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, THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2018 No. 11 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was corner of the military. We have planes administration reached with the Rus- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- that cannot fly, troops that cannot de- sian Government to establish ‘‘deesca- pore (Mr. ESTES of Kansas). ploy, and we are literally running out lation zones’’ to stabilize Syria, while f of bombs. keeping the Assad regime in power. It is irresponsible and morally wrong We were told the agreement would DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO to send our troops into harm’s way save lives. Trump said: ‘‘. all of a TEMPORE without adequate resources and train- sudden, you are going to have no bul- The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- ing. Last year alone, there were 80 lets being fired in Syria. .’’ fore the House the following commu- deaths related to readiness and train- Well, that has turned out not to be nication from the Speaker: ing accidents. It is clear that insuffi- true. The deescalation zones are not cient and unreliable funding is wearing WASHINGTON, DC, deescalating. January 18, 2018. our military to the bone and costing As of late December, more than I hereby appoint the Honorable RON ESTES precious lives. 400,000 people remain trapped, besieged to act as Speaker pro tempore on this day. As Members of Congress, we have the by regime forces in eastern Ghouta, PAUL D. RYAN, power of the purse. We can relieve the one of the deescalation zones, only half Speaker of the House of Representatives. military from this deadly cycle. I call an hour’s drive from Damascus. f on my colleagues to end the political As U.N. Special Adviser on Syria Jan games. Support the men and women in Egeland said last December: ‘‘There is MORNING-HOUR DEBATE uniform who risk their lives every day no deescalation zone, there is only es- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- to defend this country. Support a budg- calation in this deescalation zone.’’ ant to the order of the House of Janu- et agreement that provides our service- Idlib, another ‘‘deescalation area,’’ ary 8, 2018, the Chair will now recog- members with the funding they so des- suffered a dramatic increase in air at- nize Members from lists submitted by perately need. tacks last September against armed the majority and minority leaders for f groups not covered by the cease-fire morning-hour debate. SYRIA: ENOUGH ALREADY agreement. In late December, air- The Chair will alternate recognition strikes and shelling against a hospital, between the parties. All time shall be The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from a medical warehouse, and a vegetable equally allocated between the parties, market killed, injured, and displaced Massachusetts (Mr. MCGOVERN) for 5 and in no event shall debate continue scores of people. beyond 11:50 a.m. Each Member, other minutes. Mr. MCGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I rise The U.S. Government heralded the than the majority and minority leaders to condemn in the strongest possible military defeat of ISIS in Syria in No- and the minority whip, shall be limited terms the ongoing, unrelenting attacks vember. But the defeat of ISIS has not to 5 minutes. against civilians in Syria committed and will not end the Syrian conflict; f by the barbaric, lawless regime of and Russia has not succeeded in pres- suring Assad to end the conflict, nor in FUND OUR TROOPS Bashir al-Assad, with Russian backing. We have all heard the statistics over restraining Assad’s attacks on civilians The SPEAKER pro tempore. The and over again like a broken record: as as he has gone after rebel forces. Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from many as half a million people killed Meanwhile, the humanitarian situa- Missouri (Mrs. HARTZLER) for 5 min- since the armed conflict began in tion in Syria deteriorates each and utes. March 2011, tens of thousands of them every day. World Vision estimatesthat Mrs. HARTZLER. Mr. Speaker, here civilians; tens of thousands more de- 5.6 million people are in need of acute we are again, having to vote on a con- tained, disappeared, and perhaps, or humanitarian assistance. The U.N. tinuing resolution instead of a full- even likely, dead, directly at the hands says a total of 13.1 million people need year appropriations deal because of po- of the regime; more than 11 million some form of assistance. That is 3 mil- litical reasons. people displaced once and again, inside lion more than at the end of 2016. The Mr. Speaker, I am appalled that and outside of Syria’s borders, the larg- situation is worse today, after months much-needed defense dollars are once est single refugee crisis the world has of deescalation, than it was a year ago. again being held hostage for political seen since 1945. More than half of those Of those 13 million, 3 million are reasons. We have heard time and again displaced are children and youth. trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach from military leaders about the dev- Last summer, much was made of the areas. That is 41⁄2 times the population astating readiness crisis plaguing every cease-fire agreement that the Trump of Boston or Washington, D.C. 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. H479 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Jan 19, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A18JA7.000 H18JAPT1 H480 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 18, 2018 Humanitarian access to those areas embodies the true spirit and mission of Mr. Speaker, abortion is a tragedy is not guaranteed by the regime, nor by the pro-life movement by enlisting the not just because an innocent child died, its backers; international law and obli- power of love to empower others to but because of the lasting impact the gations be damned. choose life. abortion itself had on the mothers of Some of the most heartbreaking Since the Supreme Court issued a de- those children. news out of Syria has to do with the cision in Roe v. Wade, tens of millions We continue to see efforts by the pro- crisis in healthcare. The of abortion procedures have been per- life movement making an impact. Data ‘‘weaponization’’ of healthcare in Syria formed throughout the United States. shows that the annual number of abor- is not new, but the depravity of it all Although consistent attempts to over- tions performed in this country is in still shocks me. According to a recent turn this decision have fallen short decline, including my State of Pennsyl- report by researchers at the American over the past 4 decades, support for vania. There are legislative efforts University in Beirut, ‘‘Syria has be- Federal pro-life policies has remained across the country to protect unborn come the most dangerous place on strong. children and provide assistance and earth for healthcare providers.’’ We will witness this strength Friday hope to their mothers. These efforts According to the International Res- when Americans from all corners of the are one of the keys to ending abortion cue Committee, in 2011, there was one country will march on Washington to in the U.S. doctor per 600 people in Syria. But now, highlight the progress of the pro-life Pro-life education is having an im- in east Ghouta, there is only one doc- movement and encourage strong sup- pact on our culture and in the lives of tor per 3,600 people. port moving forward. women facing unexpected pregnancies, Medical supplies are not allowed into President Trump will address the but there is much still to be done. That besieged areas and terribly ill patients marchers from the Rose Garden and is why I look forward to participating are not allowed out. show his commitment to protecting in the 45th annual March for Life, What military or political purpose is the unborn. He is the first sitting U.S. where we will redouble our commit- served by denying medical evacuation President to address the event via sat- ment to protecting the sanctity of to women and children suffering from ellite from the White House in the human life in all phases and condi- heart disease, cancer, kidney failure, event’s 45-year history. tions. Attendees will hear stories of and blood diseases? President Trump has remained stead- Mr. Speaker, current policy is not love, courage, and victory through fast in his commitment to advance pro- working to end the crisis in Syria. It is God’s mercy and grace. life policy. One of his first actions in time to change course, not by sending Mr. Speaker, human life is sacred 2017 was an executive order reinstating more Special Forces troops there with- and, through education, love can pro- the Mexico City policy, which bars out any authorization, nor by prom- tect the most vulnerable. The pro-life international nongovernmental organi- ising to keep them there indefinitely movement is a voice for the voiceless, zations that perform or promote abor- to fight against the next iteration of and I am incredibly proud and honored tions from receiving funding from the ISIS. to be a part of it.