Legislative Program
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I look forward to a robust debate on the unaptly titled bill, ``Save the Internet.'' I think a lot of people shiver at the thought of the Federal Government saving us from the internet.
The title II regulation that would be imposed would allow the internet to be regulated like a utility. This is not the phone company of the 1970s. This is probably one of the greatest innovations that America has produced for the world, allowing us to be a world leader, dominant leader, in a growing technology field. Primarily because the government hasn't figured out how to regulate it, it has been able to grow so robustly.
I would hope that we have that full debate and people are very aware of the negative connotations and, ultimately, the damaging effects of a Federal regulation of the internet that could slow down that dramatic innovation that we have seen with the Federal Government not regulating it. It will be a robust debate.
Hopefully, we debate a number of other issues. I know we had a robust debate on the floor just a little while ago on the BDS movement. It is a growing concern for all of us who feel passionately about Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State.
I know the leader has been a leader in this Congress and a leader throughout this country in an incredibly bipartisan way standing up for that unique relationship, but we have seen threats from other countries. You have seen heavy debate in Europe.
You have seen debate in areas in Palestinian circles that want to undermine Israel's right to exist as a Jewish State by trying to boycott products made in Israel, to crush Israel's economy. That is why it is so important that we stand up against this BDS movement.
While we weren't successful in the motion to commit, there is legislation that is incredibly bipartisan.
S. 1, a bill that has come over from the Senate, unfortunately, hasn't been referred to committee, nor, also, H.R. 336, similar legislation that would allow us to help support our friends around the world who want to stand up against the BDS movement and stand with our good friend Israel.
Madam Speaker, I would like to ask the gentleman, is there any plan to allow either or both of those bills to come to the floor so we can send a strong message to our friends around the world and to enemies of Israel, as well, that we are not going to support this BDS movement.
I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, if I could further inquire, S. 1 has not been referred to committee. Is there a plan to refer the bill to committee and, ultimately, to allow it to move through the process, as it has been incredibly bipartisan but also incredibly timely, that we as the United States Congress stand with our friend Israel and stand against what is a growing movement that should be of concern to all of us?
I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. That is correct. And I know those pieces of legislation are just resolutions, not actual policy.
And, ultimately, if we are going to make the stand, it has to be legislation with teeth, with actual authorizing language and with the ability for us to give true support to our friends--not just words, but actions as well.
So, hopefully, we can move both, and I would just continue to urge.
And the gentleman from Maryland's support for Israel is unquestioned and has been admired by people on both sides. I would just urge that we, as a House, move those bills, one or both of the actual substantive bills, to the floor as quickly as possible, as they have already moved through the Senate.
S. 1 had 77 votes in support--so, strongly bipartisan--coming out of the Senate, but still no referral in the House. Hopefully, we can get that expedited.
And with that, on the idea of legislating by resolution, I know that has been a growing trend in this Congress of this majority to move, instead of substantive bills to deal with things like lowering healthcare costs or helping create more jobs.
There have been a lot of bills that are just press releases, resolutions that don't actually change law or help change policy or work in a bipartisan way to get bills to the President's desk that can address the growing issues that our country faces.
Are we going to see a continued trend in this majority of just resolutions, or are we going to finally get to bipartisan policy on some of these big issues?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, opposed unanimously on our side, if I can point out.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
It was heavily debated in the Energy and Commerce Committee, as it should be, and I am sure it will be heavily debated on the floor.
A number of these other issues that the gentleman mentioned, you know, we litigated those on the floor. The ones that went over to the Senate, some with only Democratic votes, you know, H.R. 1, for example, the Senate majority leader made it very clear that bill will not get any time on the Senate calendar. There are a lot of others that we would like to see real movement on.
I know there was concern of a lot of people that there were three different committees in the House this week that spent the bulk of their time going after the President personally again.
We have got the Mueller report coming. The summary has already been laid out and made it clear there was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction of justice. We will see the report.
What we talked about was that the report be filed in compliance with law, and the law makes it very clear that things like classified information aren't released. That is the law. I think we agreed that that is how it should be, that you don't release classified information. You release the pertinent date.
I look forward to seeing that, and we will see that. But, then, it seemed like a continued assault in three different committees continuing to focus on harassing the President personally, as opposed to focusing on some of those policies.
But one of the policies that should be coming out of the House where there is a real deadline is the budget. April 15 is the deadline.
I know, over and over again, Members of the Democratic leadership, including the Speaker, herself, said: Show me your budget. Show me your values.
There is no budget. And we have been concerned that the agenda doesn't follow--the priorities in the budget are really what you lay out. Those are your values. Those are your priorities.
While they are moving a bill that lays out caps, it is not bipartisan. But, ultimately, when we get a caps agreement, the gentleman knows it is going to have to be a bipartisan agreement.
Last night, the Budget Committee produced only a partisan, one-corner deal--barely a one-corner deal. Typically, they have what are called four-corner deals where the House, Senate--Republicans and Democrats-- come together and say: We are going to agree on what those spending levels need to be so that we can then write our appropriation bills, set the priorities of the country, and avoid a government shutdown.
That didn't happen in the Budget Committee. It was a very partisan bill that was moved out; but, more importantly, it was not a budget.
I would hope that with the little bit of time that is remaining to meet that legal deadline that the majority would try to actually produce a budget and follow through on those over-and-over again quotes: ``Show me your budget.'' ``Show me your values.''
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
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Mr. SCALISE. Hopefully, we can get a bipartisan agreement on what those levels need to be to properly fund our defense, to properly do the other things the government should do and limit the ways it can possibly be carried out, and then, ultimately, to be able to get the bills that follow it passed in time, well before the September 30 deadline.
One of the areas that there is very productive movement on is the new trade deal between the United States, Mexico, and Canada, USMCA. I know there are bipartisan working groups. The White House has been in negotiations with the majority, the Speaker and your team.
Can the leader give any insight into where the conversations are going in the House to get a timetable for when we can start having a plan for that?
You look at Canada's House of Commons, they have their own deadline of when they rise, and, obviously, we want to be aware of our other partners that are included in this negotiation.
Is there talk of a timeline yet, if the leader could share where those conversations are going.
I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
I am encouraged by the conversations that both I have been in as well as the conversations that I am aware are going on on your side as well, because this is a bipartisan win for the country.
This agreement would help ensure that, as we all support free trade, we also want more fair trade, and this agreement, in many different categories and many different industries, would help create more American jobs and help American workers get treated even more fairly by our neighbors to the north and south.
Finally, if I may inquire of the gentleman, we have talked a number of times about the Born-Alive Act, the bill that we have made multiple unanimous consent requests to bring up the discharge petition moving through the process. There are other means to bring it up even quicker, and one would be if the gentleman would schedule the bill for the floor.
I would just inquire: Is there any plan to schedule the Born-Alive Act on the floor through a direct means versus some of these other tools that are being considered?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's candor.
We will continue to pursue other tools that we have available as the growing momentum around the country builds, as people saw what happened in New York with a law ushered in that allows babies to be murdered after they are born alive, the Virginia Governor gruesomely describing what he hopes to be a similar law in his State, other States taking those same kinds of actions. So there is a growing bipartisan interest that feels very strongly that we need a Federal law to protect babies who are born alive outside the womb.
So we will continue to pursue all of those tools that are available and look forward to the workweek ahead next week as we finish our work prior to the Easter recess.
Does the gentleman have anything else?
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Maryland, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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