Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow, and further, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Mark Abernathy, an incredible individual, close friend and trusted confidant, and to celebrate his life and service to our community in California's Central Valley, the great state of California, and our country. Mark will be missed by so many that have been influenced by his political acumen, his unparalleled wit, and his spirit and passion for his neighbors and community. He passed away on January 27, 2018, and I know that our community joins me in mourning this loss.

Mark was born and raised in the Land of Lincoln, appropriate given that the principles of Abraham Lincoln was a seminal influence that would eventually shape much of Mark's patriotism and worldview. From a young age, Mark learned the value of hard work and perseverance while growing up on the family farm with his sister Jill, his brother Mike, and his cousins, growing corn and raising hogs. During that time, he developed an adoration for baseball--and especially the St. Louis Cardinals--that would remain with him for the rest of his life. Mark attended Western Illinois University and paid his tuition fees by literally ``singing for his supper'' as a guitar player and singer for the ``The Rising Sons,'' a country western band that he was a member of all throughout college. He graduated with degrees in agriculture and biology and felt a call to serve his country shortly after, joining the United States Air Force during the Vietnam War and serving as a Captain and electronic warfare officer from 1968 to 1972.

The Air Force eventually brought Mark to California, where he first uncovered a natural talent for campaigning and an interest in local politics. While stationed at McClellan Air Force Base in Sacramento, he served as Chair of the Fairlake Young Republicans Club, where he met Cathy Swajian, who would become the love of his life and inseparable partner while raising two daughters and becoming a fixture in Republican politics.

Bakersfield welcomed the Abernathys when they moved in 1981, and Mark became involved in state and local politics through when he founded his political consulting firm, Western Pacific Research, which would grow to influence and create some of the most effective Young Republican groups and elect many elected officials on the local, state, and national levels through grassroots political campaigns. Mark was the type of person who never gave up--whether that meant working all throughout the night to finalize and execute campaign messaging or strategy, or just walking door to door to register voters and share his passion for community engagement. He adhered, and he made sure his campaigns adhered, to the values and principles enshrined in our Constitution and our nation's founding documents. Yet his great emphasis toward civic responsibility was only surpassed by his devotion to his faith and to his family, never missing a softball game or the opportunity to take his beloved daughters, Margaret and Madeline, to a baseball game. He was a man of exceptional character and talent, and his unparalleled 97 percent candidate victory record serves as a simple testament to the success he had in mastering his craft.

Perhaps most telling of Mark's legacy are the many currently-serving elected officials whom he worked with and helped to shape, myself included. Many of my closest friends and colleagues in the Central Valley--as well as former Governor Schwarzenegger during the gubernatorial recall campaign--worked with and listened to Mark in order to win their campaigns and serve the community and country that has given so much to us all. Mark always stressed the importance of involving our youth in politics and bringing a sense of passion to all that one does. Mark's political talent made him incredible, but his devotion to God and ability to inspire faith in others is what made him exceptional. He never gave up hope that goodness and God's will would prevail with hard work and belief.

The city of Bakersfield, Kern County and the State of California have lost a brilliant mind and an integral citizen of the community, and Judy and I have lost a treasured friend. His passing was a shock to those who knew him, and we will miss his advice, humor, tenacity and character for years to come. But he will be remembered as a leader who inspired generations of Republicans to fight for their principles and beliefs and to remain bold in strengthening the ties among faith, family and community. On behalf of the House and the 23rd Congressional District of California, we remember the remarkable life of Mark Abernathy and extend our most heartfelt condolences to his wife, Cathy, and daughters, Margaret and Madeline.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the message of the President be referred to the Whole House of the state of the Union and ordered printed.

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 10 o'clock and 39 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until Friday, February 2, 2018, at 4:30 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the order of the House of today, I call up the bill (H.R. 195) to amend title 44, United States Code, to restrict the distribution of free printed copies of the Federal Register to Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the United States, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 4 minutes.

Mr. Speaker, for 3 days, the Nation has watched as tens of thousands of Federal employees were forced to stay home; as our men and women in uniform went without pay; as opioid treatment centers got cut off; and as parents faced the harrowing prospect that their children would lose their health insurance.

The American people never wanted this to happen. Republicans in Congress did not want this to happen. We did everything in our power to make sure this didn't happen.

The House passed a clean bill. A bipartisan majority in the Senate voted to pass that clean bill, but Senate Democrats shut it down.

We were told this was about immigration, but Republicans already said we would sit at the table. We already were at the table every single day before this shutdown, negotiating in good faith. Despite this political drama, I remain eager to get back to the table and put this all behind us.

So I must ask: What was gained here at the expense of the American people? What was gained at the expense of our Nation's reputation as a great and deliberative Republic?

Every policy in the House's original bill, the Senate passed today. Every single policy is the same. If the Senate had passed this same bill on Friday, all this disgraceful political theater would have never happened.

Now, as it always should have been, our government will open, our troops will be paid, and our children will have health insurance.

But that is not enough. We cannot continue to repeat the same mistakes again. As my father used to tell me, it is not your mistakes that define you; it is what you learned from them.

So let's commit to each other and to the American public that we will not continue to fund our government through these short-term CRs. Let's commit that we will pass through both Houses every appropriations bill with full funding for our troops, full funding for our defense, and full funding for every service our government owes to its people.

We all know this shutdown was an embarrassment. It didn't need to happen. It should have never happened, and it will not happen again.

That, Mr. Speaker, is the government that the people want, the government that the people need, and the government that the American people deserve.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the Speaker of the House.

(Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the concurrent resolution (S. Con. Res. 33) providing for a correction in the enrollment of H.R. 195, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

On Monday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. The House will recess no later than 5 p.m. and reconvene at approximately 8:35 p.m. for a joint session of Congress to receive the President's State of the Union Address. Members are requested to be on the floor and seated no later than 8:20 p.m. On Wednesday, votes are no longer 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 this Friday.

In addition, the House will, once again, take up legislation to fund the Department of Defense for its fiscal year. This bill will be fully consistent with the National Defense Authorization Act, which passed the House and Senate last year on a bipartisan basis and was signed into law by President Trump.

Mr. Speaker, this House has shown that we stand ready to rebuild America's military and give our men and women in uniform the resources they need.

I will now encourage our Senate colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I can't agree with him more. This body has passed all 12 appropriation bills. We do need a budget agreement. And we make progress; once we get that budget agreement, I firmly believe we can fund the rest of this year and

next year going forward in what we actually need to get our jobs done.

The gentleman is correct, we have met numerous times. I thought they have been very productive meetings dealing with DACA. We have narrowed the scope to four areas.

I am excited to have the government back open. It also means we can be back at the table to solve this problem. I know we have a short time period. We have got a week left after the CR that we just passed, but I believe, working together, we can get this done.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the Nation finds itself in a grave situation. Our government has shut down. Military men and women in Afghanistan, in Iraq, and around the world are still risking their lives for our country and are not being paid. Opioid treatment centers have had their funds cut off. Children in States across America will start losing their health insurance.

How did we get to this place?

The Nation assumes there must be a good reason. The House passed a bill--a clean government funding bill with no strings attached and no gimmicks because States are running out of money. We even included funding for a bipartisan extension of the Children's Health Insurance Program for 6 years without any offsets that our Democratic colleagues have objected to in the past, the longest that CHIP has ever been reauthorized for.

So we passed that bill and it went to the Senate. We all know the rules, but, Mr. Speaker, at times it sounds like some people need a little greater knowledge of how the system works. It is incorrect to claim otherwise.

Republicans may have majorities in both houses, but it takes 60 votes in the Senate to move legislation. That means the Senate needs Democrat votes to keep our government funded, but Senate Democrats said no, just as more than 90 percent of those on the other side of the aisle in this House did as well. Senate Democrats shut this government down. This is a Schumer shutdown.

Once upon a time, Chuck Schumer called shutting the government down a ``politics of idiocy.''

Senator Feinstein even said: ``Shutting down the government is a very serious thing.''

You know what she said?

She said: ``People die. Accidents happen. You don't know. Necessary functions can cease.''

So how did they change their minds? Why did they do it?

I would like to know, because nobody knows.

It wasn't the bill. The funding bill is clean.

It wasn't CHIP. The children's health insurance legislation we passed came straight from the bipartisan deal in the Senate.

They say it is about immigration, about DACA. They are shutting down the government, cutting off funds for our troops, cutting off funds to opioid treatment centers, and cutting off health insurance for American children over immigration, over something that has nothing to do with this funding bill or with putting the American people first.

So I think that it is only reasonable that we ask: What exactly are their demands? Why are they holding our government, our troops, and American children hostage?

Why would you hold it hostage over DACA if the President brought the House, the Senate, the Republicans, the Democrats together?

I was in that meeting.

Do you know who else was in that meeting?

The American public, because the President allowed the media to be there.

Do you know what happened at the end of that meeting?

Based upon the President's leadership, he brought us together and we all decided we would focus just on four ideas--DACA, border security, chain migration, and the lottery--because we wanted to solve the problem, but we didn't want to have to come back to it a few years from now.

We took the President's lead.

Do you know what?

Every day we have been having those meetings.

Do you know how I know?

Because I am in those meetings and they are in my office.

Just a day before we shut down, the quote from those on the other side of the aisle and even in the Senate was:

This is the most productive meeting we have had.

So why shut it down now? Why even shut down the meetings by shutting down the government?

If they want something different than a bipartisan deal, if they want to force one-sided immigration policy through Congress that the American public doesn't want, then they should have the courage to say it straight, have the courage to say that they are shutting down our government to make the illegal immigration situation in this country worse instead of making the hard choices to fix it.

Mr. Speaker, the American people don't want to see temper tantrums. They don't want to see anyone stomping their feet demanding they get their way. That is not just an embarrassment, it has profound consequences for good people across this country.

Now, this House stands ready to pass another clean spending bill. And, yes, Mr. Speaker, if this side of the aisle has to do it alone, like we have done it in the past, we will.

We stand ready to keep our government open and pay our troops with no strings attached, but we will not negotiate a bad deal for America, especially not when Senate Democrats are holding our government hostage.

This is too important. History is watching. History will not be kind to those who put themselves above the American people.

Madam Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, no votes are expected in the House. On Tuesday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes of the week are expected no later than 3 p.m.

Mr. Speaker, the House will consider a number of suspensions next week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business tomorrow.

In addition, the House will consider two measures from the Financial Services Committee: first, H.R. 2954, the Home Mortgage Disclosure Adjustment Act, sponsored by Representative Tom Emmer. This bill would provide targeted regulatory relief to our local community banks and credit unions; second, H.R. 3326, the World Bank Accountability Act, sponsored by Representative Andy Barr.

Mr. Speaker, next week, our Nation's Capital will also welcome tens of thousands of Americans to Washington for the annual March for Life. In conjunction, the House will vote on H.R. 4712, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, sponsored by Representative Marsha Blackburn. This bill simply states that doctors must provide medical care to any child born alive after a failed abortion.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, additional legislative items are expected, including legislation to address government funding and other expiring priorities. I will be sure to inform all Members as soon as any additional items are added to our schedule.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

As the gentleman knows, we have been in discussions to try to get a budget agreement. We have hopes we can get that done this time. If we are able to get that budget agreement, we will need some time for the appropriators to do their work, so we would have a continuing resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I am hoping he is asking this question so he will return and start voting for this. But in the past, that has been what we have done, the last two, and I don't see any change in what we are moving forward with now.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the negotiations have been progressing further, as they have for the last month or so. I believe, as we both know, in the need of this funding for our military. I believe that the military should not be held hostage for any other issue.

So I believe we can get to a solution here, and I am hopeful that those who have been negotiating can find common ground in the next day or two so that we can move forward.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the order of the House of January 3, 2017, providing for morning-hour debate be extended for the remainder of the 115th Congress, except that House Resolution 679 shall supplant House Resolution 9.