the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. bopbopbop -- those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise? mr. polis: on that i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: 227. the nays are 193. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the

house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, rise? mr. camp: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 727, i callp the bill h.r. 4, the jobs for america act, and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: a bill to make revisions to the federal law to improve the conditions necessary for economic growth and job creation, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 727, the bill is considered as read. the gentleman from michigan, mr. camp, and the gentleman from new york, mr. rangel, each will control 60 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 4. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. camp: mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's investigate -- correct. he house will be in order.

the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: every day, honest hardworking men and women are struggling. far too many families haven't seen a pay raise in years and many have lost hope and stopped looking for work entirely. h.r. 4, the jobs for america act, will strengthen the economy by creating more jobs with higher take-home pay. mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is correct. the house are in order. -- the house will be in order. members please take their conversations off the floor. the house will be in order.

the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: the house has already passed dozens of bipartisan solutions that will break down burdensome regulations and promote policies that allow businesses large and small to do what they do best -- grow, innovate, and hire new workers. the bill we have before us today, the jobs for america act, includes provisions that have strong bipartisan support in both the house and senate. the research and development credit, which has been around for over 30 years, is a proven way to incentivize u.s. companies to innovate, create new products, and invest in the u.s. the united states is the only country that allows important pieces of its tax code to expire on a regular basis. businesses cannot grow and invest when the tax code is riddled with instability and uncertainty. making the r&d tax credit permanent also supports good-paying jobs. according to the national association of manufacturers, 70% of research and development credit dollars are used to pay

salaries of r&d workers. and the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation estimates that making the r&d credit permanent could increase the amount of research and development american companies undertake by up to 10%. that translates into more workers, higher wages, and increased innovation here in the united states. this bill would also make permanent bonus depreciation and section 179 expensing at higher levels. allowing businesses, farmers, and ranchers to plan for the future and expand their businesses. the result, more jobs and higher wages for hardworking americans. tax foundation analysis found that permanent bonus depreciation would add -- mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: members will take their conversation off the floor. will the members to the right of the speaker please take their conversation off the floor, lease.

the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: this bill would make permanent bonus depreciation in section 179 expensing at higher levels, allowing businesses, farmers, and ranchers plan for the future and expand their businesses. the result of that is more jobs, higher wages for hardworking americans. the tax foundation analysis found that permanent bonus depreciation would add $182 billion to the economy and increase wages by 1% which creates 212,000 jobs. additionally, the bill additionally, a popular and important business structure that's used by millions of small businesses across the country. this commonsense effort will give small businesses some much-needed relief from the burdens of the tax code, allowing them to invest and create new jobs. this bill would also repeal some of the job-killing provisions of the health care law. the current 30-hour rule in the

to re-authorize and improve the child care and development block grant act of 1990, and for other purposes' employer mandate result -- affordable care act proposes employer mandate. and it puts a government regulation on workers. as a direct result, americans across the country are having their hours cut at work and seeing smaller paychecks. at a time when the cost of groceries, gas and health care keep increasing, lower paychecks are simply unacceptable. worst of all, the law hits lower-income americans the hardest. 2.6 million workers with a median income of under $30,000 a year are at risk of losing jobs or hours. 89% of the workers impacted by the rule don't have college degrees. 63% of which are women and over half have a high school diploma or less. so simply restoring the definition of full-time work to

40 hours will ensure the hardest working americans don't see their hours and wages cut as a result of the health care law. and this bill also ensures that no small business that hires veterans returning from service overseas who already have coverage through tricare or the v.a. aren't -- are not counted under the employer mandate. and we repeal the medical device tax which is stifling medical innovation and hurting jobs. according to a survey, the medical device tax has already resulted in 14,000 jobs lost in the industry and prevented 19,000 jobs from being created. this tax is contributing to lackluster job creation and hampering medical innovation. we have strong bipartisan support for repeal of this tax and to repeal it before even more detrimental harm is done to the work force and medical community. these are only a few among a long list of policies that will ultimately get americans back

to work and increase their quality of living, with better jobs, higher take-home pay and a stronger economy, we can offer a brighter future for our youth and ease the everyday burdens felt by individuals nationwide. it's time to create an america that works, and, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: jarment. the gentleman from new york is recognized, mr. rangel. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, i reserve myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rangel: it is awkward and embarrassing to stand on this floor to discuss something described as a jobs for america bill. fortunately we democrats don't have to expend too much energy because of the lack of credibility that the majority party has with any type of legislation designed to help those people who are without employment.

the irony of this whole thing is that our distinguished chairman spent hours, days, weeks and months putting together a tax reform bill that even though it could be challenged in parts, all tax riders and people who respect the necessity of reforming the tax code lauded him with the work, fairness and most of all the lack of partisanship that went into that bill. indeed, many of the provisions that is in this bill that could be better be described as an opportunity for corporates to avoid paying taxes, many of the provisions in this bill were repealed in the chairman's bill that he presented to the congress to be considered for reform. let me strike that from the record.

he did not bring it to the floor for it to be considered for anything. it was a strong political statement that he knew that the majority in his -- of this body would not support. having said that, it was a fine piece of legislation that gained support by eliminating the very same violations of equity and fair play that are now in this bill. 00 billion tab, $500 billion cost, not paid for, not a promise to pay for, and half of this is to make permanent the extension of bonus deappreciateation which all economists, including those in the congressional research service, say that in order for this to be effective it should not be made permanent. in any event, i think as we go home, we should recognize that

there will be opportunity when we come back to really get together and have an effective bill. to do this, the republican majority should not bring to the floor bills that have passed the house and been rejected already by the senate but should sit down with the administration, with the senate, with the minority in the house and work out something that's for the good of all americans. this happened yesterday where we had honest, serious disagreements but at the same time we came together as a congress in the house, at least, for what is good for the country. so i yield back the balance of my time, and quite frankly, i don't think we'll be using all of this time because what's before the house today is not a

jobs bill but a public relation piece of political advertisement. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield two minutes to the distinguished chairman of the judiciary committee, mr. goodlatte of virginia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: i thank the chairman for yielding, and i very much appreciate his leadership on this issue. in every state across this country and most certainly in the commonwealth of virginia, there are folks still looking for good full-time jobs and businesses who want to hire them but can't for fear of government-imposed regulations that increase expenses. the administration's tax regulate and spend response to this problem hasn't worked, and it is incumbent upon us to enact necessary reforms to restore the american economy.

the legislation we consider today includes many provisions to combat excessive regulations that have already been passed by the house of representatives and await action in the senate, which has been more abund in dealing with a whole host of issues that is sitting over there on the majority leader's desk, including provisions to restore the 40-hour workweek, to permanently ban taxation of internet access, to prevent secret settlement deals between federal bureaucrats and pro-regulatory plaintiffs, plaintiffs in lawsuits, to require bureaucrats to consider the costs of regulations to small businesses, to require agencies to adopt the least costly method of implementing the law, and to require federal agencies to submit major regulations to congress for approval. we know these provisions will help spur our economy and create jobs. america's labor force participation rate has essentially remained stagnant for the past several months and job creation and economic

growth continue to fall short of what is needed to produce a real and durable recovery in our country. it is imperative that we again take action to pass these commonsense reforms, return discouraged workers to full-time jobs and restore america to prosperity. i urge the senate to stop stalling and to join us in this effort and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, if we were serious about passing a bill that has been rehashed in this house and no action has been taken upon it, common sense and reason would dictate that we'd work -- would work with the democrats and the senate and the president to get this bill passed, this bill has eight or nine legislative committees and the ranking member, one that has so much jurisdiction over this issue, would share with the house and the country what parts of this bill she believes would create jobs, if any part, i yield to the distinguished the

gentlelady from california, ms. waters -- the distinguished gentlelady from california, ms. waters. i yield three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. water: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to oppose h.r. 4, the so-called jobs for america act. six years ago this week marked the collapse of lehman brothers, and that bankruptcy on wall street quickly spread across our country, bringing small business lending to a halt, causing a devastating number of foreclosures and pushing far too many of our fellow americans into personal bankruptcy. in the wake of this devastation, democrats in congress worked diligently to put in place serious and comprehensive safeguards to prevent another collapse. and today, my republican colleagues continue their hard work to thwart that effort and roll back meaningful reform. indeed, this bill, h.r. 4, places significant additional administrative hurdles on other

federal regulatory agencies, particularly on our independent financial regulators, like securities and exchange commission and the commodity futures trading commission. certain provisions of this bill would impose requirements on our financial regulators to conduct onerous cost-benefit analysis to submit their rules for review to the office of management and budget and to delay effectiveness of major rules until congress enacts an unprecedented joint resolution. not only would these provisions limit the independence of our wall street sheriffs, it would also tap their already insufficient resources and put them at even greater risk of litigation of every rule. in fact, this bill would create a constitutional crisis by allowing do-nothing republican congress to intervene in the actions of our executive branch who are diligently trying to implement critical portions of the wall street reform act.

the effect of this legislative effort would be to grind to a halt all meaningful regulation on everything from payday loans to mortgage services to the types of risky trading that caused the 2008 crisis. and ironically, it would stop jobs act implementation dead in its tracks. worse, this comes at a time when house republicans want to hold funding for our financial regulators flat, despite their new responsibilities, increase the number of entities they oversee and the growth complexity and size of u.s. financial markets. with our economy still recovering from the $14 trillion financial crisis, we simply cannot, under the guise of so-called job creation, afford to destroy crucial reforms and hamstring our financial regulations. with that i'll yield back the balance of my time and i would like to request unanimous consent to enter the following letters of opposition into the

record from public citizens and americans for financial reform. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized -- the gentlelady's request is granted. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield three minutes to the distinguished chairman of the natural resources committee, the gentleman from washington state, mr. hastings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. hastings: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my friend, mr. camp, the chairman of the ways and means committee, for yielding me the time. mr. speaker, this jobs package includes important legislation, h.r. 1526, the healthy forests for healthy communities act, which passed the house almost one year ago today. it is a long-term sustainable solution to put americans back to work, restore forest health and prevent fire -- wildfires. our national forests, unless otherwise designated, should be open for multiple uses for everything from recreation to job-creating economic activities. instead, mr. speaker, due to

onerous federal regulations and litigation, our federal forests have increasingly been shut down. mr. speaker, timber harvests have dropped by 80% in the last 30 years. we have seen catastrophic wildfires destroy our federal forests. we have seen loggers, millworkers and truck drivers put out of work and we have seen rural communities turn into ghost towns. s long past time for the senate to join with the house to provide better stewardship over our federal forest lands. it's disappointing and frankly unacceptable that a year later the senate is still sitting on the sidelines and meanwhile rural communities continue to suffer. this legislation requires responsible timber production n at least one half of federal forests not environmentally sensitive forest lands. by restoring active management,

this bill would create over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs. it also maintains the historic sharing of timber receipts with local counties. which is essential giving the upcoming expiration of the secure rural schools program. instead of having to pay for wildfire suppression, this bill would allow us to reap the benefits of a responsible timber harvest that reduces wildfire threats to our communities. mr. speaker, congress must act to restore the promise the federal government made over a century ago to actively manage our forests and create jobs for the benefit of rural communities. today, the house is, once again, living up to this promise. we hope that the senate will join us and support this commonsense reform of federal forest management. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. rangel: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm certainly we'll all be getting a lot of mail from the logging companies asking for this legislation in order to create jobs.

i wish included in this package would have been the earned income tax credit. a bill that we have had passed into law that keeps people who work hard each and every day out of poverty by subsidizing their wages. that's too much like creating jobs and it's not in this package. i'd like to yield to the distinguished and articulate member, mr. johnson from georgia, who serves on the judiciary committee and has a ranking position on the subcommittee that has jurisdiction over part of this bill. mr. johnson, i yield three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. johnson: i thank the gentleman from new york. mr. speaker, i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 4, the so-called jobs for america act. it brings to mind occasions where as a youth my sister and i

would go to my uncle's house in cleveland. and my uncle's wife would prepare a lot of food. and we would sit down and eat. and the food would taste terrible. and we had a couple more days to be there and we hoped for the best, and -- so the next day, sat down at dinner, and we had leftovers. this is what this bill reminds me of. it's a package of anti-consumer, anti-safety, anti-environment bills that the house has already passed. this omnibus legislation is emblematic of a republican party that lacks vision or direction for americans that demand cooperation and leadership. this bill smacks of a new republican leadership that is still on training wheels, unable

to work across the aisle to deliver real solutions, to grow the economy, and create jobs. but what's new from a republican party that voted dozens and dozens of times to defund and defeat the affordable care act? the same law that is helping american families by keeping millions of young people, be they recent college graduates looking for their first job, for students still in school on their parents' insurance and out of a cycle of unpayable medical debt. well, mr. speaker, it's time for the training wheels to come off so that this chamber can once again do the work of the american people. there is clear unmistakable theirs in our country for tsh-thirst in our country for cooperation, bipartisan solutions, and getting things done. the american people look to the house of representatives for leadership, not one-sided

messaging bills that this chamber has already warmed up, served yesterday, it was bad, and today we are eating leftovers. this chamber has already considered and passed these bills and they have no chance, no hope of becoming law. the so-called jobs for america act includes a number of dangerous bills straight from the wish list of industrial polluters and unsafe manufacturers. this legislation will not create a single job. it exists only to minimize corporate accountability while maximizing the likelihood of dangerous, unsafe conditions in our homes, vehicles, workplaces, and throughout the environment. it's time to work together to forge real solutions, mr. speaker, not the same dangerous legislation that this chamber has already passed. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan is recognized.

mr. camp: i yield three minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. kelly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. kelly: i thank the chairman for his great work. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 4 and i'll tell you why. the world is looking for the great emerging economy, the next great emerging economy, you know where it is? it's right here. it's us. it sits here in this country. and we talk about the american people. what are they tired of? they are tired of political talk and not policy change that will get them back to work. this morning, mr. speaker, 92 million americans woke up. you know what they decided? they weren't going to look for a job today because there is no hope in finding a job today. 92 million americans. now, i don't know if they vote republican. i don't know if they vote democrat. i think they are getting to the point where they don't want to vote for either side because all they are asking is, work together to fix america. the president of the ukraine came to the united states today to ask for help. he didn't go anywhere else in

the world. he came here. why did he come to the united states? why did he come to america? why for centuries have people come to america for opportunity, for jobs, to make their life better. we have to sit and debate a jobs package. we want to talk about politics, we don't want to talk about the policy of it, we don't want to talk about the opportunity that this country has always presented. are you kidding me? if there is dysfunction, there is that in the senate worth -- where 360 pieces of legislation are on a table because one man, one man stands in the way of this legislation, and it is the leader of the senate. if the american people, and i'm not talking about republicans and democrats, i'm talking about the american people, if they are to see what actually takes place in this great house where so much policy has been driven in the past, please get away from the politics. we are sick of it as a people. the opportunity is off the

charts. a new day is dawning, and the only thing holding it back right now is the cloud cover that comes from washington, d.c. where we refuse to create opportunity and instead create anger and we create dissatisfaction and we create confusion, and the american people sit back and say why me? why now? why here? and that is the great question, why? do re-elections have more to do with the direction of this country? after six years of waiting to see this great country emerge again with all the assets we have been given, and they are gifts from god but we haven't capitalized on them. the american people want something done. this is a package of jobs bills, my friends. this gets america back to work, my friends. this makes america great again. this makes us who we are. this is the very fabric of who this country has always been. the greatest nation in the world. always a defender of person freedoms and liberties. we can only do it when we have a

dynamic and robust economy. it's time to stop talking politics and start talking pollcy. it's time to get america back to work. a new day is dawning. a new opportunity is waiting for us in the greatest economy, greatest emerging economy the world has ever seen is sitting right here within our borders and the only thing it's looking for right now is dynamic leadership and direction. i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: i want to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania, my friend, who eloquently mentioned how the congress should and could be working more closely together. and again i say yesterday proved it. i'm certain that the eloquent gentleman from pennsylvania would have to agree if we were passing bills in the house and they were not going anywhere, any legislator would have to find out why. it would seem to me we would go to the minority party, we would

ask to sit down with the senate, we would work with the department of labor and administration and we would do that just before we were going home to attempt to get re-elected. so i don't challenge the sincerity of the gentleman from pennsylvania, but just bringing in bills that you know are not going to pass the senate, bringing in bills where the administration has already said that they would veto, is not the way to success. it may be a good political statement, but it's certainly not the way to pass legislation. i have the great honor to yield three minutes to the gentleman from maryland who has distinguished himself nationally in terms of being a legislator with a heart and common sense, and he is the ranking member on the oversight committee, which has attempted to show the entire country exactly what's going on and not going on in the congress, and i look forward to

his eloquent remarks in this sensitive and important subject, mr. cummings, i yield for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. yield. ings: i will not mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to h.r. 4. the special interest bills that make up this package have all passed the house before. and went nowhere in the senate. this is not just a waste of time. it is a waste of taxpayer money. americans work hard for their money. and here we are wasting time, and everybody knows that. this legislation is simply a gimmick. it hurts me to even say that, but it is, in fact, a gimmick. the republican leadership in the house cannot fool the american people by passing the same bad bills over and over again.

just because republican leadership has slapped the words jobs on this bill does not change the fact that the bill will not create jobs. and they know that. we each represent 700,000 people. those people have sent us here with the mission of making their lives better. the legislation we are considering today will not help the people we represent. this bill would help big corporations. let me give you an example. under this legislation, private companies would have the ability to weigh in on agency rule making before individual citizens and most other stakeholders. that means oil companies could weigh in on drilling regulations before the american public even gets a chance to submit comments. another section of the bill would explicitly prohibit the office of information and regulatory affairs from taking

into account benefits when providing total cost estimates for proposed and final rules as required by the bill. the bill also contains numerous provisions to degrade the regulatory process and make it nearly impossible for agencies to take actions that protect our health, our safety, our air, our water, our food, and our environment. this is a terrible piece of legislation. i urge my colleagues to vote against it. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: thank you. at this time i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from illinois, mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. davis: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your service to this great institution. mr. speaker, we are here debating this jobs package because our economy is stagnant. our unemployment rate hasn't fallen below % since this president took office six years ago. although growing the economy may not remain the number one priority for the senate, may not

remain the number one priority for the president, i assure you it is for millions of americans who can't find a job. or who continue to look for that job promotion. or who feel their paycheck isn't going as far as it should. my bill, the higher more heroes act is not a waste of our time, it's not a waste of taxpayer dollars. and it overwhelmingly passed this house with only 1 -- one no vote. you can't get much more bipartisan than that, mr. speaker. it's part of this jobs package because of the senate. they have yet to take up this bipartisan bill that would help our veterans. and you know what? this bill will help incentivize small businesses to hire more of our heroes. it takes away a punitive punishment in obamacare. we have been told that we can't change obamacare, but this bill does. and it does it because any

veteran who gets their health care through the v.a. or through tricare, they wouldn't count toward a small business' 15 employee limit, which would incentivize small businesses who create the jobs in this country to hire more of our veterans. that's not a waste of taxpayer dollars. that's not a waste of time. frankly, we need to do what we can to stop what obamacare's been doing to small businesses and disincentivizing them from hiring more people and therefore lowering our unemployment rate. this jobs package is crucial. this jobs package is something that we in this house should continue to push. i would urge my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to make sure that they called their colleagues in the senate and said pass this bill. pass this bill. do what's right. help our veterans. help americans find jobs. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: thank you, mr. speaker. i would not suggest to the

distinguished gentleman from illinois what he should be doing as a part of the majority, but if i had a bill as good as the one that he had, i certainly would not allow it to be included in this piece of political legislation. but because it would serve the veterans of this great country, i would say give me a break and let the house and the senate and the president give this legislation a chance. and i respect you for that. i yield to mr. van hollen, who is the ranking member of the budget committee, most americans know, like with our family, he has the opportunity to suggest to this august body exactly how much we're spending, how much we owe and

what is the best way to bring some balance to it and i am so proud to be able to serve with him and i'd like to yield at this time to the gentleman from maryland three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. van hollen: i thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my good friend from new york and thank him for all his good work on these issues. just to underscore what he said with respect to mr. davis' proposal, we would love to have that proposal on veterans come before the floor as a stand-alone bill. of course it's been wrapped into a much larger package that has nothing to do with jobs and everything to do with rewarding special interests at the expense of middle-class families and taxpayers. it's a continuation of the failed strategy that responds to every economic challenge with more tax breaks to corporations and more breaks to folks at the very top of the economic ladder, the old failed trickle down theory of economics. there's nothing to raise the minimum wage, nothing to

achieve pay equity for women, nothing to invest in america's infrastructure or our education system. instead, it's a collection of tax cuts that together would $572 o2 billion -- billion to the deficit over the next 10 years. no attempt to offset that cost. that's a lot of work in the afternoon to add nearly half a trillion to the deficit. totally in violation of the republican budget that was brought to the floor. nor is this a bill that attempts to reform the tax code. i have great respect for the chairman of the ways and means committee, and he did a credible effort in coming up with the reform plan. it wasn't perfect. lots of things that a lot of people don't like but it was a credible effort. this bill takes us in the opposite direction. you know, when the chairman introduced that bill, the speaker of the house ran away faster than anybody else from

that proposal, and this proposal runs away from it as well. let me give you one example. the reform bill that was proposed by mr. camp repealed bonus depreciation. this bill adds $70 billion to the deficit -- $270 billion to the deficit by making bonus depreciation permanent. mr. camp's proposal was revenue neutral in the first 10 years. this one adds over half a trillion dollars to the deficit and it doesn't close a single corporate tax loophole. look, if we're going to provide over half a trillion dollars in tax breaks to large corporations, you would think that our republican colleagues would at least deal with the issue of inversions. this sweep we see toward more and more corporations changing their address offshore to avoid their tax obligations to the

american people, but, no, nothing to deal with inversions. in fact, this bill rewards a number of companies that have recently engaged in reversions. i want to call attention to section 701 of the bill, because it says a lot about the priorities reflected on the floor today. that section repeals the excise tax paid by medical companies that was put in place to finance health care reform. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rangel: i yield the gentleman from maryland 30 more seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 30 seconds. mr. van hollen: so it repeals that. no effort to replace that. so it adds $26 billion to the deficit, just that provision. but not only that, it repeals it going forward. it also gives a rebate going backwards. so a company metronic, which is

right now moving its tax address overseas to avoid its tax obligations to the american people is going to get a -- a $200 million plus tax interest bonus. so here's a bill in the nutshell. does nothing to boost the middle class. mr. rangel: i yield the gentleman as much time as he needs to close. mr. van hollen: i thank the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. van hollen: thank you, mr. speaker. just to wrap this up, because i hope people will focus on this. the bottom line message of this leave, y to see you sorry to see you leave our shores but, you know, as a goodbye present we'll hand you $200 million in tax breaks. that sums up the problems with this bill, mr. speaker. and i urge my colleagues to vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. camp: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: look, i would just say, my friend from maryland mentioned the hire our heroes act that received virtually every republican vote and every democrat vote on the floor but one. i hope he urged his two democrat senators in the senate to pass this bill. it's been in the senate and blocked. certainly we hope our troops won't get penalized when coming back to the united states and get health care. this is something that received large bipartisan support. every one of these provisions help create jobs, and certainly all of them have bipartisan support. r&d, the research and development credits, 62 democrats vote. section 179, 63 democrat votes.

depreciation, 34 democrat votes. repealing 30-hour, all of these have bipartisan support. they're all sitting in the senate. i heard the gentleman say, nothing is being done. i would submit my friends on the other side, other than voting for these bills have done nothing to urge their colleagues who have majority in the senate to move something that will actually get people back to work and really bring the american dream back in reach for millions of americans, and it isn't now. so with that i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from georgia -- mr. van hollen: if the gentleman will yield on that? mr. camp: mr. kingston. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. kingston: i thank the gentleman for yielding and wanted to also say the gentleman from maryland talked about a company that i'm not familiar with this company but a company that's moving out of america because of our burdensome tax code and does that not prove the point that we need tax reform as

championed by mr. camp, the chairman of the ways and means committee? we need a tax code that is competitive. this company is probably leaving to get away from a burdensome, complicated tax system that is killing jobs. those jobs are going overseas. they need to stay in america. mr. speaker, to create jobs we have to have a tax code that is clear, fair, concise, one that creates jobs. but we also need a regulatory burden that does the same thing, one that is clear, one that is concise, one that uses cost-benefit analysis. i can't understand why there are members of the house that oppose cost-benefit analysis on new regulations. it's a matter of common sense. because our regulatory burden, as much of the tax code, is driving jobs offshore. we don't need that. one of the things that was lost in debate earlier that i find

just mind-boggling is the ability to fight forest fires. of all things. as smokey the bear says, only you can prevent forest fires. i guess toward this administration he says, only you can promote forest fires through your ridiculous regulatory climate. and then let me say this, to create jobs in america we need to have competitive energy. need to use american energy resources, and as somebody who represents four military installations, i know well that it's not a matter of cheap and abundant energy for manufacturing and traveling and transportation purposes. it's also a matter of national security, because when we depend so heavily on middle east oil and oil from unstable, anti-american countries, what we are in fact doing is funding both sides in the war on terrorism. we need to develop american energy, and that's what this bill does.

it's commonsense tax reform, commonsense regulatory reform. i'm appalled that the united states senate has not had time to take up one of these bills. as mr. camp just outlined, as a matter of public record, the number of democrats who have supported these pieces of legislation, we need to get the senate moving. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, before i yield to the gentleman from maryland to inform the gentleman from georgia more about this corporation that's attempting to flee the united states, i'd like to have good news for the distinguished chairman of the committee that this veterans bill has been so popular on the other side of the capitol that it appears as though that it's included in the senate bill. as we talk is being actually

ing attacked by republican minority on the other side. so at least as it relates to the veterans, if we can take it out of this hodgepodge that politically has been put together, maybe collectively we can do something for our beloved veterans. as far as the gentleman from georgia is concerned, he had a problem in identifying the u.s. company that's going to receive a bonus that's fleeing their tax obligation, i'd like to yield to the gentleman from maryland so he could help clarify those issues. the speaker pro tempore: how long does the gentleman yield? mr. rangel: how much time it takes for him to explain how this provision is costing us in such a dip the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. mr. van hollen: i thank the speaker and i thank my friend. the joint tax committee has

suggested if we don't deal with this problem of corporations changing their tax address to escape their responsibilities to the citizens of this country it will add $20 billion to the deficit which taxpayers will have to make up. i just want to emphasize the point the gentleman made because mr. camp has called upon senate democrats to vote on the hire our heroes bill. in fact, that bill is in the senate two-year extender bill in this united states senate, which is currently being blocked in and filibustered by our republican senate colleagues. i would also point out that the cost of that bill, which we all accept, is $700 million added to the deficit. you're now putting in a package with all sorts of corporate givea ways that doesn't cost $700 million but together costs $573 billion to the deficit. all in an afternoon's work. thank you, mr. speaker. this is an irresponsible bill. we should vote it no. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve his time?

mr. rangel: i certainly do reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. camp: i yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, the gentleman from indiana, mr. young. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. young: mr. speaker, i rise today to speak in support of h.r. 4, the jobs for america act. the undeniable fact is the u.s. house has passed more than 40 individual jobs bills, sent them to the senate and they remain untouched by the democrat majority leader. many of the jobs proposals included in this broader package, h.r. 4, have bipartisan support and include commonsense ideas like extending the section 179 tax benefits for small businesses, helping our veterans get back to work and repeal of the medical device tax. medical device companies, in particular, play an integral role in my home state of indiana and our economy. more than 71,000 jobs and $44 billion in personal income on

account of the industry. and i hear every day how this tax has stifled innovation and led to a decrease in jobs for my fellow hoosiers. in 2013, 79 senators, many of them champions of obamacare, took a symbolic vote to eliminate this tax. i hope that the democrat-controlled senate will move beyond political symbolism and for many political self-preservation and vote to repeal this tax on innovation, job creation and patient care. finally, i'm pleased two pieces of legislation, which i authored, are included in h.r. 4. the save american workers act, which is also bipartisan, would simply change the definition of full-time employment within obamacare from 30 hours back to the traditional definition of 40 hours. now, 40 hours is what everyone agrees is full time. so let's not further harm small businesses that their employees, school cafeteria workers, adjunct university professors and other hourly

workers with this arbitrary change in the definition of full time. act. ncluded is the reins it aims to relieve much of the regulatory burden on our nation's small and medium-sized businesses and on all americans who benefit from affordable goods and services. the legislation ensures that when an unelected, unaccountable bureaucrat in washington enact rules and regs that impact our economy -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. camp: i yield an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one more minute. mr. young: these regulations will be voted on by congress to ensure your elected representatives are held accountable for the laws our constituents are subjected to. i respectfully urge the american people to take a very close look at h.r. 4 and to demand that the democrat-controlled senate bring these bills up for consideration so we can enable people to get back to work and see their personal incomes grow. .

i yield back. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, i'd like yield three minutes to the gentleman from ways and means committee, who has been outspoken on all of the issues that concerns the national security, as well as the protection of our economy, mr. doggett of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. doggett: i thank the gentleman. so house republicanses are shutting down this house early today and they're shutting it down with the same happy talk and tax cut hocus pocus that they began this congress with 21 years ago, 21 months ago, it seems like years, last january. that's when speaker boehner reserved house resolution 1, for a form of miracle grow. they were going to sprinkle around miracle grow tax cuts, more special interest tax breaks on everyone and they would grow money faster than it could grow on trees. and they have given us so much talk, so much -- so many press

conferences about how they would do away with all these complex special interest provisions that republicans have spent years writing into law for their buddies, into our tax code, and we would all have brighter smiles and certainly fatter wallets. well, all of that joy, all of those wonders that would be accomplished, debt-free, we wouldn't have to borrow another dime from the chinese or the saudis or whoever would lend it to us, we'd get all that and more. with their proposal. unfortunately their old-time medicine show started brightly, but it fizzled out rather quickly. no democrat stood in the way of them introducing and voting in the ways and means committee on tax cut miracle grow elixir. no reason they couldn't have brought it out here on the floor, on n'diaye the speaker wanted to consider -- on any day the speaker wanted to consider miracle grow. and yet we are here today

closing out and house resolution 1 says on the republican website, it's still reserved for speaker. as is most attention to any major issue in this country reserved. because these folks don't want to work here in washington. instead we get to this sorry bill today that's before us, that provides more debt, more complexity and more sweetheart deals. you know, when we consider the difficult budget choices that republicans claim that we just don't have enough money as much as they would like to provide full funding for alzheimer's research, for cancer, for multiple sclerosis, for diabetes, for parkinson's, we just don't have the money. and we would like to do more to prevent the many forest fires that are spreading across the country, wildfires of all types, and provide the national weather service better funding to deal with the dramatic changes in our climate and our weather, but we just don't have the money to do that.

and what about our roads and bridges? well, we can't figure out a way to fund them, even to this time next year, because we just don't have the money. and yes we'd like each child to be able to accomplish their full god-given potential, but we just can't afford to fund from pre-k to postgrad. but somehow we can afford more miracle grow today. $500 billion taken right out of the debt, added to the debt. does the gentleman have another couple minutes? mr. rangel: yes. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two additional minutes. mr. doggett: i'm for, i know the gentleman is for, a pro-growth, pro-job creation set of government policies that focus on work force development , on having the research in sed sin and technology, not -- medicine and technology, not only to find cures but to produce another round of jobs. if we lack the federal resources to do that, we certainly don't have the federal resources today to hand

out one bonus after another as their bill does to corporations with special interest provisions that will ultimately fail our economy. this bill that we have does everything that they said their taxi lickser would not do -- e-- tax elixir would not do. it borrows money from many to give money to a few, who already have the most. this represents the first instalmment in new national debt, a big chunk of the more than $1 trillion that these republicans told us they wouldn't bury us in, but they proposed the first big installment today. they continue a tax code that is riddled with special interest tax preferences and giveaways while making a bonus -- cial -- depression depreciation provision. the only jobs that this bill is really designed to protect and the reason that it's here right now, before they rush to the airport, are the jobs of the

republican members of this house of representatives. and they sure do a good job of trying to accomplish that. we ought to reject this package that is motivated solely by a looming election for a republican majority whose biggest contributions on job creation in america have cost us dearly. they stand steadfast against the proposal that the u.s. chamber of commerce and one business group after another tells us will grow this economy. that's immigration reform. because they can't overcome the no-nothings within their party who stand against the reform that we know would grow so many jobs. and of course their major accomplishment that they can point to right now out of this congress is when they put the country on a cruise control and cost us $24 billion in economic growth. reject this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. >> thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman from virginia, mr. hurt. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. hurt: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the chairman camp for his leadership on this bill. i thank chairman hensarling for his leadership on the issue that i rise to speak about today. i rise to support the jobs for america act, h.r. 4. in virginia's fifth district, our district, there are literally thousands of jobs that exist because of private equity investments. these critical investments allow our small businesses to innovate, expand their operations and create the jobs that our communities need. unfortunately dodd-frank has placed a costly an under -- and you necessary regulatory burden of s.e.c. regulation. these registration requirements do not improve the stability of our financial system and they restrict the ability of private equity to invest capital in small businesses to spur job growth. instead of complying with costly s.e.c. registration, private equities should be encouraged to focus on investing capital in companies such as virginia candle. a company in our district that

through private equity investment expanded from a garage in lynchburg to millions of homes across the world. that is why i, along with my colleagues, representative cooper and representative himes, introduced a small business capital access and jobs preservation act. a provision of h.r. 4 which previously passed the house with bipartisan support. unfortunately the senate has failed to consider this and dozens of other house-passed jobs bills. at a time when unemployment in virginia's fifth district is still too high, the senate needs to join us immediately in enacting pro-growth policies to spur job creation in our communities. support h.r. 4, increase the flow of private capital to our small businesses so they can innovate, grow and create jobs for the american people. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. rangel: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield three minutes to my friend, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. kind, a distinguished, eloquent member of the ways and means

committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. kind: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend for yielding me this time. mr. speaker, i'm not quite sure if i've been living in a parallel universe over the last few years, but i thought there was genuine concern in this body about getting a grip on our budget deficits. about trying to get our fiscal house put back in order. and yet here we are in the 11th hour before they cut us loose for the fall campaign season, we have another bill pending before this body that costs $573 billion, with a b, with not a penny of offset. not a dime of it paid for. and people wonder where these budget deficits come from. what's unfortunate is some of the policy proposals in this legislation -- i actual -- legislation i actually support. we have five bills coming out of the ways and means committee with permanent changes to the tax code that i happen to agree with. whether it's the r&d, research and development tax credit, the 179 expensing, the scorps modernization bill, a bill that i and my friend from washington

state, mr. reichert, introduced earlier this year, to help the corporations and businesses in this country. the bonused appreciation. repeal of the medical device tax. again, legislation that i and my friend from minnesota, erik paulsen had, introduced, because we didn't think it was a good idea for us to be taxing our domestic medical device manufacturers, especially on a pre-revenue basis. but i always believed that with these changes being made, they should be offset. they should be paid for. that's the fiscally responsible approach to take. and yet we have $573 billion with not one offset. this following on the heels earlier this year, 15 permanent changes to the tax code being reported out of the ways and means committee at a cost approaching $1 trillion, with none of it being offset. and i would submit that if we went forward on that type of policy prescription, we might as well forget about comprehensive tax reform, because we wouldn't have any

tools left to do anything with. i give the chairman of the committee, mr. camp, who's going to be retiring at the end of this year, a lot of credit for having the guts to come out with a discussion draft on what comprehensive reform should look like. in that draft he was making some tough decisions. he was finding offsets to lower rates and simplify the tax code, to help us be more competitive in the global market place. that's not what's being done here today. so i would submit, with the republican leadership, that instead of cutting us loose today, what we ought to be doing is staying in longer and working on a true innovation agenda for our nation. one that invests in quality opportunities for all of our students. good job training programs for workers in transition, or those looking to upgrade their skills so they can be competitive in the global marketplace. the crucial investments we have to make in broadband expansion, basic research funding through n.i.h. and n.s.f. grants, and the infrastructure modernization that this country is long overdue.

we know we have to do it. let's do it now when we need the jobs. that would be a true jobs package i think we can rally around and get this economy humming again. rather than this dog and pony show and a message piece. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rangel: i yield the gentleman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one additional minute. mr. kind: rather than this dog and pony show and the message piece that's before us today, right before the november 4 elections. i think the american people are a lot smarter than what some people give them credit for. they know we've got a fiscal problem that has to be addressed and i think most people would realize that by coming forward with yet another bill at a cost of $573 billion, with no offsets, no pay-fors, is only going to make the situation worse and truly jeopardize the economic opportunities for our children and grandchildren in the future. so instead of coming out with this legislation, which is a grab bag for powerful special interests today, let's do the

tough, heavy lifting that needs to be done. let's make these policy changes but in a fiscally responsible way, by finding offsets in the code to pay for it, so we can get our fiscal house put back in order and create the good-paying jobs that america needs today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. camp: well, mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. i would just say to my good friend from wisconsin, that was part of the story. many of these provisions that are bipartisan job creating provisions have been ex tebbedsed time and -- extended time and time again, without being, quote, offset. without being, quote, paid for. look at the research and development tax credit, it's been extended 15 times over 33-year period, never even paid for. but it's temporary. and so it doesn't have the impact on innovation and research and development, you know, that's what drives economies, that's what grows jobs. so let's make this permanent.

let's not be the only nation in the world with temporary tax policy. and then we wonder why we're not growing. then we wonder why median incomes are flat or declining. then we wonder why people aren't achieving the american dream. it's going to get to the senate, which some of my friends have talked about the senate. they didn't pay for this. and what did they do? they extend some of these policies backwards a year and forward one year. how can anyone decide to hire a worker, build a new building, buy equipment, start a new production line on one year of policy? this is about permanency and it's about growing jobs. wand that i yield three minutes to -- and with that i yield three minutes to the gentleman from minnesota, a member of the ways and means committee, mr. paulsen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. paulsen: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, americans have been pleading for congress to take action to spur economic growth and create jobs. the house has repeatedly acted to pass bipartisan legislation to get people back to work and we are doing so once again

today. today in this jobs bill is a provision that i authored to repeal the destructive medical device tax. it's destructive because it is a tax not on profit but on sales. and the medical device industry directly employs more than 400,000 jobs and people across the country, including 35,000 jobs in my home state of minnesota. these companies create the life-saving and life-improving technologies for our patients. but because of the president's new health care law, the device industry is now facing one of the highest effective tax rates in the world. this has already resulted in the loss of 33,000 american job the equivalent of the entire minnesota medical device industry being wiped off the map. another 122,000 jobs are expected to disappear or go overseas, and these are good-paying job, $60,000 to $80,000 per year, mr. speaker.

i asked one company i recently visited, 60 employees, i asked what does the device tax mean to you? i have six projects instead of 10, i have two fewer engineers and two fewer technicians. another company that is not yet profitable told me they're borrowing $100,000 a month just to pay the tax. that's crazy system of companies are cutting back on their research and development. venture capital is disappearing. we're seeing less innovation. the bottom line is this device tax is so poorly conceived, it kills jobs, it's stifling life-saving and life-enhancing innovation and both republicans and democrats agrow on this my legislation has 246 co-sponsors in this body. there's overwhelming bipartisan support to kill this job-killing tax but we need the senate to take action. we need the senate to stop

blocking this bill from moving forward. it is time, mr. speaker, to come together and protect american jobs by repealing the device tax. i yield back the balance of my timeful the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is ecognized. mr. rangel: i would like to yield three minutes to mr. davis of illinois. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. dais: i want to thank my colleague from new york for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 4 because it adds over half a trillion dollars in permanent -- mr. davis: i want to thank my colleague from new york for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to h.r. 4 because it adds over half a trillion dollars in permanent giveaways and could cause many to lose their employer-provided health coverage and does nothing to help the tens of thousands of my constituents and tens of

millions of americans who are experiencing poverty, unemployment, and economic distress. i cannot support handing over half a -- adding over half a trillion dollars to our deficit for permanent handouts to corporations while 3.3 million long-term unemployed go unaided. while repairs and renovations to our nation's infrastructure are threatened. while the medicare doctors' fix goes unresolved. and while irrational budget cuts strangle education, health, research, and innovation. this bill marks the height of republican irresponsibility. on both fiscal and policy grounds. i ask how many millions of low income students could complete college using pell grants with just a fraction of the cost of

this bill. how many long-term unemployed could pay their rent or provide full for their families with even a tiny amount of the cost of this bill. how many more small businesses could receive investment grants of critical, low-cost loans? our government, yes, has the responsibility to advance policies that create jobs, strengthen our citizens, and grow our economy. not ones that undermine the health and well being of americans and advance the wealthiest among us at the expense of the struggling. i will vote no on this sham jobs creating bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> i'm prepared to close so i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized.

mr. rangel: mr. speaker, as we close out on this bill, i'd like to have unanimous consent to enter into the record a report congressional research service, which is not a democrat or republican service, but a -- an objective reviewer on what we have just talked about, that is, whether or not the affordable care act has caused a loss in full-time jobs. this report shows we've had a rise in full-time work in connection with the health reform in the act. i ask unanimous consent to be allowed to insert this into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rangel: now the gentleman from wisconsin knows also that in order to get a bill passed, it really helps if you get cooperation of the president of the united states. i have a statement from the

administration that says that if this bill was to reach him, that he would be forced to follow the advice of his administration specialists and to veto it. on the other hand, i think it's abundantly clear, the speaker knows that the president has reached out to him and to the senate to come together to create jobs. his statement as it relates to this subject, i'd like unanimous consent to put this into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, ordered. mr. rangel: lastly, you would like to say as the distinguished chair moves on to retirement from this august body, that as a member of this committee, the ways and means committee as long as he's been on it, i continue to respect the fine work he's

contributed to the committee as well as to this house. and that his honesty, candidness, sincerity, hard work to make this a better congress and better country certainly would be appreciated now and in the future. i would hope that the hard work that he's done on tax reform which is a very difficult, complex subject to deal with, that we might try to remember him for the fine work he's done over these years, rather than on the eve of election where sometimes the leadership would want to make a political statement and i for one will never associate him with this piece of legislation, but rather for the outstanding contributions that he's made year after year, session after session, not for republicans, not for the committee, but for this great country. i thank him for his friendship

over the years. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is ecognized. >> thank you, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. camp: i thank the gentleman for his kind remarks and the work we've done together over the years. i remember the first legislation we worked together on, the famly -- the safe families act which we passed, which moved children from temporary situations to loving homes. as former chairman of the committee, you have sat in the chair i'm sitting in now and know it can be a challenge. but we've done some great work together. i do happen to believe that this legislation would create jobs and it's not just my opinion.

it's also been -- these provisions have been analyzed by the nonpartisan joint committee on taxation and that indicates that these are all important provisions, and i think there have been so reference to the fact that we're close to an election. i think clearly what most americans are sick of is the dysfunction in washington. the lack of the two parties to get together, whether it's republican and democrats in the house or democrat majorities in the senate and republican majorities in the house. and these are all bipartisan provisions. these are all provisions that have had, these tax provisions have had significant democrat support and votes. and in case of the hire our heroes act, i think every democrat but one voted for it. clearly these are things that will help create jobs. and not only do americans want to see the dysfunction in this body end, they'd like to see something that will help move the economy forward, that will help make their lives better. if you look at poll, there's

certainly a lot of polling out there right now. a lot of americans know things are not as good as they should be. it clearly comes across in the polls how dissatisfied they are and there's lots of reasons for that, largely because median incomes are declining. but what really is is troubling is americans don't believe that things will get better. they're worried that for the first time, that their children will not have, or their brothers and sisters, or their family member, or they, will not have the same opportunities their parents or some of their friends have had. that is a very troubling situation. this is legislation that will help move the ball forward, getting some economic growth, some job creation, a stronger economy, and with that stronger economy comes more jobs. comes higher wages. somes benefits. so that people can pay for food and gas and put something aside

for their retirement or for their kids' education. these are all things that have been extended repeatedly with bipartisan support. as i mentioned, r&d, 30 years. section 179 expensing for small businesses, 10 years. some of the s-corp things, 12 years. seven times since 2006. so let's not have temporary policy. let's make this permanent. let's get this country moving again. let's restore that faith that people have had in this country and in the american dream. let's vote yes on h.r. 4. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time for debate has expired. pursuant to house resolution 727, the question is ordered on the bill. the previous question is ordered. the question is on engrossment and third reading of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. third reading. the clerk: a bill to make provisions to the federal law to improve the conditions necessary

for economic growth and job creation and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 1-c of rule 19, further consideration of h.r. 4 is postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington rise? mr. hastings: i ask unanimous consent that the question on adopt og the motion to recommit on h.r. 2 may be subject to postpone as though under clause 8 of rule 20. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? mr. hastings: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 727, i call up h.r. 2, the american energy solutions for lower cost and more american jobs act and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2 a bill to remove federal government obstacles to the production of more domestic energy, to ensure transport of that energy reliability to businesses, consumers and other end users, to lower the cost of energy to consumers, to ebb able manufacturers and other businesses to access domestically produced energy

affordable and reliability in order to create more secure and well-paying american jobs and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 727, the bill is considered read. the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings, and the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio, each will control 60 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington, mr. hastings. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 2. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: i stand here on the house floor, only a few hundred yards away from the senate, and it feels like we are worlds apart. in the house, we are listening to the american people who are telling us that it's time to expand american energy production. hard working americans know how important energy is in their lives. they need it to commute to and

from work. it fuels the buses that take our kids to school. it powers the businesses on main street. it provides jobs and improves livelihoods of millions of americans who are struggling to make ends meet in president obama's economy. mr. speaker, sunday, it will power the jumbotron at century league field in seattle as the seahawks take on the broncos. unfortunately, on the other side of the capitol, these calls to extend american energy production are falling on deaf ears. the house has passed dozens of energy bills, including a number from the house natural resources committee, on which the senate has failed to act. by doing so, they are standing in the way of american job creation, affordable energy, and increased national security. h.r. 2 would protect and expand american energy production by

removing this administration's road blocks and preventing unnecessary bureaucratic red tape. mr. speaker, since president obama took office, total federal offshore revenue production has dropped 13%. federal offshore natural gas production has dropped by nearly 1/2 and the obama administration has placed over 85% of america's offshore acreage offlimits. onshore, mr. speaker, it's the same story. this administration has had the four lowest years of federal acres leased for onshore energy production going back to 1988. it has also pledged to pose a duplicative layer of red tape on fracturing, which would only hurt american job creation. the obama administration has also waged war on coal and on coal jobs. coal is a reliable and affordable energy resource that provides 30% of america's

electricity and supports millions of american jobs. unfortunately, with one proposed regulation by the obama administration, those jobs could disappear. their rewrite of the stream before you zone rule could cost 7,000 coal jobs and cause economic harm in 22 say thes -- states. but this is good news. and that's -- the good news are the provisions in these bills. these provisions are a direct response to the obama administration's actions that have locked up our energy resources. the bill would end the regulatory delays blocking the construction of the keystone x.l. pipeline. after nearly six years of review, this commonsense solution that would eliminate the need for a presidential permit addresses all other necessary permits and limit litigation that would delay the project. the bill would also expand

offshore energy production. it would require this administration to responsibly move forward with new offshore energy production in areas that contain the most oil and natural gas resources. what a novel idea. going where the product is. and those areas include areas off the atlantic and the pacific coast. it also requires the administration to hold oil and natural gas lease sales that have been delayed or canceled. like, such as the offshore of virginia. this expanded offshore production would generate over $1 billion in new revenue to the federal treasury and create up to 1.2 million jobs long-term. the bill would expand onshore energy production. it would reform the leasing and permitting process to remove unnecessary delays, set clear rules for the development of u.s. oil shale resources, and establish internet-based auctions for leases. it would also help foster and

expand energy production on tribal lands. the bill would stop the federal government from imposing duplicative federal hydraulic regulations and prevent it from implementing job-destroying coal regulations. it would help protect consumers from ian: regulations that could de-- from e.p.a. regulations that could destroy jobs. finally, mr. speaker, the bill would expand production of clean, renewable hydropower. by removing outdated barriers and streamlining the regulatory process. it would authorize hydropower development at existing manmade water canals and pipes at 12 bureau of reclamation projects. so, mr. speaker, the american energy solutions for lower costs and more american jobs act is a commonsense action to create over one million new american jobs, provide relief to hardworking americans who are feeling the squeeze of higher gasoline and electricity prices, it would strengthen our

economy and probably more important in this unsettled world, it would increase america's energy security. so i urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan piece of legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. defazio: well, you know, i would start out by saying this feels like groundhog day, but i've already done that when we brought up these same bills multiple times in the past. i could start as i did the last time we considered this package of bills by reading a statement from the last time we debated these bills and then pretend to get angry with my staff because they gave me a statement that's eight months old. but i made that point the last time we debated this energy package on the floor. the house has passed nearly all the provisions in this bill, at

least two times. now i think most americans still remember high school civics, the house passes a bill, they send it to the senate, the senate either takes it up or not. and if they do, then we work out our differences in conference committee and send it to the president for his signature. we just keep sending the same bills over to the senate under the premise that somehow they will do something because it's been sent multiple times from the house. hasn't worked in the past, won't work in the future. you know, this package really ignores -- also ignores reality. producing more natural gas than we ever have, more oil than over 25 years, we're probablied to be the number one oil provide -- projectsed to be the number one oil -- projected to be the number one oil provider in the next few years. thanks to a worldwide glut of oil ands in a gas, price are -- oil and gas, prices are going down.

and if republicans really cared about keeping gas prices down for american consumers, maybe they'd take a serious look at the fact that we're exporting 1.6 million barrels of gasoline and decemberle every day. there is no -- dee sell every day. there is no short and. we're exporting 1.6 million barrels a day. yet truckers are paying extraordinarily high diesel prices because we're exporting more and more diesel and saying, you're going to pay the same price they're going to pay in europe. but inside the beltway here we don't really deal with facts and statistics very much. so today we'll take up and pass the same tired legislation for the second, third or fourth time. so any republican members who happen to be in a tough race can claim that they've been productive on this issue. but this is just an opportunity to check the energy box again

and again so you can try to get voters to check the box for the so-called energy experts on the ballot. but we're not legislating. instead we're wasting time and taxpayer money to put on a rerun show. so if you're going to do a rerun show at the risk of sounding like a broken record, then i'm going to do the same. every time we've come to the floor to debate another legislative fish wrap this summer, i've brought up the same issue. western wildfires. now, this poster shows california or what's left of it. wildfire destroyed half the town, over 150 homes. in my home state, a major fire is burning 10 miles away from the town of estecada, threatening over 150 homes, forcing evacuations, forcing the governor to use the state's con flig ration act -- conflagration act. in the west there are over 50 active fires burning. one outside of eugene,

springfield is costing $1 million a day at attempts to keep it from running toward a town. two days ago the forest service said they have $179 million left for suppression. 150 week alone they spent $ million on suppression efforts. that means next week wlile we're out of session they'll run out of money and they'll start pulling back money from the fuel reduction, forest health and other programs to fight the fires. you can't stop fighting the fires. these fires are enormous, unnatural, and unprecedented in many ways. on top that have we have a drought which might or might not have to do with climate change which the other side of the aisle doesn't believe in. but nonetheless they are a fact. it doesn't have to be this way. we could do something real. we have the rarest thing in washington washington, d.c., a

bipartisan, that means democratics and republicans are on a bill, 52 house members including myself, 52 republicans on a bill, bicameral, similar bill, same bill, in the senate, supported by democrats and republicans. and lo and behold, it's a bill supported by president obama. and maybe that's why they won't even hold a hearing on it or move it. because the president supports it, despite the fact that it would deal with a very real problem. we aren't investing enough money in a regular fashion to get ahead of the fire problem in the west. to do the fuel reduction and the forest health, we need the agency -- the agencies don't have enough in their budgets and every year they overspend their fire fighting budgets and they have to cancel projects and other needed activities. there has been no hearing on the bill. we can't find time to hold a hearing on a bill that has to do with wildfires that are burning up the west. can't find the time. instead we're going to pass these bills for the second, third, fourth, fifth or sixth time. can't find the time. we're too busy here pretending.

you know, we have 196 democrats have signed a petition to overrule the republican leadership and bring that bill to the floor of the united states house of representatives. 52 republicans are co-sponsors of that bill. many of them have active fires burning in their districts and will they defy their leadership and do something that's needed for americans and the western united states and needed for our natural resources and needed to prevent these towns from burning down? no. they can't do that. they will not sign the petition. so, here we are. you know, western communities are burning, you can pretty much step outside the door and smell the smoke from here. we have a potential solution to get ahead of this problem in the future and deal better with it. but instead we're wasting time here today passing yet again bills that have already been passed, already been sent to the senate, but we will send them over to the senate again and they can put them on the same stack of paper.

i mean, if you look at these pictures, we are wasting the second to last day -- well, now it's the last day actually -- on repeat, because we have to get home for elections. we don't need to pass the budget for the year, the appropriations bills. we don't need to take more meaningful consideration of what we're getting into in the middle east and spend more time on it. and we can't certainly find any time to deal with the wildfire issue. let's just pretend. o yet again you get to check a pointless box. i don't think the american people are going to be fooled. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you very much, -- thank you very much, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield four minutes to my colleague from oregon, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for our minutes. mr. walden: thank you, mr. speaker.

i want to thank him again for his legislation and one that a number of us have shared in helping draft h.r. 1526 which has been part of our jobs package that we're again sending over to the senate because they've done nothing in the area of improving forest health and management and stopping these horrible wildfires that we're all trying to deal with. because they're much more than just a budgeting issue, although that's important. it really is about how do you get ahead of these fires, generate revenues and jobs. another bill that we're taking up again in the house is one that actually has passed twice in this house unanimously. unanimously. in the last couple of years. this will be the third time in less than three years we've acted. why are we doing that? because at some point we hope to wake up the senate to where they actually will take up this issue and pass it. because it means jobs for a countyky has a very high unemployment rate, very high poverty rate. it means better water quality for fish because we change a

designation on a dam that will allow the water to come out in a better way, by adding hydro , renewable, carbon-friendly, hydro power. it can be generated off this dam. the watt already come out better, it will be better for the fish and the city of primeville. you talk about drought. city of primeville has several hundred residents who cannot access city water because they don't have enough of it. this legislation will free up 5,100 acre of feet of watt that are will take care of the -- water that will take care of the city and take care of their citizens. they'll pump it out down stream, watt already stay instream for i think it's something like 20 miles. from upriver from bowman dam. there's 80,000 acre feet of water sitting unallocated in this reservoir. we take 5,100 acre feet of it, the city's going to pay the appropriate price, so there's no cost to the treasury. it will serve 500 homes. we have a bunch of data senters that have come up in

primeville. they need to make sure they have access to water for cooling. so apple and facebook and a couple others, they need access to this. and all we do is fix err errant boundary decision made many years ago that laid down the boundary of wild and scenic right across the top of the dam. there's nothing wild or scenic about a dam unless you're falling off the face of it. this is just -- it was temporary and that's been decades ago. this moves it, like a quarter mile down stream. beyond that, there are benefits, irrigation district farmers, to ensure they'll continue to operate their family farms for generations to come. we make sure that there's enough water behind the dam for flat water recreation and fishing which is an important part of the economy there. and we worked with the tribes and others to expedite the creek restoration project which will result in increased water flows for red band trout and summer steel head, a project long supported by the worm springs tribes and a

conservancy. just like other bills in this package, this is a good commonsense piece of legislation. it's achieved overwhelming in fact, in the house unanimous support. we look forward to working with the senate but it's hard to dance with yourself, it's just no fun. . we need a dance partner in the senate who will come to the table so we can take these years of work and put it together in a package to get to the president's desk. i don't know what to do but try again. one more time before we leave taun, trying to create jobs in america, do the right thing for the environment and take care of problems at home. that's what this is about. we hope the senate will look at these bills in a meaningful, thoughtful way and be able to come to the table with terms and work these things out. i commend the chairman of the house resources committee for all his work over the years, but especially for the work he and i have done together to improve forest health, improve forest jobs, improve water quality and cake tear -- take care of these

issues that are so important. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: i yield the gentleman from new york -- mr. jeffries, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. jeffries: i thank the gentleman from oregon for yielding, as well as for his leadership. mr. speaker, once again, as we stand on the brink of a seven-week recess, we are here in this chamber considering a package of warmed over bills that will be dead on arrival when it reaches the senate. it's an empty legislative vessel that has no meaningful port of destination. we're on a joyride that is going to waste the time and treasure of the american people. that's not to suggest, mr. speaker, that the house majority hasn't been busy during the 113th congress. this majority has been busy.

unleashing a parade of horribles on the american people. the house majority, mr. speaker, began by bringing to the american people sequestration. tens of billions of $s of painful cuts to important domestic programs that will adversely impact the american people. this house majority, mr. speaker, has been busy, bringing us a 16-day reckless government shutdown. costing the american people $24 billion. in lost economic productivity. mr. speaker, this house majority has been busy. engaging in a serial flirtation with defaulting on our debt. threatening the full faith and credit of the united states of america and resulting in an increase in interest rates.

this house majority, mr. speaker, has been busy. enacting a reckless republican budget. $137 billion in cuts to nutritional assistance to the american people. many of whom have gone hungry. $260 billion in cuts to higher education. $732 billion in cuts to medicaid. enacted by this house majority in a reckless -- and a reckless, republican budget. we failed to enact a minimum wage increase. despite the fact that you've got working families living in poverty while going to work each and every day. we failed to enact comprehensive immigration reform, fixing a broken immigration system, giving life to the american dream, for those who are otherwise now living in the

shadows. we failed to invest in transportation and infrastructure. we failed to renew -- renew unemployment insurance, leaving millions of americans on the battlefield of the great recession. what are we doing here? on the final day. i would just ask the american people to ponder this question. what grade should you give the house majority during the 113th congress? i would suggest humbly there are only two options. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. jeffries: f for failure. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington. mr. hastings: i'm pleased to yield four minutes to the author of this legislation, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. terry. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for four minutes. mr. terry: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. chairman, doc hastings, appreciate your leadership on energy issues and natural

resources issues, it's just been incredible important to our congress. i want to thank my colleagues for allowing me to bring this package here today because this is a commonsense energy approach that grows our economy, creates jobs, and ensures our energy is affordable and reliable. yes, mr. speaker, most of these, or all of them, have already been voted on. at some point in time over the last couple of years, and it is important that we continue to push the senate into taking up these energy bills so we can expand our economy and grow the jobs. and too many of the rules and regulations coming out of this administration are making energy more costly and less reliable. to the consumers. this is the point of this bill.

the house continues to do our job with legislation, but the senate continues to block it. i'm not going to stand idly by and keep allowing that to happen. this approach puts together bills that allow us to build up our infrastructure of abundance, streamlines permitting processes, mr. speaker, and provides commonsense guidance to the e.p.a. rule makers, all of which provides reliability and affordability for our consumers which is an inherent cornerstone to economic success. so what does this bill do? it allows the united states to take advantage of the fact that we are incredibly close to being self-sufficient, no longer reliant on those outside of north america. this bill approves the keystone pipeline, which was filed

originally six years ago tomorrow. but yet, 22,000 pages of studies have been completed that shows that this pipeline does not pose an environmental risk to land or aquifer. and will actually reduce co-2 emission compared to not allowing the pipeline. recently, larry somers, president obama's former senior economic advisor, was quoted as saying, quote, i am very much aware of thele to that the keystone pipeline issue has taken on the relations with a crucial u.s. ally. canada. end quote. so it's even straining our relationship with our good friend canada. this bill also removes federal barriers to offshore energy production and enhances on-shore production by removing red tape and making sure that any regulations are reasonable. this bill will expedite l.n.b.

exportation to our allies, allowing taos maintain a strong strategic position in the world this bill will modernize the permit process for natural gas pipelines. this is important as we use more natural gas for manufacturing, electrical production, and as a transportation fuel. there is an abund ant supply of natural -- an abundant supply of natural gas here in north america and it's been proven to be cheaper and cleaner. but i believe it's been greatly underutilized and we need to make natural gas a priority which this bill does. our country is blessed to have these abundant natural resources. we must do everything in our power to make sure that our policies support resource development and minimize the red tape that strangles our job creators. i'm proud to leave this effort in -- lead this effort in

support of lower cost energy and more american jobs. with these policies, we can make real progress toward reducing prices at the pump and protecting families and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is ecognized. mr. waxman: i yield to the gentleman, mr. green, from the state of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. green: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks and thank my ranking member for yielding to me. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: i rise today in opposition to h.r. 2. here we are the next day after we passed bipartisan legislation with a majority on both sides that -- and now today we come up with h.r. 2 which has a

combination of bills that this house has already considered. we're here the last voting day before we go home to campaign passing a bill that has zero chance of becoming law. h.r. 2 is an affront to the bipartisan work we've done in the energy and commerce committee over the past year -- commrge and commerce committee. over the past year, members of our committee have worked to draft legislation that would supply the dramatic renaissance our country is experiencing. h.r. 2 is not reflective of this hard work. instead of working to improve the decision make big federal agencies, h.r. 2 seeks to eliminate federal authority. instead of expediting export permits, h.r. 2 opens the door to sending u.s. gas to countries that are not even our friends. instead of respecting the balance we work sod hard toest pablish between the states and federal government, h.r. 2 resince all the authority for our government and state

affairs. it's my hope that we would stop wasting time on these bills that have no bipartisan support and work together to pass legislation in a bipartisan fashion. we have addressed a number of these bills already on this house floor. everyone, democrat or republican, as hack -- has acknowledged that the energy sector is common ground. we may not always agree on what fuel mix we have or best serve our country, but we agrow the energy sector is vital to our economy and our independence. the bills included in h.r. 2 include bills i've co-sponsored, worked hard to craft with my republican and democratic colleagues. it's disappointing that our leadership would use this window of opportunity to pass bills that harm our environment, create uncertainty in our economy, and ultimately delay job growth and energy development. in the energy and commerce committee, we work across party lines to craft legislation that solves the problems of the american people and american industry. we work to ensure the e.p.a., the environmental protection

agency is prom all gating rules that make not only economic sense as well as environmental sense. we work to support our natural resources sector and send american gas and refined products overseas to benefit our u.s. economy and balance of trade. all these things will garner bipartisan support and establish u.s. and north america as a world energy leader. but this h.r. 2 takes away all that we've worked for for almost two years and that's why i oppose h.r. 2. i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. hastings: i'm pleased to yield two and a half minutes to the gentleman from colorado, subcommittee chairman on natural resources committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized for two and a half minutes. >> i thank the gentleman for yielding to me. i rise in strong support of the bipartisan h.r. 2, the american energy solutions for lower costs

and more american jobs act. i'm pleased that this package of energy legislation includes legislation i introduced that has previously passed the house, h.r. 1965, the federal lands, jobs, and energy security act. h.r. 2 will help ensure the successful production of onshore and offshore energy and provides the regulatory certainty energy producers need to produce american made energy. mr. lamborn: this creates american jobs, increases revenues to state and local governments, and promotes economic development across the economy. h.r. 2 promotes an all of the above energy strategy, streamlining regulations and expediting the brux of both conventional and renewable energy. it will ensure the bureau of land management has the resources they need to expeditiously process permits for all energy projects on federal land. the obama administration has made energy production on federal land so burdensome and

so uncertain that conventional and renewable energy producers are avoiding federal lands in favor of state and private lands. that is where permits are approved in a timely fashion. -- fashion, are not subject to burdensome and obstructionist lawsuits, and projects can move forward in a stable environment. in my home state of colorado, a permit for an energy project can be approved in 27 days. for state land projects. for project on federal lands in colorado, the obama administration takes nearly a year to approve the same permit. this delay in approvals not only delays energy production, it delays job creation, revenues to state and local governments. energy producers should not have to choose between whether to produce energy on federal versus state land just because of permit timelines, lawsuits, and regulations. .