Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor six members of the Worcester Police Department who assisted with recovery efforts in Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, the worst natural disaster that island has ever experienced. In response to an urgent request from their colleagues in Puerto Rico, the Worcester Police Department, under the leadership of Chief Gary Gemme, deployed six officers to assist with recovery efforts on the island. On Wednesday, October 18, four of Worcester's finest deployed to Puerto Rico for two weeks and then, two weeks later, a second group deployed for another two weeks. These officers: Sargent Armando Garcia, Officers Danny Diaz, David Rojas, Jose Lugo-Gardner, Luis Baez, and an undercover officer--all with personal ties to Puerto Rico--joined members of the Massachusetts State Police to help their fellow Americans recover and rebuild. The experience was emotional--the work, demanding. They labored in and around the city of Carolina, where the hurricane caused catastrophic damage to the power grid, roads, and bridges. Around the clock, they responded to emergency calls, enforced curfews, and secured infrastructure. They distributed food and water. They saved the life of a suicidal man, administered CPR to victims of a motor vehicle accident, and assisted someone who was suffering from seizures. They provided a much- needed respite for local law enforcement officials who were exhausted by their own responsibilities to their communities and their families. These officers represent the absolute best of the kind-hearted, compassionate people of Worcester. The emotional toll of bringing order to such chaos is high--yet these officers gave their time and talent unconditionally to the people of Puerto Rico. We owe them our respect, our admiration, and our gratitude. Their example of putting others first inspires us all. They have truly made a difference, and for that, they should be proud. I, for sure, am proud of them. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the citizens of Worcester, the people of Massachusetts, and the United States Congress, I would like to recognize and applaud these officers and all who made their mission in Puerto Rico possible.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, this is day one of the Trump shutdown. What a sad day it is for this institution and what an incredibly sad day this is for our country. This Republican-controlled government is incompetent. It takes my breath away. You control the House, the Senate, and the White House, and this is what we get, one continuing resolution after another, and now a Trump shutdown. You should be fired. This is so incredibly wrong. You say you want Democrats to support your spending bills, yet you won't work with us, you won't even talk to us. Negotiating bills in back rooms with only Republicans is not how you get a bipartisan vote. This my-way-or-the-highway approach undermines our democracy and results in lousy bills that do not serve the interests of the American people. The Republican leadership promised regular order. They promised to respect the views of everybody, including the views of the minority. They promised a more open process. That has turned out to be a big, fat lie. I hear from my Republican friends that they care about the DREAMers. We all know that if the Dream Act was brought before this House, it would pass with a bipartisan vote, but the Republican leadership around here is so pathetically terrified by the most hateful, xenophobic, and bigoted elements of their base that they would rather shut down the government than put a bipartisan bill on the floor. I would have thought that once the Republican leadership got the one thing that gets them out of bed in the morning--massive tax cuts for hedge fund managers and multinational corporations--that they would be willing to actually govern. I guess not. We need a permanent fix to CHIP, which has been expired for 112 days because the Republicans have refused to reauthorize it, but we need to fund community health centers, medical research, and veterans' health. We need funds to deal with the opiate crisis. We need to support our men and women in the armed services. We desperately need to invest in our aging infrastructure. What we don't need are more and more short-term CRs that fail to address so many urgent needs in this country. My colleagues, today, millions of Americans, led by fed up women, are marching in cities and towns all across the country and they have a message. They don't like the way you are governing and they are not going to take it anymore. So to my Republican friends, ask yourselves if you want to keep following Trump and the most extreme elements of your party off a political cliff, because that is where they are taking you. If you keep following them, history will not be kind. So stop the nonsense, stop the obstructionism. Do your job and work with Democrats for the good of our country. The American people are watching.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I agree with the gentleman from Iowa: the process stinks. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee) for a unanimous consent request. (Ms. JACKSON LEE asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, as long as the gentlewoman doesn't have any other speakers, I am prepared to close.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to say to all of my colleagues, Democrats and Republicans, that this process is lousy. This is yet another closed rule. The bill before us didn't even go through committee. There was not a hearing. There was not a markup. It just miraculously appeared right before an anti-choice rally, and here it is, take it or leave it. That is not the way this place is supposed to be run. At some point, no matter what your ideology is, no matter what you believe about some of these issues, you have to be for a more open process, a more deliberative process. This diminishes the House of Representatives. This is not what the people, I don't care what the political party or ideology may be, want from their Congress. They want a more open and transparent process. Mr. Speaker, this bill before us, as I said before, is a sound bite. It is going nowhere, but it has been introduced, and we are going to be voting on it purely for political purposes. Mr. Speaker, this morning, the majority whip announced: ``Upon conclusion of debate on H.R. 195''--that is the CR--``the House will recess until 7 p.m.'' Recess? I mean, recess? With all that is at stake, we are going to recess? This isn't a time for recess or a political rally. Shame on Republicans who are delaying action in this House on moving the process forward on a continuing resolution, to try to buy some time to make it better, hopefully, so that it can earn bipartisan support. Shame on them for going to a political rally instead of staying here and doing their job. This is the time to responsibly fund government. Those of us on the Democratic side have a lot of issues with what the House leadership is ramming through in terms of a CR. We were not part of that discussion. We were not asked what our values are and what we think is important. This is purely a product that the Republicans negotiated with Republicans. My hope is that we have time to make it better, but when you recess until 7, not to make it better, not to negotiate, but so that Republicans can go to a political rally, shame on you for doing that with all that is at stake. Our soldiers don't want us to recess. Those who depend on community health centers don't want us to recess. Our veterans don't want us to recess. Yet everybody's perfectly fine on the other side of the aisle with taking a break; no big deal; no rush, nothing, as we get closer and closer to this crisis. At some point we need responsible leadership in this House, and that begins with a return to regular order, a more open and transparent process, a respect for the views of the minority, and it means prioritizing the business of the American people. I will say funding the government is more important than a political rally in Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would say to the gentlewoman from Wyoming that I am not going to vote for the CR because it doesn't do anything for community health centers and doesn't do anything to alleviate the burden of DSH payments for the hospitals that provide to vulnerable communities and doesn't fund Veterans Health the way we want it to. There is a whole bunch of stuff. I just want this process to move forward so we can get back to negotiating and actually get a deal that is bipartisan that we all can be proud of. That is why--tell your Members: Please don't go on this political rally today. Instead, let's keep this House going and let's do the people's work. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Frankel).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) for the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. (Mr. McGOVERN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today we will consider the 61st closed rule of the Congress, part of a disturbing and familiar pattern. Republicans are running this House with no regular order, no hearings on legislation, and one closed rule after another. Speaker Ryan and House Republicans recently set a record as presiding over the most closed session of Congress in history, and now they are adding to it. With no transparency and their continued effort to silence any debate or dissent, this House Chamber feels more like the Russian house rather than the people's House. Now, I know Donald Trump is enthralled with authoritarian rulers and authoritarian rule, but that doesn't mean you guys have to follow suit. Today's rule provides for the consideration of H.R. 4712, yet another partisan and extreme Republican bill that is completely unnecessary and aimed solely at pleasing the majority's rightwing base. The simple truth is that this bill is filled with inflammatory language intentionally designed to politicize women's access to healthcare. It is clearly about nothing more than advancing an agenda to take away access to safe and legal abortion. With this bill, House Republicans are meddling in the decisions that should be left up to doctors and patients. That is not our job. What we are doing today is not about serious legislating. If it were, the majority would have gone through regular order. This bill is nothing more than a very cynical effort to give Republican Members of Congress something to point to when they join the anti-choice march in Washington this week. Republicans are recklessly playing politics with women's health, and they should be ashamed. My Republican colleagues claim that this bill is just a reinstatement of the current born-alive law. First, if that were true, then this bill would be redundant and unnecessary; and, second, Democrats would support it. When the original law came to the House floor in 2002, it was passed by a voice vote. We all agreed. But this bill is not a reinstatement. This bill takes the current, functional law and adds a radical inclusion of criminal penalties for doctors if they violate the unreasonable requirements of this legislation. Under current law, when a child is born alive, including during an abortion procedure, the healthcare provider is required to care for this newborn and apply a standard level of care given to any and every child. However, this bill takes the law a step further and requires that the doctor immediately transport this child to a hospital, without exception, whether it is safe for the child or not, or face criminal punishment--up to 5 years in jail. This bill could create a chilling effect and limit access to safe, legal abortion for women since physicians may fear prosecution. Patients need and deserve access to compassionate and appropriate medical care. This bill is, quite frankly, unconscionable. Mr. Speaker, there are times when immediately transporting a newborn to a hospital that may be miles or even hours away may result in grave harm to that infant. Such decisions must be left to the professional judgment of doctors and clinicians. Doctors and clinicians oppose this law because it prevents them from giving the best care to their patients. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists strongly oppose this legislation, calling it a ``gross interference in the practice of medicine.'' Current law is working and should not be radically changed for a partisan talking point. Right now there are a number of truly critical issues that we ought to be considering on this floor, not a sound bite for an anti-choice rally coming up in the next couple of days. A clear majority of Americans, I should point out to my colleagues, seven out of ten, say they believe a woman should have the right to a safe, legal abortion according to a Quinnipiac University poll. By stark contrast, fewer than three in ten Americans--that is 29 percent-- approve of the job Republicans are doing in Congress. Maybe the majority ought to get the hint. People don't like what you are doing. This should be a wake-up call to Republicans to end their partisan crusades and start doing their jobs. It is time to focus on the real pressing issues we face. The Children's Health Insurance Program, CHIP, which nearly 2 million kids and their families rely on, has been in limbo for months as States are beginning to run out of money. Now Republicans are pushing a continuing resolution that fails to permanently extend CHIP. Permanently extending CHIP would not only give these kids and their families the certainty they need when it comes to their healthcare, but the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that it would also save $6 billion. I thought the majority were the party of fiscal responsibility. Do the right thing and save $6 billion. But Republicans would rather kick the can down the road once again. The authorizations for Community Health Center funds and the Maternal, Infant, and Childhood Home Visitation programs will remain expired. That is not even included in this partisan CR that we are going to see a little bit later today. Each and every day, 122 DREAMers are losing their protected status and ability to work in this country, and my Republican friends don't seem at all bothered by that. People who are first responders, saving lives, people who serve in our military and people who work in our companies who are such great members of our community are treated like this in such a rotten way, and yet more inaction. The administration just stripped 200,000 Salvadorans legally residing in the United States of their protected status, people who are obeying our laws and who are working here legally. They did this while admonishing Congress to provide these same people with an enduring lawful immigration status; and yet, we have a Congress that is so dysfunctional, they can't even agree on what to have for lunch, never mind move anything forward that is positive with regard to protecting these important members of our community. The debt limit needs to be raised to ensure the U.S. is able to pay its bills. Communities are urgently in need of resources to fight the opioid epidemic that is killing 91 Americans a day. They are tired of your press releases. They want the funding to be able to respond to the crisis in their communities; yet, nothing in this CR, no urgency here in Congress. More needs to be done to help repair damage left by devastating wildfires and hurricanes that have ravaged this country. I just came back from a trip to Puerto Rico. The place is still in great disrepair, and our initial response to that hurricane was disgraceful. We have a special obligation to these people, our fellow citizens, to better respond; yet, there is no urgency here. Most importantly, where is the budget agreement that sets the caps for fiscal year 2018? House and Senate appropriators can't even begin negotiations on an omnibus funding bill until they know the top-line numbers. That means that this will not be the last short-term continuing resolution that we see before this House. Until there is an agreement on the budget caps, we will continue to see the Republican majority keep kicking the can down the road. We will see CR No. 5 in mid- February and maybe CR No. 6 shortly thereafter. When will the Republicans finally stop negotiating with themselves and instead reach out to Democrats and work in a bipartisan way and actually get the job done that we were sent here to do by our constituents? We are just hours away from another Republican shutdown, and instead of working on a bipartisan agreement, we are here discussing this inflammatory bill that will impose criminal penalties on doctors and allow Congress to intrude on medical care decisions. When are we going to put the radical rhetoric aside and do our jobs and tackle the real issues that the Americans sent us here to tackle? Here is kind of the icing on the cake. This government shutdown is looming. We are going to run out of money on Friday. All hell is going to break loose if we can't come to some sort of agreement. You would think we would be working together to get this done as quickly as possible. But then we are told we are going to consider the continuing resolution rule after this and then we are going to debate it, but we are not going to vote on it until later night, after 7, maybe even later. Why, people might ask, are we delaying action on a bill that decides whether we keep the government open? Oh, we just found out President Trump is doing a political rally with Republican Members of Congress in Pennsylvania. So the political rally is more important than the well-being of the American people? What are you guys thinking? Shame on you. This is a moment of urgency and instead of doing political sound bite legislation and instead of doing political rallies in Pennsylvania for an election that doesn't happen until March, Members of Congress ought to be here, working to keep the government running, to come to some sort of accommodation on the DREAMers, to make sure community health centers are funded, to make sure our veterans get the funding and the healthcare they need. What you are doing is atrocious. If the American people could sue you for political malpractice, you would be in deep trouble. I urge my colleagues to oppose this rule, to oppose this bill that would severely undermine women's access to essential services like abortion, and I urge my colleagues to cancel the political rally and get back to work. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to say to my colleague from Wyoming that I will point out a little statistic that she might be interested in. That is, I think never in history has the government been shut down when the same party controls the House, the Senate, and the White House, like the Republicans do right now. The Republicans have a 23-seat majority, I think, in the House right now. You control the agenda. If the gentlewoman or her leadership were interested in working with Democrats, here is a little advice: maybe you ought to have asked us to the table. Maybe you should consult with us. Maybe you should ask us what we think is important. Maybe you ought to understand that if you want to get something done that is bipartisan, you have to act in a bipartisan way. The reason why I am anxious to get this vote on the CR is because I think the CR that has been proposed is wholly inadequate. It is not in the best interest of our country. But I want us to continue to negotiate it. Maybe the Republicans will come back to the table and negotiate. That is why I feel so strongly that my Republican friends ought not be going to political rallies in Pennsylvania today with the President and they ought to be staying here to do the work to make sure we get a bipartisan agreement to keep the government open. I get it. You are losing seats all around the place. The popularity of the Republican Party has never been lower. You are all panicked. But the election isn't until March. Donald Trump can take all of you on his luxurious plane to Pennsylvania at another time. But today, we ought to be focused on the people's business. Next week, we are supposed to be off. So you have all the time in the world next week to be able to go with Donald Trump on a political excursion. When I think about what is at stake and we are delaying votes on a continuing resolution and on further negotiations because people are more interested in the political rally in Pennsylvania, this takes my breath away.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), the distinguished ranking member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the gentlewoman from New York.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, we are, again, at a very urgent moment here for our country. We have a lot to do, and we ought to be working in a bipartisan way to keep the government open. That ought to be everybody's priority. Quite frankly, we ought to be focused on that more than on a bill that is a sound bite that is going nowhere. In fact, this bill was so important to my Republican friends that it never had a hearing or it never went through a markup. It just miraculously appeared at the last minute in advance of this anti-choice rally coming up. But with all that is going on right now, I mean, with the threat of a shutdown, I am looking at Donald Trump's tweet: ``Will be going to Pennsylvania today in order to give my total support to Rick Saccone, running for Congress in a special election (March 13). Rick is a great guy.'' That is where the President's head is today. And he is taking a bunch of Republicans with him. Rather than negotiating a bipartisan deal that will help keep the government running, that will help the DREAMers, that will help our kids, that will help community health centers, that will help our hospitals, and that will help our veterans, the focus is on a political rally in Pennsylvania. This is unbelievable. Cancel the rally--you have until March 13--and, instead, focus on the people's business. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. DeGette), the co-chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Let me respond to the gentlewoman from Wyoming because I just want to make sure I am clear here. There are less than 35 hours left before the government shuts down. I think that is a pretty big deal that should concern Republicans and Democrats. I want to be clear. I don't care if the President goes to Pennsylvania. He can fly on his nice jet, enjoy lifestyles of the rich and famous or whatever he does, and go anywhere he wants in this country. I don't care where he travels to. What we object to is the fact that this House is going to recess during this critical time so that he can bring along a whole bunch of Republican Members of Congress to be part of a political event at this crucial moment when the government is about to shut down. I find that astonishing. The gentlewoman talks about how we owe it to the men and women in uniform to make sure we support our military. Do you think our men and women in uniform want us to take a break right now so that Republican Members can join the President on his fancy jet and go to Pennsylvania for a political rally? Is that where the priorities of this Republican majority really are? I guess it is a habit. The last time we almost had a shutdown, in December, the Republicans took a break so that they could go to the White House for a party to celebrate their tax bill. I am sorry. I know a lot of Republicans in my district and across the country who I don't think prioritize parties and political rallies over us doing our business. Either postpone the political rally or have the President go without Members of Congress. But the idea to recess until after 7 at this crucial moment when so much is in the balance I find just unbelievably beyond the pale. Mr. Speaker, for months the majority has been holding the healthcare of 9 million children and over 9 million individuals, including seniors and pregnant women, hostage while they passed tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Well, time is up. With each day that we fail to act, our constituents face uncertain times. It is wrong. Mr. Speaker, even President Trump says he agrees that we need to act on CHIP. Just this morning he tweeted: ``CHIP should be part of a long- term solution, not a 30-day or a short-term extension.'' Well, here is the chance to stop playing politics with CHIP--and community health centers as well--and do just that. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up Representative McEachin's bill, H.R. 4820, the Advancing Seniors and Kids Act. This bill would restore certainty and stability to so many of our vulnerable citizens by responsibly addressing critical healthcare priorities. It permanently reauthorizes CHIP; it reauthorizes community health centers for 2 years; and it includes other vital healthcare programs that provide relief to pregnant women, seniors, and many more. 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. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McEachin) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my deep concern over China's worsening human rights record, a clear indicator of its increasing authoritarianism. With the consolidation in power of President Xi Jinping, the Chinese authorities are making it more and more evident that they will not tolerate any internal dissent or opposition to their rule. I am not talking about armed opposition, but about loyal opposition-- the kind of opposition that takes China's constitution, its laws, and its international human rights obligations at face value. On July 1, 1997, Britain transferred sovereignty over Hong Kong to China. Under a ``one country, two systems'' arrangement with London, Beijing promised to allow universal suffrage as an ``ultimate aim,'' along with other freedoms. Yesterday a Hong Kong court jailed democracy activist Joshua Wong for three months for blocking clearance of a protest site, his second prison sentence related to the Umbrella Movement's pro-democracy protests in 2014. Joshua was the public face of the Umbrella Movement, which called for free elections for Hong Kong's leadership in the framework of the ``one country, two systems'' agreement. He had already been on bail pending the appeal of a separate six-month sentence for unlawful assembly. This time around the judge made clear that he was making an example of him because of his leadership role. His fellow activist Raphael Wong was sentenced to four and a half months, and several other activists received suspended sentences. What's notable about this story is that after the protests, Joshua and Raphael went on to run for seats in the Hong Kong parliament. They didn't radicalize or take up arms. They stood up for their principles. And now they're in jail. I have often stood on the floor of this House to call for respect for the human rights of the Tibetan people in China. Just a few months ago the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which I co-chair, held a hearing on the repression of religious freedom in Tibet. Tibetan Buddhists face extensive controls on their religious life--an intrusive official presence in monasteries, pervasive surveillance, limits on travel and communications, and ideological re-education campaigns. Religious expression and activism have been met with violent repression, imprisonment and torture. As of last August, 69 monks, nuns or Tibetan reincarnate teachers were known to be serving sentences in Chinese prisons--although the real number is likely much higher. And the Chinese government continues to claim the prerogative to decide who will succeed His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the highest figure in Tibetan Buddhism, who is now 82 years old. This extreme Chinese interference in the physical and spiritual lives of Tibetans occurs even though the Tibetans seek only to fully exercise the autonomy guaranteed them by the Chinese constitution and China's ``Law on Regional Ethnic Autonomy.'' In the late 1980s the Dalai Lama proposed the Middle Way Approach as a path toward Tibetan autonomy within China, and he has pursued that path through non-violence ever since. Then there are the Uyghurs. Like the Tibetans, the Uyghurs are the victims of restrictions imposed by the Chinese authorities on their religious, cultural and linguistic practices. The repression of Uyghurs has increased since July 2009, when a police attack on Uyghur demonstrators led to rioting and nearly 200 deaths. Between 2013 and 2015, clashes involving Uyghurs and Xinjiang public security personnel led to hundreds more deaths. In the aftermath of these kinds of fatal encounters, the Chinese authorities have claimed the Uyghurs were carrying out or preparing to launch attacks against government property or civilians. But credible human rights groups argue that many violent incidents began as peaceful protests--again, a form of loyal opposition. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch has reported that Chinese authorities in Xinjiang are collecting DNA samples, fingerprints, iris scans, and blood types of all residents in the region between the age of 12 and 65. For what purpose? Are we witnessing steps toward some kind of ethnicity-based attack on the whole of the Uyghur people? And there have been alarming reports regarding the detention and possible mistreatment of some family members of U.S.-based Uyghur rights activist Rebiya Kadeer, feared to be in retribution for her human rights advocacy efforts. This could be another instance of China's efforts to silence criticism through intimidation, detention, and threats to the families of activists living abroad. Unfortunately, I could go on and on. But I want to close with recommendations. I am guided by two principles. We as Americans must defend human rights and democracy, values that have made us a great nation. And there must be consequences for bad behaviour. But as Chinese authorities consistently work to undermine democratic participation within its borders and violate the human rights of their peoples, I do not see any consequences. It is time to impose some. I urge us to start by passing two pieces of legislation on Tibet that have been introduced in the House: H.R. 1872, the Reciprocal Access to Tibet Act, and H. Con. Res. 89, expressing the sense of Congress that the treatment of the Tibetan people should be an important factor in the conduct of United States relations with the People's Republic of China. I urge the full and robust implementation of the Tibet Policy Act of 2002--including the designation of the Special Coordinator for Tibetan Policy, a statutory position that the Administration has yet to fill. I urge the robust use of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act to sanction Chinese officials responsible for grave violations of the human rights of Tibetans, Uyghurs, and the many other loyal opposition activists who have been targeted in recent years-- human rights lawyers, religious practitioners, writers, artists. I urge a united expression of support from this House for the release of Liu Xia. She should be allowed to leave China. I urge this House to support the right of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to return to his homeland. I urge the U.S. Consul General in Hong Kong to speak out loudly and forcefully on behalf of Joshua Wong, Nathan Law and other pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong. We must hold China strictly accountable for the terms of the 1997 transfer of sovereignty. These steps may not be enough to turn back China's increasing authoritarianism. But they would be a start.

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to condemn in the strongest possible terms the ongoing, unrelenting attacks against civilians in Syria committed by the barbaric, lawless regime of Bashir al-Assad, with Russian backing. We have all heard the statistics over and over again like a broken record: as many as half a million people killed since the armed conflict began in March 2011, tens of thousands of them civilians; tens of thousands more detained, disappeared, and perhaps, or even likely, dead, directly at the hands of the regime; more than 11 million people displaced once and again, inside and outside of Syria's borders, the largest single refugee crisis the world has seen since 1945. More than half of those displaced are children and youth. Last summer, much was made of the cease-fire agreement that the Trump administration reached with the Russian Government to establish ``deescalation zones'' to stabilize Syria, while keeping the Assad regime in power. We were told the agreement would save lives. Trump said: ``. . . all of a sudden, you are going to have no bullets being fired in Syria. . . .'' Well, that has turned out not to be true. The deescalation zones are not deescalating. As of late December, more than 400,000 people remain trapped, besieged by regime forces in eastern Ghouta, one of the deescalation zones, only half an hour's drive from Damascus. As U.N. Special Adviser on Syria Jan Egeland said last December: ``There is no deescalation zone, there is only escalation in this deescalation zone.'' Idlib, another ``deescalation area,'' suffered a dramatic increase in air attacks last September against armed groups not covered by the cease-fire agreement. In late December, airstrikes and shelling against a hospital, a medical warehouse, and a vegetable market killed, injured, and displaced scores of people. The U.S. Government heralded the military defeat of ISIS in Syria in November. But the defeat of ISIS has not and will not end the Syrian conflict; and Russia has not succeeded in pressuring Assad to end the conflict, nor in restraining Assad's attacks on civilians as he has gone after rebel forces. Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Syria deteriorates each and every day. World Vision estimatesthat 5.6 million people are in need of acute humanitarian assistance. The U.N. says a total of 13.1 million people need some form of assistance. That is 3 million more than at the end of 2016. The situation is worse today, after months of deescalation, than it was a year ago. Of those 13 million, 3 million are trapped in besieged and hard-to- reach areas. That is 4\1/2\ times the population of Boston or Washington, D.C. Humanitarian access to those areas is not guaranteed by the regime, nor by its backers; international law and obligations be damned. Some of the most heartbreaking news out of Syria has to do with the crisis in healthcare. The ``weaponization'' of healthcare in Syria is not new, but the depravity of it all still shocks me. According to a recent report by researchers at the American University in Beirut, ``Syria has become the most dangerous place on earth for healthcare providers.'' According to the International Rescue Committee, in 2011, there was one doctor per 600 people in Syria. But now, in east Ghouta, there is only one doctor per 3,600 people. Medical supplies are not allowed into besieged areas and terribly ill patients are not allowed out. What military or political purpose is served by denying medical evacuation to women and children suffering from heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, and blood diseases? Mr. Speaker, current policy is not working to end the crisis in Syria. It is time to change course, not by sending more Special Forces troops there without any authorization, nor by promising to keep them there indefinitely to fight against the next iteration of ISIS. What we need is to reassert American diplomatic leadership and exert real pressure to end the war. We need a plan to transition Assad out of power. We need to pass H. Res. 632, condemning the senseless attacks on hospitals and medical personnel in Syria. We need to shame Russia for its failure to ensure humanitarian access. We need to increase our contributions to humanitarian assistance for Syria and make full use of the option of cross-border assistance. We need to open our hearts to the Syrian refugees and welcome more of them to our country. We need to do everything in our power to lay the groundwork to ensure accountability for Assad's victims. That includes funding the international, impartial, and independent mechanism to assist in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes. The Syrian conflict has gone on far too long. The horror of it all can be mind-numbing, but we must not lose our outrage. Now is the time to reenergize our efforts and find a way to end the suffering.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), who spent 2\1/2\ hours today in the Rules Committee fighting on behalf of the DREAMers.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Barragan).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Florida an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), my colleague on the Rules Committee.