Raising a question of the privileges of the House.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2(a)(1) of rule IX, I rise to give notice of my intent to raise a question of the privileges of the House.

The form of the resolution is as follows:

Whereas, Father Patrick Conroy has served honorably as House Chaplain since May 25 of 2011 when he was then appointed by Speaker John Boehner in consultation with Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi;

Whereas, Father Conroy had been re-appointed and approved by the House of Representatives on three separate occasions, most recently January 3 of 2017;

Whereas, on April 16, 2018, the Nation's first Jesuit, and only the second Catholic, Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives submitted his resignation before the full House;

Whereas, this resignation was forced by Paul D. Ryan, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Members of the House Republican Conference;

Whereas, the Speaker's team said ``. . . the decision to remove the Chaplain was his, Speaker Ryan's;''

Whereas, the lack of notification of his forced resignation or adequate explanation provided by Speaker Paul D. Ryan is not reflective of the integrity of the House of Representatives;

Whereas, on November 6, 2017, during debate on the GOP tax scam, the Chaplain led an opening prayer asking God to bless Congress and for Congress to guarantee that there are not winners and losers under the new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans;

Whereas, this prayer reflects the core values of many Americans, in particular people of the Catholic faith, including care and concern for the poor and the marginalized;

Whereas, on April 9, 2018, Pope Francis published his third apostolic exhortation entitled ``Gaudete et Exsultate'' or rejoice and be heard which states that Christians must care for the poor, the sick, and the immigrant;

Whereas, under the GOP tax bill, more than 80 percent of its benefits flow to the richest 1 percent and the corporate special interests, ignoring the needs for struggling men and women and children;

Whereas, this prayer has been reported to be the chief reason for Father Conroy's forced resignation by the Republican Congress;

Whereas, the dismissal of Father Conroy following this prayer shows Republicans' true refusal to embody the values of faith and charity in their legislative work;

Whereas, Father Conroy's forced resignation is concerning to a number of Members of both sides of the aisle;

Whereas, the House of Representatives would benefit from being guided by a Chaplain with a commitment to caring about those most in need;

Whereas, the rights of Members of the House of Representatives were undermined when the leader of one party made a unilateral decision to dismiss the Chaplain;

Whereas, this forced resignation has compromised the dignity of the House of Representatives by politicizing the Office of the House Chaplain;

Whereas, the circumstances behind his resignation compromised the integrity and dignity of the House of Representatives:

Resolved, that there is hereby established a select committee to investigate the actions and motivations behind the resignation of the House Chaplain. The select committee shall be comprised of six Members, of which three shall be appointed by the chair of the Committee on Ethics and three by the ranking member of the Committee on Ethics;

The select committee shall investigate the motivations and actions of the Speaker behind the resignation of the Chaplain.

Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolution just noticed.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, during the week of Monday, April 23, 2018, I missed rollcall votes 148-166. Had I been present for these recorded votes, I would have voted as listed below: Rollcall Vote 148: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 149: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 150: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 151: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 152: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 153: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 154: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 155: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 156: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 157: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 158: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 159: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 160: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 161: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 162: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 163: ``nay,'' rollcall Vote 164: ``aye,'' rollcall Vote 165: ``aye,'' and rollcall Vote 166: ``nay.''

Mr. Speaker, on the day of April 27, I was unavoidably detained. As a result, I was absent for Roll Call votes 163 through 166. Had I been present, I would have voted in the following manner: for Roll Call vote 163, on agreeing to the amendment on of H.R. 4, I would have voted no; for Roll Call vote 164, on motion to recommit with instructions of H.R. 4, I would have voted yes; for vote 165, on passage of H.R. 4, I would have voted yes; and for Roll Call vote 166, on motion to table H. Res. 856, I would have voted no.

Mr. Speaker, on Friday, April 27, 2018, I missed rollcall vote 166, a Motion to Table H. Res. 856, a Privileged Resolution offered by Mr. Crowley of New York to create Select Committee to investigate the motivations and reasoning behind the forced resignation of the House Chaplain. I stand in full support of the Crowley resolution regarding the Speaker's decision to

forcibly push the House Chaplain Father Conroy to resign.

If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: ``nay'' on rollcall vote 166.

Mr. Speaker, parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. Speaker, does, in fact, the Speaker of the House have the right to remove the Chaplain?

Mr. Speaker, is it correct that the Chaplain is elected by the whole House to be the Chaplain of the House of Representatives?

Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry.

Are we in the position where the House will be unable to speak to the issue of removing the official, i.e. the Chaplain, elected by the whole House?