Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my good friend, Professor Terence J. Anderson on the occasion of his retirement as Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Miami School of Law. Professor Anderson is not only one of the most revered and respected law professors in the United States, but his legal jurisprudence far exceeds the boundaries of this nation, as his students and his influence span the globe.

Professor Anderson is an intellectual giant in the law and over the course of his career has demonstrated acute success as a practicing lawyer, an international courts commissioner, and an academic dean. His knowledge of constitutional law is renown, and he has become not only a trusted advisor to me throughout my legal career, but a good friend, too.

Since he joined the Law School faculty at the University of Miami in 1976 as a prized professorial recruit of the late Soia Mentschikoff, then-Dean of the Law School, Professor Anderson has been an indelible influence on virtually every aspect of law student and faculty life. Upon graduating from the University of Chicago Law School in 1964, he served for two years as a regional courts commissioner in Malawi, Africa as a member of the Peace Corps, practiced commercial and corporate transactional law for seven years in Chicago, and taught law and served as academic dean at the cutting-edge Antioch School of Law in Washington, DC.

As a law professor, he has been instrumental in helping students develop the analytical and critical thinking skills needed to successfully provide valued legal representation. Known for his demanding pursuit of perfection, Prof. Anderson's first-year elements course and upper-class evidence class were legendary for their reputation as both impossible to master yet required for those desiring to become formidable advocates. Having perfected Henry Wigmore's chart method of constructing arguments about questions of fact in complex cases, using boxes, circles and arrows, Prof. Anderson mystified the uninitiated but brought enlightenment and depth to the truly dedicated.

Professor Anderson's long-time collaboration with Professor William Twining in Great Britain and the United States redefined the law of evidence, culminating in a 27-year adventure with the publication of the critically acclaimed Analysis of Evidence. The analytical structure that Prof Anderson developed is not confined to legal jurisprudence, as he and Prof. Twining are now applying their principles to such varied domains as archeology and the applied sciences.

His meticulous attention to detail and perfection has produced a body of work that stands the test of time. His quick-thinking, crisp and clear arguments, and quick-fire repartee has been known to both amaze and confuse, all for the purpose of striking at the core of even the most intractable problems. His students remain passionate, as he is, about evidence, argumentation, and advocacy.

Professor Anderson knows no distinction between legal theory and practice, following in the footsteps of the great legal thinker Karl Llewellyn and his mentor Soia Mentschikoff, both of whom rejected any sharp divide between the two. His skills were much in demand when, during his 1994-1995 fellowship at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies in Wassenaar, he lectured extensively on the American criminal process as the world focused on the unfolding O.J. Simpson trial. During that period, Professor Anderson developed an ``audit model'' that critically analyzed and explained how the Dutch system of criminal procedure was different from but no less as effective as the American adversarial system.

Through nearly 50 years as a gifted lawyer, advocate, professor, public servant, community conscience, international observer, family man, and legend, Terry Anderson has been a gift to the law and the legions of lawyers who owe their skills and successes to him. In ways both monumental and profound, Terry Anderson has changed for the better the course of the law and legal education in the United States and beyond. He truly represents the best of the American legal system.

Mr. Speaker, on the occasion of his Celebration of A Life of the Law at the University of Miami School of Law on November 7, 2013, I am proud to recognize his outstanding legacy that will remain for all time an important component of the history of the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Suncoast High School in Riviera Beach, Florida on the occasion of its 25th anniversary as an institution of secondary education in Palm Beach County.

This remarkable school is perennially ranked as a top high school in America, as it offers a wealth of coursework in Math, Science and Engineering, Computer Science, International Baccalaureate studies, as well as Interactive Technology magnet programs. Children from across Palm Beach County seek admission to Suncoast for its acknowledged excellence in comprehensively educating students. The school has also become renowned in the community for the diligent attention that the faculty and staff offer to their students.

These students leave prepared for whatever career aspirations they may have. And for those that do choose to pursue an undergraduate degree, Suncoast students do not simply matriculate. They are challenged to succeed in college, and many have gone on to have successful careers in an array of fields. Currently led by Principal Dr. Linda Cartledge and a very talented faculty and staff, Suncoast has earned the respect of professional educators from across the country.

I am always delighted and impressed when I hear about the latest awards and honors accrued by Suncoast High School. Twenty-five years of high-standard education is something we should all admire. Suncoast is representative of the best America has to offer its young people, and its reputation is one to which all schools aspire.

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to recognize Suncoast High School for their invaluable commitment to preparing the young minds of Palm Beach County, and their leadership as a positive example for success in secondary education. I congratulate them again and wish them many more years as one of America's top high schools.

Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pride to rise today to recognize Ms. Sandra Gove, a resident of Belle Glade, Florida. Sandra recently received the Athena Award from the Chamber of Commerce of the Palm Beaches. This distinguished award honors individuals for professional accomplishment and service to improve the quality of life for others in the community. It warms my heart to learn that Sandra was the individual to receive it this year.

For the last 14 years, she has served as Executive Director of the Glades Health Initiative, an agency that provides HIV prevention services. Since her retirement, Sandra has continued devoting herself to volunteer work with the Arc of the Glades, American Cancer Society and Visiting Nurse Association. In addition, she is also the longtime president of the General Federation of Women's Club of Belle Glade.

Over the course of her life, she has earned the love and respect of her fellow residents of Belle Glade and people throughout the Glades area. She is a remarkable individual who continues to devote her time and energy to numerous important agencies and projects. Always an advocate for the Glades, she represents their best interest on numerous county boards and committees. For all of these reasons, I am very proud to recognize Sandra as a Hastings' Hero, and to be her representative in Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I am most grateful to Sandra for her continued service to the Glades community. She has selflessly helped so many people, and I am honored to recognize her for her service.

Thank you very much. I appreciate you, Mr. Mica, my colleague, for arranging this Special Order, and it is special that we come here to speak about a gentleman who was special to us all.

Madam Speaker, obviously, we are here with heavy hearts and with great sadness tonight in our honoring of a friend and a colleague, Congressman Bill Young.

Bill was an assiduous public servant and a tireless advocate for all Floridians; but above all, he was a man of integrity and a true statesman. The House of Representatives will not be the same without him. He served in Congress for 42 years; and I, as well as others, am deeply honored to have had the opportunity to serve alongside him for the past two decades. He dedicated himself to providing for our Nation's servicemen and servicewomen and was a powerful voice for America's best interests at home and abroad. His distinguished career has left its mark on the lives of countless Americans.

When I first came to Congress in 1992, I met with Bill Young and Sam Gibbons. They were on opposite sides of the aisle, but were dear friends, dedicated to Florida and to making the Florida delegation strong. I remember vividly learning from both of them through the years. In addition, throughout all of the travails of hurricanes and disasters, Bill Young stood with all of us who suffered during those periods, and he did everything he could to bring resources to Florida and to this Nation during disasters.

My first experience with an earmark was when Bill became chairman of the Appropriations Committee. I didn't know much about the process, but I knew that I wanted to get money in the budget to contribute to the African American Research Center in Fort Lauderdale in my congressional district. When I went to him, I was nervous because I wasn't sure how it would be handled, and he calmed me very easily by saying, It is done. For sure, he had had a hand in the development of that particular research center, which stands, and I honor him for having assisted in bringing resources there.

Last week, Speaker Boehner said:

It has only been a week since we began trying to imagine

the House without Bill Young--an impossible task in its own

right--and now he is gone. In our sorrow, we recall how not a

day went by without a colleague seeking Bill's counsel as he

sat on his perch in the corner of the House floor.

I certainly had the distinction of going to that corner and consulting with him.

President Obama said in his statement:

Congressman Young will be remembered for his advocacy and

support for the armed services, servicemembers and their

families, as well as for his statesmanship and his long

history of working across the aisle to keep our country

moving forward.

Defense Secretary Hagel said:

He will be remembered as a passionate advocate for the

welfare of America's servicemembers and military veterans.

Though his loss will be felt by many, his legacy and

commitment to a strong national defense will always inspire

us.

It is the height of irony that our friend would pass at Walter Reed Hospital. No one in this body spent as much time with our military at Walter Reed and around this country as did Bill Young. He, of course, has a legacy that is far excellent in that arena and also in bringing resources to the area that he served as well as to other areas around this Nation.

Tonight, I join with the people of Florida in keeping Beverly, Bill's sons, grandchildren, family, friends, and staff in my thoughts and prayers during this time of enormous sadness and loss.

Once again, I thank you, Chairman Mica, for arranging for us to have the privilege of honoring this great American.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today and agree with everything that my good friend and colleague from Florida said--everything that he said--with the exception of the fact that I am opposed to the rule. While I may support the underlying legislation, the rule blocks over 70 amendments, many of which were germane to the bill. This kind of rule is not conducive to an open process.

The bill, though far from perfect, is long overdue. There is a lot of go-nowhere, do-nothing talk about creating jobs here on the Hill, but this bill, like the highway bill and the farm bill, will actually create jobs.

The bill also reinforces a point that I have been making for some time, and that is: repairing our Nation's aging infrastructure, including our water infrastructure, is the best jobs program out there. The resulting economic benefits will ripple from our ports to Main Street America as badly needed jobs across a wide range of industries. For example, every dollar spent on Everglades restoration, like the ones authorized here, is returned fourfold by stimulating related industries like tourism, construction, and retail.

Despite these undeniable benefits, it has been 7 years since the last WRRDA bill. That is 7 years of productivity lost. But if you think 7 years is a long time, try waiting 17 years, as my colleague Mr. Webster pointed out. That is how long Port Everglades has been waiting for a Chief's Report from the Army Corps to deepen its channels in anticipation of the new Panama Canal standards. At long last, the report is due shortly, yet this bill fails to authorize the pending project. While much of the blame for the delay falls outside of this Chamber, Congress can and should do right by the port.

Mr. Speaker, the port has already waited its turn. With the new Panama Canal expansion becoming operational in 2015, any further delay for such a vital piece of our Nation's infrastructure will be too late.

I do understand that tough choices have to be made. The way I see it, the Army Corps' lengthy review process is in part to blame for the backlog of projects. Though this bill contains some partisan measures addressing this issue, the Corps has already begun testing its own way of increasing the speed of review.

One of these successful tests was the pilot program for the Central Everglades Planning Project, yet that project is not included in this bill either, despite the Chief's report for CEPP being anticipated within a few months. This new approach, when coupled with a more frequent WRRDA bill, could help eliminate the massive backlog of projects that has forced Congress to make these tough decisions.

When we look what CEPP actually does, the urgency for authorization is even more obvious. CEPP will help end the discharges of polluted water from Lake Okeechobee that have been devastating Florida communities for years. The water is choked green with algae and killing wildlife, tourism, fishing, and oyster industries, particularly in the Indian River area of our State.

The people of Florida can't wait for another WRRDA bill to roll around. The streamlined successful pilot program is infinitely more preferable than the streamlining of environmental review contained in this bill.

My friends across the aisle seem oddly opposed sometimes to having fresh water and clean air, attacking NEPA and environmental regulations at every opportunity, including otherwise inappropriate vehicles like this

bill. But I understand that no one is happy all the time.

I do have grave reservations about some of the policies in the bill and hope that we can work them out through the legislative process. There is no need for Congress to make the waters rougher than they already are. Let's continue to do our work constituents sent us here to do.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased at this time to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Dingell), the dean of the House of Representatives.

(Mr. DINGELL asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield for a unanimous consent request to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Loretta Sanchez).

(Ms. LORETTA SANCHEZ of California asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), my good friend and a former member of the Rules Committee.

Mr. Speaker, would you be kind enough to tell us the time remaining for both sides.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Hahn) who is the cochair of the PORTS Caucus, of which I am a proud member.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. Lowenthal), my friend.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), my good friend and fellow Helsinki Commission member.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am privileged to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Washington (Mr. Heck).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider).

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased at this time to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Maryland (Ms. Edwards).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Cartwright).

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Holt).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Nolan).

Mr. Speaker, at this time I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown) to discuss our proposal if we defeat the previous question.

I yield the distinguished gentlewoman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, at this time, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, this bill used to be known as the Water Resources Development Act. Now it is called the Water Resources Reform and Development Act. While it is with many of these new reforms that I take issue, I look forward to working with my friends on the other side of the aisle to make sure that we are here in 2 years to again update our water resources and infrastructure, hopefully a bill with less ill- advised reforms.

Mr. Speaker, if the previous question is defeated, I am going to offer an amendment to allow for the inclusion of the bipartisan Brown amendment, which would authorize projects that receive a final Chief of Engineers' Report up to 1 year following the enactment of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' and defeat the previous question. I urge a ``no'' vote on the rule, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would help to maintain beaches and the integrity of our shipping channels around the country.

Sand transfer plants are vital for beach renourishment, as well as to fight erosion and shoaling in navigation channels. These inlets are often the lifeblood of the communities they serve. When shoaling of the channels makes navigation dangerous, it is the people and businesses that suffer.

The Army Corps of Engineers is already spending money to dredge these

channels. By reducing the need to dredge so often, my amendment allows for more efficient allocation of Federal dollars. Furthermore, additional Corps resources are then freed up for other uses.

This amendment does not authorize or appropriate any funds. It merely allows the sand transfer plants to participate in the process and gives the Corps flexibility in prioritizing its funding. It applies to all sand transfer plants, those that are in existence and those not yet in existence. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, at this time I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Brown).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have great respect for this committee. I think they have done extraordinary work on behalf of all of us here in Congress, operating with fiscal restraint and able to produce a bipartisan product. Toward that end, most of all I respect Chairman Shuster, but I firmly disagree with his assessment of this particular measure.

There is one transfer plant that is located in an area that I serve, and that is in Lake Worth, Florida. It is the Lake Worth Inlet. There is one in California, one in New Jersey, and one in Bethany Beach on the Indian River Inlet. Additionally, this amendment would just apply whenever the Corps builds additional sand transfer plants.

There is no money that is involved. The money that the Corps of Engineers would save is immense, and I don't for the life of me understand why there would be opposition to that. I will have a lot more to say over the course of time regarding how the Corps conducts its operations, but I have lived for 21 years with many of their successes and a hell of a lot of their failures.

Toward that end, in this particular instance, I am trying to help them to save something and to be able to do the things that are necessary to allow for navigation of these waters that are critical to the areas that they serve.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Rev. Griffin Davis, Sr. on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of his ministry. He is the longtime pastor of Hill Top Missionary Baptist Church in Riviera Beach, Florida.

Rev. Davis is widely known as a compassionate person who will always go out of his way to help the less fortunate among us. He truly embodies the words of Jesus, who said, ``Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works.'' Rev. Davis' lifetime of good works is well known among people of faith in the Riviera Beach community.

The city and its residents know that they can count on him for support whenever there is a need for civic improvements, and in every effort to assist the poor and disabled--especially senior citizens and children. Rev. Davis' moving words touch countless lives each Sunday, but his sermons make up only a small part of the many good deeds that he continues to perform each and every single day. As he approaches a half century of serving God and all his children, I am pleased to join his family, his friends, and everyone in the community in honoring him.

Mr. Speaker, Rev. Davis is one of the finest people that I have had the privilege to know, and I wish him continued success in his life and ministry for many more years to come. He is a selfless individual who has given so much to his community, and I am extremely humbled to not only represent him in Congress, but also to call him my dear friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Debt Limit Reform Act. This bill will reform the statutory limits on our nation's federal debt by providing the President of the United States with explicit authority to raise the debt ceiling without Congressional approval, and by removing intra-governmental accounts from the debt ceiling calculation. As Congress faces an ongoing government shutdown that has left hundreds of thousands of American workers without a paycheck, we are getting ever closer to our nation defaulting on its debt obligations. On October 17th, the debt ceiling is expected to be breached. Democrats and Republicans must come together before then to act or risk a global economic catastrophe. This is exactly where we were just two years ago, and where we will be again in the near future if we do not take any steps to reform the way in which we calculate and consider our nation's debt.

Congress has legislatively limited federal debt for nearly 100 years, from the Second Liberty Bond Act of 1917 to the more recent Budget Control Act of 2011 and subsequent increases. These increases, however, do not address the fact that the current manner in which we determine the debt ceiling is no longer relevant to how we govern today.

We need a new debt limit law--one that takes the modern world into account. Under this bill, the debt ceiling will distinguish between mere accounting techniques and actual debt. No longer will debt owed from one branch of our government to another be considered the same as debt held by foreign governments, banks, pension funds, and other entities. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), of the $16.699 trillion in outstanding debt subject to limit, roughly $11.9 trillion is held by the public and about $4.8 trillion is held by government accounts.

By excluding these government-held accounts from the debt limit calculation--particularly the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance (OASI) and the Disability Insurance (DI) Trust Funds that constitute the Social Security Trust Funds, Medicare Parts A and B, the Civil Service and Military Retirement Trust Funds, Unemployment Insurance, the Highway Trust Fund, Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Trust Fund, and Airport and Airway Trust Fund--we will have a more accurate view of our actual debt obligations.

These intra-governmental accounts are the means by which the Treasury tracks payouts and obligations to other government entities. They are accounting techniques, not debts. These funds serve to help retired workers and their families, the families of deceased workers, and disabled workers and their families. In addition, they provide inpatient hospital stay and medical insurance benefits; fund programs for civilian and military retirement; provide unemployment benefits to eligible workers who become unemployed through no fault of their own; fund road construction and mass transit projects; provide insurance for long-term services in the case of disability; and fund the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). They need not be considered the same as our government's debt for purposes of calculating the debt ceiling.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when partisan gridlock is having a devastating impact on our nation's economy through a government shutdown and further threatening to destabilize global financial systems, this legislation represents a common sense solution to modernizing the way in which we calculate our nation's debt and increase the debt ceiling. By excluding intragovernmental accounts from the Treasury's debt ceiling equation and authorizing the Executive to alter the ceiling as needed, the Debt Limit Reform Act will help Congress avoid some of the last-minute showdowns that have become all too common in recent years. In this way we can begin to tackle the real challenges facing this country.

Mr. Speaker, I have a parliamentary inquiry.

What I would ask the Speaker to advise this Member of is as to the definition of ``appropriate clearance.''

Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Speaker.

Does the Chair know, as Speaker, whether or

not such an attempt has been made and maybe denied with reference to the bipartisan clearance?

Mr. Speaker, further parliamentary inquiry.

The Chair is a Republican and I am a Democrat. I seek appropriate clearance from the Chair.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we end this Republican shutdown, and that's with or without clearance.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Florida Atlantic University (FAU) for their excellence in offering valuable educational opportunities to the residents of South Florida for more than 40 years.

FAU first began operating in my district in 1971 with the opening of the Commercial Boulevard campus in Fort Lauderdale. This campus saw high enrollment and immediate success, and in 1987--just eleven years later--FAU began construction of the Reubin O'D. Askew Tower in downtown Fort Lauderdale. In 1989, the Florida Legislature designated FAU as the lead state university serving Broward County. Shortly thereafter, another large campus was established in Davie. The latest addition to these FAU campuses is a state-of-the-art, 12-story Higher Education Complex, also located in downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Throughout its history in Broward County, FAU has worked in close cooperation with Broward College, establishing a system of seamless transition from lower-division to upper-division work that can be called a model for the Nation. Thousands of place-bound students who otherwise would have been unable to obtain a university education have earned degrees on FAU's Broward campuses, and have gone on to pursue successful careers in fields that include architecture, public administration, business, communication, engineering, computer science, criminology and criminal justice, social work, urban and regional planning, education, nursing, the arts and sciences, and many more.

FAU boasts the most diverse student body in all of Florida's public universities. With nearly half of the population representing minority groups or foreign nations, their 30,000 member student body was recently ranked the 27th most diverse university in America by the U.S. News & World Report. Students from Broward make up almost 40 percent of this body, maintaining the county's historic status as the home of the greatest number of FAU students and alumni.

Furthermore, it is focused on preserving and protecting the future of South Florida and helping cities all over the world face the challenges of the 21st century. On the Davie campus, FAU researchers are engaged in a critically important initiative to understand and mitigate the major human-caused stressors that have created grave damage to the Everglades. In the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Broward County, FAU engineers affiliated with the Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center are working to establish the world's first offshore turbine test site, with the goal of advancing the effort to generate energy from ocean currents.

In Dania Beach, residents are being served by a new nano-filtration facility that has vastly improved the quality of the water they receive in their homes. Designed with input from FAU engineering faculty members and students, this is the first water treatment plant in the world to receive Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct pleasure to recognize Florida Atlantic University for the tremendous work that the institution has done in South Florida for over 40 years. I want to express my sincerest gratitude for their leadership in both providing opportunities for higher education and addressing many environmental issues in the community. I wish the University all my best and many more years of continued success.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Ms. Kristin Beck, a decorated U.S. Navy SEAL who not only spent 20 years fighting for her country in uniform, but is now leading the charge for equal rights for transgender Americans. During the course of her distinguished military career, Kristin was known as Chris Beck, and served through 13 deployments in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, including seven combat deployments, before retiring and coming out as the first openly transgender Navy SEAL. From fighting terrorists overseas to knocking down gender barriers at home, she is a true patriot and source of inspiration.

At the age of five, the young Chris Beck knew that he was different, being drawn to his sisters' feminine clothes and toys. The son of socially conservative, dogmatically religious farmers, however, he was sent to a Christian school operated by televangelist Jerry Falwell and pushed into traditional masculine roles, such as playing football and riding motorcycles. Fifteen years later, Chris found his calling with the SEALs, the Navy's elite special operations force. He proved himself to be a courageous and much respected hero, while developing the deep bonds of brotherhood with his fellow SEALs. In between missions, though, when Chris had a little time to himself, he could not help but dress in women's clothes. Over the next two decades, he went on to serve on a tour with the counter-terrorism unit known as SEAL Team Six, famous for its harrowing missions and rescues, and earned the Bronze Star with ``V,'' the Purple Heart, and other numerous honors.

In 2011, Chris retired from the military and embraced his true feminine identity as Kristin Beck. She started undergoing hormone therapy and physically transforming herself into a woman. With this metamorphosis came the decision to officially come out to the world. It began with replacing her LinkedIn profile picture with one of her dressed as a woman, and changing her name from ``Chris Beck'' to ``Kristin Beck.'' On February 9, 2013, Kristin officially came out to the military in a press release, in which she stated that she ``respectfully remained silent regarding her gender identity'' during the era of ``Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' and deeply desired to be ``afforded the freedom to live in a manner consistent with her life- long gender awareness as a female.''

With the pain of shrapnel, broken bones, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as reminders of a life of extraordinary military service, Kristin agreed to participate in a study of ``resilience'' by Dr. Anne Speckhard, a Washington-area psychologist and adjunct professor at Georgetown University Medical Center. An expert in the psychology of terrorism, Dr. Speckhard wanted to study how service members draw upon coping mechanisms to integrate the stresses and exhilarations of combat with their workday lives back home. What she found was the disjointed story of a woman coming into her own following a lifetime of military service and societal pressures. After more than 100 hours of interviews that often resembled psychotherapy, Kristin and Dr. Speckhard co-authored the book Warrior Princess: A U.S. Navy SEAL's Journey to Coming Out Transgender.

Kristin has embarked upon perhaps the greatest mission of her life: self-actualization. Since her return to civilian life, she has worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the issues affecting both the transgender community and veterans. Kristin works closely with Healing Grounds, the non-profit organization she founded to support returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. Healing Grounds lends therapeutic help to them by providing specialized training in landscaping and gardening to build a place of tranquility in their own backyards. In addition, she has two teenage boys from a previous marriage, and works as a Pentagon consultant.

Mr. Speaker, I commend Kristin Beck for her outstanding bravery and service to our nation. All her life, she has selflessly put duty and country ahead of her own needs. Kristin's story reminds us of the many daily struggles faced by transgender Americans and veterans alike, including the continued discrimination faced by transgender service members who must hide their identities in order to serve in the military. As she continues working to advance lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) equality and address the needs of veterans, I remain an ally in Congress and wish her the very best in her new life's mission.

Mr. Speaker, as a result of the government shutdown, middle class and working poor Americans all across this country are suffering, including fishing guides whose livelihood depends on tourism in Florida's Everglades National Park.

On October 9, 2013, nine days into the government shutdown, more than 100 boats gathered outside the shuttered Everglades National Park to rally support for re-opening park waters. I wholeheartedly support the efforts of these hardworking fishing guides.

One guide stated that he has lost $10,000 in revenue since the waters were closed. There are around 350 such licensed guides in the area alone, not to mention the hundreds of employees who work in and around the park. It is time that Speaker Boehner and his Republican colleagues stop this charade, end the government shutdown, and let people get back to work.

This shutdown exemplifies government at its worst. American families should not fall victim to Washington's dysfunction. Wrong-headed cynical politics is interrupting the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of American workers who have done nothing wrong. Government is supposed to help its citizens, not make it harder for them to put food on the table.

Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that Congress must re-open the government. South Florida's fishing guides are ready to work. It is absolutely outrageous that politics is standing in their way.

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

I thank the gentleman, my good friend from Texas, who yielded the time.

I rise today obviously in strong opposition to this measure. I would say to my friend, I just heard him just a moment ago, Mr. Speaker, say that the people from Texas sent him here to do things. Well, the people from Florida sent me here to do things just like him. There are 435 Members in this institution, in addition to delegates from around our territories, and each one of them has an unequivocal and clear understanding about how to go about budgeting in this particular matter.

Forming a working group is forming another group up above that group. I don't need that, and I don't believe he needs that. I don't need it. Evidently, we haven't done very well when we've had it. From the newspapers today, I gathered that we had a Simpson-Bowles Commission, which people forget was the legacy of the 2010 debt ceiling increase. We had the Domenici-Rivlin commission. We had the Cantor-Biden talks. We had the Obama-Boehner debt ceiling negotiation, the Gang of Six talks, the supercommittee, and then the Obama-Boehner fiscal cliff talks. Not one of them worked, and this mess isn't going to work either.

It's sort of like, Mr. Speaker, moving the hostages, since they're taking them one by one here with this rifle-shot approach to legislating, when, in fact, all they have to do is put a clean CR on the floor and we could pass it, and they know that. But basically what they're doing is saying, Okay, we're going to take some hostages over here; then we're going to put them in another room with some more people so that they can talk to them.

I said in the Rules Committee, and I repeat: this is a gimmick wrapped in a con inside a scam, and nothing tells me anything different about my friends across the aisle who've offered gimmick after gimmick instead of doing what they know is right.

We can open the government, and that's easy to do. We can put Americans back to work, and that's easy to do. We can keep our country from defaulting on its obligations. This measure will do none of those things, not one of them.

In all that talk about the President, the President made it very clear today that he's willing to negotiate. Evidently--and I picked up on this--my friends on the other side must have poll-tested conversation. Well, conversation allows, among other things, that you have an exploratory understanding with people in an informal setting.

What have we been talking about around here for 2 years? We've been talking about this mess. This didn't just come up last night or the day before yesterday. Democrats have already offered seven times to take up the Senate-passed continuing resolution. The House GOP has blocked a vote on the measure each and every time. For 6 months, we've been asking these people to conference.

To the House Republican leadership I say, Mr. Speaker, let us vote on a clean CR. Let us raise the debt ceiling. Why prolong this shutdown when you know that the votes are here in the House of Representatives?

My friends across the aisle know they've made a mistake. The goalposts have not only moved; they have vanished completely from the field. First, they want to defund ObamaCare. Then they only want to delay ObamaCare. Then when that didn't work, they said, well, we don't want to shut the government down, so let's open it up piece by piece. Evidently, that isn't working either, so they're now down here, moaning and groaning about the fact that the Senate isn't going to take up something that's foolish because they've made it clear that they want this to be a measure that's not a part of any negotiations or conversation; and the President made it clear that he will converse with anybody about anything but not with a gun at his head and not with the kind of undertaking that you are going forward here.

So now it's a working group, another supercommittee. How did that work out for you the last time, I ask my friends, if you would, Mr. Speaker?

So tell me, where does it all end? In all seriousness, what do my friends across the aisle hope to achieve?

Speaker Boehner has said: ``My goal here is to have a serious conversation''--he said it 27 times ``conversation'' on Sunday; I was looking at him when he said it--``about those things that are driving the deficit and driving the debt up, and the President's refusal to sit down and have a conversation about this is putting our Nation at risk of default.''

At 11:38 today, the President's office issued a statement wherein they had a conversation today with John Boehner, in essence, telling him virtually that we can do this with a clean CR.

What have we been talking about? Why are we even here? What are we talking about now? Are we having a conversation, or are we just talking past each other here in the House of Representatives? Republicans have shut down the Federal Government and taken us to the brink of a global economic catastrophe because, evidently, they want to have a conversation that we are already in the middle of.

Guess what? The Senate CR is at the levels you wanted--$986 billion. That's what they voted on. Sequestration is the law, as my friend from Georgia is fond of saying, ``the law of the land.'' You've already gotten what you wanted. Let's just vote on a clean CR. Let us raise the debt ceiling. This shutdown and looming debt ceiling breach are failures of the majority's leadership to stand up against the extremists within their own party, elected on a platform of obstructionism that borders on insurrection.

Leaders, you say on the other side, must be strong. Leaders must be courageous. This has become not a democracy that was intended by Jefferson and Madison and Adams and all of those that were our Founders, the Franklins and the Washingtons. They founded a democracy in spite of their divisions. They did not want to have mobocracy. That's what you've allowed to stand up in your part of this institution, a mob.

Mr. Speaker, let us end these games with a strong bipartisan message. We can show the rest of the world that the United States is ready to end its political brinksmanship.

When I was a child and I would speak out of turn, my dad and my grandmother would say: Sit down and shut up. We don't need a shutdown. We don't need people being shut out. What we need to do is shut up and let the American people cause us to listen to them and go about the business of bringing a clean CR down here. That's what I'm hearing from the American people, both Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, that they want us to sit down and shut up and open up this government with a clean CR.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, would you be kind enough to tell both sides how much time remains?

I thank the Speaker.

At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York, Mrs. Nita Lowey, my good friend and an appropriator supreme.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I put to you most sincerely: Do you not feel that by cherry-picking what it is that you want to do with these rifle shots, that it is causing a morale problem in the rest of the government?

Let's assume that you have 150 that you are going to do, and the group that would be going back to work the latest would be sometime the week after next or sometime 2 weeks from there.

In the vernacular, they just say ``bring it.'' Put all 150 of them down here and we would have a clean CR.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), one of the most distinguished Members that has served in the House of Representatives, my good friend, the minority whip of my party, who may very well answer that question that I asked about morale.

I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I thought we were here about the working group, but it does come out in the wash: we really are here about ObamaCare.

I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen), the ranking member on the Budget Committee.

I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1\3/ 4\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin).

(Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

I yield the balance of my time to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

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

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

Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy because of the death of one of my dearest friends in Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter, the pastor emeritus of New Mount Olive Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale. An extraordinary theologian, teacher, missionary, and exemplary servant of God, he was truly a preacher's preacher. I was deeply saddened to hear of Dr. Carter's untimely passing at the age of 66, and mourn with his many relatives, friends, and the New Mount Olive family during this most difficult time.

Dr. Carter was born and raised in Ocala, Florida. At the age of five, he answered the call to spiritual service and began preaching as a young man, having pastored his first church at the age of 19. In 1967, he received an Associate of Arts degree from Central Florida Community College, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from the University of Florida. Dr. Carter went on to receive a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1976 and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1978. A lifetime educator, he also did additional studies at Florida Memorial College in Miami, and received honorary doctorate degrees from Bethune-Cookman College and Florida Memorial College.

Prior to his pastorship at New Mount Olive, Dr. Carter served Calvary, Watula, and St. John Baptist Churches in Ocala, as well as Green Castle Baptist Church in Prospect, Kentucky. In 1981, Rev. George E. Weaver, then pastor of New Mount Olive, invited Dr. Carter to become his co-pastor before passing the torch to him in November 1982. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from about 2,800 to more than 10,000 members. During his tenure, Dr. Carter established a television ministry and created the Mount Olive Development Corporation, a faith- based organization focused on revitalizing low and moderate-income communities. Widely considered to be one of America's great African American preachers, he also traveled throughout the United States and abroad preaching, teaching, and lecturing. Each year, preachers and churchgoers would fill to capacity Dr. Carter's regular classes at the Congress of Christian Education's National Baptist Convention.

Dr. Carter had an uncanny ability to combine his learned biblical scholarship with the folkways of the traditional African American preacher, interweaving everyday situations and current events into his sermons to make a biblical point. His energy and faith were contagious, inspiring many to preach and countless others more to study the Bible. Dr. Carter was a mentor to more than 100 pastors across Florida and the country as a whole, including Rev. Dr. Gerald Kisner, Minister of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, and another dear friend of mine, the late Rev. Lance Chaney of St. John's Baptist Church in Boynton Beach.

After serving 27 years at New Mount Olive Baptist Church, Dr. Carter decided to move on in 2009. At the time, he was fighting a battle against veritable health problems. However, his faith and duty to teach and preach were unshakeable. Dr. Carter joined New Birth Cathedral of Faith International in Miami-Dade County, where he also taught Bible study. In addition, he taught at St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church in Dania Beach and, most recently, preached one of the Easter Sunday sermons at New Birth, one of Florida's largest Black churches. Despite his declining health, Dr. Carter found the strength to continue preaching with energy and passion. Furthermore, he authored four books: A Catechism for Baptists, To Calvary and Beyond, A Quest for Freedom, and Interpreting the Will of God.

A devout husband and father, Dr. Carter is survived by his wife of 40 years, Patricia A. Thomas Carter; daughters Annalisa Robinson-Melton and Pamela Latrice Johnson; and grandchildren Brittany N. Robinson and Carter Nathaniel Johnson.

I am truly privileged to have known Dr. Carter's friendship. We talked politics a lot, and he would remind me always of the admonitions of Leviticus and Ecclesiastics. My childhood friend and District Chief of Staff, Mr. Art Kennedy, also knew him for many years, recalling fondly, ``Dr. Carter, Dorsey Miller and I always had dinner on Mother's Day with our wives at Tropical Acres. In addition to being a

powerful spiritual force, he was also a great sports historian.'' Our close friend, Dr. Dorsey Miller, will always remember that, ``Dr. Mack King Carter was a beacon of light in a sea of despair for those who sought hope, love, truth, and knowledge. He was the ultimate preacher, teacher, and practitioner of God's holy word.''

Mr. Speaker, one of Dr. Carter's favorite words was ``delicious.'' Without a doubt, our lives have been deliciously enhanced because of the profound Christian teachings of a son of Ocala, Florida. For almost 50 years, he dedicated his life to spiritual and community service, sharing his wisdom and love for teaching with countless others. While Dr. Mack King Carter will be dearly missed, his wife, Pat, and the family know that heaven has been ``deliciously'' improved.

Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy because of the death of one of my dearest friends in Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter, the pastor emeritus of Mount Olive Baptist Church. He was an extraordinary theologian, teacher, missionary, and an exemplary servant of God. His wife, Pat, and the family know that heaven has been ``deliciously'' improved.

Mack was a preacher's preacher. I mourn with his many relatives and friends and the Mount Olive family.

One of his favorite words was ``delicious.'' Our lives have been deliciously enhanced because of the profound Christian teachings of a son of Ocala, Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter. We talked politics a lot, and he would remind me always of the admonitions of Leviticus and Ecclesiastics.

I would remind this ``shutdown'' place that we have a responsibility to the least of us in this society.

Thank you very much, Ms. Slaughter, for yielding the time.

Mr. Speaker, in the face of the President saying that he will veto any measure that seeks to defund ObamaCare and in the face of the Senate Majority Leader saying that he will accept nothing in the Senate other than a clean continuing resolution, I can't believe that my colleagues on the other side really believe that they are going to prevail and cause the President, with his signature legislation, to change his mind or that of the Senate Majority Leader.

The Senate doesn't come back in until Monday at 2 o'clock, and that means the clock will run out. You say on the other side that you don't want to shut the government down, and yet exactly what you are doing here this evening will do exactly that. It will shut the government down.

Now there's a certain amount of absurdity that carries throughout our history. I would commend to my colleagues on the other side that they read Jon Meacham's book, ``Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.'' At a point in the course of that book, Jefferson becomes the President. And when he becomes the President, in his inaugural address he commented about the majority needing to protect the minority. He said, If you do not do that--this is in his inaugural address--you become an oppressor.

That's exactly what's happening. You have one wing of your party, a rump group, that are strong and united. They're entitled to that particular undertaking, but all they're doing, when all is said and done, is hurting America. They're not helping anyone but themselves.

The simple fact of the matter is that in your majority you let a mob of 40 people--probably as many as 60--determine what democracy is going to look like for insurance for the rest of America. I call that mobocracy, not democracy.