Transcripts For CSPAN3 Politics And Public Policy Today 20160318

Summary here and there are things in here that i agree on. You guys have been so critical of the 1964 war on poverty saying that we should actually try to help lift people out of poverty so they could be selfsufficient. I would be really happy to join you guys on that effort to do that but not with this double speak sort of stuff where you say you want to lift people out of poverty and then you do that by cutting medicaid and cutting snap. Really allowing people to have child care and snap and Educational Opportunity for 200, 250 of the Poverty Level and not just cutting them off and subjecting them to these high marginal tax rates. As soon as they get 8 an hour, all of a sudden they are not eligible anymore. And if you guys really want to work on welfare reform, ive got a bill. Ive got ideas. I was motivated to come to congress to do this, and id be happy to work with you if youre for real about it. I yield back to the lady. Gentle lady yields back. Thank you. The gentleman from alabama, mr. Palmer, is recognized for seven minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. One of the major problems with our welfare system is the lack of an enforceable requirement. Federal law currently requires childless adults to work at least 20 hours a week in order to receive food stamp benefits. However, this administration has encouraged states to undermine that requirement. 42 states partially or fully waived this requirement, in 2015, allowing able bodied adults to allow on snap benefits indefinitely. This has caused the Program Participation to sky rocket. When most states were enforcing the law, childless adult enrollment was around 1 million. By 2014, most states were waiving the work requirements and enrollment increased five fold. Its also interesting that this administration, while they talk about reducing poverty, has introduced regulations that are killing the economy, killing jobs. As a matter of fact, the clean power plant for instance, the National Black chamber of commerce published a report that indicated that this plan, when it goes into effect, it will increase poverty among black families by 23 and among hispanic families by 26 . Its also an interesting stat, according to the pew research center, 1959 among those identified as poor, 41. 7 were in their prime working years, 18 to 64 years old. In 2012, it was 57 . I think the state of kansas exemplifies the benefit of enforcing a work requirement. Within three months of implementation in 2013, about half of all the able bodied adults on food stamps left the program. Nearly threefifths of those leaving the Food Stamp Program found employment within 12 months and their incomes rose by an average of 127 . I want to emphasize, they rose an average of 127 . A real life example of how this helps people in kansas is jason miller. He was on food stamps for four years. He was unemployed before the work requirements were enforced. Now jason is working in sales and making 45,000 a year. The benefit to taxpayers cant be overstated. Prior to 2013, kansas was spending about 5. 5 million each month on foot food stamps to able bodied childless adults. By december 2015 that number dropped to 1. 2 million. Taxpayers are saving roughly 50 million per year by simply following federal law and thats just one state. Since the requirements implementation, administrative costs in kansas have declined 7. 3 while National Costs have gone up 5. 2 . And the report rate, which i think is a key issue here, was 4 47 4 . Now its less than 1 . This isnt just good for the government. This benefits individuals and families. It spurs the economy. Its good for business employment. I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. I now yield to the gentleman from arkansas, mr. Westerman. Thank the gentleman from alabama. Mr. Chairman, there are currently 92 federal programs, many of them duplicate programs in a poorly coordinated effort to fight poverty. Unfortunately, this approach is built on the premise that compassion is best measured by how much we spend, not by how many people we lift out of poverty. Over the last decade, mandatory means tested spending has increased 7. 3 annually. I want to emphasize if an of that 7. 3 annually. Consequently, spending for these programs more than doubled from 369 billion in 2006 to a projected 744 billion in expenditures by the end of this year. Mr. Chairman, we currently spend nearly 30 more per year on the war on poverty than we spend on our military. According to the congressional budget office, mandatory means tested spending is projected to increase by 4. 3 over the next decade, growing from 744 billion this year to 1. 3 trillion by 2026. As starring as these numbers, they do not include federal Discretionary Spending or expenditures by state and local governments. Mr. Chairman, over the past 50 years, the poverty rate has held steady at 14. 8 in 2014, it was 14. 7 in 1966. We declared war on poverty and we lost because our strategy was flawed. Heres what we should do. Weve got to enact policies that create an environment for opportunity, and we have to expect able bodied adults receiving welfare to work or enroll in Work Force Training in exchange for receiving benefits. Work, especially fulltime work, is always the best way to avoid poverty. A job is still the best social program and it always will be. I support a better strategy to take on poverty as outlined in this budget resolution. I oppose the old, tired, and ineffective model of throwing more money at a broken system. I oppose this amendment because it is an old, tired idea, and its ineffective. And i yield back to the gentleman from alabama. I now yield to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Grothman. Thank you for yielding. Ill try to do the best i can for congressman moore to be real. Unlike some of the other amendments, this does not come with a specific price tag. Its clear when you look at the amendment at a time when our debt is spiraling over 19 trillion, the intent of the amendment is to say were not spending enough. We have to spend more on schools, job training, environmental risk, whatever that is, more on supports. And if look at the last ten years the amount we spent on snap over doubled. 35 to 75. Eitc went up by about 60 . Medicaid spending more than doubled. Looking at these massive increases in spending, the answer is we need more spending. What makes me most pessimistic about this amendment is that when i look at the welfare problem, i see two huge things that current spending has caused. First of all, its discouraged people from working. When i get around the businesses in my district again and again i find examples of people who could work but dont want to work or people who only want to work a given amount because they dont want to lose their benefits. The second big problem im hearing more and more about because they do talk about this in my district, is that it discourages marriage. More and more examples of families themselves, married, solid middle class families, their sons, their daughters, their grandkids, are realizing financially it doesnt pay to get married, and im disappointed that the amendment as drafted does not point out these two major problems. Thank you. The gentle lady from california is recognized for one minute to close. Thank you very much. First of all, let me remind the gentlemen that this country was on the brink of a depression when the Bush Administration left office, and thank god we were able to turn it around quickly. But it has not recovered for all. A Million People are childless workers about to lose their benefits. We have not created enough jobs to ensure that everyone has an opportunity for a job. To cut them off from snap benefits, im very pleased that the state did waive these requirements because who knows what would have happened to these people given the previous administrations economic policies. Also let me remind my friend from wisconsin reminded us that in this budget you have the 800 billion in cuts and that cant be explained. 800 billion mind you, by childless adults not working, nor by waste, fraud and abuse or duplicative programs. This is really a shame and disgrace. When you look at these disparities, for example, as it relates to communities of color and africanamerican and latino communities with 27 of africanamericans, 23 of latinos living below the poverty line, 9 of whites living below the poverty line, weve got to pass something that makes sense to invest in people that has been proven since 1967. These programs work. The question is not agreeing to the amendment offered. All those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no. The nos have it. The gentlelady requests a roll call. The clerk will call roll. Mr. Akita. Mr. Garrett. Mr. Diaz ballard, no. Mr. Cole, no. Mr. Mcclintock, no. Ms. Black, no. Mr. Woodall, no. Ms. Heartsler, no. Mr. Stutsman. Mr. Ginta, no. Mr. Sanford, no. Mr. Womack, no. Mr. Brad bratt, no. Mr. Blum, no. Mr. Mooney, no. Mr. Grothman, no. Mr. Palmer, no. Mr. Molinar, no. Mr. Westerman, no. Mr. Renaci, no. Mr. Johnson, no. Mr. Van holland aye. Mr. Yarmouth, aye. Mr. Pascro, aye. Mr. Ryan, aye. Ms. Moore, aye. Ms. Caster, aye. Mr. Mcdermott. Ms. Lee, aye. Mr. Pocan, aye. Ms. Grisham, aye. Ms. Dingle, aye. Mr. Lu, aye. Mr. Norcross, aye. Mr. Molten, aye. Mr. Racita, no. Mr. Garrett, no. Mr. Stutsman, no. Mr. Chairman, no. Clerk will report. Mr. Chairman, on that vote the ayes are 13 and the nos are 22. The amendment is not adopted. Amendment number 8 relating to a policy statement on Prescription Drug costs. The gentle lady from new mexico is recognized for six minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. The prices of some Prescription Drugs, in fact many, are sky rocketing with no apparent link to the cost of manufacturing, research and development or any other reasonable basis. Some pharmaceutical companies are purchasing older drugs that have been reasonably priced for years and then dramatically increasing their cost before others enter the market. In september 2015 the ceo of turing pharmaceuticals, martin shkreli, increased the price of a medication used to treat potentially life threatening pair sittic infections for hiv and Cancer Patients by 5,000 overnight. 13. 50 per tablet to 750 per tablet. Last year Valeant Pharmaceuticals purchased the rights to two life saving heart medications and immediately increased their prices by 525 and 212 respectively. These were in addition to the 391 and 388 increases posed the year before. In response to the outcry of blatant abuses by hospitals and other providers to care for their patients, these companies argued that their duties are to their shareholders. In order to maximize the value of their drugs. Im introducing this amendment to increase the affordability and access to life saving Prescription Drugs because our duty to the people of the United States and to maximize their wellbeing. Although valeant and turing are extreme examples, it is clear that Prescription Drugs are becoming increasingly unavailable to providers, Insurance Companies and patients alike. In 2014 overall Prescription Drug spending increased by 13 , the fastest pace since 2001, led by a 26. 5 increase in spending for specialty drugs which far outpaced inflation. A Peer Reviewed article in the journal of Economic Perspectives found that the average launch price of anticancer drugs increased by 10 annually from 1995 to 2015 after adjusting for inflation and expected Health Benefits of the drug. According to a Kaiser Family foundation poll, 77 of americans identify the increasing price of Prescription Drugs as their Number One Health concern. 66 of americans believe Government Action is needed to lower Prescription Drug prices. But other countries do not seem to have the same issues. In fact, americans spend more per capita on Prescription Drugs than people in other developed countries, and they often pay two to six times more for brand name drugs. We can do better. Congress should ensure that no patient or family is financially ruined for trying to purchase a medication that would save their life and not sit idly by as the shkrelis of the world exploit patients and proclaim 1 billion, here we come, as he wrote after increasing the price by 5,000 . Congress has an Important Role to increase access and affordability of Prescription Drugs, hold pharmaceutical Companies Accountable for the prices they charge, for critical medications and provide incentives for pharmaceutical innovation that can lead to new lifesaving cures. I yield one minute to my dear friend and colleague, congresswoman dingle. I just want to speak in support of my wonderful colleague on Prescription Drugs. All of us are hearing about this. I dont care if youre republican or democrat when were going home. The average common drug right now went up last year by 11 , 14 times the cost of inflation. Were hearing from seniors, ive got seniors that are cutting a pill in half for their insulin or choosing between eating. Parents who have an epipen who has gone to 750 per pen because theres only one manufacturer. Weve got to do something about this. My colleagues amendment is in the right direction. There are good Drug Companies but turing is somebody thats gouging, and weve got to stop it. Mr. Chairman, i yield one minute to my colleague, mr. Pocan. Thank you. This week i had someone talking to me about Rheumatoid Arthritis and their drug that takes two doses every four months is 10,000 a dose. I talked a couple weeks ago to the head of the Veterans Administration hospital in my district. He has a patient that received a drug that was 125,000 for a single dose. We absolutely have to do something about Prescription Drugs other than taking their money for our campaigns. Right now weve got pfizer buying a Smaller Company to become an irish entity. They should at least be charging us what you pay for Prescription Drugs in ireland if thats what theyre going to be allowed to do. We need to address this issue. And i encourage people to support this amendment. Mr. Chairman, i yield back. Mr. Ranaci is recognized for seven minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. Yes, drug prices are a headline today but how to respond is important. It will impact the health and livelihood of those we actually serve. The issue i have with this amendment is the basis of the amendment assumes the Affordable Care act is working when it comes to the affordability of healthcare and Prescription Drugs for hard working americans. Its important to look at the impact of the Affordable Care act on the rising costs of Prescription Drugs. According to a recent Health Affairs article, the average person with a plan in the Exchange Marketplace has to pay 46 of his or her drug costs, compared to 20 of someone with employer sponsored healthcare. Consequently, Research Found that americans with plans purchased on the obamacare ex changes fill fewer prescriptions to avoid out of pocket costs and as a result will possibly experience more serious medical problems and higher costs over the long run. Also, access to catastrophic drugs and treatment for diseases like cancer are more expensive to the new narrow formulary designs popularized by these Obamacare Exchange plans. If a drug is not included on the drug list of their exchange plan, then the patient has no financial protection such as a coinsurance and must bear the full cost. This is Health Insurance without healthcare. Certainly it fails to provide Affordable Care to patients as the law suggests. That is why this budget fully fully repeals obamacare and proposes to start over with patient centered healthcare that follows the six key principles of healthcare affordability, accessibility, quality, choices, innovation, and responsiveness. Again, if this amendment had not been a basis of the Affordable Care act, i do know we have some issues, but we have to really look at what the problem is with the Affordable Care act. Ill yield some time to my colleague from ohio. I thank my colleague for yielding. If we want to see drug prices begin to fall, the way to do that is not with governmentrun healthcare. Its with good oldfashioned american ingenuity, american innovation, and competition in the private sector. Thats how you do it. Innovative cures and treatments are essential to Patients Living longer, healthier, and more productive lives. This budget fully supports Patient Access to Prescription Drugs as well as providing the necessary funding to invest in Biomedical Research as a key to unlocking new knowledge that can lead to Better Health and disease cures for everyone. In fact, this resolution calls for congress to support the important work of medical innovators throughout the country through continued strong funding for the agencies that engage in Life Saving Research and development, and it calls for washington to unleash the power of innovation by removing obstacles that impede the adoption of medical technologies. The bureaucracy and red tape in washington too often hold back medical innovation, increasing rather than decreasing costs, and preventing new lifesaving treatments from reaching patients. As we say in our policy statement within this budget, and i quote, the nations commitment to the discovery, development and delivery of new treatments and cures has made the United States the biomedical Innovation Capital of the world, bringing lifesaving drugs and devices to patients and well over a million high paying jobs to local communities. Americans were responsible for the first of many scientific discoveries, including creating the first vaccine for polio and numerous other scientific and medical breakthroughs that have improved and prolonged human health and life for countless people in america and around the world. It is the policy of this resolution to support the important work of medical innovators throughout the country, including private sector innovators, medical centers, and the National Institutes of health. Unquote. So lets take a look at some of United States Success Track record and the importance of competition. Since 2000, more than 500 new medicines have been marketed and introduced here in the United States. Spending on retail prescription medicines grew more slowly than healthcare spending over all in seven out of the last ten years. And in recent years it was a leading cause for slower healthcare cost growth. Despite a recent spike in spending, retail medicine still accounts for about 10 of healthcare spending. The same as in 1960, and are expected to remain the same through 2024. Lets look at Medicare Part d drug prices and the fact that they remain far below initial projections. The competitive structure of medicares Part D Program highlights the importance of competition to reduce costs without sacrificing quality or beneficiary satisfaction. Established in 2006, part d is medicares program that provides outpatient Prescription Drug coverage to seniors and disabled individuals, including extra help to low income persons. Part d including brand and generic drugs and pharmacy costs represented just 10. 9 of medicare spending in 2014 according to cbo figures. Total costs for part d are 349 billion. 40 or 45 less than projected for the initial 2004 through 2013 forecast period, according to cbo data. The average monthly Beneficiary Premium is estimated to be about 32. 50 in 2016. About half of the 59 forecast originally by the medicare trustees. Average premiums have been relatively stable between 30 and 32 since 2011. A 2015 med pac analysis showed price decreases cumulatively by 4 from 2006 to 2012. If we want the see decreasing Prescription Drug costs, Higher Quality and more access, mr. Chairman, the way to do that is through good oldfashioned american innovation, ingenuity, and increased competition, not a one size fits all program like the Affordable Care act. I yield back. The time as expired. The gentle lady from new mexico. Interestingly enough, i let this committee for a minute to meet with some constituents with the National Multiple Sclerosis society. And one of those members is of course one of my constituents from albuquerque. A chart they provided me shows an increase in the drugs, including the competitive drugs on the market which are required by these patients to take annually for the rest of their lives. Just to give you a sense about the increases well before the Affordable Care act and with competition, the average drug in 1993, 11,532. And today the average cost of those drugs are upwards of 70,000. There is no way that this kind of increase or inflation is tied to any of those reforms, including the Affordable Care act, or that competition has made any real difference in the cost of drugs to american consumers. If that was the case, then consumers who were buying our drugs in other countries would be paying those same inflated prices. The time is expired. The question is agreeing to the amendment. After the vote. No, it needs to be in the record before the vote. The gentlelady is recognized. I just want to ask unanimous consent to submit a 2016 notice from the centers for medicare and Medicaid Services that says that nearly 10. 7 Million Medicare beneficiaries have received discounts of over 20. 8 billion on description drugs, an average of 19,045 since the enactment of the aca. 5. 2 million seniors received discounts. In florida thats 1. 3 billion. If i thought the gentlelady was going to read the article, i would not have recognized it. I wanted them to know what they were agreeing with. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. The clerk will call the role. Mr. Akita, no. Mr. Garrett. Mr. Diazbalart, no. Mr. Cole, no. Mr. Mcclintock, no. Ms. Black. Mr. Woodall, no. Ms. Heartsler, no. Mr. Stutsman, no. Mr. Ginta, no. Mr. Sanford, no. Mr. Womack, no. Mr. Bratt, no. Mr. Blum, no. Mr. Mooney, no. Mr. Grothman, no. Mr. Palmer, no. Mr. Molinar, no. Mr. Westerman, no. Mr. Ranaci, no. Mr. Johnson, no. Mr. Van holland, aye. Mr. Yarmouth, aye. Mr. Pascro, aye. Mr. Ryan, aye. Ms. Moore, aye. Ms. Caster, aye. Mr. Mcdermott. Ms. Lee, aye. Mr. Pocan, aye. Ms. Grisham, aye. Ms. Dingle, aye. Mr. Lu, aye. Mr. Norcross, aye. Mr. Molten, aye. Mr. Garrett. Ms. Black, no. Mr. Chairman, no. Clerk will report. Mr. Chairman, on that vote the ayes are 13 and the nos are 21. The amendment is not adopted. Next amendment is number nine. The clerk will designate the amendment. Amendment number nine offered by ms. Caster to promote scientific jobs and invest in Biomedical Research. The gentle lady from florida is recognized for six minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. My amendment is about the future. It ensures that america remains the world leader in medical research and scientific discoveries by strengthening the budget of the National Institutes of health. My amendment is fully offset by the way. What im intending to do through this amendment is to build on the bipartisan support of our bill that we adopted in the emergency and commerce committee, unanimously, bipartisan, and adopted on the floor of the house last year in a huge bipartisan vote of 334 members to 7. In the 21st century cures bill, we said medical research in america is not really totally discretionary. Weve got to demonstrate a consistent commitment to those young scientists, to the families that need the treatments and cures of the future. In the 21st century cures bill you have already voted for mandatory spending for nih of 1. 75 billion per year over the next five years. That was intended to help us claw back the diminished returns that nih has suffered under budgets under the past years. Why do we do this . Because we have to remain the world leader in finding the treatments and cures for cancer, alzheimers, diabetes, m. S. , and this is a great way to boost paychecks as well. Medical research in my Community Means higher wage jobs at the Moffitt Cancer Center and many of your districts as well. 80 of nih funding goes out across the country for research initiatives. You all know this. Youve seen the Small Companies and young scientists that are attracted to these research efforts. Every time i visit with young scientists or the researchers at the moffett cancer center, im so impressed with their intelligence and passion. And we cannot cede americas leadership in the world when it comes to scientific discoveries and research. Heres whats happened. Last year the journal of the American Medical Association published a highly detailed report that said Us Government Research Funding declined from 57 in 04 to 50 in 12 of the global total as did that of u. S. Companies. Meanwhile, asia, particularly china, tripled investment. The u. S. Share of life science patents declined from 57 to 51 , especially the most valuable patents. They concluded that new investment is required in order to realize scientific discoveries and improved care, and they said Given International trends, the u. S. Will relinquish its Historical International lead in the next decade unless such measures are undertaken. To the credit of the congress and mr. Cole knows this very well, when we voted for the omnibus package at the end of the year, we stayed true to this and heard this cry for help and passed an additional 2 billion to try to claw back our lost value over the past few years. What im saying is weve got to continue to build on that. And we can make a commitment here by following up with our 21st century cures bipartisan effort and saying we continue to agree that this is a bipartisan initiative. I really urge you all to continue your support. You probably voted for 21st century cures. If it was 344 to 7, most of you voted for that omni bus package. At the end of the year we only had 95 republicans that did not support it. So this is the amendment today that can be the bipartisan amendment out of the Budget Committee that simply continues and grows what were doing. Again, tells those young scientists, stay on the job and tells young families were with you and were going to find those cures for cancer and diabetes and alzheimers. At this time im happy to yield the remaining time to mr. Norcross of new jersey. Id like to thank my colleague for yielding. The sixletter word that no one ever wants to hear come out of their doctors mouth, cancer. More than 1 Million People in the u. S. Are diagnosed with cancer every year, killing more than 600,000 this year alone. More than any terrorist group has ever killed americans. Whether its a family member, a friend, a coworker, unfortunately, we all know someone. I found out this year that my mother told me she had cancer. In 1961 president kennedy addressed the nation and defiantly declared that the u. S. Would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Unthinkable at the time. But in july 69, Neil Armstrong took that giant leap for all mankind, first person to land on the moon. As i watched the apollo and Gemini Missions as a kid, i believed that america could do anything and i still believe that today. I believe we can cure cancer in our lifetime. Just like the moonshot, we dont have a road map but we do have the greatest researchers and institutions in the world that can help us. Across this nation and in new jersey our universities, Research Institutions and private sectors stand ready. All we need to do is give them the go and the resources. I thank you and urge a yes on this to help cure cancer in our lifetime. I yield back the balance of my time. Gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Cole, is recognized. As was alluded to, i actually am the chairman of the labor health and Human Services and education subcommittee that actually funds nih. I can tell you as an appropriator and chairman of that committee, its a bad idea to fund the nih or any other Discretionary Program with mandatory dollars. It creates fiscal cliffs and financial crises, and frankly it simply compounds the deficit problem were already facing. When nih was doubled, funding was doubled in the late 20th and early 21st century i reminded the committee, it was a Republican Congress that did it, but they did it with discretionary dollars. Were on that same path today. Last year the president proposed a 1 billion dollar increase in nih funding. Congress actually added 2 billion dollars. This year the president s budget cuts 1 billion of discretionary funding from nih and then replaces it with 1. 1 million of manhunt mandatory funding. Republicans and democrats alike dont want to cut what the president has asked them to cut. Ill make you a commitment here today. We will put more money into nih than the president asked for, a little over 800 million, and more money than this amendment proposes. How can you do that living within the budgetary caps . The same way we did it last year. You simply prioritize programs within the labor and hhs budget. We have a range of spending thats over 160 billion. I promise you theres a lot of programs in there that arent nearly as important as funding nih. If we simply prioritize, well not only spare the institution the crises of an artificial cliff, well continue to do what we did in the last 20th and early 21st century and thats cumulatively increase that budget over time. We did it last year. Well do it this year. I would urge rejection of the amendment and i yield the balance of my time to my good friend from ohio, mr. Johnson. Thank you, mr. Cole, for yielding and i appreciate this opportunity to speak out on this amendment in opposition. This amendment is nothing more than the same tax and spend Big Government policies that contributed to our new economic normal of lowered expectations, stagnant wages and unfulfilled economic potential. As we heard a few weeks ago, cbo projects gdp to grow at just 2 2 1 2. 1 over the next decade. Last year the federal government took in more revenue than ever before in our nations history and that number is expected to grow. Its clear that washington does not have a revenue problem but a spending problem. We got that from the cbo director repeatedly when he was here recently. The mandatory spending this amendment proposes would not be subject to appropriations or any congressional oversight. Taking more money from individuals and families to fund new mandatory spending only adds to our fiscal challenges and its irresponsible. We agree with congressman van holland and our democrat colleagues that our tax code is littered with credits and loopholes that sum to over 1 trillion a year. Thats why were proposing fundamental pro growth tax reform which involves cleaning out the tax loopholes so tax rates can be lowered for all taxpayers. Nearly all economists believe that better designed and simple tax system, broader base, lower rates, would encourage work, savings and investment, leading to more jobs and greater prosperity for all. This amendment, mr. Chairman, is another tired attempt to pick winners and losers through the tax code, something that washington has done far too many times in the past. This budget calls for tax reform that does the opposite. Tax reform should be simple and fair for all families, among all income levels, as well as businesses who are looking to expand by hiring more workers and investing in america. I urge my colleagues to defeat this amendment and with that i yield back. I want to make the point one more time and i appreciate my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, good intentions here because frankly that is an area that brings people together and it does not divide them. Thats true on our subcommittee. I want my friends to be aware of that. This is an area where republicans and democrats are working hand in hand. Thats why today both sides pledge were not going to cut a discretionary billion dollars out of nin which the president asked for. The democrats were opposed as well as republicans. I can assure you we will more than match the additional requests that the president made which is roughly 800 million, about a 2. 5 increase and frankly more than this amendment proposes. Its going to take some hard decisions and some heavy lifting to do that but we did that on a bipartisan basis last year. I think well be able to do that again. I would urge us not to walk down this dangerous road of funding Discretionary Programs with mandatory dollars particularly during an era of great deficits, mr. Chairman. We can do this job without resorting to that particular technique. Yield back. The gentle lady from florida is recognized for one minute to close. I have to say im very surprised at the resistance on the republican side to a commitment to medical research because in the 21st century cures bill that was passed last year by the house, 334 votes to 7, when have you had that other than a suspension bill . We did just this. We charted the path for a mandatory commitment to medical research to find those treatments and cures and now you say, oh, wait, that doesnt matter, that doesnt count. I have to say its also false to say that president obama has suggested a cut to nih. Thats really out of hand because what he does is what we said in 21st century cures. We think its important to devote a certain amount of funding that can be separated from the budget battles and government shutdowns in this congress and families and researchers can rely on it. President obama has proposed very far reaching initiatives in brain research. The cancer moon shot, precision medicine. And theyre going to take a permanent mandatory commitment. Are. The gentleladys time i urge the adoption of this amendment that is in line with votes that we took last year. Question on agreeing to the amendment. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. Does the gentle lady request a recorded vote . The clerk will call the role. Mr. Akita, no. Mr. Garrett. Mr. Diazbalart, no. Mr. Cole, no. Mr. Mcclintock, no. Ms. Black, no. Mr. Woodall. Ms. Heartsler, no. Mr. Stutsman, no. Mr. Ginta, no. Mr. Sanford, no. Mr. Womack. Mr. Bratt, no. Mr. Blum, no. Mr. Mooney, no. Mr. Grothman, no. Mr. Palmer, no. Mr. Molinar, no. Mr. Westerman, no. Mr. Renaci, no. Mr. Johnson, no. Mr. Van holland, aye. Mr. Yarmouth, aye. Mr. Pascro, aye. Mr. Ryan, aye. Ms. Moore, aye. Ms. Caster, aye. Mr. Mcdermott. Ms. Lee, aye. Mr. Pocan, aye. Ms. Grisham, aye. Ms. Dingle. Mr. Lu, aye. Mr. Norcross, aye. Mr. Molten, aye. Mr. Garrett. Mr. Garrett, no. Mr. Woodall. Mr. Womack, no. Mr. Chairman, no. Clerk will report. Mr. Chairman, on that vote the ayes are 12 and the nos are 21. The amendment is not adopted. The next amendment is number ten and the clerk will designate the amendment. Number ten, please. Amendment number ten offered by mr. Pocan relating to a policy on Higher Education. The gentleman from wisconsin is recognized for six minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. This is an amendment that im introducing to the budget which prioritizes making debtfree college a reality. I have about 90,000 Higher Education students in my district. Over the last 30 years the cost of college has increased by 300 , forcing Many Americans to take on an overwhelming student debt load or putting a College Degree out of reach for many others. Student debt is the highest form of personal debt in the nation, reaching over 1. 3 trillion for 38 million student borrowers across the country. Student debt has quadrupled just in the last 11 years. Today the average student graduates with a Public University debt of 28,950. In the past few decades there has been a shift in how we look at Higher Education. Often a College Degree is seen today what a High School Degree was seen as years ago. Its become all too common to accept the fact that students must graduate with high levels of debt. We need to move away from a system which chains students to unmanageable levels of debt and move towards a system where the students, colleges, the federal government and states Work Together to make earning a College Degree truly accessible. A recent poll found that 71 of americans support a federal investment in debtfree college, including majorities of republicans, independents, and democrats. So what would a debtfree College Proposal include . Things it could include, a combination of efforts to allow all students to graduate from College Without any educational debt. That means increased support to states so they can make greater investments in Higher Education which result in lower tuition and costs for students. It means federal and state partnerships in which states get federal grants based on how much of total education costs they cover for low and middle income students, the higher the portion, the higher the federal grant. It could mean increased Financial Aid to students to help them afford the total cost of college. It could mean adoption of innovative costcutting measures by states and institutions. It could mean a reduction of existing student loan debt. It could mean the refinancing of student loan debt. But all of those are possibilities to make it so that anyone, if theyre smart enough and talented enough, could still have the possibility of a college education. We need to make sure that Higher Education is both affordable and accessible for all americans, and i would like to yield a minute of time to my colleague, representative barbara lee. Thank you very much. First, i want to thank the congressman for yielding but also for his tremendous consistent leadership and strong support of our young people. This amendment makes efforts to ensure access to debtfree college for our students. We know that College Costs have increased by nearly 300 over the last 30 years and these increasing costs of course disproportionately hurt, once again, students of color. Student debt totals more than 1 trillion for 38 million students. Its grown to be the second largest source of debt in our rather than address this crisis, this budget does absolutely nothing to address an issue that affects so many of our constituents and your constituents. Instead, it slashes about 200 billion in mandatory higher ed funding over ten years. Of course, this will make it even harder for students, especially once again students who are low income and who come from communities of color. It really inhibits their access to Higher Education. We need to address the rising cost of college and the debt burden thats creating for millions of americans. And so do this we need the democrats and we need republicans to really get serious about helping our students. We slash and burn in this budget. We cut these initiatives and programs that really provide access to opportunity. Once again, this 200 billion in mandatory higher ed cut is outrageous and we should support our colleagues amendment. Thank you and i yield back my time. Mr. Chairman, i guess ill close my remarks with this. We know that more and more students are taking on more and more debt. More and more students are living in their parents basements while theyre looking for jobs, trying to pay back that debt. There are proposals that weve worked with groups where and ive talked to republican colleagues in our legislature that i used to serve in where you can simply by making sure that states do maintenance of effort by providing some additional funds, a relatively small amount of funds, students can actually work about ten hours a week in a work study job and be able to leave a Public University debtfree. That puts money immediately back into the economy to buy a new car instead of a used car, maybe buy a home instead of rent and will have ripple affects. This resolution merely suggests that we come up with ways to try to fund a debtfree College Proposal. And i hope we can come up with something. Ill yield back. The gentleman from indiana is recognized for seven minutes. Ive got to say, i agree with my democrat colleague to the extent that we should look at all possible options to make college more affordable so that we can continue to have a strong middle class, if nothing else. While the idea of free college is a great rallying cry for liberals, we have the responsibility as this committee to figure out exactly how were going to pay for this stuff. In my opinion, the better path forward is to address the root drivers of the rising College Costs and look at how we can improve cost sharing between schools and students. For example, in my district, purdue university, president daniels has frozen tuition for his students over multiple years. Hes also started a cost sharing program. I suggest offering ideas like that to the president of the 90,000 students in the gentlemans district. Under the cost sharing agreement, all payments would halt at the end of the Contract Period regardless of how much is paid. Students would only be required to pay when they earn over 18,000 annually. Each payment should not be more than 15 of their income. Thats just an example. Many people say that if we only had a Higher Education system then we could ensure everyone can attend college, graduate with a degree in their field and find employment. Unfortunately, those statements arent necessarily true. Instead of focusing on how to make college free for everyone, we should be focusing on how to make College Affordable for those who really need assistance and not as much on students who can afford to pay for College Without assistance. As a member of the committee on educational work force, i believe this is something that can be addressed in the authorizing committee. The fact is, mr. Chairman, our budget promotes innovation, competition, Higher Education to drive costs down and expand access, increases Economic Growth so more College Graduates can find employment after college and seeks to stop the culture of overborrowing and generous loan forgiveness, which distorts the market and increases costs by doing so. I would like to yield 2 1 2 minutes to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Grothman. Thank you. I also agree with some of the intent of the amendment. On my prior life in the state legislator. Theres no specific cost connected in this amendment. But it implies increase in spending. Pell grants have gone up 31 billion the last ten years. One of the reasons tuition climbs is as you pour more pell grants into the universities, they find more things to spend those pell grants on, and tuition goes up. Another thing that concerns me about the amendment is they talk about more state support. I know preparing for an earlier amendment here today, we found out that michigan is sitting on hundreds of millions of dollars of surplus. Given that we are broke out of our mind, i dont think we should be giving money to the states. I think the states are, in general, doing better than us financially. My major concern about this amendment is kind of the tenor that my good friend and colleague from wisconsin has. That is this idea that we have to get more and more people to college and college is more valuable than ever. In my district, a manufacturing district, the number one complaint i hear is that people cant find people to work. Its not people to work in 10 or 12 hour jobs. Its cant find people to work in 20 or 30. Too many people are going to College Without a plan. I talk to young people. Thats fine to go to college. But make sure you have a plan. A plan to get something out of college where youre going to have a job. The reason so many kids are going to college today with a huge amount of debt is they went into College Without a plan. Its important for all of us, as we talk to young people maybe some young people are watching us on tv now. We emphasize that there are a lot of people who have been getting ripped off by colleges. And if youre going to college, make sure you have a plan. And if you dont have a plan, youre in danger of sitting there with that 50 or 60,000 or 80,000 in debt and nothing to show for t yield the remainder of my time back to i thank the gentleman. Would like to yield the remainder of my time to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Brat. Thank you for yielding. Author of the amendment stated college has kind of like become high school before. Thats not necessarily a good thing. I know what he meant. But you have to ask yourself a basic question. And that is, why do we have the worlds best University System and we do not have anywhere near the worlds leading k to 12 system. And the answer is because, as economic theory predicts for everything else, when you have a monopoly, the quality is low, the output is poor and the price is bad. So, we have a problem. We have kids graduating from high school right now, the majority of which do not know what a business is. I taught economics for 20 years. Our High School Graduates a survey on what they know about running a business entity, revenues, costs, profits, et cetera. Thats the problem. Were spending plenty of money up here, 13,000 a year per kid for 13 years. We dont have kids that are ready for the job market. If you really care about the kids and i know you do. Everyone over on that aisle does. That is where were spending a ton of money and were not getting the output that we need to help the kids. And so we can go to college. And this is a good, right . Make no mistake. I think were all in agreement. College is a good. Top 30 of the income distribution. Bottom twothirds havent had a pay raise in 30 years, according to the data, medium swanlg flat for 30 years. If you really want to help the poor, i would direct my flyer toward the lower end of the income spectrum. And on the list today of amendments i just have to point out the obvious. All of these are goods. Theyre all good. But they all cost money. And theres nothing from the other side im seeing that saves any money. Right . The left likes to often bring up the science of the environment and all this thing. I did a science called economics for most of my life. And that is the study of scarcity. And so up here, we dont seem to be addressing that question. How are you ranking in order the programs most important to you . Not just asking for more of everything. And so on our side, at least, we have a budget that balances in some years. I wish the other side would help us on that. Finally, we brought up the issue of a trillion dollar debt bubble. Last bubble we had was 0708, brought to you by the federal government, fannie and freddie. We put the bankers out of doing the business and kaboom. Gentlemans time has expired. Thank you, sir. One minute to close. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would like to thank everyone on this side of the aisle for making the case for this amendment. This is exactly what the amendment is asking us to do, how to make college debt free. You said this is a good and worthy goal but all had different ideas. And thats what the amendment says. We could then actually have a conversation and try to move those ideas into action if we actually did it. I want to thank you. I assume that means youll be voting with us. Well have an amendment passed today. Perhaps in the authorizing committee. But i do want to just say, this isnt a free College Proposal. Its a debtfree College Proposal. We think that one of the main ideas behind this is people can do work study and other things. That will come out of the conversation that we started to have today. I would support you to support this amendment. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no. The nos have it. Clerk will call a roll. Mr. Rokita . No. Mr. Garret . Mr. Cole, no. Mr. Mcclintok no. Miss black . Miss black, no. Mr. Woodall . Miss hartzler . No. Mr. Susman. No. Mr. Ginta . No. Mr. Ginta, no. Mr. Sanford . Mr. Sanford, no. Mr. Wolmach . Mr. Brat . No. Mr. Brat, no. Mr. Blum . Mr. Blum, no. Mr. Mooney . No. Mr. Grothman . No. Mr. Grothman, no. Mr. Palmer, no. Mr. Molinar . No. Mr. Molinar, no. Mr. Westerman . No. Mr. Westerman, no. Mr. Renacci . No. Mr. Renacci no. Mr. Van hollan . Aye. Mr. Y rachlt mouth . Mr. Yarmuth . Aye. Mr. Yarmuth, aye. Mr. Pascrerl, aye. Miss moore . Miss moore, aye. Miss castor . Aye. Mr. Mcdermott . Miss lee . Aye. Miss lee, aye. Mr. Pocan . Aye. Miss Lujan Grisham . Aye. Mr. Norcross, aye. Mr. Moulton . Aye. Mr. Garret . No. Mr. Garret, no. Mr. Diaz balart . No. Mr. Diaz balart, no. Mr. Woodall . Mr. Womac . No. Mr. Womac, no. Mr. Johnson . No. Mr. Chairman . Mr. Chairman, no. Clerk will report . Mr. Chairman, on that vote, the ayes are 12 and the nos are 21. Aye being 12, nos being 21, the amendment is not adopted. To clarify the next four amendments, final four amendments in tier one. At the request of mr. Ryan and the consent of mr. Moulton and norcross, 11, 14, 12 and 13 will be the order. Well do mr. Lou and mr. Ryan followed by mr. Moulton and mr. Norcross. The clerk will designated the amendment. Number 11 offered by mr. Lew Safe Drinking Water and preventing childhood lead exposure. The gentleman is recognized for six minute. Thank you, mr. Chairman. What happened in flint, michigan, is a crime of epic proportions. Tens of thousands of children, women and men were poisoned when lead leeched into their Drinking Water. I sit on the oversight committee. On a bipartisan basis, we have exposed the failures of our federal epa of the emergency manager and tomorrow we will expose the failures of Michigan State officials. It also turns out that what happened in flint has happened nationally. We know that in sebring, ohio, people have been poisoned by lead in their Drinking Water. In newark, new jersey. And last decade right here in washington, d. C. We also know that many more jurisdictions, we have people being poisoned by lead and contaminated dust or from lead paint. My amendment increases funding for the Drinking Water state Revolving Fund to assist in the replacement of pipes, of lead pipes and also increases funding to the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program to help protect children from lead exposure. If you look at this map of america, anything that has some color in it means people are being poisoned with lead. Including in some of your hometowns. And, thats right, 21st century, some of your constituents are being poisoned right now by lead. We can help stop it. In terms of Drinking Water its not hard. We just replace the lead pipes. It is not rocket science. There is now new technology, such as plastic pvc piping. Plastic pipes cost less, last longer and do not corrode. I think it might be important to know what are the effects of being poisoned by lead . Lets meet Leann Walters, whose entire family was poisoned. Chilly evening last march, Leann Walters was getting ready for bed when she heard her daughter shrieked from the bathroom of her twstory home. Kaley was standing in the shower, staring at a clump of brown hair that had fallen from her head. Walters, 47yearold mother of four, was stunned but not surprised. The entire family had been losing hair. 3 and 4yearold gavin and garret had broken out in rashes. Gavin had stopped growing. On several occasions, 18yearold j. D. Suffered abdominal pains so severe she had to take him to the hospital. At one point all of her own eyelashes fell out. Lets meet dominique, who wanted to serve the u. S. Army but cannot because he was poisoned with led in the Drinking Water. He looks like he has his whole life ahead of him. Planned to fight for the country on the battlefield after graduating. His mom says once she stopped cooking with the water, he stopped passing out. Ask him about his future now, he breaks down, putting his hand in his face, unable to compose himself. His mother huk hugs him, his sister sings, trying to keep his spirits up. But dominic believes he has no future ahead. It was my dream to go to the army. Now i cant. Its just hard. Its really hard, he says, tears streaming down his face. It completely changed me, dominic says. Youre scared to go to sleep at night and scared you dont know if youre going to wake up the next day. We can help change this and prevent future cases of lead poisoning from happening. Please vote for this amendment. I yield the balance of my time to my colleague, representative from ohio, mr. Ryan. Nothing in here saves money as far as the democratic amendments go, it was said. When you look at investments in the research and development and Scientific Development and how that would create jobs, at the end of the day we know that people in poverty are sicker. They are less educated. They dont do as well economically. These are investments. This is really the rub, i think, in this committee. These are the basic investments that we say you need to make in order to grow the pie in the long run, grow the economy in the long run and make sure we dont have to spend as much money on this stuff in the long run. And i saw also was stayed said about he wishes he could get some help from us on balancing the budget. The last time the budget was balanced the democrats did it without any republican vote in the 90s, 22 million new jobs, incomes raised in every category. This budget that you have presented to us from the republican side is all about deferred maintenance, whether youre talking about lead pipes, transportation or the health of our citizens. Were all saying were going to defer those costs to down the line. We have 11,000 kids in ohio who have elevated lead in their blood. That is a cost to all of us. They are not going to do well in school. How many trips to the emergency room did that cost for the example that mr. Lou just presented . Longterm health care costs, diminished educational capacity, 1,500 for increase for special Education Needs for these young kids. We have got to reinvest back into the country. This is nobodys fault. We have just gotten older as a country. And we need to reinvest. We need to dig up these lead pipes and put in new ones. We have to rebuild our infrastructure, reinvest back in the technology that we need to grow the economy in the long run. Then we can fight over how were going to spend this money thats coming into the coffers because of these Smart Investments that we have made. State Revolving Funds have been diminished, state Drinking Water grants. 17 states cut their grants by a fifth this is a smart amendment. I support the gentleman and encourage everybody on the other side to join us. Gentleman from india na is recognized for five minutes. I agree that this is an important issue. I call for a vote then, mr. Chairman. Before we do that, we remind ourselves because i dont think its clear from the rhetoric surrounding the amendment that we are funding, putting a lot of funding in resolving this in the broader problem that the gentleman who last spoke articulates. 15 omnibus provided 2. 3 billion for clean water and Drinking Water state Revolving Funds. I think we should continue to fund this program but through the normal appropriations process. Not create a mandatory program that comes with mandatory spending, that gives unelected bureaucrats access to more money. Because that wont necessarily solve the problem. We see that time and time again. As far as congress is concerned, we are taking this matter seriously. Thats why congress is currently conducting an investigation. Congress has conducted multiple hearings and heard from numerous witnesses about what happened in flint and other place and will continue to conduct vigorous oversight especially and frankly on the Environmental Protection agency. The last several years has had its focus on trying to destroy the coal industry instead of focusing perhaps on some of the cases that mr. Lus example points to. Its also important to note a strong likelihood that the epa failed, frankly, in its basic mission to protect our health and environment and did not act on information that flints Drinking Water was unsafe. Perhaps theres additional cases around the country. As the epa is mishandling current funds, the solution is to increase the budget even more and make that money mandatory so congress has no oversight or input how its spent. Especially in this environment at this point with 19 trillion in debt, i think thats exactly the wrong approach to this. With that, i would yield the remainder of our time to mr. Molinar from michigan. Thank you. There is a lot of good points being made about the need in flint and the challenges facing flint. I actually met the walters family, met the children. Its tragic whats happening there. Im not convinced that this is the amendment to do it. Quite frankly, when you look at what happened in flint, the cdc, having more money wouldnt have done anything to stop that. Quite frankly, the problem was that the local government and the State Government dropped the ball and didnt have the right additive to prevent corrosion in the pipes. It was oversight, neglect. You name it. The federal government knew about it a year in advance and didnt tell the people. That was a failure on the epa. Were not holding the epa accountable. Lets face it, cities all over the country are facing this issue. I think well have to look at this on a broader scale. Digging up the pipes wouldnt have solved that problem in advance. The problem was they werent using the right science and technology to solve the problem to begin with. So, im not opposed to looking at ways we can fund more. I think we have to fund more. I dont think now, in this budget process, is the time to do that. We are actually working on bipartisan solutions, both in the house and with the senate, to try to do an emergency appropriation. And i do think its important. Im not, in any way, accusing anyone here of politics. Because i do think this is an important issue to get resolved in a bipartisan way. I do think this is being used in a Political Campaign in a very unfortunate way, in a way that, you know, it shouldnt be. So i appreciate the empathy for the families. Ive met many of these families. And its tragic. We want to do everything we can to help the kids. Lets work in a bipartisan way to do it. Thank you. I just want to thank the gentleman for bringing this issue forward, because the infrastructure issues and infrastructure needs in our nation are a bipartisan issue. But increasing mandatory spending and increasing the rapidity with which were going into debt and the crisis that that is going to bring simply is not the way to solve it, from our perspective. We would love to work with you by identifying priorities. Budgets are priorities. Everybody knows that. The priority that needs to be identified is on the discretionary side. We would love to work with you on identifying Discretionary Spending that the current the government has that could be supplanted by spending. Youll find bipartisan support for that. However at this time, i urge my colleagues to not adopt this amendment. Well yield back our time and the gentleman from california is recognized for one minute to close. Thank you, mr. Chair. And always happy working on a bipartisan basis to try to solve this issue. Every day, there are hundreds of water main breaks. Even though theres anticorps owes anticorrosive agents being added to this water. Many have lead pipes 60, 70, 80 years ago that simply need replaced because they will start leeching. I want you to think about the family of leann, her children, and people about dominic but also your constituents and your family. How many of you know exactly what pipes are carrying the Drinking Water to your home . And the first part of this amendment is simply giving more money so states can deliver local control, know how to replace these pipes. Happy to work to try to come up with a bipartisan solution to replace lead pipes. I yield back. The gentleman yields back. The amendment offered by mr. Lew. All those in favor, aye. All those opposed, no. The nos have it. Gentleman requests a roll call. Mr. Rokita . Mr. Rokita, no. Mr. Garret . Mr. Diazbalart . Mr. Diazbalart, no. Mr. Cole . No. Mr. Cole, no. Mr. Mcclintock . Mr. Mcclintock, no. Miss black . Miss black, no. Mr. Woodall . Miss hartzler . No. Mr. Stutzman . No. Mr. Stutzman, no. Mr. Ginta . No. Mr. Ginta, no. Mr. Sanford . No. Mr. Womac . No. Mr. B luchlt m . Mr. Mooney. No. Mr. Grothman, no. Mr. Palmer. Mr. Palmer, no. Mr. Molinar . No. Mr. Molinar, no. Mr. Westerman . No. Mr. Renacci . No. Mr. Renacci, no. Mr. Johnson . Mr. Van hollen . Aye. Mr. Yarmuth, aye. Mr. Pascrell, aye. Mr. Ryan . Aye. Miss moore . Aye. Miss castor . Aye. Mr. Mcdermott . Miss lee . Aye. Mr. Pocan . Aye. Miss lujangrisham . Aye. Miss dingell . Aye. Mr. Lew . Aye. Mr. Norcross . Aye. Mr. Moulton . Aye. Mr. Garret . No. Mr. Woodall . Mr. Brat . No. Mr. Blum . Mr. Johnson . No. Mr. Johnson, no. Mr. Chairman . No. Mr. Chairman, no. The clerk will report. The ayes are 13, nos are 20. The amendment is not adopted. As a reminder well do 14 followed by 1 and 13. Amendment number 14 is up. The clerk will designate the amendment. Offered by mr. Ryan to prevent prescription opiod and heroin abuse. The gentleman from ohio is recognized for five minutes. Thank you. Again, this issue speaks to us as to where we are as a people and the decisions we have to make with regard to our budgets. We all know the opiate problem, heroin problem we have in the United States today. No community, regardless of wealth, sim municipal to the devastation being caused by the heroin epidemic. Weve proposed closing tax loopholes on big oil companies, people with corporate jets, ceo bonuses, using deductions and a variety of other measures that would affect primarily those people and only those people at the very, very high end of our economic spectrum. We are asking to put 1 billion into treatment for the men and women who are dealing with opiate abuse and heroin use. Many times in our country, someone is getting high for a very long period of time. They want to stop. They do stop. And they want to go get help. And there are not enough Resources Available for these people who want help. They say, get in line. Well have a bed for you in two weeks, a month, two months. These people go off, get back in the same situation they were in. They come go back into that community and get high again and they kill themselves. And we need to address this problem in our country now. Not next week, not next month, not next budget. Now and there are funerals in our congressional districts. One week in one of my counties we had seven deaths in a week. In one week. This is a National Emergency were facing in the country. We need your help. We need to set the politics aside. This costs money. Theres no other way around it. We have to do this. And we are asking the wealthiest people in our country to help us defray some of the costs here. And you cant have 29,000 people a year or 78 people a day dying of an overdose in suburbs, cities and rural areas with, in many instances, synthetic opiates coming in through china, through florida primarily, getting added into the drug and killing our citizens. They want to go get help and they cant get it because we dont have the resources. We need your help. We need your support on this, we need to boost the Mental Health Service Administration and the cooperative programs they need to make this happen. And we need your help to address this National Emergency. With that, i yield one minute to the gentleman from new jersey, mr. Norcross. I thank my colleague for yielding. This has become that national epidemic. When we talk about priorities this saves money. Treatment saves money. This is a chronic condition that does not go away. You dont find money on the street for addicts. They go and get it. Its an impact to our criminal justice system, our medical system, correction systems and ultimately leads in death. The disease of addiction is no different than diabetes. Its chronic. And we dont beat people up for having a piece of cake who are diabetic. 47,000 overdoses a year. Opiates was the number he talked about. All overdoses, people who are weighing down our system. The only way they stop weighing down our system from dollars and cents is if they get treatment. Narcam has saved so many lives but narcam without treatment is another death sentence. I dont hear anybody in here punishing somebody for being a diabetic. These are people in need of help. We can help them. Has anybody here buried somebody . It used to be that urban problem. Now its that suburban problem where little johnny from a great home, in a great town with a great education got hooked on drugs. We have the ability to change things and i urge everybody to vote for this. I yield back. Thank the gentleman for his strong statement. And the remainder of the time goes to the gentlelady from california, miss lee. Thank you. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. More importantly, i want to thank you for this amendment. I strongly support this amendment that actually provides 1 billion in mandatory funding over two years to ensure that americans are able to access treatment for prescription opiate and heroin abuse. We know that opiate abuse, which includes heroin, as well as prescription pain relievers such as oxycontin its an epidemic in our country. In 2014, over 18,000 americans died of Overdose Deaths related to prescription pain relievers. 10,000 of those deaths were related to heroin use alone. In my profession, background, psychiatric social worker. And i founded a community Mental Health center in the 70s i know how important it is to have Substance Abuse programs and rehabilitation programs. They work. The budget before us just continues to funnel subsidies and tax breaks into the hands of wealthy ceos while leaving our most vulnerable out in the cold. Mr. Chairman, i just want to remind me colleagues, this drug abuse is not a new issue. Many of these drugs have been around for decades. For africanamericans who saw a cocaine, crack, these drugs ravage our communities. Addicts were thrown in jael. The gentle ladys time has expired. We need rehabilitation for everyone who suffers from drug abuse. The gentleman from New Hampshire is recognized for seven minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I agree with my colleagues that this is a serious issue. Not just in my state of New Hampshire, but around the country. And congress should respond and we are doing just that. No one understands this more than i. In my home state of New Hampshire, one out of every 3,000 has overdosed on heroin or related opiod, a trend that has thrusted our state into the National Discussion during the president ial primary process. Ive talked to president ial candidates about their plans, ive called on them to focus on both sides of the aisle to come forward with plans through the course of their campaigns, because there are thousands of people who are dying across the country. We ought to do something about it. Thats exactly why i started the task force to combat heroin andd opiod use. We have several Budget Committee members here, mr. Norcross, mooney, mr. Ryan. Theyre on that committee. I commend their interest and engagement on the issue. Here is sort of the difference of opinion that i have with the amendment. First, the funding component. I dont think we need to focus on one portion of raising taxes in order to raise the funds for this. I think we need to have tax reform in its entirety for Economic Growth. Secondly, this money that were talking about is placed in the mandatory line item, which is already a growing problem and focusing enhancing our longterm debt issue. I would like to, as we are already doing, focus resources on the discretionary side. Last year 400 million. This year, through the appropriations process, i think were going to have 300 million through the bill that was just passed in the senate. That bill, i believe, will go through the house. I and almost 55 other members of congress signed a letter for continued and ongoing robust funding. But on the discretionary side. So, i share the concerns. Youre absolutely right. This is an epidemic. We have to do something about it. There are challenges relative to resources in our states, in New Hampshire and im sure in ohio and others. We need more recovery courts. We need more Immediate Response to longterm treatment programs. The other side of this that we dont talk about is where this heroin came from, el chapo, across the border illegally. Hes killing americans. That has to be a component that we also contend with through the course of this appropriations process. And i hope that we close that border for that particular reason and make sure we stop the supply and deal with also those who were in dire need of longterm treatment. I will oppose the amendment because of the spending mechanism as well as it goes into mandatory. But i agree with you on what we should be doing to try to solve this problem. I think were already addressing on the discretionary side. I would like to yield to the gentleman, mr. Mooney. In my home state of west virginia, sadly, we have the highest percentage of drug overdoses in the nation. Most of these are from opioids, like heroin and prescription medication. Ive sat in on town Hall Meetings asking for solutions. One thing that came up that doesnt require any money was a need for families to take children in. When the police go in, prosecutors go in and find someone has overdosed on drugs and theres little children involved sometimes. They dont have places for those children in this one community. Its a shame we dont have a waiting list of People Volunteering to join in that program so they can take care of the children for a small period of time, so we can do something about the ones addicted to drugs. Its not a funding issue. Its an issue of having People Volunteer to do that. Every time i go on a radio show or tv show and am asked about the drug issue, its why isnt there a waiting list of volunteers to do this program . Its something we can work on. I had a meeting with doctors in charleston, west virginia, Hospital Executives and the sponsor of amendments, sponsor of my bill that resulted from that. It came out during the meeting that part of an unintended consequence of the obamacare bill, Patient Satisfaction survey. They withhold payment to doctors if the patients say they didnt get their drugs to solve the pain. I know thats unintended but that was pressuring doctors to overprescribe drugs to people they feel might be abusing the drugs. Its a small fix. If every one of us came up with a small way to approach the drug issue like that, we could make a big difference, without throwing more money at the issue. I appreciate bipartisan work on that. Its important we continue to look for things so that we can support prevention, treatment, Law Enforcement action is all necessary. We continue to, you know we want to put the control of prescribing practices back in the hands of doctors, not the federal bureaucrats. Thats what this bill does. These are the type of solutions we need to solve this epidemic tearing communities apart, not more government. While i agree with my democrat colleagues that opioid abuse is a serious problem, we address this issue head on in our budget. Budgetary resources to help people suffering from this epidemic. New way of doing it with mandatory Spending Program wouldnt be subject to congressional oversight. We have a continuing problem of creating mandatory Spending Programs and giving up congress right and duty to our constituents to oversee how money is being spent. We need to make sure that the money being allocated is best spent through the process, review it like we do any other part of the budget. The new tax amendment is another attempt by the Minority Party to pick winners and losers from the tax code, adding to our fiscal challenges. I think thats not the responsible way of doing it. Simply instead of throwing taxpayer money at the problem of drug abuse, i would like to work across party lines, come up with creative solutions, take ideas from our constituents and use existing resources with proper oversight. This amendment is well intended but its not the right way to go about it. And with that, ill yield back. We have 12 different states with more prescriptions of pain killers than we have actual residents in those states. When you think about how this problem started, it started with legal Prescription Drugs. So i would agree with you, many people who have the addiction problem, the heroin, unfortunately, started through a legal prescription process. And now have jumped to heroin because its cheaper than a sixpack of beer. Theres no question we have to deal with this issue. Absolutely. There are things we could change that would allow us and enhance us to have better oversight over prescription problems. The gentleman from ohio is recognized for one minute to close. I appreciate the fact that we need a comprehensive plan. And i appreciate taking in kids and all the rest. But we need money. Theres no way around this. We need dough. The people start doing heroin, for whatever reason. They start taking more and more and more. They muster up the courage to stop for a week or whatever. You guys know this. And they go back and start at the high level that they were at. Not the beginning and start it up again. They start it again at the high level. And they die. But in that window, they wanted to go get help and there arent beds. Theres not money. Theres not treatment available for them. We can have a big, broad discussion about the tax code and all the rest. But this is not throwing money at the problem. This is knowing that the only solution is more Public Investment into these things so that these people can get help. Theyre going to turn around. Theyre going to get their lives in order, become taxpayers, put more money into the coffers. We will pay for this ten times over without the heartache. Gentlemans time has expired. The question is on the amendment offer bid mr. Ryan. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. All those opposed say no. The nos have it. Gentleman requests a recorded vote. Please. Clerk will call the roll. Mr. Rokita . No. Mr. Rokita, no. Mr. Garret . Mr. Diazbalart . No. Mr. Diazbalart no. Mr. Cole . No. Mr. Mcclintock . No mr. Mcclintock, no. Miss black . Mr. Woodall . Miss hartzler . No. Mr. Stutzman . No. Mr. Ginta . No. Mr. Sanford . No. Mr. Womac . No. Mr. Brat . No. Mr. Blum . Mr. Mooney . No. Mr. Grothman . No. Mr. Palmer . No. Mr. Molinar . No. Mr. Westerman . No. Mr. Renacci . Mr. Johnson . No. Mr. Johnson, no. Mr. Van hollen . Aye. Mr. Yarmuth . Aye. Mr. Pascrell . Mr. Ryan . Aye. Miss moore . Aye. Miss castor . Aye. Mr. Mcdermott . Miss lee . Aye. Mr. Pocan . Aye. Miss Lujan Grisham . Aye. Miss dingell . Aye. Mr. Lew . Aye. Mr. Norcross . Aye. Mr. Moulton . Aye. Mr. Garret . No. Mr. Garret, no. Miss black . Mr. Woodall . Mr. Blum . Mr. Renacci . Mr. Chairman . No. Mr. Chairman, no. The clerk will report. Mr. Chairman on that vote the ayes are 12 and the nos are 18. The amendment is not adopted. So, we are currently moving to amendment number 12. And the clerk will designate the amendment. Amendment number 12 offered by mr. Moulton, relating to veterans programs. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for six minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. As a veteran who still gets his health care at the va, i see firsthand insufficient funding for va programs creates an environment where veterans fall through the cracks, long wait times, claim backlogs, inadequate psychological treatment programs and Technology Systems that have created a crisis that too little funding will only exacerbate. The bottom line is this. Our veterans deserve the best health care in the world. Our veterans have earned the best health care in the world. We owe it to past and present Service Members to provide them with Quality Health care, education, job training and longterm treatment that they have earned to make sure that their transition back to life here at home is successful. But, despite the good efforts at the va, our veterans continually suffer from restrictive treatment options, high unemployment, suicide and homelessness. We can do better. That begins with providing Adequate Funding for the nondefense portion of the budget. For too long, the sequester and significant budget cuts have put countless programs, including those at the va, at risk. This amendment rejects arbitrary republican cuts and restores funding for the department of Human Affairs to the president s requested levels for fiscal year 2017 and for advanced appropriations. The amendment i am offering today ensures all Services Provided to our veterans will never be at risk in the event of a government shutdown. My amendment would also require the va to submit, along with its annual budget, future years veterans program, facilitating transparency and oversight with regard to the vas longer term plans, helping Congress Enacting adequate advanced appropriations. Cutting over 600 million from the president s request will directly harm the veterans that we are committed to serving. Further, my amendment would make all Discretionary Programs subject to advanced appropriations, which will ensure funding is in place for all the va programs at the beginning of each fiscal year. Currently only the vas medical programs are provided a year in advance through these appropriations. In the 113th Congress House Veterans Affairs chairman, jeff miller, along with 22 democratic and republican members introduced hr813, putting veterans funding first act. Similar to my amendment, this legislation would have required congress to fully fund the department of Veterans Affairs a year ahead of schedule, ensuring that va services and funding would not be in jeopardy in the event of a government shutdown. Chairman miller said if there is one thing people in washington and across america can agree on, its that we should never let funding for veterans become a casualty of washington gridlock. Hr813 had the support of many veterans associations, including veterans of foreign wars, paralyzed veterans of america and disabled american veterans. I know this committee wont agree on much today but we all ought to agree on this. Veterans should be a national priority. I know there are problems at the va. I have been a staunch critic of the va. I was in the oversight hearing an hour ago because of problems at the va. But punishing our veterans by underfunding the care they rely on today is not the way to fix the va. I yield the remainder of my time to my colleague, miss dingell, from michigan. I thank my colleague for massachusetts from yielding and want to strongly support his amendment. I have one va hospital, another that happens to have the name john dingell on it. Im there regularly. We have a moral responsibility to these veterans. Theres way too many problems happening and we have got to invest. It is just a moral responsibility that is not partisan. We owe the men and women who served us this responsibility. And i yield back. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I yield my time. Gentleman yields his time back. I would like to recognize the gentleman from indiana, mr. Stutzman for seven minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. First of all, i want to thank mr. Moulton for your service as a veteran. This is one issue i tell constituents back home, if theres anything that unites congress in most cases, its the support for our veterans. And i believe that to be the case. Thats one reason why veterans are a top priority in this budget. You look at the past several years, we have committed congress has committed a tremendous amount of dollars to the va. Our budget this year provides a 4 increase in Discretionary Budget Authority for Veterans Benefits and Services Related to relative to last years levels. This is in addition to the 27 increase in discretionary funding for the va that has occurred over the past six years. But that being said, we again find ourselves in a situation where we are giving the dollars to the va. The va has a tremendous management problem. This is something that i dont believe money can solve. Its going to take leadership. Its going to take leadership from the white house to make sure that the administration at the va is serving our veterans, as we expect them to. We know back in 2014, we found over 57,000 veterans were waiting for treatment. If theres one thing we can do theres been discussion about doing is if our veterans dont have the ability to get into a facility, then there should be some other option. And i think those are longterm discussions, discussions that the va is having and that members of congress are having. I know that im talking to constituents back home about how do we make sure our veterans are being taken care of . If theres one thing we all believe is that if a person is willing to put their life on the line for the service of this country, they should have the best Health Care Available to them when they come home. When the services are not being executed and administered from our federal government, its not a money problem. Its a leadership problem. And, yeah, theres been changes over at the va that were needed. As i talked to veterans at home and as i talked to my officials at the va hospital, theres still a dramatic problem. I know that we all want to see this problem solved. And i know that thats why our chairman and our Budget Committee is proposing to make sure there are dollars there. Chairman miller has made sure that the dollars are there to fund the va at the adequate levels. And i know that there this is a priority for all of us. We want to see any problems resolved. Its going to take leadership from the executive branch and here in congress to make sure sure its done and this time i would like to yield to mr. Johnson for two minutes. Thank you for yielding. I, too, want to agree with our colleague, mr. Moulton, as a 26 1 2year veteran myself. We should be providing our veterans, our men and women in uniform, who put everything on the line, we should be providing them the best health care, the best services, the best health care in the world. No question about that. But this particular amendment increases spending Discretionary Spending authority for benefits and services to match the president s requestedd levels for fy2017. And it pays for this funding through an increase in an assortment of taxes. Now i have to agree with mr. Stutzman. This is a leadership problem. I served as the chairman of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations on Veterans Affairs when i first came to congress in 2011. And one of the first things that i asked for when i saw how much money was being spent was to see the Information Technology architecture for the Veterans Affairs. That was in 2011. To see a road map. To see a diagram of all the i. T. Systems and how they all fit together to provide the services to our veterans. And do you know, to this day, i dont think that architecture, that diagram has ever been presented . I had many lengthy conversations with both secretary shinseki, before he left, and a direct conversation with secretary panetta, when he was secretary of defense, about some of those issues. It is a leadership problem and the mismanagement with the Information Technology, is rampant. Let me give you one example. Then ill yield to my colleague from arkansas. Went to a veterans clinic in ohio with a specific purpose in mind. I wanted to see if they had a particular veterans appointment on the books. And when i asked about that veteran they said, sure, he has an appointment next week. Were going to get him right in. I said you can cancel that appointment. Because he committed suicide last saturday. He had waited so long to get in that he ran out of options. We can do better than this. Its not a money problem. Its a leadership problem. I yield to my colleague from arkansas. Thank you, mr. Johnson. And thank you for your service to our country. Mr. Moulton, thanks to you. I also served and theres nobody on this diaz more passionate about taking care of our veterans than this representative from arkansas. Ive got to tell you as its already been said this is not a money issue. 4 over last years level, 27 in the previous six years. This is not a money issue. The poster child for mismanagement at the va is in aurora, colorado. Just look at the facility thats being built there. Its over 1 billion, with a b, 1 billion over budget. The veterans that i serve in the Third District of arkansas, when they come to me, they recognize this is not about the lack of money. This is about trying to reward an agency for gross mismanagement. And, as youve already indicated, i. T. Systems. There are other leadership difficulties within the v. A. I want to help our veterans like anybody else, but i dont think the answer is to advance the appropriations for the other 15 of va thats not related to the Health Services and, at the same time, reward them with more money when they havent spent the money that they have appropriately. I yield back. Time has expired. The gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute to close. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I would like to thank my colleagues for their service as well. And i certainly agree that this is something that we should be able to find some Common Ground on. You know, when i was in the infantry, fighting in iraq, there were times when we approached problems and they said youre not going to be able to solve this with air power. That didnt mean it was right to take that air power away. They said youre not going to be able to solve this with artillery. That didnt mean they should take our guns away. Were not rewarding the va. Were just giving veterans what they need to get the services that they require. Thats why i think this is important. Now, in all the comments no one addressed chairman millers bill in the sense that it will increase oversight and enable better congressional oversight of these va services as well. I hope we can keep those things in mind when we vote to protect our veterans. Yes, we need to reform the va. I hope youll all be cosponsors of my act, which helps to address the scheduling problems. A bipartisan bill that we discussed today. Gentlemans time has expired. We can also vote for this amendment. Thank you, mr. Chairman. All those in favor, aye . All those opposed, no. The nos have it. Gentleman requests a record of votes. Yes, mr. Chairman, request a roll call of votes. Clerk will call the roll. Mr. Rokita . No. Mr. Garret . Mr. Diazbalart . No. Mr. Cole . Mr. Mcclintock . No. Miss black . No. Mr. Woodall . Miss hartzler . Mr. Stutzman . No. Mr. Ginta . No. Mr. Womack. Mr. Brett. Mr. Vaughan. Mr. Mooney. Mr. Grothman. Mr. Palmer. Mr. Molnar. Mr. Westerman. Mr. Renasa. Mr. Johnson. Mr. Van hahn, aye. Mr. Yarmuth, aye. Mr. Pascrell, a, police ryan, ms. Moore, a. Mr. Castor, mr. Mcdermott. Ms. Lee. Ms. Lee, aye. Mr. Pokan. Aye. Ms. Louhan grisham, aye. Poli miss dingell, aye. Mr. Lew, aye. Mr. Norcross. Aye. Mr. Molten. Aye. Mr. Garrett. Mr. Woodall, miss hartzler, miss hartzler. Mr. Blum, mr. Mooney. Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, no. The clerk will report. Mr. Chairman, mr. Garrett. Mr. Garrett. No. The clerk will now report. Mr. Chairman on that vote the ayes are 11, the nos are 18. Ayes being 11, the nos 19, it is not adopted. Seeks request to be head of cosponsor without objection. Were on amendment number 13. The court will designate the amendment. Amendment number 13, offered by mr. Norcross, righting to the paycheck fairness act. Recognized for six minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. I hope the number 13 is the lucky 13, particularly for this one. My simple amendment calls for on the house to pass the payor check fairness which builds on the equal pay act of 1963 by closing the loopholes that have kept it from achieving its goal of equal pay for equal work. My amendment adds 50 million in mentor spending funding to accommodate Data Collection enforcement by the department of labor. This money will go to making a reality and providing women we are sources to know if they are being discriminated against in helping them to get a fair day in court. There is an injustice happening every day in this country. It happens in offices, factories, work place, all across america. Many women dont even know its happening. If nay do know, they are afraid to hawke talk about it for fear of losing their job. Its a quiet injustice. But ask a woman when she says, when she checks her paystub or direct deposit into her bank account, thats where you will see the true injustice a. Blatant discrimination plain and simple. The lady ledbetter example of 1979 hired by the goodyear rubber company. The only fe mayor rale area manager, took off little job until one day she got an anonymous note, two decades into her job saying she was earning thousands less than the male counterparts for doing the very same job. She would never catch up financially. She filed a lawsuit but was denied because she didnt file it in time. It was a long road, but she finally got her day in computer and now the act is named to give hope to women across america. But the data of the u. S. Department of labor and Census Bureau continues to paint a bad picture. For every dollar a man earns. You can see up on the screen the average woman makes 79 cents. For women of color, 60 cents on every dollar and latina 55 cents on the dollar for what a white male makes. What is more troubling, women earn less for performing the very same tasks as men do. Even with more experience on the job and they had the same education, yet, theyre making less just because theyre a woman. Thats putting off the terms. It takes a woman 15 months to earn what a man would make in 12 months. Women shouldnt have to play catch up. We in this room today have the power to make that a reality. Thats why im offering the amendment, offering this amendment back in 63, congress tried to change things bypassing the equal paying a. It was supposed to eliminate wage disparities based on gender, but didnt go far enough. Oftentime, a woman doesnt even know she is being discriminated against or she cant prove it in court t. Paycheck fairness act would resolve this problem by requiring eeoc, the Economic Opportunity commission to collect wage and data that will help to enforce laws on the box, that we all agree that should allow women to make the same amount as men make. It also prohibits and this is very important the retaliation for sharing salary information with coworkers. Under current law, employers can sue and punish employees for sharing such information. Women are equal to men. They fly in orbit. They fight in our wars. They run for president. They sit on the supreme court. The ceos, cfos, coos, theyre your mother, theyre your wife, theyre your daughter. The bottom line, women do all work that men do and they should be paid fairly. Equal work deserves equal pay. Lets right the wrong. At this point to share more with us, i, my colleague, Debbie Dingell and barra relief a minute each. Thank you. I thank my colleague and thank you for introducing us as with woman who interviewed her job at General Motors and said, why would a woman want to work at gm, i seen its pay and equity still on the books. This amendment by my colleague would fully fund the department of labor in the equal employment Opportunity Commission to have the resources that they need to monitor and enforce the law. Too many women are in the work force of the sheer economic necessity. They need to be paid equally and they need the law needs to be enforced and we need to make sure the resources are there to enforce the law. Thank you. Thank you. I want to thank the gentleman for yielding. But also for this amendment and bringing to light the fact that genderbased wage discrimination and pay equity is still a real problem in this country. Its really a disgrace that in 2016, despite making up 50 of the work force, women still are in your charts, show 79 cents on the average for every dollar that a man makes. Even worse, for africanamerican women, 60 cents and latinas 55 cents of every dollar a man makes. This is just unacceptable. Equal pay is not simply a womans issue. Its a family issue. Really, its a huge problem that this budget does not even address and its downright wrong. We should be making it easier for women and families to achieve the american dream, not harder. This amendment does this by ensuring that women are paid equal pay for equal work. Discrimination is wrong. And so i urge my colleagues to support this critical amendment and i want to thank the gentleman for offering it and remind us once again that we live in a country where we claim that we treat all people equally. Thank you. Including women. Id like to thank my colleagues for their insight and yield back to bounce my time. Miss black is recognized for seven minutes. Thank you, mr. Chairman. While i commend my colleagues on the other side for their efforts, i feel like, once again, we are pandering to women. They dont like that. And are basing their amendment on some unreliable information thats misleading. Yes, women as a whole do earn less tan men. But discrimination is really not the primary culprit. Women make some rational choices about where they work to say that women do not understand the choice of education, major over economic major only demeans women. The fact is, that the governments own statistics, the bureau of labor statistics admits on page one of the 2013 study of womens earnings, that even their study, even their study, does not take into control for factors that can significantly affect earning differences. So, education, the industry they work in. The occupation, the hours worked, experiences, the career interruptions, all affect the compensation of workers whether theyre male or female. All of these factors do affect the compensation, accounting for such factors reduces the differences between the average male and female wages by about 15 cents. So the reality is the federal law is already on the side of the woman. Discrimination against women in the work force is already illegal. Its already in the law. Its illegal. Employers who discriminate against women do so at their own peril because they are not only less competitive, because women will not go to work for them, theyll choose someone else thats more competitive, but also, risk costly litigation, if they are not applying the law. Sadly, its probably men who have the most worry about this because by most social indicators, education, income, Mental Health and incarceration, its men who are affected the most by this. Women are more highly educated at all levels and are advancing faster than their male counterparts. Im proud to say that, as a matter of fact. My colleagues prole to fix the pay gap is not surprising. Lets spend more money so the government can sue for ppl