mr. thompson. mr. thompson: i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will now entertain up to ne-minute requests on each side of the aisle -- for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. >> thank you. on behalf of the entire kern county community, i want to commend kevin harvick of winning sunday at homestead. exemplifying the determination, resilience and fortitude needed to excel, especially in a long and competitive racing season. these attributes that embody kevin's success engrained in our community. our families get up early, work hard and put in long hours to get the job done. kevin's racing is a reminder to the world that

mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today to offer my deepest condolences to the parents of peter casey, former army ranger, iraq veteran and humanitarian aid worker who was murdered in cold lood by cowards by isis. these bar barrack acts are those by cowards who have unleashed terror throughout the desert in western syria and northern iraq. they have mass cured entire villages, behead -- massacred entire villages, beheaded people. isis blows up history it does not agree with and sells artifacts to fund its ramage. i condemn this attack and all attacks against the innocent and call for neighboring countries to become more actively engage in defeated this threat. not only isis a threat to stability in the region, act like these show they're a threat to peace-loving people across the globe. . they have brainwashed thousands of individuals. last week isis even announce add partnership with al qaeda. to quote peter's parents, good will prevail. fortunately some have stepped up to the fight. the to fight the

mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: friday was the closing of the public comment period for the environmental protection agency proposed aters of the united states, wo tus, which would expand the scope of federal authority of federal and governmental land uses across the united states. enacted in 1972, the clean water act was between the states and federal government and e.p.a. in order to identify sources through a range of pollution control programs. this new proposed rule is a direct threat to the long standing federalist approach by the law which has been long supported by republicans and democrats alike for over four decades. it's through this federalist model which enables regulators at the federal, state and local levels to provide adequate exibility to address water quality. pennsylvania has demonstrated a track record of success in improving and protecting the ecological health of its waters. unfortunately, the proposed rule would dramatically expand the federal authority to the detriment of our econom

mr. thompson: thank you, madam speaker. according to the energy administration information today's national average price for retail gasoline is $2.97. this is the lowest price since over a four-year period beginning in october of 2010. gasoline prices have decreased by roughly 21% in the last six months alone. one of the most prevalent factors in determining the price of gasoline at the pump is the international average of the cost of a barrel of crude oil. over the past week price of crude oil per barrel has hovered between $77.15 and $77.85. these are the lowest per barrel prices since june of 2012, just over two years. in stark contrast to $145 per barrel in may of 2008. the energy information administration has projected the gasoline prices at the pump will continue to decline in december to somewhere around $2.80, possibly even lower in 2015. additionally u.s. natural gas prices are roughly $4.24 as production continues to flourish. this is all welcomed news for consumers, businesses, and the economy from more afforda

mr. thompson? >> you can almost say be careful what you wish for. hertz and 50 came together. it seemed like a dream deal. at dollaras the ceo rent a car. he made his money and got out. he got pushed out. the thought is they are going to try to bring thompson in. people have been speculating it. he is going to come in and run the company. >> they are going to allay the -- delay the spinoff. revenues are coming in light. i would suggest we are seeing this company to company. what is different in the air in november when corporate officers say we have to do something as we go into 2015. what is different this november? people have been really optimistic this year. this is been the year of the big deal. we have seen that over and over all year long. in the case of halliburton, this is an oil and gas situation. >> this is a three year restatement. errors, but it shows the time. >> it seems like the bond market perspective, it is the opposite. lame for the next few years in terms of growth are that drives emanate from that perspective. you are not going

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, as a former rural health care professional for three decades, i rise today to recognize national rural health day. it's an opportunity to celebrate the power of rural by honoring the selfless, community-minded, can-do spirit that prevails in rural america. rural families and communities face unique health care challenges including accessibility issue, the lack of health care providers and the needs of an aging population suffering from a great number of colonic conditions. today we take the opportunity to showcase the efforts of rural health care providers, the state office of rural health and other rural stake holders to meet those challenges. i'm proud to represent a congressional district that encludes rural communities in 24% of its land mass. rural communities are a great place to live and work, which is why nearly 62 million people call them home. our rural hospitals are the economic foundation of rural communities providing god-paying jobs and access to affordable, acc

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute, revise and extend. and the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the house is not in order. the house is not in order. we cannot begin until the members take their conversation off the house floor. the gentleman will resume. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, today congress returns to session with little time to complete business on a range of important matters which is why i'm calling on the senate to take swift action on the national defense authorization act. the ndaa, which passed the house in may, authorizes policy for the pentagon and this year includes reforms to ensure our troops are more adequately trained and equipped both mentally and physically. a recent army study found that nearly half the soldiers who reported suicide attempts indicated their first attempt was prior to enlistment. i'm proud to say the house version of the ndaa includes provisions identical to the medic

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, today marks the closing of the comment period on the rule for the waters of the united states, under the clean water act, that has been proposed by the federal environmental protection agency and the u.s. army corps of engineers. since comment period opened, which was april 24 of this year, landowners, states, counties and groups representing a diverse range of both economic and environmental stakeholders from across the country have filed more than a quarter million comments on a rule that threatens both our comment comme and the ability of states to effectively manage water quality. through a strong state-federal regulatory partnership that provides adequate flexibility to address water quality while accounting for local and regional variations of conditions, pennsylvania's demonstrated a successful track record of improving and protecting the ecological health of its waters. unfortunately this new federal policy poses a direct threat to the long standing federalist approac

mr. thompson, for five minutes. mr. thompson: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, when you first provided the privilege, honor of representing people from home and you come to washington, the very first decision you make is probably one of the most important decisions and that is who your chief of staff will be. today i'm blessed to stand here to recognize a man who i think is among the best of the chiefs who've served any member of congress. i rise today to recognize the distinguished career of jordan clark who has served as my chief of staff and is retiring from the house this month. jordan is a man with a deep love of politician, public policy and people, including his -- politics, public policy and people, including his wife and their seven children. a one of a kind personality with wit as sharp as his public service is long, jordan will be arly missed by his colleagues. -- he at with a unique took his wisdom from the home to here. before beginning his career in washington, he served in the united states army. he served his commission after completing

mr. thompson. with a proxy contest who knows. as for mr.w to the karenal business but not to the transportation business. he was the former president of united airlines. he was instrumental in that company's turn around and instrumental in getting the deal with continental done and he has a long history in the transportation business. i can also let you know, and you know by now, he has a long history of finding credible and capable folks to leave companies. in fact, we just heard from another one earlier this week in the allergan deal. remember it was brent saunders that ran forest labs when activists took over. saunders was an icon selection. now he will lead that combined company. there's the chesapeake ceo. carl icon himself says believe hertz hired an excellent ceo. urges companies to read the press release which you heard from here first is out. but there's a shot of mr. tague. it is an interesting choice and as i said perhaps most interestingly it now sets up perhaps some what of a tussle between icon who has an 8.5% stake. and just

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, the u.s. fish and wildlife service announced that the agency is reopening the comment period for an additional 30 days for the public comment period on their proposal to list the northern long ear bat as endangered. this species can be found in 38 states and if listed under the endangered species act the consequences could have significant impacts on farmers, foresters, landowners and the states themselves. the underlying issue is that neither habitat loss nor human activities have played a role in the losses. the northern long ear bat is suffering from a fungal disease which awakes bats out of hibernation in winter. once awake, these bats leave the cave in search of food and unfortunately starve or die during the colder months. rather than placing a limitation on land use that has nothing to do with the spread of a disease, i would encourage the fish and wildlife service to focus on research into countering the white nose syndrome. the american people deserve as much. thank you, mr. speaker,

mr. thompson: mr. speaker, currently more than 113 million americans are facing long-term disease and -- or dizz ability. significant policy -- or disability. significant policy advancements have been recently signed into law to encourage development of drugs for those with limited medical options and continuing to get diges noic tests to patients more quickly. as someone who spent most of my professional career serving those with life-changing disease and disability, a scared goal of health care provide sers to improve the quality of life for their patients. this is particularly true when it comes to those with limited speech, whether they suffer from stroke, trauma, or progressive neurological diseases such as a.l.s., m.s. or huntington's. i'm pleased that after years of recommendation the centers for medicare and medicaid services have lifted prohibitions on unlocking speech generating devices from accessing other technologies such as email. our continued goal should be to ensure the mobility of peo

mr. dan donahoe, i'm tisha thompson. >> reporter: dan ahoe told us the postal service uses an extensive processre was nothing ever that was left uninvestigated. we prosecute people to the full extent of the law. >> reporter: some of your employees have told me after they were sexually assaulted they were retaliated against when they made a complaint. >> the postal service has got an number of avenues for employees to air issues, whether it's the hotline, the grievance process, eeoc. we have watched these carefully over the years, taken this very seriously and acted on it. >> reporter: i'm sure as boss it also concerns you that your employees are saying that. what do you want to tell them? >> our employees are safe. we provide a safe environment. we provide an environment where there if there is a problem, we respond to it. >> even though they worked in different plants in different states, both women say their attackers were allowed to retire while they continued to be retaliated against while they both went out on medical leave. >> hopefully your reporting will bring some changes. it sounds li