Individuals that dictate what happens. Ut rather a country of law. What is happening in this country to discredit the Mueller Investigation is to move away and a half of ry profound importance in how people govern themselves, not by the will of an emperor or the will of a king, but rather or even the will of a president. But we govern ourselves by the laws that are enacted by elected representatives, senators, members of the house of representatives. In the case of the national government. Or legislatures or county commissioners, county supervisors, city council members. We are a country ruled bylaws that are enacted by the citizens. However, the effort to iscredit, to derail, to stop the investigation of the appropriate entity, in this case, the department of justice, acting through the special counsel goes contrary to the fundamental foundation of the way in which we govern ourselves. And it is to say that that discrediting, that effort to stop the investigation of whether laws were broken, disobeyed or not followed, completely undermines the foundation of our government. And our relationship as individuals. None of us want to be subject to likehims of an individual, king or an emperor or a president. We want that, in this case, the president to act through the law, that is to follow the law. And in this case, an Agency Within the executive branch, the department of justice, to carry out its responsibility to determine if the laws have been followed. If there has been a breach of law, if there has been some other element that is contrary to the rule of law. Its that simple. And so i would ask my republican colleagues here in the house of representatives and in the senate and those that are constantly on Cable Television who are attempting to knock down the Mueller Investigation to discredit his investigation, to discredit the federal bureau of investigation and other agencies of the federal government, to slow down, to stand back and to let the operation that is fundamental to our wellbeing, that operation of enforcing the law to occur. Lets see where it goes. Let the investigation play itself out. And not get caught up inquest of whether the Steele Dosier was the reason for the investigation. It was not. Clearly today we have learned from senator feinstein, who i thank and who all of us should thank of making public the 10 hours of testimony from fusion gps for all of us to see so that we can, as individuals, judge the validity of the charge that has been made that maybe the steele investigation is what this is all about. It was not, is not. It is information that came to the f. B. I. From multiple sources including counterintelligence information developed by our intelligence agencies and that then led to the investigation and eventually to the establishment of a special counsel. So take a deep breath. Let this process unfold. Let the facts lead the way. Let the development of those facts be done. And let us then judge the outcome of the investigation. And it seems to me that a lot of the heat thats been put on the f. B. I. And the mueller team comes from a fear that theres something to fear. And so the question should be asked, what is it that you fear, why is it that you are doing so much to try to waylay, to discredit, to stop the investigation. Is there something that you know that the American Public should know . Is there something that you fear mr. Mueller will find out about the 2016 president ial campaign. Bout connections to russia do you know something that would cause you to so aggressively try to stop the investigation . Perhaps you do. In which case, come to the floor and share with us. So ill let it go at that. It just seems to me that we ought to recognize that we are a nation of laws. We are not a nation of king or an emperor or of a president. We are a nation of laws in which the president s task is to faithfully carry out the constitution and the laws. If you dont like the law, come here and change them or go to the Supreme Court and get a ruling that says that law is not constitutional. So, enough of that. Thank you for a few moments to look at this profoundly important issue about the very nature of government in the United States. Let me take up another issue, which i actually opened on, for just a few moments, and that was tax policy. I stood here on the floor here before many times and talked about the tax bill as it was being developed and raised the alarm that somehow this tax bill would not be good for American Families and working men and women in america. And i always want to start this discussion with this board and those of you who have followed me on the floor well, you have seen it before. But i want to frame what im concerned about. Thent you to understand the scope of this discussion and why it is of concern. And this i found to be extremely useful way to frame my values and frame the values of my colleagues in the democratic party. What is it we want to accomplish . What is the value we put forth . What is our goal . What we are trying to do with our Public Policy statements or what did we attempt to do with our opposition, unanimous opposition to the tax bill at the house of representatives and the Senate Passed and the president signed . And this is the framework. If you would, this is the statement of values. And it comes from Franklin Delano roosevelt and this is etched in marble at the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial here in darks d. C. The task of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance to those who have much let me repeat that the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide too h for those who have little. For myself and i think and i know, i know from my democratic colleagues, this is the touchstone. These words are the touchstone about our policies, about the programs that we push forward. These words are the touchstone that give us a Foundation Upon which we then analyze the legislation and come to a conclusion to vote yes or no. In our analysis of the tax bill, let me use a different word in our analysis of the tax scam, we found that that legislation now law failed this test. It failed the test, the fundamental test. Did that piece of legislation help those who have little or did it add to the abundance of those who have much . Yes. Nswer, he answer is this. In the joint tax committee, that during the 10year life of this legislation, the result of the of the 1 that 83 1 . Lion goes to the top whoa. How can that be . How could it be . That a piece of legislation has been enacted is now the law of the land that over the next more than 1 ft 1. 5 n, more than trillion to those who are already the richest men and women in this nation, if not in this world. Why . Kings ran add a om, no, a National Ransom to 80 of o already have the wealth of this nation . Why would we do that . Why . Why . Why would we ignore this test . We didnt. We democrats did not. We said no. No. No. 186 times we said no because it fails the fundamental test of fairness. We know across this nation it is an economic study after economic study that america has concentrated wealth in the to an of the top 1 extent only seen once in American History before this time and that was the gilded age at the turn of the 19th century. Ever, other than now, and then did so few have such a high concentration of americas wealth. Now there are those that would argue, well, thats a good thing because all of that wealth will be spent and trickle down to the rest of america. There has not one economic study anywhere that says trickle down will actually happen. But rather, what the tax scam bill does is to continue the concentration of wealth for the next decade. So what of the poor, what of the elderly, what of the students in school that are borrowing vast sums of money so they can get an education, what of the men and women that have been able to acquire a Health Insurance policy through the Affordable Care act because they were able to have that cost of the premium subsidized. What of those people . The working men and women of america were dealt a very, very bad hand. But, mr. Speaker, as the president said when he walked into his club for a Christmas Party after signing the bill, he said, i have made you so much wealthier. So here we are. So here we are. Meetings today with the military, we need to build new nuclear bombs. We need to build new missiles. We need new ships. We need new tanks. Whether they do or not, you can debate that there is an incredible demand for money from the military and we need to fight wars and prepare for conflict on the korean peninsula. Need, need, yes, they do need. Enormous demand. And in this tax bill wheres the money for that . Wheres the money for the military . If youre a hawk, a military hawk, ask yourself, wheres the money . It went to the top 1 . And american corporations that already had 2. 5 trillion of cash stashed away in their treasury. They didnt need more money. They were not even investing what they had. But yet, they received even more as a result of this tax scam. So whats the purpose of all of this . Oh, did i mention that in this bill, for that family out there, that was able to get Health Insurance, for the first time, so that they could have a baby, so that they could have an operation that they needed, so they can have continuing access to preventive care. Do you know what was in this bill . Do my colleagues understand what as in this bill . Ix 6 six million, seven million, eight million of our american colleagues will lose hair Health Insurance as a result of this bill. And all the rest of us are going to wind up paying anywhere from 10 to 20 more premium costs as a result of the language that was in this bill. That restricts and literally uts the Affordable Care act. The test of our progress. So what did the tax scam do . It shifted a kings ransom, excuse me, a president ial ransom to those who already have much, the top 1 . There you have it. 83 of it. Harms millions of americans, because they will lose their Health Insurance. As a result of the language of this bill that guts the Affordable Care acts programs. How could it be . How could we do that . We democrats didnt. We said, no, this is bad Public Policy. Now, guess what . That was step one. Of what i like to call the texas twostep. Do you know what step two is . Step two is to suddenly wake up and realize, oh, my, we have trillionplus trillion, plus interest, maybe another 300 billion of interest, to the national debt. Oh, my goodness. We have to do something, they say. And in fact, its already been said by our esteemed speaker, not the gentleman thats in the chair at this moment, but mr. Ryan, hes already said we have to take the next step now. We have to cut entitlements. Oh, my. The entitlements. We have to cut them. In order to deal with this huge new deficit that was created by the tax plan. Wait a minute. Mr. Speaker, you just created the deficit. And now you want to go after entitlements . Stop. Time out. Do we understand what an entitlement is . Do we know what an entitlement is . Let me tell you. Social security. Medicare. Oh. Were talking about seniors. Social security. Seniors. You mean, weve got to cut entitlements . Social security . Oh, mr. Speaker, thats what you want us to do . You want us to cut medicare . Youre suggesting we do that by raising the eligibility age . Not from 65, but maybe 67, 68. Terrific. And you just cut the ability for these people to get Health Insurance at the same time . How does that calculate . Not in my mind it doesnt. Did i mention medicaid . You know that program, medicaid, medicare, social security, education . Those are entitlements. Thats what you want to cut . When 60 , 70 of medicaid, medicaid, goes to seniors in Nursing Homes and other disabled people in extended care and nursing home facilities, thats what you want to cut . Guaranteed, assures them standing on the floor at this oment, thats the second step. And im not dreaming up this. These are the words of the Republican Leadership in this house and in the senate. So be prepared, america. There is a critical fight. An absolutely important fight that is taking place in your national legislature, the congress of the United States. It is about the very future of this fundamental notion. What are we here for . Are we here for the super wealthy . Those two have much . Or are we here for the rest of america . I know where the democrats are. I know why were here. I know why we fight every single day for policies that address issues that help those who have little. We respect those who have much. Theyre wonderful people. Well, not all of them. Thats not our concern. Theyre doing quite well by themselves. Its those who have little. I see my colleague from new york has joined us. Would you like to say a few words, mr. Jeffries . Mr. Jeffries i thank the distinguished gentleman from california for yielding and for his forceful advocacy and brilliant articulation of the g. O. P. Tax scam and all that it represents. It really is a wolf in sheeps clothing. Its the ultimate hustle. Nothing but a classic bait and switch. Its a fraudulent ponzi scheme. The notion that this bill is designed to help benefit middle class folks and working families, those who aspire to be part of the middle class, is such complete fiction. When 83 of the benefits of the g. O. P. Tax scam will go to the wealthiest 1 in america. And we know that at least 36 billion middle class families, if not more, will experience a tax increase. Medicare, as was just articulated, will be undermined. The deficit will explode. And our children and grandchildren are being asked to shoulder at least 1. 5 trillion in Additional Debt to pay for tax cuts for millionaires, billionaires, special interests, corporations and big donors, to our friends on the other side. Dont take my word for it. There have been members of this house who have indicated they needed to get this massive tax cut for wealthy individuals done or their donors would stop contributing. We didnt say that. Thats folks from this chamber on the other side of the aisle, when talking about the urgency of jamming this reckless tax scam down the throats of the American People. , the the congressman distinguished gentleman from california, representative garamendi, just articulated, the whole premise that anyone other than the wealthy and the well off is going to benefit is built upon the fraud of trickledown economics. When there is absolutely no evidence that trickledown economics has ever done anything for everyday americans. When Ronald Reagan cut taxes on millionaires in 1981, we didnt get explosive Economic Growth. We got an explosion in the deficit. When george w. Bush cut taxes on millionaires and billionaires in 2001 and 2003, we didnt get explosive Economic Growth. We got the great recession. In terms of the legacy of the bush economy. And then there was the socalled great republican experiment in kansas, where a Republican State Legislature and a republican governor massively cut taxes on folks in iest top kansas and was there massive Economic Growth . No. We got prison riots, overcrowded classrooms and crumbling infrastructure. Those are the facts. Thats what socalled trickledown economics has yielded. And now this fraud is being perpetrated on the American People. Its shameful. And its our children and grandchildren who are going to deal with the consequences of this highly partisan effort to benefit the wealthiest amongst us. Its a raw deal for the American People. Were going to offer a better deal for the American People. Focus on better jobs, better wages and a better future, focused on higher pay, lower costs. And giving the American People the tools to succeed in the 21st century economy. By focusing on a Real Infrastructure bill. Real training. Real Community College opportunity. Real tax reform for middle class americans and those who aspire to be part of it. And so i thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding for his leadership, yielding, for his leadership in this area, and look forward to working together to deliver to the American People the better deal that they deserve. Mr. Garamendi mr. Jeffries, thank you so very much. If you can stick around, maybe we can have a colloquy here and discuss this a little better. You and your two colleagues, mr. Andlline from rhode island, scherr i from illinois, developed cheri from illinois, developed the better deal discussion. Id like to talk about this in the context of infrastructure. Now, in the next couple of weeks the president says hes going to deliver to the congress his infrastructure plan. Well, we know, across this nation, that we definitely need infrastructure. You just talked about it a moment ago. And the question will arise, how do you pay for it. This year, right now, the current fiscal year, where were talking about can we Fund Government before it schutz down , shuts down, 150 billion was ripped out of the treasury, its gone, for the wealthy tax cuts. So where do we get the money to pay for infrastructure . How do we do that . Heres my fear. My fear is that the wealthy 1 , top 10 , the big corporations have already got their big chunk where 83 of it do you go to get the money . I think that the proposal coming from the president will be to tax fees on folks that are using the transportation system. And who are they . Theyre the American Families. Theyre the people commuting to work on the trains or on the buses or in the cars. And we need to think through how is it that we can do the infrastructure so there are better jobs, better wages and a better life for americans . If you can expand on the way in which the better deal proposal that weve talked about can accomplish that, transportation, education. Mr. Jeffries thank you for that. It certainly is the case that because of the g. O. P. Tax scam, in use of the 1. 5 trillion Additional Debt, that we as a country will now have to shoulder, so that massive tax cuts can be provided to millionaires, billionaires, special interest, corporations and big interests, corporations, and big donors, that were not necessarily in a position to responsibly fund the type of infrastructure plan that the nation deserves to fix our crumbling bridges, roads and tunnels. We we believe that the American People in that regard deserve a better deal. A better deal focused on higher pay and lower costs and the tools to succeed in the 21st century economy. One of the ways you deliver better jobs is through a meaningful infrastructure plan that is appropriately funded, not on the backs of working families, middleclass folks and every day americans, it should be funded in an appropriate way. Those who can afford to pay should be paying their fair share. But we just went through a reverse robin hood process as it relates to this tax bill and thats unfortunate. Im hopeful that we will proceed in a bipartisan way. The president has indicated that he thinks that would be an appropriate approach. Well see whether that is a again you inarctic can you lation on the way forward or not. But we cannot repeat the mistakes that were just attendant to the process of jamming this process down the throats of American People and will hurt evidence americans. Mr. Garamendi thank you for laying out the better deal proposal that the dem cats are putting forth. And there are many elements to this. You mentioned education, infrastructure is a piece of it, medical care, research and so forth. The democrats have proposed several different ways to pay for the infrastructure program. Two of those or one big one is now gone. American corporations held almost 2 trillion of profits offshore. In the tax bill, that money cannot be retrieved. It is going into the covers of the corporations, if they bring it back to the United States with a very small tax. One of the proposals brought forward by the democrats was to repay try ate and bring that money back to the United States and use it to support infrastructure and to use it to pay for immediate bonds that we could then sell those bonds, use that money for infrastructure investment. That is gone as a result of the tax bill. There is another proposal that dovetails with the extraordinary rampup of the stock market, a lot of that has to do with billions of transactions every day. A small fee of less than 100th of a penny on each transaction would raise billions of dollars fix computerized gambling. The president is going to come up with a plan that saddles working men and women of america with the infrastructure costs. Now, already working men and women pay for the infrastructure. They are the ones driving the cars, paying the fees and so forth. This, we have to tackle and have to do it in a bipartisan way. But ought to do it in a way that tries to claw back as much of that unnecessary wealth that has been transferred to the superwealthy. Mr. Jeffries thats exactly right. And your concerns and suspicions are well founded based upon the approach that was taken by this congress on the other side of the aisle in connection with the tax bill. So the individual tax cuts to the extent that there are any, that will be felt by the American People, are modest. The Corporate Tax cuts are massive. He individual tax cuts are temporary. The Corporate Tax cuts are permanent. The ability of individuals to take a state and local Tax Deduction has been decimated. The ability of corporations to use the state and local Tax Deduction on their Corporate Tax returns is untouched. The moving expense deduction for individuals has been eliminated. But corporations can continue to take moving expense deductions or closing down a factory or plant here in america and shipping those good paying american jobs overseas to china, india or other parts of the world. Mr. Garamendi did i hear you correctly . That an individual that has lost their job for whatever reason, and moves to another state, can no longer deduct the moving expense, is that correct . Mr. Jeffries thats correct. Mr. Garamendi however, a corporation that decides to close that plant, that facility, that laid off that individual nd opened a factory in china can deduct the cost of doing that . Mr. Jeffries absolutely. Mr. Garamendi somethings radically wrong here. Mr. Jeffries it is totally outrageous and why your concern about what our colleagues may be attempting to do with respect to the infrastructure bill is real. Because what weve just seen is an effort to massively transfer wealth from individuals and from every day americans to wealthy americans and incredibly well off corporations in ways that should never be possible in the nited states of america. Mr. Garamendi i was reading the tax bill yesterday, which is not a good read. And i found a provision that was of particular interest to me. Back in the 1990s, i was deputy secretary at the department of interior and trying to deal with he valid valdez spill in alaska. And we had this thing called the deepwater horizon. There has been a small nine cents per barrel fee at the Petroleum Industry has been paying for the cleanup of oil spills. The big ones, exxon valdez and deepwater horizon, there was even more money as a result of the legal action, but little oil spills in the rivers and lakes and in the harbors are cleaned up using that i think its about 400 million a year. Small, but absolutely essential. In the tax bill, they eliminated 400 all fee and its a million wind fall to the Petroleum Industry. People say, why would you do that . Who left is cleaning up . The taxpayer in the state. Did you mention state and local taxes. You are from new york. Im from california. Perhaps the two of us could get in a bit of rage that the tax bill forces the people of new york, california, illinois and pennsylvania to pay a tax on the tax they paid. Mr. Jeffries absolutely. They are punishing taxpayers in california and new york and new jersey and connecticut and illinois and pennsylvania to benefit states in the deep south or other parts of the country that already receive more from the federal government than they give in return for taxes to be outrageous and this will just continue the inequity. New york regularly sends 40 billion more to the federal government than we get back in return. And they just made a bad situation worse. The same for california. Mr. Garamendi well, its probably not appropriate that we get into a rage about the way in which this tax bill purposely harms contributor states and forces the taxpayers in those states to pay taxes, federal taxes on the taxes that they have paid to the state governments. We could probably go on and on for some time about the inequities and the harm that this tax bill does. And we certainly should. We should come back tomorrow and every day thereafter and tell the American People what has happened to them as a result of tax scam. In doing so, i really want to thank you and your two colleagues of developing within the Democratic Caucus a set of proposals, legislative proposals, policy changes, that will give the American Public a better deal. We can construction taposition against the tax bill which is a raw deal for the American Family. But you developed a better deal. And in the process of the days ahead, i would love to join you and your colleagues and talking about the proposal that is beneficial to working men and women in america. If you would like to wrap up and i will follow you with a wrapup and i see my republican colleagues are here to tell their side of the story. Mr. Jeffries i look forward to work together. We will talk about this tax bill and expose its fraudulent nature and lay out in clear terms the better deal that we are focused on better wages and a better future. Mr. Garamendi i thank you for developing the better deal program for our caucus. With tt, im going to end where i started. So for the American People, i want you to know where were coming from as democrats. The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have ch, it is whether we provde enough for those who have too little. If you want to know where im coming from, read this sentence. And with that, 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 texas seek recognition . Mr. Sessions i send to the desk two privileged reports from the committee of rules for filin under the rule. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the titles. The clerk report to accompany House Resolution 681, resolution providing for consideration of the bill senate 140 to amend the White Mountain apache water rights quantification act of 2010 to clarify the use of amounts in the wmat settlement fund. Report to accompany House Resolution 682, resolution providing for senate 139 to implement the use of rapid d. N. A. Instruments to informed decisions about pretrial release or conditions to solve Violent Crimes to exonerate the innocent, to prevent d. N. A. Analysis back logs and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. Under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Gohmert, for 30 minutes. Mr. Gohmert thank you, mr. Speaker. We keep hearing about action that needs to be taken on the deferred action for childhood arrivals. I have spent a lot of time down n our nations southern border and i was quite pleased last ear when Border Patrol friends told me information indicated that after President Trump was sworn in, the number of people coming into the United States illegally slowed to a trickle, that it was a dramatic decrease. And that continued for a while. But during the summer as iscussion about daca started coming out, i was told and apparently the numbers indicate the surge began anew. Well i heard over the years, any time, anyone in washington starts talking about amnesty, legalization of any kind for people that have come into the United States illegally, there is a fresh surge across our border. Have been told by Border Patrolmen, they hear people talking that have come in illegally, before processing, after processing, during the holding procedure and its made very clear that since they are willing to come into the country illegally in violation of United States laws, that they want to get here before theres any legalization and it makes sense, as im told, they are willing to come in in violation of u. S. Law and also willing to say that they came in a previous time and you know, backdate it, different identity, different date they came in, whatever is required in order to get legal status. I appreciate hearing from my constituents. Always do. And appreciate getting the opinions and thoughts of constituents from my district, the First District of texas. Theyre always welcome. In the last couple of days ive gotten a stack of petitions, my office, regarding a push to support what theyre calling a clean deferred action for childhood arrivals reform. But it raises some questions. The best i can tell, by the word clean bill, they mean one that provides amnesty with no strings attached. However, all these petitions ive been provided, actual names and addresses are only on a handful of them. And many have names written in the same hand writing and ink. There are numerous unsigned blank petitions in the stack we were provided. In addition, i want to point out theyre time daca legalization smentioned, we have greater surges of people into smentiond, we have greater surges of is mentioned, we have a greater surge we have greater surges of people illegally into this country. And every time theres a surge, we have people who die trying to come into this country illegally. Bodies found. And we have the reports of a dramatic number of young girls, even some boys, that are pulled into sex trafficking. Drug trafficking. As a way to pay off their debt to the drug cartels that control the area of the border that they were allowed to come across by the gang that brought them across. Should be noted every young person in america has dreams. And the best way to achieve the greatest number of dreams for the greatest number of people in the United States is if we enforce the law across the board fairly. Amazed, and ng ive asked questions at our hearing, so why did these people come into the United States illegal industry in well, because there are more jobs and opportunity. But why did they leave where they left, where they fled . There was no opportunity there. Why was there no opportunity . Why were there no jobs there . Well, theres so much corruption. They dont enforce the law fairly. So what were being asked to do, instead of using all this political effort to get these countries that people have fled to fix their political system, then were supposed to change our laws here so that those who have been working, ive helped some people seven, 10 years trying to get into the country legally, they will be treated unfairly because theyve been trying to do things legally, in favor of people who violated the law to get here. And it kind of seems like, ok, were being asked to become the kind of country they fled, where the laws not enforced fairly across the board. It sounds like the ultimate irony. Until our border is made secure, we should not be discussing passage of any legalization bill. We should stop talking about legalization until the borders secure and when the borders secure, then we can work things out. But it is so ironic to me, the very people that are demanding a big amnesty, legalization, whatever you want to call it, say, we dont want a wall we dont want the border secure a wall, we dont want the border secure, which means well have to come back and have this discussion in the next couple of years all over again. It was supposed to have ended in 1986. Well get Border Security in return for the amnesty. Got the amnesty and we didnt get the Border Security. But i am joined by a friend, a ery dear friend, who wrote speeches for his hero, hero of mine, Ronald Reagan, who knows very well what happened in 1986, and want to yield to my friend, congressman rohrabacher, for such time as he will resume. Mr. Rohrabacher thank you very much. I want to thank you, mr. Gohmert, for that the great courage that youve had on this issue. The fact that youve been willing to speak up for something that the establishment in this country is trying to shut us up. Trying to put blinders on the American People about whats going on and how we are losing our country. Let me note, i was there with Ronald Reagan and, yes, he was sold a bill of goods. In 1986. He was told there are three million illegals in the country. And thats what were going to do. Were going to legalize their status. He had a good heart. Reagan had a wonderful heart. He saw these people were being exploited and living in the shadows and three Million People, we can take care of that. But the agreement has to be that we are now going to control our borders and whats happened and what happened, of course, then, there was never even any question about whether someone was here illegally should be getting a government benefit or get treated just like a u. S. Citizen. That wasnt even in the works. But Ronald Reagan said, ok, well secure the border and then well make sure that we have this take these three Million People and save them. And instead how did it end up . There was no the Border Security was done not even halfheartedly. We ended up with when all was said and done, not three Million People, but 11 Million People who eventually came here based on that amnesty program. Well, today its a lot worse, what were facing. And today the American People are being told a lie. But maybe someone is not just lying directly to them. But theyre feeding them a false image what have the issue is today. How many people have heard about the dreamers . These wonderful young people, yes, who came here at an early age. And theyre not being the American People are not being told what were talking about when we talk about the dreamers. Theyre being told most americans think were talking about 25,000 or 30,000 kids at the most. Thats what most americans think were talking about. Hat were talking about is 850,000 young people who, yes, have dreams and most of them are fine young people im sure. But they are here illegally, theyve been brought here illegally by their parents. And they want their status legalized. And what will that do . 850,000 young people, not 25,000, almost a million young people. All right. What will happen when they are legalized . Well, what were not being told is as soon as they are legalized, they then have the rights of everybody else, as anyone who is residing here legally should. And thus they are eligible for family reunification. And their family there are families that are now being brought in from other countries, then they have the right to bring in their families. So we have our family reunification that creates a Snowball Effect and millions, millions more. Then of course we also have with the legalization the eligibility for government benefits. Which, as i say during reagans time, there wasnt any question, youre not going give benefits to Illegal Immigrants. Well, now we find Illegal Immigrants receiving education and Health Care Benefits, just as if they were american citizens. In california theyve even treated criminals as if theyre citizens, setting up sanctuary cities and sanctuary states. Let me note that with Free Education and free health care, there is no limit to the number of people around the world that will want to come here. By the way, there is no securing the border as long as we are giving education and Health Care Benefits to people who have come here he will lylely illegally. In fact, what were talking about now is basically opening up major, major expenditures in our budget that right now we cant afford, even to take care of our own people. Yet were going to have an obligation not just so for these 850,000 young people, but for all of the people that they will bring in as well. Not to mention the millions of other young people throughout the world who will say, my gosh, if i can get there and mothers and fathers throughout the world, weve got to get our child there so they can get the education and health care that is being provided by young people, even when they come there illegally. Now, let us note for funds for our education system, our young people, our own young people are suffering from a lack of funds. For their education. We lack money to have a very Good Health Care plan for our people. Yet were going to give millions of other people who come here illegally, were going to let them drain that money and inviting people from all millions more to come here from overseas. This is the most dishonest debate that weve had. That whole concept of having millions and millions more coming in because of the daca, the dreamers. No, no, this is being kept out of the debate. This isnt going to be part of americas vision of whats going on. The idea that we have now veterans who we can not afford to take care of. We have children and our own people who we cannot afford toad kate. We have seniors that to educate. We have seniors that were trying to take care of. All of these are expenses that we need and we are already in the hole, yet were going to take care of the millions of other people who have come here illegally, starting with the dreamers . There are not just 10 million by the way, 11 Million People here illegally, i am guest mating 20 million, but i bet there are other people who are much more sfiftcate in their analysis than sophisticated in their analysis than i am who say its even more than 20 Million People who have come here illegally. So what happens . We are draining our resources for people who have come here. What does that mean . We dont care enough about our own people. Thats what were really saying. Those people are more important than our own people. The hen of course you have fact that people are coming here, theyre ablebodied, but they get jobs. And, yes, they bid down the wages of people at the lowest end of our spectrum. I used to be an ice cream scooper in high scoofment those jobs now school. Those jobs now, what weve got are people who have gone into those jobs so that in order to get people to work for them, they havent had to increase the wages of the people at that level. And if they have, increased wage, they havent increased the wages as much as they would have had to, had they not had groups of people saying, ill do that work at half the price. Something else i was, i was a janitor in college. I was a janitor. I cleaned toilets. Theres nothing wrong with anybody, whatever work theyve got, we know that we respect every worker person in this country working person in this country. Yeah, i cleaned toilets and guess what, i look back looked back a few years ago and saw that the wages of people who clean toilets has not gone up. The janitors are not making more money. Why is that . Are we saying that people who work at lowly jobs arent worthy of having a pay raise . They shouldnt benefit . Weve had our income of our nation now is three or four times higher than it was. Yet those people on the lower scale have not been going up with that. The main reason is those lowly jobs that they get, they have been bid down, the salaries have been bid down by this massive flow of illegals. Now, if we care about our people, what is america . America is not one race, not one religion, not one ethnic group. America is a country in which we believe in freedom and we have come from every ethnic group and race in the world. What makes us americans then is that we have to care for each other. We are an American Family. But being an American Family means we must take care of those people who are less fortunate in our country before we spend and even borrow more money in order to take care of the needs of people who have come here illegally. Let us just note, the worst part of this whole debate is that republicans and others who are concerned about this are being labeled like were antiimmigrant. In fact, we know that immigration is an important part of our country. But this is the greatest lie of all. Because we believe that our country has been prospered by having a Legal Immigration system. We in fact take in a million legal immigrants a year. So anyone who is thinking about this should think about it. That represents more Legal Immigration into our country than all the other countries of the world combined allowing people to immigrate into their country. Because we dont want to destroy the system or go out of control, we are being labeled as antiimmigrant and even though we sing praises for those people who come here legally. In fact, the people who are the most antiimmigrant are the ones who mix the title legal and illegal together. And what weve got now is the worst possible outcome in that we have limited resources being drained away from our own people of every race, religion. And jobs being bid down by illegals and including legal immigrants are being hurt. What we have now is a recognition that we cannot even enforce the law. We have sanctuary cities in which criminals are being kept from being arrested by federal agents. What is that all about . Who do we care for . Now were saying our police cant even protect our families and that if theres some criminal gang from another country that comes here that we are going to have a sanctuary state or city for these people . This is absolutely ridiculous. It is a horror story. And its up to us to alert the American People that we are losing our country. We are losing our country. When i say our country, us. Every race, every religion, every ethnic group. Let us care for each other. Let anybody who is saying we care about someone who is coming here illegally, i dont care how old they are, yes, those children are less important. Their wellbeing is less important than all americans, whatever their status in this society. We need to make sure we make that clear. And daca, if we bring in 850,000 young people and encourage millions more to come in by doing that, we have betrayed the interests of our own people and they are looking to us to protect them. Mr. Gohmert yield for a question. So you personally witnessed what appened after the amnesty of 1986. President reagan rightly said we cant have an amnesty unless we have proper Border Security. They put it in the same bill and got the amnesty and there was no followup. Lets say we want to do the best to help young people the world over. Youve already illustrated what for ns and there are rules radicals, if you want to bring down the United States. Apparently you bring as many as being totally reliant on the government, so you bankrupt the government, destroy the government and thats how you eliminate the greatest most Representative Government in the history of the world. Then what happens to young people around the world when theres no america to stand up against repressive regimes . What happens who has benefited by bringing down the United States by overwhelming r system running the 20 trillion debt much higher . Who has benefited . Mr. Rohrabacher there are people who are trying to destroy the United States of america. There are there. There are people out there who hate us for what we stand for. They have always hated america. We have stood between the forces of evil on this planet for over 200 years. My mom and dad left north dakota to fight in world war ii and saved the world from naziism. And during the cold war we stood firm that evil wanted to create dictatorships throughout the world thinking that was going to cleanse us from our profit motive and change human nature and establish dictators and murder millions and millions of people. We defeated that evil. We held firm until it had a chance to collapse and we face radical islam, which is not a force it is a powerful force. There are muslims who hate us. There are muslims who love us as well. But there are muslims who hate us who have lots of money and lots of oil. We have cut deals with them and they have lots of money and resources and financed terrorism to terrorize into retreat. They hate america. They hate america. And there are still forces in the world today that hate us and that group is applauding when we lose control of our borders. And you know darn well the terrorists of this world have seen open borders to the south and there are terrorists among us but we have lost control. But that loss of control will destroy our chance to have an Economic Activity that succeeds in establishing a currency and a system in which prosperity and a good life for ordinary people can exist. Its going to go down unless we stop this massive flow and the massive flow is already on, but it will become a flood of people if we send a message, kids who get here, Free Education, free health care, legalized status, theyll bring their parents in, we will have tens of millions more people flooding our country. We cant agree to that. Mr. Gohmert the gentleman and i have been to iraq a number of times together, afghanistan, different places in the world after seems pretty clear our effort to create a democratic republic in iraq that if a nations people have not been properly prepared and educated to maintain a democratic republic, they wont keep it. Seems pretty clear from the places we have been together, and i will never forget christian friends that i made in west africa, who sat me down at the end of the week and said, they wanted me to understand that they were so delilled when we elected our first black president and since he was elected, they have said we have seen america get weaker and weaker and make sure you take a message back to washington that were christians and we know where we go when we die, but our only chance of having peace in this life is if america is strong. I will never forget those words. Please, they said, stop getting weaker. We suffer when youre weaker. And most of the people that are pouring across the United States for a better way of life, they arent coming to weaken us, but coming with their own hopes and aspirations, but i ask what would be better what better neighbor would we be to continue until so many come in, our system fails, goes bankrupt, as california is doing now, or would we be better to say lets build a wall where its necessary and totally secure our border and lets cut off the 70 billion to 80 billion that is going to the drug cartels of mexico that allows them to corrupt the government of mexico and the local governments and terrorize people and put police to terrorize. Ets cut off that 80 billion, however much it is. Lets totally secure the border. And people that love their mexican heritage are other countries in central america, they love their heritage why dont we help cut off the corruption by cutting off the flow of money and drugs into our country, money out . Why dont we work on that . Wouldnt that be a better neighbor to our friends in the south . There is no reason that mexico is not one of the top 10 economies in the world. They have hardworking folks, they have the resources, fantastic location. Only one reason theyre not and that is because of the corruption that the drug cartels bring from u. S. Money flowing into mexico. Maybe we would be better off helping all of those millions of people that want to come here by helping them be a country. Mr. Rohrabacher establishing the rule of law here will not only protect our own people and not only make sure that our less fortunate people are bid into lowpaying jobs and people who work as january tors as i did and what decent people are doing now, their wages arent bid down and live a decent life so their families can live with some security here. By doing that, we will also take away this major instability we are creating, by not obeying the rule of law. Thank you so much, mr. Gohmert. Mr. Gohmert i appreciate my friend. I use he is a dear friend and brother and ill treasure most of the times that we have spent together in traveling trying to do right for the United States and the world. One other thing i want to speak on before we finish up and thats the issue we are told coming this week regarding section 702 reauthorization. Were told that the folks in the deep state, they made it very clear they want a clean reauthorization. Nothing clean about it when you look at 702 is spent. Spend a couple of minutes how the f. B. I. And d. O. J. Intelligence units were weaponized around congressional oversight from january 8, 2018. It goes through the scenario. In sometime early 2016, admiral mike rogers, not the mike rogers that was here in congress, that he became aware of ongoing and intentional violations of foreign intelligence surveil actions section 702 surveillance. The unauthorized upstream Data Collection of u. S. Individuals within n. S. A. Surveillance through the use of about inquiries, where they do a surveillance of someone foreign, capture american citizens which would violate our Fourth Amendment rights except that those names are masked and supposedly all kinds of efforts to protect that and not a violation of the Fourth Amendment. But this article points out that they get all of these conversations in the data base and they can do inquiries about people, subjects and capture that information about americans basically allowing them to get around the Fourth Amendment. Nd my time is running out, commend this article we see what occurs when we dont have pro oversight and 702s being proposed does not give us the proper oversight. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The speaker pro tempore under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from ohio for 30 minutes. Senator capito ms. Kaptur i would like to address a crisis that is at breaking point for pensioners, retired workers who come from , building trades, miners truck drivers, so many more. Actually hundreds of thousands of americans losing their pensions or about to lose them. Millions of american retirees have worked and earned pensions that they contributed to through the multi employer pension program. In fact, i met one retiree recently who paid over 225,000 into his plan and has not been able to access one penny. Not one penny. Yet hundreds of these plans face serious financial shortfalls where retirees are facing an uncertainty. Congress needs to step up and secure the pension benefits these workers have earned and there should be no pension cuts for workers who contributed to their own plan and should have a right to the money that they invested. Congress can no longer kick the can down the road. Theres no more time. This problem doesnt go away if Congress Continues to ignore it. Rather, the Financial Stress mounts for the Retirement Funds and of course for the retirees and their families so severely impacted. Indeed, the cost the federal government will bear if we dont solve this problem now becomes exponentially more significant as time ensues. Over the last four years, ive heard extensively from retirees forced to ride this terrible economic roller coaster, almost like a corkscrew, right side up, upside town, theyre caught in this as their Retirement Security careens out of their control through no fault of their own. There are thousands, tens of thousands of americans who did everything our country asked of its productive citizenry. Retirees who worked for decades for a company and thought they would have a secure retirement. But now they face the stark reality. From toledo, ohio, such retirees as carol jones who drove a truck for over 30 years and who missed holidays and major life milestones because of this work on the road. The knowledge he was earning a pension helped in those moments but now he says it all feels like a pipe dream. And you know, when you drive trucks for over 30 years, thing haps to your knee, they happen to your back, bouncing over concrete for three decades has severe cost for so many. Its a solution if a solution is not passed now, he wont even be able to continue to care for his disabled daughter. Or how about ernest frye, a teamster for 54 years. He and his wife currently can live on what they earn through his pension, but with its threatened cuts, everything will fall apart for them. They will have to rely on the government to cover the difference. And with the rising cost of medical expenses they run the risk of also losing their home. If his pension is cut. What kind of cruelty is this . How about cindy grim lee who was hired in 1978 and who has taken pride in being able to ache take care of herself. Even with the pension she earned and lives on she cannot afford medications her doctor tells her she needs and she cant afford to lose a single dollar of her promised pension. Or how about tom brady who orked 30 years, 30 years, with roadway express, and is a vietnam veteran. Faced a 50 cut under the Central States pension fund application. They call it nepra. Any cut to his pension wont only impact him he has six grandchildren and seven great grandchildren whom he and his wife help support. I hear countless stories across this country of how retirees are caring for children with disabilities, supporting their own ill and aged parents or supporting children and grandchildren with life expenses. These cuts impact more than just the individual who earned the pension and really, dont these workers who retired have a right to the money that they put into these plans . You know there were hundreds of companies that walk aid way from their pension promises. They didnt keep their promise to the workers. The workers put their money in and some of the companies walk aid way. Is it the workers fault . Ask any retiree or responsible economist if we fail to fix this pension crisis well create a tremendous deficit to our economy both locally and nationally. Some retirees already live under the financial constraint of us not solving this challenge and some have already had 70 cuts to their pension. For example, local 17 in cleveland. Iron workers. How about the new york state teamsters. How about the united furniture workers pension. And the International Association of machine i machinists motor city pension. They all have seen that decisions were made forcing cuts upon their retirees and millions more live on that precipice. Money that should be coming to them because they earned it. They put it away. And then it was taken away. This house has continued to let these retirees down. Theres not been a single hearing to fully understand the financial plight confronting retire yes retirees. How irresponsible is that for the leadership of this house . The senate has only taken a bit of action. But no solution. Immediately after the house passed the scam pension bill a few years ago, that is the original multiemployer pension reform act, i set to work to correct the unfairness that it allowed and we introduce the keep our pension promises act which back then had the number h. R. 2412. Kapa. Led it t would have prevented these cuts and reinstate the anticutback provision contained in the erisa legislation, the Retirement Security act, the bedrock of that law was that if workers work and they put money aside for their pensions, that pension money will be there for them. But our bill lacks sufficient bipartisan support. Back last december it was very reassuring for me to stand with my colleagues, representative rich neal of massachusetts and from the other body senator Sherrod Brown as we introduced the butch lewis act, 2147. 44 and senate bill in the house this legislation now has two republican cosponsors and i hope many more of our colleagues support will follow. But theres not time to recruit cosponsors one or two at a time. Retirees across our country are waiting for true leadership to push an equitable solution so they arent led to the guillotine on their pension. It is time for real congressional leadership to identify the impact this crisis will have and organize an effort here either to create a new bipartisan solution or pass the already bipartisan butch lewis act. If we fail to act, we can no longer wonder why the middle class is angry at washington than congress. For they see this as just another broken promise by washington. We can no longer wonder why they believe the system is rigged because here are more than a million honest americans who worked for a living decade after decade, they worked hard, they followed the rules and now theyre getting thrown under the bus. The companies they worked for reneged on their promises and you know what . Unless we do something, the romise under erisa will remain unfulfilled and that is their pension security. I would say to my colleagues if you ever wonder why tens and tens of millions of americans are angry and deeply disappointed or feel betrayed by their government an the companies theyve worked for, look no further than this issue. I remember one man who didnt come from my state but i met him here in washington. He said congresswoman, he said, i earned and put away 225,000 in my pension plan. And they told me i had to work 20 years. So i drove 20 years, drove truck for 20 years and he said i started to have back problems. When i got to my 20th year and i made it through, i said to them, well im ready to apply. The company said you know what . We changed the rules. You have to work two more years. So he said two more years. Ok. So he made every effort that he could under great pain to work those two years up through his 22nd year of employment as a driver and then at the 2nd year the company said, you know what . We changed the rules. Now youre going to have to work an additional three years. Imagine having promises broken all the time. And now he is disabled. He has difficulty standing, sit, he has pain all the time. And he has not been able to gain access to a penny of money that he earned. Surely if someone at the white house has been listening to this, if you think about President Trumps travels through ohio when he talked with the miners and he sought their vote, or in chicago with those who drove trucks and paid into the central state teamsters fund, the promises that were made surely we can find a way to help keep the pension promises that these workers earned. I want to thank all the members who cosponsored our former bill to keep our pension promises act and the butch lewis act. And to thank members of both parties for trying to find a solution, a real solution for this crisis. We are moving toward it. We really dont have any time to waste. Because Congress Must reach a solution early this year and we should look no further than including that pension relief in the upcoming spending deal that is being negotiated between the white house and this congress now. Pensions now, pensions now, these workers have earned their pensions. Why has the government of the United States made it so difficult and made their retirement years so stressful by not reaching a solution to date . I make a strong appeal on behalf of over a million workers across this country who so justly earned the pension benefits they deserve. I thank my colleagues who are listening, i thank the American People for writing us, and for sharing their personal stories with us. And i have great hope that in the final negotiations on a spending bill for 2018 which is currently under negotiation at the highest level that this pension issue finally will be resolved. Keep the letters and emails and phone calls and visits coming. This is the time to make your weight felt. Thank you so much and i yield back my remaining time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yield back. The chair would entertain a motion to adjourn. Ms. Kaptur i move that the house do now adjourn. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the motion to adjourn. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The motion is adopted. Accordingly the house stands adjourned until 10 00 a. M. Tomorrow for
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