mr. huffman: i yield such time he may consume. mr. bishop: the americans hold sacred including education, veterans benefits, definance, key seize research -- disease research and control, food safety, transportation projects, and the list goes on and on. by eliminating inflation adjustments and freezing discretionary spending over 10 years, the baseline would be a benchmark that builds in real and deep cuts in federal programs. the so-called reforms contained within this bill are nothing more than efforts at constraining future federal spending through budget trickery. i urge a no vote. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. million woodall: at this time it's my great pleasure to yield three minutes to a champion for budget transparency, a member of the budget committee, the gentleman from california, mr. mcclintock. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for three minutes. mr. mcclintock: i thank the gen

mr. huffman recorded. >> mr. huffman. mr. huffman, aye. >> the clerk will report the tally. >> mr. chairman, on that vote the ayes are 13, the noes are 22. >> the noes have it and the amendment is not agreed to. i believe mr. doggett, do you have an amendment? >> i do. i have an amendment at the desk. >> there's an amendment at the desk. the clerk will designate the amendment and the staff will distribute the amendment. >> an amendment offered by mr. doggett relating to corporate compensation. >> the gentleman is recognized for eight minutes. >> thank you very much. mr. chairman, last january the -- with considerable can fanfare republicans announced that h.r. 1, the very first resolution in this house, would be dedicated to tax reform. and that we would get comprehensive tax reform for a fairer and more simplified tax system. when i checked each month last year, that h.r. 1 remained reserved for the speaker. and the same is true today. that is not the result of any democratic action, but apparently indecision on the part of republicans as to what that tax reform might look like .

mr. huffman. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from california will control the balance of the time. mr. huffman: thank you, madam speaker. and i will reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. woodall: madam speaker, i'd like to yield myself 60 seconds before i yield to the author of this legislation. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. woodall: i think i got one of the best chart teams on capitol hill. i'll say to my friend from maryland, that's a great big mac chart. federal government math assumes if you got to buy a big mac 10 years ago you buy the same. i buy from the dollar menu. i have to get into my wallet and justify the expense. and when prices double, sometimes we as americans have to substitute -- mr. van hollen: if the gentleman will yield? mr. woodall: i yield. mr. van hollen: the value menu 10 years ago cost more today. this is again about math and budgeting

mr. huffman, who wished to speak today, is concerned about this. however, when a case is brokered out of the oakland to the san diego office, for example, san diego will tell my staff they are not allowed to update them on a status of a case because it is not in san diego's jurisdiction to do so. basically claim. we know there are no v.a. rules in law that state that caseworkers cannot be updated by -- on a veteran's case. so this amendment simply states that if a congressional office is looking for an update on a veteran's case that has been brokered to another v.a. office, the staff will be given a status update with no jurisdictional concerns. as members, we serve our constituents. it is a reasonable request that caseworkers in our offices should be allowed to receive an update on a case regardless of where that case has been sent to so that this v.a. backlog can be solved. our veterans should not suffer because of this backlog. this issue of jurisdiction needs to be clear to all v.a. facilities across the u.s. so that our veterans are getting t