ms. castor, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. mr. chairman. regarding the dod review of the dougway incident and the science surrounding inact administration protocols. the dod reported that one of the root causes of the dougway incident was scientific uncertainty about the process of inact vatsing anthrax spores. the review spated that this uncertainty led to the protocols that do not permanently deactivate anthrax spores and although this incident only recently raised questions about the inadequacy of these procedures, the department knew of this uncertainty for quite a while. so dr. hassell, if the department was aware of the potential inadequacy of the inactivation process using gamma irradiation, why didn't the department have better verification procedures to ensure the spores were properly inactivated before shipping them? >> so that's a good question because it really separates, there are two issues involved. one was the inactivation was infective. and the other was that the vieblts testing didn't catch the fact that the first was not

ms. castor of florida. the chair: the gentlewoman from florida, ms. castor and a member op -- opposed each will control five minutes. ms. castor: my amendment requires the owners of coal ash ponds to clean up pollution, some spills or disasters that involve their coal ash waste. the underlying bill did not contain such a requirement. i know that is hard to believe in the face of the horrendous coal ash disasters of the past few years that my republican colleagues did not include such a requirement. my amendment reinstitutes the requirement for cleanup of these disasters. now the e.p.a. rule requires an owner or operator of coal ash waste to respond immediately to a spill or release whether through the air, water or soil. the rule requires the polluter to alert both the local authorities and the public and immediately prepare a cleanup plan. that's a fundamental concept of doing business, isn't it? yet the republican bill eliminates that requirement for owners and operators and would no longer have to be responsible for their pollution or disaster. that

ms. castor. she played an incredible game. and again thank you. and most improved the gentlelady from arizona, ms. sinema. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yield back. the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 91, an act to amend title 38 the united states code to direct the secretary of veterans affairs to issue upon request veteran identification cards to certain veterans. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to house resolution 333 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of h.r. 2822. will the gentleman from georgia, mr. collins, kindly take the chair. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 2822rks the clerk will report by title. the clerk: bill making appropriations for the department of the interior environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2016, and for other purposes. the chair: when the

ms. castor. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady for floofment is recognized for two minutes. ms. castor: i thank my friend, the gentleman from massachusetts, for yielding the time. i rise to support the rule and in strong support of the 21st century cures bill that was voted unanimously in a bipartisan fashion out of my energy and commerce committee. america is the world leader in medical research. and we have got to work to keep it that way. that has been at risk lately because of congressional budget battles, the resources that our researchers need to find the cures and treatments of the future have been at risk. our commitment to medical research has eroded over the years. but this 21st century cures bill would put us now on a stronger path forward. . to boost our patients back home suffering from da bail tating diseases. -- debilitating diseases. mandatory -- because it is mandatory in america that we respond and we research the cures of tomorrow. such as precision medicine like they're doing at the cancer center in tampa, florida. now that we've mapped the human genome, we ca