thank you for your time. as we said, the house is coming in early this morning. we will bring you to the house floor for live coverage on c-span. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] the speaker: the house will be

in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. haplain conroy: let us pray. eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. we come to the end of a short week. for many the winter has outlived its welcome and the longing for spring and its warmth is palpable. may the longing for goodwill and the fashioning of policies benefiting our nation be equally manifest in the actions marking these days. now we approach a weekend during which many members of this assembly will gather to remember an historic event in selma, alabama. 49 years ago, brave men and women, americans of all races, colors and faiths, walked together to help guarantee freedom still denied the descendents of those who were slaves. bless the members of this assembly and all that we would

be worthy of the call we have been given as americans, to nurture and guarantee democratic freedoms to all who dwell on our great nation. help us all to be truly thankful and appropriately generous in our response. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the st day's proceedings and pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. mr. cicilline: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker: mr. secretary. the secretary: i am directed by

the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey rise? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lance: mr. speaker, this week in washington we welcomed representatives from across the country attending the american-israel public affairs committee policy conference, the largest gathering in our nation of friends of the jewish state. representatives come to the nation's capital to highlight the importance of the partnership between the united states and israel and work together toward common interests and goals. i have the honor of serving as co-chair of the house republican israel caucus where protecting, strengthening and promoting the u.s.-israel relationship is the top priority. just this week under the leadership of congresswoman

ileana ros-lehtinen, the house passed legislation designating israel as a major strategic partner of the united states. i commend congresswoman ros-lehtinen on her leadership in expanding u.s.-israel cooperation in defense, energy and science. as the iranian regime continues to advance its nuclear ambitions and current events continually demonstrate that we live in a dangerous world, it is important that congress reaffirm our support for and commitment to our close friend and ally israel. thank you very much, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. cicilline: i stand to congratulate an iconic rhode island restaurant which last week received the james beard foundation america's classic award. a prestigious national award. the america's classic award honors restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved for quality food that reflects

the character of our community. despite its name, this is a uniquely rhode island culinary treasure and loved by rhode islanders and americans alike. we have some of the best food and restaurants in the country and only the system is a classic. every rhode islander knows the distinctive smells and sights of this local business. as mayor of province, i was proud they had a leading role. indeed for nearly 70 years three generations of the stevens family have run this local establishment at the same location in providence. although the neighborhood has changed over time, only the new york system has remained an iconic part of this community. and so i extend congratulations to greg stevens, his sister stephanie stevens on this well-deserved honor. and i know that their dad is looking down on them very proudly today. congratulations. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the

gentleman from texas rise? mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: mr. speaker, the issue of immigration continues to simmer, but it's not because of any substantive news in congress. it's driven by the media and the coverage is slanted. in the last three months, the three capitol hill publications have run over 30 stories about immigration. by a 10-1 ratio, they have promoted amnesty for illegal immigrants over the need for border security. articles in "the washington post" and "wall street journal" reflect the same media agenda. these publications also published over 30 pro-amnesty articles but not a single pro-enforcement article. the national media should give the american people the facts, not tell them what to think. we need more objective news stories and fewer opinion pieces masquerading as news reports. the speaker pro tempore: the

time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from connecticut ise? without objection, so ordered, the gentlelady is recognized or one minute. ms. esty: this weekend team 26 begins their second ride on washington. this courageous group of men and women will be biking 400 miles from newtown, connecticut, in my district, to washington, d.c. team 26 is made up of parents whose children attend or attended sandy hook elementary school and folks who have lost loved ones to gun violence. they ride to honor the victims of gun violence from newtown and from across the country, and they ride to urge congress to act. team 26 rides to bring the message of peace, hope and love. let's listen to team 26 and put

politics aside. mr. speaker, let us vote to enact meaningful gun violence prevention legislation this year. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentlelady has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania rise? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise today to acknowledge national frozen food month and in doing so one of my home state's own frozen food companies, the better bake foods. headquartered in the fifth district of pennsylvania with facilities in erie, pennsylvania, and new york, it is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary. over the years, better bake is an affordable option for nutritionous snack foods. they employ over 300 associates who produce over 325,000 pieces of frozen fresh bread pizzas, breakfast sandwiches. equipment facilities, better

bake has continually -- is continually working to ensure it meets consumer demand and grows its operation. i'm proud to honor a company that's constantly innovating to improve its product. mr. speaker, in celebration of national frozen food month, i wish to applaud better bake foods and the entire frozen food industry for their hard work and continued contributions to strong local economies, through jobs and quality, affordable meals for our nation's consumers and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to applaud president obama's new initiative, my brother's keeper, and to highlight one organization in our district doing outstanding work to mentor young men. boys to men was created in mohammed om clayton

by bringing black and latino men together. the organization has been a phenomenal success. the members are graduating high school, going to college and serving our country in the military. boys to men has produced outstanding young men like gilberto, a graduate of west aurora high school and a senior at the university of illinois majoring in civil engineering. mr. foster: gilberto was named the national star student of the year. jamario taylor, a graduate at east aurora and he's a record holder in the high jump and top ranked ncaa athlete. and alexander sewell, a combrad wit of roosevelt university in chicago. alex went on to work in the office of leader pelosi, for the secretary of energy, steven chu, and now in the office of senator landrieu. boys to men and my brother's

keeper are invaluable resources to help young men to get their lives on the right track. some of them work for the united states congress. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today once again to call for this body to bring h.r. 1010 to the floor and raise the federal minimum wage. mr. takano: my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will falsely claim that this will kill jobs. they misrepresent the findings of a recent c.b.o. report. the important takeaway from that c.b.o. report is that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour will raise the wages of more than 16 million americans and bring nearly one million americans out of poverty. in the 1990's when the clinton administration raised the

minimum wage, the republicans also argued that doing so would kill jobs. but the exact opposite happened. what we saw following the minimum wage increase in the 1990's was the greatest number of jobs created in a four-year period. a rising boat lifts a rise -- a rising tide lifts all boats, mr. speaker. let's raise the minimum wage, let's grow our economy and let's put people back to work. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the time of the gentleman has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. webster: mr. speaker, direction direction -- by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up, i call up house resolution 501. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: resolved, the speaker may pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18 declare the house resolved in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill 2824, to amend the

surface mining control and reclamation act of 1977, to waste by the ng department of the interior for taxpayer resources and implement the final rule on excess spoil, mining waste and buffers for perennial and intermittent streams and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on natural resources. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print house report 113-41 modified by the amendment printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this

resolution. that all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject for demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to

final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, at any time after adoption of this resolution, the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 2641, to provide for improved coordination of agency actions in the preparation and adoption of environmental documents for permitting determinations and for other purposes. . all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. after general debate, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the

five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 113-39. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part c of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered overwhelm in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent. shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment, the committee shall rise and report the bill to the

house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the oust on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 3, it shall be in order at any time on the legislative day of march 6, 2014 for the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules as though under clause 1 of rule 15 relating to a measure addressing loan guarantees to ukraine. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for one hour. >> for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend from florida, the gentleman, mr. hastings, pending which i yield myself such time as i may

consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. >> during consideration of the resolution all time yielded is forethe purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. webster: i rise today in support of the rule and underlying bills. house resolution 501 provides a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 2641, the responsibility and professionally invigorating development act known as rapid act. the resolution also provides a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 2824 preventing government waste and protecting coal mining jobs in america. lastly, the resolution provides suspension authority for legislation to provide much needed financial relief to the government of ukraine. the resolution makes in order all of the amendments submitted to the committee of rules regarding the rapid act.

it makes in order half the amendments submitted to the committee on rules regarding the coals jobs. of the amendments made in order, more than half are sponsored by my colleagues across the aisle. the resolution provides for a robust debate in the house of representatives. in july, the subcommittee of regulatory reform, commercial and antitrust law, held a hearing on h.r. 24 -- 2641. subcommittee reported the bill favorably without amendment by voice vote. on july 31, the committee on judiciary ordered h.r. 2641 favorably reported without amendment. in august, the subcommittee on energy and mining resources held hearings on h.r. 2824. in november the committee on natural resources by bipartisan to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not presented favorably for the bill and reported it out. mr. speaker, the bills before us today garnered majority support

for one simple reason, they, and bipartisan support, for one simple reason, they ensure the regulatory process works for americans as intended by congress. across the nation energy, infrastructure projects are being significantly delayed. in some cases the environmental review have continued on for a decade or more. according to a study by the chamber of commerce, current delays are costing more than $1 trillion in economic development and those delays are also prohibiting the creation of 1.9 million jobs. s our country -- as our country continues to struggle through our lackluster recovery, ensuring these studies are completed would help generate jobs and create economic growth. mr. speaker, in 2011 president obama's council on jobs and competitiveness recommended action to simplify regulatory review and streamline project approvals to accelerate jobs and

growth. just this year in the state of the union, president obama called for permit streamlining. he said action must be taken to, quote, slash bureaucracy and streamlining the permitting process for key projects so we can get more construction workers on the job as fast as possible. news reports like to highlight our disagreements. in fact, it often seems there is nothing we can do that we can agree on. that's not true. earlier this term the house of representatives passed h.r. 3080, the water resources reform development act. that bill passed by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 417-3. the rapid act is nearly identical legislation to streamlining provisions contained in h.r. 3080. the streamlining proposals -- and the streamlining proposals from the president. the house passed the warda, provided a process for core of

engineers-led studies to be reviewed and more of a parallel as opposed to linear fashion by multiple agencies. the president initiated a similar proposal where studies had to be completed within three years. the president and each member of congress supported wrda -- who supported wrda should support this bill. the rapid act is simple, it allows multiple agencies to study environmental impacts of a project at the same time. because the agencies will have a better process by which to study a project, the rapid act establishes a ream and efficient timeline for completion of the study. that's it. the rapid act provides a better process and a better timeline. the rapid act does not alter or weaken any of our environmental laws. the rapid act does not require the environmental sensitive areas be developed. the rapid act does not force agencies to approve projects. it simply reforms our permitting and regulatory process to allow

our nation's most important infrastructure projects to move forward in a timely manner. the president has asked for this to happen. 417 house democrats and republicans have supported this already. the bill should pass the house overwhelmingly with bipartisan support. this bill will get washington out of the way of our economic growth and put unemployed americans on a pathway back to work. the rule also provides for consideration of h.r. 2824, preventing government waste and protecting coal mining jobs in america. h.r. 2824 stabilizes the out-of-control regulatory scheme involving the department of the interior. in 2008, after a five-year exhaustive process, the office of surface mining finalized a rule to protect our streams from excessive coal waste. the rule was supposed to go into effect january 12, 2009. however, the process was

sidelined by a sue and settle gambit that the o.s.m. under president obama's administration used to attempt to rewrite the already finalized rule. since that is thelement, the administration has spent five additional years and billed hardworking american taxpayers an additional $10 million attempting to rewrite the rule. h.r. 2824 is simple, it tells o.s.m. to put in place the 2008 rule. study the results, report to congress. if the study reveals a need to draft a new rule, then a new rule should be drafted. by putting in place the already finalized 2008 rule, h.r. 2824 ensures that our streams are safe while further study is conducted. it is easy to see why these underlying bills should garner strong bipartisan support. they are measured and balanced in their approach to our project study and regulatory process.

for these reasons, mr. speaker, i rise in support of the rule and the underlying pieces of legislation. i encourage my colleagues to vote yes on the rule, yes on the underlying bills, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings, is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman, my good friend from florida, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes. just last week i found myself standing here managing a rule for two very similar bills. at the time i thought we were on a merry-go-round aimlessly moving in useless circles. i will stand by that analogy again today. when similar bills came before congress last session, the senate didn't pass them, the president said he would not the speaker pro tempore: them, as he has this particular legislation. it seems to me that these measures are a foregone

conclusion. ultimately the same tired talking points might be a fun ride for some, but they will never actually take you anywhere. these kind of spinning in circles is a favorite tactic, it seems, of my friends on the other side of the aisle. for example, this congress has already taken 109 anti-environmental votes. last congress it was 247. these were votes against clean air, against clean water, and to destroy our planet for future generations. under republican leadership we have also voted to repeal as we did a day or so ago, the affordable care act, 50 different times. a law that in many respects has

led to millions of americans signing up for health insurance that didn't have it before, and i continue to ask my colleagues if you don't like that particular measure, where is yours that would replace it? and apparently nothing is forthcoming, at least until this time. based on the frequency of these quixotic votes, it's obvious that my friends across the aisle have given up or are not interested in governing, or addressing any of the issues that are most pressing to this nation. consider, for instance, that there are two million americans relying on congress to extend unemployment insurance. with close to 200,000 of them unemployed veterans who have sacrificed time and again for our country. last week i said the following, we should be spending the

house's time on extending unemployment insurance working on comprehensive immigration reform, or/and raising the minimum wage. my friends on the other side, i said, of the aisle, have continued to ignore the plight of middle class and working for americans. they have continued to ignore the plight of immigrants, hoping for a better life for their families and denying the undeniable impact of climate change, just to name a few things. we should be raising the minimum wage in order to give millions of hardworking americans the pay that they rightly deserve. nearly five years have passed since the last increase in the federal minimum wage. currently a full-time minimum wage worker makes less than $16,000 per year, which is below

the poverty line for a family of two or more. my friends did not take my suggestions last week, and i doubt they will take them this week. instead, we are considering two more pointless bills that will go nowhere. one of them, the acronym for it, is rapid. that's correct. rapidly and fastly it will go nowhere. the first of today's bills, h.r. 2641, ignores the fact that more than -- for more than 40 years the national environmental policy act has provided an effective framework for all types of proposed actions that require federal approval pursuant it a federal law such as the clean watter act. h.r. -- water act. h.r. 2641 is based on the assumption that the nepa environmental review and permitting process results in project delays.

however, when we consider this measure last congress, the congressional research service reported that delays in construction project approvals are more often tied to local, state, and project specific factors. hese factors include primarily local state agencies' priorities, project funding levels, local opposition to a project, project complexity, or late changes in project scope, not to mention the litigation that goes on surrounding these measures. c.r.s. goes even further saying that project delays are not the result of nepa but actually due to laws other than nepa. the measure undermines current regulatory protections and could jeopardize public health

and safety by prioritizing speed over meaningful analysis. now, turning to 2824, the other measure included in today's rule, which like the 50 times that we voted to repeal the affordable health care act, my repealer republican friends have done that, they have also offered 50 rules which are not open rules in spite of the fact that we began this session by the speaker of the house saying this would be the most open house that we have had. 2824 included in this rule is no more productive than the previous legislation offered. the legislation would overturn a court decision in order to block a buffer requirement designed to prevent damage to waterways from surface coal mining operations.

these are protections that president ronald reagan put in place. the environmental protection agency estimates that over 500 mountains have been destroyed by the practice of mountain top removal mining. more than 1.2 million acres feet of forest have been eliminated and nearly 2,000 miles of streams have been buried or polluted by these mining projects. i wonder what part of knocking a mountain top off do people not understand as destruction, and if it is to be then it should be done carefully. these are protections for all of us in our society. as many as 60,000 additional cases of cancer in central appalachia are directly linked to mountain top removal, and more than 700 additional deaths

from heart disease occur each year. last month west virginia university scientists published a study confirming high air pollution levels among mountain top removal coal mining, suggesting a link to the higher rates of cardiovascular disease, birth defects and cancer that is seen in these communities. instead of addressing these issues, h.r. 2824 would reinstate george wish b. administration rule that essentially prohibits the united states department of interior from implementing any -- george w. bush administration rule that essentially prohibits the united states department of interior from implementing any regulation for mountain top removal coal mining. let me tell you about a case called bragg vs. robertson. the judge says when valley fields are permitted and

intermittent in perennial streams, they destroy those stream segments. the gradient of the stream is buried under millions of cubic feet of spoiled waste material, an extremely adverse affect. if there are fish they cannot migrate. if there is any life form, they cannot acclimate to life deep n a rubble pile, it is eliminated. environmental values is more adverse than obliteration. under a valley field, the water quantity of the stream becomes zero because there is no stream, there is no water quality. the bush rule in 2008 was vacated by the district of columbia district court on february 20, 2014, and the obama administration started to draft new stream protections before taking office into which the minority has conducted a

long fruitless investigation. indeed, the years of investigation have uncovered no misconduct. the only results of the investigation are wasted time and taxpayer money, sending over 13,500 pages of documents, 25 hours of audio recordings, 19,000 staff hours and costing the united states department of the interior, office of surface mining approximately $1.5 million. we saw an example yesterday in one of our committees investigating the internal revenue service for something that just simply has not occurred in any partisan fashion. and i can demonstrate that because if one believes that the i.r.s. only went after conservative organizations within the time period that was being investigated by the committee of government reform and operation, then it was not

during that period that my church, mount herman in fort lauderdale received the same kind of notices that are being complained about and what we did is make the necessary appeals and we were successful in that regard. all of these partisan witch-hunts need to stop. we're a better people than this, and we should be about the business of the people of the united states of america. mr. speaker, today's measure exists as partisan talking points, bumper sticker talk by my republican colleagues rather than serious legislation to move this country forward. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i would yield three minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today i rise in strong support for this rule

which will govern debate on important legislation that my colleague, doug lamborn, and i have introduced. this legislation, the preventing government waste and protecting coal mining jobs in america, would stop the administration from destroying thousands of direct and indirect coal mining jobs and stop the price of electricity in places like ohio from skyrocketing. since the early days of this administration, mr. speaker, the office of surface mining at the department of the interior has been trying to rewrite a 2008 coal mining rule. this rewrite has been fraught with mismanagement, waste of taxpayer dollars, intimidation by contractors of o.s.m. employees towards the contractors working on the rule, and even the director of o.s.m. demanding that the contractors change the job loss estimates because it would look bad politically for the administration.

but look, don't take my word for it. you can go out and read the department's own inspector general's report that highlights the administration's problems rewriting this rule. this legislation would put an end to this nonsense and implement the 2008 rule. it would save taxpayers millions of dollars that's being wasted on this frivolous rewrite. it also would protect the thousands of direct jobs that the administration admitted would be destroyed by this rule and thousands more indirect jobs that would also be lost. in eastern and southeastern ohio, my constituents are the ones mining the coal that power the economic engine in the midwest. not to mention that america gets over 40% of its energy from coal. the state of ohio gets over 80% of its energy from coal. this rule would put not only those jobs at risk but also calls electricity -- cause

electricity prices to skyrocket and endanger the lower electricity rates that manufacturing in this country relies on to keep moving forward. the rule from the department must be stopped in order to protect hardworking coal miners across america and to stop the waste of taxpayer dollars by the department of the interior. i urge all of my colleagues to support this rule today and to support the legislation when it comes to the floor. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i would advise my good friend from florida that i have no additional speakers at this time and would be prepared to close. so i reserve my time if you have additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, one america that's

often quoted is will rogers, and one of the things that i paraphrased that he said is by land because we're not making any more of that. and i use it as an analogy for ountain top mining, knocking ff the tops of these mountains, we are making no more mountains. although i guess we can because in florida we have what we call trash mountains. so i guess we can build something up, but i doubt very seriously that the quality of it will be the kind that we see with the mountain ranges of this great america. mr. speaker, these bills are about protecting special interests that happen to be near and dear to some of my friends across the aisle. we are here voting on tired,

discredited and destructive policies that have absolutely no chance of becoming law. this is a failure of leadership by my republican colleagues, and quite frankly a waste of time. we should not be considering measures that will help destroy this planet for our children and grandchildren. we need strong environmental protections to ensure that we have clean air, clean water and clean food. mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question, i will offer an amendment to the rule to bring up h.r. 3546, mr. levin's bill, to extend emergency unemployment insurance for the long-term unemployed across this country for whom it has run out. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote

on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, it will be part of the record. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, it is a very sad thing that we continue to let people languish without fulfilling our responsibility to them with reference to unemployment insurance. it is a detriment to this nation, and it serves us no useful purpose to continue delaying this particular effort. while i do have the floor for a moment, i do wish to address legislation that i hope does come here with reference to our offering assistance to the people in ukraine who should have an opportunity to make their own determination regarding their future and that i'm uld stand with and sure prepared to do so in an effort to assist them. mr. speaker, i had the good

fortune of being the president of the parliamentary assembly of the organization of security and cooperation in europe. and during that period of time, i went to ukraine on three different occasions. and during that time i had the good fortune to be the lead monitor after the orange revolution. so it's not that i don't have a clear understanding of much that is going on but what i hope my colleagues here will do is recognize that the ballotics and the balkan and the near abroad of russia and europe are in need of clarity with ference to matters and not simple-minded, complex -- noncomplex answers to very difficult problems that ukraine is now faced with. it is a nationwide continuing problem for us. mr. speaker, apparently we do have some other speaker en

route, so i'm required to reserve as i anticipated i might be. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. webster: thank you, mr. speaker. we had someone show up and so the gentleman from florida has allowed for mr. lamborn from colorado, the gentleman to speak. i would yield him two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two minutes. mr. lamborn: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank both of the gentlemen for yielding. mr. speaker, we just need to adopt h.r. 2824 and the rule supporting it. this is a good piece of legislation. unfortunately, this administration is waging what appears to many of us to be a war on coal. the buffer zone rule that's been proposed by o.s.m., the office of surface mining and reclamation, that is a very troubling rule. it would have adverse effects

on all kinds of coal mining way beyond what the stated intention is. the stated intention is to protect the quality of streams in the appalachian area, but this rule goes way beyond that. this would have the effect of closing down much of the coal mining in that part of the country. so it is overkill. it is way beyond what is necessary, and that is -- and to do a whole rulemaking process, mr. speaker, is flawed. we had a very good rewrite of the rules that was done in the last administration and that went through millions of dollars of effort, many years of rulemaking, taking comments and the end result was a very satisfactory rewrite of the older rule. and yet without even letting

that fully take effect, this administration is throwing that rule out and wanting to go to an overly stringent and unrealistic rule. . let's go back to the last rule that was done through the proper procedures. so h.r. 2824 is a good piece of legislation. i commend representative johnson for carrying this piece of legislation. we have looked at this in detail in our full committee and in the subcommittee on energy and mineral resources, and this is a much better approach. so i urge the full house to adopt h.r. 2824 and the rule. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. now i am prepared to close and will. and i'll close with what i said yesterday. when tennessee ernie ford sang a

song about coal mining and it was, you load 16 tons and what do you get? another day older, and deeper in debt. i have been in applachia as have many of my friends. i went to school in tennessee and had an opportunity often to travel to kentucky and other areas during that period of time. and i have been in west virginia. i have seen the conditions that many people work in. i would only hope that they know that there are voices here who believe just like throughout the rest of this nation. in spite of the awesomeness of the work that they do in coal mining, and i might add as a footnote there's been no deterioration in the job market with reference to coal mining. all that's being sought is that coal mining be done in a safe manner and that the people living in the surroundings have the same kind of quality air,

quality water, and quality food that is desperately needed by everybody. we need look no further than west virginia and accidents that have occurred there. nobody wanted that to happen. indeed, what we saw were corporate dodges of people who had taken advantage of smaller communities. that needs to stop. i believe my colleagues here want to see to it that we have a situation where those who are working in these environments have an opportunity for safety and have an opportunity for clean air in their regions, as well as water and food. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no and defeat the previous question. vote no on the underlying bills. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida. million webster: mr. speaker, this rule provides for ample and open debate. makes in order amendments from both sides of the aisle. further, it advances bills that are favorably reported out of

committee and received and will receive bipartisan support. the rapid act is a good -- is good for our infrastructure needs. it puts in place a good process that helps our agencies conduct quality and timely environmental reviews. this bill should receive overwhelming bipartisan support. republicans and democrats have supported these same provisions already in this congress. the florida delegation knows too well the impact of delayed studies having on moving our critical projects forth. port everglades which is in the gentleman from florida's, mr. hastings' area, has been under review and movement for 17 years. this is too long. it's too much. it needs to be completed. the study of the project is a prime example of washington bureaucracy crushing america's jobs and america's future. the rapid act would make it possible to move projects forward while protecting our

environment. mr. speaker, the president has proposed a similar solution. the house passed an identification solution in the wrda bill. we should pass this bill and give our infrastructure projects a good review process. our nation's economy is sagging under the inefficient government. our unemployment -- unemployed friends and neighbors are being hurt by our stagnant regulatory review system. the rapid act provides a better process, a better timeline, and it does not change our environmental standards. it does not require agencies to approve projects. it simply reforms our permitting process. the coal jobs bill puts in place an already approved rule. it ends the regulatory limbo that has existed since 2009. it gives certainty to those who work in the coal industry. let's reform our reviews methods. let's give the government the tools and incentives to move america's infrastructure projects forward.

when we do, we will release economic activity. we will strengthen our economy. and we'll put americans to work. mr. speaker, the underlying bills are good. i urge the members of this house to vote for the rule, vote for the bills. move our country forward. i yield back the balance of my time. i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on ordering the previous question. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of the request for the yeas and nays will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yaped. -- yeas and nays are ordered. er pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of adoption of the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 219. the nays are 191. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed will say no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. hastings: yeas and nays.

the speaker pro tempore: those in favor of the yeas and nays will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 225. the nays are 190. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to house resolution 497 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 3826. will the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, kindly take the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 3826 which the clerk will report by title. the chair: a bill to provide direction to the administrator of the environmental protection agency regarding the establishment of standards for emissions of any greenhouse gas

from fossil fuel-fired elect trick generating unit and for other purposes -- electric generating unit and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose wednesday, march 5, 2014, a request for a recorded vote on amendment number 8 printed in house report 113-373 offered by the gentleman from california, mr. waxman, had been postponed. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments printed in house report 113-373 on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order -- amendment number 1 by mr. smith of texas, amendment number 2 by mrs. capps of california, amendment number 6 by ms. schakowsky of illinois, amendment number 8 by mr. waxman of california. the chair will reduce to two minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote in this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 1 printed in house report 113-373 by the

gentleman from texas, mr. smith, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the yies prevailed by -- ayes prevailed by a voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in house report 113-373 offered by mr. smith of texas. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 230. the nays are 184. the amendment is agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 2 printed in house report 113-383 -- 373 offered by the gentlewoman from california, mrs. capps, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in house report 113-373 offered by mrs. capps of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. long long. -- members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 184. the nays are 228 and the amendment is not agreed to.

the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 6 printed in house report 113-373 offered by the gentlelady from illinois, ms. schakowsky, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 6 printed in house report 113-373 offered by ms. schakowsky of illinois. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in favor of a request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the

yeas are 190 and the nays are 221 and the amendment is not dwred to. the unfinished business is the -- agreed to. the unfinished business is the uestion for a recorded vote on amount number 8 printed in house report 113-373 offered by the gentleman from california, ms. waxman, on which furred proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 8 printed in house report 113-373 offered by ms. waxman of california. the chair: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 178.

the nays are 231. the amendment is not agreed to. the question now is on the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed will say no. the aye vs. it. the aye vs. it. the amendment is adopted. accordingly, under the rule, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. hairman.

the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration the bill h.r. 3826, and pursuant to house resolution 497 reports the bill back to the house with an amendment adopted in the committee of the whole. under the rule the previous question is ordered. is a separate vote demanded on any amendment to the amendment reported from the committee of the whole? if not, the question is on the adoption of the amendment in the nature of a substitute as amended. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. the question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill. so many as are in favor say aye.

those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to provide direction to the administrator of the environmental protection agency regarding the establishment of standards for emissions under the greenhouse gas from fossil fuel, electric utility generating unes, and purpose. or other purposes. -- generating units, and for ther purposes. >> mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the house will come to order. he house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california rise? >> mr. speaker, i have a motion to recommit at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: is the

gentlelady opposed to the bill? >> i am opposed. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady qualifies. the clerk will report the motion. the clerk: ms. brownley of california moves to recommit the bill h.r. 3826 to the committee on energy and commerce with instructions to report the same back to the house forthwith with the following amendment. redesignate section 5 as section 6 and insert after section 4 the following, section 5, saving consumers money on their electricity bills. this act shall not apply with respect to rules that save consumers money on electricity bills, including rules that allow for or encourage energy efficiency, demand response, or other approaches to lower the cost of electricity for consumers. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. ask members to take their conversations off the floor. the gentlelady from california is recognized for five minutes. ms. brownley: thank you, mr.

speaker. this is the final amendment to h.r. 3826, which will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. if adopted the bill will immediately proceed to final passage as amended. my amendment is a simple, straightforward improvement that i believe both sides of the aisle can agree is absolutely necessary and would be overwhelmingly supported by the american people. if my amendment passes, it will ensure that the american people and american businesses throughout our country will be protected from unavoidable -- from avoidable energy price increases. the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will be in order. the gentlelady will suspend. the gentlelady will suspend. the house will be in order. i ask members to take their conversations off the floor. out of the aisles.

the gentlelady is recognized. ms. brownley: thank you, mr. speaker. specifically my amendment ensures that nothing in this act would limit the ability of regulators to issue rules that save consumers money on their electricity bills, including rules that allow for or encourage energy efficiency, demand response, and other approaches to lower the cost of electricity for consumers. making our homes and businesses more energy efficient will save americans trillions of dollars and simultaneously fight climate change by reducing our country's carbon footprint. energy efficiency standards have already saved americans $40 billion and we are on track to save $1.7 trillion in energy

costs by 2035. proven federal programs like energy star, boost energy efficiency and have conserved energy by helping consumers and businesses find energy efficient appliances and products. in fact, commercial buildings, which use energy star technology, show an average of 7% energy savings. progress and energy efficiency is a win-win that is good for our pocketbooks and good for our environment. and we can do more. if just one in 10 households use current technology to upgrade their home heating systems, we could keep 17 billion pounds of pollution out of our air. a vote for my amendment is a vote to ensure that we keep

every tool available to conserve energy and help consumers avoid needless energy costs. mr. speaker, price increases in the energy sector are a very real and very serious problem. it hurts working families struggling to make ends meet. it hurts homeowners who struggle every month to pay their mortgage and utility bills, including many of my hardworking families in ventura county. it hurts small and large businesses, driving up the price of doing business, and impacting their ability to invest in new equipment and hire new workers. it hurts our military and impacts military readiness, including naval base ventura county, costing more to keep the lights on and operate critical facilities. it hurts our seniors who live on

fixed incomes and cannot afford an increase in their utility bills. it hurts the specialty crop growers in ventura county, our lemon, strawberry, avocado, and lettuce growers, as well as our cut flower producers whose bottom line is so closely tied to the price of energy. and it also hurts our overall national economy and threatens to slow job creation and the recovery of our very fragile economy. this is why it is so important that we allow regulators like the e.p.a. to move forward with rules that can save consumers money on their electricity bills, encourage energy efishency, and lower the cost of electricity for all of our consusmers. -- consumers. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the motion to recommit to ensure a better and cleaner

america for our children, our grandchildren, and many, many more generations to come. i yield back the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the yeal yields back her time. -- the gentlelady yields back her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky rise. >> to claim time in opposition to the motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for five minutes. the gentleman are suspend. he house will be in order. the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. whitfield: mr. speaker, if there was ever a motion to recommit we don't need it's this one. the entire purpose of the electricity security and affordability act, h.r. 3826, is to ensure that america remains competitive in the global marketplace by lowering electricity costs. the energy information agency reported recently that 41 out of 50 states have higher electricity rates today than they did four years ago.

primarily these electricity rates are going up because of the policies of the obama dministration. this act specifically allows in the future the opportunity to build a new coal powered plant in america the way coal-powered plants are being built around the world. we don't anticipate one to be built as long as natural cass prices are low, but if they go up as they have in europe, we want the flexibility to build a coal-powered plant in america. the president talks frequently about an all-of-the-above energy policy, yet his policies, his regulations, his executive orders to not allow us to use as much coal. we simply want that flexibility. we are not mandating it, but it gives us additional flexibility and for that reason i would ask us to defeat the motion to recommit and adopt h.r. 3826.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion to recommit. as many as are in favor will signify by saying aye. those opposed will say no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. ms. brownley: mr. speaker, i demand the yeas and nays on a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays have been requested. those in favor of the yeas and nays will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes y electronic device. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20, a five-minute vote on the motion on recommit will be followed by a five-minute vote on passage of the bill if ordered. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]