[Pages H689-H692]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2019

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 52, I call up
the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 28) making further continuing
appropriations for fiscal year 2019, and for other purposes, and ask
for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Butterfield). Pursuant to House
Resolution 52, the joint resolution is considered read.
The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

H.J. Res. 28

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019 (division C of Public Law
115-245) is further amended by striking the date specified in
section 105(3) and inserting ``February 28, 2019''.
This joint resolution may be cited as the ``Further
Additional Continuing Appropriations Act, 2019''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey)
and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger) each will control 30
minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York.

{time} 1045

General Leave

Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include
extraneous material on the measure under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from New York?
There was no objection.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Today is the 27th day of the Trump shutdown, the longest government
shutdown in American history.
Hardworking public servants are seeing their financial security
jeopardized. Small businesses are being frozen out of critical
contracting and loan programs. Businesses of all sizes are being hurt
by delayed regulatory approvals and a lack of government data. Farmers
are unable to access vital Federal services. Our national parks are
being vandalized and filling up with garbage. Critical environmental
inspections to protect families and communities have stopped. Lines at
airports are swelling, as many TSA workers can't afford to work without
pay.
Mr. Speaker, this is unacceptable. But, unfortunately, we heard
yesterday in this very House that Republicans think reopening the
government is a poison pill. Reopening the government is a poison pill?
Frankly, that, my friends, is unbelievable.
We can and we must do better, which is why House Democrats are
bringing up our ninth piece of legislation to reopen the government and
end the Trump shutdown.
The continuing resolution would provide an additional option for
President Trump and Senate Republicans to take ``yes'' for an answer
and end the shutdown. It would reopen the government through February
28, providing time for Congress to come to a full-year agreement
without further jeopardizing vital services or the pay of Federal
employees.
The order of business, Mr. Speaker, should be simple: Reopen the
government, pay Federal employees, and then negotiate on border
security and immigration policy.
It is long past time for my colleagues across the aisle and across
the Capitol to come to their senses and end this shutdown.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation and
reopen the government through February 28.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.J. Res. 28.
I support the goal of reopening the government. There are many
critical programs that are on pause that are important to my
constituents, as they are to all of us.
This prolonged shutdown has been particularly hard for Federal
employees like our TSA screeners, Border Patrol agents, Coast Guard
defenders, and air traffic controllers. Like all of us, these workers
have families and bills to pay. It is vital that we come to an
agreement, and soon.
Unfortunately, the bill we are considering today will not restart
those programs or help our districts. That is because it is not a
comprehensive solution to resolve the government shutdown and fully
address the security and humanitarian crisis we face on our southern
border.
Criminals, terrorists, and drugs are flooding our shores. Tens of
thousands of children, many of them without their parents, make the
dangerous trip to the United States every year.
I have been to the border and to Central America, and I have heard
the heartbreaking stories. I have looked in the faces of those mothers
and children.
This situation is unacceptable, and it must be addressed for the
safety and security of Americans and those coming to the border. We can
and must do better.
Mr. Speaker, again, I share the concern that parts of the government
remain closed and employees are not yet being paid, but moving this
bill across the floor will not help those employees. To put it simply,
that is not a bipartisan consensus.
I hope Members on the other side of the aisle will come back to the
negotiating table and work with Republicans in the House, the Senate,
and the White House to find a compromise that will address the crisis
on the border and reopen the government.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Lee), an outstanding senior member of the
Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, once again, I thank the
gentlewoman for yielding and for her tremendous leadership on so many
issues.
I rise today in strong support of H.J. Res. 28, this continuing
resolution bill to reopen the government through February 28. This
legislation would end the Trump shutdown and ensure that our Federal
employees get their paychecks, like, now.
This bill also sends a clear message that we will not let President
Trump hold this government hostage for his irresponsible, mean-spirited
wall.
Mr. Speaker, this is the longest government shutdown in history. The
government has been closed now for 27 days--27 days, mind you. All the
President has to do is say: Yes, I will open up the government.
Meanwhile, we Democrats continue to do our job and demand that the
President do his. We have passed seven pieces of legislation to end the
Trump shutdown--seven. But we can't reopen this government alone.
Senator McConnell should do his job to end this crisis.
Now, let me be clear: By continuing this reckless shutdown, President
Trump is leaving 800,000 Federal workers and 200,000 low-wage Federal
contractors in the lurch. Not only is this an insult to their hard
work, but it is a slap in the face for the families who have no other
way to pay their bills.
I have spoken to many people in my district who can't afford to buy
gas to

[[Page H690]]

get to their jobs, jobs that they are working at day in and day out
without pay.
That is no way to run a country, and House Democrats won't stand for
it.
Let's pass this bill to reopen the government now. Let's get the
American people the paychecks that they deserve for the important work
they do to protect the public, our food, our parks, and our families
who are suffering so much as a result of them being used as hostages
and political pawns by this President.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Aderholt).
Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to speak in opposition
yet again to this Democrat offer for a continuing resolution. As has
been said, this resolution today goes through February 28, and I am not
sure why our colleagues on the other side of the aisle expect a
different outcome just by changing the end date.
There is, however, one simple way to get a different outcome, and
that is to come to the table and negotiate and talk. Show up at the
table when you are invited to negotiate. There is a seat there waiting.
The people elected the President, and they elected each of us, and
they elected us to do our job. Quite honestly, legislating is a very
serious job, not putting veto-bait bills on the floor of the House to
be voted on over and over again, knowing what the outcome is going to
be.
All of the political points, I think, have been made over and over
again as we have debated these continuing resolutions. I think it is
important that we put partisanship aside. We have to work together. We
all have to sit down at the table and decide how we can move forward.
Just saying ``no'' to a physical infrastructure, in my opinion, is
not a negotiating position.
I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this bill
that is going nowhere so that we can get back to the serious business
of the legislative process. Let's show the American people that we
deserve the trust they have placed in us to govern.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the distinguished majority leader.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Aderholt from Alabama has just said this
is ``veto bait.'' What is veto bait? A proposition to open up the
people's government. Veto bait?
What is the Republican position? Unless the coequal branch of
government, the House of Representatives, says ``yes'' to the President
of the United States, you will continue to support, ad infinitum,
closing down the American Government.
Our Russian--I won't call them enemies, but adversaries, at least,
are very happy, I am sure, that the American Government is shut down.
Our Chinese competitors are very happy that the American Government
is shut down.
We look ridiculous on the national and international scene.
I ask one of my Republican colleagues to stand, and I will yield to
them. Tell me which government of the world shuts themselves down.
You are correct. The answer is, I can't find any government in the
free world that shuts themselves down.
Is that what you won't vote for, opening up your government, the
people's government? Is that what this fight is about?
Or is this fight about, Mr. President, you tell us what to do?
Mr. McConnell says he won't put anything on the Senate floor that the
President won't sign. My, my, my, what a coequal branch of government
we are.
Article I says we make the policy. We decide what is rational to
spend $5.7 billion on. Experts tell us this wall won't work. Senator
Cornyn, Senator Graham, Senator Kennedy, other Senators have said this
is not a good investment. By the way, somebody else who said that was
Mick Mulvaney, some years ago. He is now Chief of Staff at the White
House.
This is not a partisan issue, and this is not about the wall, nor was
it about the ACA, nor was it about the level of education funding when
Gingrich shut down the government or when Ted Cruz and the Freedom
Caucus shut down the government.
Thank God for John Boehner, who had the courage to say shutting down
the government does not make any sense. It is a stupid policy. Thank
God for John Boehner, who came to the floor, notwithstanding the fact
only 87 of his Republican colleagues would support it, but with all the
support of the Democrats, we opened up the government after 26 days.
Now, we have exceeded it this time. What happens 2 weeks from now
when the President says: Either you do it my way or no way, or I am
going to shut down the government.
We are paying a high price, Mr. Speaker, for shutting down this
government, not only the 800,000 hostages who have been taken by the
President of the United States, with the complicity of his Republican
supporters in the House and in the Senate. 800,000 people, 440,000 of
them forced to work without getting paid, 360,000 of them sitting home
and saying: How am I going to pay my mortgage? How am I going to pay my
car payment?
They don't know. I talked to a veteran just 3 days ago who represents
a lot of veterans organizations. He said to me: Do you know the highest
reason for veteran suicide?
I said: No, what is that?
Fiscal uncertainty.

{time} 1100

We have a lot of veterans in the Federal Government. We have a lot of
veterans who are either laid off or working and not getting paid. We
are creating financial instability and anxiety among our employees.
What a stupid way to run a business.
Yesterday, we had a motion to recommit, and it was to strike opening
up the government of the United States. That was apparently, as the
chairwoman has expressed, a poison pill for my Republican colleagues.
Mr. Speaker, I don't get it. We were sent here by our people to make
their government run more efficiently and effectively for them and for
our country, and what have we done? We have said: If the President
won't agree to opening up the government, we won't either.
Yes, we have tried every kind of alternative: opening it up for 7
days, opening it up for 14 days where we can negotiate, and now we are
saying to open it up for a month, put people back to work, give them a
paycheck.
And what does the President's Council of Economic Advisers say just
the other day? We are hurting the economy of the United States, which
hurts everybody and the international community.
I don't get it. I can't think that the American people will get it,
that their Congress sits supine and says we will only pass something if
the President says it is okay.
Have we come to this state where the Article I branch of government,
given the power by the people to make policy, says to the person in the
Second Article, given the responsibility of executing policy, to tell
us: You guys who make policy, don't do it unless I tell you you can?
How sad, how lacking in respect for our own responsibility and duties
to sit idly by while not only 800,000 people are held hostage, but also
millions and millions and millions of others who are served daily by
those 800,000 people.
I plead with my colleagues: Stand up. Reject this policy of shutting
down government whoever does it, whichever side does it.
And we don't do it. We don't believe in it. Mitch McConnell doesn't
believe in it. He said just a few years ago it was a failed policy. And
he, Senator McConnell, was the guy that opened up government. That is
what he said. He has now abandoned that, unfortunately, to the
detriment of our country--not just to the detriment of our Federal
employees, to the detriment of the country.
Mr. Speaker, I would hope every American would call their Member and
say: Look, you guys have differences. That is all right. But don't shut
down my government; don't hurt my economy; don't hurt my neighbor;
don't hurt my mom and dad; don't hurt my child; don't send people to
the border to make us secure when you talk about border security and
then don't pay them and have them worrying about when they are going to
get their next paycheck.

[[Page H691]]

We are better than this. The Congress ought to be better than this.
In a bipartisan way, we ought to say to the President of the United
States: We are for you, against you on this, that, or the other policy,
but we are united in the fact that we do not want to shut down the
people's government.
Pass this bill. Send it to the Senate. Let's open this government. It
is the right thing to do.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).
Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to H.J. Res. 28.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member Granger for allowing me
to speak and acknowledge my friend and colleague, the full chairwoman,
Mrs. Lowey, on the other side of the aisle.
I feel compelled, though, at this point in time to respond to the
rhetoric from the majority leader. The majority leader, the gentleman
and my friend from Maryland, is very articulate and he pleads his case,
but as he is pleading his case, the cure is right in front of us.
I am not going to banter around this Chamber with terms such as
``good faith'' and ``bad faith.'' We are all elected in our 435
districts around this country.
I come from the great State of Tennessee, where the people want the
wall, the people want border security, the people want our borders safe
and secure. I realize that there are others in this body who perhaps
don't want that, but we must remember this as we go through our
rhetoric: We owe it to the American people to be precise.
Now, allow me to be precise. In December, in this Chamber, in the
115th Congress, we offered legislation which would have avoided this
government shutdown.
And let me be specific. This is a partial government shutdown. I do
agree with the distinguished gentleman from Maryland that no government
shutdown is good, but to be honest, 76 percent of the government is
open.
Perhaps in other times when we have had government shutdowns and more
of the government was closed, it gave us more of a catalyst, more of an
impetus to come together and open it. But the fact is that 26 percent
of the government is closed. The fact is that over 800,000 hardworking
men and women and Members of this Chamber on both sides of the aisle--
so that the American people know the truth--many of whom, like myself,
have suspended our pay.
But I would argue that the gentleman from Maryland is wrong in one
big basic area: We know that the cure that they are offering on the
other side will not work. It is analogous to going to a doctor; it is
analogous to basically saying, ``I have got a problem,'' and the doctor
says, ``This won't cure you. This won't cure you. This won't cure
you.''
They are coming back on the other side of the aisle, perhaps with
passion, perhaps in good faith, but they are wrong.
What I am asking for is both sides of the aisle, Mr. Speaker, as an
appropriator--and there are appropriators sitting right over there,
right over here. We are the committee that solves problems. But when we
know that the problem will not be solved with the cure or the solution
that is offered, you come back to the table and you come up with
something that will work.

The President of the United States is willing to talk. The President
of the United States wants to see the government open, as do most
American people, but the President of the United States and I want to
make sure that our borders are safe and secure.
Opioid addiction, drugs are pouring across our border. People are
being abused. Children are being abused. We have got to stop this not
as Republicans or Democrats, but as Americans.
We have got to come to the table with a new cure, a new solution,
and, yes, a compromise, something that will work, that the House, the
Senate, and the White House, two of our three respective branches of
government, will support and get this government open.
So I feel the pain of a partial government shutdown. It is wrong. The
gentleman from Maryland is correct in that assertion. But I also know
this: to offer a cure that will not work is wrong as well.
The cure is to come to the table. The cure is to negotiate in good
faith with something that will work.
Mr. Speaker, I submit that we can get this government open; we can
secure this border; and we all, as American Representatives, can serve
the American people and keep our great American Republic safe.
The poisonous rhetoric has got to stop; the partisan bickering has
got to stop; and this great committee and this great House will get to
work and start working on other issues to fund the government.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, we are opening the government. Democrats have voted
every day for the last 2 weeks to 3 weeks on opening the government.
I ask a simple question: To those who are out working today, what
would they think of working a full day's work with no pay?
My good friend and colleague wants to put this in percentages, just a
small amount of folks who are out and are being devastated. But if you
ask any American as they get up and go to work and they work that full,
hard day and they get no pay, I think they understand this is an
enormous crisis--the longest shutdown on policy, ever.
Senator McConnell has not put one single bill on the floor of the
House to open the government. So it is not partisanship; it is not
rancor. It is not tension; it is people who understand what it means to
not get a paycheck if you are in the Coast Guard in a faraway place, if
you are an air traffic controller, if you are Secret Service.
And thank you to the Speaker, who realized the enormity of security
for the State of the Union or any other large event, which many people
know might be coming in February.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the Appropriations Committee and the chairwoman
from New York for being able to recognize that our job is to open the
government, but we have no partners, and we didn't shut it down.
Now, my friend talks about border security. I am on Homeland
Security. I have been to the border more times than I can imagine. I
know my border friends. I know the border States. And we have a way
forward.
In a bipartisan letter, Texas Members of Congress, House and Senate,
used the term ``critical infrastructure'' or ``tactical
infrastructure.'' But if you want to secure the border, you can have
the moneys for opioid, gang, trade, and child exploitation
investigations, Customs officers at our ports of entry, first responder
funding, and Coast Guard cutters, including icebreakers. That is the
way forward, but it is ridiculous to do as we have done.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to say we are grateful for the Financial
Relief for Federal Employees Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentlewoman from Texas.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I just want to make sure that we know that people are
hurting and that we should understand their pain.
So I want to acknowledge as a cosponsor and salute Mr. Cox, who has
introduced the Financial Relief for Federal Employees Act. Members are
working, Democratic Members are working to provide some pathway for
achieving some resources, by way of borrowing, for the Federal
Government. So we are working.
We must open the government now.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Rutherford).
Mr. RUTHERFORD. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, Ms. Granger,
for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I am sad to again rise in opposition to this bill. It is
now 27 days into this shutdown and almost 1 million people are out of
work, and we are still bringing bills to the floor that have no chance
at all of passing.
It is well past time for a compromise to be found, but, Mr. Speaker,
that requires a reasonable negotiation.
Many Members in this Chamber, myself included, have expressed
frustration over this political process and the lack of negotiation
taking place here in the people's House when President

[[Page H692]]

Trump has made it completely clear--in fact, he has offered negotiated
positions and compromise, with no response from my good friends across
the aisle.
The leader, I think, made some great points about our adversaries,
our peer adversaries like China and Russia, and why this shutdown is a
bad thing, which is why I ask them to come to the table and negotiate.

{time} 1115

Everything he said, almost everything he said, I would agree with.
Those are the reasons we need to come together and reasonably
negotiate. And I think at the basis of all that, we should remember
what this legislative body is all about, which is security for and
service to our hardworking, taxpaying citizens. We are 435 different
voices from different walks of life, and we know the perfect agreement
is rarely possible.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the
gentleman from Florida.
Mr. RUTHERFORD. However, making compromises and trading ideas would
do us a whole lot of good right now, but that requires reasonableness.
It is time to come together on behalf of the American people and stop
this political bickering that is befalling this conversation.
Our country is in desperate need of border security, but we aren't
even talking about that now. We are not talking about the humanitarian
crisis.
Mr. Speaker, we can do better. I ask the Speaker to come to the
table, find a compromise, and let's get back to the work of the
American people.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this
measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, my friends, end this Trump shutdown, vote
``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 52, the previous question is ordered.
The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the joint
resolution.
The joint resolution was ordered to be engrossed and read a third
time, and was read the third time.

Motion to Recommit

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentlewoman opposed to the joint
resolution?
Ms. GRANGER. I am in its current form.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:

Ms. Granger moves to recommit the joint resolution H.J.
Res. 28 to the Committee on Appropriations with instructions
to report the same back to the House forthwith with the
following amendment:
Page 1, beginning on line 5, strike ``February 28, 2019''
and insert ``January 15, 2019''.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Texas is recognized for 5 minutes in support of her motion.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, my motion to recommit amends this joint
resolution, changing the date of the continuing resolution to January
15.
This will ensure that Federal employees will get the retroactive pay
they deserve, consistent with the Government Employee Fair Treatment
Act of 2019, that the President signed yesterday.
The Senate will not take up, and the President will not sign, a
continuing resolution through February 28. The President has made clear
that he will not open the government until our Nation's border security
is addressed. But, the Democrats refuse to negotiate with Republicans.
They refuse to come to the table.
This shutdown has caused real-world consequences for Federal
employees, people who keep us safe and protect our borders, like the
TSA, the Border Patrol, the air traffic controllers, and the Coast
Guard. My motion will allow Federal employees to get the paychecks they
recently missed.
This resolution provides some relief to Federal employees, while we
wait for Democrats to come to the negotiating table. We need to start
working on legislation that can be enacted into law.
Federal employees should not suffer because of the Democrats' refusal
to negotiate.
Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the motion, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to
recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from New York is recognized
for 5 minutes.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I must reiterate, today is the 27th day of
the Trump shutdown, the longest government shutdown in American
history. Therefore, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit.
This continuing resolution would provide an additional option for
President Trump and Senate Republicans to take yes for an answer and
end the shutdown. This CR would pay employees; it would reopen
government through February 28, providing time for Congress to come to
a full-year agreement, without further jeopardizing vital services or
the pay of Federal employees.
The order of business would be simple, my friends: reopen the
government, pay Federal employees, and then let's have a serious
negotiation on border security and immigration policy. Maybe I will
repeat that again, because the order of business is very simple: reopen
the government, pay Federal employees, and then negotiate on border
security and immigration policy.
It is long past time for my colleagues across the aisle, and across
the Capitol, to come to their senses and end this shutdown.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this motion to
recommit and open the government today.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the noes appeared to have it.
Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

____________________