Dethe vote. Put de novo. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The journal stands approved. The speaker pro tempore the ouse will be in order. He house will be in order. Please take your conversations off the floor. He house will come to order. Please take your conversations off the floor. He house will come to order. Pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, the chair will postpone further the house today will come to order. Please take your conversations off the floor. Pursuant to clause 8, rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. The house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. For what purpose does the jerusalem from california seek recognition . I move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 239, the Christa Mcauliffe commemorative coin act of 2019. The house is in the in order. The speaker pro tempore the yom s correct. Please take your conversations off the floor. The gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, mr. Speaker. I move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 239, the Christa Mcauliffe commemorative coin act of 2019. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk senate 239, an act to require the secretary of the treasury to mint coins in recognition of Christa Mcauliffe. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. Waters, and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry, each will criminal 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. Ms. Waters i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Muzz waters i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the ym is recognized. Ms. Waters in 1985, Christa Mcauliffe was selected out of over 10,000 applicants to be the first participant in nasas teach for the space program, becoming the first private citizen to be on a space mission. Before her selection, ms. Mcauliffe was a social studies teacher at Concord High School in New Hampshire. An extremely pop and extremely popular with her students. Mcauliffe was to be part of the Space Shuttle challengers crew and the mission plan including having her conduct not only some basic science experiments, but also to teach two 15minute classes from space that would be broadcast to millions of students. On january 20, 1986, Christa Mcauliffe tragically lost her life, alongside her six crew mates in the Space Shuttle challenger disaster. Ms. Mcauliffe was posthumously awarded the congressional space medal of hon nor in 2004 and has had scholarships and schools named in her honor. This year, a pair of teachers turned astronauts, ricky arnold d joe akaba, honored ms. Mcauliffe by filming the lesson she is would have taught had she lived to complete her mission while they were aboard the International Space station. This film is accessible to students around the world, courtesy of a partnership between nasa and the Challenger Center for Space Science education. The first lesson was released in august, 2018, and more lessons continue to be released. Proceeds from the sale of commemorative coins will benefit first the nations leading not for profit stem engagement program. The mission of first is to inspire young people to be science and Technology Leaders by engaging them in exciting mentorbased programs that build science, engineering, and Technology Skills that inspire innovation and that foster wellrounded life capabilities, including selfconfidence, communication, and leadership. Each year, more than one million children in the u. S. And 100 countries participate in first. It has a presence in every state and nearly every Congressional District. So i urge all members to support this bill and urge members to vote yes. Thank you mr. Speaker and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the yom from california reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Mchenry thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to start by taking a few minutes to recognize a dear friend of mine, a member of the Congressional Service committees, sean duffy of wisconsin. Hes been a good friend of mine since, well, the very beginning of when he started running for congress. I had the pleasure of serving with mr. Duffy since he came to congress in 2011. Known, as we say on the committee, known for his punctuality, its amazing he is here now. This might be the first time hes been on time in his eight years of service in the house, nine years of service in the house. But sean has been a huge asset for the Financial Services committee and his constituents in the seventh district of wisconsin. Hes worked on large issues Like National issues of import like flood insurance. Large issues Like International regulation of insurance agreements. As well as important, smaller issues but very important to peoples lives like mold and leadbased paint remediation and providing Better Options for residents of public and assisted living, or assisted housing. Hes been a great advocate for his constituents and im honored to work with him as a colleague. He has led three separate committees on the Financial Services committee, three separate subcommittees. Hes had meaningful impact on public policy. He has developed meaningful relationships on both sides of the aisle in this institution. And hes been willing to have some of the bigger debates on policy. That perhaps were divided into party. He has always done so with a joyful heart and a fantastic apacity for communicating. In some points to the dismay of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, including the chairwoman of the committee, who, the debate can sometimes get rough and tumble but he always does it with a smile on his face and can you can have a conversation with him afterwards no matter how difficult or challenging the conversation or debate. So while shawn has been a colleague, ive counted him as a friend, an advisor and friend and somebody i knew i could talk to even amongst the tough oast of time. Hes leaving because of his family. Hes made a decision that is the right thing for his family to depart our institution and our schedule and the channels of public life at this time in his family life. Hes got a beautiful family, some of whom are here behind me day, we wish sean and rachel duffy the best and we will keep them in our thoughts but forever in our prayers and in our hearts. So thanks so much to sean for your leadership. Mr. Speaker, i rise in support of senate bill 239. This is the Christa Mcauliffe commemorative coin act of 2019. Id like to thank the gentleman from michigan, the dean of the michigan delegation, who has the bill here in the house, h. R. 500, and who has gathered more than 309 cosponsors of this on this bill to see it across the line. We know the story of Christa Mcauliffe. In fact, its one of my first memories of understanding what nasa did is to see the tragedy of the loss of the shuttle. And the human tragedy of someone who is such a dedicated public servant, dedicated to her classroom, to teaching, but also her willingness to put herself on the line to be a greater advocate for teaching. And for education. Christa mcauliffe had a meaningful impact on peoples lives and this was a representation of that. Its a fantastic undertaking that weve had here today. And due to the great work of congressman upton we have a wide bipartisan support for this important and meaningful act before us. With that, id like to retain he balance of my time. Yeah, id like to retain the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield one minute to the majority leader, representative steny hoyer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized for one minute. Mr. Hoyer i thank the gentlelady for yielding. I want to thank mr. Mchenry for his leadership as Ranking Member of the committee and for his bringing this to the floor. I want to thank my very good friend, not my republican friend, my very good friend, fred upton. For his work. His leadership. On this piece of legislation. Annie kuster iend for her leadership. This is personal for me. I am so happy to rise in support of this legislation. I went to georgetown law school. And i set up practice just about five or seven miles from here in the late 1960s. And in the 1970s, late 1970s, i had a law clerk. He also went to georgetown law school. He was a young, bright, extraordinarily able individual. His name was steve. Steve is now a district Federal District court judge in New Hampshire. Andad an extraordinary wife her name was krista. Steve and steve and christa became dear friends of judys and mine. I had enough time to sail when i had a sailboat, steve and christa from time o time would go sailing with judy and me and perhaps some of my children. Christa with a her hair, beautiful utside but more importantly inside. L full of life. Excitement. Full of vision for what she as a teacher could do for her children. Recall that ay christas motto as the teacher space was i touch the future. I teach. She was looking forward with excitement, not only to leave the bounds of earth but to to earth and engage with students, to share her experience, to share the excitement and adventure of into a new frontier that space. We s so appropriate that her name. Coin bill in was my friend. Us, as were est of er fellow astronauts on that fated day at the beginning of few seconds a burned so brightly with so much and whose lives were snuffed out in an instant as the blew up. R christa, during the course of competition to be the teacher in space, would visit my was in the long Worth Building in longWorth Building in the back of the and, fred, every time she would come to washington, she would come to my office and visit as she was participating in the competition. Saw her excitement and her anticipation. Nasa saw it as well because out of those 10,000 the chose her to be representative of the most mportant profession in our country, the teaching profession. Society cannot succeed. It is so appropriate that this chairwoman hashe aid, will benefit a program called first, that dean kamen, ne of the great engineers and inventors of our country and indeed the world established and literally thousands and thousands and thousands of this worlde all over activitiesng in stem and particularly robotics, who pursue this e to fully. More surely no one is going to vote this bill. But we can all be very proud of not only we memorialize citizen,rdinary fellow fellow human being, who, as said, brought her energy and her faith and her devotion making her country, her and our children better. Thank you, madam chair, for floor. G this bill to the thank you, mr. Mchenry, for your support. Thank you, mr. Upton. Kuster. U, ms. This is a thing thats good to do. Merica is better for Christa Mcauliffes life, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california reserves. The gentleman from north recognized. Mr. Mchenry if i may inquire of the chair how much time we have remaining. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina remaining. Minutes mr. Mchenry all right. I yield the balance of my time to the dean of the michigan congressman fred upton. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from michigan is recognized. You, mr. N well, thank speaker. Thank you, mr. Mchenry. Thank you for your leadership on this. Your you for cosponsorship. I want to particularly cite as not only a great friend but one that really elped shepherd this to the floor today. These are not easy. In fact, i talked to a colleague arlier today who has another coin bill and i said, i dont know if i can ever do one of these begin. It takes a lot these again. It takes a lot of work. From as been bipartisan the very start. Want to thank mic crapo, who mike crapo, who now hairs the Senate Finance committee. I want to thank my three colleagues that i see on the dingell,e here, debbie kuster, mr. Pappas, to make sure we could get 290 doe is the hich cosponsors, which is the magic number to get this thing done. As the majority leader said, its an important piece of legislation. It really is. Companion, our bill, h. R. 500, is the companion s. 239, which bill, passed at the end, just before the august break, in the senate. We only do two coin bills a year. Helped members about this. This is no cost to the treasury. Important. Ll of the costs are first borne the sale of the coin and then e treasury, the profits of the coin go to the particular cause. In this case, its first. Any of us on both sides, all across the country have seen first competition in high of thousands of High School Students over the 15some years. More than 3,500 individual sponsors help to enlist people to be encouraged math and science field, to compete, to develop against each pete ther, build team partnerships, and it really makes a difference. In fact, theres a story that Current Air Force academy soup intendant apparently superintendant apparently said, one of the first things they look like for dmission to the air force academy, did they participate in first, because they know if they id thats an outstanding outside School Activity and they know that theyre on the right path. This coin is going to do with Christa Mcauliffes picture but the other six astronauts with her on that sale ofjanuary day, the that coin is going to help irst, which was setup by dean kamen in my book who is a rock essence is the Thomas Edison of today. He did the segue. E also did the kidney dialysis machine. He made sure that the veterans that came back from iraq and in a istan be functional way that makes up for the loss particular limbs. Hes such an enthusiastic of this. Provided financial assistance, i think more than scholarship loans of the students looking to move on to higher education, particularly in engineering. To be a oin is going sellout. Im looking forward to 2021 to and ng my coin, for sure, helping the cause. In uld note that our state michigan under governor schneider and now governor a republican and democrat, they authorized in their budget at least 10 million a year to help offset that are associated with the students as they program thatn this often starts in january and concludes, as we saw in the detroite competition in earlier this year, just a few months later. Program. Great all of us need to support it. 300 cosponsorsn was pretty awesome to do in such a short amount of time. Congratulate my colleagues from New Hampshire, particularly the ones that are on the floor today, but their work with our to get this gues thing across the finish line is ing you can only do two pretty amazing. With that ill reserve the balance of my time just in case yield ill l reserve the balance of my time in case somebody needs it. To ge all my colleagues support this bill. The speaker pro tempore the entleman from michigan cannot reserve. Reserve. Ry i the speaker pro tempore the gentleman can reserve. Mr. Mchenry i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, mr. Speaker. To the three minutes gentlelady from New Hampshire, kuster. Woman ann the speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from New Hampshire is recognized for three minutes. You, maim thank chairman. Madam chairman. Thank you to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I rise in favor of the christa commemorative coin act. Christa mcauliffe was a teacher alma mater, concord high hero. , and she was my christa was smart. She was charming. He was a kind teacher who left her mark on countless students through her willingness to do to help them ok succeed. The concord and broader New Hampshire community was thrilled was chosen out of 10,000 applicants as nasas space. Eacher in her mission was to inspire a generation of American Students look toward the sky and pursue careers in science, and as mr. Hoyer noted, i teach. He future, i she cared about america, and my y year she invited other, former state governor, susan mcclain, so her students would know about our government nd their opportunities for their future. Her husband steve and their two in our were important community, and i am reminded of the story when president bush nnounced christas a appointment christas appointment, he whispered into making ear, you will be our dinner a lot more on your own. Tragically on january 28, 186, along 1986, christa, with six other members of the challenger Space Shuttle crew perished when the shuttle exploded. Cant tell you the number of colleagues when i was asking for their signatures to join us this bipartisan bill, said i remember exactly where i was when that happened. We remember christa because she anted her students to seek out the best in themselves and always to reach a little higher. Nspired by christas leadership, her students did just that, by going on to become pursue careers in science and education and policy. Christas legacy can be seen all over the state of New Hampshire. Christa mcauliffe and shepherd discovery center, which planetarium in our town, to Christa Mcauliffe middle school im proud that this coin will help cement christas placement in american generations to am co. So its fitting that the proceeds from the coin will robotics, a t nationwide leader in Stem Education founded, as mr. Upton the New Hampshire inventor, dean kamen, to help christas legacy to help students discover the wonders of he world through education and science. I was so proud to work with my olleagues and friends, fred upton, debbie dingell, and my new colleague from new pappas, to get the cosponsors needed to pass this bill. Leader hoyers and hairwoman maxines waters Maxine Waters willingness to move this bill forward. I urge support of this bill. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Im ready to close. Inquiring of the majority if they have any other speakers. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you. I yield to the gentlewoman from michigan, congresswoman dingell. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Dingell thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of s. 239, the Christa Mcauliffe commemorative coin act of 2019. We all remember when we were where we were on january 28, 1986. The day we lost the Space Shuttle challenger and its crew and americans aye all across the country mourned all across the country mourned. Among the brave crew members was New Hampshires own Christa Mcauliffe, who had been chosen as the First Teacher in space. Through her spirit and enthusiasm for pioneering the unknown, she encouraged a generation to reach for the stars. Her quest for knowledge and her commitment to inspiring young people to pursue their dreams has had a Lasting Impact on children everywhere. To honor her and keep her dream alive for the next generation, my dear friend, fred upton, who has been incredible, representative kuster and representative pappas, michigan and New Hampshire, have worked together for this. And i want to thank hem for their leadership. Them for their leadership. The bill will mibt a mint a commemorative coin with the proceeds going to support a New Hampshirebased nonprofit first for inspiration and recognition of science and technology. Each year they host the first robotics competition and we see young people building these robots, encouraging them, inspiring them to invest in science and math. I try to go to them every time i can. I was just at an allwomen one last saturday. They strive to inspire young people to be leaders in science, technology, engineering and the mathematic fields. Theres no better way to honor the memory and life of Christa Mcauliffe than to continue to inspire, encourage young people to be at the forefront of innovation and technology. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. Mr. Hern im prepared to close mr. Mchenry im prepared to close. Does the majority have additional speakers . Are you prepared to close . Ms. Waters we have no more speakers. Mchenry im prepared to close at this time. Its amazing how a teacher can touch lives. And Christa Mcauliffe touched lives. Not just for the students in her classroom, not just her community, but what she means the American People and how her contribution is marked in the american psyche. Of what teachers are and what they represent. In such a significant way. The challenger tragedy was a massive loss for us as americans in terms of human life, certainly. But is marked in American Special way and has a quite different feel because of Christa Mcauliffe. The work put in to bring a coin bill to the floor is extraordinary. And i have to say this. The challenge, the challenge to get a coin bill to the house floor is enormous under our rules. Under a bipartisan understanding, we have a massive hurdle in order to get here. Its not a normal process to bring a bill to the floor, its an onerous and difficult one. Thats why we have so few bills that strike new coins that come across the house floor and get enacted into law. Its the proper thing to make it onerous and difficult. Because when it happens, it shows that what were trying to represent with that coin, whether its a person, a community, an action, that what ey did was so pure, so perfectly american, and what they did, that person, that group, what they did, it should be noted in American History. It should be noted in a meaningful way. A meaningful enough way that it was how the romance marked who their emperors were and this is our way in saying in a very special way that Christa Mcauliffe was a wonderfully special human being who made a significant mark as an american. And so i want to thank congressman upton for the massive amount of work that he put in, passionate work to make this day possible. And want to thank my colleagues across the aisle for this process and for the outcome that we have here today. So, with that, madam speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself the balance of the time. 2021 marks the 35th anniversary of the Space Shuttle challenger tragedy. This bill will help commemorate and further Christa Mcauliffes inspirational life and help develop a new generation of dreamers and innovators, by providing first with additional funding to launch young people into critically needed, wellpaying stem jobs. I thank the sponsor of the house companion to s. 239, the gentleman from michigan, mr. Upton, and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 239. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition . Ms. Waters madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 3625, the pcaob whistleblower protection act of 2019 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3625. A bill to establish a Whistleblower Program at the Public Company accounting Oversight Board and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from california, ms. Waters, and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters id like to thank representative garcia for this important piece of legislation that establishes a Whistleblower Program at the Public Company accounting Oversight Board. This program is similar to the program that was created by the doddfrank wall street reform and Consumer Protection act for the securities and Exchange Commission. At the s. E. C. , this program has proven to be extremely successful and has been instrumental in incentivizing whistleblowers to report suspected misconduct, while protecting them from retaliation by their employers. According to the s. E. C. , the s. E. C. s Whistleblower Program has awarded approximately 381 million to 62 individual whistleblowers since the program began. Given the pcaobs Critical Mission to protect investors and further the Public Interest by ensuring informtific, accurate and independent informative, accurate and independent audit reports of Public Companies and s. E. C. Registered brokers and dealers, it is vital that pcaob whistleblowers are incentivized to come forward and are protected from employer retaliation. Due to the success of this program and its proven track record at the s. E. C. , i urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill. Thank you, madam speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from california excuse me, North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i rise to speak on h. R. 3625, the pcaob whistleblower protection act. I thank the congresswoman from texas for her leadership on this bill and the work on committee. And, madam speaker, businesses have a selfinterest in detecting and eliminating illegal activity as swiftly as possible within their organizations. As such, businesses, including audit firms, and clients of audit firms, generally strive to comply with the law because ultimately violating the law hurts investors. And thereby hurts their business and thereby hurts their reputation. Violating the law is bad for business, right . For their business. It hurts the companys reputation, its value, it keeps Business Partners away, breeds distrust in the marketplace. We all know these things. However, sometimes businesses need someone to call out bad behavior or illegal activity. Whistleblowers pay play an Important Role in rooting out bad behavior that harm the markets, that harm mr. And mrs. 401k, eeveryday investors hat most us are average everyday investors that most of us are. It incentivizes whistleblowers to report unlawful activity internally or appropriate government authorities. Thats why we have whistleblower statutes. Thats why this is a good piece of legislation. To that end, im glad to see that this bill, which will establish rewards for certain whistleblowers whose tips lead monetary sanctions. This builds on the structure of the s. E. C. s Whistleblower Program and a recent bill that we passed out of the house in the month of july that protects internal whistleblowers as well. Additionally, i want to note that the provision in this bill that states that to the maximum extent possible the pcaob shall coordinate with the office of whistleblower at the s. E. C. In carrying out the law under this bill. The s. E. C. Whistleblower has been around for quite a while. I think a good regard from both parties in terms of how they respond. We want to make sure that that experience is well coordinated with this new Whistleblower Authority at pcaob. Id hope that where possible, the s. E. C. s office of whistleblower can provide significant assistance to the pcaob. If not handle all these whistleblower claims itself. They have that type of experience, i think it would be proper for that agency to do that and to ensure that its done in the most Cost Effective manner for the taxpayer and for the investors as well. This legislations good in that it provides that flexibility for that best Delivery System as the s. E. C. And pcaob go about this. Again, i want to thank my colleague from texas for her hard work on this bill, in bringing an important piece of legislation that is good for taxpayers, its good for investors, and its really good for the stability of the markets and the belief in the stability of the markets. And so, with that, id urge a yes vote and will reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from texas, representative sylvia garcia. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas is recognized. Ms. Garcia thank you, madam speaker. This legislation is very simple. It would establish a Whistleblower Program at the Public Accounting Oversight Board based on the Program Congress established at the securities and Exchange Commission under frank dodd. The Public Company accounting Oversight Board was originally established to ensure proper oversight of audits of Public Companies. This was done after the implosion of enron and their Accounting Firm arthur and firm, arthur anderson, somebody that was very painful to many in my district in houston. In the doddfrank act that congress passed, it expanded the Whistleblower Program at the s. E. C. To provide individual protections from retaliation if they came forward to the commission, and made them eligible for monetary awards if their information led to enforcement action. Likewise, under my bill, individuals would be eligible for a reward program upon the successful completion of a disciplinary action. Whistleblowers would be incentivized to come forward when they suspect violations of the sarbanesoxley act, the rules of the pcaob, and the s. E. C. , and other rules, laws and professional standards governing audits of Public Companies. Importantly, these whistleblowers would also be protected against retaliation from their employees. In july, this house overwhelmingly passed the whistleblower protection reform act by a vote of 41012. This bill uses the very same whistleblower protections that the house passed in that piece of legislation. This legislation would implement a key recommendation of that project on the government Oversight Board, made in a recent report, and i would ask that the full report be made part of the record. Thank you, madam speaker. S one but im confident this bill is a good first step. One of the reasons that investors from around the world invest in america is the stability and transparency of our public markets. Congress, the private sector and regulateors have worked hard to make transparency a selling point around the world. This bill is just one small tool in the toolbox of making sure that the transparency and investor faith is generated in this country and continues. Supporters of this bill include the National Whistleblower center, the institute of internal auditors and public citizens. This bill passed by voice vote out of committee. I thank chairman waters and the Ranking Member and their staffs for working with us to incorporate some of the bipartisan suggestions that i believe make this bill stronger by ensuring that the s. E. C. And the pcaob coordinate in the whistleblower efforts. Those changes make this bill stronger and i thank them for their bipartisan support. I would close by simply saying works and i hope you join me in supporting this legislation and i ask for your support. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina recognizes. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. I would like to commend my colleague from texas. And though new to this legislative body, she has shown experience how she has legislated here and the willingness of the democrat majority staff on committee to work with my staff to ensure that we have a bill thats functional and right and can get wide support as it should. So i thank you for this which may be your first legislative undertaking through the committee and want to commend you for the work that youve done. I address the chair in saying that, but i think its important this body understands there is good lg lating that happens in our committee and bipartisan legislating. I yield the balance of my time to the Ranking Member of the industrial protection and Capital Markets subcommittee, r. Husinger of michigan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Huizenga i say thank you to the Ranking Member and i do need to point out while this bill passed by a voice vote, it does not mean that it didnt have opposition. I raise concern with this bill which would establish this Whistleblower Incentive Program at the pcaob. My opposition to this should not be interpreted as to opposition to a whistleblower. In fact, its the opposite of that or the Whistleblower Program. But there are a number of reasons why i believe and i think is clear that this is a redundant program that is already covered in other ways. First, the bill is at odds with established principles of confidentiality that exists within the auditing profession. State laws and professional standards require Accounting Professionals to maintain the confidentiality of client information received in the course of performing an audit. This bill purports to exclude from whistleblower status any person who gains the information while performing audit work. However, the exclusion is muddled by unclear and broad exception. As a result, it is very possible that the personnel performing audits may try to garner bounties by blowing the whistle on their audit clients contrary o their professional obligations. The bill will be will have harmful effects on the awed itclient relationship, the audit process and the publics confidence in the reporting process. This bill raises other significant questions. For example, why is a program at the pcaob even necessary in the light of the s. E. C. s already well established Whistleblower Program . This is a redundant function that is being attempted here. Dirlly, what are the costs associated with setting up a new whistle Plore Program and will the costs force the pcaob to divert resources from other projects to get this Duplicative Program off the ground. In light of these concerns, i elieve this is a redundant and illconceived bill that has one purpose to provide plaintiffs to enrich itself. That is a massive concern that i and so many others involved in this have. It is incumbent those to explain why they believe auditors who play such a critical gatekeeping function in our Capital Markets should be potentially offered he prospect of monetary bounts bounties as it is today especially in light of the s. E. C. s well established Whistleblower Program that would cover all of these particular circumstances. So i do appreciate the Ranking Member yielding time to me. And with that, i yield the time back to him. Mr. Mchenry i thank my colleague for yielding. There is a diversity of thought among our colleagues on this bill. With that, i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i am going to yield to the gentlelady who is the author of this legislation and she will sufficiently describe why this bill is not redundant. And with that, i yield to the gentlelady from texas an additional two minutes. Ms. Garcia i will be believe. Just two points. It is not redundant, if it were so the National Whistleblower center wouldnt see a need for it and with the report we have placed in the record. It is needed and certainly we need to support it. Secondly, in terms of costs, the costs for implemented, this bill will be offset by the increase of fees that the board will collect from the accounting boards that they have oversight. So there will be no additional costs. It will be offset and it is needed and i urge adoption of this bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. Mchenry ready to close. Ms. Waters i have no additional speakers and i reserve the right to close. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. Look, whistleblowers provide an important function and want to make sure there are legal constraints on this obvious and the s. E. C. Has shown themselves good actors in terms of acting the whistleblower law that we have on the books and i anticipate with the capacity for implementation there could be pcaob and between s. E. C. To implement this bill. I urge my colleagues to support and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield myself such time as i may need. First, congratulate the gentlelady from texas. I am so very proud of the work that she is doing on the Financial Services committee. We are here today on this particular legislation, but this particular legislator, who serves on the Financial Services committee, has undertaken to produce legislation that is so meaningful, not only for her district and her state, but for this country. And im very pleased about this bill today. And i join her in saying it is surely not redundant. And i thank the gentleman on the opposite side of the aisle, almost forgot why he came here because he used the word redundant at least six or seven times and repeated it and repeated it because it was difficult for him to find other words for him to explain why he was on the floor today exposing the bill. The s. E. C. Has demonstrated the value of whistleblowers. And yes, the whistleblowers are compensated, but they save our government money. They save the s. E. C. Money. They save harm that are being done to those investors that we should be protecting. So again, i cant say enough about congresswoman garcia and this bill and the work that shes doing. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 3625 as amended. 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 n the table. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Ms. Waters madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules nd pass the bill h. R. 3619 the appraisal fee reform act of 2019 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 3619 a bill to amend the Financial Institutions reform recovery and enforcement act to apprise the subcommittee to Appraisal Management Companies to maintain a recommending industry and to allow grants to states to assist appraisal compliance with the Real Property appraisal qualification criteria and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from california, ms. Waters and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchen wri, each will col 20 minutes. Ms. Waters i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Waters i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters i rise in support of h. R. 3619 and i want to thank the gentleman from missouri for bringing this bill to the house. This would apprise greater flexibility to address the structure and amount of the fees they charge to companies to alleviate concerns that the current statutory requirements governing these fees are too ridge i had and pass the burden of unnecessarily high fees on to appraisers and reduce the number of appraisers that they work with. At a time when some areas of the country are experiencing a shortage, we cannot afford to make it harder for appraisers to obtain work. This bill would create a National Registry of trainees much like there is already a registry of licensed appraisers. This is one small step that will facilitate the entry of new appraisers in the industry. This bill would provide consumers with a separate disclosure of fees bade to the appraiser and to the Management Company in order to enhance their understanding of the costs associated with their mortgage. These are reforms that are broadly supported by the appraisal industry and will make changes to this industry which makes up a critical part of the homebuying process. I thank the gentleman from missouri for offering this bill and i urge my colleagues to support it. And i resevere the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. I rise in support of h. R. 3619 appraisal fee Transparency Act of 2019. In june, the Financial Services Committee Held a hearing on variety of issues relating to the appraisal process. The issue of appraisal industry reform might not be an exciting headline, but honest and independent appraiseals help ensure the safety and soundness of mortgage lending. We know how the last financial crisis happened and started with mortgages and so it is really important that appraiseals are accurate and true. As neutral parties appraisers help determine the fair market value of assets for both lenders and purchasers and yet much of the current aphraseal framework is a confusing maze of overlapping and conflicting state and federal rules. These inefficiencies harm appraisal quality, lower mpetition and inhibit market innovation. This requires us to do better. The bill we are considering today is a good first step in that reform process. It makes the necessary improvements to the Fee Structure and to the appraisal appraiser registry. These reforms will increase transparency and clarity for consumers in a complex regulatory scheme. The bill allows the federal appraisal subcommittee to set up a less arbitrary fee schedule for Appraisal Management Companies. Ese Management Companies are intermediaries, lenders sometimes use to provide certain appraisalrelated services. This new schedule will increase competition and employment within the industry. Its proceeds will be used to use appraiser complaint investigations and enforcement activities. The bill would also for the first time allow trainees to be listed on the subcommittees National Registry for appraisers. This will help meet appraisal needs as well as help those trainees receive on the job experience they need to gain further accreditation. Thats just the nature of the apresence tiesship process that the industry has in order to get licensure in most states. The bill provides for Greater Transparency under the real estate settlement procedures act or respa. You understand what it is. You may not understand it is, but you know what it is, is the most accurate way to say it. This is an important transparency measure for the disclosure of the fees to the Management Companies. When one is used in a transaction. Finally, the bill adds a representative from the veterans administration, to the current sevenmember federal appraisal subcommittee, along with h. U. D. , the fed, the o. C. C. , fhfa, the fdic, ncua. If youre listening at home, dont worry about the details of it. Its basically every financial register in washington has a seat on the board. We now put the v. A. On there because the v. A. Administration does mortgages as well for veterans. So, lets get them all at the table, lets have them all communicate. That covers the National Mortgage market that we currently have. This is good legislating, thats basically what im saying. So i think its a welcome thing to add veterans to the mix on this subcommittee. And they currently make up roughly 10 of mortgages annually, and so its really important they have a seat at the board and a seat at the table, especially around this important issue. Their input will help the subcommittee promote greater uniformity in its supervisory role. These reforms will help sort out some of the overlapping appraisal rules. This bill was reported out of the Financial Services committee unanimously and i commend its sponsor and cosponsor, chairman clay, the housing subcommittee, and chairman clay has done great work. Hell work with republicans where he can, but he tries to beat us on most days. But on this one, he worked with Ranking Member duffy in order to have this bipartisan bill before us today. Lacy is a tough democrat. Represents his state well. Is a tough negotiator. And what we have before us is a really good bill because of the quality of legislating. Not easy legislating, but tough legislating that representative clay is about on the Financial Services committee and here in congress. With that, i urge adoption of is meaningful reform and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield three minutes to representative lacy clay from missouri, the chair of the subcommittee on housing, Community Development and insurance. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Clay madam speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 3619, the appraisal fee Transparency Act of 2019. I want to thank chairwoman waters for yielding the time, as well as the support that she has given. Let me also thank Ranking Member mchenry for his support of this legislation, as well as Ranking Member of the subcommittee, mr. Duffy, who i hope will be replaced with someone just as comparable as and competent as mr. Duffy has been. This bill would provide the appraisal subcommittee with greater flexibility to determine the structure and amount of the fee charged to Appraisal Management Companies. It would provide the appraisal subcommittee with greater flexibility to utilize fee proceeds to partner with different entities to ensure compliance with federal appraisal standards, add a representative of the department of Veterans Affairs to the appraisal subcommittee, create a National Registry of appraisers in training and provide consumers with Greater Transparency in the disclosure f fees paid by appraisals. Madam speaker, as you are well aware, a significant part of the housing markets is comprised of veterans, as was mentioned. But currently the appraisal subcommittee does not have representation from the department of Veterans Affairs. This bill would add a designee from the v. A. Which further acknowledges the unique Critical Role of our veterans. Those this though this bill does not address this directly, one of the takeaways from the hearing that we held back in june was the lack of diversity in the appraisal industry. Which currently does not have many women or minorities. And that is one of the reasons this bill adds a National Registry of appraiser trainees, which would help bring new people into this unique and very important industry. Lastly, the bill makes it federal law to disclose to consumers the fee that they pay for their appraisals. This consumerfriendly addition to the bill promotes transparency and ensures that the opaque world of appraisals is becoming more understandable to the average homebuyer. And i will add that one of the most compelling parts of the appraisal hearing was the testimony of scholar andre perry of the brookings institution, where he discussed in depth the research of his colleagues which demonstrated that the appraisal industry has contributed to the growing racial wealth gap. So with that, i look forward to the support of the house of his important legislation and this important legislation and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore jeamplet the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters we have no more speakers and im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. Mr. Mchenry i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady is recognized. From california. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i yield myself the balance of the time. I want to again thank the gentleman from missouri, mr. Clay, for bringing this bill to the floor. This bill will remove another impediment to obtaining homes for everyday americans. By making more appraisers available to homebuyers. So i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 3619, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Ms. Waters madam speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 2290, the shutdown guidance for Financial Institutions act, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2290. A bill to require the federal financial regulators to issue guidance encouraging Financial Institutions to work with consumers and businesses affected by a federal Government Shutdown and for other purposes. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady will suspend. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlelady from california, ms. Waters, and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry, each will control 20 minutes. The chair now recognizes the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. Madam speaker, i rise in strong support of h. R. 2290, shutdown guidance for Financial Institutions act. A bill introduced by one of our colleagues and new members of the Financial Services committee, representative Jennifer Wexton of virginia. Last december, President Trump shut the government down for an unprecedented 35 days, resulting in missed paychecks for countless Government Employees and contractors. 800,000 federally federal employees were furloughed and another four million or so federal contractors were negatively affected. The resulting damage was significant. Many of our constituents who did nothing wrong at all found it hard to make essential payments such as payments on mortgages, rent, student loans, car loans, Business Loans or credit cards, when their income was temporarily limited. Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office estimated the shutdown cost the American Economy 11 billion and it delayed approximately 18 billion in federal Discretionary Spending for compensation and purchases of goods and services. Should there be another Government Shutdown in the future, this bill will help ensure that at a minimum, there is timely guidance provided by financial regulators to encourage Financial Firms to work with and help affected consumers. Consistent with prudent lending practices, firms would be encouraged to modify Payment Terms or extend credit when appropriate and prevent adverse information from being reported that might hurt a consumers credit score. During the october, 2013, shutdown, regulators issued guidance to Financial Institutions on the ninth day of the shutdown. Urging Financial Firms to do what they could to help affected consumers. On january 11, 2019, financial regulators issued a joint statement to provide guidance to Financial Institutions again, encouraging them to help consumers affected by the shutdown. However, the guidance did not come until the 20th day of the shutdown and it only came after i wrote regulators the day before, prodding them to issue such critical guidance. This delay is unacceptable. Whether it is nine days or 20 days. And theres no reason why regulators should not prepare the appropriate guidance now and issue a press release within the first 24 hours of any future shutdown, to remind Financial Institutions to help affected consumers as h. R. 2290 would require. Furthermore, h. R. 2290 builds on House Resolution 77 that i sponsored and was passed by the house on a voice vote in january, 2019. Expressing the sense of congress that Financial Institutions and other entities should proactively work to help consumers affected by any future Government Shutdown. Passing the shutdown guidance for Financial Institutions act will help ensure guidance is provided to Financial Firms in a timely manner and that there is no am big that struggling ambiguity that struggling consumers affected by shutdown, through no fault of their own, get the assistance that they need. So i commend the work of representative wexton and on this important legislation, i support the bill and i urge my colleagues to do the same. Thank you, madam speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i rise today in recognition of federal employees impacted by the Government Shutdown and express my support for federal regulators and Financial Institutions supporting consumers in need of assistance in the event there is a lapse in federal funding. We just passed the continuing resolution to keep the government open just earlier today. So the good news is this fall does not look like storm season for federal employees. And hopefully the contents of this act wont have to be used and i think thats a good thing. I think we can all agree thats a good thing on a bipartisan basis. We should agree that its a good thing. But whether its a missed credit card payment or an unexpected medical expense, Government Shutdowns can leave federal employees, contractors and other individuals facing Economic Hardship through no fault of their own. If you look at the Government Shutdowns under the carter administration, reagan administration, clinton administration, the lapse in funding impacted peoples lives and we dont want federal employees to be held hostage to the inability of congress and the executive branch to come to terms on federal funding. H. R. 2290 requires federal financial regulators to issue guidance encouraging institutions to work with individuals impacted by a Government Shutdown. It also requires the regulators to provide congress with a report analyzing the effectiveness of that guidance. Its proper. I want to remind my colleagues that guidance does not constitute formal rulemaking. This bill sets out best practices for both regulateors and Financial Institutions and should take that guidance seriously. I want to reiterate that this legislation conveys no new authority on federal financial regulateors. Lets make that clear. Many Financial Institutions and regulateors are implementing the best practices contemplated by this legislation. Six months or seven months after the Government Shutdown, i think regarding regulateors taking action. Institutions have been cognizant of the needs of institutions who find themselves in this situation. Last fall, more than 100 banks took it upon themselves to offer loan modifications, payment deadline, and payroll advances or low or zero Interest Rate loans to those impacted by the shutdown. Those are positive actions. We know that those positive actions made a difference during that period of uncertainty. Federal financial regulateors have played an Important Role in ensuring fair treatment for consumers affected by a shutdown. In january of this year, the f. D. I. C. And the Federal Reserve and conference the state of Bank Supervisors worked with consumers who were negatively impacted and took upon themselves to do that and had the authority to do so. In a related Financial Institution letter the fdic encouraged all institutions to encourage prudent arrangements for credit worthy borrowers to meet their obligations. While i gee with my colleagues across the aisle we we should have banks to work with consumers, we must encourage regulateors to provide some type of clarity as well. This bill ensures exactly that. This bill is sufficient and deals with the four walls of governance and the data held within government and i think it is a good piece of legislation that codifies existing practices. And i encourage my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i yield five minutes to Jennifer Wexton, a new member of the Financial Services committee. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Wexton madam speaker, i rise today in support of my bill h. R. 2290, the shutdown guidance for Financial Institutions act. This legislation would help protect federal employees, Government Contractors and Small Business owners from some of the financial hardships that arise from a Government Shutdown. The shutdown that lasted the longest in our nations history stretched 35 days and cost the economy bill wrons of dollars. For more than a month paychecks were put on hold for 800,000 federal employees and workstop orders went out to federal contractors resulting in tens of thousands of layoffs. Contractors did not receive back pay. Thousands of families saw their lives upended missing one paycheck is a hardship but missing two can be devastating. Not only were people struggling to make their rent or mortgage payments, some had to rely on food pan tries to feed their families or rash shon their food and this was through no fault of their open. During this time, a lot of companies stepped up with offers of assistance for people impacted by the shutdown including banks and Credit Unions that offered nointerest loans. This was important for employees in the National Security community because Financial Difficulties can damage their Credit Scores and put their security clearances and livelihoods at risk. While it is poffer to see they are mitigating harm, there was confusion at some Financial Institutions and Regulatory Guidance was slow to come. It was not until the 20th day of the shutdown that regulateors encouraged banks to work with borrowers and let banks know that such efforts would not be subject to criticism. During the shutdown in 201, it wasnt until the ninth day that similar guidance was released. Let me give you an example. I want to read part of a letter that i got from a constituent. She wrote, my husband and i sold my our home. The mortgage financing for our home was all set before the Government Shutdown. Our closing date is set for january 28, 2019. We learned that the Mortgage Company is denying my Mortgage Application because im furloughed and consider me unemployed. Thankfully my constituent and her lender were able to work through this problem and the mortgage was approved, but this should have never happened in the first place. My legislation would require financial regulateors to release guidance within hours of the start of a shutdown and includes reporting requirements and requires regulateors to fix any shortcomings that are identified. Madam speaker, despite the uncertainty and the hardship of the last few years, federal workers have shown a steadfast commitment to service and serve in every Congressional District in every state carrying countless responsibilities on behalf of the American People and deserve way better than the way they have been treated. I thank chairwoman waters and Ranking Member mchenry for ushering this bill to the floor and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters does mr. Mchenry have any further speakers . Madam speaker, i yield myself the balance of the time. We should work to make sure there is never again a Government Shutdown. If one occurs, this bill will ease the burden on many vulnerable workers and families. I once again commend the the gentlewoman from virginia for bringing this legislation to the house and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from North Carolina. Mr. Mchenry this legislation puts to rest the need for the Financial Services to work around a Government Shutdown and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2290 as amended. 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 on the table. Gentleladyrpose does california seek recognition . Ms. Waters madam speaker, i move the house suspend the rules nd pass the bill h. R. 550, the merchant mariners of world war ii Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019. As amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 550 a bill to award a congressional gold medal to the United States merchant marinners of world war ii in recognition of their Vital Service during world war ii. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule the gentlewoman from california and the gentleman from North Carolina, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from california. Ms. Waters i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Waters i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Waters i rise in strong support of h. R. 550 the merchant marinners of world war ii Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019. I thank the gentleman from california, representative garamendi, for his work on this bill which honors the courage and sacrifice of the civil mariners of the merchant marines. In the early days of americas involvement in world war ii, rman boats sank numerous vessels. Think of convoys being attacked to the europe and took the war to the u. S. Eastern seaboard. In march, 19 2, 27 ships from six allied were sunk. All told 733 american cargo ships were lost during world war ii. Despite this danger, civilian merchant marines served with courage to establish and maintain critical supply lines ensuring that vital supplies, cargo and personnel reached allied forces in both europe and asia. Though they had no military standing or government benefits, these civilians faced death from germ uboat assaults. These raids paid a heavy price in service to their country suffering the highest casualty rate of the u. S. Armed forces during world war ii. Many lost their lives and 12,000 were wounded to make sure our uniform Service Members could keep fighting. Unfortunately, their sacrifices are commonly underappreciated and often overlooked and werent considered veterans until 1988 and many of our histories of world war ii gave them a passing mention and do not recognize their vital role in ensuring the success of the allied forces. Its time we give them the recognition they so richly deserve. And i want to thank mr. Garamendi for introducing this bill to congress and urge members to vote yes. Thank you, madam speaker, and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. Rise in support of the merchant mariners. I rise in support of h. R. 550. For the last two congresses, congresswoman susan brooks of indiana, has taken this measure on and passed it out of the house last congress and didnt make its way through the senate. Commend the haffed work that ms. Brooks put into legislating around this important recognition of those that fought valiantly in their own way in world war ii and served and sacrificed during world war ii. I thank my colleague, ms. Brooks to make this day possible and thank mr. Garamendi for his work in this congress to take this across the line for a nice piece of legislating to recognize Unsung Heroes of world war ii. They sailed across the atlantic on the maine, but they traveled abroad delivering precious cargo to support the war. In a moment of most severe crisis for united kingdom, it was our merchant mariners that fled the island nation of Great Britain and they fed europe post world war ii as well. And they risked their lives before the concept of a convoy was invented in world war ii to protect the lives at stake, the cargo at stake, the ships at stake and ensure a better opportunity to make it across from the United States and canada to Great Britain to save that island nation. It was a treacherous times. And the stakes of us actually providing support for the soviet union in the worst ravages that they were suffering under germany and their fight with germany was substantial as well. The i. C. C. s of the north and to bring cargo in to save lives for our soviet allies during world war ii were substantial and the stories there are massive numbers of stories in order to bring important food to save lives. We use nt mariners the word bravery, but doing their job of hard labor to make a ship go carrying cargo, it is fortitude. And the will to keep doing something is really important even against tough odds. Merchantthrough in who mariners are today and the risks that they take in order to make our Global Economy work today is real. During world war ii, it was on a nice edge and a number of lives are lost. By one out of 26 merchant mariner was killed during that time period of world war ii. Their ships sailed from porttoport and many never reached their final destination. The germans the german operation drumbeat targeted these ships in transport in a massive way. Knowing that they were traveling mostly unarmed and unescorted. Just off the North Carolina coast there are 80 cargo ships that were targeted and 1,600 lives that were lost. Thats just off one portion of our east coast. And there are stories of heroic acts by these folks that were just in peaceful times, doing that were just, in peaceful times, doing a normal trade, but in war were the number one target in that early stage, to break the will of the british and our support of them, and again trying to snuff off the soviet union from supplies and food and weaponry. So, this is a fantastic recognition of the important work that merchant mariners provided, the vital work that they provided during world war ii and a recognition of a trade, a craft, a skill and the hard work of those folks that make cargo go. And so with that, i urge my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you. I yield three minutes to representative john garamendi, chair of the subcommittee on readiness of the armed Services Committee, and a highly valued member of this house. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Garamendi madam speaker, and madam speaker, Maxine Waters, thank you so very much for the opportunity to speak on this bill. Im very pleased that the house is taking up the merchant mariners of world war ii Congressional Gold Medal Act, h. R. 550. Im proud to have worked on this Bipartisan Legislation with my original cosponsors, representative don young of alaska and representative susan brooks, who i see is joining us here on the floor, finally getting this bill to the floor this session. Is is this session. This is not the first session. Five years of work have brought to us this point. Three congresses. Mrs. Brooks last year carried this and we got it out of this house. And then the senate. My hope is that the senate will finally send this bill to the president s desk so it can be signed into law. Our bill would award the congressional gold medal to our american merchant mariners who served during world war ii, including those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Following the award of this medal, it would be given to the american marchant mariners who served during world war ii and it will be on display at the american merchant Mariner Museum at the u. S. Merchant marine a museum, at the u. S. Merchant Marine Academy in long island, new york. It will be there displayed in honor of our american merchant mariners. Franklin radios sed president roosevelt said that the merchant marines had delivered the goods when and where needed in err theater of operations a every theater of operations, across every ocean, in the biggest, most difficult and dangerous transportation job ever undertaken. Indeed, the merchant marines suffered the highest per capita casualty rate than any other branch of the u. S. Armed forces during world war ii. As said earlier, one out of every 26 american casualties in world war ii were merchant mariners. An estimated 8,300 american mariners lost their lives. Another 1,2 hub american mariners were 1,200 american mariners were wounded during their war time service. Regrettably, regrettably the merchant mariners were not granted veteran status until 1988, when Congress Finally came around to recognize the need for this. Awarding the congressional gold medal, as our bill does, would finally give merchant mariners from our nations greatest generation the honor and respect that they are owed. Lastly, i want to thank the more than 300 members of this house who cosponsored the bill, allowing it to come to the floor for passage. And i also want to thank mrs. Brooks and mr. Young who carried on in the previous congresses. Madam speaker, i thank you, i thank the members, i thank the committee, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield to my colleague from indiana, mrs. Brooks, such time as she may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Brooks madam speaker, i rise today in strong support of h. R. 550, the merchant mariners of world war ii Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2019. I particularly want to thank the chairwoman and the Ranking Member for bringing this bill to the floor. But i very much want to thank the fine gentleman from california, representative garamendi, for leading the effort this congress. Many members of congress have been involved in this, from one of our former colleagues, representative hahn, who i worked with closely several congresses ago, and we have continued to try to bring this effort before the American People and before this house. Mariners today are day federal Government Employees who pursue a Civil Service career in the navy, while assigned aboard u. S. Governmentowned ships to support the anyway vess war fighters and war fighting platforms around the world. But as youve already heard, often forgotten, merchant mariners are an integral part of our Armed Services nations history, especially during world war ii. They took part in every invasion during world war ii, from normandy to japan. They provided the greatest sea lift in history and they became the difference between victory and defeat. With an estimated 9,300 casualties, they bore a higher per capita casualty rate than any other branch of the military during world war ii. Even so, they were never recognized they were not recognized as veterans until 1988, and they never received the benefits of other world war ii veterans under the g. I. Bill. And while i was at home many years ago, in indianapolis, i met with a group of Family Members of merchant marines, and some who served actually during world war ii. It was because of that meeting that i learned so much about their service and decided to take up the mantle in trying to work with representative hahn at that time to get the recognition that they deserved. These loyal, brave men put their lives on the line for the cause of freedom and selflessly answered their nations call to duty. So now is the time, in working in a bipartisan way, to get it across the finish line, to formally pay our respects to all of these deserving men and recognize the countless sacrifices and contributions of merchant mariners in our history. Thank you, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina reserves. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you, madam speaker. I yield two minutes to representative tom suzie, a member of the ways and means committee, representive from new york. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Soussous thank you, madam speaker. And mr. Souzzi thank you, madam speaker, and thank you, chairwoman waters, for your recognition here today. I rise in support of h. R. 550. I want to give my deep gratitude to representative john garamendi, representative don young, representative susan brooks for carrying this message forward. This act will award this bodys highest honor, the congressional gold medal, to midshipmen who fought on behalf of our country during world war ii. This is particularly important to me because i represent the district that is home to the kings point merchant Marine Academy and the congressional gold medal will be housed there at that location. And this is really so wonderful that this is finally being done. Im a proud member of the board of visitors of the United States merchant marine acaddying i had in Kings Academy in kings point. Kings point is the only Service Academy whose students engage in combat during times of war. In fact, during world war ii, over 7,000 of these students answered our nations call to duty. 142 students gave the supreme sacrifice. And today only 600 of these veterans are still alive. Ralph crump is one of those veterans. In 1941 mr. Crump went on his first cruise as a freshman cadet at the United States merchant Marine Academy. He was quickly promoted to third assistant engineer. After his first cruise, ralph was prepared to return to kings point to finish his schooling, when his captain told him there was no replacement engineer and he needed to sail cargo for russia. Over the next eight months, ralph and his convoy suffered heavy casualties in the mediterranean, china, burma and india. Crump later sailed ships taking compiled and u. S. Diplomats back to asia, returning with prisoners of war liberated from a japanese camp near shanghai. Ralph finally graduated from the u. S. Merchant Marine Academy a year later in 19 a year later, i should say in 1946. Today theres a ralph crump wing in the World War Ii Museum in new orleans named in his honor. This is just one example of so many merchant mariners who did so much during this time, but i especially want to point out the students that served during war time from the merchant Marine Academy. Brave men and women like ralph at the academy, as well as the mariners who served across this country deserve this highest recognition. Its not too late, its time we recognize their sacrifice, and waret them the and award them the muchdeserved congressional gold medal. I congratulate my colleagues again for their leadership. Thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters i have additional speakers and i would like to yield two minutes to representative al green of texas, the chair of the Financial Services subcommittee on oversight and investigations. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Green thank you, madam speaker. I thank the chair lady, i thank the Ranking Member as well. Madam speaker, we are truly the land of the free because we are the home of the brave. Unfortunately not all of the brave have been treated the same when theyve returned home from war. Such is the case with the merchant marines. These merchant mariners came home, but they didnt come home to the parades that others came home to. Many of them didnt return the same way they left and many didnt return at all. I stand here today because i am so proud of the work that these members of congress have done to celebrate and appreciate the lives of the merchant mariners. Yes, it is true that they did not become actual veterans until 1988. Yes, it is true that they didnt receive all of the g. I. Bill benefits that some others received. But it is also true that though it may be late, they will be properly recognized. I am so honored to announce that congressman garamendi, brooks and young have done a good thing, a just thing, a righteous thing, and i would add one additional thing, there is a bill that is currently pending, h. R. 154. This bill would accord 25,000 to each of these mariners who are alive. It is the right thing, the just thing, and we ought to do it as well. But today, lets celebrate what has been accomplished, lets have this congressional gold medal presented and lets make sure that if we see a merchant marinerer we give them the love that mariner, we give them the love that they so richly deserve as well. They are truly persons who have made us the land of the free because they are members of the home of the brave. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i reserve. Im prepared to close. Ill yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry madam speaker, on a personal note, on my team on the house Financial Services committee, and when i was chief deputy whip of the house, somebody worked with me and my team on my team named phil poe of maryland. Phil was inspired by the stories of world war ii merchant mariners and inspired by a Family Member as well to get licensed as a merchant mariner. And he spent a little time as a merchant mariner and then paid his way through graduate school as a merchant mariner. So i want to commend his willingness to serve, but i also want to note that for the record. These stories of war world war ii merchant mariners are having an impact generations later. The inspirational stories of the risks they were willing to take, plus the Family Connection and the inspiration you heard from those stories, it made a major difference for him. And that work ethic that he developed and learned on that ship really steeled him to do better in graduate school and by the time he came to the hill, it was all easy compared to what hed been through. So these stories we hear from long ago, of merchant mariners and their sacrifice still have an impact today. And im glad we have a ngressional gold medal and legislative recognition around the sacrifices that merchant mariners made during world war ii. With that, urge adoption and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from california is recognized. Ms. Waters thank you very much, madam speaker. I yield myself the balance of the time. I too would like to join in thanking congressman garamendi, brooks and young for bringing this bill to the floor of the house of representatives, and working for its passage. Id like to talk about mr. Garamendi, whom ive known for many, many years. E served in the California Legislature and, of course, im not surprised that he took time who have ognize those not been given credit for their ork and what they have done in support of our country. This is typical of mr. Garamendi and the way hes conducted imself throughout his entire career. Id also like to thank those members who have come to the in this veryo join special recognition. His is a bipartisan bill that honors those who answered our nations call to duty, danger, and f the without expectation of accolades. We give these courageous mariners the ecognition they have more than earned. So i would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this legislation, e of and i yield back the balance of time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the h. R. 550, as amended. Those in favor say aye. No. E opposed, in the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the entleman from guam seek rick anything . Seek recognition . Mr. San nicolas i ask that the suspend the rules the advancing innovation to assist Law Enforcement act. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of bill. A bill to h. R. 2613, require the director of the financial crimes enforcement carry out a study on the use of emerging technologies financial crimes Enforcement Network, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the ant to the rule, gentleman from guam, mr. San nicolas, and the gentleman from orth carolina, mr. Mchenry, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from guam. Mr. San nicolas i ask unanimous all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. San nicolas madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. San nicolas i rise in advancing innovation to assist Law Enforcement act. Spend quite a bit of time to detect and report suspected crime. Al this bill turns a lens onto the enforcement me network to look at the use of artificial intelligence, digital technologies, block chain and other innovative technologies. He study required by h. R. 2613 will examine how this essential, regulatory and datadriven utilize uld better these technologies to more actively analyze and disseminate the information fin sen collects fincen collects and stores. Gaps that p identify will need to be filled by the adapted by the industry. Thank you, madam speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. I rise in support 2616 2613, the and id like to commend congressman important work on this Bipartisan Legislation. Mistaken, his not first piece of legislation coming out of the financial ervices here on the house floor. Its quite good the type of legislating hes trying to achieve. Tasked with maintaining financial transaction data. Analyzes data to safeguard the Financial System from to combat Money Laundering and promote National Security. Terrorism hink financing, you think about laundering drug money, this is it. Agency that does data rt, fincen is in the business. This bill directs fincen to study on Digital Identity technology to ensure with all the pped troops it needs to thwart bat ctors and to protect bad actors and to protect the Financial System. This takes, in many respects, broad sman gonzalezs background and brings that here to the legislative body and to this important Law Enforcement agency. Takes the first step to revolutionize the way Law Enforcement works to locate criminal activity in the Financial Services industry, including potential terrorist using artificial intelligence, block chain, and other emerging technologies. An fin tech bill, this is a technology bill. To urge my colleagues support this measure. This bill ensures that fincen is innovating alongside industry nd alongside other federal agencies and Law Enforcement agencies. It drives them to utilize the advanced computing and advanced Technology Available world and the best practices when it comes to Data Analysis and use. Technologies will also help streamline government fincen to , allowing move quicker in the face of emerging threats. So i urge my colleagues to bill. T this i want to commend my colleague, mr. Gonzalez, for his hard work bill. S bipartisan with that reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from guam is recognized. Mr. San nicolas madam speaker, we have no additional speakers on this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from north is recognized. Mr. Mchenry id like to yield my balance of my time to friend and colleague from ohio, mr. Gonzalez. The author of the bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from ohio is recognized. Mr. Gonzalez thank you. Andse in support of my bill i want to thank chairwoman and my friend, Ranking Member mcmenry, for mchenry, for his kind words. Advancing innovation to Law Enforcement bill, is and mr. By mr. Emmer mcadams. Will help track those that want to put our people at risk. Helps opioids g in ut communities like mine ohio. Cartels who wreak havoc, as i in my recent bipartisan trip to the border. Money laundering proliferates of Human Trafficking which continues to exist across our country despite government attempts toindustry better identify victims and cut off trafficking routes. Bill makes sure we are using the best technology we have available to find and stop the laundering to make these crimes not only possible but inancially profitable for cartels, traffickers, terrorists. Fincen to studys the implementation and internal se of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence, Digital Identity technologies, block chains, and better chnologies to identify and prevent Money Laundering in our Financial Services industry. Additionally, this bill would require the study of how fincen could better utilize these to more quickly disseminate the information it collects to federal, state, tribal, local Law Enforcement. Its my firm belief we must leverage the use of emerging technologies in order to make more vernment operations efficient and upgrade the tool kit that enables our law to effectively go after bad actors. Finally, h. R. 2613 would require the director of the financial crimes Enforcement Network report to the house andncial Services Committee the Senate Banking committee on policy recommendations. He recommendations would allow the private sector, fincen, and other federal agencies to mprove coordination and communication through advanced technologies. His will help ensure congress to make sure we are providing the necessary support to our law nforcement community to help fight Illicit Activity baseded on these recommendations. Based on these recommendations. I thank those who have helped push this bill forward. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i am prepared to has back if the majority no more speakers. Mr. San nicolas were prepared to close, madam speaker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields. The gentleman from guam is recognized. Mr. Mchenry yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore i but, ok. Ou already had the gentleman yields again. The gentleman from guam is recognized. Mr. San nicolas thank you, madam speaker. Balance of my time. We are prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has the only time left. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. San nicolas thank you, madam speaker. I yield myself the balance of the time. Fornt to thank mr. Gonzalez bringing this bill before the house. Will help echnology combat against the crimes that combats. I urge support of this legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is will the house the nd the rules and pass bill h. R. 2613. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. 2 3he opinion of the chair, having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from guam seek recognition . I move the las house suspend the rules and pass hidden h. R. 1396, the figures congressoinal gold medal act act of 2019, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. Bill tok h. R. 1396, a award congressional gold medals to Katherine Johnson and dr. Darden, to posthumously award congressional old medals to Dorothy Vaughan and mary jackson and to award to ressional gold medal honor all of the women who contributed to the success of the National Security agency the National Aeronautics and Space Administration during the space race. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from guam, mr. San nicolas, and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Mchenry, 20 minutes. Ntrol the chair recognizes the gentleman from guam. Mr. San nicolas thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks extraneous material thereon. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. San nicolas i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. San nicolas thank you. I rise in strong support of h. R. 1396, the Hidden Figures congressoinal gold medal act act of 2019. I want to thank the gentlewoman from texas, representative bernice johnson, for her work on this bill, which honors the women mathematicians and helped win the space race. This year marks the 50th nniversary of the apollo moon space landing, a shining beacon of American Ingenuity made by tireless and often unacknowledged and underappreciated of the women computers, mathematicians, and engineers at nasa. These women faced challenges that exemplified the period of segregation in which they lived dominated culture at nasa and its precursors. Contributions they made to space exploration, they aced lower pay, would not allowed to submit their work under their own names and not their promotions that male colleagues did. They faced segregated water bathrooms. The popular book published in 2016, which also became a uccessful movie, and this book described her and mary jackson, Katherine Johnson, and dorothy aughan in this difficult environment. The women computers, engineers of and nasa overcame these challenges. They made critical contributions the space race, as depicted in the film based on dardens book, but also to world war ii aircraft the opment and congressional gold medal is the bestowed vilian medal to persons who performed an achievement on American History thats likely to be recognized as a major achievement in the recipients long after the achievement. Figures congressional medal dal act awards the to dr. Christine darden, dorothy to han, mary jackson and those hundreds of computers, mathematicians, engineers whose lost to e been largely history. I thank ms. Bernice johnson for introducing this bill this ongress and urge members to vote yes. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mchenry i rise in support 550, the Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal Act. The gentleladynk from california, congresswoman johnson, for her work on this mportant Bipartisan Legislation. This bill awards the congressional gold medal to johnson, dr. Christine darden, and posthumously to and mary ughan jackson, to honor all the women ho contributed to nasas successful to nasas space. Ful race to these women worked tirelessly to to space, despite being segregated into work rooms, bathrooms, and cafeterias space of nasa. Work, ovided invaluable as been outlined, in a very wellreceived, highly regarded movie. But without their effort, its not have been glen orbit ess john the earth or apollos flight to astronauts of ch apollo 13 return safely to earth and land in the South Pacific ocean. A, madam speaker, when apollo 11s james lovell John Schweikert sighing earth who is here schweikert, fou they