To revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units.

Mr. Speaker, on December 1, 2014, on Roll Call #532 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 5629-- Strengthening Domestic Nuclear Security Act of 2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 1, 2014, on Roll Call #533 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 3438--National Laboratories Mean National Security Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #534 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass S. 2040--Blackfoot River Land Exchange Act of

2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #535 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 5050--May 31, 1918 Act Repeal Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #536 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 3572--To revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #537 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass H.R. 5739--No Social Security for Nazis Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #538 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and H.R. 3240--Regulation D Study Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 2, 2014, on Roll Call #539 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended H.R. 2366--World War I American Veterans Centennial Commemorative Coin Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #540 on H. Res. 766, Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5771) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to extend certain expiring provisions and make technical corrections, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 647) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide for the tax treatment of ABLE accounts established under State programs for the care of family members with disabilities, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #541 on the Motion to Suspend the Rules and H.R. 5769--``To authorize appropriations for the Coast Guard for fiscal year 2015, and for other purposes.'', I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #543 on the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 5771, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #544 on Passage of H.R. 5771--Tax Increase Prevention Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 3, 2014, on Roll Call #545 on Passage of H.R. 647-- Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #546 on the Motion on Ordering the Previous Question on the Rule, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #547 on H. Res. 770--Rule providing for consideration of the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 3979--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015, H.R. 5759--``Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act,'' and H.R. 5781--California Emergency Drought Relief Act of 2014, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #548 on H. Res. 758--Strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination, as amended, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #549 on the Democratic Motion to Recommit H.R. 5759, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #550 on Passage of H.R. 5759, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY.

On December 4, 2014, on Roll Call #551 on the Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendment with an Amendment to H.R. 3979, I am not recorded because I was absent for medical reasons. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3572, which includes a provision I introduced as H.R. 277, to revise the boundaries of Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Rhode Island. I want to begin by thanking Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for working with me to bring this important fix to the floor today.

I want to extend a personal thank you to Chairman Hastings for his ongoing cooperation in helping to advance legislation to make the Blackstone River Valley, the birthplace of America's industrial revolution, a national park.

I want to say, Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents the culmination of several years of evaluation, research, study, public input, and review regarding the existing map of the Coastal Barrier Resources System in my State.

All four units in Rhode Island that would be replaced with a modernized, revised map under this legislation were included within the CBRS, according to the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. It has been discovered that various private lands were inappropriately included in otherwise protected areas within the CBRS and that there were other technical inaccuracies.

The proposed revisions in my bill were approved by local cities and towns and other stakeholders, including the Norman Bird Sanctuary and the Audubon Society, who would be impacted; furthermore, including identified wetland and upland areas of both Almy Pond and Lily Pond is essential for protecting local habitat.

Importantly, the revisions would also remove eight privately-owned structures that were inappropriately included within the Coastal Barrier Resources System.

The changes in this bill will positively impact my district and my constituents, particularly the ones whose private property was inadvertently included in the original map. The passage of this legislation will also benefit the surrounding communities that have long anticipated a more coherent, comprehensive system that protects critical aquatic habitat and coastal lands while protecting access to areas used for recreational purposes.

I want to highlight the case of one constituent in particular. Philip Howell cannot obtain Federal flood insurance for his property that was incorrectly included in the CBRA map. As a result, his coastal property has gone without flood insurance during serious weather events like Superstorm Sandy.

An inability to purchase flood insurance has also caused Mr. Howell to take on serious financial risks related to damages that he would potentially be unable to cover out of his own pocket; moreover, without flood insurance coverage, he has found it difficult to purchase regular homeowner's insurance from competing brokers at affordable rates.

While Mr. Howell and most of my constituents support the intent of the Coastal Barrier Resources System to protect neighboring habitat and recreation, they also have been overly burdened by innocent mapping mistakes that were made more than two decades ago.

As such, I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 3572 to ensure that coastal barrier mapping irregularities are rectified and the system works as it was intended.

I, again, thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for their assistance.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3572) to revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

In 1982, Congress enacted the Coastal Barrier Resources Act and, 8 years later, significantly expanded the number of acres contained within the Coastal Barrier Resources System.

The fundamental goal of this law was to discourage development along fragile and shifting coastal barriers by prohibiting participation within the National Flood Insurance Program and to deny certain Federal development subsidies.

To qualify for inclusion within the system, coastal land had to be undeveloped or conserved as part of a national wildlife refuge, Federal or State park, a national seashore, a military installation, or conservation land owned by private organizations.

Inclusion in the system is through maps which historically were hand- drawn by individuals who used Magic Markers to distinguish property lines--really, Magic Markers. As you might expect, mistakes were made, and Congress has corrected those errors by providing legislative relief to homeowners whose property was mistakenly incorporated within the Coastal Barrier Resources System.

What we have before us today is a bill that corrects mistakes in certain coastal barrier units in Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and South Carolina. This affects both Republican and Democrat districts.

In total, the legislation affects maps in 10 of the 857 units of the system. Upon enactment, 156 acres of the 3.1 million acres would be removed from the system; however, because digital technology is now being used, 4,737 new qualifying acres will be added to the system for a net gain of 4,580 acres.

Each of these changes have been exhaustively reviewed. There is no dispute that these lands were mistakenly included within the Coastal Barrier Resources System, there are no objections to correcting these mistakes, and the Congressional Budget Office has in each case stipulated that ``enacting the bill would not affect revenues.''

Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on this bipartisan noncontroversial collection of changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources System, and I compliment the sponsors for their work on the legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following:

H.R. 3572--To revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina, as amended: On December 2, 2014, a conflict kept me from voting on H.R. 3572 under suspension of the rules. This bill revises the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina. If I had been present, I would have voted for this legislation.

H.R. 5769--Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014: Today I voted for H.R. 5769, in part as a tribute our retiring colleague Howard Coble. While the legislation contained many good provisions, it also had some disturbing ones. Key among them were those could make it harder for the U.S. to deliver food aid in a more timely, cost effective and impactful way. Any provision that

could lead to increased tonnage requirements for our food aid merits significant scrutiny because added delay directly threatens lives already at risk. The House, federal agencies, and NGO stakeholders were, unfortunately, given no such opportunity for oversight before the final bill was brought to the floor. Should this bill be enacted in its present form, I look forward to working with Secretary Fox to ensure this provision is implemented fairly.

H.R. 5771--Tax Increase Prevention Act: During the debate on the House floor over H.R. 5771, the Tax Increase Prevention Act, it was clear I was torn. The reason I ultimately voted against this legislation is because it should have been the first order of business taken up by Congress, and not the last. This tax extenders package represents another failure to treat people right and fairly, and one more missed opportunity for reform. In addition, H.R. 5771 continues the harmful trend of adding the deficit while ignoring the low hanging fruit, where consensus is within reach and provisions are ripe for reform.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, or CBRA, requires the identification of hazardous areas on the Atlantic and gulf coasts and makes Federal subsidies off-limits to people who choose to develop those lands. Particularly in this time of rising sea levels and increased storm surge brought on by global warming, CBRA is critical to helping protect American taxpayers and sensitive coastal ecosystems.

H.R. 3572 would adjust the boundaries of several Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Florida. I am particularly pleased that long overdue remedies for the constituents of my friends, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), are included in this package.

These changes have been carefully mapped by the Fish and Wildlife Service and reflect improvements in technology that have allowed us to show with great accuracy which parcels of land do and do not constitute ``coastal barrier resources'' under the law.

As a result, numerous properties that were originally included by mistake will be removed, and other properties that have been identified as at-risk will be included. These changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources System are protective of private property rights, the environment, and the taxpayers. I support passage of this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.