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, JUNE 21, 2017 No. 106 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was make it harder for children fleeing vio- ‘‘Refugees experienced violent and called to order by the Speaker pro tem- lence, especially those from Central racist reactions. Liverpool, Glasgow’’ pore (Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee). America, from receiving asylum from . ‘‘Montreal, Boston, New York, and f the richest, most powerful Nation in Philadelphia sought unsuccessfully to the world. restrict entry’’ of the Irish. DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO Tell me, how does that make Amer- A lot of this sounds familiar to me TEMPORE ica great again, Mr. Speaker? today when we discuss the Muslim ban The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- According to the U.N. High Commis- that the courts have blocked and which fore the House the following commu- sioner for Refugees, there are more motivated thousands of Americans to nication from the Speaker: than 65 million people—a record num- go to airports to demand that the ber today—who have been forcibly dis- WASHINGTON, DC, United States honor its visas and honor June 21, 2017. placed from their homes. More than 21 its commitment to refugees, or as the I hereby appoint the Honorable JOHN J. million are refugees. Eighty-six per- House Judiciary Committee meets DUNCAN, Jr. to act as Speaker pro tempore cent of the world’s refugees are now today, to punish children for fleeing for on this day. finding refuge in the developing world, their lives. PAUL D. RYAN, with only 14 percent finding refuge in Roughly 32 million Americans trace Speaker of the House of Representatives. developed countries like the U.S. or their roots to Ireland. That is about 10 f European nations. percent of the U.S. population. And Worldwide, more than half of all refu- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE let’s be clear, the British rulers over gees are children. So when anti-immi- Ireland were not sending what they The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- grant leaders, websites, and TV net- consider their best people. They were ant to the order of the House of Janu- works paint those fleeing the Middle poor, they were uneducated, and U.S. ary 3, 2017, the Chair will now recog- East, Africa, and Asia as hardened politicians at the time said that they nize Members from lists submitted by jihadists, or those fleeing Central were sending rapists, murderers, and the majority and minority leaders for America as gangbangers and drug deal- drunks, even as some, they assumed, morning-hour debate. ers, remember, most of them are just were good people. The Chair will alternate recognition kids—little kids. That is what we are They were from a religion that between the parties. All time shall be talking about, fleeing their country for threatened the United States. They equally allocated between the parties, their lives. were Catholics who were as foreign to Mr. Speaker, America has, through- and in no event shall debate continue American Protestants, in some re- out our history, been a beacon of hope beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other gards, as Muslims are today. to refugees fleeing religious attacks, than the majority and minority leaders But who can imagine America with- facing government intolerance and per- and the minority whip, shall be limited out the Irish today? secution, ethnic strife, or to 5 minutes. You look down the list of generals, unsustainable poverty. f Beginning in the 1840s, when the po- Presidents, Members of Congress, and every aspect of American society WORLD REFUGEE DAY tato crop disappeared because of a blight in Ireland, the Irish people were today, and we can all say, to some de- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The left starving. Over 8 million people in gree, we are Irish. Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ireland, 3 to 4 million of them faced As House Republicans vote today to Illinois (Mr. GUTIE´ RREZ) for 5 minutes. pass bills to keep out the wretched ´ starvation. About 1 million died mostly Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, yes- of starvation and disease. refuse of your teeming shores, as we terday was World Refugee Day, a day Another 2 million came where? pass laws to pull up the drawbridge and set aside by the United Nations to re- To America. put a big ‘‘Do Not Enter’’ sign on the flect upon those in crisis and dedicate According to a recent article in The Statue of Liberty, I hope my Repub- ourselves to helping those we can help. Irish Times: ‘‘Panic had set in by the lican colleagues who can trace roots To mark this solemn occasion, today, winter of 1846/47. People risked winter back to someone who came across the the Judiciary Committee House Repub- voyages across the Atlantic on unsani- water and risked everything and bet licans will vote to slash refugee reset- tary, unsafe ‘coffin ships.’ ’’ their lives on the United States, I hope tlement numbers, cut back aid to those The article continues: ‘‘People were all of us will reflect on those ancestors fleeing violence and persecution for placed in quarantine stations, or held as we deliberate laws and how we their religious or political beliefs, and onboard ships docked at ports.’’ would have kept so many of them out. 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. H4997 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:24 Jun 22, 2017 Jkt 069060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A21JN7.000 H21JNPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with HOUSE H4998 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE June 21, 2017 His Holiness Pope Francis, who we DO THE RIGHT THING this bill. Millions of Americans are all remember just spoke steps away The SPEAKER pro tempore. The deeply worried about its contents. from where I am at right now, re- Chair recognizes the gentleman from Last week, I sat down with two cou- minded us to always follow the Golden Maryland (Mr. HOYER) for 5 minutes. rageous Americans who shared their Rule in all our deliberations. Pope Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, when personal healthcare stories with me. I Francis said just this past Sunday that someone keeps something secret, it is want to thank them for doing so, and I the nations of the world should con- often because it is embarrassing or want to share their stories today. tinue to welcome refugees; and each of negative or damaging or Their names are Ola Ojewumi and us, as individuals, can learn a lot by unsupportable. Megan Foley. meeting with, speaking with, and Mr. Speaker, over in the Senate, Ola lives with a preexisting condi- breaking bread with refugees. Leader MCCONNELL and some of these tion. As a young child, she received a His Holiness said: ‘‘ . personal Republican Senators are doing just heart and kidney transplant. She is meetings with refugees can dissolve that: crafting a healthcare repeal bill also a cancer survivor. She is a young fears and distorted ideologies and be- in secret because they know what it woman. She told me about how the Af- come paths for growth in humanity.’’ contains would deeply embarrass any- fordable Care Act saved her life. She Mr. Speaker, I hope my Republican one who supports it openly. was able to access affordable coverage colleagues have been listening, as we They know it is going to be a hard because of the ban on denying coverage have a Speaker who is both Catholic sell to convince even their own Repub- to those with preexisting conditions. and Irish, but I fear they will not. lican colleagues, Mr. Speaker, to get Ola also told me how frightened she is behind a bill that even President that these protections could be taken f Trump called mean. That was the away for her under the Senate’s secret TrumpCare bill. OPIOID AND HEROIN ADDICTION House American Health Care Act to which he was referring. He called it If it is enacted, Ola and others with The SPEAKER pro tempore. The mean for the harm it does to Ameri- preexisting conditions may not be able Chair recognizes the gentleman from cans. to access the coverage needed to keep Illinois (Mr. BOST) for 5 minutes. They know it is going to be difficult them alive and healthy, or they may Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, prescription in the Senate to convince Senators to simply not be able to afford it. opioids and heroin addiction are rav- support a bill that raises healthcare When I spoke with Megan Foley, she aging our Nation, causing heartache costs for working families and kicks shared her courageous story of strug- and pain for millions of American fam- millions of Americans off their cov- gling with mental illness and addic- ilies, and destroying our communities. erage, including those who are covered tion. She told me how she overcame This is no secret. by their employers; a bill that makes her addiction. Despite her recovery, be- In my own home State of Illinois, millions of individuals with preexisting fore the Affordable Care Act came into opioids contribute to nearly 1,200 over- conditions uninsurable and reinstitutes effect, she was denied coverage again dose deaths in 2016. Heroin played a annual and lifetime limits; a bill that and again because her addiction was role in those deaths of another 1,000 imposes an age tax on those between considered a preexisting condition.