mr. byrne: but she's part of the discussion. olis: she would make a darn fine senator, but if the gentleman has an issue it's with the senate, not ms. pelosi. happy to yield. mr. sessions: we are engaging in what is great for all of us. does the gentleman have a question for our witness because if we do not i'm going to excuse the witness. mr. polis: i think one thing the committee can be better educated on because there seems to be some misunderstanding is the whole issue of deferred action not expiring until march. it is already expiring every day for over 100 dreamers. and i wanted to -- that means there are 100 people able to work legally today that are not able to work legally tomorrow. the republicans are creating more illegal immigrants every day by failing to act on this. i want to make that clear. and that will continue until congress addresses the dream act . that is not democrats. that is republicans. they are creating more people that are here illegally every day and i want to ask ms. lujan grisham to explain how that

the gentleman, mr. byrne, indicated somehow mrs. pa lowsy or the democrats are holding something -- pelosi or the democrats are holding something hostage. the democrats have no ability to hold anything who is afpblgt the republicans not venl only have the majority on the floor but actually control the agenda of what we vote on. and if the democrats had a say in that, we would certainly schedule for immediate votes items like child health insurance program, the dream act, and i don't even think we would be talking about a shut down of government if the democrats were in charge. but again, the democrats have no ability here to schedule anything for the floor. despite our best efforts. and if there is anybody who is holding government hostage, it is your fellow republicans, mr. chairman, who are are in -- who are in control of what we vote on o and control the floor. happy to yield to the gentleman from alabama. mr. byrne: i appreciate the gentleman doing so. as mr. cole regularly tells us, to get one of those things done you have to h

the gentleman, mr. byrne, indicated somehow mrs.pelosi or the democrats are holding something hostage. the democrats have no ability to hold anything hostage. the republicans not only have the majority on the floor but actually control the agenda of what we vote on. and if the democrats had a say in that, we would certainly schedule for immediate votes, items like child health insurance program, the dream act, and i don't even think we would be talking about a shut down of government if the democrats were in charge. but again, the democrats have no ability here to schedule anything for the floor. despite our best efforts. and if there is anybody who is holding government hostage, it is your fellow republicans, mr. chairman, who are in control of what we vote on and control the floor. i am happy to yield to the gentleman from alabama. mr. byrne: i appreciate the gentleman doing so. as mr. cole regularly tells us, in order to get one of those things done you have to have a bipartisan agreement because you have to have democrats in the

mr. byrne, no. mr. newhouse. mr. buck. ms. cheney, no. ms. slaughter, aye. mr. mcgovern, aye. mr. hastings, aye. mr. polis. mr. chairman, no. three yeas, six nays. mr. sessions: could you please tell me how mr. newhouse from washington, state of washington, is recorded on the slaughter amendment. the clerk: mr. newhouse is not recorded. mr. sessions: ok. does the gentleman wish to be recorded? mr. newhouse: i'd like to vote no. mr. sessions: the gentleman is requesting that he be recorded as a no vote on the slaughter amendment. could the clerk please re-provide the total. thank you very much. the clerk: three yays, seven nays. mr. sessions: the amendment is not agreed. to further amendment or discussion. ms. slaughter: yes, i have another amendment to the rule. i move the committee make in order and give the necessary waivers for the amendment to h.r. 38, by representative jackson lee, number 19, why which would prohibit a person from carrying a concealed firearm across state lines if the individual has been convicted of domestic violence or stalking. mr. sessions: you've heard t

mr. byrne, no. mr. newhouse, no. mr. buck. ms. chaney, no. ms. slaughter -- ms. cheney, no. ms. slaughter, aye. mr. mcgovern, aye. mr. hastings, aye. mr. polis. mr. chairman. mr. chairman, no. three ayes, eight nays. mr. sessions: the amendment is not agreed. to further amendment on discussion. seeing none, the vote will now be on the motion of the gentleman from oklahoma. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the gentlewoman asks for a roll call vote. the clerk: mr. cole, aye. mr. woodall, aye. mr. burgess, aye. mr. collins, aye. mr. byrne, aye. mr. newhouse, aye. mr. buck. ms. cheney, aye. ms. slaughter, no. mr. mcgovern, no. mr. hastings, no. mr. polis. mr. chairman. mr. chairman, aye. eight yeas, three nays. mr. sessions: the motion is agreed to. mr. collins will be handling this for the republicans. mr. hastings for the democrats. judge, you want to ask a question? mr. hastings: what damage are we going to do tomorrow? mr. sessions: thank you very much. tomorrow the committee will be meeting at the scheduled time of 3:00. we're going to go to the c.r.

mr. byrne? mr. byrne north. mr. newhouse? no. mr. buck? mr. buck no. ms. slaughter? aye. mr. mcgovern? aye. mr. hastings? mr. hastings, aye. mr. polis, aye. mr. chairman? >>> no. >> clerk total? >> f4 ayes, 8 nays. >> discussion? seeing none, we'll move as we remember one rule, those in favor -- i'm sorry. did the gentleman announce the vote? >> yes, mr. chair. >> i believe the gentleman did. okay. i need help. your help is welcome. that's okay. we're now going to vote on the motion from the gentleman, distinguished young gentleman from oklahoma. those in favor saying aye. >> aye. >> those pose no. >> no. >> the ayes visit. the ayes have it. the clerk will poll the question. >> mr. cole? >> aye. >> mr. woodall? aye, mr. burgess aye. mr. byrne, aye. mr. new house? aye. mr. buck? mr. buck, aye. ms. cheney? aye. mr. mcgovern, no. mr. hastings, no. mr. polis? >> no. >> mr. chairman, aye. >> clerk will report the total, please. >> 8 yays, for ncaas. >> the motion is agreed to according to the gentleman. mr. woodall will be handling this for republicans. >> and i for the democrats.

collins. >> no. >> mr. byrne. >> mr. newhouse. >> no. >> mr. buck. miss cheney. >> no. >> miss slaughter. >> aye. >> mr. mcgovern. >> aye. >> mr. hastings. >> aye. >> mr. polis. mr. chairman. >> no. >> the clerk will report. >> three yays, seven nays. >> the member from massachusetts. >> i move the committee make an order and give the necessary waivers for the bipartisan amendment to hr-38 by representatives moleton which would ban the manufacture, possession or transfer of any parts designed and functions to increase the rate of fire of a semi automatic rifle such as bump stocks and similarly functioning devices of a different name. i would say to my colleagues, the kick in the can down the road or -- this meaningless study that is in this bill doesn't suffice. too many people are dying in this country as a result of this technology that turns these weapons into weapons of war. turns them into machine guns, essentially. and, you know -- and i have been critical of this institution, because in the aftermath of massacres, all we do is have a moment of

mr. byrnes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for five minutes. mr. byrnes: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman, for yielding me some time. i've been listening to my colleagues from the other side of the aisle talk about the 1%, the people at the top of america. let me tell you who benefits from the status quo of our tax code. it's the 1%. they can afford the lawyers, the accountants, the lobbyists to get them all these special tax treatments that the rest of us don't get. so if you want to do something about the 1%, fix the current tax code. instead, what our friends on the other side of the aisle keep doing is defending the present tax code because if you don't pass this bill, we have the present tax code, we have the status quo. and the rest of us don't see the benefits from the present tax code. the rest of us need a break. now, i asked the chair of the house ways and means committee when he was before the rules committee the other night three questions that i think is relevant to everybody in america. the first thing i asked him was, will

. >> mr. byrne? >> you're entitled to an opinion i'm sure. >> after the house passed the increased amount, the president number is the number we put in the bill. money would be taking that the commander-in-chief announced that he does want to have. it is pretty clear that we need money. >> the president cemented a budget. the budget there was a formal request. >> the president change his mind that she is insensitive. >> the only budget request that they have given. >> he made an official statement. >> i didn't indicate that the president would veto a different amount but the only budget isuest that we have received a spending level that is $18 billion less. >> you are trying to convince us based upon information that is dated and no longer correct. >> i am not aware, have there been a supplemental budget request from the president. >> he sometimes gives a statement and i have seen his statement to be testament. he agrees the number and in the defense -- the president asked for more and said we needed

collins, mr. byrne? >> no. >> mr. newhouse? >> no. >> ms. chaney? >> no. >> mr. hastings?>> aye. >> mr. pollis? >> aye. >> mr. chairman? >> no. >> four yeahs, eight nays. >> amendment not agreed to. now we'll now move as we remember the one rule those in favor -- i'm sorry did the gentleman announce the vote? >> yes, mr. chairman. >> i believe the gentleman did. okay. i need help. your help is welcome, that's okay. we're now going to vote on the motion from the gentleman gished young gentleman from oklahoma those in favor single by saying aye? >> aye. >> those oppose. >> no. >> mr. cole. >> aye. >> mr. woodall. >> aye. >> mr. collins, mr. byrne? mr. newhouse. >> aye. >> mr. chaney. >> aye. >> ms. slaughter? >> no. >> mr. mcgovern? >> no. >> mr. hastings? >> no. >> mr. pollis? >> no. >> mr. chairman? >> aye. >> clerk will report the total eight yeahs fourniers. >> the motion is agreed to. the gentleman will be handling this for democrats and mrs. slaughter for the democrats. the committee is done with this work for the week, thank you very much. >>> tomorrow testimony from

the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama, mr. byrne, for five minutes. mr. byrne: mr. speaker, i rise to commemorate national miners day. national miners day is recognized on december 6 each year and i want to express my deep appreciation to the hundreds of thousands of men and women who work in our nation's youries, dredge operations and other mine facilities to help build and power our nation. these workers do a great deal to extract the materials found in every home, building, road, bridge and public works project. u.s. domestic production and use of stone, sand and gravel, aggregates, amounted to 2.5 billion tons of crushed stone. it valued at $25 billion. the u.s. mine safety and health administration has reported that throughout 140 facilities, almost 3,000 people in my home state of alabama owe their jobs to aggregates mining. workers in the aggregate sector has helped workplaces the safest they have ever been. in fact, 2016 marked the 16th consecutive year in which the industry reduced its injury rate from the year earlier level. the rate stood at the record ow

mr byrne do any what what are your hopes for the future of the country where the midst of a poster. briefly the it's clear the trajectories are bright still in charge of governance the a.n.c. need not reinvent itself how every new. the a.n.c. should remain until imperialist until. the progressive movement and in touch internationalist in its make up we will just have to go back to the roots and do what we do to our people to do right by our people it will be interesting to see how things evolve in the near future for south africa their best day and mr masterson thank you very much indeed for for your time. and thank you to forcing you can see the program again any time by visiting our web site as you know dot com and for further discussion go to our facebook page that's facebook dot com for slash a.j. inside story you can also join the conversation on twitter our handle is a.j. inside story from the house and the whole team here. you are making very pointed remarks where on line the main u.s. response to drug use and the drug trade over the last fifty years has been criminalized or

mr. byrnes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from alabama is recognized for five minutes. mr. byrnes: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman, for yielding me some time. i've been listening to my colleagues from the other side of the aisle talk about the 1%, the people at the top of america. let me tell you who benefits from the status quo of our tax code. it's the 1%. they can afford the lawyers, the accountants, the lobbyists to get them all these special tax treatments that the rest of us don't get. so if you want to do something about the 1%, fix the current tax code. instead, what our friends on the other side of the aisle keep doing is defending the present tax code because if you don't pass this bill, we have the present tax code, we have the status quo. and the rest of us don't see the benefits from the present tax code. the rest of us need a break. now, i asked the chair of the house ways and means committee when he was before the rules committee the other night three questions that i think is relevant to everybody in america. the first thing i asked him was, will

let me help, mr. byrne. the senate is going to strip out the defense measure and send it back and we'll be back here dealing with what we have to deal with. thank you, mr. chairman. >> the gentleman yeeds back his time. the gentleman from the state of washington, mr. newhouse. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as one of the newest members. appropriations committee which i'm very pleased to be able to serve with the fine gentleman from new jersey as our chairman, a fine leader on the other side of the aisle as well as dr. cole, lots of people to work with and look up to, i was very proud of being able to get all 12 appropriations bills across the finish line through the house representatives and over to the senate. to me this seems like normal. we do it every year, right, but that's not the case. this is the first time in a dozen years that that has been accomplished but due to the strong leadership in that committee we were able to do that and that's something that we should be able to follow every single year. as

mr. kol lynns. no. >> byrne. >> no. >> newhouse. >> no. buck.. >> no. >> miss cheney. no. no. abstain.oing to >> mr. mcgovern. >> aye. mr. hastings. >> aye. >> mr. chairman. no. >> mr. chairman. >> no. three yea, nine nay, one present. >> i'm not going to offer an i want to make an observation. critical and particularly his referring of the tax measure. would seem to me, not withstanding tradition seemingly with reference to conference on one hour of our debate. many think there are members in this congress that opportunity or to speak on this measure at such a critical time. i won't offer the amendment, but we really should have done three debate. general there's no reason we could not have. i just want to make the objector we should have. the gentle thank man. amount to allow greater of time, allows more people. believe part of the strength of this committee is allowing to express their ideas and opinions. that on y agree with the floor. let me say this. remember that. i do believe it. i have tried in the past merging bunch of things that have to be done. and i do need to con

let me help, mr. byrne. the senate is going to strip out the defense measure and send it back and we'll be back here dealing with what we have to deal with. thank you, mr. chairman. >> the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from the state of washington, mr. newhouse. >> thank you, mr. chairman. as one of the newest members. members of the appropriations committee which i'm very pleased to be able to serve with the fine gentleman from new jersey as our chairman, a fine leader on the other side of the aisle as well as dr. cole, lots of people to work with and look up to, i was very proud of being able to get all 12 appropriations bills across the finish line through the house representatives and over to the senate. to me this seems like normal. we do it every year, right, but that's not the case. this is the first time in a dozen years that that has been accomplished but due to the strong leadership in that committee we were able to do that and that's something that we should be able to follow every

the chair will now recognize gentleman from alabama, mr. byrne, for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate you allowing me to participate in this hearing. mr. crowley, i want to clarify one thing with you. i don't think you're saying this but i want to make sure we get this very clear. you are not saying the speech or debate clause provides immunity to a member or member's office if they engage in sexual harassment. >> congressman, that's a very difficult question to answer. clearly the conduct itself is not protected. the question becomes what happens when a member of congress asserts that the discriminatory action, which, of course, sexual harassment includes, was not motivated by what the victim says it was -- clearly sexual harassment under any circumstances -- >> it will not be sexual harassment then. >> well, keep in mind that sexual harassment is a form of discrimination under the rights -- >> subset of discrimination based on gender but sexual harassment cannot be immunized by the united states constitution. >> that's correct. >> want to make sure we got that

comstock and to my colleague mr. byrne. i think we are at a watershed moment, as youss said mr. chairman, i been working on this issue for a very long time and long i came to congress as a matter of fact. in 19 in the mid- 19 '90s i was chair of women's caucus and we had a hearing on this issue and we brought in doctor francis connolly who was the first tenured nurse surgeon in the united states and she was professor at stanford university. she wrote a book called walking out on the boys and talked about the horrific environment in which she had to work as a professional in academia and as a medical professional. of course, anita hill hearings of 1992 was also a watershed issue and time when it was called the year of the woman well, it was one year and frankly, that was not enough. what we have experienced over the last many decades is that there has been a return to the status quo which is woefully unacceptable. we all recognize now the office of compliance is mandated to do things that really hurt the victims. it's not they do it by choice because that is how it is mandated in

mr. byrne: i thank the chairman for yielding and for his continued leadership. we are on the cusp of something truly historic that will make life better for millions of people across the united states. by reforming the tax code, we will be able to put more money in people's pockets and create a fairer and simpler tax system. under the current tax code, well-off individuals and big businesses can hire lobbyists and lawyers to help them find loopholes and special interest giveaways all at the expense of working americans. with our plan, the tax code will be simplified. loopholes will be closed. and the playing field will be leveled. i want to make one thing clear. if you are looking for a tax plan that benefits the elite, the well connected, and 1%, then you need to look at the current tax code. mr. speaker, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are going to great lengths to defend the current tax code that truly benefits the top 1%. for example, the democratic leader has called the tax cuts and jobs act, quote, the end of the world, close quote. so apparen

speier and mr. byrne for your participation along with ms. brooke today as ex officio members, and appreciate the insight you given. we have a great responsibility to get this right and to make sure that we continue with the message that one case of sexual-harassment is one too many. how do we make sure that the victim as ms. speier adequately stated, it would make sure the victim is protected? with changes we consider when we balance the transparency issues with making sure a victim is not a victim a second time because of any changes we make, we want to make sure with your input that we make this in the correct way. it doesn't seem that difficult for members to remember the golden rule and to treat people with respect. and that will solve a lot of our future problems as we try to clean this up. i want to remind everyone that members, that we have five legislative days to submit to the chair additional questions in writing that would be passed on to the witnesses. if we do that we would encourage you to answer those as quickly as possible so

mr. trump sent a tweet of congratulations to doug jones, he added that republicans would have another shot at the seat very soon. that confidence is something that alabama congressman bradley byrneres, although he admits there is still work to do. rep. byrne: i don't think the election yesterday signifies anything. it was so incredibly unique. the democrat party really spent any money in alabama. next year they will spend almost nothing in alabama, because it was a special election and they could focus all their money on that and they got the result because they did that. they will not have the money spread out all over the nation to do it in states like alabama next year. i'm not worried about that. but in a more general sense, should we be concerned about being able to do better with african-american and younger voters? absolutely. we need to do better. doing better means we not only need to have a good substantive agenda, but we need to communicate a lot better. rajini: for more on the fallout of the race, i was joined a short time ago by josh kraushaar , political editor of "national journal." you heard the congressman saying that the republicans need to do better. where doe