[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 69 (Friday, April 19, 2024)] [House] [Pages H2526-H2532] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8034, ISRAEL SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8035, UKRAINE SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8036, INDO-PACIFIC SECURITY SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2024; PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 8038, 21ST CENTURY PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH ACT; AND PROVIDING FOR CONCURRENCE BY THE HOUSE IN THE SENATE AMENDMENT TO H.R. 815, WITH AN AMENDMENT Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1160 and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1160 Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 8034) making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Israel and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) 30 minutes 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. At any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8035) making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Ukraine and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of [[Page H2527]] the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. In the case of sundry further amendments reported from the Committee, the question of their adoption shall be put to the House en gros and without division of the question. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. Sec. 3. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 8036) making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the Indo-Pacific region and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees; (2) the amendment printed in part C of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by the Member designated in the report, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question; and (3) one motion to recommit. Sec. 4. At any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8038) to authorize the President to impose certain sanctions with respect to Russia and Iran, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five- minute rule. The amendment printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part E of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. In the case of sundry further amendments reported from the Committee, the question of their adoption shall be put to the House en gros and without division of the question. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. Sec. 5. During consideration of H.R. 8035 and H.R. 8038, the Chair may entertain a motion that the Committee rise only if offered by the Majority Leader or his designee. The Chair may not entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill (as described in clause 9 of rule XVIII). Sec. 6. (a) Upon disposition of the bills specified in subsection (d), the House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 815) to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements relating to the eligibility of veterans to receive reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished through the Veterans Community Care program, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with an amendment inserting the respective texts of all bills specified in subsection (d), as passed by the House, in lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate. (b) In the engrossment of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 815, the Clerk shall -- (1) assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment; (2) conform cross-references and provisions for short titles within the engrossment; (3) be authorized to make technical corrections, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, page and line numbering, section numbering, and insertion of appropriate headings; and (4) relocate section 3 in the matter preceding division A of the text of H.R. 8038 to a new section immediately prior to Division A within the engrossment. (c) Upon transmission to the Senate of a message that the House has concurred in the Senate amendment to H.R. 815 with an amendment, the bills specified in subsection (d) that have passed the House shall be laid on the table. (d) The bills referred to in subsections (a) and (c) are as follows: H.R. 8034, H.R. 8035, H.R. 8036, and H.R. 8038. {time} 0915 The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas is recognized for 1 hour. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas? There was no objection. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, late last night, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1160, providing for consideration of four measures: H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, under a closed rule; H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, under a structured rule; H.R. 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, under a structured rule; and H.R. 8038, the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, under a structured rule. The rule further provides that after the House's consideration of these measures, the Senate will be quickly able to move to consideration of the legislation that we pass. Mr. Speaker, today, it is important that we support the underlying rule and the underlying legislation. Specifically, I rise in support of our allies after the attack on Israel by Iran 10 days ago. That unprecedented attack has reaffirmed the need for strong American leadership and support for our allies abroad, especially Israel and now our allies in the Indo-Pacific. I am well aware there have been concerns in our Conference and really on both sides of the House about the southern border and national debt. As a Member from Texas, as a member of the Budget Committee, I fully understand these concerns and share all of them, but the requirement for America to insert itself as the leader of the free world is not optional. It is not a requirement we can put on pause. Israel has been attacked. China talks menacingly about reunification with Taiwan. Ukraine is in crisis and is in need of our help to survive Russian aggression. Now, I would say to the President that this legislation on the floor today perhaps could have been facilitated by some leadership from the executive branch, but despite the circumstances that brought us here, we stand before the House to support our allies and reaffirm America's leadership on the world stage. H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, will provide much-needed material support to the Jewish state as it faces twin threats from Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This includes $4 billion to replenish Israel's Iron Dome and over a billion dollars for the Iron Beam defense system. H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, will work to counter the Chinese Communist Party and create a strong deterrence in the region. H.R. 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, will assist Ukraine as they counter Russian aggression. Of the latter, all financial assistance to the Ukrainian Government is converted into a loan, ensuring that the Ukrainian Government is held accountable to the American people. Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that our failure in Afghanistan was the spark in the tinderbox that led to the subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022. [[Page H2528]] That conflict had been smoldering for a long time, certainly at least since 2014 and two previous administrations. Had the administration in 2014, as well as the current administration, had more foresight to provide aid and arms to Ukraine before February 2022, there might have been a different set of circumstances that we were contemplating today, and there might have been a more swift resolution to this conflict, with the saving of untold lives. Mr. Speaker, I stand with my colleagues requesting more information from the administration. The American people deserve answers about how previous funding has been used. They deserve answers about what the long-term goals by the administration are to resolve this conflict. I welcome more oversight. I welcome additional information from the administration and will continue to push its accountability. Today, we are at an inflection point, and the longer we wait, the more expensive any solution to this conflict will become, both in terms of dollars and lives. Lack of aid now could cost us much more dearly later, and I don't want that to become a reality. I would hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle feel the same. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the rule. I urge passage of the underlying legislation. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, the world is watching. It is time for Congress to act, and act we must. America's allies have been waiting for this Republican majority to get their act together. People are dying in Ukraine. Democracy is on the line in Ukraine, and this Republican majority has been twiddling their thumbs. I am glad my friends have finally come to realize the gravity of the situation and the urgency of getting this aid to our allies. What have Republicans done? Nothing. No action to help our allies. It is all delay, distract, deny, and blame Joe Biden. Ukrainians are fighting for democracy--theirs and ours--and they have been set back as a result of Republican extremism. They have suffered because of Republican inaction. I will remind my friends that Ukrainians didn't choose this war. It chose them. Two years ago, when Putin illegally crossed the border and invaded, he was banking on the United States and our allies growing weary. He was hoping we would give up. He was hoping we would do nothing. He was betting we would abandon our friends and our internal divisions would leave us in disarray, at odds with one another. I hope Putin is wrong, Mr. Speaker, because after 2 years of unrelenting war, Ukrainians are still willing to hold the line. I visited Ukraine with former Speaker Pelosi shortly after Putin attacked them, and we learned about the particularly cruel nature in which Putin has been fighting this war. If you care about human rights, you have to care about what is happening in Ukraine. That is what this is all about. Ukrainians are still ready to defend their democracy, but they cannot continue to do so without our support. I won't sugarcoat it here. Ukraine's defense of democracy has suffered because there is a faction here in this House, a MAGA minority, that doesn't want to compromise. They don't want to take this vote because they are afraid of what the outcome might be--not that it will fail, but that it will succeed. That argument might hold sway in the Kremlin, Mr. Speaker, but this is the United States. We are the people's House, an institution designed to reflect the will of the majority. Today, the majority's voice is being heard here on the House floor-- not a majority of one State, one party, or one faction, but a majority that wants to help Ukraine hold the line, a majority that says bring these bills to the floor for an up-or-down vote. Democrats are providing the votes necessary to advance this legislation to the floor because, at the end of the day, so much more is at stake here than petty partisan brinkmanship. Putin is looking to rebuild the Soviet Union, and mark my words, he will not stop at Ukraine. Anybody who thinks that is delusional. If the world doesn't help them defend their democracy, this war will not end. It will grow. Mr. Speaker, I don't agree with everything in this package. I have deep, deep problems about the unconditional aid to Israel. I was among the first calling for a cease-fire, and I still call for a cease-fire. I have demanded more humanitarian aid for civilians in Gaza, and I will continue to do so. I have called for a two-state solution. I believe Prime Minister Netanyahu is putting Israel on a path that, quite frankly, undermines his own country's security. I am outraged by his cruelty and inhumanity toward the people of Gaza and the West Bank. There is no justification for that. There is none. Israel has a right to defend itself--nobody questions that--but what is happening now, I believe, is outrageous and unconscionable. We will have separate debates, and we will have separate votes on all of these bills, and people can decide where they want to be. Quite frankly, some Republicans wanted a different path. They wanted to extort this rule for a campaign ad on border security for Donald Trump. We almost had no Ukraine aid because that is what some of my Republican friends wanted and advocated for. They advocated for a bill with no humanitarian aid for anybody who is suffering--not just in Gaza, but also in Ukraine and other parts of the world--and they wanted all this kind of ugly border security language attached to this measure. There is a lot at stake at this moment, and we are all supposed to be grownups. We should act like it. Let's proceed in a way that allows everyone to vote their conscience. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. {time} 0930 Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations. Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my very good friend from Texas, my classmate, my colleague when I served on the Rules Committee, and now I am very proud to say our very distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee for yielding. Today's rule makes in order a series of three critical security supplemental bills, Mr. Speaker, paired with a fourth bill covering other high-priority national security matters. Collectively, these bills represent the commitment to move much-needed security assistance funding for America's friends and partners. Mr. Speaker, the members of the Rules Committee faced a serious challenge in putting together today's resolution, but they met that challenge in admirable, bipartisan fashion. I can't tell you how proud I am of both sides of the aisle, including my friend, the distinguished ranking member, for the manner in which they responded to this particular difficulty. Today's rule creates a full and fair process for floor consideration of these measures. It grants ample debate time on these bills and makes in order a series of amendments ensuring that the entire body has the opportunity to work its will and make our voices heard. It ensures that Members have a full 72 hours to review these bills before the vote. After all, taking up a matter as important as this, both Members of Congress and the American people deserve no less. Finally, it provides an up-or-down vote on each of these bills. Importantly, this rule allows every Member to vote his or her conscience on every issue. Thanks to this process, the House will be able to work its will. That is the way the Founders intended this institution to work. Speaker Johnson's work in setting this process in motion has been admirable, and we all owe him our thanks for ensuring both that the House takes up these critical funding measures and that each Member can vote his or her conscience on every single issue. Mr. Speaker, the need for this funding is not hypothetical. Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan are on the front [[Page H2529]] lines of the struggle to preserve democracy and freedom around the world. In the case of Ukraine and Israel, these two nations are, quite literally, in harm's way. Ukraine is entering the third year of their struggle against Vladimir Putin's unjust and illegal invasion. Its continued ability to resist hangs in the balance dependent on foreign aid. Its people need the weapons and ammunition provided in this bill to keep them in the fight. Israel, meanwhile, is involved in a life-and-death struggle against the perpetrators of the October 7 terror attack, Hamas. Over the weekend, Hamas' backer, the Iranian regime, launched an unprecedented and direct aerial assault on Israel. That attack has been thwarted, and an appropriate response is underway. Taiwan faces ongoing threats from the Chinese Communist Party which continue to threaten Taiwan's right of self-determination. Around the world, the United States and our partners are confronting a tinderbox of uninvited aggression on multiple fronts. America must stand firmly on the side of freedom. Peace through strength cannot be delivered through appeasement. Taken together, these measures protect our friends and partners and replenish American stockpiles of ammunition, weapons, and supplies. This is not only about safeguarding our ideals of democracy and peace but is central to our own national security. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all Members to vote to support the rule and the underlying legislation. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett), a champion for human rights. Mr. DOGGETT. Mr. Speaker, those who committed atrocities against Israelis on October 7 were not martyrs. They were murderers and rapists. But neither were those murderers children, and the children of Gaza have paid an incredible cost for Netanyahu's massive assault. His policies have shown conscious indifference to children, journalists, humanitarian aid workers, and civilians in general. I believe strongly in Israel's right to self-defense, but that does not require dropping hundreds of 2000-pound nonprecision ``dumb'' bombs in densely populated areas, nor does it require a medieval-type siege denying water, food, and medicine, using famine as a weapon of war, nor does it require killing, not only World Central Kitchen aid workers, but so many others. This rule gives us a proper opportunity to finally, belatedly, vote to help desperate Ukraine from Putin's war crimes and offensive without voting to support Netanyahu, but the rule, I believe, improperly rejected amendments that would have permitted a vote in support of Israel's right to self-defense without embracing Netanyahu's wrongful policies, which are killing the innocent, sacrificing the hostages, and endangering Israel's long-term security. Sending more offensive weapons to Netanyahu while begging him not to use them simply does not protect Rafah and others from an assault. I would vote to defend Israel but do not want to be complicit in providing weapons for an assault on Rafah that will cause thousands of deaths and likely lead to a wider and tragic war. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie), a valuable member of the Committee on Rules. Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, I truly thank the chairman for yielding me time because he knows I am slightly opposed to the rule, so he is very gracious. I am concerned that the Speaker has cut a deal with the Democrats to fund foreign wars rather than to secure our border, but what I want to talk about today is process. The bill that will come out of the House after all of this is a bill that began as H.R. 815 to expand the eligibility for veterans to receive reimbursements for their emergency care. How did a bill that was intended for veterans that came out of the House become a bill that may bring us to the brink of war in at least three places on the globe by sending $100 billion to military contractors? Well, it started in the House, and then the Senate took it and stripped every word from the bill. Why did they do this? Were they trying to get around the origination clause in the Constitution? Were they trying to shortcut some process? It is one of those things. What we have got now is a collection of bills, and I do appreciate that we get individual votes on four of these bills. They include $100 billion, but they don't include securing our border. They include a bill called the REPO Act, which could call into question the value of our Treasury bills when we go out to auction those next if we are going to confiscate Treasury bills that we sold to other countries. It also includes a bill that allows the President to ban websites based on his discretion. I am concerned about that. This bill, H.R. 815, started as a veterans bill, went to the Senate, got gutted, and then became the foreign aid package bill. Now, here in the House, we are going to vote on four separate titles, but we are going to package them back as amendments to that H.R. 815. So we are actually going to send it back to the Senate as the bill they sent to us, which is the gutted veterans bill. I know this is all confusing, but why is this all being done this way? Some will say to force the Senate's hand, but really what it is going to do is jam the conservatives in the Senate who would like to have a more fulsome debate. I am opposed to the rule, and I thank the chairman for the time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a valued member of the Rules Committee. Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Mr. Speaker, today, after months of delay that cost the loss of the Ukrainian military advantage, that cost children's lives and access to food and aid, that allowed China to threaten the Indo-Pacific, Congress will finally vote. Congress is finally going to vote to fund the fight against the tyranny of Russia, Iran, and China, the fight for democracy and peace. Why did it take us this long? Yesterday in Rules, the Republican chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee noted that every Republican President since the Soviet Union era has stood on the right side of history and stood up to Russia. Presidents from Eisenhower to Reagan, George Bush, Sr., and George Bush, Jr., they all knew that Russia's desire to reassert its empire by bombing and invading its neighbor also harms America and American interests--every Republican President, that is, until Donald Trump. In contrast to every President before him, Trump praised Putin, tried to do business in Russia, allowed Putin to gain the upper hand, and eventually denied Ukraine military aid that Congress had approved unless Ukraine gave him dirt on Biden. Donald Trump became the pied piper for Putin. Some of Trump's most ardent followers in this House became Putin- protecting Republicans and denied the Members of Congress this vote until now. Now is the moment history has its eyes on this Chamber as Democrats and Republicans stand up and stand together for what we love-- democracy. Democracy is the very reason we get to sit here together today and debate in the people's House. Democracy is the best answer to tyranny, aggression, and depravity. It is our shared bipartisan love for democracy that best unites us with our allies around the world, allies that are once again united in our fight against the war in China and Russia thanks to the leadership of President Biden, who repaired the damage Trump inflicted on our international relationships. I hope that shared love of a world where democracy is defended will also unite us in this Chamber. I remind my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats, that bipartisanship is a good thing. It is how America expects us to govern, and it is how we move one step closer to defeating the cruel regimes that seek to take the world backward. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Roy), another valuable member of the Rules Committee. Mr. ROY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague from Texas for yielding me time, and I very much appreciate his service. I apologize that I am here on the floor in opposition to a rule in his first week as chairman of the Rules Committee. I have great respect for him. [[Page H2530]] The gentlewoman was just essentially implying that for some reason this is somehow Donald Trump's fault. Ukraine was invaded by Russia under the watch of this President. That is the truth. This incompetent President has led to the situation that we sit in right now. People are dying in Ukraine, yes, but the problem is they are being funded with American debt. There is no skin in the game for the American people. We are not talking about tax increases. We are not doing anything to say that we are going to pay for this stuff as we rack up a trillion dollars of debt every 3 months. The truth is, Americans are dying, not just Ukrainians, at the hands of wide-open borders, while literal hostiles flood into our country, fentanyl pours into our streets, and people are chanting, ``Death to America.'' The response by Republicans is to pass a $1.7 trillion, cap-busting, spending bill under suspension of the rules, handing the keys to the NSA and intel to continue spying on Americans. Now, we are on the floor under a rule to give another $100 billion to fund war, unpaid for, with zero border security under a rule which Republicans should oppose because it is a process predesigned to achieve the desired predetermined outcome, with no border security. The individual votes on Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and a sweetener bill for TikTok are belied by the fact they are being packaged together as an amendment to the Senate-passed foreign aid bill. This was all precooked. It is why President Biden and Chuck Schumer are praising it. The problem is, there were 9 amendments handpicked by leadership to be made in order despite 300 amendments having been filed. Speaker Johnson said in January: ``If President Biden wants a supplemental spending bill focused on national security, it better begin with defending America's national security. We want to get the border closed and secured first.'' To that I say, amen, and I would say to Speaker Johnson, where is that? {time} 0945 Mr. McGOVERN. Wow, Mr. Speaker, I guess the gentleman from Texas is unaware of the fact that there was a bipartisan border security deal that was agreed to that, unfortunately, House Republicans and Trump decided to kill. I ask unanimous consent to insert in the Record an Axios article titled: ``Trump, House Republicans plot to kill border deal.'' The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts? There was no objection. [From AXIOS, Jan. 29, 2024] Trump, House Republicans Plot To Kill Border Deal (By Stef W. Kight) Republican and Democratic senators are taking to the airwaves, scrambling to pass severe restrictions on migrants flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border. There's just one thing: Their plan is all but dead. Why it matters: The Senate might pass the plan, which would be one of the harshest immigration bills of the century. President Biden is ready to sign it. But House Republicans-- egged on by former President Trump--already are planning to shut it down. State of play: Illegal immigration has rocketed to the top of voters' concerns, and Biden has become increasingly desperate for a solution. Trump and conservative Republicans see a political opportunity to squeeze Biden and Democrats on the issue. Trump, whose front-runner status in the Republican presidential race has solidified his leadership of the GOP, has loudly vowed to kill the bipartisan border deal. It's not going to happen, and I'll fight it all the way,'' Trump said Saturday in Nevada. Zoom in: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has fallen in line. He called the deal ``dead on arrival'' on Friday, then doubled down over the weekend, claiming it wouldn't do enough to stop illegal border crossIngs. He has said he talks frequently with Trump about the border. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) warned senators last week that Trump's opposition would make it difficult to get a border plan through Congress. A sign of Trump's influence: Oklahoma's GOP voted Saturday to censure Sen. James Lankford (R.-Okla.) for being a lead negotiator in the border policy discussions. The details: The text of the border bill is expected to drop soon. It will include a measure that effectively would block illegal border crossers from asylum once the number of migrant encounters hits a daily average of 5,000 in a week or 8,500 on a single day, as Axios has reported. Those restrictions would remain until illegal crossings drop and remain low for an extended period of time. The deal also would expedite the asylum process and limit the use of parole to release migrants into the U.S. The big picture: The migrant crisis at the border and in major U.S. cities is one of the most jeopardizing issues for Biden and Democrats this November. It's also Trump's marquee political issue. He has every incentive to keep it front and center as he heads toward a likely rematch against Biden. Biden has doubled down on a tougher border image in recent months, and has signaled his willingness to ``shut down the border'' if he's given new authority under the Senate agreement. What they're saying: The White House is accusing Republicans of flip-flopping for politics--first supporting their own strict immigration bill and now saying Biden already has the authority to close the border ``If Speaker Johnson continues to believe--as President Biden and Republicans and Democrats in Congress do--that we have an imperative to act immediately on the border, he should give this administration the authority and funding we're requesting,'' White House press secretary Karine Jean- Pierre said in a statement. ``Right now [the plan's critics] are functioning off of internet rumors of what's in the bill, and many of them are false,'' Lankford said on ``Face the Nation,'' defending the plan he has been negotiating. ``I want to know how house R's square their support for H.R. 2 with their position now that we should do nothing,'' one senior GOP Senate aide told Axios, referring to a sweeping border bill passed by House Republicans last year. Republicans ``are redefining the terms of any debate for the future,'' one former Biden official told Axios. ``A very extreme, enforcement-heavy package is now being rejected as not tough enough.'' Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr) from the Financial Services Committee. Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, while I rise in support of the rule, and I thank Chairman Burgess for his leadership on giving Members the opportunity to vote on these packages, I also rise to express my profound disappointment that the Biden administration and Democrats in this Chamber have blocked from being ruled in order my amendment to cut off a blank check to Russia's war machine. President Biden, the U.S. Treasury Department, and congressional Democrats are so concerned about my amendment that they have prevented it from even being considered or debated before this body. Last October, the Biden administration renewed General License 8, which authorizes certain energy-related transactions involving Russian financial institutions. This license has now been renewed eight times since the start of Russia's full-scale, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, and it continues to undermine measures designed to curtail Russia's energy revenues. This license, which is the architecture of the Biden foreign policy on Ukraine has become a lifeline for Vladimir Putin. It is the symbol of President Biden's weakness on Russia, the primary avenue through which he is financing Russia's war machine. It is the most prominent example of how the Biden administration's radical climate agenda has collided with its stated policy to counter Russian aggression, and it shows how the Biden administration's climate policy conflicts with our national security. Coincidentally, the current general license is set to expire on May 1. My very timely amendment would prevent this renewal and would erode the energy profits that are refilling Putin's coffers and funding his war in Ukraine. The sanctions put in place by the Biden administration on Russia's energy sector, a principle source of revenue for the Kremlin, had been wholly inadequate. Russia's oil and gas revenues have been rising, and countries like India and China have been buying Russian oil well above the price cap put in place. Enforcement of the price cap has been poor, which has enabled Russia to find non-G7 insurers and ships for the transport of a seaborne crude much more quickly than anticipated. The ease with which Russia has been able to evade the price cap calls into question the efficacy and enforceability of the price cap. Moreover, another renewal of the general license next month would completely ignore the efforts Europe has finally made to diversify its energy supplies and reverse its dangerous prewar [[Page H2531]] reliance on Russian energy. General License 8 originally reflected the need to get countries that were dependent on Russian energy sufficient time to diversify their energy resources, but many of those countries have now effectively diversified their energy suppliers. Continued issuance of an overly broad general license in this instance threatens to repeat the mistakes made in relation to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, where the Biden administration's refusal to implement strong sanctions against the pipeline not only removed deterrents before the full-scale invasion---- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky. Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for the additional time. The Biden administration's refusal to implement strong sanctions against the pipeline not only removed deterrents before the full-scale invasion and invited Putin's invasion of Ukraine, but also allowed parts of Europe's dangerous reliance on Russian energy to continue until Putin's tanks had already rolled across Ukraine's borders. Rescinding the license would encourage our allies' efforts to rid themselves of reliance on Russian energy sources. It makes no sense to fund a needed resistance against Russia's unprovoked war against Ukraine while also allowing Russia to fill its war machine coffers through its sale of energy to the rest of the world. Biden can't have his cake and eat it too. It is just ridiculous. He cannot pursue a radical anti-fossil energy climate crusade at home and hope to keep energy prices low. Similarly, he can't keep the flow of Russian crude on the world markets to bolster global supply while reducing Moscow's revenues through an unenforceable price cap. The only way to truly punish Moscow and deprive Putin of the financial support he needs to materially--to prosecute the war is by removing the general license on the energy-related transactions facilitated by sanctioned Russian banks. I urge my colleagues to support this rule. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I would just ask if the gentleman from Massachusetts has additional speakers. If not, I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time to do so. Mr. Speaker, the Democrats have had to make some tough decisions about how to vote on this rule, and let me tell you why I voted to support it last night. I have disagreements with many aspects of the various pieces of legislation that will come before us, and there are some of these pieces that I will vote against. Again, there will be separate votes, and there will be separate debates, but as we learned last night in the Rules Committee, the alternative that some of my Republican friends were pushing to this approach was an Israel-only package with no humanitarian aid, not just for the people of Gaza, but for any suffering people that the aid would benefit and some really ugly border provisions, which I found unconscionable and some other bad stuff as well. Democrats, once again, will be the adults in the room, and I am so glad Republicans finally realized the gravity of the situation and the urgency with which we must act. But guess what, Mr. Speaker? You don't get an award around here for simply doing your damn job. President Biden told us last year, 6 months ago--over 6 months ago--that this was urgent and important, that Ukraine needed us, that Putin was not going to stop, that the war against Ukrainians was particularly vicious. Every major human rights organization in the world has told us the impact of Russia's attack against Ukraine. The Senate voted months ago. The Senate can barely agree on what to have for lunch, and they voted months ago. What did the House do? What did my House Republican friends do? They did nothing. There was no action to help our allies. It is all delay, distract, deny and blame Joe Biden. I would just say to my colleagues, look at what MAGA extremism has gotten you; nothing. It has gotten you nothing, not a damn thing. In fact, it has empowered Democrats. At every critical juncture in this Congress, it has been Democrats who have been the ones to stand up for our country and do the right thing for the American people. Democrats ensured the U.S. didn't default on its debt last year in case anybody forgot. Democrats supplied votes to keep the government running in September of last year, in November of last year, and in March of this year. Democrats supplied the votes to pass the National Defense Authorization Act. Democrats supplied the votes for the tax relief bill that passed earlier this year. Democrats have done the job that Republicans have refused to do. Again, we have different priorities, and I think, based on what I have heard in this last Congress, different values. We don't even agree on a lot of what has come before the full House. Democrats have done the job that Republicans have refused to do. We don't want an award for it. We don't want a trophy for showing up to work. All we want is for Republicans to do their job, stop blaming Joe Biden for their own incompetence, and work with our side to find common ground. We are in a divided government. A Democrat is President, we have a Democratic controlled Senate, and we have a narrow Republican majority in the House. Nobody is going to get everything they want. We have to work together. We have to compromise. I hope today's vote loosens the grip that MAGA extremism has on this body, and especially when it comes to supporting our allies. You know, the Rules Committee is the committee that has been known as the traffic cop of Congress. Every bill of consequence comes through the Rules Committee. I mean, we set the bills for debate on the House floor. The last bill that the Rules Committee reported that actually became law was almost 10 months ago. All the other bills that we have sent that made it over to the White House and become law had to be brought up under different processes and procedures. I mean, let that sink in. Something is not working here. You either want to be a body that is constructive and that gets stuff done, or you just want to be a party that just obstructs everything and gets nothing done, because at the end of the day, there is nothing to show for all the yelling and screaming and finger-pointing that we see on a regular basis on this House floor. My friends have to choose. History is going to judge them by how they answer one simple question: Are they going to work together with Democrats; in this case, stand with our allies and stand for America, or are they gonna throw in their lot with MAGA Trump and Putin? We are living in very uncertain times, Mr. Speaker, and people around the world are counting on this country to stand up and lead. People in Ukraine, people in Taiwan, people in Gaza, people in Israel--you know, the eyes of the world are on this body. There are a lot of things in this package I disagree with. And in my opening statement, I talked about my concern about the unconcerned aid package to Israel. My concern is that Netanyahu's government is not moving in a direction that, quite frankly, is a direction that I think will lead to more security for Israel; it is exactly the opposite. I worry that what he is doing is, quite frankly, a violation of the human rights of so many innocent people in Gaza and in the West Bank. I was hoping that they would pursue a different pathway. Instead, we now hear that he wants to go into Rafah. There is a famine happening in Gaza. People are starving to death. Aid is being frustrated from getting there, food medicine, important supplies. People are dying. Surely we should all care about that. We should be able to advocate for Israel's security but also advocate for the people of Gaza, children of Gaza, senior citizens. People are just trying to get on with their lives. Notwithstanding the fact that we may have disagreements--and some of my Republican friends obviously disagree whether we should be helping Ukraine or not. I disagree with you, fine, but we have a process that you will be able to vote on all of these things separately, and you will be able to make your views clear. I have got to tell you, you know, you don't have to [[Page H2532]] agree on everything to agree on something. We ought to agree that these issues are important enough to debate and to have up or down votes on. The people who are advocating that we do nothing, you know, or that we--you know, that we attach things to this bill that will guarantee that it goes nowhere in the Senate, and therefore, we help nobody, I don't understand why you are even here quite frankly. We need to move this process forward. The House has to function. As we have seen, under Republican control, that only happens when Democrats are the adults in the room. I say that not to be partisan. I say that because that is what has been happening. I gave you a list of things that needed to be done, you know, not just in terms of helping our allies, but in terms of saving our economy, that could not have been done unless Democrats stood up and behaved like adults. {time} 1000 Mr. Speaker, this should have been dealt with a long time ago, months ago, but here we are. Here we are. Mr. Speaker, I hope that as we proceed, we have rational and thoughtful debate, knowing that we will have disagreements and knowing that some of us will have different ideas on how we should proceed forward. This is the United States House of Representatives. We are supposed to debate issues. We are supposed to vote on things. Unfortunately, this has become a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. Well, these are important issues that are in this bill. Some of them I agree with; some of them I don't agree with. Let's debate them, let's vote on them, and then let's move on. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, our adversaries, notably Russia, China, and Iran, are watching to see how we will respond. Our reaction to these crises will determine how they will choose to proceed. An important difference between this package of bills today and the previously passed Senate supplemental is the addition of the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act. The legislation is important as it includes sanctions and policies that counter our adversaries through the inclusion of the REPO Act, the removal of our payment for foreign pensions, and requiring the administration to provide a game plan in Ukraine, something that many of us have been asking for, for some time. Ronald Reagan told us peace comes through strength. By failing to act now, it will signal the opposite of strength. It will invite future aggression, as failure to act has done so often in the past. Mr. Speaker, I also feel obligated to point out that this Congress has had two votes on providing aid to Israel. One occurred in October, right after Speaker Johnson was elected. Indeed, it was one of his highest priorities. I thought that aid package was responsibly offset through cuts to other Federal agencies here. Senator Schumer didn't see it that way and said we have never conditioned aid to Israel with anything, so there can be no offset, that it can't be paid for. In the House, in February of this year, I think it was Mr. Calvert of California who introduced a bill to provide the same aid to Israel without the offset. It was blocked, this time by people on my side. The Speaker said, okay, let's bring it up under suspension, and maybe we can get agreement between Members on both sides. In fact, under suspension, the two-thirds majority required was not achieved, so that bill failed in February, as well. Had any one of those bills passed, we might not be here today because we all know 1 week--10 days ago--Iran attacked Israel, the missiles and drones originating from Iranian soil, the first time that has ever happened, and the crisis advanced. Yes, we did have an opportunity to provide that aid to Israel. It might not have been what my friend from Massachusetts would have wanted, but at the same time, we had the opportunity to provide that. Unfortunately, now, even members of my committee are upset with where we are today, but we had the opportunity to sort of head off all of this by simply passing that aid package last February, and we wouldn't do it. What happens if we don't do this today? Does it get better or worse for us down the road? Nobody knows the answer to that, but history tells us it is very likely to get worse. We have two votes now, Mr. Speaker, on Israeli aid. On both counts, I think most of us in this body want to see that pass. I will stress again that weakness invites aggression, and we cannot allow our allies in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine to be abandoned. By doing so, we will not prevent future aggression but will invite it. Today, we have an opportunity to deliver critical aid to our allies, and I believe it is appropriate to do so. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on adoption of the resolution. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question are postponed. ____________________