Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 116 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 116 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 165 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2019 No. 23 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was But last night, the President chose to mendous State of the Union Address called to order by the Speaker pro tem- invoke a national unity that he has from President Trump that expressed pore (Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi). made every effort to fray. It has been confidence and hope for the future of f his cynical and sinister political strat- this great Nation. egy to divide our country and burn Our economy is growing. Thanks in DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO bridges among us. part to historic tax reform, there are TEMPORE The State of the Union is a platform currently more than 7 million job open- The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- for the President to inject urgency into ings. This truly is the land of oppor- fore the House the following commu- the problems the country faces. As a tunity. We must continue to support nication from the Speaker: member of the Transportation and In- smart policies that will expand oppor- frastructure Committee, I am encour- tunities for all Americans. WASHINGTON, DC, aged that he has indicated he will sign February 6, 2019. Mr. Speaker, I agree with President I hereby appoint the Honorable BENNIE G. bipartisan infrastructure legislation, Trump: Together, we can break decades THOMPSON to act as Speaker pro tempore on and I am prepared to work with all of political stalemate and choose this day. Members to do so serving our country greatness over gridlock. We can work NANCY PELOSI, and communities. together for the common good to im- Speaker of the House of Representatives. The President also raised the specter prove our outdated infrastructure; to f of declaring a national emergency to protect American workers; to provide a build a monument to his ego, but the MORNING-HOUR DEBATE check against the high cost of real national emergency is the looming healthcare, prescription drugs; to se- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- climate crisis. As seas rise, fires burn, cure our borders; and, yes, to fix our ant to the order of the House of Janu- and the weather becomes more ex- broken immigration system. ary 3, 2019, the Chair will now recog- treme, the people of Orange County As a nation, we have a right to secure nize Members from lists submitted by and across our country are already suf- our borders. As President Trump stat- the majority and minority leaders for fering its effects, and action from the ed, tolerance for illegal immigration is morning-hour debate. executive branch can no longer wait— not compassionate; it is cruel. Smug- The Chair will alternate recognition let alone denial of climate change alto- glers use migrant women and children between the parties. All time shall be gether. to exploit our laws and to gain access He warned us not to cross him, to equally allocated between the parties, to our country. abandon our constitutional duty to ex- and in no event shall debate continue Congress must act to address these ercise oversight and shine a light on beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other issues that have plagued our country the practices of the executive branch. than the majority and minority leaders for far too long because it is clear that and the minority whip, shall be limited Congress will not be intimidated. We should not wait for nor should we America is stronger when we work to- to 5 minutes. expect the President to lead an agenda gether. f for the people, but this Congress can We saw incredible moments of unity move forward with a seriousness befit- last night. One that stands out for me RESPONSE TO THE STATE OF THE is when Republicans and Democrats in UNION ADDRESS ting the problems of our time and work with one another regardless of party to this Chamber sang ‘‘Happy Birthday’’ The SPEAKER pro tempore. The improve the lives of the people who to Holocaust survivor, Judah Samet. Chair recognizes the gentleman from trusted us to represent them. Mr. Samet narrowly avoided the mass California (Mr. ROUDA) for 5 minutes. killing at the Tree of Life synagogue in f Mr. ROUDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise Pittsburgh. Last night, he turned 81 today in response to yesterday’s ad- HIGHLIGHTS FROM PRESIDENT years old. Mr. Speaker, I have wit- dress by the President to this body. TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION nessed many State of the Union Ad- The guests the President invited rep- ADDRESS dresses, but that is a moment I will resented America’s finest hours and The SPEAKER pro tempore. The truly never forget. most compelling stories. They serve as Chair recognizes the gentleman from The President and First Lady had a reminder of a history much larger Pennsylvania (Mr. THOMPSON) for 5 many distinguished guests in addition than any individual among us and as minutes. to Mr. Samet, including another Penn- an invitation to recommit to our val- Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. sylvania resident, Pittsburgh Police ues and promises to our people. Mr. Speaker, last night we heard a tre- Officer Timothy Matson. 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. H1365 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:39 Feb 07, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A06FE7.000 H06FEPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with HOUSE H1366 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 6, 2019 Officer Matson raced into the Tree of get to a resolution on that, not an ex- people come together so many years Life synagogue and was shot seven ecutive order. But in the time since we later and celebrating what is great times as he chased down the shooter. came up with this temporary solution about America and how it exports that Officer Matson has undergone 12 sur- here for 3 weeks, the negotiations from freedom and opportunity to the rest of geries. I understand he has more in the that side of the aisle have been zip. the world. future, but he made the trip to Wash- Is that what people see as this Cham- f ington to be in the gallery last night. ber, that this process is supposed to be? We are proud of the bravery and her- No. They want us at the table coming RECESS oism of both Officer Matson and Mr. up with solutions. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- Samet. It was an honor to have them The President has reached out with ant to clause 12(a) of rule I, the Chair in the Chamber last night. an olive branch, saying: We will give declares the House in recess until noon The President and First Lady also you 3 more weeks on this. Let’s get the today. welcomed a World War II and D-day government reopened and get a solu- Accordingly (at 10 o’clock and 12 veteran; the first man to step on the tion on this. minutes a.m.), the House stood in re- Moon; a childhood cancer survivor; Instead, gridlock. cess. former prisoners who, thanks to crimi- What the President talked about was f nal justice reform, have their lives greatness instead of gridlock. That is b 1200 back; and many other special guests. what this Nation is about. That is what The State of the Union is both a time we need. AFTER RECESS to reflect and look to the future, and Instead, we hear around here that the The recess having expired, the House this administration has achieved crisis isn’t something at our border, was called to order by the Speaker at record-setting accomplishments. The isn’t something with the immigration noon. problem we have. We hear about cli- policies being put forth truly are lift- f ing up all Americans and setting a mate change. Climate change, climate foundation to build a safe, strong, and change—a manufactured problem, a PRAYER proud America: manufactured crisis. Rabbi Arnold E. Resnicoff, U.S. Navy We have worked to combat the opioid Indeed, the United States is leading Chaplain, Retired, Washington, D.C., crisis; we have provided relief from the way of all the westernized coun- offered the following prayer: burdensome regulations; we have given tries, all the industrialized countries, Almighty God, we the people stand our military the resources it needs to of lowering its CO2 numbers, leading before You, some in prayer, all in need. be successful; and we can continue to the way by things we are already doing Armed with our Founders’ prayers work towards solving the very serious and innovating. Yet that is the first and dreams: more perfect Union—less problems facing this Nation. thing, that the religion of climate divided; liberty and justice—for us and Now, I thank President Trump for change can be tapped around here to our posterity. outlining his vision for the path for- stop the progress we have when we can We the people don’t give up. Neither ward, and I look forward to working to- make more progress by being a thriv- should our leaders. gether to overcome some of our great- ing, strong economy. The crisis isn’t Let our Nation never slumber: no est challenges.