federal jail for five years, perhaps, they will stop carrying those guns during that drug dealing and their other activities that are criminal. fewer people get killed. fewer people get killed. so i truly believe that we need to step that up. it's a compassionate thing. if one of these individuals carrying a gun shoots somebody, not only are they a victim, they end up with hammering a sentence in jail for interm nable periods. the culture, the communities are safer with fewer guns in the hands of criminals. senator cornyn: thank you. senator grassley: before we go to senator whitehouse, the people have asked -- members have asked me about our break, and if it's ok with senator sessions, it would work out about 1:00 if we have three on this side and three on this side for the one hour -- >> you can watch the rest of this confirmation hearing as it continues live on our companion net york, c-span3.

you can also see it on our website, c-span.org. we're going live now to the u.s. house today. mebts beginning debate on a bill -- members beginning debate on a deal how companies deal with their market securities. and now here to the house here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. the chaplain: let us pray. god of the universe, we give you thanks for giving us another day. as the early days of the 115th congress play out, we are

mindful and grateful that our nation has once again experienced something so often lacking in our world's experience. the peaceful transition of government. though major change of party controlled did not take place in this chamber, it's still the american experience that our streets are peaceful and winners and losers of elections move on with their lives and dignity. we thank you, again, for the inspiration of our nation's founders and the legacy they left us with. may the members of this americans be ll worthy of that legacy. and may all that is done in the people's house be for your

greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on speaker's the approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. mr. wilson: mr. speaker. the speaker: for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask for the speak approval of the yeas and nays. the speaker: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will please rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from .ichigan, mr. bergman

mr. bergman: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: will the gentleman from oregon please enter the well and raise his right hand? do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear truth faith and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter so help you god? >> i do. the speaker: congratulations. you are now a member of the 115 th congress. under clause 5 of rule 20, the chair announces to the house in

light of the administration of he house -- of the oath of the member-elect, the whole number of the house is now 435. the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized. wil mr. wilson: mr. speaker, the clemson university tigers achieved the national college football championship in what was an incredible ending. trailing for most of the game, the clemson tigers refused to e defeated, culminating in a come-from-behind win at literally the last second. throughout the entire season, the clemson football team has shown guts, grit and determination to their team, their school and the state of south carolina. this was a well-deserved win for a remarkable school and

remarkable program. i join my two sons, julian and hunter who graduated from clemson and clemson fans in celebrating this historic victory. congratulations to clemson perstars desean watson and vin who were most valuable player. congratulations, klem, to jim and his wife, beth. in conclusion, god bless our troops and may the president by his actions never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. congratulations dabo swinney and the entire football family. go, tigers. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from south carolina yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina eek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman from north carolina s recognized for one minute. ms. adams: mr. speaker, i

reject the repeal of the affordable care act. many have gained affordable health care through the affordable care act. one of those residents is ms. darlene harris of charlotte, north carolina, who was born with a hole in her heart and each and every breath she's taken was a miracle. when her heart was beats away om rupturing, her father's insurance saved her life. that's to a.c.a., she is free from the burden. repeal of the affordable care act would condemn millions of hardworking americans and their loved ones to the nightmare of the past when pre-existing conditions were not covered. it's imperative we not ignore the pleas of our fellow americans. it has it will continue to save the lives of our family, neighbors and friends. i urge my colleagues to absolutely object to any repeal of the affordable care act. i yield back, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from north carolina yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous

consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, this week kicks off in north america an international auto show in detroit. mr. walberg: i never miss the greatest show on earth. this year there is plenty to celebrate. just yesterday, fiat chrysler announce it had would create 2,000 jobs and invest $1 billion to modernize manufacturing plants in michigan and ohio. and last week, ford scrapped plans for its facility in mexico and instead promised to invest $700 million at the flat rock plant. this move will bring 700 new jobs to michigan. these are exciting developments for our state's economy and good-paying jobs for our dedicated and talented work force. mr. speaker, as everyone will see at this year's auto show, michigan continues to lead the way in car manufacturing. working together we can keep michigan on the forefront of

innovation and mobility and keep making the best cars and trucks in the world right in our back yard, the motor capital of the world. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> request permission to address the house for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one minute. mr. green: mr. speaker, members, let's not make america sick again. i'm disappointed my republican colleagues are trying to undo the historic progress we've made by expanding health coverage under the affordable care act. repealing it and leaving millions of americans with no coverage. while repeal and replace was an abstract talking point for years, it's clear there's no plan for replacement. no plan. the new phrase repeal and delay will in effect be repeal and chaos with no place -- no plan in place. repeal will have real-life personal impact on 30 million americans who will stand to lose their health insurance. the options for the 129 million

americans with pre-existing conditions who have new-found health security would disappear. we would be returning to a time of lifetime limits, annual caps for care and consumers will be sold junk health plans at high cost. not only will the newly insured suffer repeal, it will destabilize the health insurance market, send it into disarray. let's not make america sick again. let's not have no repeal without replacement. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today to say thank you to the people of michigan's first congressional district for giving me the opportunity to represent them in congress. i'd like to thank my wife, cindy, and children and grandchildren for their constant and unwavering support. mr. bergman: it's truly an honor and privilege to be here and i'm so humbled to be doing the people's work in the house of representatives.

i came to congress not only to restore common sense and fiscal sanity to the federal government, but most importantly to serve the constituents of michigan's first district and to be their voice in washington. we have a new opportunity ahead of us to bring industry and prosperity back to the american people. but it's up to us here in congress to do the work and put in the long hours it will take to get there. and my promise today is that i will work tirelessly for my district and do everything i can to make sure we're leaving a better country for our children and grandchildren. again, thank you to the people of michigan's first congressional district for this opportunity. i yield the rest of my time back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from massachusetts seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, since the affordable care act was signed into law, millions of americans have gained access to valuable health care services and every

american has seen their health insurance benefits improve. ms. tsongas: while there are ways the affordable care act can be improved, we cannot afford to go back to the days when big insurance companies had the power to decide what care americans could receive, deny coverage to children with diagnosed conditions, cancel coverage when people got sick and place limits on the amount of care people can receive. last week carol lody from harvard, massachusetts, in my district called and told her story. she and her husband gained health care coverage under the affordable care act. she is 61. her husband is 63. they are self-employed. she said, quote, if we lose the insurance we don't know what we'll do, unquote. mr. speaker, please listen to the lodi family and millions of other families like them. don't turn tony blair back on them and mack -- don't turn your back on them and make america sick again. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition?

mr. carter: to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. mr. carter: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize dr. thomas, a commissioner in chatham county, georgia, a champion of our area's local youth and a savannah native. in 1990, dr. thomas was first elected to serve as commissioner in chatham county. during her tenure, she became chairman pro tempore and later the first minority and female vice chairman. however, long before she entered government, dr. thomas was already dedicated to creating more opportunities and better lives for young people. she worked as a principal in haven elementary school in savannah after earning a ph.d. from the university of north america. when she was elected to serve as commissioner in 1990 she continued to use her passion for young people to provide entertaining and enlightening activities for them, including the chatham county youth commission and the summer of

bonanza partnership. on december 16, 2016, dr. thomas attended her final county commission meeting and retired from her 26 years as chatham county commissioner. she will always be remembered for being one of the toughest, fairest and most well-informed members of our local government and for her 60 years serving young people. she certainly will be missed. thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to voice my strong opposition to the confirmation of jeff sessions as attorney general. in a 2016 speech, then senator sessions wrongfully misstated, and i quote, fundamentally almost no one coming from the dominican republic to the united states is coming here because they have a skill that will benefit us and that will indicate their likely success in our society.

mr. espaillat: when i was years old i immigrated to the united states without any papers and now a member of congress. mr. sessions, have i not succeeded in america? members, of dominican i stand here on the floor of the united states house of representatives as a proud dominican american. mr. sessions, you are wrong in thinking and wrong for our country. i urge my colleagues to oppose the confirmation of jeff sessions as attorney general. hateful speech and raceful rhetoric have no place in our american society. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new york yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to our nation's law

enforcement men and women. i respect and appreciate the important work of our police throughout the nation who are charged with the critical work of protecting the people in our states and our local communities. the heartbreaking violent targeting of our nation's police officers recently demonstrates the dangers these men and women face every day. mr. hill: every american is so proud as our many neighbors and fellow citizens get up every morning, put on their local law enforcement uniform and their badge, kiss their families goodbye and go out and serve us, keeping our cities and towns safe and trying to build trust and faith among all of our citizens. . our law enforcement men and women in arkansas and throughout the country deserve our gratitude and respect. i proudly displayed a blue light in my office window to honor our law enforcement men and women. and thank them for their

selfless service. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, last week we observed a moment of silence to remember the victims six years after the tucson shooting. just yesterday another moment of silence to remember the five people killed and six wounded when they were shot while waiting at the fort lauderdale airport baggage claim. in those awful moments after the shooting, the airport was thrown into chaos and confusion, but before we knew anything of the circumstances, every american could tell what you would come next. mr. deutch: because congress has developed a well worn routine in response to gun violence. first, shocking news of a deadly shooting. followed by thoughts and prayers. followed by a moment of silence on this floor. followed by a complete failure to take action. to truly honor the victims,

moments of silence must be followed by productive discussions of policy. what will we do to make our communities safer? i ask my republican colleagues, meet with me, let's at least start a conversation here on the house floor. we can no longer remain silent during this epidemic of gun violence, thoughts and prayers are all that we have offered the american people and that is not enough. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. mr. bilirakis: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to talk about the families that are feeling the burden of obamacare. premiums have skyrocketed an average of 19% in our state. and insurers are fleeing the market left and right. in fact, 73% of counties in florida only have one insurance

provider. leaving people with higher costs and less choice when it comes to their health care. this is why the president's health care law has failed the people of florida. and now republicans are offering up solid solutions to make our nation's health care system work for everyone. without pulling the rug out from anybody's feet. we're focused on a more affordable, more personalized health care plan that empowers patients, not washington. i'm proud to serve on the energy and commerce health care subcommittee as we begin our first steps this week to bring relief to the people of florida and our nation. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized for one minute. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. as we were home over the christmas holiday break, so many calls that came into my office

dealt with the obamacare issues. a rise in premiums, the lack of affordability. here is one example. a 64-year-old man, his premiums, $30,000, deductible, $12,000. indeed, too expensive to afford and too expensive to use. but we do have a plan for repealing and replacing. you will find it at a better way. this will help lift the financial burden from many americans who are currently facing high costs due to obamacare. our plan allows patients greater access to affordable care and affordable insurance. our next step includes my legislation, h.r. 314, it's the health care choice act of 2017. what it will do is allow greater access, more choice, more options, by allowing a

cross-state-line purchasing of health insurance. you find the plan that is most suited to you and your family at a price that you can afford. it is time for us to repeal and replace with good, patient-centered options. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. poliquin: mr. speaker, you might -- mr. polis: mr. speaker, you might recall during the campaign, president-elect donald trump promised to build a wall with mexico and of course make the mexican government pay for it. well, now we're hearing that republicans intend to come to this body, congress, to spend your hard-earned money and mine, american taxpayer money, to build a wall with mexico. they're estimating $10 billion to $12 billion. comprehensive immigration reform, which i was proud to support last session, we had over $40 billion for border security, so apparently donald trump is building 1/4 of the wall, all directly with deficit

spending. in comprehensive immigration reform, we not only paid for that border security, not only paid for that $40 billion, and required people who were here illegally to pay fines and register and get right with the law, it actually reduces the budget deficit by over $200 billion. over 10 years. so what we have, 1/4 of the wall, deficit spending, with donald trump. with democrats, four times the wall, reduce the deficit by $200 billion. mr. speaker, the choice is obvious. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to commemorate law enforcement appreciation day. a day we set aside to thank those who risk their lives to protect our communities nationwide. these men and women are the hidden heroes of our country and they deserve our respect and our gratitude. when they put on their badge and

kiss their family goodbye each day, these officers have no certainty that they will return home safely. they willingly face that risk to keep the rest of us safe. this past year, 135 law enforcement officers made the ultimate sacrifice. mr. lahood: one of those courageous individuals was our own officer scott fitzgerald, who lost his life serving on duty with the south jacksonville police department located in my district. last night, throughout the capitol, -- capital, blue lights were lit to honor our heroes in blue. in my office, we lit our blue candle in remembrance of fallen officer, scott fitzgerald. in 2016, more officers lost their lives on duty than in any of the previous five years. let us show our admiration and appreciation to the sworn law enforcement officers across the state of illinois and the 900,000 who serve and face danger in the united states

every day. not just this week, but throughout the year, we need to honor our law enforcement officials. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for one minute. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i sadly rise today to pay tribute to judge bruce moser who lost his life yesterday. to his lovely and beautiful wife, diane, beautiful daughter, extended family, the whole of harris county in texas loved and respected judge bruce moser. he was a strong and vibrant democrat. but he was a man that, whenever you called upon him, he would serve. he loved the law, practiced and continued to represent individuals, many of whom could not help themselves. and of course he stood by his

wife's side, championing every effort she made to empower people to vote. he was a stalwart in the last presidential election, continuing to encourage and support all of us to do what is right and to ensure the rights of all people to vote. judge bruce moser served his neighborhood, served his county, served his state and served this nation. i will miss judge moser. i'll miss his friendly smile and his kindness, his willingness to help those who were just starting in their political or legal career. the willingness to lift up this country and to be the kind of american that always had an open mind to anyone, no matter how different they might be. so today, my dear friend, judge bruce moser, may you rift in peace. diane, -- rest in peace. diane, we will continue to love you and honor his legacy, work with you to continue his dreams and aspirations and encourage

those in this nation, our county and our state to be -- to participants in the wonderment of democracy in this nation. that was bruce moser. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized for one inute. mr. olson: mr. speaker, on november 8, the american people gave my party control of the entire congress and the white house because of the promise-breaking, job-killing law known as obamacare. the craziest thing in the whole world, according to president bill clinton. the fear mongers on the other side are -- tell americans,

they'll lose their health care in a snap. they should talk to martha. martha is a self-employed c.p.a. who developed a nasty leukemia a couple of years ago. she was told to get ready for the end of her life. a miracle happened. experimental treatment reduced her cancer from grade three to grade one. the drugs to save her life cost 15,000 per month on october -- -- month. on october -- because of obamacare, they was told she had to pay 50% that are -- 50% of that cost instead of 30%. hat's tough for her to afford. martha got to hold her fifth grandkid this past summer. house republicans want her to hold her sixth and seventh grandkid in the future. we have our orders to repeal obamacare, it's time to go to work. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize seven elk county catholic high school band students who performed on december 7 at pearl harbor, hawaii. for the 75th anniversary of the tragic attacks that brought the united states into world war ii. this anniversary marks one of the major milestones which may be one of the few opportunities for survivors of the attacks to participate. elk county catholic represented the commonwealth, alongside the survivors of the u.s.s. pennsylvania, one of the eight battleships in pearl harbor on that fateful day in 1941. i'm so proud of how the students paid tribute to world war ii veterans who served at pearl harbor and all the military men and women that fought for our

nation. this event was especially close whose hearts of luke grandfather is a world war ii veteran. also performing in the honor and was emily miller, kendra smithmouser, molly kim, andrew, simon and nathan. congratulations to each of them. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to recognize the 10th anniversary of the founding of friends of st. jude, miami. st. jude children's research hospital located in memphis, tennessee, is a leading institution in the fight against pediatric cancer and other diseases that harm children. friends of st. jude, miami, is made up of young professionals in south florida who, like my

dear friend, wendy grant, are dedicated to st. jude's life-saving mission, and who have continued to help the organization to ensure that no family ever receives the bill for the world class care their son or daughter requires. to wendy and indeed all of the members of the friends of st. jude in south florida, thank you for the difference you continue to make in the lives of children across our nation and across the world. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. last night, as we all watched football, no matter who you rooted for, team sports still come down to individuals. last night a young man named deshaun watson, favorite son of georgia, my hometown, showed the character that i have witnessed since he was a young boy, playing with my son in the

little flag football league. mr. collins: his athletic ability has never been quip questioned and last night it was on full display for the world to believe. i believe he is the best college football player in the country. beyond football playing, he's a better man. he's looking forward, his leadership of his team, his leadership of his classmates, and the leadership he has thrown in his community back in gainesville is exemplary and will not be forgotten. gainesville is proud of its favorite son, deshaun watson, and the national championship he won last night with his team, clemson, during the football game. but as everything in life, as the game ended, it reminded us that the games are played by men of character. deshaun watson is a man of character and look forward to watching his career as he goes forward. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? . without objection, the gentleman from florida is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize and congratulate the other gainesville, the niversity of florida machine

and laboratory. the intelligence laboratory engineering team won a world championship beating 12 teams from five countries at the maritime robotic challenge in hawaii. this team comprised of u.s. students that completed a number of different obstacles including navigating through buies all without human intervention. mr. yoho: i'm proud of the inspiring work being done in florida's third congressional district. the dedication displayed by these students and professor are an outstanding example of the success that comes from hard work. it is the dream of the students and scientists like these of today who will go on to create the innovations of tomorrow, that will make this country great again. i'm honored to announce their accomplishments and look forward to witnessing their continued success. and as a u.f. alumni i would be

remiss not to say, go gators. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, seek recognition? mr. collins: mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up -- i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its consideration. the clerk: house resolution 36, resolved, that the following named members be and are hereby elected to the following standing committees of the house of representatives -- committee on armed services, mr. jones, mr. wilson of south carolina, mr. lobiondo, mr. bishop of utah, mr. turner, mr. rogers of alabama, mr. franks of arizona, mr. shuster, mr. conaway, mr. lamborn, mr. wittman, mr. hunter, mr. coffman, ms. hertzler, mr. brooks of alabama, mr. cook, mr. bridenstine, mr. wenstrup, mr. byrne, mr. graves of missouri, ms. stefanik, ms.

mcsally, mr. knight, mr. russell, mr. desjarlais, mr. kelly of mississippi, mr. gallagher, mr. gaetz, mr. banks of indiana, ms. cheney. committee on the budget, mr. tom price of georgia, mr. diaz-balart, mr. cole, mr. mcclintock, mr. rokita, mr. booedal, mr. sanford, mr. womack, mr. brat, mr. grothman, mr. palmer, mr. westerman, mr. renacci, mr. johnson of ohio, mr. lewis of minnesota, mr. bergman, mr. faso, mr. smucker, mr. gaetz, mr. arrington and mr. ferguson. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, seek recognition? mr. collins: i offer a privileged resolution. the clerk: house resolution 37, resolved, that at 10:30 a.m. on friday, january 20, 2017, the house shall proceed to the west front of the capitol for the

purpose of attending the inaugural ceremonies of the president and vice president of the united states and that upon the conclusion of the ceremonies the house stands adjourned until noon on monday, january 23, 2017, for morning hour debate and 2:00 p.m. for legislative business. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, seek recognition? collins mr. speaker, by the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 33 and ask its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 2, house resolution 33, resolved,that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 5, to reform the process by which federal agencies analyze and formulate new regulations and guidance documents, to clarify the

nature of judicial review of agency interpretations, to ensure complete analysis of potential impacts on small entities of rules, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the majority leader and the minority leader or their respective designees. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the bill shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. no amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent,

shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 79, to clarify the definition of general solicitation under federal securities law. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be

confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on financial services or their respective designees. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the bill shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. no amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted.

the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or ithout instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. for purposes of debate on, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. during consideration of this resolution is all time yielded is for purposes of debate only. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. collins: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on house resolution 33, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i am pleased today to bring forth this rule on behalf of the rules committee. the rule provides for consider of h.r. 5, the regulatory accountability act, and h.r. 79, the helping angels lead our startups, our hail oast act. the rule provides for an hour of debate equally divided between the majority and

minority leader and chairman of the financial services committee. and it provides a motion to recommit for both pieces of legislation. yesterday, the rules committee had an opportunity to hear from tom marino and hank johnson on behalf of the judiciary committee and congressman huizenga on behalf of the financial services committee. we also heard from several members on both sides of the aisle to testify on their amendments. the rules committee made in order both amendments submitted for the halos act and also 16 amendments for members on both sides of the aisle for the regulatory accountability act. mr. speaker, i spoke from this podium last week about the positive and pro-growth agenda we in the majority are advancing. they help us return to commonsense governance that fosters economic success. h.r. 79, the halos act, was introduced by my friend from ohio, the chairman of the small business committee, mr. steve chabot. last congress very similar legislation passed the house with my support and by an overwhelming bipartisan majority. the halos act ensures that so-called angel investors who

serve as the largest funding source for startups in the united states are able to effectively hold educational, economic developments like demo days. the bill also helps ensures startups can connect with angel investors who can serve as funding sources, mentors and outside directors. in plain english, the halos act helps ensure that small and innovative and startups have access to necessary capital. this enables the company to expand and generate jobs that put americans back to work while fueling our economy as a global hub of innovation. mr. speaker, in order to keep america's market competitive, we must relieve americans -- american job creators -- we can move toward this by helping government function as our founders intended. our constitution, you see, lays out a system of three co-equal branches of government meant to provide checks and balances on one another. but over time we have allowed cracks to form in that system and have gradually seen the

executive services usurp from the elected officials of the legislative branch to the detriment of the hardworking americans and legislative powers. we have seen them put regulations on family farmers and individuals. these bureaucrats are isolated from the very entities they are trying to regulate. congress must stop ceding authority to the executive and reassert the power of the legislative branch to write law. the regulatory account act act helps us do just that. it helps us ensure burdensome rules that handcuff american jobs are not crushing our economy, our competitive or our future. it also restores common sense to the rulemaking process. you see h.r. 5, the regulatory accountability act, puts together six bills that previously passed the house. i am a proud co-sponsor of this legislation and i'd like to cha chairman chabot, chairman goodlatte and marino for their work on this legislation. congressman ratcliffe and luetkemeyer put things to the

package. the bill reforms the process by which they analyze and formulate new regulations and guidance documents clarifies the nature of judicial review of the interpretation and calls for complete analysis of the potential impact of rules on small entities. h.r. 5 includes the text of the separation of powers act which amends the administrative procedures act to overturn two doctrines that calls for judicial deference to agency interpretations of statutory and regulation interpretations. it presents -- prevents federal bureaucrats from interpreting the legality of their own regulations at the expense of hardworking americans and the constitutional separation of powers. title 1 of the regulatory accountability act requires agencies when establishing new rules to consider the lowest cost option that meets statutory requirements. the bill also provides for more public input in the rulemaking process. title 4 of the bill providing accountability through

transparency act, requires company to have new proposed rules online. these proposals are not far-fetched. instead therks provide more information and a voice to the american people while reining in agencies have have gotten drunk over their rulemaking power. mr. speaker, our current administration issued over 600 major regulations with an economic impact of over $740 billion. these numbers show the staggering amount of rules put forth by the executive branch but nowhere are the true cost of regulations highlighted than in the stories i hear from my constituents. i know that members have heard similar stories all across the nation, and we're seeing the toll of overregulation has taken on growth and competitiveness. back home in northeast georgia, albert county is known as the granite capital of the rule. t that industry is jeopardized. and of course there is the waters of the u.s.a. rule which could negatively impact everyone from farmers to ranchers to realtors. the labeling rule is another

misguided regulation that the administration has put forth without impunity. it cost restaurants and consumers. in all actuality hurting the ones it proclaims to help. this is the irony of many of these regulations. sadly, they're borne out in the cost to the american people. last year the e.p.a. finalized a rule establishing federal standards for residential wood heaters. in rural districts like mine, many individuals may count on wood heaters to keep their families warm. the e.p.a. will raise cost for consumers and undermine families' decisions what type of heater may work best for them. mr. speaker, is this really where we want to go? having the federal government decide things like this, away from the scrutiny of the elected body? i think not. the examples of the administration numerous and important leave this problem of overregulation is not unique to this administration this is not a republican, democrat problem. this is a balance of power problem.

this is a problem between branches not doing what they're supposed to be doing and staying within that. the regulatory accountability act helps ensure that this administration and future administrations do not ignore congress by writing law through regulation. it returns transparency to the process. it restores congress' rightful place as the legislative branch and reins in the unelected fourth branch that regulators have become. mr. speaker, many of the bills in this package have previously passed with bipartisan support. i hope my colleagues can continue to agree that congress should make the laws and that we should do so in such a way that encourages growth, innovation and american ingenuity. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i thank the gentleman from virginia for the customary 30 minutes. we'll get to the content of the bills in a moment. there's a procedural issue here

that disenfranchises millions of american citizens in this process. we are in the 115th congress since the founding of this country. we were just sworn in last week to begin it. there are 56 new members that have just started serving last week that have never served in this body before. and there are 56 people that served in last session that are no longer with us. what we're doing here is we're taking bills that those former representatives worked on and new representatives have not worked on and advancing them to the floor without going through committee, without going through the regular order. so, for example, you have two bills, h.r. 5 and h.r. 79, we'll talk about them in a moment. these are financial services bills. they should have gone to that committee and members of that committee, democratic and republican, would have had the chance to amend those bills in

that committee and mark it up before it comes to the floor. that's the normal process. both parties are now instituting those committees. we're putting people on them. i heard you, mr. speaker, read just before we began this debate how a number of members were officially appointed to those committees. that's what we do in our first week or two. 56 new mens -- members should have a say on these bills. they'll get a vote on the floor on these bills. but they were completely excluded from the committee process that wrote these bills and that's wrong, mr. speaker, to not allow 56 new members of this body to be the lawmakers that the people of their districts elected them to do. in fact, it disenfranchises the tens of millions of people collectively that those 56 members represent. i hope that for future legislation we can move through regular order and allow the new members, as well as those who

are returning, to be part of the law making process. with regards to these bills, we have largely seen these bills in prior sessions, that people who are no longer in this body worked on, and the halos act, i was proud to support last session and i'm proud to support again, it addresses a potentially real problem. now, there is guidance from the s.e.c. that in our rules committee yesterday i questioned the subcommittee chair that largely addresses those concerns, but it's better to do it in statute and it's better to do in the broader language that's included in the bill, which is why many democrats, i hope a majority, support the halos act. the united states is the leader in innovation in the global economy. and this is a small piece of that, right? what we're talking about here are demo days, where entrepreneurs can pitch their idea. i personally have been able to attend a number of those.

it's a question of who can be in the room when that occurs. should it only be millionaires who are allowed in that room? or can it be the next great generation of entrepreneurs? can it be students, can it be aspiring entrepreneurs, can it be community members who want to learn what it means to pitch and how to do it and how ideas are spread or maybe they're looking for a job. it doesn't change who can invest in those start-up companies. they still have to be qualified investors. by the way, i hope we have the opportunity to work with republicans on the definition of qualified investor, because i think the unfair to restrict investment opportunities to multimillionaires. and ed to allow educated qualified investors of all levels. just because somebody's rich doesn't mean that they're a good . vestor and just because somebody has not yet earned a lot of money

doesn't mean that they can't be trusted to invest $10,000 or $50,000 of their own money. we made progress in the original jobs act with the result of crowdfunded investing but that's only a small piece, almost an insignificant peels. private placements are the much -- piece. private placements are the much larger piece of the puzzle. if there's a way we can have the alternative to the net worth test that allows individuals to perhaps take a qualitative test of their knowledge and therefore qualify as anvester, they ought to be able to do that too -- as an investor, they ought to be able to do that too. this bill does not do that. that's something that will take democrats and republicans to work together on to allow opportunity for all people, not just millionaires and billionaires. but what this bill does is it continues to restrict the actual investors to the millionaires. ok? but it allows other people in the room at least. that's a start. it allows an m.b.a. student, who him or herself wants to perhaps come up with their own company,

to hear 10 or 20 companies' pitch to so they can assemble their own deck -- pitch so they can assemble their own deck. someone who may have value to give as a mentor, maybe they're not quite worth a couple million dollars, maybe they're only worth only, right, $500,000, maybe they were a reasonably successful person worth $500,000, but they have a lot of knowledge to give. without the halo act, it would be unclear whether that person would be allowed in the room. we want to make sure that mentors, up and coming, young pressures, and frankly up and coming pressures of all ages have access to the knowledge and the learning that can occur in these pitch events. congress has a role in making sure we have laws in place that really helped build an environment that promotes innovation. when we passed the jobs act in 2012 that allowed for crowdfunding, congress took a step forward. we have room to go there, room to go with private placements. the halos act is a small step, but it's a good one. and a noncontroversial one.

creates a clear path for start-ups to participate in demo days, sponsored by government entities, nonprofits, angel investment groups, etc. and a clear safe harbor from the s.e.c., with regard to the definition of general solicitation, to make a clear -- make it clear that business ectngs -- experts and others can be in the room while maintaining that only existing accredited investors can actually participate in offerings under regulation d for the purchases or sale of securities that are mentioned in those demonstrations. currently sponsors of demo days are relying on the 12-year-old no action letter by the s.e.c. to make sure that they don't face the consequences of failing to comply. lines outlined by the s.e.c.'s no action letter actually incorporated into the halo act. so in many ways this clarifies and puts in statute something that has been at the whim of the s.e.c. for too long. my college from georgia and others -- cliegecleeg from georgia and others will --

colleague from georgia and others will join me in talking about the importance of angel investors, tomorrow's entrepreneur to raise the resources they need to hire people and succeed. the venter -- center for venture research says that angel investors invested $24.6 billion in small businesses in every area, every congressional district of our country. many of those were start-ups in the early stages of building a company. tomorrow's company that employs 10,000 or even 50,000 people is today's garage startup trying to figure out how to get 50,000 or -- $50,000 or raise $100,000 to make their payroll or buy their inventory. angel investors focus their investment on local start-ups. much more so than, for instance, national venture capital firms that tend to be clustered at the coast. it's an important way we can continue to grow the economy and every zip code in this country. across the heartland and the

middle of the country, not just the coasts, where the venture capital firms themselves are situated. the colorado-based digital home design firm, havenen leaf, started by two sisters, utilized demo days and networking opportunities to perfect their pitch to investors, a very common path. after participating in a 500 start-up demo day, they received nearly $13 million in investment capital from qualified investors. now they're a thriving business, employs hundreds of interior designers across the country, and i'm proud to say has a staff of 40 people in their colorado headquarters. they're a perfect example of how demo days provide opportunities to start-ups that create real jobs for real people in our country. halos simply gives the same opportunities to other startups that is thousands of others have had when getting off the ground. i believe the halos act is the appropriate approach to regulatory relief, i appreciate the bipartisan nature of the legislation. it's targeted to provide clarity around a specific potential problem. and certainty around what these

events can entail. now, there is another bill under this rule as well. it's a bad bill. not a strong bipartisan bill. it's called h.r. 79. since we began the 115th congress here, my republicans are promoting a deregulation agenda but often this agenda results in this body, congress, potentially being buried in having to do in ordernant amounts of work to review the executive branch of government. we all believe in oversight of the executive branch. believe me, mr. speaker, you're going to hear many democrats speaking up about how important oversight of the executive branch is, particularly for the incoming administration. but we are not the executive branch. congress delegates authority to agencies, under the laws we write, to nil in gaps and decide how best to implement the law. if we disagree, we can always change or amend the authorizing statute to make it more clear

the intent of this body. however, these bills being brought to the floor by the republicans would either require congress to spell out exactly what ways to implement a policy in a changing -- changing world, or give the authority of how to interpret and implement law to the judicial system. neither of which are wise or expedient choice, regardless of the presidency. while i certainly will have more sympathy with this approach, with president trump in the white house and president obama in the white house, i still believe this is the wrong way to go about the separation of powers under our constitution. this bill sets out 60 new analytical requirements that agency actions must meet before they can be implemented. in other words, any attempt by agencies to protect the public from toxic substances, make sure our planes and trains are meeting safety regulations, or make sure our food is toxin-free, would be subject to 60 new bureaucratic hurdles, effectively creating more and more red tape to tie the

bureaucracy up, rather than make their work quicker and more efficient. which is what democrats seek to do. this bill would bury the agency rulemaking process under a blizzard of bureaucratic hurdles and documentation requirements. literally burying the executive and administrative branch of government. in red tape and paperwork. this bill would hold the regulatory process hostage to the whims of the very corporations and bureaucrats whose rulemaking it's designed to address. the process of the bills calls for have been roundly discredited by so many experts on regulatory policy from the left and the right and consumer advocates as well. the administrative law and regulatory practices section of the american bar association stated that these burdens would reduce transparency, reduce public input, threaten public safety and, most importantly, not result in any better rules. this bill is nothing other than a recycled effort that 56 members of this body have not had a chance to participate in

writing through the committee process, to slow down the government and get in the way of agency rulemakings that are critical for protecting public health, safety and our environment. we're simply failing our constituents that we're elected to serve by spending time on legislation that would deliberately s&p sabotage on our ability for our government to function efficiently. a bill that would make government less efficient. that's not what i hear when i'm back home with my constituents, democrat, republican, independent. i don't hear, go to washington and make government less efficient. my constituents want got got -- want government to be more efficient. finally, this bill that's being considered and you structured rule limiting the amendment process, there are over 30 amendments filed and we're considering 16 amendments under this very overly restrictive rule. particularly onerous because, again, there was no opportunity for the 56 new members, through the committee process, to amend this bill. there was a new member that appeared before the rules committee yesterday. unfortunately he was not even

allowed to advance his amendment to the floor under this rule. another example of an amendment offered by a new member, ms. blunt rochester, filed an eament that -- amendment that would ensure that lgbt employs are protected from workplace discrimination. it would allow federal agencies tasked with protecting the civil rights of employees to continue to do their work without being handstrung with unnecessary requirements. civil rights protections do not fit neatly into a corporate monetary analysis and our government is -- has a responsibility to ensure all americans are protected from arbitrary or unjust discrimination based on race or gender or sexual orientation or gender identity. given the breadth and scope of this legislation, an open amendment process would have allowed to amendment to be debated if the majority wanted, perhaps even voted down, although i hope a majority would have approved it and would have produced a more thoughtful piece of legislation. yet we're not even allowed to have that debate on the floor of the house. which is why this rule is wrong. and why i stand in strong opposition to it. we should be considering

legislation to create permanent high-paying jobs, investing in infrastructure to grow our communities, figuring our broken immigration system and streamlining and improving our tax system through tax reform, rather than recycling old bills that is 56 menses have not even had the opportunity -- members have not even had the opportunity to put their inprint on. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the rule for those very reasons and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate the opportunity and i appreciate my friend from across the aisle. but i think there could be no better way, mr. speaker, than to start this congress fresh and with some understanding. mr. speaker, the very clear, became obvious to this -- to the members here on the floor, that there is a discussion going on and if, mr. speaker, if members would like to see the difference that's being portrayed here on the floor today, then it's very obvious, there is one party that is really concerned about tying the hands of bureaucrats and there's one party, the majority,

that is looking to untie the hands of the american people. . i think i'll side on the hands of the american people and job promoters and those who earn a living. when it gets to the point and understanding, we'll start this off, we worked on this last congress, i'll talk about it again here. let's not start the strawman republicans are wanting to do away with all regulations. we're not, we want government to operate in the most efficient manner possible and do what it needs to do but get out of the way. this is the issue. the problem of government is many times the government overstepped where it needs to be. it needs to be out of the way to start with. also i do like to at least clear the record and make something understood. at the beginning of the year we're bringing to the bill, we had a full rules committee hearing yesterday. and people were able to offer amendments. not all amendments were made in order. 16 amendments were made in order on both sides of the aisle. but i would like to remind, mr. speaker, mr. speaker, as we go back in history, that we are

promoting discussion here in the rules committee and bringing it to the floor and allowing members to talk about amendments and give the opportunity to. i'll just remind the speaker that in the 111th congress, which was controlled by my friends across the aisle, in the very first rule bill they brought to the rules for the house they put two major bills in the rules package that did not get a rules hearing, did not get anything except pushed to the floor. i think we'll stand on the firm we're pushing to the floor stuff america cares about and doing it in a way in which people can participate. speaking of that, the american people, especially the good folks of nebraska, have sent to us a new member and i have gotten the chance to know him. mr. speaker, it's a privilege to yield to the gentleman from omaha, mr. bacon, for three minutes. welcome him to the floor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for three minutes. mr. bacon: i rise today in support of the rule and underlying bill which it provides for.

h.r. 5, regulatory accountability act of 2017. i promised our district in eastern nebraska i would work my hardest to rein in an out-of-control bureaucracy burdening our nation with over 3,000 new regulations each year. an accumulative cost of these regulations passed this year cost approximately $2 trillion. almost 10%, roughly 10% of our g.d.p. that's a tremendous burden. it largely falls on our small businesses and farmers, community banks. i meet often with our local small business owners. the top concern i hear, i hear it over and over is that regulations and obamacare are preventing them from growing and some cases making it very difficult for them to stay afloat. there is anger the health of our businesses, not being undermined by competition or new technology, but they are being undermined by their own government. and are angry about it. i have promised our district i would be a warrior in pushing back on these regulations and on

bureaucracy that's on steroids. that's what we're doing today. by passing h.r. 5 and passing these rules. i think one of the members of the very first congress and the writer of our constitution would be proud today to see h.r. 5 passed. james madison thought the separation of powers was vital to the safeguarding of our republic. in recent years we have seen that separation of powers undermined. by an overzealous bureaucracy that creates laws and executes those laws and often acts as their own appeal authority. madison said the accumulation of powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands is the very definition of tyranny. today we move forward or towards the right balance. towards restoring the separation of powers and lifting the burden that's been put on our businesses and farmers. i urge support for the rule and the underlying bill. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized.

mr. polis: when we defeat the previous question i'll offer an amendment to the rule that would bring up the bill to establish a national commission to investigate foreign interference in the 2016 election. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: mr. speaker, we have all been so concerned with the reports from our own intelligence agencies about foreign interference in the 2016 american elections. to discuss our proposal i yield four minutes to the distinguished gentleman from maryland, the ranking member of the committee on oversight and government reform, mr. cummings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for four minutes. mr. cummings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in strong opposition to this rule so that it can be amended to include consideration of h.r. 356, protecting our democracy act. which is sponsored by mr.

swalwell of california and yours truly. ladies and gentlemen, we're presently in a struggle for the sole of our democracy. this legislation would create an independent commission to examine russian attacks on our electoral process. i'm pleased that all of my house democratic colleagues have joined this bill and that similar legislation has been introduced in the senate. i want to be clear about why we are here today. it is not just about the past. it is about the future. the c.i.a., the f.b.i., and the n.s.a. have issued a declassified report warning that russian entities acted under the orders of putin to execute, and i quote, an influenced campaign,

end of quote, and they say they did this, and i quote again, to undermine public faith in the united states' democratic process. again i say our democracy is under attack. our intelligence agencies explained that moscow's attacks will not end with the attacks they launched in 2016. they warn that moscow, and i quote, will apply lessons learned from its campaign aimed at u.s. presidential elections to future influence efforts in the united states and worldwide. democracy under attack. these russian attacks on our electoral process were attacks on our constitution. they were attacks on our people. and they were attacks on our great nation.

and our intelligence agencies are warning us that if we do not respond now, the russians will attack us again. ladies and gentlemen, we must not take our democracy for granted. we must guard this democracy. and we must guard the fundamental foundation of that democracy and that is a vote and a vote with integrity. we're all members of the congress of the united states of america. we have taken an oath to protect and defend our constitution and our great nation. that is what this legislation is about. it is not about donald trump. it is not about hillary clinton. it is not about republicans, democrats, or independents. it is not even about 2016.

it is about our future and generations yet unborn. we cannot allow ourselves to be distracted from our solemn duty and our solemn oath. we cannot allow foreign attacks on our electoral process to become normal or inevitable. they are neither. this legislation attempts to rise above politics. if there was any moment in our history where we should be rising above politics, it is this moment. this commission is intended to be truly bipartisan. to have an equal number of democrats and republicans. to examine how russia and any other foreign powers interfered with our elections, including hacking state and federal parties and disseminating fake news stories intended to warp public opinion. most importantly, this

bipartisan -- most importantly this bipartisan and independent commission will make recommendations to try to prevent any foreign power from interfering in our elections again. i sincerely hope that republicans, including the president-elect, who for the first time ever will swear his own oath to protect and defend our constitution, will join us in supporting this independent commission. i urge all members to vote no on the previous question so that this rule can be amended to require consideration of the protecting our democracy act. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland yebs. the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: reserves. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield three minutes to the the gentlewoman from texas, the distinguished ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on crime, terrorism, homeland security, and investigations, ms. jackson lee.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized for three minutes. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the gentleman from colorado and thank my good friend from georgia. it is important to take note of the value of democracy and the discourse on this floor. and my friendship with the gentleman from georgia, but absolute disagreement with him on our purposes here. yes, regulation should be a fair and it should cede to the administrative process and administrative laws that dictate how they should be formulated and that fairness should be their underpinnings. but i think my constituents in terms of the regulatory scheme are far more interested in clean water and clean air. they are far more interested in making sure that consumer products that impact toddlers and babies are in force. they are far more interested in ensuring there is competition to the f.t.c. and that there are fair energy laws to the federal energy regulatory commission. having said that, i am disappointed as well that we're moving forward on h.r. 5, which

is a bill that went through the judiciary committee and as my colleague from colorado said, the 56 new members it did not go through regular order. we're recycling the same bad bill again. i rise today to express concern over the number of amendments that were presented that were good amendments that did not get in. before i specifically speak to the amendment i am concerned about, i want to speak to the previous question, support the gentleman from maryland and the gentleman from california, who i join, mr. swalwell and mr. cummings, on a very important statement. that is that in the tragedy and heinousness of 9/11, we formulated the 9/11 commission. well, mr. speaker, there is no more heinousness than a foreign entity, a foreign nation interfering with the just and fair voting of every american. there are many who lost their life in the name of one vote, one person. for that reason i would make the argument that it is imperative that this bill be amended to

create the commission that will address the question of foreign intrusion, particularly russian intrusion, and hacking in our election. i believe this election was skewed, in spite of the democratic transfer of government, peaceful, which we'll all adhere to. but there is no doubt this does not compete to 2001 in florida with bush. it does not compete in 24 with mr. kerry. it is beyond any comprehension of what happened in this election. a direct inclusion and skewing of this election, but more importantly protecting the systems of election and the voting rights, the preciousness of it, is crucial to democracy. this commission, independent of any of the committees that should be working, and i agree congress should be working, senator mccain has already worked, and republican, but this commission will be vital asset. so i am certainly disappointed that the amendment that hi that was crucial as relates to sishe security to deal with the question of cyberintrusion was not made in order. it would have been appropriate for us to have an amendment that

would have spoken directly to the idea of identifying new tactics or techniques that a malicious actor might goy or detect and disrupt -- deploy or detect and disrupt. in addition to protect the data that enable cybersecurity firms to identify certain malwear that the russian services used. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. ms. jackson lee: i thank gentleman from this amendment would be have been vital to have not only vigorous discussion on the floor, but also to recognize that cybersecurity has now become a potential weapon. i worked on this issue for a decade as the former chairwoman of the transportation and infrastructure subcommittee. it was under my subcommittee that we began to look at electric grids and began to see the enormous power of cyber-- of the cyberworld. so my amendment should have been included because we're now faced with what the cyberworld used as a weapon can do. i'm disappointed that amendment was not made in order.

disappointed that h.r. 5 is again before us without regular order. and would hope that we would have the opportunity to vote for and support the previous question to find out what happened and who conspired to alter our elections in 2016. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i reserve the balance of my time. serve the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield 4 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. swalwell. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for 4 1/2 minutes. mr. swalwell: thank you to the gentleman for yielding. i urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question and allow an amendment to put forward h.r. 3456, the protecting our democracy act. . a public report was released on friday by the f.b.i., the c.i.a. and n.s.a. and it was chilling. it declared that russia attacked our democracy in the past

presidential election. it said that the attack came from the russian services themselves. it was ordered by vladimir putin and, most concerning, russia had a preferred candidate and that they sought to denigrate secretary clinton along the way. but going forward, this is not about relitigating the past. donald trump will be the next president. this is about preserving the integrity of our democracy and saying that our dialogue, our democracy, these fights between our parties, they belong to us. but the report also said that russia intends to do this again. we know that russia has done this before across the globe to our allies. they're doing it right now. to other countries. as they seek to move forward in their their democracy. now other foreign adversaries of ours will look at what russia did, if we do nothing, and see an opportunity to strike us again. so we have an opportunity, as

republicans and democrats, to come together and say that the victims may have been the democratic party in this past election. and if hift -- history has its way, in the next election it may be a different party. but the constant will always remain this, both parties will unite to say, we believe that this democracy, which has been fought and sacrificed for, is worth defending. and to do that we should have an independent, bipartisan-appointed commission to look at how this was able to occur, why our democracy was so vulnerable, and, most importantly, make recommendations to the public to ensure that this never happens again. we should do this so, first, we can devote ourselves fully, with an independent commission, you have full time members and -- full-time members and full-time staff, to understand what has happened. and we should use this to depoliticize what has occurred.

the incoming president has continuously, continuously undermined the findings of our 17 intelligence agencies that russia has responsible for. we should depoliticize this by taking this out of congress and having an independent commission once and for all sign off on who is responsible and, again, make recommendations to perfect us going forward. we should also declassify to the extent possible the evidence behind the findings. and finally, once this commission is formed, and once congressional investigations also take place, the american people have to come together, we have to come together because we can never again let an outside meddler influence our elections. so we have every single house democrat co-sponsoring this legislation. but this legislation should not be partisan at all. when you talk to republicans and you talk to democrats in our

district, you talk to independents, they all express a concern about what russia did. and so what we can do in this house and say, we are united, we are united to get to the bottom of what happened. and so i invite my republican colleagues, join us in the search for what happened, join us in this responsibility to do everything we can to tell our constituents the next election we won't let it happen again. defeat the previous question and support h.r. 356, the protecting our democracy act. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado reserves. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: is there any more speakers? mr. polis: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman from georgia is. mr. collins: i am prepared for to you close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from colorado is recognized. mr. polis: i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: mr. speaker, in summary, when we defeat the previous question, whether he then bring forward our bill to

establish an independent report on foreign interference in this most recent 2016 election, something that the american people deserve to see, that we need to see, we need to put safeguards in place to prevent our election system from being hijacked by foreign powers. with regard to the rule, mr. speaker, it is a bad closed rule, particularly given the chance that 56 new member of congress have not had the opportunity to add their inprint to the bills that are before us. the gentleman mentioned, oh, the democrats did this 10 years ago. well, that's hardly an excuse that the american people buy. there are many things about the democrats' ten pour that this body the american people didn't like -- tenure in this body that the american people didn't like, to cite the less popular things of democratic leadership and to say, now we republicans are going to do earmarks and have a closed process that doesn't allow amendment, now republicans are going to gut the ethics rule, i'm sure you can, in over,

you know, 200 years, you can always cite some precedence from that, -- for that, from both democrats and republicans, but those aren't good things. we want to learn. learn from our mistakes, i hope. and not say, just because some democrat or some republican did this in 1952 that it's a good thing to do today. mr. speaker, we're six days into the next congress. after we defeat the rule, hopefully, and defeat the previous question, we can bring forward an independent study on foreign interference. with regard to these two bills, i urge my colleagues to join me in voting yes in the halos act, and of course opposing the ridiculously broad h.r. 5 regulatory accountability act, which would simply add more paperwork to the bureaucracy, further reducing the efficiency of a branch of government that many americans believe is already too inefficient. i urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question, no on the rule 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 georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i serve a wonderful part of the

world. i believe it to be in all due respect, to all of the other members of congress, i do believe it is one of the fairest in the country. but the one thing i have found as i go around and travel, one of the things i have not heard, mr. speaker, and i'm not sure if you have or other members sitting here, i have never been hit when i run into something saying, the fact that government is efficient, and i'm really wanting it to be efficient in a sense that it's working for me, it's a very obvious statement here. what we see time after time after time, rules and regulations that most american folks are saying, government, do what you're supposed to be doing. get us back on a fiscal -- financial path that is solid, that balances, that gets us back to understanding we can't spend more than what we bring in and we have to have a strong national defense. let's get back to the things that makes america the shining light all around the world. one of the things i do not hear them asking me to do, mr. speaker, is make it easier on bureaucrats in washington.

i've not had them beg and bring petitions to my table and say, please make it easier on brewer cat -- bureaucrats to run our lives. it's not what we do. what we're trying to do is simplyy saying, let's get up, go out to work, do the regulations that matter, make sure that government does what it's supposed to do. make sure that the balance of power is honored and not looked upon with disgrace. it is looked upon as season something that should be taken care of and the legislative body be the legislative body, let the executive be the executive and the jish be the jish. i have no problem -- judicial be the judicial. i have no problem putting this choice before the american people. we're concerned about you. obvious choice, mr. speaker. today we have two opportunities to this rule. that both look at our economic engines and reviving it again. the halos act helps ensure that small businesses have access to

the capital necessary to grow and succeed. small business is the backbone of our economy and it makes sense to enact policies that row mote the viability and growth. the regulatory accountability act restores simple checks and balances so that congress once again makes laws that work better for those who elected us. it's a time we demand that the voice of the american people be heard rather than letting the others up here, separated in cubicles, decide what is best. when we look at that, the obvious choice is clear. you pass this rule, you vote yes on tpwhiles, and you say that the american people -- to the american people, i agree with the majority, we're looking after those that get up every day and have the american dream in front of them. and get up and say, i want to be better and i want my government to be out of thway. we understand that, mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill and with that i yield back the balance of my time. and move the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. the question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution.

those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. polis: 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. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by five-minute votes on agreeing to the resolution if ordered, and agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 234, the nays are 179. the previous a question is ordered -- the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. polis: mr. speaker, on that i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. -- those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this .ote the yeas are 231

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 233, the nays are 183. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20rk the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote 248. the yeas are 248. the nays are 162. three voting present. the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york, mr. crowley, seek recognition? mr. crowley: mr. speaker, by direction of the democratic caucus i offer a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 39. resolved, electing a member to a certain standing committee of the house of representatives, resolved that the following named member be and is hereby elected to the following standing committee of the house of representatives. one, committee on house administration, mrs. love gren. -- lofgren. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to, and the motion to reconsider is laid upon the

table. mr. crowley: i thank the speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. hensarling: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all

members may have five legislative days to revise and xtend their remarks and submit extraneous materials on the bill h.r. 79. to claire fight definition of general solicitation under federal securities laws, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 33 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h.r. 79. the chair appoints the gentleman from illinois, mr. bost, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of house resolution 79, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to clarify the definition of general solicitation under federal securities law.

the chair: pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered as read the first time. the gentleman from texas, mr. hensarling, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, each will control 30 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. >> mr. chairman, the house is not in order. the chair: the gentleman is correct. the house is not in order. the committee will be in order. the gentleman from texas. mr. hensarling: mr. chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. chairman, i rise in strong support of h.r. 79, the helping angels lead our start-ups act, also known as the halos act. i remind all members that the house just passed this bill just a few months ago with overwhelming support from both republicans and democrats by a vote of 325-89. mr. chairman, almost 4-1. it's hard to get more bipartisan

than that. it has received overwhelming bipartisan support because then and now the halos act will help create needed jobs and grow our economy. i think we all know, mr. chairman, from listening to our constituents, jobs and the economy continue to be the number one issue of concern of the american people. i commend the bipartisan sponsors of this bill, mr. chabot, chairman of the small business committee, who we will hear from soon, and ms. sinema, who serves with me on the financial services committee. also thank the six republicans and four democrats who joined them as original co-sponsors. these members reached across the aisle and produced legislation that's especially important to america's small businesses. let's remember, mr. chairman, that half, half the people who work in this country work at small businesses, and they historically create 2/3 of all the new jobs in america.

so small business, small business is the job engine of america. our economy clearly works better for working americans when small businesses thrive, and they can cus on creating jobs whether navigating bureaucratic red tape, red tape that disproportionately hurts the small businesses and start up companies that we're counting on to create jobs for our constituents. burdensome regulations make it harder for entrepreneurs to access start-up capital and they place credit out of reach for many who wish to start up a small business. many of these harmful regulations arise from complicated laws like the dodd-frage act. overall, small business loans are at a 25-year low in large part due to regulatory burdens on our community banks and credit unions. even the former director of the small business administration appointed by president obama admitted as much by saying, when she said, quote, small banks

have been laidened with excessive costs from overlapping regulations which are getting in the way of their ability to make small business loans. we simply must not allow our security laws to inhabit the free flow of investment capital to main street. the halos act provides an important regulatory solution to make it easier for small businesses to attract investments and put both the open for business and we're hiring signs on their front doors. the bill provides a clear path for start-ups to connect with angel investors and allows investors to make their own informed decisions. angel investors, mr. chairman, have a huge impact on economic growth. famous companies like amazon, costco, google, facebook, and starbuck's were all first funded by angel investors. that's just how important this matter is. today approximately 600,000 employees earn their paychecks

from working for these specific companies. unfortunately, when washington bureaucrats get involved, we often see the dreaded, quote, unintended consequences of red tape. five years ago congress passed the bipartisan jobs act to make it easier for business start-ups to gain access to critical capital. but the securities and exchange commission instead issued regulations on angel investors that have the complete opposite effect. this is a problem congress can easily fix by passing the bipartisan halos act which will ensure that funding from angel investors remains available to small business start-ups. mr. chairman, you cannot have employees unless you first have employers. you can't have jobs without job creators. and that's what this bill is all about, jobs. it is about helping small businesses overcome misguided washington red tape so they can create jobs. i urge all members to support

this commonsense, bipartisan bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. -- the chair: the gentleman reserves. gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to h.r. 79, the helping angels lead our start-ups act. this bill under the guise of the -- of helping angel groups attract additional investors for small businesses and start-ups would alter the balance between capital formation and investor protection that we sought to achieve in the jobs act. let me remind my colleagues of what we did. in the wake of the financial crisis, when bank lending was scarce, our nation's start-ups had trouble getting off the ground and attracting new capital. previously they had done so

using rule 506, which allows companies to sell private securities to accredited investor who are financially savvy and have the means to bear their heightened risk and lack of s.e.c. oversight. as a condition to using rule 506, however, companies could not solicit purchasers from -- or advertise to the general public. this is a barrier to capital formation startups. however, democrats worked with republicans to provide companies in the jobs act with an alternative so that they could broadly advertise and solicit new investors. but recognizing the need to balance investor protection with this expansion, ranking member waters offered an amendment requiring companies

to take reasonable steps to verify that ultimate purchaser was an accredited investor. this verification requirement is a necessary investor protection designed to prevent unsophisticated investors from purchasing either accidentally r by fraudulent means risky, ill-liquid and lightry regulated 506 securities -- lightly regulated 506 securities. now, i remind my republican colleagues that this amendment was agreed to unanimously in part because the amended provision struck the appropriate balance between capital formation and investor protection. nevertheless, here we are today seeking to alter it in h.r. 79. this bill would remove the verification requirement and

allow companies to broadly solicit and advertise their private stock at any event sponsored by a college, nonprofit government organization, angel investor group or other group. that means that america's college students can walk into an event on campus and be talked into buying stock that they don't understand and may not ever be able to sell. and having created this initial relationship, the company can then sell the student's stock without ever checking if they are a a credited investor. what's more, the bill would make it much easier for fraudsters to swindle unsophisticated investors by, for example, encouraging the unsophisticated investor to buy stock in a fake or failing company only to sell off their own stock at artificially

inflated prices. republicans claim that the bill is merely a clarification that these demo days are not general solicitations ortizments in and of themselves -- or advertisements in and of themselves and it is only to talk to the general public. but that is not the case. companies can already go to a broadly advertised, wildly attended demo day and discuss their businesses and not implicate the securities laws. if they don't offer security for sale or otherwise condition the market for their security. but the bill would allow them to offer securities or condition the market by describing the type and amount of stock they are offering, the intended use of the proceed or any other information in

ubsection 5-4 of the bill. ubsection a-4 of the bill. they need to tell them if they ve been contacted by a personal organization or verify the purchaser that their investors are accredited by, for example, looking at bank statements, w-2's or third-party verification letter. but the bill would allow companies to avoid both options and broadly advertise their stock, solicit purchasers from the general public and never check to make sure they are inancially sophisticated accredited investor. the only limitation that the

stock offerings only be at events sponsored by certain groups does not provide a meaningful investor protection. phony private universities or nonprofits that may be guilty of fraud themselves can hardly be held accountable for policing it in stock offerings. so rather than clarify existing law and preserve the compromise we struck in the jobs act, h.r. 79 provides a potential loophole that is overbroad and harmful to investors. mr. chairman, i am even more troubled that republicans have brought this bill and another financial services committee bill to the floor this week without a hearing or committee markup. in fact, there are 10 new republican members and four new democratic members on our

committee that have never even considered this bill. collectively, they represent millions of americans that are being denied the right to better understand this legislation. it is deeply troubling. the republicans have decided to use their new found power to rush through changes under cover of night without the benefits of an open public process. for these reasons, i oppose this h.r. 79. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. hensarling: mr. chairman, i yield myself 10 seconds just to say that hearings have been held and a markup in the last congress on this bill, and the 10 new republican members are anxious to vote on this. i am unaware of any new democratic members having been appointed to our committee as of yet. i am happy to yield three minutes to the co-author of the

halos act, a champion for small business because he's indeed the distinguished chairman of the small business committee, mr. chabot of ohio for three minutes. mr. chabot: i thank the gentleman for yielding and i want to thank chairman hensarling for his leadership on this issue and i rise in strong support of h.r. 79, the bipartisan halos act. as chairman of the house small business committee, i have the honor and pleasure of hearing and speaking with many of america's small business owners and their employees almost every day. i hear case after case of small business owners working days and nights and weekends. i hear stories of sacrifice. i hear inspiring stories of success, but all too often i hear about how the government continues to make it difficult for small businesses to prosper and grow and create more jobs which is obviously very important to our nation and its economy. perhaps one of the most common and most alarming concerns is just how difficult it is for entrepreneurs starting out to access the capital that they

need to grow. we must provide entrepreneurs a better way to build their businesses. the halos act does just that. the helping angels lead our startups act expands access to capital by ensuring small businesses be able to continue and connect and interact with angel investors. one pop lawyer way they do that is through demo days. these exciting events are sponsored by universities and nonprofits and local governments and many other groups that allow entrepreneurs to showcase their products and informally meet investors and customers. however, s.e.c. regulations are threatening to force these events out of business by imposing regulations dictating who is and who is not allowed to simply attend. these ill-considered regulations would force everybody who merely walks through the door to go through what is essentially a full financial examination, handing over tax documents, bank

statements, paycheck information and on and on. this just doesn't make sense. we should be encouraging participation in demo days, not creating obstacles. we should be allowing the largest group of attendees to gather in the room, not limiting who can simply walk through the door. after all, not only are these events a place to connect people with our community's small businesses, but they also provide a great opportunity for our next generation of entrepreneurs to ask questions and learn what it takes for a business to open its doors and be successful. i'd like to thank chairman hensarling for his leadership as well as representatives sinema and schneider for working in a cooperative and bipartisan manner. and identical bill, as the chairman -- an identical bill, as the chairman mentioned, passed this last congress in a bipartisan fashion. we need to create an environment where our small businesses, the engines of our economy, grow and flourish.

this bill is one more step in that direction. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 79, and i yield back. the chair: does the gentleman reserve? mr. clay: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman yields back. mr. hensarling: mr. chairman, at this point i'm very happy to yield five minutes to the distinguished chairman of the capital markets subcommittee of the financial services committee, the gentleman from michigan, mr. huizenga. the chair: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for five minutes. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. and thank you, mr. chairman, for your leadership on this. we all know that small businesses and entrepreneurs are what drive the american economy. we meet them in our districts and we see firsthand the benefits that their dreams and hard work provide to our constituents and to our communities. these investors, entrepreneurs and risk takers are really

small business people, which are critical for our country's economic prosperity. small businesses help create more than 60% of the nation's net new jobs over the past two decades. 60% of all the net new jobs in the past two decades. so if our nation is going to have an economy that provides opportunities for every american, then we must promote and encourage the success and growth of our small businesses and our startups. in order to succeed, these companies need capital and credit, the lifeblood for growth, expansion and job creation. yet, the government continues to construct arbitrary walls that cut them off from essential financing as smaller companies are caught in red tape created, frankly, to go be applied to the largest public companies but those public companies have the financial means to hire lawyers and accountants and management consultants and all those things that would then guide them through the sheer weight, volume and complexity of the

federal securities laws. congress has made strides to tailoring regulatory environment for small companies. most notably when we passed the jobs act in 2012. the jobs act's benefited as companies use its provisions to raise investment capital in both the public and private markets. one essential form of capital for many startups comes from angel investors, sophisticated, high-network individuals who invest their own money into startups and other early stage companies. not many college students that i'm aware of would be -- would fit that definition of a sophisticated, high net worth individual. in 2014, they delivered over $24 billion to about 71,000 startups. many of these investments going to companies in their own communities and states. beyond capital, angels provide advice and guidance to help these companies succeed and

create jobs. mr. speaker, i believe that it's important to note that companies such azzam zohn, costco, facebook, google and starbucks, among with a whole myriad of others we have not necessarily heard of as public names, were all initially funded by angel investors. without angel investors, these very successful companies would have never gotten off the ground. yet, the joseph cecconi, whose neglected its statutory mission to have capital formation necessitated that congress passed the jobs act in the first place has further restricted startups from interacting with angel investors at demo days and similar pitch events. startups rely on demo days and similar events to build relationships with angel investors and other investors to generate interest in their company and their idea. these events existed prior to the jobs act but the s.e.c. rules jeopardized their future. h.r. 79, the helping angels

lead our startups, our halos act, is a commonsense bipartisan bill aimed at removing a significant regulatory hurdle for those seeking early stage equity investments. specifically, the halos act would clarify that these demo days, sponsored by angel investor groups, universities, municipalities and nonprofits, are considered general solicitations and would -- are not considered -- excuse me -- general solicitations and would instead ensure that angel funding remains available to those businesses seeking investment capital. these are really educational opportunities. mr. speaker, some of our colleagues on the other side of the aisle will claim that the halos act guts critical investor protections and it would subject honest, hardworking americans to rampant fraud. we just had an example of college students being brought up. that's simply not true. a company that offers securities to investors under these rules may sell these securities to sophisticated or, quote, accredited, unquote,

investors. these do not meet the definition of accredited investor. they have not been eligible for allowed to invest in these type of startups that would participate in a demo day. instead of the halos act is a simple bipartisan, bicameral, and i might add a short bill that would provide small inoat vative kches and start -- innovative companies and startups who can provide the capital they need to succeed, grow and create jobs. indeed, senator chris murphy of connecticut said it best when he introduced the halos act last congress, and i quote, i heard from local entrepreneurs and interested backers alike that the most important thing we can do to help these businesses is to make it easier for angel investors to put capital behind them. mr. hensarling: i yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for an additional 30 seconds. huizenga: thank you. that's what our bipartisan halos act will do. that's senator chris murphy of

connecticut. i commend representatives chabot and sinema and working together across the aisle on a bipartisan positive solution -- excuse me -- and last congress the halos act passed this body by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 328-89. i hope that h.r. 79 will enjoy another strong bipartisan vote and i urge all my colleagues to support its adoption. with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: i continue to reserve, mr. speaker. the chair: the gentleman continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. >> we have pulled a bit of a switch to captaining this ship here. at this time i'd like to recognize the gentleman from illinois, mr. hultgren, for three minutes. the chair: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. hultgren: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank my colleague, new chairman of subcommittee on

capital markets, for yielding to me. thank chairman hensarling for his work. today i'm proud to speak in support of the helping angel lead our start-ups, or halos act. i'd also like to thank chairman chabot and congresswoman sinema for putting forth this bipartisan legislation and a proud co-sponsor. i'm fortunate enough to hear from innovators across illinois. these are the people that harness technology to accomplish the impossible. whether they are life changing medical breakthroughs or finding a bert way to do everyday tasks. as we all know start-ups are the job creators that drive our economy by creating new jobs that can get our constituents back to wrk. -- work. angel investors play a key role in the earliest stages of these start-ups. they provide the initial rounds of funding to help these life changing ideas get off the ground. we shouldn't have unnecessary barriers in place for our innovators to have access to the capital they need to grow. the situation we're currently

find ourselves face something frustrating for start-ups and potential investors. there is some regulatory uncertainty from implementation of the jobs act. in short, regulation may imply a democrat mow day is a general solicitation which would require companies to identify if investors meet the definition of accredited. if demo days are treated as general solicitations, startsups and investors are required to comply with burdensome third party verification rules. however, the purpose of these demo days is not to seek investors. it simply is to promote good ideas. no solicitations or sales of securities take place. this confusion may prevent any conversation even a very informal one between angel investors and start-ups from happening. this can be easily clarified by the legislation under consideration today. as i mentioned, start-up companies frequently participate in demo days town crease the visibility of their company, explain their ideas, and hope to informally attract investors.

these demo days are sponsored by a variety of organizations interested in promoting innovation and job creation. for example, the university of illinois' research park told me that this bill would make things like the cozad new venture competition, urbana chain angel network, angel presentations, the share the vision technology showcase, pitch practice at enterprise works, and other public forums for start-ups in illinois problematic. they want to encourage showcases of start-ups without fear of these programs constituting a formal fundraising solicitation to report to the s.e.c. the bill simply clarifies s.e.c. regulations to ensure start-ups may participate in carble demo days without having to verify that attendees are accredited investors. this is a commonsense technical fix and no surprise that we had such a strong vote, bipartisan vote, of approval in the house last congress. i encourage all of my colleagues to support this job creating

legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i would like to yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. williams, for two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from texas is recognized for two minutes. mr. williams: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. speaker, i rise today not only in strong support of the halos act but the entrepreneurs everywhere in this contry. the facts are simple. angel investors provide vital, necessary capital for start-up companies. unfortunately after the passage of the jobs act, the s.e.c. made this more difficult placing unnecessary burdens on companies who are just starting out. mr. speaker, the positive impact these start-ups often have on a community are staggering. in a city of austin, which i'm proud to represent, start-up companies provide more than just new technologies. they provide jobs. generate taxes, and give back to their local community. in 2015 alone, tech companies in

austin were able to almost raise $1 billion in new capital. with our economy still on the mend from the financial collapse in 2007, it is time to give businesses both large and small the resources they need to compete and often competitive environment. h.r. 79 rightly amends the s.e.c. act of 1933 to form a key fine angel investor group and exempts them from having to comply with burdensome third party verification rules. the halos act provides essential protection for trade association that is often facilitate such meetings between investors and fund managers. continue to cultivate small business capital formation relationships. this change may be small but the impact will be great. mr. speaker, i will end my remarks by saying this. if the 115th congress is serious about jobs, serious about turning our economy around, and serious about real change, passing bills like halos act, we will be paramount to our success. i urge all members to support chairman chabot's bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back.

the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from missouri continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i would like to yield two minutes to the gentleman from tennessee, new member of the house financial services committee. the chair: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 79, the helping angels lead our start-up act. this important legislation has the ability to produce real results that congress continually promises their constituents. when i decided to seek office, a major driving force was the governmental overreach that i saw at home in west tennessee. the financial crisis of 2008 crushed the middle class and lower classes across america. west tennesseans were hit hard. far too many faced unemployment, strug told pay their bills, and

lost their homes and businesses it meant everything to their livelihoods. mr. custoff: it's been a slow recovery under 2450es last eight years. thankfully many areas of the country have begun to bounce back. west tennessee, my home, still needs strong work force development so we, too, can bounce back. as i travel throughout the 8th district of tennessee last year, mitt amazing people -- met amazing people, great americans who were red at thisie to work hard to provide for their -- who were ready to work hard to provide for their families. too often i heard from mandates and regulations preventing these hardworking tennesseans from moving forward w this legislation we can keep our promise to help alleviate the burden of federal regulations on small businesses. there is no doubt that angel invest are the backbone of start-ups and unless we find a

solution to unreasonable restrictions, small businesses could continue to suffer as they struggle to compete with large established companies. we need to keep our promise to the american people. we need to focus on creating good-paying jobs. and i believe that this bipartisan legislation is a step in the right direction. i thank chairman hensarling for his leadership and chairman chabot, and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this important legislation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from missouri. is recognized. mr. clay: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from missouri reserves. and the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i would like to yield to the gentleman from illinois, mr. schneider, two minutes. the chair: the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. schneider: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 79. the helping angels lead our start-ups, or the halos act.

i was proud to have introduced this bill with representative chabot during the 113 kong. i have been pleased to see this commonsense legislation continue to gain bipartisan support. i want to thank representatives chabot and sinema for continuing to advocate for this important legislation. small businesses and start-up companies are tremendous assets and sources of economic growth for our contry. economists have shown that when the economy is healthy, start-ups and young fast-growing firms are the fundamental drivers of job creation. t to succeed had, innovative entrepreneurs need access to capital. these investments give new companies the resources to take their idea from concept to start-up to success. congress should support this process and pass legislation that makes it easier for accredited investors to find creative, aspiring entrepreneurs. unfortunately, certain legislation has had the

unintended consequence for making it more difficult for entrepreneurs and inventors to meet investors and access critical investment capital. the jobs asket 2015 has placed additional restrictions on individuals who want to invest in start-ups. this is adversely affected programs where young companies demonstrate their products and meet potential investors and mentors, and the legislation says to individual or age investors and angel groups. during my more than two decades of business experience, i saw firsthand how angel investors often provide more than funding for yuck companies. they offer wisdom, advice, and guidance. as small businesses seek to grow. the halos act would reopen the path for innovative individuals and young companies to more easily connect with angel investors. while still maintaining important investor protections. this bill will help small businesses better access the resources they need to thrive and ultimately create jobs. ensuring the united states remains the best place in the

world to start and grow a new business. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: i continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from missouri continues to reserve. the gentleman from michigan. mr. huizenga: can i inquire as to the balance remaining of time on both sides? the chair: the gentleman from michigan has eight minutes. the gentleman from missouri has 22 minutes. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i would like to welcome and yield to the co-author of this bill, ms. sinema, from arizona, for two minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman from arizona is recognized for two minutes. ms. sinema: thank you, mr. chair. thank you so much to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for working with me yet again on this bipartisan bill to help entrepreneurs and start-up companies create jobs and grow our economy. american start-up businesses are growing both in number and

diversity. entrepreneurs are finding new and better ways to bring together talent, innovation, and investment capital in increasingly competitive small business environment. the halos act clarifies s.e.c. regulations to ensure small businesses may participate in educational demo days without the burden of having to verify that attendees are accredited investors. demo days provide invaluable opportunities for entrepreneurs to meet and exchange ideas with students, professors, business professionals, and potential future investors. the halos act creates a clear path for start-ups to participate in demo days sponsored by a government entity, nonprofit, angel investor group, venture association, or other entity permitted by the s.e.c. specifically the act clarifies the definition of general solicitation to exempt communications and presentations at these events where advertising for the event does not make specific investment official and where no specific securities offering information is communicated at the event.

this permits start-ups to connect with business experts, potential future investors, and other entrepreneurs all while maintaining verification requirements and exceptions under regulation d for the actual purchase or sale of securities. it does not in any way permit the sale of securities to unaccredited investors at demo days. companies such as amazon, costco, facebook, google, and starbuck's were all initially funded by angel investors. as we work to make america more competitive in the new global economy, we need to encourage the growth of innovative start-ups and job creating small businesses. again, thapping you, mr. chabot, for working with me on this commonsense bipartisan bill. i'm committed to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure that arizona start-ups have the support they need to grow their businesses and create jobs. thank you, mr. chair. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from michigan reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: mr. speaker, i have no

further requests for time. and am prepared to close if the gentleman from michigan is prepared. mr. huizenga: mr. chairman, we have one more speaker at this time. mr. clay: i will continue to reserve. the chair: the gentleman from missouri reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. chairman. at this time i would like to welcome the new member, the gentlelady from florida, miss murphy, for two minutes. yield her two minutes. the chair: the gentlewoman from florida is recognized for two minutes. mrs. murphy: i rise in support of the bipartisan halos act because it won't compromise investor protection. while working in the private sector i participated in numerous so-called demo days where early stage entrepreneurs made presentations. i counseled startups through this process, particularly women-owned and minority-owned

businesses. i watched them struggle and then obtain much-needed capital when traditional financing sources such as banks may not be feasible. it's important for this government at all levels, federal, state and local, to promote economic growth and encourage innovation by connecting people with good ideas to people with the capitol encourage to bank roll those ideas. financial ecosystems is how well-paying jobs are created. this process is particularly important for my district in central florida which has a growing innovative and entrepreneurial startup community. based on personal experiences and on the experiences conveyed to me by floridians with expertise in this area, the current federal regulations governing demo days can be made more clear and less burdensome so they better promote the flow of capital through our economy while continuing to protect nonaccredited investors. because i believe the halos act achieves these duo objectives, i urge my colleagues to join me

in voting yes on h.r. 79. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman from florida yields back. the gentleman from michigan reserves. and the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. clay: thank you, mr. speaker. i have no further requests for time, and i'm prepared to close. i yield myself the remainder of my time. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. clay: thank you, mr. chairman. both democrats and republicans want to help facilitate capital formation, particularly for groups such as angel investors, who have substantial experience in the private securities market and for small companies, like startups, who are seeking funding to innovate and grow. but as members of congress, we also have the responsibility to protect investors and ensure that the rules of the road are reasonable and appropriate. this is especially important for retail investors, those of

us who are looking to save for retirement or to buy a house or to support our children's education. and that is what concerns me about the bill we have before us today. we cannot create loopholes in the securities laws that could have a serious negative impact on americans' nest eggs, so we must strike the right balance between capital formation in our securities markets and investor protection. it is with these goals in minds that democrats supported the current rules that are in place. companies can raise money to grow and support their businesses in our securities markets under the purview of the s.e.c. and state regulators. the regulatory framework we've set up allows for different activities and oversight, depending on the nature of the security offering. for example, public offerings

provide robust information to vetors about the risk and rewards of a particular securities purchase. they require the s.e.c. or state securities regulator to pre-approve and review an offering, and they provide legal recourse to investors that may be deceived. this is a strong regulatory framework that ensures our markets are safe and sound in exchange for complying with these rules, companies can advertise and sell their stock to anyone in the general public. on the other hand, private offerings do not come with the same regulatory requirements and protections which can make it less easier and costly for firms to raise money. this means less information for investors, less legal recourse and little to no scrutiny by regulators.

so we put in place procedures to ensure these private offerings, which are inherently to an are only so accredited investor. unregistered securities have surpassed registered securities in terms of capital formation. they have accounted for more than $2 trillion in new capital. moreover, $71 billion has been raised since 2012 through the general solicitation and advertising exemption that we put in place in the jobs act. this is clearly an important and growing segment of our market, and as such, i believe we need to be even more cautious about who is participating in it. in fact, the s.e.c.'s investor advisory committee said, we should do more, not less, to

protect investors in the general solicitation and advertising market for private offerings. they think we don't have enough guardrails in place, and yet this bill would do the opposite. by expanding the exemptions on general solicitation, without similarly protecting the investor. the bill also undercuts an important amendment ranking member waters offered to the jobs act which was approved unanimously. it required companies to verify that the purchaser is an accredited investor and is financially sophisticated enough to bear the risk involved in private offerings. by effectively allowing purchasers to, quote, self-certify, unquote, after demo days sponsored by groups. the bill could open the door to

financial ruin for a retail investor who may not have understood the consequences of his or her investment. o i suppose this bill -- i oppose this bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from missouri yields back, and jafflet michigan is -- and the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. chairman. i had the pleasure, the honor of sitting through a number of these demo days and seeing these pitches being made. people are coming in and they e literally laying out their dreams, their hopes and frankly their hard work because they wouldn't be there that day if it wasn't for their hard work. and they're looking for a couple of things. as small businesses and entrepreneurs, they're looking for capital and credit. we use capital a lot, that word, around here but think of it as cash and credit. they really are looking for

someone who will buy into their dream, who will look at their hard work, who will understand that their hopes can become a reality with help. this bill is trying to do that. you're hearing a whole lot of doom and gloom on the other side. in fact, i think the phrase was just thrown out there -- financial doom for the retail investor. let's talk about these retail investors. for you to become an accredited investor, someone who would qualify to be able to invest in these startup companies, according to the s.e.c. rule 01, you need married jointly $300,000 in income and $1 million of net worth, excluding your home, by the way. so you cannot include you have a $1 million. you have to have a $1 million net worth outside of your home and have an income of $300,000.

earlier, college students were brought up. not a whole lot of college students i know of have a $300,000 annual income or $1 million net worth. these are people that are sophisticated, typically. ey are high net worth by definition. i would say high net worth. interestingly enough, as members of congress, if we allow these restrictions to go through, as members of congress we would be excluded from the room. we would be excluded. we couldn't even go in there to educate ourselves about how this process works. and that's ultimately what this is about. those pitch days are not just for those people who are going to invest. those pitch days aren't only for those people who are going to do the investing. those pitch days are for others to learn, to have an understanding. if you're a college student, sitting in the back row to understand what it looks like to become an entrepreneur, to

really become a part of that engine of the american economy, you should be in the room. if you're someone who might be making a pitch later on and want to see how this happens and works, you ought to be in the room. let's not exclude those people. why would we have a government closed off, closed room, a government-sanctioned closed room that would keep people from understanding and achieving their hopes and dreams and success? so i am so pleased to be up here and to talk about this issue because we know that for our standing in the world, we need to have a dynamic economy. our dynamic economy starts with our entrepreneurs, and it starts with the risk takers who are willing to invest in those ideas. and i just want to, again, commend representative sinema and representative chabot for working in a bipartisan manner. i expect that we are going to

see a massive bipartisan vote again for this bill, and i eagerly await that and i ask for my colleagues to support h.r. 79 along with myself and with that, mr. chairman, i will yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman from michigan yields back. all time for general debate has expired. pursuant to the rule, the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the bill shall be considered as read. no amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in part b of house report 115-2. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read and shall be debatable for a time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by a proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be sent to demand for division of the question.

it's now in order to consider amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 115-2. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition? ms. velazquez: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment in 1 printed in part b of house report 115-2 offered by ms. velazquez of new york. ms. velazquez: i ask unanimous consent that the amendment is considered as read. the chair: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from new york, ms. velazquez, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from new york. ms. velazquez: thank you, mr. chairman. i yield myself such time as i may consume. when we think of a startup business, the early days of apple or google usually comes to mind. their stories are familiar. hardworking entrepreneurs who beat the odds. like these companies, most

successful startups have several common ingredients -- a new product or service, a willingness to take risks and leadership that can navigate the complexities of today's economy. and successful firms also have a way of securing capital to both get off the ground and to grow. this last ingredient can present serious obstacles as startups face unique financing challenges. many do not have positive cash flow, putting traditional bank loans out of reach. while some of these firms participate in innovator or accelerator programs that provide a small amount of capital, they must find new sources of funding when their initial capital runs out. one avenue for securing additional capital is by participating in demo days or pitch days. at these events, entrepreneurs have an opportunity to showcase

their companies and innovations to potential investors. today's bill will alter s.e.c. rules to exempt the use of general solicitation floor presentations made at demo days. in other words, demo day organizers will not have to the y with procedures that investors they attract to the event are accredited. despite the well-intended goal of expanding the use of demo days to better meet startups' capital needs, it's easy to see how unscrupulous actors could exploit this exemption, to deceive ordinary people that were drawn to the event by a public advertisement. my amendment makes improvements to ensure at demo days they have the opportunity to be informed about the nature of these presentations and the risk of investing in startups.

typically, demo days are limited to select groups of potential investors. let's be clear. these are not science fairs but sophisticated business presentations designed to raise capital for the entrepreneurs and their startups. . however the underlying bill allows colleges and universities and nonprofits to host this event an advertise them to the public. it is easy to see how some attendees might not know the true nature of the presentation. my amendment will address this by requiring event sponsors to provide an s.e.c.-created disclosure. outlining the nature of the event and investment risks. by creating a uniform disclosure, the s.e.c. can take the burden off the sponsors and issuers on way to disclose. this amendment would ault also

clarify -- would also clarify that attendance at a demo day alone does not constitute a pre-existing relationship and does not allow a stock issuer to side step their obligation to verify that an investor is accredited. without this clarification, it is possible that issuers could defraud less sophisticated retail investors. demo days are a great way for our nation's entrepreneurs to raise capital. but they should be making presentations to the right investors. those that understand the risk of investing in risky start-up businesses, not just anyone who saw an advertisement. my amendment will both expand the ability of small business to raise capital by tapping into demo days, while ensuring that the right kind of investors, those accredited and fully informed, are participating in the small business capital market. i urge my colleagues to support

the amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> i claim the time in opposition to this amendment. the clerk: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. >> thank you, mr. chairman. here's the alternate reality you're expected to believe in this scenario that's been created yumplete going to have somebody -- created. you're going to have somebody wanter -- wander off the street with their checkbook in their pocket, listen to a three to five-minute pitch on an idea that's going to change the world and then they're going to sign away their financial future and life savings. mr. huizenga: that is the scenario that is being painted for you out there today by the opponents of this commonsense legislation. to be to be an investor, an investor, you must be an accredited investor, according to the s.e.c. rules, rule 501,

that says you have $300,000 of income, annually, and a net worth of $1 million outside of your home. owning your house doesn't count towards that. i've been to these pitch days. you know what you're walking into. you don't just stumble on it and go, wow, what's going on here? i've never thought about this. tell you what. i'm going to write a five or six or seven figure check today and put myself into financial crue ruin. that is not how -- into financial rube. -- ruin. that is not how these things work. at the end of the day, mr. chairman, i think it's important to review a little bit of the history here. first of all, this amendment isn't necessary. it would create yet another s.e.c. required disclosure. further burden the ability for startups to present their ideas to demo dales.

i would note, excuse me, i would note that this amendment could have been offered last march. either in committee or while we here in the house were -- had consideration in april of 2016, however in both cases that didn't occur. let's remember why we are here today. mr. chairman, when the s.e.c. promulgated the rules to implement title 2 of the jobs act, the agency made something that was legal prior to april 5 of 2012, suddenly illegal. the s.e.c. decided that demo days would bring -- demo days would bring together as entrepreneurs and those companies -- suddenly became a general solicitation. that cannot the -- isn't the case. this amendment would require the s.e.c. to prescribe a disclosure that, quote, describes the nature of the event and the risks of investing in securities being advertised. there is no sale that day, mr. chairman. no sale at all is going to happen. there is no exchange that

happens. at that event. this amendment is unnecessary. overly broad. and would delay the return to the certainty that the prejobs act had brought. and with that i would like to reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from florida is recognized. mr. vela: may i inquire as -- ms. velazquez: may i inquire as to how many other speakers do you have? mr. huizenga: we have no further speakers on this amendment. ms. velazquez: no further speakers. well, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized for -- the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for 30 seconds. ms. velazquez: thank you. first of all, i am the author of the anticipated and in the amendment, there's no place in which it requires anyone to sign anything. this is a reasonable, straightforward, simple amendment that provides transparency and protection to the investors. u say that this is not

offering -- while some presentations may not explicitly be offering securities for sale, these demo days are not a simple science fair. they are sophisticated business presentations. designed to generate hype and investor interest. advertising such events to the public, it is reasonable that they also provide information regarding the risks of investing in start-ups. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: mr. chairman, you just heard the author of the amendment make the case that this is a complicated process in general, that an unaccredited person is not going to be allowed to invest in. so, it requires the event event responser to provide attendees with a written disclosure of the risks of investing for the securities of sale. it's not an offering that's

happening at those demo days and i would ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment. with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment by the gentlewoman from new york . those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not adopted. ms. velazquez: i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on this amendment offered by the gentlewoman from new york will e postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 2 printed in part b of house report 115-2. for what purpose does the gentleman from missouri seek recognition? mr. clay: mr. chairman, i rise as the designee for ms. waters'

amendment. the clerk: amendment number 2 printed in part b of house report 115-2 offered by mr. clay of missouri. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 33, the gentleman from missouri, mr. clay, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. clay: thank you, mr. chair. i move for the adoption of the amendment. this amendment, combined with ms. velazquez's amendment, if adopted, would ensure that the bill strikes the appropriate balance between capital formation and investor protection. first, the waters amendment would prohibit event sponsors from collecting finders fees for connecting potential investors to companies. this prohibition helps ensure that event sponsors, including colleges, nonprofits and trade associations, don't have perverse intendtifics to drum up sales of stock.

-- incentives to drum up sales of stock. second, the waters amendment would require the company selling securities to be a company operating in the real economy, not a hedge fund, shell company or company going through bankruptcy. not only does this provision protect investors from purchasing shares of an opaque or speculative firm, but it also ensures that the bill is targeted to provide relief to our nation's start-ups and small businesses. these two provisions are commonsense changes and i hope will receive bipartisan support. again, i move for the adoption of the amendment and reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. chairman. i claim the time in opposition to this amendment. the chair: the gentleman from michigan is recognized for five minutes in opposition.

mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. chairman. nce again, we're seeing an unnecessary, duplicative amendment here. the amendment, as the laid out, it creates a new definition of an issuer. the securities and exchange act and dy defines an issuer ms. waters' definition is vegas, confusing and, frankly, unnecessary. demo days are opportunities for start-up companies to present their ideas to potential investors that are accredited, again, accredited, those accredited investors, at point all of america is shouting back t c-span saying, $300,000 in income per year with $1 million net worth, excluding their home, we get this out there. this is not a solicitation or offering of securities. so what i'm quite honestly concerned about and maybe a little confused about this, is the point of the hail oates act

is trying to fix a problem. it's trying to fix a problem. remember, we want to expose entrepreneurs and their ideas to the broadest pool of potential investors that includes angel investment community. again, of accredited investors. this requirement raises serious compliance concerns for angel investors, it would require entrepreneurs and start-ups to perform a compliance function that they may not have the physical or financial means to do so. again, it is just an additional burden and barrier to entry for entrepreneurs. again, these are -- the entrepreneurs typically aren't the ones that have $300,000 of annual income or d 1 million net worth -- $1 million net worth, because then they wuent have to be at the pitch -- wouldn't have to be at the pitch. they could fund it themselves. the idea is to make sure that those ideas, those people who are looking for an opportunity,

are given the broadest opportunity possible. and i think what we are seeing here is a reaction to the notion that, you know what, maybe people can handle this on their own instead of the government needing to step in and be so overly prescriptive and control every decision that they are making. you're seeing a reaction on the other side to that, to that mission to of freedom. that idea of an entrepreneurial spirit. this idea that we all need to be wrapped in bubble wrap as we go out into the world. that's not government's role or job. outside of those prescriptions that are already in place. again, we are talking about a narrow group of investors with $300,000 of net income annually and $1 million net worth who would even qualify to invest in those. and why we would wall this off

from others seeking to learn and to see an opportunity, i just simply don't understand. with that, mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. . clay: mr. chair, i am just -- just in closing let me say that, again, this amendment will bring some balance to the legislation and he sure that the bill is targeted to provide -- ensure that the bill is targeted to provide relief to our nation's start-ups and small businesses. nd i urge its adoption and i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. huizenga: thank you, mr. chairman. in closing, i cannot support an amendment that makes it more difficult for start-ups to receive the crucial funding that they need to grow and create new jobs. again, these are people pursuing their dreams, their hopes.

they need capital and credit. they need cash and credit to go fulfill those. mr. chairman, i actually believe in the s.e.c. i believe that they -- the rules that they operate under are sufficient. i believe in the jobs act. i believe in the halos act. that will provide the proper protections to investors, again, qualified investors with a $300,000 income and a $1 million net worth. there are proper protections in place. this amendment does nothing but add additional burden to that -- to those seeking the investment and those seeking to invest. and with that i request opposition from my colleagues and with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from missouri. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not --

mr. clay: i demand a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on this the chair: the question is on the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. chairman. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union having had under consideration house h.r. 79,

directs me to report that it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 79 and has come to no resolution thereon. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair pill postponefurther proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or on which the vote incurs objection under clause 6 of rule 20. record votes on proposed questions will be taken later.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. olson: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 306. the clerk: h.r. 306, a bill to amend the energy independence and security act of 2007 to promote energy efficiency and competing technologies and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule the gentleman from texas, mr. olson and the gentlewoman from california, ms. eshoo each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. olson: i ask unanimous

consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the record on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. olson: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. olson: thank you, mr. speaker. the federal government is a major source of consumer electricity and information technologies account for a large and growing percentage of that energy use. that is why we need h.r. 306, the energy efficient government technology act introduced by ms. eshoo of california. this bill creates a process ich federal agencies can incorporate improvements in energy technologies. it sets out yardsticks to measure progress. the result of this bill would be lower federal energy bills and taxpayer savings.

in addition, the federal government can set an example for energy efficiency that the private sector i.t. systems would be able to copy. thank you, mr. speaker. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. eshoo: thank you, mr. speaker. i will yield enough time to myself to consume as follows. how's that? it's nice to say things in a little different way. i'm really pleased to rise today in support of this legislation, the energy efficient government technology act, and i want to thank my colleague and friend, mr. olson for his wonderful description of the bill and important support. and i thank the new chairman of the full committee, mr. walden,

and the ranking member of the full committee, mr. pallone, for their support and to my gislative partner adam kinzinger for his partnership on this bill. i hope the 115th congress is going to be the magic charm, because this bill, i have introduced now in three congresses and it passed in each congress, but it didn't make it to the president's desk and i hope this time it will. and the bill is really a simple one. it's about bringing the federal government's i.t. and its data centers into the 21st century. the federal government is the nation's largest energy user. let me say it again. the federal government is our nation's largest energy user and we should lead by examining in this area. so by requiring federal agencies to utilize the best technologies

and energy management strategies, this bill will reduce the government's energy use very importantly, save taxpayer dollars and also set an example for the private sector. today, the world generates more data in 12 hours than was generated in all of human history prior to 2003. i can tell by the look on your face, mr. speaker, that that takes your breath away. this data must be stored and process at data centers, which are the backbone of the 21st century economy but can be inefficient. while we hear about data center, this was not the case when i began examining this issue deck aids ago. in 2005, i offered language in the energy policy act which mandated an e.p.a. study on the

energy use and energy costs of data centers. this report was then transmitted to congress in 2007 and today, most americans understand that data centers are a critical part of our national infrastructure and that they are found in nearly every sector of our economy. according to the g.s.a., the federal government alone has more than 2,000 data centers which stores social security and tax records and ebooks at the library of congress. several companies have taken the lead in developing efficient sustainable data centers, but we can do much, much more across the private sector and the government. 70 billion kilowatt hours of electricity that are used by data centers annually could be slashed in half simply through

implementation of best practices and existing technologies. so this bill, h.r. 306, will drive energy efficiency improvements across the government's i.t. and data centers by requiring federal agencies to number one utilize the best technologies and energy management strategies, two formulate specific goals and periodically review their energy efficiency. very important to track the efficiency and third make government center government data usage that empowers further innovation. importantly, the bill requires government agencies to formulate specific goals and a means to calculate overall cost savings to implementation. mr. speaker, i first introduced the legislation in 2013. it's passed the house by wide margins in each of the last two congresses. it's noncontroversial.

it's bipartisan. it makes sense. and so, with that, i want to urge all of my colleagues to support the bill. i thank you and i thank my colleagues on a bipartisan basis at the energy and commerce committee. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. olson: mr. speaker, i join my colleague in trying to spice things up, so i reserve the balance of my alotted time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. esty: i would like to recognize my valued colleague, mr. mcnerney for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcnerney: i rise to support h.r. 306 the energy efficiency government technology act sponsored by the committee and also bipartisan as my colleague

from california mentioned. h.r. 306 promotes the use of energy efficiency and energy savings, information technologies in practices across the federal government especially in data centers. the bill amend the energy independence act to require agencies to coordinate with other agencies in developing an implementation strategy for the maintenance, purchase and use in energy savings information technologies. 10% of the federal electricity is consumed by federal energy centers. h.r. 306 aims to keep that at 10% or even to reduce it. the legislation also sets out specific items for consideration in developing an implementation strategy that requires the establishment of performance goals for evaluating agencies'

efforts. in addition, the bill would amend the 2007 act to require the d.o.e. and e.p.a. to collaborate with stakeholders in the implementation of efficiency programs and other measures to improve data centers efficiency. the legislation was passed by the house last year. i urge my colleagues to support it. i commend my coletion. and with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california reserves. and the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. olson: mr. speaker, i have no colleagues who wish to speak. i would like to get this thing done. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas reserves. ms. esty: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. olson: mr. speaker, i have

been a naval aviator and senate staffer and a member of congress. in those 20 years, the best leaders i have seen are ones who lead by example. leads makes sure d.c. by example. and if we lead, the whole country will follow. i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 306 and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 306. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from tennessee seek recognition? . mrs. blackburn: i move the house

suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 288 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. is the gentlewoman mean to call up the bill as introduced? mrs. blackburn: yes. the clerk: h.r. 288 a bill to ensure that small business providers of broadband internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment rather than cumbersome regulatory requirements. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn and the gentleman from california, mr. mcnerney each will control 20 minutes. mrs. blackburn: i ask unanimous consent that all members may be given five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous materials in the record on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection.

mrs. blackburn: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: i rise today in support of h.r. 288, the small business broadband deployment act. i'm glad the house is taking swift action on this bill which will protect small insert providers from the requirements laid out in the 2015 open internet order. after adopting the open internet order, the f.c.c. recognized the importance of exempting small i.s.p.'s from these enhanced transparency rules and subsequently granted a temporary exemption to broadband providers with fewer than 100,000 subscribers. however, the commission failed to reach an agreement to grant another exemption before the deadline last december and as a result has left hundreds of our nation's small providers vulnerable to cumbersome rules.

. to reassure our small broadband sproyers -- provide tharts rules will not be enforce -- that the rules will not be enforced until the situations that been addressed by the commission. but congress should go a step forward and provide certainty to our nation's small businesses and pass this bill. rather than a one-year exemption to the enhanced disclosure requirements, this bill would exempt for five years broadband providers with fewer than 250,000 subscribers from the enhanced reporting obligations, providing them with the regulatory certain toy invest in their business. at our -- certainty to invest in our business. at our hearing last january, we heard from multiple witnesses how cumbersome and burden some these rules are -- burdensome these rules are. one witness described the difference to be a significant -- as significant as the need to hire regulatory counsel versus the ability to build another

tower to provide service. for a small business in a capital intensive industry, that could be the difference between getting more people connected to the internet and going out of business. we cannot let our small businesses and hardworking taxpayers be saddled with more onerous rules and the costs that they bring. in addition to regulatory relief for small i.s.b.'s, the bill adds certainty for our nation's small i.s.b.'s by extending the exemption for five years. it was disappointing to see the commission fail to reach an agreement at the end of last year to extend the exemption and it is why we are here today. despite overwhelming bipartisan support for from congress and president obama's small business administration, negotiations fell short and our nation's smallest and most competitive internet service providers were left to bear the burden. in today's 21st century economy,

we need to do more to encourage connect ivity, and this bill embodies that spirit. congress is poised to provide the regulatory certainty small businesses are seeking in order to invest in stronger networks and foster a better consumer experience. i want to thank chairman walden and mr. loebsack for acting quickly to reintroduce this legislation and i urge all of my colleagues to support the commonsense measure. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> i wish to grant myself as much time as i may consume. first of all, i want to congratulate the gentleman from oregon on his new chairmanship. i look forward to working across the aisle on most of the issues. it's a good bipartisan subcommittee, i think we have a lot to accomplish. mr. mcnerney: the small business deployment act, h.r. 288,

unanimously passed the house last congress on a bipartisan vote. unanimous. h.r. 288 provides a five-year exemption from the f.c.c.'s enhanced transparency rules for small internet service providers that serve 250,000 or fewer subscribers. this exemption comes with an understanding that there is a five-year sunset on the exemption and that the f.c.c. report to congress with sufficient information to help us better understand the impacts on the consumers of a permanent exemption, of a possible permanent exemption. this data will also better inform us whether a longer term exemption is necessary and whether we got the definition of what is small business is right in this case. it's also worth noting that h.r. 288 would leave in tact the f.c.c.'s 2010 transparency rules that consumers of have -- have come to rely on.

such as, what they're paying for, internet speeds they rely on, data quality and so on. at the same time, these modifications provide certainty for small i.s.b.'s while the f.c.c. collects and reports relevant information to congress. mr. speaker, with that i'll reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. at this time i yield five minutes to the chairman of the energy and commerce committee, he's also the author of this legislation, mr. walden. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. walden: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the new subcommittee chairman of the communications and technology subcommittee. i know our country is in good hands and our committee is as well, with mrs. blackburn chairing that important subcommittee. i want to thank my colleague from california for his kind comments and his work over the years on these issues. i concur with him that we have a wonderful opportunity to continue our bipartisan work as -- committee is known for

has been known for for a long time. we'll have our differences, we know that as well. but there's so much work, like this bill, that is so very important. as we begin the 115th congress, i'm pleased to be here to support this bipartisan bill, because i think it reflects the best of what government can do for those who sent us here. small business broad band deployment act seeks to alleviate, as you've heard, mr. speaker, these unnecessary regulatory burdens on small internet service providers. these are the small ones, oftentimes in our rural communities, but not always. while still ensuring that consumers are protected. we found the right balance here. by extending an exemption to the federal communications commission's enhanced reporting rules, this bill allows these small businesses to focus on their core mission and that is to provide broadband internet access to customers throughout america. over the past year we spent a great deal of time focused on this issue. we first raised concerns with the federal communications

commission in a letter, mr. speaker, from the committee, as well as from the small business committee. we urged the chairman, tom wheeler, to not only make the exemption permanent, but also to raise the threshold by defining a small business, to bring it in lines with the definitions previously blessed by the obama administration's small business administration. so we're trying to find some consistency and some workability and some common sense here. unfortunately the f.c.c. only extended the exemption for one year, despite the overwhelming support to do this permanent extension. it was clear congress needed to act. that's what we're doing here. i introduced a discussion draft last year that would have permanently extended the exemption, increased the threshold by defining a small business. our january, 2016, legislative hearing on the bill, we heard from a small internet service dilemma who shared the

that many small i.s.b.'s face in these circumstances. should they put up new equipment? or should they hire a lawyer a to help with compliance? should they improve service for customer or should they devote those financial resources to cysting through regulatory language and drafting extensive reports on packet loss? so often these small i.s.b.'s provide services to areas of the country that are rural, like in my district, throughout eastern oregon, or representative loebsack's district in iowa. we heard from him. or may not be as easy to serve. in some cases provide a vital competitive edge to larger internet service providers. we should be making all efforts to promote the viability of these businesses. we should not saddle them with additional requirements that make it more difficult to do what they're in business to do. representive loebsack and i were able to come to a compromise through extensive negotiations and in the bill we have before us today, we extends this exemption for five years. it gives greater regulatory certainty that these small internet service providers, looking for predictability, when making investment decisions. in addition, we increase the

threshold for defining a small business and require the f.c.c. to report back to congress on the exemption, along with data around small i.s.b.'s it's currently lacking. in the end this bill represents a good compromise that will relieve burdens for small businesses while leaving in place protections, protections for consumers. it's important to note this bill doesn't affect the transparency rules, as my colleagues have mentioned, adopted in the f.c.c.'s 2010 rules, consumers will continue to have access to those disclosures they have come to expect. the information needed to make informed decisions about their internet service. again this bill passed the house unanimously last year, 411-0, unfortunately while it made it through the senate commerce committee, it never quite came up for a vote in the senate. in addition, the exemption granted by the f.c.c. expired at the end of, well, december 15 of 2016, has not yet been renewed. that leaves these many small businesses exposed to the serious reporting burden that we've heard about throughout this process. as well as a great deal of uncertainty around what the

future may hold for them. it is now more important than ever that we act to quickly fill this gap, protect these businesses and the consumers they serve. so i'd like to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, especially representative loebsack, for working with us on this bill. this bipartisan process has resulted in a strong piece of legislation that i'm confident will protect many and promote continued network investment and build out by small businesses. this legislation represents a commonsense approach to a problem that directly impacts so many of our constituents and this solution will enable our country to continue its leadership in broadband deployment. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcnerney: thank you, mr. speaker. again, i want to thank the chairman for his work on this and for his willing tons compromise as he -- compromise. as he pointed out, it was a process. it took both sides.

i think you wanted permanent exemption, we wanted a less exemption. it worked out. i think it's the right compromise. five years, it gives the businesses the predictability they need. so it's a good place to be and five years we'll see the report, whether it makes sense to continue the exemption or not. i also want to take this opportunity to congratulate my colleague from tennessee on assuming the chairmanship of the subcommittee. i look forward to working together and with that i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. at this time i yield two minutes to a new member of our work committee, energy and commerce committee, mr. carter from georgia. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for two minutes. mr. carter: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise today to express my support of h.r. 288, the small business broadband and development act. in 2015, the f.c.c. adopted burdensome transparency requirements for internet

service providers. the f.c.c. immediately recognized that these new transparency requirements would be particularly burdensome for small internet service providers so they provided a temporary exemption for providers with 100,000 or fewer subscribers. despite overwhelming support to make the exemption permanent, the commission expended -- extended current exemption for just an additional year. this bill eases the burdens created by the f.c.c. rule by extended the exemption to internet service providers who have 250,000 subscribers or less and extends the exemption for five years. this is commonsense legislation. this bill provides relief and certainty to internet service providers so they can continue to build networks, deploy broadband, improve connecttivity for rural consumers and create jobs. i commend chairman walden for championing this legislation so that we can continue to grow our infrastructure and improve connect ivity for rural

americans. thank you, mr. chairman, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mrs. blackburn: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcnerney: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: at this time i yield two minutes to mr. chabot. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. mr. chabot: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentlelady for yielding. i rise in strong support of h.r. 288, the small business broadband deployment act. this commonsense, bipartisan legislation does two important things. first, it extends the temporary exemption granted to small businesses by the federal communications commission, f.c.c., from the burdensome disclosure requirements for internet service providers and the f.c.c.'s own open internet order by five years. second, it increases the number of small businesses that can be ute -- utilize the exemption by raising the threshold from

100,000 subscribers to the much more realistic 250,000 subscribers. small businesses frequently feel that the federal government exercises its most creativity in looking for new ways to get in their way. oftentimes small internet providers are the only ones willing to take the risk and deploy broadband to particularly hard to reach areas of rural america. the last thing they have time for is the f.c.c. imposing a greater regulatory burden on them. diverting precious resources to make washington bureaucrats busy, instead of doing what they do best, providing high-quality broadband services to millions of americans in every corner of our country. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this legislation and help reduce a portion of the tedious regulatory burden on small businesses and therefore i would

urge my colleagues to support it and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from tennessee reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. mcnerney: thank you, mr. speaker. with that i'm going to be closing. i just want to say the bill passed unanimously in the last congress, the bipartisan, it gives small i.s.b. providers a certain amount of time and it alowls the f.c.c. to decide if it's overburdensome or not, to require them to disclose information to their customers. this allows us to give customers the amount of protection that is due them as well. so it's a good compromise. i urge all of my colleagues to support it. i thank my colleagues for their hard work and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized. mrs. blackburn: i encourage my colleagues to join us in passing h.r. 288. this is one of those common

demrep sense measures. when you talk about removing the burden of regulatory overreach from our nation small business and in this case, our small internet service providers, this is something that will help get that will job done. it is something that will help extend internet service to more americans and that is a goal that we all share. so at this time, as i yield back, i encourage passage of h.r. 288. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 288. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from virginia seek recognition? mrs. comstock: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 321, inspiring the next spice pioneers, researchers and explores, inspire women act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 321 a bill to inspire women doe enter the aerospace field through

metropolitanorship and outreach. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from virginia, mrs. comstock and the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. esty, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from virginia. mrs. comstock: thank you, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 321, the bill now under consideration the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. comstock: i yield myself such time as i may consume. i rise to offer h.r. 321, the inspire act and please to lead this effort along with the chairman and ranking member of the science, space and technology committee. we did pass this bill last year and now we are revisiting it since it didn't get through the senate. recently, the moveey "hidden

figures" detailed the unsung heroes of nasa. this movie highlights the story of a group of african-american women who worked at nasa in the 1960's during the space race. three women were featured in the movie that helped launch america into space. mrs. johnson, who is still living was asked, at the time, did you know that john glenn asked for quote, the girl, which would be you to check the numbers before he took his landmark flight into space? had it heightened the stakes for you? her response, i knew they asked me to check the numbers and knew my record for accuracy and i had confidence in my math. i always did my best. mr. speaker, i didn't know the story of these women growing up

even though they were doing things at a time when we were watching these things happen. but these young women will know e inspiring movie that is on my list of must-sees. these women were critical to the space program. now is to time to pass this gislation to afford future generations will have a similar impact and maybe put a woman on marches. -- mars. in it encourages young women the stem fields and pursue careers that will further exploration efforts such as nasa girls, inspire and the summer institute in science, technology and engineering research. the goal of nasa girls is to

create a mentoring project that offers a one of a kind experience using online capabilities. it is to reach out to young girls in some of the stem career opportunities through real lives and jobs of early career women at nasa. the sister program provides an opportunity for female middle school students to be exposed to and explore nontraditional career fields with goddard space flight center, women engineers, scientists, technicians and researchers. 58 women have traveled in space, 49 of those have flown with nasa. there are so many other careers available for women at nasa. we want to make sure all of those are available for them. we know the stories of sali ride, but we didn't know the hidden figures behind the scenes. as we move forward, we hope

everyone will know about the many women and many careers open to both men and women in this nasa program. thank you. and i yield back -- i reserve my time the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentlewoman from virginia reserves. the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized. ms. esty: mr. speaker, i yield such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. esty: i rise in support of h.r. 321 the inspire women act. this bill calls on the nasa administrator to support initiatives that encourage girls and young women to study stem fields and pursue careers in aerospace. unfortunately, women are underrepresented in many stem fields including aerospace. one of the key barriers to women is self-selection out of stem degrees due to a lack of role

models. in the words of a long time child advocate and activist, you can't be what you can't see. too many girls and young women decide not to pursue studies in technical fields such as science, engineering and aerospace because they look at their teachers and role models and see no one who looks like them. when student are able to visualize themselves working in technical fields, they gain the confidence they need to take the first step in pursuit of a challenging and rewarding stem career to their benefit and to the benefit of society as a whole. nasa was an extraordinary stem work force is in a unique position to help close this gap. the agency has access to a diverse group of current and retired women astronauts, scientists, engineers and innovators whose accomplishments

and career paths are just the sort of inspiration that girls and young women need. astronaut indicate ruben broke barriers and boundaries when she became the first person to sequence d.n.a. in space. just last friday first female commander of the international space station completed her eventh space walk. zero rubens reminds us of her career where she made the discovery of dark matter and has been mentioned by the newly released movie "hidden figures" highlights the stories of engineers katherine johns dorothy vaughn and dorothy jackson that women have been instrumental to our aerospace

enterprise. nasa has developed a number of programs aimed at leveraging its work force to encourage girls and young women to pursue stem degrees and careers. this includes the nasa girls program, the uspire to inspire and summer institute of science, technology program. .r. 321 instructs the nasa administrator to continue supporting these and other programs that encourage women and girls to study science, technology, engineering and math as well as to pursue careers in areao space. the bill calls on nasa to develop a plan for how it can best facilitate and support current and retired astronauts, science activities and engineers to engage with k-12 female students.

although retired engineers, astronauts and engineers are invaluable to inspire the next generation of scientists, i'm emglad and thank my colleague for including early career female astronauts in this plan. it's important for america'sdown girls to have experiences interacting with young women who look like them in the stem field. i thank representative comstock for her leadership on the bill as well as our chairman lamar smith and ranking member eddie bernice johnson and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. and i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut reserves the balance. and the gentlewoman from virginia is recognized. mrs. comstock: i yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. costello. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized. mr. costello: i rise in support

of h.r. 321 and commend the leadership of congresswoman comstock and congresswoman esty which i'm pleased to co-sponsor. we should be doing to encourage young women who wish to study or follow a stem career path and representative comstock has introduced this bill to achieve this goal. it would require nasa to support astronauts, sngs activities and engineers who have retired in their efforts to encourage young women who are interested in studying or working in a stem field. mr. speaker, innovative thirst are critical to our country's success in the modern global workforce. but we have heard the statistics. women make up half of the u.s. workforce and half of the college-educated workforce and 25% of women who attain degrees in the stem field actually end up working in stem jobs. that's why i support this bill and the aims of this bill are

very laudible and should go a long way. it is an important to improve retention of women studying and working in stem fields. i thank again congresswoman comstock and esty for their leadership and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania yields back. the gentlewoman from virginia reserves. and the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized. ms. esty: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield three minutes to my ranking member, eddie bernice johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from texas is recognized. ms. johnson: thank you very much. i rise in support of h.r. 321 the inspiring the next space pioneers, innovators, researchers and explorers womens' act and i express my appreciation of the leadership of congresswoman comstock and

congresswoman esty. this bill would help ensure that the incoming administration continues to promote and strengthen important programs at nasa. to inspire young girls and women to pursue studies and careers in stem areas. despite progress in the right direction, women remain largely underrepresented in stem fields because they continue to face cultural and institutional barriers throughout their studies and career progression. h.r. 321 would support important programs at nasa that encourage young girls and women to pursue carriers in aerospace, this is nasa girls a virtual mentor program. another program connecting young girls with women in stem careers at nasa and summer institute program that increases awareness

and exposes young middle school girls for the stem careers at nasa. r. 321 also calls on nasa to develop a plan for how best to use to use the retired workforce to mentor female k-12 students. what comes to mind are the women featured in the new movie called "hidden figures." we must continue to support our great women in stem who dedicate their time to mentor the girls and young women who will be our next scientists, engineers and innovators. i would like to thank my colleagues again, representative comstock for her leadership on this bill and representative esty. i strongly support this bill and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass it. i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yield back, the gentlewoman from connecticut reserves, the gentlewoman from irginia is recognized. mrs. comstock: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from connecticut is recognized. >> i want to thank my colleagues for their leadership on this particular, in particular the representative from virginia, congresswoman comstock. ms. esty: this is a laudable bill that plays an important role in inspiring the next generation of stem engineers and scientists and i'm pleased that we're able to reoffer this. this did pass in the last congress. unfortunately, it did not make it through the senate. i'm delighted we're moving early in this session and urge my

colleagues to swift pli hi pass this, send it to the senate and make sure these important programs are supported long into the future my thanks to the chairman, ranking member and to representative comstock for her leadership. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. comstock: i'd like to place in the statement a -- in the record a statement from our chairman who is in committee right now and cannot join us. we have had over 65 co-sponsors on this bill, had strong bipartisan support last year and it's been introduced now in the senate. we hope it will move through quickly. eileen collins who became the first female to command and pilot a spacecraft was asked to give advice to future astronauts and she stated, my advice to young people is to go into the field you are most interested

in. if you love your job, you'll do well in your job. i think what we've all discussed here today is when you can see that job and you can see people who look like you, see women, people from all walks of life in those positions and the internet allows taos do that now, you can really have that kind of exposure that is quite exciting. so we appreciate the opportunity to once again present this bill and i ask my colleagues to join us in support and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 3 1. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, and the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from virginia seek recognition? mrs. comstock: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 255, the promoting women in entrepreneurship act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 255 a bill to authorize the national science foundation to support entrepreneurial programs for women. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from virginia, ms. comstock, and the gentlewoman from connecticut, ms. esty, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the joom from virginia. -- the gentlewoman from virginia. mrs. comstock: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 255, the bill now under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. comstock: i yield myself such time as i may consume. now i rise to offer another

bipartisan bill that ms. esty and i have introduced, h.r. 255. her bill, promoting women in entrepreneurship act. we are also joined again on this measure by the chairman and ranking member who are original co-sponsors of this bill. our bill h.r. 255 amends the science and engineering equal opportunities act to authorize the national science foundation to use its entrepreneurial programs to recruit women and to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world. the bill also includes a number of findings regarding women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, also known as the stem fields. one finding in this bill notice that women make up almost 50% of the work force, yet less than 25% of the work force in stem professions. we want to make sure we can do everything to improve these statistics and we believe this bill, along with the earlier bill we voted on, is a step in the right direction. again, i've been happy to

collaborate with my colleague, congresswoman esty, on this important legislation for our young women so they may look to the stars and realize their dreams in this important field that will really be important in the 21st century. eurge my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady 23r connecticut. -- from connecticut. ms. esty: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. esty: i rise in support of h.r. 255, the promoting women in entrepreneurship act. our bill encourages the national science foundation to use its successful entrepreneurial education and training programs such as the innovation core, known as icorps, and rtnerships for innovation to inspire, recruit and assist women entrepreneurs interested in turning their laboratory

qualities into opportunities. why do we need a bill like this? doesn't even know we need more women in the stem fields? the answer is, we have -- is two-fold. number one, we have a work force shortage. if you take the field of advanced manufacturing by itself, in new england, there are 16,000 positions open currently. we have people looking for work. many of them women. they don't have the skill set to meet that open job need right now and that is a need for america to fill those jobs. so number one, we need our qualified work force with appropriate skills to meet the jobs of today. but we also need to think about the jobs of tomorrow. we are a wonderfully diverse country. over half of our work force is women and people of color. historically, chronically, still underrepresented in the stem fields. there are problems we aren't even addressing and solutions we haven't thought of if we don't

have more women with these power tools of the stem skills addressing the challenges and opportunities that this country is facing. so it is both a moral and an economic imperative that we equip more young women. and that is what our bill aims to do here today. i've heard time and time again in my district where we have a lot of small startup companies and major universities about this challenge that we face, bridging that gap between the laboratory and what happens in the commercial work force. through my work, i formed a stem advisory council, met with them for the last two years, and hear among the problems they identify, lack of access to capital. a lack of women mentors in the stem fields. unmanageable expectations for work-life balance. and unconsciouses biases against women in the sciences.

these are among the sorts of issues that the icorps and the partnership for innovation have been designed to help close that gap to deal with these issues. so i want to give you examples of two of the women in my district who i've met with, who are benefiting from these programs and why we need to have more of them and the kinds of difference that they'll make. the irst is a student at university of connecticut and helped the way laboratory secure an icorps grant to commercialize her work on tissue engineer scaffold, innovative work which is going to help with bone repair and regeneration. she attributes her success to her female advisor and mentor, professor may wei, who encouraged her as a young woman to carry out her path forward in the biotech world. and she helped her make that transition from the lab and the

classroom out into the commercial world. and it's turning that research project, she was lucky. she was lucky. she had a mentor and she had a mentor with the experience to help close this gap. clearly -- claire lee northwardi is the c.e.o. of a digital health startup firm in avon, connecticut. received seed grant funding and gained access to hands on training to learn to market her technology to consumers. she's now equipped with the tools to take her discovery and bring it into market. both of these women scientists are examples of the kind of innovation, the kind of economic engine, and the problem solving we need all americans to participate in. so that is what's at stake. that's why we're proposing this. this is not simply about having a poster at the air and space museum with a diverse group of

scientists to hang on the wall and inspire young people. that's important. but it's also important to build on the good work we've already done with the national science foundation, to really provide that equipment, those tools, those mentors. the training. to take those lab discoveries, the basic r&d and commercialize it. so i'm very excited that we're reintroducing this bill. it passed with overwhelming support in the last congress. once again, sadly, did not pass in the senate but we'll start early in this congress. and i'm delighted to be working again with my colleague mrs. comstock with the ranking member eddie behr these johnson who is here today and chairman smith who is detained in other committee work. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentlelady from virginia. mrs. comstock: i have no further speakers. i continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady continues to reserve. who seeks recognition? ms. esty: thank you, mr.

speaker, i yield three minutes to the ranking member, eddie bernice johnson. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for three minutes. ms. johnson: i rise in support of h.r. 2355, the promoting women in entrepreneurship act. the bill helps to build on stem education and mentorship programs such as those highlighted in the inspire act. more women are pursuing stem degrees and careers overall but they continue to be underrepresented and many -- in many stem fields and this is especially true with stem -- in stem fields with high entrepreneurship reach. women who successfully complete degrees in these fields and want to turn their research and their talents at building new companies and creating new jobs, then disproportionately face new hurdles such as obtaining access

to credit. unfortunately, because of these barriers, it remains as important as ever for a federal science agency to support programs and provide grants with the goal of encouraging, inspiring, and supporting women in stem at all levels of their education and training. including entrepreneurship education and training. h.r. 255 ensures that long-standing swrep neuroship education and training programs -- entrepreneurship education and training programs at the national science foundation continue to encourage and recruit women who are looking to move beyond the laboratory and commercialize results of their research. if we are serious about growing our economy, it is just common sense that we would encourage all of our best and brightest, male and female, to commercialize their best ideas and create new companies and new

jobs. i want to thank my colleagues, representative esty for her leadship and representative comstock for her leadership on this bill and i strongly support the bill and encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentlelady from virginia. mrs. comstock: in closing i'd like to -- i continue to reserve and i'd like to place in the record a statement from chairman lamar smith, again, on h.r. 255. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentlelady from connecticut. is recognized. ms. esty: once again, i want to thank my colleague, congresswoman comstock, ranking member eddie bernice johnson, our chairman, lamar smith, and would urge my colleagues to support this worthwhile piece of legislation. it's wonderful to be able to start out the legislative

session with important legislation that will help make a difference not only in the lives of the individuals who receive these grants and this training, but the entire country benefits when we have more women and more young women trained in these fields and able to operationalize and commercialize their discoveries to the benefit of all americans and in many cases the entire world. thank you again. i urge my colleagues to adopt this and vote in favor of this important resolution. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentlewoman from virginia is recognized. mrs. comstock: i want to thank congresswomannesty and congresswoman johnson. i appreciate your passion on both of these bills and leadership and once again being able to join with you on inspiring the next generation of women leaders in the stem fields. as noted by my colleagues, there is such a shortage of

jobs -- people to fill these jobs in general, and now this will equip more women to be able to be prepared in these important fieldes that will allow us to be leaders in the 21st century economy. and i'd also like to thank our staff and we have our female staff here that's been very active on our bills. and a male we appreciate. we are fortunate to have female leadership on our staff, also, and we thank them and i know and working on a program that i've had over the past four years, the young woman's leadership program, nasa and astronauts and space are the most popular that our young women in junior and high school would like to meet and hear and from and really be able to see themselves in those roles and to talk to women who've actually been leaders in those fields. so i appreciate the opportunity to join with my colleagues now and giving that opportunity to the next generation and i yield

back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 255. those in favor say aye. any opposed, say 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.

the speaker pro tempore: purpped the gentleman from texas seek recognition? -- for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 239, the support for rapid innovation act of 2017, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 239, a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to provide for innovative research and development, and for other urposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. ratcliffe, and the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and their remarks

include any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i am very pleased to bring two important bills to the floor today that strengthen the government's ability to effectively leverage cutting edge cybertechnologies. last june, the house passed both of these provisions as part of the majority leader mccarthy's innovation initiative, and i'm excited that we're able to bring them to the floor here so early in the 115th congress. mr. speaker, over the past two years, my colleagues and i have been working diligently with technology innovators and tech startups to find solutions that will spur innovation and break down the bureaucratic barriers that prevent the government from effectively leveraging the private sector's emerging technologies. h.r. 239, the support for rapid innovation act of 2017, addresses this problem by

requiring the science and technology directorate, or s and t, to more effectively oordinate with academic to innovate cybersecurity technologies. it requires them to support the full life cycle of research and development projects and identify mature technologies to address cybersecurity gaps. in doing so, s&t will be required to target federally funded cybersecurity research that demonstrates a high probability of successful transition to the commercial market within two years. this bill will also extend the use of other transactional authority, or o.t.a., until the year 2021, a move that will improve d.h.s.'s ability to engage with tech startups that

are developing these cutting edge technologies. h.r. 239 also includes additional accountability requirements to ensure that there's proper oversight of the authority. mr. speaker, our digital borders are constantly being barraged by cybercriminals, by nation states and by terrorists seeking to exploit and harm innocent americans. almost daily we read news stories how these hackers are intruding into our networks and doing so with increased sophistication. one thing is for certain. we have seen that cyberintrusions and their impact on victims quickly more of and increase both -- morph and increase both in frequency and severity. these hackers will continue to pose a great threat to the homeland and to our critical infrastructure. the federal government, therefore, needs to keep pace

with these evolving threats by more actively working with the private sector to find effective solutions. d.h.s.'s directorate of science and technology is the primary research and development arm of the department. the directorate manages basic and applied research and development including cybersecurity r&d for the department's operational components and for our first responders. ensuring there are mechanisms place like sand t's r&d programs -- s and t's r&d programs, to support this is essential for addressing homeland security gaps. thank you, mr. speaker, for calling up this important bill today. i believe it will have an incredibly high impact on encouraging technology innovation across the nation to address our vital homeland security needs. before i close, i ask unanimous consent to include in the

record an exchange between the chairman of the committee on science, space and technology, and the chairman of the committee on homeland security, and i urge all members to join me in supporting this very important bill and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 239, the support for rapid i yield n act, and myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this timely legislation authorizes the department of homeland security to support cybersecurity research and development and to help innovators with promising cybersecurity technologies to help commercialize their products. government and private sector networks are under constant attack by increasingly sophisticated cyberhackers.

the cyberhacking campaign, carried out by the russian government against u.s. political and business institutions during the 2016 election, is a recent high-profile example. concern has also been growing about the threat of cybercriminals carrying out attacks by exploiting unprotected internet-enabled consumer products. this threat was brought into sharp focus last october when the denial of service attack against dine. during the attack, mallwear was used to direct -- malware was used to direct d.v.r.'s and other consumer products to carry out highly sophisticated attacks. our adversaries are constantly innovating. it is imperative that the federal government and specifically d.h.s. innovate too. to that end, h.r. 239 directs

d.h.s. to invest in innovative cybersecurity technologies and provide d.h.s. with flexibility to overcome bureaucratic obstacles that sometime discourage smaller companies like tech startups from working with the federal government. h.r. 239 directs d.h.s. to pursue cybersecurity products that will improve detection, mitigation and recovery from attacks and bolster the security and resilience of our networks, particularly for critical infrastructure. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, to ensure that d.h.s. does its part to advance cybersecurity, research and development. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers.

if the gentleman from mississippi is prepared to close, i am once the gentleman does. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i yield such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, cybersecurity threats to our nation are growing in diversity and sophistication. we cannot afford to let promising technologies languish. the department of homeland security should work with the private sector in support of the innovative cybersecurity research, development, testing and evaluation. we've seen that public-private collaboration can give these technologies the boost they need to enter the market. just last month, d.h.s. announced a commercialization of an eight cybersecurity product launch with the help of the department's transition to practice program. with that, mr. speaker, i urge

my colleagues to support h.r. 239, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i thank the ranking member for his leadership on the committee, and i want to thank the cybersecurity subcommittee staff for their hard work and i once again urge my colleagues to support h.r. 239 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 239, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 240, the leveraging emerging technologies act of 2017, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 240, a bill to encourage engagement between the department of homeland security and technology innovators, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. ratcliffe, and the gentleman from mississippi, mr. thompson, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: mr. speaker, again, i'm pleased the house is today considering h.r. 240, the leveraging emerging technologies act of 2017.

h.r. 240 encourages engagement between the department of homeland security and technology innovators, including startups. this bill requires the secretary of homeland security to proactively engage with innovative and emerging technology developers and firms to address our vital homeland security needs. additionally, h.r. 240 provides the secretary with the authority to identify geographic areas in the united states where high concentration of these innovative and emerging technology developers and firms exist and to establish personnel and office space in these areas to more effectively collaborate with these technology hubs. the federal government certainly needs to do a better job working with the private sector, and h.r. 240 will help to address that. mr. speaker, this bill also requires the secretary to develop and to implement a targeted strategy to

proactively engage innovative and emerging technology developers and firms. under this bill, the secretary must use the strategic plan to address existing barriers to leveraging innovative and emerging technologies and the small businesses and startup ventures that create those technologies and to incorporate them into the department's acquisition process. for example, in order to keep pace, the department of homeland security has established an office in silicon valley to encourage engagement and communication with the innovative technology developers in that area, and although it is a vital technology hub, silicon valley certainly is not the only technology hub in the united states. the department should not be limited to a single geographic area from which to identify these emerging and innovative technologies. mr. speaker, all americans are

learning that cybersecurity is national security. the impacts of cyberintrusions are being felt everywhere from board room tables and kitchen tables and we've seen them undermine consumer confidence and damage a company's hard-earned reputation in just a matter of seconds. cybersecurity is a complex and serious issue that our country will have to address for decades to come, so it only makes sense, mr. speaker, for us to require the department to consider strategically just how it will engage these technology developers to strengthen the department's ability to access innovative and emerging technologies to better combat evolving cyberthreats. i'm happy to support this measure today because i believe it will move us forward further addressing our homeland security needs by supporting technology innovation so i urge all members to join me in supporting this important bill and i reserve the balance of my time.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from mississippi is recognized. r. thompson: i rise in support emerging40, leveraging technologies act of 2017. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: i'm a co-sponsor of this measure and was for its predecessor last congress. last june, the house approved this measure by a 347-8 vote. this bipartisan bill directs the department of homeland security to engage small businesses, startup companies, and other developers of innovative and emerging technologies to tackle some of our most vexing, persistent homeland security challenges. it is no secret that navigating the federal procurement process is difficult, especially for

small startups. meanwhile, small companies continue to develop some of the most innovative technological solutions in use today. there are huge -- they are a -- there are huge sources of untapped potential capable of bringing forward thinking, ground breaking ideas to the homeland security enterprise. to build these relationships, h.r. 240 allows d.h.s. to establish personnel and office space in areas around the u.s. where technology innovators are concentrated. having a physical presence in these tech hubs will make it easier for d.h.s. to grow and maintain connections with local startup investors and incubators. the department has already taken action in this regard. n 2015, d.h.s. science and technology director established,

as has been said, a silicon valley office and announced its first ever procurement focused on working with nontraditional contractors and tech startups. the d.h.s. innovation other transaction solution shouth technologies to address security challenges in aviation, border, and cybersecurity. today under this program, d.h.s. funded awards to 13 small businesses in california, texas, georgia, massachusetts, and washington state. additionally, d.h.s. has reached out to technology innovators and regional events in boston, pittsburgh, san francisco, new rleans, chicago, lewisville, and austin, raising awareness with more than 1,500 startups through city days, panels,

conferences and startup meetups. the feedback has been very positive but it's also validated the need to educate the community about who d.h.s. is and what the challenges are. with that, mr. speaker, for those reasons, i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves this egentleman from texas is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: if -- i have no other speakers. if the gentleman is prepared to close. mr. thompson: i am prepared to close at this time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support this legislation, h.r. 240 recognizes that d.h.s. depends on technology to carry out its missions and must nurture and maintain robust and direct

relationships with talented technology developers, even those that do not fit the mold of the typical federal contractor. d.h.s. could improve the productivity and sustainability of these outreach efforts by developing a strategy to proactively engage with innovators in a way that supports long-term relationships. h.r. 240 calls for such a strategy to be delivered to congress and implemented within six months. two features of that strategy required under this bill that i would like to highlight are provisions that i sponsored. one requires the strategy to give attention to fostering engagement with developers that may be located outside to recognize regional technology hubs. the other directs the strategy to include coordination with venture capital organizations to

help emerging technology developersing including small businesses and startup ventures, commercialize technologies that address a rapidly growing list of homeland security needs. mr. speaker, for all the reasons discussed, i urge support of h.r. 240 and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. ratcliffe: i'd like to thank the gentleman from mississippi for his support of this bill and for his leadership in keeping this issue at the forefront of our cybersecurity discussion. mr. speaker, this is an incredibly important bill and i once again want to urge my colleagues to support h.r. 240 and will 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. 240 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 274, the modernizing government travel act, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 274, a bill to provide for reimbursement for the use of modern travel services by federal employees

traveling on official government business and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from utah, mr. chaffetz, and the gentleman from eachornia, mr. desawn yay, will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from utah. mr. chaffetz: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bills. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. chaffetz: h.r. 274rk the modernizing government travel act is a bipartisan bill sponsored by congressman seth moulton of massachusetts, mr. will hurd of texas, and congressman mark meadows of north carolina have all come together on this bill. it's a good bill, it's a bill that came up in the 114th congress. the same bill passed through the committee by regular order and then was in a close, close vote,

close vote, much like the clemson-alabama game last night, but the score when we voted on this was 415-0. so i think there was a pretty good sense from the congress at least in the past that this was a good bill and it should pass. the federal employees current transportation options on official travel are limited. while some agencies allow employees to be reimbursed or using sharing economy services such as lyft or uber, not all do and as a result the whole federal government does not benefit from the cost savings that can occur while being associated with these services. the modernizing government travel act allows the federal government to reap the benefits of the sharing economy. the bill ensures that new transportation services, as they emerge, federal employees can quickly take advantage of the efficiencies of the new technologies that may be offered. by opening up a new market for transportation services, h r. 274, the bill under consideration right now, will

also hope -- help spur innovation and competition, creating potential greater cost savings. we have some two million federal employees, so this is an important part, shouldn't just be glanced over. there could be considerable savings along the way. we must ensure that there's accountability for travel expenditures, our committee, the government and oversight reform and other watchdog groups outside of government are looking at these expenses. we have a duty and obligation to make sure that we're dealing with the federal taxpayers' dollars responsibly. this bill mandates that agencies report travel costs for each type of travel service to the general services administration. the so-called g.s.a. the g.s.a. must then publish that data, helping make federal government more transparent and accountable this eg.s.a. will also report to congress on agency official travel costs in order to make sure they inform future transportation policy decisions. i'd urge passage of the bill and

reserve the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. desaulnier: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. desaulnier: i was trying to think of a b.y.u. footballable analogy but wasn't able to come up with one yet. i rise in support of h.r. 274, the modernizing government travel act as amended. i appreciate the good work of representatives moulton, swalwell and others on this. it would expand transportation options fn for federal employees by allowing them to be reimbursed for ride sharing services such as uber and lyft. it would also allow for the use of future mobile technologies in the yet known to be rewomen ursed. -- reimbursed. the service one directed to

implement regulation, it would require federal agencies to submit detailed information on travel costs, including breakdowns of cost by transportation type by november 30 of each year. g.s.a. would be required to submit annual reports to congress containing an analysis or survey of agencies, travel costs, as well as descriptions of new or revised regulations. h.r. 274 is a commonsense, good government bill and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: i'd like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, mr. hurd, co-sponsor of this bill and somebody who has been involved in this subject. i'd like to yield to mr. hurd of texas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields to mr. hurd of texas. mr. hurd: it's way pastime that our government reconsiders the way it views technology.

adherence to tech kids-old policy regarding technology costs our taxpayer billions of dollars, stifles creativity and needlessly prevents our government from utilizing private sector technologies. this bill, the modernizing government travel central -- travel act is real simple. to allow federal employees to utilize the services of innovative companies while on official travel. last congress, as the chairman alluded to, this bill passed the house with overwhelming bipartisan support. 415 yeas to no nays. private sector companies have had a tremendous impact on the way that people travel. and we should allow our government to recognize these changes. by widening the scope of reimbursable forms of transportation, we are encouraging the adoption of innovative technologies and promoting competition. the bill also requires agencies to report what types of transportation their employees are taking while on official

travel. and this data will be publicly available. thus increasing transparency and accountability in how taxpayer dollars are being spent. h.r. 274, as amended, is a sensible piece of legislation that can help modernize our government. and ensure the united states is moving seamlessly into the 21st century. i want to thank my colleague, representative moulton, for his leadership on this important issue, as well as representatives meadows, bustos, and swalwell for their support for this bill. i ask my colleagues to join me in support of h.r. 274. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back. . mr. chaffetz: i reserve the of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from california is recognized. >> i yield to my colleague from the of our time. commonwealth o massachusetts, mr. moulton. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. moulton: i want to thank my colleague from california for

yielding. i rise in strong support of h.r. 274, the modernizing government travel act. this legislation is a bipartisan effort that demonstrates a consensus amongst all of us that the federal government has failed to keep pace with the technological advances and innovation that have come to define the 21st century. despite the emergence of new technologies designed to improve the way we travel, today some federal employees are unable to be reimbursed for using more cost-effective innovative modes of travel when traveling on official business. innovative ride sharing services supported by mobile apps have dramatically changed how we get from one place to another. now with just a few taps on a phone, we can access a variety of new transportation options like rideshare, carshare and bikeshare that complement rapid transit, take more cars off our congested roads and reduce fuel emissions.

according to a recent study, 52% of people using transit for work-related travel chose to use ride-hailing services and other innovative technologies. while the government services administration allows agencies to authorize the use of these transportation options by federal employees, it has not nor is it required by law to issue guidance across the federal government. h.r. 274 would require the general services administration to implement regulations to allow federal employees to use transportation options like rideshare and bikeshare for options. and they will be required to submit a report to congress on the implementation of these and the government savings. i want to thank my friend and colleague, representative hurd, for working with me on this legislation, as well as representatives swalwell, issa, buse oast and meadows for their -- bustos and meadows for their

bipartisan support. this will save taxpayer dollars. i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve his time? mr. swalwell: mr. speaker, i have no further speakers and i'd yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from utah is recognized. mr. chaffetz: mr. speaker, i want to thank mr. moulton, first and foremost, for his service to our country, serving in the armed services. we really do appreciate that. can't thank him enough for that service. but also appreciate him bringing forward this bill. his working with mr. hurd of texas, mr. meadows of north rolina, i appreciate mr. desauliner and what mr. cummings have done, too, to help move this bill forward. good broad bipartisan support, strong support in the 114th congress, passing unanimously

with 414 votes. i think it's worthy to bring this up early in the congress and the idea of saving money and taking advantage of technology, as mr. hurd said and mr. moulton talked about as well, save some money and tap into the technology into is available to save money for the government and ultimately for the taxpayers. it is their money indeed. i'd urge its passage and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 274. those in favor say aye. as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house subject to the call of the chair.shington journal" continues. is at our sherman desk representing california's 30th district, a senior democrat on the house for the relations committee. your senate colleagues this week will be hearing testimony and the nomination hearing for rex tillerson to be america's next top diplomat. i know you do not get to appear on that panel, but if you did, what questions would you