the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, rabbi avid-seth kirshner, temple emanu-el. closter, new jersey. rabbi kirshner: as we embark on the sacred day of work to better the libes of all americans, we ask that you, god, help instill these leaders of the 115th congress with patience, wisdom, empathy and respect to achieve and exceed our goals for today and for tomorrow. help us demonstrate our gratitude for our service people and first responders who work as our partners and fulfilling our shared mission. god, we ask you today to disseminate your sunlight and shower dawn your rain, which will help us cultivate the seeds of securing our freedoms, celebrating our democracy and championing tolerance for now and forever. may it be your will, that the generations to come that will live within and lead this great nation can enjoy the blooming flowers and sweet fruits of our labors on this sacred day. god, we ask you to bless this congress and these united states of america. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1, rule 1, the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from michigan, mr. kildee. mr. kildee: please stand and join in the pledge of allegiance. 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 new jersey, mr. gottheimer, is recognized or one minute. mr. gottheimer: mr. speaker, i rise today to welcome to the u.s. house of representatives my dear friend and my adopted rabbi, david-seth kirshner from my congressional district. as a lifelong new jersey resident, he has dedicated his career to serving his family, community, and our country. doreen and david are proud and loving parents. the rabbi is a spiritual mentor to many and a man of deep aith, conviction, conscious. under the rabbi's leadership the temple has brought a warm and open sphere that will endure for generations to come, building on its 85-year history of service to our state. he calls on each of us to do our part to prepare the world to love your neighbor as yourself and to fill god's commandments with the work of our hands. in addition to his work as emual serving as vice president of the new ersey boards of rabbis and jewish the theological seminary. a strong advocate for the u.s.-israel relationship. he's a believer that israel is a key strategic ally and defender of jewish theological seminary. a democracy in freedom against the evils of terror. i would like to thank him for praying with us today and representing all faiths of the fifth congressional district of new jersey. thank you. may god continue to bless the united states of america. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house an enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 1616, an act to amend the homeland security act of 2002 to authorize the national computer forensics institute and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from of south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, i was grateful to recognize dr. ross, the principal of south carolina's chapman high school as the 2018 national principal of the year. i appreciated being with dr. ross alongside chapin high school students, family, teachers, staff, board members, leaders last friday as they surprised him with this fantastic news. dr. ross works diligently each day to create an environment that allows students to rise to their full potential. he is known for promoting the six r's, including ready to learn, respectful to others, and responsible to ourselves. as a member of the house committee on education and work force, i am both grateful and hum to be have such wonderful educators and students located in the second congressional district. it is inspiring to work with leaders in the second congressional district who are building a great foundation for younger generations of south carolina. so they can have high school ready for fulfilling lives. in conclusion god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. kildee: unanimous consent to address the house for one inute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker i think all americans and certainly members of congress agree we need to .implify our tax code make it easier for middle class families to get ahead and stay the speaker pro tempore: ahead. unfortunately, what we know about the republican tax plan is the details begin to leak out go in a different direction. this is a tax break, a big tax cut for billionaires at the expense of working families. nonpartisan he tax policy center, a family making $50,000 could see their as much as rease by 380%. less money to setaside for retirement. less money to set aside for a child's education. less money to pay the bills that families who struggle work hard every month to pay in order to fund a tax break for the wealthiest americans. 5,400 families would get a $270 billion tax cut funded by who ased taxes on people work hard every day just to make ends meet. just saying that this is tax relief for all who work americans over and over and over and over again does not make it true. the details actually matter. a big trach for the wealthiest americans. they don't need more relief. we need to reject this. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from indiana seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman virginia tech for one minute. >> mr. speaker, earlier this month four u.s. service member were killed by! ic militants in niger. we thank these individuals who paid the ultimate price for our country. their service will never be forgotten. as we learn more about this situation, many of my constituents have asked why american personnel are in niger to begin with. today we have u.s. service members around the globe fighting or advising operations against isis, al qaeda, and other terrorist groups on several continents. however, they are doing so under war authorization congress passed in 2001 and 2002 in the wake of the september 11 attacks. rather than continuing to fight isis under an authorization passed by congress 16 years time to pass a new authorization for the use of military force that is focused on present day and future threats. the authorizations passed by congress in 2001 and 2002 are out of date. nd i have interdwused new aumf legislation that addresses -- introduced new aumf legislation that addresses the threats we face. the constitution grants congress the power to declare war and we need to take that obligation seriously and debate these important issues. my bill is a good starting point w that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. we live in the land of opportunity. where if you're willing to set goals, work hard, and give back to your community anything can be done. this idea is the grandest of american traditions and is son -- sown into the fabric of everything we do. yet we're failing to live up to our ideals. a few days ago i met a college student who moved to the united states with her family when she was 3. mr. aguilar: while she wasn't born here she told me today i tell you what my homeland looks like, congressman. the good student earned grades to get into college but would not be able to afford it except that she received financial aid. from the state because she's ineligible tell you what my fro government. but her life was changed when she applied for daca in high school. bea trees was able to attend cal state san bernardino and is now on the way to becoming the first in her family to earn a college degree. she said it's the most exciting experience to make progress and contribute to the economy. this is her home, mr. speaker. it's time that we pass the dream act. thank you so much. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks many the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to highlight the 2017 miami walk to end alzheimer's that will take place at museum park in downtown miami on saturday, november 4. alzheimer's is a devastating disease that impacts over 54,000 seniors in my county of miami-dade and more than 500,000 individuals across the sunshine state. who not just the patients suffer. family members and caregivers also bear the brunt of this tragic and emotionally draining disease. i know this personally having w lost my mother due to complications from alzheimer's six years ago. the miami walk to end the alzheimer's plays an essential role in helping advance alzheimer's care and research in our community and across our nation. this wonderful event is also important to patients, families, and caregivers as a reminder that they have the full support of our community they battle this terrible disease. i encourage everyone in our south florida community to come out on november 4 and support t and raise awareness for alzheimer's. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. moore: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to address the infrastructure crisis our country is facing today. in oakland county in the heart of my district we're struggling with a major water main break. mrs. lawrence: in my district, schools are being closed hospitals are transporting patients to nearby areas. it will be days before the region will receive access to water.e, safe drinking this is not an -- an isolated incident. we're not investing in our infrastructure. not surprisingly, michigan's infrastructure received a d grade from the american society of civil engineers. this is unacceptable. lack of investment, lack of action is a matter of public health and public safety. it's a matter of life and death. it's obvious today in my district, but also in districts across this country. i urge my colleagues not to ignore this crisis. we need a infrastructure plan. flint michigan showed us that infrastructure is about the lives of american citizens. let's work together to fix our nation's infrastructure. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. or what purpose does the gentlewoman from american samoa seek recognition sn without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. radewagen: mr. speaker, i rise in care and concern for my people in american samoa in time of need. i'm humble to represent them to you now. over this thanksgiving 2000 of our families are being put out of work and small businesses will lose commerce as american samoa's only large employer closes for a period of six weeks. the department of justice, starkist consent decree requires payment of $6.3 million. unfortunately this money comes to washington, d.c. the workers and their families lose their paychecks, small businesses around them absorb losses, that's wrong. each should stay on the island to help through this time. the case won by our attorney general establishes the unique economic responsibility the u.s. has to american samoa through the deed of secession. america samoa has high unemployment and low incomes. i ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the burden our federal government is placing on american samoa this thanksgiving. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. the chair lays before the house the following communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, sir, due to my election to the committee on energy and commerce, this letter is to inform you that i resign my seats on the house foreign affairs committee anti-house homeland security committee. it has -- and the house homeland security security committee. t has been a pleasure to chairmen royce and mccaul. signed, sincerely, jeff duncan. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resignation is accepted. . the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition. mr. collins: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for immediate consideration. the clerk: house resolution 579. standing committee of the house of representatives, committee on energy and commerce, mr. duncan of south carolina. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the resolution i had agreed to and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? mr. collins: mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 577 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. i'm sorry. the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 577. resolved, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 469, to impose certain limitations on consent decrees and settlement agreements by agencies that require the agencies to take regulatory action in accordance with the terms thereof, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 115-34. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 732, to limit donations made pursuant to settlement agreements to which the united states is a party, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the amendments recommended by the committee on the judiciary now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. no further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such further amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such further amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the house with such further amendments as may have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and any further amendment thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or ithout instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. for the purposes of debate only i yield 0 minutes to the gentleman from florida, pending myself such time as i may consume. during consideration of this resolution all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on house resolution 577. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. collins: mr. speaker, i am pleased to bring this rule forward on behalf of the rules committee. the rule provides for consideration of h.r. 469, the sunshine for regulations and regulatory decrease settlements act and h.r. 372. the rule provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the judiciary committee. for each of the bills under consideration and provides for a motion to recommit on both bills. dirlly, the rule makes in order six amendments to each bill representing the ideas from members on both sides of the aisle. yesterday, the rules committee received testimony from judiciary committee chairman goodlatte and jamie raskin. in dugs to the discussion of the underlying discussion at the rules committee, i joined my colleagues on the judiciary committee of the major components of these bills in judiciary markups earlier this year. i introduced h.r. 469 to address the problem that has become all too common and is the practice of regulating behind closed doors and absent public input through what is known as sue and settle agreements. it includes the judgment fund transparency act introduced by representative chris stewart and the article intervention act introduced by bob goodlatte. the rule provides for consideration of the stop settlements slush fund acts which after investigation found that the department of justice was circumventing congress directing money to activist groups. the legislation provided strengthens the balance of power for which we have allowed executive agencies to erode over time. regardless of the political party in power, congress has the constitutional obligation to carry out its duties and ensure that the legislative branch writes the laws. when the congress fulfills its role as intended, the federal government is more responsive to the needs and more accountable. my legislation, the sue sunshine for regulatory decrease act addresses the problem through regulation through litigation. we have seen this problem explode in recent years particularly under the previous administration. mr. speaker, i would offer you dozens of examples yet my time would expire long before i could list them all. a few notable examples highlight the enormous costs and burdens that litigation through litigation can impose on unsuspecting americans. rules and border mact resulted from sue and settle cases and carry price tags in cost and compliance respectively. the cheese peek clean water act has $18 billion in compliance costs. these rules resulted from cowvert sue and settle maneuvers. i don't think it is fair to ask farmers in this nation to foot the bills for policies that bureaucrats put in place. these agreements have only grown in recent years. in the second term of the previous administration brought us 77 sue and settle cases related to the clean air act. president clinton's second term witnessed 27 sue and settle cases and president bush saw 28 such cases. let me say just right there, mr. speaker, that it doesn't matter which administration or which party is in the white house. this is not a bill that is designed to go for one party or the other. simply saying there is an article one of the constitution and legislative branch that writes the laws and then the executive is to enforce the laws, not write them. i want to make it clear and it's going to be talk about -- but i want to make this clear this is for any administration. obama administration circumvented. the way to these improper agreements hang around the next of businesses, employees, farmers and ranchers. the trump organization has recognized the priority and has taken steps to curb sue and settle agreements and the federal rulemaking process. scott pruitt issued a detective to increase policy making at the e.p.a. this is a critical step and the one i applaud but doesn't negate the need for corning to act. it only highlights it. congress has the right and obligation to defend its constitutional prerogative. the judgment fund transparency act will make our government more accountable by providing real transparency. the judgment fund transparency act is based upon the principle that the american people have the right to know how the government is spending their tax dollars. the government fund was created over 50 years ago as a way to provide efficient payment of lawful claims against the u.s. but has become a permanent appropriation shrouded in see creasey. payments are legitimate and appropriate, the fund repains the subject of egregious abuse. last year, the administration paid iran $1.3 billion out of the judgment fund primarily in the form of foreign currency on interest it accrued on assets that had been frozen because iran sponsors terrorism without shame. the obama administration has called to investigate those payments. this is much needed legislation and would not only ensure that such payments could not be hidden from congress and the americans they represent, it prohibits payments to state sponsors of terrorism and -- which should be one of the least controversial actions to ever grace the floor of this house. as i said, transparency and accountability are the best remedies for a government run amuck. title 3 of h.r. 469, champleedemrat's legislation, the article one and intervention act will strengthen congress' power and will help restore checks and balances between the three branches of government. fenn the federal depofts are deciding important patters, congressional powers and federal law, it is critical that congress have the opportunity should it deem the action necessary to file a brief or otherwise intervene in pending litigation. the need for this legislation is come poubded when in the case of the previous administration, the executive branch decides not to defend the constitutionality of federal law. this leads our legal system without anyone to legitimate significant cases and shifts interpretation of the constitution from the courts to the executive branch. this provision will ensure that the house and the senate has the statutory right to file briefs or intervene when congress' powers are called into the question. like other bills contained in this measure, this is an important step forward to restore transparency and accountability. mr. speaker, you might be able to detect the theme that is emerging here today. my colleagues are working hard to ensure the american people have a government by the people and for the people and working to restore the balance of powers and to ensure the executive overreach that was the hallmark of previous administrations will not undermine transparency in the future. in that vein, the rule provides for consideration to stop settlements slush fund act. this act prevents the department of justice from subverting congress' power of the purse by prohibiting settlements that direct payments to a nonvictim third party. the misdirection of funds is a problem that we have seen grow and must be addressed. under the previous administration, the department of justice fun willed nonvictim third party groups as much as $880 million. they collected money from parties who broke the law and using that money to create a slush fund for special interest groups rather than sending money to victims of illicit activity. they allowed the donations required under the settlements to count as double credit as defendants' payment obligation. the department of justice allowed for the donation, quote, required under the settlements account is double credit under the defendants' payment obligation. in some settlements, credit for direct relief to consumers was counted only as dollar for dollar indicating the importance the department of justice directs these funds to nonvictim third parties. they will incentivize to nonvictim groups. the slush fund scheme actually disadvantaged victims in favor of special interests. for example, the department of justice negotiated settlement agreements to the tunes of million of dollars while misleading mortgage-backed securities. the department of justice said that banks that it settled with could make donations to certain groups. the money went to these groups partially under the guise that those groups would provide services to the agrieved parties. the practice allows the department of justice to steer money to nonvictim third party groups. additionally the party that received the funds, nonvictim third party organizations are a part of the case at all. this means they don't represent the victims and aren't subject to congressional oversight to the funds they reefed. this scenario sudden concern everyone, mr. speaker. many of these groups are politically or ideological in nature. in the mortgage settlement cases groups like the national council la rassa received $1 million in grants under these settlements. when the d.o.j. requires a settlement, the funds should go to the victims including victims back home in northeast georgia. and if the problem cannot be rectified, the funds should go to the treasury so that the congress can appropriately decide how to use them. i don't think it is acceptable to short change victims. . is time to reassert congressional authority over this process so hardworking folks are protected from more executive overreach so we can restore the separation of powers outlined in the constitution. i am here fighting to make sure the federal government puts congressional authority over this process so hardworking the are protected hardworking georgians i represent and the rest of the citizens of the united states, not special interests, first. these bills help ensure the american citizens have their voices heard, they regain input into the system, and the federal government is more transparent, accountable, and responsive to their needs. i encourage others who share that goal to support this rule and the underlying bill. again, as you look ahead for this, the thing that i hopefully came out in this is that this is the an article one issue. this is simply about over time given away from us in this body that we have done, but is now time to reassess that, especially in light of the needs of the american people. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i thank my friend, the gentleman from georgia, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate. mr. speaker, i'm here today to debate the rule for consideration of h.r. 469, the congressional article 1 powers strengthening act and h.r. 732, the stop settlement slush fund act. two judiciary bills that are deficient in both process and in substance. first let me address the congressional article 1 powers and strengthening act. a bill that my republican friends purport will provide commonsense two solutions to curbing regulatory abuse. but will, in fact, undermine the ability of federal regulators to protect the health and safety of americans, threaten the privacy of victims of government misconduct, and intrudes on the department of justice's enforcement discretion raising serious eparation of powers concern. mr. speaker, just as appalling as the substance of this bill is the process. by which we're considering t and many other bills deriving from the judiciary committee lately. this bill is actually three judiciary committee bills wrapped in one, rules committee print. however, one of the bills, h.r. 407 o, -- 4070, was introduced last week without a hearing, without a markup, without notice to democrats on the judiciary committee and without consultation with constitutional lawyers and experts and interested itizens. this process is truly a slap in the face of regular order. a bill that has zero input from ruly members on the judiciary committee or when the subject of any thoughtful discussion is suddenly on the house floor for a vote. interestingly, when i listen to my friend from georgia, who i now is particularly -- know is particularly serious about his approaches to legislation, but i sat here and then i looked into the gallery and there were 20 people that were seated there. i didn't see on the faces of those that i could see any that tanding of one thing he said. not because the speed of his manner of speech, but because that complexity of issues he said. that give rise to us. among the things he said was traps -- transparency, accountability, and wanting to make sure that we, this body, exercise our prerogative with reference to for the people, by the people, and of the people. i would imagine that people listening to this debate would half of lieve that this body, half of the people that are represented in this country, had input to this legislation. let me tell you, people, he had none, zero, no democrat had any input to this measure that i just discussed. how can we expect members of this body let alone the american people to have any idea as to what we're voting on with this measure and what its impact will be, when it seems the path it took to getting a vote is based solely on the whim of the chairman of the judiciary committee. unfortunately, this total disregard for even a semblance of regular order -- that term lot here. a again, the american people, many of them don't have a clue what we're talking about. what we're talking about basically is matters that our go-to committees have hearings, both sides input, have witnesses who are experts or have responsibilities in that arena, and then the matter comes to the rules committee and is granted a bill of substance to come here to the floor. and that process is generally known by those of us with ongress speak as regular order . it's nothing new for the republican controlled judiciary committee, which has been the worst offender of regular order when it comes to pushing for a closed process. during the 115th congress, bills coming to the floor from the judiciary committee . it's nothing new were granted the most closed rules of any of the committees in this august body. eight, eight closed rules. and there is no committee chair in this congress who has requested the republican control rules committee grant more closed rules than the chairman of the judiciary committee. indeed, this departure from a process that we refer to as regular order, from a process that allows input from outside experts and other witnesses, a process that allows both parties if there is a hearing o ask questions of those witnesses, this departure is astounding and that's within the context of this congress, which is just the first 10 months will soon become the closed congress in history. i remember when i ran for office in 1992. i appeared a lot on radio stations. many of those appearances the opposition, not just my opponent, but the major party, ad begun a drumbeat of the democrats are not following regular order. they are having closed rules. little did i know in 1992, nor did i aspire when i came here to be on the rules committee, to have a better understanding. but i kept listening to this closed rule argument, and many persons lost their elections because of that. if there is ever a time for us to address it, it would be now. and we have that prerogative to be able to open up this process so that all members can be involved. when this congress began, the distinguished speaker of this body promised an open and transparent house. he called for return to regular order. after what we have seen over the last 10 months, i shudder to think what the distinguished speaker considers a closed process. i might add next tier under closed is structured rules which we're here today on which yet again limits the number of activities by others, amendments, and other processes that would be appropriate. yesterday when my colleague and committee, rules we had before us matters that were germane to this issue that were denied that could have under an open committee, we process been made in order so that we could discuss it here today. this republican process, shutting out the voice and input of representatives of nearly half the country, is not just an affront to normal house procedure, which it is, abouts down right undemocratic and emblematic of the republican majority's true inability to govern. mr. speaker, i turn to the this bill encompassed in rule. h.r. 732. a bill as misguided and substantively unnecessary as the first bill was lacking in process. in fact, in the last congress a law professor testifying on an entical bill described it as a solution in search of a problem. that was as true in the last congress as it is in this one. which is too bad because we do not like an actual problem in desperate need of sensible -- ck of actual problems in desperate need of solutions. h.r. 7032 desperate need of solutions. h.r. in settlement agreements, settlement agreements, with entities accused of wrongdoing. there in the report pointed out by the chairman of the rules committee yesterday shows the mber of banks and mortgage companies and others that have violated the law. and entered into settlements with the government for billions of dollars. such payments in excess of what the victims have agreed to and the settlement that have been entered into and approved by judges, each one of these settlements, my friend said he these payments went to politically motivated may have gone to -- may be politically motivated and approved organiza. he cites to la raza which did receive money. so did other charitable organizations. the new christian joyful gospel baptist church. the catholic charities of the archdiocese of chicago. the catholic charities financial and housing council. and if my friend, we saw it yesterday, while we were in the committee, i sought and asked staff to provide for me some of the organizations that my friends say may be politically motivated or activists, as he referred to them, and it's 49 pages of organizations that were available to receive these funds, yes, some of them are liberal. and also some of them are conservative organizations as we know them. such payments to charities are common. enformente tool in settlement. and have long been used to help provide communities with relief from systemic harm caused by illegal behavior. or example, following the 2008 financial crisis in some of the set manyment agreements with wall street -- settlement agreements with wall street banks, president obama's department of justice required banks to donate money to charities committed to neighborhood stalization and foreclosure prevention efforts. and this made perfect sense. in the wake of the crisis, as many as 10 million families lost their homes to foreclosure. both the government accountability office and the ederal courts have long upheld this practice in settlement agreements. . this practice in settlement to enrich, quote, liberals, their friends, unquote, despite the fagget that certified charities eligible to receive these payments encompass liberal and conservative groups alike. they even launched an investigation, which yielded to credible evidence to substantiate their claim. yet, despite the g.a.o., the federal courts and a republican-led investigation showing no wrongdoing, we are considering this bill today to ban this long standing legal practice aimed at assisting communities in the wake of suffering systemic abuse, abuse i will underline again and say, slowly hurt democrats and republicans. i suppose the only question left to ask my republican friend is 10 months into the new administration, nearly a year after the last election, why are they continuing to conduct pointless and partisan oversight of the obama administration? let me make this clear, president obama is no longer the president of the united states, nor is bill clinton or george bush. the president of the united states now is a new individual that we have to deal with and it will be helpful if we were to address some of the matters ongoing that this particular administration is deserving of oversight. i know that president obama was useful foil for many in the republican party when it came to messaging and campaigning. but he is not the president anymore. he won his two elections. that's the past. this bill represents nothing but the republican majority grasping at strauss and trying their best to turn their oversight attention away from doing their duty and providing oversight of the trump administration. today, two new inquiries, i don't have the time or wouldn't take the time to go into the inquiries that have been announced certainly as a distraction to many of the negatives that come out by virt you of this particular congress not having done anything. it is the do-nothing congress on steroids. if there was an an administration that needed rigorous oversight, it is the current one. we have had reports of private jets, the use of private email servers by senior staff and i might add, -- one of those things identified today, they are going to go after -- or have oversight on hearings for hillary clinton emails. enough already, hillary clinton lost her election. but we have current staff who are using private email servers. given your history, should that oversightst peek your answer spending taxpayer dollars to use mar-a-lago. how about oversight of a little old company in montana that doesn't have any successful history getting a $200 million no-bid contract in puerto rico to re-establish those facilities there, out of montana. $200 million, no bid. you got it. you talk about waste and cronyism. and what do we get from the republicans? deafening silence. i find it ironic we are considering a rule today entitled article 1 powers strengthening act. and this republican congress has shown they can't even undertake the basic article 1 duty of providing oversight of the executive. they don't need to strengthen article 1, they need to just start doing their job in the first place. with that, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: at this time, i would like to yield five minutes to congressman from utah 2nd congressional district, congressman stewart. and i yield five minutes. mr. stewart: thank you for bringing up h.r. 469 indicates the text of my bill. the purpose of this act is really very simple. and actually contrary to previous arguments, the rule of this and the intent of this is so simple, it is for government transparency. this bill will go a long way providing our constituents and taxpayers a better idea of how their tax dollars are spent. now heaven knows and for heaven's sake, we know the federal government isn't perfect. it's prone to errors and can cause harm to individuals and when these errors are particularly egregious. early on in fact, this congress spent a lot of its time doing nothing but sorting through claims and making appropriations to pay those claims. in fact, not even 100 years ago, much of this body was consumed only on that topic. it wasn't until 1956 when congress established the judgment fund and gave authority to the treasury department to resolve these claims in, quote, a permanent and definite appropriation. and that simply has been abused. report, the th treasury department files a yearly report with congress and maintains a web page so it can be searched. this sounds good, right? but the limited information related to each payout has made the data base almost entirely worthless. there is no information on what the government did wrong. there's no information on the claimant. in fact, journalists and transparency groups revealed the last few months from 2009 to 2015, the government paid out more than $25 million to unnamed or redacted recipients, a $25 million secret. we don't know who was paid. we don't know why they were paid and in some circumstances, we don't know how much they were paid. we are all familiar with the administration or the previous administration's decision to take $1.3 billion out of the fund and convert it to cash and deliver it to iran. yet this isn't the only egregious use of this fund. the "new york times" reported on what was likely an illegal billion dollar payout to thousands of farmers who had never even sued the government. this isn't just unacceptable, it's crazy. it's horrible government. it's the type of things that make people resent the federal government. this bill aims to clarify and reduce that. it aims to clean up the ambiguity that is in the current law and provide much needed transparency and would require to make public any payment from the judgment fund and include things like the named of the agency named in the judgment, the name of the plaintiff, the amount they were paid, any other fees such as attorneys' fees or interests and thern a brief description of the facts which led to the claim. the judgment fund transparency act may not prevent bad decisions of employees, but will shine a light on those decisions to the american people. the this is about helping to increase the amount of trust between the american people and the government that they simply don't trust and we give them reasons not to trust us. let's bring accountability and transparency to that. i urge the house to vote yes on the rule and yes on passage of this crucial bill. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields back. the gentleman from georgia reserves. the gentleman from florida is recognized. mr. hastings: i'm ready to have my friend understand that i'm getting close to closing. i don't think we have any speakers. but i do have words that i wish to put forward right now. be shameful that we would at a position where the daca program is being threatened without a single thought to the consequences of this -- this decision would have on the 800,000 young lives this program protects. this may appear to be off message with regard to the measures that are before us, the minority is given an opportunity to present what is called a previous question. germanean be on matters to the thoughts of the minority and can be on any subject that they choose. and in this instance we choose with the previous question address daca. the american people even want daca to end? he answer is clearly no. cording to a morning consult poll, politico morning, support for allowing these immigrants to remain in the united states spans across party lines. 84% of democrats, 74% of independents and 69% of republicans think they should stay. congress must act to protect our dreamers. well, mr. speaker, here's a chance to recktive eye the president's -- reck if i havey and restore the american people's faith in this institution. i'm going to 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 american in every way except on paper. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. hastings: mr. speaker, i will either reserve my time or continue to closing, dependent upon my colleagues, if he has additional presenters, then i'll reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida reserves. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: we do have one more speaker and we will be ready to cloudy skies. mr. speaker, it is my privilege to recognize my colleague from georgia from georgia's 12th congressional district, congressman rick allen for five minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. allen: thank you, doug. rise today to support my fellow colleague's bill. one of the biggest complaints i hear about the federal government is the lack of accountability or these back-room deals. when glaring example of this is sue andreferenced to as settle. left-leaning groups would sue a federal agency to try and enact regulatory changes without going through the normal rulemaking process. both parties, the federal government and special interest groups settle in court with an already agreed-upon deal. regulatory rules are then made quickly without any public notice of the input of any other relevant parties but carry the rule of law. these new rules are often the most burdensome and cost our businesses billions of dollars each year. this doesn't sound like draining the swamp to me. h.r. 469 stops these unfair arrangements by requiring agencies to publicly post and report to congress on sue and consent plaints, decrease and settlement arrangements and prots the same-day filing of complaints and settlement agreements in cases seeking to compel agency action. legislationcollins' will provide greater accountability and transparency to the american public while stopping special interests from improperly influencing our nation's regulatory regime. we must uphold a fair and transparent regulatory process. the american people demand this from us. i urge my colleagues to support the rule on this commonsense legislation and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: i reserve and i yield to the gentleman from florida. mr. hastings: i'm prepared to close and shall, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i mentioned earlier that there >> 49 pages -- i didn't realize how extensive it really was, of organizations that were eligible receive funds under the justice department's prerogative and it includes organizations that did, in fact, receive these funds. and they come from a wide array of organizations in our respective communities, that in my judgment, have on the ground ability to be efficient and to make sure that the expenditure of those funds benefit those who have suffered from systemic inequities by large organizations. put this able to entire measure in the record, so i'm going to ask that at least 10 pages of it be included in the record and the rest of it be included under general leave. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. . mr. hastings: i do want to acknowledge that my friend from georgia does have a companion bill in the other body. t's i believe senate bill 333, and i would -- like i will when comes gia-florida game up, make a wager with my friend that bill won't go anyway. we are here talking about it. my wager with him will be under appropriate measures. i wish he and i could go to jacksonville together as which they say is the greatest cocktail party in the world. mr. speaker, i just mention that at least one of the bills wrapped up in today's -- in my view -- nonsense ought to be continued to be described as a solution in search of a problem. i'm not fully convinced that the observation is not an at -one for the whole lot of bills for us today. as i just mentioned, this is particularly disturbing as this country has real problems which need real solutions. the children's health insurance program has expired, and there seems to be little to no will on the other side of the aisle to right this wrong at this time. sure, we hear possibilities of a solution. when i came back this week i thought that we would certainly address this. september 30 is when it expired. yet, we, and more importantly, millions of children and organizations wait for an answer. we know we are fast approaching a government shutdown, but instead we come to the floor week after week after week forced to debate ridiculous well hat in substance thought out by the persons presenting them but in reality are not going to become law and nothing more than talking points of the day when these things that we should be addressing are going unmet. we need to re-authorize the federal aviation administration , and yet the answer to this issue evades my friends across the aisle. we need to re-authorize the national flood insurance program, and yet we wait. we need to address the crippling epidemic that is gun violence in this country. we need to remember that not even a month ago this man out in las vegas took aim from the 2nd floor of a hotel and rained terror down upon thousands of people enjoying music. the weapons he used that night are just as readily available today as the day he bought them. and finally, i understand folks may want to forget the following but we cannot and i will not let you forget that there are millions of people across the united states virgin islands and puerto rico. there are thousands in florida and in texas that are still awaiting visits from fema. on the plane up yesterday, i was reading a three-page-long article addressing right in my community the fact that people are sitting, waiting for fema's response. and i continue to raise at the same time that these hurricanes in texas, southwest louisiana, the virgin islands and puerto rico have occurred, forest fires in california and montreal and oregon have occurred -- montana and oregon have occurred, and we haven't addressed drought in other areas that occurred. and just last week, tornadoes occurred in oklahoma. we have these disasters occurring. i heard my colleague earlier today during morning hour make a presentation regarding a main burst in detroit, michigan, and they don't have in her area sufficient drinking water. and we know that the flint, michigan, matter isn't resolved. this past weekend, i busted a tire on a bumpy hole road, and we need to fix our roads in this country. this capital ought to be called the pothole of all the world. yet we stand here day after day discussing things when -- that are going nowhere when people in puerto rico and the virgin islands craving electricity, opening schools with no electricity, moving people from hospitals. we need safe drinking water all over this country. they need for us to show compassion and at least some decency with reference to humanity with those concerns. mr. speaker, i urge no on the vote and the underlying legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from florida yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from georgia is recognized. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i mean, there is many things that this body can do better. my friend from florida outlined his opinion of what those may be. he also outlined his opinion of what will be a nice, mr. speaker, georgia victory come saturday. this weekend in jacksonville. i do appreciate his acknowledgment of what will be coming. but also i think there's also some other things we need to discuss and we can just talk about that. i will take first off, mr. speaker, the issue of the judiciary committee on which i serve which i believe frankly i have the privilege of serving on what i believe is two of the hardest working committees on this hill and that is the rules committee and the judiciary committee. and chairman goodlatte is very thoughtful. we can disagree, mr. speaker, and you can understand my friend's frustration on issues of closed bills which do come and have been under both parties. but today's bills are not one of those. these two bills both have amendments they are offered on the floor by both parties. there are republican democrats eaments and democrat amendments. this is -- amendments and democrat amendments. this is not one of those. i think how process and regular order and i would stand with my chairman in chairman goodlatte on that issue we are working toward and something that really matters here. i think also as we look at this, talking about grasping of straws. we can get sidelined on what could be, what we want to focus on but it's also a matter and let's focus on the line right now. let's focus on the minute ahead. let's focus on the next vote and that's talking about these bills in this process. i thought it was interesting to say these are solutions in search of a problem. it's really interesting to me that these solutions in search of a problem i think the problem when they have especially under sue and settle have $9.6 billion annual cost, $500 million in the first year cost, oil and gas rule, $738 million annually. $632 million annually for the florida nutrient standards and estuaries flowing waters rule. boiler mack, $3 billion. $90 billion for reconsideration of 2008 ozone. let's make clear what sue and settle does. this bill does not take the power for an agency to enter into a consent decree. the consent decrease are used often. the problem with this one is when you have two parties on the same page suing in essence what amounts to one so they can get a desired result without talking to the others who are affected, that's just wrong. it's like me taking another congressman or you, mr. speaker, and saying you know, let's work out a deal but the reality is is it's going to affect my friend from across the aisle but we're not going to tell him. we're simply going to say, we're going to work our deal out, we are going to go to the court, we are going to get the court to sign off on it and implement everything we have without proper insight and oversight and that's all we're asking for. it's called fairness. i am not sure how you can be against that, unless you like the idea of writing regulatory law in cubicles down the street instead of here on the floor of the house. the other issue i see here is this issue of slush funds. we talked about this, and the gentleman's input pages into the record. he can put 49 in the record, 550 in the record of eligible agencies for this money. the problem is not eligible agencies. number one, they are not victims. number two, they are not part of the suit. we are giving them at sometimes double the rate to the offenders. those that the justice department said we are doing wrong. let's get this clear. like in the housing issue. said you are doing wrong in this mortgage issue, but what we're going to do instead of giving the money 1-1 to victims, we will give it 2-1 if you give it to our charity in donation form. it sounds like to me the only problem who are getting problematic are victims here and the other pages of people who may or may not have political leanings or religious leanings. they are the recipient of the lottery. they said we'll go help these people. give us money. instead of saying this is an issue that needs to be dealt with in a settlement to the victim. it's also those been said that this is giving money to help those in those areas so they can get back on their feet. but it also went further than that. there were two instances in particular i can come up with. the housing council which this body said we're not funding any longer but yet the administration used these donations to circumvent the appropriations process and fund it. that is not the role of the executive branch. that is an article 1 role. the electric vehicle subsidy. $2 billion. again, this body said no. they said no worries. we'll go get a settlement. we'll just take the donations and we'll fund something that congress has already said no on. so it's easy to paint with broad strokes and say this is not important. this doesn't matter. but for some of us it does matter. those stories, people are so upset when they look at this town. they say, just remember what their old civic books told them. that there was a congress. there was an executive branch and there was a judicial branch. each required all to do their part. and if we decide, you know, it's too far down the road. let's bind the hands of the executive branch. we will do whatever. this is nothing except congress saying this is what we're going to do. it's saying this is what matters for us. and we may call it cheap, we may call it little, we may call it a solution in search of the problem but you talk about the industry owners and the businesses and the states that had to pay out on these sue and settle agreements. you talk about the billions that were sent to iran, i think there will be a lot of folks when you look at both sides of this case will say, yes, congress, i want you to stop this because this is the way it should be set up. and that is why these bills are on the floor today. that is why we are taking them up. that is why, mr. speaker, we are bringing them forward and i would urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia yields back the balance of his time. 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. hastings: yes, i ask for 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 arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by five-minute votes on adopting the resolution, if ordered, and suspending the rules and passing h.r. 2142. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned 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 228. the nays are 189. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. all those in favor say aye. all those opposed, no. the ayes have it. for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? mr. hastings: i ask for a recorded vote, mr. chairman. 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 is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned 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 and the nays are 190. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. he house will be in order. if members will take their seats. the house will be in order. if i could ask all members to ake their seats, please. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to speak out of order. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, and members, the worst fires in the history of california have devastated nearly 300,000 acres, destroyed some 8 thoirks homes, caused billions of dollars in damage and taken the lives of 42 people. and that number may very well rise. mr. thompson: these fires were like no other propelled by winds that reached speeds up to 70 miles an hour. the worst of the fires were in my district, they burned 200 feet per second. that's three football fields every 30 seconds. people had little time to escape their burning homes and fled with only the clothes on their back and in some cases with their homes already in flames. the most covered area in the news is a neighborhood in my district called coffee park. there alone the entire neighborhood, some 1,300 homes were burned to the ground. wind were so high that they pushed the blaze across eight lanes of freeway and two frontage roads to destroy the homes and lives of those 1,300 families. 11,000 firefighters, thousands of law enforcement and national guard soldiers put their lives on the line to stop the raging inferno and protect the residents of california in the line of fire. some of those first responders lost their own homes but worked 24/7 to help otherses. the actions of civilian heroes and saved gin told number of lives. the fallout of this disaster will be felt for years, if not decades. you just can't rebuild 8,000 homes and entire neighborhoods overnight. my colleagues and and i from california all appreciate your words of comfort and offers of help and the people hurt by this will need all of your help. observe a moment of silence who lost their lives and to show our commitment to help rebuild the lives of the many of thousands of people who lost everything. the speaker pro tempore: will all members rise and observe a moment of silence. without objection, five that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks minute voting will continue. vote on the motion of the the gentleman from from pennsylvania to suspend the rules and the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 2142, the ability of customs and fentanyl nd other synthetic opyoids and substances that are illegally imported into the united states and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the question is will the house russ send the rules and pass the bill as amended. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.] the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 412. the nays are 3. 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 georgia seek recognition? mr. collins: i ask unanimous consent that during consideration of h.r. 469 pursuant to house resolution 577, the amendment i placed at the desk be in order in lieu of he amendment of and numbered two. the clerk: an amendment -- mr. collins: i ask to waive the reading. the speaker pro tempore: the reading is suspended. is there objection to the gentleman's original request? without objection, so ordered. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will postponefurther proceedings on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote and the the yeas and nays are ordered or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. the house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. for what purpose does the gentleman from kentucky seek recognition? >> i move to pass the bill h.r. 39 2. the clerk: union calendar number 266, h.r. 3972, a bill to clarify that family offices and family clients are accreditted investors and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, mr. barr and the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, will each have 20 minutes. bower bower i ask that members may include extraneous material on this bill. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. the gentleman will suspend. he house will be in order. please take your conversations rom the floor. bower bower i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. >> i rise today in support of h.r. 3972 family office technical correction act which passed out of the house financial services committee this week with unanimous support . this legislation provides a technical clarification that makes it very apparent that family offices are considered accreditted investors. under dodd-frank a family office or a company that only has family clients is opened by the family and is not a public investment adviser can give financial advice to family members without the office

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