mr. olson: i thank the chairman. mr. speaker, i rise today to strongly encourage my colleagues to support the healthy kids act. there are many reasons to support this bill but most importantly it extends the children's health insurance program, chip, until 2022. chip ensures that children too low for medicaid get basic health insurance. 400,000 children in texas rely on chip for quality health care services. we must act now. hurricane javy left a path of destruction across texas and put a may are jor strain on our communities and resources that has resulted in moments of uncertainty. the bottom line is we must act now. this bill responseably provides children with the proper resources to live a healthy life without adding to our country's deficit. again, i strongly urge my colleagues to act now. vote for this bill. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: i yield a minute and a half to the ran

mr. olson: i thank the chairman. mr. speaker, i rise today to strongly encourage my colleagues to support the healthy kids act. there are many reasons to support this bill but most importantly it extends the children's health insurance program, chip, until 2022. chip ensures that children too low for medicaid get basic health insurance. 400,000 children in texas rely on chip for quality health care services. we must act now. hurricane javy left a path of destruction across texas and put a may are jor strain on our communities and resources that has resulted in moments of uncertainty. the bottom line is we must act now. this bill responseably provides children with the proper resources to live a healthy life without adding to our country's deficit. again, i strongly urge my colleagues to act now. vote for this bill. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: i yield a minute and a half to the ran

. >> thank you, mr. olson. any other public speakers on this item? seeing none. we'll good to commissioner comments. commissioner -- any commission comments? commissioner fong? >> commissioner fong: i don't really have any comments. we've been watching this project for a while and this waiver fee seems natural. it seems like it's natural that we have a good start for this building. this one hopefully is the capper on it. so i'm supportive. >> motion to approve? commissioner moore? >> commissioner moore: we are obviously not at all familiar how numbers are compiled. i'm reading the report and i'm trying to understand the outreach in public comment and a number in that report and the total by which you are explaining how the numbers ultimately evolve into a larger number and perhaps you could explain to the public including myself how that works. >> sure. are you referring to the slide here with a tally of our outreach? >> commissioner moore: yes. >> we've had a number of engagement meetings with the city, with planning, with public works, and the arts commission,

mr. olson: i thank the chairman. mr. speaker, i rise today to strongly encourage my colleagues to support the healthy kids act. there are many reasons to support this bill but most importantly it extends the children's health insurance program, chip, until 2022. chip ensures that children too low for medicaid get basic health insurance. 400,000 children in texas rely on chip for quality health care services. we must act now. hurricane javy left a path of destruction across texas and put a may are jor strain on our communities and resources that has resulted in moments of uncertainty. the bottom line is we must act now. this bill responseably provides children with the proper resources to live a healthy life without adding to our country's deficit. again, i strongly urge my colleagues to act now. vote for this bill. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentleman from oregon reserves. the gentleman from new jersey is recognized. mr. pallone: i yield a minute and a half to the ran

social security number and i see mr. olson your audience is that correct isn't that correct? consumers. >> yes shouldn't outline consumers had no one at dinner out with the data that i want to share with you. >> this is part of the way the economy works. as when a consumer goes. >> the consumer doesn't have a choice, so doesn't have a choice on the data as your collecting. i know i know it and quite frankly, the credit report sacred theology do not tell me all the data you're collecting on me. >> it's is was attorney general for eight years in nevada, identity theft and nevada the countries through the roof. still is what is egregious about what lives now for the rest of life, all the people i hear from the 1.3 million people whose identities are stolen they will have to clear the record for the rest of their life. people can create crimes in their name. i've seen it. they're spending their lives clearing their record and their good name. so just that's why this is so egregious and you have an application to not only look at the data you're collecting there is but make sure y

mr. olson: the fifth time was november 18, 2017, two weeks ago. the beeville blue jays won the texas state championship. one word describe ours blue jays, domination. sets.wept one of 22 all of texas 22 is proud of our coaches, the stars who took us jansen, ve for five, sydney, haden, mckenzie. samantha, annie. maison. evan. mr. speaker, get ready number six is coming in 2018. go blue jays. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom new york seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. tonko: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to congratulate the flying horses of troy, high -- troy high school football for an extraordinary achievement, winning a second consecutive new york state public high school athletic association class a.a. state championship. troy's flying horses are the first team, first team in section ii history to accomplish back-to-back undefeated seasons and state championship wins. they are 41-26 championship wins this past sunday over an impressive lancaster lege

. >> i recognize the vice chair, gentlemen from houston, mr. olson. >> thank you, chair. welcome to all of my witnesses, a special pony up to the chairman of texas ms. diane walker. my daughter kate, is a junior at your alma mater and she loves it. my first two questions are to mr. alexander, what about harvey and what about irma. first of all, harvey, as you know i live in texas. fort bend, when it floods it floods. we have four major floods in the past three years. our drainage district works hard to enforce-- .4/seven to make drainage dishes maintain. after the first major flood in 2015 the army court told our district they need a section 404 permit under the clean water act to maintain the ditches. the maintenance of a drainage ditch is supposed to be exempt under section 404. the core disputing referring the district to the epa. of the epa agreed it was maintenance work and it should be good to go, but here we are two years and four floods later. the county is still unable to fix this problem and it now harvey has made a bad problem much much worse. these repairs can

mr. olson: this means that at current national program is both insane and bankrupt. it's insane because taxpayers ay when others homes are flooded and pay again when they are flooded a second time, third time and a fourth time. g.a.o. confirmed that the national insurance program has created taxpayer debt, $23 billion in 2016. three recent major hurricanes in the gulf coast doesn't help because texas had record floods when hurricane harvey hit. i was proud to vote for to reform the 21st century flood program. give christmas present before santa claus comes to town. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does gentlelady from massachusetts seek recognition? >> permission to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> tomorrow the house will vote on h.r. 1, so-called tax cuts and jobs act. unfortunately, that is not the case. middle-income americans will receive one-fifth of the promised benefit. ms. tsongas: h.r. 1 will raise taxes on 36 million hard-working, middle-class america

mr. olson. >> i thank the chair. and welcome to all five witnesses. a special pony up to new chairwoman of the puc of texas, ms. diane walker. my daughter kate is a junior from your alma mater, and she loves it. my first two questions are for you, mr. alexander. what about harvey, what about irma? first of all, harvey. as you know, sir, i live in ft. bend county, texas. when ft. bend floods, it floods. we've had four major floods in the past three years. our drainage district works hard 24/7, 365, to make sure our drainage ditches are maintained. after the first major flood in 2015, the army corps told our drainage district, they need a section 404 permit under the clean water act to maintain the ditches. the maintenance of a drainage ditch is supposed to be exempt. the process under section 404. but the corps disbeautied referred to the epa. the epa agreed, it's maintenance work, and the county should be good to go. but here we are. two years and four floods later, with ft. bend county still unable to fix this critical problem. and now harvey has mad

mr. olson: mr. speaker, there's a great town back home in texas 22, which some people think has a strange name. it's called needville, texas. the folks in needville need othing except open ground, clear skies, with millions of bright stars visible at night. on the third week in october, the last 34 years, the whole town turns out for the needville harvest festival. the harvest fest is all texas. there's a talent show with twillers, clog dancers, barbeque cookoffs, contests for the best if a hitas, the best -- fajitas, the best pork loin, the best chicken and the best pork ribs. and they give away a four-by-four gator. city slickers think that ise sort of lizard. it's a big farm tool, a farm tractor. the best part -- all the money they raise goes to their city, to improve their 60-acre harvest park, and the needville schools. i'll close with the message from mayor ernie stewart, harvest festival president chris janisek, and my guest at president obama's speech this upcoming february, katie backer. th

i'm delighted to welcome don mcgann at the 2017 barbara olson lecturer. [applause] mr. mcgahn: thank you very much. i think i am going to quit while i am ahead. [laughter] thank you. the reception will be across the hall. [laughter] it is really an honor to be here, to be invited to the barbara olson lecture. i knew barbara. i believe i met her at this hotel during a federal society convention like this one many years ago. when leonard called and asked if i could do this lecture, i think i said, i think you dialed the wrong number. because i looked it up and he listed all the folks who have given this lecture over the years. when you hear names like scalia and roberts and gorsuch, and then me, one of those names is really different than the rest. [laughter] mr. mcgahn: i will just give a hint, i do not have any problem with truck drivers. [laughter] [applause] mr. mcgahn: people in the media are wondering what that was about. [laughter] mr. mcgahn: the federal society is really an amazing organization. i have been privileged to be a part of it for many years and watch i

mr. mcgann: thank you very much. i think i'm just going to quit while i am ahead. the reception will be across all. to be here, to be invited to the barbara olson lecture. a new barbara. conventionuring a like this one. when leonard asked if i could do this lecture i think i said i think you have the wrong number. he said he up and listed the folks were given this lecture over the years. scalia and randolph and gorsuch, and then me. one of those names is different than the rest. problem withany truck drivers. people in the media are wondering what that was about. the federal society is an amazing organization. i have been privileged to be a part of it for many years and watch it grow. i remember the first time that i attended one of these conferences. it was 1995. i had recently moved to washington, d.c., and i didn't really know anyone and very few people would talk to me. now i know a lot of people and very few people still actually want to talk to me. [laughter] i met another of people over the years. i remember meeting someone else who had just moved to d.c., and the conversationwent like this. so you just moved to d.c. yes. what were you d