Refinitiv Newscasts - U.S. House votes on motion to oust Speaker McCarthy 1

Crew Energy

03/10/2023 22:56

Click the following link to watch video: https://share.newscasts.refinitiv.com/link?entryId=1_yv40w3bs&referenceId=1_yv40w3bs&pageId=Newscasts
Source: Reuters

Description: The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a motion by
Representative Matt Gaetz that could oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his
leadership position.
Short Link: https://refini.tv/45fE9t5

Video Transcript:

>> The house will be in order. Proceedings will resume on questions previously
postponed. Votes will be taken in the following order. Ordering the previous
question on House Resolution 756 and adoption of House Resolution 756 if
ordered. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote,
pursuant to Clause 9 of Rule 20. The remaining electronic vote will be
conducted as a five-minute vote. Pursuant to Clause 8 of Rule 20, the
unfinished business is the question on ordering the previous question on House
Resolution 756 on which the Asian nays were ordered. The Clerk will report the
title of the Resolution. >> House Calendar Number 45, House Resolution 756.
Resolution providing for consideration of the Bill HR 4394, making
appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the
fiscal year ending September 30 of 2024 and for other purposes, and providing
for consideration of the Bill HR 4364, making appropriations for the
Legislative branch for the fiscal year ending September 30 of 2024 and for
other purposes. >> The question is on ordering the previous question. Members
will record their votes by electronic device. I remind my fellow colleagues
this is a 15-minute vote.  NOISE   BACKGROUND  >> And all members standing. On
this vote the yays are 218, the nays are 207. The previous question is
ordered. The question is on adoption of the resolution. Those in favor will
say aye. >> Aye. >> Those oppose, no. >> No. >> Opinion of chair, the ayes
have it. Gentlelady from Pennsylvania. >> Mr. Speaker, We would request a roll
call vote on the rule. >> Roll call vote is requested, those favoring a roll
call vote will rise. Sufficient number having risen a roll call vote is
ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a
five-minute vote. One minute remaining. >> Hey, one minute. The moment
exploded. >> [inaudible 01:22:38] >> On this vote, the Yeas are 218, the Nays
are 208. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to
reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from
Florida seek recognition? >> Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the
privileges of the House and offer the resolution I previously noticed. >> The
clerk will report the resolution. >> House Resolution 757 resolved that the
office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is hereby declared to be
vacant. >> The resolution qualifies as a question of the privileges of the
House. For what purpose does the gentleman from Oklahoma seek recognition? >>
Mr. Speaker, motion to the table at the desk. >> The Clerk will report the
motion. >> Mr. Cole of Oklahoma moves to lay the resolution on the table. >>
The question is on the motion to lay the resolution on the table. Those in
favor will say aye. Those oppose no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes
have it. Gentlelady from Pennsylvania. >> Yes. We would request the Yeas and
Nays on this vote. >> The Yeas and Nays are requested. Those favoring a vote
by the Yeas and Nays will rise. Sufficient number having risen the Yeas and
Nays are ordered, members will record their votes by electronic device. This a
15 minute vote. >> Change the vote. >> On this vote the yay's are 208, the
nays are 218. The motion is not adopted. Pursuant to clause 282 of Rule 9 the
gentleman from Florida, Mr. Gates, and the gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole,
will each control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.
>> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague
from Virginia. Mr. Good. Gentleman from Virginia. Mr. Good is recognized for
such time as he may consume. Before the gentleman speaks, may I remind my
colleagues that all parties need to be heard. Would you please clear the well
and clear the aisles and any extraneous conversations need to be taken from
the floor. Gentleman from Virginia is recognized. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Like so many others, I deeply regret that we are here in what was a totally
avoidable situation. I must take you back to January, however, which for many
of us, was about not repeating the failures of the past and letting Republican
voters across the country down once again. When in the past, for many years
when Republicans have had majorities in this chamber, we have passed our major
spending bills, predominantly with Democrat votes, something the other side of
the House has never and would never do with majority control. Back in January,
I expressed my concern that the previous two years, during my first term here
in this house, we had not used every tool at our disposal to fight against a
harmful radical democrat agenda that is destroying the country, bankrupting
the country, and under which the American people are suffering. But most in
here wouldn't know that I helped persuade my five colleagues, who comprise the
remaining resistance in the wee morning hours of January 7, to switch our
votes to present, to let Mr. Mccarthy become speaker. And I went to him on
this very floor to tell him that he was finally going to become speaker on the
next vote. In that moment, it was clear to me that I or we could have asked
for anything in exchange for switching our votes to present, but I and we
asked for nothing. The very next week I requested and had a meeting with
Speaker Mccarthy to tell him he had my full support and that I wanted him to
be successful, because the country needed him to be successful. In the ensuing
months, I helped him narrowly pass the parents Bill of Rights and the limit
saved grow bill, I think both of those by just one or two votes, helping
persuade some of my most conservative colleagues to come along despite some of
the concerns they had with those bills. And we remain united as a conference
through the limit saved grow vote as we passed a bill that was cutting
spending to pre COVID levels for non defense discretionary spending or just
over $100 billion. Historic spending cuts as the speaker had committed to do
in January. And it also included a host of other conservative fiscal reforms.
Unfortunately however, that unity and that commitment to significant year one
cuts and spending reforms were discarded. Were discarded in the Failed
Responsibility Act, as I call it, which passed overwhelmingly once again with
a majority of Democrat votes validating the concern many of us had. In
January. Many of us had begged the speaker pleaded with the speaker repeatedly
to utilize the debt ceiling to leverage spending cuts and reforms but instead,
he negotiated an unlimited increase to the debt ceiling through January of 25,
as much as we can come together and gleefully spend through January of 25 with
no significant wins for the American people in that FRA, or Failed
Responsibility Act. But the speaker then said that we would use
appropriations. We would use appropriations to bring the fight and finally
reduce our spending. He said the levels of the FRA were the ceiling and not
the floor, and committed recommitted multiple times to go back to the 1.471
trillion that was the limit saved growth levels radically historically, saving
$100 billion and lowering the deficit this year under Republican majority from
2.2 trillion to 2.1 trillion. That's what we were asking the Republican House
to do, to go to 2.1 trillion. Meanwhile, the speaker had committed to bring a
balanced budget vote to this floor something that still has not happened,
despite the work that's been done in our budget committee to mark it up and
have it ready to come to the floor. He also promised that we would bring all
12 appropriation bills well before the September 30 fiscal deadline. We did
not. >> We simply as Republicans needed the speaker to cast the vision,
request the support of the entire conference, all of whom voted for the limit
saved growth levels, except for four who wanted to go even further to lead us
in joining him. Sticking with him, supporting him, and sending the most
conservative spending bills with the most conservative cuts possible to the
Senate as the best starting position for negotiations with the Senate. Many of
us begged and pleaded with the speaker to do that over the past five months.
When the speaker failed us to pass our spending bills, bringing only one of 12
to the floor before the August district work period, members began to
negotiate amongst themselves without the speaker , to find compromise. I was
among those who reluctantly agreed last month to split the difference between
failed responsibilities 1.586 and the limit saved grow, 1.471, I reluctantly
agreed to do that, to go to 1.526 in order to pass our bills onto the Senate.
We then essentially forced the speaker with the pressure of the calendar, the
shutdown threat of the calendar, to bring those four bills to the floor last
week, all of which I voted for despite some of them not cutting the levels
we'd agreed to and other concerns I had with the bills. I reluctantly voted
for the 30 day conditional CR , Continued Resolution, because it cut an
additional 10 billion in the month of October, going back to the pre COVID
1.471 levels for non-defense discretionary, 30% and it had border security. I
voted for that. However, when that vote failed, the speaker this past Friday
in the Republican conference meeting made it abundantly clear that he was
willing to do anything to avoid the temporary discomfort and the pressure of a
pause in the 15% of the non-essential federal government operations, which
would guarantee that we would lose to the Senate Democrats and the White
House. If you're not willing to say no, then you're guaranteed to lose. And
that was confirmed with the passage of the unconditional 45 day CR this past
Saturday, once again, with 209 Democrat votes, the Republican Bill 209-1
Democrats 51-0 on the Senate side. The speaker fought through 15 votes in
January to become speaker, but was only willing to fight through one failed CR
before surrendering to the Democrats on Saturday. We need a speaker who will
fight for something, anything besides just staying or becoming speaker if
there was ever a time to fight. With $33 trillion in national debt, a $2
trillion deficit this year, 40 year high inflation, 20 year high interest
rates, a downgraded credit rating, and for the first time in modern history,
despite all the help of the media blaming Republicans in the House, the polls
showed that the public was blaming Biden and the Democrats for an imminent
shutdown. If not fight now, when would we fight? Now is, and was the time with
the Democrats driving the fiscal bus off the cliff at 100 miles an hour, we
cannot simply be content to be the party that slows it down to 95, just so we
can sit in the front seat and wear the captain's hat. Our current debt and our
spending trajectory is unsustainable. We need a speaker, ideally somebody who
doesn't want to be speaker and hasn't pursued that at all costs for his entire
adult life. Who will meet the moment and do everything possible to fight for
the country. A red line was closed for me, I regret on Saturday, and so it's
regret that I must vote against the motion to table as I did, and to vote to
vacate the chair. And I yield back, sir. >> Gentleman from Florida reserves
his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole. >> Thank you very much, Mr.
Speaker. I share one thing in common with my friend from Virginia. This is a
very sad day and certainly a day I never expected to have to live through. I
think broadly speaking, as I look across this floor, you can divide members
into three groups. I'm very happy to be in the first group. The overwhelming
majority of my party supports the speaker that we elected. We're proud of the
leadership he's shown. We're proud of the manner in which he's been willing to
work with everybody in our conference, and I believe in this chamber. There's
a second group, small group, honestly they're willing to plunge this body into
chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they really
understand. I certainly don't. And then there are friends on the other side. I
mean friends, honestly, with great sincerity. I have a lot of friends over
there. And I recognize that my friends on the other side have a very complex
set of partisan, personal, and political calculations to make. And I certainly
wouldn't presume to give them any advice about that. But I would say, think
long and hard before you plunge us into chaos because that's where we're
headed if we vacate the speakership. I personally think there's really three
reasons why we've come to this point. And that's because at each three of
these critical minutes, the speaker did the right thing. First, there was a
speaker vote. He got 85% of the vote in our conference, 90% of the vote from
Republicans on this floor. Yet we had a small group that decided no, they
would dictate what they want. He didn't let that happen. He fought. Now he
fought for himself, but he fought for 90% of us too that wanted him to be the
speaker. And I appreciate that. Then of course, we had the debt ceiling deal.
Nobody here thought he could pass a bill. Nobody in America thought he could
pass a bill. He did what speakers were supposed to do. He passed the bill.
Then he sat down and negotiated with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic
President and came back with a good deal, a deal that will limit spending. He
did the right thing. Finally, last Saturday on this floor, we were on the
verge of a government shutdown. A government shutdown that the vast majority
of members in this chamber did not want, a substantial majority on my side, an
overwhelming majority on the Democrat side. He put his political neck on the
line knowing this day was coming to do the right thing, the right thing for
the country. Without a doubt, my friends and I agree on that, whether or not
we agree on the speaker, he did the right thing. He did the right thing, I
think for this institution, he showed it could function in a time of crisis.
>> And finally, I think he did the right thing for our party. He made sure
that we could continue to negotiate and achieve some of the very objectives my
friend from Virginia laid out and achieve them in divided government which
calls for some degree of give and take. So I'm very proud of this speaker. I'm
very proud to stand behind him. Tomorrow morning whether I win or lose, I'm
going to be pretty proud of the people I fought with, and I'm going to be
extraordinarily proud of the person I fought for, the Speaker of the House,
Kevin McCarthy. And with that, I reserve the balance of my time. >> Gentleman
from Oklahoma's time is reserved. Gentleman from Florida. >> Mr. Speaker, my
friend from Oklahoma says that my colleagues and I who don't support Kevin
McCarthy would plunge the house and the country into chaos. Chaos is Speaker
McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word. The one thing
that the White House, House Democrats, and many of us on the conservative side
of the Republican Caucus would argue is that the thing we have in common,
Kevin McCarthy said something to all of us at one point or another that he
didn't really mean and never intended to live up to. I don't think voting
against Kevin McCarthy is chaos. I think 33 trillion in debt is chaos. I think
that facing 2.2 trillion annual deficit is chaos. I think that not passing
single subject spending bills is chaos. I think the fact that we have been
governed in this country since the mid '90s by continuing resolution and
omnibus is chaos. And the way to liberate ourselves from that is a series of
reforms to this body that I would hope would outlast Speaker McCarthy's time
here, would outlast my time here, and would outlast either of our majorities.
Reforms that I have heard some of the most conservative members of this body
fight for and some of the reforms that we've been battling for that I've even
heard those in the Democratic Caucus say would be worthy and helpful to the
House. Like open amendments, like understanding what the budget is. We have
been out of compliance with budget laws for most of my life, most of many of
your lives. And by the way, if we did those things, if we had single subject
bills, if we had an understanding on the top line, if we had open amendments,
if we had trust and honesty and understanding, there would be times when my
conservative colleagues and I would lose. Might be a few times when we'd win.
There'd be times that we would form partnerships that might otherwise not be
really predictable in the American body politic but the American people would
see us legislating. These last few days we've suspended the momentum that we
had established the week earlier, where we were bringing bills to the floor,
voting on them, staying late at night working hard. That's what the American
people expect. It's something Speaker McCarthy hasn't delivered and that's why
I've moved to vacate the chair. I reserve. >> Gentleman's time is reserved.
Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I
yield two minutes to my very good friend Mr. Emmer from Minnesota. >>
Gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Emmer is recognized for two minutes. >> Thank
you. >> Kevin McCarthy has earned this. Under Speaker McCarthy's leadership,
our House Republican majority has actually defied all odds and overperformed
expectations again and again and again. It all started with the speaker's race
when our speaker, Kevin McCarthy, showed the American people how he would
never give up. It carried over into the speaker spearheading a rules package
to create the most transparent member driven legislative process that I've
ever seen since I've been here. And since then, speaker McCarthy's Republican
majority has been successful in bringing common sense back to our nation's
capital by passing legislation to affirm a parent's right to be involved in
their child's education, bolster American energy production, fully fund
veteran's care and benefits, fight back against the regulatory state, and
continue delivering on our promise to rein in Democrats' reckless spending by
passing fiscally responsible appropriations bills. We've also achieved
historic conservative wins like passing the strongest border security
legislation in history, passing the first Republican only NDAA in history, and
passing the first Republican only state and foreign operations appropriations
bill. So many Americans are better off because of Kevin McCarthy's leadership,
American families, job creators, entrepreneurs, service members, law
enforcement officer, and the list goes on and on. These are just a few of our
House Republican majority successes. But make no mistake, we need Kevin
McCarthy to remain speaker if we're going to stay focused on our mission of
delivering commonsense wins for the American people. We've shown Americans
what success looks like when we come together as a team. Now it's time for us
to stand together stronger than ever so we can get back to the work our
majority was elected to do. I'm proud to support the speaker as we continue
championing conservative priorities that will put our country on a better
path. Thank you, Speaker McCarthy. I yeild back. >> Gentleman from Florida. >>
The opening line of my colleague's speech was that speaker McCarthy always
overperforms expectations but after tweeting, bring it and after engaging in
profane laced tirades at house conference, he just lost a motion to table. So
I wouldn't necessarily consider that overperforming expectations and time and
again, I've heard my colleagues say that, well, he deserves it because he went
through a tough speaker contest. Let me let everyone know he prevailed in that
speaker contest because he made an agreement to fulfill certain commitments to
make this an open and honest process and he has failed to meet those
commitments and that's why we are here, I reserve. >> Gentleman reserves his
time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker.
I yield three minutes to my very good friend, Mr. Jordan of Ohio. >> Gentleman
from Ohio is recognized for three minutes. >> I thank the gentleman for
yielding. On January 3rd, we said 118th Congress is about three things; pass
the bills that need passed, do the oversight work that needs to be done, and
stop the inevitable omnibus that comes from the United States Senate right
before the holidays. Kevin McCarthy has been rock solid on all three. We have
passed the bills we told the American people we would pass, 87,000 IRS agent,
that bill passed. Parents Bill of Rights, that bill passed. Energy
legislation, passed. Border security immigration enforcement legislation. The
strongest bill ever to pass the Congress passed earlier this year. >> We have
done what we told them we were going to do. We can't help, but the Senate
won't take up those good common sense bills. They'll have to answer to the
American people come election day, oversight. We have done the oversight that
we're supposed to do because of our oversight, we know that parents were
targeted by the Department of Justice. Because of our oversight, we know that
51 former intel officials, misled the country weeks before the most important
election we have. And because of our oversight, the disinformation governance
board at the Department of Homeland Security is gone. Because of our
oversight, the memo attacking pro life Catholics has been rescinded. Because
of our oversight, unannounced visits to Americans home by the Internal Revenue
Service has stopped. That happened under Speaker McCarthy. And on the third
one, on this side of it, we know there's a big old ugly bill coming at the end
of the year, all spending, all garbage in it. We're still in that fight.
Frankly to Matt's point, we don't know how that one's going to shake out. But
we do know this, on Saturday, we didn't take the Senate's bill, they tried to
send it over and shove it down our throats on. We didn't take that bill and it
was a tough position he was in. There were five options on the table last
week. Option 1 was to send a long term , CR over there. That would have
leverage the 1% cut something, a bunch of us voted for, both parties couldn't
get the votes for that one, second option was to focus on the one issue. The
country now is completely focused on the border issue. We couldn't get the
votes for that one either, but when the Senate tried to send us that bill, he
said no to it. I think the speaker has kept his word. I know my colleagues and
friends are saying different. I think he has kept his word on those three
things that we talked about on January 3rd. Frankly, that entire week, he has
kept his word. I think we should keep him as speaker, I yield back. >> The
gentleman from Florida is recognized. >> The problem with my friend from
Ohio's argument is that many of the bills he referenced as having passed are
not law. We are on a fast track to an omnibus bill, and it is difficult to
champion oversight when House Republicans haven't even sent us an opinion to
Hunter Biden. So it's hard to make the argument that oversight is the reason
to continue when it sort of looks like failure theater. I yield such time as
he may consume to my colleague from Arizona Mr. Bates. >> Gentleman from
Arizona is recognized how much time? >> What consumes. >> So much as he may
consumed. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a serious time. And my mind
immediately goes to the young deputy from Coaches County. Who two nights ago,
while trying to apprehend a runaway vehicle, smuggling humans across the
border, suffered major injuries, transported to Pima County where he's in a
Tucson hospital fighting for his life. I'm talking about a border that remains
wide open. Where drugs come through, the Tucson sector, the most got aways,
known and unknown of any sector along the border. Terrorists coming in, people
conducting criminal conduct coming in, criminal gang members, human smugglers,
sex traffickers. They're coming across our border to the tune of hundreds of
thousands every month. Now, I appreciate my colleagues and their position, but
I would suggest something. I don't think you can just skip to last weekend and
say, oh my goodness, a CR came out last weekend on Saturday. I think we need
to go back to January. I'll say this this body came together on the Republican
side, and we passed a good border security piece of legislation, HR2. That's
good. And then last week we passed the DHS bill and the DOD bills, which had
funding for our CBP Ice military leaders, military men and women. But why were
we successful in doing that? What happened to motivate us to get there? Well,
for one thing, we didn't bother to pass the 12 appropriations bills as
required under the budget control and impounds law of 1974. We didn't do it.
You know how many times that's not been done? 25 years in a row. And you know
how many CRs this body has passed in that same period of time? A 130. You know
what that gets you? A two trillion plus structural deficit like we had in
fiscal year 23. You know what that leads you to a $33 trillion national debt,
which is where we sit today, leads you to somewhere north of $700 billion in
interest payments. And you know why that happened, because this body is
entrenched in a sub optimal path and refuses to leave it. Refuses to leave
that path. You cannot change if you're unwilling to change. We had every
opportunity to change. We were promised to change. We were promised we were
going to go ahead and we were going to get those 12 bills done. And if we got
those 12 bills done, do you know why you do 12 bills? Because it allows you to
reduce spending, get rid of wasteful, duplicative programs. It allows you to
set an agenda to restore fiscal sanity. We chose to not do it again. We were
promised we'd do it. That's why at the end some people said, we'll vote
present. We'll go ahead, we're going to put our trust in Mr. McCarthy to
become the speaker. That didn't happen. I suspected that would be the case.
That was my struggle. That was my struggle last November and December. I
iterated it to this body in our conference, anyway. When we got to the debt
ceiling, again, that seemed to spring upon everybody like a surprise. >> And
when that happened, I was in there for some of those negotiations on where
that number would be, and I was astonished how that 1.5 trillion number was
negotiated. Unbelievable. But I will tell you this. To his credit, the speaker
told us one thing that I believe to be true. He said that's basically the anti
in a poker game he can sit down at the table. And I told my colleagues who
supported that, that 1.5 trillion dollar in eight months, that you're willing
to raise the debt ceiling. That's the opening marker. And indeed it was. And
now projections are many trillion dollar above that. Yes, I think it's time to
make a change. I'm not the only one. And that's it's somber. Thus it is
somber. But what have we failed to accomplish? Why didn't we get this stuff
done? When we're campaigning we're talking about an extension of the debt
ceiling to January of 2025. We're talking about additional Ukraine funding.
Maybe that's good in your districts. Maybe it's not. But that money is not
offset. We're not paying for it. We haven't designated how we're going to pay
for that. The same with the disaster package. The IRS remains 80% increased. I
could go down the list, but I will just tell you why this happens. When you
don't do your 12 budget bills and you rely ultimately on a CR, and I'll get to
the calendar in a second. What happens is you cannot leverage this
administration to actually enforce the border laws that you need to have
enforced. This is a lawless Biden regime. They will not enforce border laws.
And we can pass them until we're blue in the face, but until you leverage the
budget and the spending, you will not see enforcement by this administration.
So now take a look at the calendar that we were just provided last week. We're
supposed to finish by November 3rd our 12 bills. By November 17th that's when
we're supposed to see that the conference committees have come together on
both sides and we've resolved this. I don't believe that that's going to
happen. It wasn't going to happen before. You were betting on the cub again.
At some point, I'd urge you to stop betting on the cub and bet on the reality.
That's why I can't support the speaker any longer and I'll be voting for the
motion to vacate yield back. >> Reserve. >> The gentleman yield back his time.
Gentleman from Florida reserves. Members are advised to direct your comments
to the Chair, please. Gentleman from Oklahoma. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr.
Speaker yield two minutes to my very good friend from Arkansas, Mr. Westerman.
>> Gentleman from Arkansas, Mr. Westerman is recognized for two minutes. >>
Selah. S-E-L-A-H. Selah. This unique word scattered throughout the Psalms
signals to the reader to pause, reflect, consider, and maybe take a deep
breath before moving on. Psalm must use Selah to emphasize the significance of
a statement. For example, King David wrote, "Blessed be the Lord who daily
bears our burden, the God who is our salvation, Selah." That is a profound
statement with huge implications. It deserves more than a cursory
consideration. Within the next hour, this house will vote yea or nay to vacate
the speaker's chair. A profound action with huge implications. This was last
tried in 1910. Joseph Cannon won the vote. 113 years later my office is in the
Cannon office building, and Uncle Joe Cannon's statue sits just outside this
chamber. No living human has taken the vote we're about to take. It deserves
that we pause, we reflect that we consider deeply the ramification of our
actions. To my fellow Republicans who would consider voting yes to removing
our Republican speaker please pause and ask yourself two questions. Will your
yes vote make America stronger? Will your yes vote strengthen conservative
policies? If you believe yes is the right vote, please stand before this body
and the American people and articulate your plan. Not your grievances or your
wishes, your plan. Convince the mass majority of the Republican conference
that strongly disagrees with you to follow you. If you cannot do that, which
you have failed to do so far, then voting yes is at the least a disruptive
overreaction. In reality, it's selfish. Bad for conservative policies and bad
for America. That's why I strongly support Speaker Kevin McCarthy and while
without hesitation or reservation I will vote no on this disastrous
resolution, I yield back. >> Gentleman from Florida. >> There's nothing
selfish about wanting a speaker of the House who tells the truth. I reserve.
>> Gentleman reserves this time. Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole. >> Mr.
Speaker I yield two minutes to my very good friend from Kentucky and fellow
member of the Rules Committee, Mr. Massey. >> Gentleman from Kentucky, Mr.
Massey is recognized for two minutes. >> Mr. Speaker as the only still serving
co-author and co-sponsor of the motion to vacate Speaker Boehner. I can tell
you this motion to vacate is a terrible idea. Is the only member who is
serving here who took every chance to vote against Speaker Boehner and to vote
against Speaker Ryan. I can tell you that this chamber has been run better,
more conservatively and more transparently under Mr. McCarthy than any other
speaker that I have served under. As a member of the Rules Committee, one of
three conservatives who were placed there out of trust the speaker gave us a
blocking position by putting three of us on there to keep an eye on the Rules
Committee to make sure the process was fair and even. I can tell you it's been
fair and even. None of us are voting against the speaker today. >> Regular
order is at odds with predetermined outcomes. Yet the speaker is being accused
of not holding to regular order and predetermined outcomes at the same time.
It is not possible. You cannot be for both at the same time. I was a party to
the January agreement and I can tell you that there were promises in there,
but there was never a promise for an outcome. There was never a promise that
you could force Joe Biden to sign something. There was only the promise that
we would try and try we have. We have tried in the rules committee, we have
tried on the floor. We've been trying since this summer and there's enough
blame to go around for why we don't have 12 bills. But part of it was a
re-litigation of the debt limit deal. By the way, there was no promise on the
debt limit deal, no conditions on that. In January, zero whatsoever. I was in
the room for that. So the 12 bills were delayed over what, $100 billion?
That's a lot of money, but it's nothing compared to the $2,000,000,000,000
that I came here to object to. When Speaker Pelosi and President Trump pushed
that bill through. We've had over 500 amendments. Listen, this is a referendum
on this institution. We've tried regular order. Speaker Mccarthy has tried
regular order. If regular order fails today, if you vacate the speaker, nobody
is going to try it. >> Gentleman's time has expired. >> This institution will
fail. Please do not vacate the speaker. >> Gentleman from Florida. >> I
reserve. >> Gentleman from Florida reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma,
Mr. Cole. >> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield 2 minutes to my very
good friend from California, Mr. Mcclintock. >> Gentleman from California. Mr.
Mcclintock is recognized for 2 minutes. >> Mr. Speaker, if there was ever a
time for sobriety, wisdom, and caution in this house it is right now. If this
motion carries, the house will be paralyzed. We can expect week after week of
fruitless ballots, while no other business can be conducted. The Democrats
will revel in republican dysfunction, and the public will rightly be repulsed.
It'll end when the Democrats are able to enlist to rump caucus of republicans
to join a coalition to end the impasse. This house will shift dramatically to
the left and will effectively end Republican House majority that the voters
elected in 2022. And this in turn will neutralize the only counterweight in
our elected government to the woke left's control of the Senate and the White
House. At a time when their policies are destroying our economy and have
opened our borders to invasion. There are turning points in history whose
significance is only realized by the events that they unleash. This is one of
those times, we are at the precipice. There are only minutes left to come to
our senses and realize the grave danger our country is in at this moment. Dear
God, grant us the wisdom to see it and to save our country from it. >>
Gentleman from Florida. >> Mr. Speaker, there is nothing sober, wise, or
cautious about the path we are on. We are on a path to financial ruin if this
house does not take a different posture, a different procedure, and yield
toward different outcomes and a better future. I reserve. >> Gentleman
reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole. >> Thank you very much,
Mr. Speaker. I yield 1.5 minutes to my very good friend from Florida, Mr.
Jimenez. >> One and a half minutes, gentleman from Florida is recognized for
1.5 minutes. >> I stand before my colleagues in the nation as a proud
representative of the great state of Florida. I truly am beyond blessed to
represent the paradise that is Miami Dade County and the Florida Keys. And I
am beyond proud to represent my community before this Congress to stand with a
leader who has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our
country and to the principles that define us as Americans, Kevin Mccarthy.
Today, it's historic for a lot of reasons. For one thing, this is the first
time in over 100 years that this has been attempted. But it's also because we
are part of a Congress with historically tight majorities for the Republicans
in the House and the Democrats in the Senate. And we have a Democratic, White
House divided government, that's what we have. The need to negotiate, to find
solutions to the issues facing this country. That's a reflection of the
principles that are uniquely American. Principles that make this country
exceptional. And principles that allowed me, an exile, who came here from
Cuba, fleeing communist Cuba, to serve in this very institution. You see, I
wasn't born here but everything that I am, everything that I ever will be is
thanks to America. The best part about it is that the story of the community
that I'm so proud to represent is the story of many in this body. Is that we
are not the exception in America, we are the rule. That's the American that
Kevin Mccarthy has fought for his entire career. Kevin Mccarthy is a champion
for the American dream. And he's proved it as our speaker. Thomas Jefferson
once said, I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the
government from wasting the labors of the people under the guise of taking
care of them. Mccarthy. >> Gentleman's time has expired. >> Thank you. Let's
keep Kevin Mccarthy our speaker. A great man, a great leader, a great speaker.
Thank you and I yield back. >> Gentleman from Florida. >> Mr speaker may I
inquire some of our remaining time? >> Gentleman has 9,3/4 minutes remaining.
>> I reserve. >> Gentleman reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma Mr.
Cole. >> Mr. Speaker, I yield 1.5 minutes to my very good friend from Iowa.
The gentle lady, Miss Henson. >> The gentlelady from Iowa, Miss Henson is
recognized for 1.1/2 minutes. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in
support of our speaker, Kevin Mccarthy. Let's be very clear here. We would not
have a House Republican majority without the relentless efforts of this man,
our speaker. Under his leadership, Joe Biden's policies have had a check and
balance. His policies have created a horrific border crisis. Ten thousand
illegal immigrants a day surging across our border. Under Speaker Mccarthy,
Republicans have passed legislation to secure our border. Joe Biden has done
everything to squash American energy, selling our oil reserves to China. Under
speaker Mccarthy, Republicans have passed legislation to unleash American
energy dominance. Joe Biden has spent taxpayer dollars like there's no
tomorrow. Under Speaker Mccarthy, we have returned to passing single subject
appropriations bills and ending the status quo of omnibus spending. >> One of
the most valuable pieces of advice that I received was from Kevin McCarthy
when I got here to DC. He told me to separate the signal from the noise. The
noise is those who are causing chaos for their own personal benefit while
ignoring the needs of their constituents and this country, grinding our work
here to a halt. The signal, is the many accomplishments that we've delivered
for the American people with Speaker McCarthy at the helm. The signal is the
failures coming out of the White House time and time again. The signal is the
work that we must do today and going forward to save our country for my kids
and yours. My colleagues today here have a choice. Be a chaos agent or get
back to work. So I call on my colleagues. Let's separate the signal from the
noise. Let's support our speaker Kevin McCarthy so we can get back to work for
the American people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I yield back. >> Gentleman from
Florida, Mr. Gates. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I've caught the signal
too. The signal is for 33 trillion in debt facing $2.2 trillion annual
deficits. And our fellow Americans may be watching, wondering how does that
happen? How does the greatest country in the world have a process so broken
that it would be laughed out of the rooms in the halls of the state
legislatures where many of us come from. Here's how it works. The law says,
we're supposed to have the very single-subject spending bills that my
colleague referenced in the summer. That we're supposed to have that and move
it. But there's a dirty little secret in this town. And that is, if you delay,
if you hold the bills, if you make multiple contradictory promises as Speaker
McCarthy has done, and you back everybody up against shutdown politics, well,
nobody wants to shut the government down. No one cheers for a shutdown, and of
course, when people are backed up against shutdown politics, the decision
calculus changes. So year after year, decade after decade, we break the law
and we do the same thing. We pass a continuing resolution, then we pass
another continuing resolution, and then it's either another continuing
resolution, or an omnibus bill, or a series of min busses that lump these
disparate things together. The American people want all of us to take votes on
single subject matters. They don't want to see these things all mushed
together and log rolled. And it was concerning to me to hear of news of a
secret deal on Ukraine funding that would have log rolled more money with
Ukraine, with our southern border. Now how offensive is that to our Customs
and Border Patrol? To our eyes? To the people that are suffering as a
consequence of our border that some of my colleagues are only willing to stand
up and fight for our border if they could send billions to Ukraine to fund
their border too. Well, I've had enough of that, and that's why I brought this
motion to vacay. I reserve. >> Gentlemen, time is reserved. Gentleman from
Oklahoma, Mr. Cole? >> Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to
our distinguished majority leader, my good friend from Louisiana, Mr. Scalise.
>> Gentleman from Louisiana, the majority leader, Mr. Scalise is recognized
for one minute. >> Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank my friend from Oklahoma for
yielding, and when we go back to January as many people have, we knew that it
was going to be a narrow majority. We also knew that it wasn't going to be
easy. How many of us came here because we thought this job was going to be
easy? How many of us thought the task ahead of us to address the problems of
this country was going to be easy? One thing we did know is that if we were
going to finally start confronting problems that had been ignored for years
and years, we had to change the way that this place worked. And one thing
Speaker McCarthy embraced from day one is to start making those changes to
this institution, opening up the process, allowing members to be more engaged,
having amendments come to the floor, single subject bills, doing
appropriations bills. Yes. Making that happen overnight is not something that
happens automatically, but it started to happen and we are now seeing the
fruits of it. Just last week, we had four different appropriations bills on
this house floor. Four different ones. Now, those bills took weeks and weeks
to finally get to the floor. Going through an open committee process, hundreds
of amendments, each one of them where Republicans, Democrats, could bring
their ideas. And we debated those bills on the floor some until after
midnight, where members could actually participate in the process. This has
been a broken process for a long time, but it's a process where we, if we're
going to confront the problems that families are facing because right now we
need to resolve our differences inside this house chamber before we can then
go and fight for those families who are struggling. But every single day
across America, families are struggling with real problems that we're going to
have to get back to solving. And those problems are real for them. It's
inflation, it's the economy, it's high energy costs. It's an open southern
border that doesn't just affect the border states, it's affecting every state.
Republican districts, Democrat districts, everybody knows it. And it can be
ignored by the White House, but this house is the only body that started to
take action. When we with HR2, and then with the border bill last week, and
with the action we took last week, over 70% of government funding passed out
of the House. However, everybody voted Republican or Democrat, this House
passed funding for over 70% of the federal government's operation, and it's
sitting over in the Senate where they've passed zero. And we're going to beat
up each other and talk about our internal processes and we need to get our
internal processes working better. But you know what, so does that other body
over there, and so does the White House. Everybody in this town needs to be
engaged in addressing these problems but if we don't start here, and if we
don't focus these next 45 days, because that's what we've got in front of us.
We've got two bills this week. We've got two more appropriations bills next
week, and if we're going to be confronting those, we've got to stay focused on
our mission. What the other side does, let's continue to put pressure on them,
but we also need to put pressure on ourselves to do our job. And Speaker
McCarthy has been leading at the top of the level to make sure that we have
the tools to do our jobs in a different way than the House has done it before.
This house is going to have to continue to make those changes. But the
American people sent us here to confront those problems. We're finally
starting to. This isn't the time to slow that process down. We need to keep
doing our work. We need to keep fighting