Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives 10112017 20171011

Decertify the deal. Continue to watch this hearing online at cspan. Org. Here on cspan taking you live to the u. S. House. They gavel in for legislative work, beginning work on debate rules for fridays bill dealing with whistleblower protections. Live coverage here on cspan. The speaker the house will be in order. The prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend molly fraser, fwig harbor United Methodist church, gig harbor, washington. The chaplain god of many names we give thanks for many opportunities to serve and remind us we are servants of our country, our people, and the land. Let us not forget the blessings you have given us so we might use our power and influence to oorder the country in ways that allow each and every person to find life and liberty and to pursue happiness. Become, perhaps we come, perhaps already weary from an onslaught of emails, texts, fen calls, and meetings where people make demands on how we vote and assumptions on every decision we put forward. Help us, o god, to do the right thing, not just for the few but for the many. Help us Work Together diligently so we might see the fruits of our effort grow to the good throughout the country to serve to make this world more livable for all. Amen. The speaker the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces poth house his approval thereof. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from texas, mr. Babin. Mr. Babin et us all pledge to the greatest country in the world. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. The speaker without objection the gentleman from washington, mr. Kilmer is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kilmer im so honored to welcome molly frationer from our church. Gig harbor. Its left a large impact throughout gig harbor because it makes clear all are welcomed. Whether you are in pain and need someplace to go or looking fellowship, there is a welcome mat for you. It makes clear to regular attendees and to new comers its a place of open hearts and open minds and doors. Its place thats committed to supporting the needs of those most in need in our community and around the world. Its place to ask tough questions and to celebrate our faith. Finally, its a place that benefits from the tremendous leadership of pastor molly, who during her brief tenure with the church has brought Incredible Energy and heart and musical talent. Es here in our Nations Capital today with her family and its my honor to welcome them and in spirit the entire congregation of the gig harbor United Methodist church. I yield back. The speaker the chair will entertain 15 further requests speeches on each side of the aisle. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Speaker, today i civilials. They are true heroes and honored to represent them in the 25th Congressional District texas. Mr. Williams i had the opportunity to meet with these soldiers a few weeks ago and personally shake their hands to thank them for the job welldone. They stepped up in a moment of absolute crisis and when the people of texas needed them most. They put their lives on the line in order to save others. And without them the number of deaths could have been significantly hire. Its because of higher. Its because of selfless people like these america is able to remain the strong jess country in the world. We cant thank them enough and will always remember their heroism. Hurricane Harvey Victims are still recovering. All of america is behind them. We will build america because were all texas strong. God bless texas, god bless the milltary, and god bless the United States of america. In god we trust. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom new jersey rise . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. Mr. Payne mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor jahir moore, a seventh Grade Student from jersey city, new jersey, for his service to people in need. This young man in my district takes the time nearly every day to crochet hats, scar everybodies, blankets, and other items for people in homeless shelters and newborns in intensive care units. Over the past couple of years, he has donated dozens of bags full of his creations to make life a little better for others. Jahir is a straight a student who wants to become a fashion designer. In february, he was a guest on the rachel r ray show, a week later he had his first run weigh show in jersey city. In april i presented him with the certificate of special congressional recognition for his charity work. Mr. Speaker, jahir moores unselfish acts ever kindness for people in immediate acts of kindness for people in need our countrys future in bright. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana rise . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, on monday night i had the privilege of attending the allen county right to lifes 20th annual uniting our city for life banquet. The event was a wonderful time with fellow hoosiers who share a common concern for the sanctity of innocent human life. From the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. It also was a celebration of the fact that our culture increasingly is recognizing the value of human life. A poll released last year found a majority of Young Americans support increasing restrictions that protect the unborn. Another recent poll found that 61 of americans oppose using tax dollars to fund abortion. This growing recognition that life is a precious and sacred gift is due in large part to the tireless efforts of organizations like allen county right to life. I want to express special thanks to allen county right to life executive director and Operations Director for all they do in northeast indiana to promote life and defend the unborn. I also want to congratulate pat miller on receiving the daniel award for prolife commitment during monday nights dinner. Mr. Banks throughout his career hes been a consistent and compassionate voice for the cause of life and there is no one more deserving of this prestigious award. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kildee thank you, mr. Speaker. Last week the republicans brought their extreme budget to the floor. A budget that forces the middle class to pay more in taxes just to give the wealthiest americans a massive tax break. Massive tax cut. This budget slashes investments in our future in roads and bridges, in education. Just so it can provide huge tax breaks to the absolute wealthiest americans. Billionaires would receive a massive tax cut under this plan. This it billionaires first tax plan, according to the nonprofit, nonpartisan tax policy certainty, middle class families would actually pay an verage of 1,290 a year more , while 80 of the benefits would go to the wealthiest 1 of americans. The super wealthy. By repealing the estate tax, 5,400 families would receive a 270 billion tax break. Who pays for this . The middle class. How . Passing the costs on to them and increasing our deficit at the same time. Trillions of dollars added to our deficit. Giving billionaires a massive tax break. Its physical tally irresponsible. Its morally wrong. We ought to reject it. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Mr. Thompson mr. Speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to commend 42 members of the Pennsylvania National guard who are currently in puerto rico Hurricane Relief efforts. Thousands of National Guard members are working in both puerto rico and the Virgin Islands to help our fellow americans recover from devastating hurricanes. Hurricane maria with its category five winds was the fifth strongest storm to ever hit the efforts. Thousands of National Guard members are working in both puerto rico and u. S. And the st storm to hit puerto rico in 80 years. What it left behind was vast devastation and a great damages to infrastructure and Energy Distribution systems. Mr. Speaker, im tremendously proud of our pennsylvania guardsmen who are on the ground assisting with this humanitarian disaster. They welcome the call to action and are working to restore puerto ricos infrastructure, install additional telecommunications equipment, to connect families and businesses, and deliver more than 300 generators to provide electricity to those who need t were working on rebuilding. In the Pennsylvania National guard is there tide in the recovery effort. Its the american way to have all hands on deck and im grateful for their efforts. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for ne minute. Mr. Speaker, Domestic Violence often hides behind closed doors and drawn curtains. Ms. Gabbard but the problem is very staggering. In my home state of hawaii 575 Domestic Violence survivors reach out to local organizations seeking help every single day. Their stories are heartbreaking and too often even if they are temporarily removed from the abusive environment, their often returned to that abuser. Survivors can seek Legal Protection from their abusers, but they arent likely to do so or be successful unless they have a lawyer. Of victims successfully obtain a restraining order without legal representation. I call on my colleagues to support the power act, which of successfully obtain a restraining order requires every states u. S. Attorney to promote and expand probono legal services, specifically for Domestic Violence survivors. We all need to be more conscious of this problem because its happening in our communities. As we observe Domestic Violence awareness month, let us have the courage to confront the this crime and take action to help provide survivors with the safety and security that they need. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Smith mr. Speaker, you may have heard colin kaepernick, the football quarterback who started to kneel to protest National Anthem at nfl games. He was the originator of the Resistance Movement in the nfl against police officers. But you likely havent heard that he donated 25,000 to a group that was named after a convicted quop killer. Cop kirl. Neither National Broadcast stations nor major daily newspapers reported the donation to an organization honoring a man who escaped prison and fled to cuba after being found guilty in the 1973 murder of a police officer. Hes currently on the f. B. I. s most wanted list. Why did the liberal National Media think the story was not newsworthy . Did they agree with kaepernick . Do they approve of contributions to organizations killers . Er cop the liberal National Media seemed to have a grudge against lormentse and patriotism, as well as religion and traditional values based on their lack killers . Those subjects. This might explain why the medias credibility is at a record low. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition . Unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Of ff mrs. Davis last week the trump ministration rolled back contraceptive care for hundreds of thousands of women. They called it a victory for religious liberty. But lets be real. This is just one part of the white houses fight to strip women of their indpens and health care. First, they came for title x. Scaling back the essential Family Planning centers that serves lowincome women. They attacked planned parenthood, pledging to block access for the millions of women who depend on it. They expanded the global gag rule, a policy that would limit the Preventive Health care options for women across the world. And then they turned their destructive sites on title 9, back crucial guidances that protect Sexual Assault victims on our college campuses. Now they have opened the door to deny back crucial contraceptive coverage for their female employees. Lets not pretend this is a victory for religious freedom. This is about taking away womens choices. Yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. To deny rerned my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor a true champion for higher education, dr. Daniel j. Bradley, the 1 sth president of the indiana state university. Mr. Bucshon during his nineyear tenure at kwlin state, he has led i. S. U. To achieve the highest enrollment in school disfrict, added new degree programs to meet demands of the 21 is it century work force, and completed more sthan 300 million in Capital Projects on campus. He has ortantly improved Student Success by increasing the student retention rate and increasing the student graduation rate. From his service to our country in the u. S. Army to his service to the students of indiana state university, i urge my colleagues to join me in congratulating dr. Bradley on his retirement at the end of this year. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Theres upwards of 800,000 dreamers in our country, young, de facto americans, as american as you and i, american in fact, albeit not in law. Theyre able to work legally under the deferred action or daca Program President obama set up. Mr. Polis thats been jeopardized by the president remove that in six month, now were down to 4 na months this body must act, we cant leave these Young Americans in limbo with regard to what their future prospects are to work. Over 800,000 aspiring americans will no longer be able to go to work legally the very next day after deferred action expires. In the interest of unifying family, in the interest of young people as american as you and i, in the interest of our Economic Growth and prosperity, i call on colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stop playing politics and pass the dream act into law, to make sure theyve they give back to cauntry thats given so much to them. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek reck pigs . Seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. It was great to participate in this mornings florida tell gation meeting during which we discussed the impact of recent hurricanes on our state and unmet needs that require further attention. Mr. Bilirakis with the onslaught of Natural Disasters that have plagueded our country in recent month well, must provide appropriate levels of federal support to all who are suffering. Ensure we must also that floridas on fwoing needs are not overlooked as we seek to fully recover. Our two largest industries, tourism ensure that and agriculture, have sustained significant losses which will have a longterm impact on our economy, unfortunately. We also learned valuable lessons during the hurricane as it relates to the care for our most vulnerable citizens, our seniors, and the disabled. These lessons needs to translit to translate to action in order to prevent future tragedies. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the proposed Natural Disaster funding bill which will be voted on late they are week and determine its impact on florida. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to honor a dear friend of mine, dave davis who passed away recently. Dave was a giant perdue fan. We first met at a ucla basketball game over 20 years ago. We immediately struck up a friendship and in 2000 when i announced i was running for congress, dave was all in and despite the long odds, took Vacation Time to drive me all around madison county. Mr. Messer we didnt win that one but thats the kind of guy dave davis was. He put others first. Sharing in your successes and your struggles as if they were his own. Dave had a great smile and a rare quality. He saw everyone for who they could be not just what they were. Dave spent his career in Public Service for our state and our nation but his most important priority was his family he never passed up an opportunity to talk about his wife, robin, or his kids, alex, amy, and eric. Dave davis was a good man and my friend. Congratulations on a life well lived. God speed. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from kansas seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address god speed. The house for one mie and revise and extend my remarks. Withoutker pro tempore objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. I rise today to talk about our effort heres in the peoples house to reform our tax code and reduce the burden of the federal government on every american. Without objection, the gentleman is recognized right now, americans know that our tax code is unfair, its too long, its too complicated. Mr. Yoder its been 30 years since we made meaningful reforms and the tame for time for change is now. House an Senate Republicans have announce red forms to make the tax code simpler with more than 90 of filers able to do their returns on a simple postcard. To give relief to low income americans by eliminating the lowest 10 bracket completely and cutting the 15 bracket to 12 . We asked for a crackdown on tax avoidance by ending the dozens and dozen os loopholes only the wealthiest taxpayers and corporations can take van of. We have an we have a unique opportunity to do so much for families across america. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle will join us, offer solutions, and make this a bipartisan effort to give the American People the relief they deserve. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore and for 100 does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Green bay i rise today on behalf mr. Green i rise today on behalf of the many who have concluded that enough is enough. I rise to speak on behalf of many persons that article 2, section 4 of the constitution of the United States of america has meaning and that it is something a time ppropriate for such as this. Appropriate for a time when there is one among us who seems incite hatred, big tri, and invidious discrimination. I rise to speak on their behalf today, mr. Speaker. And i do so understanding that im not doing it on behalf of republicans, generally speaking, or democrats, generally speaking. The people that i reference are americans. Generally speaking. So i rise to speak on their behalf and at this time, i will yield back the balance of this time so that i may have additional time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition . Mr. Green mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2a1 of rule 9, i eek recognition to give notice of my intent to raise a question of privilege of the house. The form of the of my intent resolution is as follows. Rticles of impeachment against donald j. Trump, president of the United States of america. In the congress of the United States of america. Esolution resolution. Resolved, that donald j. Trump, president of the United States of america, has undermined the integrity of his office with impunity and has brought disrepute on the presidency with immunity. Has betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the American People. And is unfit to be president. And is impeached pursuant to article 2, section 4 of the constitution of the United States of america. And that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States senate. Articles of impeachment exhibited by the house of of the United States of america in the name of itself and of all the people of the of the United States of ame against Donald John Trump, president of the United States america, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors of the nature which ,ay be denominated as political not requiring the commission of a crime, and exclusively the jurisdiction of the United States house of representatives for impeachment purposes. Donald john at trump, president of the United States of america, unmindful of is high duties of his office and the dignity and proprieties thereof and the harmony, respect, and courtesy which ought to exhibit and be maintained in American Society, has under the inane pretext of dispensing with Political Correctness produced a demonstrable record of inciting white supremacy, sexism, big tri, hatred, xenophobea, race baiting and racism. By demeaning, defame, disrespecting and disparaging women and certain minorities. In so doing, Donald John Trump, president of the United States of america, has fueled and is fueling an altright hate machine and his worldwide covert sympathizers, engendering racial antipathy, lgbtq enemyity, religious anxiety, stealthy sexism and dreadful exene phobia. Profid dread full xenophobia. Profids youly causing exang psiity to wit, on september 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race baiting and racism, engendering stealthy sexism and racial antipathy when he disrespected, disparaged, and demeaned mothers of professional Football Players by calling them dogs as he made the widely published statement, quote, Football Players wont you love to see one of hose nfl owners, when somebody disrespect ours flag, say, get bitch off the field right now. Out. Hes fired. Hes fired. On september 23, 2017, Donald John Trump incited race baiting and racism, engendering racial antipathy, when the disrespected , disparaged, professional Football Players, approximately 70 of whom are reportedly africanamerican, by calling them sons of dogs. As he made the widely published statement, wouldnt you love to see one of these nfl owners, when somebody disrespects our flag say, get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. Hes fired. Hes fired. On september 30, 2017, Donald John Trump incited big triand , engendering racial antipathy, when he disrespected, disparaged and demeaned Puerto Ricans who are americans by implying Puerto Ricans want others to do for them what they wont do for themselves. As he made the widely published claim, they want everything to be done for them when it should be a community effort. Further, on october 3, 2017, while in puerto rico, as was widely shown on american television, Donald John Trump incited big tri, engendering racial antipathy, when he disparaged Puerto Ricans by stating, i hate to tell you, puerto rico, but youve thrown our budget a little out of whack, because we spent a lot of money on puerto rico and thats fine, but weve saved a lot of lives. The president did not make similar widely published statements about texas or florida. On january 27, 2017, Donald John Trump incited zen februarya and hate against xenophobea and hate against muslims engendering real jus anxiety when he disrespected islam by issuing executive order 13769, fulfilling a Campaign Promise to ban muslims from entering the United States of america. This widely published Campaign Promise is dated december 7, 2015. And reads as follows. Donald j. Trump statement on preventing muslim immigration. New york, new york. December 7, 2015. Donald j. Trump is calling for the total and complete shutdown of muslims entering the United States until our countrys representatives can figure out whats going on. On march 4, 2017, Donald John Trump insighted race baiting when he defamed, disrespected, and disparaged president barack wildly making the published statement which has since been disclaimed, quote, terrible, just found out that obama had my wires tapped. In trump tour just before the tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is mccarthyism. End of quote. On july 26, 2017, donald john rump insighted bigotry engendering lgbtq emnity when he disparaged and disrespected Transgender Americans by indicating that the cost of their medical care outweighs the sacrifice they are willing to make for our country as he made the wildly published statement after consultation with my generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States government will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the u. S. Military. Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail. In so doing, the aforementioned , Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office antidignity and proprieties thereof and the dignity and proprieties thereof harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained harmony and courtesi which ought to exist and be maintained within American Society has undermined the integrity of his office, has ought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of america result is unfit to be president. Therefore, Donald John Trump by betraying his trust as president warrants impeachment, trial and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of america. Article 2, that Donald John Trump, president of the United States of america, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and the dignity of and proprieties thereof and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American Society did betray his trust as president and bring shame and dishonor to the office of the residency by associating the majesty and dignity of the presidency with causes rooted bigotry, premacy, racism, antisemitism, white nationalism, and neonaziism. When he, to wit, on august 15, 2017, Donald John Trump made a wildly published statement characterizing a group of antisemites big got, racists, and white nationalists and clue clucks klansmen who rallieded in charlottesville, virginia, as very fine people. There after on august 23, 2017, the United Nations committee on the elimination of Racial Discrimination released a twopage decision in which it as stated that they were the failure at the highest the failure at the highest political level of the United States of america to unequivocally reject and condemn the racist havent event and demonstrations led by the the failure at the highest political level of the United States of america to unequivocally reject and condemn aforementioned groups, thereby potentially fueling the proliferation of racist discourse and incidents throughout the state party. And deeply concerned by the example of this failure could set for the rest of the world. On october 7, 2017, hate groups were again back in char lotsville, virginia char lotsville, virginia charlottesville, virginia, at the statue of the robert e. Lee, the confederate general, chanting you will not replace us. Since this event on october 7, the president has made many wildly published statements about many things, including but not limited to, the National Football league, but widely made one published statement condemning the hate groups for returning to the place where an innocent person lost her life at the hands of hate. In so doing, the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office, and the integrity and proprieties thereof, and of the harmony, respect, and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained within American Society has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, and has betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of america and is unfit to be president. Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as resident warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of america. Article 3, Donald John Trump, president of the United States of america, unmindful of his high duties of his high office and the dignities and proprieties thereof and of the harmony and courtesies which ought to exist and be maintained in American Society by making in perfity the widely reported claim that three million to five Million People voted illegally in the 2016 president ial election. And further extending tax dollars to establish a commission to investigate his laim towit on november 27, 2016, Donald John Trump made in ildly reported claim addition to winning the ectoral college in a landslide, i won the popular vote. If you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally. In virginia, new hampshire, and california. Landslide, i won the popular vote. If you deduct the millions of so why isnt the media reporting on this serious bias . Big problem. Donald ry 25, 2017, john trump made the widely reported claim that i will be asking for a Major Investigation into voter fraud, including those registered to vote in two states, and who are illegal. And on july 1, 2017, Donald John Trump made the widely reported claim that numerous states were refusing to give information to the very distinguished voter fraud panel. What are they trying to hide . On june 28, 2017, according to highly reported news stories, the commission previously referenced by Donald John Trump requested detailed Voter Registration data from all 50 ates, including names, addresses, and other Sensitive Data from every voter in the country. Send states refused to the information. And some states have prevented have been prevented by courts from turning over the se the information information. Aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office antidignity and proprieties thereof has undermined the integrity of his has brought disrepute on the presidency and has betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of the United States of america and is unfit to be president. Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as president , warrants the impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States of america. Article 4, Donald John Trump, president of the United States of america, unmindful of the high duties of his high office and of the dignity and prepatients bill of rights thereof, and of the harmony and which ought to exist and be maintained in American Society while aware of the wildly reported history of unlawful abuses and brutality perpetrated by many, not all bliss officers against innocent persons in the United States of america did betray his trust as president , bringing shame and dishonor to the office of presidency by encouraging Law Enforcement officials to violate the Constitutional Rights of suspects in their custody and control. 28, 2017, july Donald John Trump in a speech n front of the Suffolk Court county Police Department in long island, new york, stated that, and when you see these towns, and when you see thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough. I said, please, dont be too nice. Like when you guys put somebody in the car and you just and you are protecting their head. You know, the way you put their and over, like dont hit their head. And they just killed somebody. Dont hit their head, i said. You can take the hand away, ok. This statement is injurious not of law, which presumes incense until Proven Guilty innocence until guilt is proven in a court of law, but also to the administration presumes incense until proven of justice, which requires that care is given to persons held in the custody of Law Enforcement. Our nation is founded upon the social contract where the constitutional right of the individual are not surrendered because of because he or she is accused of a crime. To speak to the contrary is a violation of the president ial oath of office which Donald John Trump is bound. In so doing the aforementioned Donald John Trump, unmindful of the high duties of his high office antidignity and prerights and the dignity and proprieties there off and his oath of office, quote, to faithfully execute the office of president of the United States of america, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States, has undermined the integrity of his office, has brought disrepute on the presidency, has betrayed his trust as president to the manifest injury of the people of america d states and is unfit to be president. Therefore, Donald John Trump, by betraying his trust as president , warrants impeachment, trial, and removal from office and disqualification to hold any office of high honor trust or profit under the United States of america. Yield back. The speaker pro tempore under rule 9, the resolution offered from the floor offered by a member other than the majority and or minority leader as a question of the privileges of the house has immediate precedence only at a time designated by the chair within two legislative days after the resolution is properly noticed. Pending that designation, the form of the resolution noticed by the gentleman from texas will appear in the record at this point. The chair will not at this point determine whether the resolution constitutes a question of privilege. That determination will be made at the time designated for consideration of the esolution. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . Mr. Collins i call up House Resolution 56 and ask for its immediate consideration. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the resolution. The clerk House Resolution 562. Resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution it shall be in order to consider in the house the bill, s. 585, to provide greater whistleblower protections for federal employees, increased awareness of federal whistleblower protections, and increased accountability and required discipline for federal supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers, and for other purposes. All points of order against consideration of the bill are aived. The bill shall be considered as the bill shall be considered as read. All points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. The previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and on any amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except 1 one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on oversight and government reform; and 2 one motion to recommit. Section 2. On any legislative day during the period from october 16, 2017, through october 20, 2017 a the journal of the proceedings of the previous day shall be considered as approved; and b the chair may at any time declare the house adjourned to meet at a date and time, within the limits of clause 4, section 5, article i of the constitution, to be announced by the chair in declaring the adjournment. Section 3. The speaker may appoint members to perform the duties of the chair for the duration of the period addressed by section 2 of this resolution as though under clause 8 a of rule i. Section 4. It shall be in order at any time on the legislative day of october 12, 2017, or october 13, 2017, for the speaker to entertain motions that the house suspend the rules as though under clause 1 of rule xv. The speaker or his designee shall consult with the minority leader or her designee on the designation of any matter for consideration pursuant to this section. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. Mr. Collins thank you, mr. For the purpose of debate only i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman fromical colorado, mr. Polis. Pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. For debate all time yielded is for the purposes of debate only. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on House Resolution 562, currently under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Collins i am pleased to bring this rule forward. Yesterday the rules Committee Heard testimony from my colleague, congressman paul mitchell, oversight and Government Reform Committee, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, and Ranking Member ann kuster. This is about the whistleblower protection act. It provides for one hour of debate, equally divided and controlled by the chair and Ranking Member of the government government and over jithe committee. I want to thank my colleagues from wisconsin for their leadership on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, this bill addresses a problem thats unfortunately far too common. When federal employees blow the whist only questionable practices they face intimidation from their own employers even the though the law is supposed to protect them. The underlying legislation provided for in this rule is named after a person who took his own life. He was a department of Veterans Affairs doctor who raised concerns that the v. A. Might be overmedicating patients. A later v. A. Investigation found his concerns were warranted but it was too late. Dr. Kirkpatrick had already suffered retribution from within the v. A. And was dismissed from the agency. On the day of his termination he took his own life. His story is a tragedy, one none of us wants to see repeated. The department of Veterans Affairs has become a de facto poster child. According to the office of special counsel, the apingtcy tasked with addressing whistleblower realation has seen a sharp increase in the number of whistleblower cases from employees. Carolyn lerner went on to say it is clear that the Workplace Culture in many v. A. Facility actively discourages them from coming forward with what is often critical consideration. This disturbing trend may be most visible at the v. A. A uh intu a problem across the federal government. Let me make something clear. There are good actors and bad actors within each agency. There are good actors that shine light on legitimate concerns to help their colleagues and American People. Also good actors who listen to those concerns and treat them with integrity. Unfortunately there are also bad actors. These are ethis one this is legislation steek to address an the problem they create is one the underlying bill works to solve. The underlying legislation provides for better training for employees so they understand federal whistle blower protection. It also sets mental andties plinary standards for real decision retall case against whistleblowers while increasing protections for those who speak up when they discover a problemful the bill specifically requires the department of Veterans Affairs to determine a plan to restrict access to medical files which, and it disturbs me to say this, has been a used as a method of retaliation against whistleblowers. This would make muchneeded changes to ensure those who come forward with measures necessary to increase accountability in our government dont suffer backlash as well. It also helps the individuals to know their rights and what protections and recourse are available to them. It is unfortunate we need this legislation but evidence int kates we do. The underlying legislation puts bully who was made their nest with Government Agenciesen notice it wont stand. It puts the bad actors and federal employees on notice. Hostile work environments that target whistleblowers are on the bureaucracys endangered speas cease list. The dr. Kirkpatrick whistleblower protection act also helps those at the department of Veterans Affairs. I have colleagues on both sides of the aisle who agree we need to address this problem. Dr. Chris kirkpatrick whistleblower protection act passed the senate on may 25, 2017. We need to continuer that good work here today. On behalf of the whistleblowers who have risk their careers in safety to right wrongs in our government we need to do this. Many federal employees work day in and out on behalf of the American People and yet some feel threatened when they try in earnest to make things better. We need to continue the senates work on behalf of these individuals and the americans they serve. Everyone deserves a government thats accountable for its own decisions and the actions of its agents. Today we have a chance to make strides toward a more accountable government. We have the opportunity to to address the most pressing problems facing whistleblowers at the department of veteranses affairs and across the grovet. Federal government. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman re the gentleman tremendous serves. The gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Polis i thank the gentleman for yielding me the 3 minutes customarily and yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Polis i rise in opposition to the rule. As my colleague noted, dr. Kirkpatrick was a psychologist at a v. A. Medical cent for the wisconsin. In 2009, he was fired from his job after allegedly questioning the overmedication of his patients, particularly related to opioids. Tragically, that very same day, dr. Kirkpatrick committed suicide. I think we can all agree that protected whistleblowers helps to ensure that waste, fraud and abuse in our government does not go unnoticed or ignored. Its our responsibility to empower and encourage whistleblowers to come forward and speak out when something isnt right. No one should have to live in its fear of retaliation of bringing the truth to light no one should fear losing their job or career or their life simply for following the rules. The doctor Chris Kirkpatrick whistleblower protection act increases accountability by enacting mandatory punishments for any manager or superior at an agency who has been found to have retaliated against a whistle blow. The bill also contains v. A. Specific reforms to better protect the priesoif medical records. Employee medical records would now be prohibited from being accessed in the case of potential retaliation cases cases which adds an additional level of accountability for supervisors and protecting the whistleblowers from attacks and their personal medical history which would be completely inappropriate. Mr. Speaker, you know the legislation can always be improved through the amendment process or at least through conducting hearing and markup of the bill. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, in this congress, this bill didnt have a markup in committee, didnt have a hearing, is considered under closed rule where amendments that were brought forward arent even allowed to be debated on the house floor this might be a surprise even to the chairman of the committee on oversight and government reform who himself requested a structured rule that allow for debate on amendments. Much of my Statement Today echos the sentiment of government oversight and reform Ranking Member cummings, though this bill isnt perfect, it can be improved by a few relatively straightforward amendments which unfortunately were shut down in the rules Committee Last night. The First Amendment which was blocked today would have addressed the bills constitutional concerns, first raised by the office of Personnel Management by revising the mandatories by plinary proceed wrurs to allow a superior their constitutional right to due process and responding to accusations of retaliation. It would have improved the bill and made it more likely to stand up to court in challenge. An amendment affirming the right to due process would have been worth voting on and could have preserved the constitutionality of the core elements of this bill, enho ensuring it stays in place to protect whistleblowers. Another amendment blocked under this rule would have addressed privacy concerns contained in the women, specifically the amendment would have protected the privacy of a whistleblower who commits suicide by requiring the permission of the whistleblowers next of kin before an agency can share information regarding the suicide. Again, it seems like a straightforward fix to protect the privacy of whistleblowers and their families. At the very least, even if members of the body disagreed with it why didnt we bring it forward for debate and a vote. Another amendment that was blocked contained the text of mr. Cummings bill which was passed by the house of representatives unanimously. As you know this bill would expand protections for employees who face discrimination and our commitment to protecting whistleblowers and others from retaliation. Its a bipartisan bill, passed the house unanimously, we simply should have allowed it under this bill to our commitment to related effort. I know that my colleagues on the other side will say, oh, the senate is kilo, they wont take up this bill on time, its better to pass something now than wait for their approval but it only takes 10 minutes usually to debate an amendment. We could have aloud three amendments and spent no more than 30 minutes debating them and still reported this bill out expeditiously. Now, i happen to think that while theres many on the other side of the aisle that would agree the house needs to return to regular order, its time members actually started by voting according to what theyre saying. By voting no on this rule and rejecting it we can send the message to house leadership that we want an open, regular order process. Bills should come out of committee through markups. The republicans an democrats should have an opportunity to amend bills on the floor of the house. Perhaps if we did that more often, the senate would not simply cast aside many of the bills that have passed the house. Knowing that they were the process of deliberate consideration by our body rather than a bill that appears fully formed, where members of the body simply get an up or down vote. This bill will enjoy bipartisan support when it passes the house later today, as it should. But it also begs the question why were spending valuable time debating a noncontroversial bill, especially under a closed rule. Why not simply put it up on suspension in the first place . And to say things bluntly, were running out of time this year. By my count we only have 30 legislative days left in the first half of the 115th congress. Yet were faced with so many important issues we need to move forward on. Nine million children face losing their health insurance, but this congress has not yet acted to reauthorize chip. One million young aspiring americans have no idea what those in favor say aye live will look like six months from now because of the president s decision to end daca and congress continued one milliono make a permanent law. The zit en the citizens of puerto rico, american citizens, still have not been granted a federal aid package and are suffering a lack of food, clean ter and electricity, jeopardizing many of their lives today. Yet here we are, debating a bill without even allowing an amendment process that we could have passed on a suspension vote yesterday so jeopardizing many of their we co chip, to puerto rico, to daca today rather than spend one of our 30 remaining days of business this year avoiding the topics the American People want us to take on. Despite the important goals we have left to accomplish this year, its misleading to assume that regular order isnt feasible. Weve all seen how Fast Congress can work when were pushed up to the edge and its pastime we show that same urgency and commitment in considering legislation you should regular order even if it means we have to stay here on thursdays and fridays, mr. Speaker. Even if it means were working until 8 00 or 9 00 or 10 00 or midnight. The American People deserve no less. Make no mistake, the whistleblower protection act is an important piece of legislation that will help protect whistleblowers and hold federal agencies accountable. But if were spending this much time on this, lets expand Worker Protections for a greater number of american sms. My legislation which i introduced last session and this session and has yet to receive a hearing, no less a markup in the education and work force committee, would protect workers from wage theft, prevent taxpayer funds from Going Forward Union Busting and prevent companies from tragging out labor negotiations unnecessarily to the detriment of workers. We dont have time to waste. If were going to consider an issue, lets dive in we can protect whistleblowers from retaliation and strengthen the rights of workers at the same time. Given the minimal ament of time we have left to work with, 30 days this year, we have an obligation to do both. Way, the fact that we only work 30 more days, contrary to the americans working five days a week, we have the rest of october, november, december. You know, Many Americans might get Christmas Day off or Christmas Eve but congress is only going to work 30 days out of the next 78 days. Thats less than a halftime job, mr. Speaker. I think the American People deserve more from us in this body. Especially when so many issues, like chip, like daca, like puerto rico and so many others have gone unanswered by us in this body, the house of representatives, or by colleagues across the way in the senate. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, mr. Speaker. At this time its my pleasure to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlelady from alabama, mrs. Roby. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Roby i thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to urge my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying dr. Chris 5, the kirkpatrick whistleblower protection act of 2017. This bill strengthens penalties against those who retaliate against whistleblowers as protections and opportunities for whistleblowers placed on probation and ensures federal employees have a Greater Knowledge of whistleblower rights and protection. Specifically, this bill forbids a supervisor from taking or threatening to take action against an employee because they refuse to obey an order that would violate a law, rule or regulation. I want to thank senator ron johnson for his persistence in pushing this legislation even harry he former senator, reid, shut it down last congress. A v. A. Employee took his own life after being subjected to cruel retaliation from v. A. Officials. I hope it puts in perspective the immense emotional burdens that victims of retaliation face. Mr. Speaker, this issue is personal for me. Unfortunately, ive seen exactly what retaliation against whistleblowers looks like, how easy it is to get away with it and why we have to put a stop to it. Last week marked the threeyear anniversary since the director of Central Alabama v. A. Became the first senior manager in the country fired as a result of the weightless scandal. That was a major step towards turning around one of the nations worst v. A. Systems in restoring trust with the veteran population it serves. But mr. Speaker, i can say beyond a shadow of a doubt that it would have never happened without brave whistleblowers inside the v. A. Telling me the truth. Two brave individuals in particular, sheila muse and rich tremaine told me the truth about major instances of misconduct and mismanagement when no one else would. Seeing no other way to achieve change, they finally told their story to the media at great personal risk to their careers. The stories that emerged from these exposures were almost unbelievable. More than 1,000 xray cancer screenings from lost and unread for years even though some showed malig nancys. When alerted to the problem, top administrators tried to cover this up. A pulmonologist manipulated more than 1,200 patient records, but even after being caught twice was still given a satisfactory review. A Central Alabama v. A. Employee took a recovering veteran to a crack house, bought him drugs and prostitute in order to extort his v. A. Payment. And even when caught, this employee was not fired until a year and a half later when we exposed it in the newspaper. Mr. Speaker, this behavior is egregious, and trust me, theres a lot more when it came from. However, had it not been for the courage of those on the inside to expose this wrongdoing, the world might not have ever known. To me and to the veterans whose lives they might have saved, they are heroes. But thats not how they were treated by v. A. Officials. They were treated as enemies and outcasts all because they tried to do the right thing. Rich tremaine actually testified here before the Veterans Affairs committee dealing the systematic way that some v. A. Officials attempted to silence and marginalize him. The effects of him blowing the whistle on wrong doings follow him till this day, far away from montgomery, alabama. Mr. Speaker, my experience of cleaning house at the v. A. Taught me a fascinating and frustrating truth about the culture in some parts of the v. A. The system routinely goes out of its way to protect those who dont do their jobs or even harm veterans, but then goes after those who try to stop that misbehavior. For years, because of poorly written Civil Service laws and powerful unions, too many v. A. Employees got the message that misconduct, negligence and poor performance would be tolerated but blowing the whistle on that kind of behavior would not be. Ive seen it too many times, all too frequently, v. A. Employees caught for doing the wrong thing or reprimanded, shuffled around to different jobs or allowed to quietly retire but those who try to do the right thing by our veterans, by shining the light on misconduct, are persecuted, intimidated or worse. While im proud of the work that weve done for the last three years to put an end to this unacceptable culture at the v. A. , theres much work left to be done. Mr. Speaker, theres a reason why federal employees face retaliation for speaking up. Its not because people are just naturally mean or because theres some kind of misunderstanding. The reason whistleblowers face systematic retaliation is because it works. When a brave whistleblower faces intimidation or persecution for their actions, every other employee sees it and they know what will happen to them if they tell the truth. It has a powerful chilling effect, one we saw firsthand in montgomery. They retaliate because it works. Thats just wrong and its time to punish those who do it with harsher penalties. We need to rethink our Civil Service laws in this country to make sure Public Servants live up to the honor and responsibility of the public trust, and i believe that this bill is another positive step in that direction and thats why i urge my colleagues to bring it to the floor by supporting this rule. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from georgia continues to reserve. The gentleman from colorado. Mr. Polis mr. Speaker, President Trump has been relentless on his attack on immigrant americans generally and in particular dreamers since he took office. And yet 82 of american voters, including about 70 of republicans, believe dreamers should be allowed to stay in the u. S. And apply for citizenship. Yet, President Trump has continued to turn his back on these innocent young people. Well, mr. Speaker, heres our chance to rectify President Trumps decision by restoring the American Peoples faith in us and our faith in our aspiring americans. Ill offer an amendment to the rule to bring up h. R. 3440, the dream act. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation would help thousands of young people who are de facto americans in every way except for on paper. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, mr. Speaker. I would inquire of the gentleman from colorado if he has more speakers. Mr. Polis we have no more speakers. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. By defeating the previous question today, mr. Speaker, we can bring forward the dream act which im confident would pass on the floor of the house probably by a good margin. What the dream act does is it allows young people who grew up in this country, a pathway to become citizens. Theyve gone to our schools. Theyve been on the Football Team or cheerleaders like your own kids or grandkids, mr. Speaker. Theyre able to work legally in our country because of the Deferred Action Program which is scheduled by President Trump to be cancelled in 4 1 2 months. We need to act now to give these young people the certainty they need to live their lives as americans, the only country they know and the only country that theyre loyal to. We simply dont have time to waste. We anyway to give these young de facto americans the certainty they need to continue with their lives, to be able to contribute to our country, join our military, pay taxes and all of the other responsibilities that americans have. And of course, mr. Speaker, protecting whistleblowers is important. Its critical to ensure our democracy functions honestly and with accountability, and government is truly working in the best interest of the people that it serves. But we can get there a better way. By having an open process that allows democrats and republicans to suggest further improvements to whistleblower protection rather than having a bill that was never marked up in committee, that simply appeared fully formed for the full house to consider without the opportunity for democrats or republicans to make it any better. The dr. Chris kirkpatrick whistleblower protection act will strengthen the rights of whistleblowers and reaffirm their value and importance to our country, but once again, this bill should have gone through a regular process that allowed us to amend it. The fact this bill passed the senate with bipartisan support shouldnt stop us from making changes in this body, the house of representatives, to improve the bill and make it work even better. We have an obligation to our constituents to thoughtfully consider every piece of legislation in front of us and to amend where we see fit. As we move forward on addressing pressing issues such as finding a path forward on deferred action if we defeat the previous legislation, reauthorizing chip or making improvements in our health care system, lets do it through a regular process that allows democrats and republicans, the 435 of us that serve here, to bring forward our ideas, not just the ideas of leadership in making the country a better place. We have good, smart, deliberate members on both sides of the aisle that want to work, want to legislate. Its ridiculous that we only have 30 days out of the next 78 in which congress will even be working, and i suspect for most of the 30 days, like today, democrats and republicans wont even be able to offer their ideas and have them considered. The American People deserve better. We as an institution, as the United States congress, can do better and we can begin by defeating the previous question and defeating the rule. Thats why i urge my colleagues to oppose the rule, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, mr. Speaker. I appreciate the gentlemans concern, especially for the legislation before us. I think it is a step forward in things we should be doing and the thing that is the oversight role of this congress, especially when dealing with the issue of whistleblowers and the value that they bring and also the culture that seems to have prevaded. I so appreciate the gentlelady from alabama and her stories. We in georgia have had similar issues. We had that in the augusta medical center. We also had in others. I think the issue here today though and i want to be very clear, mr. Speaker. Many times when we come to the floor theres this discussion and it gets circulated that were actually against all federal employees or that every federal employee is bad and none of the federal employees are worth their payment or whatever and thats just not true. The work of the vast majority of the v. A. Employees, workers of the v. A. Majority of the agencies although we may have philosophical differences how big those agencies should be or whether they should be at the role of the federal government at the end of the day the value of the federal employee is not ever questioned, at least by this member. But when we find bad actors, when we find bad policies, when we find bad procedures, when we find things that are inherently wrong and kept wrong, as the gentlelady from alabama so well pointed out, that when the culture becomes protecting the bad and punishing the good, then we have an issue thats developed far beyond the scope of what it should be. This is some of the things that were discussing today, and i think it is worth the time on this floor. Its worth the time on the senate floor, as they have already passed this bill, and i think the concerns raised are the discussion of which has been addressed in this. So i think what we look at today, todays bill is a necessary step i believe for integrity, mr. Speaker. My colleagues and i increase whistleblower protections. We need a clear path for Public Servants to serve americans that we will honor their good character and courage. They should not feel alone in their resolve to improve the v. A. Or any other agencies. Yet, too often we have seen the current law leave them at the mercy of bad actors. We must strengthen the existing staff use to address the litany of retaliations aimed at whistleblowers. The bill today will deter Agency Officials from deterring those shining a light. Bad actors are invading discipline while whistleblowers strive so do whats right too often endure punishment for their brave actions. The whistleblowers are on a losing end of a system that often favors mischief which means the American Public also suffers. This bill will bring relief to federal Truth Tellers and Everyday Americans who depend on their services. We best serve the American People by protecting whistleblowers, addressing their concerns properly and investigating their claims with transparency. The federal government exists to protect its citizens by holding wrongdoers accountable. It is designed to support those who root out wrongs in the system. The underlying legislation brings us closer to a federal system run by people for the benefit of people, not for the benefit of the few bad actors who exploit its structure. It delivers justice to bad actors, protect whistleblowers acting in good faith and making sure the federal government better serves the American People. At the end of the day, mr. Speaker, isnt that what its all about . At the end of the day, is it not what we as coong and as house and the senate should congress and as house and senate should be about and thats ensuring the people that elect us to serve are best served from the federal government to provide basic services to our veterans who serve in our other agencies, who at the core of this actually comes down to me this is a protection of whistleblowers but in a bigger role its a protection of the best that can be used in our federal agencies and thats the trust of the American People. When we are at the discussion of trust in the American People, right now many times if you look around, the federal government may not be in that trusted role because many times they see the actions of the bad actors as opposed to many times the very shining lights of the good actors and those good actors who are willing to participate and to step forward and to be a part of the solution and not a part of the problem need that protection. We cannot continue to perpetuate and turn a blind eye when this is so relevant in our government. When we do this, we stand for those that we serve. We stand not only for the districts in which were elected but the american who say, i expect my trust to be exemplified in the employees of the federal government and the stewardship of their tax dollars. The question for us today is not , do we continue to protect the system that is broken, but the question for us is to vote yes on this previous question, move this rule, because this is saying we value that integrity currentcy, we value those who are willing to step forward at risk of themselves in courage to say this is wrong, we need to fix it, and let the ships fall where they may. We protect the right, we punish the wrong. Thats what this bill does. With that i yield back the balance of my time and prove me previous question on the resolution. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Mr. Polis on that, i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. Pursuant to clause 2b1 of rule 9, the speaker designates this as the time for the offering of the resolution noticed by pursuant to clause the gentleman from texas, mr. Green. The resolution has not been offered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, proceedings will now resume on the question previously postponed. Votes will be taken in the following order. Ordering the previous question on House Resolution 562 and adoption of the resolution if ordered. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15minute vote. Remaining electronic votes will be conducted as fiveminute votes. The Unfinished Business is the vote on ordering the previous House Resolution 562 on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will report the resolution. The clerk resolution providing for consideration of the bill senate 585 House Resolution to whistleblower protection for federal employees, increase aid wareness of federal whistleblower protections and increased accountability and require discipline for federal supervisors who retaliate against whistleblowers and for other persons. Providing for proceedings in the period through october 16, 2017, and october 20, 2017, and providing for motions to suspend the rules. The speaker pro tempore the question is on ordering the priest question. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 227. The nays are 190. The previous question is ordered. The question is on adoption of the resolution. All those in favor say aye. All those opposed say no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. Mr. Polis mr. Speaker, on that i request a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore a recorded vote is requested. Those favoring a recorded vote will rise. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This will be a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this are 234, the nays are 185. The resolution is adopted. Without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. The house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. The speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The house will be in order. Please take your conversations off the floor. House will be in order. Please remove your conversations rom the floor. For what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. Nist Small Business cybersecurity act as amended. The speaker pro tempore the ouse will be in order. Nist sms the house will be in order. Please remove your conversations from the floor the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2105, a bill to science he director of and technology and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman mr. Florida and the gentleman from illinois will each control 20 minutes. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on h. R. 2105. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Webster mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Webster thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you for giving us this time to debate this important bill. It is essentially timely that october is the speaker pro tempore the gentleman is the national secury Cybersecurity Awareness month so taking up this bill at this time is a perfect time. We must come together to protect all businesses, large, small, medium, from the constant threat of cyberattacks. Americas Small Businesses are the back bone of the economy, accounting for 54 of all sales and 55 of american jobs. Unfortunately, Small Businesses are especially vulnerable with some reports noting that 33 of cyberattacks specifically target them. These Small Businesses are more suspeptable to attacks due to the limited access to the tools they need to prepare for such an event. Implementation of the nist framework and to these Small Businesses will protect the Business Owners, their employees and their customers all while contributing positively to the economy. H. R. 2105, the National Institute of standards and technology, Small Business cybersecurity act will help Small Businesses better address their cybersecurity risks and help them survive and thrive in the face of this adversity. As an owner of a multigenerational family airconditioning and heating business, i understand firsthand the importance of equiping and powering Small Business to tackle these challenges so they can grow and prosper. About 10 months ago, my sons called me and said there was a message on the screen of one of our computers that said your data has been frozen, youve been attacked, and it had a clock on there ticking down, if you dont pay a ransom by a certain time well destroy your data. It is inaccessible. Theres something we had done, fortunately, not that we do every day but we had done several days before which protected us from that, we were able to fix the problem and wipe the wipe it clean and get started all over. But most Small Businesses may or may not, including ourselves, may or may not have done that just a few days before. So i introduced 2105 which with the support of cosponsorships of many of my colleagues on the committee, including chairman smith, chairwoman comstock, Ranking Member lipinski, it will provide Small Businesses many my district, state, and across the country with the tools they need to meet the threats of the modern world. This bill describes the vital roleplayed by Small Businesses in the u. S. Economy and the devastating impact cyberattacks on the Small Businesses and Large Businesses and what they need to develop to specifically help themselves. It directs nist director within a year of the enactment to disseminate clear and concise resources which are defined as guidelines, tools, best practices, standards, methodologies and other ways of performing and providing this information. Dissemination would be in a consultation with heads of other federal agencies. These resources based on the nist framework for improving critical infrastructure, cybersecurity, will help Small Businesses identify, assess, and manage and reduce their cybersecurity risk. H. R. 21 5 also clarifies that the use of the resources by Small Businesses is voluntary, directs the nist director and heads of federal agencies so that that so elect to make the Resources Available on the government websites and specifies that no new funds are authorized to carry out this act. This bill is very similar to senate bill 70 senate bill 770, the main street cybersecurity act, which is supported by the national Small Business association and the National Restaurant association, the u. S. Chamber and the International Techni group. The chamber and techni group also support h. R. 2105. On september 28, 2017, the Senate Passed 770 by unanimous consent and i ask my colleagues to do similar for h. R. 2105. Thank you again, mr. Speaker, for bringing up this important bill today. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . Mr. Lipinski mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is yielded such time as he may consume. Mr. Lipinski mr. Speaker, i rise in support of h. R. 2105, the nist Small Business cybersecurity act of 2017, a bipartisan effort to help Small Businesses implement the nist Cybersecurity Framework for critical flass. I want to thank infrastructure. I want to thank mr. Webster for his work on the bill and all of my colleagues on the science, space and Technology Committee for their support of the bill. Also want to thank my colleague from the senate for working to pass the companion version over there which i hope that we can follow suit on here today. The nist cyber framework provides best practices for organizations of all sizes. Small businesses often dont have the time or resources to figure out how to adapt it to their needs if implemented. This bill directs nist to create clear guidelines, tools and best practices, specifically for Small Businesses so they can protect their networks resources. Most Small Businesses dont have significant i. T. Departments. Some do not even have any dedicated Information Security personnel. Thus, they may be more at risk of cyberattack than large enterprises. According to data released last month, 53 of american businesses of all sizes suffered a cyberattack in the past year, and of these, 72 spent more than 5,000 to investigate and recover. The 2016 report found 42 of Small Businesses suffered a cyberattack of some kind. Incidents like these not only hurt Small Business owners, employees and customers, they hurt american competitiveness. In my district, in the southwest suburbs of chicago, there is a fourth generation Manufacturing Business that suffered multiple phishing attacks. The few times they have fallen victim to these attacks, the costs have been significant. They told me they would welcome guidance on affordable offtheshelf resources to strengthen their cyber defenses and get them back to focusing on their business. This is a story repeated across the country. That is why we must act and we must pass this bill for our Small Businesses. The guidelines created under this bill, like the nist framework, will be voluntary so we wont be adding to the Regulatory Burden on our Small Businesses. Instead, well be offering them an opportunity to secure their networks so they can compete on a level Playing Field. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Webster mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from florida, dr. Dunn. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Dunn i thank my friend from florida. Mr. Speaker, today i rise in the rt of h. R. 2105, National Institute of standards and technology Small Business cybersecurity act. This Bipartisan Legislation instructs the director of nist in consultation with other federal agencies, to disseminate guidance to help Small Businesses identify, assess, manage and reduce their cybersecurity risks. As a Small Business owner, i am honored to be a cosponsor of this bill. We know the importance of keeping all records safe and secure from outside threats. From the recent hacking of equifax and many others, theres clearly a growing risk of online hacking and cyberwarfare in the world today. Its imperative we ensure the backbone of our economy, our small and mediumsized businesses, have the resources they need to stay safe. I strongly believe business in floridas Second District would benefit from this Vital Information which will help them keep their data safe and e by increasing sigh cybersecurity efforts, were helping. This bill doesnt cost taxpayers anything but it could potentially save the Business Owners and the consumers both their privacy and their livelihood. Thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. Mr. Lipinski at this time id like to yield to the gentlelady from texas, the Ranking Member of the space science, space and Technology Committee, ms. Johnson, as much time as she may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas is recognized for as much time as she may consume. Ms. Johnson thank you very much, mr. Speaker. H. R. 21 a pport of 05, the nist Small Business security act of 2017 that directs the National Institute of standards and technology to provide more guidance, resources and tools to Small Businesses to improve their cybersecurity and protect the personal information of their customers. According to the Small Business administration, the 28 million Small Businesses in america account for 54 of all u. S. Sales, and 55 of all u. S. Jobs. Small businesses play a central role in our economy. Unfortunately, the Information Systems and networks of Small Businesses are especially vulnerable to an increasing volume and sophistication of cyberattacks. Small businesses rarely have employees or leadership with education and training in cybersecurity. Further, Small Businesses typically have limited resources to invest in cybersecurity. The National Institute of standards and technology, or nist, is the leader in developing standards and guidelines for cybersecurity in both the public and private sectors. In 2009, nist developed guidance documents a guidance document called Small Business Information Security the fundamentals. The document described the fundamentals of an effective Small Business Information Security program in a nontechnical language. In 2014, in response to an executive order from president obama, nist published the Cybersecurity Framework for critical infrastructure. The Cybersecurity Framework, as written, is most useful for larger businesses with at least some cybersecurity expertise. Therefore, in november, 2016, nist published an update of their Small Business guidance document using the framework as a template. These are just two examples of how nist have long privatized supporting Small Business efforts to strengthen cybersecurity. The requirements of h. R. 2105 are consistent with these ongoing efforts and help ensure they will continue. Ideally, h. R. 2105 will have also provided resources for nist to expand these activities because the need is very clear. We cannot effectively support Small Business in this country until we provide the relevant Government Agencies the resources to help protect those businesses from cyberthreats. Mr. Chairman, i support h. R. 2105, and i thank the sponsors, including mr. Webster, mr. Ipinski and ms. Rosen, for their strong support in Small Businesses and this Important Role in cybersecurity. However, i am concerned that he house bill does not bill contains no explicit underfunded mandate clause and that the Senate Passed a version thats silent in funding. I Hope Congress will provide nist the adequate resources to fulfill the mandates in this legislation. I urge passage. I thank the sponsors, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from florida. Mr. Webster mr. Speaker, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from texas, the chairman of the committee, mr. Smith. The speaker pro tempore the distinguished chairman of the science and Space Committee from the great state of texas is recognized for four minutes. Mr. Smith thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank the gentleman from florida, mr. Webster, for yielding me time and for introducing h. R. 2105, the nist Small Business cybersecurity act. This important and timely bipartisan bill, cosponsored by 17 members of congress and approved by the Science Committee by voice vote, directs the National Institute of standards and technology to provide Small Businesses with cybersecurity guidelines, tools, best practices, standards and methodologies necessary to better protect themselves from cyberattacks. Small businesses help produce a thriving economy that benefits our entire country. They bring innovative ideas, Cutting Edge Products and services and jobs to the marketplace. In my home state, for example, there are more than 2. 4 million Small Businesses that employ almost 4 1 2 million texans. Major cyberattacks dominate News Coverage such as the equifax or yahoo hacks that impacted millions and millions of people. But Small Businesses, which often do not have sufficient information to adequately monitor and protect their computer systems, are frequently the target of cyberattacks as well. 2016 report notes that cyberattacks against businesses with fewer than 250 employees ve grown from 18 in 2011 to 43 in 2015. This bill can help those businesses. October is national Cybersecurity Awareness month, so it is appropriate we consider a bill designed to help protect Small Businesses from cybersecurity attacks. Todays legislation provides Small Businesses with nist expertise to reduce their cybersecurity risk. Nist experts developed a Cybersecurity Framework through collaborations between the government and the private sector. This framework is accepted and used by many private organizations to address and manage their Information Technology vulnerabilities in a costeffective way. The guidance described in this bill to help Small Businesses is based on the nist Cybersecurity Framework. H. R. 2105 prioritizes dissemination of this guidance by nist within its almost 1 billion budget. Mr. Speaker, i urge my colleagues to show their support for Small Business by approving mr. Websters fiscally responsible innovation protection bill, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois. Mr. Lipinski mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers over here, so i am going to reserve e balance of my time until they are ready to close. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Mr. Webster thank you, mr. Speaker. Yes, i yield two minutes of my time to the chairwoman of the subcommittee from virginia, mrs. Comstock. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from virginia is recognized for two minutes. Mrs. Comstock thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 2105. When i travel around my district, which is technology workers, the thing i hear repeated concern is the increasing need for individuals with the skill set, the education, training and knowledge of cybersecurity matters. With the recent events with equifax, o. P. M. Breaches, its clear our Cybersecurity Infrastructure needs to be strengthened. In december, 2016, the commission on enhancing National Cybersecurity specifically recommended that the administration should, quote, develop concrete efforts to support and strengthen the cybersecurity of small and mediumsized businesses, end quote. The Small Business accounting for most of the u. S. Economys jobs and sales is imperative we provide guidance to help them identify, assess, manage and reduce their suber security risks. By making cybersecurity risks. By making these resources readily available across the country, this commons legislation will help them commonsense legislation will help them protect their business from cyberthreats so they can grow the economy and provide more jobs instead. I am proud to be a cosponsor of this bill and i urge my colleagues to vote yes on its passage. Thank my colleague from florida, representative webster, for his work on this legislation and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois. Mr. Lipinski continue to reserve my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida is recognized. Mr. Webster mr. Speaker, i yield one minute to my friend from South Carolina, mr. Norman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from South Carolina is recognized for one minute. Mr. Norman i rise in support of h. R. 2105, the National Institute of standards and technology Small Business cybersecurity act. This bill directly affects the National Institute of standards and technology to issue guidance for Small Business to use voluntarily to assist them n identifying and assessing, managing, and reducing the cybersecurity risk. As has been said Small Business in the u. S. Account for 54 of sales and 55 of u. S. Jobs. Wever, in 2016, semantic Security Threat reports indicated that businesses with less than 250 employees are cing increased cyberSecurity Threats up from 18 in 2011 to 43 in 2015. Mr. Chairman, i reason cently passed our small threats up from 18 in real recently passed our small real estate business to my son. I understand the importance of Small Business equipping them with the tools that will enable them to meet the emerging challenges. I urge passage of h. R. 2105 which will help prepare Small Business in the future and urge my colleagues to pass it. I yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from illinois. Mr. Will pin i ask continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from florida. Mr. Webster i yield one minute to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. Bacon. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from nebraska is recognized for one minute. Mr. Bacon mr. Speaker, i rise in support of the National Institute of standards and technology Small Business cybersecurity act. A bill that im proud to cosponsor. Will help tion promote stronger cybersecurity practices amongst our nations Small Businessings and its businesses and its fiscally responsible. Our Small Businesses are important to the Overall Health of our economy. According to the Small Business administration, small will help businesses account for 55 of the total jobs in the United States. My home state of nebraska, Small Businesses employ 390,000 people in 2016. Small businesses are not able to prioritize cybersecurity efforts over other aspects of their business. Or they lack the resources to secure their networks and systems. E must promote greater preparedness to protect small from cyberattacks. H. R. 2105 directs nist to disseminate guidance to Small Businesses, to identify, assess, from cyberattacks. Manage and reduce their cyberrisks based off their expertise. This is a big step towards promoting better cybersecurity practices amongst our nations Small Businesses. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 2105 and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired of. The gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from illinois seek recognition. Mr. Lipinski does the gentleman from florida have any more speakers . Mr. Webster im prepared to close. Mr. Lipinski mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois is recognized to close on the minority side. Mr. Lipinski thank you, mr. Speaker. We all have come down here and talked about the importance of Small Business. We know how important Small Businesses are to our country. The real engine of our Economic Growth. We also know that in most Small Businesses today, they dont have the capabilities to have an i. T. Department or the expertise they need to protect themselves from the continual cyberattacks of data that we hear about. But those attacks of that data has not only happened for large companies, its also a threat to Small Businesses. Therefore, we need to do all that we can to make sure that they are capable of protecting them 70s so that our Small Businesses can continue to thrive and be the economic engine that they are. So i urge my colleagues to support this bill. We get something good done for our Small Businesses. I urge everyone to support this and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois yields back the bag of balance of his time of the the chair recognizes the distinguished gentleman from florida to close debate. Mr. Webster, i thank members from both sides, mr. La pin skirks Ranking Member, chairman smith and others who have supported this bill. Ts a great idea to not only have affordable bipartisan support but bicameral support. This is a Good Opportunity to help all the Small Businesses. Ble i know personally that from my business and i know others who have Small Business who is know that there is, in a sense, very little help right now for Small Businesses in this area of cybersecurity. The larger businesses certainly. I know have their own i. T. People. We dont. So im excited about the fact that this could happen. And i move passage and reserve the yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2105, as amended. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. Without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2763. The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer improvements asket 2017. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman call up the bill as amended . Mr. Chabot as amended, yes. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the built. The clerk h. R. 2763, a billtomend the Small Business act to improve the Small Business Innovation Research program and Small Business Technology Transfer program, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot, and the gentlewoman from florida, mrs. Murfirks each control 20 minutes. The mrs. Murphy, each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot. Mr. Chabot i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Chabot thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is yielded such time he may consume. Mr. Chabot this Bipartisan Legislation introduced by chairman knight and Ranking Member murphy of the committee on Small Business, subcommittee on contracting and work force, aims to modernize and improve the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, or spirmsttr programs. The spir and sttr programs have helped thousands of Small Businesses create new technologies, commercialize their ideas, and generate new jobs. Creating these benefits in the private sector, the programs offer in a costeffective matter ways for federal agencies to solve operational problems. H. R. 2763 strengthens these two programs in quite a few ways. First, the bill emphasizes Agency Accountability by incuring several reported deadlines for covered agencies and for the s. B. A. To provide future congresses with improved information that will lead to bipartisan understanding of the strength and weaknesses. It clarifies the intent of the 2011 reauthorization to ensure taxpayers reap the benefits of the spir and sttr programs by binding the technologies developed in the program to longterm projects at the department of defense. Third, the legislation extends a Popular Pilot Program included in the 2011 reauthorization that would allow all participating federal agencies to award a phase two contract immediately if the agency finds that the Small Business concern is already completed work typically done during phase one. Fourth, it makes permanent the option for all participating agencies to establish Commercialization Readiness Programs, or c. R. P. 20911 lot program from reauthorization, these c. R. P. s have been shown to provide much needed support to Small Companies nearing the completion of the process and have helped advance technology to the commercialization phase. Fifth, it extends through 2022 the provision that allows participating agencies to utilize 3 of their al low case for administrative functions, conduct outreach in an effort to bring more companies in the ir and sttr programs and increase deterrence tore waste, fraud, and abuse. I want to thank congressman night and congresswoman murphy who are the bipartisan work on this important legislation. I would also like to thank chairman smith and Ranking Member johnson of the committee on science, space, and technology, as well as who are the bipartisan chairwoman comstock and Ranking Member lipinski of the subcommittee on research and technology for working together with us to produce this bipartisan bill that we have before us this afternoon. I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Speaker man the recognizes the gentlelady from florida. Mrs. Murphy thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is yielded speaker such time the gentlelady from she may consue. Mrs. Murphy i rise in support of h. R. 2763, the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer improvements act. Which will modernize two programs that provide federal funding to small, technologically advanced firms to research and develop Innovative Products. Im proud to have cosponsored this legislation with congressman steve knight and encouraged my colleagues on the Small Business such time she may consue. Committee and the house science, space, and Technology Committee on both sides of the aisle support the bill. For decades American Innovation and ingenuity has bolstered our Economic Growth and solidified our countrys status as a Global Leader in technology. For more than 30 years the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs have provided a critical source of funding to Small Businesses that engage in research and development. These initiatives were established to help spur innovation and job creation throughout the country. Since the inception of the program, more than 40 billion have been awarded to small, innovative firms to address our nations most Important Research and development challenges. Because of the highrisk nature of their ventures, spir and sttr grantees receives r d funding that might otherwise be unavailable in the private sector. As a direct result of the federal investment in these programs, breakthroughs have been made in a wide range of sectors including agriculture, defense, energy, and health care. In turn, these discoveries have generated tremendous Economic Growth and Job Opportunities across the country, including in central florida. For Many Research companies in my district, these two programs serve as a gateway to the federal contracting field. That is why im honored to have cosponsored this Bipartisan Legislation. The final bill reflects bipartisan compromises and input from both committees of jurisdiction. Most importantly, it includes many provisions focused on developing Innovative Products that support Important National priorities and that can be sold on the commercial market. To improve oversight of the program, the bill requires the Small Business administration to submit an annual report to congress no later than december 31 of each year. This will enable us to better account for the use of funds and to better access assess the progress of spir and sttr initiatives at participating gencies. Another provision mation permanent the Pilot Program that extension of remarks the civilian agency Commercialization Readiness Program which allows up to 10 of Agency Administrative dollars for sequential phase two awards to be toll ingible businesses. Finally, the bill includes an amendment that i authored to require participating federal agencies to take additional steps to educate small firms about the sbir and sttr programs and to encourage more fall firms to apply for funding. Than decade of fits and starts with these programs, h. R. 2763 will make program much ements and provide needed certainty to Small Businesses seeking to commercialize. By authorizing the administrative fee to run these programs for an additional five years beyond its much needed certainty to small current authorization, congress is taking proactive steps to give small firms the confidence they need to continue developing Innovative Products. I respectfully ask my colleagues to vote for this bill. Thank you. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to yield such time he may consume to the gentleman from california, mr. Knight, who is current authorization, congress the cha subcommittee on contracting and work force on the Small Business committee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for such time he may consume. Mr. Knight thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the chairman for his hard work and for leadership. And i want to thank my partner in this, congresswoman murphy, for her cosponsoring of this bill and for her work on this mportant piece of legislation. A 21st century military requires a 21st Century Acquisition process, one that is agile, efficient, and effectivent. I represent californias 25th district and nowhere will you find a more exemplary place that demonstrates the Important Role Small Businesses play in both our aerospace and Defense Industrial base. I see firsthand the innovative effects Small Businesses make and how they can positively impact government functioning. The Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer, sbir and sttr programs are critical to this impact. Now that these programs have been reauthorized until 2022, its important that we continue to focus on spurring innovation. Thats why i introduced this bill. My bill requires the Small Business administration to provide congress with better information and reasonable hard deadlines. It clarifies congressional intent. The previous authorization to ensure taxpayers reap the benefits of sbir and s. T. T. Programs by tying them to longterm programs at the d. O. D. It also allows participating agencies to establish a new separate commercialization assistance Pilot Program and extends three popular pie lat programs through f. Pilot programs through f. Y. 2022. The full program will need a full reauthorization. With the use of sbir and sttr programs, we can increase Small Business participation in defense and Aerospace Industry while tapping into the new potential their American Innovation spirit represents. I ask my colleagues to vote yes on h. R. 2763, the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Improvement act. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from florida is recognized. I yield to the gentlelady from texas and the Ranking Member of the science, space and Technology Committee. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from texas is recognized for two minutes. Ms. Johnson thank you very much, mr. Speaker. I rise to support h. R. 2763, the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer mprovements act of 2017. I want to thank chairman chabot, Ranking Member velazquez, chairman smith and all other colleagues on both committees for their work to advance this bipartisan piece of this house floor. Sbir and sttr are valuable programs that provide Competitive Research and development grants. And contracts to innovative Small Businesses. The ability and continuity in the sbir and sttr programs are important goals which is why i supported the agreement in last Years National Defense Authorization act. To extend the program until fiscal year 2022 at the current allocation rate level. H. R. 2763, the two authorizing committees have come to agreement on a number of policy improvements. And some strengthen oversight for the programs. The policy changes in h. R. 2763 advances sensible ways to further leverage Small Business r d to help meet needs as well as contribute more broadly to the u. S. Innovation and Economic Growth. The bill includes continued support for early Stage Funding for entrepreneurial researchers, provides funding for Important Agency outreach and administrative activities, streamlines reporting requirements, ensures Agency Outreach for researchers and minority serving institutions and authorizes several additional activities to support the implementation of the program. I am particularly pleased that the bill includes a provision to address Current Agency shortfalls and fostering the participation of women and minorityowned firms. Fostering diversity in Stem Research and innovation is an economic imperative. May have i 30 more seconds . The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is yielded an additional minute. Ms. Johnson thank you very much. We must continue to encourage such policies. H. R. 2763 is a good bill that improves the sbir programs and maximize benefits of federally funded Small Business r d. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and i thank all of the persons involved. Thank you very much, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot well continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman continues to verve. The gentlelady from florida. Mrs. Murphy mr. Speaker, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from illinois. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois, mr. Lipinski, is rebbed for three recognized for three minutes. The speaker pro tempore mr. Speaker, i want to thank chair chabot and smith and Ranking Members johnson and velazquez for their leadership on this bill. The sbir and sttr programs have helped countless innovative Small Businesses grow jobs through american ingenuity. This bill will make these programs work better. Providing Small Businesses with the additional tools for bringing own ovations to bringing innovations to market. Sbir and sttr programs will bring more jobs. I especially want to thank my colleagues for supporting inclusion of two provisions that i put forward in committee. First, the bill increases the amount of money that grant recipients are allowed to spend on business and Technical Services like market research, intellectual property protection, or participation in entrepreneurial Training Programs like the highly successful innovation core program. This helps Small Businesses, especially startups, use their funds where they know theyre needed most, for technical assistance, creative approaches to problem solving and other types of guidance needed in todays complex marketplaces. Second, this bill expands the highly successful stage zero proof of Concept Partnership program which i helped create at the National Institutes of health in a previous sbir reauthorization. This highly Successful Program provides the earliest funding for researchers exploring the possibilities of turning their research into a viable medical product. After just two years in operation, the three hubs created by the n. I. H. Program have filed 30 patent applications, negotiated 14 technology licenses, formed seven companies and have 70 promising technologies in the pipeline. This bill extends the phase zero program for another five years at n. I. H. And expands it to the National Science foundation, nasa and the department of energy. In doing so, well be giving a needed boost to more researchers who are budding entrepreneurs who will create the jobs of tomorrow. Mr. Speaker, our Small Businesses deserve support as they drive americas Economic Growth. This bill will give innovators and entrepreneurs additional tools to drive this growth that we so desperately need, so i strongly urge my colleagues to support this bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot mr. Speaker, well continue to yield continue to reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman continues to reserve. The gentlewoman from florida. Mrs. Murphy i yield two minutes to the gentleman from california. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding and for her work on this Small Business bill. I also want to thank chairman smith, Ranking Member chabot and members johnson and velazquez for including my amendment to benefit minorityserving institutions in h. R. 2763. Mr. Mcnerney this is essential to retaining american leadership, innovation and Small Business development. The sbir and sttr programs were both created to expand Small Business participation in the federal research mission. One of the four objectives congress had in mind in establishing the sbir was to facilitate and increase participation of minority and disadvantaged persons in technological innovation. My amendment requires the participating federal agencies in the sbir and sttr programs to conduct outreach to minorityserving institutions, m. S. I. s, and Hispanic Serving Institutions and faculty conducting research at these institutions so that participation rates in federal research and Development Opportunities will increase. There are many great m. S. I. s and researchers who work at these institutions across the country. For example, California State University which has a campus in my district is an Hispanic Serving Institution and an m. S. I. And has been ranked one of the best colleges in our nation. Our country depends on innovation of m. S. I. s and intellectual capital greatness. In the 21st century, american Economic Growth is going to be determined by innovation and growth of technology and stemfocused businesses. Its critical to the growth of our economy that minorityserving institutions and minorityowned businesses are connected to this technological ecosystem. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman, mr. Mcnerney from california, yields back. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot reserves. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from florida. Mrs. Murphy mr. Speaker, i yield two minutes to the gentleman from new york. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york, mr. Tonko, is yield for two minutes yielded for two minutes. Mr. Tonko this bill helps our most forwardthinking entrepreneurs and innovators. Were continuing to improve upon the program itself. This program has proven to be one of the most successful federal programs for technological innovation in the United States history, delivering more than 70,000 patents and valuable innovations in agriculture and defense, energy, health sciences, homeland security, space, transportation and other fields. Through phase one and phase two sbir, countless jobs have been created in the Capital Region of new york. Its through programs such as sbir that our region has developed the underpings of support for a boom in High Technology in innovation and economic development. One example is one located within my district in green island, new york, which has been fitted from the sbir program benefited from the sbir program over a number of years. This will allow the company to continue work on replacement of wood resins which will economically be competitive and nontoxic. The resin system represents cost in Energy Savings and is capable of leveraging existing manufacturing equipment in production today. This funding will help them deliver on the promise of this innovative technology. Mcintyre, cofounder and chief scientist said, quote, we are very excited to bring our new Material Technology to market and displace toxic formaldehyde resins. Has enabled sttr us to take risk and develop gamechanging technology. While this bill is a positive step forward toward helping more Small Businesses, we must do more to help other Small Businesses develop these types of gamechanging technologies. With that i recognize the value of research and will fight to see more funding for all of these agencies and in turn more funding for the sbir, sttr programs. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from ohio. Mr. Chabot well continue to reserve, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore continues to reserve. The gentlelady from florida. Mrs. Murphy mr. Speaker, i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is prepared to close. Is the gentleman from ohio prepared to close . The gentlelady from florida is recognized for such time as she may consume to close. Mrs. Murphy thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, supporting our entrepreneurs and Small Businesses are a top priority for both sides of the aisle. Our bill will make it easier for small firms that receive sbir and sttr awards to bring their products to market and achieve commercial success. The sbir and sttr programs are also critical to our economy as they support our nations job creators and ensure our country continues to produce Cutting Edge Research and development. This ingenuity is what makes our country a Global Economic powerhouse. These programs, while successful, can be improved. The bill before us is a step in the right direction insofar as it will ensure all agencies are enhancing efforts to help more Small Businesses obtain sbir and sttr funding and bring their Innovative Products to market. Therefore, i respectfully urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from florida yields back the balance of her time. The chair now recognizes the distinguished gentleman from ohio to close debate. Mr. Chabot thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank all those that spoke on this legislation, very bipartisan, good legislation here this afternoon on the house floor. In closing, i would just say whether its new Software System for tracking contract payments or a new medical device to help with cancer treatments or a new piece of technology that literally saves lives on the battlefield, the sbir and sttr programs have consistently delivered results to federal agencies. They are very worthy programs that do what theyre supposed to do, but we can always do better. This legislation improves and modernizes these programs, and i would ask all my colleagues support it, and i would yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. All time has expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the amended. 2763, as those in favor say aye. Those opposed say no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. 190. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bip. The clerk senate 190, an act to provide for consideration of the extension under the Energy Policy and conservation act of nonapplication of noload mode Energy Efficiency standards to certain security or life safety alarms or certificate vail lens systems Surveillance Systems and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. Olson, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. Rush, are each recognized and will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Olson. Mr. Olson mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks extraneous material on the bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so order mr. Oilson i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yield as much time as he may consume. Olson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of s. 190. External power fly splies are used for all sorts of devices. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support and we have learned from experience that the federal Energy Efficiency standards sometimes dont work the ways we want them to. In particular, we need an exemption from these rules for the security and life safety alarms, and surveillance alarms. S. 190, the power and Security Systems, pass act, allows these critical uses to stay on the market. Devices like Home Security 247, it need to be on 365. But, the 2007 energy and efeshency standards where extra Power Supplies does not allow for this. Since then, congress has created exemptions for these always on devices, but this exemption ended july 1 of 2017. S. 190 extends this extension out to 2023. Would ult of this bill be that these important Security Systems will continue to be available, preserving the jobs of those who make them, and most importantly, the safety of those who use them. Urge my colleagues to vote yes on this measure. I reserve the balance of my time the speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the distinguished gentleman from chicago, illinois, mr. Bobby rush. Mr. Rush i want to thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself uch time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is yielded such time as he may consume. Mr. Rush mr. Speaker, i rise in support of s. 190, the power and Security Systems or pass act. Mr. Speaker, this bill would provide a noncontroversial technical fix to a department of Energy Efficiency standard the speaker pro tempore that has wide bipartisan support. I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues, mr. Elch from vermont, mr. Wolfson from alabama, as well as Senators Gardner and senator and ll for their work it getting it to the floor here today. Mr. Speaker, this legislation would simply amend the Energy Policy and conservation act to require the department of energy to issue a rule by july determine ch would whether energy and conservation standards for external Power Supplies should be amended. The rule must contain any amendment standards and would apply to harness manufacturing 2023. Fter july 1, mr. Speaker, current law exempts external Power Supplies , security, or life safety mr. Speaker, current law ystems from Energy Conservation standards untille july 1, 2017. This bill simply extends that exemption to july 1, 2023. Mr. Speaker, this clarification is necessary in order to le that r supply supplies that are designed to power security alarms, lifesaving devices, and civilian systems. Mr. Speaker, as i stated, this gislation fix has widespread support from both houses of congress. From both sides of the aisle. As well as industry antienergy efish yield back the balance of my timecy efficiency community. Mr. Speaker, i urge all my colleagues to support this valuable piece of legislation. And with that i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas. Mr. Olson mr. Speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas reserves. Mr. Rush i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore you yield back or wish to close . Mr. Rush i yield back. The speaker pro tempore you yield back. The chair would now mr. Olson i chose short and sweet. Good bill, vote for it. The speaker pro tempore all time on the bill has expired. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass enate 190 as amnded. So many as are in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. For what purpose does the entleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Recognition . Mr. Ole olson mr. Speaker, i move the house suspend the rules and pass the bill s. The 20. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk senate 920, an act to establish a National Clinical Care Commission. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from texas, mr. Olson, and the gentleman from illinois, mr. Rush, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Olson. Mr. Olson mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and and insert remarks extraneous materials in the record on the bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Olson mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Olson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of s. 920, the National Clinical Care Commission act, a bipartisan bill that has received unanimous support with both the house and the senate chambers. Insert extraneous materials in the record on the bill. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Olson s. 902 is a companion to my bill, h. R. 309, which is by over half of my house colleagues. It has this level of support because our nation faces a pidemic. Diabetes, or prediabetes affects over 100 million americans. Nearly one in three of our neighbors is affected. This legislation will also, and many others who are affected and fighting diseases like heart disease, obesity, and many others. I first came to congress in 2009. It was Crystal Clear that we had a big problem. The benefits of all the federal Research Dollars going into these diseases were simply not making their way to patients. Researchers at the n. I. H. , the c. D. C. , d. O. D. , the v. A. , and the f. D. A. Werent sharing diabetes research. Who knows sharing info may have put us on a faith to cure diabetes. Then and its still clear today, we need a life like approach to improve patient care by pursuing then a strong federal focus on research. This bill accomplishes that goal by creating a National Clinical Care Commission comprised of doctors who specialize in Diabetes Care for patients. This commission will have three years to strengthen the partnership between federal stakeholders and Health Professionals who will bring a handson political experience to improve care. This is not a new unending bureaucracy. After three years, this commission will sunset. In three years, it will be gone. We have already made such a Huge Investment of taxpayer dollars into research. Its time to leverage that investment into meaningful prevention and effective premium options. President reagan once said, quote, there is no limit to the amount of good you can do if you dont care who gets the credit, end quote. Thats why i stand here today bill, ng support of my senator shaheens bill. Because this bill helps so Many Americans who are suffering from diabetes. So today i ask my colleagues to get help all those who suffer diabetes, the conflicts, and other disorders by voting for s. 920. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from illinois, mr. Rush. Mr. Rush mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for consume. He may mr. Rush i want to thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise in support of h. 920, the National Clinical Care Commission act. Mr. Speaker, this legislation aims to help improve federal fforts to treat and to prevent auto immune disorders relating insulin. The most common metabolic disorder in the u. S. Insulin. I diabetes. Which affects more than 25 million americans. Another 86 million americans have prediabetes. A condition associated with an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and heart disease. Mr. Speaker, diabetes takes a huge toll on the human health. In fact, it is a seventh leading cause of death in our nation. Additionally, mr. Speaker, all too often diabetes leads to avoidable complications, such blindness. Such as limb amputation. And also kidney failure. In addition to the effects on e human health, mr. Speaker, diabetes makes a large percentage of the u. S. Health care expenditures. Mr. Speaker, currently 1 blind such as of very 5 of Health Care Costs is curing people for diabetes. The proportion of medicares funding is even greater than this. Currently 1 of every 3 of medicare is spent caring for people with diabetes. That is why, mr. Speaker, it is important to improve the federal efforts that prevent avail voilable case of diabetes and other metabolic disorders and ensure that all americans have the treatment and the Management Services necessary to successfully manage this and conditions. This legislation was passed in the 114th congress and again at the beginning of the 115th congress. I am pleased to see, mr. Speaker, that the senate took action on this legislation to support passage of this bill into law. Mr. Speaker, i urge my lleagues to vote yes to h. R. To s. 920 and with that, i yield. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas, mr. Olson. Mr. Olson i yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from texas, mr. Burgess, dr. Burgess. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas, the distinguished chair of the subcommittee is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Burgess i thank the speaker. Today i want to rise in support of s. 920, the National Clinical Care Commission, sponsored by senator shaheen. This legislation has been around for a while. Its been championed in the house by our good friend and fellow texan, representative olson, as h. R. 309. This bill has strong bipartisan support, passed this house unanimously earlier this year. Diabetes and olson, as other en disorders have been a great cost burden on medicare and in fact our nations our Nations Health care system in general. 30 million americans have diabetes. 84 million americans have prediabetes. On medicare, three out of four americans on medicare have diabetes or prediabetes. 1 out of every 3 medicare spends is spent on diabetes. This will this bill will establish a Clinical Care commission to evaluate and recommend solutions for better oordination and use of federal funds for diabetes and other endocrine disorders. It will eliminate duplication across federal agencies and resources the federal and tools available to enhance the quality of patient care. I am confident their work will improve the lives of tens of millions of americans living with resources diabetes and oth endocrine disorders while beginning the process of retchigse staggering impact of these diseases. I certainly want to thank and commend our colleague, representative pete olson, for spearheading this important initiative. I want to thank him for bringing it to the floor of the house as many times as he has. This has been a lengthy process but today with the passage of this bill, we are voting on final passage and this bill will be sent to the president s desk for signature. So mr. Olson, at long last, or mr. Speaker, mr. Olsons long and arduous journey now will be completed with the passage of this bill and we should all look forward to that. I yield back to the gentleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Rush i yield the gentleman may iowa such time as he consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from iowa is recognized for such time as he may consume. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank my colleague from illinois, mr. Rush, for yielding time to me today to speak may consume. The speaker pro tempore on thi i am pleased to rise in strong support of s. 920, the National Clinical Care Commission act. S. 920 as was mentioned already creates a commission comprised of clinical endocrineologists, other physician specialists, primary care physicians, health care professionals, patients, and representatives from the federal agencies most involved in Diabetes Care. The commission is charged with making recommendations to streamline federal investments in diabetes, to improve the coordination and Clinical Care outcomes for people with diabetes, prediabetes and other insulin related metabolic and autoimmune diseases. Mr. Loebsack passage of this will help the nation take more proactive and innovative approaches to diabetes and its disease complications for which the u. S. Spends 322 billion annually. I urge the secretary also to move expeditiously to set up the commission so it can begin its important work as soon as possible. Clinical training and expertise in diabetes and other insulin related diseases will be needed to lead the commission and it is my hope that a clinical endocrineologist will be chosen to serb as chairperson of the commission. I think thats very important. With a clinical endocrineologist as chair and representatives from other medical specialties, Health Care Professions and Patient Advocacy group serving alongside federal diabetes experths, s. 920 will help ensure new innovative medications and devices are translated to the clinical setting for the benefit of patients. Thats so important. The work of the commission will help improve the lives of the tens of millions of americans live with diabetes will simultaneously beginning the process of reducing the staggering impact of diabetes and its disease complications and the dollars as has already been mentioned associated with that. I want to thank in particular representative olson for his persistence as was already mentioned, for sponsoring this bill in the house, i was happy to lead the way as the democrat on this side of the aisle on this bill. And for my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, who supported this bill that enabled house passage of the legislation earlier as was mentioned, and now were going to get it other the finish line, thank you, again, i thank representative olson for his efforts on this. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. My my colleague k from iowa for those kind words and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman wish to make a closing statement in mr. Rush i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from texas to close, mr. Olson again, short and sweet. This is a good bill, the first step toward actually finding a cure for diabetes, maybe well do that, and oh, by the way, it leaves here, will be signed into law before this weekend. I urge my colleagues to vote aye when this comes up for final passage vote. The speaker pro tempore all time is expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass senate bill 920 . Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Speaker i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2302 to designate the facility of the United States post Office Located at 259 nassau street, suite 2, in princeton, new jersey as the dr. John f. Nash jr. Post office. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the bill. The clerk h. R. 2302, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 259 nassau street, suite 2 in princeton, new jersey, as the dr. John f. Nash jr. Post office. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Ussell, and the gentlewoman, mrs. Watson coleman, will each control 20 minutes. Mr. Russell i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, ordered. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Russell i speak in support of h. R. 2302, introduced by the gentlelady, congresswoman bonnih time Watson Coleman of new jersey. The bill designates the post office at 259 nassau street, suite 2, in princeton, new jersey, as the dr. John f. Nash jr. Post office. Dr. Nash was a brilliant mathematician, publishing Ground Breaking work in many areas. One of his most famous contributions is to game theory, creating what is known as the nash equilibrium. He won a nobel prize in economics in 1984 and the able prize from the academy of science and letters in 2015. I look forward to hearing more about dr. Nashs life from the gentlelady from new jersey and urge my colleagues to support the bill. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlelady from new jersey. Mrs. Watson coleman i yield myself such time as i may consume. Sproy the gentlelady is recognized the speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. Mrs. Watson coleman i do rise to urge support for my bill, h. R. 230 , to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service at 259 nassau street in princeton, new jersey, as the dr. John f. Nash jr. Post office. As a legendary figure of Princeton Universitys mathematics department, dr. Nash was famous both for his genius and his life story. Born in bluefield, West Virginia , in 1928, dr. John nash was a child prodigy who graduated from the Carnegie Institute of technology at age 19 with both a batch alreadys and masters degree in mathematics. Dr. Nash subsequently received his doctorate in 15950 in mathematics from Princeton University and published a Ground Breaking theory of noncooperative games later that year, now known as the nash equilibrium. His monumental work in mathematics, game theerries, economic, and evolutionary biology has influenced generations of experts in these fields. In addition to his academic contributions , he gained worldwide acclaim from the 2001 film a Beautiful Mind which portrayed his vast accomplishments while living th schizophrenia and throughout his recovery from mental illness. In recognition of his lifelong work he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in economics in throughout his 1994 2015 abel prize from the Norwegian Academy of sciences. 5 he was in an Automobile Accident in 2015 on his way returning from receiving the prize. I want to thank the student in my district whose essay submission for our post office naming competition was chosen out of 400 entries. I urge passage of h. R. 2302 in recognition of dr. Nashs important contributions to our country and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to inform the gentlelady from new jersey that i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma is prepared to close. The gentlelady from new jersey. Mrs. Watson coleman i have no further speakers either, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from oklahoma is recognized to close to close debate. Mr. Russell i urge adoption of the bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. All time has expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2302. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell i move to suspend bill h. R. And pass the 378, boe nutses for costcutters act of 2017, as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report think the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 246, h. R. 378. The bill to amend title 5 United States code to enhance the authority under which federal b agencies may pay cash awards to employees for making cost savings disclosures and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, and the gentlewoman from the District Of Columbia, mrs. Norton, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell. The speaker pro tempore thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Russell i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Russell i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume. Mr. Russell i speak in support of h. R. 378, introduced by the gentleman from tennessee, congressman chuck fleischmann. The bonuses for the bonuses for cost cutters act of 2017. The people in the best position to identify waste throughout the federal government are the employees on the front lines at the federal agencies. They are the they are the ones on the ground. It is in the taxpayers best interest to encourage federal employees to report waste when they see it. H. R. 378 increases the incentive for federal employees to report wasteful spending by authorizing an award for 25,000 for blowing the whistle on waste. This incentive is necessary at the end of the fiscal year when too many agencies adopt it a use it or lose it mentality regarding their budget. Some agencies fear if they do not spend every last dollar in their budget that congress will decrease their future funding. That dynamic leads to the most outrageous expenditure in the last week before the end of the fiscal year. In the structure, Agency Leadership will be able to verify that spending identified by whistleblowers is actually wasteful. This was a concern raised by our colleagues in the minority. We are thankful for their work to getting this bill to a mutually agreed compromise. It maintains Congress Constitutional role in the appropriations process. Congress is responsible for authorizing spending by the federal government and this bill respects that authority. After the agencys chief Financial Officer affirms that the spending in question is wasteful, they must submit a report to the president. The president may submit a recommendation to congress to eliminate the wasteful spending in question. H. R. 378 is the result of a bipartisan process and i urge my colleagues to support this bill as an example of what we can achieve when both sides put their mipeds to reform and husband the taxpayers dollars. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i yield myself such time as i may consume. I raise in support of h. R. 378 as reported by the committee. This legislation enhances the existing Award Program for federal employees whose identification of waste, fraud and abuse result in cost savings to an agency. Every day, federal employees provide Vital Services to the American People. They ensure that our veterans receive the benefits to which they are entitled. They work to keep our air safe, to breathe and water safe to drink. They spend long hours and put their lives at risk to safeguard our national and homeland security. And federal employees on the front lines in ensuring these Important Missions are carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible. I think we can all gee that no one benefits when taxpayer dollars are wasted. This bill aims at increasing government efficiency and save taxpayer dollars by providing incentives to federal employees to identify wasteful spending. The legislation allows an agency head to award an employee a bonus for the identification of wasteful expenses that result in agency cost savings. It doubles the amount that an inspector germ may award an employee for disclosures of waste, fraud and abuse that result in cost saving from 10,000 to 20,000. The bill contains several Accountability Measures so congress and the American People can determine whether the legislation is working as intended. First, agencies must include information on disclosures of wasteful spending and awards distributed under this legislation under annual, publicly available performance reports. The bill also includes a requirement that the director of the office of marriagement and budget submit a report to congress each year certifying that each agencys cash Award Program complies with the bill. In addition, the bill requires a g. A. O. Report on the operation of awards Program Within three years including any representations for legislative changes. Democratic members of the Oversight Committee raised concerns about prior versions of this bill. And i want to thank chairman gowdy for working with us to address those concerns. The bill we have before us today reflects bipartisan concerns. We must support federal employees who identify ways to increase efficiency and reduce waste. I believe this bill does that. And i urge my colleagues to support it. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell it is my privilege to recognize the sponsor of this bill for such time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Fleischmann thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of my bill, the bonuses for costcutters act of 2017. I wish to thank the gentleman from oklahoma and the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Mr. Speaker, what we see today in my bill was what i think the American People want. Republicans and democrats working together with good commonsense legislation that makes sense and saves the american taxpayer money. Lets face it, whether we are a family or a business, we have to manage our money in the private sector ap the federal government for far too long has been guilty of spending waste, fraud and abuse. There have been so many problems. And the American People know it when we go home and talk with our constituents. They want us to be very good stewards of their money and they demb it. And thats what this bill does. And it does it in a lot of different ways. As my colleagues on both sides the aisle have said, it incentivizes federal employees to detect waste. Government has a tendency to spend it whether they need it or not. If a federal employee can go in there and find this problem out, tell the agency head, he or she now can get up to 20,000 of incentive pay. So we have incentivized fiscal responsibility in the federal government. That is great and thats just Good Government. In addition to that, mr. Speaker, we look at the United States constitution and thats a document that our Founding Fathers gave us and is so important. Why is that so important with this bill . Because when that agency head goes to the president of the United States with this recommendation, the president of the United States has to come where . Back to the congress where he should have to come. And when congress looks at that recommendation from the president , congress then can make the determination to the final determination. We have fiscal responsibility. We have constitutional sanctity and Good Government. Most of all, i want to thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we have republicans and democrats working together the way the American People want us to do and be fiscally responsible. With that, i urge colleagues to pass this Good Government bill. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. On behalf of the whole house of representatives, the chair wishes to wish the gentleman from tennessee a very happy birthday today. Mr. Fleischmann thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore now recognize the gentlelady from District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i have no further speakers and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell i urge the adoption of the bill and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman prepared to close . Mr. Russell i have no further comments and urge support of the bill. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 378 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2196 to amend title 5 United States code to allow whistleblowers to disclose information to certain recipients as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk a bill to amend title 5 United States code to allow whistleblowers to disclose information to certain recipients. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell and the the gentlewoman from from the District Of Columbia, mrs. Norton, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to resize and stepped their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Russell i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Russell i rise in support of h. R. 2196 a bill i introduced with Ranking Member cummings, mr. Lynch and mr. Farenthold of texas earlier this year to allow whistleblowers to disclose information to certain recipients. Whistleblowers in the federal government should be able to tell their superviseors when something is wrong. That is true no matter what, but especially so in cases involved intelligence which implies fluret. If whistleblowers cannot make a protected disclosure to their superviseors, they are more likely to make an illegal disclosure without the proper security clearances. Whistleblowers in the Intelligence Community can make protected disclosures to their superviseors. Whistleblowers dealing with classified information outside the Intelligence Community do not have that same protection. Federal employees inside the Intelligence Community can blow the whistle to their superviseors, to the appropriate Inspector General and the congress. Employees outside the Intelligence Community do not have those protections when it comes to classified information and have fewer options when it comes to blowing the whistle except to put it in the hands who have no clearances. Federal employees outside the Intelligence Community must be a reassured they can report of wrongdoing. With this protection, whistleblowers will be less likely to disclosely sentiontive information on waste, fraud and abuse to the media or other entities or individuals without the proper security clearance. This bill allows them to make protected disclosures to individuals within their chain of command. There are very few conceivable circumstances in which a whistleblower complaint to a supervisor would jeopardize national security, but such disclosures are not currently protected, as strange as that may seem. There is no reasonable basis for concern about giving whistleblowers throughout the federal government the right to contact those individuals about waste, fraud or abuse of a classified nature. These additional protections will make it easier for these employees to do the responsible thing when it comes to classified disclosures. With that, mr. Speaker, i resevere the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. Ms. Norton i want to thank representative russell for introducing this bill along with Oversight Committee Ranking Member representative cummings and representative lynch, this would provide important information. Under this bill, an employee who is covered by the whistleblower protection act could disclose to any supervisor in his or her direct chain of command class tied information the employee reasonably believes shows wrongdoing. Under current law if a whistleblower discloses information, the whistleblower is protected only if he or she makes those disclose shurs to the office of special counsel. An apartment tore general, the head of the whistleblowers agency or an employee designated by the head of the agency. This bill would encourage employees who handle class tied information to use proper channels to blow the whistle on waste, fraud and abuse. Allowing employees to go to a supervisor with evidence of wrongdoing may be less intimidating than going to the agency head or an Inspector General. This bill is modeled on language in the president ial policy directive issued in 2012. Provided ive ppd19 whistleblower protections to Intelligence Community employees who are not covered by the act. This bill will provide a consistent approach for employees who handle classified information by ensuring that employees who are covered by the whistleblower protection act will blow that whistle to a supervisor the same way that Intelligence Community employees who are covered by ppd19 can do so. This is a good bill. I urge my colleagues to support it. And i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to inform the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia that i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton mr. Chairman, i have no further speakers and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell mr. Russell i would like to thank mr. Farenthold of texas, mr. Lynch of massachusetts for their bipartisan support in this need red form and i urge my colleagues to support my bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. All time has expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2195 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2229, the all circuit review act. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number amend. R. 2229, a bhill to title 5, United States code, to provide Permanent Authority of judicial review of certain decisions related to whistleblowers and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, and the gentlewoman from the District Of Columbia, ms. Norton, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. The speaker pro tempore mr. Speaker, i yield myself mr. Russell i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I speak in support of h. R. 2229, the all circuit review act, which Ranking Member cummings of maryland and mr. Farenthold of texas introduced earlier this year. It is critical we guarantee whistleblowers have access to fair and Efficient Reviews of their claims of retaliation. Between 1982 and 2012, whistleblowers could only appeal retaliation rules made against them by the merit Systems Protection Board or mspb to the federal circuit. That monopoly led the federal circuit shaping key interpreting as of whistleblower protection law without a check by any other Circuit Courts. In 2012, to the wide acclaim of the Whistleblower Community, the whistleblower protection enhancement act ended the federal Circuit Courts monopoly over whistleblower retaliation appeals. The result as expected was better case law and more expeditious appeals. As a Pilot Program, that expansion was set to expire three years after enactment. In 2014, congress acted to extend the program until november of this year. Now this highly Effective Program will expire next month unless it is renewed. The Whistleblower Community has benefited tremendously from the Pilot Program. Theres no good argument against making this permanent. Critics had feared expanding jurisdiction over the mspb appeals would lead to a torrent of cases for those circuits, swapping dockets across the nation. Those fears proved unfounded. Instead, the Whistleblower Community has benefited from other circuits having an opportunity to interpret federal whistle case law. R. 229 makes the all circuit expansion permanent, ensuring the benefits of the Pilot Program continue. This Bipartisan Initiative will put the question of appeal jurisdiction for whistleblower retaliation cases to rest once and for all. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia, ms. Norton. Ms. Norton mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. Ms. Nor spon i rise in strong support of the all circuit review act. This week, the shouse considering several bills to strengthen protections for whistleblowers. S that bipartisan bill introduced by Oversight Committee Ranking Member cummings and representative Blake Farenthold. This bill would help level the Playing Field for whistleblowers by making permanent a Pilot Program that allows federal whistleblowers to file appeals in courts where they work or live, rather than the federal Circuit Court of appeals. The federal circuit is a terrible track record on whistleblower cases, allowing other courts around the country to hear whistleblower cases will provide a check on the monopoly the federal circuit has held for many years. The bill would also authorize the office of Personnel Management to appeal a decision f the merit Systems Review board to any Appeals Court with jurisdiction. This bill was listed on the this bill was listed on the project on government oversights list of legislative Reforms Congress should enact in 2017. Protecting whistleblowers is not a partisan issue. It is a patriotic issue. I hope my colleagues will support this 2017. Bipartisan legislation and i would like to reserve the balance of manufacture of my time to Ranking Member cummings, my good friend from maryland. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The chair has to recognize the gentleman from oklahoma first. Mr. Russell i reserve the balance of my time with no further speakers. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i yield to my friend from maryland and the Ranking Member of the full committee, mr. Cummings. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Cummings thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to thank the gentlelady for yielding. I introduced the all circuit review act, mr. Speaker, to send a clear message to all federal employees who blow the whistle on wrongdoing that we here in congress have their backs. This bill would give federal employees who face retaliation for blowing the whistle a more equitable Playing Field when retaliation e that in court. Under the bill whistleblowers could file appeals in the jurisdictions where they work or live retaliation in court. , rather than having te appeals in the federal Circuit Court of appeals in washington, d. C. Bhistle whistleblowers who live outside of washington, d. C. Should have the same opportunities as those who live in washington. I want to thank representative Blake Farenthold for working on this bill with me. Hes been a steadfast supporter of this basic due process right for federal employees. The bill we are considering today makes permanent a pilot provision that was included in the whistleblower protection enhancement act which was signed 2012. W in that pilot provision will expire in november if we do not send this bill to the president before then. 2012. Without this bill, whistleblowers could appeal a decision of the merit Systems Protection Board only to the u. S. Court of appeals for the federal circuit. The federal circuit has historically been overly restrictive of whistleblower rights. According to the merit Systems Protection Board, 29 cases have been appealed to courts other than the federal circuit since 2012. The project on government a letter to overnight committee on may 2, 2017, in strong support of this bill. Executive direc a letter to overnighttor daniel bryan wrote as follows. The Pilot Program has been a success. It has not resulted in a flood of whistleblower appeals as opponents of the program asserted it would do. Would do. And it allows for potential circuit splits, which encourage sister circuits to review the laws and allows for possible Supreme Court review. It is working exactly as intended and should be made permanent before it expires in november of 2017. The bill was approved by the Oversight Committee without opposition in may. Two years ago, Congress Approved an extension of the all circuit Pilot Program in 2014 without a single negative vote. I urge my colleagues to support the whistleblower bill. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to inform the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia that i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Further n i have no speakers and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentlelady from the gentleman from oklahoma to close. Mr. Russell i wish to thank chairman gowdy for his support of this legislation and the hard work of Ranking Member cummings of maryland and mr. Farenthold of texas for all they have done to bring this needed bill to the floor. Mr. Speaker, i urge adoption of the bill and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. All time has expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2229. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. Si 9, the Frederick Douglass en bicentennial Commission Act as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the tite they feel bill. The clerk h. R. 2989, a bill to establish the Frederick Douglass bicentennial commission. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, and the gentlewoman from the District Of Columbia, ms. Norton, each will control 20 minutes. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Russell i ask that all members have five legislative days to rhett rith their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, ordered. Mr. Russell i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Russell i speak in support of h. R. 2989, the Frederick Douglass bicentennial Commission Act, introduced by ms. Norton of the District Of Columbia earlier this year. Next year will mark the tennial birth of the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Douglass, a man who has been called the father of the civil rights movement. He was born into slavery around 1817 but escaped by the bicentennial of age of 21. He went on to publish an autobiography, documents his life as a slave called narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass while a fugitive slave. Throughout his remarkable life he advocated for justice for all americans, encouraging president lincoln to make emancipation a cause of the civil war and advocating for the full integration of africanamericans Economic Life and in the United States during and following the war. H. R. 2989 establishes the Frederick Douglas economic bice commission, to recommend the best ways to celebrate the legacy of a man who dedicated his entire life to ensuring freedom and equality for all americans. H. R. 2989 would do this by creating a 16member commission to plan, develop, and coordinate activities fitting and proper to honor mr. Douglass. The commission will support two reports, will submit two reports to congress with recommendations for activity, programs and other important information. The commission will end 30 days after the submission of its final report. The amended text considered today adds a new section clarifying that the commission will not receive additional authorized funds witness stand and will instead rely on private funds for its operations. The Commission Presents an important opportunity to recognize and support Frederick Douglass leadership and body of work. He was a phenomenal man and i am proud to also be cosponsor of this important bill. Id reich to thank ms. Norton and mr. Harris and the 16 other cosponsors for their hard work on this bill in honor of Frederick Douglass. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. Ms. Norton i thank the lead sponsor of this bill, representative andy harris, for working closely with me on the bill of which i am a cosponsor and i want to thank my good friend, representative russell who is managing on the other side for being also being a cosponsor of this bill. My thanks also to chairman trey gowdy, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings and Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy for bringing this bill to the floor in time to begin the commemoration of the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Douglass in 2018. Im pleased that this bill has not only bipartisan but bicameral support. Senators chris hol chris hollen and cardin have introduced the companion bill in the senate. The bill would the commission would recommend to congress programs and activities that the federal government could undertake to honor and celebrate the life of Frederick Douglass during the bicentennial of his he was born into slavery on the owner shore of maryland and learned basic reading skills and taught himself and others to read and write. After two attempts, douglass successfully escaped to new york and went on to become this countrys leading and litigationist and lecturer and served in several administrations and close adviser to president lincoln, and District Of Columbia recorder of deeds under president james garfield. In 1899 president harrison apointed him to be the u. S. Minister to haiti and later apointed by president grant to serve as secretary of the commission of santo domingo. Douglass achieved justice for all americans and lived in the District Of Columbia for 23 of his 57 years as a freeman and his home at cedar hill is an official National Historic site in southeast washington, d. C. , every year, thousands of americans and others visits cedar hill, the federal Rick Douglass statue that stands in his honor in the United States capitol is a gift from 700,000 residents of the District Of Columbia. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation. And i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell it is now my privilege to recognize the gentleman from maryland and original cosponsor of this bill, mr. Harris, for as much time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Harris i want to thank the committee for promptly reporting h. R. 2989 to the floor for consideration. I rise in support of a bill i have cosponsored with delegate norton. As we approach the 200th anniversary of his birth, i urge my colleagues in the house to support this legislation. The purpose of this bill is more than just honoring the birth of one great civil rights leader. Its purpose is to recognize his Lasting Impact on america cang overnment, culture and values. Douglass worked went into the fight for social and cultural equality. Born on marylands beautiful eastern shore, douglass escaped slavery to become an author and true american hero. He is a model for the values that make our nation great. Equality, liberty and a commitment to working hard and helping others. I ask my colleagues to honor Frederick Douglass and the impact his work has had on modern American Culture by passing this legislation. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton mr. Speaker, i have no further speakers. So i yield the remainder of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The chair recognizes to close, the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to echo all of the comments that are here. And it is important that all of us take time and pause to recognize the tremendous work that Frederick Douglass did not only in his life but how he impacted the United States of america. And i urge adoption of the bill. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. All time has expired. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2989 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does for what purpose does the businessy gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell i move to suspend 3031 as nd pass h. R. Amended. The clerk h. R. 3031 a bill to amend title 5 United States code to provide for flexibility in making withdrawals from a thrift savings flan account and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, and the gentlewoman from from the District Of Columbia, mrs. Norton, will each control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Russell i yield myself, mr. Speaker, such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Russell mr. Speaker, i support in h. R. 3031rks the p. S. P. Modernization act of 2017 introduced by Ranking Member cummings of maryland and mr. Meadows of north carolina. Federal employees enrolled in the federal employees retirement system enjoy the benefits of a threepart retirement structure. Those are a defined benefit pension plan, social securities Contribution Plan known as the thrift savings plan. With its low administrative costs and simple design, the t. S. P. Is an ideal retirement vehicle. They can choose from variety of options including index funds, the dow jones u. S. Completion total Stock Market Index or lowrisk government Securities Investment fund. Participants can passively manage their investments by putting their money into a Life Cycle Fund which allows the board to purchase a combination of investments based on the year the employee is expected to retire. Employees have a lot of options when investing their t. S. P. Funds but when it comes to withdrawing the funds, the options are much more limited. Current statutory rules preclude employees from taking multiple postservice partial withdrawals and cannot request a partial withdrawal or anewt purchase after making a periodic payment without election. Statutory rules also require the purchase of an anewt if a participant fails to make an election by age 70 1 2. The rules restrict an employees ability to make multiple inservice agebased withdrawals. The board conducted a study in 2013 which found that participated recipients moved 9 billion out of the t. S. P. Fund to other costlier institutions. Nearly one out of three participants cited a desire for additional withdrawal flexibility. The study found that among currently employed participants, the same ratio of participants requested additional withdrawal flexibility for agebased withdrawals to address life events that arise. This bill would afford those additional flexibilities and address the concerns. The bill provides more control to federal employees over tear own retirement by allowing for multiple postseparation withdrawals and agebased withdrawals. H. R. 3031, allows to change elections as they grow older and allows the board to avoid purchasing expensive anights. This bill puts power and control in the hands of the employees that make our federal government run to make retirement decisions based on their personal situations. And i urge my colleagues to support the bill and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia, mrs. Norton. Ms. Norton thank you, mr. Speaker. And i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for such time as she may consume. Ms. Norton i rise in strong support of h. R. 3031, the t. S. P. Modernization act of 2017. Im proud to be a cosponsor of this legislation which will help modernize the federal governments thrift savings plan by lining it with current practices for private sector 401ks. I thank Ranking Member cummings and chairman meadows for their important work that will give t. S. P. Participants more flexibility in making withdrawals from their accounts. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 3031 and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton im pleased to yield to the Ranking Member of the full committee such time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from maryland is recognized. Mr. Cummings i rise in strong support of h. R. 3031, the t. S. P. Modernization act of 2017. I thank government operation subcommittee chairman meadows for working with me in a bipartisan manner on this commonsense Good Government bill. And i thank chairman gowdy for his support of this legislation. Congressman meadows and i introduced this legislation to make the federal governments thrift savings plan more closely aligned with the private sector best practices by allowing t. S. P. Participants more flexible Withdrawal Options. In 2013, the board found employees who separated from federal service transferred 9 billion out of their t. S. P. Accounts to other financial institution. Participants do this because private sector 401k plans provide more flexibility and wanted more options for withdrawing money in case they needed it. A 2014 survey of participants who withdrew funds showed that more than 50 reported that they wanted more flexibility to withdraw funds to address life events. Current law permits participants to only one withdrawal from their t. S. P. Accounts while in federal service after reaching age 59 1 2. And participants who make this agebased withdrawal cannot take another partial withdrawal once they separate from service. Similarly, participants who are separated from the federal service and who has not made a prior agebased withdrawal, are restricted to making only one partial separation withdrawal. R. 3031 would eliminate the restrictions and allow participants to make multiple agebased and full separation withdrawals from t. S. P. Accounts. The bill would allow participants to elect to make partial withdrawals with an anewt and would eliminate automatic anewts as a default options in the absence of an election by participants. By providing greater flexibility, study shows that the participants would be able to keep their assets in their t. S. P. Accounts. A study issued in 2013 found that 50 more participants and assets remain in retirement plans when partial disbursements are allowed. Providing more Withdrawal Options for federal employees and retirees in the t. S. P. May help their Financial Security since administrative fees for the t. S. P. Are much lower than fees charged by other financial institutions. This legislation is supported by the National Active and retired federal employees association and the American Federation of Government Employees and the National Treasury employees union. And with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Oklahoma i would like to inform the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia that i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i have no further speakers and i would like to support this legislation and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma to close. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I wish to thank chairman gowdy and Ranking Member cummings and chairman meadows for their outstanding work in addressing the needs of federal employees who give selfless Public Service to our nation and should have this flexibility in their retirement planning. I urge adoption of the bill and yield back. The speaker pro tempore all time has expired. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 3031 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended and bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition . Mr. Russell i move to suspend 3243. Es and pass h. R. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 249. H. R. 3243, a bill to amend title 40, United States code, to eliminate the sunset of certain provisions relating to Information Technology, to amend he National Defense act of fiscal year 2016, and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. Russell, and the gentlewoman from the District Of Columbia, ms. Norton, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Russell mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I speak in support of h. R. 3243, the fitara enhancement act of 2017, introduced by mr. Connolly, mr. Issa, ms. Kelly and mr. Meadows earlier this year. Today the federal government spends more than 90 billion on federal i. T. With approximately 75 of this money spent on archaic and legacy i. T. This means we are paying more for less, less capability and less security. Meanwhile, mainly federal i. T. Investments often major federal i. T. Investments often result in cost overruns and delays. This state of affairs led the Government Accountability office to designate federal i. T. Acquisition and management as high risk in 2015. Meaning this area is at risk of waste, fraud, abuse and mismanagement. In 2014 Congress Passed the federal Information Technology acquisition reform act, otherwise known as fitara, to address some of these i. T. Challenges. Congress has maintained a watchful eye to ensure agencies fully implement the requirements of fitara and use it as a vital oversight to go. In fact tool. In fact, the oversight and Government Reform Committee has held five hearings on fitara implementation. The Committee Also created a fitara scorecard to hold federal agencies accountable for meeting fitara requirements. Some of which sun set in the near term. This bill will help us facilitate Congress Oversight efforts by extending key fitara requirements to improve federal i. T. For example, this bill extends requirements for agencies to publicly report schedule and cost information and to assess the risks of major i. T. Investments. This bill also extends requirements for each agency to regularly assess its i. T. Portfolio, look for opportunities to reduce duplication, and find saving savings. Finally, the bill will help us continue to hold agencies accountable for consolidating and optimizing their data centers by extending these requirements and g. A. O. s verification of these requirements through 2020. The g. A. O. , which has been instrumental in assisting congress oversee fitara implementation, supports extending the fitara sunset sun set dates. Mr. Connolly of virginia, mr. Issa of california have been the key leaders on the original fitara law. And they have come together again to sponsor this bill, along with representatives meadows and kelly. The fitara enhancement act is truly a bipartisan effort in making sure federal agencies get their Information Technology management and acquisition houses in order. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia, ms. Norton. Ms. Norton mr. Speaker, i yield such time as i may consume to the sponsor of the act, my good friend from virginia, mr. Connolly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia, mr. Connolly, the sponsor of the bill, is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Connolly thank you, mr. Speaker. And i thank the gracious lady, my dear friend from the District Of Columbia. I also want to thank my friend, darrell issa, the cosponsor of this, and the cosponsor, of course, of the original fitara. And my good friend from oklahoma, mr. You really, for his able management mr. Russell, for his able management today. Fitara was enacted three years ago. It represented the first major reform of the laws governing the procurement and management of federal i. T. Since an act of 1996. Fitara is the framework for i. T. Procurement and ensures the federal government is making smart and Effective Investments to modernize its i. T. Badly needed. It has seven pillars. Enhancing c. I. O. Authorities, and responsibilities and accountability. Second, enhancing transparency and improving Risk Management by requiring detailed information on investments published on the i. T. Dashboard. Third, increased frequency of portfolio reviews from annual to quarterly, and included key Decision Making not only to look for ways to increase efficiency, but to eliminate duplication. Fourth, we built on the federal data consolidation effort to push agencies to realize savings, big savings, from this lowhanging fruit. Our fifth pillar was people. Recognizing that the federal i. T. Success is only as good as the people behind it. Fitara calls for expanding the training and use of i. T. Professionals. Sixth, fitara seeks to maximize new tools like the federal strategic sourcing initial initiative, taking a initiative, taking a pages from the private sector to reduce duplicative spending on common purchases and off the shelf items. And finally fitara advances a Government Software purchasing program to allow for purchasing Licensing Agreements that can be made available for use by all federal agencies. Fitara is the rue brick for i. T. Procurement that hopefully someday enables initiatives like our modernizing Government Technology act to build on our success of improving how the government requires modern i. T. When the stakeholders met on federal i. T. From Government Agencies and industry, both mr. Issa and i constantly reminded were reminded of why previous mainly i. T. Reform efforts major i. T. Reform efforts had fallen short of the potential. The lack of robust implementation plans and congressional oversight. As mr. Russell indicated quite clearly, in that latter regard, we have robust oversight and it will continue. One of the things we had in fitara were provisions in the hope and expectation that by having that we would encourage cooperation and implementation. That cooperation and implementation is uneven throughout the federal government. And the g. A. O. , Government Accountability office, recommended that we have a bill, this bill, to extend those provisions, to buy a little bit more time to get with the program for those federal agencies. So thats what this bill does. But it builds on fitara. Which is the framework for i. T. Procurement and modernization. I urge passage of the bill and again i thank my dear friend from the District Of Columbia for her gracious consideration. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. It is now my privilege to recognize the gentleman from california, an original cosponsor of this bill, also the former chairman of the oversight and Government Reform Committee, mr. Issa, for such time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california, mr. Issa, is recognized for such time as he may consume. Mr. Issa thank you, mr. Speaker. And thank you, mr. Chairman. No one has ever had a better partner on a piece of legislation than ive had. Congressman connolly is in fact a, i guess the best way is, like anyone else who came to a realization of something, he came to it with a great deal of zeal. This partnership, which began before the passage in 2014, to modernize 1996 initialtive that had fallen short, has been his passion and mine. Normally when youre chairman, people talk about what divides the committee. But nothing united us more than recognizing that over 80 billion was being spent and much of it needlessly. We dont achieve what we want to achieve because theres never enough. And part of it is how we procure. Prior to the passage of this legislation, it certainly was possible to have major pieces of procurement, have somebody in charge who could not in fact change or drop the bill. Sorry, the expenditure. Who could not simply say, this isnt working. On top of that, often the people who did have the authority lacked the expertise. This has been true in all sorts of areas. And theres much more work to be done. Unlike klinger cowan, which went on for 18 years before being updated, we were just three years past the implementation of this bill, and with congressman connollys effort, were coming back and making real changes. Ones that can continue the process and speed it up. Obviously there are some areas, like the i. T. Dashboard and others, that simply need to be continued to be renewed and this bill does it. When i first talked to mr. Connolly, he was the best known for being absolutely wanting to consolidate processing centers. Consolidate the server farms that had proliferated. The number he had at the time turned out to be, although exorbitant, less than 1 4 of the number we eventually found. So theres more work to be done. Procurement has to be done smart and often consolidated. With the help of my colleague and senator warner, the passage of the data act allowed us to find with greater detail redundancy of expenditure. And so as we reauthorize fitara, we also have the information to consolidate purchasing across a vast number of agency, eliminate redundancy, and in fact buy better. More needs to be done. As mr. Connolly said, so accurately, more money is spent on legacy systems than is spent on new systems that will actually save money and provide better services, both to government workers and to the public. So, as we reauthorize this bill i look forward to the oversight that the Oversight Committee has done and been able to do, and like forward to continuing to work with my partner from virginia, mr. Connolly. I thank all of you. I urge passage of the bill. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognize for as much time as she may consume. Ms. Norton i rise in strong support of this bill, h. R. 3243, the fitara enhancement act. Fitara is Bipartisan Legislation that has made significant strides in reforming government i. T. And making agencies more accountable. I thank representative connolly for all his hard work on this bill. And my good friend who just spoke as well spoke, as well as mr. Russell. This bill would extend three provisions of fitara that are set to expire. These provisions include the provision on federal data consolidation, transparency and Risk Management of major i. T. Systems. And agencies i. T. Portfolio program, and resource reviews, also known as portfolio stat. These provisions provide transparency and accountability for agencies and should be continued. G. A. O. Reports that if we allow these provisions to expire, we will miss out on major savings. I. T. Spending makes up roughly 100 billion of Government Spending each year. We cannot afford to allow this legislation that will save funds and help modernize i. T. Assets to simply expire. I urge my colleagues to support this bill, strongly support it, and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to inform the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia that i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia. Ms. Norton i too have no further speakers. Mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The chair recognizes the gentleman from oklahoma to close. Mr. Russell thank you, mr. Speaker. I wish to thank chairman gowdy, mr. Connolly of virginia and mr. Issa from california for this important and continued work that will not only improve i. T. And reduce duplication, but will continue to save billions of taxpayer dollars. And i urge adoption of the bill and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. All time is expired. The question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h. R. 3243. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is mr. Russell mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i would like to demand the yeas and nays on this bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman demands the yeas and nays. All those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. Pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess for a period of less than 15 minutes