mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? mr. green: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. green: mr. speaker, members, russia is not our friend. russia is our adversary. we witnessed our president side with an auto kratt adversary of our country over his own intelligence community and blamed the u.s.a. for our relationship with russia. from separating families at the southern border to embracing putin with the profex of -- protection of u.s. interests, mr. trump has thrown out values our country is founded on. putin may be mr. trump's friend, but he's not america's. our president forgets that the u.s. interests go beyond his own personal interests and relationships. if putin wants to return to the dates when he invaded his neighbors at will with no pushback from the u.s., that's one thing. if our president wants to return to those

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cole: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cole: mr. speaker, yesterday the rules committee met and reported a rule for consideration of h.r. 6147, the department of interior, environment and related agencies appropriation act of 2019, which also includes the financial services and general government appropriation act of 2019. the rule provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member on the appropriations committee. mr. speaker, the appropriations package in front of us is the t

mr. speaker -- thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. walker: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. sarbanes: i have no further speakers. i urge the passage of h.r. 32 30rks to name the post office -- 3230, to name the post office in payette, idaho, after harmon killebrew. i yield back the balance of my time. mr. walker: i urge adoption of the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 3230. 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 -- without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from north carolina seek vecknition? mr. walker:

speaker -- mr. nadler: mr. speaker, i yield to the member from illinois, mr. gutierrez. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from illinois is recognized for two minutes. mr. gutierrez: when democrats talk about immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, this is the mom and her children that we are talking about. she's fleeing central america to save the life of her children from violence, extortion, yes, rape and kidnapping. but the other side wants to change the subject on every tv screen, republicans will show pictures of tattoo gang members flashing gang signs, looking like murderers. you can take your marching orders from laura ingram, tucker carlson, more than you take your marching orders from the president and the kremlin. we are not going to let you insult the intelligence of the american voter. immigrants, refugees, outsiders and outcasts, free slaves, just like this woman and her children, built this country. some of us had our land stolen. some of us made a very smart decision that we had to get away from the land we were in so we could survive. that is who we

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today as a member of the education and work force committee in strong support of the strengthening career and technical education for the 21st century act. this bill will re-authorize the perkins career and technical education act for the first time since 2006. congratulations to chairwoman foxx, ranking member scott, congressman thompson, and congressman krishnamoorthi for their hard work getting this measure through both chambers for the first time in 12 years. this bill is about preparing secondary and postsecondary udents for the academic, employable skills during a critical time for our economy. according to the national association of manufacturers, there will be more than 3.5 million open manufacturing jobs through 2025, and unless we can better prepare that future work force, two million of these jobs will go unfilled. this re-authorization will incentivize technical schools to boost performance by providing schools with more flexibility that will allow schools

mr. speaker. as we enter the hurricane season, i'd like to recognize those within the building and code enforcement community for the work they do to maintain the resilience of our homes and commercial buildings. the international code council has established a building safety campaign that is recognized annually by jurisdictions across the nation. its purpose is to reinforce the need for the adoption of modern building codes and a strong system of code compliance and a well trained professional work force to provide public safety. in the 10 years since florida adopted the statewide building code under governor bush, i was in the legislature at the time, he showed great leadership, the code's adoption and application reduced windstorm actual losses by as much as 72%. year after year we see the type of devastation that mother day nature can bring. and it is important we're doing all that we can to minimize its damage. i yield back. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for w

mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. without objection, the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. thomson: i rise today to welcome members of the penn state 4-h program to the nation's capital. students will share their experiences with me and discuss the importance the program has had in their lives. 4-h is opened to all young people regardless of where they live, what their backgrounds are, or what interests them. from tra contiguousal activities for youth in rural places to afterschool programs for city youth, 4-h has it all. ast mopt penn state 4-h hosted 4-h rst pennsylvania science agriculture challenge in state co

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise this of ing to recognize three my constituents who are all celebrating birthday 100. very, very soon. mrs. cora jones boots mccloud. mrs. christine johnson umstead. and mrs. annie bell gilmore rogers are all members of historic mount verne none baptist church, located in durham, north carolina, pastored by my friend, dr. jerome j. washington. these ladies will soon celebrate their birthdays surrounded by family and friends. they have committed much of their lives to the development of their family and community. they are devout christians of the missionary baptist faith who love their church. mrs. cora jones boots mccloud was born on august 8, 1918, in raleigh, north carolina, and attended rosenwall schools. she started her own business in durham has a professional beautician. she has spent all of her life encouraging her family and community to be independent and faithful in their pursuits. her leadership is reflected in the business community and at her beloved mount

mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent to have the speaker -- take from the speaker's table senate 770 and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 770, an act to require the director of the national institute of standards and technology to disseminate resources to help reduce small business cyber security risks, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the bill? for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will designate for what purpose does the gentlema the amendment. the clerk: amendment in the nature of a substitute to senate 770, offered by mr. webster of florida. strike all after the enacting clause and ensert the falling. section one, short title, this act may be cited as the nist small business security act. section 2, improving cyber securit

mr. speaker -- floor, mr. speaker, and pointed out all the cases against the medical device companies who were being -- who were bribing doctors in order for those doctors to recommend the device. that's a fact of life. i didn't make that up. that's not a political injenks here. this is what happened. and you could shove it off all you want. if i have to come back to the floor on another occasion and cite chapter and verse in the court cases, you won't be so happy. that's not my purpose today. what i am saying is they agreed to the deal. they knew that the increase in health coverage of millions more americans would directly increase the demand for medical devices. by the way -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. neal: i yield the gentleman two more minutes. mr. pascrell: by the way, mr. ranking member, many medical old s are sold to people like myself who are on medicare. and you continued to cut medicare and you will be cutting off your nose to spite your face. -- -- many of the de

mr. speaker. i rise today and it's my honor and privilege to welcome imam ghazvini as the guest chaplain to the united states house of representatives. for the past 14 years, imam seyed ali ghazvini has served as imam or spiritual leader of the islamic cultural center in fresno. a very important islamic center in the san joaquin valley. in addition to leading prayers and the study, the imam -- the imam ghazvini has distinguished himself as a prominent, prominent community leader. since the beginning of his ministry, the imam has worked intently to facilitate meaningful interfaith dialogue and understanding throughout the valley among all religions. as the co-chair of the interfaith alliance of the central california, he's brought together numerous religious and social justice organizations to host mixed faith events and spread tolerance and incluesivity throughout the san joaquin valley. i know because i have had the wonderful pleasure and honor to participate. so it's been with great honor, again,

mr. speaker. i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum not present and make the point of order a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from california, mr. gomez. mr. gomez: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker: the chair will entertain up to five requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> a to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcclintock: mr. speaker, i rise to honor a hero to the sierra and mourn his tragic loss. braiden barney, age 36, gave his life saturday night fighting the ferguson fire which continues to ravage the forre

mr. speaker -- mr. speaker i've been asked to reply my friend, the prime minister is attending the nato summit in brussels. mr. speaker, i know that members from both sides of this house would with like to join me in paying tribute to lord who died on monday. his was extraordinary life of public service including defense secretary, foreign secretary, and secretary general of nato. i'm sure too that members and all sides would also wish to commend incredible efforts of the authorities in thailand and the volunteers -- and the volunteer ares for the british cave rescue counsel. but their role in the successful rescue operation, we wish them and we wish the boys and their families and coach who were rescued well and i know well also our condolences to the families who sadly lost his life during the rescue operation. finally, sir i'm sure that all members whichever part of the united kingdom they come from -- qowld join me in congratulating south gate and england team for their -- for their fantastic perform

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, tomorrow the house education and work force committee will host innovators from across the country for the bipartisan innovation forum and showcase. the innovation forum will begin at 10:00 a.m. in room 2175 of the rayburn house office building. five panels of innovators will speak and answer questions from committee members about their work. from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., members of the public are invited to tour the innovation showcase in the rayburn for yea they they will share -- will share information about their work. i'm part of the innovation showcase. this will highlight people from all walks of life. tomorrow there will be 24 innovators who have traveled to washington to discuss how they run career and technical education and work force development programs in their communities. i'm incredibly honored to have joe luther from the central pennsylvania institute of and mr. nd technology, luther is the horticulture and landscaping professor and has received numerous accol

mr. speaker. as appropriate i say come on england too. crime is on the increase in the -- valley including antisocial behavior orders. from response from the labor control and commissioner is to close front service at police stations including -- s that's my right honorable friend agree with me that you do not better the public -- [inaudible conversations] well mr. speaker honorable say that accessible of local offices is a vital principle of british policing and he will know that we have provided a strong comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in system by more than 460 million pounds in this financial year and specifically, we have provided more than 6 million pounds for 2017 to 18 as he says, decisions about resources including use of police station is a matter of police and crime commission and i would encourage those who make those decisions to listen to their local community to best assess their needs. >> honorable member -- i should mention that we're very fortunate to

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when the endangered species act was signed into law in 1973 the goal was simple -- safeguard endangered species and assist and recovery of their population. until last week, no recent attempts have been made to reform this essential piece of legislation. over the past several years, congressional western caucus has been working together to determine what parts of the endangered species act are broken and to develop solutions to repair this law. the endangered species act is in dire need of modernization reform. which is why last week the western caucus, which i am proud to belong to, rolled out solutions. among them, to address the broken litigation process that incentivizes litigation for profit at the expense of the taxpayer. address the lack of clear listing and delisting criterion. address the lack of transparency and endangered species act decisionmaking and data collection. consider the needs of states more seriously. and address the unnecessary impediments to economic d

mr. speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, who's the author of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the chairman and the ranking member so much for their supporting this and bringing this forward. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 5626, the intercountry adoption information act. i introduced this legislation to make it easier for american families to get crucial information as they pursue adoptions from foreign countries. american families hoping to adopt from a foreign country can face many obstacles on the road to being united with their adoptive children. they navigate confusing foreign adoption policies. the chairman did great job explaining why we're providing transparency and also providing a great basis for this bill. mr. speaker, many times we come to the floor and talk about the mechanics of the bill but i want to talk about the -- what i call the faces behind the bill. for this for me as i watched northeast geor

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, again, i appreciate very much my colleagues' support for this important resolution. i look forward to having his support as we go forward on these resolutions that lay out very clearly how important it is to fund our men and women in uniform. he and i have very serious and significant disagreements over tax policy. i believe -- i know that the private sector is the engine of growth in this economy, that tax cuts in fact generate economic growth and economic growth generates revenue. that if you really want to deal with the debt in this nation, then you have to generate additional revenue. the way to do that is not by taxing people more. it's let people keep more what they earn so they can reinvest, so we can see the kind of economic growth we need. but i would say my colleague's focus on that issue today points out the problem that we have been facing. we face a number of critically important challenges in this body and in the united states senate, but we've got to ensure we d

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to convey my strong concerns about president trump's nominee for the supreme court, judge brett kavanaugh. if confirmed, judge kavanaugh will be in a crucial position to reshape the laws around a weems right to make her own medical decisions, but also he will be in a position to affect the right to access quality and affordable health care for millions of americans, and legal protections for lgbtq citizens. i am disturbed by judge kavanaugh's record on these issues and many others. millions of americans rely on the supreme court to uphold these hard-won rights and they are increasingly in peril. my colleagues in the senate must be sure that judge kavanaugh continues to do what the supreme court has done for years, preserve, protect and uphold these constitutional rights for all americans. if they cannot be sure that judge kavanaugh will do so, they must reject his nomination. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does t

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize tommy fulford for winning the national eagle scout service project of the year award for central region. this project was a year in the making. tommy took a dirt-filled storage room gate dating back to 1904 in the basement of the history museum and created an exhibit illustrating the long history of coal mining in southern illinois. the room was designed to give visitors the feel of being in an actual mine. i visited the exhibit last month. coming from the mining roots myself, i can tell you tommy's project hit very close to home. to put things in perspective, eagle scouts around the country, their volunteers, complete almost 8.5 million hours of service towards their eagle projects last year. this works out to 150 hours per project. tommy and his 18 volunteers dicated 934 hours of service to complete his coal mining exhibit. tommy, i applaud you and i appreciate your dedication and hard work. i know you have a bright future head of you. mr. speaker,

mr. speaker. i went and i visited those who survived hurricane harvey, people close to your district, people whose homes flooded three times in the last eight years and i heard harrowing tales of survival and yet we have a program that says, you know what, we will help you rebuild your same home in the same fashion in the same place. hope you survive next time. that's wrong. that's just wrong, mr. speaker. and, yes, we need more mitigation money. we need better flood control projects, and the house bill had more flood mitigation money than any other reform bill. but this bill before us has no reforms. finances. this is a program that the taxpayer has subsidized so far by $40 billion. some of the debt has been forgiven, but it runs a billion and a half dollar deficit every single year, mr. speaker. it is unsustainable. the congressional budget office says it, the g.a.o. says it, o.m.b. says it. it is an unsustainable program. the finances do not work, and then last but not least, mr. speaker, it is

mr. speaker. congressman heck recently brought up the shellfish industry. just this week, louisiana oyster task force is coming in town. we're going to be meeting with them, talking to them about this and a number of other priority issues because their industry has been impacted by water quality and many other challenges. mr. speaker, i just want to say this legislation helps to make sure that all of the various levels of government, together with our nongovernment partners in the private sector and not-for-profit organizations that are out there, that we're all working together, that we're ensuring the regulatory structure out there is complementary to this effort to help ensure clean water, not just now but for generations to come, that we're using better technology, that we're using better mechanisms such as vegetative plantings and buffers and other things to ensure we're not polluting our waters but we're cleaning them, that we have safe drinking waters, that we have safe, productive ecosystem

mr. speaker. i appreciate the comments of my colleague from the district of columbia, i will simply state that h.r. 5729 is a very stra straightforward bill. it fixes -- is a very straightforward bill. it fixes something that needs to be fixed quickly and i urge my members to support it. with that, 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. 572. 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. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 6139, the improving investment research for small and emerging issuers act. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 61

mr. speaker. just on a few -- will comment on the gentlemen made, talked about removing standards and lower standards in a number of areas. as i said in my statement, we will commit to maintaining high regulatory standards for the environment climate change and social and deployment and consumer protection. he said there was no plan in what i had said to ensure there was no hard border between northern ire lands and ireland. the very opposite. this plan delivers the commitment for no hard border between northern ireland and ireland. at the very beginning of his response, the honorable gentlemen thanked me more early sight of my statement. it's a pity he didn't bother to read it. >> can i also say, he says this is two years on, this is the right honorable gentlemen who said immediately after the referendum decision in 2016 we should have triggered article 50 immediately with no preparation whatsoever. he talks about delivery, well, i might remind him we delivered the joint report in december. deliv

mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? without objection, -- without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. earlier today i met with christy glick in my office. mr. thompson: she's an alzheimer's ambassador and through the program, people like christy work throughout the clint to connect with people -- with members of congress and share their personal experience with alzheimer's disease. als him sthers sixth leading cause of death in the united states and has reached crisis proportions. there's no means of treatment, no method of slowing the progression of the disease. one in three seniors will die with the disease. according to the centers for disease control and prevention, five million americans were living with als himmers in 2013. this number is expected to almost triple to 14 million by the year 2050. mr. speaker, alzheimer's not only has a devastating impact on those who are diagnosed with the disease but also their car ca

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, today marks 100 years since the birth of nelson mandela. i'm sure that the whole house will want to join me in paying tribute to his extraordinary life and will agree with me that his message of forriveness -- forgiveness, peace and reconciliation is as relevant today as it ever has been. mr. speaker, this morning i had meetings with ministerial colleagues and others. in addition to my duties in this house, i -- >> allison hewlett. >> thank you, mr. chairman. [inaudible] mr. speaker, the there are 834 -- [inaudible] in scotland last year. each one of those deaths is a tragedy and a preventable one at that. drug laws are reserved to westminster. how many more families is the prime minister willing to -- [inaudible] before she would build a drug consumption room to save lives. >> prime minister. >> the honorable lady, i agree with her, the deaths that are due to drugs, each one of these is a tragedy, and i'm sure every member of this house will have known people in their ow

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise before you today to speak about mr. jack edward sherman a longtime resident of shelby, illinois, in my district, an advocate for former military men and women throughout the nation and chairman of the veterans advisories committee and i'm proud to say, my friend. mr. shimkus: he joined the navy in 1959, rose that the to the rank of yeoman third class before disability cut short his service hsm made his way to illinois nand 1976, married nancy, and they raised two daughters. as chairman thoif veterans advisory committee he's led our meetings for years, being a valuable experience and perspective. unfortunately his health declined to the point where his mobility is limited and doctors declare he should no longer live on his own which is what he has done since his beloved wife passed away in 2016. jack is now in mississippi, thanks to the u.s. department of veterans' affairs, which located a suitable residence for him near the home of one of his daughters. members of my veterans advisory committee and i will miss jack. we

mr. speaker, for the indulgence and with that i yield back. mr. bilirakis: mr. speaker, i thank the gentleman from rhode island. he's a great advocate for cyprus and cyprus is a great partner, a great ally, strategic ally, and we'll continue -- will continue to be. so we wanted to make sure, we wanted to highlight that this evening and i think we have. so, mr. speaker, i'll yield back the balance of my time and i now move that the house adjourn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the house stands off the floor, freedom caught this members introduced articles of impeachment against deputy attorney general is. alleges heease intentionally withheld documents in connection with a 2016 2017 transition of donald trump. robert lighthizer is scheduled to testify on capitol hill. he is expected to comment on the trump administration's trade policy including terror factions and the agencies i-19

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, a federal court has ordered the trump administration to reunite every child under 5 years old who was separated from his or her family by today. mr. kildee: unfortunately the trump administration has no plan for family reunification, and will fail to reunite as many as half of those children who were taken from their parents. this is completely unacceptable. last week i visited some of those young children. one who looked about 6 months old. many who were 3 and 4. at the facility i visited, case workers there were calling detention facilities around the country to locate those parents. they had to call the facilities to try to find the parents. many of them did. but it is clear that the administration had no plan other than to separate these kids from their parents as a tactic to try to dissuade people who are seeking shelter from violence from coming to the united states. shame on them. this will be a dark period in our history. it's a sad day. i yield back. the speaker pro t

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, we have witnessed one of the most disgraceful displays by an american president on foreign soil in our nation's history when president trump refused to stand behind our intelligence community to instead side with putin. putin, he sided with putin. then on tuesday via twitter the president changed his tune and he said, he i quote, i'm very concerned that russia will be fighting hard to have an impact on the upcoming election against -- apparently embracing his intelligence community again. then he tweeted another tweet basically saying that russia is not involved in meddling in election. i got to tell you, this president is messed up when it comes to the issue of russia meddling in our election. don't know what the russians have on him, if anything, but the behavior out of this president is not normal. and it should concern every single person no matter what your party affiliation is. russia attacked our country. they meddled in our election. and everybody knows it. and we have

mr. speaker. perhaps on american independence day, we should welcome -- can i congratulate england on a very fine victory at the world cup -- >> hear. mr. blackford and wish them all : the best in the coming games. mr. speaker, this morning we have learned that a man is expected to be found guilty on breaking the law. minister agree that we need absolute transparency in elections and that people must be held accountable? pm may: i say to the right honorable gentleman, first, congratulations and best wishes to the team. on the issue that he refers to i , am not going to comment on what i am sure all the members will understand. i am not going to comment on what appears to be a leaked report that the government has not seen. a commission regarding this matter has said they will consider what they have received and publish a thorough report to provide a balanced account, and we will of course consider that report when the government receives it and will consider any recommendation arising from it when

mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that i may here after be considered as e first sponsor of h.r. 1898 -- the speaker pro tempore: the ouse will be in order. take your conversations, please, to the back of the chamber, off the floor. the gentlelady will resume. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that i may hereafter be considered the first sponsor of h.r. 1898, a bill originally introduced by representative meehan of pennsylvania, for the purpose of adding sponsors and requesting reprintings pursuant to clause 7 of rule 13. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. royce: i ask unanimous consent that the committee on foreign abe foreign affairs be discharged -- affairs be from house resolution 256. the clerk: house resolution 256, expressing support for the countries of eastern europe and the north atlantic treaty organization. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to consideration to th

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, 1918, a group of pennsylvania crude oil and natural gas producers got together to form a tradist organization, the pennsylvania oil, gas, and minerals association was formed. it is believed to be the oldest continuously operating oil and gas trade association in the united states. in april, 2010, members of the pennsylvania oil and gas association and the independent oil and gas association of ga, merged it io into one representing oil and gas interests throughout pennsylvania. the merger reunited two organizations that split apart nearly some 30 years earlier to form the pennsylvania independent oil and gas association, or pioga. a century later, industry leaders, supporters, friends will gather to celebrate pioga. the centennial celebration will take place next week at drake well in titusville, pennsylvania, pennsylvania's fifth congressional district, to mark 100 years of the industry's growth and sustainibility in pennsylvania. pioga represents 515 members including oil an

mr. speaker, i have no further speakers. i reserve. mr. blumenauer: ok. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oregon is recognized to close. mr. blumenauer: thank you. i appreciate the opportunity for us to have the discussion. it's been fun working with mr. paulsen from minnesota on this notion of direct primary care. it's a simple notion that run the thwart i.r.s. regulations. i still don't fully understand why these should be classified as health plans rather than payment for service, but nonetheless, we were able to work together in a bipartisan basis to move this forward. it's not expensive. the score is less than $2 billion out of $90 billion that we're tossing around here, and i personally believe that it will result in substantial savings in order to provide more efficient coverage. but i must say that i am a little troubled by the continuing assault on what we're doing with the fiscal future of this country. we saw just the latest reports that because of what my republican friends have done with the budget and with the tax bill we've doubled

mr. speaker. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. royce: mr. speaker, thank you. the okavango delta supports the economic livelihood of a million people in that region. it is in a desert but the okavango river flows into that desert and it makes a home to the largest remaining population of elephants in the world. spans three countries. it starts in the highlands of angola and it flows through namibia and bostwana, and like other regions across africa, there is a challenge here in the poaching and trafficking of threatened species in the delta. and that poaching of elephant d black rhino and other hipo -- hippos, is increasing. i've seen the result of poachers. wildlife trafficking and profiting from poaching provides a key funding source for international criminal networks and for terrorists. and these deadly groups undermine regional stability. they spread violence. they disrupt local governance. they have a devastati

mr. speaker, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from texas reserves. the gentleman from washington is recognized. mr. smith: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cooper. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for two minutes. mr. cooper: i thank the gentleman. i'd like to thank all members had of the conference committee for their record breaking work on the national defense authorization act. this bill supports national security, so i'm pleased to support the bill. i would lick particularly like to thank my good friend, chairman rogers, for his bipartisan leadership for the strategic forces subcommittee. in addition to authorizing core missions of our nuclear forces to provide a strong deterrent, this defense authorization bill mandates an independent study on increasing the decision time before the president can use nuclear weapons. it allows negotiations for extending the new start treaty to maintain binding limits on the number of

mr. speaker. the most fundamental right in our country is voting. and the few charity -- pew charitable trust recently it a stud own voting in each state. i'm sad to say my state of tennessee came out pretty bad. we were 40th in the amount of registration, people registered in our state. about 78% of the people were registered to vote. and turnout we were last. 28 and a half percent of the people voted. based on the 2014 elections. the 2018 election that is will determine a lot about who sits in this house and who sits in the senate and eventually who sits on the supreme court. it is imperative that everybody register to vote so they can vote in the november elections. not just in tennessee but everywhere in the country, and that everybody turn out and vote. so the voting totals are a fair representation of the people, all the people. if we're going to have a house and senate that is representative of america. what occurred in helsinki and what was brought out with the indictments by special couns

mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to congratulate my friend, the honorable judge cindy letterman, upon her retirement from the miami-dade juvenile court. upon starting her work in the juvenile court in 1994, judge letterman quickly discovered a child welfare system in turmoil. she witnessed the voices of the children coming in and out of the court, being lost in the the stream of domestic violence and custody hearings. cindy campaigned to tie the science behind child psychology to the law, making it her mission to transform the system into one that focuses on the well-being of the children. in her career, judge letterman h

mr. speaker. mr. speaker, sunday is national ice cream day. in 1984, president ronald reagan issued a proclamation designating the third sunday in july as national ice cream day in the united states. the sweet treat holds a special place in the hearts and refrigerators of many americans. in fact, almost 90% of americans have ice cream in their freezers as i speak. the commonwealth of pennsylvania produces 10.8 billion pounds of milk annually and 10% of our nation's milk supply goes to the production of ice cream. in the fifth district, the penn state berky creamry has been researching dairy and producing ice cream for more than 150 years. they were the first institution in the united states to offer lessons on making ice cream. in 1978, two men by the name of ben cohen and jerry greenfield took one of their courses and later went on to launch the company, ben and jerry's. mr. speaker, i congratulate penn state for being an industry leader. in on of ice cream day, i hope everyone will celebrate with

mr. speaker. i share the prime minister's tribute to private reese miller who died serving in the first battalion yorkshire regiment. i spent the weekend congratulating the nhs on its 70th birthday, and the message in the crowd there was the nhs is great. let's fund it properly. [applause] you go back to the 1902 renovation of the white house under theodore roosevelt. the same thing existed. the blue room furniture was a conjured up version of what they thought might have been there and that existed in many of the rooms. mr. corbyn: and while we're speaking of emergency services, i do think we should send a message from this house of our thanks and support to all those firefighters tackling these huge fires on several worth more and winter hill. and of course i congratulate the english team on a fantastic performance last night. wish them well on saturday in the match against sweden. mr. speaker, -- [shouting] mr. corbyn: with fares rising above inflation, passenger numbers falling, and services be

mr. engel: i yield another minute to the gentleman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. kennedy: in addition, this bill promises to address the combat instances of sexual assault by re-authorizing the sexual assault advisory council through 2023 and requiring peace corps to provide information to host families regarding sexual assault prevention awareness. because we recognize that tragedies can occur and that service is not without risk, for any volunteer that returns home with a service-connected disability, this legislation will minimize bureaucratic delay and work to ensure that medical care is received without delay. through their selfless and tireless work, mr. speaker, peace corps volunteers leave lasting positive impression in countries all around the world that can endure for generations. with the bipartisan passage of this bill, we are once step closer to ensuring peace corps influence continues to reach new tights heights. i want to thank my colleagues, mr. poe, chairman royce, ranking member engel, for their work

mr. speaker. i think the prime minister for an advance copy of the statement. at the heart of any military alliance is the aim that rogue players can't affect the established government. wonder if the prime minister's reflect on that as she deals with the president threat from the honorable members in northeast somerset. [laughter] protecting the british people will always be our first priority. from climate change, chaos, cyber attack, acts of terrorism, protect petrol conflict, it is duty of government to ensure the approach addresses the drivers of the securities challenges. as one of the richest countries in the world, a member of nato and the un security council, we have a real responsibility to ensure our policy provides both real security of our country and is not fuel insecurity beyond our borders. last week's nato summit was an opportunity for the alliance to reset its approach to some of these challenges. yet once again another global gathering has been dominated by the erratic statement

mr speaker, we can all accept honest error.oints out in his letter that a number of the statements the secretary of state has made are without evidence, not correct and not proven. this is not about phrasing, mr speaker, as the secretary of state is saying, because speeding up is not the same as pausing. i'm staggered and disappointed that in answer to an urgent question we have a secretary of state still arguing over the detail of a report. this is an important constitutional issue. the national audit office is the independent watchdog of government spending and in this case we had the secretary of state come to the house twice, and an unprecedented letter from the auditor general and i have had two letters from the permanent secretary adding information into what was an agreed report on the 8th ofjune. for eight years, parliament's only reliable information about the status of universal credit has come from the national audit office. ministers have consistently responded with denials, cover—ups, statements which the secretary

mr. speaker. i rise today to congratulate the northern california power agency, which is celebrating 50 years of service this year. back in 1968, a group of municipal electric utilities, including the lodi in my district, joined the ncpa. they continue to harness the power of clean energy today. for 50 years, ncpa has utilized new technologies to provide clean energy, renewable energy for its customers, owners, and this includes the lodi energy center combined cycle natural gas project. the ncpa's commitment to innovation and clean energy and clean power have made significant contributions to the california member of communities, resulting in low lectricity rates and co-2 free generation. i ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the ncpa on 50 years of service, achievement, and success. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair recognizes the gentleman from kansas, mr. marshall, for five minutes. mr. marshall: thank you, mr. speaker. six years ago, farmers

mr. hoyer. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from maryland is recognized for the remainder of the five minutes. mr. hoyer: mr. speaker, it would be inaccurate to say that this is a vote about process. it is a vote about substance. in fact, mr. quigley's amendment is about one of the most pressing issues of our time. the director of the national intelligence has said there is a flashing red dangerous signal, similar to the one that happened before 9/11. this amendment responds by providing for us to partner with our states to slam the door in the face of the russian bear or any other adversary who seeks to steal the integrity of our elections. the flashing red light calls us to action. surely we can rise above pandering to party and putin to act on behalf of our freedom and our security. we have sworn an oath to defend our constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. hoyer: you have the opportunity to do that today. do so. vote ye

mr. speaker. today the house passed a resolution which i authored with the help of the committee on foreign relations of which ed royce is the chairman, supporting nato and the nato countries that are endangered by russian aggression, particularly estonia, lithuania, the baltic area and balkan countries also that have been threatened including montenegro, georgia, moldova and ewe cain. the resolution speaks of our support of the sanctions against russia and the sanctions shoult remain until crimea is returned to ukraine and the region no longer has war. and then we continue to support the baltic who was their air space invade by russian aggression. i'm pleased that speaker ryan allowed this resolution to come to the floor that was passed by a voice vote unanimous consent as the senate passed a similar resolution, 97-2. the house and the senate stand together in support of nato and our allies in eastern, central, and western europe. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for

mr. speaker. prime minister is aware, the european of union carried out a study of all the previous free trade deals the union had done to create a draft free trade deal based solely on european precedent they feel department was, until i left at least, was car rig out a legal text, creating a legal text of such a draft treaty as one fallback option in the event of problems in the current fworks. would she agree to publish that text when it's complete? >> i say, first of all, may i say to my right honorable friend, i would like to take this opportunity to thank him for the work that he did. on exiting the european union. secondly, as he knows, we have published the proposals that we have for the trade relationship with the european union in the future. as we look through those negotiations, we will be looking to see where the european union has entered in certain agreements with others in the past. very often the european commission will say it can't be done only for us to say, x was done with ano