the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi seek recognition? >> mr. speaker i have a privileged resolution at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: whereas on december 20, 1860, south carolina became the first state to secede from the union. whereas on january 9, 161, mississippi seceded from the union, stating in its declaration of immediate causes that, that our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery, the greatest material interest of the world, whereas on february 9, 1861, the confederate states of america was formed with a group of 11 states as a purported sovereign nation and with jefferson davis of mississippi as its president. whereas on march 11, 1861, the confederate states of america adopted its own constitution. whereas on april 12, 1861, the

confederate states of america fired shots upon charleston, south carolina, effectively beginning the civil war. whereas the united states did not recognize the confederate states of america as a sovereign nation but rather as a rebel insurex-and took to military battle to bring the rogue states back into the union. whereas on april 9, 1865, general robert e. lee surrendered in virginia. effectively ending the civil war and preserving the union. whereas during the civil war, the confederate states of america used the navy jack battle flag and other imagery as a symbol of the confederate armed forces. whereas since the end of the civil war, the navy jack, confederate battle flag and other imagery of the confederacy have been appropriated by groups as a symbol of hate, terror intolerance and as supportive of the institution of slavery. whereas groups such as the ku

klux klan and other white supremacist groups utilize confederate imagery to frighten, terrorize and cause harms to groups of people toward whom they have hateful intent, including african-americans hispanic americans and jewish americans. whereas many state and federal political leaders including united states senators, along with mississippi house speaker and other state leaders, have spoken out and advocated for the removal of the imagery of the confederacy on mississippi's state flag. whereas many members of congress, including speaker john boehner support the removal of the confederate flag from the grounds of south carolina's capitol. whereas speaker john boehner released a statement on the issue saying, i commend governor haley and other south carolina leaders in their effort to remove the confederate flag from state house grounds. in his second inaugural address

150 years ago g ago and a month before his assassination, president abraham lincoln ended his speech with these powerful words, which are as meaningful today as when they were spoke on the east front of the capitol on march 4, 1865. with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as god gives us, to see the right. lets us striving on to finish the work -- let us striving on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's word wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. whereas the house of representatives has several state flags with the imagery of the confederacy throughout its main structures and house office buildings. whereas it is an uncontra verted fact that symbols of the confederacy offend and insult many members of the general public who use the hallways of congress each day. whereas congress has never permanently recognized in its hallways the symbol it's of

sovereign nations with whom it has gone to war or rogue entities such as the confederate states of america. whereas continuing to display a symbol of hatred oppression and insurex-that nearlier to our union apart and that is known to offend many groups throughout the country would irreparably damage the reputation of this august institution and defend the dignity of the house of representatives and where this impairment constitutes a violation under rule 9 of the rules of the house of representatives of the 114th congress. now therefore be it resolved that the speaker of the house of representatives shall remove any state flag containing any portion of the confederate battle flag other than the flag displayed by the office of a member of the house from any area within the house wing of the capitol. or anyow house office building. and shall donate any such flag to the library of congress. the speaker pro tempore: the resolution presents question of the privileges of the house. for other purposes the gentleman from california seek recognition? -- for what purpose does the

gentleman from california seek recognition? the clerk: mr. mccarthy moves that the resolution be referred to the committee on house legislation. mr. mccarthy: all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman for bringing this resolution to the attention of the house. as i have said many times before, i'm a big believer in the committee process to discuss all issues that come before the floor. especially one of this importance. i thank this resolution -- i think this resolution should be referred to the committee to give other members an opportunity to weigh in. i yield two minutes to the gentleman from mississippi for the purpose of debate only. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you very much and i appreciate the gentleman yielding the time. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, to someone who has lived his entire life in the state of mississippi and had to endure a symbol that represented bigotry, hatred and everything

this country is not, i'm convinced that an effort to remove this flag from the hallowed halls of the house of representatives is the right thing to do. we all know the history of the south. we know the is you sessionist motivations behind the civil war and my ancestors were those individuals who were held in bondage against their will. we are a nation of laws. we should not identify with symbols of hatred and bigotry. that flag, those symbols should be put in a museum. they should not be flown on the -- under any circumstance where there is freedom and dignity in this great institution of ours. i know it's a hard choice for

members to do. but i saw what happened in charleston, south carolina last wednesday. the whole world saw it. and they did not like it. and so this is one step toward getting us healed as a nation. so i take it very personal. i've had churches burned in my district. i've had men and women killed for trying to do the right thing. and yet when i see people trying to defend that way of life under which that flag represents this is not who we are as an institution. and because of that i offer the privileged resolution. i understand where we are with it. but i have issues with it. i appreciate the gentleman

yielding the two minutes and i urge my colleagues to oppose the referral of this resolution to committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. mccarthy: i yield one minute to the distinguished chair candice miller, of the house administration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. mr. miller: miller i certainly thank -- mr. miller: -- mrs. miller: i certainly thank the gentleman for the time. i was moved personally just listening to the gentleman from mississippi. i listened to him last night when he offered his privileged motion. i would say the committee on house administration is looking forward to maring more from representative thompson -- more from -- to hearing more from representative thompson as well as the congressional delegation from mississippi, all the members on this resolution. as well our committee would like to hear from all of the elected representatives from

the great state, at the state level. of the great state of mississippi. and we want to say that we appreciate sincerely appreciate the representative thompson for offering his privileged resolution and to assure the gentleman from mississippi, mr. speaker, that our committee will give this measure every serious consideration and every thoughtful consideration and i appreciate yielding the time and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california. mr. mccarthy: i yield back and move the previous question on the motion to refer. the speaker pro tempore: the previous question is ordered. the question is on the motion of the gentleman from california. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. thompson: on that i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman ask for the yeas and nays? mr. thompson: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. -- all those in favor of taking

this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause of rule 0 this 15 minute -- pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 this 15-minute vote will be followed by five-minute votes on adoption of house resolution 338 and the motion to suspend the rules on h.r. 1615. 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.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 240, the nays are 184. the motion is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the vote on adoption of house resolution 338 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 45, house resolution 33, resolution providing for consideration of -- 338, resolution providing for consideration of the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment to the bill h.r. 1295, to extend the african

growth and opportunity act, the generalized system of preference, the preferential duty treatment program for haiti and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on adoption of the resolution. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 251. the nays are 176. without objection the motion is adopted. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the house will be in order.

the house will be in order. members, please take seats. cease conversations. the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? the speaker: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the speaker: my colleagues, the people's house is only as good as its people, and i'd like to take a moment to recognize a very well-respected member of our staff. tim, the manager of the republican cloakroom, is retired after 41 years of service.

now, it's actually more than that when you factor in that tim started here as a page on september 5 1972, under republican leader jerald r. ford. but his first full-time job was in the post office. then he moved to the cloakroom where he's been a teddy presence ever sense. now, you know tim's a good guy and frankly quite a character and he wears the worst ties of anybody here. but tim, god has blessed you with great success because you're the kind of guy that works hard and gives back and so on behalf of the whole house, i want to thank you for your long and distinguished

service and wish you and your wife all the best. i yield back. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition? mr. hoyer: i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, as someone who has not served here as long as tim but a pretty long time i've gotten to know him very well when i wander across on that side of the aisle. and he always receives me with very gracious attitude. always very, very helpful. he's been a wonderful fellow worker on the floor of this

house with all of us on this side of the aisle as well and i certainly join our speaker in thanking him for the service that he's given to this house and to this country and wish him the very best in the future. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection five-minute voting will continue. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from georgia, mr. carter, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1615 as amended, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1615, a bill to direct the chief foia officer of the department of homeland security to make certain improvements in the implementation of section 552 of title 5, united states code

commonly known as the freedom of information act, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 423. the nays are zero. 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. ryan: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 338 i call up the bill h.r. 1295, the trade preferences extension act, with the senate amendment to the house amendment to the senate amendment thereto and i have a motion at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. designate the designate amendment to the house amendment to the designate amendment and designate the motion. the clerk: h.r. 1295. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman will suspend. the house shall be in order. will members remove their conversations from the floor clear the well so that the business of the house can continue, please. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk may continue.

the clerk: an act to extend the african growth and opportunity act the preferential treatment program for haiti and for other purposes. senate amendment to house amendment to senate amendments. mr. ryan of wisconsin moves that the house concur in the house amendment to the senate amendment to the house amendment to h.r. 1285. the speaker pro tempore: the motion shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled of the chairman. mr. ryan and mr. levin will each control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material to h.r. 1285 as amended currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. ryan: i would like to yield two minutes to the distinguished gentleman, the author of the

trade assistance bill. mr. reichert from washington. two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair would like to remained -- remind members to remove their conversations from the floor. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. reichert: i thank the gentleman for yielding and thank him for his leadership on this series of trade bills that we have been considering for the last few weeks. i rise today in support of the preferences bill before us. this bipartisan legislation renews both the generalized system of preferences in the african growth opportunity act. this is an important program both to washington state businesses and promoting economic development across the globe. similarly, the renewal of agoa -- mr. speaker, the house is not

in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman may continue. mr. reichert: renewal of agoa is critical to further strengthening our ties with africa. the strong bipartisan vote this legislation received weeks ago made clear the strong support these programs have in congress and among the american people. also included in this legislation is a renewal of trade adjustment assistance and i'm proud as mr. ryan said, to sponsor the house legislation to renew it because there is a need for this program. i believe increased trade is good for all americans and it creates jobs. it makes america stronger. but i also understand that among and along the way as we create jobs and trade and our jobs change over the next few years,

along the way, some workers may need extra assistance and additional training. that's why t.a.a. is so important. we've made great strides this past week by sending t.p.a. to the president's desk and i'm also proud that t.p.a. was attached to another bill, which happened to be a labor bill, t.s.p. which created a fair application of retirement benefits for federal public safety officers. so now, mr. speaker, we must move forward, pass t.a.a. and agoa today. general preferences. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i shall consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: the debate these last weeks and months has been about how do we get a strong and

effective trade policy and trade agreement. that debate only intensifies now. supporters of trade promotion authority, t.p.a. sought vague negotiating objectives and passive role for congress in the process was the way to go in part because many on the majority side feel that more trade is essentially better no matter its terms or conditions. the opponents of t.p.a. wanted to ensure that t.p.p. negotiations were on the right track with no blank check to ustr and there are so many outstanding areas, where we are not satisfied with the status of negotiations, where we are uncertain of their outcome, now we can focus like a laser beam

on those issues. the argument about the process of t.p.a. is now behind us. and the challenge of the substance of t.p.p. smack in front of us. automatic embraced of centuries' old doctrines does not meet the challengeses of intensifying globalization. so we will continue to shine a bright light on the critical issues like market access, state-owned enterprises, intellectual property and access to medicines, worker rights environment currency manipulation and investment provisions that could put at risk domestic regulations. our calls for improvements to the negotiations will only grow louder. in order for t.p.p. to gain the support of the american people, it will need to gain the votes

of a much broader coalition of members of congress than voted for t.p.a. the issue is not pro-trade versus anti-trade, but whether we shape trade agreements to spread the benefits broadly, including the middle class of americans. take, for example the two trade bills before us today. the african growth and opportunity act and our trade preferences programs. house democrats have been key architects of these programs. for example, in the 1990's our colleagues charlie rangel and jim mcdermott, working with phil crane, laid the foundation for the african growth and opportunity act of 2000. these programs are designed to help shape trade, to ensure that

its benefits are more broadly based. we can see that in agoa where stronger labor and other eligibility criteria and inclusion of textile and apparel products can give us additional leverage to help raise living standards. the same is doubly true with the haiti program. while there's much work to be done in haiti, one critical element of our program, inspections of factories by the independent group better work, is resulting in improved compliance with haitian labor laws and better conditions for workers there. finally this bill includes a re-authorization of trade adjustment assistance. i'm an ardent supporter and introduced a bill earlier this year with adam smith to re-authorize it. i support 1295. to be sure this t.a.a. is not perfect, it falls short of the

high water mark we established for the program in 2009. at a time when trade is expanding and is expected to expand even further with new trade agreements, we should be ensuring adequate funding for workers who lose their jobs as a result of trade and our transingsing to new jobs not cutting the program. but we need to restore the program also for service workers and for trade with all countries improvements that were allowed to lapse at the end of 2013 and need to extend the entire program for the future. t.p.a., t.p.p. t.a.a. it might seem like a word scramble, but going forward, t.p.p. to the american people will be about jobs and wages. they expect us to work hard to

get it right as it is being negotiated, not simply leaving their elected officials with a yes or no vote after t.p.p. is done. we have a lot of work to do. and there is no ducking these issues now. i reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i would like to yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, both people -- people on both sides of the aisle have been working for years to promote american trade. we took big steps when we passed t.p.a. last week and sent it to the president yesterday. passing t.p.a. is an achievement that this congress should be very proud of. it's going to empower congress in trade negotiations. it will help america. and it will tell the world that the america that they knew is the america that they know is an

america that is still willing to lead. i especially want to thank my colleagues in the house like congressman ron kind and congressman blumenauer for their leadership on this issue. i want to thank our friends in the senate, like senators hatch and wyden. we needed trust. we promised our democratic friends if they stay with us on t.p.a., we will follow through with this bill that is before us today. we are here today to keep our word and there are three parts of this bill, all three of which have bipartisan support. first we re-authorize trade adjustments assistance act which is in keeping with the agreements. this program helps workers who have lost jobs and we have authorized them, and we are doing them. we authorized them together and that is what we are doing here. we made improvements to the program. second we re-authorize a number

of trade preferences for developing countries. this bill re-authorizes a number of programs that have broad bipartisan support, agoo, t.s.p. and haiti hope. these programs lower trade barriers between our country and these developing countries. it's the best example of trade not aid that you can come up with. they grow our trading ties, when they grow, we grow and this is good policy that has been supported by both sides of the aisle. and and therefore, we have every incentive to get this done. third, we make sure our companies can use our trade remedy laws to address unfair trade practices. we have worked with our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, our steel caucus to make sure our trade laws are actually enforced and when our trade laws are not being followed, when they are being abused, that we have quick remedies to these situations.

all of this legislation will strength then the american economy and strengthen america's ability on the world stage and leadership. with that, i urge its passage and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: it's my special privilege to yield three minutes to mr. rangel, who was an inspiration for agoo -- agoa and a major author mr. rangel. mr. rangel: this is a good day for america and good day for us in the house. there are so many people to thank for making today possible not just for the people in the developing countries in africa, but for americans who recognize that unless we can raise the level of survival in other countries then our country is not fulfilling its moral and economic obligations.

i want to give a special thanks to the chairman of the ways and means committee. kind of rough listening to him talking about t.p.p., the transpacific partnership, because he knows and i know that if we wanted these bills pass, the concern by not what the multinationals want, but concern about the middle class. the middle class should get help by having infrastructure, can help by having education, all the things that are not democratic issues, but on this particular agoa bill that he thought that this standing alone did not have to get involved in the controversy that people had over the more controversial bill. and like he said, he made his commitment and kept this commitment and things like this should have younger members realize that we can work together. and i thank him publicly for that. you will be hearing more from

other members in terms of the involvement that they have had certainly, mr. levin from the very, very beginning working with jim mcdermott working with the republicans gave birth to this bill 10 years ago and his guidance and support and the ways and means members have given anotherier. karen bass came to us and gave africa and those types of issues that people left behind and she managed to make certain and everyone knows that this country cares and cares deeply. it is ironic as we talk about africa we are talking about haiti and talking about developing countries and we are talking about those workers who through no fault of their own and because of international and national decisions, have lost the opportunity to have self-esteem and have a job. these are issues that we have touched on in this bill. these are the issues that go no

where to how far america has to go in order to be fair and equal and allow us really, to include real wages real education, real opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness. but since we are trying and since there is nothing in this bill that doesn't point us in the right direction, and especially the same day that this united states supreme court has recognized that compassion is not restricted to just those who can afford insurance on their own, i just want to thank the leadership in this house, both republican and democrat for the great work that allows me to be a proud member of this house. thank you. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: at this time i'd like to yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee, mr. meehan from pennsylvania.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. meehan: i want to thank the gentleman for bringing his bipartisan solution to the trade promotion authority. i'd like to stand in support of the trade presences extension act and encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in supporting this. i speak first about trade adjustment assistance, a program that i have seen in my own district where i have watched workers when it can be demonstrated that they have had their jobs impacted because of foreign implications that there is a support network in place. i have seen the value of that program and believe that this is important that we keep the tradition of t.a.a., but we also need to point out that there has been significant improvements in this program streamlining which will remove some of the underperforming programs were not re-authorized. accountability there will now be performance goals for t.a.a. that are aligned with other job

training programs. the consolidation, a third part in which we will promote direct services for participants over the administrative spending. these are important and critical improvements to a program that already has a history. i just want to close my comments as well. there's a very important provision in the trade preferences extension dealing with improving anti-dumping and countervailing duty laws. as an attorney, i appreciate the importance of creating an accurate record, and this allows us to do this in a vitally important area about the dumping that are affecting american jobs at home. first and most important, it will allow the department of commerce to have the ability to create an expert record. what you have is a foreign party that fails to corporate with the agency's requests. they will be able to impute the information that is necessary to make that case. in addition, they will be empowered toing able to

disregard prices and costs of inputs of foreign producers' purchase that the department of commerce has reason or suspectes that the inputs in question have been subsidized or dumped. once again, creates an accurate record that allows us -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional one minute. mr. meehan: i thank the gentleman because i think this is such a critically important issue to be able to create the kind of record and it gives the department of commerce the kind of discretion to be able to look at the facts and to take recalcitrant countries and hold them accountable by creating what is accurate in the form of the case that we can make to assure that workers here at home are being protected. these are important and valuable assets in the ability for us to continue to protect american jobs and it's for those reasons that i strongly encourage my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to support the trade preferences extension act of 2015. i thank the gentleman.

and i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, mr. blumenauer from oregon. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for two minutes. mr. blumenauer: i appreciate the gentleman's courtesy. and i rise in support of the effort today. i'd first acknowledge what my friend, the chairman of the committee, said a moment ago. it's at times trust is in short supply in this institution for a whole host of reasons but we were given ironclad assurances from the speaker from the president from the chairman from senator wyden, senator hatch, leader mcconnell that t.a.a. would come back to this floor to be voted on. and i think it's important that that has in fact occurred. because to adapt, respond and grow a 21st century work force we need trade adjustment assistance. and what we have before us is an improvement over current law. it's not as good as what we had in 2009, and i hope that we

will be able to build on this and move forward, but this program has helped more than 100,000 americans, including 3,000 of my fellow oregonians who received job training and financial support. and there will continue to be winners and losers in the global economy. whether we have trade agreements with countries or not like with pressures from china, it's important that we provide this for our workers. with our vote today we do so. i lend my voice to saluting chairman rangel for the work that he had done on agoa. having this package before us including new economic opportunities for growing the economies of africa haiti and other places around the world are critically important. the 10-year extension is an example of how trade can improve these critical living standards. and finally, i have to acknowledge one little parochial interest in this

bipartisan provision i worked on with mr. reichert that creates jobs in the northwest and helps all outdoor enthuse yists. right now innovate -- enthusiast. right now innovative footwear, identical looking running shoes imported pay significantly higher tariff for a single reason that they have a water-proof liner. coming from the pacific northwest -- len levin i yield will be mr. levin: i yield 30 seconds. mr. blumenauer: coming from the northwest water-proof matters. charging extremely high tariffs for no reason at all, i think is an important step forward, and i look forward to continuing work to fine tune the tariff regimen that we have. but this is an important one for the people that i represent in the northwest. i appreciate working with mr. reichert to be able to get this one across the finish line.

thank you and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: at this time i'd like to yield three minutes to the chairman of the trade subcommittee, the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for three minutes. mr. tiberi: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a good day for america. as the previous speaker just said, globalization occurs with or without america engaging in the world. it's important for america to engage in the world, to write the rules of the global economy. whether or not we do or we don't, there will be winners and losers because of glablization. this bill is called the preferences bill, but it's more than just about preferences. it's about america's leadership in africa. it's about america's leadership in haiti. it's about america's leadership at home, providing trade assistance for those workers who did lose their job because of globalization. my dad was one of them. long before america engaged in a bilateral trade agreement, my dad lost his job as a steelworker. there are important provisions

in this bill by chairman ryan, written by chairman ryan that will help the steel industry. really important. my dad was in that industry. lost his job of 25 years. he benefited from trade assistance. this is important for american workers. this is also important for those workers who lost their job through no fault of their own, who lost their health care. health coverage tax credit is renewed in this bill. this bill almost wasn't, quite frankly. a lot of rhetoric on the floor of this house the floor of the other house about the word of our chairman, the word of our speaker that this wouldn't come up. we can't trust them. well let me tell you ladies and gentlemen, our chairman's word has been gold from day one in this process. every commitment that he has made has come true. our speaker through this process, every commitment that he's made has come to be. we wouldn't be on the floor today debating this bill and approving this bill in a little

while if it wasn't for the leadership of chairman ryan and the leadership of speaker boehner. they both deserve our thanks. also, the chairman has put together a great staff at the ways and means committee. they should be thaad for their yome -- thanked for their yeoman's work during this process which has been very bipartisan and very bicameral. americans want this place to work. americans want congress to work together for america's benefit, america's leadership in the world today is a little bit stronger. america's leadership in the world today is shining a little bit brighter because the work that congress has done on this bill and the other bills, including the customs bill, that had congress has put together and sending to the president's desk shortly because america is going to lead in the global economy because of what we have done today. america should be proud that congress is working again. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, mr. kind from wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for two minutes. mr. kind: thank you mr. speaker. i thank my friend for yielding. i rise in support of trade preferences legislation that's been us today. and as the previous speaker pointed out, for us to be in this situation did require a little leap of faith. we weren't sure how we would get back after the procedural snaffue earlier to have a chance to reconsider trade adjustment assistance but i give credit and i thank the leadership on both sides of the aisle, especially my good friend and colleague, mr. ryan from wisconsin, the speaker, senator mcconnell. they promised as we did move forward trying to give the president trade promotion authority that they wouldn't pull any punches they'd allow it to come forward for consideration and this is happening today. this has not been an easy process but this week the president will get trade

promotion authority on his desk so this administration can go forward and try to negotiate the best agreement in the trans-pacific partnership and even with our european allies that we can obtain in order to elevate standards up and begin to level the playing field so that our workers, our farmers, our businesses have a better chance of competing in that global environment, especially the fastest growing region in the pacific rim right now and that's what t.p.p. is all about. but it's also important to recognize the significant work done with the african growth and opportunity act. that's all about our relationship with the countries in africa and haiti and where we go here in the 21st century together. it's important that we get this accomplished today. along with the trade adjustment assistance bill. we were able to provide displaced workers that are affected by globalization so they can reintegrate as quickly as possible in the economy and be full participants of this 21st century global economy.

that would not have happened if the political stars had not aligned. there are areas of common agreement here in this country as represented in this congress. and today is proof of that. being able to move forward on a trade agenda that's important for u.s. global leadership, important for our workers growing the economy and our competitiveness as a nation. again, i commend the leadership that's been shown on both sides of the aisle. we're looking forward to more opportunities to work together in the future. i encourage my colleagues to support this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: let me just yield myself 30 seconds and then i understand the gentleman has speakers. i just add my thanks mr. speaker. i want to -- mr. tiberi left but he did a lot of work on this legislation. he did yeoman's work on it. i just want to echo the sentiment that's been said here which is passing these very

challenging bills, doing it -- a number of bills did require a lot of trust between the two parties which we have not seen a lot of lately. and i'm just very pleased to be a part of this dynamic. where we have given each other our words, we have kept on our words and therefore we are getting this done. and as a result of that, i believe that the country is far better off. this policy is better and it restores our leadership in the world. with that since i'm waiting further speakers, i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time is reserved. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, mr. pascrell from new jersey. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. mr. pascrell: thank you mr. speaker. i have heard it from both sides of the aisle now the term winners and losers. our workers who are laid off because of the deals that have been put before this congress in the last 15 years are not losers. they're the most productive workers in the world. how dare you call them losers?

we are all patting each other on the back here. we're talking about a piece of legislation that is like putting the cart before the horse. we want to prevent people from being laid off. engineers laborers technicians. our trade deals have been a joke. not one person has come to this floor to explain to us -- and i know that's not the bill we're talking about. that's already been passed. not one person has come to the floor and told us how these jobs are going to be created through trade. we're not anti-trade. what we want are fair trade deals. how dare you call our workers losers? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is reminded to direct his remarks to the chair. mr. pascrell: i say that through you to them. all we need to do is grant the

president fast track authority so we can finalize the trans-pacific partnership because it will be good for american workers and yet here we are today, voting on a package to prepare for the opposite, the loss of american jobs because of a trade deal that doesn't put american workers first. . i could support the trade adjustment assistance to those people who are going to be laid off because of these trade deals are so great so that they kept their jobs. where are those jobs? if american workers are going to have the rug pulled out from under them because of trade deals, something should be there to break their fall. the sad reality is we need t.a.a. and sadder reality is despite the great need this t.a.a. bill before us today is inadequate. another minute. mr. levin: another 30 seconds. the gentleman is recognized for

additional 30 seconds. mr. pascrell: the trade adjustment bill we're voting on today contains a number of flaws. the t.a.a. has been used as a bargaining chip to push it over the finish line. i would prefer we didn't need t.a.a. trade adjustment assistance is not preferable to a job. it cuts funding for the worker from $575 million. you have your pound of flesh. at a time when trade is expanding, this bill slashes funding for worker training by 20%. mr. speaker, i yield back. and thank you for your courtesy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: in order to restore the civil dialogue, i would like to yield two minutes to a distinguished member of the ways and means committee mr. paulsen from minnesota.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. paulsen: i thank the gentleman for bringing an additional trade legislation today that is very, very important. i rise in support of h.r. 1295, trade preferences act for a couple of key reasons because there are key important provisions that accomplish some critical goals. it extends the vital trade preferences with both africa through the african growth and opportunity act as well as haiti. and these investments now these preference programs provide vital opportunities for american investment for u.s. investment, long-term investment. these countries are asking for this investment for the long-term. it helps african workers and haitian workers and businesses establish themselves as developing countries to making sure they are going to be set for the global economy. mr. speaker, this is more about establishing soft power, strategic alliances and that's smart power. the legislation renews the

generalized system of preferences program. this is another important program that reduces tariffs and reduces prices. it helps consumers here in the united states each and every day and the consumer and the amount of products they consume. importantly mr. speaker, the bill authorizes the ustr to designate certain travel goods, including purses and backpacks to be eligible expanding new production opportunities for u.s. businesses and this is a provision that i have long supported. mr. speaker, i think what you are seeing is the trade agenda moving forward on a bipartisan basis. every president, regardless of their political background and their party backgrounds president roosevelt engaged the world with the united states leading in trade. that tradition is continuing now with this congress, with this president. we want to see it through. we want to see more opportunity for enhanced trade because more

trade means more jobs and higher paying jobs for our american workers, especially in manufacturing right here at home. i thank the chairman for bringing this important bill to the floor. and i urge my colleagues to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield two minutes to the the gentlewoman from california ms. lee. ms. lee: let me thank our ranking member for yielding and for your very critical and tremendous leadership on these issues. mr. speaker, as a strong supporter of this africa growth and opportunity act let me first say i'm extremely disappointed that agoa was used as a bargaining chip to pass the unrelated trade adjustment assistance package. agoa has been a cornstone of the u.s.-africa relationship and i have to thank congressman rangel and congresswoman bass and

members of the congressional black caucus who have done everything they could do to keep agoa a clean bill without being loaded with non-africa -trade-related issues. in spite of these efforts we are faced with a bill that looks like a christmas tree. but i will reluctantly vote for this because africa deserves better. it deserves not to be caught up in the gimmicks of this body. and we will continue to fight for american jobs, american workers and a t.p.p. that creates jobs in america, economic growth in america and preserves jobs in america. so this is not over. on top of the very cynical way that these trade bills have been brought to the floor, the t.a.a. included in this bill is inadequately funded, fails to protect workers who will be displaced by massive trade agreements like the t.p.p., and that will happen.

it's unfortunate we have to pass a t.a.a. to protect workers from job losses that we know will exist which we're told that won't exist. so at least we need to come back with a t.a.a. that is fully funded at least to the tune of 575 million jobs. this t.a.a. fails to cover all workers who will be adversely affected by t.p.p. and excludes public sector employees from eligibility. this is simply wrong. we must do better. time for us to get real and stop putting american workers at risk. we need an adequate trade assistance bill and trade policy that protects and creates american jobs and economic growth in america. but quite frankly, we have to have trade policies that creates markets for african goods, jobs in africa, additional 10 seconds.

health care issues like hiv-aids development assistance such as the millennium challenge account so we can't neglect africa and be used as a gimmick in this overall process which i think is very, very poor and reflects poorly on this body. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will receive a message. the messenger: a message from the senate. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house that the senate was re-engrossed the senate amendment to h.r. 1735 national defense authorization act for fiscal year 2016 in which the concurrence of the house is requested. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: let me give myself a minute to try and clarify some of what was mentioned. the reason we are here with this bill and the reason t.a.a. is attached to the agoa bill is because of the tactics from the minority a couple of weeks ago. in keeping with our word, we

brought this trade preferences bill through the house on its own standalone. the reason this is happening is not because the majority, but because of what the minority did with respect to the t.a.a. bills. i want to be very clear. that's why we are are where we are are. we are keeping our agreement and these bills are going through. second point, t.p.p. does not exist yet. there is no transpacific partnership trade agreement. there are talks, there have been talks for years and those talks are still ongoing, but we do not have a trade agreement yet. that was why we needed to pass t.p.a. so we can get a trade agreement like t.p.p. so i would just encourage all members not to oppose something they have not yet seen, not to

prejudge an agreement that does not yet exist. it is very important -- i give myself another minute -- it's very important that we recognize 95% of the world's consumers, they don't live in this country but other countries. if we want good jobs that pay more we need to be able to make and grow things in america and sell them overseas to other markets other countries. since t.p.a. last expired in 2007 there have been 100 trade agreements negotiated and enacted around the world where we were a party to, zero, none of them. what that means is, other countries are lowering the trade barriers between themselves and we, america are not being a part of this, have much higher barriers. so if we want to make something and sell it overseas it's a lot more expensive for them to buy our products.

there were 48 trade agreements enacted in asia since 2000 alone. we were a party to two of them. and as a result, our share of trade going into asia, meaning exports going there from our country went down 42%. one in five jobs. these jobs pay more. this is about jobs. i would encourage our members, don't take a position until -- it doesn't exist yet. read and see with your own eyes and then form an opinion. i would argue it's not in your constituents' interests to say what you are for or against before you even see what it is. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: could i ask for the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has 12 1/4 remaining. mr. levin: i yield myself one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: the reason for the

vote on t.a.a. some days ago was because it was used as a bargaining chip to get votes for t.p.a.. that's what the vote on t.a.a. was all about. and secondly, i just want to observe it said don't judge t.p.p. in opposition before you see it. the problem is, so many people are judging in favor of it, while it's still being negotiated. and labeling it for a certain kind of an agreement, while it's still being negotiated. so for those who criticize those who are opposed before they see it, i would like to say to them what's good for the goose is good for the gander. don't embrace it so fully and so passionately before it's being completed and it's far from

being completed. i yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. connolly. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. connolly: i thank the gentleman. and it is good counsel for both sides, let's see what the fine print has to say before we draw our lines in support or opposition. i take those words to heart. i must say i echo the words of chairman ryan. we are here today, not under some cynical ploy to use the africa bill to pass trade adjustment assistance, rather, we are here to save trade adjustment assistance because some decided it was worth sacrificing to get at trade promotion authority. that was their political judgment and entitled to it. and not entitled to accuse us of saving that program of sin

civil. that is the least thing happening today. we are trying to keep workers who will be displaced, the globalization and yes, maybe trade, get some training, get some help. that's what this program has done. it's a democratic program and chairman ryan and speaker boehner have kept their word. that's what today's vote is also about, redeeming a pledge made to us that we would have a second bite at this apple. and thank god that we do because american workers will benefit from it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the gentleman from minnesota, mr. ellison. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. ellison: mr. speaker, mr. chairman and ranking member, i ask unanimous consent to submit a letter from the president of the afl-cio, mr. richard

trumpka. i submit this letter because perhaps more than anybody else in this country he is in touch with workers and what they need. and labor has been a solid wall opposing the transpacific partnership and the trade promotion authority. the fact is when women say we don't know what it is, it's not true. we have as members been able to go and read some of it. pieces of it haven't been leaked and everything what i have seen is disappointing and represents a real threat to the interests of working people which mr. trumpka is an expert on. a person who is expert in representing american workers, knows so little and workers know so little what is good for them. maybe we should listen to the people who have borne the brunt of these trade deals in this

country from nafta all the way down. we need trade adjustment assistance because if this transpacific partnership is any indication -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional one minute. mr. ellison: if this transpacific partnership is anything like the trade bills we have seen so far, we will need a way bigger trade adjustment assistance. we are going to have displaced workers. we are saying people will be hurt by this bill, this trade bill, and so we are going to try to mitigate some of the harm. the billions and billions of dollars that will be made by transnational corporations from the transpacific partnership, let me tell you we ought to be doing a whole lot more than the meager amount than trade adjustment assistance that is captured in this bill. i tell you this, the interests

of the american people is what we should be thinking about. there is every reason to believe this will put downward pressure on american workers at a time when we have seen historic, historic income inequality and stagnation of worker pay. america needs to be the land of opportunity and not the land of economic stagnation caused by trade bills. i'm moving on the t.p.p. and we'll fight that. i yield back. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin still reserves his time. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: now it's my real pleasure to yield two minutes at least to ms. bass of california, who has made agoa such an important part of her life here. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for two minutes. ms. bass: thank you mr. speaker. i rise today to support h.r.

1295, the trade preferences extension act of 2015, which includes the re-authorization of the african growth and opportunity act, or agoa. i want to thank chairman ryan who made a commitment at the beginning of the year that we would follow through and we would make sure that agoa was on the president's desk. i want to thank ranking member levin, chairman tiberi and a giant in this house and one of the original authors of agoa and a mentor to me and many, many others in this house, mr. charlie rangel, for their leadership on agoa. i want to thank members of the african diplomatic corps african heads of state, members from the african civil society for their tireless work on this legislation. it has been almost a year since president obama brought together heads of state from 50 african nations for the historic u.s.-africa leader summit last august. this summit was the largest event in the american -- any

american president has held with african heads of state and it was critical in creating the momentum and support that agoa now enjoys. over the next 10 years, africa will become an even more important part of the world economy with a large youthful population that is increasing university educated, tech savvy and entrepreneurial. without question, it is in the interest of the united states and the countries of africa that we work toward a stronger and mutually beneficial economic relationship that will stand the test of time. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin continues to reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield now one minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. cuellar. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. cuellar: thank you so much, mr. speaker. i thank you mr. levin. 95% of consumers are outside the united states. when you look at who exports and who's involved in international trade, over 80% of the companies that do this are small and medium-sized companies. in fact in the state of texas,

93% of companies that export are small, please yum-sized companies. one point we understand, -- medium-sized companies. one point we understand, if we want to make sure that labor standards are higher in the countries we want to deal with, the only way we can do is by engaging, by talking, having a conversation and that's why these trade agreements are important. i support a t.p.a., i support t.a.a. on t.p.p. let's reserve our judgment and let's make a decision on the facts at this time. thank you so much and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: we have no further speakers. since i have the right to close i'll let you finish your speakers and do a quick close. the speaker pro tempore: mr. levin: ok, thanks. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield one minute to the gentlelady from texas ms. jackson lee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas is recognized for one minute.

ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. let me thank -- the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jackson lee: ranking member levin for always standing in the gap with a creative mind for trade but for workers. let me acknowledge my colleague from wisconsin and indicate that those of us who stand here today have several reasons for doing so. 1997 i traveled to the continent of africa and looked at the rich resources of people and product and understood that that developing nation needed a bridge of opportunity. i am not against a bridge of opportunity and thereby i vote in support -- and support the african growth and opportunity act and those african nations who have extended their hand of friendship to the united states to create jobs. at the same time, i have to represent some of the most impoverished and some of the largest working people in the south in the state of texas. oh, i know that there is benefit. texas is a state that fits

appropriately for benefiting trade, but there are workers that i must be concerned about. and i really stand here today to support the trade adjustment assistance act. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for an additional one minute. ms. jackson lee: i thank the gentleman very much. there's not one district where the department of labor does not document the loss of jobs through trade. i'd rather be standing here today saying a monumental amount of jobs for those individuals that may have skills that are not in the chief executive office. i want to make sure that there is help and i also want to say, let's keep negotiating to get a component that deals with workers so the trade adjustment assistance act is for workers. it is to give you that cushion, and it is to in actuality be able to help over 10,853 workers in my state alone. so we are here today to say keep pushing for a equality in trade negotiations, to be able

to lift workers across america. and then we're telling those who may be the beneficiary or the victim of dumping or other tactics that we will not leave here without voting for trade adjustment assistance. again, i thank my colleagues for realizing we are better together than we are divided. i thank my colleagues, mr. heaven -- colleague, mr. levin, who has not wavered but has the empathy of the working man or woman. i stand with him and we are going to move america forward. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: it's now my pleasure to yield one minute to our leader, the gentlelady from california, ms. pelosi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and i commend him for his tremendous relentless, persistent leadership on behalf of america's workers. they have no better friend than

you mr. levin, in your pursuit for bigger paychecks for american workers and doing so without exploiting workers in other countries. as we know that only leads to stagnation of wages in america. you have understood that so clearly. you have taught us so well. it is an honor to serve with you, mr. levin. and so we come to this place with the senate passage of t.p.a. and the recognition of that there will only be t.p.a. signed that no longer is connected to t.a.a. that we have a choice today to choose between voting for t.a.a. or not. if it was the intent of the republicans in the senate to attach t.a.a. to agoa in order to bring down both bills, they're very wrong because we reject that. even though we would have hoped for a better t.a.a., when we're talking about a trade agreement

that involve 40% of the world's economy, very large with a very small t.a.a. bill it is woefully small but at least it is there. i would have fought for a bigger bill. we were not given that opportunity. but small as it is, tying it to agoa and perhaps pulling down agoa well, we reject that. people said oh, let's defeat the f.a.a. bill and agoa will come up another way. we didn't trust that. we don't trust that the republicans would allow agoa would come up another way. and so for that reason from strength knowing that we could defeat t.a.a., but at the same time bring down agoa, it was wisely decided that we should just end this phase now.

especially since the idea that both bills or no bill no longer existed. but this is the end of phase one. and to get to this point there has been a massive mobilization in our country of people of faith, people who are concerned about the environment, women's groups. of course our friends in organized labor, a massive mobilization for america's working families. and we all stand ready to go to the next phase and that next phase is to keep a very sharp clear, bright light focused on the provisions of the trade the t.p.p. most people really didn't realize that t.p.p. t.p.a., they're different things. now they will know and while i respect the values of the administration giving their negotiators all of this power gives them no reason to come back with anything better than

a great frayed agreement for america's workers. and working families. and that is what we are here to fight for. we don't believe in trickled down economics at home, and we don't believe in trickled down trade policy where it helps people at the top, entities at the top and then trickles down, maybe to workers. we can do this in thinking in new and fresh and entrepreneurial ways. what has bothered me about this debate, it's so stale. it's so old in terms of you are either for globalization and recognize it as a reality and you're for participating in it and you are not. how condescending. of course we know we live in a global economy, and a globalization is something that goes well beyond trade. it's about outsourcing and offshoring and all kinds of other ways of removing jobs

from our -- taking jobs away from our work force. but it is something that is a possibility that can be done, and that was my aspiration that we can do something great something new. something that benefited all workers, lifted up all workers, not exploiting some in some country to the advantage of corporate multinational corporations and stagnation for american workers. everybody says this is better than the status quo. well better is a comparative word. if the status quo is not good, better is less bad. we want good, better best, never let it rest. that's what we were told in grade school. but better can be less bad. and if this is the standard

that we're going with something that is less bad than the status quo, that's simply not good enough. the possibilities are so great for the world, for the planet. so we must recognize, we must recognize the relationship between trade policy and people's lives. we must recognize the relationship, the interconnection between commerce and climate. we cannot enable a trade agreement to go forward that degrades -- and degrades the environment. especially now that our awareness is so great about the impact of business decisions on the environment that our people live in, the air that our people breathe and the rest. we must recognize that we can only accomplish this with

greater transparency that this -- that this t.p.a. enables us to have. that's done. we're not arguing that. we're saying now for t.p.p., the american people need, expect and deserve for us to see what the course of this debate is about so that they can weigh in, so that at the end of the day the final product will be something that we can rally around or understand why certain decisions had to go a certain way. but not something that is just put there to say up or down, you either understand we live in a global economy and you do not. that is, you know, again condescending not worthy, really of the debate and simply not worthy of our responsibility to america's working families. so i'm spited about the propect as we -- so i'm excited about the prospect as we move

forward. i wish we had a better t.a.a., and i certainly do not want to vote against agoa. and i want to commend ms. bass, charlie rangel who worked on this created it, really, from the start. it's really important. we should be happy about passing that. this could have been on the president's desk before now if our colleagues in the senate who just voted for it and sent it there except they decided to hijack it by putting this t.a.a. in there and changing this debate. but that's ok. it's what it is. we go forward again, with a bright spotlight on t.p.p., and if there's any value to what we have been through, which i think has been a great one in terms of mobilization and unifying people about the importance of the stability of -- national stability of america's working families is that we are ready with judgment and knowledge to, again engage

in the debate as we go forward. . the american people will want to be engaged in that debate. and we as their representatives will have to vote on it at some point. linchingon said public sentiment is everything. the more the public knows about what's happening, i think the better the agreement will be. that is my hope. and that is what we will fight for. so this is another day, a new day to go forward. i congratulate my colleagues who have worked so hard to get us to where we are. but we have much more to do much bigger possibilities for the american people. much, much recognition, but it's a whole new world in terms of our understanding of interconnection. technology aids us. information helps us.

communication can be our salvation as we share information. so again i congratulate mr. levin for his leadership and so many people who work so hard on all of this. and looking forward to possibly a time where we not only have a unified democratic caucus but a unified congress to come together with one thing in mind as we approach the 4th of july, remembering from many one. we are one country and i don't think partisan politics, democrats, republicans have anything to do with this debate because the debate about advancing america's workers, about bigger paychecks for america's workers as we lift up workers throughout the world, as we protect our environment as we go into the future. with that, i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair would remind the managers that mr. ryan controls 15 minutes, mr. levin controls three minutes. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i now yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. davis: we have had a very, vigorous and robust debate on trade. and trade is important to not only the entire country, but certainly it's important to the communities that i represent. throughout this process, i have followed the dictates of organized labor. i have followed the dictates of the people i represent. which means i voted no. i listened to the logic of the democratic leader just this moment. and i'm going to vote with her. i'm going to vote for this legislation today because it's

necessary to help those individuals who are going to be displaced and they need all the help we can provide. i will vote to help them. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: mr. chairman, are you ready to close? i yield myself the balance. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. mr. levin: as we proceed to vote, let me just reflect a bit as someone who's been working on trade issues for some time. and at one point when ustr would not negotiate the trade agreement mr. rangel and i actually did the negotiating, i don't suggest that should be the usual practice. as i look back on our debate on t.p.a., i think it's essentially

been a prelude, a prelude to more vigorous debate about the contents of t.p.p. i think this debate has stirred the pot. and now it's important that this congress that this congress impact the ingredients in the pot. and that we do so while the pot -- while the ingredients are being cooked. and not simply afterwards. because these ingredients affect the lives of american businesses and american workers and working families. and when we get it wrong, as sometimes has been true, people get hurt and millions of jobs

are lost. so i think we now have to rededicate ourselves as these negotiations proceed, to be an active partner and insist that we be an active partner that we know what's going on and that we're able to discuss with the public what is going on. i think that's where we are today. and within that spirit, i urge that democrats support this bill on t.a.a. and i reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i yield myself the reminder of the time. i would like to clarify a few things. the reason we're here is because of the defeat of t.a.a. the first time it came through here. that's why this bill is such this way. the idea that by combining this

with preferences was somehow a plan in the other body to defeat the two bills i would just like to remind people the first preferences bill passed 97-1 when it passed the senate. this bill was voice voted in the senate yesterday. if someone was planning on trying to defeat these bills, they picked the wrong way to go about doing it. what's really happening here a commitment is being honored the second time around to make sure that these bills have passed. and i'm pleased to see that. so i don't read into anything the other body did other than respond to the fact that t.a.a. was defeated here the first time around. now we have built the process kept the agreements and here we are passing a bill that the senate voice voted yesterday. why is this important? these three bills are bipartisan. t.a.a. is offered by mr. reichert, republican from

washington. trade preferences is something has gotten near universal support, it's very good policy and everyone is in favor of t.a.a. and we have heard from our manufacturers that they need trade remedy, that when another company from another country violates our trade laws and dumps product into our markets we ought to do something about it. there is a bipartisan acknowledge mrnt on that, too. that's why this package is here. i anticipate a good vote count. and at the end of the day, the reason we are doing this is because we care about workers, we care about american leadership, we care about jobs. and the reason you need trade agreements is to remove those barriers so the little guy the small business, can have access to these foreign markets. that's one of the elements of this debate that is missing. without trade agreements big businesses can survive no problem.

you know why? because big businesses can erect a factory in another country. happens all the time. we call it outsourcing. a big company can set up a factory in another country, hire people in that country, ship our jobs over there, to make their product there to sell in those markets. trade agreements on the other hand remove those barriers that make it so that you can build it here and send it over there. that means small businesses can also get engaged in trade, small businesses can also get access to these markets. so by getting a trade agreement we remove those barriers from these countries who say if you want to sell your product in america, make it in our country. if you want to sell your product make it in our country. we remove these barriers and allow you to make it in your country america, and send it here. that's why we want trade

agreements to keep jobs and keep manufacturing in america. make and grow more things here so that we can have more jobs here and send them over there. it's why we have a trade surplus in manufacturing with the countries we had trade agreements with and a big manufacturing deficit with the countries we do not have trade agreements with. we are pretty generous, mr. speaker. we already let a lot of other countries sell their goods into our country. just go through wal-mart, k-mart, wherever you buy stuff and you will see things made in other countries. see this shirt, it was made in malaysia. go to these other countries and you will not see something similar. you won't see a bunch of american products on their store shelves. trade agreements say hey, wait. that's not fair. let's make it fair.

you give us the same kind of access to your country that we are giving to you with our country. level the playing field, keep it fair give us access so that the fact that we have one in five jobs in america tied to trade, the fact that these on average pay 18% more, keep it going. more jobs with higher wages. that's what this is about. and when a worker is displaced if a worker is displaced, t.a.a. is there to help that worker get job training skills, to get a new skill, new job, to get their life going where they want it to go. that's why i expect a good vote here today. i'm pleased we are able to honor the agreements that we made and i'm pleased that we are sending a signal to the rest of the world that this country is still willing and able to lead. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 338, previous question is ordered. question is on the motion by the

gentleman from wisconsin, mr. ryan. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the gentleman from michigan. mr. ryan: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, this 15-minute vote will be followed a five-minute vote on a motion to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2200. 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.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 286, the nays are 1348. motion is adopted and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. unfinished business is vote on the motion of the the gentlewoman from arizona, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2200 as amended on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2200 a bill to

amend the homeland security of 2002 to establish chemical, biological, radio logical and information sharing functions of the office of intelligence and analysis of the department of homeland security and to require dissemination of information analyzed by the department with responsibilities relating to homeland security and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 420, the

nays are two. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the motion to reconsider the vote on the question of concurring on the matter comprising the remainder of title 2 of the senate amendment to h.r. 1314 is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. sessions: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 22 and by direction of the committee on armed services, i move to take from the speaker's table the bill h.r. 1735 with the senate amendment thereto, to agree with the senate -- disagree with the senate and request a conference with the senate thereon. the clerk: h.r. 1735, an act to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2016, for military activities of the department of defense for military construction, and for defense activities of the department of energy. to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the motion is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table.

without objection, the chair appoints the following conferees on h.r. 1735. the clerk: for consideration of the house bill and the senate amendment and modifications committed to conference. messrs. thornberry, forbes miller of florida, wilson of south carolina, lobiondo, bishop of utah turner, kline, rogers of alabama, shuster, conaway, witman, hunter wenstrup, ms. stefanik, mr. smith of washington, ms. loretta sanchez of california mrs. davis of california messrs. langevin, larsen of washington, cooper ms. bordallo, mr. courtney, ms. tsongas, messrs. garamendi, johnson of georgia, ms. speier, mr. castro of texas and ms. duckworth. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will announce the appointment of additional conferees at a subsequent time.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on consideration of h.r. 2822. and that i may include tab lar material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. -- tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 333 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. 2822. the chair appoints the gentleman from louisiana, mr. graves, to preside over the committee of the whole.

the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 2822, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for the department of the interior, environment and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. the gentleman from california, mr. calvert, and the gentlewoman from minnesota ms. mccollum, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: thank you. mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. calvert: mr. chairman, i'm pleased to bring to the floor h.r. 2822, the fiscal year 2016 interior, environment and related agencies appropriation bill. as we begin, i want to personally thank chairman rogers for his leadership and support. under his guidance the appropriations committee is

again setting the standard for getting things done in the house. interior bill is the seventh appropriation bill to come to the floor. so far this year. i also want to thank my good friend and ranking member, ms. mccollum, for her partnership and work on this bill. finally i want to thank each of our subcommittee members for their efforts in the collegiality that continues to be the hallmark of our subcommittee's deliberations. even though we may have differences of opinion within this bill, i greatly appreciate the members' instructive contribution and i mean that sincerely. the committee has made very difficult choices preparing this bill. as reported by the appropriations committee, the fiscal year 2016 interior environment bill is funded at $30.17 billion which is $246 million below the fiscal year 2015 enacted level and $3 billion below the budget request. we have made a sincere effort

to prioritize needs within our 302-b allocation. i would like to point out a few of the highlights. again, this year the committee has provided robust wild land fire funding, fire suppression accounts at the department of interior, and the forest service are fully funded. at the 10-year average level. the hazardous fuel program was increased by $75 million to $526 million and than crease has been been maintained in this bill. this bill also continues critical investments in indian country, a nonpartisan priority of the committee. building upon the bipartisan work of the former subcommittee chairman mike simpson, jim moran and norm dicks, this bill continues to make investments in education, public safety and health programs in indian country. overall, funding for the indian health service is increased by

$145 million or 3%, while funding for the bureaus of indian affairs and education is increased by $165 million or 6%. from fiscal year 2015 levels. the largest percentage increase in this bill. this bill provides full funding in fiscal year 2016 for the payments in lieu and taxes or pilt program. pilt payments are made to 45 of the 50 states as well as to the district of columbia, guam, the u.s. virgin islands and the commonwealth of puerto rico. the bill provides $2.7 billion for the national park service, including more than $60 million in new funding relating to the centennial of the service. we've also addressed a number of priorities within the fish and wildlife service accounts. the bill funds popular cost sharing grant programs above the fiscal year 2015 enacted levels. it also provides additional

funds to combat international wildlife trafficking, protects fish hatchries from cuts and closures, continues funding to fight evasive species and reduces the backlog of species that are recovered but not yet delisted. the bill provides $248 million for the land and water conservation fund programs that enjoy broad support, bipartisan support for that matter. some members would prefer more funding, others would prefer less. we've attempted to forge a middle ground that begins to return the emphasis of the fund to its original intent of recreation and state and local acquisitions. overall funding for e.p.a. is reduced by $718 million or 9% from fiscal year 2015 enacted levels. members from the great lakes region will be pleased to know that the great lakes restoration initiative is maintained at the fiscal year

2015 enacted level of $300 million. rural water technical assistance grants and men categorical grants, including ray done grants, are level funded at 2015 enacted level. again this year there is a great deal of concern over the number of regulatory actions being pursued by the e.p.a.. in the absence of legislation and without clear congressional direction. for this reason the bill includes a number of provisions to stop unnecessary and damaging regulatory overreach by the agency. before closing i'd like to address the endangered species act provisions in this bill. we have no interest in interfering with science or letting any species go extinct. but we are concerned about federal regulatory actions lacking in basic fairness and common sense. the provisions in this bill address problems created by an

e.s.a.-driven, not by science, but by court orders that drain limited agency resources and force the department to cut corners to meet arbitrary deadlines. nowhere is this more evident than with the sage grouse. states are rightfully concerned that a listing for an unnecessary restrictive federal land use plans will jeopardize existing conservation partnerships with states. and private landowners. these partnerships are necessary to save both the sage brush ecosystem and local economies. so long as sage grouse are not under imminent threat of extinction, cooperation with conservation must be given a chance to work. . along with the full funding to implement conservation efforts. house consideration of this bill is the next step in a long legislative process. i open over the coming months

we'll find common ground. in that spirit, i look forward to continuing to work with the members of the house on both sides of the aisle. in closing i want to thank the staff for their hard work. on the minority side, rick rita joe, as well as rebecca. they played an integral role in the process and their efforts are very much appreciated. on the majority side i would like to thank kristen jackie, betsy, jason gerald and dave. i would like to thank ian rebecca, alexander and tricia on my personal staff for their great work. this is a good bill and deserves the support of the members of this body. i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: i yield myself as much time as i may consume.

first, i would like to acknowledge and thank ranking member lowey for her support on working on this very first appropriations bill on the house floor. i would like to thank my subcommittee chairman for the effort he has put into this bill. and i appreciate that even as chairman calvert grappled with inadequate funding allocation, he carried out his work in an open and thoughtful manner. the chair needs to be commended for his diligence in holding 14 budget hearings where we received testimony from nearly 150 witnesses. let me also along with the chairman express my appreciation to the subcommittee staff on the minority and majority side for their hard work during another difficult budget year. unfortunately, the inadequate 02-b allocation given to the

interior and related agencies appropriations sets up for failure. the majority's afailure to adopt the overall budget allocation for discretionary appropriations has led to a bill that severely underfunds investments and protections for the american people. the subcommittee 302-b allocation for f.y. 2016 is $246 million below the current year's enacted level. when added to the cuts of the past five years this bill is more than $2 billion below f.y. 2010 enacted levels. in fact when we adjust for inflation, this bill is not what was appropriated in 2005. but it gets worse. the rising number of emergency costs of combating wildland fires court-dated support costs and the majority's decision to abandon mandatory funding for

pilt means the remaining funding available for other critical public programs is far below the f.y. 2015 enacted levels. pilt has been mandatory spending in the past and almost 2,000 counties use this as compensation for lost tax revenue to provide vital services. pilt should not be in this discretionary bill. it should be returned to mandatory spending. the courts have ruled that congress must pay for full contract support costs to tribal nations, contract costs which truly mandatory spending and should not be in this discretionary bill. in catastrophic wildland fires are natural disasters just as any other natural disaster, they should be treated as such. catastrophic wildland fires should not be subject to discretionary spending caps in this bill. together spending on these three activities consumes $5.4

billion or 18% of the bill's budget allocation. a it's time for the authorizing committees to stop ignoring this problem and responsibly address what are truly mandatory costs because these costs are burning a hole through our budget allocation. what does that mean for the rest of the programs? after years of cuts, it means we are going backwards and undermining efforts to preserve america's natural and cultural heritage. meeting commitments to the economic and well-being of native american americans. we received compelling testimony this year on the unmet needs in indian country especially in the areas of education and health. yet, this bill's injadquat allocation mean many programs mean less funding than what the president requested and what native americans indeed deserve.

this is unfortunate because as the chairman pointed out we share a deep bipartisan commitment to better the lives of native americans and uphold our federal trust and treaty obligations. last year attendance at our national parks set a record high visitation is expected to increase. what will visitors find? without additional funding, they will find historic hotels in yellowstone and glacier national park that have serious health accessibility issues and closed facilities at yosemite due to 70-year-old sewer lines that are failing and under the spending plan, visitors will not find the seasonal rangers that the park service needs to hire and restore capabilities to 2010 levels. under h.r. 2822, less than 16%

of the funds requested for the parks centennial are provided. by underfunding, this bill misses the opportunity to allow the american public to support their national parks through matching donations. the national parks, civil rights initiative is 19% of the requested funds. it is our responsibility to act now to preserve these monuments of the civil rights movement. the land and water conservation fund is cut 25% continuing a pattern of short changing conservation. wild life programs are underfunded as well, with cuts are flat funding to programs that assist in the recovery of species or helps to prevent their listing in the first place. funding decisions such as these set up the endangered species act to fail. the most devastating cuts are

targeted at the environmental protection agency. the bill cuts the e.p.a. by $817 million through f.y. 2015 enacted level, nine% cut this is on top of the 20% cut the agency has received over the past four years. the air every american breathes the water every american family drinks is all at risk by the funding cuts and policy attacks. when the majority says it wants to bring in the e.p.a., it is denying the protection of our air and water. the consequences of abandonning public health will be negatively felt in communities across this nation. why? because this bill cuts the clean water and safe drinking water revolving funds by more than half a billion dollars. the revolving funds are part of a partnership with our communities to build and repair infrastructure that protect america's drinking water and

prevent assuming from contaminating our water. when we invest in these systems, we are creating jobs in communities all across the country. earlier this month, the secretaries of agriculture and interior released their latest summer fire forecast which show that fire costs are likely to exceed 2015 enacted levels by $300 million. wildland fires burns up 12% or $3.9 billion of the bill's allocation and without some relief, these numbers will continue to grow. in the past three years we had to make a total shortfall of a billion dollars and that forces agencies to borrow funds from other accounts to pay for fire costs. we know the answer to this problem. many of us are co-sponsors of mr. simpson's bill h.r. 157 to treat a portion of these wildfire costs as they are disasters.

yet, problematic as the funding decisions in this billr what is more troubling are the more two dozen legislative riders and funding limitations contained in the bill, seven of these being new. these provisions do not belong in the bill. these are proposals that should move through the authorizing committee where open transparent and thoughtful debate can take place. the riders of the majority have hung on this bill undermine our nation's bedrock environmental laws endanger public health and safe and deny the impact that climate change is having on our planet. several of these riders would require scientists and procedures be ignored saying they can't be trusted. yet other provisions would overturn federal court decisions and limit judicial review. as lawmakers, we create the legislation that guides our nation but my colleagues in the majority seem to me that we are only one of three branches of

government. the other two branches have jobs to do as well. for the majority that complains about federal rulemaking process, it's surprising to see that the bill contains directives that certain federal rules be issued. it would appear that the majority's ok with federal rulemaking, but only so long it's the rules that they want. with this inadequate funding i share the administration's concerns with this bill and under general leave, i will submit the statement on administration policy on h.r. 2822 which is eight pages and includes a veto threat. mr. chairman, we owe it to our constituents to be good stewards of the environment, be protectors of public health, be defenders of the good and we can do better. h.r. 2822 falls short of our responsibilities to future and present generations and i cannot support the bill in its current

form. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: it's my pleasure to recognize the full committee chairman, hal rogers for whatever time he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rogers: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i rise in support of this fiscal year 2016 interior and environment appropriations bill. mr. chairman, this is the eight of the 12 individual bills that have made it to the floor. that's a record pace, by the way. it's the fastest that these bills have come before the house since at least 1974 when the budget control act came into being. this bill as the chairman said, provides just over $30 billion in discretionary funding for programs that preserve and nurture our nation's unique

natural and cultural heritage. this fulfills our responsibility to the american taxpayers to provide funding for these important programs within a smart and sustainable budget. our responsibility to the american taxpayer of course, doesn't end there. the people of this nation expect their government to act in a way that fosters economic development and job creation. this current administration has been neglecting that duty. instead choosing to push a regulatory agenda that would create an environment hostile to economic growth puts our energy independence at risk and costs thousands of hardworking americans their jobs. so this bill takes the important steps to stop the harmful

executive overreach. first and foremost, we limit funding for the environmental protection agency cutting its funding by 9% from last year. the bill prohibits e.p.a. from implementing a litany of its egregious expensive regulations, including applying new greenhouse gas regulations for power plants, updating existing ozone regulations and changing the definitions of navigable waters and fill material, all of which could spell disaster for our economy. the bill also prevents the bureau of land management from hampering economic growth by halting increases in oil and gas inspection fees and from burdening ranchers with higher grazing fees. provisions like these will help get the government out of the way of growth, preventing the

overregulation and overtaxation of american business and industry and keeping down manufacturing costs and utility bills for families across the country. in addition, the bill also focuses funding on other important department of the interior-related programs. for instance the bill creates a new $30 million program to help accelerate the reclamation of abandoned mine lands boosting local community redevelopment. the bill fulfills our moral and legal obligations to american indians and alaska natives increasing funding for programs that will help improve education systems, health facilities and other infrastructure. . and it prioritizes the preparation for wildlife -- wildland fires. increasing funding for these programs bill-wide by $52 million.

mr. chairman, this is a fine appropriations bill that we have before us today. i want to commend chairman calvert for his good work on this bill. he and the ranking member and the subcommittee have done a thoroughly job on the bill and i'm proud to support it. i also want to thank the staff for their work to bring this bill to the floor today. this is the maiden voyage, mr. chairman of this cardinal, this new chairman, the new chairman of this subcommittee, this is his first bill. and it's a good one. and i want to salute him and his staffer to doing a great job -- staff for doing a great job in putting together a bill that's -- that was tough to put together. so congratulations to you. before i close mr. chairman, i want to take a moment to recognize one of my staff members, mike robinson, who will be moving on to greiner

pastures next week -- greener pastures next week. mike started working for me nearly 20 years ago and has had several tenures in my personal office. four years ago he joined the appropriations committee in the front office. as coalitions and members services director. and many of our colleagues have gotten the chance to know mike over these past four years. he's and he your questions, he's helped you offer amendments he's helped guide dozens of appropriations bills to passage. he's been an integral part of the staff over these years and we will miss him greatly when he departs. so thank you, mike for all of your hard work. we're very grateful to you. mr. chairman, this is an appropriations bill that puts our nation's economy first.

it preserves the role of the federal government, making sure the government is doing its job well. not in a way that intrudes into the lives of american businesses or the american people. but in a way that encourages our economy to grow and thrive. and i urge my colleagues to support the bill. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from kentucky yields back. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlewoman from minnesota is recognized. ms. mccollum: mr. chairman i yield five minutes to the gentlewoman from new york, the ranking member of the appropriations committee mrs. lowey. the chair: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for five minutes. mrs. lowey: thank you, mr. speaker. and i'd like to thank chairman calvert chairman rogers as well as my good friend, betty mccollum, who is doing an outstanding job in her first year as ranking member of the subcommittee, and all the hardworking staff on both sides of the aisle.

however, while i appreciate the chairman's willingness to accommodate some democratic priorities, this is the latest in a series of bills that drastically short changes job creating investments and vital environmental protections while carrying a wish list of special interest giveaways that hurt hardworking american families' health and safety. the president proposed to end sequestration through more reasonable and realistic budgeting four months ago. but republicans have yet to engage on finding a workable solution. how much longer do we have to play this cha raid? the republican -- charade? the republican shutdown strategy? before the house considers bills that could be enacted? refusing to adopt a sufficient overall allocation for

discretionary investments has led to a bill that severely underfunds far too many priorities. the e.p.a. would be slashed $1.17 billion below the president's request. $718 million below the 2015 enacted level. such a draconian cut would take e.p.a. investments back to 1997 levels. capital programs are dramatically underfunded with indian health facilities receiving $173 million less than the president's request. over half a billion dollars in cuts to the state revolving funds endanger our nation's water infrastructure. cutting 32,000 construction jobs on 207 projects, risking

public health with fewer water and drinking water projects. the land and water conservation fund which conserves irreplaceable lands improves outdoor recreation opportunities, would be cut by 30% below the current level. and unsurprisingly, the majority seeks to dismantle critical environmental protections in the bill that is supposed to advance environmental initiatives. in a demonstration of solidarity with climate change deniers and the coal industry, the majority would prevent the administration from advancing new rules to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. despite the fact that it harmonizes existing activities to protect the environment, $2.-- 2.8 million ocean industry jobs, $282 billion in

g.d.p. generated by ocean industries and coastal states, the national ocean policy's implementation would be blocked. once again the majority has waged war on the endangered species act, placing politics above science and jeopardizing the protection of precious species, including wolves. instead of allowing the united states to lead the world to end the trade of ivory, the fish and wildlife service's efforts would be rolled back. given the number of unnecessary riders, it is particularly disappointing that the majority didn't include our colleague, mr. simpson's wildfire bill. an excellent proposal that would improve our ability to prepare for and respond to disasters. democrats are more than willing

to find a balanced and fiscally responsible way to lift the sequester that is strangling our investments in america's future. and invest in a stronger defense, better infrastructure, bigger paycheck for america's hardworking families. i hope that as we move forward this bill makes those investments and sheds unnecessary policy changes. i urge my colleagues to oppose this misguided bill. thank you mr. speaker. the chair: the gentlewoman from new york yields back. the gentlewoman from minnesota reserves. the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: mr. chairman, it's my pleasure to recognize mr. jenkins, our new member, our new hardworking member from the great state of west virginia, for two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from west virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. jenkins: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you mr. chairman. i want to appreciate -- express my appreciation to your hard work and to the ranking member, to your staff and all that have

worked so hard on this legislation. this bill is notable for what it funds. and what it doesn't fund. west virginians, we love our clean water. we love clean air. we love our mountains. and our forests and our rivers. what west virginians do not love is this president's war on coal. this week petitions from 26,000 west virginians were delivered to my office asking the president to stop the war on coal. west virginia's jobs and our citizens' livelihoods are on the line. the president's requested hundreds of millions of dollars to spend on new regulations programs, and an army of lawyers to defend his illegal regulatory overreach. our state has lost 7,000 coal

jobs in just the last three years of this administration. today we say no to funding the war on coal, no to the regulatory overreach. we do cut the e.p.a.'s budget by more than $1 billion from what was requested. we halt harmful, job-killing rules on new and existing coal-fired power plants. no to changing the definition of navigable waters and fill material. no to imposing ozone regulations that are simply unachievable. and no to imposing the stream buffer zone rule. the administrator of the e.p.a. even refused to come to west virginia to talk to our communities and hardworking coal miners. but instead when she refused, i brought coal miners to the appropriations committee to tell their story and that was a

powerful story. and today i'm here with 26,000 other voices to make sure they are heard here at the capitol. thank you, mr. chairman, for your leadership. thank you for the hard work. i yield back and i appreciate a yes vote on this important legislation. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california reserves. the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from washington state, mr. kilmer, a member of the subcommittee who's very valued. the chair: the gentleman from washington is recognized for three minutes. mr. kilmer: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to begin by thanking the subcommittee chairman, my friend from california, and the ranking member, my friend from minnesota, for the hard work they've put into today's bill. as a new member of the committee, i've gotten to see first-hand the enormous amount of work that went into the product we have before us today. it's frankly a testament to the hard work of the appropriations committee staff, that we've been able to get to this point. i want to begin by expressing support for a number of really

important provisions in the bill that i think are critical points of progress. in a very tough budget environment, this bill boosts funding for the bureau of indian affairs and the indian health service increasing the federal commitment to addressing the needs of indian country. coming from timber country, i can say that there's also a very strong effort here to ensure that the forest service can responsibly increase harvest levels on our national forests, as well as supporting new tools such as collaboratives. that have the potential to bring folks together in a way that reduces the litigation risk surrounding these projects. of course i would love for us to be able to include in this bill mr. simpson's legislation addressing wildfire disaster funding. i've heard from so many people in my neck of the woods just how important it is that we get this taken care of. the bill also provides essential resources to support recovery efforts in the sound. as both the chairman and ranking member of the subcommittee know this is a big deal. both for our natural environment and for our economy and i will continue working with them to make sure we're dedicating the needed resources for this critical effort. unfortunately i will have to

oppose the bill before us today. this bill comes in at $2 billion below the president's budget request. it would cut funding for the land and water conservation fund, it fails to make needed investments in the national park system and takes a meat ax to the environmental protection agency and to programs that protect clean water. mr. chairman, to conclude, let me just say, we need to come together in a bipartisan way to end sequestration, to remove these budget caps and to work on bipartisan bills that make the investments our nation needs to boost economic development and protect our natural resources for future generations. i hope we do that. and i'm eager to be a partner in doing that. with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: thank you. mr. chairman, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. carter, for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy. the chair: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for three minutes. mr. carter: thank you, mr. chairman. first of all i want to thank you and the appropriations

committee for its hard work on bringing this important legislation to the floor. as you know, we've been working with your staff on an issue of great importance to the port of savannah which services 40% of american consumers. since 1940 the national park service has leased a small parcel of land on an island within the national monument to the savannah bar pilots. the bar pilots help navigate large ships to the savannah river channel, to the port and have done so since as far back as the 1730's. in 2011 at the request of the park service, congress passed legislation to change the relationship between the bar pilots and the park service. with the enactment of the national monument lease authorization act, public law 112-69, the relationship between the bar pilots and park service was shifted from a series of special use permits to a noncompete lease of up to 10 years. at the time of consideration of the legislation, the congressional budget office estimated the annual lease fee

for the bar pilots would be $25,000, a slight increase from their existing rate based on a 2008 appraisal conducted by the park service. it has come to my attention that the park service is attempting to use passage of the legislation to increase the lease fee by as much as 10 fold. this is extremely problematic because such an increase could threaten to force the bar pilots off of the island. simply given their history on the island, the idea of forcing the bar pilots to relocate is inappropriate in and of itself. . they are required to use their services to move in and out of the port of savannah and no other location which they could operate. moving the facility could lead to longer transit times for vessels increase safety risk in foul weather delays in ship movement and greater fuel usage. the resulting environmental and

economic harm would significantly increase costs and threaten growth to the port of savannah as the federal government embarks on the construction phase of the $607 million savannah harbor expansion project. the legislation was intended to create a long-term fix not to create an outlet by which the national parks service could raise fees to exorbitant levels. mr. chairman, i request your support of our efforts to find a resolution to this matter that reflects congress' intent and establishes a process for ensuring that the pilots are charged only fair market value in line with previous national park service appraiseals and they are able to continue operating from their current location on the island. mr. calvert: i thank the gentleman for bringing this matter to our attention.

i understand this would change the growth of the port of savannah just as work begins. in testimony before the senate national park service associate director testified that the savannah pilots' program has operated with virtually no adverse impact on park resources. on the visitor experience or park operations. the legislation that passed at the request of the park service was supposed to improve the legal basis for which the bar pilots and the park service entered into a contract. i will work with you to find equitable and timely solution that ensures that the national monument lease authorization act is appropriately implemented and the bar pilots are not forced to move from the island. mr. carter: thank you for your attention and your service in getting this legislation through the legislative process. the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from california reserves.

the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: i yield two minutes to ms. kaptur. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. capito: -- ms. kaptur: i appreciate the gentlelady working with me as well as the chairman, ken calvert of california to include important language relative to the national park service. specifically the report addresses a threat to a significant part of the history of the region i represent, the battle of lake erie that paved the way for america's expansion commemorated by perry's victory and the international peace memorial. the memorial is at the heart of coastal tourism. in ohio attracting 130,000 visitors just last year, more than double as many people reached through their educational activity. despite its popularity, this site has been unnecessarily targeted for consolidation. the idea that resources and more

importantly management of this popular site would shift to a noncontiguous smaller installation in a different state is both concerning and quite puzzling. reporting requirements are there to ensure that the memorial will continue operating as a stand-alone site. i would ask the chairman and ranking member to continue working with me to address this need moving forward to ensure that this misguided consolidation plan is stopped. i would be very honored to yield to the gentleman. mr. calvert: i will work with you and to address your concerns as this process continues. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman very much. ms. mccollum: you have my commitment. ms. kaptur: thank you both. i yield back my remaining time.

mr. calvert: i recognize the gentleman from ohio for two minutes. >> i rise in support of h.r. bill. this bill responsibly ensures the e.p.a.'s regulatory overreach is checked by congress. key provisions include will stop the e.p.a.'s most burdensome and damaging regulations and encourage investment. this bill ensures that the e.p.a. cannot use resources to spapped the definitions of waters in the united states and fill material beyond what congress wrote in the clean water act. this administration is eager to redefine words to suit their purposes. this house must stand up to them and this bill we are. these key provisions are excellent backstops for ensuring the e.p.a.'s clean water rule does not move forward in implementation because this rule is nothing more than a federal power grab and substantial expansion of the clean water act

jurisdiction. even the agencies implementing the rule have concerns about the clarity of its changes. the committee supports an integrated planning approach to help communities manage the burdensome regulatory obligations under the clean water act. communities face enormous pressures including clean water. this approach can potentially save ratepayers millions of dollars while focusing clean water investments that ensures the greatest water quality benefit. this encourages the implementation of the bipartisan pilot program that was authorized under wrrda in 2015. it will set the stage to implement loans through fiscal year 2017 to provide credits and ask as a complement to the water infrastructure in the revolving

funds. this program would provide communities increased options for funding their water infrastructure projects. i thank the chairman and ranking member for recognizing the importance of these provisions and putting together a bill that sets appropriate levels for agencies and programs. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: i yield three minutes to the the gentlewoman from maine, ms. pingree a member of the subcommittee. the chair: the gentlewoman from maine is recognized for three minutes. ms. pingree: thank you very much mr. chair and thank you to the ranking member for yielding me time and for your nice thoughts and the ability to work with you on the committee. i do appreciate the work of the chair and the ranking member very much on this bill. there are so many important programs that are funded in the department of interior appropriations bill. i'm proud to be on this committee, and particularly to serve on this subcommittee. today's bill was written by a

very good chairman in conjunction with a great ranking member. but at the end of the day, the funding levels are still too low. we cannot get bipartisan support on these bills when there aren't enough dollars to go around. the reality is we need to get rid of the sequester and pass these bills with funding levels that move our country forward, not backward. as so many of my colleagues have stated, when adjusted for inflation, this bill provides less than the appropriated levels in f.y. 2005. that is just not sufficient for the vital programs in this bill. programs that monitor and protect the water we drink and the air we breathe and regulate the products we use. there are some highlights in today's bill, such as the bureau of indian education construction project and the forest legacy program. and i'm glad to see them there. but there is so much more to be

concerned about. i'm deeply disappointed in the cut to the fish and wildlife service and endangered species listing program which is cut by 50% and the overall land and water conservation. this is 20% less than last year and that's very frustrating knowing how important this program is to every single congressional district in the country. i'm concerned that programs such as the animal and aquatic drug approval program are funded at last year's level and no higher, when we really need to understand the diseases that affect our fish and establish treatment options to protect them. the u.s. geological survey that funds research programs in climate change stormwater gauges earthquake research is funded only at last year's level. the national endowment for the arts and national endowment for humanities were denied the

initial resources they requested including funds to increase funding for our veterans and wounded warriors. and for those of us in maine who are proud of our national park, acadia national park, there is simply not enough funding. there are not enough dollars for the improvements and maintenance that is needed in any given year but particularly needed in this special centennial year. this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us to highlight our parks and help millions of americans who have not been to a national park before, to see our nation's greatest treasures. again, i recognize completely the position that our subcommittee and other subcommittees have been in, but these programs deserve more. i look forward to working with our chair and ranking member as this bill moves forward to try to improve the areas that still need attention. i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman's time has expired.

the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: i introduce the gentleman from north carolina for one 1/2 minutes. >> i rise in support of the department of interior and environment appropriations act of 2016. it is no secret that the e.p.a. is out of control. i think everybody across this great land knows that. a few weeks ago, the e.p.a. issued their final rule to redefine waters of the u.s., completely ignoring the will of the house and stakeholders all across america. under this rule change, waters of the u.s. would now include smaller bodies of water and even some dry land. in fact, this new definition would extend the e.p.a.'s regulatory reach to any body of water, including that water puddled in your ditch after a rain storm. yes you heard me right. i have heard from small business owners farmers, realtors in my district and concerned about the

negative impact this rule could have and rightly so. this rule is so broad that it could very well have them get permission before acting on their own property. i commend the chairman and members of the committee for including language in this appropriations bill to prohibit high funds from being used to implement this new rule. i encourage my colleagues to support this bill. and i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: may i inkire as to how much time is left. the chair: the gentlewoman from minnesota has nine minutes remaining. ms. mccollum: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from rhode island, a valued member of this body, mr. cicilline. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. cicilline: i rise today to oppose this legislation for many reasons but in particular because it vastly underfunds the

operation of national parks as well as many other important priorities. next august, the national park service will celebrate its 100th anniversary. our national parks are the envy of the world and serve as a model for emphasis on conservation. it cuts for more than 400 parks, heritage areas, monuments and occupies 8 million acres of land in all 50 states and home to more than 1,000 endangered or threatened animal species. we need to preserve these sites so future generations may enjoy this. national parks tell a rich history through landscapes, natural wonders. the yosemite national park in california, the cave system in kentucky to the great smoky mountains in tennessee and north carolina, our national parks are an essential part of the american fabric and have been called america's best idea. this bill properties

approximately $2.33 billion for the operation of the national park service over the next year. this is more than $187 billion below the amount that was requested by the president. this account funds the critical needs such as support services for new responsibilities within the system, resource stewardship. the national park system is a national driver of economic activity. more than 275 million people visit our national parks each year. in 2013, every dollar invested in the national park service saw a return of $10. we need to do better in ensuring this economic engine and beacon of american tourism is operating at the highest level so it can fulfill its environmental and cultural role. to ensure it has proper funding ensures we are able to have the nation what it is today.

in my home state, the blackstone river valley historical park that i created last year, marks the birth place of the american industrial revolution, like old slater mill in pawtucket and the museum in woonsocket tell the story of how america became a superpower. it has environmental, social transformation. in the best spirit of our national park system, the river valley tells a national story. it illustrates how a beautiful natural landscape fueled the industrial revolution and launched far-reaching changes to our nation's economy and social structure. blackstone is why it is essential that our national parks are properly funded and operate in a manner in which millions of americans continue to appreciate the great history of our nation. it's long past time to end sequester and set spending levels that meet our current statisticbilities, be good

stewards of the environment and protect the natural beauty of america. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: how much time do i have remaining? the chair: eight minutes remaining. mr. calvert: i reserve. . ms. mccollum: mr. chairman, i yield two minutes to ms. titus. the chair: the gentlewoman from nevada is recognized for two minutes. ms. titus: thank you and i thank the ranking member for yielding me the time. my republican colleagues have made no secret about the fact that they want to strangle the e.p.a. and undermine its vital environmental work. but they make little mention of how this bill also threatens our national security. i represent las vegas which is home of a number of critical radiation response programs, include pping one of the only -- including one of the only two e.p.a. mobile field labs that can quickly be deployed should a radiological incident

occur anywhere in the west they can process air, soil and water samples. but because of ongoing budget cuts led by the republicans, however, e.p.a. will soon be moving this unit to montgomery, alabama and decommissioning its other mobile lab. that will leave the whole country with only one e.p.a. radiation response lab which will be located over 2,000 miles from las vegas 2,600 miles from seattle and 1,00 miles from las vegas and -- 1,800 miles from las vegas and the nevada test site. republicans may be willing to gamble our health and safety to satisfy their corporate friends but i am not. that's why i'm asking my colleagues to vote against this legislation and fund our agencies at levels necessary to protect our national security. thank you and i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: mr. chairman, i reserve. the chair: the gentleman from

california reserves. the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: mr. chairman, i have to reserve as well. the chair: who seeks time? mr. calvert: checking to see if we have any additional speakers. we'll reserve for the moment. we have no additional speakers. i'll reserve my time to close. ms. mccollum: mr. chairman, i'm waiting for one person who is on their way. i appreciate the courtesy. thank you.

mr. chair. the chair: the gentlewoman from minnesota. ms. mccollum: we do not have an update on the member that we are waiting for and so if the chairman calvert would like to close i have no objection. the chair: does the gentlelady

yield her time back? ms. mccollum: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from california. mr. calvert: mr. chairman, i'd say this is a good bill. a lot of work has gone into it. i would make sure that everyone votes for it because it's a fine bill. that -- with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from california 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 equal requesty -- equally divided and controlled by an opponent and proponent. the chair of the committee of the whole may accord priority and recognition on the basis of whether the member offering the amendment has caused it to be precipitationed in the portion of the record designated for that. the clerk will read. the clerk: be it enabilitied that the following sums are

appropriated -- be it enacted that the following sums are appropriated for 2016. bureau of land management, management of lands and resources $1,015,046,000. the chair: the clerk will suspend. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. poe of texas. page 2 line 20, after the dollar amount insert, reduce by $1 million, increase by $1 million. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 333, the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas.

mr. poe: i want to thank the chairman and appreciate the chairman's indulgence to obtain this poster. this amendment is really relatively simple it. takes $1 million from the bureau of land management's management of lands account and it inserts it right back into the account with the intent of identifying unused land for potential sale to americans. the service charges, deposits and forfeiture account already has the authority to disposes of land under the bureau of land management but is not specifically appropriated funds. today the united states government owns and controls 60 million acres of american land. this is 27% of the entire land

mass in the united states. if you take western europe, all the countries in the western europe, the united states government, uncle sam, owns that much land and more. this poster here to my left, the red portions of the poster identify land that is owned by uncle sam. the federal government, the white portions of course are land that is owned by private entities. including the red is in alaska. 27% of the land mass in the united states. a lot of this land is unused and it's not even managed by the federal government. it is just sitting in these different parts of the country. this amendment is very simple. it tells the bureau of land management to study the possibility of selling some of this lapped back to americans. let americans own america. not all of it. we're not talking about the national parks, the national forests, we're talking about the unused aby a doned land in the united states, but yet it is still owned by the federal

government. and that's what this amendment does. is to require a study take place. and i will reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. does anyone seek time in opposition? the gentlewoman from minnesota is recognized for five minutes. ms. mccollum: mr. chairman i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas. the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas, mr. poe. 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? >> i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. flores of texas.

on page 2, line 20, insert, increase by $5 million after the dollar amount. on page 62, line 8 insert, reduced by $12,307,693 after the dollar amount. on page 75, line 14 insert increased by $5 million after the dollar amount. the chair: the gentleman from texas and a member opposed will each control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. flores: mr. chair, i rise today to offer an amendment. along with my friends from pennsylvania mr. thompson, and my friend from north dakota, mr. cramer. this amendment will address an energy infrastructure issue that faces our nation today as well as continuing regulatory overreach by the environmental protection agency. we all know that the american shale revolution has dramatically improved our energy security at home and our economic opportunity for hardworking americans. the united states is now the

number one producer of oil and gas in the world, yet we are in the midst of new challenges due to a lack of appropriate infrastructure to bring those resources to our consumers. also the e.p.a. has recently reported that methane emissions from oil and gas wells are down 79% since 2005 and total methane emissions from natural gas systems are down 11% since that same year. however, the administration intends to propose another regulation that only results in more bureaucratic red tape and higher energy costs. this does nothing to address the underlying issue. there is a better solution. which not only achieves lower greenhouse gas emissions, but also improves the outcomes for the american taxpayer. my amendment would entreat -- increase the amount of funds made available to both the bureau of land management and the u.s. forest service by $5 billion each, help expedite the approval of additional pipeline infrastructure that would more efficiently and more cleanly deliver our taxpayer-owned resources to consumers.

this will ensure that the b.l.m. and the forest service have the appropriate resources to prevent rights of way for gathering lines on federal lands. this increase would be offset by a very modest reduction of less than 1 1/2 of 1% to the e.p.a. environmental programs and management accounts. it is important that we safely bring these natural resources to market using the latest low emissions, cutting-edge technology, permitting and constructing this critical infrastructure is beneficial to the environment, since natural gas can be transmitted and processed and sold to consumers instead of being flared which creates the greenhouse gas problems. finally, constructing more pipelines on our country's -- furthers our country's ongoing energy renaissance while creating more jobs and growing our economy. a recent a.p.i. study that shows that over 1.1 million jobs on average per year and 1.-- $1.1 trillion in capital investments will be generated by updating our domestic midstream infrastructure. so in a nut shell, my amendment

provides three great outcomes. first it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, second it provides critical infrastructure to safely transport taxpayer owned resources to consumer markets and it promotes good paying american jobs for these hardworking american families. i also want to take a second to compliment and thank my friend from california, mr. calvert and all of the subcommittee members and all of the subcommittee staff for such a great job on this interior appropriations bill. i urge our members to support my amendment and to support the underlying bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. flores: i'm happy to yield to the chairman. mr. calvert: i like that amendment. i would accept that amendment. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. who seeks time in opposition? ms. mccollum: i rise in opposition to this amendment. the chair: the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. ms. mccollum: the gentleman's amendment would cut $12 million from the environmental protection agency program and shift $5 million to the bureau of land management and $5

million to the forest service. now, i know cutting the e.p.a. is an easy target for many of my colleagues across the other side of the aisle. but i want to ensure my colleagues and understand that this amendment were to be adopted, this account funds programs are important to both sides of the aisle. for example it includes permitting for construction projects across the country, toxic risk prevention, part of the successful brown fields program, pesticide licensing, radiation. while the e.p.a.'s work goes beyond political talking points of various regulations it's necessary to keep this valuable agency able to do the functions it needs to do to protect public health. i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady from minnesota yields back. the gentleman from texas. >> thank you.

i want to make sure everybody knows this cuts 1/2 of 1% from the e.p.a. mr. flores: to hopefully stop them from pursuing a regulatory scheme where the industry is already working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. then it puts it into money and puts it into accounts where we achieve greenhouse gas reductions and we bring resources to the market in a clean and safe way. my amendment accomplishes all of those things. reduced greenhouse gas emission, better jobs and better infrastructure for hardworking americans. so again i ask all the members to support my amendment and to support the underlying bill 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 texas. 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 california seek recognition? will the gentleman specify which