mr. gibbs from ohio. the chair: mr. gibbs from ohio is recognized for five minutes. mr. gibbs: thank you. mr. speaker, i rise in strong support today for h.r. 1732 the regulatory integrity protection act of 2015. one of the reasons that we are doing this bill today is to provide clarity and certainty for the regulatory community. following the swank upon the supreme court decisions determining appropriate scope of jurisdiction under the clean water act has been confusing and unclear. both the regulated community and the supreme court have called for a rulemaking that will provide for such clarity. last april, the e.p.a. and the army corps of engineers published a rule in the federal register that according to the agencies would clarify the scope of federal jurisdiction under the clean water act. but in reality this rule goes far beyond merely clarifying the scope of federal jurisdiction under the clean water programs. it amounts to a vast expansion of federal jurisdiction. to the agencies, clar

mr. gibbs: i thank you, chairman, for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of 2253, the highway and transportation funding act of 2015. although we must construct a long-term highway bill, this legislation is a compromise that will provide states of certainty through the vital summer construction months. by extending the highway trust fund to the end of july, states will not have to worry about reimbursements from the federal government while they are in the middle of the busiest construction season of the year. following passage of this extension i look forward to working with my colleagues on the transportation and infrastructure committee to construct a long-term highway bill which is a sustainable funding mechanism. upon its enactment in 2012, map-21 consolidated federal highway programs and streamlining the approval process. the next highway bill should build on map-21 success to cut red tape and ensure highway trust fund dollars are spent sponlly. we must also be good stewards of taxpayer dollars tone sure that the next surfa

mrs. gibbs local hospital had just shut its doors five days before her death, leaving emergency care out of her immediate reach. her story is not unique to north carolina. nearly one quarter of the u.s. population lives in rural communities where only 10% of our country's physicians practice. since 2010 50 hospitals in the rural parts of the united states have closed their doors for good. and that pace is accelerating with more closures in the last two years than in the previous ten. this year could be even worse. the national rural health care association estimates that 283 rural hospitals across the country are facing possible closure. and our foot soldiers this week are committed to raising awareness of this issue by walking from bell haven, north carolina, to washington, d.c. 283 miles, one mile for each hospital in danger of shutting its doors. joining me to talk about their walk is civil rights activist bob zellner and from chapel hill north carolina bell haven mayor adam o'neill. mayor o'

mr. gibbs: i thank you, chairman, for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of 2253, the highway and transportation funding act of 2015. although we must construct a long-term highway bill, this legislation is a compromise that will provide states of certainty through the vital summer construction months. by extending the highway trust fund to the end of july, states will not have to worry about reimbursements from the federal government while they are in the middle of the busiest construction season of the year. following passage of this extension i look forward to working with my colleagues on the transportation and infrastructure committee to construct a long-term highway bill which is a sustainable funding mechanism. upon its enactment in 2012, map-21 consolidated federal highway programs and streamlining the approval process. the next highway bill should build on map-21 success to cut red tape and ensure highway trust fund dollars are spent sponlly. we must also be good stewards of taxpayer dollars tone sure that the next surfa