Providing for Consideration of the Senate Amendment to HR 3979, Protecting Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Responders Act of 2014; Providng for Consideration of HR 5759, Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014; and Providing for Consideration of HR 5781, California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014

Floor Speech

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Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman from Florida--who, by the way, Mr. Speaker, has three sons who serve or who have served in the United States military--who yesterday so adequately expressed really the concerns of not only a Member of Congress, a father, a proud American, but of a man who wants and needs America to lead in this world rather than follow.

Yesterday--or it turned into last night--in the Rules Committee, we spent a good bit of time that I think, Mr. Speaker, was very thoughtful, and on a bipartisan basis Members of this body expressed deep and dear reservations about actually where we are as a country, where our men and women are in harm's way, the mission and the purpose of what we are attempting to accomplish overseas.

Mr. Speaker, America has adversaries and also enemies. We have people who would do terrible things not just to their own people in foreign countries, but who want to engage the United States to draw us into further conflict. The United States is without, in my opinion, and I think others', a strategic and tactical plan that would effectively be understood by Congress and the American people.
Yesterday--that turned into last night--we had Members of this body on a bipartisan basis who showed up at the Rules Committee to politely and professionally express their reservations about our funding through the National Defense Authorization Act what is considered to be a year or 2-year long process of funding without a clear mark, a clear understanding, about what we are agreeing to.

Mr. Speaker, I found myself not just agreeing with the likes of Mr. McGovern and others who spoke about a need for us to know what we are doing, but I found great confidence when we had the gentleman from Colorado, Mike Coffman, who showed up and spoke about the unrelenting and unending fraud on behalf of other countries taking American tax dollars.

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The problem is that we are debating this without any real discussion because our friends on the other side of this building are not willing to engage us on the issue. So we are viewing this in a difficult way today.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. NUGENT. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. SESSIONS. I thank the gentleman from Florida, a member of the Rules Committee.

I want to show up and to say to you, Mr. Speaker, the American people, and Members--as they are trying to prepare for what we are attempting to do today with this document--that in January there is going to be a reorganization and discussion around this exact same issue where we will have a partner in the United States Senate with thoughtful content.

Mr. Speaker, I will end here. If the Chinese, the Russians, and the Iranians can establish a policy of where they are in these dangerous areas, the United States should also. We need leadership, and it will happen starting January 5.

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