The House reconvened on Tuesday, and debated several bills under suspension of the rules. On Tuesday, the House passed H.Res. 683, a resolution expressing support for diplomacy to encourage the Mexican government to fulfill its water deliveries to the U.S. under the bilateral treaty regarding the Colorado and Tijuana Rivers and of the Rio Grande—an issue I have talked about with Texans and worked to address. This is a particular challenge for farmers in South Texas, so I am glad the House passed this resolution. The House also considered several small business bills to strengthen local economies. These bills, (H.R. 4666, H.R. 4667, H.R. 4668, H.R. 4670, H.R. 5427, H.R. 4480) would strengthen reporting requirements to ensure fairness on loans requested by minority-owned businesses and women-owned businesses, require the Small Business Administration (SBA) to report on access to credit for veteran owned businesses, publish guidance to ease the application process for small business loans, and require the SBA to issue guidance on how small businesses can return unused PPP loans to avoid penalties. All passed on a bipartisan basis.
Tuesday evening, the House considered two resolutions regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas war: (1) a resolution calling on Hamas to immediately release hostages taken during the October 7 attacks on Israel (H.Res. 793), which passed on the House unanimously, and (2) a resolution affirming the State of Israel’s right to exist (H.Res. 888), which passed the House on an overwhelmingly bipartisan basis. I voted in favor of both resolutions.
Later in the week, the House considered and voted on the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act (H.R. 5961), a bill that, if enacted, would direct the President to impose sanctions against financial institutions that facilitate transactions involving the restricted oil revenue the United States and Iran agreed could be accessed for a limited category of humanitarian transactions in exchange for freeing five Americans in Iran earlier this year. As you may know, these funds, which are proceeds from sales of oil to South Korea in the past, are in a restricted account in Qatar and can only be disbursed for humanitarian assistance. Following Hamas’ October 7 attack, the United States and Qatar reached an agreement to freeze the funds. This bill would go further, undoing the prior agreement and removing the President’s ability to conduct any future negotiations around the funds. While I share concerns of many regarding the actions of the Iranian regime, I am also concerned about this bill’s implications for future negotiations in the event Americans are held hostage by foreign adversaries. For these reasons, I voted against this bill; but it passed the House by a vote of 307 to 119 with one person voting present.
The House also considered the Protecting our Communities from Failure to Secure the Border Act of 2023 (H.R. 5283) this week. This bill prohibits federal funds for temporary or permanent housing for undocumented migrants on land controlled by federal land management agencies. Instead of supporting states and cities, this bill undermines the ability of American communities to receive these individuals. It also does nothing to address the reasons people come to the United States seeking protection or provide resources for efficient screening of arriving migrants at ports of entry. For these reasons, I voted no. The bill passed the House 224-203-1 on Thursday.
The House also considered a resolution to disapprove of a rule that the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau issued on March 30 of this year requiring financial institutions that make 100 or more small business loans annually to collect and report small business lending data, including on women-and minority-owned small businesses’ credit applications. This rule was issued to facilitate enforcement of fair lending laws and enable communities, governmental entities, and creditors to identify business and community development needs and opportunities of women-owned and minority-owned small businesses, and for that reason I voted against this resolution, which passed by a vote of 221-202-1.
Finally, today, the House voted on a motion to expel Representative George Santos from the U.S. House of Representatives (H.Res 868). Since the beginning of this Congress, I have heard from many constituents concerned about allegations that Representative Santos fabricated his qualifications and large parts of his resume and violated campaign finance laws while running to represent New York’s Third Congressional District. And, as you may know, the United States has now brought charges against Representative Santos in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
The week before Thanksgiving, the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ethics adopted the report of its Investigative Subcommittee (ISC) unanimously concluding that there was substantial evidence that Representative Santos knowingly caused his campaign committee to file false or incomplete reports with the Federal Election Commission; used campaign funds for personal purposes; engaged in fraudulent conduct; and engaged in knowing and willful violations of the Ethics in Government Act as it relates to his Financial Disclosure Statements filed with the House. In light of the ongoing criminal investigation into Representative Santos, the Committee unanimously voted to refer the substantial evidence of potential violations of federal criminal law to the Department of Justice for such further action as it deems appropriate and it voted to concur in the determination that Representative Santos’ conduct warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House. After the Committee announced its findings, the Chair of the House Ethics Committee filed a motion to expel Congressman Santos.
Expulsion is the most serious remedy against a member of the House, and it requires the yes votes of two-thirds of the body. In our history, the House has expelled only five members—three for joining the Confederacy as traitors to the Union and two after they were convicted of serious criminal offenses. I voted against an earlier resolution to expel Representative Santos because no determinations about the allegations had been reached in the court process or the House ethics process. Like many of my colleagues, I believed it would set a precedent for expulsion without due process that would ultimately harm the institution and our representative democracy.
Today, however, with the Ethics process completed, I voted to expel Representative Santos from Congress for the reasons set forth in the House Ethics Committee’s report and its conclusion that his conduct as a candidate and as a Member of Congress is beneath the dignity of the office and has brought discredit upon the House of Representatives. The resolution passed by a vote of 311 to 114 with two members abstaining, and Representative Santos was expelled this morning.
What happens next? Members to the House must be elected and cannot be appointed. The Governor of New York has ten days to set a date for a special election to fill this seat.
As a reminder, you can always find a list of all of the votes I have taken for the district on my website and you can look up bills by name or number on Congress.gov.
