impeachment inquiry into president biden. for months, the white house and hunter biden have been stone walling our investigation trying to hide the truth, and this stonewalling is what's caused us to be here today, like chairman cole said yesterday, it's deeply sad. it's a sad day, not something any of us want to be doing on this house floor, but it has become necessary. following today's floor vote on h-res 918, the committees on oversight, accountability, ways and means and judiciary will have greater legal position and subpoena power to fully investigate allegations of influence peddling and wrongdoing by president biden, his family, and his associates. the american people deserve transparency and accountability. they deserve the truth, and that's exactly what they're going to get from this republican house. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. >> gentle lady yields back. gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i should remind the gentle lady that hunter biden is here today, he wants to testify in public. republicans said no because they want to do it behind closed doors so they can go on fox news cherry pick facts and figures and distort the truth. mr. speaker, republicans aren't interested in transparency in this investigation, and apparently the rules committee isn't either. and our markup yesterday democrats offered nine amendments. they were all voted down by republicans but in the official rules committee report, contrary to years of committee practice and tradition, the majority left out descriptions of those amendments. instead of reading that republicans defeated an amendment to add open and transparent to investigative proceedings, members of the public will only see that republicans voted down, quote, amendment number 4. instead of defeating an amendment requiring committees to hold an open hearing as part of the investigation, the record will show that the majority simply voted down, quote, amendment number 5. republicans are literally hiding democratic amendments about transparency. you cannot make this stuff up, and this is especially shocking to me because of the line with the way this committee has run historically under this chairman, and i'm deeply disappointed and i hope that this isn't an indication of how the majority intends to operate in the future. to make sure that these amendments show up somewhere in the historical record, i'm going to put the summaries in the congressional record and i ask consent to insert for the record the summaries of our nine amendments which republicans intentionally left out of the rules committee report. >> without objection. gentleman reserves. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. quickly i yield myself. just for the record, all these amendments are on the website of the rules committee. it's not like they're mysteriously hidden someplace, they're in plain view on the website of the rules committee. with that i'd like to yield two minutes to my good friend the gentleman from south carolina, mr. norman. also a distinguished member of the rules committee. >> gentleman from south carolina is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman and mr. speaker. i rise today in full support of this impeachment inquiry. i hope all the public tunes in to the rules committee yesterday. my question, what are you scared of? what are you scared of? what fact do you not want to come out? that was so evident. you spent more time quoting donald trump, the january 6th, anything but the facts about what hunter biden and his family did. the checks don't make themselves up that are written to this family. the llc accounts don't make themselves up. it's facts and what more to come out that you're hiding is so evident. this resolution follows the bar set by democrats during medical treatment proceedings in 2019. we're playing by the same rules the democrats set. if democrats thought this process was fair for president trump, they should think it's fair for president biden. and the evidence i think as things come out will finally show what the trail is and the fact that there are consequences. you cannot just say you're innocent and not have to prove it. i fully support this inquirinqu thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back. >> members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair. gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> members should be advise that had joe biden, not hunter biden is president of the united states. >> the gentleman from the new york is recognized for two minutes. >> mr. speaker, we all know why we're here today. the majority is no -- to speak of. their own members have said so and the right wing is getting restless. since they can't legislate and run on anything positive, they've decided to tear down president biden instead. they have no evidence, of course, to support this inquiry. since this majority never lets facts get in the wife a good set of fox news talking points here we are. dozens of witnesses have sat for transcribed interviews. every one tells us the same thing, there was no political interference in the hunter biden case. the american public does not have most of this story because chairman jorman refuses to release the transcripts. of the 85 interviews, he has released one transcript. he knows that if he releases any more than that, his preferred narrative will crumble. the evidence simply does not support these baseless charges. so why is the maga wing of the republican party resorting to this political stunt? two words, donald trump. the likely nominee of the republican party who faces 91 criminal charges in various court was also impeached not once but twice, and we had evidence. and whenever the former president is accused of wrongdoing, his favorite move is to accuse his opponent of doing the same. for this to work, of course, he needs president biden to be impeached too. and so he asked his enablers in congress to invent an impeachment, even if there's not a shred of evidence to back it up, and even if everything chairman comer said were true, which none of it is, an impeachable offense committed by vice president biden would not be under our constitution grounds for impeaching president biden. this is political hackery, not serious work. we should be focused on doing the work of the american people and not be distracted by pernicious nonsense. i urge all members to vote no in this ridiculous resolution. i yield back the balance of my time. >> gentleman yields back. gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to my good friend, distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. roy also a member of the rules committee. >> gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. >> i thank the speaker, thank the chairman. this is an impeachment inquiry, defined as an act of asking for information, nothing more, nothing less. niert ri is to further investigate three things, the extent to which joe biden as vice president was involved with the flow of millions of dollars from foreign companies and interests in china, in ukraine, into the biden family into numerous shell companies including hunter and his involvement. devin archer testified the vice president was, in fact, at hunter's business meetings, and there are numerous emails and other evidence indicating that the big guy or dad was involved. two, the extent to which joe biden has lied to the extent of his involvement. involvement that hunter all but acknowledged today when avoiding his deposition in a show press conference on the capital steps by carefully saying his dad was not involved financially in his businesses. three, the extent to which biden and his administration have obstructed justice, but preventing jack morgan and mark daley with the department of justice to testifying to their involvement in doj and irs deciding to slow walk 2014 tax charges and 2015 charges so the statute of limitations would lapse. all the more interesting in light of hunter biden being indicted just last week on nine counts of tax offenses for failing to pay $1.4 million in back taxes after writing off hookers and sex clubs. all of which was only brought to light because a judge called the bluff a sweetheart deal. second, by only providing 14 of 82,000 emails with pseudonyms of which 29,000 were tied to biden's family businesses. third, by limiting the scope of witness testimony from department of justice witnesses over and over and over again. this was an impeachment inquiry. that's all. what are my democratic colleagues afraid of if there's nothing to see there. maybe that is all the more reason for the inquiry. i yield back. >> gentleman from oklahoma reserves, gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> i yield two minute thes to the gentleman from massachusetts, the distinguished ranking member of the committee on ways and means. >> i rise in shock and frustration at our republican colleagues do nothing congress. seinfeld would have called this the impeachment about nothing. they are leading the most unproductive session since the great depression, and after manufacturing crisis after crisis, weeks of trying to choose a speaker, and putting their record breaking economic recovery which is nonexistent under the spotlight, they think that formalizing a fishing expedition will dress it up enough for the american people to believe it. this is not the work of the ways and means committee. the greatness of this committee has nothing to do with an impeachment proceeding and how the ways and means committee got involved in this baffles republican and democratic members of the committee. the truth is it's been nearly a year and not a shred of evidence has shown any wrongdoing or interference by joe biden. their recycled expertise theories continue to be debunked. they continue to mistake congress, a legislative body for a law enforcement body. in their only public hearing, their own witnesses concede that there is evidence to warrant moving forward, which i have submitted to the record, mr. speaker. the gentleman from south carolina said we're trying to hide something. i moved in the ways and means committee to have the whistle-blower's testimony done in full public for obs observation. they turned it down. meanwhile, we're staring at another republican government shutdown at the beginning of tax filing season, enough with this obsession with one person, joe biden. the ways and means democrats, we are concerned about all members of the american family and for the taxpayer that is about to impede it because of the work done on impeachment instead of on tax reform, this is where we find ourselves. nothing here, no evidence, no wrongdoing after a year, a waste of time for the american people, a waste of time for a congress that should be addressing the real problems of the american family. (. >> and without objection, the gentleman's request is granted. gentleman from massachusetts reserves. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker. i yield three minutes to my good friend distinguished chairman of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from missouri, mr. smith. >> gentleman from missouri is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman cole. president biden has hidden from the american people his knowledge of and role in his family's overseas business dealings. even in the face of overwhelming evidence showing his knowledge and involvement, president biden still refuses to come clean. so far two key doj witnesses have failed to show for congressionally subpoenaed depositions after doj directed them not to appear. other witnesses have refused to answer certain questions from investigators, and the biden administration has refused to turn over many of the documents requested by congress, claiming this inquiry was not properly authorized. let there be no mistake. today's vote asserts congress's authority to conduct an impeachment inquiry and gather all the evidence to proceed with our investigation. the american people deserve answers. here's what we know so far. the existence of multiple email aliases suggest that joe biden was deliberately trying to conceal his activities from the public, including one-on-one communications with a key hunter biden business partner during his vice presidency. we also learned that investigators were blocked from looking into potential campaign finance crimes by the biden campaign. hunter biden had only known kevin morris, a democrat donor, for two months before morris started settling his tax debts to the tune of about $2 million, and then spent about 3 million more to cover hunter's lifestyle. in the midst of the 2020 campaign, just weeks before super tuesday, primary elections that would decide the future of joe biden's candidacy, morris emailed hunter biden's business associates and there was, quote, considerable risk personally and politically to not filing his late taxes. but the only person who faced political risk was joe biden whose campaign the whistle-blowers had reason to believe morris was speaking to. as members of congress, we have to abide by campaign finance limits, and so must the president. morris's millions in payments to cover hunter biden's taxes and other financial obligations appear to the whistle-blowers to be an illegal donation to the biden campaign. unfortunately, they were blocked from investigating further. time and again when investigators found a lead that pointed to joe biden, doj, they stepped in and prevented -- prevented them from pursuing it. >> yield the gentleman additional 30 seconds. >> gentleman's recognized for an additional 30 seconds. >> thanks to the evidence released by the whistle-blowers, the doj indicted hunter biden on nine tax charges including three felonies. everything, everything the whistle-blowers told us about the hunter biden tax case has proven right. i'm convinced they're also right about the links to joe biden they were prevented from following. congress owes it to the american people to follow the facts wherever they led and pass this resolution, mr. speaker. >> gentleman from oklahoma reserves, gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> i request unanimous consent to insert an article from time mag time, impeachment experts say biden inquiry may be the weakest in u.s. history. >> without objection. >> constitutional scholar at columbia law saying impeachment is supposed to be the most extreme sanction in american politics and if you reach for it every time you think it will help you in the polls, i fear it will become degraded. end quote. all the gentleman just said -- what he said has been debunked and it's just nuts. i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. schiff. >> we're going to stay on tp of this heated debate on the floor of the u.s. house about whether to open an impeachment inquiry into president biden. we're going to take a quick break and bring you right back into the debate. stay with us. t back into the debate. stay with us hi, i'm ben and i've lost 60 pounds on golo. (guitar music) with other programs i've tried in the past they were unsustainable, just too restrictive. with golo i can enjoy my food and the fear and guilt of eating is gone. (carolers) ♪ iphone 15 pro, your husband deserves it! ♪ (mom) carolers? to tell me you want a new iphone? a better plan is verizon. (vo) it's your last chance to turn any iphone in any condition into a new iphone 15 pro with titanium and ipad and apple watch se - all on us. only on verizon. - "best thing i've ever done." that's what freddie told me. - it was the best thing i've ever done, and- - really? - yes, without a doubt! - i don't have any anxiety about money anymore. - great people. different people, that's for sure, and all of them had different reasons for getting a reverse mortgage, but you know what, they all felt the same about two things: they all loved their home, and they all wanted to stay in that home. and they all wanted to stay in that home. - [announcer] if you're 62 or older and own your home, you could access your equity to improve your lifestyle. a reverse mortgage loan eliminates your monthly mortgage payments and puts tax-free cash in your pocket. call the number on your screen. - why don't you call aag... and find out what a reverse mortgage can mean for you? - [announcer] call right now to receive your free no-obligation info kit. call the number on your screen. you're probably not easily persuaded to switch mobile providers for your business. but what if we told you it's possible that comcast business mobile can save you up to 75% a year on your wireless bill versus the big three carriers? did we peak your interest? you can get two unlimited lines for just $30 each a month. there are no term contracts or line activation fees. and you can bring your own device. oh, and all on the most reliable 5g mobile network nationwide. wireless that works for you. it's not just possible, it's happening. we're back live watching the impeachment inquiry into president biden with dan goldman speaking. let's listen in. >> how can you sit there saying you need more evidence when you prevent the central witness in the investigation from giving you evidence? what are you afraid of? i yield back. >> members are reminded to direct their remarks to the chair. gentleman from massachusetts reserves. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you very much. i yield one minute to my good friend, distinguished gentleman from south carolina, mr. tim monos. >> gentleman from south carolina is recognized for one minute. americans have lost faith in the impartiality of the biden administration. americans deserve to know the truth and congress has a duty to investigate. the question is simple. what did president biden know about his family's criminal enterprises and when? that is the question. that is why this inquiry is necessary. we've already uncovered that the biden family received $25 million in payouts from foreign adversaries. their scheme was simple. foreign client has a problem. client pays a biden. vice president biden travels to the foreign country. vice president biden leverages u.s. influence to force favorable outcomes for the client. the biden family earns their fee. that's the scheme. the proof of concept was burisma in 2014 and they replicated it again and again. if president biden was complicit, then our national security is vulnerable. his administration keeps stonewalling while the president lies about his involvement. as a member of the oversight committee, i believe the evidence we have unkofd thus far demands further investigation. this vote is the only logical next step. i urge a yes vote. yield back. >> gentleman yields back. gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> i give one minute to the gentle lady from florida. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to oppose this perverse, illegitimate effort to do donald trump's political dirty work. this resolution is nothing more than an extreme political stunt built on absolutely zero evidence of wrongdoing. the one thing it does prove that republicans are focused on the wrong priorities. this resolution clearly has nothing to do with protecting the constitution from high crimes and misdemeanors. how do we know? because a year of investigation piles of documents and a herd of the republicans' own witnesses confirmed there is zero evidence of wrongdoing. instead the republicans' wasteful witch hunt confirms that president biden is a good and honorable man. what this resolution does is cover up a full year of do nothing republican policys that ignored or families needs and neglected an array of global threats to democracy. this resolution tries to obscure the corrupt and criminal acts of the former president and want to be dictator donald trump. this extreme political stunt is built upon the sick, twisted extremism of house republicans and unmasks their complete absence of an agenda that helps the american people. i urge a no vote on this resolution and i yield back the balance of my time. >> gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to my good friend, distinguished gentleman from south carolina, mr. fry. >> gentleman from south carolina is recognized for two minutes. >> i rise today in strong support of house resolution 918. this year house republicans have conducted a methodical investigation into the alleged actions of the biden family, including joe biden himself in his family's foreign business dealings and foreign peddling schemes. as a member of both the house judiciary and oversight committees, i can say that our investigation has peeled back layer upon layer of biden family scandals, and has exposed the safety nets designed to insulate the biden family and joe biden from impending accountability. you know, there's an old legal saying, mr. speaker, that if you don't have the facts, you argue the law. if you don't have the law, you argue the facts and if you have neither, you pound the table. what we are seeing from the other side today is that they want to talk about donald trump. they want to talk about january 6th. they want to talk about a perceived lack of transparency. they want to talk about how nothing is happening out in the open. well, let me assure you that we have done this for months. we have done more in ten months than law enforcement agencies have done in five years. so let's talk about the facts. $25 million have flowed to members of the biden family. 20 corporate entities, nine members of the biden family have received these moneys. $40,000 direct payment to joe biden himself. $200,000 direct payment to joe biden himself. allegedly under a loan. we have whatsapp messages, pseudonyms, fake email addresses and 22 meetings in which joe biden himself met with hunter biden and his business associates. we have been stone walled. seen this today as hunter biden paraded onto the senate side and did not come to a lawfully issued subpoena deposition in front of the house oversight committee. now is the time for an impeachment inquiry. thank you, and i yield back. >> gentleman yields back, gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognize. >> mr. speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts, the distinguished democratic whip ms. clark skpl gentle lady is recognized for two minutes. >> mr. speaker, the maga majority is putting forward an impeachment inquiry even as their own leaders admit there's no evidence of wrongdoing. they've already reviewed tens of thousands of documents, interviewed dozens of witnesses, and nothing. why? because this has never been about the truth. this is about avenging donald trump, this is about undermining our democracy and influencing the 2024 election. president ford once said truth is the glue that holds government together. mr. speaker, it's true that allows this chamber to function, abandoning truth in favor of political games man ship creates nothing but chaos. that dysfunction isn't a by-product of the majority's behavior, it's the point. they don't want government to function. they've sought nothing in service of the american people. nothing to lower costs. nothing to create good paying jobs, to grow the middle class, to make everyday people feel more secure. what has the majority delivered? the kind of extremism that chooses rich tax cheats over working people, that obstructs the ballot box and hikes the costs of health care. that protects guns over kids. that bans abortion and criminalizes doctors, that rewards polluters and corporate greed and tells everyday americans you foot the bill. this sham impeachment is below the dignity of the people's house, it is an affront to the people who sent us here to work for them? what a disgrace. i yield back. >> mr. speaker, i yield one minute to my good friend, distinguished gentleman from florida, mr. donaldings. >> gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> the democrat party is telling us that they care about taxpayers, but the son of the president of the united states is a tax cheat. he ignored federal tax law on purpose. he laundered money through 20 llc, he concealed millions of dollars of overseas money, the only reason he was able to accomplish these feats of getting so much money into his company ss because the president is his father. there were 170 suspicious activity reports at the department of treasury, which we went and looked through, and every one of those reports said very clearly that there was evidence of money laundering and potentially tax evasion. there were hours of deposition. there's a web of llcs with company names that have no business interests whatsoever, and that we have finally uncovered one example, mr. speaker, $5 million from a foreign company, going to a joint venture partly controlled by hunter biden. next day, 400,000 goes from hunter biden to -- >> gentleman's time is expired. >> i'll yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. >> thank you. 400,000 goes to an account controlled by jim and sarah biden. sarah biden writes a check to herself, and then $40,000 is in a check to joseph robinette biden, the president of the united states. that's your evidence. if you want to talk crime, bribery, co-conspirator, and we can go on and on. vote for the resolution, congress must investigate these crimes. i yield back. >> gentleman yields back. gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> it's amazing a pattern is developing, if you'll notice my republican friends never talk about joe biden. it's all hunter biden. they seem to be obsessed with him. i don't know, they need to get some help. i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell. >> gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> this impeachment is a continuation of the insurrection that came here on january 6th. they have never -- this gang has never accepted joe biden as the president, and the architect of the idea that you could overturn the election is the current speaker of the house. and donald trump sent that violent mob here. it didn't work, and so now we're here. where they're going to try and use this house to overturn the election through this inquiry. the problem is they have zero evidence. the only crime is that joe biden blew out donald trump in the 2020 election. and that's a problem because this place is the largest law firm in d.c. with these lawyers working on behalf of just one client, donald trump, at the expense of everything else that matters. but i want to give james comer some credit because after 50,000 pages of depositions and secret hearings and closed hearings, i think if we give them enough time, he's going to prove that hunter biden is joe biden's son. and i yield back. >> he yields back. gentleman from massachusetts. >> we're going to stay on top of this heated debate on the flr of the u.s. house about whether to open an impeachment inquiry into president biden. we're going to take a quick break and bring you right back into the debate. stay with us. you right back into the debate. stay with us (vo) in three seconds, janice will win a speedboat. (woman) bingo! i'm moving to the lake. gotta sell the house. (vo) ooh! that's a lot of work. (woman) ooh! (vo) don't worry. skip the hassels and sell directly to opendoor. (woman) bingo. (vo) get your competitive offer at opendoor dot com. (man) mm, hey, honey. looks like my to-do list grew. "paint the bathroom, give baxter a bath, get life insurance," hm. i have a few minutes. i can do that now. oh, that fast? remember that colonial penn ad? i called and i got information. they sent the simple form i need to apply. all i do is fill it out and send it back. well, that sounds too easy! (man) give a little information, check a few boxes, sign my name, done. they don't ask about your health? (man) no health questions. -physical exam? -don't need one. it's colonial penn guaranteed acceptance whole life insurance. if you're between the ages of 50 and 85, your acceptance is guaranteed in most states, even if you're not in the best health. options start at $9.95 a month, 35 cents a day. once insured, your rate will never increase. a lifetime rate lock guarantees it. keep in mind, this is lifetime protection. as long as you pay your premiums, it's yours to keep. call for more information and the simple form you need to apply today. there's no obligation, and you'll receive a free beneficiary planner just for calling. ♪ if there's pain when you try to poo ♪ ♪ and going sometimes feels like you ♪ ♪ pushed through a pineapple or two ♪ ♪ colace is the brand you need ♪ ♪ to soften stools, we're all agreed ♪ ♪ #2 should be easy to do ♪ trust colace to soften stools with no stimulants for comfortable relief. congressman jeffries on the floor of the house. we're back live watching the impeachment inquiry into president biden. let's listen. >> tired of this effort to score political points on a partisan basis as opposed to actually making a difference. house democrats will continue to put people over politics. we will continue to fight for lower costs, to grow the middle class, for safer communities, fight for reproductive freedom, defend democracy, and build an economy from the middle out and the bottom up as opposed to the top down. house democrats remain committed to joining president biden and advancing the ball for the american people, for the middle class, for low income families, for working families, for all those folks who aspire to be a part of the middle class, for young people, for older americans, for our veterans. we plan to continue to build upon the progress that we've made under the leadership of president biden on behalf of the american people, and it's time for the extreme maga republicans to join us or get out of the way. i yield back. >> gentleman yields back. gentleman from massachusetts reserves. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i continue to reserve my time. >> gentleman continues to reserve, gentleman from massachusetts is recognize sfwld mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. garcia. >> gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. this impeachment inquiry is a political stunt with zero evidence. we're here today not because of any wrongdoing by president biden, but because donald trump wants revenge. welcome to the donald trump revenge show. he's joining a campaign promising to destroy democracy and the rule of law and will soon be found guilty of serious crimes. the american people reject this toxic and disgusting agenda. that's why trump's allies here in congress are trying to rescue him. they're throwing everything they can at president biden from misleading leaks to outright fabrications and lies. they're even trying to sell debunked rudy giuliani expertise theories. the white house, statements from personal bank accounts and testimony from the president's family, but none of this is enough for the extreme maga gop. this is all to appease the con man and the criminal, donald trump. but make no mistake, the american people will see through this entire impeachment sham. mr. speaker, i yield back. >> gentleman yields back, gentleman from massachusetts reserves, gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i continue to reserve my time. >> gentleman reserves, gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield one and one-half minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. neguse. >> gentleman from colorado is recognized. >> i thank the speaker. i thank the ranking member. republicans have had a majority in this house for 11 months, and what do they have to show for it? nothing. no efforts it grow the middle class, no efforts to lower costs. no efforts to build safer communities. instead, an effort to default on our nation's debt, two attempts to shut down the government, vacating their own speaker and now a baseless impeachment that they are pursuing for one reason and one reason alone because former president trump ordered them to do so. you asked them to articulate what crime they are investigating. they can't give you an answer. you asked them to identify any evidence of wrongdoing by president biden, crickets. mr. speaker, the american people, i can assure you are deeply disappointed in the actions that house republicans have taken for the better part of the last year, and this action is no different. i urge my colleagues reject this farce of a process and let's get back to doing the important work that the american people expect us to do. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. >> gentleman yields back, gentleman from massachusetts reserves. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i continue to reserve my time. >> gentleman reserves, gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question i will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up hr 12 a bill that would ensure i ask unanimous consent to insert the text into the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question and to discuss our proposal, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from plts. >> mr. speaker, this entire charade is ridiculous. speaker johnson is about to send members of congress home for the rest of the year, and instead of lowering costs for families before the holidays or protecting women's freedom to make their own health decision, house republicans are taking orders from donald trump to force through a partisan, political impeachment with no evidence, no witnesses, and no wrongdoing on behalf of the president. meanwhile, as we speak, kate cox, a pregnant woman from texas is being forced to flee her home as republican leaders try to force her to carry her baby to term who was diagnosed with a terrible condition that would result in miscarriage, stillbirth, or death soon after birth. we could have come to the floor today to pass legislation like the woman's health protection act, to protect women like kate cox, and to prevent that kind of physical harm and trauma from being inflicted on women living under republican abortion bans. but house republicans choose impeachment. the american people won't forget. i yield back. >> gentleman from massachusetts reserves, gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> i continue to reserve. >> gentleman from massachusetts -- >> mr. speaker, can i inquire how much time is left? >> gentleman has three and 3/4 minutes remaining. gentleman from oklahoma has six and 3/4 minutes. >> does the gentleman have any other speakers? >> we do. >> i'm happy to yield now one minute to the gentlewoman from washington ms. jayapal. >> gentle lady from washington is recognize frd one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. extreme maga republicans in the house are on a donald trump directed fishing expedition. in fact, they've been on a fishing expedition for months with embarrassing results, nothing. no bites, no evidence for anything that justifies impeachment. there are no fish to catch in this republican swamp. and good luck to all these republicans who have to go home and justify a sham impeachment to their districts while telling them that we haven't passed the budget. we haven't reauthorized the farm bill. we haven't done a single thing that helps americans live their lives. instead we're wasting time on bogus censure resolutions and bogus impeachment inquiries. we have one and a half legislative business days left in the year. we should be passing bills to help working families, but that is not what we do under extreme republicans control, vote no on this new fishing expedition. i yield back. >> gentle lady yields back, gentleman from massachusetts reserves, gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> i continue to reserve my time. >> gentleman reserves, gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> mr. speakers republicans are saying the quiet part out loud. a rolling stone article from today entitled gop rep explains impeachment push, donald j. trump 2024, baby. i reserve. >> gentleman reserves, gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> that you think, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to my very good friend, the distinguished gentleman from north dakota, also the sponsor of the resolution. >> gentleman from north dakota is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. here's what we know, we know that the president biden's transition team ran interference for hunter biden and obstructed law enforcement's attempts to interview the president's son. we know that somebody in the fbi decided not to investigate bribery allegations against hunter biden and joe biden provided by a confidential informant. that source is so important that the fbi has deemed him so credible that they opposed the release of the report and only agree for review in a classified setting. we know that the irs investigates were not allowed to follow leads that had the potential to implicate president biden in hunter biden's alleged financial crimes. we know that recommendations for prosecution of hunter biden were denied or delayed until the statute of limitations had run. we know that a plea deal was offered to hunter biden by the doj that offered him global immunity for crimes outsides scope of the conducts and that that plea deal fell apart after whistle-blowers came forward to congress. set aside for a minute, the $24 million, the 20 plus shell companies. the payments to president biden, and the changing narrative from this white house every time ha new bad fact comes to light. set that aside. these instances alone should concern all americans because it appears that people in the highest echelons of our government were running interference for the presidents' sons. my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have an innocent explanation for every single incident. the problem is it's very difficult to see an innocent explanation for all of the incidents. the fbi, the doj, the irs, and the president's political operation have all frustrated attempts to investigate the bidens. obstruction is a crime, and it's no less of a crime if it's being used within the highest powers of government to perpetrate that. take all of the politics out of this. there is no investigator in any jurisdiction in the world that would not continue to investigate this investigation with these facts. the purpose of the impeachment inquiry is for the house to authorize impeachment and strengthen its ability to compel testimony and document production in response to congressional subpoenas. this will allow the house to continue its investigation into whether president biden changed u.s. policy due to payments received by the biden family members from hostile foreign powers. or whether he knowingly allowed foreign powers to believe that the payments were being made and to employ the biden family members would result in access in the ability to alter u.s. policy, or whether the president and the president's administration were using government agencies to obstruct investigations into hunter and joe biden. this inquiry is warranted. it will put the the house of representatives in the best legal position possible to uncover the facts and the american people deserve nothing less. i yield back. >> gentleman from oklahoma reserves. gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i'm the last speaker on our side. are you prepared to close? >> i am prepared to close. >> okay. gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield myself the remaining time. >> gentleman is recognized. >> mr. speaker this inquiry has nothing to do with joe biden. it's about the republican party and how radicalized and extreme they've become. they are allergic to truth and transparency. republicans say this is not about a preordained outcome. it is. they are going to try to impeach president biden despite the fact that there's no evidence against him at all. trump sent a violent maga mob here to the capitol to reverse the election results and certify that he won even though he lost. what they couldn't do on january 6th, they wanted to do with this extreme political stunt. they have contempt for our democracy. they want to finish the job. republicans say this is all about process, about how the house will proceed. it is not. the truth is this process has already proceeded for ten months they have been investigating all year obtaining tens of thousands of documents, hours and hours of witness testimony, all of it says no wrongdoing by president biden. republicans say the white house is stonewalling their inquiry. again, not true. the white house has provided over 35,000 pages of financial records, dozens of hours of testimony and interviews. hunter biden is here to testify today and republicans won't let him, they want to do in secret, so they can cherry pick and distort his testimony. this whole inquiry has nothing to do with the integrity of president biden and everything to do with the lack of integrity in the house and the republican party. no amount of evidence could convince republicans that joe biden did nothing wrong because they aren't looking for the truth. they're looking for revenge. and i would just say directly to the american people, mr. speaker, that the republican party works for donald trump, not for you. for trump. that's why they are pursuing this extreme political stunt. that's why they are doing everything in secret. they want to hide the truth from you because they know their whole impeachment inquiry is a sham, and it will evaporate into thin air when people realize what a pathetic joke it is. this shameful process has no credibility. it has no legitimacy and no integrity. i urge my colleagues to vote no, and i yield back the balance of my time. >> the gentleman yields back. members are reminded to direct their comments to the chair and not to perceived viewing audience. gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. and in closing i urge all my colleagues to support the resolution. we've heard a lot today, we've heard a lot about donald trump. we've had ad infinitum insults to the majority, we've had pejorative language. we've had pounding on the table simply because we want to empower three committees of congress to do what the white house asks us to do, that is have a formal vote on the floor before we fully cooperate. that's all we're doing. if my friends are so confident -- again, as one of my colleagues mentioned from the rules committee -- what are you worried about? it's an investigation. it's open. we hardly talked about what the resolution's about, which is how we're going to proceed, and how are we going to proceed? almost exactly as my friends proceeded in 2019. their playbook, their play, their approach. so there's nothing unfair that we're asking to be done. since september the house has been engaged in an impeachment inquiry examining whether sufficient grounds exist for the house to exercise constitutional power to impeach the president of the united states. today's resolution simply formalizes that inquiry and grants the house full authority to enforce its subpoenas. subpoenas that have been denied as recently as today. my friends have some pretty experienced lawyers on their side. most of them would tell you it's better to have a deposition before you have a hearing. let alone a trial. all we're trying to do is get the needed people who have been blocked or refused to cooperate to come in and testify under oath before congress. the resolution follows closely, again, as i said, the procedures established in 2019 and empowers the three committees to continue their existing inquiries. at the end of the inquiry, it provides for the judiciary committee the traditional impeachment committee, to report to the house resolution articles of impeachment or other recommendations. it's deeply unfortunate that we're here, mr. speaker. but today's resolution will ensure that the house can fulfill its obligations under the constitution and so it is with respect for the constitution, for this institution, and for this great nation that we proceed. that's all we're trying to do today. we have very little discussion of that, but we ought to entertain that. in closing, mr. speaker, i want to remind everybody of a few facts. we have millions of dollars from foreign entities that have flowed towards shell companies that we didn't know even existed until the investigation's uncovered that. we have whistleblowers, public servants of long standing that have come in and told us their efforts to investigate either hunter biden or wider schemes have been obstructed. we have lots of things to be concerned about. our committees need to be empowered with the tools that are required to pursue the truth and then come back and tell us what they found and have a recommendation as to how we could proceed. that's all today is about. so mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time, and i move the previous question on the resolution. >> gentlemen yields back. those in favor say i. those opposed no. in the opinion of the chair, the eyes have it. >> i ask for the yeas and neighs. >> those favors a vote by the yeas and nay is will rise. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20. further proceedings on this question are postponed. >> what they're doing right now is having a vote on whether to authorize the vote. so this is not the final vote, which is expected to take place later this afternoon. the house just finishing an impassioned debate over one of the most consequential steps our lawmakers can take, and that is whether to green light an impeachment inquiry into the president. it is something house republicans have been promising almost since the day they took power, alleging that president biden and his family are corrupt, and they have been undeterred by the lack of any hard evidence to back that up. even though, trying to assert debunked claims as fact in order to suggest that laws were broken. multiple democrats slamming the inquiry as a political stunt that has been done at donald trump's behest. republicans hoped to bolster their case with closed door testimony from the president's son, hunter biden, who had been subpoenaed to speak before the house oversight committee, but hunter made it clear he would answer questions in public, and slammed what he called a shameless and baseless campaign to destroy his father. >> let me state as clearly as i can, my father was not financially involved in my business, not as a practicing lawyer, not as a board member of burisma. not in my partnership with the chinese private businessman, not in my investments at home nor abroad, and certainly not as an artist. in the depths of my addiction, i was extremely irresponsible with my finances, but to suggest that is grounds for an impeachment inquiry is beyond the absurd. it's shameless. there's no evidence to support the allegations that my father was financially involved in my business because it did not happen. >> i want to bring in nbc's ryan nobles, and jennifer palmieri served as communications director in the obama white house and for hillary clinton's presidential campaign. she's an msnbc political analyst. ryan, from what i wrote down, saying this is political hack ri, with not a scintilla of evidence. the republicans argue there is evidence but that they need an inquiry to get more information because joe biden is hiding something. is that about the summary of it? what did you hear today? >> reporter: excellent analysis on your part, chris. i think you read that pretty well, and it couldn't be more of a different perspective from democrats and republicans when it comes to this next stage of the impeachment inquiry. democrats have said from the very beginning this is nothing but a fishing expedition designed to hurt the current president joe biden and to do so at the behest of the former president, donald trump, who is his likely opponent in the 2024 election to mute the fact that donald trump himself was twice impeached while he was in office. and when you listen to the back and forth here, it's pretty clear that both sides are trying to lay the groundwork for their arguments for the potential of a debate around articles of impeachment which would be the next step, if this impeachment is formalized later tonight. listen to how they went back and forth. >> their whole investigation is built on lies. it's an extreme political stunt designed to distract from how incompetent republicans are and how obsess they are with donald trump. >> what are you scared of? what facts do you not want to come out? that was so evident. you spent more time quoting donald trump, the january 6th, anything but the facts about what hunter biden's family did. >> reporter: and what really is interesting about this debate on the house floor, chris, is that it doesn't really hit to the heart of the matter. perhaps the most important votes that will be cast here today, and that's among those more moderate district republicans, the ones that represent districts that were won by president biden who were reluctant to take this step in september when the then house speaker kevin mccarthy launched this impeachment inquiry without a vote, but now seem willing to take that vote today, and their argument is not that the evidence has been collected and not that joe biden is absolutely guilty of wrong doing, but there's enough smoke here that we need to continue the investigation to determine whether or not there's enough fire, and as a result, that leads to a very difficult political position for republicans, because if they cannot deliver that evidence as this investigation continues into the new year, it will be very difficult for them to actually take the step of articles of impeachment, and this will all come during the heat of a campaign, which republicans, and in particular, donald trump are counting on joe biden perhaps being formally brought up on articles of impeachment by the house of representatives. chris. >> so, jen, "the washington post" had an editorial that draws a bright line between these two issues, one, the hunter biden investigation, which they say is legit, and the impeachment inquiry which they argue is not. is this an attempt by republicans to mix the two together to kind of blur that line at the heart of all of this? >> sure, but even focusing on hunter is, you know, the facts don't bear out what the republicans are arguing there. remember, from appointed prosecutor investigated hunter biden for five years. and what happened was that prosecutor wanted to make a nonjail deal with hunter biden that blew up. and the biden department of justice went for it with two indictments of the president's son. okay. so to suggest that somehow the biden administration is protecting hunter who was just indicted is, you know, is ludicrous. but also to suggest that this has not -- that hunter biden has not in his economic dealings, his financial dealings, not been looked into by the justice department thoroughly, by congress thoroughly is also ludicrous. now, this is not a great day for joe biden because even though when presidents get impeached it usually accrues to their benefit politically, it's not a fun thing to go through. when you're the president on team democracy, team normal, government can work, it's more chaos. it's not great. the likely outcome is this does crew to the president's benefit politically because it is politically motivated. the other thing is, you saw the democratic members of congress lining up with enthusiasm to speak on behalf of the president to defend him and criticize his inquiry. you didn't see