Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank both Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for their work in crafting this compromise bill and for including some of my provisions in the bill.

Mr. DeFazio did an excellent job of going over pros and cons in this bill, so let me talk about a few provisions I have in here.

One requires the GAO to quantify the cost to passengers of every airline computer failure since 2014, including the one that just occurred last night. I am hopeful this report will spur Congress to take further action to ensure better passenger protections. Other provisions will improve transparency in ticket sales and help develop the aviation workforce's next generation.

The bill also has other wins for the traveling public, airline workers, and residents around airports. For example, the bill directs the FAA to be more responsive to community noise issues, including residents who live near airports such as Midway in my district.

Finally, this bill will help our aviation system remain the gold standard for safety, including some of those things Mr. DeFazio talked about in regard to drones.

I thank Chairman Shuster for his work on this bill, for all his work as chairman of the committee for 6 years, and for everything he has done in Congress. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5509, the Innovations in Mentoring, Training, and Apprenticeships Act. I would like to thank Majority Leader McCarthy for introducing this bill.

Building a workforce with skills in the STEM fields--science, technology, engineering, and math--which can meet the demands of our continually evolving economy is one of the most pressing challenges that we face today.

Many companies are having difficulty recruiting and retaining workers with sufficient STEM skills for their needs. This STEM skills gap has existed for years and is continuing to widen. With companies across all economic sectors increasing their reliance on data, automation, and technology-driven business models, the need for STEM workers has never been greater.

Employers are increasingly concerned that their inability to hire employees with the technical skills they need will affect their capacity to innovate, increase production, and expand internationally. Make no mistake: America's future economic prosperity is on the line.

High schools, community colleges, and universities have been slow to respond, struggling to adapt their curriculum to keep pace with the rapidly evolving needs of industry. There is a need to innovate and encourage partnerships between educators in the private sector to better prepare the next generation of skilled technical workers.

Apprenticeships have garnered significant attention in recent years because of the potential to bridge the STEM skills gap. Apprenticeships offer workers practical hands-on training, nationally recognized credentials, and the potential to earn credit towards an associate's or bachelor's degree. At the completion of an apprenticeship, most workers are on the path to a long-term, well-paying career with little or no education-related debt.

By investing in education and on-the-job training for their workers, employers can develop a workforce equipped with a set of skills tailored to the specific needs of their businesses.

Despite the benefits for employers and employees, apprenticeships remain underutilized in the United States when compared with other developed nations. President Obama first called for expanded access to apprenticeships in his 2014 State of the Union Address. In 2016, Congress appropriated funding for the Department of Labor in support of expanding entrepreneurships.

H.R. 5509 builds on these efforts and ongoing activities at the National Science Foundation by providing support for the improvement of STEM degree programs and apprenticeship programs in partnership with universities and local employers. This legislation also supports research to find lessons learned from international approaches to skilled technical workforce development.

Mr. Speaker, we must prepare a workforce that keeps pace with needs of industry if we are to reach our full economic potential and remain the global leaders in innovation. H.R. 5509 is a good step in that direction.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 5509 because it recognizes the great work under way in National Science Foundation's Advanced Technological Education Program. This program works to promote the development of our STEM technical workforce and ensures that it continues to be prioritized going forward.

As my colleagues are aware, I have two degrees in engineering. My wife also has a degree in math. This is part of the reason I am an ardent supporter of STEM education, especially education that is aligned with the requirements for in-demand careers.

One such program in my district is called the National Center for Systems Security and Information Assurance at Moraine Valley Community College. Since 2003, it has received Advanced Technological Education funding from NSF to be a national center of excellence in cybersecurity education. The college provides students with real-world learning experiences and provides curriculum, instructional materials, and professional development for cybersecurity educators around the world.

We all know that there is a massive nationwide need for cybersecurity professionals. According to the Department of Homeland Security's National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education, there are currently over 301,000 open jobs in cybersecurity, including over 13,000 in the public sector.

To make progress in meeting this need as well as the need in other STEM fields, we will need many more innovative education programs like the one at Moraine Valley and those promoted by H.R. 5509. This type of education benefits students, employers, our economy, and our national security, and it is worthy of this Chamber's support.

I thank Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson for their work on this bill. I thank Chairman Smith for his bipartisan work on the three bills that we are doing here tonight, and I am hopeful that perhaps there will be more to do before the end of this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, 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. 6229, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Reauthorization Act of 2018, and I thank Chairwoman Comstock for sponsoring this bill.

This is a bipartisan bill that provides support for NIST's important work carrying out scientific and technical research, and assisting small- and medium-sized U.S. manufacturers. The agency's work helps to advance standards development in critical areas of innovation across all sectors of our economy.

NIST's core mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness. Through its laboratories and user facilities, NIST carries out world-class measurement science and facilitates the development of standards for emerging technologies.

Standards ensure users that promising technologies have been rigorously tested for safety, effectiveness, and reliability. NIST provides its services and expertise to other agencies, academic researchers, and the private sector.

This bill provides funding to support NIST's work in critical areas of national importance, including advanced communications, cybersecurity and privacy, the Internet of Things, quantum information science, and infrastructure resilience. The wireless demands of the 21st century require the advances in measurement science that NIST is carrying out.

The devastating hurricanes and other natural disasters that have plagued our communities underscore the importance of NIST's work in disaster resiliency and new infrastructure materials.

In addition, this bill provides significant funding for NIST's quantum information science and artificial intelligence research programs. Quantum technology has promising applications in healthcare, navigation, encryption, and many other areas. We are only beginning to explore the significant advances that artificial intelligence, or AI, may bring to the world.

At the same time, there are significant policy implications for AI, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on issues dealing with ethics, workforce impacts, and the human-AI interface as these technologies move forward.

Finally, with five Nobel Prize-winning scientists in its ranks, NIST continues to attract some of the Nation's leading scientists. Even so, recruiting and retaining top talent is a challenge, and this bill provides flexibility to help NIST bring on and train the best and brightest measurement scientists in order to remain at the leading edge of emerging technologies.

I am also happy to see the bill increases support for the labs program and funding for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program. In the future, I hope my colleagues will support increases for necessary improvement to NIST's aging lab infrastructure.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 6229, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, NIST's expertise across many fields is critical to our economy, our research enterprise, and our manufacturing sector. This bill puts NIST in a strong position to carry out its work through the end of fiscal 2019.

I want to particularly highlight the strong support for the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership and the Manufacturing USA programs, which receive a robust authorization under the Industrial Technology Services account, and I want to thank my majority colleagues on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee for working with me to match the agency request for fiscal year 2019.

I have a strong relationship with Manufacturing USA's Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute located in Chicago, just outside my district. Through partnerships with universities, manufacturers, nonprofits, and government entities, they work to develop the technology-enabled manufacturing tools industry needs, pilot them on the factory floor, and train the manufacturing workforce.

The digital manufacturing hub is just 1 of 14 Manufacturing USA institutes across the country, each with its own technology focus. Together, they are working to ensure that we have a competitive manufacturing sector in the U.S. into the future.

Manufacturing USA and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership play a key role in keeping our economy strong and creating the jobs of tomorrow.

Beyond manufacturing, I also want to highlight the critical position pay authority this bill gives NIST to hire talented cybersecurity and quantum information science professionals.

It is often difficult for Federal agencies to attract top-level talent in these fields, because the Federal pay scale cannot compete with the private sector.

This bill grants a limited exemption to the Federal pay scale to ensure that NIST will have access to the right people to lead the Nation and the world in cybersecurity and quantum information science.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairwoman Comstock again for introducing this bill. I want to urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, 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. 6398, the Department of Energy Veterans' Health Initiative Act, and I thank Mr. Norman for introducing this bill.

This bill authorizes the Department of Energy to conduct collaborative research with the Department of Veterans Affairs to address large and complex data management challenges associated with veterans' healthcare issues.

H.R. 6398 also directs the DOE to carry out a 2-year research pilot program to advance research in artificial intelligence and data analytics for a broad range of applications.

These technologies have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of the use and distribution of our Nation's resources.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the majority and minority members of the Veterans' Affairs Committee for working with the Science, Space, and Technology Committee to improve this legislation. Together, I believe we have ensured that this bill will be a positive step toward tackling some of the critical problems that the VA is currently facing in providing our veterans with the care they deserve when they come home.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleagues on both sides of the aisle agree that supporting technology to improve the lives of our veterans should be a high priority. Unfortunately, many face an uphill battle to overcome the physical and mental toll of war once they return home. Those who sacrificed so much for our country deserve our best efforts to provide them with the latest technologies to improve their quality of life.

There are almost 20 million veterans in our Nation today, and just under half are enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system. The health records generated from decades of care provide a trove of information that may lead to more accurate diagnoses and treatment of certain conditions and diseases.

High-performance computing and machine learning can help analyze this massive amount of data to make it more useful for delivering better health outcomes, not only for veterans, but also the general population.

The Federal Government has made strategic investments over the years to advance data analytics in data science research and development. We have also invested in supercomputing facilities at our national labs, including the Leadership Computing Facility at Argonne National Lab in my district.

The programs created by this bill will take advantage of these resources to improve health, deliver a high quality of life, and lower treatment costs while advancing American leadership and artificial intelligence and data analytics.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ms. Johnson for yielding, and I thank her for her leadership on this bill.

I rise in support of this bipartisan legislation that will make a significant national commitment to the field of quantum science and engineering, which is critical for our global scientific and technological leadership.

While the benefits of quantum technology may still be a ways off, there is fierce international competition in this field, most notably from China, and we can't afford to waste any time. It is through strategic investments like this that we became the world's economic scientific and technology leader, and we can only maintain that position through continuing significant investment in cutting-edge basic research.

We already know that other countries are increasing their investments in quantum technology, in some cases guided by long-term strategies, and this bill will make sure that we develop a coherent strategy of our own.

This bill is a bright spot in what is otherwise a long, downward trend in Federal R&D funding as a percentage of GDP. Much as today's unbalanced budget leads to future debt problems, today's underinvestment in R&D leads to future innovation deficits.

I commend my colleagues from both parties for working together to bring this important bill to the floor, but we want to be clear that this is just a first step. We need to double down on our efforts and to reprioritize Federal research and development.

I want to highlight and commend an organization that is a leader in the field of quantum information science and engineering and that made significant contributions to this bill. The Chicago Quantum Exchange is a partnership between the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

I want to thank Chairman Weber for bringing the Science, Space, and Technology Committee's Subcommittee on Energy out to Argonne and Fermi earlier this year. He spoke about some of the great work that they are doing there.

The Chicago Quantum Exchange was created to develop and grow interdisciplinary collaboration for the exploration and development of new quantum-enabled technologies and to help educate a new generation of quantum information scientists and engineers.

Partnership with the private sector is also an important element of the exchange. The Chicago Quantum Exchange serves as both an excellent model for the Multidisciplinary Centers for Quantum Research and Education envisioned in this bill and for what the future of R&D and quantum information science will look like.

Finally, I want to thank Chairman Smith for his leadership on this bill and for working with us to make this a good, bipartisan piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chair and ranking member of the committee for their work on this bill. This bill is very important to help make America more secure.

My amendment will help to address the threat of Iran better in this bill.

According to the State Department, Iran is the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. In spite of Iran's weak economy and U.S.-imposed sanctions in response to their support for terrorism, abuse of human rights, and acquisition of prohibited weapons, Iran continues to support violent groups abroad.

As our diplomatic and military leaders determine how best to respond to Iran's ongoing destabilization, they should have a detailed accounting of the amounts spent by Iran to support specific terrorist groups and foreign military. This is especially important in light of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran-backed forces in Syria, which has only gotten worse in the last couple of days. This information will send a clear message to Iran and our allies that we do not tolerate support of terrorism.

In addition, the nonclassified version of this report will shed light on Iran's behavior for all the world to see.

Specifically, my amendment will require an annual report from the Director of National Intelligence, describing Iranian expenditures on military and terrorist activities outside the country, including support for Hezbollah, Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hamas, proxy forces in Iraq and Syria, and any other entity or country the Director determines relevant.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the ranking member of the committee.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Nunes and Ranking Member Schiff for their support of this amendment, and I thank them for their work on this important bipartisan bill.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Frank T. Libby and recognize his accomplishments as President and Executive-Secretary Treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters. Frank's 42 years of service and dedication is nothing short of remarkable and deserves distinct recognition.

Throughout his career, Frank Libby took on many roles in order to benefit his fellow carpenters and members of organized labor throughout Chicagoland. Since 2008, Frank has served as President and Executive- Secretary Treasurer of the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters, the largest building trades union in the state, representing over 70 counties and tens of thousands of members. Under Frank's leadership, the Chicago Regional Council of Carpenters' Labor and Management Committee piloted Built to Last, an Emmy-nominated television program to educate future contractors to think innovatively, use sustainable building techniques, and be energy efficient in their construction. Only one of Frank's many successes, this example hardly scratches the surface, with his contributions ranging from countless dispute negotiations and resolutions, to bolstering the local economy by bringing a variety of organizations together. During his tenure, he has protected the interests of thousands of skilled men and women, all of whom provide integral services to our community.

Frank Libby has also served as a board member for both the Carpenters' Welfare and Pension Funds as well as the Carpenters' Apprenticeship Training Fund, strengthening a carpenter's entrance to and exit from the profession. He has been a president of a Local, a champion of trade shows, a trustee of apprenticeships, and even a guest columnist. The dedication Frank has demonstrated for his fellow workers is admirable and certainly deserves recognition. As such I congratulate Mr. Libby on his retirement, where he will now have time to share his favorite diversion with his wife and daughter: fishing.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Frank T. Libby. His commitment to organized labor and successes in leadership have improved the lives of tens of thousands of families. I thank him for his service and wish him and his family well in the future.

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

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

I rise in support of this amendment to provide $30 million for DOD's MD5, the National Security Technology Accelerator, within the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy.

The 2018 NDAA authorized support for national security innovation and entrepreneurial education programs, including MD5.

MD5 aims to educate and build a network of innovators and entrepreneurs equipped with the expertise to successfully develop, commercialize, and apply DOD technology. It is a way of bringing American ingenuity and ingenuity and entrepreneurship from Silicon Valley to problems faced by the DOD.

MD5 initiatives educate veterans and other students in technology innovation and entrepreneurship and provide a unique pathway for veterans to leverage their expertise while learning cutting-edge business innovation methodology.

The program also increases postmilitary opportunities for servicemembers and helps them apply their knowledge to new national security problems.

Through MD5, DOD is growing a cadre of entrepreneurs who are adept at creative problem solving and the formation of successful ventures that deliver economic, national security, and social value.

Passage of this amendment would mean a $5 million increase from MD5 fiscal year 2017 and 2018 levels. The funding increase would enable them to scale up their entrepreneurial education programs, including the highly successful program Hacking for Defense, otherwise known as

Mr. Chairman, I thank the chairwoman for accepting this amendment. I thank her very much for her work on this bill.

Mr. Chairman, I also thank the ranking member for his work on this. I appreciate it. This is a great opportunity with this amendment to make a small investment to support a program that will strengthen our national security and the next generation of problem-solvers for the DOD, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Jorge Ramirez on the occasion of his retirement as president of the Chicago Federation of Labor. Jorge's reputation as an esteemed and extremely effective leader is well-deserved after 8 years as president and 12 years on the board of the CFL. He fought for and succeeded in making life better for hundreds of thousands of workers and their families.

Jorge Ramirez is the son of Mexican immigrants who grew up on the Southwest Side of Chicago near Midway Airport. His father was a meat packer in Chicago's Back of Yards neighborhood during the 1960s, working long hours for limited pay and with limited rights. Eventually his father and fellow workers formed a union, knowing that they were stronger together than they were alone. Jorge continued this tradition and found his own way into the industry, first joining the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Local 1546 in 1988 where he served as Executive Director.

Since his election as the first Latino President of the Chicago Federation of Labor in 2010, Jorge Ramirez worked closely with stakeholders and cultivated a mutual respect with them, avoiding layoffs, improving health insurance for union workers, and stabilizing Chicago's pension funds. He was critical in ushering in a higher minimum wage for the city starting in 2019, guaranteeing a much better standard of living for so many workers. Jorge's work was also crucial in establishing a new five-year contract between the city of Chicago and the Coalition of Unionized Public Employees. That agreement alone benefited approximately 20% of the city's employees, including motor truck drivers, plumbers, laborers, and members of the building trades. Most recently, he led the charge for an $8.5 billion O'Hare Airport expansion plan--an effort that will both modernize one of Chicago's aviation hubs and create over 60,000 jobs.

In addition to his accomplishments with the Chicago Federation of Labor, Jorge is an active community leader, as well as a devoted husband and father. His roles have included positions with the Cook County Health and Hospitals System Board of Directors, Chicago Infrastructure Trust, the Cook County President's Council of Economic Advisors, and Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Philanthropically, he has donated his time to the Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, and the Archdiocese of Chicago Office for Immigrant Affairs. All the while, Jorge and his wife, Catrina, have raised four amazing sons for whom he bakes as a hobby; his specialty being cheesecake.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mr. Jorge Ramirez. His resilience and commitment have helped countless people improve their lives and the lives of their families. I congratulate him on his accomplishments, thank him for his service, and wish him well in his future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career and accomplishments of Principal James P. Antos of Brother Rice High School in Chicago. As he prepares to retire, we cannot help but admire his service and hope that his example and distinguished tenure are emulated in the future.

Jim, a local Chicagoan, has been nurturing young minds for 44 years. After deciding in his junior year of high school to become a teacher, Jim earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in General Experimental Psychology from Illinois State University. He then began his career in education in 1974 as a psychology and history teacher. From there, he quickly expanded his duties and involved himself in student activities and recruitment, going above and beyond his core responsibilities. In 1979, Jim found his way to Brother Rice High School, where, in addition to his teaching role, he would serve as the baseball coach, Dean of Faculty, Dean of Students, and eventually Principal. His students and peers have frequently praised him, describing him as a father figure, lauding his calm and consistent leadership, and applauding his honest, caring, and compassionate demeanor. As one student recalled, Jim never forgot a name, not just in his own class, but in the entire school. This outstanding public servant has devoted his life to his students, both in the classroom and on the field.

In addition to cultivating the future of America, Jim has also stood in defense of it. He served in the U.S. Army while engaged in Vietnam where he was stationed outside of Qui Nhon at Camp Granite. Jim has not only taught history but has been a part of it--providing the students of Brother Rice with a unique perspective to our nation's story. He has also provided them with wisdom, knowledge, and direction, while helping to guide countless students through high school.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Principal James P. Antos and his accomplishments. I congratulate him on his retirement and thank him for his decades of service at Brother Rice High School.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment to ensure that Purple Heart and Medal of Honor recipients, veterans with service- connected disabilities, and former prisoners of war have access to military exchanges, commissaries, and morale, welfare, and recreation facilities.

We should all agree that these heroes of our Armed Forces have done more than enough to earn this access. It is our duty as a Nation to not only say that we appreciate their service, but also to enact policies such as this demonstrating this gratitude.

A 2017 Defense Department report shows expanding access will not only make life easier for these veterans, but will also strengthen the commissary and exchange system.

This amendment has been endorsed by the VFW, American Legion, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Wounded Warrior Project, Disabled American Veterans, and AMVETS.

Mr. Chair, I thank Congressman Walter Jones for joining me on the bill and on this amendment. I thank the chair and ranking member for including my amendment in this bloc and for their work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support these amendments.

Mr. Chairman, Iran is the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. In spite of their weak economy and U.S.-imposed sanctions in response to Iran's support for terrorism, abuse of human rights, and acquisition of prohibited weapons, they continue to support violent groups abroad.

As our diplomatic and military leaders determine how best to respond to Iran, they and the world, including Iranians, should have a detailed accounting of the amount spent by Iran to support specific terrorist groups. This is especially important in light of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran-backed forces in Syria.

My amendment requires an annual report from the Secretary of State and the Director of National Intelligence describing Iranian expenditures on military and terrorist activities outside their country. This will send a clear message to Iran and our allies that we do not tolerate support of terrorism.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman and ranking member for including my amendment in this en bloc, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Officer Finbarr Haran of the Oak Lawn Police Department for being named the village's Top Cop of 2018. The Oak Lawn Lion's Club bestows this award on a distinguished member of the force after being nominated by his or her peers and selected by a committee of police department leaders.

Officer Haran serves the Oak Lawn community as one of the city's K-9 Officers alongside his partner Edo, a Belgian Malinois from the Czech Republic. Together, they have worked extensively with the Drug Enforcement Agency and have brought numerous criminals to justice. Over the years, the expansion of Oak Lawn's law enforcement agency has brought in the phenomenal men and women who now serve as the city's first responders. Officer Haran is shining example of the Oak Lawn Police Department and the officers that serve the Village of Oak Lawn.

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Oak Lawn Police Officer Finbarr Haran. I congratulate him on his accomplishments and thank him for his service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Captain Theodore Moran of the Oak Lawn Fire Department for being named the village's Top Firefighter of 2018. The Oak Lawn Lion's Club bestows this award on a distinguished member of the department after being nominated by his or her peers and selected by a committee of fire department leaders.

Captain Moran has distinguished himself on numerous occasions, putting his life on the line for residents of Oak Lawn. In 2014, he was awarded the Fire Department's Medal of Honor Award and he continues to serve the community with distinction. Captain Moran is a superb example of the Oak Lawn Fire Department's motto ``The Desire to Serve--The Courage to Act--The Ability to Perform.''

I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Captain Theodore Moran of the Oak Lawn Fire Department. I congratulate him on his accomplishments and thank him for his service.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member and Chairman Shuster for their work on this bill, on this block of amendments, in which I have an amendment that I drafted that would allow airports to apply for grants from the small airport fund to construct air traffic control towers for participation in the Federal Contract Tower Program.

This provision will ensure that our airspace remains the gold standard for safety by helping small airports currently operating without towers to invest in lifesaving safety infrastructure.

It is my understanding that because this will be a new eligibility, the FAA will need to classify the construction of an air traffic control tower under the Airports Capital Improvement Plan to ensure that it is scored properly for purposes of determining grant awards through the national priority ranking system.

Mr. Chair, I ask the chairman if he will agree with me that: first, the FAA has never classified control towers under ACIP before; second, that the FAA should plan to ensure that these high-priority projects are classified properly for consideration in grant decisions; and third, that they should be classified in a manner that provides them with an appropriate, level playing field with other projects to ensure competitiveness, and I ask the chairman if he agrees on these three provisions.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, while we have had some good news that airlines have improved their performance on various metrics in the past year, passengers continue to suffer frustrations.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2017, 285,000 flights were delayed due to circumstances within the airlines' control. And last year, even though bumpings were down, over 23,000 were involuntarily denied boarding.

When passengers are significantly delayed as a result of an event within the

airlines' control, it only makes sense that airlines be required to accommodate them better. But in a competitive climate where passengers' expectation of service quality has declined significantly, the airlines won't make these passenger-friendly changes, and that is why we need this commonsense amendment.

My amendment will require airlines to place a passenger who is delayed more than 3 hours onto another carrier, if that would be the quickest way to get the passenger to their destination. This would apply only to delays caused by an event within an air carrier's control, as defined by the Secretary of Transportation.

In order to make this easier for the airlines, it will require all carriers to accept such rebookings for a reasonable fee. At one time, this was a common practice. Some airlines still have these agreements-- called interline agreements--with other airlines. And some have, in the past year, created new interline agreements. But many airlines still fall short and some require passengers to ask for this treatment in order to receive it.

This amendment also requires airlines to ensure that passengers have access to essential needs, such as medical care and restrooms, no matter when or where a delay occurs. It requires meal vouchers to be given in the event of delays longer than 4 hours, and it requires hotel accommodations during lengthy overnight delays that occur between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

These measures would go a long way to improving airline passenger protections. In order to make sure that this is done in the best possible manner, the Secretary of Transportation will engage in a rulemaking process, giving the airlines and the flying public an opportunity to have input.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member Larsen for his comments. I thank Chairman Shuster for his work on this bill. There are many good provisions in this bill, one that has to do with disclosure.

But it still does not give the flying public enough protection. That is why we need this amendment.

This amendment has been endorsed by the Consumers Union, Travelers United, the Consumer Federation of America, and Flyers Rights.

We expect when we buy a ticket on an airline that we will get that as quickly as possible. Glitches occur, but if it is something that is in the control of the airline, I think we should expect to be put on another airline to get to our destination as quickly as possible.

Mr. Chair, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.