Raising a Question of the Privileges of the House



RAISING A QUESTION OF THE PRIVILEGES OF THE HOUSE

Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to a question of the privileges of the House. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the resolution. The Clerk read as follows:

H. Res. 744

Whereas on September 9, 2009, during the joint session of     Congress convened pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 179, the President of the United States, speaking at the invitation of the House and Senate, had his remarks interrupted by the Representative from South Carolina, Mr.     Wilson; and Whereas the conduct of the Representative from South Carolina was a breach of decorum and degraded the proceedings of the joint session, to the discredit of the House: Now, therefore, be it      Resolved, That the House of Representatives disapproves of      the behavior of the Representative from South Carolina, Mr.      Wilson, during the joint session of Congress held on      September 9, 2009.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The resolution presents a question of the privileges of the House. Pursuant to clause 2 of rule IX, the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer) and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Boehner) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Maryland. Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute. Mr. Speaker and ladies and gentlemen of the House, none of us, none of us is happy to be here considering this resolution. I know I am not. At the same time, my colleagues, what is at issue here is of importance to this House and to our country, and that issue is whether we are able to proceed with a degree of civility and decorum that our rules and our democracy contemplate and require. The House Code of Official Conduct requires that each Member, every one of us, each and every one of us "conduct himself," and I'm quoting from the rule, "at all times in a manner which shall reflect creditably on the House of Representatives." There seems to be little or no disagreement that Mr. Wilson did not so conduct himself on the evening of September 9. Senator John McCain was quoted as saying that Mr. Wilson's behavior was "totally disrespectful." He went on to say, "There is no place for it in that setting, or any other, and he should apologize for it immediately." Mr. Wilson did, in fact, apologize to the President through Mr. Emanuel, the President's Chief of Staff. However, it was the House itself whose rules were offended. And as Mr. Inglis, Mr. Wilson's colleague, a Republican colleague from South Carolina, observed, and again I quote, "He should apologize to the House," to the House, "for the rule violation." Mr. Inglis went on to add, "That would end the matter." I had made a similar representation to the Republican leader, and I believe that would have ended the matter. I know that is what the Republican leaders of the House thought would be appropriate and what the Republican leader talked to Mr. Wilson about doing. He said so to the press. Indeed, last Thursday, based upon what a Republican leader told me, not Mr. Boehner, that morning, it was what I expected Mr. Wilson to do. As a result, I held open the time between the next-to-the-last vote and the very last vote to give Mr. Wilson an opportunity to express an apology to the House. As all of us know, many Members have done that in the past, reflecting upon conduct they thought was not appropriate; and as a result, they came to this floor. That has happened on both sides of the aisle where Members have done things that they thought brought discredit to the House and they came to this floor, to that rostrum and to this, to say, I apologize. Mr. Inglis is correct: that would have ended the matter. However, for whatever reason, Mr. Wilson has decided not to take any further action. In light of that, this resolution simply states the House's disapproval of Mr. Wilson's words and actions. As Republican Whip Cantor is quoted as saying, "Obviously the President of the United States is always welcome on Capitol Hill and he deserves respect and decorum." Surely all of us believe that's correct. Surely all of us, hopefully all of us, believe that when we invite a President of either party to come to this House and address a joint session of Congress that he ought to expect and we ought to expect that we will accord to him the decorum and courtesy of which Mr. Cantor spoke. The Republican leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell, added, "I think we ought to treat the President with respect, and anything other than that is not appropriate." That's what this resolution is about. It's a resolution of disapproval. This resolution is not about the substance of an issue, but about the conduct we expect of one another in the course of doing our business. Senator John Cornyn, the chairman of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, stated this: "There's a time and a place for everything, and that was not the time or the place for that kind of comment." In the absence of Mr. Wilson's expressing his regret for acting in a manner that almost all agree, every Republican that I have talked to as well as every Democrat that I have talked to, was inappropriate and contrary to the spirit of the rules of the House and the common courtesy that we should extend to all, and particularly to the President of the United States of America, our President, we have brought forward this resolution. I expected to extend that same courtesy with every President with whom I have served, be they Republican or Democrat. We consider this resolution as a result of Mr. Wilson's failure to follow the advice of his leadership and a number of his Republican and Democratic colleagues who have told me that they have talked to him.

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I want to say personally that I know Mr. Wilson. We've had a good relationship. I expect to continue to have a good relationship. I found him a man of measured conduct. I was surprised. I think he was probably surprised as well. A simple apology to this House would have ended the matter. But this House ought not to stand silent in the face of conduct that almost universally, and by Mr. Wilson himself, was felt to be inappropriate. It is an expression of the people's House that neither Presidents nor any of us ought to expect to be subjected to such conduct in the course of our business in this, the people's House. The resolution says simply what hopefully all of us feel, that we disapprove of the conduct cited and let others know that such conduct is neither welcome nor approved by the House of Representatives. At this time, Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), and I ask unanimous consent that he control the balance of that time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Maryland? There was no objection. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson). Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Thank you, Mr. Leader. I appreciate your service for America, and I further respect the majority leader, Mr. Hoyer. Mr. Speaker, I am humbled and grateful for the support and prayers of my wife, Roxanne, my four sons, my staff, the people of South Carolina, my colleagues, and the American people. Mr. Speaker, I think it is clear to the American people that there are far more important issues facing this Nation than what we are addressing right now. The President said, "The time for games is over." I agree with the President. He graciously accepted my apology, and the issue is over. However, this action today will have done nothing for the taxpayers to rein in the growing cost and size of the Federal Government. It will not help more Americans secure jobs, promote better education, ensure retirement, or reform health insurance. It is the Democrat leadership, in their rush to pass a very bad government health care plan, that is bad medicine for America. It has muzzled the voices we represent and provoked partisanship. When we are done here today, we will not have taken any steps closer to helping more American families afford health insurance or helping small businesses create new jobs. The challenges our Nation faces are far bigger than any one Member of this House. It is time that we move forward and get to work for the American people. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, this resolution addresses an issue of great importance to current and future Members of this august body: the proper conduct of its Members. Despite statements made by various leaders of the other party, this is not about partisan politics or inappropriate comments. To the contrary, this is about the rules of this House and reprehensible conduct.

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I stand here as a former schoolteacher and the proud father of a current public schoolteacher who teaches in the congressional district represented by Congressman Wilson. My grandchildren attend schools in that district. But, Mr. Speaker, this Hall is the most prominent classroom in this great country, and all of us are teachers. We are bound by duty and the offices we hold to conduct ourselves as such. Classroom teachers and schoolchildren across the country and around the world looking in on our proceedings should see proper decorum and hear civil discourse. Our teachers are expected to teach our children to learn proper behavior. All of us are expected to give appropriate support and deference to the institutions that help us develop and maintain a civil and orderly society. Our three separate branches of government have defined roles to play in this process, and those of us who hold positions within these branches are expected and are duty bound to treat each other with proper dignity and respect. Whether we like it or not, teachers and students see us as role models. But none of us is perfect. We all make mistakes, and we sometimes fall short of expectations. But when we do, proper contrition is expected. When one of us, while seated in a formal session, severely violates the rules of this body by shamelessly hurling accusations of mendacity towards a President of these United States, our Commander in Chief, and refuses to formally express remorse, we, at a minimum, are duty bound to express our disapproval. Our teachers, our students, and constituents deserve no less. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I recognize myself for as much time as I may consume. I think this is a sad day for the House of Representatives. I think that this is nothing more than a partisan stunt aimed at trying to divert people's attention from the real issue that the American people want to talk about, and that is health care. The gentleman from South Carolina made it clear the other night when he told the President's Chief of Staff that his behavior was inappropriate, and that is why he was calling to apologize to the President. The President graciously accepted his apology. And last Friday, none other than the Speaker of the House, herself, said it is time for us to talk about health care and not Mr. Wilson. Now, the Speaker and I don't see eye to eye on every issue, but on this issue I think I am in full agreement with her. Joe Wilson is a decent human being. He did the right thing. He called the President and apologized, and the President was gracious enough to accept it. And I just believe that a man who has spent 25 years of his life in public service in the State senate and here in Congress, who has four sons, all of whom were in the military, three of whom served in Iraq, we all know Joe Wilson. He is a decent man, and to put him through this on the floor of the House I think is unacceptable and it is a partisan stunt. There has been behavior that has gone on around here far more serious than this, and it didn't bring a resolution to the floor to condemn someone's behavior. Yes, people have made mistakes. Some have come down to the floor and apologized, others have not. But none of it, none of it required a resolution. And to think that the precedent that is being set here today, the precedent, think about it, never has this happened before, that we are going to bring a resolution of disapproving of his behavior. My goodness, we could be doing this every day of the week. The American people sent us here to work together to solve the problems of our country. They didn't send us here to talk about our behavior. They didn't send us here to do that. What they want us to do is to deal with the issue of health care. The President said we ought to work in a bipartisan fashion to get health care reform accomplished. I agree with the President. I'm here. I'm willing. I'm able. Set the time and the place, and we will be there with our solutions to the health care problems in the country. But to divert the Nation's attention from the issues they care about, health care, trying to make sure that we get jobs back into our economy, trying to do something about record deficits and record debt, no, no, no, we are not doing any of that. We are here on some witch hunt, some partisan stunt that the American people are not going to respect. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair will remind all persons in the gallery that they are here as guests of the House, and any manifestation of approval or disapproval of the proceedings or other audible conversation is in violation of the House. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I want to first of all say to my friend, the leader, that before coming to this Congress I spent 18 years running a State agency in South Carolina. In those 18 years, I worked for four Governors--two Democrats and two Republicans. Many of you remember that one of

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those Republicans for whom I worked for 8 years was Carroll Campbell, a former Member of this body. We were good friends. We often consulted with each other in the evenings, but we always respected each other even though we were poles apart politically. This is not a partisan stunt. I do not participate in partisan stunts, and I think every Member here knows that. This is about the proper decorum that should take place on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. And I would like to say to the leader, and I think he knows, that he has not represented the facts correctly. On October 23, 2007, a Member of this body, Representative Stark, came to this floor and apologized for behavior, as I read, "I want to apologize to first of all my colleagues, many of whom have been offended," and then he went on to say to the President, to his family, to the troops. That took place on this floor in 2007 on October 23. Then I would remind the leader on July 23, which incidentally happens to be Carroll Campbell's birthday, on July 23, Chairman Thomas came to this floor and he offered an apology: "Because of my poor judgment, the stewardship of my party as majority party in the House has been unfairly criticized," and he went on to apologize. And so all we have ever asked is that this body, this House, receive from Mr. Wilson a similar statement of contrition. It is all about the decorum of this House. And I will reiterate, I have never stood on the floor of this House in my 17 years and participated in any kind of partisan stunt, and I think the other side knows that. I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the Republican whip, Mr. Cantor. Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the leader. Mr. Speaker, I am having some difficulty understanding how it is that we are on the floor today debating this resolution. I would like to first speak to the claims made by my colleague on the other side of the aisle, the majority whip, in pointing out what are alleged to be precedents for this resolution. As he knows, those instances that he referred to, whether it be the gentleman from California (Mr. Stark) or the gentleman from California (Mr. Thomas) when they came to the well of this body to speak to our colleagues, it was as a result of conduct displayed, number one, in the case of Mr. Stark, during debate on the floor of this House, and number two, on the part of Mr. Thomas, conduct that took place among members in a committee on which I sit, the Ways and Means, two very distinct situations from the one we have here at hand. Again, I don't understand how it is a priority that we are here on this particular resolution. The resolution, as has been pointed out, creates no job. The resolution does nothing to do anything to increase access to quality health care. The resolution does nothing to address the issues of national security. Plain and simple, this resolution does not reflect the priority of the American people. Now, President Obama came to this Chamber last week and he admonished us, Mr. Speaker. He admonished us to stop with the partisan bickering. In fact, he echoed the sentiments that he expressed during his inaugural address when he said, "We may still be a young Nation, but it is time to set aside childish things." Now, as the leader said, as the gentleman from South Carolina himself said, he admits that what he did was inappropriate. He was on national television indicating he shouldn't have done it. He wouldn't do it again. He also said to the Nation, he called the President. As the leader indicated, the President graciously accepted the apology. I am told the Vice President has also accepted the apology. What more does the gentleman want? That's why I am at a loss as to what this is if it is not a partisan stunt. So I believe we ought to accept what the President and the Speaker and others have said: Let's get on with the business of the people. Let's try and get over the divide and stick to the course of trying to work on things we agree on, or things that we have a potential to do away with the disagreements, not the partisanship. Now, this is the bill. This is the famed H.R. 3200, Mr. Speaker, and there are several issues in here the American people have spoken out on. The first is the claim that we ought to be able to keep what we have if we are talking about health insurance. On page 16 of the bill, there is a section entitled, "Protecting the Choice to Keep Current Coverage." That's what we all are trying to do for the 85 or some percent of this country who has health insurance. You know what, our side says despite that title, there are provisions in there which begin to require individuals and their insurers to do certain things which make it somewhat difficult if not impossible to allow for folks to keep what they have. The next issue that is of import certainly to the American people and to this body is the question of access to Federal benefits by those who are here illegally. Now, the President stood on this floor in this body, Mr. Speaker, and said that he did not believe that there was any access for those here illegally to Federal benefits. In fact, on page 143, there is a section which speaks to the issue that there should be no Federal benefit for those here illegally. The problem that we have on this side is there is no requirement of verification of legal status. And in fact the White House, in fact Senator Baucus and others have since come out and said, You know what, you're right. These are the kinds of things we could be doing right now to try and accomplish what it is that the American people have sent us here to do, and they expect us to do that in a deliberate manner that produces a positive result, which means we all have got to do that living within our means and to ensure that we do not break the bank in passing this health care reform measure.

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So I implore this House, Mr. Speaker, let's try and get back to the business of the people. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers). Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise in opposition to this resolution. I think the facts are clear. Congressman Joe Wilson admitted himself that his actions were wrong and that he shouldn't have done it and that he won't do it again. Mr. Wilson apologized to the President, and that was the right thing to do. Mr. Speaker, how much longer does this go on? What are we really accomplishing here today? The President accepted Mr. Wilson's apology. Both the President and Mr. Wilson agreed it was time to move on. Just late last week, the Speaker of this House said, "It's time for us to talk about health care and not Mr. Wilson." I couldn't agree more. Americans expect their elected officials to put aside partisan differences and work to solve the problems that are facing American families. Just last week, we were told, Let's put aside the partisan bickering. Instead of pursuing this petty partisanship, now is the time to work together on behalf of the American people. Hardworking families back home are worried about the economy. They're worried about losing their jobs. Hardworking American families all across this country want us to stop a government takeover of health care. Let's stop wasting time. Let's focus on tackling the challenges that face our country. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ginny Brown-Waite). Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida. I know Joe Wilson. I've worked with him in the halls of this Congress in committees and I have traveled with him to Iraq. A retired Army colonel, all four of his sons followed Joe into military service. In the 7 years that I have known him, I have never known Joe Wilson to say an unkind word about anyone. Joe is a good and honest man. He is the kind of person who, if he disagrees with you, does it without being disagreeable.

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Just as it was wrong for my Democrat colleagues to boo former President Bush in this Chamber, it was wrong for Joe Wilson to speak out of turn. The difference is that Joe Wilson apologized and the President very graciously accepted his apology. Every Member in this Chamber has uttered words they wish they could have said differently. I know Joe made his comment out of frustration because there seems to be a large gap between health care rhetoric and reality. What the President said did not match up with the bill that came before the House. This is the same bill that was discussed last month in many town hall meetings across our country. His comment provided Americans with an opportunity to discuss the differences between the bill they've seen and the ideas that the President mentioned in Wednesday's speech. On the issue of illegal immigrants in health care reform, in three committees here in this very House Republicans offered up amendments to clarify to ensure that illegal aliens would not be included in the health care reform bill. In all three committees, those amendments were resoundingly defeated by my Democrat colleagues. All Americans heard the President say, If you like your plan, you can keep it. But those words directly conflict with the CBO's findings that cuts to Medicare Advantage plans in H.R. 3200 would result in millions of seniors losing their current plan. That's not keeping the plan that they like. Further still, we heard the President say that his plan would not add one dime to our deficits. Again, that's contrary to CBO's findings that say that H.R. 3200 would increase deficits by $239 billion over 10 years. Mr. Speaker, there's a lot of frustration in our districts and throughout America about H.R. 3200. We need to stop wasting time and get down to the business of drafting a bipartisan health care bill that addresses the needs of all Americans. Think of how many Americans lost their jobs and lost their health care coverage during this 1 hour of debate that we're having today. We need to get down to the serious business that our constituents sent us here for. That's the very least that we can do. That's our job. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller). Mrs. MILLER of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, last week, the President came to this House for a joint session of Congress to discuss how we as a Nation will reform health care. The debate over health care has made clear that the American people are actually paying attention to what is happening here. During the President's speech, our colleague, Joe Wilson, made a mistake--a mistake that I believe was driven by both the substance and the emotion involved in this debate. Immediately after he made that mistake, Congressman Wilson did the appropriate thing. He immediately apologized to the President. President Obama very graciously accepted his apology. Mr. Speaker, recently, President Obama made a mistake when referring to actions of the Cambridge police while acknowledging that he did not have all the facts. In the national uproar that ensued, he called it a teachable moment. I thought that was a very human response to an incident that was blown totally out of proportion, in my opinion, and some actually inferred that it had racial overtones. I think what we have here today, Mr. Speaker, is a teachable moment, and it has nothing to do with race. Joe Wilson is a patriotic American who has defended our freedom in uniform as well as here in the United States Congress. He is the father of four sons who also served this Nation in uniform to defend our liberty, our freedom, our democracy. And we have all heard Joe Wilson speak on this floor, and he ends every floor statement with the same following words: God bless our troops, and we will never forget September the 11th. Joe Wilson simply made a mistake and was forgiven by the person who was harmed by that mistake. Case closed. So why are we here? What can we be taught by forcing a vote on this resolution? Well, I believe what is going on here, Mr. Speaker, today, is a reflection of the unease among the American people as they have watched this Congress enact a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, a $787 billion economic stimulus bill, a $1.8 trillion deficit, this year alone, placed on the backs of their children and their grandchildren. They have been watching as Congress works on health care legislation that would fundamentally alter one of the most personal factors in their lives, and that is how to care for themselves and their families. During the August recess we saw the frustrations of the American people when they came out in large numbers to exercise their rights guaranteed under the First Amendment--the right to free speech, the right to peaceably assemble, and the right to redress their grievances before government. And how were they treated when they did this? Some leaders of this House called them un-American, or an angry mob. All of this for simply making their voices heard. I understand that democracy is sometimes difficult and it can instill passion. That passion, that love for our Nation and the belief in the idea that every American deserves to be heard is what makes America great. And we who are honored to serve here have a duty to listen. The acrimony that has developed here is what needs to be stopped. We need to stop and we need to listen to one another. We need to focus on the needs of the people and do the work that they sent us here to do. Most importantly, get our economy moving. I come from Michigan, where countless of my fellow citizens have lost their jobs and many have also lost their health care. The resolution that we are considering today will not create one job. It will not help one person get health care for their family. It will do nothing to allay the concerns of seniors who are worried about their Medicare. It will do nothing to get our economy moving again. It will simply inflame a debate that should have been over when President Obama accepted Joe Wilson's apology. We can do better. The American people can do better. And, hopefully, in this teachable moment, we will learn. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the Republican Conference chairman, the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. PENCE. I rise today in opposition to the resolution of disapproval of Mr. Wilson. A friend of mine back in Indiana likes to say that Washington, D.C., is 100 square miles surrounded by reality. That never felt truer than it does today. Think about it. Our economy is struggling, families are hurting, and Congress is poised to demand an apology from a man who has already apologized. Extraordinary. First, let me stipulate that Joe Wilson is a good man and a man of integrity. He is a devoted husband to his beloved Roxanne, a proud father of four American servicemen. I have traveled with Joe into some pretty tight spots, like many of my Democrat colleagues have. I have seen his devotion to our soldiers. I have never failed to be inspired by his love for the men and women of this country in uniform, his love of his country, and his constituents. The Old Book tells us a harsh word stirs up anger. We might have seen a little bit of that last week. In the midst of a highly partisan speech by the President of the United States, Joe made a mistake. Immediately after the speech was over, Joe recognized his mistake and he offered his sincere apology to the President and the President's staff. And he was right to apologize. But it's important to note that, despite his admitted error, the broader national interest was actually served. The American people didn't send us here just to get along. They sent us here to get it right. Ironically, because of Joe Wilson's outburst, we have been engaged in nearly a week-long debate about what's really in H.R. 3200. In fact, now the American people know there's nothing in the Democrat's bill

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in the House that requires an individual to verify their identity or citizenship, leaving open the very possibility of undocumented workers receiving health care benefits. This was concurred in by the Congressional Research Service that noted in the absence "of a provision in the bill specifying the verification procedure, undocumented immigrants could receive taxpayer-subsidized health benefits." If you need any further proof, the White House clarified their position last Friday, stating their support for verification expressly of an individual's citizenship. Despite the controversy and the sound and the fury, Congress has a shot to get it a little more right than they would have otherwise. Let me speak, as I close, about the broader issue of bringing this resolution to the floor of the Congress today. I was home in Indiana yesterday. Hoosiers were shocked with the news that one of our most storied companies, Eli Lilly and Company, was announcing 5,500 layoffs. I was in Evansville, Indiana, in August, on the very day that Whirlpool announced they were closing a factory and sending more than a thousand jobs out of that city and out of this country forever. More than 2 million jobs have been lost since the so-called stimulus bill was passed. Fifteen million Americans were out of work. Yet here we are, taking time in the people's House to demand an apology from a man who has already apologized. The American people want better. The American people want less politics and more jobs. They want Congress to set aside petty partisan politics and come together to take action to get this economy moving again. I urge my colleagues to vote "no."

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The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Mr. BOEHNER. I yield the gentleman 1 additional minute. Mr. PENCE. Last Wednesday was not a good day in the House, but today is worse. Today we see politics overwhelming this institution. The American people are tired. So let me say again, without the din of the gavel, I urge my colleagues to vote "no" on this resolution, put attention back on the work that the American people sent us here to perform, and that is to serve the interests of their families and the interests of this Nation with everything we've got. I'm with Joe; vote "no." Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of our time. Mr. Speaker, over the month of August, when Members were home in their districts, the American people were speaking loudly, and both Democrats and Republicans heard the message, I think, loud and clear. But as we stand here today, I would think the American people are probably looking at us wondering, do they really understand? The American people are saying enough is enough; enough of the politics here in Washington, enough of the spending, enough of the big government takeover. And yet, here we are on the floor of the House today debating a resolution that should not be here, putting a man's name in the record books of disapproving of his behavior. The gentleman from South Carolina admitted that he had made a mistake; he called the President and apologized. And yet, here we are on the floor of the House of Representatives debating a resolution describing his behavior. I think it's wrong. And I think we will rue the day that we set this precedent and brought this resolution to the floor. I would just ask all my colleagues to remember what it is that we're doing here and the precedent that's being set. It's wrong. So I would ask all my colleagues to do the right thing, to stand up and to vote "no" on this resolution. Let's all respect our colleague who admitted his mistake and apologized. Let's all respect him. And the way that we do that is to vote "no" on this resolution. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to close this discussion today using the balance of the time. Mr. Speaker, the Republican leader earlier referenced the great preacher whose reference can be found in the third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes. He said there's a time and a place for everything. I agree with that. I believe very seriously that there is going to be a time for us to discuss health care, a time for us to discuss energy policies, education, and the economy. But Mr. Speaker, the rules of this House provide the vehicle by which we carry out those discussions. If the rules are not honored, if the rules of this House are not there to maintain order, we can never get to these discussions and do so in a way that would make the people of our great country proud. The gentlelady from Michigan indicated that this is a teachable moment. Yes, it is. This is a time for us to teach--not just by precept, but by example--that which we say to our children, that which we say to our constituents, that there are certain things that you do and certain things that you don't do. And when you do those things that you don't do, the proper thing to do is to show proper contrition, not the way that you may think is proper, but the accepted form of contrition. And the accepted form of contrition when the rules of this body are violated is to come to this floor and to request the apology of these Members. And until that is done, Mr. Speaker, proper contrition has not been made. My father used to teach me all the time, Son, he would say, The first sign of a good education is good manners. I took that to heart. And I would hope that this body today would demonstrate to all of those schoolchildren who are looking in on these proceedings that we are here to demonstrate what is proper decorum for you to follow in your classrooms. We must here today support our teachers and help them educate our children. Silence gives consent. We cannot be silent in this matter, because we do not consent to the conduct of Mr. Wilson. Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Resolution. Congressman Wilson's outburst was a clear violation of the House rules. How will we serve as a model of democracy--around the globe, and to our children here at home--if we cannot be the change we seek? That said-- we must focus on the most important issue at hand. That issue is not the insulting, disrespectful and inappropriate remarks of a single Congressman. It is the lack of hope for 18,000 people in this nation who die each year for one reason: They lack health insurance. It is the future faced by my neighbor who chooses between paying for his chemotherapy or paying for his groceries. The debate over Congressman Wilson's disgraceful remarks does not help one child in Baltimore get treatment for diabetes. It does not help one senior citizen in Columbia, Maryland, pay for the prescription drugs that Medicare Part D left behind. This episode has not stopped working, insured Americans from lying awake at night, frightened beyond belief because in the blink of an eye, both their job and insurance could disappear. Our children are too precious. Our families are too important. Our nation is at too critical a crossroads for us to fall prey and be distracted from our goal. So, I rise in support of this Resolution, not because what Representative Wilson did was reprehensible--though it was--but because all 435 Members have to live by the rules of the House. I ask that my colleagues join me in support of this resolution and uphold the dignity of this great institution by voting yes. More importantly, I ask that as soon as we finish this matter, and we join together again, that we finally pass meaningful healthcare reform. Because nothing could be worse than one more American suffering or dying because they cannot afford the care they need to live. Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, Representative Joe Wilson's outburst at the joint session of Congress last week was inappropriate. However, Representative Wilson has already apologized for his actions. He was right to apologize, and President Obama graciously accepted his apology. Now it's time to move on to the substance of the health care reform bill. Even President Obama has called for an end to the partisan bickering over the health care bill. However, with the introduction and consideration of this resolution, it is clear that the Democrat leadership has rejected this call. A majority of Americans oppose the Government-run healthcare plan that the House Democrat leadership is pushing. However, instead

[Page H9534]

of debating the substance of the bill and addressing the concerns of the American people, it is clear that the majority would rather reopen old wounds with this resolution and divert attention back to an incident that is over. What is it that the Democrats are trying to divert attention away from? Is it the fact that the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has declared that their current health care reform proposal, H.R. 3200, "Does not contain any restrictions on noncitizens--whether legally or illegally present, or in the United States temporarily or permanently-- participating in the [taxpayer-subsidized health insurance] exchange?" Is it the fact that Republican amendments to make clear that no benefits would be given to illegal aliens were defeated by the Democrats on party-line votes? Regardless, Speaker Pelosi and the Democrat majority's insistence on demanding an apology from a man who has already apologized is a waste of time at best and a purposeful diversion at worst. The American people deserve better. We do not have time for these partisan tactics when we should be addressing the grave concerns of the American people about the merits of the current health care reform proposal. Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this Resolution of Disapproval. As members of the House of Representatives, it is our responsibiltiy to set an example of civility in our deliberations. We have a diversity of views and we do not always agree. But it is incumbent upon us to respect people and their office, even when we disagree with their views. Representive Wilson's outburst demonstrated a lack of civility and decorum. It set a poor example for those who have entrusted us with this office. It is worth pointing out that this type of behavior has been increasing in recent months throughout the country. We've seen it on display all summer in town halls and in the disrespectful tone reflected by some radio and television commentators. As members of Congress, we must set an example. We must set the standard for respectful dialogue and disagreement. Today's resolution is an opportunity for us to come together and reject incivility. Let's turn the page. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I 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. Mr. BOEHNER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15- minute vote on adopting House Resolution 744 will be followed by 5- minute votes on motions to suspend the rules with regard to House Resolution 317, if ordered, H.R. 22, and H.R. 3137. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 240, nays 179, answered "present" 5, not voting 10, as follows:

[Roll No. 699]

YEAS--240

Abercrombie Adler (NJ) Altmire Andrews Baca Baird Baldwin Barrow Bean Becerra Berkley Berman Berry Bishop (GA) Bishop (NY) Blumenauer Boccieri Boren Boswell Boucher Boyd Brady (PA) Braley (IA) Bright Brown, Corrine Butterfield Cao Capps Capuano Cardoza Carnahan Carney Carson (IN) Castor (FL) Chandler Childers Chu Clarke Clay Cleaver Clyburn Cohen Connolly (VA) Conyers Cooper Costa Costello Courtney Crowley Cuellar Cummings Dahlkemper Davis (AL) Davis (CA) Davis (IL) Davis (TN) DeFazio DeGette DeLauro Dicks Dingell Doggett Donnelly (IN) Doyle Driehaus Edwards (MD) Edwards (TX) Ellison Ellsworth Emerson Eshoo Etheridge Farr Fattah Filner Flake Fudge Gonzalez Gordon (TN) Grayson Green, Al    Green, Gene Griffith Grijalva Gutierrez Hall (NY) Halvorson Hare Harman Hastings (FL) Heinrich Herseth Sandlin Higgins Hill Himes Hinojosa Hirono Holden Holt Honda Hoyer Inglis Inslee Israel Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Johnson (GA) Johnson, E. B.    Jones Kagen Kanjorski Kaptur Kennedy Kildee Kilpatrick (MI) Kilroy Kind Kirkpatrick (AZ) Kissell Klein (FL) Kosmas Kratovil Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Lee (CA) Levin Lewis (GA) Lipinski Loebsack Lofgren, Zoe Lowey Lujan Maloney Markey (CO) Markey (MA) Marshall Matheson Matsui McCarthy (NY) McCollum McGovern McIntyre McMahon McNerney Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Melancon Michaud Miller (NC) Miller, George Minnick Mitchell Mollohan Moore (KS) Moran (VA) Murphy (CT) Murphy (NY) Murphy, Patrick Murtha Nadler (NY) Napolitano Neal (MA) Nye Oberstar Obey Olver Ortiz Pallone Pascrell Pastor (AZ) Payne Pelosi Perlmutter Perriello Peters Peterson Petri Pingree (ME) Polis (CO) Pomeroy Price (NC) Quigley Rahall Rangel Reyes Richardson Rodriguez Rohrabacher Ross Rothman (NJ) Roybal-Allard Ruppersberger Rush Ryan (OH) Salazar Sanchez, Linda T.    Sanchez, Loretta Sarbanes Schakowsky Schauer Schiff Schrader Schwartz Scott (GA) Scott (VA) Serrano Sherman Shuler Sires Slaughter Smith (WA) Snyder Space Speier Spratt Stark Stupak Sutton Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Tierney Titus Tonko Towns Tsongas Van Hollen Visclosky Walz Wasserman Schultz Watson Watt Waxman Weiner Welch Wexler Wilson (OH) Woolsey Wu    Yarmuth

NAYS--179

Aderholt Akin Alexander Arcuri Austria Bachmann Bachus Bartlett Barton (TX) Biggert Bilbray Bilirakis Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blunt Boehner Bonner Bono Mack Boozman Boustany Brady (TX) Broun (GA) Brown (SC) Brown-Waite, Ginny Buchanan Burgess Burton (IN) Buyer Calvert Camp Campbell Cantor Capito Carter Cassidy Castle Chaffetz Coble Coffman (CO) Cole Crenshaw Culberson Davis (KY) Deal (GA) Delahunt Dent Diaz-Balart, L.    Diaz-Balart, M.     Dreier Duncan Ehlers Fallin Fleming Forbes Fortenberry Foxx Franks (AZ) Frelinghuysen Gallegly Garrett (NJ) Gerlach Giffords Gingrey (GA) Gohmert Goodlatte Granger Graves Guthrie Hall (TX) Harper Hastings (WA) Heller Hensarling Herger Hinchey Hodes Hunter Issa Jenkins Johnson (IL) Johnson, Sam Jordan (OH) King (IA) King (NY) Kingston Kirk Kline (MN) Kucinich Lamborn Lance Latham LaTourette Latta Lee (NY) Lewis (CA) Linder LoBiondo Lucas Luetkemeyer Lummis Lungren, Daniel E.    Mack Maffei Manzullo Marchant Massa McCarthy (CA) McCaul McClintock McCotter McDermott McHenry McKeon McMorris Rodgers Mica Miller (FL) Miller (MI) Miller, Gary Moore (WI) Moran (KS) Murphy, Tim Myrick Neugebauer Nunes Olson Paul Paulsen Pence Pitts Platts Poe (TX) Posey Price (GA) Putnam Radanovich Rehberg Reichert Roe (TN) Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rooney Ros-Lehtinen Roskam Royce Ryan (WI) Scalise Schmidt Schock Sensenbrenner Sessions Shadegg Shimkus Shuster Simpson Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (TX) Souder Stearns Sullivan Taylor Teague Terry Thompson (PA) Thornberry Tiahrt Tiberi Turner Upton Walden Wamp Westmoreland Whitfield Wilson (SC) Wittman Wolf Young (AK) Young (FL)

ANSWERED "PRESENT"--5

Engel Foster Frank (MA) Shea-Porter Skelton

NOT VOTING--10

Ackerman Barrett (SC) Conaway Hoekstra Lynch McHugh Sestak Tanner Velazquez Waters

Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore

The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes remaining in this vote.

{time} 1732

Mr. BRADY of Texas and Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin changed their vote from "yea" to "nay." Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts and Ms. KOSMAS changed their vote from "nay" to "yea." So the resolution was agreed to. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.