Perhaps if my colleagues had taken a more active approach to resolving their concerns, we would have avoided this situation in which additional capabilities were needed to respond to the elevated threat this emergency situation that has been posted by iran. Mr. Speaker, there has long been a consensus in this body that irans malign activities in the middle east are a threat to the United States national security. And to our partners. In the past three years alone, we have passed legislation responding to irans support for terrorism, growing Ballistic Missile arsenal, and human rights abuses. The Iranian Regime has not backed down from these malign activities and it is my sincere hope that this body will not back down from its resolve to counter irans destabilizing agenda. Unfortunately this resolution and the other joint resolutions of disapproval for the 22 sales are very much a step in the wrong direction. And with that, mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Engel i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Mast mr. Speaker, i would like to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. Taylor. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Taylor thank you, mr. Speaker. From its inception the Islamic Republic of iran had an antiamerican vent. What it did to our embassy, attack on the marines in beirut in 1983, its efforts in iraq in 2003 i was part of the invasion force. I saw with my own eyes the iranian efforts to destabilize iraq and continue to do that today. They continue to support the assad regime in syria. They continue to overthrow the regime in yemen where the Houthi Rebels attack saudi arabia. Around the middle east iran has become the enemy of freedom and democracy. If americas going to succeed, we need to have allies. We need to have friends. We need to support those allies and those friends. Making sure that saudi arabia and u. A. E. Have the weapons they need to fight back against irans terrorism is Mission Critical for the survival of our republic. I stand against this resolution. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas yields back the bam of his time. The gentleman from florida reserves. P the gentleman from new york. Mr. Engel i reserve for the purpose of closing. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Mast i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Engel mr. Speaker, i yield myself the remainder of my time to close debate on this measure. Im glad we have had a spirited debate on the issues. As always im grateful to my friend, the Ranking Member, mr. Mccaul of texas, for his collegiality. We are againly bipartisan on the Foreign Affairs committee and when we generally are bipartisan on the Foreign Affairs committee, and when we do its the issues. I have enormous respect for mr. Mast which he knows about. And but i would say that this today is not a referendum on iran. I agree with everything that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have said about iran. Its bad intentions, bad behavior. I agree. But again i say as i said before, it doesnt mean we give another country be it an ally or not, a blank check to do whatever it pleases. In this particular case the conduct of the war in yemen is just something that we cannot just turn our heads away and say oh, well, this is the war, and the iranians are bad so therefore we are going to look the other way. If we are talking about american weapons, we can demand better. So i think that these measures are a chance for the congress to take back some of the power granted by the constitution. To say that we wont stand by when any administration, this administration, administrations to come in both parties. We wont stand by with any administration ignores congress, plays fast and loose with the law, and fails to demand accountability for human rights abuses around the world. I encourage all my colleagues to support this measure and the two others that we have just considered. I thank mr. Mast and my friends on the other side of the aisle for a spirited debate. I thank the speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore all time for debate has expired. The previous question is ordered on the joint resolution. The question is on the third reading of the joint resolution. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. Third reading. The clerk providing for congressional disapproval of the proposed export to the kingdom of saudi arabia and the United StatesUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland of certain defense articles and services. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the passage of the joint resolution. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The joint resolution is passed. Without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. The gentleman from florida. Mr. Mast i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida has requested the yeas and nays. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. Mr. Cummings by direction of the committee on oversight and form, i call up house report 116125. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title. The clerk resolution recommending that the house of representatives find william p. Barr, attorney general of the United States, and wilbur l. Ross jr. , secretary of commerce, in contempt of congress for refusal to comply with subpoenas duly issued by the committee on versight and reform. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 491, the report is considered as read. For what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition . H. Res. Ngs i call up 497, and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the resolution. The clerk House Resolution 497, resolution recommending that the house of representatives find william p. Barr, attorney general of the United States, and wilbur l. Ross jr. , secretary of commerce in contempt of congress for refusal to comply with subpoenas duell issued by the committee on oversight and reform. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 491, the resolution is considered as read and shall be debatable for one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on oversight and reform. The gentleman from maryland, mr. Cummings, and the gentleman from kentucky, mr. Comer, each will control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings thank you very much, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and to heir remarks insert extraneous material. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Cummings madam chairman, i yield myself five minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings thank you very much. Madam speaker, i support this ipartisan resolution to hold attorney general william barr and commerce secretary wilbur ross in contempt of congress because it is necessary to preserve the integrity of this body and of the census. The constitution mandates that we conduct a census every 10 years. And that the census count every erson, a full, fair, and accurate account is critical to ensuring that we properly allocate federal funding and congressional apportionment. I do not take this decision lightly. Holding any secretary in criminal contempt of congress is serious and sober matter. One that i have done everything in my power to avoid. But in the case of the attorney general and the secretary, secretary ross, they blatantly obstructed our ability to do congressional oversight into the real reason secretary ross was trying for the first time in 70 a rs, in 70 years to add Citizenship Question to the 2020 census. Secretary ross testified under oath that he added a citizenship estion, and i quote, solely, wants to concentrate on that word, solely to help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights act. We now know that claim was nothing but a pretext. Do not take my word for that, madam speaker. The Supreme Court said that. Our committees investigation uncovered evidence that secretary ross launched a secret campaign to add the Citizenship Question within days of assuming his post. We learned that secretary ross ignored warnings from experts inside and outside the Census Bureau. Including the bureaus chief scientist that adding a Citizenship Question would be costly and harm the accuracy of the census. In other words, they were saying if you do this, youre not going to have an accurate census. Our investigation also revealed that secretary ross spoke with attorney general sessions, steve nnon, and chris, contrary to his testimony to the congress, the Commerce Department conjured up the Voting Rights rationale to hide these interactions. This entire congress should be insulted by this. Committee democrats first asked for documents from the department of commerce and department of justice when we were in the minority in april and may of 2018. Both departments ignored us. When i became chairman i renewed these requests on behalf of the committee. Since then the administration has engaged in a purposeful effort to obstruct, and i do not use that word lightly, our investigation. The departments have refused to provide key unredacted documents that we need to understand the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about why they really made this decision. Instead, what did they do . They produced thousands of pages that were largely nonresponsive. Eavily redacted. Or publicly already available. When they let us interview witnesses, what did they do . They ordered the witnesses not to answer more than 500 of our questions. Secretary ross even refused my request to meet to try and work this out. Like i said, i do not come to this floor lightly. This is not an easy decision, but there comes to a time when the Congress Must speak up for the congress. I grant myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings as a result, on april 2, more than three months ago, after a bipartisan vote, the committee subpoenaed these key documents, including a secret memo that the department of commerce wrote about the Citizenship Question and gave to the department of justice. The departments have admitted to us that this memo does exist , but they refuse to produce this document and many others. Now, i must say in all credit give credit where credit is due. My good friend and colleague on the other side, mr. Meadows, worked tirelessly to try to help us get the things that we needed, and i appreciate that. Trying to work in a bipartisan way. Going on from there, last month, in light of this obstruction, the Oversight Committee passed a resolution to hold attorney general barr and secretary ross in contempt of congress. The vote was also bipartisan. However, many of our republican colleagues apparently support the president s dministrations refusal to comply with duly authorized congressional subpoenas. Now, let me say to my colleagues, we need to be clear at we as a body have a constitutional duty to be a check on the executive branch. Thats our job. Every two years we swear to uphold the constitution of the United States of america. Thats our that is what we are supposed to do. So my colleagues claim we were interfering with the Supreme Courts decision on this issue. That argument never did make any sense to me. Since we launched our investigation in 2018, more than 10 months before the Supreme Court took up the case, but even if you accept that misguided argument, the supreme. Urt case is now over that argument is gone. The president announced last week that he would no longer pursue adding a Citizenship Question to the census. However, in that same speech, the president admitted that he wanted citizenship data to implement partisan gerrymandering. The president s statements directly contradict secretary ross sworn testimony that the only reason, the sole reason the Trump Administration wanted the data was to help the Justice Department enforce the Voting Rights act. The departments of justice and commerce have been engaged in a campaign to subvert our laws and the process congress put in place to maintain the integrity of the census. I will say to all of our members, lets be very careful on what we do with regard to the census. It has a tremendous impact for 10 years on how federal funds, more than 660 billion is appropriated over and over again. Apportionment, redistricting, and making sure that every american gets their fair share ack of their taxpayer dollars, people king money who make money for our taxes. The resolution thats before us today is about protecting our democracy. About t about it is protecting the integrity of this body. Its bigger than the census. Its about protecting the integrity of the congress of the United States of america. We need to understand how and why the Trump Administration tried to add a question based on pretext so we can consider reforms to ensure this never happens again. There are those who are asked the question why would the Supreme Court, having decided what they decided and why do you want the documents . We wanted documents because we want to make sure that we do not, in the future, spend a year, a year and a half chasing something that is not accurate. In the words of the Supreme Court, a pretext, delaying our process of getting an accurate account, which is exactly what the constitution says we must do. So i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support our resolution, to hold attorney general barr and secretary ross in contempt of the congress of the United States of america. And with that, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madam chair, i rise to claim time in opposition and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Comer we are here debating a premature and illadvised resolution to hold attorney general william barr and secretary commerce wilbur ross in contempt of congress. In the eyes of the current majority their crime is, not cooperating enough with the democrats investigation into the reinstatement of the Citizenship Question on the 2020 census. First, this contempt citation is a misuse of one of the most powerful tools available to this body. Second, the idea that the Trump Administration is stonewalling this investigation or even, in chairman cummings words, engaged in a coverup from the top, is simply wrong. The bottom line is, the department of justice and the department of commerce are cooperating with the investigation in the reinstitution of the Citizenship Question in the 2020 census. The administration has produced a total of 31,000 of pages of documents to the committee, 14,000 pages from the Commerce Department, and 17,000 pages from the Justice Department. The committee had heard testimony from six witnesses with more interviews expected this month. Secretary ross himself testified for over six hours about his decision to reinstate the Citizenship Question on the census. What the real issue we should be debating is why the democrats are afraid to ask how many lets remember, just one month ago the Supreme Court ruled asking a Citizenship Question on the census is constitutional. Since the Supreme Court ruling, the president has said a Citizenship Question wont be in the 2020 census. To put away doubt on the 2020 census and all future censuses, i introduced a bill last night to add a Citizenship Question to the 2020 census. My bill is intended to put away all doubt about asking a Citizenship Question on this and future censuses. If the democrats cant impeach President Trump, they will instead hold his cabinet in contempt of congress. This is just another episode in political theater. This exercise is not a responsible use of the contempt authority. This is just another attempt for the democrats to delegitimize the efforts to accurately count the number of United States citizens in the United States, something that should not be controversial. This is all part of the same game plan to manufacture controversy around anything associated with the Trump Administration. These are the sort of abusive tactics we should reject. These are the sort of tactics that give congress a bad reputation. We should be better than this. I urge all members of the house to vote against moving this partisan contempt legislation. And i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings let me be very clear, this is not theater. I wish it was theater. It is not theater. This is about us making sure that we protect the integrity of the census and of this congress, and with that i want to yield now, madam speaker, to the distinguished lady from michigan, mrs. Lawrence, two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Lawrence thank you, mr. Chairman. I rise today in strong support of this resolution, to hold attorney general barr and commerce secretary ross in contempt of congress. Madam speaker, we have reached a point that we as Congress Must have the courage and we have the duty of our constituents of these United States of america to hold up the constitution. Congress has an obligation to conduct oversight of the executive branch. Yet, this administration complains each time we request information critical to fulfilling our investigative responsibilities. Today, the full house will vote to hold attorney barr and secretary ross in contempt, criminal contempt of congress for their complete disregard of the constitution, not democrats, the constitution, and their refusal to provide our committee with relevant documents relative to the investigation of our 2020 census. Its 100 within our congressional responsibility to ensure the federal government is ultimately working in the best interest of people. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, to stand up and fulfill their duty and responsibility to the constitution, which says we must take care of the people of this great country and that as a ss will remain separate but equal branch of government. I thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madamchairman, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from madam chairman, i yield two minutes to the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. As we stand here today, our nation is dealing with a crisis at our southern border, our seniors are struggling with rising Prescription Drug prices, our farmers are waiting for a free and fair trade deal with mexico and canada, and our they have earned. Yet, today, House Democrats are once again putting off these important issues and continuing with their partisan investigations of President Trump and his administration. Madam chair, this administration has produced 31,000 documents related to the census. This administration has made five senior officials available for interviews. All this due to a disagreement over a Citizenship Question on the census. Madam chair, a Citizenship Question is not new nor should it be controversial. Every census conducted by the United States government from 1820 to 1950 asked about citizenship. Other countries ask about citizenship. The United Nations recommends it as a best practice. And the Census Bureau today already asks a segment of the population about citizenship. But lets set these facts aside. Given that President Trump is no longer seeking about a Citizenship Question to the 2020 census, voting on a resolution to hold two cabinet members in contempt of congress is simply a democratic tactic to waste this chambers time and avoid working on the serious issues facing our nation. I urge members to vote against the resolution so that the house can stop this partisan nonsense and focus on meaningful policy. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Cummings i yield to the lady of our committee, two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Maloney today we vote in the interest of our American People, our systems of checks and balances and our very constitution with this resolution to hold secretary ross and attorney general barr in criminal contempt. For well over a year, Trump Administration officials have lied you through their teeth about the reason for adding a Citizenship Question to the 2020 census. They have repeatedly lied to congress, the Supreme Court, and to the American People. In an effort to cover up their lies, they blocked every demand from our committee, every demand to comply with reasonable oversight, withholding documents, asserting ill legitimate executive branch illegitimate executive branch and blatantly ignoring bipartisan subpoenas, all to a degree that would literally break the constitution if allowed to stand. New evidence revealed in court and that i shared on this floor revealed that the real reason for the question to was to disenfranchise nonwhite voters. The Supreme Court ruled that the administrations explanation was, and i quote, contrimbed. A functional democracy de contrimbed. A functional democracy depends on dwibblet. Accountability requires real oversight. The passage of this criminal contempt resolution is necessary to preserve the integrity of all congressional oversight. On this and so many other issues now and into the future this contempt resolution, in fact, allows both democrats and republicans to do their job. Never, ever during my time in congress have i encountered such complete contempt for the law. And that contempt deserves to be punished. I urge my colleagues to vote for this. Our democracy depends on it. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentleman from north carolina, one of the great leaders of this body, mr. Meadows. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Meadows thank you madam chair. Thank you for your leadership. I thank the gentleman from kentucky. Madam chairman, let me give you a quote. Holding someone in contempt of congress is one of the most serious and formal actions our committee can take. It should not be used as a Political Tool to generate press as part of an Election Year witchhunt. Who is responsible for that quote . Its not Ranking Member jimoredian. Its not leader mccarthy. Its not conference chair liz cheney. Its chairman elijah cummings. Those are his words. What we need to do is understand that we are using this as a Political Tool and we are better than that. We are better than that. So im going to quote also from another letter. From a letter from chairman cummings, at that time he was not the chairman, chairman cummings wrote a letter to speaker boehner. He said a fundamental problem with conducting such a partisan investigation is that it results its results are not evenhanded but instead they are skewed, incomplete, and inaccurate. Chairman cummings went on further, he said, these deficiencies are magnified when we rush a Committee Vote to a floor vote at breakneck speed with little concern for the facts or the law. What was he referring to . He was referring to a contempt vote on eric holder. Here we are today in the same venue. Im using the chairmans words. So im going to make an appeal to the chairman with the hopes that my good friend opposite will heed these words. Because in that same letter he made a direct appeal to the speaker of the house at that particular time and he said, i hope that the chairman would accept the attorney general is willing to come in and meet personally and enter into direct negotiations and enter in good faith to try to resolve this matter. So im hoping that the gentleman contempt resolution, not force a vote on this, enter into a direct negotiation with the attorney general of this great country. And hopefully resolve this without taking this particular matter. A madam chairman, i think it is critically important that we understand why we are here today. It is because we are using two standards. One standard for the Minority Party at one time. And one standard for a Majority Party another. Lets use the same standard and make sure that we give the attorney general the ability to negotiate directly with the gentleman opposite. Madam chair, i certainly hope that cooler heads will prevail and that we actually get to the bottom of this. Its about allowing congress to do its job, but do it with respect. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings i yield myself such time as i may consume. Let me be clear, first of all i want to thank the gentleman for quoting me so much. Im tremendously honored. And i think the quotes that he useds used just reis rates what i said when i began how seriously i take this matter. I wouldnt be here if i did not consider this to be very serious. The other thing i would say is we made tremendous efforts, and the gentleman knows it because hes helped trying to work with me to try to get the documents and things that we need, we have not been able to get them. With that i yield to mr. Gomez, two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Gomez thank you, madam speaker. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The census can be used to either marginalize or empower communities. This president decided on the path of marginalization. And they did that by coming up with an idea to silence the voices of immigrant communities throughout the country by adding a Citizenship Question that they deemed necessary to enforce the Voting Rights act. But for 53 years, for 53 years no department of justice had a problem of enforcing the Voting Rights act without census block data on citizenship. All of a sudden, 2017 comes around, you know what . We have a problem. And this is the excuse that they had. This is the reason they had to add this question to the citizenship census. It is just completely false. Even to an extent that you saw that they said the department of justice was the ones that asked for it. Then we find out later that they had to shop around to the department of Homeland Security and other departments in order to get somebody to try to ask for the Census Bureau to ask the question. But they went back to Jeff Sessions who carried out their request. We are investigating because everything that they have said, the department of commerce, wilbur ross, who has been a complete lie. And if you dont believe me, the recent Supreme Court decision said, quote, unlike a typical case in which an agency may have stated and unstated rationale, the soul stated reason seems to have been constrived contrimbed. What does contrambed me . Forced, artificial, manufactured, false. And thats what it is. It is a contrimbed reason. And the American People have a right to know the real reasons, not the contrimbed reasons, not the one that is were manufactured, not the ones that were made up. Thats why we are asking for these documents. And thats why when congress cannot perform its obligations as an oversight and check on the executive branch, then we must hold these individuals in contempt. I ask my colleagues to do the same thing. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madam chairman, i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from west virginia, mrs. Miller. The speaker pro tempore the chair will remind members that we are in the committee of the whole house and as such they are to direct their remarks to the speaker pro tempore. The gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Miller madam speaker, i rise today to oppose the resolution before us. Knowing who is in our country should not be controversial. Let me repeat that. Knowing who is in our country should not be controversial. Although my colleague across the aisle have blurred fact and fiction on this issue, the truth is asking a Citizenship Question is standard operating procedure. It is currently asked on the censuses throughout the world. In australia, canada, germany, ireland, mexico, the u. K. , and many others. The u. N. Even recommends asking the zibtship question as a best practice Citizenship Question as a best practice so countries can get Accurate Information about their citizens. Its not a new idea in the u. S. , either. We first asked the Citizenship Question on the census in 1820. And continued the practice for the next 130 years. And it is still asked every year on the American Community survey. The information collected is protected by federal law and our Justice Department uses the information to enforce the Voting Rights act. We still ask the Citizenship Question on i9 employment eligibility forms. Right here in the district of columbia, a Citizenship Question is asked on drivers license applications. They do the same in wisconsin. In california, anyone who applies for a firearm license has to answer a Citizenship Question. And in ohio, concealed carry applicants must verify if they are citizens or not. These states believe it is fine to ask this question to obtain a firearm or drivers license. But its not ok to ask on the census . So for anyone to claim that this is a hot button issue, i just dont buy it. It seems a little bit more like hot air. Im glad that President Trump is working across federal agencies to ensure that we can get this crucial information. I urge my colleagues to oppose this resolution so we can get back to actual work. I yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the distinguished Ranking Member chairman of our committee on civil rights, the distinguished gentleman from maryland, my colleague, mr. Raskin. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Raskin thank you, madam speaker. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Like the chairman i am charmed and tickled by the argument offered by our friend, mr. Meadows, who quotes our beloved chairman in resisting a rush to a contempt vote against attorney general holder. Of course two sides can play this game because the gentleman from north carolina, of course, voted for and championed a contempt citation against the attorney general in that case. So why would he support a contempt finding as appropriate against one attorney general who is acting in a recalcitrant way but not another. Madam speaker, this is not a policy battle about the Citizenship Question, although my friends seem to think that it is. They have already lost that battle. They lost it in the Federal District courts three times. They lost it in the United StatesSupreme Court. They lost it with chief justice john roberts. They lost it with the majority of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court that was gerrymandered by senator mcconnell to for precisely occasions like this so they could get the outcome they wanted. Even that court rejected the contrimbed rationale that was offered by the Commerce Department. Its been rejected by six former census directors. It was redirected by their own chief scientist in the Commerce Department in the Census Bureau. They lost the case under the census act. They lost the case under the administrative procedures act. Even President Trump acknowledges they lost at least today he acknowledges it, those though he does waiver back and forth. I hope nothing we say today will prompt him to start over again. They lost because their justification was contrimbed, according to chief justice roberts. It was made up. Completely pretextual according o the Federal District courts. Arbitrarily, preeshes capricious, silly. We get the citizenship information we need right now and we have for the last 70 years under what was called the long form, now called the American Community survey. Six former Census Bureau directors said if you do what they wanted to do, but its been rejected, if you do what they want to do youll get far more inaccurate counting. You are going to get far more incorrect count of america. 30 seconds more. Mr. Cummings a minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Raskin thank you very much. If you want we dont need to. They have already lost repeatedly on that. They seem to not want to acknowledge that basic discussion. This is about congressional power, madam speaker. And thats something that should unify every member of this body and institution. We must stand together. The Supreme Court has said repeatedly, the federal court said repeatedly our factfinding power is inextrickable and indispensable to our legislative power. We have the power from the people, the sovereign political power of the people given us to legislate. We cant legislate if we cant get the information we need. Sometimes we disagree with the majority with the stuff they want. Im sure i wasnt here then then, but i would have disagreed maybe with. So fast and furious stuff or the millions of documents they got in the benghazi investigation. Makes no difference. The majority has the right to get what it wants. We have a right to get what we want. If you act with contempt for the congress of the United States of america and the people of the United States, we will hold you in contempt of the congress of the United States of america. I support these contempt resolutions. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madam speaker, i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from california, the great minority leader mccarthy. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding. Before i walked out of my office i first looked at my calendar. I knew it was july, but i wondered if it was back in february. Another day on the floor its like groundhog day all over again. Yesterday on this floor was a sad day. Its not a day about decorum. This is not a day about any of the issues that any of my constituents asked about. They asked me when i go home, madam speaker, i envision that they ask most every member in this body, have you done anything of surprise billing . Have you made sure preexisting conditions is protected like that bill greg walden has with so many cosponsors . Have you done anything making sure the economy continues to grow . No. I go home and i tell them, another resolution that attacked President Trump or the administration. So we may be in july, but its groundhog day all over again. Are we doing anything about a budget . Because, madam speaker, i listened, i listened to my colleagues when they say, show me your budget, show me your values. And i know winning in a majority is important and i knew, madam speaker, when we were in the majority, putting a budget out is not easy, but it is the fundamental responsibility of a majority. So, yes, i came to this floor hoping we would have this debate but, no, no debate about a budget. Cant tell my constituents that the majority did a budget this year. When they ask me, well, what about i read all these about a caps, that you got to come into agreement, no, im coming back down to the floor talking about contempt. They ask me, madam speaker, what contempt are you talking about . I said, well, its in regards to the census. Wasnt that all solved . Yeah, thats already been solved, its already been decided. But, madam speaker, this majority thinks its another political opportunity. Then, i listened and i heard this heard this comment the other day. Madam speaker, they said, i challenge you to find voters that can name a single thing House Democrats have done for their Kitchen Table this year. A single thing challenging all voters and i wondered, did my press operation put that out . No. That didnt come from my office. Then i wondered, maybe it was another republican inside this body. No, no, it wasnt one member elected on the republican side. This quote actually came from a chief of staff of one of the most prominent members on the other side of the aisle. I agree with that chief of staff. Name me one thing that we have done for the Kitchen Table. Yesterday, we did a resolution attacking the president , but we couldnt even get to that because, madam speaker, we couldnt have decorum in this body. We set a record that weve never seen before based upon a speakers action. The very first page in Thomas Jeffersons manual talks about decorum, but not only did this body try to change the rules after the fact, they dont think everybodys equal, madam speaker, because if your words get taken down, you dont have a right to speak that day but, no, we should change that. We should show them, the majority should get what they want. Madam speaker, i guess the majority doesnt want a budget. I guess the majority doesnt want to do anything about surprise billing. I guess the majority doesnt want to find when it comes to our National Defense to keep a 58year history of bipartisanship. They broke that record, too. They made it partisan, and thats what we did last week. Now, were right back at groundhog day and we are going to have contempt votes today, but thats not all were going to do today. We are going to go for the third time on impeachment. Impeefment impeachment. Madam speaker, i watched a crisis on a border, i listened to the other side who asked the president if he would pause, pause a court action so we can deal with it, and i patiently waited those two weeks to have a hearing on it because, madam speaker, im not in the majority. I cant control these committees. The Majority Party can. They didnt have one hearing on it. But they scheduled another one. They got mueller coming in. They even postponed it so they can have more time. I guess 22 months, 40 million, 13 countries, i guess thats not enough. , i wonder if its only one chief of staff challenging to find voters that can name a single thing House Democrats have done for the Kitchen Table this year. Because when im home, they dont come up to me and talk about party. They talk to me about what the house is doing. Because in their house, their Kitchen Table, you know what they talk about there . They talk about their budget, because they do know their budget is their values, and they value having a budget. Theyll talk politics, but i dont think they get too petty. Its interesting, in the Kitchen Table of the house of representatives, theres rules for different people. I thought the rule of law mattered in this country, and i was kind of excited when i watched a problem solving caucus stand up together, republicans and democrats, before there was a vote for speaker in this congress and they requested, they requested a consensus calendar. What is a consensus calendar mean . It means if a member from any side of the aisle works really hard, that they believe in the issue, that they get 290 cosponsors, and you have to understand what that means. That doesnt mean walking up to a congresswoman or congressman and say, will you support my bill, will you put your name on it, do you believe in this policy so great, will you put your name on it . It takes 218 to pass a bill. Thats not the number. 290 to get above politics. If you made that happen, your bill would come to the floor. Well, that was the rule. Thats what we just put in. Madam speaker, you know what happened . There was this congressman from south carolina, he didnt get 290. Hes up to 370. He followed the exact rule that the majority just put in, and you know what happened the day he was going to be the very first bill on a consensus calendar . What was the topic that really brought people together . Survivor benefits for those who gave their life defending this nation. I was proud. I was proud that more than 370 people in this body did not play politics with that issue. You know what happened when that day came . The rules are not equal. The rules are not equal. They are written but they are changed. They were changed last friday. They were changed so he could not have his vote, so congressman joe wilson could not come to this floor. Was it changed in committee . No, no, no, no. They put it in a rule. Selfexecuting. Yesterday when i watched decorum on this floor, any other member of this body would not have the right to speak if their words were taken down. Me, you, anybody else. But, no. The rules were changed once again. And everybody on one side of the aisle, madam speaker, voted to change those rules, that they hold people seem to be different, seem to be special,. Eem they can break the rules i guess the majority should get what they want, not what the people around the Kitchen Table in america want. I wonder. Madam speaker, i wonder when i watch People Campaign and they talk about what they want to achieve here how many said they wanted to have a week of contempt, of impeach, and resolution all after one entity, the president of the United States. I didnt have anybody on any side of the aisle ever ask me that question. I hold this job with a great deal of respect. You know, theres less than 12,000 people that ever had the privilege to serve here. I travel a long way each week to have that opportunity. I spend a lot of time thinking about it. I spend a lot of time listening and talking to my constituents. Last night, i went home and i did a telephone town hall. Thousands of people were on that call. Not one person asked me about the contempt of the census form thats already going out. They talked about an earthquake. They wondered if theyd have enough money. I dont know. We dont have a budget. The hospital this community is not very big. Ridgecrest. About 30,000. The earthquake did damage to the hospital. People can get some surprise billings. Not anything of their fault. But we are not talking about it on this floor. Were not solving that problem, but were holding another person in the administration in contempt. Is this going to go anywhere . Is this going to do anything for anybodys Kitchen Table . I know some people on the other side of the aisle, madam speaker, might get mad at this chief of staff, but sometimes you get upset when people speak the truth. Sometimes it hurts. What hurts more to the American Public is more of this. If its just going to be groundhog day every day that we serve here, because once we get done with this, well debate impeachment for the third time, for the third time well debate impeachment. When we go home this week and we talk about what we achieved, i dont know what i can say. Thats not why we ran. We are better than this. When i watched the decorum yesterday, i know we were better than that, but whats most disturbing to me is, when somebody did not abide by the rules of the house, the rules were changed to protect that person. Americas more than a country. Americas an idea, an idea of selfgovernance, idea of a rule of law, of a respect. If you care so much to change the rule that youd have a consensus calendar, abide by it, not just because somebody on the other side of the aisle worked harder. If you cared so much that you said a budget matters, that it sets the tone of who you are, produce one. I understand theres winners and losers in elections, but, madam speaker, when i heard what a member said of why they wanted to battle, they admitted to their colleagues they were using the census investigation to gather information that, in his words, that the courts could use in ongoing litigation. So are we really here because your constituents asked about it . Are we here just because you want to play a little more politics . Because i will tell you this, you got another thing coming up right after they could play olitics on it one more time. That d ask, deep inside for once, lets put it aside. I know the election did not turn out the way you wanted it, but in the end at the end of the day, people expect us to find common ground. They expect us to give on both sides, and i will guarantano you, no and i will guarantee you, i didnt go to the polls to send you there to spend a whole week attacking an administration. I imagine the majority of people that voted for you had that same question as the chief of staff. They wanted you to change the Kitchen Table. So lets start focusing on the issues that the American Public is talking around their Kitchen Tables. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore members are directed to direct their comments to the chair. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings i just want to make it clear, madam speaker, as i listened to the comments of our very distinguished majority leader minority leader i forgot the fact is that what we are doing today is trying, again, to protect the integrity of this house and protect the integrity of the census and make sure that we get the records that we need to do our job. And i would hope that he would join us in making sure that happens because its not just about us, its about people that will come and fill these seats when were dancing with the angels. And so with that i want to yield to the very distinguished gentleman from virginia, a man who leads our Government Operations subcommittee excellenty excellently, the gentleman from our committee, mr. Connolly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Connolly i thank the speaker and i thank my good friend, the distinguished chairman of the oversight and reform committee. Madam speaker, what we just eard might be described as yperannuated chutzpah to bemoan accountability, to talk about a Kitchen Table that i think is imaginary. I can tell you it doesnt characterize the Kitchen Tables in my district, and it probably doesnt characterize them all across america, which is maybe why the minority leader is called that instead of the majority leader in this congress, because my republican friends abrogated any accountability, any oversight of this administration in the two years they were in the majority and mr. Trump was in the white house. Americans are americans are focused on economic and health issue bus that doesnt mean they dont care whats happening to their country, they do. The census. The distinguished minority to focusesnt want you on why the census question was so important. Because its in a context thats disturbing. Its in a context of Voter Suppression all across america. Get rid of early voting. Restrict absentee voting. Have stricter i. D. Laws. Make it harder for students and people of color to vote. Purge voting rolls. Have manufactured assertions about phony voting. As if that was a major problem n america. Asking the censorship as a Citizenship Question on the census is part and parcel of that scheme to discourage minority voting in america. To frighten immigrant communities. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Cummings i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. Mr. Connolly and finally, maybe worst of all, to bemoan the change yesterday to allow the speaker to have her words considered and to allow her back on the floor. Why . Because we dont care about rules . No. Because we care about the impact on millions of americans of harmful, racist words. To provide that duty some comfort to those people that this house cared was more important than a jew rid call commitment to an ancient rule. I yield back. May i inquire how much time is remaining for each side . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky has 18 1 2 minutes. The gentleman from maryland has seven minutes. The gentleman from kentucky. I yield two minutes to the gentleman, mr. Grothman. Mr. Grthman prior to talking about the census i want to make one brief point in response to he other side. When we say the pledge of allegiance, we pledge allegiance to the flag and to the republic for which it stands. Perhaps some speak thornse other side can do a Little Research as to why we pledge allegiance to the republic. Today again, we are debating because of a potential question on the census. Theres certain people who feel that it would be wrong to ask about citizenship on the census. I can tell you as a lawmaker, i would certainly like to know how many people in this country are citizens. I would also like to know how many people are legal or illegal, both of which may affect decisions we make here. I have a bill up in the past, ill reintroduce it this year that says that people who are noncitizens shouldnt be eligible for public benefits. If that bill were ever to become law, i can easily imagine distributions of money from this place being affected. By the results on the census like that. Other problems dont have problems getting numbers if they ask about sintship. Canada doesnt have a problem. Mexico doesnt have a problem. Thats why the United Nations recommends we ask about citizenship. It didnt result in bad censuses until 1950. Resultst result in bad on the long form or bad results on the community survey. It doesnt result in problems in the state of wisconsin where we have a Citizenship Question that you have to answer prior to getting a drivers license. So i wish we would put away this resolution today. I dont think it is right to spend more time debating the census question. I hope if President Trump if this does not appear on the census that it is eventually put in the census for 2030. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i now yield two minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from the district of columbia, ms. Norton. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Norton thank you, madam speaker. I thank my good friend for courageously bringing this contempt resolution to the house today. The authority, the very integrity of the house of representatives had been challenged by the administration as never before in american history. If it were not for the Supreme Court, the administrations determination to deliberately prevent an accurate census count would have succeeded. Neither the president nor the Republican House has the support of a majority of the American People. Using secretary ross, the administration tried to cheat its way to an undercount. Both attorney general barr and secretary ross have gone out of their way to refuse to provide needed documents or offered pretext for not providing them pursuant to valid subpoenas. So serious has been this obstruction that the house must seek criminal contempt, which can carry stiff penalties and prison time, or simply surrender to the administration and invite continuing obstruction of our ability to perform our legislative and oversight functions. To be sure, we fully recognize the difficulty of enforcement of criminal contempt against this administration by this administration. But the house would as soon surrender its authority as to take no action in the face of historic and willful defiance. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer i yield three minutes to the gentleman from ohio, the distinguished Ranking Member of the Oversight Committee, mr. Jordan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Jordan thank you, madam chair. I want to thank the gentleman from kentucky for his great work on the committee. Secretary ross and attorney general barr are doing their jobs, so whats their reward . Democrats will hold them in contempt. Both agencies, the Commerce Department, the Justice Department have submitted 31,000 documents to the committee, theyve made available all kinds of witnesses for depositions and transcribed interviews. Weve got another one happening late they are month. And the secretary himself sat for over six hours in a hearing answering every single question the committee had. Raised his hand, said he swore to tell the truth, whole truth, so help him god, answered the questions, what disease he get for it . Democrats are going to hold him in contempt. Why are they doing this . Why are they doing this . All because, all because they dont want a simple question on the census. Are you a citizen of the United States of america . That one sentence is driving it all. Are you a citizen of the greatest nation in history, is driving it all. Theyre going to hold two people doing their jobs in contempt. All because they dont want to do whats been done for 200 years in this country since 1820, in one form or another, we have been asking the Citizenship Question on a census. Theyre going to hold them in contempt. All because they dont want to do what the u. N. Says is a best practice. Theyre going to hold them in contempt. All because they dont want to do what just plain old commonsense. Listen to what Justice Alito says in his opinion a couple of weeks ago. No one disputes that its important to know how many inhabitants of this country are citizens. And the most direct way to gather this information is to ask it in a census. Shazam. Imagine that. Best way to figure it out is to ask people in the country that youre surveying. Holy cow. And heres the kicker. Heres the final thing. You go anywhere. Go anywhere in this country. Any state you want to go. To walk up on some small town, some big city, walk up on the street, ask someone on the street, do you think when we do the census, to figure out how many people are in this country, its appropriate to ask if youre a citizen . Every person you talk to, every single one of them, will say, well heck yeah. And oh by the way, arent we doing that already . And youd have to say, yes. Weve been doing it for 200 years. This resolution is ridiculous and we should vote it down. With that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings madam speaker, i want to remind our distinguished Ranking Member, when he talks about quoting from the courts, we might want to look at what the Supreme Court said about the language that mr. Ross, secretary ross, used in our committee, and he because the same language was used in the spleem court case. And what the Supreme Court said was that, that was contrived. And thats a quote. And incongruent with what the record revealed. In other words he was saying it was not accurate. He may have come and testified before us but it was not accurate. I want to yield to the gentlelady, a member of the committee, ms. Plaskett. For two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Plaskett thank you, madam speaker. I want to respond first to the distinguished gentleman from california, the minority leader, mr. Mccarthy, when he talks about us doing work. He asked us if work was being done here in congress and that we werent responding to the daily needs of america. I would remind him and remind the speaker that we in fact have passed the vibles against women act in the Judiciary Committee. The energy and Commerce Committee pass passed the Prescription Drug bill that came to this floor. Energy and commerce is working on medicaid as we speak. Right now. 150 bills have been passed by this body and are sitting on the desk of his friend, the senate leader, mitch mcconnell, who has decided he is not interested in the work of the people of the United States. But guess what, we can walk and chew gum at the same time, as i said. Than committees responseability is oversight. Not anything else. And thats what we are doing is oversight of this administration. I know thats difficult for that side of the aisle to want to think about. Overseeing and not reining in individuals who may be acting outside of the law. Last year, when secretary ross testified before congress, he said he added the Citizenship Question solely to help the department of justice enforce the violence rights act. We understand that may not have been true. And he has given us unresponsive, thats a legal term, unresponsive documents in those thousands of documents that he has turned over to us. Not the documents that we have asked. And its our responsibility as the Oversight Committee to hold individual responseable. I would ask that my colleagues across the aisle would consider their responsibilities on this committee. If you want to sit on the committee, to do the work of the committee, and that is overseeing this administration. I think that we have done our job and we are doing it well. If he has not been responsible, we must hold him in contempt. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from gai, mr. Hice. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Hice this is not the way were supposed to go about the business of oversight. Contempt resolutions are generally something that happens deep inside and deep within an Ongoing Investigation when the committee has run up against brick walls and have exhausted all possibilities before them. That is certainly not the case here. We are in the middle of an investigation into federal agencies that are complying with our requests. This is absurd. The Oversight Committee has held six transcribed interviews with witnesses. Another one is on the way within days. Commerce department and Justice Department has produced over 31,000 pages, documents, bined 14,000 from commerce, 17,000 from justice. These are not things that happen when were talking about federal agencies that are stonewalling an investigation. That simply is not whats happening here. This investigation has only been going on for a couple of short months and i would like to remind this chamber that it wasnt too long ago that thenRanking Member cummings cautioned himself against pursuing a resolution of contempt in 2012 and that was after a year of stonewall big the Obama Administration. Were just a couple of months into this one. Look, if these federal agencies were legitimately stonewalling investigations as the Obama Administration did, i would certainly feel differently and im sure others here would as well but they are not stonewalling and the facts simply dont support this contempt resolution. I urge my colleagues not to support this. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Mr. Cummings we reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer i yield one minute to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. Meadows. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Meadows thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, i want to make a point that in this body, now on two consecutive days, weve broken the rules of congress to expedite things. In this particular contempt resolution, i want to make sure hat the record reflects that we broke rule 2f, it was brought to the attention of the chairman, and here we are again going and violating the rules of the house, not the rules the minority put in place, but the rules the majority put in place, and we gave the chairman the chance to perfect this procedural problem and, yet, they continued on to hold this contempt violation. So i can tell you, they may vote today to hold them in contempt, but its a violation of congress very rules itself that should have been remedied and with that, i ask that the gentleman opposite withdraws his resolution so we can perfect this. Yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madam chairman, i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from north dakota, mr. Armstrong. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Armstrong thank you, madam chair. Upon assumption of the chairmanship of the committee january 19, chairman of the Oversight Committee formally of ate an investigation the reincity tution of the reinstitute the Citizenship Question. The Supreme Court has issued a ruling, and the Supreme Court ruled the Administration May ask a Citizenship Question but rejected the rationale presented by the secretary secretary ross for adding the question on the 2020 census. The committees fact finding is still active and ongoing. The administration is cooperating with the investigation. The d. O. C. And the d. O. J. Have produced 41,000 responsive documents, 14,000 from the d. O. C. , and 17,000 from the d. O. J. The committee has held six transcribed interviews with witnesses, and a seventh interview is expected. In short, madam chair, the Judiciary Committee has already held bill barr in contempt for not violating federal law, and now the Oversight Committee is about to hold bill barr in contempt for cooperating with the committee this is wrong. This is not how were supposed to do business in this chamber, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings i continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore jament maryland reserves. The gentleman from kentucky. Mr. Comer madam chair, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas, mr. Gohmert. Mr. Gohmert thank you. This is such a disturbing time for those of us that have spent our lives, our adult lives trying to see that justice is done, laws are followed, and yet, here we, again, come after attorney general bill barr and another cabinet official ross. Truth is, i didnt know bill barr when he got appointed, nominated, but i knew that he was friends with bob mueller. That caused me concern. But it appears we have an attorney general who is concerned about justice, and hes concerned about stopping injustices. And yet, we still have people that are wanting to cause as much trouble for the president , stop his administration from getting as much accomplished for the American People as possible. And its got to stop at some point. And so its like a game we come here and were going to hold him in contempt again. This is a double secret probation against bob barr. How many double, triple, quadruple secret probations are we going to have . A judge will look at the procedure and go, this is ridiculous. You are not going to have me hold the attorney general in contempt for trying to follow the law, and youre wanting to interrupt his efforts to follow the law. Thats not happening. So this is all about a show when there is true injustice going on, and thank god we have a president that wanted to see justice done. He knew he didnt collude, and now we have an attorney general thats trying to do the same thing. Lets say no to this contempt. Lets get back to doing the job the American People want us to do. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Mr. Cummings we reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman be continues to the gentleman continues to reserve. Mr. Comer madam chair, i would like to let chairman cummings know we have no speakers. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings we are ready to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from kentucky is recognized to close. Mr. Comer madam speaker, i think just about everyone who spoke on our side of the aisle made the factual points that this is not necessary. This resolution is an ongoing attempt by the Majority Party to try to do anything they can to disrupt the presidency of our president of the United States. Every country, just about in the world, asks the Citizenship Question. Mexico and canada asks the Citizenship Question. In fact, the United Nations recommends that countries ask the Citizenship Question. I dont, for the life of me, know why we would resort to this type of action in this body, especially after what happened yesterday. I wonder, madam speaker, is this an attempt to try to move the direction of the American People from their frustration at the lack of achievement by the Majority Party from a legislative standpoint to try to somehow enrage their anger at the president . This is unnecessary. This is more political theater, and i urge the members of this body to oppose this resolution. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman yield back . Mr. Comer i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Cummings madam speaker, may i inquire how much life is left . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has two minutes remaining. Mr. Cummings very well. Madam speaker, i yield myself two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cummings some of my colleagues have argued holding secretary ross and attorney general barr in contempt of congress is premature. Thats simply not true. F anything, it is long overdue. The department of commerce and the department of justice have failed to comply with congressional requests for more than a year. The Oversight Committee democrats first asked for documents from the Commerce Department in april of 2018, and from the department of justice may of 2018. Those requests were ignored. When i became chairman, i renewed those requests. In response, the administration produced thousands of pages, but most of the documents were either heavily redacted, already public, or nonresponsive to the committees requests. So the committee narrowed its request and issued bipartisan subpoenas to compel production of that narrow group of documents. That was in april, more than three months ago. I even asked secretary ross to meet with me personally. He refused, and last month, the committee passed the bipartisan resolution before us to hold secretary ross and attorney general barr in contempt of congress. Still neither still, neither departments provided us with the documents we asked for. So i come to the floor to ask my members to vote in favor of this. I, again, dont bring this lightly. This is not theater. This is about doing our job. This is about protecting the integrity of not only our census but of our congress, and with that, madam speaker, i urge all members to vote for this resolution, and with that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Pursuant to the rule, the previous question is ordered on the resolution. The question is on adoption of the rule. All in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The resolution mr. Comer madam speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman request the yeas and nays . Mr. Comer yes. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on the uestion will be postponed. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. The house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and agree to the bill h. R. 1847, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 1847, a bill to require congressional notification for certain changes in status of inspectors general, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Rouda, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Kelly, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Rouda thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the measure before us. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Rouda madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. I am proud to support the Inspector General protection act, which would improve the independence of inspectors general. This bipartisan bill, introduced by representatives ted lieu and jody hice, would address the slow nomination of i. G. s that have been the norm across multiple administrations. It would notify congress 30 days before an i. G. Is placed on leave. The bill would also require the president to report to congress f he has not nominated an i. G. After 210 days of a vacancy occurring. The report must include the reasons for failing to make the nomination and a target date for do so. The requirement will hopefully prod the executive branch to nominate i. G. s in a more timely manner. I. G. s provide critical oversight and accountability within federal agencies and the positions needed to be filled more quickly than is currently the case. I urge members to support this bipartisan bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. Mr. Kelly thank you, madam chair. I yield myself such time as i may consume. I rise in support of h. R. 1847, the Inspector General act. I want to thank representative ted lieu for working in a bipartisan manner on this legislation. H. R. 1847 will help ensure that inspectors general vacancies across federal agencies will be filled in a timely manner. They play an Important Role in improving the operations of the federal government. Mr. Keller they help brat fraud, waste, and abuse throughout the executive branch and promote a resourceful government. They help us shine the light on areas of the government that need improved efficiencies and economy. However, throughout both republican and democrat administrations there have been numerous vacant Inspector General positions. They have prolonged absence and leadership. The department of interior has been without a permanent Inspector General since 2009. Likewise, there are pproximately there are 230 vacancies covered by the Inspector General act. This would require the president someone for nate the position of Inspector General and explain why a nomination has not been made. It would require the president to notify congress is an Inspector General is placed on leave or changes status. Inspectors general are an indispensable tool to congress. By ensuring the federal government is adequately staffed with inspectors general, we are reaffirming our commitment to rooting out government fraud, waste, and abuse. I urge my colleagues to support this burn legislation. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Id like to yield as many minutes as hed like to consume to the distinguished gentleman, a member excuse me, the sponsor of this legislation. Representative ted lieu. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Thank the t me gentleman for your work on this legislation. I rise in support of h. R. 47, the Inspector General enhancement act to enhance the independence and integrity of our i. G. s. These government watchdogs have played a crucial role in our democracy. They root out waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse at all levels of government, saving the american taxpayer billions of dollars annually and ensuring that government policemans benefit the people. According to nonpartisan council of inspectors general on integrity and efficiency, the taxpayers save 32. 7 billion in fiscal year 2017 from audit recommendations. Thats a 22 return on every 1 invested. Unfortunately, both democratic and republican administrations have ham strung our i. G. s with persistent vacancies and underfunded budgets. According to project and government oversight, vacancieses of permanent inspectors general is not a new problem but one thats or one thats unique to this administration, its persisted for years urn democratic and Republican Leadership the department of interior has lacked a senateconfirmed Inspector General for over a decade. Its not just vacancies that have been problematic. In the committee report, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs noted that another type of personnel action as the potential for doing significant damage to o. I. G. Independence if abused placing an i. G. On indefinite paid or nonpaid duty status. My bill would address both of these problems. First, h. R. 47 requires notification of congress in advance of an Inspector General being placed on administrative leave. Second, the bill requires the president to report to congress when an Inspector General has not been nominated within 210 days of a vacancy that occurs for a position including a reason the nomination has not been made and a date for doing. So this allows congress to question on an informed basis the decision of any future administration to leave these offices vacant. As Senate Chuck Grassley put in it 2017, independent i. G. s can be some of the president s best allies in fighting waste, fraud, and abuse in a bureaucracy. I agree with that statement. Thats why i look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle and our colleagues in the senate and getting this signed into law. I am grateful to my colleague, jody hice, for working with me on this im also proud that this bill has received the endorsement of good Governments Group across the ideological spectrum including the project on government oversight, r street institute, american oversight, campaign for accountability, common cause and public citizen. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting Good Governance by voting yes and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back. The gentleman from california, mr. Rouda reserves, the gentleman from pennsylvania is ecognized. Mr. Keller i would like to make the gentleman aware that i have no further speakers and im prepared to close. I have no further speakers and i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Rouda i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 47 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. S in opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Lieu i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to the bill h. R. 736 as amended sprosm up the the speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 736, a bill to require the director of the Publishing Office to establish and maintain an online portal accessible to the floik allow the public to obtain electronic copy of all congressional publications in one place and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california, mr. Row darks and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Keller each will control 30 minutes. Mr. Rouda i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on the measure before us. The speaker pro tempore weather. Mr. Rouda i yield myself such time as i may consume. I want to thank representative quigley for his persistence in pursuing this Good Government legislation. Hopefully we get this bill enacted this congress. H. R. 736, the access to congressionally mandated reports act is a noncontroversial bill thats been approved by the Oversight Committee many times. The bill is a commonsense measure that would make the government more transparent and accountable. It would create a onestop shop where congress and members of the public could Access Agency reports to congress. Federal agencies submit thousands of reports to congress each year. This bill will improve congressional oversight by making it easy to find and access these reports. H. R. 736 would also give the Public Access to Agency Reports. Currently, members of the public often have to file requests under the freedom of information act to obtain some Agency Reports to congress. Many of these reports are not available online. An Online Library of federal reports would improve the ability of our staffs to use the information in them to make sound policy it also would encourage Agency Compliance with reporting requirements. Finally, it would support timely access to the reports by state and local governments, students, academics and others within the with the additional benefit of decreasing the burden on agencies to process foia requests. The access to congressionally mandated report act has been endorsed by over 25 organizations from across the political spectrum. I have a letter from those groups that i will enter into the congressional record. Legislation similar to this bill has been introduced in the senate and favorably reported by the committee on Homeland Security and governmental affairs. I urge all my colleagues to support this legislation. Thank you, madam speaker. I reserve the balance of my time the speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Tell ler thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. I rise in support of h. R. 736, the access to congressionally mandate red ports act, sponsored by my colleague from illinois, mr. Quigley. Federal agencies are required to produce numerous reports to congress each year. The reports cover a wide range of topics that give valuable insight to government activities. While some reports are posted on agency website, most arent available online. It is incredibly difficult for the general public to find reports, especially older reports. Keep in mind, these reports that the these are reports that taxpayers paid for in the first place. H. R. 736 will solve this problem. The bill directs the federal government to compile all congressionally man tait red port into a central location. The government Publishing Office would be required to establish an online database where agencies would submit congressionally mandated reports in order to protect Sensitive Information the bill allows agencies to redact information in the reports that would otherwise not be releaseable to the public under the freedom of information act. The database would provide access to report frease of charge. The reports would be searchable, sortable, and available to be down loaded in bulk. H. R. 736 ensures that these taxpayerfunded reports are transparent and accessible. It would make it ease wrer for both the public and congress to review and evaluate federal agency activities. Increased transparency under this bill will allow the public to help congress hold the government accountable. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda i yield two minutes to the distinguished member and sponsor of the legislation, representative quigley. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Quigley thank you, madam speaker. I will keep my comments brief because this commonsense, bipartisan bill is simple. H. R. 736 would make all Agency Reports available to congress and releaseable under foia on one website at no cost to the American Public. Each year, federal agencies submit thousands of reports to congress containing a wealth of information that enables the public to better understand how federal agencies are or are not pursuing their respective missions. From ensuring the safety of our drugs and food supply to protecting the environment and monitoring the soundness of our financial institutions. Unfortunately, many, if not most, of these reports simply sit, collecting dust in the committees theyre delivered to or are posted in numerous and confusing places on dozens of Agency Websites rarely to be seen or thought of again. In fact, the only comprehensive list of congressionally mandated reports is printed in paper format each year by the clerk of the house and is available only by request provided that you know it exists. My bill would, for the first time, create a single website where the public and members of congress can easily search, sort, and download all congressionally mandated reports from agencies. Ultimately, this will help us conduct Better Research and oversight of these agencies and will allow the public to learn about what agencies are doing with their hardearned tax dollars. This bill is meant to be a win deinto the workings of government. And to enschauer that governments business is done transparently and is accountable to the people it serbs. I urge my colleagues to support this straightforward, commonsense bill and vote yes on h. R. 736. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yield back. The gentleman from gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Keller i have no further speakers. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda i have no further speakers and urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 736 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Rouda i move that the house suspend the rules and agree to the bill h. R. 1250 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 1250, to designate the facile i have to the United StatesPostal Service located at 11158 highway 146 north in hardin, texas, as the lucas lowe post office. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california, mr. Rouda and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Keller, each will control 30 minutes. Mr. Rouda i ask that all members have knive legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Rouda i yield myself such time as i may consume. Im pleased to join my colleagues in considering h. R. 1250 to designate the facility of the United StatesPostal Service located at 11158 highway 146 north in hardin, texas, as the lucas lowe memorial post office. On july 6, 2004, lucas enlisted in the United States army. He was deployed to afghanistan for 11 months from 2005 to 2006 and iraq for 14 mt. S, from 2007 to 2008. Lucas later attended warrant officer candidate school at fort rucker, alabama, where he enrolled in Flight School to become an ah64 apache attack helicopter pilot. On december 28, 2016, chief warrant officer lucas lowe passed away in a training flight with the Air National Guard he demonstrated in his short life the kind of commitment to service that should be an example to all of us. He believes leaves behind his wife, his sons and his daughters. Naming a pest office in his honor in hardin, texas is a fitting tribute to honor and remember a young man who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to all of us. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Keller thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. I would like to yield three minutes to my friend from texas, mr. Babin. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is ecognized. Mr. Babin i rise in support of a bill that will designate a post Office Building as the lucas lowe memorial post office. As my colleagues know, a fast track to fast track a postal legislation, we collect cosponsorships from every other member of the states delegation. When you come from a state as large as the state of texas, this can certainly be easier said than done. And although everything is bigger in texas, im proud to inform you we have the support lone 36 members of the star states texas delegation to honor this american hero, lucas lowe. Chief warrant officer second lucas lowe of harden, texas, was tragically lost to us after a training flight during his time in the Texas Army National guard. A hardworking man who loved being in the service, lowe especially loved to fly. After enlisting in the army in 2004, lowe completed an 11month tour in afghanistan in 2005 and 2006 and a 14month tour in iraq in 2007 and 2008. He later attended warrant Officer School in alabama where he attended a Flight School to be an apache flight helicopter pilot. He was an amazing soldier who faithfully served both god and his country. However, when the world lost lucas, we lost more than a dedicated patriot. We lost a man who always went out of his way to help lift others spirits and encouraged them to reach higher in life. He loved his wife and children and his family more than anything else. He loved his children more than life itself. He loved camping in the woods and hunting and fishing and campfires and good music. He always had a way of making someones day better. Admired by all, his courage and dedication made him a naturalborn leader. He touched the lives of all who knew him and lived his life with an optimistic spirit, always ready to take on the next big challenge. Lucas is survived by his wife, cammie, and five children, tinley. Lance, logan, thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas yields back. The gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda madam speaker, i have no further speakers, and im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Keller i yield myself such time as i may consume. Madam speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 1250, introduced by representative babin. The bill names a post office , after in hardin, texas lucas lowe. He served an 11month deployment in afghanistan followed by a 14month deployment in iraq. While deployed, lowe served as a Field ArtilleryRadio Operator and then as a paratrooper. When returned home, he went to Flight School in fort rutger, alabama. Chief warrant officer lowe was then assigned to the 149th Aviation Regiment in the Texas National guard. On december 28, 2016, chief warrant officer lowe lost his life during a training accident while flying an apache helicopter. He left behind a wife, three sons, and two daughters. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. I yield the balance of my time back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda madam speaker, i have no further speakers and urge all the members to support this bill, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 1250. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. And without objection, the itle is amended. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Rouda i ask the house suspend the rules and agree to h. R. 1526. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 1526, a bill to designate the facility of the United StatesPostal Service located at 200 israel road, southeast, in turnwater, washington, as the eva g. Hewitt post office. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Rouda, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Keller, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Rouda thank you. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and their remarks include extraneous material on this measure. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Rouda thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. I am pleased to join my colleagues in consideration of h. R. 1526, to designate the facility of the United States 200 l service located at israel road southeast in turnwater, washington, as the eva g. Hewitt post office. Eva hewitt was not just a business woman and postmaster but often described as the heart and soul of turnwater. With her husband, they housed post office. She assumed role of postmaster in 1915. Following the death of her husband in 1927, eva hewitt took over Business Operations of the drugstore with the help of her daughter, laura. Eva would continue to serve as postmaster until 1942, at the time becoming the longest erving postmaster in tumwater. Eva hewitt was also a Community Leader and was widely regarded as the local historian. She was active in the daughters of the pioneers of washington and was the namesake of the eva hewitt orthopedic guild. The hewitt drugstore was eventually demolished for the construction of interstate 5. Naming a post office to honor mrs. Hewitts Public Service and help ensure that her pivotal legacy to her home of tumwater, washington, lives on. Madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Keller thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Madam speaker, i rise today in support of h. R. 1526, introduced by representative heck. The bill names a post Office Located in tumwater, washington, as the eva hewitt after eva hewitt. She was tumwaters first female postmaster. Her and her husband operated a small drugstore in the small town they called home. Eva started working there as an assistant. In 1915, she assumed the role of postmaster and served there nearly three decades. Following the death of her husband in 1927, eva took over the Family Business and served in both positions until her retirement in 1942. Often described as the heart and soul of tumwater, eva was a Community Leader and a local historian. She spent her free time researching, preserving, and educating the public on the history of the pacific northwest. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda if the gentleman from pennsylvania is ready to close, im ready to close as well. Sorry. Oh, i didnt realize youre requesting time. My apologies. Id like to yield as such time as he will consume, the distinguished gentleman from washington, who is the sponsor of the legislation, i do believe. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Heck thank you, madam speaker. I rise in strong support of h. R. 1526, a bill to honor the life and legacy of eva g. Hewitt by renaming the post office in tumwater for her. A few blocks from where we stand today is the smithsonian postal museum, a museum that preserves and promotes postal history. In it you can read about the rural letter carriers. This is personal with me as it turns out my grandfather was part of the Rural Post Office from. Out of henrietta, texas, he delivered the male on horseback. One of the best days of his life when he got a model t. He delivered letters right up until the day he died in 1944. You can read about him and a lot of other people in the museum. Most notably, the women trailblazers who built the Postal Service into what it is today, women women like sarah decrow who became the very first woman postmaster. Or women like ethel hill who in 1900 became the first woman listed as a fulltime rural delivery carrier. Well, this year is a celebration of the city of umwaters 150th anniversary. Theyre sharing many of the stories there about their own women trailblazers, women like eva g. Hewitt. She was indeed tumwaters first woman postmaster during a pivotal time in tumwaters history. Its fitting to rename the post office for her. She and her husband purchased the drugstore right in the heart of tumwater and drugstore became known as the hewitt drugstore. It was the center of the community and housed a store and, yes, a Soda Fountain and the post office all under run roof. She started as an assistant there but, get this, prior to that time, her husband was the postmaster, but it turns out when the Postal Service adopted Civil Service rules, she and her husband both took the examination. And guess what, she passed, he didnt, she became the postmaster in 1915. Sounds like something that would happen in my you home. So following the death of her husband in 1927, she took over the business and served there until her retirement in 1942. She was the very first person to hold the position of tumwater postmaster. At the time of her retirement, she was also the longest serving postmaster in that citys history, which dates back to 1824. During her decades at the store, she saw a massive growth in mail volume. Throughout the pacific northwest, as a matter of fact. She once remarked that the volume at the Tumwater Post Office, in terms of monthly mail in 1942, was equivalent to the annual mail at the turn of the century. Yes, indeed, the store was torn down, the post office was torn down to help make way for high tate 5, the main school from canada to mexico on the west coast. As postmaster, as business woman, at community member, it lives on. So i was delighted when the city approached me about this long, overdue recognition for eva. Very few post offices let us note are named for women, much less the women who carried out the mission of the postal mission. Of the post offices renamed, only 98 have been named for women. Less than 12 . We have a parity issue, people. Thats why im even more proud to introduce and support this bill. I want to thank the olympiatumwater foundation for helping tell evas story. I thank the city sharing her story with our community and i want to thank all the members of our delegation who joined in cosponsor of this. Eva has earned her place in the history books she helped write and its my honor to support this bill to rename the Tumwater Post Office in her honor and i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. With that i thank you and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from the gentleman from washington yields back. The gentleman from california reserves. The gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. Mr. Keller thank you, madam speaker. I have no further speakers. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from pennsylvania yeemeds back. Yields back. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Rouda id like to thank the gentleman for his comments and extend my sincere apologies for moving along too quickly and also encourage all members to support this bill and i yield back the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back his time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 1526. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table