the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 236. the nays are 174678 the resolution is dopped. without objection a the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. -- is adopted. without objection a the motion to reconsider to is table. the chair will receive message. the messenger: mr. speaker, a message from the senate. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i have been directed by the senate to inform the house the senate has passed s. 993 cited as the comprehensive justice and mental health act of 2015, in which the concurrence of the house is requested. e speaker pro tempore:

the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the house will be in order. members please remove your conversation from the house floor.

he house will be in order. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent that the question on adopting the motion to recommit on the conference report to accompany h.r. 644 may be subject to postponement as though under clause 8 of rule 20. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection? without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. brady: mr. speaker, pursuant to house resolution 56 o 0, i callp the conference report on the bill h.r. 644 and ask for immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 644, an act to re-authorize trade facilitation and trade enforcement functions and activities, and for other purposeses.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 560, the conference report is considered as read. the gentleman from texas, mr. brady, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, each will control 30 minutes. the house will be in order. members will please remove their conversation from the house floor. he house will be in order. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and insert heir remarks and extraneous material into the record on the conference report to accompany h.r. 644. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. brady: mr. speaker -- mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas virginia tech. -- is recognized. the gentleman will suspend. the house will be in order. members will please remove their conversation from the

house floor. the house will be in order. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm very happy to be here today to talk about the conference report on the trade facilitation and trade enforcement act of 2015. this process marks the return to the regular order and ensures that members and constituents' voices are heard. mr. chairman, the house ways and means committee, i share the speaker's commitment to an open and transparent process. the conference report builds on the good work of my fellow conferees, representatives reichert and tiberi, as well as support from a number of our ways and means and the conference as a whole and dozens of other members. it delivers on the promises we made to those members when we considered trade legislation earlier this year. most importantly, this bill is a vital part of our pro-growth agenda. it will level the playing field for americans and also make it easier for them to compete in a global marketplace.

it significantly improves trade facilitation. here's how. it ensures the customs and border protection focuses on its trade related mission. and streamlines processing of legitimate trade which will increase u.s. competitiveness and create u.s. jobs. it modernizes the agency's automated systems and reduces paperwork burdens. basically this bill replaces inefficiency with innovation. eliminates outdated systems. in addition, i strongly believe that free trade is enforceable trade and i'm glad that this bill significantly strengthens enforcement of america's trade laws. it creates new tools to combat currency manipulation based on ideas from representative miller and her colleagues in the michigan delegation. it gives customs and border protection new tools and holds it accountable to effectively act against evasion of anti-dumping and countervailing

duties, including by targeting risky imports and establishing a new investigation process with strict deadlines and judicial review. representatives boustany and jason smith deserve credit for working together to make sure these provisions were included. the conference report strengthens trade promotion authority by reaffirming the trade agreements should not include provisions on immigration or greenhouse gas emissions. for which representatives king and sessions deserve great recognition. it ensures greater oversight of administration trade nominees and trade negotiating rounds. this bill also includes important provisions to help fight human trafficking which is a scourge that we must take seriously. thanks to representative roskam's leadership, the conference report combats politically motivated acts against our good friend and ally, israel. with respect to the

miscellaneous tariff bill, it reaffirms congress' commitment to advancing the legislative process with robust consultation and consistent with house rules. i fully intend to work with my colleagues to develop this process early next year. finally, it contains the internet tax freedom act to permanently ban states and localities from taxes internet access or internet commerce. i urge all members to support this important legislation. while i celebrate this bill, this is only the beginning. as chairman of the ways and means committee, i want to make sure my constituents in texas and constituents all across america understand that we are going to continue to move pro-growth bills that help grow our economy and make it easier for all americans to find good jobs and have more opportunities. we have got an ambitious agenda and we are just getting started. you can expect to see more actions soon in our committee

and on this floor on trade, jobs, all the economic issues that matter to the american people. we are going to lead and we are going to deliver. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time of the the gentleman from michigan. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: i strongly oppose this credit record. i am disappointed that we have passed up an opportunity for a truly bipartisan action on customs and trade legislation. the senate took that opportunity over the summer. it passed a customs bill by a vote of 78-20 that was truly about customs and trade enforcement. it included a strong provision to address curnsi manipulation. the most significant trade enforcement failure over the past decade. and the senate bill very importantly avoided including wrongful positions and

provisions that had nothing to do whatsoever with customs or trade enforcement. the house bill did just the opposite. it passed a bill that seeks to prevent our trade agreements from addressing climate change and weakens curnlt current law on human trafficking -- current law on human trafficking and failed to include anything meaningful on currency manipulation, even though just a few years ago this house passed a currency bill very similar to what was in the senate customs bill by a vote of 348-79. because of the mart zahn -- partisan and flawed nature of the house customs bill, just 12 democrats voted for it. this conference report is far more like the fundamentally flawed house bill than the senate bill. the conference committee rejected the senate currency

provision. as i said, one that had the support of 348 house members just a few years ago. there is much talk about how this bill will create jobs and about economic growth. but make no mistake, over the past decade or so, currency manipulation has cost the u.s. and our workers and our industry between two million and five million jobs. instead, in conference bill includes a meaningless provision that simply calls for more talk, more deference to the treasury department, and no real action. the climate change language in the conference report sends just the wrong message as our diplomats are working in paris with over 150 nations to find an agreement on this threat to our environment. the language in this conference

report on climate change is far more than confusing as some people like to say. it would prevent, for example, from negotiating provisions like common fuel efficient standards. a very real possibility in our negotiations with europe. as reported today from paris, the republican party of the united states may be the only political party anywhere in denial about climate change. that denial is why this provision in this conference report on climate is before us. now as to human trafficking. this provision weakens current law by allowing for a trade agreement with a tier three country to be fast tracked so long as that country, and i quote, has taken concrete

actions, end of quotes, to implement recommended changes, but no matter how egrogegreegous the conditions are still in place. countries on tier three are the worst actors. countries that the state department has concluded in quotes, do not fully comply with the minimum standards under the trafficking victims protection act. we need to get these countries to meet minimum standards on trafficking. certainly well before we enter into a trade investment relationship with them. unfortunately, this conference report does not get us there. these and other fundamental flaws outweigh the enforcement provisions that were included in the conference report. most of the enforcement provisions are weak. and i think they are being oversold. for example, the bill establishes an interagency enforcement center, but that

has already existed for several years. it renews a super 301 which requires ustr to report regularly on a straight enforcement shall -- trade enforcement priorities, but this is something an administration can already done on its own. just as the clinton administration did. the bill establishes also a new trade enforcement trust fund. but those funds still need to be appropriated and paid for just as they did in the past. it requires the itc to make information related to imports available on its website, information that already exists on other forms in the same website. all this is very disappointing because there are positive aspecifics of this bill. such as the enforce act that my colleague, linda sanchez, has spearheaded. which will help to address the circumvention of anti-dumping

and countervailing duties to address unfair trade. all of the deep flaws in this conference report far overshadow this provision and the real customs provisions that have long had bipartisan support. going further the bill includes an internet tax provision added by the conferees that has absolutely no place in this customs bill. it was neither in the house nor the senate customs bill. not only is it not a customs measure, it's not even a trade measure. dropping this provision into a conference report at the last inute and with no warning is no way to legislate. it's the opposite of regular order. indeed, this conference report does not tell it straight. as i said, it deletes the only provision that reflects

meaningful legislation on currency. which has devastated u.s. jobs and economic growth. legislation that overwhelmingly passed the house previously. it keeps provisions inserted by the house to encourage republicans who oppose action on climate change, as i said, at the same time the world is meeting in paris thwarting further possible action on climate change in trade negotiations including with europe. . it tones down a provision which had teeth on human sex and labor trafficking. it sneaks in another provision totally related -- unrelated to customs. as i said, never being discussed at the only meeting of the conference committee. relating to taxation of internet access. it leaves in the dust the issue of trying to even out the

taxation of sales on the internet, with sales at hardworking brick and mortar stores. for all of these reasons, all of them, i strongly urge a no vote and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm proud to yield two minutes to the gentleman from washington who is the leader, the chairman of the trade subcommittee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from washington is recognized for two minutes. mr. reichert: i thank the chairman for yielding. i want to thank him for his hard work, mr. boustany, mr.ityberry, and other members of the committee, who have worked hard on this legislation and also members across the aisle that have come together to build this piece of legislation presented here today. i rise in strong support, mr. speaker, of this important legislation. in my home state of washington, 40% of jobs are tied directly

to trade. we are the most trade-dependent state in the country. and this bill supports that trade and those jobs through the elimination of unnecessary road blocks u.s. companies face when exporting and importing goods and enhanced enforcement of our laws. it lays the groundwork for the miss laneous tariff bill that's often called the m.t.b., which reduces costs, reduces costs on american manufacturers and supports jobs across this country. i'm proud that this bill includes several provisions that i have championed with colleagues across the aisle from the pacific northwest, including outdoor recreation apparel provisions with mr. blumenauer from oregon, and the renewal of the state trade expansion program with my colleague from washington state, mr. larson. we have fought hard for those

-- larsen. we have fought hard for those two provisions and they are included in this legislation. that program helps small businesses grow by making it easier for them to sell their products across this world, which, of course, helps create jobs here in the united states. the more products we sell, the more jobs we create here at home. it has supported over 430 small businesses in washington, and 2,200 jobs. so, mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to join with me today in supporting american farmers, american workers and businesses through stronger enforcement of our laws and streamlined trade. and yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield 2 1/2 minutes to another member of our committee, a distinguished member from california, linda shanchezz. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. ms. sanchez: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to speak about the trade facilitation and trade

enforcement act of 2015. i'm extremely frustrated that after the long path to get us to the conference report before us today, i won't be able to support the bill. as i said during our conference committee earlier in the week, if customs were truly all that this bill was about, it would pass overwhelmingly on the floor. i strongly support the bulk of what is in the final bill. trade enforcement should always move in lock step with our trade policy. it's only when countries live up to agreed upon laws and regulations that we can truly have robust trade. but robust trade also requires strong enforcement. particularly for me, i'm pleased that the bulk of the enforce act is finally at the finish line, after many years of work. one of my biggest priorities for several years has been finding way to combat the some abuse and duty of foreign producers that undercut american industry.

foreign companies use schemes to avoid paying the duties they owe on goods that they bring in to the united states. we will finally give some real teeth to our enforcement procedures and send the right message to domestic manufacturers, employers and workers, that this congress cares about customs enforcement. this idea doesn't hinder free trade, instead it promotes fair trade and sends a strong signal to foreign producers that the u.s. will not tolerate abuses of internationally agreed upon trade rules. by increasing our customs security measures, we ensure that american companies that play by the rules are not disadvantaged as a result of evasion by foreign competitors. unfortunately unrelated t.p.a. language included in the final bill will keep me from being able to support something that i've worked on for many, many years. in this bill, we fail to address currency manipulation in a meaningful way. the conference report also falls short in the areas of

climate change and human trafficking. specifically, we should not tie our hands when it comes to combating climate change. nor should we be rushing to increase our trade with countries that persist in allowing human trafficking. to me, these are not the values of this country and they are no brainers, they shouldn't be in this bill. but today, we fell short and for those reasons i cannot support the final customs package that we have before us today. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: i yield three minutes to the former chairman of the trade subcommittee, a member of the conference report, the gentleman from ohio, mr. tiberi. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. tiberi: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you for your leadership on this going back years. mr. speaker, i introduced the trade facilitation and trade enforcement act in april this year and it's great to see that this issue finally getting

done. i'd really like to thank speaker ryan and again chairman brady, chairman reichert, special thanks to representative boustany for his leadership, going way back as well. and jason smith, congressman from missouri, for his incredible work to get this bill in a better place. i'd also like to thank my colleagues in the senate who helped make this a successful conference committee. this bill presents a long, long overdue opportunity. i would ask my colleagues to not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. in my home state of ohio, one in five workers' jobs, mr. speaker, depends on trade. trade drives our economy. in fact, exports from ohio last year hit an all-time high. this bill will make it even easier for ohio companies to trade. and increase exports. and that means increasing jobs in my state of ohio. u.s. customs and border protection act plays a pick of toll role in helping ensure that our trade agreements are

preference programs -- agreements, our preference programs, our u.s. trade laws are enforced and that legitimate trade is done. over the years, the volume, the complexity of trade and the challenges such as combating evasion of duties and protecting u.s. intellectual property rights have grown and grown more complex. meanwhile, we are facing increased competition around the world. it's critical to keep the flow of trade moving efficiently. customs issues are vital to our competitiveness, security and safety. streamlining legitimate trade and providing benefits to trusted traders will increase u.s. competitiveness in the global marketplace. this bill would reduce barriers and burdens to our small and medium businesses, drive our economy, save them time and money and, again, create jobs. another major pillar of this bill is strengthening enforcement of our trade remedy laws. enforcing u.s. intellectual property rights, anti-dumping, countervailing duties. laws that prevent our competitors from gaining an edge by cheating. when our competitors around the

world don't play by the rules, we get hurt. our american businesses get hurt. our american workers pay. when our american companies and american workers compete on a level playing field, they win. we win. this bill makes our trade remedies more effective by allowing our custom agencies to take quick action against these bad actors, giving our businesses a fair turent to compete and win -- opportunity to compete and win. this also contains a commitment to the tariff process. i strongly support that commitment and will continue to work to find a path forward, mr. speaker. m.t.p.b. -- m.t.b.'s provide important release to our manufacturers who import materials who have no domestic content or supply. the tariffs they pay are taxes on these products, that make the entire manufacturing supply chain and the process more expensive to my constituents. the m.t.b. process must be resolved in a way that is not only consist went our house rules, but also -- consistent

with our house rules but also our constitutional responsibilities. may i have 30 more seconds, mr. chairman? mr. brady: i yield the gentleman. mr. tiberi: i'm confident we can resolve these issues, mr. speaker. this has been a long overdue bill that provides much modernization to our customs process, makes it easier for our manufacturers and businesses and ultimately our workers to export their products around the world and in the end, we win. thank you, mr. speaker, thanks for your leadership, mr. chairman, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: thank you, mr. speaker are mr. speaker. i now -- thank you, mr. speaker. i now yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from connecticut. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for our minutes. ms. delauro: mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to the trade facilitation and trade enforcement act or customs bill. this legislation has historically been a bipartisan bill. but the majority had politicized a customs

legislation by adding several riders that would be hampleful -- harmful to our trade policy. the bill undermines our ability to address several of the most critical global issues that we face. climate change, human trafficking, and immigration. and it includes no meaningful method for dealing with one of the biggest causes of job loss and wage suppression in the united states, and that's currency manipulation. which has cost our nation over five million jobs. ironically, world leaders are concluding negotiations today in paris, at the largest climate summit in history. they are working hard to hash out an agreement that, as the sierra club has pointed out, will be undermined by the trans-pacific partnership agreement. with the bill before us today, the united states will not be allowed to address greenhouse gas emissions in future trade negotiations. imagine. the bill also contains no

funding to support the enforcement and monitoring of our trade agreements. it lacks any automatic mechanism for ensuring compliance with our trade rules. this administration has never self-initiated a trade complaint against any of our free trade partners. and it takes years for the administration to bring a case against countries that subsidize or dump their product in our market. lack of enforcement of our trade agreements has plagued our country for decades and despite environmental rules in the u.s.-peru free trade agreement, the overwhelming majority of timber from peru is illegally logged. and despite the labor rules in the colombia free trade agreement, over 100 colombian trade unionists have been murdered. 19 this year alone. this bill does not adequately address enforcement. it lacks the mechanisms for ensuring compliance with trade rules, and as i said, no

administration has ever self-initiated a labor or environmental trade complaint against any of our free trade partners. why would we think that would -- this would begin now? and while this bill authorizes funding for enforcement, there is no guarantee that this funding will ever be provided. we already lack the critical funding to enforce our existing trade agreement. american workers cannot afford to suffer through additional losses, as their jobs are shipped to countries that do not play by the rules. worst of all, one day after the international rights day, which was yesterday, this legislation contains a provision that will weaken u.s. efforts to curb human trafficking, forced labor. the bill would allow for expedited consideration of a trade agreement with nations classified as the worst offenders of human trafficking. we have already seen the

administration's willingness to do whatever it takes to secure a trade deal, when it upgraded the human trafficking ranking of malaysia to conclude the t.p.p. negotiations. malaysia was in the same category as iran, just five months ago. where are our values with regard to human life? the biggest problem with our economy today is that too many americans are in jobs that do not pay them enough to live on. they are struggling. and one of the main reasons for this is several decades of bad trade policy that has shipped millions of jobs overseas. like the policies in this customs bill and the t.p.p. people like to talk about, in this body, that all of the job loss, the wage depression, is because of technology and globalization. it is, it is because of the policy choices we have made

over the years. it is time for us to rewrite the rules. millions -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. ms. delauro: can i get one more minute? mr. levin: how about 30 seconds? ms. delauro: millions of jobs are at stake. the fate of our country's economy. working class families in this nation are struggling just to get by. men and women are scraping together meager earnings to put food on the table. warm their home. take care of their kids. they can't think about sending their kids to college. they can't think about a vacation or retirement security. we need to decide if we are going to rebuild the land of access and opportunity, where anyone who is willing to work hard, play by the rules, can find a good job that can support a family. there is no reason to make bad trade policy even worse. this legislation, with enforcement gaps, harmful negotiating objectives, is unacceptable. we can do better for working people. i urge my colleagues to vote no. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired.

the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: dr. boustany played a key role in strengthening trade enforcement in this bill. i'm proud to yield two minutes to the gentleman from louisiana. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from louisiana is recognized for two minutes. . mr. boustany: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank everyone on the committee as well as staff helping make this legislation, finally this conference report reality that will become law. today louisiana's seafood industry is being severely injured by illegal foreign imports. right now the fundamental issue is economic growth. how do we empower our producers, seafood producers, manufacturers, to grow, grow their businesses, create opportunity, and grow this economy? this legislation before us today is important because as we seek to expand market access for all of our businesses and our farmers, we need seamless trade facilitation and strong enforcement if we are going to achieve that economic growth.

this bill contains language from my protect act, providing new tools for the rell -- relevant federal agencies for distributors and trade affected domestic industries to prevent and combat fraud at our border. not after the fact. that's a key distinction and key piece to this legislation. that will allow our seafood producers, farmers, manufacturers to compete ton a fair playing field here in our american domestic market as we seek to open market access abroad for them as well. additionally, crawfish processors in my state of louisiana have suffered for 15 years because of unfair dumping of crawfish from china and other illegal sources. in effect, the administration punished domestic crawfish producers by forcing them to pay for the delays caused by chinese dumpers, u.s. insurance companies that posted bond for the duties, and in some cases customs and border patrol itself.

this bill contains an important fix that will make sure our crawfish producers are made what they are owed. mr. speaker, this legislation, this customs re-authorization conference report, will make necessary improvements. not only to ensure fraud is prevented at our border, but that our american industries are treated fairly. i urge its support. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i now yield two minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. kind, a distinguished member of our committee. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from wisconsin virginia tech for two minutes. mr. kind: i thank my friend from michigan for yielding. as a member of the committee, someone involved in the negotiations of the legislation before us, i rise in strong support of the trade facilitation and trade enforcement act. the bill that we have before us today is not the bill that came out of the house in june. there are much needed improvements. as we debate trade policy and where we are going in the 21st century global economy, we need strong enforcement mechanisms. when we get standards in these trade agreements that elevate

it up to us that level the playing field for our workers, business, and farmers, we have the tools to ensure those standards are enforced in an appropriate basis. we are able to counter unfair trade practices as they are applied against us. that's exactly what's in this bill right now. this bill will end any importation of products that are made from the exploitation of child and forced labor, for instance. this bill also includes the enforce act, additional tools to enforce the provisions that we do negotiate in future trade agreements. this bill establishes the interagency trade enforcement center for greater coordination between our agencies to ebb force provisions -- to enforce provision that is we negotiate in trade agreements. it establishes an enforcement trust fund due to the hard work my friend and colleague from oregon, mr. blumenauer, put in, so there are dedicated resources in order to enforce the provision that is we fought to achieve. it establishes a super 301 section. again enhanced enforcement on those standards that many of us

have been fighting for. core labor, environmental, human rights protections in the body of these trade agreements, fully enforce able like any other provision. that super 301 will give us tools and enable us to move forward on that. it also establishes a state trade export promotion program, re-authorizing and funding it to make it easier for our small businesses, our manufacturers back home to be able to export easier. we know that those exporting companies typically pay their workers roughly 18%, 19% above other workers within that sector. so it's a win for our small businesses back home. it's not a perfect bill. it is the product of compromise and bipartisanship. i think it advances the ball when it comes to key enforcement. i encourage my colleagues to support it. and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: mr. speaker, i'm very pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois who played a key role in language defending our friend and ally, israel, mr.

roskam. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. roskam: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, chairman brady. a couple years ago israel's ambassador wrote an opinion piece that got my attention and he described the waves of attempts to wipe israel off the map. he said, the first wave was military. we know how that worked. israel's enemies worked together and they were not successful in defeating israel back in 1948. the second wave was a wave of terror that's still ongoing, but that wave has not been successful. but there is a third wave. and the third wave is actually more insidious. the third wave is the movement called the boycott divestment and sanctions movement. and what it is, it's an attempt to take away israel's legitimacy. to hold israel to a standard to which no other country in the world is held. so let's not kid ourselves that this is an attempt to drive israel to the negotiating

table, this movement, that is. it's an attempt to wipe israel off the map. it's the smart long move for the haters of israel. today in this bill the house is saying, we stand with israel. we stand with israel and we are pushing back. we are making it official policy of the united states along with the trade promotion authority act, that says, we are going to push back against state sponsored d.b.s. activities. there is good work here. mr. speaker, there is many times when people say can't people get along in congress? the answer is, yes, we can. this is strongly supported on a bipartisan basis. and it does two things in particular that i want to bring your attention to. number one, it works to protect american companies from foreign lawsuits. incredibly important because of our strong commercial relationship with the israelis. secondly, it requires a reporting requirement or it has a reporting requirement so it makes the administration more mindful we are going to have more information. i want to thank congressman

vargas who is kee author with me with some of the underlying legislation that was adopted by chairman brady and others. i want to thank all the conferees. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: tell us how much time there is on each side. the speaker pro tempore: gentleman from michigan has 13 minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has 16 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from minnesota who has played a key role on advancing our entire pro-growth trade agenda. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota is recognized for two minutes. >> i thank the chairman for moving this bill forward, getting it one step closer to law for his long-term engagement and trade facilitation. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker and members, trade facilitation and trade is key to growing our economy and this bill makes needed reforms to our customs procedures, it strengthens enforcement pressures behind our trade agreements, and removes unnecessary barriers to

trade. and the bill couldn't come at a more important time. you think about it, we are in the midst of the opportunity to complete two of the most ambitious trade agreements in our nation's history. one with countries in the pacific rim. and the others with our allies in the european union. and the united states used to be at the top. we were at the top for our efeshency in trade and logistics and moving goods across the border, but our customs procedures have become outdated and we have slipped. now we have too much paperwork, too much inefishency. this bipartisan bill it streamlines, modernizes our customs systems to get us back on track. and why is trade important? of course the answer is very simple. it is about jobs. trade supports one in five american jobs. in my state of minnesota, more than 774,000 jobs are connected to trade. so trade is driving our economy. many of these jobs are held by people who do work at small and medium-sized businesses, which are the backbone of our economy. 98% of all american exporters

are small or medium-sized employers. and these are jobs that pay more. they pay higher than average wages. they pay better salaries for american workers. and in addition to supporting american jobs, the customs bill also includes stronger enforcement tools that are essential to the trade agreements that we have with other countries so they don't cheat. it provides fair and strong rules to hold other countries accountable for their unfair trade practices, and it will help tear down barriers that unfairly block our goods from foreign markets. mr. speaker, for these reasons i am excited to see the customs bill move forward on a bipartisan basis. it will improve trade facilitation to move goods and services more efficiently. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from minnesota yield back the balance of his time of the the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: would the chairman like to proceed with another speaker. mr. brady: be glad to. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: proud to yield two minutes to a demember of the -- member of the ways and means committee who is focused on

american agriculture and american outer wear, the gentleman from nebraska, two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for two minutes. >> mr. speaker, i stand in strong support of trade facilitation and trade enforcement act of 2015. this legislation will update and streamline our country's customs and border policies to facilitate trade and enhance u.s. competitiveness. included in the bill are a number of additional commonsense provisions. for example, the bill fixes a technical error which inadvertently increases the rates on outer way. not overwhelm is this important to retailers an consumers, but brings the us back in comblines with our commitments on the general agreement on tariffs and trade. i am disappointed we couldn't find a path forward on the miss tain layneous bill process. i'm pleased the bill contains language in support ever work on this issue. it takes important steps to stretchten trade promotion authority. t.p.s. -- t.p.a. is necessary to make sure we get the best

deal as we move forward. mr. smith: for this reason i was happy to see the inclusion of language to prevent the administration from using trade agreements to negotiate very costly greenhouse gas emission rules in the united states. i want to make sure nebraska producers can make the most of the opportunities provided by a level playing field to increase exports. i urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska yields back the balance of his team. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield four minutes to another distinguished member of our committee, mr. doggett of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for four minutes. mr. doggett: mr. speaker, this customs bill fails totally to address a custom. that is the custom of ustr of saying one thing and doing another. it were it possible to legislate trust, to legislate

candor, to legislate fidelity to public duty, i would be the most enthusiastic supporter this bill could have. but, unfortunately, this proposal represents only a very thin see through window dressing for a run away bureaucracy that is pursuing its own multinational corporate agenda and ignoring the public interest. ustr in its history has never successfully challenged an environmental abuse. though ustr has been charged for over eight years with preventing trade and illegal logs and the destruction of peruvian rainforest, the environmental investigation agency recently reported, quote, illegal logging in peru and the associated trade remains a serious and unabated problem. there has been a, quote, complete failure to enforce these obligations. one such obligation is a very

simple audit. to demonstrate whether logs are being harvested illegally or legally. i have specifically asked ustr repeatedly just produce the audit so we can see. and they refuse to provide that documentation or to admit that their enforcement has totally failed to do that simple matter. meanwhile, coffins with the names of brave peruvian inspectors are being dragged through the streets. ustr trumpets its environmental successes and yet of peruvian government is being rewarded backward back w5rd -- not forward on the environment. ustr has never successfully challenged worker abuses. almost eight years after the administration received a complaint about serious abuses in guatemala, such as the right

to work and join with other workers without being murdered, ustr has not remedied the complaint. in honduras ustr announced with great fanfare by coincidence yesterday that after three long years of delay on child labor and other abuses, it had a new plan. well, it's the same type of plan that failed in guatemala. we don't need new public reemings plans, we need to -- relation plans, we need to enforce the law with effective law enforcement. . what reason is there to believe that vietnam, a country with one union that is only a branch of the communist party, will somehow fulfill its trade obligations under the trans-pacific partnership for a complete overhaul of its system, when it takes the administration almost eight years to address guatemala labor concerns? more likely, we will simply be joining another race to the

0 cent per hour vietnamese wage. and just as it lacked the will to enforce environmental and working conditions, usdr prioritized trade even when that meant excusing modern day slave trade in corrupt malaysia. the bureaucratic manipulation and indifference to human trafficking in asia is disgraceful. the only thing that is transparent about this is the ease of seeing through its propaganda. certainly, i am very concerned bout climate change. but the real climate that needs changing when it comes to our trade policy is the climate of indifference and secrecy. i ask that you vote against this bill in order to develop a true pro-trade, 21st century american policy that reflects our basic american values and

protects our jobs. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. mr. levin: i would like to now yield a minute to the speak -- to the former speaker, the leader, is that ok, mr. chairman? the speaker pro tempore: yes, without objection. mr. levin: it's now ply pleasure to yield one minute to -- it's now my pleasure to yield one minute to ms. pelosi from california. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. pelosi: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding and for his leadership on behalf of america's working families. i thank the chairman of the committee for his courtesy in enabling me to speak at this time. mr. speaker, congress has a responsibility to stand with american manufacturing and to help good -- create good paying jobs for hardworking families who are the backbone of our country. the middle class is the backbone of our democracy. in order to have fair trade, we must have robust tools to enforce the obligations of our trading partners. this legislation began as a

strong bipartisan trade enforcement bill, it has degenerated into a vehicle for all of the toxic special interest promises that have been made to secure passage of the t.p.a. they have poisoned a strong trade enforcement bill. with the denial of a climate crisis, with their turning a blind eye on human traffic, and with their refuse -- trafficking, and with their refusal to address foreign currency manipulation. in terms of the climate crisis, congressional republicans refuse to acknowledge the truth of the climate crisis. pope francis, on his visit here, and even before he came and since, has made this climate crisis a priority. it was a subject of his speech. and he has said that he is praying for the success of the historic paris climate summit. faith leaders from the evangelical community and across the board are urging us to answer our moral responsibility to preserve

god's creation. it is our responsibility, it is god's creation, we have a responsibility to be good stewards of it and to do so in a way that does not hurt the poor. and their presentations. and just look at what's happening in paris, as opposed to what's happening here. in paris, 195 nations have convened to address the climate crisis that threatens the health of our communities, the future that we will leave our children. it's about air pollution. 186 nations have submitted plans to address the climate crisis and the air pollution. 146 world leaders personally attended the conference. yet, with this customs bill, republicans would bar our trade negotiators from even discussing climate in the context of a trade agreement. you cannot separate climate and commerce. we cannot accept republicans'

willful blindness to this connection and to the reality -- and their plindness to the reality crisis -- blindness to the reality crisis. our trade negotiations must honor our values as a nation. america must stand as a bull work against the atrocity of human trafficking, wrst it is -- wherever it is found. in the week we mark the 150th anniversary of the 13th amendment, abolishing slavery in the united states, or anyplace subblet to our injures diss, -- subject to our jurisdiction, this legislation allows a country with documented forced labor practices and brutal human trafficking to enjoy the benefits of free trade and full access to our markets. the trade promotion authority legislation, we prohibited fast track procedures for trade agreements with countries ranked in three tier in the state department's trafficking in persons report. nations with the worst human rights records. that's in the t.p.a. yet in this bill, we weaken that standard, say, for example, for malaysia, and for

other nations failing to address human trafficking. in terms of currency, republicans continue to allow foreign currency manipulation to devastate the competitiveness of goods made in america. stealing jobs from american workers. the economic policy institute estimates that foreign currency manipulation has already cost millions of american jobs. and threatens hundreds of thousands more in coming years. we need strong enforceable currency standards in our customs laws. yet republicans have stripped out this tough bipartisan, bipartisan provision, cracking down on currency manipulation in the trade senate bill. it's time to crack down on countries who have manipulated their currencies for years to protect their industries and ndercut american jobs. i've lost my voice.

let us reject this. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california yields back her time. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas voiced. mr. brady: mr. speaker, prude to yield two minutes to the gentleman from missouri, a member of the ways and means committee, who is fighting for american agriculture, furniture and other local businesses two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the conference report. thank you, mr. chairman. right now there are over 120 anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases against china. when china violates the rules of international trade, small and medium sized manufacturers in missouri and across america are harmed. the enforce act included in this report would strengthen me america's ability to identify and go after those who break international law. one company in missouri found itself unfairly competing against an illegal product originating from china, but using a fake address. mr. smith: the enforce act allows this company to now take real and meaningful action

against foreign perpetrators. this spring, as the ways and means committee worked on t.p.a., there were many constructive conversations about what our trade enforcement bill was going to look like. i'm grateful to speaker ryan, chairman brady, mr. tiberi and mr. boustany for their willingness to work with me to get the enforce act included in this bill. it was a team effort. in the bill -- and the bill we have before us reflects that. american workers and american products can compete with anybody in the world, but when countries cheat, our manufacturers are significantly harmed. this bill helps end those unfair practices. i urge my colleagues to support the conference report and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: could you tell us again the time on both sides? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan has eight minutes remaining. the gentleman from texas has 11 1/2 minutes remaining. mr. levin: by the way, thank you, mr. chairman, for allowing the leader to go out of turn.

let me reserve. you have a bit more time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: thank you, mr. levin. mr. speaker, proud to yield to minutes to the chairman of the judiciary committee, mr. goodlatte. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for two minutes. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i thank the chairman for yielding and for his and other members of the ways and means committee's outstanding work on this legislation. i'm here to talk about another aspect of it. time is short. a temporary ban on state taxation of internet access is expiring. section 922 of the conference report aids taxpayers by making this ban permanent. if the ban on internet access taxes is not renewed, the potential tax burden on americans would be substantial. it is estimated that internet access tax rates could be more than twice the average rate of all other goods and services. low income households could pay 10 times as much as high income households as a share of income. congress has passed numerous

temporary bans with enormous bipartisan support. earlier this year, a permanent ban passed the house by voice vote. section 922 merely prevents internet access, taxes and unfair multiple or discriminatory taxes on ecommerce. it does not tackle the issue of internet sales taxes. my committee is working on that issue and making progress. studies show that tax affect internet adoption rates, as price rises, demand falls. the internet has become an indispensable gateway to scientific, educational and economic opportunities. section 922 preserves unfettered access to one of the most unique gateways to knowledge and engines of self-improvement in all of human history. i thank the conferees for including this pro-taxpayer provision and urge my colleagues' support. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from oregon, a distinguished member of our committee, mr. blumenauer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is ecognized for two minutes. mr. blumenauer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of the bill today, which is a much better form than the bill i opposed this summer. yes, there are still extraneous provisions, climate is worst example. but that's actually going to be more of an embarrassment to my republican friends in the future, that they trotted this out at a time the rest of the world is working in paris to try and deal with it. but as a practical matter, it's not going to make that much difference. i disagree with my learned friend, the ranking member, there will not be a reason we can't harmanize, for example, fuel standards. there's lots of reasons to do

that. and the trade -- the trans-pacific partner happen -- partnership's deforestation provisions will probably have as much impact on fighting climate change as anything that's going on in paris. peru is still troubling. i fought hard for those provisions, as recently as this week. i'd been pushing on the administration to do more. but it's certainly better than if we hadn't enacted those provisions before. and as a matter of fact, that's why we've worked so hard to establish the trust fund. i appreciate the cooperation of my friend, the chairman, who's worked hard to make sure that there is guaranteed funding for the next 10 years. 30 -- $30 million a year, when the whole ustr budget is less than $30 million. these trade enforcement provisions are complex, they're expensive, they're tedious, they're hard. it takes money to do it.

this provision includes legislation that i worked on with senator cat well to be able to make sure we can do a better job of enforcing it. the bill's not perfect. but it's much better than what we had this summer. and it represents movement in directions that we can all take pride in. and there are a number of provisions that make a huge difference for the people i represent in the pacific northwest, as well as modernizing the customs provisions. mr. speaker, i respectfully suggest that this is a step forward. i look forward to working with my colleagues to make sure that it is in fact enforced in the future, so that we can get the benefits people are talking about. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. brady: yielding myself just 15 seconds, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. brady: i do want to thank the gentleman from oregon for his very thoughtful, constructive efforts to help us craft the right trade enforcement revenues going forward. looking forward to working with you on other trade remedy

issues. and i appreciate the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. miller, whose hard work, along with that of the michigan delegation, enhanced our hand on currency manipulation. mr. speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from michigan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas' time is expired. the gentlelady from michigan is recognized for 1 1/2 minutes. mr. miller: miller i thank the gentleman so very, very much for yielding the time. mr. speaker, i come from southeast michigan, which is home of america's domestic auto industry. where we build absolutely the finest quality cars and trucks on earth. and we know our products can compete against anyone, anywhere in the world, and all we ask for is a level playing field. unfortunately american car companies have suffered decades of economic devastation due to unfair currency manipulation practices from overseas competitors, like japan or china and south korea, and that is why i support this bill, mr.

speaker. after decades of doing nothing, decades of doing nothing, this bill contains very strong measures to protect american products from nations that manipulation their currency. now there will be a three-part test that will identify countries that manipulate their currency and once identified they must be reported to congress and action must be taken. o i certainly appreciate the help of both the house leadership, as well as the ways and means committee, because these provisions will level the playing field, mr. speaker. all of us want free trade, but it must be fair trade. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from michigan yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: it's now my pleasure mr. levin: i yield to another distinguished person from michigan, the gentlelady from michigan, ms. dingle -- m