blaylock and flynn and staff stgget matthew kemp and i ask our colleagues to join us in a moment of silence on behalf of these servicemen. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, five-minute voting will continue. the question is on pass and of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. ms. bonamici: mr. chairman. mr. chairman, qui a recorded vote on -- i request a recordeded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote -- a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a record vote is requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays

will rise and remain standing until counted. 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: on this vote the yeas are 236, the nays are 181. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: thank you mr. speaker. i send to the desk a privileged report from the committee on rules for filing under the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 152, resolution providing for consideration of the resolution, house resolution 132, providing for the expenses of certain committees of the house of representatives, in the 114th congress, and providing for consideration of the joint resolution, senate

joint resolution 8, providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, united states code, of the rules submitted by the national labor relations board relating to representation case procedures. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i request unanimous consent to remove my name from h.r. 296. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. maloney: thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will now swer err -- will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from arizona seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous

consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. roby: -- ms. mcsally: mr. speaker last week arizona and our country lost a hearing, with the passing of bill badger. one of the people responsible for sub duing the gunman of the january 8 2011, shootings in tucson, arizona. bill served for 37 years in the army where he flew helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. after moving to arizona in 1985 with his wife sali, bill established and later served as the first commander of the western army national guard aviation training site. he retired from the military as a colonel. after the shooting, bill was credited with saying, quote, once you're in the military, you never retire. you're always there to help the community and the people who are in danger. end quote. and that's exactly what he did that day. despite being wounded, bill put himself in the line of fire to take down the gunman, saving

many lives through his bravery and his quick actions. like many others that day bill showed us that even in the darkest of times currently and compassion can shine forth. he was a hero in the truest sense of the word. one of southern arizona's own. and he will be deeply missed by our community. with that mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from maine -- excuse me from massachusetts, seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> right now millions of american women and girls are online navigating their personal and professional lives. sadly, many will be threatened online or subjected to

terrifying harassment. journalists, academics and other professionals who dare tokes press an opinion -- to express a opinion, especially a feminist one, are routinely attacked with graphic threats of rape and murder. women are targeted with sexually explicit messages and threats 27 times more than men. ms. clark: and for women of color and lgbt women, the rate is even higher. as a result, young women are deciding not to pursue certain jobs to avoid the crosshairs of men who think they don't belong. others are being driven offline sacrificing their freedom of expression for personal safety. a decade ago congress made online threats of death or serious injury illegal. but these cases are rarely prosecuted. that's why i'm asking my colleagues to join me in calling on the department of justice to intensify the

investigation and prosecution of the most extreme cases of online threats. ensuring stronger enforcement of laws that protect women from violent online threats is one commonsense thing congress can do to ensure that the internet and the 21st century economy is open to everyone. thank you, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to creas the house for one minute -- to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you so much, mr. speaker. march is national brain injury awareness month and this week also marks brain science awareness week. i'm very proud of the amazing advances in neuroscience research that is taking place in my district of south florida. the miami project to cure paralysis, working in concert with the university of miami's

miller school of medicine, is at the forefront of yunds understanding traumatic -- of understanding traumatic brain injuries. investigators are now beginning to experiment with transplanting pashtes' own nerve cells to enhance recovery following paralysis and this brave work has never been more important, especially for our military men and women as they return home from combat and support missions abroad. thanks to the brain research happening in miami and elsewhere, we have never been closer to a cure. thank you mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from maine seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. pingree: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i want to talk today about a truly remarkable educator from my state of maine.

this week in to you buy, nancy atwell won the very first global teacher prize. it's called not bell prize for education and over -- called the nobel prize for education and over 5,000 teachers worldwide were nominated for the award. she started a school that helped educate thousands of students and hundreds of teachers. teachers who come every year to serve as interns at the school and learn about the cutting-edge teaching methods that have been developed there. nancy has dedicated her heart and soul to the school, to the teachers and to the students. just one example of the selflessness is the million-dollar prize that nancy won with this award. she didn't hesitate for even a moment before announcing she is going to give every penny of it to the school she founded and loves. nancy atwell is a shining example of how teachers make the world a better place. maine is lucky to have her and she's an inspiration to us all. i yield back. .

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to honor the lives of the four louisiana national guardsmen and seven marines who so tradgedly -- tragically died in the helicopter accident off the coast of florida. my family and i and all the louisiana delegation, i'm sure, with the rest of the congress, will continue to keep them in their prayers for their if i -- families. as a helicopter pilot myself, i feel a certain kinship to the two pie hots -- pilots from my district. both of them served our district an state and country most honorably. chief office george griffin is

from delhi only 10 minutes from my house. he had more than 1,000 combat hours and was a decorated veteran. chief warrant office stoffer was a distinguished veteran who served -- who was distinguished and also served in the trying times of katrina. these two men plus the others who died in that blackhawk accident served our nation honorably, admirably and stood in harm's way when we didn't have to. we will never forget them. we honor them and again our prabes are with their families. thank you. -- prayers are with their families. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, i was proud to join many members of this house in birmingham, selma and montgomery alabama, from march 6 to 8 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of bloody sunday which led inexorably to the voting rights act in august of 1965. it was my 10th visit to selma to mark the anniversary of bloody sunday and each one is more powerful than the last. the visit was organized by the faith and politics institute, and was led by john lewis, our colleague such a giant in history and in this body. we heard moving remarks from president obama who made history as the first african-american to hold the highest office in our land. we also heard from the late governor wallace's daughter, peggy wallace kennedy who spoke eloquently about living in the shadow of her father's actions

50 years ago. he later recanted his stance on segregation and asked for forgiveness and his daughter has worked hard to continue that legacy of understanding. i ask that the words of peggy kennedy be entered into the record so all members can read them and be as inspired and uplifted as i was when i heard them. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, and the gentleman yields back his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from oregon seek recognition? ms. bonamici: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. bonamici: america has always been a country of opportunity. for those struggling, our country works to prevent families from becoming destitute

and provides critical support to help them out in difficult circumstances so they can help their families. you don't have to be lucky to overcome hardship. but the budget released by my colleagues in the majority don't reflect these values. instead of strengthening food assistance programs or investing in k through 12 education it slashes them. we should be investing in american workers and creating an economy to help everyone get ahead. unfortunately, the priorities expressed today do not reflect this vision. and i hope we can work together toward a budget that does. thank you,ing mr., and i yield back the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. are there further requests for one-minutes? under the speaker's announced policy of january 6 2015 the gentleman from indiana, mr.

rokita is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader. mr. rokita: i thank the speaker and good afternoon to all my colleagues. we're here today to talk about the republican budget that was just announced today. and i do that with a great amount of pride and excitement as vice chairman of that committee. i also look forward to working with the gentlelady who joust spoke in the one-minute speeches not only to create a sustainable budget and priorities for america but to debunk many of the things that she just said. before we get into the details, and i'm pleased to be joined by several members of the budget committee to help me do this, before we get into the details, i feel it appropriate, mr. speaker and absolutely necessary to yield some time to the majority whip of the house of

representatives, a friend of mine, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. steve scalise. for such time as he may consume to discuss some of the things that have happened with the great citizens in louisiana. mr. scalise: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my colleague from indiana for yielding. as we observed a moment of silence on the house floor just a little while ago, i rise today in honor of the 11 brave american servicemen involved in last week's tragic helicopter crash off the coast of florida. it's heartbreaking events like this, mr. speaker, which remind us that freedom is not free. fur of those heroes were members of the louisiana national guard, stationed within the first of the 244th asalt helicopter battalion out of hammond, louisiana which is located in my district. our hearts are heavy, mr. speaker, as our nation joins the

battalion in mourning the loss of chief warrant officer george wayne griffin jr., chief warrant officer george david strother. staff sergeant lance bajeron and staff sergeant thomas floric. their names will forever be engraved in our hearts and mind. they were described by their fellow soldiers as extraordinary and amazing aviators. colonel patrick becetta, the commander of the state aviation command who i spoke with over the weekend said this, mr. speaker. quote, this crew was made up of the larger than life men who have had a passion for army aviation that was so evident in the dedication that they had toward their profession. i know this as i have personally flown with each one of them. they were driven by their intense desire to selflessly serve their country, fellow

soldiers, and marines. i want to talk about what some of their other colleagues said about them. lieutenant colonel john l. bonnette, the second said when i say they were heroes i mean it many times over. they risked their lives in dangerous conditions, flying in combat, to ensure our security and help save thousands of people. i don't have the words to sum up their lives in a few sentences, you just can't. our whole aviation family is reeling from this loss. the hole that is left is enormous. they were part of the fabric of this unit. the difference they made with everyone they served with will be a lasting legacy. personally, flying with all of them was a privilege and an honor. i'm a better person for having

known them close quote. these heroes, mr. speaker, were husbands, fathers, and sons. we reflect upon the countless sacrifices they made for our great nation. the selfless call they answered to defend our freedoms. they died doing what they loved. i want to take a few moments now to let the american people know about these four members of the louisiana national guard who died in this tragic accident. first is chief warrant officer four george wayne griffith jr., 37 years old. chief warrant officer griffin was from delhi, louisiana, and joined the louisiana national guard in 1994, commissioned as a warrant officer in 1999 before going on to become the battalion stan sard -- standardization pilot. he later deployed to iraq in 2004 and 2005 and again was dere-deployed in 2008 and 2009. he also served during state

deployments in the aftermath of hurricanes katrina rita, and isaac as well as in support of operations river forwardian and deepwater horizon. g. wayne griffin was born to be an army aviator, said an airlift commander. as one of the most talented and respected warrant officers in the louisiana national guard he has a -- he had a tremendous passion for flying and a god-given ability to fly helicopters and airplanes and to teach others to be the best aviators and crew members they could be. he was a great friend and brother to all. with his loss, there will be a void that may never be filled, close quote. griffin is survived by his wife becky, four children, and his father. now chief warrant officer 4 george david strother was 44 years old. he was from alexandria and served in the louisiana national

guard from 1988 to 2007 and from 2009 until his death last week. he deployed to iraq in 2004 and 2005, to afghanistan in 2011 and kosovo in 2014. he also served during state deployments for hurricanes katrina rita, and isaac. strother commissioned as warrant officer in 1994 before flying come bat hours. to describe him as a force of nature is an understatement said major andre johnson, second battalion, 135th aviation reg meant. his huge heart touched the hearts of all men he met. strother is survived by his wife melissa, a son, a stepdaughter and his mother.

staff sernlt lance bajeron, 40 years old. staff sergeant lance bergeron enlisted in 1998 before joining the louisiana national guard in 2001 as a blackhawk repairman. his extensive experience as a flight instructor, graduate of the crew instructor course aircraft maintainer course and warrior leader course made him the crew chief others aspired to be, according to members of his own unit. the combat veteran deployed to iraq twice in 2004 and 2005 and again in 2008 and 2009. he also served during state deployments for hurricanes katrina, rita, isaac and operation river guardian. he's survived by his wife monique, two children and his mother and father. finally, staff sergeant thomas florin, 26 years old.

staff sergeant florich enlisted in 2004 as a blackhawk repair. he was posthumously promoted from sergeant to staff sergeant he served in state deployments for deepwater horizon and hurricane isaac. he had more than 2,500 flight hours an was a graduate of the warrior leader course. quote, tom was full of life and his personality could light a room, said marquez. he was family with this unit and felt at home working with his brothers in alpha company. his dedication to duty and loyalty was without equal, always ready to accept any mission and extra duty in order to help the unit meet the mission. he will be greatly missed by the unit and flight facility. florich is survived by his wife megan, who is expecting their first child, as well as his father and stepmother.

clearly these four men served their country and the people of louisiana with great honor. they deployed to war zones and served during times of great emergency for our state. and they represent the very best of what our military stands for. on behalf of my family, the louisiana congressional delegation and the entire house of representatives, i want to say thank you to these four men and their families for the sacrifices they've made and for their service to our country. their service and sacrifice will not be forgotten. they will remain in our prayers. god bless these heroes and fwod bless america. i yield back. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman for those eulogies and for the honor that we should give these fallen americans. as great as they are and have been. today, after votes now for the day, mr. speaker, i want to

recap some of the things that happened earlier in the day. mr. speaker, i come to the floor to say that at about 10:45 this morning the republican members of the budget committee held a press conference where we explained to the american people our vision for our priorities, for the priorities of america, to get us back on track, a balanced budget for a stronger america. is our theme. mr. speaker, i'm also pleased and proud to say that this theme isn't altogether new. for the united states house of representative republicans. in fact, in large part, this is the fifth year in a row that we've proposed these kinds of ideas so that we can live responsibly in the here and now, to produce and afford a better tomorrow for our children and grandchildren. isn't that, mr. speaker, what we're here to be about?

isn't it -- hasn't it always been the history of these great united states that we would leave the next generation better off than the current generation has had it? as you know, mr. speaker and as my colleagues will help me point out here over the next hour, we stand here as actually the first generation in american history that is poised to leave the next one worse off . by any objective measure. and that's why the budgets that we produce the spending that we promulgate here in the united states congress really needs to be scrutinized, really needs to be prioritized and it's going to take people with a great degree of personal responsibility and leadership mr. speaker, leadership to have a straight, truthful conversation with the american people to, number one, tell them what the situation really is, but just as important,

number two to let them know that there are solutions that we can fix it -- solutions, that we can fix it if we just show them what they are. so, with that let me quickly go through some of the points of our budget that we will mark up in committee tomorrow and will be on the floor next week for a vote. again, the first point, this plan will balance the budget in less than 10 years. that's faster than any of the recent house republican budgets. and, mr. speaker it's in stark contrast to the president's budget which never balances. ever. so how can we pay off this $18 trillion-plus in debt that we have right now? plus the $100 trillion that's on the way over the next several decades, if we never first get to balance? so, this republican budget does that. we do it in less than 10 years.

many american families are saying, 10 years, i wish i had 10 years to balance our budget. i have to balance it immediately. in our households, some might say. but for a government that spends over $3 trillion a year, it takes a while to turn that big aircraft carrier, so to speak, around. and that's why i use the word, mr. speaker, responsible. we are being responsible in these reforms, in these priority changes, so that people have time to adapt, so that we can get the economy going again, to produce more revenue, to make perhaps that 10 years even i go about quicker -- even go by quicker. but this is the responsible way to do it. all we have to do is show the rest of the world that we have a pathway to prosperity and we will continue to be the best place in the world to invest, to grow a business, to grow a family, for the next several decades, as we have been for

the last several hundred years. the other thing our budget does mr. speaker is it repeals obamacare, saving nearly $2 trillion in the process. this is government-controlled health care. it's never worked in the past, it's not going to work now. and we get rid of it, encouraging us to start over with health care reforms in a way that americans feel comfortable -- in keeping their doctor for example, in ways that respect free market principles of supply and demand, in ways that naturally stop us from overconsuming. that's the baseline from which we should have a health care reform debate and policy, not from a government-controlled perspective. our budget also proudly relies on a fairer and simpler tax code. it's interesting to note mr. speaker, that the congressional budget office those who are

tasked with keeping track of our economic indicators and scoring the different bills that come through congress, has indicated that our g.d.p., our gross domestic product, in this country will be assumed to be about 2.3% over the next several years -- 2.3% over the next several years. that is new information, mr. speaker. never before has our g.d.p. growth been calculated to be that low. yet, it's because of our current policies over the last several years that they must calculate our g.d.p. growth to be that low. we call for changing that formula. a fairer simpler tax code allows for job creators to create those jobs to create more investment, to invest more in their people, in their businesses, that creates a net economic effect, positive effect, that creates economic value, that ultimately mr. speaker, would allow more tax

revenue into the government's coughers, to help balance the budget -- coffers, to help balance the budget and then begin to pay off our debt. mr. speaker, our budget also proudly provides for a strong national defense. as we heard now for the last several weeks months and years , the global war on terror is very much alive, very much real , very much a serious threat. and it would be irresponsible of us to continue cutting our military at a time when these threats exist. so our budget recognizes that. our budget calls for more spending in our military than president obama, the commander in chief, has said he needs. and i think it reflects the reality of the situation around the world today mr. speaker. so you'll see the republicans stand -- stand strong for our military men and women and the defense budget that they need. this budget also, mr. speaker,

gives power back to the states. and legislative parliaments and philosophical parliaments it's called federalism. what it is and what our budget recognizes is that those individuals and the states are much better at governing the affairs of their respective lives and their respective people than a one-size-fits-all recipe from washington. so our budget calls for -- so, our budget calls for flexibility. giving the property of individuals and state, i.e., their tax dollars, back to them so they can run social programs that they think are important, that fits the needs of their constituencies and their communities. and gets washington out of the way. our medicare and medicaid reform proposals are a great example of this concept. where we send the states and

individuals' -- states' and individuals' property back to them their tax dollars, and say, in terms of medicaid, you know what, you're better at determining who is really poor in your communities and your states and what kind and what amounts of health care those people need. and then finally, the third leg to that, is how the delivery system for those services would look like. who says that we have the answers to all this? in the one-size-fits-all prescriptive policy? the states are where it's all. individuals and their communities know better than we do how to serve those most in need. and that gets right to the heart of ms. bonamici's allegations during her one-minute speech. throwing money at something, into a system that's broken, that doesn't work is no way to to fix a problem, it only -- to

fix a problem, it only grows our debt and only makes people more dependent on broken programs. let's trust our fellow citizens, let's trust our local elected officials to know their communities and their constituencies best. that's how you get people out of dependency. our goal with the republican budget is to get people off these programs, not to make them lifetime dependents. there's no liberty in that. the republican budget also recognizes and focuses on the dignity that comes with the job , the dignity that comes with work. that is altogether important and mr. speaker, altogether lost in so many days and so many places in this city and in this congress.

the dignity of work. earning the success, the happiness that comes with that. this republican budget reflects all of that. i'm pleased at this time to highlight and yield the floor to several members of the budget committee, all of whom have helped put this document together, all of whom have worked diligently, seriously, on behalf of the american people and especially their constituents, to make this document not only bold but accurate in terms of its numbers and philosophically correct. first, i'd like to recognize the gentleman from west virginia, a new member to this body congressman alex moony. he lives in -- mooney. he lives in west virginia and has three children. he's the son of a cuban refugee and vietnam veteran. alex grew up with a deep sense

of appreciation for the american ideals of individual freedom and personal responsibility and that mr. speaker, is what makes him a great member of the house budget committee. i yield the floor. moon moon thank you -- mr. mooney: thank you. thank you mr. speaker, and my colleague, congressman rokita, for arranging this special order to talk about the house budget released today titled, a balanced budget for a stronger america. as a freshman member of the house budget committee and the representative of west virginia on the committee, i worked to deliver on west virginian priorities in the house budget. the first of these priorities is to balance the federal budget. it is totally unacceptable for west virginians and all americans to live within their means while the federal government allows spending and debt to run rampant. while the house budget released today is not perfect, it balances unlike the president's budget, which you

can see right here, it's a 10-year budget cycle, our's balances in year nine. the president's budget not only doesn't balance but it creates more deficit and debt etch year as you go along. we don't have a partner to work with at the administrative level, in the president's office, to balance the budget. we had to do this on our own. because the american people demand and deserve a balanced budget. it's the only right thing to do. that's a bipartisan state -- statement. i heard from everybody, republican or democrat, that they want a balanced budget. this puts us on the path to do that. i also successfully led three budget proposals through the committee process and each a are now included in the -- each are now included in the final house budget released today. the first two will stop the president's war on coal in its tracks and the third cuts unnecessary federal spending. the first proposal stops the administration's efforts to close coal-fired power plants. we'd simply do this by

eliminating any funding for the development and implementation of new ozone standard regulations by the environmental protection agency, the e.p.a. the coal industry has already spent billions of dollars over the last few years coming into compliance with previous ozone standard rules. but the president's e.p.a. is expected to release new ozone standards anyway designed intentionally to shutter coal plants. the president and his radical environmentalist allies fail to recognize that many states still rely on coal to provide energy at affordable household prices. over 90% of west virginia households rely on coal for affordable reliable energy. recent estimates say implementation of the president's new rule would cost over 10,000 jobs in west

virginia. the second proposal i secured in the house budget to stop the president's war on coal was to prevent funding for a new stream buffer rule from the department of the interior. the administration has already spent over $7 million writing this rule, which is designed to allow the administration to claim regulatory jurisdiction within 100 feet of anything they deem to be a stream. . that dubious proposition would allow federal regulators to shut down surface mining operations in almost every region of west virginia with the stroke of a pen. that's not how we make laws. some studies estimate that federal and state governments will lose $4 billion to $5 billion of tax revenue if it is

enacted and the coal industry would lose $14 billion to $20 billion of revenue and as many as 85,000 jobs in our region. stopping the war on coal is good policy for hardworking west virginia tax players -- taxpayers and good policy for our nation. we must continue to pursue an all of the above energy approach to secure energy independence and grow our economy. i'm proud of this budget's rejection of discrimination against certain forms of energy production such as coal which the president deems to not be politically correct. to cut federal waste, my third proposal defunds the legal services corporation, an agency which operates far outside its original mandate after decades absent of any congressional oversight. defunding the legal services

corporation is a proposal supported by both the congressional budget office and the heritage foundation. instead of providing legal services to the poor as is its mandate, the organization has been used to advance pro-abortion and politically ideological policies as well as increase spending on welfare. ded funding this organization would remove a federal agent -- defunding this organization would remove a federal agency operating outside its mandate and would save taxpayers millions of dollars. i'm proud these proposals were included in the house fwouget stop the president's assault on energy jobs and cut waste from -- from the federal government. i look forward to continuing this fight as the budget process continues. we can restore fiscal conservatism to washington and foster economic prosperity for

our nation. i yield back. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman, if the gentleman would stay, i'd like to engage him in a question. you come from an area in this country like so many areas in this country that understands the meaning of the fact that when you pull something out of the ground and you process it you just created wealth. you just created jobs for people. that's not a dirty thing. and in fact, the coal industry and the fossil fuel industry is the cleanest it's ever been. it's done so much good work, you know, they've been chided and bullied for so many years now, i want you to tell us about how, you know, the fact that the electricity coming from -- comes from coal eventually not just is less dirty than it was before but that it produces the electricity that gives people clean water. and not just in west virginia or indiana but africa. it raises people all together

out of poverty. could you talk more about what happens in west virginia and the good it brings to people around the world? mr. kelly: as i mentioned 90% of our state uses coal for their energy. it is the cheapest, most affordable type -- mr. mooney: as i mentioned 90% of our state uses coal for their energy. we already burn it clean. the coal industry has dealt with regulations under previous administrations for many years. mr. mooney: it's an intention of the administration they stated they wanted a war on coal. the president said he would make it so expensive it would bankrupt coal production companies and shut it down that way. it is their goal to make standards that aren't just reasonable but intended to stop an agency from producing. we ship coal to other countries we ship coal to china for

example. there's no e.p.a. in china, think burn the coal there much dirtier than we do. it's cleaner to burn it here anyway. than to ship it to other countries and have them burn it. in fact, they're harming the environment. these policies intended to help the environment are harming the environment. it's harming every taxpayer, every family who wantance affordable form of energy. mr. rokita: i would say that every person we employ in west virginia, in indiana, and anywhere else in the country, gets a paycheck for sure. that's a great thing. the government, both at the state and federal levels and maybe the local level gets a cut of that. and that eventually gets here to washington, d.c. and sir, does it not make sense then that that would help that would help pay down, excuse me, let's look at your chart. pay down the deficits, eventually getting taos balance

as we've stated now in less than 10 years and then allowing taos begin to work on our surplus over the next several decades. so we certainly have to cut spending and that's the main driver of our debt and reform the social entitlement programs that are driving our debt but every little bit of economic growth, economic activity that comes with a job, that comes with a paycheck, allows us, we wanted to, like we do in this budget, to pay down those deficits and debt. and i yield. mr. mooney: yes, thank you for yielding. i would say the tens and hundreds of thousands of jobs on the line with these coal policies prevent people from having good paying jobs and feeding their families. both parties can agryfwree with bipartisan proposals, the best way to help the poor not get on government assistance is to get a good paying job. that's what we're trying to provide here, good-paying jobs. the dignity you menged in your earlier remarks about the dignity of having a good-paying

job. folks in my state and others want the good-paying jobs because they want that dignity. they want to worg. they don't want to rely on government programs. the assault on the coal industry is particularly harmful to our state. anyone listening across this country be careful. if they can discriminate against one form of energy, coal, what's next? there's an agenda here that exists to discriminate against various types of energy production and look, we just want to be fair. we want an all of the above energy policy we want jobs here at home that are going to happen anyway because they're doing it in other countries, we want these jobs at home and they're good paying jobs. mr. row tiki ta: i thank the gentleman, reclaiming my time, i -- mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman, reclaiming my time. i thank mr. mooney for his expertise. mr. speaker can i inquire how

much time we have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has 28 minutes remaining. mr. rokita: i appreciate that, mr. speaker. i'd like to turn our attention now to another hard charging member of the budget committee, someone else who is new to congress and bringing that energy along with great ideas to the discussion, a lot of his ideas are found in this budget. congressman john mullen of michigan, he's part of an industry that's allowing us to -- allow the conversation to illustrate the solutions that come with raising our g.d.p. levels back to where they used

to be, not just a few years ago so that we can have a better economy now and a better future for our children. before serving in congress, john moolenaar served on the midland city council and in the state legislature. with that, i yield such time as he may consume to congressman moolenaar. mr. moolenaar: thank you very much, i thank my colleague from indiana for his leadership, organizing this presentation today. mr. speaker it's clear from the charts and the discussion we've had today, washington has a spending problem. in january, the nonpartisan congressional budget office estimated that the federal government would collect $3.4 trillion in revenue in fiscal year 2016. the week after that the obama administration released a $4 trillion spending plan that raises taxes, and never balances. a refusal to live within the government's means.

out of control federal spending has exploded the national debt. in 2014 revenue to the federal government was 49% higher than in 2000. yet spending for 2014 was 95% higher than 2000. as part of the economy, the debt is at its highest point since the 1950's. much of the problem is spending required by unsustainable government programs. this spending has increased dra maltcally and crowded out funding for national security and other priorities. mandatory spending aloan in 2014 cost $2.3 trillion. more than was spent funding the entire government in 2004. as a member of the house budget committee, i've worked with our colleagues to craft a budget that addresses our country's fiscal challenges. the house republican budget balances with -- within 10 years and does not raise taxes.

it reforms unsustainable government programs while keeping the promises that have been made to our seniors. it grants flexibility to the states on medicaid, allowing them to craft their own health care programs for those in need. this change brings method cade closer to the american -- medicaid closer to the american people it was meant to serve. i hope that members of both parties in both the senate and the house will be able to come together and address the budget in a responsible way without raising taxes on hardworking families who have seen their wames stagnate during this historically slow economic recovery. the house republican budget puts our country on a path toward to a more stable and responsible fiscal future. mr. speaker, i yield back. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman for yielding back. mr. speaker, mr. moolenaar points out some of the obvious and maybe not so obvious problems the budget faces and

what we face as a congress. really quickly before introducing a veteran member of the committee i want to illustrate a little bit what mr. speaker, mr. moolenaar was discussing. here you see new york a pie graph form, what our federal government, what your federal government, spends its money on. i've taken the liberty of dissecting or pushing out two pieces of that pie to show you really from a year-to-year perspective situation what we get to vote on as members of congress. it's defense discretionary, as we call it, and nondefense discretionary. and in terms of the fund centers and the lines in the budget, we can dial those up or dial those amounts down year to year,

budget control act deals and all that notwithstanding. but it's the rest of this pie that mr. moolenaar indicates that is so alarming. because the rest of this pie, i can't, mr. speaker, you can't, mr. moolenaar can't dial up the spending or dial it down year to year by our vote on the budget or a a -- or our vote on appropriations bills. the funding mechanism, the funding formula for those programs are found in the underlying law. so congressman rokita doesn't get to decide how much social security an eligible citizen receives year to year or what the medicare services are going to be or what the costs or payouts for them are going to be. or determines right now what the one size fits all medicaid program looks like.

that's all determined by the underlying law system of this spending until we reform these programs, is on auto pilot. just goes on and on and on and on. and that's why these programs too, need to be reformed. we've taken the extra step in our house republican budget and outlined solutions for the other committees, for members of congress, for the american people, that would work to not only pay down the deficits but then our debt over time after we come into balance, recognizing being honest with the american people about what's causing our debt. if you see from this pie graph, it's only about 40% of our budget year to year we can dial up or down simply by a vote on the budget. over 60% is on auto pilot. you can't possibly pay off our deficits and our debt until you address the underlying cause.

what's driving our debt. and that's these entitlement programs of medicare, medicaid social security, the interest we owe ourselves and other countries for this debt we're wracking up and a smor gas board of other mandatory spending. mostly welfare programs. republican budget not only recognizes that not only tells the american people the truth but then offers solutions of what can solve the situation over a reasonable amount of time. now a a colleague to make sure we have stayed in our budget is a gentleman i have come to know as a good friend a fellow who represents the people in his

district in georgia so very well, not only that, but represents america so well because of his excellent work towards his good ideas and his intense work ethic, which we need more of, mr. speaker. i would like to yield to the gentleman from from the great state of georgia, mr. robert woodal. mr. woodall: i know the vice chairman won't brag about himself but let me brag about him. he got legitimated when i got legitimated four years ago. when you think what the american people have asked for from this congress in terms of solving the problems that affect their lives in dealing with the issues that threaten economic prosperity and doing the heavy lifting that is required, they cleared out more than half of this institution. if you got elected in the class that the vice chairman and i got legitimated in four years ago, you were in the top 50% of

seniority. america has been turning people out their ear left and right, which has allowed folks like the gentleman from indiana, to rise to these levels, where they can lead on these issues. mr. speaker, as you know, the vice chairman didn't come from a legislative background but as a shot caller. he was the secretary of state in indiana. he didn't have someone else to blame. the buck stopped on his desk. every single day, exactly like it does for every father and every mother and every employer across this country. and when you now fill this institution with folks who are shot callers yesterday and asked to find agreement about among 435 of their colleagues, you get exciting results. exciting results. i'm going to keep the charts that mr. mooney had up here.

mr. moolen ar is a freshman and sold himself short and look no further than to see it. mr. speaker, i don't fault the president's work ethic. the president works hard to do what he thinks is best for this country. there is not one family in america that you can borrow as much as you want to borrow and spend as much as you want to spend and your family's economic future will be secure. they know that is a path to disaster. this blue line represents the budget deficit in the president's budget, the budget that he just sent to congress. it's his legal responsibility to do it. he did it. and this is the plan he laid out for america. deficits as far as the eye can see. borrowing, not just for the next year or the next 10 years or

next 20 years or next 30 years but for ever. the work that mr. moolenaar and mr. rokita has done it is unpleasant work. i don't know why you took the job. it is an awful job because your job is to do the things that haven't gotten done before. your job is to do the things that were too hard for everybody else to do and you stepped in to do it. this red line represents deficits under the budget that mr. rokita and chairman tom price are bringing to markup in the budget committee tomorrow. they couldn't balance the budget in day one. this is a lot of sweat equity in this chart. could not balance the budget in day one because the red ink is just too thick. you've got to do it in a responsible way. they made the tough decision to cut deficits in half by year two

and on out to budget surpluses by the time you get to the end of the 10-year window, a balanced budget for america. you can't see the sweat stains on this chart, mr. speaker, but this is sweat equity in this chart. we are not talking about are you going to spend an extra million dollars here or there. we aren't talking about are you going to prioritize environmental spending or national park spending and not talking about prioritizing transportation spending we are talking about are you going to balance the budget ever or are are you going to borrow from your children and grandchildren as far as the eye can see? and i have news, mr. speaker. every single one of these dollars and deficits you see in

the president's budget represents a dollar of future tax increases or future benefit cuts cuts. i want you to think about that. they have put together a courageous package that says we should pay for the bills today we are incurring today. we should do the tough things when we can so that our children don't have to labor under those burdens. every single one of these dollars that the president borrows and spends and i should add, this is with a $1 trillion tax increase, even with $1 trillion in new taxes, the president is still running these kinds of deficits, represents either a tax increase for your children and grandchildren or a benefit cut for your children and grandchildren. only two ways to get a dollar. we should have the courage if we want to spend money to find the

money to spend. we should have the courage that if we want to cut those benefits, cut those benefits today not 100 years from today. we should have the courage to do the difficult things that need to be done and i'm just grateful to the gentleman from indiana and his leadership on the committee. what we are going to markup, which will probably be a 12-hour markup so excited about it, so excited about it, what we are going to mark up that every member in this chamber can be proud of. i want to tell you a secret. i don't want to let the cat out of the bag but i have seen some patterns in the four years i have been here, my expectation is that as hard as the budget committee has worked on this document, as much sweat equity that have gone into doing the difficult things, my guess they are going to allow my member of this chamber who wants to offer

something, they will do it. i suspect we are going to see it. this isn't about trying to shut folks out of the process mr. speaker. this is about trying to bring folks into the process the collaborative process that the chairman has driven. along with tom price from georgia is the difference between taking the responsibility on our shoulders as parents and grandparents, legislators, citizens, or kicking that can down the road. i couldn't be more proud of the effort and the work product that my friend fl indiana has created. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman from georgia. and as much as i appreciate his comments about the work we have all done on the budget committee, they are certainly undeserved as they regard me. it was a team effort and

continues to be a team effort. the gentleman from georgia is exactly right every member of this chamber, and that is republican or democrat can be proud of this budget. this honestly and accurately solves this country's federal government fiscal problems. and they should also be proud of the fact that as the gentleman mentions, other ideas will be accepted in regular order and be voted on. and it doesn't get more really american than that. that will be and continue to be our tradition and i see no reason that that won't continue. if the gentleman would i would like to hear his thoughts on the medicare part of our budget. you know the gentleman heard me reference the fact that the auto pilot spending, the reforms to these social programs need to be

reformed. and i want to be very clear not only with my colleagues, with the gentleman from georgia and with the american people, mr. speaker, that we are not cutting, we are not slashing or ending medicare or these other programs as they know it. perhaps there will be scare tactic language presented. i hope that's not the case. i continue to hope. but the fact of the matter is, we save and we strengthen medicare. and i would like to yield to the gentleman for his comments in that regard. mr. woodall: i appreciate my friend for yielding. i know my friend is well known in this body and his work on med and to save that important program. but medicare is a great example. it's a great example. there's not a member in this institution, mr. speaker, who believes that we have the money or could even find the money to pay for medicare as it is structured today. it's not a question of is it going to bankrupt, but a question of when is it going to bankrupt. and that's not a committee

member from the state of georgia, but the trustees who are in charge of looking after the program year after year after year telling us it's going to go under. people in my district ask for i say to my friend from indiana, is not a leg up, not something for nothing not a free lunch. they just want to know what the rules are. and if you tell them what the rulesr they'll rise to the occasion. i'm in my 40's, i know medicare is not going to be there for me the way it is for my parents. i worry it won't be there at all. what the budget committee has done in this budget is absolutely to protect medicare. it's gone from something that might not be there for me and certainly wouldn't be in there, to a commitment that i can count on. not i as a united states congressman but i as a 45-year-old citizen in america to whom payroll taxes, taxes

that pay for medicare, have been the largest tax burden that 80% of american families have paid all their lives. these dollars that you see here represent dollars that the president, in many cases, is flittering away on today's consumption, that we are re-investing in medicare to assure it survives. and i don't know how you dug into the budget committee medicare proposal, but it anticipates providing choice in the medicare system, the likes of which medicare hasn't ever seen. medicare advantage program, have you seen that mr. speaker? it has been the source of attempts to slash over and over and over again by this administration for reasons that i cannot imagine because it's the most popular program in america, medicare advantage, which for the first time allowed citizens to make choices. what the gentleman from indiana and our entire committee has put

together in this budget is a pathway through that premium support program to let every medicare beneficiary going forward -- folks, even young people like me, 45, folks at 18, to know when they get to medicare, not only will it be there for them, but they will have a choice of plans to choose the one that works best for them. i yield back. mr. rokita: that is so very important and critical to understanding our reform efforts because of the fact that our proposed changes don't even have to affect anyone who is on these programs or near to be on them. our modeling, our reform, our ideas would start in 2024. so the younger guys, men and women of course, in america those of the age group that the gentleman from georgia

referenced, would have time to prepare. and it's not like these changes would be draconian but reflect how we live now and how long we live in the 21st century. and the main part of our reform is giving people choice. we believe and we know from data and from experiences in the states, laboratories of democracy that i referenced earlier, the notion of federalism or the best government comes from those that govern closest to the people, that if you give people a choice, no matter their socioeconomic background no matter how old or how young they are or how smart or simple they think they are, they can make the best choices for themselves and that includes health care. and once we do that. and once we have folks invested in the decision-making process, you will see costs naturally go

down. and that's a large part of our plan. let people choose what works best for them, what works for that time in their lives, and you will see them taking ownership interests just like they would in an ownership interest in any other thing that they have a vested interest in whether it's repairing their automobile buying an automobile or even their health care. it works and will work the same way. that's a good portion of our plan. but again, anyone who's on these programs or near to be on them, they could take the promises that were offered, the deal that was given and can continue on with their lives in planning for their future. would the gentleman from georgia and i and members of the budget committee and previous congresses now for four years

in a row have talked with to the american people about, this idea that down the road let's change the system not so it goes away but so it can be strengthened and saved and can be around for those in the future. and i think that's what every parent, that's what every grandparent ultimately wants is a better life for their children and grandchildren. now, if we contrast that for a minute with the president's idea, you see a much different picture. first of all in order to fund his government-controlled health care plan, mr. speaker, he basically takes from medicare. the president's health care law makes drastic cuts to the medicare program without improving the long-term solvency of that program. in addition, the reductions already proposed in the law -- reductions already proposed in the law obamacare created the

independent payment advisory board, a board of 15 unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats who will cut medicare in ways that will deny going forward. that doesn't save and strengthen these popular programs. that's what will destroy them for future generations. some may ask -- i know the gentleman from georgia has heard this question -- well didn't the president's health care law improve medicare's solvency? no absolutely did not. the president's health care law raided medicare to fund obamacare. advocates of the president's health care law claimed that law both improved medicare solvency and paid for the new entitlement at the same time. this claim is contradictory. medicare's chief actuary testified before the house budget committee that medicare savings had been double counted. the house republican budget stops the raid on medicare and

ensures that any current law medicare savings are devoted to saving medicare. and so that's what i mean when i say, when the gentleman from georgia says this is an honest budget. it's truth telling to and for the american people but also offers the solutions that can honestly and responsibly get us out of this situation. i'd yield to the gentleman from georgia. mr. woodall: well what my friend says about people being able to rely on this budget, about the honesty and integrity in the budget, it really is contrasted with these deficit numbers that you see coming out of the white house because there's not an honest broker in this room who would not tell you that if you continue to run these deficits eventually you're going to hit the wall, you'll have to pull the rug out from current beneficiaries. that's what bankruptcy means mr. speaker. mr. speaker, that's what we mean when we say bankruptcy. it means that when social security and medicare goes away and you get zero.

it means you're still stuck on the program and we're slashing your benefits in half overnight. it's immoral. it's immoral to make promises to people and not keep them. doipt want the gentleman from indiana's job, mr. speaker. i don't want it. being vice chairman of the budget committee is hard because you have to make tough decisions, and the decision that budget committee made was we can be honest with folks that have not yet attained medicare age, that the program will not be there as it was for their parents if we make no changes. we can keep our commitment to older seniors, those folks on the program to say if we promise it to you you're going to get it. and then we can bring in this new element of choice, again, for folks in my age bracket to say when you get to medicare we will have protected and will you have some personal decisionmaking in terms of how do you get the benefit package

that best serves you, best serves your spouse, best serves your family. i am so appreciative in a town where people dodge responsibility like it's the plague that the budget committee has said we're either going to break promises tomorrow when we run out of money or we're going to be honest with people today about the state of the affairs that we're in. $400 billion deficits $600 billion deficits, trillion-dollar deficits in the president's budget. and if you saw the chart that vice chairman helped up the pie chart where america spends its money, interest that we're paying today dwarfs education spending, transportation spending, environmental spending and alike. i thank the gentleman for his leadership. mr. rokita: i thank the gentleman from georgia, again. he's not only a blessing to his state, he's a blessing to this congress and this country for his integrity, his hard work,

and for his oratory. thank you, sir, so very very much. mr. speaker and members of this body, please pay attention to the house budget committee tomorrow as we mark up this bill. hopefully not for 12 hours but maybe so. we'll be there as long as it takes and be ready. be ready and be proud to vote on the floor of this house next week for a budget that offers honesty, real solutions, a balanced budget for a stronger america. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has yielded back. under the speaker's announced policy of january 6 2015, the gentleman from california, mr. garamendi, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. mr. garamendi:

mr. garamendi: mr. speaker, thank you very much for the opportunity to speak. i hadn't intended to talk on medicare, although i think that ultimate reaction to what we just heard is that medicare guarantee that has been the bedrock of foundation for seniors really will terminate if this budget proposal that we just heard discussed for so long continues, because it will basically give seniors an option not to have medicare and i don't think we want to do that. it's been an extremely important program for more than 40 years now. you want to look really, really hard at the proposals being put forward by my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. but what i came to talk about today is the president actually

spoke to us here in this chamber in january and it was middle-class economics. middle-class economics. how is it that we can grow the middle class, which has been stagnant in its economic growth for the last almost 25 years now, not seen a pay increase, husband and wife, single parents struggling to make ends meet here in america? so the president came here and he brought to us this middle-class economics. why is it important? basically if the middle class is healthy, if the middle-class paycheck is growing, the economy grows. it's an economy that's based upon the consumer and the consumer really is the middle class so it becomes absolutely important to look at how we're going to grow the middle class in america. and there are many different ways to do that. obviously we need to strengthen the wages that middle class has. we've seen very little wage growth in the last two decades. we need to really make sure

that the men and women that are out there working day in and day out have an increase in their paycheck. we've seen the little tiny bumps now as we look across the nation and as more and more people become employed and the labor market becomes somewhat tighter we would hope to see this. but an important element of this paycheck is the minimum wage. and so we advocate for $10.10 minimum wage all across this nation. we hope to get it. but what we want to spend time on today is the infrastructure and how to really see the infrastructure, the foundation for economic growth really be put in place in america. we now have until mid may may 15 to put in place a new version of the highway bill. can we do it? we have to do it. if we don't put in place and

extend the surface transportation act, we're going to see contractors all across america shut down their work, new contracts for highways and bridges not go into effect but rather be delayed. so congress has an enormous task in its hand and that is to re-authorize the surface transportation act. current one, we kicked it down the road last fall. well, the stop sign is right in front of us, so we need to get with it, and we're going to talk some of the elements in it. and if we know that if we put in a robust full surface transportation act we're going to see the american middle class go back to work. let me just show you some of the elements that are in that surface transportation act. and here they are. last year the president proposed the grow america act. i'm going to call this the grow

america act 2, and so we're looking now at how we can do that. the president came out with a full six-year program, a very robust increase in the amount of money available for surface transportation fully paid for without increasing the excise tax on gasoline and diesel. no you're not going to see an increase at the pump because of this program. now, the oil companies may stick you but not the government. and so the government -- the president's plan, which we call the grow america act , has all of these -- 2, has all of these elements in it. rail. a full rail program that's a freight program how you connect the rail system, the highway system and the port system. buses. light rail, the inner city transportation systems that are so important for our urbanization. we've seen a major need for these buses, for the light rail the metro systems across

the system. ports, 90% of the commerce comes through our ports and so the ports los angeles, long beach, oakland, san francisco, sacramento in my district, critically important. so there's all of these elements. we know we need to repair the bridges. we got a nice picture of the golden gate bridge here. we should probably put the new bay bridge or maybe we could actually put up this bridge. this actually happened about three years ago. this is interstate 5 from the canadian border to the mexican border down the west coast, interstate 5. well, for about a month and a half you weren't going to get very far on interstate 5 because this bridge is right near the canadian border and it

collapsed. so bridges across the united states are in desperate need of rebuilding. many of them are decades old. some more than 100 years old. and finally highways. so this is the grow america act , surface transportation program that president has proposed about $160 billion-some over a six-year period of time. so it's a large program, provides a lot of money for all of the things we need to do. freight, inner city travel, buses, light rail, metro systems, ports bridges, highways. it's all there. and a separate bill dealing with our airports. this is our program. this is what we need to do. when we do this, we're going to put america back to work. now one of my colleagues from california, former speaker of the california assembly, is here to talk about an element in this program. i welcome karen bass to this one-hour discussion. ms. bass, if you'd like to tell us what's going on in

california. ms. bass: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, last year congress took an important first step, the cronwith us allowed transit agencies to acquire local hiring. it put hiring decisions in the hands of local government officials and i think my good friend and colleague from california is making the point, transportation is the backbone of this country and certainly we have been the world's leader in infrastructure, in projects like has been described by my colleague, but we need to do more of that. every now and then congress does something in a bipartisan manner, and because of this action, the department of transportation established pilot programs that will permit l.a. metro to prioritize local hiring on over $2 billion in transit and highway projects. not just l.a. metro but around the country local hire is now a policy. this investment will translate into tens of thousands of

well-paying jobs putting these tax dollars back into the communities that paid for the projects. los angeles is in the midst of a multibillion-dollar investment in transit projects that will reduce congestion on our streets and reduce air pollution. two major projects, i'm fortunate to say, one is my district. the crenshaw line which is a line that will serve the crenshaw district, engelwood, los angeles international airport and surrounding communities. another project is the purple line that will provide a high-capacity high-speed dependable alternative for those traveling between communities such as miracle mile beverly hills, century city and westwood. angelineos have repeatedly voted to raise local taxes to help build these local transportation projects, but l.a. metro had not been allowed to prioritize hiring local workers. los angeles unemployment

remains higher than the national average and people living in south los angeles who are directed by the transit projects, their tax dollars are paying the vast majority of these projects and businesses and homes are being impacted by the construction but don't benefit from the jobs that these transit jobs will create. while i was back in my district, i heard numerous commissioners how crenshaw boulevard will be closed for several days because of the light-rail construction. this closure is directly impacting businesses trying every day to provide goods and services as well as the residents who call south los angeles home. ensuring these transit dollars will bring good-paying jobs will

eliminate the pain from construction. we have allowed transit agencies to have control over local hiring practices. this will bring high-quality jobs to the areas most impacted by the disruption of transit construction. democrats and republicans can often disagree, but on this area, we are's on the same page. more local control will mean they can build light rail and subway projects that will last for generations by ensuring that people who need jobs today will be first first in line. this is an example of bipartisanship. my colleagues that are here today talking about the grow america act, this is a stirs step. it's positive, but we obviously need to do so much more and the example of the projects that you've given is where we need to go next. thank you and i yield back. mr. garamendi: you have been a leader in california for many years despite your youth and we look forward to this.

i'm very familiar with the extensions that you are talking about in southern california. we were working on many of those projects and i really like that local hire. that is so critically important and we have this issue not just on big transit programs but military bases, two of which i represent. people are imported from other states to do work in our local communities. i say hire local, buy local and let me put one more thing up here and i will call on my friend from new york because this is really his turf. make it in america, buy america. so when you are going to build these projects, do it with american-made products. i think you know this one, ms. bass. a problem that occurred in san francisco when they decided to rebuild the san

francisco-oakland bay bridge, they decided to use chinese steel. some 6,000 jobs went off to china and steel came back and the steel had all kinds of problems, welding problems, structural problems and still dealing with this. and so this is the san francisco , made in china bay bridge. on the other hand, my good friend from new york, paul tonko, tapanzee bridge across the hudson river. $ 6 billion. this bridge, made in america and made with american steel, not chinese steel. i don't know, ms. bass, but when you talk about making it local, hire local. we ought to have it buy it and make it in america. and all the other parts that go

with it. where is that train being made it could be made in america. our tax dollars hiring local workers and american-made products. it can be exciting. we can really build this economy. we can grow america and we can rebuild the american middle class in the process. mr. tonko congratulations on your tapanzee bridge, made in america. mr. tonko: we are proud of any make it in america provision. let me thank you first and foremost for bringing together congresswoman bass and you to lead us into discussions of the soundness of investment in infrastructure that is required for a modern-day society for commerce to function for

economic recovery sake, we need to include infrastructure as a bit of the formula that takes us to the maximum outcome for producing jobs. and i think any of us comprehend how investment in infrastructure equates to job creation. it's an easy exercise to relate to the skilled set of labor that is required to build these bits of infrastructure, but it's in the millions that we can strike in terms of added jobs and certainly bolstering of our regional economies and our national economy. so this one is a no-brainer. it makes sense across the board to invest in what is crumbling infrastructure and improving those dated bridges and to be able to provide for the sort of vision that we as a nation require -- this nation requires

in order to move forward on a path of soundness. the siloing that usually takes place or can take place better said, is a frighten ying thing. we need to look at this infrastructure project for the environmental policies, the energy policy. and if we can move forward with these investments encourage american-made manufactured goods and products for these projects and then also see the soundness of putting together multimodeal concepts where we bring together through a sense of planning all of the modse of transportation so they are put into a hub concept and putting together the best energy outcome and not

working in that silo mentality that doesn't produce the results that will be most beneficial to all of us and for generations to follow. i think we need to understand that we improve our bridges. we structure new where it's required. we don't continue to build to capacity without the element of rail that can remove some of those cars from the highway. energy efficiency is a common factor with rail transportation. it is the most energy-efficient mode of travel. and if we can invest in rail and incorporate soundness of transportation infrastructure so we are not building where it's not essential, where it can be avoided by multi modeal products, but all of this is focused on a modern-day society and seen the crumbling of

infrastructure and put on the back burner maintenance rs repair and improvements it begins to catch up with the budgetary thinking here and we develop crises that requires huge outlays of money. we need to move as quickly as we can to invest in our infrastructure, in our roads and our bridges. i have looked at the needs within my district. they are there and very heavy and the impact on consumers with fult faulty roads with less than less than acceptable infrastructure is costly to the individual motorists. that in terms of repair and maintenance to your vehicle and idle time where there are traffic jams where there is a need for infrastructure that is soundly developed through a sense of planning and we look at all modes of transportation. and we have seen other nations

begin to leapfrog past where we're at. we instructed developing nations on how best to build their infrastructure, not just transportation roads and bridges and the traditional transportation infrastructure, but with utilities, with communications wiring, with all sorts of opportunities in water and sewer. we can advise but we need to take our own visas a nation and begin the investment in what is soundly a strengthening of commerce public safety and quality of life issues for you'll of us, individuals and families in this country. so this is a golden opportunity. this is a way to put people to work. it is a way to purchase american-made goods that are producing jobs in our manufacturing centers and way to embrace sound planning and be a better steward of the environment and a way to be energy smart in the outcome. all of this can be taken care of

if we do this cooperative thinking and doesn't silo us, but builds on a pathway to soundness investment, to most efficient and effective use of taxpayer dollars. people want safe roads. they want safe bridges. they want the modern convenience of utility infrastructure and communication infrastructure. they want the soundness of thinking that accompanies water, drinking water and water and sewer infrastructure to be sound. representative garamendi you're on the west coast. i'm a country's span away on the east coast and we are sitting on very aged infrastructure and it's important for us to recognize that fact. there is a life expectancy that

when met, begins the crumbling of the huge infrastructure. workers skilled, trained, prepared, ready to do this work can be put into meaningful work opportunities and we can get again, the pathway to soundness of commerce and quality of life addressed in a very reasonable fashion. mr. garamendi: thank you so much. you are always passionate about growing the american economy. often you talk about research and the important role of research today the important role of infrastructure of all kinds. earlier as i was going through some numbers about the rural america act 2. this is this year's version of the president's infrastructure bill, i misstated, i state there was $167 billion program but

$478 billion. it is $176 billion more than we are currently spending at the same a rate. it is a terrific boost in the infrastructure and does cover all these rails ports, bridges, highways. the american society of civil engineers laid it out. if you look at our airports, they are getting a d. bridges, a c-plus. you go down through the list, drinking water, a d. energy, a d. just all through the list. all of the infrastructure, water systems, d. many of our communities, new york city and others in your area are communities that are two centuries old and some of the infrastructure is also two centuries old. we have this enormous need to

rebuild our economy and if we do so, we will create a lot of jobs. one of my favorite publications that came across my desk is this one "infrastructure and investment create american jobs ." duke university. this isn't something put out by the democratic party but put out by duke university and they say for every billion dollars we invest, we get the roads, airports but we get 21,776 jobs and the economic impact is not just a billion but actually $3.54. so you are getting this boost in the economy and getting that trust in growing the american economy. and as the american president said growing the middle class because these are middle-class jobs. i'm sure you see this in your area. mr. tonko: the aged

infrastructure is one factor. the new development, innovation, cutting-edge, high-tech opportunities that are not embraced not incorporated into the infrastructure that we currently require are two major driving factors as to why we should be aggressive in our pursuit of infrastructure resources. there are those who -- brace an infrastructure bank bill making certain we can get more for the dollar that we can leverage and stretch the commitments that we make to reach more projects. . you talk about water. so it's an appropriate place to review, inspect, further inspect the state of our drinking water infrastructure.

and last district work period just completed, i began with my crew at home the initial steps of reviewing with tours the water infrastructure that serves the communities that i represent. in schenectady, new york, the town of about 60,000 individuals we have some 240 miles of pipe. 240 miles in one community. that pipe may be as old as 100-plus years. the main feeds are 24 inch and 36-inch pipes. when you look at all of this infrastructure knowing that replacement factor is going to come isn't it a better thing to plan how we're going to share those resources with community, understanding that when we have a water break a

water main break -- and we witnessed many of those during the very harsh winter that northeast of the country had faced this year. a number of the frosting is busting this infrastructure. but when we have a number of these breaks and you see the water flowing from that location it is not just water that's flowing by, it's dollars and it's elect ronrons because it took an immense amount of supplies to treat that water. it took tons of taxpayer dollars to make sure that it's acceptable and it's -- in its form. for consumption, for drinking water and of course it's the water wasted. so we need to see this as a way to save, save water, save money

and save energy. why not incorporate into this discussion to speak to the needs of drinking water in this country? you've seen too many, you know opportunities or impacts on communities where they've had this boil water provision for days if not weeks. you see it around the country, people are getting impacted by this, again, infrastructure that is so old and it's in a state of -- it's in a need of repair. and so we're sitting on not only pipes in the ground but well systems, the infrastructure, the computers, the work force that's required. are we training the appropriate work force to pick up in these areas that have high levels of certification the know-how is immense and the responsibility is awesome? so there's the human infrastructure, there's the training, there's the planning that's required and certainly the outstanding need for

soundness of all of the system that brings you from that aqua if you are, that water source -- aqua fir, that water source into the workplace, into the home place. this is something we will further explore because there is an ordinant need and we need to put together a sound plan that's reaching to the expected, the projected needs and offering the assistance to local governments that's so essential. mr. garamendi: mr. tonko, you're talking about water. just looking through the -- well, from the report card from the american civil engineers and they have down here water systems drinking water, d. energy d-plus. sanitation, another d. waste water d. so just across the nation in

terms of a modern water infrastructure, both drinking water, pottable water as well as sanitation systems, we rank at a d. we're polluting, we have contaminated water to drink and we have contaminated water going out the other end of the sewer plant. but let me just take a second to talk to you about a place where there is not enough water california. we're in the fourth year of a major drought in california, mr. tonko, and you're talking about all that water problem you have in new york. perhaps you could put it on a -- on one of those tank cars and send it out to california because we're in desperate need of water in california. fortunately, the people of california last november took note of this problem and they passed a $7.5 billion bond to build the water systems of california, and there are many parts of this. rebuilding the community water systems for small communities

like you just described. we have problems in california where communities are out of water. they don't have any water at all. so that's part of it. there's another part dealing with conservation so we can conserve our water. there's another piece of it that deals with recycling. in fact, the fifth biggest river on the west coast in the western hemisphere from alaska to chile are the sanitation plants in california. 500 miles, 5,000 feet in the air, you take it into southern california, you bring it in from the colorado river 200 miles 2,000 feet, bring it in to southern california, you clean it use it once and then you clean the water to a higher standard than the day it arrives in southern california and you dump it in the ocean. hello. anybody thinking? so the people of california said let's recycle. and so recycling programs are going to be part of california's future. we need to build reservoirs.

we need to take care of the underground aquarfers that are being depleted. not new york, california depleting them. not only california. california, nevada new mexico, texas, florida, and oregon. all of these states are seeing a depletion in their aqua fers and so california, we need to get with this and in doing so what i'd like to see is us in washington take our federal water programs which are several. we have a recycling program and a conservation program, title 6, essential valley improvement act, available to the entire nation. we have e.p.a. with its water programs. department of agriculture. obviously the bureau of reclamation and the corps of engineers. for those programs in california, we need to put that under that water bond and augment, supplement and drive forward that water bond that

people of california already voted for. mr. tonko: absolutely. mr. garamendi: so we have our task in major infrastructure, putting people to work and guaranteeing the future for california water supplies. mr. tonko: i couldn't agree more. i think what we can do to supplement efforts individual states is so critical right now because the need is so of demand. and you know, when i talk about this, i hear in your counterparts in california about the huge loss of water that had with some of the water main breaks. again, it's the dollars, the it's the water, it's the electrons that is flowing by us. i heard from representatives in texas, from maryland, in new england, the northeast, all saying it's about time we need to do something here. my gosh, we have wooden pipes serving some communities. so it's -- you know, out of sight, out of mind. it's beneath that surface and we're just believing that water supply will be there and that

the pipes will last forever. we know that the acidic quality of soils will wear the pipes from the outside. the velocity will wear the pipes from the inside. they will not last forever. and so it's important for us to make certain that we communicate well, establish that dialogue with the water maintenance crews at all levels in our home states and have them instruct us as the first line of that service delivery system and say, hey, this is the situation. these are the conditions. these are the needs and let us go forward with this infrastructure discussion that fully incorporates all of the elements of infrastructure -- from the safety of our roads and bridges to the advanced investment in ports and rail to communications to utilities. we have monopoly designed settings now wheeling electrons, not only from region to region, state to state,

nation to nation, nations to the u.s. all of this needs to be broadened in terms of the dialogue that we share and develop. we need to understand that, you know, we're at a cutting edge where in this century now we need to upgrade because of new opportunities or upgrade because of aged infrastructure and it begins with the soundness of planning and that's why i enjoy these discussions with you where we can ignite, so to speak, that thinking at home and certainly amongst our colleagues here in the house and down the hall in the senate to make certain that we are, you know, just avidly supportive of going forward with the progressive order of policies that will speak to these infrastructure needs and where we allocate the resources that are going to respond effectively to the given situation at hand. so it's within our grasp and bottom line, produces jobs. millions of jobs all while

addressing safety and quality of life. and commerce opportunity. mr. garamendi: mr. tonko thank you so very much. you keep bringing these issues so clearly to all of us. there are some in our -- among the 435 members of this house that believe that federal government should not have a role in these kind of projects, and i think they are doing two things as they advocate that we ought to -- the federal government ought to get out of this business. first of all, they're ignoring the constitution which specifically says congress is supposed to take care of postal roads. it's also ignoring the founding fathers. washington asked his treasury secretary hamilton to develop a program on advancing the american economy and he came back with a program to build ports, toll roads and canals. not toll roads but postal roads and canals so this has been a long history of america from the very beginning that federal government has a role in all of

these. this morning we had a hearing in the transportation infrastructure committee about the highway bill, about the surface transportation bill and we note that president put forward what i call the grow america act 2. this is this year's version of last year's bill that is $478 billion, $176 billion more than proposed last year and fully paid for. now, i noticed that the ranking member of the highway subcommittee of the transportation infrastructure committee has joined us. representative -- or delegate eleanor holmes norton of washington, d.c., is with us now. and this is her turf as ranking member of that committee. thank you so very much for joining us ms. norton and share with us your thoughts on how we can grow america, grow the middle class, increase the

paycheck for americans and build our infrastructure. ms. norton: i thank both of my good friends. i certainly thank you you, my -- thank you, my good friend from california, mr. garamendi, the consistency which you've taken out these special orders. you don't need my support but i thought i'd come down and give you my support, not only because of how comprehensive have been your comments to remind the american people of how important our bill, surface transportation bill is. but i'd like to just take a few minutes to relate what i heard both of you say, indeed, i heard you mention jobs and the economy and one -- in one form or fashion. but i want to take this moment to indicate the link between jobs and the surface transportation bill and what

makes me want to do this is the gallup poll. we've always known that surface transportation bill and indeed that infrastructure has been an engine of the economy and one reason is it throws off jobs. it starts, of course, in construction but then more than any other sector it stimulates jobs all the way up. jobs that support all the way up and that's what the grow america act will do. and of course, if you want to do that you need stable funding. when i looked at what the american people want i saw immediately the link between that and this special hour today. if you look at the most important problems, it's amazing what they are. the gallup poll looked at --

said what is the most important issue for the american people. three, four, five six, seven -- there were eight issues. of those eight issues seven out of eight have to do with the economy. number one was economic problems divided into the economy and unemployment and jobs. . federal deficit and debt were there. but everything was about jobs. the gap between the rich and poor and lack of money that's how they put it, wage issues and the high cost of living. there you have it. well what's the best way to do that? we had a good hearing this morning, but i wonder if both of you were s