INTERDICT Act

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume, and I thank my friend, the gentleman from Georgia, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes for debate.

Mr. Speaker, I am here today to debate the rule for consideration of H.R. 469, the Congressional Article I Powers Strengthening Act; and H.R. 732, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, two Judiciary bills that are deficient in both process and in substance.

First, let me address the Congressional Article I Powers and Strengthening Act, a bill that my Republican friends purport will provide commonsense solutions to curbing regulatory abuse, but will, in fact, undermine the ability of Federal regulators to protect the health and safety of Americans, threaten the privacy of victims of government misconduct, and intrude on the Department of Justice's enforcement discretion, raising serious separation of powers concerns.

Mr. Speaker, just as appalling as the substance of this bill is the process by which we are considering it and many other bills deriving from the Judiciary Committee lately.

This bill is actually three Judiciary Committee bills wrapped in one Rules Committee print. However, one of the bills, H.R. 4070, was introduced last week without a hearing, without a markup, without notice to Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, and without consultation with constitutional

lawyers and experts and interested citizens.

This process is truly a slap in the face of regular order. A bill that has zero input from members on the Judiciary Committee or been the subject of any thoughtful discussion is suddenly on the House floor for a vote.

Interestingly, when I listened to my friend from Georgia, who I know is particularly serious about his approaches to legislation, I sat here and then I looked into the gallery, and there were 20 people who were seated there. I didn't see on the faces of those that I could see any understanding of one thing that he said, not because of the speed of his manner of speech, but because of the complexity of issues that give rise to us.

Among the things he said was transparency, accountability, and wanting to make sure that we, this body, exercise our prerogative with reference to for the people, by the people, and of the people.

I would imagine that people listening to this debate would want to believe that half of this body, half of the people who are represented in this country had input to this legislation. Let me tell you, People, they had none, zero. No Democrat had any input to this measure that I just discussed.

How can we expect Members of this body, let alone the American people, to have any idea as to what we are voting on with this measure and what its impact will be when it seems the path it took to getting a vote is based solely on the whim of the chairman of the Judiciary Committee?

Unfortunately, there is total disregard for even a semblance of regular order. That term is utilized a lot here, and, again, the American people, many of them, don't have a clue what we are talking about.

What we are talking about, basically, is matters that go to committees have hearings, have both sides have input, have witnesses who are experts or have responsibilities in that arena, and then the matter comes to the Rules Committee and is granted a bill of substance to come here to the floor, and that process is generally known by those of us with Congress-speak as regular order.

It is nothing new for the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee, which has been the worst offender of regular order, when it comes to pushing for a closed process.

During the 115th Congress, bills coming to the floor from the Judiciary Committee were granted the most closed rules of any of the committees in this august body, eight closed rules. There is no committee chair in this Congress who has requested the Republican- controlled Rules Committee grant more closed rules than the chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

Indeed, this departure from a process that we refer to as regular order, from a process that allows input from outside experts and other witnesses, a process that allows both parties, if there is a hearing, to ask questions of those witnesses, this departure is astounding, and that is within the context of this Congress, which, in just the first 10 months, will soon become the most closed Congress in history.

I remember when I ran for office in 1992, I appeared a lot on radio stations. In many of those appearances, the opposition, not just my opponent, but the major party, had begun a drumbeat of the Democrats are not following regular order, they are having closed rules.

Little did I know in 1992, nor did I aspire when I came here, to be on the Rules Committee to have a better understanding, but I kept listening to this closed rule argument, and many persons lost their elections because of that.

If there is ever a time for us to address it, it would be now. We have that prerogative to be able to open up this process so that all Members can be involved.

When this Congress began, the distinguished Speaker of this body promised an open and transparent House. He called for a return to regular order. After what we have seen over the last 10 months, I shudder to think what the distinguished Speaker considers a closed process.

I might add, the next tier under closed is structured rules, which we are here today on, which, yet again, limits the number of activities by others, amendments, and other processes that would be appropriate.

Yesterday, when my colleague and I were in the Rules Committee, we had before us matters that were germane to this issue that were denied, that could have, under an open process, been made in order so that we could discuss it here today.

This Republican process, shutting out the voice and input of representatives of nearly half the country, is not just an affront to normal House procedure, which it is, it is downright undemocratic and emblematic of the Republican majority's true inability to govern.

Mr. Speaker, I turn to the second bill encompassed in this rule, H.R. 732, a bill as misguided and substantively unnecessary as the first bill was lacking in process. In fact, in the last Congress, a law professor testifying on an identical bill described it as a solution in search of a problem.

That was as true in the last Congress as it is in this one, which is too bad, because we do not lack in actual problems in desperate need of sensible solutions.

H.R. 732 would prevent Federal agencies from requiring third-party payments, such as those to charities, in settlement agreements with entities accused of wrongdoing.

Now, there in the report pointed out by the chairman of the Rules Committee yesterday shows the number of banks and mortgage companies and others that have violated the law and entered into settlements with the government for billions of dollars. Such payments, in excess of what the victims have agreed to, and the settlements that have been entered into and approved by judges, each one of these settlements, my friend said these payments may have gone to politically motivated--may be politically motivated organizations, and he cites to La Raza, which did receive money, but so did other charitable organizations: the New Christian Joy Full Gospel Baptist Church, the Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago, the Catholic Charities Financial and Housing Counseling.

We sought yesterday while we were in the committee--I sought and asked staff to provide for me some of the organizations that my friends say may be politically motivated, or activists, as he referred to them, and it is 49 pages of organizations that were available to receive these funds, and, yes, some of them are liberal and also some of them are conservative organizations as we know them.

Such payments to charities are a common enforcement tool in settlements and have long been used to help provide communities with relief from systemic harm caused by illegal behavior.

Now, for example, following the 2008 financial crisis, in some of the settlement agreements with Wall Street banks, President Obama's Department of Justice required banks to donate money to charities committed to neighborhood stabilization and foreclosure prevention efforts, and this made perfect sense.

In the wake of the crisis, as many as 10 million families lost their homes to foreclosure. Both the Government Accountability Office and the Federal courts have long upheld this practice in settlement agreements. Perhaps unsurprisingly, my Republican colleagues considered these provisions to be an attempt by President Obama's administration to use, as they say, ``a slush fund,'' to enrich, ``liberal friends,'' despite the fact that certified charities eligible to receive these payments encompass liberal and conservative groups alike.

They even launched an investigation which yielded no credible evidence to substantiate their claims. Yet, despite the GAO, the Federal courts, and a Republican-led investigation showing no wrongdoing, we are considering this bill today to ban this longstanding legal practice aimed at assisting communities in the wake of suffering systemic abuse--abuse that I will underline again, and even say slowly, hurt Democrats and Republicans.

I suppose the only question left to ask my Republican friends is, 10 months into the new administration, nearly a year after the last election, why are they continuing to conduct

pointless and partisan oversight of the Obama administration?

Let me see if I can make this clear. President Obama is no longer the President of the United States, nor is Bill Clinton or George Bush. The President of the United States now is a new individual who we have to deal with, and it would be helpful if we were to address some of the matters ongoing that this particular administration is deserving of oversight.

I know that President Obama was a useful foil for many in the Republican Party when it came to messaging and campaigning, but he is not the President anymore. He won his two elections. That is the past. This bill represents nothing but the Republican majority grasping at straws and trying their best to turn their oversight attention away from doing their duty and providing oversight of the Trump administration.

Today, two new inquiries, I don't even have the time or wouldn't take the time to go into the inquiries that ain't going nowhere, have been announced, certainly as a distraction to many of the negatives that come out by virtue of this particular Congress not having done anything. It is the do-nothing Congress on steroids.

If there was ever an administration that needed rigorous oversight, it is the current one. In just 10 months, we have had reports of gratuitous use of private jets, the use of private email servers by senior staff, and I might add that one of those things identified today is they are going to go after Hillary or have oversight hearings on Hillary Clinton's emails. Enough already. Hillary Clinton lost her election, and lost with the emails as well, but we have current staff who are using private email servers. Given your history, should that not at least pique your oversight interest?

Spending tens of millions of taxpayers' dollars to use Mar-a-Lago for official meetings, waste, cronyism, the list goes on and on and on. How about oversight of a little, old company in Montana that doesn't have any successful history getting a $200 million no-bid contract in Puerto Rico to reestablish those facilities there? Out of Montana, little, old company, $200 million, no-bid. You got it. You go forward. You talk about waste and cronyism. And what do we get from the Republicans? Deafening silence.

Mr. Speaker, I find it ironic that we are considering the rule for a bill today entitled Article I Powers Strengthening Act when this Republican Congress has shown they can't even undertake the basic Article I duty of providing oversight of the executive. They don't need to strengthen Article I, they need to just start doing their jobs in the first place.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am ready to have my friend understand that I am getting close to closing. I don't think I have any speakers, but I do have words that I wish to put forward right now.

It is shameful that we would be in a position where the DACA program is being threatened without a single thought to the consequences this decision would have on the 800,000 young lives this program protects.

While this may appear to be off message with regard to the measures that are before us, the minority is given an opportunity to present what is called a previous question, and it can be on matters germane to the thoughts of the minority and can be on any subject that they choose. In this instance, we choose to, with the previous question, address DACA.

Do the American people even want DACA to end? The answer is clearly no. According to a Politico/Morning Consult poll, support for allowing these immigrants to remain in the United States spans across party lines: 84 percent of Democrats, 74 percent of Independents, and 69 percent of Republicans think they should stay. Congress must act to protect our DREAMers.

Mr. Speaker, here is a chance to rectify the President's decision and restore the American people's faith in this institution.

If we defeat the previous question, I am going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up H.R. 3440, the Dream Act. This bipartisan bicameral legislation would help thousands of young people who are Americans in every way except on paper.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of this amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

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

Mr. Speaker, earlier I mentioned that there were 49 pages--I didn't realize how extensive it really was--of organizations that were eligible to receive funds under the Justice Department's prerogative. It includes organizations that did, in fact, receive these funds.

They come from a wide array of organizations in our respective communities that, in my judgment, have on-the-ground ability to be efficient and to make sure that the expenditure of those funds benefit those who have suffered from systemic inequities by large organizations.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a portion of these organizations that were eligible to receive funds under the Justice Department's prerogative.

Agency Name

Money Management International, Anchorage, AK.;

Neighborworks Anchorage Formerly Anchorage Neighborhood

Housing Services; Organized Community Action Programs Inc.--

Covington County; Birmingham Urban League, Inc.; Gateway

Financial Freedom/CCCS of Central Alabama; Jefferson County

Committee for Economic Opportunity; Jefferson County Housing

Authority; NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of

America) Birmingham. AL; Neighborhood Housing Services of

Birmingham, Inc.; United Way of Central Alabama, Inc.; United

Way of Central Alabama, Inc.; Community Action Partnership of

North Alabama--Cullman Branch; Community Action Partnership

of North Alabama, Inc.; Community Action Agency of Northwest

Alabama, Inc.; Hale Empowerment and Revitalization

Organization (HERO); Organized Community Action Programs

Inc.--Butler County; Organized Community Action Programs

Inc.--Lowndes County; CCCS of Tennessee River Valley;

Community Action Partnership, Huntsville/Madison & Limestone

Counties. Inc.; Family Services Center, Inc.

CCCS of Mobile--Jackson; Telamon Corporation; CCCS of

Mobile; Center for Fair Housing; Mobile Housing Board; CCCS

of Alabama--Montgomery; Legal Services Alabama Inc; CCCS of

Mobile--Montrose AL; Community Action Partnership of North

Alabama--Moulton Branch; Organized Community Action Programs

Inc.--Dale County; Housing Authority of the City of Prichard;

Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama--Franklin

County; Organized Community Action Programs Inc.--Crenshaw

County; Community Action Agency of Northwest Alabama--Colbert

County; Organized Community Action Program, Inc.; Community

Service Programs of West Alabama, Inc.; Organized Community

Action Programs Inc.--Bullock County; Credit Counseling of

Arkansas--Bentonville; Mississippi County, Arkansas Economic

Opportunity Commission, Inc.; Hope Enterprise Corporation.

Family Service Agency--CCCS; Arkansas River Valley Area

Council, Inc.; Money Management International El Dorado;

Credit Counseling of Arkansas; Crawford Sebastian Community

Development Council; Credit Counseling of Arkansas Fort

Smith; Northwest Regional Housing Authority; Southern Bancorp

Community Partners; Jonesboro Urban Renewal and Housing

Authority Housing and Community Development Organization

(JURHA HCDO; Arkansas Development Finance Authority; Better

Community Development, Inc.; Community Resources Technicians,

Inc.; Family Service Agency--CCCS; In Affordable Housing,

Incorporated; NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of

America) Little Rock, AR; Southern Bancorp Community

Partners; Universal Housing Development Corporation; Credit

Counseling of Arkansas--Springdale; Southeastern Arizona

Governments Organization; Community Action Human Resources

Agency.

Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona, Inc.; Money

Management International, Inc. Flagstaff, AZ; Northern

Arizona Council of Governments; Administration of Resources

and Choices; Money Management International, Inc. Glendale,

AZ; Western Arizona Council of Governments (WACOG)--Kingman

Branch Office; Housing Counseling and Education Services;

Money Management International, Inc. Mesa, AZ; Springboard--

Mesa; Chicanos Por La Causa--Nogales; Nogales Community

Development Corporation; Chicanos Por La Causa, Phoenix; City

of Phoenix Neighborhood Services Department; Community

Housing Resources of Arizona; Desert Mission Neighborhood

Renewal; Greater Phoenix Urban League; Labor's Community

Service Agency; Money Management International Phoenix Phone

Center; Money Management International, Inc. Phoenix, AZ

Central.

NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America)

Phoenix, AZ; Neighborhood Housing Services of Phoenix; NID-

HCA Phoenix Randolph; Take Charge America; Money Management

International, Inc. Prescott, AZ; Campesinos Sin Fronteras;

Comite De Bien Estar, Inc.; Credit Advisors Foundation; Money

Management International, Inc. Phoenix, AZ--North; Housing

America Corporation; Greenpath Debt Solutions; Money

Management International, Inc. Tempe, AZ; Newtown Community

Development Corporation; Administration of Resources and

Choices; Catholic Community Services of So. Arizona, Inc. DBA

Pio Decimo Center; Chicanos Por La Causa-Tucson; Family

Housing Resources; Money Management International, Inc.

Tucson, AZ--SE; Money Management, Inc. Tuscon, AZ--NW; Old

Pueblo Housing Development, Inc.

Southern Arizona Legal Aid, Inc.; Southwest Fair Housing

Counsel; The Primavera Foundation, Inc.; Tucson Urban League;

Northern Arizona Council of Governments; Western Arizona

Council of Governments (WACOG); Western Arizona Council of

Governments NCOA HECM; Consumer Credit Counseling Service of

Orange County; CCCS of the North Coast; CCCS of Kern and

Tulare Counties; Community Housing Council of Kern Co.;

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Orange County; Korean

Resource Center; Surepath Financial Solutions; Consumer

Credit Counselors of Kern and Tulare Counties; Money

Management International Chula Vista; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Coachella; Clearpoint Credit Counseling

Solutions--Commerce Branch; Catholic Charities of the East

Bay; Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO).

Money Management International Concord; National Asian

American Coalition (Formerly Known as Mabuhay Alliance);

California Rural Legal Assistance--Delano; Able Works;

Springboard--El Cajon; California Rural Legal Assistance--El

Centro; Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board--El Centro

Branch (Imperial County); Community Housing Works; Pacific

Community Services Fairfield; Consumer Credit Counseling

Service of Orange County; Money Management International

Fremont; Project Sentinel; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Fresno; Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions

Inc.--Fresno Branch; Community Housing Council of Fresno;

Housing Authority of the City of Fresno; California Rural

Legal Assistance--Gilroy; Project Sentinel; Clearpoint Credit

Counseling Solutions--Glendale Branch; Clearpoint Credit

Counseling Solutions--Granada Hills Branch.

NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) Los

Angeles, CA; Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO);

Springboard--Hemet; Inland Fair Housing and Mediation Board--

Indio Branch (Riverside County); Amador Tuolumne Community

Action Agency; Springboard--Ladera; Clearpoint Credit

Counseling Solutions--Lakewood Branch; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Lamont; Pure Hearts R Us Housing Corporation;

Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity (ECHO); Tri-Valley

Housing Opportunity Center; Home Preservation and Prevention

(HPP Cares); Operation Hope Inc.--Long Beach Branch;

Springboard--Long Beach; East La Community Corporation

(ELACC); Korean Churches for Community Development; Korean

Resource Center; Los Angeles Neighborhood Housing Services,

Inc; New Economics for Women; NID-HCA Reeves;

Operation Hope, Inc; Operation Hope, Inc.--La Branch;

Shalom Center for T.R.E.E. of Life; Thai Community

Development Corp.; Watts Century Latino Org.; West Angeles

Community Development Corp.; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Madera; California Rural Legal Assistance--

Marysville Office; Operation Hope, Inc.--Maywood Branch;

National Asian American Coalition (Formerly Known As Mabuhay

Alliance); California Rural Legal Assistance--Modesto;

Community Housing and Shelter Services; Habitat for

Humanity, Stanislaus County; Project Sentinel; Montebello

Housing Development Corp.; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Monterey; Fair Housing Council of Riverside

County, Inc.; Project Sentinel; Eden Council for Hope and

Opportunity (ECHO); Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon

Valley.

Money Management International Oakland; NACA (Neighborhood

Assistance Corporation of America) Oakland, CA; National

Association of Real Estate Brokers--Investment Division, Inc;

NID-HCA Oakland Main Branch; Operation Hope, Inc.--Oakland

Branch; The Spanish Speaking Unity Council of Alameda County,

Inc. (The Unity Council); Faith Based Community Development

Corporation; Money Management International Oceanside; Inland

Fair Housing and Mediation Board; Neighborhood Partnership

Housing Services, Inc.; Neighborhood Housing Services of

Orange County; California Rural Legal Assistance--Oxnard;

Ventura County Community Development Corporaton; Fair Housing

Council of Riverside County, Inc.; Eden Council for Hope and

Opportuntiy (ECHO); California Rural Legal Assistance--Paso

Robles; Pacific Community Services, Inc.; Operation Hope,

Inc.--Poway Branch; Hometown Community Development Corp, Dba

Homestrong USA; Housing Opportunities Collaborative--Inland

Empire Branch.

Community Housing Development Corporation of North

Richmond; Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.;

Community Connect; Fair Housing Council of Riverside County,

Inc.; Springboard--Shine Center (Latham); Springboard Non

Profit Consumer Credit Management Inc.--HPF Affiliate;

Springboard Non--Profit Consumer Credit Management, Inc.;

Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions--Sacramento Branch;

Sacramento Home Loan Counseling Center; Sacramento

Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.; California Rural Legal

Assistance--Salinas; Housing Resource Center of Monterey

County; Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions--San

Bernardino Branch; Neighborhood Housing Services of The

Inland Empire, Inc.; NID-HCA Inland Empire J. Jackson;

Bayside Community Center; Clearpoint Credit Counseling

Solutions--San Diego Branch; Community Housing Works; Housing

Opportunities Collaborative; Housing Opportunities

Collaborative--Branch for San Diego/Imperial Counties; Money

Management International San Diego.

National Asian American Coalition (Formerly Known as

Mabuhay Alliance); Navicore Solutions--San Diego, CA;

Neighborhood House Association; San Diego Urban League; Union

of Pan Asian Communities; Asian Incorporated; CCCS of San

Francisco; Consumer Credit Counseling Service of San

Francisco--HPF Affiliate; Mission Economic Development

Association (MEDA); Project Sentinel; San Francisco Housing

Development Corporation; Neighborhood Housing Services

Silicon Valley; Project Sentinel; Santa Clara County Asian

Law Alliance; Surepath Financial Solutions--San Jose; NID-HCA

San Leandro--Chambers; California Rural Legal Assistance--San

Luis Obispo; Peoples' Self Help Housing; Fair Housing of

Marin; Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions--Santa Ana

Branch.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Orange County;

Housing Opportunities Collaborative--Orange County Branch;

Legal Aid Society of Orange County; Orange County Fair

Housing Council, Inc.; California Rural Legal Assistance--

Santa Barbara; Project Sentinel; California Rural Legal

Assistance; California Rural Legal Assistance--Santa Maria;

Wise & Healthy Aging; California Rural Legal Assistance;

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Santa Rosa; CCCS of San

Francisco; Centro Familia Esperanza; Operation Hope Inc.--

South Gate Branch; California Rural Legal Assistance--

Stockton; Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions--Stockton

Branch; NID-HCA A. Jones; Visionary Home Builders of

California; Project Sentinel; Northern Circle Indian Housing

Authority, United Native Housing Development Corp.

City of Vacaville Department of Housing Services; Cabrillo

Economic Development Corporation; Inland Fair Housing and

Mediation Board--Victorville Branch (San Bernardino County);

CCCS of Kern and Tulare Counties; Community Services and

Employment Training, Inc. (CSET); Self Help Enterprises;

California Rural Legal Assistance--Oceanside; Surepath

Financial Solutions--Watsonville; Rural Community Assistance

Corporation; Community Resource and Housing Development

Corporation--Alamosa; City of Aurora Community Development

Division; Boulder County Housing Authority; Greenpath, Inc.;

Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments; CCCS of Greater

Dallas--Colorado Springs; Adams County Housing Authority;

Colorado Housing and Finance Authority; Colorado Housing

Assistance Corporation; Del Norte Neighborhood Development

Corporation (NDC); Denver Housing Authority.

Greenpath, Inc.; Money Management International Denver,

Aurora Branch; NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of

America) Denver, CO; NEWSED CDC; Northeast Denver Housing

Center; Southwest Improvement Council; Housing Solutions for

the Southwest; Regional Housing Alliance La Plata Homes Fund;

Brothers Redevelopment, Inc.; Greenpath Debt Solutions;

Neighbor to Neighbor; Northeast Colorado Housing, Inc.; Tri-

County Housing & Community Development Corporation; Neighbor

to Neighbor; Grand Junction Housing Authority; Greenpath Debt

Solutions; Money Management International Highlands Ranch;

Douglas County Housing Partnership; Boulder County Housing

Authority; Neighbor to Neighbor.

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Pueblo, CO;

Neighborworks of Pueblo; Summit County Family Resource

Center; San Miguel Regional Housing Authority; Community

Resources and Housing Development Corporation; Money

Management International Westminster; Bridgeport Neighborhood

Trust; Housing Development Fund, Inc.--Bridgeport Branch;

Housing Development Fund--Danbury Branch; Financial

Counselors of America Connecticut Branch; Money Management

International East Hartford; Community Renewal Team, Inc.;

Hartford Areas Rally Together; Housing Education Resource

Center; Mutual Housing Association of Greater Hartford, Inc.;

NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America)

Hartford, CT; Urban League of Greater Hartford, Inc.; Money

Management International Milford; Neighborhood Housing

Services of New Britain, Inc.; Greater New Haven Community

Loan Fund.

Mutual Housing of South Central CT, Inc.//Neighborworks New

Horizons; Neighborhood Housing Services of New Haven;

Catholic Charities, Norwich, CT; Connecticut Housing Finance

Authority; Housing Development Fund, Inc.; Urban League of

Southern Connecticut; Neighborhood Housing Services of

Waterbury, Inc.; National Council on Aging (NCOA); Asian

American Homeownership Counseling; Carecen--Central American

Resource Center; Greater Washington Urban League; Homefree--

USA Washington DC Branch; Housing Counseling Services,

Incorporated; Latino Economic Development Corporation;

Lydia's House; Manna, Inc. Marshall Heights Community

Development Organization; NACA (Neighborhood Assistance

Corporation of America) Washington, DC; National Capacd;

National Community Reinvestment Coalition.

National Community Reinvestment Coalition, Inc.; National

Council of La Raza; National Foundation for Credit

Counseling, Inc.; Neighborhood Reinvestment Corp. DBA

Neighborworks America; NID-HCA Williams; Operation Hope,

Inc.--DC Branch; United Planning Organization; United

Planning Organization--Anacostia Center; United Planning

Organization--Petey Greene Community Svc. Center; United

Planning Organization Shaw Community Svc. Center; University

Legal Services; University Legal Services; CCCS of Maryland

and Delaware; Delaware State Housing Authority; First State

Community Action Agency, Inc.; National Council on

Agricultural Life and Labor Research Fund, Inc. (NCALL

Research, Inc.); First State Community Action Agency, Inc;

National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research

Fund, Inc. (NCALL, Research, Inc.); Hockessin Community

Center; First State Community Action Agency, Inc.

National Council on Agricultural Life and Labor Research

Fund, Inc. (NCALL Research, Inc.); YWCA Delaware; Telamon

Corporation; CCCS of Delaware Valley, DBA Clarifi; CCCS of

Delaware Valley, Inc. DBA Clarifi; CCCS of Maryland and

Delaware; Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council;

Housing Opportunities of Northern Delaware, Inc.; Interfaith

Community Housing of Delaware; Neighborhood House,

Incorporated; West End Neighborhood House; Homes in

Partnership, Inc.; We Help Community Development Corporation;

Florida Cooperative Extension--Holmes County Cooperative

Extension Service (Terminated); Boynton Beach Faith Based

CDC; Catholic Charities Diocese of Venice, Inc.; Manatee

Community Action Agency, Inc. F/K/A Manatee Opportunity

Council, Incorporated; Florida Cooperative Extension Levy

County Cooperative Extension Service; Florida Cooperative

Extension--Hernando County Cooperative Extension Service;

All-American Foreclosure Solutions, Inc.

Cape Coral Housing Development Corporation; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Washington County Cooperative

Extension Service (Terminated); Bright Community Trust, Inc.;

Clearwater Neighborhood Housing Services, Inc.; Consumer

Credit and Budget Counseling, DBA National Foundation for

Debt Management; Consumer Credit and Budget Counseling, DBA

National Foundation for Debt Management; Housing Services of

Central Florida; Tampa Bay Community Development Corporation;

Homes in Partnership, Incorporated; Credit Card Mgmt Svcs,

Inc. D/B/A Debthelper.Com; Florida Cooperative Extension--

Brevard County Cooperative Extension Service; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Brevard County Cooperative Extension

Service (Duplicate); CCCS of West FL; Florida Cooperative

Extension Dixie County Cooperative Extension Service; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Pasco County Cooperative Extension

Service (Terminated); Adopt A Hurricane Family, Inc. DBA

Crisis Housing Solutions; Apprisen--CCCS--Davie; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Broward County Cooperative Extension;

Central Florida Community Development Corporation; Community

Legal Services of Mid-Florida, Inc.

Mid-Florida Housing Partnership, Inc.; Florida Cooperative

Extension--Walton County Cooperative Extension Service;

Florida Cooperative Extension--Volusia County Cooperative

Extension Service; H.E.L.P. Community Development Corp.;

Affordable Housing by Lake, Inc; Centro Campesino,

Farmworkers Center, Inc.; New Visions Community Development

Corporation; Urban League of Broward County Main Office;

Urban League of Broward County (Branch Office); Affordable

Homeownership Foundation Inc; Home Ownership Resource Center

of Lee County; Housing Authority of the City of Ft.

Myers; Lee County Housing Development Corporation; CCCS of

West FL; City of Gainesville Housing Division; Florida

Cooperative Extension; Florida Cooperative Extension--

Alachua County Cooperative Extension Service; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Alachua County Cooperative

Extension Service (Duplicate); Neighborhood Housing &

Development Corporation; CCCS of the Midwest.

Community Housing Partners Corporation; Community Legal

Services of Mid-Florida, Inc.--Inverness Office; Black

Bottom/Springfield Human Development Corporation, DBA St.

Joseph Homeownership; Community Home Ownership Center, Inc.

F/K/A Jacksonville FL Chapter Assoc. of Housing Counselors &

Agencies CDC; Family Foundations of Northeast Florida, Inc.;

Florida Cooperative Extension--Duval County Cooperative

Extension Service; Greenpath, Inc.; Habitat for Humanity of

Jacksonville, Inc.; Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc.;

Jacksonville Urban League; NACA (Neighborhood Assistance

Corporation of America) Jacksonville, FL; Operation New Hope

CDC; Wealth Watcher, Inc; Community Legal Services of Mid-

Florida, Inc.--Kissimmee Office; Florida Cooperative

Extension--Osceola County Cooperative Extension Service; The

Agriculture and Labor Program, Inc.; Florida Cooperative

Extension--Columbia County Extension Service; Springboard--

Lake Mary; Catholic Charities of Central Florida; Keystone

Challenge Fund, Inc.

Florida Cooperative Extension--Pinellas County Cooperative

Extension Service; Broward County Housing Authority; Florida

Cooperative Extension--Citrus County Cooperative Extension

Service; Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp; Debt

Management Credit Counseling Corp; Debt Management Credit

Counseling Corp.; Florida Cooperative Extension--Suwannee

County Cooperative Extension Service; Greenpath Debt

Solutions; Florida Cooperative Extension--Baker County

Cooperative Extension Service (Duplicate); Florida

Cooperative Extension--Baker County Cooperative Extension

Service (Terminated); Florida Cooperative Extension--Madison

County Cooperative Extension Service (Terminated); Community

Housing Initiative, Inc; Cuban American National Council,

Inc.--Miami; Little Haiti Housing Association, Inc.;

Neighborhood Housing Services of South Florida; Real Estate,

Education and Community Housing, Inc.; SER Jobs for Progress;

Miami Beach Community Development Corp; NID-HCA Florida

Felton; Housing Development Corporation of SW Florida, Inc.

Mr. Speaker, I do want to acknowledge that my friend from Georgia does have a companion bill in the other body. I believe it is S. 333. I would--like I will when the Georgia-Florida game comes up--make a wager with my friend that that bill ain't going nowhere. But, anyway, we are here talking about it, so my wager with the gentleman will be under appropriate measures. I wish he and I could go to Jacksonville together at what they say is the greatest cocktail party in the world.

Mr. Speaker, I just mentioned that at least one of the bills wrapped up in today's, in my view, nonsense, ought to continue to be described as a solution in search of a problem. I am not fully convinced that the observation is not an apt one for the whole lot of bills before us today. As I just mentioned, this is particularly disturbing as this country has real problems which need real solutions.

The Children's Health Insurance Program has expired, and there seems to be little to no will on the other side of the aisle to right this wrong at this time. Sure, we hear possibilities of a solution. When I came back this week, I thought that we would certainly address it. September 30 was when it expired. Yet we and, more importantly, millions of children and organizations wait for an answer.

We know that we are fast approaching a government shutdown, but instead we come to the floor week after week forced to debate ridiculous bills that, in substance, are well-thought-out by the persons presenting them, but, in reality, are not going to become law and are nothing more than talking points of the day, when these things that we should be addressing are going unmet.

We need to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, yet the answer to this issue evades my friends across the aisle. We need to reauthorize the National Flood Insurance Program, yet we wait.

We need to address the crippling epidemic that is gun violence in this country. We need to remember that not even a month ago, this man out in Las Vegas took aim from the 32nd floor of a hotel and rained terror down upon thousands of innocent people enjoying a music festival. The weapons of war he used that night are just as readily available today as the day he bought them.

Finally, I understand people may want to forget the following, but we cannot, and I will not let you forget that there are millions of people across the United States Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, and there are thousands in Florida and in Texas who are still awaiting visits from

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 577 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Hastings), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only.

General Leave

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on House Resolution 577, currently under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring this rule forward on behalf of the Rules Committee. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 469, the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, and H.R. 732, the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act.

The rule provides for 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee for each of the bills under consideration, and also provides for a motion to recommit on both bills. Additionally, the rule makes in order six amendments to each bill, respectively, representing ideas from Members on both sides of the aisle.

Yesterday, the Rules Committee received testimony from Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Representative Jamie Raskin. In addition to the discussion of the underlying legislation at the Rules Committee, I previously joined my colleagues on the Judiciary Committee in a robust debate of the major components of these bills at Judiciary markups earlier this year.

I introduced H.R. 469 to address a problem that, unfortunately, has become all too common: the practice of regulating behind closed doors and absent public input through what is known as sue and settle agreements.

H.R. 469 also includes the Judgment Fund Transparency Act, introduced by Representative Chris Stewart, and the Article I Amicus and Intervention Act, introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte.

The rule also provides for consideration of the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, which was introduced after an extensive investigation by the House Judiciary Committee found that the Department of Justice was systemically circumventing Congress and directing settlement money to activist groups.

The legislation provided for by today's rule strengthens the balance of power and Congress' Article I authority, which we have allowed executive agencies to erode over time.

Regardless of the political party in power, Congress has a constitutional obligation to carry out its duties and ensure that the legislative branch writes the law. When Congress fulfills its role as intended, the Federal Government is more responsive to the needs of the electorate and more accountable to our citizenry.

My legislation, the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, otherwise known as sue and settle, addresses the problem of regulation through litigation. We have seen this problem explode in recent years, particularly under the previous administration.

Mr. Speaker, I could offer you dozens of examples of this abuse, yet my time would expire long before I could list them all. A few particularly notable examples, however, highlight the enormous costs and burdens that regulation through litigation can impose on unsuspecting Americans.

The infamous Utility MACT and Boiler MACT rules resulted from sue and settle cases. They carry price tags of $9.6 billion and $3 billion in costs and compliance, respectively.

The Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Act rules boast a whopping $18 billion in compliance costs. These rules also resulted from covert sue and settle maneuvers.

I don't think it is fair to ask hardworking job creators, farmers, and ranchers of northeast Georgia--or anywhere in this Nation, for that matter--to foot the bills for policy that bureaucrats secretly put in place.

I am sad to report that the prevalence of these sue and settlement agreements have only grown in recent years. The second term of the previous administration brought us 77 sue and settle cases related to the Clean Air Act. By comparison, President Clinton's second term witnessed 27 sue and settle cases, and President Bush's second term saw 28 such cases.

But let me also say just right there, Mr. Speaker, that it doesn't matter which administration or which party is in the White House. This is not a bill that is designed to go for one party or another. It is simply saying that there is an Article I of the Constitution, and that is the legislative branch that writes the laws, and then the executive is to enforce the laws, not write them. I want to make it clear--and I know it is going to be talked about that this is not, but I do want to make it clear that this is for any administration.

The Obama administration's penchant for circumventing Congress and its constitutional authority was incredible, and its legacy has endured. The weight of these improper agreements hangs around the necks of American businesses, employees, farmers, and ranchers.

Fortunately, the Trump administration has recognized the impropriety of this practice and is taking steps to start curbing abuse of sue and settle agreements and the Federal rulemaking process. In fact, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt recently issued a directive to increase public engagement in policymaking at the EPA.

This is a critical step and one that I applaud, but it doesn't negate the need for Congress to act decisively. In fact, it only highlights it. Congress has a right and an obligation to defend its constitutional prerogatives.

Like the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulator Decrees and Settlements Act, the Judgment Fund Transparency Act will make our government more accountable to the people by providing real transparency. The Judgment Fund Transparency Act is based upon the principle that the American people have the right to know how their government is spending their hard-earned tax dollars.

The Judgment Fund was created over 50 years ago as a way to provide for efficient payment of lawful claims against the U.S., but it has become a permanent appropriation shrouded in secrecy.

While many payments out of the Judgment Fund are both legitimate and appropriate, the fund remains the subject of egregious abuse. For example, last year, the administration paid Iran $1.3 billion out of the Judgment Fund--primarily in the form of foreign currency--as a payment for the interest that had accrued on Iranian assets

that had been frozen because Iran sponsors terrorism without shame. As you might imagine, the Obama administration stonewalled congressional efforts to investigate those payments.

This much-needed legislation would not only ensure that such payments could not be hidden from Congress and the Americans they represents, it outright prohibits payments to state sponsors of terrorism and foreign terrorist organizations, which should be one of the least controversial actions ever to grace the floor of this House.

As I have said before, transparency and accountability are the best remedies for a government run amuck. Title III of H.R. 469, Chairman Goodlatte's legislation, the Article I Amicus and Intervention Act, will further strengthen Congress' powers under Article I and, in doing so, will help restore checks and balances between the three branches of government.

When the Federal courts are deciding important matters regarding the Constitution, congressional powers, and Federal law, it is critical that Congress have the opportunity, should it deem the action necessary, to file an amicus or otherwise intervene in pending litigation.

The need for this legislation is compounded when, as was the case during the previous administration, the executive branch decides not to defend constitutionality of Federal law. This leads our adversarial legal system without anyone to litigate significant cases and shifts interpretation of the Constitution from the courts to the executive branch.

This provision will ensure that the House, like the Senate, has a statutory right to file amicus briefs or intervene when Congress' powers and responsibilities are called into question.

The Article I Amicus and Intervention Act, like the other bills contained in this measure, is an important step toward restoring government transparency, balance, and accountability.

Mr. Speaker, you might be able to detect a theme that is emerging here today. My colleagues and I are working hard to ensure the American people have a government by the people and for the people. We are working to restore the balance of powers that our forefathers put into place and to ensure that the executive overreach that was the hallmark of the previous administration won't be able to undermine transparency in the future.

In that vein, the rule also provides for consideration of the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act. The Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act prevents the Department of Justice from subverting Congress' power of the purse by prohibiting settlements that direct payments to a nonvictim third party. Again, the misdirection of funds to irrelevant third parties is a problem that we have seen grow and that must be addressed.

Under the previous administration, the Department of Justice funneled nonvictim third party groups as much as $880 million. The Department of Justice did this by collecting money from parties who had broken the law and then using that money to create a slush fund for special interest groups rather than sending the money to victims of illicit activity.

The Department of Justice allowed the ``donations'' required under the settlements to count as double credit against defendants' payment obligations. Let me say that again. The Department of Justice allowed the ``donations'' required under the settlements to count as double credit against defendants' payment obligations.

Interestingly, in some settlements under the previous administration, credit for direct relief to consumers was counted only as dollar for dollar, indicating the importance the Department of Justice places on directing these funds to nonvictim third party groups.

The Department of Justice's policy move actually incentivized the funneling of money to nonvictim groups rather than the people who were injured. The slush fund scheme actually disadvantaged victims in favor of special interests.

For example, the Department of Justice negotiated settlement agreements to the tune of millions of dollars with major banks for misleading investors over mortgage-backed securities.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Stewart) from the Second District. He is a sponsor of the Judgment Fund Transparency Act.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen), from Georgia's 12th Congressional District, to speak on these issues of Article I.

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

Mr. Speaker, there are many things that this body can do better. My friend from Florida outlined his opinion of what those may be. He also outlined his opinion of what will be a nice Georgia victory come Saturday, this weekend, in Jacksonville. I do appreciate his acknowledgement of what will be coming.

But I think there are also some other things that we need to discuss, and we can talk about that. I will take, first off, the issue of the Judiciary Committee on which I serve, which I believe, frankly, I have the privilege of serving on what I believe are two of the hardest- working and longest-hour committees on this Hill, and that is the Rules Committee and the Judiciary Committee. Chairman Goodlatte is very thoughtful.

We can disagree, Mr. Speaker, and I can understand my friend's frustration on issues of closed bills which do come and have been under both parties, but today's bills are not one of those. These two bills both have amendments that are offered on the floor by both parties. There are Republican amendments and there are Democrat amendments. This is not one of those.

So I think, from the perspective of how process and regular order-- and we can go through those--I would stand with my chairman and Chairman Goodlatte on that issue that we are working toward, and it is something that really matters here.

I think also, as we look at this, it is talking about grasping of straws. One of the things is we can get sidelined many times on looking at what could be or want to be and what we want to focus on. But also, it is a matter--as I come down here in this role many times, let's focus on the line right now, let's focus on the minute ahead, let's focus on the next vote, and that is

talking about these bills in this process.

I thought it was interesting to say that these are solutions in search of a problem. It is really interesting to me that, undoubtedly, these solutions in search of a problem--I think the problem is when they have, especially under sue and settle, $9.6 billion annual cost, $500 million in the first year cost; Oil and Gas Rule, $738 million annually; $632 million annually for the Florida Nutrient Standards and Estuary Flowing Waters Rule; Boiler MACT, $3 billion. I mean, I could go on. And $90 billion for reconsideration of 2008 ozone.

Let's make it very clear what sue and settle does. Sue and settle does not take the power for an agency to enter into a consent decree. Consent decrees are used often. The problem with this one is that when you have two parties on the same page suing, in essence, what amounts to one so that they can get a desired result without talking to the others who were affected, that is just wrong.

It is like me taking another congressman, or you, Mr. Speaker, and saying: You know, let's work out a deal.

But the reality is it is going to affect my friend from across the aisle, but we are not going to tell him. We are simply going to say: We are going to work our deal out. We are going to go to the Court. We are going to get the Court to sign off on it and we are going to implement everything that we have without proper insight and oversight.

That is all that we are asking for. It is called fairness. I am not sure how you could be against that, unless you like the idea of writing regulatory law in cubicles down the street instead of here on the floor of the House.

The other issue I see here is this issue of slush funds. We have talked about this, and the gentleman put 10 pages into the Record. He can put 49 into the Record; he can put 550 into the Record of eligible agencies for this money.

The problem is not eligible agencies. Number one, they are not victims. Number two, they are not part of the suit, yet we are giving it at sometimes double the rate to the offenders. Those that the Justice Department said were doing wrong--let's get this clear. Like in the housing issue--said you are doing wrong in this mortgage issue.

But what we are going to do, instead of giving the money at 1:1 back to victims, we are going to give it at 2:1 if you go to our preferred charity in donation form. It sounds like to me the only people who are getting problematic here are the victims of it; and the others of these pages of people who may or may not have political leanings or religious leanings or anything else, they are the recipient of the lottery.

They said, ``We will go help these people; give us money,'' instead of saying this is an issue that needs to be dealt with in a settlement to the victims.

It also has been said that this is just giving money to help those in those areas so that they can get back on their feet. But it also went further than that. There were two instances in particular that I can come up with: the Housing Council, which this body said we are not funding any longer, yet the administration used these donations to circumvent the appropriations process and fund it. That is not the role of the executive branch. That is an article I role.

The electric vehicle subsidy, $2 billion, again, this body said no. They said: No worries. We will go get a settlement. We will just take the donations and we will fund something that Congress has already said no on.

So it is easy to paint with broad strokes and say this is not important, this does not matter. But for some of us it does matter.

Those stories--why people are so upset when they look at this town is they just remember what their old civic books told them: that there was a Congress, there was an executive branch, and there was a judicial branch; each required all to do their part.

If we decide that it is too far down the road, let's bind the hands of the executive branch. We will do whatever. This is nothing except Congress saying this is what we are going to do. It is saying, this is what matters for us. And we may call it cheap; we may call it little; we may call it solutions in search of a problem, but you talk about the businessowners and the industries and the States who had to pay out on these sue and settle agreements.

When you talk about the millions--the billions that were sent to Iran, I think there will be a lot of people, when you look at both sides of this case, who will say: Yes, Congress, I want you to stop this because this is the way it should be set up.

That is why these bills are on the floor today. That is why we are taking them up. That is the reason we are bringing them forward.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Will the Senator yield?

I thank the Senator for yielding, and I thank the Senator from Ohio for talking about this very important issue.

Fentanyl is a killer that is descending upon every single community in the United States. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times more powerful than morphine. Fentanyl is the Godzilla of opioids.

Senator Brown represents Ohio; I represent Massachusetts. The fentanyl epidemic has a bull's-eye on Ohio and a bull's-eye on Massachusetts. The deaths from fentanyl are skyrocketing. In 2016, upwards of 70 to 75 percent of all of the opioid deaths in Massachusetts were because of fentanyl. Fentanyl was found in the blood system of those people who died. Last year, 2,000 people in Massachusetts died of overdoses. Three-quarters of them had fentanyl. If the epidemic had been hitting the rest of the country at the same rate that it has been hitting Massachusetts, last year 75,000 people would have died with fentanyl in their blood systems.

Last night, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released shocking new numbers on drug overdose deaths in the United States. These numbers show the spike in deaths caused by fentanyl and other synthetic opioids.

Here are the new numbers nationwide. More than 42,000 Americans died from an opioid overdose last year. That is a 27-percent increase over the number of Americans who died from an opioid overdose in 2015. It went up 27 percent from 2015 to 2016. Of the 42,000 lives lost to opioids last year, nearly half of them nationwide--just over

19,000--can be directly attributed to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. The number is a much higher percentage in Massachusetts.

Fentanyl is overrunning our communities, laying waste to them. There is no easy solution, but we know that we must staunch the flow of this drug before we lose an entire generation to this terrible killer. That is why I introduced legislation with Senator Brown and Senator Rubio to help those on the frontlines stop this deadly drug from ever getting into our communities. The bill is called the INTERDICT Act. It provides badly needed high-tech equipment and other scientific resources to U.S. Customs and Border Protection to catch illicit fentanyl being trafficked into the United States, mainly from China and Mexico.

When U.S. Customs and Border Protection detects a suspicious package or substance, it has had very good success identifying an illicit drug like fentanyl with the help of high-tech, hand-held chemical screening devices. Using these devices, Customs and Border Protection agents can detect, identify, and seize illicit drugs like fentanyl on the spot. Those rapid results provide vital information for border agents to continue their investigation and, if appropriate, proceed with seizure and arrest.

What is more, these devices and their ability to immediately identify fentanyl and other hazardous illicit substances also serve to safeguard the health and well-being of Customs and Border Protection agents so they are not accidentally exposed to fentanyl. That is what these devices help to make possible.

So we introduced the INTERDICT Act with Sherrod Brown of Ohio; Senator Capito, the Presiding Officer in the Senate today; Senator Rubio; and we have added another 16 Senators from both sides of the aisle.

Madam President, I would be glad to yield.

Madam President, I thank the Senator for yielding.

Can I just list the names of the organizations that support this bill so the police can interdict, stop the fentanyl from coming into our country?

It is the National Fraternal Order of Police, it is the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, it is the National Border Control Council, it is the Police Assisted Recovery Initiative, it is the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Tactical Officers Association, the National Association of Police Organizations, the National Narcotics Officers' Associations' Coalition, the Sergeants Benevolent Association, the American Legion, the International Union of Police Associations, the Major Cities Chiefs Association, the Major County Sheriffs of America, and the Massachusetts Coalition of Police. So it is pretty much every single law enforcement agency at all levels in the country saying: Please give us this tool now so we can detect this incredible killer in our country.

Three former Commissioners of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, appointed by both Democratic and Republican Presidents, support the INTERDICT Act. President Trump's nominee to head the agency, Kevin McAleenan, testified that he supports getting more of these high-tech scanners into the hands of Customs and Border Patrol.

Despite working for months with Senate leadership to try and secure authorization for funding, we just can't seem to get this over the finish line so that in the new year they have these devices. The way it works is, you just put the device up next to a package, and it will tell you if it has got fentanyl or not. Right now, many law enforcement agencies will not even allow one of their police dogs to sniff for fentanyl because it will kill the police dog. That is how dangerous fentanyl is, and that is why these electronic devices are so important. It ensures that we have minimized the exposure of our officers to these substances and, at the same time, dramatically increase the likelihood that we are going to identify the fentanyl in a package and, as a result, deter these people from China or from Mexico who bring it into our country and are killing us by the thousands.

At 42,000 deaths last year, it is now approximating the total number of deaths in the war in Vietnam throughout its entire history. That is just 1 year, 42,000 people--1 year. That is a terrorist attack of a magnitude on our own streets that is unimaginable.

With these devices, we don't completely solve the problem, but we put more weapons in the hands of our law enforcement officials, detection devices that can minimize the likelihood that these terrible people from China, from Mexico, principally, can bring this stuff into our country.

So this is a huge issue. It goes right to the heart of the seriousness of dealing with this issue. My only hope is, we have an ability to be able to move this thing forward in a way that lets the American people say: We understand the issues you want us to work on, and the opioid crisis is at the top of the list. It is indiscriminate. It affects potentially every family. No one is immune to addiction. No family is immune from addiction. It could hit any family at any time, and fentanyl is the ultimate killer.

I thank the Senator.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, October 10, 2017, Wednesday, October 11, 2017, Thursday, October 12, 2017, Monday, October 23, 2017, Tuesday, October 24, 2017, and the first vote series on Wednesday, October 25, 2017, I was unable to vote on legislative measures due to a foot injury. Had I been present, I would have voted the following:

(Roll no. 558) On passage of H.R. 1858--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 4514 Williamson Trail in Liberty, Pennsylvania, as the ``Staff Sergeant Ryan Scott Ostrom Post Office'', had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 559) On passage of H.R. 2464--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 25 New Chardon Street Lobby in Boston, Massachusetts, as the ``John Fitzgerald Kennedy Post Office'', had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 560) On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of S. 585--Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 561) On adoption of the rule providing for consideration of S. 585--Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 562) On passage of H.R. 452--To designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 324 West Saint Louis Street in Pacific, Missouri, as the ``Specialist Jeffrey L. White, Jr. Post Office'', had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 563) On passage of H.R. 3243--FITARA Enhancement Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 564) On motion to Instruct Conferees on H.R. 2810--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 565) On motion to Close Portions of the Conference on H.R. 2810--National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 566) On passage of the House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 2266--Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 567) On motion to recommit with instructions to S. 585--Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 568) On passage of S. 585--Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 569) On passage of H.R. 3551--C-TPAT Reauthorization Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 570) On passage of S. 504--Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Business Travel Cards Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 571) On approval of the Journal, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 572) On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of H.R. 469--the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2017 and H.R. 732--the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2017, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 573) On adoption of the combined rule providing for consideration of H.R. 469--the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act of 2017 and H.R. 732--the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2017, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 574) On passage of H.R. 2142--International Narcotics Trafficking Emergency Response by Detecting Incoming Contraband with Technology (INTERDICT) Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 575) On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Cohen of Tennessee Part B Amendment No. 2 to H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 576) On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Johnson of Georgia Part B Amendment No. 3 to H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 577) On agreeing to the amendment of Ms. Jackson Lee of Texas Part B Amendment No. 4 to H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 578) On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Cicilline of Rhode Island Part B Amendment No. 5 to H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 579) On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Conyers of Michigan Part B Amendment No. 6 to H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, had I been present I would have voted no.

(Roll no. 580) On passage of H.R. 732--Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 581) On passage of H.R. 3898--Otto Warmbier North Korea Nuclear Sanctions Act, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 582) On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of the Senate amendment to H. Con. Res. 71--establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2018 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2027, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 583) On adoption of the rule providing for consideration of H. Con. Res. 71--establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2018 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2019 through 2027, had I been present I would have voted yes.

(Roll no. 584) On approval of the Journal, had I been present I would have voted yes.

Madam President, as we await Senator Markey's and Senator Johnson's remarks, I wish to set the stage. The CDC released a new report last night showing a massive increase in the number of Americans dying from drug overdoses.

My State is second to the Presiding Officer's State. It has the second highest rate of deaths per capita in the country. In my State of Ohio, unfortunately, far too many people die from opioid overdoses than any other State in country. Families are torn apart. Children lose parents. Parents lose sons and daughters.

The CDC pins much of the blame of this epidemic on this relatively new deadly synthetic fentanyl. Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin. Senator Capito knows that, as do Senators Johnson and Markey. All of us in the Senate are aware of that.

This drug is being illegally trafficked into this country from Mexico and China. We have a bill to stop this today. The INTERDICT Act. I want to thank Senator Markey for his leadership on this bill and also my colleague Senator Portman for his support. Senator Portman and I have been working on a number of issues across party lines for months and months. It would provide more funds for Customs and Border Protection to screen packages effectively and safely, to stop fentanyl whenever possible before it reaches Akron, Toledo, Dayton, or the smaller cities of Chillicothe, Mansfield, and Zanesville.

This passed the House with only two or three negative votes. It has the support of major law enforcement organizations, including sheriffs and police officers. Our law enforcement officials, better than anybody, see the devastation that fentanyl causes our communities. They know the risk our officers face dealing with this deadly substance. That is why this bill needs to pass into law.

Just this week, the National FOP, the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative--a recent phenomenon, unfortunately--all publicly asked us to pass the bill.

Americans are dying in record numbers. Life expectancy in our country--I believe, for the first time in the lifetimes of any of us-- actually dropped last year. Think about that.

We have made progress, as I mentioned, in this body. I wear a pin on my lapel of a canary in a bird cage. The mine workers in West Virginia, Ohio, and elsewhere would take this canary down to the mines. If the canary died, the mine worker was on his own. He didn't have a union strong enough or a government that cared enough to help him. In those days, people lived 45 years on average--for a person born in the United States in 1900.

Today we live 30 years longer for a whole host of public health reasons--from Medicare to Medicaid, to safe drinking laws, to clean air, to minimum wage--all the things that we do. For the first time, I believe, in our lifetime, life expectancy actually has dropped because of drug overdoses for the second year in a row, and it is in large part because of these overdose deaths.

Why shouldn't we take steps today to stop this? We can do this by putting the INTERDICT Act on the President's desk, immediately giving law enforcement the tools they need to keep fentanyl out of the country and off our streets.

Of course.

Madam President, will the Senator yield?

Madam President, I thank Senator Markey for his leadership on this issue. This has gotten this far because of his efforts in so many ways.

I want to enter into the Record three letters that are dated yesterday and today. Actually, one is from the National Fraternal Order of Police, signed by Chuck Canterbury, their national president, in support of this bill, with a very persuasive, passionate laying out of reasons it matters. The second is a letter from the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, signed by Dominick Stokes. Mr. Stokes is a longtime friend of mine. The third letter is from the Police Assisted Addiction Recovery Initiative group, signed by Frederick Ryan, all making endorsements for this bill.

I ask unanimous consent those three letters be printed in the Record.

I think it is pretty clear how important this is. This bill got, I believe, 2 or maybe 3 negative votes out of 400-some in the House of Representatives. There is no organization I know of that opposes it. I hear from people in my State consistently about how important this is, from police organizations to parents, to individual police officers and county sheriffs and all, and deputy sheriffs.

There is just no reason we shouldn't be able to do this before we go home for Christmas. There are a lot of things we should do before we go home for Christmas, including the Children's Health Insurance Program, but this is one we know we can do. There seems to be no substantive disagreement from any large number of groups or individuals that I can see, so I am hopeful we can move forward with this in the next few minutes.

Yes.

Madam President, I thank Senator Markey and hope we can work things out with Senator Johnson on this issue.