mr. rigell: yes. mr. hastings: we had discussions in the committee on the accuracy of the data and this legislation says that -- the chair: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. rigell: i yield a minute to -- the chair: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. hastings: i thank the gentleman. and the point is that this legislation says that one ought to drill where the resources are. and the gentleman's amendment i think goes a long way in that direction, and i commend him for that and i support it and i yield back to the gentleman. mr. rigell: i thank the gentleman and thank you for your leadership on this bill. i'd like to yield to my friend and colleague from virginia, mr. wittman. the chair: the gentleman from virginia is recognized for one minute. mr. wittman: i rise in support of the gentleman from virginia's amendment that sets the deadline for the bureau of ocean energy management to complete an environmental review to allow offshore atlantic seismic studies to go forward. i've joined 42 bi

mr. rigele: thank you, mr. speaker. -- mr. rigele -- mr. rigell: thank you, mr. speaker. before i begin my remarks i express my appreciation to my colleague, mr. fleischmann, and the tribute he paid his father who was part of the greatest generation. we thank his father to his service to our country. i rise this morning to talk about my number one priority in serving the second district of virginia in this incredible country we live in and that's jobs. number one focus of our office and i rise in strong support of house resolution 2231, offshore energy and jobs act, that will come before this house either today or tomorrow. that bill includes language that i authored and introduced and it creates a clear path, an opportunity that can really change the lives of hardworking americans, and i'm awfully proud of what the bill will do. ideally when it's passed through the senate and made into law by the president and job creation. before i share with this house what the bill actually does and what the language does, i want to make clear what it's not. it's not a bill that spend

mr. ridgele of virginia -- rigell of virginia. the chair: the gentleman from virginia, mr. rigell, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. rigell: i thank the chairman. mr. chairman, these are very, very challenging fiscal times. our deficit continues to grow. and that's putting pressure on every single line of our federal budget. including defense. and yet the world has not become a safer place. so, what's clear, mr. speaker, is that we have a duty, an absolute duty to invest each and every dollar of our defense dollars wisely and that's exactly what my amendment does. it does that by eliminating a regulation that's holding back competition and in doing so it's hurting the american taxpayer. when it comes to understanding the value of introducing competition into things, the american people get it. from groceries to computers, we know that when competition is introduced, that good things happen. the prices go down and quality goes up. now, the same is true or it should be true when it comes to the department

mr. rigell: i yield the time to mr. becerra of california. the chair: the gentleman from california is recognized. mr. becerra: thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like tone gauge the gentleman from california in a olloquy, if i may -- to engage the gentleman from california in a colloquy if i may. the chair: the gentleman from washington does control the time. mr. becerra: and i would ask that the gentleman allow us to ngage in a colloquy. mr. larsen: no objection. mr. becerra: what i would like to ask is that in conversations that have taken place between members on this particular amendment, there is obviously quite a bit of support on this side of the house for legislation that would honor the service of any american, including those americans who had come to this country through no fault of their own, without documentation, have essentially become americans through their time as youngsters in this country, and then wanted to fulfill service to this nation by applying to serve in our armed forces. this amendment, however, has some flaws in it th

mr. rigell, had been disposed of. it is now in order to consider amendment number 8, printed in house report number 113-131. for what purpose does the gentleman from oregon seek recognition? mr. defazio: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 8, printed in part in house report number 113-131, offered by mr. defazio of oregon. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 274, the gentleman from oregon, mr. defazio, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentleman from oregon. mr. defazio: thank you, mr. chairman. mr. chairman, this amendment is to remove from the bill rovisions that would mandate leasing off of the fabulous bristol bay area of alaska. now, this is -- when i said this bill was a little like groundhog day because we passed it before and we talked about it yesterday. but this is about a bizarre version of groundhog day, but i'm forced to offer this amendment. actually after the exxon van deeze --