budget are president trump's values and not my values and they love my colleagues values -- a lot of my colleagues values , we need to take a page from different countries in the world but i also think that there are countries that can take a page from the united states also. there are things we do right. innovation, we do not take advantage of it but the ability to go to the polls and elect people to practice whatever religion you want. the united states does some things right. but there are some things we can do much better. host: this is the presence proposal, house now controlled by democrats and will have their own budget and the senate controlled by republicans will have their own budget. robin kelly, democrat, illinois, thank you for the conversation. host: we will bring you to the

floor of the house as they begin their legislative session this morning, live coverage on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2019] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair lays before the house a communication from the speaker. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain. the clerk: the speaker's room, washington, d.c., march 14, 2019. i hereby appoint the honorable saludo carbajal to act as speaker pro tempore on this day. signed, nancy pelosi, speaker of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. haplain conroy: let us pray. merciful god, thank you for

giving us another day. your care and wisdom are shown to us by the way you extend your kingdom into our world down to the present day. your word reveals every aspect of your saving plan. you accomplish your design purpose in and through the hearts of the faithful who respond to you. today, convert our minds and hearts that we may become the great nation you hope us to be. help the members of this people's house to seek your presence in the midst of their busy lives. animate them with your spirit and help them to perform their appointed tasks to come to solutions that will renowned to the benefit of this nation. may all that is done today 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. >> mr. speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. . the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from california, mr. harder.

mr. harder: 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 entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. harder: thank you, mr. speaker. this week the administration released its proposed budget. i'm here to share what those budget cuts mean for my home, california's central valley. imagine you are an almond

farmer. maybe your farm has been part of the family for multiple generations. over the past five years you have seen your net farm income drop by a largest since the great depression. then you wake up this week and hear that the administration which promised to be in your corner wants to cut billions of dollars from programs that help you a and your family put food on the table across the country. programs like crop insurance. if you lose your crops from flooding or fires, your farm stays afloat. under this budget crop insurance is cut by $26 billion. programs like drought relief to make up for damaged properties during arid seasons. under this budget, drought relief is cut by $8 billion. or imagine you live in a district like mine where water management and storage are essential. under this budget 30% of the army corps of engineers' budget is cut. putting all those structures at risk. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to address an issue that impacts all our congressional districts and communities. the opioid crisis. mr. chabot: for years now it seems the only news about it has been bad news. 70,000 overdose deaths in 2017, widespread importation of deadly drugs like fentanyl. families devastated, lives wasted. now finally some good news to report. in my district specifically in hamilton county, we have had a 20% decrease in opioid deaths in the first half of 2018. the decline is a result of multiple prevention efforts, a task force of first responders, law enforcement, health officials, and community leaders, all working together to tackle this deadly epidemic. their efforts are truly saving lives in our community.

most importantly, their successes can be used as a model to help save thousands and thousands of lives across the country. and i can't think of any better news than that. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. carbajal: mr. speaker, this week the president broke his promise to america's seniors that would he not cut medicare or social security benefits. after republicans in congress passed a massive tax giveaway for corporations and the wealthiest 1%, the president now wants to balance the budget on the backs of our seniors and students. this budget cuts $2 trillion from medicare, medicaid, and social security. over the next 10 years. programs that our seniors have paid into for decades.

as students face a trillion dollar student loan debt crycy, trump's budget pushes affordable college further out of reach by cutting $207 billion from student loan programs. thankfully americans voted overwhelmingly last election to place a check on this president by sending a new democratic majority to congress. and they can rest assured knowing that we will not consider the president's cruel budget cuts this house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. collins: i request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. collins: mr. speaker, i have thus far released the interview transcripts of two individuals at the heart of the 2016 d.o.j. investigation's controversy. today i'm releasing a third. as i have said before i believe the american people deserve transparency and deserve to know

what transpired at the highest echelon of the f.b.i. during this tumultuous time for the bureau. therefore, mr. speaker, i quest the link dot collins,.house.gov forward slash struck be placed in the record so the american people can review the transcript. out of an abundance of caution this transcript has a limited number of narrowly redactions related to nonpublic investigation about ongoing investigations, and nonmaterial personnel information. i will continue to work to release as many transcripts as possible. the american people deserve transparency and the truth. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? arizona seek recognition. sorry. >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to express my deep concerns over the proposed budget cuts made in

the president's budget and the skyrocketing deficits that will leave our children and grandchildren with trillions more in debt. while it is imperative that we reign in wasteful government, spending and get our national debt under control, we cannot do so at the expense of the men and women living in rural and tribal communities and our seniors. this budget proposal slashes trillions from health care programs that millions of seniors, working families, and veterans rely on every day. additionally, it would cut infrastructure programs and funding for critical projects in rural america and hurt farming families. this is not how we are going to curb spending and get our fiscal house in order. we need to act now to pass a bipartisan budget that addresses the debt crisis and invests in the future of our nation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. lamalfa: 25 months ago we saw a crisis in california of the broken spillway at orville dam belonging to the state water projects. thankfully emergency services were able to come in and as soon as possible get things functioning once again for the safety of the flood control as well as the storage and hydroelech terroristity that's produced there. we have much help that came from fema and i want to say thank you to the folks at fema, this add m., secretary neilsen for being on the spot with helping this restoration process. $333 million this flowed to helping the crisis of the spillway be restored to a working spillway. there are those clamoring for even more money, but that lies on the backs of the state of california and the d.w.r. for the extra money bringing it up

to $1.1 billion. the state of california claims it is in a surplus situation and needs to pay its own bills and put the money aside to take care of the project, not the other 49 states. for the nonemergency part of the project. thanks to fema for their attention to this, as well as the wildfire situation we had in paradise, california, for helping us in northern california. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas 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. i rise today to express my strong and unwavering support for h.r. 5, the dream and promise act. i'm proud to represent the 29th congressional district of texas. one of the things i'm most proud of is the strong and vibrant immigrant communities that reside in our district where

thousands of daca, t.p.s., and d.p.e. recipients live, work, and play beside us as neighbors and colleagues. if dreamers were forced to leave our district tomorrow, we would d.d. over $400 million of p. our immigration policies put politics over people which often hurt our children, who are in constant fear of being separated and uproot interested a country they call their own. ms. garcia: this is wrong for our economy. this is wrong for our communities. this is wrong for our country. it is time that we pass a permanent solution for these vital members of our society, which is why i urge all my colleagues to support h.r. 5. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. just last week we passed h.r. 1, the for the people act with the worthy aim to ensure this government represents the voices of all americans and not just the privileged and powerful. among the many he reforms in h.r. 1, one would require candidates for candidate and vice president must disclose their tax returns giving voters personal tax information has been a traditional of presidents since 1973 when richard nixon of all people released his returns and said people have got to know whether their president is a crook. on that issue i agree with mr. nixon. my home state legislature has been working on legislation that would require any presidential for vice presidential candidate who wants to be on the bat local in illinois to release their tax returns. they think the people have the right to know the true character of the person who sits in the white house. mr. speaker, we have to know if our president's a crook. i would like to see the senate take up this bill and if they are unable to follow in the great leadership of this house, i hope that other states will follow the great leadership of the state of illinois.

mr. casten: thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. engel: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 208, i call up house concurrent resolution 24, expressing the sense of congress that the report of special counsel mueller should be made available to the public and to congress, and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will now report the title of the concurrent resolution. the clerk: house concurrent resolution 24. concurrent resolution expressing the sense of congress that the report of special counsel mueller should be made available to the public and congress. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 208, the amendments to the concurrent resolution and the preamble printed in the house report 116-17, are agreed to. and the concurrent resolution as

amended is considered read. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, each will control 30 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h.con. resolution 24. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. nadler: thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: thank you, mr. speaker. h.con.res 24 expresses the sense of congress that any report special counsel robert mueller delivers to the attorney general should be released to the public and to congress. this concurrent resolution is important for several reasons. first, transparency is fundamental to the special counsel process. especially when dealing with matters of national security involving the president. in january, 2017, the u.s.

intelligence community unanimously reported that, quote, russian president vladimir putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the u.s. presidential election, closed quote, and that, quote, putin and the russian government developed a clear preference for president-elect trump, closed quote. as a result of the important of this charge and the manner involving the president, robert mueller was appointed special counsel by the acting attorney general in order for the american to have full confidence in the outcome. this is why in the only other instance involving the appointment of a special counsel under the regulations concerning the waco tragedy, the special counsel's report was released in full by the attorney general. second, this resolution is critical because of the many questions and criticisms of the investigation raised by the president and his administration. it is important that congress stand up for the principle of full transparency. at a time when the president has publicly attacked the russian investigation more than

1,100 times and counting. among other things, the president has repeatedly referred to the investigation as a witch-hunt and called it a hoax, rigged, and a scam. this resolution is also needed because high-ranking d.o.j. officials have indicated that they may not release -- that they may not release information about individuals who are not indicted. deputy attorney general rosenstein stated last month that, quote, if we aren't prepared to prove our case beyond a reasonable doubt in court, then we have no business making allegations against american citizens, closed quote. but this normally salutary policy must not apply in the event the department adheres to its policy that it cannot indict a sitting president. to maintain that a sitting president cannot be indicted no matter how much evidence there is because he's a sitting president, and then to withhold evidence of wrongdoing from congress because the president cannot be charged is to convert the d.o.j. policy into the means for a cover-up.

third, releasing the mueller report even in its entirety does not absolve the department of justice of its obligation to provide congress with the underlying evidence uncovered by the special counsel. this expectation is well-grounded in precedent set by the department just in the last congress in connection with three republican-led investigations into hillary clinton's emails, the dismissal of former acting director mccabe and allegations of bias regarding the russia investigation. with respect to the investigation involving secretary clinton's emails, this is the department of justice releasing to congress more than 880,000 pages of documents regarding the f.b.i.'s decisionmaking. identifying names of career officials involved in the charging decision, identifying to congress specific court cases relied on in the charging decision, and making numerous d.o.j. and f.b.i. personnel available to congress for transscribed interviews. with respect to the dismissal

of former acting director mccabe, this included releasing to congress all documents relied on by the office of professional responsibility in making its decision. and with respect to claims of bias in the russia investigation, this included not only releasing to the public an otherwise classified foreign intelligence application, but also releasing to congress, one, all underlying documents and communications involving the fisa application, two, four memos dealing former f.b.i. director's communications with the president, three, materials pertaining to classified briefings involving the trump and clinton presidential campaigns, and, four, making more d.o.j. and f.b.i. officials available for a total of 21 transscribed interviews and hearings. these deficiency transcribed interviews and hearings. this is for the department of justice to release all evidence with respect to the russia investigation. a vote for this resolution will send a clear signal to both the

american people and to the department of justice that congress believes transparency is a fundamental principle necessary to ensure that government remains accountable to the public. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join me in supporting this commonsense resolution. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the gentleman and this time this morning. i intend to support this resolution but in the matter of time and coming through this week, might as well have 30 minutes so we'll talk about a resolution that's a restatement of the law and the regulation, i'm sorry, but i want to provide some background on the special counsel's regulations. special counsel mueller is operating under a different regulatory framework from the independent counsel statute that gave us the starr report. the clinton administration's justice department, which was led by janet reno, deputy eric holder al drafted the regulations in

effect today. it gives the attorney general flexibility. attorney general barr has a few options when he receives the information from mr. mueller. he could give congress the complete report, summary, or simply tell congress that the mueller investigation has concluded. the clinton administration regulations do not require a full report to congress. however, during his confirmation, attorney general barr said he wants to be transparent with congress and the public consistent with the rules and the law. we have no reason to think attorney general barr would back away from those statements he's made before the senate judiciary committee and, mr. speaker, i believe he's truthful and will be truthful to his word to make it as much possible as he possibly can. the american should not expect another starr report. the clinton justice department made sure another president would not have salacious stories aired before the american people. janet reno herself testified before congress in 1999 that it was a bad idea for independent counsels to publish final reports. many members of the democratic majority in congress today voted against the public

release of materials related to the starr report and, mr. speaker, i would ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a narrative related to a roll call vote 425 from the 105th congress. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. collins: thank you. for the record i'd note the following democratic members voted against the release of the starr materials. speaker pelosi, majority whip clyburn, chairman nadler, chairman cummings, chairman engel, chairman waters, ms. jackson lee, mr. markey, chair lofgren and chairman neal, among others. it is amazing we have now changed our perspective on that but in light of that with a republican in the white house. again, this resolution simply basically restates the regulations that are currently in place that were written under the clinton department of justice. it is going to come forward. the new attorney general has said he wants to make as much possible as he can legally to come to the american people. i believe in transparency. i believe there are many other things we could be working on, but i'm happy to support a regulation that's actually just a restatement.

this resolution is a restatement of the regulatory burden already placed upon the attorney general. with that i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, the distinguished chairwoman of the financial services committee, ms. waters. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california, ms. waters, is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, chairman nadler. mr. speaker, i strongly support h.con.res 24, which expresses the sense of congress that the report of special counsel robert mueller should be available to the public and to congress. special counsel robert mueller has been appointed to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the russian government's efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election and to examine any links between the russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of president donald trump. he has also been appointed with the authority to investigate

and prosecute federal crimes committed in the course of and with the intent to interfere with the investigation, including perjury, obstruction of evidence, destruction of evidence and intimidation of witnesses. the gravity and magnitude of this investigation, given that it goes straight to the heart of our democracy and involves the president of the united states requires the public release of the special counsel's findings. this is an investigation that affects each and every american, whether it compli implicates and exonerates the president and, therefore, it must be brought to light so the american people can see for themselves the findings and determinations made by an objective, impartial investigator who has a reputation for integrity. in addition, the report will provide valuable insight and information for the important investigations being undertaken in the house, including the investigation being conducted

by the committee on financial services on money laundering nd the president's finances. counsel mueller has been discreet in conducting this investigation. it's clear from the manner which the special counsel has approached this investigation that he's taken it seriously and has not conducted what president trump refers to as a witch-hunt. so far the special counsel's investigation has resulted in 199 criminal charges, 37 indictments or guilty pleas, and five prison sentences. whatever his prosecutorial decisions may be going forward, it is in the public's interests to be given full transparency into those decisions and the explanations behind them. i thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the

gentleman from california, the distinguished chair of the intelligence committee, mr. schiff. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. schiff: i thank the gentleman from new york for yielding and for his sponsorship of this important legislation. i rise in strong support. special counsel robert mueller was appointed in may, 2017, to oversee the ongoing criminal and counterintelligence investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 election, and over the nearly two years since his appointment, the special counsel has indicted 34 individuals and three companies and secured guilty pleas or convictions from eight individuals. we do not know when the special counsel will complete his work, but there are indications it could occur in the near future. notwithstanding the overwhelming public interest into special counsel's report and findings, i am deeply concerned that attorney general barr may attempt to withhold mueller's full report from the public and the underlying evidence from congress and could instead seek to provide only a cliff notes version of

the report to congress. as this resolution makes clear, congress will not accept any attempt by mr. barr or the president to bury the report and the findings of the special counsel. withholding this information would be untenable in light of the intense public interest and need for transparency, but particularly so, when the department has provided production to congress at the demand of the previous majority, including sensitive fisa materials and other classified and law enforcement sensitive materials related to the mueller investigation and the clinton email investigation. last year, i repeatedly warned department leadership that in providing these materials to congress they were establishing a precedent and one they would have to live with in the future. they did so anyway, and while anonymous sources at the department have blamed james comey for this information, in fact, the department has turned over more than 880,000 pages of documents from the clinton email investigation to

congress, all of them, all of them pursuant to congressional subpoenas issued after james comey was fired and they produced hiley sensitive records including -- highly sensitive records including fisa materials. to be sure something far more serious than precedent is at stake, disclosure is uniquely imperative here because the special counsel reportedly is investigating whether the president himself engaged in misconduct. if the special counsel has indeed uncovered evidence of serious wrongdoing on the president's part, then that evidence must be furnished to congress and ultimately to the american people. withholding the full report or underlying evidence would only heighten concerns over a cover-up or a pernicious or partisan double standard. the special counsel's regulations were written above all to ensure public confidence in the fair and impartial administration of justice. that charge would be entirely evishiated by an attempt to

cover-up or conceal special counsel mueller's findings and report, whatever they may be and wherever they are finalized. i urge members of both members to join me in supporting this resolution and to make clear that anything less than full transparency is unacceptable. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. at this time, the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from california, a member of the judiciary committee, mr. lieu. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california, mr. lieu, is recognized. mr. lieu: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman nadler, for your leadership. i rise in support of this resolution, requesting that special counsel mueller's report be made available to the public. there are three reasons this must happen. first, the taxpayers paid for this report. the american people funded this investigation.

they have a right to see the contents of the report of the investigation. second, internal bureaucratic department of justice policies do not apply to congress. especially on matters of national importance. and third, if we don't get this report, it could amount to a cover-up. the united states constitution does not say that a sitting president cannot be indicted. there is nothing in the constitution that would prevent that. . the d.o.j. has said they are not going to indict a sitting president. the only institution that can can hold the president accountable is congress. if we do not do this we can can cannot effectively do our jobs and hold the president accountable. it is something the americans want to see. department of justice does not do this, we all need to ask, what are they trying to hide? with that i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from colorado, a member of the judiciary committee, mr. neguse. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado, mr. neguse, is recognized for one minute. mr. neguse: i want to thank the chairman for his leadership and introducing this resolution. the investigation currently under way by special counsel robert mueller is incredibly important. an open investigation into incredibly serious allegations, potential obstruction of justice, corruption, and possible links of coordination between donald trump's presidential campaign anti-the russian government. efforts to med until our democratic process and mis-- meddle in our democratic process and mislead the american voters. the allegations are serious, credible, and unprecedented. with 37 inkimets and counting, it is of paramount importance that the special counsel's report and underlying evidence be made public for the safety of

transparency and trust in our government. as a nation, as a congress, as a republic we need to know alt facts about this investigation and what unfolded between players and the president's campaign and russia in 2016. we must protect and respect the work of special counsel mueller and his report must be released in full for the congress and for the american people to see. again i thank the chairman for introducing this resolution. i encourage my colleagues to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadlemplet mr. nadler: i now yield -- mr. nadler. mr. nadler: i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen, is recognized for two minutes. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. chairman. what we're discussing is one of the most important documents that will ever be produced and given potentially to congress for the american people in our

modern history. a question of whether or not this administration was involved with the russian government, or number one foreign enemy, in influencing the outcome of our presidential election. something tantamount to freeson. -- treason. the report needs to be made public because the american people have a right to know. the american people, as ronald reagan, to paraphrase said, i paid for this microphone, the american people paid for this report. they paid for the special counsel. they deserve to see the fruits of his work and whether or not, as richard nixon said, their president is a crook. they need to know that. unfortunately, as i sit here listening to this discussion, i feel like i'm thrown back into a time in the 1970's. i think it was 1977, somewhere about there, in zaire, not in the washington, d.c., capital.

it's the muhammad ali-george foreman fight. the other side, the republicans, are playing the role of ali. not the float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, but the rope-a-dope. sit back, take the punches. let them swing, let them hit you. because they know they'll wear themselves out and they know the outcome because the fix is in. there is a reason why the attorney general was picked by this president. we'll soon find out. we need to pass this resolution so the american people -- show the american people that congress is on the side of transparency and releasing this report and letting the american public who paid for this report know the results of it and know what needs to happen to protect our democracy and the rule of law. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: members are again reminded that they should refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. engage in personalities against the sitting attorney general. i mean you are saying that he was appointed for a reason?

mr. speaker, parliamentary inquiry. the speaker pro tempore: the the gentleman will state his parliamentary inquiry. mr. collins: is it also not directed to the house to not impugn the character of a sitting cabinet member? the speaker pro tempore: at this time the gentleman from georgia's advised that the chair is not in a position to advise on that parliamentary inquiry. mr. collins: i wouldn't -- the speaker pro tempore: i will not in a position to offer an advisory opinion. mr. collins: can you offer? you said were you able to offer an advisory opinion? the speaker pro tempore: the specific point i made was that members are advised not to engage in specific allegations against the president. mr. collins: ok. continuing my parliamentary inquiry. i made a parliamentary inquiry concerning a cabinet member not the president. i understand your advisory opinion against the president. i fully agree with t i'm asking about a member of the cabinet.

the speaker pro tempore: you are advised that there is no rule that prohibits any comments against a signature cabinet member. only the president. those are the rules of the house. the gentleman is advised. mr. collins: thank you for enlightening us on that. it's basically to impugn the integdwrit of the sitting member of the cabinet. we just learned something new today. as far as members of the house i get it it's not this is rules. it shouldn't be a part of this debate. this is samplee resolution. it simply restates the regulation. don't make it any more, any less than what it is. that's why we're here. we're going to approve this, vote for t not make it any more than what it is. continue on so we can get to a vote and maybe we'll come back and vote on legislation that matters. with that i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from washington, member of the

judiciary committee, ms. jayapal. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from the state of washington is recognized for two minutes. ms. jayapal: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.con. resolution 24 to express the sense of congress that special counsel mueller's report be made available to the american people and to congress. we cannot impugn the integrity of the american people by keeping this report silenced. for nearly two years special counsel robert mueller and his team have investigated serious and credible allegations about obstruction of justice and collusion at the highest levels of our government. and to date, mr. speaker, the investigation has led to the public indictment of three companies and 34 individuals, including the indictment of president trump's former campaign manager, personal lawyer, seven guilty pleas,' and one conviction following a jury trial. the allegations range from election interference to lying

to the f.b.i. to conspiracy to defraud the united states. now, mr. speaker, this should not be a republican or democratic issue. i hope that my colleagues on the other side will understand that there should be nothing to hide from the american people about this investigation, a special counsel's investigation, into whether there was interference in our elections. and if my republican colleagues have nothing to fear of this report, if they are willing to stand up for the constitution, if they are willing to stand up for the american people and put that constitution over party, over any individual, including the one that sits in the white house, then they, too, will join us in voting unanimously for this resolution. it's a big deal for the american people to maintain trust in our democracy and in our government. they have to know the results of the special counsel's report. this is, again, an american issue. it's about doing our

constitutional duty to protect our democracy. i look forward, mr. speaker, to having a unanimous vote on this resolution. passing it through and making it clear that we have nothing to hide. it is our duty to the american people. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. maybe i need to make -- get the talking points from the other side clear. i agreed on monday i was voting for this. we're not opposing this because it's simply a restatement of the regulation. i know that it's fashionable to think we're, but we're not. again i'm sorry i maybe -- thought i made it clear at rules i was voting for this so we could have saved extra time on some of the discussion here. again we'll continue to go through this. at this point i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the sponsor of the legislation to ensure that the work of the special counsel is not suppressed and whoever

valuable assistance on today's resolution, mr. doggett of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. doggett, is recognized for three minutes. mr. doggett: thank you for your work on this. the relentless, baseless attacks on an american patriot, robert mueller, and his team have moved us ever so slowstory a constitutional crisis. just as we cannot yield to trump's attempt to discredit this distinguished team of legal experts, neither can can we let them bury the results of this taxpayer paid investigation. having nothing to fear means having nothing to hide. those who seek to hide this report obviously do not believe that the truth will set them free. rather, as it has for so many of mr. trump's sleazy cohorts, they fear that the trump -- truth will lock them up. so many lies, so much daily deceit, already so much evidence

of collusion and obstruction and from the organization's own former lawyer, evidence of an apparent criminal enterprise that bears the name of the trump organization. if it is a witch-hunt, mr. president, it has more witches than amara laga halloween party. your pitch's brew, your witch's brew seems to have cast a spell over many members of this congress who find themselves locked in continuing silence or wishy-washy efforts to ignore and bolster your floundering presidency. today's resolution says to president trump, who has shown such consistent disregard for the rule of law, you can cannot seize and secret evidence of conduct that others need to see. let the taxpayers see the results of the investigation of the wrongdoing, which their

dollars have rightly funded. our congressional duty is to enforce the borders, to be border patrol people, to see that this president who was willing to cross every line, every constitutional boundary, to see that he is contained within the borders of the constitution. for the rule of law to stand, the administration can cannot be allowed to sit on the special counsel's report. i urge adoption of the resolution and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: reserves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: how much time do i have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is advised you have 11 minutes remaining. the gentleman from georgia has 26 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. himes.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized. mr. himes: i thank the gentleman from new york and thank you, mr. speaker. i also thank the ranking member. i very much appreciate his comments that he will support this bill. i will just observe as a member of the intelligence committee that we have seen our politics twisted into almost unrecognizable form by the unprecedented attacks of the president on the department of justice on the f.b.i., on the investigation as a whole. this report must see the light of day and must be available to the american public for a catharsis that will allow us to start with the facts to understand what happened and to rebuild the faith that the american people did and should have in the department of justice and the federal bureau of investigation, and in the government in general. i rise in strong support of congress and strong bipartisan fashion passing this bill so that the american people will understand that the truth will be out there and it will help fix our politics. with that i yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield two minutes to the distinguished the gentlewoman from texas, a member of the judiciary committee committee, ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, is recognized, for two minutes. i thank the e: chairman very much. i, too, add my appreciation, mr. collins, to your eagerness to adhere to what i think is an appropriate policy that reasserts the article 1 authority, if you will, of the congress. i think it is important for my colleagues to recognize that americans are wondering, they are wondering they have heard over and over again of russian collusion, they have heard the

factual affirmation that the russians did interfere with the 2016 election, and tried to interfere with the 2018 election. and therefore it's important for them in their concern to be informed. they are taxpayers. we say this all the time. the resources that mr. mueller's used are their dollars. it is important to note that through this investigation the national security advisor and foreign policy and many others have gone to court because of will mueller. it is indeed important to know that we have learned much because of his report. . but we have not learned all, and we must overcome attorney general barr's hesitation because the american people have made the point. the point is that 68% of them say they would like to see this report. now, we know that it has been bantered around we cannot indict a president. this is not about indicting a president, but assuming this regulation this correct, that someone thinks that is constant law and the president cannot be

subjected to criminal process and, therefore, cannot and should not be indicted, it is illogical to say because he cannot be indicted because of virtue of his office and because they can't reveal information of unindicted parties and individuals. the justice department cannot reveal of potential wrongdoing by the president and not reveal any information to the body that possesses the constitutional responsibility for holding this president accountable. so let us follow good policy. even the words of attorney general barr that recognizes that the d.o.j.'s purpose is to release investigations in the public interest. this is in the public interest, and so i would suggest to all that we do this in a bipartisan way to give to the american people what they deserve and what they want. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: could i inquire of my chairman if he has any more

speakers? do you have any more speakers, mr. chairman? mr. nadler: i have at least two more speakers. mr. collins: outstanding. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york shall proceed. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlelady from ohio, ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized for one minute. ms. kaptur: i'd like to thank chairman nadler for yielding and my call today is for full transparency with a clear focus on the sinister motives of russia's corrupt leaders. their interference in our 2016 elections has created anger, bewilderment, exactly what russia wanted. today's resolution calls for the department of justice to make special counsel robert mueller's report, along with any findings available to the public to the maximum extent permitted by law and to provide the report and its findings in its entirety to the congress of the united states. so whether you view special counsel mueller as a patriot conducting a nonpartisan

investigation into a foreign power's possible influence in our elections or as a witch-hunt, a full accounting and public release of the findings is needed to heal our political differences. this is not about embarrassing president trump. this is about closure and full disclosure. if there was no collusion, as the president has emphasized, then he should want complete transparency. the american people deserve no less. i yield back any remaining time to our distinguished chairman, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from georgia continues to reserve. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from maryland, the distinguished majority leader, mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland, the majority leader, is recognized. mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, last week the house passed h.r. 1, major legislation to strengthen voter access, address the corrosive influence of dark money in politics, institute

national redistricting reform, and hold public officials accountable to higher standards of ethics and transparency. taking the next step, this week is sunshine week on the house floor. the house has already passed several pieces of legislation this week to modernize government and increase transparency, accountability, and good governance. they include measures aimed at shining a light onto russia's malign activities around the world and the suppression of democracy within its own borders. the resolution we now have before us expresses the sense of congress that the american people ought to have transparency when it comes to the investigation into russia's interference in our elections and efforts to undermine our democracy. it says that the special counsel's report ought to be made public to the fullest

extent of the law and that congress should see all of it. nearly nine in 10 americans believe that special counsel's report should be made public, and we've heard that from republicans in the congress as well. i hope this will be a bipartisan vote to tell the american people, you have the right to and ought to know the results of this report. one of my republican colleagues, representative mike turner from ohio, said in february, the report has to be made public. and susan collins of maine said, and i quote, the american people deserve to know what the findings are of mr. mueller. i believe the report should be released, said senator collins. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to join me, mr. nadler, republicans and

democrats, on support this resolution and in calling for transparency. let's come together in a bipartisan vote to make it clear that the american people deserve to know the full extent russia has ia, what of in the objective subverting and undermining our democratic institutions. i thank the chair for bringing this resolution to the floor. i urge all of us to support it. message a unanimous to the russians and to any other country or entity that would try to subvert our democratic elections that that will not be tolerated, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the majority leader yields back.

the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: mr. speaker, could you enlighten me on how much time i have and how much the majority has? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia has 26 1/2 minutes remaining. the gentleman from new york has six minutes remaining. mr. collins: i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: we are prepared to close if the minority is prepared to close. mr. collins: i was preparing to close but i have been told i have someone who is wanting to come to the floor and out of abundance of caution so i can make sure they have the ability to come down and speak what they may on this, i guess i ill speak for a few minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. i collins: mr. speaker, as have said today, and it's interesting to me. i think this is the funny part of this because so many times

we come up here and we retreat to our partisan sides and we say, i'm going to be a yes, you are going to be a no. with cohen, my colleague from tennessee, i said yes on monday night. i said yes to the resolution on monday night. but yet it seems like somehow through the process, well, we need everybody to come together. we talked about this. it's nothing but a restatement of the regulation. attorney general barr will follow the regulation. he's said so. he's been in committee and during his time of confirmation, he's said so. i think what we need to understand here -- and maybe we also need to throw this out here and maybe this is something -- i heard a lot of my colleagues across the aisle talk about what they believe should be in this report. well, maybe i have a problem and a news flash, what happens when it comes back none of this is true, the president did not do anything wrong? then the meltdown will occur. i heard probably earlier just

one of my colleagues actually on the other side stated that the elections has thrown chaos into the system. no. the reason the election has thrown chaos is because president trump won and the democratic candidate didn't know where wisconsin was. y'all remedied that this time, though. the democratic candidate for president will actually have been to wisconsin by election date next time. there are other reasons to do this. as we go forward, transparency is good. as we go forward, my hope would let the s issue, let's report be given to the attorney general. let's let the attorney general do the regulation and follow the regulation and give as much as he has said in his confirmation hearing that he wants to be transparent. he wants to be a part. he wants this -- he understands the questions, the turmoil that

this has caused. i have nothing to believe that this would not be true. there's nothing been presented here today to think it wouldn't be true. that's what makes this resolution even more amazing to me. nothing has been presented that mr. barr would not do what the regulations say. ow, there may be more -- let's look at what the resolution says and that's what it says. so with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: mr. speaker, contrary to what the gentleman from georgia implied a few minutes ago that we shouldn't be wasting our time on this because it only restates what the regulations require and the judiciary committee ought to be

spending its time more productively, i simply want to say, first, that the democratic house majority in the judiciary committee are not focused on the president to the exclusion of our legislative priorities. in the two months since we organized, the judiciary committee has passed h.r. 8, the bipartisan background checks act of 2019 through the house, has passed h.r. 1112, the enhanced background checks of 2019 through the house, h.r. 1585, the violence against women re-authorization act of 2019 passed through the committee, we have passed h.r. 1, the for the people act of 2019 through the house, we have passed the judiciary committee has also held the hearing of begin the process of re-authorizing the voting rights act and held a examine with regard to the state of competition in the health care industry as well as the sprint- t-mobile merger. and never forget the heroes of september 11 victims compensation fund act, and the

american dream and promise act of 2019, the so-called dreamers bill. these are some of the things we've been doing besides looking into the possible misconduct by the president. in closing, i'd like to introduce the following items into the record. one, the u.s. intelligence community report concluding that vladimir putin ordered a misinformation campaign directed against the 2016 presidential election, and display the clear preference for then-candidate donald trump. two, a february 22, 2019, letter to the attorney general from six house committee chairs expressing the expectation that the mueller report will be made public and that the department will make the underlying investigative materials to committees upon request. three, the introduction to final report to the deputy attorney general concerning the 1993 confrontation at the mount carmel complex. and, four, the department of justice commentary interpreting the special counsel regulations.

i'd also like to say, mr. chairman -- mr. speaker, that one reason for this resolution, given the fact that mr. barr, the attorney general, has in fact said that he would want to release as much as possible, and we appreciate that statement, but he and mr. rosenstein, the deputy attorney general have both said, as i mentioned in my opening remarks, have both cited the department policy not to comment on a conduct indicted by somebody and that leads us to suspect that normal department policy to a sitting president -- of not commenting on someone who's not indicted, the application of that normally good policy to a sitting president who the department believes cannot be indicted because he's a sitting president would in fact greatly limit the ability of the department or the willingness of the department to release information in the report to the congress and to the public. and one of the reasons for this resolution is that we want to

say, no, you cannot use that normally salutary policy to convert the department's policy of never indicting a sitting president into a cover-up that you can't comment or give to the congress information about that. if you can't indict a sitting president and you can't give the information to congress, then you are holding the president above the law and you're frustrating congress' ability to do its job of holding an administration accountable. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. hurd. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. hurd, is recognized for one minute. mr. hurd: mr. speaker, thank you and to the chairman, thank you for the indulgence and i rise in support of this resolution because i want the whole truth and nothing but the truth to come to light in this matter. i want to know what vladimir putin did to our electoral process. i want know the failures of the obama administration in

reacting to this attack in real time. i want any americans complicit to face severe consequences, and i want the american people to know as much as they can and see as much as they can. as a member of the house permanent select committee on intelligence, i support the efforts to -- and the request for all information pertaining to this investigation to be open to the public. that includes all witness lists, every interview transcript and every document provided. the taxpayers paid millions for this information, and they should get to see all of it and not just the assessment of one person. this resolution should have been broader, should have been deeper, and it should have covered everything dealing with the investigation, but it's a step in the right direction. i hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle accept the calls for all the information to be made public because full transparency is e only way to prevent future explanation, full transparents will prevent future inwednesdayo.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york has one minute remaining. mr. nadler: i yield to the gentleman from georgia 15 seconds. mr. collins: mr. speaker, mr. chair, i appreciate mr. hurd. he was on his way over here. i did my best song and dance. i am from the south. i don't dance well. i appreciate you giving him that moment. thank you. mr. nadler: thank you. i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. nadler: i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, for all the reasons stated by all the people that spoke in favor of this resolution, myself and everyone else, i urge the adoption of the resolution, i urge everyone to vote for it, and it's a very important resolution to maintain the rule of law in this country and i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 208, the previous question is ordered on the concurrent resolution and preamble as amended. the question is on adoption of the concurrent resolution. so many as are in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the concurrent resolution is agreed to. mr. nadler: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. nadler: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. nadler: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will please rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes y electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on adoption of the concurrent resolution will be followed by a five-minute vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. if ordered. 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: have all members voted? any member wishing to change his or her vote? on this vote, the yeas are 420. the nays are 0. oting present, four. the concurrent resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the

question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal which the chair will put de novo. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent that when the house a adjourns today it adjourn to meet at noon on monday, march 18, 2019. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cicilline: i have a unanimous consent request. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to remove representative tom rice as a co-sponsor from h.r. -- the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman will suspend. he house will come to order. the gentleman is recognized again. mr. cicilline: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to remove representative tom rice as a co-sponsor from h.r. 1004. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on judiciary be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 962, the born alive abortion survivors protection act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is advised that a unanimous consent request for the consideration of that measure would have to be -- would have to receive clearance from the majorities and the minority floor and committee

leaders. the chair is unaware at this time of any such clearance. therefore the chair cannot and will not entertain that request t this time. the house will be in order. i was unable to hear the gentleman. the chair lease -- will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania 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. members, please come to order. the gentlelady is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. domestic violence is an insidious problem that affects far too many people across our country. one in four women, one in seven men will be the victim of violence by an intimate partner this their lifetime. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. members, please cease our conversations. remove your conversations from the floor. the gentlelady will proceed. >> thank you, mr. speaker. sadly, the scourge of domestic and sexual violence affects our communities, our schools, our service members, and threatens the well-being of women, men, children, the lgbt community, our veterans, and others. but through education and legislative action like re-authorizing the violence against women act or vawa, we

can and have made a difference. since its passage 25 years ago, through 2012, the rate of domestic violence decreased by 63%. ms. dean: from 1996 to 2015, the rate of women murdered by men in a single victim, single offender incident dropped by 29%. and this week we voted in the judiciary committee to re-authorize this lifesaving legislation. i look forward to bringing vawa to the floor so families may be protected from the tragedy of domestic and sexual violence so that young women like my granddaughter feels safe to focus on the things that are most important, like claiming her education, her career, and her happy life ahead of her. i encourage my colleagues to support this important legislation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition?

mr. gianforte: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from montana is recognized for one inute. the house will be in order, lease. members, take your conversation off the floor, please. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize a trailblazing montanan as we celebrate women's history month. a fearless principled leader, jeanette rankin was a courageous pioneer. the daughter of a rancher and teacher, she was born and raised in montana. growing up she helped on her family's ranch and in 1902

graduated from what is now the university of montana. as a staunch advocate for women's suffrage, she successfully led efforts to secure the women the right to vote in montana in 1914, six years before the 19th amendment to our constitution was ratified. four years before women could vote throughout our nation, montanans elected jeanette rankin to congress. she was the first woman to serve in this body. dedicated to her guiding principles, jeanette rankin is foundational to montana's and our country's history. it's my distinct honor to recognize her for her lasting contributions to our country during women's history month. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania 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.

>> last week the house passed h.r. 1, the for the people act, a sweeping voting rights and government reform package that returns the power of our democracy to the american people. ms. scanlon: since this week is sunshine week, i want to focus on a particular part of the h.r. 1 that is designed to shine some much needed sunshine on the corrosive influence of dark money. multiple sources reported this week that the president's 2017 inaugural fund received tens of thousands of dollars in contributions from shell companies to conceal illegal contributions from foreign donors. think about that. foreign agents lavish tens of thousands of dollars on the u.s. inaugural celebration so they could try to influence our president. that's why i introduced the inaugural fund integrity act which is part of h.r. 1, to close loopholes in the existing

regulations. to put an end to donations by foreign nationals and corporations. to ban personal use of inaugural funds, a and to require disclosure of all donations and spending by inaugural committees. it's hard to think of an area more in need of sunshine than a shadowy slush fund rife with opportunities for government corruption. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1695, the community services block grant re-authorization of 2019. this bill renews our nation's commitment to reducing poverty through locally driven comprehensive approaches. i'm proud to lead this legislation with congresswoman betty mccollum.

mr. speaker, the community services block grant traces its roots back more than 50 years ago to the economic opportunity act of 1964. this act established local community action agencies to help people identify why people were in poverty and how to address it using public and private resources and partnerships. virtually every country in america has a community action that -- every county in america has a community action agency. they act as a safety net for low-income individuals and families. more importantly they help to create opportunities to raise people out of poverty. from poverty to independence. the community services block grant is the only federal program with the explicit goal of reducing poverty regardless of its cause. unfortunately, this program has not been re-authorized in more than 20 years which is unacceptable. it's time to re-authorize the community services block grant and urge all my colleagues to co-sponsor and support this bill. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for

what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania 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. >> i rise for my molly. i stand here on the floor of the house of representatives as a proud mother of a gay daughter. when i was in the air force, we were taught never to leave anyone behind, and after the 2016 election, i listened as my daughter, my molly cried in my arms. she was scared for her community, the lgbtq community. she was scared that america had left her and her community behind. this is and was the country that i served. this was the daughter that i have raised. ms. houlahan: i was scared, too. when we decided as a family to run for congress, molly and i spoke about her story and whether she was comfortable with me sharing it with our nation. we agreed that it was important. as a mother and ally, now a

member of congress, i feel it my duty and my privilege to champion the voices of those in the lgbtq community. i am proud to co-sponsor the equality act. i do so for my daughter, my molly. for my community, the pennsylvania 6th, and all my fellow lgbtq americans, you will not be left behind. thank you. i yield back the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, it was reported last week that the b.m.w. plant in south carolina remain the top vehicle exporter in america with more than $8.4 billion worth of cars shipped to foreign countries. nearly a quarter million cars were exported with the vast majority sent from the port of charleston led by state ports authority president.

20 years ago the late governor campbell recruited b.m.w. to south carolina with export production of 1,400 cars a day. 018 production was 356,749 vehicles. governor henry mcmaster and commerce secretary continue to promote an additional $600 million investment in the plant spartanburg which already at $10 billion is the largest b.m.w. plant in the world, providing 11,000 jobs. thousands of additional jobs in the region have been created by suppliers to assemble -- assembly of vehicles. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war n terrorism. 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. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor ruth just -- justice ruth bader ginsburg and wish her a happy 86th birthday this friday. during this women's history month we celebrate visionary women like justice ginsburg whose work ethic and achievements has motivated me and many women across this country. throughout her career, justice ginsburg has been a pioneer for gender equality. as a first-year harvard law student, she was one of nine women in a 3500-person class and became the first female professor to have tenure at columbia. should later co-founded the aclu's life project paving the way for groundbreaking work around pregnancy, parenting, and equal pay. undoubtedly justice ginsburg has set a precedent for women everywhere and continues to do

so as a supreme court justice. i wish justice ginsberg many more years of health and happiness. she truly is an american hero. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman investigate for one minute. >> spreerks i rise today to honor the life of wichita state university president, dr. john bardo, who sadly passed away on march 12, 2019. in his seven years as president his devotion to education and wichita state was unsurpassed as he led the yuff in a bold direction that benefited students and the entire wichita community. dr. bardo's tenure was not his first job at the university. 1975, then an assistant professor, met his wife. when he returned to wichita state as president in 2012, he he said, we came can home to

reposition this university as a key driver into the fuhr of wichita. mr. he it's: from -- mr. estes: from developing and increasing online corresponds, research, and dorm space his leadership accomplished that goal and set the university on a path to be a nationwide leader in education. last july, he was invited to come and testify before the house education and work force committee about wichita state's leadership and innovation. as a member of the committee at the time, i'll never forget the prize showed for the university and our community. . i ask my colleagues to join me in praying for the bardo family and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. lee: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor the memory of victor, the son of my

friend, oakland city council woman, lynette, and his father, and offer my deepest condolences on behalf of the 13th congressional district. victor was slain in a tragic guns shooting. victor was just 21 years old and a senior at the university of california's thornton school of music where he was pursuing his lifelong love of music. he was a talented drummer and was often playing at jam sessions, displaying his musical genius. victor was a son of oakland and his passing is a loss for oakland and the entire east bay community. my heart is heavy for lynette and her family and all those who loved and cared for victor. victor was killed in los angeles, but his murder reflects the epidemic of gun violence in my district and all around the country. especially in communities of color. even before victor's tragic passing, combating gun violence in oakland was a priority for his mother as a city

councilmember. may god comfort victor's family as we mourn his loss, may his spirit lead and guide us in the work that we must do to end gun violence in his memory. may victor's legacy live and may he rest in peace. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the life and service of captain jake, a member of the god free prior protection district, who lost his life during the line of duty. members of the god free fire district were attempting to suppress the fire outside when the building partially collapsed. mr. davis: two sustained

injuries from the collapse. the captain served as a firefighter for more than 18 years, beginning with the east alton fire department before godfrey he god free -- fire department in 2010. he will be leaving a legacy that will be remembered for a long time. the mayor said his passing leaves hard boots to fill. he's survived by his wife and three young children. please join me in keeping his family as well as the community in your thoughts and prayers. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom utah seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in opposition to the president's budget proposal which would increase the federal deficit from $779

billion in 2018 to $1.1 trillion in 2020. mr. mcadams: if the goal is to rein in deficit and debt, this budget represents epic failure. i am a public servant who takes seriously the responsibility of spending other people's money. as a freshman member of the congress, the current deficit hole we've dug for ourselves wasn't my doing but i was elected to solve problems, not to make them worse. america's $22 trillion debt is a bipartisan problem. we've acted in a way that suggests debt doesn't matter but utahans know if it was their small business with their books out of balance they would be out of business. our government has been living beyond its means for years and i believe it's wrong for one generation to forever burden generations to come. as a former mayor who had to balance a budget in a bipartisan fashion, i know these choices aren't easy but it's our job to roll up our sleeves, come together and work out a budget that takes serious

steps towards reducing the dangerous, unsustainable levels of debt in our country. those steps are not in the president's budget. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from wyoming seek recognition? ms. cheney: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. cheney: mr. speaker, i rise today to congratulate first sergeant ian mcclure, u.s. army, for being named 2018 allied command operations military member of the year. a 2003 graduate of east high school in cheyenne, wyoming, he went on to serve in special forces in afghanistan, iraq, malli and now stationed at nato headquarters operations in belgium. he was first selected for this award because his superior performance and excellence. i'm proud that they recognized his significant contributions to the success of alliance operations.

surge mcclure exemplifies the -- sergeant mcclure exemplifies the best our country has to offer and i thank him for his service and his sacrifices for our freedom. again, mr. speaker, i'm proud to congratulate first sergeant ian mcclure on this prestigious honor and for being a brilliant example for the entire state of wyoming. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to extend and revise my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. for allowing me to recognize outstanding members of south jersey. the mainland regional high school girl's basketball team has recently won the new jersey group 3 state championship. this is the first time the mainland high school girl's basketball team has achieved this amazing accomplishment. mr. van drew: these girls are the embodiment of teamwork. this win and the hard work that

they have put into to achieve it is about all of them, not any one individual. i have been told that some of them have been best friends since they were 7 years old. this friendship and teamwork have led them to reach an amazing goal. we could all learn a little bit about teamwork, especially in this great house of ours. and we could learn it from these amazing young ladies. congratulations to the mainland renal national high school girl's basketball team. keep up the good work. we are really proud of you. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker -- mr. speaker, i stand here today in remembrance of the eighth anniversary of the syrian conflict, which resulted in the tragic loss of many human lives and the destabilization of the

entire region. mr. mooney: this is all because of a dictator, al assad, who is unwilling to step aside and heed the syrian people's call for freedom. after destroying syria, assad is now attempting to attract economic investment, but in addition to killing over 400,000 syrians of the muslim faith, assad has also failed to protect the religious minority of christians in syria. having personally met with the syrian christians for peace, i have heard firsthand how assad population. the we must support the president trump administration's isolation of the regime and its allies in tehran and moscow. that's why the senate must follow the house and pass the cesar syria civilian protection act. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new mexico 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. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the equality act. america must live up to its values and that means treating everyone as equals and ending discrimination. the equality act is about making sure all americans, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity can participate in our society without fear. ms. haaland: new mexico is home to traditional communities and has stood up for its lbts population for a long time. -- lgbtg population for a long time. equality act allows us to adhere to our faith while prohibiting harmful acts of discrimination experienced by too many lgbtq americans. consider this -- 38% of

transgender new mexicans are unemployed and 40% live in poverty. 26% have been discriminated against during the hiring or promotion processes. 41% have been homeless at some point. and 33% have been discriminated against at a place of public accommodation. no one should have to worry about being discriminated against when planning their wedding and struggle to simply get a cake. the equality law will outlaw such discrimination which is why we should pass it as soon as possible. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor and recognize mayor nancy shaver and her tenure of dedicated service to the citizens of saint augustine, florida. a strong advocate for the nation's oldest city, the mayor

recently stepped down with her position with an admirable record of leadership in her community. mayor shaver, who previously served as a teacher and business woman was elected to office in 2014. during her time as mayor she was a tireless advocate for important issues that are very nique to the city of st. augine. mr. rutherford: we helped safeguard the priceless, historical and cultural features that make st. augustine so special. as mayor she put citizens, not politics, first. in and remaining devoted -- and remaining devoted to the northeast florida community. i thank her for the city of st. augustine and for our fellow citizens for whom she so cared. i wish her and her family the best in their future endeavors. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from connecticut seek recognition?

ms. hayes: i ask unanimous consent to -- mrs. hayes: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. hayes: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to voice my opposition to the idea of using federal funds to arm teachers. this issue has haunted me from the moment it was first discussed after the tragedy at sandy hook elementary school to more recently when it was revisited after the parkland shooting. 73% of teachers do not want this. more than 60% of parents do not want this. and the majority of students do not want this. since 1999, 225 incidents of school campus violence, armed personnel failed to disarm a shooter 223 times. i came to congress from the classroom. as a teacher i would never want the responsibility of having a firearm in a school. i understand how this would drastically change the school culture and make it feel more like a prison. as the wife of a police officer, i understand the training that is involved with

the responsibility of owning a firearm and know that school districts cannot manage that. i could never imagine explaining to a parent that it was my firearm that accidentally injured their child. i recognize that many local school communities are still trying to decide where they fall on this conversation. yet, i cannot overstress the point that federal funds should not be diverted from student learning outcomes to arm teachers. this is why today i introduced a resolution to prohibit the use of federal funds to arm teachers. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my comments. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> as a member of the house committee on transportation and infrastructure, with a strong background in the industry, i understand the vital role freight rail plays in getting hoosier made and hoosier grown products to the market.

short line freight rail makes up nearly 30% of all freight rail, allowing rural communities like those across indiana's 6th district to play an integral role in our economy. one such line is the madison railroad. which provides exclusive access to the national rail network for many hoosiers in southeastern indiana. mr. pence: the city of madison is working to attain federal grant funding to replace the 100-year plus graham creek bridge critical infrastructure that keeps the madison railroad safely operating and serving our community. built in the 19th creb interest -century, the current structure poses an immediate safety risk and cannot accommodate heavy commercial freight loads. replacement of this bridge will benefit southeast indiana by removing a potential safety risk and creating jobs and economic opportunity for hoosiers. we're proud of the historic

architect indiana and bridge has been an iconic landmark has spans over the river. i hope my colleagues in this chamber can join me in supporting this infrastructure project. with this i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois 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. >> thank you, mr. speaker. on women's history month i rise to honor the life and legacy of raquel, a woman who immigrated as a child to chicago's pillson community and who dedicated to make it a better place for her family and for our families. she was instrumental in improving opportunities and demanding more resources and better education for the mostly latino students in my district. mr. garcia: she understood the value after good education for children, but it extended beyond

books and for healthy hot meals for students at what is now known as the pillson community academy, where i had my first years of schooling. she helped establish the annual siesta del sol, the largest community festival in the midwest. she was instrumental in securing funds to build the new community academy high school in pillson, which has since provided many generations of young people with good public education. she helped fund the association for workers' rights, a workers' rights group that still operates in the community. raquel's organizing efforts also resulted in the funding for the rudy library in pillson. she was the mother of 11 but treated every child in the community as a part of her family. we honor her during women's history month. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington state seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous

consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. newhouse: it's hard to believe that it has been almost a year since we lost our beloved colleague, the honorable louise slaughter. louise always believed personal relationships could transcend politics. she set an example for us all through her acts of kindness, particularly with those of us in the other party. we bonded as members of an exclusive club, a club i wish upon no one. those of us who have lost our spouses. somehow she made me feel like i was helping her through the loss of her husband when in fact, her being much smarter than i knew that through my attempts to help her she was really helping me through the loss of my wife. it was recently announced that louise, the first female chair of the house rules committee, would be inducted into the national woman's hall of fame.

what a deserving honor. i will always appreciate my friendship with the honorable louise slaughter, and will never forget the effort she made to take me under her wing from across the political aisle. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise to remind this house of the democratic for the people agenda, which starts with rebuilding american infrastructure and creating good-paying jobs doing so it includes expanding health care so that it's available to more and more americans and bringing down the costs of health care and prescription drugs. and it includes cleaning up our american democracy, rooting out corruption in our electoral process. we achieved the third one this

month with h.r. 1, the for the people act. but the other two took a serious blow this week. mr. cartwright: when we saw the president's budget. which cuts medicare to the tune of one half trillion dollars over the next 10 years, breaking a core promise of the president's campaign. and also cuts infrastructure spending. i urge my colleagues to reject that shortsightedness in the president's budget and let's go ahead and achieve the for the people agenda. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute.

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to leon lawyer. david leon lawyer. this is a young man who was full of life. david loved life. and enjoy something that many of us have participated in and that we see more americans doing across the nation. and that is bicycling. was an avid bicyclist and enjoyed the outdoors in houston, texas. he was a young man with a future before him and loving family. he was a young man that we want to pay tribute to because we know that he exhibited values of love and again rossity because of the community -- generosity

because of the community who came out to express their remorse and sadness that he lost his life while bicycling. we understand in tribute to him recognizing that as the world changes, more americans will be riding their bicycles. we want to make sure in his name that we have designed bicycle paths that in the urban areas they cover streets in a lighted way so that vehicles can acknowledge those on bicycles nd that they can be protected. david leon lawyer, we honor him and love him and in his name, mr. speaker, we will make these bicycle paths the best and most safe, and he will not have died in vain. to his family, my deepest sympathy. the speaker pro tempore: are there any further requests for one-minute speeches?

the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. madam, i have the honor to transmit herewith a letter from mr. josh lawson, general counsel, north carolina state board of elections, indicating that a special election has been ordered for the 9th congressional district of north carolina. signed, sincerely, cheryl l. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy the nuary 3, 2019, gentleman from new hampshire, mr. pappas, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. pappas: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the subject of my specialoid. -- special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. pappas: there are times in washington that go beyond the

mundane. times when you can feel the pull of public sentiment and the weight of history. times that aren't political but become personal. for some of us who serve here and for millions more around the country, this is one of those times. yesterday i was proud to join so many members of this house to introduce the equality act. this bill will ensure full equality under the law for the lgbtq community. an essential step given that americans can can still be fired or discriminated against in nearly 30 states. we have made market progress over recent decades, no doubt, but full equality for lgbtq americans still lies somewhere over the horizon. we're not asking for anything more or anything less than any other american enjoys. we're asking to be treated equally and we're asking for it right now. i grew up afraid about whether i would be accepted by the world around me and convinced i wouldn't be able to live a full life. this is this is, unfortunately,

a reality for too many lgbtq americans. too many live in fear of sharing their truth or telling their stories. too many contend with injustice because of who they are or who they love. there is injustice when more than four million workers could face the risk of employment discrimination in this country. there is injustice when more than two million students are left without protections against bullying, harassment, and roadblocks on their path to an education. there is injustice when nearly seven million americans could be subject to discrimination in public accommodations. there is injustice when 5.5 million americans could be denied equal opportunity to secure housing or credit. this is heartbreaking. this is not what america stands for. and we can do something about it. we can take action to support the values and the constitution of this nation. we can can take action that will protect the safety and well-being of millions and tell everyone, particularly the lgbtq

youth, that they can reach their full potential. we can take action and pass the equality act. the equality act will end these injustices, establish equality under the law, by enshrining sexual orientation and gender identity language into the civil rights act, the fair housing act, the equal credit opportunity act, and the jury selection and services act. we must address this at the federal level. equality and human dignity are not concepts that can be left up to the states. americans who live in nebraska deserve the same civil rights protections as those living in my home state of new hampshire. the same goes for those living in mississippi and in massachusetts. the end of discrimination can only begin when we protect our fellow citizens in each and every community across this nation. since stone wall, millions of lgbtq americans have come out and have told their stories. many have done so at great

personal risk but a great societal benefit. coming out and living openly has done more to change hearts, minds, and laws than anything else. as a result, we now stand on the cusp of history in a full equality with the american people and public opinion squarely behind us. as the people's house considers this bill, i ask my colleagues a simple question, who deserves to be treated as a second class citizen just for being who we're? which members of this body, which people in your districts, which people in your own lives deserve to be less than equal? i hope this house gets it right. full equality under the law, nothing less, nothing more. it's a simple concept. it's a beautiful concept. and it's also an american concept. mr. speaker, for the sake of the lgbtq americans, today for two ture generations, let's -- for future generation, let's pass h.r. 5, the equality act.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. under the speaker's announced the of january 3, 2019, gentleman from texas, mr. gohmert, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. gohmert: most members are heading back home, i was reminded in the elevator, someone said, you know, you guys are getting off this week. told friends, some in the media,

you guys take vacations all the time. and as i explained, you don't want us in session every day. every day we're in session, we pass something that could be restraining you from your freedoms. it's a good thing when members of congress go home, as most of us do. tougher for those on the west coast. but most of us go home each weekend and during recesses. maybe to speak in the district. it's a good thing for members of congress to go home and hear from people back home. that's good. any way, sometimes the rigors at home are even more than we face here. at least three things i want to address today. one of them is information that has come out -- of course, i was

there for a number of depositions that were taken behind closed doors of witnesses formerly with the justice department, some still with the justice department, but regarding what greg jarrett called the russian hoax and he documents why that sounds like an appropriate title. there's an article from fox news . out this this quoted lisa paige and she was an interesting witness. it was interesting watching her testify. as a former judge who has tried tremendous number of cases,

federal court, state court, military court, interesting watching people testify. most you can get a little tell when they are being dishonest, but it has been amazing to me especially since i have been in congress how many people can look you in the eye and lie. you know they're lying, they know they're lying. and often you can see they don't care. people like that are often able to pass polygraph tests, but you have to have a conscience. you can not have numbed your conscience to the point that you are not affected by your own lying anymore. but lisa paige's presentation as she testified is tremendously

different from peter strzok as he testified behind closed doors. it was amazing to watch this guy because of his answers when i knew that he was lying and it peared to me there were no tells that he wasn't bothered by the fact that he could sit there and lie under oath. i thought perhaps he would be a great candidate to pass lie detector tests when he was lying and somebody told me he failed two lie detector tests in the f.b.i. great to have friends that help you out when you do wrong and they can cover for you. and i'm being sarcastic for friends that cannot figure that out. but the article points out that former f.b.i. lawyer lisa paige

testified, quote, the f.b.i. was ordered by the obama d.o.j. not to consider charging hillary clinton for gross negligence in the handling of classified information. goes on and says, paige's testimony was perhaps the most salient evidence yet that the justice department improperly interfered with the f.b.i. supposedly independent conclusions on clinton's criminal culpability, quoting -- well, stating that that came from john ratcliffe, colleague of ours from texas here in congress. he was questioning her and he says, quote, but when you say advice you got from the department, you're making it sound like that it was the

department -- talking about the department of justice that told you you are not going to charge gross negligence because we are the prosecutors and we're telling you we're not going to and she interrupted and said that is correct. lisa paige also testified that the d.o.j. and f.b.i. had multiple conversations about charging gross negligence, and the d.o.j. decided that the term was constitutionally vague, which is really interesting, ,ecause as a judge, as a lawyer i tried cases in which gross egligence was alleged. i'm not aware of any court case ever indicating that gross negligence was

unconstitutionally vague. maybe there's a case that says that. i'm not aware of one, but if there were to be one from the supreme court, then there would be massive criminal and civil judgments that would be due to be undone and be reversed because most lawyers who have done any research, tried any cases, done adequate reading know that the term gross negligence is not unconstitutionally vague nor is it negligence. now different states, federal government may have slightly different definitions of negligence and gross negligence, but they are substantially the same. and it's just never been a

problem with constitutional vagueness from the term gross negligence. understanding that, it would if one to the conclusion lisa paige is correct that the prosecutors in the obama justice hillary were saying clinton was grossly negligent handling classified material and gross negligence is too vague and we are not going to charge her. some of theo.j. had incompetent lawyers working there or the d.o.j. had some seemingly discxds difficulties honest lawyers working there. going back to the article, in july 2016, then f.b.i. director

james comey, i would enthetically par a real peach, quote, that inton has been extremely negligent in handling the classified information. it can be criminally -- can be punished criminally with prison time or fines or both and there is no requirement that a defendant act intentionally or recklessly. originally comey accused the former secretary of state of being grossly negligent, using that term, in handling classified information in a draft dated may 2, 2016, but that was modified to claim that

clinton had merely been quote, extremely careless, unquote also said, quote, although there is evidence of potential violations of the statutes regarding the handling of classified information -- i'm sure the guy from the navy who snapped pictures on a submarine and had absolutely no ill in tenth whatsoever though he apparently was acting recklessly, he ended up doing prison time, i'm sure he would it was such a high standard applied to hillary inton while he who put his life on the line ended up having

to do prison time for far less m ens rea than hillary clinton had. loretta lynch was spotted meeting secretly with bill clinton at an airport, which the the investigation was continuing. that's pretty amazing, the two planes just happened to sit down and get over to where two people can get together, if it weren't for a reporter who spotted a guy he thought to be bill clinton, we would never have known about this and i wonder how many d.o.j. officials would have lied about this -- they lie about enough other things, but they

a bused being seen having mac, spot on the tar getting together, while the d.o.j. jury was still out on what they -- what they were going to do with hillary clinton and she had not testified and actually they never had her testify. and they gave immunity to her lawyer and cheryl mills and all these people that had direct vidence of potential crimes. and the prosecutors -- and i have been one, you don't give immunity to someone without knowing what they're going to say. and if a lawyer comes to you and says, my client wants immunity, then you say give us a proffer.

what is your client going to say, because we are not just handing out immunity and then there's nothing worth giving immunity to get. yet, the obama justice department happeneded immunity out like candy to anyone who was associated, that had evidence of potential crimes and even to the extent -- they could have gotten a subpoena and gotten laptops of he witnesses, but instead, the obama justice department said, you know what? we'll give you immunity not knowing what you are going to say, because we don't want you to say anything, is my interpretation after having read the immunity agreements. and look, the evidence you got, we just want to look, but we promise we'll never use any of

it and we'll give the stuff back. we just want to look. that's outrageous. and again, it brings you -- were these prosecutors that incompetent or were they dishonest. up to the individuals to judge for themselves, but to use a term coined by james comey, no reasonable prosecutor would have done what they did in that case. they sure didn't do it when they were trying to chase down anything they possibly could regarding our current president donald trump. but it was revealed last month that f.b.i.'s top lawyer in 2016 thought hillary clinton and her team should have immediately alized they were mishand

willing, quote highly classified nation of the emails sent through her private server. and he believed -- this is the f.b.i.'s top lawyer, he believed that she, hillary clinton, should have been prosecuted until, quote, pretty late, unquote, in the investigation according to a transcript of his closed-door testimony before committees last october. and of course, being pretty late in the investigation actually goes along with what lisa paige id that, gee, d.o.j. prosecutors said, we're not charging her and then that ties in nicely with the f.b.i. lawyer saying, ok, i thought she should have been prosecuted, but then

it ties in by the time the d.o.j. lawyers, prosecutors said, we're not charging her, then he decided, ok, maybe she shouldn't be. among the text between lisa paige and peter strzok was one concerning the so-called, quote insurance policy, unquote. during her interview with the judiciary committee, july, 2018, paige was questioned at length about the texan essentially nfirmed -- referred to the russian investigation, the insurance policy referred to the russian investigation while explaining that officials were proceeding with caution concerned about the implications about the case while not wanting neck at a total break speed and presumed trump would

be legitimated any way. . further lisa paige confirmed they only had a paucity of evidence at the start. comey last december similarly acknowledged when the f.b.i. initiated its counterintelligence probe into possible collusion between trump campaign officials and the russian government in july, 2016, investigators, quote, didn't know whether we had anything, unquote, and that, quote, in fact, when i was fired as director in may, 2017, i still didn't know whether there was anything to it. that was from comey. tray gowdy had asked, i want to believe -- trey gowdy had asked, i want to believe that there was no way he gets elected, but i'm afraid we can't take the risk. it's like an insurance policy

unlikely -- in the unlikely event you die before you are 40. the textthe quote from sent from peter strzok and lisa paige in august of 2016. clearly they were talking about coming up with this bogus russia investigation as an insurance policy just in case donald trump got elected, then they could try to take him out of office. basically a d.o.j. coup for the first time in the history of this country. unfortunately, there's no george washington around to stop this attempted coup that continues today. this quote, upon the opening of the cross by hurricane

investigation, which was the name that these d.o.j. officials who had been shown to have acted totally inappropriately, that's the name they gave the investigation into donald trump. said he we had a number of discussions up through and including the director regularly in which we were trying to find an answer to the question which is, is there somebody associated with the trump administrationp campaign -- trump campaign who is working with the russians in order to obtain damaging information about hillary clinton? and given it's august, we were very aware of the speed and sensitivity that we needed to operate under. it's really amazing. see, the way our justice is supposed to work in the united states and in every state in the

union, if you have probable cause to believe a crime was committed, then you can go after someone for that crime. in the case of donald trump, his campaign, and those that worked with him, they did just the opposite. they said, here's donald trump, he's got a chance to win, though we don't think he will. so let's try to find something. and if you go back and look, you written by p-ed bruce orr and basically it was from 2007 talking about russia collusion. of course donald trump was not mentioned at all. then when they came up with this evidenceax without any

at all, there are indication that is somebody, perhaps -- indications that somebody, perhaps brennan, asked the british to spy on americans so it wouldn't be americans spying on americans, which is not supposed to happen unless there is reason to believe probable cause to believe they have engaged in a crime or under the atriot act that they are conspiring with a known foreign terrorist. that's what we were sold when the patriot act was re-authorized. but as we have come to find out, that has been greatly loosened up by the d.o.j., c.i.a., n.s.a. and they pretty much go after anybody they want to. we found out -- i found out, hi not been aware of it until this week -- i had not been aware of

it until this week, that clear back in 2012 the obama justice epartment made a motion to the fisa court to allow them to unmask information about american citizens if, under this new incredibly relaxed language, it might be of assistance to someone outside the scope that's supposed to be allowed to see this information, if it might assist them in assessing other information. well, it doesn't get much more vague than that. i know from having been on the judiciary committee for years that until the obama administration i had a lot of colleagues on the other side of the aisle that were extremely concerned with privacy issues and the government gathering

evidence without probable cause. and the government violating the fourth and fifth amendments. somehow during those years i lost my colleagues on the other side that quit being as concerned about privacy invasions. and fourth and fifth amendment violations. but i'm not aware of anybody on our committee in judiciary that knew about this motion to just i the door wide open, and think against the words -- the wording of the law they came up with a motion and got a judge to sign off, apparently, to say, ok, yes, you can unmask and spread information to anybody outside the originally indicated circle if it might help them

assess other information. for heaven's sake, that's an outrage. i couldn't believe it when i was reading that motion. saying, mr. speaker, it's not classified, it back dered declassified years ago, but i haven't met anybody here in congress that was aware that in 2012 back at that time the obama d.o.j. was going to blow the door open and start spreading information that people should never have had -- making sure they got it. and perhaps that explains to some extent how somebody like , i ntha powers could have think it was hundreds of

american citizens' information unmasked. basically they were running our intelligence agency as a political operation to go after anyone that they felt like might a potential problem for a democratic administration. very, very alarming. article from town hall, really talking about the bill, h.r. 1. i love the idea of making information more public. it was called, for the people, that legislation, this article says that's really for the government. i would submit it's really more for democratic politicians. the things in there that would

degrade our election process were phenomenal. we really ought to be going back to paper ballots. that would be appropriate thing to do. and put proper safeguards on those ballots. i think it would be a good thing to do. i also like ron kind's bill, he's been filing ever since he's been here, that would require each person seeking federal elected office to disclose the identity of everyone who donates anything. ou got a $00 floor -- $200 floor, and i like what ron kind, colleague on the other side of the aisle, his bill, he's been pushing for years, whether are you republican or democrat, we ant to eliminate this having

people donate without knowing who is donating. it leaves open the possibility and clearly it has happened, that somebody with a lot of money could give $50, $50, $150 over an over and over and since you don't have to report it, who it came from, they could be violating and criminally violating our election laws. hope that we will have some cleanup of election laws -- clean up of election laws, but not the kind of thing that allows you to go out and a harvest votes that didn't happen until after the election. we have an election day in this country. and to leave that election open so that you could have a lyndon

johnson-style finding votes after the fact, whether they voted in alphabetical order or not, is just not a good idea. it leaves an opening for stealing elections. we have an election day, and there ought to be a cutoff, no ballots accepted after this day, at this time, and don't come bringing in a bunch of ballots the next day after you find out how many ballots it's going to take to overturn the election that finished the day before. third world type activity with this election. if we heard that a dictator somewhere had put into place some of the things in h.r. 1, we would be outraged. and say that's what a dictator does. it's not right. you are trying to manipulate the

election, and it's totally inappropriate. another topic that is very important, we took up in judiciary committee a bill called the violence against women act. hadn't been re-authorized in a while. and there has been inequality in the treatment of women compared to men in a number of ways that needed to be addressed. violence against women act addresses some of those. but now this bill goes too far. and does damage to so much of the equality gains by women over the decades. and one of the problems created in the new violence against

women act involves what most ople call, transgenders, but the diagnostics, statistical manual, fifth edition, which in dsm-35 theye dsm-4, begin to incorporate a great deal of politics in some areas as much as they incorporated the definition or the term given in dsm-5 for what's commonly called transgender is someone who suffers from gender dysphoria. that's a bit of a reclassification from where dsm-3 and dsm-4 were, but the definition they give for gender dysphoria is, distress that accompanies the incongruence

between one's experienced and expressed gender and one's assigned gender. as a defines dysphoria condition in which a person experiences intense feelings of depression, discontent, and in some cases, indifference to the world around them. . some will say it is the opposite of you for yeah. someone who has difficulty with the gender with which they were born. that's it. someone unhappy with, confused about, displeased or depressed

about the gender which they ave. and we have made so much progress over the years. . saw it as a felony judge so often in cases involving domestic abuse, involving sexual assault, the women have not been treated fairly. nd they have been demonized. their victimization has not been properly considered. so over the years, we have gotten better. our justice system has gotten better. certainly has in texas. work by some people, including former congressman ted poe, a

felony judge from houston, and he saw it the way women were not always treated properly as victims of sexual assault. so we started having most d.a.'s office required to have victims' assistance to help and advise victims of sexual assault. but this violence against women's act that was passed by the committee with many of the republicans voting no, maybe all sets, i'm not sure, but it women's rights back significantly. for 'm pointing this out the heart that has broken for women that i have seen so abused

. and sometimes it was even harder on the women because they would end up blaming themselves. there were many times when i either a woman victim, child victim, because i could tell. they had that mentality that i probably deserve what i got. after the trial was over, tell , m you need to understand this is not your fault. you didn't deserve this. this was a crime committed against you. you had nothing to do with this. nothing that you should have done that was a crime being

committed against you and you were not properly protected. for that, i'm sorry. but, again, this violence against women's act does not come nto account what has to be known as we have tried to be more sensitive and caring and appropriately so for female victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, the crimes against women. and it can be committed against men and has been. but most often, it's against women and therefore deserves special consideration. if you go to health.com, this is information talking about female

victims of sexual assault. most people are familiar with post-traumatic stress disorder, ptsd for soldiers, but this points out in some ways, the trauma from sexual assault may be worse than the trauma from combat, because normally are prepared and trained for combat. points out that ptsd affects out 3.5% of all u.s. adults, but women are twice as likely as men to have ptsd. for those who are not aware, there is a difference between men and women. and these kind of statistics bear that out. another article says survivors

of sexual assault, the odds of developing post-traumatic stress disorder are high, up to 94%. and it's talking about women who experienced or victims of sexual assault experience experience during the first two weeks after the incident and up to 50% may struggle long-term. for these survivors, day-to-day events can hit especially hard and like any other mental health issue, ptsd can be debilitating. also goes on to point out ptsd is commonly associated with combat veterans but 50% of ptsd cases in the united states develop in the aftermath of sexual or physical violence. despite the high number, it's

important to recognize that some sexual assault survivors feel ok and that's equally valid, and i'm quoting sexually assaulted or abused is such an invasion of our body, personal space and safety, said the executive director of the positive results corporation, said people that can't move past that point. explains that ptsd is among survivors. quote. the brain does not perform well for a victim during a sexual assault says mccoy.

she explains that the flight or fight response kicks in. unfortunately most victims are overpowered and they can do neat they are. they may dissociety themselves from the act and the mind escapes the body until the assault is over because the disassociation is common among sexual assault survivors. a 2015 study found strong links between disassociation and ptsd. goes on to say, most people who have lived through major trauma don't develop ptsd. unfortunately survivors of sexual assault and rape experience symptoms of the disorder. the overwhelming majority of rape victims experience at least

some ptsd symptoms within just two weeks. almost a third of all women continue to experience their symptoms nine months after being raped. overall, more than 2/3 of all victims of sexual assault and rape develop stress reactions that qualify as moderate or severe. n a study published in 2005 in the journal "behavior research and therapy" researchers explored the connection between unwanted memories and survivors of sexual assault and the severity of ptsd symptoms. the researchers found that assault survivors who are easily and frequently triggered by visual reminders of their trauma can experience sharp increase in their symptomso intensity. i this goes to -- well,

guess it's commonly reported, one out of four women will be victims of sexual assault. and when you consider that's accurate, those kind of numbers, you have that many women who have been sexually assaulted and they go into a public rest room that's for women in a concxds con find space, having a biological man come walking in because he indicates he feels like a woman that day can trigger those experiences of sexual assault all over again. why would we do that? women have made so much progress toward equality. and i understand the hearts of my democrat friends who wanted to allow transgender to go in

any rest room they feel like they should go into. i understand they want to help people that are often victims of abuse themselves. i get the desire to help them. traumatize women when it's unnecessary? we had people in the community say, well, there's no inoccasion that anyone has been bothered by having a biological man come into a women's rest room or private facilities for women and i'm sure they were being sincere. and that's why there is a wsuit in fresno, california, -- this is a home less shelter and who goes to homeless

shelters? very often -- i have been there, i talked to them, is women who and been sexually abused often it's domestic abuse by a partner or a spouse, a husband and they got no where else to go and they're afraid if they go to a friend's, that husband will find them and they do have to be careful, right in marshall xas, the inspiration for kari's law that we passed the last congress, she was afraid of her husband and abusive and was supposed to let him see the kids, took them to a hotel room and pulled her into the room, beat her with his fist and eventually took a knife and

began stabbing her over 20 times, ultimately killing her while her young daughter was rying to dial 911, not knowing she had to dial a prefix. one event out of far too many events where a victim of domestic abuse is just trying to hand on and not be abused further. they go to a homeless shelter, having been abused, beaten, many imes, raped and they think a homeless shelter they would be protected and would be protected against triggers that would make them relive the trauma of their aggravated rape. you talk to people that work in those facilities, they work there because they care deeply

about women who have been harmed. they have immense hearts caring deeply. that's why they're there. up et this law will end co has these women to be been tating with biological men whether they are honest about feeling like a woman or not, why should we pass laws that force women victims of sexual assault to be further traumatized? that's not a -- appropriate for a government role. his case from the "toronto sun," a predator who claimed to be transgender because of his

sexual crimes declared to be a dangerous sexual offender, face it, like this guy in toronto, canada, since you don't have to ave any overt proof, no patent proof that you feel like a woman, you can just say it and people under the new violence against women act have to recognize it. . then this will not be be a isolated incident. -- be an isolated incident. i've seen it. i've prosecuted it. i've sentenced it. and these predators look for any a woman in ato get defense position. a woman or a child.

someone who they can render . lpless and if they'll drill holes through walls so they can spy, you think they wouldn't go to the trouble of walking it? because if you drill a hole and spy, you can be arrested for being a peeping tom. but if you, under the new proposed laws, simply say i feel like a woman today, then you can go in and be a voyeur all you want to and it opens the door to sexual deviance that should not have a door available to them. there's another here. this from the courier in the u.k. but the mom of the supermarket sexual assault victim warns that

. r attacker will strike again lawsuit from the district of california, about a man, a man . at claimed to be transgender why would we pass a law that undoes the great appropriate dvances that have occurred for women's rights toward equality, toward not being victimized? i know the intention is to try to help people who have gender confusion from being victims so they can walk into any restroom they want to. but it is a mistake that are do

far more damage to women and it's just tragic to have that kind of law included in the iolence against women act. it was mentioned by a friend across the aisle, and i know his motivation. he has a big heart. and he cares about people who are victims. and that includes people who have gender confusion. but he was bragging about apparently, according to what he the equality law was being passed yesterday that will open the door for equality for transgender across sports, education, across the board. we're already seeing something hat's just incredible.

martina, probably one of the top five tennis players of all time, women tennis players, she has been an icon for so many, especially for so many tennis layers, and especially for liberal tennis players, liberal women, because she has fought so for gay rights. and yet she's now being attacked because she dared to say that she didn't think that someone , with a biological man biological advantages over a biological woman, in most cases, should be able to compete in

women's tennis. how is that something to beat her up for verbally? how is that something to abuse her for? what will happen to the great progress of equality for women if that bill becomes law, will be it will eliminate women's sports. you may occasionally have a woman who desires to compete as a man, who is extraordinary and can win some things. but you will have, and the doctors talk about it, you know, the potential for greater muscle mass, they're built differently, can do better in some sports than women can as a general

rule, and yes, i know there are women that could kick the rears of many men, including me. i know. i get that. but we're talking about competition at the highest levels. and it is grossly unfair to allow a biological man to compete in women's sports, no the how gender-confused person is, it's unfair to the great progress of women's equality. and what that bill will do, if it becomes the law, it will bring an end to women's sports. you will be left with mainly men's sports and co-ed sports. co-ed sports consisting of the women and the men that say they're women. nd it will end the equality, the fairness that has come to be known in title ix and through

women's sports and women's professional sports, they'll become co-ed sports. and it is tremendously unfair to women. now, last week, final thing i want to bring up, the bill we hate. in here regarding e reason that all came about were specific comments by a ember of the house that most everyone here, not all, but most believe were anti-semitic. and for those in congress that anti-semitic d,

comments are not criticism of one person for something they've said or done. that's not anti-semitic. even if that person happens to be jewish. it's not. so when i've criticized george sore osaka for damage i believe -- soros for damage i believe he's done to our country, for the things he's contributed to, by the damage he's done to countries yearning to be free in europe, as he has pushed them toward socialism, why would a billionaire push people toward socialism, because socialism means everybody is treated equally. it's because he knows that in a socialist country, you eliminate the middle class and what you're left with is a very thin veneer of a ruling class. and everybody else who has rule

-- is rule over by the ruling class -- ruled over by the ruling class. that's where socialism goes. and some billionaires think, oh, they'll be there in that tiny little ruling class. not understanding that historically, if you go to full bore socialism or communism, you're going to end up killing off the billionaires taking that you are money -- their money. so it's an amaze thing to see that. i'm also aware that even israel's defense ministry has pointed out the damage that he has done to israel. and because i've criticized him, people say, oh, you're anti-semitic. it's not anti-semitic to criticize somebody for things they have done, things they're paying for, things they're because ing to, just they happen to be jewish. what makes it anti-semitic is when you slander or lible an

entire race or group of people and smear them as all having the same characteristic. nd belittle them as a group. so, there was a resolution that specificsed to address membermitic remarks by a of congress. and then we hear, well, there was protests. because they didn't want her condemned for anti-semitic remarks. so it got watered down. and i got ready to come over to the floorks i printed out the copy of the -- floor, i printed out the copy of the bill as it was at 3:00 that afternoon. i came over here ready to speak against that bill, because it had been so watered down.

and i was told, well, actually that one got pulled and they watered it down even further and here's the new one. as of about 3:20 that afternoon. kept being watered down until it basically, we're against all kinds of hate. of course they didn't mention the kind of political hate that , and if e a democrat it had been a republican who supported donald trump, that would have been what everybody talked about, oh, gosh, this is what trump inpires. but since it was a bernie sanders supporter, i don't know of any republican, including me, ho has blamed bernie sanders for the criminal that shot steve scalise. baseball to kill my

friends, colleagues. e wanted to kill them all. but, that wasn't singled out. and in fact, when we were taking testimony on gun crime in judiciary, the majority would not even allow steve scalise to testify. we were told, oh, well, if he comes in and testifies, it might open the door to all kinds of other members of congress. well, why don't you just say, we'll restrict the testimony from members of congress to those who have been shot by somebody who hates them and their party? how about that? but steve was not even allowed to come testify before our committee. and that kind of thing was not mentioned in what was basically -- we're against all kinds of hate except for that.

and we're also not going to call out the hate that causes the hate hoaxes, which there seem to be a rash of. people saying they're a victim of some hate when actually it's their hate that created the hoax. t i have made loud and clear repetitiously the reason i and 22 others voted against that bill was because it did not do what it should have done and that is call out specific anti-semitic comments. now, some were bothered that i said that there is no moral equivalentance between the holocaust and, say, the years of slavery. the slavery, that is continuing today, i was shocked to find out this year, 40 million slaves in the world today. more than any time in history.

we ought to do all we can to stop it. it is horrendous. it did so much damage to the core of this country for far too long. but there is a special hatred that the jewish people have experienced that we need to stop when it starts. and for those morons that didn't the first ed against anti-hate resolution. and with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from texas have a motion? mr. gohmert: is anybody else coming? i move we adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: accordingly, the house stands -- 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 standses adjourned