Kevin McCarthy

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. The gentleman is correct. There are many times we have worked together, on sanctions, on homeland and others. We work very well together. The gentleman knows I came to you about CHIP when the committee was directed, on your side of the aisle, not to do anything with the majority party, so I came to you because of our history.

Mr. McCARTHY. Let's make sure we are comparing apples to apples. That had a debt ceiling in it.

Mr. McCARTHY. Yes, that is accurate.

Mr. McCARTHY. I came to the gentleman. I was under the impression. A Member came to me and said that. Maybe that is not true. Maybe that is not what Mr. Pallone wants. But I came to you and said: Let's get together and work this out. I don't want to make CHIP partisan in any shape or form. We met, and we tried to work. You came back to me and said: You have to go alone. I said: That is not how I want to do it. So what we did was we took everything we heard from the hearings. In good faith, the chairman of that committee, Greg Walden, stopped a markup because you requested--not you, but your ranking member. They weren't prepared. They wanted more time. So we want to do everything in our power; but, at the end of the day, you couldn't be there. Twice, your side of the aisle voted against CHIP. You can't argue against it now. You voted against it. When you talk about appropriations, I am very proud of what we did on appropriations. We haven't been able to do that in quite some time. But there were, in those first four bills--every single one of those 12 bills went through subcommittee and full committee. There were 126 amendments on the first four and 342 on the second.

Mr. McCARTHY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Tuesday and the balance of the week, the House will meet as early as 10 a.m. for legislative business. Mr. Speaker, the House will consider a number of suspensions next week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business tomorrow. This list will include several bills from the Science Committee that are part of the House Innovation Initiative. These bills support Americans pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering, and math, with a focus on veterans and individuals historically underrepresented in those fields. Mr. Speaker, my friend and I recently cohosted the third Congressional Hackathon, and I think he and I would agree that STEM education is an issue of national competitiveness, and I look forward to the House passing these bills next week. In addition, the House will consider two measures from the Financial Services Committee. First, H.R. 4015, the Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act sponsored by Representative Sean Duffy. This bill will improve the quality of the proxy research while increasing transparency for public companies and their investors. Second, H.R. 3312, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act sponsored by Representative Blaine Luetkemeyer. This bill replaces Dodd-Frank's arbitrary thresholds with a process that analyzes each institution of its individual risk factors. Mr. Speaker, the House will also consider the conference report to accompany H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act sponsored by Representative Kevin Brady. This historic legislation will cap off a 31-year journey to reform America's broken Tax Code. We will double the standard deduction, making the first $12,000 of income for an individual and $24,000 for a family tax free. We will increase the child tax credit because investing in families is among the most important investments we make. We will reduce the tax rate on small businesses to the lowest rates that have been seen in 40 years. And we do all this while simplifying the Tax Code so Americans can file in minutes on a form the size of a postcard. Republicans have championed cutting taxes and growing our economy for years, and I am excited to deliver this important promise. Finally, Mr. Speaker, additional legislative items are expected, including legislation related to government funding and a number of other end-of-the-year priorities. I will be sure to inform all Members if additional items are added to our schedule.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I do look forward to these colloquies, and I first want to make sure history has it right. 137 economists sent a letter to Congress supporting our tax reform effort and saying it will accelerate growth. I don't know if the gentleman dislikes these 137, but these are economists. I don't judge the difference. History says President Obama added more than $8 trillion to the national debt. Now, how does that measure against all of the others? Well, that is more than 43 prior Presidents combined. That is what history shows. My friend is correct. He has been here much longer than I have. He actually had the majority for 40 years. He didn't balance the budget during that time. There was a common denominator that got the budget balanced in those 4 years, and that was the Republican majority who had to fight for it to get there. The gentleman raised some other issues. He brought an issue up with a number of days. I don't think we should waste any time. He brought an issue up of we don't have a cap agreement to be able to work forward. It wasn't the gentleman, but it was his leader on the other side who decided not to go to the meeting at the White House. The gentleman says that we should not waste our time on the floor. It wasn't this side, but we did have to take time up on this floor to make a motion to impeach the President. We took that time up on the floor. We didn't take the time up for CHIP and for the others. I do remember the quote from my friend. We differ, sometimes philosophically, but we are friends and we are friends because I admire him. I admire principles. There are times when I have watched the gentleman stand for what he has said for years, and maybe his party has a different position. He doesn't hide from it. It is what he told the American public he would do, and he voted that way. And he will stand and oppose me because it is what he said in the past and what he said he would do. But this is not something new. He has always said: ``Funding our government is not a game. When one side wins and the other side loses, a shutdown is not a political football to be tossed around so casually.'' I was personally shocked last week. I wondered what would have happened as I watched your operation whip people to a ``no;'' as we watched the time click; as you watched, you held those who stood by the voting booth who wanted to vote ``yes'' but could not. Had we not gotten enough votes to keep government open, would your side of the aisle have applauded? Would your side of the aisle thought they won victory? And you do go back and it is correct, there were 90 Members on this side of the aisle who didn't vote for a CR, but you, like myself, understand a CR is usually a responsibility of both because it is bipartisan. No one is getting anything, and no one wants to end in that position. We don't want to be in a CR and we don't want to vote for a CR. That is why we came to you so many times in the past when it came to CHIP. But, yes, I understand sometimes people can use it for politics. Let's push it all to the end so maybe we get an advantage with something else. We wanted an agreement. That is why staff of those four leaders have been meeting, and actually came to a pretty close agreement. So what do they do next? Take it to the next level. Let's go to the White House because the White House has been in those meetings at the same time because the President has to sign the bill, the Senate, the House, and leaders on both sides. But when that meeting came just a few short weeks ago, your leaders wouldn't show up. And I take you at your word that you are willing to sit down. The rest of your leadership has to be willing to sit down, too. But this idea that we want to hold government hostage, so many times I have heard the gentleman in the past say that was wrong. He asked about the things that haven't been done. The thing I love the most--I believe in metrics. They have to be honest metrics. I will share them with you because I share them with our side of the aisle because I want us to be judged. I want us to know exactly where we are. And if we are not where we said we are going to be, we should actually work harder. So I took the first Congress of every new President since George H.W. Bush. I wanted to see how many bills came through committee. Because the gentleman is right. When he read the ``Young Guns'' book--and I am not saying to buy it in any shape or form because I don't want to cause any ethics issues, but I don't get any money from it anyway. I give it to the veterans.

Mr. McCARTHY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. There were a lot of questions about the schedule. I took notes because there were a lot of things said, but let me first make sure I can try to get through all of them. You first mentioned many times, what I did not mention. Now, I was asked a question, when would we vote on the tax bill, so I want to be very clear. I answered the question. I said, yes, we will vote on it Tuesday. You said you have heard that it could be Tuesday, so I just said yes, and I didn't mention others because I wasn't asked other questions. But now that you have, let's walk through this. One of your first arguments was debt. Do you realize, in this progrowth, tax-cutting, job creation bill, if it just grows four-tenths of 1 percent, it pays for all of it? But what is interesting here is--don't take my word for it--what happens every day to the market when they realize Congress and the Senate is 1 day closer to passing the tax bill? Everybody with a 401(k) gets a pay raise. The market has set more than 59 records since the election and our movement to passing a tax bill, and that is for all Americans who invested. Everybody's retirement is getting a little better because of it. Now, what about on the jobs perspective? Well, Broadcom, which was created in America but left America based upon the current Tax Code, on the day of the announcement of our tax bill, said: We are coming back. It is not just that we are bringing so many jobs back. We are going to spend $3 billion a year in R&D. We are going to spend $6 billion in manufacturing. And that is $20 billion a year in revenue for that company that is going to pay taxes now in America. But I wonder, that is a big company. Do you know what I just read the other day? A company announcing they are going to Syracuse, New York, based upon our tax bill. Yes, things are changing in America. People are excited about it. But it is not just those that are going to hire these thousands of Americans to work. I want to make sure it happens in Maryland as well, so I wanted to look at your district, so here we go. My good friend represents Maryland's Fifth. He has done it for quite some time. Here are a few facts. Currently, you have 47 percent of filers in Maryland Five that take the standard deduction, so they will be better off because they will get a doubling the day the President signs it. Another 11 percent have itemized deductions that are less than our new higher standard deduction, so they, too, will save. Not only are they going to save money, they are going to save time. Instead of spending weeks trying to fill out a tax form, it is going to be done in minutes. And you know when they fill out their tax form, they are going to get money. But they don't have to wait until April 15. Not only in your district, but across this country, check your check come February, because you know what is going to be in that check? More money because the standard deduction goes up. So that is 58 percent of my friend's district is better off on day one. But from what you tell me, you don't think that is good enough to vote for. A majority of your district is better off on day one. That is not even talking about the small businesses. Do you know, the small businesses in your district, those that are earning $400,000, they are going to save $19,000. I know we are dear friends, but I am not sure if I have ever known that you have owned a business. You know my background. When I was 20, I started my first business. There were three lessons I learned that have never left me: I was the first one to work; I was the last one to leave; and I was the last one to be paid. This is going to create more entrepreneurship, more opportunity, and more people are going to be hired. Now, I know you are worried about the debt, but it just strikes me, this year, you voted for a budget just a couple of months ago--I am not going to go back to another Congress--that increased the deficit by $6.8 trillion. So we are only worried about the debt at certain times? Well, this bill is actually going to grow the economy, as we have watched quarter after quarter after quarter of the administration. Now, I have got to make sure I got all of it. You talked about hearings. We have had 59 public hearings. We printed out, before we even ran to continue the majority, about what we would do on tax. But let's get to the core. That was your district. Let's say to all Americans, it doesn't matter where you live. So anybody, it doesn't matter if you sit on that side of the aisle, on this side of the aisle. It doesn't matter if you are Democrat, Republican, or you are a Socialist. It doesn't matter what you are. You are an American first. And you know what your constituents are going to see? Let's take the average family, the average family of four, making $55,000. You can write this down. You know how much tax they are going to pay? Zero. Zero. But that still is not good enough for you. It is very interesting, in my social science studies, what the party on the other side of the aisle used to say they were for. I believe, back in the day, if you would have stood up here and said, ``I have got a tax bill that is going to make sure the average family of four, on the first $55,000, is going to pay zero,'' they not only would be excited, they would vote for it. And you talk to me about bipartisanship. I really think that is a question for you, bipartisanship. Is it bipartisanship when we reach out to you about CHIP, about healthcare for children, a place not to play politics? We even stopped a hearing and a markup that we had scheduled well in the future because you came to us, your side of the aisle, and asked us to because you thought you could come to an agreement. Then we were told by your leadership, no, nobody could vote for it. We put things in the bill that we thought you would even want, but, no, you still voted ``no.'' And how many times have you told me on this floor, I think it was just a few months ago--and I will quote you, if I may--about government funding, because I was concerned because I had read some articles in The New York Times that suggested, ``as a minority party struggling to show resistance in an era of President Trump, the Democrats are now ready to let the lights of government go dark.'' I read that to you because I wanted to know was that true or was that false. Well, you said to me, when I asked my friend whether that rumor was true, he replied: ``. . . nobody on my side is talking about wanting to shut down the government. We don't want to shut down the government'' was your quote. You continued to say: ``I would assure my friend that it is neither our intent nor our desire. As a matter of fact, we want to work quickly to avoid that happening. That is not good for, obviously, the American people; it is not good for managers trying to plan on how to deliver services; and it is certainly not good for our Federal employees. So I would want to work with you to make sure that doesn't happen.'' Mr. Speaker, that was in March, just 9 months ago. I wonder what changed in those 9 months because just last week--and I tell my friend, there was no partisanship in putting a continuing resolution on the floor for 2 weeks. There was no poison pill on this side of the aisle. It was a clean one. And I watched, sitting at this desk, how the vote was going, and I watched the other side, Mr. Speaker. I watched people, not that they just voted ``no.'' They were whipped into the position to vote ``no.'' I watched the tally. And once that tally got past the magic number of 218, I watched my good friend put his thumb up, because he gave the okay to those 14 Democrats in his conference that were sitting there, that were told not to vote until it passed. I just wonder what happened to bipartisanship on something that is so bipartisan. I know the thousands of Federal employees you have in your district, but that is just--I listened, Mr. Speaker, to the leader of the Democratic Party on the other side who said, just 2 days prior, the only person talking about the shutdown is President Trump. Well, the only person taking action and whipping to get to a shutdown was on this floor. We have had open hearings, Republican and Democrats. We have had an open, bipartisan, bicameral conference. They have walked through an entire bill. We have made sure Americans are going to get a tax cut and jobs are going to be created. It is already happening before the bill is even signed. I am not sure if I didn't mention something else, because you try to correct if something was not mentioned. But I want to make sure I answered all those questions for you because I know, not just in your district, that every family of four making $55,000 will pay nothing, that all the small businesses that are going to hire new people--and I differ from you. Maybe you will whip strongly against it like you whipped strongly against the CR and keeping government open, But I still think, when I look upon that tally on the tax bill, I think there will be some on your side. And why do I think that? Because they told me so. But I still think, when I look upon that tally on the tax bill, I think there will be some on your side. And why do I think that? Because they told me so. The only difference will be, at the end of the day, if they don't, if you keep the strong arm, and instead of releasing the thumb up once it passes and put it down, that is the only reason we won't have bipartisanship on the floor that day. But I believe in America. I believe in this floor, and I believe in the individuals who fight so strongly to get here to represent their constituents; that they know the new jobs in their district, they know how much those families will save, and they will not let politics get the best of them. They will go against the tide to stop it. They believe that it will even be better. I look forward to that day. I also look forward to my friend coming back to the quote he told me 9 months ago, because you know what? It is close to Christmas. We have military men and women defending us. The gentleman talked about that bill the President recently signed that, yes, he worked to strong-arm with me, that is going to make government more effective, efficient, and accountable. It also had a pay raise for our men and women. And when he voted ``no,'' he told them they weren't getting their raise. But worse, he went even further. The gentleman questioned whether they could actually have the funds to continue the battle where they needed to be. We have been through shutdowns. We know nobody wins. I believe what he told me 9 months ago. I just want him to come back.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns on Friday, December 15, 2017, it adjourn to meet on Monday, December 18, 2017, when it shall convene at noon for morning- hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, when dedicated people reach the end of a long and full career, they care to be remembered for more than what they accomplished, but for how they accomplished it. Duane Dauner is a peace maker, a consensus builder, and a man with an uncommon mix of expertise and compassion. He is a man who has deservedly gained a local, statewide, and national reputation for his knowledge and abilities. Duane has over three decades of experience as the President and CEO of the California Hospital Association, serving the most populous state in America with diversity to match its size. From rural expanses in the farms and deserts to the great cities along California's coast and interior, Duane has more than capably responded to the health care needs of the people of California. Building on his experience in the Kansas Hospital Association and the Missouri Hospital Association, Duane came to California with a personal commitment to provide every Californian with equitable access to affordable, safe, high-quality health care services. In large part because of his work and leadership, California experienced the slowest rate of health expenditure growth relative to the entire nation. He took the lead to develop the Modern Pricing approach, a voluntary effort where hospitals can adjust their charges to develop a more user- friendly billing process. He improved the transparency of hospital data, helping to develop the California Hospital Assessment Reporting Taskforce (CHART), which adopted 50 hospital performance measures and still publicly reports hospital quality today. Under his leadership, the California Hospital Association established the 501(c)3 Hospital Quality Institute to prioritize initiatives that improve patient safety and quality. His public recognition acknowledges his accomplishments. He has earned the American College of Health Care Executives highest honor, the Gold Medal Award, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Healthcare Executive of Southern California, and the Ludlam-Gamble Award from the National Health Foundation, among many others. I, along with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, have both appreciated Duane's counsel and advice over the years, leaning upon him to inform our own health care policy decisions. The fact that we come from different sides of the aisle reflects not only the excellence of Duane's advice, but also the quality of his character. Friends and colleagues have called him an ``elder statesmen,'' a ``careful listener,'' a ``decisive leader,'' and a man of ``resolute character'' with ``a work ethic that never wavers.'' Duane is a person who has always done more than his job required and did it well. While the people of California and the nation will miss his leadership, we are all the better that he spent so much of his life serving our state and country.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I will miss the colloquy tomorrow. I always look forward to speaking with my friend. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows, the Rules Committee has met, so we will see a Financial Services bill that they met on. Members will also get a list of all the suspensions. That will be by close of business tomorrow. But the gentleman is right. There is a lot of work to be done. We have passed CHIP going forward. As the gentleman knows, in this bill that we just voted on, for those who voted yes, it continues funding for them for the rest of this year. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman knows, this House has passed all 12 appropriations bills, but we have more work to get done. Knowing my friend is concerned, coming from the Appropriations Committee as well, I would hope you join with us. We would like to see the Senate take some actions. I know leadership from both sides of the aisle has just visited with the President. I hope we can come to an agreement so we can finish this out. I also hope the gentleman would join with me in encouraging the Senate, not just on the appropriations bills, but the 352 bills that we have out of this House sitting over there. Mr. Speaker, the part that the American people must know, most of those bills have very broad bipartisan support. I am looking forward to a busy 9 days. It will not come up next week, but if it could, I would bring it up as soon as we come out of conference because I do believe the American people are waiting for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to continue what we have gone through. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the purpose of making a scheduling announcement. Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank all the Members for their flexibility in coming back to town this past Monday. As such, Members are advised that votes are no longer expected in the House tomorrow, Friday, December 8. Members are further advised to be prepared for the House to be in session the week of December 18. First votes of that week will be expected at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, December 18. We all know we have important work to do, including passing the historic Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for the American people. I think that will be an excellent Christmas present. If there are any further changes to our schedule, I will be sure to let all Members know.

Mr. McCARTHY. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, not to continue a debate, because I know people have places to go, but you said we needed 218 to show it. We just showed 221. But the one thing I will tell you, when you talk about bipartisan, when you talked about that CR, 133 on this side voted for it; more than the majority of the majority. That is where bipartisanship comes. I can sit back and we can rehash how many times we met about SCHIP. We can rehash coming to you and saying: Tell me where you want to go with that at the end of the day. We can rehash where your ranking member asked us to pull back on the markup, and we did. But they still never came. I don't need to rewrite history and I don't need to walk away from where we tried to get to. I am proud of the fact that we were able to pass it, with or without you. But we wanted you with us. You made the decision not to be with us, and that is okay. That is your decision. But, today, when you talked and bragged about all of the other times you were there, my only question is: What is different today? Let's not make today continue for the future. Let's find the way that we work together. But at the end of the day, when they look back in history, there will be 221 on this side and there will be 175 on the other side that said government should shut down; and I don't think that is right. I hope you have a good weekend.

Mr. McCARTHY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is right, we have a great amount of work to do. We just voted on a bill that, I will guarantee you, 221 Members on this side who carried it, was not the bill they were seeking. They do not want to look at the troops and say they are not funded and they are not getting their pay raise that we voted on earlier. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman, my friend, has told me, time and again, funding government is not a game. There was nothing in the bill that we just passed that both sides could not say that it was a bipartisan bill. There was nothing on our side of the aisle that we put into that bill that would give anybody on either side heartache. But it was not a bill that we should have to have voted on, on this floor. We did 12 appropriations bills. We should not be voting for continuing resolutions. That is not why we are elected. So let's do this. As we make our travel plans back, knowing that we will be back next week, let's make a commitment to one another, let's make a commitment to this country, that we will get our work done, that we will find the common ground, that we will not whip against a bill just to try to shut a government down, but will find the very best that this body could come to conclusion with, and that means funding our troops, and I look forward to working with all of you in the coming weeks.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I move to lay the resolution on the table.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman does know--we have talked many times--about our issue not only just on security but also when it comes to DACA, and we know that deadline is not approaching by the end of this year. My good friend does know the deadline of government funding that affects all Americans. I take my friend in a serious manner, but I would say my severe disappointment in what transpired this week when an opportunity to meet with all leadership--my friend talked about the number of days we have. This is not a time to play politics. This is not about one party or the other. I would be glad to hear the support and opposed. You just have to show up for the meeting. I think more outcome would happen if you show up to the meeting. Tomorrow I will be announcing a full legislative schedule. I am excited about the opportunity to let America keep more of their hard- earned money and get us working again. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. McCARTHY. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, Members are advised that votes are now expected in this House on Monday, December 4, at 6:30 p.m. Members should be prepared to vote on the motion to go to conference and the motion to instruct conferees on H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. I strongly encourage all Members to be here present and voting. If there are any further changes to the schedule, I will be sure to let all Members know.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. McCARTHY. My friend is correct on a lot, but understand one thing. In this job and when we run, we are passionate about our beliefs. My parents always told me: If you can't handle the heat, you probably shouldn't run. But the one thing that should happen here is, if we want to come to a conclusion, just as you and I and my good friend sat yesterday in my office talking with the White House on our concerns about the hurricane that came to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, the only way you solve a problem is you come together. The only way you come together is you show up in the meetings and you can air your differences. But at the end of the day, when we walk into this House, we don't walk in as Democrats or Republicans. We walk in as an American. It is about time we put the people before politics. We have got a shorter time to do our job. I look forward to seeing people here Monday. I look forward to seeing us get our work done.