we saw back in 2010. president obama establish a fiscal commission cochaired by a democrat and republican. saw the unsustainable trajectory of our budget and national debt. they put together a commission that ultimately got a majority of democrats and republicans to vote yes on. that would deal with our long-term entitlement spending. slowing spending on programs to reform our tax code in a way that would raise more revenue and not contribute to the deficit. ultimately to grow the economy. those were common sense ideas. those were independent ideas. that is one of the major reasons why i left my foreign party and became an independent and decided to run for congress. neither party is willing to make hard choices. --ocrats are unwilling to republicans are unwilling to talk about more revenue. the idea of fiscal responsibility is missing. that is something an independent can champion in congress by drawing on some good ideas and

building the coalition instead of running away from it to pander to the base of either party. that is a politics today incentivizes for incumbents who have to win their primary or have to raise money from special interest groups. or say crazy things to get on television. independents are f motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote on the yeas and nays are ordered. or votes objected to under clause of rule 20. the house resume proceedings on at later uestions time. for what purpose does did the gentleman from new york seek recognition? at later time. >> mr. speaker, morph that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6198, as amended. the eaker pro tempore: clerk will report the title the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6198, a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to establish the countering weapons of mass destruction office, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from new york, mr. donovan, and the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. donovan: 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. donovan: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. donovan: thank you, mr. speaker. the department of homeland security was created in response to the september 11 terrorist attacks and the threats to our homeland posed by al qaeda and other terrorist groups. as we pause this week to honor those we lost and the heroic first responders who answered the call that day, we recognize that the scope of the threat we face has changed dramatically since that time. and it has become a much more diverse and diffuse. we know the terrorist groups have congress strived deploy

chemical, bilogical, and nuclear materials in their attacks. there have been documented reports of isis using mustard gas in syria. as well as sarin and chlorine gas used by the syrian government. a lot to release hydrogen sulfide via an improvised chemical disperfection device was uncovered by the australian police department. a laptop reportedly retrieved from an isis hideout in syria in 2014 contained plans for weaponizing bubonic plague and a document that discussed the advantages of using bilogical weapons. of new evolution biological techniques such as chris cass 9 pose potential threats of new as the new techn can be used for good or evil. as the world of threats continues to evolve and becomes it is incumbent

upon it is incumbent upon the department of homeland security to continuously assess whether or not it is opt minimally organized to best confront the-v right of threats it is expected to counter. last year former acting secretary elaine duke determined the department was in fact not organized to best address these threats. as a result, on october 6, she notified the committee of her intent to use her 872 re-authorization authority to establish a countering weapons of mass destruction or cwmd, office, headed by an assistant secretary for cwmd this. reorganization took effect last december. however, the secretary realized that the use of her 872 authority would only take her so far age legislative changes are necessary to fully integrate the cwmd office. the bill we're considering today will take the department

the rest of the way in developing an integrated, effective organization to counter cbrn threats. the bill seeks to ensure the department of homeland security has the structure, authority, and tools it needs to counter the threat of w.m.d. -- weapons of mass destruction. it consolidates the ost of health affairs and domestic nuclear detection office into a new countering weapons of mass destruction office to ensure coordination and unity of effort at the time of department of homeland security on these threats. current d.h.s. secretary neilsen has indicated that this bill is one of her top legislative priorities, noting that it will, quote, provide d.h.s. crucial legal authorities to protect the homeland and enable d.h.s. to more quickly obtain, test, and tactics fective w.m.d.

technologies, end quote. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a letter from secretary neilsen in support of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. technologies, end quote. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert donovan: than speaker. e bill we're considering today is similar in intent to the department of homeland security defense act which today is ssed the house by voice last congress. legislation was approved by the senate committee on homeland security and governmental affairs earlier this week and i am hopeful we'll work together to approved by the senate mmittee on swiftly get this important bill to the president for his signature. i want to thank chairman walden of the energy and commerce committee for working with me to bring this bill to the floor. i ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a letter exchange between the committee on homeland security and the committee on energy and commerce on the bill swiftly get under consideration. e speaker pro tempore:

without objection, so ordered. without objection, so ordered. mr. donovan: thank you, mr. speaker. i urge all members to join me in supporting h.r. 6198 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new jersey, mr. payne, is recognized. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 6198, the countering weapons of mass destruction act of 2018. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. payne: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise in mr. speaker, i rise today in support of 6198, the countering weapons of mass destruction act of 2018. this bill authorizes the department of homeland security to reorganize itself in order to prevent, prepare for, and respond to biological, chemical, radiological, and attack. yesterday we came together to mark the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. a a proud new jerseyan, i

carry those images of that day of the work i do in that congress and on the committee of homeland security. today in a small way we're here to honor the loss and sacrifice americans felt that day by positioning d.h.s. to better address emerging terrorist threats. plans to reorganize d.h.s. biological, chemical, and nuclear programs first surfaced in the obama administration. in december, 2017, then acting d.h.s. secretary elaine duke exercised her statutory authority to reorganize elements within the department to establish a new countering weapons of mass destruction office. the cwmd office merged the functions of the domestic nuclear detection office, dndl, the majority of the office of

the health affairs, o.h.a., parts of science and technology direct rat -- direct rate, and parts of the office of strategy, policy, and plans, s.p.p., and d.h.s. office of operations coordination, o.p.s. through many of us in congress, we were disappointed -- though many of us in congress were disappointed that d.h.s. acted without explicit congressional authorization to make this major operational change, the reorganization appears to have been effective at harmonizing efforts within d.h.s. i am pleased that the legislation before you today authored anguage that cwmd office

leverages research and development resources and capabilities by coordinating ith the science and technology directorate. h.r. 6918 also contains language already passed by the house to authorize the securing directorate. the cities program. securing the cities is an important tool to protecting new york city and other major metropolitan areas. with that i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from new york. mr. donovan: mr. speaker, i yield as much time as he may consume to the distinguished gentleman from texas, the chairman of the committee on homeland security, mr. mccaul. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. mccaul: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of the countering weapons of mass destruction act to help protect our homeland from the world's most dangerous weapons. yesterday we observed the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terror

attacks. n that day in 2001 19 islamist terrorists turned airplanes into cruise missiles and ashed them into the twin towers, pentagon, and a field in shangsville, pennsylvania. had it not been for the heroic passengers on flight 93, this very building, the capitol, could have been destroyed. almost 3,000 innocent people were killed and thousands more injured. it was most devastating attack in our homeland in our nation's history. targeting our military, economic, and bill symbols of power. a memorial ng service at the pentagon yesterday, many of us remembered the images from 9/11 and they a memorial service returned to me. the towers falling, the pentagon on fire, our tramb first responders running into harm's way to save their fellow citizens. i also remember that in the aftermath of the attack we pledged to never forget. never forget the pain we felt.

never forget the victims. never forget our enemies will search for new ways to attack our country. today the most serious threats to our national security come from biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons. over the last few decades, north korea has been developing nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles to deliver them. the terror sponsored regime in iran has also been building a lar program.sent and al assad's evil dictatorship in syria has used chemical weapons to kill innocent civilians, including women and children. russia recently use add chemical weapon in a assassination attempt in great britain. and reports have shown that terror groups like al qaeda have been in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction for many, many years. these weapons are real and lethal. a w.m.d. attack in the united states could kill witness --

millions of people and bring economic mayhem. to prevent this from happening, we must give the department of homeland security the authority it needs to counter the threat. this legislation will consolidate the office of health affairs and the necessaryic nuclear detection office, along with other department programs into a w.m.d. -- weapons of mass destruction office. i personally talked to the secretary who strongly supports this legislation. i believe d.h.s. is making good progress in this direction, but this legislation will ensure that they have the necessary authorities to counter these dangerous threats. this is an opportunity, i believe, for both parties on the day after 9/11, both republican and democrat, as we so many times on this committee, to come together and pass legislation that will strengthen our homeland. i'd like to thank congressman where from new york

this awful tragic event happened 17 years ago. for all his hard work on this issue. and congressman payne, who has always been a team player, if you will, on the other side of the aisle, to work together to get good things done for the country to better protect the american people. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. payne: mr. speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. mr. payne: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from new york. mr. donovan: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers. if the gentleman from new jersey has no other speakers, i'm prepared to close once the gentleman does. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from new jersey. mr. payne: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the ayne: mr. speaker, ultimate success of the cwmd rests with the dedicated men and women who serve at that

department. the threat landscape is diverse with conventional and nonconventional threats emerging daily. it is critical that we stay vigilant and do all we can to ensure that the federal department we establish in esponse to the 9/11 attacks is positioned to meet the demands and the current threat landscape. . by passing this, we can do our part to set the cwmd office on a positive course. with that, i urge my colleagues to support this measure 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 new york yields back the balance of his time. mr. donovan: mr. speaker, i once again urge my colleagues to support hrment r. 6198 -- h.r. 6198 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. all time is expired. the question is, will the house

suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 6198, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition?

>> mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6720. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6720. a bill to prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. abraham, and the gentlewoman from the virgin islands, ms. plaskett, each will control to minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from louisiana. mr. abraham: i thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. abraham: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. mr. abraham: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of h.r. 6720, to prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption and for other purposes. while this practice is completely unacceptable in the united states, only four states

explicitly ban it. this patchwork of state laws does not signal the appropriate protection we americans expect r our beloved pets and companions. to creditably condemn the international dog and cat meat trade, including the dog meat festival in china, the united states must send a clear message that this practice is completely unacceptable. this overwhelmingly bipartisan legislation is a critical step in doing just that. i urge my colleagues to support this measure and, with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from the virgin islands is recognized. ms. plaskett: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 6720, the dog and cat meat trade prohibition act of 2018. and yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized.

ms. plaskett: mr. speaker, i rise today in support of my colleague, the gentleman from louisiana, mr. abraham, and his -- and this bipartisan legislation. the dog and cat meat trade prohibition act calls for an end to the global dog and cat meat trade. 68% of americans own pets. we treat our pets as members of the family. that's why i'm surprised to learn that we don't already have a law on the books that prevents the killing of dogs and cats for their meat. while this remains an extremely rare issue in the united states, the practice does occur elsewhere in the world. by passing the bill, congress will outlaw the slaughter and transfer of dog and cats for human consumption in the united states -- dogs and cats for human consumption in the united states. the farm bill currently in conference includes similar language from both the house and the senate, so regardless of what our colleagues across the hill do on this important issue, we can send an important message today. with this legislation we have the chance to be a leader and set an example for those countries in which the dog and cat meat trade is most

prevalent. including south korea, vietnam, thailand, china and others. by passing the bill, we draw a clear line on this issue and send a message to the world that we will hold countries that abide this practice accountable. this tub -- it should be pointed out that while prohibiting the killing of cats and dogs for food may be seen as a no-brainer, this legislation does take a sensitive approach to the issue. with regard to the diverse cultural practices within our great nation. i appreciate the work of two gentlemen from florida, messrs. buchanan and hastings, and for their leadership on this issue. it's an opportunity to come together and we should be united in our opposition to this unconscionable practice. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from louisiana is recognized. mr. abraham: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield as much time as he may consume to my distinguished colleague, mr. fitzpatrick if

pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognize -- -- is recognized. mr. fitzpatrick: thank you, mr. speaker. i join my colleagues today to voice my strong support for this bill. the dog and katrina meat trade prohibition act -- cat meat trade prohibition act of 2018. it's critical that every single member of this chamber live up to our responsibilities to be a voice for the voiceless. banning the individual sale of dog and cat meat is vital clearly to fulfilling that obligation. mr. speaker, my district, our pets are members of the family that contribute greatly to our society. in particular, dogs serve as invaluable partners in law enforcement and our military, and as service animals. today we have before us bipartisan, commonsense legislation that protects these animals at a most basic level. it seems obvious that in this day and age, dogs and cats are not edible species. period. i thank my friend from florida, mr. buchanan, for introducing this vital legislation. and i urge my colleagues to

support it in a bipartisan fashion, to show a united front against the horrors of the dog and cat meat trade. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from the virgin islands is recognized. ms. plaskett: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield as much time as he may consume to my very distinguished colleague, the gentleman from the state of florida, mr. hastings. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. and i thank my distinguished colleague and good friend from the virgin islands, as well as the distinguished gentleman from louisiana, for putting this measure forward today. obviously i support 6720, fro hint the slaught -- to prohibit the slaughter of dogs and cats for human consumption. i was pleased to join my distinguished colleague and co-chairman of the florida delegation, congressman buchanan, in reintroducing the measure. it might surprise you to learn that consumption of dogs and

cats is still legal in 44 states where there are no laws prohibiting the purchasing, shipping, transporting, selling or donating of dogs or cats to be slaughtered for human consumption. this bill would prohibit these actions and impose penalties to ensure that individuals involved in the dog or cat meat trade are held accountable. the united states' position on this cruel and brutal practice should be unequivocal. dogs and cats should not be killed in this country for the consumption of their meat. it is with the utmost importance that we unify our animal cruelty laws in all 50 states and explicitly ban the torture and killing of dogs and cats for human consumption. i want to thank congressman buchanan for his steadfast

leadership of raising awareness on animal welfare issues in congress and i also would give a big shoutout to all of those that have helped us put this measure together in the united states, the number of people that have been involved. i hope this body will expeditiously pass the measure. doing so will reaffirm the united states' commitment to the humane treatment of our most beloved companions. and i might add, i misspoke a minute ago when i said the 50 states. i mean the 50 states and its territories should explicitly ban the torture. mr. speaker, i urge a yes vote on the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. and i thank the gentlelady for yielding. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from louisiana is recognized. mr. abraham: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. mr. speaker, i simply urge all members to join me in support of this bill and i yield back the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from the virgin islands is recognized. ms. plaskett: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers at this time. and i continue to reserve the balance of my time. and i'm ready to close if need be. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman has the only time remaining. and is recognized. ms. plaskett: mr. speaker, i urge all members to support the passage of h.r. 6720 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6720 -- sorry, i need my reading glasses. h.r. 6720. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? mr. roskam: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 669 0the fighting fraud to protect care for seniors act of 2018. as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number

727, h.r. 6690, a bill to establish a smart card pilot program to combat fraud, waste and abuse, and to protect beneficiary identity under the medicare program. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from illinois, mr. roskam, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. mr. roskam: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days which with -- within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 6690, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roskam: i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record an exchange of letters between the ways and means committee and the committee on energy and commerce. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. roskam: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. mr. speaker, we have an opportunity to do something together on a bipartisan basis that can bring a level of confidence to a program that all

of us cherish and all of us want, and that is medicare. medicare is an incredibly popular program. it's a necessary program. and it's a program that needs all of us to defend it, particularly on the integrity side. and if you were to ask medicare, ask c.m.s. today what their fraudulent or erroneous payment rate is, those two numbers together they would come back and they would tell you it's about 10%. so in other words, about $40 billion a year, mr. speaker, is going out the door not to benefit seniors, but it's going out the door either fraudulently or erroneously. i want to thank mr. blumenauer from oregon because together we've been working on this concept which would apply the same type of technology that we see in so many other parts of the economy right now, that is smart card technology, and use it in a medicare setting. so the proposal is this. let's try it. let's see how it works.

let's have a prilet program. and toward that end -- a pilot program. and toward that end, what we're hoping and the expectation is that the same types of savings that we've seen in the private sector we will see in the sector to make sure that seniors are protected. not only the funds that seniors have come to rely on, but their identities and so forth. this is a concept, again, that mr. blumenauer and i have worked on. i thank chairman brady for his work on this bill. and the attention that this has gotten on a bipartisan basis. and i think it's particularly interesting to note that aarp has weighed in very strongly in favor of it. let me just read one quick snapshot from a letter that they sent to mr. blumenauer and me at the end of august. and i'll just give you a couple of sentences. while the new cards are more secure than before, smart cards could provide even greater security and have the potential to contain useful health information and facilitate care. if enacted, this pilot program

would help medicare learn more about the beneficiary engagement and education. this technology deserves to be tested and evaluated. so, mr. speaker, in a nut shell, this is a proposal to create a pilot program and i urge its passage. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. . mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: mr. speaker, this is the first of four bills that came out of the ways and means committee. they came out without much controversy. the only one that really had any is this first bill. i'm not sure we'll have on our side any speakers, and i'll say a few words about this bill in a few minutes, but i first want

to talk a bit about bipartisanship. hese four bills do have some bipartisanship. unfortunately, what isn't ipartisan is the basic dispute about health care and about the continuation of the reform that we, on the democratic side, tarted some years ago with our president. it has turned out to be an important piece of legislation. i think historic. and the more people look at it and the more they are covered by it, the greater is the support for it. unfortunately, unlike the bipartisanship in these four bills, a.c.a. continues to be hit by the worst kind of

partisanship, and continued efforts to undermine and destroy it. in october of 2017, the administration ended cost sharing reduction subsidies. that has led to premium increases of 20% to 25% across the nation. n june of this year, the administration, the trump administration expanded the reach of junk insurance policies. that has weakened the risk pool and these policies are not subject to consumer protections. in july -- and we saw the impact of this firsthand in michigan -- the administration announced a cut, another cut in so-called navigator

organizations. they slashed the funding from $63 million just two years ago to $10 million. and it had an impact throughout this country and i saw first hand what it meant in the state of michigan. essentially, the administration and we're going to cut essentially eliminate help for outreach to people in terms of their knowing about the a.c.a. on how as millions of others have they can obtain coverage. d i think maybe most disturbing, the lawsuit launched by republicans that could jeopardize health care for 130 million patients living with pre-existing conditions.

the republicans like to point to language that says that , 't happen, but essentially i think, they have their head in the sand on this. if the court were to rule in favor of the suit. and i think to the disgrace of the administration, they decided not to defend the government's position. we're here today with bipartisan bills, and it's than sad, indeed worse that. we have not had a single hearing on any of the issues i mentioned. the republicans, while they come here and talk about bipartisanship, which has been so essential until recent years when it comes to health care, they now essentially are engaging in very partisan

efforts to undermine health care for millions and millions of people. so let me just say, mr. roskam, a brief word about this. you've been working on this for a long time, working with mr. blumenauer, and i think your efforts to strive for some bipartisanship has been a positive. as i said at the beginning, of all the four bills, this one had the most discussion in our mmittee and had some disagreement. the smart card idea has been examined by a number of entities, including the general accountable office. and according to their 2016 of t -- and i have copies

and report of 2016 there's also another report that relates to this. according to that, their estimate is that smart cards would help in only a minority of cases. in fact, of the 739 health care fraud cases that the g.a.o. examined, only 18 have been fully addressed -- would have been fully addressed had medicare used these cards. that's only about 2% of the cases. and also transition to smart cards is going to be significant, and it's going to cost -- the estimate is -- about $40 million. and as we discussed in the committee, some thought there might be a better use of this money. be that as it may, this has

roskam, d on and mr. mr. blumenauer have combined forces to undertake this three-year pilot program. so under those circumstances, wishing we had more bipartisanship on health care issues that run more deeply and affect the needs of people either more broadly, with that caveat, i do not suggest anything but support for this bill. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from illinois is recognized. mr. roskam: mr. speaker, i have no other speakers, so i'm prepared to close and i'll reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. mr. levin: i have no further comments. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. roskam: well, mr. speaker, thank you. i want to thank mr. levin for

his observations about this bill, that it's created in a spirit of bipartisanship, and i appreciate his support for it. i think it's interesting, just a little bit of a point of clarification, because we were able to discuss in the committee the g.a.o. report and there's two facets of it. there's two numbers. those tracking this closely. there is a 2% representation and then a 22% representation. ok, here's the story. the g.a.o. said only 2% of cases they evaluated would have been completely changed by this. look, i will -- i think if we were talking about any other thing in medicare as it relates to 2% we'd be chasing it. ok. be that as it may, 2% would be completely changed. 22% of the cases they evaluated, however, would be impacted in some way. so the bottom line here is we have an opportunity to adopt technology at a cost of about $40 million, we're told, to

pursue $40 billion in fraud and error. that's good math any day of the week. both sides of the aisle recognize it. i urge its passage, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6690, 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 is presented, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6662, the empowering seniors enrollment

decisions act of 2018, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6662, a bill to amend title 18 of the social security act to extend the special election period under part c of the medicare program for certain deemed individuals enrolled in a reasonable cost reimbursement contract to certain nondeemed individuals enrolled in such contract. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. paulsen, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and tend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 6662, currently under consideration. and mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, members, our seniors deserve to have adequate time to choose the medicare plan that best fits their health care needs and this is especially important today for seniors who

are currently enrolled in a medicare cost plan that will be impacted by a mandatory transition date starting on january 1 of next year. that's why i authored and introduced this legislation, h.r. 6662, the empowering seniors' enrollment decision act, to ensure that cost plan enrollees have extra enrollment time when choosing a medicare plan later this fall. i want to thank my colleague, congressman kind, for his work on this legislation as well and his bipartisan support. it's recognized there are over 630,000 cost plan enrollees nationwide. approximately 400,000 of those enrollees actually live in my state in minnesota. now, some cost plan beneficiaries will be allowed to stay with their current cost plan, and others will be deemed or automatically enrolled later at the latened of this year to a new medicare advantage plan, and nondeemed beneficiaries, however, will be forced to shop for new medicare coverage. this bipartisan bill we have before us today extends and moves the special enrollment

period for all cost plan enrollees from december 8 until the end of february of next year, 2019. so the bill would essentially fix current law to allow cost plans that also deemed existing enrollees in new medicare advantage plans in future years. h.r. 6662 provides much-needed certainty for our seniors, and i want to thank the committee, i want to thank congressman kind for his work for partnering on this effort. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: this is a technical change, and it needed to be done. the special enrollment period did not initially apply to ndeemed employees -- enrollees. so to address this concern, c.m.s. has promulgated

regulations, allowing nondeemed enrollees to participate in this special enrollment period. so what this bill does is to .imply codify this regulation so it's not clear that it's necessary to codify it, but surely there can be no harm and there was a need to take action and, therefore, i support this bill. i discussed earlier, on this legislation there was bipartisan support. i wish that that kind of bipartisanship had been spread to issues that aren't technical , issues that involve the lives and health of millions of people. that never has been forthcoming. the opposite has been true. this is an example of bipartisanship on this specific

technical issue. i urge support. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentleman reserve? mr. levin: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from minnesota is recognized. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i'm prepared to close. we have no more speakers. mr. levin: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. mr. paulsen: mr. speaker, i'll yield myself the balance of the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. paulsen: and just remind members, i want to thank mr. levin's comments on the bipartisan component of this bill. the bill provides certainty for our seniors that may need a little bit of extra time as they navigate their medicare choices and decide which coverage option is best for them. this can be a very cumbersome and confusing process. i want to thank representative kind, my colleague, for his work on this bill. we look forward to having a strong bipartisan vote in the house as it moves forward. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6662, 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 is presented, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek recognition? mrs. walorski: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6561, the comprehensive are for seniors act of 2018. the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman move to pass the bill as amended? the title -- the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6561, a bill to direct the secretary of health and human services to finalize certain proposed provisions relating to the programs of all nclusive care for the elderly, pace, under the medicare anded me -- medicaid programs -- and

the medicaid programs. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from indiana. mrs. walorski: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 6561 currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. walorski: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. walorski: i rise today in support of h.r. 6561, the comprehensive care for seniors act of 2018. this bipartisan legislation would require the secretary of h.h.s. to finalize updated regulations for the programs of all inclusive care for the elderly commonly known as paic, while still giving the secretary the flexibility to make updates and changes to this proposed regulation. the paic program is a proven model for delivering high-quality, comprehensive, community-based health care for seniors. it helps seniors whose health conditions would otherwise land them in a nursing home to remain

in their homes for as long as possible by allowing them to see health professionals and social service providers at local paic centers. there are currently 124 paic organizations in 31 states that serve over 45,000 medicare and medicaid beneficiaries, enabling them to live safely in the community through the fully integrated services and support provided. this allows beneficiaries to live longer, experience better health, and have fewer hospital visits. seniors facing health challenges should have the option to receive high-quality health care while continuing to live at home and programs like st. joseph paic in my district allow them to do just that. in 2016 c.m.s. released a proposed rule to update the original guidelines from 2006. a bipartisan group of members of congress sent letters in november of 2017 and june of 2018 urging c.m.s. to prioritize

updating the existing regulatory framework, which is more than a decade old. the agency was unfortunately not take -- had not taken any action. this much-needed update would allow paic programs to customize their interdisciplinary team around the needs of each enrollee, provide more services in the community, and give greater flexibility to partner with community providers. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i shall consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: my colleague from indiana has very well described the purpose of this legislation. there are, i think, five, at least five sponsor of this -- sponsors of this legislation, democrats and republicans. and it's another example of

rather nship on a technical issue. technical in this sense. there always was a need for regulation. nd c.m.s. proposed now two years ago a regulation updating the requirements governing paic. unfortunately under this present administration, c.m.s. has not finalized these rules, and what this billie essentially requires -- what this bill essentially requires is that c.m.s. finalize these regulations by december 31 , 2018. opefully that can occur before 2031. we sometimes do too much on december 31. i've been here a few times on december 31, i think.

anyway, i support this bill and recommend its passage. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from indiana is recognized. mrs. walorski: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. mrs. walorski: i want to thank my colleagues, representative jenkins, blumenauer, chu, dingell and chris smith for their hard work getting this bill to this point and their previous work on this issue. mr. speaker, the paic program is long overdue for an update. this is bipartisan, commonsense legislation that will ensure improvements are made quickly. so more seniors can live in their communities longer. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6561, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is

amended. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from kansas seek recognition? ms. jenkins: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3635, the local coverage determination clarification act of 2018 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 3635, a bill to amend title 18 of the social security act in order to improve the process whereby medicare administrative contractors issue local coverage determinations under the medicare program and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from kansas, ms. jenkins, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. levin, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from kansas. ms. jenkins: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days with which to

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 3635, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. ms. jenkins: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i should consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. jenkins: mr. speaker, today i rise in support of h.r. 3635, the local coverage determination clarification act of. -- act. i introduced this legislation along with congressman kind which will help ensure the medicare coverage decisions are made by qualified health experts through a transparent process that is based on sound medical evidence. medicare administrative contractors play a critical role in ensuring that medicare beneficiaries have access to needed care. however, the less than transparent process used by m.a.c. tease make coverage decisions can -- m.a.c.'s to make coverage decisions can limb -- limit access to care. specifically the science that guides some of these decisions

can be flawed, mischaracterized or misapplied. the deliberations and decisions of the m.a.c.'s, which should be based on medical science, are often conducted behind closed doors with little opportunity for interested stake holders to raise issues or offer alternatives. these decisions effect millions of medicare beneficiaries and impact crucial access to innovative technologies and services. the establishment of a clear process informed by health experts will make the local coverage determination or l.c.d. process and the decisions developed by that process more sound, more transparent and ensure accountability among m.a.c.'s. these requirements are necessary to ensure that our nation's seniors receive quality health care treatment, specifically h.r. 3635 would improve the l.c.d. process by requiring that carrier advisory committee meetings of the m.a.c. are open

to the public and on the record, with minutes taken and posted to the m.a.c.'s website for public inspection. the graphicity of limiting or precluding coverage for both beneficiaries and practitioners heightens the need for transparency, especially when such meetings are currently closed off. m.a.c.'s would be required to include at the outset of the coverage determination process a description of the evidence a m.a.c. considered when considering a local coverage determination, as well as the rationale it applies on to deny coverage. additionally, under current rules, local coverage determinations are essentially unreviewable once they become final. this legislation would create a process for stakeholders to request additional review of a m.a.c.'s local coverage decision from the centers for medicare and medicaid services. it would also require the secretary to submit a report to

congress regarding the number of requests filed with fiscal intermediaries and carriers and the number of appeals filed with the secretary, as well as the actions in response. additionally, the report would recommend ways to improve the usefulness and efficiency of the process, as well as the communication from medicare beneficiaries and providers. while i'm pleased that the legislation we have today takes steps to improve the process and brings transparency, we must continue to work to ensure that m.a.c.'s independently evaluating the evidence of other m.a.c. coverage decisions. local coverage determination should be thoroughly evaluations by experts in each local jurisdiction. currently, loopholes in the process allow contractors to adopt another m.a.c.'s coverage determination without the necessary scientific rigor and meaningful engagement with

stakeholders that is vital to informing the most appropriate policy. due to regional, geographic and population-based differences, these carbon copy l.c.d.'s may not reflect the specific geographic region they are intended to serve. local coverage determinations should be just that. local. put simply, what works best for one location does not always work best for another location. applying local coverage determinations across jurisdictions has the practical effect of establishing national coverage policies without having followed the more rigorous national coverage determination process. as such, i look forward to working with my colleagues on this issue moving forward. medicare beneficiaries deserve transparency and accountability for these decisions that directly impact their access to care. these reforms are necessary to ensure that local coverage determinations do not impede a physician's medical judgment and

deny patients access to medically necessary care. by changing the l.c.d. process, congress can ensure that medical and scientific evidence is not used selectively to deny appropriate coverage to seniors. i want to thank mr. kind, who joined me in introducing this legislation. i want to ask my colleagues for their bipartisan support of this bill, as we work to improve access and care for every american. mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. levin: i yield myself such time as i shall consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. levin: my colleague has well described the purpose of this legislation. as she indicated, the bill establishes a timeline through which m.a.c.'s must publish proposed l.c.d.'s online. you described what they are. so the public knows, can be sure what m.a.c.'s are and l.c.d.'s.

it would further require public meetings to review draft determinations and ensure expert input is being sought on all proposals. the bill also provides that stakeholders and beneficiaries, as you mentioned, may request reconsideration of l.c.d.'s and that m.a.c.'s must respond to these requests. these are small but useful improvements to the local coverage determination process. it will help improve transparency and ensure that appropriate coverage determinations are made for medicare beneficiaries. so i'm pleased on behalf of our caucus to indicate support for this bill. and i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from kansas is recognized. ms. jenkins: i have no further speakers. so i yield myself as much time as i consume. mr. speaker, in closing i'm

proud to stand here today in support of this commonsense legislation that creates transparency and accountability to the local coverage determinations process and will help ensure the medicare patients receive the medical care they need. i hope that you will all join me in voting for this legislation on the house floor today, as we work to improve access and care for every american. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 3635, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. ithout objection, the title --

for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. rothman: to i move to suspend the rules -- mr. rothfus: i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 505, a bill to amend the homeowners loan act with respect to the registration and supervision of insurance savings and loan holding companies and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the entleman from pennsylvania, mr. the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus, and mrs. beatty will each control 0 minutes. mr. rothfus: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rothfus: i rise in support of the state insurance

regulation preservation act. i want to thank chairman hensarling and ranking member waters for supporting this bill. i want to thank the gentlelady from ohio, mrs. beatty, for working on this. i it has been a pleasure work -- it has been a pleasure working with mrs. beatty and the staff to make sure this is bipartisan. this bill shows how solutions minded people from both sides of the aisle can come together to address a clear problem. h.r. 5059 is a commonsense right regulation bill that calls on the federal reserve to tailor the supervision of insurance-focused savings and loans companies. dodd-frank bought savings and loan companies under the federal reserve's supervision for the first time. despite the fact that dodd-frank also reaffirmed a state-based model of insurance regulation, a principle that we all support, the law had the effect of also bringing in insurance savings and loan islhc, ompanies, or

under the fed's purview. this is in the business of insurance but also happen to own thrift subsidiaries. these insurance companies are simultaneously regulated by the fed and the states. the lack of clarity regarding how fed supervision of these insurers should complement ather than supplant had led to duplication of effort and higher costs. bank centric supervision has been -- not been consistent with the actual risks posed by islac's. all this cost and complexity eventually impacts consumers to higher prices and reduced access to services. i should also point out the burden of duplicative supervision has encouraged a significant number of these insurance companies to get rid of their thrift subsid years. today, fewer than half of the insurance savings and loan

holdings that existed when dodd-frank was enacted continue to operate under the same model. h.r. 5059 streamlines regulated approach by enacting the following reforms. if an islhc has filed another report with a state regulator, the fed will be required to request that report from that regulator first before requesting the information from the company. this prevents compliance staff from being required to respond to duplicative information requests. h.r. 5059 also requires the fed to align record keeping requirements with those imposed by state insurance authorities to avoid duplication. the bill also requires that fed examinations be coordinated to the fullest extent possible with state and federal authorities. again, this will help reduce unnecessary duplication and conflict. the bill further requires the fed to craft a supervisory framework that appropriately tailored the supervision of islhc's. it requires a review of

existing supervisory guidance to ensures it's consistent with the new framework. all of these reforms will provide greater regulatory clarity and efficiency and reduce unnecessary compliance burden. in doing so we can ensure these companies can continue to serve their customers without sacrificing the safety and soundness of our financial system. i urge my colleagues to support h.r. 5059, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from ohio. mrs. beatty: mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 5059, the state insurance regulation preservation act. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. s. beatty: mr. speaker, h.r. 5059, the state insurance regulation preservation act, is a bipartisan piece of legislation that seeks to ensure that federal regulation over the insurance industry is not unnecessarily duplicative

or overly burdensome. i would like to start by thanking my colleague from the other side of the aisle, mr. rothfus, for working on this bill with me, as well as the chairman of our committee, congressman hensarling, and ranking member waters, for understanding the issue we are trying to solve and lending their support. this bill came a long way from when it was introduced earlier this year and it reflects input from members of the financial services committee, industry stakeholders, and federal regulators. this bill simply seeks to right side regulation placed on insurance savings and loan holding companies compared to the risks they pose to financial stability. insurance saving and loan holding companies are insurance companies that own their own bank. in most instances, the types of

banks represent a small percentage of their insurance parent company's overall bottom line, but due to the ownership by the company, they are subject to federal regulation by the federal reserve and the office of the comptroller of the currency. when we held a legislative hearing on this bill in march, one of the witnesses testified at while their insurance company bank's asset made up only .2% of the company's total assets, the regulation by the federal reserve consumed 25% of the company's compliance cost. ultimately, forcing the company to close their bank. and this is but one example, mr. speaker, of the uneven regulation these companies are facing. this costly and out-of-sync duplicative regulation of these

insurance savings and loan holding companies is not working as effectively as it should. and this bill seeks to harmonize some of these duplications. there's no reason why a smaller insurance company, like ohio-based westville insurance company, should save more regulation than some of the largest insurance companies in the country, due to the fact that they simply own a small bank. or why a company like nationwide insurance, a company based in my district, the third congressional district of ohio, which has $236 billion in assets, a $7 billion bank, should be treated by the federal reserve like a $243 billion bank holding company. this is not fair. the regulation of the business of insurance is different from

the regulation of banks, and the federal reserve's supervisory framework must reflect, i believe, this important difference. the federal reserve has historically never regulated insurance until recently, within the past 10 years, mr. speaker, when congress transferred the regulatory authority over these companies to the feds. by contrast. our state insurance regulators have regulated this country's insurance system for nearly 150 years. while the federal reserve has said they are looking to tailor some of their regulations, there is little evidence to support those assertions and time is simply running out. since we transferred this authority to the federal reserve in 2010, nearly 2/3 of existing insurance saving and

loan holding companies have closed their banks. we need better coordination and cooperation between our state insurance regulators and federal regulators to ensure -- nsurance regulator regulations is not duplicative or overly burdensome. this bill will seek to accomplish both of these things. talk about a win-win, mr. speaker. i believe this is it. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i'm pleased to yield 2 1/2 minutes to the gentleman from missouri, the chairman of the financial institutions and consumer credit subcommittee, mr. luetkemeyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus, who is vice chair of our financial institutions subcommittee, and the gentlelady from ohio, mrs. beatty, for their work on this bill. for years, the federal government has slowly expanded its jurisdiction in a number of

years, from health care to education. the federal government's presence has grown larger and larger. this bill attempts to restore regulatory balance and ensure that the proper authority -- in this instance, the state insurance commissioners -- can continue to do the job they've done well for more than 100 years. in a pre-dodd-frank world, there were more than 30 insurance saving and loan lding companies that owned banks. this has driven insurance companies to close their banks. it includes shelter insurance, held in columbia, missouri. in the wake of dodd-frank and the dawn of federal supervision, it was no longer cost-effective to run a bank. this was a profitable, well-run bank that serves people in the communities i represent that was put out of business by the federal government. mr. rothfus and mrs. beatty has a bill that will tailor insurance companies subject to federal reserve oversight. the legislation will require the fed to streamline

examination, procedures, and better coordinate with state insurance regulators. to be clear, the legislation does not, mr. speaker, and i say again, does not end federal reserve supervision. it merely effects the fed to better coordinate with the state and develop standards that are more ensureable for them. something congress has asked them to do for years. the gentleman from pennsylvania and the gentlelady from ohio worked together and with the federal reserve both before and after the markup to address various concerns. they are both to be commended for their efforts to work across the aisle and with the regulators. h.r. 5059 is a commonsense solution to federal overreach and a step towards reduction of bureaucratic redundancy. this bill has received tremendous support, so much it was agreed to by a voice vote in the financial services committee on july 24. i again want to thank mr. rothfus and mrs. beatty for their ongoing leadership and ask my colleagues to join me in supporting h.r. 5059. mr. speaker, with that i yield

back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from ohio. mrs. beatty: mr. speaker, i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves her time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i have no further requests for time at this time and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from ohio. mrs. beatty: thank you. i have no other speakers and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. beatty: thank you, mr. speaker. in closing, i would simply like to say, again, thank you to my colleague from the other side of the aisle, and i want to thank all the members who helped us to get this deal to this point and to reiterate that this bill does not, does not remove insurance savings and loan companies from federal regulation. insurance saving and loan holding companies will still be regulated by several federal government agencies, including the federal reserve. the bill simply seeks to require the federal reserve to tailor their bank centric regulations to the business of insurance and to coordinate

supervision and examination of these companies with their state counterparts so to avoid unnecessary, duplicative and overly burdensome regulation. i want to thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentlelady from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, again, i'd like to thank representative beatty for working together on this very particular piece of legislation. again, this is a right sized regulation that enjoys strong bipartisan support and sets forth the appropriate framework for regulating insurance savings sand loan -- for insurance saving and loan companies with -- in this particular area. i would request that my colleagues vote yes on this legislation, h.r. 5059, and i'll yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 5059, 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 is presented, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6411, the fincen improvement act of 2017. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. to clerk: h.r. 6411, a bill amend the duties of the financial crimes enforcement network, fincen, to ensure fincen works with tribal law enforcement agencies, protects against all forms of terrorism, and focuses on virtual currencies. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus, and the gentleman from colorado, mr. perlmutter, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: 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

this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, the fincen improvement act was introduced by representative earl perlmutter and co-sponsored by steve pearce, the chairman of the subcommittee. this bill would add tribal law enforcement agencies to those partners with which the financial crimes enforcement network already works which includes federal, state, local and foreign law enforcement agencies. the bill would clarify that fincen should protect against all forms of terrorism. fincen currently supports law enforcement on domestic issues, not just international, and this legislation would clarify that current practice. this bill would add an emphasis on emerging technologies or value that substitute for . rrency -- virtual currency the financial technology virtual currency and electronic payment landscape is rapidly

evolving to include means of storing and transferring value that didn't exist when previous laws and regulations were written. this bill emphasizes that fincen ought to prioritize cryptocurrencies to ensure criminals and terrorists cannot use these technologies to carry out illicit financial activities. . mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado. >> thanks, mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. and i thank my friend, mr. rothfus, for bringing this bill up today. mr. perlmutter: i rise in favor of legislation i introduced with my colleague, steve pearce from new mexico. h.r. 6411, the fincen improvement act, is a straightforward bill which will modernize the financial crimes enforcement network,o otherwise known as fin -- network, otherwise known as fincen. the mission of fincen is to safeguard the financial system from crimes or illicit use,

combat money laundering and promote national security through the collection, analysis and dissemination of financial information and intelligence. in order to accomplish its mission, fincen needs to partner with all available law enforcement agencies to gather and shape data needed to safeguard the financial system from the abuses of financial crime, including terrorist financing. this legislation builds upon the relationships with the existing relationships with partners in foreign, federal, state and local law enforcement officials by ensuring fincen has the authority to work with tribal law enforcement across the country. additionally, fincen's current authorizing statute is limited to combating international terrorism, which leaves out domestic terrorist activities, which is just as important to protecting our neighborhoods and communities. this legislation fixes that

oversight. lastly, this legislation ensures fincen is focusing on emerging methods of financing illicit activity, including cryptocurrencies. as a ranking democrat on the terrorism and illicit finance subcommittee, along with chairman pearce, we've healed numerous hearings and meetings -- we've held numerous hearings and meeting discussions these technologies. while they often have tremendous benefit to consumers and connecting the world, the reality is bad actors can benefit from this new technology by shielding their identities or the identities of those they work with. we need to work to understand this potential threat and find new ways to combat it. this bipartisan piece of legislation is an important step in modernizing fincen to ensure our law enforcement and intelligence communities work together to detect and stop criminals and terrorist networks. i want to thank my colleague, mr. rothfus, certainly subcommittee chairman steve pearce, for working with me on this legislation.

i'd also like to thank the chairman and ranking member of the full committee for their support. and lastly, i want to thank kay on the democratic staff for working with my office to help us draft this legislation. with that, i urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair will receive a message. messager: mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. perlmutter: we have no further witnesses. i urge an aye vote on h.r. 6411, the fincen improvement act, and with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from pennsylvania. mr. rothfus: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my colleague, mr.

perlmutter, for his diligent work on this very practical, bipartisan bill. i urge my colleagues to support its adoption and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the 6411.h.r. 6111-excuse me, those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules. the speaker pro tempore: union -- the clerk: union calendar number 721. a bill to extend the federal recognition to the little shell tribe of chippewa indians of montana and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. gianforte, and the gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. tonkas, each will control 2340eu7bs. the chair recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gianforte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gianforte: i rise today in strong support of my bill, h.r. 3764, the little shell tribe of chippewas ind -- chippewa

indians restoration act. i am proud to sponsor a bill which would extend federal recognition to the little shell tribe of chippewa indians of montana. with federal recognition, the little shell tribe and its members would become eligible for all services and benefits provided by the federal government to federally recognized tribes. the tribe as can of receiving federal recognition, services and benefits must submit to the secretary of interior a membership roll consisting of the name of each individual member of the tribe and must maintain such membership role -- roll. the act directs the secretary of interior to acquire for the benefit of the tribe a trust titled to 200 acres of land within the tribe's service area to be used for a tribal land base. i appreciate the work of chairman gray and the little shell people for continuing this fight for recognition. i urge adoption of the measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: thank you, mr. speaker. federal recognition of native american tribes is critical to protecting their tribal sovereignty and restoring the tribe's ability to control its land, its water and its resources, as well as the ability to govern and to protect the health, safety and welfare of its members. introduced by representative gianforte, h.r. 3764 will extend federal recognition to the little shell tribe of chippewa indians of montana. the little shell tribe has resided in montana for well over a century and has long been recognized as a tribe by the state. the tribe is a political successor to the signatories of a treaty of 1863. under which a large area of land in the state of north dakota was ceded to the united states. while the federal government has federally recognized the two other tribes that are successors to the signatories of the treaty, the little shell have inexplicably been left in limbo.

they've repeatedly petitioned for federal recognition, first in the 1930's and 1940's under the indian reorganization act, and later starting in 1978 to the department of sbeer yore's so-called part 83 process. however, despite their long and well documented history, each time they were deprived of their rightful federal recognition. h.r. 3674 finally extends recognition to the little shell tribe, making all federal laws and regulations of general applicability to indians and indian tribes applicable as well to little shell and its members. federal recognition of the tribe enjoys broad support in montana, including support from the governor's office, the montana state legislature, the surrounding counties and city, and from all the other federally recognized montana tribes. recognition for the little shell is long overdue and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on this legislation. thank you, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from montana.

mr. gianforte: i in to -- i have no further speakers. i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3764, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rule is suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5923 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 715, h.r. 5923. a bill to direct the secretary of agriculture to exchange certain public lands in watch at that national forest and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. gianforte, and the gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. tsongas, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gianforte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gianforte: for over 20 years the walnut grove community church in jesseville, arkansas, has sought to gain title to the four aches of land on which their church and historic cemetery are located. they've offered six acres ofland within a national forest to the u.s. forest service in exchange. the cemetery and congregation both predate the forest service. since 1938, the church has operated under a special use permit and has had to renew its permit annually since 2002. this situation has left the congregation uncertain about their future on the land they've worshiped on for decades. furthermore, like any structure built 80 years ago, the church requires maintenance. unfortunately its operation under a permit limits the congregation's ability to maintain and improve their church building. congressman westerman has introduced commonsense land exchange that will greatly

benefit the community of jesseville at no cost to the american taxpayer. he should be commended for his work. i urge adoption of the measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: thank you, mr. speaker. this bill authorizes the long overdue land exchange between the forest service and the walnut grove church in garland county, arkansas. the church was built on forest service land and the exchange will simplify ownership claims and facilitate access and improvements to the property. the land exchange authorized by this bill includes commonsense safeguards that ensure fair compensation for the value of public lands and i am happy to support its adoption and urge my colleagues to vote yes. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time -- the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. westerman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is recognized for three minutes. mr. westerman: i'd like to thank the gentleman from montana, mr. gianforte, and the gentlewoman from massachusetts, for her support of the bill.

mr. speaker, the walnut grove land exchange act should not need to exist. it's a simple bill which swaps four acres of public property which currently houses a community cemetery and church with six acres of private timberland. and as was mentioned, this is a church and cemetery that was established decades before the forest service. to those who hear this and think, 10 acres, why on earth would it take an act of congress to exchange a total of 10 acres? rest assured that i had the same initial reaction. not that this bill or the church itself are unimportant. on the contrary, the walnut valley community church is vital to the residents of garland county. the church is not only a place of would beship, it has held countless community meetings and more. its cemetery is the final resting place for many of garland county's service men and women and the church itself has served as a search and rescue command post in the past. however, under the current law, the church does not own the land on which it worships or buries its dead.

as such, the forest service has the authority to raise the church's use fee each year and has done so over the past decade. worse yet, any improvement or restoration to the church must be done with the explicit permission of the federal government. as a result, the walnut grove congregation has not been able to modify or upgrade their 80-year-old building, despite the need to expand to match the growing demands of the community. members of the congregation have tried for decades to resolve this issue with the forest service. they have called, written and petitioned both the local and regional offices to purchase or exchange the land. they have willingly taken on maintenance of the property and have graciously accepted higher and higher usage fees under the guise that an exchange was coming. an exchange never came. mr. speaker, it's time we stopped this 20-year merry go round. this bill is vitally torn to this -- important to this congregation and it's past time we helped them resthove issue. my bill has wide bipartisan and

bicameral support, having passed the committee unanimously and having a companion measure in the senate. i urge swift passage of this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 5923, as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. those. -- in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are swebleded -- the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? john mccain -- mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i ask that the house suspend the 4824. nd pass h.r. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: h.r. 4824, a bill to allow certain permitting authority to encourage expansion of broadband service to rural communities, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. gianforte, and the gentlewoman from massachusetts, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. r. gianforte: mr. speaker h.r. 4824, is the rural broadband permitting act of 2018, it will provide permitting efficiency to ensure underserved communities receive this vital utility. approximately 40% of rural americans do not have access to broadband internet. without adequate and consistent internet access, people are unable to effectively communicate, gain access to vital information services, and increasingly participate in the american work force. currently providers who wish to install broadband infrastructure in existing

utility and road right of way on federal lands are frequently required to obtain approval from multiple federal and state agencies. if the infrastructure crosses indian country, the bureau of indian affairs is involved. this cumbersome process also includes extensive environmental review under the national environmental policy act. h.r. 4824 streamlines broadband permitting in existing rights of way, saving time and money in broadband deployment. specifically, this bill authorizes a program to enhance the permitting process for broadband internet projects in each of the bureau of land management state offices, h.r. 4824 also authorizes the bureau and the u.s. forest service to enter into agreements with states and tribes to allow those entities to carry out environmental reviews for broadband projects within existing rights of law on federal land. this coordinate approach should help alleviate unnecessary

delays in permit processing and encourage providers and states to pursue broadband deployment projects, particularly in rural areas. congressman curtis should be commended for his work on this bill and his efforts to have it considered by the house today. at this point i'd like to insert in the record an exchange of letters between chairman conaway of the agriculture committee, and thank him for his help in expediting this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gianforte: i urge adoption of the measure and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: expanding broadband access to rural communities is a bipartisan priority on the natural resources committee. i want to thank representative curtis for working with committee democrats to improve this bill since it was introduced. h.r. 4824 gives states the primary responsibility for issuing environmental review permits for broadband projects in those areas that already have rights of way for existing

infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, trails. at markup representative curtis amended the bill to address several concerns brought forward by native american stakeholders and committee democrats. this includes guarantees that tribal governments are consulted and can participate in the development of memoranda of understanding for projects that cross their land. this is a critical improvement. the bill we are considering today also removes language that would have broadly exempted certain projects from any environmental reviews and eliminated public comment periods. however, there are still a number of outstanding issues that i hope can be addressed as this bill makes its way through the legislative process in the senate. for example, i believe that we should continue to perfect language that allows for public comment periods and strengthens the ability of our federal land management agencies to enforce any m.o.u. that is signed with the state government. we would also like to continue discussions in order to ensure

that everyday citizens receive protection under the equal access to justice act, a law that ensures all citizens have the ability to participate in government decisionmaking. i believe these are commonsense changes that won't hamper rural broadband development. i do not oppose passage of the legislation through the house at this time but look forward to continued bipartisan and bicameral work on the remaining issues. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from utah, mr. curtis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah is recognized for four minutes. mr. curtis: mr. speaker, i'm pleased the house is considering my bill today, h.r. 4824, the rural broadband permitting efficiency act. i want to express my appreciation to senator orrin hatch, who introduced the bill in the senate, as well as chairman bishop for moving this bill through the natural resources committee. i'd also like to thank various stake holders that have taken part in the process creating this bifment additionally, i'd

like -- this bill. additionally, i'd like to thank the 12 members, including my good friend from montana, mr. gianforte. the need to give greater access to high speed broadband services for rural communities is broadly supported. evidence by the diverse coalition of stakeholders supporting my commonsense legislation, including ntca w.t.a., the american library association, the utah governor -- the utah governor's office of economic development, utah rural broadband association, and the navajo nation, to name just a few. the purpose of my bill is simple. we need to do a better job connecting our rural and remote communities with greater access to broadband and high speed internet. i believe that increasing access to broadband services in rural areas, like many places in my home state of utah, is an important first step to help bridge the digital divide and to provide an enhanced quality of life for these areas. this infrastructure is critical

to ensure schools, hospitals, libraries, small businesses have access to modern day internet speeds. this legislation will provide economic development opportunities for small businesses and residents in our rural towns. currently, the permitting process for broadband project across federal lands can take many years. in some cases, as much as eight or nine years. in my view, this is completely unacceptable. my bill improves and speeds up the permitting process on federal lands while also safeguarding and enforcing current day federal environmental laws. i visited three different native american tribes since my election to congress and have learned some of the unique problems facing these communities. i was proud to work with several native american tribes, including the navajo nation in my district, tone sure tribal governments can utilize these new -- to ensure tribal governments can utilize these new things. i visited the navajo nation

three times since coming to congress and i hope this bill passes so that on my next visit we can celebrate the passage of this bill together. my bill is a big win for americans living in rural communities, especially utahans, and i encourage my colleagues to support h.r. 4824. i hope the senate will also quickly take thup measure and send it to the president's -- take up this measure and send it to the president's desk. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. ms. tsongas: mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i urge adoption of this bill and i yield back my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 4824, 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 is presented, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. without objection, the title is amended. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. gianforte: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2591, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of

the bill. the clerk: union calendar umber 695, h.r. 2591, a bill amend the pittman-robertson wildlife restoration act to modernize the funding of wildlife conservation, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana, mr. gianforte, and the gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. tsongas, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: 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 materials on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gianforte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. gianforte: h.r. 2591, introduced by austin scott of georgia, amends the pittman-robertson wildlife restoration act. the pittman-robertson funds, which relies on excise fees paid by hunters and recreational shooters has been a driving force for wildlife habitat preservation in the united states for nearly 80 years, contributing over $10

billion in that time. the fund is also responsible for important hunter education programs as well as the construction and maintenance of public shooting ranges. the long-term viability of the pittman-robertson fund is at risk. however, because of the diminishing number of hunters and recreational shooters nationwide, recent surveys have shown a decline over two million hunters since 2011. this has largely been caused by growing urbanization and suburbanization which has made it more difficult for americans to participate in these activities. is legislation will give states additional flexibilities to use these dollars to recruit, retain, and reactivate hunters and target shooters. empowering the states with this added flexibility will help promote safe and responsible hunting and shooting while also ensuring this american system of wildlife conservation funding remains strong into the future. congressman scott should be

commended for his work on this bipartisan measure. i urge adoption of the measure and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: mr. speaker, this bill provides states with increased flexibility to utilize money provided by the pittman-robertson fund for expanding outreach in hunter education initiatives. the federal aid and wildlife restoration act of 1937, commonly known as the pittman-robertson act, authorizes an excise tax on hunting equipment. the proceeds are used to support wildlife conservation and restoration efforts. allowing some of the money for education and outreach initiatives has the potential to increase participation in hunting and other recreational activities that will expand the total pool of available money. this program is our nation's oldest and most successful wildlife conservation initiative. in its over 80-year history, it's restored habitat relied on by numerous species and even

helped bring some populations back from the brink of extinction. this is an impressive track record that the update included in this legislation is meant to support. the bill includes a 25% cap for education and recruitment activities, a safeguard meant to ensure there is plenty of money available for wildlife conservation and restoration. i look forward to working with our colleagues in the senate to ensure that 25% is an appropriate safeguard that doesn't steer too much money away from the traditional purpose of the fund. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the gentleman from montana. mr. gianforte: mr. speaker, i yield five minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for five minutes. mr. scott: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in support of h.r. 591, modernizing the pittman-robertson fund for tomorrow's needs act. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. scott: as current vice chairman of the congressional

sportsman caucus, i'm honored to be here today to discuss this bipartisan legislation. if enacted, h.r. 2591 would provide national broad base support to state fish and wildlife agencies to develop, guide and enhance collective efforts to protect our nation's natural resources. through a system of user pay, public benefits, pittman-robertson is the foundation of wildlife conservation funding in the united states. in the early 1900's, many wildlife species were beginning to dwindle and disappear to address this decline, state fish and wildlife agencies and the u.s. fish and wildlife service partnered with hunters and conservationists to help democrat and enact the federal aid and wildlife restoration act. known today as pittman-robertson act, this legislation became law in 1937. since it was first enacted, the pittman-robertson wildlife restoration fund has collected over $11 billion from sports men and women to be used by states to fund wildlife

conservation efforts, habitat acquisition and management, public access to lands, hunter education, and development of ranges affiliated with hunter safety programs. these funds are collected from an excise tax on sporting equipment which is coupled with state funds from the sales of sporting licenses. states have spent these funds to restore game and nongame species that were on the brink of endangerment and extinction. specifically, pittman-robertson funds had help rebuild white tail deer, turkey, duck, beaver, elk, osprey and bald eagle of populations. effectively, pittman-robertson has a direct link from those that hunt and help the resources needed to expand and enhance those opportunities. however, in recent years, the increasing urbanization, suburbanization of our population has made it more difficult for the public to participate and hunting and outdoor -- in hunting and outdoor recreational activities. the average person purchasing

hunting licenses is rising as younger generations are not joining the sportsman population. this has a significant ripple effect not only on the key models that support conservation of fish and wildlife but also sport on our public lands and thoughtful resource policy. h.r. 2591 seeks to address this growing issue head on. without any federal mandate or any increase in existing user fees or taxes, h.r. 2591 will preserve the current user pay, public benefit funding of wildlife conservation for generations to come. while further expanding flexibility of states to make decisiones that are best fit for them and the preservation of their natural resources. specifically, h.r. 2591 would clarify that a purpose of the pittman-robertson fund is to extend public relations assistance to the states for the promotion of hunting and sportsman activities. for the first time state fish and wildlife agencies could use pittman-robertson funds for proactive recruitment, including promotions on

television and paid printed publications and on social media. educational field demonstrations that better teach the role that hunting plays in wildlife conservation as well as initiatives aimed at enhancing access for hunting and range construction. these modernizations are essential in addressing the issues currently affecting pittman-robertson funds. to ensure that traditional wildlife conservation remains the primary focus of pittman-robertson, h.r. 2591 puts a maximum cap of 25% on the percentage of pittman-robertson funds that can be used for public relations by a state agency. . moreover, it would expand the multistate conservation grant program by proviggede an additional $5 million per year fromagery tax collections to provide for recreational project grant for a national recruitment program. while this provides authority for the existing pittman-robertson funds to be used in outdoor recreational

sportsman activities and secure our funding base long into the future. it is important to note that h.r. 2591 does not mandate how p.r. funds must be spent. the discretion to determine the amount if any, on wildlife -- of wildlife restoration funds are spent on recruitment would remain entirely with each change state fish and wildlife agency. conservation organizations is have long advocated for increased flexibility with pittman robertson funds. h.r. 2591 is supported by all 50 state fish and wildlife agencies as well as a significant number of the nation's leading sportsman conservation groups. to list a few, theagery trade association, congressional sportsmans foundation, council to advance hunting and shooting sports, ducks unlimited, isaac walton league. quail forever, rocky mountain elk foundation, the theodore

roosevelt conservation council, wildlife forever, wildlife and hunting heritage conservation council and the wildlife institute to name a few. thank you, mr. speaker, i yield the remainder of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the gentleman from mt. >> i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the pass on is will the house h.r. 2591 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? >> i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2606 as amended.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the bill. the clerk: an act to report the sedler act with respect to indians of the five civilized tribes of oklahoma and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from mt., mr. jean foretee, and the -- mr.ee an forte and the -- mr. gee an forte and the gentlelady from massachusetts, ms. tsongas each will control o30 minutes. mr. gianforte: i rise in support of the stiglerr act. it would remove the indian blood requirement for certain land to be maintained for any member of e cherokee make, chickasaw nation, muskogee -- muskie gee

nation. when a person of less than one-half degree indian blood from one of the five tribes inherits an interest of an allotment of land, the land can be taxed and conveyed without approval of the secretary of interior. under h.r. 2606, restricted fee land owned by members of the five tribes would remain in restricted status regard throfse blood quantum of the owners. i want to thank the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole, for his .ork on this and other issues i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: thank you, mr. speaker. like other native american tribings, the land base of the five civilized tribes of oklahoma was devastated in the assimilation period of the late 1800's.

during this period, tribal governments were disolved and community-held lands were distributed as 160-acre parcels to individual tribal members. remaining lands were made available for nonindian settlement. congress reversed this policy and enacted the oklahoma indian welfare act to rebuild indian tribal societies and rightfully return land back to the tribals. -- back to the tribes. thaurned act, any previously allotted land remained with its current own for the restricted fee status. this stat does has significant benefits as they're under tribal jurisdiction and are exempt from certain federal and state taxes. however in 1947, additional and arbitrary constraints were placed upon the lands of the five civilized tribes. the enactment of this 1947 law, known as the stigler act, set a minimum blood quantum level that must be met by an indian land oner in order for the land toe remain in restricted fee status.

that is to say if the total percentage of blood of an indian and oner falls below a certain threshold, the land loses its status. with intermarriage the land owners no longer meet the quantum level. the land lose their restricted fee status and are often sold off. this led to a retux in the amount of lands owned by five civilized tribe. other tribe is asked to maintain this level, and it seem his was the aim of the stiglera. we can right this wrong. enactment of this legislation will ensure that restricted fee land bound citizen of the five civilized tribes will remain in that status regardless of blood quantum levels. this will bring

parity to the five civilized tribes and allow their citizens to enown restricted fee land just like citizens of other tribe sms i support h.r. 2606 and urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill. thank you and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from mt. mr. gianforte: i yield five minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. cole. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank my good friend from montana for yielding and i thank him for moving this legislation through the committee and on the floor. i rise in support of h.r. 2606, the stig ler act amendment of -- the stigler act amendment of 2018. on behalf of citizens of the cherokee nation, my own tribe, the chickasaw nation, the muskogee creek nation and the seminole nation of oklahoma, commonly known as the five civilized tribes, the bill before us only addresses and affects these five tribes.

and the lands owned by their citizens within the constituent of oklahoma. the passage of this legislation is critical to maintaining the inherited land of the citizens of the five aforementioned tribes. the infamous dawes act of 18 7 authorized the federal government to survey tribal lands and divide them into allotted parcels for individual native americans. title to these allotment parcels was set forth in the stig ler act of 1947. that igler act provided upon probate if the heirs of an original allotee passed out of one-half native american blood quantum, the allotment loses its restricted fee status. restricted land is not subject to state taxation and federal law does not dictate a minimum native american blood degree requirement to any other tribe. the original stigler act itself was an egregious violation of

tribal sovereignty and previous agreements between the five civilized tribes and the government. and the provisions of the dawes act that protected individual tives allotees, frankly, was effectively neutered by the passage of the stigler act. this legislation seeks to amend this original -- the origin nam -- original stigler act and remove the one-half degree requirement of native american bloosmed doing so would provide the opportunity for heirs and devisees to take title of the land and allow it to maintain its restricted status. this will create parity in the federal law in treatment of native american allotted land by removing the minimum blood degree requirement which only applies to citizens of the five civilized tribes. as native americans we take great pride in our heritage and the land that our ancestors maintained before us. the stigler act would allow nate

is to pass on their restricted land to future generations who may not meet the one-half degree blood requirement. many of oklahoma's citizens have passed out of the one-half blood lineage but remain vested in the native -- in their native american heritage and citizens of their respective tribal governments. this bill will help preserve the rights and legacy of native american tribes and their inheritance in the state of oklahoma. i encourage my colleagues to support and pass h.r. 2606 to remove this outdated and discriminatory law to preserve what native american land is left in oklahoma's indian country. and i want to again thank my friend for moving this through the committee. i also obviously want to thank the chairman of the full committee, mr. bishop, for his help in this matter and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. son gas: i yield back.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back they have gentleman from mt. mr. gianforte: i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass h.r. 2606 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 pass and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition? mr. gianforte: i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6287 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. he clerk: h.r. 6287, a bill to provide competitive grants to certain memorials of victims of the terrorist attacks of september 11, 2001. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from montana and the jovepl from massachusetts each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from mt. mr. gianforte: i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise

and extend their remarks on the bill under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. gianforte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. honors forte: this bill the heroes and victims of september 11, 2001. the bill authorizes the secretary of interior to award grants through a competitive process to nonprofit organizationers in operation and maintenance of memorials to commemorate the events and honor the victim os they have terrorist attacks on 9/11. it's been 17 years since that dark day in american history. the national september 11 memorial in new york city, the national 9/11 pentagon memorial just across the potomac river in virginia, and the flight 93 national memorial near shanksville, pennsylvania, stand as solemn tributes and remembrances to the thousands of victims of those attacks. h.r. 6287 authorizes a competitive grant program for

operations, security, and maintenance of those -- of these memorials. throughout our nation's history, congress has stepped forward to authorize operating funds in public, private -- in public-private partnership with nongovernmental organizations to memorials and museums of national significance. like congressional authorizations of the oklahoma city national memorial and museum, the united states holocaust memorial museum, and the kennedy center a federal authorization for grants in support of 9/11 memorials at the sites of the attacks will help to operate and maintain these sites of national remembrance and reflection. we should always remember and forever honor those who lost their lives on that fateful day. again, i thank representative macarthur for his work on this bill. i urge adoption of the measure and reserve the plans of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. this gentlelady from massachusetts. ms. tsongas: thank you, mr. speaker.

i yield such time as he may consume to representative nadler of new york. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for such time heas may consume. mr. nadler: i thank the gentlelady for yielding. mr. speaker, 17 years ago two planes crashed into the world trade cent for the my district, killing thousands of people. a third plane slammed into the pentagon and the fourth plane likely destin for the very capitol complex in which we now stand was brought down by a group of courageous passengers in a field in shanksville, pennsylvania. as i do today i represented ground zero on september 11, 2001, and i was at the world trade center 24 hours after the towers fell. the scene was horrible. fires, smoke, debris, human remains, and twisted metal created an apocalyptic scene. dust and the brie filled the air. even in that moment of deep despair and overwhelming horror, i saw signs of hope. firefighters, police, and emergency medical technicians traveled to