Providing for Consideration of H.R. Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of and Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Denouncing the Biden Administration's Immigration Policies

Floor Speech

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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1071 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1071

Resolved, That at any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 6276) to direct the Administrator of General Services and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget to identify the utilization rate of certain public buildings and federally-leased space, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution. Each such further amendment may be offered 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, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. 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 one motion to recommit.

Sec. 2. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order without intervention of any point of order to consider in the House the resolution (H. Res. 1065) denouncing the Biden administration's immigration policies. The resolution shall be considered as read. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the resolution and preamble to adoption without intervening motion or demand for division of the question except one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.

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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), 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. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, the committee granted by a recorded vote of 9-3 a rule providing for consideration of H.R. 6276, the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023, and H. Res. 1065, Denouncing the Biden Administration's Immigration Policies.

The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 6276, the Utilizing Space Efficiently and Improving Technologies Act of 2023, under a structured rule.

The rule further provides for consideration of H. Res. 1065, Denouncing the Biden Administration's Immigration Policies, under a closed rule.

The rule provides that upon adoption of the resolution, it shall be in order, without intervention of any point of order, to consider H. Res. 1065.

Finally, the rule provides 1 hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on the Judiciary or their respective designees.

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Mr. MASSIE. The first step in solving a problem is to acknowledge that it exists. The other side of the aisle is having a problem with that because that is what this resolution does. It describes the problem.

The second part of solving a problem is to look at what the source of the problem is. That is what this resolution does. The other side of the aisle is having a problem with that.

In fact, today, they opened the debate by simply complaining that this is a House Resolution and not a House bill, but this is a House Resolution full of facts, inconvenient facts to this administration.

This administration, since the beginning, has passed 94 executive orders repealing border security measures that were in place and that has attracted 9.3 million illegal immigrants to our borders.

This is a problem that exists. The other side of the aisle needs to quit denying that it exists, and they need to quit trying to change the topic to Ukraine.

The topic today is these two bills. First among them is the resolution that draws attention to the problem at the border and lists specifically the things that this President could do to fix it.

Mr. Speaker, I note my colleagues on the other side of the aisle said, when the majority recites the names of the victims of illegal immigration and illegal immigrants and the criminals who are coming across our border, that those victims are props.

I resent that. I really do because the other side of the aisle then proceeded in the next measure of the debate to enter names of victims who had been killed by criminals using guns.

Let's just agree today that when we honor the names of people who have suffered at the hands of criminals, whether they be domestic or illegal immigrants--sadly, as so many are now--we don't call them props.

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Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time remains on both sides?

Mr. Speaker, during his first 100 days in office, President Biden took 94 executive actions on immigration, including halting construction of the border wall.

In August of 2022, the Biden administration formally halted President Trump's successful remain in Mexico program.

In May of 2023, the administration announced that it would allow for the release of some migrants into the U.S. with no way to track them.

The Biden administration also ended title 42, the CDC order that allowed the Department of Homeland Security to remove noncitizens who did not have proper travel documentation, whose entry was otherwise contrary to law, or who were apprehended at or near the border seeking unlawful entry into the United States without regard to asylum claims or proceedings.

Shortly after taking office, President Biden terminated the asylum cooperative agreements with Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to facilitate cooperation in resolving the migration crisis.

The Biden administration has also abused its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to grant parole on a case-by-case basis and has instead used this authority to grant mass parole to over 1 million migrants.

The Biden administration has also failed to detain migrants encountered at the southern border and has failed to use its authority to perform expedited removal of individuals illegally present in the United States.

As a result, since President Biden took office, 9.3 million illegal aliens from all over the world have arrived at the southern border. The Biden administration has allowed at least 6.3 million illegal aliens to travel from the southern border to enter American communities.

This is a tragedy. We need to call attention to it.

President Biden says there is nothing he can do. Well, I have just listed a number of things that he has done to create this crisis, and further in this debate I will talk about some of the things that he can do, that we know he can do, things that are stated in the resolution contained in this rule to end this national security, legal, and humanitarian crisis at our border.

Mr. Speaker, the Rules Committee resolution that we are debating today provides for the consideration of two pieces of very important legislation.

The first is a commonsense bill that says if the government is heating, lighting, renting, and maintaining empty buildings where employees don't show up for work, let's do something about that. Let's find out how bad this problem is.

We believe that there are over 17 agencies with occupancy of less than 25 percent. This isn't green. I thought the other side of the aisle was green. It is not green to heat empty buildings and to light empty buildings when nobody shows up for work.

COVID is over. Either come to work or don't come to work, but let's not keep these buildings open if nobody is in them.

That is the first bill, which was introduced by my friend from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry).

The second piece of legislation that is in this rule is very critical. It stands in sharp contrast to the State of the Union Address that we heard just last week in this Chamber where the President got up and said there was nothing he could do.

Well, this resolution has a lot of inconvenient facts that refute the proposition of the President that he can't do anything. Not only can he do something, the things that he has done by executive order, over 94 of them, have been hurtful to the security of this country.

We are seeing illegal immigrants drawn like a magnet to this country because of the things that President Biden has done.

The resolution begins with a bunch of statements of facts, such as the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security created this problem at the border, the worst in the Nation's history, and, beginning on day one, systematically dismantled effective border security measures and interior immigration enforcement.

This resolution closes by resolving that there are seven things the President can do to end this crisis: one, end the catch and release policy; two, reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols; three, enter into asylum cooperative agreements; four, end abuses of parole authority; five, detain inadmissible aliens; six, use expedited removal authority; and seven, rein in taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal aliens.

He could do all of these things tomorrow, and that is why it is important to pass this resolution, to draw attention to the problem so that it can be fixed, and to state what the solutions are.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this rule, and I urge my colleagues to vote for it.

The text of the material previously referred to by Mr. McGovern is as follows: An Amendment to H. Res. 1071 Offered by Mr. McGovern of Massachusetts

At the end of the resolution, add the following:

Sec. 3. Immediately upon adoption of this resolution, the House shall proceed to the consideration in the House of the bill (H.R. 16) to authorize the cancellation of removal and adjustment of status of certain aliens, 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 the Judiciary or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 4. Clause 1(c) of rule XIX shall not apply to the consideration of H.R. 16.
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