Jerry Lewis

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I might consume. Madam Speaker, let me begin my remarks by saying that I'm pleased that until last week, we appeared to be following regular order by actually having an open meeting of House and Senate conferees. As I and the vast majority of Republicans have suggested several times through this process, we want this troop funding bill to be an up-and-down vote and, ideally, a bipartisan vote. I want to commend my colleagues, Chairman Obey and Chairman Murtha, for producing a bill that accurately reflected the real needs and priorities of the troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. While the House-passed bill wasn't perfect, it did garner bipartisan support, including that of 168 Republican Members. Unfortunately, what I'm hearing and reading about, the final ``deal'' that was struck between Chairman Obey and Senator Inouye leads me to believe that the final package will not enjoy the same bipartisan support. As reported, the deal struck by the two Appropriations chairmen would do the following: First, cut over $4.6 billion from Defense and MilCon from the House- passed levels. Further, it would increase foreign operations funding by $5.2 billion over the House-passed levels, and $2.6 billion over the Senate-passed bill. Further, it would include $5 billion in funding for the IMF to secure a whopping $108 billion of loans; in essence, the IMF would be funded at levels some $30 billion above the troop funding level. So we have troop funding, on the one hand, that has been reduced, and we've got a sizable expansion of foreign aid. Further, the bill includes $1 billion of new spending for what we have been calling ``Cash for Clunkers'' on the floor. That amount was not in the bill as it passed the House either. Now, let me shift gears and briefly explain the motion before us. It's a straightforward motion that insists on the House funding levels of $84.5 billion for the defense and military construction portions of the supplemental. Further, it also insists on the lower top line for overall funding levels of $91.3 billion contained in the Senate-passed bill for the entire supplemental. Further, it requires the text of the conference agreement be available in an electronic, downloadable and searchable form for 48 hours prior to consideration by the House. This language is identical to the motion unanimously adopted and subsequently ignored by my friends in the majority when considering our massive stimulus bill. Finally, this motion insists on the Senate position regarding prohibition on the release of detainee photos sponsored by Senators Graham and Lieberman. Clearly, the focus of this supplemental funding bill should be on the troops, not IMF, not foreign aid funding, not Cash for Clunkers, or just using the emergency circumstances to buy down fiscal year 2010 spending. Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of the motion. I reserve my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Would the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California. In view of your delightful mood today, we could probably bypass all this discussion and, as you've said, expedite the schedule. I do want to recognize my friend, Mr. Lungren, but if you want to, you know----

Mr. LEWIS of California. You've got the floor, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the gentleman from California, Dan Lungren, for 4 minutes.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield the gentleman another 2 minutes.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. LEWIS of California. I very much appreciate the point that the gentleman is making. It's an important one. The issue, per se, has almost been denied by the other side when we had these discussions in committee and otherwise. It should be known by your public and my public that four of these people were released to Bermuda just this morning, we've learned. Now, that's a British entity. But, indeed, what's next? Our territories? And indeed further, we know that Ghailani was sent to New York for trial. So these people, very dangerous people, could be in serial released in the United States. Madam Speaker, I would be glad to yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, it's my intention to yield to Mr. Frelinghuysen, but I would like to make this point to the Speaker as well as to the Members: the words just spoken were the words of the former Attorney General of California, Dan Lungren. I would suggest that all of us read them with care in the Congressional Record. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 4 minutes to my colleague Rodney Frelinghuysen of New Jersey.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to my colleague from the committee, Jack Kingston.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I am glad to yield the gentleman 1 additional minute.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I am proud to yield 3 minutes to my colleague from Missouri, Roy Blunt.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to a member of the Appropriations Committee, the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Akin).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the motion to instruct.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, if I could inquire of my colleague: Do you have any additional speakers?

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I, for one, am looking forward to a number of celebrations. One of those celebrations that I hope to very much participate in in the near future will involve the gentlelady who happens to be the Speaker at this moment. But having talked about celebrations, I think it would be most interesting when we reach the point where the leadership on the other side of the aisle, including my own committee, would stop presuming that every problem in the world can easily be set aside because you can blame the past President about this. As I remember, I think we had a vote in the House in which there was broadly based bipartisan support, for example, for the incursion of Iraq in support of the then- President. I must say we have had a lot of conversation about items that are not directly in this bill today having to do with Guantanamo. If I'm not mistaken, that issue would not be before us if the current President had not decided that he was going, and publicly committed, to his closing of Guantanamo. That's creating this horrendous problem. Setting all that aside as I close, Madam Speaker, the bill before us or the item before us is an item that involves the conference that's about to take place between the Senate and the House having to do with the supplemental funding that was designed originally to give support for our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq and, indeed, a very bipartisan support here in the House. My consternation is that it appears as though we've set aside that bipartisan support for the convenience of the leadership and, indeed, will have a conference with the Senate that involves two things: a significant reduction of about $5 billion in the money available to support our troops; and, above and beyond that, for all intents and purposes, about that sum of money is transferred for foreign aid, for funding for IMF, for providing access to all kinds of countries who are not friendly to the United States by way of funding that would be supported by our taxpayers.

Mr. LEWIS of California. With that, Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LEWIS of California. Madam Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. LEWIS of California

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Young).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Tiahrt).

Mr. LEWIS of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the Republican conference chairman, Mike Pence. (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)