The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Swalwell i will withdraw an offensive word. Mr. Collins ill withdraw my point of order. Mr. Swalwell may i have 30 seconds. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has 30 seconds remaining. The chair controls the time. The gentleman has 30 seconds remaining. Does the gentlelady wish to grant him an additional 30 seconds. Ms. Jackson lee im prepared to grant him an additional 30 seconds. Mr. Collins i withdraw my point of order. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman withdraws. Mr. Swalwell we have an opportunity today to condemn or condone. Birtherism is racist. Saying a mexican judge cannot be fair because of his heritage is racist. Saying immigrants from mexico are rapists is racist. Telling four members of the body to go home because of where you believe they are from is racist. There is racism coming out of the white house. There is racism coming out of the white house. So where will you stand today . That is the question we face. Where will we stand . Will we stop and extinguish the flames of racism from the white house or will we continue to fan them . History and our children are watching. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia rise . Mr. Collins i yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from louisiana, mr. Scalise. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. Mr. Scalise thank you, madam chair, madam speaker. The last vote we just saw on the house floor is beneath the dignity of the house. We have rules for a reason. Just because one party is in the majority, madam speaker, doesnt mean that the rules dont apply to them. The rules aply to all of us. Just as were passing laws here that ought to apply to all People Fairly across this country. The reason we have these rules is so that we can rise above the fray. We have disagreements on this floor. Whats great about this country is we have the ability to come and battle over the disagreements. But we shouldnt get into personality conflicts on this floor. We shouldnt be trying to accuse people of one thing or another, disparagingly on this floor. Thats why we have these rules. So that we can actually debate the issues that people care about. Rather than engaging in this constant barrage of personality attacks that weve seen week after week after week, the American People expect us to be spending our time up here fighting for the issues they care about. They want us to be spending time focusing on lowering their Prescription Drug prices. Lowering health care prices. Rather than this foolishness. They want us to be solving the crisis at the border. Not ignoring it. Not disparaging it. But actually focusing on solving it. These are easy issues for us to solve if we come together an spend realtime in good faith working on them. Rather than this foolishness. Look at all of the other problems that our country faces that people call on us to a dress. They expect that were spending our time up here focusing on those problems. Getting our economy back on track like it is now. It took people working together and its working. We can do more. Fighting the evils across this world. When you look at what russia is doing what iran is doing, when you look at what china is doing. Us to be coming together and standing up working on those problems for the people who sent us here, not worried about ourselves, not fighting amongst ourselves, but actually focusing on their problems. Thats why were supposed to be up here. Thats why the rules of the house should apply to all people, not just selectively to some. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. Ms. Jackson lee it is my pleasure to yield to the disting westerned gentleman from california, representative lieu, for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lieu thank you, madam speaker. I am an immigrant, a person of faith, and i serve on active duty in the United States military because i love america. Yet throughout my life, i have had people tell me to go back to china or japan or north korea and like many immigrants, when i get that go back insult, it is hurtful. Makes me feel like i dont belong leer in this i dont belong here in this country. Make no mistake, when they tell me to go back to my country, it is a racist insult because its based on race. I experience that insult because my race happens to be asian. The good news is americans at record high levels support immigrants. We are not going anywhere. America is our home and i will still be standing here long after the occupant of the white house leaves. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair will remain all persons in the gallery that you are here as guests of the house and any manifestation of approval or disapproval of proceedings is in violation of the rule of the house. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas. Ms. Jackson lee it is my pleasure to yield to the distinguished gentlelady from washington state, representative jayapal, for two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Jayapal thank you, madam speaker. I am appalled at the statements coming from the white house telling people who dissent that somehow you should go back to your country if you criticize the United States. Let me remind you that dissent is patriotic and in fact a core value to our democracy, enshrined in our constitution, and yes, i am a proud naturalized citizen born in india, a proud patriot, a proud person who belongs in this country and its not the first time ive heard, go back to your own country. But it is the first time i have heard it coming from the white house. And frankly, madam speaker, i am appalled that on this floor, my republican colleagues would call any of us antiamerican. That is why this vote is so important. Because we have to let the rest of the country know that the house of representatives will stand up for the constitution, represent and defend every Single Person in the country regardless of the color of their skin or the country of their birth. Madam speaker, my republican colleagues have been talking about patriotism, about love of country. One of them said love it or leave it. But what is love . Its not to make what we love better through our critiquing our work and our service . That is what real americans do. We do not stifle dissent. We do not otherize or sow hatred and we certainly never say, go back to your country, to a brown or a black person, because thats a racist trope. I hope that every Single Member of this chamber, republican and democrat, will join me in rejecting the president s message and vote in support of this resolution. That is the american thing to do. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas. Ms. Jackson lee pleased, madam speaker, to yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from pennsylvania, representative dean. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Dean thank you, madam speaker. Words matter. Decency matters. Recently, President Trump told four congresswomen of color to, quote, go back to their home country. Mr. President , they are home. Three of these congresswomen, my colleagues, were born in the United States. The fourth, also my colleague, is a naturalized u. S. Citizen. Theyre as american as i am. As the president is. As the first laity is. Or anyone else period. Telling people who look different to go back to where they came from is a refrain laced with hate. This rhetoric is neither new nor a surprise but that doesnt mean we can allow it to stand. It belies a fundamental misunderstand of our nations promise that we are all created equal and everyone has a role to play in building a more perfect union, not just white americans, every american. We hereby recognize these words for what they are, offensive, hateful, and the people we represent deserve deserve better. As a cosponsor, i believe we must call out hate wherever we see it whether in our own houses or in the white house. I urge all members to support the resolution. Words matter. Thank you, madam speaker. Mr. Collins reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia reserves. The gentlelady from texas. Ms. Jackson lee im pleased to yield one many of one and a half minutes to the distinguished gentleman from georgia, representative louis. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for representative lewis. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one and a half maines. Mr. Lewis thank you, madam speaker. I rise with a sense of righteous indignation to support this resolution. I know racism when i see it. Know racism when i feel it. And at the highest level of government, theres no room for racism. It tsaos the seeds of violence and destroys the hopes and dreams of people. The world is watching. They are shocked and dismayed because it seems we have lost our way. As a nation, as a proud and great people. We are one congress. And we are here to serve one house. The american house. The American People. Ome of us have been victims of the pain and hurt of racism. In the 1950s and 1960s, segregationists told us to go back when we protested for or rights. They told ministers, priests, rabbis, and nuns to go back. They told the innocent little children seeking just an equal education, to go back. As a nation and as a people we need to go forward and not backwards. With this vet, we stand with our sisters, three were born in america, one came here looking for a better life. With this vote, we meet our moral obligation to condition democrat hate, racism, and bigotry in every form. Thank you, yield back. Ms. Jackson lee does the gentleman need more time . Mr. Lewis do what is right what is fair what is just. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. The gentlelady from texas. Ms. Jackson lee im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from ohio, representative ryan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Ryan we the people. More perfect union. The common defense. General welfare. Common good. These United States. The words and phrases of our founding documents were about unity. Were about us coming together against the political and economic concentration of power. Division is the enemy in the United States today. We are unraveling before the very eyes of eyes of the American People. And i believe that this president , that the white house, does not want to talk about the issues facing the American People today. 75 of the American People live in tissue living paychecktopaycheck. Seniors paying 1,000 a month in Prescription Drugs. Students drowning in student loans. Yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i would like im done, ready to close if you are. Ms. Jackson lee were prepeared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized. Mr. Collins i will not belabor this. I have made many of the points i have said before. I think this was rushed to the floor. I think this is what happens unfortunately when things are rushed. There are things that need to be done and the decorum of the house is important. Weve had a long lesson on that today. The very essence of the resolution which has issues beyond needs to be considered. When we do this, then i think as i said in my hoping and ill stick by what i said then this needs to be voted down. This does not need to go forward. We need to get to a certain time when we are back to literally doning the peoples business. This is the third time, madam speaker, that ive been on the floor doing this third time. More time than aye done on immigration. More time than ive done on any other bills. More bills that could get signed into law. As my whip just said a few minutes but it seems like common grouped is gone. We are willing to reach across the aisle and find Common Ground because people are hurting. We want to go to the press release or to the political statement, which is frustrating. I understand. But weve got to get better and understand what happens to the American People and looking at this and staying a, what do we need to do to make our lives better. When we understand that, thats when we take the decorum of the house and speak as friends to each other who have been legitimated to serve a common purpose. That is our higher aim. And if we dont do that, we are not being honest with ourselves. Lets get to the peoples business. There are budget issues looming, cap ceilings looming and these need to be fixed. Lets take up those bills. Ill put a bill up if you put a bill up. Have markups. And run through committees. Lets said what we want to do. We have been guilty of not doing that. Lets focus at least where we are now and say this is not the way forward and not where we need to be because of the problems in the resolution and the way it was brought to us. And we seen it play out on the floor today. Is that really how we are going to lead for the American People and nothing can be done about it. We are not going to bring issues to the floor that have been brought to the committee. Thats the frustration i have, madam speaker. But time of the debate. We need to vote no and move forward. And with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas. Ms. Jackson lee the way to move is by voting yes on the underlying resolution. To paraphrase the declaration of independence as indicated we are ll created equal, with certain inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. An individual whose religion you believe in or do not, a lifestyle you may not know or race or ethnicity that you will never accept. But in this nation, the 13,000 founding colonies, fleeing persecution were described as creating an experiment. It was not a perfect experiment. Some of us who came to this nation in the bottom of a slave boat. Ere were some who were servants and many came by boat and some walked across a border, but they were people desperate for freedom and the right to make their lives better. We can account for those people by the history books. Nd the decades of heroes and sheroes who come in a different skin, different religion and put on the uniform of this nation because they love this country. Im reminded of the era of dr. King. The many miles he walked with the soldiers, the civil rights soldiers and in his early book said why we cant wait. So i join with the idea that we must work for the American People. We must provide for the increase in the minimum wage and Good Health Care and education, but at the same time, there is something in this nation that our children demand that we do, and that is, what are the values of the red, white and blue . What are the values of those stars that represent the many states of this nation . The values are that we are a nation based upon laws, morality and values and a love of country, due process, equality and justice. And it means that every Single Person must have their funnel right of respect. This resolution is simply that. It is a fundamental right to respect and dignity in this instance for four members of the United States members of congress, from boston, new york, minnesota and as they go on, to their places, it is very clear that they must have the respect that is respecting of this particular congress. And so this resolution, these four women are no less deserving of dignity than anyone else. And this resolution is simply one that is to seek, not condoning as was said, but a condemnation of attitudes that may par lay racist beliefs. No one stands for that. And we cannot go on to all that is good without saying to the nation and the world that this is not good, it is not america, we will not accept that as our definition, because we do believe in the creation of a more perfect union. We condemn the hurtful and offensive comments that demean immigrants and people of color, especially if those comments originate from the white house. And what we will do today is accept the challenge of dr. Martin luther king, peacemaker, man of hope and we will say why we cant wait because the nation calls upon our higher angels and that is what we will do when affirm this resolution on behalf of the people of america. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. Pursuant to House Resolution 491, the previous question is ordered on the resolution. The question is on adoption of the resolution. Those in favor say aye. Opposed no. The yeas have it. For what purpose does the gentlelady from texas seek recognition . Ms. Jackson lee i ask for a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore those favoring a recorded vote will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of tuse of the closedc coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore the yeas are 240 and the nays are 187 and the resolution is adopted a without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. He house will be in order. The speaker pro tempore members will take their conversations off the floor. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas rise . Mr. Green madam speaker, of rule to clause 2a1 9, i rise to give notice of my intention to raise a question of the privileges of the house, the form of the resolution is as follows. Impeaching Donald John Trump, president of the United States of high misdemeanor, resolved that Donald John Trump, president of the United States, unfit t to be president , to represent the American Values of decency and morality, respect built and civility, honesty and proprietyy, and integrity. Unfit to defend the ideals that have made america great, unfit to defend liberty and justice for all as ex told in the pledge as in ges and unfit to the declaration of independence, is unfit to ensure domestic tranquility, promote the general welfare and ensure the pleasings f liberty to ourselves and our posterity as lauded in the preamble of the United States constitution, unfit to protect the people and impeached for high misdemeanor that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the senate. Article of impeachment exhibited by the house of representatives of the United States and the name of itself of the people of the United States against Donald John Trump, president of the United States. In maintenance and support of this impeachment against him for high misdemeanor committed as president , constituting harm to american society, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Article 1, the house of representatives on july 16, 2019 strongly condemned President Trumps racist comments that have legitimatized and increased fear and hatred of new americans and people of color by saying hat our fellow americans who are immigrant and those who may look to the president like immigrants, should go back to other countries, by referring to immigrants and Asylum Seekers as invaders. And by saying that members of congress who are immigrants or those of our colleagues who are wrongly assumed to be immigrants, do not belong in congress or in the United States of america. N all of this, the aforementioned Donald John Trump has, by his statement, brought the high office of the president of the United States in contempt, ridiculed, disgraced sown seeds of has discord among the people of the United States, has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president and has betrayed his trust as president of the United States to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. And has committed a high misdemeanor in office. Trump, by donald john causing such harm to the society of the United States, is unfit to be president and warrants impeachment, trial and removal from office. The speaker pro tempore the resolution offered by the floor by a member other than the majority leader or minority leader as the question of the privilege of the house has immediate precedence at a time designated by the chair within two days after the resolution is properly noticed. Pending that designation, the resolution noted by the gentleman from texas will appear in the record at this point. The chair will not determine whether it constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at the time of consideration of the resolution. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and inexclude extraneous material on the intelligence authorization. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Pursuant to House Resolution 491 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of h. R. 3494. The chair will appoint the gentleman from california, mr. Huffman, to preside over the committee of the whole. The chair the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h. R. 3494 which the clerk will report by title. The clerk a bill to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for intelligence and intelligencerelated activities of the United States government, the Community Management account, and the Central IntelligenceAgency Retirement and disability system and for ther purposes. The chair pursuant to the rule, the bill is considered read the first time. General debate shall be con phoned to the bill and amendments specified in the first section of House Resolution 491 and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence. The gentleman from california, mr. Schiff, and the gentleman from california, mr. Knew nezz, nunes will each control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california, mr. Schiff. Mr. Schiff thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Chairman. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Along the wall of the upper lobby of the c. I. A. Is a large picture of the head and torch of the statue of liberty with the following words. We are the nations first line of defense, we accomplish what others cannot accomplish and go where others cannot go. These two sentences distill the essence of Americas Intelligence Community and the quiet sense of mission that tens of thousands of our fellow citizens bring to their jobs every day. Damon paul nelson and Matthew Young pollard intelligence authorization for fiscal year 2020 is our work. This is reported unanimously out of the Intelligence Committee and embodies the collective efforts of democratic and republican members. Though it contains many new initiatives authored in my chairmanship, it preserves those developed in Ranking Member knew nezzs tenure as well. The che has come together to support our Intelligence Community. Its the overseas, highly classified act tv thities and we work with the i. C. To ensure it has what it needs. That wont work unless the committee trusts the i. C. Elements of overseas and those same elements trust the committee. A at the at the same time legal and policy constraints are vigorously enforced. That requires us to maintain a professional distance and healthy skepticism about the activities we oversee. When warranted this committee must impose additional checks and limitations at times over Intelligence Community objections. It is a delicate balance which the measure strikes through the use of different oversight tools. The most important by far sour annual intelligence authorization act. H. R. 3494 gets the balance right. It authorizes furneding for the i. C. At roughly 1. 4 above the president s request for the coming year. It prioritizes the i. C. s collection and analytic capabilities against china, russia, iran, and north korea, while sustaining critical intelligence capabilities that support counterterrorism and counterproliferation. The bill also ensures that the men and women of the i. C. Have what they need to collect and analyze the intelligence that policymakers require. At the same time, h. R. 3494 ensures close oversight by congress, rejecting the funding of legacy i. C. Programs with overseas contingency operations, resources, or oco funding and requiring for the first time the submission to the Intelligence Committees of detailed information on unfunded i. C. Programs. Another provision offered by representative welch calls for more information on the i. C. s budget for counterterrorism matters to be released to the public consistent with the protection of National Security. Still another authorizes the Public Interest and classification board which plays a vital role in ensuring the historic that Historical Documents about i. C. Programs are declassified appropriately. Legislation is especially strong in three other areas. The first has to do with foreign malign activity, including those by russia. The bill calls for extensive i. C. Reporting and creates new notification requirements regarding covert or overt efforts by foreign governments to undermine trusted institutions or to interfere in the democratic process. Our own or those of other nations. This bill also strongly supports the i. C. Work force. H. R. 3494 obliges the i. C. Elements to offerer that employees 12 weeks of paid prarnte parental leave on top of the unpaid leave already guaranteed to them by law. Other language ensures that the families of c. I. A. Personnel killed or injured as a result of wars, hostile acts or other incidents can be appropriately compensated. The bill also bolsters the i. C. s ability to recruit, hire, retain, and promote a work force that represents the diversity of the nation that it serves. Lastly, technology. Many have sundayed sounded alarms about the rise of socalled deepfake algorithms and the transin addition our country and elsewhere to a fifth Generation Telecommunications network. To help the i. C. Address both challenges, h. R. 3494 instructs e d. N. I. To hold competition and aword prizes for cutting dge research into deepfake and 5g technologies. H. R. 3494 is not perfect. It is a result of negotiation and compromise. Im pleased that despite our public differences we have once again been able to put those aside to focus on the important work of overseeing the Intelligence Community. The as a result a strong, bipartisan bill which im proud to support. Let me conclude by thanking Ranking Member knew nezz, my committee colleague theans staff for their collaborative efforts. I urge all member of the house to join me in voting for h. R. 3494. Before reserves the before reserving the balance of my time, again, mr. Speaker, we or mr. Chairman, we request unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlemans request is covered under general leave. The gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california, mr. Knew nezz is recognized. Mr. Nunes is recognized. Mr. Nunes i rise in support of h. R. 3494, the Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young pollard intelligence authorization act or fiscal year 2020. Passing an authorization bill is the most important oversight congress has. Today we are bringing the 10th consecutive intelligence bill to the floor. Im pleased that as in years past this is a borne product that reflects the cricks of all the committees members. It was reported out of committee by unanimous voice vote. This legislation is the product of bipartisan work by the majority and the minority and provides the Intelligence Community the necessary resources and authorities to ensure the i. C. Remains capable of protecting and defending the United States. The bill pulls in many priorities from f. Y. 2018 and 2019, including the defense of elections from foreign threats, enhanced benefits to cri c. I. A. Employees and bolsters oversight by congress. The bill protects all c. I. A. Covert Intelligence Officers identities, establishes a paid Parental Leave Program for the provides feedback to he congressional committees. Lastly, the bill continues to ensure that the dedicated men and women of our Intelligence Community have the funding authorities and support they need to carry out their mission and to keep us safe. With that, mr. Speaker, or mr. Chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california, mr. Schiff, is recognized. Mr. Schiff i thank the chairman. Im proud to yield two minutes to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Quigley. Mr. Quigley thank you, mr. Chairman. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of h. R. 3494678 as the United States learned in 2016, there are few things more important to our democracy than ensuring that our electoral system is kept free from outside interference. We also have a responsibility to educate our partners, our allies about the threat from foreign interference as well as share our best prktieses with those nations that face similar threats. Taiwan, one of asias most vibrant democracies, is acutely aware of the risk posed by foreign influence. The Chinese Communist party, angry that another nation has the audacity to prove that a cultural chinese democracy can thrive will stop at nothing to degrade taiwans political independence. This yores intelligence authorization act requires the director of National Intelligence to report on influence operations china conducts to interfere in itaiwansup coming 2020 elections and find out what assistance the u. S. Government provided to counter these operations and provide a comprehensive throifs specific organizations that conducted these influence operations. The u. S. Is in a unique position to share the tools and techniques with others that we are implementing to safeguard our own democratic elections. In line with our obligations urn the taiwan relations act, we urge the administration to do all it can to assist tie pais with creating conditions for a free, fair, and secure election that is free from interference. This provision brings us one step closer to that goal. Thank you, i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california, mr. Nunes, is recognized. Mr. Nunes i yield such time as she may consume to the gentlelady from new york, ms. Stefanik. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Stefanik im proud to rise in support of this years intelligence act. Its an accomplishment that this committee came together to produce a bipartisan bill that support ours Intelligence Community and provides the war fight we are the intelligence support needed to protect the United States and our allies. Im particularly pleased that this bill contains the counterintelligence accountability act that i introduced earlier this year, that i wanted to take a moment to highlight for the american public. This bill amends the National Security act by requiring the s. C. I. To provide quarterly Intelligence Briefings to the Intelligence Committees which is not only necessary for us to conduct meaningful oversight over the counterintelligence operations but also provides the American People with the comfort that the f. B. I. Is subject to the same types of scrutiny as other intelligence agencies. Importantly, this bill also man taits that the f. B. I. Notify the Intelligence Committees when the f. B. I. Has an counterintelligence investigation open realed to a c. I. A. Risk or campaign for office. Given former f. B. I. Director comeys testimony in 2015, im deeply concerned that the f. B. I. Failed to provide information to congress until well after the election. This bill ensures that congress is kept fully and currently informed with these types of counterintelligence active thes. This is good accountable governance. I appreciate the chair and raking members support in adding my legislation into this bill and urge my colleagues to vote yes on final passage. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman rereserves, the gentleman, mr. Schiff is recognized. Mr. Schiff i yield three minutes to the gentleman from washington, mr. Heck. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Heck i rise to strongly support the Damon Paul Nelson and Matthew Young pollard intelligence authorization act. In the last year we made some pretty incredible progress in reducing the security clearance backlog but frankly after the progress we made we are still, and youre hearing this number correctly, near a a half Million People on the waiting list for security clearance. Nearly half a million. Earlier this year, the average wait time for top secret security clearance was reduced to 468 days down from 534 days. So in other words, when were out there competing for young talent to come in and be a member of the Intelligence Community, say in a field such as cyber, were told we have to tell them cool your jets, well get back to you in a year, year and a half or so. Indeed, closer to homing, my seenor military advisor is a distinguished graduate of the United States military academy at west point, served not one, but two tours in afghanistan. Where he had a security clearance. Yet when he joined the staff of the house of representatives to again earn a security clearance it took 20 months, nearly two years. Were losing good people when we subject home to that long of a wait time. 24 bill makes some progress. It will build on the progress we have made this year by providing needed reform to this mission. It creates a system of accountability and clear goals for how the process should run. Furthermore, the bill allows for innovation on using Digital Tools and reciprocity among agencies to improve our efficiencies when clearances are needed to be transferred from one agency to another. Our government can and must efficiently and effectively review security clearance applicants. We owe our National Security work force at least that much. This bill will help us to do that. To further reduce it so that the Intelligence Community can compete for the best and the bright nest a timely fashion and for that reason, among many, i urge your support for the intelligence authorization act. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Schiff i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from california, mr. Nunes is recognized. Mr. Nunes we have no further speakers, were prepared to close, i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. Mr. Schiff mr. Chairman, im pleased to yield three minutes to ms. Sewell from the great state of alabama. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Sewell thank you, mr. Chairman. I rise today in support of h. R. 3495, 3494, the intelligence authorization act. As the chair of the Defense Intelligence and war fighter support subcommittee, i believe this bill will ensure our war fighters retain the information and Decision Making advantages to which we have grown accustomed and improve the tension communitys ability to attract and retain a diverse work force. The bill includes provisions that authorize increased intelligence funding for combatant commanders, and our growing strategic competition with china, russia and other malign actors. Supports the Defense Intelligence agencys ongoing assessments of its roles, and missions. And provides the director of National Intelligence with the Necessary Authority to manage Intelligence Communitywide academic programs. This bill also includes language i authored which would improve federal Campaign Election security. My provision would provide require the director of the National Intelligence to work with the f. B. I. And department of Homeland Security to make available an advisory report on foreign counterintelligence and cybersecurity threats to those campaigns. Additionally, my language requires the director to publish a summary of best practices and provide information to campaigns to help thwart these attacks. This legislation also continues the committees longstanding and bipartisan work to promote increased diversity within the Intelligence Communitys work force. Our bill contains language directing the Intelligence Community to expand its annual demographic hiring report by adding grade level, years of service, career categories, gender identity, and Sexual Orientation reporting categories. These changes will improve the ability to track how well it retains and promotes persons of diverse backgrounds. Finally, for the first time in many years, the intelligence authorization lact provide significant funding for programs that will improve the i. C. s ability to introduce students from diverse backgrounds to its mission. I look forward to voting in support of this legislation. I want to commend the chairman and Ranking Member on working together to provide these important authorizations, and i encourage my colleagues to do the same and vote for this bill. Thank you, and i yield back the alance of my time. Mr. Schiff reclaim the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, im pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Swalwell. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Swalwell thank you. I want to thank the chairman of our committee for working with the minority to put together a bipartisan piece of legislation that serves our National Security purposes. I also want to acknowledge one of the individuals, both of the individuals for which the bill is named. But particularly Damon Paul Nelson, the former staff director for the thenmajority at the time, someone who i and my colleagues saw put his heart and soul into the committee and someone who was able to keep many lines of communication that were necessary open during the committee, during some of our most trying times. This is a fitting recognition of his service to our country. As chairman of the intelligence modernization and readiness subcommittee, i celebrate this bipartisan bill and the patriotic young people who Enter Service in the Intelligence Community. Sometimes immediately after college, despite extraordinary student debt. For that reason, we have included measures to enhance Intelligence Communitywide Student Loan Repayment and forgiveness programs. Reducing the financial burden on Intelligence Community workers helps us recruit and retain a talented and diverse work force to remain competitive with the private sector. To that aim, weve also included a measure to authorize 12 weeks of paid, paid parental leave for Intelligence Community employees in the event of a birth or adoption. This authority would supplement the 12 weeks of unpaid leave currently afforded to Intelligence Community employees and other government personnel under existing law. Sending a strong message to the Intelligence Community work force that you do not need to choose between your career, serving our country, and your family. These provisions will help the Intelligence Community recruit and retain individuals capable of meeting the security goals of the United States and will set the example for other federal agencies seeking proworker policies. Our goal is to anticipate the needs of the Intelligence Community work force. Reaching across the aisle for our Intelligence Community is how we will secure a next generation Intelligence Community work force and i want to again thank the chairman and ield back. Mr. Schiff i thank the gentleman. Its now a pleasure to yield three minutes to mr. Maloney from new york. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Maloney thank you. Id like to thank the chairman and thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to offer support of this bill which includes my legislation, the greg wenzel clandestine heroes parity act. My bill honors an unsung and an unsung son of the hudson valley, c. I. A. Officer greg wenzel, who died in ethiopia on july 9, 2003. He was only 33 years old. Greg was inspired to join the Clandestine Services after september 11 and dedicated his life to making the United States stronger in our fight against terrorism. Thats what c. I. A. Officers do. They put their lives on the line for our freedoms. But because of the nature of their work, rarely get the recognition they deserve. This bill simply ensures that the families of fallen c. I. A. Officers receive the death benefits their loved ones earned laying down their lives in service of our nation. Greg was born in the bronx and graduated from monroe Woodberry High School in orange county, new york. He went on to earn degrees from sunni, new york, binghamton and miami school of law. After joining the c. I. A. He was assigned his first overseas tour as an Operations Officer in the horn of africa. The assignment was challenging, but greg was known for his grit and good spirit. But after his death, greg was awarded the c. I. A. Intelligence Commendation Medal and the Exceptional Service medallion, and you can find his star, number 81, on the c. I. A. Memorial wall in langley. And we even honored his service in 2015 by renaming the monroe, new york, post office the greg david wenzel memorial post office, which is the first such honor ever to be bestowed on a c. I. A. Officer. But even with these distinctions, gregs family was never able to access the death benefits he had earned in life. Because a loophole currently blocks benefits for all c. I. A. Officers who dont have dependents or who were not killed by a known act of terrorism. My bill simply changes that and rights this wrong. Im so thankful to gregs parents, gladys and mitch wenzel, for never giving up on this fight. This bill is an opportunity for us as a grateful nation to honor greg and his family and to honor all of our fallen c. I. A. Officers and the families theyve left behind. Mr. Speaker, i urge all members to vote yes on this bill, and i ield back. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman reserve . Mr. Chairman, that concludes our members who want to speak on the bill. If the Ranking Member has no further speakers, im prepared to close. I have a short closing and then ill yield back the balance of my time. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair very good. The gentleman from california, mr. Nunes, is recognized to close. Mr. Nunes thank you, mr. Chairman. I rise i recognize myself for as much time as i may consume. Mr. Chairman, this years i. A. Is named after damon nelson and matthew pollard, who staffers who passed away unexpectedly last year. Matthew poll hrd is remembered by pollard is remembered by staffers. Damon nelson was a personal friend. Damon would be happy with the bill today and im happy that this committee was able to produce a bipartisan product. In closing, i want to take a moment to thank the men and women who serve in our Intelligence Community. Im honored to get to know so many of them in the course of the committees oversight work. I would also like to thank my colleagues on the Intelligence Committee for their contributions to our oversight over the past year. I would also like to thank all the staff of the committee for their hard work on the bill and their daily oversight of the Intelligence Community. In particular, id like to thank the professional oversight staff rom the minority, especially nick, megan, andrew, lisa, bill, steve, marissa, betsy, jack and allen. Id also like to take just a moment to thank our fellow from Los Alamos National laboratory, scott miller. Scott joined the committee in 2016 and in a few weeks will be finishing up his midcareer Educational Program with the house and will be returning to new mexico. Mr. Chairman, i wish scott all the best as he, his wife, rebecca, and daughter, sara, return home. All the Staff Members spent long hours working on the legislative text and its classified annex and the bill is stronger for it. With that, mr. Chairman, i want to thank chairman schiff and all of his staff for the bipartisan work product and i yield back the balance of my time. I urge passage of h. R. 3494 as amended and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized to close. Mr. Schiff i thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield myself as much time as i may consume. I wish to say only a few words of recognition before concluding my remarks on the intelligence authorization act. First, my colleagues, and i remember damon nelson and matthew pollard, two dedicated staffers and Public Servants who passed away last year. The legislation is named in their honor. I also want to express my tremendous thanks and support to the men and women of the Intelligence Community. You strive quietly and tirelessly every day and your work helps keep the nation safe. I greatly appreciate the work of Ranking Member nunes, as well as my other colleagues. And id be remiss if i did not recognize these members of my staff who worked tirelessly together with their minority colleagues to produce this bipartisan legislation. Wells, timothy, mahra, carle, trick, chris, linda, thomas, ll, patrick, daniel, abby, nicholas, daniel, deanna, cian, conrad, kathy, amanda, erin, rianne, rafaela, and william. One more personal note, i want to recognize the exemplary contributions of brendan smith, who has been a member of hpscis staff for 18 years. He has announced hell be leaving the hpsci soon. We are deeply grateful for his work and his longstanding and continuing service to the nation. Let me conclude by urging all members of the house to join me in voting for h. R. 3494 and in supporting the measure as it proceeds to the senate and after that, to the president s desk. With that, im prepared to yield back the balance of my time. The chair all time for general debate has expired. Pursuant to the rule, the bill shall now be considered for amendment under the fiveminute rule. In lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Permanent Select Committee on intelligence, printed in the bill, the amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules Committee Print 11622, modified by the amendment printed in part a of house report 116154 shall be considered as adopted. The bill as amended shall be considered as an original bill for purposes of further amendment under the fiveminute rule and shall be considered as read. No further amendment to the bill as amended shall be in order except those printed in part b of house report 116154. Each further amendment printed in part b of its report may be offered only in the order printed in the report, by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question. It is now in order to consider amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 11654. For what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition . I rise as the designee of mr. Burgess and i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Stewart of utah. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from utah, mr. Stewart, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. The chair now recognizes the gentleman from utah. Mr. Stewart mr. Chairman, my amendment is very simple. It adds the house energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Health education health, education, labor and pension committees to the list of committees that will receive a briefing from the director of National Intelligence on emerging Infectious Diseases and pandemics. Given the energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Health committees jurisdiction over the assistant secretary of preparedness and response, which plays an integral role in our nations Public Health and security, it is imperative that these committees be included in this briefing. And i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from california rise . Mr. Schiff i rise to claim time in opposition to the ealed, although i am not opposed to the amendment, although i am not opposed. The chair without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Schiff the gentleman from texas proposal would allow the congressional committees the jurisdiction over Public Health matters the opportunity to receive a briefing about the effects of emerging Infectious Diseases and pandemics on National Security and the international and Political Economic system along with the intelligence and Armed Services committees. Its critical that congress be well informed on the posture of the United States and indeed the rest of the world, to address the Public Health crisis that might arise in the face of a particularly rapid spreading, devastating disease. Its crucial that committees that oversee Public Health responses understand how prepared we may be to address such a crisis. I support this amendment and believe it will be helpful to our colleagues on the house energy and commerce and Senate Health committees to receive this briefing and information from the d. N. I. , along with the intelligence Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and appropriations committees that are already included in the bill text. For that reason i support the amendment and i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields. For what purpose does the gentleman from utah rise . I thank the chairman for supporting the amendment, urge adoption of the amendment and yield back the balance of my time. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from utah. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 2 printed in 116154. House report for what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition . Mr. Stewart mr. Chairman, again i rise as designee of mr. Burgess and have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 2 printed in part b of house report 116154, offered by mr. Stewart of utah. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from utah, mr. Stewart, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from utah. Mr. Stewart thank you, mr. Chairman. Once again, my amendment is simple. Director of he Homeland Security, the director of National Intelligence, and appropriate private entities to undertake an effort to remove mobile subscriber identity catchers installed by foreign entities. Cell tional entities or side simulators are used to intercept mobile traffic and location data. They appear to be legitimate mobile cell phone towers but earby phones may connect, once connected, phones locations may be tracked and some can read content sufficient as messages and cell phone to data. Much remains unknown about the proliferation of the devices particularly in the National Capital region. However we do know that foreign actors have access to and have used these devices. It is imperative that our Intelligence Community with the relevant agencies and private Industry Partners understood take an effort to neutralize these catchers and i urge support of the amendment and reserve balance of my time. The chair does any member seek time in opposition . Seeing none, the gentleman from utah is recognized. Mr. Stewart once again, i urge adoption of the amendment and yield back my time. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from utah. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 3 printed in art b of house report 116154. For what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk ealt number 3 printed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Carson of indiana. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from indiana, mr. Carson, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from indiana. Mr. Carson thank you, mr. Chairman. First, i want to thank chairman schiff, Ranking Member nunes for the work of the intelligence authorization this year. It is always a pleasure to serve under chairman schiffs leadership. Without it, the Intelligence Committee would not have been able to pass such a strong bill out of committee. I rise today, mr. Chairman, in support of an amendment that i have offered to the underlying bill text. This amendment will help the United States protect the integrity of an economic supply chain infrastructure. Im pleased that my good friend, representative elise stefanik, has joined me in cosponsoring this amendment. Today, businesses and organizations in the United States face an array of distinct and stealthy threats. The American Supply Chain is under repeated attack from foreign intelligence services, cyber hackers and sophisticated criminal enterprises. Unfortunately, experienced adversaries often exploit vulnerabilities in American CompaniesTechnological Infrastructure or weak links in their organizational supply chain so they can steal their intellectual property, coopt equipment from suppliers or conduct surveillance. Moving forward, we must be more vigilant to stop them. The carsonstefanik amendment, mr. Chairman, will guard against these grave concerns and it will lead to stronger safeguards for the supply chain by mandating the National Counterintelligence and Security Center to produce a plan within six months to strengthen the supply chain intelligence function within the Intelligence Community. The plan, mr. Chairman, will identify personnel with the right expertise from the Intelligence Community work force, outline budgetary and resource needs and describe the necessary authorities and governance structure for future implementation of that plan. It will inform both the executive branch and Congress Efforts to enhance our defenses against exploitation of the supply chain. The United States remains one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world. Throughout the past century, america has enjoyed unprecedented Economic Growth because of the ingenuity of our people and the technological innovation that undergirds that entrepreneurial spirit. While that Economic Growth has not always been evenly distributed and we are still wrestling with debates about economic inequality, surrendering our technological edge and innovative advantages to strategic rivals would pose a huge risk to americas future prosperity and security. I believe, mr. Chairman, it is very important to offer this amendment recognizing the evolving and emerging threats to our nations supply chain infrastructure. In a rapidly developing global economy, the Intelligence Community must work to safeguard the core of what america and her competitive strength is, economic, intellectual and technological ingenuity. My amendment proactively works toward that goal, ensuring that we stay on top of those varying threats to our supply chain infrastructure that emanate from strategic rivals. In addition to this amendment, mr. Chairman, i would like to highlight another important part of the base bill. This year this yores intelligence authorization act includes an entire section on domestic terrorism. It is important that we acknowledge domestic terrorism as a very serious threat and we must do more to talk about it as a societal problem. We must act. Domestic terrorism incidents in the United States are on the rise, fuel by hatred, soaked by fear, and inspired by dangerous rhetoric. At a time when this president is ignoring the truth about domestic terrorism and his administration is concealing and hiding the proliferation of white supremacistinspired incidents, congress and the public urgently need more information to better understand and prevent domestic terrorism. Specificry, specifically, mr. Chairman, this bill would require the f. B. I. , the department of Homeland Security, and nctc to produce anen a yule report on demest exterrorism. With the underlying report that is mandated in the underlying intel authorization bill, we can better determine how to change the law and make the necessary adjustments to procedures and to adequately shift current practices in order to fully address the threat of domestic terrorism and its root causes. Much of the report, mr. Chairman, would be made available to the public, increasing transparency, while the full report would be provided to oversight committees in greater detail. It would be valuable information and would require an annual strategic assessment on transit patterns the chair the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Carson and it would expand the Information Available to congress and the peculiar. I urge my colleagues to support the arsonstefanik amendment and reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. Who claims time in opposition . Seeing none, the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from indiana. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 4 printed in art b of house report 116154. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 4 printed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Hurd of texas. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from texas, mr. Hurd, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Hurd thank you. I am proud to join my good friend and fellow former c. I. A. Officer, the gentlewoman from the commonwealth of virginia, to offer this bipartisan amendment that would direct the Intelligence Community to prioritize resources to address the humanitarian crisis at the border and in the northern triangle and also mexico. I represent more of the southern border than any other member of congress. The root causes of this Current Crisis are violence, extreme poverty and lack of Economic Opportunity in the northern triangle, el salvador, guatemala, and honduras. Drug cartels, human traffickers and smugglers are making this crisis worse and putting innocent lives at risk. They profit while people in Central America suffer and entire nations are destabilized. Our Intelligence Community is not maximizing the use of our intelligence to deny and disrupt these operations. In june, we all know 104,000 people were detained at our border. Almost every one of them had a phone number of a smuggler, a license plate of a bus that brought them here or a pickup location in their home country, understanding and destabilizing these smuggling and Trafficking Networks should be a National Intelligence priority. This amendment would require the director of National Intelligence to conduct a review of intelligence collection priorities in the northern tritriangle and mexico and provide quarterly briefings to Congress Regarding the activities in this region. These individuals and organizations threaten the security of the United States and the western hemisphere and we should be using intelligence to stop them. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. The chair for what purpose does the gentlelady from virginia ise . Sms spanberger i rise to claim time in opposition though im not opposed. The chair without objection, the gentlelady is recognized. Sms spanberger im proud to introduce this amendment along with my colleague from texas, himself also a former c. I. A. Ase officer. This comes at a tim of crisis in our southern border. The volatility in our backyard should be cause for serious concern here in the United States concern. Here in the United States wf experienced this devastating effects of the drug trade on the health of our citizens and on our southwest border we have witnessed how ongoing violence and instability in Central South America a driving factor for increased myfwration toward the United States. Our bipartisan amendment would require intelligence assessments of Drug Trafficking organizations, Human Trafficking organizations. These would include reports that can be released publicly to the American People. Our amendment would direct our Public Servants to use their expertise to better understand the root causes of violence, instability, and myfwration. With these improved assessments we would be able to strengthen our National Security in the face of threats from traffickers, smugglers, and other criminal organizations. Like so many of our colleagues, congressman hurd and i recognize that if we are to keep americans safe while also responsibly addressing the situation at the border, we must address the conditions at the core of the instability we are seeing in Central America. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us in supporting this amendment. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Hurd mr. Speaker, im looking forward to working on more pieces of wlegs my friend from the commonwealth of virginia and i want to thank both gentlemen from california and their teams for helping us perfect this to get on this important piece of legislation onto this floor and again i urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 5 printed in part b of house report 116154. For what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi seek recognition . Thompson thompson mr. Thompson madam chair, i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 5 precipitationed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Thompson of mississippi. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from mississippi, mr. Thompson, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from mississippi. Mr. Thompson thank you, madam chair. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Thompson i rise to offer an amendment to title 6 of h. R. 3494, entitled federal efforts against domestic terrorism. Im pleased to see that this title was significantly informed by my bill, h. R. 3106, the domestic Terrorism Data act, which the Homeland Security committee will be considering tomorrow. Im glad to have the opportunity to work with chairman schiff and the Intelligence Committee on this text. My legislation, which requires the government to produce an annual domestic terrorism report, was a product of more than five months of engagement with outside stakeholders and experts. As a result of that consultation process, i included protections for civil rights, Civil Liberties, privacy and data quality in my bill. These provisions made my bill stronger. My amendment, h. R. 3494, would require that these very protections are included. With that, madam chair, i urge my house colleagues to support this amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Does anyone wish to speak in opposition . Does the gentleman from california . Seeing none, the gentleman from mississippi. Mr. Thompson thank you, madam chair. Madam chair, my amendment also requires Additional Information to be included in the governments domestic terrorism report, requiring the data and location of each incident of terrorism or investigation of terrorism will help congress and the public better understand the landscape of domestic terrorism. I urge my colleagues to support my amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I was going to request if the chairman could yield me a minute of time. Mr. Thompson i yield an additional minute. The chair does the gentleman seek unanimous consent to reclaim his time . Mr. Thompson yes. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Schiff i thank the chairman. This amendment clarifies section 602 of the bill, dealing with domestic terrorism it. Would require f. B. I. , d. H. S. And the National Counterterrorism center to produce an annual report and join strategic stieges intelligence assessments on terrorism. Chairman thompsons amendment would add safeguards to protect the Civil Liberties and privacy of individuals whose information would be contained in the report and mandate compliance with the data quality act. It also makes d. H. S. Disclose information on domestic terrorism matters, enhancing oversight in this area. Id like to recognize chairman thompson for his work and that of the house Homeland Security committee. All that he has done on the issue of domestic terrorism, together well continue our lines of effort to address this significant threat. Once again, i thank my colleague for his work and i yield back time and urge support for the amendment. The chair the gentleman from mississippi. Mr. Thompson madam chair, i have closed. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from mississippi. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 6 printed in part b of house report 116154. For what purpose does the gentleman from m. D. Seek recognition . Maryland seek recognition . Rupp rupp i have an amendment mr. Ruppersberger i have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment number 6 printed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Ruppersberger of maryland. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from maryland, mr. Ruppersberger, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland. Rupp rupp i recognize myself mr. Ruppersberger i recognize myself for as much time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Ruppersberger i rise today in strong support of my amendment, to protect the energy grid from cybersecurity threats. In four years, since the ukraine power grid attack, our enemies have doubled down on their effort to target cybersecurity vulnerabilities in our Nations Energy infrastructure, especially with an Industrial Control System within Industrial Control Systems. The 2015 ukraine grid intrusion orchestrated by the russians was a turning point in industrial cybersecurity. For the first time, hackers penetrated Industrial Controls of a power plant with a goal of causing widespread disruption. Both the security and economic consequences of a destructive attack on our energy grid cannot be overstated. We can no longer wait to address these threats. My amendment will ensure we continue to develop the ability to both discover vulnerabilities and keep an eye on emerging threats that can disrupt Electricity Generation or even cost lives. I want to thank our government partners, including the cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency, sisa, the Intelligence Community, department of energy, the national labs. I look forward to working with all these stakeholders to ensure that were implementing Grid Security measures in a responsible way, consistent with existing law authorities. As a member of the Homeland Security subcommittee on appropriations, i fully intend to help leverage the authorization in this amendment to supplement the already great effort under way at cisa and other government agencies. I also want to thank the many talented computer scientists, cybersecurity experts and engineers from the private sector. Especially the team, a Cybersecurity Firm focused on industrial control located in my district, hanover, maryland, for all the hard work they do in this space, to not only defend against threats, but to educate others. Our amendment is simple and mirrors language already passed by the overwhelming bipartisan majority in the Senate Intelligence authorization act. Senator king from maine has been a stalwart force on this issue and none of this would have happened without his determination and vision on the issue. The amendment sets up a twoyear Pilot Program to identify the classes of security vulnerabilities in the grid. It establishes a working group to evaluate the Technology Solutions proposed by the Pilot Program, the working group would include government agencies, the Energy Industry and other experts. And lastly, it requires the department of energy to submit a report to the relevant congressional committees describing the results of the program. Finally, i want to thank judge carter from texas who has led the charge on this issue with me in the house since last congress. Judge carter, youre a good friend and i appreciate your help on this important issue. Now, madam chair, this amendment will help the Intelligence Community and the government at large better understand the vulnerabilities to certain aspects of our energy grid. I now yield to the gentleman from california, the distinguished chairman of the house Intelligence Committee, mr. Schiff, for as much time as he may consume. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Schiff i thank the gentleman for yielding. And rise in strong support of the amendment offered by my colleagues from maryland and texas which mirrors language passed in the senates intelligence authorization bill last month. This provision would bring together Government Entities and the and the Energy Sector and a Pilot Program for the purposes of evaluating and strengthening Industrial Control Systems and related Critical Infrastructure elements against security vulnerabilities and exploits. The cyberthreats faced by our Critical Infrastructure remain a persistent National Security concern, as the former Ranking Member of our committee, distinguished Ranking Member ruppersberger, knows all too well. It was warned in the most recent unclassified worldwide threat assessment about the capabilities of our adversary adversaries to hold the u. S. Critical infrastructure at risk. This measure is another line of effort toward securing that infrastructure against outside cyberattacks and disruptions and im very proud to support the work of my colleague and friend and i yield back. Mr. Ruppersberger thank you for yielding back. Id now like to yield to my friend from texas, judge carter, for as much time as he may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Carter thank you, madam speaker. I thank my friend for yielding. Today i rise in strong support of the ruppersbergercarter amendment. To help secure the Energy Infrastructure. Now is the time to address the intellectual Grid Security. Grid attacks are a powerful weapon in the cybertool kit of really bad actors. Cyber tool kit of really bad actors. A cyberattack in the ukraine wiped out their power grid and over 225,000 people were without power. The office of the director of National Intelligence in the 2019 worldwide threat assessment makes the numerous mentions of our adversaries mapping our grid systems, identifying our weaknesses, and developing the very real and deadly capacity to attack our grid system. A targeted attack on our nation could be devastating. Securing our Energy Infrastructure is especially critical in texas, which maintains an independent electric grid. The electric Reliability Council from texas is located the chair the gentlemans time has expired. Caret can i claim time in opposition mr. Carter can i claim time in opposition . The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from seek recognition . Mr. Carter to claim time in opposition. The chair without objection, the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Carter thank you. The council is located in taylor, texas, which is about 19 miles from my house. It manages 90 of my home states electrical load. Understanding where our systems weak spots are will enhance the work to ensure that we have the most stable and secure Energy Network in the world. Our amendment addresses the serious topic of electrical Grid Security by leveraging the unique assets of the National Laboratories to establish solutions to defend the United States energy grid from attacks and to ensure the resiliency of operation during and after an event. It establishes a twoyear Pilot Program to study and identify new classes of security vulnerabilities and research and Test Technology that could be used to isolate the most Critical Systems from the cyberattacks. It creates working groups to develop a National Cyber informed strategy to protect our energy grids. This amendment is a commonsense approach solving Grid Security. Im proud to work across the aisle with my good friend and ruppersberger, on this important issue and i yield support of this amendment. I yield back. The chair all time has expired. The question is now on the amendment offered by the gentleman from maryland. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 7 printed in 116154. House report for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition . Mr. Chabot i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 7 printed in part b of house report 116154 offered by mr. Chabot of ohio. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 491, the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot, and a member opposed will each control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot thank you, madam speaker. I rise this evening to offer a commonsense amendment to h. R