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Watch Florida Representative Matt Gaetz, and others, passionately defend the reasons why House Speaker Keven McCarthy should be removed. Which he was 216-210!
UPDATE: WTPC Endorses Jim Jordan for House Speaker!
This one hour video may be one of the greatest Debates in American Political History as these Patriots stand up and Speak Truth to Power and Defend YOU and America! Share this with EVERYONE!!! (Click Here to Download this Historic Debate to Your Phone or Computer)
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Here is a list of the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy on October 3, 2023:
- Andy Biggs (R-AZ)
- Ken Buck (R-CO)
- Tim Burchett (R-TN)
- Eli Crane (R-AZ)
- Matt Gaetz (R-FL)
- Bob Good (R-VA)
- Nancy Mace (R-SC)
- Matt Rosendale (R-MT)
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington:
Full Transcript of the Octover 3, 2023 U.S. House or Representatives Debate to Remove House Speaker McCarty:
Rep. Steve Womack: The Representative from Virginia is recognized
Rep. Bob Good: [00:00:00] Mr. Speaker, like so many others, I deeply regret that we are here and what was a totally avoidable situation. I must take you back to January, however, which for many of us was about not repeating the failures of the past and letting Republican voters across the country down once again, when in the past, for many years, when Republicans have had majorities in this chamber, we have passed our major spending bills, predominantly with Democrat votes, something the other side of the House has never and would never do with majority control. Back in January, I expressed my concern that the previous two years during my first term here in this House, we had not used every tool at our disposal to fight against the harmful radical Democrat agenda that is destroying the country, bankrupting the country, and under which the American people are suffering. But most in here wouldn't know that I helped persuade my five colleagues who comprise the remaining resistance in the wee morning hours of January 7th to switch our votes to present to let Mr. McCarthy become speaker. And I went to him on this very floor to tell him that he was finally going to become speaker on the next vote. In that moment, it was clear to me that I or we could have asked for anything in exchange for switching our votes to present. But I. And we asked for nothing. The very next week, I requested and had a meeting with Speaker McCarthy to tell him he had my full support and that I wanted him to be successful because the country needed him to be successful.
Rep. Bob Good: [00:01:41] In the ensuing months, I helped him narrowly pass the Parents Bill of Rights and the limit save grow Bill. I think both of those by just 1 or 2 votes, helping persuade some of my most conservative colleagues to come along despite some of the concerns they had with those bills. And we remain united as a conference through the limit save grow vote as we passed a bill that was cutting spending to pre-COVID levels for non-defense discretionary spending or just over $100 billion historic spending cuts, as the speaker had committed to do in January. And it also included a host of other conservative fiscal reforms. Unfortunately, however, that unity and that commitment to significant year one cuts and spending reforms were discarded. Were discarded in the failed Responsibility Act, as I call it, which passed overwhelmingly. Once again, with a majority of Democrat votes validating the concern many of us had in January. Many of us had begged. The speaker pleaded with the speaker repeatedly to utilize the debt ceiling to leverage spending cuts and reforms, but instead he negotiated an unlimited increase to the debt ceiling through January of 25. As much as we can come together and gleefully spend through January of 25 with no significant wins for the American people in that fray or Failed Responsibility Act. But the speaker then said that we would use appropriations. We would use appropriations to bring the fight and finally reduce our spending. He said the levels of the FRA were the ceiling and not the floor and committed recommitted multiple times to go back to the 1.471 trillion.
Rep. Bob Good: [00:03:27] That was the limit. Safe growth levels radically historically saving $100 billion and lowering the deficit this year under Republican majority from 2.2 trillion to 2.1 trillion. That's what we were asking the Republican House to do, to go to 2.1 trillion. Meanwhile, the speaker had committed to bring a balanced budget vote to this floor, something that still has not happened despite the work that's been done in our budget committee. To mark it up and have it ready to come to the floor. He also promised that we would bring all 12 appropriation bills well before the September 30th fiscal deadline. We did not. We simply, as Republicans, needed the speaker to cast the vision request, the support, the support of the entire conference, all of whom voted for the limit safe grow levels except for four who wanted to go even further to to lead us in joining him, sticking with him, supporting him, and sending the most conservative spending bills with the most conservative cuts possible to the Senate as the best starting position for negotiations with the Senate. Many of us begged and pleaded with the speaker to do that over the past five years. Five months. When the speaker failed us to pass our spending bills, bringing only one of 12 to the floor. Before the August district work period, members began to negotiate amongst themselves without the speaker to find compromise. I was among those who reluctantly agreed last month to split the difference between failed responsibilities 1.586 and the limit save grow 1.471.
Rep. Bob Good: [00:05:08] I reluctantly agreed to do that to go to 1.526 in order to pass our bills on to the Senate. We then essentially forced the speaker with the pressure of the calendar, the debt ceiling or excuse me, the the shutdown threat of the calendar to bring those four bills to the floor last week, all of which I voted for, despite some of them not cutting to the levels we'd agreed to and other concerns I had with the bills. I reluctantly voted for the 30 day conditional CR or continuing resolution because it cut an additional 10 billion in the month of October. Going back to the pre-COVID 1.471 levels for defence, non-defense discretionary 30% and it had border security. I voted for that. However, when that vote failed, the speaker this past Friday in the Republican conference meeting made it abundantly clear that he was willing to do anything to avoid the temporary discomfort and the pressure of a pause in the 15% of the nonessential federal government operations, which would guarantee that we would lose to the Senate Democrats and the White House. If you're not willing to say no, then you're guaranteed to lose. And that was confirmed with the passage of the unconditional 45 day CR this past Saturday. Once again with 209 Democrat votes. The Republican bill 209 two one. Democrats 51 to 0 in the Senate side. The speaker fought through 15 votes in January to become speaker, but was only willing to fight through one failed CR before surrendering to the Democrats on Saturday.
Rep. Bob Good: [00:06:49] We need a speaker who will fight for something, anything besides just staying or becoming speaker. If there was ever a time to fight with $33 trillion in national debt, a $2 trillion deficit this year, 40 year high inflation, 20 year high interest rates, a downgraded credit rating, And for the first time in modern history, the polls showing despite all the help of the media blaming Republicans in the House, the polls showed that the public was blaming Biden and the Democrats for an imminent shutdown. If not fight now, when would we fight? Now is. And was the time with the Democrats driving the fiscal bus off the cliff at 100 miles an hour? We cannot simply be content to be the party that slows it down to 95 just so we can sit in the front seat and wear the captain's hat. Our current debt and our spending trajectory is unsustainable. We need a speaker, ideally somebody who doesn't want to be speaker and hasn't pursued that at all costs for his entire adult life. Who will meet the moment and do everything possible to fight for the country? A red line was closed for me. I regret on Saturday and chose regret that I must vote against the motion to table as I did, and to vote to vacate the chair. And I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: Gentleman from Florida reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:08:11] Thank you very much, 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. You know, I think broadly speaking, as I look across this floor, you can divide members into three groups. I'm very happy to be in the first group. The overwhelming majority of my party supports the speaker that we elected. We're proud of the leadership he's shown. We're proud of the manner in which he's been willing to work with everybody in our conference. And I believe in this chamber. There's a second group, small group. Honestly, they're willing to to plunge this body into chaos in this country, into uncertainty for reasons that only they really understand. I certainly don't. And 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, and 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's where we're headed if we vacate the speakership. You know, I personally think there's really three reasons why we've come to this point. That's because at each three of these critical minutes, the speaker did the right thing. First, there was a speaker vote. You know, he got 85% of the vote in our conference, 90% 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% of us to that wanted him to be the speaker.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:10:00] 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 were 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, 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, I think, for this institution. He showed it could function in a time of crisis. And finally, I think 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. So I'm very proud of this speaker. I'm very proud to stand behind him tomorrow morning. Whether I win or lose, I'm going to be pretty proud of the people I fought with, and I'm going to be extraordinarily proud of the person I fought for, the speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy. And with that, I reserve the balance of my time.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:11:50] Gentlemen, from Oklahoma's time is reserved. Gentlemen from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:11:55] Mr. Speaker, my friend from Oklahoma says that my colleagues and I who don't support Kevin McCarthy would plunge the House and the country into chaos. Chaos is Speaker McCarthy. Chaos is somebody who we cannot trust with their word. The one thing that the White House, House Democrats and many of us on the conservative side of the Republican caucus would argue is that the thing we have in common? Kevin McCarthy said something to all of us at one point or another that he didn't really mean and never intended to live up to. I don't think voting against Kevin McCarthy is chaos. I think $33 Trillion in debt is chaos. I think that facing a $2.2 trillion annual deficit is chaos. I think that not passing single subject spending bills is chaos. I think the fact that we have been governed in this country since the mid 90s by continuing resolution and omnibus is chaos. And the way to liberate ourselves from that is a series of reforms to this body that I would hope would outlast Speaker McCarthy's time here, would outlast my time here, and would outlast either of our majorities reforms that I have heard some of the most conservative members of this body fight for and some of the reforms that we've been battling for, that I've even heard those in the Democratic Caucus say would be worthy and helpful to the House, like open amendments, like understanding what the budget is.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:13:25] We have been out of compliance with budget laws for most of my life. Most of many of your lives. And by the way, if we did those things, if we had single subject bills, if we had an understanding on the top line, if we had open amendments, if we had trust and honesty and understanding, there would be times when my conservative colleagues and I would lose, might be a few times when we'd win, there'd be times that we would form partnerships that might otherwise not be really predictable in the American body politic. But the American people would see us legislating. These last few days. We've suspended the momentum that we had established the week earlier where we were bringing bills to the floor, voting on them, staying late at night, working hard. That's what the American people expect. It's something Speaker McCarthy hasn't delivered and that's why I've moved to vacate the chair I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:14:18] Gentleman's time is Reserved. Gentleman from Oklahoma.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:14:20] Mr. Cole Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to my very good friend, Mr. Emmer from Minnesota, the Gentleman from Minnesota.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:14:25] Mr. Emmer is recognized for two minutes.
Rep. Emmer: [00:14:25] Thank you. Kevin McCarthy has earned this. Under Speaker McCarthy's leadership, our House Republican majority has actually defied all odds and overperformed expectations again and again and again. It all started with the Speaker's race when our speaker, Kevin McCarthy, showed the American people how he would never give up. It carried over into the speaker spearheading a rules package to create the most transparent, member driven legislative process that I've ever seen since I've been here. And since then, Speaker McCarthy's Republican majority has been successful in bringing common sense back to our nation's capitol by passing legislation to affirm a parent's right to be involved in their child's education, bolster American energy production, fully fund veterans care and benefits, fight back against the regulatory state, and continue delivering on our promise to rein in Democrats reckless spending by passing fiscally responsible appropriations bills. We've also achieved historic conservative wins, like passing the strongest border security legislation in history, passing the first Republican only NDAA in history and passing the first Republican only state and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill. So many Americans are better off because of Kevin McCarthy's leadership, American families, job creators, entrepreneurs, service members, law enforcement officers. And the list goes on and on. These are just a few of our House Republican majority successes. But make no mistake, we need Kevin McCarthy to remain speaker if we're going to stay focused on our mission of delivering common sense wins for the American people. We've shown Americans what success looks like when we come together as a team. Now it's time for us to stand together stronger than ever so we can get back to the work our majority was elected to do. I'm proud to support the Speaker as we continue championing conservative priorities that will put our country on a better path. Thank you. Speaker McCarthy. Gentleman, yield back the time.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:16:47] The opening line of my colleagues speech was that Speaker McCarthy always overperforms expectations, but after tweeting bring it and after engaging in profane laced tirades at House conference, he just lost a motion to table. So I wouldn't necessarily consider that overperforming expectations. And time and again, I've heard my colleagues say that, well, he deserves it because he went through a tough speaker contest. Let me let everyone know he prevailed in that speaker contest because he made an agreement to fulfill certain commitments to make this an open and honest process. And he has failed to meet those commitments. And that's why we are here. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:17:24] Gentleman reserves his time. The gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:17:27] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield three minutes to my very good friend, Mr. Jordan of Ohio.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:17:32] The gentleman from Ohio is recognized for three minutes.
Rep. Jim Jordan: [00:17:35] I thank the gentleman for yielding. On January 3rd, we said the 118th Congress is about three things. Pass the bills that need passed. Do the oversight work that needs to be done and stop the inevitable omnibus that comes from the United States Senate right before the holidays. Kevin McCarthy has been rock solid on all three. We have passed the bills. We told the American people we would pass 87,000 IRS agents. That bill that bill passed Parents Bill of Rights. That bill passed energy legislation, passed border security, immigration enforcement legislation. The strongest bill ever to pass the Congress passed earlier this year. We have done what we told them we were going to do. We can't help it. The Senate won't take up those good common sense bills. They'll have to answer to the American people come Election Day. Oversight. We have done the oversight that we're supposed to do because of our oversight. We know that parents were targeted by the Department of Justice because of our oversight. We know that 51 former Intel officials misled the country weeks before the most important election we have. And because of our oversight. The Disinformation Governance Board at the Department of Homeland Security is gone because of our oversight. The memo attacking pro-life Catholics has been rescinded because of our oversight. Unannounced visits to Americans home by the Internal Revenue Service has stopped. That happened under Speaker McCarthy.
Rep. Jim Jordan: [00:18:57] And on the third one on this side, we know there's a big old ugly bill coming at the end of the year. All kinds of spending, all kinds of garbage in it. We're still in that fight, frankly, to Matt's point. We don't know how that one is going to shake out. But we do know this. We do know this. On Saturday, we didn't take the Senate's bill. They tried to send over and shove it down our throats on Saturday. We didn't take that bill. And it was a tough position he was in. There were five options on the table last week. Option one was send a long term CR over there. That would have leveraged the 1% cut something a bunch of us voted for. Both parties couldn't get the votes for that one. Second option was to focus on the one issue The country now is completely focused on the border issue. We couldn't get the votes for that one either. But when the Senate tried to send us that bill, he said no to it. I think the speaker has kept his word. I know my colleagues and friends are saying different. I think he has kept his word on those three things that we talked about on January 3rd. And frankly, that entire week he has kept his word. I think we should keep him as speaker. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:20:11] Gentleman from Florida is recognized.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:20:13] The problem with my friend from Ohio's argument is that many of the bills he referenced as having passed are not law. We are on a fast track to an omnibus bill and it is difficult to champion oversight when House Republicans haven't even sent a subpoena to Hunter Biden. So it's hard to make the argument that oversight is the reason to continue when it sort of looks like failure theater. I yield such time as he may consume. To my colleague from Arizona, Mr. Biggs.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:20:38] Gentleman from Arizona is recognized.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:20:40] How much time.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:20:42] What he consumes.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:20:43] So much as he may consume.
Rep. Andy Biggs: [00:20:45] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. This is a serious time. And my my mind immediately goes to the young deputy from Cochise County. Who? Two nights ago. While trying to apprehend. A runaway vehicle smuggling humans across the border. Suffered major injuries, transported to Pima County, where he's in a Tucson hospital fighting for his life. I'm talking about a border that remains wide open. Where drugs come through. The Tucson sector. The most gotaways known and unknown of any sector along the border. Terrorists coming in. People conducting criminal conduct coming in. Criminal gang members. Human smugglers. Sex traffickers. They coming across our border. To the tune of hundreds of thousands every month. Now. I appreciate my colleagues and their position, but I would suggest something. I don't think you can just skip to last weekend. And say, oh, my goodness. A CR came out last week and on Saturday. I think we need to go back. To January. I'll say this. This body came together on the Republican side and we passed a good border security piece of legislation. H.r. two. That's good. And then last week we passed the DHS bill and the DOD bills, which had funding for our CBP, Ice, military leaders, military men and women. But why did we. Why were we successful in doing that? What happened to motivate us to get there? Well, for one thing. We didn't bother to pass the 12 appropriations bills as required.
Rep. Andy Biggs: [00:23:03] Under the budget Control and Impound law of 1974. We didn't do it. And you know how many times that's not been done? 25 years in a row. And you know how many cars this body has passed in that same period of time? 130. You know what that gets you. A 2 trillion plus. Structural deficit like we had in fiscal year 23. You know what that leads you to? A $33 trillion national debt, which is where we sit today. Leads you to somewhere north of $700 billion in interest payments. And you know why that happened. Because this body is entrenched in a suboptimal path and refuses to leave it refuses to leave that path. You cannot change if you're unwilling to change. We had every opportunity to change. We were promised change. We were promised we were going to go ahead and we were going to get those 12 bills done. And if we got those 12 bills done, do you know why you do 12 bills? Because it allows you to reduce spending. Get rid of wasteful, duplicative programs. It allows you to set an agenda to restore fiscal sanity. We chose to not do it again. We were promised we'd do it. That's why at the end some people said we'll vote present. We'll go ahead. We're going to put our trust in Mr. McCarthy to become the speaker. That didn't happen. I suspect that that would be the case.
Rep. Andy Biggs: [00:24:59] That was my struggle. That was my struggle last November and December. I iterated it to this body, our conference anyway. When we got to the debt ceiling. Again, that seemed to spring upon everybody like a surprise. And when that happened. I was in there for some of those negotiations on where that number would be. And I was astonished how that 1.5 trillion number was negotiated. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. But I will tell you this. To his credit, the speaker told us one thing that I believe to be true. He said that that's basically the ante in a poker game. He can sit down at the table. And I told my colleagues who supported that that $1.5 trillion in eight months that you're willing to raise the debt ceiling. That's the opening marker. And indeed, it was. And now projections are many trillion dollars above that. Yes, I think it's time to to make a change. I'm not the only one. And that's it. Somber. Thus it is sombre. But what have we failed to accomplish? Why? Why didn't we get this stuff done when? When we're campaigning? We're talking about an extension of the debt ceiling to January of 2025. We're talking about additional Ukraine funding. Is that. Maybe that's good in your districts. Maybe it's not. But that money's not offset. We're not paying for it. We haven't designated how we're going to pay for it.
Rep. Andy Biggs: [00:26:54] The same with the disaster package. The IRS remains 80% increased. And I would tell you, I will go. I could go down the list, but I will just tell you why this happens when you don't do your 12 budget bills and you rely ultimately on a CR. And I'll get to the calendar in a second. What happens is you cannot leverage this administration to actually enforce the border laws that you need to have enforced. This is a lawless Biden regime. They will not enforce border laws. And we can pass them until we're blue in the face. But until you leverage. The budget and the spending. You will not see enforcement by these by this this administration. So now take a look at the calendar that the that we were just provided last week. We're supposed to finish? We're supposed to finish by November 3rd. Our 12 bills. By November 17th. That's when we're supposed to see that the conference committees have come together, both sides, and we've resolved this. I don't believe that that's going to happen. It wasn't going to happen before you were you were betting on the come again at some point. I urge you to stop betting on the come and bet on the reality. That's why I can't support the speaker any longer. I'll be voting for the motion to vacate and yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:28:29] Gentleman yields back his time.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:28:31] Gentleman from Florida Reserves. Members are advised to direct your comments to The chair, please. Gentleman from Oklahoma.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:28:38] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to my very good friend from Arkansas, Mr. Westerman.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:28:43] The gentleman from Arkansas Mr. Westerman, is recognized for two minutes.
Rep. Westerman: [00:28:54] The Psalms signals to the reader to pause, reflect, consider, and maybe take a deep breath before moving on. Psalmist UCLA to emphasize the significance of a statement. For example, King David wrote, Blessed be the Lord who daily bears our burden. The God who is our salvation. Selah. That is a profound statement with huge implications. It deserves more than a cursory consideration. Within the next hour, this House will vote yea or nay to vacate the Speaker's chair. A profound action with huge implications. This was last tried in 1910. Joseph Cannon won the vote 113 years later, my office is in the Cannon Office Building and Uncle Joe Cannon's statue sits just outside this chamber. No living human has taken the vote. We're about to take. It deserves that. We pause. We reflect that we consider deeply the ramifications of our actions. To my fellow Republicans who would consider voting yes to removing our Republican Speaker, please pause and ask yourself two questions. Well, your yes vote Make America stronger. Well, your yes vote strengthen conservative policies. If you believe yes is the right vote, please stand before this body and the American people and articulate your plan, not your grievances or your wishes, your plan. Convince the vast majority of the Republican conference that strongly disagrees with you, to follow you. If you cannot do that which you have failed to do so far, then voting yes is at the least a disruptive overreaction. In reality, it's selfish, bad for conservative policies and bad for America. That's why I strongly support Speaker Kevin McCarthy and why, without hesitation or reservation, I will vote no on this disastrous resolution. I yield back. Gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:31:11] There's nothing selfish about wanting a speaker of the House who tells the truth. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:31:16] Gentleman reserves his Time. Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:31:21] Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to my very good friend from Kentucky and fellow member of the Rules Committee, Mr. Massie.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:31:27] The gentleman from Kentucky, Mr. Massie, is recognized for two minutes.
Rep. Tom Massie: [00:31:31] Mr. Speaker, as the only still serving Co-author and co-sponsor of the Motion to Vacate Speaker Boehner I can tell you this motion to vacate is a terrible idea. As the only member who Is serving here, who took every chance to vote against Speaker Boehner and to vote against Speaker Ryan, I can tell you that this chamber has run has been run better, more conservatively and more Transparency under Mr. McCarthy than Any other speaker that I have served under. As a member of the Rules Committee. What one of three one of three conservatives who were placed there out of trust? Speaker McCarthy Gave us a blocking position by putting three of us on. There to Keep an eye on the Rules Committee to make sure the process was fair. And even I can tell you it's been fair and even none of us are voting against the speaker today. Regular order is at odds with predetermined outcomes. Yet the Speaker is Being accused of not holding to regular order and predetermined outcomes. At the same time. It is not possible. You cannot be for both at the same time. I was a party to the January agreement, and I Can tell you. That there were promises In there, but there were never a promise for an outcome. There was never a promise that you could force Joe Biden to sign something. There was only the promise that we would try and try. We have tried in the Rules Committee. We have tried on the floor. We have been trying this since this summer. And there's enough blame to go around for everyone as to hy we don't have 12 bills. But part of it was a relitigation of the debt limit deal. By the way, there was no promise on the debt limit deal. No conditions on that in January zero whatsoever. I was in the room for that. So the 12 bills were delayed. Over what? $100 billion. That's a lot of money. But it's nothing compared to the $2 trillion that I came here to object to when Speaker Pelosi and President Trump pushed that bill through. We've had over 500 amendments. Listen, this is a this is a referendum on this institution. We have tried regular order. Speaker McCarthy has tried regular order. If regular order fails today, if you vacate the speaker, nobody is going to try. Gentlemen's time is expired. Institution will fail. Please do not vacate the speaker.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:34:08] Gentleman from Florida. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: Gentleman from Florida reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:34:14] Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, I yield two minutes to my very good friend from California, Mr. McClintock.
Rep. McClintock: [00:34:19] Gentleman from California. Mr. McClintock is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Speaker, if there was ever a time for sobriety, wisdom and caution in this House, it is right now. If this motion carries, the House will be paralyzed. We can expect week after week of fruitless ballots while no other business can be conducted. The Democrats will revel in Republican dysfunction and the public will rightly be repulsed. It will end when the Democrats are able to enlist a rump caucus of Republicans to join a coalition to end the impasse. This House will shift dramatically to the left and will effectively end Republican House majority that the voters elected in 2022. And this in turn will neutralize the only counterweight in our elected government to the woke left's control of the Senate and the White House at a time when their policies are destroying our economy and have opened our borders to invasion. There are turning points in history whose significance is only realized by the events that they unleash. This is one of those times. We are at the precipice. There are only minutes left to come to our senses and realize the grave danger our country is in at this moment. Dear God, grant us the wisdom to see it and to save our country from it. Here. Here. Gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:35:55] Mr. Speaker, there is nothing sober, wise or cautious about the path we are on. We are on a path to financial ruin. If this House does not take a different posture, a different procedure and yields toward different outcomes and a better future.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:36:10] Our reserve gentleman reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:36:14] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield 1.5 minutes to my very good friend from Florida, Mr. Gimenez.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:36:19] 1.5 minutes. Gentleman from Florida is recognized for one and one half minutes.
Rep Gimenez: [00:36:24] I stand before my colleagues and the nation as a proud representative of the great state of Florida. I truly am beyond blessed to represent my the Paradise that is Miami Dade County and the Florida Keys. And I am beyond proud to represent my community before this Congress, to stand with a leader who has consistently demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our country and to the principles that define us as Americans. Kevin McCarthy. Today is historic for a lot of reasons. For for one thing, this is the first time in over a hundred years that this has been attempted. But it's also because we are part of a Congress with historically tight majorities for the Republicans in the House and the Democrats in the Senate. And we have a Democratic White House divided government. That's what we have the need to negotiate to find solutions to the issues facing this country. That's a that's a reflection of the principles that are uniquely American principles that make this country exceptional and principles that allowed me in exile who came here from Cuba, fleeing communist Cuba to serve in this very institution. You see, I wasn't born here and everything, but everything that I am, everything that I ever will be is thanks to America. The best part about it is that my story, the story of the community that I so proud to represent is a story of many in this body is that we are not we are not the exception in America. We are the rule. That's the America that Kevin McCarthy has fought for his entire career. Kevin McCarthy is a champion for the American dream, and he's proved it as our speaker. Thomas Jefferson once said, I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the guise of taking care of them. Let's keep Kevin McCarthy over speaker. A great man, a great leader, a great speaker. Thank you. And I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:38:02] Gentleman's time has expired.
Rep. Steve Womack:. [00:38:14] Gentleman from Florida, Mr. Gaetz.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:38:16] Mr. Speaker May I inquire as to my remaining.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:38:17] Time gentleman has 9.75 minutes remaining. I reserve. Gentleman reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:38:24] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield 1.5 minutes to my very good friend from Iowa, the gentle lady, Miss Henson.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:38:29] The gentle lady from Iowa. Miss Henson is recognized for one and one half minutes.
Rep. Henson: [00:38:34] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of our Speaker, Kevin McCarthy. Let's be very clear here. We would not have a House Republican majority without the relentless efforts of this man, our speaker. Under his leadership, Joe Biden's policies have had a check and balance. His policies have created a horrific border crisis. 10,000 illegal immigrants a day surging across our border under Speaker McCarthy. Republicans have passed legislation to secure our border. Joe Biden has done everything to squash American energy, selling our oil reserves to China. Under Speaker McCarthy, Republicans have passed legislation to unleash American energy dominance. Joe Biden has spent taxpayer dollars like there's no tomorrow. Under Speaker McCarthy, we have returned to passing single subject appropriations bills and ending the status quo of omnibus spending. One of the most valuable pieces of advice that I received was from Kevin McCarthy. When I got here to DC, he told me to separate the signal from the noise. The noise is those who are causing chaos for their own personal benefit while ignoring the needs of their constituents and this country grinding our work here to a halt. The signal is the many accomplishments that we've delivered for the American people. With Speaker McCarthy at the helm, the signal is the failures coming out of the White House time and time again. The signal is the work that we must do today and going forward to save our country. For my kids and yours, my colleagues today hear, have a choice be a chaos agent or get back to work. So I call on my colleagues. Let's separate the signal from the noise. Let's support our speaker, Kevin McCarthy, so we can get back to work for the American people. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:40:21] Gentleman from Florida. Mr. Gaetz.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:40:23] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I think I've caught the signal to the signal is for $33 Trillion in debt, facing $2.2 trillion annual deficits. And our fellow Americans may be watching, watching, wondering how does that happen? How does the greatest country in the world have a process so broken that it would be laughed out of the rooms in the halls of the state legislatures where many of us come from? Here's how it works. The law says we're supposed to have the very single subject spending bills that my colleague referenced in the summer that we're supposed to have that and move it. But there's a dirty little secret in this town, and that is if you delay, if you hold the bills, if you make multiple contradictory promises, as Speaker McCarthy has done, and you back everybody up against shutdown politics, well, nobody wants to shut the government down. No one cheers for a shutdown. And of course, when people are backed up against shut down politics, the decision calculus changes. So year after year, decade after decade, we break the law and we do the same thing. We pass a continuing resolution, then we pass another continuing resolution. And then it's either another continuing resolution or an omnibus bill or a series of mini buses that lump these disparate things together. The American people want all of us to take votes on single subject matters. They don't want to see these things all mushed together and log rolled. And it was concerning to me to hear of news of a secret deal on Ukraine funding that would have log rolled more money with Ukraine, with our southern border. Now, how offensive is that to our customs and border Patrol, to our Ice, to the people that are suffering as a consequence of our border, that some of my colleagues are only willing to stand up and fight for our border if they could send billions to Ukraine to fund their border, too. Well, I've had enough of that, and that's why I brought this motion to vacate. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:42:21] Gentleman's time is reserved. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:42:24] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield one minute to our distinguished majority leader, my good friend from Louisiana, Mr. Scalise.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:42:31] Gentleman from Louisiana, the majority leader. Mr. Scalise is recognized for one minute. Thank my friend from Oklahoma for yielding.
Rep Steve Scalise: [00:42:37] And when we go back to January, as many people have, we knew that it was going to be a narrow majority. We also knew that it wasn't going to be easy. How many of us came here because we thought this job was going to be easy? How many of us thought the task ahead of us to address the problems of this country was going to be easy? One thing we did know is that if we were going to finally start confronting problems that had been ignored for years and years and years, we had to change the way that this place worked. And one thing Speaker McCarthy embraced from day one is to start making those kind of changes to this institution, opening up the process, allowing members to be more engaged. Having amendments come to the floor, single subject bills, doing appropriations bills. Yes, making that happen overnight is not something that happens automatically. But it started to happen and we are now seeing the fruits of it. Just last week, we had four different appropriations bills on this House floor, four different ones. Now, those bills took weeks and weeks to finally get to the floor, going through an open committee process, hundreds of amendments, each one of them. Where Republicans, Democrats could bring their ideas. And we debated those bills on the floor, some until after midnight.
Rep Steve Scalise: [00:44:01] Where members could actually participate in the process. This has been a broken process for a long time, but it's a process where we if we're going to confront the problems that families are facing, because right now we need to resolve our differences inside this House chamber before we can then go and fight for those families who are struggling. But every single day across America, families are struggling with real problems that we're going to have to get back to solving. And those problems are real for them. It's inflation, it's the economy, it's high energy costs. It's an open southern border that doesn't just affect the border states. It's affecting every state, Republican districts, Democrat districts. Everybody knows it. And it can be ignored by the White House. But this House is the only body that started to take action when we with H.R. two and then with the border bill last week. And with over the action we took last week, over 70% of government funding passed out of the House. However, everybody voted Republican or Democrat. This House passed funding for over 70% of the federal government's operation, and it's sitting over in the Senate where they've passed zero. And we're going to beat up each other and talk about our internal processes, and we need to get our internal processes working better.
Rep Steve Scalice: [00:45:25] But you know what? So does that other body over there and so does the White House. Everybody in this town needs to be engaged in addressing these problems. But if we don't start here and if we don't focus these next 45 days because that's what we've got in front of us, we've got two bills this week. We've got two more appropriations bills next week. And if we're going to be confronting those, we've got to stay focused on our mission. What the other side does. Let's continue to put pressure on them. But we also need to put pressure on ourselves to do our job. And Speaker McCarthy's been leading at the top of the level to make sure that we have the tools to do our jobs in a different way than the House has done it before. This House is going to have to continue to make those changes. But the American people sent us here to confront those problems. We're finally starting to. This isn't the time to slow that process down. We need to keep doing our work. We need to keep fighting for those families who are struggling. But so does the Senate and so does the White House as well. Let's keep doing this work that we were sent here to do. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:46:47] Gentleman from Florida is recognized with 7.75 minutes remaining. Mr. Cole commands 12 and one half minutes left in this debate. Gentlemen, from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:46:57] I agree with everything that the majority leader said in those remarks except one thing. It is astonishing to hear any colleague give Speaker McCarthy credit for moving on to the single subject appropriations bills. As you heard my colleague Mr. Biggs say, that was never the plan from Speaker McCarthy. The week before we moved on to those single subject appropriations bills, the plan was another CR. He pitched a CR. They tried to get us to vote for a CR, and only when a brave few said we are done governing by continuing resolution, we are here to eulogize the era of continuing resolution. We will not do it. We will not pass it. These bills can go. The spending may rise and fall as the years pass, but the notion that we're going to lump in the Department of Education and the Department of Labor with our military and our troops and our Border Patrol is fundamentally unserious and I would suggest chaotic. We cannot do that. It was only because we forced that to happen. And by the way, if we continue with Speaker McCarthy, the appropriations process will go right back to what he wanted it to go back to, just a sideshow, just a puppet show, just something to keep the hamsters on the hamster wheel as they continue to back people up against a calendar centralized power with the lobbyists and special interests that move all kind of money through the leadership. And then that's how they get their way. And that's why the American people have been getting screwed decade after decade. And I'm not going to tolerate it anymore without a fight.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:48:26] I reserve. Gentleman's time is reserved. Gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:48:30] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to my very good friend, fellow member of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Garcia.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:48:37] Gentleman from California. Mr. Garcia is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Speaker.
Rep. Garcia: [00:48:41] 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%. Our energy prices are again at back breaking highs with a 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's 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 appropriation 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. But 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've decided to make today about drama, 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. And 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. I yield back. Thank.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:50:49] Gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:50:51] I'm here to solve problems, too. But we have decade after decade of history showing us that you don't solve any problems with continuing resolutions and omnibus bills. That creates more problems, more debt, more inflation, more pain for American families. So the way to solve problems is to break the fever dream of governing by continuing resolution, an omnibus bill, and instead returned to the very single subject spending bills that we will only get if my resolution passes to vacate. Speaker McCarthy I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:51:20] Gentleman reserves his time. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:51:23] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to my very good friend from North Carolina, Mr. McHenry.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:51:29] The gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. McHenry is recognized for two minutes.
Rep. McHenry: [00:51:34] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Every step of the way, Speaker McCarthy has been doubted. After the first speaker vote, he was mocked, right? And after 15, they called him speaker. And even then it was the media and the left that mocked him. With the narrowest Republican majority In a generation.What do we Achieve? We brought the president to the table when he stubbornly said for 100 days they would not negotiate on the debt ceiling. I took him his word. The speaker said, no, we'll get them to the table. And sure enough, we did. The result? The most conservative Spending Package we've seen in generations, the largest spending cuts year over year that any Congress has passed. Conservative outcomes. So I understand your position on the left. I understand that. But my friends on the right. Why? And then this Past weekend. I understand the frustration on the left at what happened on the continuing resolution. But why would we have conservatives object to that? Why would we have House members object to that? We rolled the Senate. We never roll the Senate as a House. Moreover, we never roll the Senate to get less spending. And we got it this weekend. So I understand why the left is mad. What I don’t Understand Is why some Republicans think that that's a bad thing. The frustration for me today, I understand where the liberals are. I know you support the constitutional order, except in a moment like this when you are questioned on that. I understand that you can't be counted on in a moment like this with the state of the speakership. But for Republicans, why would we give up a conservative working majority for better outcomes and hand the keys over to the Democrats? Why would we do that? And furthermore, with this record of success that we've seen Kevin McCarthy and a Republican majority produce in a Washington run by Democrats. We're going to throw that away, resulting in more liberal outcomes, not more conservative ones. So I understand why the left is where you are today. You don't like an effective conservative majority and I don't blame you. But on the right.
Rep. Steve Womack:: [00:53:47] Gentleman's time has expired. Gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:53:56] It is lovely to hear from the principal architect of Mr. McCarthy's debt limit deal. But here's the reality. The only Republicans in America who believe that the debt limit deal was conservative are in this chamber right now because all over America, Republicans think that when you negotiated that debt limit deal, they took your lunch money. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:54:20] Gentleman reserves his time. The gentleman from Oklahoma, Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:54:23] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield 1.5 minutes to my very good friend from my home state. Gentle lady, Miss Bice.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:54:31] Gentle lady from Oklahoma. Miss Bice is recognized for one and one half minutes.
Rep Brice: [00:54:36] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Under his leadership and a very small five seat majority, House Republicans have achieved, contrary to popular belief, numerous victories. We passed the Parents Bill of Rights, the Lower Energy Costs Act to lower the cost of gasoline and restore American energy independence. The Fiscal Responsibility Act, which was one of the largest enacted cuts with enforceable spending caps in American history, and H.R. two, the most conservative Southern border security bill history in history. All of this while fully funding our military and our nation's veterans. Let me be abundantly clear. Attempting to remove Speaker McCarthy will put this House in a stalemate and paralyze our ability to fight for our constituents and instead create a fight amongst one another. We have 43 days to restore fiscal responsibility and advance conservative appropriations priorities, which is exactly what my colleagues have asked for. Instead, we are threatening any House proceedings. This is an unnecessary distraction. Working together under the leadership of Speaker McCarthy is of the utmost importance. I stand and strongly support Kevin McCarthy for Speaker of the House and I encourage my Republican colleagues to do the same. Thank you. And I yield.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:56:07] Mr. Cole continues to reserve his time. He has seven minutes remaining. Mr. Gates controls five and one half. In this one hour debate, the gentleman from Florida is recognized. I'll reserve. Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Oklahoma. Mr. Cole.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:56:22] Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to my very good friend and our distinguished conference leader, Miss Stefanik of New York.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:56:30] The gentle lady from New York. Mr. Phonic is recognized for two minutes.
Rep Phonic: [00:56:33] Anyone and everyone who knows Kevin McCarthy, whether they are friend or foe, knows that Kevin McCarthy is a happy warrior. He is tireless. He has that uniquely American grit. Under Kevin's speakership that lasted 15 rounds of him never giving up, this Republican majority has exceeded all expectations. We reopen the people's house. We pass the strongest border security bill in our nation's history. We passed an energy plan to unleash American energy dominance. We pass defense bills to support our troops. Under Kevin's leadership, he's brought hundreds and hundreds of bipartisan members of Congress to Israel, our greatest ally. He elected the most diverse class of Republicans ever, with the largest number of Republican women ever in American history. This boy from Bakersfield, he cares deeply about his constituents, his country and the American people. And that includes each and every one of his colleagues. He's been to our districts. Celebrated the birth of our children and has cheered us when we haven't believed in ourselves. Which is why the Republicans strongly support Speaker McCarthy and are proud he is our speaker and I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:57:53] It was not the intent to cut the gentle lady off, except that we have too much chatter going on in the House chamber. Every member deserves to be heard. So if you have private conversations you need to have, please take them from the floor. Gentle lady may continue.
Rep. Phonic: [00:58:18] As I have said. The speaker has been to our districts. He is toasted at our weddings. He is celebrated. The birth of our children mourned the loss of our loved ones. Now, more than ever, the Republicans must unify. The stakes are too high. We need to save our country, which is why this conference is proud to strongly support Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:58:47] Gentle lady or gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [00:58:50] Say if this House of Representatives has exceeded all expectations, then we definitely need higher expectations. And while it's heartwarming and kind that the speaker calls people on their birthday and visits their district and congratulates them on their children, please know this isn't a critique of the individual. It's a critique of the job. The job hasn't been done. We've had multiple, multiple contradictory promises. And it's just quite something. For those of you keeping track at home, the last three speakers you've heard opposing my resolution all voted for the debt deal. So if you believe that the debt limit deal that Speaker McCarthy brought into law was a good thing, maybe you agree with their perspective. I think the debt limit deal was a terrible deal, and that's one of the reasons it really was the original sin of the McCarthy speakership. And it's one of the reasons I seek to vacate the chair. Now I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:59:46] Gentlemen, time is reserved. Gentleman from Oklahoma.
Rep. Tom Cole: [00:59:49] Mr. Cole Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. I yield two minutes to my very good friend from the great state of Louisiana, Mr. Graves.
Rep. Steve Womack: [00:59:56] The gentleman from Louisiana. Mr. Graves is recognized for two minutes.
Rep. Graves: [01:00:00] Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I want to thank Jim from Oklahoma for yielding. Mr. Speaker, we've been here for eight months with one of the tightest majorities in modern history. Yet look at the accomplishments of this majority, this conservative majority, with the majority of Republicans voting for the strongest border security in my lifetime, fighting against this incomprehensible energy policy that's driving up energy costs, 40% utility and gasoline payments, pushing Americans into energy poverty. We pass legislation to unleash America's energy resources, pushing back this administration's brainless policies on on energy. We've passed legislation to pull back, to stop spending $4.8 trillion. Then I want to make note, my friends that are carrying this motion to vacate opposed. We've we've passed legislation to streamline regulations permitting environmental laws for the first time in 40 years. Again, my friends here oppose we strengthen work requirements for welfare to get people back into the workforce again. My friends over here opposed. I keep wondering what is going on? Are we redefining what conservative is? What's going on in this country today? What's going on in this body where you have FreedomWorks, Heritage, Chip Roy and Jim Jordan say something's conservative and these folks say it's not. And they're right. And all of a sudden, my phone keeps sending text messages. Text messages saying, Hey, give me money. Oh, look at that. Oh, look, give me money. I filed the motion to vacate using official actions. Official actions to raise money. It's disgusting. It's what's disgusting about Washington. Mr. Speaker, we've watched as these folks right here that have brought up this motion to vacate have refused to pay our military service members refuse to pay them. I want to quote my delegation member, my senator from Louisiana, John Kennedy. If we're not going to pay our service members, if we're if they're not going to be there to protect us the next time someone invades America, call a crackhead. Let me know how that works out for you.
Rep. Tom Cole: [01:02:13] Yield the gentleman. Another 30s.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:02:15] Gentleman is recognized for an additional 30s.
Rep. Graves: [01:02:19] Mr. Speaker, I've heard people talk about bad faith here. I've heard them make reference to this January agreement. My friends from Arizona, Virginia and Florida, let me be crystal clear not a single one of them were in the room. You know what? You know what? The speaker didn't didn't meet the targets of that January agreement. He exceeded them. The greatest savings in American history. The greatest savings in American history. Mr. Speaker, this isn't about fund raising. This is about our country. It's about our children and our grandchildren. We need to stand behind this. 30s We need to stand behind the greatest speaker in modern history that has delivered the best conservative wins for this country. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:03:29] The gentleman from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [01:03:31] My colleague says we've passed the strongest border bills in history. Well, guess what? Look at the border right now. We didn't use sufficient leverage in the debt limit or in any other thing to actually get results on the border. The border is a disaster, really something I don't think you're going to be campaigning on that you fix the border. Second, you said you streamlined regulations. What the gentleman from Louisiana doesn't tell you is that all of the regulatory reform he was just bragging about is waivable by the stroke of a pen of someone in the Biden White House. Do you really think you've got anything for that? It's a total joke. And then finally, the welfare to work that the gentleman from Louisiana said we got the welfare programs that they said that they streamlined with their welfare to work stuff. They're actually going to grow because while they did work requirements, they blew out those programs with expanded eligibility. I'm real glad you guys didn't put work requirements on Medicaid. It probably would have resulted in Medicaid expansion. And when it comes to how those raised money, I take no lecture on asking Patriot Americans to weigh in and contribute to this fight from those who would grovel and bend the knee for the lobbyists and special interests who own our leadership, who have boo all you want, who have hollowed out this town and have borrowed against the future of our future generations. I'll be happy to fund my political operation through the work of hardworking Americans ten and 20 and $30 at a time. And you all keep showing up at the lobbyist fundraisers and see how that goes for you. I reserve.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:05:04] Once again, the chair would admonish. Those speaking from the floor to direct their comments to the chair. Gentleman from Oklahoma.
Rep. Tom Cole: [01:05:14] Mr. Speaker, I would inquire as to how much time remains for each side.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:05:18] From Oklahoma controls three minutes. The gentleman from Florida. It's three minutes as well.
Rep. Tom Cole: [01:05:26] I would advise the gentleman from Florida. I'm prepared to close if he is. Mr. Speaker, I yield the balance of my time to my great friend from North Dakota, Mr. Armstrong.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:05:37] Gentleman from North Dakota. Mr. Armstrong is recognized with the remaining three minutes.
Rep Armstrong: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Let's be clear why we're here Because the incentive Structure in this Town is completely broken. We no longer Value loyalty, integrity, competence or collaboration. Instead, we have descended to a place where cliques, TV hits and the never ending quest for the most mediocre taste of celebrity drives decisions and encourages juvenile behavior that is so far beneath this esteemed body. Kevin McCarthy has done more in nine months to restore the people's House than any speaker in decades. We have done regular order. We have had open amendments, and every single member of this chamber has the right, the ability and the opportunity to be heard on the floor. It's been messy. It's been raucous and at times it's been chaotic. And God bless every minute of it, because democracy is supposed to be hard and because the alternative is a closed door process where 2000 page bills come out of the speaker's office at midnight and are forced to the floor the next morning, Kevin McCarthy has broken that cycle. That alone is enough for him to remain our speaker. But that doesn't deliver his opponents what they crave the most attention. We shouldn't stand for it. I won't stand for it. I will stand here with our speaker, with our leader that the overwhelming majority of our Congress supports. And you need to look no further than where the opponents are sitting today in this chamber. They're not over here. They're over there. So we're going to face these challenges together. And I say bring whatever comes next because we believe in the job you have done, Mr. Speaker, we believe in your. Your vision. And most importantly, we are proud to call Kevin McCarthy, our friend and our Speaker of the House. And with that, I yield back. Who?
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:07:57] Gentleman yields back his time. The gentleman from Florida is recognized with three minutes remaining.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [01:08:02] To be clear, I tried to get one of the three podiums on the Republican side, and you all wouldn't let me have them. So you sent me over here. But you know what? I'll make this argument at any desk in this building from the well, from the chair. I'll make it on every street corner in this country. That Washington must change. We have to break the cycle. We have to break the fever. And I would hope truly that the reforms that we are fighting for are reforms that would last and be embraced and that would democratize power in this institution beyond the privileged few who back us up against shutdown politics and and Christmases and deadlines in order to achieve their objectives. Mr. Speaker, high inflation is on the verge of bankrupting American families. Our economy is breaking in half. A typical American family can't afford to buy a house. In 99% of US counties, Inflation is stealing more than $700 a month from working Americans nearly $9,000 a year. Kevin McCarthy is the speaker of the House of Representatives and he has failed to take a stand where it matters. So if he won't, I will. I make no apologies for defending the right of every hardworking American to afford a decent life for themselves and their families. And we have a greater opportunity to do that and to build coalitions under new leadership, we have to rip off the Band-Aid.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [01:09:26] We have to get back on a better course. And, Mr. Speaker, I don't know how this vote is going to go. Usually when a vote comes to this floor, it's pretty predetermined. And this one, I'm not so sure, but I am sure that we've made the right argument that this place deserves single subject spending bills, that we should have 72 hours to read a bill. That's something that spends more than $100 Billion shouldn't be put on the suspension agenda such that we can't amend it and there shouldn't be secret side deals made on a continuing resolution to lump Ukraine in with border security. That is a that is not right for Ukraine or border security because it fails to give either of those issues the dignity that they would require. But we can return that dignity to this House. We can get back on a better path. We can have single subject appropriations bills. We can set a budget, a budget top line. We haven't had a budget in this place since I was in high school. So let's get a budget. Let's get our act together. Let's get on with it. Let's vacate the chair and let's get a better speaker. I yield back.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:10:29] Gentleman yields back. His time all time for debate has expired. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the resolution. The question is on adoption of the resolution. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed? No. The noes have it. The resolution is passed. The gentlemen from Florida.
Rep. Matt Gaetz: [01:10:48] I'd request the Ayes and nays.
Rep. Steve Womack: [01:10:49] The ayes and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number. Having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered pursuant to clause three of Rule 20. The chair directs the clerk to conduct the vote by a call of the roll. The clerk will call the roll. Alphabetically by surname.
