Raising A Question of the Privileges of the House
Floor Speech
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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to table at the desk.
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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I share one thing in common with my friend from Virginia. This is a very sad day and certainly a day I never expected to have to live through.
I think, broadly speaking, as I look across this floor, you can divide Members into three groups. I am very happy to be in the first group, the overwhelming majority of my party who supports the Speaker that we elected.
We are proud of the leadership he has shown. We are proud of the manner in which he has been willing to work with everybody in our Conference, and I believe in this Chamber.
There is a second group, a small group. Honestly, they are willing to plunge this body into chaos and this country into uncertainty for reasons that only they really understand. I certainly don't.
Then there are friends on the other side--I mean friends, honestly, with great sincerity--I have a lot of friends over there, and I recognize that my friends on the other side have a very complex set of partisan, personal, and political calculations to make.
I certainly wouldn't presume to give them any advice about that, but I would say think long and hard before you plunge us into chaos because that is where we are headed if we vacate the speakership.
I personally think there are really three reasons why we have come to this point, and that is because at each three of these critical minutes, the Speaker did the right thing.
First, there was a Speaker vote. He got 85 percent of the vote in our Conference; 90 percent of the vote from Republicans on this floor.
Yet, we had a small group that decided no, they would dictate what they want. He didn't let that happen. He fought. Now, he fought for himself, but he fought for 90 percent of us too that wanted him to be the Speaker, and I appreciate that.
Then, of course, we had the debt ceiling deal. Nobody here thought he could pass a bill. Nobody in America thought he could pass a bill.
He did what Speakers are supposed to do. He passed the bill. Then he sat down and negotiated with a Democratic Senate and a Democratic President and came back with a good deal, a deal that will limit spending. He did the right thing.
Finally, last Saturday on this floor, we were on the verge of a government shutdown, a government shutdown that the vast majority of Members in this Chamber did not want, a substantial majority on my side and an overwhelming majority on the Democrat side.
He put his political neck on the line, knowing this day was coming, to do the right thing--the right thing for the country without a doubt. My friends and I agree on that, whether or not we agree on the Speaker. He did the right thing. He did the right thing for this institution. He showed it could function in a time of crisis. Finally, he did the right thing for our party. He made sure that we could continue to negotiate and achieve some of the very objectives my friend from Virginia laid out, and achieve them in divided government, which calls for some degree of give-and-take.
Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of this Speaker. I am very proud to stand behind him. Tomorrow morning, whether I win or lose, I am going to be pretty proud of the people I fought with and I am going to be extraordinarily proud of the person I fought for, the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.
Mr. MIKE GARCIA of California. Mr. Speaker, I want to recalibrate our minds on what is actually happening here today.
This proceeding looks important. It feels consequential, but let's look at what else is happening across America.
Today, about 300 Americans will die from fentanyl poisoning. Today, about 11,000 people will illegally penetrate our borders. Today's debt is approaching $34 trillion. Today's mortgage rates just hit a 25-year high now approaching 8 percent. Our energy prices are again at backbreaking highs with gas approaching $8 a gallon in my district. Today, China and the CCP grow stronger with an intent to go to war by 2027, and our military is experiencing record-low retention and record- low recruitment.
This is the reality of today for 335 million Americans under President Joe Biden. It is a dark and scary reality. This Republican majority here today in the House is the only firewall against the damaging far-left policies of the Biden administration.
The single-subject appropriations bills that we were supposed to be voting on this week will literally fight to reverse the darkness of these realities and fight inflation, cut spending, secure our border, while enhancing our Nation's security and investing in our soldiers at a meaningful level.
Today, this body filled with people in fancy suits led by a few Republicans who are running with scissors and supported by Democrats who have personal issues with the Speaker, have uncertain intentions and even more uncertain goals, and they have decided to make today about drama. Today is not about solving problems and helping our constituents but about drama.
We need to be the no-drama option for America--this party, this majority. I fear that this self-inflicted drama of today jeopardizes our majority and by definition removes the last layer of defense protecting America from this Biden administration.
Let's dispense with the drama, do our jobs, and move on with defending this beautiful country.
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Mr. COLE. Stefanik), my very good friend, and our distinguished Conference leader.
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Mr. COLE.
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Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time remaining for each side.
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