Several dealing with child safety. Lawmakers will also debate and ans Department Issues funding for historically black olleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges and other Higher Education institutions that serve minorities. Any votes requested will be held at 6 30 eastern. Expected to lso vote on starting negotiations with the senate over defense and policy rograms over the next year including troop numbers, pay increases and programs. Live house coverage here on cspan. The chair will postponefurther proceedingses on motions to suspend the rules on which a recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered or votes object jeggetted under clause 6 of rule 20. The house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition . Ms. Schakowsky mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2211 the speaker pro tempore the clerk will report does the gentlewoman from illinois wish to call the bill as amended . Ms. Schakowsky yes. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk Union Calendar number 166, h. R. 2211, a bill to require the Consumer Products Safety Commission to promulgate a safety rule for Free Standing clothing Storage Units to protect children from tipover related death or injury and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. Schakowsky and mr. Long, each will control 20 minutes. Ms. Schakowsky i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on h. R. 2211. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Schakowsky thank you. Mr. Speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky thank you. I rise today as a very proud and grateful person who has been a consumer advocate all my life. And today, congressman long, you and i, will be dealing with bills that may not always get the top headlines, but they save lives. And when i say grateful, im so grateful to our Ranking Member, congresswoman rodgers and all of the bipartisan support we have had on these bills. It means so much to me. I rise in strong support of h. R. 2211, the stop tipovers of unstable risky dressers on youth act which is known as the sturdy act. I introduced this legislation with representative mcnerney, representative soto and bobby rush. This legislation advanced out of the energy and Commerce Committee on july 17, 2019 by voice vote, meaning unanimously bipartisanly. According to date al collected by the Consumer Protection safety agencies, a child is injured every 17 minutes and very 10 days a child dice from one of these tipovers, particularly deadly are tipovers of Clothing Store units such as dressers. Since 2000, these units have killed more than 200 children in the United States. Victims tend to be under the age of six. At this age, children are mobile and curious. They like to climb on furniture, play in the drawers or stand in the drawers and reach for items on top of units. Tragedy can come in just minutes. Just after a child awakes from a nap or a night sleep, they are likely to engage in this kind of activity. Tens of millions of dressers have been recalled in recent years and unfortunately, children continue to die from furniture tipovers. Thats because the current standards are simply too weak. It does not cover shorter clothing Storage Units that have also been known to kill children and industry tests dont cover common hazard patterns. The standard is only voluntary. Thats why it is critical that we pass the sturdy act, which would require the Consumer Safety Product Commission to promulgate a strong and mandatory safety standard that is effective at preventing furniture tipovers. I want to especially thank a number of these bills, the victims, the families, the people who have come with pictures of their children or loved ones to talk about how important this bill is, how hard it is for them to talk about the terrible loss of life in their family until it is those people that have really told the story of how important it is for us to act today. So i appreciate the willingness, as i said before, of our Ranking Member and all the republicans to work with me to bring this bill to the floor. I call on all my colleagues to support this measure and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois reserves. The gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Long unfortunately, i have personal knowledge of this type of a situation just within the last 30 days. A friend of mine lost a threeyearold, a grandchild, due to one of these situations and there can be nothing worse than losing a child and to have a vibrant threeyearold child one minute and a deceased threeyearold the next is not acceptable. This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a safety standard for clothing Storage Units to prevent from tipping over on to children. In the spirit of bipartisanship, we support this bill moving forward with the house passed today and i would like to thank my friend, ms. Schakowsky for her efforts in this endeavor. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 2211. And i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky im happy now to yield to mr. Mcnerney, for two minutes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Mcnerney i thank the chair. And i thank the chairwoman for her work on this and thank billy long for his support and encouragement. I rise in support of the sturdy act. Scummers purchase a piece of furniture, they trust the product is safe. Out of 42 common household undergoing rigorous testing, only 20 met the standards. The reason why is that current voluntary standards are inadequate. The voluntary standards apply only to dressers that are 30 inches or taller despite many injuries involving shorter dressers. And industry standards require the dresser to remain upright when a 50pound weight is hung from the top drawer although 60 pounds is the accurate weight of a sixyearold. Since 2000, 200 deaths, most victims are under the age of six. Mr. Speaker, the most profound responsibility we have as adults is to protect our children. In 2016, a twoyearold died when a dresser tipped over on to him. We know the problem, lax industry standards that only protect the manufacturers and not their customers. We have a solution. The sturdy act, which establishes robust standards to stop tipovers. The sturdy act will modernize standards to apply to dressers under 30 inches and accurately assimilate the weight of a sixyearold and account for real world dynamics such as the movement of drawers. By setting mandatory standards, the sturdy act will enable to enforce requirements and facilitate recalls. And if this legislation will expedite the rulemaking process ensuring that life saving protections are in our homes as soon as possible. Thats the robust action we need to end this tipover epidemic and im proud to be an orange cosponsor and i urge my colleagues to support this bill. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentlewoman from illinois reserves. The gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky let me extend my concxds con doll olenses to your friend, mr. Long, so you know today are carrying this bill on the floor of the house of representatives and hopefully none of us see such an accident again. I intend to insert three letters for the record, a letter from 20 National Organizations and more than 50 state and local organizations representing pediatricians and consumers throughout the United States, including the American Academy of pediatrics, Consumer Federation of america, consumers reports, kids in danger, among many others urging strong sturdy by members of the act. Supporters of the sturdy act. Letter from parents against tipovers, these are parents of actual children that have died, also urging strong support by members of the sturdy act. A letter from Consumer Reports also urging strong support by our colleagues for the sturdy act. D i actually lets see im reserving the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois reserves. The gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Long i just want to encourage our colleagues to vote for h. R. 2211 and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from illinois is ecognized. Ms. Schakowsky im prepared to close as well. And i just want to urge all of my colleagues to support h. R. 2211. And with that, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois yields back the balance of her time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 2211 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid n the table. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition . Ms. Schakowsky mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 1618 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 1618, a bill to encourage states to require the installation of residential Carbon Monoxide detectors in homes and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. Schakowsky and the gentleman from missouri, mr. Long, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois. Ms. Schakowsky i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous aterials on h. R. 1618. And i now the speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Schakowsky i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky i rise in support of h. R. 1618 the carbons and zachary burt monoxide prevention act of 2019. This important Bipartisan Legislation was introduced by representative kuster and representative carter. This bill advanced out of the energy and Commerce Committee on ly 17, 2019 by voice vote, unanimous. Carbon monoxide, colorless, odorless, tasteless, is a silent killer. More than 400 people die and approximately 50,000 people visit Emergency Rooms every year in the United States from Carbon Monoxide poisoning. The tragedy is that these deaths and injuries are preventable. All thats needed is the installation of Carbon Monoxide detectors. However, many people remain unaware of the importance of Carbon Monoxide detectors or dont know how to install or maintain them properly. His legislation aims this legislation aims to change that. It will educate consumers on the proper use of Carbon Monoxide detect yrs and provide states with grants so states can purchase and install carbon monooption monoxide detectors in the homes of elterly and lowincome citizens as well as in educational facilities. I call on all my colleagues to support this commonsense measure and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from missouri is recognize. Mr. Long i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Long unfortunately, once again, i can relate to what this bill is trying to address. I was an auctioneer for over 30 years before i came to this body and there was a College Professor that attended hundreds of my auctions over the years, quite a toy collector. He also a professor at the State University in my hometown of springfield. Very tragically, within the last couple of years, he and his wife both succumbed to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. It is a silent killer. It can happen anywhere. Theres no warning or anything we can do to augment a solution here would be very, very good. H. R. 1618 directs the Consumer Products Safety Commission to establish a Grant Program for states to purchase and install Carbon Monoxide alarms in dwelling units of lowincome families for the elderly, facilities that commonly serve children or the elderly, including child care facilities, Public Schools and Senior Centers or developing units owned by public universities and to assist in enforcement and education efforts relating to Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Carbon monoxide poisoning can happen anywhere in the United States regardless of location. Its an issue thats much more frequent than many realize. According to the c. D. C. , 50,000 people a career in the United States experience Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Of those at least 430 people from accidental Carbon Monoxide poisoning. These grants will go a long way in carrying out Carbon Monoxide poisoning prevention actions as they can be used for everything from installing alarms in the units of elderly individuals to training officials in the installation of such alarms. Im pleased to support passage of this bill today and it will improve safety and provide the tool that tools and resources needed to combat this issue. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 1618 and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky i am so pleased to right now to congresswoman kuster who is the chief sponsor of this legislation, for three minutes. The speaker pro tempore the jerusalem from New Hampshire is recognized for three minutes. Ms. Kuster thank you, representative schakowsky. I want to say to representative lock, im so sorry for your loss , and its appropriate to be with you thope floor today. More than 30 years ago today, charles and sheryl byrd experienced unimaginable tragedy when their two sons died as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Their was 4 years old, other son nicholas was four years old and the cupped and their oler son barely made it out alive. The zachary and Nicholas Byrd Carbon Monoxide poisoning prevention act is named in honor of zachary and nicholas but its for the over 400 americans who die each year and more than 20,000 who are hospitalized as a result of Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Among them are two of my constituents, john and april considerate nee from lyman, New Hampshire who lost their lives to Carbon Monoxide poisoning just last february of this year. While it happens most frequently in cold winter months, Carbon Monoxide poisoning actually happens throughout the country. As a mother and an aunt i know theres nothing more important than keeping our children and our loved ones safe. Thats why im so proud today to sponsor that the house is preparing to vote on my Bipartisan Legislation with my colleague buddy carter which preventing ding for car monomonoxide relating deaths by educating the public and the importance of properly installing alarms in homes. It also supports the installation of car monomonoxide detectors in housing for elderly and lowincome families and in schools. This will truly save lives. I want to thank my distinguished colleague, buddy carter, for working on this bill with me an helping to build a consensus for its unanimous passage in the energy and Commerce Committee. I want to thank chairman pallone and congresswoman schakowsky for making this piece of legislation a priority and including it in the package of bills today. At a time when congress so often seems divided, this legislation is Proof Positive that we can Work Together on our committee to find Common Ground and get things done to help our constituents. Finally id like to recognize nd thank anna yoo and anna chase from the Committee Staff for collaborating with my team, will and travis, to move this legislation forward. Im proud that this bill is supported by a Diverse Coalition of Public Safety and Industry Groups and i intend to insert four letters for the record, the first is a letter from 15 National Organizations representing consumers throughout the United States. The second is a letter of support from the National Association of state fire arshals. Ms. Schakowsky i yield the gentlewoman 15 seconds. Ms. Kuster thank you, ill be quick. The third from the Consumer Reports and finally from the National Electrical manufacturers association. So again this bill has strong bipartisan support. I encourage all my colleagues to support it. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewomans time from New Hampshire has expired. Ms. Schakowsky i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves. The gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Long when you go home people say, cant you all agree on anything up there in washington . A all you all do is fight. Why cant you work in a bipartisan fashion . Ill admit sfimes it seems like we cant agree to the fact that the sun is going to come up in the east tomorrow. But on this bill, there is bipartisan support. We agree. I just want to urge my colleagues to support h. R. 1618. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman does the gentleman yield back . Mr. Long i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from missouri yields back. The gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, congressman long. Its really a pleasure to work with you on these bills. Mr. Speaker, im placing into the record an exchange of letters between the chairman of the committee on energy and commerce and the chairman of the committee on House Administration on the bill h. R. 1618. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Schakowsky i just, i wanted to close as well but i wanted to say, car been monoxide poisoning, once in a while you read in the paper of a family who fell victim of Carbon Monoxide poisoning but mostly this is one by one by one. A couple of people here, a couple of people there. It doesnt make the headlines. As a problem. Yet you heard the numbers. The astonishing numbers of people who fall victim, sometimes, many times, fatally, not always, to car mono Carbon Monoxide poisoning. Again, something that is absolutely preventable. And so i am very grateful and hopeful that all our colleagues will support this legislation. With that, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois yields back the balance of her time. The question is now will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 1618 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition . Ms. Schakowsky mr. Speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 806 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 806. A bill to require compliant flame mitt fwation devices to be used on portable fuel containers for flammable liquid fuels and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from illinois, ms. Schakowsky, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. Long, each will control 20 minutes. The chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from illinois. Ms. Schakowsky thank you, mr. Chairman. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend and include extraneous materials on h. R. 806. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Schakowsky mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky i rise in strong support of h. R. 806, the portable fuel container safety act of 2019. This Bipartisan Legislation was introduced by representative Mike Thompson and david joyce, a bipartisan cosponsorship. It was advanced out of the energy and Commerce Committee on july 17, 2019, by voice vote. Portable fuel containers are used for many everyday purposes. By adults and kids alike. For example, you might see them used to transport or store fuel for your lawn mower, or your backyard fire pit. And your son or daughter might use them in their High School Chemistry class. But many users what many users dont realize is that these containers are highly explosive. Each year, they send thousands of people to the emergency room, including with third degree burns. The explosion that they make, known as flame jetting, occurs when flammable vapors escape from the open nozzle and are ignited. These explosions, however, are preventable. A small piece of mesh, known as a flame arrester, can be added to the containers spout to eliminate the conditions that create explosions. And they cost just pennies. There is no reason they shouldnt be standard in all portable fuel containers. The portable fuel container safety act will make sure that all portable fuel contain verse flame mitigation devices and it will save lives. Im grateful to my colleagues for introducing this bill and i also want to thank Margaret Lewis who has witnessed firsthand the horrors of such an explosion and who has been such a fierce advocate for many years. I call on all my colleagues to support this bipartisan measure. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the yom from illinois reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long mr. Speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long thank you, mr. Speaker. This bill directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a Consumer Product safety rule to require flame mitigation devices on portable fuel containers. Furthermore, it deprects cpsc to conduct an Education Campaign to alert consumers to the dangers of using or storing portable fuel containers near ignition sources and report to congress on the campaign. In addition it amends the childrens gasoline burn prevention act to expand existing exiled resistant requirements for closures for portable gasoline containers to include portable kerosene and diesel fuel containers and component parts. I want to thank Margaret Lewis for her tireless efforts to get this bill across the the house floor today. You turn your personal tragedy into passionate adhave kacy to prevent others from facing a similar incident. Thank you for your work. I congratulate mr. Thompson and his Bipartisan Group of cosponsors an im pleased to address this important safety issue. I urge my colleagues to support h. R. 806 and reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky p. C. It is now my honor to yield to congressman Mike Thompson, who really brought this bill to the attention of our committee and subcommittee and garnered the support that is needed to make sure that death and disfigurement and tragedy dont occur because of these products. I yield him as much time as he may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for such time as tom tomorrow i thank the gentlelady. Mr. Speaker, i rise in strong support of my legislation that addresses the dangerous and deadly Public Safety issue by directing the Consumer Product Safety Commission to establish a standard requiring flame mitigation devices to be used in portable fuel containers and educate our communities about the dangers of flame jetting. This issue is personal to me. I met with local fire officials and Margaret Lewis, a mother and a constituent. Her daughter along with her twin sister and few friends were roasting marshmallows and they used a common fuel that did not have a flame mitigation device. The fuel exploded from the bottle, in the in a process called flame jetting. Portable fuel containers are found in households across america and yet even when used correctly like in the case of margarets family, present a risk for severe injury and in some cases, death. Is story of viewer vifle and margarets advocacy has inspired my legislation and she has been the driving force behind this bill. Flammable or combustible fluids, liquids, cause over 60,000 fires per year and cost 150 billion in Property Damage and some 4,000 injuries and over 450 deaths every year. These accidents can happen in any community and the results can be devastating. These accidents are caused when fuel vapors flash back and ignite the container contents leaving to flame jetting or explosions and these accidents are easily preventable. This can prevent accidents caused by igniteable devices. While Workplace Safety regulations govern the use of approved devices in flammable liquid containers for industrial use, there is no requirement for consumer containers used in homes, camp sites or schools across our country. This bipartisan solution is supported by a broad coalition, including the american burn association, the Congressional Fire Services institute, the interNational Association of firefighters, interNational Association of fire chiefs, National Fire protection association, the Consumer Federation of america, the Phoenix Society for burn survivors, the portable container fuel association and the National Association of state fire marshals. And i ask unanimous consent to enter the letter of support into the congressional record. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Thompson i urge every member of this body to keep our constituents and their children safe by passing this bipartisan, commonsense consumer safety bill. I want to thank my cosponsor, mr. Joyce from ohio. And again chairwoman schakowsky moving this bill through her subcommittee. I urge everyone to vote in favor of this. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back. The gentlewoman from illinois reserves. Ms. Schakowsky i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from missouri is recognized. Mr. Long mr. Speaker, im prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Long i urge my my colleagues to support h. R. 806 and i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman yield back the balance of his time . Mr. Long yes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from illinois is recognized. Ms. Schakowsky i want to thank the sponsors of this bill and congressman long for his participation. It means so much to me. And i thank you for your help and friendship. I want to say that the story of had et, her daughter has countless surgeries. She is one of the people that survived, but her life has been transformed forever and we can prevent this with this legislation. I want to give a special shoutout to the Committee Staff and the subCommittee Staff on the democratic side as well as on the republican side. In my o thank my staff office and all the help we have had on this bill. This is another one of those that will definitely be improving and saving the lives of so Many Americans and ridding our country of this danger. And with that, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from illinois yields back the balance of her time sm the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h. R. 806 as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended. The bill is passed. And without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 4285. The clerk h. R. 4285 a bill to amend title 38 United States code to expand and modify certain authorities and requirements relating to the department of Veterans Affairs and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore purn to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. Takano and the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe, each will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from california. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on h. R. 4285. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Takano i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Takano mr. Speaker, i support h. R. 4285 and wish to thank mr. Brindisi for sponsoring this important bill that authorizing the continuation of programs vital to addressing the needs of the veterans we serve. Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the continued operation of the manila, phillipines Regional National benefits office, the only benefits Office Operating in a foreign country and i plan to visit this facility this year. In addition to administering disability and Survivor Benefits to over 16,000 veterans, their dependents and survivors, the manila administers Health Care Benefits as well. Urge support for continued support. This bill extends the v. A. Loan program which allows v. A. To sell foreclosed properties to the general public instead of continuing to own foreclosed properties it cannot use. Our committee is working hard to ensure we can increase Economic Opportunities for veterans and their families so that no bank will have to nore close on a Veterans Home and place his or her family at risk of homelessness. This bill includes a bipartisan agreement to extend the support of services for veteran Family Services program for two years. This Program Assists Homeless Veterans and their families and those most at risk of becoming homeless. In southern california, veterans experience some of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. In the inland empire, rents continue to rise. Geographic barriers make it challenging for veterans to Access Services to prevent homeless and the cut to h. U. D. And Housing Assistance programs is making the homelessness crisis worse. That is why extending the operation of this Vital Program is so important. In recent weeks, our Economic Opportunity subcommittee led by chairman mike levin and Ranking Member bilirakis held two field hearings that are helping this committee to address veteran homelessness. We have much work to do in the definition of homelessness getting true population counts, preventing homelessness and working to respond to homelessness after natural disasters. During the field hearing in san diego, we heard prevention was about a tenth of the cost of crisis intervention, the program which awards grants to nonprofit organizations, provides Supportive Services to very lowincome veterans and their milies and veterans in housing. These grants help organizations provide case management, outreach and help veterans obtain v. A. Health care and disability benefits. These recipients help with transportation, housing and counseling services, Legal Services and Financial Planning for veterans and their families. I urge my colleagues to support this so no veteran is forced to live on the street. Mr. Speaker, september is National Suicide prevention and awareness month. 20 veterans take their lives each day. Despite congress and v. A. s efforts to address veteran suicide, the rate remains unchangedment this year we have also seen multiple veteran suicides on v. A. Campuses. And for these reasons i have made addressing veteran suicide the top policy priority of this committee. Earlier this month, i called on v. A. To conduct a 15day nationwide standdown in response general inspector suicide at the West Palm Beach medical center. The osed weaknesses in Inpatient Mental Health clinic. Threequarters of veterans who commit suicide are not receiving treatment at hospitals and v. A. Clinics. And those not receiving care, veterans and the public must be assured that v. A. s Health Clinics are adequately and appropriately staff. They must have monitoring equipment and staff must undergo appropriate training and facilities must be inspected. While im disappointed that the v. A. Secretary has resisted my call tore a nationwide standdown, i appreciate that v. A. Is taking actions that make the spirit of my request. The v. A. Must provide the highest quality treatment for veterans in their care, especially veterans in crisis who come to v. A. For help. H. R. 4285 extends the program that provides transportation for veterans living in highly rural areas to vet centers for counseling and other Mental Health and social services. For veterans in need of Mental Health care who may be uncomfortable, vet centers serve as a community and counseling center. For some veterans, these vet centers are a lifeline. Congressman roe and i visited Staten Island, new york and we learned about connection to other v. A. Services and the sense of community that the Staten Island center creates. We learned that transportation, including a 15 toll can make it difficult for veterans in new york city to Access Centers and facilities and our committee is going to look to address this. Likewise, veterans in highly rural areas tell us that distance and transportation are obstacles to participating in counseling and Mental Health treatment. Therefore, congress has been authorizing a Pilot Program since 2012 that pays travel expenses for veterans attending counseling at vet centers in bangor, maine, montana, santa fe, new mexico and spokane, washington. Suicide is preventable. Veterans who are thinking about suicide are not alone. If you have veterans in your district who are thinking about suicide call the Veterans Crisis 277 and text 74741. Mr. Speaker, let me repeat. The Veterans Crisis line is 1800, 2738255 and veterans asked to press one. Veterans can also text 741741. Finally, mr. Speaker, i would like to thank mr. Brindisi a member of our economic subcommittee for bringing this bill to the floor and i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe i rise in support of h. R. 4285, the department of Veterans Affairs expiring thoshts act of 2019. This represents a bipartisan, bicameral agreement that would extend authorities to help veterans and swift passage of this legislation will ensure these programs continue. The bill would extend through september 30, 2020, v. A. s authority to provide direct loans to buyers of v. Ample owned residences. It would also extend to september 30, 2020, v. A. s authority to operate a Regional Office in manila providing services to world war ii veterans residing in the philippines. Third, it would exing fend to 2021, the program for families that provides grants to organizations that provide services to homeless or atrisk veterans families. Finally the bill would extend to september, 2020, v. A. s authority to pay travel llowances for allowances for veterans who live in highly rural areas. To be clear, these are not new authorities. They are in present law and costs associated with them have been assumed in the housepassed appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020 and the 2021 advanced appropriations. In addition, the bill would make technical challenges to legislation that congress previously passed. I urge my colleague to support h. R. 4 85 so the senate can take it up quickly and send it to the president s deffing. With that, i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time they have gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Takano at this time id like to yield three minutes of time to my good friend, the chairman of the Economic Opportunity subcommittee, mr. Levin of california. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Levin thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of this legislation which will, among other things, help us address the epidemic of veteran homelessness. Its simply unacceptable that many of the men and women who have served this great country are now living on our streets. Im grate to feel my friend, Ranking Member Gus Bilirakis of florida, we have now had two field hearings in his district, the 12th district of florida, and my district, the 49th district of california. We are absolutely committed to doing everything we can to address this issue. In our communities and really in communities all around the country. We owe to it those who have served and their families to ensure that they have everything they need to get back on their feet, including case management, assistance in obtaining v. A. Benefits and temporary Financial Assistance with rent, utilities or child care expenses. I was proud to introduce Bipartisan Legislation to help address homelessness, specifically among Women Veterans, by reauthorizing funding for the Supportive Services for veteran families Grant Program and requiring that at least 20 million gos to organizations that have a focus on helping Women Veterans an their families. Thats what were seeing in our subcommittee is that the rate of veteran homelessness is roughly steady but alarmingly the rate of Women Veteran homelessness is increasing. Weve g to do something about it. The legislation before us today will provide the reauthorization we need before the end of the fiscal year on september 30. Ive said it before and will say it again, even one homeless veteran is one too many. We have a moral obligation to make robust federal investments in programs to help get veterans off the street. By passing this legislation, we can make those investments and we can do more than just Pay Lip Service to veterans. We can give them the support and resources they have earned and deserve. I give credit to my friends, chairman takano and ranking mber roe, they are doing a fantastic job, giving back in any way can to those who have serve our country and given so much. With that i yield back to our chairman, mr. Takano. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california, mr. Takano, reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe thank you, mr. Speaker. At this time i would like to yield two minutes to my good friend and original cosponsor of this legislation, mike bost. I had the privilege of serving with congressman boston since hes been on the committee. He is a marine corps veteran, 1979 to 1982. He served in last congress as chairman of the dama, disability assistance and Memorial Affairs subcommittee, and is on the Investigative Affairs subcommittee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minuted. Mr. Boston i thank the Ranking Member for yielding and thank you, mr. Speaker. As a mr. Boston i thank the rank mr. Bost i thank the Ranking Member and thank the speaker for yielding. It is important to make sure that our veterans know they had been taken care of when they return. The Veterans Affairs committee is tasked with ensuring they receive the care they need and have earned. This bill extends funding for programs that help very low income veterans and those who must travel long distances to vet cent in order to receive their care. Thats why im proud to have cosponsored and introduced this legislation with my friending congressman brindisi, and i urge my colleagues to support it as well. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from illinois re yields back the balance of his time they have gentleman from tennessee reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california, mr. Takano is recognized. Mr. Takano thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to yield three minutes to my good friend who serves on our Economic Opportunity and Health Subcommittee and also the author of h. R. 4285, mr. Brindisi from the great state of new york. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Brindisi i thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of h. R. 4285, the department of Veterans Affairs expiring authorities act of 2019 which i introduced to ensure that veterans and their families continue to have access to programs and benefit which is they rely on. This critical bill authorizes the continuation of several important v. A. Programs that will expire at the end of this fiscal year if congress does not act. First, this bill prvidse a oneyear extension of v. A. s authority relating to lens offered by v. A. To purchase v. A. Real estate owned properties. Offered to veterans and nonveterans alike this len Program Allows people to purchase properties which were previously foreclosed upon and are now government owned. With little to no down payment. This bill also provides a twoyear extension of Financial Assistance for Supportive Services for very he income veteran families in permanent housing. Grantees under this program are required to provide Supportive Services to eligible veterans and their families including outreach, case management, and assistance in obtaining v. A. Benefits. This program was priestly authorized for fiscal year 2019, but this extension would extend authorization to include fiscal years 2020 and 2021. This extension of the Program Helps give v. A. And the grantees better certainty of the programs future so they can continue providing the critical Wraparound Services that help low income veterans get back on their feet. The bill also provide a oneyear extension of v. A. payments and allowances for beneficiary travel in connection with veterans receiving care from vet centers. While veterans can claim beneficiary travel from v. A. Medical facilities, we know that care at the vet centers can be just as important. This program is important because it specifically helps populations of rural veterans. Highly rural veterans have frequently described transportation as being a limiting factor in receiving care and im proud that this bill would extend this critical program. I want to thank chairman takano and Ranking Member roe for their work on extending these critical programs and their true commitment to our nations veterans. Id also like to thank, congressman bost of illinois, my friend on the v. A. Committee for leading this legislation with me. Its an hon nor to serve on the v. A. Committee, the most Bipartisan Committee in congress, and work with my colleagues to support our nations rhett rans. I encourage my colleagues to support this critical legislation an support our nations veterans. Thank you, mr. Chairman, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from california reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from california. Mr. Takano i have no further speakers and am prepared to close. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman reserves the balance of his time they have gentleman from tennessee is recognized. Mr. Roe im also prepared to close. Just to reemphasize what was said about Homeless Veterans. Ive been on the committee for almost 11 years and my entire time in congress, and when i first arrived here we had over 100,000 Homeless Veterans on the streets of this country. Hich was unbelievable. Thensecretary general shinseki made it a priority to pry to reduce homelessness to zero by 2016. In that but theres been a huge reduction. I could not agree more with my colleague from california, one veteran homeless is too many. There are pockets in this country, i know in california, they have a really serious problem there. I think they look and are working very hard on trying to solve this, this legislation will be one piece of the puzzle. I strongly support this legislation. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield mr. Speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman california is recognized. Mr. Takano i thank my colleague and Ranking Member of the Veterans Affairs committee, Ranking Member roe, phil roe, for mentioning the tremendous strides the v. A. And this nation have made toward reducing veteran homelessness. It is true that the that secretary shinsekis goal of ending veteran homelessness did not occur by the designated year, 2016, but let me tell you something. Even in the state of california where well still experiencing several pockets of veteran homelessness, in riverside county, the county i represent in congress thmbing county has achieved functional zero which does not mean there are zero Homeless Veterans but what it does mean is that when Homeless Veterans are identified, their homelessness is brief and nonrecurring. Thats the definition of functional zero. I want to commend again, the officials at the county of riverside and the v. A. For the incredible work they have done to achieve functional zero. I hope that theyll be able to share insights with other counties in my state and a across the nation looking to do the same. What i do know is functional zero will not remain functional zero without concerted and intentional efforts to be vigilant and we need to be vigilant in areas where we have reduced homelessness to functional zero and we also need to ensure that we continue to attack the problem in the and the challenges. Attack the challenges address the challenges in los angeles and Orange County and San Diego County where homelessness among veterans persists. So with that, i am very proud and pleased to support this package of extensions of rograms. Among them programs that will address veteran homelessness. I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this important legislation an i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from california yields back the balance of his time. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the ill h. R. 4285. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, without objection the motion to reconsider mr. Takano i demand the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas an nays are requested. Those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlewoman from washington seek recognition . I move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 21 as amended. Clip h. R. 2124 a bill to reauthorize the Helen Keller National Center for youth and adults who are deaf and blind. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from washington, ms. Jayapal, and the gentleman from washington, mr. Grthman, each will criminal 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from washington. Ms. Jayapal i ask that all members have five ledge lative legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Jayapal i recognize myself or such time as i may consume. Headquarters in new york with Regional Offices across the country the center is the only organization of its kind that provides training and resources exclusively to people 16 and over who have both vision and hearing loss. Unfortunately, deafblind people face ewe unanimous consent and iverse challenges. Many youth who are deaf blind deafblind have not received the help they need. Im proud of the work were doing in my home state of washington to advance justice for deaf blind people. Washington state deaf blind citizens are doing incredible work to provade support for everyday tasks like reading the mail and doing errands and to advocate with lawmakers on the unique needs of the deaf blind community. We also have the deafblind Service Center of seattle which focuses on breaking down barriers by providing interpretation and Advocacy Services for free to deafblind individuals. I think we can agree all deafblind people deserve access to services to promote their success and full , independence and full participation in their community. Thats what the Helen Keller Center provides. Mr. Speaker, im proud to enthusiastically support this bill to extend the congressional authorization for the Helen Keller National Center and urge my colleagues to support it as well. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. Mr. Sensenbrenner i rise in support of h. R. 2134, the 2134, the legislation to reauthorize the Helen Keller National Center act. Originally enacted in 1967, the law established the helen keller deafblind nter for youths and adults. Todays legislation allows the mportant center, the only organization of its kind, to individuals upport who combined vision and hearing loss as well as their families and service providers. Keller is wellknown to us all. She rothman not only did overcome her difficulties, she worked tirelessly to benefit the lives of others. Doing so, she showed the world there are no boundaries. Id like to read a couple quotes of helen keller. Remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is lost. Sometimes, somewhere, somehow, e shall find that which we speak. In an article from 1933, to beed the simplest way happy, she wrote, a happy life in the life but in the hardships. The Helen Keller National Center mission by his orking to give the Deafblind Community thrive in the wish to serve. Provides independent living support through its headquarters in new york. Individuals from across the for these vel incredible center. It provides Similar Services to all 50 mmunities in states, the district of columbia, and the u. S. Territories. Programs and ese services is to advance the personal development and independence of individuals who deafblind. Federal support allows the center to continue its and uable research evelopment programs at several areas including teaching leads to ll this improved Program Offerings and ultimately better lives for eafblind americans and their families. H. R. 2134 will reauthorize the through yearcenter 2023 which demonstrates this odys commitment to provide deafblind youths and adults with an opportunity to lead lives. Ful, independent bypassing this legislation, congress by passing this congress n, this recognizes the unique developmental programs they need. To support lleagues this bipartisan bill, doing so llows us to carry on Helen Kellers incredible story of independence and success thats iven hope to generations to come who are deafblind. Thank you, mr. Speaker, and i reserve my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from wisconsin reserves. The gentlewoman from california recognized. Ms. Jayapal thank you. I yield to a member of the ppropriations committee and my cochair of the congressional progressive caucus, a real champion for communities across country, mr. Pocan from the state of wisconsin. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from wisconsin is recognized. Mr. Pocan thank you, mr. Chair. Want to thank my friend, ms. Jayapal, for yielding me some time and i want to thank my riend from wisconsin for his supportive words, mr. Grothman. Here today to helen keller4, the center reauthorization act which i am glad to introduce my colleagues, representatives tom suozzi and tom cole. Without their support and without the support of rosa pete king, and congressman bobby scott, this legislation wouldnt be on the floor today. Helen Keller National center for deafblind youths and adults to First Authorized in 1967 assist the Deafblind Community in america. Today, its the only National Program that provides information, referrals, support, and training xclusively to americans who have combined vision and hearing loss while also supporting families and professionals who with the Deafblind Community. Nfortunately, the centers authorization has lapsed but today we can reauthorize it 2023. H in my home state of wisconsin, Helen Keller National Center has partnered with the wisconsin vocational rehabilitation to provide job reparation and job placement services, independent living and communication skills training training. Dvocacy additionally, a coled deafblind transition this past they explored posthigh School Options and met with peer mentored. Provided recently training to 55 professionals in isconsin on a system of providing tactual signs to deafblind persons to relay increase n which can independence and engagement in daily life. Clearly, the work of the helen National Center performs is vital in lifechange and and thats why im proud to stand on the floor of the house of representatives in upport of the center and its work. Deserves our er support. Thank you to jackie mosley, of the house education and labor ommittee, who has been invaluable, ensuring the legislation reaches the floor. Mr. Chair, i urge all of my in support o stand of the american Deafblind Community and to vote in favor of this Bipartisan Legislation us. Re back. D the speaker pro tempore the tempore the yield back gentleman from yield back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california reserves. The gentleman from wisconsin. Mr. Grothman i yield myself the balance of the time. H. R. 2134 reauthorizes the helen eller National Center for deafblind youth and adults. It provides groundbreaking Educational Programs throughout deafblind that help individuals to help with adversity, just like helen keller did. We ssing this legislation, an ensure the deafblind individuals lead independent and successful lives. Who i congressman pocan, will thank for authoring this bill, bypassing this by this once again, i urge my colleagues to vote yes on h. R. 2134. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The peaker pro tempore gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from california is recognized. From washington is recognized. Ms. Jayapal thank you. I yield to the gentleman from new york, my good friend, mr. Suozzi. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Suozzi thank you, mr. Speaker. Thank you, congresswoman for recognizing me here today. I rise in support of h. R. 2134, keller n reauthorization act of 2019. The ational center for deafblind youth and adult is my hometown. Really the only one of its type. I want to thank my colleagues, bill, thor of this representative pocan, congressman peter king, scott, man bobby congresswoman delauro, congressman cole and congresswoman lowy for championing the reauthorization of the Helen Keller National Center. Think about it. In 1967, and d its a unique facility in that it services the population that and blind. F deaf and blind combined. This e how Important Organization is in the lives of these folks that are confronting blind at the same time. Its estimated there are 2. 4 deaf and blind youth and adults in america and that dramatically g up as the population ages. This Organization Services adults that are over 16 years of from all over l the country to come to this facility, as well as having Regional Centers that have been already that provide what youd characterize as services. In my second week in office in the Helen Keller Center in my district. I met with deaf and blind individuals in the program, about their experiences and how Helen Keller Services made a difference in of r lives and the lives their families. Many described how they gained kills in order to live independently and to be successfully employed in the career of their choice. Must all recognize the critical importance of this group, and the reauthorization keller act is one significant way that congress an collectively convey to the Deafblind Community that we are all committed to ensuring Quality Services are available promote their empowerment and their success. Not only the work they did in do in the t theyll future as well. I want people to know that since 2017, to congress in after years of no increases in funding, we helped increase funding from 10. 3 year to 13. 5 million for the Helen Keller National Center. Really, a modest investment. This funding, theyve been provide a wider array of deafblind rvices to individuals, among professionals providers in 11 egional offices throughout the country. This package included 16 million, and is awaiting action senate. Again, i want to thank all of my colleagues who have done so much such an Important Organization. And i thank you all and yield my time. Balance of the speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from washington is recognized. I jayapal mr. Speaker, have no more speakers. Im prepared to close. Tempore the gentlewoman has the only time left. Ms. Jayapal ok. Mr. Speaker. This is commonsense, Bipartisan Legislation to help deafblind country. Across the i am so proud that the house is considering this legislation today. Vote, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from washington yields back the balance of her time. Is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the amended. 2134, as those in favor say aye. No. E opposed, in the opinion of the chair, 2 3 aving responded in the affirmative, the rules are passed, the bill is and without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the jerusalem from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, seek recognition . Ms. Adams i move that the house suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2486 as amended. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2486, a bill to reauthorize mandatory funding programs for historically black colleges and universities and other minority serving institutions. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, and the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker, ach will control 20 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Acams. Ms. Adams thank you, mr. Speaker. I ask that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h. R. 2486. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Adams i recognize myself for as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, is recognized. Ms. Adams thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise in support of h. R. 2486, the fostering undergraduate talent by unlocking resources for education, better known as the future act. This bill is an an absolutely crucial piece of legislation. It represents the number one priority of our minorityserving institutions which educate nearly 30 of all undergraduate students in america. The future act would reauthorize title 3 of the act, provide 255 million in funding for m. S. I. s for the next two years, including 85 million for historically black colleges and universities, 30 million for tribal colleges and universities, 100 million for us hist panicserving institutions, and 15 million each for predominantly black institutions, alaska native and nate every hawaiianserving institution, and Asian American and native americanpacific islander serving institutions. First authorized in 2010, title 3, part f, has helped m. S. I. s prepare students for stem professes, fortified failing infrastructure on m. S. I. s campus and provided fiscal stability for many smaller m. S. Imps. In order for m. S. I. s to continue this work for fiscal year 2020 and beyond, the house must act tonight and ensure that our lowincome First Generation College students are not left behind. This bill is about their future. H. R. 2486 is not only integral to m. S. I. s and the millions of students they serve, its also responsible legislation that is completely paid for, not adding one cent to the deficit. H. R. 2486 does this by repealing automatic maintenance fees, a relic of the nowdefunct federal Family Education loan program, where the government paid private entity, guarantee agency, manage student loan accounts. With the federal government now directly lending to student borrowers, these fees are no longer paid and it is increasingly being phased out. I ask for support for h. R. 2486 and i ask unanimous consent to submit for the record a letter from the American Council on education and 43 other National Organizations in support of passage of this bill tonight by the house. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Adams i reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker, is recognized. Mr. Walker i yield such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Palker mr. Walker today i am proud to rise in support of h. R. 2486, the fostering undergarage talent by unlocking resources for education act, the future act. First i would like to thank my colleagues, congresswoman adams and senators tim scott and doug jones for working with me on this critical piece of legislation. The future act supports stem programs for historically black colleges and universities and other minorityserving institutions. Ensuring the students in our communities receive the best science, tech, engineering and math education in the country by providing and extending these grants. Representing the largest hbcu in the country, North Carolina a t State University, i have seen firsthand the Significant Impact these stem grants have on our hbcu students. On a personal note, as congresswoman adams know, i mentioned before, my wife is a family Nurse Practitioner at wake forest and a twotime graduate from an hbcu. Thanks to the future act, 300,000 students across more than 100 hbcus will have the opportunities that come with a stem education. From the engineers who will build our roads an bridges to the mat ma decisions who will solve complex quofse physics to the computer scientists coding for smart electric grids, our future lies in the hands of stem graduates. In the rapidly changing environment of stem education, our schools and students, especially those at minority serving institution, need the stability and assureance that comes with knowing they have our full support. The house needs to pass the future act to boost opportunities for hbcus and the students they serve. Again i want to thank my colleagues, congresswoman adams and senators dough jones and tim scott for working together to get this important piece of legislation across the finish line. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan, bicameral bill. With that, i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from North Carolina is recognized. Ms. Adams thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, ms. Scott, who is the chair of the education and Labor Committee which im privileged to serve under. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from virginia is recognized. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to add a thank you to congresswoman adams and congressman walker for their continued leadership for this bill, specifically and with the hbcu caucus generally. I rise in support of this legislation to preserve funding for historically black colleges and universities and other minorityserving institutions. These institutions play a Critical Role in expanding access to Higher Education for lowincome students and students of color. Collectively, they educate more than one quarter of all graduates, nearly six million students, include manage in our nations most underserved communities. Typically these underresourced schools educate firsttime college attendee, many of whom hail from impoverished communs. The funding that supports minorityserving institutions is the only program authorized in the Higher Education act that expires if not reauthorized this year. Accordingly, if Congress Fails to pass the bill by september 30, these historic institutions will suffer a 255 million shortfall, causing lost jobs, lost opportunities, and diminished Financial Support for students across the country. Members of this body speak glowly about the roles of hbcus an other minorityserving institutions and today we have an opportunity to back those words with action. The future act, which is fully paid for, preserves vital investments in minorityserving institutions as well as the students and communities they serve. I encourage all my colleagues to support this legislation and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, reserves the balance of her time the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker is recognized. Mr. Walker thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to yield two minutes to a lady who has given her life to the education arena, former chair and Ranking Member from North Carolina, representative virginia foxx. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman, ms. Foxx is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I thank my colleague from North Carolina, beth of my colleagues from North Carolina, for their leadership on ding their best to help hbcus. However, i rise today in opposition to h. R. 2486, the future act. Under the guise of a manufactured deadline, House Democrats are rushing through a bill that will negatively impact student borrowers across the country. I want to make one thing clear. In no way does my criticism of the underlying bill diminish my support for americas hbcus and m. S. Inchs and the Important Role these institutions of Higher Learning play in our country. My issue with this bill and the process by which it is before us. We have a responsibility to diligently and responsibly allocate taxpayer dollars. Too many in this body find it way too easy to spend hardearned taxpayer dollars without promising accountability. That is an insult to every citizen who has entrusted us with their representation. Yet the democrats bill before us uses budget gimmicks to skirt house protocols. This flawed bill also eliminates account maintenance fees, programs that serve lowincome minority students through Financial Aid awareness, and borrower assistance services. In addition to funding and policy issues, the bill has serious process issues. Our colleagues have skipped the markup process and brought it straight to the floor. This unnecessary move to push forward a bill without the deliberation of the committee is a disservice to americas students. We have the time to deliberate this legislation with all parties at the table. But my colleagues arent interested in sound policy. Theyre interested in sound bites. Simply put, there are better ways to accomplish the policy goals of this bill and really work toward improving the future of american students. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker, reserves. The gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, is recognized. Ms. Adams thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to yield time to myself, as much time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized. S. Adams a. M. F. s are a maintenance fees given to programs for a program that no longer originates new loans. While some may be using a. M. F. s for financial literacy, these are activities not required by h. E. A. And guarantee agencies do not report any information on these activities. Theres no data across agencies that show how much of the a. M. A. If any, is actually being used for this type of outreach or what the actual impact will be on students in your district. If this were true, when republicans had control of the house they would have moved the bill to permanently authorize funds through these institutions. Instead, republicans allowed for the expiration to happen in hopes it would be eliminate through the no action. The m. S. I. Mandatory funding is a unique program. And it expires in less than 15 days and this justifies immediate action. I also want to mention that these schools will lose a tremendous amount of money that they need. I just want to remind the gentlelady from North Carolina that were talking about 1. 1 million in fiscal year 2017 and 2018 that winstonsalem State University in the fifth district. As we look at all these schools that will be that will benefit from this funding, i think we need, we have some responsibility to help these young people who we said to them, you need an education and not help them move through this process that would make it easier for them to not only stay in school but for these colleges and universities to stay open. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina is recognized. Mr. Walker thank you, mr. Speaker. I would like to yield two minutes to someone who has been a champion for hbcu colleges since arriving in congress 2 1 2 years ago, the gentleman from North Carolina, representative ted budd. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Budd i thank the gentleman from North Carolina, my friend, mr. Walker, for yielding and i want to thank him for his readership on this important piece of legislation. I want to thank representative alma adams on this bill, also a colleague from North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in strong support of the future act. This bipartisan bill would extend mandatory funding under title 3 of the Higher Education act to hbcus around the country. Hbcus play a vital role in expanding opportunity to students in North Carolina, especially in my district where im fortunate to represent three of them. Bennett college, North Carolina a t, and livings and livingstone college. A recent report found that hbcus generate 1 ppt 7 billion in total Economic Impact in North Carolina. This includes direct spending on faculty, academic programs, and by students deckly directly attending these institutions. Hbcus are an engine of Economic Growth in our communities because they expand the economic Playing Field to students from every background. Our economy works best when everyone has a shot at success. As current funding to hbcus are set to expire on september 30, its critical that this legislation makes it across the finish line and onto the president s desk. The future act would provide funding to more than 100 hbcus across 19 different states and will allow universities and their students to continue down the pathway to success. In my view, having healthy hbcus is critical for our States Economic future. I thank my friends again for their leadership on this bill and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Budd, yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker, reserves the balance of his time. The gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I have no further speakers. Before i close, i do want to irst of all thank both gentlemen from North Carolina, representative walker and representative budd for their and rt of hbcus congressman walker is correct. He represents the largest public in the nation of which i had the privilege of studying from north ng twice carolina a. M. T. , served that 40 years. More than im watching congressman walker, and i appreciate he and representative budd and all the theyre giving to our hbcus. I taught 40 years at bennett greensboro, so hbcus my really warm through veins. But i do want to offer to the record an schools, hbcus who have submitted letters of passage of this bill. E have i have some other documents that i also want to from into the record umcf, uncf. Williams, from t. M. C. Let me the speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Adams thank you. Et me just say before i close and mr. Budd mentioned a couple of those statistics schools. Our schools, hbcus confer 40 stem degrees, 60 of all engineering degrees. We educate 50 of teachers and an 40 of africanamerican health professionals. 70 of uce africanamerican dentists and physicians. And i could go on and on. Yes, there is a serious Economic Impact, about 15 billion, 14. 8 billion to be specific. We are now slouching. Hbcus are doing a lot with a little. Still dont receive equitable willng, but this certainly help, not only the colleges and niversities, the m. S. I. s, but its also going to help our students, firstgeneration i was, who had the privilege of going on and a good education from best hbcus. Tions so let me say, before i close, again, i want to, again, thank both gentlemen. The house to approve h. R. 2486. Just say rebutte a couple of things. First, as has been explained, fees have been a dwindling source of fund. And being w obsolete replaced by the direct loan program. T represents 3. 5 of the average guarantee agencys total revenue, which last year totalled about 4 billion. When the opposition talks about a. M. F. And how important are, we got to note they 3. 5 , or ing to just 4 billion. Would also like to say that because funds from a. M. F. Can be sed for whatever purpose they desire, on the contrary, title used for can be specific purposes that improve institutional stability and programs. So we dont want to be on record saying that 140 million that may be used to help lowincome more important than 255 million that must help students. Comprises about 60 of the hbcus, at t our t. C. U. , and m. S. I. The ther side says mandatory funds shall not go to manage ions but account ninety maintenance fees are exactly that. They are funds that must be paid by the government to private institutions. Account for 3 of all colleges and universities. Graduate 10 of all black college graduates, a third of professionals. Our t. C. U. s serve thataphically remote areas help close gaps in Health Care Services and formal education in tribal communities. Since 1965, the federal to atone has tried for this neglect by providing nstitutional aid to these students. So to turn our backs on these schools, by letting these mandatory funds expire, which has already been noted will expire in about two unconscionable. Its a slap in the face to many schools as these their ticket to the middle class. O with that, mr. Speaker, i have already submitted those ocuments for the record, but i do want to urge all of my olleagues to pass the future act. It is about the future of our of our the future students, those who need that opportunity the that Frederick Douglass spoke about, of all of the civil for which the world struggled for, the right to undoubtedly the most fundamental. And so i want to thank my colleagues for continuing to in that fundamental people to hese young have that opportunity. Championhe chamber to 2486,nts by approving h. R. And i do yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore does the gentlewoman yield back or of her time . Alance ms. Adams ok. Back. D the speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman from North Carolina, yields back the balance of her time. The gentleman from North Carolina, mr. Walker, is recognized. I know er congresswoman adams is yielding ack because i represent North Carolina a. N. T. Pride, i at big agee yield back as well. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from North Carolina, walker, yields back. The question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the 2486, as amended. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to take from the speakers bill ask for immediate consideration in the house. O insert in lieu thereof the provisions of h. R. 2500 as passed by the house, to pass the amended, and to insist on the house amendment thereto and request a conference with the senate thereon. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the title of the bill. An act k senate 1790, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2020 for military department of he defense, for military construction, and for defense ctivities of the department of energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such iscal year and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore is request . Ection to this without objection, so ordered. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i offer a motion instruct. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will report the motion. The clerk mr. Thornberry of that the managers on the part of the house on the disagreeing the votes of the two houses on the house amendment to senate 1790 instructed to agree to section 2906 of the senate bill amendments. Lowing mr. Thornberry mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent that the be inder of the motion considered as read. The speaker pro tempore is there objection . Reading bjection, the is suspended. 22,uant to clause 7 of rule the gentleman from texas, mr. Thornberry, and the gentleman from washington, mr. Smith, each will control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the entleman from texas, mr. Thornberry. Mr. Thornberry thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry mr. Speaker, instruct n to in conferees instructs the conferees to agree to the senate to replace money transferred from out of the Construction Projects 2808. Title 10, section just to clarify, when the Senate Passed their bill, we didnt we which specific projects were talking about. So the senate has in their bill provision to replace the full 3. 6 billion that was then expected to be transferred out f military construction and used for Border Security. Ell, now we know what specific projects those are, and so the the motion nce in and this underlying senate provision is to list the projects. Its important to remember, mr. Speaker, that the Senate Passed replacing the full 868. Illion by a vote of three republicans and five emocrats voted no on the whole measure, but overwhelmingly they supported the bill that includes provision to replace this money. Each of the projects that is listed in the motion to recommit has been specifically authorized and appropriated by the house the senate and signed into law by the president. The its true that secretary of defense, secretary esper, has tried to minimize the on the military when e when this transfer was made. But it is still true. There th his efforts, were 544 million take app away away from en dependent school, taken away centers, dependent 15. 3 million from medical clinics, more money from fire stations, dining facilities, etc. Efforts, ours best troops are affected by the this money. Mr. Speaker, we are good at and ing and arguing pointing fingers, blaming how im sure we be, and have different opinions about that. Ut voting yes or no on this motion to instruct will not change that at all, will not hange the transfer, will not change any of those underlying facts. That we have an ability to influence with this motion to instruct is whether or the troops have to suffer as a result of washington dysfunction. Make a difference to them. Mr. O i would suggest, speaker, that it would be the for national do security and certainly the right thing to do for our troops is our he house to instruct conferees to agree with the senate provision. We only difference being would list the specific projects rather than the total amount, we that way we can insure as continue to argue and that ensure as we continue to argue, that our troops will that ffer as a result of argument. I reserve the balance of the time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas reserves time. Lance of his the gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith thank you, mr. Speaker. First of all, i want to make understands, this provision is actually completely irrelevant. T will impact nothing from a substantive standpoint. There is no way our troops are going to be harmed whether we or whethernstruction we follow this instruction or not. So thats important to understand. Authorize military Construction Projects when we years. Ze them for five every single project that the president has listed as the ones the money from to build the border wall that congress expressly said they did this money on nd is already authorized. Hether or not we put an additional authorization into bill is 020 defense literally irrelevant. It has no impact whatsoever on theirr or not the troops, families, whatever the Construction Projects gets funded or not. A dodd decision. That will be a d. O. D. Decision. Hey have the authorization to do it. So please let not anyone say if dont vote for it, youre voting not to fund these projects. You are not. Them are authorized for five years. Other projects to authorize 26. What this amounts to is a sense of congress whether or not we ught to let a president to effectively steal 3. 6 billion out of the pentagons budget for own personal policy desire that congress has already said shouldnt, and in a way, i am quite certain but for the politics surrounded this issue that emphatically say, no, if we pass a Defense Budget aying this is where you ought to spend the money, we are not saying, mr. President , heres a piggy bank, have fun with it, ok. If you find something, its 3. 6 billion out of the military anstruction fund, is actually little over 6 billion total that the president took out of f. Y. 2019 Defense Budget to build a wall that Congress Said they did not want. I think this has huge implications. As members of the Armed Services committee we ought to be alarmed about this. I can guarantee you president if president opa ma had done this to the Defense Budget for any reason there would have been no end of fury about it and rightly so. If were going to say the Defense Budget is crucially important, particularly members the minority body in this have said it is underfunded. As short as the Defense Budget is, as much as weve claimed that theres not enough money in the Defense Budget, we are perfectly ok with the president taking 6 billion out of it for something that has nothing to do with the department of defense. That is an appalling position. For any member of the Armed Services committee to take. This bill, as i said, this motion to instruct, while irrelevant, does give us the opportunity to express the sense of congress that this should not be done. For any purpose. It is worth noting that we had a big fight about six or seven months ago when we shut down the government and the president said he wanted to have his wall funding and we entered into a negotiation and at the end of it i think we came up with about 1. 5 billion we allowed the president for his wall. We had that fight. After that fight, he decided that the pentagon was just one big piggy bank. That what we do other here, its all kind of irrelevant. Were throwing money out there and the president can grab it for any purpose. I disagree with one statement that the distinguished Ranking Member of the Armed Services committee said, and that is we can all argue about who is responsible for this seriously . Its pretty clear who is responsible for this. The president of this eUnited States desaied to take this 3. 6 billion out of existing pentagon projects and spend it on his wall after Congress Said they didnt want it to be done. You want to argue he should have because whatever reason, thats fine. But theres no question why we are here. Theres no we that if congress endorses this, if Congress Says its ok for the president of the United States to use the pentagon as his own personal piggy bank, i understand this is policy, but basically to decide to spend money wherever he wants to spend it, irrespective of what we say, what why are we even here . Why do we even bother to authorize what pentagon is doing . Again, these projects are already authorized. If the pentagon wants to go find the money in the 738 billion weve now all agreed theyre going to spend, they can go find it. There is no way that the United States congress ought to even irrelevantly endorse this particular action by the president. I would strongly urge every member to reject this motion to instruct. I reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves. The gentleman from washington reserves. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield two minutes to the distinguished Ranking Member of the Homeland Security committee, the gentleman from alabama, mr. Rogers. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Rogers i thank the Ranking Member for yielding time and for his leadership on our committee. I rise in support of Ranking Member thornberrys motion to instruct conferees. It is vital that congress find fund all the projects that have been listed today if we vote later. The senate did the right thing and now the house should follow suit. Securing our boarder is a vital component of national security. If we cant control our borders, we cannot tell the American People they are secure at home. Even president obamas former attorney general, eric hold eric said just this week, quote, democrats have to understand that borders mean something. Close quote. This motion to instruct conferees supports the president s task of keeping america safe. It also supports our military by funding Construction Projects including the weapons maintenance shop at the army depot in my district. This prompt would consolidate Maintenance Operations that currently happen in different buildings in different states under one roof. This facility is in preparation for future modernization in support of our force readiness. This is a simple vote today. For securing our borders and building projects for the military. I urge support of this motion and yield back my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from texas reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith i yield myself such time as i may consume to quickly point out again this doesnt make any difference in terms of whether or not these projects get funded. I think the gentleman is correct, this is a debate about whether or not it makes sense to spend money on the wall. I want to emphasize two points about that. Regardless of how you feel about the wall, you should not be in favor of being able to take the money out of the pentagon to pay for it. Second, the border crisis we have is not going to be even remotely alleviated by a wall. The border crisis we have right now is asylum seekers, pouring up to the border, turning themselves in. There were all kinds of challenges associated with that. No question. All kinds of policies that have led to that happening. I think it is absolutely shameful right now the way the United States of america is handling this. As so many people are seeking refuge from violence and horrific conditions and we are treating them horribly. There is number theres a lot we need to do to change that. But building a wall will not stop asylum seekers. It is a billion dollar waste of money focusing on a Campaign Promise instead of focusing on the actual promise we have. But again, thats a debate congress should have. They should not have it out of the pentagon budget. This is the wrong place for it. I urge members to reject this president ial grab of money out of the pentagon that would set a very dangerous precedent. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from washington reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry i have no further requests for time other than myself to close. I reserve my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. Mr. Smith i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from washington yields back. The gentleman from texas, mr. Thornberry is recognized. Mr. Thornberry mr. Speaker, earlier the term was used that the president had stolen or stolen or this money. Would steal this money. Actually title section 2808 authorizes any president , when a National Emergency is declared, to transfer military Construction Funds to deal with that situation. Now again, well debate about whether this was a true National Emergency and whether he should or should not have done it here. But the president did exactly what he has the authority to do. The only question is, what are who is going to suffer, because of that. As the gentleman from alabama pointed out, no president and no member of congress ought to have to choose between Border Security and supporting our troops. And yet that is unfortunately, the situation that without adopting this motion to instruct, that members are put into. The administration requested specifically in the fiscal year 020 budget request that this 3. 6 billion which was transferred out of military construction be put back into military condition instruction so that these projects could be funded. Now you can have a fiveyear authorization but youve got to have the money that year in order to actually build them. And so that is what the senate did in their provision, thats what this motion to instruct would instruct the house conferees to do with more specificity. And just, mr. Speaker, so members have a general idea, were talking about a weapons maintenance shop in alabama. Central heat and power in the state of alaska. Arizona has a Ground Transport equipment building. California has a c130 simulator. Colorados space control facility. Florida, fire crash rescue station. Hawaii, security improvements for a gate. Indiana, construct a small arms range. Kentucky, Fort Campbell middle school. Those are some of the specific projects. I could go on. Louisiana has northcom, various air facility improvements. Maryland, a Child Development enter at joint base andrews. New mexico, an mq9 ops facility. Specific projects are listed in this motion to instruct, specific projects which f. Y. 2020 money would then fund if the conferees would agree to what the senate has already agreed to and what the motion seeks to get the house to endorse. Again, mr. Speaker, with the tom line, theres a lot of argument on border issues. Theres a lot of dysfunction in washington these days. But our troops and their families should not suffer the consequences of those arguments and that dysfunction. This motion to recommit offers a path forward to at least ensure that they have some insulation from those differences and i urge members to adopt it. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from texas has yielded back the balance of his time without objection the previous question is ordered on the motion to instruct. The question is on the motion to instruct. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The noes have it. The motion is not adopted. Mr. Thornberry on that i request a recorded vote. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman request the yeas and nays. Mr. Thornberry i request the yeas and nays. The speaker pro tempore the yeas and nays are requested. Hose in support of the request for a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings will be postponed. Pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately 6 30 p. M. Today