Transcripts For CSPAN US House Of Representatives Special Orders 20160524

Gutting the environmental protections of the delta. This is another water war in california we do not need. What we need is some wise legislation that actually can solve the problem. Gutting the endangered species act, overriding the biological opinions, taking away the clean water act and simply turning the pumps on is not a solution. It is in fact the death nell of the delta. Knell of the delta. Along with governor browns tunnels, it will end the delta. Lets go the wife science with realtime monitoring of what is happening in the depellta is how we determine whether to ramp up or reduce the pumping in the delta. That is not in the bill. Take a look at the opponents. Weve got the two delta interests, mr. Mcnerney and myself, weve got the san juan queen valleys. This is not the way to hannle it. Not in an appropriation. Not in a bill that guts the environmental protections and simply turns the pumps on. I yield back. The chair the gentleman has yielded. How much time do i have left . The chair 30 seconds. We hear about water going out to the ocean but its pushing water away from the delta. Mr. Mcnerney i dont accept the word waste. I inform my colleagues from southern california, lets implore my colleagues from southern california, lets Work Together. We can recycle, we can store rain water, we can become more efficient and find wastage and stop evaporation. Theres plenty of things to produce new water. These provisions in this bill roduce no new water. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from california rise . How much time do i have remaining. The chair the gentleman has 2 1 2 minutes. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from california, mr. Calvert. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Calvert water wars. Ive been at this for a while too, as my friend from Northern California has. People are suffering right now for no good reason. According to independent studies, under the existing biological opinions, over a million acrefeet of water has been wasted because of nonpumping. What i mean by wasted is not one fish, not one smelt, not one salmon would have been lost in the delta because of pumping. But because of overcautiousness on the part of the department of superior and fish and wildlife weve let that water go. Tell that to the people that live in that shantytown. Tell that to the people who actually import produce from china to live on. And i know that people like to paint us as the party that doesnt care about the hispanic community. Tell that to the hundreds of thousands of people that have been put out of work in the Central Valley. This is wrong. I congratulate mr. Valadao for the hard work and passion hes put into this because he cares about the people he represents. And we should care about them too. Theres no good reason why weve let this happen. Weve allowed this to happen for, you know a number of reasons. Most of which doesnt make any sense to most people who understand this stuff. And we have a chance, i think, to fix this. Pass mr. Valadaos legislation and lets move on. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition . Ms. Kaptur i would like to claim time in opposition. The chair is the gentlelady striking the last weird. Ms. Catch tur i claim time in support. The chair does the gentlelady move to strike the last word . Ms. Kaptur move to strike the last word. The chair the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Kaptur i yield to the gentlelady from california, mr. Mcnerney. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mcnerney i thank the gentlelady from ohio. We talk about water being wasted but the delta is becoming more salty every year. Weve been exporting 70 of the water that comes, the fresh watter that comes to the delta, the salt water has been intruded. We need the fresh water to push out that salt water, we need to give the fishermen that live up and down the coast, we talk about and i feel for the farmers in the south part of the valley, its devastate, its horrible, but we also see the same thing happening with fishermen in the north coast. So basically, were doing the same thing thats been historically, were going to take watter from one part of the state, give it to another, were going to make benefits in one part, hurt another. Thats not the way to do business. We can find comprehensive solutions that include infrom structure investments, recycling, water smart projects, theres ways to create new water. We dont have to keep grabbing water from one another to grow fruits and vegetables or to have fish fishermen survive on the north coast. With that, im going to yield 2 1 2 minutes to my colleague, john delaware men dee. The chair the gentlelady controls the time. Ms. Kaptur im pleased to yield to the fine gentleman from california, mr. Fware men tee. The chair the gentleman is recognized from california. Mr. Garamendi all of us get pretty excited about water in california. I see my colleagues in the San Joaquin Valley and beyond lined up to protest whats happened over this last year but theres no doubt that this last year in the rainy season didnt work for anybody. We cant find a solution. If we base that solution we can find a solution. If we base that solution on solid science, on realtime monitoring of where the fish are, and i know theres a monitoring provision in this bill. But this particular bill as written would push aside the environmental protections and simply allow the pumps to be turned on even with the Monitoring System of what we need to do is base the delta operation on realtime monitoring of where the species are and then adjust the pumps accordingly. There is a solution, my colleague, mr. Mcnerney, just talked in detail about the necessity of building additional infrastructure for water. We need sites reservoir in the northern part of the state. San luis rebuild the reservoir. We need to rebuild the infrastructure, recycling, all the other things. But we do not need, as this bill does, to take the endangered species act, the clean water act and the biological opinions and push them out of the way and just allow the pumps to turn on. That is not a solution. Thats a solution for the destruction of the largest estuary on the west coast of the western hemisphere. I dont doubt for a moment the sincerity of my colleagues from the San Joaquin Valley and southern california. They are sincere about the concern and we share that concern. 300,000 acres of my rice farmers didnt get planted this year because of the drought. We also know the dg that a drought can do. But there is a way of solving this problem. This is not the bill. This bill will set off a war, obviously were already at it here on the floor of the house. Lets put this aside. Lets sit down as we can do and develop a solution that keeps in place the environmental laws and allows the flexibility that is present within those laws to be used to the maximum extent and not push the laws and biological opinions out of the way to the detriment of the largest estuary on the west coast of the western hemisphere. Critical for salmon, other species in the ocean, as well as for the agriculture in the delta and the four or five Million People that depend upon that water from the delta. So with that, i yield back. I ask my colleagues to work with all of us and ill take you up on your offer, mr. Chairman of the subcommittee, ill take you up on your offer and sit down with you and well work this out but not in this way, at this moment, on this floor, with a bill that really does gut the environmental laws, gut the environmental species, as well as the clean water act. So with that, i yield back whatever time may be remaining to my good friend from ohio. The chair the gentlelady from ohio. Ms. Kaptur how much time do we have remaining . The chair the gentlelady has one minute. Ms. Kaptur im pleased to yield the remaining one minute to congressman mcnerney who has fought so very hard on this issue. Mr. Mcnerney basically appealing to our colleagues, there are solutions out there we can find a whole state solution that all stake hold verse inputs in. Right now, thats not what this is. This is its pitting one region against the other. And its going to perpetuate whats been called the California Water war. We dont need to go there. Theres solutions. With that, i yield back. The chair the gentlelady from ohio. Ms. Kaptur i yield back the remaining time. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Valadao i give the balance of my time, the well, one minute to the majority leader, kevin mccarthy. The chair the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mccarthy i thank the gentleman for yielding. Im always amazed by the debates on this floor. I think theyre healthy. I like to listen to what people say and what people desire. Let me explain what ive heard, the desire to deal with the water crisis in california. Poem ask that whatever we do, do not change endangered species act. Could we Work Together on both sides. Could we make sure we stay within the biological opinion. Well, for maybe some of those people watching at home, they may not have watched the last three terms of this congress. Because you know, this drought is not new. But whats interesting, you just go back in this decade of the snow pack in california, lets go back five years. We had 160 of snow pack. N amazing year for california. But you know what was allocated from the state Water Project for water . 80 . 80 out of 160 . He next year, we had only 55 . In 2015, we only had 8 of snow pack. This year was an el nino so we got up to 87 . But if you look at the numbers, weve only pumped about the same amount of water as we did when we had 8 . You know, my parents would always read me bedtime stories. The one i loved the most was one when they talk about a grasshopper and an ant. It was interesting how one of them would save for that rainy day, in this case it would be putting the water away. It would be saving for that next year because as we go through these years our snow pack is always not the same. So if were not pumping the water down, whether is it going . Its going to the ocean. So for the last three terms, we have tried to solve the water crisis. And every time, weve heard the same arguments system of every term we did Something Different. A term ago, we got together with republicans and democrats and we worked with the our Senate Leaders on the other side. But when it gom time to make a final decision, i was told no, no we couldnt do this because it didnt go through committee. And there wasnt enough people in the room. So we said, all right, well go back to the drawing board. So this time, we went through and we put republicans and democrats in the room. You know whats interesting . It just so happens republicans are in the majority. Democrats are in the minority, but not in that room. There were more democrats than there were republicans and we stayed months in there talking afpbled we came to a lot of agreement. Maybe some people that were in the room wont say that on the outside but on the inside they agreed to a lot of pieces of the legislation. Well, i well tell you that those pieces that we agreed to are in this bill. Because you know what . We listened. We dont change the endangered species act. We dont go beyond the biological opinion. So youre concerned about fish . We say in this piece of gislation to pump higher unless theres a concern in harming the fish. And you dont have to come back to congress to change the level of mumping. So those solutions i hear on the floor are in the bill. I think its about time that we stop making false accusations and actually stand for what we need. And you know what, in these rooms, i heard a lot abdesalinization. I said, ill help with that. Because the whole concept of desalinization is well spend a lot of money with a lot of energy to take that ocean water and take the salt out of it and make it fresh water but dont you think its kind of smart of us first to make sure that our fresh water is not becoming salt water first . Thats all were asking here. Were asking, lets live within the biological opinion, were protecting the endangered species act, but were doing Something Different in california. Were planning for the future. Were planning for those years that you wont have the big snow back snow pack, were planning for the years california continues to grow. Were also planning for those people who work in the fields and planning for people who want to build the homes. Central valley may be a little different than every place else but those jobs are just as important as any job anywhere else in california. We have sat in the room. There were more on the Minority Side than the majority and we listened to you and we took what we heard and put it into a bill and the other thing we heard is that it had to be regular order, thats why it couldnt be in the omnibus bill, even though that was an idea from my Senate Colleague in the other house. You know what . This is regular order on the floor of the house with the ideas we heard and its in the bill. And i yield back. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized. The gentlemans time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it mr. Mcnerney i ask for a recorded vote. The chair further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california will be postponed. The clerk will read. The clerk page 26, line 6, temporary Operational Flexibility for first few storms of the year. Immediate significant negative impact on the longterm survival upon listed fish species under the endangered species act, the Central Valley project and the california state Water Project to capture peak flows. State Water Project and water rights protection. Offset for state Water Project. The secretary shall confer with the secretary of fish and wildlife on any determination for operations of the state Water Project pursuant to california fish and game code ection 2080. 1. Section 207, none of the funds shall be available to implement the settlement of title 10 of public law 1111111. None of the funds shall be available for the purchase of water to supplement instream flow. Section 209, the commegser of reclamation is directed to work with districts to maximize water basin. The water title 3, department of energy, energy programs, energy fficiency, 1 billion. Commarmente the clerk wilt suspend. For what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk page 43, insert million. 53 inby 45 million. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 74 , the gentleman from virginia and a member will control five minutes. Mr. Griffith this is a amendment. While the technologies could also be used that this amendment will plus up for natural gas or oil, i will focus on coal because that what happens in my district. There have been numerous burdensome regulations on the coal industry and industries that burn coal. The very least we can do is to make sure that coalfired power plants and have the technologies necessary to meet the standards being imposed. In recent months i had discussions with a number of folks both in southwest virginia and folks at the department of energy about how to make Clean Coal Technology available. There is a future for coal. And it lies in many ways in the technologies being supported by the department of energy. We would love to get parity. This doesnt get us to parity but gets it closer. And there is research and Development Dollars for the purpose of aiding the development of Clean Coal Technology. Just so you understand, the Research Money for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would be at 1. 775 billion and the Research Money for fossil fuels would get plused up to 690. A little bit more of 21 going to other energies besides the fossil fuels. Some of the key providers in virginia have made it clear that al will be part of their strategy. Dom mississippiion power says they will use 30 of their will e of coal and now what we have to do is we have to make sure we get our technologies in line to make sure we continue to burn coal but burn it in a cleaner fashion. While there are various technologies currently in development, they will not be ready for commercial use for years to come unless we change the time line. My amendment will shorten that time by putting more research. We have two intersecting interests. Keep the jobs in southwest virginia and burn coal more cleanly. My amendment gives us a step forward in keeping the highpaying coal jobs and keeping those jobs while finding ways to burn the coal more cleanly. My amendment will ensure research, that research can be used and my favorite is chemical looping. This is a reasonable approach and i hope the body will adopt this amendment. I appreciate the bill has an increase over last years level. But when you are losing many jobs, you have to fight for everything you can get and i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentlelady rise . Ms. Kaptur mr. Chairman, i rise to claim time in op significance. The chair the gentlelady is recognized for five minutes. Ms. Kaptur i appreciate congressman griffiths efforts but i rise in opposition to the amendment. Let me just say that in the base bill that we have worked very hard on, there is 645 million in the account for fossil energy and thats about 13 million moreover the current fiscal year. In addition, its 285 million above the budget request. If you put it in that frame, we have done quite well with difficult choices inside our bill. The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account is lready 248 million below this year. And more than a billion below the budget request. O i would say to the gentleman i dont think that the offset you provided is a very good one. Renewable energy is at the forefront at the Energy Transformation that is already happening across our country and we need a more balanced approach to energy and while i do support research and development and communities that have been harmed by the transformation in the energy sector, Coal Companies and coalshipping communities, i cant support this disproportionate level of funding. I strongly oppose the amendment and do not agree with his offset and urge my colleagues to join me in a no vote. The chair the gentlelady yields back the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman has one minute remaining. I recognize that they did plus it up a little bit. When you look at the folks i represent and the thousands of folks that lost their jobs we have got to do more. We have got to do more. And everybody says we are going to transition, but some of my counties, what are you going to transition them to . Mr. Griffith we should work on that as well, and frankly, we have trees and mountains, one of my counties had to build a new high school, two pieces of land that were flat enough to build a new high school. When people say transition, i say what are you going to do when you dont have the land to build factories or the resources, they have always done mining. Lets meet the compromise, put Research Money in and continue to have jobs and have a cleaner burning fuel that still uses coal. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. The gentlelady has three minutes remaining. Ms. Kaptur i couldnt agree with you more about the transition of the communities. When i look back to the nafta, we were promised that there would be a north American Development bank and any community would be helped. The federal government never kept its word. Never kept its word and go try to find that north American Development bank today and we look at communities across this country. If we look at the coal communities, and ohio has a lot of coal, we have more b. T. U. s between pennsylvania, ohio than the middle east has oil. Its a little bit harder. So we look at these communities that have been so devastated and the federal government sat on the side and yes, we had the Appalachian Regional Commission underfunded without the kind of Developmental Authority that should exist. I look at the steel communities. People in my communities are getting pink slips because of imported steel and the federal government sits on its hands and the National Economic office over at the National Economic council upsets me a great deal that we havent helped communities that have been impacted. I hope for those communities that are suffering because of the transition and the energy sector, partly due to the discovery of natural gas in places like ohio and im not sure about virginia, we really need the type of Transition Program we should have had back in the 1990s for the Steel Community and the federal government is too far away from places that we live to see it sometimes. I share the gentlemans passion but i dont think we should take from the accounts that provide from the future answers and i hope regions could move into the economy as well. We are trying to capture the wind and lake erie and wind is part of our new future. And i would hope some of these new technologies could go into regions of virginia. Theres no reason that they cant. I believe the department of energy and the department of labor and the department of commerce have an obligation to the communities that have been harmed, but we havent been so good so i oppose the gentlemans amendment but i understand his motivation. I urge my colleagues to vote no. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from virginia. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Ms. Kaptur mr. Chairman, i would like to ask for a recorded vote. The chair pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from virginia will be postponed. Who seeks recognition . The gentleman from california. For what purpose does gentleman rise . Mr. Chairman, i rise to offer an amendment for mr. Cohen of tennessee. The chair the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Mcnerney of california, after the dollar amount insert increased by 2 million. After the dollar amount insert reduced by 2 million. The chair the gentleman from california and a member opposed each will control five minutes, the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Mcnerney this would crines the fund by 2 million for the super truck program, started by the department of energy to improve freight and heavy duty vehicle efficiency. The Appropriations Committee acknowledged in their Committee Report the success of the super truck 2 program but recommended only 20 million of the requested 60 million for the super truck 2 program to further improve efficiency in these vehicles. Super truck 2 will continue dramatic improvements in the efficiency of heavy duty class a long haul and regional haul vehicles through system level improvements. These improvements include hybridization, more efficient idling, and high efficiency hvac technologies. By increasing the funding for the super truck 2 program by 2 million, it will arow the department of energy to better achieve their freight efficiency goals. This seament fully offset by a decrease in the Departmental Administration account. I thank my colleague steve cohen for his continued work on this important issue. I would also like to thank chairman simpson, Ranking Member kaptur for their hard work on this bill and urge my colleagues to vote yes on the amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back. Who seek rex in addition . Seeks recognition . The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed to. For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition . The clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Buck of colorado, after the dollar amount insert reduce to 0. Page 34, line 1, after the dollar amount insert reduced to 0. Page 45, line 1, insert reduced to 0. Page 45, line 1, after the dollar amount line one, insert reduced to 0. Page 45, line 16, after the dollar amount insert reduced to 0. Page 45, line 17, after the dollar amount insert reduced by 0. Page 80 line one after the dollar amount insert increased by 8,114,000. The chair the chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. Pll buck thank you for the opportunity to speak about this amendment. This amendment zeros out several federal Agency Programs that have been in the wiz of picking winners and losers. Federal bureaucrats are not venture capitalists or r d specialists, they have no business exposing billions of taxpayer dollars to potentially risky investments. We must continue to invest in Renewable Technologies but the investments in these projects should be left to the private sector where firms can decide whether or not to take on the risk. Additionally, the discoveries from these projects are owned by the companies themselves rather than placed into the private domain to benefit our nation more fully. Moreover, wherever the federal government doles out taxpayer dollars, high paid lobbyists stand at the ready to collect their share. The success of Companies Pursuing new Energy Technologies should depend on those technologies her technologies merits. This eliminates crony subsidies. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. Duds anyone seek time in opposition . The gentlelady from ohio . Ms. Kaptur i rise in opposition to the amendment and claim type in opposition time in opposition. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Kaptur its interesting that a member from colorado, home to the national Renewable Energy lab, id sure like to have that in ohio, is headquartered, and ive visited that site and have been so impressed by the basic research thats been done in so many arenas thats brought new products to market, when i look at the solar industry, for example, were it not for the photo voltaic research of the u. S. Department of energy back in the early days, it would not w be employing more people than work in many of the other Energy Sectors put together. Its amazing to me its one of the Fastest Growing sectors of our markets. But the basic research that had to be done, the film research, he work on sill cats, on cadmium telluride. There was no company able to take that risk in the past and they certainly couldnt get the funding. I can guarantee you that some of this research started back in the 1980s. So i think that the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs are just terribly important. On the nuclear front, we obviously theres no private company that figured out how to really hand they will waste products from nuclear and we have to invest in Nuclear Energy to build a safer world for the future and the department of energy does that. No private Company Takes that on. In fact, we have a lot of waste, Environmental Management projects across this country, hundreds of billions of dollars we have to handle cleanup from past years and the cold war. No private company is able to do that on its own. That is something that is a legacy of our defense structure sure im really, im not what the gentlemans objective is here but i dont want to take america backwards. I want her to move forward. Now at 91 in terms of our ability to fund our energy use here in our country compared to half just several years ago. Thats a real accomplishment. Its something that the Public Sector and private sector are able to work on together. So i really think that the gentlemans efforts are misguided and i would have to oppose this amendment and would reserve my remaining time. Will the gentlelady yield . Ms. Kaptur im pleased to yield to the chairman, absolutely. Mr. Simpson like the Ranking Member, i oppose this amendment. It would reduce funds in Nuclear Energy and other accounts throughout this bill. We spent an awful lot of time making sure we continue our responsibility to effectively manage Government Spending and we have worked tirelessly to that end. These are targeted funds to provide needed investments and efficiently and safely utilize our investments in the and invest in the next technological innovations. Its interesting, we used to have ea the bell laboratories that used to do a lot of research that is now done by government because its gotten too expensive, no Single Company can do the research. At the Idaho National lab, we have the advanced test reracketor, the only one in the United States that does this. Private Companies Come as well as government and other organizations to test new fuels, new designs of fuel, those types of things. This is not something that can be done by the private sector. So there are a lot of things the government does and research that the government does that the private sector, frankly, just doesnt have the resources to do that need to get done. And thats what we expect our National Laboratories to do. Thats what eere does, what the fossil Energy Research does an other things. Some of these programs like the a. T. R. , some of the funding is paid by the companies to come and use the facility and those types of things as they as they have to. And besides that, its good for our National Security and its interesting that when the first, and i think my numbers are accurate if theyre not exactly accurate, theyre pretty close, when the First Nuclear powered submarine was launched, it was fueled for six months and then had to be refueled. But through the research theyve been able to do in the navy, through the with the advanced test kt reactor, we now fuel ships for the life of the ship. Which is an incredible advancement. But thats done through government research. So while it would be nice to say, the private sector ought to do these thing, eprivate sector cant do all those things. So i would agree with the gentlelady and oppose the gentlemans amendment. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from colorado is ecognized. The Ranking Member asks what the purpose is, id be glad to answer that mr. Buck we have over 19 trillion of debt. We are running up huge annual deficits in this country. And we do not have a major war going on right now and we do not have a recession going on right now. We continue to zwrover spend. This is an area where i contend that the private sector has got to do a lot more than its doing if were going to try to balance our budget someday. And that may seem like folly to some but i think the impact of going off the fiscal cliff is far greater than the impact of cutting funds for research in this area. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentlelady from ohio. Ms. Kaptur do i have time remaining . The chair the time has expire t. D. For the gentlelady. Ms. Cap you are tur thats too ms. Kaptur thats too bad. The chair the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Buck i yelled back. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. Further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman rise . I ask unanimous consent to re to withdraw my request for a recorded vote on the amendment by the gentleman from mr. Dier to the end that the chair put the question de novo. The chair is there objection . Without objection so ordered. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from virginia. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. In the opinion of the chair the noes have it, the amendment is not agreed to. For what purpose does the gentlelady from new mexico rise . I have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by ms. Mish Lujan Grisham of new mexico, page 43, line 24, after the dollar amount, insert increased by 25 million, reduced by 25 million. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 743 the gentlelady from new mexico and a member opposed each will control phi minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from new mexico. Ms. Lujan grisham thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, new mexico is frankly very fortunate to have many Natural Resources, including vast amounts of minerals, oils and natural gas. But water is by far new mexicos most precious commodity and as a representative from new mexico ive witnessed the devastating impact that longterm severe drought can have on businesses, communities, and the state. Drought conditions threaten the livelihood of farmers and ranchers that depend on this Natural Resource to run their operations. In addition, there are many communities in new mexico both in urban and rural areas that may not survive without an affordable and Sustainable Water source. These conditions go beyond new mexico and extend in fact to the entire southwest. Based on the most recent available science, experts believe that this region of the country will continue to experience mega droughts in the future. It is critical that we make investments now not only to protect and conserve this scarce resource but to also research and develop altesh ty affordable and Sustainable Water technologies to ensure that the swevt communities and businesses can continue to thrive in persistent drought conditions. My amendment would prioritize energywater r an desalination hub. The hub will develop the Tech Knowledge to reduce the cost, energy input and carbon emission levels of desalination. Desalination extonology has been around for years and ive visited several countries that are currently using the technology. New mexico would greatly pen benefit from this Technology Since the state has large brackish water reserves that could become viable resources through desalination. It would also help the states oil and gas industry to address water shortage and wastewater disposal challenges. Benefit, number of water desalination is still cost prohibitive for small communities and companies. This is why i think its crucial we develop this technology to make it as affordable and Energy Efficient as possible. Making important investments in Water Technologies like water desalination will be critical in determining the future of swevt communities and businesses. Im disappointed of course that this not something that is currently included in the bill and i am looking forward to working with the majority on this really important issue and at this time, mr. Chairman, i am prepared to withdraw my amendment. I yield time to Ranking Member kaptur. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Kaptur i thank the gentleman, i thank the gentlelady for yielding to me. I think congressman Lujan Grisham has done such a phenomenal job here and i appreciate her interest and the necessity of desalinization work and how important the department of energy is in finding a solution that is Cost Effective and most advanced Energy System we have to desal nate as we move forward. I share her interest in finding funding for this important work and hopefully in a conference situation we can provide a way to provide some resources. I applaud the gentlelady for her path breaking efforts on behalf f a very important issue. The chair the amendment is withdrawn. For what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition . I have an amendment. The chair the clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Perry of pennsylvania, after the dollar amount insert increased by 15 million. After the dollar amount insert reduced by 15 million. The chair the gentleman from pennsylvania and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from pennsylvania. And this amendment seeks to restore and offsets with d. O. E. With administrative costs. The amendment reduces outlays by are lion, Water Programs resources. Terally 2,200 hydropower plants have clean and accounts for 67 of domestic Renewable Generation and a total of 7 of generation. This amendment stands to create jobs and this on would be harnessing a renewable and green source of energy. Mr. Perry lets talk about the advantages. Ydro is predictable yearround output. And battery backup or alternative power source and ven routine maintenance is problematic and expensive where hydro is right down on the ground. Hydropower facilities are quiet and unobject truce i have and they hear complaints about Wind Generation and noise. And high trow power, this is the most power, base load, it occurs 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is what backs up the other intermittent sources of alternative energy. It is important in that context. Hydropower faces a Regulatory Approval process and some folks dont like that but everybody is involved. Ferc, local governments, tribes and n. G. O. s and everybody gets in before a high trow plant goes online. They await final approval and pending currently before the commission in 45 states. Mr. Speaker, this is not parochial. There are 80,000 nonpowered dams across the u. S. That could accept hydropower. There are 600 that have the capability to produce energy, 80,000 and 6,000 correction, 600. Pennsylvania has 678 megawatts of untapped power in the form of hydro. Mr. Speaker, i thank the chairman for the opportunity to offer the amendment. I understand that the 15 million concerns some members and im concerned about spending. In the hopes of a bipartisan proposal, this one is bipartisan and im hopeful there will be others to follow and i will withdraw this amendment at this time, and i thank you, mr. Speaker. The chair without objection, the amendment is withdrawn. For what purpose does the gentlelady rise . I have an amendment at the esk. Page 50, line 21, after the dollar amount reduce by 9 million. The chair the gentlewoman from oregon and a member opposed each will control five minutes. Ms. Bonamici i rise today to offer a bipartisan amendment with my colleague from pennsylvania and my colleague from maine in support of water Power Technology. Mr. Chairman, our amendment would increase increase by 9 million. This increase is offset by an equal amount by the Departmental Administration account. As congress promotes technologies that could help lower our energy bills, we must invest in new innovations and hy hydropower is so important. Our resources could represent a very good portion of the u. S. Generation needs. Oregon state university, the university of washington and the university of alaska, fairbanks are leveraging federal funding from the Water Program to the northwest National Marine renewable center, a center that will have a domestic location to test technologies instead of traveling to scotland to use their test center. Europe will remain the leader and china is investing in these technologies as well. Federal partnerships with educational institutions and the private sector are necessary to further the Research Efforts under way and to close the gap for these technologies on the verge of commercial viability. The National Hydropower association along with the marine Emergency Council have endorsed our amendment. Ininvestments will spur domestic energy, create good jobs. Mr. Chairman i urge the adoption of the bipartisan amendment and i reserve the balance of my time. The chair who seeks time in opposition snl without objection. I congratulate my colleague from oregon, and has been a champion on this before and she understands that resources are strained. Mr. Perry and for all the reasons that i pointed out and the reasons she pointed out, the northwest agreeing with the northeast, lets Work Together on what works. We know this works. Its one of the oldest sources of energy and electric energy in the world. Why are we wasting our time and energy in the form of funds and time that they might be nice, but this works right now and does president break the bank. This is a good amendment and i urge my colleagues to support it. And i yield. Ms. Bonamici again, i want to thank my colleague from pennsylvania and my colleague from maine for cosponsoringing this amendment. This is a modest increase. And supports the marine and energy Power Technology and i urge my colleagues to support this and i yield back. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by gentlelady from oregon. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment is agreed to. For what purpose does the gentleman from colorado rise . I have an amendment at the desk. He clerk amendment offered by mr. Pole is. Increase by page 45 line 16 ter the dollar amendment reduce. The chair the gentleman from colorado and a member opposed each will control five minutes. Mr. Polis this bill in its current Form Properties considerably above the administrative mark for fossil Energy Research and development. What my amendment does, it doesnt take away all of the amounts, it takes a small amount of that, 13 million out of the 645 billion which is the amount that is above from last year and directs it to the Renewable Fund which is and Important Fund that funds a lot of important activities across our country. As an example, the energy fund is working with american manufacturers to apply 3d printing, one of the most costly turbines and promising of reducing costs. Nrl addition, the they are working on funded on advanced technologies coordinated with the Research Institute to have grids and disconnect and help when te grid disturbances can avoid largescale downtime. Another example is resource maps leading to solar maps and accuracy of Research Maps helping to facilitate exports to other countries like india by identifying high quality solar projects. Another example is vehicle lar through the Clean City Coalition is to support a project in the Rocky Mountain area to foster ate policies to increase the plugin engines powered from the grid and far more efficient in efficiency and and just runs off gasoline. So the budget estimate for the funds we are talking about is 360 million, the plusup recommended was 465 million. This would remove 13 million and allocated to a very important account that we hope we can build bipartisan support for and i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from idaho rise . Mr. Simpson claim time in opposition. I rise to oppose this amendment. This would cut funding in the program and increase the program by a similar amount. Fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas provide 81 of the energy used by the nations homes and businesses and generates 67 of the nations electricity and will continue to provide for our energy needs for the foreseeable future. It provides for 81 of the energy used by the nations homes and generates 67 of the nations electricity. The bill rejects the administrations and funds these ograms at 47 with this additional funding this office will how to rekaptur emissions, how water can be more used in power plants and how col can be used to produce electric power. This amendment would reduce funding to ensure that we use our fossil fuel resources as well and as cleanly as possible. Just increasing the efficiency would power millions of households. Thats the kind of research this will program represents. And i urge colleagues to vote no and i would yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Polis i yield a minute to the gentlelady from ohio. Rise tur i thank and i to support this amendment. That office is one of the most forwardlooking segments within the department of energy and driving the huge surge in energy innovation. He future we envision in smart grids, energy storage. 190 countries made it clear to the world that they support this in paris and the funding of this is critical to ensure that the u. S. Leads the world. The solar Energy Account in particular is yielding serious benefits. The number of workers has doubled over the last five years and rapid expansion shows no 5. 5s of slowing down to add gig ha what thes more than any other source. It employs more americans just in the solar sector. I support this amendment. And the increase in funding. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman has a minute and a half remaining. I apologize. I reserve. The chair reserves. The gentleman from colorado. Is the only one with time remaining. Mr. Polis i yield myself such time as i may consume. Im hopeful that this amendment will pass. I have prepared some other amendments that specifically r d as he fossil fuel a waste of the expenditure wasteful expenditure. This one does not contemplate that. It still increases the level substantially from the budget estimate. Which is 360 million for this account. The recommended 2017 level in the chairmans mark is 645 million, so theres a plusup of 285 billion over the president s budget. For this line item. And so i think its entirely appropriate to just take 13 million from that, without project, with regard to the rest, put it into the Energy Efficiency, Renewable Energy fund, which i had the opportunity talk to about, some that it eat advances makes for Energy Security with regard to our grid for manufacturing and job creation through 3d prohibiting of wind blades and many other worthy causes. Im hopeful that we can thised abouty chooses to this body chooses to gain from the best of both worlds by adopting this amendment and i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. He amendment is not agreed to. For what purpose does the gentlelady from mr. Polis mr. Chair, i request a recorded vote. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado will be postponed. Mr. Polis mr. Chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Polis of colorado. Page 43, line 24, after the dollar amount insert, increase by 285 million. Page 45, line 16, after the dollar amount, insert, decrease by 285 million. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho rise . Mr. Simpson mr. Chairman, i reserve a point of order on the gentlemans amendment. The chair point of order is reserved. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from colorado and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Polis thank you, mr. Speaker. Look, now lets get serious here. Fossil fuel research and development is simply the wrong direction for our country. Putting more and more money behind oil and gas, which we need to move away from over me, is only increasing our costs in an economy that leads to Climate Change and longterm ruin. Not only our economy is ruined by the use of oil and gas, but health and safety for communities, our oceans, our air and our world. And the fact that this bill has appropriated almost 300 million more than the president requested shows how lopsided the priorities in the bill are. This is an enormous subsidy for the oil and gas industry. One of the most Profitable Industries in the world is more than capable of funding its own research and development, without subsidies from the federal government, using the taxpayer money from hardworking americans to further fund them. This bill would simply reduce the fossil fuel account back to the president s recommended level, and the remainder would go to reduce the budget deficit. I think that this is an important point to point out, that the many of the components of the fossil, energy, r d expenditure line make our air dirtier, our water dirtier and of course move to the destruction of the climate. So in many ways, the less we can do, the better. And at a time of record budget deficits, finding smart savings by reducing handouts to the oil and gas industry is something that can help restore some semblance of fiscal responsibility to our nation. Theres an example of an account under the division of fossil energy that creates technology that allows oil and Gas Companies to drill in oil shale formations, where theres less than 50,000 barrels per day. We should be doing less oil shale drilling, not ways to find more. As the district and the state directly affected by oil shale drilling, we deal with all of the economic externalities and costs every day. Oil shale is one of the most dirty extraction methods that xists and the distillation allows bad things into the air. If Companies Want to research new extraction technologies, more power to them. As long as they abide by the e. P. A. And other health and safety guideline. But for taxpayer money and subsidies, to go to developing something that has been devastating for my state and for the country, is really an abomination. I am hopeful that in the name of reducing the budget deficit and finding smart savings we can reduce this line significantly back to the 360 million that was in the original budget estimate. And i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from idaho rise . Mr. Simpson mr. Chairman, i insist on my point of order. Mr. Chairman, the amendment proposed to amend portions of the bill not yet read. The amendment may not be considered en bloc under clause 2f of rule 21 because the amendment proposes to increase the level of outlays in the bill. And i ask for a ruling from the chair. The chair does any other member seek to comment . Mr. Polis i do. The chair the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Polis its simply the deficit savings account. So when the money isnt spent, thats where it goes. The deficit savings account is not an outlay. It simply is not being spent in the first place. The chair does any other member wish to address the oint of order . The chair is prepared to rule. To be considered en bloc pursuant to clause 2f of rule 21, an amendment must not propose to increase the levels of Budget Authority or outlays in the bill. Because the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado proposes a net increase in the level of outlays in the bill, as argued by the chairman of the subcommittee on appropriations, it may not avail itself of clause 2f to address portions of the bill not yet read. The point of order is sustained, the amendment is not in order. Mr. Polis parliamentary inquiry. When would it be in order to present the amendment . The chair the chair has ruled on that particular amendment and the gentleman can offer an amendment at the particular time of the reading of that section. Mr. Polis further point of parliamentary inquiry. If the deficit reduction account is not cited, can the what happens to the savings that are designated under the bill . The chair the chair is not going to respond to a hypothetical. The matter can be addressed in debate. Mr. Polis ok. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Who seeks recognition . The clerk will read. The clerk page 44, line 3, electricity, delivery and energy reliability, 225 million. Uclear energy, 1,011,616,000. Fossil Energy Research and development, 645 million. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition . Mr. Polis i have an amendment t the desk, page 45. The chair the gentleman will suspend. The clerk will report the amendment. The clerk page 45, line 16, amendment offered by mr. Polis of colorado. Page 45, line 16, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by 645 million. Page 80, line 12, after the dollar amount, insert, increased by 645 million. The chair pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from colorado and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Polis i believe that the amendment has been revised. If i might report request that the clerk report the revised amendment. The chair would the gentleman like to withdraw his earlier amendment . Mr. Polis i withdraw the earlier amendment and i have a new amendment at the desk. Choim without objection, so ordered. The clerk will the chair without objection, so ordered. The clerk will report. The clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Polis of colorado. Page 45, line 16, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by 285 million. Page 80, line 12, after the dollar amount insert, increased by 285 million. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition . Mr. Simpson mr. Chairman, i reserve a point of order on the gentlemans amendment. The chair point of order is reserved. The gentleman from colorado and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from colorado. Mr. Polis so i believe with this new structure of this amendment, we have now addressed the procedural issue around deficit reduction. We are now, again, with this amendment, seeking to reduce the fossil Energy Subsidies back to the level requested by the president. And return the savings to our federal coffers, namely by not spending them in the first place. Again, in previous amendments we talked about spending some Renewable Energy. In this case, it doesnt increase any of those lines. What it does do is simply decrease the subsidies to the fossil energy industry, including some of the Research Priorities we talked about. Which private companies are welcome to pursue, but i dont want to go back to mr. And mrs. Taxpayer in my district and say, guess what, your hard earned tax money is going to subsidize these multibilliondollar International Corporations to do their research for them. This amendment would do that. It would then allow the savings to not be spent and to reduce our deficit. And i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from idaho rise . Mr. Simpson first of all, i withdraw my point of order. The chair the reservation is withdrawn. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Simpson i claim time in opposition to the amendment. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Simpson mr. Chairman, i rise to oppose the gentlemans amendment. He would cut 285 million out of the fossil energy program. Whats interesting about this is that they say that this is an unbalanced bill because we have increased the funding for fossil energy and if you look at the amount of the electricity in this country and the energy thats produced by fossil energy, this is, the Research Done in fossil energy by those big companies, as the gentleman suggests, is important and it is proportional to the amount of Energy Produced by fossil fuels in this country. To suggest that lets make sure we dont do any fossil fuel research or we cut it subs stancely, suggests that we dont subsstabtly, suggests that we sub stantly, suggests that we dont do any wind subsidies, we dont do any solar subsidies or any of the other types of things. For these big companies. In fact, we do Loan Guarantees for a lot of them to go out of bills. I think that this is important, striking a majority of these funds or at least taking it back to what the president recommended, the problem is that the bill created a balanced alloftheabove energy policy. If the administrations proposal s the administrations proposal that was its the administrations proposal that was unbalanced and focused mainly on Renewable Energies and ignored to large degree the majority of the fuel that we use today, the Energy Sources we use today. Thats the fuel of fossil fuels. And as i said in the last debate on one of the earlier amendments, 81 of the fuel we use today. If you ask most experts, they dont expect that to go down in the near future or even in the longterm future. Its going to remain a major portion of our Energy Portfolio for years to come. So i would oppose this amendment. What we do in the fossil Energy Research program is very important to developing the clean sorts of energy that we all want. So i would reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Polis mr. Speaker, we have a somewhat ironic situation where the republicans are saying, president obama, you dont want to spend enough, president obama, you got to spend more. This from the socalled party of fiscal responsibility, telling our president s budget, you arent spending enough. You arent spending enough on fossil fuels, in this case. Spend hundreds of millions of dollars more, money we dont have, that were borrowing from china and saudi arabia, to fund a Legacy Technology that were moving away from, of course we still rely on fossil fuels. The gentleman wont have any disagreement. And im not trying to zero out the account. Were simply reducing it to the level that the president wants to spend at, rather than throwing more and more money hand over fist like this republican tax and spend Congress Continues to do and i reserve the balance of my time. Mr. Simpson i have to say that is a bogus argument. Not that we are saying you have to spend this money, we are ball apsing the portfolio. We are about 259 million and most of that is in the weapons activities. But we are rebalancing the portfolio and spending less. To say we are just trying to spend money is not the case. We have different priorities. We want an all of the above Energy Strategy which is what this bill represents. Wind, money in solar, nuclear and fossil energy. Those are all important. Because the gentleman doesnt like fossil. I would reserve. Mr. Polis what this amendment would do is reduce the budget lets not 285 and spend more. Lets make some reasonable cutbacks that are in the estimate already and rather than lets move ies, towards rebalancing our budget. I support a constitutional amendment to reduce our dugget and we havent had a vote. Nd by reducing this 285 million where Congress Wants to spend 285 million more than than what president obama wants o spend, rather than being throwing money over f inch s tmp, lets simply cut it back to the level in the president s budget and move toward balancing rather than toward rebalancing. Mr. Simpson if thats the case then i suspect that the gentleman supports the republican plan to spend not as much as the president wanted because we are spending less and other programs within the department of energy. We are spending less, im glad you are supporting the republican. There is one thing we are agreeing on. I think we would pass on. What we are debating today is the energy and Water Development program. We have a cap of how much we can spend. That cap is within the bipartisan budget that was agreed to last year, right . And i suspect the gentleman patrolly voted for it. Yp that for sure. That is within that budget. And if the gentleman wants to decrease the funding and the programs that the republicans have reduced funding in, i would reserve. Mr. Polis i would and i have supported across the board 1 cuts and 3 cuts. And i havent prepared one. I usually vote for them as long as they are reasonable. Targeted cut that can reduce the budget by 2 58 million by spending as much as president obama wants to spend. I support it lets bring it to the floor ap i hope he tells the onference to work with conferees. We need nt wait for that. Lets cut 2858 million which will make a dent in this bill move towards balancing the budget rather than put it off tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow afment and i yield back. Mr. Simpson i would say an eere 1. 86. Nded it at we saved a billion dollars. We are actually rebalancing the portfolio. Thats what we do. Pole pole would the gentleman yield. Mr. Simpson i yield back. The chair for what purpose does gentlelady from ohio seek recognition . The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair the noes have it and the amendment is not agreed to. Pursuant to clause 6, rule 18, amendment offered by the gentleman from colorado. The clerk page 45, line 19, office of technology transition, 7 million to remain available 1 million, Strategic Petroleum reserves, northeast Home Heating Oil reserves and Energy Information dministration, 122 million. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Katko of new york. After the dollar amount insert reduced by 3 million, insert increased by 3 mill yop the chair the gentleman from new york and a member opposed each will control five minutes. Mr. Katko the board of Regional Commission. For what purpose does what is the amendment the gentleman is offering . The clerning will rereport the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Katko of new york, page 47 line 1, insert reduced by 3 llion, page 7 line 9 insert ncreased by 3 mill yop. The chair the gentleman from idaho is recognized. The gentleman from new york is recognizeded. Mr. Katko there are resources to new england and new york. There are a number of that are aimed at springing Economic Development and increasing access to health care. This region like many other communities has experienced severe economic challenges in recent years. Mills and factories have closed and some industries are particularly hard hit like the nuclear industry. For example, vermont nanchingey power plant is closed. In utting our out of work an a distressed community. This is spurring democratic. 5 mill increase to work. Tain the vital and this amendment can help give displaced workers job training and improve infrastructure and boost the economy. At this time i will withdraw my amendment but i hope to work with the charle to maintain of the benefit of the economies. Mr. Simpson if the gentleman would yield. The chair the gentleman from idaho is recognized. Mr. Simpson i appreciate if the gentleman, my colleagues passion for the northern border region and see if additional funds can be provided because it provides an important function. The chair without objection. The gentlemans amendment is withdrawn . Mr. Katko the amendment is withdrawn. The clerk page 47 line 3, nondefense environmental clean wspaper rnings 226, uranium enrichment and decommissioning billion. Ience, Nuclear Waste disposal. Advanced research projects, 305 million. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Schiff, after the dollar amount insert increased by 19 million. Page 50, line 21, insert reduced by 19 million. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 743, each member will control five minutes. I rise to offer a bipartisan amendment with colleagues to increase funding for the increased energy, known as arpae. I have offered these in the past. Mr. Schiff it includes 306 million which is an improvement over prior years and falls 4 million. This amendment would not make the full deficit of 44 million would increase by 19 million with the offset taken. With this amendment, the house bill would fund with 325 million the same level as the senate bill to increase funding. While passage of the amendment would mean that arpa e is funded, i will will inforce our commitment to game life changing research. It is a program that advances high potential, high Impact Technologies that are simply do early for investment. They have the potential to improve u. S. Economic security, National Security and environmental wellbeing. Rpae has funding, Technical Assistance and market red anyness. The defense projects or darpa, which has produced inventions. Energy is a National Security issue. Its an economic imperative and environmental necessity and investing in this research is in the direction we should be going. We want to lead it and dont want to see this go to china. If we are serious about staying in the forefront of the Energy Revolution we must issue investigate in the cutting edge work by providing this additional funding with the offset and send a clear signal of seriousness of our intent to maintain a world leader. I have a couple of my colleagues who want to speak. Ion if they are present. If not, i will reserve. The chair gentleman reserves his time. Who seeks recognition . The gentlewoman from ohio. The gentleman from california. Smiff schiff with that, i would urge support for this bipartisan measure and yield back. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment s agreed to. The clerk will read. The clerk page 49, line 10, innovative Loan Guarantee, such in shall be collected accord answer of the budget act of 1994. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The clerk page 49, line 18 insert reduce by 7 million. After the dollar amount insert increased by 7 million. The chair the gentleman from texas and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Weber i rise to offer a commonsense amendment to the appropriations bill that i would think all members would support. I thank the chairman for his work on this legislation and continuing to prioritize the harbors waterways. One of the most important responsibilities is to conduct oversight under this committees jurisdiction. This includes the d. O. E. Loan program office. Our commitment to oversight has led us to request that this fice provide us with the d. O. E. Has determined to existing or potential challenges that may impact repayment or be at risk at default. The d. O. E. Loan guarantee program has a track record of failed loans. In march, reports surfaced that a solarpowered Solar Power Company with a 1. 6 billion, with bambings, in taxpayer again to with a b, in taxpayer Loan Guarantees could fail to meet its obligations and be shut down. This is the kind of potential failure, mr. Chairman, the taxpayers can least afford. So, full congressional oversight of this program is absolutely necessary. The d. O. E. Has no justification for withholding this list from congress. My amendment, mr. Chairman, would reduce the programs administrative budget by 7 million of treasury funds, but leave in place the 30 million the d. O. E. Collects from fees generated by existing Loan Guarantee recipients. These fees are used to monitor and oversee the existing Loan Guarantee portfolio. In the past year, d. O. E. Has announced several new loan solicitations. However, the departments failure to respond to a congressional inquiry leaves us seeing red. Thats whats wrong with our budget. Now its in the red. The deficit being in the red. This requires us to act to protect taxpayer funds, mr. Speaker. This amendment would simply prevent the department from issuing new loans until it has complied with our investigation and provides the requested documents to our committee. Im going to reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Who seeks recognition . The gentleman from utah. Im sorry, the gentleman from idaho is recognized. Mr. Simpson excuse me. I was just looking for the guy from utah. Mr. Chairman, i rise to oppose the amendment. The chair the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. Mr. Simpson while i share my colleagues concern regarding the Loan Guarantee program, and the nonresponse from the department to the Science Committee thats requested the information, i will guarantee you that i will do all i can to make sure they do responds to that, respond to that the elimination of the funding would hurt that. The elimination of funding would hurt the oversight of Loan Guarantees that are out there. It only provides costs the Program Needs to monitor loans and conduct the proper oversight to ensure taxpayer funds are being effectively managed, and you should have access to that information that youve requested. Let me be clear. The funds provided in this bill support administrative operations only, further the bill rejects the president s request for a new Loan Guarantee authority. The loans already committed will require oversight for many years to come and eliminating these funds for this administrative function is the wrong a approach. I have to oppose this amendment, but i understand why the gentleman is offering it and i would say that i will work with you to make sure that the department is more responsive to what the requests are of the committees and i would yield back the balance of my time. I would yield to the gentlelady from ohio. Ms. Kaptur i thank the chairman. The chair the gentleman yields to the gentlelady from ohio who is recognized. Ms. Kaptur i thank the chairman very much for yielding and join him in opposing i think this wellintentioned amendment, but the amendment would actually cut funding for the oversight of existing loans. And i dont think in view of some of the things that have happened in the past that is the best course. So, the program has had significant beneficial impacts on Innovative Energy projects coasttocoast that are Generating Energy today and therefore i would agree with the chairman in opposing the amendment and would urge my colleagues to support our efforts to vote no at this time. I yield back to the gentleman. Mr. Simpson i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Weber mr. Speaker, how much time do i have left . The chair 2 1 2 minutes. Mr. Weber mr. Speaker, in my district, on the gulf coast of texas, which is laden with energy, and i agree with mr. Schiff of california, that energy is a National Security issue. We have got to have agencies that are focused on energy, on programs, on Loan Guarantees where americans get the most bang for their buck. These agencies must be accountable. They have to understand that congress has to be in the drivers seat, is in the drivers seat, we need to hold them accountable, they need to provide us with that list. While i appreciate my colleague from idahos willingness to work with this to make sure that the agency complies, i appreciate the gentleladys comments, we are going to have to get their attention. They have fees to continue to run their program, that they collect from those companies that they actually make the Loan Guarantees to. So i have to insist that we get their attention, and my colleagues, my district wants us to rein in some of these agencies and make them accountable to the elected representatives of the american people. I have to insist that we that i push forward with this amendment and im going to yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. The amendment is not agreed to. Mr. Weber mr. Speaker. I request a recorded vote. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Weber i request the yeas and nays. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from texas will be postponed. For what purpose does the gentleman from vermont seek recognition . Mr. Welch mr. Speaker, i have an amendment at the desk and i ask unanimous consent to offer it at this point in the reading. The chair is there objection . Without objection, so ordered. The clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Welch of vermont. Page 46, line 16, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by 2,500,000. Page 72, line 9, after the dollar amount insert, increased by 2,500,000. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 743, the gentleman from vermont and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from vermont. Mr. Welch thank you, mr. Speaker. The northern border region, from maine to New Hampshire to a mont to new york, is particularly hard hit economic area. The northern border Regional Commission has been a tremendous asset to help folks across that region, by the way, inhabited by republicans and democrats, to start reviving their economy. The commission is modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission and provides federal funds for critical economic and Community Development projects throughout the northeast. These lead to new jobs and stronger communities. Importantly, the northern border Regional Commission helps orient federal appropriations towards state prioritized projects. So the state is very much a player in allocating where this money goes. Through the collective vote of the governors of these states they coordinate with the federal cochair to rank the nding applications, and its ensured accountability and effectiveness, its worked. In vermont, for instance, the commission has helped fund a number of projects, 226,000 for Lyndon State College to establish a new fouryear degree in hospitality and tourism management, one of the big drivers for our economy in the northern border region, 250,000 to the Northern Community Investment Corporation for telecommunications infrastructure, rural areas have to have that, 250,000 to the Vermont Agency of transportation, to connect with the Washington Railroad network in barton, vermont. The commission is having a similarly positive effect across the northeast. New york, New Hampshire, maine, as well as vermont. Our amendment recognizes the Effective Work the commission is doing, the large need that remains unmet, it restores federal funding to the program to last years level of 7. 5 million. So we are trying to avoid a cut, were trying to maintain level funding. The increase in funding will go a long way in the communities across the northern border, to help them revitalize their economy. I yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition . Mr. Simpson claim time in opposition to the amendment. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Simpson mr. Chairman, first, let me say that i understand the gentlemans concerns for the economic hardships of his region and i appreciate his passion for the issue. His amendment would be an increase of 50 above the funding in the bill. Additionally, the amendment would pay for that increase with a cut to the Strategic Petroleum reserve account. The bill funds the reserve account at the budget request in order to ensure that the continued operability of the reserve, this funding will provide for the basic annual cost, as well as addressing some of the deferred maintenance backlog. I know it doesnt always sound exciting, but the Strategic Petroleum reserve is a federal asset that must be properly maintained. It contributes to our nations Energy Security and economic stability. For these reasons, i must oppose the amendment and urge y colleagues to vote no. And i would yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields ack the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from vermont. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it, the amendment is not agreed to. Mr. Welch mr. Speaker, i request a recorded vote. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from vermont will be postponed. The clerk will read. The clerk page 50, line 11, Events Technology vehicles manufacturing loan program, 5 million to remain available until september 30, 2018. Departmental administration, 233,971,000 to remain available until september 30, 2018. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition . Mr. Ellison i have an amendment at the desk. I also seek unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The chair without objection. The clerk will report the amendment. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Ellison of minnesota. Page 50, line 21, after the dollar amount insert, reduced by 1 million, increased by 1 million. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 743, the gentleman from minnesota and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. Mr. Ellison thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, we can raise Living Standards for working families all across the United States if we use the federal dollars to create good jobs. My amendment would reprogram funds to create an office of good jobs in the department of energy, that would help ensure that the departments procurement, grant making, regulatory decisions encourage the creation of decently paid jobs. Collective bargaining rights and responsible employment practices. Right now the u. S. Government is americas leading lowwage job funder. Funding over two million poverty jobs throughout contracts, loans and grants with corporate america. Thats more than the total number of lowwage workers employed by walmart and mcdonalds combined. This is a fact, mr. Chairman. And i think it should alarm all of us. The federal government should not lead the race to the bottom for poorly paid, lowwage jobs. U. S. Contract workers earn so little that nearly 40 use public assistance programs, mr. Chairman, like food stamps, section 8 to feed and shelter their families. To add insult to injury, many of these lowwage u. S. Contract jobs contract workers are driven deeper into poverty because their employers steal their wages and break other federal labor laws. Not all, many federal contractors are excellent, but some do steal wages and they tend to get away with it. Ake, for example, the story of edicila. She is a single mom and worked for seven years at the Ronald Mcdonald building a food court. Her employee paid her with cash under the table, used checks from two different establishments in the same food court to avoid paying her overtime, and retaliated against her when she and her coworkers stood up for their rights. She has been on strike s several times to highlight strikes several times to highlight the polite of lowwage workers in plight the lowwage workers in d. C. And across the country. What about the story of myra. She was a pentagon food worker who was fired for going on strike multiple times. Shes a first generation immigrant, struggling to pay tuition at George Mason University and now works odd jobs to make ends meet. Her experience at the pentagon has inspired her to go to law school to help workers defend their rights. Mr. Chairman, Research Shows that federal contractors break federal laws somewhat on a regular basis. The u. S. Senate report, for example, found that over 30 of the biggest penalties for law breaking were filed against the biggest u. S. Contractors. People who the procurement process got money from the u. S. Taxpayer. But workers arent the only ones who would benefit from this new office. This new office would also benefit lawabiding businesses, mr. Chairman, and high road employers, employers who play by the rules, but who get put at a competitive disadvantage because they obey the law. The office of good jobs would direct taxpayer dollars to american businesses that play by the rules and ensure that cheaters dont get a leg up. It is unfair for companies willing to cut corns. Now the federal government is going to give your competitors that are willing to steal from their workers and contractorsors re more likely to have greater productivity and timely, predictable of successful of goods and services. Bad contractors not only cheat workers but cheat the federal government. In conclusion, mr. Chairman, these are taxpayers that should be tax dollars that should be used to build the middle class and provide the best possible service to the american public. And abandon the days when the u. S. Government was the leading funder of lowwage jobs. After all, mr. Chairman, when you and i and all the other taxpayers have to fund lowwage workers with section 8 and food stamps, that comes out of our pockets. Ke these workers pay their workers. I reserve. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition . Mr. Simpson claim time in opposition. This amendment is duplicative and ignores the responsible contractor award system already in place. They must consult the system for award management to assure that a contractor can be awarded a contract. And through a due process system get y not be eligible to contract. The best way that government contracts to ensure the golf contracts to the best employers is to enforce the existing suspension and debarment system. Bad actors should not be awarded. We agree. That is why the federal government has a system in place to deny contracts. If they fail to maintain they have the Authority Toll suspend or debar. In 2014, federal agencies issued more than 1,000 suspensions and 2,000 debarments. The amendment will delay the procurement process with harmful consequences to our nations safety and security. G. A. O. Has had regulatory rules. This amendment punishes employees who are caught in the bureaucratic rules. The procurement process. This amendment will makes it worse. And further delaying critical support for our National Security operations. This amendment will work against those hardworking working to protect the assets which is in conceivable and i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. The chair the gentleman from idaho yields babbling. Mr. Ellsworth lets have a an office of good jobs to make sure that the federal government leads the example of creating good jobs not encouraging a race to the bottom as we are doing now. Mr. Chairman, this is a good amendment and if you want to restore the middle class, all members should vote yes. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from minnesota. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. Mr. Ellsworth i ask for the yeas and nays. The chair further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from minnesota will be postponed. The clerk will read. The clerk office of the spptor general to remain available until september 30, 2018. Atomic Energy Defense activities, national nuclear, weaponstives including. Escission of funds, 9 billion Defense Nuclear nonproliferation cluding rescission of funds, 9 billion. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek reck anything . Mr. Langevin i have an amendment at the desk on page 5. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Langevin of rhode island, after the dollar amount insert reduced by 5 billion. Ne 14 insert increased by billion. The chair point of order is reserved. The chair the gentleman from from rhode island and a member opposed each will control five minutes. Mr. Langevin mr. Chairman, i offer this amendment with my good friend with congressman larsen to continue the fuel that of using ould submarines. It brings National Security benefits relatings to nonproliferation and supports naval reaket or at the cutting edge of nuclear science. As we continue to face the threat of Nuclear Terrorism and the naval fuel for military h. A. U. Will be comingnt to for the next deck addresses aids. A. T. U. Has converted with to l. A. U. You fuel and take into account the benefits to u. S. And international National Security of setting a norm of using l. A. U. Instead of bottomgrade material. It will exhaust its supply. Nless an alternative using the fuel is developed, the United States would have to resume production for the First Time Since 1992. Ultimately undermining the effort. Elinches there is a first year funding for the funding. Already this year, the House Armed Services committee and the senate Appropriations Committee ve again supportsed l a. Rumplet. The house has to provide funding that paramount to our security interests. His 5 million would support testing and manufacturing to use naval fuel yielding for nonproliferation. The time has come to invest in new technology to address this threat and reduce this threat. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i hope the majority would join me in this. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentleman from idaho. Mr. Simpson the amendment proposes to the amendment may not be considered en bloc under clause 2f because the amendment proposes to increase outlays in the bill and i ask for a ruling from the chair. The chair for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition . Mr. Langevin i ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment. The chair without objection. The amendment is withdrawn. Does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition . Language mr. Langevin i have an amendment at the detching. The clerk page 53 line 11 after the dollar amount insert increased by 5 million. Nsert reduced by 5 million. The chair the gentleman from rhode island and member opposed each will control five minutes, the chair recognizes the gentleman from rhode island. Mr. Langevin now that the technical was made my argument remains. And as i said, the goal of the amendment is to allow r d to take place to use lower enriched uranium for lower reactive fuel. And as i said, this is already nuclearfrance and their navy a from using the fuel. This is a much more secure and h. A. U. Uel than using the navy would exhaust its fuel at some point in coming decades and until we have an alternative fuel that would power our aircraft crears, we would have to start producing uranium for fuel until powering our aircraft ermcrears and submarines. By swisk over, it would again ultimately reduce costs and be more secure and provide a longterm fuel for powering our navy. This is a commonsense approach as i said in the previous amendment before the technical amendment was made. The Congress Last year on a bipartisan basis authorized an appropriate firstyear funding for navy fuel and r d and this year, the House Armed Services committee have again supported the efforts. I believe now is the time that it is critical to provide funding that is paramount and i would ask my colleagues to join me in supporting the amendment. The chair the gentleman reserves. Any member seek time . The gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin i move that the endment be adopted and commonsense approach and sports r d giving our navy options for powering our Nuclear Carrier and submarines and i would ask that my colleagues support my amendment and i yield back. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from rhode island. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed to. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment offered by mr. Garmeppedy of california, strike provided through provided further and insert provided. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 743, the gentleman from california and a member oppose i had each will control five minutes. Mr. Garamendi i yield myself such time as i might consume. Most interesting discussion a few moments ago about highly enriched uranium and we are in the process of spending spending billions of dollars so that we can produce more nuclear weapons. The subject of this amendment is about old nuclear weapons. We have some 30plus metric tons of unused plutonium sitting in various Storage Facilities around the United States and we ve designed in a agreement with russia to dispose of 30 metric tons of that plutonium. And russia has agreed to dispose of a little bit more of what we are going to dispose. Be done in posed to south carolina, at the sa van after river facility. And back in 2001, the estimate as 2014, the estimate is 30 billion and most people say it isnt going to work. So we have sink holes for money and we have black holes for money and this is the ultimate black hole into which 30 billion will be spent and at the end of the day it will create more problems and not solve the problems of the 30 metric tons. That came out of bombs that were dismantled. It calls for 30 million to be spent on a facility the department of energy says shouldnt be built. But, hey, were the congre