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, MAY 15, 2019 No. 81 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was hands of the chief executive officer of The Framers of the Constitution called to order by the Speaker pro tem- the government, in fact, is to prevent a never intended for a President to just pore (Ms. SHALALA). concentration of power in any aspect. totally disregard the Congress. And f There is power that is spread across notwithstanding all that might happen the government. in the courts, notwithstanding all of DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO There are three branches of the gov- the subpoenas that may be taken to TEMPORE ernment. I want to focus this morning, court and have them litigated properly, The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- if I may, on two—the executive and the the ultimate check on a President is fore the House the following commu- legislative—because, Madam Speaker, Article II, Section 4 of the Constitu- nication from the Speaker: this morning, as I stand before you, a tion, and that is impeachment when he WASHINGTON, DC, proud American, I must inform all that commits impeachable acts. May 15, 2019. the system of checks and balances is at We have the Mueller report. It speaks I hereby appoint the Honorable DONNA E. risk. for itself. And there are many constitu- SHALALA to act as Speaker pro tempore on It is at risk because we now have a tional scholars who have said there has this day. President who does not believe that he been an obstruction to take place. NANCY PELOSI, can or will be impeached. We have a There are many lawyers who have Speaker of the House of Representatives. President who refuses to allow Con- worked in the Justice Department. f gress to perform its constitutionally They number hundreds now, the law- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE accorded oversight responsibilities. yers who have signed on, indicating When you have a President who does that the President should be beneath The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- this, Madam Speaker, you lose the the law just as everyone else is, or the ant to the order of the House of Janu- power of Congress. It becomes con- law should apply to him. He shouldn’t ary 3, 2019, the Chair will now recog- centrated in the President. The Presi- be above the law. nize Members from lists submitted by dency becomes a place where power is They are indicating that, if we don’t the majority and minority leaders for concentrated because the President has act, we are showing the President that morning-hour debate. no fear: he is above the law. He then becomes a The Chair will alternate recognition He doesn’t believe that there are con- monarch, and we then become a weaker between the parties. All time shall be sequences for his going beyond what form of government. equally allocated between the parties, the Constitution allows; So I call upon this Congress: Let us and in no event shall debate continue He will engage in conduct that Arti- do what is expected of us. The Framers beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other cle II, Section 4 of the Constitution of the Constitution gave us the way. than the majority and minority leaders would prohibit; and They have shown the way. We but only and the minority whip, shall be limited He will engage in impeachable of- have to have the will, and it is worth it to 5 minutes. fenses because he knows that the Con- for us to do this because the country is f gress will not impeach him. at stake in the sense that the govern- It is impeachment that is the ulti- ment is at risk. SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND mate guard against a reckless, ruth- Madam Speaker, I love my country. BALANCES IS AT RISK less, lawless President; and if we do not The SPEAKER pro tempore. Mem- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The exert our authority, this President, bers are reminded to refrain from en- Chair recognizes the gentleman from knowing that we won’t, is capable of gaging in personalities toward the Texas (Mr. GREEN) for 5 minutes. doing things that we cannot imagine. President. Mr. GREEN of Texas. Madam Speak- Madam Speaker, it is up to us, the f er, and still I rise because I love my Members of this Congress, to assure country. And still I rise because there that this government continues to RECOGNIZING LIONS CLUBS is a crisis that has to be addressed. have the checks and balances that the INTERNATIONAL Madam Speaker, the system of Framers of the Constitution intended. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The checks and balances that we have in- If we do not, if Congress does not fulfill Chair recognizes the gentleman from stilled within our government, a sys- its responsibility, we won’t have a Pennsylvania (Mr. THOMPSON) for 5 tem that the Framers of the Constitu- Presidency. The power will be so con- minutes. tion devised such that there would not centrated that we will have a mon- Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. be a concentration of power in the archy. Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak 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. H3795 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:36 May 16, 2019 Jkt 089060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A15MY7.000 H15MYPT1 H3796 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE May 15, 2019 about an organization that is near and NEWBORN SCREENING SAVES The bill also renews the Secretary’s dear to my heart: the Lions Clubs LIVES Advisory Committee on Heritable Dis- International. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The orders in Newborns and Children, I am a member of my hometown or- Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from which maintains and updates the rec- ganization, the Howard Area Lions California (Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD) for 5 ommended uniform screening panel Club. The Howard Area Lions Club has minutes. that States adopt and implement. consistently earned the recognition as Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Madam The bill funds research to identify the largest Lions Club in Pennsylvania. Speaker, I recently introduced the new screening technologies and treat- There are probably many factors that Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reau- ments, and a new provision in the bill have led them to this, but none more thorization Act, which will continue commissions the National Academy of significant than their commitment to the important work of the original bill Medicine to issue recommendations to the Lions Club motto, ‘‘We Serve.’’ and expand its critical programs to im- modernize newborn screening systems The members of my club served as prove infant health across the United into the 21st century. the chartering organization for the States. Every year, thousands of babies The Newborn Screening Saves Lives are born with genetic, metabolic, hor- Howard Boy Scout Troop 353; and, in Reauthorization Act will continue to monal, and functional conditions that the past, I was proud to serve as Scout- ensure that parents and health pro- severely affect their development. master of that unit. viders are knowledgeable about the Fifty years ago, these rare disorders value of newborn screening, and it will Simply put, service is of the utmost in infants would have gone undetected help ensure that infants across the importance to the Lions. The clubs are until symptoms appeared, often too United States receive comprehensive places where individuals can join to- late to provide them with the essential and consistent testing. gether to give their valuable time and treatment needed to prevent lifelong A coalition of public health groups, effort to improving their communities disability or even death. Today, we can including the March of Dimes, the As- and the world. give newborn babies a simple blood test sociation of Public Health Labora- Where there is a need, there is a that can identify such life-threatening tories, the American College of Medical Lion. There are 1.4 million Lions genetic illnesses before symptoms ap- Genetics, and the National Organiza- around the world, 47,000 Lions Clubs in pear. tion for Rare Disorders, support the In 2008, Congress passed my original more than 200 countries. For more than Newborn Screening Saves Lives Reau- bill, which was a major step toward es- 100 years, Lions have been serving hu- thorization Act. Their leadership has manity. tablishing newborn screening guide- lines across the United States. Until been critical to advance newborn The idea of the Lions Club began in screening across the United States. 1917. A 38-year-old Chicago business that time, only 10 States and the Dis- trict of Columbia required newborn Madam Speaker, newborn screening leader named Melvin Jones told mem- is one of the most important public bers of his local business club that they screening for a complete panel of rec- ommended disorders, and there was no health interventions of the 20th cen- should reach beyond business issues tury. It is critical that, in the 21st cen- and address the betterment of their Federal repository of information on these diseases. Today, 49 States and tury, we continue and strengthen the communities and the world. They programs and research of the Newborn agreed. the District of Columbia screen for at least 31 of the 35 currently rec- Screening Saves Lives Act.