national labs fill a vital role doing the basic research needed to maintain america's role as an innovative nation. far too often, however, the discoveries made in our labs get stuck in our labs. this is due to a number of reasons and this bill seeks to break down many of those purely bureaucratic barriers. by extending the pilot for act agreements within d.o.e., the labs are given the ability to negotiate more flexible contracts with nonfederal entities that would like to take the lab's research and turn it into a viable product. this legislation would also grant to the directors of the national labs the signature authority for many agreements with nonfederal entities. currently the secretary of energy must make these decisions. so decisions a lab director can make over a phone call must weave their way through unnecessary bureaucracy before they land on the secretary's desk. this bill would streamline that process. h.r. 5120 also seeks to improve

the department's relationship with small businesses that can take part in the sbirsttr program and it encourages the secretary to enter into agreements with the program at the national science foundation. our national labs have been at the cutting edge of technological development and we must always ensure that development is in the national interest. a discovery lost in the labs is a discovery wasted. that's why i'd like to thank my good friend, mr. kilmer, for partnering with me in this effort, as well as mr. fattah and mr. nunnelee, who were sfounding -- founding members with me. chairman smith and chairman lummis as well as ranking members johnson and swalwell were also key in this legislation coming together and bringing it to the floor. this is a true bipartisan, bicameral effort and senators have a similar companion bill on the other side of the hill. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. kilmer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to support h.r. 5120, the department of energy laboratory modernization and technology transfer act of 2014. in the report rising above the gathering storm, the former c.e.o. of intel, challenged congress and challenged the nation to step up to the innovation challenge to grow our economy. without a change in u.s. government policy, he wrote, the next big thing will not be invented here. jobs will not be created here. and wealth will not accrue here. i'd like to thank mr. hultgren and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working together to produce a bipartisan bill, targeted at stepping up to that challenge. our national labs are currently doing innovative research that can hit roadblocks on the path to commercialization, on the path to helping small business run with those innovations. so that bill provides important tools to spur and accelerate

the transfer of new technologies, developed at our national laboratories and help transfer those to the plight of sector. it's significant -- private sector. it significantly broadens the range of companies who can participate in the pilot program with our labs and 'loy -- allows for more plecksability -- more flexible partnership agreement terms between the public and private sectors. the bill also allows labs to use their technology transfer funds for activities that identify and demonstrate potential commercial opportunities for their research and technologies. these partnerships between our national labs and the business community will help eliminate gaps in funding by facilitating a path for innovative ideas from basic research to have commercial application. let me tell you why this matters to me. the region that i represent is home to the pacific northwest national lab facility. and i've seen firsthand the innovative research being done there. i've also worked closely with our premier research universities to find ways to enable exciting new partnership

opportunities. so going beyond just the labs, this bill removes burdens that currently prevent many universities and other nonprofit research institutions from working with the department of energy. this bill streamlines management and coordination of d.o.e.'s full spectrum of energy activities, from basic research through commercial application, by establishing a single undersecretary for science and energy. and the bill authorizes d.o.e. to partner with the national science foundation, so that its researchers can participate in n.s.f.'s groundbreaking innovation corps program, which matches grant recipients with entrepreneurs, to help get their ideas out of the lab and into the marketplace. lastly, the bill includes important reporting and accountability measures so that we'll be able to evaluate the effectiveness of each of these new tools and determine any additional steps that we should be taking down the road. d.o.e.'s national laboratories have been the birth place of some of our most revolutionary technologies.

when this research is harnessed by entrepreneurs and business leaders, startups with only one or two employees can grow into companies that can create hundreds of quality jobs. we want to make sure that our national labs, our universities and all federally funded institutions and initiatives remain an important foundation of our knowledge-based economy. that's why i was proud to co-sponsor this bipartisan legislation, to give scientists and researchers in both the public and private sector the tools and the freedom that they need to unlock a new wave of great discoveries. let's close by noting that this is the kind of bipartisan cooperative work congress needs to do if we're going to bolster our global competitiveness. countries around the world are working to recruit and develop the next generation of innovators. we have to make research and development a top priority. i am hopeful that we can renew the bipartisan spirit and commitment to making sure tomorrow's cutting-edge technology is developed here, not someplace else.

thank you, again, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington reserves. the gentleman from illinois. mr. hultgren: thank you, mr. speaker. our national labs have been a primary driver of american innovation since the manhattan project but many of their most important discoveries have been made informant past decade. research produce there had has enormous economic potential, but many times their discoveries remain stuck in the labs. it's essential that we update cold war era policies, acknowledge technological change and improve the lab's capacity to partner with private enterprise and convert their cutting-edge research into marketplace innovation. this bill does that. so grateful again for co-sponsors, especially mr. kilmer and his work on this, and i have no further speakers on this bill and i'm prepared to yield back if my colleague is prepared to yield back as well. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington. mr. kilmer: thank you. i just once again would like to thank mr. hultgren and our chairman, mr. smith, and ranking member ms. johnson, and i have no further speakers and so i'm happy to yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from illinois. mr. hultgren: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time either and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 5120, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4803 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of he bill. the clerk: union calendar number 385, h.r. 4803, a bill to require the transportation security administration to conform to existing federal law and regulations regarding

criminal investigator positions and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. sanford, and the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from south carolina. san francisco 49ers mr. speaker, i ask -- ms. sanchez: mr. speaker, i ask -- mr. sanford: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to include material. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. sanford: i see my chairman right here. should i yield to you, sir? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. >> i thank the gentleman and i thank him for his work on this bipartisan piece of legislation. i rise in strong support of h.r. 4803, the t.s.a. office of inspector accountability act of 2014. again i'd like to commend the gentleman from south carolina, mr. sanford, for developing this commonsense bill. which increases accountability

within t.s.a. and saves precious taxpayer dollars by requiring the agency to correctly designate criminal investigators within the office of inspection. mr. hudson: according to the department of homeland security inspector general, t.s.a. does not ensure that its criminal investigators in the office of inspection are meeting the federal work load requirements for law enforcement officers. even though they're considered law enforcement officers and are receiving premium pay and other benefits. if nothing's done to correct this problem, the misclalfication will cost taxpayers roughly $17 million over the next five years. this type of waste is simply unacceptable. as chairman of the subcommittee on transportation security, i held a hearing on this topic and was surprised and encouraged to hear the head of the office of inspection admit that his office would reduce the number of criminal investigator positions based on the office's work load. although an acknowledgment is a step in the right direction, t.s.a. needs to go one step further. it's time for them to take real action on this issue and

achieve tangible results which is precisely what this legislation requires. in addition to ensuring that the proper classification of criminal investigators, the committee on homeland security agreed to an amendment offered by the ranking member of the full committee, mr. thompson, that would require t.s.a. to submit to congress any materials associated with the office of inspection's review of the use of federal licenses by the officials. to obtain discounted or free firearms for their own personal use, as well as specific en to reduce air marshals for exploiting their positions. i've been concerned with t.s.a.'s failure to notify congress of the ongoing office of inspection investigations into potential unethical activity related to the acceptance of free and discounted firearms by personal use among employees, including senior fofingses -- officials. i'm pleepsed this bill will ensure the committee receives

access to information that's necessary to carry out its important oversight role. i encourage my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back my time to the gentleman from south carolina. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back. the gentleman from south carolina reserves? mr. sanford: i do. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 4803, the t.s.a. office of inspection accountability act of 2014, and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. richmond: again, thank you, mr. speaker. the committee on homeland security is tasked with conducting oversight over the various components within department of homeland security. as a ranking member of the subcommittee on transportation security, i have a particular interest in ensuring that the transportation security administration is operating both effectively and efficiently. thanks to the department of homeland security inspector general, we learned late last year that the office of inspect -- inspection is not operating efficiently.

specifically, we learned that this office was designating some personnel as criminal investigators who did not perform investigative duties to justify such a classification. or the salary and benefits conferred a person with that title. h.r. 4803 seeks to address this problem by requiring t.s.a. to certify that all persons designated as criminal investigators are working on criminal investigations at least 50% of their time. there's no justification for providing personnel the enhanced benefits and pay associated with criminal investigators when they are not doing the job of a criminal investigator. this legislation is not intended to punish the entire office of inspection. it recognizes that there are legitimate criminal investigaters -- investigators within the office that have undoubtedly helped to thwart plots and other criminal enterprises that put our nation at risk. this legislation simply encourages good government and

the careful stewardship of taxpayer dollars. we need to ensure that the resources are used effectively to so that we can keep citizens safe while operating at maximum efficiency. this legislation is a step in the right direction with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time -- direction. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana reserves. the gentleman from south carolina. mr. sanford: i yield myself as much time as i may consume. and i would thank the gentleman from north carolina for his leadership on the subcommittee. i would say the same to my colleague from louisiana for their respective pieces of work on this important bill. as has already been noted by both of my colleagues, 4803 calls for i guess the institution of the fairly simple premise and that is that we pay for what we get in government. that's what they do in the private sector, what's it the individual dozen in the household and if you stop and think about it, you know, you wouldn't pay somebody who could run a bulldozer, heavy

equipment, if you will, if all you needed was somebody who could run a shovel. you wouldn't pay a technical engineer to come and clean your pool or mix the chemicals in the pool. you wouldn't hire a wolfgang puck to come over and fix your piece of grilled cheese -- fix you a piece of grilled cheese. it might be the greatest piece of grilled cheese you can find, but it isn't what you'd be paying for. so this bill incorporates that commonsense notion of in government we ought to get what we pay for and as has already been noted, criminal investigators in this case do not meet federal standards with regard to the 50% threshold, this bill does a couple of very, very simple things. it sets in place a standard by which to track whether or not they're doing so, and for the work that isn't to that standard, it eliminates this additional pay, so the called leave pay. it's been noted, again, there's a 25% premium but in many cases

this is the tip of the iceberg, because if you look at additional benefits in terms of early retirement or enhanced training, there's a real cost to the taxpayer that goes with continuing on the road we've been on. this bill attempts to change that. it has teeth and it freezes any hiring in the office of inspection going forward if these changes aren't made and as my colleague from north carolina just noted, there are real savings. $17 million. it's small by federal standards, but you think about how many neighborhoods it takes to accumulate $17 million in taxes, it's a step in the right direction in saving taxpayer money. and for all those reasons, i urge additional support of this bill, i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: i have no more speakers and i'm prepared to close. i suppose i would yield to my chairman from north carolina fee

has any additional comment. mr. hudson: we are prepared to close if the gentleman from louisiana would like to close first. the chair: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: i yield myself such time as i may consume. in closing, i would like to thank the gentleman from south carolina for introducing this piece of legislation and the chairman of the subcommittee, chairman hudson and our ranking member mr. thompson for the bipartisan work on this bill and this bill stands for is a commonsense approach to government and making sure we pay for what we get and it's that very simple premise and i'm honored to stand here to do something that makes common sense and with that, i urge my colleagues to support it. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from south

carolina. mr. sanford: i yield to my chairman. mr. hudson: thank the gentleman carolina and ranking member of the committee, for not only his work on this bill but in the way we have worked together to make a difference for the american people. the american people sent us to congress to get things done and make their lives better and make sure we are scrutinizing every dollar. and this piece of legislation is a commonsense piece of legislation that does just that. and so, i'm proud to stand here in support of it. i'm proud of the work that mr. sanford put into this bill and i urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina. mr. sanford: with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the

bill h.r. 4803 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4802 as amended. the clerk: union calendar number 384, a bill to improve intergovernmental planning for

and communications during security incidents at domestic airports and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. hudson and a member opposed each will control 20 minutes. mr. hudson: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hudson: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise in strong support of h.r. 480. as chairman of the committee on homeland security's subcommittee on transportation security, i introduced this bipartisan bill to improve the state of preparedness at our nation's airports in response to the shooting that occurred at los angeles international airport in november of last year. the shooting that occurred at l.a.x. which took the life of a

transportation security officer and wounded three other people served as a tragic wakeup call to the ease with which someone can wreak havoc. in march of this year, the subcommittee on transportation security conducted a site visit and field hearing to examine the response to the incident and better understand the actions that have been taken to improve incident response in the wake of this this tragedy. my subcommittee held a follow-up hearing to receive testimony from additional representatives of the law enforcement and airport communities on security incident response. over the course of these activities through this process, the subcommittee found that while the federal, state and local response at l.a.x. shooting was heroic and swiftly executed, there is room to improve in how airport operators, t.s.a. and other stakeholders coordinate the response and communicate in crucial moments after a major security incident like this.

based on months of review by the subcommittee as well as detailed after-accident reports h.r. 4802 would require the transportation security administration to provide assistance to all airports where t.s.a. performs or oversees screening to make sure every airport details practice plans to respond to security incidents, this includes evacuating travelers, testing radio equipment and conducting joint exercises among responding agencies. this legislation would make t.s.a. a clearinghouse for security response and communications and best practices which was the key recommendation from testimony the subcommittee received in may. in addition, the bill would require t.s.a. to certify to congress ta all screening personnel have participated in active shooter training which t.s.a. appropriately instituted following the l.a.x. shooting.

it needs to assess whether operable tion inter communications exists. it is an ongoing challenge among many first responders despite billions being spent to achieve better communications since 9/11. at this point, no one has done an overall assessment to determine what weaknesses exist. the bill requires t.s.a. to examine how it can increase its law enforcement officers who protect the screening check points. these men and women are the front line in protecting the traveling public. while the funding has decreased in recent years, the critical role our officers play has never been more important. this bill is the necessary step towards countering the threats facing our nation's airports without placing undue burdens on

law enforcement or the taxpayers. in fact, according to t.s.a. the cost of providing assistance to airports will be incidental and would not require additional appropriations. this bill makes it clear to t.s.a. that no new funding is being authorized to carry out any of the provisions of this bill and existing appropriations should be used to carry out this act. i thank the chairman of the full committee for his support of this bill and moving it through the full committee as well as the ranking member of the full committee, mr. thompson, and ranking member of the subcommittee, mr. richmond, for co-sponsoring this legislation for working with us to produce this important legislation. i urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: i rise in support of h.r. 4802 and i yield myself uch time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. richmond: an armed gunman entered the los angeles airport with an attempt to kill transportation security officers. tragically on that officer hernandez for whom the bill is named became the first t.s.a. employee to die in the line of duty. the gunman proceeded past the check point and into the terminal where he shot and wounded two other transportation security officers and one passenger. the two t.s.a. employees who were shot and wounded selflessly remaped at the check point after the shooting began helping passengers escape to safety. despite communication challenges, the men and women of the police department responded to the incident taking the shooter down. through our committee, oversight work, we have identified some commonsense steps that could be

taken to mitigate any similar incidents in the future. h.r. 4802 embodies these commonsense steps. it requires airports to have plans in place for responding to active shooter scenarios and t.s.a. to provide information to airports on best practices for responding to a security incident at checkpoints, provide transportation security officers practical training for responding to active shooter scenarios and conduct a nationwide assessment of the interoperable communications capabilities of the law enforcement, fire and medical personnel responsible for responding to an active shooter event at an airport. the requirements contained in h.r. 4802 were informed by post-incident reviews of the l.a.x. shooting conducted by t.s.a. and the airport itself along with the oversight work of the committee of homeland security subcommittee on

transportation security. in march, the subcommittee on transportation security held a site visit and field hearing at l.a.x. to see firsthand how the tragedy unfolded and hear from airport officials and american federation of government employees about how the response to a similar incident could improve going forward. in may, the subcommittee held a follow-up hearing on the shooting here in washington and heard from a diverse array of airport operators and law enforcement to inform us how a preparedness and response at airports could be most effectively crafted. i'm proud of the product before the house today. it is a result of intense review of the tragic l.a.x. shooting and if enacted, would result in airports across the nation being more prepared to respond to a similar incident in the future. with that, mr. speaker. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. hudson: i have no more speakers if the gentleman from louisiana has no further speakers, i'm prepared to close once he does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: i have no other speakers and i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. richmond: in closing, i would like to commend subcommittee chairman hudson for the bipartisan and inclusive manner in which he has led the subcommittee on transportation security oversight and legislative efforts in response to the shooting at l.a.x. i was pleased to join ranking member thompson and chairman mccaul as a co-sponsor of h.r. 4802. i would like to acknowledge congresswoman waters, whose attrict l.a.x. is in and was the subcommittee hearing in california to provide oversight and give their input to how we prevent these incidents from

happening and give support to the ranking member, mr. hudson. and with that, i urge all of my colleagues to support this very important bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. hudson: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hudson: i thank the ranking member, mr. richmond, for his kind comments and the great working relationship we enjoy on this committee. it's a privilege to work with him. mr. speaker, with the threats to our nation's transportation systems constantly evolving we must ensure that airports can respond efficiently. the shooting at the los angeles airport is a tragedy that will not be forgotten to those who are committed to enhancing security at our nation's airports. this bill will provide for more extensive collaboration and coordination between airports, law enforcement, first responders and t.s.a., which will result in safer airports

across the country. i ask my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4802 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4812, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to amend title 49, united states code, to require the administrator of the transportation security administration to establish a process providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service and for other purposes.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from north carolina, mr. hudson, and the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from north carolina. mr. hudson: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hudson: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 4812, the honor flight act. this bill would improve the airport screening processes for veterans traveling to visit our war memorials by providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services. i'm pleased that t.s.a. is currently implementing the requirements outlined in this bill by working with the honor flight network to expedite the screening process for veterans visiting their war memorials here in washington, d.c. codifying this commonsense policy will ease airport access for our nation's heroes who made the incredible sacrifices

and deserve our utmost respect. not only will legislation help to simplify their passage through airports, it will also improve efficiencies by freeing up t.s.a. screeners to focus on real threats. this is a positive step for our veterans and ultimately our transportation and national security. i'd like to commend the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, for his work on this issue as well as chairman mccaul for moving this bill through the committee. the committee on homeland security has long advocated for less burdensome airport screening for four -- for our men and women in uniform and our veterans. this bill builds upon previous bipartisan legislation promoted by the committee and signed into law requiring t.s.a. to provide expedited screening to active duty military traveling on official orders, as well as severely injured or disabled veterans and members of the armed forces. each and every day we're humbled and inspired by the incredible sacrifices of all our veterans. this should serve as a powerful reminder of our duty to do all we can to honor the sacrifices they have made for our freedoms and treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.

i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina reserves. the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 4812, the honor flight act, and i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. richmond: thank you, mr. speaker. i would like to begin by thanking chairman mccaul, ranking member thompson, and the chairman of the subcommittee on transportation, security -- transportation security, mr. hudson, for co-sponsoring and supporting this bipartisan legislation. the honor flight deck is a measure that -- act is a measure that seeks to pay a debt of gratitude to those who made sacrifices. although we may never be able to fully repay our veterans for their bravery, sites such as the national world war ii museum, which we are proud to have in the city of new orleans, bring into focus their lasting contribution and their impact on american history.

the honor flight network is a nonprofit organization that works with airplane -- airlines and other nonprofits to transport veterans to washington, d.c., to visit memorials dedicated to honoring their service and their sacrifice. the organization was created in 2005 by a former physicians -- physician's assistant with the department of veterans affairs and a private pilot who saw his patients' desire to visit the newly built world war ii memorial and realized that many of them lacked the resources or support to make the trip on their own. by the end of 2013, the honor flight networks had had transported approximately 117,000 of our nation's heroes to visit their memorials. estimates from the honor flight network show that number to be well over 120,000 people today. the honor flight network currently prioritizes transporting world war ii veterans and veterans who are terminaly ill but intend to expand the program to transport

veterans of subsequent wars in the future. presently the transportation security administration, under the leadership of administrative pistol, expedites the screening process for veterans visiting their memorials in d.c. via the honor flight network private charter flights, saving them time and showing them the due respect and appreciation they deserve. this legislation will authorize the collaboration between t.s.a. and the honor flight network in law, thereby ensuring that it becomes a permanent practice. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana reserves. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. hudson: mr. speaker, i have no more speakers. if the gentleman from louisiana has no further speakers, i'm prepared to close once he does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana. mr. richmond: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close so i will yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. richmond: before yielding back, i would note that i'm especially proud of the

bipartisan manner in which this legislation has come to the floor, from its inception to the handling in the subcommittee, to today and i am especially proud that this legislation received unanimous support in committee. and i'm sure it received unanimous support because it wasn't a political thing to do, it was the right thing to do. and truly bestowing the honor on members in this country and people who truly deserve that hopper, but for them we would not be -- honor, but for them we would not be here today in the capacity that we are. so we have to understand and we recognize their sacrifice and it's their shoulders we stand upon as a nation. with that i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation and i would yield back the balance of my time. thank you. the eaker pro tempore: gentleman from louisiana yields back. the gentleman from north carolina. mr. hudson: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i

may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hudson: mr. speaker, as we walk around our nation's capitol and visit the numerous doctor capital and visit the numerous war -- capital and visit the numerous war memorials, we're remindsed of the sacrifices of our veterans. this is a simple and commonsense way to recognize and honor those sacrifices. mr. speaker, i'd again want to commend the gentleman from louisiana, mr. richmond, for his work authoring this legislation. i'm proud that we moved this forward in a bipartisan way, as the gentleman said earlier. this is not a political issue, this is not a partisan issue, this is an issue of right or wrong and it is right for us to honor our veterans, it's right for us to expedite their travel when they visit washington, d.c., and i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 4812, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: i move to suspend 4508. es and pass h.r. the clerk: a bill to amend the east bench irrigation district water contract extension act, to extends the contract for certain water services. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. daines, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous

materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. daines: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. daines: hearing that water services delivery could be in jeopardy for 60,000 acres of some of the most productive farm land in my home state of montana, i was happy to introduce this legislation that ensures that irrigation in southwest montana is protected. h.r. 4508 protects irrigation and water supplies in the beaver head valley by extending the district's contract while an updated contract is pending approval by the montana water court. this contract extension is necessary since the montana court system is in the middle of conducting a necessary state-required review of the new contract between the irrigation district and the united states. this bill does not prejudice the outcome of that examination, but keeps in place existing 1958 contract so area farmers and ranchers in the beaver head valley of montana have water supply certainty for

nearly 60,000 acres. the legislation has no costs to the federal government and is based on congressional precedence. in fact, congress has extended this 1958 contract a number of times, since an extension provides an irrigation district with an absolute right under federal law to negotiate a new contract with the bureau of reclamation. this bill simply adds six additional years to the last extension, thereby extending the 1958 contract until december 31, 2019, or until a new contract is executed. in this bill, there's hard work that's being done in montana. i especially want too thank mr. o -- want to thank mr. horitzko for working with me on this legislation to provide montana farmers and montana ranchers with much-needed certainty about their water supply.

the dylan, montana,-based attorney provided expert testimony on this bill before the house natural resources committee earlier this year. the irrigation district's work with me on this bill represents how manzielans can roll up their sleeves and get -- how montanaans can roll up their sleeves -- montanans can roll up their sleeves and get work done. i urge adoption of the bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from montana reserves. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. holt: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. holt: h.r. 4508, introduced by mr. daines, would extend the east bench irrigation district's water contract as he has said for six years pending a judicial ruling. the extension will allow the water to continue to be delivered to nearly 60,000 acres in the beaver head valley of montana, will protect the

right for contract renewal and will be useful to the residents of the area while the court confirmation process is given time for completion. i support this legislation, i ask my colleagues to support it as well and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i urge adoption of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 4508. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection the motion, the -- and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4562. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill.

the clerk: union calendar number 402, hrment r. 4562, a bill to authorize early repayment of obligations to the bureau of reclamation within the northport irrigation district in the state of nebraska. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. darningse and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, -- daines, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. daines: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. daines: h.r. 4562, sponsored by congressman smith of nebraska, allows farmers to repay lump sums of capital debt owed to about the -- owed to the bureau of reclamation. in many cases throughout the west, current federal law does not allow landowners to make such early repayments on federal irrigation projects. these outdated federal hurdles are similar to a bank prohibiting a homeowner from paying his or her mortgage

early. congressman smith's bill removes the federal bureau of reclamation repayment prohibition for individual landowners within the northport irrigation district. in return for such payments, these farmers will no longer be subject to the acreage limitations and the paperwork requirements in the reclamation reform act. according to the congressional budget office, this bill could generate up to $440,000 in federal revenue. the bill is based on two recent precedents that passed in both republican and democratic controlled houses and today we should continue those efforts by adopting this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i ask unanimous onsent to revise and extend my remarks and yield myself such time as i may consume. this would authorize land owners served by the northport

irrigation to prepay costs allocated to them. in exchange, the land owners who pay will no longer be subject to federal acreage limitations and other requirements associated with the act. i believe no one from the minority intends to oppose this legislation. and with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. smith. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. smith: thank you to the natural resources committee for moving this bill and to the gentleman from montana for his remarks. irrigation districts which receive water must repay their portion of the capital costs of the water project typically under long-term contracts. i introduced this bill to provide members of the northport

irrigation district eerily prepayment authority. the contract in question is more than 60 years old and continues to subject land owners to burdensome reporting requirements and acreage limitations without generating revenue to the federal government. allowing producers within the district to pay off their portion of the contract means the government will receive funds perhaps otherwise uncollected and the land owners will be relieved of costly constraints. for example, at a natural resources water and power subcommittee hearing, one member of the irrigation district testified the acreage limitation will prohibit parents who own land in the district from passing down or selling farmland to sons and daughters. similar legislation has passed under bipartisan majorities and could generate as much as $440,000 in federal revenue. this is a straightforward bill that would make a big difference

to family farmers in nebraska. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. holt: if the gentleman is ready to close, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i urge adoption of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3716. the clerk: union calendar number 398, h.r. 3716, a bill to ratify a water settlement agreement affecting the paiute tribe and

for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. daines and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, each will control 20 minutes. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that all members may include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. i yield myself such time as i may consume. h.r. 3716 is a bipartisan bill sponsored by the gentleman from nevada. it rat fisa water rights agreement between the paiute tribe and the fish springs ranch. although the bill does not authorize the ex pen ti did your of american taxpayer dollars, it is necessary due to the federal trust responsibility of the tribe and decreases the federal government's potential liabilities related to those trust duties. h.r. 3716 allows a water pipeline project to go forward while codifying an agreement that allows non-fd payments to

mitigate the damages associated with the pipeline. this is a win for the american taxpayer. this is a win for the tribe and this is a win for water users. i commend the congressman for his leadership and urge adoption of the legislation and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i yield myself such time as i may consume. h.r. 3716 would ratify a water settlement agreement between the paiute tribe and a subsidiary of the water company. it allows the company to continue operating a water project that provides water to the north reno area and fairly compensates the paiute tribe for any actual or potential water losses. as i understand the situation, the legislation is supported by all affected parties and will settle claims against the united tates at no cost to american

taxpayers. i support this legislation and happy to see it come to the floor. and i believe my colleagues from the minority of the committee on natural resources concur. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from from nevada. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. amodei: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman, and my colleague from big sky country. this legislation would authorize he pyramid lake pi out tribe the provisions would take effect after the tribe signs the waivers and fish springs pays the tribe. the amount in payment for those of you keeping track is $3.6 million. the tribe would dismiss pending legislation against b.l.m. for

violations in nepa and potential trust responsibilities related to the groundwater project. at that point any potential federal liability would be eliminated. this is a settlement reached between the two parties as a result of a lawsuit filed in 2005, settlement was reached in 2007. the damage amount of $3.6 million would include interest and would have added to it interest from 2007. the approach is simple, straightforward, no federal dollars involved and i recommend passage of the bill. thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: is the gentleman from montana ready to close, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from montana yields back. the question is will the house pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is

passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. daines: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2430 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 326, h.r. 2430, a bill to adjust the boundaries of patterson great falls national historical park to include hinchliffe stadium and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana and the gentleman from new jersey each will control 20 minutes. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. i yield myself such time as i may consume. himp cliff is a stadium in patterson, new jersey, built

between 1931 and 1932, surrounded by the city's historic district. only a handful of stadiums surviving nationally that once played host to negro league baseball. it adds the stadium into the boundaries of the patter son national historic park. this amends the park's boundary to include the stadium but an amendment prohibits federal ownership. the stadium will remain as it is today owned by local government. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. r. holt: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i would like to start commending my friend from new jersey, mr. pascrell, for his work, his persistent

diligent work on h.r. 2430 and the preceding legislation that created this important park site. the act that we are looking at now of which i'm pleased to be a co-sponsor, enjoys the support of every member of the new jersey congressional delegation. i should say the enthusiastic support of every member of the new jersey congressional delegation. will place within the great falls national historic park, which is one of the newest park service units in the country, this historic stadium. i would say by mistake or oversight or because of difficulties in the first drafting of the original legislation, the park boundaries did not include this historic stadium. this will correct that.

h.r. 2430 would adjust the boundaries of the current great falls national historic site to include the 10,000-seat stadium which is currently listed by the national trust for historic preservation as one of the most endangered historic places in the country. as we have heard, this is one of the last remaining stadiums in the nation where negro league baseball games were played and it was home to the new york black yankees and new york cubans and even though the names of these teams include new york, this area is very much new jersey. and has tremendous importance to the people of new jersey and to the history of new jersey. and it is of interest to the entire country. in preserving this historic stadium will be preserving a visual reminder of an

unfortunate but not forgotten era of racial segregation. segregation in america extended beyond the buses of alabama in the deep south. it was engrained throughout american society even into our national pasttime, baseball. the stadium will serve as an educational opportunity for future generations. to learn about this unfortunate past so we can continue to move forward collectively as a nation. his historic site brings memories and history of industrial revolution, of the political and patriotic origins of our nation, of art and culture and the american industry. and now it will also include this historic sports site.

so again i applaud my colleague, mr. pascrell for his efforts. and i urge support of this bill and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey. mr. holt: i'm pleased to yield as much time as he may consume , my colleague from pater son new jersey. mr. pascrell. mr. pascrell: the stadium overlooks the great falls of pat erson, new jersey, one of the largest water falls in the united states. it was built by the citizens of paterson as a public works project during a difficult situation in the united states, 1932, and it was named for the mayor at that time.

the stadium sits adjacent to the great falls national historical park. and new york black yankees played there and new york cubans, these games featured pat erson and other greats such as gibson and charleston and johnson made their appearances here. besides baseball, the stadium hosted events in professional football, boxing, wrestling, soccer, even auto racing throughout its long and storied history. it also was the home of the panthers, a professional football team and the great concerts that went on there. recently, it played host to all high school sports under the stewardship of the public school

system, but sadly, the stadium has sat in a state disuse since 1997 when the school system can no longer keep up with the maintainance. this would place the restoration on the national park service. this bill would spur private donations as well as state and local investments to make the necessary improvements in the stadium. the stewardship of the national park service will simply provide certainty of the stadium's future. mr. speaker, we are not talking about putting purple ropes around an edifice. we want this we want this stadium to be functional again. i think therefore that hinchcliffe stadium provides a golden opportunity for the park service to meet its goal of reaching out to urban communities, minorities, and

immigrant groups. this legislation would vastly enhance the significance of the great falls national historical park which this body voted on a few years ago. lthough the great falls parks' current historic assets focus on patterson's role as the birth place of american industry, hinchcliffe shows us the human side of our workers, the blue collar worker. who came to this country, who came to patterson to work in mills through waves of immigration and migration. their descendants are the pattersonians and new jerseyans in america today. new immigrants continue to shape the american dream. as it was originally introduced, the legislation establishing the patterson great falls national park included hinchcliffe stadium within the park boundy -- woundries.

the stadium's historic significance was found to be in need of further study, the study was completed last year, reaching a conclusion that the people of new jersey have long known, that hinchcliffe stadium has played a vital role in our history. as a result, hinchcliffe stadium was designated a a national historic landmark. the importance of this effort to the people of new jersey is evidenced by the fact that the entire new jersey delegation has joined together as original co-sponsors and of course in a bipartisan way. we have the support of the -- of a broad group of stake holders from local community organizations to a large national advocacy organization. i would ask permission to enter into the record the letters of support from the national baseball hall of fame, the national trust for historic preservation, the national parks conservation association, the new jersey community development

corporation, the hamilton partnership of patterson, the friends of hinchcliffe stadium, our former past mayor, mayor cramer and current chair of the great falls advisory commission and the current property owner, the patterson board of education. mr. speaker, our nation has recognized the significance of hinchcliffe stadium's contributions to our country and our history. this is a vital part of the history of our state and our nation. now is the time to ensure that the story has a place in our national park system. for generations to come. i would urge my colleagues to join in supporting this legislation. i thank you for this time and i yield back and i thank again both managers. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. e gentleman --

>> do we have unanimous consent to include in the record what our colleague, mr. pascrell, has asked? the speaker pro tempore: yes, without objection. mr. holt: this is a national his tore -- of national historic importance and i urge support of this legislation to expand the boundary of the national historic site. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from montana is recognized. mr. daines: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2430? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek

recognition? mr. daines: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3802 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 377, h.r. 3802, a bill to extend the legislative authority of the adams memorial fundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former president john adams and his legacy. and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. daines, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. holt, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative tais to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection sms 6. -- without objection. mr. daines: i yield myself such time as i may consume. in 2001, president george bush signed public law 107-62 which

authorized the adams memorial foundation to create commemorative work on federal land in the district of columbia. when completed, the memorial will honor former president john adams along with his wife, abigail adams, former president john quincy adams, and their legacy of public service. the foundation has been working toward securing a location for the memorial but a previous extension to their authority expired in 2013. h.r. 3802 authorizes an extension to this authority so that the foundation may continue development and planning until december 2, 2020. no federal funds are involved in the creation of this memorial. this extension has no impact on the federal budget. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. holt: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. holt: as many of us know,

finding a location for a memorial in washington, d.c. is not always easy. in 2001, congress authorized the adams memorial foundation to establish a memorial in washington to honor the public service and leg sthoif adams family. -- legacy of the adams family. planning sometimes takes longer than the initial authorization allows. in this case, the foundation was granted an extension which expired in 2013. h.r. 380 grants another xtension until 2020. i'm happy to provide more time to make sure that president john adams and his wife, abigail adams, and president john quincy adams all receive the commemoration in our nation's capital that their sacrifice and service deserve. i would particularly like to

thank my colleague from massachusetts, mr. lynch, for sponsoring this bill and for navigating it through the legislative process. i think without his hard work, this memorial may have been mired in the planning process and might never be built. but i now believe that with this extension, we will see a worthy and fitting commemoration of the adamses. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from montana is recognized. mr. daines: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. holt: i'm pleased to yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from massachusetts, mr. lynch. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lynch: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman for yielding the time and also for his kind words. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill, h.r. 3802, to

extend the legislative authority of the john adams memorial foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former president john adams and his legacy and for other purposes. i'd like to thank the full committee chairman, doc hastings, and ranking member peter defazio, as well as the gentleman from utah, subcommittee chairman rob bishop and ranking member raul grijalva for helping get this very important bill to the floor. this bill simply extends the authorization of the john adams memorial foundation for seven years. it is supported by the entire massachusetts delegation as well as chairman bishop, as i said, and will allow the adams memorial foundation, the national park service, the national capital memorial advisory commission and all the stake holders to continue to work toward finding a site and building a commemorative memorial hon norg president john adams and his family and the role they played in the shaping of our great nation. i have the great and good

fortune to represent the massachusetts' eighth -- the massachusetts eighth congressional district, a district rich in history that includes the city of quincy, the city of presidents. quincy is home to the adams national historic park, birth ea -- birth place of john adams and the home at which his family lived inle 1927. i am proud to hold the house seat associated with our nation's sixth president and dedicated public servant, john quincy adams. john adams was a defender of due process, champion of independence, diplomat, vice president, president and founding father he authored the massachusetts constitution, which is the oldest continually functioning written constitution in the world, and the document after which the united states constitution preektly referenced on this very -- frequently -- united states constitution, frequently referenced on this very floor, was modeled. he was the first president to

occupy the white house. yet there's no memorial to one of our most influential founding fathers a man thomas jefferson called a colossus of independence. that's a tragic omission that must be corrected. our former colleague and my dear friend, congressman bill delahunt acted to correct this eversight when he introduced the bill authorizing the creation of the adams memorial foundation. the adams foundation was established to commemorate not only john adams, but the leg sthoif adams family who for generations embraced his ideals, including his wife abactually, his son and sixth president, congressman john quincy adams, his wife, louisa katherine, their sons, charles francis adams and his sons henry adams and brooks adams. as the enabling legislation states, both individually and collectively, the members of this ill lust res you family have enriched the nation through their profound civic consciousness, abiding belief in

the perfect blingt of the nation's democksained commitment to service and sacrifice for the common good. the adams historical foundation and others have been committed to realizing its goal of creating a commemorative memorial. however, siting a commemorative memorial in the nation's capital is an arduous undertaking, maize colleagues have pointed out. despite broad support and the best efforts of the adams memorial foundation, we remain without an agreed upon location, but we're getting much closer, for this important memorial. i know all the stake holders firmly believe the adams' legacy is worthy of memorializing in the nation's capital. this bill if passed, will give all parties time to reach an agreement on an appropriation he case that honors president adams' legacy. for those of who grew up in massachusetts, the john and abigail adams memorial, their

family, and our nation's service is a beacon on which to focus our own efforts. george washington, thomas jefferson and john adams, the sword, the voice of our independence. yet he continues to go unrecognized. i look forward to working with the adams memorial foundation, the national capital memorial advisory commission and others to help correct this oversightism thank chairman bishop of utah for his courtesy and support of this legislation. i want to thank both the chairman and ranking member, mr. holt, for yielding me this time and i urge my colleagues to support this very important bill and i yield back he the -- yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from montana is recognized. mr. daines: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. holt feather if the

gentleman from montana is ready to close -- i yield back the balance of my time with the strong recommendation that we pass this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from montana. mr. daines: i too strongly support passage of this bill and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3802 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on he table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 4411, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4411, a bill to prevent hezbollah and associated entities from gaining access to international financial and other institutions, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. royce, and the gentleman from new york, mr. engel, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. royce: mr. speaker, i'm going to ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and make ir remarks -- put any extraneous material on this measure into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. royce: i thank you, mr. speaker. i'm going to yield myself such

time as i may consume. i rise in very strong support of this measure, and i want to thank the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mark meadows, who's the author of this legislation, along with mr. schneider and ranking member eliot engel of new york, for their bipartisan leadership on this critically important subject. today israel is at war with hamas and thousands of rockets, over 2,000 so far, including advanced iranian-supplied rockets have been fired indiscriminantly to civilians from tel aviv to jerusalem all across israel for the past two weeks and at the outset hamas was estimated to have 10,000 missiles. well, hamas, which has been attacking israeli civilians, is also using a sophisticated tunneling network, it's a

sophisticated terrorist organization. but my friends, it peals in comparison with -- it pales in comparison with hezbollah and they have over 10,000 sophisticated missiles right now in southern lebanon, nearly all of which were supplied by iran. hezbollah has carried out a number of terrorist attacks across the globe, from bulgaria to cyprus to india to thailand. also here in the western hemisphere. now, i have seen firsthand in 2006 the work of hezbollah. i was in haifa as they were targeting civilian neighborhoods and those rockets, iranian made and syrian-made rockets were slamming into people's homes, were being targeted on the hospital itself. every one of these had 90,000 ball bearings. the only intent was to create mass casualties, and in that

trauma hospital there were over 600 victims. that is the work of hezbollah. hezbollah has actively targeted the united states now for 30 years, and i ask my colleagues to reflect on their history. prior to the attacks of subject 11, 2001, frankly hezbollah was responsible for the largest number of american deaths by terrorist organizations up until that point when al qaeda carried out that attack. and by the way, these include the 1983 bombing of the united states embassy in berute, the bombing of the united states marine -- beirut, the bombing of the united states marine corps that same year. they were behind the kidnaps in beirut as well as international airline hijackings and targets to united states personnel in saudi arabia. hezbollah provided the funding and provided the weapons to iraqi militias to do what, to

target american personnel and kill them in iraq. lethal, yes, but hezbollah is also vulnerable. it is vulnerable to steps we can take. severe international sanctions against its patron, iran, have reportedly led to a decrease in the funding to hezbollah and as a result this organization's been forced to turn increasingly to its transnational organized criminal enterprises in order to expand its operational capabilities. in 2011 we saw the tip of the iceberg when a massive drug and money laundering operation for hezbollah's benefit in weapons, logistics and training was uncovered. we must remember that any sanctions relief that we provide to iran for a nuclear agreement will have an impact on iran's ability to further support hezbollah. and in response the hezbollah

international financing prevention act of 2014, this bill, written by mark meadows, builds on the existing sanctions regime by placing hezbollah's sources of financing under additional scrutiny, particularly those resources outside of lebanon. in addition to targeting the terrorist organization's diverse financial network, the legislation also requires the u.s. government to report on hezbollah's global logistics network and its transnational criminal organized enterprises, including all of its drug smuggling operations. the goal is to improve coordination and cooperation with allies and other responsible countries in confronting the increasing threat posed by hezbollah. and i strongly urge my colleagues to support this critical measure. i will reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: mr. speaker, i yield

myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. engel: thank you, mr. speaker. let me just say before i begin that once again the foreign affairs committee is acting in a bipartisan way, by speaking with one voice, to say no to terrorism, and i want to thank chairman royce for the bipartisan way that he's conducted this committee. we believe that foreign policy is best when it's bipartisan, and there is no difference here between members. we all condemn terrorist organizations, like hezbollah. so i rise in strong support of h.r. 4411, the hezbollah international financing prevention act. this legislation will greatly enhance our ability to confront hezbollah as they continue to sew terror around the gloib. as the chairman pointed out, hezbollah is a terrorist organization, just like its cousin hamas, and terrorism must be confronted whenever it

raises its ugly head, be it here in israel, be it here in the united states of america, everywhere around the globe we must confront hezbollah and say with one voin we will not accept it ever. 10 years ago i work the syria accountability act, which congress passed and was signed into law by president bush. at that point syria was already working closely with iran by strengthening hezbollah by shipping thousands of iranian rockets and missiles to the group. a decade later hezbollah has become a more sophisticated terrorist organization, but their goal remains the same, supporting iran's nefarious agenda. once dependent on assad in syria, hezbollah is now returning the favor. the intervention on the syrian war on the side of assad has provided a new leaf on lice on the assad regime.

in fact, it's the reason why assad believes he's winning this war and can continue to kill his own people, continue to use starvation as an act of war and continue to do horrific things to hundreds of thousands of its citizens. hezbollah has also had a corrosive effect on lebanese politics, holding the lebanese people hostage to its demand that they must accept its legal armed forces. a terrorist army which is perptually at war with lebanon's southern neighbor, israel. mr. speaker, claims that hezbollah is just a political organization or some kind of a social services agency is simply naive, untrue, just plain lies. this bill exposes the group for what it is, a vicious terrorist organization with a global reach, including an operational capacity in the united states. the united states is responding to this threat, and last week the treasury department sanctioned companies for procuring engines,

communications, electronics and navigation equipment for hezbollah. it's time to impose even stronger sanctions on hezbollah. it's time to focus on their evolving efforts to raise money all over the world, whether through kidnapping and ransom, conflict diamonds, narco trafficking and other criminal enterprises. this would sanction foreign banks for knowingly facilitating actions with hezbollah and noting them as a narcotics association. we are currently in negotiation with iran. iran didn't come to the table because they're good government or nice people. they came to the table because our sanctions, passed by congress, is crippling their economy. we must do the same thing and cripple hezbollah. this bill shines a bright light on hezbollah's television station which is itself especially designated terrorist group.

hezbollah uses the station for propagating and fundraising purposes. it's shocking this station is still carried by satellite providers all over the world. it's just an outrage. by passing this legislation, congress is seeking to give the administration every tool it needs to confront hezbollah in this dangerous world. i want to thank representative meadows for the extraordinary work he's put into this legislation. i want to thank representative schneider for also doing yeoman's work in making sure that this legislation is here and, again, it is another example of the bipartisan cooperation we have on the foreign affairs committee so this congress will speak with one voice and say we will never accept the scourge of terrorism, be it hezbollah or be it hamas. mr. meadows and mr. schneider has made sure this is a responsible and targeted bill focused on cutting off hezbollah's financial lifeline without unintended consequences. so mr. speaker, let me say as

hezbollah doubles down to defend the assad regime and expands its political presence in europe and elsewhere, now is the time for us to ramp up our efforts, to disrupt its global logistics and financial network. and let me say it is a disgrace that the european union, while designating hezbollah's armed wing as a terrorist organization, tries to separate it from its social services wing and pretend that somehow hezbollah's social services aren't a terrorist organization. they are a terrorist organization and that is an umbrella group and it confronts everything and they must be boycotted and we're doing that today. so i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. royce: well, mr. speaker, i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. mark meadows, although a new member to the committee, a very active member on foreign affairs and

the author of this important legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from north carolina is recognized. mr. meadows: thank you, mr. speaker. and i would like to thank the chairman of the full committee, chairman royce, for his leadership, his kind words but really for bringing forth this bill so that the american people can once again unify against what we all know is a blight on our country, a blight on our world when terrorism prevails, we must stand firm. and i want to thank the chairman for his leadership on that. also want to echo the comments of the ranking member where he talked about this being a bipartisan effort. indeed, we have the chairman, the ranking member taking a lead. my colleague, mr. schneider from illinois, working with us on this. and today we have an opportunity to place a critical blow to hezbollah.

the committee staff, our staff has worked very hard for many, many months to make sure that this is a targeted bill and so i rise today in support of h.r. 4411, the hezbollah international financing prevention act. but really what it's about, mr. speaker, is about making sure that those that are innocent are protected, because as the chairman so eloquently put earlier, over 2,000 rockets have gone into israel in the last few days. but today some 20,000 to 30,000 rockets are aimed at israel, and the trigger person, the trigger organization is hezbollah. so we must pass this legislation to make sure that what we can do is cripple their ability to finance and put people out of harm's way. you know, hezbollah has many different faces, mr. speaker.

in some areas they're called a charitable organization. in some areas they're talked about as a political organization in latin america, they're talked about as ones who would traffic narcotics. in the north america, they are money launderers and counterfeit ring producers and yet what we have is many faces for hezbollah but one soul and that soul is dedicated to really eliminating a people off the face of this world. and so today i rise in support of this, asking my colleagues to join me to make sure that we send a clear message, not only to the united states but to the world as a whole. some people would say, well, why should we be doing this? this may only deal with europe or israel or syria. it doesn't really affect me, but i'm going to close with

this, mr. speaker. these words are not my words. they're the words of the u.s. attorney from the western district of north carolina, ann thompkins, and she was talking about mohammed hamoud, who was a member and student of hezbollah as a youth in his home country and he came to the united states on a hezbollah-driven mission, one that he loyally carried out, creating millions of dollars to nd back for terrorism in a faraway place but it wasn't just a faraway place because when he was in jail he ordered the death of a prosecutor who was prosecutoring him, ordered the bombing of a courthouse in charlotte, north carolina. so if it's not for israel and if it's not for syria and not for europe or latin america, maybe it's for the united states of america. let's come together and make

sure that we pass this critical piece of legislation, and i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i yield five minutes to my friend and colleague from illinois, mr. brad schneider, co-author of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. schneider: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 4411, the hezbollah international financing prevention act. i would particularly like to thank the ranking member for the time this afternoon and for the tremendous bipartisan support shown in the foreign affairs committee to atrezz one of our most critical national security challenges. the way this committee is run, both by the ranking member and chairman, making a difference and taking the chacks of our world in a bipartisan way is most remarkable and worthy of our nation. i want to thank my friend, mark

meadow, along with the chairman and ranking member, for their tireless efforts on this important piece of legislation. i would also like to thank the outstanding effort of the majority and minority staff, along with many me des' staff and my own team that put so much time and effort into perfecting this bill. the united states has designated hezbollah as a terrorist organization since 1995. as earlier noted work the sole exception of al qaeda, hezbollah is responsible for more american deaths abroad than any other terrorist organization. the legislation we are considering today would give the administration the means necessary to combat hezbollah's global financial network. the bill not only broadens treasury department's ability to sanction hezbollah finances and gives the administration another tool to go after hezbollah for its narcotics and counterfeit goods trafficking. further more, the bill cripples a television station that

broadcasts pro-hezbollah propaganda around the area. we have known for years that the international terrorist organization hezbollah has planned, funded and executed terrorist attacks in the middle east, europe and the western hemisphere. it continues to use underground networks and ill list materials to fundraise its global instability efforts. it has used u.s. and european banks along with their subsidiaries to hide and launder money out of the south american and european finance arenas, financing thousands of hezbollah operatives around the globe. one need only look at some of hezbollah's attacks to understand the true threat they pose to national security. in 1983, hezbollah bombed the u.s. baraks in beirut, lebanon, killing 248 marines. in 1992 they bombed the embassy

in mexico killing 49. in 1994, they tpwhomed jewish cultural center can killing 95. in 1996, they conducted cross border raids into israel, kidnapping soldier which is led to a 34-day military conflict between israel and lebanon. in 2011, reports indicated that hezbollah was behind a bombing in istanbul that wounded eight turkish citizens. in 2012, authorities apprehended hezbollah operative planning terrorist activity against civil an airlines. speaker, these are just a scarce few of the activities of hezbollah that have targeted u.s. interests our our allies around the world. in particular over the last two weeks, we have seen the

incredible destabilizing force iran continues to play in the middle east. stockpiles of iranian made rockets have aloud hamas and islamic jihad to put all of israel's major population centers under threat of indiscriminate attack on civilians. in the last two weeks alone, over ,000 rockets have rained down over israel. in lebanon, the threat is even greater. hezbollah maintains a massive stockpile of iranian arms with greater range and far greater lethality than those launched from gaza. tens of thousands of rockets are aimed at israel and could be unleashed at any moment. that is why today it is such a critical first step toward thwarting the unrelenting force. the sanctions included in this legislation will stem the ability of hezbollah to purchase arms and ememployee -- employ operatives throughout the mideast and around the globe. we can and must do more to stem

these activeties. today we have that opportunity and i hope you'll join us in combating this pressing threat to u.s. national security. the hezbollah international financing prevention act provides the administration with vital tools to go after financial institutions and satellite providers that deliver material support and propaganda tools to hezbollah. this important effort will result in fewer resources falling into the hands of terrorist who was shown great resilience in attacking western targets, in addition to the destabilizing efforts in the middle east. i want to thank the chairman and ranking member again, along with my friend, mark meadows, for working with us to introduce this important legislation. with more than 319 co-sponsors in the house -- mr. engel: i yield the gentleman another minute. mr. schneider: i hope that this body will support passage thend the senate will move swiftly to pass the legislation as well. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman from california is recognized. >> i'm going to reserve the right to close, should there be any more speakers that mr. engel has on his side. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i now yield three minutes to my colleague, the gentlewoman from my home state of new york, ms. mention. .- ms. meng well then, mr. speaker, let me close. let me close by saying this legislation comes at a very, very critical time. anyone can turn on the tv or go

online and know the region seem tbs falling further into chaos. as we seek greater stability, cutting hezbollah off from its financial lifeline is an important step to that end. we did this before with iran and the naysayers said what congress did wouldn't wouldn't be important because it wouldn't have that much affect. we proved them wrong. again, as i mentioned, there are negotiations now going on between the united states and iran to end their nuclear program. they're at the negotiating table only because we slapped tough sanctions on them, brought their economy to its knees this can be done with hezbollah. this is what we're trying to do today. so i urge pass odge of this important legislation and i want to thank chairman royce again, mr. meadows and mr. schneider and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from california is ecognized.

>> i ask unanimous consent -- mr. royce: i ask unanimous consent to place into the record letters from other committees with jurisdiction in this bill, financial services would be one, judiciary, and in closing, let me agree with mr. engel's observation. that this is a critical time in the mideast and also with our frustration that during this time, iran should continue to increase its support for its patron, hezbollah, because for those of us with a longer memory, we remember how much they have increased their capability to do harm as a result of that funding that's come from iran. hezbollah initiated killings and bombings have occurred to the frustration of our european allies, to those in asia, those in latin america, today on

virtually every continent. in 2012, hezbollah carried out a bus bombing in bulgaria, many of us remember that. plotted an attack in cyprus, leading to the european union's designation of hezbollah's military wing as a terrorist organization. furthermore, hezbollah continues to fight on behalf of the assad regime in syria's brutal civil war. one of the things we have seen is missiles being brought over the border from syria into southern lebanon, by hezbollah. we have seen the deaths in syria at the hands of hezbollah ghters, it's resulted in the deaths of thousands and thousands of people. and most importantly, hezbollah has been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of americans. that's a third reason why we are

focused on this terrorist organization. we must do everything in our power to target hezbollah's lifeline, target their financing, and i urge all members to support this legislation, thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. without objection, the gentleman's materials will be entered into the record. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4411 as amended? those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- mr. royce: on that, mr. speaker, i would request a recorded vote on this measure. i would request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this otion will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from nebraska seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4450 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4450, a bill to

extend the travel promotion act of 2009 and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. terry, and the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. schakowsky, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska. mr. terry: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislate i days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the record on this bill and i would like to include an exchange of letters between the committee on energy and commerce and the committee of homeland security. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. tery -- mr. terry: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. terry: i rise in support of h.r. 4450, the travel promotion and enhancement modernization act, reported out of the committee on commerce, manufacturing and trade on july 9, 22-0. h.r. 4450 sailed through the

full committee on energy and commerce on july 15, by voice vote. i thank congressman bilirakis for his hard work not only in crafting a very smart bill with the appropriate reforms but also gaining strong bipartisan support along the way. i also thank his co-sponsor, mr. welch, of vermont, for being the lead democratic sponsor. the travel promotion act matches $100 million in fees from foreign travelers with $100 million in contributions, voluntary contributions, from the industry to invest in advertising abroad. in 2013 alone, brand u.s.a. generated $1.-- generated 1.1 million visitors to the united states who spent $3.4 billion and support -- and supported 53,181 u.s. jobs. now, we always think of orlando, california, miami, disneyland,

hollywood, disney world as the tourist spots that are known worldwide. but thanks to t.p.a. and brand u.s.a., travel agents from abroad can be educated and educate their cliventes on popular attractions all over america's heartland, not just new york city and los angeles. nebraska alone has seen $4.4 billion spent and 44,275 jobs supported throughout the life of brand u.s.a. and with h.r. 4450 we increase accountability as well as transparency to ensure that brand u.s.a. is run efficiently. i'm pleased that the legislation makes contributions to brand u.s.a. voluntarily compulsary.

some recognize this to the travel promotion, enhancement and modernization act. supporters nk the so we can pass this under suspension of the rules. i was fortunate to report the bill out of my subcommittee so our economy can continue to benefit from brand u.s.a. i encourage a yea vote from all of the members on both sides of the aisle and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. ms. schakowsky: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. as the ranking member of the subcommittee on commerce, manufacturing and trade, i'm pleased that this bipartisan bill, h.r. 4450, the travel promotion, enhancement and modernization act of 2014 was reported out of the full energy and commerce committee last

week. the bill, which authorizes the brand u.s.a. program through fiscal year 2020, is an important achievement for our committee. i appreciate mr. upton and mr. terry, the chairman of our -- the chairmen of our committee and subcommittee, and mr. waxman, the full committee ranking member for helping bring this legislation to the floor. i strongly support brand u.s.a.'s mission of promoting international travel to the united states, and i have heard from travel and tourism professionals across my district about the need to re-authorize this program. but it's not just the chicago area that benefits. brand u.s.a. supports 350,000 jobs and $3.4 billion in visitors' spending each year from coast to coast, according to the u.s. travel association. i would like to thank mr. bilirakis and mr. welch, the sponsors of h.r. 4450, for their continued commitment to

the promotion of international tourism. the sponsors worked with me to make some important improvements to this legislation during the committee markup process. the amendments we made to the bill will make brand u.s.a. even more accountable and economically viable moving forward. due to our efforts, the bill incorporates several recommendations that the government accountability office made in a 2013 report. the department of commerce is now required to establish specific publicly available time frames and conditions for how brand u.s.a. revises and resolves disagreements related to its contribution policy. having a set policy will not only promote greater transparency, it will also, in the words of g.a.o., quote, enable productive interactions and facilitate collaboration, end quote. g.a.o. has also suggested that brand u.s.a. be directed to

develop a plan that specifies time frames, methodologies and data sources for measuring its performance and the campaign's impact. by explicitly requiring those criteria, the bill now gives the organization more direction on the type of information it should collect and establishes metrics that can more effectively determine the success of the program. i was glad that the bill's sponsors proposed lowering the cap on in-kind contributions in the underlying bill, and i'm thankful that mr. bilirakis joined me to offer an amendment to lower the cap even further during the full committee markup last week. every contribution to brand u.s.a., whether public or private, cash or in-kind is important to the organization's ongoing success, but i believe that the program is in the best possible position to maintain and build on its success through robust cash contributions by the private

sector. brand u.s.a.'s continued long-term success is essential to communities, like my district, realize the economic and cultural benefits of tourism and travel. brand u.s.a. has been successful in its first few years, and i firmly believe that this legislation improves the program even more. again, i applaud brand u.s.a. for its ongoing efforts to encourage people from all over the world to enjoy everything our country has to offer, and i am sure the chairman of our subcommittee, not only coast by coast, but also the center of the country as well, and i thank the sponsors for their continued efforts to ensure the longevity of this valuable program and strongly encourage my colleagues to support this important bill. right now i reserve the balance f my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from. the gentleman from nebraska is recognized. mr. terry: thank you. i recognize the full committee

chair, the gentleman from michigan, mr. upton, for as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. upton: well, thank you, mr. speaker. thank you very much. a very , yes, it is important bill that will increase jobs in the economy by producing, by promoting the u.s. as a world-class travel destination. the bill re-authorizes brand u.s.a. and increases program accountability and transparency thanks in large part to the endments and the regular process we went through in committee. in 2013, brand u.s.a. generated an additional 1.1 million visitors to the u.s. and as mr. terry said, $3.4 billion, billion in additional spending at u.s. businesses. the increased triggered

spending -- that spending triggered the creation of more than 53,000 american jobs and $2.2 billion in payroll. so this brand u.s.a. delivers all those benefits to the u.s. economy at no cost to the american taxpayers. no cost. earlier this month in my district i held a roundtable to discuss the benefits of tourism and how this program contributes to southwest michigan's economy. we had local legislators, we had chambers of commerce, we had tourism organizations and we had state officials and it was noted that in my district in southwest michigan we had nearly $1 billion in spending in 2012 supporting over 9,300 jobs and $200 million in payroll annually just for tourists. $1 billion spent in southwest michigan by tourists. it was also noted that the

re-authorization -- that the re-authorization of this bill was their number one priority. it expires next year and one of the commitments i made was to sigh if we could move it in an expeditious manner, to give the senate a little time, so it doesn't get caught off later, knowing it was bipartisan from the git-go. i applaud particularly mr. bilirakis, who's going to speak a little bit later, his colleague, mr. welch, both very, very good members on our committee for their working together and their leadership to spear head this bipartisan bill. i was glad to see it passed on recorded vote that was unanimous in subcommittee and full committee as well. i want to thank the leadership of ms. schakowsky and mr. waxman as we worked through this bill and really get it to the floor as quickly as we can. this is jobs. this is not a cost to the american taxpayer. it ought to be something that

we could pass on a pretty good vote this afternoon. i yield back my time to the gentleman from nebraska. mr. terry: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. ms. schakowsky: yes. i'd like to yield right now three minutes to the gentlelady from nevada, a place that ertainly benefits -- i don't know if we've benefited but we've had fun in her district, dina titus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from nevada is recognized for three minutes. ms. titus: thank you. i thank my friend from illinois for yielding and for visiting my district whenever she can. i rise in strong support of r. 4450, the travel, promotion, enhancement modernization act of 2014. i'm an orge co-sponsor of this legislation and i thank my friend, mr. bilirakis, for his

leadership on this issue. during the 111th congress i was proud to be an original co-sponsor of the first travel promotion act which actually established brand u.s.a. prior to the passage of that act, the united states was one of the only countries in the world that did not promote its unique destination to foreign visitors. since its creation, brand u.s.a. has played a critical role in bringing foreign visitors to destinations throughout the united states, including my district of las vegas. through innovative, targeted and effective marketing campaigns, brand u.s.a. has directly connected foreign visitors with world-famous destinations in district one, including the fabulous strip, the new arts district and the hip, edgy downtown section of las vegas. foreign visitors to the united ates are critical to the travel and tourism industry.

people spend $4,500 during their visit. this certainly creates jobs in las vegas and around the country. brand u.s.a. has been very effective in bringing more of these visitors to the united states. for example, as you heard in 2013 brand u.s.a. was directly responsible for a million new visits, generating $3.4 billion in new visitor spending and supporting 53,000 u.s. jobs. and this was all without spending a dime of taxpayer dollars. today, we have a chance to re-authorize the work that began with the travel promotion act and remain so critical to our economy today. i look forward to continuing my work with brand u.s.a., to support the travel and tourism industry, to bring more visitors to las vegas and to other destinations around the world, from grand canyon to niagara falls, including chicago and even nebraska. so i urge my colleagues to

support h.r. 4450 and i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields. the gentleman from nebraska is recognized. mr. terry: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm going to recognize the gentleman from florida, the author of this bill, chief negotiator that worked on -- in a very bipartisan way in this committee and allowed it to come out of our committee in a unanimous way, recognize the gentleman from florida for four minutes. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized for four minutes. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. chairman. i appreciate all your good work on this bill as well, your leadership on this very important subcommittee, and i appreciate it very much. mr. speaker, h.r. 4450, the travel promotion, enhancement and modernization act, which would re-authorize brand u.s.a. numerous ted time has accountability measures and strengthens the transparency of

the public-private partnerships that promotes increased tourism to the united states. passage of h.r. 4450 will be good for the economy. it's a jobs bill, mr. speaker. a recent analysis performed by the independent firm oxford economics estimated that in fiscal year 2013 brand u.s.a. generated 1.1 million additional international visitors who spent an estimated $3.4 billion, generating economic revenue and supporting job creation in communities across america. brand u.s.a. does not impose a cost upon the federal government. it has helped to reduce the deficit during the last two fiscal years and is expected to continue to do so. in fact, the respected and nonpartisan congressional budget office estimates that h.r. 4450 will reduce the

deficit by $231 million over 10 years. it's a win-win, mr. speaker. it's important to note that federal taxpayer dollars are not used to fund brand u.s.a. brand u.s.a. is supported by international visitors and voluntary private sector contributors. after it receives contribution from the private sector, brand u.s.a. can only collect up to $100 million in matching funds from fees paid by foreign travelers. amounts collected in excess of that cap are returned to the treasury for deficit reduction. finally, given the benefits to the economy across state lines as well as the competitive nature of foreign competitors and travel promotion, congress is well within its authority under the commerce clause to extend the travel promotion

act. small state and local tourism offices and local small businesses across america are some of the strongest supporters of the travel promotion act and benefit greatly from international tourism. brand u.s.a. helps bridge these communities and opens up new markets to american competition. i appreciate that this legislation includes important reforms this bill improves an already existing partnership, mr. speaker. i thank chairman upton for his leadership, again, subcommittee chair, chairman terry, doing an outstanding job, all those who have contributed to this bill. our lead co-sponsor, mr. peter welch, and my co-chair of the tourism caucus, mr. farr, who i believe will speak in a few minutes, for their work on this legislatn