as donald trump per pro seeds with an unconstitutional and immoral executive order, we must stand up to this test and fight to make sure that the truth of america is known. i want this last point to be clear. nothing worthwhile is easy. >> we'll break away here. the house is coming back in. you can watch this live on -- online at c-span.org.

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 388, the nays are zero. 2/3 being in the affirmative , he rules are suspended and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, to suspend the rules and pass house resolution 538 as amended, which the yeas and nays

are ordered this eclerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 538 a bill to redesignate ocmulgee national monument in the state of georgia and amend its purposes. -- speaker pro tempore: the a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the recorded vote will rise and remain standing. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote --

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 396, the nays are eight. none records as present, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute peeches.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i ask for unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. i rise today to object to the administration's recent executive order suspending the u.s. refugee admissions program and visas from certain countries in the middle east and east africa. protecting our national security, of course, must always be our number one priority. this executive order, however, mr. speaker, does not focus on the precise challenges that we face. we can keep our homeland safe by immediately implementing more thorough screening procedures, rather than pursuing this broad brush approach. although this measure is temporary, and some individuals will continue to be admitted on a case by case basis, congress

needs to work to ensure that this order does not apply to u.s. residents, does not apply to those who have already been issued a visa, does not apply to those who have already been granted refugee status. i urge the administration to work with congress and federal agencies to find a measured plan that protects our national security, honors our existing commitments, and follows the letter and spirit of the law. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from rhode island is recognized or one minute. mr. langevin: mr. speaker, i

believe that we live in the greatest country on earth and i'm proud to say so. but i have to say, the last week's executive order by president trump on refugee resettlement is shaking that faith. how can we hold ourselves as a beacon of hope when we turn away tens of thousands of the most desperate and vulnerable of men, women and children of this planet? how can we be the light of the world when our policies are driven by darkness and fear? i'm going to keep that light alive. i'm going to fight to keep it that way. because that's bha we are. that's who we represent -- that -- because that's who we are. that's who we represent. we are still a shining is he on -- city on a hill and i'm doing to fight for my state of -- and i'm going to fight for my state of rhode island, which was founded on religious freedom, religious practice, not fear of the other. and i'm going to fight against injustice when my amazing constituents, who joined

together for the second week in a row, rallying at our state house, to keep that light alive. mr. speaker, we're a strong country. but we're strong because of our values and our principles. and all that is embodied in our constitution. let's continue to be that shining city on a hill to the world. i'm going to continue this fight and i hope my colleagues will too. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition 1234 -- seek recognition? mr. thompson: request to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman is correct. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, before coming to congress, i worked as a certified

therapeutic recreation special ift and rehab services manager. there's no greater joy in the health profession than to see your patient make progress after dedi bill tating disease or disability. i rise today to speak about how we can allow more patients the ability to live full and healthy lives through therapy. last week, with congressman g.k. butterfield of north carolina, i re-introduced the access to in-patient rehabilitation therapy act. this would allow physicians to prescribe what they consider to be the most medically necessary treatments for medicare beneficiaries within the comprehensive in-patient rehab setting. in 2010, medicare narrowed its coverage options andly. ed therapeutic services to just physical -- and limited therapeutic services to just physical therapy and a few others. meaning that if a doctor thought that a patient would be served by recreation altherrpy, it's currently not an option covered by medicare. that's wrong. medicare coverage should support patients' recovery plan as

directed by their physician. such therapies are intended to help those who have suffered a life-altering injury recover their functions and transition back to living a full life. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan, commonsense bill, thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one inute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong opposition to president trump's executive order against legal immigration. i was sworn to uphold the constitution and i was elected to grow our economy and help unify our country. mr. krishnamoorthi: unfortunately this order is an assault on the constitution and it harms the economy by harming working families and it divides

the country. on saturday night, i went to o'hare airport to help american legal permanent residents be freed from detention. they are people integral to the success of our community and our economy. i asked my honorable republican colleagues to stand with them and oppose the executive order. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. mr. coffman: mr. speaker, it is my honor today to recognize the asian-pacific development center, a community-based nonprofit organization which has been serving the asian american and pacific islander community in the state of colorado for over 35 years. their commitment to service is truly an inspiration for all coloradans. the asian-pacific development

center guides itself by its founding mission, which is to advance the well-being of asian american pacific islander communities of colorado by providing culturally appropriate and integrated behavioral, medical and related services, by adhering to such a noble purpose, the asian-pacific development center is able to provide crucial services in native languages with a cultural understanding. originally founded in 1980 by dr. rudy lee and currently headed by ms. chris, i am proud of just how important the asian-pacific development center is to our community. i look forward to working with them in the many more years of service to come. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from oregon is recognized for one minute. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker.

one of the reasons people across the country are outraged by the executive order issued by the administration this weekend is the impact it has on people who worked for the united states, putting their lives at risk. i spent 10 years on a bipartisan effort for the special immigrant visa program. and with the stroke of a pen, these people have been denied. on page a-10 of "the washington post," there's detail -- there's details of the shahry family. his life is at risk in iraq. he worked two years to be able to get the visa. he sold his business, sold his home, his family was on a plane ready to come, and they were turned back. turned back to iraq, turned back to danger, and we are turning our back on people who risk their lives to help americans. it's outrageous, it's immorale, and the going to hurt america in

the future. who's going to help us overseas in the future if we are not dependable allies? this outrageous order should be overturned and everyone, republican and democrat alike, should raise their voice in outrage. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for one inute. mr. payne: mr. speaker, donald trump has stained the american presidency with his unamerican values. -- u.n. american values. his muslim -- un-american values. his muslim ban is hurting families. it has put the safety of the american people at risk by

providing fodder for extremist groups who wish to do us harm. i condemn this ban and the unfit president behind it. and i ask that my republican colleagues who have stood by and said nothing -- how can you remain silent? the american people are sending a clear message that they will not remain silent. i have received a large volume of calls from constituents in opposition to this muslim ban. it is unfortunate that these calls are else in. but i am glad the american people are paying attention and are committed to holding this administration accountable. i want to add that hundreds of syrian refugees have settled in new jersey. many have settled in jersey city , which is part of my district. and i am proud to be their member of congress. these refugees have escaped

chaos at home and went through a rigorous screening process before entering the united states. they are respectful of america's values, the same cannot be said f this president. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: i'd like to make a comment that members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities with the president. the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a time i never thought i'd experience. i'm a proud member of the united states congress and took an oath to support the constitution. we have seen alternative facts become stated as something that's part of america, something out of "1984." this executive order is not

directed as muslims, according to the administration. -- it's unbelievable they can put something on paper and then tell now not to believe what's on paper thises a violation of the first amendment it's a violation of everything america is known for on the basis of not discriminating based on religion. it's a shame we've come to alternative facts, alternative constitutions, and alternative mindsets. god bless the united states and god save the united states. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the chair lays before the house the following communications. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to notify you formally, pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the house of representatives, that we have been served with a subpoena for documents issued by the district court for the district of benisec versus

malone. we have determined that compliance with the subpoena will be consistent with the privileges and rights of the house. signed, sincerely, elijah cummings, member of congress. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rules of the house of representatives, that i have been served with a witness subpoena for documents issued by he district of maryland in benicek vs. malone. i have determined that compliance with the subpoena will be consistent with the privileges and rights of the house. signed, sincerely, steny hoyer. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to inform you formally that we have been served with a subpoena for documents issued by the district court for the district of maryland in benicek vs. malone. after consultation with the

office of general counsel we have determined that compliance with the subpoena will be consistent with the privileges and rights of the house. signed, sincerely, dutch ruppersberger. the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, this is to notify you formally pursuant to rule 8 of the rule tofse house of representatives that we have been served with a subpoena for documents issued by the district court for the district of maryland in benicek vs. malone. after consultation with the office of general counsel we have determined that compliance with the subpoena will be consistent with the privileges and rights of the house. signed, sincerely, john p. sarbanes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. the clerk: leave of absence requested for ms. clarke of massachusetts for today and tomorrow, mr. defazio of oregon for today, mr. desjarlais of tennessee for today.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection the requests are granted. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. veasey is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. veasey: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of this special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for 60 minutes. mr. veasey: thank you, mr. speaker. this was a sad week for our country. we saw anger, despair, chaos at american airports when people from all different types of backgrounds, from the middle east, were banned from coming into the united states. we had individuals that were green cardholders that were denied entry into the united

states. we had individuals that were interpreters for our united states military that kept them safe in the middle east that were denied the right to come into the country and it was a sad day in our country's history. this past weekend, i took my son to an exhibit at one of the synagogues in fworts, texas, where i live, -- in fworts, texas, where i live -- in forth, texas, where i live -- in fort texas, where i live. it was about jews in baseball. it featured hank greenberg and joe dimaggio. it talked about how while joe dimaggio was fighting for our country in world war ii, the united states government listed his parents as enemy aliens. and to think about that we revisit that sort of sad chapter

in our history, where individuals were treated that way in our country, i think that it's -- it's very sad, mr. speaker. we have a lot of members that ould like to express their discontent at what happened and i'm going to ask our chair, mr. cedric richmond from the state of louisiana, to come and address us because what we have to talk about tonight is very serious. -- richmond: mr. chairman mr. richmond: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, congressman veasey for the work that you d representing fort worth, texas. let me just say, mr. speaker, that it is a privilege and honor to be the chairman of the congressional black caucus, we

represent 80 million americans, 17 million of which are african-american but the real reason is because it's a talented group of 49 people and we're going to need each and every one of them to keep track of this rapid schizophrenic style of governing that we are dealing with. and i'll just talk about the two most egregious things this past week and that is the allegations of voter fraud and his nomination of a person to run the civil rights division of the department of justice and his unconstitutional ban on muslims. since 2010, 20 states have restricted voting rights by enacting discriminatory voter i.d. and proof of sit certainship law, illegally purging thousands of proper voters from the rolls, cutting back early voting, limiting

vetter registration, and engaging in other suppressive tactics. these laws were put in place to combat the nation of voter fraud, despite the fact that there's no evidence of wide voter fraud in the united states. more than a dozen recent investigations and studies all show voter fraud to be virtually nonexistent. a 2014 "washington post" investigation found 31 incidents of voter fraud in the more than one billion ballots cast in elections at all levels of government from 2000 to 2014. of the more than 137 million ballots cast in the 2016 election, election and law enforce. officials in all 50 states have yet to report any indications of widespread voter fraud. but if there's no evidence of widespread voter fraud, what reason could anyone, including

the president, have for this claim? well, the truth is, republicans have used voter fraud, the voter fraud lie, to restrict voting rights for years. voter i.d. laws have been sponsored by republicans and passed overwhelmingly by a republican legislature. richard posner a conservative u.s. circuit court judge appointed by president reagan has called the concerns about voter fraud a mere fig leaf, intended to justify laws that appear to be aimed at limiting voting by minorities. especially blacks. in july, 2016 a u.s. circuit court struck down north carolina's law, calling it the most restrictive voting law north carolina has seen since the era of jim crow. the judges charge that the republican lawmakers had targeted african-american with

almost surgical precision. now let me just turn very iefly to the president's ill-advised, unconstitutional executive order that purportedly promotes national security. keeping america safe is a top priority for all of us. but this order is wrong. it's wrong because it makes us less safe an it's wrong because it goes against our american values. this is the latest in president trump's series of actions showing that his number one priority is short-term shows of intolerance instead of the long-term security of the american people. actions by the oval office directly affect people's lives. when the president is making policy up on the fly, it has real, harmful consequences in the lives of everyday americans. the fact that the secretary of homeland security, the committee in congress which i serve on,

was not included in discussions about implementing the executive order, even though this department is in charge of its implementation is clear evidence of a broken system. shutting out the mothers, children, fathers, and families who are fleeing the same violence we fight against is exactly what isis and similar groups want us to do and it only strengthens their hand. this has -- this haphazard order does nothing to keep americans safe. in fact, it hurts our efforts to fight against terrorism. let me just say, mr. speaker, to my colleagues from texas, that the president of the united states, when addressing liberty iversity, cited second corinthians, which church going people would say is second corinthian, but he cited two corinthians 3:17, that says wherever the lord is, there's

liberty and freedom. but there can't be liberty and freedom without meaningful access to the voting polls. but if the president would have just stopped, he didn't need to get to verse three. chapter three. he could have just stopped at the first few paragraphs. of second corinthians. which says blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ. it goes on to say, who comforts us in our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble. so the question becomes, why go and offer university your christian value, which always talks about the least of these in the bible and what are we doing to help others and do unto others as you would have them do unto us, so that as soon

as mothers and children and families are fleeing persecution and certain death, we put a wall up around our country, we shut down our airports and say, we dent care what trouble you're in, you just can't come here. that goes against everything that this country was founded on. it goes against my christian values. and it goes against any purported christian values of anyone in these united states of america. with that, i will yield back the balance of my time. mr. veasey: i thank the chairman for his comments. i did not mention we are also talking about voting rights, which is very important on the eve of the president about to make the selection for the next supreme court justice of the united states. and representative plaskett, i know, with you representing the virgin islands and understanding the importance of voting rights, that's very significant. so i'm going to turn it over to you and thank you for being a

voice both in terms of refugees and immigration rights and also the very important issue of voting rights. ms. plaskett: thank you, mr. veasey. i first would like to thank the chair of the congressional black caucus, by friend and colleague, the honorable cedric richmond, for his leadership on this top exand on topics affecting black america across this great nation and indeed this evening, we are discussing not only minorities in this country but those downtrodden and other individuals around the world who look to america for refuge, strength, and democracy. i would also like to thank my colleague, the honorable mark veasey, of fort worth, texas, for joining me in chairing this special order hour and my congressional black caucus colleagues who are joining us this evening to speak on these important issues. mr. speakering we are here

night to speak to those very -- those two very important issues that go to the fabric of our founding, our ability to grow and diversify as a nation by bringing in the tired and the poor, the innovator, the ones who bring new changes to this country and continue its dynamic growth, as well as voting rights. last week, president trump, among a number of other things, expressed unsubstan shated claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election. the remarks that we heard would appear to be inaccurate, reckless, and dangerous to our democracy in some of our opinions. my colleagues and i are here this evening to highlight the real voter fraud in this country, and that is the continued attempt to suppress minority voting rights across many states as well as the outright denial of the right to vote for millions of americans living in the territories.

i want to underscore that the fight for equal voting rights for minorities in this country did not end with the passage of the voting rights act. in fact, today, more than 50 years after our esteemed colleague john lewis and others courageously marched on selma, we have seen the united states supreme court strike down one of its most important protections. . within hours of that decision, states were already moving forward with restrictive voter i.d. laws, which have already been rejected as discriminatory under the voting rights ac. six of the -- act. six of the 16 states that passed voter i.d. laws since 2010 have a documented history of discriminating against minority voters. the state of alabama in 2014 began enforcing a controversial voter i.d. law that required voters to show a state-issued i.d. in order to vote, and then announced plans to close 31 drivers licenses offices. most of them, ironically in

rural, impoverished, majority black counties, making it harder for residents to get the most common form of i.d. used to vote. in addition to the supreme court's action, a federal court in 2015 ruling used the racist century-old opinion of the supreme court to uphold a denial of voting rights to american citizens in my home district of the united states virgin islands, and the citizens and residents of the american island territories. the opinion was authored by the same justice who wrote plessy v. ferguson. march marked 100 years that my district has been a part of this country, but our service dates back to its very founding, through the virge islander and founding father, lerks hamilton. he would be, i think, very upset to find out that people from the island of which he came could not vote for their president and commander in chief. even though the virgin islands and the territories have the

highest rates of military service in the united states and have exponentially higher rates of casualty per capita in any of the wars, in the wars of in afghanistan and iraq. we, we believe, have earned the right to take part in this democracy. in another example, last year, a federal appeals court decisively struck down a north carolina voter identification law and noted its provisions deliberately target african-americans with almost surgical precision. that's a quote of the court. in an effort to depress black turnout at the polls. that to me sounds like voter fraud and voter suppression. mr. speaker, these are just a few examples of the real voter fraud happening across this country. the members of this caucus continue to work to ensure that all american citizens, regard ms of their race, income -- regardless of their race, income or location, can participate in this great democracy. and we implore the president to

direct his efforts to investigate voter fraud at these and other issues. but we want to, as the congressional black caucus, address another issue. because we don't just represent african-americans or minorities here in this country. we want to address an issue that is of great concern to me and members of this caucus. and as demonstrated by massive protests this weekend, and right across the street here this evening at the supreme court, the concern of a large majority of america is that this president's executive order to ban refugees entry into this country. banning entry to people fleeing persecution is perhaps opposed to the foundational fabric of this country, as you can get. mr. speaker, not only is the president's refugee ban mean-spirt, misguided, -- mean-spirited, misguided, it undermines our democracy, undermines our efforts to thwart terrorism, and is an afront to all who have sacrificed to defend. it viewing all refugees fleeing

asment ises shows an extremely myopic understand of the real threats and plays to extremist propaganda. the refugee ban will not make us safe. it would have done nothing to prevent the 9/11 terrorist attacks, nor the others that followed. the terrorists of those attacks were american citizens. some of whom were even on the terror watch list and still allowed to legally purchase deadly weapons used to carry out their terrorist plot. if this, mr. president president and congress, wants to protect the american people from terrorism they should pass the no fly, no buy legislation, that house democrats stood to support. mr. speaker, there are many of my colleagues here this evening who would love to speak on this issue and i'd like to call some of those and i yield time at this time to ms. bonnie watson coleman from the garden state from the state of new jersey, who will for two minutes speak to this house on the issues that the congressional black caucus

is taking up this evening. mrs. watson coleman: i thank the gentlelady for yielding to me and thank you, mr. speaker. as his first full week as president, trump continued to make a mockery of the ideals on which our nation was founded. in addition to his muslim ban, which is contrary to the national security interests of the united states, his actions are not only discriminatory and bigoted, but also reckless, dangerous and counterproductive to any authentic effort to defeat terrorism. as a member of the house homeland security committee, i am concerned this will only serve to stoke anti-american sentiment across the globe. including our international partners committed to eradicating global terror threats. my colleagues have outlined ways in which men and women they represent have been impacted at this present moment. and highlight the uncertainty that those constituents feel about the future.

but we cannot forget those who have come to this country in pursuit of the future that the american dream has promised. close to 17,000 students from the seven affected countries attend u.s. colleges and universities. the 12th district of new jersey represents these men and women, both young and old, at a multitude of two-year, four-year and technical institutions. the president of princeton university, one of the most revered institutions in the world, housed in the heart of my district, released a statement concerned that the success of princeton and many other institutions of higher education across this nation depend on america's ability to attract and engage talented people from around the world. rutgers university is a flagship public university in my state, it has students, researchers and professors from all seven countries on trump's barred entry list who are currently traveling outside of this country. the impact on university

personnel was felt most immediately after the executive order went into effect. two iranian nationals who are associate professors at the university of massachusetts at dort mouth were detained saturday important arrival at boston's logan airport. today i talked with university officials in my district who are faculty members that need to return home in order to renew visas, but are afraid to leave. at another college, 1/46 their applicants come from -- 1/4 of their applicants come from countries that are impacted by this ban. a constituent who is a nonpolitical syrian refugee sits in limbo as one of her four minor children passed through our already thorough and extensive processing and was approved for a visa. uscis put a hold on the processing of the remaining three due to lack of communication and direction and understanding from this travel ban. by feeding off of fear, hatred and bigotry this

administration's incendiary muslim ban has created confusion, disruption and chaos that is rippling around the world. as our federal agencies and international partners seek to understand and combat this meritless policy, i call on the house oversight and government reform committee on which i sit to hold an immediate hearing on -- with leadership at the department of homeland security to review concerning reports about the execution of this president's order. i also requested that the house homeland security committee, ich i also serve on, to move up its february 7 hearing on this issue, so that we may urgently address the national security implications of this administration's actions. and short, mr. speaker, this is the -- in short, mr. speaker, this is the united states of america. we respect diversity because this is a nation founded and made great because of immigrants. we're not going to stand by and

allow this president, president trump, with his un-american ideals, to push forward on american policies. understand that we will resist at every turn. thank you. and i yield back. mr. veasey: i thank the gentlelady from new jersey for her comments. and now would like to call the gentlewoman from the state of illinois, ms. kelly. and want to thank ms. kelly for all of her work on so many issues that are important. i know that voting rights is particularly important to her, with her representing the chicago suburbs and the city of chicago itself. ms. kelly: i want to thank congressman veasey and congresswoman plaskett for holding tonight's c.b.c. special order hour. with so much going on in our nation right now, it is important that all americans take seriously our responsibility to be guardians of our democracy. we owe it to those who came before us and those who will be here long after us to, to keep

this democracy and its values moving forward. and reject the rhetoric and policies that take us backwards. i was reminded of this just a week ago when over three million americans of all ages, races and religions, marched for women's rights, justice and equal rights. three million. a powerful resistance to concerning policies that we're seeing come out of the white house. just last night, i was with scores of activists and families at chicago's o'hare airport, protesting president trump's executive action barring refugees from entering the united states. i wish that things hadn't come to this. it is a tragedy that these united states, this shining beacon of democracy around the world, the land that welcomes the tired, the poor and the huddled masses, has witnessed a president in his first week in office attempt to strip away our values as an inclusive democracy with an unconstitutional executive order and muslim ban.

our constitution, our laws of democracy is what we must hold dear as americans. we must be wholly intolerant of those who seek to pervert our constitution. we must not tread on our democratic values. as part of tonight's conversation, protecting voter rights. i'm reminded that the president presidential election brought it with -- with it cries of illegal voting. for the first time in the history of this nation, we're seeing a president who is intolerabley obsessed with this failure to receive the popular vote. many of the families that i hear from find this obsession unbefitting of a student council president in cankky, where i represent. let alone the president of the united states. without evidence, president trump continues to claim that three million illegal votes in california and new york cost him the popular vote. three million people. the number by which hillary clinton won the popular vote. i hardly find that to be a

coincidence. mr. speaker, the election is over. the bunting and ribbons have been cleaned up. it's time to govern. a continued relitigation of the election based on unfounded anddy vice aive claims of further fraud divides our nation further. i yield back. mr. veasey: i thank the gentlewoman from illinois. and now, going to call someone who also has a really good understanding of civil rights, voting rights in the state of virginia, but then also the plight of immigrants. as a deep level of -- has a deep level of empathy because the other part of his state is very much a divert state with people made up from -- diverse state with people made up from various parts of the world. representative donald mceachin. mr. mceachin: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman for yielding and i thank the gentleman, as well as the gentlewoman, for leading tonight's conversation about so many issues that are

important to the american people. mr. speaker, the president's baseless executive order on immigration has hurt this country. it has hurt this country to the extent that it's made us less safe, it has hurt this country to the extent that it goes against our values as a nation. mr. speaker, our constitution says that we will not favor any religion over another. yet the president has instituted a religious test for entry into this country, just one week after his inauguration. mr. speaker, this is a travesty. this rule s inconvenienced travelers for those of all background who serve our country. mr. president, i know this because it's actually impacted citizens of the fourth congressional district. mr. president, i have a constituent who has been a permanent resident for 20 years. he visited his family in cairo and was on his way back to virginia when he was turned around. he was actually sent to qatar,

mr. speaker, where he has no connections, where he has no business, he was just sent there because he was denied entry back home. mr. speaker, my congressional staff worked around the clock, along with his employer, to get him back home and thanks be to god, he's indeed home. ut, mr. speaker, this is unacceptable and it cannot go on. i can't help but think of leviticus 19, where we were reminded to treat the foreigner in our midst as if he was one of our own. mr. speaker, the president's order does not do this. it is an offense to all americans, it's an offense to the judeo christian ethic. mr. speaker, it cannot be allowed to stand. and i'll work every day along with my colleagues in c.b.c. and other like-minded individuals in this congress to reverse this order.

mr. speaker, i yield back. mr. veasey: thank you. thank you for sharing that story about your constituent. it's a terrible, shameful time for our country, for the world. now from ohio, i'd like to call the gentlewoman from -- that represents the columbus area, mrs. joyce beatty. mrs. beatty: thank you so much, to my classmate and colleague congressman veasey, and to my colleague, congresswoman stacey plaskett, thank you for convening tonight's special order hour for the congressional black caucus. mr. speaker, we're here for two topics tonight. an you will see many of us come and talk about these topics. so to my colleague, let me just cut my message short and say we are here because we all witnessed over the weekend president trump's latest executive order barring

immigrants, refugees, legal permanent residents from seven muslim-majority countries. this has set off a protest across the nation. i was so proud that i was able to stand in my third congressional district with families and individuals protesting his unilateral move that is not making us safe. it flies in the face of the values and the freedoms enshrined in our constitution. mr. speaker, i am here because we had individuals in my district who were held in the new york airport, while many others weren't freed like they were. that's why i will continue to stand up to president trump and stand with my people. we are also here tonight to respond to another unsubstan shated but extremely dangerous claim made by president trump. we know that last week he doubled down on his assertion

that he would have won the popular vote, mr. speaker, if you deduct the millions of people who have voted illegally. obviously, not satisfied with winning the electoral college, trump continues to focus on defending his national popular vote of almost three million votes. he now believes, without any evidence, to support -- without any ed to support his claim that three million to five million people voted fraudulently in the 2016 election. while this is par for the course for the trump campaign, but now that he is in the white house, mr. speaker, he intends to make untruth, fraud not the subject of a government investigation mandated by a soon to be executive order wasting untold amounts of taxpayer dollars. when the congressional black

caucus hears people using terms like voter fraud, illegally voted, and strengthening up voting procedures, we read between the lines. that's why we are here tonight to stand up against voter fraud that he is saying because we know it's voter suppression. thank you to my colleagues and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: i thank the gentlewoman from ohio, a state that knows a lot about voter suppression. also very international state and now representing los angeles, one of our most international cities in the -- mr. veasey: i thank the gentlewoman from ohio, a state that knows a lot about voter suppression. and now representing los angeles, one of our most international cities in the world, ms. bass. ms. bass: let me share with you, especially you, ms. plaskett, on my first day here, seven years ago, one of the first things

that happened was a motion on the floor to deny -- further deny, the right to vote for representatives from the territories and i have to tell you that i think for myself as well as the majority of people in our country, we don't realize that you only have democracy 50%. and so i'm glad that you raised it tonight. i think it's very important that we continue to fight so that people from the territories will have the full representation of our country. i rise today to address the travesty that is taking place in our country a travesty that has resulted in innocent people, students, grandparents, mothers, fathers, and children, being unable to travel and enter the united states. people are caught in a web of suspicion and hatred as a result of the recent executive order which is nothing less than a religious ban. so today i speak for the africans that are caught in that ban. so let me give you an example of who has been caught by the

muslim ban. a brilliant stanford student, ss noreen omer, studying anthropology, she studied at harvard, shea she is from sudan, she has been in this country since 1993. she has a green card, lives in the u.s. legally. she was returning from research in sudan. she was handcuffed and detained because she's from sudan, the very country that president obama worked long and hard to improve relations and move the country forward. another example, a somaly woman and her two children detained at dulles airport for 18 hours. according to report the children have u.s. passports and their father was allowed to stay in the u.s. but his somaly wife would have been deported were it not for the emergency stay granted by the new york federal judge. then there are refugees, mostly somalies, stuck in kenya

following the cancellation of their flight as a result of the executive order. these stranded travelers had been waiting according to the u.n. high commission of refugees 10 to 15 years to resettle. and i speak of seven people who are reportedly being detained at the ain't in my city, los angeles airport. all of these situations are a result of the president's executive order which despite the protestations from the administration, is nothing less than a muslim ban. i also speak of persons fleeing for their lives from libya, who are now stigmatized worldwide buzz of this ban. -- because of this ban. day 10 of the trump presidency. heaven help us. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. veasey: thank you very much, representative bass, for your commentary, representing the very international city of los angeles, again, a city with many immigrant, many people that have contributed to the greatness and

vie brancy of that city that we know as los angeles. just really do appreciate all your input on that. and now i'm going to call up to come and speak mr. dwight evans. mr. evans, hailing from pennsylvania's second congressional district, a state that also is very international. i'm sure your state was heavily impacted by the travel ban that was implemented by the trump administration and i believe the world needs to hear your as tonight. thank you for being here tonight to speak. mr. evans: i too want to join and thank representative vee sea and representative plaskett for this opportunity. tonight i stand with my colleagues urging support of policy solutions that will ensure our communities have unfettered access to the ballot

box. call for solutions to republicans -- republican-led attempts to su press minority voting across the country. additionally, i'm fwing to state my views of the recent action taken by president trump which have reduced the national trust in our democracy. in the short time since president trump has taken office, he has set forth a national security plan that would require broad spending increases. he has set forth an executive order to repeal the affordable care act without a replacement in place. he has put us in the direct eyes with mexico, our bordering country, due to a wall that he set forth as one of his key proposals and set forth demands that they pay for it. he has ignored the facts and has declared that three million to five million people allegedly voted fraudulently in the election. and last but certainly in the

least, he has set forth an executive order banning travel from muslim countries and suspending rethe refugee program, an action that make ours nation less safe. over the weekend, i joined with the pennsylvania governor, tom wolfe, mayor jim kenny, representative robert brady, representative brenda boyle, and spoke directly with those who have been impacted by this executive action. we join with the protesters in voitsing extreme discontent over the executive order and vow to o our part to remedy what we can, refer to as a forced error of global proportion. we must work collectively to tear down the ban and be open to democracy that our country allows us to be. just today the acting secretary general told attorneys in the justice department not to make legal arguments defending president trump's order on immigration and refugees.

the action taken by president trump are not in the best interest of our nation, our national security, nor are they in the best interest of our communities. that is why we must continue to move forward those policy proposals that have been introduced by my colleagues to ensure equal access to the ballot box, to ensure we protect the voting rights of those in our communities is that they know that their voices are being heard. for instance, my house colleague, representative sewell, introduced the voting rights advancement act, which would set forth sgree yo graphical coverage based on the current conditions that include 13 states. the bill will establish a rolling nationwide trigger so that only states that have a recent record of racial discrimination in voting would be covered. the voting rights advance act would set forth greater transparency in federal elections to ensure that voters are made aware of late breaking

changes and would protect voters from discrimination. let us continue to ensure the voices of our communities are heard. my colleagues and i stand united, ready to contact these actions and run counter to the best interests of those elected. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. thank you. mr. veasey: i want to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania. just like the city of philadelphia, just like the city of los angeles, when we heard from congresswoman bass earlier. often times the state of texas is portray through the popular culture as not being a very international place but we are a very international place. everyone has heard of the stories, how every state legislative session, which one has just began a couple of weeks ago, how black and hispanic voters in particular in the state of texas are targeted to -- so our voting participation

numbers will decrease. someone who has been in that fight to help protect black and latino voters in the state of texas, expand voting rights in the state of texas, and not just that, again, in pop culture, our state has oftentimes been portrayed as one way but a lot of people forget that the city of houston is the fourth largest city in the country and one of the most international cities in the entire world. one of the largest ballots in the entire country printed in i forget exactly how many languages, congresswoman sheila jackson lee can tell you that later. so not only are voting rights being impacted in her district but also i'm sure that she felt the plight of many of the people that she represents that were stuck at airports, including the houston international airport, by the muslim ban that was implemented by the trump administration. so at this time, i'd like to

call on congresswoman and my fellow texan, sheila jackson lee, to the microphone. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentleman from texas, mr. veasey, and the gentlelady from the virgin islands, ms. plaskett, for their continues leadership on a very important d needed response to the actions of many, in particular this new administration. my time is short and so i want to thank mr. veasey for his leadership on the challenge to the voter i.d. law and as well his continuing leadership on the empowerment of voters as well as as ms. plaskett for ensuring and fighting for the right to vote for the virgin islands. i stand with both of them. but i come today to plea, or to plead and also to enounsuate what crisis we find ourselves in.

the white house is in crisis. when the white house is in crisis, that means america is in crisis. mr. speaker, it is not a frivolous statement that i make. it is a truthful statement. less than 7 hours ago, without the counsel of many experts, members of congress who are on the jurisdictional committees, without the notice and input of the secretary of homeland security, an executive order was produced by one young staffer in the white house and another individual who has pushed an agenda of exclusiveness. that is not the way to run this country. is 67,000 t we find refugees are stranded who had documents and are vetted and waited 12, 13 years, 10 years to

be able to get in line to be vetted and come to the use of america. the tragedy is that some of them were, in fact, our friends from iraq who stood by our military personnel, who provided them the interpretation they needed to save their lives. and one story we heard on the steps of the united states supreme court, a woman who got here, her husband was murdered, her father was tortured. mr. trump, i think it is important that we have repealed to rescind this unconstitutional order. the deputy attorney general has made a -- conscious decision that they cannot defend this order because

it is unconstitutional. this is not a person who takes her task lightly ar someone who is not an officer who has not taken an oath of office, this is akin -- they were willing to lose their positions to stand or the constitution. to be able to inform america that this is patently unconstitutional and does not provide for due process or equal protection of the law and it is a blatant attack on freedom of religion and for those of you who need a better explanation, a ban on muslims is one country, two countries, seven countries and the idea of who cannot come in are muslims.

it is a ban on muslims, not a ban on any faith, but a ban on muslims and the white house needs to understand what the interpretation of that means. further, please do not try to over yourself with the announcement that was made by president obama. i'm well aware of that announcement he had regarding a number of countries. it was not a ban, but to take note that those countries were inonflict and individuals coming from those countries needed to have a higher level of scrutiny. it was not a ban and it is well documented that the tragedies that we have had from boston to orlando to san bernardino were not individuals who came through as refugees or came from those

particular countries. what are we doing here? we are blatantly violating the constitution. and when the president of the united states violates the constitution, this body has to stand up and respond. i would ask this body to direct the president to rescind and in the alternative, i would ask that legislation that is being introduced, call upon the president to repeal this. in all fairness, i would appreciate if the president took it up on his own to suspend this order that is impacting on so many who are being left along the highway of despair, people who are able to, if you will, people and individuals who are able to seek refuge here are now being left, i believe, that the

congressional black caucus and he conscious of the congress seek to the muslim ban and to also say to the nominee for the attorney general, are you prepared to represent all of us and to be able to support the institution or re-institution of section 5 of the voting rights act. mr. veasey: i thank my colleague for clearing up a lot of the misconception that are being spread out there that this was something used by the obama administration and it was not. it is being purposely spread on social media and people are lying. it is completely different. and i want to thank her for clearing that up. i call on my colleague from newark, new jersey, the the

gentleman from, mr. donald payne. mr. payne: mr. speaker, let me thank the gentleman from fort worth and the gentlelady from the virgin islands for heading these special order hours. t is an honor that i had prior to them and i'm sure that they see the importance of being able to spearhead topics that are important for today. r. speaker, prum's claims of widespread voter fraud are unsustained. officials in both parties have said that there is no evidence of large-scale voter fraud.

a comprehensive investigation found only 31 possible cases of impercent nation of fraud out of one million votes cast in all elections between 2000 and 2014. prum lost the popular vote by 2.8 million and looks like he is looking for an excuse. what's worst is that prum's unfounded claims will encourage republicans to double down on their assault of voting rights. there is no significant evidence of fraud by president trump's claims -- claims will be used to cover the suppression -- to cover up the opportunities to

suppress the vote. he has already talking about launching a major investigation into nonexistent voter fraud. the only thing that would come from such an investigation would be further restrictions on voter rights. if president trump wants to investigate anything, he should investigate the real voter fraud taking place in the republican-led attempts to suppress minority voters. the strategy of republican legislatures in some states has been to suppress votes by institutionally voter i.d. laws and reduce hours and closing polling places. according to the brennan center or justice, in 2016, 14 states

had new voter restrictions in lace for the first time in a presidential election. this presidential election was the first in 50 years without the full protection of the voting rights act. as a country, we should make it open -- as easier and as as possible for people to exercise the right to vote. election officials should not erode our democratic principles. they should make sure that every american citizen has an equal voice in the democratic process. protecting every -- protecting every person's right to vote is

essential to fully functional democracy. the countless men and women who risked their lives to defend the right knew that our system of government only works when it is inclusive and fair. when it enables all voices to have a say. so, with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. mr. veasey: i want to thank the gentleman from new jersey. and i would call my friend and colleague representing a critical state, a state that some people think actually went a certain direction in the presidential race because of voter suppression tact particulars and that is the gentlelady from the gentlelady from wisconsin, representative

moore. ms. moore: i thank the gentleman from from fort worth and the gentlelady from the virgin islands for yielding this time to me. i can just tell you that, you know, it's the deja vu all over again. when president george w. bush lost the election in 2000, he engaged in a lengthy investigation over so-called voter fraud to deflect from the fact that he, in fact, lost the popular vote, as did president donald trump. and these allegations of voter fraud do nothing but to continue to bankrupt the treasury. when as the gentleman from new jersey just pointed out, loyola

law school did a study and found 31 cases of voter impersonation out of one billion votes cast. we don't have enough time to do the math on that. but i can tell you that what we -- what real voter fraud is is voter suppression. the 2016 was the very first presidential election in 50 years, the gentlelady from the virgin islands, that we didn't have the full protection of voter rights in 14 states and it showed, including in my own swing state of wisconsin, brand new voting i.d. restrictions that disproportionately suppressed african-american and low-income citizen votes. according to the federal court,

over 300,000 voters in wisconsin, in my state, could not obtain the voter i.d. required by the imposition of these new laws. and throughout the country, we aw 858 fewer polling places. we saw these voter i.d. laws. we saw just a re-invention of these painful and unjust poll poll taxes nants of and literacy tests imposed on african-americans. if there is voter suppression, it's voter denial in this country and i would call for instead of spending taxpayer dollars to find five million

votes that president trump claims voted for hillary clinton, i would spend that money investigating the russian hacks into our electrics. mr. veasey: i thank the gentlelady. and now also from another international part of the country from the oakland bay area, my friend and colleague, the gentlewoman from california, barbara lee. ms. lee: first let me thank you, congressman veasey for yielding for defending our rights. and congresswoman plaskett for continuing to speak out, to organize us and stellar reputation of your districts. mr. speaker, in his first week as president, donald trump advanced dangerous conspiracy things and enacted a muslim ban.

president trump will peddle his facts no matter the consequences. this approach to governanceance threatens our democracy and national security and we must resist it. for starters, we cannot allow president trump to erode our right to vote. this is the corningestone of american democracy. peddled the basic milingt that three to five million people voted in our elections. both democrats the president continues to insist that millions of fraudulent voters cost him the popular vote. let's call this what it is. this is a campaign by our highest elected official to fabricate reasons why he lost the majority of popular vote. and he will use these blatant falsehoods to further undermine access to the voting booth.

mr. speaker, this investigation that's being proposed really is a sham. the real attack on america's elections comes from republicans who make it harder for people of color, young people, and low-income people to vote. i ask for unanimous consent that an editorial from "the new york times" be submitted for the record. the voter fraud fantasy. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lee: if the president were serious about protecting access to the ballot , he would call members of the congressional black caucus for restoration of the voting rights act. since it was gutted in 2013, millions of minority voters have been prevented from casting a vote. last year alone, hundreds of thousands of voters were disenfranchised on or before election day. instead of launching investigations based on altern tiff fact, he should be investigating the widespread efforts to disenfranchise voters, including the use of

outdated voting machine the mishandling of provisional ballots, the improper purging of voter rolls and the widely reported reintimidation and threats at the polls. if these threats are not enough to occupy his attention, he should turn to the widespread evidence of russian interference in our election. the facts are available and in need of bipartisan investigation. the president -- but president trump has no interest in evaluating facts. he'd rather focus on falsehoods but the president's attack on our democracy, these attacks aren't restricted to these alternative facts about election results. this weekend, we witnessed the erosion of another mearn value, our proud tradition as a refuge for immigrants of every religion. the president issued an executive order banning people from the united states on the

basis of religion. it runs counter to our fundamental values that we cherish as americans. it's morally reprehensible and will only make the united states less safe. the order has done nothing but create chaos and fear among refugees and immigrant who was been admitted or have been approved to come to the united states. this nation is and has been and always will be a nation of immigrants and refugees. this is who we are. we don't turn our backs to those in need and certainly we do not do so on the basis of religion. this is a watershed moment for our country a moment that bring into question our moral character. thousands of americans took to the streets to protest the muslim ban, really, this is what the resistance must look like. tonight, many of us joined our colleagues on the steps of the supreme court to demand a reversal of this hateful policy. so we will continue to fight every attempt to erode our

values, to appease ideology and radical special interests. of new bail, the statue liberty values act would reverse president trump's muslim ban executive order and ensure the funds an fees shall not be used to implement the order. i hope everyone signs on to congresswoman lofgren's bill. the president's order harms our families, our economy, and our national security. once again, this is not who we are as a nation. we are better than this. we must wake up and fight because really the future of our democracy is at stake. i want to thank you both for giving us a chance to talk about this tonight. my district is the district of im-- is a district of immigrants. people are very afraid. we are a sanctuary district. and what is taking place now is totally un-american. thank you again. mr. veasey: i want to thank the gentlewoman from california for

your remarks. mr. speaker, thank you, we'll yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.

mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. we're off to a fast start this year under the trump administration. and it's difficult, apparently, for some of the press to keep up, how quickly some of the things are going. did want to make clear something that has been completely muddled by the mainstream media, they keep wondering why they continue to se out to news channels like x news and why some of the conservative news sources online do so well compared to the left

wing. and it's because people, a majority of people really are seeking truth. really are seeking answers. and i realize that's not true for everywhere. e areas that hillary clinton won, basically real gated to the edges, the fringes, of the country, around the coasts and southern valley, the, you know, chicago, detroit, some of those areas. it's the fringe party. anyone, with one, the least amount of just even a small modicum of fairness looks at the actual executive order that donald trump issued, it

seems imminently reasonable when looking at it, for example, compared to orders signed by a president name odd ba ma, a resident named carter. cnn, msnbc, nd any anything like those, cnbc, and i could have missed it. thank you. i could have missed that somebody did break through all he misrepresentations of those networks and actually point out, sometimes i'm going by, i don't have the sound on, i'll be ading the subtext, but you

would think that someone in one of those networks would make a big deal out of the fact that muslims were not banned under the trump executive order. and yet people all over the world and all over this country that are still under the mistaken impression they can trust certain networks, they still haven't figured out that they can't. they see that. my gosh, the president has banned muslims. nd i actually have the executive order here because just as i read obamacare before i voted against it, i have read the president's executive order. made highlights, bolded some things. and i saw that there is no reference, not one to muslims.

to islam. it's just not there. so a total misrepresentation. now, to try to cover for the way the news, the executive order news is being spun, some of them try to grasp back just a small resembling omething irness would say the words muslim majority country banned. try to bring it back so they could work in the word muslim. when it wasn't about religion at all. it's about the safety of the united states. the people we're sworn to protect.

the constitution that we raise our right hand and we swear to protect. how quickly, i mean, we just took that oath earlier this month. and already it's forgotten. but the refugee program that president trump has paused is the same one that isis terrorists have repeatedly vowed that they're infiltrating and they're intending to use it to kill americans. the president is acting temporarily an prudently to give his administration and this congress the time it needs to properly evaluate the refugee rogram and reform it to ensure that we help legitimate refugees

and ensure the safety as much as is possible of the american people. now when an f.b.i. director warns that they have no with ation from a country which to compare identity information that refugees have or present or even orally convey, then i would think at some point we would take that information seriously from the sworn testimony. now, i realize that this -- that the past administration has, you know, played fast and loose, when you keep telling the american people and the members of congress that the attack in benghazi was all about a video and you even try to cover that

by encouraging the producer of the video to be arrested and put withthis, help really, misrepresentation of the truth, then i guess under those circumstances you don't take testimony from the prior administration's cabinet members all that seriously because you know that they've been out there and misrepresented the truth before. kline's 't know if book, that there's a blood feud between the obamas and clintons were right, but there had to be a reason that hillary clinton didn't come out on the sunday shows after benghazi and make this claim that was adverse to what she emailed her daughter

and what she emailed to the president of libya. that, you know, it was an attack and it was, you know she didn't mention a video because it wasn't about a video. she knew that. now, i realize, between the concussion, the problems, she may not remember that. but she knew it at the time. and according to that book, she called and talked to former president bill clinton and she was encouraged not to go public and say it was about a video, that in essence that was indefensible, nobody in their right mind was going to believe that. so she couldn't be out there. that there were thoughts being entertained of maybe resigning rather than going out and trying oo defend that story, but that gee, they realized that if she was going to run for president

in 2016, and she resigned right before the election in 2012, it would have likely cost president obama a second term, then democrats would not be very kind and forgiving even though that would have been a stance based on truth and honor, if it cost the presidency in 2016 it was just not something that could be done and apparently according to the book and his sources, that he says are close friends of the people involved, that they decided the best way was not to resign and cost the president the re-election in 2012, but refuse under all circumstances to go on the sunday shows and ry to tell america six times

that the attack at benghazi was not planned, it was just instantaneous, that it arose the video est over and just don't go make that representation, make that clear to the administration, you're not going to do that. we haven't been able to figure out outside that representation in the book, why in the world did susan rice say all of that. that should have been hillary clinton's role. so, we provide the excuse or the reasoning. and so susan rice goes out and over and over on sunday shows, it was all about a video. well, i know from my days as a judge, hearing of incidents

where someone perhaps in a company that was not being honestly run, that they would keep somebody in the dark so they could go out and make certain representations, person really didn't want to know what the real truth was so they could come out and say with a clear conscience and that wasn't it. it may well be that susan rice didn't know that her statements were lies. and if she didn't know, they aren't lies. but just falsehoods. we don't know. but it's an interesting representation. and it still brings us back to the fact that in certain countries in the world, we don't have adequate information to check individuals coming in against.

d when the f.b.i. director says, no how much his credibility may have been harmed last summer when he came out and made a totally political move that hillary clinton basically committed a crime, but no reasonable prosecutor would pursue this, that's my interpretation of what he said basically and those who have prosecuted -- i have prosecuted, you know, there were a lot of prosecutors. but he made the statement and so i figured that was pretty political. but despite that, when he says, you know, look, we had some information from some of these countries we got from their governments so when we see their passport, we see this information, we can check it

against their government's records. what do you have on this person? but we had heard from like, syria, for example, they had taken over facilities that could print official passports. so they could print a totally fictitious passports, because they had the means to do it. they captured that. and not only do we have a cooperating government, but we have no information -- we don't i.d.'s likerints of we did from iraq and we could compare this information, but we had nothing in some of these countries that could give us the assurance that the leaders of radical islamist groups were not doing exactly what they said

they were, and that is infiltrating the refugees with come inho were going to and kill americans. they said they were doing that in europe. at some point, we need to take these things seriously. and i'm thrilled to death to have a president, fortunately, it's nice being thrilled to death instead of being beaten or knifed or hit with a truck. but i'm thrilled to have a president who is taking seriously the things that the obama administration found should be taken seriously. but let's be clear, no one is being discriminated against in the president's executive order based on religion. christians, jews, muslims, any it'sious group, agnostics,

a pause, not a ban, it's a pause to look better at what we need to do. joined byrilled to be our new freshman. >> i thank you for espousing values. and i appreciate him for being the fire keeper on this floor for his values and principles and for constituents in his district and mine and all throughout this great country. i rise today in support of my fellow northwest florida indianas. brave airmen and skilled aviators that train in pensacola and some of the planet earth's most hardened in the seventh special forces group.

they are the best amongst us and inspire the best within us as a consequence of their patriotic service. when i encounter them in town hall meetings, in church or grocery stores, i ask you how do you do it, how do you leave your home, community to go and to places that many americans couldn't point on a map to fight an enemy who is eff i will and equipped and almost to a man and woman, they tell me, we fight them over there so we don't have to field the consequences over here in america. supporttes it is that i of president trump's most recent executive order, so we are not

devaluing the service of my constituents by risking the lives of americans here in this great country. i wish so much that president trump's executive order were unnecessary. i wished we lived in a world that was more stable and secure, where america could welcome with open arms anyone from anywhere for whatever reason at whatever cost. american taxpayers can't pay for everything. and american families cannot shoulder the risks of insecurity, for the consequences of terrible foreign policy decisions that have been made over the last eight years. maybe if the former president hadn't withdrawn from the middle east, these regions would be more secure. ybe if our policies hadn't destabilized north africa and failed state after failed state, this order would not have been

necessary. but alas, it is necessary. and i think it's important to distinguish between the realities of this executive order and the hysteria that has been created by the media. some would believe if they look at media reports, this was a ban on all muslims. and let me affirm, our war, our conflict is not with the muslim faith. as a matter of fact, this consequence, this conflict we are engaged in is about the future of that. and we are able to forge a lasting peace among all people on earth. the reality is there are more than 50 countries that are majority muslim and most of those countries will see no consequence. but there are seven countries. i guess it's perhaps a bit generous to call them countries because they are failed states

other than to breed more discontent. but from those seven countries, the president has taken the position we ought to take a closer look and belt and suspenders' approach to the security of american families. and of the 325,000 people that have recently come to the united states from foreign countries since the president's most recent executive recent executive order, 100 has been vetted. and so as i stand here with the gentleman from texas, mr. speaker, i'm in full support of president trump's most recent order. and when i go back to northwest florida and i look in the eyes of the airmen, sailors and the patriots, i'll know in this house, there are those who are willing to stand with them, honor their service and sacrifice and do everything

possible to put america first and keep americans safe. with that, i yield back. mr. gohmert: a young prosecutor shared his name and now the d.a. nd he is a sincere and intelligent and nay way, it's an honor to serve with you and i wonder if he might yield for a question. the attorney general -- i'm sorry, the acting attorney general because the senate is dragging its feet on one of its own, jeff sessions, but this came out today in "the hill"

that acting attorney general letter monday a ordering the justice department not to defend president trump's executive order even though it's an order that basically that has been done by the obama administration, except president obama had done it one country that's included in the seven for six months instead of three. and also by president carter. i don't think he was a republican. but any way, these things have been done before. and the letter says we're not going to defend it. this story from lydia wheeler oday says, yates, the acting attorney general, suggestions that she does not want to put

the credibility of the justice department behind that order. and i wanted to ask the gentleman from florida, do youville concerns that if the justice department were to defend this executive order, that it would hurt the credibility of the justice department when acting under its democratic leadership snr >> i thank the gentleman from texas for yielding. and i believe his question highlights an increasing problem that we have had for the last eight years that i hope we will cure and that is the po litization of this important work that the executive branch should be doing. it should stand up for the rights of all americans and the laws that are enacted and the orders issued by the president. we shouldn't have circumstances that we have to wonder whether or not the people who are tasked

to uphold the law, as the gentleman from texas did as a jurist and in a very colored legal career, we shouldn't have to worry about that. but the last eight years that's the problem and the senate should confirm jeff sessions as the attorney general so we go back to a system that is governed by the rule of law and not politics or one particular ideology. but more particularly to the gentleman from him texas' question, it is this partisan tilt, the lens through which any of president obama's appointees impact the americans. warm president trump has done is hardly unprecedented. in 1979, president carter, hardly a -- one that is held out

among conservatives as a great standard of foreign affairs, president carter recognized that there were unique challenges in a unique period of time of those who may be coming to the united states and he took action. similar sli in 2011, president obama was concerned during a conflict there may be circumstances where people would come from iraq to do harm and so he took action. i guess the difference with president trump is he is willing to take action immediately and not going to have a presidency with a bunch of bed wetting that impacts the safety of americans nd dignity people indicated there were insufficient vetting procedures in place previously.

it strikes me as only reasonable that a new president coming in, having heard there were inadequate screening procedure, not from a trump apintee, but from an appointee of president obama, that we would take a finite period of time, 90 days, and we would analyze what would be the appropriate protocols, screening procedures, vetting algorithms, that we would use to ensure that america's interests were placed first. i'm glad we have a president who puts this country first. i'm glad we have a president who does not view himself as a citizen of the world more than he views himself as a citizen of this country. and i'm glad he takes that responsibility seriously and to answer the gentleman's question, i would say that we ought to have a justice department that is led by those who will follow the rule of law, who will defend the rights of americans, and will stand up for the security of this country and i yield back to the gentleman from texas. mr. gohmert: i thank the gentleman, great points, and i

wish i were as articulate. i have been critical of the majority leader in the senate, mr. mcconnell, senator mcconnell, but the story in from cns news, majority leader mcconnell says, well, i think it's a good idea to tighten the vetting process. and he went on to say, i don't want to criticize them, the trump administration, for improving the vetting. and i applaud the majority leader for not running for the hills when all of the media does their typical thing and just goes freaking out. t also we found this story goes also i think to illustrate the point, mr. ga -- the point mr. gaetz was making, this is from daniel horowitz's article

today, it state your names out 17 sitting democrats in the house and senate voted to ban visas from some muslim countries and that law still exists today. and these of course, this was back in 2002 and back at that time you had some quite conservative democrats in the house and senate, people like senator ted kennedy, senator diane feinstein, you know, real bulwark of conservativism, that voted to ban visas from these type countries of the muslim majority countries as cnn would like to call them. names like cardin, markey, menendez, murray, nelson of florida, reed of rhode island, sanders, vermont.

wow. there's another conservative. anders of vermont. schumer, another strong hearted conservative. abenow, wyden, durbin, feinstein, leahy, udall. it begs the question, if this is only a temporary ban from countries until we can ascertain better vetting, how much worse is it for these 73 sitting democrats to have voted for a permanent ban? that's rather shocking. it's notable that president obama, not exactly consistent with president -- former president george w. bush, who in eight -- who went eight years without coming out and making formal criticisms, well,

president obama has said he's very heartened by all the we even p protests and have democrats here in the house that said that we've heard before, the president fundamentally disagrees with the notion of discriminating against individuals because of their faith and religion, and it just, because i know my friend here in the house would not misrepresent the truth, it shows that obviously he hasn't read this executive order that makes very clear, it's not banning a religion or a faith. it's countries where we don't have enough information and i just find it interesting that we're standing on the side of 73 democrats, markey, bernie sanders, feinstein, people like

that, who thought it was a good idea when they were closer to 9/11. i yield to my friend. mr. gaetz: i appreciate the gentleman yielding for a question. not long ago, we heard members of the congressional black caucus take to this floor and make the argument that it was hypocritical and improper that in president trump's order and in the follow-on execution of that order by the department of homeland security, that there would be some preference given to religious minorities in these predominantly muslim countries, particularly christians, who are often persecuted, harmed, killed , in many circumstances in which the president has allowed for through exceptions to hisrder, there will be people from these seven countries allowed into the united states as a consequence of the persecution that they feel and that they endure as a consequence of their christian faith. so my question to the gentleman from texas is whether or not he

shares the congressional black caucus' view that it is improper to treat christians who are being discriminated against in these pro pre-dominantly muslim countries differently and to give them the opportunity to emigrate to the united states of america and realize freedom in the absence of this terrible persecution they feel. mr. gohmert: my friend makes such a great point. i think the way this country has in recent years been so discriminatory as has been the united nations against christian that this m afraid united states of america could be called to account for the slaughter of so many christians that we could have helped and as we know from the numbers, there are a lot of excuses by the u.n. as to why they are not helping an equal percentage of

christians to the percentage of makeup of those countries they're coming from. there have been all kinds of excuses but even our secretary of state under the last administration, john kerry, said that, you know , he admitted there was a genocide going on of christians in the middle east. now, there's not a genocide going on of muslims in these countries. there are sunni versus shia and vice versa, and there are clashes within the islamic religion, but there is not a genocide of all muslims in any of these countries and yet there's clearly a genocide, ear enough for john kerry to heinous and most outrageous answers i've heard a

u.n. secretary general make, i didn't hear it, i read it it, the u.n. secretary general was asked about a year and a half or so ago when he was in charge of the united nations refugee program and this issue of the u.n. not helping the same percentage, in fact, just helping a fraction of a percentage of christians that exist in these countries, his response was basically that it these rtant to leave christians in the areas where they're being killed because they have historical precedence in those areas. so we're going to bring muslims out, according to the u.n. now he's general secretary, because they didn't have as much historical significance whereas the christians that are being wiped out, throats cut, heads

cut off, crucified, women raped and just the most heinous of crimes committed against vimmings are taking place, our u.n. general secretary and apparently under our past president the state department felt like it was important to leave christians there in larger percentages than existed among the refugees of muslim because, hey, they've been there a long while so let's leave them there, which ultimately means they will all be slaughtered. it's quite distressing. but here's a point made by george rasley today in an article, president trump stops suicidal immigration policy, he

points out that had president trump's policy been in place, participants in many muslim terrorist incidents would have been prevented from entering our country. for example, the ohio state university attack by somaly the ee abdul razach, september 2016 stabbing attack in a mall in st. cloud, minnesota, the two foiled bomb plots, one in portland, oregon, in 2010 and one in columbus, iowa , in 2000. indeed, some 74 terrorist incidents have been attributed to somaly muslims alone and while the obama administration did its best to cover up these immigration status of the pemp traitors, we know that at least 13 of them were admitted to the united states as refugees.

14 of them were legal permanent residents at the time of their radical activity. and 10 had been naturalized as citizens. so it's quite disturbing, and by the way, as a result of the kentucky case, where we had two refugees that had been brought in from iraq in -- it was , orted in 2013 that in 2009 two al qaeda iraq terrorists were living as refugees in boling green, kentucky, and -- in bowling green, kentucky and because of that discovery, the obama state department stopped processing iraq refugees for six months in 2011. so i do think it's important as people keep screaming around here what i believe as a christian the great -- jesus said the greatest commandment is

love god, and the second he said is like it, love each other. he also stated it, thove thy neighbor as thyself. what some have not realized, if you don't like america, you don't like americans, if you don't like our own country and you don't love yourself, it's a bit hard to love your neighbor as yourself if you don't love yourself. i think it's time americans stood up and thanked god for -- or thank whatever force they may -- there may be, or agnostic, or whatever, just thank your lucky stars, but be thankful we've had the opportunities to live in the greatest country in the history of the world and the only one -- that has truly

spent lives, given lives and treasure not for imperialist sake, but simply for freedom's sake. for liberty's sake. for people we didn't know but we wanted them to share in freedom and liberty. that is a rare country, it is -- it has been a blessed and blessed country. and i think it's important that if we are going to can't, or get back to being that city on a hill, glowing, that draws people to it, that would draw people to the statue of liberty, you have to be a nation of laws, you have to protect the people in the country, otherwise we go back to the dark ages, we become a

country that no one wants to come risk their lives to get to ,ecause there's nothing special we squandered our opportunities and refused to take up our responsibilities to protect this nation against all enemies foreign and domestic and mr. speaker, i am grateful to have a friend like mr. gaetz from florida, as articulate and intelligent as he is, i look forward to working with him and with you in the days ahead and just basically come back to god has blessed america, let's keep asking for god to bless america. if we ask, we're told, you'll be

given. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: does i do. i move that we do hereby you know adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: though those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning for morning hour debate.

a blood coverage on the c-span networks. president trump reacting to the acting attorney general fox

letter. democrats are doing to cabinet picks were purely political reasons. they had nothing going for two abstract. obama attorneyn general. earlier today, to begin his day, president trump met with small business owners at the white house and signed an executive order to with regulations. >> hello everybody from the other side. >> they get paid like $100,000 a year or so.