Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives U.S. House 20240714

The speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 234, the nays are 198. The question is on adoption the previous question is ordered. The question is on the adoption of the resolution. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The resolution is adopted. The gentleman from texas is recognized. I request the yeas and nays. Mr. Burgess i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 234, the nays are 195. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker the house will be n order. Thank you. The chair thanks officer Jacob Chestnuts wife, wenling chestnut, for being with us here today in the capitol, along with her son and grandson. The chair ask that the house now observe a moment of silence in memory of officer Jacob Chestnut and detective john gibson of the United States Capitol Police who were killed in the line of duty defending the capitol on july 4, 1998. Thank you. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Pallone, to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3375, as amended, on which the yeas and nays were ordered. The clerk will report the title. The clerk h. R. 3375, a bill to amend the Communications Act of 1934, to clarify the prohibitions on making robocalls and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote, the yeas are 429. The nays are 3. 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and weather, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to House Resolution 509, House Resolution 507 is considered as adopted. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Madam speaker, i present a privileged report the speaker pro tempore would members please leave the floor for their conversations. Madam speaker, i present a privileged report for printing under the rule. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk report to accompany h. R. 3931, a bill making appropriations for the department of Homeland Security for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2020, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore referred to the Union Calendar and ordered printed. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 21, oints of order are reserved. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from wyoming seek recognition recognition . Madam speaker, by direction of the House Republican conference i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the resolution. The clerk report madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the resolution be considered as read. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the resolution is agreed to. And the motion to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the committee on judiciary be discharged from further consideration of h. R. 962, the born alive abortion survivors protection act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. The speaker pro tempore under guidelines consistently issued by successive speakers, as recorded in section 956 of the house rules and manual, the chair is constrained not to entertain the request nlings it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee eadership. The gentleman is not recognized for debate. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Madam speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 3299, the promoting respect for individuals dignity and equality act, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3 99, a bill to permit legally married, samecouple to amend their filing status outside the statute of limitations, to amend e Internal Revenue code to clarify that all provisions apply to legally married samesex couples as other couples and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california, ms. Chu, and the gentleman from new york, mr. Reed, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. Ms. Chu i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Chu i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Chu i rise today in strong support of the pride act, the bill i authored with congressmen andy levin of michigan, to bring equality to our tax law. Last month, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the stonewall riots which marked the launch of a pivotal movement for gay rights in our country and across the world. Since then, the lgbt movement has fought battles on the local and federal level to gain the equal right that all americans deserve. To the enormous joy of millions of American Family the Supreme Court ultimately ruled that samesex marriages are equal. Love is love. But you would not know it looking at our tax code. Today a samesex couple filing their taxes is forced to contend with out of date references that no longer reflect what marriage looks like in this country. Filing taxes can be unpleasant enough as it is. No family should feel excluded in this process. Most importantly, our tax code should not be defining families in outdated and discriminatory ways. That is what this legislation will fix with a simple change to jendered language, removing requirements for husband and wife, instead using words like they and married couple, we can put the equality promised by our constitution into the code. This bill corrects the a second injustice as well. For year the defense of marriage act prevented the federal government from recognizing samesex marriage, even as states began allowing for it. That meant that married couples were being denied the federal tax refunds they earned simply because of who they loved. That was blatantly wrong. The speaker pro tempore will members please take their conversations off the floor. Ms. Chu that was blatantly wrong which is why doe ma was struck down in 2013. But though doe ma was gone, many of the impacted families were unable to amend their tax returns because there were restrictions in the tax code that only allows married couples to amend returns from three years ago. That restriction was keeping money out of the pockets of families who had earned it. And that is why my bill corrects this to allow the i. R. S. To provide repounds to refunds to same sex couples who married in states that recognized same sex marriage before doe ma was overturned. This is expected to give over 50 million back to the families who should never have had to file separately in the first place. These are commonsense changes that recognize the reality that marriage does not just mean one man and one woman. Thats a lesson already recognized by children across the country who know that no matter who their parents are, they are a family. They should not be told otherwise by an outdated tax code. I urge my colleagues to support this measure. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman from new york the gentleman from new york is recognized. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Reed thank you, madam speaker. I rise to thank my colleague, ms. Chu, on the other side of the aisle for her efforts on this legislation. As we are proposing this legislation, madam speaker, we recognize that discrimination in any form is Never Acceptable and that also the pride act would remove that gender language in our tax code of husband and wife consistent with that of the u. S. Supreme court and now as recognized as the law of the land. There are some administrative concerns that we still hold on our side of the aisle in regards to this legislation, in regards to the audit function, the lookback opportunities that are there in regards to the removal of i. R. S. Tax records after six years, and some issues, technical in nature that deal with compliance with this legislation. We hope that those concerns can be dealt with administratively. But at its heart, i, personally, stand here and join with my colleague in california in support of this legislation and look forward to the adoption of it, as i anticipate the passage of it here on the floor. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california. It is now my pleasure to recognize the the chair of our committee who has led us in such an excellent way, mr. Neal of massachusetts, for four minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Neal thank you. Madam speaker, let me thank the gentlelady from california, ms. Chu, for the really extraordinary job and leadership that she offers on this legislation offered on this legislation. For far too long lgbtq americans have been denied equal treatment under the tax code. Six years after the Supreme Court found that un found it unconstitutional to deny samesex couples the full rights and privileges of marriage, congress has yet to rectify the consequences of the tax codes discrimination against lgbtq couples. We must govern in a manner such that everyone is treated equally under the law. Which is why i stand in support today of this legislation. Last month marked the 50th anniversary of the stonewall riots, recognizing the deep historical importance of this event, in a decades long fight for equality, the pride act, which by the way passed the ways and Means Committee unanimously, unanimously, it seeks to end and correct discriminatory practices in our tax system, affecting Lgbtq Community members. The pride act essentially clarifies that all federal tax provisions respecting marriage will apply to legally married samesex couples by removing gender language related to married couples from the tax code. Additionally, this bill will reconcile discriminatory federal policies by ensuring fair tax treatment for those couples for every year of their marriage. This is the way everybody is treated in the tax code. If they choose to take advantage of that deduction. So i take pride in hailing from massachusetts, which was the first state to legalize samesex marriage. And while massachusetts has issued marriage licenses to to all couples since 2004, 15 years now, the federal government has failed to recognize the full tenure of legal marriage status for those couples who have been married since 2010. The pride act extends to samesex couples the opportunity to amend their returns to reflect their marital status and claim the ensuing tax benefits wrongfully denied to them before 2010. So part of this is legislative. But part of this is also clarification. The changes in the bill state loudly and clearly that the federal government respects the dignity and equality of all married couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. For this reason, its my sincere wish that all of our colleagues, once again, will join in supporting this legislation. Americas opinions have changed. And we would like the tax code to reflect the changes that the American People have really led the way on. I want to thank ms. Chu, this is really complicated work that she began undertaking. But she also made it clear that this legislation moves us closer to ensuring that our laws respect the dignity of all americans. And with that, i want to yield ack my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, at this time id like to welcome and recognize one of the members of the ways and Means Committee. Mr. Reed our member from arizona who does great work, mr. Schweikert, for two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Schweikert thank you to the gentleman from new york. Madam speaker, would chairman neal yield to just a very short, friendly colloquy . Because i want to just make sure we put something its going to be a big cuddle. Mr. Neal if its friendly, im willing to yield. Mr. Schweikert this is for mr. Neal otherwise im taking back my time. Mr. Schweikert madam speaker, chairman neal, in the committee we actually, the reason im behind the microphone, we asked the question saying, of staff and others who were testifying, that this lookback, to be able to file for the marriage deduction, and benefits, would not create a new avenue of audit. Would not create a new channel for opening up someones tax records for further for new line of investigation. And the feedback we received as a committee was saying, no, this was very specifically just to this benefit. Did you hear the same thing, chairman neal . Mr. Neal that was definitely tailored, yes. Mr. Schweikert i just thought its important for us to hear in the record, were not opening up a new avenue of investigation. Because i need to be brutally honest, that the language of the legislation, i dont think is crisp enough on that point. So lets just make sure its cleanly in at least the record weve produced here today. Mr. Neal i thank the gentleman for his friendly inquiry. Mr. Schweikert with that, madam speaker, the gentleman from new york, i yield back. Mr. Reed i yield back the balance of my time reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california. Ms. Chu i yield three minutes to the gentleman from michigan, mr. Levin, who is the coauthor of this bill and introduced this bill with me. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Levin thank you, madam chairwoman. I thank my colleague, the gentlelady from california, for yielding. Madam chairwoman, im proud to rise in strong support of the promoting respect for individuals dignity and equity or pride act, which i have been privileged to colead with congresswoman chu. This bill is about moving our country closer to true equality and equity for the Lgbtq Community. We have an opportunity today to send a message to the lgbtq married couples across america that their unions are recognized , valued and dignified by the u. S. Government. Im especially proud that this bill includes the text of my bill, h. R. 1244, the equal dignity for married taxpayers act. Which addresses the glaring problem that the tax code is replete with outofdate references to marriage that no longer reflect the institution of legal marriage in this country. Our tax code, like all of our laws, should accurately represent and include all the people to whom it applies. Gendered language in the tax code represents a time when lgbtq couples could not get married. Fortunately those days are over. And Marriage Equality is the law of the land. We need to ensure that our laws reflect the vibrant diversity of our democracy and this legislation will remove another vestige of discrimination from our countrys code of laws. Including language thats inclusive of lgbtq couples and families is a small change that will have a huge impact, affirming loud and clear that all of our brothers and sisters and siblings in spirit in the Lgbtq Community, we love you, you are part of our nation. We also have an opportunity with the pride act to correct an injustice experienced by lgbtq couples who married in states before Marriage Equality was finally recognized nationwide in he Supreme Courts decision. For years lgbtq couples in states that recognize legal marriage were wrongfully denied federal tax refunds. The pride act will allow those couples to amend their past tax returns and receive the corresponding benefits. Protecting lgbtq families is not just about the Lgbtq Community. Its about our neverendsing pursuit to move america neverending pursuit to move America Closer to freedom and justice for all. I thank congresswoman chu for her tremendous leadership and for her partnership and i thank chairman neal for prioritizing this effort. I also want to thank my predecessor and my dad, congressman sandy levin, who first introduced equal dignity for married taxpayers in 2015. I urge strong support for this legislation across the aisle, both sides, and i look forward to the day when it becomes law. Thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Reed i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Reed madam speaker, i would be remiss if i did not take a moment to recognize my colleague from michigan, mr. Levin, and his effort on this matter. As well, to recognize the service of our fellow member of the ways and Means Committee, his father, sandy levin. Sandy was an individual who, even though we passionately disagreed ideologically and philosophically often, he was a gentleman, i enjoyed to get to know, and i appreciate his commitment that issue, as well as now his son carrying on that legacy. This is a shining example of this institution, where people can believe passionately in their ideology and still Work Together in order to deal in a positive way for the American People. And so, with that, i continue to reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentlewoman from california. Ms. Chu it is now my pleasure to yield three minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, who is the cochair of the equality caucus. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano i thank my colleague, ms. Chu, for yielding. I rise today to join my colleagues in affirming the dignity and respect for married lgbtq couples. H. R. 3299, the pride act, would bring parity to lgbtq couples in the benefits afforded to heterosexual married couples in our tax code. The pride act allows married samesex couples to file claims for tax credits and refunds back to their year of their marriage. Allowing these claims to be dated back to the original marriage dates respects the spirit of the Supreme Courts windsor decision, and underscores that the i. R. S. Must recognize samesex marriages and afford them equal protection under the law. Equality takes many firms. It means civil, social and financial equality. This legislation directly tackles financial inequality by created by parts of our tax code headon. It also modifies the tax code to change language used to distinguish married couples to be gender neutral. By changing dated and limited terms such as husband and wife, our laws become more incluesive. Language is powerful. We must include we must ensure that the language in our laws reflects our values and does not exclude members of the Lgbtq Community from enjoying the same benefits as their heterosexual counterparts. Congress must do everything it can to guarantee equal treatment under the law for every person, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. This bill upholds our commitment to family values by ensuring that every family, including lgbtq families, can enjoy the same benefits in our tax code and it helps us get one step closer to full equality. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Reed madam speaker, i believe were prepared to close. We have no more speakers on our side. The speaker pro tempore the entleman reserves. The gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Reed thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, in closing, i would just echo as we started. I thank my colleague, ms. Chu from california, for her efforts on this issue. I thank our chairman, mr. Neal, who has artfully indicated his words on the record in regards to this issue. And what i would encourage members to do is to consider passage of this legislation. I know i personally will be supporting this legislation. And make sure that our tax code is reflective of the law of the land as it has been declared by the Supreme Court. And we recognize the administrative problems that have been raised through the hearing process and in the colloquy with the chairman of the ways and Means Committee and hope that those issues can be administratively resolved. With that being said, we yield back the balance of our time and thank the speaker for onsideration of this matter. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Chu madam speaker, it is long overdue for congress to take action to ensure equal dignity in our tax code. The pride act will send a strong message to our lgbt brothers and sisters to say that our tax code should represent you too. I am proud that this bill is endorsed by the Human Rights Campaign and passed unanimously out of the ways and Means Committee. I strongly urge my colleagues to continue to build on this progress and support its passage on the house floor. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. The question is now, will the house suspend the rules and pass amended. H. R. 3299, as those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid pon the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition . Madam speaker, pursuant to h. Res. 509, i ask unanimous consent to bring up h. R. 397 and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 123, h. R. 397, a bill to amend the Internal Revenue code of 1986 to create a Pension Rehabilitation Trust Fund to establish a Pension Rehabilitation Administration within the department of the treasury to make loans to multiemployer defined benefit plans and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to House Resolution 509, in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committees on education and labor and ways and means printed in the bill, an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the ext of rules Committee Print 11624 is adopted and the bill as amended is considered read. The bill as amended shall be debatable for one hour equally divided among and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on education and labor and the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on ways and means. After one hour of debate on the bill, as amended, it shall be in order to consider the further amendment printed in part a of house report 116178. If offered by the member designated in the report. Which shall be considered read. Shall be separately debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to demand for division of the question. The gentleman from virginia, mr. Scott, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Foxx, the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. Neal, and the gentleman from texas, mr. Brady, each will ontrol 15 minutes. Mr. Scott thank you, madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Scott i yield myself 2 1 2 minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, madam speaker. Over the last few decades, construction workers, truck drivers, coal miners and other hard working americans, some of whom are here today, did everything they could to prepare themselves and their families for a secure retirement. Year after year, these workers negotiated with their employers to defer wages in return of a promise of a pension that would allow them to retire with dignity. Now, through no fault of their own, the pensions they earned over their lifetimes and the Retirement Security they were promised are in jeopardy. Today approximately 130 Employer Pension Plans covering about a million participants are in severe financial distress. Several plans are facing insolvency in the next few years while many others are expected to pay autoover the next 20 years. Making matters worse, the pension benefit guarantee corporation, which ensures these Pension Plans, is expected is projected to run out of money by 025 as large plans face insol venn sthism more plans go broke and the Multiemployer Program collapse, there will be catastrophic consequences to retirees, workers, businesses, and taxpayers. The rehabilitation for multiemployer pensions act, known as the Butch Lewis Act, is a bipartisan solution to avert this financial disaster and it will end up saving taxpayers billions of dollars. According to one estimate, a multiemployer Pension System collapse would cost the federal government at least 170 billion over 10 years, possibly 400 billion over 30 years due to lost tax revenue and increased reliance on social programs. According to the c. B. O. This bill to solve the problem is estimated to cost not 400 billion over 30 years, but 55 billion, total, over those 30 years. This bill will solve the problem and thats just the cost to the federal budget, ignoring the pain and suffering of people losing their pensions and businesses going out of business. So thats a choice we have today. We can support a bipartisan bill that saves retirees hardearned pensions, protect from going bankrupt and it costs far less than doing nothing. Or we can oppose it and cost taxpayers far more in the long runful madam speaker, i anticipate that the republican colleague, my republican colleagues will talk about Structural Reforms that are needed to prevent multiemployer plans from facing bankruptcy in the future. I agree. I yield myself an additional minute. I agree. Reforms are needed and im committed to working on a bipartisan basis to enact reforms. But when the house is on fire, you dont debate on how the fire started or pontificate over how to prevent fires in the future. You put out the fire. So today were put ought the fire and protecting Retirement Security for more than a billion americans across the country and saving the taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars. I encourage my colleagues to support this legislation and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman from virginia is recognized. From North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. My colleague on the other side of the aisle said that this that we have a house on fire an we must do something about it. What this bill does is it gives more gasoline to the arsonnist who started the fire. Madam speaker, i rise in risky,ion to h. R. 397, a fiscally irresponsible, politically motivated scheme that will negatively impact hardworking americans and retirees. Union multiEmployer Pension Plans are currently underfunded y 638 billion and the pension benefit guarantee corporation, pbgc, which ensures these pensions, has a 54 billion deficit. In other words, workers and retirees wont see the benefit they was been promised because of union and employer negligence. This requires a serious bipartisan response. That is why historically members on both sides of the aisle have worked together on this issue. But last month, when the education and Labor Committee marked up h. R. 397, Committee Republicans were shut out of the debate and denied the opportunity to offer even a single amendment, a highly unfortunate and inappropriate decision. For the first time ever, taxpayers will prop up failing, mismanaged unionrun Pension Plans. These plans, all 160 of them, can apply for a government loan. Theres no limit to the loan amount. And remarkably, the loans would be completely forgiven if they are unable to be repaid after 29 years. The chairman of the education and Labor Committee said, quote if you cant pay it back, you cant pay it back. End quote. So by the chairmans own admission, were giving failed Union Pensions a blank check. What a deal. All the while, h. R. 397 allows plans to continue to promise new benefits, allowing their liabilities to grow. While i strongly oppose what h. R. 397 intends to do, im equally appalled by what the bill fails to do. This legislation fails to include any reforms that would ensure responsible funding of future benefit promises or prevent a similar situation from recurring. The bill also fails to address the chronic underfunding that plagues the entire union multiemployer system and passively accepts that Plan Trustees and actuary mace continue to underestimate pension promises to the the detriment of workers and retirees. In fact, under h. R. 397, the situation could become far worse. The nonpartisan congressional budget office, c. B. O. , now estimates that h. R. 397 could increase the federal budget deficit by more than 48 billion. But that estimate is based on last minute, bogus, democrat payfors and covers only the bills first 10 years. If we look at the 30 year scheme created by the bill, well find a price tag of hundreds of billions of dollars. And remember, its american taxpayers who are on the hook. Madam speaker, congress has is set up to be in this position years ago because democrats and unions and employers knew that members of the public would feel sorry for Union Members who were not taken care of by those they trusted to take care of them. Every member here should feel angry about being put in this position. H. R. 397 is a fiscally irresponsible and careless approach that will cost far cause far more harm than good. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from virginia. Mr. Scott madam speaker, i yield myself 15 seconds, just to remind the Ranking Member that c. B. O. Estimates that the 30year cost of this bill is about 55 billion, of money that will not be paid back or we can pay up to 400 billion over 30 years. We have a choice. Id pick the 55. I yield two minutes to the gentlelady from florida, mrs. Wilson. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Wilson thank you. Madam speaker, as chairwoman of the education and labor subcommittee on health, employment, labor, and pensions, i rise today to urge my colleagues to unanimously pass the Butch Lewis Act of 2019. Failure to do so will have dire consequences for at least 1. 3 million americans who did everything right. They put in decades of hard work to ensure that their retirement years would be secure. So many of them in physically grueling jobs, in mining and construction and on ships and the nations highways. They often sacrificed wage increases, choosing instead a contribution to their pecks plan pension plan so they could live in their golden years with dignity and peace. A life well planned. Yet, after all of that, retired people and future retirees are now living in fear of losing everything they worked so hard for and thats a shame. Failure to pass this legislation also will have dire consequences for tens of thousands of current workers and regional economies and will cost american taxpayers between 100 billion and 240 billion. Theres a huge risk. We must act now. This is an issue on which both democrats and republicans should agree. This issue has no party no race, no religion. Were all in the same boat and we are running out of time. Our failure to take action to protect retirees and american taxpayers, our constituents, is not an option. It is a necessity. And we must act now. No time to waste. Lets do the right thing and pass the Butch Lewis Act of 2019 today. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina. Ms. Foxx thank you, madam speaker. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from south dakota, mr. Johnson. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Johnson thank you, madam speaker. I rise in opposition to the rehabilitation for multiEmployer Pension Plans act. Its funny, in this town, rehabilitation is a word we use to kindly describe a bailout. Nor normal people, this would perhaps conjure up something to attempting to fix the 638 billion pension problem before us. But this bill would more accurately be called the act. Ut for moir pensions because multiemployer pensions act. Because this bill will not change the unsustainable trajectory of these plans. What does the bill do instead . It creates a new federal government bureaucracy. It allows for billions of dollars of loans to be just forgiven. It provides loan terms that actually encourages not paying down the principal of these loans. To be clear, and make no doubt, we have to fix this pension problem, but Real Progress will only come from a careful, a deliberate, a bipartisan process, and this bill was not designed to be bipartisan. In committee, republicans were blocked, actually blocked from offering amentes that amendments that would have improved this bill. So here we are today taking up floor time for a onesided bill that does not fix the problem and that will not become law. When the majority wants to make Real Progress, mr. Speaker, i will be here ready, ready to fix the problem, ready to roll up my sleeves, ready to invest the bipartisan effort needed to make meaningful reforms. Until then, ill vote no on the bailout. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield 1 1 2 minutes to the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. Dingell. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. Dingell, is recognized for a minute and a half. Mrs. Dingell i thank chairman scott for yielding me time, and i want to thank both he and chairman neal for their leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 397, the Butch Lewis Act. This is a historic moment for working men and women in this country, and its taken a long time coming. People have been working on this for a long time. Today, were telling millions of americans who worked a lifetime for their pensions that are now in jeopardy through no fault of their own that we are standing with you. Were listening. We are taking action. For too long, these working men and women have lived in fear not knowing what was going to happen. Theyve given up pay raises. They played by the rules. They thought they would have a safe and secure retirement. By passing the Butch Lewis Act, were sending a loud message that we hear them and are taking steps to ensure their retirement that they worked for for a lifetime will be there when they need it. This is money hardworking men and women earned and counted on to retire safely, to afford to stay in their homes, to afford food on their table, to afford their medicine. American workers have done their part. The house will soon do its part. I hope the senate will also act quickly because i know the men and women. Theyve come to my door at 7 00 a. M. Theyve threatened suicide. Theyre scared. I ask unanimous consent to insert two letters into the record in support of this legislation. One from the teamsters and one from unite here. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mrs. Dingell thank you. And thank you, again, to chairman scott and chairman neal for their leadership and taking a lot of words and putting it into real action. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. The gentlelady from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. The gentlewoman from michigan is correct. The Union Members are not at fault. The union bosses are at fault, and hardworking, nonunion taxpayers should not be bailing out the union bosses for their mistakes. I now yield three minutes to the gentleman from tennessee, dr. Roe. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for three minutes. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in opposition to h. R. 397 because its nothing more than a huge step backward in our work to save failing multiemployer pensions. Its the government picking retiree winners and retiree losers. Our work in congress until now has been bipartisan with both sides realizing that workers Retirement Security is too important of an issue to play politics with. I and others have been willing to work across the aisle for a bipartisan solution that works for retirees and for taxpayers. That offer is still open. The idea that congress should bail out unionnegotiated Pension Plans but not the retirement plans of millions of other americans that have seen their companies go under and en their ben benefits reduced, democrats are telling hardworking americans that taxpayers dollars should be used to bail out someone elses retirement. To make matters worse, the bill itself is deeply flawed. It has no reforms to ensure that troubled plans doesnt wind up in the same situation. Instead, the bill gives these plans a socalled loan and then allows the loan principal to be forgiven if they cannot be repaid. Its not a loan. Its a taxpayerfunded gift. This doesnt have to be bipartisan. In 2014, as chairman of the health, employment, labor, pensions subcommittee i worked with chair cline and Ranking Member miller and the Obama Administration to develop chair kline and Ranking Member miller and the Obama Administration to develop the offer ey needed to benefits to retirees. Why are we here today . Unfortunately, the Obama Administration made a political decision and refused to approve an application for the countrys largest troubled plan, Central States. While many supporters cheered that decision, the Obama Administration virtual lie ensured central state retiree virtually ensured central state retirees would receive more. I hope the senate will act in a more responsible manner. The concept of a multiemployer ension plan is an idea worth saving. To act in a partisan manner, you are jeopardizing retirees. Every day these plans fail to act is a step toward bankruptcy. This bill may be the final nail in the coffin for Central States. They cant wait another 18 months for a fix. Outside Central States, there are many other Pension Plans in crisis, but all is ensuring the multiemployer plan will be insolvent by the end of f. Y. 2025. We have less than six years to solve this problem before retirees receive pennies on the dollar for what they earned. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Roe i yield back the time and i recommend voting against this bill. Thank you, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, madam speaker. I yield two minutes to the gentlelady from oregon, ms. Bonamici. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Bonamici thank you, madam speaker. And thank you, chairman scott, for yielding. In oregon and across the country, people have worked hard to provide themselves and their families with a secured retirement by contributing a portion of their income to pension. But now, through no fault of their own, too many of these hardworking americans find that their Pension Plans are struggling, and without intervention, these plans will become insolvent, putting the Retirement Security of about 1. 3 Million People at risk. The bipartisan rehabilitation for multiemployer pensions act, the Butch Lewis Act, will help protect retirees, workers, and employers by creating the Pension Rehabilitation Administration to issue bonds to finance loans for critical and declining status multiEmployer Pension Plans, and importantly, this bill does not cut benefits for workers and retirees, benefits they have earned. Workers, families, and businesses and retirees are counting on congress to address the growing Retirement Security crisis in our country and protect the benefits workers have earned over their lifetime. This bipartisan bill is one important piece of the solution to address the multiemployer pension crisis, and i urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it. Thank you to chairman scott and chairman neal for your leadership on this issue, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, madam speaker. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Grothman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. Mr. Grothman i have a great deal of sympathy for the people were trying to help in h. R. 397. Thats one of the reasons why i feel we need a real solution to this. Obviously the Pension Plans are in such horrible shape that to continue with the Current System and to continue with this bill will be a very expensive bailout for the taxpayer. Unlike some of my colleagues, i realize that the taxpayer will ultimately have to put something on these plans. The reason i say that is the multiemployer pension plan system was set up in congress in the 1950s. We as a Successive Congress are supposed to do something. However, i dont think it was a sincere proposal. If it was it would have been passed when president obama was president and when the Democrat Party was in full control. We have to change things in the future so we dont begin to run up more debt immediately. We will probably have to have the taxpayer do something to make up for the damage thats been done in the past. To pass this bill will only delay that and it is really, quite frankly, therefore, just a political move. I strongly recommend that we get together and put together a new committee of four or eight people and begin to do something. We know it has to be done eventually. Not only we have these workers hanging out there, but the way this multiemployer pension plan is set up, a lot of businesses will go under, too, unless something is done. But i am saddened today that the bill before us is, like i said, i dont believe a bill that for all their talking really people believe is a serious solution. If it was a serious solution, they would have passed that bill 10 years ago. I yield the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott madam speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Norcross. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new jersey is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Norcross thank you. First of all, i want to thank chairman neal and chairman scott for bringing this to the floor and my colleague, debbie dingell, and dr. Roe, who sat on the committee, to address this. Butch lewis act, a bill that makes sure that americans receive the wages they earned. This is not a handout. These are deferred dreams, deferred wages that they said theyll put aside during their active career so they can live out the american dream. Those golden years, those pension years. Theyre deferred wages. I know firsthand. Over three years ago, my very first speech on the house floor was right here talking about pensions. 37 years ive been a member of the multiemployer plan. Rank and file worker as a negotiator. I understand how they work. But the cost of doing nothing to the taxpayers is far greater than the loans were giving out now. We bailed out the banks, gave them billions of dollars, but the people that earned these, who did nothing wrong, youre saying no to. We cannot screw the people that earned their wages. Its important for us to pass this because they did nothing wrong. They played by the rules. Thats what we do in america. This is not a grand conspiracy. This is about doing the right thing for the right people for america. I defer back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, madam speaker. I yield two minutes to the gentleman from georgia, mr. Allen. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Allen i thank the Ranking Member. Madam speaker, i rise in opposition to h. R. 397. You can call it whatever you want to call it, but the taxpayers are going to bail out an underwater multiemployer pension plan. Its just that simple. Based on this legislation. Since my time in congress, my colleagues and i on the house education and Labor Committee have held numerous hearings on multiEmployer Pension Plans. Ive learned a few things. These plans currently are underfunded by 638 billion. How in the world did that happen . He pension benefit guaranteed, pbgc multiemployer Insurance Plan has a 54 billion deficit and is expected to become insolvent by the end of fiscal year 2025. According to the pbgc data, 75 of multiemployer participants are in plans that are less than 50 funded. I think we can all agree that the system has failed. These retirees, i agree, deserve better. How were they so misled . To believe their contributions would cover their retirement . I mean, theyre thinking, in fact, you know, this is just another example of their union overpromising and underdelivering. The union says if you pay this, youll get this retirement. As the own over a Small Business, i like to think of myself as coming to the table and negotiating and solving the problem. However, both parties must be willing to find a reasonable solution that works for everyone. The democrat solution on the Multiemployer Pension Program is shortsighted and partisan. In the Business World we call that we dont call that problem solving, we call that another massive taxpayer giveaway. Taxpayers are not going to stand for this. Not to my surprise, the democrat solution is a Big Government and billions of dollars in new costs. Again, this bailout is an unserious policy that has zero chance in the senate and i recommend a no vet. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. Could you advise how much time is stale available on each side. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia has five and a half minutes. The gentlewoman from North Carolina has a minute and three quarters. Mr. Scott thank you. Mr. Speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from pennsylvania, ms. Wild. The speaker pro tempore the entlelady is recognized. Ms. Wild thank you, mr. Speaker. The crisis facing multiemployer pensions is not some faraway event and its not about politics or ideology. Its about peoples lives and whether they will be able to retire in dignity after a lifetime of hard work. American people. By 2025, the Central State Pension Fund and pbgc will be insolvent that means over a million American Employees earned benefits could disappear if we dont act right now. This crisis doesnt just affect those enrolled in multiEmployer Pension Plans. If we dont act, the consequences will be detrimental for our local businesses, economies, and residents, ultimately affecting everyone, including millions of american families. Participants nationwide, including thousands in my district, could lose everything they have earned if we dont act. These folks who came to watch the proceedings today never wanted a bailout, as my colleague across the aisle termed it. They just want and deserve what they have earned. They deserve it. We need to pass this bill. We must pass this bill. For them and for our country. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott im prepared to close. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina. Ms. Foxx mr. Speaker, i yield to the gentleman from texas one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i rise today in opposition to h. R. 397. The rehabilitation for multiemployer pensions act is nothing more than a false promise to American Workers reck tiree, and their families. House democrats, instead of working together with us as theyve done historically, moved this bill through Committee Without one single hearing or considering one single amendment. The result . A bill that makes no Structural Reforms to prevent or shore up future pension plan insolvencies. It in fact incentivizes pension plan managers to offer generous, underfunded benefit, while taking risky bets at the cost of American Worker and retirees, knowing full well they have a forgivable, taxpayer funded loan to fall back on. Mr. Speaker, i implore my colleagues to abandon this bill and instead work with us so that we can achieve forwardlooking solutions to protect workers and prevent future insolvencies. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia. Mr. Scott i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman from North Carolina. Ms. Foxx thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself the remainder of the time. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that retirees and workers in multiemployer union Pension Plans deserve better than a political statement disguised as a legislative proposal. Advancing this highly flawed bill, which has no chance of being passed in the senate, will only result in delays, rather solutions for workers and retirees who are so rightfully concerned about the state of their pensions. The individuals in the unions did trust those in charge and they are not at fault for what has happened. But i urge all of my colleagues to join me in opposing h. R. 397 and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from virginia. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself se the balance of the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Scott i ask unanimous consent to enter into the record the following letters in support , aarp, aflcio, International Association of machinists and aerospace workers, Service Workers International Union and united steelworkers. When it comes to the multiemployer crisis, the most expensive and harmful thing congress can do is nothing. Over the course of four years, the multiple hear, including five hearings of a joint select committee, weve repeatedly heard the need to address this issue. Weve also heard about process. Let me tell you about the process. We had one year of a select committee, no plan from the republicans. This bill was introduced in january, no plan. Had a hearing in march, no plan. Markup in june. No plan, no plan or amendment until shortly before the markup occurred and then instead of seriously considering those amendments, they required us to read the whole bill. This mr. Speaker, we have a choice to make. Each member of congress, we can continue to wring our hands and listen to complaints while the catastrophe continues to unfold, and unnecessarily add hundreds of billions of dollars to the cost of the federal budget, or we can act on this bipartisan solution. The only bipartisan solution pending in congress today, the Butch Lewis Act. This bill addresses an immediate crisis, protects hardearned pensions, protects many businesses from bankruptcy, avoids misery and saves the taxpayers money. In fact, according to c. B. O. This bill over 30 years will cost less than 60 billion. Doing nothing over 30 years will cost 300 billion to 400 billion. Im voting for the solution. I urge my colleagues to do the same to ensure that all workers can retire with stability and dignity. Mr. Speaker, if i have time remaining, i would want to ask unanimous consent to yield that time to the gentleman from massachusetts to control. The speaker pro tempore without objection. I mr. Scott i yield back the alance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal i stand in support of h. R. 397, the multiemployer pensions act, commonly referred to as the Butch Lewis Act. Contrary to what youve heard thises a bipartisan bill. It has republican sponsors. Peter king is about to speak next, there have been up to 20 republicans who have signed on to this legislation. This addresses a real problem that for two Years Congress has talked about and not moved on. For two years we have worked on. This i sat on the special commission. For two years. It became a debating society rather than an opportunity to act on a measured response to a crisis that is now pending that could be averted by the work we undertake today. There are 200 bipartisan sponsors of this legislation in the house. 10 million americans participate in multiemployer plans and about 1. 3 million of them are on plans that are quickly running out of money and yes, we have a plan. These are American Workers who planned for their retirement and now after working for 30plus years, theyre facing financial uncertainty at a time when theyre often unable to return to the work force. Its worth noting that we have not arrived here because of malfeasance or corruption. These are force of the marketplace that have caused this distortion. When i heard the gentleman earlier from south dakota say this is a bailout, this is not a bailout. This is a back stop. You know what a bailout is . Its the savings and loan crisis. A bailout. You know what a bailout is . Wall street, thats a bailout. You know what a bailout is . When enron makes sure the people at the top of the corporation kept their money and the beam at the the people at the bottom lost their pension. Thats a bailout. Were talking about a plan, i worked on it for almost two year, build within the department of the treasury, an opportunity for a superadministrator to help nurse these plans back to good health. Rita lewis is in this gallery today, shes a beneficiary of the Central States pension plan, the largest of the underfunded multiEmployer Pension Plans. She and butch lewis did nothing wrong. They played by the rules. Precisely as we would ask people to do. So then we hear, this is about union bosses . Then we hear this is about malfeasance . This is entirely about people who have been circumspect in the manner in which they treated their Pension Plans. She is looking at a significant cut in her pension after years of hard work and when retirement is finally in sight. Many workers and retirees have stories that are very similar to mrs. Lewis. These are real people with a very real problem if congress doesnt act. The American People sent us here to address this problem of multiEmployer Pension Plans and the legislation before us today despite what anybody and everybody says accomplishes that. It would give millions of workers and retirees like those who have joined ms. Lewis in the gallery today the security and retirement that they have worked and planned for in their golden years. The Butch Lewis Act would allow Pension Plans to borrow money they need to remain solvent, borrow, emphasis on borrow, and continue to provide Retirement Security for retirees and workers for decades to come while the plan is nursed back to health. Let me remind my colleagues. Plans that receive loans under this bill are subject to numerous requirements and ample oversight. They are not permitted to increase benefits or reduce contributions. And loan proceeds must be invested in conservative investments, grade a instruments. This is not a bailout. This is a loan program and it is a commonsense solution. Its the private sector coming together with Public Sector opportunities to address this crisis and ill have more to say about it when i close. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. As the chair i would i would like to remind members that the rules do not allow renches to persons in the gallery. The gentleman from texas is ecognized. Mr. Brady i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognize. Mr. Brady i rise in opposition to h. R. 397, which is truly unfortunate because i know the authors goals here are very well intended. I worked as a meatpacker. I worked as a sheet metal worker. I worked construction. I know how hard these Union Families work, both for their wages and for their retirement. Thats why republicans and democrats agree we are in a multiemployer pension crisis. When there are over 1. 3 million workers covered by these union managed plans whose pensions are set to be drained entirely, drained entirely over the next decade, thats a crisis. These figures only scratch the surface. If we look at the bigger picture, every union mans pension, less than half the promises made by trustees to Union Workers are actually funded. Less than half. Put it simply there is 638 billion promised to workers retirement that is absolutely imaginary. And thats wrong. This bill, i think, doubles down on the worst aspects of the Pension System that has these workers in a pickle today. Congress has tried to kick the can down the road before. In 2006, Congress Waived the required cricks for plans who said we just cant paycheck the contributions. You know said we cust cant make the contributions. You know what happened . It got worse. They were 190 billion underfunded, a couple of years ago it had tripled. They were three times worse off. Pbgc, the federal insurer of these plan, went from a deficit of 739 million, their deficit increased 70fold. Thats even worse for the workers. So rather than continuing the status quo in todays partisan exercise, and by lets be honest. Having nine republicans doesnt make this a bipartisan bill. We already know, unfortunately, because it is one party, this bill is dead on arrival in the senate. Democrats acknowledge it. Republicans do. Even some of the unions do. Thats why i think the solution needs to happen this year, getting it to the president s desk so we say lets find a bipartisan solution to offer certainty, stability and accountability and save these unionmanaged plans. We ought to be working together to ensure plans can make good on their promises to our Union Workers. This means eliminating the various gimmicks some of these plans are allowed to use. Plans have to accurately mention or measure their pension promises in a way similar to Insurance Companies making those same promises. I dont understand why promises unions are only worth 1 3 than those that work for another company . Isnt that promise important to them as those other workers . We have to focus on accountability. A promise is a promise. Companies need to be on the hook for every pension promise they made to their workers. And so, by the way, do the trustees. Why do we allow the same people to operate the same way and leave the same Union Workers behind . What sense does that make . And finally, one of the reasons we oppose this bill is we need to prevent the severely underfunded plans from digging themselves even deeper into a hole under the guise of protecting workers. We have to wall off the contributions that fund these new promises we know will be broken instead of perpetuating what now is sort of a ponzi scheme. Retirees are paid out of contributions are supposed to benefit younger workers. Thats double counting. Thats what gets people in trouble. I believe our Union Workers deserve better. The companies in these plans deserve better. This bill doesnt make these plans more stable. It doesnt end underfunding. It doesnt make them secure for the long term. Our biggest worry as republicans, it doesnt solve the problem. So these same workers years down the road are going to be same problem. We havent helped them. I think our workers deserve better. I strongly urge all my colleagues to vote no on this bill, and i give my commitment on the for ways and means republicans to work with you, chairman, to find a real solution. Our workers really do deserve this. Mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal let me recognize the gentleman from new york. I believe hes a republican demonstrating this is a bipartisan piece of legislation for two minutes, mr. King. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. King i address this to my republican and democratic friends, i am the lead republican sponsor of this bill and im proud to be, because as far as im concerned, this bill protects and helps the men and women that we republicans claim to care about, hardworking, middleincome people who play by the rules. They are not looking for welfare. They are not looking for a free ride. They are the backbone of our communities. Theyre democrats, theyre republicans, theyre black, theyre white. They are people we rely on all the time. They have done everything theyve been asked to do. Now, theyre not highpaid c. E. O. s. Theyre not big bankers. Theyre ordinary daytoday americans, the people we claim to represent. To allow them not to be taken care of, not to be protected, it flies in the face of our oath of office. We have an obligation to these men and women who have done so much for their country. And the reason we are not talking about malfeasance. We are talking about changing Economic Conditions that affected these multiEmployer Pension Plans. Thats the reality. Our economy is moving fast. Our people are getting ahead. Theres also people being left behind. Its our duty everyone gets the opportunity to go forward. Those entering their golden years that planned, were asked to do, expected to do are not left out. Its easy to look at some actuary chart and say, this may cost this, this may cost that. Even if we do that, to me the Economic Loss by not protecting these workers is far worse than whatever the cost may be. As congressman neal said, this is not a bailout. Its a backstop. Its doing what has to be done. Again, theyre not highpriced c. E. O. s. They are not looking for a free ride. They are not trying to get a Tax Deduction for their jet or anything like that. Theyre trying to get what theyre entitled and played by the rules to get. As a republican im proud to stand for this. For all the republicans in my district who are proud teamsters, proud union member, as i am a union member, we should not be setting class against class. We are not talking about union bosses or corruption. All americans, theyre hardworking americans, they deserve the protection as we members of congress can give them. I urge support for this bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Brady thank you, mr. Speaker. Im pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from arizona, one of the key members of the ways and Means Committee, mr. Schweikert. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Schweikert thank you, mr. Brady, mr. Speaker, chairman. I may come to the microphone with a slightly different message having been on the bipartisan multiemployer pension commission, having hundreds of staff hours into digging into the numbers and desperately trying to come up with an honest, wholeistic, complete solution. Fear were about to do a level of violence here financially that we dont mean to. A previous democrat testimony said we need to do a life boat. Were putting a little life preserver out when we need a big life boat. And the math lets be honest about the math. If we actually come here i know this chart is too small to read, but i brought it up because weve seen the actuarial report that makes it very clear. If we actually use anything even close to what a union worker for a single employer plan, the protection, the rate of return, the net present value calculations, they get, if we do that to these multiemployers, the vast majority of the multiemployer plans are in the red. Were right now about to fix an offer, whether you want to call it a bailout, whether you want to call it a subsidy, its really expensive, and were only taking care of a small portion of the problem. What are we about to do to all the others . Well, you were close to the cutoff. Youre on your own. Is that the type of cruelity youre actually about to tell everyone we took care of the problem when the vast majority of the workers in these plans are on the other side of the cliff . I beg of you, come back. We were so close in the commission work, and it was painful. Everyone was going to be mad at us. And it got a little too politically difficult, but theres a mathematical way to get there, and for once, can we use our calculators to actually solve the problem and be honest than the political rhetoric that is absolutely vacuous on the scale of this problem . Ith that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas reserves. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. Mr. Neal thank you, mr. Speaker. With that i yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida, congresswoman murphy. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Murphy thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of the Butch Lewis Act. Passage of this bill is vital to millions of americans whove worked hard and played by the rules. That includes tens of thousands of workers and retirees who live in florida and hundreds of workers and retirees who reside in my orlando area district. I want to highlight section 4h of the bill, which was added at my request between Committee Markup and floor consideration. This provision requires the pension rehad a bill tigs administration to provide an Rehabilitation Administration to provide an annual report to congress for those that steefed loan under this bill and fail to pay back. This provision to increase congressional oversight will maximize the number of plans who repay their loans and minimize the financial burden on federal taxpayers. I want to thank chairman neal for working with me to make this important change. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Brady you know, mr. Speaker, im proud to yield two minutes to a key member of the ways and Means Committee, a business person, who funds retirements, knows how hard these workers work, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Kelly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Kelly i thank the chairman and mr. Speaker. Listen, i share the same concerns. I dont think theres anything i agree with probably on 99 of what we talk about than mr. Neal. Ive been for the last couple years trying to figure out how to fix this. If this would actually fix it, that would be great. We look at this like its some type of a Government Program that hasnt been run right and lord knows there is enough thats out there. This is a private plan. We keep talking about Union Members. I got to tell you what, i live in a union town. I grew up with Union Members. I work with people. My dad was the first person to wear a white shirt, for crying out loud. Its not about Union Members being responsible. Its about union plans that didnt function the way they were supposed to. If i knew going out of here today and voting for this legislation would fix the problem, id do it in a minute. But we know its not going to. Well have people that will clap and say, yes, they passed it. Well, were going in the right direction. We know its not going any further than the floor of this house. Fixing the plan is paramount. Lets quit figuring out who well put the blame on and figure out how were going to fix it. Im not saying its anybodys fault on their own. Collectively, you got to look, if i am a member of a union im saying, all those things i want at the bargaining table, all that compensation i passed up, all those things i could have asked for didnt because i was planning for the future, i found out the people i entrusted my future to are not capable, not running the program the right way. The program we have in my Small Business is ok. Were going to be able to meet our obligations. We got to stop using taxpayer money to fix irresponsible decisions or actions by people who didnt maybe they knew what they were doing. Maybe they didnt know what they were doing. Im not blaming anybody, but the real problem sits on our doorstep today. Believe me, theres nothing easier than loaning our peoples money to somebody who needs it. I get that. But the truth of the matter is, every single penny we talk about comes out of hardworking american taxpayers pockets. They had no they had no role to play in this. Were saying, you have to bail them out. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. Mr. Kelly i tell you mr. Brady i yield an additional 30 seconds. Mr. Kelly i want to fix this. I want to see a fix. I want to see anybody in labor feel that all those generational gains, all that negotiation actually meant something. But i think its a shame when they look at, why isnt it functioning the way we were told it was functioned win we signed back on . It wasnt their fault. Certainly wasnt the rest of americas taxpayers. Something failed. Probably a lot more than one instance. But today, we arent fixing this. Were putting it across something that wont go through the senate and giving people false hope. Lets not make promises that wont keep. Chairman neal, i will work with you for any amount of time. We have to get it fixed. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts. Mr. Neal might i inquire as to how much time is remaining . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts has 10 1 2 minutes. The gentleman from texas has 5 1 2 minutes. Mr. Neal thank you. With that, mr. Speaker, let me yield one minute to the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Blumenauer thank you, mr. Neal. I appreciate your laserlike focus on this issue. Were hearing people in an alternative universe. The problems that were facing financially are not an issue of mismanagement. Its the near collapse of the economy that plunged it into a downward spiral and the fact that deregulation by the congress in the Trucking Industry meant that there were many, many jobs that disappeared. It wasnt sustainable. But i find it rich to hear my friends on the other side of the aisle talk about fiscal conservativism and protecting taxpayers money. These are the folks that passed a tax bill that added 2. 3 trillion to the deficit. Theyre ignoring the fact if we allow these plans to go over e edge, it will cost five, six, eight times as much money. Lets get real here. I appreciate the commitment that we have, mr. Chairman, to a bipartisan solution. There are people on the other side of the aisle that want to work on this. Were not this isnt the last word. We have things to do, and this is, however, the first step. The speaker pro tempore the time has expired. Mr. Neal i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from massachusetts reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Brady thank you, mr. Speaker. Proud to yield one minute to one of the leaders of our tax policy subcommittee efforts, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. Smith. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Smith thank you for the time, mr. Speaker. I agree