there's one that deals with the t.s.a. precheck program. it will come up later this afternoon. recorded votes will take place at 6:30 eastern today. now live to the floor of the u.s. house here on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain father conroy. chaplain conroy: let us pray we give you thanks, god, for giving us another day. through the ages people have not and do not listen. and give us your word as a gift filled with promise yet time and

again your word goes unheeded. encourage the members of this house to listen carefully to your work and rather than play with numbers or spin on language, face the truth straightforwardly. studying with honesty long and hard and with humble attention remain completely opened to your spirit. and in the midst of conflicting situations, may each member with confidence be able to say to you speak lord, your servant is listening. may all that is done within the people's house be for your greater honor and glory amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be

led by the gentleman from michigan, mr. killedey -- kildee. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. the chair -- the speaker pro tempore: the chair will hent tain requests for one minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. womack: mr. speaker i rise today to honor the memory of staff sergeant david wyatt who was taken much too soon from his family and friends on july 16. david, a marine and loving father, was born november 7 of 1979 in morganton, north carolina.

david was a graduate of russellville high school in russellville, arkansas. my alma mater. he was a veteran of both iraq and afghanistan. for his service staff sergeant wyatt earned numerous medals and commendations for exemplary service in the infantry. he was a dedicated marine. while performing his duties on july 16 as the battery operations chief, third battalion 14th marine regiment, fourth marine division, staff sergeant wyatt was gunned down during the tragic chattanooga shooting that killed him along with three other marines and navy sailor. it is devastating that this decorated marine was taken in the homeland he served so valiantly overseas to protect. his death took the arkansas river valley as -- shook the arkansas river valley as yet another act of senseless violence that can never be explained, justified, or tolerated. the communities and the entire third district of arkansas mourn the loss of my fellow

russellville cyclone and his fellow servicemen. my prayers are with his wife, his two children and his parents lou of st. augustine, florida, and debra of atkins arkansas. may god bless those he leaves behind as they search for peace and understanding through this terrible tragedy. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. the house republicans have had more than 4 1/2 years to craft a long-term surface transportation bill. so their dysfunction and inability to govern is starting to have real impact on hardworking americans and on our communities. they continue to lurch crisis

to crisis and meanwhile our nation's crumbling roads and bridges and our economy suffer as a result. it's like deja vu all over again. another highway deadline this week. mr. speaker, no more short-term month-to-month fixes. enough is enough. in the last decade congress has passed 111 short-term funding bills to keep the highway trust fund solvent. if we are going to pass a long-term solution to rebuild our roads and bridges, it will take the courage of our convictions t will take us working together across the ime to get this done. -- aisle to get this done. our nation's roads and bridges and rails are in and urgent state of repair. a third of america's roads are in poor or immediate exer condition. one out of every four bridges is in need of significant repair. the house republican leadership needs to get serious and find a

long-term fix to the highway trust fund. our country relies on it. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. emmer: mr. speaker i rise today in order to recognize the importance of farm families throughout the great state of minnesota. the university of minnesota recently recognized the 2015 minnesota farm families from across the state and i'm proud to represent five of these families who call the sixth congressional district home. these farm families include the bruce bacon garden farm. the skapinski county. the buckenkind, and the righter family farm and burnings greenway farm incorporated. for many minnesotans farming isn't just a profession it's a way of life.

family farms link the past to the future with each generation passing their work ethic, land, and traditions to the next. these farms make up the heartland of america and exemplify what makes minnesota's agricultural industry great which is why they should be celebrated. congratulations to the 2015 minnesota farm families and thank you so much for everything that you do. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? does the gentleman seek unanimous consent? the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. i came to the floor and said it felt like open season on black men in america. people around the country agree that police killings undermine the efforts of good police and break the trust between police and their communities. black women and girls face the same threats and many more. unsettling video can of a police officer in texas manhandling an unarmed 15-year-old girl in a bathing

suit served as a wake-up call to all of us. the arrest and death of sandra bland reminds us that the fight for equal justice under the law continues. but black women also face a unique and too often unreported violence. sexual assault. in oklahoma, an officer is on trial for sexually assaulting eight black women. tragically this story is not unique. the challenges black men face are real but i was humbled to learn how unequal justice affects black women. black women are the fastest growing prison population and their stories must be told if we are going to break this trend. mr. speaker, it's open season on all americans and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you.

mr. speaker, i rise today to underscore a serious problem in pasco county florida this week that is devastating homeowner's flooding after days of continuous rain. after tropical storm debi in 2012, the army corps of engineers worked with county officials to mitigate flooding, but more needs to be done. for instance, pasco county official vs. been working for 19 years to extend ridge road. one of the main justifications for the ridge road extension is a matter of safety. an extension is a much needed evacuation route in the case of natural disasters like flooding or hurricanes. as of today an evaluation issued for florida in my district is ongoing. the ridge road extension needs to be approved, 19 years is far too lock. the army corps must stop dragging its feet. serious flood this week demonstrates the need for

action. i hope that the corps gets the message. thank you very much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to remind my colleagues of our responsibility to preserve and strengthen the medicare program for future generations. last week the centers for medicare and medicaid services released its annual medicare trustees report an update of the long-term solvency and effectiveness of this vastly important health insurance program. while the report projected that the trust fund that finances medicare's hospital insurance coverage will remain solvent until 2030, it also cautioned that a high number of medicare beneficiaries could see their medicare part b premiums sharply increase in january of 2016.

as a former health care professional and nurse administrator, i understand the importance of providing access to quality care at a realistic cost. one of the ways we can make medicare services more affordable is by targeting waste and abuse within the program. with this in mind i have consistently worked with my colleagues to introduce and support legislation aimed at reducing fraud and increasing administrative effectiveness. i look forward to continuing thesers and urge my colleagues to join me in finding new ways to safeguard and sustain medicare. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on july 24, 2015, at 10:19 a.m. that the senate passed with an

amendment, h.r. 23, h.r. 2499. that the senate passed without an amendment, h.r. 1626. signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 3:00 p.m. today.

people to hone in on issues that are problematic. we have people raising concerns regarding our items i would rather target it and not spend time on things that don't need attention. >> tonight on c-span 2. >> the nation's governors met in west virginia. the secretary of hult and human services. we'll show you as much as we can until the house comes back at 3:00 p.m. eastern today.

>> folks. that's better. if i can gavel us in to order. i want toll welcome everyone to our closing session of the 2015 n.g.a. meeting and this might prove the most fruitful of all the time we are going to spend here. we are going to examine health care transformation and i'm very pleased and grateful that health

and human services secretary sylvia burwell is with us today and has been generous with her time attending the last two meetings and speaking at our governor's only lunches. she oversees 77,000 employees and her work touches the libes of all americans. most recently, she served as director of the office of management and budget and also served as president of the wal-mart foundation and president of the bill and melinda gates foundation and most importantly to governor tomblin, she is a native of west virginia. my home state of colorado is an example of working with c.m.s. on a variety of levels. for those who may not be aware

approved largest systems for health and human services in the country in colorado. this system hits all components of the c.m.s. of working to provide better care for individuals at higher quality, better health for our population as a whole and reduce costs as a result of those improvements in health care quality for all of our citizens. without further ado let me introduce sylvia burwell. [applause] >> thank you. it's great to be able to join you all today and especially happy as was mentioned to welcome you to the mountain state along with governor tomblin and let's spend -- less ven an hour away is my hometown and i invite you to visit kirk's home of the hungry smile, where

my sister and i started as witness tresses. you want to go to the dairy queen, it's a half a mile further and it is the most beautiful dairy queen in the nation. i'm not one to brag, but it's in a book. and if you went and sat on the patio and saw the herons and bald eagles, you would say it is. i invite everybody and tell everybody i sent you. i'm from a town that everybody knows everybody. so please head down and check it out. sirk's was my first job and where i learned about hard work. if you got stuck serving the hard-served ice cream after church you just kept dipping. didn't matter how the forearms started to feel, you worked until you got it done.

and that's one of the lessons i learned and i also learned about community and that is what hinton is all about. you work together to get things done. and i know that those are the ideas that we share as we head our conversations and something that i find particularly valuable. it's been one year since i first met you all. i literally had not been secretary for a month when i came to visit you all and we were hosted by the governor of tennessee. i had the opportunity to know some of you. some of you are new around the table. and understand and see your passion and dedication for the people you serve. you all have been great partners and supporters on a wide range of issues that h.h.s. has whether that's ebola, early education, preventive care and thank you to you all for your

partnership in this year. you are on the front line of governing and i know how you feel. tough answer for your work every day and we depend on you because your citizens are depending on you and you're crucial to our partnership. we appreciate that and thank you. i'm here today to listen and learn and then i want to have conversation and i want to ask you for your leadership in one of the most important things that i think is happening in the nation right now and that is transforming the quality a value of health care for the folks we all serve the american people. it's historic time and each of us has the chance to reshape this system, to make changes that bill boost our economies and help the lives of the american people and it's a chance for us to lead together. and i had the chance to discuss with a number of you, shared health challenges.

for too long our systems have failed to put the patient first. and americans have struggled to navigate and -- an extensive and complex system. we pay for more care, but sometimes we have gotten less. but in the last few years, we have started to see some turn around. we reduced the hospital re-admissions by 8% and that translates to 150,000 fewer re-admissions. between january 2012 and 201. we increased safety in hospitals with 17% reduction in the rate of hospital acquired infections and other things that happen to people in the hospitals. so that's reduced costs estimated over $10 billion. we have made sure those with pre-existing conditions cannot be denied health care. there are 16 million fewer

uninsured in our nation. this the foundation we can build on. like all of you we want to build a better health care system, one that delivers better care and spends our dollars more wisely and puts educated and empowered consumers at the center of their care to keep them healthy. at h.h.s. we are taking steps to make that a reality. we announced goals to move 30% of medicare payments to alternative payment models, such as accountable care organizations and bundle payments and 50% of those payments by 2018, that means paying for value, not paying for volume. moving away from a service for fee approach. by doing so we can pay providers for how well rather than how much care they provide people. a few weeks ago we announced a new payment model to encourage better coordination that take

hip and joint replacements. one payment for quality of measures the 90 days from the point which you had your surgery to the 90 days that you are supposed to be fully recovered. rather than being incentivized for blood tests x-ray checkup they will focus on the quality and total cost of performing a hip replacement and included recovery. since medicare and medicaid cover nearly one out of three americans, we can have a responsibility to lead where we can, but we will only be able to deliver truly significant and sustained change if we have the support and participation from hospitals, providers and insurers and work with the private sector and states. state efforts can go a long way in changing the status quo. we hope you will set your own

payment goals and work with your providers to find better ways to deliver quality and to let us know how we can help. to continue this conversation with our partners, we established the health care payment and learning action network, it's a forum for private and public sector leaders to share strategies and ideas. many of your states' health care and business leaders are part of it. there are 4,000 members and 600 organizations. and i want to thank every one of you whose states have participated and your businesses that are participating as well. we hope all of you will join this conversation because it's a very important part of making sure we move as quickly through this transition as possible and do it in a way that changes working in the private sector and the public sector and that we work together to see around corners, change is something that results in things that are known and unknown but if we work

together we can work through this change more quickly. we have seen great leadership from many of you to establish medicaid system redesign and look around this table and working with most of you on that. and new payment and service models in your states. through accelerator programs and state innovation model many of you somewhere grant funding to do that kind of change and can continue to provide resources and technical assistance. another area where we have seen great collaboration with the states and you have spent time on this earlier today is efforts to combat the prescription and heroin abuse in our country. last april, i wrote to each of you about the epidemic where i laid out our strategy to fight it and improving prescribing practices because that's where a lot of this problem starts. we are increasing the use of

mexin and expanding access to medicaid assistance treatment. i wrote because we need your help and want your help and ideas and many of you have answered that call and leading in that. i have had the chance most recently to be in massachusetts with governor baker and to be in colorado to map out a path that we the federal government can work with each state to work through and make real progress. many of you are finding innovative ways to combine behavioral and primary care together which is related to this issue. today i'm happy to announce we are going to create new ways for states to use waivers to address this. our new guidance will have innovative treatment approaches including developing effective care coordination models to better connect those with

substance use to treatment. we have heard your feedback about the waiver renewal process for existing demonstrations and to address that, we released guidance this week on a fast track process regarding the approval of lond standing medicaid and chip 1115 demonstrations. this will streamline the process and reduce the burdens on states and the federal government. additionally we are going to award $11 million in grants to provide assisted treatment for opioid disorders. next week, funding will be available for community health centers to improve and expand disorders and focus on treatment. i know i'm probably not supposed to do that but that's $100 million in grant making. it wasn't in remarks but the press person who will take care

of the fact that i just announced that. [applause] >> this is money that will make a difference in your states. let's do it together. sorry, ben. as we learn what is effective, it is important we share these best practices with each other and that's why the n.g.a.'s prescription drug abuse academy is so important and convening representatives of all 50 states asking for everybody to come together in september so we can work to continue to build on that progress. i thank the governors for their leadership on the recent policy academy. i'm confident that this group will continue to do great work leading in this area. i want to mention something else that is helping to change the system and move us to the center

and that is precision medicine. as we transfer individualized medicine -- as we transfer -- trangs form our health system we talk about the best way to give people care and doctors to deliver the deliver the highest effective quality treatments. but the revolution that is happening in biomedical research is a place where we have a chance to change the very nature of care that we provide. with more efficient sequencing of our own genes, we can personalize medicine like never before. i had the opportunity to meet with the scientists and patients. i was up at n.i.h. and i met don bean from south carolina. he came to the n.i.h. with kidney cancer. he had a rare cancer with a mutation that is called the

m.e.t. mutation gene and since his first visit he had to have his full kidney removed. on the other kidney, 96 tumors removed. but thanks to precision medicine, doctors were able to determine the genetic cause of that particular cancer and develop a treatment. at first that meant managing the tumors. they were undering how they were growing. but eventually don received a trial drug that actually targets the gene and his tumors shrank and where don lost his father to this disease but done is doing just fine and sent me a note and said the best thing you can do is give somebody hope. some of the most interesting events i do are with the scientists and the patients that are doing this.

they are in your states. they are the people that are doing this science everywhere and i would encourage you as part of where the science is going, meet with some of those folks and you see the vision of where we're going to go. before i close i wouldn't be doing my job if i didn't raise the issue of expanding health care coverage for many working citizens in your states. i think you know what i'm talking about. i want to emphasize to do it in a way that is helpful. i want to emphasize that this is about your citizens' financial and health security and also about the economic health of your state. in every state that's expanded medicaid, if every state did, more than four million americans could have quality health care.

and with more people covered, economies benefit. in 2014 alone, we reduced hospital uncompensated care costs by an estimated $7.4 billion in the country and $5 billion of that reduction estimated 68% of it comes from the states that have done that expansion. we know there are challenges, but i want to make sure you know that i'm committed to working with you to find solutions. we welcome this conversation and we want to help you design a system that fits you and your state. one of my favorite parts of this last year has been building relationships with you all, i have had the chance to see your beautiful states, drink some of the best lemonade around and be sent home with cookies. my children got to eat doughnuts in a governor's mansion. you are their favorite. what i said a year ago, i still believe which is we won't agree on everything, but we have more

in common than we have in conflict. we have common interests and because of that, we share common ground and a commitment to serve the american people. and when we can work together we can do some very great things. thank you all very much. [applause] >> the accent would you say it's true? private sector experience and public service you have done throughout your whole career which all of us appreciate. it's time for questions. who wants to ask the first question? governor hutchison. >> thank you for your presentation and your desire to

find middle ground with many governors and to look for more flexibility. i have enjoyed our discussions in that regard and also appreciate the connection that you have to hinton dairy queen and the connection that you have to arkansas and the time you spent there. i wanted to give you an opportunity to comment if you haven't done so, you mentioned the 1115 waivers, but i would like for you to comment on the 1332 waivers, because there's an understanding at least in my neck of the woods that the 1332 waivers was designed to provide more innovation type grants and flex built beyond simply the traditional medicaid. can you comment on your approach

to these waivers and what guidance you can give the states. >> in terms of 1332 versus 1115, 1115 waivers are focused on medicaid. 1332 waivers are in the marketplace. if you look at the legislative history and those that promoted 1332 waivers were one of those single-payer options for states. that isn't what 1332 is about. it's about an ability to actually meet the objectives and goals and set out in statute pretty clearly in terms of budget neutrality, affordability, access that is happening through a marketplace approach, an exchange approach where a citizen in your state receives a tax subsidy if they are eligible to go onto the

marketplace and have health through cost sharing and tax subsidies. if a state can figure out a way to meet those conditions and it is pretty clear in the statute in terms of the affordability, it is about the quality, it is about the access and budget neutrality, that we want to give states that opportunity to come in. we recently in the last week have put out additional ways in which states can come in and have these conversations with us. i think you all know they don't kick in until 2017. it is pretty important that 1332 application to medicaid funds, that waiver isn't -- it's about the other piece, the subsidies and that funding. 115 and we want to be flexible in the 1115 space in terms of thinking about how you spend your medicaid dollars and how you think of innovative ways to

advance that program so they are different. >> thank you madam speaker and virginia isn't where we have closed the gap. we forfeit i could save my budget $332 million i do want to thank you and your office. they have been spectacular for us to come up with creative successful. and i cannot tell you, this is driving innovation reform in virginia and what is the possibility of continued funding for these types of grants to help us do the reforms at the state level or some mechanism like that? >> at this time, i don't think we have a plan for around three. we have done round two and that's something we'll have to

go back -- one of the conversations that's happening right now in washington which is an important conversation that not much attention is paid to and you are focused on a transportation conversation which is an extremely important one but another one that is important to all the states and to the nation is the actual budget conversation. and i think you all know that right now current law is a sequester level. for us at h.h.s., it will be the lowest level of funding in a decade. some of these questions will be answered as we move forward as part of these conversations about where we are and where we're going to be. i'm hopeful there will be another equivalent of a ryan-murray approach and we can move forward, but that has not happened. that is not the specific answer to your question but as we think through things, it is related.

>> madam secretary delaware received one of the grants and allowed us to accelerate significantly our work to try to move away from the fee for service model and which really means improving access improving quality and bending the cost curve and we are encouraged by how all of the stakeholders are at the table and working together. my question is around the cost issue nationally and some of the stuff i have been reading recently in terms of national health care costs and rates, seems like there are a lot of increases around the country and despite efforts under way in many states to try to move away from that fee for service model i'm wondering if you could

comment on that. >> with regard to the issue of overall costs whether it's costs in the private market or costs in medicare, what we have seen, there was an article this week, we have seen the lowest growth on record. this week's article said 50 years in terms of the question of per capita cost growth. medicare growth, over the last five years, to give you a sense in the last five years medicare costs growth has been at 1.2%. it was the four years before at 3.6. that's still growth but downward pressure. second part of your question that we are hearing a lot about and that's the issue of rates in the market. one of the things about the affordable care act was the question of transparency so that

things have to be shown in the light of day because we believe that the light of day is an important market function because that's how people get information. so what happens is now in each of your states is any insurer is putting forward rates above 10% they have to be made public and has to be listed. during the review period and most of your states review those rates. that's what comes out and causes a lot of the conversation that's happening right now. the insurers have said that they believe that the people that will be in the marketplace next year and this is in the individual market it will be below 10% and the rates that come out usually come down. i can look around -- some of your rates are out you are in a state we are seeing good rates and downward pressure. i think we need to wait and see when they are finalized.

it's something we spend a lot of time is. the question of the costs, the rates and the pressure. we want to make sure we are on top of. as i look at the numbers as we are a payer in the out years in terms of the costs in medicare because it will be reflective of what happens in that market in my conversations with c.e.o.'s and others. and there is pressure in the drug space in terms of upward pressure and we could have conversations about that. the one thing i would say, we think light of day is important for that in terms of knowing what drugs are costing and how much because that's something that the public knows and understands. the other thing and we have asked for these thots in our budget is for medicare part d can we have the authority to negotiate? as you mentioned governor, i spent time at wal-mart. it's a place that negotiates

with its suppliers and uses the power of the market to actually put downward pressure on price. it's something we are watching and going to keep an eye on. i think right now we're watching but what the conversation is isn't reflective of the entire market but want to be carbous as always and it's a place we need to focus. >> madam secretary, thanks for being here and appreciate your service. you had great outreach to the states and your team worked carefully with wyoming as we were trying to expand medicaid, which was a colossal failure but they blame the governor, but not on your part. i wanted to tell you as you look at health care in the states in the country, i think one of the

challenges we face in wyoming is we are a very rural state and our challenges are somewhat different than the larger states. just on economies of scale, before the a.c.a. we had 12 or 13 insurance companies in the state, we have two on because the lists were too big and systems necessary for payment, for example. and we looked to partner with some other states and we think there are some opportunities to do that. just a general question, i think rural health care and rural states and within our native american populations there are many challenges and we are working to find some of those answers, but i would encourage you and your team to recognize that there are some differences between large metropolitan areas and rural areas, just in terms of distances and how far you have to drive when your son has

a broken arm and those challenges. it's not unique and not new. it has always been a challenge. but for smaller populated states, we continue to be concerned about we have some different challenges than large states. >> i agree and recognize there is a difference. being from west virginia being from a state where we have a large rural population is something we understand. we don't have the geographic spanses like your own, but similar types of issues with regard to concentration and that sort of thing. and i think it's -- when i sit in my seat and doing rulemaking, now the centers for medicare and medicaid know they cannot bring a single rule for my review without telling me the impact on rural america because it is hard to figure out or with the

announcement that i talked about, the hip and knee bundling announcement it's in 75 markets but for a marget to be chosen, its market had to be a certain size because you had to have enough of a population that you could spread what it's doing. we had those specific conversations. the question of in rural america, how do we work to make sure in places where there's not as much competition, that's one of the things, how we create working markets i think is a challenge but one we want to work with you all on and think through how we can do that. and it is something -- it's one of the things that they have a listed thing that they have to talk about when they come in because i'm going to ask it, so you should be prepared what is the impact on rural markets. the markets are different and how we think about is we will have to figure through as a

nation. but they are very different and very regional and local and you know that in terms of within some of your states there is a difference in terms of what the market looks like. >> thank you, madam secretary we are honored to have you here and many of us are still having ongoing discussions with you and your department and i express to you personally and to your staff of the professionalism we have been received. you have been very cordial and willing to listen to our issues and thank you for that. you said something that i was taken with and we have more in common than we have differences. and i agree with that. i think what we have in common is a similar goal as republicans and democrats and states and washington, d.c. to serve our

people as best we can. the goal in regards to health care is to make sure that as much as is practical or possible to provide health care affordable, high quality health care to all americans. where we sometimes have a difference is how you do that. the goal's the same but process and the pathway we follow is different and that's part of the debate. you talked about the need and the opportunity for us to have waivers or get more flexibility. and sometimes i think we deal a lot on this issue it's like burger king, you can't have it your way, do it my way. how do you determine when it comes to the health care issues when you give waivers and flexibility, how do you determine how much leeway you give to the states, how much

will you let us try our own way as opposed to having to do it, i wouldn't say your way but under the affordable care act, how do you determine where that line is going to be drawn to give us the flexibility we would like to have in states. >> whether it's in this space or any other spaces that one is working in terms of the decisions that we make across a wide range of issues well beyond 1115 waivers, one turns germly to the intent of the -- generally. and this is what the core issues are. and with regard to the specific issue in 1115 as we think about where those bright linesr it is often about affordability and access. and that's what the additional funding was about. it was about creating a better

match, more enhanced money for states with in return, providing broader access that is affordable. and so that kind of gives you -- but when we think about these things we go to what is the core objective and generally speaking as we have the back and forth try to find the places where we can be the most flexible and where it hits up against some of the core principles that's where we come to our places. and i think similarly for you all. and i find that in all of my conversations with you in terms of you all, there are core principles that you have trouble moving beyond and even if i would like to do it a different way. we try to find that space, because that is a negotiation and that's what these are. when i came in, our colleagues, some of my colleagues, it would

have been if i just put lines, and there are a couple of places you know some of our lines but if i outlined it and said this is it. but i don't think that's what gets to our ability to listen and hear, i can look around this table and some of you have come in with innovative ideas, things like, i don't know if it will work but there is enough evidence and logic to think we should try it. so trying to create that space is what we work to do. >> thank you for your incredible access that you have given to the governors. i enjoyed your cookies and lemonade. >> those are the ones i got to take home. >> we had a good time. first of all i want to

congratulate and your comments and focus on mental health and include that addiction because that's one of the most serious issues. as i found out in my 2 1/2 years the addiction issue is ending up in our county prisons, in our emergency rooms and in our state prisons. and that's not the solution. and we have got to come up with a long-term partnership with the federal government local government and everyone involved to deal with this very, very serious crisis. we had a previous seminar about synthetic drugs and it's getting worse. i commend you and want to work in partnership to come up with a viable solution. two quick questions for you. i would love to get more information on the consistency on medicaid services across all

states. we are having a debate in my legislature what level of service you get from medicaid covering certain aspects of medicine. we are fairly liberal in north carolina and legislators say we are covering too much. do you have any consistent benchmark across states in medicaid coverage. you have been nice to have the governor and i and you had us visit with the president and we had a frank discussion and good discussion on many things. one was about waivers and i'm not sure if the lines moved or attempting to look to see if there are waivers that we can get for able-bodied people to require work or training in order to have medicaid expansion. and we did this in public housing when i was mayor of charlotte and want to know if

there is any more flexibility or is that the line drawn in that area? i congratulate in you reaching out to us. >> on the first question why don't we get back to the benchmarks and how states and different service level. we will get back to you on. with regard to the question of work and how we think of that particular issue with regard to health, in terms of one of the things that i think is an important thing that i think both sides agree on quite a bit but pre-existing conditions shouldn't keep you from an ability to get health insurance. maybe how one gets to that, maybe, you but that's the agreement. the idea that health care is not a conditional thing and health care different from a number of things. tan of is a program that is

operated out of the department of health and human services. health care is different. i think we think there are incredibly strong ways, because we're with you on work. and you know, that's a place where i think we'd like to see -- would be great to have people working and earning a wage that we didn't need -- we just as soon have people in the market and beyond. the work concept, we have a number of places where we have worked with a number of you all to get to a place that has innovation that drives this in a way that will get more people through your work training program than you've ever seen. look forward to having that conversation because i think we can get to a part -- a portion of what you want which is what you want work encouraged and that's at the core of your commnt about that. i think there are ways to do

that. >> governor fallon. >> thank you for coming once again to our meetings and pleasure to be able to listen and have a dialogue which is important. and i think you have one of the toughest jobs in america. you certainly have had a tough job this past year. couple of things i want to commend you on, when you are paying for outcome versus volume of times someone sees their doctor and making sure that what we are doing is working versus what we hope might work and thank you for that. trying to fast track some of the waivers thellses and if i remember right, one of our requests from many of our governors was that if we had a waiver that you had already approved in the past, if you

would consider being able to continue that improvement of that waiver because you have done it several times before. in the state of oklahoma oak we have a great a program insure oklahoma and the person paying a very small portion of their insurance and the employer paying it and coming back to the question of working and paying and you have approved that for the third time which i'm grateful for but if we had something that is working, can we go ahead and make that permanent versus every single year trying to reaapply. on the prescription drug abuse problem, we had a great session that many of us participated in today, but one of the things in oklahoma passed a bill to stop

doctor shopping in the state. it was hard to do. and took me three years to get that through because some doctors didn't want to check this and check that. but could we not do that like for medicaid recipients that under federal guidelines and certainly state guidelines i can do this, if someone is on medicaid and on pain pills that you require a doctor to check it every time? just something to consider on that track. and last thing i want to mention, we talk about rising costs of medicaid and expenses to our state which has been a huge challenge for all of us and we are in those states over the last couple of years we have seen our unemployment drop really low and our per capita income went up.

and $90 million in funds and costs of $130 million and grew our population. more people coming into the system and less money from the federal government because our economy had changed and now going through a downturn with the energy sector and really short of that money. just something to consider. >> i won't touch on all of them figuring how we work in terms of making the movement to economic health and people being able to be -- [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] >> you can see the rest of the remarks online at c-span.org. live to the u.s. house as members are about to return from a brief recess. afternoon debate on 17 suspension bills. now live to the house floor. le 20.

recorded votes on postponed questions will be taken later. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from american samoa seek recognition? ms. coleman: i ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1138 . the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1138, a bill to establish certain wilderness areas in central idaho and to authorize various land conveyances involving national forest system land and bureau of land management land in central idaho, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from american samoa, ms. radewagen, and the gentlewoman from guam, ms. bordallo, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from mayor samoa. ms. radewagen: i ask unanimous

consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. radewagen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from -- the gentlewoman is recognized for as much time as she may use. ms. rag wagen: this -- ms. radewagen: this bill would relouis wilderness study areas back to multiple use in central idaho. this area which is predominantly bureau of land management and u.s. forest service land, is home to world-class scenery and attracts thousands of outdoor recreationists, including snowmobilers hunters backpackers hikers, mountain

bikers, outfighters and campers. the bill also conveys several federal parcels to local counties and cities to be used for a variety of municipal purposes. congressman simpson has worked tirelessly on this issue for the last decade. i encourage my colleagues to vote in support of h.r. 1138. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: jorment american samoa reserves -- the gentlewoman from american samoa reserves. the gentlewoman from guam. ms. bordallo: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. bordallo: i rise today in support of h.r. 1138. this bill adds over 275,000 acres of wilderness to the saw took national recreational area and the jerry peak wilderness in idaho's boulder white cloud mountains. the boulder white clouds region in central idaho is the largest contidgeous, roadless area in

the lower -- contidgeous, roadless area in the lower 48. the region contains over 150 mountains that are over 10,000 feet and provides critical habitat for numerous fish and wildlife species. it is also a popular recreation destination that attracts people who hunt, who fish who ski, who hike along the pristine shores of the alpine lake and the rugged mountains. this bill will have a lasting legacy conservation and applaud my colleague from idaho for all of his work and determination. and mr. speaker, i also thank the committee for their work on this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentlelady from american samoa. mrs. radwagen: i yield such time as he may consume to the gentlewoman from idaho, the author of the bill, mr.

simpson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from idaho is recognized for as much time as he wishes to use. mr. simpson: i want to thank leader mccarthy and chairman bishop for bringing h.r. 1138 to the floor today, which we refer to as ssnra plus. i want to thank ranking member grijalva chairman mcclick to be of the subcommittee and ranking member tsongas of the subcommittee. in 2005, we had the first congressional hearing on the boulder white clouds on what then was a bill called seedra. it was a complicated bill that tried to do a lot of things for a lot of different people. today we have a simplified 20-page bill that we call ssnar-plus which brings management certainty to the boulder white clouds. it makes the determination about which parts of the current wilderness study area will in fact become wilderness and which parts will be released for multiple use.

there are -- there will be three new wilderness areas totaling 275,000 acres. 67,9 98, the boulder white cloud. in honor of the late senator jim mcclure, we have the james a. mcclure, jerry peak area. the bill also releases wilderness study areas back to multiple use, using -- back to multiple use totaling 153,000 acres. so this not only makes the determination what will be wilderness it releases the other wilderness study areas for multiple use. we do not close any motorized roads or trails in this bill. ranchers with allotments on the snnra will voluntarily retire their grazing permits and will be eligible for compensation

from a third party. any grazing permits will be permanently close. nothing in this bill affects the jurisdiction of the state of idaho with respect to the management of fish and wildlife on public lands in the state, including the regulation of hunting, fishing and trapping within the wilderness areas. individual parcels of land will be conveyed to custer and blaine counties for public purposes, including work force housing cemeteries, water towers and waste transfer sites. as part of this process, grants have been provided for the snnra for trail improvements including those of existing motorized trails and two existing trails to provide permanent wheelchair access and for requiring the land to have a bike and snowmobile trail. mr. speaker, this bill meets the needs of today's users and resolves long-standing debates over the boulder white clouds.

it will end the issue of monuments and secure the future for generations of idahoans who want to continue using and using our beautiful boulder white clouds. finally i'm proud of the wide array of support we have for this bill. we have the support of the idaho recreational council which includes a.t.v.ers, nonmotorized boaters, r.v.ers, recreational miners and snowmobilers in the idaho state snow machine association the kuster county commissioners, the idaho farm bureau, the idaho cattle association the idaho conservation league and the idaho wilderness society. this is a broad array of users and conservation groups and it demonstrates how far we have come with this bill and how widely it is supported. this is an idaho bill crafted by idahoans over the past 15 years to address some of the

most contentious land management issues in one of the most beautiful places on earth so we can both use and enjoy and preserve it for future generations. it is by any definition a compromise by all stakeholders and i urge my colleagues to pass this bill. and mr. speaker i have a list of people i want to thank that helped support this bill over the years and worked very diligently on this bill that i'd like to include in the record following my remarks. i ask unanimous consent to do so. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. simpson: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from american samoa reserves her time. the gentlelady from guam is recognized. ms. bordallo: thank you mr. speaker. i again want to come back to thank my colleague, mr. simpson, for sponsoring this very important piece of legislation, and i do ask my colleagues to help support h.r. 1138. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back her time. the gentlelady from american samoa.

mrs. radwagen: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1138. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 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 gentlelady from american samoa rise? mrs. radwagen: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 774, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 774, a bill to strengthen enforcement mechanisms to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, to amend the tuna conventions act of 1950 to implement the antigua convention, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from american samoa ms. radewagen, and the gentlewoman from -- mrs.

radewagen and the gentlewoman from guam will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from american samoa. mrs. radwagen: -- mrs. radewagen: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. radewagen: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the clerk: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. radewagen: as a gentlewoman from american samoa, i can say that fishing and the job it provides is one of the biggest issues of our territory. it is a way of life. it has shaped our culture, our customs and our traditions. and that must continue. it is for that reason that i am a co-sponsor of h.r. 774, the illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing enforcement act of 2015. sometimes referred to as pirate

fishing illegal, unreported and unregulated or i.u.u. fishing, is a wide range of fishing activities that fail to comply with national, global fisheries, conservation and management requirements. these unlawful practices impact various sectors of our seafood industry which is certainly true in respects to our tuna industry in american samoa. by nature, the impact of i.u.u. fishing is difficult to quantify. though some estimates suggest that it results in economic losses between $10 billion to $23 billion worldwide annually. the effects of i.u.u. fishing are not only felt on the decks of our fishing boats, the impacts that we are talking about here can be felt all the way to your dinner plate. the intent of h.r. 774 is to

ensure that the fishermen that i represent can operate on a level playing field with foreign nation vessels. specifically, the bill aims to identify and regulate illegal foreign fishing vessels that are hurting our fishermen's ability to provide for their families. i do have to say that while i'm a co-sponsor of this legislation i wish that we had -- we would have been able to come to an agreement on language that i had proposed specific to the actions and regulations administered by the western and central pacific fisheries commission of which american samoa is a participating territory. the intent of my language was to ensure that the commission could not act in a manner that would hurt our fishermen more than those of other participating foreign nations. all i want is for our fishermen in american samoa to be on a level playing field with foreign nation vessels to be able to provide for their families. while we were not able to reach

consensus on my proposed language, i look forward to working with my fellow committee colleagues toward a solution to help the fishing industry in american samoa. remaining fair and true to our fishermen is so important in the territory that i represent because the fishing industry is the economic driver of many of our communities. while i will continue to work on those ideas legislatively in another vehicle, this is a good bill and i urge my colleagues to support it. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves her time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from guam. ms. bordallo: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to urge my colleagues to support the passage of h.r. 774, a bill that i sponsored. it's the illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing enforcement act of 2015. h.r. 774 would strengthen enforcement mechanisms to

combat i.u.u. fishing, which threatens the economic and the social infrastructure of our fishing communities in our industry. i.u.u. fishing also threatens the security of the united states and our allies. countries like australia papa papa, new guinea and palau have combated i.u.u. fishing and i appreciate that the house is finally taking action that will help to demonstrate the u.s. leadership on this important issue. i.u.u. fishing costs our fishing industry over tens of billions of dollars over the years. this tremendous impact on fishing economies undermines their financial security and can destabilize regions. additionally, in some cases we have seen i.u.u. fishing facilitates illegal, human and

wildlife trafficking. i.u.u. is bad for our national security, and we must give u.s. authorities the tools to combat this illegal activity. the bill would provide noaa and the coast guard with much-needed tools to fight foreign, illegal fishing. it would also implement the agreement on port state measures to prevent, deter and eliminate i.u.u. fishing. . it would set imstandards for denying port entry and services to vessels that have engaged in illegal fishing. so i'm proud to note that h.r. 774 is a truly bipartisan effort, a result of the hard work of both democratic and republican staff. the co-sponsorships of both democratic and republican members and the leadership of

the natural resources communities as well as the transportation and infrastructure community. i want to thank matt strickler and gene flemmer of the natural resources staff for their work to move this forward. i would like to acknowledge the international conservation caucus foundation, the gulf coast leadership conference and countless recreational and commercial fishing businesses across the country for their full fledged support of this bill. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 774 to ensure that the u.s. remains a leader in ensuring the economic security of our nation and our allies. thank you, mr. speaker. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from guam reserves. the gentlelady from american samoa. mrs. radewagen: mr. speaker, may i ask if the minority bill

mamminger has additional speakers on this bill? we do not. ms. bordallo: i do not have any additional speakers. the speaker pro tempore: she has none. mrs. radewagen: i also include for the record an exchange of letters from rob bishop of the natural resources committee and chairman shuster on the ki on infrastructure. we thank them for their gracious cooperation on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. radewagen: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from guam. ms. bordallo: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers so i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from american samoa. mrs. radewagen: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 774 as amended.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative the rule is suspended and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? >> suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1381. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1831 a bill to establish the commission on evidence-based policy making and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from utah and the gentlewoman from michigan, mrs. lawrence each will control 20 minutes. mr. chaffetz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i ask members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. i rise in support of h.r. 1831

as amended introduced by the chairman of the ways and means committee, mr. paul ryan of wisconsin. h.r. 1831 establishes a commission to study data across the federal government in order to improve policy making. the president and congressional leaders will appoint researchers data and privacy experts who have 18 months to complete their work. the commission will determine to make informed policy decisions and whether or not a clearinghouse would be a prudent method of protecting data. and make recommendations how to incorporate data. will help ensure they contract the value of the program from the very first dollar that is spent. chairman ryan has tackled many important issues and ensuring access to federal data to improve public policy decision making sm the government accountability office calls for

more and better data for g.a.o. and other agencies to analyze programs. policy makers need access for decision making so the federal government can be an effective steward of the taxpayers' money and resources. it administers 1,00 different programs and the congressional budget office estimates the annual federal spending will exceed $4 trillion in two years' time. some programs are wasteful, but what about all the others? are they working? do they make taxpayers' lives better? we do not know and have the and litics to back it up. less than 1% of federal spending is based on such evidence. it is important to understand what data the federal government has and make an informed plan to

make access for decision makers and more informed public. i thank chairman ryan to give policy makers and taxpayers access to the data needed to improve program results. senator murray has introduced a companion bill in the united states senate and president obama has called for policies in his budget as well. i thank chairman ryan for his leadership and work on the bill and i urge my colleagues to support 1831. and with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from michigan mrs. lawrence. mrs. lawrence: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. lawrence: the evidence-based policy policy commission act was introduced by representative ryan and in the senate by senator murray on april 16, 2015. the committee on oversight and government reform ordered the

bill reported by voice vote on may 19 2015. the bill as amended will create a 15-member commission to study ways to improve the use of administrative data on federal programs and tax expenditures. the commission would also consider whether to establish a clearinghouse for information collected by federal agencies. federal agencies collect a large amount of data on existing programs and they are also the beneficiary of those programs. too often however, federal agencies do not share data with other agencies or with private researchers in a way that can help determine what is working and what is not. the administration called for greater use of evidence to improve federal programs, especially in the areas of

education, health and international development programs. the authors of this bill have worked with the administration in drafting this legislation. in examining ways to better use administrative data, it is critical to ensure that the privacy of individuals continues to be protected. that is why the members of this commission would be required to have expertise not only in economics and statistics, but also in data security and confidentiality. this bill is supported by a wide range of private sector organizations from the heritage foundation to the urban institute. i believe an evidence-based policy making commission would help us improve the way the federal government works. i urge my colleagues to support this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan reserves. the chair recognize the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: i yields myself such time as i may consume the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i wanted to highlight the president's budget on page 65 where it says the budget embraces representative paul ryan and senator murray's proposal to create a commission to make relations about how to fully realize the potential of administrative data to improve federal programs. the proposal exemplifies the high level and bipartisan momentum for doing more to tap this important resource, end quote. it's important we come together and in this case, i want to thank members on both sides of the aisle on the government and oversight committee. i'm resistant to keeping a commission or board, but here we see some good thinking in a bipartisan way with some support from not only the house of representatives, the united states senate, but as well as the president of the united

states. we see fit to pass this out of our committee. it sailed through and believe that it is a good bill and urge our members to vote in favor of this piece of legislation. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from michigan. mrs. lawrence: i want to state that being a member of congress freshman, that it is refreshing to be able to stand here today in a bipartisan bill and be supportive. i do want the record to reflect that the bill would require the president and four congressional leaders to each appoint three commission members. one of the president's appointees would be the director of the office of management and budget or designee. some members would have to have experience as academic researchers, program administrators. other members would have substantial data base and

privacy matter. individuals with expertise in economics, statistics, programming and evaluation will also be considered. it is important that we understand that there are currently so many of our agencies that are collecting data and that now we have understood in the spirit of being efficient and being progressive in our government, that this commission will satisfy that. and i am very much in support of this and urge my colleagues and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i appreciate the gentlewoman's comments and agree this is a place where we can come together and work together. this 15-member commission would be directed to determine the best structure for information that is collected and maintained

by federal agencies. one of the things that we have to be cognizant about is not only making this information available to congressional researchers and people at the g.a.o. or o.m.b. but making sure the public has access to this information for they are the ones who have paid for it and should be able to access it. we should find new methods whether it's a new app or a new way to bring this information and have that information that is then passed on and accessible by the public. also look forward to congress receiving the information and what is good about the structure of this bill is that it expires 18 months after its enactment. so there is a built-in exit here. it is something that has an expiration date which we should look at on a more frequent base is. i urge my colleagues to vote in

favor of h.r. 1831 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1831 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from wisconsin seek recognition? mr. ryan: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.j.res. 61, the hire more heroes act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the joint resolution. the clerk: house joint resolution 61, jount resolution -- joint resolution amending the internal revenue code of 1986 to exempt employees with health coverage under tricare or the veterans administration from being taken into account for purposes of determining the employers to which the employer mandate applies under the patient protection and

affordable care act. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. ryan, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.j.res. 61, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from illinois, the author of this legislation, for the purposes of explaining what it does, five minutes to mr. davis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for five minutes. mr. davis: mr. speaker, thank you very, very much. i'm proud to rise in support of my bill, the hire more heroes act. this commonsense legislation will help small businesses hire more of our veterans by exempting veterans who are already receiving health care through the d.o.d. or the v.a. from being counted towards the 50-employee limit for the employer mandate under the affordable care act.

on opening day, the house passed h.r. 22, the hire more heroes act by a bipartisan vote of 412-0. i especially want to thank my colleague from michigan, tulsi gabbard, for supporting this issue. and -- from hawaii, tulsi gabbard for supporting this issue. i want to thank paul ryan and his entire committee for ensuring this important issue is addressed in this congress. in order to maximize the chances for this important legislation to be implemented into law this segs, we are begin considering the hire -- session, we are again considering the hire more heroes act. h.j.res. 61 is an example of how washington is supposed to work. i say this because this idea didn't come from washington, it came from a member of my veteransed a risery board in madison county illinois. after explaining that obamacare to veterans throughout southwestern illinois and how it impacts their v.a. benefits,

this advisory board member, brad, began wondering why they were subject to the employer mandate if they were not even in need of health insurance coverage. his concern was raised with me at one of my veterans advisory board meetings and shortly thereafter we began working on this hire more heroes act. this bill will help small businesses, those with less than 50 employees hire more of our nation's veterans by making a commonsense change to obamacare. we continue to see this law's lingering impact on our economy as many small businesses delay hiring, cut hours and in some cases reduce payroll. in fact the national small business association found that 91% of small businesses have seen increases in their health care costs and 2/3 of their members listed the affordable care act as a reason for holding off on investing in people. mr. speaker, when a small business invests in people, that's how america creates

jobs. in my home state of illinois,s estimated this year that -- it's estimated this year that the affordable care act premium increases will rise as much as 30%. by making this commonsense change to the law we will not only help much-needed -- with much-needed relief but have our heroes find more work. post-9/11 veterans are consistently faced with higher unemployment rates than that of other veterans. so as more and more of our veterans return home, the hire more heroes act will give these veterans a boost in this very competitive job market, and i ask all of my colleagues to once again, again mr. speaker, this bill passed earlier this year 412-0. i'm asking all of my colleagues to support this commonsense bipartisan policy that will help american businesses hire more of our heroes. i again want to thank you, mr.

speaker, and chairman ryan, and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois yields back his time. the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. and the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan for as much time as he wishes to use. mr. levin: i rise in active support of this bill. it encourages veteran employment as well as the growth of mid-sized businesses. the unemployment rate for veterans of recent times, that rate has gone down, but it still remains too high and that's especially true for those women who have served in our armed services. as i talk to veterans at home, the challenge they face continues in terms of employment. in mccomb county, for example, there is a particularly active

part of the vietnam veterans. they try to work day and night to try to get employment for their membership, but there remains a major challenge and this bill will help. this bill continues to be part of our national commitment to help the veterans who have served this nation and who deserve the chance as they return to find full-time employment. so let's all of us, as we did before, vote unanimously for this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ryan: i, too, want to echo the sentiment here which is this just -- this is just a no-brainer. what i particularly like about

this bill, this is mr. davis doing his job as a member of congress, getting a very constructive idea from a constituent, a veteran who pointed out a flaw in the law. so he went and spoke to his member of congress. his member of congress looked at the law and saw there needed a change. this is how this republic is supposed to work. i'm very pleased we're doing this on a bipartisan basis. i was unfortunately detained for the last bill. and i wanted to make just a couple of points on the last suspension that just passed that mr. chaffetz brought to the floor h.r. 1871, the evidence-based policymaking commission act of 2015. right now we spend so much of our time here in congress and in the federal government focusing on measuring success of our policies based on measuring inputs not outcomes. how many programs are we creating how much money are we spending? not are these programs working

or not. we will create a commission to look at the data we already collect and see if we can give access to academics and use this data more effectively so we can better measure outcomes of our policies. we want to make sure that we can use our data to evaluate better policy. we want to make sure we do it in a way that ensures people's privacy, but we want to move the kind of debate we've been having here from liberal versus conservative or republican versus democrat to what work to what doesn't work and no where is more crucial to try to make a difference to move people from being dependent, from being stuck in poverty from being frozen in their current station in life to reigniting the notion of up ward mobility and more successfully targeting and going at the root cause of poverty so we can actually have programs that are measured based on success and outcomes which is, are we actually getting people out of poverty? the purpose of the bill that

just passed is to reorient the entire way we look at these and focus on the outcomes. i want to lend my statement for the record. i ask to put it in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. ryan: i urge adoption at this time -- i urge adoption. at this time i'd like to yield one minute to the gentlelady from kansas, a member of the ways and means committee, ms. jenkins. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from kansas is recognized for one minute. ms. jenkins: thank you, mr. chairman. thank you for your leadership on this issue, mr. davis. i'm pleased to come to the house floor today, again, as a supporter of the hire more heroes act. this bill is as common sense as they come. it exempts our heroes, those veterans and active duty military, from counting toward the employer penalty mandate.

active duty military receive health care through tricare. for having these employers be required to have health care is redundant and could discourage them from hiring these folks. this is clearly not drafted in a thoughtful manner, and i urge my colleagues, again, today to vote in favor of this bill that would eliminate this unnecessary confusion and encourage companies to hire more heroes. i ask the senate to pass this legislation so it can finally get to the president's desk. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: yield back the balance of my time. the gentleman from wisconsin. mr. ryan: i yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. davis, for closing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. davis: thank you to the ranking member, mr. levin and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for looking at this

very important issue, this correction that needed to be made so that our veterans get the opportunities they deserve. i'd like to thank my colleague from kansas, ms. jenkins, for coming to the floor today to talk about how important this issue is. i urge all of my colleagues to listen to everybody on the floor today, the bipartisan consensus to once again pass this commonsense piece of legislation. i also want to thank the veterans that i have the opportunity to serve in illinois. this idea came from them, came from one of them. a constituent who saw the flaw and now we have the chance to once again correct it. i hope this bill can get to the president's desk, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from wisconsin's time has yielded back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass house joint resolution 61. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are

suspended, the joint resolution is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1482, the need-based educational aid act of 2015. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 1482, an act to improve and re-authorize provisions relating to the application of the antitrust laws to the award of need-based educational aid. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte and the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. . mr. goodlatte: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to include extraneous materials on s. 1482 currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. goodlatte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: this continues an antitrust exemption set to expire in 2015 and allows colleges and universities to collaborate on a set of criteria to determine applicants' needs for private financial aid. to be clear, this exemption does not apply to federal financial aid but participating colleges and universities. the antitrust modernization act cautioned against antitrust exemptions and congress examine any proposed antitrust exemptions. and this has been in place since 1992. over the past 23 years, congress has extended the antitrust exemption on four separate occasions, each time with broad bipartisan support. additionally, the government accountability office conducted

a study to determine whether the exemption impacted at affordability of college and concluded that it did not. as it continues the existing anticipate trust exemption and narrows it in recognition of the fact that one of the practices allowed by that exemption has not been utilized by participating colleges and universities. the legislation limits the scope of antitrust exemption to those activities that colleges and universities truly need and use. given the lengthy legislative record, the narrowed scope of the exemption, the g.a.o. study on the effects of the bill and the seven year subpoenaset, i believe s. 1842 proposes a safe extension of a reasonable and worth while anticipate trust exemption. i thank the former chairman for introducing the house version of this legislation h.r. 2604, which the judiciary committee favorably reported without

amendment. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i yield my time -- myself such time as i may consume. the need based educational aid act of 2015 would extend an exemption to the federal antitrust laws that permits some of our nation's colleges and universities to agree to admit students on a need blind basis and award with the most demonstrated. i'm the lead democratic co-sponsor of the house companion bipartisan legislation. s. 1418 allows colleges and universities that admits students on a need-blind basis to collaborate on the formula

they used to determine how much families can pay for college. this exemption was first enacted in 1992 and since then, congress has re-authorized it four times without opposition, most recently in 2008. in addition to allow collaboration on a common formula for calculating an applicant's ability to pay for college, the exemption allows academic institutions to agree to award aid only on the basis of financial need. in other words, this exemption ensures that the most qualified students may attend some of our nation's most prestigious schools regardless of family income. this is especially important for low-income students who should not be forced to choose institutions on the basis of financial need or financial aid alone. while i think we could do more

to empower students through better funding of higher education this legislation is critical to preserving a level playing field for students at these institutions through a need-blind admissions process. the 568 president's group, a coalition of 23 prestigious colleges and universities that support need-based financial aid strongly supports this bill. in a letter sent to the judiciary committee earlier this year the 568 president's group stated that the exemption allows institution to maximize the allocation of financial aid to, quote, ensure those funds are targeted to benefit the students with the greatest financial need and reduce or in some days cases debt loads upon graduation. end quote. the presidents of duke and cornell have written in support of this legislation stating that the exemption, quote, makes a real difference for our

students, end quote, and is essential to developing the quote, the best practices to institutional aid awards, end quote. we should move quickly to adopt this legislation and ensure that this important exemption does not expire. in closing, i thank my colleague, congressman lamar smith, the former chairman for his leadership on this bill. i also thank my senate colleagues, senate judiciary chairman leahy and ranking member grassley for their leadership on this bill. and i encourage my colleagues to support s. 1482 and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: it's my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the chairman of the science committee the former

chairman of the judiciary committee and chief sponsor of the house version of this legislation, the gentleman from texas, mr. smith. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: let me thank my friend from virginia, bob goodlatte for yielding me time and bringing this bill to the house floor. i support s. 1482, the need-based educational aid act. as the author of the identical house bill i'm pleased we are considering it today. it extends the current antitrust exemptions set to expire on september 30 for another seven years and allows private universities that admit students on need-blind basis to award based on the student's financial need. this bill authorizes these institutions to use common principles to assess a stupid's financial need and allows the schools to use a common

financial aid application form and permits multiple schools to award the same assistance. this ensures that the students selects the college that is the best fit rather than the school that offered the most financial aid. this has long been of interest to me having worked on three previous extensions. common treatment makes sense. the government accountability office study previously found there has been no abuse of the antitrust exemption and that twuse has not gone up as a result. it helps ensure that financial aid is available to students on the basis of demonstrated need. students should not be denied the opportunity to access higher education. s. 1482 protects this need-based need and need-blind admissions. i thank hank johnson a member

of the judiciary committee being the original co-author of the identical house bill and his leadership on this particular issue. i urge my colleagues to support the need-based educational aid act. i thank the chairman of the judiciary committee for bringing it to the house floor and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yield back. the gentleman from virginia reserves and the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker, i would like to thank my chairman, bob goodlatte, of the judiciary committee for his expeditious bringing of this legislation to the committee and now to the floor. and with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i thank the gentleman from georgia, the gentleman from texas, mr. smith ranking member member, mr. conyers, for this bipartisan legislation and urge my colleagues to support it. and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 1842 those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the rules are suspended -- mr. goodlatte: on that, i ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman from virginia ask for the yeas and nays? mr. goodlatte: yes. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing. a sufficient number having arisen yeas and nays are ordered. punt to clause 8, rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1656 the secret service improvements act of 2015 as amended the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1566 to provide

additional resources for the secret service and improve protection for restricted areas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentleman from georgia, mr. johnson each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials under h.r. 1656. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. goodlatte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he wishes to consume. mr. goodlatte: the secret service has two primary missions, criminal investigations and protection of the president, vice president and other dignitaries. as a result, the secret service is entrusted with protecting some of our most valuable assets. this is extremely difficult, high profile mission. the secret service is comprised

of many outstanding and upstanding men and women who do excellent work however over the last few years, scandals, security failures and instances of poor judgment have rocked the secret service. this ranges from use of prostitutes on official travel to colombia and intoxicated agents on the agency's failure to initially apprehend the fence jumper, who was later arrested inside the white house. following these incidents, the president appointed a new director of the secret service, who has implemented a number of reforms sm the president also appointed a panel of experts to recommend changes to the secret service. through the committee's oversight and the recommendations of the panel it is clear that despite director clancy's initiatives, legislative action is still necessary. we must ensure the agents are

properly trained in order to successfully identify potential threats and prevent them from materializing as well as to ensure that the agency has the tools it needs to carry out its mission. h.r. 1656, the secret service improvements act of 2015 is bipartisan legislation introduced to provide much needed resources to the agency and implement many of the u.s. secret service protective mission panel's recommendations for improvement in the agency. i'm pleased to have worked on this legislation with ranking member member conyers, chairman sensenbrenner and ranking member jackson lee. this bill makes needed improvements to the secret service and strengthens the security of the president and the white house complex, enhance secret service officers and agents' training and manpower. this improves transparency and

accountability within the agency by requiring senate confirmation of the director of the secret service. the person entrusted to not only protect the president but head a $1.5 billion federal law enforcement agency should be subject to the same process of advice and consent of the senate as his counterparts at other comparable agencies. finally this legislation creates an ethics office in order to respond, rectify and prevent this conduct at the agency. the resources and improvements provided by this legislation will help to reform the secret service and restore the trust that congress, the president and the american people must have in the vital tasks that the secret service carries out every sing day. i urge my house colleagues to join me in support of the legislation and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves sm the chair recognizes the

gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he wishes to use. mr. johnson: h.r. 1656 the secret service improvements act will assist the secret service with its critical mission of protecting the president and vice president and other dignitaries as well as its investigative role in protecting our nation's financial infrastructure against criminal threats. this important bill was introduced by the bipartisan leadership of the judiciary committee chairman bob goodlatte, ranking member john conyers, crime subcommittee chairman jim sensenbrenner and crime subcommittee sheila jackson lee. h.r. 1656 was related to shortcomings related to the secret service that have come to light in recent years. the image of