showing the likely all-night senate vote. they will be on the numerous amendments. you can watch live senate coverage whenever the chamber is session on c-span 2 and c-span.org. the confirmation hearing for senator jeff sessions to be the next attorney general begins tomorrow morning and we will have live hearings. that's live starting at :30 eastern tomorrow morning on c-span 3. live to the floor of the house. 4 later. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3069.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 309, a bill to amend the public health service act to foster more effective implementation and coordination of clinical care for people with a complex metabolic or autoimmune disease, a disease resulting from insulin deficiency or insulin complications caused by such a disease, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks extraneous materials in the record on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 309, the national clinical care commission act, introduced by representative pete olson, and

which was supported by over 229 co-sponsors in the 114th congress. h.r. 309 establishes a clinical care commission to evaluate and recommend solutions regarding better coordinating and leveraging of federal programs related to complex metabolic or autoimmune disorders such as diabetes. metabolic disorders take a doll on many americans each year. complications from these disorders can lead to cat involvic health outcomes. there are various programs across the federal government that touch on metabolic disorders. some focus on prevention. others focus on treatment. but there is a lack of coordination among these programs. improving coordination of such efforts provides an opportunity to reduce cost and improve health outcomes. this legislation received broad support from the energy and commerce committee, passing through the full committee markup by a voice vote during the 114th congress.

h.r. 309 provides no new spending and utilizes only existing funds at the department of health and human services. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. green. mr. green: thank you, mr. speaker. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. greens: i rise in support of h.r. 309, sponsored by my texas neighbor, congressman pete olson, and our other colleague on the energy and commerce committee, dave loebsack of iowa. the national clinical care commission act, the legislation aims to improve federal efforts to treat and prevent metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases and diseases resulting from insulin deficiency and insulin resistance. the most common in the united states is diabetes. racial, ethnic, minority

communities suffering increasing rates of this condition. 15.9% of american indians and alaskan native, 13.2% of non-hispanic blacks, 12.8% of hispanics have diagnosed diabetes compared to 7.6% for non-hispanic whites. diabetes takes a huge toll on the huge health. it's the seventh leading cause of death in the united states. additionally, all too often diabetes leads to avoidable complications such as blindness, limb amputation and kidney failure. in addition to the effects on human health, diabetes care makes up a large percentage of u.s. health care expenditures. currently one dollar of every $5 of health care costs is spent on caring for people with diabetes. the proportion of medicare funding is even greater. currently $1 of every $3 of medicare expenditures is spent caring for people with diabetes. that's why it's important to improve federal efforts to prevent avoidable cases of

diabetes and metabolic disorders and ensure all americans have treatment and management of services necessary to manage this and other conditions. i'm glad to see this legislation before us and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 309 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, at this time i am pleased to yield to my colleague from texas, mr. pete olson, so much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. olson: i thank my friend from denton, texas, for yielding me time to speak about my bill. h.r. 309, the national clinical care commission act, a bipartisan bill that received nap support in the last -- unanimous support in the last congress and was coast sponsored by over half of my house colleagues. it had this level of support because our nation faces an epidemic. diabetes or prediabetes affects

over 100 million americans. nearly one in three of our eighbors are affected. this is in addition to all the americans whose diseases fall under complex metabolic, autoimmune or insulin resistant diseases. when i first came to congress in 2009, it was crystal clear that we had a big problem. the benefits of all of the federal research dollars were going into these diseases were simply not making their way to patients. researchers at the n.i.h., the c.d.c., the f.d.a. and even d.o.d. weren't sharing diabetes research. it was clear to me in 2009 and we clear today in 2017, need a laser-like focus on

improving patient care by pursuing a strong federal focus on research. my bill accomplishes that goal by creating a national clinical care commission comprised of doctors who specialize in diabetes care for patients. this commission will have three years to strengthen their partnership between federal stakeholders and health professionals who will bring hands on clinical experience to improve care. this is not a new unending bureaucracy. after three years, this commission will sunset. in three years, it will be gone. we have already made a huge investment of taxpayer dollars into research. it's time for us to leverage that investment and translate that into meaningful prevention

and effective treatment options. so today i ask my colleagues to again help those who suffer from diabetes and or other complex metabolic and autoimmune disorders by voting for h.r. 309. i thank my colleague and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. olson, yields back. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess reserves, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, we have no other speakers, and i'll reserve my time in case someone shows up. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, at this time i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from georgia, a new member of the energy and commerce committee, mr. carter, for three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. carter: i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 1192, the national diabetes clinical care commission act, which establishes within the department of health and human services the national diabetes

clinical care commission. the commission will look into dissemination of information and resources to clinicians on best practices for delivering high-quality care and how best to effectively deploy new and emerging treatments and technologies. as a pharmacist, i play an important role in diabetes care by screening patients who had a high risk for diabetes and educating patients to empower them to take better care of themselves. i believe all of my colleagues would agree that making government work to help evaluate and recommend solutions regarding diabetes is important. the american diabetes association reports that there are almost 30 million people living with this disease. with better coordination and leveraging of federal programs that relate to clinical care for people with diabetes and chronic diseases and conditions caused by diabetes, we will begin to stem the tide of this awful disease. this legislation should be a priority for our country, and i urge my colleagues to support

this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. green. mr. green: mr. speaker, we'll continue to yield. i want to welcome our colleague from georgia to the energy and commerce committee. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i have no additional speakers at this time. mr. green: we will yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green, yields back. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, this is a good bill. it did pass at the end of last congress. maybe by passing at the beginning of this congress we'll give the body ample time to take it up this year. it's a good bill. it's worthy of our consideration, again, today. it provides no new strength. i urge passage of -- it provides no new spending. i urge passage and 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. 309. 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 texas seek recognition? mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 315. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 315, a bill to amend the public health service act to distribute maternity care health professionals to health professional shortage areas identified as in need of maternity care health services. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. and i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and xtend their remarks and insert extraneous materials into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: thank you, mr.

speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 315, the improving access to maternity care act, which i introduced with representative eshoo. h.r. 315 increases data collection by the department of health and human services to help place better maternity care providers -- to better place maternity care providers through the national health services loan repayment program. currently they participate in the national health service corps through the primary care designation but they are not always placed where they are needed the most. h.r. 315 will require increased data collection on maternity care providers who will then be placed in geographic areas within existing health profession shortage areas. again, where they are most needed. this legislation enjoyed broad support on the energy and commerce committee, passing through the full committee markup by a voice vote in the

114th congress. h.r. 315 provides no new spending, mr. speaker, and i urge all my colleagues to support this legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. green. mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. greens: mr. speaker, members, i rise in support of h.r. 315, the improving access to maternity care act. this important legislation would require health and reservices administration to better identify areas with increased need for maternity cares services. this will help ensure providers within the health -- national health service corps in areas with the most need for their services, improving access to maternity care providers in our most underserved communities will help reduce the poor health outcomes that can result when women don't have access to quality prenatal maternity services they need. those outcomes can increase --

include increased infant mortality, preterm births, low weight infants and maternal mortality. to provide just one example of how limited access to quality maternity care services is affecting american communities is while global maternity mortality rates are falling by more than a third from 2000 to 2015, the maternal mortality rate in the united states has increased. in 2015, 25 women lost their lives during pregnancy or childbirth per 100,000 births in the u.s. compared to 23 women who did so in only 2000. it's clear we need more to reverse the troubling trend and other poor outcome that results in limited access to maternity care providers. congress must ensure our women have access to prenatal and maternity care services they need. i support h.r. 315. i urge my colleagues to vote yes, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green, reserves.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i'm pleased to recognize and yield to the gentleman from tennessee, the chairman of the veterans' affairs committee, and a fellow ob-gyn, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. roe: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 315, the improving access to maternity care act, sponsored by fellow ob-gyn and chairman of the health caucus, dr. mike burgess from one of the easiest ways to ensure a healthy experience through mother and child is through adequate maternity care. there are pockets where women do not have access to needed ob-gyn care which puts mothers and babies at risk should a complication arise. s an ob-gyn, i find it

unacceptable that babies did not receive adequate prenatal care. babies born to these mothers are three times more likely to be born at a low birth weight and five times more likely to die than mothers who did receive adequate maternity care. and a female population expected to increase by 36% by 2050, there is no more important time than than now to ensure adequate access to maternity care for all mothers, no matter where they live. a woman living in rural east tennessee or east texas should have the same access to adequate maternity care. i'm a proud co-sponsor of this legislation that would require the health resources and services administration to dedicate shortage areas and

target maternity resources where they are most needed helping to ensure healthier pregnancies and cases. mothers and their children need to be healthy during and after pregnancy and i feel strong about that duty in congress. while this bill will not solve the entire crisis, it is a meaningful start. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and i yield back. the court: jasm tennessee yields. jasm texas reserves. the chair recognizes jasm texas, mr. green. green green i reserve. the court: jart. the chair recognizes jasm texas, mr. burgess. burg burg it is my pleasure to yield to the jasm georgia, mr. carter, three minutes. the court: jasm georgia is recognized for three minutes. art cart mr. speaker

mr. carter: the national health service corps provides up to $50,000 for health service professionals to provide in health care shortage hears. the program has already made great progress in increasing access and reducing provider shortages in dental care and maternity health professionals can and do already serve in the national services corps but placed in the same manner as

primary care providers. this bill would create a separate outcome to make sure the health needs are more efficiently addressed. i urge my colleagues to support this bill. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields. the gentleman from texas reserves. mr. green: we continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas reserves. mr. burgess: i have no additional speakers and prepared to close. mr. green: we yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tech as, mr. green, yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: h.r. 315, this is a bill that passed with overwhelming support in the last congress and i hope by taking up early in this congress we will allow time for the other body to attend to this needed legislation. h.r. 315, and i urge my colleagues to support it. and i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor will rise and remain standing. a sufficient number having arisen. 16 will beo clause 8,- postponed. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 302. the clerk: h.r. 302, a bill to provide protections for certain sports medicine professionals to provide medical services in a secondary state. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, mr.

burgess, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to resize and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the under bill. i rise today in support of h.r. 302, the sports medicine license you are clarity act of 2017 introduced by my colleague on the health subcommittee representative guthrie. it is identical from the last congress which passed by a voice vote in the house in september. team physicians and other licensed sports medicine professionals travel with their athletes to away games outside of their home state. when providing care to eninjured player in the game or in the locker room afterwards, they are doing so at great personal and

professional risk. if they are sued, their home state license could be in jeopardy and their malpractice insurer may not cover them. this bill would provide needed clarity by saying that the liability insurance shall cover them outside of their home state for limited services under the scope of their practice. second to the extent that the health care professional is licensed under the requirements of their home state to provide services to an athlete or to a team, they shall be treated as satisfying the corresponding licensing requirements of the secondary state in these narrowly defined instances. h.r. 302 is supported by a wide range of professional medical associations. i urge my colleagues to join me in support and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, reserves. the chair recognizes mr. green.

mr. green: i rise today in support of h.r. 302 the sports medicine clarity act. this solves a problem for professionals who are required to travel to different states. this is regulated on a state by-by-state basis. sports medicine provider travels with a team to another state and their medical liability insurance is rendered null. this weekend, the houston texans were in the playoffs and are going to new england and we would like to make sure our players safe. this bill would ensure that sports medicine professionals hole contract with a team are covered by their professional liability insurance while traveling. and provides any incidents of medical malpractice insurance must be treated as if it occurred in the professional

primary state of practice. providers still would not be allowed to practice beyond the scope of their licenses and may only treat athletes on the field. by working with the stakeholders, the sponsors created a solution to this problem. vote yes on the bill and i thank r. guthrie and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: i'm pleased to yield to the gentleman from kentucky, three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. guthrie: tont, millions of americans will tune into the national championship between the university of alabama and clemson university. as with any competition, both teams will have health care

practitioners traveling with them to the game. unform, states do not provide protection since they are not licensed to practice medicine in the secondary state. this act which i influenced, would ensure sports medicine professionals can provide timely care without having to worry about potential liability without traveling. the jobs require them to travel between states so athletes can receive proper care the moment they are injured. however, providers are great personal and professional risk because medical liability insurance does not cover liability for lawsuits in which they are not licensed. it is not a reasonable solution to require practitioners to become licensed in every state where the teams will play during a given season.

this came to my attention and i talked to an emergency room physician and travels with auburn university. and at the time, they were playing in what was the playoff in the b.c.s. game. a friend of mine is traveling with auburn in the rose bowl in california and fortunately didn't happen and had to take care of cam newton who was the quab at the time. the professionals want to take care of them. think about the liability when he is licensed to practice in alabama and something as valuable as an athlete. it's important we do this. it is one of the things that is common sense and very bipartisan and mr. richmond and i have worked on this. and join me in supporting this commonsense bill to provide the clarity for sports medical professionals and i thank my

co-sponsors and passed it quickly last session and we are going to do give the other body a an area to address this. even as simple, there are a lot of details when you are trying to define the specifics about going across straight lines and megan jackson and i wish her well in her endeavor and i urge my colleagues to support this measure and i yield back sm the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, reserves. mr. green: we continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the can chair recognize is the entleman from texas. mr. burgess: i yield to the gentleman from georgia, three minutes. mr. carter: i rise today in

support of h.r. 302 the sports medicine license you are clarity act and what it means for sports medicine professionals looking to provide comprehensive services to those in need. congressman guthrie's legislation, would overhaul the system which leaves medical professionals vulnerable to liability issues. they can travel with the team to another state and by providing care they are opening themselves up to repercussions. these professionals provide preventive care as well as medical care and advice to athletes in the event of an injury. insurance companies don't fully cover those professionals who travel with their teams as organizations to a secondary state. this legislation extends liability insurance coverage to those medical professionals to allow them to safely carry out

those responsibilities. they shouldn't have to decide that they should or shouldn't provide care to an individual because they are in a different location. within this bill, we can ensure that those professionals with the knowledge and experience to administer care will have the protections to fulfill their duties. i applaud mr. guthrie for his work on this issue to address these reforms to the sports medicine field. and i urge passage of this important legislation. thank you, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia re-- yields back. mr. green: we have no other speakers and my colleague -- i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. gene, yields back sm the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: i urge passage and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time.

the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 302. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in. the opinion of the chair, 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 texas seek recognition? mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i ask that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 304. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 304, a bill to amend the controlled substances act with regard to the provision of emergency medical services. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, and the gentleman from texas, mr. green, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and xtend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the record on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i

rise today in support of h.r. 304, the protecting patient access to emergency medications act, introduced by the gentleman from north carolina, mr. hudson and mr. butterfield. h.r. 304 would update the drug enforcement administration registration process for emergency medical service agencies with multiple locations, clarifying record keeping requirements related to the transportation and storage of controlled substances in the process. further, the bill would ensure that paramedics and other e.m.s. professionals are able to continue to administer pain and anti-seizure medications in emergency situations pursuant to standing or verbal orders when certain conditions are met. this commonsense plur is supported by over a dozen e.m.s. -- measure is supported by over a dozen e.m.s.

organizations. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, reserves. the gentleman from texas, mr. green. mr. green: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 304, protecting patient access to emergency medications act of 2017, ensuring that we have access to right medicines at the right time is critically important in an emergency situation. while controlled substances have abuse and diversion potential, they also have life-saving potential. in fact, they are very often used by e.m.s. providers in situations where every minute counts. currently these providers must often administer controlled substances during emergencies using a standing order. however, it's unclear -- to help clarify the current law, h.r. 304 would amend the controlled substance act to make clear that e.m.s. personnel can in fact administer controlled substances in emergency situations under a standing order from an e.m.s. medical director.

this bill helps guarantee that patients will have timely access to drugs they need during an emergency. it will also streamline the d.e.a.'s medical services registration process by allowing a single registration for a state e.m.s. agency as opposed to each e.m.s. agency location. to help safeguard against diversion, the bill will hold them responsible for storing, tracking all controlled substances. this bill passed the energy and commerce committee on the house floor last congress and incorporates important feedback from a wide range of stakeholders. i believe our effort in this bill will ensure e.m.s. professionals have the flexibility they need to respond during emergencies while preserving the d.e.a.'s ability to enforce controlled substances laws and regulations. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting passage of h.r. 304 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. green, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i am pleased to

yield to the chairman of the full committee of energy and commerce, mr. walden, four minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized for four minutes. mr. walden: thank you. i want to thank the members on the energy and commerce committee for this important legislation. h.r. 304, the protecting patient access to emergency medications act, this is a bipartisan bill. it was introduced by two of our colleagues, representative hudson of north carolina and representative butterfield also of north carolina. it previously passed the house by voice vote on no objection back in november but unfortunately it was not taken up by the senate before the last congress adjourned. meaning we have to be here today to restart this process. this, along with three other energy and commerce bills that we're considering today, shows that the energy and commerce committee is picking right up where we left off, in a bipartisan way to produce quality legislation that will improve the public health. now, h.r. 304, this is really an important bill because it enables our nation's emergency

services professionals to continue to provide quality, emergency care by recognizing the unique nature of their practice. specifically, as you may have heard, the bill clarifies that paramedics and other e.m.s. professionals can administer certain pain and anti-seizure medications in emergency situations pursuant to standing or verbal orders. in other words, the doctors have said to the e.m.s. person, you can do these things in emergencies. now, think about this. you're in a car wreck. the e.m.t. shows up or the ambulance. they can't communicate with anybody because they're down in the valley or somewhere where they don't have communication. without this legislation, it's uncertain now because it's up to the administration to see if you can give anti-seizure medication until they get in contact. that's not what any of us want. during this process while this

decision was made i heard from an emergency physician in jackson county, michigan. he said it's really critical for reducing suffering, particularly in our remote and rural areas where these emergency technicians, e.m.t.'s, may struggle to call in emergencies and may take much longer for patients to reach the nearest doctor. i just implore you to talk to anybody that's run around the ambulances and they tell you it's really, really important to patients. i heard an e.m.t. tell me it's important for them because sometimes in an accident, somebody's injured and they are kind of out of control and have a seizure. now, i'm not a doctor. we actually have one here who can tell us more, but they then are able to administer certain medicationes that will calm the patient, prevent them from hurting themselves or hurting the e.m.t. so i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 304 as well as the other bipartisan energy and commerce bills that are on the floor today. with that, mr. speaker, i yield

back the balance of my time and call on my colleagues to pass these important bills. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon yields. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. greene mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: -- mr. green: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: i want to thank mr. hudson and mr. butterfield for this important bill. i will yield back the balance of my time unless there are other speakers my colleague has. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess. mr. burgess: i ask that colleagues vote yes on h.r. 304 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas, mr. burgess, yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 304. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. burgess: mr. speaker, i request 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, furred proceedings on -- further proceedings on this uestion are postponed. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 353, the weather research and forecasting innovation act of 2017. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 353, a bill to improve the national oceanic and atmospheric administration's weather research through a focused program of investment on affordable and attainable advances in observational, computing and modeling

capabilities to support in antial improvement weather forecasting and prediction of high-impact weather events, to expand commercial opportunities for the provision of weather data, nd for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lucas, and the gentlewoman from oregon, ms. bonamici, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on h.r. 353, the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lucas: thank you. i first want to thank the gentleman from texas, chairman smith, for his continued leadership on the science committee. h.r. 353, the weather research and forecasting innovation act

of 2017, prioritizes improving weather forecasting for the protection of lives and property at the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. this bill does so by focusing research and computing resources on improving weather forecasting. quantitative observing planning, next generation modeling and an emphasis on research to operations technology transfer. as a representative from oklahoma, i understand the need for accurate and timely weather predictions firsthand. every year the loss of life from deadly tornados in my home state is a stark reminder that we can do better to predict severe weather events and provide longer lead times to protect americans in harm's way. i'm proud of the legislation as a dedicated -- has a dedicated tornado warning improvement practice. the goal of this program is to reduce the loss of life from tornados by advancing the

understanding of fundamental meterological science, allowing detection and notifications that are more accurate, effective and timely. constituents in my home state will benefit greatly from longer tornado warning lead times, which will save lives and better protect property. h.r. 353 makes clear that noaa will prioritize weather research and protect lives and property through a focused, affordable, attainable forward-looking research plan at the agency's research office. the bill also encourages innovations and new technology capacities by creating a joint technology transfer fund in noaa's office of oceanic and atmospheric research. this is essential to getting new forecasting, models -- to getting new forecasting, models and into the operational forecast to better protect our country. the bill directs noaa to develop plans to restore our country's leadership in

approximate weather forecasting. it is no secret that many people in our weather community are distraught that our forecasting capacities have deteriorated in recent years while other countries are making great strides in weather advancements. americans are paying the price for diminished leadership with their lives and their wallets. this is yet another reminder that we can do better. this legislation directs noaa to actively consider new commercial data and private sector solutions to further enhance our weather forecasting capacity. the bill also includes a pilot project which will provide noaa a clear and credible demonstration of the valuable data from commercial technologies available today. h.r. 353 is the result of four years of work to craft a meekful package that will create new -- meaningful package that will create new weather forecasting systems. the time has come for americans to have the most accurate and timely weather predictions.

they deserve nothing less. i reserve the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from oregon. ms. bonamici: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. bonamici: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 353, the weather research and forecasting innovation act. this bill, introduced by my colleague, mr. lucas, is a product of hard work and negotiation over the past two congresses. in addition to mr. lucas, i want to thank chairman smith and also environment subcommittee chair, mr. bridenstine and former chair, mr. chris stewart, who worked during this process. this is a truly bipartisan and bicameral effort. the national oceanic and atmospheric administration is responsible for many important tasks. at the cutting edge of science and public service, and weather forecasting is one of the tasks

most critical to our country. in the northwest oregon communities i represent, my constituents rely on timely weather forecast to decide when to harvest their crops, when to go to sea to fish, how to navigate the roads safely when there's freezing rain or snow and to prepare for possible flood conditions. the national weather service provides excellent forecasting products to support our economy, but what the increasing -- with the increasing frequency of severe weather events, there can be and should be improvements and our forecast capabilities and delivery. for example, forecast can be more precise regarding what will happen and when. improved forecast can provide more lead time to allow communities to prepare, especially in severe weather events. forecast information should also be communicated more effectively to the public and those in harm's way to reduce the loss of life and property. this bill is designed to address those important goals.

the bill connects the research ide of noaa, the office of oceanic and atmospheric research more effectively to the forecasting needs of the national weather service. this research to operations pipeline is essential for the continued improvement of our weather forecasting enterprise. the bill contains several provisions that will improve interactions and information sharing between noaa's researchers and the national weather service. . it also improves communications between noaa and the broader research and private weather communitieses. the bill also establishes interagency coordination through the office of science and technology policy across multiple agencies outside of noaa that share responsibilities for weather research and forecast communicationses. this is essential as we face budget constraints and it will help speed the adoption of best tools and practices across various agencies. h.r. 353 also recognizes --

recognizes that even the best forecasts will not serve the public's needs unless there are effective communications systems. the bill directs noaa to do more research, listen to experts and improve its risk communication techniques. the bill also re-establishes a program at noaa that allows noaa to give awards to people who save the lives of others through noaa's weather radio all hazards program. this bill also formally establishes the pilot program currently operating at noaa to engage in contracts with the commercial sector for weather forecasting data. additionally, the bill requires noaa to examine the benefits and costs of different sensors, by running simulations of different configurations of instruments and data sets on forecasting accuracy. it's important that these requirements are not too prescriptive so noaa can use the most efficient, accurate and cost-effective model for this situation. this legislation will produce

advances in weather forecasting and capabilities that will result in better development and deployment of forecast innovations and technology. ultimately, this will save american lives and property. i thank the members on both sides of the aisle for their input and support. also ikede -- i'd like to thank the hardworking committee staff on both sides of the aisle for their efforts to continue negotiations to move this bill forward. i ask my colleagues to support this bill, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. >> mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to my colleague mr. oklahoma, who has worked very diligently on this effort for a number of years, mr. bridenstine. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bridenstine: thank you, mr. speaker. every year that i have had the honor to serve oklahoma's first congressional district, i have also faced the unfortunate reality that i will lose constituents to nor nadse, as many of us who represent -- to nor nadse, as many of us who

represent constituents -- tornadoes, as many of us who represent constituents in oklahoma. this will move us to a day where we have zero deaths from tornadoes or other extreme weather events. i'd like to thank chairman smith, vice chairman lucas, and environment subcommittee ranking member ms. bonamici for their tireless efforts to see this bipartisan legislation move forward. the weather research and forecast -- forecast aing innovation act of -- forecasting innovation act of 2017 is the product of extensive negotiations between the environment subcommittee, which i chair, and the senate commerce committee. and i am proud of the bipartisan and bicameral agreement this bill represents. h.r. 353 directs the noaa administrator to prioritize activities that will save lives and protect property. again, this is critically important to my state. which is in the heart of tornado alley. this legislation will help noaa develop more accurate and timely warnings for hurricanes,

tornadoes and other high-impact weather events. it calls on noaa to develop a plan to maintain forecasting capabilities that are second to none in the world. primarily because, by some metrics, we lag behind our counterparts in europe, the u.k. and canada. the bill encourages better cooperation across noaa offices and enhances collaboration with universities, such as the university of oklahoma, which is a national leader in research for weather. it also will ensure the -- that an innovative method and technology such as warn on forecast, currently being developed at the national severe storms laboratory in norman, oklahoma, are rapidly deployed in operational status so that the american people can benefit. further, beyond improvements to short-term forecasts of extreme events, the bill directs noaa to improve our understanding of seasonal forecasts which can immensely -- be immensely useful to industries such as

agriculture. mr. speaker, i am particularly pleased this bill finally authorizes a commercial weather data pilot program. h.r. 353 authorizes $24 million over the next four years for a pilot program for noaa to purchase commercial space-based weather data and test it against noaa's proprietary data. this kim prove forecasts and -- this can improve forecasts and save the federal government money. it this will allow noaa to continue to -- this will allow noaa to continue to expand on the contracts it awarded next year. this has the potential to be a paradigm-shifting provision. commercial weather data can augment the data we receive from systems such as jpss and ghost while also serving as a mitigation strategy in the event we experience a gap in weather data from these systems. more data from innovative sources has a real potential to improve our forecasting capabilities. could i get another 30 seconds? mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i would

yield the gentleman 30 seconds. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. mr. bridenstine: mr. speaker, i believe there will come a time when there will be zero deaths from tornadoes. i think this bill will help us implement the necessary steps to get there. i once again thank my colleagues on the science committee for all of their very hard work to get this done. and i encourage our counterparts in the senate to move this legislation to the president's desk quickly. with that, i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma yields back. the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lucas, reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from oregon. ms. bonamici: continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentleman from texas, who has guided the science committee ever so carefully for a number of years, chairman smith. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized for five minutes. mr. smith: mr. speaker, first of all, i thank the gentleman from oklahoma and the vice chairman of the science committee for yielding me time. and i thank both him and mr.

bridenstine, another gentleman from oklahoma, and a member of the science committee, for taking the initiative and introducing this legislation. h.r. 353, the weather research and forecasting innovation act of 2017, will transform our nation's weather gathering efforts and help save lives and property. severe weather routinely effects large portions of the united states. nearly every year we witness the devastating effects of tornadoes across our country. the deaths and the damage from these events underscore the need for a world class weather prediction system. h.r. 353 improves weather observation systems by the use of observing system simulation experiments and next generation computing and molding capabilities. this bill strength -- modeling capabilities. this bill strengthening the underlying atmospheric science while advancing innovative technology and reforming operations to provide better whether data models and forecasts. it prompts noaa to actively

employ new commercial data and private sector weather solutions for a multiyear commercial data pilot program. further, it directs noaa to consider commercial data options rather than rely on slow, costly and continually delayed government-owned slights. for too long our government has relied on these massive multibillion-dollar government weather satellites. the science committee has jurisdiction over noaa's satellite office and has conducted ongoing oversight of the agency's satellite program. our conclusion is that it is in real need of reform. over the years, events at noaa have revealed mismanagement, cost overruns and delays of its weather satellites. this detracts from our ability to accurately predict our weather, which unnecessarily endangers americans. this bill will right the ship and allows noaa the flexibility to buy new, affordable and potentially better sources of data from the private sector, which has the power to make

real improvements to our weather forecasting capabilities. it also creates a much-needed technology transfer of fund in noaa's office of oceanic and atmospheric research to help push technologies developed through noaa's weather research into operation. this will ensure that the technologies that are developed are effectively employed and do not sit idle on the lab bench. again, i thank mr. lucas and mr. bridenstine for their initiatives on this issue. americans from coast-to-coast will now be better prepared for severe weather with the passage of this bill. i urge my colleagues to support the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from oregon. ms. bonamici: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. lucas: mr. speaker, i yield myself what time i have left. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized.

mr. lucas: thank you, mr. speaker. i wish to take a moment to thank the gentlelady from oregon, ms. bonamici, for all of her efforts, to bring us to this point. we still have a ways to go ultimately, but great strides. my colleague from oklahoma, mr. en stein, for his input and effort, -- mr. bridenstine, for his input and effort and mr. smith from texas for helping in that critical role of being the catalyst for all of this. from a perspective as a farmer, some will say, what does this really mean? when it comes to trying to gauge how to plant your crops, how to harvest your crops, or whether you're a truck driver driving up and down the highways and byways of america, or a citizen moving around the country, or someone along the coast or, as ms. bonamici pointed out, a fisherman, this information will make your life more efficient, it will make your life safer, it will enhance the productive capacity of this country. this is one of those investments that we will all

gain from. with that, mr. speaker, i have one final request, i'd like to enter into the record an exchange of letters between the science committee and the transportation and infrastructure committee on h.r. 353 -- 535. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. lucas: having no further requests for time, 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 the bill, h.r. 353. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until a spending,

we can say we did what you told us to do. instead, i've got to go home and tell people that the republicans introduced a budget that will add $9.7 trillion. now, i am told oh, we're going to do a better job. in about three or four months from now, we'll do it again. but i tell you what i fear is in three or four months when they come back to do this again, they will say you already voted for it once, why not vote for it again. it's the same thing you voted for last time. it's just the baseline. well, the baseline's not flat. the baseline's increasing at 5% a year, and that's a problem. we have to loo

earlier today, republican senate majority leader, mitch mcconnell, was in new york city at trump tower when he came out, reporters asked him about the confirmation process. mr. connolly: the president-elect and i had a good meeting with the senate agenda which, of course, includes confirming the cabinet appointments, getting further down the road toward repealing and replacing obamacare. mr. mcconnell: we talked about how we're agenda and ready to get going once he gets down there. reporter: -- [inaudible] -- process of vetting --

mr. mcconnell: everyone will be properly vetted as they have in the past. i'm hopeful we'll get up to six or seven, particularly the national security team in place on day one. [inaudible] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] >> and again, senator jeff sessions, the nominee for attorney general. that confirmation hearing beginning tomorrow in front of the senate judiciary committee, . ve coverage on c-span3 also our website, cspan.org. and our free c-span radio app. american federation of teachers president randy winegarden talked today about the future of public education. let's show you some of that now.