supported this. if you look at what the president is talking about, pretty much it is what passed congress in 2006 on a bipartisan basis. the obama administration just quit and you had many democrats back then that were very much in favor of it. now i think it has gotten personalized. if this happens, it is somehow a victory for the president -- and and we areess -- going to deny him that victory whether it makes sense or not. honestly, people have made it a political issue when it actually shouldn't. i agree we should all agree on protecting the country. we can debate on what method works, but we don't disagree fundamentally. your point about shutting down the government, with all due respect, and i quite >> you can watch the last few moments of this "washington journal" discussion on our website c-span.org. we'll leave it here to go live

to the u.s. house of representatives which is voting shortly on a resolution calling for the release of journalists who are imprisoned in the country of mynamar, also known as burma. and now to live coverage of the house on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the clerk: the speaker's rooms, washington, d.c. december 13, 2018. i hereby appoint the honorable ted poe to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, paul d. ryan, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray. gracious god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. throughout history you have

been ever present to all believers. in times of darkness we readily turn on lights. millions of americans in this season have variously turned to the celebration of the christmas season with its trees and lights and hanukkah, the festival of lights. even so, in our political world, there remains the reality of considerable disagreement and contention. where there is darkness here, send forth a spark of inspiration and grace to enlighten minds and warm hearts to respond to your love for your people. eternal father of us all, fill your children with the delight that comes from light. may we walk no longer in the darkness of distrust, but join together in mutual understanding and peace toward the common well-being of our nation. may all that is done this day

be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his pproval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson. mr. thompson: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will gents tain up to five requests for one-minute speeches -- will entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. thompson, seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in honor of the 38 nd birthday of the national guard. a component of the united states army, the national guard is primarily composed of citizen soldiers who hold full-time jobs, civilian jobs, or attend school. they serve their community and their country. each u.s. state, the district of columbia, the commonwealth of puerto rico, and the territories of guam and the u.s. virgin islands maintain both an army national guard and air national guard. on december 13, 1636, the massachusetts general court issued an order requiring all able-bodied men between 16 and 60 to create a standing army for protection. with that order, what we now know as america's national guard, was born. the idea was simple. establish an army of citizen soldiers who could be called upon to fight when needed.

mr. speaker, i commend all those who join the ranks of the esteemed national guard, they answer the call of duty to protect their community and country. we're grateful for their service and proud of their commitment. happy 382nd birthday to the national guard. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. langevin: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from rhode island is recognized. mr. langevin: mr. speaker, too many students are being overlooked by our education system. these students are emergent biling wals, a group that icks up 10% of the k through 12 student population. in the law re-- we refer to them as english earners. one who is language is another language and not english proficient. they are already proficient in another language whether it's

spanish, chinese, or arabic. as these students learn english, they become bilingual and that's an incredible asset in our global society. we benefit and we need to shift our view of emerging bilinguals and recognize their great potential. we must recognize that by investing in their success that we all benefit. sally of rhode island college educator introduced me to the term emergent biling wals and i encourage my colleagues to use it as well and celebrate students emerging bilingualism. it's a gift that will empower students to become more successful later in life. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i request give a one-minute speech and revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois, mr. lahood, is recognized. mr. speaker, i rise

today with a heavy heart to honor the life of an american hero and son of illinois. last thursday corporal daniel baker of tree month, illinois, as aboard a k.c.-130 refueling aircraft that collided with an f-18 hornet during a training mission over the ocean south of japan. following a search and rescue mission, corporal baker was declared deceased this past tuesday morning. he was 21 years old. born and raised in illinois. daniel baker was known by friends and family to be a man of deep faith who was kind, passionate, and sincere. 2015, daniel graduated from tremont high school and felt a deep calling to serve his calling in the military. he served two years in the united states marine corps. he received the national defense service medal and global war on terrorism service medal. corporal baker was taken from this world way too early. but he embodied every quality

we seek to impart upon young men and women in this country. he will be deeply missed by his friends, family, and the tremont community. may we continue to keep daniel and his family in our thoughts and prayers. we will never forget his selfless sacrifice to our country. at this time, mr. speaker, i would request that the house of representatives honor his service with a moment of silence. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington, mr. new house, is recognized for one minute. mr. new houses: mr. speaker --

mr. newhouse: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor john turner who is retiring from his role as walla walla county sheriff. he served the public in this role for eight years. sheriff turner dedicated himself to working to make his community safer. he sought to provide 24-7 patrol coverage. re-establish the canine program. address gang activity in the county. and proactively address other public safety concerns. he was nominated by his peers across washington state for the national sheriff's associationer ifis e. lucas award for national sheriff of the year and received the national sheriffs association medal of merit for his outstanding positive accomplishments. in his retirement announcement, he wrote, being walla walla county sheriff for the last two terms has been one of the greatest honors of my life. as i wind down my second term, i ask that you continue to keep those brave men and women who

regularly and selflessly go into harm's way in your positive thoughts and prayers. i ask my colleagues to join me in thanking sheriff john turner for his tremendous service to the people of walla walla county and washington state. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from california, mr. royce, to suspend the rules and agree to h.res. 1091, as amended. on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1091, resolution calling for the government of burma to release burmese journalists sentenced to seven years imprisonment after investigating attacks against civilians by burma's military and security forces and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and agree to the resolution as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned 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 394. the nays are 1. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the resolution is agreed to, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. without objection, the title is amended.

for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 6964, juvenile justice reform act of 2018, with the senate amendment thereto and concur in the senate amendment. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill and the senate amendment. the clerk: h.r. 6964, an act to re-authorize and improve -- >> i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the reading is dispensed with. is there any objection to the request of the gentleman from minnesota? without objection, the senate amendment is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent -- the house is not in order, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house will be in order. please carry your conversations off the floor. without objection, the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. hoyer: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, 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 yield to my friend. i want to say as i yield to him, maybe i better say it at the end and see how pleasant we're. i yield to the majority leader. mr. mccarthy: i thank the gentleman for yielding.

i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, the house is still not in order. members want to hear the information that the leader gives about the schedule. the speaker pro tempore: members will please carry their onversation off the floor. the gentleman may pr seed. mr. mccarthy: i first want to begin by thanking my friend. today could be our last schedule colloquy together. over the years we have had many spirited debates on this floor. we have celebrated moments of cooperation from tackling the opioid epidemic to fighting human trafficing to leveling tough sanctions on american adversaries. as my friend knows, most of what we do in this chamber is bipartisan. but -- a study by quorum found that the 115th congress enacted

the highest percentage of bipartisan bills of any congress in the last 20 years. that success could not have happened without a lot of working across the aisle to find common ground. beyond legislation i look forward to continue working with my friend on our shared passion for a more efficient, effective, and accountable government through events like hack-a-thon. mr. hoyer: will the gentleman yield were he goes on? mr. mccarthy: yes, sir. mr. hoyer: i want to join the leader. it is important for the public towns much goes on in which there is agreement. much gos on in this house between staff and members that is a positive and bipartisan result for the american people and for our country. obviously the public sees mostly and the reporters cover, television and print, mostly the

confrontation because that is what is newsworthy. headline saying everybody cooperated and got something done is apparently not a very salable, marketable headline. but i want to thank the majority leader and as the roles shift and i become the majority leader, i continue to, intend to work with the majority leader and with the incoming whip on the republican side to see if we can forge bipartisan agreement on critical issues that clearly the american people want addressed. i want to thank my friend, mr. mccarthy, and tell him i look forward to working with him as we have in the past and hopefully we can do so con struckively on behalf of not only the house of representatives but on behalf of our country and i yield back to my friend. mr. mccarthy: i thank my friend for yielding and thank him for

those kind words. there are other things we also did on this floor. we have mourned during times of grief, including our colloquy just one day after the shooting at the g.o.p. baseball practice. those moments of shared humanity reflect the very best that this house has to offer. and yes, we have had our share of debate. debates over policy, over politics, and how to make the country better. but i have always known my friend to be a man of integrity and a fair and honest broker. and although your questions were rarely confined to the schedule for the week to come, i have actually grown to enjoy these colloquies. because no matter the subject, these colloquies represent some of the last true debates that occur in this chamber. so while the transcripts of what we say one day will fade, i wish friend well as we carries forward this legacy of mutual respect in the people's house.

i know you will. my friend knows i love metrics, so here are a few final stats. on average our weekly colloquy this year has lasted 42 1/2 minutes. i apologize to the house record keepers and to the members trying to give one-minute speeches like they are today. the shortest was eight minutes, the longest lasted more than an hour. mr. speaker, today will likely be on the shorter end because our schedule for next week remains fluid and subject to change. conversations are currently ongoing between the house, senate, and white house. in the meantime, members should be on standby and prepared to return to washington for votes next week. we'll provide advance notice ahead of expected votes. as of today i would estimate first votes for the week occur at 6:30 p.m. next wednesday. i would encourage all members to make the necessary arrangements to be here as we complete our work for the 115th congress. with that i yield to my friend.

mr. hoyer: i thank the majority leader for that information. i would reiterate what the majority leader has said. i believe this is accurate. there will be no votes before wednesday at 6:30 p.m. next week . no votes prior to 6:30 p.m. next wednesday. so that members are advised that they need to be available, we need to be here wednesday at 6:30 and we need to be available for every day thereafter until we get this government on a solid footing. is that accurate, mr. leader? mr. mccarthy: that is completely accurate. we'll have votes 6:30 wednesday night and we'll finish our work to make sure our government continues to move forward. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. as he points out, these discussions are not just about schedule for the short term. they are about, however,

schedule as to what policies we are going to address, when we're going to address them, how we're going to address them. in that context, mr. speaker, the majority leader was, i think, rightfully proud of the fact that the committee had reported out all 12 premise bills by -- appropriation bills by the august break and we passed seven of those bills on the floor and sent them to the senate. sadly, however, mr. speaker, we are now 12 days before christmas. there was a meeting at the white . use about 48 hours ago at which time there was a debate or discussion on tv which the american people saw. and the president of the united states said, i will shut down

the government, absolutely. nd then he said, i am proud to hut down the government. mr. speaker, shutting down the government is stupid. shutting dun the government is costly. shutting down the government creates great uncertainty, not only among those who work for the federal government but everybody who relies on the daily activities of the federal government. we should not shut down the government. my side, mr. speaker, has offered the president of the united states and to all of us two alternatives. one is that we pass a c.r. for the balance of me year for all years. we don't like that alternative. but at least it will provide

some certainty for the next 8 1/2 months. until september 30. the second alternative, which i think is the much better and comports with the leader's justifiable pride with dealing with the appropriation bills on this side, as i understand there's only one agreement this agreement. of major proportions. and that is whether we build a wall. we think that's bad policy, the president thinks it's good policy. we're having an argument about that and we don't agree. the republicans control the house and the senate. they could pass it. they haven't passed it. but we don't control that. that's out of our hands. and our suggestion was, we have

agreed on five of the bills who have been signed into law, about 76% of government's discretionary funding has been passed. we have about 25% left. hat 25% is in seven bills. one is the department of homeland security. it's clear that we do not have agreement on the homeland security appropriation bill. but on six, it is my understanding, mr. leader, and mr. speaker, that we do have agreement. that the two appropriations committees have worked together and the leaders have worked together and we have agreement on those six bills. so our second alternative, the much preferred alternative is to pass those six bills as they have been agreed to, funding those agencies to which those bills apply between now and september 30. the end of the fiscal year.

and do a c.r. for the balance of the year for homeland security. on lternatively do a c.r. homeland security at some date next year. neither of those alternatives apparently has been pursued by the majority party, mr. speaker. and the president, as i just quoted, says, i am proud to shut down the government. mr. speaker, the leader has said he doesn't want to shut town government. the whip has said he doesn't want to shut down government. the minority leader in the senate has said he doesn't want to shut town government. we don't want to shut down government. but we're at an impasse about one issue. with suggest -- we agree

95%, wouldn't that make sense for the american people, for us to pass the 95% on which we have reached agreement after hard work all year? and on that which we can agree, agree that we can agree and fight that another day. but here we are, 12 days before christmas. and i would ask the majority leader, do we have a plan? mr. leader do, we have a plan to fund government on or before the 21st of this month so that we can do what all of us say we want to do and that is keep the government operating on behalf of the american people and i yield to my friend the majority leader. mr. mccarthy: i thank my friend for the question. i also thank my friend for

coming back to where you originally were years ago. earlier this congress, it was not your belief that shutting the government down was bad. and i thank that you learned that lesson. because i didn't think it was helpful when you shut the government down over immigration last time, nobody did, america didn't, we had to put it back to work. my friend is correct that we have an active 75% of the discretionary budget into law -- we have enacted 75% of the discretionary budget into law already. all members should take pride in that even if one side voted no the majority of times. that's bhetter than any congress has been able to do in 25 years. so obviously, 25% remains. my friend is correct, there are 12 days left. we did not want to be here 12 days left. unfortunately, we had a passing of president bush. president bush, there's a legacy

to lead , he found a way to find compromise. my friend on the other side says there's six of the seven we agree with, but i can't compromise on the seventh. he says that the american public want to make sure it stays open. yeah, we do too. the american public also wants to make sure we're safe. so i think in the spirit of the season, of the time, we should come to an agreement. knowing that neither side will get everything that they want, one side wants nothing to happen. the other side wants a certain number. i think we can find common ground. i think we could get it all done next week. and it's really in my intention and belief that we'll have that vote on this floor. if we can find common ground, keep the government open, very thankful that you believe in that again, as we do. and that we finish the job the

american public asked for. and when we finish that job, america is stronger, safer, and on a footing to make sure we continue to lead for the 21st century. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for his comment. let me observe with respect to the gentleman's comment, we did send five bills, 75% of government spending, discretionary spending to the president. the president signed them. but when he says it's the best in 25 years, i will remember -- remind him when i was majority lead for the 2007 we passed all 12 bills through this house. mr. mccarthy: not into law. mr. hoyer: we passed all 12 bill, passed them one by one so we could consider each one and they went to the senate. unfortunately, the senate didn't act in a fashion that i would hope. i will tell the gentleman it is my intention as majority leader

not s all 12 bills necessarily one by one. we like your process, perhaps. i hope you like it as much as you liked it the first time. aye learned from the majority leader's skill and judgment. we may pursue that process and i know you're going to support it because it's your process that we're going to pursue. sort of like your schedule. mr. speaker, we passed all 12 bills. we sent them to the senate. unfortunately, we didn't get them all done. buff the fact of the matter is, this is a process called the legislative process. i just talked at the outset about compromise and working together. we have six of those bills. it so happens we now package everything. maybe we're going to do that in the future, but the fact of the matter is, we have agreement on six of the seven bills that

remain to be signed by the president of the united states. and the way this process works is, you got agreement on six separate bills. these are not the homeland security, that's where we have a disagreement. i understand that. we cannot pass homeland security right now. but we have agreement on six bills. why shouldn't the plan be we have agreement, in a bipartisan fashion. we can can fund those six agencies. there will be no trauma. and we'll send it. then we can do a c.r. on the homeland security and we can argue about the wall. we can have hearings on the wall. we can have experts come here and say to them how do we make sure america is secure? because every democrat wants to make sure the borders are secure. every democrat. we want the border secure.

there is a substantive disagreement. by the way, there are republicans who disagree with the wall, as the gentleman surely knows. that it's not the best way to secure the border. and by the way, don't know why we need money for it. the mexicans surely are going to pay for the wall. that's what the president said. the mexicans were going to pay for the wall. to pay nts $5 billion for technology we don't think works. as a result we're holding hostage the six bills on which we have agreement. how frustrated the american people must be when they say, you you know, they agree on /7's of the bills and they wouldn't -- 6/7's of the bills and won't take yes for an answer. to esponse is, i am proud

shut down the government. mr. leader, i would hope that we could send those six bills on which we have agreement after hard work in the appropriations subcommittee, the appropriations committee, both in the house and senate, and communications between the two bodies. they have reached agreement. we ought to be happy about that. we ought to celebrate that. and we ought to send them to the president. there is no indication he would not sign those bills. as far as i know. and then, yes, we have a disagreement. and the american people have come here to have us debate that, have hearings on that, see what experts say on that. and, frankly, if the wall is what your side wants, then i say to the leader, put a bill on the floor wednesday night and pass the wall. you haven't done that.

we haven't passed the homeland security bill through this house. got out of committee. you didn't bring it to the floor. we haven't had a vote on it. so there is no consensus on that part of it. so, mr. speaker, let's pass those six bills. let's have a plan that will rk to preclude shutting down the people's government. i hope we can do that. i hope we can can do it. come back wednesday night, and i hope, mr. leader, you have a plan between now and wednesday night to get us to the place where we can do what we have agreed upon or -- and agreed not to aa gree on something that we can't agree -- not to agree on something that we can't agree on and pass it and send it to the president. mr. speaker, i hope we can do that. that's our responsibility. that's our duty. duty to have a plan of how to

make sure that government continues to operate. and a plan as to how we can have our members and their amilies celebrate one of the highest holy days in christian come -- christiandom. i yield to my friend. mr. mccarthy: i thank my friend for yielding. i appreciate my friend's comment. i appreciate he told people on his side of the aisle want to have border security. why don't we do the job? for uld we finish a year mediocrity. my friend also said he had passed all the appropriation bills but they never were enacted into law. the most ever done in the last 25 years is what we did this congress. because of the senate and the 60 votes. that is why you had leader schumer over there at the same time.

because democrats control whether we keep this government open or shut down. they have shown that power before just as they have done earlier in this congress. my friend knows that he wants this country protected. i agree with him 100%. i do not challenge his belief on not the protection of this country. i hope my friend also knows that on that border they catch on average 10 known terrorists a day. homeland security is not like any other appropriations. it's not one we just setaside because we disagree with. this country has known the damage of setting something aside and not paying attention to the warning signs. i think we're better than that. yeah, it might be uncomfortable. we might have to work a little harder. we're going to stay here a little later than we all planned to be. but there was other circumstance that is caused that.

i think let's do all seven. let's get them all done. let's end on a high note. and probably make your job a little easier in the next congress as well. you won't have to worry about it. but in doing so, i think we're both going to have to do something. we're both going to have to look at the american public in the eye and we both made our arguments of what we wanted. we're going to have to accept that you and i are not going to get 100% of what we want. i'll make this pledge to you right now. i'm willing to find some common ground. what that means is that common ground is we don't leave until we get this done. now, your vote has been funding the wall. you voted for that before. i don't know if you changed your position on that now. but what we're asking for is border security. that means more than just that. i think there is a window, and i think the american public expects it to get done. i would hate to leave and go

home and say, oh, i finished the majority of everything, but that homeland security, that one that keeps our constituents safe, the one that looks around for whatever can happen to us in any part of this country in so many places, we just did what we did last year. you know that harms the agency. you know that holds them back. and i can't look at somebody's face that maybe lost a loved one because something happens in the future because i want the to leave. because i couldn't find compromise. mr. speaker, i'll make that promise. i will find common ground. and i will take as long as it does inside any room to make that happen. that we do not leave this congress without funding all and making sure homeland not living under the same rules they had before.

when they know it's a changing society. it's also a changing place for those who want to do us harm. what a c.r. does is locks them in in these continuing resolutions that they can't do something new. what they found that new technology or others to protect us throughout the homeland. so i want to find common ground. i want to protect america. i want to make us safer. and i want to make us stronger. and i make that commitment to you, sir, that we can get it done. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the leader for his comments. what is your plan to do that? we have been now here in this congress, this year, for over 30 days, 340 days. you haven't passed any plan on homeland security. you haven't brought it to the floor. it passed out of committee. you have not brought it to the floor in 340 days. leer we're.

-- here we're. with agreement on six bills, mr. leader. we have reached agreement. we worked hard to get to that agreement. now, yes, you have a a faction of your caucus that's told you from time to time my way or no way. even when you had agreement on /7's, mr. boehner had the same problem -- 6/7's mr. boehner had the same problem and he decided to leave here because had he my way or no way, my way or whithe, my way or here's your hat and get out. mr. leader you have not told us a plan. we have been discussing this or literally all year. and we have a very significant substantive disagreement. and you haven't brought it to the floor to press your view and send it to the senate. we haven't had any debate on this floor on the issue.

we're prepared to debate that bill. but what we're not prepared to th of the hostage 6/7 appropriation bills that remain to be done which we have agreed upon, worked on, and ready to go. all you tell me is we're prepared to do that but we have to pass all seven bills f we don't get everything we want, we're not going to do it. i understand, because you have the president of the united states saying i am proud to shut down the government. what kind of irresponsibility is that? he wants the wall. i know he wants the wall. we're a democracy, however. not an awe tock acy. not a -- awe talk acy. -- autoacy, we're a democracy, not a dictatorship. the wall has not passed this house. there is no agreement on the wall. and we think the wall is a bad strategy. there are more resources

deployed to the south, southern border, than at any time, i think, i haven't checked this exactly, in my service in the congress of the united states. so it's not like we have not put a lot of border patrol, a lot of technology, a lot of fencing. we supported substantial security at the border. now the president wants more. i get that. but we're holding hostage 6/7th's of the appropriation bills, six out of seven, because the president is going to be proud to shut down the wall. i don't want to be too painful, but we had an election just a few weeks ago and the president made it very clear he wanted to build that wall. and he sent troops down to the border at tens of millions of

dollars cost. of course under the law they can't deal with law enforcement . yes, there were some people that came at the fence and they were pushed back. but the fact of the matter is that there is border security. can we make it better? yes. do we want to make it better? yes. will we work with you to do that? yes. but you are not going to get us to believe something is good that we don't think is good. you can pass it. the president can sign it. i get that. and we lose. but you haven't brought it to the floor. you don't have a plan to get that done. 340 days into the year. saying, mr. speaker, why when we have agreement, i say 6/7th's. very frankly we have an agreement on the homeland security bill except for the wall. one item.

so essentially we have probably 99% agreement. but it's my way or the highway. with no plan, as i understand it, to get us from where we're today, where we were two weeks ago, and where i am fearful we will be on wednesday at 6:30 p.m. because we have no plan. to get from where we're to where we need to be. we have offered two plans. you don't like either one of them. one was a c.r. for the rest of the year for everything. for the remaining. we don't like that. that's not our plan. but it's one option. we would support that you bring that to the floor. and the other option, of course, is to pass the six bills, we'll vote for them, all of them. you can put them in a package. nd then do a c.r. on the homeland security and we'll have further discussions about that and we'll see what the democratic process results in.

hadn't passed the house, mr. leader. we're not for it. we're prepared to debate it, if it passes and the president signs it, it will be law, and you'll do it. but don't hold the rest of government hostage. . -- hostage for something on hich there is deep don't hold it hostage for something for which there's disagreement. i implore you. on wednesday, at 6:30, bring those bills to the floor. hopefully your folks who worked to get them in place will vote for them, will pass them and we'll avoid another stupid, as i said, shutdown of the government of the united states and i yield to my friend. the gentleman id yield? mr. hoyer: i did. mr. mccarthy: i thank the

gentleman for yielding. i respect my friend. i even follow my friend on instagram. today is thursday, i almost feel like you're throwing a throwback thursday up. now you call a shutdown stupid but in this kuok that's not what you did. in this congress you actually whipped to have a shutdown. i did think it was stupid then, i think going into a shutdown is stupid now. that's why i want to solve the problem. my friend says, can we make the border better? yes. he keeps talking about the wall. i just talk about security. when you described what's happening along the border, it was interesting. the words you chose. you said there were some people down there. i'm sure the rest of america has watched what's gone down there. gone down there before it even got to mexico. where they broke down their wall and came across. where they stormed and they threw things at our border

patrol and others. i think the border could be more secure. i know you live in maryland, but to those who live on a border state, maybe we understand this a little differently. now i'm the first one who believes in legal immigration. this has nothing to do with it. this is about keeping the country safe. and if two sides cannot sit down to solve a fundamental problem, it's bad for the country. there's a check and balance as you far well know. last house, there's a senate. and then there's an administration and a president who either signs or vetos a bill. you started the conversation earlier very proud of the fact that you passed all 12 bills. with every done that before too. the test is really the final end, does it get all the way there? we're 75% there, 25% should not

stop us. we should be able to get it done. but in your quest of what talking about passing all 12 bills, it didn't become law. why? because of the senate. and the 60 votes there. mr. hoyer: will the gentleman yield? are you aware we didn't shut down government. mr. mccarthy: you shut down government. mr. highway wrer: you're talking abhere in this session. i'm pointing out that when you say we didn't pass the appropriation bills when i said we passed all 12 to the house, you did not shut down government. we got to a resolution of the differences between us. what is your plan to do that, mr. leader? mr. mccarthy: my plan to do that is, i need 60 votes in the senate. the gentleman referred to earlier -- mr. hoyer: mr. leader, reclaiming my time. everybody likes to talk about the senate.

what you have ignored is that i said the bill is in committee. and in 340 days has not been brought to this floor. if that's your policy, you have not brought it to the floor for consideration. and by the way, when you talk about a broader issue of immigration, we agree with you. you have not brought a comprehensive immigration reform bill to the floor either. mr. mccarthy: will the gentleman yield? mr. hoyer: i will yield. mr. mccarthy: i don't want you to get more pi folk owes. we have brought two major reform bills to the floor and not one person on the other side voted for either. my friend knows the hours we've spent in our office discussing with everybody else, trying to come to agreement. but we had two on the floor. mr. hoyer: did you pass those

bills? why not? mr. mccarthy: you told all your members to vote no, the way you did with children's and every element. mr. hoyer: we didn't vote for it because we didn't like your bills but you're in charge and you have 240 members, all owe needed was 218. we didn't like your bill. so we did what we do when we don't like bills, we vote against them. but you have 240 people sitting on your side of the aisle and you couldn't pass your bill because so many of your members didn't like it. that's why your bill didn't pass. what is your plan, however, between now and 6:30 p.m. on wednesday to get us off this dime that we are stuck on and have been stuck on now for almost the entire year, 12 days from christmas? i yield. mr. mccarthy: i guess my plan is you don't want to work with us.

i guess the plan is what you've been -- is to go back to the motto earlier in this congress. the gentleman said it's hard to pass bills here. what's interesting in that same quorum study, more bills passed this house in congress than any in modern history. we pass bills, we even do it when your side holds back. when children were worried about health insurance and you held back, we did not. when you war -- when we worried about growing the -- growing the economy and you held back, we did not. when you wereried about trying to shut the government down, we moved forward. when you wanted to solve the immigration problem, we had more than 225 votes on either of those bills, you just have 218 on those bills, there wasn't one on the other side of the aisle, even though there were people on your side of the aisle that said they twooned vote for the bill but their leader shi twisted

their arms. i'd watch your words, friend. i'm going to look forward to seing how well you do with a new faction coming in on your side. it will be quite interesting to watch. i know my struggles. i hope you don't have the same struggles. but i'll make this promise to you. when we agree, i will be there. we do not have differences because we have parties. we have parties because we have differences. your challenge, you said you continue to bring up the wall. the question would be then, does border security work? having a wall part of that security, does it help? coming from a state that borders, we put a wall, which you had voted foring down in san diego. you know what the results were? a 92% drop of illegals coming across. we built a wall in tucson down 90%. el paso, 95.

at one time el paso was one of the most dangerous cities in america, and today it's one of the safest. yuma, down 95%. so the question is what is the plan? the plan and the hope, yes, we'll take a bill up, but my hope was that in the spirit of the season it wouldn't be your way or no way. that you would break from this tradition that republicans had to pass everything on their own. look, i put a bill in that i fully fund the wall at $25 billion. i know i'm not going to get that am i going to run away and say, i'm going to vote for nothing? no, because that's not the way our government works. you see, we have to have compromise because of the structure. and i don't want to have a plan where i'm going to sit up here as majority leader, oh, i passed all the bills but none of them became law. i want to make law. i want to solve the problem.

listen. this is not the time to continue to go through and argue. this is the time to solve the problems. i think -- look, the campaign is over. mr. hoyer: what is the solution? mr. mccarthy: you know what the solution is? sit down with us and come to a compromise. not that it's your way or no way. mr. highway wrer: is the compromise we take the wall or shut town the government? is that this the compromise? mr. mccarthy: if the gentleman will yield, you've already voted for funding of the wall. so my question is, will you now in the last funding, democrats had to vote for it, you voted for it on here, to fund the wall. is the gentleman now saying he does not want to fund any of the wall going forward? mr. hoyer: is your answer to the question, yes, the wall, or we shut down government? mr. mccarthy: i'm not one who shuts the government down. i know you hied through that.

mr. hoyer: the president, who -- to whom you're very close says so. you say so. you heard the quote, you're tired of hearing it i'm sure, i'm proud, he says, i'm proud to shut down the government. i will shut down the government, absolutely. i'll shut it down. that's what the president said wo days ago. mr. mccarthy: i thought that was your quote from our congress earlier. i don't hold people to what they go through. i realize all the time we had colloquies beforing all the time i studied history is in here. you said a shutdown is bad. i quoted back to you numerous times you quoted that all the way through these. but when the day came you chidged -- changed your ways, you thought a shutdown was right that quote could have been your quote in this congress. so yes. look. mr. hoyer: mr. leader what you talking about? i voted against bills those policies i did not agree with

and that you said will therefore shut down the government because if we don't agree you couldn't get the majority votes on your side and you couldn't get 60 votes in the senate. which you guys were very, very pleased with when the senate was controlled by democrats. you loved having that 60 vote rule. because what you said is it requires compromise. it requires coming together, having to get 60 votes. it our way or you don't do it. you have not brought a bill, you have not brought a plan to this floor on how to get out of that and mr. leader you have not answered when i said, mr. speaker, essentially, when you say come together, these are your bills. they're not our bills. we had to compromise. these didn't come out of democratic subcommittees. didn't come out of a democratic committee. didn't come out after a democratic senate. these are bills that are your bills that we compromised on and

we are prepared to vote for 99%. 99%. of those seven bills. 99%. that's compromising, i think, a pretty far way. we don't agree with everything in those bills but you're right. this is a collective body. we've all been elected, we all have one vote. nd we have compromised on 99%. and you're holding it up, you have no plan other than we take the wall or the president of the united states shuts down government. -- shuts down government. that's not the compromise i heard you talking about we ought to have. that's the kind of compromise we're going to have between now and wednesday at 6:30 p.m. mr. leader, we're not going to get there we have compromise on 99%. let's pass it. let's move on.

i yield to my friend. mr. mccarthy: i thank the gentleman for yielding. i think we might be hitting our average for how long this colloquy goes. mr. hoyer: i'm afraid we're going to almost hit that hour. mr. mccarthy: listen, we should debate ideas but if the idea is what is your plan? it wasn't my plan that we had to do it alone. if we have to, we've proven we've done that before. he knows what will go on to the senate. but if my friend has changed his belief, i don't hold it against you. you might have change your belief. or maybe your belief always was that we should have no border security, i don't know. my friend did acknowledge that there was a great number of people who tried to get into our country and storming the gates. that's not all the bill. the bill is about border security and homeland security. if the idea is, it has to just be a c.r. or you can't deal with

it you know what my plan has been all along? to work with you. but i'm not hearing that you're even willing to work with us. that -- i'm saying i'm willing to compromise. you have already voted for part of border security to be part of the wall. you don't even want to sit down and discuss. how much should that be? how much border security should we have. should we allow -- is 10 terrorists a day ok with you coming across the board her it's not with me. is 2,000 people inadmissible coming across? is that ok with you? it's not with me. it takes away from those like our own relatives who have come here legally. i was just at a naturalization a few months ago. i sat there inside this service, i watched individuals with such pride raising their hands. you know what i told them? george washington is now their founding father. abraham lincoln was their liberator. martin luther king spoke of their dreams.

and the flag that sitz on the moon is their flag today. and i want them to be safe. and i don't know what those terrorists have planned when they come across the border or when those people storm the gates. but i do know we have a responseability -- a responsibility that i can't get everything that i want but i think a responsibility that we find security, that we protect our own border security at the same time. i think there's a window that we can do this. i don't want so my plan was to do it with you. if you're saying to me, you can't, then i have to change my plan just as it did when it came to the children's health insurance, when it came to shut the government down over daca. we believe the government should stay open. that's my plan. will you join with us? will you make sure we don't shut down and make sure that we put america stronger and safer for the future?

i don't want to leave work for you to get done. you are excited about your majority, i want you to be successful. i may smile with the challenges with the people that are coming in and i will be here to debate when we disagree, but when we agree, i will be right with you. i think this is a window to show coming in even to all those new freshmen and those who are leaving, that we did the very best with the moments that we had for the future of this country. i yield back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, what i hear, the majority leader's plan is that e give up. 99% of the homeland security bill, i presume, and believe, is

directed at securing our borders. we have agreed with 99% of it. probably 99.9%. probably not true in dollar value. but the plan is for us to give up. because 99% is not good enough for us to agree with. got to be 100%. if that's the plan, it's not going to work. the bill has not been brought to this floor ever this year. it is worthy of debate as to how we keep our borders most secure. as i have said, many republicans including very frankly, the second ranking member of the senate on the republican side, who has questions about the wall . he's from texas.

a lot of texans don't think the wall make sense, republicans and democrats. maybe not all, but some. but if the plan is we just give , that's agreeing to 99% no plan at all, unless the gentleman wants to say something. mr. mccarthy: in the spirit of the season, i have a little gift . it comes from a little shop in my hometown family owned excited about what we have been able, a little candy, might sweeten the pirit and more in like to work with us. mr. hoyer: i must say, mr. speaker, i have a serious suspicion -- i trust the

majority leader that i believe that gift was probably purchased by judy, his wonderful, beautiful wife. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the hair will receive a message. >> mr. speaker. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform he house the senate has passed congressional accountability reform act which the concurrence of the house is requested. 6 the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 2454 an act to direct the secretary of homeland

security to provide access for appropriate personnel to law enforcement and other information of the department and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

mr. johnson: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you so much. you know this is going to be my last time up here. you are great and it's a pleasure to talk to you. you know someone once told me that the house of representatives being there was youfferent kind of hell and know, so when i was sworn into the u.s. house 27 years ago, i said that i had survived hell on earth at the infamous hanoi hilton and the texas house and i guess i had gone from hell to hell to hell. while there have been some hellish long nights here and days, what i will remember is how thankful i am toffed the opportunity to serve america and

defend freedom from the halls of congress. and i want to thank you to the constituents of my 3rd district of texas, thank you to all my and friends in this room and thank you to my country. serving in the congress has been one of the highest honors of my life. we live in the greatest country in the world and don't forget it. if i live any legacy behind, i hope it is one of service above self. god bless you. god bless america. and i salute you and this great ation. tifment for what purpose does gentlelady from florida seek

recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. wasserman schultz: it is a great honor to stand today in solidarity with misros-lehtinen in calling what is long over due, state hood for puerto rico. the residents have been u.s. citizens for more than one00 years but they continue to be denied equal rights including voting representation. this inequality has consequences as we saw in the aftermath of hurricane maria. and the puerto rican people have demonstrated asking for statehood and should cast a vote yes or no on statehood. my departing colleague will be missed in this cause and sole others, but i know she will

fight as a private citizen. i will fight to ensure equality for puerto rico. [speaking spanish] the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker and my colleague, her spanish was per effecto. i have long supported the cause of statehood for puerto rico, but the lack of action on our part has kept puerto rico from having a voice and vote on this very floor, imperative for our great democracy. for over 100 years they have been proud citizens. they have voted that they will no longer accept the territory

status. statehood will promote economic development and jobs on the island so these american citizens can have a better life and stop losing its people to the mainland after the devastating impacts of hurricanes. delegate gonzalez has made state hood for puerto rico her priority urging democrats and republicans alike to act. we must do what is right. as former chairman of the foreign affairs committee, it will enhance our national security serving as our nation's third border in the caribbean. the status quo is unacceptable and i urge my colleagues to support state hood for puerto rico. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for

one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the life of a black icon in the fort worth community. reba carey. he lived a monumental life and he was an activist of heart and he was not afraid. he was among the first to graduate from the coast guard's radio man school in new jersey and first african-american to be elected to the school district. and he shared successes, many of whom what was then in a segregated society. after serving multiple tours in world war ii, he started teaching history at dunbar high school when it was a new high school. he later became the first plaque instructor at our local

community college and served three times in the house of representatives serving his carver heights community and all of fort worth. he was a prid new member of the baptist church in fort worth and he credited god for the blessings that came his way and his mother on the straight and narrow. he wanted to tell his story and wanted to ensure that the history of the african-american community was documented and remembered for generations to come. he became a black historian and authored 20 books about african-americans in northern texas. my condolences to his family and friends. he will be missed but never forgotten and let all of his friends know in his church and the organizations that he volunteered for in fort worth, just how important that legacy

was for him. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? ms. tenney: permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. tenney: i rise to recognize my dear friend mel vin phillips an owe needa indian who is facing eviction by rahallbetter. he resides on land in vernon, new york which has family has possessed for centuries. and all of his ancestors signed all the treaties with the state and codified into law. melvin phillips is an 82-year-old leader. all the elected officials in my region, the governor of new york and 2018 opponent and all of my

predecessors who held this seat overtly and wrongly support the eviction of this native american and his family from their lands in spite of all the laws in place. i represented him because of his amazing story. is the american hero albeit native-american hero. he is a fighter for the truth and will not cash in to this corrupt leader. regardless of my official position i hold, i will not stop fighting for mr. phillips and his family no matter how many millions were spent at the ballot box. for more information please go . www melvinphillipsstory.com i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentleman rise? without objection the gentleman s recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise to honor captain steven grace a young beloved father, son, husband, and brother and u.s. airman who tied unexpectedly before his time. steven grew up in my hometown of cincinnati. from an early age he dreamed of being an air force pilot. he had a calling for service and love for life and it all came so easily for steven. mr. wenstrup: he excelled in the swimming pool, he helped lead my alma mater, st. xavier high school, to high school state swimming titles. st. xavier has a motto, be men for others, and he lived that motto. it was no surprise when he was accepted and atened the u.s. air force academy in colorado. he went on to pilot the f-16 and

recently became an f-35 instructor a remarkable feat that stands as a testament to his leadership and ability. steven grace represented everything you want an american to be, hard working and selfless. steven was well loved, looked up to, he lived his dream, he served his country. he embodied a higher ideal, one of service above self. while he is gone far too soon, few can claim the extraordinary legacy he leaves behind for all of us. we prayner family of captain stevens grace, his daughter georgia, his wife kelsey, for his parents, and for his sisters. steven a grateful nation absolutes you. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida 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.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor ms. jennifer albert from florida for winning the milkin educator award that recognizes innovative teachers, principals and education specialists around the country who have made exceptional contributions to their profession. ms. albert teaches science and math to fifth graders at emma love hardy school, and she was oh the only teach for the the state of florida chosen for this award. our teachers are tasked with teaching the next generation of americans and she's inspired all of with us her creativity and commitment to student activity. her use of small groups, research based learning and games even have elevated her cls o 79% proficiency in science and 71% proficiency in math. these are remarkable numbers. on behalf of the people of

florida and the students and paraphernalias of emla love hordey school, i want to tchank ms. albert for her dedication to the classroom and congratulations on receiving the recognition she so well desembd. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. new bill,highlight my the fellowship for women of color in steam. i'm thrilled to create this forward-looking bill to help women in steam fields through new national fellowships. ms. lee: this bill is named after a great statesman and former chair of the house armed services committee , my mentor, my former boss, the late

congressman rondellham. congressman dellham broke barriers as the first black chairman of the armed services committee and he was an avid champion of diversity at all levels. in the 1980's, he hired me to work on his staff as one of the only women of color in a senior role on capitol hill. he was a pioneer and a visionary who understood the need for elevating women of color in every field. that is why my bill, which has the support of organizations like the civic engagement and leadership institute for everyone, is so important. it will help honor ron's legacy, build greater diversity in national security, and create much more steam opportunities for women of color. i urge my colleagues to join me by co-spon -- co-sponsoring my bill, theron dellham memorial fellowship for women of color in steam national security act. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one

minute. the speaker pro tempore: the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor center care health's director of community and government relations, david border. his approach regular tirmente will america the end of his 1-year career with center care health. as a testament to his hard work, center care has thrived under his leadership, whether it was securing grants or donations, educating his community on the i wantry kacies of state, federal and community issues or providing -- finding new ways to provide quality care, david has set the standard in minnesota. mr. emmer: this is why the hospital association took notice and awarded him with the spirit of advocacy award for his his ts to efforts to inform the community about health care reform. under his leadership, center care health has consistently been recognized for its outstanding work. david boarder is a beloved

member of our community because of his dedication to providing quality health care. his service to our community will be miss and we thank him for his years of commitment and we look forward to seeing him at his well-deserved retirement. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poe: the people of iran have taken to the streets and continue their protests against the illegitimate regime of the ayatollah and mullahs. these protests have taken place in numerous cities, now for one year. the people protest the war mongering dictatorship, the tyranny of the iranian government and its terrorist activity. the people want freedom. however, the mullahs are reacting with crackdowns on this people. arrests, beatings, and jail continue to occur. it's interesting that the majority of these protests are led by women and the young. even truck drivers have gone on strike in the protests. groups such as the m.e.k. have

spoken out against the corrupt iranian government and oppression of the people. further, the government of iran has sworn to destroy the united states. the united states should stand with the iranian people in their quest for freedom from the tyrants of iran. as president kennedy once said, let every noigs know whether it wishes us well or ill that we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty. and that's just the way it is. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek reck -- from north carolina 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 to recognize the lock -- guilford county's longest-serving sheriff in

history, b.j. barnes. he's retiring after serving the people of central north carolina. beginning in 1970, sheriff barnes felt the call to serve enlisting in the united states marine corps at only 19 years old. mr. walker: after beginning a career in law enforcement, he was elected sheriff in 1994. his reforms to the guilford county justice system over the years have not gone unnoticed. from updating ramshackle jails and bringing our county necessary forensic technology, sheriff barnes always fought and succeeded in keeping guilford county slafe. -- safe. his service forever changed our community and we along with his peers throughout the state and the country will always remember his relentless dedication, his integrity, and his compassion. 24 years and six terps later, sheriff barnes retires with an outstanding record and will continue to be a source of influence for guilford county. roes like sheriff barnes are

pillars of our community and i'm blessed to all him friend and mentor. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> every morning our heros in law enforcement wake up and kiss their loved ones good-bye knowing there's always a chance they may not return that night. last night, in charlestown, in clark county, in the hoosier state, one of those heroes sergeant ben bertram of the charlestown police department did not return home. sergeant bertram was killed in pursuit of a suspect into an adjoining county doing his duty. mr. hollingsworth: doing what he loved and protecting hoosiers all the way across the state. it is with deep sorrow our community back home mourns his loss. celebrates his sacrifice to the

hoosier state. and so we thank you, sergeant bertram. rest easy, sergeant bertram. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman sec -- is recognized for one minute. >> i want to commend secretary sonny perdue of the usda for a recent decision to help northern california with its water situation. they're offering a $449 million loan to help the area project to elp the canal intertie to each other and therefore be in part of the infrastructure to help the sikes reservoir be successful when it's built. mr. lamalfa: this is very, very needed for california's water interconnectivity, fleckability

and overall goals of water in our state, especially on the heel os they have water resources control board to shift 74,000 more acre-feet away from human use to environmental use. use. d help with water we need help with water storage, water capacity, i thank secretary perdue and secretary sinnkey for their attention to northern california for these water needs and thank the trump administration for it as well. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to express my humblest gratitude for the opportunity to serve my community, my country, and the u.s. house of representatives for the last eight years. anybody who has lived the life of a peculiar service knows that you have to surround yourself by good people. meaning you've got to have a great team. both in district as well as here

in the u.s. capitol. from a legislate side of things as well as making sure your constituency has the best customer service there is. mr. denham: we've of had an amazing tam. to be able to help people in our community with all the different challenges that they faced with social security or v.a. benefits or visas. we've had an amazing team there to help out. to help our veterans receive the benefits they deserve and have earned. we've had a great team to help out. we have passed a number of pieces of legislation but we've had a team here in washington, d.c. that is focused on delivering for our community, for our state, and for our country. and for that, i need to thank our entire team. from my chief of staff, jim in the state senate, to jason here, to now brent manley, my current chief of staff. we have team that was been managed by great individuals.

and also on the personal front, you can't do this job without having a spouse that is there with you through all of the challenges of campaigns, schedules, traveling, and i've had the best partner, friend, companion, sonia has put up with a lot and she's also enjoyed the ride that we've had together. it has been an amazing journey that my kids have taken part in. to have my son and daughter not only face the challenges of kids growing up in a political family but also having the great accomplishments side-by-side with their father. mr. speaker, i yield back and address the rest of my remarks here in the coming minutes. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek reck -- seek

recognition? >> mr. speaker, i rise to ask to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks and i yield the balance of my time to my colleague from california, mr. denham. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. denham: continuing with my family, my wife putting up with my kids facing the challenges of traveling in this job, i thank them. i also want to thank those that have elected me, put their faith and trust in me to work hard for them. it has been a tremendous journey, one that i'm privileged both from my family and our community. great friendships here.

from the wolf pack to my legislators who have come here with me, some amazing relationships and it's been a great honor to serve and work with you and enjoy our time together and lastly to my parents, my mom, who is been so proud of me. mom, i say stay off facebook. to my father who has passed, for giving me the strength and the confidence to do anything that i wanted to do in life. to my grandfather who encouraged me to get into public service, it has been their support as well as my brother and sister and business partner that allowed me to spend my time serving my community, serving my country and it's been a great ride. thank you all.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to take from the speaker's table the bill s. 3749 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: an act to amend the congressional accountability act to reform the procedures under such act with the nigs, review in claims alleging that employing offices have violated the rights and protections provided to such employees including protections against sexual harassment and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is read for a third time and passed and the the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to et at 11:30 monday, december 17, 2018. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's athounsed policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from indiana, mr. messer, is recognized as the designee of the majority leader. mr. messer: i appreciate the opportunity to greet the house today. my speech today intends to be my fair well in this chamber representing indiana's 6th congressional district over the last six years. i rise today at a time of tragedy in indiana's 6th congressional. at ven is intermediate school, there was a shooting today and on behalf of everyone, i would like to express our condolences for the deaths that occurred there and our hearts and prayers and mind go out to all the families and the kids in the school that are there.

this is an epidemic, mr. speaker, in our country, great tragedy that every kid in america ought to go to school where they feel safe. we need to do more with school security and more to handle mental health challenges. just need to do to repair the moral fabric of this society so our kids can go to school and feel safe. my final greeting to this chamber and the people of the 6th congressional district, i rise to say thank you and also provide a little bit of a thoughts about a compass forward. first and most importantly, after both six years here in this chamber and time serving in the indiana general assembly, i want to say thank you first to god who gave our family great feas and strength through all of

this time and the incredible journeys. and secondly, thank you to my family. when you serve in the united states congress, you tend to have yard signs that have your name on it, but it takes a family, a team of people to help make this happen. i thank my wife jennifer for her patience and incredible wisdom. i want to thank my kids, emma, ava and hudson for their support. i want to thank my mother chris who raised my brother and i on her own. she has retired and has been an inspiration for me throughout my life. my father has shown love in rooting for me all along the way. my grandparents who were a great inspiration to us as well. my brother rich. i want to thank my team, two of my teammates, the two real

leaders, but doug and amy for their all their incredible work and dozens and dozens and dozens of people who have been a part of our efforts. again, it takes a team to get this work done. and i want to thank the people of indiana and indiana's 6th congressional district because there is no way to serve in this job unless people select you to give you the opportunity to do so. every day we have served in this job, i have tried to do my best to represent the values of indiana's 6th congressional district and provide wisdom to do what's best for the united states of america. i have been somebody who has been blessed with a lot of meantors. almost a generation ago, hillary clinton used an african proper

verb and said it takes a village to raise a child. that phrase became a bit of a partisan volleyball because it takes a family to raise a child. i was blessed to have a great mother who helped lead our family. but my brother and i, we had teachers and ball coaches and friends and families from the church and neighbors and friends along the way, meantors who have helped lead me and helped build a future and make my career possible. and all those folks, there is too many to name, but you know who your and i want to say thank you. the last thing i want to talk about is little bit about this chamber and most importantly those four words above the speaker, the phrase, in god we trust, because i speak to this floor today and i leave this

chamber in great political turmoil and there are folks frustrated across america. i grew up in america when i was growing up in a small town in the 19 0's and 1980's, i never had one doubt if i worked hard i could do great things. when i was little, little, little, my mom taught me that. as i got old enough, i decided i pleeved that, too. and i knew it to be true every moment of my life. and we now in this great country and in this chamber debating issues because too often there are americans that don't believe it anymore. there are kids that worry will they ever have a chance to succeed. these folks feel failed by the institutions of this great country. in many ways, these institutions are failing. too often we aren't solving the big challenges facing this

nation in this chamber. the ever growing bureaucracy that is far more concerned about self-perpetuating its own self-interests than it is for the good of the american people. i do want to assure the people of america and indiana's 6th congressional district. the problem is not the decency of the people in this chamber. i came to congress figuring that the wisdom of indiana's 6th congressional district than the folks that were here. but i found when i came here is i have met one person serving in this chamber who is trying to hurt america. i met a lot of people who may have very different political view points than me, who may have a different set of values who need to take our country in

a different direction, but probably the most remarkable thing i have found is that the vast majority of people i have gotten to spend time with across the aisle in our own caucus wake up every day, make great sack cry ties and love their country trying to do. and man, i'm not smart enough to tell you how we are going to fix the challenges in this chamber. we have to empower the american people by better empowering their individual member of congress to push this body and make things happen. i had some small victories in my time in congress. i hope for my colleagues as i leave this place they'll have more success in trying to drive a process that makes that happen. but you know, beyond that, i have said this often in my own district and i'll say it again, i think we need to have a little bit of humility about where we

are because i will concede for you these are tough times. truman once said, a recession is when your neighbor loses their job and depression is when you lose yours. if you are struggling today, those struggles are real and i do not want to diminish them, but i think it's important to remember that this is a nation that has been through great trials before. revolutionary war, a civil war, a great depression, a couple world wars, the cold war and recent years, we fought the battle on terror. we have been through tough challenges before and every time we have risen as a nation to meet them. and i believe the biggest reason why is again these four words above the speaker there, in god we trust. it has been an incredible honor

over the last six years to bring literally hundreds of people into this chamber to see this hallowed hall of public policy debate and every time i have come into this chamber, i pointed to those four words. ou see, those four words represent the essence of the american farmers. we spend a lot of time in this hall talking about the importance of the constitution and the bill of rights. and you know what? that debate is merited, incredibly important to the constitution and bill of rights. but frankly, i don't think we spend enough time talking about where those rights come from. because i believe the most

important document that this nation has ever seen is the first document that founded it, the declaration of independence. where it says in the second paragraph that we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and come to understand, men and women, all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights. because those rights come from our creator they are inalienable and they cannot be taken from you. every nation before us had a different point of view. they believed that rights came from god to a ruler who then just decided what privileges he was going to give out to you. that is not what we believe in america. we believe in god we trust, that our rights come from god.

ronald reagan said a couple generations ago, we are one nation under god and if he ever orget and if not, we will be one nation gone under. as we look at the nation at this time and we look for a compass to drive us forward, we don't need to look any further than those four words. america is in the like any nation that came before us. at times of crisis, leaders have emerged, the american people have rally and we've done what every other generation before us has done, left this nation better than we found it. there is no reason to believe that we can't do that again.

all we have to do is go back to founding principles and stand for the things that have always ade this nation great. i'm too competitive a person to ll you i'm glad i didn't win my last election. i would love to be serving in the senate. but that's not what god had in store for our family, not what the people of the state of indiana decided would happen. but i tell you this, i leave this chamber optimistic and happy. i'm optimistic for this incredible country and the amazing future we have in store. i'm optimistic for the messer family and all the great adventures we have yet to come. a little teful that

kid who grew up in greensberg, indiana, has the tuns to serve the chation in a came behr like this one. i want to tell every little boy and girl growing up in america oday, you can too. just remember in god we trust. thank you very much. i yield back the rest -- no, i don't yield back. i yield to mr. flores, a great gentleman, good friend of mine from the great state of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman must yield back to the chair. mr.s me -- mr. messer: i yield back to the chair. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's anoun pod policy of january 3, 2017, the gentleman from texas, mr. flores, is recognizes for the remained ore of this ehour as the designee of the majority leader. mr. flores: i ask unanimous consent to address the house and revise and extend my remarks and include extraneous material.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman has 47 minutes eft. mr. there ares re: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the 41st president of the united states of america, george herbert walker bush of houston, texas, who passed away on november 30, 2018. president bush was born on june 12, 1924, in milton, massachusetts, to preston sheldon bush and dorothy walker bush he grew up in greenwich, connecticut, and attended phillips academy in andover, massachusetts, where his ill lust res you career in leadership and public service began. on his 18th birthday, president bush enlisted in the united states navy and became a naval aviator. in the middle of world war ii he was commissioned as an ensign just before his 19th birthday, making him one of the youngest aviators in the navy's history. stationed in the pacific theater

on the u.s.s. san jacinto , he piloted a grum monday t.b.m. avenger. on september 2, 1944, while carrying out a mission against japan, his plane was hit by enemy fire and was severely damaged. president bush completed the mission and flew out over water where he was able to escape from the plane, where he was later escued by the submarine u.s.s. finback. after recovering from his injury he returned to flying as soon as he was able he flew a total of 58 combat missions for which he receive the distinguished flying cross, three air medal theansd presidential citation. throughout the war he was encouraged and supported by letters from a sweetheart, barbara harris. they met at a christmas dance in 1941 and fell in love. they were engaged in 1943, married on january 6, 1945. together they would endure both

difficult and joyous time, grow a large and loving family, and set the record for the longest married presidential couple with 73 years of an exemplary commitment to marriage. after his marriage to barbara, mr. bush enrolled at yale university and graduated in 2 1/2 years on an accelerated track and was elected to one of the most prestigious academic phi beta kappa he served as president of the delta kappa epsilon fraternity and was on the yale baseball team he maintained a love for baseball throughout his life. upon graduation, the bush family moved to odessa, texas, where president bush purr pursued a career in the oil industry he had oil industry he had a successful business career, founding two companies and eventually prompted the family to move to houston in 1959. in 1966, president bush ran for and won election to the united

states house of representatives to represent the seventh congressional district of texas. during his time in congress he supported legislation including the civil rights bill of 1968 that outlawed housing discrimination. after four years in the house , in 1971, he was appointed as united states ambassador to the nited nations. his time at the united nations undoubtedly influenced him as he became one of america's greatest dip will mats. in 1973, president bush became chairman of the republican national committee, where he was tasked with guiding the republican party through the watergate scandal and the esignation of president nixon. in the president ford administration he took on the toe of liaison in the office

the people's republic of china. the united states had just recently opened relations with communist china and president bush worked to establish a strong foundation for that relationship. in 1976, the bush family returned to the united states while he served as director of the central intelligence agency. his expansive knowledge of foreign relations and experience in building morale and teamwork made him a strong leader for the c.i.a. in one of their most tumultuous times hsm worked not only to restore the reputation of the agency in the public eye but also to improve relations with capitol hill. his experience as a legislator gave him the background to reconcile the c.i.a. with corning and in the 357 days that he served as director , he testified before them a record setting 51 times. with the transition from the ford administration to the carter administration, president bush returned to texas, became

executive committee chairman of the first international bank of houston and entered academia where he spent a year as part-time professor at rice university and two years as director of the council on foreign relations. in 1980, he was elected vice president serving with ronald reagan from 1981 to 1989. during his tenure as vice president he took a hard stance against communism and tyranny while working to end the cold war without bloodshed. he worked to support president reagan and was one of the most successful vice presidents in history. his diplomatic finesse, his trustworthiness, and his pie pais trotism made him beloved by the american people and a natural choice to run for president. in 1988, then-vice president bush was elected by our nation to become the 41st president, inaugurated on january 20, 1989, he became the first serving vice president to be elected president since martin van buren

in 1836. just 293 days into his presidency, president bush witnessed a major success in his almost decades-long fight against communism with the fall of the berlin wall, physical lowed shortly thereafter by the collapse of the soviet union and end of the cold war. jamb wards, president bush and his administration played a significant role in reuniting east and west germany. today, germany is a powerful nation and one of our country's strongest ally, none of which would have been possible without the skill, diplomacy, commitment, and tactfulness of president bush. in he continuation of his fight against oppression an tyranny, he was one of kuwait's strongest allies and advocates after its invasion by iraqi dictator saddam hussein. on january 17, 1991, the first gulf war began in an effort to

restore the sovereignty of kuwait's government and the stability of the persian gulf. lasting just 100 hour, the offensive strategy was a great success, causing the iraqi military to retreat from kuwait. one they have landmarks of president bush's administration was drafting of the north american free trade agreement, more commonly known as nafta. this agreement encouraged better trade with our nation's northern and southern neighbors by eliminating tariffs and streamlining trade. since nafta's implementation, the american economy has grown by 54% and added 25 million jobs. president bush has also -- is also credited with signing into law the americans with disability act. this civil rights legislation prohibits discrimination based on disability and requires reasonable accessibility accommodations. while only serving one term as president, president bush's administration was a success and its impact went far beyond his

presidency. upon retime he continued to have influence in international affairs and american politics. in 1990, the points of light foundation was created by president bush, inspired by his thousand points of light speeches that encouraged volunteerism and selflessness this foundation is dedicated to engaging people to solve the world's challenges through service to others. to cement his legacy, the george bush presidential library opened in 1997, no conjunction with the school of public service at texas a&m university in college station, texas. though he was a fwradge watt of yale university, he chose it's a&m to be the site of his library because of he stool's patriotism, values, military history and commitment to public service. having lived a life of service to others, president bush was

committed to educating the next generation who would go on to serve and lead the nation, not only with academic knowledge but with texas ag fwee values, respect, complents, leadership, integrity, and selfless service. president bush and barbara were beloved by our communities. as congressman for the seventh district of texas i'm humbled to represent their adopted home in college station and i'm grateful for the wisdom and support president bush personally shared with me when i started my path to public service in 2010. a man of militarier is vess , he built a special relationship with the core of -- corps of cadets at texas a&m and was made an hon rar member of the core in 2012. in 2012 he and i were inducted into the corps of ka dats -- cadets hall of honor. also as an ag fwee,ky not overstate the privilege bestowed on texas a&m university for our

campus to serve as president bush and mrs. bush's final resting place, along with their daughter robin. president bush's life was defined by service to his family, the country and the world. he'll be forever remembered as a husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, a decorated veteran a leader a mentor a selfless servant and a friend to millions. my wife jean and i offer our deepest and heart felt condolences to the bush family. we also lift up the family and friends of president bush in our prayers. earlier this week, i introduced in the house of representatives -- and the house of representatives nam unanimously passed h.res. 1192, honoring the life of president herbert walker bush. i was humbled to offer this resolution and i've requested that a united states flag be flown over the capitol to honor his life and legacy. as i close today, i urge all americans to continue praying fur our country, for our

veterans, for our military men and women, and for our first responders to wheep -- who keep s safe here at home. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the texas a mand m corps of cadets for receiving the guardian of the human spirit award from the holocaust muse semi-of houston on november 14, 2018. the holocaust museum in houston create the guardof the human spirit award in 1997 to recognize and to thank those who have enhanced the lives of others and who have worked to better humankind. this year, the museum decided to honor the corps of cadets because of the many contributions made by texas aggies during world war ii. there were 20,000 -- there were 20,229 ag fwees who serbed in world war ii, including 14,423

who served as officersmark of them you'll see in this commissioning photo to my left, including five general officers. this is more than any other school including the combined totals of the united states military academy and the united states naval academy. were members of the y corps cadet and have leadership, service and integrity. since the founding of the university, tens of thousands have fought to protect the lits and safety of our country from the spanish american war to the ongoing war on terror, they have stopped tyranny and terrorism from freedom-loving persons. during world war ii, they were involved in the war on december 7, 1941 where they fought and died to the victory in the pacific.

they fought and died in every battlefield of the war. during this period, there were numerous acts of exceptional sacrifice including the liberation of german and jap these concentration camps. one of the better known accomplishments occurred on d-day when lieutenant colonel james earl rudder commanded the u.s. army second and fifth ranger battalions which scaled the beach in france. saw a casualty rate of 50% and he was wounded twice. they established a beachhead for troops to land and end begin the liberation. the service of them was recognized by civilian and military leaders. general omar bradley wrote about

rouder, no one in my command who ish a more difficult task. general george s. patton, his reported is said this about texas aggies. ive knee a manned of texas aggies, they will win a war. a&m is writing military history in the blood of its graduates not only in the phillipines' campaign but all active fronts in the southwest pacific. in 1946, dwight d. eisenhower said, no more convincing testimony can be given to the manner of which the men of texas a&m lived up to the principles than the simple statement that the congressional medal of honor

har awarded to six former students and took part in the defense of baton. general omar bradley told the graduating class of 1950, the men of texas a&m can stand up to any man in the world. leadership in the pursuits of peace and when it comes to war, leadership and battle. the presence in the war was invaluable and sacrifice is a reflection of our school's values of respect, leadership, integrity, loyalty, excellence and selfless service. as a former member of the corps cadets, i'm proud of the service and sacrifice of the cadets. cadets at texas a&m have been known as the keepers of the spirit. and now the corps will be known

as the guardians of the human spirit thanks to the recognition from the holocaust museum in houston. mr. speaker, i would like to thank the holocaust museum of houston for recognizing the contributions made by the corps of cadets in world war ii and congratulate the corps for receiving the guardian of the human spirit award and requested that a flag be flown over the u.s. capitol. as i close today, i urge all americans to continue praying for our country, for our veterans, military men and women and first responders who keep us afe at home. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house the senate has passed

s. 3842 to amend the public service health act in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. flores: mr. speaker, i rise today to honor george maurice jackson of bryant, texas who passed away. e was born on november 7, 1953 to mary jackson more and buddy williams. he graduated from bryant high school in 1972 which was the rst class to be racially integrated. he attended college in california obtaining his associate's degree and returned to the valley where he was involved in our community. a devout christian he was a

member of the bap activity church in bryant and sang in the choir and was an usher. e worked at moore's printing company before being employed in the texas a&m library system. in addition to his work, he was a volunteer at the valley museum where he served on the board of trustees. and was a member of its many various committees. maurice was recognized this year museum's home town team's program how sports shape america as the first black high school student on the tennis team. he was known for two things, the dallas cowboys and his wife brenda jackson. he was defined by his service to

those around him. he was loved by our community and left a legacy. he will be remembered as a community leader, a husband, a father and a friend to many. my wife and i offer our heartfelt condolences to the jackson family and lift up the friends and family in our prayers. i request a flag be flown over the capitol. i urge all americans continue praying for our country, for our veterans and military men and women in service and first responders who keep us safe at ome. mr. speaker, i rise w.s. edmonds of college station, texas who pasted away on november 15, 2018.

he was born to w.s. bill edmunds and inea lilly boyle. most of his childhood was where he attended high school. he graduated from texas a&m and graduated in 1938 with a bachelor's degree in agricultural administration. he became a cotton class farmer in texas and louisiana. he returned to college station to work for the u.s. postal service. after the attack on pearl harbor, he volunteered to serve and went on to work as a courier for the pentagon. his work led him to travel around the world and develop the maps used on the invasion of japan. he continued to serve to serve in the army reserve and retired as a major. during the war, w.s. met

marriagorey. called away on duty he left without warning and returned to san francisco more than a year later to find that marriage had waited for him to come back. w.s. and marriage were married on january 20, 1947. they settled in college station and lived in the house that w.s. built himself. by 1950, w.s. and marriage had two children and he continued to work with the u.s. postal service. w.s. was an active member of the american legion and veterans of foreign wars. enjoyed ducking hunting and "gunsmoke" shows. he was a gate keeper at texas a&m football and basketball games. he loved to tell stories and continued to drive his struck until he was 101 years old. at the time of his passing at the age of 105, he was the second oldest living aggie.

he attributed his longevity to cherry turnovers and v-8 juice in later years. his life was filled with service to our country. he will be forever remembered as a selfless servant, a mentor, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather. my wife and i offer our heart felt condolences to the family and friends. i request that the united states flag be flown over the capitol to honor his life and legacy. i urge all americans to continue praying for our country, for our veterans and military men and women in service and first responders who keep us safe at ome. mr. speaker, i rise today to honor professor john mcdermott

of college station, texas who past away on september 30, 2018. e was born to john and kelly mcdermott in new york city. he attended st. fran is college and earned a bachelor of arts in philosophy and earned a master of arts with great distinction in 1959. 1977 he joined the faculty at texas a&m university to be the department head of philosophy. over the years he became a monumental figure. in 1983, he was instrumental in founding the faculty senate and served as the senator from 198-1986 and charter speaker from 1983 to 1984 and founded the department of humanities and medicine and he organized the community of faculty retirees.

during his career he received many awards for his resevere, his teaching and his service to our university. john's contributions went beyond the scope of texas a&m. throughout his career, he served as the president of, founded or co-founded many associations including the american society of philosophy. the william james society and john's scholarship was acknowledged in 2016 named one of the world's most 50 influential living philosophers. he had a reputation of nurturing with his five children, six grandchildren, one great-grandchild. scraun and his wife patricia were to regularly host students at their home to learn more about them and mentor their development.

i was fortunate enough to get an opportunity to meet professor mcdermott in early 2007 and to serve texas a&m university with them. we served as members of two administration executive search committees. even though our beliefs were difficult veering ent we became great friends and we were passionate about texas a&m. john's life was dwiped by his service to those around him. his scholarship and teaching influence teaching people across the world. he will be remembered as a selfless servant, educator, a husband, grandfather, great-grandfather and a great friend. we offer our heart felt condolences to the mcdermott family. i have requested the united states flag be flown over the capitol to honor his life and legacy. as i close, i urge all americans

continue praying for our veterans and first responders who protect us here at home. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, from flores, yields back the balance of his time.

the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington, mrs. mcmorris rogers, for 30 minutes. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize and thank my chief of staff, jeremy deutch. every day jeremy reminded me and my team to show up like it's day one. you know, when you're eager to give it your best, you're driven by this desire to delight people. a customer obsessed -- a customer-obsessed culture. for the past 10 years as my chief, jeremy has led by that very example. now, jeremy never wanted to come to congress. he questioned why anyone would want to come to d.c. too many prisoner guards, resistant to change, and, can you really make a difference?

we first met when he actually moved from ohio to washington state, after i had been elected minority leader in the state house. and when i decided to run for congress, he said -- kathy, sorry, but i'm not interested in -- cathy, sorry, but i'm not interested in national politics. then i won and i asked him to join me in d.c. and again he said, you know, no. i'm not going to congress. but in 2006, i was in a very competitive race. and i needed him and he came and helped me win. and even after he rescued my campaign, he still didn't want to come to congress. he said, i'll help you campaign, but that's it. finally in 2008, jeremy said yes. i was just elected as vice chair of the conference. and eager to bring a more tech-forward approach to how we engage with the american people. i was told at the time that it

was unconventional to have a chief of staff who had never worked on capitol hill. and i said, that's exactly right. jeremy is unconventional. in a world where people are quick to tell you no, why something can't be done, he embraces change. and because of all of that, he brings a visionary approach to politics. when i was vice chair of the republican conference, jeremy helped me launch sunshine.gop. there was no other website like it. to track the earmarks and every single dollar within the stimulus package. now, you may remember in 2009, the obama administration also had a website. but it couldn't account for billions of dollars and it showed jobs and taxpayer dollars going to districts that didn't even exist. with sunshine.gop we delivered and innovative resource that the

american people -- an innovative resource that the american people could trust and count on and it was the best tool available to foster transparency and accountability as to how taxpayer dollars were being spent at the time. in 2008 i also pitched that minority leader john boehner on a plan to meet -- bring our members' offices into the 21st century. we called it moving the g.o.p. from p.c. to mac. and jeremy was instrumental in executing my vision to use innovative technology to build trust with the american people, by reaching them on the platforms that they use every day. when i became chair of the republican conference, we turned the conference into a comprehensive messaging operation. we focused on training, modernizing, equipping and promoting our members. many said that it wouldn't work to bring cutting-edge strategies

to congress. but all along the way jeremy helped prove them wrong. even when it came to literally bringing creativity to our walls. mr. speaker, it's because of jeremy that chalkboard paint, yes, chalkboard paint is now an approved paint color for all congressional offices. when the c.a.o. first told us no, he asked five times. why? that's one of our things. ask why five times. and he got them to yes. when you're inspired and you imagine what's possible, it's amazing what you can accomplish. never one to take credit or to think that he was the smartest person in the room, jeremy brought together experts and positive disrupters to challenge us to be better and to be more inowevative. people like simon, mark,

jennifer, she's the c.e.o. of rent the runway, editors from glamour , "elle" and others. who would have thought that people like this would be collaborating with house republicans? but because of jeremy, it happened. it's jeremy who established the kinish club on capitol hill. it's a gathering of republican jewish members and staff who come together over bagels. but what's really at the heart of jeremy's success is his passion for people. and his vigilant integrity. he's driven by a mission for those that we serve. and it's not just what you do, it's how you do it. and that's why i'm so grateful for the team that we have built together. every day we work and live by our values. it's about serve, seek excellence, everybody matters, responsibly own it, vigilant

integrity, and embrace change. it's because of those values that we become a model office on capitol hill. just this year we received the democracy award for outstanding achievements in innovation. and we've embraced technology to better serve our district. this wouldn't have been possible without jeremy's vision and my team. now, there's a god component and a people component to all success. and it's jeremy who often reminded us that god is with us in everything that we do. he's an incredible person with a big heart. and during the good times and the tough times, he brought us together. he would make us laugh. he brought joy to every day. i remember when jeremy surprised us by dressing up as santa claus for our holiday party. here's the jewish guy who

doesn't celebrate christmas bringing joy and cheer to my staff. there probably isn't anyone on capitol hill quite like jeremy deutch. but for the sake of this institution, i hope that that's not the case. because he has made a difference here. jeremy, thank you for your 10 years of service to the people's house. for your guidance, your leadership, and, of course, your friendship. may god be with you in everything that you do. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: yes. i yield. yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlelady yields back the balance of her time.

under the speaker's announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentleman from kansas, mr. yoder, for 30 minutes.

mr. yoder: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise for perhaps the last time to address the united states congress. i stand before this esteemed body honored to have been part of the people's house. our work here is a noble pursuit , debating, deliberating and ultimately deciding issues of critical importance to the great people of the united states of america. from a young age, mr. speaker, my parents taught me the value of service and the importance of our responsibility to contribute to our community. to lead things -- leave things better than we found them. this is frankly part of the american tradition. we feel a commitment and a compassion to our neighbors. each american plays a role in weaving the fabric that makes this country so enduring and so

strong. eplure business ewe numb, out of many -- eplur bus ewe numb -- eplure bus ewe numb. of many, bs unum, out we are one. a nation at that stands as a beacon, a shiny example of democracy and freedom and unity. a nation built on sacrifice and service and commitment to preserving our eye deals. that's the nation i love -- ideals. that's the nation i love and that's the nation i was honored to serve in this united states congress. like all americans, i have my own story, my own heritage, my own upbringing i grew up on a farm in central kansas. a grain and livestock farm. we grew wheat, soybean, we raised cattle, hogs, sheep and chickens. i grew up in the 1980's. life was hard on american farms back then.

still is in many ways. some of our neighbors were going bankrupt we didn't have much and commodity prices never rose to the point of profit. my parents pinched pennies hard but they made a life for us. they taught me that education was the best way to create opportunity for yourself and that there was no substitute for an old-fashioned hard day's work. my family's been farming in rural kansas for generations. it's a way to make a living but it's also a culture. a set of values that help build this country. they are the values that made me who i am today. the values i now teach my own children. and the values that i brought with me to washington as i've traveled here each week since january of 2011. my grandparents embodied the prairie spirit. they carved a life out of the rich kansas soil. they were hard workers whose faith in god and love of family drove them through good times and bad. my grandmother passed last year at 105 and was always a treasure to wish her happy birthday from

the house floor. my grandparents were from illinois. they grew up where my mother grew up as well. they were pillars of their community. my grandfather was mayor of his village and respected attorney. i respect all my grandparents so much, what they stood for. because they helped build this great nation. and hope if they're here today they would be proud of their grandson. my parents were wayne and susan, are wayne and susan. my father farmed his entire life. he taught me to work hard, to stand up for what i believe in. he was passionate about his beliefs. i spent a lot of time sitting with had had -- with him in coffee shops when he'd take break from being in the field and i'd listen to farmers debate and argue about things. i can tell you, no one can argue better than a farmer about something. and they would sit there and debate the issues of the day and they'd debate a lot of politics and i think somewhere along the line that's where i picked up the political bug that brought me into a life of serving in office. my mother was a social worker.

she believed in compassion for others. and acknowledgment that not everyone has the same opportunities in life. she stood up for what she believed in. i stood up for women's rights. she is someone who is still very passionate about politics. both of my parents are. my father even ran for office a couple of times. and perhaps one of my proudest moments was the day i walked onto this house floor as member of congress and took the oath of office. raised my right hand and swore to uphold the constitution. my wife, brook, and my father were in the audience. my -- standing here in front of my dad, hoping that i'd made him proud. it was a great moment. i remember after i asked him, have you ever been to washington d.c. before. in 1978, he got on his tractor d drove from kansas to the washington mall. he was fighting for farmers

fighting for that rural way of life. both my parents i'm so proud of worked worked hard to make proud. my sister stood by me even though she we share different political beliefs. and so as i stand here and deliver this address, may not do so with sadness or regret but with great pride and continued sense of wonder and amazement that a rural kid from kansas is part of the united states congress. but you know, america as a nation was not a foregone conclusion. when i go through the halls of capitol, i take note of different paintings. there is no more important moment in our history than this

great man the people were willing to entrust him. endearing values of service and sacrifice we must continue to usher in to new generations of america. the giants who walked these same halls, too. great presidents who served in the people's house. people like abraham lincoln, john kennedy, lyndon johnson and george bush. speakers of the house and the man from russell, kansas, a great friend and mentor and one of america's debatest servants, bob dole. when i think of the founding fathers as i walk through the halls. put he founding father who the will and consent of the governed. as james madison, the people are the only fountain of power and from them that the

constitutional charter under which several branches of government hold their power is derived. it was no mistake, madison chose article 1 for the people's house. nators were by the legislators. the house of representatives is the voice of the people. and being that voice has truly been incredible. i'm proud of what we have been able to achieve here in congress. i worked every day with the philosophy we should expand, liberty and freedom and make this government work better for the people for all of us. for too long government made it harder for people to get ahead, taxes and burdens on regulations and roadblocks of success instead of creating new avenues for opportunity. we have reversed that course and built a stronger more prosperous

united states of america. we have passed the most significant tax reform in a generation. we have rebuilt our military. i personal have fought hard to buildup important programs like head start so that every child, regardless of who they are or where they're from can have the opportunity to succeed. i have dedicated my time here to ensure that medical researchers, are the best and brightest minds will have the resources they need regardless of the political views or race. ancer, alzheimer's and parkinson's disease strike at the hard and body. until institutes of health are trying to araid indicate these diseases thanks to the efforts of this body over the last several years in securing historic funding. i on the legislative branch i

worked to bring transparency to c.r.s. reports. on homeland security, i have secured the necessary funding to timely provide operational control at our southern border, something politicians promised to do. my bill devotes much needed funds for personnel to stop drugs and human trafficking. i worked hard to keep my promises and could not have done it without help from some of the most incredible people working here on capitol hill. of the many members who served in this body and those who follow, none of them are self-made. first and foremost, we need support of families and to my beautiful wife brook in the gallery with our three girls, we had a dream of being able to serve in the halls of concxds con. and that dream couldn't have

been met without your love and support. this has been an incredible journey that i held your hand and your paw. we have had two beautiful daughters, caroline, lucille and everyone loise. they have seen their daddy on tv. they are my greatest treasures and they have always been on my mind each and every day. though it is bittersweet knowing i get to spend more time with my three daughters is a rich reward. each of us has a team and staff that helps our offices carry out the work. people that dedicated their lives. here in washington, d.c., dave and his team, davey, michael, and ali have been great. they worked hard. my district team holds the

distinction that we never had one staffer leave over eight years. all of them staying. molly and her team, susan, shane, heidi and ethan. great thanks to my communication c.j. who helped me write this speech and still working this day on many projects and my original staffer back in my legislative days, kate. she has been my scheduler multiple times and helped me run campaigns. she has been my right-hand gal. i couldn't have done this job without her and everyone on this team. my first chief of staff and legislative directors and others who worked so hard along the way, amanda and jennifer who helped work on campaigns and court maxwell.

i have had a great amount of people. i'm a proud resident of kansas. one of our most proud service opportunities i ever had was serving as student body university at k.u. i believe in service to others in my days back in the kansas legislature. i served with jason watkins or mike o'neal. to my time in the u.s. house with my friends bob dole and ben quayle, so many others, i have been blessed with friendships and met wonderful people along the way. that perhaps is what i will most the most. the people you serve with. congress gets a bad rap. but i can attest that some of the most dedicated passionate people who love this country, both democrats and republicans are the finest, kindest and

sincere people you will ever meet. to my colleagues in this distinguished body, it has been an honor of a lifetime to serve with you. and to my constituents, the voters of the 3rd district, thank you for trusting in me to serve you. to my supporters, those who have helped me campaign and made it possible for me to serve, thank you for your faith. i believe the 3rd district is the best district in america and i'm truly humbled to have the opportunity for these eight years. as i leave congress in a few days and cast a final vote on behalf of the people of kansas, i will do so for being grateful for having served. i will be more hopeful and more optimistic for the future of our great nation for god has blessed me in this moment to serve and i'm forever thankful. may god bless this congress and may god always bless united

states of america. and for the last time, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: squabt. does the gentleman have a motion? mr. yoder: mr. speaker, i move the house do now adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly the house stands adjourned until 11:30 a.m. on monday, 17 of december,

ms. pelosi: