the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 255, the nays are 167.

the speaker pro tempore: this vote, the yeas are 256, the nays

adopted. he motion is the unfinished business is the vet on the motion of the gentleman from nebraska, mr. ba con and pass h.r. 4467 as amended on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk: h.r. 4467 a bill to require the federal air marshal service to utilize risk-based strategies and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? 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 yeas are 408, the nays are 0. the pill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from nebraska, mr. bacon, to pass h.r. 509 as amended. the clerk: h.r. 5089 a bill to improve threat information share, integrated operations and law enforcement training for trpping security and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. 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 yeas are 397, the nays are 1. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. the question is on the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. members, please remove your

conversations from the house floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, over this last month my hometown of austin, texas, was terrorized by a serial bomber. serial killer. fortunately, this nightmare is now come to an end. and now is the time to heal. i want to thank the 500 federal agents who descended upon my hometown of austin for their great work, working with my texas department of public safety and the austin police department. the speaker pro tempore: please, members, remove your conversations from the house floor. the house will be in order. the gentleman is recognize. >> as i said, mr. speaker, fortunately this nightmare that my hometown of austin has lived through has come to an end.

and now is the time to heal. to heal the wounds for the victims and their families. caller: caller: i want to thank the -- mr. mccaul: i want to thank the 500 federal agents who descended upon austin, who did a magnificent job working with my texas department of public safety, my austin police department, many of whom i worked with when i was in the u.s. attorney's office, down there for their incredible work bringing this killer to his final justice. with that, mr. speaker, i now ask for a moment of silence for the victims and their families of this horrible tragedy. the speaker pro tempore: all members will please rise and guests in the gallery will join s for a moment of silence.

the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. chair. i seek permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from washington is recognized for one minute. >> thank you. you know, since the first time i heard about oregon's scheme to impose tolls on i-205 and i-5 bridges at the state line with washington, without providing any benefit to my constituents, i have thought to -- fought to protect southwest washington commuters. this is nothing but a money grab by oregon to improve its infrastructure projects that would rarely, if ever, be used by the vast majority of the folks paying the tolls, those from southwest washington. ms. herrera beutler: this was certainly a creative and political expedient funding source, but it's a hard deal for washingtonians whose jobs happen to be located across the river. this does nothing to fix the i-5 bridge. it makes that task harder. that's why i secured an amendment in this chamber to

prohint these toss until oregon goes back to the -- these tolls until oregon goes back to the drawing board and comes up with a plan that doesn't use washingtonians as a piggy bank. my amendment lacks support from the united states senate and without that support, my amendment to protect southwest washington commuters did not move forward. in its -- and it's a disappointment but i'm not going to give up on this issue. in fact, it's critical that oregon come to a solution with washington that benefits both sides of the river, without unfairly targeting just one side. and until we get that result, mr. speaker, i am not done fighting on this issue. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition ? -- seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, today i rise to say happy birthday to my daughters skye and sage. there is no greater love than

the love i have for my twin girls, skye and sage, and for my wife, monica. there is no greater role or responsibility i have than to be their father and monica's husband. there is no greater title more honorable and more meaningful in my life than the title of father and husband. there is no greater joy than to hear my girls sing with happiness, play with vigor and laugh with gusto, and there is no greater medicine for my soul than feeling their bear hugs when i arrive home after being away at work for days. ruse ruse today i celebrate -- mr. ruiz: today i celebrate their birth, their three years of life, and their future with the highest hopes and aspirations, as any father can have throughout all generations of fatherhood. today i sing our love story and i sing happy birthday to my skye bear and sage monkey. happy birthday. [speaking foreign language] .

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? mr. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman, i send to the desk a concurrent resolution providing for a correction in the enrollment of h.r. 1625, and ask unanimous consent foirts immediate consideration in the house -- for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 116. concurrent resolution providing for a correction in the enrollment of h.r. 1625. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the concurrent resolution? without objection, the concurrent resolution is agreed to and the motion is considered -- the motion to consider is laid on the table. mr. frelinghuysen: mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seeknition? mr. frelinghuysen: i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to thank and congratulate the pioneer center for human services for 60 years of serving the people of mchenry county, illinois. the pioneer center was founded in 1958 out of a mother's desire to provide greater opportunities for her daughter with down syndrome. since then it has provided services for members of the community facing developmental disabilities, homelessness and behavioral health issues. i am always impressed by the compassion and energy of the pioneer center employees when i visit their facilities, which now includes 17 group homes, a homeless shementer, a transition home, and -- shelter, a transition home and a family and child therapy center. 4,500 men, women and children are served every year, including 95 who are annually employed in local jobs through the community employment services program. mr. hultgren: last year alone individuals logged 8,500 hours of community activity. everything from attending classes at the gym to visiting a farmers market and taking community community college

courses. i am proud to celebrate with the thigh near center of human sources as they continue to empower individuals to achieve their full potential. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, despite the kremlin's lies, all facts lead to the conclusion that vladimir putin tried to murder sergei country is pal, a former russian double -- skripal, a former russian double agent. great britain strongly condemned russia and because britain is our closest ally, our secretary of state, rex tillerson, did what we would expect of him. he forcefully condemned the crime and vowed the u.s. would hold russia accountable. within hours, tillerson was fired. mr. huffman: now we know about the strains between president trump and tillerson. trump has mocked him for favoring diplomacy with north korea. they've disagreed over the iran

nuclear deal. and it didn't help when tillerson reportedly called trump a moron. but none of that cost tillerson his job. it was only when he aggressively condemned putin that he crossed the reddest of red lines for donald trump. why is trump so afraid of putin that he would fire his own secretary of state for talking tough on russia? why does he constantly fawn over putin, even calling to congratulate him for winning a fake election this week? you'd think the house intel committee would be asking these questions. but instead they've shut down their russia investigation. and this stinks, mr. speaker. what are they trying to hide from the american people? i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i thank the speaker. today i rise to pay tribute to

arkansas native, rudy johnson. former private rudy johnson will be laid to rest at the arkansas state veterans' cemetery in north little rock this friday. 73 years after he was killed in action during world war ii. private johnson was drafted into the army in 1943 and was assigned to the 93rd division, nicknamed the buffalo soldiers. mr. hill: the only african-american division to see combat in europe during world war ii. rudy was stationed in northern italy, fighting against german forces, when his unit reported that he was killed in action in 1945 at the age of 20. private johnson's remains were fully identified after d.n.a. analysis in 2016, and he was flown home this week to rest where his journey began. rudy's sacrifice for arkansas and america will never be forgotten and i join his family and all arkansans in welcoming

home for his final rest. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom nevada seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman s recognized for one minute. mr. kihuen: mr. speaker, today i rise to remember the life of jessica. jessica was the mother of three daughters and one son. she was an educational assistant, bus driver, and librarian at st. stevens school for four years. she went to route 91 festival in las vegas on october 1 with her fiance, brent. the couple had recently been engaged and looked forward to their wedding. jessica always put her family first and loved camping with them. she's remembered for being a loving woman who always worked hard and dedicated her life to her children. i would like to extend my

condolences to jessica's family and friends. please note that the city of las vegas, the state of nevada, and the whole country grieve with you. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. paulsen: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, time is rush running out. unless the administration -- time is running out. unless the administration takes action by march 31, the members of minnesota's liberian community, who have been here for 20 years, could be forced to leave. minnesota's home to one of the largest liberian communities in the country. for this than 16,000 liberians, including 4,000 children, have made minnesota their home. and for decades they've been productive members of our society and our economy. since the early 1990's, presidents of both parties have ensured that they can stay. and a bipartisan group of my colleagues and i are asking and joining together for the

president to act to do the same. i have also co-authored bipartisan legislation to allow these families to stay. because, mr. speaker, we're asking the president, don't let this happen. do the right thing. these families are fundamentally american and they're a part of the very fabric of what we have in minnesota as a community. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. dave cowens thank you, mr. speaker -- mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. while we're on recess, the city of memphis, tennessee, will be the center of civil rights history as the 50th anniversary of the tragic assassination of martin luther king will be memorialized on april 4. in memphis where he was slain. at the lorraine motel where he was staying and killed, a great civil rights museum has sprung up like a phoenix from the ashes. with the great history of the civil rights movement. at that spot, the same time that was killed, there will be a bell ringing and there will be civil

rights leaders from all over the country in memphis to mark the occasion. our own john lewis, andrew young , danny glover, there are so many, i shouldn't start. but they'll be there to honor dr. king's memory. dr. king's dream is not to -- has not been fulfilled yet and we need to continue to work to make his dream fulfilled in this country, to where everybody, regardless of their race, or their gender, for that matter, or their sexual orientation, has an opportunity to climb ladders of opportunity and participate in the american dream. and have a successful life and be a part of the middle class if possible. i hope everybody will give some thought to dr. king and his dream on april 4. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to support president trump's plan to tackle the opioid epidemic.

a crisis that has plagued communities and devastated families all across indiana. in indiana, roughly 40% more people die from drug overdoses than they do from car accidents. and since 2010, opioid-related deaths have nearly tripled in my state. mess mess it's past time -- mr. messer: it's past time to address the opioid epidemic and get serious about saving lives. growing up in the 1980's, nancy reagan's just say no campaign had a real impact on my life. and i applaud president trump's plan to do more to educate young people about the horrific effects of drug use. i also support the president's plan to address the opioid crisis by securing our border, stopping the flow of drugs pouring into our country, and reducing rampant prescription drug abuse. and the president's right. for the worst drug traffickers, the death penalty should be an option. today we took a big step in the right direction, but more must be done. to help families dealing with

the devastating effects of opioid abuse. thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? >> i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: today i rise in support of the annual walking for friendship event this past march 18, friends, families, and neighbors from my congressional district walked three kilometers to promote awareness and acceptance of children, teens, and young adults with special needs. more than 1,000 of my constituents have walked to raise support for the friendship circle of miami. this volunteer organization provides a number of social, recreational and educational programs for some of the most vulnerable members of our society and it helps them build lasting friendships.

mr. speaker, the positive impact of the friendship circle is felt widely throughout our community and it brings so much joy and comfort to young people with special needs and their families. i would like to thank the countless volunteers and local sponsors who make this organization and this annual wonderful event possible and let us not forget their theme, together we can perform miracles. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to bring attention to the issue of food insecurity affecting nearly 1.6 million people in my home state of pennsylvania. in our district that's 1.6 million too. many i'm proud to recognize the efforts of mary's cub board in levittown, pennsylvania a food

pantry which has served nearly 86,000 individuals since its inception in 1976. operating in conjunction with catholic social services, mary's cupboard offers perishable and nonperishable food items an their standard practice is to provide families with five days' worth of food. i would like to recognize the workers alongther th their partnerships with other groups to bring -- for bringing hope an peace of mind to their neighbors on a daily basis. i encourage all of us to follow their lead and work to eradicate hunger in all their communities. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is

recognized for one minute. >> i ask unanimous consent that my name be removed as co-sponsor of h.r. 4760. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and rhett re-my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. tenney: i rise in recognition of the 230th anniversary of the settlement of my hometown, newhartford, new york. it was settled in 1788 by jedediah sanger. by 1789 he had brought his entire family to newhartford and built a saw mill and gristmill on the creek. the village began to flourish with farmers who provided any hartford and surround aringas with fresh produce. today the town strives to retain

the original vision and ideas. it's home to numerous retail stores and restaurants while remaining a generous civic district. my own alma mater and the high school from which my son graduated 3 years later consistently ranks as one of the top public schools in the country. fun fact, i live across the street from the house i grew up in, my childhood home and i live in a home i purchased from our former congressman who once served in this great chamber. please join me in honoring and celebrating the 230th anniversary of newhartford, new york. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lamalfa: i rise today to

salute the care givers who support those living with alzheimer's disease or related dementia in our community. over five million americans have alzheimer's disease including 5,000 just in my home county of butte in northern california. it's also the most expensive disease in america and medicare and medicaid pay 2/3 of all dementia care costs. this is unacceptable and unsustainable. it's a tremendous burden tour country and from my perspective if we're going to have a shot at reducing government spending we have to advance the movement to cure alzheimer's and do something to lower the cost of care. also, to reduce the burden on families who suffer as they watch their loved ones dealing with this disease. this is why i join 3 -- 32 of my house colleagues in sponsoring the bold infrastructure for als himmers act. it would help educate community members and doctors on dementia detection, diagnosis, symptom management, even brain health and prevention of dementia. we'll continue to fight for

quality affordable health care for seniors nationwide. we must do everything in our power to preserve medicare and medicaid for future generations. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: a few minutes ago we passed a major omnibus appropriations bill that i have the privilege of submitting over 30 requests and frankly i want to say thank you for the many requests and funding that i received on behalf of the 18th congressional district. it's a tradition that i pride myself in and pride the work of the appropriations committee in working on behalf of the american people. but it is important to take note of the fact that as we have done positive things, it is also important to note some issues that i have concern with. first of all, i want to

acknowledge that there is no limiting to the funding for planned parenthood which is part of my constituency to help young women in their health. there's open quoid funding, the v.a. funding, on most -- i'm most happy with childcare funding and as well tiger grants. but what we need more of even though we had 40,000 new certificates for the disabled is section 8 vouchers for seniors and families and we need to be able to insist that the quality of housing is best. as i finish, mr. speaker, let me just say that in the stop school chinals, while i'm disappointed there are no civil rights protections to make sure that we do not point out hispanics and latinos differently from other children, and no daca relief for all children. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will recognize members for special order speeches without prejudice to the resumption of legislative business.

under the speaker's announced spoifl january 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. jackson lee: thank you for recognizing me this afternoon. i wanted to come to the american people because i truly believe that when it comes to the national security of this nation we are of one belief, one faith, and singly committed to the security of each and every american. i know that because our heart breaks when any of our men and women in uniform fall in battle or fall wearing that uniform. i have stood many a time with family who was lost loved ones throughout the wars that have

occurred during my tenure in the united states congress. i have been to the veterans cemetery. i have joined my neighbors on memorial day. i have held my own memorial day commemoration for at least the last five years. and in that, neighbors have come out from all over the community to honor those who live, who served in our nation, but as well those who have fallen. i believe it is important then to evidence in your congressional work and as well evidence in this country by the leaders who are serving this nation to be truthful as well as diplomatic. have no quarrel with the issues of diplomacy. may i stop for a moment, mr. speaker, and ask that we may have the opportunity for five days for submission of additional documentation and

statements by members. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: i thank you. i have no quarrel with the idea of diplomacy. i believe that even your enemies deserve the opportunity to explain themselves. o as secretary tillerson had mentioned, some months ago, he was interested in some encounter with north korea. his describing of it, i believe, was that it would take some time and some initial meetings. makes sense. we have not been able to change the minds of north koreans and their attitudes toward nuclear proliferation for decades, though we came close during the time of president william jefferson clinton with counsel and advice, advised him not to

go further. i'm sure he reflects on that, and all of us, wondering, and of kims with the father, jong un. so diplomacy is a reasonable approach to safeguard the american people. i have taken as a responsibility as someone who has served on the homeland security committee since the heinous and tragic and terrorist act of 9/11, and now serves on the intelligence subcommittee and the cyber security subcommittee, having served on the transportation security committee as chair and the border security committee, the importance of our national security. and now as ranking member on crime, terrorism, homeland security investigations, where it is important as well to assess the threats against the yites, i have come to believe the importance of developing an expertise in these national security issues so that we can

likewise share with our constituents but advocate here in the united states congress of what more we should be doing. i truly believe that we should be doing more. complete frame the aspect of my discussion that will involve trump and the need to protect the independence of a special counsel but more importantly trump and russia and the intertwining of the highest office in the land and the actions of russia but the actions of putin's russia and the actions of vladimir putin. we have known, most of us, the idea of the soviet union and russia for most of our lives. russia is somewhat of a new phenomenon as the soviet union was broken up. the memories of the soviet union and the iron curtain and the idea of a insulated,

frightening, frozen land that did not allow any of its subjects, including the many countries that came under the soviet union, to speak a word solid or not against the government. it was a fearsome, fearful place and we were, if history recounts, that was the cold car -- that was the cold war. that was the moment of taking cover under chairs for schoolchildren. that was the time of president clinton's act -- president kenky's -- kennedy's actions and almost the brink of war with kruschev. those are moments the american people could understand and nanded that the united states not be frail or a failure against russia. i to not ignore world war ii. when russia was a collaborator in the efforts of thall sway -- allies. i don't ignore that. but after that time it was their

choice to stand up against the world. to stand up in a frightening way. until the doors seemingly began to crack open and i for one as a student welcome and cherish that possibility. that russia would turn to democratic ways, at least ways of giving opportunity to its people. giving them speech or free speech or giving them the ability to make decisions for themselves, to vote in fair elections. for a period of time that was seemingly the direction that they were going after president reagan said tear down that wall. what a bright light. i think it is important to note, these republicans and democratic presidents who understood what our role was and is. what is america's role? if you travel in the most

limited way, no matter what continent you go to, you will find that the people of the continent look to america for hope. for the standard bearer of democracy and human rights and if no one else turns on the light and shines it on the dastardly bhive behavior of the despotic leaders, they can always count on america to make a difference. that is what i have that is what i have grown to know as a member of the united states congress. that is the side of the line that i've stood on. t out of anger or not out of disregarding the differences of world leaders. but of recognizing what america's responsibility is and how disappointed and hurt i am that we find ourselves perplexed . the world is perplexed. ask any traveler, diplomatic

traveler, coming back from any conference, country, meeting outside of the united states. do a poll at the international airports from new york to washington to houston. and they will tell you that the world asks, what in the world is going on? because for one, they don't have that voice of reason in the united states foreign policy coming out of the white house. they do not see that standard bearer of standing up for human rights and women's rights, of understanding their polite. -- plight. and in particular, they don't understand why our voice is silent. now, let me compliment many of the former members of cabinets, going as far back i guess as reagan and -- back as reagan and

beyond. on the whole issue of dealing with those who are evil and confronting them outright. mr. speaker, i'm not suggesting that we turn toward every moment . we all have our differences of opinion on the iraq war and afghanistan, although we never disagree on the blood that was he shed by our soldiers and -- -- and the battle line. but still people view, even in those times of consternation, they said, well, america was trying to do right. trying to bring democracy or stability, or speaking out against the despotic leaders and not shying away from doing that. they were speaking out against saddam. gadjovich. without any embarrassment -- gaddafi. without any embarrassment. they weren't congratulating them on their elections. they were acknowledging, from the continent of africa to the

asia-pacific, to south and central america, to the halls of eastern europe and beyond, and any other place i've not mentioned, america would comment, either in the united states or its disappointment on how -- united nations on its disappointment on how other countries treated its people. before this recess that we will be working with our constituents , we were working very hard to do one thing. not to undermine the executive branch. there are three branches of government. and i pride myself in the acceptance of the constitution. i guess because my predecessor was the honorable barbara jordan and she trained us well, as she held up that book during the watergate proceedings, that this was not personal, it was that she was not going to see the

constitution and the rights of the people diminished. and that is where i stand today. this is not a personal commentary on the executive, meaning the branch that is called the executive. or a commentary on the branch that is the legislature or the judiciary. but it is a critique and it is to recognize that they have failed. d so i was disappointed when no bill dealing with the protection of the special counsel, special counsel mueller in this instance, but this bill is not directed toward a name. it is to ensure that if we select a special counsel, that there be the guidelines and protections that do not subject that office to the whims and personalities of those who feel, i'm being investigated.

wouldn't all of us like to be able to stand and block anyone that makes us uncomfortable? my bill, h.r. 3654, will now be at the desk for a discharge petition. it is a simple bill that is not an angry bill. it is to limit the removal of a special counsel and for other purposes. it compliments the bill of mr. cohen of tennessee. his bill deals with the after-review of a firing. h.r. 3654 deals with the initial attempt to fire. so as not to disrupt the investigation. and what will be required is would have dividual the opportunity, if they were sought to be removed, to file an action in the district court. only if the attorney general

would do so, the district court of the district of columbia, and file a con temp rainious -- con temp rainous notice of action, and therefore the court would have to determine whether there was cause for this individual to be removed and that cause would include misconduct, dereliction of duty and capacity, conflict of interest or other good cause in violation of the policies of the department of justice. simple, not punitive, but factual. there was no reason why the omnibus could not have included simple summary or a simple statement of that fact. and one would argue or one would raise a question, why? well, the question is well explained. the most immediate, the

rumblings coming from the white house and the white house counsel about director mueller's investigation should end. director mueller is conducting a witch hunt. director mueller has 13 or however number democrats and no republicans. director mueller is in essence not doing what he's supposed to do. i would take issue with that. and i would take issue because the investigation started with the collusion question with the trump campaign. and unfortunately the heightened question has gone -- grown exponentially since the beginning of the current presidential administration. it has grown in such a way that it causes you to have a number

of questions. the intelligence community in january of 2017 stated that russian efforts to influence the 2016 u.s. presidential election represent the most recent expression of moscow's long standing desire -- longstanding desire to undermine the u.s.-led liberal democratic order. but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity and scope of effort compared to previous operations. i applaud the omnibus bill for it enhanced by millions of dollars the amount of which i supported that will be used for election security in 2018. it is confirmed that the russians are continuing their interference and as well that they plan to continue it in 2018 and 2020. as we well know, the company

based in europe, who snatched and used the technology of facebook and the data of millions and millions of americans in an abusive manner, and to skew the election toward one candidate versus another, in this instance the trump campaign , we know that that is still an open book. the company still exists. and we know as well, even though the c.e.o. was suspended, and to the applause of the c.e.o. and leader of facebook, who has expressed his concern, that this is still a real possibility. we look forward to mr. zuckerburg engaging with the united states -- zuckerberg engaging with the united states congress and also the creativity to deal with that crisis. but the i.c.a. intelligence

community assesses that russian president vladimir putin ordered an influenced campaign in 2016. let me be very clear. ordered an influenced campaign in 2016. aimed at the u.s. presidential election. not stood by as a leader of a particular nation and ignored, if you will, the individuals that were doing it, but in fact ordered an influenced campaign in 2016 aimed at the u.s. presidential election. russia's goals were to undermine public faith in the u.s. democratic process, denigrate the former secretary of state, and harm her electability and potential presidency. the intelligence community further assesses putin and the russian government developed a clear preference for a president-elect who is now the president of the united states. the i.c.a. has high confidence in these judgments.

the intelligence community also assesses putin and the russian government aspired to help elect the present president and to increase that president's -- that president-elect's chances, mr. trump, when possible, by discrediting the former secretary of state and publicly contrasting her unfavorably to him. now we know putin has been attempting to do this for a long time. in 2014 the russian government pursued a campaign called the translator project, which endeavored to use social media to manipulate and engage in information warfare, plain and simple. and as i'll mention later, putin has been engaged in truly despicable acts for many years. but since before the election, over his time in the office, the president has never criticized him. now, the basis of not criticizing another head of state is not the basis of

special counsel mueller's investigation. and i'm glad of that. because you disagree with a personality or someone's behavior, that is not what should be the basis of any investigation. but let me give you what the special counsel has accomplished in the time that he has been engaged in the work that he was assigned to do. -- madam time speaker, i temporarily yield the floor to my colleague from utah, the distinguished mr. curtis. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? mr. curtis: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 4851, with the senate amendment thereto, and concur in the senate amendment.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill and the senate amendment. the clerk: h.r. 4851. an act to establish the kennedy-king national commemorative site in the state of indiana and for other purposes. senate amendment. in section 3, strike subsection d. the speaker pro tempore: is there an objection to the original request of the gentleman from utah? without objection, the senate amendment is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the gentlewoman from texas is now recognized. ms. jackson lee: thank you, madam speaker. reclaiming my time. could you give me my remaining time, please? the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has 40 1/2 minutes remaining. ms. jackson lee: i thank you so very much. i think i was in the middle of saying that because of different personalities or the different way that an individual leads, hat is not the basis of anyone

having to be investigated. i was talking earlier about the translator project. we know that mr. putin has been attempting to intrude in our elections for a very long time. and in 2014 the russian government pursued a campaign called the translator project. this is the russian government's campaign, not the campaign of the united states. which endeavored to use social media to manipulate and engage in information warfare, plain and simple. they obviously were more than successful in the 2016 election. and as i'll mention later, putin has been engaged in, i said this before, but it's worth repeating, truly despicable acts for many years. i just pauser to a -- for a moment to -- pause for a moment to say that many people don't realize the kind of direct involvement that vladimir putin has over the most minute things

happening in russia as it pushes out to what is perceived as russia's enemies. the russian people are wonderful people. i look forward always to engaging in them. there is a large russian population in texas, and all over the nation. we welcome them who have come, some fleeing persecution, others in other matters. but i think it's important to note that there are russian spies here in the united states, every day trying to coop and turn an american citizen to work for them. . tragic lally, there were any number of individuals that seemingly that wound up in the campaign of mr. trump that warrants investigation by mr. mueller. these despicable behaviors are not just with elections because elections are won and loss.

we don't like losing elections, but if we do lose them, we'd like to lose them fair and square. you run for president of the united states, you run on your own merits, your own strategy, your own outreach, your own missteps and mishappens, but how impossible -- mishaps but how impossible is it to run when a country is collaborating and working to skew the lection one candidate versus another? let me be clear, this is not working backwards. nothing i say today will alter who the president of the united states is. we adhere to the order of government, regular order. that gives me such great pride that we're not a nation that marches up to the home of the executive and ask -- or not ask -- but demand that person leave in a coup d'etat.

that is not the american way. we need to know who we are dealing with and we are honest about the fact that the election was turned and won on a simple fact, not three states, not i didn't go there, not who's a blue collar or who's not, because i love all the people. it was squarely skewed because of the direct intrusion of vladimir putin and his data and the question is, what kind of collusion or collaboration or criminal elements that happened? but in the course of those kind of actions, i would make the point on my comment about truly depictable acts. how do you welcome, congratulate, give applause to an individual that, i'm glad to say, that the former president

obama stared down in the midst of our election and said, cut it out, cut it out interfering in our elections, and from the words and the reaction of mr. putin, i didn't see a denial. i didn't see a, let's sit down a talk about it. if you think i'm doing it, let me find out who's doing this in my country and i am putting a stop to it immediately. none of that happened. they continued to intrude and kew and manipulate the data of millions that were seeing on facebook and many getting poison pills in their inboxes about the election, skewed against the former secretary of state. never stopped. but at the same time, the eon who ons of persons disappear in russia, who are imprisoned in russia, and the

individuals, the long list of individuals who have been poisoned, i have met with some of them. miraculously, even one who was poisoned and survived and was still fighting for human rights and went back again and as my memory serves me was poisoned again. but his passion for civil rights and human rights and saving russia, the beautiful russia that he loved and bringing her into the 21st century made him drive toward the danger. but what about right now in the last two months? not on russian soil but on our friends, great britain, in london. two russians, one a father, one a daughter. the daughter left russia to celebrate or to visit her father.

took them down, ook them down. in mea culpa, no comment. thank you, prime minister may, for standing up and saying eye to eye, you will not do this in my country. i believe it is important for our foreign policy to be both diplomatic but forceful. for if you're in meetings with russians who are able to speak openly, they will tell you that vladimir putin listens to nothing but power. not any glad handing and i'm a genius and he's a genius and he

called me a genius. he doesn't respond to that. he only responds to looking in the eye and showing that you have power. and as i just heard over the last couple of days, most of the russian people don't have internet. they can only hear what is given to them. they don't see what is going on. and they're living in their world without the exposure to the beauty of democracy, the beauty of human rights, and women's rights and the freedom to go anywhere i want to go, and they get their thrills through what is told to them to maybe the wins and losses in an olympic game or the exploits and expeditions of their leader who they just voted for. maybe that's the level of their excitement. i don't believe, however, that we as americans can fall into that trap. in the instance of the commander in chief, he refuses

to criticize the geopolitical belligerence of vladimir putin. and to add insult to injury, just this week, as i indicated, here comes a congratulations on the election that many observers of elections admit rigged. i think we all saw a video. it looked like someone was stuffing the ballot. i have no reason to know why it was stuffed, but the opponent was popular that was running and of course that opponent did not win. but i'll just step back for a moment on despicable acts. i've been to ukraine. it broke my heart to see the war that was going on. russian-backed rebels and to have the representation that the small part did not want to be in ukraine and so vladimir putin was not going to encourage the unity of ukraine. they were going to comblode ukraine. let them -- implode ukraine.

let them fight. but how sad that he was never held accountable for the shooting down of a civilian airplane full of hopeful travelers, baby shoes and suitcases of hopes and dreams. that is what we are contending th, and that's why the overall investigation of director mueller is not personal. it's not purposely chosen to pick on an executive that someone does not like. it is done for the integrity of this nation. and let me tell you how we can look back over more recent actions. russia has occupied cities in the republic of georgia in 2008. they have imprisoned and

suppressed journalists and dissents. they have been brazen to use a nerve agent on the soil of our great ally. a true partner for peace and progress. look at the actions that we took, including russia. in syria when they were using a nerve gas, what deadly silence from this executive, this administration except for some other line officers -- not lying, line, l-i-n-e, who probably said some things. they were obstructive in president obama's efforts to bring peace in the devastating civil war in syria by propping up assad, which it killed untold numbers of people including so many innocent children. that gas was used many years ago. and an even greater escalation. they launched a missile at a civil yar passenger plane, killing -- civilian passenger ane, killing those onboard

the malaysian airline. power is what they understand. firmness and sternness. and a solid policy. oh, we'll negotiate. we'll deal with diplomacy. but you have to stop your bad behavior. while though doing all this, people were suffering. 2011, russians went to the polls. after the election, there were allegations and questions surrounding the integrity of the vote. this soon turned to protest. mr. putin for some bizarre reason blamed the former .ecretary of state for this this has been a grudge he's held against her and he was committed to doing anything to destroy her. former secretary has said before on the floor of the chamber -- or i have said, she's a states woman.

if the words that she provided gave any comfort to those protesting, that's fair game. there were no weapons. there's no nerve gas. it was people clamoring and holding on to positive words by a person of status during the time of her leadership that what was happening in russia was wrong, and the action of president putin should have been, let me move my nation into the 21st century. let me not attack a woman of statute and excellence, a true public servant, because she was not shy to point out injustices and improper behavior, which we ould do for despretes around the world. while she was secretary of state, they passed the mag

minutes key -- magnitsky act. 2013 was a big year for the united states relationship with russia. it was in 2013 that secretary clinton left her post. also in 2013, a company named the internet research agency, registers in russia. and they are a social media troll farm. the i.r.a. would form the basis of the translator project announced in april, 2014. the i.r.a.'s job is to spread disinformation and misinformation through fake social media profiles and they were at their peak in the 2016 election. this is done in order to manipulate public opinion and engage in information warfare. present year, the president decides to have a beauty pageant.

while in moscow, 2013, donald rump meets with two in order to try to build a tower in moscow. the sanctions that president barack obama imposed following -- annexation of crimea yes, power is what they understand. but it has to be a persistent determined power, not power that is stopped by a new election. i assume this was not a happy time for those that wanted that trump power. while this is going on, the present president is developing a track record, trafficking conspiracy theories for this -- for his birtherism. the ugly smear that barack obama, the president of the united states, 44th, was not

born in the united states and, therefore, ineligible to be president. i watched this smear through videos and interviews, and just to the point that many of you recall that in the midst of his presidency, only because he desired to do so, president barack obama showed his birth certificate. what an ugly attack. i was also there at the levision and radio and journalist event when both president obama and the present president were there when the president, with a sense of humor, had a video played of "lion king" and said to the laughing audience, there's my birthplace. i'm glad he had a sense of humor, but it was an ugly attack on a legitimate

president of the united states who has a wonderful history to look back on. the present president rode this lie of his birth -- president obama's birth and concluded, he could use it to win the republican nomination for president, so he announced and in that announcement he dismisses mexicans and drug ealers -- mexicans as drug dealers and rapists, and everyone has all kinds of people as their neighbors and who would ever say that? but shortly after his announcements, questions about his connections to russia is there. and the democratic national committee told computers were hacked. despite all the information that we knew and more importantly all of the information that only donald trump knew, he continued to deny any involvement of russia. meantime, corporations were gathering the information of

americans through facebook and oisoning the well and sitting, biting wrong-headed misinformation to voters all over the midwest and elsewhere. while denying his connections to russia, we now know that agents working with this president, michael and felix were trying yet again to build a tower in moscow. running was actively for president of the united states, there business agents actively pursuing a real estate project in russia and denying it. as i have said in my commentary it is running for president of the united states, there business agents w thing that putin understands is power. and any time you are going to beg, you can be assured he will use that against you.

or use that to manipulate you and anyone else that's associated with you. mr. speaker, i'm concerned about the safety and security of the american people. this congress should be concerned. republicans should be concerned. today i said that the investigation by special counsel mueller is not a red line, it's awn or a red, white, and blue lines. none of us for political reasons attempt to quash the truth. and the truth about mr. putin is all he wants is power and all he wants is to dominate the democracy and the greatest democracy in the world and to quash the leadership position that america holds and the admiration that the world has for america and the desire for most of america -- most of the world not to be russia but to be america. and all we do is fuel his

ability by subordinating ourself to him, his so-called greatness, his phony election, and his tampering with our elections. this is a difficult time. many of you remember the name of general flynn. he was a senior advisor to the trump campaign and one of his most unfortunate episodes was his time at the republican her ntion shouting, lock up, lock her up. that might be the korean why some of my colleagues -- core reason why some of my colleagues even today are sneaking through a subpoena to try to sneak through and bring back documents to attack the former secretary again. a unilateral subpoena, not one that was joined in or even asked to be joined in by

democrats and republicans. hat's unfortunate. because we have because we have never in the judiciary committee issued subpoenas without a vote. but now to make havoc very fine special counsel mueller, it's going to be a tit for tat. here we're with a tit for tat. but if we recall in december, 2015, mr. flynn because went to moscow, sat at a dinner with mr. putin and jill stein, to mark the 10th anniversary of the russian tv. in 2016 the translator project to weaponize social media information revealed their theme, to support a number of candidates. and to ruin the former secretary. march, 2016 was a critical month, too. march, 2016 was the month when the campaign manager of the

former secretary had his emails hacked. march, 2016, was also when the presents president had a meeting of his national security team. present was this famous man. eorge pop dop plus papoulodous. up fortunately one of those indicted sitting in a famous meeting for great leaders of national security and foreign affairs. he was a foreign affairs aide and even mentioned publicly as a great mind of foreign affairs by the present president. in may of 2016, got drunk, at a london wine bar, and told a diplomat of a friendly country of ours that the russians had dirt on the former secretary.

and then in june, 2016, we have the infamous trump tower meeting where operatives of the trump campaign were told about derogatory information about russia and one of them said, famous words, i love it. the g.o.p. convention, the g.o.p. actually changed its platform to be more friendly to russia. a foreign despotic power. that is aggressive around the world. that will shoot down airplanes, support rebels to undermine governments, and even prop up the leader in syria as people ie in the streets. it is a question of how a republican platform at their

convention, quite contrary to all of what most know of republicans, to be friendly and have a friendly pro-russian platform. and friendly to a ukraine that would oppress her people. after another operative name appears on foreign logs, that person resigns from the campaign. another trump associate encourages wiki leaks to hack the clinton emails. we know this because we have ard of direct messages wikileaks and operatives of the trump campaign. their names are famous. even predicted that leaders of the former secretary's campaign would have their time in the barrel.

this tweet was sent on the same day as the infamous access hollywood tape where trump boasted about actions that all of us find appalling. the election happens in the backdrop of the poisonous emails, the tampering by russia . the spewing out of millions of facebook connections. skewing the election. and the person they wanted to win wins. yet even after the election, the connections to russia do not stop. rather than using the power that putin needs to see from the united states to protect the american people, we just fall into the molasses and continue to throw sugar on this leader. the natural security advisor who was sitting at the table with mr. putin in some way

related to advocating for mr. putin's high level of respect in the country, he was accused of lying to the f.b.i. about meetings with russians and that news was made public when that -- when that news was made public, he was fired. n between, of course, a person known as a public servant with no other agenda but to serve in the department of justice briefed the president of that information and other information to two to three weeks before, they ultimately were fired, deputy attorney general, sally yates, and it took a long time for there to be an acknowledgement to fire the national security advisor. don't you think mr. putin watches this and says, boy, are we successful? oy, are we doing well.

inside the white house, we're entrenched. after former f.b.i. director testified that the f.b.i. was investigating connections between the present president i house, we're entrenched. after and the kremlin, that same erson who had offered a letter regarding the former secretary a couple days out of the election, an unheard of action, nd no pronouncement was made with other investigations regarding the present president, but unfortunately he was fired. i want to pause for a moment. i said this cannot be about personalities or who has wronged one person or the other. i disagree with general sessions. i disagree with his blocking of real fair criminal justice reform, his opposing civil rights, his supporting bad

voter i.d. laws, his eliminating community consent degrees, and his a25k on cities because they -- attack on cities because they don't want it harm innocent families labeled the city as sanctuary cities. but i would not hold to the position of supporting his firing, undermining the rule of law and the constitution. and the aw constitution will be undermined if, for some reason during this recess, while the special counsel is doing their in-depth work, that the attorney general has fired, an interim appointment is made, that person fires the deputy attorney -- attorney general may fire the f.b.i. director and may fire the special counsel. that is the midnight massacre of the 21st century, 2018. i hope it does not happen. i hope that we as members of

the judiciary committee today in our press conference have put the white house on notice. even though i understand now that one of the white house lawyers, mr. dowd, who is known as a reasonable lawyer, just resigned. that frightens me even more. what more is going to happen? what else is going to be our lot? that is why we have the discharge petition on mr. could he yield back the balance of my -- e's -- cohen's bile and my bill and my bill. they can ask their office to sign them or they can be signed uring the pro forma session. this is the journaly that we have taken. -- journey that we have taken. after the former f.b.i. director testified they were investigating connections, we know that that f.b.i. director

was fired. thereafter the special counsel was appointed because that is what you call obstruction of justice, possibly. but the special counsel was appointed to it begin his investigation around that firing. but if anyone understands special counsel, they can go where the facts lead them, because they don't work for an elected official, they work for the american people. special counsel was threatened by determine nation --termination as reported by the president only to have this move blocked special counsel was by the whit counsel. early in his tenure he was threatened with termination. last summer the president indicated the special counsel should keep his family's private business dealings out of the investigation. red line. this month mr. mueller subpoenaed business records from this-- from the trump

organization, implicating the president's red line on the issue. this news coincides with an increase in erratic behavior. tweets. most importantly, one of the lawyers saying, yes, it should end. he should be closed down. the house intelligence committee singularly, not in a bipartisan manner, decided to shut down the russian investigation. without any consultation with our friends on the other side of the aisle, the democratic members. just as i indicated the subpoena may be issued by republicans of my committee, the judiciary committee, with no consultation of democrats. we don't know what mr. mueller may discover. but we do know that there have been much discussion on a number of operatives.

we also know that the minority had to release their own report for the house intelligence committee and the opening paragraph says, majorities move to release to the house of representatives allegations the f.b.i. and department of justice is a transparent effort to undermine those agencies of special counsel the f.b.i. and department and congress investigation. it also risks public exposure of sensitive sources and methods for no legitimate reason. . it goes on to say, d.o.j. met by rigor, evidentiary basis demonstrating contemporaneous evidence of russia election interference concerning russia links to trump officials, history with russian intelligence and that we would assume would be carter paige

and carter paige's suspicious activities in 2016 including moscow, all individuals affiliated with the trump campaign. it further says that christopher steele's raw intelligence reporting did not inform the f.b.i.'s decision to initiate the counterintelligence investigation in late 2016. by the way, it reinforces my statement that they were investigating the trump campaign. no one bothered to offer that in a public setting. that was seemingly unimportant to the american voters. but this document is unclassified and most members have had a chance to per use it as i have done -- per reuss it as i have done -- peruse it as i have done. and so as i said, this is not about a personality challenge. it is important to take note of the fact that we have an obligation.

just as the cold war presidents had an obligation to protect the american people and what they per receive to be an attack -- perceive to be an attack from the soviet union. although collaborated in world war ii, the attitude changed. the people were frozen in time. those presidents, secretary of states, secretary of defense, although they did not clamor to go to war and i, by no means, this commentary today is in any way suggesting any form of war dealing with russia. it is, though, saying that power must be met with power. sanctions must be kept. and sanctions must be strong. and strong words must be clear. mr. putin, you're interfering with the elections and the

desires and the decisions of the american people will stop. and your intelligence agencies and your operatives will be booted out en masse of the united states. will, r attack, if you on individuals attempting to cure them as agents will cease. i have every confidence in the intelligence community of this nation. i do look at them as political or partisan. from mr. clapper to mr. brennan, formerly, and to those who serve us now, their job is to tell the truth. in fact, even those in the trump administration, in the intelligence community have enthusiastically and loudly declared that russia interfered

with the 2016 election and they may and are preparing to do so again in the 2018 election and 2020. so the president's private behavior and efforts to cover it up has now generated three separate lawsuits. i don't particularly call upon that as a crucial element except for those of us who know security and intelligence issues, anything that can weaken you makes you vulnerable to individuals who need your information or need you to work for them. that is a well-known fact. if it's not well-known, go to any spy movie and know that the vulnerability is what your operatives attack. so now we have no fewer than three separate lawsuits dealing with his inappropriate behavior. each case, his exposure grows. a particular unseemingly aspect

of this silencing campaign is the enforcement of onerous nondisclosure agreements. and so we will see a long journey of these particular items, these particular individuals coming before the cameras. but i do want to say that there are women across the nation who y not have this high-profile perpetrator, and i want to say to them and to the athletes that told their story in the ichigan courtroom that the #metoo moment is not fleeting. the #metoo movement will continue to secure you and safeguard you and we hope you will continue to tell the truth so that you can be healed and that you can be heard. , er the last couple of days

berating, constant berating of this special counsel has been frivolous, and let me tell you why. although the special counsel or let me ndicted -- rephrase that. the special counsel is not doing frivolous work. the special counsel has since indicted three companies and 19 individuals, including the president's former national security advisor, his former campaign chairman, deputy campaign chairman and secured guilty pleas from five individuals including the senior members of the trump campaign. our republican colleagues would not allow simple language in the omnibus bill to protect the

special counsel to allow him to do his work although trey gowdy has indicated that his work should go on. attempt to suggest the special counsel is going after him personally as a republican, a democrat, or that it's a witch-hunt, i argue vigorously against it. we need to find out the truth about russia. we need to find out the truth about those who are surrounding this administration. we need to have an administration, whether it is his or anyone else, to be pure in their commitment to the american people and the truth should come out and no one, regardless of their party affiliation, should try to undermine special counsel mueller. so i'd make the argument, we leave on a recess. we're on our phones. we're on our emails ready to launch back to washington, to respond to any constitutional crisis, but over and above that

issue, though that is juxtapose right alongside is the plea to this administration that we cannot and you cannot adhere to two leaders or two bosses. either you adhere to the boss of the american people whose safety and security are in your hands or you play ftses with a dictator -- foot is is with a dictator -- footsies with a dictator who will send nerve gas to our allies. a person who's wounded his own nation with human rights violations, women rights violations, with an economy, with people locked up in jail, with family members who can never be found, poisoning his own citizens, or are you going to stand with the american people and the men and women in the united states military who are on the front lines every day fighting against those and

standing for the american people? that is what we need to hear. and until we hear something different and a mea culpa about the 2016 election, no one should put their hands on director mueller and all i can say is is that his work should continue. i should not be involved with it. committees should not be involved with it. other leaders should not be involved with it. mr. mueller, you should proceed with your work. it's painful. all of us would say so. but frankly, it is the red, white, and blue. it is on behalf of the american people, mr. speaker, and with that and my plea for power towards mr. putin on behalf of the american people and for dignity for this president on behalf of the american people, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the lady yields.

under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, for 30 minutes. mr. gohmert: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker.

it's always an honor to get to address in this hallowed hall. styles more hallowed than -- sometimes more hallowed than others. but today was a bit of a sad day for some of us. the federalists reported headline, congress' russia toward spending vote to prevent a shutdown. congressional leaders released a $1.3 trillion government spending plan for the rest of the fiscal year and asked lawmakers to begin voting on it with only hours to read and .nalyze the 2,232-page text the measure's wide ranging with funds for fencing on the u.s.-mexico border, combating opioid addiction, and building new roads along with incentives to bolster reporting to a database for gun buyer

background checks. i got to assert, mr. speaker, fix nics bill leaves in place a practices that has been going on. it grieved me greatly that republicans would rush to embrace this thing which it allows the practice that the obama administration started at administrative procedures unelected, unaccountable to voters, bureaucrats could decide people were not, in their opinion, entitled to have their second amendment right to keep and bear arms.

we heard accounts of people who didn't realize that they were being questioned in a way that will be used to take their guns away and their right to keep and bear arms to protect themselves, to engage in self-defense, and the v.a. is the most notorious. simply asking questions like, who takes care of your checkbook finances, and on an answer anything like, oh, my wife takes care of that, then -- a matter of weeks later, a letter is received saying, you don't have a right to have a gun. amazing that the obama administration would start such an unconstitutional practice and it's, to me, even nor

more grievous that republicans would participate in a bill that says it's going to correct a problem and make america safer when actually what it does will not make a difference in the mass shootings that have occurred. but in tradition of congress, if there is a problem, too often people in this body feel it's not important that we do something that will make a difference. it's just important that we look like we're doing something, and that's really where the fix nics bill came into play. really wouldn't make people safer. it will add some

restrictiveness, and it allows this heinous practice of having some bureaucrat at the v.a. to just decide that a veteran who rved his or her nation valiantly, qualified to use a weapon can't have a weapon. forget the constitution. we're the v.a. and we decide you don't get one. . rather egreemyoss. -- regriegeous. but most egregious of all we have about a half year to go and we just voted $1.3 trillion to be spent between now and the end of the fiscal year, which ends midnight, september 30. quite tragic. and we're told over and over by pollsters that the american

public don't want it hear about process, how laws are made, or if some rules are violated. they don't care about those things. but the fact is just like america and each state has laws , and if those laws are not observed we hasten the demise of a democratic republic. this little experiment in self-government. and when it comes to the rules of the house, when we don't go through the normal regular orders, it's called, which means following the rules for how we pass a law, then the product is not going to be nearly as good. that's what we have in the bill .hat was passed today it is really immoral. going back as far as we're

aware in north america, parents have traditionally wanted for their child or their children more opportunities, wetter opportunity, a bet -- better opportunity, a better life than the parent had growing up and going forward. yet now for the last 50 years we have had generations engaged in being all about themselves, and that includes my generation. not all of us, but enough that we could pass a bill. a month or so ago, and pass another one today, that heaps hundreds of billions of dollars of debt on to our children, our grandchildren that they didn't run up. this is totally different. it is so immoral. it is totally different from what generations of americans have wanted. something better for their

kids. and yet here we're, it's as if we go into a bank, say i need a loan. what's your collateral? how are you going to pay -- i'm not going to pay. i can't pay. but i've got all my children, got some grandchildren someday, they will pay. what do you need the money for? because i can't stop spending money. i just can't control myself. so i'm going to have my kids and grandkids pay someday because all i can do is spend. that's where we're. there's an obligation for each accountable be for their actions to future generations. there has been so much debt run p, of course when i got here 13 years ago we crossed over into double-digit -- well, over

$10 trillion in debt. $11 trillion. and all of a sudden in eight years we hit $20 trillion. it was incredible. the biggest part of that hit during the four years where the democratic majority controlled the house and the senate, and those two years in which the democrat majority in the house and senate was also linked up with president obama. democrat in the white house. and the debt exploded. but when we bring a bill to the floor like came today, didn't go through regular order, it did not go through committee process. and i can't know for sure

whether it was -- i heard there were two, heard there were four people negotiating. i heard that it was staff members that were doing the negotiation. for heaven sake if we're going to have staff members noshe -- negotiating numbers that involve $1 trillion that our children and grandchildren will have to pay, let's at least get tter staff members to do the negotiation for the sake of our kids. it is really tragic what's been going on. just reading an article a moment ago with a statement rom minority leader pelosi which she indicated they had won the negotiation. they got lots more of what they wanted than did those in the majority. and than did the president

himself. unfortunately, though the president is an amazing negotiator, he graciously allowed the house leaders and the democratic leaders to do the negotiating. and i would encourage the president -- i know he wants better deals than this, but he's going to have to be -- we need his negotiating skills involved to get a better product. this article from chad says with $1.2 trillion omnibus bill topping 2,200 pages, congress needs cliff notes. another from jacob, fix nics bill would help bought gun

sales to peaceful people. and jacob is right about that. this from august 11, 2016, they are pointing out that the background checks which were proposed in part of this bill at passed in the house today would not be effective. headline says ineffective, unconstitutional, and dangerous. the background checks were sold to gun owners as a bill of goods in the 1990's, but consider how ineffective and dangerous they have become to our second amendment rights. number one. oughly 95% of nics, said denials are false positives, which means most of the people who are being denied are not the people that want to hold up

the neighborhood grocery store. number two, for the last year on record, only 13 prohibited persons were convicted of trying to illegally purchase a gun. when more than 10 million guns were sold. pretty amazing. only 13, this was back in the obama administration. of course we know they weren't enforcing the laws. they had the weakest gun violation enforcement of any administration the last 50 years. all the while demanding tougher laws, gun laws, gun restrictions when they were doing the worst job of just enforcing the laws we had. out of 10 million guns, background checks were approved for sale, only 13 were convicted of trying to illegally purchase a gun. inspector general's report in 2016 found that the justice

department -- again, this is during the obama administration, it only refers an average of 32 prosecutions per year under the brady law. that's not surprising since good people can be denied their second amendment rights for outstanding traffic tickets. that result in a bench warrant, or for having the same name as a bad guy, or for having engaged in a bar fight 50 years ago. number three, because of the nics system, there are now more than 250,000 military veterans who cannot purchase firearms from a gun dealer and the obama administration tried to disqualify ten its of thousands of otherwise law-abiding seniors in similar fashion. , just to inject here because a senior citizen has his or her child, adult child,

take care of their checkbook does not mean that that senior citizen does not know when their home is being broken into and that they need to protect themselves. number four, what if you're blocked from buying a gun ecause you're illegitimately denied by the nics check? well, according to "usa today," the obama administration illegally devoted every single one of its f.b.i. denied by the nics check? well, according appeal examiners to other duties making it impossible for the agency to overturn people's denials, creating a huge backlog. number five, every time a gun dealer contacts the nics system and a background check is conducted, there's the potential that gun buyers' names will be retained despite prohibitions to the contrary. this data retention and the

potential for gun owner registration is a constant concern for gun owners given the expansive background system at the f.b.i. not only that, the general accounting office found in 2016 that the a.t.f. had illegally retained the names of thousands of gun owners. number six, forcing law-abiding citizens to get quote, permission, end quote, to exercise a actually protected right can result in harmful delays and even death. consider carol of new jersey who tried to get a gun for protection was forced to wait several weeks during the screening process and was ultimately stabbed to death by the man she wanted to defend herself against. gun control is denying the rights of law-abiding americans while not making us any safer. that's the thing. we hear these constant

proposals for more background checks, proposal being pushed. we got to have background checks when someone gives or sells a gun to another individual when that person selling or giving the gun is not a firearms dealer. they are not in the business, which means the father to a son. or mother to a daughter. this push to get background checks , when as my friend said, research has shown, not one mass shooting in the last 100 years has resulted from a gun that was given or purchased in a lawful transfer person-to-person. that kind of idea wouldn't help save any lives. why not do something -- if we're going to do something, do something that saves lives. makes a difference.

t we know that in rwanda there is a horrendous period in were 800,000 human beings slaughtered with machetes. e know that the worst attack with the most horrendous murders in our u.s. history, on our soil, happened on september 11, 2001, and the weapon that was used was a box cutter. we know that the boston rathon bombing, which people were killed and maimed, a pressure cooker was used. know that in austin, texas,

a sick, criminal mind killed two people and wounded a number of others. there's a lot of talk about ending gun violence without a thought about ending violence. oklahoma city as amode yum hydrate, fertilizer, used as a -- ammonium hydrate, fertilizing, used as a bomb. i keep come canning back to the quote of president john adams , so 8 when he said prophetically, and analytically, this constitution is meant for a moral and religious people. it is wholly inadequate for the gove