They just issued the following Statement Given the humanitarian crisis at the border, the Problem Solvers Caucus is asking for immediate consideration on the house floor today of h. R. 3401, as amended by the senate. We now are certain that h. R. 3401 will pass. I ask us to let the bipartisanship spread to the rest of this house and put an end to this now once and for all and get the help to the border that is so badly needed and with that i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, could i inquire how much time s remaining . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts has four minutes remaining. The gentleman from oklahoma has 1 4 minutes remaining. Mr. Mcgovern i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Cardenas. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. Mr. Cardenas thank you very much. I have the honor and privilege being born an american citizen. There are millions that dont have that privilege, that honor, and that blessing. Today, i get to exercise my privilege as a member of congress to bring my you two grandchildren, age 1 and 3, to the floor of the house of representatives. Its a very emotional moment for me because when i see their beautiful brown eyes, i see their grandparents who were born in another country. I see their greatgrandparents born in another country, just like many people on this house floor whose grandparents, greatgrandparents came from germany or guatemala or mexico or any other place on the planet. We are fighting, ladies and gentlemen, to do whats right, to do whats right to the Gold Standard that the world has seen the United States of america, a place of hope, a place of future, for people who are fleeing persecution, for religious reasons or otherwise. To be able to come to this country, kiss the ground that they walk on and start anew. My beautiful grandkids get to be american citizens because somebody made the journey sometime before them. Could i have 30 seconds . Mr. Mcgovern i yield 30 seconds. Mr. Cardenas the United States of america has always been the Gold Standard and thats the argument were making here today. His is not a game. We are fighting to be allowed the freedom to be who they choose to be, who god made them to be by being in the greatest place on the planet. And thats why were fighting today. Yield back. Mr. Cole thank you. I yield to my good friend from ohio, mr. Stivers. The speaker pro tempore how much time . Mr. Cole two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Stivers thank you, madam speaker. Id like to thank the gentleman for yielding. We have a crisis on our southern border and h. R. 3401 with the Senate Amendments gets resources to give the humanitarian assistance to those seeking asylum. Mr. Stivers i would like to thank the gentleman for yielding. We have a crisis in our southern border and h. R. 3 01 gets resources to give humanitarian assistance to those seeking asylum but adds judges and judge teams to hear the claims of asylum. Many people have to wait up to three years to get their hearing heard. That is too long. I have twice in the last two weeks attempted to offer an amendment to add judge teams. Both times the rules committee has failed to include it. My amendment would have included the amount that is in the senate bill but its now in the bill because we got the senate bill sitting at the speakers desk. I just want to urge my colleagues to take up the bill with the Senate Amendments that include judge teams. Thats the only way to solve this crisis, adjudicate the claims of people who want asylum and reunite families and stop people from being held in detention for so long. R. Gonzalez from texas and i worked together on this. Its a bipartisan effort. This is a nobrainer. We need to add judges. The senate bill does that. I hope we can take up the senate bill and make it happen. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Mcgovern i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Cole im prepared to close whenever my friend is. Mr. Mcgovern were expecting another speaker but theyre not here. Mr. Cole i can also use time if youre waiting on somebody. Mr. Mcgovern you go ahead and close. Mr. Cole thank you very much, mr. Chairman. Madam speaker, in closing, i want urge to opposition to this rule. Once again, the majority is making the exact same mistake it made earlier this week. We have a bipartisan bill already approved by the senate, the house should simply take it up and work its will on that bill. Frankly, we all know if that bill were allowed to come to the floor, it would pass overwhelmingly, with a majority of each side voting in favor of it. And then it wouldnt have to go back to the senate, it would go immediately to the president of the United States. He could sign it. These resources would begin to flow. Again, weve had a robust debate today and i respect the passions on both sides and every point of view about this. And i actually see a great deal of common agreement. We agree, which we did not eight weeks ago, that theres an emergency on the southern border. We agree its a humanitarian crisis. We agree there need to be resources that go there immediately. And we agree that time is short. Were also all elected officials that are privileged to be in this chamber and most of my experience with my friends on both sides of the aisle is theyre basically pretty practical people. They came here to solve problems. Have different viewpoints, but theyre almost always very practical in trying to get something done. We know that this bill is not everything the senate bill is not everything that my side would want. We certainly know its not everything that my friends side would want. But we know its bipartisan. We know 3 4 of the democrats and the other chamber voted for it. We know it will pass. With all due respect to my friends, theyve clung so tightly to their bill, which i know they believe in, it will pass here, but it wont pass the senate. And it certainly wont be signed by the president. And so where will we be if we continue down the road that theyre laying out in front of us . I know theyre sincerely concerned about children on the border. But youre better off with a bill that passes, and we have billions of dollars moving to where theyre supposed to go, and a bill that, again, the entire democratic leadership thought was appropriate, that was good enough. Lets not sit here and make the perfect the enemy of the good. Lets be practical and deliver to the American People what they want, which is a solution. A solution that both parties will vote for. A solution that the president will sign. How many times do we go home and hear that from our own constituents . Cant you guys get together and do anything . Cant you Work Together . Cant you put aside your differences and put the American People first . It pains me as a house member to admit it, i suppose, but the United States senate did that in this case before we did. We can accept that and move on, and my friends can continue to fight for the things they believe. Its not as if these things are in this bill that the administration except they cant wrap them up again and put them in another bill and start the process. What will not happen, if we do not act, the resources will not get to the border where theyre needed. These conditions that concern us all will continue. O i would just urge us to step back a little bit, except that in this case the senate has a bipartisan solution that will work, and for goodness sake, just put it on the floor and see what happens. We know what will happen. My friends will vote for it in overwhelming numbers. My friends on my side of the aisle will vote for it in overwhelming numbers. It will go straight to the president of the United States. That isnt going to solve the problem but thats going to ease the problem and thats going to move us in the right direction and provide our very hardpressed people that are working this problem, that are both caring for the migrants, trying to protect our borders, trying to provide justice, it will give them the resources they need to continue to work on this problem while, frankly, we continue to try to arrive at legislative solutions. So, madam speaker, i want to begin with a point i made or end with a point i made just a little bit earlier. I want to thank the chair for the patient and professional manner in which she has allowed us to conduct this debate. I want to thank her very much for making sure when we had an outside disturbance it was quickly dealt with. And i want to urge my friends to reconsider and hopefully come together around a bill that neither of us think is perfect, but both of us could probably vote for. And the president could sign. So with that, madam speaker, i want to thank, too, my good friend, chairman of the rules committee, for his participation in debate, always helpful, always enlightening, hes a good friend. With that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, thank you. And i think what is so frustrating to so many of us is that theres controversy around language to guarantee the protection of these children. And the reason why we think thats important is because this administration has ignored all the warnings. Weve had whistleblowers talk about the abuse at the border, how these children were being mistreated. And they did nothing. This administration oversaw a policy of literally tearing children away from their parents. As a dad, i cant imagine what that must be like for any of those parents. And yet this administration thought it was fine. We have a crisis at the border. Largely as a result of this president s policies. And we need to deal with it. And we need to deal with it now. We want to make sure were actually dealing with the crisis and not giving him more money to create other crises. But i appreciate what the gentleman from oklahoma said about the need for us to continue to Work Together. And while these negotiations are continuing, madam speaker, i withdraw the resolution. The speaker pro tempore the resolution is withdrawn. Host and there is some of the debate earlier today just before the Senate Version of the Border Security bill was pulled off the house floor. Since then, reports are from jake sherman that they will be voting on that Senate Version after many closed door negotiations happened between leaders just a short time ago. Again, the senatepassed version passing 848 on the senate floor. Was supposed to be voting on the rules for that legislation, and just before the vote, taken off the floor, again, of the house. Members expected to be gaveling back in hoar about 10 minutes or so from now. And well take you to the house floor live when they do. Just a look here at nicks tweet. He reports for the Washington Post saying the Senate Version of the 4. 5 billion border supplemental heading toward house approval with democratic moderates siding with republicans. And our very own craig kaplan with cspan tweeting what the senator, mitch mcconnell, had to say on the house and border bill saying, quote, we did not in the end continue to play these political games over this humanitarian crisis. They, in the house, did. And its their problem to resolve. And i hope they can figure a way to do that today. As we are, again, hearing from House Speaker pelosi that they will be voting on the senatepassed measure. Well take you to the house floor live in just a moment when they do gavel back in. In the meantime, heres some of the debate from earlier today. Think by now we all have seen the horrific images showing the bodies of Oscar Alberto ramirez and his nearly 2yearold daughter. They were taken on monday as these salvadoran migrants tried to cross the rio grande after leaving a mexican migrant camp. Like so many others they were exercising their legal right to seek asylum here in the ubs United States. They wanted to be free from the violence, gangs, poverty, and inequality that is rampant in el salvador, just as it does all across central america. I visited el salvador and honduras recently. Mr. Speaker, i saw the unbearable conditions with my own eyes. It is no wonder that organizations like the United Nations office on drugs and crime have said this and other Central American countries are more dangerous than afghanistan and only slightly better than syria. Syria, mr. Speaker. The site of an ongoing civil war. Let that sink in for a moment. But unfortunately alberto and have a lara valaria didnt survive. His wife was forced to watch in horror as her current washed her family away. Im telling their story today because this is what migrants face as they risk their lives to come to this country. Not to transport drugs, not to commit crimes as the president suggests, but to find refuge, raise their daughter in a safe place, and have a chance at building a better life. A life that they can only find in america. Isnt this what each of us wants for our own families . They came to present themselves at a legal port of entry and to seek legal asylum as is their right under u. S. Law. They werent the only ones to die. Just this past weekend Border Patrol agents found four more bodies in the river west of brownsville, texas. Three more Young Children and a young woman in her 20s. Every single week people drown in the river, perish in the deserts, invisible and unknown. It wasnt too long ago that we celebrated how immigration made our country stronger, whether it was a democratic or republican administration. Im reminded of president reagans final speech in office where he said, and i quote, anybody from any corner of the world can come to america to live and become an american. This i believe is one of the most important sources of americas greatness, end quote. Mr. Speaker, the Trump Administration apparently has the complete opposite view of immigration. They dont celebrate it. They demonize it. Consider what may have happened to oscar and his family if they did make it to our border. Forced to sleep on concrete floors with the lights on 24 hours a day. No soap. No medicine. Maybe not even a toothbrush. Valaria separated from her parents. Because that is what migrants are forced to endure at border facilities under this president. A physician who visited one recently said, i quote, the conditions within which they are held could be compared to torture facilities, end quote. Mr. Speaker, when lady liberty encourages us to give her our poor huddled masses, dont think she means so the administration can turn around and throw them in a cage. I dont think she lifts her torch so their legal play could be criminalized and crying children could be ripped from the arms of their parents. But that is what is happening under this president. Mr. Speaker, it is sickening. It should tear at the hearts of every Single Member of this house whether democrats or republicans. This week the house passed bipartisan emergency legislation to address this humanitarian crisis at the border. The senate had its own ideas. So today we are back with a compromise to get a bill quickly signed into law. This is a compromise that lives up to our core values and protects children and families. It adds critical Protection Force children that were included in the house version of the bill. That includes language to improve care for children by forcing influx facilities to comply with the flores settlement and capping at 90 days the amount of time a child can spend in such a facility. We are also reducing funding for i. C. E. While rejecting additional and unnecessary dollars for the pentagon. This is the crisis, mr. Speaker. We cannot treat compromise as a dirty word, not when migrants are losing their lifes in unsafe, unhealth y. Conditions. And children are being torn apart from their families. The horrors at Detention Centers shouldnt get loss in the latest tweetathon by the president. Just as the plight of migrants shouldnt go unseen by the American People. This should shake our conscience and make clear the urgent need to act. I urge all my colleagues to support this rule and underlying bill and lets send a message to the president that the world lets send a message to the president and to the world that america is better than this. This is not who we are. What is happening at our border. Ill just say one final thing. In the compromise hackage today that seems to bother so many people are merely items that would protect the wellbeing of these children. That would provide more transparency. For the life of me i dont understand the controversy. I dont understand why we cant make the senate bill better. Why we cant do more for these children. I know my colleagues on the other side of the aisle feel as we do that what is happening is unacceptable. Let us strengthen that bill, let us actually give a bill to the president that we all know will help these children. With that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves the balance of his time. The chair would receive a message from the senate. The messenger the messenger mr. Speaker, a message from the senate. The secretary mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore madam secretary. The secretary i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed, s. 528, the fairness for breastfeeding act of 2019, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I want to begin by thanking my good friend, the gentleman from massachusetts, chairman mcgovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cole thank you, mr. Speaker. Well, we are here for the third time this week, mr. Speaker. And the second time on a supplemental appropriations bill for the southern border. Earlier this week i spoke on this floor and expressed my concerns about the house bill. Make no mistake, we need emergency funding for the crisis on the southern border. We needed it two months ago. And we need it even more desperately today. But two days ago i warned that the bill the house was considering would not pass the senate and would not become law. And i was proven direct. The house bill failed in the senate. In fact, it only received 37 votes in support. In contrast, the Senate Amendment passed in a bipartisan vote of 848. If the democratic leadership would allow a vote on the senate text, i believe it would pass this chamber today and be on its way to the president s desk. Today. But instead we are here considering a rule that would further amend the bill, bringing back in provision that is have already failed to garner support in the senate. If this bill, too, fails if this bill fails to pass the senate, as i expect will happen, then well be leaving town for a week without actually having passed anything to deal with the crisis. I do remind my friends on the other side we have attempted on our side 16 times to bring up legislation to deal with this, and the president asked for this money two months ago. So im glad they have a sense of urgency now because we have not seen it in the past. My sense is that this is more about maintaining the unity of the Democratic Caucus than it is about pressing legislation that can be enacted into law. But thats been true for this entire congress. Its why my friends have so far failed to enact any significant legislation during their tenure in the majority. Mr. Speaker, we are out of time. We desperately need to get these emergency funds to the federal agencies responsible for managing this crisis. They are out of money and need Additional Resources to take care of people. Many of them innocent children who are affected by this crisis. We do not have the luxury of time in responding to this emergency. My friends on the other side of the aisle are about to make the exact same mistake that they made on tuesday when they pushed forward a partisan bill that would not pass the senate and that the president would not sign into law. What i dont understand, mr. Speaker, is why the majority is so resistant to acting in a bipartisan manner here. Both republicans and democrats agree that we need additional funding to address the crisis on the southern border. There is a real chance to send a bipartisan bill to the president that will become law. And instead of doing what will immediately help children and families at the bor t
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