which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> tonight president trump delivering his first address to a joint session of congress. we'll have live coverage when the speech begins at 9:00 eastern time. and join us during the hour prior for our live preview and stay afterward as we get your reaction when things have wrapped up. all here on c-span. live now to the floor of the house for debate on a bill dealing with federal regulations. the speaker pro tempore: the house -- the speaker: the will be in order. the chair will -- the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, chaplain harvey clay of bluffton, texas. the chaplain: oh, mighty god we thank you that heroic leader shep has been taken in this house in times of crisis, for

their effort to seek compromise where compromise is warranted and for creative solutions acted upon in the best interests of the american people. may unity prevail even when parties are in conflict, when progress is impeded and negotiations break down, grant them fresh ideas for discussion and ultimate resolution. may all members of this house remain faithful to the oath of office they have taken as representatives of we the people and may political ideologies be tempered by intellectual honesty. lord, bless this land we love so much and save us from our own self-inflict wounds. this we pray in the name of all that is holy, 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 rowl 1,

the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance -- allegiance will be led by the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. mr. engel: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indy visible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: without objection the gentleman from texas, mr. conaway is recognized for one minute. mr. mr. conaway: i rise to recognize a constituent of mine who is re with us today, chaplain harvey klee is here today. we heard him give a beautiful invocation calling us to be unified in our actions. chaplain klee has dedicated himself to living by those words, serving our nation and its people in many ways. he served in the navy in the

korean war, later worked as a missionary in helping drug addicts and designing training programs for inmates at prisons in california. he founded the texas chaplain association and has been appointed texas department chaplain nine times, more than any other chaplain in the history of the department. chaplain klee, thank you for reminding office the power of the lord jesus cries. mr. -- christ. -- christ. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the j michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. i am proud today to have dr. mona atisha, the daughter of iraqi american scientists, the

physician who helped expose the flint water crisis as my guest at the joint session and the address by the president tonight. simply put, dr. mona, as her patients call her, is a hero. er persistence exposed the terrible man-made crisis that poisoned my hometown. she's been an incredible partner in the fight for resources to elp fix the problems in flint. her personal story of coming to america from iraq reminds us of the many important contributions that immigrants make. in donald trump's world, though, dr. mona may not have been there for flint kids. she's an iraqi immigrant. in donald trump's world she would actually have been turned away. she would not have been the hero to thousands of flint families. she's the epitome of what makes

america great. what it means to be an american citizen. she stood up for what was right. exposed the facts in flint, michigan. in the face of bullying, she spoke truth to power and she persisted. exposed the she is a hero. she is what makes this country great. she is what's good about the united states of america. an immigrant to this country who stood for the people of my hometown. she is a message and her presence here today is intended to send a message to the president of the united states and to the rest of the country that that's what makes america great. she adds to the fabric of this country. i'm grateful to have her here today. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute.

mr. poe: mr. speaker, over 260 americans have traveled to iraq and syria to fight for known foreign terrorist organizations. when they are -- when they return back to america, they are not coming back to open up coffee shops. they are coming back to do mischief against us. the most important job of government is to protect the citizens. that's why my colleague, bill keating, and i have introduced the foreign terrorist organization passport revocation act. it directs the secretary of state to revoke passports of those americans who have joined foreign terrorist organizations. they are still citizens but they cannot travel back to the united states or to any other country. the only way they come back to the united states is under arrest by law enforcement in handcuffs. this is a bipartisan bill that will stop these benedict arnolds from coming back at aw. if someone takes arms up with our enemies, that person deserves to be treated like an enemy. that's just the way it is.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thanks, mr. speaker. when you come into bremerton, washington, on the ferry, you see one of my favorite sites, it's building 460 of the puget sound naval shipyard and says on the side of the building, puget sound naval shipyard, building on a proud tradition. mr. kilmer: it is far and await largest employer in the region i represent. these are men and women who take great pride in their work and have done so for over 125 years. they are also critical to the success of our national security mission. but too often in this town they don't get the respect they deserve. and that's why my guest this evening is bruce baily with the bremerton building and metal trades council.

he's a local leader for our shipyard workers. i want to make sure this new administration understands how important this work force is to our country. these are not just talented professionals, they have been amazing partners in putting together an action agenda for shipyard workers that we introduced last week. exempting our shipyard workers from the hiring freeze, which is critical to our nation's security. making sure that retired service members, our veterans, are able to secure jobs in our defense department. and halting policies that lower the compensation of defense workers. changes in perfect diem and overtime policies that affect their take-home pay. it's important that we have the backs of these vital workers and that's why i have invited bruce baily as my guest this evening. 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 pennsylvania seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the

house for one minute. and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, this week marks rare disease week on the hill. many members of this house will meet with patients, caregivers, physicians, family members, advocates from across the country about how their lives are impacted by disease. the national institute of health considers a disease rare if it affects fewer than 200,000 people across the united states. many times the disease is accompanied by uncommon or mismatched symptoms that make diagnosing difficult an many times such illnesses are without a cumplete mr. speaker, before came to congress i was a health care professional and seen firsthand how devastating a disease or injury can be to an individual and families. i welcome the rare disease community to washington this week and i look forward to meeting with representatives from the fifth district of pennsylvania, including tom ser, james and jean from

bellfont, pennsylvania. education can help shape policy, mr. speaker. to better meet the needs of the rare disease community. i'm pleased to be a part of that conversation. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from illinois seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. ms. kelly: thank you, mr. speaker. last week i hosted a dozen constituent events in my distrifpblgt at every turn families asked the same question, when will congress investigate the president's involvement with russia? i have received many calls and emails about russia for weeks. the american people are deeply and rightly concerned with this administration's involvement with the putin regime. we know the president's handpicked national security advisor was supposed to resign over his communications with russia. we know if moscow did influence our free elections, we have a duty to stand up against those threats and not sweep them under

the rug. we do not support putin's human rights record, his treatment of journalists, or invasion of georgia and ukraine. where my grandmother was born. why is the people's house protecting putin? why are we not standing up to president trump and investigating his dealings with the putin regime? what are we afraid of? to my colleagues on the house oversight committee, what are you afraid we'll find out if we investigate? mr. speaker, when are we going to get answers for the american people. lastly, i wellcome chicago matt mcgill and planned parenthood's donna miller to tonight's joint session. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the ntlelady from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minutele of -- recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask for one m. ms. jackson lee: what a wonderful country, mr. speaker, that we live in. it is wonderful because we have

come maybe some because of the statue of liberty's wonderful words or others who have come in different ways. we're different but we're one. tonight in his message wouldn't it be well to focus on our unity and not our divisiveness? since the election, there have been 1,000 hate crimes. course in the last 72 hours o last week, two indo-americans, indians, engineers, one dead, one shot, and the perpetrator indicated in his words, i shot two middle easterners. what kind of hate is being generated, it's being generated and needs to cease? we need to have a speech tonight that will speak to the unity, speak against anti-semitism, and the attacks that are going on the jewish community. we need to recognize the distinctions and the differences

. we need to stop the siege against hispanics, mass deportation, african-americans, discrimination, and others, women and many others. this needs to be a time of unity, respect, and dignity. i'll be waiting to hear and to see. what kind of america are we going to be guided by and what kind of america will we live in? i hope for the best. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the entlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek redskin nation? -- seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. green: mr. speaker, members, health care is important to every family in america. the affordable care act increased access to health care for about 20 million americans. is the affordable care act

perfect? no bill that's ever been debated on this floor and passed is perfect. let's make our goal not to have anyone who received access to health care not to lose it. we need to make it better and to guarantee access to quality health care for all americans. america can do better. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? >> to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. engel: thank you, mr. speaker. i have long prided myself on working across the aisle to get constituents r my and alt american people. that's what most people want, a government that grapples with tough issues in a constructive way. unfortunately, since january 20, the constituents and alt american people. that's what most people new admn no interest in working with the congress on both sides to tackle problems, including russia's unlawful interference in last year's election. that's why i decided not to stand on the aisle of the house

chamber to shake the president's hand during this joint session of congress as i have done in the past through democratic and republican administrations alike. this will be the first time during my 29 years in the house that i have made this decision. i have deep respect for the presidency and i will attend the joint session, but that respect between branches must be mutual. the president has attacked the free press by calling the enemy of the people. he's rejected america's traditional role of welcoming refugees which helped to make our country great. he's cozyied up to putin. he's moved to gut the affordable care act, and looked the other way when threats against the jewish community have increased he's cozyied in recent years. this isn't part of our normal political discourse. this goes beyond ideological and political differences. the president needs to work with all people and therefore i will listen to what he has to say today, but will i not greet him and shake his hand. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the

gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 150 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 150. resolved, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2b 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. 998, to provide for the establishment of a process for the review of rules and sets 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 chair and ranking minority member of the committee on oversight and government reform. 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 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, upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the joint resolution, h.j. res. 83, disapproving the rule submitted by the department of labor relating to clarification of employer's continuing obligation

to make and maintain an accurate record of each recordable injury and illness. all points of order against consideration of the joint resolution are waived. the joint resolution shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the joint resolution are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the joint resolution and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and the workforce, and two, one motion to recommit. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr.ical lins: i yield the customary 30 minutes to mr. hastings. all time yielded is for purposes of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and

include extraneous materials on house resolution 150, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to bring forth this rule on behalf of the rules committee. the rule provides for consideration-h.r. 998 and h.j.res. 83, a resolution kiss approving of the department of labor rule related to employee recordkeeping. the rule provides for one hour of debate for each bill. the rule also provides for a motion to recommit for both pieces of underlying legislation. additionally the rule makes in order 12 amendments. 11 from our friends across the aisle to the scrub act. yesterday the rules committee had the opportunity to hear from chairman chaffetz and congressman cartwright on behalf of the government and oversight the committee and congressmen byrnes and courtney on behalf of the education and work force committee. both pieces of legislation

before us take steps to remove unnecessary burdens that the government has levied on people from coast to coast. the code of federal regulations spans more than 178,000 pages. it contains more than one million regulatory restrictions. let's let that sink in for a moment, mr. speaker. let's think about that for a second. 178,000 pages and over a million regulatory restrictions. on average, an average of nearly 12,000 new restrictions were added each year. let me be clear, some regulations are necessary. they're completely what we need to have. i don't believe that all regulation is bad. so before we go down that path, let me just say that this is a fact and we can continue this i believe we need clean air. clean water. smart standards for how to handle nuclear energy. worker protections. just to name afew. but i think we've allowed

regulatory schemes to run amok. far too many regulations offer our citizens minimal benefits at confounding costs. taxpayers and businesses alike are withering under legislation that's -- regulations that are outtated and nonsensical. do we need them to mandate what kind of latch a baker would use on a flour bin? tell restaurants they can't use dish wash herbs that use proper amount of water department, leaving them cleaning their dishes twice. it's time we identify and apolish regular thrarings pointless, those that prevent people from doing their jobs and those that are inefficient and ineffective. the scrub act takes steps to do just that. and contributes to our efforts in the house to rein in overregulation. the scrub act, introduced by my

friend from missouri, congressman jason smith, establishes a bipartisan, retrospective regulatory review commission to identify unnecessary rules that are hindering economic growth. the commission will identify which rules need to be repealed immediately and which can be addressed by more flexible procedures outlined in the legislation. congress can vote on recommendations and take steps to begin immediately repeal regulations or implementing a cut-go process. importantly, the information created by the scrub act will ensure that redundant regulations from different agencies will be review. urrently, agency enact regulations without comparison. i have witnessed how overregulation is stifling growth in our communities. the remedy for this economic anemia is to get unnecessary regulations off the book and instead focus on enforcing

regulations that are achieving benefits for our neighbors. the second piece of legislation also returns taos a policy that reinstates the spirit of the law. h.j.res. 83 introduced by my fellow rules committee member, congressman byrne from alabama, -- to utilizes a rule overturn a rule from sew osha. worker protection is important but they lose their purpose then they don't protect workers effectively. the rules we're talking about today is the latest example of misfwided regulatory zeal. in the waning difes the priest administration, osha put forward a rule that was punitive toward workers. it require them to maintain logs of workplace illnesses and injuries. however the employers can only be cited for record keepings --

recordkeeping violations for a six-month time period. they have to keep it for five year bus only can be in violation within a six month violation this arrangement is constructive, logs should be kept up to date so businesses can make informed decisions about health and safety in the workplace. this requirement encourages business to improve safety measures in a timely manner. however, the previous administration decided to rewrite the law through regulation in a way that penalizes and burdens small businesses without achieving meaningful benefits. osha finalized the rule that extends the penalty for recordkeeping violations up to five years. aside from ignoring existing laws and court decisions that ontradict this regulation osha has chosen to focus on recordkeeping violations. we can agrow keeping our workplaces safe is nonnegotiable, but osha has inlied over-repressive rules

the name of having a healthier workplace. this is why i'm glad to this resolution of disapproval to overturn the most recent osha overstep. these take common sense steps to unlock the regulatory shackles agencies have put on the economy and taxpayers. i reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the chair reserves the -- the gentleman reserves, the chair recognizes the gentleman from georgia. mr. hastings: i yield myself such time as i macon susme -- as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. hastings: as my friend across the aisle has noted this rule bundles together two unrelated pieces of legislation. we're developing a pat herb here of doing that in the rules committee. the first of these is h.j.res.

83. a congressional review act resolution of disapproval that seeks to overturn a department of labor rule on workplace injuries, undermining workplace safety and health in the process. the second measure is h.r. 998, the scrub act, which establishes a new commission to review federal regulations with the aim of needlessly politicizing and thereby undermining the regulatory framework that keeps our air clean and our water safe to drink. i note that my friend on the other side of the aisle did not mention that that -- that this commission will cost $30 million. for work that last night's presenter at the rules committee said that congress do, the argument being that kuok doesn't have enough staff so we're gong to send it over to

never-before-seen people and pay 30 million to have them do the work that we in congress should be doing. beginning with the c.r.a. resolution, the 14th such resolution considered by the house this month, the republican leadership is continuing its onslaught against well thought out and measured regulations. i get it. republicans control the house. the senate. and the white house. and they're desperately trying to ram through their priorities before anyone notices what they're doing. it's interesting to me, mr. speaker, where the republican majority has focused its attention throughout the past month. i can't help but notice that 40 days into donald john trump's administration he has not put forth one single jobs measure.

democrats on the other hand, continue to talk about the need for good, well-paying jobs and the united states senate put out the democrats' trillion dollar jobs plan that anybody can read on their website where we stand when it comes to well-paying jobs. yet as we advocate for our plan to rebuild our nation's infrastructure and create over 15 million jobs in the process, republicans pass measures to drug test applicants for unemployment insurance and repeal rules that require federal contractors to disclose violations of federal labor and worker safety laws. this resolution repeals the department of labor rule pertaining to the occupational safety and health administration. the rule in question requires employers to keep and maintain accurate records of every

recordable injury and illness in federally mandated logs for a period of five years. it's worth mentioning that this policy has been upheld in cases dating back to 1993. the rule, when implemented, added zero new compliance obligations, zero new reporting only fwations, and cost a toe tl of, you guessed it, zero dollars. yet once again this is what we are spending our time on this week. repealing a thoughtful rule designed to protect workers. i'm particularly concerned by this resolution as it actually jeopardizes workplace safety. by allowing employers to avoid penalties for the underreporting of the injuries of many year -- over many years. long standing workplace hazards

will and can certainly be masked this makes it less likely this employers or employees will take correct i actions or that osha will find the hazards when they do an inspection, leaving workers in danger. it's also worth noting that due to its very small budget, osha is only able to inspect a workplace on average once every 140 years. you heard me correctly. once every 140 years. that makes data even more important. yet by diminishing the reliability of a work site's injury data which some employers systematically underreport, resolution also takes away osha's ability to protect workers from the most significant hazards. mr. speaker, throughout the past week, concerned americans

attended town halls across the country, and for those who were actually able to meet with their republican representatives in congress, the conversations focused on protecting health care, creating jobs, and protecting the environment. . at these meetings constituents did not ask for fewer workplace protections. they did not ask for congress to act to make it easier for people with severe mental illness to purchase guns. they didn't ask for congress to ease disclosure requirements for oil companies making payments to foreign governments. and yet these are the things the republican majority has already chosen to focus on this month. watching the news i did not hear one person say, if only congress would repeal anti-corruption rules, undermine my retirement

security, and then allow endangered enmalls on national wildlife refuges to be killed using inhumane methods, if only congress would do these things, my life would be better. not one person, mr. speaker. yet in the past month the house voted to do all of the things that i just mentioned. i submit to the american people watching at home right now that this is the face of today's republican party. tell me who you think is really on your side. turning our attention to this bill, it would establish a commission, $30 million commission, with unlimited subpoena authority that is empowered to dismantle long established science-based public health and safety standards. the scrub act would undermine the ability of agencies to react to immediate public health threats by adopting the

regulatory cut goal process. the cut goal system is, in my opinion, completely detached from reality. this requirement will prohibit agencies from issuing any new rules, even if the case of emergencies or imminent harm to the public, until they repeal an exis g rule -- existing rule to offset the costs. along with bills that have already come to the house floor under this republican congress, as well as donald trump's executive actions mandating a regulatory freeze, this legislation demonstrates a continued attack on standards set in place to protect american families. i guess it's not all that surprising that my republican friends are pushing through legislation that prioritizes corporate profit over health and safety of the american people.

whether it is denying access to women's health care or rolling back environmental protections, republicans are making it clear where their allegiances lie. for a party that prides itself on being anti-red tape, the scrub act strangely duplicates existing requirements to conduct retrospective reviews of rules. rules on top of rules on top of rules. our regulatory system should work for american families and encourage companies to run safe, forward thinking businesses. this legislation would move us in the opposite direction. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. look, i enjoy coming down, i

love being a part, mr. speaker, of debating and coming here on the floor. my friend from florida and i do that quite regularly in the rules committee. it is a good thing. he's brought up a lot of bills. what i would encourage everyone to do, he listed out a list of horribles that was all discussed on this floor. go back and look at the other side, as paul harvey used to say, and the rest of the story. for all the his of lorbles, mr. speaker, we also need to -- horribles, mr. speaker, we also need to balance the votes on this floor. it was not a one-sided affair. it was two. me, ther thing that struck mr. speaker, was this. this was a careful -- especially dealing with this c.r.a. on the cords.

d.c. abell lat court, said osha, you can't do this. you can't go back and maintain the records and then only be able what the law actually says is punishable within six months of this. so this is not long and thought out. it was established in the case, the case we do not believe congress, these are the judges speaking, expressly the statute of limitations only to implicitly encourage the secretary to ignore it. this goes back to the heart, mr. speaker, if we're wanting to discuss the face of a republican majority that is listening to the constitution and the american people saying we need relief from some of these regulatory burdens in which good people, will i never not say good people working these agencies. but when you give good people a job and you tell them to go do something and to sit in their cubicles or offices and say how can i come up with more regulatory -- they are going to do it. americans are the best workers in the world. they are going to use their

talents. the problem is when you put them in a position which many times their talents do not equal what is happening in the real world. mr. speaker, you have seen that in your state. i have seen that in mine. in fact, we have seen it in florida as well and other states. it's simply bringing us back to common sense reasoning in this and saying why, when you cannot, by law, punish this, why are you keeping it? the court actually also made an interesting statement as well in this. it said that in one footnote it said osha did not site folks for failure to retain injury records when that is the only conduct which the statute of limitations suggested osha had at some point correctly understood that unmade record cannot be said to have been retained and that an employer's obligation with respect niking and keeping records are distinct. the idea that you're somehow going to harm record keeping

here, which is a separate violation, by the way, which has nothing to do with the keeping of the records five years, let's at least get this process straight here, if you do not as a work -- employer record workplace injuries and record these incidents, you are in an issue there. you are violating the law there. so let's look at this. osha has a great place. it should be the teaching arm. it should be the encouraging arm for every employer to look to for best practices and standards on how to do what i believe every employer here inherently gets up every morning wanting to do. they do not want a work force that is hurt, maimed, or put at risk in their jobs every day. instead, osha has mored of -- more ofed -- morphed over time and this body is partially to blame. it's morphed into something that

frankly has left its occupational safety and health administration. it's become punitive it's become a way of not helpful but yet actually hurtful in the marketplace. so as we look at this, let's -- as we talk about, this i appreciate my friend from florida, and he makes a good case for his side, i'm going to simply make the case for our side that when you look at regulatory burdens, it shouldn't be there. when you are looking at that time as we just talked about, we're not every regulatory burden does not come down to clean air and clean water. every regulatory burden we talk about does not come out to clean water, clean air, or working on airplanes or anything else. there are some that simply are in the way of business like i mentioned earlier how the linchpin on a baker's can should work. really, mr. speaker? so in this issue let's continue to move how we're. let's continue to put forward commonsense regulations. we can disagreement that's why that vote total on that board

will show number a little while. at the end of the day who is on your side? republican majority who says, let's get to work. make surelpful, let's everybody has tune to continue to do what they intended to do. to do so in a sense that makes sense and doesn't continue to be punitive. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i appreciate my friend from georgia's passion. i would suggest to him that i'm amused that he would get in the weeds and rather substantial legal opinion, a portion of it he correctly cited, but he itted the continuing part of the judge's remarks that said

that, indeed, you could go back and put forth a resolution. i find it particularly amusing that my friends on the other side after not granting that judge a hearing so that he could become a supreme court justice, now want to say what a great judge he is and what a great amount of work he does. shame on everyone that did not give him an appropriate hearing. but i understand what it is to steal a judge of the supreme court and that's what my friends n the republican side did. this judge's opinion continued on to say that you could establish regulations. every aker, up until now

president since gerald ford has disclosed his tax return information. these returns have provided a basic level of transparency that has helped to ensure the public's interest is placed first. the american people deserve the same level of disclosure from donald john trump. if they continue to refuse to provide it, it is incumbent upon us as the people's elected representatives to hold the executive branch accountable. mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question, i will offer an amendment to the rule to bring representative anna eshoo's bill which would require presidents and major party nominees for the presidency to release their tax returns. 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. hastings: to discuss our proposal, i'm very pleased to yield to my good friend and classmate, the distinguished gentlewoman from california, miss anna eshoo. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. eshoo: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my friend and classmate, wonderful colleague, mr. hastings, for yielding time to me. i rise today in opposition to the rule and the underlying bills, and i urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that this bipartisan bill that i have written, the presidential tax transparency act, can be made in order for immediate floor debate and a vote. the presidential tax transparency act would require the president and all future presidents and presidential

nominees of the major parties, democrats and republicans, to publicly disclose their tax returns. it came as a surprise to many americans to the 2016 campaign that this disclosure was not required by law. instead, we have had a tradition of voluntary disclosure among every president of both parties since the post watergate era. until now our presidents have recognized that those who seek the most -- or hold the most powerful office in the world should be held to highest standard of transparency. donald trump is the first president to refuse to release his tax returns since gerald ford. a man of the house. i remember when his remains were brought to the capitol where he

rested in the rotunda but came by the doors of the house. he was a man of the house. and a man of integrity. he, along with a host of others, democrats and republicans, voluntarily released their tax returns. but mr. trump's 2016 candidate filing with the federal election it ission shows that he has 564 financial positions in companies located both in the united states and around the world, including relationships with state affiliated businesses in several countries. . why is this important to note? the president had an opportunity to resolve these conflicts of interest by divesting and placing his business asset into a true blind trust, as other presidents have done, republicans and democrats. instead he chose to turn over

control of his business to his sons in an arrangement that the director the nonpartisan office of government ethics called, quote, wholly inadequate and meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective. and since he's taken office, these ethics concerns have been borne out in the form of his and his campaign's connection to russia, keep deeply, deeply troubling to all of us and to the american people, legitimately so. his family's potential new business dealings in the republic, and, the quote hiring of a diplomatic director of sales at his d.c. hotel to attract business among tip lo mats. this is deeply unsettling to say the least. simply put, the president's business empire makes him more

susceptible to conflicts of interest than any other president in the history of our country. three of the president's nominees have already withdrawn their names from consideration due to potential financial conflicts of interest. only a full release of the president's tax returns will provide the public with clear information as to his potential conflicts of interest and his potential enpang -- entanglements with foreign governments and foreign businesses. last night, here on the floor, the house voted along party lines, unfortunately, to block an effort to obtain the president's tax returns on the the houses existing authority. today we have another chance to honor the will of the american and and write this -- write this important disclosure tradition into law. into law.

according to a recent "washington post" abc news poll, 74 pnth -- "washington post"/abc news poll, 74% of american believe the president should release his tax returns. 74%. the top petition on the white house website has over one million signatures to it, calling on the president to release his tax returns. i think the voice of the people, the american people is clear. as their representative, they deserve to have us take action on this. because we all want a conflict of interest free president. soy urge my colleagues to reject the previous question so we can hold an immediate vote on the president, -- presidential tax transparency act and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. as my friend from florida just said, i think we could sum it up

very easily right here on this discussion and no, i did not choose not to continue the other quotes in the ruling which were, again, pretty amazing. i'll just say this. the reason is, is because i was saving it for now because they said you can do your regulation. you can make the keep for five years. but as an old scripture taught me years ago, not all thing -- all things may be lawful but they're not useful. are you protecting employers and employees and making the workplace safer. right here, we're not seeing that i think it's also interesting, let's just have common sense in this. you cannot publish up to six months this ecourt said much to the same on page 13 of their opinion. i think what we have to look at here is in looking at this, let's talk about the issues of common sense, let's talk about

regulatory burden that works instead of regulatory burden that does not. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i would pass through you to determine if my colleague has completed his offerings in terms of members? i have no further speakers and would urge that i'm prepared to close. mr. collins: i'm prepared to let the member close. mr. hastings: thank you very much. mr. speaker, this evening donald john trump will address a joint session of congress. i expect we are here -- we will hear some version of the same message we've heard throughout the first month of his chaotic administration. talk of jobs and american workers and protecting our country. but that's all it has been up to now, just talk.

instead of actually doing any of those things, republicans are sowing chaos, trying to turn their absurd campaign speech into something that resembles policy. and frankly, that just will not fly. donald john trump's campaign rhetoric doesn't fit the actual challenges of governing. and i believe my friends on the other side of the aisle have starting to come to this realization and if they haven't, may i urge upon them that the rubber is going to hit the road with the debt ceiling and with tax reform and with repeal and replace of the affordable health care act. watch. i ask the american people to watch the divisions on the other side when the rubber hits the road. mr. speaker, with every action they take, reality and facts

keep stopping them in their tracks. the un-american muslim ban was put in check by the judicial branch. the attempts to repeal obama care have been checked by their own constituents at their own down tall -- town hall. the majority needs to wake up and realize that these are not sound policies. but reckless chaos. it is pastime for the majority to get serious about the serious business of governing. and yet with these measures here today, all we continue to see are anti-worker, anti- environment, and in the final analysis anti-american propose also. the american people want solutions. not a governing party that just checks the box of unrealistic, chaotic and harmful campaign promises.

mr. speaker, i urge a no vote on the rule and the underlying measure and i yield the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. as we come to the close of this time of rule debate, i think we have laid this out, i think it's very clear, mr. speaker, on what's -- what we determine and what we go forward with the process. you know, as we move forward, it is interesting to me and i would be too if i had -- was in the minority and didn't really have a plan except the one that has been tearing up the health insurance market, that has been hurting others and now as we look to actually make movement on a replacement and repeal of that, i would say that, you know, i'd watch for divisions, i'd watch for cracks in the fiss yours, i'd do whatever i want -- fissurs, i'd do whatever i could. but the truth is, we are fwing to move forward with what we said we're going to do we're

fwing to work on these aspects and bring these to the floor and the american people can judge for themselves. people will continue to discuss. it is health y -- healthy in our country to have that discussion. it is healthy that we move forward. it is also healthy we examine all the facts this rule today, though, simply deals with common sense. let's look at our regulatory burden. let's look at issues that, atin, it's one thing to look a rule that is there for protection. workplace safety is enhanced by making me record what is going on and making me be able to then correct what may be a problem in your business. but simply keeping records for five years when you can't be pun herbed for six months of those is simply putting a business on those is putting a burden on businesses to keep records that are not accomplishing your bottom line. i believe that it is -- that osha is a valuable organization

when doing what it's supposed to be doing. protecting workplace safety. doing things that actually matter. doing things that actually help. but many times in my businesses that i go to they have put in rules over the years that say that we're now in a continuing violation, in other words if one time they come in and they say that a electrical outlet is not plugged in properly to an extension cord you fix that, they come back two oar three months later they see something on the other side of the building that teals, quote, with electrical. they'll say it's a continuing vilets an triple the fine. -- continuing violation and they trip they will fine. osha, and the good folks who work there, i believe truly want to help. they truly have set up best practices, but they have grun to the point where we have allowed them to become not the help they should be but basically, many time a hindrance or me nass to our business. from the farms to the factories

to the coal mines, all of that it's gotten out of hand. so my discussion, mr. speaker is this. how do you get regulatory burden that actually makes sense? we're not going to stand here and argue over a ewell that makes sense. i'll never sit here and say we should not record workplace injuries and let business owners then see and then be fined if they're doing something wrong. we'll never argument about that. but when it comes to the point of excessive recordkeeping that at the end of the day does nothing, except burden the business, how do you explain that as helping workplace safety? if my son is in the pool and can't get to the side and i do nothing, i can have great intentions. but unless i get in and bring him to the side then i've actually done something. a rule that has no end result to the bottom line of what you're doing is simply waving and say, oh, i'm doing something. instead of getting back to the

purpose that osha should be about. when businesses and osha cannot work together collaboratively to seek and set a process in which businesses are safer, employees are healthier, then osha is failing. they have become punitive in nature. why don't they come in and help businesses? why don't they come in and start. if there's business that continue the process of being bad actorses in marketplace, take them out. find them. do what you need to do. but i myself believe that most business owners and i was one at one point, we don't go in every day wanting to hurt employees. we don't want to do that we want to have a workplace that presents a good product, presents a good activity that continues our economic engine. let's quit defending rules that don't work. let's quit wasting times -- time defending rules and having those in this city who want to generate rules because that's their job description.

let's do the things that actually work. if they want to be policy experts, then let them run for office. but if you're going to look at it, do it by the lawle mr. speaker, these rules before us today provide two very important bills. they take steps to get our economic engine going again. they do it -- they do as we talk about look at unnecessary rule. they look at things that need to be examined. but we also can't simply pretend existing nonsensical regulations don't exist because they're being enforced at the expense of innovators, job creators across the country and they're being enforced without use anything common sense. a case in point, did you know that trains have to have an f painted on the front of them so people can tell which end is the front? i don't know about you but i believe americans can tell the front from the back of a trean. we've got to identify existing business regulations like this that don't make sense anymore and start taking steps to repeal

them. the bills before us today are a step in the right direction. i urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill and mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. 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. hastings: mr. speaker, i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are order. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. the chair lays before the house n enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 609, an act to designate the department of veterans' affairs health care center and center township, butler county, pennsylvania as

he abie abraham v.a. clinic. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause -h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk will re-seved the following message from the sec retear of the senate on february 28, 2017, at 9:20 a.m., appointment, senate national security working group for the 115th congress, signed, sincerely, karen l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: the chair announces the speaker's appointment pursuant to 10 u.s.c. 9355 a and thed orer of the house of january 3, 2017, of the following individual on the part of the house to the board of visitors to the united states air force academy. the clerk: be lieutenant colonel

ruce swouizi, wisconsin. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house

with president trump now in particular it will be