Providing for Consideration of H.R. Expanding Access to Sustainable Energy Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1129 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1129

Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 4447) to establish an energy storage and microgrid grant and technical assistance program. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Energy and Commerce now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-63, modified by the amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) 90 minutes of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology; (2) the further amendments described in section 2 of this resolution; (3) the amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution; and (4) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Sec. 2. After debate pursuant to the first section of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 3 of this resolution shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be withdrawn by the proponent at any time before the question is put thereon, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.

Sec. 3. It shall be in order at any time after debate pursuant to the first section of this resolution for the chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution not earlier disposed of. Amendments en bloc offered pursuant to this section shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for 20 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.

Sec. 4. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc described in section 3 of this resolution are waived.

Sec. 5. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 6270) to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to make certain disclosures relating to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. An amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-64 shall be considered as adopted. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services; and (2) one motion to recommit with or without instructions.

Sec. 6. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House without intervention of any question of consideration the bill (H.R. 8319) making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2021, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. Clause 2(e) of rule XXI shall not apply during consideration of the bill. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations; and (2) one motion to recommit.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Mrs. Lesko), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1129, providing for consideration of three measures.

First, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4447, the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act, under a structured rule. The rule provides 90 minutes of debate equally divided among and controlled by the chairs and ranking minority members of the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment, makes in order 98 amendments, and provides en bloc authority and one motion to recommit.

The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 6270, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act of 2020, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Financial Services, and it provides one motion to recommit.

Finally, the rule provides for the consideration of H.R. 8319, the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021 and Other Extensions Act, under a closed rule. The rule provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations and provides one motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, the bills contained in this rule are about meeting our responsibility here at home and living up to our values abroad.

First is H.R. 8319, a continuing resolution to keep our government funded through December 11. Fortunately, we won't need to call this bill up because a compromise passed this House last night by a vote of 359-57. That is quite an accomplishment because sometimes we can't even agree on what to have for lunch here, yet we were able to come together to keep this government open. That is good news for the American people.

Second is H.R. 4447, a sweeping energy package that will help our Nation lead the world once more in clean energy. Investing in renewable energy like wind and solar won't just help us combat the threat of climate change; they will help us create jobs here at home that can never be outsourced.

It is especially important that we are considering this package right now. There are wildfires raging in places like California, Oregon, and Washington that are leaving a heartbreaking path of destruction. Scientists are unequivocal: These fires are just the latest indication that climate change is real and is happening right now. This is not some long-off threat that we can leave for our kids or grandkids. This is happening today.

By addressing it, we won't just protect our environment. We will create jobs at a time when our country badly needs them. Because of the coronavirus, our country is facing the worst economy since the Great Depression. The Labor Department said last week that 12.6 million Americans are collecting unemployment benefits. One year ago, that number stood at just 1.7 million.

Renewable energy can and should be part of the equation in rebuilding this economy because, make no mistake, Mr. Speaker, jobs in things like solar energy will be created. The only question is whether they are created here or in other countries like China. I want them made in America.

Lastly, the Rules Committee considered two bills on Monday to help defend the human rights of Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities who have suffered horrific human rights abuses at the hands of the Chinese Government: H.R. 6210, the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, and H.R. 6270, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act.

I am proud to have authored H.R. 6210, which passed the House with an overwhelming 406-3 vote yesterday. I also strongly support H.R. 6270, the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act, authored by my colleague, Representative Jennifer Wexton.

It is disappointing that some Republican Members may oppose the Uyghur Forced Labor Disclosure Act that requires disclosures about products made with forced labor from a region where crimes against humanity and perhaps genocide are being committed by the Chinese Government.

As many as 1.8 million Uyghurs and other predominantly Muslim minorities have been arbitrarily detained in mass internment camps and subjected to forced labor, torture, political indoctrination, and other severe human rights abuses.

We know forced labor is widespread and systematic, and audits are simply not possible because workers cannot speak freely and honestly about working conditions given the heavy surveillance and intimidation by the Chinese Government.

This legislation is essential to protect American investors and consumers through stronger disclosure requirements alerting them to the presence of Chinese and international companies whose operations enable the mass internment and population surveillance of Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities.

Such involvements represent clear and material risks to shared values and the corporate reputations of these companies and U.S. investors and consumers.

It seems the only argument against this bill is that it is similar to the Democratic Republic of the Congo conflict minerals provision from years ago, but the comparison simply just doesn't hold water.

Free enterprise, as we know it, doesn't exist in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It should not be compared to Africa in terms of the business climate or access.

The Xinjiang economy is tightly controlled and directed by the Chinese Government and Communist Party. It is built on a foundation of forced labor and repression. International observers, the press, and government officials are restricted from even traveling there.

Just this week, a number of respected supply chain auditing firms say they will no longer conduct inspections in Xinjiang because of the hostile environment ruled by fear.

The argument against this legislation is that the DRC conflict minerals provision was bad because businesses left that region because they didn't want to or could not disclose their supply chains. Well, it is long past time for U.S. and international companies to reassess their supply chains and find alternatives to production in Xinjiang where forced labor is widespread and embedded in the regional economy.

We don't think Chinese, U.S., and international companies should be exploiting the Uyghur and other Muslim people in allowing global supply chains to be contaminated with forced labor.

So I hope on both sides of the aisle, but I say this to my Republican colleagues, to those who might be considering a ``no'' vote, think long and hard before voting against the bill that would help reveal the extent of how the Chinese Government's system of forced labor has contaminated global supply chains.

I am proud to stand in solidarity with the Uyghur people and, indeed, all the people living under the rule of the Chinese Government in their struggle to live freely, practice their religious beliefs freely, and speak their own language freely.

I urge all of my colleagues to join with us and give this rule and underlying bills a broad bipartisan vote so we can fulfill our obligations here at home and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I want to diverge from what we are considering today and recognize some of the people here who help us all navigate how legislation is considered.

There are staff here that work day in and day out to make this Chamber function smoothly so that we can get things done on behalf of the American people. They aren't Democratic or Republican staff. They serve both sides without fear or favor. That team includes the staff in the Office of the Parliamentarian.

Tom Wickham has served in that office for the last 25 years. As House Parliamentarian, he became a master of House procedure. And make no mistake, having an encyclopedic knowledge of how this place operates is no small thing, Mr. Speaker.

Tom is now retiring after serving with distinction for many years. I want to recognize him, and I want to thank him for that service here today.

Now, I could say a lot about Tom. On a physical level, Tom is usually the tallest person in the room, and a lot of people fit in this room. On a human level, Tom always makes time for everyone, from the most senior Members to the most junior staff. Unless he is in a meeting, the door to his office right across the hall is literally left open all the time.

He has perfected the art of dry parliamentary humor. It is incredibly impressive when someone can make germaneness, promptly motions, and Deschler's Precedents funny.

Tom is always willing to listen to argument and never too proud to change his mind or say he was wrong about something in the face of new information.

To me and my staff, Tom Wickham appears to know everything about the rules and history of this House. But he is quick to say that he knows nothing about the Senate whenever we ask a Senate question; although, we suspect he knows everything about the Senate as well and just doesn't want to offend his friend, Elizabeth, the Senate Parliamentarian.

Tom has guided us through some turbulent times. He has advised the presiding officer during times of heated debate, even yelling at times. He has been on that rostrum through impeachment proceedings and opening day sessions, during late nights often followed by all-too-early mornings.

He has seen it all, and we are lucky to have had him at our side through it all. He will be missed, but we congratulate him on a well- deserved retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I also want to congratulate Jason Smith for being named the new House Parliamentarian. Many of us already know Jason pretty well, having worked with him in his prior role as Deputy Parliamentarian. His know-how made an impression, since he was named to this new role after a bipartisan recommendation, and I think that also is a tribute to his skills.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member Cole for working with me on this. I valued his advice and counsel, as I do so often as we serve together on the Rules Committee. His wisdom made this process largely an apolitical one.

I could not ask for a better partner at the Rules Committee than the gentleman from Oklahoma, Tom Cole. He and I try to put this institution first, and I know that Jason will, too.

It is clear Jason has the confidence of both sides of the aisle, and that is no small thing. I look forward to working with him in his new role.

The truth is we are lucky to have such dedicated staff in the Parliamentarian's Office, and that includes Anne Gooch, who works with us day in and day out, whether it is at 7 a.m. or 11 p.m. My staff and I have her on speed dial. Her work also makes our work possible, and we are grateful.

So we have a lot of debates on this floor, Mr. Speaker, all to make progress on behalf of the American people, but it is important during moments like this that we also recognize people whose work behind the scenes makes this progress possible.

So, Mr. Speaker, I just want to pay this tribute to these incredible people, and I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I think the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole) would agree with me that we both learned more from the Parliamentarian's Office than we ever knew was possible as we engaged in trying to get a replacement for Mr. Wickham. Our admiration for the staff there has only increased.

I just want to say one final thing here.

Normally, under normal circumstances, this Chamber would be filled with Members, which I think we would all have preferred in order to give you a proper sendoff. Obviously, outside events have made that impossible, but we want you to know that everybody in this Chamber appreciates your incredible work. So I ask everybody who is here to give you a round of applause and say thank you.

I just want to say for the record that if my Republican friends want to know why there is no agreement on another coronavirus relief package including PPP, they should call their friend Mitch McConnell because this House did its job.

We passed the HEROES Act more than 125 days ago to help cash-strapped State and local governments, to help businesses on the brink, and to help Americans struggling in the middle of this pandemic.

A lot of people are suffering. Hunger has increased in this country. Senate Republicans can't even come to an agreement amongst themselves. They couldn't even get their entire caucus on board, let alone Democrats.

The HEROES Act is bipartisan, but even that hasn't been enough to get Mitch McConnell to take it up. Apparently, he couldn't find the time, Mr. Speaker, but he is moving with lightning speed to confirm a new Supreme Court Justice.

Are you kidding me? In the middle of a pandemic he can't find the time to provide a vote on a package to help the American people and small businesses? Our restaurants are in deep trouble. Those of us who come from States--like I do in Massachusetts--outdoor dining is going to cease pretty soon because it is getting cold, and they don't know how they are going to get through the winter. And we can't even get the Senate to debate this stuff?

More than 200,000 Americans are dead. The President says, Oh, everything is going great. 200,000 people are dead. Compare that to Canada or other countries that actually had a plan to manage this pandemic. Countless millions have been infected.

The Senate needs to act. And shame on them for not acting.

It should be more than just an assembly line that rubber-stamps conservative judges. There is legislating to do, and none more important than dealing with the impacts of this pandemic.

I don't know whether the Senate majority leader has a heart of stone or what, but it is inexcusable. It is unconscionable. It is unbelievable that he hasn't acted, and so I urge my Republican colleagues to pick up the phone and call him and tell him to do something.

Mr. Speaker, the good news and what is comforting to me is that the American people get this. They understand where the problem is.

And I would just say to my friends who don't like everything in the HEROES Act, the way this process is supposed to work is we pass a bill in the House, the Senate passes a bill, and then we have a conference committee and we work out the details.

Well, the only negotiating that has been going on is Democrats have been negotiating with themselves. We have actually lowered the request in the original HEROES Act--which I personally think is not the right thing to do, but I get it--to get something done.

There is nothing in here that helps communities who are trying to deal with the school situation. In some places schools are opening, in some places they are not but there are all of these new expenses on how to make the classroom safer.

When my friends say, Oh, we don't want to give any more money to cities and towns to deal with that, I don't know whether you talk to your superintendents, or your teachers, or your principals, or parents, but this is real and they are looking for some help.

I mean, we are in the middle of a pandemic. We haven't seen anything like this since 1918. It has impacted our entire economy and you would never know it. You would never know it based on the inaction and the indifference over in the Senate.

I mean, it just takes my breath away when we have leaders there, Republican leaders, who won't even come to the negotiating table. And I just find that appalling.

I will just say one other thing. I urge everybody to vote for the previous question because let me just tell you something that some people don't appreciate; if you defeat the previous question, they get to bring up whatever they want to bring up.

They can bring up this, they can bring up whatever. They basically take control of the House. And they may say they are going to bring up this, but who knows what they will bring up. And so this is a bad procedural maneuver, but it is designed to give them power.

And, again, what I am learning here is that we don't share the same values on a lot of these things. I find that particularly disconcerting during a pandemic.

In the past, after 9/11, I was here. George W. Bush was President. I didn't agree with him on a lot of stuff, but he helped bring this country together and get us all reading off the same sheet of music in terms of our response. It is very different now.

So I would urge my colleagues again to vote ``yes'' on the previous question, and

Mr. Speaker, I have great respect for the gentleman from New York, and I appreciate his efforts at trying to find common ground and trying to make this place work better. But I do take exception to a statement he made, that if you vote against this, then you are turning your backs on small businesses.

Well, I can make that same argument to all of my Republican friends who voted against the HEROES Act. Not only did they turn their backs on small businesses, they turned their backs on schools and on people who right now are going hungry in this country. I can go right down the list of all the things. They are turning their backs on cities and towns that are not just blue cities and towns.

Mr. Speaker, this notion that we have to define everything in terms of red and blue, in terms of whether they get assistance, I find very disconcerting. I never question a vote in favor of disaster relief if a red State was hit by a hurricane or an earthquake or a fire. You try to do the right thing.

So spare us the indignation, because the deal is, we passed something here 4 months ago, and there has been no action. We all know that we weren't going to get everything. The Speaker brought it down by $1 trillion, hoping that that would spur a negotiation, and there is nothing yet. By the way, the Senate can't even get its act together amongst its own Republicans, never mind with Democrats.

So we need to do something. Hopefully, before we leave here, the Senate majority leader will pick up the phone and work with the Speaker and with the White House, and we can get something here.

Quite frankly, all of us, if it is not done, are willing to come back here on a moment's notice. We have all been told by our majority leader to be prepared to come back here in a nanosecond if we can get a deal.

But to leave schools behind, to leave hungry people behind, and to leave countless others who have been impacted by this virus behind, this is a big deal. It is a big deal. We need to help our small businesses, and we have to help others as well.

Let's hope rationality will prevail, common sense will prevail, and we can come together similar to the way we did on the continuing resolution yesterday.

Mr. Speaker, let me remind all of my colleagues this is a procedural vote, and this is a very common practice of my Republican colleagues on a regular basis to urge a defeat of the previous question so they can bring up whatever they want to bring up.

The gentleman just said that we need to move quickly. My question is: Where have you been? Where have you been?

Four months ago--4 months ago--we passed a bill that would provide relief to our small businesses and to our cash-strapped communities, many of them forced to lay off first responders.

Where have you been? Have you picked up the phone and called Mitch McConnell? Have you lobbied any of your Republican colleagues on the Senate side? Nothing.

We are about to recess. I think everybody knows that people back home are not happy with the obstructionism and the Senate doing nothing. So let's toss out a procedural vote, and we can use that as cover. Talk about being cynical.

We had an opportunity. We still have an opportunity to come together and do something that will help all Americans. Instead, this is the best we can do, no promises to talk to the Senate, no nothing.

It is just frustrating because people are hurting, and it is not enough at the last minute to come up with a procedural vote that doesn't mean anything and all along having been opposed to the HEROES Act.

Mr. Speaker, it is unclear to me what this President would or would not sign. I am looking at a headline from CBS News: ``Trump said coronavirus `affects virtually nobody,' as U.S. surpasses 200,000 deaths.''

Talk about clueless here. We passed the HEROES Act to help our schools and our healthcare workers. We want to help our first responders. They are the heroes here.

Why is that such a controversial thing to do?

We wanted to pass the HEROES Act to provide more testing and tracing so we can contain this virus. We are doing that while the President of the United States is hosting superspreader events where people without masks are all bunched together.

We passed the HEROES Act to support families who are struggling to pay their rent, and we passed the HEROES Act to help small businesses.

It is time for my Republican friends to pick up the phone, call Senator McConnell, and ask him to sit down and negotiate a deal that helps the entirety of this country. I don't see why that is so controversial, yet they won't do it. They won't do it. This is cynical politics, pure and simple.

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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I understand why the gentlewoman doesn't want to talk about the past, because 4 months ago, she--as well as most Republicans--voted ``no'' on the HEROES Act. They voted to deny help to small businesses. They voted to deny help to our schools, to our healthcare workers, to our first responders.

Mr. Speaker, I get it. She and others are going to have to explain to their constituents why they did that, why they voted against the interests of their own constituents. So I get it.

But the bottom line is this: If my Republican friends want to help, pick up the phone and call their friend, Mitch McConnell, and ask him to get serious about negotiating a compromise here so we can help small businesses and also help our schools and our first responders and our healthcare workers.

Mr. Speaker, my friend just mentioned ``the least'' we can do. Well, this is not the time to do the least of anything. We are faced with a pandemic, haven't seen the likes of this since 1918. This is a big deal. It impacts every part of our economy. And they are talking about ``the least.''

Well, you know what? We have to help our small businesses; we have to help our schools. We have to protect our first responders and our healthcare workers. This impacts everybody. And the notion that they can't muster the political will to pick up the phone and ask the Senate to negotiate with us is really, really sad, and it is a disservice to the people of this country.

Mr. Speaker, I get it. Like everything in the HEROES Act--well, that is what a negotiation is for, you go back and forth, and you trade things off. I would argue everything in the HEROES Act is necessary and important.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge my colleagues to support the rule. It includes an important energy bill that will help us deal with the climate crisis, which is real--no matter what the President says, we have a climate crisis--and some human rights legislation as well, to stand up for the human rights of the Uyghurs, and make sure that no U.S. or international businesses are utilizing forced labor by the Chinese Government against the Uyghurs.

Mr. Speaker, again, we have a job to do here, and that is to provide relief during this pandemic. And it really is frustrating that my Republican friends have done nothing--done nothing--to help get us to a solution.

Mr. Speaker, I would urge all my colleagues to join with us in support of the rule and the underlying measure. Please vote ``yes'' on the previous question.

The material previously referred to by Mrs. Lesko is as follows: Amendment to House Resolution 1129

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 7. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 8265) to amend the Small Business Act and the CARES Act to establish a program for second draw loans and make other modifications to the paycheck protection program, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Small Business; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 8. Clause l(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 8265.
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