Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that I respect the gentlewoman from Florida for her courage and for standing up on behalf of doing the right thing. I wish more people in this Chamber would do that. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Colorado (Ms. Pettersen), who is the author of the parental proxy resolution that is trying to be killed by today's rule. She is a new mom herself.

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. After listening to the distinguished chairwoman of the Rules Committee, my head is about to explode. She talked about how disastrous it was when we had proxy voting during COVID. It was so disastrous that 162 Republicans actually voted by proxy. She talked about how somehow it was unconstitutional, so unconstitutional that the current Speaker of the House, on multiple occasions, voted by proxy 39 different times. She talks about people needing to show up to work. Well, people did show up to work and did participate in representing their constituents when we had proxy voting. She doesn't seem to be that upset over the fact that Donald Trump conducts most of his business from the golf course in Mar-a-Lago. She doesn't seem to be very upset over the fact that the FBI Director, Kash Patel, is asking to work remotely from Las Vegas. She didn't seem that upset that there were people on the Rules Committee who used proxy voting to go to a CPAC convention to basically listen to political rhetoric from people on the extreme rightwing. The bottom line is, Republicans love to talk about family values, but when given the chance to really support families, they turn their backs. She talks about looking in Webster's dictionary, about the definition of ``congress.'' While she is at it, she should look up the definition of ``representation.'' There is nothing that says you shouldn't be able to represent your constituents because you just had a new baby. The rule that we are considering right now is unprecedented because never in the history of the House has the Rules Committee tried to outright kill a discharge petition that was already signed by a majority of the House--never. This is precedent-setting. Let me be clear: Discharge petitions are not a tool of the minority. That is true no matter how many times Republican leadership wants to say so. In the past 30 years, before this month, a grand total of four discharge petitions have been sent by a majority of this House. Guess who introduced every single one of those four bills? Republican Members of a Republican majority. How did a majority of Republicans vote on those bills? They voted in support. This isn't some Democratic tool that we use to make the other side take votes. This is a vital tool that has allowed Republicans with commonsense, bipartisan ideas to actually bring them forward against the opposition of their leadership. By the way, even if you think this is a tool of the minority, once you set this precedent, that is it. Republicans are a few seats away from losing control of this Chamber. You might see this debate a lot differently in hindsight. If you want to protect your rights as Members of Congress, you should vote ``no'' here. You should especially vote ``no'' if you support the idea that new moms and dads should be allowed to vote remotely while taking care of a newborn. Members worked across the aisle to draft a compromise version of remote voting for new parents. A bipartisan majority of this House signed a petition to bring this to the floor. Congresswoman Luna followed the rules, followed the rules that you set, the same rules that were in place when I was chair of this committee, the same basic rules that have been in place for a hundred years. A majority of this Congress supports the Luna-Pettersen rule to allow new parents to vote remotely because it is common sense and because this is 2025, not 1925. Members who stand with new parents and young families, Members who recognize we live in a modern world and don't show up to work with a horse and buggy, Members who believe in the democratic process, things like majority rule--what a radical idea--must defeat this antifamily, antidemocratic power grab of a resolution. If you signed this discharge petition, you need to vote ``no'' on this rule. If you think it is important for individual Members to have any ability to move commonsense, bipartisan ideas forward, you need to vote ``no'' on this rule. A ``no'' vote is the only vote that lets that happen. Congresswoman Luna convinced a majority in this House to support her idea. She deserves to get an up-or-down vote. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I don't blame the Speaker for not being able to answer the question of the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Griffith). I have been on the Rules Committee for a long time, and I, quite frankly, don't know what the hell he is talking about. Mr. Speaker, none of us are saying that the rules can't be changed here. We are just saying they shouldn't be. In the House of Representatives, I don't know, but I thought the majority rules. I thought that was kind of an important standard that we all followed around here, but apparently not. Apparently, according to my Republican colleagues who are now in charge, it is now the minority that should rule, that a minority of opinion who doesn't want to see things come to the floor can just block it and not even give people an opportunity to vote up or down. I think this is a very dangerous precedent, and I think the majority is going to regret going down this road. Again, I hope that there are courageous people on the Republican side who will stand with Representative Luna and all of us and vote ``no'' on the previous question. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Gomez).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, responding to the gentleman who just spoke, just because the gentleman yells doesn't make his vote count more. It certainly doesn't make him right. Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump literally works from a golf course, and my friends on the other side of the aisle don't say anything about it. Yet, God forbid a pregnant mother be able to have her baby in the safety of her home and in her community and she votes by proxy. Somehow, the Republic will fall? Give me a break. What the hell is wrong with the majority? This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. This is coming from a group of people over there, many of whom voted by proxy during COVID, some of them multiple times. I don't have any patience for this. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Johnson).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to make in order Representative Dexter's amendment to the SAVE Act, which prevents the bill from taking effect within a State unless that State certifies that the implementation of the bill would not lead to disenfranchisement of eligible married women voters. I ask for unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Dexter), the sponsor of this legislation, to discuss our proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I don't even know what the hell he is talking about. Let me just say this: I never voted by proxy. I helped establish those rules during COVID, but I never did because I followed the rules. The gentleman voted 63 times by proxy, including one time going to a rightwing Republican political convention. That was not following the rules. So much for being unconstitutional. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Moskowitz).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Florida. Point of Order

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, let us not kid ourselves. This isn't just about overdraft fees, mobile apps, or voter registration requirements. This is about one political party, the Republican Party, which has made a deliberate choice to side with the rich and powerful over the people they were elected to serve. Time and time again, Republicans have shown us exactly who they are. They are not interested in lifting up working families. They are interested in protecting greedy corporations. They are not interested or worried about making life easier for everyday people. They are worried about making life easier for the rich and the powerful. The Republican vision for America is one where the rules don't apply to those at the top and the rest of us are left to fend for ourselves. That is very different from the Democratic vision for America because Democrats believe real freedom means economic security. We believe opportunity means being able to pay your bills without being gouged by Big Bank overdraft fees. We believe consumers should be protected from fraud. We believe that working people should come first, not Wall Street, not Silicon Valley, not MAGA billionaires who think democracy is optional. We believe that this Congress ought to embrace the 21st century. Republicans are using this vote to block Representative Luna from offering her resolution to allow new moms and dads to vote by proxy in this Congress. This is a huge change to centuries of precedent. They are taking power away from a majority, a majority of Members of the House, by blocking a bipartisan resolution. Let me be crystal clear: A minority of this Chamber is upending what a majority in both parties wants. I get it. Some of you are obsessed with copying authoritarian regimes, but guess what. We are not in a dictatorship, and Republicans and Democrats should reject this cowardly change. The American people are watching. They, quite frankly, don't understand the rationale that my Republican colleagues put forward about why new mothers and new fathers have to be here in person while making comparisons to doctors who are operating on patients. We are casting votes. We are casting votes. Representative Pettersen, having just given birth to a new baby, should be able to represent her constituents from her district in the safety of her community and in her home. What the hell is the big deal? Do you think the world is coming to an end? The people who are complaining the loudest are the ones who abused proxy voting when we had it during COVID. By the way, news flash, everybody: There is a Member of the Republican Party who voted by proxy to do a comedy show on the West Coast just a few months ago, and they all know about it. There is no accountability. There is no one holding anybody to account for that, basically, voter fraud, but they are here on the floor today complaining about new mothers and new fathers being able to vote by proxy. This is absurd. This is absurd. The American people I know are disgusted by what they are hearing here today. The American people are watching. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this outrageous, antidemocratic rule. I ask my Republican colleagues to stand up and show some courage today because what you are doing today, what the leadership is doing today, is basically precedent setting. This will come back and haunt you at some point. Don't ruin these precedents. Don't ruin these traditions. Let's build an economy and a democracy that works for everyone. Vote ``no'' on this rule. 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 demand a recorded vote.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, last month Republicans passed a budget that enables massive cuts that are going to kick people off of food assistance. Children, seniors, disabled veterans, workers--people who all rely on SNAP, the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program, to help purchase food when times get tough, Republicans want to rip it away, take food off the tables of hungry Americans. This is a program that is there for all of us. If you lose your job, if your hours get cut, if you become disabled or have trouble paying bills, you can turn to SNAP to help make ends meet. Republicans don't want to talk about how their cuts are going to hurt people. They haven't held one hearing or briefing on the program, so Democrats went around them. We are holding a hearing today at 3 p.m. to talk about their plan to steal people's food assistance so they can give tax breaks to billionaires. We will continue to expose the corruption as we work to end hunger now.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today House Republicans are wasting time talking about walk-in freezers and refrigerators. That is what Republicans think is urgent, commercial freezers and refrigerators. Do you know what I think that is? I think that is insane. I think it is unhinged. It is not what I am hearing at my townhalls. I have done six townhalls, and thousands of people have shown up. Maybe if Republicans actually held townhalls and listened to people, they would know what the hell is going on right now. People are not worried about commercial walk-in freezers or refrigerators, Mr. Speaker. They are pissed at Elon and his unelected, un-appointed bureaucrats for blowing up the Department of Education. That is what they are worried about. They are demanding resignations because Trump's national security team recklessly mishandled classified information on unsecured phones. They might as well have mailed a copy to the Kremlin, for God's sake. People are mad as hell that you guys are going to try to kill Social Security. Mr. Speaker, you can say whatever you want, but that is what Republicans want to do. They want to kill Social Security. That is a fact. They want to raid Social Security like a piggy bank so Elon can steal people's money and give more tax breaks to billionaires. I was at a retirement community in my district on Friday, and seniors are scared out of their minds. They are not stupid. They know what is happening. It is crystal clear. They see through all the BS, and they know Elon and Trump are trying to sabotage Social Security so they can start kicking people off. The Social Security website crashed four times this month. Millions of Americans couldn't log into their accounts. Elon fired so many people that there is nobody to answer the phones at some Social Security offices. The lines keep ringing and ringing and ringing. We don't even know how long wait times are because, get this, they eliminated the program to track customer satisfaction. Elon is still lying saying that millions and millions of dead people are collecting Social Security checks and calling Social Security a Ponzi scheme. Mr. Speaker, that is a lie. It is not true, and he knows it is not true. We heard Donald Trump parrot that same propaganda in this Chamber because president Elon told him to and because they want an excuse to cut seniors off of Social Security. These guys are rich and out-of- touch billionaires who just don't get it. They are having champagne and caviar at Mar-a-Lago while senior citizens wait for hours on the phone to talk to somebody. Trump's Commerce Secretary said that if Social Security didn't send out checks for a month, his 94-year-old mother-in-law would not complain. That is good for her, but he is a billionaire, for God's sake. It must be nice to have one in the family. Guess what, Mr. Speaker. Most people are not so lucky. When I talk to seniors, they tell me that one missed Social Security check means going hungry. It means falling behind on rent. It means skipping medications. People out there can't afford groceries, but Trump's team is telling them to go buy Tesla stock. That is their retirement plan. These people are nuts, Mr. Speaker. The bottom line is that for Republicans, Social Security is just another thing they can cut to pay for billionaire tax breaks. Guess what, Elon. We are not letting you get your greedy, grubby, billionaire hands anywhere near Social Security. It is not a handout. It is not a giveaway. It is a benefit that 70 million Americans paid into for their entire lives expecting that it would be there when they needed it. It is a promise, and we are going to fight like hell to keep that promise for the people who built this country.

Mr. McGOVERN

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on January 25, I had the honor of joining Worcester Mayor Joe Petty, former State Senate President Harriette Chandler, and other community leaders to present Richard ``Richy'' Perlman with the Key to the city of Worcester. It was a moving ceremony for a man who has spent his life quietly serving others. For over 110 years, three generations of Perlmans, have provided care and comfort to families during their most difficult moments. As a funeral director, Richy has ensured that every person is treated with dignity and respect, honoring sacred traditions that have stood the test of time, including the sacred Jewish ritual of Tahara. Richy's service has strengthened our community and upheld the values of compassion, faith, and humanity. Worcester is better because of him. I was proud to stand with so many local leaders to celebrate Richy's contributions, and I congratulate him, once again, on receiving this great honor.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach) for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. Mr. Speaker, as we speak, prices are going up, inflation is up, groceries are up. I saw eggs for $10 recently. Used car prices are up, other than Teslas. Those seem much cheaper these days for some reason. Energy prices are up 25 percent in the gentlewoman's home State of Minnesota. Energy prices have increased 25 percent for her constituents thanks to Trump's tariffs that she is supporting by bringing this rule to the floor. Boy, I am just glad she is not my Representative. Meanwhile, Elon Musk was on Fox Business this morning. He is not talking about food prices or energy prices. He is talking about how he wants to eliminate entitlements. This is the guy that called Social Security a Ponzi scheme and the guy that is laying off people at Social Security offices already. Maybe Elon doesn't know this, but Social Security is not an entitlement. It is a program that people have spent their entire life paying into. Shame on him. Mr. Speaker, maybe Elon needs to watch the news instead of going on it because what else is going down is consumer confidence. People are waking up to the fact that Trump's trade war is going to hurt them in their pocketbooks. The stock market is going down. People in this country are starting to panic because their retirement accounts are dropping. Planes are going down. We have had several major accidents and several close calls. We just learned that Elon Musk, the guy whose rocket just exploded in midair this weekend, wants to fire air traffic controllers. Make that make sense. Republicans are doing nothing about any of it. Trump spent 2 minutes in his 2-hour lecture last week talking about lowering prices. Republicans now bring to the floor this CR, basically a blank check to Trump and Musk, that says keep doing what the President and Musk are doing. We are all fine with it. No way. My Republican friends want to pretend like this is a clean CR. It is 99 pages, for God's sake. A CR is pretty simple. The government gets funded at the same levels. Calling this CR clean is laughable. This bill cuts healthcare for veterans. Mr. Speaker, $23 billion is ripped away from veterans exposed to burn pits and Agent Orange. This bill defunds the police. I guess my Republican friends only care about the police when they need their votes because this CR takes money away from the police. What is another word for taking money away? It is defunding. This CR helps fire thousands of Social Security workers, forcing seniors to wait longer for their benefits that they have earned. That is what House Republicans are trying to jam through on the floor right now. The brazenness that Musk and Trump have when going after Social Security takes my breath away. They tried to close down a Social Security office in Chairman Tom Cole's district in Oklahoma. That is nuts. He is one of the most senior Republicans in Congress, a Republican, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, and Elon went after his constituents. Chairman Cole was able to stop it. What about the rest of the country? God help them if their Congressman doesn't run a powerful committee because that means there is nothing to stop Elon Musk from coming after their Social Security. Republicans are really, really hoping I don't bring up this last part. Guess what they tucked into this rule, hoping nobody would notice? They did this after everyone went home. They slipped in a little clause, letting them escape from ever having to debate or vote on Trump's tariffs. Isn't that clever? Trump's trade war will result in one of the largest, if not the largest, tax increase on American families ever. This rule gives him the ability to do it without a vote in Congress. I get it. They are already hiding from their voters, running away from their own townhalls, slipping out the back doors because they are afraid of being held accountable for their own's actions. Guess what, Mr. Speaker. People don't send us here to hide. They send us here to fight for them, and they send us here to vote. Democrats are not going to be complicit in voting to screw over America's veterans. We are not going to be complicit in voting to screw over our senior citizens on Social Security. We are not going to be complicit in taking money away from first responders. We are sure as hell not going to be silent when it comes to this administration's BS and their corruption. What we are going to do is we are going to show up in our communities. We going to stand up for veterans. We are going to speak up for people on Medicaid and Social Security. We are going to put up one hell of a fight when it comes to the middle-class families who are counting on us to fight for them. I urge a ``no'' vote on this disgraceful rule and a ``no'' vote on the underlying legislation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman wants to talk about grocery prices? Read the room, man, or better yet, visit a grocery store. Give me a break. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 1974, a short-term continuing resolution that keeps the government funded through April 11. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment into the Record, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, to discuss our proposal, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, that was an awful lot of words from the gentleman to announce that is he is caving and changing his position and finally supporting a CR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Moskowitz).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Meeks).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman just conceded that this rule would prevent the House from voting on Trump's tariffs, thereby resulting in the biggest tax increase on middle-class families that we have ever seen. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, this rule contains tariffs, and I don't understand why the gentlewoman supports these tariffs. She represents a district with over 50,000 farmers, the second most of any Member of Congress. During the last trade war started by Trump, American farmers lost $27 billion in agricultural exports. It is farmers in the gentlewoman's district who are being harmed by these tariffs, so I don't understand why she supports them. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).