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 this once reveered

agency has become tarnished because of performance issues that resulted in security lapses. last fall, the judiciary committee held and important oversight hearing to determine or to review the operation of this vitally important agency. . then active director joseph clancy came before the committee to discuss the mission of the agency and issues relating to recent lapses in security that could have jeopardized the individuals the agency is sworn to protect. in particular, the committee engaged in a frank discussion about the unacceptable incident last september in which a man was able to jump over the white house fence, run past secret service officers and into the white house. we learned that, while there were performance errors made by some officers that day, the

protective mission of the secret service has been jeopardized, largely because the agency has been allowed to fall into a state of disrepair. personnel levels are unacceptably low, the long hours on duty leave little time for training, equipment and technological systems are not updated or sufficiently -- or not updated and integrated sufficiently and the culture of the agency has suffered from poor leadership. these conclusions were confirmed and expanded upon by the review panel established by department of homeland security secretary jeh johnson in the wake of the white house intrusion last year. h.r. 1656 was introduced to address several categories of these challenges to the mission of the secret service. leadership, resources training, authorities and personal conduct.

with respect to leadership, the bill requires the possession -- the position of director of secret service to be confirmed by the senate after presidential nomination. with respect to resources, the bill authorizes the hiring of additional personnel and requires a review of the agency's use of technology, an area of concern based on past security lapses. with respect to training, the bill requires more training for agents and uniformed division officers and also authorizes the construction of better training facilities. with respect to authorities, the bill allows the agency to investigate threats against former vice presidents in the same way it investigates threats against former presidents. with respect to personal conduct, the bill establishes an ethics program office that

will emphasize the need for agency personnel to conduct themselves according to established ethical standards. the goal of this bill is to prevent future security lapses similar to what the agency has experienced in recent years and to protect against even more sophisticated threats that could result in far more harm. this is a strong bipartisan bill that i hope will soon become law. therefore, i urge my colleagues to vote in favor of it today. and with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker i continue to reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. johnson: i'd yield to the good lady from washington, d.c. three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from the district of columbia is recognized for three minutes. ms. norton: thank you, mr. speaker. and i certainly appreciate my good friend from virginia yielding to me to speak on this

secret service reform bill and the work of the chairman of the committee, mr. goodlatte from virginia, on this bill. our oversight and government reform committee had several hearings on secret service performance, and much of the content, i'm pleased to say, is reflected in h.r. 1656. there, of course, have been numerous fence jumping in recent years but it took a penetration to the very interior of the white house by omar gonzalez last year to make it clear that reform of the secret service was urgent. in hearings, we had learned there had never been, not once, a top to bottom review of the secret service, and it's more than 100 years of existence.

this was clearly urgently needed, and secretary jeh johnson did appoint the first independent review panel. what it found was across the board weakness and flaws in the united states secret service. yet, its mission has expanded greatly over the years. today's secret service simply does not reflect post-9/11 experience much less today's isil and domestic terrorism. the fence jumpers had already shown that the secret service was -- could not meet our could not be expected to meet its zero-failure mission. today's bill shows that congress takes the form of the secret service very seriously.

the funding, which is missing from such reform these days, is authorized. the bill adopts much of the independent review's recommendations. instead of blaming overworked uniformed secret service and agents who had been working 12 hours a day, six and seven days a week because of no additional agents the bill authorizes the addition of 80 agents and 200 uniformed division personnel and that is virtually what the independent panel recommended. the bill increases the number of hours of training to meet the expanded mission of the secret service it faces. the need to make greater use of technology and it even takes note of a postfence jumper phenomenon, the drones who have

become a new form of fence jumping. i was reminded today mr. speaker, of the importance of pennsylvania avenue -- could i have another minute? mr. johnson: i yield an additional minute to the gentlewoman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. norton: i appreciate that. in front of the white house, that that space was a first amendment park. i was invited down at the commemoration of citizens who come every monday to urge reform of our gun laws. to respond to fence jumping, some had talk of making it difficult for the public to come onto that space in front of pennsylvania avenue. at hearings i was assured that was not necessary. this bill backs that up. mr. speaker, the spikes have been added for the fence jumpers, making it difficult to jump over. i was pleased today to see that the public continues to use

pennsylvania avenue using it as the first amendment space it has always been. i thank the gentleman for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from georgia reserves his time, and the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i'm prepared to yield back if the gentleman from georgia is. mr. johnson: thank you, and i have no additional speakers and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back. the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i'd like to thank, again, the gentleman from georgia, the ranking member of the committee, mr. conyers, and ranking member of the subcommittee, ms. jackson lee, and urge support of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: and does the gentleman yield back? mr. goodlatte: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1656, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: on that i ask for the yeas and nays.

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will be -- will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from arizona seek recognition? ms. mcsally: i ask unanimous consent that the house suspend the rules r h.r. 1634, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1634, a -- the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from arizona, ms. mcsally, and the gentleman from texas will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from arizona. ms. mcsally: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore:

without objection, so ordered. director saldano: mr. speaker, yume ms. mcsally: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from arizona is recognized for as much time as she wishes to consume. ms. mcsally: i rise in support of h.r. 1634 the border security technology accountability act, which i introduced earlier this year. this bill seeks to provide improved management of technology increasing accountability for some of the department of homeland security's largest acquisition programs. the constituents i represent in southern arizona are demanding better border security, and they expect us to do it through cost-effective and efficient means. they know that wasting taxpayer dollars on poorly managed border technology projects does little to actually secure the border or improve our strategy. that's why this bill is so important. the g.a.o. has repeatedly included d.h.s. acquisition management activities on its high-risk list demonstrating that these programs are highly susceptible to waste fraud,

abuse or mismanagement. the secure border initiative, also known as sbi-net, is a prime example of mismanagement at d.h.s. initial plans developed in 2005 and 2006 called for sbi-net to extend across the entire u.s.-mexico land border. however, sbi-net deployment in my home state of arizona was fraught with management problems, including a failure to adequately set requirements so the system would meet the needs of its users our border patrol agents. after spending nearly $1 billion of the taxpayers' money with minimal results, d.h.s. cancelled sbi-net in 2011. and sbi-net is not the only example. d.h.s. does not seem to be learning its lesson. the government accountability office recently reported to the committee on homeland security that customs and border protection, strategic air and maritime program, or stamp initiated in 2006, with a cost

of $1.8 billion, to date still does not have an approved acquisition program baseline. this means that despite the plans to acquire boats and aircraft through 2035, they have not yet estimated how much it would cost to operate and maintain these systems. how can we ensure programs like stamp are on time, on budget and fiscally sound if d.h.s. fails to follow sound management procedures? we cannot afford to waste another minute or another dollar. we must put in had place strong, effective technology programs to secure our borders. this bill requires that border security technology programs at the department have an acquisition program baseline. a critical document that lays out what a program will do, what it will cost and when it will be completed. the bill also requires programs to adhere to internal control standards and have a plan for testing and evaluation as well as the use of independent

verification and validation resources. my district includes over 80 miles of our u.s. border with mexico and i spent countless hours at the border meeting with residents and border patrol. i know firsthand when they lack the proper oversight and accountability, it's bad for the taxpayers, those who defend our border and those who live along our border. the committee on homeland security approved my legislation by a unanimous voice vote last month. i urge all members to join me in supporting robust, responsible secure technology along our borders. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from arizona reserves her time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. >> mr. speaker i rise in support of h.r. 1634, the border security technology accountability act of 2015, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he wishes to use.

>> thank you, mr. speaker. over the past several years, the government accountability office has studied several government programs and found d.h.s. has not followed acquisition management. though d.h.s. has made some changes major problems remain. when a d.h.s. acquisition program falls short, it not only risks undermining that program but also risks wasting limited homeland security dollar. for example, d.h.s. spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the troubled s.b.i. net border security program before it was cancel. no doubt it could have been put to far better use along the nation's borders. the border security technology accountability act would require each of the department's major acquisition for border security technology to have written documentation reflecting a baseline approved by the

relevant acquisition decision authority and demonstrate that the program is meeting agreed upon costs schedule and performance thresholds before moving on to the next stage of the cycle. mr. vela: it requires the undersecretary of management to submit to congress a plan for testing and evaluation as well as the use of independent verification and validation resources for border security technology. there is need for improving acquisitions management at the department of homeland security as a whole and addressing border security technology acquisitions is an important step. we owe it to the american tax payers to make sure we are managing these investments wisely and preventing wasteful spending. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentlelady from arizona. ms. mcsally: i have no more speakers. if the gentleman from texas has no further speakers i'm prepared to close once the

gentleman does. mr. vela: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. vela: h.r. 1634 aims to focus and improve the way we investment and manage border security technology by providing a specific tramework for accountability and oversight on behalf of the american taxpayer and ethank congresswoman mcsally for her leadership in bringing this bill forward and i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentlelady from arizona is recognized. ms. mcsally: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. mcsally: i want to thank my colleague, mr. vela, for his support and all my colleagues for support of this bill. i urge my colleagues to support transparency, accountability and efficiency of vital border security technology projects and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1634 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 and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition? >> i move that the house move house bill 998. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title. h.r. 1998 -- the clerk: h.r. 998 preclearance authorization act. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentlewoman from michigan and the gentleman from texas, mr. vela will each control 20 minutes. mrs. miller: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, ordered. mrs. miller: i yield myself such time as i might consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. miller: i rise in strong support of h.r. 998. fewer things have kept us as busy as preclearance. failure to have preclearance at abu dhabi caused consternation on capitol hill and in the appropriations committee last congress this lack of appropriate congressional notification trouble maryland members as well as the specific stake holders, specifically the airline industry. we hope the department will keep congress fully abreast of future plans especially in light of the recent announcement to expand

preclearance to 10 additional locations. we believe this sets the groundwork for future preclearance operations. i want to thank mr. meehan of pennsylvania who is actually a former committee member on the homeland who raised concerns with the department of homeland security's preclearance operations early in the abu dhabi agreement process. his leadership has been very, very important to the success of the legislation that we are considering today, mr. speaker. and certainly, we support preclearance where it makes sense as well as other c.b.p. efforts to push out the border if you will. preclearance has been an effective security screening and trade facilitation tool since the early 1950's, actually and of course since 9/11 the security value of these operations has only been heightened. however, the mistakes of abu dupuis agreement cannot be -- abu dhabi agreement cannot be repeated. it must support our security and not disadvantage our domestic

airlines. this bill was carefully crafted after several hearings and numerous consultations with the department, the industry, the airline industry, and both parties. it's a bipartisan bill this bill sets the contours for future preclearance operation and incorporates a series of notifications and certifications including a justification that outlines the homeland security benefit and impact of domestic staffing and wait time of any new preclearance operation. as well this bill requires the congress -- that congress be notified in the event the department of homeland security fodfis or changes an existing agreement at any one of the exist preg clearance locations. in most -- and most importantly, we think, this bill makes very clear the department of homeland security cannot establish new locations without conducting the due diligence we in congress expect. mr. speaker, we need to balance security operations and economic impact here at home. finally, i would certainly like to thank chairman paul ryan of

the ways and means committee and his staff for working to bring this important bill to the floor and ask unanimous consent to enter into the record an exchange of letters between the chairman of the committee on ways and means and the chairman of the committee on homeland security. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mrs. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. vela: i rise in strong support of h.r. 998 the preclearance authorization act of 2015, and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time as he wishes to consume. mr. vela: thank you, mr. speaker this bill would authorize the secretary of homeland security to establish u.s. customs and border protection authorizations with 180 days notification that certain specified conditions exist. these conditions include that there are homeland security benefits for establishment of the preclearance location, a u.s. air carrier service serves

the location and establishment of the location will not significantly increase customs processing wait times in the united states. the bill would require all countries with preclearance locations to routinely submit information about lost and stolen passports of their citizen -- citizens to interpol's stolen and lost travel document database and make such information to the u.s. -- available to the u.s. through other means. h.r. 998 is intended to address many shortcomings in the preclearance to abu dhabi laos year and ensure that congress receives notice -- last year and ensure that congress receives notice prior to events. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 998 sending it to the senate for consideration in the 114th congress. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves

his time. the gentlewoman from michigan is recognized. mrs. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further speakers. i'm prepared to close if the gentleman from texas has no further speakers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas. mr. vela: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. vela: thank you, pl -- thank you, mr. speaker. h.r. 998 will help ensure that the department of homeland security's preclearance does not disadvantage demoastic air carriers or united states ports of entry. i thank the chairman of -- congresswoman miller, the chairman of the border and maritime security subcommittee, for all of her efforts in bringing all these bills forward and for her strong bipartisan leadership for all our efforts. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back his time. the gentlewoman from michigan is

recognized. mrs. miller: thank you, mr. speaker. i, too want to again indicate that this is a bipartisan bill, the homeland bills coming forward today on the floor, and i real ji -- really have appreciated the opportunity and look forward to continuing to work with my ranking member, mr. vela, shoulder to shoulder on so many important issues before our country today. so mr. speaker, i would once again urge my colleagues to support this very strong intoirn piece of legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan yields back her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 998 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.

for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> mr. speaker i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2750 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2750, a bill to reform programs of the transportation security administration streamline transportation security regulations, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york and the gentlewoman from new york each will control 20 minutes. mr. cat coe: i ask unanimous -- mr. katko: i ask unanimous

consent sent that all members have five legislate i days to insert ex-trainout material and revise and extend. today we will consider four bipartisan bills that inaddress security vulnerabilities and improvements to the transportation security administration. i'm proud of the bipartisan work this subcommittee has done and will continue to do to address the issue. i would like to thank chairman mccaul and ranking member thompson of the homeland security committee as well as my colleague, ranking member rice, from the t.s.a. subcommittee for their leadership. these four bills being on the floor today demonstrate that when we work together, we can get things done. i look forward to continues to work together on these issues. mr. speaker, today i rise in strong support of h.r. 2750. the improved security vetting for aviation workers act of 2015. in june of this year, the department of homeland security inspector genre leased a report that found a stunning 73 aviation workers that had

possible ties to terrorism. the findings of this report were indeed alarming and 14 years after 9/11, findings like this are simply unacceptable this vital piece of bipartisan legislation will strengthen the veten of these workers, close the security gaps and ensure the safety and security of our nation's aviation system. the inspector general's june report found t.s.a. does not have access to all the data it may need to thoroughly check an aviation worker's potential ties to terrorism. however, what is even more alarming is that a memo was sent to the t.s.a. administrator noting the need for additional information and t.s.a. has yet to resolve the gap. the report found they don't match the expiration date of a worker's license to their date

of working in the u.s. that is why this legislation is so critical. in order to guarantee that t.s.a. addresses these known vulnerabilities. since the start of this congress, as chame of the transportation security subcommittee,, of the committee on homeland security i have actively examined a number of alarming aspects related to t.s.a.'s operations, policies and procedures. through hearings and legislation, i've been working to get to the bottom of these issues and raise awareness of the urgent need to fix them. unfortunately, these findings by the inspector general are not an anomaly. in may, the inspector genre leased a report that found t.s.a. didn't have the appropriate controls in place to ensure screening equipment has necessary maintenance work performed, an issue ms.ries' bill addresses. last month, they showed results that screeners failed to detect prohibited items 96% of the time.

these findings come on the heels of revelations earlier this year of security breaches by employees at major airports across this country involving a nationwide gun smuggling ring and employees of the f.a.a. by bipassing security and flying with a loaded firearm. this month, four workers were arrested for using their ability to byspass security to smuggle what they believed was cocaine and other drugs. this further shows the need for this legislation. aviation workers are supposed to be thoroughly vetted due to their continuing access to sensitive areas of airports and the fact that they hold a position of trust in the transportation system. . this demonstrates that the status quo is not working. the insider threat is the hardest threat to combat, and while this bill will not eliminate this threat, h.r. 2750 will indeed give t.s.a. and the airports the ability to

more thoroughly vet these employees and have a better understanding who we're granting access to. the reality in this post-9/11 world, the threat is metastasizing and we as a nation must be responsive to the holes in our transportation systems and ensure protocols keep pass with the ever- evolving landscape. workers that have access to these sensitive areas, could help our airports. i'd like to thank chairman mccaul, congresswoman mcsally, congressman keating and congressman payne for joining me as co-sponsors of this bill. i urge my other colleagues to join me in supporting this critical piece of legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves his time. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from new york. >> mr. speaker i rise in strong support of h.r. 2750, the improved improved -- the improved security vetting for aviation workers act of 2015

and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for as much time as she wishes to use. miss rice: a recent review of the inspector general found that although t.s.a.'s multilayered process is generally effective, there were instances where the process did not detect airport workers with links to terrorism. in total the inspector general identified 73 aviation workers with possible links to terrorism after running information through the database. t.s.a. does not have access to this database under watch listing policies. chairman katko introduced h.r. 2750 to rectify this situation, and i'm proud to be an original co-sponsor of this bipartisan bill. h.r. 2750 will put t.s.a. on a path to accessing terrorism-related data in order to more effectively vet employees who work in our nation's airports. in addition, this bill will require t.s.a. to conduct an annual review of the procedures

for issuing security credentials to employees seeking to work in highly sensitive secure areas of our airports. lastly, under h.r. 2750, t.s.a.'s authorized to pilot the f.b.i.'s rat back service which provided near real-time information about changes in an airport worker's criminal history. the possibility of someone with ties to terrorism getting a job in an american airport is a very real threat, one of many that we live with every day and one we must do everything in our power to prevent. h.r. 2750 will help neutralize that threat and i urge my colleagues to give it their full support. with that mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york reserves her time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. katko: mr. speaker i have no more speakers. if the gentlewoman from new york has no further speakers, i'm prepared to close when she does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. miss rice: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for the remainder of the time. miss rice: thank you, mr. speaker. together with chairman katko,

i'm proud of the work we have done on the subcommittee on transportation security to address this and other pressing transportation security issues within t.s.a. in a constructive bipartisan way. the four bipartisan t.s.a. bills that we are considering today are a testament to that effort and to what we can accomplish when we work together to solve real problems. i hope we continue to make real progress together and i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 2750. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields back her time. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the remainder of the time. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i once again urge my colleagues to support this strong bipartisan piece of legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2750, as amended. 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 gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. katko: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2770, as amended. the clerk: a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to require certain maintenance at airports and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. katko, and the gentlewoman from new york miss rice, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized for as much time as he wishes to consume. mr. katko: thank you, mr.

speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2770, the keeping our travel remembers safe and security act sponsored by my colleague, miss rice. this legislation will strengthen t.s.a.'s management of its screening equipment maintenance contracts and related maintenance activities. the department of homeland security office of inspector general released a report in may that found that t.s.a. is not properly managing the maintenance of its critical airport screening equipment. because t.s.a. does not adequately oversee this equipment, it cannot be assured that the routine preventative maintenance is performed or that equipment is repaired and ready for operational use. this bill codifies the three recommendations made by the i.g. all of which t.s.a. concurred with. i am pleased to join miss rice, mr. thompson, my fellow new york delegation members, mr. king mr. donovan, mr. higgins, along with mr. payne, mr. keating, mr. richmond as co-sponsors of this important legislation. i urge my other colleagues to join me in supporting h.r.

2770. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves his time. the gentlewoman from new york. miss rice: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 2770, the keeping our travel remembers safe and secure act, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for as much time as she wishes to consume. miss rice: thank you, mr. speaker. last may the department of homeland security inspector general released a report with a blunt and revealing title, the transportation security administration does not properly manage its airport screening equipment maintenance program. the report revealed that t.s.a. lacks strict policies and procedures for maintaining critical screening technology including x-ray machines and explosive detection equipment. the consequences of this deficiency could be severe. first, as the inspector general's report noted, the lack of regular maintenance reduces the life of screening equipment which means t.s.a. would have to incur the cost of new equipment. that's a problem for american taxpayers. but even more importantly, the

inspector general also noted that as screening equipment becomes less operational, t.s.a. will be forced to rely on alternative screening measures that may not be as effective as detecting -- as detecting dangerous items. that creates serious risks to passengers, risks we must eliminate. as threats to our homeland evolve particularly to our aviation sector we can't be complacent about maintaining screening equipment. this legislation, which i introduced with ranking member thompson, chairman katko and representative payne, requires t.s.a. to get serious about maintaining security-related technology in our nation's airports. specifically, it requires t.s.a. within 180 days of enactment to develop and implement a comprehensive preventative maintenance validation process. this process must include strict schedule schedules, strict schedules, make nisms to ensure compliance and penalties

for noncompliance. these measures are common sense. this is a threat we can neutralize and i urge my colleagues to do so by supporting this bipartisan legislation. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york reserves her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: mr. speaker i have no more speakers at this time. if the gentlewoman from new york has no further speakers, i'm prepared to close once she does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. miss rice: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for the remainder of the time. miss rice: thank you mr. speaker. in closing i'd like to thank the members on homeland security for supporting this legislation. there was a truly constructive bipartisan measure to make this legislation what it is today and because of it the commercial aviation sector will be more secure. i once again urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. i thank chairman katko for his support and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york yields back her time. the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for the remainder of the time. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i once again urge my colleagues to support this strong bipartisan piece of legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2770, as amended. those in favor say aye. pursuant to the rule 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, -- the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: before you gaveled, i want to request a vote on the yeas and nays, please. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? mr. katko: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2843, as amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2843, a bill to require certain improvements in the transportation security administration's precheck expedited screening program, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from new york, mr. katko and the gentlewoman from new york, miss rice, each will coal 20 minutes. -- control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. katko: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for as much time as he wishes to consume. mr. katko: thank you mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 2843, the t.s.a. precheck expansion act. this piece of legislation serves as an important driving force to advance risk-based security and better secure our nation's aviation sector. t.s.a.'s precheck program, which grants expedited security screening to passengers at

airports nationwide, has been incredibly popular tool used by the agency to improve the traveling public's airport screening process while moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach to security screening by identifying trusted travelers. risk-based security hinges on the ability to deploy our resources on those passengers whom we have not thoroughly vetted. however the effectiveness and integrity of this program depends on t.s.a.'s ability to better market this program and increase passenger enrollment. managed inclusion, a problem addressed by ranking member thompson's bill, which i co-sponsored, h.r. 2127, t.s.a. has become ineffective in prioritizing enrollment and partnering with the private sector. only the level of innovation found in the private sector will be able to assist t.s.a. to drive continued enrollment in precheck. that being said, any expansion

of the precheck program be conducted in a secure and responsible manner, which ensures the public's security and privacy. this bill before congress right now does just that. specifically, this legislation directs t.s.a. to partner with the private sector to find technological solutions for expanding enrollment in precheck and requires the agency to develop a comprehensive marketing strategy for precheck. additionally, h.r. 2843 mandates that the administrator coordinate with other department of homeland security components to leverage existing data and technologies while also encouraging t.s.a. to develop alternative recurrent vetting capabilities for those enrolled in precheck. in order to maintain the program's security effectiveness. every day t.s.a. screens two million passengers. by expanding known traveler programs, such as precheck, we can ensure that t.s.a. is focusing its resources on those passengers who are known and therefore pose a better risk. i want to thank chairman

mccaul, congressman rogers for joining me as co-sponsors of this important piece of legislation. i urge my other colleagues to do the same, and i look forward to continuing my efforts to expand precheck in a secure and effective manner. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york reserves his time. the gentlelady from new york. miss rice: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 2843, the t.s.a. precheck expansion act, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is recognized for as much time as she wishes to consume. . miss rice: t.s.a. announced etc. precheck pilot program in 011. initially precheck participants were frequent fliers of major airlines, active duty military members and participants in other department of homeland security known travelers -- traveler programs. over the past four year precheck participation expanded significantly, and includes over one million americans who

submitted biographic information and paid a fee to enroll in the program. while i'm pleased that t.s.a. reached this milestone of enrolling a million people, there are 650 million people who fly every year. enrolling in precheck is a win-win for passengers and for airport security. passengers get the benefit of expedited screening and we get the benefit of an expanded universe of passengers who have undergone extensive vetting and are known to be low risk. that allows t.s.a. to focus its limited resources on passengers who are unknown and may be higher risk. we can expand precheck participation by streamlining the enrollment process to make it more convenient and accessible. h.r. 2843 does just that by encouraging the use of kiosks and tablets that can collect biographic information.

it also requires t.s.a. to more aggressively market the precheck program. this is vital to ensuring the program continues to grow. to keep congress engaged in the process this bill requires that t.s.a. report any fees in excess of administration costs. this is also an opportunity for the private sector to work together with the federal government to expand precheck participation and this partnership will continue to push the program in the right direction. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. with that mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves her time. the gentleman from new york. mr. katko: i'm prepared to close once the gentlewoman does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york. miss rice: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognize. miss rice: i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and thank the gentleman, mr. katko for authoring itism urge my

colleagues to support h.r. 2843 and yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. katko: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mr. katko: i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan piece of legislation. miss rice is correct, it's common sense. it's common sense that a program that's been with t.s.a. for a while now and has not been ex-panned on despite its popularity and commonsense should be passed. i urge passage of and yield become the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2843 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 and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. katko: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2127 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2127 a bill to direct the administrator of the transportation security administration to limit access to expedited airport security screening at an airport security check point to participants of the precheck program and other known low-risk passengers and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. katko, and the gentlewoman from new york, miss rice each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the jlt from new york. mr. katko: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, ord. mr. katko: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. katko: i rise in strong

support of h.r. 2127, the securing expedited screening act. this important piece of legislation directs t.s.a. to suspend the use of alternative methods for granting passengers access to prechecked, expedited screening unless the agency can prove the security effectiveness of such methods. specifically this bill requires that expedited screen being limited to passengers who have successfully enrolled in a precheck program or who are eligible for precheck by being part of an already identified, low-risk population. managed inclusion is intended to conduct a realtime threat assessment to identify passengers who are eligible for t.s.a. precheck on a flight-by-flight basis through the use of already present layers of security at airports. however, travelers who experience this are not subject to a background check, have not paid for precheck and are often unaware of the reason they're

receiving expedited screening and are generally not encouraged to enroll in t.s.a. precheck during the experience. while managed inclues may help reduce wait times and increase use of t.s.a. lanes, it has not been tested off proven to reduce security risk to aviation. on the contrary, those who go through the precheck enrollment program and pay $85 for ex--- for expedited screening are not seing the benefits promised to them. this is because pgs -- passengers who did not enroll have not submitted to a background check and are unfamiliar with t.s.a. precheck are being ushered into those expedited screening lanes this bill, along with a piece of legislation i introduced, h.r. 2843, the precheck expansion act, will ensure providing expedited screening in a manner that's deliberate and secure. that we are expanding the known traveler population so we can focus our resources on unknown travelers. i'm pleased to join my colleagues, mr. thompson and

miss rice as co-sponsor of this legislation. i urge my other colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 127 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from new york. miss rice: i rise in strong support of h.r. 2127 the securing expedited screening act and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. miss rice: the transportation security administration is charged with a great responsibility of keeping commercial aviation passengers safe and keeping criminals, terrorists and dangerous objects off of flights. they do so using limited resources, relying on a risk-based approach that focuses those resources on the passengers about whom we know the least. the expedited program is their approach. even as they expanded the precheck program it was granting

expedited screening there to the other supposedly low-risk passengers. passengers who hadn't been vetted and were not known to be low risk. numerous classified reports from the department of homeland security inspector general and the government accountability office have detailed the security risk created by the managed inclusion process. we must take action and we can do so by passing h.r. 127. ranking member thompson's bipartisan legislation will require t.s.a. to limit expedited screening to the population for which it was intended, those travelers who have been vetted and are known to be low risk. i urge my colleagues to join ranking member thompson, chairman katko and i in supporting this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. katko: i have no more speakers if the gentlewoman from new york has no spurt speakers, i'm prepared to close once the gentlewoman does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from new york is

recognized. miss rice: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for as much time as she wishes to use. miss rice: in close, i would like to thank members for supporting this legislation h.r. 2127 will eliminate a significant gap in our aviation security and ensure that each passenger who boards a commercial flight receives the appropriate level of screening. i urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this legislation and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. katko: i yeeled myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. katko: h.r. 2843 which we just spoke ability and h.r. 2127, this bill, work side-by-side with each other and it's a good example of the bipartisan nature which permeate this is committee. one bill deals with the expansion of precheck, the other deals with the conscription of the managed inclusion which none

of us think is a good idea long-term. i'm proud to be part of this legislation, i'm proud they have bipartisan work we do in this committee and i'm pleased to work on to moving forward. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2127 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york, mr. king, seek recognition? mr. king: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 1300 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1300 a bill to

direct the secretary of homeland security to make anthrax vaccines and anti-microviles to emergency responders and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york, pr king and the gentlewoman from new york, miss rice, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york, mr. king. mr. wing king: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. king: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: i rise in strong support of h.r. 1300 the first responder anthrax repre-- preparedness act which i introduced along with my good friend and colleague from new jersey, bill pascrell this important bipartisan legislation will ensure that emergency response providers have access to pre-event anthrax vaccines. an anthrax attack is a serious

mass casualty threat. our national response capability to a wide area anthrax attack would be greatly enhanced by having pre-vaccinated responders able to deploy immediately and confidently knowing they have been afforded as much protection as possible. to achieve that goal this legislation establishes a pre-event anthrax vaccination program to provide surplus anthrax vaccines from the national stockpile to emergency responders on a voluntary basis. in advance of the full vaccination program, the bill directs the secretary of d.h.s. to carry out a pilot program. both programs are required to have robust communication, education, and training for program participants. the bill requires a report on the progress of the pilot and directs the department of homeland security to conduct risk assessments regarding anthrax terror attacks and to

share threat information with state and local law enforcement. the department has been working for over three years on establishing a pre-event vaccination effort, first responders, but the project has been continually stalled. i am encourages that d.h.s. has hired a vaccination expert from the department of defense to take over the effort and i believe the mandates in this legislation will ensure that the pilot program moves forward. i'd like to thank the committee on homeland security chairman mccaul ranking member thompson, along with chairman mcsally and ranking member payne of the subcommittee on energy repreparedness response and communication for their leadership on this issue and their work to advance this bill to the floor. also the homeland security committee staff. also, and this is significant mr. speaker, i want to thank chairman upton and his staff at energy and commerce for working with us on this bill.

this bill is a great example of how committees can and should work together to advance commonsense legislation and not get involved in turf battles. i ask unanimous consent to include the letters exchanged by chairman mccaul and chairman upton on h.r. 1300 in the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. king: thank you mr. speaker. h.r. 1300 has 50 bipartisan co-sponsors and is supported by the international association of fire chiefs, and the alliance of biosecurity. i urge all members to join me in supporting this bill which will help to, quote, protech our protectors. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time -- reserves his time -- the gentleman reserves his time. the gentlewoman from new york. miss rice: i rice in support of h.r. 1300 and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for such time as she wishes to consume. miss rice: i i want to begin by

commending my good friend from new york, mr. king, for making sure we are prepared for an event with a weapons of mass destruction. for nearly a decade, mr. king and mr. pascrell have partnered to prepair us to prevent and respond to a w.m.d. event. as the commil community witnessed just over a decade ago, even a relatively small scale anthrax attack can be devastating. a larger scale attack would result not only in more sick people would would require a larger response effort that could stretch our capabilities. it is porn to remember that the initial response to an anthrax event is local. we have an obligation to make sure that those who are called upon to respond to an anthrax attack can do so without jeopardizing their own health in the process. as a member of the emergency me pairedness subcommittee i've heard from emergency responders about what they need to effectively respond to an

anthrax attack. i have also had conversations with first responders in my own district and what i've heard repeatedly is that first responders need access -- need access to pre-event vaccination so if and when the time comes, they can respond swiftly without fear for their own health. these are the men and women we'll rely on in the event of a w.m.d. incident, the men and women we'll call on to risk their lives as they do every day and they deserve every layer of protection we can provide. h.r. 1300 would direct the secretary of homeland security to establish a program to provide surplus anthrax vaccine and anti-microbials to emergency response provide orsen a voluntary basis before an attack occurs this legislation has the support of the international association of fire chiefs, the international association of emergency medical services chief and the alliance for biosecurity. many in -- in my opinion a program like this is long overdue and i thank mr. king and mr. pascrell for their

leadership in working to make it a retallity -- reality. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york. mr. king: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york. miss rice: i yield three minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. pascrell . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for three minutes. mr. pascrell: i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and, mr. speaker, i want to say to my brother, peter, peter king, we wouldn't be here except for you. we talked about this thing for 10 years. more than that, peter. through the chair. and we've insisted so i'm proud to introduce this legislation with my friend, congressman king. it's critical that first responders have access to stockpiled vaccines so they can respond quickly and confidently in the event of a biological

threat. just weeks ago, we were reminded of the grave danger that anthrax poses and the need for an effective response. a strategy when live anthrax was mistakenly shipped to dozens of labs all over the place. this is not a hypothetical danger mr. speaker. some of us remember when anthrax was mailed to some of our colleagues' offices in 2001. several staffers were impacted. we shut down the longworth house building to decontaminate it. packages were sent to other locations. 22 americans were infected. five were killed. and here we are. 14 years later. for over a decade, congressman king and i have been fighting to develop a comprehensive national strategy to counter the grave threat that w.m.d. w.m.d. pose to our nation -- weapons of mass destruction pose to our nation.

assistant secretary of the office of health affairs at the d.h.s. dfers, alexander garza, quote -- office, alexander garza quote anthrax could cause illness, death panic, economic losses, making this is a weapon of mass destruction as well as disruption. by passing this legislation, we will expand our national response capability by administering surpluses and expiring anthrax vaccines and anti-microbials to emergency first responders on a voluntary basis. making expiring anthrax vaccines from the strategic national stockpile available to emergency first responders provides a cost-effective solution. it's important that we pass this legislation. i want to thank all of those who made it responsible to get

here today. how much flee when we get back we will have a big w.m.d. legislation on this floor. thank you mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. king: mr. speaker i have no more speakers. if miss rice has no further speakers i'm prepared to close when she does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from new york is recognized. miss rice: thank you mr. speaker. thank you, mr. speaker. we have a responsibility to protect the men and women we call on to protect the public when disaster strikes. h.r. 1300 is commonsense legislation that will provide emergency responders with anthrax vaccines from the strategic national stockpile that are approaching their expiration. certainly our hope is that our emergency responders will never have to respond to an anthrax attack but they should know they can respond without fear for their own safety. once again, i'd like to congratulate my colleagues from new york and new jersey for this legislation.

i ask my colleagues to support this important legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. king: i once again urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. let me emphasize the bipartisan nature of it. bill pascrell has been there from the start. he went back to -- he referenced the anthrax attacks here at the capital in 2001. none of us here at that time will ever, ever forget that. that should have been a wake-up call then. unfortunately, not enough action was taken. finally after all these years we are taking this first major step. so i want to thank bill pascrell for being there. i want to thank miss rice for the whole tone of the debate here this afternoon, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. all time having expired, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1300 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative -- mr. king: mr. speaker.

i ask for the yeas and nays. 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 until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? mr. king: mr. speaker i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2206, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2206, a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to require recipients of state homeland security grant program funding to preserve and strengthen interoperable emergency communications capabilities, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. king, and the gentlelady from new york, miss rice, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. king: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material

on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. king: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. king: thank you mr. speaker. let me just say at the outset it's great to have two new yorkers to have debate. any motions you think we can make? thank you i rise in strong support of h.r. 2206, the state wide interoperable communications enhancement act, which weigh introduced by the chairman on emergency pred pairedness, response and communications, the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne. this bill recognizes the important role played by statewide interoperability coordinators, swic's. we have all witnessed the communications failures during the response during the september 11 terrorist attacks and hurricane katrina. communication is vital. however, despite investing more than $5 billion in grant funding to enhanced

communications interoperable has a problem. swic will ensure emergency -- to ensure that emergency response providers in their states have the ability to communicate. states complete -- swic complete plans, ensure grant investments are coordinated statewide and oversee communications projects. many swic also several serve as a state point of contact in design and construction of the public safety broadband network. h.r. 2206 requires government to certify as part of their application for the grant programs that they have designated a person to serve as a swic or if not that the functions of a swic are being carried out in another manner. the committee on homeland security approved h.r. 2206 in may by a bipartisan voice vote. i urge members to join me in supporting this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves.

the gentlelady from new york is recognized. miss rice: mr. speaker, i rise in strong support of h.r. 2206 the state wide interoperable communications enhancement act, and yumeds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. miss rice: thank you mr. speaker. it is a great privilege to be here with my colleague and friend from new york. this legislation introduced by mr. payne for have grants for communications. after the september 11 attack, communication failures were identified as a factor that complicated first responders' efforts. in the immediate aftermath, congress appropriated millions of dollars in grant funds to address national response capability gaps. including interoperable communications. unfortunately millions of dollars were invested on interoperable communications equipment before state and local governments had developed the strategies, plans and governance structures to ensure that the investments would actually advance their interoperability goals. nearly 10 years ago when

interoperability challenges plagued the hurricane katrina response one of the major takeaways was that spending millions of dollars on the interoperability problem does not yield results unless there are mechanisms in place for coordination. in response to that tough lesson, congress in 2006 authorized the creation of the office of emergency communications within the department of homeland security and tasked the office with developing a national emergency communications plan. the first plan, which was released in 2008 set as a milestone for every state the designation of a full-time state wide interoperable communications. this was a major -- statewide interoperable coordinator. states met the goal of full-time swic and we saw this in the boston marathon bombings. the massachusetts swic had engaged in significant planning activities are and coordinated with organizations it at the federal, state and local levels to exercise the emergency

communications capabilities. as a result of the high performance of the emergency communications systems lives were saved that day in boston. due to recent budgetary pressures however, the number of states that maintain dedicated full-time swic has dwindled. they oversee the efforts, coordinating interoperability and communications projects, maintaining governance structures and implementing statewide communications interoperability plans. h.r. 2206 seeks to maintain the governance structures and croord nation activities that have helped guide interoperable communications investments since hurricane katrina. nationwide, over $13 billion of federal money has been spent on developing robust interoperable communications capabilities, and the goal still has not been achieved but we have made progress and we cannot fall backwards by losing the governance and coordination to make sure we're making sound investments in emergency

communications. h.r. 2206 requires that states in some way are overseeing emergency communications investments to ensure that the systems are interoperable. on behalf of emergency preparedness subcommittee ranking member payne, i'd like to thank full committee chairman mike mccaul, ranking member thompson and subcommittee chairman mcsally for supporting this measure and for helping to bring it to the floor today. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 2206, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. king: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. if the gentlelady from new york has no additional speakers, i'm prepared to close once she does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. miss rice: mr. speaker i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. miss rice: thank you mr. speaker. mr. speaker, h.r. 2206 will protect the progress we have made toward achieving nationwide interoperable emergency communications and prevent money from being wasted on investments that will not advance that goal. swic play a critical role in

coordinating communications investments and policies at the state level and it's important that this work continues. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. king: thank you mr. speaker. i want to commend ranking member payne and chairman martha mcsally for their efforts on this. i again urge my colleagues to support h.r. 2206, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: all time has been yielded back, the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 2206, as amended. 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 wide the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. -- and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? mr. chabot: i move to suspend the rules and concur in the designate amendment to h.r. 2499 the veterans entrepreneurship act of 2015. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2499, an act to amend the small business act to increase access to capital for veteran entrepreneurs, to help create jobs and for other purposes. senate amendment. . the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. chabot, and the gentlewoman from new york, ms. velazquez, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. mr. chabot: 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. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. .

this legislation provides greater assistance to our veteran entrepreneurs by making small business administration, s.b.a. loans more affordable for veterans. it perm nately waves i -- waives the upfront free for borrowers. mr. chabot: without imposing any additional costs on taxpayers. as my colleagues are aware, the s.b.a. 7-a loan guarantee program is vital for small businesses to get the capital needed for growth of the american economy. as the economic outlook begins to brighten, more small businesses than ever before are taking advantage of this program. despite a significant increase in demand over the past several months, congress was not notified until june 25 that the program was dangerously close to its authorized lending authority of $18.75 billion and

might surpass it prior to the end of the fiscal year. such 11th hour notification makes it difficult for congress to act. yet congress is acting swiftly to help america's small businesses. businesses that no longer could get s.b.a.-guaranteed loans as of noon on july 23 when the s.b.a. reached its authorized limit. i want to thank my counterparts in the other body for working quickly to resolve this matter and offering an amendment to h.r. 2499, the veterans bill. this amendment ensures that the s.b.a. will have sufficient authority to guarantee loans through the end of the fiscal year. this increase comes at no cost to the taxpayer. let me repeat that. at no cost to the taxpayer. that's because the fees paid by the users of the program -- fee's paid by the users of the program, not taxpayers. this is a win-win situation. as this will allow banks to continue offering 7-a loans.

further, this amendment also ensures that from now on congress will be informed on a regular basis about the status of the loan program and lending authority limits. this will ensure congress can address the situation in a timelier manner and inquire of the s.b.a. what steps it might use administratively to create a situation in which the agency might exceed its lending authorization level. the amendment ensures that we do not repeat the experience of the previous two years where congress at the 11th hour had to scramble for a solution because it wasn't notified by the s.b.a. of its problem until the last minute. this is truly a time-sensitive issue that needs to be corrected today. between noon and 2:30 p.m. on july 23, the s.b.a. stated that it had 350 new loans totaling $220 million waiting in the queue. these are small firms who need

the money in hand now to grow the companies and create jobs. i want to take time to highlight that this legislation would not have come together without extraordinary bipartisan, bicameral efforts. i'd like to thank senator visiter, chairman of the senate committee on small business and entrepreneurship, for his leadership on this issue. he worked tirelessly over the past few weeks to develop a solution that would be acceptable to the senate and to the house. i would also like to thank senators parishioner, shaheen peters and coons who each co-sponsored the amendment. further, on this side of the capitol, i would be remiss if i did not mention the efforts of the gentleman from florida, mr. crenshaw, who will be speaking here soon and the gentleman from new york, mr. serrano, and their expertise and assistance in resolving this matter. and i want to offer a special thanks to our committee's ranking member ms. have a less kess, for her in-- ms. velazquez, for her insight and

leadership. in addition to offering a bill h.r. 3132, to increase the lending authority, she was steadfast in her efforts to repeatedly warn the s.b.a. that continuing to issue 7-a loan guarantees for the maximum amount allowed by statute, yet failing to take administrative action to manage loan guarantees as the s.b.a. crept closer to its lending authority could result in a sessation of the lending. the ranking member and her staff were extremely helpful in bringing this matter to a resolution and are to be commended for helping to craft a strong bipartisan product which is what we're dealing with here today. this legislation is amended by the senate provides two critical items for the 7-a program. it allows us to support veteran entrepreneurs for years to come at no cost, by waiving fee, and it ensures that the program continues to run. since waiving fees on a program that can no longer offer loans doesn't help anyone.

it's a smart, commonsense approach which passed the senate by unanimous consent. i urge my colleagues to support and concur on h.r. 2499 as amended by the senate and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. velazquez: for the past four years, our nation has faced economic headwinds. but was able to breakthrough and strengthen considerably. in that time, over 12 million jobs have been created. the stock market has come roaring back and optimism in the small business sector has returned to pre-recession levels. as we all know, small businesses are the driving force in our nation's economy, creating two out of three new jobs and producing roughly 50%

of our g.d.p. in order to fulfill that role, they need capital. one option is s.b.a. 7-a loan, which has been very popular over the last two years. in 2014, the program made over 52000 loans, totaling $19 billion. one of its best years since 2007. s.b.a. carried that momentum into 2015 growing another 20% of it all. which brings us to today. due to these unexpectedly robust lending activity, s.b.a. learned it will reach its $18.7 5 billion lending cap before the end of the year, cutting off thousands of borers. and the chairman is -- borrowers. and the chairman is totally correct when he talked about the issue of s.b.a. not notifying congress in the

proper time. last week i introduced h.r. 3132, to raise the cap to $23.5 billion, giving s.b.a. over $4 billion in additional authority to provide capital to deserving small businesses. unfortunately the cap was reached on thursday, before we could get the bill to the floor. today's bill includes my language to raise the lending cap to $23.5 billion. it will mean a significant capital infusion into the economy. with these type of loans flowing again, small companies will have more resources to expand their facilities re-invest in operations and create jobs. when a small manufacturer can access these loans, they can build additional warehouse space, creating both short-term and long-term employment opportunities. restaurants and retainers can use this capital to pay vendors

keep employees on their payrolls, and potentially hire more workers. this bill does require additional reporting requirements and other changes it's a s.b.a. while i would have liked to have seen a clean increase in the authorization level, we all recognize the critical role the 7-a program plays and this compromise will turn the meter back. i want to thank ranking member serrano and chairman chabot for working in a bipartisan manner to bring this bill to the floor. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. chabot: thank you mr. speaker. i yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from florida, mr. crenshaw, who's chairman of the subcommittee on financial services and general government of the committee on appropriations. the chair: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. crenshaw: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for

yielding the time. as has been pointed out, this is legislation that is the result of hard work of the small business -- the hard work of the small business committee here in the house, the appropriations committee here in the house, along with the united states senate. and what this does as has been pointed out, simply allows the 7-a lending program to continue on. it's a program that doesn't cost the taxpayers any money. and yet it allows the small business administration to lend money to thousands of small businesses all across this country. to keep the economy growing, to keep jobs being created. as chairman of the subcommittee that oversees and funds this program, the s.b.a., let me assure my colleagues that this will not require any additional appropriations this year. it would simply lift the cap, as has been pointed out, let this continue on, and again do the job that the s.b.a. does. so, i want to urge my

colleagues to support this i thank everyone involved that's worked in such a timely manner to make this happen so quickly. so that we don't interrupt the lending that goes on. with that i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker i yield three minutes to the gentlelady from michigan mrs. lawrence. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from michigan is recognized for three minutes. mrs. lawrence: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 299, the veterans entrepreneur act of 2015. the small business administration's 7-a loan program is a critical source of capital for america's entrepreneurs and it's s.b.a.'s largest and most important program in terms of the number of loans and programs supported. my home state of michigan, where i'm proud to serve as the congressional representative, has benefited greatly from the

s.b.a. 7-a loan. in fiscal year 2013, this loan guaranteed nearly 2,000 loans to michigan small businesses through the 7-a loan program for more than $500 million. michigan ranked second in the nation that year for all s.b.a. loans, even better, it guaranteed more than 2,000 loans to michigan's small businesses for more than 600 -- $600 million. that was an increase of over 17% of the previous year. this successful program's continued to show strong success with the loan volume up 20% this year over last year. unfortunately the lending cap established in 2015 appropriations bills of about $18 billion was reached last

week. that means that roughly $3 billion in loan programs needed for small businesses have been stalled, putting america's entrepreneurs at a serious financial risk. h.r. 2499 will reopen the critically needed 7-a program for american small businesses and provide a fee waiver for our nation's veterans who are seeking new careers after service to our country. i'm proud to be a co-sponsor and that -- in this bill that will raise the cap of 7-a loans to more than $23 billion. i want to thank the leadership of the chairman and the ranking member for their leadership on this issue. i strongly urge my colleagues to join me in supporting the underlying bill and i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker.

at this time we have no additional speakers so we'll continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from new york is recognized. ms. velazquez: mr. speaker i yield three minutes to the gentleman from hawaii, mr. takai, ranking member on the contracting and the work force subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from hawaii is recognized for three minutes. mr. takano: thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. takai: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. takai: first of all, i'd like to thank chairman chabot and ranking member have a less kess for this opportunity -- velazquez for this opportunity. on friday the 7-a program reached its loan guarantee program limit for the year. as a result the small business association was forced to suspend its 7-a small business lending until the start of the new fiscal year or until such time as the 7-a program is re-authorized or increased by congress. over 20 of my colleagues joined me in sending a letter to speaker boehner asking to bring

this legislation to the floor to raise this limit before congress goes on its august work period break. while i am thankful that we are finally doing this, it only speaks to the pattern of inaction that has plagued us here in congress. right now because of this inaction, small businesses across the country are facing uncertainty of where their next loan will come from. lendsers use the 7-a program to -- lenders use 7-a programs and the s.b.a. provides a backstop by guaranteeing this loan in case the borrower defaults. due to restrictive marketing conditions s.b.a. programs like the 7-a loan program have seen an increase in usage by small businesses, making it more imperative that the lending limit be increased for this program. . as you know mr. speaker, over 90% of the american businesses are considered small and make up the backbone of our nation's economy. it is critical to note that the 7-a program is funded entirely

by guarantee fees, paid by the program beneficiaries, not taxpayer dollars. increasing this loan limit will not increase our national debt or deficit, but it will mean that small businesses can get access to the credit they need to expand and create jobs in our communities. without s.b.a. loan options, millions of small businesses will have to resort to practices not in their best interests. i came to congress assuring my constituents that we would break this pattern of crisis and do our jobs. this shouldn't be a last-minute issue. let's be sure our small businesses have the resources they need to continue being the engine of our economy. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker. we have no additional speakers, so if the gentlelady would like to close and yield back, we'll close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from new york is

recognized. ms. velazquez: thank you. mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. velazquez: evidence points to an economy that is slowly but surely on the mend. the federal reserve reports banks are more willing to lend, and small business demand is clearly picking up at an accelerated pace. this montana alone, s.b.a. has -- this month alone, s.b.a. has gurnted $7 billion in the -- granted $7 billion in the 7-a program. lending authority will ensure that they have access to low capital for the rest of the fiscal year. i want to again thank chairman chabot for working with me to bring this bill to the floor. i ask my colleagues to support this bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from ohio is recognized. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker. i again want to thank the

gentlelady from new york, ms. velazquez, our ranking member on the small business committee, for her cooperation, hire hard work in making sure we resolve this sticky -- her hard work in making sure we resolve this sticky issue that they get access. i definitely want to make sure we have been working on this in a bipartisan and cooperative effort. and i again want to stress that it's critical that we pass h.r. 2499 today for the benefit of both our veterans and also the benefit of the entire small business community, which right now is unable to obtain loans from the flagship s.b.a. 7-a lending program since last friday. and i would also note there are reforms in this bill so that the s.b.a. has to bring notice to congress let us know upfront next time and not wait until the 11th hour to notify

congress that they're in trouble. so hopefully this will resolve this so we don't see this in the future, that we'll get notification on a fairly regular basis and not put the elected representatives of the american people in this kind of dilemma where we have to act at the last minute and that we basically put small businesses all across the country in jeopardy of not having access to loans. and as we know, by pushing this forward along with the veterans bill which in essence waived the fee that they would have had to pay so that veterans have access to loans that they need to grow business or to create businesses, since they have worn the uniform of our country, we certainly need to do everything we can to help them and this bill does that as well. and as has been mentioned by mr. takai and others, this does not cost the taxpayers any

additional dollars because the money for this is generated from the fees of those who take advantage of the program. so it's a win-win all around, and so i would urge my colleagues to vote to concur on the senate amendment to h.r. 2499, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and concur in the senate amendment to h.r. 2499. 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 senate amendment is agreed to and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 1626, an act to reduce duplication of

information technology at the department of homeland security and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 6:30 p.m. today.

and every morning "washington journal" is live with elected officials, policymakers and journalists and your comments by phone, facebook and twitter. c-span created by america's cable companies and brought to you as a public service by your local cable or satellite provider. >> tomorrow on c-span3, a house hearing on the iran nuclear agreement. secretary of state john kerry and energy secretary ernest moniz will answer questions from members of the house foreign affairs committee. treasury secretary jake lieu also testifying and it gets under way tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. eastern. you can see it live on our companion network, see pan 3. on wednesday, the special house

committee investigateding the 2012 attack on the u.s. consulate in benghazi. chief of staff john finer at 10:00 a.m. eastern on wednesday. also live on c-span3. >> give us a senls of the scope of this federal aid. how much money goes towards these programs? to a much money goes towards the programs any given year? guest: they are the housing choice vouchers. the doctors that are given to families to choose their only learn, to find their own house. very different from putting family simply housing projects. we spend by $19 billion a year funding this program. it helps about 5 million people, and a little over 2 million households, which is a small number compared to the need. host: if you want to call in during the segment, and you are a housing voucher recipient, we will have a special line or you. we want to hear those stories.

we also have lines for democrats, republicans, and independents. how does somebody get on one of these programs? talk about process of somebody were to apply today. guest: all of this comes from the federal government, but goes to the local public housing authority. you go to your local housing authority, and you apply for these things usually about 75% of people who apply are the ones who get them in any city, and are surely low income. they are less than 3% of the median income in the region. you wind up sitting on a waiting list for a very long time. there are many cities, new york city is the perfect couple this

chicago is an example as well, with the waiting list to get a housing voucher can last a month, last for years, and if you've a small child and your trade get your family to housing, the child may be in high school by the time you get that voucher. it is for a long process. you have to qualify based on income to be able to apply for one of these. host: as you are waiting on these long list, where do these people generally live in the meantime? shelters? guest: not necessarily. people may be living with families, doubling and tripling up an overcrowded housing. in some cases people may be homeless. local housing authorities will often wear test those who are homeless to make sure they get in this possible -- as soon as possible. people are quite ingenious about when housing for themselves when they have limited means. they are probably the thing with family or in substandard housing. host: if they are picked to be a

part of this program, one of the requirements they have to meet? guest: you first have to find a place to live. the whole idea behind he sought truth is that you use them on the private market, which means that there is not necessarily a set of the significant properties that are handed to you. the housing authority may give you a list of landlord's but may work with you, but first you have to find a home. that is an incredibly difficult thing to do. in many jurisdictions and local areas, landlords are allowed to tell vulture holders, i do not rent to section eight there are legally allowed to discriminate. you may find an apartment you like, that is in the right amount of money, but the landlord may tell you we are not going to take you. usually when you're given a voucher you have a narrow window of 60 to 90 days to find a place. if you do not find a place in its territory from you and give

it to someone else. there is time restrictions restrictions on the type of places you can find. let's say you find a house, the landlord is willing to rent to a section eight voucher holder, now the department needs to be fêted by the public housing authority. there would come in and inspected. they're going to make sure it is up to code for receiving federal dollars for housing. there is this whole bureaucratic process but a landlord has to go through if they're going to speak in this program as well. host: it takes so long to get a voucher and become a voucher recipient. on a successful in moving people to missing -- to better housing it off these programs, or do they stay on this program for decades? guest: average family stays for about eight years. i do not often tells want to people or not. it is the big goal of the program is to try to get people to have opportunities to live in

neighborhoods other than where we fill public housing projects for decades. better neighborhoods. on a whole, the program is not terribly successful getting people into those other communities. if you look at a map of the city and where the voucher holders live, they tend to be clustered into lower income parts of the city. on that hand, i think the program is not as successful of a lot of people would like it to be, as far as opening up opportunities. host: we are tiger housing assistance for low income families in our weekly "your income" segment. we have a life for faucher holder -- voucher recipients. let's start on that line. anthony is waiting in michigan. good morning. caller: good morning. host: tell us about your story. caller: i am a veteran. i am on the section eight

housing voucher. i have been on the voucher for four years. it has been working. it is very helpful and helping me through in all my financial hardship, until i can do better. i'm actually receiving a veterans disability pension. i was a vietnam era veteran. i was watching your program, and i spoke to the housing program locally. begot an increase at the beginning of the year for proximally -- approximately $200 or so. but, it absolves mykola increase -- my cola increase.

i did not think that was right and was kind of odd that it was my entire increase for the housing voucher portion that i paid. i called about it and they said that -- i don't know if they knew that was the only cola increase the i et. that is what i call this morning to mention that to the speaker and see what her response would be. guest: this is the cola increase the uganda pension jekyll caller: -- you got on the pension? caller: yes. guest: they are asking people to pay 30% towards the rent, and then the housing commission pays the rest of it. host: regardless of what the rent is? guest: you can't move into a penthouse and asked the government to pay $2 million on

top of the $500 per month that you can afford. the way that the other part of it it is structured is the federal government goes into the communities, including where anthony lives, and says, what is fair rent for this community? the federal government says in washington, d.c. the market price is about $1200 for a one-bedroom apartment. so, they say we will pay the whatever is on top of your 30%. as your income adjust, the amount that you receive will adjust as well. host: let's go to gasoline and say augustine, florida, line for republicans. good morning. caller: good morning. i had an experience twice with section eight. both times were not good. i had a one-bedroom apartment.

it was vetted and so forth. i rented it to a couple. they moved their son in. i told them that he could not live there. they told me that he did not live there and i could not stop them from having a visitor. i gritted my teeth and thought, there's not much i can do about that because they just let allied -- flat out lie. some years later i tried it again. this time again with a couple. i have the same experience, only that couple moved in with an unmarried daughter with a child. when i complained, the couple flat out by. i think that is something that really needs to be addressed.

it is not that we do not want to help with section eight, but if i rent to a couple, i don't excite them to be able to move people in. host: kathleen, from your perspective as someone who rents to section eight housing recipients, how much more work is it from a paperwork and process standpoint to go through being a section eight landlord? caller: in my area anyway, that was not a big issue. i was very active in the community, i still am, and that is why i was approached to help these people. i did not mind doing that. i think we need to look of the other side of the coin a little bit, and certainly -- let's say

2-4 weeks, we ought to be able to have the people move or be evicted because the second group that was there, they did a number on the apartment. when they moved out, there was nothing i could do about it. the only problem i saw was that sometimes there was a problem with the security, and when these people moved in, i had some pretty hefty bills that i had to pay. i had no recourse. i think that part of the p program may need some remission. guest: one of the things i want to point out is why are people landlords and the system? part of it is that some people want to help out low income families.

the other part is that some people -- there are some advantages to being a section eight landlord. part of it is that you are not bearing any of the risk of the people being able to make their payment. your check every month is coming from the government. all of it comes directly from the government. this is a very stable source of renter income for people who are landlords. it is the reason why you would hear from people, not necessarily the color we were talking to, but you will see a lot of landlords who have apartment buildings that are entirely made up of section eight because of some cases this is a good source of income for people who own property. host: what about her desire to move these people out? she felt they were lying to her. what are the restrictions that landlord has that are imposed by being a section eight landlord? guest: there are definitely things t that you can do double

get you kicked out of the housing. you can be doing drugs in these houses. if you have moved into a house with a family of two, no, you cannot have 10 more people come crash on your couch. it is really up to the local housing authority, not necessarily hide, ta to arbitrate these issues. i think it depends on how good the housing authority is staying on top of complaints and investigating them. they are often understaffed, they don't have enough money. it would not surprise me if you are landlord and have a hard time getting problems addressed. they are finite resources. host: that to our line from housing voucher recipients. caller: how are you doing?

it sounds like i am from the south, by and from new jersey. in reply to your last caller, it is too bad that the bad eggs heard the people who really need help, like myself. i am an elderly disabled person. i'm on the housing program which i'm so think will for cub don't want anyone to take that wrong. my problem that i having is i was moved into a two-bedroom apartment because i had mold in my one-bedroom apartment. the place where i am living, needed be out of the because of the breathing. they moved being into a nice too much of in the same area, but this year, and i have only been here two years, there seems to be a new law about the utility allowance. that caused my rent to jump $74 which if i'm doing the math

right, is only six dollars on a 30%. i having a terrible time trying to afford this. i did not eat the last week. what do i do? i just felt that there are some type of help i could get in the meantime until i can find a one-bedroom. i was told by hud that there was nothing they could do. guest: are you paying the same about of money for your two-bedroom the work for the one-bedroom? caller: no, actually when i came here it was less. i was paying $120 here. now they raise it to 194 dollars. my income is just $700. you can see where that is rough with electric -- i'm sorry, i have to have cable and internet cup i don't want to give that up, but i don't know what to do. i have a flat tire for two

months. my kids finally fixed it yesterday. it is a difficult. host: on the cost of living increases, are these decisions made on the local level or are there federal formulas? guest: hud sets the rate. it is up to the federal government that you will pay 30% of your income. one of the things hud is working on is considering a pilot program where it says, let's calculate the fair market rents differently. let's take into account that dupont circle in washington is a much more expensive place to live that some places east of the river. let's establish that the fair market rent varies widely based on where you live. they are experimenting with how they calculate these formulas but they fundamentally come from washington at the and of the day.

they are things that are established here and then headed out to local jurisdictions. host: under the current system there is one calculation for entire city? guest: for an entire metropolitan area. if we were to calculate what the cost is for and one-bedroom in washington, it will likely be much higher for the district. part of what they're try to do is calculate it in a more precise way. they're looking at doing it by the zip code. the primary pre reason is because there is a push to get people into better neighborhoods, what if the fair market rent for a one bedroom is $1200 in washington, there are not many areas where you will find a $1200 one-bedroom apartment in d.c. hide his thinking as they

calculate this differently maybe it will enable people to get into those communities. host: let's go to chicago where charlotte is waiting on the line for democrats. caller: good morning. i'm calling this morning -- i'm an interior designer who went into the landlord business. around 2005. at that time, i was taking section eight voucher tenants, however, unfortunately i had so many problems with the majority of the tenants that i had. i was very particular about my properties. it was in lake county, illinois. they were in lower income areas. unfortunately, the tenants tended to, especially if they were there for a year, the properties went downhill -- the apartments, i should say. i have a couple of situations where i had to file police

reports in regards to the way the apartment looked after they left, there was so much damage. it is just a system that unfortunately i can no longer participate in because one apartment particular, after i filed a police report and i reported this to the hud department, -- i don't think the woman even lost her voucher. i know this is probably the exception, which is the good thing, but i do feel that, as the one previous caller said the bad eggs ruin the system for everyone, that is kind of true. i think these departments that have tenants, these participants getting vouchers, they really have to maintain those apartments, especially when they're given a really nice apartment like i was giving them. unfortunately, i even had a

problem with a vet who stopped paying his portion of the rent and i had to go through an eviction, which is the last thing i wanted to do. i just did not have any good experiences with this. honestly, i had two different tenants were there were thousands of dollars of damage after they moved out. it was just unfortunate. host: back to your thoughts on the frustrations therefrom the landlord side. guest: i think that is legitimate. this is a predominately low-income community, but within that, we're talking about a diverse group of people. voucher holders include the elderly, people with disabilities families. it means it will include people who are not great tenants, and also some families who will take great care of your property. if you are at landlord i don't have experience with that second group of people, i can understand why you would have a hard time. host: the numbers on the program

from hud. we are talking about here in the "your money" segment. tony is on the line. good morning. caller: good morning, c-span. i am not on hud, housing assistance for my rent, but i am having trouble dealing with my electric bills down here in florida. it is very hot. i worked 32 years in law-enforcement. i'm paralyzed from the waist down. i am on disability. it is a hundred $90 per month and that does not go very far. it is hard for me to ask for help, but i wonder if i can ask the young lady if there is some government agency that gives

grants that can help me just with my electric bill. it is very hot and humid down here. i have all my other things closed up as far as other bills like the lady was saying, you can't get rid of the internet a couple of calls back. i was wondering if there's a programmer place i can go to for help? guest: there probably is a program, but not barred by hide. it is probably brought by your local electric utility. most people when they pay their electric will get the option to pay for a fund to pay for electricity for low income people. that is designed specifically to help people out who are having trouble paying their electric utility. i would start there. you may get some more help than the federal government. caller: i never