Waiving Requirement of Clause 6(a) of Rule XIII with Respect to Consideration of Certain Resolutions Reported from the Committee on Rules and Relating to Consideration of Senate Amendment to H.R. 2642, Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013

Floor Speech

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 361 provides this body with an expedited procedure necessary to ensure that all legislation needed to prevent a government shutdown can be expeditiously considered without delay. That is why we are here today, Mr. Speaker.

Additionally, this resolution allows for consideration of legislation designed to ensure that our government does not default on its debt obligations.

Finally, House Resolution 361 provides the necessary framework to move forward with consideration of the farm bill, with our friends in the Senate.

Mr. Speaker, at midnight on Monday, just 2 days from now, the Federal Government would shut down if Congress does not act to provide the necessary appropriations. There are varying schools of thought on what these appropriations should look like, but I believe that all Members, regardless of party affiliation, are united in the understanding that a government shutdown is detrimental to this Nation and to the American people.

Over the next couple of days, there will be much deliberation over how to appropriately fund this effort and the government. This resolution before us today is necessary to ensure that once a decision is reached, this body can quickly react without undue delay to prevent a government shutdown.

I recognize that this is an important time, as do all of my colleagues. Even the House Chaplain is here on the floor of the House today because he has great expectations that we, as a body, can work together to do the things that will ensure that our government is seen in the light by the American people as doing the right thing for them, because that is what our job and our oath of office is, to make sure that the American people are protected and that we, as one Nation under God, will move forward together.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

With great respect for the gentleman from Massachusetts, we have been debating these issues for a long, long time--not just the closed rule and the way that the ObamaCare bill was rushed to the floor of the House in March a couple of years ago, but since then, a complete denial about what really the real impact of ObamaCare is.

And the gentleman is right, the gentleman is absolutely correct: Republicans, 100 percent of us, are absolutely opposed to ObamaCare. But there are reasons why. It's not some narrow political ideology. In fact, it's reality.

And the reality is--and I will lay these out in several different formats, Mr. Speaker, just to make it easy for the American people to understand what we're talking about--the cost to taxpayers. And I know we were told there won't be any cost to taxpayers; but, in fact, there was a $716 billion cut to Medicare. That means senior care. This ObamaCare cuts seniors' care. It takes $716 billion out of Medicare to pay for ObamaCare. That's wrong. That is taking this out on America's seniors.

Next, there will be $1.8 billion that we know about that we will be spending over the next decade alone to fund ObamaCare.

The cost to families. I'm from Dallas, Texas. On average, Texas families face a potential premium increase from 5 to 43 percent in the individual market and a 23 percent increase for small groups. That's the little bit that we know about the announcement that came out the other day. It could be up to a 43 percent increase.

The cost to employers. Well, the cost to employers is also a cost to their workers. It's a cost to the economy. It's a cost to stock prices, which people have their pensions in. Recently, Delta Airlines announced that ObamaCare will cost the company $100 million in increased premiums in just 1 year. That's a huge cost, $100 million.

The impact on health insurance coverage. Americans are losing their current health insurance. Employers have begun dropping spouses from their health insurance. Just last week, UPS also announced an extra 15,000 spouses of its employees will be dropped from their health insurance plan.

ObamaCare's impact on American jobs: fewer jobs. According to the CBO, ObamaCare will shrink employment by .5 percent. Well, let's see what that does. It doesn't just decrease it by .5 percent. It really means that full-time workers are becoming part-time workers directly as a result of ObamaCare. ObamaCare puts 3.2 million jobs at risk in the franchise industry alone. Fewer hours and more part-time jobs. Since ObamaCare was passed, there have been seven part-time jobs created for every one full-time job.

That's simple. I get that. As a former employer, I understood if you put rules and regulations on who is required to pay for full-time workers, they simply understood that and ducked out by hiring part-time employees. Full-time growth has only expanded by .23 percent. That's two-tenths of 1 percent since ObamaCare has passed.

This is not the direction America ought to be going. The Republican Party is opposed to ObamaCare. We are here on the floor of the House of Representatives again; and I think we are gathering support across the lines of the American people, including union leaders who say this is the wrong way to go.

I don't know that this is the last time to say ``no.'' But we are taking every opportunity we can, as the Republican Party, to say that where we are headed with this costly health care change, which will diminish and destroy America's greatest health care system in the world, is what we are going to stand up for.

Mr. Speaker, I believe that the facts of the case are a daunting task for our American economy to overcome. And that's why the Republican Party, the party of full-time jobs and careers, is on the floor of the House of Representatives, thoughtfully articulating here and to the American people about why we're doing what we're doing.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Ten days ago, we had a debate on this floor where we heard about what the Republican Party was doing: Taking food away from disabled people; that's not true. Today, we hear about how Republicans want to repeal all laws that are related to clean water, clean air, all of these onerous things that they talk about; not true. We're for clean water; we're for clean air.

I, myself, and many of my colleagues, are outdoorsmen who believe in not only the wilderness of this country but also the freedoms that come with that. We're for clean water and clean air, but we're not for the rules and regulations that kill jobs like the Democrats' war on coal, and that's when Republicans do stand up, Mr. Speaker. We stand up and say: We're not going to tolerate taking away our constitutional rights nor the rights of free people to have their jobs by rules and regulations that are based upon premises that just aren't even true, that cannot stand the test of sound science.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Burgess), who is one of the brightest Members of our body and who also sits on the Rules Committee.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I appreciate the gentlewoman's arguments that she makes on the floor, but the facts of the case are the facts of the case.

ObamaCare took $716 billion out of Medicare to fund ObamaCare. Secondly, since ObamaCare was passed, there have been seven part-time jobs added for every one new full-time job added.

We cannot pay for this bill. It is nonsustaining, and it's harming America and its future. That's why Republicans are here, gathering in strength and in numbers with resolve again today.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McGOVERN. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, it's pretty clear what's going on here today. My Republican friends didn't get their way so now they're throwing a tantrum.

I see many more Members on the floor today as these speeches have gone on. I'm just curious: Can anybody enlighten us on what in fact happened in your secret conference, what we're going to vote on? I think the American people would like to know.

I yield to anybody if they can tell me one fact that has been decided.

I guess nobody wants to tell us.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

There's a lot of words that are coming out of my friends' mouths about a secret meeting, about things that are happening, like they can't figure it out.

Mr. Speaker, right behind me are going to be 230 strong Republican Members of Congress who were in a meeting where we, with great resolve, saw the future of this country. They saw it not only the same way, but we're going to do our job.

I think the height of irresponsibility is any of these two bodies sending their Members home. Speaker John Boehner has the Republican Members of Congress who are here, ready, willing, and able to vote.

And you're right, you did hear these Members gathering together with excitement about helping our future, helping the American people. That's why we're here today. We're proud to be Republicans. We're proud to be Americans, one Nation under God.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, we have our Republican majority Members here ready, willing, and able not just to do the work of the American people, but to do the things that will make sense about our future for the next generation of Americans.

I am through with any speakers that we now have and would reserve the balance of my time for the gentleman to close and use his time as he chooses.

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. In fact, I will confine my remarks to you, Mr. Speaker, because we appreciate your great service. We also know that you represent John Boehner, our great Speaker, who has Republican Members here today to do the business of the American people. We are not a body that cuts and runs; we're a body that stays here and gets our work done.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.

The gentleman from Massachusetts asked and made a point about same-day rules. In fact, Democrats in the 110th Congress were faced with this circumstance 17 times; in the 111th Congress, 26 times. It becomes normal and regular that you have to be here to get your work done, and that is what we're doing.

Mr. Speaker, plain and simple: the Republican Party is here today because we are opposed to ObamaCare and the big government that comes behind it. We're opposed to what it is doing not just to the American people and our economy, but taking freedom away from people and making us more reliant upon the Federal Government. Less pride and freedom will be available in America if we do not do something about it.

The cost is simple. The cost means that we're finding that $716 billion was taken by the Democrats out of senior care in ObamaCare to fund the ObamaCare issue. The bottom line is, since ObamaCare was passed, there have been seven part-time jobs created for every one full-time job. That is not a future that we are going to stand with. The Republican Party is here in strength and numbers today.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution.

The previous question was ordered.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the resolution.

The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it.

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