Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 113 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 160 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2014 No. 33 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was mittee hearing in this do-nothing Con- How did the Republicans respond? called to order by the Speaker pro tem- gress. This do-nothing hearing was When Democrats said: Yes, let’s talk; pore (Mr. BYRNE). unique. The goal was to make sure that the Republicans said: No, just kidding. f the President was a do-nothing Presi- Immigration reform is hard. We would dent as well. rather just talk about how awful it is DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO It is not enough for the Republican that people are getting health care TEMPORE majority to be setting records for how through ObamaCare. The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- little they are doing. No. Ignoring im- You put something on the table, we fore the House the following commu- migration reform is bad enough—let say let’s talk, and you say no, and then nication from the Speaker: alone the minimum wage, unemploy- blame Democrats for blocking immi- ment benefits, and the environment. gration. It makes no sense. WASHINGTON, DC, So the do-nothing Congress held a Questioning whether the President February 27, 2014. hearing yesterday entitled, ‘‘Enforcing has the power to stop the deportation I hereby appoint the Honorable BRADLEY BYRNE to act as Speaker pro tempore on this the President’s Constitutional Duty to of immigrants who came here as chil- day. Faithfully Execute the Laws.’’ The in- dren and have lived here practically JOHN A. BOEHNER, tent was clear: attack the President. It their whole lives in the U.S., what are Speaker of the House of Representatives. was held in the Judiciary Committee, you thinking? The President not only f which has jurisdiction over immigra- has the power to suspend those depor- tion, so there was lots of discussion tations, he has the duty to suspend MORNING-HOUR DEBATE about deferred action for DREAMers. those deportations. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- This is where the President has exer- So here we are, with the entire coun- ant to the order of the House of Janu- cised his power of prosecutorial discre- try demanding reform of our immigra- ary 7, 2014, the Chair will now recog- tion to temporarily suspend the depor- tion system, demanding we change our nize Members from lists submitted by tation of people who came here to the law. We see the parents of U.S. citizen the majority and minority leaders for U.S. as children. children being deported and their chil- morning-hour debate. Apparently, when the President dren put in foster care. And we say The Chair will alternate recognition stood just over there last month and there’s got to be a better way to handle between the parties, with each party delivered his State of the Union ad- this situation that is good for the tax- limited to 1 hour and each Member dress, saying he would use his pen and payer, good for the immigrant family, other than the majority and minority phone to take executive action where good for our economy, and national se- leaders and the minority whip limited the Congress was taking no action— curity. House Republicans see the situation to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- well, that didn’t go over well with this do-nothing Congress. and apparently say: No, we refuse to bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. Look, I know it is easier for Repub- change the law because it is hard and f licans to blame Democrats and blame we don’t trust the President. And be- IMMIGRATION REFORM Obama and make excuses for why they cause the law is the law, we must de- can’t do immigration reform this year. port them all. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The You have to keep it connected to re- When I and anyone else with a con- Chair recognizes the gentleman from ality. You put your principles for im- science looks at that American child Illinois (Mr. GUTIE´ RREZ) for 5 minutes. migration reform on the table. You call being put in foster care because we ´ Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, be- them ‘‘standards.’’ And there were have deported his parents and he looks fore I begin, I would like to enter into some things I liked and some things I at you doing nothing, we say some- the RECORD this article written by Rev- didn’t. But what I said was: Good. thing has to be done because it is the erends Eason, Goodroe, and Castillo, Thank you. It’s a nice start. Let’s sit right thing to do from a moral perspec- all three of Spartanburg, South Caro- down and talk some more. tive. lina, who wrote an article that ap- NANCY PELOSI and the leadership of So, let me be clear, Mr. President, if peared Tuesday in the Greenville, the Democratic rank and file in the you act to suspend the deportation of a South Carolina, News entitled, ‘‘God House said: Good. Great starting point. person whose American child will be Often Reminds Us to Welcome the Let’s talk some more. put in foster care, I will applaud you Stranger.’’ And the President you don’t trust and so will most everyone on this side Mr. Speaker, yesterday I participated said: Good. It’s a great starting point. of the aisle. It will not only be us ap- in another do-nothing Judiciary Com- Let’s negotiate. plauding. The three evangelical leaders 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. H2003 . VerDate Mar 15 2010 23:50 Feb 27, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A27FE7.000 H27FEPT1 tjames on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H2004 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 27, 2014 who wrote the essay I entered into the While undocumented immigrants are often Evaluation and Regulatory Network, RECORD, all three important religious mischaracterized or used abstractly in polit- or MODDERN, Cures Act. It will up- leaders from Spartanburg, South Caro- ical arguments, we know these people per- date the Nation’s drug evaluation proc- lina, this is how they put it: sonally as our neighbors, friends, and broth- ess to encourage the discovery and de- ers and sisters. Immigration reform is an ur- Immigration reform is an urgent need—in- gent need—inaction carries a profound velopment of new treatments for action carries a profound human cost and we human cost that we consistently see in our chronic and rare diseases. The measure consistently see this in our ministries. ministries. will also create a system that rewards Hardworking, contributing members of our Hardworking and contributing members of efficiency and effectiveness to the ben- society live in constant fear of deportation. our society live in constant fear of deporta- efit of all persons with rare diseases. The victimization of individuals and families tion, the victimization of individuals and The MODDERN Cures Act will en- goes unreported, and families are torn apart families goes unreported, and families are as American-citizen children lose one or both courage the development of drugs torn apart as American-citizen children lose abandoned in the development process. of their parents to deportation proceedings. one or both parents to deportation pro- It will create a new category of drugs They add: ceedings. Striking a middle ground between the extreme positions of mass deportation known as dormant therapies for com- We stand at a critical crossroads. Our bro- pounds with insufficient patent protec- ken and antiquated immigration system has and open borders, we join with House Repub- precipitated an economic and moral crisis licans in advocating for a middle ground tion, drugs that offer the promise to that we can ignore no longer. where those without documentation can treat conditions with unmet medical come out of the shadows, make restitution, Listen to your church elders. While needs. and get right with the law. Updating regulatory networks such you do nothing, the number on the Such an approach is very different from as patent reform will help open the board behind me continues to increase amnesty, which is the absence of legal con- pipeline for new innovations and thera- and the deportation machine con- sequences. Instead, this realistic approach pies. Patients with degenerative condi- tinues. would allow undocumented immigrants to tions, cancers, and rare diseases await If you don’t, I and millions of others admit culpability and pay their debt to soci- the genius of these new solutions. across this land will continue insisting ety without separating or harming families or causing undue harm to our nation’s econ- While we do not know the cause or cure that the President exercise his author- omy. of many of these rare diseases or can- ity to stop deportation and separation We stand at a critical crossroads. Our bro- cers, we do know that awareness is the of American families. We will force the ken and antiquated immigration system has best protection, information is the best President to act, and I assure you we precipitated an economic and moral crisis tool for innovation, and well-rounded will win that fight. that we can ignore no longer.