in just 2 years. The American people elected a House Republican majority to serve as a check and balance on this administration and on the Senate, but also to govern. There are real challenges in this country, starting with our economy: our reckless out-of-control spending; the cost of living; our long-term debt crossing $33 trillion; the fact that if we do nothing, Social Security and Medicare will both go broke within the next decade; and then, of course, immigration and the crisis at our southern border. Since Joe Biden took office, 6 million migrants have crossed our southern border, many of them illegally. Asylum cases are taking 2 to 3 years at a minimum to be heard. This administration has failed to combat the malign influence of the cartels trafficking women and children, trafficking drugs, and fentanyl pouring into our communities, killing 70,000 Americans just last year. It is shameful, yet what do the American people see? They see a government on the precipice of a shutdown. My colleagues across the aisle will pin it squarely on the Republicans, but let's be clear: Through this appropriations process, we have now passed four appropriations bills through the House. Senator Schumer and Senate Democrats have passed exactly zero appropriations bills through the Senate. Our fiscal year ends tomorrow, so Congress has not done its work to pass these appropriations bills, either through the House or the Senate, by the September 30 deadline. I agree with my colleagues in the House Republican majority that we need to pass single-subject appropriations bills. The committee has been doing that work. It is important work, but it takes time. It takes time to go line by line and break the way this place has operated for three decades, and we need time to complete that work. Shutting down the government will serve no purpose whatsoever, and in fact, it will tank an already fragile economy because of the Biden administration's policies. Our veterans, our seniors, our Active-Duty military, all the employees within the Federal Government will be hurt by a shutdown. Our stock market and our 401(k)'s will be impacted. There is absolutely no reason for a shutdown, and it is imperative that we, in the House, lead, govern, and pass a continuing resolution to keep the government funded short-term while we finish our work. People can blame leadership. People can say that we should have done this back in July. I would remind some of those very people that they refused to move rules. They refused to move some of these bills because they wanted more cuts, and that is fine. That is democracy. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from New York. Mr. LAWLER. Madam Speaker, unlike the previous Speaker, this Speaker has allowed this place to actually function as a democracy. He is not ruling it with an iron fist. So many people complained about the way that it was previously run, and now they kind of want it run like that again. It is not the way we should operate. We need to pass a CR. Any CR in a divided government ultimately will be bipartisan. We all know that. There is no partisan CR that is going to become law in a divided government, but we have to negotiate and have to get to that point. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's commentary and his critique of Republican leadership, but what I didn't hear is how he was going to vote on this rule or how he is going to vote on the underlying bill. The bottom line is, quotes are fine, but votes are better. Votes are more important here. By the way, this bill that we are talking about guts things like LIHEAP, cuts it by 74 percent, which will impact people in New York, which will impact people in Pennsylvania and all over this country. The bottom line, Madam Speaker, is that if we want to get rid of the nonsense and get to the business of funding government in a bipartisan way, then we need to stop this now. We need to sit in a room in a bipartisan way and figure this out. That is what the United States Senate is doing. My Republican friends have never once talked to the Democratic leadership here about trying to come up with a compromise. Republicans never once talked to our ranking members about how we come to a middle ground. It has always been their way or the highway. By the way, it is not just their way. It is their far-rightwing way, going way, way in the wrong direction. Madam Speaker, the CR we are considering in this rule is not just shameful. It is a partisan measure. It is also, as I have said, a complete waste of time, time we do not have. Tomorrow, the government shuts down. This will not keep the government open. It will not keep it functioning for the American people. It does the opposite. It ensures a shutdown will occur, and if anybody is opposed to a shutdown, then stand with [[Page H4864]] us right now and say no to this nonsense. Madam Speaker, I am urging that we defeat the previous question, and if we do, I will offer an amendment to the rule for swift consideration of the Senate's bipartisan continuing resolution to fund the government after they send it to the House. Once we receive the Senate CR, the chair and/or ranking member of the Appropriations Committee can call it up as a privileged question without further action from the Rules Committee. There will be 1 hour of debate, and the House will have an up or down vote on keeping the government running while full-year funding is being negotiated. We can send the bill straight to the President's desk. During the 2013 shutdown, a Senate CR was privileged under the House rules until the Republican majority turned that off. We aren't even at the procedural stage yet because House Republicans have failed to advance any real plan to fund the government. {time} 1045 They would rather fight with one another than negotiate with the Senate. Some have even openly called for a government shutdown, and we have been through those quotes of Republican after Republican saying they relish a government shutdown. We can fix this right now. If anything deserves to be privileged for consideration on this floor, it is a bill to keep the government open. That is so vitally important, Madam Speaker. Clearly, it is time for the adults in the room to step up to the plate. We need to give Congress more time. Again, I ask my moderate friends on the other side of the aisle not to follow the fringe of their party down this path. It is my hope that some reasonable Republicans who are interested in governing will join with us in this effort. So reject this insanity of cheering on a government shutdown and abandon the sinking ship that is MAGA extremism. Moderates have a chance to say enough is enough. A bipartisan CR would be temporary, but it is better than nothing. We need the time to work all this stuff out. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record along with any extraneous materials 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. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), to discuss our proposal. Mr. NEGUSE. Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I would simply say to my colleague from New York, if you don't want a shutdown, if you are trying to prevent a shutdown, prove it. There is a simple way to prove it, Madam Speaker. Defeat the previous question so we can consider a simple amendment, an amendment that does one thing, that let's this body take an up or down vote on the bipartisan Republican and Democratic Senate continuing resolution that is being negotiated as we speak. That is it. It gives that resolution privilege so that this House can consider it, can take that up or down vote and ensure that the government stays funded, Madam Speaker. If you are not prepared to do that, if my colleagues aren't prepared to do that, then please spare us these supposed concerns for a government shutdown that you have engineered from the start. You want to talk about blame, Madam Speaker, here is a quote, and this is not my quote. This is not conservatism. This is stupidity. The idea that we are going to shut the government down when we don't control the Senate, when we don't control the White House. These people can't define a win. They don't know how to take yes for an answer. It is a clown show. You keep running lunatics, this is what you are going to have. These are not my words, Madam Speaker. These are the words of the gentleman from New York. If he doesn't want to be a part of this clown show--I don't disagree with him, by the way. I don't think the American people disagree with him either. Clearly, the House Republican Caucus is in dysfunction and chaos, but there is an easy way for him to leave this clown show and govern with Republican Senators, Democratic Senators, with your colleagues on this side of the aisle, defeat the previous question and support the amendment and let's have the debate on a bipartisan CR that keeps our government funded. I don't know how a Member can vote for the previous question and deprive this body of an opportunity to vote on that bipartisan CR. I don't know how you go back and tell the tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of troops and law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents who will be forced to work without pay that you decided that this body shouldn't vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government running. I don't know how you do that. I can tell you this: The American people well understand the Republican plan that they have brought to the floor. You do not get to have it both ways. You don't get to say that you support law enforcement and fentanyl interdiction and then put a bill on the floor that cuts the DEA, that cuts the FBI, that will harm State and local law enforcement officers. You do not get to say you care about public safety and then put a bill on the floor that cuts, by more than 50 percent, wildland fire suppression in States like Colorado, the State that I happen to be honored to represent in the United States Congress. You do not get to have it both ways. The time for political games is over. We have 24 hours to go, Madam Speaker. Let's defeat the previous question and let's pass this amendment to keep the government up and running. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Lawler), for the purpose of rebuttal. Mr. LAWLER. Madam Speaker, it is always great to listen to DCCC talking points. At a very time when Leader Jeffries said that he would not politicize this potential shutdown in a meeting of the Problem Solvers Caucus, that very day the DCCC and House Majority Forward announced million-dollar ad campaigns--mail, TV--attacking individuals like me on the issue of a shutdown, despite me saying very clearly that I oppose a shutdown. So we know that on the other side they actually want a shutdown. They relish it because they think it will benefit them politically. Here is what you never hear from them: They don't want to deal with the border, they don't want to shut down the border. They don't want to deal with spending cuts. They want to increase spending. They don't want to deal with our long-term debt. They want to blow it through the roof. We have real challenges in this country, and, yes, we need to work in a bipartisan manner. When Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, is saying the migrant crisis is destroying New York City, that it is going to cost them more than $12 billion; when Kathy Hochul, the Governor of New York says there is no more room at the inn, despite sanctuary city policies, right to shelter, the use of taxpayer money to give free housing, healthcare, education, clothing, and food to illegal immigrants, and a refusal to cooperate with ICE and law enforcement, spare me your righteous indignation. None of you are willing to actually tackle the challenges. You are looking to use this as a vehicle to win back the majority. That is it. I am actually willing to work across the aisle. I signed on to the Problem Solvers CR. Join us in that. Not a single one of you have. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to direct their remarks to the Chair. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I wonder whether the DCCC writes the gentleman's speeches because what the gentleman from Colorado quoted was his words in a speech. Talk is cheap around here. Votes are the currency of the realm in this place. The choice is clear, and the gentleman has made clear where he stands. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee. Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. [[Page H4865]] We are 37 hours, 6 minutes and 25 seconds away from a shutdown, an unnecessary and devastating government shutdown after wasting weeks on rightwing messaging points and bills. Here, the majority has brought to this floor not a responsible short- term funding bill, but more of the same posturing, dangerous, and unrealistic games to placate the most extreme factions in their party. It is well past time for the chaos caucus to get serious about governing. Funding the Federal Government is Congress' most basic duty and this colossal failure of the Speaker and House Republicans to keep the lights on across this country will cause real harm to our economy and to hardworking families. These aren't just numbers. These are real people whose lives will be upended. This shutdown means senior citizens won't be able to heat their homes because this CR cuts 74 percent from the LIHEAP budget. That is a $137 million cut to LIHEAP in Pennsylvania alone. That is over 342,000 families who are counting on this program and who will be left in the cold in October. Just a few hours from now are when those funds should start to become available. This shutdown means that mothers and babies in my district will go hungry because their WIC benefits will be cut. It means that teachers will be kicked out of their classrooms that need them most because of draconian cuts to the IDEA and Title 1. Cuts to Title 1 and IDEA equates to nearly 150,000 teachers and service providers being cut from our public schools where they need help the most. Approximately 275,000 children will lose access to Head Start, undermining early education for them and their futures, and harming their parents' ability to go to work. My district is home to the Philadelphia airport. TSA workers and travelers alike will be affected by delays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania. Ms. SCANLON. Madam Speaker, the last time the Republicans shut down the government in 2018-2019, we had to run food drives to feed TSA workers who were required to show up but were not paid. Some of them lost their jobs when they lost their cars, doubling down on the harm. Look, a Republican government shutdown is going to hurt working families, interrupt vital services, damage our economy, endanger our national security, force millions of our troops and government employees to work without pay, all because Speaker McCarthy has turned over the House of Representatives to the most extreme Members of his caucus. Meanwhile, House Democrats, bipartisan Senate leadership, and President Biden are working together to keep the lights on. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Spartz), my good friend. Mrs. SPARTZ. Madam Chair, unfortunately, muscle memory is very strong in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, Wall Street and K street are very powerful in Washington, D.C. Fortunately, we have people on the Republican side that are willing to stand up for Main Street, willing to challenge their own leadership to deliver on issues of national security. This institution went through tougher times. We deliberated a lot of issues, but we used to be able to come together on issues of national security and our border security. Our destructive debt situation is destroying American lives. I hope the other side will join Republicans to win this battle for the American people. It shouldn't be a political issue, politicized. If this government cannot deliver maybe it is worth it to shut it down. What is it for then? If we cannot come together on this, then we are not worthwhile to represent the American people. So I hope that the other side stops being sheep and starts to actually not be afraid to challenge their own leadership and do something for this country because American people are sick and tired of us being worthless. We need to protect this country because if we don't save this Republic, no one else around the world will be able to defeat a lot of enemies, foreign and domestic. I will tell you one thing, there is nothing unreasonable or extreme to serve the people, to secure the border, and deal with our debt. I would appreciate it if the other side wakes up and supports Republicans. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I would just say to the gentlewoman, we are not here to support Republicans. We are here to support our constituents. Madam Speaker, if the President were presented with H.R. 5525, he would veto it, so this is a complete waste of time. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in a Record a Statement of Administration Policy on this underlying bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts? There was no objection. Statement of Administration Policy H.R. 5525--Spending Reduction and Border Security Act, 2024--(Rep. Donalds, R-FL) The Administration strongly opposes House passage of H.R. 5525, making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2024, and for other purposes. Hours before a Government shutdown, House Republicans are playing partisan games instead of working in a bipartisan manner to fund the Government and address emergency needs. In a blatant violation of the funding agreement the Speaker and the President reached just a few months ago, the bill endangers the vital programs Americans rely on by making reckless cuts to programs, regardless of the consequences for critical services from education to food safety to law enforcement to housing to public health. It also fails to address key emergency funding needs where lives are at stake, ignoring the Administration's request for resources to combat the fentanyl crisis and effectively manage the border, support the people of Ukraine as they defend their homeland from Russia's illegal war, and stand with communities across America as they recover from natural disasters. In addition, H.R. 5525 fails to provide the resources needed to avoid severe disruptions to Government services-- risking unnecessary delays for travelers by underfunding the Federal Aviation Administration; loss of access to nutritious food for pregnant and postpartum women and children by underfunding the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and deterioration in service for the over 71 million Americans who rely on the income support Social Security programs provide. The bill also includes harmful, partisan border legislation that would further exacerbate the challenges at the border. It would cut off most access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with the Nation's values and international obligations. In addition, the bill would make processing less efficient by prohibiting the use of the CBP One mobile application to process noncitizens and restricting the Department of Homeland Security's parole authority, such that successful programs, like ``Uniting for Ukraine,'' would be prohibited. House Republicans propose these harmful policies while providing none of the supplemental funding needed to manage the border; we need real actions to secure the border. The Administration urges House Republicans to follow the Senate's lead and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process that funds the Federal Government in a responsible manner, consistent with the bipartisan agreement earlier this year. If the President were presented with H.R. 5525, he would veto it. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez). Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, this extreme Republican bill reveals their mean-spirited values more than any words they utter. Those values are to kick 275,000 young, 4-year-old children out of Head Start. Republicans hypocritically talk about fentanyl but then defund the law enforcement officers who seize this deadly drug. This bill deprives that brother, sister, daughter, a friend of yours that you might have who is battling mental health or addiction, of the funds they use. Don't talk about fentanyl. Don't talk about addiction if you are not going to fund the law enforcement and the health resources we need to truly tackle that. Madam Speaker, then they slash BAA funding by 30 percent, including slashing the Tribal law enforcement officers who are out there also interdicting and protecting us from criminal activity. {time} 1100 The CR really reveals who extreme Republicans are--``sin verguenza,'' ``without shame'' about hurting those [[Page H4866]] most vulnerable, cutting programs for our world communities by 30 percent. I stand for rural America--this bill does not, and it puts down our ranchers and farmers. If they don't get their way, what will they do? They will shut the government down. Let's remind everybody, every time we have a government shutdown of any note, it is because Republicans did it under their leadership, and they hurt everybody in the process. And why? To protect the rich and the wealthy. To protect the rich and the wealthy, the extreme Republicans will cut Social Security. They have said it. We have the words. They will do it. They will slash public school funding horribly--horribly--for those schools that most need it. They will criminalize abortion. Over and over again they have told us what they intend to do in their appropriation bills. They are going to make it hard for women to get access to the healthcare they need and they deserve everywhere. I say that this bill is ``sin verguenza,'' ``without shame.'' Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), my good friend. Mr. HUIZENGA. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman yielding. The short-term stop-gap government funding measure we are debating here today not only keeps our government open, which is very important, it responsibly reduces spending, makes critical reforms to secure the border, and, importantly, contains the text of my bipartisan bill to establish a fiscal debt commission. The Fiscal Commission Act of 2023 now included in this bill will create a commission that proposes recommendations to finally tackle our Nation's unsustainable debt trajectory in the medium and the long term. Furthermore, both Chambers of Congress will be required, Madam Chair, to take a vote on the commission's proposal. With this key provision, Congress can no longer kick the can down the road on the rapidly growing threat of our national debt. Given the bipartisan support of this legislation upon introduction, it is clear that both Republicans and Democrats understand that time is running out. The Federal Government is already spending more on interest on the national debt than it spends on children--something that my colleagues I know are very concerned about because they talk about it. The interest is already nearly more than what we spend on defense, and we are rapidly approaching a point where interest on the debt will be more than Social Security and Medicare. In building the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023, we learned from past commission mistakes and gave this legislation real teeth, practicality, urgency, and clear goals for Congress to come face-to-face with this massive challenge. Specifically, the commission is made up of 16 commissioners that include 12 Members of Congress, as well as 4 private-sector experts that are selected by leaders of both the House and the Senate. The commission is tasked with identifying policies to improve our fiscal situation in the medium term and to achieve a sustainable debt- to-GDP ratio in the long term. Importantly, it will put forward solutions to ensure the solvency of our 20-plus trust funds for decades to come. The commission will also propose recommendations designed to balance the budget at the earliest reasonable date, including at minimum stabilizing the debt-to-GDP ratio at or below 100 percent within 10 years--all while addressing growth of direct spending and the gap between revenues and expenditures. The proposal will then come to Congress in the days shortly after the 2024 election where the House and Senate must take an up-or-down vote on the recommendations without amendment and without delay. I am proud to say that joining me in the introduction of the Fiscal Commission Act of 2023 there were an even number of Republicans and Democrats. With this inclusion in the continuing resolution before us today, I urge all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to keep our government open this week and secure our Nation's fiscal future for generations to come. Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I remind the gentleman from Michigan that if the Republicans' shutdown moves forward, he has 5,607 people in his district who are Federal employees who will lose their paycheck. In the Rules Committee today, Madam Speaker, Democrats offered an amendment saying, yeah, we are happy to talk about how to keep Social Security and Medicare solvent, but we want to guarantee that we are not going to cut people's benefits, and the Republicans rejected that. We know what this is about. This is about going after Social Security and trying to make it solvent by cutting people's benefits, and Democrats are against that unequivocally. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee). Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, the people of America are suffering. We have repeatedly told them that they are our priority, but the people of America are suffering while my colleagues insist on a government shutdown, which is what they are doing. Blatantly they have violated the very agreement that Speaker McCarthy and the President of the United States--two people holding the greatest trust--agreed to to be able to go forward on a funding scheme that would save the American people. Yet, we stand here today where my very constituents in Houston, Texas, are going to have the soldiers that served in our Nation's military not paid. It is going to have $2 billion in loans to small businesses not given. It is going to stop nearly 800,000 children from getting nutrition. It is going to stop 456 million people from getting housing, and yet, we are standing here stating that we are patriots? I don't want a government shutdown. Food safety will be, in essence, in jeopardy. Law enforcement will not be paid. These are the people who say we are pro-law enforcement, but, yet, they will not be paid. What goes on with the Senate? It is a bipartisan resolution that if we vote on it today as it comes across, the government will stay open. I support the previous question because the people of America are suffering, and I don't expect this draconian cutting of everything, losing salaries for the military, cutting out food benefits, cutting Social Security payments, cutting Medicare payments, Medicaid payments, to be our definition of individuals who are standing here working for the American people and fellow Houstonians. My commitment is to be here to insist that the government not close. I don't know why a commonsense continuing resolution cannot be passed. I do want to say that as this has been offered into the Record, the President's statement, how can we run government if a deal that Speaker McCarthy made with the President of the United States on behalf of the people of this Nation cannot be kept? As I stand here today, I want to say that people are suffering. Let us stop their suffering and keep the government open. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz). Mr. GAETZ. Mr. Speaker, the House of Representatives has passed funding bills to fund our veterans, our troops, our Border Patrol, our State and foreign ops. These are the core functions of government. The Senate should take up and pass those bills to make sure those folks are paid, and they should do it today. The rule we are on now advances a continuing resolution that weakens the Republican position on strong border policies. Just last night, we passed a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that was lashed to policy requirements at the Department of Homeland Security. They had to do certain things to fix the border to get the money, and one of those things was E-Verify. Last night, we stood together and we demanded that E-Verify be included if Mayorkas wanted the money, and this continuing resolution that the rule we are on now would facilitate strips E-Verify and takes it out. Why would Republicans just overnight back away [[Page H4867]] from such a strong and necessary provision as E-Verify? I will be voting against this continuing resolution because I want House Republicans to have the strongest position on the border. The American people will come with us on that. We have just got to have the courage to lead and not surrender. I know big businesses don't want E-Verify, but we should want it anyway for the American worker. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I will point out to the gentleman who just spoke that the Senate can't even take up the Homeland Security appropriations bill because the way the Republicans wrote the rule was that they are not going to send it over until the Senate passes H.R. 2 without changing a comma and the President signs it into law. Lots of luck with that. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, just remember that the Senate has passed zero appropriations bills. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko). Mrs. LESKO. Mr. Speaker, I am in support of funding the government so our military, Border Patrol officers, and other dedicated employees that are protecting our Nation can continue with their job and get paid while they are doing it. I am also in support of House Republicans pushing and demanding that the Senate secure our border by including the bill that we have already passed out of this House, H.R. 2. One of the biggest crises in our Nation right now is a result of this administration's disastrous border policies. President Biden's policies have allowed 233,000 border crossings in just August of this year compared to 50,000 just 3 years ago under President Trump. Biden has invited 211,000 additional migrants to fly directly into the United States from their home foreign country. Biden has accepted 263,000 additional more migrants to apply for asylum via his new CBP One app. Biden has allowed 151 migrants to enter our country that are on the terrorist watch list--and that is just who we have caught. Biden has allowed migrant women and children to get raped by cartels. His policies have allowed young migrant children to be sold into sex slavery. His policies have allowed fentanyl to flood our border and kill our citizens. This has got to stop, and Republicans are here to stop it and protect our Nation. House Republicans have already passed a bill to secure our border that is now sitting over in the Senate waiting to be heard. Schumer won't even bring it up for a vote. It is time for the Democrat-controlled Senate to pass our border security bill. It is time for the insanity at our southern border to end. It is time to pass this bill and pressure the Democrats in the Senate to secure the border. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Neguse), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee. Mr. NEGUSE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for his indulgence, and I would be remiss to come back to the floor to simply say only in Washington can you have Members who claim they want to avoid a shutdown while they take every step to shut down the government. Only in Washington can you have Members who claim to support law enforcement while they promote a bill that cuts funding for law enforcement. Only in Washington can you claim that you want to secure the border while engineering a shutdown that will force Border Patrol agents to work without pay. Only in Washington can you claim that this so-called debt commission that they have designed will not harm programs like Social Security months after rolling out a plan--the Republican Study Committee in June--rolling out a plan that guts Social Security. My colleague from Pennsylvania is a member of that group. The gentleman from Michigan who spoke earlier, who apparently has proposed this amendment, is a member of that group. Why don't they be honest with the American people about their plans? Because they know the plan to cut Social Security is deeply unpopular, and, yet, they soldier on. Mr. Speaker, 24 hours, that is how much time we have. Defeat the previous question. Let's support the amendment to give an up-or-down vote on the bipartisan deal that Republicans and Senate Democrats have been working on. Let's keep the government up and running. Let's avert this extreme Republican government shutdown. {time} 1115 Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. LaLota). The gentleman from Massachusetts has 3\1/2\ minutes remaining. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, it is an absolute joke that we are here today dealing with this, as I said at the beginning of my remarks, piece of garbage. That is what it is. This is not a serious attempt at legislating. This is a MAGA Republican press release at best, and it is a lousy press release. All the priorities that are in this bill represent deep cuts to things that matter to Democrats. When we talk about national security, we don't only talk about the size of our military and the number of bombs we have. We talk about whether or not people in this country have access to jobs, whether they have food, whether or not we have good schools, whether or not people have access to healthcare and retirement security. We talk about things like the purity of our environment. My Republican friends talk about bombs and about tax cuts for the rich and for big corporations. They don't care about the people who are at the heart and soul of our concerns on the Democratic side. If they did, they wouldn't cut and slash programs like WIC, the women, infants, and children program, providing basic nutrition for low-income, pregnant moms and newborn babies. They wouldn't cut LIHEAP, a program that provides vulnerable people with help to be able to heat their homes in winter. They wouldn't cut it by 74 percent. Who does that? Who thinks like that? Who would come to the floor and defend that kind of garbage? The bottom line is, we don't share the same values. It is that simple. I want to tell you, we are going to fight as hard as we can against all the things that you claim you value in this book because this is not what America is about. Basically, this is about turning our back on people. This is essentially a government shutdown in and of itself. Let me just close with a couple of comments to our moderate friends who go on MSNBC and give all these quotes about how they want a balance and how they want this. They criticize their leadership, and then they come to the floor and vote with the majority. Enough of that. It is votes, not quotes, that matter. It is votes, not quotes. If you really want to avoid a government shutdown, to the so-called moderates on the other side of the aisle, vote with us. Vote ``no'' on the previous question so we can guarantee that the Senate-passed bill will have a vote here in the House. Vote ``no'' on the rule so we don't have to waste all this time today arguing over this nonsense, this hardline, rightwing garbage that guts the heart and soul of our social safety net. We can do so much better. At the end of the day, we have to come together, Democrats and Republicans, and come up with a bill. My friends keep on going in the wrong direction. They keep on going further and further to the right. That is a road to nowhere. The Senate, to their credit, Democrats and Republicans, are talking. You guys can't even talk with yourselves. You are fighting amongst yourselves. This is a radical idea: Maybe sit down and try to negotiate a bipartisan solution here because you control one-half of one branch of government--and barely. You would never know it when you see this kind of stuff come to the floor. [[Page H4868]] Enough of the nonsense. People send us here, at a minimum, to keep the lights on. You have to do that. Work with us. Stop this nonsense. Again, vote ``no'' on the previous question, vote ``no'' on this garbage. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Last week, our national debt reached a record high of--wait for it-- $33 trillion. This is a result of the White House and a result of the previous Democrat-controlled Congress spending trillions of dollars outside the appropriations process. Let's remember, under Democratic control, we saw the highest inflation in over 40 years, the highest interest rates in over 20 years, and a 17 percent increase in consumer prices. That is why this underlying legislation establishes a bipartisan fiscal commission to get our Nation on the right course. This is just one of the many manufactured crises caused by Democrats' far-left policies. Look at our southern border. At the southern border, President Biden's immigration policies caused a flood of illegal immigrants into our Nation and illicit fentanyl into our communities. Just last week, our Nation set an all-time record for illegal crossings in a single year. Over 25,000 pounds of fentanyl have also been trafficked across our southern border this year. To put that into perspective, this is enough to kill every single American citizen. Sadly, too many towns across my home State of Pennsylvania have felt the consequences of the Democrats' pro-open border agenda. In Pennsylvania alone, there were over 5,000 reported overdose deaths in 2022. Not only is the White House doing nothing to address this crisis, but the Democrats' pro-crime agenda actually encourages it. If you doubt me on that, let's just take a look at what happened in Pittsburgh recently. In Pittsburgh, law enforcement caught a drug trafficker with $2 million worth of fentanyl. To put that into perspective, that is enough to kill 35 percent of the population in Pennsylvania. Then, to make matters worse, a far-left, radical judge released that criminal on the streets the very next day, and he has since fled the State. This is absolutely ridiculous. House Republicans are the only leaders in Washington willing to do something about this. Thanks to Republicans and our Commitment to America, the underlying legislation will reduce our exploding national debt, avert a government shutdown, and secure our southern border. For those reasons, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the previous question and ``yes'' on the rule. The material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows: An Amendment to H. Res. 741 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts At the end of the resolution, add the following: Sec. 3. Upon receipt of a message from the Senate transmitting H.R. 3935 with a Senate Amendment or amendments thereto, a single motion that the House concur in the Senate amendment or amendments may be called up as a privileged question, without intervention of any point of order, by the chair or ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees. The Senate amendment or amendments and the motion shall be considered as read. The motion shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion or demand for division of the question. Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of the motion. Mr. RESCHENTHALER. 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 9 of rule XX, this 15- minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by 5- minute votes on: Adoption of the resolution, if ordered; and Agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal, if ordered. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217, nays 207, not voting 9, as follows: [Roll No. 508] YEAS--217 Aderholt Alford Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bean (FL) Bentz Bergman Bice Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Bost Brecheen Buchanan Buck Bucshon Burchett Burgess Burlison Calvert Cammack Carey Carl Carter (GA) Chavez-DeRemer Ciscomani Cline Cloud Clyde Cohen Cole Collins Comer Crane Crawford Crenshaw Curtis D'Esposito Davidson De La Cruz DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duarte Duncan Dunn (FL) Edwards Ellzey Emmer Estes Ezell Fallon Feenstra Ferguson Finstad Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flood Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fry Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia, Mike Gimenez Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Granger Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hageman Harris Harshbarger Hern Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Houchin Hudson Huizenga Hunt Issa Jackson (TX) James Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (PA) Kean (NJ) Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kiggans (VA) Kiley Kim (CA) Kustoff LaHood LaLota LaMalfa Lamborn Langworthy Latta LaTurner Lawler Lee (FL) Lesko Letlow Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Luttrell Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McCormick McHenry Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (OH) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Mills Molinaro Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Moran Murphy Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunn (IA) Obernolte Ogles Owens Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reschenthaler Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Salazar Santos Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Self Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Strong Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Van Orden Wagner Walberg Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (NY) Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Yakym Zinke NAYS--207 Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Balint Barragan Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bowman Boyle (PA) Brown Brownley Budzinski Caraveo Carbajal Cardenas Carson Carter (LA) Casar Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Cherfilus-McCormick Chu Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Connolly Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crockett Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis (IL) Davis (NC) Dean (PA) DeGette DeLauro DelBene Deluzio DeSaulnier Doggett Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Foushee Frankel, Lois Frost Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Garcia, Robert Golden (ME) Goldman (NY) Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Harder (CA) Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hoyle (OR) Huffman Ivey Jackson (IL) Jackson (NC) Jackson Lee Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Kamlager-Dove Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Krishnamoorthi Kuster Landsman Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Lee (PA) Leger Fernandez Levin Lieu Lofgren Lynch Magaziner Manning Matsui McBath McClellan McCollum McGarvey McGovern Meeks Menendez Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moskowitz Moulton Mrvan Mullin Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Nickel Norcross Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Pelosi Perez Peters Pettersen Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Quigley Ramirez Raskin Ross Ruiz Ruppersberger Ryan Salinas Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Scholten Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Slotkin Smith (WA) Sorensen [[Page H4869]] Soto Spanberger Stansbury Stanton Stevens Strickland Swalwell Sykes Takano Thanedar Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tokuda Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Vasquez Veasey Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) NOT VOTING--9 Boebert Bush Carter (TX) Cartwright Dingell Gonzales, Tony Joyce (OH) Luna Peltola {time} 1147 Mses. VELAZQUEZ and LOFGREN changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.'' Messrs. COHEN, RUTHERFORD, and LAWLER changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.'' So the previous question was ordered. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Recorded Vote Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed. ____________________