Alcee Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is my great honor to rise today and recognize the achievements of Mr. Charles ``Chuck'' Shaw, an educator, public servant, community leader, and distinguished resident of Palm Beach County, Florida. Mr. Shaw has dedicated 55 years of service to his community and has played a pivotal role in the success it enjoys today. For his outstanding work, the Kiwanis Club of Westside, West Palm Beach will be presenting Mr. Shaw with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Mr. Shaw is originally from Martinsburg, West Virginia, but moved to Florida with his family when he was five years old. He graduated from Forest Hill High School in 1966 and later earned both a bachelor's and master's degree in Education from Florida Atlantic University. In 1970, Mr. Shaw began his career in education as a teacher at Berkshire Elementary School, where he served for six years before becoming Assistant Principal at North Grade Elementary and then Principal of Westward Elementary. He also served as Principal of Northboro Elementary, Okeeheelee Middle School, and the new Greenacres--Liberty Park Elementary school, where he was the first person ever to serve as Principal. Mr. Shaw was later appointed at the district level as Area Superintendent, Department Head, and Director of Governmental Relations. During his tenure in these important positions, he lobbied at the state and federal levels for adult and community education. Mr. Shaw's dedication to youth development extended beyond school administration. He served for 25 years as the President of the Palm Beach County Youth Football League, the Palm Springs Athletic Association, and the Lake Worth Bronco and Pony League. For his contributions, he was nominated and inducted into the Palm Beach County Sports Hall of Fame. In 1988, Mr. Shaw was elected to the City Council for the Town of Greenacres, Florida. He served 22 years and was appointed to serve as Deputy Mayor. Mr. Shaw also served on the board of Trustees Florida Education Investment Trust, the Florida Labor Relations Board, and the Palm Beach County Safety Patrol Board. In 2012, he was elected to the Palm Beach County School Board and re- elected in 2016; he currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to recognize and thank Mr. Charles ``Chuck'' Shaw for his dedication to the education, mentoring, and personal development for the youth of Palm Beach County. I wish him many more years of continued success.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, it is my great privilege to rise today to honor Ms. Evangelina Mendiola, for her extraordinary contributions as an adoptive and foster parent in Broward County, Florida. Ms. Mendiola was recognized as a 2018 Angel in Adoption by the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI). Currently in the process of adopting her fifth child, she also regularly opens her home and heart as a caring foster parent. Indeed, she is admired in her community for her steadfast commitment to the welfare of children. Ms. Mendiola's longstanding dedication truly exemplifies the values of the Angels in Adoption program. Founded in 2001, CCAI is a nonprofit organization with the vision that every child should know the love and support of a caring family. Every year, CCAI selects a small group of outstanding individuals, families, or organizations across the nation to be recognized as Angels in Adoption. These honorees have gone above and beyond to demonstrate commitment to improving the lives of children in need of permanent, loving homes. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Evangelina Mendiola is a member of our community, whom we can all admire and respect. I commend her for her inspiring commitment to the welfare of children, and wish her the very best as she continues to make the dream of a family a reality for the children she has given a warm and loving home

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of S. 2497, the Ileana Ros-Lehtinen United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018, introduced by two of my fellow Floridians, the Chair and Co-Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, Reps. Ileana Ros- Lehtinen (R-FL) and Ted Deutch (D-FL). This legislation takes a number of steps to reaffirm American commitment to Israel, one of our nation's closest allies and partners in security. Two years ago, the House of Representatives passed H. Res. 729, affirming Israel's status as a major strategic partner of the United Sates, reaffirming our policy of ensuring Israel Qualitative Military Edge (QME), and calling for the expeditious finalization of a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between our governments. A new MOU was signed soon after, providing Israel with $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant assistance every year for the next decade. While I personally hoped that this figure would reach $4 billion annually, the new MOU nevertheless reflected our commitment to Israel's security and our numerous cooperative programs in missile defense, cyber-defense, and aerospace. The legislation we are debating today codifies this MOU into law, ensuring that it is the policy of the United States to provide assistance to the Government of Israel in order to support funding for cooperative programs to develop, produce, and procure missile and other defense capabilities to help Israel meet its security needs, and to help develop and enhance the defense capabilities of the United States. This legislation expands Israel's access to precision guided munitions for self-defense in the event of a sustained armed confrontation with armed groups such as Hezbollah or the terrorist organization Hamas. S. 2497 extends stockpile authority for war reserves in Israel, extends American loan guarantees, modifies the procedures for rapid acquisition and deployment of defense supplies, and takes important steps to improve upon Israel's QME, including new assessments of Israel's ability to effectively defend itself against military threats from regional non-state actors, risks posed by the unauthorized transfer or proliferation of equipment for use against Israel, and risks posed by unmanned vehicles and systems through air, land or water, and cyber and other asymmetric entities. This bill goes even further, enhancing cooperation between our countries by establishing new partnerships for cybersecurity research and development and commercialization of cybersecurity technology and ensuring the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continues to work with the Israel Space Agency to identify and cooperatively pursue peaceful space exploration and science initiatives in areas of mutual interest. Finally, this bill grants the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) authority to enter into a MOU with Israel in order to advance common goals on energy, agriculture and food security, democracy, human rights and governance, economic growth and trade, education, environment, global health and water sanitation, with a focus on strengthening mutual ties and cooperation with nations throughout the world. For more than half a century, the United States and Israel have shared the common bond of democracy. This bond remains as strong today as it was when President Harry Truman first recognized the creation of a Jewish State in 1948, and we must continue to strengthen it whenever possible, including engaging the region and commit to finding a fair solution that enables both Israel and her neighbors to live in security and prosperity. I urge support for this legislation.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1911, the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Act of 2018. This important legislation would elevate the position of Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism to the rank of Ambassador, reporting directly to the Secretary of State; as the primary advisor and coordinator for U.S. government efforts to monitor and combat Anti- Semitism and Anti-Semitic incitement in foreign countries. Many notable groups support this initiative, including the American Jewish Committee, the Anti-Defamation League, and The Jewish Federations of North America, and I am proud to stand with them to ensure that the United States continues to play a leading role in combatting Anti- Semitism across the globe. Those of us who have served on the U.S. Helsinki Commission have taken efforts to combat anti-Semitism at the international level. As Ranking Democratic Member of the United States Helsinki Commission, I have long worked with representatives of governments throughout Europe to highlight the resurgence of Anti-Semitism and elevate efforts to push back against this despicable resurgence through education, outreach, and improved security. Mr. Smith, Mr. Hoyer, Senator Cardin and I have all chaired the Helsinki Commission, and together, we have worked with several other Members of both the House and Senate, as well as with parliamentarians particularly from Germany and Canada, to have the Parliamentary Assembly of the 57-country OSCE condemn the escalation of anti-Semitic violence in Europe. We first did this at the Assembly's 2002 annual session in Berlin, Germany, and have kept it on the agenda there ever since, suggesting measures to counter anti-Semitic statements and acts of violence alike. I pushed it strongly while serving as President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly from 2004 to 2006, and then as chairman of the Commission from 2007 to 2008. We succeeded in getting OSCE institutions, officials and diplomatic representatives to incorporate efforts to combat anti-Semitism and other forms of intolerance into their ongoing work. I know Mr. Smith continues to raise the issue in the Assembly as the current co-chair of the Helsinki Commission, and Senator Cardin serves as the Assembly's Special Representative on Anti- Semitism, Racism and Intolerance. Ensuring that our country continues to lead in the fight against Anti-Semitism is a priority that we should all embrace. I fully support this measure and urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I mistakenly voted yes, when I meant to vote no on roll No. 387, H.R. 6691--Community Safety and Security Act of 2018.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the distinguished chairman, my good friend, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. (Mr. HASTINGS asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I am going to truncate my original remarks. Mr. Speaker, today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by my friends on the other side to undermine healthcare for millions of Americans, all while recklessly adding billions of dollars to the deficit. This legislation not only guts vital provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but also weakens the requirements on employer-provided healthcare. I might add, even though we may not be bringing it up, we do support the conference report and will be willing to go forward in that regard. The time has come for our friends across the aisle to abandon their tired playbook, a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on sabotaging and undermining healthcare, rather than plans to make our healthcare system stronger and more inclusive. Mr. Speaker, we are also here today, as I just said, on the conference report, for a three-bill spending package, funding a portion of our government, which runs out of funds at the end of this month. This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order, as the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should operate when we consider legislation. We hold hearings, markups, go to conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally, emerge with a bipartisan compromise. Good process makes for good policy. While this bill may not be one Democrats would have written, I am glad this conference report rejects House Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and harmful antienvironmental riders. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this: We have learned that, as Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to move money to ICE. I am not going to spend a lot of time on that. I think it is just wrong. Mr. Speaker, this Republican-led Congress sets yet another record with today's 97th closed rule. Week after week, my friends across the aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons, but we should not let this latest milestone go unrecognized because it is yet another sad point in this Chamber's history. In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable for our children. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary thirty minutes for debate, and I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to debate the Rule for H.R. 3798, the Save American Workers Act and the Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 5895. Mr. Speaker, last year Republicans took one on the chin when their Affordable Care Act repeal bill--a bill they spent all of 17 days working on--went down in flames in a most public and spectacular fashion. They learned that conspicuously snatching health insurance from millions of people would probably cost them some votes. So, instead of continuing with their more open, though admittedly failed tactics, my friends across the aisle are pursuing an altogether shiftier strategy today. That strategy, with its aim of ridding the American people of their healthcare coverage, can be summed up in one word: sabotage. Today's legislation is yet another callous attempt by Republicans to undermine healthcare for millions of Americans, all while recklessly adding billions of dollars to the deficit. This legislation not only guts vital provisions of the Affordable Care Act, but also weakens requirements on employer provided healthcare. Now is the time for us to face facts and accept truths. Fact, the latest Kaiser Health Tracking poll found that 50 percent of Americans hold a favorable view of the Affordable Care Act. Fact, 75 percent of Americans want to keep the Affordable Care Act's provisions that prevent health plans from discriminating against people with pre-existing conditions. Fact, 72 percent of Americans want to retain the provision of the ACA that prevents insurers from charging sick people more. The time has come for my friends across the aisle to abandon their tired playbook--a playbook full of tactics and strategies bent on sabotaging and undermining healthcare rather than plans to make our healthcare system stronger and more inclusive. Mr. Speaker, we are also here today to consider H.R. 5895, a conference report for a three-bill spending package--funding a portion of our government--which runs out of funding at the end of this month. This funding package isn't perfect, and while I would have preferred we consider appropriations bills one at a time through regular order as the Speaker promised, this effort represents how this House should operate when we consider legislation: we hold hearings, markups, go to conference, negotiate in good faith, and finally emerge with a bipartisan compromise. Good process makes for good policy, and while this bill may not be one Democrats would have written, I'm glad this conference report rejects House Republicans' and President Trump's extreme budget cuts and harmful anti-environmental riders. Finally, Mr. Speaker, I want to say this, we have learned that as Hurricane Florence closes in on millions of Americans, the Trump Administration has raided the coffers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to move money to ICE for the continued immoral detention of children. The ability of this Administration to reach new lows is astounding. To my fellow Americans who are in Hurricane Florence's path, our thoughts and prayers are with you. As a Floridian, I know all too well the effects these devastating storms can have and I urge everyone to take all necessary steps to be prepared, be safe, and listen to the direction of local authorities as this storm impacts the Southeast. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, this Republican led Congress sets yet another record with today's 97th Closed Rule. Week after week, my friends across the aisle continue to make history for all the wrong reasons. But we should not let this latest milestone go unrecognized, because it is yet another sad point in this Chamber's history. In this historically closed-off Congress, Republican leaders have used restrictive rules to block measures to create jobs, bring down the cost of prescription drugs, and make education more affordable. These policies deserve consideration on the House Floor, yet they are continuously blocked by the Republican Majority. This discouraging record not only suppresses the voices of Democratic and Republican Members, it also suppresses the voices of millions of Americans. Mr. Speaker, my Republican friends may claim today's three-bill spending package gets the ball rolling to fully fund the government. But we need to put into context what it means to fully fund the government, it means that we must pass 12 appropriations bills in order to fully fund our government. So, before they take a victory lap over today's spending package, I will simply remind the Majority that with precious few legislative days remaining, we still must pass the remaining seventy-five percent of bills that will fund our government. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my distinguished colleague and good friend from the Virgin Islands as well as the distinguished gentleman from Louisiana for putting this measure forward today. Obviously, I support H.R. 6720, to prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. I was pleased to join my distinguished colleague and co-chairman of the Florida delegation, Congressman Vern Buchanan, in reintroducing the measure. It might surprise you to learn that consumption of dogs and cats is still legal in 44 States, where there are no laws prohibiting the purchasing, shipping, transporting, selling, or donating of dogs or cats to be slaughtered for human consumption. This bill would prohibit these actions and impose penalties to ensure that individuals involved in the dog or cat meat trade are held accountable. The United States' position on this cruel and brutal practice should be unequivocal: Dogs and cats should not be killed in this country for the consumption of their meat. It is with the utmost importance that we unify our animal cruelty laws in all 50 States and explicitly ban the torture and killing of dogs and cats for human consumption. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Buchanan for his steadfast leadership in raising awareness on animal welfare issues in Congress, and I also give a big shout-out to all those who have helped us put this measure together in the United States, the number of people who have been involved. I hope this body will expeditiously pass the measure. Doing so will reaffirm the United States' commitment to the humane treatment of our most beloved companions. I might add, I misspoke a minute ago when I said the 50 States. I mean the 50 States and its territories should explicitly ban the torture. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the bill.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding to me in support of this measure that I think is most deserving for my dear friend from Florida.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, and I rise in support of this measure.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding, and I thank my good friend, the chairman of this committee, for bringing this forward. I rise in support of this measure, urging all nations to outlaw the inhumane dog and cat meat trade, and to enforce existing laws against this barbaric practice. In June of 2017, I introduced this measure with my distinguished colleague and cochairman of the Florida delegation, Congressman Vern Buchanan. It is estimated that tens of millions of dogs and cats are killed for human consumption annually across the globe. This display of animal cruelty is not only inhumane, but also a threat to public health for citizens and international visitors. This resolution affirms the United States' commitment to the protection of animals, and advances the animal protection movement rapidly growing worldwide. These innocent animals, often personal pets, are forcibly taken, shoved into cages with broken bones, then shipped long distances, without food or water, to meat markets, where they are regularly bludgeoned, mutilated, boiled, or skinned while still alive. When I was a child, I had three big dogs, True Boy, August, and Tuesday. And in their memory, I am sure that they would be equally proud that their owner was standing up for descendants of theirs and others. By passing H. Res. 401, Congress can bring the world one step closer to hopefully ending this cruel practice once and for all. Mr. Speaker, from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank the thousands of activists across the country and around the globe for their tireless efforts. They have never wavered in their commitment in the fight against the global dog and cat meat trade. It is my sincere hope that we expeditiously pass this measure. By doing so, we will send a strong message, that no matter where you live, animal cruelty is simply wrong. A special thanks to Lisa Vanderpump, and Ken Todd, and Dr. John Sessa, all of them being my friends, and certainly, Marc Ching, who has personally witnessed many of these things in Yulin and elsewhere, that brought my attention to this measure. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this resolution.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman, my friend from Colorado, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate, and I am proceeding under the assumption that we will conclude this pretty rapidly. Once again, my Republican colleagues have decided that the best way to govern is through a rushed and closed process, all in an obvious attempt to throw red meat to their base. Let's not parse words. This is an ill-thought-out bill trying to score cheap political points with the Republican base. Mr. Speaker, this bill takes up no small feat. It attempts to utterly redefine what is meant by ``crime of violence'' in our criminal code. Our need to revisit the definition is due to the fact that the United States Supreme Court has now twice held that what is known as the residual clause under this particular area of our criminal code is unconstitutional because it is so broad it violates a person's constitutional right to due process. Such a reality does not invite this body's attention, but demands it. However, with that demand comes a great responsibility, a responsibility to take the time necessary to do it right; a responsibility to ensure that members of the committee of jurisdiction, and other Members of Congress, are consulted; a responsibility to ensure that we hear from public defenders, prosecutors, judges, and criminal justice and immigration reform experts, for this bill touches upon all of these areas, and not one person, let alone an expert, has been consulted in the drafting of this bill, at least not in the light of day. Ostensibly, this bill was dropped to address the Supreme Court decisions just noted, the most recent of which was handed down in April of this year. I presume the composition of the bill was started soon after the Court dropped its decision, and, therefore, the author had from that time until last Friday to prepare today's bill. I think it only fair, then, that we have a similar amount of time to consider such an important matter. Of course, I know that is not going to happen. No, instead, my friends across the aisle have, once again, insisted on engaging in fly- by-night legislating and, in so doing, shutting out not only Democrats but Republicans, and not only Democrats and Republicans, but the American people. Mr. Speaker, this is the 96th closed rule of this session, and that is record-breaking in and of itself. That means that Members don't have an opportunity to have input to substantive legislation, and somehow or another, with no hearings, or any markup or anything, a measure like this is before us. While home for the district work period, my constituents didn't talk to me about replacing the definition of a ``crime of violence'' in the Federal criminal code. They did talk to me about a number of circumstances, but they didn't talk to me about liquefied natural gas, one of the other bills the House is going to consider this week. On the other hand, they did ask about what Congress is going to do to address the gun violence epidemic ravaging our country, including, regrettably, today, in Cincinnati, Ohio. They asked about what Congress is doing to ensure that DACA, the Dream recipients, and temporary protected status holders have a pathway to citizenship, and they asked what Congress is going to do to address the Nation's need for serious and sustained investments in our infrastructure. And high among the things that I heard from my constituents was about the cost of drugs and the rising cost of insurance. Let us also include with those very important issues, including today, there are nine legislative days until the government runs out of money. I had representatives from the National Association of Air Traffic Controllers visit me an hour and a half ago explaining to me what a government shutdown would do to that particular agency. We once again are forced to stare down the very real possibility of another government shutdown. And what are my friends across the aisle doing to thwart that inevitability? Nothing. Mr. Speaker, we have some serious issues to tackle, and so I am discouraged to be on the floor today focusing on yet another messaging bill. I call on my Republican friends to put their perplexing fear of governing aside in the final days before we leave Washington, so that we may get to the people's business. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. We were supposed to have a speaker speak to the previous question, and she may not be here to discuss it. Mr. Speaker, last night at the Rules Committee, I heard my colleague, Mr. Buck, discuss how one of the root causes of rising crime in this country is our broken education system. And now I will say to the gentleman that Ms. Bonamici has arrived, and like him, she was just a little bit delayed. So she will speak to this issue once I finish my comments, and then that will be our only speaker, I would urge my friend. I also would like to say, it is not often in this body that Members say that they made a mistake. In an exchange last night in dialogue with my friend from Colorado, he commented that Florida's violent crime had gone down, and I mistakenly said to him that he was in error. He was correct. It has gone down. I indicated to him last night that I would speak with him more about it. And there are some particulars that I will share with him, not so much in this particular setting, but I will get a chance to talk to him. There are some things where crime did go up, and Florida still ranks fifth in the Nation in violent crime, but I do want to say to him that I was mistaken when I spoke last evening. Mr. Speaker, I don't disagree with my friend from Colorado about education, and I believe every Member of this House is concerned about the education of our children in this country. We are failing our younger generations. We need to make monumental strides in this country to better our education system, and I believe that starts with childcare. And I always make a caveat there, because when I am asked about education at home, and my opponent brought it up often in the election that I was involved in, and I constantly reminded her that the Federal Government only provides less than 7 percent of the budgets of our local communities. So this is largely a matter where we talk a lot up here, but the local communities are where the rubber hits the road. We need to make these strides because of the problems that we are seeing. We obviously need more pre-K, we obviously need more Head Start, but in the past decade, the cost of childcare has increased by 25 percent. In 33 States and the District of Columbia, infant care costs exceed the average cost of a 4-year in-state college tuition. This is a huge financial burden that is only worsening. Mr. Speaker, families need access to a system that provides high quality, affordable early learning and care that will prepare children for success without breaking the bank. That is why, if we defeat the previous question, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Scott's bill, H.R. 3773, the Child Care for Working Families Act. This bill will establish a new Federal-State partnership to provide high quality, affordable childcare from birth through age 13. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, the people's House should be approaching our work in a manner that is fair to all Americans, in a manner where the committees of jurisdiction hold hearings and markups, in a manner where experts in the field are consulted, in a manner where members of both parties have an opportunity to offer amendments and debate the contents of the bills that come before this body. None of that happened with today's bill. Instead, for reasons beyond understanding, we have to vote on a bill that no person in this body had sufficient time to understand, let alone time to consider the far-reaching consequences it could have on people living in this country and on our Constitution. The fact that Republican leadership insists on governing in such a manner is, as always, as disappointing as, in my opinion, it is shameful. Now, listen: 96 closed rules. I am fond of talking about when I first ran for Congress in 1992, the then leadership of the Republican Party did an effective job saying to the American public that the then leadership of the Democrats were having closed rules and closing out the process. Newt Gingrich was the person that was the author of that, in many respects in retrospect, brilliant strategy. That was one of the tenets that he put forward, that it was not right for Democrats to have as many closed rules as they had at that time. I don't remember the exact number, it was a number, but it didn't come close to 96. And now, if we flip the script, what we have is 96 closed rules. I serve on that Rules Committee with my friend from Colorado. And repeatedly, you look around this room, on an ordinary, regular order process, we would have at least five or six speakers on either side to substantive legislation, or we would have had an opportunity for Members to offer amendments that could have been considered in a germane or non-germane manner to be able to come out here on the floor. The American people are being shut out, not just Republicans and Democrats. It is not right, and we shouldn't go forward that way. I promise you that we are doing a disservice when we do not allow for measures of this consequence. We don't know what the outcome of this is going to be. I can't disagree with a thing my friend from Colorado said with reference to the measure and the clarification that is needed after the two Supreme Court decisions, but please know this: the proper way to do that would have been for the committee of jurisdiction to hold hearings and then to have a markup and then come to the Rules Committee. But what we saw was, bam, right straight to the Rules Committee, no hearings, no markup, no experts, no prosecutors, no public defenders, no input, and the public not having an opportunity to participate. It is wrong. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Ms. Carrie Patterson Thomas on the occasion of her 100th birthday. Carrie was born on August 5, 1918 in the town of Ninety-Six, South Carolina to Wince and Ida Dean Patterson. In 1923 at the inquisitive age of five, she moved with her parents and six siblings to Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She worked various jobs from picking vegetables and later worked as a domestic until she retired. Carrie met and married her late husband Mr. Harvey Thomas and have two lovely children, Earl Thomas and Betty DeVaughn. Carrie has been a resident and community leader of Broward County for over 90 years. I am truly grateful for her selflessness and tireless service. She is a beloved life-long member of the New Mount Olive Baptist Church, where she served on the mission society and often volunteered to help feed the homeless. She has worked hard under harsh conditions and unfair practices. She lived to witness many epic eras and events in history. And yet, through it all she has remained steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, and we know her labor is not in vain. Mr. Speaker, on this momentous occasion, please join me in wishing Ms. Carrie Patterson Thomas a happy and wonderful 100th birthday.

Mr. HASTINGS

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the gentleman from Texas for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate. Mr. Speaker, I rise to debate this rule, but I would urge my colleague from Texas to be mindful that this ain't going nowhere, so we really are, when all is said and done, wasting our time. This is not likely to be taken up by the Senate in August, and why we are not doing other things, I simply cannot understand. The Protect Medical Innovation Act and the Increasing Access to Lower Premium Plans and Expanding Health Savings Accounts Act are worth considering. The gentleman from Texas certainly is an expert in this area and is most sincere. It is regrettable that the legislation, ultimately, that will pass the House of Representatives ain't going nowhere. Taken together, these measures do nothing to ameliorate the Republican attempt to eviscerate the Affordable Care Act, do nothing to curb rising drug costs, and do nothing to curtail skyrocketing premium hikes. Instead, H.R. 6311 continues the Republican majority's destructive path of undermining and destabilizing our health insurance markets. This package of six bills will likely lead to fewer choices and competition for moderate- and low-income families who do not have the disposable income to pay premium costs up front. In bringing up the second measure, H.R. 184, my friends across the aisle seem intent on ignoring the pressing issues facing our country, like passing sensible legislation that will address the country's ongoing gun violence epidemic, passing legislation that will protect our election infrastructure from hostile foreign hacking, or passing legislation that will help reunite the more than 2,500 separated children with their families. Rather, the Republican majority wants to waste valuable legislative time in repealing a tax that won't even be active until 2020. This is the last week before we go on a 5-week recess and we are doing nothing. Even worse, these bills are not offset and, taken together with tomorrow's bills, will add up to $90 billion to our deficit. They are not paid for. And I challenge my colleague on the floor handling this rule to tell me where the pay-fors are and, if there are none, why are they not paid for--$90 billion. Mr. Speaker, I strongly believe that the epidemic of gun violence that plagues our communities must be addressed in a comprehensive manner and without further delay. Unfortunately, our Nation has witnessed far too many senseless deaths caused each day by firearms, and that continues to rise. Under a Republican majority, many commonsense reforms, such as the assault weapons ban--and somebody please tell me why anyone other than the military and law enforcement needs an assault weapon; I just, for the life of me, cannot understand it--were allowed to expire. I might add, flood insurance is getting ready to expire. We are not taking that measure up. Providing nearly unfettered access to a variety of firearms does not make any sense. Someone said to me, well, there are 103 kinds of automatic weapons; and I say ban them all because they don't have any business in the hands of people in the streets at all. While we need to preserve the rights of responsible gun owners--and I am one of them; I believe in the Second Amendment--we must focus more of our attention and efforts on keeping weapons out of the hands of dangerous individuals instead of attacking and undermining the healthcare for millions of hardworking Americans. While the present administration works to further the majority's aim of dismantling the most popular aspects of the Affordable Care Act, like keeping children on their parents' health insurance until the age of 26 and protecting people with preexisting conditions, these bills continue to balloon Federal spending and deficits. While we were promised increased revenue from the GOP tax cuts of 2017, with the GOP falling back on tired talking points like tax cuts paying for themselves, we now have the Congressional Budget Office projecting over $1 trillion in budget deficits in 2020, even before legislation like this passes. Whatever happened to the conservative Republicans? Where did the fiscal conservative Republicans go, who are blowing up the deficit in this country? The amount of fiscal irresponsibility demonstrated by my friends across the aisle is shocking and will be a great detriment to all Americans in the future. Moreover, these pieces of legislation do nothing to holistically solve the most pressing concerns hardworking Americans have with healthcare: ever-increasing premiums, unstable health markets, and exploding drug costs. In fact, in the last year and a half, the majority has gone out of their way to destabilize health markets as much as they can. Instead of encouraging Americans to enroll in health insurance, the Department of Health and Human Services has created an advertising campaign explicitly undermining the individual insurance markets created under the Affordable Care Act. Republicans have cut the Department's budget for those grassroots organizations whose sole purpose is to assist folks in signing up for health insurance. How much of the budget did they cut? 92 percent. In addition to this, HHS has threatened States that try to lower premiums, and the Trump administration has even canceled cost-sharing reduction payments to insurers, which the CBO projects will leave 1 million more people uninsured, raise premiums by 20 to 25 percent over the next 2 years, and increase the Federal deficit by $200 billion. Listen, people, when we started this business of the Affordable Care Act--as much as my friends on the other side who have the prerogative, in the majority, to be in disagreement with this measure as well as any others and to offer this thing that ain't going nowhere here today--the simple fact of the matter is, some few years back, we had 42 million Americans who were uninsured. We now have more than 42 million Americans uninsured, and that is wrong. I said yesterday in the Rules Committee, all of us, 535--the Senate and the House--and the six delegates, ought to be locked up up here until we come up with a sensible solution for the American people with reference to a crisis. It was said yesterday by the chair of this committee that the plan that is going to be offered--that we did offer and then they voted against--would be the best healthcare plan in the world. Well, it ain't the best healthcare plan in the world. The best healthcare plans in the world are in Denmark, Sweden, Switzerland, Australia, and a whole bunch of other places other than America. And while the Trump administration has pushed junk healthcare plans, even the organizations that originally lobbied the administration for access to these plans now say they no longer want to use them. All in all, as a result of these policies, as I have indicated, 4 million fewer Americans have health insurance than when Donald John Trump took office, and healthcare costs continue to rise unabated. I need not remind my colleagues that people in the United States pay far more for healthcare than in any other industrialized nation on Earth, and, in most cases, they get far less. We spend over 18 percent of our gross domestic product on healthcare, compared to most other countries, which spend less than 10 percent, with much of the disparity occurring thanks to higher drug prices and administrative overhead. Despite the money we pour into our healthcare, the United States has the shortest life expectancy and highest infant mortality of any modern industrialized nation--let me repeat that--the shortest life expectancy, and the highest infant mortality of any modern industrialized nation. We have far fewer physicians--and we had better do something about that; not in this measure, not in the Affordable Healthcare Act. We had better get busy trying to figure out how to provide more physicians, more nurses, more research for a variety of measures that are oncoming that our Nation is going to be confronted with. We have fewer hospital beds and, in perhaps what is the most depressing statistic of all of U.S. healthcare, the United States is one of only 13 countries in the world where the rate of maternal mortality, defined as the death of a mother in the year after she gives birth, is now worse than it was 25 years ago. And here we are, continuing to jaw jack about something that ain't going nowhere, and we have situations in our country that all of us know something about, all of us care about. There is no Republican in the House or Democrat in the House that doesn't care about their constituents and their healthcare. And at the very same time, what we are winding up doing is arguing with each other and nothing is getting done, and that is just dead wrong for this country. Black women, in particular, are three times more likely to die from health-related issues to their pregnancy. How can we seemingly pay for more healthcare now than at any point in our Nation's history and, yet, at the same time, be getting worse care than we were decades ago? We have a fundamentally broken system. The majority doesn't seem to have any way of fixing it, and I am not even sure that they want to fix it. Indeed, they seem to be going out of their way making it somehow worse. Now I hear all of the voices out there. I had a constituent call the other day to tell me that I wasn't as liberal as his people were, liberal, and that I didn't understand this whole healthcare system. And I told him: Listen, man, in 1992, when I ran for office, I ran on the premise of universal healthcare for every American, period. And when we did the Affordable Healthcare Act, it ultimately got called the ObamaCare Act. I have said in the Rules Committee repeatedly, it probably should have been called the Hastings/ObamaCare Act, or perhaps we would have done what Dr. Burgess asked us to do and it would be called the Burgess Healthcare Act. I don't care what it is called. It needs to be called something that is going to help every American, and not just a handful, and certainly not the richest people in this country who don't even need any healthcare. They have been at the socialized healthcare business for all of their lives and, therefore, people like Donald John Trump don't need to worry about this kind of thing. It is those people that are vulnerable. It is those people on Medicaid in Florida and other States that didn't expand Medicaid, 900,000 of them in my State, that are left to the mercies of the system. And what do they do? All of us know what they do. When they have healthcare, they go to the hospital, to the emergency room, generally speaking, they are treated, and then those taxpayers in those respective jurisdictions wind up paying for it. So why don't we get our act together and try to do something about it now? I have proudly advocated for multiple pieces of legislation that will improve and strengthen the Medicare system, including H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act, which will provide all individuals residing in the United States and the United States territories, with affordable healthcare, including that which is medically most necessary, such as primary and preventative care, dietary and nutritional therapies, prescription drugs, emergency care, long-term care, mental health services, dental services, and vision care. Underscore preventative care. And if we did more in that arena, we wouldn't have as much of a problem as we do today. Medicare for All will save taxpayers hundreds of dollars a month. Now, I firmly believe that we must focus priorities in the interest of the American people to ensure that our citizens have continued access to healthcare services. So when we come back here in September, when we finish all of our fighting in November, and we have somebody that is going to get elected, 435 of us will return here and be sworn in in January. Let's all make a commitment that we are going to work together, together, to get all of the resources, the tremendous minds, the incredible staffs that work here in this institution together, and try to make sure that we do the right thing by the American people and pass a measure that will cause everyone to have affordable care. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule that would change the rules of the House to prevent any legislation from being considered that would reduce the guaranteed benefits for individuals enrolled in either Medicare or Medicaid programs. I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question so that we may protect these critical programs for this generation and the next. Mr. Speaker, I would be prepared now to advise my colleague from Texas that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close when, and if, he is.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, in closing, this place, the people's House, should be about approaching our congressional responsibilities and daily activities in a manner that is fair and respectful to all Americans; in a manner where the appropriate committee of jurisdiction holds hearings and markups; in a manner where experts in the field are respected and consulted; in a manner where Members of both political parties have the ability to offer amendments and debate the contents of bills that come to the House floor. Unfortunately, in this historically closed-off, Republican run House, that is not the case. And let me make it very clear. Even though in the Ways and Means and the Appropriations Committee, as a matter of practice, we allow for closed rules, we now have, with these three rules that are likely to be finished today, we have 95 closed rules. This is 2018, and not in the history of the people's House has the process been as closed. When the Speaker of the House of Representatives began this session, he indicated that it would be the most open session that we would have. And yet, it is not the case. I spoke earlier about immigration, and I saw this morning where the majority leader has determined, even though having promised his own conference that he would have a vote on immigration, he ain't gonna do it. Now, something is wrong with this process and it needs to be corrected, and we can correct it going forward. We will make 100, and then we will be historically referenced as the most closed Congress in the history of the United States of America. What we see are my friends across the aisle, bending over backwards to reward a very specific and elite constituency. Week after week, the powerful gun lobby is rewarded as Republican leadership refuses to bring up even the most commonsense gun violence prevention legislation. The next week, like today, the powerful medical insurance lobby chalks up a win as this Republican-led Congress votes in favor of special interests over the interests of hardworking Americans. Some other people that make out like bandits that we never talk about are the insurance companies. I could spend a whole hour talking about how they are benefiting while we are about the business of tying each other in knots with verbiage rather than with substantive legislation. Mr. Speaker, while there is no quick fix to any of these measures, not to gun violence, opioid addiction, the immigration problems, and ongoing foreign cyber attacks on our election system's infrastructure, we simply must engage in the complicated and difficult process of improving our country's current policies. I, as well as my colleagues on this side of the aisle, stand ready to work with Members of Congress to bring commonsense legislation to the floor that will benefit all Americans and not just the rarified few. Mr. Speaker, I am going to urge a ``no'' vote on the rule and a ``no'' vote on the previous question. This measure we are debating here today ain't going nowhere, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.