July 24, 2019 - Issue: Vol. 165, No. 125 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 1st Session
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HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CUSTODY ACT; Congressional Record Vol. 165, No. 125
(House of Representatives - July 24, 2019)
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[Pages H7348-H7350] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] HUMANITARIAN STANDARDS FOR INDIVIDUALS IN CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION CUSTODY ACT The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further consideration of the bill (H.R. 3239) to require U.S. Customs and Border Protection to perform an initial health screening on detainees, and for other purposes, will now resume. The Clerk will report the title of the bill. The Clerk read the title of the bill. Motion to Recommit Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill? Mr. KINZINGER. I am in its current form. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion. The Clerk read as follows: Mr. Kinzinger moves to recommit the bill H.R. 3239 to the Committee on the Judiciary with instructions to report the same back to the House forthwith with the following amendment: Page 18, after line 10, add the following: SEC. 15. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of the Congress that the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol should be commended for continuing to carry out their duties in a professional manner, including caring for the extraordinarily high numbers of family units, unaccompanied alien children, and single adults processed in United States Customs and Border Protection facilities referenced in this Act. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from Illinois is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit is very simple. It affirms this Chamber's appreciation of and support for the men and women of the United States Border Patrol. We in this Chamber know that we can debate and disagree all day long every day, and we have more than enough issues to argue about on a regular basis, but this institution makes laws. We pass the laws, and we expect those laws to be carried out faithfully. This motion to recommit today is about recognizing the men and women of our U.S. Border Patrol who carry out the very laws that we pass for their hard work and for their dedication. Without question, we are facing a crisis on our southern border. Without question, we are facing a crisis on our southern border, and our facilities are overcrowded and overwhelmed. And lacking the resources, our personnel, our CBP agents are overworked, and I can tell you this because I saw it firsthand. Now, I didn't go in a windbreaker and get a photo op. I didn't start a livestream. Mr. Speaker, I went as a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard on a deployment to the mission in Arizona, to the border. And for me, going to Arizona with my unit in late February was a nice respite from the bitter cold of Illinois, but what I saw truly opened my eyes to the crisis at hand and the shortcomings that our CBP agents face with their limited resources. This, by the way, was my fourth deployment to the border, and it was only my first under President Trump. So what does that mean? Yes, that means that my three other border missions and my other deployments came under President Obama, who also saw the crisis at the border and the dire humanitarian concerns. In February, I watched from above as border agents struggled to thwart migrant groups that would systematically stagger their attempts to run and cross the open border. My fellow guardsmen shared their accounts of agents giving their last water bottles to dehydrated migrants. My fellow guardsmen shared various accounts, and one was about agents giving their last bottle of water as they came across people who were dehydrated and in a bad situation, often risking their own safety and their own health. While my mission was nice in February, today it is pretty hot out in the desert. These agents are still expected, by their oath and by the direction of the laws of this body, to walk miles through terrible terrain that, in many cases, cannot even be accessed by vehicles. They are often met with a foot chase, sometimes with multiple people or with dangerous cartel members. And sometimes this happens even at the end of their shift, so it means that later they are going to have to call home. They are going to have to tell their loved ones that they are not going to be home to tuck the kids in bed or say good night because duty calls. I listened to defeated Customs and Border Protection agents talk about the emotional and physical tolls that this crisis was taking on them and their family as they grappled with these impossible tasks, and more than once it was mentioned to me the toxic rhetoric used in describing them in many cases in terms reserved for just our enemies. I saw the compassion in a CBP agent during one of my missions as he helped a young woman we found in the desert to safety after she was left for dead by her cartel handlers because they got spooked and they ran and abandoned her. These coyotes work for the cartels, and these cartels make money on two primary products: people and drugs. Human lives are viewed as nothing more than commodities for them, and this is what I saw firsthand. This is what I experienced with the hardworking men and women of our border, who are often the first and only defense against such tragedy. And it is true, the CBP has effectuated over 3,800 migrant rescues so far this fiscal year risking their own lives to save others. If you remove CBP, you will cost lives. And maybe people don't want to believe that, maybe it doesn't fit a narrative, but it is an undeniable fact. We have placed an unprecedented burden on our agents asking them to handle some really tough things, and for that they have been villainized. The CBP's facilities were not designed as long-term or even short- term [[Page H7349]] shelters for families or children, and those resources to accommodate them and handle the influx are limited. If this Congress cannot agree to provide these agents the resources they need, as this bill fails to do, the least we can do is affirm our appreciation for their work. Agreeing to this motion to recommit will not impact the passage of this bill. Voting in favor of this MTR will not kill the bill that we are voting on here today. Today what we have is an opportunity and a moment in time to make a simple statement. This institution can leave politics aside and take this time to recognize the mothers and fathers, the brothers and sisters, the sons and daughters, the husbands and wives, our neighbors and the constituents we serve, the men and women of our U.S. Border Patrol working in these facilities every day. Let's show our support by rising above the fray of politics and vote in favor of this MTR. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the MTR. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from California is recognized for 5 minutes. Mr. RUIZ. Mr. Speaker, my bill, the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals in CBP Custody Act, honors CBP agents by giving them the assistance they have requested and so desperately need. This bill gives them the tools to help protect kids and families. You see, Mr. Speaker, this bill isn't about political trickery. It is not about partisan gotcha politics. This bill is about the goodness of the American people. This bill is a call to our better angels. This bill, and I say this wholeheartedly, is inspired through prayer and by God's loving grace. You see, it asks us to remember and heed the words of Jesus in the good news book of Matthew: ``For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed me in'', and, ``Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'' This bill asks us to fulfill the Golden Rule: ``Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.'' These principles, you see, are fundamental to our American values. They are shared by the CBP agents and doctors I spoke with at the border. This bill protects children, women, and families by setting humanitarian standards that require basic health screenings and triage, formula for infants, diapers for toddlers, and simple necessities like toothbrushes and soap. This bill also protects the health of our agents, proud Americans who work tirelessly in dangerous and inhumane conditions, who are also parents and suffer lifelong trauma when someone else's child dies under their responsibilities. Today, I stand before you not only as a public health professional and an emergency medicine physician trained in humanitarian aid, I stand before you as a parent of two young daughters. I stand before you as a patriot, whose faith in our American values, in the power of basic human decency, has never been stronger. Tonight's vote isn't about politics, it isn't about party, it isn't even about immigration policy. This vote is about the beauty and power of grace. This vote is about loving and protecting children, because in the United States of America, we recognize the inherent dignity of every human being, because in the United States of America, every child is worth saving, because in the United States of America, when children die on our watch, we take action. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the MTR, then vote ``yes'' for Humanitarian Standards for Individuals Under CBP Custody. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the noes appeared to have it. Recorded Vote Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 9 of rule XX, the Chair will reduce to 5 minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of passage. This is a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 239, noes 192, not voting 1, as follows: [Roll No. 506] AYES--239 Abraham Aderholt Allen Amash Amodei Armstrong Arrington Axne Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bergman Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Bost Brady Brindisi Brooks (AL) Brooks (IN) Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Byrne Calvert Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Case Chabot Cheney Cisneros Cline Cloud Cole Collins (GA) Collins (NY) Comer Conaway Cook Costa Cox (CA) Craig Crawford Crenshaw Cuellar Cunningham Curtis Davidson (OH) Davis, Rodney Delgado DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Duffy Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Ferguson Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flores Fortenberry Foxx (NC) Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Gianforte Gibbs Gohmert Golden Gonzalez (OH) Gonzalez (TX) Gooden Gosar Gottheimer Granger Graves (GA) Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Harder (CA) Harris Hartzler Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Holding Hollingsworth Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hudson Huizenga Hunter Hurd (TX) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) Kind King (IA) King (NY) Kinzinger Kustoff (TN) LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta Lee (NV) Lesko Levin (CA) Lipinski Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Luria Malinowski Marchant Marshall Massie Mast McAdams McBath McCarthy McCaul McClintock McHenry McKinley Meadows Meuser Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Mooney (WV) Moulton Mullin Murphy Newhouse Norman Nunes Olson Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Peters Peterson Phillips Porter Posey Ratcliffe Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rooney (FL) Rose (NY) Rose, John W. Rouzer Roy Rutherford Ryan Scalise Schrader Schweikert Scott, Austin Sensenbrenner Sherrill Shimkus Simpson Slotkin Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spanberger Spano Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Thornberry Timmons Tipton Torres Small (NM) Turner Underwood Upton Van Drew Vela Wagner Walberg Walden Walker Walorski Waltz Watkins Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Woodall Wright Yoho Young Zeldin NOES--192 Adams Aguilar Allred Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Boyle, Brendan F. Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Cartwright Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu, Judy Cicilline Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Courtney Crist Crow Cummings Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Engel Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Finkenauer Fletcher Foster Frankel Fudge Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gomez Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Hastings Hayes Heck Higgins (NY) Hill (CA) Himes Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Levin (MI) Lewis Lieu, Ted Loebsack Lofgren Lowenthal Lowey Lujan Lynch Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Matsui McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Moore Morelle Mucarsel-Powell Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Pingree Pocan Pressley Price (NC) [[Page H7350]] Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Richmond Rouda Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sires Smith (WA) Soto Speier Stanton Stevens Suozzi Swalwell (CA) Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Trahan Trone Vargas Veasey Velazquez Visclosky Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Wilson (FL) Yarmuth NOT VOTING--1 Gabbard {time} 2053 So the motion to recommit was agreed to. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to the instructions of the House on the motion to recommit, I report the bill, H.R. 3239, back to the House with an amendment. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Amendment offered by Ms. Lofgren: Page 18, after line 10, add the following: SEC. 15. SENSE OF CONGRESS. It is the sense of the Congress that the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol should be commended for continuing to carry out their duties in a professional manner, including caring for the extraordinarily high numbers of family units, unaccompanied alien children, and single adults processed in United States Customs and Border Protection facilities referenced in this Act. Ms. LOFGREN (during the reading). Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California? There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the amendment. The amendment was agreed to. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill. The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was read the third time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Recorded Vote Mr. KINZINGER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. This is a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--ayes 233, noes 195, not voting 4, as follows: [Roll No. 507] AYES--233 Adams Aguilar Allred Axne Barragan Beatty Bera Beyer Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Boyle, Brendan F. Brindisi Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Bustos Butterfield Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Cartwright Case Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chu, Judy Cicilline Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Cox (CA) Craig Crist Crow Cuellar Cummings Cunningham Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Engel Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Evans Finkenauer Fletcher Foster Frankel Fudge Gabbard Gallego Garamendi Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Golden Gomez Gottheimer Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Haaland Harder (CA) Hastings Hayes Heck Higgins (NY) Hill (CA) Himes Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Huffman Jackson Lee Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (TX) Kaptur Keating Kelly (IL) Kennedy Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim Kind Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lewis Lieu, Ted Lipinski Loebsack Lofgren Lowenthal Lowey Lujan Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Matsui McAdams McBath McCollum McEachin McGovern McNerney Meeks Meng Moore Morelle Moulton Mucarsel-Powell Murphy Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Norcross O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Omar Pallone Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Perlmutter Peters Peterson Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Rice (NY) Richmond Rose (NY) Rouda Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sherrill Sires Slotkin Smith (WA) Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stevens Suozzi Swalwell (CA) Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Titus Tlaib Tonko Torres (CA) Torres Small (NM) Trahan Trone Underwood Van Drew Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Visclosky Wasserman Schultz Waters Watson Coleman Welch Wexton Wild Wilson (FL) Yarmuth Young NOES--195 Abraham Aderholt Allen Amash Amodei Armstrong Arrington Babin Bacon Baird Balderson Banks Barr Bergman Biggs Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Bost Brady Brooks (AL) Brooks (IN) Buchanan Buck Bucshon Budd Burchett Burgess Byrne Calvert Carter (GA) Carter (TX) Chabot Cheney Cline Cloud Cole Collins (GA) Collins (NY) Comer Conaway Cook Crawford Crenshaw Curtis Davidson (OH) Davis, Rodney DesJarlais Diaz-Balart Duffy Duncan Dunn Emmer Estes Ferguson Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Flores Fortenberry Foxx (NC) Fulcher Gaetz Gallagher Gianforte Gibbs Gohmert Gonzalez (OH) Gooden Gosar Granger Graves (GA) Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green (TN) Griffith Grothman Guest Guthrie Hagedorn Hartzler Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hill (AR) Holding Hollingsworth Hudson Huizenga Hunter Hurd (TX) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Jordan Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Katko Keller Kelly (MS) Kelly (PA) King (IA) King (NY) Kinzinger Kustoff (TN) LaHood LaMalfa Lamborn Latta Lesko Long Loudermilk Lucas Luetkemeyer Marchant Marshall Massie Mast McCarthy McCaul McClintock McHenry McKinley Meadows Meuser Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Mooney (WV) Mullin Newhouse Norman Nunes Olson Palazzo Palmer Pence Perry Posey Ratcliffe Reed Reschenthaler Rice (SC) Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rooney (FL) Rose, John W. Rouzer Roy Rutherford Scalise Schweikert Scott, Austin Sensenbrenner Shimkus Simpson Smith (MO) Smith (NJ) Smucker Spano Stauber Stefanik Steil Steube Stewart Stivers Taylor Thompson (PA) Thornberry Timmons Tipton Turner Upton Wagner Walberg Walden Walker Walorski Waltz Watkins Weber (TX) Webster (FL) Wenstrup Westerman Williams Wilson (SC) Wittman Womack Woodall Wright Yoho Zeldin NOT VOTING--4 Bass Gonzalez (TX) Harris Smith (NE) {time} 2102 So the bill was passed. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. ____________________
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