enacting h.r. 1309 will provide t.s.a. with stable, sustained leadership the administration a course.hart and i want to commend mr. katko who has been absolutely dogged in his support of t.s.a. and ensuring that it has the support, the resources that it needs and i thank him for his work on this bill. with that i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman is recognized. mr. katko: i thank you, madam speaker. i want to recognize congresswoman rice's comments. i thought they were excellent, not just because they were nice for me. her comments about admiral neffinger were poignant because he was doing a great job at t.s.a. and he was only there two years. what he did in two years really made a big difference in the trajectory of that agency and much like other federal agencies that are empowered to do very important things like the f.b.i., who has a long-term tenure, i think the same thing needs to be done here and admiral neffinger and people like him need to be in

h.r. 1117 will certainly help us do that. this legislation helps communities struggling to recover from disasters by improving transparency, consistency and communication with fema. it also requires fema to leverage technologies to ease the administrative burden on local governments for maintaining documents, applying for assistance and providing information to fema to speed recovery. the house adopted similar language last year when it passed the fema disaster assistance reform act. again, i commend the gentlewoman from missouri for introducing this bill to ensure that those impacted by disasters are receiving accurate, up-to-date information about their assistance and the status of recovery. i urge 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 gentleman from oregon is recognized. mr. defazio: i thank the chair. mr. speaker, i rise in support of this bill. as the gentleman from pennsylvania has explained, there has been a

speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 648. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 648, a bill to authorize the secretary of the interior to amend the definite plan report for the seedskadee project to enable the use of the active capacity of the ontenelle reservoir. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from colorado, mr. tipton, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. brown, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. mr. tipton: 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, so ordered. mr. tipton: i yield myself such time as i may consume. h.r. 648 by our colleague from wyoming, congresswoman liz cheney, will allow the state of wyoming to increase the active storage capacity for the fontenelle dam and reservoir. the bill allows the state to en

. 372 and passage of h.r. 372 if ordered. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 230. the nays are 189. one voting present. the motion is adopted. without objection, a motion to reconsider is laid on the table. the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the tion to recommit on h.r. 372 offered by the gentlewoman from nevada, ms. rosen, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will redesignate the motion. the clerk: motion to recommit on h.r. 372 offered by ms. rosen of nevada. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on agreeing to the motion to recommit. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the nati

h.r. 1009 requires oira to give us a readout. imagine that. we want to tell them what they're doing. is the legislation well-drafted? the agency meet the requirements of the law? that's a novel approach? did the agency pick the best way to regulate? they are supposed to do this under the executive order. i am surprised and disappointed that even on this bill that we have seen significant opposition. my minority counterparts made strained legal arguments. they don't like the basic concepts of the bill. these are not partisan concepts. we heard their concerns in committee. we obviously disagree on this point and as the chairman said, this has passed by committee without amendment and we look forward to support and i ask my colleagues to support the bill. i yield back the balance. the chair: the gentleman reserves. the gentlelady from the virgin islands is recognized. ms. plaskett: mr. chair, i yield myself such time as i may consume. we're opposed to the bill because we received letters, concerns from a cross section of americans, a cross sectio

et, h.r. 720 would reserve this problematic regime. although the bill's rule of construction is a welcomed acknowledgment of the problem, it does nothing to prevent defendants from using rule 11 as a weapon to discourage civil rights plaintiffs, even a landmark case like brown vs. the board of education might not had been pursued had h.r. 720 changed to rule 11 had been in effect at that time -- change to rule 1 had been in effect at that time because they were novel and not then based on existing law. in addition, h.r. 720 will substantially increase the mount, cost and intensity of civil litigation and create more grounds for unnecessary delay and harassment in the courtroom itself. but making sanctions mandatory d having no safe harbor, the 1983 rule spawned a cottage industry of rule 11 litigation. each party had a financial incentive to tie up the other in rule 11 proceedings. we hear testimony on a previous version of this bill that almost 1/3 of all federal lawsuits during the decade that the 1983 rule was in effect were burdene

i rise today in strong support of h.r. 1362. this tribute to our fellow colleague, a fellow veteran, our friend, eni, who passed last month, it is truly well-deserved. i would also like to thank the gentlelady from american samoa for bringing this bill to the floor and just as importantly in her time here, she's proven to be the staunchest advocate of this nation's veteran, true friend to veteran and a colleague who carries eni's commitment to this unwaveringly. he ensured the unique needs and interests of the people of american samoa were met in every bill that came through this body. for anyone that worked alongside him during those 13 terms, his ever present smile will never be forgotten. in addition to his work here and the things you heard the gentlelady said, eni served in the united states army from 1966 to 1969, and as an officer in the united states army reserve from 1982 to 1989. he served honorably in the vietnam war and left the military with the rank of captain. he and his wife were also active members of their chur

i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h.r. 1101. the small business health fairness act, which will help more americans access high quality affordable health care. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. all time for debate on the bill bill has expired. -- the bill has expired. for what purpose does the gentlelady from washington state seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1, printed in house report number 115-51. offered by miss hearlt -- miss ms. herrera beutler of washington. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 210, the gentlewoman from washington, miss ms. herrera beutler, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from washington. miss ms. herrera beutler: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank chairwoman fox and the education and work force committee for their work on this important bill that

h.r. 1181 would simply prohibit v.a. from sending veterans' names to the nics list unless there is an order from a judge or a magistrate that says the person may harm themselves or others. this proposal is enjoyed -- has enjoyed bipartisan support in the past. in 2011, the house passed h.r. 2349, which included similar provisions by voice votes. and just last month, both the house and senate passed h.j. resolution 40, which prevented the social security administration from implementing a similar policy to report the names of some people who received disability insurance benefits to nics. h.r. 1181 also has wide support among the veterans community, including the american legion, the v.f.w. h.r. 1181 is also supported by the national disability rights network and the national rifle sociation. additionally, h.r. 1181 has a positive statement of the administration's support. mr. speaker, veterans who fought to defend the constitution should also be allowed the rights to protect it. i urge all members to support h.r. 1181. i

raskin: h.r. 725 is part of this wave of legislation. like most of the bills we've seen this session, with brazenly orwellian titles, the so-called innocent party protection act of 2017 has nothing to do with protecting innocent parties. rather, it is the latest attempt to tilt the civil justice system dramatically in favor of big corporate defendants by making it much more difficult for plaintiffs to pursue state law claims in state courts under the system of federalism designed by our founders. again, this is a familiar experience because the bill addresses a completely nonexistent problem. if there had been a real problem, the judiciary committee might have held a hearing in which we could have invited groups to come forward who support tort victims. they could have come and testified about why it was so important for the interests of civil justice for us to pass this legislation. but there was no hearing at all. we didn't hear any witnesses. much less the testimony of those groups that represent victims of ss toxic torts, asbestos po

rutherford: i rise in support of h.r. 1259 v.a. accountability first act because our veterans deserve to receive the best care possible and our v.a. personnel deserve to work along side of only the best qualified and professional caregivers. mr. chairman, i'm proud to serve almost 100,000 veterans in northeast florida and this important bill will ensure that veterans throughout the nation get the care and respect that they have earned. in addition, thousands of good and caring v.a. employees dedicate their lives to serving our veterans and in some of their greatest times of need. but it is unfair, unfair these hard-working v.a. employees -- when those working along side of them engage in misconduct and they are not held accountable. mr. chairman, our veterans deserve better and our caring hard-working v.a. employees deserve better. as has been stated multiple times, this bill does not eliminate employee due process. my colleagues and i in congress carry a sacred obligation to our veterans -- have a sacred obligation to our nation t

speaker, i rise in opposition to h.r. 985. in addition to the legislation's many problems that have already been mentioned, i'm particularly concerned about what the bill does in the so-called fact act which would have devastating -- which will have a devastating impact on workers exposed to asbestos. i am acutely aware of the devastating impact that asbestos has on working men and women in this country because i represent an area with several shipyards. several thousand local ship yard workers have developed asbestossis, lung cancers and mesothelioma from asbestos exposure that occurred between the 1940's and 1970's. hundreds of these workers have already died and asbestos deaths and disabilities are continuing due to the long latency period associated with this illness. i believe that we cannot consider the legislation affecting the victims of asbestos exposure without remembering exactly who caused the problem. court findings show that the companies made willful and malicious decisions to expose their employees to asbestos.

look, this bill, h.r. 372, it's a fine bill. republicans are using it as a talking point, claiming it somehow it addresses costs in some meaningful way. and given how complicated the health care system and the critical role that we all have to play in it and every little piece plays, it's important to lay out the facts of the republican plan which h.r. 372 does nothing to address. it's a fact. fewer people will be covered under the republican plan. the congressional budget office says 24 million people will lose their health care coverage over the next decade. it's a fact that middle-aged americans will pay five times more in premiums. age tax, big part of the republican health care bill. americans 55 to 64 will see their health care cost increases by $8,000. many of my constituents can't afford that every day. it's a fact those currently enrolled in medicaid programs are at risk of losing their coverage. they should be equally concerned about the per capita cap in the republican plan. the flip sidef the same coin. those are jus

h.r. 1367 contains a number of provisions that would strengthen v.a.'s ability to fill staffing shortages, quickly ons be board new hires and retain workers across the country. it also contains provisions to improve leadership and accountability throughout v.a. and increase the number of veterans in the federal work force. to assist v.a. in identifying and addressing staffing deficiencies it would motfi staffing shortages to include five clinical occupations and five nonclinical for each medical center. staffing needs can vary significantly from facility to facility even within the same state and create a variety of back logs and other challenges for veterans this would allow the v.a. to use the existing reporting tool which dates back to the 2014 choice act to target 10 occupations and use the hiring authority to address shortages for those occupations. to increase leadership development opportunities for emerging leaders andncourage the dissemination of best practices between and among v.a. and private sector, the bill wouldest tably an execive manage

h.r. 1367 contains a number of provisions that would strengthen v.a.'s ability to fill staffing shortages, quickly ons be board new hires and retain workers across the country. it also contains provisions to improve leadership and accountability throughout v.a. and increase the number of veterans in the federal work force. to assist v.a. in identifying and addressing staffing deficiencies it would motfi

that's what h.r. 1367 does. my amendment strengthens this important bill, guaranteeing that the department of veterans affairs can employ the best people to care for our veterans. my amendment makes clear that former political appointees at the v.a. are not eligible for direct hire authority for competitively selected positions without first going through the proper civil service hiring process. americans veterans deserve the top care from people who are devoted to serving thefment the v.a. is run by hardworking civil servants, men and women, hired in a competitive merit-based process that assess their skill and passion for serving our nation's veterans. political appointees on the other hand are meant to serve their appointing president's agenda for a temporary period of time. part of their duty to the nation is to know when it's time to step down from their position of power. my amendment prevents former v.a. political appointees from using their political connections to jump ahead of other qualified individua

h.r. 1343, the encouraging employee owner -- employee ownership act, and h.r. 1219, the supporting america's innovative act. the text it of the measures are available on the web committee seb webb site. fell free to contact me with any questions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from texas yields back his time. without objection, five-minute voting will fin. -- continue. the question is on passage of the bill. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. he ayes have it. ms. johnson: mr. speaker, i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlelady from texas be recognized? ms. johnson: i like to request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise atcht a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the h

h.r. 1301 is that first step. it increases defense spending, provides a full pay raise for our service men and women, and begins to address our readiness shortfalls. this bill provides funds based on our military's priorities for fiscal year 2017. and gets us off the cycle of continuing resolutions which are doing real damage to our readiness and our capacities. therefore, i urge support for the rule to allow for consideration of h.r. 1301 and reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentlelady from wyoming, ms. cheney, for the customary 30 minutes. i ask unanimous consent to revise and extend. and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i want to express my appreciation to defense subcommittee chair granger and frelinghuysen and ranking member visclosky for their hard work in bringing this bill to th

h.r. 1362 by the yeas and nays. h.r. 375 de novo. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote. remaining electronic votes will be conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion of the gentlelady from american samoa, ms. rad wee began, to suspend the rules and -- ms. wad wee began, to suspend the rules the - ms. rad wee began -- ms. -- wegan on which the the clerk: h.r. 1362, to name the department of veterans' affairs community-based outpatient clinic in pago pago, american samoa, the faleomavaega shs hunkin v.a. clinic. the speaker pro tempore: members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 410, the na

h.r. 985 and h.r. 730 will establish meaningful reforms. the united states is the greatest country in the world and our justice system is designed to be free and fair. we have seen our justice system being abused. these rules help us to right that wrong and they may not be perfect and strive to fix flaws to better serve the american public. and with ta, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves his time. chair recognizes gentlelady from new york. ms. slaughter: thank you, mr. speaker. and i thank my colleague and friend from georgia for yielding time to me and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. slaughter: with this pack acknowledge of bills the majority is taking a ledge hammer to civil litigation. and i know my colleague and i are not going to agree to that because i listened to what he had say. this is closing doors to people who are injured in the workplace and makes it harder for people harmed to seek justice. h.r. 985 is really a solution i

act, and h.r. 1004, the regulatory integrity act. these two bills that would be debated under this rule were both reported out of the house oversight and government reform committee without a single democratic vote. so these are not bipartisan bills. they were reported out of committee only by republicans. the bills threaten transparency, undermine the independent authority of government agencies and weaken the separation of powers between our three branches of government at a time in our history when we need it the most. i sat in this chamber last night as president trump spoke about fixing health care, immigration system, but we haven't seen these plans yet. instead, we have seen these kinds of non -- not bipartisan bills that don't accomplish a lot. now, these two bills claim to offer accountability in the rulemaking process but when you look past their title you see what they really are is just another back door attack on american workers, an attack on our environment and protecting our public health. first, with regard to h.r. 1

that's why we need h.r. 1259, to allow the v.a. under an expedited process to fire or suspend or demote employees who are putting our veters at risk. the legislation also allows the a. to recoup the money paid in bonuses or relocation grants to employees convicted of a elony. mr. speaker, our veterans deserve the best, they deserve the best employees, the best met cal staff. that's what the third bill under consideration, h.r. 1367, will achieve. this legislation improves the v.a.'s ability to recruit the best medical staff, offering the agency direct hiring authority to fill key positions with critical staffing needs. it also creates a fellowship program to train up v.a. management for the best performance. it's time to improve the personnel practices at the veterans administration. mr. speaker, the resolution on the floor today is vital for our nation's veterans. their constitutional rights and their well-being stand in the balance. i reserve the balance of my ime. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado reserves. th

speaker, i ask unanimous consent that i be emoved as a co-sponsor of h.r. 610. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> i be removed as a co-sponsor of h.r. 637. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> the chair lays wf its house an nold resolution. the clerk: house joint resolution 57, providing for congresses ool disapproval of the rules submitted by the department of education relating to accountability and state plans under the elementary and secondary act of 19 . the speaker pro tempore: the air announces the examiner's appointment of the migratory conservation act of the following member on the part of he house to the migratory bird conservation commission. the clerk: mr. thompson of alifornia. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following personal requests. forclerk: leaves of absence mr. jeverries of new york. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the request is grnted. the chair will entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from arizona seek recognition? without objection

h.r. 132 by the yeas and nays. h.r. 648 by the yeas and nays. h.r. 267 de novo. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15 inmemorial day -- 15-minute vote. the unfinished business is the vote on the motion from the gentleman from florida, mr. webster, to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 132 on which the yeas and nays were ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 132, a bill to authorize the secretary of the interior to convey certain land of the arbuckle project, oklahoma, to the arbuckle master conservesy district, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempo

the committee will consider h.r. 479 designating north korea as a state sponsor of terrorism and h.r. 1644 to enhance sanctions with respect to companies and individuals doing business and enabling the regime in north korea. i appreciate the leadership of chairman ed royce and ranking member engel of the house foreign affairs committee as we address the threats posed by north korea. additionally, congratulations to the university of south carolina men's baseball team and head coach martin in their victory last night in new york. am congratulating the gamecongresses. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? mr. messer: permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . messer: mr. speaker, hoosiers don't like obamacare. and they've worked hard for six years to stop it. electing a republican house majority, a republican senate majority and eventually president trump. all on the promise to

h.r. 654. a bill to direct the administrator of the federal emergency management agency to carry out a plan for the purchase and installation of an earthquake early warning system for the zone and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 395, the nays are 11. so 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. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute spee

and h.r. 985 a, the fairness in class action litigation act. the text of these measures is available at the rules committee and feel free to contact me or my staff. thank you very much, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, five-minute voting will resume. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. polis: mr. chair, on that i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of re

dopping of the motion to recommit on h.r. 1430 a ssage of h.r. 1430 if

speaker, i rise today to oppose h.r. 1430e. we have seen this bill in the last congress when it was called the secret science reform act. it was a lousy bill then. and it's still a lousy bill today. let's start with the name of this bill, mr. speaker. the honest act. but it really should be called the dishonest act. that's because this bill improperly describes what's going on at the e.p.a., which is looking to protect our environment, from extreme weather events that we have in colorado, throughout the country, and around the world. the e.p.a. is working to protect our clean air and our clean water, and has come straably improved our communities and the health of american -- demonstrably approved our communities and the health of america since 1970. i wish these attacks today and tomorrow on the e.p.a. and scientific research are isolated, but unfortunately they are not. earlier today the science committee held a hearing on climate science. i was astonished at what i heard from the majority republican party calling into questi

h.r. 1294 by the yeas and nays. h.r. 1249 by the yabes, h.r. 12523 by the yeas and nays. the electronic votes -- the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote and the remaining votes will be five-minute votes. the vote is on the motion on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 12 4 a bill to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to provide for congressional notification and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill. members will record their votes by electronic device. . this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 408. the nays are zero. 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the r

i'm calling h.r. right now. pam? no, you know what? >> trevor: thanks guys, we'll be right back. this is the original light beer.

speaker, h.r. 372, the competitive health insurance reform act of 2017, would partially repeal a long-standing antitrust exemption established by the mccarran-ferguson act with respect to the business of health and dental insurance. to qualify for this limited antitrust exemption, an insurer must be engaged in the business while these somewhat restrain anti-competitive conduct, it does not preclude the most egregious antitrust violations such as price figuresing, bid rigging by health insurance providors. they should not be immune from antitrust scrutiny while they reduce availability or o's

next, h.r. 1259, the v.a. accountability first act, also sponsored by chairman roe, which grants the v.a. secretary increased discretion to remove our suspend v.a. employees due to poor performance. finally, h.r. 1367, sponsored by representative brad wenstrup, which enhances the v.a.'s ability to recruit and retain highly qualified employees. the failures at the v.a. are well documented and completely unacceptable. these bills are a step in the right direction towards creating greater accountability at the v.a. and keeping our promise to america's veterans who have sacrificed so much for us. i thank the gentleman. yielding i yield to back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that information. and i would now like to ask him we passed the dodd -- d.o.d. appropriation bill and sent that to the senate, mr. leader. e already done the milcon bill . i'm wondering, there are 10 remaining bills, whether the majority leader could give us some idea in white of the fact that the c.r., which goes to april 28, that we wi

actly, and support h.r. 1666 1666. ask that member of congress from new hampshire to join john and i and six of our colleagues and let's do what you want us to do, that your relative died for is to protect the constitution and it's our duty to debate. thank you. host: let's hear from buffalo, new york. joe on our line for democrats. caller: good morning. mr. garamendi: good morning. -- we need lemen, i a department of peace. what do you think about that? mr. jones: i'll speak first. i have no problems with a department of peace. obviously they would have the authority to use the military, working with the president, if need be. and i said the word need be, but right now i mean we are the war party. i am talking about my republican party. we're the war party. simply because our leadership in the house will not let us debate and meet our constitutional responsibility. mr. garamendi: you raise a very important point. we're going to debate this over the next month, perhaps a little longer than that, because the institute o

president, i need to speak in opposition to h.r. 66 and h.r. 67. these resolutions are an unnecessary step backwards in our ongoing retirement security work. as my colleagues are aware, h.r. 66 and 67 eliminate the erisa safe harbor created by the department of labor for our plans administered by state and local governments. we are considering the local government resolution today, and i want to stress the importance of both types of plans. the provisions of the safe harbor are very similar to an existing safe harbor already in erisa that allows employers to establish payroll deductions to ira's, so long as the state and municipal plans meet the requirements of the safe harbor, the businesses, usually small businesses, who offer state-run retirement plans to their workers will not inadvertently be subject to liability under federal law. the department of labor rules were meant to provide legal certainty to the increasing number of states who have decided in absence of any action by the congress to address the retirement coverage gap in their commun

next, h.r. 1259, the v.a. accountability first act, also sponsored by chairman roe, which grants the v.a. secretary increased discretion to remove our suspend v.a. employees due to poor performance. finally, h.r. 1367, sponsored by representative brad wenstrup, which enhances the v.a.'s ability to recruit and retain highly qualified employees. the failures at the v.a. are well documented and completely unacceptable. these bills are a step in the right direction towards creating greater accountability at the v.a. and keeping our promise to america's veterans who have sacrificed so much for us. i thank the gentleman. yielding i yield to back. mr. hoyer: i thank the gentleman for that information. and i would now like to ask him we passed the dodd -- d.o.d. appropriation bill and sent that to the senate, mr. leader. e already done the milcon bill . i'm wondering, there are 10 remaining bills, whether the majority leader could give us some idea in white of the fact that the c.r., which goes to april 28, that we wi

unanimous consent that the committee on veterans affairs be discharged from further consideration of h.r. 13627 and that the senate proceed to its immediate consideration. the presiding officer: which the clerk will report. the clerk: h.r. 1362, an act to name the department of veterans' affairs community-based outpatient v.a. clinic. the presiding officer: without objection, the committee is discharged. the senate will proceed to the motion. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. lankford: i ask unanimous consent that the foreign relations committee be discharged from further consideration of s. res. 33 and the senate proceed to its consideration. the presiding officer: which the clerk will report. the clerk: senate resolution 83, expressing the sense of the senate regarding the trafficking of illicit fentanyl from the -- mr. lankford: i ask that the preamble be agreed to and the motion to reconsider be considered

let's listen to that. >> i think general h.r.y talented individual and i think he will help the president guide the policy process. i think he will ensure that the cabinet secretaries are brought into this, and that the options and the recommendation provided to the president will be whole of government and thoroughly thought through. >> reporter: so there again, nothing but praise for h.r. mcmaster. he says he believes he's very analytical person and someone who will always speak his mind to the president. >> does he say anything about the widely reported fact that he was under consideration for replacing flynn but some thought he wouldn't want to be the second pick? >> reporter: no, he didn't say anything about that. you could see when he was talking about the new trump administration, he was really doing so in a very constructive way. i asked him, look, we hear all these things about president trump, what about the future of nato, what about some of these initiatives, for instance the funding for the state department. you coul

she would report it to h.r. and h.r. did nothing.illian: it makes me think of the banking sector a decade ago. is tech the new banking sector? has become certainly a darling like the banking sector was in terms of people coming out of graduate schools wanting to go in the tech sector. they do not want to work investment banking anymore. even reporters do not want to cover investment banking. they want to cover the tech sector. gillian: you are in the hot seat, congratulations. richard, your job is to go around firefighting and deal with companies. you don't represent uber. traviswere advising right now, what would you recommend he does? he came out with this extraordinary statement which was in some ways encouraging. he said he needed leadership lessons. he said he needed to grow up. do you think that is the right approach for a c.e.o. to take right now? richard: i think he was really smart in trying to start -- sta unch the bleeding and apologize wholeheartedly without reservation. he was very clear that he had messed up and that he

and finally, h.r.a cheap grill sold on qvc. [ laughter and applause ] "call in right now, we've only got two more h.r. mcmasters. what's that? we have 30 more. what a treat." >> steve: so it is a qvc show. >> jimmy: next up. [ laughter ] bao bao. >> steve: bao, what? bao, bao, bao, yeah. >> jimmy: bao bao is a panda. bao bao is leaving washington, d.c. to live in china. and finally bao bao is named after the "law and order" sound. [ law and order chimes ] [ cheers and applause ] >> steve: did not know that. >> jimmy: one of them is an alternative. >> steve: one of them is an alternative fact. >> jimmy: up next, we have ryan gosling. we love ryan gosling. >> steve: yeah, ryan. >> jimmy: ryan gosling is the star of "la la land." that one i know is true. he appeared on "the mickey mouse club," i think that's true. and finally, when he gets a a little bit older he'll be known as ryan goose. [ laughter and applause ] >> steve: which -- really? that might be alternative? >> jimmy: next up is greek yogurt. gr

dopping of the motion to recommit on h.r. 1430 a ssage of h.r. 1430 if ordered. theirst electonic votwill be condued as a 15-minute vote. the remaining electronic ves will beonducd as a five-minute vote. thenfinisd businesishe questionngreeing to he motiono recoitn h.r 1530, fered by the geneman from virginia, mr. mckeon, on whh theas and nays were ordered. the clerk ll redesignate the moion. the clerk moti trecommit on h.r. 143ffere by mr. mckeon of virginia. the speaker pro temre: the questiois on agreeing to e motion to recommit. members will record eir votes byctronidevice this is a 15-minute vo. [ptioning made ssible bthe al captiing instite, inc., in cooperation with the unid stat house of representatives. y use of closed-captioned covera of the house oceedifor politil or mmeral purpos is expressly ohibited by the s. house of reprentatis.] the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 189, the nays are 232. the motion is not adopted. the question is on passage of the bill. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. for what purpose d

and h.r. 1304rk the self-insurance protection act. the text of these measures will be available on the rules committee website upon this announcement. please feel free to contact me or my staff if you have any questions. i would yield. >> i appreciate you informing us about next week. i'm concerned about this week still. could the gentleman inform me whether or not we'll have a c.b.o. score on the health care repeal bill that we're going to be taking up in rules tomorrow? mr. sessions: i appreciate the gentleman asking this question. and as the gentleman has previously asked up at the rules committee, i advise the gentleman that tomorrow at 10:00 a.m., the rules committee will be convening for the purpose of amendment and the discussion of the text that will come. and that it would be my belief that that would be available on or about -- in the evening hour, as i assume we will still be in. mr. mcgovern: will we have a c.b.o. score before the rules committee meets? mr. sessions: it is my belief that i will have one. the gentleman does

18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house for the further onsideration of h.r. 1367. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of h.r. 1367, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to improve the authority of the secretary of veterans affairs to hire and retain positions and other employees of the department of veterans affairs and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose earlier today, amendment number 14 printed in part b of house report 115-39 offered by the gentleman from texas, mr. o'rourke, had been disposed of. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 11 printed in part b of house report 115-39 by the gentlewoman from hawaii, ms. hanabusa, on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed business bivoice vote. the clerk: amendment number 11 printed in part b of house report 115-39 offered by ms. hanabusa of hawaii. the chair: a recorded vote h

the secretary of defense james mattis as well as john kelly and h.r. mcmaster. we're told all of them are making the move. >> all right. jeff zeleny, thanks for breaking news. the lead editor national radio and the national political correspondent for the "washington post." that's what we're hearing, is that there may be a delay because don't steal the thunder of a speech that is getting good reviews but also when they're getting this, there are those from the department of defense and the national security adviser about having iraq on this list. what's your reaction to this and certainly their influence on this? >> i think what we're seeing, you know, president trump is finally getting a full cab nets. they are the voices of experience and the perspectivings frommed you side the white house. as we listen to these kind os debates it underscores it. strength of speech last night was primarily about tone. there were a lot of issues ahead that it did not provide a lot of details on the president's provision for handling them. not only this record on the travel ban