Legislative Program
Floor Speech
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I rise for the purpose of inquiring of the majority whip the schedule for next week.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), my friend, the House majority whip.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, it was a special day for all of us that were there, not just to celebrate Joseph Rainey, but to have the Rainey family. You had direct descendants of Joseph Rainey, his great- granddaughter was there, as well as other relatives of Joseph Rainey to celebrate, especially during Black History Month, the first African American ever elected to the United States Congress, and to learn more about his history.
Someone who was born into slavery--something we talked about--only in America can someone born into slavery just a few years after the end of slavery be elected to the United States Congress and come up here and fight for equality. He had a great record for almost 10 years serving in Congress from the great State of South Carolina.
Now there is a room, the Joseph Rainey room, H-150, named after him. It was a truly special day, especially to have direct descendants of Joseph Rainey come to participate in that ceremony. I am happy to yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, as it relates to the funding of government, February 18 is the current date of expiration for government funding. As the gentleman knows, we are not scheduled to be in that week, so next week would be the last week that the House is scheduled to be in session prior to that date.
We haven't seen any agreement on a broader, long-term package. There has been some talk--we have been hearing there may be a short term CR brought forward next week.
Does the gentleman know if there is any anticipation of a continuing resolution to be brought forward next week, and if so, is there a length of time that is being anticipated if that legislation were to come forward next week?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. So we will determine whether or not that happens. If there is a date that the gentleman is aware of if there would be a short term--we would be interested in seeing that.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, hopefully those negotiations can escalate. As it relates to a few weeks from now, the State of the Union that was announced will be March 1, where President Biden will come here to this Chamber to give his annual State of the Union.
We know last year's State of the Union was a very different look in terms of a limited House Chamber. Does the gentleman know the protocols that are being planned for this year's State of the Union?
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, as we talk about the broader issues relating to opening things back up, hopefully we can get the House fully operating again, ending proxy voting, getting committees to meet in person again because across the country you are seeing more States open, more communities and businesses open.
If you just look this past weekend, you had red States, blue States-- in California you had the NFC Championship Game, over 73,000 people were in SoFi Stadium to watch that game. From all the footage you saw, very few people had masks on. You didn't hear of incidents, but you saw in the State of California 73,000 people gathered together. In Missouri, for the AFC Championship Game, again, over 73,000 people watching that game.
For those of us from LSU, as the gentleman knows real well, we are excited by Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, Shelvin, and other LSU Tigers going to the Super Bowl for the Bengals. To see that many people--and we would understand for the Super Bowl there will be over 73,000 people there as well.
Is there any reason why science changes in California or Missouri, and when you get to D.C. why we can't have a full House Chamber here? We have been hearing we might only get 25 tickets in a Chamber that typically holds over 500 for a State of the Union.
There is clearly no science that has come against what we saw in those stadiums with over 73,000 people. We would sure encourage that we open up the House Chamber, not to just the State of the Union but to voting in general, to getting the House functioning again, to show the rest of the country that is already getting there themselves that we should and can open back up again.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, as we have seen some more reports coming out, Johns Hopkins just came out with new reports that talk about, frankly, the detriments of shutting down. When you look at schools, especially, there is a lot of science that shows that kids that are in the classroom are not only learning better but having better health outcomes than in those schools that are shut down, where theoretically they are sitting alone by themselves which, as we know, that is not what is happening. You know, in a controlled environment it is actually better for those students than you are seeing in other environments.
If you are only looking at a silo of cases at a stadium, but you are not looking at cases that are going up in places that are shut down, you have got to look at the whole picture. I think too often some people have only cherry-picked data, and it has been at the detriment of the overall picture.
So the science ought to be clear and vivid in its description of what really is happening out there across the country in States that are fully open, in States that are more shut down. Again, red State, blue State, last weekend was a really good example that you can open things up again.
People are making choices. People know what is out there. Whether they are home alone, theoretically, they are still getting COVID in those places where things are shut down. So we would sure hope that the science would not just look at a silo but would look at the whole picture. Other scientists have done scientific studies like the Johns Hopkins report that just came out yesterday, they show there is a bigger picture.
We are hearing reports that there would be a limited number of tickets available. Maybe that is premature, but if the gentleman is saying that you are waiting on the doctor to make those recommendations, then maybe the number we were given a few days ago of 25 limitation is a premature number. Hopefully that opens up.
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, is there an expected date when that protocol will be released?
Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I am glad to hear the gentleman's update as well on the majority leader's health. We miss him here and look forward to seeing him back here. He has left things in very good hands with the majority whip, but we also look forward to the day when he returns, hopefully next week, and that is encouraging news to hear as well.
Madam Speaker, unless the gentleman has anything else, I am prepared to yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. SCALISE. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
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