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tv   U.S. House Legislative Business  CSPAN  June 2, 2015 12:00pm-8:01pm EDT

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the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be you are aed by the chaplain father -- by our chaplain, father con roy. -- conroadway. chaplain conroy: let us pray. dear god, we give you thanks for givings us another day.
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there are many important issues facing our nation, concerns about immigration, our national security, our personal privacy, the economy and levels of unemployment. bless abundantly the members of this people's house. help them to see new ways to productive service fresh approaches to understanding each other, especially those across the aisle, and renewed commitment to solving the problems facing our nation. may they and may we all be transformed by your grace and better reflect the sense of wonder, even joy at the opportunities to serve that are ever before us. all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory, amen.
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the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the yeas have it. the journal stands approved. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i demand the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring the vote by the yeas and nays will please rise. a significant number has arisen. the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule
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20 further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from rhode island, mr. cicilline. mr. cicilline: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, as american families continue to be under attack from radical
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islam, it can be credited president obama was correct on december 14 2001, addressing troops at fort bragg. quote, we're leaving behind a sovereign stable, and self-reliant iraq. a most of success. end of quote. clearly then president george w. bush's strategy of denying mass murderers safe havens to kill americans anywhere was admitted successful. i'm grateful my two oldest sons served in iraq to protect american families. president obama's failure to achieve a status of forces agreement in iraq and his failure to uphold his declared red line in syria led to murderous advances of isil which he pluckly dismissed. i hope president obama changes course for victory in the global war on terrorism which began with the declarations of war in 1997, against america the mass slaughter of muslims who do not submit. president obama's legacy should be peace through strength, not weakness as future attacks threaten american families.
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in conclusion, god bless our troops and may the president, by his actions, never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, the export-import bank is a critical resource for small and medium sized businesses in rhode island's first congressional district and all across this country. in fact, over the last eight years the bank has provided more than $20 million in insured shipments, guarantee credit or disbursed loans for companies in my district enabling them to ects port products. exum bank provides finances that enables these companies to access global markets, compete in a global economy. the american jobs are supported by the exum bank, 164,000 american jobs.
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for the re-authorization of ex-im bank is bipartisan, 180 democrats have signed a discharge petition to force a vote on re-authorizing the ex-im bank before it expired on june 30 and many republicans have pluckly supported re-authorization. i've had the opportunity to meet with companies in my district that rely on the ex-im bank companies like the coolly group that designs, develops and manufactures diversified industry-leading portfolio of premier engineered coded fabrics used across an array of industrial commercial and military applications. this issue is too important for the usual partisan politics that washington has grown used to. we need to stand up for small and medium sized companies and re-authorize the ex-im bank before the end of this month. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.
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birlbirl thank you mr. speaker. june -- mr. bilirakis: thank you mr. speaker. june is alzheimer's and brain awareness month. alzheimer's is the top 10 cause of death in america that cannot be prevented or cured. however, we are making strides. h.r. 6, the 21st century cures act, is a historic nonpartisan bill that will help spur the development of cures and treatments more quickly to help patients with chronic or rare conditions. i'm an original co-sponsor of a provision in h.r. 6 to create a national data collection system for neurological diseases. better data will pave the way the path toward better treatments. in april i held a neurological disease round table in my district to engage with patients, including ronald hall, a constituent and alzheimer's patient. we discussed how to advance the development of treatments and cures for diseases like
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alzheimer's. by working together we can help alzheimer's patients. i yield back. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. higgins: mr. speaker, yesterday i joined the pride center of western new york to celebrate the lgbtq community and kick off buffalo pride week. last week niagara falls mayor and a council woman and the rainbow city coalition raised the rainbow flag for the first time at city hall in niagara falls. western new york's pride week comes at a particularly historic time. the supreme court is expected to rule soon on whether the constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry. i believe that it does. i was proud to join 211 of my colleagues in congress in filing an am cuss brief urging the court to find such a right in its ruling. marriage equality is one of the important components of a larger effort to ensure that
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everyone has the same basic rights as each and every american. i congratulate the pride center of western new york and the rainbow city coalition for their community efforts this week and advocacy for equality each and every day. and i hope that next year pride week will celebrate a supreme court decision that honors the right of americans to marry the person they love. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new hampshire seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. guinta: mr. speaker, i rise today to highlight the significant contributions of a new hampshire-based business that employs almost 1500 people and contributes approximately $1.8 billion in economic revenue. for nearly 40 years the timberland shoe company has remained a staple in the new england region business community. for what started out as a small shoe company in boston, timberland has grown into a worldwide leader of outdoor
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foot wear and apparel. headquartered in new hampshire, timberland employs over 400 granite staters in a variety of departments such as marketing, operations retail, administration and more. the accomplishments of timberland also transcend the workplace. in ways where they have logged 8,300 hours of community service just in the last year. giving back to the community is an important aspect of successful business and timberland sets a great example for what all business should strive for. it was a privilege to visit timberland's headquarters last month and i look forward to the next 40 years and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> today we recognize the first national gun violence awareness day. you look around, you'll see a
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lot of people wearing orange. this day was declared in memory of hadia pendleton, a teenage girl who was shot and killed in a park two years ago. she would have turned 18 today. hadia's story is sadly familiar. for americans under the age of 20, gun violence is now the second leading cause of death. mrs. davis: mr. speaker, in recent years we have lost more children to guns here at home than did soldiers in iraq and afghanistan. it should shouldn't be political to say -- it shouldn't be political to say that these shootings need to stop. i hope we can all agree that america's young people deserve better. we owe it to hadia and those like her to come together on this issue and work to prevent future tragedies. we know that simple solutions like mandatory background checks, which a majority of
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americans support, can make all the difference. the situation is dire and action is long overdue. i urge my colleagues to act now on sensible gun control. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: mr. speaker, a recent poll shows that a great majority of the american people continue to oppose president obama's immigration policies. the new rasmussen reports national survey found that 77% of voters view illegal immigration as a serious problem in america today. just 19% do not. most voters 63%, believe that controlling our borders is more important than providing a legal status to those already in the country illegally. this is the highest level of support for border security since 2011.
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and almost 3 fifth of voters think a -- 3/5 of voters think a pathway of citizenship to illegal immigrants will only create more unlawful immigration. a strong majority of voters, 62%, feel that the united states is not aggressive enough in deporting illegal immigrants. a similar percentage of voters want to use the military along our southern border to prevent unlawful entries. it is time for the president to heed voters' views on illegal immigration and to enforce immigration laws. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you mr. speaker. today i'm wearing orange in recognition of the first annual national gun violence awareness day. orange is the safety color hunters wear to alert others of their presence and this is the perfect color to represent safety with respect to firearms
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and the value of human life. last week, as we honored our troops and celebrated memorial day wednesday, a wave of gun violence ripped through the city of chicago wounding more than 50 people and killing 12. among the victims were a 17-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl and a 4-year-old child. congress needs to act now. we can't equip every american with orange hunting vests, but we can surely take sensible approaches to reduce the threat of gun violence in our communities. ms. kelly: this congress i've introduced h.r. 224 which would require the surgeon general to make a report on the impact of gun violence. this will help us understand the public health impact of gun violence and prevent future shootings. i urge my colleagues to stand with me in support of this commonsense legislation to curb the violence that plagues our nation and i wanted to say happy birthday hadia, and happy birthday, blair holt. the speaker pro tempore: the
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gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? without objectionings, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, as we prepare to debate the transportation, housing and urban development appropriations bill i stand in support of our nation's truckers. mrs. ellmers: the trucking industry not only provides americans with access to goods we need to use every day, but it is also critical to our nation's economy. in my home state of north carolina, there are over 70,000 truckers working for more than 16,000 small businesses. perhaps even more impressive is that 86% of north carolina communities depend exclusively on trucks in order to transport consumer products and goods across our state. this industry is essential to ensure a growing and thriving u.s. economy and to provide crucial support to our nation's small businesses. mr. speaker, i would like to thank the hardworking men and
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women of this industry who eat their dinners on the road so that we can eat ours at home. i yield back the remainder of my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new jersey seek recognition? . without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. coleman: i rise in recognition of john nash and his wife. two beloved members of princeton who died tragically over the memorial day weekend. many of us new dr. nash for his groundbreaking award winning work in mathematics. his practical contributions to theory and journey to conquer mental illness. many more learned his story through the passionate portrayal in "a beautiful mind." he shared the 1994 nobel prize and had just returned from celebrating his receipt of
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mathematics' highest honor, the able prize. a university of chicago economist, roger myerson, described mr. nash's theories as equivalent to that of the discovery of the d.n.a. double helix in the bilogical sciences. but in new jersey, we knew both dr. nash and his wife for their kindness, their humility, devotion to the community, and the many other ways they remained so down to earth after accomplishments that drew international praise and recognition. with that, mr. speaker i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: i ask unanimous consent 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 very much, mr. speaker. i rise today to honor juan jose malo on his retirement as the president of miami's exwhich dorian american chamber of commerce. he has tirelessly worked to help
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the ecuadorian american owned and operated businesses in south florida to prosper, to thrive, and to grow. and he has always demonstrated his trademark diligence by enthusiastically advocating on behalf of all of south florida's business community. his generosity has also pushed the ecuadorian american chamber of commerce to undertake seven medical and humanitarian missions to ecuador and one to the dominican republic. and juan jose specifically has sought to bring attention to the plight of the ecuadorian people by founding the magazine ensuring our community has the latest political and economic news about ecuador. juan jose, congratulations on your years of leadership. we know you will continue your stellar work on behalf of all south floridians and the entire ecuadorian american community. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the
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gentlewoman yields. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. lowenthal: thank you, mr. speaker. i am pleased to introduce america's red rock wilderness act. a bill to designate as wilderness southern utah's incredible public lands such as desolation canyon the dirty devil, and others. these wild and precious lands are our birthright as americans. and they are essential to who we are as a nation. my bill safeguards these special lands in the waters, flora, fauna within them. it further the great american conservation ethic of john muir, theodore roosevelt, and the many others who have helped to preserve this great wild places we cannot imagine today living without. as we advance towards a cleaner economy, we must protect the
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$646 billion outdoor recreation economy. which employs more than six million people nationwide. none of that is possible without protecting our public lands. america's red rock wilderness act would do just that. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. hahn: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to recognize the first annual national gun violence awareness day. in just the past year, gun violence has killed 372 people in los angeles county including 43 in my own congressional district. and 20 in the city of compton alone. my communities continue to mourn these victims. victims like 16-year-old lee
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turner who was gunned down walking home from church in compton last december. 65-year-old jose padilla, the father who was shot and killed while closing up his restaurant in linwood. and 72-year-old mary, who was shot to death by her husband in their home in an pedro. i mourn with too many parents and comforted too many children who lost loved ones through gun violence. my communities have suffered from the scourge of gun violence for too long. the children in my community can no longer be targets. today i'm proud to stand for gun violence awareness and wear an orange ribbon representing the value of human life and the efforts we must take to protect it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from maine -- massachusetts seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. good morning. i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kennedy: thank you mr.
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speaker. mr. speaker, according to a report i read recently serious mental health problems are declining among our children and that is very good news. but the sim report found that over half of severely troubled youth get absolutely no help at all. it's a glaring gap in our system that must be addressed today. far too often the only thing standing in the way of treatment and negative stigma associated with this disease. the stigma of treatment and medication. the stigma of anger and instability. the stigma of fear of the disease itself. at a time when there are 10 times more people with mental illness in jail than state funded psychiatric beds, we are not doing our job to help our loved ones wage the silent battle. last month, during mental health awareness month, we recognized and thanked organizations like the massachusetts association for behavior for critical work
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to fill the gaps in our system and wipe away the stigmas that deter so many from pursuing treatment. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentlewoman from north carolina -- for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? >> i would like to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. adams: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today on the first national gun violence awareness day. gun violence is an increasingly growing problem in our country claiming the lives of of hundreds of thousands nationwide each year. this must be addressed now. gun violence has taken the lives of america's men women, and children. in 2010, nearly 3,000 infants, children, and teens died as a result of gun violence. this is unacceptable. in my state of north carolina, gun violence is rampant. according to a 2013 center for american progress report, north
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carolina ranked 15th in the nation for gun violence. from 2001 to 2010, more than 11,000 north carolinians died as a result of gun violence. the senseless crime instills fear and pain and insecurity in our communities. my colleagues, we must ban together. prepare our communities and help stop gun violence. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> morning mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 287 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 36. house resolution 287. resolved, that. a. at any time after the adoption of this resolution the speaker may pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill specified in section 2 of this resolution. first reading of each such bill
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shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of each bill -- each such bill are waived. general debate on each bill -- such bill shall be confined to that bill and shall not exceed one hour dweelquided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate, each such bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. points of order against provisions in each such bill for failure to comply with clause 2 of rule 21 are waived. b, during consideration of each such bill for amendment, one, each amendment other than amendments provided for in paragraph 2 shall be debatable for 10 minutes equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to amendment except as provided in paragraph 2. two no pro forma amendment shall be in order except from the chair or ranking minority member or their respective designees may offer up to 10 pro
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forma amendments at any point for the purpose of debate. and three, the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering an amendment has caused it to be printed in the portion of the across-the-board -- congressional record designated for that purpose in clause 86 rule 18. amendments so printed shall be considered as read. c, when the committee rises and reports any such bill back to the house with a recommendation that the bill do pass, the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with wore without instructions. section 2 the bills referred to in the first section of this resolution are as folings. a, the bill h.r. 2577, making appropriations for the departments of transportation and housing and urban development. and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30 2016, and for other purposes. b, the bill, h.r. 2578, making
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appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice, science, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one hour. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, during consideration of this resolution all time is yielded for the purpose of debate only. i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman, my friend from florida, mr. hastings, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. session: mr. speaker house resolution 287 provides for a modified open rule for separate consideration of h.r. 2578 and h.r. 2577. under this rule, any member may offer any amendments to the bills in question that complies with the rules of the house. it also provides for 10 minutes
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of debate on each amendment considered. this approach has been what we call standard rule for appropriations bills and was established and been followed for the last -- this last year and the year before. and i believe it's been effective and really a good way for this body to be able to effectively operate allowing each and every member of this body that chance to offer their amendments. this rule also accomplishes two important goals. first it reflects the majority's commitment to an open and transparent appropriations process. and the rule will also allow for all members to bring to this body their ideas that they have that they bring from back home. perhaps ideas from their own individual constituents about how we can make this appropriations process even better. i think it's important that members of congress be given an opportunity to do this in the appropriations process. and that is exactly what we are trying to do today for a robust
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opportunity for discussion. the amendment accomplishes -- complies with the rules of the house, it certainly will be given an up or down vote if that member chooses to do so. secondly, this rule provides for reasonable time constraints. it is my belief if members' ideas are heard and the processes by which we consider for the appropriation bills are done in a timely basis, then the house will benefit and so will the american people. so that we work effectively and efficiently at the same time. this rule, i believe strikes a good balance allowing all members an opportunity to offer necessary amendments, but also allowing the house to get its work done. it's an estimate we'll spend about 18 hours in the process to get this -- these bills done. throughout this open process, the house will be able to make two great bills, i think even better.
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mr. speaker, the open process by which these two bills will be considered if the rules adopted is not only a good thing but i think it says something about the work that the rules committee is doing. and i'm proud to support these two underlying bills. because they make tough decisions and pryor taze responsibilities of the federal government. we simply do not have enough money to spread around where we don't have to make tough decisions. these are tough decisions that are made. and yesterday at the rules committee, we heard both of these bills were equally addressed on a bipartisan basis who both the ranking member and the chairman of the subcommittee said they worked well together. . obviously not everybody was happy with how much money they had to spend, but both of the ranking members, the democrats that were present addressed our committee and said that they were treated fairly, they were treated respectfully and it was an open and transparent
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process to achieve good things for the bills and that's the hope that i have, as we come to the floor today, that you will see groups of members who come to the floor with an open opportunity as a result of what we did in the rules committee, but knowing that the process that has taken place back in the appropriations committee was well done. alarmingly, however, yesterday we learned that president obama has threatened to veto each of these bills because, as i would quote him they drastically underfund critical investments. well, let me see if i can break this down for you. it is our job to determine what those appropriations levels would be. we heard from the president of the united states when he presented his budget and year after year after year the president of the united states has failed to receive more than only several votes on his
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budget. i believe that what we've done by working carefully and meticulously through the budget process and through the appropriations process gives us a better angle on the needs and the priorities of these agencies from a congressional and, i believe, a back-home experience. the people of this country elected their representatives -- representative, their representative has come to washington and had a fair and open process. notwithstanding we're not spending as much as people want to us spend. but i believe the president is saying that he will veto these bills because he does not believe that we simply continue to spend more and more and more. this president has an insatiable appetite that we saw and have seen for year after year after year. based upon his words i would
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say back him to, mr. president, please look at the merits, the merits of the work that the house of representatives is doing on a bipartisan basis where we are trying to live within the parameters of a budget that has been established that was voted on by members of this body, that had the vast majority of the members of this body to say, when compared to the president's budget, this is the budget that i believe best represents not only what we can accomplish but what will work in the best interest of the american people, our constituents. mr. president, the same ones that you have across this great nation. but, mr. president, we're asking you to take a second look, a second look at how you will listen to us and watch the process that's going on here, i think it will develop itself into a better way for us to do
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business and would encourage the white house to look at that. mr. speaker, a great nation simply cannot spend money that it does not have and be a great nation for very long. this last month we crossed over the terrible, terrible threshold of going from $17 trillion today 18 trillion in debt. and we -- to $18 trillion in debt. and we continue to add up this debt and live off that debt and add to the debt with the spending that we do. we believe that what we've got to do is become more responsible with the taxpayers' dollars and the future of this great nation. so the law of the land and the law that the president has signed requires congress to act within the requirements of the budget control act. these were agreements that were made with the president and that's what we are sticking to. that's what these bills do. and yet the president once again has asked us, please set aside the agreement that was
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made. i don't now like the thing that i agreed to that i signed into law and in some instances, even the president they were some of his own ideas. we need to understand that the american people want and expect us to see problems and solve them and stick to it. and that is what this budget process is about and that is exactly what this appropriations process is about. so look, i disagree with the president. i believe that what we need to do is to live within the agreement of the budget control act. my party, the republicans, have worked to lower discretionary spending from nearly $1.5 trillion in 2009, where we were , to today, $1.14 trillion in 2015. that's the difference of 2009
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and 2015. in years where excessive and out of control spending could have taken place. but the discipline of the republican party and the discipline of our members, and might i say the american people who have heard our call for having a plan a plan which carefully moves america to the future lessens the amount of debt the american people have to take on, and makes better opportunities for our children and grandchildren, not to have to pay back -- opportunities for our children and grandchildren not to have to pay back our excessive spending just because we're a group of people who think we're smarter than people back home, we aren't. they get it also mr. speaker. and what they get is that we have to have a defined goal, we have to do exactly what they do back home and that is be responsible about a family budget, about a state budget, about a federal government
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budget. and that means discipline, accountability and a plan that you're willing to stick to. that's exactly what we've done. so we've worked hard to lower discretionary spending over the years and the effort has saved more than $2 trillion over this period of time. i believe over what would have been spent. and i think this is a big win for the american people. i think it's a big win for people who want, need and expect members of congress to come to washington and stick to not only a plan but a disciplined approach to trying to balance together the needs of this great nation and its people and the needs for us to look over the horizon of what our future would be. i think that we've lowered spending, we've had a chance to shrink the size of government and certainly what we're trying to do is to work at lowering
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the deficit or the amount of money that would have been added to that deficit. these are the discussions that people back home have with members of congress. what lies ahead and how are you going to be able to make tough decisions? i hope that the president of the united states is listening to this because we are on a bipartisan basis having these same discussions in the house of representatives and in the committees which our members serve. so now is the time not to go back to liberal reckless spending opportunities. they would always abound. it's always easier to spend somebody else's money. i just don't think it's right. so the republican party is here on the floor today, two more appropriations bills, going to sell to the american people the confidence that we have that we can make this government work more effectively and more efficiently yes with less dollars but greater opportunities for efficiency.
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so i believe that both of these bills strike what is a balance, a balance between funding, critical projects while making smart financial decisions. and these two can be accomplished and that is why we are trying to work together to prioritize it. h.r. 2578, the commerce, justice, science and related agencies appropriations act of 2016, focuses on the true governmental interest, fighting crime making decisions about how we keep terrorists at bay, keeping the american people safe and supporting the u.s. economy at the same time by making critical investments in science space, exports and manufacturing. certainly in tough economic times, tough decisions are required and that is exactly where we are.
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yesterday we had a chance to hear from two members of congress, republicans, one of them, the gentleman from houston, texas, mr. culberson, the subcommittee chairman, and he talked about the bill would reflect smart but fair decisions. the decisions that he spoke about were that the legislation provided $51.4 billion in total discretionary, which was $661 million below the president's request. the second bill, h.r. 2578, excuse me, the same bill, h.r. 2578 prioritizes vital programs that essentially are built around law enforcement. law enforcement, federal law enforcement, their ability to aim at the problems that our citizens see and certainly our law enforcement. and to put a priority on a national security, public
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safety, and initiatives about -- also that aim for job creation and economic growth, these are part of the priorities that have to be taken up and in fact they were. the second bill, h.r. 2577, transportation, housing, urban development and related agencies appropriations act of 2016, i believe also similarly had many of the same characteristics. first of all, they're going to stick exactly what we talked about -- to stick to exactly what we talked about in the budget and they're going to have to strike a balance, a tough balance, but one that's based on priorities, of essential programs and making responsible reductions to low-priority activities. the bill provides $55.3 billion in discretionary funding which is $9.7 billion below what the president wanted. once again, the president does not want to stick to the budget agreement. an agreement which he signed into law, but that's what this
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body is going to do. we are going to live within the law and living within the law is what the american people expect, it's part of the plan. this bill allows for important investments in national transportation infrastructure including the investments in our national highways railways and airports. it also provides help to people who are in dire need of affordable housing options. mr. speaker, i learned a long time ago when i became a scout master for the boy scouts of america that needs always outpace resources. needs are always out there and something that you just simply want to continue being a part of. but money is not always the answer. sometimes prioritization of the needs that you have to make will then define you to a better process and one which people can then better understand. that is what we are doing here today. like most members who have an opportunity as a result of the
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work that we did last night at the rules committee i have ideas that i think can help improve h.r. 2577. and one of those ideas i brought to the floor many, many times in a bill. and during the debate on funding i think i have ideas that would help make our country stronger in this case transportation stronger. it came clear to me -- became clear to me a number of years ago that government subsidized rail service on amtrak does not make economic sense. what we have looked at is that amtrak takes money years and years -- money, years and years and years ago they agreed they would quit taking government subsidies and run the railroad as an east and west operation. but instead what did they do? they became a cross-country hauler. every single long distance route that amtrak provides of
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those of more than 400 miles operate at a loss every single month. 11 routes cost double the amount of revenue that they create and that's why i've offered two important opportunities that were amendments to eliminate this. the first would eliminate funding for amtrak's long distance routes, which have a total direct cost which are more than twice the revenue. that means if the cost is twice the revenue, then it would be eliminated. the second would eliminate funding for amtrak's worst performing line, the sunset limited. the sunset limited, which is an east-west and west-east operation is subsidized for every single ticket, every single train over $400 government subsidy. totaling a loss of $41.9
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million last year alone. mr. speaker, these are just some of the ideas. mr. speaker, you'll be hearing about lots of them over the next some 1 hours of debate that -- 18 hours of debate that will take place. that's a good thing about this rule. members, just like myself, will have a chance to come and put their ideas as opportunities on the floor for other members to consider. i think that's why we are here today, to work together on a process that will make our country even stronger. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: i'd like to remind the members to address the chair. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from texas, the chair of the rules committee and my friend, for yielding the customary 30 minutes for debate. i rise today in opposition to the rule and underlying bills. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, this rule provides for consideration
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of both h.r. 2578, the commerce justice science, and related agencies appropriations act. as well as h.r. 2577, the transportation, housing, and urban development and related agencies appropriations act. both, in my opinion, are woefully inadequate and underfunded pieces of legislation that serve as a slap in the face to hardworking americans and a reminder of my republican colleagues' shortsighted and irresponsible attempt at achieving a balanced budget. last night in his testimony before the rules committee on h.r. 2577 ranking member david price made a statement that was not only profound, but incredibly accurate.
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he responded to republican sentiment that slashing domestic appropriations in isolation is a necessary evil by stating that a great nation must invest in its future. and i quote him. indeed, the importance of this vin hement cannot be overstate -- investment cannot be overstated. for too long we pushed austerity measures on appropriators that prevented the funding of programs that created jobs, bolstered our economy, repair and improve our nation's decrepit highways, transit systems, and infrastructure, that fund medical research, and provide safe, decent, and affordable housing for poor and vulnerable families the elderly and disabled.
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it both saddens and frustrates me that my republican friends continue to go after domestic programs that would unequivocally improve the lives of so many americans. while at the same time refusing to address the real drivers of the fiscal crisis. which are tax expenditures and mandatory spending. it is unconscionable to me that we as a nation cannot come up with the money to fund projects that repair and improve our country's transportation infrastructure. i pointed out yesterday in the rules committee that aside from all of the bridges that i talked about from florida that are in need of repair, right here in washington the memorial bridge
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that leads from virginia into this city, is in need of repair. the initiatives that provide grants to local law enforcement and first responders would also improve in our country. but we provide ourselves in an unlimited budget to fight foreign wars without a mechanism to pay for those cause. enough already congress. how about an authorization for the use of force rather than the methods that are employed now for ongoing undetermined, indefinite it appears, wars. the solution to our current fiscal circumstances lies not in withholding of necessary funding for essential domestic programs but in comprehensive reform that considers, yes considers tax
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increases in addition to entitlement and appropriations cuts. that's how we balance the budget in 1994 and to a relative degree in 1997, and we had, at that time, four years of balanced budgets. and here to these republican limits limits -- republican budgets limits by self-imposed sequestration, is ineffective, detrimental to our national progress, and just plain wrong. the commerce justice, and science appropriations measures before us today is the instrument used to provide funding for many vital programs and agencies such as the department of justice, commerce the national science foundation and nasa. despite the importance of fully funding these agencies, this bill is a prime example of the
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mindless austerity of sequestration and the misguided priorities of my republican colleagues. time won't permit to add context to how we got to sequestration, and my friend from texas the chairman of the rules committee is absolutely correct. the president did sign this measure. but that was at the instance of an awful lot of negotiations and the government being shut down. i don't stand here and point fingers at either side in this regard. i said yesterday in the rules committee and i repeat here, it is 435 voting members of congress that we allow for this measure to put us in the position that we are in on these two measures as well as others to come. for example, this bill fails to adequately fund several department of justice grant programs and outright eliminates
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others. programs and funding that are critical to many state and local law enforcement activities. specifically the bill cuts $180 million from the community oriented policing services hiring program. this effectively eliminates a program that would put an additional 1,300 police officers on the streets. at a time when the relationship between many of our communities and law enforcement is strained, why are we decimating a program dedicated to building trust and mutual respect between the police and the communities they serve? in another startling policy, -- policy decision by the majority, this bill eliminates in its entirety several other important
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programs including the substance abuse program. i come to the floor today from a meeting this morning dealing with institutions for mental disease in which the community of persons who work in substance abuse, addiction and mental health they are pleading for the changes necessary for them to be able to address the significant problem that our population faces from veterans to civilians to children and to the elderly. and yet what we did in this measure is eliminate substance abuse treatment programs. we eliminate the violent gang and gun crime reduction initiative. at a time when we are witnessing
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in our nation serious gun violence, and many of us today about the business of trying to highlight at least on this one day the epidemic of gun violence in our society and how it has cost lives and treasure. this program as offered eliminates the national center for public safety. perhaps the most indicative of the misplaced funding priorities by the majority is the gun policy rider. yep, a rider. not part of this bill, just kind of tacked on like we tacked on something having to do with cuba. we just tack these riders on and this has been attached to this legislation. not only has the majority completely eviscerated important violence and gun crime reduction programs, they have attached a
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policy rider that cancels out a narrow targeted, reporting requirement on the sale of certain long guns sold in four border states. the purpose of this requirement is to discourage straw purchases from buying weapons for mexican drug cartels. this reporting requirement has been proven to be effective. courts agreed that it does not restrict second amendment rights. so why is the majority including this irresponsible gun rider, in a bill that largely funds public safety. the irony of this provision should not be lost on any of us. finally, in addition to cutting funding to important public safety programs, this bill showcases my republican colleagues' remarkable ability to bury their heads in the sand when it comes to climate change.
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employing their ill-conceived strategy of defunding any program that might help us understand and address this important issue. this legislation intentionally underfunds the geosciences direct rat at the national science foundation and the earth science office at nasa where scientists are studying the most effective ways to respond to climate change. the second bill, h.r. 25p 7 provides -- 25 , provides discretionary funding for transportation and housing programs for fiscal year 2016. while this allocation appears to be an increase from fiscal year 2015, after inflationary adjustments, including declining housing, federal housing
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administration receipts, and increasing section 8 renewal costs, this bill actually designates $1.5 billion less than last year's enacted level. the shortcomings of this piece of legislation are so numerous that i would far exceed the time allotted to me if i were to attempt to discuss them all. instead i'll just graze the surface by addressing a few of the egregious decisions. this reduces funning by amtrak by 18% from last year's level, and $1.3 billion below the president's request. this reduction eliminates funding for positive train control. a technology that the transportation safety board has stated publicly may have prevented last month's tragic amtrak derailment in philadelphia and provides no funding for inner city passenger
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rail or the installation of additional safety mechanisms. it also slashes funding for the federal transit administration's capital investment grant program . cuts tiger funding by $had00 million. it does have a place holder for something that may take place in the future. and it reduces the federal aviation administration's capital program which impedes the f.a.a.'s ability to implement its nextgen program as well as maintain and improve aging facilities. in addition to its funding inadequacies, as has become custom on the republican leadership this bill offers up legislative handouts to the trucking industry and other polerful interests at the expense of the safety of of our constituents. specifically, it's going to allow trucks to carry longer
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trailers across the country and make it harder for the department of transportation to mandate that drivers get more rest before they hit the road, and forbid the department from raising the minimum insurance it requires trucks and buses to carry. when have we ever really talked to truckers and really asked them do they want to carry trains on roads that's what it amounts to, and do they need the rest not that they have requested for years? none of us are against the trucking industry but these measures allow for something that should not occur. the latest data which is available shows that nearly 4,000 people died in accidents involving large trucks. no less than three in the constituency i served last week, including a 17-year-old extremely bright young girl that
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lost her life at the instance of a trucking accident. most of whom these people the nearly 4000, were riding in another vehicle were pedestrians. that's a 17% increase from the year 2009. these provisions will make our highways less safe and do not long in appropriations bill. trucking regulations should be openly debated as part of a bill which incidentally we have been assured is on the horizon. currently one out of every nine bridges in our country is structurally deficient and congestion has never been worse. at the same time our population is expected to grow by 70 million over the next 30 years.
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knowing this, we must not continue to wait for our bridges to collapse or our public transit systems to malfunction and our highways to deteriorate before we agree to provide adequate funding. just as it does for transportation and infrastructure initiatives, h.r. 2577 makes dramatic cuts to funding for housing support programs for poor and vulnerable individuals and a phenomenals. one of the most striking of these -- families. one of the most striking of these reductions is the one leveled against the public housing capital fund, making it only slightly higher than the monetary amount allocated in 199 without -- 1989, without accounting for in-- inflation. the pain that was expressed by the people in long-waiting
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lines for section eight housing and in deteriorating public housing that is in that 30-year at-risk period, it just pains me even to talk about it. and then to come up here and in this very week do more if we follow our republican friends, to cut these programs. this bill also reduces funding for the department of housing and urban development's choice neighborhoods initiative. it slashes funding for healthy homes and led hazard control grants, exposing the most underprivileged children to toxic and poisoning. it transfers money from the housing trust fund to fund the home program, taking funding away from a program which is reserved for the most economically disadvantaged and the most in need of assistance. and does nothing to increase access to safe and affordable
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housing for the elderly or disabled. in short, this legislation undermines the continued viability of our nation's infrastructure and threatens our country's economic competitiveness. i fear that without these necessary investments in transportation housing science, commerce and justice programs, the negative implication of representative price's statement will become a reality. we will fail to remain a great nation because we will fail to accommodate the demands of the future. for these very important reasons and many more that i could express, i oppose both the rule and the underlying bills and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i know that i see one of our colleagues from the rules
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committee that wants to come speak. but i want to take just a second and respond in kind for my party. an that is that my party does recognize that there is much that does get accomplished because the efforts of this government and the efforts of this congress that fund good ideas and do things. we became faced with a number of years ago however, a circumstance where what lies in our immediate future is too much spending, which means that this country has to borrow money. it is money that needs to be paid back. but in the process of taking money, setting priorities and spending money, there also is
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something called interest on the debt. and that is, if money were free and could you just borrow money but not pay interest for it, i'm sure we would not mind how much we borrowed. but the bottom line is that is not the reality. the reality is that we have to pay for money that we borrow and that debt, which we have to pay money back for means that every single year the amount of money that we pay that comes out of the pot of money gets larger and larger and larger and paying back debt competes against money that we can spend on behalf of people. so at some point, if you just buy off on that we've got to spend more and more and more and more, that means that we have to take more as debt and
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pay more of interest. and that competes in a marketplace in a budget against projects that we like to do that do actually help people, that do focus on the most needy and the most vubblenerble in our society -- vulnerable in our society. but we are spending mr. speaker an incredible amount of money and we're trying to learn over time how to become more efficient how to make our cities even better, how to create jobs and how to educate people and to bring them forth in a mature way. that's what every great nation really will be ultimately charged with how can you make your country better not just today but for the future?
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and so republicans do stand for not spending more than what we make so that we have more that we can make in a balanced budget today and spend in a way that creates a better future for our children and grandchildren. and the bottom line is, over the last six years we have gone from a debt of $9 trillion to $18 trillion. some could say while we slept. but that's not true. it happened while we were trying to offer better opportunities and resolve. and so for the last five years republicans have said, we're going to quit this runaway spending, we are going to make tough decisions and we are
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going to protect this great nation at the same time. but we are asking for the american people to also recognize what we're doing, mr. speaker, and just as i speak to you today i speak to people back home as other members of congress do to their constituents and say, we're trying to balance what we do over time with the efficiencies that keep this great nation great. i'll be honest with you. we live in the greatest nation in the world and thank god we are americans. we trust in god, but we also trust in disciplined -- discipline to make this great nation even better. and that is what appropriations bills are about. priority, making this great nation still great tomorrow with discipline and discipline has a lot to do with our ability to be a great nation. i reserve the balance of my
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time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. bishop: can you tell me how much time we have? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida has 12 minutes. the gentleman from texas has seven. mr. bishop: thank you very kindly mr. speaker. before making my remarks, i just want to say in a challenging way to the chairman of the rules committee that if we were to make a bridge, it takes people to fix that bridge -- fix a bridge, it takes people to fix that bridge. and the people that fix that bridge spend their money in the local areas and pay taxes, which brings revenue back in. and that's why we need to fix bridges. in my judgment. i'm pleased at this time to yield as much time as he may consume to my good friend, who it's a pleasure to serve with on the rules committee, -- committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: i thank the gentleman from florida for yielding me the time. i want to associate myself with his remarks. mr. speaker, i rise today in
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strong opposition to this rule which provides for consideration of the transportation, h.u.d., and c.j.s. appropriations bill. first let me express my astonishment at the big giveaways of the trucking industry in this transportation-h.u.d. bill. this bill is loaded up with pet projects of the trucking industry that threaten the health and safety of the traveling public. the lack of regard for the safety and well-being of those on the roads, and those who are on our roads and bridges, is stunning. it's hard to believe that some of the provisions that are contained as policy riders in these appropriations bills are actually there. this bill should focus on strengthening america's infrastructure, repairing crumbling bridges, investing in public transportation and making our roads safer, but instead it puts the trucking industry in the driving seat, leaving the average american
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left behind. the bill would, one, increase truck weights in idaho and kansas, two, allow twin 33-foot trailers on interstate, three, delay full implementation of d.o.t.'s hours of service rule, which requires minimum rest periods for truckers and, four, prohibit the department of transportation from increasing minimum insurance requirements for big trucks and motor coaches. mr. speaker, with all that we know it is simply outrageous that we would allow bigger and heskier trucks on our highways -- heavier trucks on our highways. today's bill was intended specifically to appropriate funds not authorize new policy. yet this is exactly what these policy riders are doing. they don't belong on this bill. furthermore there was not a single hearing on these trucking riders. not one subcommittee hearing, not one full committee hearing. these issues are important enough where they should be openly debated as part of a comprehensive service transportation authorization bill, not tacked on to an appropriations bill. they don't belong here.
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but this process has become so corrupted that anything goes. committees of jurisdiction routinely disregarded and disrespected. by making these controversial policy changes before the department of transportation finishes their comprehensive truck size and weight study that was required by map 21 would be irresponsible. we should allow the department of transportation the time it needs to get their study right. simply put, these trucking industry riders will make our highways less safe when our infrastructure funds something woefully inadequate and our roads and bridges are crumbling. in just the past four years we've seen a dramatic 17% increase in the number of truck crash deaths and an alarming 28% increase in injuries. instead of advancing safety measures to make our roads safer, congress is about to roll back significant safety laws and regulations that will result in more deaths and more injuries on our roads and
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highways. in fatal truck and car crash, 96% of the fatalities are occupants of the passenger car. mr. speaker, public opinion is clear, americans do not want bigger trucks or tired truck drivers on the road. 76% of americans oppose longer and heavier trucks. and 80% were opposed to increasing truck driver working and driving hours. yet here we are with authorizing language on an appropriations bill to make our roads less safe. why? why are my friends doing this? it might make -- it might be good policy for fundraising purposes but it's lousy policy for the american people. these dangerous riders don't belong here. they threaten the safety of everyday americans on the road and we ought to insist that they be removed. mr. speaker, i also wish to express my concern about the dangerous and backward thinking riders that are included in
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both the c.j.s. and the transportation-h.u.d. appropriations bill regarding cuba. obviously there are several members here in this house who are nostalgic for the cold war, who are still living in the past. i just want to say, thanks to the leadership of president obama and this administration we are making real progress in normalizing relations with cuba and gifting them with a 21st century economy. we are ending an embarrassing and a dumb and a counterproductive policy that by all accounts has been a miserable failure for the last five decades. in 2011, after president obama reinstated the rules allowing cuban americans to visit their relatives on the island and permitting all americans to send remittances to cuba, hard liners used the appropriations process to prevent the policies from being implemented. thankfully the democrats kept the provisions out of the omnibus bill and legislation reversing the modest but remittance reforms never
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reached the president's desk. as a result hundreds of thousands of trips between u.s. and cuba have taken place every year since. reuniting families and increasing the numbers of cubans receiving the economic support they need to run their own businesses and lead more independent lives. instead of celebrating the progress, hardliners are once again trying to shut down the new openings for greater citizen diplomacy, created by this administration. this is the wrong thing to do for america this is the wrong thing to do for american companies and it is the wrong thing to do for the american people. mr. speaker, for the first time in six decades, the united states government is encouraging citizen diplomacy, greater travel and trade telecommunications and other industries to build relationships and stronger ties with counterparts among the cuban people and new entrepreneurs. american businesses are already seeing the potential for economic growth. that's why they're expanding charter services and expanding commercial routes, why ferry companies are planning to set
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sale for cuba, why netflix are hoping to build real businesses in the cuban market, why governors in red and blue states alike are trying to position companies and their states to succeed. . the provisions in these bills are anti-business. airlines and maritime businesses have already taken steps to initiate travel, service to and from cuba based on the administration's december 17 2014 announcement and these provisions in these bills will block them. even the united states chamber of commerce strongly opposes these provisions and they have sent a letter to congress basically making the case why we ought to have better and more open travel and trade with cuba. it's why americans across the country and cuban americans in communities where they live are so deeply committed to a policy that puts the cold war behind us and puts our country on a path to creating a new and brighter future with cuba. simply put, these provisions in these appropriations bills are trying to pull the plug on new
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efforts by u.s. citizens and u.s. companies to expand their presence in cuba. as the policy moves forward, they keep trying to pull us back into the cold war, and a policy that's failed for over 50 years. so let's be clear, the transportation-h.u.d. appropriations bill would ground charter flights that came into being after march 15, 2015. jetblue and tampa international airport are just two beneficiaries of the president's new policy who would be adversely affected. with new ferries leaving port as much as $340 million would be pumped into florida's economy. these provisions would hold -- these provisions would hold back that economic growth hurting american businesses in fort lauderdale, tampa, orlando and miami. mr. speaker, the c.j.s. bill would shut down u.s. exports to cuba in ways that would affect telecommunications firms now in negotiations to open up phone and internet connections on the island. do we want cubans to be better connected to the outside world? i thought the answer was a huge
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bipartisan yes. but apparently not. the ugly truth is that these provisions in these bills are hiding their real intent and that is to shut down the growing connections between cuba and the united states and our citizens and u.s. companies. and so mr. speaker, i would -- i would just say to my colleagues that these bills first of all do not belong in an appropriations bills. they are authorizing language. they don't belong even in this debate, but i would suggest that these appropriations bills aren't going to see the light of day as long as these provisions are in this bill. i would urge my colleagues to put the cold war behind them and to get rid of these provisions and let's move on to a better more productive relationship. with that i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. you know, the beautiful part about these last two speakers is that the rule allows them to come to the floor and to present an amendment to strike
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or to add anything that they'd like to add into this bill. and that's the beauty of what we're trying to do here today mr. speaker. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: i yield the gentleman 30 seconds. mr. mcgovern: i respond to the chairman by saying, the thing about this rule that's so frustrating is that important amendments are only given 10 minutes of debate, five minutes on each side. some of these -- some these issues are important and deserve more than five minutes of debate so we're not going to have debates. we're going to offer amendments and then essentially vote. so i would -- i'm not so excited about the way this rule has been constructed especially given the fact that very little time is being allotted to discuss some of these important issues. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i would ask that you ask my good friend, the chairman of the rules committee, if he's ready to close. i have no additional speakers at this time.
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the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: i appreciate the gentleman asking. i have no further speakers and in fact, as we have done many times, allow the gentleman to offer his close and then i would also. mr. hastings: thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida has two minutes remaining. mr. hastings: mr. speaker these bills exemplify the recklessness and the foolishness of the majority's almost exclusive focus on domestic appropriations for deficit reduction. while leaving the main drivers of the deficit unaddressed. we cannot continue on this path if we intend to maintain our country's economic competitiveness. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the rule and underlying bills and i at this time yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. sessions: mr. speaker, thank you very much. and i want to thank my two colleagues who serve on the rules committee, the gentleman, mr. mcgovern, the gentleman,
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mr. hastings. they are both not only extremely committed men to their constituency but also to bettering this house of representatives and their voice and their words and their opportunities which they stand up for, i have great respect for and want to thank them for the character in which they have come after today's not only debate but yesterday's debate that took a number of hours as we heard from four members of this body about their ideas about how we should pursue these two appropriations bills today. mr. speaker, i want to confine my comments to a perspective and that is as satisfaction that i have for the way in which this process is working today. i understand, as i acknowledged in the very beginning, we have an issue how much money we're going to spend. i recognize we're back at 2008
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levels in 2015 in most of these bills. i do acknowledge that. i do acknowledge that we're asking, requiring on government a chance to run their agencies spend money back at 2008 spending levels. but i think that process that we're going through will also be an advantage ultimately -- in short term -- but ultimately where we will look at this as a prioritization basis, where we will empower the government if they work with us and if we work with them to understand how we can keep this country great even spending less money, how we can continue to priorityize the decisioning -- prioritize the decisionmaking to what we can pick and choose what needs to be done.
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it doesn't make me happy no member of this body happy especially the gentleman from florida would recognize you have needs in your district, i do from dallas, texas, have needs in my immediate district and districts that surround but the overwhelming need is all of us and that is not to spend more than we can say and justify for our future because the dollars that we spend are borrowed. the dollars that we borrow and spend show up on our bottom line debt and it impacts everybody and the bottom line is we have to pay back interest on that money just like any family that takes out money on a home loan or a credit card or something else. they have to be able to understand, that takes away, because they're paying for that, their ability to spend
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money in a different way. and so our republican majority is well aware of the demand that's placed on us that we cannot go and do all the things that we would wish to do, but we have accepted and taken a pledge that we have given to the american people that they do get an understanding and that is we are not going to keep in the circumstance of spending money based upon taking out a loan. because it's not good for our children, our grandchildren it's not good for our future. so mr. speaker, today we've had a chance to debate these two bills in this one rule. i think once again, as i stated earlier it's a commitment to transparency and openness that this body has and every member retains here on the floor. you saw part of it today. through this open modified rule each member will have an opportunity to submit their ideas to two underlying bills,
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h.r. 2578 and h.r. 2577. through this rule the house will be able to work its way through majority rule floor votes and to make sure that the vital appropriations process is vigorous, is timely and reflects the will of this body. and when this rule's adopted a robust debate will take place in a way that will allow us to fund these important measures. over $100 billion. and i think as we talk about this, you can see, mr. speaker that this body is getting its work done. it's getting its work done. we passed a budget. we're passing the appropriations bills. we go home every weekend, we look our constituents in the eye and we have to justify what we're doing. we're following a process that we said we'd do. it's for the betterment of this country to keep this country strong. i am proud of the members of this body, and as a republican
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member of our leadership team, i can tell you that we intend to follow through with the process, the promise that we make to the american people. mr. speaker, i urge support for the underlying bills, for this rule and i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. without objection, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. mr. hastings: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: on that i ask the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on adoption of this resolution will be followed by 15-minute votes on approval of the journal. this is a 15-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.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 242 and the nays are 180. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. -- the resolution is adopted. the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the
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journal. 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.]
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the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 240. the nays are 170. with two voting present. the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentlelady from michigan rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to withdraw myself as a co-sponsor of h.r. 1994, while i strongly support our american veterans, i'm concerned about permanent changes to hard won labor agreement. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 2578, and that i may
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include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 287 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 2578. the chair appoints the gentleman from west virginia, mr. mooney, to preside over the committee of the whole. commissioner koskinen: the -- the chair: the committee will be in order. the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 2578 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the departments of commerce and justice, science and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30 2016, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule
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the bill is read the first time. the gentleman from texas, mr. culberson, and the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. fattah, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. today i'm very pleased to present to the house the fiscal year 2016 commerce justice, science, and related agencies appropriations bill with my colleague, mr. chaka fattah of pennsylvania. we have worked very closely -- the chair: the committee will be in order. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to begin by thanking my ranking member, chaka fattah of pennsylvania, it's been a pleasure to work with him. we have worked together closely on this legislation. i appreciate his approach to the bill. his input has improved the bill considerably and i look forward to working with him and all the
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members of the subcommittee as we move forward and go into conference with the senate on this important legislation. i also want to thank chairman hal rogers of kentucky and ranking member, nita lowey of new york for her helping in putting this legislation together. this is my first year chairing the commerce justice, science, subcommittee. it's an extraordinarily important committee that oversees so many noble and worthwhile efforts that the federal government is engaged in both in preserving -- protecting lives and property of the american people, advancing scientific research and space explore identification and i am especially grateful to chairman hahl rogers for his trust in me in this extraordinarily important assignment. i want to thank him also for his generous allocation to this subcommittee as the congress under the republican leadership has done our very best to live within our means as every american must do. every business, every private citizen knows how important it is to only spend the money that you have in hand. don't spend more than you've
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got. we have in this republican congress done our very best through the appropriations process to live within our means. and our subcommittee has with that in mind, i am a personal follower of dave ramsay's advice. i do so in my personal life and try to do so in representing the people of houston. don't spend more money than you have got. and what you have you have to prioritize. many agencies we have responsibility for in priority order we have approached it with law enforcement number one. make sure that the f.b.i. has the resources they need to do their job of protecting this nation against terrorists and espionage cyberespionage. a growing problem that we see in so many ways. the enemies of the united states have figured out how to hard wire trojan horses and back doors into telecommunications equipment and the f.b.i. has just done a spectacular job of
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protecting this nation in the area of cyberespionage and terrorism. we made the f.b.i. a top priority in this legislation. and make sure that they have got all the money that they need to do their job. we have also prioritized the work the department of justice is doing in enforcing our laws. we made sure that scientific research, space explore identification is prioritized. america will preserve its leadership in the world in space exploration. we made sure that weather forecasting is funded and taken care of. managing the nation's fisheries are extraordinarily important. and as you work down that list of priorities, we have made sure those at the top of the list are fully funded and those that tend to fall toward the bottom, we simply had to drop some programs that are no longer authorized. the length of time for which congress approved them has expired or they weren't fulfilling the function which they were originally intended. . we in the bill before us today, mr. chairman have provided
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$51.4 billion for funding this year, which is $1.3 billion increase over last year, but $661 million below the president's request. the president's budget assumed a number of tax increases and fee increases that are simply not going to happen. so we again wanted to live within our means and do our very best to minimize the debt that we are passing on to our children and grandchildren. so we have done our best in this environment to fund the priority programs while reducing funding for activities that are not essential to the operations of the federal government. once we have taken care of the f.b.i. and made sure they have got the funding they need to protect this nation in an era of evolving threats, we also included funding, mr. chairman for 55 new immigration judges. our committee has jurisdiction over these executive branch judges that handle immigration cases and because of the tremendous backlog of immigration cases we have added 55 new immigration judges to
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reduce that backlog and made sure at the same time that we are providing for fully funding the u.s. attorney's offices. the marshal service, drug enforcement agency, a.t.f., and our prison system. for state and local law enforcement, mr. chairman, the subcommittee has increased funding for priority programs such as the byrne formula program. state criminal alien assistance program funding which compen states state and local taxpayers -- compen sits state and local taxpayers from people who committed criminal acts housed in state prison facilities. that's the responsibility of the federal government. we funded that program to the highest extent we can. we also funded youth mentoring programs which do such great work. we made -- we created in addition mr. chairman n. this bill $53 million community trust program that will fund police
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body cameras, body camera demonstration programs and justice reinvestment initiatives. and i want to say a special thanks to our state -- texas state senator, royce west, who in just concluded texas legislative session, texas became the first state in the union to pass legislation controlling , when where, and how body camera data can be provided to law enforcement or in a criminal trial to make sure to protect the privacy rights of individuals. and we respect that. in our legislation we make sure state law controls , when where, and how police body camera dat why lab used. we also made sure that nasa is fully funded in this legislation. we provided an $18.5 billion funding level this year for nasa, which is a $519 million increase and is equal to the request we received from the president. we have made sure to preserve america's leadership role in manned space exploration, planttary -- planetary science
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and make sure we advance aeronautics research. nasa does an extraordinarily important job in. we funded the continued development of the orion crew vehicle at the level asked for by the white house. increased resources for the space launch system to speed up when we will use that important launch system to get americans back into orbit. we have made sure that the national science foundation is fully funded. we increase the funding level for the national science foundation by $50 million above the historically high level they had in last year's bill. we also included full funding for the very important brain initiative which ranking member fattah has championed over the years which promises to unlock the secrets of the single most important organ in the human body. and promises great things for the future. mr. chairman, we have also funded the national ocean
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graphic and spheric administration prioritizing weather forecasting and fisheries management in particular. we made sure the joint polar satellite system is funded, as well as the geostationary operational environmental satellite series. we have though in order to live within our allocation had to reduce funding in some other areas. eliminating those that no longer were necessary, those whose authorizations had expired and in fact, cut funding for more than a dozen agencies that can operate with a little less. let me point out in conclusion, mr. chairman we have in this legislation extraordinarily important oversight language that requires each agency under our jurisdiction to submit a spending plan to the subcommittee. we have capped the lifecycle costs for poorly performing programs and we have also withheld some funding for the department of justice until the new torge can demonstrate to us that -- attorney general can demonstrate to us that the inspector general's
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recommendations are being implemented. can i not stress that highly enough. when i met with the new attorney general, that was one of the first things i brought to her attention. we also bird mr. chairman, agencies that purchase very sensitive information technology or telecommunications systems conduct a supply chain risk assessment in consultation with the f.b.i. to be sure that there are no hard wired trojan horses or back doors in that communication equipment or computer equipment being purchased by the federal government in those agencies under our jurisdiction. we are also requiring quarterly reporting on immigration judge performance and requiring agencies to provide inspector generals with timely information. finally, mr. chairman i want to point out our legislation today continues, second amendment protection vs. been built into the bill before. we have withheld funding, for example, to make sure the united nations arm control treaty. there's been some discussion about. is not funded. we also prohibited the transfer or housing of gtmo prisoners
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into the united states. above all the bottom line on this legislation is we want to ensure that the law as enacted by congress is enforced. if an agency wants to have access to our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars, mr. chairman, they are going to need to demonstrate they are enforcing the law as written by congress. not based on some memorandum or some internal document but the law as written by congress is fundamental to our entire system of government, our liberty, lives, and enforcement of law. it's the most fundamental principal of a republic, the nation, this great nation was founded on that principle. that no one is above the law and should be enforced equally and fairly to everybody with due process. through our work on this subcommittee with the checks and balances that we have built into this legislation, the agencies under our jurisdiction are going to need to demonstrate that they are enforcing the law as written by congress in order to entitle them to have access to our taxpayers' very precious and hard-earned tax dollars.
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i reserve the balance of my time, mr. chairman. i thank you. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: i thank the gentleman and i would yield myself as much time as i may consume. let me first, since this is my first appearance on the floor, since the tragic news of the vice president's son's death offer my condolences and i'm sure all of my colleagues' and the people of philadelphia consider the biden family one of our own since they are nearby neighbors. i also want to offer my sincere condolences and concern for the people of texas given the tragedy of the severe weather incidents there and the deaths that have occasioned the flooding. . we rise today in moving an appropriations bill, the commerce, justice, science bill and the chairman and the
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ranking member from new york have assisted the subcommittee in this work. i want to thank the subcommittee chairman for all of the cooperation that has been extended. he's pointed to a number of circumstances in which he has helped make sure that priorities that we were interested in were accommodated in the bill and i want to talk a little bit about that. one is in the area of brain science neuroscience. the brain initiative is critically important. we have some 50 million americans suffering from brain-related diseases or disorders, this is a very significant number but the diseases themselves, everything from alzheimer's to epilepsy autism brain cancer, in the case of the vice president's son, a whole host of challenges
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that cost our country not just financial ways but affect so many families. i want to thank the chairman for his continued cooperation and work with me on what i think is the most important area of scientific discovery that we need to be focused on as a nation. also in the area of youth mentoring, the terms of supporting our efforts, to make sure that millions of the nation's young people have the appropriate guidance that they need to great connolly charted organizations like the boys and girls club of america -- congressionally charted organizations like the boys and girls club of america, big brothers and big sisters, who are celebrating this month. so i want to thank him for that. and i could go through a laundry list of areas, the manufacturing and the like, in which we worked very closely together and there's nothing that could be improved upon in
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terms of the process between the interactions between the majority and the minority on this bill. there is an ellvant in the room, no pun intended, in the sense that the majority has a -- elephant in the room, no pun intended, in the sense that the majority has an absolute view of the budget allocations given the budget control act and see that as something that limits our ability to meet the challenges of this great nation. the minority has a view that we move away from that budget control agreement and move away from these automatic caps and meet the needs as the constitution indicated that the appropriations committee's job was, to meet the needs of a great nation. and we know that there are needs that are not going to be met. the chairman just talked about how important our system of laws were. well, in this bill, we fall short, at least at this moment,
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of what we need to fully do to fund the legal services corporation, which was established under a republican administration but it provides services not to democrats or republicans but to americans all across our country to provide access to the courts and to make sure that they can have a due process and civil litigations. and so we know that we're short there. we have a constitutional responsibility to fund the census. and we are going to at this moment fall shy of that. now, we hope that we'll improve this bill. we can't improve the process but we can improve the product as we go towards a conference with the senate. but there are areas related to nasa in which even though we funded above $18 billion which is a historic commitment to nasa that we still are not dealing with the pressing issue of fully funding commercial crew, which requires -- we have
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now paid out $500 million to our russian counterparts to transport astronauts to the international space station and we have to continue that longer than we need to because we're not able, under the allocation to meet our responsibilities and the needs of the commercial crew appropriation. now, galileo 400 years ago pointed us towards europa and i can tell you that we are -- i agree with the chairman that the need to fully explore and to bring back a sample and to do everything else necessary to fully understand what the potential may be is an important effort but also funding space technology and our commercial crew programs -- and i know the chairman agrees with me -- will be important efforts to try to improve in
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this bill as we go towards conference with the senate. the minority can't shirk its responsibility to point out these shortcomings. having pointed them out, i do want to make the point, though, that the working relationship is one that i think appropriately reflects the kind of process we want to have in the house. we want all views to be considered and i know that every offering of a view from the minority has been fully considered by the chairman and i thank him. i want to thank his staff and i want to thank my staff of the committee because they worked very hard for us to come to this moment. and we are at a point in the process in which the majority will have its way. there will eventually be a senate bill but we also have to weigh in the administration's viewpoint in order to have a law of the land. and the administration has issued a statement of -- from the administration on this bill. and it takes -- in appropriate
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ways it compliments the subcommittee for its foresight on a range of points but it also strongly recommends changes in directions in appropriations in a variety of ways that the administration thinks would hold our country back. so i think there's a lot to be said about fiscal prudence. we need to make sure that we are operating in a fiscally responsible way. this nation at its founding at the point in which we had to separate ourselves from the british, we borrowed a few dollars. it cost us something at almost every point in the history of our country, as in the case for most families and most businesses in which you had to make investments, which sometimes those investments cause you to have an imbalance for a moment or for a period of time. but there's a reason why we
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have mortgages so people can buy homes and we invest in student loans so that young people can get an education and there's a need for the -- for our country from time to time to look beyond the immediate balance of the books to understand what our calling is, and we say sometimes that we are an exceptional nation. well, our exceptionalism requires us to have some foresight, and we know that this is an age of innovation and scientific discovery. some suggested that there's nothing new under the sun, but we know that's not so because just in recent months we found the largest volcano on earth, just discovered. we found in drought-stricken parts of africa deep down underneath the earth some of the largest aquifers of water. we now discovered a warm-blooded fish for the first time ever and a new species of bird in china.
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so this is not an age in which discovery is not possible. this is a time for our country when we should be investing in science, in innovation. we have a need to as a country of some -- as i mentioned just some 300 million-plus, when we compete against billion-plus populated countries like china and india, we can't afford to leave any of our young people in the shadows. we can't afford to not invest in science and innovation. i want to thank the chairman for what he's done. i want to tell him that we're going to continue to work with him as we go forward because i believe what we have here today is not a perfect bill but the foundation for what will be i think the best commerce, justice and science bill that could be produced. it's a beginning of that process and i want to thank him and i look forward to the debate and the amendment process, and i would now reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. chairman. it's my privilege to recognize the chairman of the full
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committee for such time as he may consume, chairman hal rogers of kentucky. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky is recognized. mr. rogers: thank you, mr. chairman. chairman culberson, thank you for yielding time. and i'm proud to announce my support of this bill. it contains $51.4 billion for effective and proven programs within the departments of justice and commerce as well as nasa and the national science foundation. within that total, funding is targeted at programs that are vital to our economic development, our public safety and national security. these important programs overall receive a boost of $1.3 billion over last year allowing us to make critical investments in law enforcement, counterterrorism and cybersecurity and science and research activities. for example, the legislation
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increases funding for the department of justice by $852 billion above last year's levels enhancing the way that we protect and secure communities across the nation. that increase will provide the f.b.i. with greater resources to fight terrorism and cybercrime. it will also allow the d.e.a. to amplify activities including $372 million to combat prescription drug abuse. what the c.d.c. calls a national epidemic that's taking more lives than car wrecks. and funding is targeted to high priority national grants with increases for violence against women programs and the byrne- jag program. it creates a new community trust initiative that will help improve the safety of communities across the nation
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and work to facilitate a supportive relationship between these local communities and the police. this includes funding for body camera pilots and research training, justice reform efforts and upgraded statistics collection. mr. chairman the bill also directs funding toward key programs that will help secure america's role as the leader in scientific innovation, grow our economy and promote job creation. for instance, nasa receives a $519 million increase above last year keeping us on the forefront of the space frontier. in the national science foundation -- and the national science foundation receives a $50 million increase, directing funds to programs that will spur u.s. economic competitiveness and to help protect communities from devastating natural disasters.
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we provided $5.2 billion for noaa to help boost weather warning and forecasting efforts. as with any appropriations bill, mr. chairman, the committee had to make some tough choices to live within a tight budget allocation. but that's what appropriations committee does. we make hard decisions, but i believe that this bill does that in a very responsible way. eliminating unnecessary or unneeded programs, reducing funding for other lower priority programs. this sort of smart budgeting will help improve the way our government operates and show that we can live within our means. mr. chairman, i want to congratulate chairman culberson for his successful first go as chairman of this subcommittee. he wanted this chore and is
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happy to have it and is doing a good job with it, mr. chairman, and i'm proud of him. he and ranking member fatah and their subcommittee have drafted a good bill that i'm proud to have before the house today. as always, i want to thank the staff for their tireless work in drafting and bringing this bill to the floor. mr. speaker, this is the fourth appropriations bill we've brought to the floor this year, and i'm glad we're progressing at a great pace on these very important bills. i'm told that this is the earliest and quickest start to appropriations bills in recorded history, and i'm proud of the work that our committee's doing. and i think doing good work. so i urge my colleagues to continue this forward momentum vote in favor of this very important and very well-done commerce, justice, science funding bill. thank you, mr. chairman and i yield back.
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the chair: the gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: i'd like to yield to the ranking member and the great leader for our team on appropriations the gentlelady from new york. as much time as she may consume. mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to take a moment to congratulate chairman culberson on his first commerce, justice and science bill, as well as ranking member fattah and full committee chairman rogers for their efforts. i know how hard you worked to try and put together the best bill possible. . before i go further. i want to thank my friend ranking member fattah and join him in expressing our heartfelt condoences -- condolences to the vice president on the loss of his son. i just can't imagine the pain
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that one feels at such a tragedy. and i know our hearts and prayers go out to the biden family. i also want to join you, the pictures of the floods in texas were so horrifying. i know how hard everyone was working to minimize the loss of life. and i also want to express my condolences to you as well. the house republican work harder for less budget resolution was opposed by every member on my side of the aisle in part because it really makes it impossible to give hardworking americans the opportunity to succeed. democrats want to end the sequester and we need more reasonable and realistic budgeting that could help
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families, help them afford college a home, and a secure retirement. the insufficient overall allocation for discretionary investment hurts initiatives in all the appropriation bills that grow the economy, create jobs, and make us more secure. well, i appreciate the chairman's efforts. the grossly inadequate allocation creates shortcomings that are evident in the f.y. 2016 commerce, justice, and science bill. instead of providing the desperately needed investments in community policing and improving the juvenile justice system, the cops hiring program would receive no funding and the office of juvenile justice would receive $68 million less than f.y. 2015, and $156 million less
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than the president's request. these failures are particularly shameful given the inclusion of a number of gun riders, including language blocking a reporting requirement on multiple purchases of rifles or shotguns by individual buyers. we must eliminate riders such as these that prevent law enforcement from sensibly addressing gun crimes. while violence against women prevention and prosecution programs would appear to receive an increase above both f.y. 2015 and the president's f.y. 2016 requests it is actually below the request when you account for a transfer in victims of trafficking grants similar gimmicks are also included in the portion of the cops program that would be funded. the legal services corporation
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would fair far worse $75 million below f.y. 2015. $152 million below the request. this is unacceptable for a vital service that provides legal help for hardworking americans. turning to science, the bill continues the majority's practice of burying its head in the sand instead of focusing on the start climate change realities. as in previous years, the bill severely cuts funding for noaa, climate research by 19% below f.y. 2015. a $30 million decrease. we should be supporting not hindering this important work to help save our environment. the bill also cuts geosciences, social behave yorble and
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economic science of the national science foundation by $257 million below the f.y. 2015 level. an approach universally opposed by the scientific community. rather than properly preparing for the actually mandated 2020 census, the mark is $387 million below the president's request for the u.s. census bureau. failure to provide these funds now will only cost taxpayers more in the long run as the census bureau would be unable to thoroughly develop and test innovative, cost saving business practices developing a well designed and thoughtful census now could save up to $5 billion in 2020 census costs. as in other bills, the majority has included a number of
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controversial riders in addition to those i already mentioned. another provision is aimed at placing restrictions on exports to cuba. however, despite the numerous shortcomings i want to thank the chairman again for his work related to the national instant criminal background check system. byrne justice assistance grants the community backlog reduction program to process sexual assault kits. these evidentiary kits have historically gone untested for decades giving violent and culpable offenders the ability to strike again. so it is important we fund this program at a workable level. i want to make it clear that democrats are more than willing to support bills that include adequate spending levels to ensure public safety, promote
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economic growth and that exclude unnecessary riders. unfortunately although this bill does such wonderful things and i'm a great supporter once again of all the brain research, the important investments that you are making to address alzheimer's autism, and other serious, serious diseases of the brain the bill does not make appropriate investments that hardworking americans need, but instead advances misguided policy changes. i urge my colleagues to vote against this bill. thank you mr. speaker. thank you, again, to our chair and ranking members. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from -- the chair: the gentlelady yields back of the the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, at this time i'd like to yield one minute to my colleague on the appropriations committee, the gentleman from florida. the chair: the gentleman from
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florida is recognized for two minutes. >> i want to gliment the chairman for a bill that invests responsibly in law enforcement, space, science research, ocean and marine resource weather sciences. i also want to thank the chairman for his support of an innovative data collection initiative in this bill to improve fish stock assessments and research of the fisheries in the gulf of mexico. as we discussed in many our hearings we need to utilize all tools and technology and work with all participants, including recreational for hire, and commercial that provide the most accurate assessment of the health of our fish stocks. including the red snapper species so critical to our quality of life in gulf states like florida and texas as well as our regional economies. mr. jolly: this will better enable the national marine fishery services to make more informed decision abouts the length of various fishing seasons. without constantly improving and accurate and quantifiable data, data that is believed rebly fully reflect the fisherman's
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experience on the water our commercial and recreational fishermen alike find it difficult to understand decisions by government to shorten fishing seasons and limit catches. it is intended to provide the southeast regional office new tools to utilize data collection efforts from our recreational for-hire and commercial fishermen. from state and local officials. from third party researchers and academia. data collection and research focus on the unique stock assessment challenges of gulf fisheries. by working with our recreational for-hire commercial and by engaging them directly in data collection the regional office will ultimately accumulate more and better data and will begin to restore trust between the sectors and regulators. this public-private effort will allow officials tasked with managing our resources to strike the right balance. balance for our recreational fishing communities, quifle balance for our reasonable
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economy and balanced for our strong interests in stock rehabilitation. species preservation and protecting our critical natural resources. mr. chairman, i look forward to working with you as we continue to work through this appropriations process on this important provision. as ll as working with noaa and the southeast regional office during plementation of this fundinto stand on this critical innovative stock initiative and make it awk sess for florida and all five of our gulf states including your home state of texas. thank y, mr. chairman. yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: yes. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the chair and the staff have done a remarkabl job working on a whole range much issues related to fish not just in the gulf of mexico and texas, but throughout the questions arod salmon and washington state and
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the issues related to evenur part of the coury where we fished a little bit. i want to thank the gentleman for his comments. i want to yield now three minuteso my colleagues on the subcommittee, the gentleman from the great state of california, who has really helped us on the subcommittee particularly around areas related to innovation and science and advanced manufacturing. i want to yield to the gentleman mr. honda. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. honda: thank you for yielding. l me start by thanking chairman culberson and ranking membe fattah for their ongoing enthusiasm and support for many of the key programs funded by this bill. 'm grateful for the support including provisions addressing key concerns of mine such as the drawing rape kit backlog and log delays in testing d.n.a. evidence, preventing the politicay motivated termination evaluation of a fundamental science observatory.
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ensuring the federal marine debris program which will focus on plastics in our nation's waterways and ocean. despite the inclusion of these and other programs, this bill unfortunately falls short of supporting a robust portfolio of commerce, just t. and science programs. this bill was crafted under the restrictive spending cap imposed by sequestration. thi unworkable cap has forced unacceptable cuts that greatly weaken key programs in our country. for example, when the funding for actually mandate census should be on a significant ramp up, this bill underfunds the census bureau by $387 million. at the direction of congress, the census bureau is testing sweeping reforms through census methods that will reduce the overall cost of the enumeration, substantially by bringing it into the 21st century. t without sufficient mon this year, they may have to abandon plans for a modern
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scrensuss and go back to the outdated manual which will end up costing $5 billion more. $5 billion. we cannot afford to waste $5 billion. we need to be fiscally responsible and have an understanding of costs beyond the time scale of a one-year funding bill. additionally this bill underfunds and deprioritizes earth identifiens. it proposes general funding for planterary science but overlooks the most important planet of all. our own. that is why i offered an amendment in committee to fully fund the earth and geoscience research at nasa and n.s.f. instead of the $520 million underfunding being proposed. research in the earth sciences help protect lives because of economic and consequences of natural hazards such as droughts, hurricanes, space weather and earthquakes can be devastating.
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as our climate continues to change, this research is even more important and yet this bill proposes to cut earth and geoscience research. we should be increasing funding in these fields to better understand natural systems and allow for more informed policy decisionmaking and not cutting them. additionally this bill seeks to micromanage the n.s.f. by singling out earth science and social sciences as lesser research priorities. this is a prime example of political meddling into scientific research. the draconian spending caps force the cannibalization of these and other programs that resulted and build as unworkable. we need to adopt the president's proposed funding levels to ensure that key programs are able to be effective and serve our nation. thank you. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, at this time i'd like to yield one minute to my colleague and good friend from the committee, mr.
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jinkins from west virginia. the chair: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. jenkins: thank you, mr. chairman, for your good work. i have the honor of serving on the appropriations committee, which enables me to have input into our spending priorities. this bill has a number of important programs i want to highlight drug courts. drug courts have a proven track record. drug courts are effective and efficient. drug courts work. . a respected pastor in my community and state say prisons are for those that we're scared of, not just mad at. drug epidemic continues to ravage my state and prisons sends those suffering addiction to jail. drug courts allows to undergo treatment, get help staying clean and re-enter society as a productive individual. west virginia's drug courts are succeeding. earlier this year west virginia
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honored the first 1,000 adults and juveniles to successfully complete the program. while no single program will solve the drug epidemic, we must continue to support programs that work. this bill maintains critical funding as well as funding for a number of other programs that will help those trying to end this crisis. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: i would like to now yield to a fellow appropriator from the great state of california, the gentlelady, ms. lee. the chair: how much time? mr. fattah: two minutes. the chair: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. lee: thank you very much, mr. chairman. let me thank our ranking member for yielding but also his very steady and very competent leadership of this subcommittee on our behalf. i also want to thank the chairman for your consistent
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work at bipartisanship even though this is still yet another funding bill brought to the floor that really woefully underfunds our critical federal program. the fiscal 2016 commerce justice, science appropriations bill really should reflect our nation's commitment to growing our economy, keeping our communities safe and driving innovation. instead, it makes critical cuts to programs at a time when they are needed most. in the justice title, this bill includes no funding, mind you for the community oriented policing services, the cops hiring program, and the $68 million cut to juvenile justice programs from fiscal year 2015. it also includes a $75 million cut to legal services corporation which provides critical legal services to low-income americans. given what's happening in communities around the country, especially in terms of communities of color and law
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enforcement, these are truly unwise and misguided cuts. under the science title, the national science foundation, which funds critical research at the university of california-berkeley, in my congressional district, it's funded at $50 million below the fiscal 2015 enacted levels. these cuts are a huge blow to investments we should be making in scientific research to keep our nation competitive. and in the commerce section, this bill also includes cuts to critical programs such as $274 million cut to the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and funds the census bureau at $387 million below the president's budget request. add to all of this is an inappropriate policy rider about exports to cuba and you have a bill that despite the hard work of the chair and our ranking member this bill is deeply flawed. our republican colleagues need to stop starving -- may i have an additional 30 seconds,
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please? mr. fattah: i great the gentlelady 30 seconds. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for 30 seconds. ms. lee: thank you. we need to stop starving our critical federal programs. we need to protect our communities in crisis and drive scientific breakthroughs in the future. i sponsored an amendment, along with ranking member lowey, to increase cops hiring funding and also introduced an amendment to require jurisdictions receiving byrne-jag grants to put their officers through training to better work with diverse communities that they protect and serve. congressman lacy clay has championed this idea which later into this debate will enter into a colloquy regarding this important issue. i want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania -- mr. fattah: can i inquire about the amount of time on both sides? the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania has seven minutes
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remaining. the gentleman from texas has 12 minutes remaining. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, it's my pleasure to recognize our colleague and good friend from new mexico, mr. pearce for two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from new mexico is recognized for two minutes. mr. pearce: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with the gentleman from texas the chairman of the subcommittee on commerce, justice, science and related agencies. i want to thank you, mr. chairman and ranking member fatah for your efforts to forge a truly bipartisan bill to fund critical programs within the department of justice, commerce and the scientific community. this diverse bill provides a wide range of support from continued scientific research and space to the funding our law enforcement officers need to keep our families and communities safe. it is truly a diverse vital bill. chairman culberson, please permit me one point of clarification in the bill. the nasa budget includes a space operations account.
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this account provides funding for everything from space, communications to research on the international space station to supporting space launch complexes. i'd like to specifically discuss the space communications function within this account. regardless of age or mission, nasa must be able to communicate with the system it has in orbit, the space and ground networks that comprise nasa's space communication system is the foundation for all nasa's orbital work. the network provides constant real-time communications for all aspects of our space mission from the unmanned probes at the very edges of our solar system to the i.s.s. and hubble space telescope. without this cape -- capability, our nation would deprive the world of discoveries made by our space systems. it would be a commitment -- it should be a commitment of the house to ensure that funding for space operations ensures strong support for the
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infrastructure and support needed to maintain strong and capable space communications. again i thank the committee for its work in crafting this legislation and strongly supporting space communications in the past. it's my understanding that committee has provided the space operations account with nearly $130 million more than it did in fiscal year 2015. it intends to support a robust level of funding for the space communications component within this account is this understanding correct? the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. culberson: i want to thank my good friend and colleague from new mexico. he's absolutely right. we increased funding of the space operations account by $129.5 million and we will make sure that that funding is adequate to support the space communications network -- excuse me -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. are you recognizing the gentleman from new mexico for additional time? mr. culberson: yes. i'd like to conclude the colloquy to an additional 30 seconds. the chair: the chair is
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recognized for 30 seconds. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, i want to reassure the gentleman from new mexico, he's absolutely correct. the subcommittee will make certain that space communications component of this account is fully funded with $129.5 million increase. mr. pearce: i thank the gentleman and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. f.t.a. fapt i'd like to yield to a fellow appropriator from the great state of texas two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the ranking member for yielding. mr. cuellar: i want to thank him for his steady leadership as ranking member. thank you so much. i also want to thank my good friend from texas. we go back from the state legislature, john culberson for his leadership on one particular issue i want to bring up today and that is the work that we're doing together for adding 55 new immigration judges, the largest amount of immigration judges we're going to have at one time so i want
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to thank him for working together to add that money. and also to put accountability for those judges. we want to make sure they move these cases with all due process given to everybody and move them as soon as possible and thank him also for the work we've done on stone garden and other border law enforcement needs. why do we need these new judges? right now there are more than 450,000 pending cases, a large backlog of immigration cases that we have. there's about 250 judges right now and about 58 courtrooms across the nation but we need to do more. and if you look at the casework of an immigration judge, that person will handle about 2,100 cases. if you look at a federal judge, that judge will handle about 440 cases. you can see the large amount of cases that we have. so basically some of those cases are taking about 2 1/2
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years to handle and therefore we need to make sure that we have the judges in place to handle the backlog that we have. just to give you an example, just in the last six months, 170,000 people crossed the border so therefore we need those judges. to conclude, i want to thank you, mr. chairman, for you and your staff. mr. ranking member, i want to thank you and your staff. with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, it's a this time i want to yield my friend and colleague from michigan, mr. walberg, one minute. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. walberg: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to rise in increase of heroin and openiate abuse in michigan and across the country. in jackson, six heroin-related deaths have happened since march. in april in monroe county, three people overdosed in a
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24-hour period. last year, my home county had seven drug-related deaths in the first third quarters. sadly we hear similar stories in far too many communities across michigan. today's c.j.s. appropriations bill includes essential funding to assist states and localities to combat drug-related problems including over $400 million to advance strategic plans to address the growing heroin and openiate epidemic and $372 million to tackle prescription drug abuse. it will take all of us working together concerned citizens, treatment providers, law enforcement, elected officials at every level to fight this growing epidemic and keep our homes and streets safe. i appreciate the work of the chairman of the committee on this. i support it and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: i'd like to now
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yield to a young lady who's really led the democratic efforts in terms of science and particularly her leadership on to recognize for two minutes the gentlelady from texas ms. eddie bernice johnson. the chair: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for two minutes. ms. johnson: i want to tell my appreciation and respect to the subcommittee chair as well as the ranking member on this appropriations subcommittee. i really do respect the work, but i do rise in opposition to h.r. 2578. it represents a missed opportunity to help the nation's research and innovation enterprise at at that time when that help is urgently needed. until the mismatch between the house budget resolution and the needs facing our country is addressed, we are going to continue to fall behind both in our efforts to maintain our global competitiveness and our efforts to maintain r&d
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capabilities we need right here at home. as ranking member of the science, space and technology committee, i'd like to use some of my time to address some specific concerns that i have with the bill which i elaborate in my statement for the record. in short the bill's report language would make arbitrary and ideological driven cuts to any social sciences and geoscience program. in addition, the bill's funding would put it at risk at a cost growth and scheduled delays. with respect to the national institutes of standards and technology, in addition to the funding cund kutz, i'm particularly concerned about the report language that would gut the critical forensics standards activities already under way at nist as well as the bill's language that would covertly without any hearings, debate or authorizing legislation eliminate an entire
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agency. the national technical information service. the bill would also make significant cuts to noaa's budget including climate research and the polar satellite program. and finally, the bill would make deep cuts to nasa's earth science research program that would help us better understand our home planet and the climb change that is occurring right now on it. mr. chairman, in closing, as i said before the bill is a missed opportunity and i cannot support it in its current form and i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: mr. chairman at this time it's my pleasure to yield to the gentleman from florida, mr. ross one minute. th is recognized for one minute. mr. ross: my colleague, mr. luetkemeyer, operation choke point created under the guise of a program to root out
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banking fraud and money laundering, operation choke point has been used by administration bureaucrats to pressure and force banks to end relationships with legitimate businesses. it considers objectionable or reputational risk this administration has targeted legitimate businesses such azzam anything stores, payday lenders and others. to target law abiding citizens it does not like and to ask banks to choke off businesses to these legitimate businesses is different than our principles of freedom. voting to defund operation choke point i'll vote to rein in this out-of-control -- and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognize nation? mr. fattah: i rise to yield some time to the gentleman who in this house has spent a great deal of time providing leadership in terms of small business and connecting them to
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our research institutions, the gentleman, mr. lipinski, two minutes i'd like to yield to him. the chair: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. . mr. lipinski: i thank my colleague for his work on the appropriations committee, and i want to say, i understand the constraints that the chairman is working under and i appreciate his work on those items that were mentioned by ranking member fattah and other members on this side. i rise in opposition to this bill, because it fails to fund scientific research at levels we need to spur innovation and remain competitive as a nation. in particular, i want to call attention to report language in the bill that results in cuts to social sciences over $250 million. n.s.f. is the largest single source of funding for basic research in a variety of fields and especially true for social sciences. some will say these cuts are
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needed to force research in other areas. but this approach of limiting funding for social science is misguided for several reasons. other areas of research are heavily prioritized at n.s.f. in 2015, they will spend 3.7% of its budget on social science research. surely not an outside priority. this is especially true where you consider social science research saves lives and money. n.s.f. funded research developed a kidney transplant program and left to donor-patient pairing that had not been possible before. economic research sponsored by the n.s.f., auctions that raise billions of dollars and if we have been staying at the cutting
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edge of wireless technologies. social science research is also critical for cybersecurity as we have heard from many expert witnesses in the science committee. most breaches occur because of human factors and social science is vital in addressing this grave security risk. so for these reasons, i'm urging my colleagues to oppose these cuts and oppose this bill. we need to do better for scientific research for the sake of our country, our economy and jobs. i yield back. the chair: the time of the gentleman has expired. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: can i inquire how much time remains on each side. the chair: the gentleman from texas has 7 1/2 minutes. the gentleman from pennsylvania has one minute remaining. mr. culberson: at this time, i would like to yield a minute to my good friend from wisconsin, mr. duffy. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. duffy: one of the greatest
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innovations that have ever been developed by man to connect people, people from every corner of the earth, whether in cafes homes or in schools is the internet. and the reason the internet has expanded and grown around the world and has been such an engine for innovation is the facts that the internet embodies the american idea of free speech. that very idea of free speech on the internet is under attack because the administration and some people in this institution want to see the core functions of the internet be transferred to a foreign body that doesn't share our idea of free speech. let's keep the internet open. let's make sure we continue with the great american idea of free speech, not just here in america but in every corner of the globe because the internet will embody that idea of free speech. the internet was made in america and let's keep the core functions of the internet in america. i yield back.
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the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: continue to yield. we have one remaining speaker and i yield until i close. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: at this time, it's a disstimping privilege to recognize for three minutes the distinguished chairman of the science committee, mr. lamar smith. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i thank my friend, the chairman of the commerce, justice and science committee for yielding me time. i thank the chairman also and his staff especially john leslie and ashley for working with the house science committee. i appreciate the chairman's support for prioritizing the basic research at the national science foundation. this research in math and physical sciences, biology,
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computing and engineering holds the promise of break deliff throughs that will spur economic growth. n.s.f. is transparent and accountable to american taxpayers about how their dollars are spent and n.s.f.-supported research is in the national interests. the appropriations bill addresses concerns about the national oceanic and atmospheric administration's costly satellite program. in addition, this bill encourages noaa to include private sector involvement in the space-based weather industry. i thank chairman culberson for nasa plan tear science which implement the nasa authorization reported in april. i look forward to working with chairman culberson and chairman rogers to fully fund the orion programs so we can launch american astronauts on american rockets from american soil.
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and again, i thank my friend from texas for his enthusiasm and initiative and urge my colleagues to support this bill. and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from pennsylvania continues to reserve. does the gentleman from texas, mr. culberson have any additional speakers? mr. culberson: no additional speakers at this time. so i will be happy to yield to my friend to use his time. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves and the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: we are going to move through a process of amendments and the house will work its will, but the general debate has illuminated a host of areas where we agree and few areas where we disagree. and the last speaker my good friend from texas, lamar smith, who has done a lot of work, as he has mentioned, are some areas
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where we remain in disagreement which is that the notion that we should make some of these changes in terms of science priorityization are not just disagreements between the parties but vast concern in the scientific enterprise in the nation that we would interject a view point into science that would move away from a merit-base process. at that point, i would yield back and i look forward to the amendment process. and i thank the house for listening to our points of view. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania has yielded back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized to close the general debate. mr. culberson: as we conclude the debate on this bill, it's important for all of us here today to know that members of the house's process is open and members can offer an amendment and we have in this bill prioritized our funding as we
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all do in our private life and business life following the good advice of financial guru, you don't spend money that you have and try to eliminate debt. we are living within our means and although the budget caps that i know there is a great deal of frustration among the democrat colleagues on the limitations of spending, that is the law. it was initially suggested by the white house. it's important to minimize the debt that we pass on to our children and grandchildren. the budget caps are a reality and we have within the limitations that we have prioritized the funding in this bill to make sure that law enforcement is number one. f.b.i. and department of justice are taken care of, and the national science foundation is funded at historically high level, $50 million increase and funded nasa at a historically high level since the apollo program. i would like to see the american space given more. as more money becomes available and if we find an opportunity as
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we move through conference, we will work hard to make sure that we will plus up funding for the sciences and space exploration. as my colleagues mentioned, the legal services corporation which does important work in representing the poor, we'll do our best to find additional funding. and i will be filing legislation to give attorneys a tax deduction for work they do donating their time to the poor and far better way to do that through the tax code rather than appropriating tax dollars. in conclusion, i want to point out to the members, this legislation will ensure that the laws as enacted by congress are enforced. if federal agencies want the privilege of spending and using our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars, they will need to demonstrate through their presentation to this committee that they are enforcing the law as written by congress. and we will out throughout the year engage in vigorous oversight to make sure our money
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is wisely spent and only spent when absolutely necessary, but that our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars are only spent to enforce the law as written by the people's elected representatives and i urge my colleagues to vote for this important legislation. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from texas yields back. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. during consideration of the bill for amendment, each amendment shall be debatable for 10 minutes. equally divided and controlled by the proponent and opponent and shall not be subject to amendment. no pro forma amendment shall be in order except that the chair and ranking minority member on the committee of appropriations are their respective designees and may offer 10 pro forma amendments at any point for the purpose of debate. the chair of the committee of the whole may accord recognition
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on the basis of whether the representative has it caused to be printed in the portion of the congressional record designated for that purpose. amendments shall be considered read. the clerk will read. the clerk: be it enacted that the following sums are appropriated for fiscal year 2016, namely title 1 department of commerce international trade administration operations and administration $472 million to remain available until september 30 2017. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. delerk clerk page 3 line 10 after the dollar amount decrease by 23 million. page 28 line 22 after the dollar amount insert insert increase by $23 million. page 30, line 6 after the dollar
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amount insert increased by $293 million. page 47 line 7, insert decrease by $45 million. page 49 line 6, insert decreased by $52 million. mr. goodlatte: i ask unanimous consent that the amendment be considered as read. the chair: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 267, member from virginia and member opposed each will control five minutes. does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: i reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment. the chair: the point of order is reserved. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: my amendment restores necessary funding for the federal prisonner detention program. the marshals service assumes custody of individuals arrested by all federal agencies and
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responsible for the housing and transportation of prisoners from the time they are brought into federal custody until either acquitted or transferred to the bureau of writtens for custody for incarceration. the f.p.d. program provides housing, medical care and transportation for federal prisoners housed in non-federal facilities with 45,000 prisoners. this funding is critical to ensuring that the united states marshals service can provide safe and humane care for the 204,000 federal prisoners it will be responsible for in fiscal year 2016. mr. chairman, the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill falls nearly $400 million short of the funding necessary to maintain the marshals service prisoner detention operations. this matter must be corrected. my amendment would reduce less critical accounts to make up for
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this astounding shortfall. it reduces youth mentoring programs leaving a sum of $50 million. my amendment zeros out the new unauthorized grant program to improve police community relations, while this concept may have merit, the creation of such a program is the responsibility of the house judiciary committee. this amendment reduces funding for the international trade administration by 5% for the community relation service by 20%. my amendment leaves $30 million for the legal services corporation to administer existing grants and promote pro bono efforts. mr. chairman, i would yield to the chairman of the subcommittee who has worked with my staff very diligently on a number of issues related to this matter. and would be prepared to withdraw this amendment in lieu of all the difficulties he has
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in finding funds for the priorities he has, but nonetheless, hoping that he will acknowledge that this is a priority that has been short changed and we need to make sure that not only are these prisoners able to be held and held according to law, but also that it does not give rise to prisoners being released in circumstances where they otherwise should be held in incarceration. i'm hoping if the gentleman would agree moving forward to help us try to find additional funds for this account and perhaps the gentleman from pennsylvania would be willing to help as well i would be willing to withdraw the amendment. . >> yes we will work diligently. i'll work with my colleague from philadelphia to fund additional funds. the last thing we want is these people being released. it's been a privilege for me to work with you and your staff. i'm very privileged to have followed on the footsteps of
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frank wolf, your colleague from virginia, who was chairman of the c.j.s. committee and i continue that close working relationship and we will do everything we can to find funding to make sure that these federal prisoners are not released early. mr. culberson: that's a subjectnary and dear to my heart -- subject near and dear to my heart. very sensitive to it. i sued a judge in texas to end his control over prisons because one of the main things he was doing was causing early release of prisoners to go victimize texans which is utterly unacceptable. yes, sir, this is a top priority. i will work with you and mr. fattah. mr. fattah: i would work with the chairman on this and a whole range of other items. the offsets obviously would be that you have identified are problematic from my point of view. i'll work with the chairman. we need to fully fund the u.s. marshal service. mr. goodlatte: i ask unanimous consent to with craw the amendment -- withdraw the amendment. the chair: without objection, the amendment is withdrawn.
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for what purpose does the gentleman from new hampshire seek recognition? mr. guinta: mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gunta of new hampshire. page -- guinta of new hampshire. page 3, line 10, insert after the dollar amount the fatting, reduced by $5 million. insert after the dollar amount the following, increase by $5 million. page 44, line 6 after the dollar amount insert increased by $5 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 267, the gentleman from new hampshire and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from new hampshire. mr. guinta: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of my amendment to the commerce, justice and science appropriations bill, to increased funding for our
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nation's courts by $5 million. drug courts keep people from treatment and can be one of the most effective intervention programs for those suffering from drug addiction. just as important, these court residues crime, save money and serve families and children affected by substance abuse. drug and substance abuse directly impact our states communities law enforcement and families across the country. in the past five years alone in my home state of new hampshire overdoses have increased five fold. last year in the granite state, death from heroin and elicit drug use exceeded auto-related deaths in the state. drug use and abuse have devastated countless families from the granite state. drug courts are transforming the criminal justice system across our nation by creating a systematic response to substance abuse and crime as an alternative to incarceration. it is not every day that we get to directly save the lives in government. the drug courts program has proven to do just that.
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i'd also like to acknowledge and thank my colleague from massachusetts congressman lynch, for working with me on this amendment, to ensure this much-needed funding. i urge my colleagues to support my amendment as we continue to tackle the drug abuse epidemic that is plaguing communities around our nation and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. culberson: i rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. drug courts are an a-- are a proved way. we've already funded the drug courts at $41 million $5 million above the request. i think the gentleman's amendment is is a worthwhile increase and i urge my colleagues to support it. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania -- does the gentleman -- mr. fattah: i seek unanimous consent to claim time in opposition even though i'm not in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fattah: on that i want to say something and then i'll recognize my colleague. i led the effort in my home state to create drug courts when i was in the state senate.
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before any of my gray hairs. they work spectacularly well in many places throughout the country. so i support the gentleman's amendment. i do want to yield to congressman lynch as much time as he may consume. the chair: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for such time as he may consume. mr. lynch: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank the gentleman from new hampshire, mr. guinta. he and i were of a similar mind in terms of this amendment. and i am delighted that the chairman has accepted the amendment. we understand that the good that drug courts do in our society and our system actually combines the resources of family the courts, law enforcement, substance abuse agencies, our local and town governments, state governments and of course the federal government as well. drug addiction in the united states is an epidemic that affects every city and town across america and it cuts across every demographic.
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it leaves in its wake the shattered lives and families and costs taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars annually. the national institutes of drug abuse estimate that the total overall cost of substance abuse in the united states, including lost productivity and health and crime-related costs, exceeds $600 billion a year. and the institute also wrote that drug addiction treatment has been shown to reduce associated health and social costs by far more than the cost of treatment itself. drug courts can be the first step on the road back for those suffering with as i diction -- addiction and drug addiction is a disease and people under the influence often act out of character. society is beginning to recognize that we need to deal with addiction and its outcome in a way that can have a positive effect on individuals and their families and communities and i believe drug courts offer this opportunity, providing a support system and a road map for moving forward. the drug courts are specialized doctors which handle cases
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involving drugs and alcohol offenders charged with nonviolent offenses caused or influenced by their addiction. i've visited many prisons in my state and i would say in some cases we have 80% to 90% of those inmates in there that have dual addiction at the root of their problems. and i do want to recall the support that we received in the past from the former chairman, frank wolf, who is a good and decent man and we miss him here but i'm glad to see that the current chairman is of a similar mind and i want to thank him as well. if i have any time remaining, i would yield it back to the gentleman from new hampshire, if i could, through the ranking member. mr. fattah: i'm in control of the time on this side. but i'd be glad to yield for any closing comment. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania has yielded his time to the gentleman from new hampshire. the gentleman is recognized. mr. guinta: thank you very much. i want to echo the sentiments
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of the gentleman from massachusetts. this is a well worth attempt to try to help and heal families address our process of incarceration, but also make sure that we're doing the right thing for families across not just our region in new england but across the country. i'd also like to thank the appropriations committee chairman rogers and chairman culberson for their hard work, not just on this component and amendment of the bill but the overall bill and the commitment to this particular issue. and again i would urge my colleagues to support the amendment and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. fattah: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania has yielded back. the question son the amendment offered by the gentleman from -- is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from new hampshire. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the
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gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. reichert of washington. page 3, line 10, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $1. page 4 line 21, after the dollar amount insert, increased by $1. page 7, line , after the dollar amount insert, reduced by $100 million. page 42, line 24 after the dollar amount insert, increased by $100 million. page 43, line 1, after the dollar amount insert, increased by $100 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from washington and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. reichert: thank you mr. chairman. i also want to thank chairman culberson and chairman rogers for working together with representatives pass screll represent -- pascrell,
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representative dent and herrera beutler in coming to this agreement. and validating this amendment. so i rise today to offer this critical amendment with my colleagues that i just mentioned. and this amendment increases the edward burn memorial justice assistance program by $100 million and decreases the census bureau by an equal amount. last year the cops office program received bipartisan support and was funded at $180 million in the omnibus. unfortunately underlying legislation completely eliminates the cops hiring program. while we cannot restore cops hiring programs and add them back into the bill, we can help ease the burden and mitigate the impact of the programs on the nation, on local law enforcement, by passing this bipartisan amendment. to continue to meet the needs of the police departments
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across the country, this additional $100 million should specifically be used for grants to police departments for hiring. ensuring the safety of our communities and neighborhoods should be one of our first priorities and we cannot do without a sufficient number of police officers. mr. chairman, the police officers and law enforcement agencies across this country are asked to do more and more with less and less. and let me just give you some examples. when i was the sheriff i provided deputies to the federal task force efforts, the fugetific joint task force -- the joint fugitive task force, the joint terrorism task force, the high intensity drug task force, and also the fusion center. and i could go on with some others. the role that local law
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enforcement plays to the efforts of federal law enforcement are integral, they're interconnected, they can't be separated. it's a team effort. from the federal law enforcement agencies to the local law enforcement agencies. and sometimes people in this chamber get confused as to what the local law enforcement's role is. when it comes to federal responsibility. now, i'll just give you an example of one of my own personal experiences early in my career as a police officer, sheriff's deputy on the streets in the mid 1970's. i made a traffic stop and came across a young lady who was in the employment of someone who was connected to a crime syndicate within the washington state area. who was operating human trafficking operations from texas to anchorage.
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and not only that, they were involved in drug trafficking. so i developed this informant as a petroleum officer driving around in my petroleum car, you would never think that i might have the opportunity to bust a big case like this. but this is just an example of the day to day activity that police officers operate in. and they collect this information and i took it took to the federal agency responsible, went to d.e.a., i had a secret meeting in a hotel room in downtown seattle, the informant wouldn't trust the federal operatives but she trust med so i had to bring her there. we came up with a plan for he had to travel to texas. that's a long story. i won't get into the rest of it. but i think that everyone in this room gets the picture. of how critical it is for us to integrate the federal and local law enforcement. and we have a responsibility, as united states congress, on the house side, on the senate side to support those efforts. as a matter of fact, mr.
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chairman, i hired under a federal grant in 1972 called the pet program. i would not have had a 33-year careerify wasn't hired with federal money. so this $100 million is going to be so much appreciated by our men and women. i want to mention just one other critical aspect of this bill. . it's not perfect. the law enforcement community is not perfect. we're not perfect. congress is not perfect. the community is not perfect. we need to stop looking at the negative and bad in all of these organizations together and start looking at the good, come together and figure out a solution to bring police and community together. there aren't enough cops on the street. community policing program, i should say, has in some parts of this country been eliminated or cut back. so school resource officers are
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gone in some communities. store front officers are gone. they're gone, mr. chairman. and we need to bring them back and we can do it together and solve this problem and keep our communities safe and i appreciate the gentleman and the time you have allowed me. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. does the gentleman from texas seek time in opposition to the amendment? mr. culberson: i rise in support of the amendment but would like to utilize the time. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: i rise in opposition to the amendment. i seek unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition. and i yield a minute to my chairman if he has any more to add on this matter before i yield to my colleague over here. mr. culberson: we discussed in full committee that the purpose of our bill was to shift the cops hiring program because it
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hasn't been authorized over the years. these are grant applications that can be for your specific community and be sure the money is targeted for your needs in seattle or philadelphia. so the money can be used for hiring police officers and i strongly support the gentleman's amendment, because it will allow more community hiring of police officers and that's a good thing. god bless all our law enforcement officers. mr. fattah: reclaiming my time. i want to all but one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. pascrell: thank you mr. speaker. mr. chairman, mr. ranking member, my brother in law enforcement law enforcement
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caucus david reichert from washington. i want to thank my colleagues who have joined in a strong bipartisan support for the cops program. mr. butler and mr. dent included. let us be clear what this amendment does. the reichert amendment would increase funding for the burn jag by $1 million, a critical step, i think an important message. our amendment is supported by the major voices in the law enforcement community. the national association of police organizations the major county sheriffs' association. fraternal order of police. so i urge my colleagues to support it. but despite all the debate about community policing happening across our nation as mr. reichert referred to the american people need to know
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that despite what our amendment does, the underlying bill eliminates the federal cops hiring program. it is simply unacceptable that every year we ask the law enforcement community to do more and more with less and less. and last year's house bill, the cops program was cut by $109 million. 61%. so we could pontificate all we want how we are behind the police officers of this country and what we continue to do with successful programs successful programs by any account, cut and cut. we were able to restore some of the money thanks to david reichert and a few other people from both sides of the aisle. thanks to you, mr. chairman, and mr. ranking member. this year despite being joined by over 150 of our colleagues from both sides of the aisle and
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asking the committee to support the cops program, you gutted it. we can't amend it. it's done. it's over. as a cornstone of the federal government's efforts to assist state and local law enforcement cops have funded over 127,000 public safety officer positions. david reichert was on the front line. he can speak to the issue over and over again. he's been there, done it. i just can talk about it. mr. chairman, i ask you and mr. ranking member it's plain and simple. fewer cops on the beat mean more crime on the street. fewer cops on the beat mean more crime on our streets. i ask you i ask you to do everything in your power, as you have done in the past, to
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restore what i think is probably one of the most efficient programs in the entire federal government. cops program. mr. fattah: i thank the gentleman. let me say in conclusion. i join with the chairman. i support this amendment and i support the cops program. and for 20 years, the federal government has been engaged in this launched under president clinton, which has reduced crime, has saved lives and made communities safer and even though there is some disagreement about the authorization there is no disagreement i believe that we should be providing resources -- and i think the gentleman articulated on the front end of this discussion how intertwined local police are with our fellow law enforcement efforts and how critical indispensible they are in these efforts. i yield to the chairman. mr. culberson: if i could point
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out, what we have done is shift the program over to the burn jag program. you can customize your application for new jersey or philadelphia, for seattle. you can hire police officers under the burn jag program. we shifted the program over because it's far more effective and can be to your community. with this amendment we are restoring this program but doing it through a far more effective program, the burn jag program. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment. mr. fattah: i yield back. we're in agreement. the chair: all time has expired on this amendment. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from maine seek recognition?
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mr. poliquin: i have an amendment at the amendment. i rise in support of my amendment that increases funding -- the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: page 3, line 10 after the toll dollar amount insert increase by $144 million. page 6 line 20 insert reduced by $8 million. page 7 line 8 reduce by $36 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from maine, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from maine. mr. poliquin: mr. chairman families in northern, central and down east maine are the hardest working people you can find in the country. they want a more effective and accountable government that works for them and not against them. now one of the most important
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jobs of the federal government is to make sure that we protect american workers against unfair and unlawful trade practices. this is very clear in our constitution and the founding fathers made this clear to us all. today here in washington, the international trade administration is responsible for enforcing these trade rules. last year three of our major paper mills in our district, second district in maine closed. 1,000 of the most skilled paper makers in the world are no longer working and the 1,000 paychecks are no longer flowing to their families to help them care for their kids. this year, in central maine, madison maine, a fourth paper mill is now facing difficulty and has temporarily shut down a couple of times and furloughed
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another 200 workers. talking to folks who work on the floor in madison, they say two reasons. they say number one is the high cost of energy to run their machinery. and secondly, a provincial government in canada has provided $125 million of unfair subsidies to a competing paper mill across the border. these subsidies, which are unlawful and unfair has allowed the competing paper mill to buy new equipment and subsidized to buy new machinery. the price of super calendar paper that is made across the border has plummetted, causing our mill in madison to temporarily shut down and furlough its workers.
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now this, mr. chairman, is not right. and this is not fair. american workers are the best in the world. we can compete with anybody in any industry in the global marketplace as long as it is a level playing field. now as our office got involved in this issue, the i.t.a. made it clear to us that they did not have the staff able to fully address this issue in what we believe to be is a full and thorough and comprehensive investigation, including a number of different paper mills when it comes to these unfair subsidies. now up in our district we are very frugal. we are fiscal conservatives and the folks in maine can stretch a dollar better than anybody else in the country. i'm not suggesting that we increase the size of government
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and increase spending, quite the opposite. that would leave our government too big and too intrusive. however, i do have a solution to this problem. my amendment, mr. chair asks that we transfer less than 5% of the funding this year going to the census bureau and transfer it to the i.t.a. such that they have the resources to thoroughly and effectively conduct an investigation dealing with these unfair provincial subsidies in canada. now, only will a fair and thorough investigation help all workers at the madison mill in central maine, but will help the backlog of cases at the i.t.a. that affect tens of thousands of workers and various industries all throughout america. we all know in this room on both sides of the aisle that fair
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trade results in more jobs. all of us here in this chamber want to make sure we do everything humanly possible to help our companies grow and be more competitive and more successful and hire more workers and when that happens, our workers have better lives, with more opportunities and more freedom and less government independence. this is about jobs, mr. chair. and also about national security. and i ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, republicans and democrats, to please support this amendment to make sure that we have fair trade in this country. i yield back. thank you very much. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. does the gentleman from texas seek time? mr. culberson: i reluctantly rise in opposition to ask my colleague consider withdrawing the amendment. i would like to work with him to make sure this case is investigating. the i.t.a. is funded at a level
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of over $470 million and i can't imagine how devastating this must be to the families in maine because of an unfair subsidy across the border. this is what i.t.a. is supposed to be doing. the appropriations committee has extraordinary influence over these agencies and this is exactly the case that the i.t.a. should be working on and i want to pledge to you my full support and assistance in making sure this case is investigated and pursued aggressively. if you consider withdrawing the amendment, since this has got hammered pretty hard, just had $100 million transferred over to the cops program and i would like to work with you in ensuring this case is investigated. mr. fattah: i would also work with the chairman on this matter to make sure that this is fully reviewed and investigated. mr. poliquin: mr. chair, may i?
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although i do believe sir that jobs are more important than counting people, is that we will use the full authority of our office to help our workers at the madison mill to make sure that we do everything to have a level playing field. i will withdraw this amendment and i accept your pledge to do everything within your authority to help our paperworkers the most skilled in the country. mr. culberson: we will aggressively do so. . mr. poliquin: thank you. i yield my time. the chair: the clerk will read. the clerk: page 4, line 1, bureau of industry and security operations and administration $110 million. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition?
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>> i have an amendment at the desk involving page 3, line 2. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. without objection, the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. mcclintock of california. page 3, line 10, after the dollar amount insert, reduce by $311,788,000. page 98, line 20rks after the dollar amount insert, increase by $311,788,000. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. fattah: i think we have passed that point in the bill. i'm just saying for the technical matter, i think we
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have. the chair: the gentleman from california had two amendments. at the desk. one to each paragraph. the chair is entertaining the one to page 3. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcclintock: is this the one that the clerk just read? the chair: the gentleman is correct. that's the one the clerk just read. the gentleman from california is recognized. pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from california and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcclintock: thank you mr. chairman. this amendment enacts a c.b.o. recommendation to eliminate the trade promotion activities of the international trade administration to save almost $312 million. what does the i.t.a. do exactly? it has some legitimate
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functions. this amendment leaves these functions untouched. but the i.t.a. also does trade promotion activities to quote from its own material, it, quote provides counseling to american companies in order to develop the most profitable and establishble plans for pricing, export and the full range of public and private trade promotion assistance as well as market intelligence and industry and market-specific research. this is all well and good. but isn't that what businesses and trade associations are supposed to do and used to do with their own money? why should taxpayers pay for the profits of private companies? if a specific business or industry is the sole beneficiary of these services, shouldn't it be the sole financier of them, either individually or collectively through trade associations? shouldn't this -- this program has been around for generations but franklin roosevelt, who was hardly a champion of smaller
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government, had the right idea when he slashed his budget in 1932 and closed 31 of its offices. the problem is that reform didn't take. i.t.a. now has over 250 office and several thousand personnel around the world. the i.t.a.'s authorization lapsed in 1996. 19 years ago. it's not been reviewed or authorized by congress since then, but we still keep shoveling money out the door. although it hasn't been reviewed by congress in all of these years it has been thoroughly weighed by the coppingal budget office -- congressional budget office, the office of management and budget and the president's fiscal commission and they've all found it sadly wanting. the simpson-bowles report summed it up nicely when they said quote services provided by e.t.a.'s u.s. commercial services and other divisions directly providing assistance to u.s. companies should be financed by the beneficiaries
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of this assistance. while the agency charges fees for those services, its fees do not cover the cost of all of its activities. additionally, it is argued that the benefits of trade promotion activities are passed on to foreigners in the -- past -- in the form of decreased costs. simpson-bowles then goes on to say, quote, according to a study by the office of management and budget businesses can receive similar services from state, local and private sector entities unquote. this c.b.o. option to eliminate i.t.a.'s promotion activities saves $312 million in 2016, $3.5 billion through 2024. mr. chairman, if the c.b.o., the o.m.b. and the president's fiscal commission all agree this is wasteful and congress hasn't bothered to re-authorize it since it expired 19 years
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ago, why do we continue to spend money that we don't have duplicating services that beneficiaries of those services either don't need or are perfectly capable of funding on their own? if the companies that were told directly benefit from these so-called essential services aren't willing to fund them, maybe that's just nature's way of telling us we shouldn't be leasing our constituents' earnings to pay for them either. and why would we tap american taxpayers to subsidize the export activities of foreigners as simpson-bowles notes? the rules of the house were specifically written to prevent this type of unauthorized expenditure and they provide for a point of order to be raised if it's included in the appropriations bill. that's exactly what we have here. but alas that rule is routinely waived when these measures are brought to the floor, making this amendment necessary. this is a prime example of corporate welfare and we ought to be done with it. i reserve the balance of my
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time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. does the gentleman from texas claim time in opposition to the amendment? mr. culberson: yes, mr. chairman. i want to claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. culberson: thank you, mr. chairman. i share my colleague, mr. mcclinton's, feelings with programs that are unauthorized and his passion for not spending money we don't have. but as the gentleman from maine who was just out here a moment ago, he has a perfect example of one of the really valid and very important functions of the i.t.a. and that is to identify subsidies that are unfair, that imbalance our trade with a foreign nation, as he pointed out, the canadian government is unfairly subsidizing a paper mill right directly across the boarder from his constituents -- border from his constituents causing the furloughing of workers from the madison paper mill. as i pledged to mr. poliquin, i want to make sure that i.t.a. is doing its job when it comes to identifying and enacting some measures to counterbalance
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unfair trade practices like that. i would agree with my friend from california, in when it comes to promoting american business, they're a job of the chamber of commerce. when it comes to making sure that american businesses are -- get the word out and share information, that's something the american businesses ought to do. when it comes to cross-border, whether it comes to unfair subsidies given by foreign governments to their businesses that cause american workers to lose their jobs, that's exactly what the i.t.a. is designed to do. we need trade enforcement, we need counter duties and export assistance and the amendment which the gentleman from california has offered looks to be about a 70% cut, i'd be happy to work with you and find some ways to find savings within the agency, when it comes to promoting american businesses. because i'm a big believer, let the chamber of commerce do it. i'd be happy to yield. mr. mcclintock: this amendment leaves all of those legitimate activities of the i.t.a. in
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tact. it still leaves $160 million for those activities. all it does is to defund the trade promotion activities that the c.b.o. recognizes as being wasteful, as did o.m.b. and simpson-bowles. mr. culberson: the scale of the reduction to reduce the agency by $311 billion -- $-- $311 million so abruptly, unfortunately i need to opposed amendment. a 70% cut is simply not sustainable. and, mr. poliquin, i think made a very consequent case just a moment ago for the type of work the i.t.a. needs to do. so i would need to urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. i'd be happy to yield time to my friend from philadphia. mr. fattah: i thank the gentleman. i also oppose the amendnt. the business of our country is i think, appropriate in making sure that our businesses are not locked out of mkets
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around the world. only 2% of american businesses export anywhere and we neeto have a robust effort because 90% of the world's consumers liveomewhere else. and we do have a reality that other governments are aggressive about promoting their business opportunities and if we want americans to have jobs here, some of those are connected to these opportunities. so i thank thehairman and i suggest that this is not an amendment that would be in the interest of the american business communy or workers. mr. culberson: i think the scale of the cut would be devastating. it's important that we do everything in our power and the federal government does haven obligation to enforce trade agreements, to make su that trade is fair and free and that subsidies that are unfairly used by foreign governments to support their own industries, that we've got some way to counterbalancthat. that's the essential function
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of this agency and so therefore i'dsk members to oppose this amendment. and urge a no vote. the chair: theentleman from texas yields back. the gentleman from california has one minute remaining. mr. mcclintock: thank you mr. chairman. i want to reiterate that it does not in any way affect the enforcement activities of the i.a. it does not in any way affect the measures that mr. poliquin of maine just referenced. it affects only the trade promotion activities of the i.t.a. that have been singled out time and again as being duplicative of what -- of the companies profits from these activities should be paying for themselves or are dlicative of other programs. it is only the trade promotion activities none of the enforcement activities are affected by this amendment and i would ask for an aye vote. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california.
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those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the cair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. mcclintock:r. chairman, on that i'd like a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered bthe gentleman from california will be postponed. does the gentleman from california have another amendment at the desk? mr. mcclintock:, no i do not. -- no, i -- mr. mcclintock: no, i do not. the chair: the clerk will read. the clerk: page 5, line 10, economic development administration economic development assistance programs, $213 million. expenses $37 million.
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minority business development agency minority business development, $32 million. economics and statistics analysis salaries and expenses $100 million to remain available until september 30, 2017. bureau of the census, current surveys and programs, $265 million. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have and at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. nugent of florida. page 6, line 20, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by $54 million. page 44, line 8, after the dollar amount insert, increase by $2 million. page 46, line 7, after the dollar amount insert, increase by $2 million. page 42, line 24 after the dollar amount insert, increase by $4 million. the chair: pursuant to house
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resolution 287 the gentleman from florida and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: thank you, mr. chairman. each day more and more americans are realizing that we need to take an action to deal with mental health issues in this country. we need to make it a priority. my amendment, in keeping with that sentiment, would provide additional funding for programs under the mentally ill offender treatment and crime reduction act and for veteran treatment courts. these are program -- these are programs with true track records. my amendment would offset the increase by taking $4 million from the periodic census and programs account. mr. chairman, both the programs would receive the increase in funding under my amendment, highlight the need for our justice and mental health systems to work together. mr. chairman, as a former
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sheriff i can tell you cooperation is vital. they are collaborating, we can provide more positive outcomes not only for those with mental health illnesses but for our taxpayers as well. grants provided are used among other purposes to set up mental health courts for community re-entry services, for training state and local law enforcement officers to help identify and de-escalate mental health crisises which save lives both of the mentally ill, but also of the responding officers. . during my 37 years as a cop, i saw firsthand how our jails are becoming warehouses for people with mental health needs. no one is well-served by this process. not those with mental illness, not our taxpayers and certainly as i spoke earlier, not our veterans. let me provide you numbers to illustrate what's going on within our jails.
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according to the florida mental health institute, over a five-year period, 97 individuals from miami-dade county accounted for 2,200 bookings in the county jail which accounted to 27,000 days in jail. and 13,000 days in crisis units, state hospitals, and emergency rooms. the cost to the state and local taxpayers was nearly $13 million for just 9 7 -- for just 97 people. however the type of program misamendment supports have been shown to reduce those rates. in pinellas county, a jailhouse program showed near a reduction in re-arrests for offenders enrolled. not only does my amendment support these programs but recognizes the unique responsibility we have to our veterans. veterans are disproportionately
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affected by mental illnesses. even more, they wouldn't have these issues if it weren't for their service to this country. we owe them a better outcome and veteran treatment courts can help. my point is they're some of the best investments we can make. with that, mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from florida reserves. does the gentleman from texas claim time in opposition? mr. culberson: i claim time in opposition but i'm not opposed to the amendment. i know my colleague -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. culberson: i support the gentleman's amendment. veterans' courts, mental health courts, do great work. it's a very important role that they serve and i support the gentleman's amendment and want to thank you also for your service as a police officer. we simply cannot thank our police officers enough for the good work you do and strongly support the gentleman's amendment. i yield. mr. --
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>> i support the amendment. mr. nugent: i yield back my time -- the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. nugent: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to yield one minute to the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. collins: i appreciate the gentleman from florida yielding. i rise in support of this amendment which provireds critical funding for vet reens treatment courts and mental health courts. aye seen firsthand the difference they can make over the last few months in and around the ninth district and all over geavepl this is something aye worked on not only in the state of georgia but also now working on nationally. our jails are not mental health facilities but we can continue to use them that way despite the fact that it's not in anybody's best interests. we can cut costs empower states reduce recidivism and ensure that law enforcement officers can focus on protecting
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the safety of the public. we can better serve those who have served us, address ptsd and related issues in a meaningful way. i appreciate mr. nugent for his leadership on this issue and together we introduce the justice and mental health act to improve the program funded by h.r. 2578. i want to encourage everyone to support this amendment and again, let's take an honest, serious look at how we're dealing with those with mental health issues. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has ex--- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from florida. mr. nugent: i want to thank, to the ranking member -- >> our colleague has talked about how this is critically important for veterans, i want to thank you again for offering this. mr. fattah: i agree. mr. nugent: i appreciate the chairman of the subcommittee and i appreciate the ranking member
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in their support of this because it really is about how we deal with our fellow man. it is about a way that we shouldn't be criminalizing mental health disorders. that's the worst thing we can do. and as a police officer and as a sheriff, for over 38 years, i've seen the effects of untreated mental illness, particularly in the county jails where they're now warehoused. so i truly do appreciate the support across the board and i will tell you that our law enforcement officers and our correctional officers will support it also. thank you very much. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed. to -- is agreed to.
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the clerk will read. the clerk: page 7, line 4, periodic census and programs, including transfer of funds $84 million to remain available until september 30, 2015. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. poe of texas, page 7, line insert after the dollar amount the following, reduce by $17,300,000. page 38 line nine insert after the dollar amount the following, increase by $17,300,000. page 41, line 14, after the dollar amount insert the following, increasedly brs 17,300,000. -- increase by $1700,000. the chair: the gentleman from texas, mr. poe and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas.
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mr. poe: i thank the chairman for the time. congress has made it clear that it will not stand for this new scourge we are finding in our country of human sex trafficking. justice for victims of trafficking act passed the united states senate 99-0. it passed the house of representatives before that with only three members voting against it, all 400-plus voting for it. modern day slavery does happen in the united states. it's a multibillion dollar business. it is second only to the international crime syndicates of drug trafficking for amount of money that is raised. so it's not time for us to lower the amount of money we have for grants that will assist victims of this scourge. that is why my amendment adds or brings in $17.3 million, just $17.3 million to the -- to this fund that wases cut $17.3 million bring it up to last
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year's level so that $43 million will go for victim's services and victims' grants. where does this money come from? where are we taking it we're taking it out of the periodic census programs and applying it to this fund. the periodic census programs, let me make it clear, is not the constitutional census counting that is required to be done by the census bureau. this is another program that the census bureau does, sometimes called a community survey act, american community survey, that is very intrusive, it asks members without really much choice citizens, numerous questions that are invasion of their privacy. for example, what time do you go to work? what time do you come home from work? does anybody in your household have a mental illness or disease? questions such as this. that are very intrusive. census bureau shouldn't be asking these questions. set aside that anyway, this
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money, we should show that we have a priority of rather than asking people in the community citizens to tell us what time they go to work or what time do they go during the day to different appointments like doctors' appointments show a priority of putting just $17 million of that money back into this appropriations that allows trafficking victims to bring it up to last year's level of a mere grant money. that's what this legislation does and assures that we are telling trafficking victim that there will be money available for grants to assist you money available for law enforcement to assist and train. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman -- for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. fattah: i rise in opposition to the amendment though i'm not in opposition, i seek unanimous
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consent to claim the time. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. fattah: this is where you can find the contradictions of public policy with the intersection of politics. i totally agree with the purpose. i totally disagree with the underlying notion that this money is not important to the census but first and foremost i agree with the amendment and we should invest another $16 million in helping victims of human trafficking. it's a major problem in our country. my part of the country, your part of the country, throughout our nation. we should do more to support the amendment. i don't want us to assume that the periodic census dollars are not important, however, and are not part of the constitutional mandated census. they are part of the 2020 preparations. we'll have to deal with that in some other way. i don't want to, because i agree with the amendment, to suggest i agree with the underlying thought that was -- that this money is not important to the census and i yield to the chairman.
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mr. culberson: thank you, mr. fattah. i want to join you in supporting this amendment. we have a terrible problem in this country with human slavery human trafficking, my colleague is right. i support this amendment. i share your concern about the american community survey and intend to pursue aggress i oversight in the months ahead. i do think it's intrusive, i do think that people bush our right to be left alone as americans is one of our most important rights and i share the gentleman's concern about the american community survey. we have a responsibility to make sure the census is funded but this is a very important amendment and i urge my colleagues to support it to help combat this disgraceful scourge of human trafficking. mr. fattah: i'm glad that we're all in agreement, i don't want families to be left alone if they have someone suffering from mental health illnesses. the reason why that question is asked if the community survey is so when we are doing funding for communities, for mental health
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service well, know where the impact of those dollars can be most apply. the census is taken for a good reason, but let us agree for the moment that we agree with the amendment and let's move on. thank you and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. poe: i thank the ranking member and the chairman as well for their comments. the issue is not the american community survey, the issue is where are we going to get this money to bring this fund up to last year's level and it's going to come from that portion of the seb us is that is about $800 million. that's why that section was picked and we need to have this lively debate about the american community survey at some other setting but right now let's take care of trafficking victims in the united states and provide them grants and law enforcement grants and victim services grants so they can help minor sex trafficking victims that are being trafficed throughout the united states. i appreciate the ranking member's support and the chairman's support and i will
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yield back to the chair. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. clerk will read. the clerk: page 8 line 8 national telecommunications and information administration stallries and expenses $35 million,200000 to remain available until -- $35200,000 to remain available until september 30 2016. planning and construction for prior year grants unobligated balances proof of the appropriated are available. u.s. patent and trademark office salaries, $3272,000,000. national institute of standards and technology, scientific and
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technical research and services including transfer of funds. $675 million. the chair: clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. eddie bernice johnson of texas, page 12, line 9, after the dollar amount insert increase by $3 million, reduce by $3 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentlelady from texas and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas. ms. johnson: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: without objection. ms. johnson: my amendment is intended to ensure that the important forensic standards work at the national institute of standards and technology, or nist is fully funded. the criminal justice system relies on forensic science to identify and prosecute criminals
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and to exonerate the falsely accused. justice is not served by falsely accused or the victims and their families when the wrong person is imprisoned. in a series of investigations over the last two year the "washington post," the innocence project and the fabe itself have reported on a flawed forensic work that may be responsible for wrongful convictions in thousands of criminal cases. innocent people have spent decades in prison and our state certainly knows about many of them. my home county, as a matter of fact. some may have already been put to death, while the guilty have gone free. these investigations these investigations have covered hair analysis, bite mark analysis and even d.n.a. which most people previously believed to be 100% accurate and reliable. in short, there's been a steady
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stream of bad news about flawed forensic work being used in criminal courts. and i worry that we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg. in a year 2009 report, the national academy of sciences found that the interpretation of forensic evidence is severely compromised by the lack of supporting science and standards. many forensic techniques and technologies lack a scientific foundation. operational principles and procedures are not standardized, and there are often those standard protocols governing the reporting of forensic evidence. since then i have worked with colleagues in the senate to develop legislation that would strengthen forensic science and standards. the administration also took notice and has initiated
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several activities even without direct action from congress. the department of justice and nist have become strong partners in this effort. now, some of my colleagues on appropriations would like to gut this co-activity, but reasons i cannot compren hend, the report language -- comprehend, the report language would not allow nist to continue the standards development work already under way through the forensic science committees. these committees coordinate nate develop of standards and guidelines for the forensic science community to improve the quality and consistency of forensics evidence used by our justice system. these committees are established according to the long-standing and well-respected nist process for developing voluntary consensus standards. as such, the membership of
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these committees represent the full breath and depth of stakeholder organizations including forensic science practitioners as well as academic scientists and engineers law enforcement and others. to the best of my knowledge, these committees have the support of the full range of stakeholders. what will stop in its track, a voluntary consensus standards process that has proven itself effective time and time again. i can see no justifiable reason for trying to keep sound science out of the courtroom. mr. chair, since the language is a question -- in question is in the committee's report rather than the bill text and will not be sufficiently addressed with this amendment i plan to withdraw this amendment but seek the approval of both the chair and the ranking member to help to correct this language as we move toward the conference
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report. my colleagues, i hope we'll work with the senate to rectify this unjustified and unjust restriction. mr. culberson: i look forward to working with my colleague from texas and with my colleague on philadelphia on this matter as we move forward into conference. ms. johnson: thank you very much, mr. chairman. with unanimous consent -- mr. fattah: i also will work with you and the chairman on this. the premise of our entire judicial system is that we would rather a guilty person go free than any innocent person be in prison. forensic science has brought a lot to the business of better understanding actually what is taking place and to make sure we don't have innocent people incarcerated. thank you very much. ms. johnson: thank you very much. with that i ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: without objection, so ordered. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 12, line 17,
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industrial technology services, $130 million. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentlelady from connecticut seek recognition? ms. esty: thank you, mr. chairman. i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. esty of connecticut. page 12, line 20, after the dollar amount insert increase by $11 million. page 36, line 7, after the dollar amount insert reduce by $31 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentlelady from connecticut and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from connecticut. ms. esty: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, we should invest in manufacturing which plays such a vital role in innovation and competitiveness. the federal government is uniquely situated to help ensure that manufacturing remains the backbone of the u.s. economy. my amendment fully funds the manufacturing extension
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partnership program by increasing funding for the industrial technologies account by $11 million. this program is the top priority for the u.s. chamber of commerce. just earlier today, the chamber listed fully funding the manufacturing extension partnership at $141 million, as its highest priority for the commerce, justice, science bill. my amendment is also fiscally responsible. it decreases funding for the federal prison system by $31 million to ensure that this investment in manufacturing does not affect our national spending. in connecticut we are proud to be a national leader in manufacturing. our state is home to more than 5,000 manufacturers that provides stable, good-paying jobs for our families. for more than 20 years, our manufacturing extension program, the connecticut state technical extension program, known as constep, has been a
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trusted advisor for our small and medium-sized manufacturing companies looking to grow their business and increase their work force and sales. since 2013, constep's clients have increased -- has helped create 511 jobs, retain more than $527 million in sales and realize cost savings of $81 million statewide. in thomaston in my district medlawn, incorporated, a metal stamping facility helped conduct internal quality auditing and secured new products. thanks to the partnership with constep they expanded their work force and increased sales by half a million dollars. and medilurgical processing in new britain connecticut, saw a 20% increase in production capacity and cost savings after
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working with constep to improve production efficiency. constep support for connecticut business is critical to our continued leadership in manufacturing as we not only retain but grow these jobs statewide. i have seen firsthand how their support has successfully helped our manufacturers to be competitive in an increasingly globalized economy. but make no mistake, these successes are not just in connecticut. the manufacturing extension program has a proven track record of effective partnerships with manufacturers all across the country. since the m.e.p. program started more than 25 years ago, centers across america have created more than 729,000 manufacturing jobs, saved companies more than $13.4 billion and turned every dollar of federal investment into $19 in new sales growth. the additional funding of the m.e.p. program will enable our
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centers to fully execute their mission and undertake a robust technology transfer program to help manufacturers take new discoveries from the research lab to the marketplace. i encourage all my colleagues to support my amendment, to fully fund the manufacturing extension partnership program and invest in our manufacturing future. thank you, mr. chairman, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: i'd like to claim the time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to the amendment because our federal prison system is already between 30% and 50% overcrowded. we have not built a new prison in the united states since 2009. it's vitally important that we got these prisons in place to keep most dangerous criminal offenders off the streets and an amendment that the gentlelady offers would immediately prevent bureau of prisons from expanding its capacity and do severe damage to their ability to reduce
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overcrowding which is a threat to the staff, a threat to the inmates and a threat to the public. the gentlelady's amendment, i understand, she's concerned to support the manufacturing expansion program. we cannot do so at the expense of public safety. i would be at this time glad to yield to the full committee chairman my colleague from kentucky, mr. rogers. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the chairman for yielding. it's no secret, mr. chairman, that there is a strain on our nation's prison system. as the inmate population continues to rise, our prisons get more and more crowded every day. as the inmate population continues to rise with 216,000 individuals currently serving federal sentences, our prisons get more and more crowded every day. at the end of fiscal 2013 -- listen to this -- a quarter of our medium security inmates and 85% of our low security inmates
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were triple bunked. triple bunked. considering that eight out of every 10 medium security inmates has a history of violence, this creates some very serious questions about the safety of the b.o.p. staff, the public and even other inmates. updating our prisons will provide greater efficiency and staffing and permits staff to safely oversee more inmates. our medium security prisons -- medium and maximum security prisons house some of the world's most dangerous and violent criminals. the bill before us provides critical funding to the federal bureau of prisons in order to modernize and strengthen our nation's prison infrastructure. these funds will help protect the public as well as the men and women who work at these facilities.
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its imperative we provide them a safe and secure environment within which to work. the federal government has a commitment to keep the public and prison staff safe, and these dollars are needed to fulfill that commitment. so i oppose this effort to reduce funding for the bureau of prisons and urge my colleagues to vote no on this amendment. and i yield back to the gentleman. mr. culberson: mr. chairman, reclaiming my time. i want to point out the manufacturing extension program is already fully funded. they have $130 million set aside for the program in the bill and quite frankly the amendment would endanger the public because we would not be able to proceed with urgently needed construction of new prison facilities. so i urge my colleagues to join us in opposing this amendment. the chair: the gentleman reserves. mr. culberson: and i'll yield back my time. the chair: the gentleman yields. the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized. ms. esty: how much time do we have remaining?
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the chair: 1 1/2 minutes. ms. esty: i yield to my colleague. mr. fattah: let me say i rise in support of the amendment and i think this shows the bigger picture here. if the country has to choose between promoting manufacturing and whether or not we can safely operate the world's largest prison system, we incarcerate more people than any other country in the rest of the world on a per capita basis. we need to be employing more people in manufacturing. this makes sense. i support the gentlelady's amendment. the chair: the gentlelady from connecticut is recognized. ms. esty: mr. chairman, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady yields back. pursuant to house resolution 28 -- the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from connecticut. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. ms. esty: mr. speaker, i request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6
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of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from connecticut will be postponed. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 12, line 22 construction of research facilities $50 million. national oceanic and atmospheric administration operations, research and facilities, including transfer of funds $3,147,877 to remain available until september 30, 2017. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> thank you mr. chairman i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. >> page 14, line 1.
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the clerk: amendment offered by mr. austin scott of georgia. page 14 line 1 after the dollar amount insert reduced by $3,200000. insert increased by $3,200,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from georgia and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. . mr. scott spnk thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to tell you how we got here. as someone who fished -- mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to tell you how we got here. as someone who fished the gulf of mexico for years, we had 180 days to fish for the recreational angler. they've taken that down to 10 days. the national fisheries service has worked through the councils to reduce the american recreational fisherman's opportunity to fish for red snapper in the fwull of of mexico by 95% since 2007.
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at the same time they've encreased quotas and allocations for the commercial sector, most recently through the gulf council they cast a vote cast 7-10, in which they split the recreational sector and gave the for-hire recreational sector 45 days and the not-for-hire 10 days. let me explain what that means to you. that means if you want to take your family fishing, you have 10 days to do it. if you want to go in the other 35 days of that recreational season you have to pay a charter boat captain to take you out. now, what happened with the council is three of the members who voted had a vested interest that the charter boat industry they did not disclose prior to the vote even though federal law required that they do it. then they turned around and cast that vote which personally
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benefited them, which again was illegal. i appreciate the committee working to put in the money for more data, in an effort to get the recreational season back for the not for hire recreational anger but to be honest, you give them all the data in the world new york matter what it says, if they continue to conduct themselves in that manner, it won't matter. they'll simply allocate thems more fish. with that, mr. speaker, i'd like to reserve any time that i have -- i may have remaining to potentially answer any questions. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: if i could, i want to claim time in opposition but i'm not in opposition. i understand the gentleman is going to withdraw his amendment. he's identified a serious problem that i want to work with my ranking member on. sounds like we have got a clear violation of federal law involved here and i'm distressed
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to hear. 95% reduction in time available to individual americans to fish which is very important part, all of us who live next to the gulf of mexico who go out and fish for red snapper, i'm very concerned to hear about this failure to disclose their conflict of interest and would like to help work with the gentleman from georgia to help rectify this and ensure that the law is obeyed and that the law is responsive to the needs of private fishermen. mr. fattah: we will work together. mr. cull behr -- mr. scott: this needs to be addressed and based on your commitment i'm happy to work with you and i withdraw my amendment. i yield back the remained over my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek
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recognition? mr. blumenauer: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. blumenauer of oregon. page 14, line 18 and 19, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $60,067,000. increased by $60,067,000. the chair: the gentleman from oregon and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the gentleman from oregon. mr. blumenauer: i yield myself two minutes. the chair: without objection. mr. blumenauer: sadly the funding in this bill for noaa's climate research is shamefully inadequate and puts at risk efforts to mitigate and respond to the impacts of climate change. it cuts noaa's climate research by $30 million relative to the current fiscal year's inadequate level and $61 million below the president's request. i'm offering amendment to
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restore the funding to the president's level. all across america, we are dealing with the impacts of climate change. extreme weather events, whether it's the recent floods in texas the persistent four 46 year drought in california -- the persistent four-year drought in california, are regular events. they claim lives and cost billions each year. floods, droughts, superstorms, wild fires, sea level rise are all made worse as a result of climate change and we're no longer talking about just preparing for the future. it's happening now. and the evidence is clear as we go from one extreme weather event to another that it's getting worse. noaa climate research funds atmospheric and oceanic research, cooperative institutes, universities and others to -- that advance climate science and enable better decision making better policies, to make our
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communities more resilient. it makes no sense to defund programs to help us prepare for extreme weather events, to mitigate the impacts of such events, to prevent the loss of human life infrastructure -- life infrastructure and human property and to better predict these occurrences. you know, choosing to deny climate change does not stop it from happening and failing to study and authorize these programs will not make the problem go away. in fact, it will only make us more vulnerable and hurt our ability to prep for and respond to the impacts of climate change. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. does the gentleman from texas rise in opposition in mr. culberson: yes, i claim time in opposition. i understand the gentleman will be withdrawing the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized.
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mr. culberson: i do claim time in opposition. we have the national oceanic and atmospheric administration has a record level of funding in this bill for weather forecasting which is where they need to focus their work telling american workers, american farmers, and american industry what the future holds. what does the next week, the next month, hurricane season hold for the people on the gulf of mexico or the atlantic coast. we provided, in an era of scarce resources noaa with a record level of funding for weather forecasting. with emade sure they've got all the money they need for maritime safety and supporting and monitoring america's fisheries. we have made sure in this bill that noaa's focusing on their core function and that's looking to the future and that of course is going to involve looking at climate but over the past several years climate funding within noaa has received more than adequate funding and we have to use the scarce, very
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precious, hard-earned taxpayer dollars we are entrusted to appropriate very carefully. we have to prioritize that funding and with this -- within this bill we've decided to prioritize weather forecasting. i respect the gentleman's judgment and -- but would ask him to, if i could withdraw the amendment and i'll look forward to working with him to ensure that noaa's got everything they need to accurately predict the weather in the future. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. blumenauer: mr. chairman i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. bier. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. beyer: i rise to support the blumenauer amendment. in business, we're always fighting the tendency of the long-term giving bay to the short-term, the important giving way to the urgent and immediate. i'm deeply disappointed that this budget for climate has been cut by $30 million.
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now is not the time to cut climate research. from the floods in houston to the drought in california this will cost american companies and american communities hundreds of millions of dollars. noaa has the ability to do advanced forecasting and predictions certainly for weather and ocean-related the nonin a but also for climate short and long-term change this ability is crucial to support the future of businesses, coastal cities and environmental health this congress has repeatedly oaffirmed that climate change is real. we may have different ideas about the causes of climate change and what we can do to combat it but it makes no sense to slash the research which will enable us to find effective, bipartisan solutions. we must robustly fund climate science research. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: i understand the gentleman is going to withdraw the amendment. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from
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oregon is recognized. pll blumenauer: -- >> i'm not the gentleman from oregon. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. fattah: they cut the national science foundation in terms of focusing on geosciences and the issue raised by my great friend here from oregon and they combine to make the point that there's not yet a consensus in one place even though there's a consensus in the scientific community, the majority is still not yet career that climate is something we need to focus on. i urge support for the blumenauer amendment. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. blumenauer: mr. chairman i respect my friend from texas appreciate his willingness to work with me and his notion of putting more resources in
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forecasting but that's not the issue here. what we need to be doing is having a robust effort at noaa to be able to deal comprehensively with climate. being able to deal with how we help communities be more resilient. how we're able to deal with the forces that are down upon us to help the scientific basis to be able to maybe even encourage this congress to step up and do its job. i'd be happy -- mr. -- first mr. culberson: be more specific about what you're asking noaa to do. mr. blumenauer: long-term drought forecast, issues in dealing with predictions of what happens in terms of flood research and -- flood, research and performance of climate weather models. this is not simply a matter of predicting next week's weather.
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this is keeling -- dealing with long-term consequences and helping communities deal with the impact of climate change and be able to understand it better. mr. speaker mr. chairman, this is an entirely self-imposed constraint from my republican friends. they have passed hundreds of billions of dollars of unfunded tax cuts out of committee there's more than adequate money to -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expire. does the gentleman wish to withdraw? mr. blumenauer: because the budget is so hopelessly inadequate, i will withdraw the amendment. the chair: without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. for what purpose does the gentleman from new hampshire seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk.
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the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment by mr. guinta of new hampshire. after the dollar amount, insert indeesed by $ million, reduce by $7 million. the chair: the gentleman from new hampshire is recognized. mr. guinta: i plan to withdraw this amendment but i would like the opportunity to briefly explain. the kennedy act of 1954 imposed a special duty on fish and fish products imported into the united states and required that 3% of the money collected by noaa would go toward supporting fishery, reerge -- research and development on the industry's long-term sustainability. however noaa has not been properly paying into its regional fishing grant programs and using these tariffs as part of its operational expenses. to ensure a thriving fishing industry we must invest in initiatives to increase the stock in our nation's fisheries by providing grants to research and monitoring them as well as
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management programs. during my first term i introduced legislation to ensure that key programs of managing ocean fish populations and fishermen and communities that depend on them would receive increased and sustained funding. i sincerely thank chairman culberson for considering my amendment and allowing the existing funds to be used on in fishery activity. this transfer of funds will directly provide grants to regional fishery management councils who would work with area fishermen to identify investment priorities. these investment priorities include disaster assistance, improving shore side infrastructure, seaside management and managing highly migratory species. however, this is a temporary fix to a much larger issue. this year, i along with my friend congressman keating have introduced the same legislation
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to ensure that noaa follow the requirement laid out in 1954. again i want to thank chairman culberson for make letter and thoughts into consideration. i appreciate the hard work of the committee on this issue and the bill. . the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: i would claim the time in opposition but not opposed to the amendment, would like to claim time or -- the chair: without objection. mr. culberson: to work with the gentleman from new hampshire on this issue as we move forward. i understand the importance of the issue. appreciate very much you raising it here with us today and look forward working with you. we do include language stating that certain funds may be used only for activities related to the saltonson-kennedy grant program. we worked with noaa for the past several years to reduce administration costs. we'll continue to do so this year and we will work with you as we move forward through the
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process. the chair: does the gentleman wish to yield back the balance of his time? mr. culberson: reserve. the chair: the gentleman. mr. guinta: i withdraw my amendment. mr. polis: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. polis of colorado. page 14 lines 1, 18 and 19, after each dollar amount insert reduce by $35 million increase by $-- $30 million, increase by $30 million. the chair: the gentleman from colorado and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to several of the critical accounts in the bill that have been cut which my amendment would address. the c.j.s. appropriations act targets funding for noaa's
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climate research programs by $30 million over currently enacted levels, a program so important for farmers, for businesses for air safety, for so many different reasons. that's a 20% cut to programs that are imperative to our nation's ability and resilience in the face of climate threats. 25 people were killed in the floods that saturated texas last month. damage from hurricane sandy was estimated at $700 billion back in 2012. and at least six people died in boulder and layer more county in the flooding that overtook my region in 2013. none of these places had ever seen storms like the ones they encountered in the last five years and each were unprepared to handle it. noaa and its partnered institutions have made a huge dent by keeping first responders, weather forecasters, businesses communities and families on the cutting edge of data predictability and resilience, providing quality, raw data as well as helping develop new
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algorithms for interpreting existing data. c.u. and c.s.u. are located in my district in colorado. together with noaa, these institutions are developing unmanned atmospheric assessment aircraft that allows us to foresee changes in weather patterns, incoming storms days before we could otherwise, saving lives and saving property damage. these are very real tangible benefits that benefit all and protect americans regardless of whether one believes in climate change or what's causing it. i urge my colleagues to consider a rule without these capabilities and what that would look like and i -- consider a world without these capabilities and what that would look like and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? mr. culberson: i wish to claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: we have, as i said earlier, scarce resources this year. we have to prioritize them very precious and scarce taxpayer --
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hard-earned taxpayer dollars that we're entrusted to look after and we have prioritized funding within noaa for forecasting in the future. as i was telling mr. blumenauer earlier mr. polis, we have made sure that noaa's got a record level of funding for weather forecasting. and most of the things that mr. blumenauer was mentioning in terms of forecasting drought, identifying where floods are going to occur, looking forward. we made sure that noaa has all the money they need for forecasting in the future, and we have to i think, do everything we can to avoid cutting or parts of noaa that would impair their weather forecasting or development, maintenance and operation of their weather satellites which could help noaa inform people of severe weather. we on the gulf coast in texas -- on the atlantic coast as well -- depend on noaa to give us accurate forecast of the path of hurricanes. hurricane season this year they're predicting because of the increase in computing power of supercomputers they're able
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to prodict, it looks like it will be -- hurricane season is not going to be as severe. and that capacity of noaa to use supercomputing power to look at that far into the future is vitally important. we have to make sure they have a record level of funding for forecasting. we also don't want to reduce noaa's supporting maritime navigation or appropriately manage their fisheries. we have limiting resources, mr. polis. i just had to provide or ties noaa's funding. we put weather forecasting at the top of the list because of its vital importance for the economy and for the safety and security of the american people. but i understand you are planning to withdraw the amendment. i look forward to working with you, as mr. blumenauer mentioned a number of worthwhile areas that noaa is engaged in, if you have areas that noaa can focus on to do better forecasting in the future or other concerns i'd be happy to work with you and i'd
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be happy to yield to you, sir. mr. polis: i'd like to emphasize the importance of climate science with regard to predicting weather. the more we know about climate and climate patterns the more it enhances our ability to prodict short-term weather phenomena and -- predict short-term weather phenomena and therefore a cut to the weather science piece hampers our ability to anticipate weather patterns as well. happy to yield back. mr. culberson: i look forward to working with you as we move forward in the process. i understand you plan to withdraw the amendment. mr. polis: i have additional speakers. mr. culberson: i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. boyle. the chair: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. boyle: thank you. and thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i think one of the most concerning things about this budget proposal is without
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question the proposal to cut $30 million to noaa. that represents an approximately 20% cut, as my colleague from colorado was pointing out. mr. speaker, i find it interesting that those who would deny the science of climate change often like to say, well, the jury is still out, we need more research. and yet here we are with the budget that will cut that very research. mr. speaker, just a couple years ago in my house in philadelphia we were riding out a hurricane. superstorm -- hurricane sandy ended up becoming superstorm sandy. never imagine that in philadelphia we would be experiencing the kind of hurricane that typically is experienced by florida and the gulf coast states. as even a republican governor said at the time, it seems as if the storm of the century is now happening once every couple of years. mr. speaker we desperately
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need this research, we need this funding. let's restore noaa funding and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. culberson: i'm still trying to identify what reseesly -- precisely what you're asking for because we're on the same page for forecasting. mr. polis: i wanted to inquire -- mr. culberson: this is your time. i'm on your time. the chair: the gentleman from texas' time. mr. polis: i wanted to inquire how the funding cuts would impact the unmanned atmospheric assessment aircrafts that are critical to foreseeing changes in weather pattern. mr. culberson: if i could, we're going to make sure that we have -- we have given them a record level of increase this year so we can make sure we have accurate forecasting whether it be through your aircraft supercomputing, modeling, they have the resources they need to do accurate forecasting for the future. i will reserve my time. i'm just trying to getting a
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precise idea what you're looking for. we've given them accurate money for forecasting and that's what you're asking for. mr. polis: this would restore the $30 million of cuts, namely a 20% cut, a disproportionate cut to climate science activities, including unmanned atmospheric assessment aircrafts, and including creating raw data streams that can be used by those that predict weather as well as farmers and businesses because you can't separate out weather and climate. i think perhaps because of political reasons, i don't know why, there is a disproportionate cut, 20% to the climate science piece of noaa. now, that climate science piece of noaa, just because it has the word climate in it, it doesn't mean it's something where they're out there doing things that are political. what they're doing is they're trying to research the macroeffects of climate on
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weather on population and patterns on dangers on ships. and if the gentleman would simply allow that discretion within noaa, have -- undo the 20% cut, we fund that within noaa. we're not -- nor can we under the budget seek new money. we're simply taking the $30 million and putting it back in the climate science program. be happy to yield to the gentleman. mr. culberson: i just checked with my staff. it appears the money we allocated, a record level of funding for noaa's aircraft, takes care of -- noaa's funding takes care of the forecast, data stream. what are y'all specifically asking for, we've taken care of it. we're deeply concerned with making sure that noaa's got the money they need to predict hurricanes, to predict floods, to predict the terrible flooding that's taken place in houston or the drought that's taken place in california. so i thank we're on the same page and i want to be sure the gentleman knows that i'll work with him as we move forward in conference, if you can identify something specific that noaa
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does not have as a result of our record increase for forecasting, we'll help you restore it. mr. polis: reclaiming my time. one of the areas we'd like to work with you on is cooperate institute funding, institutions of higher education to better leverage our taxpayer dollars and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. does the gentleman wish to withdraw? mr. polis: i ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: without objection, the amendment's withdrawn. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. smith: mr. chairman i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the. the clerk: page 14 line 1, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $21 million increase by $21 million. page 14, line 24, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $21 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentleman from texas and a member opposed each will control five minutes.
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the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: i thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, my amendment takes direct strong action to address america's weather forecasting shortcomings in order to reduce the loss of life and property from severe storms. the amendment i offer on behalf of myself, science committee vice chairman frank lucas and environment subcommittee chairman jim bridenstine directs that the full $120 million authorized in house-passed h.r. 1561, the weather research and forecasting innovation act of 2015, be provided in the noaa operations research and facilities appropriation account. the recent flooding in texas and tornados in oklahoma demonstrate the immediate need to quickly implement better weather forecast and forecasting by fully funding h.r. 1561. the house unanimously passed that bill just two weeks ago. we also unanimously passed it over a year ago in april 2014. now, thanks to chairman culberson's initiative and
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support, the c.j.s. bill will add the needed resources to transform our antiquated 1980's weather forecasting system into a 21st century weather enterprise in the next few years. specifically, this amendment will provide $5 million more for weather lab research in noaa to total the $80 million authorized. the amendment will also provide $16 million more for weather research technology transfer in noaa's office of oceanic and office research to implement labs and cooperative labs institute to research program. this program will transfer new technology to the national weather service, the american weather industry and academic partners. this new joint technology transfer initiative should include support for the vortex s.c. project and advanced of cloud models quantitative tools, atmospheric chemistry
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needed for weather prediction and additional sources of weather data, which includes commercial observing systems. once again, i appreciate chairman culberson's accepting the amendment which will help save lives and reduce property damage. as the c.j.s. appropriations chairman, mr. culberson has proved himself to be capable, knowledgeable and committed to the country's best interest. i thank you, mr. chairman, and i'll reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. does any member wish to rise in opposition? mr. fattah: i rise in opposition. the chair: the gentleman from texas seek to rise in opposition? mr. culberson: i'd like to seek time in on cisbut i don't oppose -- opposition but i don't oppose to the amendment. mr. fattah: i'm opposed to the amendment but i'd make an allowance to yield to my chairman. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. does the gentleman wish to yield to the gentleman from texas? mr. fattah: i'll first yield -- i'll first yield a minute to the chairman.
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go right ahead. mr. culberson: i want to stress, if i could, i worked with chairman smith, as you know, mr. fattah, very supportive and cooperative. we worked together arm in arm as has his ranking member who's also from texas and this amendment is one that will help the weather service do a better job of forecasting and i think it's a good amendment and one that we worked out together and i do urge members to support it. and i appreciate you yielding to me. mr. fattah: reclaiming my time in opposition. it's true this amendment would offer some additional dollars for forecasting but $16 million of it the bulk of the $21 million would go into technology transfer. i'm not opposed to technology transfer but to take it out of the administrative work at noaa -- now, i visited i understand how the operations work and spent a lot of time learning about its operations
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and noaa cannot perform the duties that it needs without the administrative capabilities. it would be like coming here to the hill and expecting congress to function without our office operations. we would not be able to proceed forward. it's more important for us to have an appropriate allocation so we can meet these needs than it is to rob the administrative capability of noaa at a time when we want to place more demands on it. i think the amendment, even though moving towards additional help for weather forecasting, the bulk of it is for technology transfer to the private sector which i'm all for but it sounds to me like robbing peter to pay paul and may be on the floor easy to pass an amendment that cut administrative costs at a government agency and may be something we will regret. i stand in opposition to the
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amendment. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. smith is recognized. mr. smith: i yield one minute to the gentleman from oklahoma mr. briody bridenstine. mr. bridenstine: i thank the chairman and working with us on this amendment. we have been working very hard to make sure this is adequately funded and from the right sources. by fully funding the transfer that was authorized in my bill h.r. 1561 this appropriations bill now reflects the house's will that noaa prioritized prioritized activities that save lives and property. the funding will go to support critical works to increase the lead times that we receive for tornadoes. a lot of this critical work is being done at the university of oklahoma. i have heard already we were
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looking for more funding for cooperative institutes and that's what this is. this is of extreme importance to my state, as i have already lost constituents this year from tornadoes. it is my sincere belief that this appropriations bill insures program funding that will move us to a day where no one is killed in a tornado or other severe storm event. again, i thank chairman culberson and chairman smith for your leadership on this issue. we need to adopt this amendment so we can save lives and property, especially as it relates to my constituents in oklahoma. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from pennsylvania reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back and the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields
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back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. clerk will read. the clerk: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. keating of massachusetts, after the dollar amount insert reduced by 1,750000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentleman from massachusetts, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. keating: i'm prepared to offer and withdraw my amendment. i rise for the purpose in engaging in a colloquy with the chairman and the gentlewoman
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from maine. since 1972, national marine frishry have monitored the health of fish populations providing critical data gathered from commercial vessels that is then to guide noaa in determining best practices for conservation and sustainable management. the fishing industry is a willing and engaged partner in support the use of on-vessel observers. following a legal challenge this august, noaa will run out of funding to continue paying for this mandated program. i heard from fishermen from the south coast of massachusetts to cape odd and the islands to the south shore and still struggling from the impacts of diminishing ground fish stock and unable to cover the burden of this cost. our region is reeling from the collapse of the ground fish industry that prompted federal disaster relief. this is true for some small
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fishing businesses where this added burden can be the difference between success and failure as a business. i'm working with my new england and massachusetts colleagu and noaa to find an interim solution as we look to 2016, i ask that we work to provide adequate funding for dock side monitoring for fisheries with improved management plans as a condition of newnd expanded fishing opportunities. we also could use this ime to seek cost effective technological alternatives where appropriate. now i yield such time as he may consume to my colleague from maine, ms. pingre the chair: without objection. ms. pingree: thank youmr. chair and thank you to my colleague from massachusetts and for chairman culberson for chatting with us about this
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particularissue. as has been already stated here by my colleague today,here is never a good time to ask our fishermen to take on a task of this size that we are discussing here. but now is an even worst me than most because asking those who make their living on the coast of maine to pay for onboard monitoring. i understand the tough position that noaa is in but it is tougher for men and women who make their livinfrom ground fish. and whatever the short-term solution is, i think noa should look at ways to conduct monitoring through the use of onboard cameraor othr electronic tecologies. i hope the chairman would be willing to work with us on this and with noaa on this iue that affects so many of our hardworking constituents. and i yieldback. the chair: the gentlelady yields
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back. the gentleman reserves. mr. keating: i would like to withdraw --ask unanimous consent to withdraw this amendment. i also take this time to thank the chair and ranking member for their willingness tongage in what is an important issue and lookorward to working together with you and the ranking member on is issue. mr. culberson: look forward to working with you and recognize how the fishery sector management program is and look forward to working with you as weove forward to conference. mr. fattah: we are going to get this to aore satisfactory resolution. mr. keating: i yield back. the chair: without objectio themendment is withdrawn. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition?
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>> i have an amendment for consideration. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. clawson of florida, page 14 line 1, insert increased by $2 million. page 25 line 3 after the dollar amount insert reduced by $2 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from florida and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. clawson: i'm introducing an amendment that would take $2 million for general activities current budget of $885 million, which has been flat over the last several years. and i would put this $2 million instead to noaa in their department of operations, research and facilities fund, specifically directed to noaa's national marine fishery service,
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habitat conservation and restoration initiative. this nationwide initiative includes hundreds of community-based habitat restoration projects that conserve or restore america's precious native species and critical water quality restoration. this amendment is consistent with the focus of my office to cut government spending and motivate our civil servant management teams to achieve higher cost efficiencies throughout the federal government and to focus more on critical environmental priorities. in short, less administration expense more money for water, fish and atmosphere. back in april, i introduced an amendment h.r. 2028, the energy and water development and related agencies appropriations act, with representative patrick murphy, that would move $1
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million of the army corps of engineers' salaries and expense budget to construction projects in the corps like the south florida ecorestoration and the herbert hoover dike. this amendment today, likewise, will help fund critical habitat projects across america, including important work in my district like the gulf preserve restoration project in st. james city and clam buy ue and restoration of sea grass on sanibel. the dining darling mangrove restoration and florida's bay scallop stabilization at pine island, the man deleef grove initiative in names and tarpon bay restoration on marco island. habitat restoration plays an important role in all of our communities and in the lives and
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welfare of our constituents especially mine. america's ecosystem is the lifeblood of so many of our american communities economies and culture. let's do everything we can to preserve it. fisheries contribute more than $70 billion to the gross domestic product. nationwide, commercial and recreational fishing, tourism and other industries provide 28 million jobs. together coastal watersed counties contribute $4.5 trillion to the g.d.p. an estimated 53% of the current population live in coastal communities. more than 60% of our coastal rivers and bays are moderately or severely degraded by runoff. this was my original reason for getting into politics. we live with this nutrient
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runoff in my district, in my back yard every day. it looks bad it smells bad, it's a pitiful situation. according to noaa studies 17-33 jobs are created for every $1 million invested in habitat restoration. i say today let's save a little bit of money save a lot of yobs. it's good economics. it's good policy. it's good conservation. and i urge both sides to support. thank you. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. . the gentleman from texas wish to rise in opposition? mr. culberson: claim time in opposition but i do not oppose the amendment. i rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. it's a worth while cause and one we worked closely on. i urge members to support the amendment and i look forward to work with you as we move through conference and this is a problem throughout the gulf coast and
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you are right to focus our attention on and i urge members to support the amendment. mr. fattah: if the gentleman would yield. i would rise also in support of the gentleman's amendment. the chair: the gentleman from texas wish to yield back? mr. culberson: i would yield back. the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. clawson: i thank the chairman and the ranking member for your leadership on this. this is a big deal in the gulf. my appreciation is heartfelt for you making this move and showing this symbol of importance and so in the name of all of my constituents i thank both of you for your leadership and support on this. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the
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gentlelady from oregon seek recognition? ms. bonamici: i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 4 printed in the congressional record presented by ms. bonamici of oregon. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentlelady from oregon and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the gentlelady from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: i rise in support of this amendment to increase funding for the national oceanic and atmospheric administration noaa, to support its integrated ocean acidification research and fulfill the administration's requested funding level of $30 million in fiscal year 2016. the administration's requested funding increase for ocean acidification research reflects a growing consensus in the scientific community and in the coastal and fishing communities that so many of our colleagues and i represent. ocean acidification is already affecting marine organisms and
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could irreversibly alter the marine environment and harm our coastal ecosystem. on the west coast alone, a $270 million shellfish industry has experienced disastrous oyster production failures and face the risk of collapse in recent years because of changes in water conditions that have been attributed to ocean acidification. this change in chemistry is caused by carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, dissolving into the ocean and the increased acidity of the ocean is harming the basic building blocks for life in the sea. this makes it more difficult for marine organisms to build their schedule tons and shells and it -- skeletons and shells and it slows production of coral reefs. these changes can ripple through the food chain, threaten major commercial fisheries. in the pacific northwest, the combination of seasonal upwelling of acidic waters, low alcan lynnity and carbon
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dioxide creates some of the most corrosive ocean conditions in the world. in the last few years, the scientific community has increasingly raised concerns about the ocean. researchers at oregon state university have been working with the fishing community in oregon to determine the effects of acidification. they've been helping the shellfish hatcheries, assess the causes of oyster dieoff and finding ways to mitigate the harming upwelling events by monitoring the waters entering their facilities. this shows the partnerships that are possible when the federal government supports academic research. noaa's integration ocean acidification research program supports awards that funds studies on acidification and ocean, coastal and estuary environments. this program supports studies on the effects of acidification and allows noaa to run, observing systems that help monitor areas experiencing increased acidity.
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it has focused the effects on oregon and the west coast but our changing ocean conditions have been far-reaching implications in fisheries throughout the u.s., including the east coast and the gulf shellfish industries and it affects the people across the nation who eat seafood and the stores and restaurants that sell it. it's clear we need information which is why the ocean acidification research must be fully funded. unfortunately, this bill falls short of what the american people and our fishing communities deserve and i urge support of the amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas wish to rise in opposition? mr. culberson: yes. i wish to claim time in opposition. the chair: without objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: i understand the gentlelady was going to withdraw this amendment? ms. bonamici: i will after my colleague speaks. mr. culberson: i will then reserve my time. i reserve my time. i agree -- i agree with the gentlelady that ocean acidification is a serious problem. that's why you see funding in
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the bill for it. we just have limited amount of resources but i'll reserve the balance of my time and listen to your other speakers. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman now reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: can i inquire of the remaining time? the chair: the gentlelady has two minutes remaining. ms. bonamici: i yield to my colleague, mr. farr. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. farr: i hope the chairman is accepting this amendment because we have limited resources. we have limited resources but it's a priority where you give them. this ocean acidification is a serious problem. it is the most serious problem of mankind that we can do something about. when the ocean is starting to melt all the shellfish, the lobster industry the crab industry, the oyster industry, the clam industry all of these industries have a huge effect on not only the farming but the
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tourism that's attracting them. the problem is we need more money. the president asked for $30 million in this program. the committee cut it to $8.4 million, says he's funding it. however, the president asked for the same amount of money for the exploration of the moon of jupiter called europa. the committee decided to give them $110 million more than the president asked for. so don't tell me that there isn't money available. it's just the priority where you give it. are you going to save this planet or put it in the moon of jupiter? i think it's important to research ocean acidification and don young and i will help tackle this problem. but we got to get serious about it. the planet is melting and the ocean's acidification is melting the orknisms in the ocean and when they -- organisms in the ocean and when they die we die. the chair: the gentleman from california's time has expired. the gentleman from texas is
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recognized. mr. culberson: i would point out to my colleagues, we have $8.5 million in the bill for studying ocean acidification. i share your concern. it's a vitally important issue and the thrust of our work in nasa, if you as you know from reading the bill, is we have prioritized those missions in the bill that are the top priority of the plan tear survey. the -- we have encouraged nasa to follow the recommendations of the best minds in the scientific community. every 10 years they get together and prioritize the earth science missions, mission heliophysics missions astro physics missions missions, the yue ropea mission. -- europa mission. the past administration and this administration continue to not -- no, i can't think of a more exciting question that
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science could answer is to whether or not there is life outside this world and that will be answered by europa. there is $8.5 million in the bill for ocean acidification. mr. fattah: i'm totally in opposite position on the matter than you, will you yield me? mr. culberson: i'd be happy to engage in a colloquy with my friend from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: we have, you know, an earth in which the majority of it is covered with oceans. as a nation we have more responsibility territorially for the world's ocean than any other nation. you agree this is a major issue. it's funded at a level that should -- we think should be increased. i hope that the chairman will work with us as we go forward to see whether we can improve our and make even more robust our stewardship which is our responsibility, as i would understand it, even though we -- there are other areas of the bill where we've made important sacrifices.
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maybe this is an area where we can do more. mr. culberson: it is one which i look forward to working with you on to research ocean acidification. you see a major investment in ocean graphic mapping and research. the economic zone of the united states which is unmapped and unchartered and loaded with rare earths and great mineral wealth that dr. bob ballard and his team and other scientists are exploring and we're investing there and i will look forward to working with you in conference. mr. fattah: mr. chairman, we'll work together on this. this is an area of important interest to me and i thank the gentlelady for offering her amendment. the chair: does the gentleman from texas wish to reserve? mr. culberson: reserve. the chair: the gentlelady from oregon is recognized. ms. bonamici: mr. chairman, i do plan to withdraw this amendment. i do want to emphasize the seriousness of this amendment. i do contend the amount in this bill is inadequate so i do look forward to working with the committee chairman, the ranking member and the committee going forward to address this very
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important issue. and do i request unanimous consent that my amendment be withdrawn at this time. thank you, mr. chairman. the chair: the amendment is -- without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 15, line 11, procurement. acquisition and construction including transfer of funds $1,960034,000 to remain available until september 30, 2018. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. bridenstine of oklahoma. page 15, line 16, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $9 million increased by $9 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from oklahoma and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. bridenstine: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, my amendment designates $9 million within noaa's procurement acquisition and construction account for
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the purposes of funding a pilot program for space-based commercial weather data as authorized by h.r. 1561, the house-passed lucas-bridenstine weather research and forecasting innovation act of 2015. although i intend to withdraw my amendment, i intend to use this time to enter into a colloquy with the gentleman from texas. mr. chairman, the commercial satellite industry has revolutionized everyday life. from telecommunications to imaging to navigation, we reap the benefits of private sector innovation. i truly believe we have that opportunity when it comes to weather satellites as well. by introducing newer more innovative more resilient and additional forms of data into our numerical weather models, we can improve our ability to forecast wlr and save the lives of our constituents. by providing noaa with the funds to purchase commercial data, it sends a clear signal
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to the nation weather satellite industry. noaa is interested in commercial data from the private sector. this pilot program has the potential to shift paradigms within our weather enterprise and serve as the first step towards moving to a day where the government does not have a monopoly on weather satellites. noaa operates huge money lithic billion-dollar satellite programs that have experienced cost overruns and launched delays. these programs are important to ensuring we have robust weather data, but we need a mitigation strategy when problems arise. a role that commercial industry can play. in addition, they can augment our programs of record and for a fraction of the cost. in fact, to fully fund this program, noaa would only need to find the equivalent of one dime out of a 20 dollar bill. i believe in the long run purchasing data from the private sector will lead to lower costs for the taxpayers
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as well as better data more data more innovation. however, i understand the constraints that the gentleman from texas is under when crafting this appropriations bill and i appreciate his willingness to work with me on this issue. the question i pose to him is, does the chairman intend to have noaa provide $9 million from within its procurement acquisition and construction to carry out this pilot program in fiscal year 2016 as is authorized in h.r. 1561? mr. culberson: i agree completely with the gentleman that noaa should work with the private sector when data is available. it's cost-effective and can save the taxpayers money. and in fact that's why we included a statement on this in the committee report. i look forward to working with you as we move in conference to ensure that this worthwhile goal is achieved. mr. bridenstine: i thank the chairman. i look forward to working together with you and with noaa to ensure that congressional intent is clear and to make this critically important pilot
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program a reality. i appreciate your leadership and assistance on this issue and with that i withdraw my amendment and i yield back. the chair: without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. for what purpose does the gentlelady -- for what purpose does the gentlelady from oregon seek recognition? ms. bonamici: mr. chair, i have amendment number 5 at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 5 offered by ms. bonamici of oregon. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentlelady from -- mr. culberson: i reserve a poirned the gentlewoman's amendment. the chair: a point of order is reserved. pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentlelady from oregon and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from oregon. ms. bonamici: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of this amendment to ensure the
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continuity of noaa's polar satellite program by restoring its funding. there are many important priorities in this bill, but the technical nature of the satellite program and its value to our nation are being overlooked. the importance of these satellites and the need to maintain the information they collect is not daily news, but the accurate, timely data the satellites provide to our weather forecasters is crucial. the data is needed not only in severe weather scenarios but also for the wise ranging assessibility to everyone in our nation. from those who hear weather forecast on the local news to the millions across the nation who open up an app on their phones. weather's important. it affects everything from our commute to the food on our table. in fact, a 2009 study from the american meterological society stated that u.s. weather forecasts generate $31.5 billion in benefits for $5.1 billion in costs. unfortunately, past trouble and
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mismanagement in the polar satellite program means that a gap in coverage within the next decade is possible. with a worst-case scenario being a gap lasting more than five years. any loss of coverage from the polar satellites would have serious consequences on the accuracy and timeliness of our weather forecasts, warnings and the capabilities of the national weather service. thankfully noaa and nasa have worked very hard to get the polar satellite program back on track. unfortunately, the bill we're considering today has the potential to undermine that progress. the president's fiscal year 2016 budget request included $380 million for a polar follow-on program. this important program will minimize the risk of a gap in polar weather data and address a recommendation from various independent groups including the government accountability office regarding the need to develop a robust satellite program, a program that can withstand a launch failure.
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by not funding the polar program in 2016, the continuity for the polar weather mission is put at risk and the nation will be exposed to the vulnerabilities and impacts of a potential gap. . families are balancing and need to rely on accurate forecasts and not worried about a gap. we need this program to continue so we do not lose the gains we made. americans need the best available scientific data. mr. chairman the funding levels in this bill are stretched so thin that it's impossible for me to find more than $300 mill cron to provide an offset. i do ask the subcommittee chairman and ranking member on ways to preserve and maintain the essential program and at this time, i ask unanimous consent to withdraw this
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amendment and yield the balance of my time. the chair: without objection. the amendment is withdrawn. the chair: the clerk will read. the clerk: $65 million to remain available until september 30, 2017. fishermen's contingency fund for carrying out the provisions of public law 395-72 not to exceed $350,000. fisheries finance account, $24 million. departmental management salaries and expenses, $50 million. renovation and modernization, 3,389,000 office of inspector
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general $32 million. general provisions department of commerce, section 101 appropriations made available to the department shall be available for activities specified to the extent prescribed. section 102, appropriations made available to the department shall be available for hire of passenger motor vehicles. section 10 , not to exceed 5% of any appropriations for the department may be transferred but no such appropriations shall be increased by more than 10%. section 104 requirements of section 105 of the commerce, justice and science appropriations act are hereby adopted and made applicable with respect to fiscal year 2016. section 105, the secretary may furnish services necessary to support the operation and improvement of states in the herbert c. hoover building,
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washington, d.c.,. section 106, nothing in this title shall be construed to prevent a recipient from determining child porn over its networks. the administrator of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is authorized to use the land, services of the services for carrying out the responsibilities of any statute administered. the national technical information service shall not charge any customer for a report generated by the legislative branch unless the service has provided information as to how a electronic copy may be accessed for free online. section 109, the secretary may waive the requirement for bonds with respect to contracts to the construction of vessels. section 110 the national institutes of standards may use unobligated balances and industrial technology services. this title may be cited as the
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department of commerce appropriations act 2016. title 2 department of justice, general administration, salaries and expenses $105 million. the chair: the clerk will suspend . for what purpose does the gentleman from west virginia seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. mcconditionly of west virginia, insert after the dollar amount the following decrease by $2 million. page 72, line 1, insert after the dollar amount the following increased by $2 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentleman from west virginia and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from west virginia. mr. kinzinger: thank you, mr. chairman. -- many small businesses are strug go to compete against low
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priced imports or benefiting from unfair trade practices. they are facing legal challenges. the intent of this amendment is simple. it transfers $2 million from the international trade commission to provide legal and technical assistance to small businesses seeking a remedy. i offer this amendment last year to the bill and it was approved. time and time again, small companies are losing business against unfair, low-cost imports which flood our country. something needs to be done. small businesses need help. they don't have access to the same legal resources as larger companies. they can't afford the costs to file a claim against large industries like we see coming from china. these small businesses in america deserve to be treated
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better. in west virginia, mr. chairman, we have one particular company which manufactures glass, lead-free marbles. the committee has less than 50 employees. they among others have asked our office with an average cost to file an antidumping claim is $1 million how can small manufacturers afford access to justice? the federal government provides pro bono attorneys in criminal cases for those who can't afford representation. mr. chairman, why not offer something similar to our small businesses across america who are facing unfair competition? a recent contract which for 300 marbles per year. this company manufactures one million per day. this contract would have guaranteed 300 days for manufacturing for hard working people of west virginia.
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the chinese company undercut their bid. we have seen this story far too oven where the currency manipulation have crushed our tin and steel industries, among others. the i.t.c. must have the tools to protect our small businesses and this amendment is a step in the right direction. let's be clear, mr. chairman, we want to talk about jobs, or do we want to offer a solution. supporting this amendment will be an immense help for small businesses employers, who are trying to fight back against unfair trade. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania seek to rise in opposition? mr. fattah: i'm not in opposition but i will seek unanimous consent to seek the time in opposition. i rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment and i know the chairman -- we are willing
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to accept your amendment. thank you. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania yield back? mr. fattah: i do. >> i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from west virginia. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentlelady from new mexico seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. lieu and grisham. decrease by $2 million. page 42, line 24, insert after the dollar amount the following increased by $2 million. page 44, line 8, insert after the dollar amount the following, increased by $2 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentlelady
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from new mexico and a member opposed each will control five minutes. ms. lujan grisham: trust between the law enforcement and the public is not just important but essential to states, collaborative and constitutional community policing. trust promotes healthy relationships and interactions that are in the best interest of the public and the police. unfortunately, the public's trust in law enforcement has eroded in many communities across the country, including my own. the federal government needs to make targeted investments to ensure that law enforcement has the tools to rebuild and strengthen that trust, which is the cornerstone of successful policing. that is why i'm so proud to introduce this bipartisan amendment along with my colleagues, congressman murphy and congressman blumenauer to add $2 million to the three offender treatment and crime prevention program.
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they provide a broad range of services, including crisis intervention training, to identify and improve responses to people with mental illnesses. crisis intervention training can prevent injuries to officers and de-escalate injuries. interactions between the mentally ill and law enforcement too often end in tragedy. since the beginning of the year, 385 people have been shot and killed by police and a quarter of these individuals have been identified as mentally ill. the more training we can provide law enforcement to improve their skills to interact with the public more likely cries sees will be resolved and more we can strengthen trust between police and the public that they are sworn to protect. i urge my colleagues to support
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this amendment. and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: i seek time to oppose the amendment but do not oppose it. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: if i could yield to my good friend and colleague from pennsylvania, mr. murphy. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. murphy: i thank representative grisham for this thoughtful amendment we are working on together which is $2 million towards training for state and local law enforcement and in the 1950's, this country had 350 beds psychiatric beds. now with the population twice that size, so what happened? some people got better, but sadly, we ended with huge increases in homelessness. last year in this country, 40,000 suicides and million
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suicide attempts and with this critical bed shortage, we have many people who end up committing crimes and of the 2.4 million incarcerated americans about half of them are estimated to have a mental health condition. that is 64% in our county and local jails. 56% in state and 45% of federal prisoners. by comparison 3,000 patients with severe mental illness and from a report from april 2014, the number of persons in prison is 10 times higher than that in psychiatric homents. the largest jails, cook county, los angeles and new york have 11,000 prisoners combined with serious mental illness. now that's over twice as large as the three state run hospitals. inmates are likely to be charged with rules violation and remain
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in prison four times longer than a nonmentally-ill person. what happens then? solitary confinement, and tasers and when they are discharged they repeat the cycle. we need to make sure make sure there is -- but the key is provide help for those with serious mental illness. it is not right for our country to be saying. the court and systems that do not understand mental illness. but to them i say it isn't an issue that someone has a right to be mentally ill, but a right to be ill. we need to stop this revolving door someone who is hallucinating and commit a crime instead of intervening earlier. we need mental health courts to
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help persons and we need intervention evidence-based initiatives to fix our broken mental health system in america. i know in our own court they saw a 38% reduction when they used mental health courts. this is compassion and right thing to do and i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new mexico is recognized. ms. lujan grisham: i yield two minutes to the the gentleman from oregon, congressman blumenauer. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate the gentlelady's courtesy and leadership and i appreciate my good friend in his eloquence and his championship in this area. the fact is we have a broken system that does not meet the needs of people with mental illness, that it places an undo
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burden on law enforcement and his speech of people having the right to be well. we have seen situations that escalate because we don't have the proper response we don't have the proper training, we don't have the proper resources where people get worse. s not that it costs more money but the pain to the individuals, to the families and ultimately since virtually all of these people are released but released in a more damaged situation they're worse they're a greater risk to themselves and society and the cycle continues. there is no doubt in my mind that if we were able to properly account for the costs and consequences of the current nonsystem that there would be far more resources saved treating them humanely and effectively giving the police and the community the resources
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they need it will more than pay for itself. this is an important step for the fofert to be a better partner -- federal government to be a better partner. i appreciate the gentlelady's leadership. i appreciate my friend, mr. murphy from pennsylvania, looking forward to working with you on different items and i respectfully request that our colleagues not just support this but take it to heart because we can make a difference on so many different levels. thank you and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas wish to reserve? mr. culberson: i will, if i could, we need to have one more recorded vote on this, i support the amendment and would encourage members to support it. if you would be willing to do a recorded vote on this? mr. fattah: we're all in agreement but for our purposes we want to have a vote on this. also if he'd yield so i could comment. on behalf of our country, i attended the healthy brain healthy europe conference in
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ireland and their estimate in the 28 e.u. countries that some 36% of the population had some type of mental health challenge. and they deal with it much more openly and without the stigma that sometimes we attach here in our country to mental health challenges. i want to thank my friend from pennsylvania for his extraordinary leadership on this issue and i thank the gentlelady for offering this. we will support this and ask for a recorded vote on this amendment. thank you. the chair: the gentleman from texas wish to reserve? mr. culberson: i yield back. i encourage members to support the amendment. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from new mexico is recognized. ms. lujan grisham: i yield back the balance of my time and want to encourage all members to vote in favor of this amendment and want to thank my colleagues for working so diligently on this very important improvement to public safety and police training.
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the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new mexico. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is -- mr. culberson: on that i'd like to request a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlelady from new mexico will be postponed. the committee will rise informally to receive a message. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the chair will receive a message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate has passed without amendment h.r. 2048, cited as the u.s.a. freedom act of 2015.
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the speaker pro tempore: the committee will resume its sitting. the chair: the committee will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> mr. chairman i have an amendment, 86, at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gosar of arizona. page 23, line 6 insert after the dollar amount the following -- reduce by $2,209,500. page 24, line 14 insert after the first dollar amount the following -- increase by $1709,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from arizona and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today to offer an amendment which seeks to
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bolster funds for the department of justice inspector general in order to meet the fiscal year 2016 budget request. as a member of the house oversight and government reform committee, i am a firm believer in the proper oversight of the federal government. the more sunlight on federal activity the more honest and efficient it will be. i am also a strong proponent of our inspector general community. since the inspector general act was passed into law the i.g. community has saved taxpayers billions of dollars and has uncovered countless examples of wrongdoing in the federal government. it seems only fitting that inspector general's office receive the budget requested resources particularly at the expense at the office it will likely investigate first. the d.o.j. o.i.g. has had significant audit workloads. in fact, we've seen numerous scandals and cover-ups from within this agency and at the recommendation of the previous
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attorney general. i applaud the committee for including language in this bill to permanently prohibit funds for fast and furious-like programs and for many other reforms contained in this legislation. but i do believe more needs to be done to ensure additional transparency and accountability within the d.o.j. let's give the d.o.j. o.i.g.'s office the resources it needs to investigate this agency and to ensure the justice department adheres to the rule of law. i thank you, mr. chair, and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. does a member -- does the gentleman from texas wish to rise in opposition? mr. culberson: i rise to claim time in opposition though i am not opposed to the amendment and ask members to support it. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: i agree very strongly, mr. gosar, that the attorney general's office does superb job. they are an independent agency whose oversight is crucial and the amendment will certainly improve oversight and ensure that our constituents' hard-earned tax dollars are well spent and i urge members
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to support the gentleman from arizona's amendment. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from arizona is recognized. mr. gosar: i thank the chair and the ranking member for their support and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question son the amendment offered -- is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? >> mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. brownley of california. page 23, line 6, after the dollar amount insert reduced by $2,500,000. page 42, line 24, after the dollar amount insert increase by $2,500,000. page 46, line 12, after the dollar amount insert increased by $2,500,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentlelady from california and a member opposed each will control five minutes.
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the chair recognizes the gentlelady from california. ms. brownley: thank you, mr. chair. i rise to offer an amendment to h.r. 2578 which would increase funding in veteran treatment courts. our nation's heroes are returning home from over a decade of war in iraq and afghanistan with the invisible wounds that come with multiple deployments and military service to our nation. the signature wounds of these wars posttraumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, have led to a rise in mental health issues among other veterans. according to the national center for ptsd about 11% to 20% of veterans who serve in operation iraqi freedom and enduring freedom have ptsd in a given year. since 2005, the number of veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress has doubled. too often these mental health issues can severely impact a veteran's life, from being able to keep a job to drug abuse to criminal activity in some
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circumstances. instead of receiving the mental health services and support that they need, a growing number of veterans end up being incarcerated in our justice system. my simple amendment would increase funds for veteran treatment courts by $2.5 million. veteran treatment courts are designed to give veterans with mental health and substance abuse issues who find themselves in trouble with the law an opportunity to get the help they need while avoiding jail time. the ventura county veterans court in my district, which started as a pilot program in 2010, has helped dozens of veterans. judge colin white one of the program's many champions in ventura county, knows that treatment courts reunite families and saves lives. rather than arresting and jailing veterans for a few days or weeks and putting them back out on the street with nothing changed in their life, the ventura county collaborative court connects veterans to needed treatment and services which may include mental health
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care, drug and alcohol treatment vocational rehabilitation or other life skill services and programs. the process begins with a guilty plea and in-court meeting involving the veteran, his or her attorney and a v.a. representative. i was very impressed with the care that the court officers and volunteers extended to our veterans who found themselves before the court. a recent success for the ventura county veterans court was a young man who was an active duty marine. before leaving the service in 2014 he completed three combat tours in 12 years. he was arrested for two d.u.i.'s within three weeks. after five months of treatment, he still stands with his back against the wall rather than take a seat in court. this is a common sign in combat veterans, but he's now getting evaluated by v.a., is going to treatment and has hope once again. since the veteran treatment court program began in 2008 in
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buffalo, new york, over 220 veteran treatment courts have been established across the united states, many more are being planned. i believe we need to increase federal resources to these critical programs nationwide which is what my amendment seeks to accomplish. it is our obligation to ensure our veterans receive the appropriate attention to their needs and that we do whatever we can to help them transition to an independent civilian life. i strongly urge my colleagues to support my amendment, to provide veterans in trouble with the resources they need to help them secure a strong future. mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlelady reserves. does the gentleman from texas wish to rise in opposition? mr. culberson: if i could we got a technical problem that needs to be resolved. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. fattah: i seek to be recognized in opposition even
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though i am not in opposition. the chair: without objection the gentleman is recognized. mr. fattah: thank you and i thank the chairman. first, i ask unanimous consent that we modify the amendment and rather than strike line 12 on page 46 that we strike line 7. i seek unanimous consent for that modification. mr. culberson: we have no objection. mr. fattah: that's line 7 versus line 12 on page 46. the chair: will the gentlewoman from california send the modification to the desk? the chair: the clerk will report the modification.
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the clerk: modification to the brownlee of california amendment offered by mr. fattah, page 46, line 7 after the dollar amount insert increase by $2,500,000. the chair: without objection the modification is accepted. mr. fattah: thank you. let me say i have visited the center at bethesda. we've been working with our veterans on posttraumatic stress. i know in houston some of the best work in the nation is being done at the university of texas the brain health center in dallas and your work in houston. i had my own experience with this. i had a young man bill cooper, who on his last day in iraq, his last day, went out on patrol and was the victim of an i.e.d. and some 59 operations
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later he ended up working for me in my district office. he's just doing a wonderful job helping other veterans in the philadelphia area. . but post-traumatic stress is something too many of our veterans face. i want to kang congressman meehan who has helped lead this effort on vet reens courts. we support it, the chairman and i, we're prepared to yield back the remainder of my time. i'm glad to yield to the chairman. mr. culberson: thank you for yielding. i join in supporting the gentlewoman's amendment. the veteran's court do great work i support the gentlelady amendment and urge members to support it. mr. fattah: i should report that bill cooper got married, got his
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graduate degree on the g.i. bill we passed, just another example of what can happen for our veterans when we take care of them. i thank the gentlelady. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. lofgren: i appreciate your support and i know veterans a-- ms. brownlee: i appreciate your support and i know veterans do as well. the chair: the question is on the amendment as modified offereded by the gentlelady from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed. to for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. mccarthy of new jersey, page 23 line 6, insert after the dollar amount the follow, redeuce by $750,000. page 38, line 9, insert after
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the dollar amount the following increased by $750,000. page 40, line 10, insert after the dollar amount the follow -- following, increase by $750,000. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from new jersey and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new jersey. mr. -- mr. mccarthy: thank you, mr. speaker. the violence against women act has been an important step a critical step really in ending the scourge of violence against women. and the elderly abuse grant program has been an important part of that. it funds training and services to end abuse of women in later
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life. the question is how much funding is necessary for this? the national network to end domestic violence suggests that that number is $9 million for the program and this congress previously authorized $9 million. unfortunately, we can't afford that right now and so we have to settle for something less. the president's budget however sets the amount at less than half and that's simply not enough. my amendment would increase that amount to $5.2 million which is $1 million over the president's request and $750,000 over the current mark. we would pay for that by moving $750,000 from the department of justice administration account. mr. chairman, this program the elderly abuse grant program, has successfully helped many women, older women, escape neglect,
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abuse and exploitation taking many forms. our elderly population is growing and we simply believe we need a little more funding to make this program hand they will growing population. alma adams from north carolina, myself have co-sponsored the amendment because this is not a republican or democratic issue. this is a very human issue and i ask my colleagues to support it. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas. mr. culberson: i seek unanimous consent to claim time in opposition though i'm not opposed to the amendment. and i yield to my colleague. mr. fattah: i agree with the chairman, and i ask my colleagues to support the amendment. mr. culberson: i urge members to support this, it's a good program, appreciate you very much bringing it to the
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subcommittee today. urge members to vote yes. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. mccarthy: i want to thank the chairman and ranking member for the support and yield back my time. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. the clerk: line 10, justice information sharing technology, including transfer of funds. $25,842,000. administrative review and appeals including transfer of funds. $426,791,000. office of inspector general $92
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million. united states parole commission salaries and expenses $13,308,000. legal activities, salaries and -- and expenses, general legal activities $885 million. the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gosar of arizona. page 29, line 3, insert after the dollar amount the follow, reduced by $1 million. page 98, line 20, insert after the dollar amount the following increased by $1 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287 the gentleman from arizona and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the
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gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise today to offer simple good governance to the commerce, justice and science related agency for the fiscal year 2016. the amendment seeks to hold the department of justice accountable for its failure to enforce the rule of law. specifically my amendment decreases available funding for the salaries of individuals who concoct ways to undermine federal criminal immigration laws. this amendment is similar to an amendment that passed this body last year in relation to the d.o.j.'s lack of enforcement of federal marijuana laws and was offered by my friend and colleague congressman fleming. my amendment reduces department of justice's general legal account by $1 million, specifically targeting the deputy attorney general's office. i will continue to seek similar amendments until the attorney general decides to enforce the federal criminal immigration laws on the books. in 2014, the department of justice instructed u.s. attorney's office in some states
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to no longer prosecute persons that violate certain criminal immigration laws. i've heard firsthand from law enforcement in my district that such actions have placed unnecessary burdens on these officers, increased costs, put local communities at risk and encouraged more illegal immigration. the community raised similar concerns about the selective enforcement of these laws stating, and i quote, the committee is concerned with the consistent enforcement of immigration laws and promotes policies like operation streamline. he issued a report to the committee and went further the report shall describe steps being taken to ensure the federal imgreags law is enforced vigorously to include policies and guidelines by district. my amendment is consistent with the concerns expressed by the committee and echo this passage without harming the overall operation of the department.
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i thank the chair and ranking member for their leadership with this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. fattah: i rise reluctantly in opposition to this amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. fattah: if the proposal had been to put this money into veterans courts or youth mentoring, i probably wouldn't be standing here but the idea of putting it into savings when we know the allocation is already shy of what we needed and there are many programs we have had to short, to short appropriations we would have otherwise, i'm reluctant to support this amendment and would ask the thousands to oppose it. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: i yield to the chairman of the committee. mr. culberson: i agree with the
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gentleman's amendment. we need to send a strong message to the administration that they must enact -- enforce the law as enacted by congress. that's been the central theme i have tried to pursue as the chair of the commerce, justice, science committee. there is no liberty without law enforcement and the chief executive has a duty under the constitution to enforce the law as written by congress faithfully execute that law and the -- if any of the federal agencies under the president's jurisdiction want access to our constituents' hard-earned tax dollar, they need to enforce the law as written by congress. i strongly support the gentleman's amendment and frankly, putting it in the savings account is a good thing because that goes back to the taxpayers. i support the gentleman's amendment and urge members to vote yes and send a message to the white house and if the white house doesn't get it, they'll learn it throughout the year under the chairman of the -- under the new chairman of the c.j.s. scommesm mr. gosar: i thank the chairman for his support and ask my colleagues to vote for the bill.
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the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from keas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. mr. fattah: recorded vote, please. the chair: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. fattah: i would like to have a recorded vote on this amendment. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona will be postponed. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments on which proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment by mr. mcclintock of california, amendment by ms. esty of connecticut, an amendment by ms. grisham of new
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mexico an amendment by mr. gosar of arizona. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock, on which further proceed wrgs postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. mcclintock of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a 15-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.]
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the chair: on this vote, the yeas are 154, the nays are 263, the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on
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the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. esty on which further proceedings were postponed, on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will de-- will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. esty of connecticut. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having risen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-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.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 212, the nays are 214 and the amendment is not adopted --
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 213, the nays are 214 and the amendment is not agreed to. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from new mexico on which further proceedings were
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postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by ms. lujan grich am of new mexico. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded volt is -- vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 416, the nays are 10.
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 417, the nays are 10. the amendment is adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. gosar, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. gosar of arizona. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen a recorded vote is
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ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a two-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.]
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the chair: on this vote the yeas are 22, the nays are 19 -- 228, the nays are 198, the amendment is adopted. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i move that the committee do now rise. the chair: the question is on the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the committee rises.
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the speaker pro tempore: mr. speaker. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union, having had under consideration h.r. 2578, directs me to report that it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 2578 and has come to no resolution thereon. the chair lays to the floor of the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 2048 an act to reform the authorities of the federal government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use registers and trap and trace devices and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence counterterrorism and criminal
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purposes and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> madam 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 read the title. the clerk: report to accompany house resolution 288, resolution providing for consideration of the bill h.r. 2289, to re-authorize the commodity futures trading commission, to better protect futures customers, to provide end users with market certainty, to make basic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability at the commission, to help farmers, ranchers and end users manage risks, to help keep consumer costs low and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the house calendar and ordered printed. pursuant to house resolution 287 and ru 18, the chair
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declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2578. the speaker pro tempore: will the gentleman from georgia kindy resume the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house of the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2578. the clerk: appropriations for the department of commerce, justice and science for the fiscal year ending september 0, 2016 and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose today, an amendment had been disposed of and the bill read through page
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25 line 20. the clerk will read. the clerk: page 25, line 21, in addition, for reimbursement with processing cases under the national childhood injury, $8 million. salaries and expenses, antitrust division $162 million. salaries and expenses, united states attorneys $1 billion. united states trustee, system fund $225 million. salaries and expenses, foreign claims, settlement commission $2 million. fees and expenses of witnesses,
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$270 million. salaries and expenses community relations service, including transfer funds, $13 million. united states marshals services, $1 billion. construction $11 million. federal prisoner detention including transfer of funds $1 billion. national security division, salaries and expenses, including transfer of funds, $95 million. interagencies law enforcement, $ 510 million. federal bureau of investigation salaries and expenses $8 billion -- the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek recognition?
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>> i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: page 32, line 5, in certificate increased, after each of the dollar amounts, insert reduced by $25 million. >> my amendment reduces federal spending for the legal services corporation while leaving the program intact and used funds for f.b.i. for their efforts. the bill properties $300 million for l.s.c. but congress hasn't authorized it since 1980. it is too long.
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even the nonpartisan c.b.o. has realized that it is to reign in our out of control spending and grants already receive funding from states, localities and private entities and private attorneys. community problems are best solved at the community level. this amendment, however, does not suddenly end the l.s.c. and its programs but reduces funding in a modest way and applies that money towards community efforts. this amendment prioritizes the money on our needs. it was said home grown, violent extremist investigations. just last month, the department of homeland security secretary, secretary johnson said, we are
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very definitely in a new environment because of isil's effective use of social media and the brett and to reach the homeland. because of the use of the internet, we could have a a little notice of the independent actor. but a congressesally mandated report released in march of this year, it was stated, budget cuts hinders the programs. given the constant and evolving threats we face from terrorism, it is common sense to reduce spending that has proven that funding and funding that we do not have. i encourage my colleagues to support the amendment and i reserve. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek
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recognition? mr. fattah: i rise in opposition to this amendment. the committee over the time that i have bin on the committee each and every year increased its appropriations to the f.b.i. and this year is no exception sm the chairman in his wisdom working with a very tough allocation has provided $8.4 million, which is $111 million increase. and i think that the gentleman, if his concern is about us providing adequate funding for the bureau, he can rest assure that the committee has taken has taken that responsibility. if his concern or effort is to suggest that pro bono lawyers are going to make up the difference in a big city like
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philadelphia, we have pro bono partners who can spend their time. but in a large swath of our country that's not the case. and legal services has created and helps people many of whom are veterans and stationed far away from home who have to fight off efforts by people who are trying to repossess a car. they need access to the courts. and president nixon who created legal services, understanding that one of the things about our country, it is a country of laws and they need representation. so i think as we adjust this gap, the percentage of people who are eligible, the number of people who are going to be helped this is unwise.
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and i believe this house will not support this amendment because it would be taking from people who need it the most when there's no definitive need for it in terms of where the funds being allocated. and i yield to the colleague from the great state of tennessee, mr. cohen. mr. cohen: thank you mr. speaker. i join with him in opposing this amendment. legal services is fund dollars at $375 million. this budget cuts it. that is a large cut. over 20%. it has been cut and cut and cut over the years. nationally 50% of clients are turned away because of lack of funding. and in my district, they have been reduced.
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when we travel overseas, one of the things that almost every individual you meet up tells us about america, we envy your justice system. they envy our justice system and people have access to the courts. if you are poor and/or uneducated and don't have a lawyer, you don't have access. the other side will. if you're a domestic violence victim and need an attorney, you are subject to further domestic violence. if you are a tenth, people who own the apartment, will have attorneys. victims, domestic victims and people who will be homeless and talking about individual citizens who won't have access to courts. and we will be taking it away. i ask you to find monies from
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somewhere else. to take it away from an area that gives poor people an area to find justice and bring justice on the criminal side important, this isn't the right place to take the money. and i yield time to mr. kennedy. contend contend i would be glad to yield. mr. kennedy: if i could inquire as to my time. i'm grateful to the time. and i want to recognize the mmitment of my colleague and the commitment he has made to counterterrorism and protect the safety and security of the united states. i did work as our legal aid attorney many years ago when i was a law student, we spent countless hours trying to keep
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roofs over the he heads over tenths because a landlord wasn't pay-go a mortgage. people are going to homeless and couldn't unveil themselves of an attorney. to find ways to gut that funding when funding interest on lawyers' trust accounts. because of low-interest accounts. that went from $34 million a year we are ut gutting a basic tenat. we spend so much time how our laws are going to affect peoples' les. this is that moment and i ask my colleagues to vote no. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from north carolina. >> i acknowledge the wonderful work of the work he has done.
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i would say that the legal services has had a long and troubled history of using money. and they produced political cartoons. tax dollars are used to train activists. this misuse of taxpayer money ever are offered by the states. i don't question there is with good work that is being done but i think it is logical that we look and see how this money isn'teing used wisely and inappropriately used. this is a modest cut in this agency. and i would commend this amendment to e house and ask for their support. and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from north carolina. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.
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in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. >> request a roll call vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 rule 18, further proceedings on thamendment offered by the gentleman fr north carolina will be postponed. clerk will read. the clerk: page 32, line 10, construction $57 million. drug enforcement administration salaries and expenses, $2 billion. the chair: the clerk will suspend.
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the chair: does any member seek recognition to offer an amendment? for what purpose does the gentleman fromennessee seek recognition? mr. cohen: i have an amendment at the desk concerning rape kits. the clerk: amndment offered by mr. cohen of tennessee, page 23 line, insert reduced by $4 million. page 49, line 9 after the dollar amount, insert increed by $4 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from tennessee and member opposed will each control five minutes. mr. cohen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. this amendment would increase by $4 million to address the backlog of rape kits.
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d.n.a. has beenatching criminals because of n.a. evidence. this evidence does us no good if if it remains untested and sitting on a l. despite progress over the last few years, there are thousands of rape kits tt remain untested, potentially hundreds of thousands. that is potentially hundreds of thousands of victims who are left t prey on more women. last year my hometown paper talked about the need to end this backlog and a serial rapist that was caught by police in 2012. if only his first victim's rape kit was tested and th rape kit wasn't and attacked five more women. missed opportunities like this happen all across our country. the trauma of vick the tims of rape and critical evidce goes
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undetected. and they are making a difference. inemphis our backlog reached more than 12,000 ad policeave opened 488 investigations and issued 90 requests for indictments. moe than law enforcement can afford. i appreciate e commiptment to eliminating the backlog but we need more. this amendment wouldncrease by 10% and take it from the drug enforce mnlt administration, tche receive a $0illion in this bill. and mover, d.e.a. has been irresponsible with money that congress has given it. and theyad sex parties with prostitutes funded by drug cartels. and this followed a report that the d.e. a.m.t. ever a. that it
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uld have obtained for free. i think the chce is clear. should stand with the victims of sexual assault and i urge my lleagues to pass this will amendment. it is so important that these kits are tested and assailants are brought to justice and rapists not on on the streets. i thank carolyn ma lonni. and i reserve the balance of my time. . the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. does anyone seek time in opposition? mr. culberson: i wish to seek the time in opposion but i agree with the amendment and -- i would seek unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although i am not opposed to the gentleman's amendment. the cir: witht objection. mr. culberson: i believe the gentleman's exactly right.
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we in the bill have increased funding to reduce the rape kit backlog. this is a vitally important tool that local police departments are using to get these people off the streets as quickly as possie. and accept the gentleman's amendment. there's no punishment severe ough swift enoughor these people and i tnk it's very, vy imrtant that we gethese pe kits handle as qukly as possible. i urge members to suort the gentleman's amendment and i'll yield to my friend. mr. fh: whave worked for ultiple ars on thisatter and we've made some significan progress but more needs to be done. i want to thank the gentlman r his amendment. the committee's made this a very high priority and i tnk the chairmanor his leadership in this regard. we are all in concurren here. the chair: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from tennessee. mr. cohen: i want t thank the chairman particularly, the nking member as wellor their help and hard work on getting the moneys passed and
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for helping on this amendment these rapists dot know state lines and they cross state lines and so it's most appropriate that the federal government help the locals and find people that perform these dastardly ts all over our country. with that i yield back the balance of myim the chair: the gentleman yids back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas. do you yield back? the gentlan from texas elds back? mr. culberson: s, yield back. the chair: the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment isgreedo. for what purpose does the gentleman frocalifornia seek recognition? >> mr. chair, i have an amendment at the desk. thehair: the clerk will eport the amendment. the clerkendment offered by mr. lieu of lifornia. page 33, line 5 after the fit dollar amount, reduce by $9 milon. page 38, line 9 after the
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dollar amou iert, increased by $4 milln. page 38, line 24, aft the dollar amount insert, incas by $4 million. pe 47, line , after the dollar amount insert, increased by $3 million. the air: pursuant house resolution 287, theentleman from california and a member opposed will ch control five minutes. the cairrecogniz the gentleman from california. mr. lieu: thank you, mayor mr. chair is amendment takes- thank you, mr. chair. this amendment takes9 mlion outthe d.e.a. agency's $2 billion salaries and expense budget and redirects it towards deficit reduction as well as underfunded state and loca programs to help children that suffer through child abe, domestic abuse and sex asslt. thiamendment has been scored by the c.b.o. as reducin budget authority by $2 million and reducing outreach by $6 milliofor fiscal year 2016. the face of overwhelming support for less restrictions on marijuana, the d.e.a. still
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spends over $18 million aear on destic marijuana eradcation programs. this sply takes some of that money away because some states he legalized it, making some of thes eradcation programs no longer necessary. and it redirects the money $2 million to lowerg the deficit, $3 million to victi of child abuse act, which ovides justice and support for victs of child abuse, and $4 million to the consolidated youth oriented program whic helpsictims and the services they need to pursue saf and healthy lives with that i respectfully request this amndment be take up. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance h time does anybody wish to be recnized in opposition? for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? . culberson:eek unanous consent to cla thetime in position but we ve no opposition to the amendment and would encoage -- the chair: without oection. mr. culberson: i thank the gentleman -- i tnk t gentleman has gd amendment an we would encourage members to support it. thank ou. mr. fattah: i moot north ncurs -the mirity concurs. mr. lujan: thank you i yield back --
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mr. lieu: thank you, i yield back e chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the ntlem from texas yields back the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california thosin favoray aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chai the ayes have it. the amendment is agreeto. r hat puose does the ntlemafrom texas seek recognition? >> mr. spker, i haven amendment athe desk. the chair:he clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment fered by mr. castro of texas. page 33, line 5 after the first dollar amount insert reduceby million. page 49, line 6, after the dollar amount insert, incased by $10 mllion. the chair: pursuant toouse
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resution 28 the gentlan from texas and a memr of the hous w each control five mites. the chairecognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. castro: thank you mr. speaker. mr. speaker, firs i'd to thank e chairman and ranking member for their hard work on this bill. my amendmentould add $10 millio to e community inative account for police body worn cameras and would take those $10 milln from the d.e.a. accountor salaries expenses. er the last several months we have seen more and more encounters between members of our communities and law nforcement that have been too powerl to ignore. we've seen recordings of instances of police abuse we've seen instances where lice we justified in the usef forcewe've even seen instans where police went above and beyond doing the b. anr. speaker over the last two decades or so,omething
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chge two things in fact. rst, we developed a technology so that basically each ofs who walks around with a cell phone camera a social document aaron of the things going on arous -- documentarian of the things gng on around us. the seco thing to change is the advent of social med which allowed peoplto no only document their experiees but als to widely distribute what th had documented to this cntry ano the world. and bcause of that, we have gotten a better indication of the interaction between law forcement and members ofur mmunity. inhis ditaage, we have a responsibility toand to knothe truth abt those encounters. cal polce deptments, many of them in fact, 25% the 17,000 pice agencies in this country, are already usingody ceras. many more in states all over our nation a seeki the funds to do this. the president of the united states asked for50 million to
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allowocalras and moneys for loc agencies to afford these body cameras and for the orage to make sure that they can keephat idence. as yll know, thiis a very expensive tng and many partments have strgled with the funds to afford tse things. so, in the budget that' been pposed the aunt proposed is not $5 million but $15 million. this $ million wouldsimply brg us back up to half of what the president has requested, a $25 million. i will also add that this is ery popular amg themerican peopl. fully 86% of americans republicanand democrats, people of every rac and ethnicity, in every community across thecountry, support increased use ofdy cameras for oicers.
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even politician chiefsuo this also.
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>> thank yofor your work on
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this. and i wanto thank a few fks and congressman schweikert congressmanorcross di lot of work on this and i yield back. the chair: the gentlen yields back the balance of his time. e gentleman from texasields back the qution is on tmendment offered by the gentleman from texa the in favor sayye. . those opposed, . in the pib of the chair, the ayes have itnd the amenent is agreed to. forhat purpose does the gentlemafm tennessee seek recognition? mr. coh: i have anmendment at the desk for legal services. the chair: wilhe aplease subm it to the desk.
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thclerk will port the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. cohen of tenness. ter e first doll amount insertuced by $12 million. afthe firs dllar amount nsert incasy $10 million. the chair: theheentleman from tenssee a a member opposed eacwill contr fe tes. e air recogniz the geleman from tennessee. mr. coheni yield myself such timas i may coume. e ament ok25 mil from lega services. i had several amdments and wept from $5 millionp to $ million. stead going to $35 ml joran ich would vebeen hlf of the cut, take the25 miion, ke it away from the amendnt tat would have been the35illionncse
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which would have been the amendment aganst the amendment which would have been best practices ich i would recommend increasing $35 llion. thismendment would resto $10 millio legal servicesn 1995 was fundedt $40 that5 million. hat would be $600 llionnd this budget would b funded, hal of what it would be justed for inflaon. we ae proud of legal system andknown fort all around the globe and cn be complex and with all the problems we have. an's too diffult for peoe to reprent themsves in court. there is a saying, who represents himself as a lawyer has aool for a clien people needrofession legal aid to get thugh the maze of
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the juste syem. if you poor in this stem, and scared wn you g toourt, you won't beble toork against a private attorneyn thether side. it takes away equal juste under the lw. ialked about domesticiolence and senis, who have been ctimi >> neay0% of the potential clients ar turn away from legal services nationallynd hurt peoplall over this country and the attorneys do heroic work and recing the funding. unless assur lal services we shut the doors many who
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won't bab to protect their rights the dase would come from e.a. but i'll takhat if we can g the 1 and mr. pittenge ll be satisfied. my opiion to destroy t 75 thate lost. representatives have allelped. and i think mr. kennedy would like speak. the chair: the gentman frm assachusetts is recognize contend contend could i inire my time a wll. the chair: two minutes.
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mr. kennedy: once again rise in suprt of the legalervices corpraon. this isn orgization thas a major sourf fundingfor lel aid offices. and my funding s t kept pace with ed inflation o reali th facof the realind i have seeas a led volunteer in the couroom the pact o adequate legal represeation. as i havespnt at cizens beng victed by large teests coulve adequate representation in the courts. we, mr. speaker, inside these halls dte with great vigor and detail t nuans every sing pieces of legislationnd n't ta abt howt is going to impacted.
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the facts at my -- another source o funding f legal servic is theest on lawyers' fund accounts and that funding has beenevastated. and in maschusettslone tha as $31illion alone an reduced to frs million. legal servces has been decimated when people ne to have a access to a fair and just legal system. i yield my time back to mr. cohen. the chair: the gentlen serves t balancef his ime. who seeks tin opposition? mr. cuersoclm the time in opposition. the chair: the gentleman is recognizedor fiveinutes. mr. culbson: the drug enforceme agen des itant workargeted high-l drugrganizations and contribing to
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coteerrorism activities that areiedo and finaed by dru. we have seen the anarchy xico. he northern part of the state a cplete diser and utter lawless ross the borde and simporta that the d.i.a. hashe resources totheir b and i understand the gislation to g attorneys to give adeductioin theirax fo services the donate to the or and get to thecern that we ha thalegalervis be ovided t the poor. gog ugthe tax cod ther than the taxpayer dollars and dee has very, vy important job tdo and thekirns that the gan has raised about the some of thctivities of senior leel folks, we have wield ney from the deparent of justice in o
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billpecificall to encourage the new attorney general to discipline those gh level d.e.a. officia that re invo in that episode that we saw tooplace in coloma. and should be fid. and we have encoud the new attorn generalo do so immedialy. i thinkhat theaking adtional money from the.e.a. is a bad iand i do courage my coeague toppos t amendmen i want to me sure hve an additial $43 million in this bill for vionce against women programs specicly for lel sistor demreskvillens vtims aurgeyolleagues to votno to prott the vital that the d.e.a. plays on e rorus. and resee. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance ofis
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time. the geneman from tennessee has 0 seconds. mr. cohen: ireduces theamount ofmoney was increaseby in he budget and incrsed by $40 million. it would take $10 million which would be a huge difference. they won't be messingh tates thavelegazed medicaluana and d.ea. do the right thing in norhern mexico and other failed stat. i yield backthe balance of my time. the chair: the gentlan yield back the lance of his time. the gentlemaro ta >> i yieldo myrie fro philad. r. fatta don't o be nfus here. the chairman hasaid in the ommitteeand fumittee on the for and iaveaid it that reale thegal seices corporation inhe shortfall needs to beressed.
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i believe before we pass a final bill, it wilbe addressed. e is no posbility that i'm goin touppora ll that 00 llionnds. thotion of an increase on opf a cut ion want hese vos to beoted as ateing for legal services e ought to be careful here takre that as the house is working throughthishate understand that t amount that the bill is at w, it's unceptable andreadyeen it is not a satsfacto sponse notwistdinghe inteions ofur colle here. o we want to addrshe bigger iswhisull undingor gal services d st wnt as we go rward in this effort, iant to make my ientionsleahat i
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intend to fight to ma su that weivp to our commtmen and yunding leal seices. mrculbern i assure my friend, we have priorities in the bill thate did not have ough money fornd tryo wo rd. an ue members tvote against t memr. the ch. thgentleman yback the balance of his time. the queion is on the ent offered byhegentleom tennessee. thin favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of e cir, the noes have it the gentlem from tennessee. mr. cohe i ask fo roll call vote. the c pursuant to the amendment, further proceedgs n the andment. what rpse ds the gentlan fro -- clerk will re. thrk: page 33, line
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bureau o alcohol, tobacco rearms andexplosves, salari and exes1 biion. thir: for at purse does the gentleman from arizona reconition. . gosar: i have an endmen athe desk. the chair: the clerk willer repo the amendmt. mr.osar: 9 -- 097 the cl amendment offed b . gos arina ins af dol amount reduc 5, page2, line insert aft dla aunt incase by 5 million. pa, line, nsert af theollar amount increase by $ millio the cair: the gentleman fro arizona and a memberos eachill control five minutes, he cha recnizes gentlemanrom arona.
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mr. gosar: i ri to stand with thveterans by offering a simplemendment to bowlstr the fund r veterans treatment corps. it ss revery t correction agencies, drug eatment priders andh judiciar andere addicted t dr and alcohol as suffeng fromental lness. ma oour heroe are aumiz and tenope with feelings th substan abuse. and the courts. the alternives oeteran courts is jail time i think we could all agree that providing treatmes at the cal lel is far better option than lking them .
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dy redung fundsor the salaries and expenses for the orrhing bymillio i offer a very simil amendment lasyear which w d by voice ve. the a.t.f. salariee ated o increase a salary which would brg epropat level. amrediresunds fromurucrats to a wor treatmt for our nation's verans and show theirsupport bypassingu myamendment. i than the chairman andit that reserve the chai t gentlema reserv the balance of his tim foat purpose doeth getleman fr texas see recognition? mr. culrson:k time to seek ya to clim timainst the amendment. we eougethe use to
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support it. the chr: gentleman serves mr. gosar: i yield back. e chair: the question isn the amedment ofreby t geeman from arizona. ose in for say aye. those pped, no no. the amendme is aeed . for what rpose dohe len from izona k recognition? mr.os have andment at t des the cha: the clerk ll designate the amendment. the clerk: pe 33, line 19 after the dr amounsert creaseby $49 miion. page 46, line 9, afer the dollaount inse increased by $5 llion. the chair: purant to house lution the geneman arizonana member
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opposed each wiontrol five minutes. the chairecognizes gentleman fromrizona. mrsar: i rise today to ofr another andment with my collea mr hill, ich seek to bolst another rtan ogram. first, i thank thmmittee for thlong houy have dicated to prioritizing limited resours but i bieve shou not reward ba bevior r that typehat the t.f. has show rly. my amendmentimple idticalo an amendment that was adopted lastear. e amendment sh $ million to a worth and effective program known athe hard rogers pres siptt drugs ogram. at amount woulbring rescriptiorug monring prograck tothapproprie pd levelsf last e chrman of e
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propriammittee and he s bee unrelng on come outhing dugbuse. tis plaguing otreets escrion dg abe is contributing to dug aiction. rescption drug abuse fuels the dandor otherrerugs. ong with humrafficng gununninging and murder. . . herimaose of the presiption drug monoring rogr is toance the capac ogulatorynd l enforcemengencies toect andnalyze contrle substance prescriptiodata throughalized databe adstered byn authized state agency. ates thatave implented this colct andanalyze this tauc more effectiv th states in which colion of this dat requiremanu reew pharmacy fs.
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it this by's duty to alua which programare wohwhile and whines are t. is h shown promising results t weust not gi up. must continue tthink ouams, oufriends and our futureations. i ur mcolleaes to vote in fav of th amendmen i thkhchairman a ranking memr and th tha i reservthe bae of my time. e chair: the gentlem reserves e lanc time. does anydy seek time in opposition? mrttahi eknanimous coent to claim the time in opposition but i' not in opposition. the chair: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. fattah: i support the effort here to increase funding for a very important program that is addressing a major problem in our country. i divorce myself from the offset, not in terms of the actual offset, but any criticism of the a.t.f. i think that they're some very brave, courageous americans who are trying to make our country
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safer. but i think in lieu of the balancing act here, i support the amendment and i agree with it and i yield to the chairman. mr. culberson: thank you for yielding. the a.t.f. did the right thing here. i strenuously disagreed with the ban and had a chance to meet with the head of the a.t.f. as i was a chairman and walked him through the problems he was going to face on this house floor with amendments and problems with their budget and their spending plan this year and he's a patriot, former marine and life long law enforcement officer and understood they had kind of gone beyond the bounds of the statutes. so he agreed to drop the ban on 223 ammunition after i had a very good heart to heart meeting with him and so a.t.f. did the right thing. i think we should encourage good behavior and so i do think i want to recognize and want to thank the new head of the a.t.f. for doing the right thing and not going after law-abiding americans, constitutional right -- americans' constitutional right to possess and use a lawful 223 ammunition that focus on
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enforcing the statute which was designed to protect police officers from armor-piercing bullets that can be fired from pistols. a.t.f. did the right thing here but i think the gentleman has a good amendment. i share my colleague's support for the amendment. be sure the record reflects the a.t.f. did the right thing in dropping the ammo ban and i don't expect we're going to see another attempt by the a.t.f. to attempt to ban .223 ammunition becaused new chairman will be on him immediately. mr. fattah: reclaiming my time, we are in agreement again. maybe coming to it from different angles, but the important thing is we're at a yes on this amendment and the way we all get to these points may be different. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: mr. chairman, i'd like to yield some time to my friend from arkansas, mr. hill. the chair: how much time? mr. gosar: as much time as he
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may consume. the chair: as much time as he consumes. the gentleman is recognized. mr. hill: mr. speaker, thank you. i want to thank my colleague from arizona for yielding time to speak on this very important amendment. i want to thank him for his leadership. prescription drug abuse has become an epidemic in my home state of arkansas. and throughout our country. i'm so grateful for people like chief kirk lane of benton, arkansas, who leads on this issue throughout my district. tonight i speak from the well of our block ofed house first as a dad and second. i've had personal experiences with the tragic loss of life that comes as a result of prescription drug abuse. many times our children and our loved ones are the ones who are impacted. my daughter's 18 years old. and she already knows four people in her age group that have lost their lives due to the influence of prescription drugs and the related impacts. that's tragic.
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i'm proud that arkansas recently passed legislation that gives law enforcement investigators access to our state's prescription drug monitoring program. this law in my state will enhance investigative capabilities and will give law enforcement investigators better ability to bring criminals to justice that are abusing prescription drug practices and trying to dump those drugs back on the street. this is a serious problem that deserves more of our attention. first at our dinner tables and our schools and in our capital buildings. i'm so proud to support mr. gosar's amendment that cuts money from the overhead at the a.t.f. and will strengthen the prescription drug monitoring activities. i thank the gentleman from arizona and i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from arizona. mr. gosar: i thank the gentleman from arkansas for his kind words and support and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from arizona.
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those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. culberson: if i could, i'd like to strike -- move to strike the last word and enter into a colloquy. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. the gentleman is recognized. mr. culberson: thank you -- >> thank you mr. chairman. i thank for the report language which states, the committee encourages noaa to purchase services from the private sector when such services are available, cost effective and practical. as my friend from texas knows, noaa operates a fleet of ships for nautical charting as well as a fleet of surveyer craft for aerial photography and
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mapping. however, the inspector general at the department of commerce recommended that the air class fleet be privatized they're better, faster and less ex pecks -- expensive when purchased from the private sector. in fact, the inspector general found noah survey operations cost 42% more than the private sector which was then sent to noaa for study. rather than accept these cost savings and productivity improvement requirements, noaa has continually bought newship ships. this is not only poor stewardship of taxpayer money and inefficient resources, but results in the government duplicating and directly competing with private enterprise. there are numerous companies including small businesses ready and able to perform these services at a reduced cost and
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increased quality. i visited one such private sector firm in my district and heard firsthand about how government agencies are engaged in this behavior, which hinders private economic growth and job creation. my question to the gentleman from texas is, regarding the language i quoted earlier, is it the intent of the committee to include contracting for such surveying and mapping services when there is a qualified capable and cost effective solution available in the private sector? mr. culberson: i want to thank my colleague from iowa for raising this important point and the committee does expect noaa to utilize the private sector for these services when they are available and cost effective and practicable. i deeply appreciate my friend's interest and look forward to continuing to work with you on these issues to ensure that they're taken care of as we move through the process. i appreciate your hard work on this important legislation. the chair: the gentleman from
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texas yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from wisconsin seek recognition? ms. moore: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the chair would inform the gentlelady from wisconsin we're not at that point yet. for what purpose does -- the gentlewoman has not offered an amendment at this time.
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the chair: for what purpose does the gentleman from alabama seek recognition? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. byrne of alabama. page 33, line 19 after the dollar amount insert, reduce by $250 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 287, the gentleman from alabama and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from alabama. mr. bryne: thank you. my straightforward amendment would cut the bureau of alcohol, tobacco firearms and explosives by 20%. that would result in $250 million worth of savings. let me make one thing clear. i know that the a.t.f. has an important mission to play in keeping our nation safe and regulating everything from firearms to alcohol. that said, in the last few years we have seen an outrageous growth in operations and regulations coming out of a.t.f. how can we forget the fast and
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furious gun trafficking scheme that was allowed to go so far off track that 2,000 guns went to mexican drug trafficking groups? worst of all, a federal law enforcement officer was killed with a gun from that operation. there was operation fearless, where an undercover operation in milwaukee wisconsin, went horribly wrong convicted felons are given access to weapons, the fake store front was burglarized and $39,000 in merchandise was lost. the a.t.f. even used someone with developal disabilities in the operation and ultimately arrested him for his involvement. from wichita kansas, to portland oregon, to atlanta, georgia, the stories of botched operations and inappropriate action just goes on and on. then there was the a.t.f.'s recent attempt to reclassify common m-855 ammunition as armor-piercing despite its exemption from there this
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classification since 1986. thankfully this proposal was dropped after pressure from congress. mr. chairman, the people i represent in southwest alabama are tired of a federal government that doesn't live within its means. they want to see their elected officials in washington get serious about making cuts to the federal bureaucracy. my constituents also are tired of executive overreach and the federal government involving itself in areas where it simply doesn't belong. i know that the committee and chairman culberson have made real efforts to rein in the a.t.f. and i appreciate those efforts. i also understand that a.t.f. is now under new leadership and hope that the new leaders get serious about much-needed reforms. i am all for safety and responsible gun ownership. and the a.t.f. does have a role to play in that. but this amendment would simply require a.t.f. to return to its core functions and responsibilities. it would cause a.t.f. to look at itself in the mirror, find areas where they can cut back
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and refocus on their true priorities. ultimately, this amendment is about protecting our second amendment rights while also pushing for real reforms to federal spending. and i urge my colleagues to support this amendment. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. who seeks time in opposition? mr. culberson: mr. chairman, i claim time in opposition. i understand the gentleman's frustration. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. culberson: thank you mr. chairman. i do understand the gentleman's concern. my constituents, all of us were upset with the a.t.f.'s attempt to ban .223 ammunition, but they did the right thing, they withdrew the ammo ban after i had a heart to heart with them and by doing the right thing i think we should reward good behavior, i'm monitoring them very closely. we have spending plan language in our bill that allows oversight over not only a.t.f., the department of justice, every agency under our jurisdiction has to submit a spending plan to us that is then subjected to careful ongoing oversight throughout
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the year and if we cut a.t.f. by $250 million, they're unable to do all the important work that they are now engaged in. there's a lot of dedicated law enforcement officers in that agency that are doing their very best to fight gangs and violent criminals and we've visited with folks at a.t.f. they're not concerned about law-abiding citizens or a gun dealer who's following the law. they are focused on the criminal element of the country and so i would encourage members, if i could i'd be happy to work with you and share with you the ongoing oversight work that i'm doing and encourage to you come visit with the new a.t.f. director, a very impressive man, a marine, a life long law enforcement officer who did the right thing here and the agency's devoted to protecting americans' second amendment rights. if i ever

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