Providing for Consideration of H.R. Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, Providing for Consideration of H.R. 21st Century Peace Through Strength Act; and Providing for Concurrence By the House in the Senate Amendment to H.R. with An Amendment

Floor Speech

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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 1160 and ask for its immediate consideration.

The Clerk read the resolution, as follows: H. Res. 1160

Resolved, That upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 8034) making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Israel and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees; and (2) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 2. At any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8035) making emergency supplemental appropriations to respond to the situation in Ukraine and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. The amendment printed in part A of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part B of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. In the case of sundry further amendments reported from the Committee, the question of their adoption shall be put to the House en gros and without division of the question. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.

Sec. 3. Upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the House the bill (H.R. 8036) making emergency supplemental appropriations for assistance for the Indo-Pacific region and for related expenses for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. The bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except: (1) 30 minutes of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations or their respective designees; (2) the amendment printed in part C of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by the Member designated in the report, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question; and (3) one motion to recommit.

Sec. 4. At any time after adoption of this resolution the Speaker may, pursuant to clause 2(b) of rule XVIII, declare the House resolved into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8038) to authorize the President to impose certain sanctions with respect to Russia and Iran, and for other purposes. The first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. All points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. General debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed 30 minutes equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs or their respective designees. After general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five- minute rule. The amendment printed in part D of the report of the Committee on Rules accompanying this resolution shall be considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. The bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. No further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part E of the report of the Committee on Rules. Each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the House or in the Committee of the Whole. All points of order against such further amendments are waived. At the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the Committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the House with such further amendments as may have been adopted. In the case of sundry further amendments reported from the Committee, the question of their adoption shall be put to the House en gros and without division of the question. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit.

Sec. 5. During consideration of H.R. 8035 and H.R. 8038, the Chair may entertain a motion that the Committee rise only if offered by the Majority Leader or his designee. The Chair may not entertain a motion to strike out the enacting words of the bill (as described in clause 9 of rule XVIII).

Sec. 6. (a) Upon disposition of the bills specified in subsection (d), the House shall be considered to have taken from the Speaker's table the bill (H.R. 815) to amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements relating to the eligibility of veterans to receive reimbursement for emergency treatment furnished through the Veterans Community Care program, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and to have concurred in the Senate amendment with an amendment inserting the respective texts of all bills specified in subsection (d), as passed by the House, in lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate.

(b) In the engrossment of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 815, the Clerk shall --

(1) assign appropriate designations to provisions within the engrossment;

(2) conform cross-references and provisions for short titles within the engrossment;

(3) be authorized to make technical corrections, to include corrections in spelling, punctuation, page and line numbering, section numbering, and insertion of appropriate headings; and

(4) relocate section 3 in the matter preceding division A of the text of H.R. 8038 to a new section immediately prior to Division A within the engrossment.

(c) Upon transmission to the Senate of a message that the House has concurred in the Senate amendment to H.R. 815 with an amendment, the bills specified in subsection (d) that have passed the House shall be laid on the table.

(d) The bills referred to in subsections (a) and (c) are as follows: H.R. 8034, H.R. 8035, H.R. 8036, and H.R. 8038.

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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. Speaker, late last night, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 1160, providing for consideration of four measures: H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, under a closed rule; H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, under a structured rule; H.R. 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, under a structured rule; and H.R. 8038, the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act, under a structured rule.

The rule further provides that after the House's consideration of these measures, the Senate will be quickly able to move to consideration of the legislation that we pass.

Mr. Speaker, today, it is important that we support the underlying rule and the underlying legislation. Specifically, I rise in support of our allies after the attack on Israel by Iran 10 days ago. That unprecedented attack has reaffirmed the need for strong American leadership and support for our allies abroad, especially Israel and now our allies in the Indo-Pacific.

I am well aware there have been concerns in our Conference and really on both sides of the House about the southern border and national debt.

As a Member from Texas, as a member of the Budget Committee, I fully understand these concerns and share all of them, but the requirement for America to insert itself as the leader of the free world is not optional. It is not a requirement we can put on pause.

Israel has been attacked. China talks menacingly about reunification with Taiwan. Ukraine is in crisis and is in need of our help to survive Russian aggression.

Now, I would say to the President that this legislation on the floor today perhaps could have been facilitated by some leadership from the executive branch, but despite the circumstances that brought us here, we stand before the House to support our allies and reaffirm America's leadership on the world stage.

H.R. 8034, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, will provide much-needed material support to the Jewish state as it faces twin threats from Hamas and the Islamic Republic of Iran. This includes $4 billion to replenish Israel's Iron Dome and over a billion dollars for the Iron Beam defense system.

H.R. 8036, the Indo-Pacific Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, will work to counter the Chinese Communist Party and create a strong deterrence in the region.

H.R. 8035, the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, will assist Ukraine as they counter Russian aggression.

Of the latter, all financial assistance to the Ukrainian Government is converted into a loan, ensuring that the Ukrainian Government is held accountable to the American people.

Mr. Speaker, there is no doubt that our failure in Afghanistan was the spark in the tinderbox that led to the subsequent invasion of Ukraine in 2022. That conflict had been smoldering for a long time, certainly at least since 2014 and two previous administrations. Had the administration in 2014, as well as the current administration, had more foresight to provide aid and arms to Ukraine before February 2022, there might have been a different set of circumstances that we were contemplating today, and there might have been a more swift resolution to this conflict, with the saving of untold lives.

Mr. Speaker, I stand with my colleagues requesting more information from the administration. The American people deserve answers about how previous funding has been used. They deserve answers about what the long-term goals by the administration are to resolve this conflict.

I welcome more oversight. I welcome additional information from the administration and will continue to push its accountability. Today, we are at an inflection point, and the longer we wait, the more expensive any solution to this conflict will become, both in terms of dollars and lives.

Lack of aid now could cost us much more dearly later, and I don't want that to become a reality. I would hope my colleagues on both sides of the aisle feel the same.

Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of the rule. I urge passage of the underlying legislation.

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Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I would just ask if the gentleman from Massachusetts has additional speakers. If not, I am prepared to close, and

Mr. Speaker, our adversaries, notably Russia, China, and Iran, are watching to see how we will respond. Our reaction to these crises will determine how they will choose to proceed. An important difference between this package of bills today and the previously passed Senate supplemental is the addition of the 21st Century Peace through Strength Act. The legislation is important as it includes sanctions and policies that counter our adversaries through the inclusion of the REPO Act, the removal of our payment for foreign pensions, and requiring the administration to provide a game plan in Ukraine, something that many of us have been asking for, for some time.

Ronald Reagan told us peace comes through strength. By failing to act now, it will signal the opposite of strength. It will invite future aggression, as failure to act has done so often in the past.

Mr. Speaker, I also feel obligated to point out that this Congress has had two votes on providing aid to Israel. One occurred in October, right after Speaker Johnson was elected. Indeed, it was one of his highest priorities. I thought that aid package was responsibly offset through cuts to other Federal agencies here. Senator Schumer didn't see it that way and said we have never conditioned aid to Israel with anything, so there can be no offset, that it can't be paid for.

In the House, in February of this year, I think it was Mr. Calvert of California who introduced a bill to provide the same aid to Israel without the offset. It was blocked, this time by people on my side.

The Speaker said, okay, let's bring it up under suspension, and maybe we can get agreement between Members on both sides. In fact, under suspension, the two-thirds majority required was not achieved, so that bill failed in February, as well.

Had any one of those bills passed, we might not be here today because we all know 1 week--10 days ago--Iran attacked Israel, the missiles and drones originating from Iranian soil, the first time that has ever happened, and the crisis advanced.

Yes, we did have an opportunity to provide that aid to Israel. It might not have been what my friend from Massachusetts would have wanted, but at the same time, we had the opportunity to provide that.

Unfortunately, now, even members of my committee are upset with where we are today, but we had the opportunity to sort of head off all of this by simply passing that aid package last February, and we wouldn't do it.

What happens if we don't do this today? Does it get better or worse for us down the road? Nobody knows the answer to that, but history tells us it is very likely to get worse.

We have two votes now, Mr. Speaker, on Israeli aid. On both counts, I think most of us in this body want to see that pass.

I will stress again that weakness invites aggression, and we cannot allow our allies in the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine to be abandoned. By doing so, we will not prevent future aggression but will invite it.

Today, we have an opportunity to deliver critical aid to our allies, and I believe it is appropriate to do so.

The previous question was ordered.

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

The yeas and nays were ordered.

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