Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3050, the Expanding Investment in Small Business Act.

I commend my colleague, an outstanding new member of the Financial Services Committee, Congressman Steil from Wisconsin, for his hard work on this important bill that will help us make our capital markets stronger and more attractive. Because of his personal experience and his background in public markets as a counsel for a publicly traded company, he has brought to bear particular expertise in forwarding this legislation for our consideration.

Mutual funds have historically played an important role in providing liquidity to newly public companies. Since 1990, the total number of registered mutual funds has grown approximately 10 times; mean fund size has more than doubled; and open-end fund holdings of U.S. corporate equities have reached approximately 24 percent of the entire market. This growth means the investment decisions of mutual funds today are an important aspect of our public capital markets.

As the size of mutual funds has increased in recent years, the diversified fund limit rules, specifically the 10 percent cap on a diversified fund's ownership of an issuer's outstanding shares, have limited funds' ability to take meaningful positions in small-cap companies, according to industry experts.

The current 10 percent cap on mutual fund positions limits interest in small-cap IPOs because as large funds' assets under management grow, the 10 percent cap means that any investment in a small IPO will have a negligible impact on overall fund return.

Declining mutual fund interest in small IPOs also materially weakens the trading environment for small-cap stocks and likely deters small, private firms from joining our public markets, something we should not be discouraging.

H.R. 3050 would require the SEC to study whether the current diversified fund limit threshold for mutual funds to 10 percent constrains their ability to take meaningful positions in small-cap companies.

As part of its report, the SEC shall recommend to Congress any statutory changes that should be undertaken to address the SEC's findings.

This is an important bill for helping us make our capital markets as attractive as possible, especially for smaller companies.

For these reasons, I support H.R. 3050. I commend my colleague, the gentleman from Wisconsin, for his leadership and his experience on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil), the author of this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman), who is an outstanding new member of the House Financial Services Committee. He is another gentleman who comes to Congress not as a politician, but as an entrepreneur, someone who has built businesses and created jobs himself and understands intimately the need for small businesses and entrepreneurs to have the ability to access capital.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2409, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act. As a Member of Congress who represents a rural area, I want to commend the work of Congresswoman Axne and Congressman Mooney for their bipartisan commitment to help rural small businesses access capital.

In the House Financial Services Committee, we continue to highlight the importance of capital formation for individuals in underbanked rural communities.

Small and rural communities in Kentucky and other places are extremely vulnerable during recessions and during recovery, and their subsequent recoveries are often slower due to a lack of access to capital.

U.S. counties as a whole saw more business establishments close than open during the first 5 years of the most recent financial crisis. This decline was felt disproportionately in rural areas, where the percentage of business closures was higher. Additionally, as our economy recovers, data shows that small businesses and startups are much less likely to form in rural areas than urban areas.

H.R. 2409 is an example of bipartisan legislation that can help solve the biggest issue for a number of rural small businesses, and that is access to capital.

H.R. 2409 would amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to direct the Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to identify unique challenges to rural-area small businesses when identifying problems that small businesses have with securing access to capital.

Small towns across the country are still struggling to recover from the post-financial crisis recession. It is imperative that we fully understand the challenges facing rural areas so that we can reinvigorate economic growth and diversify rural economies in those areas that need help the most. This bipartisan bill is an important tool for us to better address the capital formation issues facing our rural small businesses and job creators.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2409, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the gentleman from Virginia who is going to speak has personal experience in the private sector, is an entrepreneur, and knows a lot about rural America and rural America's need for access to capital as an entrepreneur.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman), who is an outstanding new member of our committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. John W. Rose), who is another outstanding new member of our committee. The gentleman from Tennessee does, in fact, represent a rural district and is himself a job creator and someone who knows about the need to provide expanded access to credit for rural American entrepreneurs.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, as a Representative of a rural congressional district and who has tremendous respect for the hardworking, small business owners of rural America--and in my case, rural, central, and eastern Kentucky--I know how hard it is for folks to access the credit that they need to build a business, to grow jobs, to create greater and better opportunities for themselves and their employees.

Not every small business in America, Mr. Speaker, can access Silicon Valley. Not every small business in middle America can access Wall Street. We need the SEC to have greater sensitivity to rural small business and their unique challenges in terms of access to capital formation.

So I applaud the leadership of the Members who have brought this legislation forward. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Vote in favor of rural small business capital formation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of my constituents at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky.

Established as an ammunition and general supply storage depot in 1941, the Blue Grass Army Depot is now one of two remaining Army installations in the United States that stores and destroys chemical weapons.

The important work of the employees at the depot ensures America's worthy task of destroying our chemical weapons stockpiles and making good on our commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention.

I am proud that operations to get rid of these stockpiles began earlier this month, a process that will result in the destruction of thousands of chemical rockets and projectiles over the next several years.

This vital task could not be achieved without the support and input of members of the Madison County community who serve on the Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission.

I want to personally thank community leaders like Craig Williams--who has literally worked for decades on the safe destruction of these chemical weapons--and County Judge Executive Reagan Taylor, who have continually advocated for the safety of their community and have made an enormous impact on the operations of the depot.

I look forward to seeing my district continue to set the international standard for chemical demilitarization.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Paul Sears, of Lexington, Kentucky. Born in 1924, Dr. Sears enlisted in the Army Air Corps on October 25, 1942. He was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group, also known as the ``Bloody Hundredth'', in the 8th Air Force. Sears was a tailgunner on a B-17. On his very first mission, half of his 6 plane squadron was lost.

On his tenth and final mission, Dr. Sears' aircraft, ``Salvo Sal'', was hit over Germany on October 8, 1943. Sears bailed out over the Netherlands and was captured by the Germans. He was held in solitary confinement for 17 days in Frankfurt, Germany. After a 3-day ride in a cattle car, he was taken to Stalag 17b where he spent the next 19 months just trying to survive. Conditions were brutal, with prisoners living on small portions of black bread and cabbage soup that included worms. Sears lost 65 pounds, contracted a severe respiratory infection, and almost died. In April of 1944, Sears and around 4,500 other POWs were forced to march over 200 miles west, away from the Russian Army and towards the American lines. The prisoners were liberated by General Patton's 3rd Army on May 3, 1945.

Dr. Sears returned home and married Juanita Reed Sears. Together they raised 2 girls, Anne and Elizabeth ``Lizzy'' Sears Brown. Under the G.I. Bill, Paul Sears entered the University of Kentucky where he earned a B.S. in 1950 and a Ph.D. in 1953. He spent most of his professional career at the University of Kentucky as a chemistry professor. He was recognized with two Outstanding Teacher Awards, recognized internationally for his research, and held several leadership positions at the University of Kentucky. He retired in 1990.

Dr. Sears and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Dr. Paul Sears before the United States Congress.

Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2196, which would amend the credit hour requirement for the Edith Nourse Rogers Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Scholarship program and the Forever GI Bill, named after Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, who served 18 consecutive terms in Congress and was a tireless advocate for veterans throughout the 21st century. This legislation follows the spirit of this pioneering Congresswoman and ensures that our veterans are able to access the benefits that they have earned.

The Rogers STEM Scholarship provides up to 9 months of additional

Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to qualifying veterans and Fry Scholars seeking an undergraduate STEM degree or who have earned a STEM degree and are seeking a teaching certification.

Our bill makes a necessary and timely change to the eligibility requirement for the Rogers STEM Scholarship program from 128 required credit hours to a much more common 120 credit-hour requirement.

After passage of the Forever GI Bill, the VA discovered that there were only three States where the average STEM degree exceeds 128 required credit hours, meaning that the vast majority of veterans would be unable to access this benefit.

This scholarship is set to launch August 1, as was recently said, of this year, and it is incumbent on Congress to make this fix before then to ensure that more student veterans pursuing STEM degrees are able to utilize the additional funding Congress provided for them in the Forever GI Bill.

I would like to thank my colleague, Congressman Levin, for his support in introducing this bill, as well as Ranking Member Roe and Representative Radewagen for their cosponsorship as well.

This is a win-win. There is a labor supply shortage, especially in critical STEM fields, and so employers need STEM-educated workers. At the same time, there is no better group of people than veterans who know teamwork, who know about putting a cause greater than themselves, and who, in many cases, have skills that are particularly adaptive to the STEM fields where this is a win for them, as well, in their movement to civilian life.

I am proud to see this legislation pass by voice vote in our committee, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation to ensure we are setting up our veterans for success and job security after their service to our Nation.

Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the oldest franchise restaurant in America--A&W. Today is its 100th birthday. As the automobile opened new horizons for Americans, A&W Restaurants pioneered the drive-in restaurant and made the Root Beer Float a household treat.

These small businesses are a source of fond memories for generations of Americans. A&W's beloved mascot Rooty the Great Root Bear is known from coast to coast.

A&W opened doors of opportunity so people could start their own businesses as franchise owners. These iconic restaurants became hubs in towns across America, and A&W developed a culture of giving back, reflecting the very best of heartland values.

Today begins their annual fundraising drive for Disabled American Veterans. A&W has raised over $800,000 for veteran-related charities since 2011.

A&W is owned by its franchise partners, who independently operate nearly 600 U.S. restaurants. The National A&W Franchisee Association headquarters is located in Richmond, Kentucky.

Madam Speaker, please join me today in welcoming the A&W family to Washington to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss my amendment to H.R. 2740, the Defense appropriations bill.

With the cosponsorship of my fellow Kentuckian, Congressman Guthrie, my amendment increases Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard operations and maintenance by $2 million each for training support. This funding will support the training of National Guard and Reserve components by the Army in order to improve readiness.

General Lengyel of the National Guard Bureau, earlier this year before the Appropriations Committee, said: ``There is only one standard of readiness in fighting America's wars. This readiness requires the National Guard to be deployable, sustainable, and interoperable with our Active components.''

As the representative for Kentucky's National Guard headquarters, it is essential we support training and coordination between the components of our Armed Forces.

I was proud to advocate for this important increased funding, which will allow Active-Duty Army personnel to more frequently advise, assist, and train with Guard and Reserve units on drill weekends to ensure both are meeting the same level of readiness.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for adopting this amendment.

Madam Chair, on rollcall no. 377, I mistakenly voted ``no'' when I intended to vote ``yes''.

Amendment No. 128 Offered by Ms. Wasserman Schultz

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment to increase funding for the Building Communities of Recovery program.

We all know that the opioid epidemic is a major health crisis that has impacted every community and every congressional district. My home State of Kentucky suffers from the fifth highest overdose mortality rate in the country, and we learned from the CDC that last year 72,000 of our fellow citizens died of an opioid overdose. This is a national crisis.

Last fall, Congress passed a historic package of legislation to address the opioid epidemic to research treatment and prevention. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act builds upon past resources authorized and

funded by Congress, including the 21st Century Cures Act and the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act.

Additionally, Congress has appropriated $4 billion, the largest Federal investment to date, to address the opioid epidemic, but there is more work to be done. We cannot continue to focus our Federal efforts on prevention and treatment without looking toward long-term recovery through housing, job placement, financial literacy, and life skills.

Not all recovery is the same. Everyone has a different recovery journey, and we must not prioritize one pathway to recovery over another. If there is one thing I have learned talking to folks who are struggling through an addiction recovery is that what works for one individual may not work for another.

I have heard from my constituents of the need for funding to be made available for programs that provide alternatives to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Obviously, medication-assisted treatment is considered evidence-based and the gold standard in many cases for helping people to recovery, but there are alternatives, and some individuals need a different course.

Currently, the Building Communities of Recovery program is one of the only sources of funding for nonmedication for opioid-use disorder.

According to SAMHSA, non-MAT programs are ineligible for the State Opioid Response Grants which constitute the majority of opioid funding.

My office has been told time and time again that the reason they cannot receive funding is because they do not offer medication-assisted treatment.

I would like to emphasize that I am not critical of medication- assisted treatment programs, but I do believe that non-narcotic alternatives to recovery complement medication-assisted treatment for certain individuals.

As we continue to combat this crisis, we must make critical, nonmedication resources for recovery available to those who need them. Treatment programs that choose to offer non-MAT recovery options are doing incredible work despite their inability to access most Federal grant programs that we enacted last year.

I would like to highlight the story of Zachary Thomas, my constituent, and a prime example of someone who successfully worked through addiction to recovery. At the age of 18, Zach dropped out of Mercer County Senior High School just 4 months before graduation. He was hooked on methamphetamines, heroin, and alcohol and was homeless.

At age 19, Zach was in the Boyle County Detention Center on drug charges. Upon recommendation of the county attorney, Zach was sent to the Shepherd's House, a recovery residence in Lexington, Kentucky, that provides transitional residential treatment for men 18 years and older.

Shepherd's House has been providing treatment for clients who suffer from drug and alcohol issues for the past 30 years. It offers structured programs that promote personal responsibility and accountability for those seeking sustained abstinence from mood and mind-altering substances.

Zach now works at DV8 Kitchen, a Lexington restaurant owned by Rob and Diane Perez that has a practice of hiring employees in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions.

Zach's success is just one example of the great work of the people at the Shepherd's House and the great work that these nonmedication- assisted treatment recovery programs are doing to combat this crisis.

The Shepherd's House's desire is to live in the solution of recovery, to make a positive economic impact on the communities we serve, and to one day put a small dent in the national crisis that we know as addiction.

Another example I would like to highlight is my good friend, Jenell Brewer, in Powell County, Kentucky, the SPARK program. It is an advocacy center that helps families navigate addiction, educates them on addiction, and connects them with recovery resources in the State. At a time when many families don't know what to do, SPARK offers a personal approach and an outlet for those coping with this crisis.

But these great organizations, SPARK and the Shepherd's House, are not eligible for many of the Federal grant programs that we have funded. And so this amendment would simply provide increased funding for that program, the Building Communities of Recovery program that would provide funding for these alternatives that are desperately needed.

I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Chair, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Arkansas, for his leadership on this very important issue, providing employers with flexibility.

Yes, we want to support Department of Labor-registered apprenticeships, but we need employers to be able to fill these job openings with skilled workers using apprenticeships that are actually tailored for the jobs that are available.

When I visit the employers in central and eastern Kentucky, they all tell me the same story: Because of tax cuts and deregulation, the economy is booming, they are creating jobs, but they can't find workers.

There is a labor supply shortage in this country, and we need more skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that labor force participation among prime-age men has dropped from 86 percent in 1950 to a rate currently of 71.5 percent.

We have got to get that labor participation rate up, and, because of that, we need skills. That is why I am proud, as chairman of the Republican Study Committee's American Worker Task Force, to support the Hill amendment, which would allow Federal grant funds to be used for apprenticeship programs that are not just DOL-registered.

Madam Chair, not just DOL-registered programs, but also apprenticeship programs tailored by the employers for those particular jobs.

So, while the economy does need to utilize these DOL-registered apprenticeship programs, a one-size-fits-all solution is not the answer. Many employers need specific, tailored apprenticeship programs, and I urge support for the gentleman's amendment.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Mr. Alvin Huston Perry of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Mr. Perry is part of a special group of heroes that served our nation during World War II.

Mr. Perry was born in August of 1923 and grew up on a farm in rural Anderson County. He was drafted into the United States Army in November of 1943. He was assigned to the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. Mr. Perry's unit was part of the second wave of men to land on Omaha Beach after the D-Day invasion. German forces surprised Perry's company as fighting ensued in the hedgerows in Normandy. Mr. Perry was injured in the shoulder and his company was captured. He was taken to a German field hospital in Ruins, France where he was treated, From there, he was taken to Stalag XII-A in Limburg, Germany and later to Stalag VII-A in Musburg, Germany. He and his fellow prisoners lived in boxcars and were taken to Munich every day to work. He was a prisoner of war from July 1944 to April 1945.

Following liberation by American forces, Mr. Perry returned to serve stateside. At the war's end, he farmed and created a milk route delivering milk containers from dairy farms to distribution plants. He married his sweetheart Oneida, who he met in grade school.

Mr. Perry earned a Purple Heart, a Prisoner of War Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, and a WWII Victory Medal. He will be honored on June 7, 2019 with the French Legion of Honor, the highest decoration bestowed in France.

Mr. Perry and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Mr. Alvin Huston Perry before the United States Congress.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Mr. Karl Michler of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Michler is part of a special group of heroes that served our nation during World War II. Mr. Michler celebrates his 99th birthday on June 5.

Mr. Michler enlisted in the service at the age of 22. He was a proud member of the United States Army. He served as a medical corpsman. His assignments took him to locations in the United States, France and Germany. He served for 4 years and was honorably discharged in February of 1946.

Mr. Michler returned home and married Jean Vogt. Following his service in the Army, he took over the family business, Michler's, which was started by his grandfather Carl Michler in 1900. He continued that very successful business for many years. His son, John, and later his grandson, Robin, kept the business growing and thriving.

Mr. Michler and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Mr. Karl W. Michler and to celebrate his upcoming 99th birthday before the United States Congress.

Mr. Chair, I thank Ranking Member McHenry for yielding.

Mr. Chair, this legislation, H.R. 1500, the so-called Consumers First Act, neither puts consumers first nor puts in place the reforms that are needed to make the CFPB a stronger and more accountable regulatory agency. In reality, this bill is an attempt to politicize consumer protection.

It represents my Democratic colleagues' genuine expression of frustration with the current CFPB leadership, but that frustration is misdirected, Mr. Chair. That frustration really is more about their inability to provide meaningful oversight over this Bureau, a Bureau that they themselves created in the Dodd-Frank law.

I would submit that my Democratic friends' frustration should not be directed at former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney or current Director Kathy Kraninger. Their frustration is, in fact, a product of the very structure, the very flawed structure, that they themselves created and now stubbornly defend.

Today's legislation does absolutely nothing to address the fundamental structural flaws of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could be remedied on a bipartisan basis with simple reforms that my Republican colleagues and I have supported since the Bureau's creation.

I think, now that the leadership has shifted and there is a new administration with new appointees in the leadership, many of my Democratic friends are having regrets about the structure that they originally created.

What would be the reforms that we should together as a body on a bipartisan basis support? A bipartisan commission; subjecting the Bureau to congressional appropriations with my legislation, the Taking Account of Bureaucrats' Spending Act, which would restore the power of the purse over this agency; an independent inspector general, which would hold leadership of either party accountable.

Mr. Chair, this is just a messaging bill. It is not a true attempt to legislate. This bill does nothing to get at the lack of accountability of this Bureau.

To further make this point, my friend, the chairwoman, talks about the need to add supervisory authority to the Bureau over enforcement and

compliance with the Military Lending Act, but the bill doesn't do that. I have a bill that does that. In fact, I offered the bill as an amendment, but Monday night, in the Rules Committee, they made this amendment out of order.

This is not about actually giving the Bureau supervision over the Military Lending Act. If they really wanted that, they would have approved my amendment. We would be voting on my amendment to give the Bureau supervisory authority over enforcement of the Military Lending Act.

But, no. This is just about making a political point. Sure, they have findings that there should be supervisory authority over Military Lending Act compliance. Well, then why not make this Republican amendment in order to make it a bipartisan bill?

They don't want a bipartisan bill. They want a political message.

This reaffirms our point that this legislation is not about consumer protection. It is not about putting consumers first. It is about politics. It is about giving lip service to protecting our servicemembers while excluding the necessary action to actually do it.

Mr. Chair, I encourage a ``no'' vote on this bill. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's defend this institution. Let's work together in a bipartisan way to truly enact the reforms, the structural reforms that will strengthen consumer protection that will make this Bureau accountable to the American people through their elected representatives.

Let's make this a bipartisan commission. Let's give this institution, both Republicans and Democrats, the power of the purse over this agency so that when a Director from the Trump administration is in place, this body will have the ability to provide meaningful oversight, and when there is a Democratic appointee heading this agency, this body will also be able to exercise meaningful oversight.

Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote. Let's do real reforms. Let's not just make political points.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 962, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, if this unanimous consent request cannot be entertained, I urge the Speaker and the majority leader to immediately schedule the born-alive bill so we can stand up and protect the sanctity of human life; and I would ask all others to join in this request.

Madam Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am in its current form.

Madam Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It

would not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill would immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.

This motion makes a small but important change to the bill, a change that is necessary to preserve the economic strength of the United States.

The amendment simply states that the act shall not take effect until the President certifies that the United States will not, on net, lose jobs to China as a result of meeting the emissions commitments required under the Paris Agreement.

If, as the majority believes, the Paris Agreement will improve America's economic and technological competitiveness, this should not be a problem.

Madam Speaker, I do not disagree with my colleagues that climate change is a problem that this Nation and other nations need to address. In fact, I believe it is important that we continue to have discussions about serious solutions on how to mitigate these risks through American innovation, conservation, adaptation, and preparation. But, Madam Speaker, H.R. 9 is not a serious solution to these problems.

The truth of the matter is the Paris Agreement would hurt our economy, cost millions of American jobs, weaken our sovereignty, and put us at a disadvantage among international competitors, especially China.

My home State of Kentucky relies heavily on fossil fuels, and the coal industry provides our State with thousands of jobs and delivers over 83 percent of our power. This enables Kentuckians to enjoy some of the lowest-cost electricity rates in the country.

Kentucky is not the only State that relies on carbon-based fuels for its energy. Nationally, our energy mix is made up of about 80 percent fossil fuels, as compared to only 5 percent intermittent and unreliable sources, such as solar and wind.

Let's think about the feasibility of hitting the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement to cut greenhouse emissions by 26 to 28 percent by 2025 or, to push the debate even further, those goals outlined in the Democrats' other climate proposals, such as the Green New Deal, to eliminate fossil fuels completely, a proposal that just yesterday every member of the majority voted against bringing up for debate. That is because the Green New Deal is nothing more than an absurd socialist fantasy that would devastate our economy.

As policymakers, our goal should not be to embrace at all costs the greenest energy. Our goal should be to promote the best energy, the most effective energy, the most reliable energy, and the most affordable energy.

Despite massive technological advances and innovations, any drastic move away from fossil fuel consumption is dangerous. It would mean increased energy prices and decreased reliability. Household electricity expenditures would increase up to 20 percent.

It would mean manufacturing and energy-intensive jobs moving offshore. On average, we would see a shortfall of nearly 200,000 manufacturing jobs and 400,000 jobs overall.

It would mean economic decline and stagnation in communities, yielding an aggregate GDP loss of over $2.5 trillion and a total income loss for a family of four of over $20,000.

It is only common sense that we ensure that these economic outcomes will never come to fruition before entering into this agreement, which is what this simple amendment would do.

Remember, between 2000 and 2014, the United States reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent without being subject to any international agreement.

We should continue to focus on reducing emissions, developing and exporting clean coal technologies, and making our communities more resilient, but 1,000 more pages in the Federal Register will not change the weather. Scientific and technological innovation fueled through free enterprise can.

Finally, if we want to be serious about a global solution to climate change, we need to address the world's largest carbon emissions offenders that have refused to meet the agreement's goals. This agreement fails to address those real polluters.

China, the number one country in the world for greenhouse gas emissions, is perhaps our greatest strategic economic adversary. It is a nation that has been growing in manufacturing and industrial dominance.

Under the Paris Agreement, China has been allowed to increase emissions until 2030. This gives China a leg up. They will spend that decade stealing our jobs. That hits people in my district the hardest. It hits those who can least afford it.

As we confront China economically, we must be sure our environmental goals do not put us at a strategic disadvantage or force us to commit economic self-destruction. We must ensure that our policies do not raise electric rates and drive energy-intensive businesses offshore. We must make sure that China, with its rapacious appetite for dominating all industry and its sweeping efforts to steal U.S. ideas, does not have new reasons to take advantage of American workers.

Madam Speaker, socialism and central planning will never solve the problems of the human race. Vote ``yes'' on the motion to recommit.

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

Madam Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Mr. Chester Elkin, of Madison County, Kentucky. Mr. Elkin is part of a special group of heroes that served our nation during World War