in total prizes to the winners of our student cam video documentary competition. the top 21 winning entries will air on c-span in april. and you can watch every winning student cam documentary online at studentcam.org. >> today the u.s. house passed a nonbinding resolution stating the report from special counsel robert mueller should be made public. the vote was 420-0. with four republicans voting present. it's unclear whether the senate will take up the measure. and on the other side of the capitol, the senate is voting today at about 2:15 eastern time on a resolution that was passed by the house to block president trump's national emergency declaration and prevent unappropriated funds from being used to construct a border wall. it's expected to pass and the president has said he will veto the measure. you can watch the senate live on

c-span2. now here's more of the house debate on ensuring the mueller report is made public from earlier. 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 >> shortly after that debate, the house went on to approve the nonbindingres. rution, saying the report from special counsel robert mueller should be made available to congress and the american people. the vote was 420-0, four republicans voted present. it's unclear whether the senate will take up the measure. over on the other side of the capitol, the senate will be voting momentarily on a resolution to block president trump's national emergency declaration and prevent unappropriated funds from being used to cop instruct a border wall. a number of republicans will be voting for it. it is expected to pass. president trump has said he will

veto the measure. a total of 67 senators would have to vote in favor of the resolution to confront the president's veto. we look like at the senate floor now, the vote to block the declaration was set to begin at 2:15. on the floor right now, senator tom till liss, we'll watch for a minute. the resolution of disapproval, i think to a person also recognize there's a crisis. and i respect them for their decision. it's just not a decision that i can take. so, mr. president, over the course of the next few months, i look forward to working with the administration to talk about boundaries that we've -- that we're very close to getting agreement on to making changes to the national mrses act that -- emergencies act that will make sense, that this president is prepared to transfer power back to the article 1 branch by his statements either publicly or through his administration is extraordinary, that we have a

leader with a republican down the street willing to move this through regular order is extraordinary. for those reasons i will be voting against the resolution of disapproval and i encourage my colleagues to the same. thank you, mr. president. >> again the senate voting on that resolution to block president trump's national emergency declaration set to start any moment. by the way, senator tillis who you just saw there is a no vote on the declaration. you can watch the senate debate live our on our companion network c-span 2. earlier today, house speaker nancy pelosi spos to reporters about the mueller report vote and the f.a.a.'s grounding of boeing 737 max airplanes. the house is not in session next week.