Hoyer Testifies Before the Rules Committee on the Need to Fund the Government, Address Critical End-of-the-Year Priorities
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Press Release
For Immediate Release:
December 21, 2017
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Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) testified before the House Rules Committee on the need for Republicans to work with Democrats to responsibly fund the government and address a number of critical end-of-the-year priorities, including the DREAM Act. Below is a transcript of his remarks and a link to the video:
“Hanukkah just came to a close, we are four days from Christmas, and we are nine days from the end of the year. And much of the work this Congress needs to do isn’t done. And so we find ourselves some 36 hours from shutting down our government. And until late last night, perhaps early this morning, we on our side had no idea of exactly what’s going to be proposed. We are now here at the Rules Committee at 8:00 a.m. in the morning to decide what we’re going to do this afternoon, and we have not been included in the discussions, and that’s unfortunate.
“Clearly, we need to address many issues Leader Pelosi has spoken on. We have not passed a single appropriations bill [to send] to the President of the United States. [Democrats are] not in control of anything. Not a single appropriation bill has gone to the President of the United States. Not one. Yes, we passed some through the House. In fact, all of them through the House, but the Republican Leader did not put a single one on the Senate Floor.
“So we find ourselves not only with no appropriations bills funded, but we also find ourselves with no agreement on the levels of spending we will address. The caps. We’ve been urging to come to an agreement, and we had an agreement under Ryan-Murray four years in a row that said we would have parity. Parity seems pretty simple, two plus two, two and two, or whatever number is chosen is parity. But we have been unable to reach an agreement. So we find ourselves here with not only no appropriations bills done, but no guidance to the Appropriations Committee at what level they should fund their legislation. We need to make agreement. So we find ourselves again with less than 48 hours to go.
“We voted for a CR, overwhelmingly. It was a no-drama CR in the middle of September which allowed us to have 90 days with which to resove the issues that confronted us and, frankly, the only thing considered was a tax bill, which we think is a disaster. You think it’s a growth spurt to the economy, we have a difference in opinion on that. But that’s what we spent our time on. We did not solve any of the substantive issues in those 90 days.
“And so we had another CR two weeks ago. We didn’t vote for it because, correctly, the only thing that was going to be paid attention to was the tax bill. And none of the issues, for which you voted for a CR, you got 90 of your people back because they thought it was just two weeks and it wouldn’t really damage defense as much as they thought it would in September when they voted against it. 90 of your colleagues. CR would not have passed, that 90 days, we would have had a crisis in September had Democrats not stepped up to the bar and said okay, let’s work together, let’s get these issues resolved. You didn’t do that. You spent all of your time on your tax bill. The previous ten months you spent most of your time repealing the Affordable Care Act and taking health care away from millions of people.
“So we have some very significantly different policy issues, but we need to come to an agreement, and we have no confidence that any extension will get us to further agreement. Mr. Cole, Ms. Pelosi, and I – we served on the Appropriations Committee, we came to agreements. We have come to no agreement, so once again we find ourselves kicking the can down the road. We’re not going to tell Defense what money they’ll have in the next eight or nine months. We’re not going to tell the Department of Energy; Department of Labor, Health, and Human Services; Department of State; Department of Commerce; other departments of government or agencies - we’re not going to tell them how they can plan for the next nine months. Any business that did that would go bankrupt in a short period of time. It is a terrible way to run the government of the United States or any other enterprise. So we find ourselves here, no closer to agreement, frankly, than we have been in the first 11 months.
“Now, I have had discussions with your Majority Leader, our Majority Leader, with whom I deal in a constructive way on many issues, and I told him there were a number of issues we felt were necessary in order for us to participate in helping the majority party, which has had extraordinary difficulty running this government. You’re a deeply divided party. We saw that last night on the Floor of the House of Representatives. I don’t know whether you’ve resolved those differences or not, but it’s clear that without our participation in September, you would not have passed a CR. The government would have shut down.
“But we hoped during that time we would have had some ability to work together. I told the Majority Leader, as long ago as August, that the DREAM Act had to be resolved. The President took an action in September that your Speaker urged him not to do. As a result, it put at risk some 800,000, really 1.6 million, young people who have grown up in America who believe America is their country; have gone to elementary, junior high, and high school; have worked in jobs; have gone to school; have served in our military. And they’re twisting in the wind.
“Rush Limbaugh said we’re not going to send those kids home. We’ve said we’re not going to send those kids home. The President says he loves the DREAMers. There is no excuse for us not having put a bill on the Floor to resolve this issue. Over 300 Members of the Congress of the United States will vote on that when you put it on the Floor. So the only reason it’s not on the Floor is because the leadership has refused to do so. That was very important to us. I’ve talked to the Leader over and over again and I raised it in colloquy over and over again.
“Opioids, as the Leader has spoken of, and VA choice – we should have resolved that issue. Perkins loans – we should have resolved that issue. Community health centers – we should have resolved that issue. Medicare extenders – we should have resolved that issue. Fire grants – we should have resolved that issue. And yes, the DREAMers as well.
“And here we find ourselves less than 48 hours before the end of the current CR, and nothing has been resolved. No discussions have led to resolution of these issues. Everybody’s reading their phones, perhaps what I’m saying is not relevant. But on our side, we feel it is relevant, and you have needed our votes almost every fiscal issue that has passed this House because so many of your Members – you have over 218, you can pass whatever you want on your own, and you passed the tax bill on your own. So when you want to pass things on your own , you create consensus to do so. But on almost every fiscal issue – one fiscal issue that John Boehner, Mr. McCarthy, and Mr. Scalise asked you to vote on – actually it was Mr. Boehner, Mr. Cantor and Mr. McCarthy, you got 84 votes to join the three of them to keep the government open. And over 125 of your members voted no, not to keep the government open. And the Director of the OMB voted not to open up the government when you shut it down for 16 days.
“So I come before the committee saying, if you’re going to offer a Rule that’s going to make in order some amendments, some alternatives, if you expect our help, you ought to put in things that we think are important and will have a significant number of Republicans voting with us, including, I presume, many of you. I don’t know that.
“So I come before you saying you have 36 hours to keep the government open. [Democrats] don’t have the votes to keep the government open, and we don’t have the votes to shut the government down. And the American people have given you the responsibility to do that. If you’ve got the votes, you don’t need to talk to us. But if you don’t have the votes, we really need to come together in a bipartisan way to be the responsible steward of this government.
“So I would urge you to include, initially, an amendment, which says that those DREAMers will no longer be twisting in the wind, and that we will give them the assurances that the President of the United States says that he will sign to give them. It’s not a question of the President of the United States saying I’m going to veto that bill. He said he would sign the bill. He said it to Leader Pelosi and Leader Schumer, and he said it to the world. We think that needs to be in there. We think we need to deal with the VA. We think we need to deal with FISA. We need to deal with this in a constructive, bipartisan way. And if we don’t, don’t look to us for help, because we’re not included, we’re shut out. As the tax bill, no hearings, no witnesses, and a conference that was a fraud. The only thing that Democrats did in that tax conference was make a statement. No amendments, no suggestions. That’s not regular order, but much more than that it’s not fair. It’s not what the American people expect of us.
“So I come to you, certainly, asking for that amendment. I ask as well because I understand you’re considering the supplemental – your tax bill and the supplemental undermines Puerto Rico – 3.5 million, 3.6 million Americans – as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. They still have 35% of the people in Puerto Rico without electricity. If 35% of the people of Houston were without electricity, it would be a national scandal. You would all be outraged, you would not allow it to happen. And the tax bill treats Puerto Rico as a foreign government. They are Americans, fully a part of the United States of America. And if they want to come to Florida or anywhere else, they come. Why? Because they’re Americans. So we believe the supplemental needs to be revised in a way that treats Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands as full partners of the United States of America, not as foreign governments.
“So I thank you Mr. Chairman for this opportunity. I would ask that I submit a Dear Colleague, which has been sent by Tim Walz, to colleagues, expressing his deep concern about the extension of the VA Choice Act, which he thinks will undermine the VA because it’s not a full bill dealing with the needs of the VA and veterans’ access to health care, doctors, beds, etc. I would ask, Mr. Chairman, that that be included in the record this time.
“And last, in closing, I would say I really do believe we can do some very good work if we do it in a bipartisan way. Will I have to give something? Yes. Will you have to give something? Yes. That’s the democratic process. You’re not pursuing that, and that’s why we find ourselves in this conundrum 36 hours before the government shuts down. Thank you Mr. Chairman.”
“Hanukkah just came to a close, we are four days from Christmas, and we are nine days from the end of the year. And much of the work this Congress needs to do isn’t done. And so we find ourselves some 36 hours from shutting down our government. And until late last night, perhaps early this morning, we on our side had no idea of exactly what’s going to be proposed. We are now here at the Rules Committee at 8:00 a.m. in the morning to decide what we’re going to do this afternoon, and we have not been included in the discussions, and that’s unfortunate.
“Clearly, we need to address many issues Leader Pelosi has spoken on. We have not passed a single appropriations bill [to send] to the President of the United States. [Democrats are] not in control of anything. Not a single appropriation bill has gone to the President of the United States. Not one. Yes, we passed some through the House. In fact, all of them through the House, but the Republican Leader did not put a single one on the Senate Floor.
“So we find ourselves not only with no appropriations bills funded, but we also find ourselves with no agreement on the levels of spending we will address. The caps. We’ve been urging to come to an agreement, and we had an agreement under Ryan-Murray four years in a row that said we would have parity. Parity seems pretty simple, two plus two, two and two, or whatever number is chosen is parity. But we have been unable to reach an agreement. So we find ourselves here with not only no appropriations bills done, but no guidance to the Appropriations Committee at what level they should fund their legislation. We need to make agreement. So we find ourselves again with less than 48 hours to go.
“We voted for a CR, overwhelmingly. It was a no-drama CR in the middle of September which allowed us to have 90 days with which to resove the issues that confronted us and, frankly, the only thing considered was a tax bill, which we think is a disaster. You think it’s a growth spurt to the economy, we have a difference in opinion on that. But that’s what we spent our time on. We did not solve any of the substantive issues in those 90 days.
“And so we had another CR two weeks ago. We didn’t vote for it because, correctly, the only thing that was going to be paid attention to was the tax bill. And none of the issues, for which you voted for a CR, you got 90 of your people back because they thought it was just two weeks and it wouldn’t really damage defense as much as they thought it would in September when they voted against it. 90 of your colleagues. CR would not have passed, that 90 days, we would have had a crisis in September had Democrats not stepped up to the bar and said okay, let’s work together, let’s get these issues resolved. You didn’t do that. You spent all of your time on your tax bill. The previous ten months you spent most of your time repealing the Affordable Care Act and taking health care away from millions of people.
“So we have some very significantly different policy issues, but we need to come to an agreement, and we have no confidence that any extension will get us to further agreement. Mr. Cole, Ms. Pelosi, and I – we served on the Appropriations Committee, we came to agreements. We have come to no agreement, so once again we find ourselves kicking the can down the road. We’re not going to tell Defense what money they’ll have in the next eight or nine months. We’re not going to tell the Department of Energy; Department of Labor, Health, and Human Services; Department of State; Department of Commerce; other departments of government or agencies - we’re not going to tell them how they can plan for the next nine months. Any business that did that would go bankrupt in a short period of time. It is a terrible way to run the government of the United States or any other enterprise. So we find ourselves here, no closer to agreement, frankly, than we have been in the first 11 months.
“Now, I have had discussions with your Majority Leader, our Majority Leader, with whom I deal in a constructive way on many issues, and I told him there were a number of issues we felt were necessary in order for us to participate in helping the majority party, which has had extraordinary difficulty running this government. You’re a deeply divided party. We saw that last night on the Floor of the House of Representatives. I don’t know whether you’ve resolved those differences or not, but it’s clear that without our participation in September, you would not have passed a CR. The government would have shut down.
“But we hoped during that time we would have had some ability to work together. I told the Majority Leader, as long ago as August, that the DREAM Act had to be resolved. The President took an action in September that your Speaker urged him not to do. As a result, it put at risk some 800,000, really 1.6 million, young people who have grown up in America who believe America is their country; have gone to elementary, junior high, and high school; have worked in jobs; have gone to school; have served in our military. And they’re twisting in the wind.
“Rush Limbaugh said we’re not going to send those kids home. We’ve said we’re not going to send those kids home. The President says he loves the DREAMers. There is no excuse for us not having put a bill on the Floor to resolve this issue. Over 300 Members of the Congress of the United States will vote on that when you put it on the Floor. So the only reason it’s not on the Floor is because the leadership has refused to do so. That was very important to us. I’ve talked to the Leader over and over again and I raised it in colloquy over and over again.
“Opioids, as the Leader has spoken of, and VA choice – we should have resolved that issue. Perkins loans – we should have resolved that issue. Community health centers – we should have resolved that issue. Medicare extenders – we should have resolved that issue. Fire grants – we should have resolved that issue. And yes, the DREAMers as well.
“And here we find ourselves less than 48 hours before the end of the current CR, and nothing has been resolved. No discussions have led to resolution of these issues. Everybody’s reading their phones, perhaps what I’m saying is not relevant. But on our side, we feel it is relevant, and you have needed our votes almost every fiscal issue that has passed this House because so many of your Members – you have over 218, you can pass whatever you want on your own, and you passed the tax bill on your own. So when you want to pass things on your own , you create consensus to do so. But on almost every fiscal issue – one fiscal issue that John Boehner, Mr. McCarthy, and Mr. Scalise asked you to vote on – actually it was Mr. Boehner, Mr. Cantor and Mr. McCarthy, you got 84 votes to join the three of them to keep the government open. And over 125 of your members voted no, not to keep the government open. And the Director of the OMB voted not to open up the government when you shut it down for 16 days.
“So I come before the committee saying, if you’re going to offer a Rule that’s going to make in order some amendments, some alternatives, if you expect our help, you ought to put in things that we think are important and will have a significant number of Republicans voting with us, including, I presume, many of you. I don’t know that.
“So I come before you saying you have 36 hours to keep the government open. [Democrats] don’t have the votes to keep the government open, and we don’t have the votes to shut the government down. And the American people have given you the responsibility to do that. If you’ve got the votes, you don’t need to talk to us. But if you don’t have the votes, we really need to come together in a bipartisan way to be the responsible steward of this government.
“So I would urge you to include, initially, an amendment, which says that those DREAMers will no longer be twisting in the wind, and that we will give them the assurances that the President of the United States says that he will sign to give them. It’s not a question of the President of the United States saying I’m going to veto that bill. He said he would sign the bill. He said it to Leader Pelosi and Leader Schumer, and he said it to the world. We think that needs to be in there. We think we need to deal with the VA. We think we need to deal with FISA. We need to deal with this in a constructive, bipartisan way. And if we don’t, don’t look to us for help, because we’re not included, we’re shut out. As the tax bill, no hearings, no witnesses, and a conference that was a fraud. The only thing that Democrats did in that tax conference was make a statement. No amendments, no suggestions. That’s not regular order, but much more than that it’s not fair. It’s not what the American people expect of us.
“So I come to you, certainly, asking for that amendment. I ask as well because I understand you’re considering the supplemental – your tax bill and the supplemental undermines Puerto Rico – 3.5 million, 3.6 million Americans – as well as the U.S. Virgin Islands. They still have 35% of the people in Puerto Rico without electricity. If 35% of the people of Houston were without electricity, it would be a national scandal. You would all be outraged, you would not allow it to happen. And the tax bill treats Puerto Rico as a foreign government. They are Americans, fully a part of the United States of America. And if they want to come to Florida or anywhere else, they come. Why? Because they’re Americans. So we believe the supplemental needs to be revised in a way that treats Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin islands as full partners of the United States of America, not as foreign governments.
“So I thank you Mr. Chairman for this opportunity. I would ask that I submit a Dear Colleague, which has been sent by Tim Walz, to colleagues, expressing his deep concern about the extension of the VA Choice Act, which he thinks will undermine the VA because it’s not a full bill dealing with the needs of the VA and veterans’ access to health care, doctors, beds, etc. I would ask, Mr. Chairman, that that be included in the record this time.
“And last, in closing, I would say I really do believe we can do some very good work if we do it in a bipartisan way. Will I have to give something? Yes. Will you have to give something? Yes. That’s the democratic process. You’re not pursuing that, and that’s why we find ourselves in this conundrum 36 hours before the government shuts down. Thank you Mr. Chairman.”