Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 163 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2017 No. 27 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was Amendment, celebrated its 50th anni- with the knowledge of what it takes to called to order by the Speaker pro tem- versary. I became intrigued with its understand the personal and political pore (Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky). history and application because it is stresses of the Presidency? f clear, whether with Donald Trump or a I submit that the best failsafe to a future President, this mechanism is President who is emotionally unstable DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO very important. Accidents can happen: would be to impanel our previous TEMPORE President Reagan suffered from early Presidents and Vice Presidents to The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- onset Alzheimer’s that concerned his make that determination. fore the House the following commu- staff. President Wilson was incapaci- Think about how it would work. Cur- nication from the Speaker: tated by a stroke, and his wife, Edith, rently, there are 10 bipartisan former WASHINGTON, DC, effectively governed the United States distinguished Americans who, in most February 15, 2017. for months. cases, enjoy even greater public sup- I hereby appoint the Honorable HAR- It is only a matter of time before we port than when they left office. Most OLD ROGERS to act as Speaker pro tem- face these challenges again. As I exam- importantly, there is no group of peo- pore on this day. ined the amendment, it became clear ple better suited to evaluate the evi- PAUL D. RYAN, that, in the case of mental or emo- dence and the dynamics at work for the Speaker of the House of Representatives. tional incapacity, there is a glaring good of the country and the President f flaw. For a mentally unstable, para- who needs help. noid, or delusional President, the 25th Now, we have made real progress MORNING-HOUR DEBATE Amendment has no guarantee of its ap- with mental illness. We have made it The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- plication. In fact, it is likely that it easier to get care. We are taking away ant to the order of the House of Janu- would fail. the stigma for the one in five Ameri- ary 3, 2017, the Chair will now recog- As written, the 25th Amendment re- cans who suffer from mental health nize Members from lists submitted by quires the Vice President and a major- issues. We find people to be more open the majority and minority leaders for ity of the Cabinet to concur that the and candid and accepting of themselves morning-hour debate. President is no longer capable of exer- and others. We are making real strides The Chair will alternate recognition cising authority. There are other safe- in terms of treatment and acceptance. between the parties, with each party guards. It would take time to process. But all of this requires access to limited to 1 hour and each Member Ultimately, two-thirds of both Houses help; and this drama should not play other than the majority and minority of Congress must agree. out with somebody whose fingers are leaders and the minority whip limited But look at the current Cabinet. on the nuclear buttons and whose to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- Even if one thinks that a group with no every pronouncement can unsettle dip- bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. meaningful government experience, all lomatic conditions, affect war and f approved in a heightened partisan con- peace, and the global economy. text, most of whom don’t even know Having Congress establish this panel TWENTY-FIFTH AMENDMENT the President personally, could objec- of former Presidents and Vice Presi- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The tively exercise the power should the dents from both parties as a guardian Chair recognizes the gentleman from President become mentally incapaci- and failsafe mechanism is important, Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- tated, the larger question is whether and it needs to happen as soon as pos- utes. they would ever be allowed to do so. sible. Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, A President who is paranoid or delu- We never know when catastrophe like many people, I have noticed re- sional is very unlikely to tolerate dis- might strike. There is no good time to newed interest in the 25th Amendment, sent within the ranks. He or she could fix this problem. In today’s world of al- as we have seen erratic behavior out of simply fire any Cabinet member who ternative facts and fake news, in a sea the White House, an inability of Don- would stand up to them. of bitter partisan controversy, we need ald Trump to even tell whether it That is why we need to exercise the to have a mechanism that can be reli- rained on him during his inaugural other part of the 25th Amendment that able, command public confidence, and speech, and repeating false statements allows Congress to designate another be above politics. that are demonstrably wrong. body, instead of the Cabinet. Who could It is hard to think of a group that Last Friday, the mechanism to deal exercise that authority with the con- would collectively have more support with Presidential incapacity, the 25th fidence of the American public and and credibility than the distinguished b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H1187 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Feb 15, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15FE7.000 H15FEPT1 SSpencer on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H1188 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 15, 2017 Americans who have been in that posi- In his resignation letter, General agents to meddle in our election. Did tion and, regardless of partisan dif- Flynn wrote: ‘‘I have always performed he do it out of love for Mr. Trump? I ferences, whose allegiance to America my duties with the utmost of integrity doubt it. More likely, he did it so he is unquestioned. and honesty to those I have served, to could do to a democracy what we and We need to start now to protect the include the President of the United our allies did to communism, send it to integrity of the most powerful position States.’’ the ash heap of history. If America’s on the planet. I believe General Flynn. I believe he elections can be hacked, what chance is f did precisely what the President of the there for budding democracies to make United States asked him to do. General BLACK LUNG BENEFITS it? Flynn is a military man. He is accus- Don’t believe me? Look at what The SPEAKER pro tempore. The tomed to the chain of command. He did Putin has done in just 3 weeks of this Chair recognizes the gentleman from not do anything that he was not asked new administration. He had govern- West Virginia (Mr. JENKINS) for 5 min- to do. He was not a rogue agent, but ment agents poisoned. He sent a polit- utes. had the complete knowledge and co- ical rival to prison. He sent $12 million Mr. JENKINS of West Virginia. Mr. operation of his Commander in Chief. to Jean-Marie Le Pen, the far-right Speaker, my home State of West Vir- We have all heard Donald Trump candidate for the President of France. ginia has almost 20,000 coal miners. boast of how smart he is and how he His latest move was to launch a cruise Tens of thousands more worked in the calls his own shots. Why then should missile that is in direct defiance of mines and are now enjoying a well-de- we believe that, when it comes to na- treaties. served retirement. tional security, he prefers to be kept in Putin’s Russia is playing chicken They proudly mined the coal that the dark? A President can’t be both in powers our Nation, and it puts food on with President Trump, and what is our charge and out of the loop. President’s response? A tweet com- their table. These miners worked hard The only way we can ever hope to plaining about leaks within his admin- each and every day, and we owe them a know what happened is if there is a istration and, according to the latest debt of gratitude. thorough investigation. I believe it reports, pressuring the Prime Minister Our Nation made them a promise to should be an independent investiga- of Japan to forge closer relations with take care of them if they developed tion, an independent commission. But Russia. black lung disease. And for decades if we are going to go down the route of now, the Federal Government has guar- having it be a congressional investiga- b 1015 anteed black lung benefits, and the so- tion, then it needs to be a comprehen- President Trump’s ‘‘bromance’’ is called Byrd amendment 7 years ago re- sive investigation and one that has the dangerous. It undermines our democ- iterated that commitment to our min- resources to do the job. racy, and it is destabilizing the globe. ers. I am calling on Chairman NUNES of What does Putin have on President As we draft healthcare reform here in the House Permanent Select Com- Trump? What does President Trump Congress, I urge my colleagues to mittee on Intelligence to schedule owe Putin? maintain these essential black lung hearings immediately.