78, hou resolution 965 authorg mote vg oceeding due to novelote coronavirus dor other puos. Thear o tempor purs to house resolutn 967, the resolution i consideredead and debatabl for on hour, eal divided and controlled by the chair and ranking mber on th comttee the gentleman from husett mr. Mcgern, and the ntleman from oahoma,r. Le, ch wil tro 20 minutes. Mr. Mcve i asknanimous revise and extend their remks. The speaker prtempore witho ctn. Mrmcgovern ware in the mit of a pandemic the likesf ich thed hasnseen in his instution, which adopted to cllges and apt contie tlegislate in, ring this blic hlt vid19 is tthree times in theormal cle, oneerso thoronavirld kick off to 59,000 new iections. P think abouthat and think about the way wepeteere. Members travelrom theirme spoto nveneere togetr ot the capitol comex and we travel back home and we repeat is proceon after mth after mon. Mcgovern we cod symptomatic, carers nonetheless. Coeningongrs must notur techlogy has changed years. Ablyver e last 231 the now too avaable temporary commiee ocdings an rete voting on the house floor po. Not for. Just temrilyurinis emergey. Some on the other side seem t think mporary embracing technolo in in t pan let me s thi ld and clear to my colagues. Ifone tellus youd be giing ayour vote with lie, plain and simp. A just notrue. St 1 states, 10 couries d theuropean paiament ha instited some form of remote with this rolutio this us let me repea war not suggesting no one believes weo our bes workn peon and sid by si morehan , mr. Speaker. Remote leglating will oy be utilize sod lo ashis pandemic continues. Mr. Spear, thiis the the alys done. T this hse has our founders did not voty ectronic deve bute do nstituents decades ago couldnt watch floor proceed them on the radio, but ours can. Changes were madtour quorum requirement time andim, includinmost rectly after th sepmb 1attack. Coulgo oandn anon and on. Believe it or not, adaptg is th have always there he thosquick to proclai that any ending the uss know it t you knowhat, mr. Sak, the sky didot fal andhe hoe continues its work. So ion says toake s a bigeal. Is seoug re but my state of massachusetts legislatures in the count. But ev ty chand their ruleto allow for rote voting. You can respe tration wioublinding yrself of e ne t me tempory changes when necry. Tois one of those times. This resolionomes after careful udy. Feedback from constitutional experts. Bipartisan task force. G a strethed bthis been is time toctpcess. Memunies have turned the corner with thisus. I tt continues. Medil experts tell us, ver,hat a second wave this fall could beven me damag thang what ware seeing now. Anhing less wod be a w derection ur sponbili. Y ur all my cogues to join with usn supportg this reluon. Lets ap the way this instithas aays done and tssure that we can continue legislating ithis pandem nmatter what ture may bring. I rve e balan of my. The eakepro tempore the gentlen from massachusts rerves. Cole is recognized. Cole k yovery much, mr. Spea i want to thanky good frien the chaie geleman from ssachusetts,r. Mover wevrkedong and hard together and tried to coeratively. Number of this in here we hav worked on together. Inhe end we wee unle to reach angree. Mr. Spker,ere bk here t consider theolion coequential change to les he house of reentatives my time cossnd possibly the most consequential ruleshange sinc e esblhment of theoder mmittee em in the legislate Organization Act of day,peaker the majory is prong for the firste voting on thr of the hoexy th cnge ao allws for adoption of aotal remote ificatioof single embe of congress. Second, it wllow for committe to perform remote proceedings including mkups. Abov alllse, mr. Speak, rebl believe that y angeo centuries old rules of the usshould onldone in coensuan wayhaachies unfortunately, these psed ges do noteet atoal. While i have no doubt of the chairmans good intentions, i believe these changes will fundamentally alter the nature of the institution, not for the better, and as such i cannot support them. This resolution is intented to deal only with the Public Health emergency. We must never forget that the changes we make today become the precedent we follow tomorrow. Im deeply concerned that shifting to remote activity, both in the form of proxy voting reand mote Committee Work will fundamentally change the way the house operates an remove the collegial environment we enjoy when we meet in person, get to know one another and use our knowledge of each legislator as a person to move forward bipartisan consensus. I fear that that would be lost in remote activity. Im also deeply concerned that these changes will not pass constitutional muster. Why would we risk exposing important legislation to obvious constitutional flaws, does not make sense to me. Most of all im concerned that were moving forward with these changes on a partisan basis. Any change that is this consequential should only be done after we reach bipartisan agreement. No matter how difficult it may be to achieve. I think a bipartisan agreement was possible on much of what my friend is trying to accomplish. Mr. Speaker, todays resolution is simply not it. I have a modest suggestion to my friend. Lets take appropriate cautions and go back to work. Thats what the executive branch is doing. Thats what the United States senate is doing. Thats what millions of americans do each and every day. We should be no different. The house should do the same. I urge my colleagues to reject these rules changes today and return to the drawing board so we can act together in a bipartisan manner to ensure that congress can continue to operate during this crisis. With that, mr. Speaker, i urge opposition to the resolution and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern i ask for unanimous consent to submit to erwin rd a letter from chimereski, the renowned constitutional scholar and dean of Berkley School of law, discuss his view that the remote voting process we are discussing today would be constitutional. He said the constitution bestows on each house of congress to determine rules for its own proceedings. This would include the ability to adopt a rule to admit proxy voting. Nothing in the institution in the constitution specified otherwise. I ask unanimous consent to have that in the record. I would also just say to my friend that the white house isnt operating as business as usual my understanding is that the Vice President has been sequestered from the president. In addition to that, everybody in the white house is being tested multiple times. Before they can even get near the president. A lot of the work is being done by video conference. Even they are doing things differently. At this time id like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Peters. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Peters i thank the entleman for yielding. This would authorize remote voting in the Public Health emergency of covid19. Governors and mayors across the nation have ordered americans to stay home, work from home and avoid traveling. Until we have adequate testing or a vaccine to protect ourselves and prevent our Health Care System from being overwhelmed, the best we can do here is follow that advice. We in Congress Must do what weve asked of our constituents and what others have ordered of them. Some argue and weve heard this recently, that because were asking our frontline heros to show up at work we lawmakers should be required to convene here in d. C. That argument misses the point. It dishonor ours frontline workers, particularly Health Care Workers who are begging people to stay home. To avoid nonessential travel in order to slow the spread of this deadly disease. They ask others to stay home so someday they can go home. We in congress are not First Responders or frontline Health Care Workers though our frontline responders are certainly counting on us to provide the resources they need. But we can hold our meetings and conduct our communications electronically. And because of the space limitations created by the need for social physical distancing, working remotely is probably the only way all our of all of our committee can function at the same time. Like everyone else, i dont want to give up the opportunity to work with my colleagues in person, our relationships are too valuable, but in the face of this once in a lifetime Global Pandemic we need to overcome our default position. Remote voting is not cowardice its leadership. Lets live by the rules we impose on our fellow ship zens. Lets show by our thanks we ourselves take this threat seriously. I want to thank the leadership of mr. Mcgovern and ms. Lofgren and all the other folks who have worked on this including my friend mr. Cole, and i urge support of this resolution and yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Cole is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to think good friend the distinguished Ranking Member of the House Armed Service committee from the great state of texas, mr. Thornberry. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Thornberry i thank the gentleman for yielding. Those of us on the Armed Services committee are privileged to work around, with, and for the men and women who serve in the military. Every one of them is a military. Every one of them expects reasonable precautions with their health and safety and well being. But every one of them knows that in carrying out their duties there is some risk that goes with it. And they carry out their duties admirably. What a contrast to what we are what a contrast from what were seeing in this resolution. One of the proudest times i have this house has been on 9 11 and thereafter. Members gathered on the steps of the capitol. Thereafter we passed a resolution that was needed to deal with the terrorist threat. Intimidated ven when many of our offices were ttacked by anthrax in the days thereafter. It was not just about showing resolution to the terrorists, it was about showing the country we could come together and get our work done. We are ontrast to what seeing with this resolution. 1918 flu,e civil war, world war ii, 9 11, throughout there has never been proxy voting on this floor. Members accepted the risk and out their duties to the best of their ability. It was not about technology. About trust and integrity. Predecessors so much braver than were our wedecessors more braver than are . Were they more ignorant of the isk or careless of their safety . Was their responsibility greater than ours . None of this makes sense. Least sense s the of all, mr. Speaker, is that any ember of either party would support a resolution that allows ny of us to vacate, even temporarily, the trust placed in that and undermine the very foundation of this Representative Democracy. History is better than that. Better than serve that. O me, mr. Speaker, it is sad, rather despicable, and one of the darkest days in this institution. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from oklahoma reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts recognized. Mr. Mcgovern thank you, mr. Speaker. Let me just say to the gentleman who just spoke. Intimidated and i am not afraid. None of us are here. This isnt about any of that. About doing what is sensible, what is in the Public Health interest. Not about us. Its about the people you all come in contact with. Dont ho walk around and wear masks, you know, somehow as how unafraid they carriers who are asymptomatic spreading this disease. Public health crisis. This is different than what happened on 9 11. Health crisis c that somebody carrying this disease can spread it in a very way. Ssive so please, spare me the selfrighteous kind of this. Ation over were supposed to follow the advice. Were supposed to practice social distancing. And yet, the rules committee, smallest committee in the congress, had to meet in andways and Means Committee we took up the whole committee. Now, we have 21 standing committees, i dont know how subcommittees. Where does the Armed Services meet . Where does the transportation meet . Tee maybe they can meet on the house floor. Maybe one committee at a time. If we, the bottom line is are going to follow the medical advice that we should not paralyze this institution. That i yield 1 1 2 minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, a distinguished member a cochair ber and of the problem solvers, mr. Gottheimer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey is for a minute and a half. Mr. Gottheimer thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today as congress adapts this pandemic so that we can represent our constituents and shape legislation during this do so safely in line with c. D. C. Guidelines. His resolution includes Remote Committee participation and proxy voting, which are essential reforms during this to giving the y American Public the and transparency they deserve. Im hoping remote floor debate and voting are next and this paves the way. It Supreme Court is doing and so can we. State legislators, including of new and in my state jersey, legislators around the world are doing it. And its timehere we step up. Theres nothing extreme about adapting is way and during an emergency. Just like all americans have. Chairman rateful to mcgovern, my good friend, a true institutionalist. And representative lofgren who has worked with us in the roblem solvers caucus with democrats and republicans as we continue making strides to a truly remote system. Debate and work is key for my district in north jersey, hich is at the epicenter of this crisis. Bill includes the salt deduction. It helps Small Businesses that for workers meet, uninsured for every single and community so they can support teachers, cops, e. M. S. Firefighters. But it starts with making sure our system is built so we can do does todays proposal just that. We should all support this legislation to defend this institution, to protect it, and ensure accountability and transparency and this institution lives on forever in he greatest country in the world. I know well get through this together if we put country ahead party. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. Is gentleman from oklahoma recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to my good riend, distinguished member from minnesota, mr. Hagedorn. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. Hagedorn thank you. I believe this is a bad idea for his institution and a terrible example for the nation. I recommend a no vote. As our nation t opens up and people go back to responsibly to their jobs, the house is making a move to shut down, for all intents and purposes. Know, tens of millions of americans throughout this have ak, this pandemic, been out delivering and producing our energy, our food, with, of course, people in hospitals, policing our neighborhoods. Jobs e been doing their and we should be doing our jobs in person moving forward. Publicght question why a of Congress Like myself who is dealing with stage 4 cancer, mayo g treatment at the clinic, why i would be one working intravel and this chamber, and working in our because its a bad idea. Ere setting a terrible example. Personally, though, i can tell you this. This is the job i signed up for. This is the job i asked the southern minnesota to do. And this is the job that i want to do. Honor to serve them. I think we should do it in person, working committee in and do our jobs and we can do it safely and responsibly. Vote. Mmend a no thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from oklahoma reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts recognized. Mr. Mcgovern thank you, mr. Speaker. The gentleman should be happy to we that under the proposal have, you can come here anytime he wants. He can be in his committee. E can be on this floor and debate. But the bottom line for those who are in circumstances where hat is impossible, it provides an opportunity for them to participate as well. With that i would now yield two inutes to the gentlewoman from michigan, ms. Stevens. The speaker pro tempore the entlewoman from michigan is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Stevens i rise today to discuss the activity of the space, and e, echnology committee as we work toward extraordinary circumstances to deliver to the American People. The Science Committee, under the chairwoman johnson and Ranking Member lucas, has been holding briefings on topics as infrastructure, energy development, through the technologies available to us over the worldwide web. Been bipartisan. One important focus has been our manufacturing role in retooling production lines to needede medical supplies to respond to the Ongoing Health crisis. His has been of particular importance for the subcommittee of research and technology of with i chair, along Ranking Member baird. How do we open platforms and technologies for industrial collaboration to olve big problems and streamline our supply chain to et the medical supplies to those who need them now . The Science Committee will ontinue to do the work it has always done, to meet the needs of the American People, to manufacturing, innovation forward. Urge my colleagues to support this fabulous resolution, that will enable us to continue to do and trying er great circumstances. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The peaker pro tempore gentlewoman from michigan yields back. The gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes distinguished republican Ranking Member of the Budget Committee and a fellow member of the