Providing for Consideration of H.R. Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act Drugs; Providing for Consideration of H. Res. Condemning the Horrific Shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March and for Other Purposes

Floor Speech

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I thank the Representative from Pennsylvania for yielding me the customary 30 minutes, and I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, we are here today to debate the rule governing the consideration of the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act and the resolution to condemn the horrific shootings in Atlanta this past March.

I want to say right away that it is not the substance of these two bills to which I take exception; it is the process the majority is following or not following to move legislation forward.

The first bill in this rule is H. Res. 275, a resolution condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, this past March. As Members of the House of Representatives, we unequivocally condemn violence and hate against any person or group of people. What happened in Atlanta is an unimaginable tragedy that must be denounced in no uncertain terms. I support the idea of the resolution, but not the way my colleagues in the majority are handling it.

The majority chose to circumvent the prescribed process for a resolution of this nature, bypassing the usual committee markup altogether and sidestepping an opportunity for the majority to address concerns from the minority and allow the House to speak with one unified voice.

That is not the way the people's House was intended to work, and it negatively affects both Members of this body and our constituents when we can't have the kind of discussion required on important pieces of legislation like this.

The other underlying bill, H.R. 1629, the Fairness in Orphan Drug Exclusivity Act, came before the House last week and failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed to pass on suspension after one of our Republican colleagues was left off the bill that he had long championed, left off the bill for an issue unrelated to the bill.

Again, I support H.R. 1629 and hope you will, too. But not only did the Democrats ignore the spirit of bipartisanship by which they claim to abide and block Republican Members from signing on to this bill, they did so by continuing to ram through bills without any respect for process, rules, or courtesy, which brings me to the extension of rule changes included in the resolution.

It has been 1 year since this body instituted martial law, as my friend and colleague Ranking Member Cole said during the Rules Committee hearing yesterday. While at the time there was certainly a need for changes to the rules to rapidly move legislation at the onset of the pandemic, the landscape has dramatically shifted, and we are more than ready to get back to normal.

Instead, more than 1 year later, we are still being governed by martial law in what has become the least transparent Congress ever. Democrats in the majority continue to chip away at the rights of the minority. Before we know it, those in the minority will have no rights left at all.

The majority of us in this body are fully vaccinated. The science says that fully vaccinated individuals can and should resume prepandemic behavior. So why won't the Democratic majority follow the science and resume regular order in this body?

It is the American people who are losing out, and it would behoove the Democratic majority to bring the time-tested processes and transparency back to this institution.

Madam Speaker, I do support the underlying bills. However, I have serious concerns over the continuance of measures in this rule that limit transparency and strip the minority's rights in this body. It is for this reason that I oppose the rule, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, if the issue that the majority has with reopening is related to vaccinations, I understand the majority claims that their side is 100 percent vaccinated. I would just say that if that is the case, science says they have nothing to worry about coming to the House floor or being in public. But that is not what this is all about. This is about the Speaker holding on to her slim and tenuous majority by any means necessary, even weaponizing the House rules to do so.

If we do defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule to provide for consideration of Representative Mast's H.R. 261, the Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act of 2021.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, the Israelis are among our greatest allies and a critical strategic partner in the international fight against terrorism. Congressman Mast understands this better than most.

H.R. 261 sanctions foreign governments and persons who provide support for Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Madam Speaker, I yield 10 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), who represents the 18th Congressional District.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gimenez).

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I just want to reiterate that while I do support the idea of the underlying bills, I do not support the way the Democrats are running the House.

The Democratic majority continues to move on bills with virtually no input from Republicans and continues to prioritize partisanship over the American people. We are making great progress with the pandemic and do not need to consider legislation in this manner. We have got this rule without a semblance of traditional process, and one of the resolutions contained in this rule was moved to the Rules Committee without any sort of markup, leaving the Members of this body without the means to make amendments or lodge their objections.

That is not the way this body should function. I urge the majority to make the necessary changes to restore regular order to the House of Representatives. I do not believe that it is a healthy nor respectful way to govern.

For this reason, I oppose this rule and urge my colleagues to oppose it as well.

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Mrs. FISCHBACH. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

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