the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our guest chaplain, reverend charlie martin of bethel baptist church of north carolina. the chaplain: let's pray together. dear heavenly father, today, lord, we enter your gates with -- gates with thanksgiving and into your courts with praise. thank you for your blessings, for america, our home. i call on you, o lord, to bless our land again. in the bible we read, if my people which are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then while i hear from -- will i hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. father you know that i trust you

and your holy word and i call on you this morning to place your great hand upon this congress and upon this people. please grant your wisdom and their -- in their decisions and leadership on behalf of all americans. for all of us who love this land and call america home, we call on you together today. in jesus' name, amen. the speaker pro tempore: the -- the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. the journal stands approve the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. wilson. mr. wilson: everyone, including the guests in the gallery, please join in. 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: without objection, the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. foxx is recognized

for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, pastor charlie martin has preached the gospel for 45 years. charlie martin attended trinh dity college of florida and continues to serve as vice president -- trinity college of florida and continues to serve as vice president of that institution. after college he began working with youth in his home church in arkansas. in 1971, he was called to pastor first baptist church of indian rocks in largow, florida. the lord blessed the 37 years he spent there with the church growing from fewer than 100 to over 6,000 members under his care. largow is also where pastor martin met stephanie, his wife of 38 years. together they raised five children, shannon, christian, summer, and colt. all five children are grown and happily married and the martins delight in their 16 grandchildren. for the past seven years, pastor

martin has led the good people of bethel baptist church in north carolina. we are blessed to have this man of god living and working in our community in the mountains of north carolina and i want to thank him for opening the house with a prayer today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise to commemorate the 239th an verse - anniversary of the mecklenburg declaration of independence. north carolinians became the first americans to declare independence from the tyrannical crown of great bray britain. mr. hudson: this paved the way

for our great experiment in democracy. it's no wonder these type of bold leaders, british general cornwal limbings s was unable to hold the city of charlotte and was prompted to write it was a hornet's nest of rebellion. it's worth noting that on this very day today, the charlotte bobcats, i mean the charlotte hornets, get their buzz back. i'm so proud of our heritage and the leadership the state of north carolina continues to provide this nation. on this festive day, i want to con gadge late the city of charlotte and all north carolinians and i welcome my colleagues to join me in supporting this important moment in our history. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to draw attention to an epidemic in our country. we have seen rates of autism

rising rapidly in our -- in the last two decades. mr. quigley: today one in six children is diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. i attended the autism speaks walk in chicago. i was inspired by the store roifs young men and women and the realization that there are opportunities for all those living with autism. we as a congress must come together and pass meaningful policy to understand this condition and find a cure. i remain committed to supporting federal funding for autism research and helping families obtain appropriate they arities for children -- therapies for children live with autismism know my colleagues share this passion with me. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, according to a recent article in the "wall street journal," quote, though ba ma administration said friday it

would let states decide whether to implement a key part of the health care law's small business exchanges next year. extending an earlier delay. the department of health and human services said in rules released friday that it will be up to state insurance commissioners to decide whether employers and employees at small businesses using health exchanges for workers in 2015, if they can show it would be in the best interest of the insurance market of the state, end of quote. the lengthy list of implemented obamacare delays confirm the president knows, his signature health care law is unworkable and destroys jobs. changing the law without congressional approval also shows the president wants to conceal the true consequences of the failed law until after the mid-term elections in november. we must put poll takes side and do what is best for the american people and repeal obamacare to promote jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget

september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise today to recognize national tourette's syndrome awareness month. i commend advocates like the national tow ret's syndrome association for their work to help those with tourette's syndrome. it affects up to one in 100 americans. while symptoms can be sus preed too many children have to manage ticks in various social settings. mr. sires: many famries -- families are at a loss how to manage this disorder. these organizations provide

answers through referrals and training for families and peers. and through expanded research we can learn more about the cause and treatment of this disorder. i have introduced the care for w ret's syndrome act to -- tourette's sin dome act to care for those living with the disorder. by collecting more day tark increasing research effort well, can better understand the cause of tourette's syndrome. it is my hope that through better understanding the syndrome we can lift the veil of this disorder and enhance the lives of many. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> the clock is ticking for miriam ibrahim in sudan. a young, frightened sudanese woman is shack nled a prison cell for refusing to renounce her christian faith. mr. wolf: her husband and american citizens are seeking to

draw attention to her plight and her 18-month-old son who languishes in jail with her. she's 18 month -- she's eight months pregnant and her sentence of death by hanging is being delayed until she gives birth. the clock is ticking. congressman trent franks has sought to shine a bright light on this injustice. today, senators are urging secretary of state john kerry to provide political asylum to miriam. we should act to save this innocent woman's life. president obama should appeal for her release and offer her safe haven here in the united states. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one hin and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> three years ago, my nephew, lance corporal marine harry lu

was a victim of military hazing while stationed in afghanistan. after 3 1/2 hours of brutal beating and torment by fellow soldier, he took his own life. since then i've dedicated myself to ensuring that the department of defense addresses hazing within its ranks. ms. chu: because of my bill, the harry lu hazing accountability act, the 2013 national defense authorization act or ndaa required each military branch to submit a report to congress on what they are doing to address hazing. the reports were inconsistent. we learned that most branches don't track allegations and incidents of hazing and that substandard tracking results in unreliable day tafment that's why i urge support for my amendment to this year's ndaa. it requires the government accountability office to provide congress with a much more thorough and most importantly independent report. we must protect the young people that we send off to war from abuse by their own soldiers.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize command sergeant major w. -- lliam e. high jr. of the explosive device -- who retired after 32 years of distinguished service. today one of the greatest threats faced by our service men and women is the i.e.d. while serving, the sernlt major worked tirelessly to ensure that men and women in harm's way have the necessary training and capabilities to protect them from this lethal threat. his work enabled the organization to have success in countering the i.e.d. threat. his awards include the legion of merit, bronze star, her to toirs service medal, joint service

commendation and army commendation and he also served as a drill sergeant in his 32-year career. i'm proud to recognize his career and i'd like to congratulate his wife ingrid and his children whose love and support has aided and strengthened him as he served our great nationism wish him the best in his retirement and ask that this statement be submitted to the congressional record. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? without objection. call speaker, i rise to attention to the wildfires that have ravaged southern california over the past week. thanks to our brave first responders, these blazes are nearly contain bud not before destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousand os evacuate. mrs. davis: the sight of brush fires cross the county has become too familiar in the san diego region in recent years but this won't be an ordinary year. so far, we've seen twice as many

fires as usual and the worst months are yet to come. many who have been forced to leave their homes speak of how in those miamis when they fear they might lose everything they realize what's most important to them. now it's time for congress to remember what's important. the vital programs that americans rely on in times of crisis. with natural disasters worsening across the country it's more important than ever to ensure that agencies like the forest service, the national weather service and fema have the resources they need to keep americans informed and safe. this appropriation season, i urge my colleagues to come together as i watch san diego county residents do and prioritize these lifesaving services for all americans. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without

objection. mr. chaffetz: mr. speaker, it was april of 2009 when president obama said that he was going to have -- to form an integrated electronic health record project. take the records between the d.o.d. and veterans administration and together he, said, quote, it would represent a huge step toward modernizing the way health care is delivered and benefits are administered for veterans. it would cut through red tape and reduce the number of mistakes, end quote. fast forward to february of 2013. the department of defense and the veterans administration announced that they were going to halt this program. it was a $4 billion -- in the $4 illion, not $40 million, not $400 million, but a $4 billion project. secretary hagel, and i quote him, i didn't think we knew what the hell we were doing, end quote. after all these years, $4 billion late they totally halted and abandoned this project that was going to improve the quality of health care for our veterans.

it wasn't far lack of must be, but it was a lack of leadership and management and dedication and mr. speaker, this cannot stand. we do need to do better for our veterans. this has got to be a national priority. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? . >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. for the first time ever the threats posed by extreme weather were added to the g.a.o.'s high-risk report which lists the most pressing fiscal exposures our federal government faces. in the past two years alone, extreme weather events resulted in 109 presidential major disaster declarations, 409 fatalities, and $130 billion in economic losses to our nation. mr. cart write: as somebody who firmly believes we must better prepare for extreme weather,

protect the government and private sector resources and create a more resilient society, i have drafted legislation that utilizes these recommendations of the g.a.o. the prepare act requires agencies to implement governmentwide resiliency, preparedness, and risk management priorities, improves regional coordination, and disseminates best practices and actionable data, and possibly even more importantly is the cost of this legislation, zero dollars. while having the possibility of saving taxpayers billions. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to support policies that will grow our economy. the travel industry employs over one million floridians. recently tourism to florida has

resulted in more than $70 billion in revenue. and it's generated nearly $900 billion nationally. i recently introduced a travel promotion enhancement and modernization act which would extend the activities of brand u.s.a. a public-private partnership that markets the u.s. as a tourism destination. this will continue to promote job growth in florida. florida's trend, however, is not reflected nationwide, unfortunately. sadly over 800,000 americans gave up looking for work in april alone. this should not be the new normal. e house has passed over 40 jobs related bills that will promote private sector growth. the brand u.s.a. re-authorization is another jobs bill that will get america working again. i urge support to grow our economy. thank you very much, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the

gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. lee: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise to speak out against the refusal to extend a critical lifeline for the unemployed. on december 28, republicans' failure to extend emergency unemployment compensation left 1.3 million jobless americans out in the cold. 332,000 more than californians have lost their benefits, including over 8,000 people in alameda county where my district is located. i would like to remind my colleagues across the aisle that the long-term unemployment rate is still at 35.3%. the highest it's been since world war ii. this tea party controlled congress has decided to turn their backs on these unemployed workers when their need is greatest. and these workers paid into unemployment. so in their time of need it would be there. and this failure to act has

already cost our economy nearly $5 billion. this failure to act is mean-spirited, it's economically foolish, and it's morally wrong. won't support investments in job creation, they gut the safety net in the ryan budget, and won't extend unemployment benefits. my goodness, what in the world are people going to do? this is not the american way. i urge us to take up this unemployment compensation bill and let's pass it and pass it right away. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i rise today to honor the recipients of the early career research program grants only the best and brightest in the country are chosen. i'm pleased to say that five out of the 35 winners are from illinois. mr. hultgren: two of the winners are from the 1th

district in illinois, and another is a joint appointee with the lab and northwestern university. under this program, scientists will receive at least $150,000 per year to aid them with their research efforts in the next five years. i'm confident that the continued work of all of the talented winners will lead to breakthroughs we cannot even predict. innovative minds like these are successful for the continuing success of our country. we should continue supporting their essential work and help show the next generation that there is a future for them in science. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? mr. yarmuth: request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. yarmuth: mr. speaker, it has now been more than four months since congress let emergency unemployment insurance expired. in that time, more than 2.8 million job seekers, including 200,000 veterans, have lost the ability to provide for their families. another 72,000 americans are losing critical unemployment benefits every week.

let's be clear. these are people actively looking for work. who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. both are requirements for receiving unemployment insurance. by failing to extend emergency insurance, we are create agnew disaster on top of the hardships already facing millions of american families. and we are damaging our economy. during just the first week emergency unemployment expired, our economy took a $00 million hit. failure to extend that insurance could cost us $240,000 jobs this year due to lost buying power. exacerbating the difficulty for current job seekers and adding more to their ranks. mr. speaker, this is not smartpolicy. it's cold-hearted and shortsighted. i urge my colleagues to join me in demanding a vote to extend emergency unemployment insurance today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, president obama's lax

immigration policies continue to put the lives of americans at risk. last year administration officials released into our neighborhoods more than 36,000 criminal immigrants who had nearly 8,000 convictions. the crimes -- 88,000 convictions. the crimes including convictions for rape, kidnapping, and thousands of drug related crimes. this would be considered the worst prison break in american history, except it was approved by the president and enabled by immigration officials. the release of criminal illegal immigrants into our communities has killed or injured thousands of innocent americans. the responsibility for this can only be laid at the doorstep of the white house. if the president cannot be trusted to enforce current immigration laws, how can he he be trusted to enforce future immigration laws? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

i rise to discuss the threat of ocean acidfication to my region and others. i live in the most glorious part of this world, as a dad, it is a joy to share the pacific northwest natural resources with my two girls. mr. kilmer: those don't just contribute to our recreation at experiences, they contribute to our economy, too. washington state alone, the shellfish industry contributes more than $250 million to our economy and supports more than 3,200 jobs. our coasts depends on a strong fishing industry. but all of that is threatened by ocean acidfication. last week i listened to businesses and fishermen and researchers detail how we are beginning to see the effects of our changing ocean chemistry. it's impacted shellfish. we know that. but we have not yet begun to comprehend how ocean acidfication disrupts our larger marine ecosystem. that's why this week i'm introducing the ocean

acidfication innovation act which would encourage federal agencies to better leverage existing federal dollars by creating incentives for private sector and researchers to strengthen our ability to research, monitor, and mitigate the impacts of ocean acidfication. mr. speaker, we need to act now. our economy depends on it. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. foxx: mr. speaker, memorial day is the day we set apart to honor those who have given the last full measure of devotion in service to our nation. it's fitting that we quote lincoln's gettysburg address to mark this day because though memorial day was not federally recognized until 1967, its origins trace back to the civil war when observances of what was then called decoration day sprang up throughout the country. this nation has been blessed by periods when war is not a

recent memory, and in those times the significance of memorial day can get lost in the pleasures of early summer, travel, and family barbecues. but we should always setaside time to remember the sacrifices made to safeguard our nation. we are now well into our second decade of having troops continually in active theaters of combat, and many have experienced the loss of a loved one. remember them in your thoughts d prayers, especially on memorial day. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? without objection. ms. johnson: when our men and women in uniform took an oath to support and defend the constitution, they enter into a contract with our government. and if they survive and return,

they are veterans. part of that contract entitles these veterans to quality health care through the department of veterans affairs. recently it seems as though we are failing to uphold our part of this agreement. more than eight million veterans seek medical care through the v.a. each year. yet each year we hear the same complaints of long waiting times, canceled appointments, concerned about the quality of care being administered. one of the largest v.a. facilities in my district has major problems that are not new. that have been reported time and time again, year after year, with little change. this is simply unacceptable. he we owe it to our veterans to he provide timely and quality health care. anything less should be met with great criticism and responded with much needed reform. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. to daines: i rise today recognize and congratulate jesse an eighth grader from montana on winning the geography bee last month. this week jesse was one of 54 students from across the nation who traveled to washington, d.c., to participate in the national geographic bee. jesse is a true example of the montana work ethic. he studies geography for several hours each week and has a passion and commitment for learning that will continue to take him far in life. jesse, congratulations on this incredible achievement and best of luck as you continue to pursue your goals. we appreciate your hard work. you make montana proud. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from hawaii seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. hanabusa: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i have stood here at this podium many times speaking to the extension of unemployment insurance benefits for what is now about 2.8 million people, and the need for immigration reform, about 11 million undocumented workers. you have not acted. both with very strong bipartisan support. yet you have not acted. how about looking at this in a way that makes our country proud? that is to look at the concept of through no fault of their own. we are a great country and we are a compassionate nation. we understand through no fault of their own. remember, mr. speaker, to qualify for unemployment benefits you must be unemployed through no fault of your own. the dreamers, those who are brought here to this country, through no fault of their own. let's act for them, especially

those with no benefits and no status through no fault of their own. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. kickston -- mr. kingston: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. thank you, mr. speaker. today when the house passes the water resource development act, included in it will be the largest infrastructure project in the history of georgia. deepening the savannah river rom deepening the savanna river will open up our ports to lots of different countries and lots of different kinds of vessels from all over the world. 352,000 jobs are related to the port of is a nan -- savanna. the cost ratio is $1 spent, $5.50 returned.

it has been studied by four different federal agencies and signed off by four different federal agencies. there were 64 individual studies on environmental impact, historic impact, traffic impact and theer nearly just about everything else under the sun. it is a project that georgia companies will greatly benefit from as will all the southeast because 62% of what the port does is export goods and services system of it opens up the door to all kinds of new markets. i have to thank the transportation and train struck -- infrastruck sure committee on a bipartisan basis for all they've done and thank mr. shuster for coming to savanna three different times to look -- to savannah three different times to look at this project. let's pass this bill today, let's get the senate to pass it, let's get the house and senate moving and let's get georgians and the whole southeast back to work. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from nevada seek

recognition? without objection. a titus: sex trafficing is growing problem. according to the polaris project, some 27 million people worldwide are victims of sex traffic of which one million are children -- -- sex trafficking of which one million are children. 107 children were recovered after being victimized by traffickers and we don't know how many others wait for our help. that's why i'm pleased to vote today on several bills intended to intrenten -- strengthen the punishments for perpetrator, increase protections for potential victims and ensure that victims are given the support they need to recover and rebuild their lives. i'm also encouraged that we're coming together to condemn the horrendous kidnapping of the girls in nigeria whose only crime was to seek an education. sex trafficking is horrific. it must be stopped.

it denies fundamental rights and digny i have to its victims. today we can take a step in that direction, we can take action to speak for those who have no voice so i encourage my colleagues to join me with a resounding aye on this package of bills. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. next week our nation will celebrate memorial day to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. mr. smith: may is also national military appreciation month. we appreciate their service and strive to make sure they receive the benefits they were promised and have earned. urn fortunately, the quality of service for veterans doesn't always match our gratitude. they often fate long wait times and a record backlog of cases continues to go unaddressed.

serious questions of mismanagement are raise manage questions. this is why i'm a co-sponsor of h.r. 4031, the veterans afairs management act, which will be considered tomorrow. it will allow the secretary of personnel re flexibility. it is an honor to serve men and women in uniform who have given us so much. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, after a lot of hard work and -- ms. hahn: mr. speaker, after a lot of hard work and collaborative effort, i'm pleased that the committee i serve on was able to come to a fair, bipartisan agreement on the new water bill that will create jobs and keep our ports

globally competitive. as a representative of the nation's busiest port complex in los angeles and long beach and co-founder of our ports caucus here in congress, i fought so hard from my first day in congress to increase funding for our nation's ports by fully utilizing our harbor maintenance trust fund to ensure that money that's collected at our ports goes back to our ports. they don't call me ms. harbor maintenance for nothing around here. it's been a long journey but i'm thrilled that after countless hearings and meetings with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with the leadership from chairman shuster, ranking member rahall, that our proposal to fully utilize our harbor maintenance trust fund and to allow ports to use these funds for expanded uses is included in this final water bill. when we pass this bipartisan measure, it's a victory not just for the ports of long beach and los angeles, but for all our

ports, our ports in savannah and all those in this nation. when our ports are strong, mr. speaker, our nation is strong. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to join the chorus drawing attention to the appalling situation with the department of veterans' affairs. mr. yoder: we've learned of the death of 40 veterans due to drawn out wait time in arizona. even worse is the coverup to not allow scrutiny of these tragedies. this may be the tip of the iceberg. these men and women offer their lives in defending our nation yet our nation can't afford them the decency of prompt medical care. wetch these sad and tragic cases, there are hundreds of thousands of veterans waiting in line for care they received while serving our great nation. it's time for congress to take swift action to demand better results and greater accountable. it's time to reform the veterans

system to allow greater flexibility and more options. mr. speaker, these men and women have earned benefits through their various to our nation and we must keep our promises. we must honor these american heroes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection. mr. gingrey: americans are concerned. they're concerned about their jobs, about health and the economy. last week, 37% of americans ranked these as the most important issues facing our country. house republicans have a plan to replace obamacare, to create jobs, to grow the economy and help hard working americans take home more of their paychecks. while there are some difficult decisions ahead of us, there are some simple decisions that we can agree upon right now. americans need the repeal and replacement of obamacare so they really can keep their doctor and

their hospital. americans need a simplified tax code, one that's fair to everyone, and americans need the government to remove unnecessary red tape that's preventing economic growth. we have a plan that can turn their concern into an america that works, an america they need. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i rise to recognize a pro-democracy civil society organization called mothers and women against repression. m.a.r. for 20 years this miami-based group of women has been advocated for freedom in cuba and continues to be a voice for those being repressed under the brutal castro regime. the mission of the group is to help and advance causes like justice, liberty, fundamental

freedoms for the people of cuba. this civic organization has been vital in educating the public about the retail of the atrocities committed on the island and has given a voice to those who put their lives on the line for a free cuba. i thank the organization's president for her endless commitment and dedication to the causes of liberty and free elections in cuba. i commend the important work of the women of the group who remind us that we must not ignore the brutal repression that takes place only 90 miles from our shores. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. i am writing to resign my membership on the house committees on the budget and foreign affairs as a result of my appointment to the financial services committee. i am honored to be chose ton serve on the committee on financial services. i regret, however that my

membership on this committee precludes me from serving on the budget and foreign affairs committees at this time. i have enjoyed serving on these committees and look forward to maintaining an active role on the issues under their jurisdiction. thank you for your attention to this matter. signed, sincerely, luke messer, member of congress. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the resignations are accepted. for what purpose is the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: mr. speaker, by direction of the house republican conference, i send to the desk a privileged resolution and if -- and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 589. ms. foxx: i ask that the resolution be considered as read. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the reading is dispensed with. without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and agree to conference report on the bill h.r. 3080. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3080, an act to provide for improvements to rivers and harr tpwhoferse united states to provide for the conservation and development of water and related resources and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. shuster, and the gentleman from west virginia, mr. rahall, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i ask unanimous consent to that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the conference report to include

h.r. 3080. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. shuster: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. shuster: thank you, mr. speaker. today we're on the floor passing water resources reform and development act, conference report, i'm proud it's a bipartisan bill. we worked this out through the senate and i think what we have sheer jobs bill a good jobs bill, that's going to create not just construction jobs but it's going to keep america competitive by investing in and upgrading our water infrastructure to keep us competitive in the world so our companies, industries, can go out into the world economy and gain market share and hire people on the factory floor. i'm proud it's the most reform-driven water bill in the last 20 years, a sig -- significant reforms. the name reflects that landmark legislation. water resources reform and development act. we should be proud that this is

the most fiscally responsible one in history. we deauthorize as much as we authorize in this bill and there are no earmarks in this bill, mr. speaker. finally, it does not cede any of congress' constitutional authority to the executive branch, which is one of the top priorities in this bill to make sure that congress keeps its role front and center as we make sure that we're making those investments and updwrading the locks, the dams, the port the harbors, the flood protection across this country. i'd like to thank the original co-sponsors of the bill, ranking member rahall, for his efforts. the water subcommittee chairman gibbs from ohio and water subcommittee ranking member mr. bishop of new york. thank you all for your hard work and i'd like to thank my senate counterparts, the chair of the conference on the senate environmental and public works committee, senator boxer and ranking member david visiter with. that -- visiter.

with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rahall: this legislation is a reminder that unfortunately -- and unfortunately a stark reminder that b when given a chance, working together in a bipartisan fashion, we can produce results for the american people. i salute the chairman of our committee, mr. shuster from pennsylvania, for his tireless efforts in this regard. and as well our subcommittee chairman mr. gibbs and our ranking member on the full committee, mr. bishop. one of the first acts of our federal government was to improve navigation. on august 7, 1789, the first congress federalized the lighthouses built by the colonies and appropriated funds for their operation and maintenance. today in the 113th congress we keep faith with that fundamental premise of government by

advancing legislation that authorizes u.s. army corps of engineers to improve navigation on our inland waterways and our ports. this is an effort which has languished these past seven years and results of that inactivity are effort. in 1989 a book by the author john mcphee described the corps as follows -- in addition to all the things the corps actually does and does not do, their infinite actions it is imagined not to do and infinite action it is imagined to be capable of doing. because the corps has been conceded the almighty role of god. indeed, the history of the corps of engineers is one of constructing incredible feats of engineering to assist navigation and combat the ravages of flooding. yet in recent times we have fall intoon deficit when it comes to this infrastructure. aging locks and cams -- and dams hinder the progress and many are ill prepared to take advantage

of the panama canal because their harbors need to be dredged and in some cases deepened. pending -- the pending legislation will revitalize our waterways so that commodities such as coal can be transported more efficiently and it provides a path forward to spend do you think the funds being held hostage in the harbor maintenance trust fund. further it wrests back control of the congress elected officials power over future corps endeavors rather than ceding it to the administration which is currently the case. one aspect i'm pleased to see is the application of the buy american provisions for steel and iron that exists in the federal surface transportation projects to projects by this ecorps of engineers. that further define this is legislation, as my good chairman has said, as being about jobs. jobs to construct flood control projects, jobs to expand harbors, jobs to make

improvements to our waterways and american jobs in the production of iron and steel to go into these works. i commepped our full committee chairman mr. shuster for the man for the which he conducted himself and all moves our committee, both sides of the aisle, as well as the staff, for the transparency, openness and cooperation that's brought this legislation where it is today and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman roips. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i recognize mr. gibbs from ohio. for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. gibbs: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your hard work. now is the time for congress to re-engage in the development of the nation's water resources and play a bigger role in prioritizing projects and activities carried out by the army corps of engineers. ongress cannot continue to abdicate its constitutional responsibility and reassert itself in the face of an administration that creates a one size fits all policy with little or no transparency. the conference report of h.r.

3080, the water resources reform and development act of 2014, is one of the most policy and reform focus pieces of legislation laid before the army corps ofning nears. this is a bipartisan conference report that was developed by working across the aisle to achieve a common goal of investing in america's future. this conference report contains no earmarks, cuts federal red tape, streamlines the project delivery process, and strengthsens our water transportation networks to promote competitiveness, prosperity, and economic growth and jobs now and well into the future. this conference report is fiscally responsible, more than fully offsetting new projects authorizations with deauthorizations of old, inactive projects. this conference report establishes a path forward for enacting a wrda bill every two years out conceding any congressional authority to the executive branch. just because the study process is costly, complex, and long does not necessarily mean it will produce a better project. in fact, a large costly project with so many add-ons that never

gets funded is a benefit to no one. what used to be take the corps three to five years to do a study, it has become the norm for the corps to take 10, 12, or even 15 years to complete a study. it's no wonder it's taking so much time since the corps has to review in detail many different alternatives. too often we allow federal agencies, including the corps of engineers, to literally study projects to death. this conference report accelerates the corps of engineers study process by limiting studies to three years and $3 million. in addition we accelerate the process by requiring concurrent reviews by the district, division, and headquarters levels personnel. ultimately the federal taxpayer is on the hook tore these studies for the length of time it takes to carry them out. the corps reviews far too many alternatives and sends to congress a project request that far exceeds in scope and cost what was initially intended. too often nonfederal interests and their contributions are forced to sit on the sidelines

while our under national competitors race past us. this conference report empowers the nonfederal interests and ensures projects will be completed faster and cheaper with local support. too often resources from the harbor maintenance trust fund are diverted to activities unrelated to keeping ports incentive. this creates incentive to spend the funds for their purpose. one of the most important elements of this legislation it ensures the legislative branch engage in the process at least once every congress. by working together, we have accomplished what many have said could not be done, produce an authorization bill for the rmy corps of engineers without earmarks. in order to get these needed reforms in place and establish a new process, future authorizations, i urge all members to support the conference report. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from west virginia is recognized. mr. rahall: i'm happy to yield 2 1/2 minutes to our distinguished ranking member on the subcommittee, mr. bishop of new york. again i thank him for his tremendous vision and knowledge that has brought this report to

the floor today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. bishop: thank you very much, mr. chairman. thank my ranking member for his kind words. i rise today in strong support of the conference report for h.r. 3080, the water resources reform and development act of 2014. today is a monumental occasion for our nation's economy for the creation of good-paying jobs and for the health of our natural environment. thanks to the leadership of shuster and ranking member rahall we present this chamber with a thoughtful bill that renews this congress' commitment to our nation's water related infrastructure. in that light i would like to thank our chairman, ranking member, and the chairman of the subcommittee on water resources, mr. gibbs, for the opening and inclusive process with which our committee conducted negotiations with the other body on wrda -- wrrda and for the leadera for returning our committee to long-standing traditions of bipartisan and collaboration. today is also a monumental day. while this bill is about being things, most importantly it it

is about job creation. not only to those good construction jobs that will come with the authorization of 34 chief reports contained in the bill, but also the jobs that rely on a robust network of large and small ports and inland waterways to move goods throughout the united states. i am especially pleased that this conference report provides a reasonable path forward to the challenges facing the harbor maintenance trust fund. this legislation provides within 10 years, 100% of the fund proceeds are used for their intended purposes, harbor maintenance. while ensuring any increase does not come at the end of expense of other critical core programs. i am a thankful this report recognizes the importance of our nation's small ports to our regional and local economies in establishing future funding priorities. finally, mr. speaker, today is a monumental day because this restores federal commitment to other remaining water infrastructure challenges, our failing sewage and drinking water infrastructure. this conference report includes

legislation that has eluded this congress for almost three decades. the re-authorization of the clean water state revolving fund. for decades this craut cal and widely popular program has been a leading source of federal funding to states and communities to address their ongoing water quality challenges. i am pleased that much of this language is modeled after legislation that i have introduced over the last few congresses and i thank the chairman and the ranking member for their willingness to include this language in the conference report. i'm pleased at the progress we have made together on improving water infrastructure in the united states. again i want to thank the leadership of our chairman, our ranking member for getting us to this point today. i also want to thank the staffs of both the minority side and majority side who work tirelessly and cooperatively to bring us to this point. i urge support of the conference report. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i yield a minute to a member of the committee, a true expert on infrastructure and a conferee, mr. hannah from new york. mr. hannah: i thank the

gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of the water resource reform and development act conference report. this fiscally responsible bill will create jobs by updating and re-authorizing water infrastructure projects across our nation. it will make the american economy more globally competitive. this bill is particularly good for the great lakes region which i represent. for the first time the army corps of engineers will recognize and manage all great lake ports, including the port -- single s a sing legislation. the funds will be fully spent for the intended purposes. we can facilitate trade, keep products moving across america, and create jobs in our community. i thank chairman shuster and i thank the ranking member rahall

and mr. gibbs for their hard work on this bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i'm happy to yield one minute to the ranking member of the house natural resources committee, the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for one minute. mr. defazio: i thank the gentleman for yielding. we are off to a good start. we are finally recognizing that the federal government has a critical interest in our harbors, our ports, enland waterways, and we are actually going to begin to spend taxes collected to maintain those things on those things. that's kind of -- that's tough in washington, to tell the truth. there is a great set aside for small ports who were zeroed out because of the corps of engineers' lack of funding. doesn't deal meaningfully, unfortunately, with the corps' $60 billion backlog of critical projects including dams and spillways. it didn't increase the tax or user fee or inland water way

users even though they wanted it, they were begging for it, even though grover norquist gave it a green light. no new fees, no new taxes for anything. we are going to start to spend existing tax collections on what they were originally intended for. that's good. that's progress around here. but what's going to happen in two months or a month and a half when the highway trust fund goes broke? it needs additional funds. and we are going to have to at that point suck it up and vote for a way to pay for our nation's infrastructure so we can continue to be a great nation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i'd now like to yield one minute to another member of the transportation committee, mr. barletta from pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. barletta: mr. speaker, i rise in support of wrrda and thank chairman shuster and subcommittee chairman gibbs for their leadership. critically for my district, wrrda helps with flood risk management. it increases the roles of the

private sector and local communities. and it creates opportunities for public-private partnerships. wrrda accommodates the expansion of the panama canal so markets far from the coastline, such as carlyle, pennsylvania, or hazelton, can evelop the economic engines of inland ports. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the distinguished lady from florida, very valued member of our conference committee, thank her for her help. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one minute. ms. brown: thank you. the water resource development act conference report is a perfect example of how government is supposed to work. want to thank senator boxer and bitter and congressman shuster and gibbs, particularly rahall and bishop for their commitment to produce a competitive and bipartisan bill

supported by all of the stakeholders. i also want to thank president obama for his leadership in improving and expediting the process for completing projects for the corps of engineers, and encouraging congress to complete the wrrda conference. i hope this bipartisanship continues as we re-authorize surface transportation programs. this legislation includes a lot of positive provisions that is going to help improve, expand, and accelerate corps and engineering projects. these projects in turn will improve the safety of the american public, generate billions of dollars in economic activity, create hundreds and thousands of good-paying jobs, and benefit the nation's economy as a whole. we have a group of transportation stakeholders orient a a in the long with the jacksonville mayor, the chamber president, the port director, -- may i have another half a minute, please.

mr. rahall: yield her 15 seconds. ms. brown: port director brian taylor, and other leaders working as a team to make sure florida wasn't left behind. and in closing, i encourage all of my colleagues to vote for this bill. it is an example of one team, one fight, and what we can do when we work together. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: mr. speaker, i want to make a point of clarification regarding section 103669 conference -- 1036 of the conference report. when the locally preferred plan is chosen, the cost to the federal government shall be no more than the federal share of the economic development plan. i want to clarify the intent of this provision. when the corps carries out a locally preferred plan, the nonfederal sponsor is responsible for all costs above the cost of the national economic development plan. i thank you. now would like to yield 30 seconds to another important member of the committee, and again another expert on infrastructure and conferee,

mr. mullen from oklahoma. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. melen: for oklahoma our water navigation system is an essential part of our economy. allowing our manufacturers to ship goods all over the world. this legislation with zero earmarks takes a historical step in supporting our nation's waterway system. this bill does exactly what i came to congress to do, it cuts red tape, reduces burdensome bureaucracy, increases transparency, and most importantly strengthens our economy. chairman shuster and ranking member rahall have done an incredible job with this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentlelady from texas, a very important part of our conference committee, ms. eddie bernice

johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. let me thank the chairman and ranking member for bringing forth this report. mr. shuster, mr. rahall, the subcommittee chair and the subcommittee ranking member, his really is a very special time. since last year, conferees and staff have diligently been working to resolve the differences between the house and senate measures. it has been six years since congress last passed a water resources bill and the state of our water infrastructure has continued to decline. i am pleased, however, with this final product as it provides for maintenance of our ports and waterways as well as critical flood control projects around the couldn't thrism bill provides new ways to main -- around the country. the bill provides new ways to

maintain the water infrastructure and create jobs and shore up our economy. we have addressed many policy reforms in this bill, including reforms the harbor maintenance trust fund, creating jobs for water resource infrastructure and it goes on. i'm confident the senate will comply and pass it. in closing, i urge my colleagues to join me in voting for it. thank you very much and i yield -- and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania mr. shuster: mr. speaker, i would like to engage in a colloquy. i yield the gentleman from georgia, mr. gingrey, 40 seconds for a colloquy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 40 seconds. mr. gingrey: the purpose of the colloquy is to clarify the intent of section 1051 of the conference report, interstate water agreements and contracts. first, will you please confirm that this section doesn't alter any existing rights or obligations under current law?

my understanding is that this section acknowledges the difficulty that interstate water disputes represent. unfortunately, we have a long standing dispute in our area with two lake, alabama and florida claimed the army wasn't authorized to provide water to georgia from those reservoirs. having won the court case, georgia asked the army to make some decisions decades overdue and i want to make it clear that the congressional intent of section 1051 will not be interpreted as sending a message to the army or to any reviewing court about how they should respond to a request from the state of georgia. mr. shuster: i would like to engage in the colloquy but fivers i yield 30 seconds to the get -- gentleman from georgia for a colloquy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. westmoreland: i thank the gentleman for yielding. the differing house and senate language shouldn't be

interpreted as showing that georgia's request should be denied or delayed until the states reach an agreement. while it references the a.c.f. and a.t.c. basins, the house passed language doesn't. other regions of the country should pay close attention to what is happening with this section. what is your position regarding working out these disputes in future water legislation? mr. shuster: i yield 20 seconds to mr. woodall of georgia for a colloquy. mr. woodall: thank you for yielding. as i understand, the secretary may continue to be responsive to emerging industrial and municipal water supply needs through reallocation, upstorage consistent with existing laws and in that regard open and transparent rule making by the army with substantive input from those affected seems to represent the best process to support that outcome. is that also the chairman's

understanding? mr. shuster: i will engage in a colloquy but first i must recognize mr. coingston for 10 seconds. mr. kingston: i would like to echo my colleagues' congressmens. this language does not change current law or interpretation of current law and shoult not be reviewed by courts of the corps as changing anything. we encourage the states to work amongst themselves to solve water use issues in this region. i would be remiss if i didn't mention the savannah expansion project with its economic impact to this nation. i hope the p.p.a. is signed soon. mr. shuster: i thank my colleagues, at this point, i'll respond and yield myself such time as i may consume. i thank the gentleman for georgia for raising the issues. the purpose of this is to encourage states to resolve through water compacts. it in no way alters anything

under law. it places no limits on the corps of engineer's abilities. it express -- it is not intended to inhibit or interfere with the corps of engineer's ongoing efforts to update its plans for the a.c.f. and a.c.t. basins. interstate water disputes are most properly addressed through interstate agreements or come pappingts that take into account all concerns of affected states. i do not believe this is the proper place for those b to be adjudicated. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, mrs. napolitano, for one minute and thank her for her help on the conference committee as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. napolitano: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my ranking member. i rise in strong support of

wrrda and thank chairman shuster and gibbs and ranking members rahall and bishop and all the staff for the great bipartisan work. we thank them for including quality provisions especially those that affect my district, the two largest corps reservoirs in l.a. county. it improves quater -- water supply and water capture at the dam, changes vegetation policy not previously taken into account, local characteristics, habitats or safety. funding to - allows affect the region. it allows expanded use of funding which is something i fought for for many years. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and clarify that section 3013 of wrrda will require the court to provide a new review of living vegetation policy engineering technical letters.

please vote yes and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from west virginia reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: at this time, i would like to yield one minute to the gentleman from tennessee and the great advocate for the lock in the tennessee river. with that, i yield one minute to the to the mr. fleischmann. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. fleischmann: when i was elected by the great people of the third district of tennessee in 2010, i vowed to come to washington, d.c. to fix broken systems. this bill today, and i thank chairman shuster, does that. the inland waterway trust fund is a flawed, broken system. for those who might not know, all the funds have been going to one lock, starving out the other locks in the entire system. in my beloved city, my home city of chattanooga there sits a lock that's been moth balled because the system has been broken. finally, this great house has solved this problem.

it is a huge step in the right direction, ladies and gentlemen, to make sure that we ultimately fund all of the locks in this system, the fixing of the inland waterway trust fund which is so flawed and broken by this bill, ultimately will get the needed funds to other locks and infrastructure in this country. i am proud to support this bill, i am so proud to be part of a body that after four years of tireless work has acknowledged the situation. thank you and mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois, mr. lipinski, a member of our transportation and infrastructure committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lipinski: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the ranking member for yielding. as a co-sponsor of wrrda i rise in strong support of this conference report. i'm pleased at the bipartisan cooperation between the house and senate. i think this is a blueprint for

how congress can move forward on the goals to have protecting american jobs and investing in infrastuckture. i have been happy to work with congressman whitfield on the way forward act and appreciate that wrrda includes provisions from that bill. these will allow us to make important investments in our aging inland waterways including locks and dams like the one in lock port, illinois. it will also help to kohl the threat of asian carp in the great lakes and i'm pleased it addresses concerns about a dredge site in illinois. i'm happy with the strong buy american provisions included in this bill that will help assure we are creating american jobs. by passing this conference report today, we'll move forward a number of important national priorities. facilitating the movement of goods and freight and investing in infrastruck clirke ating jobs and reducing red tape to get projects done.

i commend sharme shuster, ranking member rahall and the others who worked hard to get this bill done. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i wish to yield 30 seconds to the gentlelady from west virginia, a conferee on the walter resources bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for 30 seconds. mrs. capito: i want to thank the chairman and ranking member for their hard work on this bill. as a member of the conference committee i'm in strong support of this report. there's two numbers that stick out to me that come to mind for me in this report, that's 9,900. 9,900 local jobs in west virginia are supported by west virginia waterways. the next number is $1.6 billion. that's how much waterways industry contributes to our great state system of this is important that we do this efficiently, well maintained, we can move our goods and services, particularly our west virginia coal down the rivers to power america. i'm in strong support of this bill and congratulate the

chairman and ranking member for moving this forward. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute o the gentlelady, ms. edwards. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. edwards: thank you very muchism ask permission to revise and extend my rashes. thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank chairman shuster, ranking member rahall and our subcommittee chairman mr. gibbs and ranking member mr. bishop and congratulate them and all our staff on the work on this conference report. i rise in support of this bill. i want to point out, however, that on the environmental reamlining provisions in the house and senate passed versions were based on an assumption that a significant number of project delays are due to environmental reviews. i could not disagree more. i would prefer that the environmental provisions in the conference report were not

included but i believe we've improved them significantly. we've also ensured that the public will be able to participate effectively as part water epa process on projects that have a profound effect on health, safety and well being. i'd like to commend the conference committee on adopting provisions of the state revolving fund for the first ime since 1987 that includes innovative financing of water infrastructure projects. as part of both programs, i'm proud to say we will for the first time consider an idea that i've championed, the use of innovative green and low impact technologies. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. i thank you for the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: it is my pleasure to yield 90 seconds to the gentleman from nebraska, champion of the keystone pipeline, mr. terry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 90 seconds. mr. terry: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank chairman shuster and his staff for their hard work and steadfast leadership that got something accomplished that took over seven years. to get to this point. great job.

this is the way the constitution was meant for congress to work by setting priorities in the light of day rather than an administration funding pet projects behind closed doors. i'm pleased the conferees included as a priority, based on the merit the western star creek flood control project, allowing it to be finished. with passage, the western star creek flood control project will protect about 44 homes and buildings, 17,000 acres of agriculture and crop land, as well as the major drinking water pipelines and wells for lincoln and omaha. also the nebraska army national guard's training grounds and portions of interstate 80 and highway 6. now my constituents are all too familiar with the economic consequences that occur when flooding happens. but it's this kind of work the american people expect from this body and now is delivered.

we need to take care of our infrastructure and i look to protect e need our infrastructure and looking forward in planning for the future. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida, ms. frankel a valued member of our conference committee as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. frankel: thank you, mr. speaker. like many americans i have been disappointed with the lack of cooperation in washington, d.c. so today i am happy to offer congratulations to the united states house and senate for this very important, bipartisan conference report that when passed and implemented will promote millions of jobs and mean billions of dollars of economic impact for our nation. as a proud member of conference from south florida i'm especially excited to see the

advancement of the widely supported expansion of port everglades and the restoration of our most precious wetland known as the everglades, the source of drinking water for seven million people. although the bill's not perfect, we are today living up to the desire of the american people that we work together for the good of our country. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks to discuss a local issue facing port of palm beach. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. frankel: thank you and i yield the rest of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from louisiana, the chairman of the republican study committee, mr. scalise. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the chairman for yielding, but especially i want to thank chairman shuster for the hard work that he put in to putting together a bill -- and i'll read "the wall street journal" today, a water

bill shows what happens when congress has to set priorities. they go on to say, this process puts house members in control of spending decisions even as it requires them to choose on the basis of fact and analysis. and mr. speaker, what this bill really does is ushers in some much-needed reforms as we look at the reform of the corps of engineers' process. and i want to congratulate david vitter who was on that conference committee who was fighting for this, as chairman shuster did, to put those processes and reforms in place. we hear that the corps studies issues to death, and frankly, if you look at some of the limitations, the environmental review process that can bog projects down, this bill contains important reforms that streamline the environmental review process. so that we can finally focus on more building and less studying. let's actually put our money into building infrastructure, not on studying things to death and ultimately never getting anything done, and this bill really ushers in some important reforms on that front. the critical reforms to the

harbor maintenance trust fund that the speaker talked about are very important. long, long overdue. things i think people all across the country will see great benefits from. i know as we look at some of the things in louisiana, just the ability to improve flood protection with the gulf project that will finally be authorized, something that will protect not only homeowners all throughout louisiana but the important energy infrastructure that provides over 20% of the nation's oil and gas, that's going to be an important reform. and then of course, if you look at the dredging component, to authorize 50 feet of dredging in the mississippi river. as you see the panama canal widening, we don't want the united states to be left out of the great economic opportunities that will be involved in moving more commerce through the united states and then exporting, exporting more american goods that are produced and made here in america throughout the world. so all the reforms i mentioned and so many others are critical steps forward in finally getting a wrrda bill that

answers the needs of our nation. i thank the chairman for his hard work. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i want to yield to the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute. mr. garamendi: i thank you, mr. rahall. i'd like to also compliment the chair for the great work on getting this bill together. obviously a bipartisan. for my district this is extremely important. first of all, one of the reforms that came out of this is the three-by-three which is a move across the country so that projects get done, at least the early studies, $3 million, three years, done and then the question before the house whether we'll move forward with that project. the sutter project, providing critical protection for yuga city and the area in that area. also natomas. i notice my colleague from sacramento is here. providing critical protection for part of sacramento.

the harbors, being able to use the harbor maintenance fund. all critically important this is an important bill. and when we couple this with the buy america, make it in america, we have an opportunity to really move forward the american economy. not only with the infrastructure jobs but also with the manufacturing that could follow along. with that i yield back my time, congratulations to the chair and the ranking members and the subcommittee chair and ranking members. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: it's now my pleasure to yield to an important member of the committee, mr. davis from illinois, and also a conferee. i yield him one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: thank you. i want to thank chairman shuster for this important piece of legislation. i think when you saw the committee pass this bill by a voice vote, it's a direct result of chairman bill shuster's leadership. thank you, sir. i obviously rise in support of this wrrda conference report.

as a member of the farm bill and wrrda conference committees, it's really good to see congress come together in a bipartisan way to pass very important pieces of legislation. this agreement is going to create infrastructure jobs and provide opportunities that will make our country more competitive. this wrrda bill includes my public-private partnership language which was introduced, along with my colleague, cheri bustos, as a way to fund navigation projects. it will improve navigation along the mississippi river. enyart. thank mr. this will include policies that will help the metro east region in south illinois to recertify this levee system. vote yes on this conference report and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to another member of our conference

committee, the gentlelady from california, ms. hahn, and thank her for her help on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: thank you, ranking member rahall. thank you, chairman shuster, for your leadership. what a joy and pleasure for me to serve on the conference committee as we worked together to bring forth this amazing water bill that will do so much in this country to create jobs. i'm most happy, of course, with the language in this bill that will finally allow us to fully utilize our harbor maintenance trust fund so that the ports across this country can be invested in with the taxes that we collect at the port and that also, because of the leadership of chairman shuster and ranking member rahall, these ports will also be able to use this money for some expanded uses. i believe with all my heart that when our ports are strong in this country, our country is

strong, and this bill does more the sure the investment, so important investment in our critical infrastructure of our ports. my ports in long beach and los angeles are pleased with this but really it's for all the ports in this country. thank you for your leadership. i think this is an excellent bill. i urge all my colleagues to vote yes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. shuster: could i inquire as to how much both sides have left? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania has four minutes. mr. shuster: and the minority side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia has five minutes. 5 1/4 minutes, sorry. mr. shuster: i'm prepared to close. could the gentleman let me know how many speakers you have? ray ratto three more. -- mr. rahall: three more. mr. shuster: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from california, ms. matsui.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. matsui: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you very much, ranking member rahall. i rise in strong support of this bipartisan wrrda bill. this is a really good day. i want to commend chairman shuster and ranking member rahall for their very, very strong leadership. mr. speaker, sacramento is the most at-risk metropolitan area for major flooding as it lies at the confluence of the sacramento and the american rivers. since the last wrrda in 2007, a number of key flood protection investments have been carefully studied by the army corps of engineers. one such project that is included in the conference report and in the chief report is the levee improvement project. the area to be protected by the project is home to over 100,000 people, two interstate highways, an international airport, dozens of schools, hundreds of small businesses. if a levee broke, the damage will be similar to that

experienced in new orleans. this project is critical for sacramento and my constituents awaited too long for this day to come. the conference report also includes language to require the corps to shift from its one-size-fits-all approach to now consider to the levee vegetation policy. the conference report also includes language that accelerates flood protection projects by allowing federal crediting. there's no question that this bipartisan congressional action puts our nation's flood protection policy on the right path. i urge my colleagues to support this conference report, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. does the gentleman from pennsylvania still reserve? mr. shuster: i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i yield one minute to the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. lynch. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. mr. lynch: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to just say thank you to chairman shuster and also mr.

rahall. you did a wonderful job on this piece of legislation. this is very important to the entire country, and i hope the way that you have both worked together, along with subcommittee chairman gibbs and ranking member tim bishop, is contagious because this would help this institution enormously. thank you for bringing this bill to the floor. you know, i was an ironworker before i came to congress and i worked in the port of boston. so i know firsthand how important the ports and aterways are to our economy in this country. i have the opportunity to jointly represent the port of boston with mike capuano, my colleague, and the port of boston generates $2.4 billion in economic benefits annually, 34,000 jobs are connected with port activities with the expected 2015 completion of the panama canal expansion project, those numbers are only increase as larger container ships utilize our ports on both coasts. mr. speaker, the boston harbor

maintenance project, recommended by the army corps of engineers and supported by this bill, is very important. i want to thank my colleague from massachusetts for putting money on this. it will help us keep up with the pace of our competitors. thank you for your great work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman from pennsylvania continue to reserve? mr. shuster: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from minnesota, mr. ellison. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for two minutes. mr. ellison: thank you, mr. speaker. i also want to thank chairman and ranking member of the committee. it's an excellent example of how we can work together. and i want to rise in support of the conference report of wrrda. this report includes language to address the presence of invasive carp in the upper mississippi river. it contains language to close the upper st. anthony falls long and dam in minneapolis, my hometown. this would stop the spread of invasive carp, which causes harm. it decimates the fishing

industry and wipes out native fish species and when a 60-pound silver carp jumps out of the water, needless to say, it limits recreational opportunities and causes injury to the people. this was a real picture. fish jumping all out. it's not a good thing. the language provides for an -- for a proactive approach. it protects our vital fishing and recreational industry. it protects jobs in northern minnesota. it prevents us from spending government dollars to manage carp if it invades northern minnesota waters. i want to thank the members of the minnesota delegation to make sure the language was passed. i'd also like to thank a staff member, ann christensen. you were tireless. you never gave up. i'm grateful to you. and i'll yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. does the gentleman from pennsylvania continue to reserve? mr. shuster: i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from west virginia. mr. rahall: how much time do i have left, mr. speaker?

the speaker pro tempore: one minute. mr. rahall: mr. speaker, i assume the chairman has the right to close, is that right? the speaker pro tempore: that's correct. mr. rahall: then i yield myself the balance of my time. mr. speaker, this is a good bill. there are a number of highlights that have been mentioned during the course of this debate. the important ones, of course, are reforms the bureaucracy, it accelerates project delivery and streamlines environmental reviews. it's a fiscally responsible bill, as our chairman has shown. it strengthens our transparency, accountability. and mr. speaker, as i conclude, i want to commend not only the members on both sides of the aisle but the staffs on both sides of the aisle. on our side of the aisle, particularly, mr. jim zoia, who is our chief of staff on our transportation and infrastructure committee, minority side, mr. ryan seger, mr. dave wagner and mr. ward mccarriger for their tremendous work. this is an example of how this body ought to operate. we got along very well. both sides of the aisle, at the

member level and staff level, and the chairman's transparency and openness and cooperation were both questioned and i want to again, thank chairman shuster for his tremendous work, commend him on this legislation and i hope we have the vote we had when we initially passed this bill out 417-3.house, which was yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. from -- eman mr. shuster: how much time do i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has four minutes. mr. shuster: i want to thank again my partners across the aisle for working so closely with us on this bill to make it a truly bipartisan bill. i want to thank the -- some of the key staff on the other side of the aisle that were instrumental in moving this forward. seger, daverd, ryan and eddie shimkus. thank you for your effort,

appreciate the effort you put into it and we really were a team negotiating with the senate. i can't thank you enough. also to thank mr. gibbs, the subcommittee chairman who work sod hard on this bill, working up to it with the hearings he had, not only this year but last year. thank him for his hard work. i want to thank the staff on our side, chris, steve, jennifer, jeff, john, tracy, claire, beth, , and, jim, justin, michael john price who worked with mr. gibbs. all them put in countless hours to make sure that this bill came together and i can't thank them enough for all their efforts. to my colleagues, i thank you for the big vote that gave us the strength to go into conference with the senate and come back with a bill that is reform driven, it focuses on reform, there are no earmarks in it. it is fiscally responsible. it does not yield congress'

constitutional authority to the executive branch and it is going to strengthen our infrastructure so we can remain competitive. it's about economic growth, it's about jobs. congress has not enacted a water bill since 2007 and we can't afford to delay without improving our wait water system, it's become obsolete every day and becomes less competitive. that's what this bill is all about, making america competitive sourk businesses can be competitive, saves american taxpayers money when they're buying products in stores, in our communities. this is about economic growth, this is about jobs. i encourage all members to support the water resors -- resources reform and development act. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and adopt the conference report on h.r. 3080? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative --

mr. shuster: mr. speaker, i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. 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.]