that meet the updated school lunch requirements from the usda from proving it is possible to have healthy children and healthy budgets. letting schools opt out of these standards will not help them move forward and will be detrimental to the children they serve, end quote. i thank congressman farr for introducing this amendment and i urge all of my colleagues to support it so we can move forward in the fight against childhood obesity. i yield back. the chair: the time of the gentleman has expired. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. during consideration of the bill for amendment, each amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent, and shall not to amendment. no pro forma amendment shall be in order except the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations or their respective designees may offer up to 10 pro forma amendments each at any point for purpose of debate. the chair of the committee of

the whole may accord priority in recognition of the basis on whether a member offering the amendment has caused it to be printed in a portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose. amendments so printed shall be considered as read. he clerk will read. the clerk: be it enacted that the following sums appropriate ffered agriculture, rural development, food and drug administration and related agencies program for fiscal year 2015, namely, title 1, agricultural programs, production process -- production, processing and marketing, office of the ecretary, $41,284,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. the gentlewoman from california, for what purpose do you seek recognition? ms. lee: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: ms. lee of california, page 2, line 14, after the first dollar amount insert reduced by $5 million --

ms. lee: i ask for unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the chair: without objection, the reading is dispensed with. ms. lee: thank you, mr. chairman. let me thank our chair and ranking member for working with me on this amendment. i appreciate the bipartisan cooperation. i also want to thank our staff for helping us with this. this would provide a badly needed increase to school breakfast grant program of approximately $8.1 million. the offsets for this amendment -- the offset for this amendment is the secretary's administrative account and the administrative and expenses account. these competitive grants allow states, schools, and local educational agencies to purchase important equipment for their school breakfast programs the school breakfast program is a critical tool in a fight to keep our students fed with nutritious meals at the start of the day. oftentimes, this is really the meal that children rely on to help them get through the day,

especially toward the end of the day when they are about ready to go home and they have not been tally full in terms of being -- not being fully fed at the beginning of the day. so the bottom line is breakfasts are very, very important to the growth, health, and welfare and development of our children. and especially crucial -- mr. aderholt: the bill provides 5 million for the u.s. department to make school funding grants. i understand the intent would be for it to meet the president's request. since there's an acceptable offset, we accept this amendment. ms. lee: thank you, mr. chairman. it's really critical for children who have not -- many of whom have not had a nutritious meal since the previous day at

school. thank you. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: i have an amendment at the table, h.r. 4800. the chair: the gentleman will send his amendment to the desk. mr. cohen: cohen-kerry-titus? it's not at the desk. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. aderholt: we haven't seen the amendment. mr. cohen: d we have a copy we an give the gentleman?

the chair: the reading has not progressed to page 7 at this ime. mr. cohen: excuse me, mr. speaker. nce again, ahead of my time. mr. cohen: mr. speaker, there's a rumor that i'm on page 2. the chair: the chair does not have an amendment on page 2. mr. cohen: the rumor is wrong, i guess. chip for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. thompson of california, page 2, line 14 -- mr.ton sock: i ask madam speaker consent to suspend the reading.

the chair: without objection, the reading is dispensed with. pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from california and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of this amendment authored by myself and mr. huffman of california. our amendment would help support the usda office of inspector general by providing them with additional resources to protect our nation's food supply. in february of this year, rancho feeding a slaughter house bordering my district, recalled 8.7 million pounds of beef that it produced in the year 2013. that's no small recall. unfortunately, usda was slow to share information about the nature of the recall and what would happen to the beef already processed by the rancho facility. if the beginning of this recall, public safety has been our number one concern. we can't let food get out that

puts the health and safety of the american people at risk. that's why it's important that the office of inspector general have the support it needs from congress to do its job and ensure our food is safe. this amendment provides them with additional support. jobs, businesses, and livelihoods are on the line. the longer this investigation drags on the more uncertainty businesses face. following the results of the investigation, usda must put in place practices and procedures that prevent this type of recall from occurring in the future. i want to thank my colleague and friend mr. huffman for working closely with me on this issue. he and i both represent ranchers affected by this recall and he has shared my frustration during the past few months system of if you support this amendment -- few months. so if you support this amendment, if you support the integrity of the food supply and usda programs, i urge you to

support this amendment and i would like to yield the balance of my time to mr. huffman of california. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. huffman: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank mr. thompson for the time and for his leadership on this issue. the federal government has a responsibility to ensure our food safety, to make sure the meat we barbecue this summer doesn't come with diseases, harmful diseases. it's the responsibility of the inspectors and the oversight agencies to stop unsafe practices from occurring in the first place. to proactively address problems before they require massive recalls. unfortunately, it doesn't always happen that way. the facility in my district -- mr. aderholt: would the gentleman yield? mr. huffman: this is not just a simple breakdown that the inspection process. the office of the inspector general -- mr. aderholt: would the gentleman yield? mr. huffman: on the gentleman's

time. it's not a simple breakdown. the inspector general has launched a criminal investigation into improper activities that includes deceptive practices by the owns of the slaughter house and we know from a cnn investigation that misconduct may even include some of the very usda inspectors that were charged with protecting the public this incident clearly demands a serious investigation. the public has a right to know what happened, how the process broke down, and who will be held responsible for it. unfortunately, to date, we have received virtually no information about this from usda. this sweeping recall, coupled with a complete lack of information, not only shakes public confidence, it affects in a very serious way many of the ranchers in my district whose livelihoods have been harm. they deserve answers from the usda too. i have many constituents who are facing serious financial losses and they can't get any information about what happened. many ranchers in the north bay had tens of thousands of pounds of their premium beef recalled

and the usda won't tell them what happened. whether their beef was actually contaminated or even when this case will be closed. we've gotten far more information, frankly, from cnn than we've gotten from usda. and this is completely unacceptable. our amendment transfers $1 million from usda's administrative account to the inspector general's office so we can have the resources needed to swiftly complete this investigation, close the case an make sure we get answers so we can prevent this from happening again. i reserve. mr. aderholt: would the gentleman yield? i simply wanted to say we accept your language. mr. huffman: thank you very much. i yield back to the gentleman from california. mr. tmp -- mr. thompson: i thank the gentleman for cooperating with us on this important matter and i yield back.

the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gal lembings go of texas. page 2, line 14, after the ollar amount insert reduced by 6,369,000. the chair: pursuant to the resolution the gentleman from texas, mr. gayay go, and a member opposed wetch isle control five minutes. mr. gallego: i offer this amendment because i believe that government must protect the

people it serves and remember that government is servants of the people. several years ago the department an riculture closed inspection facility that was important to the city of presidio. when i took office and made inquiries, the usda never returned phone calls, never made an effort to work with us to determine why that inspection station was closed. they refused to work with the city or county or local business community. so business people across the area were harmed in a way that they will never get their money back as a result of all the lost business and presidio was the leading cattle importation port in the country at the time. this amendment would zero fund the office of congressional relations in an attempt to get the attention of the department of agriculture and indicate to them that their behavior is totally, thoroughly, and pleatly

unacceptable. -- ant completely unacceptable -- and completely unacceptable. people in presidio, as people across the nation, deserve respect. those men and women who run businesses, who depend on the cattle industry in that part of the state, deserve to have their questions answered. for the department to drag its feet for more than two years before giving a simple answer as to why that action was taken by the department, that is totally, thoroughly, completely inexcusable. so as i said, mr. chairman, this amendment would zero fund their office of congressional relations in an attempt to get their attention. having offered the amendment, mr. chairman, and made my point, i'm happy at this point to withdraw the amendment. the chair: is there any objection to withdrawing the amendment? without objection the amendment s withdrawn.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. hinojosa of texas. page 2, line 14, after the first dollar amount, insert reduced by $2,500,000. mr. hinojosa: i ask unanimous consent that it be considered as read. the chair: the reading is dispensed with. mr. hinojosa: i want to thank congressman mike thompson of california for joining me on this amendment. mr. speaker, my amendment to the h.r. 4800 is simple. it would increase funding for the specialty crop pest program at the department of agriculture by $2.5 million in order to provide more funding to strongly combat the invasive pests that threaten our agriculture industry. from the mediterranean fruit fly which attacks fruits and nuts

throughout california to the imported fire ant that destroys corn and soybean and okra in louisiana, the need for this program is higher than it has ever been. nowhere is this more important than in my own congressional district in south texas, which is being ravaged by citrus greening. citrus greening is one of the most destructive plant diseases in the world. once a citrus tree is infected, it produces bitter, unusable fruit and kills the tree itself within a few years. there is no cure and it has proven difficult to eradicate. as a result, over half of the trees in every citrus orchard in florida have contracted this disease. right now, both cameron and hidalgo counties in my district are under a full emergency quarantine. this is a growing epidemic that threatens to eradicate an entire agricultural industry if we do

not do everything we can to stop it. while the recently passed farm bill had an overfunding over a five-year period to stop the waste, they are focused on long-term solutions through competitive grants. the funding for the invasive pest control which the amendment would increase, is specifically meant to help deal with the immediate impact on the ground today. programs such as coordinated areawide suppression programs, pest surveys, protecting disease-free nursery stock and public outreach and education programs. while i am happy that the committee provided a modest increase in this funding in the underlying bill, i believe this additional funding is greatly needed to increase our on-the-ground presence to stop the outbreak in texas from its alarming spread, which threatens the entire state. for these reasons, i would urge support of my amendment, and i

reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. aderholt: i'll claim the time in opposition, but i will be the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. aderholt: the house bill does provide significant funding for the bill -- for this project and report language regarding the citrus green disease. mr. rooney, mr. valadao, along with mr. mccarthy and mr. farr have raised -- has raised this issue. we understand how devastating this disease has been, especially to the florida growers and certainly in california as well. the bill itself provides $44.5 million for the program to protect the citrus industry. i believe we have addressed the urgency of the need in this bill, but i do accept the gentleman's amendment. understand this is a very important issue. again, we accept. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized.

mr. hinojosa: i thank you for accepting my amendment. i want to say in closing that in my area just a year ago, we went to see and meet with all the producers and they were showing us the comparison of where we are in texas as compared to the damage that was done in florida and in california. and i want to say that within less than six months we were put under quarantine even my area and we are one of the in my arge -- quarantine area and we are of the three largest producers. and we are needing it not over a five-year period, we need to attack it now. we have the research going on with texas a&m, university research center in wes la could he. i thank you for -- center in

weslaco. i thank you for accepting my amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from alabama. mr. aderholt: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from alabama yields back. the question son the amendment offered by the gentleman from -- is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 4, line 11, executive operations, office of he chief economist, $16,77,000 . $16,077,000. office of budget and program . alysis, $9,392,000 office of the chief information fficer, $45,025,000. office of the chief financial

officer, $6,028,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: an amendment offered by mr. gosar of arizona. page 5, line 5, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $220,000. page 6, line 23, after the dollar amount insert increased by $220,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from arizona, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: i rise today to offer the simplest amendments. this amendment transfers $220,000 from the u.s. department of argue's wasteful and ineffective -- agriculture's wasteful and ineffective office bringing their appropriations in line with the president's request. it seems only fitting that the

inspector general's office receive additional resources, particularly at the expense of the office it will most likely first investigate. in april of this year, the inspector general reported that the department's chief financial officer failed to comply with the improper payments information act for the third year in a row. the c.f.o. could have saved more than $514 million by simply following federal -- $414 million by simply following federal law. instead, the c.f.o. continued to turned a blind eye and the inspector general reported last year alone the usda made $6.2 billion in improper payments. let me repeat that. $6.2 billion in improper payments were made by usda last year alone. i'd like to provide a few examples of this wasteful spending. in fiscal year 2013, usda paid more than $50 million to special interest groups to promote christmas. usda's chief financial officer

authorized the loan to well-established brewing company for over $450,000. usda spent $20 million on i.t. software that did not work. on the chief financial officer's watch, $403,620 was wasted last year to see if we can turn cow manure into electricity. over 100 people received loan guarantees of over $5,000 or more to buy a home in hawaii. this hawaiian beachfront property loan program lost nearly $500 million last year, according to the office of inspector general. in addition to these wasteful -- i will yield. mr. aderholt: i just want to say we will accept your amendment. mr. gosar: we'll accept the gentleman's proposal and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question -- the question on the amendment offered by the gentleman from yeas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.

the amendment is agreed to. the clerk will read. 6, lerk: page 5, line office of the assistant secretary for civil rights, $898,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. broun: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. broun of georgia. page 5, line 9, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $5,000. page 7, line 17, after the dollar amount -- mr. broun: i ask unanimous consent that we dispense with the reading. the chair: without objection, the reading is dispensed with. pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from georgia and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: this amendment gathers the arbitrary budget increases of $5,000 added to seven undersecretaries' offices

and one assistant secretary office totaling $40,000 and applies that amount to the savings reduction account. what would a $5,000 increase to the budget of office of an undersecretary even pay for? would it pay for one taxpayer funded trip? pencils, paper clips? maybe pay raises to the federal bureaucrats to implement the nearly $1 trillion new farm bill. according to the website wallstreetcheat.com, a person can start a business for over $5,000 or less in overhead. mr. chairman, the federal government is not a business and does not run like one, unfortunately. $5,000 is a drop in the bucket compared to the counts we are considering today. but this increase is a symbol of this government's out-of-control spending. both political parties are guilty. if congress can't cut $40,000, then we are facing the root of

our spending problem. thousands of dollars can quickly add up to millions. will soon become billions and all the while congress keeps approving more and more even when there's no good reason for the increase. the american people have demanded that we cut the outrageous spending that's going on here in washington by republicans and democrats alike. we must look to every corner of the budget to do so. we must become better stewards of taxpayers' dollars. and this amendment is one offset in that right direction. i urge my colleagues to support my amendment. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama rise? mr. aderholt: i rise in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. aderholt: i appreciate the gentleman's concern for the federal deficit and the debt, a problem we're facing in this nation. it's something that's serious and i appreciate his hard work

on this issue and i know he's very concerned, as we all are, about it. i am going to have to reluctantly oppose the amendment. we have carefully reviewed the president's budget request, and we believe that we have appropriately and we have adequately funded the various missionaries within the department of agriculture, and because of that, as i say, we'll oppose the amendment and we yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, he noes have it. mr. broun: mr. chairman, request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia will be postponed. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 5, line 10, office of civil rights,

$24,070,000. agriculture buildings and facilities, $54,825,000. hazardous materials management, including transfers of funds, $3,600,000. office of inspector general, $97,020,000. office of the general counsel, $44,383,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? mr. gosar: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: an amendment offered by mr. gosar of arizona. page 7, line 9, after the ollar amount insert reduced by $2,891,000. page 82, line 2, after the dollar amendment insert increased by $2,181,000. the chair: pursuant to house

resolution 616, the gentleman from arizona and a member opposed will each control five minutes. mr. gosar: i rise in support of this amendment that pertains to the department of agriculture's office of the general counsel. by way of background, this office was appropriated $41,202,000 in the fiscal year 2014. the president's budget for f.y. 2015 requested a steep increase of $365,000. the president attempts to justify this 15.4% increase by saying these moneys will go towards, quote, 31 pull-time equivalents to handle an increased workload to support current staff, rent and information ol technology reporting capabilities and litigation management tools. in other words, most of that money will be used to hire both government attorneys and to give raises to government attorneys already on staff. you see, because i'm from the western states, i take issue with that. i represent a rural district in

western arizona and i serve on the house natural resources committee, which oversees much of the executive branch's activities with regards to resources and lands. i'm quite familiar with the effects government attorneys often have on states, their resources and their lands, and my colleagues and i are generally disgusted with the overreaching policies the obama administration has imposed on western states. therefore, i propose -- i oppose any plans by the department to hire more government attorneys. which will be used to implement and defend the administration's overreaching land grabs, water grabs and climate change policies. i appreciate the committee decided not to fulfill the president's request in full, but it did propose appropriately half of his request. i simply cannot in good conscience allow more attorneys to be hired at the usda. attorneys who will infringe upon many states' 10th amendment rights. my amendment will cut most of the increase that the committee offered in this bill but to leave a portion of the increase for improving informational

technology of the office of general counsel. i understand the federal government generally has major issues with informational technology. our departments and agencies are often using archaic i.t. systems and most need to be updated. i.t. issues are highlighted at the house oversight and government reform committee. this is a bipartisan issue, and it's been addressed regularly by chairman issa, ranking member cummings and the rest of my colleagues. to close, i ask my colleagues to support this amendment. it would help to preserve states' rights, cut spending and improve informational technology systems all at once. i appreciate the work of the committee, the chair and the ranking member. i urge passage of my commonsense amendment. and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. aderholt: seek recognition to oppose the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. aderholt: i appreciate the gentleman's concern for the federal debt, the deficit problem we're facing in this nation. again, it is a very serious

issue and we need to address it in many ways. however, i would have to oppose this amendment reluctantly. we've carefully reviewed the president's budget. the request that he has made and we have tried to appropriately and adequately fund the missionaries within the department of agriculture and for that reason, again, we would have to oppose the amendment. i reserve the balance. the chair: the secret reserves his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? does the gentleman reclaim his time? mr. gosar: i reclim my time. with due respect, this budget does not look at the appropriate utilization of funds for attorneys. when you look at the overreach of this administration with climate change, water and resources it's about time we made conscious use of attorneys' fees. with that, i yield back the

balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from alabama is recognized. mr. aderholt: i yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: i rise in the hope that the amendment i filed is on the desk. the chair: the clerk will read the bill. the clerk: page 7, line 10, office of ethics, $347,000. office of the undersecretary for research, education and economics, $898,000. economic research service, $85,784,000.

the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose duh the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: to give reasons why we should support the amendment that has -- that is on the desk and i believe has just been read. the chair: is the gentleman offering the amendment? mr. cohen: yes. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. cohen of tennessee. page 7, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert reduced by $3 million. page 43, line 18, after the dollar amount, insert increased by $3 million. page 44, line 9, after the dollar amount, insert increased by $3 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from tennessee and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to urge my colleagues to support the cohen-kelly-titus amendment to increase funning for the summer electronic benefit transfer program. for many young people, the end of school is an exciting day

when they get out for the summer. but for the millions of families who rely on school lunch for meals, the summer is a time of anxiety, stress and hunger as those meals disappear. the summer program provides free nutritious meals and snacks to help children learn, play and grow through the the summer months when they're out of school. last monday i joined the kickoff in memphis in support of this prasm i had the opportunity to speak with kids, watch them ate their lunch and listened to them read kids provided by dolly parton's imagine library. the study -- the department tudies ways to provide meals throughout the summer. it will not only encourage healthier eat bug allow us to learn more about food insecurity among children.

the wealthiest nations of the world should not send its children to bed hungry so making sure they have the food they need must be a top priority. this program helps fill the gap when students are not in school, providing meals for many children that would otherwise go hungry in memphis, chicago, las vegas and throughout the nation. by increasing funding in this program we can be sure we're feeding our kids a healthy meal each day. i urge passage of the amendment to restore funding to the summer food service program. i reserve the plans of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. mr. cohen: i yield time to ms. kelly. the chair: the gentleman has reserved. for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. aderholt: we reserve is -- we reserve. the chair: does the gentleman laim time in opposition? mr. aderholt: we're not claiming time right now. the chair: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: i yield to ms. kelly of illinois. the chair: the gentlewoman is

recognized. ms. kelly: i rise today with the gentleman from tennessee and the gentlewoman from nevada to offer a commonsense amendment to the agriculture appropriations act that would ensure that this summer when students walk away from their classrooms they don't walk to homes and communs that allow them to go hungry. most of us can remember the excitement of the last day of school, but too many of us forget the fact that for millions of children in rural, suburban an urban communities the summer months when you no longer have lunchtime in the cafeteria are often the hungriest time of the year. our amendment is a fiscally responsible effort to be there for our kids. by providing funds for the summer electronic benefit transfer for children's program which will help the usda offer responsible solutions that respond to the food security needs of children across our nation. when children wake up in illinois and feel the same exact hunger as kids in memphis, las vegas, and the speaker's district, we are doing something

wrong. i urge my colleagues to work in a bipartisan manner and put kids first. and pass this amendment. i yield to the gentlewoman from nevada, my colleague, congresswoman titus. the chair: the quelt from tennessee controls the time. the gentlelady -- the gentleman from tennessee controls the time. he gentleman from tennessee is recognized. mr. cohen: i yield and stand. to ms. titus. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. titus p.c. i'm pleased to join -- ms. titus: i'm pleased to join with my colleagues to increase the summer food program for children by $3 million. across the country one in every five children is at risk of going hungry. in nevada, more than $233,000 children qualify for free or reduced lunch that means 54% of nevada students come from low-income households that struggle with hunger. while they eat free or reduced price lunches in the school

yearering the vast majority are left without adequate nutrition in the summer. the summer e.b.t. program helps fill the gap by giving families additional snap benefits in the summer months. it works. in 2012 it served almost 67,000 children who might have otherwise gone hungry and participation in this program is dramatically higher than in other programs serving up to 75% of eligible children. that's why i believe that we should meet the president's budget request and increase funding to feed as many hungry children as possible. a vacation from school shouldn't mean a hungry child. thank you and i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: we yield back the remainder of our time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the

gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an amendment about this same line and with the reduction that he just made, we need to pencil in the reduction to the total dollar amount that i'm suggesting. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. broun of georgia. page 7, line 20, after the dollar amount insert reduce by $7,726,000. page 82, line after the dollar amount insert increased by $7,726,000. mr. broun: mr. chairman, i think we have to change the dollar amount here to make it appropriate from the amendment that was just accepted. i think there were, what, $3 million? ok i'm told by counsel that we -- i can go ahead and proceed with my current amendment as it is.

the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616 the gentleman from georgia, mr. broun, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. broun: thank you, mr. chairman. rise -- i rise to offer an amendment to reduce funding for the usda's economic research service by $7,726,000 and increase the spend regular ducks account by that same amount. is amendment would maintain, repeat, maintain current funding levels. while helping to end the duplicative research the usda is currently conducting. the economic research service makes social science inquiries into the nutritional choices of citizens as well as farmers' decisions to participate in risk management programs. according to usda this program is, quote, the primary source of statistical indicate dwhroferse farm sector, unquote. and it is only usda research agency based entirely in d.c. --

indicateors. usda researchonly agency based entirely in d.c. yet there are other agencies that serve the same purpose. his agency is funded at $169 ,371,000 in this bill. but wait, mr. chairman, the underlying bill also provides $1.2 billion many mandatory spending for research, education, and economic studies. the same function as the economic research service and the national agricultural statistics agency. mr. chairman, we're in an economic and fiscal emergency. the federal government spends too much money. it is irresponsible to keep spending money beyond our means. not only do we need to reduce

our deficit, but we need to begin to make an impact on eliminating the huge debt that has been accumulating over the last several years. i applaud the appropriations committee for bringing to the floor five appropriations bills in roughly the same number of weeks. in fact, we haven't seen this particular bill here in the house since 2011. i offered a similar amendment to this one during the consideration of that bill to cut $7 million from the economic research service. so i ask my colleagues, let's try again. let's cut the duplicative spending that's in this bill for this agency. let's make meaningful cuts to show the american people that we are serious about controlling spending and serious about the future of our country. i urge support of our amendment and i yield back -- support of my amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

the chair: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. farr: thank you very much. i respect the gentleman's desire to cut, squeeze, and trim and be deficit hawk, but i think you're really cutting the wrong area. this is -- there are a lot of statistical departments in the department of agriculture because it's involved with a lot of different issues. sort of the rule, the whole -- the rural, the whole rural economics of america, the trade issues. and you've got two departments. one does the big data and one that does small data. you're a doctor of medicine, it would be like comparing an m.r.i. to a thermometer. they both are diagnostic tools but they don't do the same things. neither does e.r.s. or n.a.s. as you stated, they seem like they duplicate.

no, they're both involved in economic research, and that is -- i don't know how to explain it all but it's the underlying data that drives everything, drives the marks, drives decision making that is always, you know, the growers are private sector, capitalists, if you will, having to borrow from a banking system. they have to have good data to make decisions. i think if you cut, squeeze, and trim these economic data collectors, you're really hurting the underlying economy of agriculture in the united states. so i would oppose your amendment and you know, we need crop data. we need market data, we need nutritional data, we need rural economy data. these are the agencies, morely e.r.s. that you're cutting that collects that. so i oppose the amendment.

mr. aderholt: i thank my friend for -- mr. broun: i thank my friend for yielding. we're appropriating $1. billion for mandatory spending to gather data for research studies. is there any reason why, within that $1.2 billion of getting data they cannot do the same function as we are with the economic research service? mr. farr: i'm not sure that i understand your question but if there is -- there is different kinds of data and there's different places you collect that data, as there is in everything we do in government and private sector. i think what you're doing, you're taking a program -- if you open the book and look at government and find all these areas where you think there's duplication, i think the next step is to go and find out exactly where there is waste. everybody is against waste, we do trim waste because we're always looking for money but this is not the place, there's no trim there. this doesn't get you anything.

it -- in fact, it hurts the users of that data, not being able to have it. mr. broun: i thank the gentleman for yielding. t we've got to trim -- mr. farr: i yield back the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. broun: i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 f rule 18 the gentleman from -- pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from georgia will be postponed. the clerk: national agriculture tatistic service, $19 -- 163,691. salaries and expenses

$1,120,253,000. buildings and facilities, $155 million. national institute of food and agriculture research and ducation activities, $774,465,000. native american institutions endowment fund, $11,880,000. extension activities, $464,339,000. integrated activities, $32 million. office of the undersecretary for marketing and regulatory rograms, $898,000. animal and plant health inspection service, salaries and expenses, including ransfers of funds, $867,505,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an

amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. schiff of california. page 13, line 8, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $1 million, increased by $1 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from california and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. schiff: mr. chairman, for decades there's been a growing debate among marine biologists and other officials in maintaining marine mammals and captivities. the documentary "black fish" spurred a broader public discussion over whether the conditions in which marine mammals, particularly orcas, are held for public display are humane and whether these animals should even be held in captivity. i have serious concerns about the psychological and physical harm to orcas and other large marine mammals in captivity. isolating these animals, which could travel hundreds of miles a day in the wild and which live in large complex social

groupings in a small encloseure is troubling. orcas in captivity live much shorter lives in captivity than in the child and sometimes display dangerous behavior. two weeks ago representative huffman and i, along with 38 of our colleagues, sent a department to the department of agriculture urging them to move forward with a rulemaking regarding conditions in captivity for marine mammals under animal welfare act. 20 years ago, the department recognized the need to revise regulations and 10 years ago, the department proposed such a rulemaking and received many public comments, but since then progress has stalled despite public outcry about this issue. our amendment would serve to kick-start that effort by providing $1 million for the animal and plant health inspection service to study the effect of captivity in large marine mammals so usda can fall through with proposing a rule that is long overdue. among the issues are the effects of captivity on the

longevity of marine mammals, whether they suffer from physical and mental maladies at a higher rate than animals in the wild and whether they display unnatural and unhealthy behaviors, indicating high levels of stress. of studies -- the study these findings could result in scientifically based regulations that would ensure humane conditions for these awe-inspiring animals. we are calling on the usda to gather all scientific evidence and propose a rule that has been 20 years in the making. i urge adoption of the amendment, and at this point i'd like to yield to my colleague from california and a leader on this issue, mr. huffman. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. huffman: thank you, mr. chair. and i want to thank my colleague from southern california for his leadership on this issue. like many people, i did a lot of reflecting after i saw the documentary "black fish," and specifically i looked into whether federal authorities

were using the most updated science-based information in their regulation in marine mammal captivity and i was disappointed to find that our government has done virtually nothing to update these regulations in the last two decades. the agency charged with this responsibility has not updated the animal welfare act regulation since 1995, and these rules should have been updated 10 years ago when avis opened up a rulemaking process. unfortunately they dropped the ball and so it's time to try again. as congressman schiff mentioned, we recently led a sign-on letter with three dozen of our colleagues to agriculture secretary vilsack demanding action on this issue, and in that letter we urged him to complete the updating of these regulations for can'tive marine mammals, including publishing the proposed rule, allowing a public comment period so that we can incorporate the latest science. we've had no response to that letter. and so today we're offering an amendment to provide afis with

the funding needed to start that process again and ensure that our regulations for can'tive orcas and other -- captive orcas and other marine mammals is acceptable. the agency must use the funds provided to ensure that we have on the books the best possible standards for captive marine mammals based on solid, modern science and informed by all of the information that we gleaned in the past two decades. i ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman -- does the gentleman yield back to the gentleman from california? mr. huffman: yes, i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. schiff: i yield back, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an

amendment at the desk. the chair: the reading has not progressed to that point. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 15, line 18, in fiscal year 2015, the agency is authorized to collect fees to cover costs of providing technical assistance, goods or services requested by states. uildings and facilities, $3,175,000. griculture marketing services, $81,192,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise? mr. royce: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 7 printed in the congressional record offered by mr. royce of california. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from california and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i want to compliment the chairman and the ranking member for the work that they've done to bring this bill to the floor, but this

bill can be improved. there is growing bipartisan support for improving our international food assistance to ensure that more people are helped for less money. unfortunately this bill fails to advance international food aid reform, and it actually reverses progress achieved in the 2014 farm bill. legislation enacted by this body just a few months ago. it fails to provide flexibility so that up to 25% of the food for peace title 2 budget would be exempt from u.s. purchase requirements, and if enacted this proposal would have generated over $100 million in efficiency savings and enabled the united states to reach an additional two million people in dire need of food aid. an effective international food aid program helps those in need and it strengthens our international security. and finally, the bill fails to fund a congressionally authorized, broadly supported local and regional procurement program. following upon a successful

pilot, the 2014 farm bill authorized $80 million per year for the local and regional procurement program. that means we can buy food closer to the area in crisis, reducing transit time by more than 10 weeks, reducing costs for food aid recipients by 20% to 30%. this was considered an important reform that, won broad bipartisan support. this contains a modest shift in funding that will have a major impact, $10 million, while reducing funds for the administration of marketing and promotion programs that benefit major corporations, we can save lives. it's an easy choice. mr. speaker, our food aid takes too long to arrive, costs too much to get there. a former top aide official told our committee that when famine such as somalia in 1991 to 1992, come upon the world and wars involving mass population

displacements, such as darfur in 2003 and 2004, he said i watched people die waiting for food aid to arrive. obviously he strongly backs this reform. lastly i recently traveled to the philippines and witnessed firsthand the impact that l.r.p. can have. devastated by powerful typhoon, left with virtually nothing, the people did not have the luxury or time to wait for u.s. food to arrive from warehouses in sri lanka. in fact, it took more than three weeks for those shipments to arrive. but for local and regional procurement, we were able to start helping people right away. we saved lives. in syria where the deliver -- delivery of u.s. food is impossible, local food purchase is the only viable option. it's time to make a change. this requires $10 million. vote yes, please, on the royce amendment. the chair: does the gentleman reserves? mr. royce: i reserve the

balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> to speak on the amendment. the chair: does the gentleman claim time in opposition? mr. garamendi: i am. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. garamendi: i thank you, mr. chairman. mr. royce -- excuse me -- my colleague from california, you've been working at this issue for a very long time and you have considerable knowledge and certainly a compassion and a deep understanding of these issues. there's far more to this than was explained in your presentation. there's an ongoing debate about how the united states ought to be assisting in the disasters and famines around the world. that debate was -- came to a head last year in which it was decided we ought to continue with the long-standing p.l. 480

food for peace program with some modifications. my concern here with this particular amendment is that it may open the door for a continuation of that debate and demise ly lead to the of the pl-480 program which has extraordinary political support as a result of the combination of american farmers and the merchant marine industry as well as many n.g.o.'s around the nation. i recognize that in many places it is necessary to have local purchases of food and the charron actually cited a couple of those examples. it turned out that the local purchase of food was accomplished to an existing program that the usaid presently has, and that program is the international disaster

assistance program, where money is available for the local purchase of food. bottom line is this $10 million really doesn't add anything that isn't already available in the current appropriation in the current bill. so i would say, let's not go down this road right now. let's not open up this door to what may very well be a very extensive debate that we've already had. so i would softly oppose the amendment. i'd like to yield back some time to my colleague on the other side of the aisle. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentleman is recognized. mr. aderholt: i thank the gentleman from california for yielding. i rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment from california, the other gentleman. this would duplicate an existing program already in place at the u.s. agency for national development under the international development assistance account. usaid already allows for local and regional purchases, so

there's no need for the same program at the usda. more importantly, this amendment would use taxpayer dollars to purchase commodities from foreign countries rather than right here at home. mr. fincher: unlike foreign aid programs, the food for peace program is american made through and through. it was designed to take american commodities on american ships overseas to feed those in need. the food for peace program supports american agriculture, exports and jobs while increasing goodwill overseas and helping those in need. the usda estimates for over $1 billion in u.s. agriculture exports, 8,400 jobs, american jobs are created. we need to be focused on creating jobs at home and growing our economy so the united states is able to be abundantly generous to countries that can't grow enough food to feed their growing populations. this amendment gives american tax dollars away to our foreign competitors and puts american jobs at risk. i ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment and support

american farmers, workers and taxpayers and with that i yield back to the gentleman from california. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california. mr. garamendi: i yield back my remaining time. the chair: the gentleman from california yields back. the gentleman from california, mr. royce. mr. royce: mr. chairman, i yield my remaining one minute to mr. blumenauer of oregon. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. blumenauer: yes, i rise in support of mr. royce's amendment. i want to work with him on an offset that i think would be a little more desirable, but the notion here somehow that we are going to undercut the reforms that were achieved in the farm bill that requires food on average to take 74 days longer when you use u.s. source commodities, when it's going to be on average 25% more expensive, and to talk about our, quote, foreign competitors, when we're talking about being able to purchase locally from people who are on the edge of impofferment rather than flooding american commodities that are more expensive late in the game and

undercutting local production i think is a sad step forward. i appreciate the gentleman's leadership and strongly urge support of this as we work for better offset. mr. royce: i am open to working with the chairman and ranking member to find an appropriate offset in conference, however it's esen torble adopt this amendment now so this matter can be set. we can put a marker down, get this in place and i thank the gentleman for the support. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. pursuant to -- for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? mr. aderholt: i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to legal cause 6 of rule 18, further pr seed option the amendment offered by the gentleman from california plb post--- will be

postpone. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? mr. aderholt: i move that the committee rise. the chair: the question is on the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. cordingly the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. chairman. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union having had under consideration h.r. 4800, directs me to report it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the me has -- committee has had under consideration h.r. 4800 and has come to no resolution thereon. clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess subject to the call of the chair.

>> it's been very much in line with what the administration is asking for and it's going to be really interesting to see how this goes. there will be some debate on the floor. we're expecting representative to introduce an amendment to strip out the waiver language. he tried to do the same thing during markup and failed to get the support for that and then it will turn to what happens in conference after that. >> in addition to that school lunch program issue, let's look at some of the other issues that you're looking for that will come up on debate. >> like i mentioned, it's such a broad variety of issues. a ban on horse slaughter is now in the law. there could be some discussion over a rider in the bill that prevents u.s. da from spending

money on -- usda from spending money on some key competitiveness and contract issues, specifically related to poultry farming. we might hear debate on resporming -- reforming sugar programs up. never know. it could be chinese chicken. we heard such a broad variety of issues come up in the house markup. >> one of the things that certainly was an issue in the farm bill was the cuts to the snap program. does that come up in this 2015 ago bill? >> appropriations bill focuses on discretionary spending and the supplemental nutrition assistance program known as food stamps is actually a mandatory program. so for the most part that tends to stick to the farm bill as far as where that's debated out. you might hear some lawmakers complaining about how the cuts have been implemented. they think that states have kind of gotten around, making meaningful cuts to food stamp benefits and i think you might see some discussion about that. the other nutrition issue that could be brought up is allowing

white potatoes in the women, infant it's and children feeding program -- infants and children feeding program. up until now white potatoes have not been allowed in that program because the institute of medicine and usda argue that pregnant women, small children are already getting enough white potatoes. that's peancht he will -- apparently what the data shows. potato farmers on the other hand think it's not fair to cast white potatoes as a seemingly unhealthy, especially to low income women and children and so they've fought really hard and there's actually a provision in both the senate and house bills to go ahead and let white potatoes in the program so they won't be the only vegetable left out. you will probably hear rosa delauro have something to say about that on the house side. >> lots to look forward to in the debate. agriculture reporter for "politico." you can follow her on twitter. thank you so much for the update. >> happy to be here. thanks. cred c.d.

[captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] -- [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> the house is taking a break from debating amendments to the agriculture spending bill. a round of votes is expected later this afternoon. the chamber expected back at about 5:45 eastern. the house republican conference is meeting right now and the majority leader eric can't already speak to reporters. that's expected at about 4:30 eastern time. he lost his g.o.p. primary last night to tea party challenger dave brat. mr. cantor, there are some tweets about him today, saying that mr. cantor is expected to announce that he's stepping down as house majority leader effective july 31. today house democratic leaders talked about their legislative agenda, also menging leader cantor.

>> the reason we're having this press conference today is because we know that everyone in the press corps is focused on make it in america today. [applause] [inaudible] >> this congress, we launched the make it in america plan, with an important premise in mind. every american who wants to work hard and take responsibility ought to have a job that pays well and open doors of opportunity to the middle class. i was joking at the beginning but i guarantee you the overwhelming majority of americans are focused on exactly that premise. not the politics of washington,

not what's happening with any member of congress, but what's happening to jobs in their families for their husband, for their wives, for their children. way to make sure that happens is by supporting a robust manufacturing sector and ensuring that manufacturing business can innovate, build and hire right here in america. that is supported by democrats, by republicans, by independents and everybody i talk to. make it in america is an ambitious plan to invest in manufacturinging jobs and exet -- manufacturing jobs and competitiveness, both in the immediate term and over the longer term it. does so by focus on four key action areas that only have bipartisan support, not only have bipartisan support but also are common sense. first, as any successful leader in business will tell you, we need a plan. which is why the first component of make it in

america's agenda is to adopt and pursue a national manufacturing strategy. a bill that did that passed in the last congress with over 350 votes. it's passed out of the committee unanimously and it hasn't been brought to the floor. we need a plan. third -- or secondly, more exports, more exports mean more jobs for american workers who have always built the products that make our world run. third, we have to do more to encourage businesses to bring jobs and innovation home to america. to create jobs for our people. america's always been anovation hub and ought to continue to be for generations to come. and businesses are increasingly locating innovation labs near manufacturing floors so we need to make sure that those manufacturing floors are here in america. and fourth, we must invest in

training and securing a 21st century work force. that can attract jobs to our communities and form the core of the next generation of our middle class. that's what make it in america is all about. ensuring that our businesses can make it in america. on the premise that if they do, every american will be able to make it in america. today i'm proud to be joined by some of our most outstanding democratic members. the chairman of our caucus is here, javier becertificatea. thank you for being here. the vice chairman -- becertificatea -- becerra. thank you for being here. the vice chairman, mr. crowley, is here with us. a lot of other leaders here with us as well. i won't mention each one of them by name but i'm pleased that our caucus is well represented here, because this is a caucus issue. this is what democrats believe

in, that's what we want to focus on. like the 50 bills that have already been introduced, these new bills, some of which you're going to hear about right now, are focused on these action areas to help grow jobs here at home and maintain our country as the manufacturing leader of the world. that is not a partisan issue, that is america's issue. make it in america is a blueprint for the job creation and it has the support of business, labor, economists and, yes, even a large number of republicans. as a matter of fact, i can go to the most conservative district in america, the most republican district in america, and talk about making it in america and heads will shake. and i can go to the most liberal district in america, the most democratic, the most blue district, and talk about make it in america and heads will shake. it is a unifying agenda. in a country that is crying out for unity of purpose and focus.

there's a broad public work for these ideas and there's no reason why congress shouldn't be able to take up the make it in america bills and pass them with bipartisan support in this congress. now, it's my great privilege to yield to my distinguished colleagues who are here to talk about the make it in america legislation they have introduced and will start with my dear friend california, brounly. tive julia >> thank you, steny -- brownly. >> thank you, steny. i am honored to be a part of the make it in america initiative and i am so proud to offer a bill that will help connect our american students with 21st century american careers. one of the best ways congress

can support u.s. manufacturing jobs is to prepare our students and connect our students with local job creators who provide good-paying, highly skilled jobs in local communities across our great country. every small and large manufacturer i've met in my own district in ventura county is having trouble filling positions from job seekers in our community. the american manufacturing jobs for students act will help students and schools develop professional relationships with local businesses through workplace visits and hands-on learning. this bill will help keep america's economic competitiveness strong and is a win-win for every community across america.

thank you, steny. >> thank you. [applause] next, steven horsford, former majority leader of the state senate in nevada, and representative of the second district of nevada. >> thank you, mr. hoyer. it's great to be here. and thank you for having a focus today on how we can make it in america and i am honored to be here with my colleagues today focused on jobs and growing our economy. investing in today's youth means building ladders of opportunity to jobs made here and kept here. that's why i'm proud to introduce the youth access to american jobs act, which will build a stronger american economy. speaker boehner likes to ask, where are the jobs? well, yet again is the answer from the house democrats, right here. local economies are primed for a manufacturing revival. if we take action to invest in

american jobs now. in my district, in the city of north las vegas, i recently visited a manufacturing plant called clearwater paper. that plant provides jobs for many of my constituents and i spoke with them about the need for programs like the one i'm introducing today. to make sure that young people have the skills that they need to succeed in the workplace. the youth access to american jobs act builds upon a tradition of innovative job training programs and initiatives aimed at fostering public-private partnerships and collaboration between industry, labor, local education authorities and institutions of higher learning. in creating a pilot program, this legislation will help put students through stem courses in high school for two years, take them through a two-year associate's degree program in a relevant field of study and ultimately place them into a

two-year state apprenticeship program in the manufacturing field or joint labor management training program of their choice. now, before coming to congress, i worked at a joint labor management traininging program, placing thousands of people in jobs in las vegas. this bill is similar to that effort and i'm proud to join with my colleagues here today on solutions on how we can put america to work. thank you. >> thank you very much. [applause] next, representative lujan grisham rom -- lujan from new mexico. >> thank you. i also want to join my colleagues in thanking whip hoyer for giving us all an opportunity to collaborate with him and the democratic caucus in the make it in america plan. all too often a middle class job does not support a middle class life anymore. now, our goal today is -- and

actually every day -- is to fix that fundamental problem by making sure that there are enough jobs, good-paying jobs, and that americans have the skills necessary to obtain those jobs. and that exactly -- that's exactly what my bill aims to do. the education for jobs act will allow working professionals to who are tryinging to update their skill set or improve their career path, bru limited to taking one course at a time because of costs or time constraints, to now be eligible to apply for federal student loans. the rising cost of education is a huge barrier for these students who cannot afford tuition costs and are not eligible for federal aid because they cannot meet the current halftime requirements. expanding federal student loan availability for these students will make returning to school more manageable and affordable and help us reduce the job skills gap by allowing them to retrain for high-paying jobs or high-skill careers.

my bill is only one aspect of the make it in america jobs plan, but i support this plan because it creates jobs at home and it prepares a highly skilled work force. we invest in students and our work force we invest in our future. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. bradley esentative snyder from illinois. -- schneider from illinois. >> thank you. it is a great honor to be here. first, let me say thank you to whip hoyer for his outstanding leadership and congratulate him on putting together an effective, sensible framework to strengthen manufacturing jobs in our country and to create more quality, high-paying jobs for our future. like mr. hoyer, i know manufacturing is key to strengthening our middle class. and i understand the importance of making it in america. right now manufacturing jobs offer some of the best opportunities for a competitive

salary, long-term opportunity and growth potential. by helping our manufacturing invest in critical equipment and technology -- manufacturers invest in critical equipment and technology, we can help give them a boost, grow operations and bring on new people. that's why today i'm offering the accelerate our manufacturers act. that will allow businesses to deduct the full cost of equipment in the very first year. and to not spend the deduction or spread the deduction over several years. allowing manufacturers to do this allows them to deduct these investments immediately, simplifying their accounting, improving their cash flow and encouraging more investment in new technologies. and flexibility, cash flow and investment in the future mean more jobs and a brighter economic future. i'm honored to have the accelerate our manufacturers act included in the make it in america package. and i'm committed to working with mr. hoyer and all of my colleagues so we can strengthen

our manufacturing sector. thank you again to whip hoyer for your leadership and the opportunity to be a part of make it in america. >> thank you very much, brad. [applause] next, from the state of pennsylvania, representative cartwright, who has introduced the job creation through energy efficient manufacturing. >> thank you, whip hoyer. and thank you all for coming today. i want you to notice a couple things about the people standing before you on this stage. we're all wearing two things. we're wearing our congressional badges and we're wearing our make it in america pins. we wear the first because we care about this country. we wear the second because we know that part of caring about this country is caring about making manufacturing jobs resurface in this country and i thank mr. hoyer on his leadership in the make it in america plan, to strengthen businesses and create

high-paying jobs in this country. i'm also gratified to have had h.r. 4162, the job creation through energy-efficient manufacturing act, added to this program. energy efficiency's not just about being environmental, it's not just about being green, it's something that saves money. investing in energy efficiency creates jobs and by investing in energy efficiency, the american manufacturing sector will save money on energy costs which can then be reinvested in modernizing facilities, hiring new workers and making american manufacturing more competitive. i'm happy to report that my bill has already been included in the senate manufacturing for america initiative as well. i look forward to continuing this work with mr. hoyer and my colleagues here and on both sites of the aisle as we continue -- sides of the aisle as we continue to promote good-paying jobs and manufacturing jobs in america. thanks so much.

[applause] >> thank you very much. i'm not sure that i mentioned in my opening statement, but and enator from delaware john carney is here. the senator and many of his colleagues have introduced a manufacturing initiative. they don't call it make it in america but it is see lengthsy -- essentially the same. we have many of the bills in common that have been introduced in the senate and introduced in the house. now let me introduce representative nolan from minnesota who has put in what i think is an excellent piece of legislation, all of these are good pieces of legislation, to recognize people who are doing things to make it in america. presidential make it in america awards act sponsor,

representative nolan. >> thank you for the introduction. thank you for being here. it's no secret that over the last three decades eight million jobs and 50,000 manufacturing operations have been moved oversales. and that's been incredibly -- overseas. and that's been incredibly harmful to the american promise and the opportunity to be able to have a good-paying job with a living wage. it's at the heart of the growing disparity between the rich and the poor. i want to thank our leader, our democratic party, mr. hoyer in particular, for this made in america initiative and my colleagues and tell you how proud i am to be a co-sponsor of all these initiatives and how proud i am of our party. and our caucus to lead the way, to bring a manufacturing around the world back to america. and as mr. hoyer pointed out, you know, it's a number of things, it's tax policy, it's trade policy, it's education, it's finance, it's a plan and it's encouragement. so my bill establishes three

presidential awards. one is an award to the company that moved its manufacturing overseas and has moved it back to america. in ke advantage of just time and the great work force that we have. the second award would go to the investors who have chosen to establish a new made in america manufacturing here. and the third one would be to a foreign investment group that has chosen to invest in good manufacturing jobs here in america. that's how we restore the promise of america, by all the initiatives that are represented here at this press conference. i'm proud to be a part of it, i'm proud of my party. this is how we restore good-paying jobs to the american people and restore the promise of america. that's what this is all about. and that's why it is so fundamentally important to our future. thank you, mr. chairman. [applause]

>> mr. becerra had to leave but i asked congressman crowley from new york, who is the vice chairman of the caucus, just to say a few words and give the caucus' perspective of the make it in america agenda. >> just very briefly, i'm proud to be here today to proudly stand with our whip, steny hour, -- hoyer, and my colleagues here today who proudly stand here to endorse the make it in america agenda. to make -- to manufacture things here in america again and to make it here in america and one of my bills is also included in the 50-to some-odd bills in terms of on the job d training and making resources available to those who would employ americans and give the opportunity to learn those new skills that they need to have here in the 21st century. more directly, in terms of our caucus, our caucus is soundly behind the make it in america movement. thank mr. hoyer has led throughout the -- that mr. hoyer has led throughout the past few years. we stand solidly behind him.

not just the members here but our entire caucus. the entire caucus is behind this movement. >> thank you very much. [applause] ok, questions? >> you may have heard about the cantor loss. i just wanted to see -- [laughter] how do democrats leverage that, to push for democrats' priorities, to get legislation done this year, before the election? >> i don't think it's -- that election's changed our focus or our energy in trying to focus on the things that we think will help people make it in america. as you know, we are very strong proponents of putting the unemployment insurance extension on the floor. we think that helps struggling americans, but it also helps our economy overall. we think the minimum wage needs to be raised. we think that helps the economy and individual americans. we think we need to pass a comprehensive immigration bill, which c.b.o. scores at $900 billion positive to our budget

deficit over the next 20 years. and the overwhelming majority of american people reflect all of those. there are a number of others. we need to pass a voting rights act. none of that is changed by the election yesterday. all of those are priorities that we strongly are for. we think we need to pass an end discrimination in employment piece of legislation that the senate has passed. so the election didn't change our priorities. this press conference about make it in america, that's what people sent us here to make sure that they could do. that's buy people -- that's why people came to america, because they thought they could make it and seize opportunity. we need to make sure that's available to them. >> is the prospect brighter or darker today given last night's event? >> these prospects are supported by the overwhelming majority of the american people who sent all of us, republicans and democrats, to the congress

of the united states. if we want to represent them, that's our title, representative. if we want to represent them, all of the issues i've just mentioned are supported by an overwhelming majority of them, including democrats, republicans and independents and anybody else who want to designate themselves as some other category. the fact of the matter is, we still have a responsibility, just as much as we had on monday, we have a responsibility on wednesday to represent the american people and do the best we can to make their country the best it can be and make sure that they can, in the context of our policies, make it in america. >> a quick follow-up on that. you've had a good relationship with eric cantor. actually worked with him passing some bills. do you think his loss would be bad for democrats, maybe actually cause more gridlock? >> it's hard to figure out how you can cause more gridlock. we've unfortunately focused on

doing mostly negative things and/or messaging. secondly, i think we have seen on display over the last three years a party that is deeply divided and dysfunctional. i think that last night was an evidence of that but i've been asserting that for a long period of time. the american public want us to work together. as i've just said, the issues that we have made priority items are overwhelmingly supported by the american people and irrespective of the election last night, we're hopeful that we can move ahead now, not the next congress, not 10 years from now, now on moving legislation that's important to the american people. >> re-authorization of the u.s. export-import bank is on your agenda. >> it is. >> that's something that you've been working with mr. cantor with, on things to get around. chairman hensarling opposes it. does mr. cantor's loss change the dynamic in terms of getting

it? >> i call police department can'ter this morning, i have not yet -- i called mr. cantor this morning, i have not yet talked to him. i certainly intend to work with him on -- we'll have to see what the context is, we'll continue to do that. i make the observation, you know, i've worked with a lot of leaders on the other side, i've worked with trent lott, i worked with tom delay, i worked with roy blunt, a good friend of mine. i've worked with eric cantor. they just can't get rid of me but it seems we have a lot of people -- so i'm going to work with whoever is there because the export-import bank, the reason it's part of the make it in america agenda, if we're going to be competitive, if we want people to manufacture things here, creating american jobs here for our constituents, then we want to make sure that we are competitive worldwide and without the export-import bank we won't be. mr. cantor believed that. i'm hopeful we can continue to work on that. and by the way, when it came to the floor and we voted on it, as you know, it got over 300

votes. it got the majority of republicans and every democrat voting for it. when we authorized it. i think the re-authorization will get a large number of votes too. i hope we can get it to the floor soon. >> similarly, you said yesterday you were meeting with mr. cantor on the voting rights act and have continued to do so where do you see that going -- so. where do you see that going? at this point, he's a pretty powerful ally in getting that through. >> i hope he'll continue to be an ally. it hasn't been brought to the floor yet. and it hasn't had committee hearings yet. all of which we're concerned bout and we've had meetings as recently as yesterday, as you know, with many of the bipartisan, nonpartisan groups who are trying to ensure that americans have not only the right to vote but are facilitated in casting that vote. we think the supreme court decision in shelby very substantially limited the

protections that americans have and we want to see the sense brenner bill passed. sense brenner, republican, former chairman of the judiciary committee, in a bipartisan fashion. so i'm going to continue to work with whoever is willing to work with us to get that bill passed. >> you don't think his loss will slow down or -- >> it wasn't moving very fast. so whether it will slow it down or not, we'll see. i'm still hopeful that mr. cantor will try to be a leader in this effort. he could be very helpful. >> is that it? thank you very much. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national able satellite corp. 2014] >> house majority leader eric cantor is expected hear on capitol hill shortly.

speaking to reporters after his loss last night in the g.o.p. primary in virginia to tea party challenger dave brat. a report says that leader cantor will announce that he's stepping down as majority leader effective july 31. and "politico" writing that house majority leader cantor is holding this news conference minutes after he's announcing to his colleagues that he's resigning as the number two lawmaker in the house. at the same time, senior house republicans are discussing moving quickly to schedule leadership elections. perhaps as soon as next week. majority whip kevin mccarthy of california will seek the number two job, which means two slots will be open in the leadership hierarchy. a quick election would benefit mccarthy who has a significant capitol operation and is an all by you a -- an all but announced candidate to replace cantor. that according to "politico." elections are scheduled for june 19.

>> reported lima jort leader cantor's resignation is expected to be effective july 31. and he's not expected to leave congress until the end of the term in january. the number three republican, majority whip kevin mccarthy, is expected to seek cantor's post as majority leader. but he faced an immediate challenge from a texas conservative, pete sessions. >> good afternoon. first of all, i just want to talk a little bit about what happened last night and then going forward. you know, growing up in the jewish faith, i grew up, went to hebrew school, read a lot in the old testament and you learn a lot about individual setbacks. but you also read and you learned that each setback is an

opportunity and that there's always optimism for the future. and while i may have had a -- suffered a personal setback last night, i couldn't be more optimistic about the future of this country. i couldn't -- know, i'm honored that i've had the privilege to serve and represent the people of virginia's seventh district. people often lament what is wrong with this town, but i want to remind you of what's right. i've had the honor to serve with so many very distinguished colleagues. these are the people who fly across the country every single week, trying to do what they can to help their constituents live a better life. and these are members on both sides of the aisle. i can tell you i have been more than honored to serve as a part of the republican conference and serve as their majority leader for the last several years. my colleagues and i are also admirably served by a tremendous group of staff who

put in tireless hours with the same noble intentions of trying to help the constituents of ours live a better life. these staffers are the backbone of this institution and i'm proud to have gotten to know them and their families and actually call them parts of my family. i also like to recognize the sergeant at arms, the capitol police and in particular the dignitary protection division who i've come to know personally and i've gotten to know their often unheralded services that really are second to none. and it's been an honor to be in their company. it's especially been a privilege to get to know so many thousands, tens of thousands of constituents, of neighbors who make up the community of the greater richmond area. richmond, virginia, is a special place that i've called home my entire life. and i know that some of you, my friends in the press corps, have joined me there recently.

but i encourage everyone to make a visit soon. we house republicans have made some tremendous strides over the past few years. we fought to allow every child, regardless of their zip code, the ability to go to the school of their choice and to receive a quality education. we prioritized medical research and innovation and have led the way into an unprecedented era of technology and its breakthrough. we forced a reduction of spending in washington in consecutive years for the first time since the korean war. and we fought to protect people from losing their insurance or facing higher health care costs due to obamacare. we passed bill after bill that would increase take-home pay and reduce costs for working middle class american families. some people think washington gets nothing done. well, there's a stack of bills sitting in the senate that

shows house republicans do get things done. we get a lot done. and our priority is building an america that works for the middle class families who are struggling in this country. but there is more work to do. conservatives have solutions that can help alleviate the middle class squeeze and provide opportunity to all, regardless of their circumstance in life. i will continue to fight for each and every american who's looking to better themselves and help their families by pursuing the american dream. while i will not be on the ballot in november, i will be a champion for conservatives across the nation who are dedicated to preserving liberty and providing opportunity. truly what divides republicans pails in comparison to what divides us as conservatives from the left and their democratic party. i hope that all republicans

will put minor differences aside and help elect a republican house and senate so that we may all benefit from a proper check and balance that leaves our nation more secure, more prosperous and freer. the united states of america is the greatest gift to man kind. and i'm confident that our nation will overcome every struggle, exceed every challenge and share the message of freedom, prosperity and happiness to all liberty-seeking people around the world for decades to come. now, while i intend to serve out my term as a member of congress in the seventh district of virginia, effective july 31, i will be stepping down as majority leader. it is with great humility that i do so, knowing the tremendous honor it has been to hold this position. and with that i'm delighted to take some questions. >> why did you lose last night and what can the party learn

from your loss last night? >> i'm going to leave the political analysis to y'all. i know that my team worked incredibly, incredibly hard, they did a tremendous amount of work. i'm proud of their work, i'm grateful for what they did. and in the end the voters chose a different candidate. >> you're going to leave the political analysis to others but you personally, i'm sure you've done some reflecting in .he past 24 hours do you think that maybe you spent too much time here with your job as leader, tend nothing to your rank and file and not tending to your constituents back home? >> i was in my district every week. so there's a balance between holding a leadership position and serving constituents at home. but never was there a day i did not put the constituents of the seventh district of virginia first and i will continue to do so. >> what message do you believe that this sends about the future of immigration reform? should it be stopped at this point or do you think it should

go forward and would you -- what have you talked to speaker boehner about? >> first of all, what i would say again on the political piece of that, i'll let y'all do the anal sills. but i will say that my position on immigration has not changed. it didn't change from before the election, during the election or the way it is today. i have always said the system is broken and it needs reforms. i think it is much more desirable and doable if we did it one step at a time, working towards where we have common ground and believe things in common. i don't believe in this my way or the highway approach that the president has laid out and i've continued to take that position. i've said that there's common ground at the border, there's common ground. i would like to see the issue of the kits dreased by those -- kids addressed by those who didn't break any laws and come here unbeknownst to them. so again, i've always said that there should be and is common ground, if it would -- if we'd

just allow ourselves to work together. >> who do you want to succeed you and how divisive will the election be within your conference? >> i don't know who it is that will actually be running. i can tell you that if my dear friend and colleague kevin mccarthy does decide to run, i think he'd make an outstood -- outstanding majority leader. and i will be backing him with my full support. >> a lot of focus has been on the politic side but on the policy side people are wondering what this means for things like the export-import bank re-authorization. you touched on immigration and some other things that are going on. is this sort of the end of the legislating of this congress or do you think this congress can still get those things done? >> we've got -- obviously this month and next, we're very full on the floor with appropriations measures that my team and the committees are working on. we have got cftc authorization, we've got some energy bills

that will speak to bringing down costs for americans who are facing the summer driving season. week of got a full set of bills -- we've got a full set of bills. we've probably got another group of human trafficking bills to be done. the chairman of the house financial services committee i believe has announced a markup on a bill. we'll look to do that this summer. there's a lot of things in motion. so, yes, we will continue to work and hopefully the senate will resip row kate so that we can -- reciprocate so that we can get the work of the american people done. >> talk for a minute about, they say politics is local here, you lost your race, a lot of people are going to try to read broader things into this here. why shouldn't some republicans be scared as they move into their primaries, where you say you spent every week, some time, in your district, where they feel they have shored up their base and they get the challenge, why shouldn't be somebody running scared at this point after an unprecedented loss by the majority leader? >> i think that as you rightly suggest, all politics are

local. and there was obviously a lot of attention that was cast on our race. but again i think that our members are in good position in their districts and again i'll leave the political analysis of what happens to y'all. >> democrats say you were too extreme. conservatives said you were too compromising. what advice do you have for your successor? >> maybe we had 2 right somewhere in the middle -- had it right somewhere in the middle. again, i think that this town should be about trying to strike common ground. i've always said it's better if we can agree to disagree but find areas which we can produce results and i've said this before, i've talked about my wife and i, almost how to married 25 years, and believe me we don't agree on everything. and we have managed to raise our family have a wonderful marriage, she's stood by me throughout this public office stuff and been a strong advocate for me and not always

believing in everything that i believe in, but we managed to raise our family and do well. i don't think that's too unlike life, i don't think it's too unlike the legislative arena and i think more of that could probably be helpful. >> what do you think your loss says about the party's direction for 2016? some of your republican colleagues are already saying that it only emboldins the tea party to elect a more conservative, uncompromising republican candidate. >> first of all, i'm going to leave the political analysis what have happened yesterday to y'all. i would say about the tea party, remember what -- [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2014] >> we're going to leave this and record it later, bring it to you later in the schedule. the house has come back in, members have been debating amendments to the ag culture spending bill. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 16, line 20, fees may be collected for the cost of standardization activities pursuant to 31 u.s.c.

section 1. limitation on expenses, $60,709,000. strengthening markets and plies. section 2, $20,060,000. payments to states and possessions, $1,235,000. grain inspection. packers and stock yards administration. salaries and expenses. $43,722,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk and ask unanimous consent that mr. brun of georgia be added as co-sponsor of the amendment. the clerk: the clerk will report -- the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gardner of colorado. page 5, insert after the dollar amount, redeuced i by $4 ,000,000. page 32 after the dollar amount nsert increased by $4,320,000.

the chair: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from colorado and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the clerk will distribute the amendment. the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. >> thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today in support of the amendment which provides an additional $$3.4 million for tell medicine and distance learning seasons in rural areas. the telemedicine and distance learning program was reduced from f.y. 2014 enacted levels and my amendment restores some of the funding to improve access to health care and education for rural areas. mr. gardner: rural areas are typically local areas where they have local primary care physicians who perform routine checkups and primary care. what if a patient requirings a specialist or has a complicated medical sknzphn my hometown is more than two hours from a number of specialized medical

services, complex trauma centers or oncology centers. the doctors in our area and other rural area does the best they can with the resources they have but most lack the specialization to treat more complicated cases. we can improve patient outcomes, quality of life, lower costs and improve care by utilizing technology that is already available. this amendment provides additional resources for our rural communities to do just that. increases in funding for telemedicine will give patients access to medicine anywhere, any time. this will provide funding to support distance learning services. these fundses will go toward providing better educational opportunities to students in rural areas. there's no reason children should be at a disadvantage simply because of their location. this amendment reduces the drain inspection package and stockyard administration back to the 2014 levels. the responsibility is to oversee the livestock and agriculture products. this agency has more than ample resources to do its work and it is only reducing funds to the f.y. 2014 enacted levels.

this amendment will provide so much more to the people in our rural communities and i urge a yes vote. the chair: does the gentleman reserve the balance of his time? mr. gardner: the gentleman reserves. the chair: does anyone wish to speak in opposition to the amendment? the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. gardner: i thank the chairman for his support and the chairman of the subcommittee for his support and i encourage passage of this bill to help rural colorado and rural america produce and provide greater telemedicine opportunities for the country. i yield back. the chair: all time being yielded back, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed. to -- agreed to. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 50, line 12, limitation on inspection and weighing services expenses, $50 million. office of the undersecretary for food safety, $816,000.

food safety and inspection 005,189,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. grayson: i have an amendment at the desk. grayson number 1. the chair: the clerk will report. the clerk: report offered by mr. grayson of florida. page 19, line 8, after the dollar amount insert, increased by $5,500,000. page 20, line 10, after the dollar amount insert, decrease by $5,500,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 616, the gentleman from florida and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. grayson: thank you, mr. chairman. the purpose of this amendment is to reverse $5.5 million in cuts for food safety and food inspection here in the united states. currently the food safety and inspection service is funded at $1,005,189,000.

that is $5.5 million below the current enacted amount and $17.581 million below the senate allocation in their agriculture appropriations bill. this bill seeks to remove $5.5 million from a pay-for from the farm service agency, the farm service agency is funded at $1,205,068,000 in this bill, that is over $27 million above the current enacted amount and it's $65.5 million above the president's request and $22.5 billion above the senate allocation -- million above the senate allocation. certainly regulation is very important and that's the function of the farm service agency. however, food safety and food inspection is paramount because of all the problems that the country is facing today on this count. according to this study that i have in my hand here from the journal of food protection dated 2012, the economic burden of health laws is due to food-

borne illnesses in the united states. the cost of food-borne illnesses in the united states each year is $77.7 billion. that's $77.7 billion. food safety and food losses, food-borne illnesses lead to 128,000 hospitalization every year and unfortunately 3,000 deaths every year in the united states. specifically we have a total of 3,306 caused by bacteria, by par sides -- par sights and viruses. the ultimate shame of it is that food poisoning is 100% preventable. every single instance of death, hospitalization could be avoided if we had a properly funded and fully funded food inspection system. that is the dilemma that faces us today. each year the inspectors under this bill are required to inspect every animal before slaughter. each carcass after slaughter,

in order to ensure that public health requirements are met. in one recent year, this included 50 billion pounds of livestock carcasses, 59 billion pounds of poultry carcasses and 4.3 billion pounds of processed egg products and at u.s. borders, they also inspect 3.3 billion pounds of imported meat and poultry products. increasingly food safety is a global concern. globalization of food production and trade increases the likelihood of international incidents involving contaminated food. imported food products and ingredients are common in many countries including our own. stronger food safety systems at export countries can reinforce local and cross-border health security but frankly the ultimate responsibility is ours. . 75% of diseases were caused by a bacteria, viruses and pathogens that started in animals and animal products