Providing for Consideration of H.R. Rights for the Transportation Security Administration Workforce Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of Providing for Consideration of H.R. Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of and Providing for Consideration of H.R. Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, and for Other Purposes
Floor Speech
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1097 and ask for its immediate consideration.
The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1097
Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 903) to enhance the security operations of the Transportation Security Administration and stability of the transportation security workforce by applying the personnel system under title 5, United States Code, to employees of the Transportation Security Administration who provide screening of all passengers and property, and for other purposes. 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 Homeland Security now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-40, 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) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security or their respective designees; (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.
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 Homeland Security 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 Homeland Security 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. 2499) to amend chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to create a presumption that a disability or death of a Federal employee in fire protection activities caused by any of certain diseases is the result of the performance of such employees duty, and for other purposes. 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 Education and Labor now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-41, modified by the amendment printed in part C 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) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their respective designees; (2) the further amendments described in section 6 of this resolution; (3) the amendments en bloc described in section 7 of this resolution; and (4) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 6. After debate pursuant to section 5 of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 7 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. 7. It shall be in order at any time after debate pursuant to section 5 of this resolution for the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part D 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 Education and Labor or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 8. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc described in section 7 of this resolution are waived.
Sec. 9. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 5129) to amend the Community Services Block Grant Act to reauthorize and modernize the Act. 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 Education and Labor now printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 117-42, modified by the amendment printed in part E 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) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor or their respective designees; (2) the further amendments described in section 10 of this resolution; (3) the amendments en bloc described in section 11 of this resolution; and (4) one motion to recommit.
Sec. 10. After debate pursuant to section 9 of this resolution, each further amendment printed in part F of the report of the Committee on Rules not earlier considered as part of amendments en bloc pursuant to section 11 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. 11. It shall be in order at any time after debate pursuant to section 9 of this resolution for the chair of the Committee on Education and Labor or his designee to offer amendments en bloc consisting of further amendments printed in part F 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 Education and Labor or their respective designees, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
Sec. 12. All points of order against the further amendments printed in part F of the report of the Committee on Rules or amendments en bloc described in section 11 of this resolution are waived.
Sec. 13. House Resolution 1096 is hereby adopted.
Sec. 14. House Resolution 188, agreed to March 8, 2021 (as most recently amended by House Resolution 1065, agreed to April 28, 2022), is amended by striking ``May 13, 2022'' each place it appears and inserting (in each instance) ``June 10, 2022''.
Sec. 15. Notwithstanding clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on a vote by the yeas and nays on the question of adoption of a motion that the House suspend the rules offered on the legislative day of May 10, 2022, or May 11, 2022, may be postponed through the legislative day of May 18, 2022.
Sec. 16. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 7691) making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the situation in Ukraine for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2022, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The amendment printed in part G 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) one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Minnesota (Mrs. Fischbach), 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. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I ask for unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks.
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, today the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1097, providing for consideration H.R. 903, the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act under a structured rule. It provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Homeland Security. It self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairman Thompson, makes in order eight amendments, and provides for one motion to recommit.
The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 2499 and H.R. 5129 under structured rules. It provides 1 hour of debate for each equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Education and Labor. It self-executes manager amendments from Chairman Scott to both bills. It makes in order 8 amendments and 17 amendments respectively, and it provides for one motion to recommit for both bills.
The rule provides en bloc authority to Chairmen Thompson and Scott.
Further, the rule provides for consideration of H.R. 7691, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 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 Appropriations. The rule self-executes a manager's amendment from Chairwoman DeLauro and provides one motion to recommit.
The rule also deems passage of H. Res. 1096, a resolution, Recognizing Congressional Workers' Right to Organize.
The rule also provides recess instructions, suspension authority, and same-day authority through June 10.
Finally, the rule postpones requested roll call votes on suspension bills considered on May 10 and May 11 through May 18.
Madam Speaker, the rule contains five essential points of action.
H.R. 903, the Rights for the TSA Workforce Act of 2021: This legislation seeks to afford TSA employees similar rights, protections, and benefits afforded to most other Federal workers across the country in order to improve the agency's operations, workforce retention, and morale.
H.R. 2499 is the bipartisan Federal Firefighters Fairness Act of 2022. This legislation establishes a science-based list of diseases for which an automatic presumption of work-related illness would apply for Federal firefighters who get sick, provided that they are employed in fire protection activities for at least 5 years. It also establishes a process for adding other diseases based on scientific data and analysis going forward.
H.R. 5129 is the bipartisan Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022. It reauthorizes and improves the popular and effective community services block grant program to help reach even more Americans, provide more community development across the country, and further reduce poverty.
The rule also contains a resolution recognizing the right of congressional staff to unionize.
Finally, it includes H.R. 7691, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022. Madam Speaker, generations to come will look back at this moment to ask: What did our generation do when Vladimir Putin and his army invaded the sovereign nation of Ukraine and tried not only to crush its democracy and violate the spirit of its people but vaporize and annex the entire nation?
Well, today, let future generations observe the Biden administration and a bipartisan Congress has not only already provided more than $4 billion in security assistance to Ukraine, almost all of it coming after the February 24 invasion, but today, we are voting to provide nearly $40 billion to address the immediate and near-term security, economic, and humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people that are urgent and desperate.
We will provide $6 billion for training, equipment, weapons, logistics support, supplies, salaries and stipends, and intelligence support; $4.35 billion in emergency food assistance, medical equipment, and other humanitarian aid; and billions more for humanitarian relief for the millions of refugees displaced by Putin's violence and bombardment of communities in Ukraine.
The aid that we vote on today will come with the fervent solidarity, admiration, and love of the American people. We are in awe of President Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian people, and their army. They have been hanging tough against terrible odds and terrible violence in a splendid display of democratic patriotism for their country. Their resolve is heroic, and it is breathtaking to behold.
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Spanberger).
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Madam Speaker, the gentleman asks us to justify the use of American resources in supporting our democratic allies in Ukraine.
How would we justify the use of these resources?
Well, let's start with this. The Ukrainian people and President Zelenskyy have asked for our help. They have asked for these resources, and they need these resources in order to beat back a brutal, bloody, and illegal innovation by Vladimir Putin, who is violating the laws of war on a daily basis.
They have killed thousands of civilians, they have killed more than 150 children, murdering them, and his Army is raping and killing women, leaving their corpses in the street.
So we have a democracy trying to defend its sovereign borders against an autocrat who wants to rebuild the Russian empire, Vladimir Putin, the former chief of the KGB, who said that the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century was the collapse of the Soviet Union.
We were hoping that we would have a unanimous, bipartisan statement today in favor of aid to the besieged people of Ukraine. Instead, we get more voices of defeatism, pessimism, and gloom.
We have heard it before. We heard Representative Cawthorn who said: Remember that Zelenskyy is a thug, remember that the Ukrainian Government is incredibly corrupt, and is incredibly evil and has been pushing woke ideologies.
We heard from Steve Bannon who said: No Republican should vote for any money for Ukraine, zero dollars for Ukraine.
We are hearing it from other candidates around the country, J.D. Vance, who says: I have got to be honest with you; I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.
Madam Speaker, the democratic world is under siege by Vladimir Putin and his filthy army, which is murdering children, raping women, killing civilians. Which side are we on?
The Biden administration is rallying the democratic world, rallying the NATO countries. We should be standing on a unanimous, bipartisan basis with the people of Ukraine.
Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, here is a formula for the destruction of democracy: Repeating Putin's propaganda and disinformation and appeasing imperialist assaults on sovereign nations.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Green).
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Doggett).
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, the very distinguished gentlewoman from Colorado called the President of the United States, or likened him to, I think she said, a lying, dog-faced pony soldier.
We obviously could have taken those words down, but we have serious business to do here, and unlike some of our colleagues on the other side, we are not interested in censoring other people's speech. We want the whole world to see how the gentlewoman from Colorado speaks in public as a Member of Congress. We want everyone to look at that.
Meantime, we have come here tonight, Madam Speaker, to fight for the rights of the TSA workforce. More than 50,000 workers. We are giving them the same rights that other Federal workers have. We came here to fight for the rights of Federal firefighters, tens of thousands of them, who will be able to benefit from this legislation if and when they get sick from illnesses caused by their work as firefighters.
We came here to expand and improve the Community Services Block Grant Modernization Act of 2022, a bipartisan piece of legislation. Despite what was said about it on the other side, I believe there were eight Members of the minority who voted for it in the House Education and Labor Committee.
We are here to recognize the right of congressional staff to unionize, and we are here most significantly, Madam Speaker, on the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act.
It is for that act that the antics and the diatribes of our colleagues are so profoundly disappointing to those of us who have come here to support President Zelenskyy and the heroic people of Ukraine who are resisting a brutal, illegal aggression by Vladimir Putin and his army.
And we were hoping that we would have a bipartisan, unanimous support for this legislation to render the military and strategic economic and humanitarian aid that our democratic allies need, and they are asking for and deserve, to fight off this illegal criminal aggression by Vladimir Putin, who is not a genius but a war criminal and a mass murderer. That is what he is.
We are very proud of the work that President Biden has been doing in unifying the democratic world against the autocrat Vladimir Putin and his naked, bloody aggression against the people of Ukraine, which has cost the lives of thousands of civilians already. We have seen the war crime of rape spread at the hands of Russian's filthy soldiers, and we have seen them kill children, blow up schools and hospitals.
We don't see anything remotely like the seriousness and the solemnity that we would expect of Members of the United States Congress. Instead, they put up profanity, they mock the President of the United States, they make a disgrace of their own party by the way they behave on the floor of the House of Representatives.
Madam Speaker, Vladimir Putin and his cheerleaders all over the world thought they would make quick work of the people of Ukraine and President Zelenskyy. They only had supplies for less than a week. Everybody thought it was just going to be game over, as some of our colleagues have said; that Vladimir Putin would just cut right through them.
But you know what they weren't counting on, Madam Speaker? They weren't counting on the spirit of a democratic people, the noble people of Ukraine who have heroically resisted every criminal aggressive act by Vladimir Putin and his autocratic cheerleaders around the world.
So today, 2\1/2\ months later, President Biden, having rallied the democratic world, having unified NATO, comes back to us and asks for nearly $40 billion in aid to support the strategic needs, the security needs, the economic needs, the humanitarian needs of a population that is reeling from the war.
Madam Speaker, we say the American people are here to support the Ukrainian people. That is what we are doing here tonight.
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Mr. RASKIN. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Our colleagues don't seem to want to talk about the chaos and the violence and the bloodshed that has been unleashed on the people of Ukraine. I am really shocked that they don't want to talk about it, but they want to talk about free speech.
Great. Let's talk about free speech in Russia.
More than 15,000 people arrested and detained as they crush the antiwar movement in Russia, as he jails political opponents in Russia. And they haven't said a word about that.
Have they said anything about the opponents of the war in Russia who have been thrown into jail? No.
They are talking about a board in America that I wasn't even aware existed--I am not sure it does--that has never thrown anybody in a jail.
How do they feel about Russian critics of the war being thrown into jail? How do they feel about more than 8 million Ukrainians who have been displaced by the war, who are living in the homes of the Polish people who have heroically opened their doors to them? They say nothing about that.
Do they think that Vladimir Putin is the leader of a democracy?
Is there any one of them who will stand up and say that Vladimir Putin is an autocrat, an authoritarian, a would-be totalitarian?
Do any of them remember that Vladimir Putin was the head of the KGB?
Is that their ideal model for civil liberties? Vladimir Putin, who said that the collapse of the Soviet Union is the greatest catastrophe of the 20th century?
Is this Abraham Lincoln's party we are hearing today? Or is it a cult of Donald Trump?
Madam Speaker, we have to decide which side America is going to be on. The democratic world has risen as one to support the people of Ukraine, and yet, our friends don't seem to want to talk about that. They don't want to seem to support this effort, which is extraordinary to me, as the people of Ukraine are doing whatever they can to fight this naked, illegal aggression, this unilateral war of aggression; unprovoked, unjustified, a violation of international law in every way.
Madam Speaker, it is incumbent upon us as the leader of the democratic world, if that is still what we want to be, to support democracies under attack by authoritarian regimes.
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