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opposition to this amendment and i'm actually quite surprised that we find ourselves here tonight attempting to overturn the national park service recent policy changes to stop allowing the confederate flag to be displayed or sold in national parks. mr. chairman, just yesterday this house passed an amendment -- passed amendment after amendment supporting the removal of the symbol of racism from our national parks, which are visited every day by americans and foreign visitors of every race. we have read about the divisive tactics happening in the south carolina state house as they debate the removal of the confederate flag. after the murder of nine black parishioners. i never thought that the u.s. house of representatives would join those who would want to see this flag flown by passing an amendment to ensure the continuing flying of the confederate flag. i strongly urge every member to stand with the citizens of all races and to remove this symbol of hatred from our national park service. and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. calvert: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from minnesota is recognized. ms. mccollum: mr. chair i have the right to close. so i reserve my time until i close. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. the gentleman from california wish to reserve? mr. calvert: i urge adoption of the amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from minnesota is recognized. ms. mccollum: i want to restate on june 25 what the national park service director when he requested that confederate flag sales be removed from the national park book stores and gift shops, he also followed a decision by several large national retailers, wal-mart amazon and sears, to stop selling items with confederate flags on them. and i agreed with these decisions and i commend those for their prompt action. while in certain and very limited circumstances it might be appropriate in a national park to display the image of the confederate flag in a historical content, and i say that as a social studies teacher, the display or sale of confederate flags is inappropriate and divisive and i strongly oppose this amendment, which is an attempt to negate amendments which were approved yesterday without any opposition to limit the displaying of the confederate flag. and so we should make sure that we uphold what this house stood for yesterday. which is to say no to racism, which is to say no to hate speech. with that i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. ms. mccollum: mr. chair. i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18 further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california will be postponed. the clerk will read. the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentlelady from minnesota wish to be recognized? ms. mccollum: mr. chair, i move to strike the last word. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. ms. mccollum: as we prepare to finish consideration of h.r. 2822, i want to take this opportunity to congratulate my subcommittee chairman, ken calvert, from getting this bill to this point. it has not been an easy process. as we just realized a few moments ago. we've had to consider nearly twice as many amendments as any other appropriations bill taken up in the house this year. and while i have not agreed with a considerable number of the amendments that have been made to the bill, i do appreciate the chairman. and that we have been able to disagree when necessary without being disagreeble. my working relationship with chairman calvert has been first-rate. i appreciate the hard work and effort he's put into the bill and let me also express my sincere thanks to the committee staff on both sides of the aisle, as well as the personal staff in both of our respective offices for their work on the bill. they put in long hours to smooth away for consideration of this bill and i appreciate their efforts. just a minute, please. once again i want to say that we've had a good working relationship, mr. chairman, but i cannot hide my surprise and my outrage that we find ourselves here tonight attempting to overturn the national park service's recent policy change to stop allowing the confederate flag to be displayed or sold at our national parks. with that i would yield to the chairman. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. calvert: i want to say that i enjode and continue to enjoy -- enjoyed and continue to enjoy working with the gentlelady as we move this process forward and i appreciate your courtesy and kindness. we'll continue to work this process as we move >> overnight there were a number of stories, including the house once a do over on the confederate flag. john boehner held a news briefing calling for an adult debate over the display of the confederate flag. he said he would create an informal bipartisan group to review all matters related to the display of the confederate memorabilia likely to include those in the u.s. capitol. >> good morning everyone. here in the house we continue to get things done for the american people. the first entitlement reform since the 1990's, new tools to fight human trafficking, new resources to combat veteran suicides. we sent to the president a bill that gets our veterans a permanent id card to prove their service. we pass reforms to the health force for a good educational matter where they are from. our focus continues to be on the people's priorities. iran is not serious about abandoning its weapons program. when will his negotiators stand strong? we cannot accept a deal that hands a ron -- iran to build a bomb almost immediately. iran is a global menace, the world's largest state sponsor of terror and it is a pipe dream to think that the regime will be a responsible partner when it comes to iraq, yemen,. it is time for the administration to come back to earth. obama made a statement at the pentagon. he announced no new changes in our fight against isis. nothing is going to change, i don't know how we're going to expect to win. president obama i think has to lay out a broad overarching strategy to defeat and destroy these savage terrorists. i've outlined on a number of occasions what in my view an overarching strategy should look like. we should give our commanders on the ground more flexibility. need to combat isil's use of social media, and we need to engage, not ignore, our long-standing allies. we only have one commander in chief at a time. however, it's his responsibility to lead this fight against isil. lastly, on the issue of benghazi and the work of the select committee, secretary clinton said, and i'll quote, it is the fact that we have released all of the emails that any government relation -- that have any government relationship whatsoever. that's just isn't true. he said, -- she said, sidney blumenthal sent me unsolicited emails. that's not true either. and secretary clinton said, and i'll quote, there's no subpoena regarding her email. that isn't true either. all these facts from uncovered by the benghazi select committee and they were uncovered despite the efforts of secretary clinton and the state department to delay, derail and stop this fact-finding investigation. as chairman gowdy said this week, secretary clinton had a statutory duty to preserve these records from her time in office. she had a legal duty to cooperate and tell the truth with congressional investigators requesting her records, going back to 2012. so four americans lost their lives in this terrorist attack. the american people deserve the truth about what really happened. secretary clinton, the state department are prolonging this investigation. they need to stop dragging this out. they need to start cooperating and step up document production so we can get all the facts. frankly, that's not too much to ask. reporter: how is an amendment to preserve the confederate flag -- the speaker: what our members tried to address the concerns yesterday in a way that was consistent with how the obama administration has handled this issue. i frankly supported the goal of trying to work with all the parties to address their concerns but, listen, we all witnessed the people of charleston and the people of south carolina come together in a respectful way to deal with frankly what was a very horrific crime and a difficult issue with the confederate flag. i actually think it's time for some adults here in the congress to actually sit down and have a conversation about how to address this issue. i do not want this to become some political football. it should not. and so i would expect you'll see some conversations in the coming days. reporter: do you think they should be at federal cemeteries, confederate flags? the speaker: no. reporter: jared huffman and democrats who did it put an amendment in the appropriations bill, what do you mean it has become a political football? as you know southern members approached leadership saying they'll vote against the interior bill with this amendment. what do you mean political football? it was regular order, adopted by voice vote. it was reversed. how is it political football? the speaker: i think when you look at several weeks ago there was a privileged resolution dropped and then there were these amendments, i want members on both sides of the aisle to sit down, let's have a conversation about how to address what frankly has become a thorny issue. reporter: can you tell us what does that conversation entail? is this some sort of special committee, commission? is it the house and senate? the speaker: i have some ideas. when i firm them up in my head i'll let you know. reporter: mr. speaker, i'm a little unclear what you're suggesting goes on in talks. you have been persistently suspect of what's going on here, but yet if the united states pulls out -- there is no agreement, a lot of people say that is a path to war and is a far worse alternative. are you thinking that is the route we go, we don't have a agreement, then it's military action against iran because we don't have a framework? the speaker: no, i disagree with that entire notion. the fact is that the administration has backed away from their own guidelines that they set up going into this. what they were trying to accomplish. they backed away from every one of them. and i don't -- i'm not trying to stop any deal here. what i'm trying to do is stop a bad deal because a bad deal is going to frankly put in the hands of the iranians a nuclear weapon. i'm opposed to it. reporter: when you say you disagree with the notion here, are you -- what is it the alternative, why wouldn't there be military action? why wouldn't iran build a nuclear weapon and the united states see -- increased terrorist threats here? the speaker: i think the sanctions put in place ought to go back in place. and make it clear to iran that the world community is not going to accept their development of a nuclear weapon. reporter: the bill has been pulled from the house floor, can you explain your thinking why you did that and what is the -- then the debate on the -- the speaker: i just told you. i believe it's time for some members to sit down and have cafferings about how to deal with this issue in a responsible way. because i believe that members on both sides of the aisle want to deal with it in a responsible way. reporter: speaking on another issue that's a political football. you said for some time that your party needs to fix the broken immigration system. members of your party have been denouncing the comments of donald trump who is running for president saying that all mexicans were rapists. as the leader of your party, had to call on yesterday and ask the opponent down, what's your message to donald trump and are you concerned about the impact that debate is having on your party? the speaker: i disagree with mr. trump's comments. and frankly i think when you look at the presidential candidates, they've all pretty well made their position clear. this has become the biggest political football i've seen in my congressional career. the issue of illegal immigration and what to do with it. as i said last week, it's not going to get resolved by congress sticking their heads in the sand. and if we want to resolve issues, like we see developed in san francisco and elsewhere, we need to get serious about enforcing the laws we have. we all like the laws we have then we need -- if we don't like the laws we have, then we neat to sit down and get it resolved. i'd rather have it resolved sooner rather than later. reporter: will they work on immigration legislation later this year? the speaker: i would hope so. reporter: like what? the speaker: i would hope so. reporter: the conversation you had about the flag, does that extend to any resolution? the committees they've been sent to have no immediate plans to hold any hearings. the speaker: i just think that we ought to address this in a fairly broadway. i got a pretty good idea the kind of members who ought to be part of that conversation. reporter: but mr. speaker, are you saying that -- will there be a vote on the calvert amendment or is that what you're going to discuss? the speaker: no, that bill's going to -- that bill will sit until we can come to some resolution on this. thanks, everybody. \[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] in the next up in the day was nancy pelosi offering arose illusion that would have forced mississippi state flag which includes the confederate flag to be removed from the house side of the capital. after she offer the resolution house majority leader kevin mccarthy moved to refer the measure to the house of administration committee for further review. the house voted along party lines to refer representative pelosi's resolution to the committee, punting the issue. the national journey rights in motion on house floor over state flags containing the confederate battle flag. we will watch what happened now. a question of the privileges of the house and i send to the desk a privileged resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: raising a question of privileges of the house. whereas at 4:00 p.m. today, july 9, the governor of south carolina will sign legislation to remove the display of the confederate battle flag. whereas on december 20, 1860, south carolina became the first state to secede from the union. whereas on january 9, 1861, mississippi seceded from the union stating in its declaration of immediate causes that our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery, the greatest material interest of the world. whereas on february 9 1861, the confederate states of america was formed in a group of 11 states as supported sovereign nation with jefferson davis of mississippi as its president. whereas on march 11 1861, the confederate states of america adopted its own constitution. whereas on april 12, 1861, the confederate states of america fired shots upon fort sumter in -- sum ter in charleston, south carolina effectively beginning the civil war. whereas the united states did not recognize the confederate states of america as a sovereign nation but rather as a rebel insurrection and took to military battle to bring the rogue states back into the union. whereas on april 9 1865, general robert e. lee surrendered to general ulysses s. grant at appomattox courthouse in virginia, effectively ending the civil war and preserving the union. . the confederate states of america used the jack. whereas since the end of the civil war, the navy jack, confederate battle flag has been appropriated by groups of symbols of hate terror and intolerance and supportive of the institution of slavery. whereas groups such as white supremacist groups frighten, terrorize and call harms to groups of people with they have hateful intent, including african-americans and hispanic and jewish americans. along with mississippi house speaker and other state leaders have spoken out and advocated for the removal of the confederacy on mississippi state flag. whereas many members of congress, including john boehner support the removal of the confederate flag from the grounds of the south carolina's capitol. speaker released a statement saying i commend the governor and other south carolina leaders in their effort to remove the confederate flags. in his second inaugural address the month before his assassination, president lincoln ended his speech with these pa powerful words which are meaningful today as when they were spoken on the east front of the capitol on march 4, 1865. with malice toward none with charity for all, with firmness in the right as god gives us, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a lasting peace with all nations. whereas the house of representatives has several state flags with imagery of the confederacy throughout the main structures and house office buildings, whereas it is a fact that symbols of the confederacy insult many members of the general public. whereas congress has never recognized the symbols of sovereign nations within whom it has gone to war, whereas continuing to display symbol of hatred oppression that nearly tore our union apart that is known to have been through many groups would damage the reputation of this august body, institution and offend the very dignity of the house of representatives. and whereas impairment of the dignity of the house and its members constitutes a violation of rule 11 of the rules of the house of representatives of the 114th congress, now therefore be it resolved that the speaker of the house of representatives shall remove any state flag containing any portion of the confederate battle flag other than a flag displayed by a member of the house from any area within the house wing of the whol and donate any such flag to the library of congress. the speaker pro tempore: the resolution presents a question of privilege. the gentleman from california. >> i have a motion at the desk. the clerk: mr. mccarthy of california moves that the resolution be referred to the committee on house administration. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. gentleman is recognized for one hour. mr. mccarthy: this raises an important question and the house would be best served by committee action. i'm moving to refer it to house administration. i yield back and move the previous question on the motion. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the ayes have it. the previous question is ordered. ms. pelosi: mr. speaker, i ask for a recorded vote. mr. speaker i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady asking for a vote on ordering the previous question. ms. pelosi: -- refer to committee. the speaker pro tempore: the question has not put that question. ms. pelosi: may i have a parliamentary inquiry? mr. speaker, parliamentary inquiry. i'll wait until the -- recorded vote. the speaker pro te what curt clawson was the only republican to side with democrats on the confederate flag. all of this and response to the amendment offered by ken calvert that would have permitted national cemeteries to continue their current policy of allowing cemeteries to commemorate confederate memorial day to decorate the graves of civil war veterans with confederate flags. a statement released about the amendment saying, the amendment was brought to me by leadership at the request of some southern members of the gop caucus. i regret not conferring with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. a number of democrats came to the floor to talk about the confederate flag amendment in talking points memo. while railing against e-house amendment to preserve the display of the confederate battle flag representative james clyburn of south carolina chose to use an anecdote about general robert e lee to convince conservatives to stand down. here are his remarks along with those of representative john lewis of georgia. n: thyou, mr. speake mr. wou le first of a thank thpe is house anhe other members whcameo charleston st mono hp us w ceremonie for thesenar. i'd also like to thank ly my cles senorscott, senatr ndy grahamongn saor forng with us as too wh the governor o south colin andaed remgheonfedate ba fl from the ground of the tate house. is afternoonat 4:00, aa resultf ay definitive vote ely t morning 94-20,e vern going t sign the billdomorrow mornngt 10:00the flag wil remov from the ate hous . i reret at'm not to be able to accepthe govnor's invitation and be th tafternn bec ound 4:00 this afteoon we're gg to be votinre his flr. underand there will arnd 25ot, and 24 othem i might feel a that bad, but one of tm i cannot affoo ssecthat one -- i might feel that batissi, but o ofm i ot afford to ms cause at one, the calvert ameent, votesen thibody to joiwith south arolinaalabamand actities going on in misssippi to g rid of an official applicatio this fl condete battle ag. no i think it's important for uspoint out tha tss not the conrate f. thedacy hthree flags. is w ner one of the th flag ia flag, the coederate battle ag of the army of orvirginia robert.ee's army and wh robert e. lee rrenderehe asked all of his followers to if yocall this flag stowy, put i your attics. heusd tburiedin his confedete uniform his family refused t allow anyone dressed in t confederatunortoend his funer why? becserobert ee said consered thislem to be symbol ofreason. yealvert p uan amdment ate're ng t vo ohis aernoon to ask toallothis fg to sold d dispyed in our natial par iwas poud when the decision was may the nationark service. fort suter, natio park where civil war started off e cast ofrleon, soh liey cid to tke away all of tse symbols t the cal amendmenis no, takethem away. t themk. and we are going raty action to d so. i' calling onllm lleagues come his floor this aftrnoon rememr that it is thi te in thatouth carolina, whe itllrted south carolina w t state that ve totesecessa to ratif14th andment to , aery, ry iortant amdment. full of due friend, mr. mcgovern, for yielding. mr. speaker, i must tell you, my heart is heavy. i'm saddened by what has happened here in america. i thought we had come much further, much further along. growing up in rural alabama attending school in nashville tennessee, now living in georgia i've seen the signs that says white the clerk will designate. white waiting the clerk will designate waiting. during the 1960's, during the height of the civil rights movement, we brought those signs down. they're gone. the only place that we would see those signs today would be in the book, in a museum or on a video. if a descendent of jefferson davis say their flag is a symbol of hate, why can't we do it here? why can't we move to the 21st century? racism is a disease. we must free ourselves for the way of hate, the way of violence, the way of division. we are not there yet. we have not yet created the beloved community where we respect the dignity and the worth of every human being. we need to bring down the flag. the scars and stains of racism are steered deeply and embedded in every corner of american society. i don't want to see our little children, whether they're black or white latina native americans, -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. lewis: these signs -- mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. mr. lewis: as a nation and as a people we can do better. we can lay down this heavy burden. it is too heavy to bear. hate is too heavy to burden to bear -- too heavy a burden to bear. we can't plant these seeds in the minds of our people. when i was marching across that bridge in selma in 1965, i saw some of the law officers sheriff deputies wearing on their helmet the confederate flag. i don't want to go back and as a country we cannot go back. we must go forward and create a community that recognizes all of us as human beings, as citizens, one people, one nation. we all live in the same house >> a vote allowing confederate flags and national park service cemeteries would have put southern lawmakers in particular in a tough spot on the record on if they supported the flag by graves. the story quoting republican representative jody hice of george's saying this morning he plans to support the amendment. the amendment that is coming to the floor simply codifies existing law that has been in place for five years that allows the states to recognize historical significance on dates of their choosing while at the same time recognizing sensitivities that many have with the flag. while some republicans spoke about the confederate flag issue it was mostly the house to make rest that spoke on the floor. in a news briefing about it. here is that briefing. nancy pelosi: good afternoon. today we had action on the floor. i presented a privilege resolution that would have captured the action put forth two weeks ago. it was referred to the committee on house administration never to be heard from again. that is intolerable. i put forth mr. thompson's similar resolution and that was referred to the committee of house administration. it has to be doubt with expeditiously, we hope. but we shall see. i had an inquiry to ask what is the status of the resolution of two weeks ago, they were not prepared. the chair said he could not tell us anything about that. here we are on the 147th anniversary of the 14th amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law here we are on the day when the state of south carolina by an act of legislature and the signature of the governor will be taking down the flag. the house of representatives republicans in the house voting down in the discussion of the battle flag and the capital of the united states. i couldn't be prouder of our members. this is a matter of value, of principle, of who we are as americans. i want to acknowledge them and in doing so i want to yield to our distinguished assistant leader. and thank him for the inspiration he has been to our nation and the last few weeks. for this -- and the sympathies for the loss he has suffered in his state and his district and thank him for his leadership. mr. clyburn. >> thank you madam leader. today is an interesting day. we are celebrating the days after happened to of been the state that ratified the 14th amend met on this day bringing the number of states necessary to be a part of our constitution on this day. the day the governor signed a piece of legislation taking that flag across the grounds of the state house. they remove it at 10:00 in the morning. the interesting thing about this is this is a picture of the statehouse in columbia, south carolina, and the confederate battle flag. the flag of the army of northern virginia. that is what that is. there are three versions of the confederate flag. this was never one of them. the proponents of this flag tried forever to have it adopted and given official status, the daughters of the confederacy rejected it. when robert e lee surrendered at appomattox, he urged all of his followers to furl the flag. in one statement he said put it in your addicts. -- antics. he didn't want to be buried in his confederate uniform. he said this was a symbol and the uniform is a dress of treason. that is the history of this flag. why it is that we are having such a hard time today on the day that south carolina becomes the last state to take it off of the rounds, we have decided we are going to make it mandatory that our national parks this play on their grounds. now, after the funeral, there was a long possession in procession to where he was to be laid to rest. on that route, through the towns , people came to the curbs stood on the side of the road, waving the united states flag. one flag. black, white, young, old. all waving, and pledge of allegiance to that one flag. our leader talks about our motto. out of many, one. one flag. one nation. indivisible. with liberty and justice for all. one flag. one nation. with that, i would like to yield to my longtime friend. we have known each other for 45-50 years. one of the things we joke about is south carolina was the first to see mississippi -- south carolina was the first to secede, mississippi was not far behind. >> what you have seen over the last two weeks is an effort by members of the democratic caucus to put closure to an open wound that has been here for a long time. i live in mississippi. i have lived my entire life. i've had to endure a lot of atrocities that african-americans have had to enter at the hands of officials who waive this flag. when the civil war started south carolina and mississippi had more african-americans living in its state than they had any other race. but they were all slaves. this war was fought over slavery. the symbol was a confederate battle flag. people still see this flag is a symbol that the war is not over that it is heritage and not taped. you lost the war. it is time for you to join the rest of the country and be the united states of america. we should have a place for those things to be. over our capitals, and be representatives of the states that we live in is an insult because of what they stand for. racism, bigotry, all those things in a democracy have no place. our effort is to have the united states house of representatives provide the leadership necessary to begin the complete healing by removing those symbols of hatredand bigotry + that we can no longer afford to live with as a country. that is where my resolution was offered. and all these other maneuvers to avoid making tough decisions can only delay the process. we have to get beyond this. we have to get republican leadership in this institution to let us take a vote, let us not make referrals. there is enough history, enough on the record as to what the symbols stand for that there is no reason to conduct any hearings to do that. i would like to introduce congressman jeffers of new york who was instrumental in helping us bring this issue to the forefront. also instrumental in getting our interior appropriations canceled. [laughter] >> thank you leader pelosi and the distinguished gentleman from mississippi. earlier this week, i introduced collectively three amendments whose purpose was to prohibit the use of federal funds connected with the purchase sale, or display of the confederate battle flag on national grounds. house republicans were prepared to do the right thing and help to banish the symbol of racial hatred and depression. then the ghosts of the confederacy were invaded the republican congress. as a result, less than 24 hours in a dramatic turnaround, in the dead of night house republicans reversed course. and set forth to legislatively legitimize the display and the fail of the confederate flag. they have made the decision to refer mr. thompson's resolution to a committee for a hearing. i am perplexed. the members of the republican congress who support the battle flag argue that this is about heritage and tradition. what exactly is the tradition the confederate battle flag is meant to represent? is it slavery? race? kidnap? genocide treason, or all of the above? the confederate battle flag is a symbol of racial hatred and depression. it stood for the defense of the institution of slavery. it is time to banish it to the dustbin of history which is where it belongs. it is my honor and privilege to yield to the distinguished gentleman, from the great state of california i may put in a motion to make him an honorary member of the congressional black caucus. [laughter] >> thank you very much. two days ago i was proud to introduce along with my colleague one of the amendments at issue here. amendments that would ban the sale of confederate battle flags and in our national parks and prevent the display of these symbols on national cemetery gravesites. i was cleaned i was pleased when it passed by voice vote. hopefully throughout the south in the same way that we have seen corporate america stuff up on this issue and realize we have to stop providing nostalgic cover for the symbols of racism and segregation and hatred and slavery, i thought we were there. in the last 24 hours, to see the reversal within the republican caucuses shocking and disappointing. two seed in the context of the procedural maneuvers and obstructionist tactics they have taken to prevent the resolution from having a vote in this house is also shocking and disappointing. i have no doubt the u.s. congress will do the right thing read we will step up and vote to get rid of the symbols of hatred and segregation and slavery as we should have long ago. unfortunately we are unable to speak with one voice on this issue today because of a faction within the republican caucus that is out of step with the times we live then, would swear the country wants us to go on this issue, and the values our country holds dear. i hope that we will get through this and have that vote and do the right thing. unfortunately we are unable to do that today. with that it is my honor to yield to my friend from louisiana -- or my friend from minnesota. who without whose work on the floor late last night to catch what looks like an innocuous technical amendment, we may not be here with the opportunity to have a recorded vote on this. [applause] >> well, the interior bill is a polluter's dream profiteering from pollution for those who want to not follow the law. it had one bright spot and it. funding for our native american brothers and sisters. because of the amendments of mr. jefferson mr. hoffman, it had two more bright spots added to a terrible bill. i sat on the floor when these gentlemen introduce their amendments. i was proud of the fact that there was no objection raised from the other side of the aisle. i thought, america at its best. we are doing better. and then last night around 8:00 when we were ready to wrap up the bill, there was a flurry of activity. then a little bit of disruption as the chairman of the committee started talking about wildfires in striking the last word. people coming to the floor from the leadership offices of speaker boehner. i noticed the parliamentarian was called off in the speaker's lobby to discuss something. then we were presented with an amendment that you couldn't tell what it was going to do. the staff on the appropriations committee was very quick to point out what it was doing. the amendment adopted by the whole house ban the sale of confederate flag items and the amendment that was offered by chairman caliber was a attempt to negate this important amendments. it also went as far as to block the june 24 national park memorandum into law. which is what mr. hoffman was doing. it even tied the agency's hand to take action against other partners who would ignore park service requests, or voluntarily withdraw the confederate sale items. then it went further. it started moving toward keeping us from having her voice expressed as a house. an amendment that is not transparent and clear in what it is doing is an amendment that is deceitful. i believe it was deceived on the entire house of representatives to have an amendment come forward that didn't mention confederate flag in it once. i'm very sad we have come to a point where the will of the house to speak out against hate to speak out against racism was to be undone without any transparency at all. we called for a rollcall vote. they obviously needed as we found out cents, leadership. the film wasn't bad enough for some republicans. to put in hate, to put in racism permanently into it by not allowing our park service to withdraw these objectionable items. i'm pleased that we have brought this to everyone's attention with the underlying issue is, that we need to put an end to the confederate battle flag in our public spaces. i would yield to mr. richmond from louisiana. >> thank you so much. i came up here and was going to start with something my grandmother used to always tell me often, forgive them for they know not what they do. the sad part your today, and the part that frightens me is that they know exactly what they are doing. also, being the son and grandson of southern parents and grandparents who raised me in mississippi and louisiana the one thing that they stressed to me was the new testament. watching those families in south carolina who exhibited the best of the best by showing grace and mercy as they forgave the perpetrator. i stand here today praying for my republican colleagues who can't find the courage in their hearts, in their souls who are letting big hits and people who would reaffirm inferiority racism, and negative things. they are letting them win. the own thing i can do, the only thing we can do as a caucuses continue to fight for what we believe then i continue to pray for them that they will see the light. this is one nation with one flag. that we will only be a better country when we learn to love. it is sad to say that we have a body that represents this united states, and half of this body today let hate when you we will continue to love -- let hate win . we will continue to love. this nation is better than what we exhibited today. we will win and show love has a place in this country. we welcome everybody in it and everybody is fit. this is not a symbol of anything that we stand for, and the notion of the south will rise again is not something that we look forward to. we look forward to this country rising above hate and rising toward love. thank you. with that, i will introduce our share of our hispanic caucus and the best member of the baseball team, that will be linda sanchez. >> thank rep. sanchez: i'm proud to stand with my colleagues behind me. i'm not quite sure how we got here, but i'm disappointed we have to be here today, fighting something that is a divisive symbol for this country. my parents are immigrants to this country. they love this country. one thing i remember my father talking about growing up was that a house divided against itself cannot stand. yet here we are, in the 21st cent
