On the recordSeptember 26, 2019
On Wednesday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 591, providing for consideration of S.J. Res. 54, relating to a national emergency declared by the President on February 15, 2019, under a closed rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and provides one motion to commit. Mr. Speaker, this joint resolution, pursuant to the National Emergencies Act, would terminate the national emergency declared by the President issued in July of this year. The same day that President Trump declared a state of emergency at our southern border, he, himself, said, ``I didn't need to do this.'' It is now clear that statement is true. The President used an authority commonly used for construction at military bases in foreign countries during a time of emergency. That authority is now being used to divert $3.6 billion away from needed military construction projects to build a wall that does not have the needed political support in the House and Senate to be funded through normal appropriations. This emergency declaration was a politically motivated power grab seeking to undermine congressional authority to oversee Federal spending. The executive cannot run roughshod over this constitutional principle when the President fails to gain enough support for his policies.…
