The publication is reproduced in full below:
PROVIDING FOR CONSIDERATION OF H.R. 1319, AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT OF
2021
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 166 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows:
H. Res. 166
Resolved, That immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 1319) to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 5. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except:
(1) one hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Budget or their respective designees and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Ways and Means or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Massachusetts is recognized for 1 hour.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.
General Leave
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Massachusetts?
There was no objection.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, today the Rules Committee met for over 10 hours and reported a rule, House Resolution 166, providing for consideration of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, under a closed rule.
The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chairs and ranking minority members, or their designees, of the Committee on the Budget and the Committee on Ways and Means.
The rule self-executes a manager's amendment by Chairman Yarmuth and provides one motion to recommit.
Madam Speaker, since the emergence of the coronavirus, our Nation has been in a perpetual state of mourning. The number of Americans killed by this pandemic is nearly equal to one death a minute every minute for a year.
Every corner of society has been impacted: More than 18 million Americans are receiving unemployment benefits; nearly 24 million Americans are going hungry with roughly 12 million children living in households with food insecurity; up to 40 million Americans cannot afford to pay rent; 8 of 10 minority-owned businesses are on the brink of closure; and I could go on and on and on, Madam Speaker. This is a time to act and to act boldly.
That is why we began work on the American Rescue Plan nearly 1 month ago. Nine committees have now marked up portions of the bill, spending more than 100 hours debating more than 400 amendments. We have acted swiftly, Madam Speaker, but we have also acted deliberately, guided by the reality that the American people need us to act urgently.
More vaccines need to get to more people, so this plan will set up community vaccination sites nationwide. Our schools need to safely reopen, so this bill will deliver new resources to help them do so. Working families need more immediate relief, so the American Rescue Plan also provides an additional $1,400 per person and direct assistance. That will bring the total amount of direct assistance recently provided to $2,000 per person.
This bill also extends unemployment benefits and boosts the Federal minimum wage so that 27 million workers get a raise. Sadly, the Senate rules will cause this provision to be removed when it is considered there.
But I want the American people to know this, we, on the Democratic side, we will not stop fighting to make a minimum wage increase a reality. No one, and I mean no one, who works full time in the richest nation on this planet should have to live in poverty.
There is also nutrition assistance included to combat the growing hunger crisis. And support for local communities on the frontlines of this health emergency. There is aid here for small businesses, expanded PPP eligibility, and resources for our first responders, for our teachers, for our transit workers, and so much more.
This is what it looks like when Congress acts in a way that matches the scale of the problem that we face. Nearly 7 in 10 Americans support this plan. More than 150 leaders of our Nation's top businesses came out this week in support of this plan.
Republican officeholders like the Governor of West Virginia have encouraged Congress to go big here. And local Republican leaders, like the mayor of Miami, and so many other Republican mayors across this country from red States, support our President's proposal. This is a bipartisan response to the coronavirus crisis.
We all joined together on the Capitol steps on Tuesday to mark the 500,000 lives lost to the coronavirus in this country. We didn't stand as Democrats or Republicans, but as one Congress. We mourn the empty seats at dinner tables, and the missed graduations, and weddings the same way, not from our partisan corners, but as one American family.
Through our grief, we should respond here the same way. United in our purpose to defeat this pandemic and rebuild our Nation.
Madam Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to stand together and with the American people in support of this plan. Let's act big. Let's act bold. Let's crush this virus.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, just before I begin, I also want to acknowledge that I had sent the chairman of the Rules Committee a letter earlier in the week, to which he today kindly responded, and I appreciate the prompt response to my concerns about Capitol security.
Madam Speaker, today's rule provides for consideration of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Throughout this process, Republicans have been completely excluded. I sit on the Committee on Energy and Commerce, I sit on the Budget Committee, and I sit on the Rules Committee, and throughout the markups in each of these committees Republicans offered sincere amendments to improve the bill for the American people.
While only 2 of the 245 Republican amendments offered were adopted, the rule before us today strips out the one amendment adopted by a rollcall vote.
Earlier today in the Rules Committee, over 200 amendments were offered and debated, not a single one was made in order. The American people at least deserve to have the suggestions of Members that they elected to be debated on the House floor. They don't have to be adopted, but they should at least be heard on the House floor. It seems that the Democrats are unwilling to allow elected Members of Congress to do their job and represent their constituents.
{time} 2045
With $1 trillion of funding left unspent from the previous--from the previous--coronavirus response bills, it does seem that we do have some time to do our work, but, instead, we didn't even hold markups on this portion of the bill.
While the Energy and Commerce Committee did hold a markup, all Republican amendments were defeated. This portion of the bill includes changes that will take months to implement, if indeed they happen at all. Perhaps the most startling figure is less than 10 percent of these dollars are actually spent on combating the coronavirus.
Despite spending over $14 billion on vaccines and therapeutics, after
$28 billion was just recently provided in the fiscal year 2021 omnibus, this package does not contain any funding--zero funding--for the National Institutes of Health. The National Institutes of Health has been a critical partner in Operation Warp Speed and getting the vaccine through the approval process in literally warp speed time and helping the vaccine manufacturers in developing the coronavirus vaccine that we are now so urgently needing.
This legislation includes many provisions that really should be addressed outside of a coronavirus relief package, like providing a State option for postpartum Medicaid coverage for women. While this is a policy I have long advocated for, it should not be temporary, as this legislation directs it to sunset after 7 years. Let's bring that bill separately to the floor and get this policy right, just as we did in the last Congress.
Furthermore, although there are billions of dollars directed to public health, the Provider Relief Fund is curiously not replenished.
Again, why are we not supporting programs which we know work and we know provide direct, targeted relief?
The Provider Relief Fund is a program that works, and that is why I offered an amendment to add $35 billion to the Provider Relief Fund.
Adding to the partisan nature of this legislation is the lack of any Hyde protections ensuring that none of this funding is used to subsidize abortion. The Hyde amendment is a longstanding, bipartisan agreement. Instead, there is $50 million included for Title X Family Planning, which likely is going to go to Planned Parenthood and has nothing to do with coronavirus relief.
This is a $1.9 trillion partisan wish list that could ultimately increase the Federal deficit to between $2 trillion to $3 trillion without addressing the immediate needs of Americans simply trying to survive this pandemic.
So I would suggest that now is not the time to push through partisan priorities. Barely a month ago, Congress passed, and President Trump signed into law, a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. Combined with previous relief packages, which were bipartisan and which were worked on by both Democrats and Republicans in the last calendar year, there remains $1 trillion in unspent funding.
Why is it so urgent to pass another $2 trillion now?
It is reminiscent of our former colleague, Rahm Emanuel, who said: Never let a crisis go to waste.
Madam Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.
Mr. PERLMUTTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the rule and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The COVID-19 pandemic has cost the lives of over 500,000 Americans--
more than all the casualties of World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam war combined. Millions more have been infected and are recovering from the virus. Our economy has lost more than 10 million jobs. Countless businesses have failed or are at risk of failing. So our job today in Congress is to move quickly to address the physical, emotional, and financial health of all Americans. We can accomplish all three of these priorities through passage of the American Rescue Plan.
I want to touch on a few of the provisions included in this package. First, our State and local governments, firefighters, police, transportation workers, and healthcare providers have been on the front lines of the pandemic, supporting their communities by developing testing capabilities, supporting vulnerable populations, and now deploying the vaccines as quickly as possible.
I am glad this bill includes $350 billion for State and local governments all across the country.
We also need to work quickly to extend expiring unemployment programs, which expire on March 14. We saw what happened when Senator McConnell paused last year, and Coloradans are still struggling to receive the benefits they are owed.
This legislation will invest $130 billion to support K-12 schools as they work to return to in-person learning and help students catch up. It will also include $40 billion in rental and housing assistance. In the last month, Colorado has seen a record amount of requests for rental assistance.
The time for action is now. President Biden is laser focused on delivering relief to all Americans, and I am proud of his leadership so we can provide this needed assistance as we vaccinate more people each day. America needs this, America wants this, and they are going to get it.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Reschenthaler), who is a valuable member of the Rules Committee.
Mr. RESCHENTHALER. Madam Speaker, the payoff to progressives package before us today has little to do with the ongoing pandemic. This bill, which is the most expensive single bill in history, only allocates 9 percent of the $1.9 trillion price tag to actually defeating COVID.
So what are the Democrats spending the rest of the money on?
Corrupt pet projects, of course, and also payoffs to Progressive liberal special interest groups.
Just look at it: $100 million for a Silicon Valley rail project near Speaker Pelosi's district. Totally coincidentally, I am sure. Taxpayer funded healthcare subsidies for illegal immigrants. Fifty million dollars for Planned Parenthood. Hundreds of billions in bailouts to blue State Governors, who crush small businesses with their draconian lockdown measures. And a minimum wage mandate that, right off the bat, would kill 1.4 million American jobs. The list goes on and on.
But do you know what Democrats aren't putting in this bill?
They aren't reopening our schools. In fact, this bill spends 95 percent of the education funding after the school year.
Democrats also aren't reopening our economy with this bill. In fact, this bill spends $471 billion on policies that actually reduce employment.
And they aren't targeting relief to where it is actually needed. In fact, this bill gives checks to individuals who have not lost any income and gives taxpayer-funded healthcare to millionaires.
President Biden and congressional Democrats had a chance to make good on their empty promises to show unity and bipartisanship. They could have worked with Republicans on a targeted relief bill that sends money to where it actually needs to go and effectively spends $1 trillion in the remaining funds that have already been allocated. Instead, they are using this pandemic as pretext to force through a corrupt bill filled with Progressive payoffs.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 1319.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an article from The Washington Post, titled ``Biden is winning Republican support for his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan. Just not in Washington.''
Biden Is Winning Republican Support for His $1.9 Trillion Coronavirus
Relief Plan--Just Not in Washington
(By Griff Witte)
The pandemic has not been kind to Fresno, the poorest major city in California. The unemployment rate spiked above 10 percent and has stubbornly remained there. Violent crime has surged, as has homelessness. Tax revenue has plummeted as businesses have shuttered. Lines at food banks are filled with first-timers.
But as bad as it's been, things could soon get worse: Having frozen hundreds of jobs last year, the city is now being forced to consider laying off 250 people, including police and firefighters, to close a $31 million budget shortfall.
``That,'' said Jerry Dyer, mayor of the half-million-strong city in the Central Valley, ``is going to be devastating.''
The looming cuts explain why Dyer's eyes are fixed on Washington, where President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan dangles the tantalizing prospect of a reprieve. Though Dyer is a Republican, he's rooting for the president to successfully push through federal aid that, after a nightmarish year for Fresno, will ``help get us to the end.''
The first-term mayor's stance reflects a broader split, one that gives Biden and his fellow Democrats a key tactical advantage as negotiations near an expected climax early next month.
Republicans in Congress overwhelmingly oppose the relief bill, casting it as bloated and budget-busting, with some heaping particular scorn on a measure to send $350 billion in assistance to states and cities. Should Biden go ahead without their approval, GOP leaders say, it will prove that his mantra of bipartisanship rings hollow.
But to many Republicans at city halls and statehouses across the country, the relief package looks very different. Instead of the ``blue-state bailout'' derided by GOP lawmakers, Republican mayors and governors say they see badly needed federal aid to keep police on the beat, to prevent battered Main Street businesses from going under and to help care for the growing ranks of the homeless and the hungry.
``It's not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue,'' said Dyer, who became mayor last month following a long career as the city's police chief. ``It's a public health issue. It's an economic issue. And it's a public safety issue.''
Surveys show that a broad majority of Americans support the assistance, including large numbers of Republicans. Only a minority among Republican voters agree with GOP lawmakers that the aid package is too large, polls have found.
Biden on Friday highlighted the rift, inviting a bipartisan group of mayors and governors to the White House to discuss the specifics of the bill.
You folks are all on the front lines and dealing with the crisis since day one,'' he told the group, which included the Republican governors of Maryland and Arkansas, as well as Republican mayors.
Miami Mayor Francis Suarez (R) later told reporters from the podium in the White House briefing room that he had spoken with Biden and Vice President Harris more in the first several weeks of their administration ``than I had spoken to the prior administration in the entirety.''
Biden said he brought the group to the White House to ask
``what do they think they need most.''
To many mayors and governors, it's a long list.
``I don't know of any city that hasn't been affected negatively,'' Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt (R) said. ``Some may be worse off than others. But we have all had to make cuts.''
The impact has not been as severe as some economists initially projected, however. When the pandemic first struck American shores and much of the U.S. economy shut down last spring, the prognosis for states and cities looked dire. Analysts warned that cities--some of which had still not fully recovered from the Great Recession more than a decade ago--could be forced into bankruptcy.
But some of the worst consequences have already been blunted by previous rounds of federal aid, as well as by the nature of the economic recovery, with high-income individuals--who contribute much of the state and local tax base--bouncing back relatively quickly, even as poorer families languish.
When 10 Republican senators visited the White House this month to lay out their slimmed-down $618 billion counterproposal to the president's plan, Mitt Romney (Utah) came brandishing details from a J.P. Morgan analysis showing that most states had seen only modest revenue declines.
Romney later told reporters that Biden's insistence on $350 billion in state and local aid was the biggest stumbling block in negotiations.
``That kind of number just makes no sense at all,'' he said. The Republican plan proposed to cut it entirely.
Yet as the J.P. Morgan analysis shows, the impact of the pandemic has been unevenly felt, with some states--especially those whose economies are heavily dependent on tourism or oil and gas extraction--suffering dramatic declines.
A Brookings Institution analysis in September found that although income tax revenue had proved resilient during the pandemic, sales tax and transportation-related revenue had been hit especially hard. As a result, states and cities were projected to lose out on more than $450 billion over three years.
And the pain hasn't only been on the revenue side. New needs arising from the pandemic have created new costs.
``Cities were confronting some really big challenges even before this crisis--income inequality, homelessness, housing affordability,'' said Tracy Gordon, acting director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center.
All have been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic, she said. But many cities now have fewer resources with which to address them.
In Oklahoma City, Holt said, revenue has been down by about 5 percent, a sharp departure from the robust growth the city had become accustomed to before the pandemic. To compensate, he said, the city has had to leave jobs unfilled and cut funding for parks and recreation, even as the overall needs of citizens and businesses have grown.
``We don't do much fluff here,'' he said. ``So whatever we've had to cut, residents have experienced it.''
Republican lawmakers in Washington have dismissed aid to cities as a bailout for governments that have long spent beyond their means.
But Holt called that ``a red herring.'' Most state and city governments--unlike the federal government--have to balance their budgets, just as a business would.
But unlike businesses large and small that have received grants or loans to make up for the damage done by the coronavirus, cities have been left out.
``In a sense, we're the only employer that hasn't been able to make an application to anyone to save our jobs and save our services,'' said Holt, who noted that the city government is one of his metro area's biggest employers. ``Support for cities and states is way overdue.''
There has been some relief. The Cares Act, signed into law by President Donald Trump last March, included $150 billion for states and for the nation's 38 largest cities. But money had to be spent directly on coronavirus expenses, creating logistical hurdles in getting it out the door. Nearly a year later, some of it remains unspent, a point Republicans make in arguing for why additional taxpayer dollars should not be allocated.
The aid proposed by Biden would not have the same restrictions. Mayors say that will make it easier to quickly get it into the hands of those who need it and to stimulate economic growth.
Betsy Price proudly calls Fort Worth, the metropolis of nearly 900,000 she has led for the past decade, ``a fiscally conservative city.'' But the Republican said the pandemic has forced the city government to spend more just to keep people afloat, doling out small-business support, rental assistance and help with utility bills.
Price joined more than 400 fellow mayors late last month-- including many Republicans--in signing a U.S. Conference of Mayors letter that called on Congress to quickly pass Biden's coronavirus relief plan. She said she had spoken with both of Texas's senators--Republicans Ted Cruz and John Cornyn--and made the same case.
``We're not asking the Democrats or the Republicans to put money into city coffers,'' she said. ``We're asking them to put it into the community to help people get back on their feet.''
The National Governors Association has not released a letter similar to the one endorsed by the mayors. But the group did call for $500 billion in relief for states last spring. And individual Republican governors have spoken up to back Biden's relief plan, which can be enacted without GOP support. That includes moderates such as Maryland's Larry Hogan, as well as Trump-aligned conservatives such as West Virginia's Jim Justice, who has urged Congress to ``go big.''
Suarez, the Miami mayor, has pushed the same message and has put pressure on Florida's two Republican senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, to follow through.
The Republican recently co-wrote an op-ed with St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman, a Democrat, in which they addressed the senators directly and enumerated the problems facing their cities, including unemployment, bankrupt business and lines at food pantries that look like
``gridlocked freeways.''
``Florida's cities are in agony and are crying out for help,'' they wrote. ``This is not sustainable.''
In an interview, Suarez said both senators have been receptive to his message in private, though they also expressed concerns about the price tag--concerns that Suarez said he could understand, to a point.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman McGovern for yielding.
Madam Speaker, as of this week, over 10,000 veterans and 130 VHA employees have lost their lives to COVID-19. Over 226,000 veterans and 18,000 VA employees have tested positive.
It is clear: We must act now.
This bill would provide funding to increase VA's claims and appeals processing to reduce the backlog caused by COVID-19. It would deliver critical funding for the Veterans Health Administration, bolster VA's supply chain modernization, and support State veterans homes to upgrade and enhance their safety operations. It would also fund stronger oversight through the VA's Office of Inspector General, secure assistance for unemployed veterans, and prohibit copayments for veterans during the pandemic.
This bill is critical to ensure the health system that veterans rely on can continue to meet their needs and serve as a backup to America's overwhelmed healthcare systems.
While a return to handshakes, hugs, and visible smiles is on the horizon, the path to get there requires this Congress to do quick and thorough work to ensure we all get there together.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser).
Mr. MEUSER. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding.
Madam Speaker, over the past year, Congress has allocated nearly $4 trillion to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now Democrat leadership is following through on a campaign promise made by President Biden to spend another $2 trillion.
Madam Speaker, further assistance is appropriate for those individuals, families, and businesses who have been hit the hardest, including restaurants; but this bill fails to recognize the improving economic conditions, as well as the fact that more than $1 trillion from previous relief packages remains unspent.
Just 9 percent of this bill goes towards combating the virus, and just 1 percent is directed for vaccines. Instead, the apparent priorities for Democrat leadership include a bailout for mismanaged States, pension funds, an increase in the minimum wage, and half a billion dollars for the arts and humanities.
Madam Speaker, Congress has already provided $68 billion for our schools, more than double the CDC's highest estimate of what it would take for our schools to open safely. We should be able to unite in supporting an economic recovery, open our schools, increase testing, and ensure the efficient distribution of vaccines.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mr. PALLONE. Madam Speaker, President Biden has set forth a national plan to crush the virus. With this bill, Congress is providing the President with the resources and tools to implement a national plan that was sorely lacking under President Trump. States competed against each other during the Trump administration for personal protection equipment, ventilators, and testing supplies. That now ends.
This legislation provides $20 billion to speed up the distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines. It invests over $47 billion in a national testing strategy. It invests $7 billion to hire 100,000 new full-time public health workers to perform vital tasks, like vaccine outreach and contact tracing. It invests more than $25 billion to address health disparities.
We also include assistance for struggling families to help keep their lights on, the heat working, and the water running. We included $7.6 billion to expand internet connectivity to help students and teachers without home internet access.
Madam Speaker, the American Rescue Plan meets the unprecedented challenges our Nation is facing, and it deserves strong bipartisan support.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Pfluger), who is another valuable member of the Texas delegation.
Mr. PFLUGER. Madam Speaker, I rise today in complete opposition to the Democrats' blue State bailout bill.
This bill will cost the American taxpayer nearly $2 trillion--let that sit for a second--$2 trillion when our Nation is already $27 trillion in debt.
Where does this money go?
Surely it will be spent towards fighting the pandemic and COVID. Wrong. Only 9 percent of this money will go towards fighting COVID-19. The rest of the funding is going towards Democrat pet projects, like a subway in Silicon Valley and a bridge in New York. Taxpayers in Texas should absolutely not be rewarding States who have kept their economies shuttered and prevented workers from earning a living.
Madam Speaker, for these reasons and more, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), who is the distinguished chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.
Mr. DAVID SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, let's face facts. Let me tell my Republican friends: We have a terrible hunger crisis going on in this country right now. Fourteen million of our children are going to bed hungry this night.
The American people are crying out: Congress, help us.
We have support of our measure from the American Farm Federation and from Cargill, and we have support of our legislation from God Almighty Himself.
What did He tell you and me?
He said: Feed the hungry and heal the sick.
America is hungry, America is sick, and America is calling on you Republicans to love your people and take care of your people at this critical time of need.
Madam Speaker, as the first African American Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, I am proud that the American Rescue Plan Act provides support for all sectors of agricultural production, including farmers, ranchers, and private forest land owners of color.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) spends billions of dollars annually in providing much needed support to American producers. Sadly, Black farmers and other farmers of color have received a small share of the USDA farm loans and payments as a result of discrimination. When these producers did receive loans or payments, many of them were not provided timely or proper loan servicing options due to discrimination, which led to producers of color losing their land and operations.
Sections 1005 and 1006 of the American Rescue Plan Act provide targeted and tailored support for these farmers and ranchers. I note for the record that changes made to these sections in the Manager's Amendment were to ensure that these sections would meet the requirements of section 313 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 for consideration in the United States Senate.
The systemic discrimination against Black farmers and other farmers of color by USDA is longstanding and well-documented and continues to present barriers for these producers to participate in the agricultural economy. It is important that we document this history and the continuing challenges for these farmers of color in the Congressional Record.
A 1965 report by the United States Commission on Civil Rights found that Federal, state, and local officials discriminated against Black farmers in agricultural programs and that this discrimination actively contributed to the decline in the Black ownership of farmland.
In 1968, a follow up report from the United States Commission on Civil Rights found that Black farmers continued to face discrimination when seeking farm loans and other forms of assistance.
In 1970, the United States Commission on Civil Rights again found that discrimination continued in USDA program administration. The 1970 report indicated that prior to 1968, no Black farmer had ever been elected to any former Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service committee at the county level in the South. In 1970, two out of more than 4,100 committee members in the South were Black farmers, even though there were 58 counties in the South, where Black farmers comprised a majority of the farm operator population.
In 1982, the United States Commission on Civil Rights issued another report on the rapid decline of Black-operated farms. The report noted that between 1970 and 1980, the Black farm population declined 65 percent, compared to a 22 percent decline in the white farm population. The report also documented numerous discrimination complaints filed against USDA field offices regarding the administration of farm loan programs and noted that for many of these complaints, USDA's Office of Equal Opportunity investigated and found equal opportunity violations at those field offices. The report concluded that racial discrimination was continuing within the USDA, at USDA headquarters, and in the network of field offices that implement USDA programs.
In 1988, Congress passed section 617 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1987 requiring the USDA to establish annual target participation rates, on a county-wide basis, that would ensure that members of socially disadvantaged groups receive direct or guaranteed farm ownership loans. Congress amended this requirement in 1996, to ensure that USDA's implementation was consistent with the holding of the Supreme Court in Adarand Constructors, Inc. v. Federico Pena, Secretary of Transportation, 515 U.S. 200 (1995), which held that race-based actions by the government is within constitutional constraints when it is necessary to further a compelling interest such as the ``unhappy persistence of both the practice and lingering effects of racial discrimination against minority groups.''
A 1995 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that socially disadvantaged producers were significantly underrepresented on the county and community committees of the former Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service. Specifically, the report found that while minority producers accounted for nearly 5 percent of the producers eligible to vote for committee members, minority producers only represented 2.1 percent of county committee members in the United States.
In 1997, the USDA formed a Civil Rights Action Team to hold nationwide listening sessions to hear from socially disadvantaged and minority farmers. A report published after the listening sessions documented Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, and American Indian farmers who told stories of USDA hurting minority farmers more than helping them. Minority farmers described how their discrimination complaints were caught in the backlog of appeals or if successfully appealed, were given findings of discrimination that were not enforced. The report acknowledged that discrimination in USDA program delivery continued to exist to a large degree unabated.
Also in 1997, the USDA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a report to the USDA Secretary that noted ``a climate of disorder within the civil rights staff at [the Farm Service Agency].'' It was difficult for the OIG to even determine the number and status of civil rights complaints at the agency and department because of that climate. As the OIG later summarized in a 2005 audit, ``it took 12 days longer to complete minority applications, delinquencies were higher for minority borrowers than nonminority borrowers, and minority borrowers were reluctant to enter into FSA offices to apply for loans.''
In 1998, the USDA National Commission on Small Farms further described and documented the longstanding discrimination of USDA towards socially disadvantaged producers. And, it observed that
``discrimination has been a contributing factor in the decline of Black farmers over the last several decades.'' The Commission's report also notes the ``history of under-allocation of resources to institutions that have served minority farmers,'' the ``disgraceful'' ``failure to elect minority farmers to positions on FSA County Committees,'' and more.
During the period between 1997 and 2000, Black farmers, Native American farmers, and Latinx farmers filed lawsuits alleging USDA discriminated against them on the basis of race in processing their farm program applications and that USDA failed to investigate their complaints of discrimination. But settlements resulting from these lawsuits have not provided the relief necessary for these farmers of color to participate fully in the American agricultural economy.
For example, the Los Angeles Times reported in 2012 that payments made to Black farmers under the Pigford settlements were significantly eroded by state taxes, as well as tax debt related to forgiven USDA farm loans.
In 2001, a report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights documented the continued discriminatory lending practices against minority farmers. The Commission found that Black farmers waited four times longer than white farmers for USDA farm loans. The Commission recommended that USDA resolve the backlog of civil rights complaints and document and alleviate discriminatory lending practices. However, USDA continued to struggle with resolving its backlog of civil rights complaints. In 2008, GAO reported that USDA's difficulties in resolving discrimination complaints persisted and that the USDA had not achieved its goal of preventing future backlogs of discrimination complaints.
Recent studies and reports continue to document the challenges and barriers faced by farmers of color due to race or ethnic discrimination or the legacy of such discrimination. A September 20, 2017, study in the Agriculture and Human Values journal described the challenges faced by Latinx farmers due to failure of agricultural agencies to engage in appropriate outreach or account for language barriers.
In 2019, a GAO report observed that socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers had proportionately less agricultural credit than non-
socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers. This report found that farmers and ranchers of color continued to face more difficulties in obtaining farm loans and highlighted the historic, systemic discrimination against such farmers.
The Market Facilitation Program and Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are recent USDA programs designed to bolster the farm economy; in both programs the majority of funds went to non-minority farmers. For example, the Environmental Working Group reported that nonminority farmers received nearly 97 percent of the $9.2 billion provided by the USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Additionally, the Farm Bill Law Enterprise reported that 99 percent of Market Facilitation Payments went to non-minority farmers.
The systemic discrimination of farmers, ranchers, and other producers of color by the USDA is longstanding and well-documented. I urge my colleagues to support me and the Committee on Agriculture as we work to enable socially disadvantaged producers to succeed in the agricultural economy. Sections 1005 and 1006 of the bill before the House today are critical to that work, and I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their remarks to the Chair.
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Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I thank the Chair for that reminder.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith).
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Madam Speaker, in a radical departure from all previous COVID-19 relief laws, the bill before us today mandates taxpayer funding for abortion on demand. Today, the Rules Committee refused to even allow a pro-life amendment sponsored by Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Virginia Foxx, and Jackie Walorski, cosponsored by 206 Members.
Madam Speaker, it is shocking to learn that the methods of abortion include dismemberment of a child's fragile body, including decapitation, and that drugs like RU-486 starve the baby to death.
Unborn babies killed by abortion at 20 weeks or later experience excruciating suffering and physical pain. And until rendered unconscious or dead by these hideous procedures, the baby feels every cut.
Mr. Biden once wrote constituents, explaining that his support for laws against funding for abortion by saying ``it would protect both the woman and her unborn child.''
Mr. Biden went on to say ``that those of us who are opposed to abortion should not be compelled to pay for them.'' I agree. Most Americans agree; 58 percent, according to the recent Marist poll. Unborn babies, Madam Speaker, need the President of the United States and Members of Congress to be their friend and advocate, not their adversary.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Evans).
Mr. EVANS. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the American Relief Plan desperately needed by Philadelphia constituents. This plan extends the poverty-busting earned income tax credits and provides billions for small businesses. It expands vaccine access, addresses health disparities, and helps schools open safely. The American people are counting on us to crush the virus. Let's do the right thing and pass this very critical bill.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the ranking member of the House Committee on Rules.
Mr. COLE. Madam Speaker, I thank my good friend from Texas for yielding.
Today, the House is considering a massive budget reconciliation package that the majority claims to be using for additional coronavirus relief funds. Having already passed five bipartisan relief packages over the last year, totaling almost $4 trillion in spending, the majority is now seeking to spend nearly $2 trillion more.
But unlike the past five measures, which were bipartisan deals with both Republican and Democratic support, today's bill is strictly partisan, with only Democratic support and input. And with a glance at the bill, it is easy to see why.
First, the vast majority of this so-called rescue package has nothing to do with the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill fails to keep a laser focus on providing relief for Americans, ensuring schools are open to educate our children, and moving to swiftly reopen the economy.
Instead, the majority has thrown in completely unrelated items that just so happen to be at the top of their progressive wish list. This includes irresponsible policies like Federal bailouts for certain pension funds, providing bloated contributions to State and local governments, and arbitrarily raising the minimum wage, which will cost well more than a million people to lose their jobs. Incidentally, the same minimum wage provision is not going to be considered in the Senate and will have to be stripped from the bill.
But perhaps I shouldn't be surprised by these misguided provisions, given how completely shut out of this process Republicans have been. During the markups across nine committees that considered this package, Republicans offered 245 amendments to help fix these and other problems.
Republicans offered commonsense amendments to reopen schools, give additional resources to the NIH, provide funding to make sure all teachers have the opportunity to receive a COVID vaccine, and many more. Yet, only two of these amendments were accepted by the Democrats in committee markups, and one of those two amendments is actually being stripped out of the bill in the manager's amendment today.
A $1.9 trillion package that is being brought to the floor with next to no Republican input? Simply astonishing.
Madam Speaker, it is clear what we need to do. Our entire Nation is suffering as a result of this pandemic. Every day, more businesses shutter. Every day, children are falling further behind. And every day, people fall deeper and deeper into despair caused, in part, by isolation.
Instead of proceeding with this progressive wish list, we need to take real action to open the economy. Above all else, we need to get children back in school.
Prior to the pandemic, children had access to in-person staff and services at school. But now, with schools remaining closed, we see the results: more students falling behind, more students contemplating suicide, more children falling into despair.
For millions of children, the ground lost during the pandemic may never be recovered. We are failing an entire generation of our children, and we need to reverse course and get them back in school.
Madam Speaker, there was, and still is, an opportunity to put together a bipartisan relief package. There is still time to focus on policies that will reopen the economy and make sure kids can learn in person, but we cannot do it if the majority insists on this bloated package with so many unrelated policies.
So long as the majority insists that it is their way or the highway, true help for the American people cannot be achieved. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this rule and the underlying legislation.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez).
Ms. LEGER FERNANDEZ. Madam Speaker, this pandemic's tentacles have infiltrated every facet of our communities' lives. The brilliance of this rescue package is that it understands those complexities and addresses those many needs.
For example, since the pandemic began, we have seen increased reports of abuse of women and children, so this bill helps fund shelters and refuge.
The country has also seen the heartbreaking devastation in Tribal communities. Native Americans are four times more likely to be hospitalized and twice as likely to die from COVID-19 than White Americans. So, this bill includes over $20 billion to assist Native people, including their Tribal governments, health facilities, and education.
We need this package to end the Nation's suffering. Let's pass this bill, save lives, save livelihoods, save communities.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Womack), a valuable member of our Appropriations Committee and a subcommittee ranking member.
Mr. WOMACK. Madam Speaker, I think a little honesty is in order tonight. It is no secret that this so-called American Rescue Plan Act has little to do with the hardships placed on Americans by COVID.
When 90 percent of a spending plan, rammed through on a sham of a budget resolution, gets spent years down the road, with much of it having little to do with the coronavirus, we should at least be honest with our constituents. It is apparently Christmas again.
Here is an example. What does the multiemployer pension issue have to do with the pandemic? Remember the failed joint select committee that was supposed to solve that problem back in 2018? That was long before COVID. But here we are, about to spend $85-plus billion on this bailout. That is double the amount of money we give to the National Institutes of Health. Look, before we ask future generations to float us another $2 trillion to pay off these liberal promises, let's at least have the integrity to admit that this really isn't about COVID.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me just remind my colleagues that 70 percent of the American people support this bill. Republican governors and Republican mayors from all across the country support this bill. The only place where it isn't bipartisan is here in the Congress.
Republicans say, oh, the people can't be trusted to know what is in the bill. The fact of the matter is, people support this because they support more money for vaccinations; more money in terms of direct payments to individuals and enhanced unemployment benefits; and more money for our cities and towns, our first responders, our police and our fire departments, and so many other things.
I know my Republican friends have developed this habit of trying to overturn the will of the American people. Well, enough. The American people want this, and we are going to deliver it for them.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky).
Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, over half a million Americans have been killed by a merciless virus. That is about the population of New Haven, Connecticut. Now, also picture wiping out Grand Rapids, Michigan; Toledo, Ohio; or McAllen, Texas.
Ten million Americans are unemployed right now. Nearly one in four households have experienced hunger this year. These are horrible statistics, but there is good news building on this floor right now.
President Biden promised help is on the way, and here it comes, the American Rescue Plan, a real plan to crush the virus, put money into people's pockets, allow our States and counties and cities to continue to provide the services that are necessary.
No wonder up to 80 percent of Americans want all of us--all of us--to vote ``yes'' tonight. Let's give it to them.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie), the ranking member of the Health Subcommittee on Energy and Commerce.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Madam Speaker, I rise today due to my strong concerns with the Democrats' COVID-19 bill. With a very small percentage of this massive package specifically directed at combating COVID-19, the $1.9 trillion COVID bill is more of a Democratic wish list.
I have tried to add relief for healthcare providers, with funds specifically for rural and Medicaid providers, but Democrats voted this down.
It is amazing how it is okay to have the Silicon Valley subway, the Seaway bridge in New York, and a bailout of multiemployer pension plans from problems prior to COVID-19, but my amendment to help healthcare providers was not included.
I was proud to support the last five COVID-19 relief packages to help Kentuckians. I think we can all agree that we need to boost vaccine distribution, safely return all students back to in-person learning, and help people return to work. Much of the funds in this partisan bill will not be used until next year or later.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).
Mr. SCHNEIDER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to implore that my colleagues pass this urgently needed COVID relief for millions of struggling Americans.
Across the country, families and friends have had to say good-bye to more than 500,000 loved ones, too often knowing that they have died alone.
In our communities, large and small, more than 18 million Americans are receiving unemployment benefits as their only lifeline. Millions of small businesses are on the brink of permanent closure. Schools are struggling to reopen.
Meanwhile, the miraculous vaccines offer a light, but it is still at the end of a long and steep tunnel.
President Biden's American Rescue Plan will get people back to work, help parents safely send their children back to school, assist our families in paying their bills and our small businesses in building their future.
This bill helps people and businesses in every community in Illinois and in every State in America. That is why it has such bipartisan support across the country. It deserves the same support here in Congress.
To truly heal our economy and our Nation, we must pass the American Rescue Plan. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes.''
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Stauber).
Mr. STAUBER. Madam Speaker, I am disappointed because we are again on the floor in a closed rule, where zero Republican amendments were made in order because, again, we are here voting on a package that has hundreds of billions of dollars in non-COVID-related spending.
Again, I am down here on the floor, disappointed that the majority disallowed my amendments.
One of my amendments would have reported on the impact the Biden job-
killing Keystone XL order would have on small businesses.
My other amendment, which was denied, prevented taxpayer dollars from funding child slave labor. No, you did not hear that wrong. In fact, this is the fifth time the Democrats have blocked this type of amendment from me. What is the issue with being anti-child slave labor?
Like I said, I am not sure how this is controversial, but when faced with the binary decision to source these minerals from human rights abusers in Africa and China or source them from Minnesota under the best labor standards and the best environmental standards in the world, I will take made in America 150 percent of the time.
I join my constituents' disappointment in this process. This is very concerning.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor.
Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the legislation because there are many reasons to vote for the American Rescue Plan.
If you want to ensure that schools can reopen safely and make up for lost time in the classroom, vote for the bill.
If you want to provide relief for institutions of higher education and their students, vote for the bill.
If you want to save our childcare system from collapse, vote for the bill.
If you want to protect workers against the virus and increase their wages, vote for this bill.
If you want to maintain access to affordable healthcare for workers who have lost their jobs, vote for the bill.
If you want to prevent more than a million retirees from losing their hard-earned pensions, vote for this bill.
Finally, if you want to keep children and families from going hungry, prevent domestic and gender-based violence, and protect older Americans during this pandemic, you must vote for this bill.
The American people need to know that help is on the way. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Malliotakis).
Ms. MALLIOTAKIS. Madam Speaker, this bill is not tailored to the specific needs of our Nation or its citizens. I support helping the unemployed, struggling businesses, and returning money to taxpayers, but you give $1,400 with one hand and it costs $15,000 per American household to pay for it.
Congress thinks it knows how to spend hardworking taxpayers' money better than they do, all while our Nation approaches $30 trillion in debt and $1 trillion from previous relief remains unspent.
Right now, vaccine production and distribution is a top priority, yet less than 1 percent of these funds go to it, showing how bloated this bill is. It spends billions on unrelated projects, from a San Francisco rail line to family planning; and a whopping $3.5 billion for The Global Fund, forcing American taxpayers to pick up 88 percent of this international fund's expenditures, all while our diplomats can't even get the vaccine.
My amendment would have required States receiving billions to commit to not raising taxes on their citizens. The CDC said it would cost $25 billion to reopen America's schools safely. Only in this mismanaged government would things end up costing eight times more than originally estimated. This is an epic fail.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Velazquez), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Small Business.
Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Madam Speaker, half a million lives lost, over 400,000 small businesses closed for good, 700,000 new unemployment claims filed last week, 54 million are food insecure. This is a crisis the scope of which none of us have seen in our lifetimes in this country.
The Federal Government has a responsibility to show up for the American people, and that is exactly what President Joe Biden is doing, to assure them that their struggles aren't theirs alone, that this relief is coming, and we will get through this together.
As chairwoman of the House Small Business Committee, I am proud this bill includes $50 billion to get our small businesses back on their feet. We are providing targeted assistance for those hardest hit, including grants for small entertainment businesses, cultural institutions, and independent restaurants, plus an additional $15 billion for EIDL advances, and more for PPP. Let's pass this rule and let's move forward.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Iowa (Mrs. Hinson).
Mrs. HINSON. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule.
It has been nearly a year now since the COVID-19 pandemic reached our shores, and Iowans are still struggling. Iowans need targeted pandemic relief.
I would have been the first to cross the aisle and compromise on legislation that would help Iowans and Americans who are in need, but this behemoth of a bill fails to provide targeted relief that my constituents asked for. It forces taxpayers to bail out States that have chronically mismanaged their budgets. It includes a $15 minimum wage hike, which would decimate the rural economy in Iowa and destroy the very livelihoods this bill claims to be saving. It opens the door for taxpayer funding for abortions.
With $1 trillion from previous relief packages still unspent, this legislation contains no guardrails to ensure new money is used on pandemic relief this year. This legislation abdicates our responsibility to those who need our support and to taxpayers. Voting for this rule is a slap in the face to taxpayers, and I urge a ``no'' vote on this rule.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Financial Services.
Ms. WATERS. Madam Speaker, I am so grateful that we have President Biden's leadership in the White House to tackle the ongoing pandemic. H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, carries out this plan and delivers the relief that communities across this country need so very much.
Critically, the bill provides more than $75 billion for programs in my committee's jurisdiction, including $20 billion for emergency rental assistance, $5 billion for 70,000 new housing vouchers, $10 billion in homeowner assistance, $10 billion to boost emergency medical equipment production, $10 billion for small businesses, and $15 billion for airline workers.
I am so pleased that we are increasing the stimulus payments from
$600 to $2,000 for each of our constituents. I am a happy camper tonight. This is what America needs.
Republicans ought to be a part of this; but if they are not, then we are going without them.
With hunger growing and millions out of work and at risk of eviction or foreclosure, America needs this bill passed into law. Vote ``yes'' on this bill.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), a valuable member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule.
Only 9 percent of the underlying bill goes to combating COVID-19 through public health spending. The other 91 percent is a partisan wish list being pushed by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Union pensions, blue State bailouts, Planned Parenthood, and even a bridge and a tunnel. That is what most of this bill is about, not COVID-19 relief.
We need targeted, tailored relief that actually helps the American people, not this $2 trillion boondoggle.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the rule and the underlying bill.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Suozzi).
Mr. SUOZZI. Madam Speaker, this pandemic has been cruelly uneven. Some people remain unscathed. Wall Street is booming, online retailers are surging, some work remotely with their incomes intact, and some families remain healthy. Yet 17 percent of Americans go to food banks every week. One in six people can't pay their rent. Some people are enduring a long winter in sub-zero temperatures, unable to pay their heating bill. Twenty-five percent of the people who make under $40,000 a year are now unemployed. State and local governments crippled, businesses and restaurants closed. Worst of all, we all know people who have gotten sick and died.
This legislation is not a blue State bailout or liberal handout, it is how we address the suffering that has crippled our country, it is how we move forward and beat this pandemic.
We have this great and awesome responsibility, this great and awesome honor to try to help people facing some of the most desperate times they have ever faced. Let's pass this comprehensive plan. Let's move our country forward, and let's do it together.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. C. Scott Franklin).
Mr. C. SCOTT FRANKLIN of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to the rule and to H.R. 1319.
We do need targeted relief for those hurt by this pandemic, but this is bad legislation. Republicans introduced over 250 amendments to this nearly $2 trillion bill, and Democrats only ultimately accepted one. That is not unity. This is merely socialism in sheep's clothing, redistribution of wealth through cash payouts to many who have had no financial impact whatsoever from COVID. It is also redistribution of wealth from future generations who will be stuck with the tab.
The CBO predicts our economy will grow by 3.7 percent this year without any further congressional action. With over $1 trillion in unspent funds from previous packages, we can't afford to jeopardize our children's future with this socialist spending spree. I urge a ``no'' vote.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from the U.S. Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett).
Ms. PLASKETT. Madam Speaker, the time for bold and decisive action is now. This American Rescue Plan Act will crush the virus, return children safely to school, support vaccinations, put dollars in families' pockets, and put people back to work. The plan will mount a national vaccination program that sets up community vaccination sites nationwide.
In the Virgin Islands, the loss of cruise ships, along with air travel tourists, have cut the heart of our economy, causing loss of jobs, closure of businesses, and lost revenues for government operations.
Additionally, we have yet to understand the long-term impact the pandemic will have on our children. In the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, our children are already overwhelmed and severely compromised due to facilities and the school year loss that they had from the 2017 hurricanes.
Lastly, I am proud to note provisions in this bill for the U.S. territories that I have been fighting for. This plan creates equality in the child tax credit and earned income tax credit.
Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to please support this bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Ms. PLASKETT. And for my colleagues on the other side who have to give divisive platitudes and nonsupport, you are welcome.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to heed the gavel.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline).
Mr. CLINE. Madam Speaker, we all want to beat this virus, but you can't beat a COVID pandemic with 91 percent pork barrel spending in the bill. Only 9 percent of the funding in this bill is going to COVID programs.
$1,400 checks at what cost? $13,000 per taxpayer?
If we have any additional relief we need to pass for addressing COVID, it must be targeted, temporary, and tied to the pandemic.
What is not targeted?
$350 billion in State and local bailouts that reward States that continue to shut down their economies.
What is not temporary?
A $1.5 million bridge to Canada or $112 million for an underground subway to Silicon Valley.
What is not tied to COVID?
$86 billion to bail out the multiemployer pension plans that were poorly managed in Democrat-run States before the pandemic even started,
$50 million in taxpayer dollars for abortion on demand.
This liberal wish list masquerading as COVID relief will cripple our economy, harm our ability to reopen our Nation, and burden our children and grandchildren with unsustainable levels of debt.
Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose this spending package, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer).
Mr. BEYER. Madam Speaker, we have a choice tonight. Our American children are hungry, the recovery is stalling, and a million new people file for unemployment every week.
We can do our jobs, pass a national vaccination plan, safely reopen our schools, send relief checks to those in need, support the unemployed, and protect American jobs. Or we can let them fend for themselves and slowly scratch their way back to health at great human cost.
I choose relief, recovery, and progress.
Madam Speaker, my first job: In 1966, $1.25 an hour, minimum wage.
Sixteen times this Congress has chosen to increase the minimum wage, and every time there was a CBO score or a chamber of commerce or a conservative economist who talked about the shrinkage of low-wage jobs. But if we were persuaded by this job-loss mirage, we would never raise the minimum wage. And I refuse to believe that this is American exceptionalism.
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Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Lubbock, Texas (Mr. Arrington).
Mr. ARRINGTON. Madam Speaker, there is an old country saying: You can put all the perfume and lipstick you want on a pig, and it is still pork, and it still stinks.
H.R. 1319 is filled to the brim with bad policies and partisan priorities that is disguised as ``COVID relief.''
This bill: Pays people more to be on unemployment than to go to work.
Slaps small businesses with job-killing wage mandates.
Gives a $350 billion windfall to States who were mismanaged and broke before COVID.
Hands a blank check to union bosses and greedy corporate executives who ran their pensions into the ground and stuck taxpayers with the tab.
It rewards temper tantrums from teacher unions by doling out billions of dollars to schools who refuse to open their doors to their students.
This bill is chock full of bad policies, barriers to recovery, and bailouts galore.
Madam Speaker, let's open the country up, get our kids back into the classroom, and get America back to work.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and in strong support of this rule.
Madam Speaker, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit our shores a year ago, researchers across the Nation and across many fields of science and engineering jumped into action. The Nation's STEM talent redirected brainpower and resources to combatting the pandemic. And thanks in large part to these efforts, we now have some positive news about our fight against COVID.
However, important scientific work remains to be done in this effort. The Committee on Science, Space, and Technology's provisions included in this package direct funding through the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology for vital research related to prevention, response, and recovery from COVID-19.
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues across the House for their work on this important rescue package, and I urge its adoption.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, Republicans will amend the rule to strike the consideration of the Pelosi payoff bill, and instead, consider H.R. 1371, the Crush the Virus Act, introduced by Representative Tom Reed, which is attached, and will provide over
$160 billion to expand the administration of vaccines and provide direct relief for the coronavirus.
Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Texas?
There was no objection.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Gonzalez), who is here to explain the amendment.
Mr. GONZALEZ of Ohio. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Burgess for his leadership.
Madam Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, we will call up H.R. 1371, the Crush the Virus Act of 2021, introduced by my good friend, Mr. Tom Reed.
This is legislation that is based off of the Problem Solvers Caucus-
endorsed framework for additional funding in order to defeat the virus by making further investments into testing, vaccine distribution, PPE, and utilizing the Defense Production Act.
In other words, this is a targeted solution that can garner bipartisan support--unlike what we are doing today--and show the American people that we are committed to working together to defeat the virus.
To date, while Congress may have struggled at times to deliver timely results, we have come together each time to pass needed legislation to help small businesses, hospitals, and Americans impacted by the virus. This is the way Congress is supposed to work. But instead, House Democrats have embarked upon a purely partisan approach, pushing aside Republican lawmakers, like myself, who actually want to find common ground.
And for what?
A nearly $2 trillion bill that is not targeted for the coronavirus, includes policies that will hurt job creation, and in the words of Larry Summers--who is no Republican--is a ``step into the unknown.''
Madam Speaker, what the American people need is for us to put partisanship aside and identify targeted funding prior to spending $2 trillion of taxpayer dollars only weeks after this body enacted another nearly $1 trillion, much of which has yet to be spent.
Madam Speaker, this is why the Problem Solvers Caucus came together earlier this year to identify, in a bipartisan way, the still outstanding funding that is needed to defeat the virus. The bipartisan agreement is the basis for the legislation we will bring up if we defeat the previous question here before us.
My friend Tom Reed's bill, the Crush the Virus Act, will provide more than $160 billion in targeted aid, including: $11.5 billion for manufacturing and production of vaccines; $35 billion for the Provider Relief Fund; and $5 billion for the use of the Defense Production Act.
This proposal will speed up vaccine distribution and administration in a timely manner and supports our brave frontline healthcare workers.
I thank Mr. Reed for his leadership as co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and for pushing this proposal.
Madam Speaker, let me make a final point and a broader appeal to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. The American people sent to Washington the slimmest House majority in quite some time and an evenly split Senate. The message they sent was clear: It was not that you have some broad mandate to jam down a bunch of progressive policies, it was that they want us to actually work together, to come together and solve the problems in a bipartisan way. I think the message was clear. And the more the majority ignores it, the shorter their majority will be.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.
Mr. MEEKS. Madam Speaker, as chair of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, I speak in strong support of the international provisions of the American Rescue package. With a total of $10 billion, this is a relatively small yet critical investment in fighting COVID and its effects around the world.
Pandemics do not respect international borders. To control this pandemic, we need to mitigate its global spread. This provision puts global health front and center, supporting efforts to relieve overburdened health systems and medical workers and help governments develop and distribute vaccines.
To address the humanitarian crises that have been exacerbated by this pandemic, this provision will provide funding for the most immediate lifesaving assistance, including shelter, food, clean water, basic medical care. Additionally, it provides COVID-related relief for vulnerable refugees who are already vulnerable.
Madam Speaker, this provision would also provide flexible funding for economic support to help ensure that even more need isn't created as a result of the economic impacts of COVID, which are already severe.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 5 minutes remaining. The gentleman from Massachusetts has 8 minutes remaining.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).
Mr. GOMEZ. Madam Speaker, we don't have any time to waste. By the time I am done with this 1-minute speech, roughly 10 people in L.A. County, home to my district, will have tested positive for COVID-19. And in another 5 minutes, someone in my county will die of COVID-19.
And while I am sure our healthcare heroes and frontline workers appreciate our thanks, words alone are not enough.
Our gratitude needs to be expressed with funding and resources. Our appreciation needs to be in the form of benefits and assistance.
Our Black and Brown communities, those being disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, aren't going to get through this crisis with platitudes. They need action. They need access to vaccines, money in their pockets to pay their bills, help getting their kids back in the classrooms, and support putting food on their tables.
Madam Speaker, that is why I am going to vote to pass the American Rescue Plan, and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.
This is our chance to stop the spread of this virus, rebuild our economy, and give every American, regardless of their background or ZIP Code, the opportunity to turn the page on this dark chapter of our country's history and come out stronger in the end.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Panetta).
Mr. PANETTA. Madam Speaker, after one long year of this pandemic, many of my constituents are anxious. And, yeah, they are angry. Their health has been harmed, their businesses have been shut down, and they are absolutely frustrated waiting for their vaccines. They are not happy with our ex-President's response, and they are not pleased with the local response. That is why now, more than ever, we in Congress need to continue our response to COVID-19.
Madam Speaker, in the past year, we passed five bipartisan bills that kept the economy afloat and the poverty rate flat. That is why on this night with this pandemic raging this year we must support this rule, which will put shots in arms, checks in pockets, kids in schools, food on tables, strike teams in nursing homes, keep police and firefighters on our street, keep pensions secure, and provide vaccines for essential workers, including my farmworkers on the Central Coast of California, so that they can do their job for their families and for our food security.
Madam Speaker, let's do our job tonight for our constituents and for this country and pass the American Rescue Act.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
Madam Speaker, I recognize the critical work that was done by the Congressional Doctors Caucus on this effort. The thesis was that we are going to crush the coronavirus.
You think that you would want to involve the people who left the world of healthcare providing to come and serve in the people's House.
Unfortunately, those amendments that were thoughtfully introduced were rejected at the Committee on Rules.
We had amendments, such as allowing the FDA to use real-world evidence in their evaluation of the emergency use authorization that is currently pending.
We were going to reduce the Medicaid payment error rate, which seemed like a good idea.
Medicaid home- and community-based services, substance use disorder treatment, and mental health services were to be expanded.
The public health workforce allowing for loan repayment was rejected.
An amendment providing for coronavirus testing at the southern border--we know we have got a problem with increased people coming across the southern border without authorization. President Biden has indicated that he is welcoming that, but as a consequence, we need to be certain that we are protecting Americans from the introduction of the coronavirus. This was a measure to allow for increased testing on the southern border, but we couldn't accept that.
Hyde protections, you have heard many people talk about that. That was rejected at the Committee on Rules, with a variety of amendments.
Dr. Miller-Meeks had an amendment to allow for the standardized testing to go on in classrooms this next year, not using it to reduce payments to schools that don't measure up but using it as a diagnostic test. Let's find out how far behind some of our classrooms are.
All of these were thoughtful amendments introduced by the GOP Doctors Caucus. Unfortunately, all were rejected. You would think if you wanted to crush the coronavirus, you would ask your doctor.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the distinguished chair of the Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill and of the 1.4 million first responders, teachers, transit workers, sanitation workers, and other public servants already laid off from State and local governments across this Nation. We must act before more people lose their jobs, and before more lifesaving programs are cut.
Madam Speaker, the State and local funding included in this package will provide many local governments dedicated support for the first time since this pandemic struck. It can be used to administer vaccines, increase testing, and save countless jobs by replacing lost revenue.
For New York City, which last month projected a $10.5 billion loss in expected tax revenue, this money would mean it can continue to provide vaccines and food assistance and reopen schools safely. Hundreds of local officials told us the relief in this bill will mean recovery instead of recession and cannot come fast enough. Taken together, this could be the light this-- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
The Chair would again remind all Members to heed the gavel.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close, and I yield myself the balance of my time.
Madam Speaker, in closing, it doesn't look like this bill is going to open our economy. It is not going to open our schools. It is not going to provide targeted relief to those who need it most. I am willing to talk about nutritional assistance, but what I am not willing to talk about is a gilded underground railway under Silicon Valley.
Madam Speaker, this is one of the most expensive bills in the history of the people's House. And it doesn't prioritize the immediate needs of the American people. Rather than work for the American people, Democrats are working for their own future 2 years from now. I think that is unacceptable.
Look, I recognize that President Biden has worked hard to make vaccines more available, but the very vaccines he's making available are the ones that President Trump worked so hard to get developed and into production.
{time} 2145
Let's acknowledge success where it has occurred. I am going to urge a
``no'' vote on the previous question so we can offer the amendment. I am going to urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, a ``no'' vote on the underlying measures.
Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, we are in the midst of a pandemic, the likes of which we haven't seen in 100 years. It is catastrophic in every way imaginable. To hear some of my Republican friends try to nickel-and-dime our response, they should talk to an economist. If they did, they would discover what will happen if we don't pass this package now.
We could end up with 4 million fewer jobs this year. That is according to Moody's.
It will take another 4 years of suffering before the GDP returns to its prepandemic levels. That is according to the nonpartisan CBO.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said: ``The smartest thing we can do is to act big. In the long run, the benefits will far outweigh the costs.''
Mark Zandi, former adviser to John McCain, said: ``You don't need a textbook to know this is when you push on the fiscal accelerator.''
Now, let's be clear what we cannot afford. We cannot afford more delay tactics, another lapse in unemployment assistance, or another moment of inaction. This plan is what our economy needs, and it is what America needs, bold, urgent action.
So, let's pass this rule and the underlying legislation, and let's let the Senate do its job and send this bill to the President's desk without delay. This historic crisis deserves a historic response. The American people are counting on us.
Listening to the Republicans debate on the floor and in the Rules Committee has been a disappointing experience. Barely, barely a word of empathy or compassion for those who are suffering or for those who are struggling.
What we have heard are delay tactics. What we have heard are distortions. What we have heard is divisive talk.
My friends talk about bailouts. This is not a bailout. It is a rescue package. My friends are out of touch with the American people.
People are struggling. People right now are trying to figure out how they are going to put food on the table to feed their families. Here on the House floor, what we hear is indifference, what we hear is distraction.
The good news is this. We are going to pass this bill today. This is a big deal. We are going to send it over to the United States Senate, and we have a Senate that is not going to put this in the trash can. It is going to debate it and vote on it, and then we are going to send it to the President.
The good news to the American people is: Help is on the way. We promised you that we would step up to the plate and that we would respond appropriately to this crisis, and that is what we are going to do.
Madam Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, to support this rule and to support this package.
The material previously referred to by Mr. Burgess is as follows:
Amendment to House Resolution 166
Strike all after the resolving clause and insert the following:
Sec. 1. That immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall resolve into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1371) making supplemental appropriations for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2021, providing coronavirus emergency response and relief, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. When the committee rises and reports the bill back to the House with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit. If the Committee of the Whole rises and reports that it has come to no resolution on the bill, then on the next legislative day the House shall, immediately after the third daily order of business under clause 1 of rule XIV, resolve into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration of the bill.
Sec. 2. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 1371.
Mr. McGOVERN. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on ordering the previous question.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 217, nays 205, not voting 9, as follows:
YEAS--217
Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Brownley Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hastings Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth
NAYS--205
Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bishop (NC) Boebert Brady Brooks Buchanan Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Ferguson Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Granger Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Young Zeldin
NOT VOTING--9
Bilirakis Bost Buck Fulcher Gallego Horsford McClain Rogers (KY) Swalwell
Parliamentary Inquiries
Mr. ROY (during the vote). Madam Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. ROY. Does the rule regarding proxy voting require a form be submitted and signed by Members of this body that they have a pandemic- or COVID-related reason for being unable to be physically present?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair would advise the gentleman that regulation A of the proxy voting regulations issued pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8 requires any letter authorizing proxy voting to contain an affirmative statement that because of the public health emergency the Member is unable to physically attend proceedings in the House Chamber.
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. ROY. Would the Chair consider it a violation of the rule for a Member to be present physically here in the Chamber and on the same day vote by proxy having submitted said letter?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair does not look behind a Member's submission of a letter under section 3(s) of House Resolution 8.
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry.
Mr. ROY. Madam Speaker, does the Constitution of the United States require a quorum to be present for votes on the House floor?
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman is not stating a proper parliamentary inquiry. The Chair does not interpret the constitutionality of a proposition adopted by the House.
{time} 2233
Mr. PALMER changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Ms. SANCHEZ and Mrs. MURPHY of Florida changed their vote from
``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the previous question was ordered.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
Stated for:
Mr. SWALWELL. Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted
``yea'' on rollcall No. 46. members recorded pursuant to house resolution 8, 117th congress
Allred (Davids (KS)) Amodei (Balderson) Banks (Walorski) Boebert (McHenry) Bowman (Clark (MA)) Brown (Mfume) Buchanan (Donalds) Budd (McHenry) Calvert (Garcia (CA)) Cardenas (Gomez) Carter (TX) (Nehls) Cawthorn (McHenry) DeSaulnier (Matsui) DesJarlais (Fleischmann) Deutch (Rice (NY)) Fletcher (Kuster) Frankel, Lois (Clark (MA)) Gaetz (Franklin, C. Scott) Garcia (TX) (Escobar) Gibbs (Bucshon) Gonzalez, Vincente (Gomez) Gosar (Herrell) Green (TN) (Timmons) Green, Al (TX) (Perlmutter) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Hastings (Cleaver) Hern (Lucas) Himes (Courtney) Issa (Valadao) Jackson (Nehls) Jackson Lee (Butterfield) Kelly (IL) (Kuster) Kelly (PA) (Keller) Kirkpatrick (Stanton) Krishnamoorthi (Clark (MA)) LaHood (Smith (NE)) Langevin (Lynch) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Lieu (Beyer) Lofgren (Jeffries) Long (Wagner) Lowenthal (Beyer) McNerney (Eshoo) Meng (Clark (MA)) Moore (WI) (Beyer) Moulton (Trahan) Mullin (Lucas) Napolitano (Correa) Norman (Rice (SC)) Nunes (Garcia (CA)) Palazzo (Fleischmann) Payne (Pallone) Pingree (Kuster) Porter (Wexton) Reed (Arrington) Rodgers (WA) (Herrera Beutler) Roybal-Allard (Bass) Ruiz (Aguilar) Rush (Underwood) Steube (Franklin, C. Scott) Stewart (Curtis) Vargas (Correa) Vela (Gomez) Waltz (Donalds) Wasserman Schultz (Soto) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Wilson (FL) (Hayes) Young (Malliotakis)
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 219, nays 210, not voting 2, as follows:
YEAS--219
Adams Aguilar Allred Auchincloss Axne Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bourdeaux Bowman Boyle, Brendan F. Brown Brownley Bush Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson Cartwright Case Casten Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu Cicilline Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Davids (KS) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Fletcher Foster Frankel, Lois Fudge Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gonzalez, Vicente Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hastings Hayes Higgins (NY) Himes Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jacobs (CA) Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Jones Kahele Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim (NJ) Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Leger Fernandez Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu Lofgren Lowenthal Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Manning Matsui McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Mfume Moore (WI) Morelle Moulton Mrvan Murphy (FL) Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Newman Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Ross Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Sewell Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Strickland Suozzi Swalwell Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres (NY) Trahan Trone Underwood Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Williams (GA) Wilson (FL) Yarmuth
NAYS--210
Aderholt Allen Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bentz Bergman Bice (OK) Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (NC) Boebert Brady Brooks Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Calvert Cammack Carl Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Cawthorn Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Clyde Cole Comer Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Donalds Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Fallon Feenstra Ferguson Fischbach Fitzgerald Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fortenberry Foxx Franklin, C. Scott Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Garbarino Garcia (CA) Gibbs Gimenez Gohmert Gonzales, Tony Gonzalez (OH) Good (VA) Gooden (TX) Gosar Granger Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Greene (GA) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harris Harshbarger Hartzler Hern Herrell Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill Hinson Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Issa Jackson Jacobs (NY) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kim (CA) Kinzinger Kustoff LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta LaTurner Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Mace Malliotakis Mann Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClain McClintock McHenry McKinley Meijer Meuser Miller (IL) Miller (WV) Miller-Meeks Moolenaar Mooney Moore (AL) Moore (UT) Mullin Murphy (NC) Nehls Newhouse Norman Nunes Obernolte Owens Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Pfluger Posey Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Rodgers (WA) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rose Rosendale Rouzer Roy Rutherford Salazar Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Sessions Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spartz Stauber Steel Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Tenney Thompson (PA) Tiffany Timmons Turner Upton Valadao Van Drew Van Duyne Wagner Walberg Walorski Waltz Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams (TX) Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Young Zeldin
NOT VOTING--2
Bost Gallego
{time} 2318
Mr. McKINLEY changed his vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
So the resolution was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table
members recorded pursuant to house resolution 8, 117th congress
Allred (Davids (KS)) Amodei (Balderson) Banks (Walorski) Boebert (McHenry) Bowman (Clark (MA)) Brown (Mfume) Buchanan (Donalds) Budd (McHenry) Calvert (Garcia (CA)) Cardenas (Gomez) Carter (TX) (Nehls) Cawthorn (McHenry) DeSaulnier (Matsui) DesJarlais (Fleischmann) Deutch (Rice (NY)) Fletcher (Kuster) Frankel, Lois (Clark (MA)) Gaetz (Franklin, C. Scott) Garcia (TX) (Escobar) Gibbs (Bucshon) Gonzalez, Vincente (Gomez) Gosar (Herrell) Green (TN) (Timmons) Green, Al (TX) (Perlmutter) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Hastings (Cleaver) Hern (Lucas) Himes (Courtney) Issa (Valadao) Jackson (Nehls) Jackson Lee (Butterfield) Kelly (IL) (Kuster) Kelly (PA) (Keller) Kirkpatrick (Stanton) Krishnamoorthi (Clark (MA)) LaHood (Smith (NE)) Langevin (Lynch) Lawson (FL) (Evans) Lieu (Beyer) Lofgren (Jeffries) Long (Wagner) Lowenthal (Beyer) McNerney (Eshoo) Meng (Clark (MA)) Moore (WI) (Beyer) Moulton (Trahan) Mullin (Lucas) Napolitano (Correa) Norman (Rice (SC)) Nunes (Garcia (CA)) Palazzo (Fleischmann) Payne (Pallone) Pingree (Kuster) Porter (Wexton) Reed (Arrington) Rodgers (WA) (Herrera Beutler) Roybal-Allard (Bass) Ruiz (Aguilar) Rush (Underwood) Steube (Franklin, C. Scott) Stewart (Curtis) Vargas (Correa) Vela (Gomez) Waltz (Donalds) Wasserman Schultz (Soto) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Wilson (FL) (Hayes) Young (Malliotakis)
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 37
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