To authorize the expansion of an existing hydroelectric project, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, on Monday, June 26, 2017, Tuesday, June 27, 2017, Wednesday, June 28, 2017, Thursday, June 29, 2017, and Friday, June 30, 2017, I was unable to vote on any legislative measures due to having surgery on my foot. Had I been present, I would have voted the following:

Roll No. 323, On passage of H.R. 2547--Veterans Expanded Trucking Opportunities Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 324, On passage of H.R. 2258--ADVANCE Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 325, On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of H.R. 1215--the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 326, On adoption of the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 1215--the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 327, On approval of the journal, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 328, On passage of H. Res. 397--Solemnly reaffirming the commitment of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's principle of collective defense as enumerated in Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 329, On passage of H.R. 497--Santa Ana River Wash Plan Land Exchange Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 330, On passage of H.R. 220--To authorize the expansion of an existing hydroelectric project, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 331, On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of H.R. 3003--the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 332, On adoption of the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3003--the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 333, On approval of the journal, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 334, On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Hudson of North Carolina No. 4 to H.R. 1215--the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 335, On agreeing to the amendment of Mr. Barr of Kentucky No. 5 to H.R. 1215--the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted no;

Roll No. 336, On motion to recommit with instructions to H.R. 1215-- the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted no;

Roll No. 337, On passage of H.R. 1215--the Protecting Access to Care Act of 2017, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 338, On passage of H.R. 1500--the Robert Emmet Park Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 339, On ordering the previous question providing for consideration of H.R. 3004--Kate's Law, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 340, On adoption of the rule providing for consideration of H.R. 3004--Kate's Law, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 341, On motion to recommit with instructions to H.R. 3003-- the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, I would have voted no;

Roll No. 342, On passage of H.R. 3003--the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, I would have voted yes;

Roll No. 343, On motion to recommit with instructions to H.R. 3004-- Kate's Law, I would have voted no; and

Roll No. 344, On passage of H.R. 3004--Kate's Law, I would have voted yes.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, H.R. 220, allows for the expansion of the Terror Lake Hydroelectric Project on Kodiak Island, Alaska--by the way, which is larger than New Jersey.

The Terror Lake Hydroelectric project provides 31 megawatts of hydropower capacity to the Island's approximately 13,789 residents and, of course, the largest Coast Guard station in the United States.

Kodiak Island is roughly the size, as I mentioned, of New Jersey. This means it is reliant upon the electric generation on the Island mostly by hydro at this time, some diesel.

With the growing electrical demands of the residents of Kodiak, the Kodiak Electric Association will not be able to meet their needs without requiring additional resources or will be forced back to increasing the use of diesel. There is no reason why a hydro-rich community like Kodiak should ever have to rely on diesel fuel for power generation. They wish to expand their operation by increasing their water resources, and I agree.

My legislation allows the Kodiak Electric Company to divert small flows of additional water from Upper Hidden Basin into Terror Lake by digging a 1.5 mile underground tunnel.

This diversion will increase the water resources at Terror Lake by 25 percent, resulting in an additional 33,000 megawatt-hours of generation each year and totalling an estimated output in the project of approximately 168 million megawatt-hours annually.

The issue at hand is the tunnel would need to go through Kodiak Island National Wildlife Refuge, which is Federal land, to the State land where the water diversion would be located.

My legislation authorizes the Kodiak Electric Association to occupy not more than 20 acres of Federal land to construct, operate, and maintain the Upper Hidden Basin Division expansion without further authorization of the Secretary of the Interior under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act.

Alaska has tremendous hydroelectric potential, and I look forward to moving additional commonsense reforms to provide our rural and remote communities for new opportunities to obtain reliable and affordable hydropower.

Mr. Speaker, may I say that the Fish and Wildlife Service supports this, there is no objection to it, it is a solution waiting to happen, so we are going to dig a tunnel. This is really about a tunnel.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 220) to authorize the expansion of an existing hydroelectric project, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young).

Mr. Speaker, I was going to say a few words about this bill here, but I would be in fear of my life if I changed anything on Congressman Young's statement.

So with that, I think he did an outstanding job presenting, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 220 would authorize an expansion of the existing Terror Lake Hydropower project in Alaska to meet increased powder demands from Kodiak Island.

The expansion would have to comply with environmental protections required under the Federal Power Act and National Environmental Policy Act.

This bill unanimously passed both the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

I want to thank Mr. Young for his persuasive presentation both in committee and on the House floor. I fully support the sensible bipartisan legislation and urge my colleagues to vote for it.

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

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of the following bills en bloc: Calendar No. 100, S. 724, with a floor amendment; Calendar No. 306, H.R. 219; Calendar No. 159, H.R. 220; Calendar No. 96, S. 215; Calendar No. 130, S. 490; Calendar No. 139, H.R. 2292; Calendar No. 144, H.R. 951; Calendar No. 136, H.R. 446; Calendar No. 137, H.R. 447; and Calendar No. 138, H.R. 2122.

I further ask unanimous consent that applicable committee or floor amendments be agreed to, the bills, as amended, if amended, be considered read a third time and passed, and the motions to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table, all en bloc.