urgency in the urgency from russia are weapons. there is a shortage of ammunition around the world and if there is one place where there is a stockpile of ammunitions is in north korea. host: it's a pretty simple interaction, food and fuels for arms. any concern about sharing the weird technology and the ability to create and depl >> we are going tooy leave this program here to keep our over 40-year commitment to live coverage of congress. you can continue watching at c-span.org. as we take you now to the floor of the u.s. house here on c-span. h.r. 1530, if ordered. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, remaining electronic votes will be conducted in as five-minute

votes -- conduct as five-minute votes. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on the motion to instruct on h.r. 2670 offered by the gentlewoman from pennsylvania, ms. houlahan, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will redesignate the motion. the clerk: motion to instruct conferees offered by ms. houlahan of pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to instruct. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 205, the nays are 214, the motion is not adopted. without objection, a motion to

reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on suspending the rules and passing h.r.1530 as amended. which the clerk will now report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 162, h.r.1530, a bill to amend title 38, united states code, 20 improve the requirement to publish disability benefit questionnaire forms of the department of veterans' affairs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended? so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those present having voted in the affirmative --

>> mr. speaker? the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas? >> mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested and those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will now record their vote by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 423. the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on suspend the rules and passing h.r. 3371. which the clerk will now report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 16 o, h.r. 3371, a bill 20 direct the secretary of the interior to complete all actions necessary for certain land to be

held in restricted fee status by the ogala sioux tribe and the cheyenne river sioux tribe and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question of suspend the rules and passing h.r. 2872. as amended. which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: union calendar number 161. h.r. 2872, a bill to amend the permanent electronic duck step act of 2013 to allow states to issue electronic stamps under such act and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: yet is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill.

so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. without objection the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i offer privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 705, resolved, that william mcfarland of the state of maryland be and is hereby chosen sergeant at arms of the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to. and the motion to reconsider is

laid upon the table. the speaker: will the sergeant at arms designate please take the well. the chair will now swear in the sergeant at arms of the house. do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office of which you are about to enter, so help you god? congratulations.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that when the house adjourns today it adjourn to meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. bost: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor captain eleanor cook.

mr. speaker, the house is not in order. mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the captain eleanor cooke. to friends and family she was known as elie. the fifth of eight children of david and victoria lebeau. she graduated from high school in 2012 before attending murray state university in contract c in 2018, she answered the call of service and joined the marine corps and become ago pilot. it was in the marines where she met her beloved husband, chase. elie received the national defense service medal, global war on terror service headal, and sea service deployment ribbon. in march of this year, she was prompted -- promoted to captain three weeks ago elie lost her life in a v-22 osprey crash on

training mission off the coast of australia. two other fellow marines passed away as well. her family and her home community mourn her loss. so does countless other southern illinoisans. she was special. as her obituary noted, there was just something about ellie. our prayers go out to chase and the entire lebeau family and the cooke families at this very difficult time. your impact on our nation will be remembered. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recog recognition? mr. pane: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. payne: mr. speaker, i rise

today to discuss the dangerous republican budget cuts and how they will hurt american families, damage education, and threaten our communities. they would force border patrol agencies fire 800 agents and make our country less secure. they would remove 40,000 teachers from classrooms, and affect the education of 33.5 million students. they would deny 50,000 american workers the money they earned on the job. and they would take 4,000 law enforcement officers off our streets and make our neighborhoods less safe. in addition, these cuts would take food out of the mouths of millions of american children and seniors if they do not get

their way republicans will shut down the government. and hurt more americans, including our veterans. clearly this behavior does not represent a party working for the american people. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. carter: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize mobilized recovery across georgia for their work during national recovery months. mobilize recovery across georgia is a traveling bus tour crossing the state of georgia throughout the month of september to promote addiction recovery. from 2019 to 2021 drug overdose seth deaths in georgia increased by 355.9%. over 800,000 georgians are living in long-term recovery from a substance use disorder.

georgia's simply a snapshot of a nationwide epidemic that affects countless lives, families, and communities each year. disengaging and uplifting bus tours designed to bring together georgia policymakers, local officials, and the 800,000 recovering georgians. i'd like to thank mobilize recovery across georgia for bringing georgians together to celebrating recovery and for educating them on what resources are available to them. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to officially welcome folks from the warren county chamber alliance to the capitol this week. mr. landsman: i am so proud to

represent these folks here in congress and so glad that they are here in washington these past few days. these leaders are incredible advocates for our warren county businesses and residents. we have had a very productive time discussing our bipartisan policy work and how our office can help them and their work. they have these great projects from road updates, to high-speed internet expansion to updating waterlines. we hope to have over $14 million coming back to southwest ohio in this budget. which, when passed, will help ensure that these projects are fully funded. again, i am proud to officially recognize their visit to d.c. this week and look forward to continuing our work together. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia seek

recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mooney: recently i introduced my plan, house resolution 3190, to crack down on mexico for their failure to stop the flood of fentanyl across our border. the mexican president continues to falsely state that fentanyl is not manufactured or consumed in his country. but the numbers do not lie. the d.e.a. said in december that, quote, most of the fentanyl traffic by the cartels is being mass-produced at secret factories in mexico chemicals sourced largely from china. there are 14,000 pounds of the drug seized last year at the southern border. fentanyl continues to pour across our border because of the disastrous open border policies of president biden. my plan will cut off u.s. taxpayer funding for economic aid to mexico until president biden certifies mexico is working with the united states to secure its border and stop the inflow of fentanyl. mexico should not be rewarded

with u.s. taxpayer doll -- u.s. taxpayer dollars while they are sending femme fentanyl across the border. i call my colleagues to join me in this legislation to hold mexico accountable. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: mr. speaker, today i rise to speak on behalf of the many residents of eastern north carolina who expressed their deep concerns to me about the government shut down. i have listened. and many are tired of the division and chaos. families across eastern north carolina and america deserve better than uncertainty and anxiety. let us work together to prevent

a government shutdown. and to the people of north carolina's first congressional district, do know that i remain committed to doing everything to work to avoid a shutdown. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lamalfa: thank you, mr. speaker. the holman rule is a rule in the house of representatives that allows amendments to appropriations bills that reduce the salary of federal employees. it's a great way to punish those who fail the american people. no greater fail do we have the administration to allow millions of illegal immigrants to pour over our borders. sometimes this is aided and

abedded by the biden administration is a insult and farce and the language some of my opponents use seem it's done by pure spite. it's supposed to be the job of homeland security to prevent illegal immigration to the country and deport those who violate the nation's sovereignty. and majorca insists to congress and senate minorities he's done nothing wrong. i disagree. secretary majorca has done much wrong and what's worse, he could argue the border situation could be better if he had simply done nothing. when you see welded open gates and the city of new york saying please make it stop and they start shoving people into the border states, you know you've got a giant problem. so maybe may orca's salary would be better off with the holman rule and adjusted to $1 per year and even that's too much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> to ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, i rise today to honor allen smith. throughout his career, allen faithfully served his community and played a key role in supporting his local library system. when i was in local government i was fortunate enough to appoint allen to our local library commission, the costa county library association in the bay area. mr. desaulnier: he worked throughout the state of california in addition to our community conducting training sessions for library boards and commissions and advocating for our libraries. allen also served as the president of the california association of library trustees and commissioners and represented contra costa county in the bay area library information systems advisory board. allen was recognized for his

leadership and received the california library association's presidents award. as part of his service, allen was a fierce advocate for legislative action to strengthen our nation's public libraries. please join me in recognizing allen smith on his well deserved retirement after 26 years of service to this nation's libraries. i yield back. thank you, madam speaker. the speaker pro tempore: under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. johnson, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. johnson: thank you. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the subject of my special order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. johnson: this week the house will pass a bill concerning michelle lujan grisham's actions, a member of this body. late on a friday night earlier this month the governor took

action to suspend open carry and concealed firearms in her state. you heard that right. she claim sod called emergency powers to combat a public health crisis, she said, and on a whim attempted to restrict the second amendment rights of every law-abiding new mexico resident, the citizens of her state, the citizens this country. her action, of course, was overtly unconstitutional and functionally useless and only divide americans further. someone with elementary knowledge will of the constitution would know this. fortunately, new mexico residents and law enforcement openly defied her order and it was panned by lawmakers across it country, even some of the democratic colleagues in this body. mr. speaker, here's the interesting thing i wanted to note today. it's ironic attorney general merick garland has been here in this house and in a oversight meeting the last several hours. he is the top law enforcement

officer, over the top law enforcement agency, the department of justice, and one would think this type of issue, this event in new mexico, regardless of the politics, that's something the d.o.j. might intervene in. but they haven't. by principle, of course, we're conservatives and believe in less federal government intervention, the less the federal government is involved in state affairs, the better overall but this is not the case. in this situation the issue here is the d.o.j.'s selective application of justice and its clear targeting of red states for passing laws that its duly elected representatives voted for. think about this, a few examples, in 2021, the d.o.j. sued the state of georgia for passing election integrity reform. that suit failed and georgia had record voter turnout just a year later. months later they sued the state

of texas, your state, mr. speaker, for a right to protect unborn children and the supreme court refused to intervene and statistics showed abortions in texas plummeted, thankfully, as a result. earlier this year the d.o.j. sued the state of tennessee for a ban on child sex change procedures. the sixth court circuit court of appeals rejected the suit and it's state law now. the d.o.j., secretary garland, has display a penchant for filing lawsuits against red states for passing policy through their democratically elected legislature and do so with weak charges based on unconstitutional arguments in cases they know they cannot win. but that's not the point. they politicized the d.o.j. so here's the big question. given those examples and the trends of the department of justice, why hasn't merick garland posted a press conference or announced a federal lawsuit in the state of new mexico for arbitrarily suspending the constitutional

rights of its citizens. i'll tell you why, it's no secret, it's because new mexico's action serves the biden administration's stated political goals. the d.o.j. will sue red states for passing conservative policy while turning a blind eye to democrat governors who unilaterally curtail constitutional rights. they'll put grandmothers behind bars for protesting abortion but refuse to prosecute violent offenders who actually attack the pro-life pregnancy centers. they'll prosecute president trump for allegedly mishandling certified documents but give president biden a pass for even worse infractions. when we say the d.o.j. has been weaponized, this is what we're talking about and what the american people see. today the house judiciary committee asked merick garland about these questions and many more, 65% of the american people right now have no faith in the department of justice. it's because of his leadership. he has eroded the rule of law

and destroyed public trust in an essential american institution. i used my time this morning, the first questioner on our side on the judiciary and asked the attorney general about the d.o.j.'s hunter biden investigation. this is a big question on the minds of my constituents and most of ours around the country. i asked him plainly, i said, quote, have you had personal contact with anyone at f.b.i. headquarters about the hunter biden investigation. you know what his answer was? he said, i don't recollect the answer to that question. really? so let me get this straight, i told him, the attorney general of the united states cannot remember if he discussed an f.b.i. investigation into the son of the sitting president of the united states? that's your testimony under oath? yes, it is, he said. it's extraordinary. mr. speaker, frankly, we didn't expect transparency and his lieutenants demonstrated over and over they hold no regard for the rule of law and really are just acting as political hatchet men, protecting their boss,

president biden. the attorney general was clearly unwilling or unable to provide the essential answers we needed today and we will continue to press for them. that's our job. that's our constitutional duty on judiciary to provide oversight over the d.o.j. mr. speaker, we have a great lineup of members here to speak this afternoon on some very important topics to the country and i'm delighted to yield next to my friend from the great state of new jersey, dr. van drew. mr. drew: thank you, mr. speaker. and i want to thank congressman johnson for his leadership. mr. johnson is focused. he is an individual who is bringing this whole body forward, and i look forward to working with him continually on these issues. you know, there's a saying, we all know it, the truth shall set you free. the accusations made against the bidens more than require an investigation.

these accusations have painted a picture of corruption, bribery, and shameful behavior unbecoming of our executive branch. let's talk about them a little bit. bank records obtained by the oversight committee reveal almost $20 million in payments directed to biden's associates and family. these aren't republican talking points, these aren't trust jefferson van drew's talking points but the reality we've already found. over 150 transactions involving the bidens have been flagged as, quote, suspicious activity. and that's not only by the banks but also the treasury department. president biden himself participated in phone calls with his son hunter. it's a fact. effectively acting as the merchandise that was being sold by his son hunter who is a salesman. and they closed deals and we want to know what they're about.

cause that led to the funneling of millions of dollars to hunter and other biden family members and hunter's associates. the list goes on and on and on. i'm only touching the surface. this is more than enough to garner the extra powers granted from an impeachment inquiry. our goal is to get to the truth. as i said in the beginning of this conversation, the truth shall set you free. if there's nothing for them to worry about, they should welcome an impeachment inquiry. they should welcome producing the records. they should be welcoming producing the statements. it's just the truth that we want. our duty, we have a mission, a duty and a responsibility. our duty is to restore the american people's faith in our institutions. our mission is to reaffirm no one person, no one group is ever above the law in the united states of america.

this inquiry will move forward with full transparency and steadfast resolve. if there's nothing here to hide, there's nothing here to worry about. but if the allegations are confirmed, there will be and needs to be justice. thank you and i yield back. mr. johnson: thank you, my friend. you're exactly right, and we had no choice but to proceed to the impeachment inquiry phase because that's where the evidence led us, as you noted. article 2 of section 4 of the constitution says very clearly that a president shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors. we have credible allegations of a number of those infractions, bribery is one of them, high crimes and misdemeanors and we have mounds of evidence now stacking up to support those allegations, so we do not have a choice under the constitution but to proceed accordingly and that's what we'll do.

we'll do our constitutional duty. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield next to my good friend, the gentleman from utah, super bowl champion, mr. owens. mr. owens: thank you, mr. speaker, and my good friend from louisiana. today i rise in strong support of h.r.684, the resolution condemning governor michelle lujan grisham's unconstitutional action violating the new mexican's second amendment rights. the second amendment is not an optional provision the bureaucrats can toss aside at their whim but a fundamental principle to ensure that every law-abiding citizen has god granted rights to protect themselves, their families, their property and liberties. growing up in the deep south i witnessed how jim crow laws and minority populations are restricted from owning firearms. in the 1960's, martin luther king jr. kept weapons for protection but his permit was denied because of gun control

laws in his state. gun control laws proposed by legislation, congress, and the white house aggressively erode our basic constitutional rights. as it was in the civil rights era, the black community has seen this movie before. as democrats bridge our rights to self-protection, they legislate away the common sense tools for black americans to protect themselves. as they push to defund the police and are soft on crime policies, it's the urban black community that suffers. we're now experiencing all time highs in homicides, robberies, car thefts, physical assaults and destruction of black owned businesses. the house republicans will never waiver in our commitment to defending the rights of all of the law-abiding citizens regardless of race, creed, color or zip code. we'll continue to fight to safeguard america's inalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. it's an honor to lend my support to this house resolution and i pledge to continue to champion

the second right amendments to all americans. thank you, my friend, representative johnson, for bringing us together for this purpose. thank you. mr. johnson: thank you. that's well said. and if time permitted today, i'm sure we'd have every republican in the conference come to the floor and speak to the same issue because it's so outrageous that you have this trampling upon some of our most fundamental freedoms, the second amendment of course being among them. mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield next to the gentlelady from texas, a former mayor from down there, ms. van duyne. ms. van duyne: i rise to discuss the biden family business of selling out america. here's a sliver of what we know. the biden family and associates received nearly $20 million in payments funneled through shell companies. they were paid by russia, china, kazakhstan, ukraine and lord knows who else. joe biden lied about his family receiving over $1 million in payment thrawns associate.

hunter put owe on the phone at least 20 times in business meetings with foreign nationals. hunter biden's business associated visited the white house at least 80 times. while joe biden was vice president. there were more than 150 bank transactions involving the biden family that u.s. banks flagged as suspicious. not only was joe biden involved with hunter's clients and flying hunter around the world on air force 2 to generate more business but it's also apparent that joe was using his office as vice president to manipulate u.s. policy. we see that with ukraine, bur sirvetion ma and the firing of the prosecutor. unraveling the mountain of biden's lie hirksz shell companies, his actions as vice president is part of what we're going to be going on in these hearings and impeachment inquiry. if you're going to sell out america this is what it looks like. i yield back. mr. johnson: thank you, my friend, well said.

mechanic, i'm happy to yield next to the gentleman from california, mr. lamalfa. mr. lamalfa: thank you to my colleague from louisiana, mr. johnson, once again. so here we are. after nearly nine months of investigation into the biden family's influence peddling scheme, this body has uncovered mounting credible evidence of corruption. evidence has come to light through numerous committee hearings, whistleblower testimony and interviews. document discovery and rigorous congressional oversight. despite the false claims of left-wing media outlets such as cnn and msnbc there's in fact evidence of influence peddling and corruption. under the i.r.s. whistleblower testimony, two i.r.s. agents testified under oath that joe biden was present at at least one meeting with hunter biden's foreign clients. agent joseph zeigler, formerly known as whistleblower x, testified he was handcuffed and

ham strung throughout the i.r.s.'s five-year investigation of hunter biden and stopped from moving forward in the manner he believed to be appropriate for the offenses committed. over $17 million were sent to hunter biden from companies operating in authoritarian, oppressive nations. the i.r.s. whistleblowers also said the d.o.j. would not let them pursue joe biden or any connections that would lead to him. they alleged a campaign of delay, divulge, deny, surrounded their requests to pursue leads that led to joe biden. this allegation has been confirmed by his former f.b.i. s.s.a. the counsel was afointd obstruct congressional inquiries behind the curtain of an on tboing investigation. the testimony of i.r.s. whistleblowers has been corroborated by the testimony of the f.b.i. s.s.a. and two additional colleagues who claim they were fire fled investigation by order of attorney weiss.

devon archer's testimony to the white house committee is that joe bide season a brand. he alleges members of the biden family used biden's position as vice president to sell power and access to interested parties. v.p. biden would protect oligarchs from competent legal probes and investigation into foreign countries such as ukraine. hunter or another family member would be paid money and joe would meet the interested party in washington, d.c. a quick summary, an oligarch pays money to hunter biden's company or associate which is paid to hunter and a portion then goes to the big guy. his father. in the investigation in 2015, hunter was pressured by bur sirvetion ma to call d.c. to get help in removing a ukrainian prosecutor victor shokin. he was later fired and video evidence surfaced of joe biden bragging about getting him fired

in order for foreign aid dollars to flow to the ukrainian government. right on tape. joe biden and his family received $17 million from contacts in foreign countries according to i.r.s. documents. what was being done in exchange for this money? national archives have confirmed that joe biden used pseudonyms when communicating with hunter and his business associates from official government emails including the office of the vice president. so you have d.o.j. misconduct, confirmed by the f.b.i. s.s.a. and leader sthoich d.o.j. specifically merrick garland prevented investigators from doing their jobs as best as he could. f.b.i. d.c. office tipped off the secret service in an interview with hunter biden that was being planned. f.b.i. headquarters also tipped them off of a planned search of hunter's residence which gave time and forewarning for any incriminating evidence to be removed. no ordinary american would ever expect to receive such

preferential treatment if they were accused of the crimes that hunter and joe have been. what they could normally expect is a 4:00 a.m. knock on the door, or a battering ram for even lesser crimes. investigateors were not allowed to ask about the big guy. bank records show over 170 suspicious activity reports filed by banks in the biden family financial transactions. this means that banks believed over 170 separate financial transactions in biden family bank accounts were linked to bribery, money laundering or other serious financial crimes. and f.b.i. informant documented conversations indicating to them that joe pressured foreign companies to send millions to the family business. claims from democrats and their media allies that the impeachment inquiry were opened without evidence are not only false but also illogical. inquiries exist for the pup of

uncovering evidence. impeachment inquiries at its heart is an investigation into whether an impeachable offense has been commit. it's not the whole scope of the impeachment. it gives the ability to continue the investigation. where there's smoke there's probably fire. it's also shown that biden was snrovd hunter's business dealings. this is an impeachment offense. since it's alleged it only happened while he was v.p. rather than while he was president that impeachment is not applicable, but that's false. joe biden has lied about his connections to his son's corrupt business dealings for years. we're not supposed to take impeachment lightly around here. indeed it's been abused the last few years a couple of times. but house republicans are going to go through the process. due process. and find real evidence.

so the conclusion is that despite the claims of the partisan media and democrat ally there's indeed mounting evidence that president joe biden was involved in his family's influence selling scheme and intimately involved in hunter biden's crimes. an impeachment inquiry will help get to the bottom of this and i hope democrats will be interested as well, to determine whether there is proof of these crimes. if there is, president biden has committed impeachable offenses. not to be taken lightly, not to be thrown around for political purposes. utilized. this impeachment inquiry is a very important ability for congress to answer the questions of many, many american people asking about the obvious corruption coming forward thanks to whistleblowers and others bringing this evidence to the front. so with that, let's proceed, let's do this properly.

i thank my colleague and i yield back. mr. johnson: thank you, my friend. very well said. lest hasten to say we take no pleasure in this. there's a lot of big challenges the country needs to fix. we don't want to spend time and resources investigating the president. impeaching a president. next to declaring war, it's the heaviest power we have that the house of representatives. but article 1 of the constitution does give us, quote, the sole power of impeachment here. so we have no choice in the matter. given the evidence, given the allegations, we have to pursue it. and we will. and we're often asked why is the house majority, why are the house republicans spending so much time investigating if we have not done these investigations we wouldn't have all of this evidence. why? goes back to the theme of what i was saying earlier. because the department of justice is in the doing its job. under normal circumstance, the d.o.j. would be investigating all these allegations of corruption but they look the other way. as i noted earlier, attorney

general garland who is just now leaving the judiciary committee, he's been here all day, he's abused his department to abuse political agendas, he's raid the home of president biden's main political opponent. his department is obstructing the hunter biden investigation and impeding the house's impeachment inquiry into president biden. what are we to do? we were home on the august district work period, i was doing town halls in my district in louisiana. i'm telling at every venue the number one question everybody has is when will there be accountability? i mentioned earlier that 65% of americans now have no faith, they don't trust the department of justice. we're losing faith in our institutions because the people do not see accountability. they don't see a fair system of justice. they see a two-tiered system of justice. it's frightening. you cannot maintain a constitutional republic if the people do not trust the system of justice. they don't believe it's fair. they don't believe they're going to get a fair shake that.

every american regardless of who they are are going to have equal justice under law. that's threat right now. there's nothing more serious than that. we'll pursue the truth. we'll follow it wherever it leads. and we'll try to return that accountability to the people. mr. speaker, i will end this special order hour here and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. under the speaker's announced policy of january 9, 2023, the gentlewoman from washington, ms0 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. ms. jayapal: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask for unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jayapal: across the country, mr. speaker, we have seen workers standing up to corporate greed and fighting for better rights on the job. good benefits and fair wages. today our congressional

progressive caucus special order hour is devoted to this topic and to our solidarity with striking workers at u.a.w. plants across the country. this week, the united auto workers authorized a strike. and as a long-term organizer myself and as the chair of our 103-member-strong congressional progressive caucus, a caucus that has been at the center of championing labor issues, i am proud to stand in solidarity with the nearly 150,000 united auto workers across the country. let me start today by saying thank you to all the workers who have had the courage to organize. the courage to use their collective power to stand up for better pay, cost of living adjustments, increased job security and many other critical benefits that they deserve to live with dignity. unionization is fundamentally about workplace democracy.

about the engagement and the priorities of workers. your benefits. your hours. your pay. your priorities. nobody tellus what those are except the workers themselves. u.a.w. workers are showing us what it means to have collective power, to stand together, and to demand better. over the last decade, c.e.o.'s at the big three automakes have seen their salaries skyrocket by 40% and these companies have made close to $250 billion in profits. over the last decade. let me just say that again. a quarter of a trillion dollars in profits for these three automakers while workers in the auto manufacturing industry have actually seen their wages drop by more than 20% when adjusted for inflation. just listen to these numbers. at ford, the c.e.o. makes 281 times the wage of the median

worker. at general motor, the ratio is 362 to 1. at stellantis which makes chrysler, jeep, and ram, the ratio is 365 to one. and do these workers, do these c.e.o.'s work hundreds of times harder than their lowest paid workers? the answer is, there's nothing at these companies without the workers. there would be no profits without these workers. why is it that they cannot share in the profits in an equitable way. it is workers who have built the successes of these companies and led them to these record profits. and yet these same workers have reported being forced to work 12-hour shifts for 90 days straight. without a single day off. that is just unconscionable. and it is unacceptable for these c.e.o.'s to be raking in multimillion dollar salaries while their workers are forced to strike for the pay raises and

benefits they should be entitled to. u.a.w. has been clear about their demands for months. we are in this situation because the big three automakers, their c.e.o.'s have refused to even come to the table in meeting workers' demands halfway. these companies need to come to the bargaining table in good faith. they cannot expect workers to continue working unreasonable hours without job security to make cars that they can in the even buy. -- that they cannot even buy. in spite of the failure they have big three to grant workers' demands, the unionization movement is not slowing down. when their contract expired on thursday, september 14, u.a.w. president sean fain announced initial strikes at three plants that include nearly 13,000 workers. still awaiting a fair contract, a new strike deadline of this friday, september 22, at noon, has been announced. if ford, general motors

stellantis haven't made progress toward a new agreement. many of these c.e.o.'s frame many of these c.e.o.'s say the demands are unreasonable. let me be clear about something. labor costs only make up about 5% of the cost of a vehicle. that goes into a vehicle. these companies could raise worker wages to the levels they're asking without raising costs to consumers and they could still rake in billions of profits. let's not forget that during the recession, who stepped up and sacrificed? these companies actually got billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts and auto workers were the ones who took life-changing cuts to benefits and wages just to keep the industry alive because they cared about that industry. for the big three, this is a huge opportunity to lead and to repay the american taxpayers and the auto workers who made the sacrifices to keep those companies afloat. these big corporations should be

standing with instead of against the very workers who built their companies from the bottom up. and any management that says otherwise does not understand what workplace democracy means. it is clear that president biden understands what's at stake. he just recently said, and it's quite unprecedented for a president to say this, and this is a quote, the big three should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts for the u.a.w. we agree. house democrats and the congressional progressive caucus understand this too. that's why we in the house have passed multiple times the p.r.o. act, despite it dying in the senate because of a jim crow legacy filibuster. and that's why we're bringing manufacturing union jobs to america in every corner of this country. unions keep our economy strong, they protect our workers.

the power to come together and organize is so important. and it is a right that i will always defend in congress. so as workers at u.a.w. and other unions across the country push for fair pay and better benefits, we at the congressional progressive caucus, we in the democratic caucus will be standing with you in solidarity today, tomorrow, and forever. it is now my great honor to yield time to representative grace meng from new york who has been a champion of labor issues and of justice in general. ms. meng: mr. speaker, i rise today to stand in solidarity and speak in support of our auto workers who are currently on strike. working men and women are the backbone of this nation and their desire for job security, fair wages and to simply be treated fairly is something that

every working individual deserves. during the 2008 great financial crisis, these workers sacrificed pay and benefits during a time of desperation to help keep their companies afloat. and now, long after these corporations have bounced back, they are making record profits that they refuse to share with their own workers. that is unacceptable and wrong. these workers have ensured that key industries that make our country run stay functioning. and in return for the billions that they have generated, all they want are wages and benefits commensurate with their companies' success. that seems fair to me. i'm proud to stand alongside thousands of auto workers that this contract covers and i hope an ingredient is reached soon. i yield back. ms. jayapal: thank you, representative meng.

it's now my great honor to yield to a member of the progressive caucus, a representative from michigan who has really been on the front lines of this fight, who has been telling us for months that we need to pay attention to this, and who has been fighting at every turn for workers, representative debbie dingell. mrs. dingell: thank you, madam chair. i rise today to stand in solidarity with our u.a.w. workers. i have seen many negotiations in my lifetime, but these are the most important i have ever witnessed and i'm likely to in my career. the industry is at a crossroads and, quite frankly, the domestic auto industry's future is at stake. we must manufacture electric vehicles here in america to stay at the forefront of innovation and technology in the world. we're competing in a global

marketplace. and these workers are critical to it. they are the backbone of the american economy. this is not a talking point moment. this is where the rubber is meeting the road. too many people are trying to make this an either/or, you can protect the environment or you can protect the worker. but you can't do both. we can and must do both. there are a lot of important issues on the table right now. but let's talk about the auto workers. this industry was near bankruptcy in 2008 and 2009. and, quite frankly, because of poor management decisions. but nobody wanted to see the auto industry go bankrupt. so the workers stepped up and said, we will give up our cost

of living adjustment to help save this industry. in reality, though, it's 2023 and those workers, their wages in real terms are 10% less than what they were making in 2008 and 2009. they just want their wages to keep up with inflation. workers need to be able to support their families. people really -- i talked to these workers. i'm in their halls. i'm not just going because suddenly there's a strike. i'm in a union hall every single weekend. these workers are working overtime shifts just to support their families. it's not fair that someone is a temporary worker for eight to 10 years and they're not making benefits. it's not right that someone's on

the line and doing the exact same job somebody else is doing and being paid less because they're a different tier. everybody in our country benefits when our workers are paid well and paid their value. auto workers deserve a decent wage in benefits and, by the way, when they do well, it raises all people's wages. we cannot forget that there are many things that we enjoy today like a 40-hour workweek, benefits, sick days, pensions, nurse to patient ratio, teacher to student ratio, safe working conditions. they were negotiated by a union so that we would all benefit. and now we need to -- i want a competitive auto industry. i am not going to let china or any other country outbeat us.

i'm going to work hard for a competitive auto industry. but we need to make sure, as the industry goes through this transition, that we are protecting the workers, that their livelihoods are safe, and they are not left behind. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. ms. jayapal: thank you, representative dingell. before you leave, if you would engage in a colloquy with me for a couple of minutes. i know you've been on the pickett lines -- picket lines with workers. you've talked to striking workers. can you tell us some of what you're hearing about what people have been giving up just in terms of their own security, their own ability to take care of their familys? mrs. dingell: well, as i said to you, the workers, they were telling me in the halls this weekend how much overtime they have been working just to keep up. but we also -- there have been chemical spills that are

happening in nonunion plants or plants that we've got to talk to the occupation, health and safety people about what is happening. there are people that are worried about -- i mean, there really are workers that have been temporary. so they're getting paid, but they're not getting any benefits. so there are a lot of issues. and by the way, they don't want to see the companies destroyed. they know that their jobs matter, they need a competitive auto company so their jobs are safe. so what they want is just to be paid a fair wage for the work that they're doing. ms. jayapal: thank you so much, again, for your leadership and thank you for sharing that. i think it's really important to remember that these are the workers that actually helped save the auto industry by giving up defined benefit pension plans, by giving up salary increases, wage increase, benefit increases at that very time when we needed them to, because they care so much about making sure that we have a competitive auto industry. and i know that that has been

everything that you've worked for as well. so thank you so much. next i'd like to yield time to the wonderful gentlelady from illinois who is also on our executive board for the congressional progressive caucus, also has been a champion for workers and for justice throughout her career and we're just so delighted that she's now here in congress to do that work. representative ramirez. ms. ramirez: thank you, chairwoman. today, earlier in wwe we were talking about -- committee we were talking about the economy and we were talking about numbers so i want to continue the conversation on numbers. approximately $25 million, that's the amount reported that was earned by the c.e.o. in 2022. a 77% increase over the former c.e.o.'s salary in 2019.

nearly $21 million, the reported earnings of ford's c.e.o. and that was up 21% from the salary of the former c.e.o. in 2019. approximately $30 million, the paycheck of general motors' c.e.o., an increase of 34% compared to 2019. not long ago, a c.e.o. defended their paycheck by saying, and i quote, 92% of my raise is based on the performance of the company. you see, i too believe that when a company does great financially, the ones who worked to make it a reality should see the fruits of their efforts. so when we say that a record high salary raise is due to the record high performance of a company, we should ask ourselves -- how was that performance made

possible? and the truth is that there's only one answer. the answer is that nearly 150,000 united auto workers who are out on the streets today, urging these companies for parity, are the reason for this performance. and they're urging their companies for their earned benefits, they're urging their companies for stronger protection and a place in the industry's future, the clean energy economy. mr. speaker, as the proud daughter of hard, withing immigrant parents -- hardworking immigrant parents who worked long hours of minimum wage jobs, my mother still today is a home care worker, they did this just to put food on our table, a roof over our heads and keep the lights on, it is my honor to stand here in full support of u.a.w. workers and every single worker fighting for their future. workers, they are the backbone

of our middle class in our economy and we know that when they thrive, we all thriving. time and time again workers are demonstrating to us that the power we hold when we come together to bargain for better wages, benefits and working conditions, is a benefit for all of us. and i know that we will succeed again. so today i stand with auto workers in their fight to secure the contract that they deserve. it is time that we give our auto workers the parity and support they need and they've already earned. know that in me you will always find someone who stands ready to protect and support all workers' right to fair wages, safe and dignified working conditions, universal health care and democracy in their workplace. it's what the congressional progressive caucus stands for, it is what i stand for, and it is why i am so honored to be able to speak today in this special order hour. i yield back to the chairwoman. ms. jayapal: thank you so much, representative ramirez.

and now it's my great honor to yield time to a colleague who serves on the education and labor committee with me, has been, again, at the forefront of championing labor issues and is from the great state of california, representative mark desaulnier. mr. desaulnier: thank you, madam chair of the caucus. thank you, mr. speaker. i want to stand in solidarity with my colleagues and the 150,000 members of the united auto workers fighting for fair pay and safer working conditions. in high cost of living areas, like the area i represent, the bay area, cost of living adjustments are necessary to ensure work verse a livable standard in their community, with their job. over the past decade, the big three automakers almost doubled their profits. much of it with the help of the united states government. these profits total $250

billion. the c.e.o. pay increased almost 40% just in the last four years. unfortunately, pay for the workers hasn't come near to following suit. though the strikes are currently ongoing, in three state theirs outcome will have impacts on and provide benefits to the quality of life for auto workers across the country. as a member of both the house committee on transportation and infrastructure and the committee on education and labor, i am especially aware of the implications these negotiations will have on the electric vehicle transition. as a former union member myself, i believe we need to ensure strong labor protections for this new and fast-growing industry which provides a historic opportunity to both support workers and provide for just and sustainable economic transition. i thank the u.a.w. members for their sacrifice and their

commitment, i thank them nationwide for standing up for what is right and what is right not just for their members but for the future of this country, and i yield back. ms. jayapal: thank you, representative desaulnier. now it's a great privilege to yield time to the ranking member of the small business committee and a member of the congressional progressive caucus executive board, somebody who has truly seen around the world the plight of workers and the need for justice, representative nydia velazquez of new york. ms. velazquez: thank you, madam chair. mr. speaker, i rise today in solidarity with u.a.w. members across the country fighting for the fair contract. as we stand here today, over 12,000 auto workers are striking in michigan, missouri, and highway. over 100,000 u.a.w.s stand ready to do what is necessary to secure better wages, benefits and working conditions.

their priorities are not extreme. in the past decade, the big three auto makers make an astronomical $250 billion in profits. during that same time, c.e.o. pay at these companies increased 40% while workers' wages have increased only 6%. these record profits were built on the back of workers. today, u.a.w. members are demanding that they receive their fair share of this record windfall. this is not extreme. it is what these workers are entitled to. the big three auto makes must recognize this and -- auto makers must recognize this and negotiate with u.a.w. in good faith to resolve this standoff with justice and fairness. thank you and i yield back. ms. jayapal: thank you,

representative velazquez. i want to take a minute, in case anybody out there listening has been interested in the concept of strikes. i think it's important to say that striking is not an inherently bad or inherently good thing. it is not a failure of our systems. in fact, it is a tool that is used to rebalance power between employers and workers. employers don't have any right to pay unsustainable wages. they don't have any right to put forward unsustainable benefits. they don't have a right to keep families unstable by filling their workforce with workers that they just name as temporary even though sometimes they worked for eight or 10 years. they don't have any right to put the burden of a worker's retirement on families or on governments, particularly when so many of these auto workers have spent generations working for these companies and building

these companies. employers have no such rights. striking is actually the noble way that workers can reset the power dynamic so that they and their families can get what they deserve. and they make the decision to strike very, very soberly. if you listen to many of the auto workers on the picket lines today, they talk about how they have been saving, preparing for this moment. they've been not going to movie. they have been not spending on things they might otherwise spend on. because they know that in striking, what they're doing is fighting not only for their wages and benefits and working conditions, they're actually fighting for the wages, benefits and working conditions of generations of workers to come. perhaps even their son, their daughter, their children, their grandchildren, to be able to have good jobs. and i think that's a really important, important thing to think about because for us, our

job, i think, is, as the community of those workers, to support that decision. especially when inequality is hurting our society so badly. and here in congress, i think our job as members of congress is to make sure that we strengthen the right to collectively bargain and to organize. to make sure that workers have that power. to work with management. in many parts of the world, it is not an adversarial relationship. it is not an adversarial relationship because both management and workers understand that a company can do better when management supports workers, when workers are paid well, and of course by the way, when workers' wages go up, they spend more. when they spend more, their communities to better. their businesses do better. everyone does better. but the tragedy of the last many

decades really accompanied by policy that has forced these changes is that trickle down economics doesn't work. what actually happens in trickle down economics is a few people at the very top get rich. and everybody else loses out. that is why we had the highest inequality in our country in half a century. it is why not just income inequality, but wealth inequality is at its highest. it is why in the wealthiest country in the world we have 130 million people who are poor and low-wage. and so when workers are striking it is a reflection, a consequence, of bad policy choices. that have not furthered the goal of equity, inequality and fairness. and it is also a rebalancing of power. i was interested, as i was thinking about this special order hour, that i looked up how

many strikes we have seen recently. and just since the beginning of this year, there have been 247 strikes so far. that involve 341,000 workers. and when you look at what's happened out of some of the big contracts that we've seen, from the port contracts to the -- to -- to the graduate students and research students in my home state of washington. the u.p.s. workers. what you're finally seeing with the collective bargaining is the ability to move wages in the right direction. and of course if that doesn't happen, then the tool of a strike is always on the table as a way to force people to listen to the demands of workers.

i think today, as we think about the situation that we're in, everybody understands how important the auto industry is to us. in this country. we all understand that we have competition from other countries around the world. and that the way that we are going to make sure that we keep our industry strong is to bring back manufacturing to the united states. that is exactly what democrats and president biden have been pushing for with the bipartisan infrastructure bill. with the inflation reduction act. with all of the bills that we have passed, with the chips and manufacturing act, the reality, the chips and science act. the reality is that we are trying to bring back jobs to the united states and to make sure that they are good, union jobs. unfortunately, there are people who are cynically using the u.a.w. strike to try to say that they stand up for workers. like our former president.

he's saying that he's going to go to michigan, he's going to suddenly appear on the -- to speak to the auto workers. and i would just remind anybody who is watching that under the former president, we lost hundreds of thousands of jobs. that were offshored. we didn't make the american economy more competitive. we didn't bring back good union jobs. in fact, my colleagues across the aisle have opposed us almost unanimously, we have some republicans who have stuck with us on the pro act who advance -- to advance collective bargaining, we have tried to move forward increases to the minimum wage. we have done all of the things on the democratic side, with very little, if no, republican support depending on the bill. to make sure that we are strengthening the middle class and the bottom, creating a bottom-up, middle-out economy that benefits all of us.

nobody is against people earning profits. but what is wrong is to earn those profits at the cost of the workers who actually make those profits for you. that is wrong. and that's why we are so proud to stand in solidarity with the auto workers. with the united auto workers. we thank the president, sean fain, for his strength of negotiating and for his clarity of vision. for his moral call. for everybody to do better. because when everybody does better, everybody does better. when only a few people at the very top do better, everyone suffers. and so, mr. speaker, i hope that the striking auto workers across the country know that the congressional progressive caucus, that democrats, house democrats, stand with them. in this very difficult time and

we promise that we will continue to protect workers, protect collective bargaining. to expand collective bargaining. and to make sure that workers everywhere enjoy the rights and the dignity othat they deserve. with that, we have no further speakers, so i now move that the house adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands adjourned until 9:00 a.m. tomorrow for morning hour debat. tomorrow.

>> monday, watch the new series "books that shaped america." we'll feature "the federalist" a

compilation of essays written in 1787 and 1788 written by james madison, alexander hamilton and john jay. gregory mags, u.s. court of appeals for the armed forces and julian shields, a professor, will talk about why those papers are fundamental to understanding the constitution. watch "books that shaped america" featuring "the federalist" on c-span, c-span now our free mobile video app or online at c-span.org. scan the q.r. code to listen to our companion podcast where you can learn more about the authors of the book featured. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government. we're funded by these television companies and more including cox.