E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11, 2018 No. 58 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was don’t think it is the investigation that wears a tan suit or salutes a marine called to order by the Speaker pro tem- is closing in on the President, but rath- while holding a cup of coffee, that is a pore (Mr. BACON). er his disgraceful reaction to it. constitutional crisis. But when the We now know, without any doubt, f President threatens to fire the special that the special counsel’s investigation counsel, well, you know. DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO is closing in on the President and those We cannot rely on Republicans to de- TEMPORE very, very close to him. I don’t think fend democracy and our system of gov- The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- lawful warrants legally executed ernment as long as they find political fore the House the following commu- against the homes, office, and hotel and personal advantage in walking nication from the Speaker: rooms of the President’s chief fixer and lockstep with the President, or they fellow grifter are the problem. tremble in fear of what would be in a WASHINGTON, DC, April 11, 2018. Rather, it is the constant threats to tweet if they stepped out of line. I hereby appoint the Honorable DON BACON further obstruct justice by a sitting And we as Democrats, well, we are in to act as Speaker pro tempore on this day. President, to thwart those lawful in- the minority, so we are almost power- PAUL D. RYAN, vestigations from reaching their log- less unless some of our fellow col- Speaker of the House of Representatives. ical conclusions. That is what I and a leagues put country ahead of party. f lot of patriotic Americans are worried But human beings are very resource- about. ful and fight fiercely for their own free- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE What we find disgraceful is the Presi- dom. When we are united in great num- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- dent’s attitude toward law enforcement bers, we can accomplish any goal. ant to the order of the House of Janu- and the circumstances that have led us In Selma and elsewhere, Dr. King and ary 8, 2018, the Chair will now recog- to this moment, including the apparent others showed us that beatings, nize Members from lists submitted by dealings with the Kremlin, the cam- lynchings, and State-sanctioned dis- the majority and minority leaders for paign finance violations, the hush crimination could not withstand the morning-hour debate. money payoffs to silence witnesses, and power of the people fighting for justice The Chair will alternate recognition using one’s elected office to influence and equality. between the parties. All time shall be and even try to end an investigation in In turn, they inspired, in part, the re- equally allocated between the parties, which you are the target. sistance known as the Prague Spring in and in no event shall debate continue When he is the target, it is called dis- Central Europe, when people stood up beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other graceful. to tanks and repression, and eventually Before we left for the Easter break, than the majority and minority leaders the wall came down. Democrats on the Judiciary Committee In Africa, the Americas, Asia, and and the minority whip, shall be limited made a commitment that we would be across the Arab world, people are still to 5 minutes. on the first plane back to Washington fighting to secure their freedom. f to initiate hearings if the President And in China, the image of a lone MY COMMITMENT TO DEFEND THE took action to further obstruct justice, man standing up to tanks to defend his CONSTITUTION AND THE RULE including firing the Attorney General country moved the world. OF LAW AS A CITIZEN OF THIS for recusing himself or the deputy at- One man standing up will not be NATION torney general or the special counsel. enough, but many American women The President reiterated his threats and men are already heeding the call. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The to subvert justice by firing key Justice Young people from Parkland, Florida, Chair recognizes the gentleman from officials this week. So I feel obligated called us to Washington by the mil- Illinois (Mr. GUTIE´ RREZ) for 5 minutes. to reiterate my commitment to defend lions, despite viscous attacks. ´ Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, the the Constitution and the rule of law as Women led the way by the millions President said to reporters at the a citizen of this Nation. in Washington and around the world. White House on Monday: ‘‘And it’s a Let’s be clear. Republicans have no And when our Muslim brothers and disgrace. It’s, frankly, a real disgrace. intention of investigating, holding sisters called us to the airports to op- It’s an attack on our country, in a true hearings, or taking seriously their con- pose Trump’s religious ban, we came in sense. It’s an attack on what we all stitutional mandate, no matter how far numbers. stand for.’’ this President goes. We have to be ready to come to While I agree that there has been a When athletes kneel during the na- Washington quickly, massively, ener- disgraceful attack on our country, I tional anthem or the former President getically, in huge number when the 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. H3099 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:00 Apr 12, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A11AP7.000 H11APPT1 lotter on DSKBCFDHB2PROD with HOUSE H3100 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE April 11, 2018 shoe drops. We have to answer the call millions of the most vulnerable Ameri- These childless adults on SNAP are to defend the country we all love, and cans, including seniors, older workers, often extremely poor and sometimes we must be unified as Americans. individuals with disabilities, working experience chronic homelessness. They My fellow Americans, we must be families with children, and other strug- turn to SNAP as a safety net when ready to stand up again and again and gling adults. they lose their jobs, their hours at answer the call when our Nation is We are still awaiting the full details work are cut, or their wages are so low under attack and threatened by a ty- on the plan, which was crafted behind that they are unable to make ends rant. Together, the American people closed doors without any input from meet. can fight petty disregard for law and Democrats on the committee—I am not Under current law, ABAWDs are al- order, the data-driven divisiveness, and even sure any input from Republicans ready subjected to severe time limits media manipulation to defend the on the committee. But this is what we on the program. They are only pro- country we love. have learned: that the Republicans in- vided access to benefits for 3 months To do so, we must be ready and we tend to focus their cuts in three areas. out of a 3-year period and are com- must be together. First, we are hearing Chairman CON- pletely cut off from assistance after The SPEAKER pro tempore. Mem- AWAY’s bill will eliminate broad-based that time if they have not been able to bers are reminded to refrain from en- categorical eligibility, an important find work. gaging in personalities toward the State option that helps working fami- Mr. Speaker, this Congress should be President. lies with kids and seniors qualify for committed to helping people who are f benefits when times are tough. living in poverty and working to help More than 40 States currently imple- make their lives easier, not cutting RECOGNIZING THE PATRIOTISM ment this option, which allows them to them off from assistance when they AND GENEROSITY OF AL raise income cutoffs and ease asset most need it. KATZENBERGER, JR. limits. Estimates suggest that as many as 1 The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Broad-based categorical eligibility million people will lose assistance if Chair recognizes the gentleman from also mitigates any cliff effect, albeit these incredibly damaging work pro- Illinois (Mr. BOST) for 5 minutes. small, that exists in SNAP, and elimi- posals advance. Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I rise today nating it would penalize families from The House Agriculture Committee to recognize the patriotism and gen- accruing modest savings to help lift held 23 hearings on SNAP over the past erosity of Al Katzenberger, Jr., a true themselves out of poverty. several years. I attended every single friend to southern Illinois and its vet- Estimates suggest that at least one. We heard testimony from dozens erans. 400,000 eligible households will lose of witnesses, Republicans and Demo- After Memorial Day last year, a their SNAP benefits if broad-based cat- crats alike; and not one witness, not thunderstorm blew through Mound egorical eligibility is eliminated, and one, Mr. Speaker, suggested that we City National Cemetery in Pulaski 265,000 students will lose access to free make the drastic changes to the pro- County. lunches at school. gram that will cut off those most in The 50 cotton flags that make up the I mean, really? need of assistance, let alone the ones Avenue of Flags of the cemetery were Mr.