Further Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019

Madam Speaker, due to a scheduled medical procedure, I was physically absent from the House of Representatives from January 10, 2019 to February 5, 2019. During that time, I missed 44 recorded votes. Had I been present for those votes, I would have voted: on Roll Call No. 22 on the Republican Motion to Recommit on H.R. 267, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 23 on the Passage of H.R. 267, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 24 on the Republican Motion to Recommit on H.R. 265, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 25 on the Passage of H.R. 265, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 26 on the Republican Motion to Recommit on H.R. 266, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 27 on the Passage of H.R. 266, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 28 on the Passage of S. 24, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 29 on the Passage of H.R. 221, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 30 on the Passage of H.R. 116, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 31 on the Passage of H.J. Res. 27, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 32 on the Passage of H. Res. 41, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 33 on the Passage of H.R. 135, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 34 on Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 43, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 35 on the Adoption of H. Res. 43, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 36 on the Passage of H.R. 190, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 37 on the Passage of Amendment No. 2 offered by Mr. McGovern (D- MA), I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 38 on Ordering the Republican Motion to Recommit, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 39 on the Passage of H.R. 268, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 40 on the Adoption of H. Res. 52, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 41 on the Passage of H.R. 150, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 42 on the Passage of H.J. Res. 30, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 43 on Republican Motion to Recommit, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 44 on the Passage of H.R. 676, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 45 on the Passage of H.R. 328, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 46 on the Passage of H.J. Res 28, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 47 on the Passage of H. Res. 61, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 48 on the Republican Motion to Recommit, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 49 on the Passage of H.R. 648, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 50 on the Republican Motion to Recommit, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 51 on the Passage of H.J. Res. 31, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 52 on the Passage of H.R. 624, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 53 on the Passage of H.R. 502, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 54 on Approving of the Speaker's Journal, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 55 on the Motion to Adjourn, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 56 on the Passage of H.R. 428, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 57 on the Passage of H.R. 449, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 58 on the Passage of H.R. 769, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 59 on the Motion to Table the Motion to Reconsider H. Res. 77, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 60 on Ordering the Previous Question on H. Res. 87, I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 61 on the Passage of H. Res. 87, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 62 on the Passage of Amendment No. 3 offered by Mrs. Trahan (D-MA), I would have voted ``Nay;'' on Roll Call No. 63 on the Republican Motion to Recommit, I would have voted ``Yea;'' on Roll Call No. 64 on the Passage of H.R. 790, I would have voted ``Nay;'' and on Roll Call No. 65 on the Passage of H. Res. 79, I would have voted ``Nay.''

Madam Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lowey for the recognition and the opportunity to speak.

Madam Speaker, this vote is a tribute to the thousands of Federal patriots who have shown up to work for the past 25 days, working with no pay. This must end today. I call on my colleagues in this body to vote to support our hardworking public servants.

This bill is a clean continuing resolution. It comprises short-term funding through February 1 for all the agencies and departments currently shuttered for no good reason. Those include the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, the State Department, the Interior Department, the Agriculture Department, the Department of Commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, and many more agencies.

The President is not serving this Nation; he is not serving it well as he uses his authority to harm our Republic. Civil service workers are the bonds that hold our country together.

The Commander in Chief is hurting our Nation and holds our entire government hostage to his harebrained notion that you can stop drug trafficking and migration with a wall. The drug traffickers must be laughing up a storm. They already ship it here hidden in legal cargo. They dug tunnels under the 650 miles of border that already exists. They figured that out. And they have been flying contraband material over our border. They boat illegal contraband in here from our coastal ports, and they ship it from China through even the Postal Service, and we don't have a mechanism to detect fentanyl in the mails.

To secure our Nation and our border, our Nation first needs to open all our government agencies for the American people who are paying the bills, open those departments and pay the men and women who dedicate their lives to protecting our borders and protecting us. Once the government is open, we can spend the next weeks discussing how best to fund mechanisms that will truly improve our security. This could include thorough inspection of all cargo.

This could include enhanced electronic surveillance between ports of entry. This could include additional personnel at all ports of entry to increase checks. And, frankly, in communities like I represent, it should involve increasing DEA agents to take care of the gangs that are trafficking in these illegal materials.

But most importantly, we need a President who understands you don't stop the drug trade or undocumented migration of individuals by shuttering the entire Department of Homeland Security or furloughing the border agents or making them go to work with no pay. He has got the wrong answer for what America needs to address in border security.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 27) making further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.J. Res. 27, currently under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, we are now in the 25th day of the Trump shutdown, the longest Federal Government shutdown in United States history.

This past Friday, hundreds of thousands of dedicated Federal employees went without a paycheck. It is shameful that the stubborn whims of this President have harmed the security of America's public servants. That includes Federal law enforcement officials at the FBI, the very Secret Service agents who protect the President, and those who work tirelessly to protect our air travel, our national parks, our environment, and public health.

The bill before us is the seventh--let me repeat, the seventh--piece of legislation Democrats have put on the House floor to end the Trump shutdown and get the government back to work for the American people. It will reopen government through February 1, providing time for Congress to come to a full-year agreement without further jeopardizing vital services or the pay of Federal workers.

It is long past time that Senate Republicans join us to reopen the government, pay our Federal employees, and then negotiate on border security and immigration policy. Madam Speaker, I hope that my colleagues across the Capitol come to their senses and end this shutdown.

I urge support for this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), my good friend, an outstanding legislator, who is the chair-designate of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio.

Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), my good friend, who is the chair-designate of the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Madam Speaker, I am prepared to close. I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, it is time to end the Trump shutdown. Let's vote ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge my colleagues to reopen the Federal Government and end this destructive Trump shutdown. For 25 days now, the Trump shutdown has inflicted financial pain and anxiety on families, businesses, and entire communities across the United States.

This week, I spoke with a room full of these victims. Aviation safety experts detailed for me how the Trump shutdown has eroded an air travel system that, for now, is safe, but they are growing worried and concerned.

I heard from Federal workers who told me that the changes to tax laws ushered in during the Republican tax scam have left citizens scrambling for answers, yet workers are not there who can shepherd them through those changes.

A local leader who represents domestic violence shelters warned me, if the Trump shutdown drags on, as many as a third of the Florida facilities that women count on for refuge when they are victims of domestic violence could find themselves cutting services.

Democrats in the House have done our job. We have passed half a dozen bills to reopen the government, yet Senate Republicans have decided to hide behind President Trump and his border boondoggle refusing to take ``yes'' for an answer that could end this irresponsible shutdown.

While they are busy bowing to the President, Senate Republicans recklessly ignore that public safety is at stake. They downplay, and even dismiss, that 800,000 families are now living without a paycheck today.

Businesses, farmers, veterans, restaurant workers, domestic violence victims, and many more are all feeling real pain from this unnecessary shutdown. We need to do our jobs. We need to work together and actually be the coequal branch of government that the Constitution describes.

So today, House Democrats will do just that and give Senate Republicans another option to get us out of this latest Trump trap and offer this bill that would reopen all closed Federal agencies through February 1. This bill would allow time for us to negotiate border security and immigration reform, but without inflicting further economic harm on our families and our businesses. It is the smart, reasonable, and compassionate thing to do.

I ask my colleagues to pass this bill into law without delay.

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 27.

I thank Ranking Member Granger for allowing me to speak on this very important issue, and I thank my distinguished colleagues on the other side of the aisle. Mrs. Lowey is a friend from New York. We have served together.

Madam Speaker, this situation is frustrating. We have come to a place right now where I received a phone call last night from the Commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Schultz. We talked about the wonderful men and women who are serving so well and so hard and who are not going to get a paycheck because of this situation.

We all want border security; I believe that. But I also believe that President Trump is right, that we need a wall, a barrier.

I happen to represent the people of the Third District of Tennessee-- wonderful people, east Tennessee--and they tell me time and time again: Build a wall; have a border; keep us safe; but we also want the government open.

And when I look at the polling data, when I look at the phone calls, it is high time that we get back to work, open the government, but keep us safe.

In our districts, we all represent Republicans and Democrats and Independents. Hopefully, most of the people vote. But even people who pay their taxes who decide not to vote, they count on the American Representatives, our House, to work, and they count on the Senate.

With all due respect, H.J. Res. 27 is dead on arrival in the United States Senate. We know that. The American people know that. The President knows that. We need a compromise on this wall issue right now that will satisfy security, that will keep the American people safe, and, yes, that will open the government.

Compromise is not a dirty word in this scenario. It is what we need to do, and we need good faith. I am not alleging bad faith on anyone in this body. I am saying it is time to call a timeout and get back to work and do the people's business.

They sent us here to govern. We need to govern. We need a wall. We need border security, and we need the government open. It is high time that we get there