Legislative Program
Floor Speech
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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Scalise), the majority whip, for the purpose of giving us the schedule for the week to come.
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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for the information. I know the majority leader is not here, but I observed, with some irony, how much argument for legislation was included in the scheduling announcement. I think that is not necessarily inappropriate--I will make that point-- but I am sure the majority leader will remember that in the future.
I thank the gentleman for the information.
I want to say to him at the outset, we note and we took action on his motion to which we neither asked for a vote nor objected, but that we have delayed the consideration of the veto of the President of the United States, ensuring that the 22 million people that would be removed from health insurance, if the President had not vetoed that bill, will not go into effect.
I want to assure the majority whip, as the minority whip, that that bill will not go into effect whether we vote on it today or we vote for it on the 25th. There are more than sufficient votes on this side of the aisle to support and confirm the President's veto and to ensure that those 22 million people, as well as those who are benefiting from other portions of the bill, will continue to do so.
I thank the gentleman for that information. I regret that we have delayed that vote, but I am absolutely assured that on the 25th or the 26th, that veto will be sustained by this House. Of course, it will initiate in this House.
I also wanted to say to the gentleman, the Speaker has pointed out that this year, he wants to see real substance considered during the debate on the bill that I just discussed, the Affordable Care Act. There was some discussion by Mr. Upton that there was an alternative that the Republican side of the aisle had or his committee had. We, of course, never considered--notwithstanding the 62 votes to repeal--an alternative.
I would ask the gentleman if he believes that there will be, during the coming weeks or months, an alternative to the Affordable Care Act considered on this floor.
I yield to my friend from Louisiana.
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Mr. HOYER. I understand that, and I appreciate the gentleman's observations.
I am wondering whether or not our Members would expect, at some time in the future, to have such a bill presented for a vote on the floor so that the American people could see, as I understand the Speaker's premise being that he wants to lay out an agenda so that in this Presidential election, there will be alternatives.
My question to the whip is: Will this House be expecting to vote on an alternative, to consider an alternative with amendments perhaps made in order as well?
I yield to my friend from Louisiana.
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Mr. HOYER. Well, I appreciate the gentleman's presentation.
Of course, presumably, if it is transparent, if it is open, then presumably, the Democratic members of the committee of jurisdiction on whatever issue there may be, we think we can work together with you on supporting job creation, reaching a long-term fiscal agreement on permanently replacing the sequester, which your chairman believes is not a reasonable alternative.
We believe we can reach agreement with you hopefully on comprehensive tax reform, although my personal opinion was that the passage of the tax bill a few weeks ago, which I voted against, undermines that possibility.
We also believe we can work together with you on something that this week has been made dramatically clear, that is needed very, very badly, and that is comprehensive immigration reform.
As I said on Ex-Im Bank, I thought there was a majority of votes in both parties for the Ex-Im Bank. Unfortunately, it took a discharge petition to get it to the floor. When it got to the floor, I was correct. It had a majority of the Republicans and all but one Democrat for it.
I think comprehensive immigration reform would pass. In a system that is transparent and open to the American people, what one would do would have a vote here on this floor so the American people can see where each Member is on that issue.
We also believe we can work with you, Mr. Whip, and with the majority leader, the Speaker, and your Members, on restoring voting rights.
Mr. Cantor, when he was here, and Mr. McCarthy, the majority leader, he and I were honorary cochairs--John Lewis is, of course, the chair-- when we went to the Edmund Pettus Bridge in recognition of that march, which ultimately led to the adoption of the Voting Rights Act. We think we can work together with you on that.
I know there are strong feelings on the efforts that the President has taken to make sure that those who purchase guns in America are not dangerous to their neighbors or to others. We think we can work together with you on that.
Does the gentleman expect a vote on that issue on this floor in the near future?
I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.
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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for bringing up that issue. We are all privileged and honored to serve in this House with John Lewis. There is probably no Member of this House who has been recognized for greater contributions to what America stands for than our colleague, John Lewis.
It was so appropriate for Secretary Mabus, who is the Secretary of the Navy from Mississippi and former Governor of Mississippi, to not only name this ship, as the gentleman observed, but because it is the first ship. And this ship is all about serving others, about supplying others with that which they need--not only fuel, but also food and supplies--and is so appropriate because John Lewis lived his life serving others and supplying.
This is not a warship, per se. It is a Naval ship that is going to be critically important to our Navy. The gentleman is absolutely correct that honoring John Lewis was an appropriate act to take. I think he and I both extend our thanks to Secretary Ray Mabus for taking this action.
Lastly, I have had a long association with Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, of course, is an integral part of the United States of America. Its citizens are citizens of the United States of America. Like other jurisdictions--whether they be in California or in New York or in the Midwest or the South or the North--who have from time to time found themselves in deep fiscal trouble, Puerto Rico now finds itself in that position.
I had the opportunity to talk a little earlier today with Chairman Rob Bishop about the hearings that are going on in the Committee on Natural Resources this month with reference to Puerto Rico. I know that Speaker Ryan has indicated that we need to address this issue in an effective way by March 31. I very much appreciate his setting a goal and a timeframe for that.
Can the gentleman give me any additional information as to the status of consideration of Puerto Rico and extending it bankruptcy authority so that it might restructure its debt so that it doesn't undermine its school system, its public safety, its transportation, and other needs of its people?
I yield to my friend.
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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman.
I would reiterate to my friend, we really do look forward to working with your side of the aisle on addressing some of the critical problems that I mentioned, that you have mentioned, that Speaker Ryan has mentioned. We hope that those will be open, transparent, and inclusive so that all views can be heard. Ultimately, we hope that proposals and policies do come to this floor for a vote.
It is my understanding that the Speaker also wants to do the 12 appropriations bills, do them discretely, that is, one at a time, and bring them to this floor. We look forward to that process occurring as well.
I yield to my friend.
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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for that offer. I hope his feelings are not hurt when his crabs are left on the table.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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