the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered today by our guest chape lane, reverend george dillard, christian church, peach tree city, georgia. the chaplain: let's pray. almighty god, we come before you with praise and thanksgiving because you are the giver and the sustainer of life. we thank you for freedom, help us to use it well. to bless and not to curse. we thank you for justice, help us to be righteous in its use. we thank you for an abundance of food. help us to be generous. we thank you for life. help us to give it the value it deserves. we thank you for your truth. help us to use it as a light to see the path back to you.

bless the members of this house with wisdom and watch over those who serve in our armed forces as they protect our liberty. forgive us for the error of our ways and thank you for the grace, mercy, forgiveness and love that provide a path to you through jesus, the christ, our king, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance today will be led by the gentleman from new york, mr. tonko. mr. tonko: i ask our many visitors to join in the pledge of allegiance to our flag. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

the speaker: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida rise? ms. ros-lehtinen: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i rise in full support of our friend and ally, the democratic jewish state of israel. since israel disengagement from gaza in 2005, gaza has been a lawless region and since 2007 has been under the rule of a u.s.-designated foreign terrorist organization, hamas. hamas' sole existence is to wipe israel off the face of the planet. over these past few weeks, hamas kidnapped and killed three israeli teens and hamas launched hundred it's of rockets -- hundreds of rockets at innocent israeli civilian population centers including tel aviv and jerusalem.

no nation would allow terrorists to take aim at its citizens so indiscriminantly and israel cannot be expected to allow hamas to continue this attack unabated. the u.s. must support our ally israel as she seeks to protect her sents -- citizens and we must call for the p.a. to divorce itself from hamas. no u.s. funding until they do so. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, over the past few years, buffalo's inner harbor has gone through a startling transformation. mr. higgins: this summer canal side will offer over 1,000 public events, drawing in a million visitors. the same possibility exists for buffalo's outer harbor. there will be public meetings hosted starting tonight to discuss public discussion of the future of the outer harbor.

the success of growth of canal side has been contributed to federal highway dollars and the new york power authority, $279 million federal relicensing settlement. which is now financing the reconstruction of buffalo's long neglected water front. likewise, putting in place the infrastructure to bring western new yorkers to the water's edge at the outer harbor will open it up to public access and private development. a good start would be to remove the structurally deficient skyway bridge and to build a new pedestrian estuarine-friendly harbor bridge which is now in its final stages of review. buffalo has several water plans. get to work. the attraction of buffalo's water front is the water itself. it's our responsibility to build the infrastructure to make that vision a reality. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from missouri seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. there is no bigger problem facing our country right now than getting hardworking

americans back to work with the skills they need to compete in a very tough economy. the biggest travesty is that june marked the 49th month in the last 50 months when more people gave up looking for a job than found one. mrs. wagner: and the only increase in hiring is for part time employees. that's why the house will vote this week on the work force innovation and opportunity act, based on the foundation of the skills act that we passed earlier this year. this commonsense solution eliminates more than a dozen failing programs, saves taxpayer dollars and provides skills training for in-demand jobs. key in-demand jobs needed in my hometown of st. louis, missouri. it's time we start investing in nurses, medical assistants, manufacturing technicians and computer support specialists and stop wasting billions of dollars every year on

ineffective government programs that do little to train individuals with the skills they need. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote yes for opportunity for jobs and for the work force innovation opportunity act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cicilline: i rise today to recognize the rhode island historical preservation and heritage commission. rhode island has more than 16,000 historic buildings, more per square mile than any other state in the country. the first district, which i'm proud to represent, is home to some of rhode island's most cherished places. such as the international tennis hall of fame and the tour synagogue and the beavertown light house in jamestown. these sites also provide an economic boost to our local economy by atrabblingting tourists from across new england, the country and the entire world. led by executive director, the dedicated staff of the rhode island historical preservation commission has worked hard to preserve our national historic

treasures. just last week i joined executive director sanderson in celebrating more than $2.5 in federal funds that were rewarded to rhode island to restore historic properties across the state that were damaged by hurricane sandy. i'm proud to support their efforts which in turn support jobs in rhode island and the construction and tourism industries. and thank their staff for working to preserve our state's rich history for future generations to enjoy. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. today the house will vote on h.r. 803, the work force investment and opportunity act, a bill to reform our nation's work force development programs. today's a culmination of an 18-month bipartisan and bicameral process. the house passed h.r. 03rks the skills act, over a year ago. the senate passed an amended version of h.r. 803 two weeks ago and renamed it the work

force innovation and opportunity act. this bill turns the bipartisan consensus that our work force development system is broken into action. and will provide a long overdue re-authorization of the work force investment act. in short, this legislation will increase access, eliminate waste, promote accountability and empower job creators. most importantly, the work force innovation and opportunity act will give americans access to the resources needed to fill in-demand jobs. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. on sunday i attended a vigil in remembrance of the 47 people that lost their lives in the railway tragedy in quebec last july. this event drew a tremendous crowd, particularly from albany's south endres denlts

who see dozens of oil tank cars outside their homes on a daily basis before entering the port of albany. my constituents are concerned about the potential for another fatal accident in our communities as the trail of oil cars passes over many communities that i represent. that's why i have been urging d.o.t. all year to implement comprehensive regulations to address these safety concerns. we need a higher safety standard on new tank car orders and an aggressive phase-out of the old d.o.t. 111's which have no business transporting hazardous materials. the rail industry has taken voluntary steps to account for the d.o.t. 111's inadequacies but higher federal standards are still needed. we also need to make sure shippers and oil producers are properly handling, degasifying and classifying hazardous materials, particularly volatile crude before it is even loaded into a tank car. i continue to urge d.o.t. to make these much-needed, commonsense and meaningful steps as quickly as possible.

inaction is inexcusable. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. denham: a couple weeks -- mr. lamalfa: a couple weeks ago i mention how'd the e.p.a. has overreached on making every drop of water in the united states its jurisdiction. whether if falls on the field, in your driveway or is collected in a rain barrel or puddle, they want to be in control of it. before indiana holiday the other day, they entered another rule where they seek to be the judge, jury and executioner on deciding what the fines are going to be and how they're going to carry them out, without jurisprudence, without having an oversight by an independent party. they seek to instead be the ones that collect the fines after finding somebody guilty of a possible alleged violation.

e.p.a. has already nearly triple the -- tripled the amount of fines it has taken in since 2009 so is this about the environment or revenue generation and putting people on the defensive? i think they need to pull back this rule and they need to hear from the american people, mr. speaker, about how devastating this is for the economy and for the well-being of americans. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: mr. speaker, our nation suffers from an infrastructure crisis. but if we want to remain globally competitive, goods movement is the ticket to our nation's economic success. although i understand we're going to do a short-term fix for the highway trust fund, i've come up with an idea for a long-term fix that creates a dedicated funding source to better serve our roads and railways, that connect the

freight network to the ports of entry in this country. this dedicated freight network trust fund will help fund critical infrastructure like dedicated truck lanes on the the ays, better bridges, trust fund will be made up of existing fees that we already collect at our nation's ports. and will be at no new cost to businesses or taxpayers. this fund will infuse nearly $2 billion back into the economy every year. it will help create good-paying american jobs, keep our nation's ports strong and globally competitive. i believe this idea is a win-win for our ports, our small businesses and for our nation's economy. i urge my colleagues to support the national freight network trust act. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. westmoreland: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to thank our chaplain

today, pastor george dillard, to the u.s. house floor. and i'm proud that he hails from georgia's third congressional district. i've known pastor dillard, his wife, renee, and their three children, tiffany, alex and stewart, for many years and they are very good friends. he's a godly man serving as senior minister at the peach tree city christian church and has touched many souls and hearts through his ministry and his book "seven things that god desires for us." this morning i had a chance to visit with george and his son and am thankful that they traveled all the way from the third district of georgia to share god's message with us today in the u.s. house of representatives. and i hope this faithful message that he gave today will remind us of our true purpose here in washington. and it helps carry our nation through the week. because lord only knows that we need it.

thank you again, pastor dillard, and we appreciate you and we appreciate your friendship and appreciate your summeren this -- sermon this morning. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from delaware seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. carney: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, if you drive down interstate 95 in my home state of delaware right now, you'll see license plates from up and down the northeast corridor. crawling at a snail's pace. as a result of structural damage, a bridge that carries 90,000 cars a day is closed until after labor day. in delaware, we're feeling the importance of investing in our nation's infrastructure firsthand. it's critical for public safety, but it's also important for commerce, tourism and our quality of life. just as important, building roads and bridges creates jobs for workers right here in america. if congress does nothing, the highway trust fund won't have enough money to pay its bills come the end of the summer.

that's the source of money that pays for building or impairing roads and bridges all throughout the country. finding the funds to fix our nation's crumbling infrastructure will not be easy. but putting it off is not an option. i urge my colleagues to find the political will to fund the highway trust fund and ensure that our nation's infrastructure reflect it's our 21st century -- reflects our 21st century needs. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? . >> the house is back in session to continue our work, but millions of hardworking americans still find it difficult to find that good-paying job to keep their american dream alive. mr. yoder: small businesses responsible for 2/3 of all new jobs created in our economy continue to struggle to stay afloat. that's why the house must pass pro-jobs legislation to provide economic opportunities for all americans to succeed. as you know, mr. speaker, we passed 40 bills that reduce red

tape for american businesses, cut regulatory burdens, and reformed the tax code. sadly these bills are held up in the senate. now we can continue to help hardworking americans by passing bipartisan legislation that promotes needed job skills training for high demand jobs, streamlines mandates, reduces administrative costs and unnecessary bureaucracy, and provides more accountability when spending tax dollars. mr. speaker, i encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this commonsense legislation. these are the kinds of pro-growth, pro-jobs bills the american people expect from their congressmen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mrs. davis: mr. speaker, last week we learned that employers added 1.4 million jobs in the first six months of this year. that's the strongest six months for growth since 2006. and it's great news for many american families. but there's more we can and

that we should be doing. the other day i was fortunate enough to attend the white house summit on working families where business leaders, advocates, legislators, and americans all came together from all walks of life to discuss issues facing working parents. mr. speaker, the american work force has changed dramatically. in recent decades, and the workplace must change with it. more and more women are now the primary breadwinners for their families, but they still lack the support they need to balance work with their responsibilities at home. sadly, the tsh-instead of considering initiatives to improve the lives of working families and strengthening the middle class, this house has started playing politics, this week the house majority announced plans for a three-week process to sue president obama. no word yet on what they plan to sue him for. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. mrs. davis: the american people

deserve better, mr. speaker. we need to move ahead on the issues that concern the american people. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. ms. wilson: mr. speaker, i'm asking the world to join together as we refuse to let the abducted nigerian girls vanish from the international headlines. by tweeting every day, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., eastern standard time, using he #bringbackour girls and #join-repwilson. we have good luck jonathan from nigeria to speak about the resources his country used to try to find the girls and read about the role in developing a

concealed rescue plan. mr. speaker, we know that these are excuses from niger yoo -- nigeria. we have seen un-able acts of terror committed almost daily. we have seen the military officially wrap up its investigation into the kidnapping without locating the girls. we have seen president jonathan spend over $1 million in a public relations campaign in an attempt to reshape his image. mr. speaker, president jonathan, we are still waiting to see you bring home those kidnapped girls. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. ms. wilson: tweet, tweet, tweet. tweet, tweet, tweet. bring back our girls. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. s for what purpose does the gentleman from connecticut seek recognition? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. himes: like so many of us i was at home last week listening to my constituents and concern about the dysfunction.

i discovered there is a great deal of confugs about what dysfunction is. my friends from the other side of the aisle said we sent all kinds of bills in the senate. held up in the senate. this is not dysfunction. it may not be happy for my friends on the other side of the aisle, but the senate is held by democrats. if you send them legislation that is inspired by the tea party, they are not going to pass that. that's not dysfunction. that's a refusal to govern. meanwhile, mr. speaker, over here, there are five bills that if they were brought to the floor today would pass with significant majorities and each and every one of them would help the economy and create jobs. the re-authorization of the eximbank. comprehensive immigration reform, topping off the highway trust fund, extending unemployment insurance, and terrorism risk insurance. five bills we could pass today. but the american people need to understand as they think about dysfunction that those bills will not be brought up. this house will not work its will. it will not be allowed to work its will. mr. speaker, let this house work its will. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

for what purpose does the gentlelady from nevada seek recognition? ms. titus: ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. titus: thank you. in just a few days, the highway trust fund will become insolvent. that sounds shocking but it's really not news. in fact, we were warned of this possibility in a g.a.o. report issued in march of 2012. yet here we are with just a few weeks to go before we fall off yet another man-made cliff, and still no solution has been brought to the floor for a vote. this irresponsible inaction by my colleagues across the aisle is inflicting damage on the nation's economy and on states across the country. in nevada alone, over 100 projects are in danger of being delayed or canceled, affecting some 6,000 construction workers, their families, and ancillary business that is are associated with them.

this includes six multimillion dollar improvements to i-15 which is the main north-south corridor that runs through the heart of las vegas. we cannot afford nor can we risk kicking this can down an already deteriorated road. it's time for congress to step up, come together, and offer real solutions that invest in our future. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to make sure that we continue to address the threat of boko haram and make sure we continue to work with the country of nigeria. ms. bass: it's been over two months since boko haram kidnapped over 300 girls from their school. for many americans this is the first time they heard of bokeo had a a ram, even though the organization has been attacking, kidnapping, and killing innocent nigerians since 2009. but nigeria's much more than boko haram.

i recently traveled there with commerce secretary and 20 american companies on an energy business development trade mission. nigeria is africa's economic powerhouse that has incredible potential for partnership with american businesses. nigeria recently surpassed south africa as the largest economy in africa, and with a population of nearly 170 million people, partnering with nigerian businesses will benefit the american economy. although we must continue our efforts to fight boko haram, we need to also make sure we engage nigeria as our partner. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. today millions of americans across the country need emergency unemployment insurance to support their families, to provide for the very basic needs as those

hardworking americans have lost their previous job and are simply in search of their next opportunity. through no fault of their own. but somehow this issue has been turned into a partisan issue. it's not partisan issue back home. there's no such thing as a democratic or republican unemployed person. they are unemployed and they are looking for all the help they can get. so the week before last i and three of my democratic colleagues and mr. lobiondo, republican on the other side, and three of his colleagues, introduced bipartisan unemployment insurance extension. it's a mirror image of the language that's been introduced by mr. reid and mr. heller in the senate. this is a bipartisan bill. we can take this up right now. is it a bill i would have written by myself? no. in fact, i did submit an extension of unemployment that the house has not taken up. but we have compromised. we ought to do the work of the american people.

we have a bipartisan bill to extend unemployment insurance. the house should take it up immediately. millions of americans need it. it's upon us to take this action. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, i rise today to join with others across the nation to ask congress to pass the voting rights amendment. mrs. beatty: i have the distinct pleasure to join last week near our capital some 3,000 members of the links incorporated at the national assembly, and the 15th national president, margo james copeland, and chair of key bank and national legislative chair and ohio health president, karen morrison, of their foundation, to lead a resolution to support the voting rights act of america.

links members proudly voted in support of a resolution calling on congress to pass the voting rights amendment act, h.r. 3899. martin luther king jr. said, our feet are tired, but our souls are rested. let us say the same of ourselves as we continue the unfinished work of ensuring every american, madam speaker, cannot only vote but has the freedom, the justice, and the dignity that all individuals rightly deserve. let us join together as democrats and republicans and ass the voting rights act. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> madam speaker, today i rise to congratulate a small business in my community for 25

great years, holy land bakery and deli has become a quintessential part of our town in millions, and it is not only a good place to go and have a bite, but it's also a great place for social space. mr. ellison: recently, they just expanded their facility in honor of their 21st anniversary and they really feel proud about that because they have been providing jobs and opportunity for so many years. the c.e.o. of holyland wasdhi and mr. his brother. they provide excellent food that they prepared based on recipes that their mother gave them when she immigrated from palestine many years ago. for every small businessperson in america and including holyland restaurant and deli, happy 25 years to them and may you have another 25 years

serving your great treats and offering wonderful social space. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. madam speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 803, the work force innovation and opportunity act. this bipartisan legislation being debated today re-authorizes the work force investment act which has been instrumental in helping workers get skills they need for the jobs of today. n my visits with the investment work and he section county investment board, it is clear we must emphasize proven career pathways for our workers. further, when we implement jobs training, it is critical we

include local input from stakeholders like our community colleges, faith-based organizations, and labor to truly break down barriers to employment. i commend my colleagues on the house education and work force committee and the senate health committee for their continued commitment to the re-authorization of w.i.a., and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the work force innovation and opportunity act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today in support of passage of immigration reform. but i also want to talk about the humanitarian disaster that continues to unfold on the nation's southern borders. tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors are fleeing to america from the

drug war raging in the streets of the cities and towns where they live, in honduras, guatemala and el salvador. those children fortunate enough to survive the treacherous journey to america are not illegals, they are children who need america's mercy and our humanitarian assistance. immediate deportation without a chance for a fair hearing on their refugee status is morally repugnant and just plain wrong. this week the president requested over $3 billion to deal with this crisis that is a direct consequence of the drug war which america is waging south of the border. congress must act. america should act. as the good samaritan. and with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: madam speaker, by direction of the house republican conference, i send to the desk a privileged

resolution and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 660,s remain solved, that the following named member -- resolved, that the following named member be -- ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, -- pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered. or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and concur with the senate amendments to the bill, h.r. 803. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 803, an act to reform and strengthen the work force investment system of the nation, to put americans back to work and make the united states more competitive in the 21st century. senate amendments. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. kline, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. tierney, each will control 20 minutes. the chair will recognize the

gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on h.r. 803. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kline: madam speaker, i rise today in support of the work force innovation and opportunity act and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. men and women across the country are struggling to make ends meet. many have lost a job and others are working more for less. learning a new skill or trade can open the door to that next opportunity a worker desperately needs yet too often flawed policies stand in the way. quite frankly our nation's job training system is broken. we have too many ineffective programs, too much bureaucracy and very little accountability. the voices of job creators are stifled, state and local leaders are tied up in red tape, and hard-earned taxpayer dollars are wasted. we've known about these problems for years. but have failed to act until

now. we have an opportunity to advance reforms that will help all americans compete and succeed in today's work force. the work force innovation and opportunity act is based on four principles necessary for a modern, efficient and effective job training system. first, the bill streamlines a confusing maze of federal programs and mandates. let's make it easier for workers to access the support they need to get back to work. second, the bill promotes skills training for in-demand jobs. it's time to prepare workers for the jobs of the future, not the jobs of the past. third, the bill will reduce uns in -- unnecessary bureaucracy and administrative costs. we need to stop squandering money on a bloated bureaucracy and start ensuring these limited resources go to workers in need. fourth and finally, this act provides strong accountability over the use of taxpayer dollars. we will know where the taxpayer investment is paid off and impose real consequences when a

program isn't getting the job done. last year the house-passed job training reform legislation known as the skills act. the bill incorporated these principles and i am pleased they are reflected in the bipartisan, bicameral agreement before us today. is this a perfect solution? no, it's not. in some areas i wish we could have done more. but will this agreement protect and deliver the kind of employment support workers need to get back on their feet? i believe it will and urge my colleagues to support it. before closing, madam speaker, i'd like to thank some of my colleagues who helped make this possible. congresswoman virginia foxx, chair of the work force training subcommittee, is without a doubt the leading champion for a stronger, more accountable work force development system. mr. george miller, senior democrat on the education and work force committee, is no stranger to this issue and reminds a -- remains a tireless advocate for america's workers. i'm grateful for the leadership of senators, the chairman and ranking member of the health,

education and labor pensions committee and hope this is one of many bicameral compromises we reach this year. i'd also like to thank mr. buck mckeon, as well as representatives hinojosa and joe heck. and last but not least, senator murray and my good friend, senator isaacson, were both instrumental in our work. finally, madam speaker, we wouldn't be here today without the hard work of our staffs. the majority and minority staffs of the relevant house and senate committees put in more hours than they care to remember. unfortunately there isn't time to recognize them all. however, a few stand out on our side of the aisle that merit mention. julian sullivan, the committee staff director, is a trusted advise who are helped us navigate the choppy waters that arose along the way. brad thomas helped ensure the bill addresses the unique needs of americans with disabilities. james, our former director of education policy, left the committee before this compromise was announced, but his knowledge and expertise are

present on every page of this agreement. and finally, rosemary, whose passion and dedicated kept this movement forward when it seemed like it couldn't get done. there aren't enough words to describe her incredible contribution, we're all grateful for her service. with that, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support the work force innovation and opportunity act and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back and reserves his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. tierney: as my colleagues know, the work force investment act is a primary federal law that governs the nation's job training and work force development system. through this system people of different ages and abilities can enter one of the career centers scattered throughout the country and obtain career counseling, skill assessments and training, all in the service of finding employment and providing a better future for themselves and their families. quite simply, the work force investment act is the federal law that does two big things. one, it helps people acquire the skills, education and

training they need to get a job. and, two, it ensures businesses can hire qualified personnel so they can grow in our economy -- and our economy can thrive. that's what it's all about. today with consideration of the work force innovation and opportunity act, we appear to have reached the culmination of what has been a long process to extend and improve the work force investment act. today i'm please to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle -- i'm pleased to join with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, organizations and members of the senate in voicing my strong support for the bipartisan, bicameral work force innovation and opportunity act. i also note that it includes many components of legislation that i have filed for last two years or two terms in congress, h.r. 798 being this session's iteration. both this bill and mine maintain the core structure of the system for the delivery of employment and training services. both increase coordination and alignment of work force development programs. both eliminate the esequence of services requirement -- the

sequence of service requirements. both preserve the integrity of the three-state formula grant programs for youth, adults and dislocated workers. both maintain the current business majority requirement and specify that main mum of 20% of the board be represented by the work force. both include nearly identical performance accountability measures and both preserve and protect the adult literacy program in title 2. both maintain the current vocational rehabilitation administrative structure and delivery system and emphasize increasing the involvement of employers in the vocational rehab system. and the list goes on. madam speaker, modernizing and strengthening the work force investment act has been one of my top priorities since being elected to congress and i'm pleased that we're just about at the finish line and that the bill before us today includes much of what i proposed and advocated. before reserving my time, i want to say, this bill is likely to be the biggest job bill that passes the house and gets signed into law this session. but it's evidence also of what is achievable if we work

together. i've long said that when it comes to the work force investment act, our areas of agreement far outnumber of our areas of disagreement and that our differences were surmountble. we finally got there. i want to thank chairman harkin, senator murray and senator alexander, chairman kline, ranking member miller, representative foxx and representative hinojosa and all the staff who were involved for their unwavering commiltment to getting this done. this is a good, bipartisan bill. it deserves the support of the house so it can be cleared and be signed into law by president obama and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. now, i'm very, very pleased to yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from north carolina, the principle author of the skills act, which got this ball rolling. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from north carolina is recognized. ms. foxx: thank you, madam speaker. i want to thank the chairman for his support in this and all the members of the committee who helped work on this bill. i'd like to add my thanks to

those that the chairman has made to the staff and in particular julian sullivan, brian, rosemary, for the incredible work that they have done. i also want to thank eric cantor, our majority leader, and senators isaacson and patty murray for the wonderful support that they've given. madam speaker, today's vote on the work force innovation opportunity act is important for the mms of americans who are looking for work. it's also important for the employers who have 4.6 million job opportunities that remain unfilled due to the skills act. closing this gap will specifically improve the lives of many americans who are currently looking for work while generally helping our economy grow. today's vote is the culmination of an 18-month process of ledge -- of legislating the old-fashioned way. discussion, negotiation and compromise. this has been a bipartisan and bicameral process. it has been a privilege to play

a role in it. madam speaker, as you know, last year the house passed h.r. 803, the skills act, a bill to reform our nation's mishmash of work force development programs. about two weeks ago, after much negotiation, the senate passed an amended version of h.r. 803, and renamed it the work force innovation and opportunity act. this bill will provide a long overdue re-authorization of the work force investment act and will reform some of the broken aspects of that system. there's longstanding bipartisan agreement that the current work force development system is broken. even president obama recognizes that. in his 2012 state of the union, president obama called for cutting through the maze of training programs in order to do something about jobs going unfilled due to the lack of skilled workers. this bill turns that bipartisan

consensus into action. madam speaker, in short, this legislation will increase access, eliminate waste, promote accountability, empower job creators and give americans access to the resources needed to fill in-demand jobs. again, i want to thank all those who have been involved with helping get this legislation enacted. it's my hope that this process serves as the template to address some of the dozens of other house-passed jobs bills that still need a hearing in the senate. let this be the starting point for action on many other vital issues that need our attention. working together we can get things done. in that spirit, i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 803 and sending this important bipartisan, bicameral legislation to the president's desk and i yield back the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i'd like to get three -- give three minutes to mr. hinojosa from texas, the gentleman who has been deeply involved in the passage of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for three minutes. mr. hinojosa: thank you, mr. chairman, for mr. hinojosa: madam speaker, i rise in strong support of the underlying bill h.r. 803, entitled the work force innovation and opportunity act. as the ranking member of the subcommittee on higher education and work force training, i applaud senators harkin, murray, alexanderer, and isakson for their extraordinary leadership in advancing this bipartisan, bicameral legislation in the , and with a vote of 95-3 that, ladies and gentlemen, is quite an accomplishment. in the house of representatives i commend my colleagues from the education and work force

committee, our chairman, john kline, and our u.s. representatives, george miller, virginia foxx, and john tierney. all working in a bipartisan manner on this vitally important piece of legislation. in my view, helping americans get back on track must be our top priority. today congress has an opportunity to re-authorize the work force investment act known as w.i.a. and do more to support american workers in accessing good family, sustaining jobs and careers. first and foremost, i'm pleased that the underlying bill makes significant improvements to our nation's public work force training and adult education system. the bill promotes career pathways and utilizes sector strategies for delivering job training services, strategies that have been successful in

south texas. this bill, h.r. 803, preserves national programs for migrant and seasonal farm workers, as well as dislocated workers and disadvantaged youth, native americans, and people with disabilities. these are the populations that face significant barriers to employment and education. in the area of adult education, this bill integrates adult education and workplace skills. it authorizes the integrated english literacy, and civics education program for adult learningers. and it expands access to post secondary education. importantly, this bipartisan bill includes several key provisions from the adult education and economic growth act, which i introduced. for these reasons it is no surprise that there is

overwhelming support from business groups, from labor unions, from state and local elected officials, and community colleges, as well as work force boards, adult education providers, youth organizations, and civil rights groups, for this bill. in closing, i strongly urge members of the house of representatives to join me and our senate colleagues in supporting american workers by passing h.r. 803. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. klein: thank you, madam speaker -- mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i can unanimous consent for members to submit extraneous material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. now it is my great pleasure and honor to yield one minute to the majority leader, the gentleman from virginia, mr. cantor. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia, our majority leader, for one minute. mr. cantor: thank you, madam

speaker. i thank the chairman, the gentleman from minnesota. madam speaker, i rise today in support of work force innovation and opportunity act. for america to work, we need effective education and work force development programs to strengthen the middle class. today, however, too many americans are looking for work without the necessary skills to match job openings. this skills gap is keeping our economy from recovering and reaching its full potential. a recent study by georgetown university indicated that we'll be short by 11 million workers in the year 2022 because of the lack of postsecondary education or skills training. if we allow ourselves to continue down this dangerous path, we'll only see feeble economic growth for the future. fortunately, we have an opportunity to reverse that trend with this piece of legislation. this bill before the house today will make it easier for

americans to find a job by consolidating 15 federal work force development programs and aligning them with the skills, training, and education initiatives. plain and simple, this bill is about putting people back to work. i know these kinds of commonsense reforms will help americans find a job because i have seen them succeed. on a recent trip to seamans energy with several colleagues, we met a young girl named hope. hope along with others is an apprentice there. in return for her commitment to work there, they are paying for her education at a local community college where she's receiving the skills needed for the manufacturing industry of today. this is a terrific example on how the public and private sectors can work together to keep our country competitive while training workers for the jobs of tomorrow. the work force innovation opportunity act will make it easier for these partnerships

to flourish around the country. passing this bill is a small but important step towards strengthening our middle class. kick starting our economy, and giving people a chance to climb the economic ladder of success. american workers deserve to know that their government is making it easier for them, not harder. it's making it easier for them to keep a steady paycheck, to increase those wages, and provide for their families. i want to thank the commitment, the long-term commitment of the gentleman from minnesota, the chairman of the education and rk force committee, too to this issue of skills training education and development. he's been tireless in its advocacy. i also want to thank our colleague, congresswoman virginia foxx from north carolina, who has also been a fierce advocate for skills education and making sure that those who don't have the skills are given the opportunity to do so-so that they, too, can climb

the ladder of success. the entire membership of the education and work force committee deserves our thanks, too, for their hard work on this issue. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation so that we can once again create an america that works and works again for everybody. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia yields back. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: i yield two minutes to our democratic whip, steny hoyer from maryland. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for two minutes. mr. hoyer: before he leaves the floor i want to say to the majority leader, i thank him as well for his leadership. the majority leader and i have discussed this skills act for a number of months. perhaps as long ago as when this bill passed the house. this bill passed the house on a partisan vote. the majority leader observed numerous times, and i agreed with him, this should not be a

partisan issue. the good news today is that it will pass on a bipartisan vote. the system works today. the american people are going to be advantaged. all those whom the majority spoke of will be advantaged as well. the fact of the matter is we passed a bill through this house, the senate passed a bill, went to conference, we worked out an agreement, and we are now going to support that in a bipartisan fashion. that will be a positive for our country. so i asm pleased to rise, mr. speaker, in -- i am pleased to rise, mr. speaker, in support of this bill. an example how democrats and republicans can work together to re-authorize important programs that support a strong economy and a growing middle class. we have an agenda on our side we call make it in america. everybody in this house is for americans making it in this country. succeeding. this bill will provide job seekers with the in nand skills

and training they need to get hired for the jobs that pay well and provide access to opportunities. in short, it will help more of our people make it in america. while house democrats were disappointed that republicans passed a partisan bill last year, i'm glad that in the spirit of compromise has now prevailed and republicans agreed to work with us and the senate to craft a bipartisan bill that incorporates key provisions of the democratic alternate to last year's -- alternative to last year's bill which was part of house democrats' make it in america plan for jobs and competitiveness. this bipartisan legislation will continue to ensure -- may i have an additional minute, mr. chairman? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: this bipartisan legislation will continue to ensure that adults, youth, and dislocated workers can receive the assistance they need to succeed in the job market. it will focus resources on essential programs that most effectively serve job seekers while eliminating less

effective ones. this is the kind of legislation we ought to be passing. i applaud the ranking member. i ablaud the chairman of the committee for bringing -- i applaud the chairman of the committee for bringing this bill to the floor and i urge my colleagues to support it and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield a minute to the chair of the subcommittee on work force protections, the gentleman from michigan, mr. walberg. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. mr. walberg: i thank the chairman. mr. speaker, i rise in support of the work force innovation and opportunity act. a bill born out of the substantial efforts of chairman kleine, congresswoman foxx, and the house education and work force committee to help the unemployed train themselves for good paying jobs. in my michigan district there are hardworking individuals, businesses, and colleges committeed to reinventing the state's work force programs. but we need to provide the tools to support their efforts.

this bicameral compromise replaces the confusing maze of work force programs. it also provides funds to state and local organizations to partner with local employers to highlight emerging career opportunities. most importantly, this legislation will provide the necessary training, retraining, and educational opportunities to help americans get back to work building a life of self-sufficiency and success. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and work towards growing a healthy economy, expanding opportunity for all. i also encourage the senate with 293 other bills that we have sent to them. to work in a compromise to send the jobs bills back like this that will promote good opportunities in america. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: at this time, i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, who is the ranking member of the committee, and as the chairman of the committee said, no stranger to this issue, has been a champion of the work force investment act and

improvement all along, mr. george miller. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. miller: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. miller: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. chairman, i rise in strong support of the bipartisan, bicameral work force investment and opportunity act. i want to thank my colleagues, representative tierney and hinojosa, for their commitment on improving our work force training system. a job that they have labored at now for many years. i want to thank senators harkin, murry, alexander, and isakson for their leadership. and thank the chairman of the committee, mr. kline, from minnesota, and the subcommittee chair, virginia foxx, for their leadership and cooperation on this legislation. of course the professional staff on both sides of the aisle in the house and in the senate. this is a critical moment. with almost 20 million americans still out of work, workers need help learning skills and finding good jobs. each year w.i.a., vocational rehabilitation program, serves millions of americans in need of job training and employment services. without the change -- with a rapidly changing work force and

competitive global economy, we need to update and improve the work force training programs. for 40 years these vital programs have been authorized and re-authorized through bipartisan collaboration. i'm happy to see that that tradition continues today. i'm especially pleased the bill maintains strong protections and funding for populations in need, while streamlining programs to create new accountability measures. this bill would improve job training programs and aligns the training with real world labor market needs. it better aligns vocational and prohibits programs with special education services to help youth with disability transition into college or the work force. it empowers people with disabilities to succeed in competitive, integrated employment, and it emphasizes the needs of youth, dislocated workers, undereducated adults and english learners. this bill makes other critical changes. similar to tierney-hinojosa democratic bill, this agreement makes job training programs more efficient and effective. it requires states to develop unified work force plans to

coordinate their job training programs. standardizes accountability metrics across programs. it suts the size of state and local boards so they can be more flexible. and it includes new benchmarks help training programs to help participants earn certifications -- mr. bumble is up here talking about this bill. certifications that will allow them to find employment. i can't do anything in three minutes. the bill also includes an innovative policy solution. most importantly to me, this bill better connects job training programs with the needs of local employers and gives local employers a larger voice and requires sector initiatives that both the state and local levels. it gives workers access to training for long-term job readiness and not just immediate employment. it helps prevent students with disabilities from being funneled into subminimum wage employment, and it includes competency based education so adults can get credit for what they have already learned.

some will say the bill doesn't cut enough programs, others will say it didn't create enough. but this is compromise legislation that aims for the middle ground. i think it's been accomplished and i think the efficiencies have also been accomplished in this legislation. i ask for an aye vote on h.r. 803, and i think it will support much, much needed improvements in the primary federal programs to invest in america's work force and again i thank my colleagues on the committee for all their attention and all their hard work. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. can i inquire as to the time remaining on each side? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota has 11 minutes. the gentleman from massachusetts has 8 1/2. the speaker pro tempore: thank you, madam speaker. now i am pleased to yield a minute to the chair of the subcommittee on health, employment and labor pensions. the gentleman from tennessee, dr. roe. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. mr. roe: thank you, mr. chairman. madam speaker, i rise in strong support of the conference report, h.r. 803, the work force innovation and opportunity act. today, 9 1/2 million americans are out of work, despite 4.6 million job openingment -- openings. as our economy changes, so too will the jobs available. and we'll see more and more less skilled workers and jobs being replaced by skill-intensive jobs. we have to make sure our work force can keep up or we will lose these jobs to countries that prioritize the development of these skills. h.r. 03 works to close -- h.r. 803 works to close a skills gap hat helps our workers get jobs in certain ways. at one point there were 40 different jobs training programs in the federal government whose missions often overlapped and left job seekers confused. this legislation consolidates 15 ineffective or duplicative programs and makes the job of

navigating a complicated bureaucracy easier for job seekers. the reform work force training boards seeks to ensure that a majority of board members are from the business community. job creaters who know best what skills they need in their work force. this legislation's a good first step to helping the unemployed, particularly those who have been out of for many, many months -- been out of work for many, many mobblets -- months. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from colorado, mr. poll ills. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado ises i -- mr. polis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: i thank the gentleman from massachusetts. 1998 was the last time the work force investment act was authorized. i recall i was on the state board of education in colorado, 2000 to 2006, as the act expired in 2003 they said, oh, congress will do it next year. 2004 they said, maybe they'll do it next year. 2005, maybe they'll do it next

year. next year, next year, next year. i'm proud to say that thanks to the work of chairman kline, ranking member miller, mr. tierney and others, we are finally at the point where we are re-authorizing the work force investment program. i'm particularly thrilled to see that many aspects of my women's win job pract are included in this -- jock program are included in this -- job program are included in this act. this will ensure women receiving training for higher paid jobs to help them reach pay parity with men. the legislation's reference to assisting women and minorities in succeeding in nontraditional careers will help women and minorities participate in higher wage jobs that open the doors of opportunity this country has to offer. it's also great that we recognize the need for adult education, helping many of our new immigrants learn english so they can live the american dream. i applaud my colleagues and their staff in both the house and the senate. i look forward to supporting this bill on the house floor today and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i now yield one minute to another key member of the committee, the gentleman from nevada, mr. heck. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nevada is recognize -- dr. heck. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nevada is recognized for one minute. mr. heck: thank you, madam speaker. with nevada continuing to have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, my number one priority in congress remains strengthening our economy and getting back to work. that's why i strongly support the bipartisan work force innovation and opportunity act. which streamlines and strengthens local work force investment boards and ensures they are training workers for the jobs of today and tomorrow, not the jobs of yesterday. i proposed similar reforms as part of the local jobs act which i introduced after hearing from countless employers that they were looking to hire but unable to find workers with the skills they required. this bill will help solve that problem. i want to thank chairman kline, ranking member miller, and all those involved in this process for working with me to include these important changes that will help both the unemployed

and underploipped workers gain the skills and -- underemployed workers gain the skill and training they need. i urge support for this bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this time i'd like to yield one minute to our colleague from oregon, ms. bonamici. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from oregon is recognized for one minute. ms. bonamici: thank you, madam speaker. thank you for yielding. i rise today to support the bipartisan work force innovation and opportunity act. this bill shows that we can work together to adopt policies that will put our constituents back to work, give them opportunity and keep our economy on the road to recovery. one of the first bills i introduced in congress was the wise investment act that was designed to address the skills gap challenge by matching local businesses with work force boards and community colleges, to train our auto work constituents for in-demand occupation. although i wasdy pointed that that act was not -- although i was disappointed that that act

was not included in this bill, the bill does take steps to ensure that local businesses have a role in job training, by including an important focus on sector partnerships. this bill represents a strong step forward for our nation's unemployed and for our economy. i commend chairman kline and ranking member miller and my colleagues on the committee for their work to bring this bill to the floor and i urge its adoption. thank you, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. now, i'd like to yield two minutes, two minutes to another member of the committee, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. guthrie. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized for two minutes. mr. guthrie: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to support the work force innovation and opportunity act and it's important. when i first came to congress i was a sponsor of this bill, when it was in our economy, when i first came here. and my experience is, i worked for 18 years before i came to congress, and my family -- in my family's manufacturing business.

i remember when i first got there, we needed skilled workers and we found out, we were trying to find skilled workers and we found out we had a plant full of very smart people who just didn't figure it out when they were in high school for some reason. so i've seen what additional training and education will do for adults. robotics repairmen, computer control machine programmers to a high-wage, high-skilled job and lifestyle. and also as i traveled through my district, there's not a single business that i've visited any time recently, even the unemployment numbers where they are, not a single business wloorks they're advertising in the paper -- business, whether or not they're advertising in the paper, not a single one that says that if the right person came today with the skills i need i would hire them. so this is what we're hearing today. this is what's happening. the process has worked. we're coming together to make sure that the workers are going to get a hand up. and we are going to -- we're

going to make sure they have the opportunity to improve themselves. i've seen it, madam speaker. i've seen it. when people go through these programs and they complete them successfully, they don't just become a more valuable employee. each employee becomes more valuable to his and herself. so i'm very proud to be here, i'm very proud to support this. i appreciate our chairman and our -- and ms. foxx of north carolina and all the work together, through the house and senate, to give the workers of america a victory today. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this point i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from connecticut who has been a strong member of the committee and an advocate for some time, joe courtney. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from connecticut is recognized for one minute. mr. courtney: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of this bipartisan consensus bill and i want to congratulate mr. tierney for his steadfast work

going back years and getting this to this point today. i also want to congratulate the members from across the aisle, who in agreeing to this bill, rejected the sequester level of spending which was in the original bill that was passed earlier this session. that sequester level of spending was going to handcuff job training efforts so that we could not in fact achieve the goals that this bill will in fact get us to, when it passes later today. for example, the bill allows the employer support to go to 75% for on the job training and 20% support for incumbent worker training. allowing that support to rise will give employers the flexibility and the opportunity to give new workers the skills that they need for advanced manufacturing and high-skilled jobs that they can't take that risk on for people with the cost that it would bear. this bill gives them that support and that help. but it's because we rejected the unrealistic sequester

levels, which the ryan budget and which the original bill incorporated, now let's do it for cancer research, let's do it for law enforcement, let's do it for homeland security. let's get rid of sequester and let's allow this economy and this country to get the resources it needs to grow and thrive for its middle class. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. now i'd like to yield to a member of the committee, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly, main and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is -- a minute and a half. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for a minute and a half. mr. kelly: i'm so glad to be here today talking about this. as we congratulate each other on this great work, this bipartisan work, and bicameral, my, what a wonderful piece of legislation, because what we're really trying to do is get people back to work. in webster's definition of education, it's the ultimate function of education is to prepare us for complete living. that is the key to this. but you know who the biggest winner in this program is?

the hardworking american taxpayers who fund every penny of these programs. i think sometimes we forget about who it is that does this. we think it actually takes place in this house. it doesn't. it takes place in houses, but it's the homes around the united states, it's he's thard -- it's these hardworking american taxpayers that deserve a much better return on their investment. it's just that simple. so if we're going to get people ready for the labor market, let's redirect those funds, let's make sure that it's more effective and more efficient and something that the people look at and say, you know what, i didn't mind putting money in those programs because there was a positive result from it. so from a standpoint of congratulating each other and patting each other on the back and how wonderful this is, what to do is take this moment to thank the hardworking american taxpayers who fund every single penny of these programs. i thank you all for your work, chairman, i thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from minnesota

reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this point in time i'd like to engage in a colloquy with the gentleman from illinois, mr. danny davis. mr. davis: will the gentleman yield? mr. tierney: i yield to the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: i thank the gentleman from massachusetts for addressing this important matter. the purpose for this colloquy is to clarify the intent of section 225 of the work force innovation and opportunity act. as we know correctional integration and job training are greatly need. ed. they foster re-entry through increased employment and decreased criminal behavior and save taxpayer money. i am pleased that the bill before us broadens the use of funds for correctional education, to include a range of education and job training activities needed by incarcerated individuals for educational and career advancement. i want to make clear the congressional intent of section 225, to include activities that support transitions to

postsecondary education, work force training offer alongside adult education are concurrent enrollment for the purpose of educationle and career advancement -- educational and career advancement are also attaining a recognized postsecondary credential which may include an associate or bachelor degree. mr. tierney: will the gentleman yield? mr. davis: i yield to the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. tierney: ases i understand section 225, the definitions you mentioned are as you stated. mr. davis: will the gentleman yield? mr. tierney: i yield to the gentleman from illinois. mr. davis: i thank the gentleman for clarifying the congressional intent of section 225. i urge passage of this bill and yield back. mr. tierney: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i now yield 1 1/2 minutes to another member of the committee, the gentlelady from indiana, ms. brooks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from indiana is recognized for a minute and a half. mrs. brooks: madam speaker, i

rise today in support of americans who want to fill the 4.6 million open jobs that are in this country today. i rise in support of the hoosiers who want to fill 150 open jobs in the small community of hartford city, indiana. in support of this bipartisan skills act, the legislation that will help americans get the skills they need to fill these job openings, employers tell me day in and day out that they can't find the workers with the skills necessary to fill open jocks. and by stream lining our -- jobs. and by streamlining our bureaucratic federal work force training system, the skills act will provide workers faster access to in-demand job training. i'm proud to say the skills act also includes an amendment i offered giving states and those local work force boards more flexibility to support local job training programs that demonstrate success. programs like employ indies

prioritized program. it provides technology training to the so many adults who lack the technology skills they need. when it comes to our work force training system, it's time to make smarter investments. this does this. it's time to choose people over paperwork. this bill does this. madam speaker, there are 4.6 million open jobs in this country. let's fill those jobs, let's pass this skills act and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from indiana yields back. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this point in time i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from iowa, david loebsack. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from iowa is recognized for one minute. . mr. loebsack: madam speaker, i of the work rt force and opportunity act. i'm also pleased that this bill contains large sectors -- large

portions of the sectors act which i introduced to close the gap between the kind of skills workers have and the kind of skills businesses need. as i meet with business leaders in iowa what i hear time and time again is they can't find the workers with the skills they need to hire. and i hear from individuals who are out of a job and are struggling to find work that matches their skills. it brings together businesses, labor organizations, education and training providers to target work force development efforts and it fosters the kind of skills that local businesses need right now. this bill requires local work force development agencies to implement these sector partnerships to get people back to work and move our economy forward. i want to thank in particular chairwoman foxx. i want to thank chairman kline, ranking member miller and particular, i guess beyond that, my friend tom harkin. i ask my colleagues to support this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is

recognized. mr. kline: madam speaker, i now yield two minutes to the chair of the subcommittee on early childhood, elementary and secondary education, the gentleman from indiana, mr. rokita. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana is recognized for two minutes. mr. rokita: i thank chairman kline, dr. foxx, the entire staff of the education and work force committee and everyone for working together on what is in every respect better. this bill is better than what is in current law. i think we immediate to take just a minute and recognize that because in a lot of ways and a lot of different examples we don't recognize that there are gains to be locked in. so let's do it. let's start with this bill. if there's a game to be locked in, let's lock it in, stand on the shoulders of that gain and continue working to improve not

only this language, not only these programs but everything we do around here. as a member of the education and work force committee, i know that a skilled work force is essential for remaining economically competitive. in fact, every american knows that. if we are going to be competitive in a 21st century globalized world and win, then we need these programs and these precious dollars, especially at a time when we're $17.5 trillion in debt with more on the way, we need these programs working well. this bill does that. it reduces red tape and ends the fragmented nature of work force services provided at the state and local level and eliminates 15 duplicative programs ensuring our work force investment is targeted and efficient. and i know -- and i take to heart what ranking member miller said. some of us wish there were more programs reformed or even eliminated altogether. some of us wish there were 15

more programs added. but, again, this is a step in the right direction. i urge my colleagues to lock in the gain. let's stand on the shoulders of this and get to other matters as well. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from indiana yields back. the gentleman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: thank you, madam speaker. at this time in time i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, bobby scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. scott: thank you, madam speaker. i rise in support of the work force innovation and opportunity act. as our nation continues to recover from the great recession, we must continue to prepare our nation's workers for the jobs of the future. the work force innovation and opportunity act will make long-needed improvements in the work force investment programs and services including many that will benefit those who are often left behind. this legislation contains and enhances the definition of individuals with barriers to employment that explicitly -- explicitly includes workers over the age of 55 as well as

the long-term unemployed. this means that state and local work force plans must include goals and strategies for serving these and other disenfranchised groups. additionally, the bill requires that 75% of youth funding in the bill support out-of-school youth. once a juvenile falls off the right track, he or she will face a range of problems that the taxpayers will be on the hook for, especially social services and possibly incarceration. by investing in out-of-school youth, we're investing money on the front end so we don't have to end up paying the bill on the back end. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. scott: madam speaker, i once again -- this bill represents a good-faith compromise and ask colleagues to support it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the gentleman from minnesota's recognized. mr. kline: madam speaker, can i inquire as to how much time remains on each side? the speaker pro tempore: 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from minnesota and two minutes to the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i'd advise my friend, the

gentleman from massachusetts, that i have two speakers who will apparently not make it to the floor so i'll reserve and prepare to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. tierney: madam speaker, at this time in time i -- at this point in time i yield to the gentleman from new jersey, one minute, rush holt. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. holt: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. holt: i thank my friend from massachusetts and i rise in support of this important bill, and i want to point to one good aspect of it. i'm pleased that the bill recognizes libraries as an integral part of helping the unemployed and underemployed get good jobs. libraries often at their own expense are already helping many reach work with literacy skills, resume writing, computer skills and librarians are offering a wealth of experience in assisting individuals to take advantage of all the things that libraries offer. specifically, this bill includes a number of provisions from my bill, the work force investment through libraries --

local libraries act, known as the will act. the bill before us today will allow libraries to receive funds to continue their great work. the work force investment act has not been updated over all these years. over 16 years the work force investment act has been an important nonpartisan help to workers and employers. however, over those years, employers' needs have changed and the skills needed to obtain good jobs have changed. this bill modernizes the programs to keep america competitive. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves? mr. tierney: i understand that mr. kline is going to use his time to close. madam speaker, with permission, i yield one minute to the gentlewoman from connecticut, rosa delauro. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized for one minute. ms. delauro: i rise in support of this bipartisan legislation, re-authorizing the work force

investment act and the critical job-training programs that help unemployed and underemployed americans find work and get back on their feet. no investment is more critical than investment in our human capital. these job training programs make opportunity and benefit working families and people who need help, people who played by the rules. businesses rely on these programs to fill vacant positions with qualified and skilled workers. the bill, the product of many years of bipartisan negotiation, takes what is already working. it improves on it. it streamlines and provides stability to these critical programs. while including important protections for workers with disabilities. it encourages partnerships between the work force system and our community colleges while enhancing adult education and encouraging innovation and job training. members of both parties have understood the voital role of the government and -- vital role of the government and helping people help themselves. the bill is a good compromise. it makes good on a critical promise to our workers and our

businesses. i urge my colleagues to support it. i thank my colleagues, mr. tierney, mr. miller and those on the other side of the aisle for coming together and passing this very important piece of legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. kline: thank you, madam speaker. i understand the side on the other side has expired. the speaker pro tempore: all time has expired. mr. kline: time on the other side. thank you very much, madam speaker. obviously we heard a lot of conversation today about the bipartisan and bicameral nature of this and it certainly is. i wanted to take a little bit of my couple minutes to clear up a couple of misinformation items that were out there. one, it was suggested this paid no attention to the sequestration. it was sort of a runaway spending. the funds authorized in this bill are entirely consistent with the budget control act. i like to reassure my colleagues on both sides. and then someone said that this was a conference report, and i understand where they might have that understanding because we're treating it much as a

conference report. the technical facts are the house passed the bills, the skills act. the senate committee moved a bill but it didn't move to the senate floor, and even despite that, we were able to step forward and treat this in a very bipartisan, bicameral way, working towards a compromise so that we could pass it in the senate. again, i want to thank all of my senate colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working very, very hard to get this through the senate and it's quite interesting processees and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle here for taking it up right away when it's come back from the senate so we can pass this bill and get it to the president for signature and help those 4 1/2 million americans -- employers who have jobs and they don't have skilled employees to take them. we can help americans get back to work. we can help their employers get the employees they need, and we can help the american taxpayer,

as my friend, mr. kelly, said by making the system more accountable and more responsible. with that, madam speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendments to h.r. 803. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the senate amendments are agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. mr. tierney: madam speaker. at this time i ask for a vote on that -- recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. tierney: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. all those in favor say aye. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed. the chair lays before the house

a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on july 9, 2014, at 10:47 a.m. that the senate agreed to senate resolution 496. with best wishes i am signed sincerely, karen l. haas.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4923 and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 641 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of house resolution 4923. the chair appoints the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. black, to preside over the

ommittee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 4923 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2015, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, and the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. kaptur, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: thank you, madam chairman. it is my distinct honor to present the fiscal year 2015 energy and water bill for consideration before the full house. i'd like to recognize the efforts of our chairman, mr.

rogers, and ranking member lowey to bringing this bill to the floor. their efforts to bring the appropriations process back to regular order ensure that our federal discretionary spending receives the full scrutiny of this body and our committee process. i'd also like to thank ranking member kaptur for all of her work, her contributions to make this legislation stronger. the bill before you totals $34.01 billion for activities for the department of energy, army corps of engineers, bureau of reclamation and other agencies under our jurisdiction. this is a $50 million reduction from last year's funding levels. the bill prioritizes investments in this nation's infrastructure and national defense. as we do each year, we worked hard to incorporate priorities and perspectives from both sides of the aisle. for instance, this bill overcomes the budget request proposed cut of nearly $1 is billion to the critical programs of the army corps of engineers. the request would have led to economic disruptions at our ports and waterways as our ports and waterways filled in and would have left our communities and businesses

vulnerable to flooding. instead, this bill recognizes the critical work of the corps and provides $5.492 billion for these activities, $959 million above the request and $25 million above last year. . this bill changes the definitions of the waters of the united states and fill material. the bill also provides $11.361 billion for the atomic security nonproliferation and naval reactors programs of the national nuclear security administration. a $154 million increase from fiscal year 2014. this bill is clear about our concerns with russia's recent activities in eastern europe. it eliminates all new funding for nonproliferation funding in russia and requires that before the secretary of energy funds any activity in russia, he must certify that the activity is in our national security interests. russia's activities in the ukraine have shown once again

how important our nuclear security umbrella is to our allies. we've also seen how russia has used ukraine's reliance on natural gas to put pressure on its new leadership. and the movements by insurgents to occupy iraq threaten to drive oil prices through the roof. our country has abundant natural energy resources and it is our national security and economic interest to ensure that they are fully and responsibly used. that's why this bill makes a strong balanced investment in our energy sector to ensure that our constituents continue to have reliable, affordable energy. fossil energy, which provides more than 71% of our electricity production in 2013, $31 ed $593 million, a million increase above 2014. nuclear energy is increased by $10 million above last year. energy efficiency and renewable energy is slightly reduced by $113 million from last year. this balanced investment

prioritizes improvements to energy sources that we rely upon today while making long-term investments in alternative energy sources. thank you and i appreciate the full committee's attention to this bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from idaho reserves. the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: thank you, madam speaker i, i yield myself -- thank you, madam speaker. i yield myself five minutes and thank chairman simpson for his leadership. this bill is liberty's business. it is about national nuclear security, about energy security, about jobs and economic growth here at home through upgrading our ports, preventing flooding, assuring freshwater from coast-to-coast, and inventing the new energy technologies required to reposition america for energy security in our homeland for a new century. bottom line, our bill is about the business of ensuring liberty for our country.

the united states entered this 21st century with a net reliance on foreign oil. renewed conflicts in iraq, ukraine's crimea, and syria once again warn us that u.s. energy dependence on imported product remains our chief strategic vulnerability. throughout the last century, american reliance on foreign oil grew dangerously. our share of imports in the nation's total energy supply rose from 4 % in -- 42% in 1990 and e than 50% by 1998 frankly keeps bobbing between 40% and 50% now. it consumes over half of the trade deficit we hold with the world. this energy dependence seriously weakens america. as michael claire states in his book "blood and oil," every economic recession since world war ii has come on the heels of a petroleum short and. and i would add, the millions of lost jobs associated with

those recessions has harmed america grateful. just since 2003, the united states has -- gravely. just since 2003 the united states has spent $2.3 trillion importing foreign petroleum. at a price per barrel of $100, the total bill for america importing oil over the next 25 years could cost us over $10 trillion, that's $10 trillion of hemorrhage of u.s. wealth, millions of lost jobs, and the economic muscle that goes with it. if you want to understand why our middle class is shrinking and more people are falling into poverty, just look at the energy trade deficit this country endures and has endured for a quarter century. those numbers clearly demonstrate the lost energy opportunity inside our own nation. we are ceding wealth, jobs and economic power and our national security. if you really want to understand why america has developed a horrendous budget deficit, you'd best take a look at the energy trade deficit as a major cause of our condition. as we have seen -- ceded our

wealth elsewhere. in fact, the entirety of our economy bill at $34 billion cannot begin to compensate for the over $200 billion in imported foreign oil that will pour into our country this year alone. eight times more than the value of our bill. recent natural gas discoveries and added domestic oil drilling provide our nation with some breathing room. but only for a while. as these supplies are not endless. they are precious. to help us as we transition to a broad, diversified energy portfolio that captures the wealth here for our nation. congress must lead our nation to restore energy security in greater prosperity for our nation through the innovation that this bill incentivizes. the horizontal drilling technologies that are creating a boom in domestic natural gas discoveries were made possible by research done through our bill at the department of energy. america must invest in our own energy future across all energy sectors and we must restore some of our lost economic

luster. alternatively, if we cede our future to china, russia and singapore, we will have missed the call of our generation. a focus on high impact energy research at the department through renewable technologies, advanced energy and applied energy are critical, as well as funding for the advanced manufacturing office to lead us to a new era of energy and job creation. further, the increase allocation for the corps of engineers is vital to restore our infrastructure, supporting thousands of jobs and economic growth as we upgrade our freshwater systems while our nation adaments to climate change and more parched places as deserts grow in places we thought were easily habtable. though our bill provides $5.49 billion to support the corps, keep in mind there are no new starts in it and there are over $60 billion worth in probably requests that are backlogged that we simply can't address. imagine what potential job creation could be induced coast-to-coast by meeting this massive corps backlog. the bill before us today takes

a modest step forward in diversifying america's energy sources, frankly based on the challenge facing our nation for almost 1/3 of a century now, this bill's bottom line should be tripled to get us faster to a solution for liberty and security. we know with energy conservation and additional innovation we can meet our goal, but our imperative must be sooner rather than later. our generation should make it easier for the next generation. not hand the problem to them. i do have concerns with the amounts provided to certain accounts within the nonproliferation activities of the national security agency and the defense environmental cleanup account derks spite the chairman's best effort, our subcommittee's allocation -- i yield myself an additional 10 seconds. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. kaptur: despite the chairman's best efforts, the subcommittee's allocation was insufficient to address the many commeeting feed -- many competing needs. i look forward to the debate and look forward to working with chairman simpson to complete the task before us, to

strengthen liberty as she encounters the challenges. i want to thank rob blair and our able staff for moving us to this point. thank you for the time. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. mr. simpson: i now yield to the chairman of the full committee, the gentleman from kentucky, mr. rogers, as much time as he may consume. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. rodgerorodge -- mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding. madam chairwoman, this is a balanced bill. it makes important investments in our nation's nuclear defense capabilities, as well as the water infrastructure and energy resources that keep the economy moving. and it does so in a fiscally sound manner. finding ways to save taxpayer dollars wherever possible. first and foremost, this legislation prioritizes national security by increasing funding for nuclear weapons

programs above last year's level, to support the safety and readiness of our nuclear stockpiles. maintaining this nation's nuclear deterrence posture remains critical to our safety, particularly during a time of growing global instability and ind korean -- and increasing risks of future nuclear threats. next, this bill includes investments in our water infrastructure that will also help grow our economy. and facilitate trade and commerce and ensure the well-being of the nation. recognizing the importance of what the army corps of engineers does, we've rejected the administration's proposed cuts to these programs. providing nearly $1 billion more than requested, and $25 million above last year's levels. that funding will allow the corps to continue its important work, performing flood mitigation, updating dam safety

and improving our waterways to facilitate increased import and export capability. within the department of energy , the bill prioritizes funding for programs that encourage economic competitiveness and energy independence and that help promote an all-of-the-above solution to the nation's energy needs. by making sound investments in coal, natural gas and other fossil energy sources, removing our nation -- we're moving our nation closer to a balanced energy portfolio, as well as keeping down energy costs for hardwork americans across the country -- for hardworking americans across the country. to make these important investments, the bill targets lower priority programs for cutting. for example, renewable energy programs with the department of energy, our cut -- are cut by $113 billion from last year's levels.

by implementing these types of savings and including stringent oversight requirements for the d.o.e., the army corps and other federal agencies, we've produced a bill that will support economic growth and security while encouraging the government to act with greater efficiency. the legislation also puts the brakes on the administration's destructive and misguided regulatory agenda that threatens our nation's small businesses and other industries. for example, within this bill we've included a provision prohibiting the unnecessary expansion of federal jurisdiction over our nation's waterways. at one of the subcommittee's many hearings about the federal budget, just a few weaks ago, the -- weeks ago, the assistant secretary for the corps could not provide clear answers as to how much these regulations would cost the american

taxpayer, how many man hours it would take to implement, and how such a change would affect the struggling economy. since the corps plainly has no idea what it's doing with this rule, it would be irresponsible , if not disastrous, to allow such a change to move forward. the bill also stops the administration from changing the definition of, quote, fill material, unquote. an action that could drastically alter federal regulations and could effectively shut down coal and other mining operations throughout the country. while this proposal is very troubling on many levels, i am most concerned about the unknown costs of this large scale, invasive change. this is the type of overzealous, unneeded regulation that will harm, not help, the economy in this very

sensitive time. madam chairwoman, before i close, i want to thank chairman simpson, this is his maiden voyage as chair of this subcommittee, and ranking member kaptur and all of the subcommittee and the staff for the hard work on the bill and i want to commend chairman simpson for a job well done on his first bill as chairman of the energy and water subcommittee. this is a good bill. it reflects smart budget ecisions, invests tax dollars, -- dollars in effective, necessary programs that will help keep our nation safe and our economy growing and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on the bill. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentleman from idaho reserves. the gentlewoman from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: yes, madam speaker, i yield six minutes to the ranking member of our full committee, the gentlelady from

new york, mrs. lowey. the chair: the gentlelady from new york is recognized for six minutes. mrs. lowey: i thank the chair and i want to thank the chairman and the ranking member whose bipartisan cooperation and hard work are evident in the bill before us. this bill invests in a number of important programs that have strong democratic backing. this bill underscores the constraints of virtually flat discretionary spending. according to the american society of civil engineers, underinvestment in our marine ports and inland waterways endangers more than one million in jobs and $270 billion u.s. exports by 2020. while the corps of engineers would be given a slight

increase above this year's level, budget caps won't help the corps make a dent in its $60 billion project backlog. forcing them once again to put off vital projects that would protect homes, businesses and communities. we're also missing an opportunity to ramp up investments in science and technology. research and development spending has fueled our economic growth for the last 60 years and dramatic increases in this area are needed to sustain our economic recovery. flat funding for arpa e and the office of science is particularly problematic given that other countries, including china, russia, germany and singapore are increasing investments in these fields.

we cannot permit an innovation deficit. we must ensure that tomorrow's breakthroughs occur in american labs and universities. given, however, the subcommittee's allocation i'm pleased that these critical accounts are protected from cuts or slightly increased, but we could do better. there are a number of shortcomings i'd like to mention. first is the continued safeguarding of federal spending that benefits big oil and fossil fuel companies instead of supporting investments in emerging renewable technologies. i strongly disagree with the $113 million cut to the efficiency and renewable energy account and the decision to fund the fossil energy account above the illion president's request. our country is home to a robust

fossil fuels industrial base that makes over $100 billion annually in profits and actively invests in robust private sector r&d spending to advance its interests. with such a tight allocation, we should invest in creating green jobs of the future instead of backing an industry which already benefits from illions in tax breaks. second, the bill includes unnecessary riders related to navigable waters and the definition of fill materials under the clean air act. the corps of engineers and e.p.a. recent -- clean water act. the corps of engineers and e.p.a. recently had a definition of navigable waters and their review needs to move forward of the ambiguity created by supreme court rulings in 2001 and 2006.

despite strong disagreements regarding the merits of the proposed rule, these issues should be resolved through the rulemaking process, not in this bill, and by preemptively stopping any efforts to update the definition of fill materials, this bill ensures that communities in coal country will continue to live with public health threats and environmental consequences of mountain top removal mining. lastly, this bill does not do nearly enough to address the incredibly damaging effects of climate change. rising sea levels, increased flooding from torrential downpours, hurricanes demonstrate the overwhelming need to invest in new water infrastructure to safeguard our communities. yet, this subcommittee can't invest in new projects because its allocation is dwarfed by

the growing backlog of ongoing projects which includes projects that will -- were authorized decades ago. and clinging to outdated fossil fuels instead of doubling down on the promise of renewable energy slows future job growth that saves lives by lessening the impact of climate change. thank you, madam chair. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from ohio reserves. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. mr. simpson: madam speaker, -- madam chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: i yield to the gentleman from washington for purposes of a colloquy. mr. hastings: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i want to thank you for restoring a portion of the administration's proposed cut to the richland operations office in my district. i appreciate your willingness to work with me on funding, and i know the provisions on yucca mountain and mocks in this bill that are also clean to

hanford's cleanup success. the richland operations office is part of legal commitments and progress there has largely been a success. this represents a new model for cleanup and it has been successful. it's nearing completion and it saves the taxpayers $250 million. i'm encouraged that the $235 million in this bill provided for cleanup for the river corridor will focus on the 300 area milestones under the river corridor closure contract. as the appropriation process continues, i look forward to working with you to ensure appropriate restoration for richland given the budget constraints that we have. madam chairman, this is my last energy and water bill, but i'm glad that hanford has a friend and leadership in you. when it comes to the office of river protection, there are a

number of challenges. among other things, i'm hopeful that d.o.e. and the state of washington will reach an agreement on an achievable and path forward to the river protection -- the w.t.p. with that i yield back to the gentleman. mr. simpson: first, i'd like to thank the gentleman from washington for his continueded a vow case for hanford cleanup funding -- advocacy for hanford cleanup funding. he -- his leadership will be southerly missed in the future. i support the cleanup for the river corridor and hopeful that the department of energy will soon provide the necessary details for the waste treatment plant project. w.t.p. is a critical project, but congress needs more answers and greater transparency. i look forward to working with you to make sure adequate funding is available should a new agreement on the path forward for this project be reached. i thank the gentleman. mr. hastings: i thank the gentleman. i yield back. mr. simpson: reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from idaho reserves. the gentlelady from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: yes, madam speaker.

i'd like to yield two minutes to the gentlelady from new mexico, ms. lujan grisham, a member of the agriculture, the budget and the oversight committee. the chair: the gentleman from new mexico is recognized for two minutes. ms. lujan grisham: i thank my colleague for yielding time and i commend her and the chairman's efforts to put together a bipartisan bill and bring it to the floor. i do have a couple of concerns with the bill that i'm addressing today. first, it provides additional funding for the waste isolation pilot project plant in southeastern new mexico. i'm pleased that the committee has seen the need to provide additional funding so that the causes of an incident that occurred earlier this year can be better understood and remedied. but i urge the committee to find a different source of funding for these efforts. altering the payment schedules for pension fund payments i think is bad fiscal policy. these pension funds face significant liabilities and they simply cannot afford it. i'm also concerned about the way the bill deals with the

laboratory direct research and development or ldrd. ldrd is the primary funding for our national security laboratories like san dia national labs which is based in my district. ldrd allows these facilities to fund their technology capabilities, address emerging needs and advanced technologies in a wide range of areas critical to national security. the provision in this bill coupled with last year's cuts to ldrd combined to decrease the funds available for this important program by over 20%, increase the lab's administrative burdens. in my views, these policy changes will have a negative impact on the labs' ability to conduct national security work. i look forward to continuing to work with the chairman and the ranking member to address both of these issues as the bill moves through the legislative process. i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from ohio

reserves. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. mr. simpson: madam chair woman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. -- madam chairwoman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: i yield at this time to the gentleman from nevada for the purposes of a colloquy. s much time as he may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. >> thank you for speaking on nevada security site that are critical to our nation's ability to ensure the safety and performance of our nuclear weapons stockpile and for the excellent job you and the ranking member have done in managing the fiscal year 2015 energy and water appropriations bill. it does not include the full amount requested that will establish an integrated facility at the nevada national security site to help us understand the effects of age aging and the manufacturing process of the proposed proposals to extend systems.

mr. amodei: i believe we must all make difficult choices, yet, i'm hopeful in conference there will be budget flexibility to support the full request for advanced radio graphy. i hope you will be open minded on this proposed capability to better understand its strategic value to our nuclear weapons ready, e and we stand willing and able regarding proposed plans for advanced radiography capability. i yield back. mr. simpson: i look forward to working with you to support the needs of our nuclear weapons stockpile and to receiving more information on the department of energy's proposal to instruct this new capability. i -- to construct this new capability. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from idaho reserves. the gentlelady from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: i rise to engage in a colloquy. the chair: without objection.

ms. kaptur: madam chair. madam chair, i'd now like to yield myself such time as i may consume for the purposes of engaging in a colloquy with our colleague from california, mr. lowenthal. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized. mr. lowenthal: thank you. first, i'd like to thank the ranking member and also chairman simpson for bringing to the floor a bill that has incorporated interest from both parties within the limits of the bipartisan budget act. thank you, both. in particular, i want to thank the committee for increasing funding for specific activity within the department of energy's fossil energy research and development. that is the risk-based data management system. this activity supports the funding of a tool which is used by many states for public disclosure, of hydraulic fracturing operations. it is called frac focus. while this tool is intended to

be easily useable by the public, it has been pointed out by a special department of energy task force that some improvements must be made to this government-funded database in order for it to be more accurate, accessible and transparent. that's why i was very pleased to hear from the chairman and the ranking member that a portion of the i creased funding for the -- increased funding for the risk-based database system is intended to help the update the frac focus database to update modern data, useability and public transparency standards. with that i yield to the distinguished ranking member from ohio. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman for raising this important issue and agree we should set our transparency standards high when looking at taxpayer-funded projects and a portion of the risk-based data management activity is intended to be used for improving frac focus and as we move forward i will work with the gentleman to ensure that our intent is included in the conference

report language. mr. lowenthal: i thank the ranking member and i look forward to working with her in the future. i yield back. ms. kaptur: madam chair, i'd like to inquire as to our remaining time. the chair: the gentlelady has 5 1/2 minutes. the gentlelady from ohio reserves. the gentleman from idaho is recognized. . simpson: madam chairwoman, i yield two minutes. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. >> in particular, i want to thank them for protecting landowners in rural kansas and elsewhere across the nation from attempts from the army corps to regulate every single drop of water that falls to the ground. mr. huelskamp: congress never contemplated and never authorized navigable waters that covered roadside ditches,

farm ponds in kansas or elsewhere. this proposed rule by some bureaucrats in faroff washington is a clear violation of the separation of powers within our constitution and ultimately it is nothing more than a power grab of private property. in practice this rule would provide for farmers to provide for permission to do routine farming activities like fertilizing and plowing. if we have to pay more to comply with washington regulation, americans will see it in higher prices at the grocery store. mr. chairman, only in washington would they try to define standing water in a ditch surrounded by prairie in kansas as water capable navigation. it's time for the administration to ditch this rule. until then this congress should not spend a single penny advancing this massive 370-page rule. i support the provi