Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives U.S. House Of Representatives 20240714

In 2018 letters from both the director of naval reactors, aled miller caldwell, from the secretary of the navy, richard spencer, all stating the negative impact that low enriched uranium would have on the capability of the navy. We look, too, at the dollars being proposed to offset this. The 20 million reduction in the National Nuclear Security Administration would reduce salaries in that area by 15 . Mr. Wittman and according to nssa, this reduction would likely require a reduction in force to achieve this staffing level. They will let people go if this money is transferred to another study, a study thats been done multiple times in the past, with the same outcomes that this would have a harmful effect on the National Nuclear Security Administration. It would negate improvements in oversight and accountability and slow down the execution of critical Nuclear Security and safety programs and affect weapons modernization and Nuclear Nonproliferation efforts, the same thing the gentleman from rhode island that said it would address, it actually takes money away and would inhibit physical and cybersecurity and Environmental Remediation programs. Not only has this study been done multiple times, but take money away from the critical elements that are being proposed if this study would seek to find out ta the conclusions have already been reached and the impact of l. E. U. Which has already been identified. I would yield excuse me, i would reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin let me just say we must invest in research and development. Then chair of the naval directors testified before the House Armed Services committee that with current technology, he said the potential exists ta we could develop an advanced fuel system that might increase uranium loading while still meeting the requirements for naval reactors on nuclearpowered war ships. I want to mention that this house already addresses the concerns of my colleague, that 20 million was included in the energy and water appropriations package that passed the house on june 19 which included an increase to salaries and expenses. So these spending levels have been set by the house. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Wittss witness i remind witt this is not another appropriations bill so this is spefpk to the use of these dollars for these dollars specifically. And i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from virginia. The chair the gentlewoman from irginia is recognized. Focusing on limited resources that will make our forces more reliable. I oppose this amendment and allocate the money to develop low enriched. Drawing on my 20year navy experience, it makes little sense to divert these resources. High enriched uranium design delivering a critical leg of our Nuclear Deterrent and our aircraft carriers. There is no need for this amendment. Top Navy Leadership and the secretary of energy clearly state that low enriched uranium for naval propulsion would react in a design that is less capable and more expensive and unlikely to support submarine reactors. The director says that investing in l. E. U. Would negatively reactor size and ship costs. And the success is not assured. I have no doubt we could eventually develop a design using l. E. U. But would it continue to meet our operational and defense feeds . No. It would make our platforms less capable, less operationally available and more expensive to operate and in turn require more of these assets to accomplish the same objective. If the amendment is to advance issues of nonproliferation, it makes little sense to draw down the budget of the very agency that is tasked with the security of Nuclear Weapons and nuclear fuel. We need to commit our resources where are used to support our National Defense. These dollars are best spent on the National Nuclear Security Administration. Yield the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from rhode island. Mr. Langevin may i inquire how much time is remaining . The chair two minutes. The gentleman from virginia has threequarters of a minute. Mr. Langevin i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. And i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from illinois, the only nuclear physicist, mr. Foster. The chair the gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Foster i rise as the only physicist i have designed and led the construction of giant Nuclear Equipment and high risk and successful r d programs. Because of its importance to National Security and Nuclear Nonproliferation i have stud yield at length the high enriched uranium and received numerous and highly technical briefings and examined reactor cor specification and visited the fabrication fall silt in virginia and continuing the research supported by this amendment is worth pursuing for the reasons given by my colleague. Several factors must be dealt with in determining utilizing and l. E. U. And the total energy and the volume of the core and the enrichment of the fuel, reactivate and the transfer for a given power level. It is complicated but a 2016 report conclusion that using an existing optimized l. E. U. Design could result in a more compact core. This would be a true operational advantage and one that we should not give up by abandonning this r d program for years. I would point out that im not alone in this. This is not only optimizing submarine performance. It is crucial for nonproliferation that we set a good exble example for the rest of the world and not use it where it is not required. Countries like france do not use weaponsgrade uranium in their submarines. We should do likewise. This r d program will enable this by continuing it in the next decade. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. The chair the gentleman from virginia is recognized. I point to the 2016 report that assessed the additional refuelings would increase navy fleet operating costs by several billions dollars a year. That means ships that will not get built that will mean less operating capability and ships will need to be at dock for longer periods of time for maintenance and for refueling. Larger submarine reactor core which d. O. D. Said would be required for l. E. U. And makes the submarines less capable and less efficient and requires massive designs and interrupts construction programs. All of those have significant impacts on the capability of the navy. The 323year ship expect tabblet, it would cut it by a third. Thank you, with that, i yield. The chair the question is on the amendment from the the gentleman from rhode island. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from washing seek recognition . I offer amendments en bloc number 5. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will designate the amendments en bloc. The clerk en bloc number 5 consisting of amendments number 148, 149, 47, 147, 154, 155, 52, 15 , 164 and, 161, 162, 163, 165 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by mr. Smith of washington. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 476, the gentleman from washington, mr. Smith, and the gentleman from texas, mr. Thornberry will each control 10 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith im pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Sherman i thank my amendment and this is cosponsored. Russia interfered in our elections. A few individuals have been told they cant get visas to visit the United States and never see disneyland. This amendment provides real serious sanctions on the russian state by saying no u. S. Person can make additional purchases of russian sovereign debt. It provides a mechanism for removing these sanctions. If the administration concludes that russia can go one election cycle without interfering and if Congress Agrees with that conclusion then these sanctions are lifted. And the amendment narrowly defines interference in our electrics. It makes it plain if Russian Television wants to editorialize or putin puts out a tweet, that is fine. Voter tabulation or voter recommendation processes where russia steals information for the purpose of influencing our election or where Russian Hackers use false Flag Communications pretending to be American American when they are not. We need a serious mechanism to punish russia what they did in prior elections and deter them. This amendment does that. Im pleased to include it in the en bloc. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry i yield one minute to the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. Foxx. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Foxx i thank the gentleman for including my amendment in the en bloc. Mr. Chairman, i rise in support of the en bloc package and would like to thank chairman smith and Ranking Member thornberry and the importance of this issue. My amendment sends a clear signal to the European Union on the importance of the nato. As some european capitalists push for the European Union army, my amendment expresses the importance of nato centrality over our defense policy architecture and interoperability and burden sharing. The increase of the european capability must be made by our european allies to comply with their nato obligations. Investments in the form of the pakistan and European Defense fund consider risk interoperability and difficult veering gent spending. E. U. Investments should take place under the nato umbrellas to ensure capability. I thank my colleagues for their support of this amendment and i yield back. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from washington. Ms. Jayapal my amendment in this package would help curb the corrupt influence of foreign money in our politics. The amol youments requires retired military officers to receive permission from their service and the state department and disclose the nature of their work. My amendment would make the approved activities available to congress and to the public. We still have a long way to go to constrain crummings in washington. We saw this with general flynn who concealed his work with the turkish government during the 2016 president ial election. We trust our retired military first to speak in the best interests of the United States and when they are being paid to further another countrys countrys agenda we need to know. I reserve the balance of my ime. Mr. Thornberry i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from br. Ms. Gonzalez colisten thank ou for include miss gonzalezcolon thank you amendment in my this en bloc amendment. There are four water craft vessels in puerto rico, they were instrumental in the Recovery Process after Hurricane Maria and were responsible for delivering food and other essentials. This role should be taken into account as part of the review process prior to divesting any of the army water craft systems. Specifically, considering the multiple jurisdictions that have been impacted by natural disasters. Amendment 163 seeks to help us speed up the cleanup and con tam decontamination process in former military ranges, specifically my amendment directs the General Accounting Office to complete a study and a report to the congressional Defense Committees on the stat toufs the process including anage soifs the pace of ongoing Environmental Restoration efforts and potential charges and alternatives to accelerate their completion. This comprehensive study will allow us to explore the most effective and secure methods to complete the cleanup process in viecas which is vital to improve the quality of life of island residents. Amendment 164 highlights the importance of the department of defense sponsored operations in that zone. It expresses the sense of congress that conveying transnational organizations in the region. It is critical to the National Security of the United States and that the department of defense shall work with the department of Homeland Security and the department of state and other relevant partners to improve surveillance capabilities and maximize the effectiveness of counteroperations in the region. Fish this reason i strongly urge my colleagues to support this effort and thank you for including these amendments in the en bloc package. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith i yield one and a half minutes to the gentlewoman, mrs. Torres. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Torres i worked as a 911 dispatcher for 9 1 2 years. I coordinated Police Vehicle and foot pursuits, talking to suicide callers, negotiating with barricaded suspects and talking to their victims. One call that has stayed with me, a call that change midlife and threw me into a political world that i never wanted to be a part of. I answered a call from a little girl who was murdered at the hands of her uncle. I was her only witness. I heard her scream. I heard her head being bashed against the wall. I heard five shots that ultimately took her life. Her last words, uncle, please dont kill me, it is not my fault. This work required a lot of training and tough attitude to deal with critical emergencies. Unfortunately, the federal government currently classifies 911 dispatchers as clerical workers. Secretaries. My amendment would finally recognize the critical work they do by reclassifying them as protective service occupations. This provision costs nothing, zero. But it would bring 911 professionals, civilian workers, primarily single mom the dignity that they deserve. I urge its passage and yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Fitzpatrick. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Fitzpatrick i stand today in strong support of this bipartisan amendment which 9 11 es language from the safe act. Public safety telecommunicators play a Critical Role in crises affecting our communities. By directing the urgent concerns of the public to Law Enforcement officials, Public Safety telecommunicators work tone sure Emergency Services are delivered where needed. Today there are nearly 100,000 Public Safety telecommunicators serving in over 6,000 call Centers Across the United States. Their diligence, dedication to public well being and steady demeanor in the presence of turmoil is needed now more than ever and im proud to partner with my colleague from california, a former 911 dispatcher herself, mrs. Torres, to ensure these dedicated Public Servants receive the protected Service Classification from o. M. B. Which they the serve. We owe this to those who are often the First Respond to emergencies in our communities each and every day. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith im pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Shalala. The chair the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Shalala thank you. I rise in strong support of the torres number 65 amendment which recognizes the lifesaving work performed by our nations 911 call takers and dispatchers. Mr. Speaker, all of the emergency activities in my own district, the police, the fire, the emergency responders, strongly support this amendment and so i wanted to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Simply stated these professionals save lives and more than giving 911 call takers and dispatchers the recognition they deserve, it would make the standard occupational classification system more accurate and therefore more useful as a statistical resource. I urge a yes vote and yield back to the gentleman. The chair the gentlewoman yields back, the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from virginia, mr. Wittman. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Wittman thank you, mr. Chairman. Id like to refer to my amendment number 403, involving the cable ship program. I know theres been issues pointed out regarding coastal commerce and i look forward to working through those issues as the bill gets to conference. With that, i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. Courtney. The chair the gentleman from connecticut is recognized. Mr. Courtney i want to join my colleague from virginia, mr. Wittman, that i look forward to working with him on the and the Conference Committee to make sure that that question is resolved. Both of us understand the issue and again i look forward to a satisfactory result which will make the real gist of the amendment move forward which is to make sure we have cable ship capacity to protect our nation. With that, i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith i dont have any more speakers at this point, ill reserve my time. The chair the gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry we have no further speakers as well. Oh, maybe one just came. Mr. Chairman, i yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from nebraska, mr. Fortenberry. The chair the gentleman from nebraska is recognized. Mr. Fortenberry thank you. I want to thank congressman thornberry for the time as well as his leadership as well as the chair of the Defense Committee because this is very important. Recently, i was looking at the photos of the young men and women who hang on the wall of my office. They died in iraq. Some of them i knew. Some of their families i knew. Some i didnt know. Some i still stay in touch with. And at this point, we have lost so much, we have given so much, its hard to understand why further engagement is necessary. And yet one of the many injustices that remain, one particularly stands out. The dark, twisted ideology of isis, decimated the religious minority communities primarily of Northern Iraq, almost four million persons. Isis attempted to exterminate, to kill off, yazidis, christians and other minority populations. Since then, the iraqi army, with our support and the support of an international coalition, has fought hard and fought isis off. They are gone but not yet exterminated. We shifted substantial economic aid but theres one more thing we should do. Provide security in Northern Iraq through the integration of the real jus minority into the Iraqi Government and Security Forces as well as the Kurdish Forces and i thank both the chair and Ranking Member. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith we have no further speakers. I reserve. Mr. Thornberry i have no further speakers and yield back the balance of our time. The chair the gentleman yields back. Mr. Smith i support the en bloc package and yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The question is on the amendments enblack offered by the gentleman from washington. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. The en bloc amendments are greed to. For what purpose does the gentleman from im sorry. It is now in order to consider amendment number 39 printed in part b of house report 116143. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 39 printed in part b of house report 116143, offered by mr. Tacawne of california. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 476, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i rise today in support of my amendment that would preserve parole in place for loved ones of active duty Service Members. Parole in place allows family members who have come to the United States illegally and are unable to adjust their immigration status to temporarily remain in the country. My amendment would preserve the parole in Place Program and reaffirm the k. H. S. Secretarys authority to keep Families Together and to minimize disruption to our Service Members through this vital program. Under parole in place, a Service Member and their prospective spouse, widow, widower, son, or daughter is eligible for temporary protection under the immigration and nationality act. This program is imperative to ensuring our troops are free of the burden that their loved ones will be subjected to deportation while they dutifully serve our nation. The Current Administration is interested in scaling back the program. Further waging a war against immigrants. Ending parole in place would be detrimental to the troops and the fabric of our nation. Regardless of military branch, all Service Members should be granted peace of mind that their families are safe at home while they risk their lives abroad. Deployments are tough enough on our military families to endure, conflated with the looming shadow of deportation, the emotional toll is simply unbearable. Our troops must be consistently prepared and focused on protecting our freedom. The least we can do is to protect their families. I urge my leagues to support this amendment and reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman from mississippi seek recognition . Mr. Chairman, i rise in opposition to the amendment. The chair the gentleman is recognized. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Chairman, this is an tempt to codify a 2013 uscis memo establishing parole in place for unlawful parents and children of forces. While i support the rationale behind the amendment and that policy, i cannot support this because it is too vague, broad, and ambiguous and does not accomplish the purpose for which it is intended. The purpose is to protect those servicemens. Mr. Chairman, i will tell you what this does is, we dont even ask the Service Member if they want that person here. So if the person is a victim of Domestic Violence, escaping a spouse who is following them, there is no provision to ask the spouse, do you want this person to be living close to you . That youre trying to escape . Mr. Kelly it does not take into account any underlying crimes that person may or may not have committed whether its Domestic Violence, sexual battery. It puts the other Service Members in risk then we dont. Mr. Chairman, specifically the memo provided these relatives or anyone who has ever served in the u. S. Armed forces for any period of time, with or without regard to whether the discharge was honorable or dishonorable, orel jibble are eligible to receive parole on a cat gorical basis. Mr. Chairman, we cant honor folks who have been dishonorably discharged and honor their we are not honoring the rest of our soldiers when we honor just anyone. In a 2013 meeting with the obama administration, uscis admitted that servicemens never contacted to determine whether he or she wants the unlawful aliens to receive parole in place. It admitted theres no process in place to ensure the Service Member served in the Armed Services. Admitted that the it Service Member could have felony convictions and his or her immediate relatives would be eligible for parole in place. These felony convictions could be for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and all things we are trying to stamp out. It admitted even in cases of divorce, a Service Members exspouse could be eligible for parole in place and they could receive parole in place despite past criminal records. This amendment could allow a relative, even if away from a Service Member be granted parole. I ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment and i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano i wish to respond to a couple of points that my colleague has tried to make. I want to stress that eligibility for this program oes not mean fine atlanta. The secretary of defense still retains final authority whether parole in place will be granted. This is a program that is administered on a case byby case basis and this program has been in place for nine year and i appreciate my colleague says he agrees with the underlying policy. The underlying policy is we want to give peace of mind to the men and women who are laying their lives while their undocumented relatives at home may be under threat of deportation. We want to give them the peace of mind that their families could stay with the final decision on a case by case basis. Nothing is mandated in my amendment. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from reserves. The gentleman from mississippi is recognized. Mr. Kelly i continue to oppose. It is overbroad. This could be something that works and helpful. But in its current form, i cant support it and i continue to ask my colleagues to oppose this amendment and i reserve. And i have no further speakers. So when you are ready to close, im ready to close. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Mr. Takano i have no further speakers and prepared to close as well. Mr. Kelly i thank mr. Takano, my friend from california for this amendment. I do continue to oppose this amendment. But with that, i just ask that he look at making it making a little less vague and with that, i could support this amendment. And i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Takano let me just say that i have answered the main concerns of the the gentleman from mississippi. As i said, nothing in this amendment says that eligibility finality in terms of who is finally adjudicated to remain on a temporary basis under temporary protected status. What the gentleman has agreed to is the underlying policy, which is a humane policy, which is a policy that supports the National Interests in our country in assuring the peace of mind who have family members in our country who are undocumented. I dont think they would begrudge anybody who are in this country and they are judged to have that status by the secretary of defense on a case by case basis and that secretary remains in full control of the final decision. And i yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the amendment s agreed to. It is now in order to consider amendment number 44 printed in part bmp of house report 116 143. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . I have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 44 printed in part b of house report 116143. The chair the gentleman from california, mr. Liu, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Lieu the president ran for office on a promise of draining the swamp, and he has done the opposite. My amendment is simple which prevents the president from profitting off of his own trips to his own properties. When the president travels he brings a large staff for him, for security, press, and for other reasons and then the american taxpayer ends up paying for the meals and lodging expenses with everyone associated with that trip. He has spent 270 days at properties he owns. Every time he does, his family profits. Days at marcha lago the General Accounting Office the president spends . 4 million taxpayer dollars every time he travels. The president has also raised prices at his properties at marcha lago. Now the taxpayers are paying more. My amendment limits the use of these defense funds and includes a waiver that the president can the but he has to reimburse treasury to pay the staff. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Members are are reminded to refrain in engaging towards personality of the president. Mr. Lamborn i rise in opposition to the amendment. I yield myself such time as i may consume. We have had this discussion on amol youments and i hope my colleague saw the newspaper today. Heres the newspaper, washington times, court real jects lawsuit over trump business. So the fourth court of appeals said one of the lawsuits out there is baseless. But there is actually more going on here. This is kind of an embarrassing amendment. Im sorry that we are even debating this. This is a blatetantly political amendment. We are supposed to be here talking about providing the equipment and training for our men and women in union form so they can preserve and keep our country secure. And this is just an attempt to embarrass the president. Its a political amendment. And really not worthy of the discussion in the National Defense authorization act and i dont think we should be wasting our time on this. It is not worthy of the American People either. Let me give an example of how silly and how ridiculous this amendment is. According to the language of this amendment, if the president goes to one of these properties and stays like down in florida, he couldnt take with him i guess he could have secret service. They are not paid out of d. O. D. Dollars but Homeland Security dollars, but he couldnt take the people with him who carry the Nuclear Football or the Communications People who keep him in touch with the command and control of our Nuclear Inter price. God forbid there was a crisis or emergency. This has not been thought out. It is totally ridiculous. Who would want to put a president of the United States jumping through hoops and obstacles to fulfill his duties as commander in chief . I think its ridiculous and not worthy of us and i urge a no vote. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from colorado reserves. The gentleman from california. Travel the staff can with him but the president has o reimburse or stay at a ritzcarlton or another property that he doesnt own. Yield one minute to my colleague jamie raskin. Mr. Raskin ridiculous, ludicrous, absurd. I guess the constitution is absurd because the founders took pains to build not one but two clauses. Article 1 section 9 clause 8 says no one who comes to work in this room nor the president of the United States can collect any present emoluments, office or title of any kind whatever. The language you are going to find in the constitution of any kind from a foreign prince, king or government without the consent of congress. Mber two in the domestic emoluments clause saying he is limited to his salary. My friend is waving the newspaper. He is going to have to read more deeply on judicial opinions if he is going to fight them on the floor of the house of representatives because this decision that maryland and the District Of Columbia whose attorney generals came forward that the president received was damaging local business did not have standing and the courts said it is up to congress to decide this because they didnt have standings, not on the merits of the case but whether they had standing to bring it. We have the standing because the constitution says we are the ones whose consensus before the president can decide to get rich in office. To constitution says we are be 100 loyal and faithful and not to foreign governments i request 0 seconds more from the gentleman. So this president spent 270 days at trump owned properties. Think about that. What if barack obama not only had taken the press corps and to Marthas Vineyard or stay at the obama hotel. He directed the taxpayer money. There would be a revolution. Thats what is happening right here every time that President Trump goes to marcha logo, they are spending money every weekend they take Government Resources down there and its wrong and against the constitution and im totally in favor of this amendment. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from colorado is recognized. Mr. Lamborn how much time is remaining to each side . The chair the gentleman from colorado has three minutes. And the gentleman from california has 1 1 4 comments. Mr. Lamborn i take some time. The president isnt doing that to get rich. He has given up his salary. I yield the remainder of our time to mr. Gibbs. Mr. Gibbs so much of our time in this chamber has been used to move one messaging bill after another. They are thinly veiled as attacks on the president. This amendment goes above and beyond. The department of defense is prohibited by staying at any property. To be clear, this is a not a prohibition of using facilities owned by any president. This amendment is about donald trump. Explicitly names the president over 50 times, 50 times in this amendment the president is nailed. This amendment says d. O. D. Cant do for President Trump what it does for every president in the past, facilitate president ial travel. This is a new low. In 2016, g. A. O. Found the department of defense spent 2. 8 million facilitating a fourday trip for president obama. While the bulk of department of defense travel is air fare and federal employees who need to eat and sleep. When you travel with president obama, you can travel. When you travel with president obama, you better pack a sandwich and sleeping bag because you cant buy a hot meal or a hotel room. This is an unreasonable restriction on d. O. D. On this administration. The focus on who owns the facility instead of which facility meets the need and mission of the department is disgraceful. A number of people travel with the president and the cabinet and they need to choose the best facilities. Placing unnecessary restrictions impedes the departments mission as was just stated from my colleague, this president donates his president ial salary to charity and he doesnt have time to worry what the department of defense is doing because he is making america better. We have wages going up. A Strong Economy and working on trade deals and fighting for every worker out there, every farmer and business and i dont think he has time and its about time the other side of the aisle moves on and realizes the great things happening in this country and not restricting the department of defense to where they can go. This could include a employee of the department of defense. Has assets all around the world. Might be more ap lick cabble to e at trump applicable to be at trum facilities. And its up to them to make those decisions. So i sincerely to defeat this amendment. This is a low standard that we have gone to a new low and i yield back. Mr. Lieu department of defense mes should not be staying at highpriced hotels. I yield 45 seconds to representative beyer. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Beyer the constitution bans the very selfdealing behavior we see this president engage in on a regular basis. President trump illegally profits every time he and his staff visits his properties, every time he hosts foreign and domestic officials, every time he plays golf at his golf courses, all paid for by the american taxpayers. Were setting a dangerous precedent by those seeking influence really spend more time at his prosecutes with his name on them. Lets take a significant step to couldnt act the selfdeal, corrupt behavior by banning these funds from the department of defense to go into the president s pockets. I yield back. The chair the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman im sorry. The gentleman from california. Mr. Lieu i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves. You have the only time remaining. Mr. Lieu i yield my remaining time to representative cohen. The chair the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Cohen ini just want to add my support to this. We have added these prohibitions on three other bills that have come through here, state and oreign operations, commerce, justice, and science. Its the constitution, moneys are not supposed to be spent there and this is wrong. The country will go on with them staying at hiltons or Ritz Carltons or holiday inns or any ther, even red covered inns. This is the right thing to do and i add my name in support. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. The amendment is agreed. To the gentleman asks for a recorded vote. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california will e postponed. It is now in order to consider amendment number 45 printed in part b of house report 116143. For what purpose does the gentleman from maryland seek recognition . Mr. Raskin i have an amendment at the desk. The chair the clerk will designate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 45 printed in part b of house report 116143, offered by mr. Raskin of maryland. The chair the gentleman from maryland, mr. Raskin, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from maryland. Mr. Raskin i rise to offer an amendment that will save the american taxpayer millions of dollars are restore the focus they have july 4 holiday as a universal, nonpartisan celebration of our nations independence and ensure that taxpayer money is spent for public, nonpartisan purposes, not private, personal, and partisan ones. This amendment will ban military parades and shows organized at the personal request of the president that served no other governmental or military purpose. What happened this last fourth of july was a shameful and extravagant and profligate display of quasimonarchical pageantry that delighted the president and his guests that he brought in on special ticket bus no one else. This years celebration seven flyovers of 24 Different Military aircraft including b2s, f22s, f35s, displays of receiver moanall units, mobilization of tanks and other military equipment on the national mall, an uns predened president ial speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial on the fourth of july and hundreds of thousands of dollars of fireworks that generated so much smoke the fireworks could barely be seen by the people sitting on the mall, all inspired by the president s observation of a similar military display when he was in paris for bastille day. Guess who pays the price for all this . The taxpayers do. The National Park service is forced to divert 2. 5 million in park fee it is help cover the cost of this event. The Washington Post estimated that the combined hour he rate of the seven flayovers of military aircraft, the b2 stealth bomber, the f22 raptors, the f35 light new england would have cost at least 560,000 per hour. Per hour. The Defense Department said this week it used money from the military Services Training fwouget pay for these demonstrations ordered by the president s whim and spent additional funds to transport the military equipment which shut down traffic in washington, d. C. For most of the day. Just yesterday, we learned the District Of Columbia spent 1. 7 million, an amount that combined with Police Expenses for the demonstrations through the weekend, has wiped out funding intended to protect the Nations Capital and now the president is saying he wants to do it all over again next year fourth of july and into the foreseeable future. We obviously cannot allow that to happen. This amendment will save all of our money, it will depoliticize the fourth of july and call it back to its original, honorable purposes and the way weve always celebrated and send a message to the executive branch that the federal government serves the people, not one person, we have no kings here, we have no queens, we have no monarchs, we have no royal pageantry. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and i reserve the rest of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. For what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition . I rise in opposition to this amendment. The chair the gentleman is recognized. I yield myself such time as i may consume. Just like the last amendment this is not worthy of us as a body. We should be here debating the National Defense authorization act, how to equip and train our men and women in uniform so they can protect our country. This is a blatant cheap shot against the president. Mr. Lamborn its a political potshot and its not worthy of us as a body. This is a very poorly written amendment, on top of all that. I think we would all agree we shouldnt have political displays by a command for the chief or anyone in the government for that matter where public dollars are involved. But what about patriotic displays . Is there anything wrong with that . Let me give you a couple of examples of things that would be prohibited by this poorly written amendment. Every year, you have the army, navy, and air force playing football against each other. For the commanders cup. And when the especially when the air force and navy play each other, they have flyovers. They each have wonderful aviation capabilities. And theyll do a flyover of the stadium, whether its in indianapolis or in my district in colorado springs. This is written so broadly you couldnt have any kind of authorized any kind of heres the word exhibition. You could have no exhibition of military arms. So if the president was attending that football game, you couldnt have the flyover. How sillly is that . Forethe president gos to a change of command down at fort bragg, Something Like that. You couldnt have the military vehicles present there that would be present normally at a change of command. Those are just a couple of examples, mr. Chairman, of how poorly written this amendment is. So i would say lets reject it. Lets get serious. Lets get become to the business of talking about what our men and women in uniform need and not take these silly potshots against the president. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from maryland is recognized. Mr. Raskin the hard working men and women of the Armed Services dont need a bunch of ceremonial pageantry paid for by the taxpayers simply because the president decides on a monarchical whim that he wants to see one outside the Lincoln Memorial. The gentleman says this is too brdly written. N the contrary, it would still permission displays traditionally used, such as the fife and drum corps, blue angel, thunderbirds and so on. What it will not permit is the president hymn calling up far public or private exercise outside of authorized military operations for activities, these kinds of exhibitions or parades. So if its traditional, if its something the army and navy have always done if they think theres a legitimate governmental function for it, yes. But the president cannot simply snap his fingers and say i want to have some kind of display of all the military weaponry because thats what i saw when i day. N paris, on bastille he we know, he admitted publicly, thats the yen sis of this. He saw that, he wanted it in america. Thats not how we celebrate in america. We dont do it with Defense Department dollars an we dont do it with taxpayer dollars. If the president is so generous he gives his salary back even though hes collecting millions from the trump hotel and trump golf courses and the foreign governments spending money at the trump he toles but if hes so generous why doesnt he pay for it himself . The taxpayers should not have to pay for such a ludicrous display for the president s own vanity. I reserve the rest of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves. Members are reminded to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Lamb born how much time is remaining on each side . The chair the gentleman has three minutes. The gentleman from maryland has 15 seconds. The gentleman from colorado has the right to close. Mr. Lamborn for the remaining three minutes of our time i yield to the gentleman from texas, mr. Gohmert, a member of the committee on reform. The chair the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Gohmert i thank my friend from colorado. You know, i know my friend from maryland to be a very smart person. But i also know, i was around when, and i had a fouryear army ommitment, when we went from draft to having all volunteers. And i said back at the time, well, this means were going to have to spend a lot of money recruiting and encouraging people, advertising, to get people to join the military. And in recent years, theres been so much antiamerican sentiment and polls are showing that its been rising, that that does have an effect on recruiting. I was out there, it was a fantastic it rained that brought the temperature down, but it was fantastic. And ive already heard about two young people who said, i saw that on television, i was thinking about the military, im now not thinking about it, im joining. See,ust so you know, lets we spend between the Army Active Duty and army reserve, Army National guard, air force active duty, air force reserve air national forward, navy active duty, navy reserve, marine corps active duty and marine corps reserve, we spend 622 million n 2015, but thats only 574 million in 2017, its been down from where it was in 2015, but this cost the military around 1. 2 million. Ky not imagine a more effective use of that money for showing people what they can be part of if they join in the defense of this country. Heck, when i was in the army for four years, we had displays, congressmen, senators, they would show up and wed have a parade. For them. It seems ridiculous to say, we hate this president so badly, any member of congress, any senator, you can go have a parade for you but not the president. The president cant call up and say im coming down, how about a parade . Because under the language the gentleman has read, he cant ask for anything like that. Hes the commander in chief of the army db of all the military and even in washingtons day, it was a good thing for the president to have a parade, to encourage people to build up american proamerican sentiment. Its in the a bad thing. Its a good thing. This was money well spent. It is i cant imagine a better use of military funding and the Park Services director said it was a boon for them. So its good use and i would encourage a no vote on the amendment. Thank you. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from maryland is recognized. Mr. Raskin i yield my remaining time to the gentleman from virginia. The chair the gentleman is recognized for 15 seconds. I would like to add a personal perspective. I was raised in washington, d. C. , i remember fondly my father and mother packing six kids in the Station Wagon with the blankets but it was never a partisan event, it was about family and our nation and i had hundreds and hundreds of my constituents, say that this was the most egregious display of personal ego they have ever seen. I yield back. The chair the gentlemans time has expired. The question season the amendment offered by the gentleman from maryland. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it, the amendment is agreed. To mr. Lamborn i ask for a recorded vote. The chair the gentleman asks for a recorded vote. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from maryland will be postponed. It is in order to consider amendment number 46 printed in part bmp of house report 116143. For what purpose does the gentleman from who is approaching the microphone, from california, seek recognition . Mr. Huffman i have an amendment at the desk. The clerk amendment number 46 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by mr. Huffman of california. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 476, the gentleman from california, mr. Huffman, and a member opposed, each will control five minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Huffman thank you, mr. Chair. This this amendment reflects a bill that passed the house earlier this year by 40421. I introduced this bill in the 114th congress and heard by the Natural Resources committee and reported out favorably by unanimous consent. It was reknife flusted in the next congress by jeff denham and passed the house by voice vote. Then it was reported by the Senate Committee on indian affairs. The bill was reintroduced by me again this congress and after passage in this house, it once again was reported out favorably from the Senate Committee on independentian affairs just a few weeks ago. Is amendment would take land in my district as to trust for purposes of housing and housing and Economic Development and permanently using these lands for casino gaming and uphold a memorandum of understanding negotiated between the tribe and the county of sonoma and reflects an outreach process and extensive meetings and negotiations between the tribes and sonoma county. This productive relationship is illustrated by the supervisor sore board of service. And the local Service Agencies and Windsor Unified School district and the california governor is in support of this bill. There is no elected official in the area that is impacted on this bill. So i urge adoption of the amendment and i reserve. The chair the gentleman from california reserves. For what purpose does the gentleman from utah seek recognition . I claim time in opposition. Mr. Bishop i claim time in opposition for the process of what we are doing, not necessarily the substance of the amendment at hand. Since this bill had been first heard in our committee, there have been new voices raised by the people in windsor in california which is in the town of the unincorporated area in which this Land Transfer would take place. These residents contacted our Committee Asking for their voices to be heard. We asked the committee to ask these voices to be heard. The majority decided to silence the voices and ram this bill through the committee. The reason why i voted against it in committee and on the floor is because of the process. As has been mentioned, this is not a new amendment, it is a bill, a bill that passed the house and sitting over in the senate. It is my hope that will not important tend a future that the use democrats infrequently work with the senate and we need to take a bill and turn it into another amendment and attach it to the next big bill that goes through this process. Certainly this is not what i think is the best way of going forward. Now the last reason for process which i do object is this bill national elong on a Defense Authorization act. There is no defense nexus. This is transferring of lands from one area to native americans. Heaven knows i have had wildlife issues on the ndaa but there was a nexus to a training range, a military mission. There is no connection with this particular bill. And with that, i reserve. The chair the gentleman from utah reserves. The gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Huffman i thank the gentleman for his concerns. I wont relegitimate whether the amendment is made in order. Thats why we are here. But with respect to the gentlemans concerns about local individuals who may have expressed opposition to the bill and there is no official opposition, no local Government Agency and no local officials but some individuals in the area have proposed the bill. I would note in the 115th congress when then chairman bishop of the Natural Resources committee supported the bill passing out of his committee and passing on the floor, the committee reported and noted those same individuals of opposition. Lastly, the committee has received a large number of communications from the residents of windsor to the bill. These are the same individuals and same folks who the chairman at the time himself noted. So i would submit, there is nothing new here. This bill has won broad bipartisan support including from my friend from utah and i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from utah is recognized. Mr. Bishop i reserve. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california as the right to close. Im sorry. The gentleman from utah as a member of the committee has the ight to close. Mr. Huffman mr. Chairman, thank you and you know this amendment was called out from the en bloc amendments and still not entirely clear why, but i think to the extent that it deserves to be singled out and called out because its a model for other lands and trust bills that we sometimes see in this body. Rarely will you find a case where a tribe negotiated more negotiated in good faith and produced agreements with local government neighbors to the standard and to the level we see in this case. This is a good piece of legislation, broadly supported by the elected first in this area and many cases having won strong bipartisan support from members in the house and senate. With that, i urge a yes vote and i yield the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman from california yields back. The gentleman from utah is recognized. Mr. Bishop as the democrat majority on the committee scheduled another hearing, i wouldnt have objected then or right now. Same part is, and this isnt the best of proposals. The checkerboard pattern is something in which other amendments we have tried to do is consolidate and get rid of checkerboard patterns. But here is the bottom line. This establishes precedent. We have done it before. It establishes the wrong approach. The National Defense authorization act should be about military stuff and defense of this nation. This isnt a tangible concept and has nothing to do with it. We have a partisan rules committee that has decided to have these amendments put in here, but nothing to do with the actual bill. We are going through a whole lot of amendments and taking time on the floor. The amendments on the ndaa should have something to do with the ndaa and not pulling bills that go all over the place just because there is a vehicle going through this body. Im not talking about the substance of the bill, although there are some questions and those questions might have been answered if there had been a new hearing from the new voices that wanted to be heard, but its the process. The process committee is wrong. We shouldnt be talking about these kinds of these issues on an ndaa bill. My opposition is purely on process and i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from california. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. Mr. Bishop not going to waste any more time by asking for a recorded vote. The chair appreciate it. The chair pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments printed in part b of house report of 116143 on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. Amendment number 32 by mr. Blumenauer of oregon, amendment number 33 by blumenauer of oregon, amendment number 34 by ms. Frankel of florida, amendment number 44 by mr. Liu of california, amendment number 45 by mr. Raskin of maryland. The chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote in this series. The Unfinished Business is on the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 32 printed in part b of house report 116143 by the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer on which further proceedings were postponed and on which the yeas prevailed by voice vote. The clerk will redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 2 printed in part b of house report 11614 offered by mr. Blumenauer of oregon. The chair a recorded vote has been requested. Those in support of a recorded vote will rise and be counted. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is 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 chair on this vote, the. As are 164, the nays are 264 he amendment is not adopted. The Unfinished Business is request for recorded vote on amendment number 3 printed in part b of house report 116143 by the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer, on which further proceedings were postponed and ich the yeas prevailed the nays prevailed by voice vote. The clerk wile redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 33 printed in part b of house report 114e 11614. Offered by mr. Blumenauer of oregon. The chair those in request of a recorded vote will rise. A recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a twominute 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 chair on this vote the yeas are 198 and the nays are 229. He amendment is not adopted. The Unfinished Business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 34 printed in part b of house report 116143 by the gentlewoman from on which. Frankel, further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. The clerk will redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 34 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by ms. Frankel of florida. The chair a recorded vote has been requested. Those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a twominute 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 chair on this vote the yeas are 215. The nays are 214. He amendment is adopted. The Unfinished Business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 44 printed in part b of house report 116143 by the gentleman from on which mr. Lieu, further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. The clerk will redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 44 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by mr. Lieu of california. The chair a recorded vote has been requested. Those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. His is a twominute 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 chair on this vote the yeas are 223. The nays are 205. With one answering present. He amendment is adopted. The Unfinished Business is on the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 45 printed in part b of house report 116 143 by the gentleman from on which r. Raskin, further proceedings were postponed and on which the ayes prevailed by voice vote. The clerk will redesignate the amendment. The clerk amendment number 45 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by mr. Raskin of maryland. The chair a recorded vote has been requested. Those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. A sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a twominute 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. ]