Jim McGovern

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, the gentlewoman talks about following the Constitution. Really? Coming from that side, it is laughable to hear that. There was silence about the crimes of Donald Trump; silence about what happened here on January 6. Silence. Do you want to talk about opening a door? The people who stormed this place broke down doors trying to kill people. Silence. I don't want to hear any lectures about upholding the Constitution. There is nothing but silence about the crimes of those who attacked this Capitol on January 6. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stevens).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me just respond to the gentleman by saying if this isn't political or partisan, I don't know what the hell is. This is a pathetic display that we are seeing here on the House floor today. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Aguilar), the chairman of the Democratic Caucus.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, let me just say to my Republican colleagues: Are you listening to yourselves talk? We are in the House Chamber. Heads of state address this body. We have debates about war and peace, and you are talking about a fire alarm? I mean, give me a break.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-Cortez).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, it is really rich to get a lecture from someone about civility who stood on this House floor and screamed and interrupted the President of the United States during his state of the Union, or somebody who continues to circle the wagons and cheer on the insurrectionists who attacked this Capitol violently on January 6. I was the last person off the House floor on that day, and I saw what happened. Then for people to come down here and defend those actions, it is pathetic and disgusting. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Tlaib).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Jeffries), the Democratic leader.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, oh, my goodness, I had trouble following the gentlewoman. I mean, was crime up or down in the last administration? The one thing I can say with certainty is that crime was way up in the White House in the last administration without a doubt. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Frost).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. Jayapal).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Washington.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. Omar).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts (Ms. Pressley).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Ms. Bush).

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. I apologize to the American people. I apologize that Republicans are wasting their hard-earned taxpayer money with yet another stupid and meaningless censure resolution instead of doing anything that will help the American people. Jamaal Bowman is a good man, a decent man, a kind man. He was rushing to exit a House Office Building so he could go vote, and he activated a fire alarm in the process of trying to open a door. Did he destroy government property? No. Did he obstruct an official proceeding? No. Did he wield a deadly weapon? No. Did he assault or injure anyone? No. However, did he apologize and take responsibility for his actions? Yes, he did. That is more than we can say for January 6, when this building was desecrated by an angry mob sent by Trump to overturn an election. Republican Members of this body still act like nothing happened. How disgusting. How offensive it is to the men and women who protect us that my friends on the other side of the aisle continue to act like nothing happened that day. At the end of the day, this has nothing to do with Congressman Bowman, and my friends know that. It is about deflecting from how unhinged this majority is. They had to expel one of their own Members last week, for God's sake. They had the first Speaker in history to be ousted. They have nothing of any consequence to show for an entire year in the majority. Nothing. They have done nothing. They have wasted time on stupid measures like this. Nothing. This whole exercise is just nuts. For Republicans, it is all about appeasing their orange overlord in Mar-a-Lago who can do no wrong. They don't care about governing. They aren't fit to govern. They aren't concerned about the serious and complex issues facing this country, the world, or the people we represent. For them, being in power is all about retaliation and revenge, and the destruction of their perceived enemies. It is time for the Republican Party to grow up. Mr. Speaker, I don't want to waste another second on this meaningless resolution. This is pathetic. The Republicans have turned this Chamber into a place where trivial issues get debated passionately and important ones not at all. My friends have done nothing--not a damn thing--for the people that they say they represent. How can anybody on the other side of the aisle go home with a straight face and say that they are representing their constituents? They have produced nothing for them. They have turned this place into a joke. It is sad that we are here today. Again, I will end as I began, by apologizing to the American people. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote on this pathetic, stupid resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, while Republicans continue to fight amongst themselves, Democrats remain united in working for the American people. I rise to applaud the USDA Food and Nutrition Services' efforts to give more of America's students access to universal free school meals. A new final rule published by USDA makes more schools eligible for Federal funds to cover the costs of healthy, nutritious breakfasts and lunches for all students. This Federal program, called the Community Eligibility Provision, eliminates school meal debts, minimizes shame in the lunch line, and reduces paperwork for school nutrition staff and families. It will hopefully encourage more States to adopt permanent universal free school meals as my home State of Massachusetts recently did. Mr. Speaker, this is a big deal. Thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Vilsack, and Deputy Under Secretary Dean for delivering on commitments coming out of the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health. I am thrilled that in the richest country in the world, we are making progress to ensure that all kids have access to nutritious food as part of their school day. Together, we can continue this progress, and together, we can end hunger now.

Mr. McGOVERN

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Indiana for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, this rule would bring three measures to the House floor. First, H.R. 5933, the DETERRENT Act. Democrats and Republicans agree there ought to be transparency if higher education institutions get money from foreign countries. Thankfully, President Biden has worked to improve compliance with existing laws. Because of that, over $1.5 billion more per year have been reported publicly under this President than the prior one. Instead of working together and building on this progress, Republicans are trying to advance this bill that adds onerous new reporting requirements, making it harder for our academic institutions and researchers to remain number one in the world. The second bill here, H.R. 4468, the Choice in Automobile Retail Sales Act of 2023, blocks the Environmental Protection Agency's final authority to finalize a car emissions rule protecting Americans from motor vehicle pollution. The message House Republicans are sending here is pretty simple. Yet again, they are putting polluters over people and picking winners and losers in our transportation sector. Over 100 million Americans live in counties with unhealthy air pollution, with children, the elderly, low-income communities, and communities of color being disproportionately at risk. Air pollution is associated with over 100,000 premature deaths in the United States every single year. The health impacts of rolling back these standards are bad enough. Frankly, it is outrageous that this majority continues to actively fight against innovation and against lower energy costs and against the private sector making decisions based on what people actually want. The reality is that EVs are already popular. American demand for EVs is largely outpacing supply as demand has increased by over 350 percent in the last few years alone. They are also cheaper to own, decreasing fuel costs by 50 percent or more, and ongoing technological advancements are translating to better options for consumers every year. I must point out that Republicans oppose our investments in American EV manufacturing. They are actually advocating for American industry to stand down. Rather than conceding ground to global adversaries like China, Democrats want to invest in America's ability to compete and beat our economic competitors. For all these reasons and more, H.R. 4468 is a bad bill that denies Americans immense public health and environmental benefits of the EPA proposed standards. Finally, we have H.J. Res. 88, a bill that would block the Biden administration from implementing a new income-driven repayment plan to help save borrowers money. I want people to listen carefully to me. President Biden tried to create a new plan to reduce people's student loan monthly payments, and Republicans want to stop him from doing it for no other reason than they don't care. They literally do not care about this issue. It seems that Republicans are willing to stop at nothing to prevent hardworking Americans from getting student loan relief. This is just another attempt to attack the Biden administration for addressing the serious financial concerns of low- and middle-income student loan borrowers. The best thing about this bill, the only good thing I can say here, Mr. Speaker, is that it failed to pass the Senate. In other words, this bill is going nowhere. Another wasted week for America, Mr. Speaker, courtesy of this Republican majority. Today, three more bills that do nothing--nothing-- to make life better for anyone. Republicans want to increase the cost of student loans for workers and families and make it easier for Big Oil CEOs to pollute our communities. That is their agenda. They have been a total and complete failure, the least productive Congress in history, with the most rules failed in a single year. They have dragged our country to the brink of default, almost shut down the government twice, and wasted weeks and weeks fighting about which one of them should be Speaker. Bill after bill, amendment after amendment to ban abortion and attack LGBTQ people, and now they want to impeach the President when even their own Members say there is no ``there'' there. They are doing a lousy job, and it shows. The only good news is that they are not going to be in the majority after this next election. Mr. Speaker, I will be voting ``no'' on this rule, ``no'' on the underlying bills, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon), a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

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

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentleman who just yelled at us that his party is in charge. He is talking about jamming things down the throats of Democrats and the Senate and the White House, as if somehow that is a way to get anything done for the American people. He talks about standing up. What did they do when we were on the verge of shutting the government down? They didn't stand up. Democrats had to stand up and save the day. Mr. Speaker, I do agree with one thing the gentleman said when he came to the floor. He shouted: One thing--I want my Republican colleagues to tell me one thing. Tell me one thing that I can go back and campaign on and say that we did; one material, meaningful, significant thing that the Republican majority has done. The bottom line is, he is right. The Republican majority of this House has done nothing to help the American people. It is a disgrace. It is political malpractice. The bills that we are debating here today, they are making it sound like, oh, if we pass these bills, once the ink dries, this is the law. These bills are going nowhere. These bills are going nowhere. I mean, what they do is tell you about values. I mean, the gentlewoman from Indiana mentioned in her opening remarks that student loan forgiveness is not fair because not everybody goes to college. Think about that--not fair? By her logic, public high schools aren't fair, public middle schools aren't fair, public elementary schools aren't fair. My kids aren't in middle or high school anymore, but I am proud that my tax dollars pay for other people's kids to get an education. That is how it should work. It helps make us more competitive. It strengthens our country when our students are the best educated in the world. It is the right thing to do. The bottom line is that Republicans seem to think that education is just not a good idea, that somehow we don't benefit from a well- educated workforce. They are wrong. They are wrong. Democrats have a different view. We believe education is important, and we ought to support it. We believe more Americans having a good education helps everyone. We believe more Americans with college degrees uplifts our whole economy, not just those who go to college. So if my colleagues oppose student loan forgiveness because it isn't fair--that is what they say--I guess they just want to get rid of our whole public education system. I know some of them do. I hear them bash public education every chance they get, but I think most people think that is nuts. So, again, we have an opportunity to do something, to do something meaningful to help people, and these are the bills we bring to the floor. I guess they are filler. I don't know, maybe they make good posts on social media for the Republican base, but this is a complete waste of time. So the gentleman from Texas was right when he said, name one thing, one thing that Republicans have done. The bottom line is he couldn't, and nobody came to help him out because my friends on the other side have done nothing. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide consideration of a resolution which clearly states that this House will keep our promise to American seniors and workers to protect and preserve Social Security and Medicare against any cuts to these crucial programs. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record the text of my amendment, along with any extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, it is important that my colleagues vote ``yes'' on the vote to defeat the previous question because my Republican friends have made it clear time and time again that they are going after Social Security. The benefit cuts are on the table. They have repeatedly made that clear. It is important that this House speak with one voice, or at least the majority speak, that we reject Republican attempts to renege on our promise to our senior citizens and that we make it clear that we will not stand for any cuts to this important program. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Menendez) to discuss our proposal.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close. Mr. Speaker, these bills are so impactful that the demand to speak is so underwhelming that I am the only one left. Mr. Speaker, with just one week left before we finish our official business for this year, these are the three measures that House Republican leadership has decided that we should focus on: A bill to overcorrect a problem in a way that would hinder U.S. global research; a bill to limit consumer choice, promote pollution, and hurt America's economic leadership; and a bill that attacks the Biden administration for addressing the serious financial concerns of low- and middle-income student loan borrowers. That is it. That is it. Now they want to go home for the holidays instead of addressing--I don't know--anything that matters. I will repeat again, they have done nothing, nothing, nothing in this Congress that helps people. It almost feels like Groundhog Day every time we come to the floor. We have considered multiple bills to roll back environmental rules and protections, multiple bills that promote the far right's bizarre culture wars, multiple bills that would help Republicans' greedy corporate friends and billionaire donors, instead of everyday people. A rule is taken down one day, and we are trying to elect a new Speaker the next. We have votes on measures to destroy, deflect, and distract but not to fix any of the very real problems that our constituents face. We are on an extreme MAGA merry-go-round. To be honest, Mr. Speaker, I want to get off this ride, and so do the people I represent. They are sick and tired of this. As we have all year, House Democrats continue to extend the hand of partnership. We will try to find common ground so we can lower costs and grow the middle class. The American people deserve a Congress that can put people over politics and meet their urgent needs. They are not getting that with this Republican majority. As I said before, you guys are doing a lousy job, and it shows. The only good news is that I believe after the next election you will no longer be in the majority. I hear from Democrats, I hear from Independents, I hear from Republicans all the time about their disappointment with the failure of this Congress to address any of the real concerns that they have. Everything is a sound bite. Everything is a gotcha vote. Everything is an appeal to the most extreme rightwing of the rightwing. Enough. Enough. Mr. Speaker, I hope my friends will reconsider their priorities and actually start focusing in on things that the American people care about. I urge a strong ``no'' vote on this rule, a ``no'' vote on the underlying bills, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Leger Fernandez), who is a distinguished member of the Rules Committee.

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