Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, when the Committee on Rules filed its report (H. Rept. 115-547) to accompany House Resolution 727) the Committee was unaware that the waiver of all points of order against consideration of the motion to concur in the Senate Amendment to H.R. 1892 included: A waiver of section 302(f) of the Congressional Budget Act, which prohibits consideration of legislation providing new budget authority in excess of a 302(a) allocation of such authority. A waiver of section 311 of the Congressional Budget Act, which prohibits consideration of legislation that would cause the level of total new budget authority for the first fiscal year to be exceeded, or would cause revenues to be less than the level of total revenues for the first fiscal year or for the total of that first fiscal year and the ensuing fiscal years for which allocations are provided. A waiver of clause 10 of rule XXI, which prohibits the consideration of a bill if it has the net effect of increasing mandatory spending over the five-year or ten-year period.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time to take from the Speaker's table H.R. 195, with the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment thereto, and to consider in the House, without intervention of any point of order, a motion offered by the majority leader or his designee that the House concur in the Senate amendment to the House amendment to the Senate amendment; that the Senate amendment and the motion be considered as read; that the motion be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority leader or their respective designees; and that the previous question be considered as ordered on the motion to its adoption without intervening motion.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 708 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Slaughter), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this rule and the underlying legislation. This resolution, which we will present today, is necessary. It is necessary to provide the House with the flexibility necessary to address Senate Democrat's inaction while they continue to impede funding the United States Government and the important instruments of government. Mr. Speaker, last evening, Senator Chuck Schumer from New York and Senate Democrats made what I consider to be a reprehensible decision to allow the United States Government to shut down. By voting against the bill that funds our military and the pay of men and women in uniform, they voted against a bill that would extend children's healthcare for 6 years, not because they opposed anything in the bill, because you would really be hard pressed to be opposed to anything that was in this legislation. They voted against the bill to manufacture a crisis in a purely political move based upon an unrelated issue that is not facing an imminent deadline. I would like to thank the five Senate Democrats and six House Democrats who voted with Republicans to keep the government open. Senator Schumer should have headed the rest of his Democrats and encouraged them to do what he did even back in 2013, when he said: We--and I say ``the Democrats''--could say we are shutting down the government. We are not. We are going to raise the deficit ceiling until you pass immigration reform. It just would be government chaos not to do the right thing and open up the government. Yet, Mr. Speaker, these wise words heeded more than ever now; this is just a political game. As President Trump said last evening, Senate Democrats own this. It is a Schumer shutdown. They put politics above national security.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I think Republicans are on the floor of the House today to show what we are attempting to offer to the American people. Mr. Speaker, things are sensitive here on both sides. The government shut down. Republicans are going to offer, today, advice to the American people about where we stand about getting this back to where we not only open up the government, but doing it in a way that is favorable, not only to the American people, but favorable to the people who protect this great country, including those children of this country who need healthcare, which Republicans had attempted to pass in the House and the Senate. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there was a question about the President. The President does not vote in the House or the Senate. Those people who voted ``yes'' were for funding the government, those who voted ``no'' were for shutting down the government. The President of the United States, through what is called a Statement of Administration Policy, advised the Rules Committee on January 17 that he would be signing the bill. The President said he was for the bill. Mr. Speaker, the Armed Forces Network is operated by the U.S. Armed Forces, which broadcasts popular television programs to the United States Government, civilians, and their families, especially those at bases and overseas, including ships at sea. Because of the Schumer shutdown, Armed Forces Network services will go off the air. That means that tomorrow--the NFL championship Sunday-- our servicemen all around the globe will be unable to participate in the things that we do here in the United States, yet another example of why a ``yes'' vote would have been for the men and women of our military. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. McCarthy), the distinguished majority leader.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Fairhope, Alabama (Mr. Byrne), a member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Hood River, Oregon (Mr. Walden), who is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I will not.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Hood River, Oregon (Mr. Walden), who is the distinguished chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, we know who voted ``yes'' and we know who voted ``no.'' Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) to defend the Republican position.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Lewisville, Texas (Mr. Burgess), th distinguished chairman of the Subcommittee on Health of the Energy and Commerce Committee, and from the Rules Committee.

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

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

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Butler, Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would remind the gentlewoman from Texas that this body passed the bill, this body did its work, and this body got its work done. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney).

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

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Sunnyside, Washington (Mr. Newhouse), the gentleman from the Rules Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Messer).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, Mac Thornberry is right. The chairman of the Armed Services Committee cares very much about the men and women, not only of the military, where my son serves in Pearl Harbor in the United States Navy, but about every one of our people. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Clarendon, Texas (Mr. Thornberry), the distinguished chairman of the Armed Services Committee.