Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Meets For Legislative Business 20170519

Votes will be taken in the following order. Adopting an amendment to h. R. 1039, passing h. R. 1039, if ordered. And agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal if ordered. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15minute vote refment maining votes will be conducted as fiveminute votes. The Unfinished Business is the request for a recorded vote on the Unfinished Business is the question on adopting amendment to h. R. 1039 offered by the gentlewoman from texas, ms. Jackson lee, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 1 printed in house report 115127 offered by ms. Jackson lee of texas. The speaker pro tempore the question is on agreeing to the amendment. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 178. The nays are 229. He amendment is not adopted. The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The eyes have it. Third reading. The clerk a bill to amend section 3606 of title 18 United States code to grant probation officers authority to arrest hostile third parties who obstruct or impede a probation officer in the performance of official duties. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the passage of the bill. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Ms. Jackson lee mr. Speaker, on that i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 229, the nayses are 177. The bill ises passed. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the Unfinished Business is the question on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. The question is on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The journal stands approved. The chair lays before the house the following communication. The clerk the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. Pursuant to section 4 of the United States act of 2016, public law 114196, i am pleased to appoint the following members to serve as commissioners to the commission. S semi the hobrable braidy of pennsylvania. The honorable crowley of new york. Frand private life, richard of maryland. Thank you to your attention to these recommendations. Signed, sincerely, nancy pelosi, democratic leader. The honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. Pursuant to section 14b of the john c. Stens i center for Public Service training and development act, 2 United States code 1103, i hereby reappoint the honorable terry a. Sewell of alabama to the board of trustees for the john c. Stens i center for Public Service training and development for a term of six years. Signed, sincerely, nancy pelosi, democratic leader. The speaker pro tempore clear the well. The house will come to order. Please take your conversations off the house floor, please. The house will be in order. Please take your conversations off the floor. He house will be in order. Please take your conversations off the floor. The house will be in order. Please take your conversations off the floor. Those who are conversing, please leave the floor. He house will be in order. For what purpose does the gentleman from maryland rise . Mr. Hoyer i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute for the purpose of inquiring of the majority leader the schedule for the week to come. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Hoyer thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield to my friend, mr. Mccarthy, the majority leader from california, for the purposes of telling us in depth the schedule for weeks to come. I yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding and i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Mccarthy mr. Speaker, on monday the house will meet at 2 00 p. M. For legislative business, votes will be postponed until 4 30. On tuesday and wednesday the louis meet at 10 00 a. M. For morning hour and noon for legislative business. On thursday the house will meet at 9 00 a. M. For legislative business. Last votes of the week are expected no later than 3 00 p. M. On friday no votes are expected in the house. Mr. Speaker, the house will consider a number of suspensions next week. A complete list of which will be announced by close of business today. This list will include a series of bills to honor our nations veterans. With memorial day around the corner, it is important for this house to show our appreciation to those who have defended our freedoms. Especially the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. Mr. Speaker, next week the house is combating Human Trafficking and Child Protection week. In addition to a series of suspensions, the house will consider h. R. 1973, the protecting young victims from sexual abuse act, sponsored by representative susan brooks. This bill would require prompt reporting of suspected cases of abuse, as well as implementation of procedures for addressing such allegationses. We will also consider h. R. 1761, the protecting against Child Exploitation act, sponsored by representative mike johnson. This bill would protect victims of sexual aby ensuring that predators who send explicit contact are subject to appropriate punishment. Mr. Speaker, Human Trafficking is an incredulous, serious issue in our nation. With the passage of these bipartisan bills, which wwe will show our continued we will show our continued commitment to ending this modern day form of slavery while supporting an assisting all survivors. Lastly, mr. Speaker, the house will consider h. R. 953, the reducing regulatory burdens act sponsoreded by representative bob gibbs. My district is home to many hardworking farmers. So i know this issue quite well. This bill will reduce red tape that makes it more costly for farmers to protect their crops and our nations food supply. In addition, the c. D. C. Reports that there are still 119 cases of individuals with zika in the United States. And 495 cases in u. S. Territories. With the Summer Season approaching, this bill len sure we can use pesticides to control bill will ensure we can use pesticides to control mosquitos. Finally, mr. Speaker, i want to take a moment to thank a true public servant. Next week brian coop already retire from the house particle men cooper will retire from the house parliamentarians office after 35 years on capitol hill. Brian is a professional in every sense of the word. Much of his work is done behind the scenes but it has not gone unnoticed. From time keeping to processing bills, to preparing for joint sessions, brian has made sure this body works in an orderly and fair way. Now it is my understanding that even my predecessor, bill thomas, could not challenge brians time keeping. On behalf of all those on this side of the aisle, we wish you well in your retirement, brian. And from a very grateful nation for your service. Im sure you are ready to trade late nights on this floor for late nights watching the orioles play baseball. With that, i yield to my friend. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman from california. And i want to join him in thanking our colleague, brian coop aer. Now, brian cooper. Now, im not sure that, brian, that i adopt the sentiments of the majority leader with respect to what mr. Thomas could and could not do. Apparently he chose not to. Thats good. But brian cooper, we want to thank you for your service to this house. 3 1 2 century decades of service to this house. 3 1 2 decades of service to this house in a role that most people, including members of this house, would not recognize, but that is critically important to the Good Management and flow of the peoples business through this house. As the majority leader referenced, he will be continuing to root for the Baltimore Orioles because he is from baltimore. So hes a marylander and were very proud of him and i want to thank him for his service and wish him the very best in the days ahead. I now will go to the schedule. By law, under the budget, the control act, a budget is supposed to be brought to this floor on april 15. The majority leader would quickly observe that neither republicans democrats have met that deadline. However, we are unusually late in the budget process in my view. Despite months of promising to return to regular order, we have not yet done so as it relates to the budget. The budget has not been marked up in committee. Monday marked the statutory day by which the Appropriations Committee no longer has to wait to bring bills to the floor of the house, because the majority has failed to meet its obligation to pass a budget on time. Again i want to quickly note that both parties have failed to meet that deadline in times past. But i cannot remember us being session in is getting to the appropriations process. Because theres been no direction from the administration as to what their Budget Priorities should be. Other than the skinny budget which was sent down which every member of my party thought was an unrealistic, unadoptable and unworthy Budget Priority document. If it were to be adopted, the security of the United States, both abroad and at home, would e put at substantial risk. Mr. Majority leader, can you provide some indication think . Know its not on the floor next week, and i want to say that i join with the majority leader. The issue of Human Trafficking is one of the Critical Issues that confronts us as a country and the global community. It puts millions of young women and young men at risk. And not so young men and women at risk on a daily basis. It is appropriate that we deal with this issue. Hopefully we will deal with it as the majority leader said in a bipartisan fashion. And that we will produce more effective ways to stop and to hold accountable those who put human beings at risk by human slavery. Can the gentleman tell me when the Budget Committee will mark up a budget and when we will have such a budget considered on the ploor . I yield to my friend floor . I yield to my friend. Mr. Mccarthy i thank my friend for yielding. As my friend knows, we do expect to receive the formal budget request from the president next week. Which, as my friend also knows, that is common for the first ear of a new administration. Now, as the gentleman said, maybe this is later, but this is the latest in the history of america that any president has had to wait for a cabinet. Its always helpful. He still has many more people to be feeled and confirmed. As that progresses, i think actions will be able to moved forward even faster. As in tradition, the Budget Committee has announced its intention to host o. M. B. Irector. The committee is looking forward to marking up bills through heg order. As soon as action is scheduled for the floor, the gentleman will know that i will note fight those if favor will vote aye all members. I thank him and yield will notify all members. I thank him and yield back. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman. With respect to the appropriations process, as the gentleman knows, there are 12 discrete appropriation bills dealing with National Security and domestic spending. Can the gentleman tell me whether or not we still intend o consider on a timely basis discretely, that is, one at a time, the 12 appropriation bills . I dont think any of them have been marked up as of this point in time. Obviously not having a budget would preclude that from happening. I understand that. As the gentleman knows, and i know from experience of serving on the appropriationses process, that frankly it was at the eginning of this month historically that we would start to mark up appropriation bills with the intent to use much of june and july for the purpose of passing appropriation bills, so that we might send them to the senate for consideration and have some chance of getting them done prior to the expiration of the fiscal year on september 306789 does the gentleman anticipate we 30. Does the gentleman anticipate we will be considering separately the 12 appropriation bills between now and the august break . I yield to my friend. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding. The gentleman will be happy to know that appropriations has already held 47 hearings dealing with f. Y. 2018. So, as we receive the president s budget and able to ask questions to the o. M. B. Director, we will continue to move forward. But it is our intention always to go through regular order and in all cases if possible individually down onto the floor. I yield back. Mr. Hoyer i hope that we do in fact get that done. Mr. Leader, i was shocked learn that the process, that from my perspective and our sides perspective was extraordinarily accelerated, undermining the opportunity for careful and thorough consideration. The bill that is known as the American Health care act, or otherwise known as the bill to attempt to repeal the Affordable Care act. That bill, as the gentleman knows, was introduced on march 6. Not a single hearing. And was marked up less than two full days later in the ways and Means Committee on march 8. It was marked up on march 8 and 9 in the energy and commerce committee. In the Budget Committee, on march 16, on the rules committee on march 22, and on brought to the floor with a c. B. O. Score on march 23. In order, in my view, mr. Speaker, moved so quickly that no one could have given it thoughtful consideration. In fact, mr. Speaker, on march 24, that bill was brought to the floor, was subjected to some ebate and then was pulled. The judgment was made that apparently it was not ready for primetime. That bill was then brought back to the floor some twoplus weeks about two weeks later, on thursday, may 4, of this year. It was passed on a thursday, notwithstanding the fact it had not been noted for consideration on thursday at the beginning of the week, or in the week prior. It passed on a vote of 217 to 213 217213. With a significant number of republicans voting against it. And a significant number of republicans who voted for it saying, no, i havent read the bill in response to inquirieses from the press. That afternoon, mr. Speaker, there were buses out in front of the capitol to take my republican colleagues down to the white house to cheer its passage. An accomplishment of what our republican colleagues had pledged for six years. Mr. Speaker, you can imagine my shock, chagrin and surprise when i learned yesterday that bill has not gone to the senate. Apparently its gone from one chair to maybe the other chair. In the desks before me. It has been held, mr. Speaker, it has been held because there was no c. B. O. Score to ensure that in fact it complied with the rules. A lot of talk about regular order, mr. Speaker. So the bill that was cheered at the white house, the president saying, im so glad this passed, apparently may not have passed this house in a form that is consistent with the rules. And so my colleagues, i want you to know that you may have think you passed the bill thinked you passed the bill, but it is still here, two weeks later. Im not sure, mr. Speaker, why we couldnt have waited for a c. B. O. Score, other than the political imperative of going home and having members be able o say, we passed the bill. Its still here, folks. Its still within the boss om of the house bus umof the house bossom of the house. Warmly embraced. Aging. Unfortunately not to perfection. I would ask the majority leader, when might we pass this bill . Is the bill going to have another hearing . Are we going to wait for the c. B. O. Score . And will another vote be thessary to, again, confirm 217213 votes . And i will not ask you whether or not you think you still have 217 votes. But let me ask you, when might this bill be considered again on this floor . And when might this bill go to the United States senate, as everybody thought it had on the fourth of may . I yield to my friend, the majority leader, mr. Speaker. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding and his long question. Let me first mr. Hoyer but he got the point, im sure. Mr. Mccarthy let me answer the points you have made because i want history to be written correctly. First of all, you were shocked. I dont know why you were shocked. I thought you were going to say you were shocked that that exact same week, when you read the paper, that 94 counties out of 99 in iowa would have no health care if obamacare continued to go forward. I thought that would have hocked you. Then when you wanted to shocked you. Then when you wanted to put dates down and talk about 113 gs, we had more than hearings. Thats more than the number of hearings you had for obamacare. Ur bill is less than 150 pages thats thousands of pages less than obamacare. You talk of c. B. O. , you knowing lino knowingly know that c. B. O. Scored this bill. Those eight pageses of amendments you were shocked by, you shouldnt be shocked to know the rules of the house. You do not move a bill until the c. B. O. Score of those eight pages is done. That will be done next and we will move it right along next week and we will move it right along. But lets go on further. Because i do want history to be written correctly. We marked up this bill in three separate committees. With over 18 hours of debate in ways and means and over 27 hours of debate in energy and commerce. We debated countless amendments in committees from both republicans and democrats. Even the ones where the democrats asked that they change the name to have some hashtag. We spent hours on that. With you bewith but we did that because we believed that was important to you. Now our bill eliminates the many taxes and mandates of obamacare. It gives patients enhanced tools to take control of their own health care decisions. And it expands choice for americans. So, yes, i am shocked every day i read the paper that more americans are going to lose their health care. If obamacare stays where it is. Or that people even pay higher, because i remember the promise the president made that our premiums would go down. We could keep our own doctor, which so many thousands of americans found out to be a lie. I understand r, politics. I understand the phrases and the adjectives people can use. But theres no reason to be shocked that we kept our word of what we would do for the last six years. Theres no reason to be shocked that the American Public put a majority in the house and the senate and the presidency, which i would argue over the main purpose that they do want greater choice in their health care system. So, yes. If i go to iowa, i go to tennessee, those 16 counties there that will no longer have health care. What about aetna . You didnt even mention them pulling out of virginia. You werent shocked by that either. But you know what . Eight pages of amendments that stayed out there for everybody. Read, not more than 2,000 we will wait until the c. B. O. Finishes scoring the amendments and send it to the senate. Yes, we know whats in those amendments. Just as everybody else had the opportunity to read them. Just as we went through the rules committee. Theres lots of things to be shocked by. But dont ever be shocked by we go by the rules of the house. I think you should be shocked by the number of faceses, the number of families that faces, the numbers families that will not have health care if we had not acted. I yield back. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman or the majority leader would love to rely on the hearings we held before this bill was introduced. The 113 hearings were on the repeal. This bill, as surely the majority leader knows and members who voted on it, was in the repealed. T does not repeal. Now it is said that the gentleman it is sad that the gentleman is correct that the Insurance Industry has been very royaled, and confidence in this has been underlined undermined by this Administration Since its first day in office and badly undermined by the republicans continued attempts to repeal legislation that didnt become law and so insurers have in fact lost confidence that the marketplace will be stable. An absolutely critical component of pricing their product correctly. As does the house itself and the Republican Leadership in the Senate Continue to undermine the confidence that there will be a arket. So yes, mr. Speaker, the majority leader is correct. The Insurance Market is not as stable but almost everybody who speaks to that, and theres a Los Angeles Times story today relatively lengthy on that in terms of what steps the administration taze has taken from the beginning, starting starting with inch r. S. , dont worry about the mandate, its like the like they say dont worry about having automobile insurance. Theres going to be no penalty. If that was the case, i bet a lot of people would not have automobile insurance and if they hit you, you would be exposed to he expense yourself. Mr. Speaker, the majority leader says he wants to follow the rules. They want to follow regular order. Of course theyll do that. My, my, my. Why on the 4th of may, of this month, did we not have a w. C. O. Score . He said the rule wont allow unless we have a c. B. O. Score. I think there are additional reasons because theyre not sure theyre complying with the byrd rule in the United States senate so they may have to pass this again to which the majority leader did not address himself. But there was no reason not to wait other than politics. Other than to have those buses go down to the capital and cheer one another. They had no idea. What c. B. O. Is going to come up with next week. So they did not wait consistent with the rules. We should have had a score when we passed the bill. But that was not convenient for he politics of repeal. Now the majority leader, mr. Speaker, has not told me when were going to consider that bill again or if were going to need to consider that bill again. Perhaps the honest answer is the majority leader does not have that knowledge. As to whether hes going to have to bring that bill to the floor again. Because hes going to need the c. B. O. Score to make that determination. I understand that. And we should have waited. Mr. Speaker. Not rushed to judgment. An he talks about hearings. There were no hearings on this bill. One reason there were no hearings on these bills, because my republican colleagues have been having town meetings, and theyre hearing about the publics thoughts about their ill. And some of them are not having town meetings because they dont want to hear, any more than they wanted to have hearings here in the house to hear what the public thought. So mr. Speaker, im hoping the majority leader will be able to, perhaps, at some point in time, in the relatively near future give us a clear picture as to when we may either consider this bill again or when were going to send it to the United States enate. Flawed though it may g. Id be glad to yield to my friend the majority leader. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the entleman for yielding. I dont want to put words in your mouth but do you put do you make the argument that those 94 county, 99 in iowa, pulled out because were bringing a bill up . Did you believe the 18 out of 23 coops that were given more than 2 billion pulled out because they knew wed probably capture the white house too and keep the senate and the house . So thats why it failed . Or maybe those 16 counties in tennessee that were told almost a year ago they wouldnt have health care next year, they looked into the future and saw the republicans took office. I know president bush is no longer here but do we have to continue to put blame on others instead of having the facts . Lets talk about a few things. Lets be clear about what you asked me earlier. I apologize, i thought i answered them all. I am very confident this bill will hit the mark for reconciliation and move across the aisle. You talk about the house, if youre going to blame us for everything, lets go to facts. Theyre not my facts. Theres recently a reword in Company Data Analysis in d. C. , a lot of bright young people, heres what they analyzed in the first 100 days. President trump signed 30 pieces of legislation into law. More than president obama, bush, clinton, or h. W. Bush signed in heir first 100 days. Only once before in history has a Congressional Review Act signed into law. Nly one. Now we have 14 everturned regulations from the Congressional Review Act, saving americans 14. 2 billion and 14. 2 million hours of filling out paperwork. My favorite quote from this report, this house, the one we stand in today, passed 103 bills out of this chamber. Edging out former speaker pelosis house as the most product i in the first 100 days of a new presidency since h. W. Bush. Just this week we passed the modernizing Government Technology act and i do thank my friend for his hard work on his. Going to upgrade government i. T. If were shocked, maybe thats shocking. Maybe, maybe we ought to stop playing politics. Maybe we ought to stop blaming things that just arent even there. Maybe we ought to just take responsibility for where we currently are, understand that this is the greatest nation on the face of the earth. That it was conceived in liberty and dedicated to the proposition hat all men are created equal. Were not going to blame others for our problems. If you want to go down that line, i can go through all the things promised in more than 2,000 pages of obamacare. But you know what . Today i live currently. What i currently see, 18 of the 23 coops have collapsed and the current law says were going to penalize the people who actually paid the coops to get their health care but they have no ealth care to get. I want to read the facts that more people took the penalty or exemption than signed up for obamacare. That prior to a bill even passing on this floor, something we promised for six years, that a number of companies pulled out. Because it was not working. But the biggest shock i had all is somehow its our fault. I could not look an american in the eye knowing the knowledge we all have, i dont care what party youre in, you dont sit on a carpet that has red on one side and blue on the other. This is the american house. You know people are hurt you know people have lost their doctors, you know theyre pulling out of these counties. Dont make up some political spin to make yourself feel etter for some vote. We promised we would repeal obamacare and give people greater choice. Thats what we did. If you disagree with it, disagree with it. But dont lay blame where its not. I yield back. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman, i listened to his comments with interest. I want to touch on a few things. In a partisan vote from 3 00 a. M. In the morning to 6 00 a. M. In the morning, my republican colleagues passed a bill in a partisan fashion, there were a few democrats, not many. That passed part d. Rescription drugs for seniors. We were against it. Then we took the majority. And what did we do, mr. Speaker . We acted in a way to ensure that the part d Prescription Drug package that the republicans had passed in the Previous Congress did in fact work. And it is a success today because we did that. That is exactly the opposite of what our republican colleagues did, mr. Speaker. With respect to the Affordable Care act. And in fact, the Affordable Care act, as my friend knows, in polling now shows that over 55 of americans believe that the Affordable Care act ought to be kept and 5 of them, three out of four american, believe we ought to fix the Affordable Care ct, not repeal it. That has not changed, however, the republicans attempt at rhetoric and repeal. There were a number of things the republicans did contrary to what we did with respect to Prescription Drug bill for seniors to undermine and create this situation of which the majority Leader Speaks where there were some Insurance Companies that have pulled out. That are not doing as well as they should have. One thing, Many Republican governors refused to join the Medicaid Expansion program, adversely affecting millions and millions and millions of americans. Secondly, they did not fund the risk corridors. We knew when you established this program that there were going to be a very tough time in making valid judgments on what osts were going to be. A few years into this program, we did not fund that. The coops also did not receive the support that was contemplated by the statute. The cost sharing subsidies the administration has put at risk, now, we were assured just before the bill passed that oh, no, were going to pay for the cost sharing subsidies. But the republicans, mr. Speaker, filed suit. And the court said, you have to appropriate those moneys. The majority leader knows, everybody on energy and commerce knows, and every member ought to know, without the subsidies, the Insurance Companies will have mispriced their product. For deductibles and copays in articular. So thatting mr. Speaker is what i speak of in the last sick years to undermine the confidence of the marketplace an Everybody Knows that confidence is an important factor in any marketplace. Now we can, im sure were going to debate this again. I would er, again, simply ask, is this bill coming back to the house, do we expect another vote on it . The c. B. O. Report is due next week. And i believe that if in fact we e going to schedule that ought to at least be given notice that that either is or may be a piece of legislation that will be on the floor next week prior to our break for the memorial day break. I yield to my friend. Mr. Mccarthy as i said earlier, this is a technical issue. I have all the confidence in the world c. B. O. Score will come back, will meet the recob silluation number and will move to the senate. Now if my colleague wants to schedule something, we can walk the bill over there together because i believe the American People are waiting for it. I yield back. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentleman, i yield back the alance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Mccarthy i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourn today it adjourn to meet at 2 00 p. M. On monday next and that the order of the house regarding morning hour debate not apply on that day. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The chair will now entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman s recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, in the warm waters of texas, louisiana, mississippi, georgia, the carolinas and my beloved florida, a reef assassin lurks. Lion fish are an Invasive Species with no predators, huge appetites and exploding populations. One female lion fish will release 10 million eggs in her lifetime and each lion fish can eat 65 juvenile reef fish in one meal. Noaa ecologists call the lion fish one of the greatest threats of the century to reef. Reefs support tourism, fishing and a way of life lion fish threat an multibillion dollar economy. All efforts to eradicate them have failed. Today i filed legislation to turn the tables on the lie kwon fish. Our proposition is simple. Fishermen who slay 100 lion fish n earn one tag to fish red snapper, river fish. Anyone who kills 100 lion fish has done their part to save hundreds, if not thousands of coveted reef fish. The reef assassin act costs no money and uses our Natural Resources to protect our Natural Resources. I encourage my colleagues to support the reef assassin and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise . Without objection, the gentleman s recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to congratulate Lleyton Durham iv of dallas, texas as he celebrates with his family his his selection as eagle scout. Mr. Veasey the eagle scout award recognizes the highest rank within the boy scout program. Only 4 of boy scouts are granted this recognition and after a lengthy review process, which includes a verification of 1 merit badges a demonstrated spirit scout and youthled service project. For lleyton, his involvement in Service Began when he was 8 years old. Since then the Boy Scouts Program has helped foster a sense of service and leadership this past year as part of his eagle Scout Project he led efforts to refurbish a previously neglected classroom at the tyler Street United Methodist Church in oak cliff. The classroom is now in use for middle school youth. Join me in congratulating lleyton in his latest achievement. I look forward to seing your continued leadership in our community. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. I rise today to recognize mr. Walter parrish, a 98yearold world war ii veteran in georgias first congressional district. Mr. Parrish was born on march 12, 1919, less than six months after the end of world war i. Originally from new jersey, mr. Heir rush served five years in the navy as a singleman on destroyer ships where he used visual objects to communicate with others in the water he served in the atlantic and pacific theaters in the war and its undoubted that his role was crucial to the success of his shipmates. Mr. Carter though winning world war ii is a major accomplishment, mr. Parrish enjoyed another important milestone in the war when he married his wife he asked for her hand in marriage on sunday, married her less than a week late own wednesday. Mr. Parrish, thank you for your service to our country and i hope your inspiring life will serve as a lesson for all those who know your story. With memorial day approaching, i encourage everyone in our nation to take time to reflect on the sacrifices of our veteran, thank our nations veterans, and understand the importance of their service. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . The gentleman without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Many mr. Speaker, i rise to reck mr. Speaker, i rise to recognize the anniversary of the oil spill off the coast in my district. I remember all too well the horrifying sights and smells when our when over 100,000 barrels of crude oil poured from the plains all american pipeline rupture. Our local funds were stretched as we mounted our cleanup effort that ended up costing over 100 million. The full extent of the damage to our local economy and environment and to our region wont be fully known for years. I was pleased that president obama signed into law last year the safe pipes act, directing the department of transportation Pipeline Safety program to increase the frequency of their pipeline monitoring on the california coast. We must ensure that this program is fully funded to ensure that it can effectively monitor our Oil Pipelines and hopefully prevent future disasters like oil spit. O plains mr. Speaker, i yield oil spill. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman eek recognition . Without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor the memory of fallen Taylor County sheriffs depply Michael Scott williams. On the morning of october 31, 016, Deputy Williams put on his uniform, climbed into his patrol car heading to the job he lowed. Deputy williams was tragically killed in a collision that morning. Deputy williams joined the Taylor County Sheriffs Department in may of 2015 and was promoted to officer in charge, serving as his sergeants second in command. He dedicated his life to Law Enforcement. For him it was not just a job, it was a calling. Friends and family dedescribed Deputy Williams as a quick study and an experienced lawman who loved to make people laugh. This week, Deputy Williams was honored at the National Peace officers Memorial Service in washington. A fitting reminder that his heroism will not be forgotten. Please join me in honoring deputy Michael Scott williams and all our fallen Law Enforcement heroes who have made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure our safety. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, our tax system is brecken and in desperate need of comprehensive reform and im ready to get to work on a simpler tax code thats fiscally responsible, make ours businesses more competitive and gives relief to our working families. The president President Trumps plan, if you can call it that, is not the answer. According to the committee for a responsible federal budget, trumps plan will cost 5. 5 trillion over the next 10 years. Instead of targeting relief to the deserving middle class, President Trump wants to give big breaks to the wealthiest americans and its time to stop pretending that tax cuts that favor the wealthy somehow pay for themselves. They dont. Conservative economist greg mancu said only one third of the cost of tax cuts is recouped from growth. So trumps tax plan would be paid for by blowing up the National Debt that will crowd out investment, hurt economic growth, the opposite of what we want. We have to do better for working americans and i want to express my interest in working with mens of both sides of the aisle to do just that. Thank you, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom michigan seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in honor of National Police week, an opportunity to recognize the brave men and women in blue. This week is meaningful to me and my family, my oldest son is a Police Officer in michigan. I could not be more proud of him and his service. Too often we take for granted those every day who put on a badge and vest to protect us and communities. Events across this country have been politicized and stressed the registrationship between Law Enforcement and their communities. Lets not have politics overwhelm the dedication and commitment of our men and women in blue. Our lives and indeed our freedoms are safeguard by the thin blue line. We owe the men and women in uniform, those who put themselves at risk every day a simple thank you and simply our respect. Mr. Mitchell mr. Speaker i rise to give Police Officers at our doors, throughout our community and my son, a simple thank you. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom illinois seek recognition . Without objection the gentleman s recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, the Republican Health care bill is a giant step backwards. It will leave millions of americans without any insurance and many more paying more money for less coverage. It will reduce protections requiring insurers to treat fairly those of us with preexisting conditions. Instead of this disastrous plan we should be working together to improve health care, building on the progress of the a. C. A. , and finding solutions to what isnt working. Let me offer one example. I recently introduced a commonsense employer notification of special enrollment act or commonsense act. This bill would require employers to inform people leaving in a job they not only qualify for cobra but also for a special Enrollment Period to purchase insurance on the a. C. A. Marketplace or enroll in medicare, which is often less expensive than cobra. Mr. Speaker, this bill will help americans save money and seniors avoid lastminute enrollment penalties. I urge my colleagues to support the commonsense act and join me in finding commonsense ways to improve our health care, not to dismantle it. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman veck is recognized for one minute. I rise to express my sincere thanks to all the men and women who have served in Law Enforcement in the state of colorado. These men and women put themselves in harms way to protect the citizens of our great state. I would like to especially recognize the aurora, littleton, Greenwood Village and bryton police departments, as well as the arap hoe, douglas and adams county Sheriffs Departments for doing their best to keep us safe. Im proud to say these Municipal Police and county Sheriffs Departments are exceptional and should be recognized for their extraordinary Public Service. Mr. Coffman these men and women are dedicated to Public Safety and in honor of national Law Enforcement week il8d like to thank not only those who serve in Law Enforcement in the state of colorado but all those who serve across our country. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition . Without objection objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in honor of police week and to say thank you to the men and women in new jersey and in our country who keep our communities safe. Especially those who and pay honor especially to those who paid the ultimate price in their efforts to do so. Sadly this year alone, we lost 48 Police Officers in the line of duty across the United States. We cannot repay the debt our communities owe to these heroes and their families but we can start by expressing appreciation for their bravery, dedication, service and making sure Law Enforcement knows they have our full support. Our Police Officers and First Responders cant protect us and themselves without the resources they need. Not only do they protect us from criminals but theyre on the frontlines of the war on terror, especial aas we see the rise of homegrown terror after 9 11. Mr. Got imer i would mr. Gottheimer i want to express my thanks for our Police Officers locally and across the country who keep us safe. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in honor of the men and women in Law Enforcement who put their lives on the line day and night protecting our communities. Like my nephew, ethan. As we close this years police week, id like to pay particular tribute to the Law Enforcement person whole have been killed or wounded in the personnel who have been killed or wounded in the line of duty. Like a delaware county, pennsylvania, man who was shot and wounded last june but is back on the job. Four of pennsylvanias finest lost their lives in the line of duty this last year. Mr. Meehan eugene weaver, patrolman scott basham. David weaver and christopher moles. We thank them for their service. Were indebted for their sacrifice. We honor their memories and our thoughts and prayers are with their families. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom maryland seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Raskin mr. Speaker, thank you very much. President trump is headed to saudi arabia today, which is an authoritarian theocratic state which bans any criticism of the government and executes people or imprisons them for allegedly insulting islam. In just a few weeks just a few weeks ago, a saudi man, who is in his early 20s, was sentenced to death for atheism and apostsy. Another saudi man a few years ago was sentenced to serve 10 years in prisonen to suffer 1,000 lashes prison, to suffer 1,000 lashes and pay a million saudi royals for insulting islam, simply for advocating secular thought in the separation of church and state. There are dozens of saudis languishing in prison for blasphemy, hersey, sourcery, witchcraft, and other imaginary offenses. Mr. Trump, please use at least two minutes of your time while youre in saudi arabia to plead with the rulers there to release all religious prisoners and stop executing and incourse rating incarcerating people for these imaginary religious crimes in the 21st century. I yield back. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore thank you. Members, youre reminded to address your remarks to the chair. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Poe i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. As the hot. Speaker, texas sun set in the west last night, about 10 00, the brave First Responders of the San Antonio Fire Department answered the alarms as a strip mall went up in a fiery inferno. 61 fire trucks with lights and sirens sped to the scene. The firefighters dashed into the buildings performing a search and recovery operation, making sure no one was there. As the fire grew, the intense smoke and heat became suffocating. Two Fire Fighters were injured, but their lives were saved by other Fire Fighters. The firefighter, scott dean, was trapped in the inferno. This sixyear veteran of the force, his life was stolen by the hellish blaze. He gave his life while saving others from harm. Texas lost another one of its finest last night. Firefighters such as scott dean are rare and tenacious are a rare and tenacious breed. They are the american breed. They run into the flames that everyone else desperately flees from. Firefighters restore order from chaos. Answering the alarm. Mr. Speaker, they are they always answer the alarm. It has been said that all people are created equal. But a few turn out to be firefighters. One of those rare breeds was firefighter scott dean. So the last alarm has sounded for scott dean. He answered the call and he gave it all for the people of san antonio, texas. And thats just the way it is. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom michigan seek recognition . Seek permission to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to recognize the 75th abe versery of the national ry of the n anverse National Association of homebuilders. For three quarters of a century, the naab has been fighting for homeowners, homebuilders and communities across this country. Today its a federation includes over 700 local and state homebuilders associations who are committed to fostering progrowth climate and sensible costeffective housing policies. How do i know . Because my family has been involved in our local chapter for decades. The nahb has long supported the builders who create Beautiful Homes in west michigan, my home, as well as across the nation. Mr. Huizenga many of these builders are Small Business men and women that represent the backbone of the american economy. By standing up to Regulatory Overreach and promoting a progrowth environment, the nahb is helping these entrepreneurial Small Businesses to have a voice. Thanks in part to the efforts of the nahb, builders and consumers throughout the country are back on their feet, Housing Production has increased, and builders are increasingly confident in the market. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the National Association of homebuilders as they work to keep the Home Building industry moving forward. Congratulations to those 75 years. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to rise and recognize National Police week. During this week, each year, our nation joins together to honor our brave men and women in blue. In their mission to serve and protect, ow Law Enforcement officers put their lives on the line each day. Keeping our families and our communities safe from harm. Day in and day out we witness the countless sacrifices made by the men and women who serve as our front line of defense here at home. We stand to recognize their service this week. We also pay tribute to those who have tragically lost their lives in the line of duty. Ms. Tenney their bravery and sacrifice will never be forgotten. I would like to specifically thank the dedicated officers serving throughout the state of new york from the new York State Troopers to the county sheriffs, and for our local Law Enforcement. The heroism and bravery of the men and women in the blue continues to inspire us all. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, this week, along with congressman crowley, we reintroduced the bike to work act. Mr. Paulsen im thrilled to bring forth an initiative that encourages more biking. This is fitting given that today is National Bike to work day. This Bipartisan Legislation weve introduced will allow workers to use their pretax commuter benefits for bike share programs, just as they already can do for other forms of transportation. According to one report, from 2000 to 2013 the number of bicycle commuters grew by more than 62 . And as these programs grow, putting them on equal footing with other modes of transportation that commuters use to get to and from work is important. Bike share something very popular in minnesota and through this initiative we can ensure that more americans have the opportunity to get to work with more flexibility and more convenience and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas see reck seek seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. This is a special week in the United States, here in our capital, and across the country. This was National Police week. Mr. Yoder so i rise to honor our men and women in Service Across our country who wear the uniform every day. Our First Responders, our Police Officers who rush to trouble as opposed to running from it. Who put themselves in harms way to keep us safe. Every day they get up and keep our families safe and our communities safe. They are our heroes. So this week, mr. Speaker, congress welcomed many of these police men and women and their families to d. C. To recognize them for their heroism and to remember those who we have lost. In kansas we are all too aware of the sacrifices that Law Enforcement makes to keep us safe. Brad a lancaster, dave milton and Brandon Collins all made the ultimate sacrifice over the last year in my district alone and they are on my mind this week in each and each and every day, along with the other fallen officers across our country. Mr. Speaker, let us never forget the selflessness and bravery of Police Officers around the country who work tirelessly each and every day to enforce our laws, protect our communities and save lives. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. The clerk leave of absence requested for mr. Curbelo of florida after 3 30 p. M. On thursday, may 18, and for the balance of the week. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the request is granted. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Veasey i request unanimous consent to revise and extend all of the members remarks on this special order hour. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman have an additional unanimous consent request . I do. The speaker pro tempore please proceed. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet on monday, may 22, 2017, when it shall convene at noon for morning hour debate and 2 00 p. M. For legislative business. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. Flores, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. Mr. Flores mr. Speaker, today i rise to recognize kbtx tv, who on may 22 will be celebrating 60 years of service to the valuey of texas. In 1957, kbtx began broadcasting from a fourroom brick studio on east 29th street. Today the studio is still located at the same location. But just like the surrounding area, it has grown immensely. Starting out, kbtx was both a cbs and an abc affiliate. In 1984 they became a cbs affiliate exclusively. The station prides itself on its commitment and dedication to responsible reporting and community involvement. Fittingly, the stations slogan is, the people you know, the news you trust. Kbtx set the standard for news in the valley. They were the First Television station there and over the past 60 years they have had many more impressive firsts which include the following. The First Television station capable of color transmission and the use of videotape. The First Television station to use color news film. The first to cover live sports, news and weather, as well as community events, using remote live trucks and cameras without a studio editing capability. The First Television station with doppler radar, the first 24hour television station, and the first commercial television station to broadcast in highdefnition. The kbtx news and Creative Services teams have also received many prestigious awards which include the following. Multiple lone star emmys, multiple telly awards, multiple Texas Association press broadcasters awards, including the 2013 tapb overall excellence in television award, multiple addy awards and the edward r. Moreau award in 2013. I would like to congratulate kbtx tv on all of their achievements and for their 60 years of service. It is an honor for me to represent in congress such a great team and a pillar for our community. As i close these remarks i ask everyone to continue praying for our country and for our military and First Responders who selflessly serve and sacrifice to protect us. Hank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, today i rise to honor j. B. Owen jr. Of woodway, texas, who passed away on march 5, 2017. J. B. Was born in mathis, texas, on november 19, 1928. He attended grade school at a Small Community with just three other studentses. Upon graduation from mathis high school, j. B. Went to southwest Texas State University in san marcos. Where he would go on to earn a bachelor of Business Administration and general business. He began his career by teaching business classes before a diagnosis of tuberculosis landed him in the hospital for 15 months. Thankfully j. B. Made a full recovery and set out to become an Insurance Agent with Texas Farm Bureau insurance company. J. B. Was an exemplary leader at farm bureau for 41 years before his retirement in 1992. In 1965, j. B. Married lillian, known as lil, a georgia peach he met on a blind date with the help of a coworker. And their 50plus years of marriage, lill and j. B. Raised three children, richard, holly and j. B. Iii. They were blessed with nine grandchildren, including triplets who were born in 2001. Along with being loving grand patients, j. B. And lill enjoyed traveling both in texas and beyond. J. B. Is recognized as an exemplary steward for the greater waco community. He was an active volunteer and Community Member serving on the planning and Zoning Commission and the Community Development board. He also served as an elder at his church and taught sunday school for 40 years. He was president of the harlingen p. T. A. And is president of a child care center. He was also a member of Gideons International and christian business association. Mr. Speaker, j. B. Worked tirelessly to better our Central Texas and waco community. He left an impression on Central Texas, hell be remembered as a great philanthropist, Community Member, husband, father, grandfather, and friend my wife and i offer our deepest and heart felt condolences to the owen family and we lift up his wife lil and the family and friends of j. B. Owen when jr. Ive requested that theing in be flown over the United States capitol to honor the life and slig of j. B. Owen jr. I urge all americans to continue praying fur our country in these difficult times, for our military men and women and for our First Responders who protect us here at home. Mr. Speaker, today i rise to brian, jay servik of texas who of bryan, texas. He was born in glen rose, texas, on october , 1936. In 1954 he graduated from Mount Pleasant high school and went on to texas a m university, an institution he cherished for the rest of his life. At texas a m he was active in the student body as novet Student Senate and in the singing cadets. He also served in the town hall, the prelaw society, the Accounting Society and the memorial Student Leadership council. He was named as a whos who among students in american colleges and universities. After graduating from texas a m in 195 with a degree in Business Administration he married the love of his life elaine madgin. Later thatee that year, he and arain moved to austin, where he pursued a law degree and she pursued a bachelors degree from university of texas. Upon graduating from law school, bob joined the United States army. While serving his country he was awarded the Army Commendation medal for meritorious service. He hls he also began his legal career in 1963, starting out with the mcmahon law firm. In 1973, bob was named as state jr. Bar Outstanding Young lawyer of the year and was admitted, qualified as an attorney and counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States. He would go on to become the president of his law firm where he practiced for 50 years. He was an exceptional steward for the Abilene Community and texas a brand m. He was a member of the texas aggie bar association, an avid texas aggie football fan and atended almost all home games at kyle field. In 2011, texas and yambings m named him ag fwee lawyer texas a m named him aggie lawyer of the year and distinguished alumnus, the highest award that can be given to a former student of texas a m university. He was known for Coaching Little League baseball, serving as director of the chamber of commerce, and chairman of the community foundation. He was also an active parishioner at st. Paul United Methodist church where his favorite activity was Teaching Sunday School to the kindergarten class which he did for 15 years. Bob worked tirelessly to bet they are abilene and texas a m communities and to help those around him. Hes loved in these places and left an enduring impression on countless texans. He will be forever remembered as a great philanthropist, Community Member, husband, father, and friend. My wife jean and i offer our heart felt condolences to his family and lift up the family and friends of bob in our prayer. I requested that the United States flag be flown over the United States capitol to honor the life and legacy of bob servik. As i close these remarks i urge all americans to continue to pray for our country in these difficult times and for our military men and women who acrificed to protect us. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor a person who is very special to my family and me. Today im celebrating the life and legacy of my fatherinlaw, mr. Elwood l. Bass. Mr. Bass, more commonly known as sam to his friends , he passed away on april 26, 2017. Sam was born in built mr, texas, in 1936 in biltmore, texas, in 1936. He graduated from ackerley high school, he married a beautiful young woman johnette, and went on to attend baylor university. Bayhor. While at baylor, he joined the army. Following his service in the army and graduation from baylor he began his plig service. Was a teacher, then was superintendent for grady i. S. D. , and then as superintendent for a small town in the texas panhandle. His next position was superintendent in schools of Stratford School district, in my hometown of stratford. In 1990, he retired after 35 years of service to the Texas Public School system and at that time he was so beloved by the Stratford Community that our local support stadium was named e. L. Sam bass stadium in his honor. At the beginning of his retirement he moved to east texas and lived in a home he constructed with his own hands and with a little help from friends and family. Sam suffered a loss in 1992 when johnette, his beloved wife of 42 years, passed away. In 1994, he married joanna morton. Soon thereafter , he returned to education, teaching and coaching basketball for 10 years at Faith Lutheran School in sugarland, texas. He was known as a generous an caring man who was active in the community he remained active throughout his life in the church he is attended, serving as deacon at the First Baptist church of stratford and on the board at parkway United Methodist church in sugarland. He was known for his strong Christian Faith and his love of old hymns, a few of which he sang offkey. His friends and family will always remember how he saw the good in people and his positive outlook on life. Mr. Bass life reminds me of a passage from a book entitled the applause of heaven, written by max lucado. In that book, he has a moving passage that describes all our lives. The passage reads as follows. Youll be home soon. You may not have noticed it, but youre closer to home than ever before. Each moment is a step taken. Each breath is a page turned. Each day is a mile marked, a mountain climbed. You are closer to home than youve ever been. Before you know it, your appointed time of arrival will come, youll descend the ramp and enter the city. Youll see the faces that are waiting for you and youll hear your name spoken by those who love you and maybe, just maybe, in the back of the crowd, the one who would rather die than live without you will remove his nail pierced hands from his heavenly robe and applaud. Mr. Speaker, sam bass worked tirelessly for the youth of texas and to better the communities around him. He is loved by his family and friends, of which there are many. Sam left an enduring impression on the live he is touched he will be forever remembered as a great educator, Community Member, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend. I am certain that when he took his last breath on earth, jesus welcomed him with the words of matthew 25 23, well done, good and faithful servant. His friends and i will continue to pray for his families over the coming days and weeks ahead. I recently requested that an American Flag be flown over the capitol to honor the life and legacy of my fatherinlaw, sam bass. Mr. Speaker, as i close today, i urge all americans to continue praying for our country during these difficult times, for our military men and women who protect us from external threats, and for our First Responders who protect us at home. It is particularly point jant this week that is National Police week and we should recognize those police who serve us. In two weeks, we celebrate memorial day and its important to recognize the men and wyoming and women in uniform of the United States military. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield the balance of my time to my friend from texas, mr. Gohmert. The speaker pro tempore under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. Gohmert is recognized as the designee of the majority leader for the remainder of the hour. Mr. Gohmert thank you, mr. Speaker. A profound tribute to great men, great people. From my friend from college station. Its been an interesting week. Our president is headed for the middle east. And its gotten rather vitriolic , condemnation of our president. R firing the f. B. I. Director f. B. I. Director is supposed to be more concerned with Law Enforcement than with press conferences. Since hes not elected, his job is not to go out and appear to be politically astute. And certainly not to help one Political Party over another. And it seemed that under director comeys tenure as head of the f. B. I. , i was thrilled when he replaced mueller. Mueller did a lot of damage to the f. B. I. With his five year up or out policy where anyone in a supervisory position for five years, anywhere outside of washington, at the end of five years had to either leave the f. B. I. Or come to washington, be a minion up here for the director. There were we lost thousands and thousands of years of valuable f. B. I. Experience under director mueller. In fact, no one has done more damage to the rank and file of agents tanding f. B. I. Than director mueller. I keep hearing all these glowing things, well, he did a lot of damage. Plus, under his time as f. B. I. Mueller had the training material that would help f. B. I. Employees and agents understand more about radical islam, he f. B. I. In the 1990s had done an outstanding job of gathering information about radical islam, of groups like the holy land foundation, individuals associated with supporting terrorism. After the 1993 attempt to bomb the world trade center, did a good job gathering evidence for that trial. Time director mueller came along under president george w. Bush, theyd gotten pretty good at figuring out what radical islam was. Kim jensen with the f. B. I. Had a 700page program to train f. B. I. Agents on what radical islam was. How you go about spotting people that have been radicalized. The things they believe. Understand which scriptures in the koran they focused on. And really helped f. B. I. Agents figure out how to stop radical islam. T the reason the f. B. I. Took so much criticism after so many people across america have been killed needlessly from people that weren the f. B. I. Radar is because under bob mueller the f. B. I. Agents were not allowed to know how to spot radical islam. And in fact, they could hurt their career if they attempted to point out that someone had been radicalized. Thats why when russia told the United States twice, once directly told the f. B. I. , as i nderstand it, that the older tsarnaev brother had been radicalized, where hed traveled where hed been radicalized in the former soviet union area, the f. B. I. , the best we can find out from the public hearings we had, apparently, under mueller, they sent somebody to ask tsarnaev if he was a radical terrorism and he assured them he wasnt and they sent somebody to ask tsarnaevs mother and she in essence said, no, hes a good boy, hes not a terrorist. That was their investigation. I challenged mueller, you didnt even go to the masks where the the main boston mosque where these guys attended to see and investigate whether theyd been radicalized. And he refuted that and said we did go to those mosques, but then he added, in our outreach program. But it but it turns out he did not even know that the boston mosque where the tsarnaev radicalization was heightened, that that mosque there in boston was started by a man named alamoudi. He helped the Clinton Foundation or not the Clinton Foundation, the Clinton Administration, back before they started making so , butmoney on who they were the Clinton Administration used alamoudi to help them find the perfect muslims to be chaplains at prisons. The perfect muslims to help advice the government. The perfect muslims to plug in, to help our United States government. And its why ive asked more than once and have gotten no that , who was it huma abedinr placed weiner next to Hillary Clinton . An intern in 1996 who was it that put her in that position next to the first lady, where she grew from being intern to being helper and ultimately her number one closest visser as secretary of state advisor as secretary of state . And had Hillary Clinton been elected president , she would have been the foremost, closest advisor to the president of the United States. With some strong direct ties to from her family, to the muslim brotherhood. In fact, Saddam Hussein had indicated that Osama Bin Laden had indicated that a couple of things that radical ilesed him, made him want to kill people like americans for being infidelities, was a booklet written by an egyptian , lim brother named qutb called milestones and also he gave great credit to a guy who was a head of a number of muslim activities, still is, but he had a journal that was a favored publication of the muslim brotherhood. And come to find out that, gee, back when she was working for Hillary Clinton, huma abedin was listed on the mast head as being a part of that publication. Contributing to being part of that publication, along with the different times, one or two other family members. And thats the journal that was started for the muslim group. So anyway. Quite interesting. The ties that she had. Some of us asked for the Inspector General to all we did was ask five different inspectors general and five different departments or agencies if they would investigate the extent of muslim brother influence in their particular department or agency. And one was the state department. And there is not one single thing that we put in any of those five letters that was inaccurate. They were all factually correct. But there was a fire storm, john mccain rushed to the senate floor to condemn us. And we were right about everything we put in those letters. Were still right. But bob mueller did a lot of damage to our ability as one of our agents told me, weve within blinalded by our ability blinalded weve been blinded by our inability to see who our enemy is. In recent days, since director comey was fired by the president , which he totally has the authority to do for any no reason. There have been all these glowing comments by my democratic friends in the house and senate condemning the firing of comey. And President Trump has been vilified even for commenting today and yesterday that he thought when he fired comey he would have wide bipartisan support. Because he had heard so many comments, he thought that would be widely appreciated on both sides of the aisle. Clearly the f. B. I. Had become had become about comey and not about Law Enforcement. It certainly seemed inappropriate what he did, what he said last summer. When basically he laid out the case of how Hillary Clinton had committed a federal crime that did not require intent. But then he added an element to the offense that congress didnt add, thats not part of the law, a specific intent. Doesnt exist. Not necessary to prove. And hadnt been proved in other cases where weve got people that have been put in penitentiary for a lot less than what Hillary Clinton did. But he exonerated no, no, prosecutor in his right mind would do would prosecute this case. When actually there are a lot of prosecutors that would have prosecuted that case if they were not so politically atuned as mr. Comey was and is. So i thought it would be helpful, mr. Speaker, to just go back and revisit comments from some of our friends across the director t the f. B. I. Comey. And in fact nobody has been more vocal since director comeys firing than our friend down the hall, senator Chuck Schumer, democrat from new york. He came out bluntly november 2, 2016, and im quoting from my friend, Chuck Schumer, quote, i do not have confidence in him, omey, any longer, unquote. Published in bloomberg. So we know senator Chuck Schumer being a man of his word that as of november 2, senator schumer director fidence in comey any longer. Despite what hes said in recent days, beloved senator Bernie Sanders from vermont did an interview with abc news in january of this year. And the headline from the abc news story, sanders, quoting him, would not be bad thing for the American People if f. B. I. Director comey steps down. The story went on to say, asked by abc news in an exclusive interview on this week, if comey should leave his post, sanders responded, quote, i think he should take a hard look at what he has done and i think it would not be a bad thing for the American People if he did step down. He went on. I think comey acted in an outrageous way during the campaign. No one can say that this was decisive or that this is what elected trump. But clearly his behavior during the campaign in terms of what he said during the week or two before the election was unacceptable. Unquote. Then we have former senator harry reid. All those who know him to be a man of his word can take his comments seriously. S of october 30 of 2016, senator harry reid from nevada director etter to comey, dear director comey, your actions in recent months have demonstrated a disturbing double standard for the treatment of sensitive information. With what appears to be a clear intent to aid one Political Party over another. Im writing to inform you that my office has determined that these actions may violate the hatch act. Which bars f. B. I. Officials from using their official authority to influence an election. Though your partisan actions through your partisan actions you may have broken the law. Again, this is harry reid to director comey. Harry reid goes on. The double standard established by your actions is clear. In my communicationses with you and other top officials in the National Security community, its become clear that you possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between donald trump, his top advisors and the russian government, a foreign interest openly hostile to the United States, which trump raises at every opportunity. Ill insert here parenthetically f. B. I. Know that the did not possess explosive information about close ties and coordination between donald trump, his top advisors and the russian government. Obama act repeatedly Administration Intelligence and Law Enforcement officials have repeatedly testified that despite all their inferences, despite all the things they wanted to find they could not of the any evidence russian government affecting our elections, of the russian government colluding with the trump administration, or with Donald Trumps campaign, to affect the election. No evidence. So anyway. We know more now than we did at the time that harry reid wrote this letter. But senator reid went on. The public has a right to know this information. I wrote to you months ago calling for this information to be released to the public. Theres no danger to american interests from releasing it and yet you continue to resist calls to inform the public of this critical information. By contrast, as soon as you came in possession of the slightest innuendo related to secretary clinton, you rushed to publicize it in the most negative light possible. Moreover, in tarring secretary clinton with thin innuendo, you overruled long standing tradition in the explicit guidance of your own department. You rushed to take this step 11 days before a president ial election, despite fact that for all you know, the information you possess could be entirely duplicative of the information you already examined, which exonerated secretary clinton. Well, again, parenthetically, we know now it actually condemns secretary clinton. Showed she committed a crime. May not have had the intent to violate the law, but had the certain intent to do what she did. And that was a violation of the law. Anyway. He goes on. This is harry reid talking about to and about comey. He says, as you know, a memo authored by Deputy Attorney general Sally Yateses on march 10, yates, on march 10, 2016, makes clear that all Justice Department employees, including you, subject to the hatch act. The memo defines political activity prohibited under the hatch act as, quote, activity directed toward the success or failure of a Political Party. Candidate for partisan political office, or partisan political group. Unquote. The clear double standard established by your actions strongly suggests that your highly selective approach to publicizing information along with your timing was intended for the success or failure of a partisan candidate or political group. Please keep in mind that ive been a supporter of yours in the past, when republicans filibustered your nomination, delayed your confirmation longer than any previous nominee to. Our position i led the fight to get you confirmed because i believed you to be a principled public servant. I with deepest regret, i now see i was wrong. Sincerely, senator harry reid. So, as of october 30, reid believed comey was not fit for eing director of the f. B. I. Senator tim kaine of virginia on , on friday that the letter f. B. I. Director james comey sent to Congress Days efore the 2016 election, notifying lawmakers of the reopening of the investigation into Hillary Clintons email practices was, quote, probably the lowest moment in the history of the f. B. I. , unquote. Next to wiretapping Martin Luther king jr. Tim kaine, senator kaine, went on, quote, it will go down as probably the lowest moment in the history of the f. B. I. Probably next to the decision of Jay Edgar Hoover to wiretap Martin Luther king and it was unfortunate, unquote, kaine said. That was from the freebie con. Senator diane that was from the free bee kohn. Free beacon. Senator Diane Feinstein said, todays break from tradition is appalling. Senator chris murphy a democrat from connecticut, said this on y 1, on msnbc, quote, its absolutely true that democrats have been very critical of james comey and many of us did call for his resignation. Unquote. Senator cory booker from new jersey, back november 6 of 2016, said, Hillary Clinton was sharply critical of the f. B. I. In the wake of surprise announcement that the investigators were examining newly discovered emails that could be related to her former private server. But she avoid the issue more recently. That senator king cory booker took a swipe at the Law Enforcement agency on sunday when he introduced clinton at a black church here. And this actually is a story from the l. A. Times. Without mentioning the email probe specifically, senator booker said there have been, quote, reruns, unquote, in this election. Quote, we saw what the f. B. I. Id in m. L. K. s day, unquote. He said, a reference to how it targeted the civil rights leader decades ago. F. B. I. Director james b. Comey is face has faced withering criticism from democrats and even some republicans for notifying congress so close to the election that the agency was examining additional emails. But bookers reference to reverend Martin Luther king jr. Was also interesting in light of how comey has required f. B. I. Trainees to study the lessons from this shameful investigation f the civil rights leader. In an interview with n. P. R. Back on november 8, 2016, senator corey booker of new jersey had an interviewer say this to him. Now, earlier today, we had House Minority leader nancy pelosi calling the f. B. I. Director james comeys recent announcements a molotov cocktail, and she was saying it might have affected downballot races for house and senate, saying it might have made things more of an obstacle for democrats. What concerns do you have about that in the senate . Senator booker, again, this is november 8, 2016, said, well i really think that it was a big impact on the election. I dont have any obviously data to back that up and hopefully through an analysis well see but clearly our Senate Candidates and our president candidate president ial candidates were surging. At the time that news came out, it sucked the momentum out of a lot of those races and we think it could have likely affected the outcome of some tight senate races as well. Its unfortunate he would break with precedent. To me, it showed a grave lack of judgment, to put Something Like that into an election days before it would come to pass and i think he did a disservice to the United States of america. That was from npr on condemning the actions of director comey. Just so that we know what the theme is were talking about fairwell to y, director comey as f. B. I. Farewell to director comey as f. B. I. Director and im giving quotes from our friends across the aisle, democrats have made about director comey. Minority leader nancy pelosi said this, november 2. 2016. Quote, maybe hes not in the right job. I think that we have to just get through this election and just see what the casualties are along the way. Our friend representative g. K. Butterfield, democrat, here in the house, serving nobly, former head of the congressional black caucus, he said this year, january 24, i cant speak for democrats but i can speak for myself andic james comey needs to fade away into oblivion. He embarrassed this nation, he possibly influenced the outcome of the president lrble president ial election and he could not hold any position of trust whatsoever in our government. And my friend representative steve cohen from tennessee, we serve together on the judiciary committee, this was his press release october 30, 2016. And the press release his office sent out said congressman steve cohen, Ranking Member of the house judiciary subcommittee on the constitution and Civil Justice today called on james comey to resign as director of the federal bureau of investigation. Then it has a quote in the cohen press release, quote, f. B. I. Director james comeys recent Public Comments on former secretary of state Hillary Clinton and her emails apparently before seeing any evidence and against the advice of the Justice Department according to press reports, and even some have suggested in violation of the hatch act, made it clear that for the good of the f. B. I. And the Justice Department, he should resign his position effective immediately, said congressman cohen. Quote, in the past, even quite recently, i expressed my appreciation for director comey. Appreciate his courage as Deputy Attorney general when he stood up to president bushs chief of staff, andrew card, white House Counsel alberto gonzales, when they attempted to persuade hospitalized attorney general John Ashcroft to reauthorize bushs Domestic Surveillance Program which the Justice Department had just determined was illegal. When in july of this year, director comey recommended no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her handling of classified information while she was secretary of state but added his own sidebar opinions to the announcement, gave director combey the benefit of the doubt, despite the fact that his making such highly unusual remarks was called into question by many. Congressman cohen elaborated, while i cannot know director comeys reasoning for his recent letter to house members notifying them about the f. B. I. s review of email he is deemed potentially related to Hillary Clintons personal server, it was plainly premature, careless and potential ed and its impact on the question. The validity, substance, or relevance. Director comey stated in the letter that he had no idea of the significance of this newly discovered collection of email which is makes his decision all the more disturbing. There is a reason that f. B. I. Investigations are not usually made public until they are completed. To do so gives an impression of guilt before all the facts have been determined. That was the case during the f. B. I. s investigation of secretary clintons emails that led director comey to state that there was no evidence that secretary clinton potentially transmitted or willfully mishandled classified information and that no reasonable prosecutor would bring a case against her. In light of that finding, and the department of justice prohibition of the practice of influencing elections, it called into question his judgment and ethics. That is unacceptable as the f. B. I. Director must, like caesars wife be above suspicion. Cowhen with cnns paula who wrote, trashing the justice of f. B. I. Rulebooks in the interest of openness is likely to put the f. B. I. Front and center in one of the most contentious president ial races in recent history. Congressman cohen continued, is theally, revelatory New York Times opinion written by richard painter, chief white house ethics lawyer for president george w. Bush, in which he states, absent extraordinary circumstances that might justify a public communication about a pending f. B. I. Investigation involving a candidate is made clear on the eve of an election is thus very likely to be a violation of the hatch act and a misuse of an official position. Serious questions also arise under lawyers professional conduct rules that require prosecutors to avoid excessive publicity and unnecessary statements that could cause public condemnation even of people who have been accused of a crime, not to mention people like ms. Clinton who have never been charged with a crime. Congressman cohen concluded, quote, the fairness of our electoral system is like the fairness of a trial. No justice official should act in a way to potentially influence an election, whether intended to or not. The f. B. I. Needs to investigate, not inject issues into a president ial election when no investigation dictates action or a basis for action. At a minimum, director comeys actions are, to use his own verbiage, extremely careless this close to an election and without any apparent substance. If director comey cares about the bureau or the rule of law, as i felt he has in the past, im sure upon reflection of this action he will submit his letter of resignation for the nations good. So thats my friend congressman steve cohen from tennessee. Saying for the good of the country, basically, comey ought to submit his letter of resignation, back last october. Also when congressman cohen appeared on msnbc, he said, quote, what hes done, talking about comey, to put the f. B. I. In a position its never been in, the f. B. I. Director is supposed to investigate and keep his judgment quiet, not get involved in elections, and while hes made the right decision even though he went too far this summer in not indicting the secretary, what he did here was just wrong and something the f. B. I. Director needs to exert extreme control over themselves, not to get involves and he just made a mistake and i think he should resign because he damaged the f. B. I. s reputation. In fact, hes been excessively careless now. I gave him the benefit of the doubt, i guess based on the result, but i didnt like the way he cut into the process in which he got to the substance of the decision. October 31, 2016, also congressman cohen from tennessee peared on cnn and said, yet, and said, quote, or the cnn reporter said, congressman up until the last few days you didnt just think the f. B. I. Was doing a good job you thought he was doing a great job you told him last month in a hearing, you said, you are a credit to the f. B. I. , youre a credit to government service. How do you explain your and then congressman cohen said, because he went too far with this one, unquote. Ovember 3, 2016, the hill. Said this, as a nearly 10year veteran of house judiciary committee, committee responsible for the oversight of the federal bureau of investigation and department of justice, Ranking Member of the house judiciary subcommittee on the constitution and Civil Justice earlier this week i called on f. B. I. Director james comey to resign his position and his recent communication with members of Congress Regarding the bureaus review of emails related to Hillary Clintons personal server. It goes on, its a long story, congressman ding cohen call for the f. B. I. Irector to resign. December 16, 2016 in a tweet attributed to congressman cohen, tennessee, said at said comey was wrong to hide hacking of dccc, but he should not resign. Trump would appoint worse. F. B. I. And senators bull wark for next administration. So by december he was already thinking differently. But december 10 in a statement, said, i applaud Senate Minority leader harry reid for also calling on f. B. I. Director james comey to resign after new information came to light that director comey may have known the c. I. A. Had secretly concluded the russians were trying to help donald trump when the president win the presidency. Anyway, back and forth. But our friend representative keith ellison, democrat from minnesota, november 6, 2016, from twitter, said im not surprised at all. Comey says latest emails dont change decision. Representative Elijah Cummings from maryland, our friend, a democrat, january 13, of this willing to give comey talking about comey, him, the benefit of the doubt. Today i must tell you when i left the hearing, i felt a great sense of disappointment. Our friend reuben gallego, congressman from arizona, democrat, said, quote, what i heard in the briefing made me not trust him, talking about comey, thats all. Our representative hank johnson, democrat from georgia, said, quote, my confidence in f. B. I. Directors act to lead this gency has been shaken. Lets see. January 13, also he said, he should pack his things and go, talking about comey. Said, i dont have confidence in this man to lead the f. B. I. In the coming weeks and months ahead. With all the work that must be done to get to the bottom of the russian hacking into our electoral process. Then our friend, jerry nadler, democrat from new york, november 14, 2016, said, quote, the president can fire him for cause and ought to. He violated all the guidelines, put his thumb on the scale of an election, whether it was decisive or not is a different question. House Democratic Caucus vice chairwoman linda sanchez, friend from california, said, i dont believe that director comey conducted himself during the election in a way that was impartial. I have concerns about that. Also have concerns about who placement be. Also our friend, representative Debbie Wasserman schultz from florida, said, quote, i think director comey has taken enough actions that call into his ability to call into question his ability to serve credibly. I would lean in the direction that he no longer is able to serve in a neutral, credible way. Takano from california. Quote, im extremely concerned, extremely. Ill just well, im very angry. Talking about comey as f. B. I. Director. Representative tim walz, friend from minnesota, said, january 13, i was nonjudgmental until the last 15 minutes. I no longer have that confidence in him, talking about comey. Then the media. So many in the media have been condemning President Trump for firing the f. B. I. Director. Yet if we just go back a little bit, those same people in the 2016, cnn, october 30, said, perhaps its time for the embattled f. B. I. Director who seems to have forgotten how to conduct a proper investigation to resign. Curt ikenwall said, november 7, 2016, james comey should not simply be fired as director of the f. B. I. Or federal bureau of investigation, he must be barred forever from any form of Public Service. He has done more damage to the reputation of the f. B. I. Than any director since the nixon administration. Comey will, without doubt, be listed as second only to hoover as the worst director to ever hold the office because of his illingness to abuse his power. October 31, 2016, we also know that comey violated long standing Justice Department protocol when he decided to disclose the very few facts that he actually did disclose in his letter to the republican chairs. And we know that he wrote the letter over the explicit objections of the attorney general loretta lynch. Taken together these actions constitute a fireable offense. New York Daily News Editorial Board called on comey to resign. Said, quote, f. B. I. Director james comey, democracy bending decision to inform america 11 days before the president ial election. The bureau is digging into a trove of additional emails, demands the highest condemnation and he must resign. The wall street journal Editorial Board said, quote, but if the f. B. I. Directors demonstrated anything in the last year, its that he has lost the trust of nearly everyone in washington. Along with every american who believes the f. B. I. Must maintain its reputation as politically impartial, federal a political impartial federal agency. Comey can render his country now is to resign. Failing that, Jeff Sessionses should invite him in for a meeting after hes confirmed as attorney general, and ask him to resign. If comey declines, donald trump can and should fire him. In the best interests of the nation and most important Law Enforcement agency. Keith olbermann, g. Q. , tweeted out, quote, very simple. F. B. I. Director needs to clarify today that these are not emails from or withheld by clinton or resign immediately. The Washington Post said october 29, 2016, james comey is damaging our democracy. Michael cohen with the boston globe d, october 31, 2016, said, quote, f. B. I. Director james comey should resign. Comey really messed up. The f. B. I. Director did not commit some garden variety mistake. This is not an oops moment. For reasonses that have more to do with protecting himself from dishonest republican attacks, comey committed an overtly egregious and political act that roiled the nations politics 11 days before election day, and undermined public trust in the nations criminal justice institution. And he needs to go. Thats the boston globe. Anyway. Chairman, editor of u. S. News and world report, november 4, 2016, said, time to resign. F. B. I. Director james comey needs to step down over his handling of the clinton email investigation. Its what they said. The selfreach out games comey has served his country badly james comey has served his country badly. He seems oblivious to the effect of handing trump a piece of dine. My he goes on condemning comey over and over. Jeff jarvis from buzzfeed said november 6, 2016, in a tweet, now resign, comey, resign. October 31, 2016, tweet, from Brett Stevens of the New York Times, New York Times, hm. Quote, f. B. I. Director james comey needs to resign now. While he can salvage his honor. My wall street journal column explains. You have the clinton campaign. May 10 it was republished may 10 but it first went out october 30, 2016. And it talks about having worked th director comey, but his unprecedented decision to publicly comment on evidence in what may be an ongoing inquiry just 11 days before theple eaks election leaves us both astonished and perplexed. Went on to say they were moved to speak out publicly because comeys action violated, quote, settled, unquote, d. O. J. Tenantses. Tenants. And Hillary Clinton herself said, quote, its pretty strange to put Something Like that out with such Little Information right before an election. In fact, its not just strange, its unprecedented. Its deeply troubling. I was on the way to winning until the combination of jim comey letter of october 28 and russian wikileaks raised doubts in the minds of people who were inclined to vote for me but got scared off. If the election was on october 27, id be your president. John podesta turns out is on the board of directors of one or more companies, have very strong ties to russia. Had dealings with russia, rather. Quote, its extraordinary that we would see Something Like this 11 days out from a president ial election. Relight on facts, heavy on innuendo, knowing full well what republicanses will with it. Not up to him, talking about comey, who owes the public answers. To questions that are now on the table. He also said that hes not forthcoming with the facts. Anyway. Mr. Speaker, i just thought it would be interesting to understand why President Donald Trump would have said in the ast two days he thought that firing comey would be applauded in it a bipartisan fashion. In a bipartisan fashion. Because he knew all these quotes from Democratic Leaders, mainstream leaders that are Mainstream Media leading publications, weighed in, demanding comeys resignation. President trump demands his resignation or fires him. So, seems to me President Trump is in a situation where its understandable he would think democrats would appreciate him firing comey, just like republicans. So, i know President Trumps relatively new to politics. But hopefully this is a lesson to President Trump. Just because Democratic Leaders and Mainstream Media say one thing in righteous indignation one day does not mean theyre not going to turn around and say exactly the opposite the very next day or the next month. The president , i know hes learning. Hes a quick learner. But hes bound to be learning as he goes. Cant always trust what the democratic leader says one moment, because they may turn around and completely contradict themselves immediately thereafter. I think if the president just relies on what our Democratic Senators and house members said, hell be in good stead. I think the country is better off, depending on who is appointed. But i have faith it will be an improvement. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair announces the speakers appointment, pursuant to 10 u. S. C. In the order of the house, january 3, 2017, on the following member. On the part of the house to the board of visitors to the United States military academy. The clerk the gentleman from florida. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Gohmert mr. Speaker, i move the thank we do now hereby adjourn that we do now hereby adjourn. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the motion to adjourn. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayeses have it. The motion the ayes have it. The motion is about the investigation into the trump campaigns alleged ties to russia and mr. Rosensteins decision to appoint a special counsel to lead that investigation. The briefing was behind closed doors but afterwards, several members of congress spoke with reporters. Well show that now, starting with California Republican darryl issa. Did you learn anything new in there . How was the