Debbie Lesko

Mrs. LESKO

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Garcia) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. King) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Joyce) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Bishop) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Meuser) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Palmer) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Marshall) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Speaker, in closing, we need to help the American people. The House should be considering a bipartisan COVID-19 relief package right now, not binding resolutions that simply have the purpose of making political points. Our constituents need us, so let's get to work on a bipartisan package that could actually be signed into law because, let's face it, anything else is worthless to the American people. Madam Speaker, I urge ``no'' on the previous question, ``no'' on the underlying measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank Representative Scanlon for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Madam Speaker, this rule consists of two nonbinding resolutions, H. Res. 1153, regarding allegations made against the Irwin County Detention Center, and H. Res. 1154, condemning QAnon and rejecting the conspiracy theories it promotes. First, H. Res. 1153 is a complete disregard to our Nation's due process system. If the accusations from the women at Irwin County Detention Center are true, they are obviously horrific, and this resolution would be, obviously, an appropriate response. However, we don't know anything for certain yet. In fact, the Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security are currently conducting investigations. We could open up a committee investigation, too. We could go through a normal committee oversight process where we have a hearing and bring in witnesses to get to the truth. That would be appropriate, not this. Guess what. ICE agrees with us. Acting ICE Director Tony Pham issued a statement on September 18, 2020, saying: ``The recent allegations by the independent contracted employee raise some very serious concerns that deserve to be investigated quickly and thoroughly. ICE welcomes the efforts of both the Office of the Inspector General as well as the Department of Homeland Security's parallel review. ``As a former prosecutor, individuals found to have violated our policies and procedures should be held accountable. If there is any truth to these allegations, it is my commitment to make the corrections necessary to ensure we continue to prioritize the health, welfare, and safety of ICE detainees.'' In fact, I, along with my colleague from New Jersey, Representative Chris Smith, sent a letter to DHS last week to state that the allegations are alarming and must be investigated thoroughly. It also said in our letter that these accounts don't comport with the statement of Dr. Ada Rivera, the medical director of the ICE Health Services Corps, who stated that, since 2018, only two individuals at Irwin County Detention Center were referred to certified, credentialed medical professionals at gynecological healthcare facilities for hysterectomies. Dr. Rivera also said that detainees are afforded informed consent, and a medical procedure like a hysterectomy would never be performed against a detainee's will. On September 18, the Associated Press published an article citing the results of its own internal investigation. It stated that the AP's review did not find evidence of mass hysterectomies as alleged in a widely shared complaint filed by a nurse at the detention center. The AP also noted that one attorney investigating the case had found that Dr. Amin has performed surgery or other gynecological treatment on at least eight women detained at Irwin County Detention Center since 2017, including one hysterectomy. As a member of the Homeland Security Committee and the co-chair of the Bipartisan Women's Caucus, I am very concerned about these accusations in this situation. However, what happened in this body to due process? The way the House is moving forward today on this resolution sets a very dangerous precedent. For instance, in the resolution itself, it states: ``Whereas these allegations indicate a failure by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to conduct rigorous oversight to protect the health and safety of people in its custody.'' However, we do not even know if the allegations are true. It should, instead, read: ``If true, these actions indicate a failure.'' We can't just base it on allegations. This is an example of my Democratic colleagues' acting first and learning later. Right now, we need to investigate, not bring a resolution condemning ICE to the floor. This is backwards, and it is just wrong. America needs to see us together on this issue. Unfortunately, my Democratic colleagues clearly do not want to work with Republicans to make that a reality. Madam Speaker, this rule also contains H. Res. 1154. At the outset, let me be clear, Republicans are concerned with and do not embrace QAnon. I have to admit, although I must confess I know little to nothing about this idea, organization, whatever it is, if what they say on Wikipedia is true, then, of course, we oppose it. In fact, on August 20, the House Republican leader, Mr. McCarthy, stated very clearly that there is no place for QAnon in the Republican Party. It is a serious issue, and Republicans don't discriminate on which dangerous organizations or groups we take seriously. We don't just condemn groups because it is politically convenient. Because, unlike many of our colleagues across the aisle, we also take the threat of antifa seriously. It is clear, unfortunately, that many of my Democratic colleagues refuse to condemn antifa. Chairman Nadler said here right on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives something to the effect that antifa was a myth, a fantasy. Just the other night, Vice President Biden refused to condemn antifa at the debate. That is why, last night, I offered an amendment to this resolution in the Rules Committee to include condemning antifa, so we, as a governing body, could unite against at least two threatening groups and ideologies, not just one. Unfortunately, all of my Rules Committee Democratic colleagues voted against my commonsense amendment, even though FBI Director Wray, himself, testified recently in Judiciary Committee: ``Antifa is a real thing. It is not fiction.'' In other words, antifa is not a myth as some on the other side believe. According to the FBI and the Department of Justice, antifa is involved in the rioting and looting across our Nation. So while I do wish that the majority would have included a resolution condemning antifa in this rule for floor consideration today, I am glad Republicans can put country first and agree when a group poses a threat. Madam Speaker, I urge opposition to the rule, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentleman from Georgia.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Balderson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mrs. LESKO

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

Mrs. LESKO

Mrs. LESKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Cole for yielding me the time. I agree with Chairman McGovern that we need to help the American people. There are still people hurting out there, and they need help from us. That is why it is so frustrating to me that we have this bill in front of us because it is just a very similar version to the partisan bill that the Democrats pushed out of here just a few months ago that they know is not going to get anywhere. I remember seeing in the media how Democrats in the House in swing districts were asking, pleading with Speaker Pelosi, to please negotiate with the Republicans and the President to actually get a bill that will be passed and signed into law because, after all, you all know that if you really want to help the American people, you have to have a bill that is actually able to get signed into law, and this bill is not it. Unfortunately, this bill, once again, highlights a lot of the priorities that my Democratic colleagues have that have nothing to do with coronavirus, quite frankly. One of the things that I found very interesting in this bill is that, in the original Heroes Act that was passed a few months ago, they had $600 million in there for the COPS hiring program. That is to help State and local law enforcement. Curiously enough, it is not in this version of the bill. So I was wondering, is this how they are planning to save some money on the bill, to take away funding for police and law enforcement? Also in this bill, once again, is extending the extra $600 a week in unemployment assistance into the beginning and through spring of next year. Well, many businesses, multiple businesses, have told us that they are having trouble hiring workers back because workers are getting paid more to stay at home and not work. This is right here in that bill, in this bill, right now. We cannot pay people more to stay home and not work. We need to incentivize them to come back to work. This bill also allows illegal immigrants to get $1,200 stimulus checks and their children $500 stimulus checks. That is right here in this language, right here in this bill. American citizens, my taxpayers in Arizona, do not want to subsidize illegal immigrants. This bill also removes safeguards in the Paycheck Protection Program.