Strengthening Local Transportation Security Capabilities Act of 2018

Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished ranking member of the Appropriations Committee for yielding this time, but, more importantly, for exceptional leadership. To her and to the other members of the committee, Mr. Frelinghuysen, I thank them for their leadership as well. And to the chairs and ranking members of the subcommittee, all the members of the Appropriations Committee, Mr. Hoyer and I and Mr. Clyburn are from the culture of the Appropriations Committee, and we know that, left to your own devices, the appropriators can get the job done.

It is not until the leadership rains its poison pills on the process that the delay sets in. And I want to thank Congresswoman Ranking Member Lowey for ridding this bill of so many of those poison pills.

Mr. Hoyer very eloquently presented the situation as we see it now that the Republicans have this bill. They didn't even have three days. It was last night to today, and here we are on the floor with a yard--a yard--of bill. And he said they are rushing because people have codels, trips, fundraisers, and this and that.

I contend there may be another reason why they are rushing it through. First of all, they don't want anybody to know what is in the bill, because this is a tremendous victory for the American people in terms of what Mrs. Lowey was able to negotiate, in a bipartisan way, on the domestic side. We all take an oath to protect and defend our country, so the defense investments are important to our Nation; but one-third of the domestic budget is security: homeland security, veterans affairs, State Department, antiterrorism activities of the Justice Department, and the list goes on.

But it is also a fact that we can measure the strength of our country not only in the important military might and security measures but also in the health, education, and well-being of the American people; and this bill goes to a place for that.

So yes, a yard of bill, certainly not read or read to the Members. But I contend, in addition to Mr. Hoyer's list of why they are rushing this to the end instead of having this negotiation take place much earlier, it is because they really don't want the Members to see what is in this bill, A; and, B, because they really want to get out of town before the March for Our Lives, before the young people come from all over the country to ask Congress to give us responsible, commonsense gun violence prevention legislation. That is what I heard about the Republicans: they just don't want to be around when these young people come to town.

So here we are. We could have had this happen weeks ago and had a much more transparent way to deal with it. But having said that, we are here, and I think it is very important to set the record straight on some of the contentions that the Republicans are making about this bill.

Let me start with the President of the United States. He has said, in one of his tweets this morning, how happy he was because he got the $1.6 billion to start the wall and more to come. That is not completely true, Mr. President. There are some resources for fencing and repairs and the rest there, but some of that money is for technology and other ways to protect our borders. We all have a responsibility to protect our borders, north and south. But if you want to think that you are getting a wall, you just think it and sign the bill.

In addition, he said he is so pleased that he got this big increase in defense. We did not oppose that. We want to have our men and women in uniform have everything they need to keep our country safe and themselves safe. But the President went on to say it is too bad he had to waste money on the Democratic giveaways. On the Democratic giveaways.

``Democratic giveaway'' is the way the President characterizes funding for our heroic veterans facing a dire shortfall at the VA. We say on the battlefield, no soldier is left behind. When they come home, no veteran is left behind. And that was part of the fight that we had in the caps fight, that we wanted additional money for our veterans.

What about fighting the opioid epidemic? Is that wasteful, a giveaway, fighting the opioid epidemic, in your districts? There isn't a person who serves in this Congress who doesn't have need in their districts for this opioid funding. And that was a major part of our fight on the caps, to get the funding to fight opioids; but the President calls that a waste, a Democratic giveaway.

Is that what he would call--he probably would call protecting the integrity of American elections from Russian meddling and attack Democratic giveaways, protecting our democracy, our electoral system, our Constitution that we take an oath of office to protect and defend.

And how about for hardworking parents who struggle to succeed and afford quality childcare, a very important part of this legislation. Democratic giveaway? No. Family values. Supporting our families. The list goes on and on. And by the way, by the foot. By the foot.

Mr. Hoyer referenced a statement made by the Speaker on the floor of the House when we had the caps fight, which, by the way, was a glorious victory for our values as a country, that we could say, yes, we want to increase funding for our national security, and, in doing that, we need to have a commensurate increase in funding for our domestic agenda, as I said, which contains many security measures.

But when that bill was brought to the floor, the Speaker came to the floor, and he made a statement, right here in the well. Well, Steny quoted what he said in the well, but in another venue he said: In order to shift our focus and get on to the next big priority, which is a DACA solution, we have got to get this budget agreement done.

That was the caps bill.

And I will say it once, Mr. Speaker said, and I will say it again, we will bring a DACA solution to the floor.

Yes. And when will that be?

Now, you will hear rumors of them saying: Oh, we offered this and we offered that. They did not offer anything that added to the protection of our Dreamers and our DACA-qualified children. So I want the Record to show the facts are these: We proposed, over and over again, a real fix that we should have in this bill because it is timely. And if you are dealing with a yard of issues and provisions, you certainly can have room for protecting our Dreamers. And that is just an indication.

Now, to lead is to take risks. The Speaker does not seem willing to take a risk with his caucus to bring a bill to the floor, any bill you want, in terms of including some bipartisan bills. Mr. Hurd and Mr. Aguilar, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen and Ms. Roybal-Allard, any other bill you want. Make it clean at the Hill. Let everyone have his or her say. Let Congress work its will.

Why? Why not? And why, in light of this statement, ``And I'll say it once, and I'll say it again, we will bring a DACA solution to the floor''?

When might that be? When might that be?

So again, while we address so many provisions in this bill, wasn't there room in the hearts and minds of our Republican colleagues to insist? Because I know many of you care about our Dreamers, have publicly offered your support. Why can't you convince the Speaker to bring what he said, ``We will bring a DACA solution to the floor''?

So again, I go back to the caps agreement. It was a great victory for us in the appropriations world as to what priorities need to be addressed. As we always say, the budget should be a statement of our national values; what is important to us as a nation should be reflected in how we allocate our resources to invest in the security of our country, the well-being of our people, the future of our children, and to do so in a way that commands respect, that is bipartisan, that is done in an open and transparent way, and brings unity.

Our Founders, who were so brilliant in so many ways, were taking 8 hours to even start to talk about how brilliant they were.

But they did give us instruction. They gave us a signal: E Pluribus Unum--from many, one; from many, one. They couldn't possibly have imagined how many we would be or how different we would be, but they knew we had to be one.

And these children, and everyone in our country, these Dreamers are part of that one, and they are part of that many, and let us treat our country by honoring the vows of our Founders.

So I leave it up to Members as to whether they want to vote, weigh the equities in this bill and take the vote and respect whatever decision they make. But I am so glad that we had such an overwhelming vote on our side against a rule that undermines the regular order of the House, undermines the Speaker's own statements about that regular order.

Why?

In an attempt to keep from all of you how much investment in the future is in this bill and also to get you out of town before the March for Our Lives begins. That is why I think we are doing this so rushed. I don't know why it has been pushed to the end except for dysfunction on the part of the Republican leadership, whatever, if it's called communication with the White House.

But I will say this: This is five CRs. Are you proud of that? Five CRs. Take us to the floor with a yard-high bill, no transparency. But it does have some bipartisanship, and for that I salute Mr. Frelinghuysen and Mrs. Lowey and respect whatever decisions our Members make on this. This is a missed opportunity to show the American people that, even when we are on the right course, we can't seem to get there in a transparent way.

I say, Mr. President, when you sign this bill, you will be signing something--in spite of what you say about spending on wasteful Democratic funding, I don't really think you mean that about opioids and the rest. Set the record straight for yourself and out of respect for the people who are pinning their hopes on what this legislation will do for them.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 796, I call up the bill (H.R. 1625) to amend the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956 to include severe forms of trafficking in persons within the definition of transnational organized crime for purposes of the rewards program of the Department of State, and for other purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.

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

I rise today to present House amendment to Senate amendment to H.R. 1625, the final appropriations package for fiscal year 2018. This legislation contains full funding for all the 12 annual appropriations bills. It represents thousands of hours of work and input by Members of Congress and our great staff.

Starting 1 year ago with 12 appropriations bills moving through the committee process last spring, these bills were then considered and passed on the House floor under a transparent and inclusive process. This represents the first time the House has passed all 12 bills before the end of the fiscal year since 2010.

After the bipartisan budget deal was enacted last month, appropriations committee leadership, House and Senate leadership on both sides of the aisle, and the White House quickly went to work, negotiating in good faith and in the best interest of the American people.

The bill we are considering today is a product of that hard-fought agreement. In total, the legislation provides $1.3 trillion in discretionary funding for the Federal Government, including $78.1 billion for the global war on terror and overseas contingency operations. This meets the caps provided in the recent budget agreement. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, it includes historic investments in our Armed Forces, including the largest year-to-year increase in

funding for the Department of Defense since the beginning of the war on terror.

It fully funds the 2.4 pay increase for our servicemen and -women, the largest in 8 years, and provides the largest dollar total ever for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In addition to strengthening our national defense, this legislation boosts security here at home: stronger border infrastructure, additional boots on the ground, and better technology and equipment that will close the gaps at our borders. Specifically, this includes more than $1.5 billion for physical barriers and associated technology along the southwest border.

Overall, funding for border security and law enforcement is increased by over 30 percent above last year. Funding is also focused on critical domestic priorities, addressing urgent needs that will improve the quality of life for all Americans and support economic growth and job creation, especially infrastructure, providing more than $21.2 billion in new funding for transportation infrastructure, as well as energy and water infrastructure, and technology like broadband and cybersecurity.

This passage also targets approximately $84 billion to fight the opioid epidemic that is devastating families across the country--the largest investment in addressing this public health issue and emergency to date. Funding is also directed towards school safety, providing the training and mental health services and grants to communities that will help prevent the kind of tragedy and heartbreak that occurred recently in Florida, and it provides robust funding for wildlife firefighting prevention programs, and includes long-sought forest management and fire budgeting reforms that will provide for budget security certainty and improve the health of our forests.

All these investments are made responsibly, implementing strong oversight at every level of government to ensure we get the most out of every dollar. Consequently, Mr. Speaker, I hope that every Member supports this package.

Mr. Speaker, before I close, I would like to acknowledge the many people who helped bring this bill to the floor: to Mrs. Lowey, my counterpart, the ranking member, thank you for your support and friendship; the 12 committee chairs and their ranking members for the hard work that they did over the last 12 months; the Appropriations Committee staff, all true professionals, some behind me, some across the floor, some in the galleries, for putting in countless hours and sleepless nights to help us bring this bill to the floor within a few weeks of the cap deal.

In particular, Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize our staff team led by our very able staff director, Nancy Fox; assisting her, Maureen Holohan, Stephen Sepp, Shannon O'Keefe, Jennifer Hing, Jason Gray, Marta Hernandez, Tammy Hughes, Rachel Kahler, Parker VanDeWater, and Tom Doelp.

On the minority side, Shalanda Young and Chris Bigelow.

Special thanks to our remarkable and amazing clerks, Tom O'Brien, John Martens, Jennifer Miller, Angie Giancarlo, Dena Baron, Donna Shahbaz, Dave LesStrang, Susan Ross, Jenny Panone, Sue Quantius, Craig Higgins, and Doug Disrud.

I would also like to recognize the work of Kevin Linskey, Surveys and Investigations, Jim Cahill, and Cathy Little.

I would also like to recognize those on our staff who are moving or retiring: Matt Dennis, Chris Romig, and Carol Murphy.

And thank you to my own personal staff back in the Rayburn building, ably led by Kate Hazlett.

Mr. Speaker, it is time that we fully fund the Federal Government for fiscal year 2018. Our current continuing resolution expires tomorrow. It is in the best interests of the American people that we get this work done this morning.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), chairman of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 1625, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), the chairman of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger), who is the chairman of the Defense Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), who is the chairman of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Idaho an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Culberson), the chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the chairman of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), chairman of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. Yoder), the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ryan), the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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

Let me share my appreciation for my working relationship with Mrs. Lowey. I thank, again, our very professional staff that is in the room here for all their hard work.

I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, which supports our Armed Forces and members of their family.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the chairman, for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I have a formal statement I will include in the Record, but I want to begin by praising Chairman Frelinghuysen; Ranking Member Nita Lowey; the staff; my negotiating counterpart and wonderful ranking member, Ms. DeLauro. It has been a collaborative effort, and it is one that you can be extraordinarily proud of in terms of having gotten all our bills done on time and presented and across this floor, having worked on a pretty short time frame when the Senate finally came to the ability to negotiate. We were waiting about 180 days for that. They finally got there. And in 4 weeks, you got the work done. It is an exceptional product.

From a Republican standpoint, the big win is defense. We all want to defend the country, but that was probably the top Republican priority in the bill, and we more than met our obligation in that respect.

I want to focus, in the little time I have left, on some things I am particularly proud of in the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies portion of this legislation:

$3 billion increase in the National Institutes of Health. That is the largest increase in 20 years.

$3 billion for opioids, a common problem in all our districts, something that we all care about.

$3 billion, roughly, in round numbers, for early childhood education and early childhood care. Again, dollars well spent.

Major increase in mental health funding, actually beginning to match appropriations with some of the authorization done in the 21st Century Cures, one of the great achievements of the last Congress.

Tremendous increase in money for school safety grants, from $400 million to $1.1 billion.

The Pell increase, which has been referred to by several people.

More money for career and technical education, more money for apprenticeships. All things that will create a more productive economy.

We can go on and on. But the reality is, in a very difficult time, in a very partisan era, we will have Members from both sides of the aisle passing an important piece of legislation and the administration, which has urged its passing, doing the same. I urge the passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the FY2018 Agreement that will fund our government for the remainder of the fiscal year. The agreement is consistent with the direction given by House Republican Leadership under the bipartisan budget deal.

Funding increases within the Labor HHS portion of the agreement, for which I am responsible, are targeted toward key conservative priorities that all Republicans can support:

Enhancing biomedical research,

Increasing our Nation's biodefense capabilities,

Helping states and local governments combat the opioid crisis,

Giving local schools flexible funds to respond to school safety and other locally-generated needs,

And helping young adults and displaced workers train for and secure new jobs in fields that will grow our economy.

At the same time, the bill holds down spending for controversial items, such as punitive labor enforcement agencies, family planning funds, and Washington bureaucracy.

I'm proud to say the agreement continues all existing pro-life provisions, including the Hyde amendment prohibiting federal funding from being used for abortions, the Dickey-Wicker amendment prohibiting stem cell research on human embryos, and the Weldon amendment providing conscience protection for doctors, nurses and others who do not wish to participate in abortions.

Additionally, the agreement rejects language pushed by Democrats which would have tied the hands of the Trump Administration and forced the Administration to continue funding for Planned Parenthood and other controversial family planning grantees. The Trump Administration has already announced termination of these grants.

The bill includes $37 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a $3 billion increase over FY17, which will continue progress toward finding cures for cancer, Alzheimer's disease and other life- shortening conditions.

The agreement includes a billion in increased funding for biodefense activities to protect Americans from threats, both man-made and naturally-occurring, and includes an increase of $3 billion for states, tribes, local governments, nonprofits and faith-based groups to help prevent, treat and stop the opioid epidemic that is damaging our country.

The agreement maintains a longstanding provision prohibiting funds from being used to support gun control and does not include any dedicated funds to support gun control research.

The agreement increases funding for training in high-growth job fields, including nursing, dentistry, primary health care and mental health. The agreement targets programs toward veterans, young adults and displaced workers struggling to enter new career fields, including increasing apprenticeship programs by $50 million.

The agreement increases funding for child care vouchers and early head start programs to enable these workers to find high quality care for their children that will allow them to enter or return to the workforce.

The agreement includes additional funds for adoption incentives, meals on wheels, family caregivers support, and independent living centers so that adults with disabilities can remain employed and in their own homes.

The agreement includes flexible funding for mental health programs designed by local governments and schools that will enable them to find creative solutions to increase school safety, including a $700 million increase, up to $1.1 billion, for a newly-authorized student support and academic enrichment grant program. This fund can also be used by schools for other locally-determined needs, such as teacher training, computer programming courses, or arts programs.

The agreement includes an increase of $75 million for career and technical education programs to help young people enter careers in fields that do not require a four year college degree.

The agreement also increases the maximum Pell grant by $175, to a total of $6,095, enabling college students and others returning for a degree greater choices in a higher education program that will meet their needs. The agreement also includes targeted increases for first- generation students to enter and succeed in college, growing our economy and breaking the cycle of government dependency.

Mr. Speaker, this agreement targets the funding increases approved by House Republican Leadership toward conservative priorities that will protect all Americans and enhance our Nation's health and economic prosperity. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I want to begin by thanking the chairman and the ranking member. I also want to thank their staffs for putting in incredibly long hours. This isn't just a weeklong process. This has been months long in the making. So I want to thank all the Members and staff who made this moment possible.

Mr. Speaker, this measure before us is about as critical as it gets; it really is. It addresses the priorities that we have been discussing in this Chamber for a long time.

We talked about the need to rebuild our military. We all agree on the need to rebuild our military. This bill provides the largest increase in defense spending in 15 years.

Why?

Frankly because our military has been hollowed out for many years.

We are boosting resources for training, for equipment, for maintenance, for base operations. It means new naval ships, new fighters, new Apache and Black Hawk helicopters. It means we are finally building a 21st century fighting force.

We agree on the need to support our servicemembers and our veterans. This funds the biggest pay raise for our military in 8 years.

We have men and women who are fighting for us day in, year in, year out. I saw a woman, a lieutenant colonel, a week ago in the Army, who has done seven combat tours. This is what the people who are volunteering in our armed services are doing for us, and we are finally making right by them by helping them with a pay raise.

It provides record funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs to make sure that our veterans receive better care at better facilities.

Remember those long waiting lists?

No more. This works on that.

We agree on the urgent need to make our schools safer. This bill includes the Fix NICS bill to improve firearm and background checks. It includes the Stop School Violence Act, which this House passed just last week, I think, 407-10, if I am not mistaken. It provides funding for early intervention, mental health, school security programs. Both are provisions that the Parkland families asked Congress to include in this legislation. It is part of the Sandy Hook Promise.

We agree on the need to fight the opioid epidemic that is ravaging communities across this country. Every single Member in this House has a firsthand story on what the opioid crisis is doing to their communities. We have got to get on top of this problem. This bill makes critical investments in treatment and in prevention to fight this scourge of addiction that is ravaging our country.

We agree on the need to secure our homeland. This bill expands resources for law enforcement, for border security, for immigration enforcement. It provides resources for 95 miles of physical barriers along our southwest border, which actually exceeds the administration's request.

We agree on the need to rebuild our Nation's infrastructure. It includes funding for long overdue improvements to our highways, our railroads, our airports, our infrastructure.

And guess what.

There are no earmarks for specific projects in this bill.

The House has worked to reform our forestry laws for years. You see on the news these horrible forest fires that are getting more severe by the year, and it is because we have not been able to manage our forests. This finally has the legislation we need to help manage our forests so we can help protect the West from these catastrophic forest fires.

The House passed the Taylor Force Act to restrict assistance to the Palestinian Authority unless it stops subsidizing terrorism. This bill implements that legislation. The PA is literally making payments to the families of suicide bombers. It is like a bonus for terrorism.

That bill is in here. All of these things are important. They are critical things that we have all been talking about.

What brings me here to ask all of my colleagues for a ``yes'' vote is this: What this ultimately is about is giving our military the tools and the resources it needs to do its job.

This week, the House paused to honor two naval aviators who died in a training crash off of Key West, the two F-18 pilots. We paused to honor seven servicemembers lost in a helicopter crash in western Iraq last week. That is nine of our servicemembers lost in equipment failures and accidents last week.

We continue to lose more American personnel to training accidents and incidents than we do to enemy fire. That is unacceptable, and it is preventable.

Mr. Speaker, we should not wait one more day, not one more hour to go by without giving our men and women in uniform what they have earned and what they deserve. Give them the pay raise that they earned. Give them the equipment and the hours of training that they need to be safe. They are putting their lives on the line for us. Let's make sure they put their lives on the line for us with the proper amount of training, with the proper amount of equipment, so that we can keep our country and our people safe.

Vote ``yes'' for our military. Vote ``yes'' for the safety and the security of this country. Vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 1625, the ``Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018,'' which begins to rebuild our military. I do not agree with everything in the bill, but the importance of repairing our planes, ships, and training overrides other concerns.

For too long, Washington has asked our troops to do more with less, sending them into harm's way without the training and equipment they need to defend themselves and the country. We have added mission after mission while we cut their funding again and again. Those decisions have brought consequences; experts say our troops are `outranged, outgunned, and outdated,' `treading water,' and that we are `stretching the force to the limit.' Secretary Mattis is warning that `our competitive edge has eroded in every domain of warfare.' We suffered four times as many deaths to accidents and training missions last year than we did to hostile fire. President Trump is right to insist on rebuilding our military, and this bill begins to do just that.

A healthy economy and a robust military are mutually dependent. A vibrant and innovative economy funds our national defense and ensures that our technology stays ahead of our adversaries. A strong military protects the rules-based international order that has been the foundation of our economic growth since WWII. Unfortunately for too many years now, funding essential to a robust defense and a healthy economy has remained at an impasse based on political gamesmanship in which members of both parties share blame. Our troops have become collateral damage in this dangerous game of politics, consistently being held hostage to the political issue of the moment. That is a shameful practice that has to end.

Congress' work does not end when we write a check. In the months ahead, we will ensure that the military uses these funds to begin to rebuild quickly and efficiently. We will pursue reforms to the Department of Defense that preserve and enhance our fighting edge. We will continue to take a hard look at Pentagon bureaucracy as we prioritize rebuilding strength on the front line and cutting fat in the back office.

Beyond the benefits this bill affords to our military, I also want to thank Chairman Calvert and Chairman Frelinghuysen for their work to help address another issue that has affected my constituents and has been lingering for nearly a century.

The federal government owns a small strip of land along a 116-mile stretch of the Red River between Oklahoma and Texas. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has never actively managed the small strip of federal land, and its own estimates of how much they own have varied widely over the years. As a result, private landowners along the River have been unsure whether the land that they have held titles to and have paid taxes on, in some cases for generations, will remain in their families or be claimed by the federal government.

Earlier this year, the BLM reached a settlement agreement with several landowners along the Red River that rescinds the incorrect spot surveys the BLM had conducted over the last decade. It also reaffirms that the gradient boundary survey method as mandated by the Supreme Court is the only true, legally defensible way to determine the ownership boundary in this contested area.

However, the settlement did not require that a gradient boundary survey be conducted, which leaves a level of uncertainty that can cloud the titles and threaten the value of privately owned land along the river. It also leaves open the possibility that a future administration may again misinterpret the Supreme Court's mandated survey methodology. An accurate gradient boundary survey along the entire 116-mile stretch of the Red River is the best, legally defensible way to move this issue forward to help settle it once and for all--something this bill helps to achieve.

With the passage of H.R. 428, the ``Red River Gradient Boundary Survey Act,'' earlier this Congress, this body has affirmed its will for the BLM to work with the states of Oklahoma and Texas and consult the affected Indian tribes to help choose and direct surveyors that are licensed and qualified to conduct official gradient boundary surveys. With the gradient boundary survey method being unique to this area, having the states conduct the survey is an idea that first came from the BLM itself. Doing so will help ensure that all parties involved will receive a fair and accurate survey.

I look forward to continuing working with Senator Cornyn and the BLM to ensure that this century-old issue can finally be put to rest. Private property rights are a foundational cornerstone of our economy and of our way of life, and it is important that we push to protect them in every way that we can.