mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4278, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4278, a bill to support the independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity of ukraine, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. royce, and the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i'm going to ask that all members t

mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute for the purpose of inquiring of the majority leader the schedule to come. actually -- the gentleman from texas, mr. conaway, the schedule for the week to come. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. conaway: mr. speaker, on monday the house is not in session. on tuesday the house will meet at noon for morning hour, 2:00 for legislative business. votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. on wednesday and thursday, the house will meet at 10:00 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. on friday the house will meet at 9:00 a.m. for legislative business. last votes of the week are expected no later than 3:00 p.m. mr. speaker, the house will come a few suspensions next week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business tomorrow. today, in a strong bipartisan vote, the house passed a bill to provide the administration with the authority to extend loan g

mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pu >> you see a congressman from requesting the vote. shortly afterward, the house gavels in out for recess. republicans met in the speaker's office and elsewhere. the house republican doctors caucus met with republican leadership. and with recorders camped outside the speaker's office in the house chamber, time to find out whether the house had the votes to move forward. keep in mind, this came up as a suspension bill, meaning it needed 2/3 of those present and voting to pass. earlier today, a reporter treated the house is either about to pass the patch or pull it. any democrats opposed, but policy said she would support it many democrats opposed, but pelosi said she would support it. this is what happened. >> the house will be in order. pursuant to clause 8 of ru

mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. pitts: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pu >> shortly after the debate, the house gavels in out. republicans met in the speaker's office and elsewhere. reporters camped outside. members and aides commented on the uncertain fate of the bill. it was not clear that republican leadership had the necessary vote to pass the bill. the house went back into session. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will be in order. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unpinnished business is the question on suspending the ules and passing 3302 -- 4302. the clerk: h.r. 4302, a bill to amend the social security act, to extend medicare payments to physicians and other provisions of the medicare and medicaid programs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill

mr. hoyer: i thank my friend, the ranking member, mr. engel from new york, and i thank mr. royce, the chairman of the committee, for bringing this bill to the floor. and working in a bipartisan fashion to affect an objective that i strongly support. i thank both of them for their work. the ongoing russian aggression against ukraine is unacceptable. in a gross violation of international law. i agree with president obama that russia's acting from a position of weakness, however. strong nations do not invade and annex territory from their smaller neighbors by force. and strong nations do not suppress the free expression of ideas and the voices of dissent within their own society. those are the hallmarks not of a great nation but insecure bully. great nations are those that stand together to reaffirm the principles of liberty and international order. great nations are those that commit to peaceful diplomacy while protecting free and open debate among our citizens. the american people continue to stand with the people of ukraine, mr. speaker, because we believe they have a right

mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. those that threaten ukraine's territorial integrity or its economic activity will hear us as well. as i understand, the 1994 agreement, great britain and the united states, two of the great powers in this world said we would protect and come to the aid of ukraine when they gave up their nuclear weapons in consideration, in part of that representation made by us and plead by the russians. -- made by the russians. mr. speaker, i ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to approve this resolution and send a strong and unmistakable message of solidarity to the people of ukraine and unity and defense of democracy in ukraine. and indeed throughout the world. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: i'll reserve the right to close. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. keating: thank you, mr. speaker. i think i will close at t

mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, it is my honor this morning to express the gratitude in the house for this morning's opening prayer by one of maryland's most dynamic and inspirational faith leaders, my dear friend, pastor jonathan leslie weaver. pastor weaver likes to share with visitors to his church this verse from salms 68. blessed be the lord who daily loads us with benefits. for the past 25 years, mr. speaker, reverend weaver has been sharing the benefits of his care and his wisdom with his flock at the greater african memphis church in maryland. pastor weaver has overseen its growth from 100 members in 1988 to more than 1,600 today. and it now has more than 50 minute strers serving the church -- ministries serving the church. under the pastor's leadership, the church has engaged in numerous charitable works, including re-entry programs, community-based violence prevention and antihunger projects. in addition, mr. speaker, pastor weaver has been at the center of an economic has rment effort which advan

mr. hoyer: i thank my friend, the ranking member, mr. engel from new york, and i thank mr. royce, the chairman of the committee, for bringing this bill to the floor. and working in a bipartisan fashion to affect an objective that i strongly support. i thank both of them for their work. the ongoing russian aggression against ukraine is unacceptable. in a gross violation of international law. i agree with president obama that russia's acting from a position of weakness, however. strong nations do not invade and annex territory from their smaller neighbors by force. and strong nations do not suppress the free expression of ideas and the voices of dissent within their own society. those are the hallmarks not of a great nation but insecure bully. great nations are those that stand together to reaffirm the principles of liberty and international order. great nations are those that commit to peaceful diplomacy while protecting free and open debate among our citizens. the american people continue to stand with the people of ukraine, mr. speaker, because we believe they have a right

mr. hoyer: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. i want to thank chairman rogers and ranking member lowey for bringing this bill to the floor in a very timely fashion. mr. speaker, congress is coming together today to support loan guarantee authority for ukraine that will be instrumental in stabilizing its economy and showing ukraine's people that the united states stands with them. i view this as a first step in what hopefully will be a series of actions to support the people of ukraine, including i.m.f. ramification authority. i also support, mr. speaker, president obama's action this morning to impose sanctions against russian and other officials who are exacerbating the crisis and put in place visa restrictions. mr. chairman, i chaired the commission on security and cooperation in europe from 1985 to 1995. the final act says that borders cannot be changed other than by political means. the russians need to comply with that admonition. i commend the administration's efforts to broker a diplomatic process that can resolve this dan

mr. speaker, i want to thank the original co-sponsors of this resolution as well -- majority leader cantor, minority leader pelosi, majority chip mccarthy, minority whip hoyer, appropriations chairman rogers and ranking member lowey and the ranking member of the foreign affairs committee, eliot engel, with whom i worked particularly closely in trying to advance the values of vaclav havel and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. moran: mr. speaker, we want to thank mr. royce, the chairman of the foreign relations committee, for introducing this resolution and promoting the idea of having a bust of vaclav havel in the u.s. capitol. and we completely agree with his motivation and the words that he has shared with us today and with that we would yield back the balance of our time and we would urge unanimous support for this resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized. mrs. miller: mr. speaker, i would simply close by saying vaclav havel passed away on december 18, 2011, in the czech republic. he was 7

mr. speaker, this bill would not have come together without strong support and participation from the democratic party. i would like to thank leader pelosi and steny hoyer and senators landrieu and representative richmond and the leadership of so many democratic leaders across the country which was critical for taking this bill over the finish line. i applaud them. and i strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill. and let me say a word of thanks to someone very special on this, mr. eric cantor, who weighed in and did everything possible to work this out in a way that we can all be comfortable with. i'm pleased for the opportunity i have had to work with him and mr. grimm, who is sitting over there looking at me, because we started this out when others believed we could not do anything about it. but having said all of that, we have come together to do something good for the people of this country. and i will retain my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from west virginia is recognized. mrs. capito: i yield two minutes to the author of this legislation and that is mr. gril from new york. the speaker pro tempore: t