mr. meehan: thank you, madam chairman. i want to thank my good friend and colleague from florida for his indulgence and working with me on this amendment. we have benefited here across the united states in recent times with a boom in energy and moving toward energy self-sufficiency. much of this has been due to the ability to take advantage of our natural resources including crude oil which is increasingly being developed from the western parts of our country. in fact, more than 33 million barrels of crude oil are shipped by rail each month in the united states and that's a 50-fold increase from more than five years ago. shipments from the region in my own district of pennsylvania thnd the entire philadelphia area and has created energy opportunities throughout the nation. now despite the fact that nearly all the shipments are shipped safely, accidents are on the rise. i want dents in ontario west virginia and other areas call to mind the need for safety measures. my amendment seeks to transfer funding from the office of t

mr. meehan of pennsylvania, an amendment by mr. garrett of new jersey, an amendment by mr. ellison of minnesota, amendment number 28 by mr. emmer of minnesota, an amendment by mr. peters of california, an amendment by mr. issa of california. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in the series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida, dr. yoho, on which further proceedings were pogsponed and on which the yeas -- were postponed and on which the yeas prevailed by voice vote. the clerk: amendment offered by mr. yoho of florida. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient numbering are viz -- having risen a recorded vote is ordered. 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 clos

mr. meehan: i thank the gentlelady. before i close my comment i think it's important to recognize that the same principle has already been adopted by 31 members of this body -- 318 members of this body, including a near unanimous vote by my colleague from the other side of the aisle, his colleagues, on that side of the aisle. i will also say that i am not sure that the gentleman understands the actual effect of the bill. it simply is to reinvest the profits that are made on the northeast corridor. these are being made by the investments that are being made by the tax paying people who are purchasing those tickets. we can still look for ways to fund other parts of the systems around the country where they can deserve their merit or earn their investments on merit. we are asking in light of the fact that this is a line, which is so heavily used, the priorities be placed where it's most needed with that i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by t

mr. meehan from pennsylvania. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for two minutes. mr. meehan: i want to thank the gentleman for bringing his bipartisan solution to the trade promotion authority. i'd like to stand in support of the trade presences extension act and encourage colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join in supporting this. i speak first about trade adjustment assistance, a program that i have seen in my own district where i have watched workers when it can be demonstrated that they have had their jobs impacted because of foreign implications that there is a support network in place. i have seen the value of that program and believe that this is important that we keep the tradition of t.a.a., but we also need to point out that there has been significant improvements in this program streamlining which will remove some of the underperforming programs were not re-authorized. accountability there will now be performance goals for t.a.a. that are aligned with other job

mr. meehan of pennsylvania insert first before dollar, in the amendment by mr. burgess of texas, insert reduced by $4 million in the instruction reward -- regarding page 2 of line 13. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent that the clerk be authorized to make corrections in h.r. 22289 to make such technical ancon -- and conforming changes to accurately reflect the changes of the house including changing 13 to 14 in the ninth instruction of the amendment from mr. kohn naway of texas. -- mr. conaway of texas. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? >> i ask that my name be removed as co-sponsor of h.r. 2383. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the house will be in order. the house will be in order. the chair will now entertain requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from north dakota seek recognition? without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> big thing

mr. meehan of pennsylvania. >> thank you, mr. chairman. mr. redmer in your testimony made a statement using cost generated because of a 15% increase in morbidity. what is that? >> ÉpÉe as i'll describe it as the health status of the pool is getting thicker. they are going to be utilizing more for service. >> i understand that is one of the cost drivers. we are sitting here staring testimony from two different places. they've got 30% increase is in tennessee. mr. chama has talked about extensive increase in texas. i see them in pennsylvania and you say that 10% increase. what is going on. >> thank you for the question. chloe there start differences among the states and the part i tried to point out was who had a very competitive market than the state of washington before the aca cavemen and it's become more competitive with 15% of marketers in the markets. not all states have the benefit of that. >> your starting point the beginning of mine is a different place. cpac exactly. he went to the process of implementing the affordable care act. where

mr. meehan: i thank the chairman and i thank the speaker. i rise in support of the trade act of 2015. 95% of the world's market is outside the united states, and selling our goods to these markets is critical to america's future prosperity. one in five of american jobs are directly tied to trade. and if we can't knock down the tariffs that are placed on american goods around the country, the world's going to buy these goods elsewhere. simply put a strong trade agenda is essential to america's national security and the economic opportunity of hardworking taxpayers. if you want a strong trade agreement with better protections for u.s. workers, you want trade promotion authority. t.p.a. allows congress to hold the administration accountable and gives congress the chance to vote down a bad deal. without it we're negotiating from a disadvantage, and if we're not setting the rules on global trade, china will. mr. speaker, trade promotion authority means stronger, better trade agreements. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support i

mr. meehan. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. meehan: thank you mr. speaker. let me begin just disspelling the premise that somehow this whole thing is devised so that we can allow the medical device companies to flourish. the thing we want to flourish is research and development. that is producing the kinds of things that are helping the american people. and that's the essence of what the medical device r&d innovation is doing. this is stifling, at the precise moment where breakthrough opportunities, oftentimes in small businesses, i see them, mr. speaker, i visit them in my district and at the time that is the most fragile for them, they are being hit with this 2.4% tax which touches them at the time when it's not on profits. these are the very dollars that are being used to be invested into r&d, whether they sell that product or not. we are killing our innovation right in the cradle. i strongly encourage my colleagues to support the repeal of the medical device tax and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserv

mr. meehan: i thank the chairman and i thank the speaker. i rise in support of the trade act of 2015. 95% of the world's market is outside the united states, and selling our goods to these markets is critical to america's future prosperity. one in five of american jobs are directly tied to trade. and if we can't knock down the tariffs that are placed on american goods around the country, the world's going to buy these goods elsewhere. simply put a strong trade agenda is essential to america's national security and the economic opportunity of hardworking taxpayers. if you want a strong trade agreement with better protections for u.s. workers, you want trade promotion authority. t.p.a. allows congress to hold the administration accountable and gives congress the chance to vote down a bad deal. without it we're negotiating from a disadvantage, and if we're not setting the rules on global trade, china will. mr. speaker, trade promotion authority means stronger, better trade agreements. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support i