Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Point of parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, we have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Mr. Kildee, and I am glad to say that he is not only here, but he has an excellent idea to break through this Republican obstruction and save lives. I am honored to yield to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) for a very important unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Danny K. Davis) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the local hometown representative, the esteemed representative from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) who has a very important unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, a point of parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Without question, the NDAA is a very important and serious bill. However, the bill before us today is one that the President has said he would veto. I have argued on this floor in an amendment that I supported a 1 percent cut to the authorization levels. By spending more on the military than we can afford as a country and plunging ourselves deeper into debt, we make ourselves less secure, not more secure. By making ourselves economically beholden to countries like China and Saudi Arabia, we are less secure rather than more secure. Frankly, this bill is more of the same, and if it passes and were to become law-- which it won't because the President would veto it--it would also make it less secure. But this rule and this day it is notable for what we are not doing rather than what we are doing. We are not under this rule considering two simple, plain, commonsense pieces of legislation that everybody knows will help protect American lives and prevent terrorist attacks in our Nation. One is simply to require a background check when a person obtains a gun. Another would prevent terrorists from assembling arsenals of weapons. In my home State of Colorado, we already have universal background checks, and they have led to law enforcement arresting 114 fugitives since the beginning of the year. It is our duty to simply vote on these bills that strengthen and enhance our Second Amendment rights by ensuring that law-abiding gun owners will continue to be able to purchase guns and keeping guns out of the hands of violent criminals and those who don't have the legal right to own them. Both of these bills do this, and each has over 100 cosponsors, including Members on both sides of the aisle. As we stand here today, we are still reeling from the deadliest mass shooting in our country's history nearly 1 month ago. Pulse nightclub in Orlando was a targeted act of terror against the gay community, our allies, and the entire Nation. In my home State of Colorado, we have been hard hit with mass shootings: Columbine, Aurora, and the Planned Parenthood center in Colorado Springs to name a few. It is time for action, and the simple, commonsense measures before us offer a good first step to ensure that we get that done. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Lewis) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to be clear that the various speakers have not embellished to this point; is that correct?

Mr. POLIS. Further parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. The Chair has stated the last several times that the unanimous consent requests cannot be received. Is it that it cannot be accepted or that it is willfully not accepted by the gentleman from Alabama?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule today providing for consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2017, a bill that the President has said he would veto, and the conference report to accompany S. 524, the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016. Many of us support the underlying bill, but, unfortunately, it doesn't allow for--despite nine times having funding being waived--any funding to deal with defeating the cycle of addiction or the health issues around opioid abuse. So while it is an innocuous bill and might help a little bit, it is in no way commensurate with the challenge that families across our country face in dealing with opioid addiction. Mr. Speaker, if we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule that would require the House to consider the bipartisan no fly, no buy legislation which would bar the sale of firearms and explosives to those on the FBI's terrorist watch list. My amendment would not prevent the House from considering either of the underlying measures of this rule. It would simply give the House an opportunity to finally vote on keeping terrorists from assembling arsenals of weapons legally in our country. Mr. Speaker, we can't wait any longer for Congress to take meaningful action. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request. She is a leader on the issue of reducing gun violence.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, in a just-breaking Politico article, it says that House leader infighting has forced GOP leaders to indefinitely postpone a vote on an antiterrorism package. You know, I don't know who is going to tell the terrorists that we are postponing a vote on an antiterrorism package. I would hope that the Republicans would join us Democrats in trying to prevent terrorists from quietly assembling arsenals of explosives and guns and weapons to conduct coordinated attacks on the people of our country--that is what we are hoping to do--and break through this Republican obstructionism on this issue. Hopefully, there will be a new, breaking story based on the acceptance of a unanimous consent request that is forthcoming from my colleague from Ohio. I yield to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader, for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Swalwell) for a unanimous consent request to prevent terrorist attacks in our country.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I was truly hoping that the motion by Ms. Titus would be accepted because, frankly, Ms. Titus' unanimous consent request would have saved lives, prevented convicted felons from acquiring firearms and would have prevented people on the terrorist watch list from silently assembling arsenals for them to commit terrorist acts in our country. While I am disappointed that Ms. Titus' unanimous consent request was rejected out of hand, I yield to--and I am hopeful that the gentleman from Alabama will accept--the gentleman from California (Mr. Thompson) for the purpose of a very important unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, a point of parliamentary inquiry.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rush) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Reclaiming my time, again, the gentleman from Alabama can agree to these unanimous consent requests. The way that the answer has been framed, he has not agreed to them. The gentleman from Alabama and the Republicans are obstructing this body and preventing us from going about our business and getting to these bills, but it is certainly well within the authority under this rule for a unanimous consent request to be accepted. With that, I am actually glad to say we have a unanimous consent. I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) for the purpose of a unanimous consent request.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the assistant Democratic leader, for a unanimous consent request to fight terrorism.