Continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing house of representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the house of representatives to exercise its constitutional power to impeach donald john trump, president of the United States of america. Section 2. Open and transparent investigative proceedings by the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence for the purpose of continuing the investigation described in the first section of this resolution, the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence referred to in this resolution as the Permanent Select Committee is authorized to conduct proceedings pursuant to this resolution as follows. One, the chair of the Permanent Select Committee shall designate and open hearing or hearings pursuant to this section. Two, notwithstanding clause 2j2 of rule 11 of the rules of the house of representatives, upon recognition by the chair for such purpose during any hearing pursuant to paragraph 1, the chair and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee shall be permitted to question witnesses for equal specified periods of longer than five minutes as determined by the chair. The Time Available for each period of questioning under this paragraph shall be equal for the chair and ranking minority member. The chair maconner if recognition for multiple periods of such question bug each such period of questioning shall in the exceed 90 minutes in thing a refwat. Only the chair and ranking minority member or the Permanent Select Committee employee if yielded to by the chair or ranking minority member may question witnesses during such periods of questioning. At the conclusion of questioning, pursuant to this paragraph the Committee Shall proceed with questioning under the fiveminute rule pursuant to clause 2j2a of rule 11. Three, to allow for full evaluation of minority witness requests, the ranking minority member may submit to the chair in writing any requests for witness testimony relevant to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution within 72 hours after notice is given for the first hearing designated pursuant paragraph 1. Any such requests shall be accompanied by a detailed written justification of the relevance of the testimony of each requested witness to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution. 4a. The ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee is authorized for the concurrence of the chair to require as deemed necessary to the investigation, i, by subpoena or otherwise, one, the attendance and testimony of any person, including at a take of deposition and two, the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and document, and ii, by interrogatory, the furnishing of information, b, in the case the chair declines to concur in a proposed action of the ranking minority member pursuant to subparagraph a, the ranking minority member shall have the right to refer to the committee or decision the question whether such authority shall be so exercise and the chair shall convene the committee promptly to consider such decision ubject to clause 2 of rule 11. Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be signed by the ranking minority member and my be served by any person designated by the ranking minority member. Five, the chair is authorized to make publicly available in electronic form the transcript and depositions by the Permanent Select Committee in furtherance of the investigation described in the first section of this resolution with appropriate redaxes for classified and other sensitive information. Six the Permanent Select Committee is directed to issue a report setting forth its findings and any recommendations and append anything information and materials the Permanent Select Committee may deem appropriate with respect to the investigation described in the first section of this resolution. The chair shall transmit such reports and dependencies along with any supplemental minority, additional or dissenting slews filed pursuant to clause 21 of rule 11 and make such report publicly available in electronic form with appropriate redaxes to protect classify and other sensitive information. The report required by this paragraph shall be prepared in consultuation the chairs of the committee on Foreign Affairs and the committee on oversight and reform. Section 3. Transmission of additional materials. The chair of the Permanent Select Committee or the chair of any other committee having custody of records or other materials relating to the inquiry referenced in the first section of this resolution is authorized in consultation with the ranking minority member to transfer such records or materials to the committee on the judiciary. Section 4. Impeachment inquiry procedures in the committee on the judiciary. A. The house authorizes the committee on the judiciary to conduct proceedings relating to the impeachment inquiry referenced in the first section of this resolution, pursuant to the procedures submitted for printing in the congressional record by the chair of the committee on rules, including such procedures as to follow the participation of the president and his counsel. B, the committee on the judiciary is authorized to promulgate additional procedures as it deems necessary for the fair and efficient conduct of Committee Hearings held pursuant to this resolution provided that the additional procedures are not inconsistent with the procedures referenced in subsection a, the rules committee and the rues of the house. C1. The ranking minority member of the committee or the committee on the judiciary is authorized with the concurrence of the chair they have judiciary to require as deemed necessary to the investigation a, by subpoena or otherwise, i, the attendance and testimony of any person including at a taking of a deposition and ii, the production of books, records, correspondence, memoranda, papers, and documents, and b, by interrogatory the fun furnishing of information. Two, in the case that the chair declines to concur in a proposed action of the ranking minority member pursuant to paragraph 1, the ranking minority member shall have the right to refer to the committee for decision the question whether such authority shall be so exercised and the chair shall convene the committee promptly to render that decision. Such notice procedures for Committee Meeting under clause 2a and b of rule 11. Subpoenas and interrogatories so authorized may be signed by the ranking minority member and may be served by any person designated by the ranking minority member. May make e d recommendations as it deems proper. The speaker the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one hour. Mr. Mcfwoverb madam speaker, for the purposes of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Cole, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume and let me say, madam speaker, i appreciate the professionalism that my friend from oklahoma has demonstrated through the this process. We dont see eyetoeye on this impeachment inquiry but he has already conducted himself with integrity and defended this constitution. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. I i ask unanimous consent that all members be given five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The speaker without objection. Mr. Mcgovern madam speaker, on wednesday afternoon, the rules committee marked up and favorably reported House Resolution 660, directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing house of representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the house of representatives to exercise its constitutional power to impeach donald john trump, president of the United States of america. Madam speaker, this is a sad day for our country. Over 230 years ago, when the founders of our country wrote the constitution they entrusted us with the gift of selfgovernment. But they knew the persistence of this gift was not assured. It may be taken for granted today but having just shaken off a tyrant, the founders knew better. They understood that the very foundations of our country are dependent on safeguarding against one brampling of government encroaching on the others. Thats what the idea of checks and balances is all about. Within that system, the framers gave only this congress the power, if need be, to impeach a president over possible wrongdoing. This fact, that no one is above the law is what separate this is country from so many others. Because of its seriousness, the impeachment process has been rarely used for president s. For just the fourth time now nations history, congress is now investigating whether to impeach a president of the United States. Our authority to do so under article 2, section 4 of the constitution of the United States and the rules of the house of representatives is clear. The court have recently agreed. For all the disagreements i have with President Trump, for all his policies, his tweets and rhetoric that i deeply disagree with, i never wanted our country to reach this point. I do not take any pleasure in the need for this resolution. We are not here in some partisan exercise. We are here because the facts compel us to be here. There is serious evidence that President Trump may have violated the constitution. This is about protecting our National Security and safeguarding our elections. Thats why the Intelligence Committee has been gathering evidence and hearing testimony. Like any investigation, reasonable confidentiality has been paramount. Witnesses should not be able to coordinate testimony in advance. The truth must be allowed to prevail. Republicans have been a part of every single proceeding conducted so far. Republicans conducting these depositions along with their staffs have had an opportunity to question each and every witness. Now, madam speaker, we are entering the publicfacing phase of this process. I commend the investigative committees and their staffs for the professional man for the which they have conducted themselves. Id also like to commend the courageous Public Servants that have bravely come forward to tell the truth. Without their courage, this possible wrongdoing would never have seen the light of day. The public should not be left in the dark. They should see the facts about the president s conduct firsthand. Thats why i introduced this resolution. It establishes the next steps of this inquiry, including establishing the procedure for publicfacing hearings conducted by the Intelligence Committee and the process for transferring evidence to the Judiciary Committee. Its about transparency and its about due process for the president. Some on the other side will never be satisfied with any process that uncovers the truth of what the president did. Madam speaker, none of us knows whether or not President Trump will be impeached or convicted. Only the facts and how we respond to them will dictate the outcome. I truly believe that 100 years from now, historians will look back at this moment and judge us by the decisions we make here today. This moment calls for more than politics. It calls for people concerned not about the reactions of partisans today, but of the consequences of an action decades from now. If we dont hold this president accountable, we could be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable. At the end of the day this resolution isnt about donald trump. It isnt about any of us. Its about our constitution. Its about our country. So i urge my colleagues to not just think about the political pressures of the moment, these will pass. Please consider the heavy responsibility you have today to this institution, the constitution, and to our country. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma rise . Mr. Cole madam speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Mcgovern, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Cole i want to begin by thanking my friend for his kind words and the professionalism with which he handled last nights hearing. Before i begin, madam speaker, i would ask the chairman if hed withdraw his resolution at which time i will ask unanimous consent for the house immediately proceed to the consideration of h. R. 668 instead. Which provides for consideration of House Resolution 660 under a rule. Madam speaker, this would in no way prevent the consideration of the resolution before us today. However, it would provide us with an opportunity for all members to participate in the process. I pro my proposed rule would provide for four hours of yen debate on h r. 660, allow for amendments under an open process, and provide for a motion to recommit. On an issue as important as this, one hour ever debate on a resolution written in the dark of night and marked up in a process where no republican amendments were accepted is simply insufficient. Additionally, it would allow all members to offer amendments to improve the process to get to the truth, which im sure is the goal of all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. With that i ask the chairman to accept my request. The speaker pro tempore the yield. An mr. Cole i yield to my friend. Mr. Mcgovern no, i do not. Mr. Cole i ask unanimous consent that the debate time on huelings 660 be expanded to four hours the speaker pro tempore the the gentleman has yielded for debate only. The gentleman from massachusetts would have to yield for that request. Mr. Cole i want to begin by echoing my friends words. Its a sad day for all of us. For me personally, im sure for all my colleagues on the rules committee, and for the institution as a whole. Todays resolution sets forth a process for impeaching the president of the United States. Its not a fair process, its not an open process. Its not a transparent process. But instead its limited and a closed process with a preordained outcome. Impeachment of the president is one of the most consequential acts that the house of representatives can do. It should only be done after the fullest consideration and yet over the last month, without a vote and only the speakers say so, the committees have been engaged in a closed impeachment inquiry in what amounts to nothing more than partisan fishing expedition. At least today the majoritys admitting what we have known all along. That the house was not following an appropriate process for impeachment. But i do not think the process was setting forth in this resolution is fair, either. Its not fair to the president of the United States. Its not fair to the house of representatives. Its not fair to the American People. The process laid out in the resolution before us is different from the process used for both president nixon in 1974 and president clinton in 1998. Todays resolution provides fewer process protections and fewer protections for minority rights than what we have seen in previous impeachment efforts. At our markup yesterday, republicans tried to change that. We tried to offer constructive amendments that made the process more fair. That would give rights to the minority, that would give rights to the accused. And that would ensure due process for everyone. Republicans offered 17 amendments and not one, not one, madam speaker, was accepted. Not one. We offered amendments that would align the subpoena powers in this resolution with the subpoena powers used for president clinton. Unlike the clinton inquiry, todays resolution does not provide for coequal subpoenas power. Instead, it grants the minority the right to subpoena witnesses and materials only with the concurrence of the chair. With no such limitation on the rights of the chair to issue subpoenas. We offered amendments that would change that, but the majority rejected both of them each of them in turn. We offered an amendment that would allow all members the right to fully accepts Committee Records. This is commonsense. If you are doing something as serious as impeaching the president , then members should have the right to see what records the committee produced so that they will know what ey are voting on if the on, yet the majority 7 spreekted that. And also respected that. And to allow the president and his counsel in proceedings on the Intelligence Committee, oversight committee, and Foreign Affairs committee. This right was granted to president clinton in 1998, yet its not present here. The majority, again, rejected the amendment. I think the difference is clear. Todays resolution fails to give the minority the same rights as were present during the clinton impeachment, and it fails to offer the same due process protections that were given to president s nixon and clinton. And in the latter case, i note those rights were given by a Republican House to a democratic president. Todays resolution shows a Democratic House failing to give these same protections to a republican president. Madam speaker, the unfairness is clear. This is not a fair process, nor was it ever intended to be. It was preordained from the beginning. Without due process, and without a fair process, the respect for minority rights, i do not believe the American People will regard this process as legitimate. A legitimate proc