the speaker pro tempore: by the guest chaplain, dr. reverend c. black, chaplain of the united states senate. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, our way, our truth, and our life. we worship you. quicken our consciences by your holiness that we will find nourishment in your truth. as this partial government shutdown continues, help our lawmakers to open their hearts to your love and to surrender their desires to your purposes. lord, in this tangled world we're conscious of our woeful inadequacies to sit in the seats of judgment, to balance the scales of justice, and to respond with equity to the myriad calls of human needs. need you, eternal god, to crown the deliberations of this to fit with your wisdom these challenging times. we pray in your mighty name. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house her approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois rise? >> pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. >> i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make a point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from washington state, congresswoman bell -- delbene. ms.delbene: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. -- hat purpose does the for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin rise? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> a thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to ask my colleagues in congress to o do the right thing and support the democrats' efforts to reopen our federal government. mr. pocan: we're seeing devastating impacts on 800,000 federal employees that certificate us, contractors that work for us, and the economy that impacts every person in this country. yet the president's petulant olescent adolescent approach to this shut dunn has been supported by my colleagues for their inability to support reopening the government. responsible governments around the world do not shut down and leaders do not take hostages and demand ransom. look, today the president is shutting down the government over an inefficient and inefficient and unnecessary wall. if we capitulate, the next shutdown will be over his desire to lift sanctions on the russians. the next shut down could be over his desire to stop the mueller investigation, and so on and so on. this isn't how the united states can or should operate. yet the republicans' complicity in this he behavior hurts our constituents and threatens our economy. mr. president, reopen the court before you further the united states of america. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: members are remind interested engaging in personalities towards the president. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to congratulate ridgeway area high school for being named a national blue ribbon school. since 1982, the u.s. department of education has identified and celebrated excellence in education through the through blibon award. ridgeway area high school's tradition of academic excellence is a testament to this rural community's dedication to the importance of education. like many small communities, the high school serves as a central hub in ridgeway. faculty and staff work diligently to help each student reach their fuelest potential. they know that families and community stakeholders are vital to the educational mission. they strongly value the idea that sthruents who are involved in teams, groups, and community ervice initiatives service initiatives are those who grow habits of engagement that lead to productive citizenship. all graduating seniors are required to have completed 50 hours of community service and local nonprofit organizations in the ridgeway community, in an effort to instill all students a sense of service above self. madam speaker, i wholeheartedly congratulate ridgeway area high school on this outstanding achievement. thank you, madam speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms.delbene: thank you, madam speaker. i rise to call on the president and senate republicans to reopen the government. we're now on day 27 of the trump shut down and more and more families are being harmed. 800,000 federal workers have been furloughed or working without pay. workers from the forest service, coast guard, customs and border patrol, t.s.a. these workers clock in every day to make sure the rest of us are safe. and they can't count on a paycheck. federal employees aren't the only ones impacted. i recently met with a small business in my district that works on federal contracts supporting space exploration and research. a growing industry. because of the shutdown, they haven't been paid for work they have already done. forcing this small business to lay off 20% of its work force last week. it never had to happen. every day this shut down, the president is so proud of, hurts more families and businesses. it must end. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. > thank you you. madam speaker, i rise today to recognize the young people from my home diocese in springfield, illinois, who traveled to washington, d.c., for the 46th annual march for life tomorrow. each year nearly 200 students from throughout our diocese of springfield in the 13th district come to our nation's capital to show their support for choosing life. it is truly inspiring to see so many, especially young people, marching for life and i am proud to stand with them in their defense for life. mr. davis: last year i attended mass with these students to pray for all unborn children and for an end to abortion. before mass i learned that when the students arrived to washington, one of their classmates, aiden, suffered a serious medical episode. aiden passed away five days later here in washington. although i never met her, i you admire her convictions and willingness to be a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves. this year we remember aiden as well as all unborn children whose lives were cut short. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman --the gentlewoman from is recognized for one minute. ms. adams: i rise today on day 27 of the trump shut down to talk about the real world impacts on those in my congressional district. ordinary americans who hope and pray for an end to this manufactured crisis. this week i held a teletown hall to hear personal stories from my constituents. i heard from an 0-year-old grandmother who is worried sick about what a long-term shutdown means to her medicare. i heard from a t.s.a. officer who struggles to make ends meet on his $23,000 salary and wonders how he will survive if he misses another paycheck. i heard from folks who worry about their tax refunds and their snap benefits, their home loans. i heard from people who wonder how much longer will their children be able to eat a warm meal when they get to school each day. madam speaker, enough is enough. it's time to stop the partisan games. most of all it's time for the senate and the president to do their job and shut down this shut down. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. today i rise to speak about a pressing local safety concern in my home county of nelson. winter green resort is facing major fire safety issues. last week i spoke with a local fire chief who pointed out having only one exit from the from the winter green resort creates a potential for major public safety crisis. in the case of an emergency such as a fire blocking the main exit, such as a fire blocking the main exit, there would be no way to leave the resort. mr. riggleman: i called the national park service and ask they help me mitigate the this that would allow a secondary second that would allow an exit through the national park in case of a fire or emergency. this simple step, 450 feet, would safeguard the community against the potential disaster. government when necessary should be here to assist not interfere. guidelines that don't make sense need to be changed so that common sense prevails. i yield my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> madam speaker, to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, good public policy depends on thorough and accurate data. that is why this week's ruling by district judge furman to block the administration from dding a citizenship question to the 2020 census is so important to the crebtral coast and my country. it's more than where people live, it dictates how our many boundaries are drawn. mr. panetta: it is enshrined in our constitution and it is the bedrock responsibility of our government. adding a citizenship question to this census may scare people from answering the questions. and that could result in inaccuracies that jeopardize the disbursement of over $700 billion in funding for essential services in our communities like roads, schools, and even nutrition assistance programs. this decision by the federal judge is very good news. but we must continue to work to live up to our responsibilities under the american constitution and we can can do that with the 2020 census that depicts a precise population count through ackcra data, adequate area offices, and appropriate and acceptable questions that everybody in all communities can answer. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> a address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam speaker. i'd like to discuss border security not as viewed by washington elites but how it is viewed by average americans. democratic leaders will tell you most americans don't support the president trump's proposed southern border wall. they'll tell that you a border wall is not needed. it's immoral. it won't fix the country's illegal immigration problem. i currently represent florida's third congressional district and here i have a picture of my district's public creative space, the 34th street graffiti wall well-known in gainesville. it's used by local organizations to express their thoughts and issues and display information for community events. recently local residents painted their support of president trump's proposed wall for all passer byes to see. the wall reads, keep the government shut down until the wall is funded. call congress. we the people demand congress fund and build the wall now. it's a great example of everyday americans voicing their support for what matters most to them. it is clear that americans do support president trump's security stance despite exaggerated reports by the media and my colleagues on the other side. mr. yoho: i have heard from hundreds of my constituents in support of the wall. their voices have been heard and i will remain strong for border security and protecting this nation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> thank you, madam speaker. unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarksment the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i you rise to implore the president to stop holding federal workers hostage and immediately end this shut down. i think every day the t.s.a. agent i spoke with at the airport. she is now working without pay. a young, single mother, raising her 15-year-old daughter. she told me she's really struggling to make ends meet without her paycheck. mr. schneider: her story is not unique. a constituent shared she don't know how to pay her bills, including her mortgage, and had to borrow money from her family. another constituent, a federal employee in round lake, has been working without pay. he wrote, quote, why are we a bargaining tool for something beyond our control? why, indeed, mr. president? we may disagree on the best way to secure our border, but we can all agree that the good women and men working on our nation's behalf should be paid for their work. t.s.a. and f.a.a. workers keeping our skies safe, the f.d.a. workers keep our food safe, and coast guard protecting our borders. do the responsible thing. reopen our government. and then let's have a robust, honest debate about how to secure our borders. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from pennsylvania rise? ms. scanlon: madam speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 52 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 3. house resolution 52. resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the joint resolution, house 28, making ution further continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes. all points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived. the joint resolution shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening otion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations or their respective designees, and two, one motion to recommit. section 2, it shall be in order at any time through the legislative day of january 25, 2019, for the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules as though under clause 1 of rule 15. the speaker or her designee shall consult with the minority leader or his designee on the designation of any matter for consideration pursuant to this section. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized for one hour. ms. scanlon: madam speaker, for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from ms. lesko less -- and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. scanlon: madam speaker, on wednesday, the rules committee met and reported a rule, house resolution 52, providing for consideration of house joint resolution 28, the further additional continuing appropriations act of 2019, to fund the government until february 28. the rule provides for consideration of the legislation under a closed rule. the rule provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on appropriations. additionally, the rule provides suspension authority through the legislative day of january 25, 2019. madam speaker, we are in day 27 of this government shutdown, the longest government shutdown in our nation's history. nearly 800,000 federal employees have now missed a paycheck since the shutdown began. some estimates say those employees lost an average of $5,000 each so far. these hardworking americans are law enforcement officers, national park service employees, e.p.a., f.d.a. and i.r.s. employees, so many others in dedicated federal service whose families are needlessly suffering. these employees are either furloughed or being forced to work without pay. this is not an acceptable way to govern. i may not have been a member of this body as long as some people here, but i don't think there's a single member, democrat or republican, who doesn't care about securing our border. but it's foolish to think keeping our government shutdown will in any way help secure the border. you know what border patrol and coast guard members want more than a wall? they want their paychecks to come on time. democrats have made it clear, we are more than willing to come to the table to talk about sensible border security, but the first step has to be to reopen the government and get our government back to functioning. this majority has already voted to open the government seven times with support from across the aisle. but senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has yet to act on any of these bipartisan pieces of legislation. the same legislation, i might add, that has already passed the senate. there are more than 100 freshman members of this body, comprising over 20% of the house, who've never worked in a functioning federal government due to the senate's inaction. all of our constituents, both republican and democrat, are suffering because of that failure to act. let me share with you the traumatic impact of the shutdown on my constituents and americans across the country. jennifer, the wife of a coast guard gunners mate wrote to my office to detail the hardships her family is facing. her husband has served in the coast guard for 19 years. they're used to stressful deployments and her children are proud of their father's service, but now jennifer has new hardships to face. how to feed her family on only her income. how she could make the holiday special while not knowing when her husband's next paycheck would come. and how to shield her kids from her constant worry over the absence of that income. this is an embarrassment. too many federal workers were already living pay czech to paycheck before -- paycheck to paycheck before those paychecks stopped. having to put a mortgage payment on a credit card, deal with an eviction notice, on plead with the bank to delay a student loan payment should not be the reality forced upon hardworking federal employees. the debts these workers incur during the shutdown will follow them long after the government has reopened. the hits to their savings accounts and marks on their credit scores will serve as painful reminders that they're represented by a government that will put them in harm's way over a policy dispute. fran, a newlywed with a premature baby who spent more than three weeks in the nicu has been without an income since her husband's paycheck stopped coming. their child requires an expensive formula due to his premature birth and now being asked to work overtime without pay. these messages from our friends and neighbors is palpable. it should resonate for members throughout this body. if we didn't come to washington to serve these dedicated and hardworking americans, then just who are we here to serve? when the government does eventually reopen, fortunately many of these federal employees will receive back pay, but the plight of federal contractors is worse. the term federal contractors can coninjure up an imaged of highly paid executives or c.e.o.'s of private detention facilities, but they're not the real ones harmed by the shutdown. federal contractors are generally small businesses, cleaners, builders, food service workers, and tech support workers. they are neighbors who rely on these contracts to make their rent or pay their employees or contribute to our local economies. the calousness with which these federal contractors are being treated is repulsive. they and their families deserve so much better. the american people deserve so much better. the longer senate republicans keep our government shut down, the worse things will get. the small business administration has already stopped approving loan assistance and guarantee applications from commercial banks and small businesses, programs that are critical to the health of local employees. security lines at the airports are long and they will get longer. t.s.a. has already been forced to close security lanes at major airports across the country. this is not because the hardworking men and women of the t.s.a. do not want to keep our skies and our passengers safe but because they've been forced to take second jobs to pay the rent or look after their children at home because they cannot afford childcare. without a paycheck, some cannot afford gas or car fare to get to work at all. just a few days ago i met with the air traffic controllers from my district. they shared not only is the shutdown impacting their current workforce but it's drastically impacting their recruiting efforts to hire and train new employees for this workforce. can we blame people for being fearful of taking a job that-gs on the federal government's -- that hinges on the federal government's functionality given this shutdown? one warned recently, if the shutdown continues to drag on, there may not be any air traffic controllers left working. let me pause to make those statements abundantly clear. this shutdown is making us less safe. if it continues much longer, there will not be enough employees on duty to make sure passengers are safe to board a plane, not enough employees left to make sure planes are safe to land and not enough employees to direct air traffic in our skies. if you think you're insulated from the effects of a government shutdown because you are not a federal employee you're wrong. what i fear this administration and republican leadership in the senate have forgotten is that this is the people's house. we have an obligation to work for them. refusing to uphold that commitment, that promise is a slap in the face to the american people. before i conclude, let me share with you one final story how the shutdown is harming american families. jennifer from my district is a mother of six with a special needs child. her husband is active duty coast guard. she's been forced to tell her children, they can't have seconds at dinner because she doesn't know if she'll have enough food to last the week. her daughter has an ultrasound coming up and she's unsure if she can afford the specialist co-pay. she writes, she and her husband supported president trump but after this she does not see, and i quote, how we could support someone so out of touch and willing to damage so many eople in order to save his own face? they say they're prepared to stand strong but they're also prepared to stand at the corner of an intersection with a cardboard sign if that's what she has to do to feed our children. this was not the america i was raised in. let's end the shutdown today and get our country back on track. madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. ms. less ms. lesko: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentlewoman from pennsylvania for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. s. lesko: thank you. -- mrs. lesko: thank you. madam speaker, i agree with representative scanlon. i want to open up the government. republicans want to open the government. democrats want to open the government. so i respectfully ask house and senate democrats to stop holding our federal workers hostage. you know, on december 20, i voted for and republicans voted for in the house a bill right here, standing right here on december 20 that would have kept the government open and then we would not have had any of these discussions or need for these bills because the government would still be open. unfortunately, not one democrat member of the house voted for it. i, too, have federal workers in my district that are hurting. these great men and women that work hard each and every day of their life, single mothers who are waiting for their paycheck, and so i call on my colleagues across the aisle to please come to the negotiating table. i believe the number one rule in negotiations 101 is you have to show up. and repeatedly we have seen the republicans and the president request the democrat leadership to come and negotiate, give a counteroffer. they refuse to show up. so i say, if the house republicans already passed a bill that would have kept the government open and now we're at this impasse but the democrat leadership refuses to come to even a negotiating table or a counteroffer, i just don't know what to say. well, madam speaker, once again we have returned to the house floor to consider yet another short-term spending bill that once again is most likely going nowhere. for what is now the fourth time in three weeks, we have returned to the house floor on a rule to consider an appropriations bill as part of the majority's efforts to fund the government without working with president trump. unfortunately, we think this effort is just as shortsighted as the previous bills over the last couple of weeks, and today's rule is again destined to ignore the fundamental realities at issue. but first, as i said before, let's take a quick look at how we got to this point. on december 20, the house of representatives passed a bill that would have funded the government and prevented the shutdown. it included a continuing resolution through february 8. it included disaster relief and funding for border security that the democrats say they want but are not listening to our own law enforcement on the border on their recommendations. that was a bill the majority of the senate supported and the president said he would sign. unfortunately, as we all know, the senate refused to take up the house measure, mostly because of their 60-vote rule where they need democrats to get onboard, and parts of the government shut down when appropriations lapsed. again, not one single democrat in the house voted for this bill that would have avoided this whole entire partial government shutdown. . on january 3 when the new congress was sworn in, the house took up a continuing resolution through february 8. only this time swept clean of essential disaster relief funding or funding for border security. to date the senate as we know has refused to take up this measure, and at president has said he would not sign it. -- and the president has said he would not sign it. because it does not have additional money for border security. last week again the house took up four more spending bills that covered four of the outstanding seven appropriations titles. unfortunately, the week prior, these bills also did not include funding for border security. even more unfortunately, these bills were one that is were produced by the senate alone during the last congress and that did not even reflect any work by or input from the house of representatives. just as publicly stated, the senate has not taken up any of these bills during this congress, and has no plans to take this one up, either. on tuesday, the majority put up yet another continuing resolution. this one a suspension bill to fund the government through february 1. but yet again emitting any funding for border security, which is the key ingredient to get negotiations done. that bill failed to reach the /3 threshold to pass under suspension of the rules. -- 2/3 threshold to pass under suspension of the rules. yesterday the house took up supplemental disaster appropriation bill that was intended only to provide just over $12 billion in necessary disaster relief for affected communities. this was bipartisan bill. we can pass it out of here. but instead of bringing up this bipartisan disaster relief bill to the floor, the majority chose to play politics once again and decided at the last minute to attach yet another continuing resolution to this bill, again without any border security funding, and again to fund the government through february 8. that bill passed the house yesterday. yet there is no sign that the senate ever has any intention of taking that bill up. in any event, the president has made it clear, and i believe the american public has made it clear, that we want border security. and that brings us to today. i have to tell you i'm running out of ways to describe what the majority is doing, but i imagine the speaker knows where i'm going with this. once again the majority is bringing up yet another continuing resolution, this one goes to february 28, and again with no funding for border security. yet again it is clear that if we pass this bill, the senate will not consider it and the president will not sign it because it does not include funding for border security. we now see the comments read in all the majority is doing, bringing up bills again and again and again to fund the government without dealing with the fundamental problem. all of these repeated continuing resolutions are the same. only the date has changed. all of them fail to fund border security, which americans have told us again and again they want and need. and all of them are continued avoidance of what needs to happen in order to end this shutdown. real, sincere negotiations with the senate and the president for border security. i feel that this is an exercise in few tillity. the majority is failing to acknowledge the crisis happening at our southern border. as you know, i am a member of arizona, a border state. when will the democrats get serious about ending this government shutdown and come to the negotiating table to work out a deal that has a real chance of being signed into law? i know that border security is a crisis, and the other night on tv when speaker pelosi and chuck schumer said it's a manufactured crisis, i can tell you firsthand that is not accurate. we do have a crisis on the border. and we need to fix it. i have been to the border. i have been to the border several times. i recently vitted -- visited the united states-mexico border in arizona where i met with customs and border protection agents. the crisis we're dealing with at the border is not just illegal immigration, they said. there is illicit drugs flowing through our borders which are killing our children and adults. human trafficking. they told us that dangerous cartels are using our loose immigration laws to exploit the women and children having them travel thousands of miles. do you know that doctors without borders say that one in three of these women have been sexually abused? this is unconscionable. we need border security. it is the law enforcement, the customs and border patrol that have said repeatedly, have told me personally, yes, part of the solution is a a border fence. in 2006, democrats supported a border fence. chuck schumer and then senators barack obama and hillary clinton voted to fund $52 billion for 700 miles of fencing. now the president is asking for $5.7 billion. that's only 1/10 of 1% of the federal budget. unfortunately, because of their refusal to add this to any bills, it has shut down the government. this rule before us today is another ploy. democrats are refusing to negotiate and refusing to deal with the national security issue. please let's stop these games and pass a real bill that funds border security, that opens the government, that funds disaster relief, send it to the senate, and have it signed into law. with that, i urge opposition to the rule and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona reserves. the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. scanlon: i understand the frustration of the the gentlewoman from arizona with a lack of progress in ending this shutdown, but i would suggest that her frustration is misdirected. the house has sent seven bills to end the shutdown to the senate. and the senate leadership has refused to entertain any of hem or bring them to a vote. #where's mitch? madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from maine, mr. golden. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. golden: i thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. madam speaker, this shutdown's been brutal on working people across the country. many of them are my constituents i came down here today to let their voices be heard. back home a border patrol agent from my district said about all of us here in the house, white house, the senate, i blame all of you. for the financial and emotional damage you are causing to the very people tasked with protecting your nation and your homeland. but ultimately this fault is on the white house. suzette from my district, her husband a federal employee working without pay, she asked me to bring sensibility to this senseless power struggle that is currently going on. the democrats, she said, she's a democrat by the way, need to back down from their must-punish trump and deny him everything stance. anti-republicans need to get some control over the ill-equipped man running our country. another federal employee from milford, maine, tells me i am very concerned with the furlough. with the lack of negotiations and the lack of pay. i do not know who is write or wrong. i just want to get back to work. i want to complete my job. and receive my pay. we owe these people a solution that gets them back to work and gets them paid. i can only imagine that back home people are amazed to hear the ways in which both sides are right now talking past each other. i think it's wonderful that we both have expressed, on both sides of the aisle this morning, a desire to reopen government and to secure our borders. i would like to point out that the c.r. that will be voted on today does have border security funding, over $1 billion in new funding for border security. i know that the republicans said they want to reopen government and security our borders. i also know that my party has said the same. let's do it. i urge my colleagues to support the rule. support the c.r. today. let's reopen government. let's put people back to work. let them work. they are public servants, they want to serve the people. let's start securing our border w that extra billion dollars we can can move on to a moreau bust debate of our border security i look forward to. thank you very much, madam speaker. i yield the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentlewoman from as a as is recognized. mrs. lesko: thank you, madam speaker. i yield five minutes to my good friend, the representative from arizona, mr. biggs. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. biggs: thank you, madam speaker. i thank the gentlelady for yielding time for me to speak on this important issue. i oppose this rule and i think we are talking past each a other. as the previous gentleman from maine just indicated. we want the government to reopen. but we want something called border security. and i'm told that this bill has $1 billion in for border security. we're not going to build a wall. here's the thing that happens. down in arizona where we live, we don't live 2,000 miles away from that southern border where the immigration problem is that illegal border crossings are monumental. we actually see you humanitarian crisis. that crisis exists when people who are coming to america, they don't go through the ports of entry, they are going between the ports of entry. some of the most rugged land and terrain in the world. coming down from the sierra ma devil rays in northern mexico -- ma devil rays in northern mexico. in the summertime blazing heat. in the wintertime the evenings cool down to the 20's. i saw people just yesterday being shown on the news, they are getting ready to try to make the trek. they are carrying plastic grocery bags with their supplies. they are dressed casually. they have no comprehension of the danger that they are bringing to themselves when they are coming across. it's a humanitarian crisis. do you know what a border wall would do? t would provide a deterrent. at a port of entry when that border wall was created, crossings declined almost 90%. it forced people to a different place. they began crossing away from the ports of entry at san diego over to arizona and texas. so we built a wall around the yuma port of entry. you know what happened? those crossings key decreased 75% to 80%. they moved on to more dangerous places in the desert. between rds nogales, the douglas port of entry. more than 100 individuals' bodies were found last year trying to enter. it's a humanitarian crisis. the opioids that come across the southern border. 141 tons of heroin. seized coming across the southern border last year. 140 tons of cocaine. seized from across the southern border. i hear people say border security, they start talking about drones and unmanned aerial vehicles and cameras. guess what? that does not deter anyone. we get to watch the videos of people coming across. you know what a wall does? it channelizes people. it forces them to go to place that is we can interdict them. we provide hundreds of millions ofle toars of high mantarian aid to people horrificing their lives trying to enter this country. if it wasn't so serious, i would find it laugh aable to hear folks say we're putting $1 billion into this. it's border security. because they don't want a political victory for president trump. it's not about political victories. it's about national security. it's about humanitarian concern. and you're not going to get a better thing for your buck than to build a border wall. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona reserves. the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. scanlon: i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. mrs. lesko: thank you, madam speaker. i yield five minutes to my good friend, the representative from pennsylvania, mr. perry. mr. perry: i thank the gentlelady from arizona. madam speaker, folks in the audience and folks watching this on tv, this is all theater. . this is all political theater. everybody knows, i know, good friends on the other side of the aisle know this isn't going to solve anything. this isn't going to be a solution. this will never be moved through the senate. not going to be signed by the president. if we were interested in opening the federal government, we would be negotiating, we'd be talking about what our differences are about border security. remember, this is a bill that includes the funding for border security. that's why this is -- that's why we have this partial shutdown because we have a disagreement about border security. and we're trying to work it out, but we can't work it out by running the same bills that don't do anything and they are never going to move through the senate and aren't going to be signed by the president. it's time to get serious. last year, this government was shut down for a few days over amnesty. over amnesty. now it's shut down because the other side doesn't want to talk about border security. you put amnesty and lack of border security together and that's open borders. that's completely open borders. just on the news, if you're watching the last couple days, more caravans headed north out of central america through mexico to the united states border. that's what's happening right now while our border patrol agents are out there working but not being paid, here come these folks up -- we don't know what their circumstances are. i am sure there are a lot of fine people in there. i am sure there are children in there and the horrors they are going to suffer on this trek north up through the desert and these points -- between the points of entry, between the points of entry. madam speaker, the most recent numbers out of homeland security in november, 51,000 people came across -- that's the ones we caught. 51,000 people came across the border between the ports of entry. if they were coming to the ports of entry, this wouldn't be half of the problem. but the problem is they're coming between the ports of entry. that's one month. 51,000. that's the ones we counted. that's the ones we caught. we don't have any idea how many made it through. yet, some folks are saying, well, we are going to give you an extra billion to solve the problem. it's the same billion and it's to fix problems at the ports of entry. leages, madam speaker, the problems are -- ladies and gentlemen, madam speaker, the problems are between the ports of entry. the billion dollars we are talking about are to muddle around and maintain things at the ports of entry but do nothing between the ports of entry. nothing at all. that's the status quo. that's why we're in this argument because we're saying we cannot withstand, we cannot maintain the status quo of 51,000 people a month coming illegally across our border and doing nothing and we're pleading with the other side. please, let's do something. let's do something different than the status quo because the status quo gives us 51,000 people illegally coming across the border and they're saying, well, we are going to run the same bill to open the government and do nothing and we cannot abide that. the american people cannot abide that. people are working, madam speaker, without being paid while people pour across our border and we're expecting them to stop them. they don't have the resources because we are not providing them. t is time to end this needless show of work. we're here working, right? we're all here working. we're not doing anything to solve the problem. what it's going to take is somebody to sit down at the table and say, look, see here, this is what i think the issue is, this is what i think the issue is, and find some solution somewhere in the middle but you can't do that if you're not willing to have a discussion. we're asking them to have a discussion so we can get past this so people can get paid and the american people can be assured that their government -- that their government is securing their border, their property, their country and stopping all these illegal immigrants from coming in and making sure that they -- if they are going to come in -- and we are a country of immigrants. my mother -- my grandmother and my great-grandmother came here from colombia, south america. they came through ellis island because they had a process. we welcome immigrants. more than any other country on the planet. we want you to come legally. we don't want you to pour across the border into our country with gang-related violence, with fentanyl, with opioids that are killing people in our own communities. all these drugs and crime and violence. we're asking you to come to the ports of entry and quit pouring in through the ports of entry but our laws now invite them to do that which is why we're coming. i just beseech you, madam speaker. thank you for your indulgence and your time. let's quit this show. let's quit this charade. let's quit this theater and let's get serious for the people that are working for the american people that expect more and get down and negotiate, come to a solution and move on with things, the important things that plague our nation and i thank you and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona reserves. the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. scanlon: madam speaker, i'm surprised to hear my colleague talk about political theater. we have a reality show president in the white house who's ignoring the real lives impacted by the trump shutdown. all to try to create another made-for-tv moment to please his right-wing base and media pundits. government isn't a game. real lives are at stake and we need to reopen the government. madam speaker, may i inquire if the gentlewoman has any remaining speakers? if not, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. mrs. lesko: i am prepared to close as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized. mrs. lesko: thank you. madam speaker, in closing, this is the fourth time we have deliberated on this floor in the last three weeks on the exact same type of package. just the date keeps changing. sometimes it's february 1, times it's february 8, times it's february 28. but it's all the same. none of them, none of them include funding for border security. it's the fourth time that the same result will ensue. the house of representatives is in a perpetual cycle of groundhog day that we cannot seem to escape. representative scanlon and i serve, of course, on the rules committee together. it is groundhog day. we say the same things each and every day. really, let's get to the negotiating table and, really, let's get something done. the majority seems to be insistent on reviewing these same appropriations packages again and again fully knowing that the nat has made clear they will -- senate has made clear they will not take up these bills because there's no border security in them. finally, madam speaker, i would be remiss if i did not mention that this bill is, again, coming to the floor under a closed rule. of the eight bills the house has considered under a rule this congress, seven have been closed. with no opportunity for members to present new ideas and new amendments. now, i know that chairman mcgovern has assured us he wants a more open process. and i believe he is sincere in his assurance. we saw more open process on the disaster supplemental bill we considered earlier this week, which has so far been the outliar of this congress with 15 amendments made in order on a structured rule. i look forward to considering more rules that have a more open process than the one we are considering today. madam speaker, i urge no on the previous question, no on the underlying measure, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona yields back. the gentlewoman from pennsylvania is recognized. ms. scanlon: thank you. madam speaker, i don't know when the shutdown will end, but i know that democrats and all of the republicans who are serious about getting federal employees back to work will vote in favor of this rule and the underlying resolution. i'm heartened by my colleagues from across the while who have already voted to reopen the government, and i'm hopeful even more will join us this time around. no serious person can claim that any member of this house is against border security. not only have we sworn an oath to protect and defend this country, but we have voted repeatedly to fund billions of dollars in border security appropriations. the discussion about the best methods for protecting our border is a valid policy question that should be debated thoughtfully and deliberately by both sides of the aisle, not used as a vehicle for the president to fulfill a campaign promise at the expense of american families. it cannot be overstated, this is the longest government shutdown in history. the house has done its job. we have passed bills to reopen the government on bipartisan votes and we'll continue to do so for as long as it takes. we have committed to working on solutions to border security once the government is open back up. the votes are there in the senate. they've already shown that, and given the chance, i'm sure they would show it again. why won't senator mcconnell bring to the floor any one of the house-passed bills to open the government? i'll end by saying this. senator mcconnell, do the right thing for working families in your state, in my state, and across the country. hold a vote to open the government. let's end the pain american families and businesses are feeling from the shutdown and get to work on making this country a better place for all. madam speaker, i urge a yes vote on the rule and the previous question and i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from pennsylvania yields back. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mrs. lesko: madam speaker, on that i demand the yeas and nays be recorded. 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 this uestion will be postponed. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess for a period less than 15 minutes. return taxpayers their own money. >> washington journal continues.