Floor Statements

I thank the gentleman from Arizona for yielding to me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of a provision that has been highlighted by my colleague from Arizona in his motion to instruct and was also discussed by the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee.

As a member of that committee, I am working hard to ensure that our veterans in Las Vegas and throughout the country have access to high- quality health care in a timely fashion. So it is critical that this conference committee quickly finishes its work so we can send a reform package to the President for his signature.

The gentleman from Arizona's amendment highlights a critical piece of the Senate proposal, which is identical to the legislation I introduced along with Senator Jeff Merkley from Oregon just last year, H.R. 3441, the Spouses of Heroes Education Act. Our important legislation amends the post-9/11 GI Bill to expand the Fry Scholarship, which you have heard described most eloquently by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Barber), by making surviving spouses of the members of the armed services eligible for this education benefit program.

The scholarship provides full instate tuition, fees, a monthly living stipend, and a book allowance to children of servicemembers who have died in the line of duty. Our change would allow spouses to receive those same benefits.

When a servicemember tragically loses his or her life on the field of battle, we owe it to their spouses to do all we can to support them and their families--not just in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, but going forward. We can ensure that they have all the educational opportunities they need because this will enable them to further their careers and increase the financial stability of that family.

I was pleased that the Senate included this bicameral, bipartisan legislation in the McCain-Sanders agreement that passed 93-3, and it is very important that our conferees continue to fight to maintain that provision. I was also very glad to hear the chairman say that he is so supportive of our looking at that provision here in the House as a stand-alone bill, and I hope to see that move also. So I thank them for their work on this important issue.

Madam Speaker, later today, the House will move forward on an extension of the current transportation authorization, MAP-21. This will ensure that Federal funding is available to meet our infrastructure needs through spring of next year.

For some 700,000 construction workers, including roughly 6,000 in Nevada, this is welcome news. Nonetheless, this short-term fix is only a Band-Aid on a sore that continues to fester.

For businesses, State departments of transportation, local governments, and transit authorities, this kind of unpredictability, which has gotten fairly common in Congress, hurts our economy and the ability for the public and private sectors to plan to meet our Nation's needs.

The clock is ticking, but there is still time to avoid a manufactured crisis again next year. If we work together, put all funding options on the table, and consult with stakeholders, we can get serious about building needed infrastructure, creating jobs, and investing in our future.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby decision took direct aim at women's rights by giving employers a legal right to make personal health decisions for their employees.

This devastating ruling opened the door to a wide range of discrimination and denial of basic health care services for women. Now, all closely held corporations, which represent 90 percent of American businesses, can legally impose their own religious beliefs on female employees.

That is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of the not my boss' business act, which would undo this damage and prevent for-profit companies from using the religious beliefs of the owner as an excuse to discriminate against women and limit their individual health care rights and choices.

Ninety-nine percent of American women will make the decision to use contraceptives at some point in their lives. What rights do corporations have to deny them this choice?

The Hobby Lobby decision is a significant step backwards for women's health and equality, so I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on the previous question, so that we can bring up and consider this important legislation and move bosses out of the bedroom and back into the boardroom.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.

The medical marijuana industry is rapidly taking root in Nevada. Our local governments are developing regulations and are issuing licenses as we speak. Yet representatives of this exciting industry continue to raise the same concern--a lack of access to banks, which is critical for the safe operation of any small business.

This commonsense measure would respect states' rights, add more transparency, facilitate regulations, protect the public, and foster the growth of small business. I urge a vote in favor.

Mr. Speaker, in just a few days, the highway trust fund will become insolvent. Now, that sounds shocking, but it is really not news. In fact, we were warned of this possibility in a GAO report issued in March of 2012; yet here we are, with just a few weeks to go before we fall off yet another manmade cliff, and still no solution has been brought to the floor for a vote.

This irresponsible inaction by my colleagues from across the aisle is inflicting damage on the Nation's economy and on States across the country. In Nevada alone, over 100 projects are in danger of being delayed or canceled, affecting some 6,000 construction workers, their families, and ancillary businesses that are associated with them.

This includes six multimillion-dollar improvements to I-15, which is the

main north-south corridor that runs through the heart of Las Vegas.

We cannot afford, nor can we risk kicking this can down an already deteriorated road. It is time for Congress to step up, to come together, and to offer real solutions that invest in our future.

Mr. Chairman, I wish to call up amendment No. 15.

Mr. Chairman, the legislation before us directs $150 million to be spent on ``activities related to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act.'' For my constituents in southern Nevada, we know that that is code for ``build the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.''

After decades of losing time and over $15 billion having been squandered on this boondoggle, the current administration has rightly said it is time for a new strategy.

Our colleagues in the Senate understand this need to turn the page, which is why Senators Wyden and Murkowski introduced bipartisan legislation that creates a new system for the disposal of the Nation's nuclear waste.

Unfortunately, some in this body still believe that we should force nuclear waste that has been created in their districts on a region that does not have a single nuclear power plant.

What started decades ago as a law authorizing the study and the selection of two geological depositories suitable for the permanent storage of spent nuclear fuel has now transformed into politics at its worst.

With the passage of the ``screw Nevada'' bill in 1987, which designated Yucca Mountain as the sole repository for the Nation's nuclear waste prior to the completion of adequate scientific evaluation, the goal shifted from how to find the best site for storage to how to force Nevada to take all of this waste--science and common sense be damned.

As the years passed, billions of dollars were wasted, and the misguided Yucca project changed from being a geologic depository to a manmade structure, with barriers erected to attempt to mitigate the tectonic fault lines that run directly under the mountain, threatening the geohydrology of the area with leaking radioactive waste.

The original plan was ill-conceived, and studies conducted over the past few decades clearly illustrate the dangers and costs associated with the project. Unfortunately, you can add the passage of legislation to institute a new national nuclear waste policy to the growing list of issues this Congress has now failed to address.

In the absence of coherent policy, I offer this amendment today to use the funding appropriated for carrying out the failed Yucca Mountain plan to reduce our deficit.

Instead of wasting tens of millions of dollars more on an unworkable solution, let's instead meet our fiduciary obligations to future generations. At the same time, let us commit to moving forward with a new policy to address the Nation's nuclear waste, one that relies on a consent-based system, so that it doesn't force waste on communities like mine.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment and send a clear message that this Congress will not continue to go backwards, but that it will take serious action to address our Nation's nuclear waste policy.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's concern for the State of Nevada and its economy, and I invite him to come back again and spend some of his money there.

I also appreciate his argument that this is the law of the land. Indeed, the Affordable Care Act is also the law of the land, but that hasn't stopped the other side from trying, over 50 times, to change it.

I now yield to my colleague from Nevada (Mr. Horsford).

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Chairman, we all know the history of the misguided Yucca Mountain project, so there is no need to repeat it again. This simple amendment that I am going to offer would strike language included in the bill which prohibits the DOE from closing Yucca Mountain.

Now we heard earlier this evening from an esteemed colleague on this floor that he cares deeply about Nevada, and he went on to say that if the latest court mandated study determines Yucca Mountain is not safe for 1 million years, he will, indeed, lead the charge to move on to another solution. In fact, he called on the chairman of the committee to join him in that pledge. Well, I thank him for that, but I would ask you, Mr. Chairman, how can that be possible if the provision prohibiting closure of Yucca Mountain is left in the bill? Is this offer not a sincere one? Is this yet another empty promise to the people of Nevada?

Indeed, if this amendment is not adopted and instead the DOE is prohibited from ever closing Yucca Mountain, how can we believe anything that is being said or done in relation to this proposed dump site?

I tell you, Mr. Chairman, Nevada is not a wasteland, and I urge passage of this amendment that would strike that language prohibiting the DOE from ever closing Yucca Mountain regardless of whether it is found to be safe or not.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, with all due respect to my colleague, I believe he is addressing the previous amendment. This amendment simply deletes language from the bill that prohibits DOE from closing Yucca Mountain.

I would also remind him of the bipartisan bill that is in the Senate that would provide a solution for our nuclear waste problem, which is consent-based, bipartisan and consent-based.

This policy has been a waste of time and money and, indeed, it is bad politics, not good science.

I yield to my colleague, Mr. Horsford.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Offered By: Ms. Titus

Amendment No. 14: Page 59, beginning on line 8, strike

section 506.

Offered By: Ms. Titus

Amendment No. 15: Page 24, line 19, after the dollar

amount, insert ``(reduced by $150,000,000)''.

Page 59, line 20, after the dollar amount, insert

``(increased by $150,000,000)''.

Mr. Speaker, today is the 1-year anniversary of the historic decision to strike down the Defense of Marriage Act. We celebrate the progress we have made for LGBT equality; but, more importantly, we must recommit to ending the injustice that remains.

An announcement last week by the administration regarding ongoing efforts to extend Federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples in the wake of that Windsor decision clarifies what I have long suspected.

Unless Congress acts, legally married same-sex servicemembers, veterans, and their spouses will continue to face discrimination when accessing their benefits from the VA.

That is why, nearly a year ago, I introduced H.R. 2529, the Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act. This bipartisan legislation ensures that no

veterans or their families are denied benefits they deserve, regardless of where they live.

Members of the military do not serve in defense of the rights and freedoms of a particular State, but rather of the United States.

My colleagues have a choice to stand with our veterans and their families or stand silent while they continue to face discrimination by the very government they fought to defend.

Mr. Speaker, I submit the following Las Vegas Review- Journal news article:

Nevada Leaders Remember Media Titan, Education Leader Jim Rogers, Dead

at 75

[From The Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 15, 2014]

Philanthropist, education advocate and media pioneer Jim

Rogers, 75, died Saturday night following a lengthy battle

with cancer.

Friends will always remember him as a man with passion.

In addition to owning KSNV-TV, Channel 3, in Las Vegas,

Rogers served as the ninth chancellor of the Nevada System of

Higher Education from 2005-09, after serving one year as

interim chancellor.

``He was very strong-minded on certain things,'' said

former UNLV President Carol Harter, who worked with Rogers

when he was chancellor of the Board of Regents. ``It was

never dull.''

Rogers famously harried Harter out of her position at the

university in 2006, but later became her friend and ally. In

2013, he donated $10 million to the Black Mountain Institute,

UNLV's graduate-level creative writing program. And Rogers

backed Harter to serve as interim president of the university

when Neal Smatresk suddenly stepped down.

Harter attributed Rogers' generosity to his wife, Beverly

Rogers.

``He wanted to honor her through that gift,'' she said. ``I

can't tell you how grateful we are. That started many

opportunities.''

Harter added that as part of the donation, Rogers requested

the name of the program

and the building be named for his wife. Toward the end of his

life, he saw how important it was to his wife that she assume

some of his legacy of fighting for higher education, she

said.

``He was the most interesting man,'' Harter said. ``Right

to the end, he was energetic.''

Not only was Rogers vocal about who should step in as

interim president at UNLV, but he was not shy about sharing

his opinions on elections to the Board of Regents.

``He made it his personal mission to fight for higher

education funding when he was chancellor and continued that

work after he returned to the private sector,'' said Kevin

Page, chairman of the Board of Regents, whom Rogers'

adamantly endorsed on Twitter the night before he died.

``Improving Nevada's education system was Jim's way of giving

back to the community.''

And Rogers' work in education was not confined to Nevada.

Rogers made the largest gift to a law school in history at

the time to the University of Arizona. Rogers graduated from

the law school in 1962. His son also went there and now the

school is named after him.

``This wasn't just a man who put his support and name on

the school. He actually cared,'' said Marc Miller, dean of

the James E. Rogers College of Law. ``He wanted to change the

world.''

Miller said students loved Rogers, who frequently came to

give speeches and engage the community. He was always taking

students to lunch and coming up with ways to improve their

law school experience.

``Jim had no shortage of ideas. I wish I could have had

many more years of his friendship and council,'' Miller said.

``We're all feeling it. Everyone here is in shock.''

In addition to his philanthropic record, Rogers will also

be remembered as a media pioneer.

``Jim was a mercurial, fiery and passionate man who changed

the face of local television,'' politics reporter and TV

personality Jon Ralston wrote in an email. ``He didn't care

about ratings. He wanted his legacy to be providing as much

real news to viewers, no matter the cost. It was a bold and

visionary step.''

``I remember when he took me back to New York to meet with

NBC executives to inform them of his plan to turn KSNV into a

local version of CNN. They looked at him like he was crazy.

And you know what? He didn't care.''

Ralston, whose show ``Ralston Reports'' airs on Channel 3,

said Rogers changed his life.

``(Rogers) quietly tried to woo me to come to KSNV for many

years before it happened. He gave me a statewide audience and

had confidence in me from the start,'' Ralston wrote. ``I

will never forget that. I will miss him.''

A Las Vegas native, Rogers founded Valley Broadcasting Co.

in 1971 and won FCC approval to operate an NBC affiliate,

Channel 3, in 1979.

He parlayed that into Sunbelt Communications, which grew

into 14 TV stations in five Mountain states, including three

in Nevada. Others were in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and

Arizona. Sunbelt's title was changed to Intermountain West

Communications Co. about five years ago.

KSNV president and chief operating officer Lisa Poe-

Howfield described Rogers as tough, unfiltered, kind and

charismatic.

``You always knew exactly where you stood with him, and I

appreciated that,'' she said.

In January, the Review-Journal learned of a Channel 3

meeting in which Rogers revealed he was having another bout

with cancer.

Rogers fought off bladder cancer about seven years ago, but

he said station employees would still have a job no matter

what happened.

A Channel 3 insider who attended the meeting said Rogers

made it clear that when he ``goes, everything goes to (his

wife) Beverly, and when she goes, everything goes to the

colleges.''

Poe-Howfield said she plans to keep working to fulfill

Rogers' wishes for the station.

``He has always wanted the station to be the station of

record for the people,'' she said. ``That was his vision, and

I plan to continue that.''

Channel 3 will be airing special segments highlighting

Rogers' life each day this week, she said.

``As much as we thought we would be prepared, somewhere in

the back of my mind I thought if anyone could beat cancer, it

would be Jim,'' she said.

Several prominent Nevadans issued statements Sunday that

highlight Rogers' philanthropy and charisma.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he has

known Rogers for a long time.

``Jim and I were contemporaries while practicing law, and

what a terrific lawyer he was,'' Reid said. ``And his talents

were not limited to law. What he has done in the

communications world is record-setting, and not just in

Nevada but in the Western United States. What he has done in

education is superb.

``His philanthropic endeavors are unsurpassed in the state

of Nevada. He was my friend and his friendship to me I will

always remember.''

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, and Reps. Dina Titus and

Steven Horsford, both D-Nev., also expressed their

condolences in statements.

``With the passing of Jim Rogers, Nevada has lost one of

its most outspoken and fearless advocates,'' Sandoval said.

``Jim was nationally recognized as a successful

philanthropist and business leader. In the state of Nevada,

he was so much more. Jim dedicated his time and resources to

advancing our education system and as chancellor of higher

education, was fierce in his commitment to make sure our

students had the resources they needed to succeed.''

Horsford said Rogers had a huge impact on Nevada, and he

will be missed.

Titus touched on Rogers' big personality.

``Jim Rogers had no fear,'' she said. ``His business

acumen, philanthropic generosity, and ferocious passion for

learning made him a true game changer. He started the

conversation, directed the dialogue, and produced results

that propelled Nevada, sometimes kicking and screaming,

toward a brighter future.''

Former Nevada Gov. Bob Miller, a Democrat, praised Rogers

for his commitment to education.

``Jim Rogers was the exemplary role model for giving back

to the community,'' he said in a statement. ``His particular

passion and devotion to education, specifically his unmatched

generosity and resolute attention for higher education, is a

legacy that will be a challenge for us all to live up to.''

``We in Nevada have lost one of our most vocal leaders for

increasing education opportunities.''

Funeral arrangements for Rogers have not been finalized as

of Sunday.

Mr. Speaker, Nevada lost a good man and I lost a good friend this past week when Jim Rogers lost his long battle with cancer at the age of 75.

Those who knew or briefly encountered Jim quickly realized that he had no fear. His business acumen, philanthropic generosity, and ferocious passion for learning made him a true game changer. Whether it was improving higher education or strengthening the integrity of the media, Jim never shied away from his convictions or backed down from his steadfast commitment to progress and quality. He started the conversation, directed the dialogue, and produced results that propelled Nevada, sometimes kicking and screaming, towards a brighter future.

My thoughts go out to his wife, Beverly; his son, his other family members, and the people who worked with him and for him at Channel 3. They brought the world into our living rooms every evening. We will miss him very much and so will they.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Democratic motion to instruct conferees. As a member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, I am working hard to ensure that veterans in Las Vegas and around the country have access to high-quality health care in a timely fashion.

I believe the Sanders-McCain compromise bill that passed the Senate 93-3 makes great strides towards meeting this goal. Specifically, I would like to highlight two provisions of the Sanders-McCain compromise that should be passed as soon as possible. Both pieces are legislation that I have introduced to help veterans and their families.

The first is H.R. 3441, the Spouses of Heroes Education Act. This legislation amends the post-9/11 GI Bill to expand the Fry Scholarship by making surviving spouses of members of the armed services eligible for the benefit program. This scholarship provides full in-State tuition, fees, a monthly living stipend, and a book allowance to children of servicemembers who have died in the line of duty. And for the first time, this change would extend to spouses the same benefit.

The second is H.R. 2527, the National Guard Military Sexual Trauma Parity Act, which would include extended counseling and treatment to servicemembers who have suffered sexual trauma while serving on inactive duty training. This legislation recently passed the House with unanimous bipartisan support.

Other provisions addressing the claims backlog, access to non-VA health care, and reform of scheduling and personnel problems are also critical to include.

So, as the conferees begin their work, it is important that we continue to keep the best interests of our Nation's heroes and their families in mind, that we put aside partisan differences, and that we work expeditiously to try and solve the problems that we have discovered at the VA.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to join with my colleagues, Representatives Kelly and Cohen, to introduce this amendment to increase the summer food program for children by $3 million.

Across the country, one of every five children is at risk of going hungry. In Nevada, more than 233,000 children qualify for free or reduced lunch. That means that 54 percent of Nevada's students come from low-income households that struggle with hunger.

While these children can eat free and reduced-price lunch during the school year, the vast majority are left without adequate nutrition during the summer.

The Summer EBT program is a pilot program that helps fill this gap by providing eligible families with additional SNAP benefits during the summer months. It works.

In 2012, it served almost 67,000 children who might have otherwise gone hungry. The participation in this program is dramatically higher than in other programs, serving up to 75 percent of eligible children.

That is why I believe that we should meet the President's budget request and increase funding to feed as many hungry children as possible. A vacation from school shouldn't mean a hungry child.

Mr. Speaker, over the last 50 years, women have broken barriers in business, science, education, and government; yet in Nevada, the average woman still makes only 85 cents for every dollar a man earns, so that leads to a pay gap of more than $6,300 every year.

This not only harms individual women, it hurts their families, our communities, and the national economy. In a country where we strive for equal opportunity for all, this inequity is simply unacceptable.

That is why I am calling on my Republican colleagues to bring the Paycheck Fairness Act to the floor for a vote. How can they say to their wives, ``You deserve less pay than I do?'' How can they say to their daughters, ``You are worth less than my sons?'' How can they tell their staff that the women aren't as valuable as the men? It is just unconscionable.

So I say pass this bill now because when women succeed, Nevada succeeds, and America succeeds.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding to me.

As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I rise in support of H.R. 4810. This important legislation will allow our Nation's heroes to access health care outside the VA for the next 2 years.

If even one veteran who has been waiting a long time for an appointment through the VA is able to receive care more quickly in the private sector, then we should give him or her that opportunity.

But this alone won't solve the problem. More must be done. We have known for a while that the VA facilities across the United States do not have enough doctors and nurses on staff to meet the growing demand for care. This is not a problem that is just isolated to the VA.

As I discussed in our hearing last night, allowing veterans to access care in the private sector will help in some areas of the United States, but in many cities and rural areas across the country there is also a shortage of care in the private sector.

In Nevada, for example, we have for a long time had a chronic shortage of doctors, both in primary care and among specialists. When comparing the number of health care workers relative to State population, Nevada ranks 46th in the Nation for general and family practitioners, 50th for psychiatrists, and 51st for general surgeons. So, as a result, veterans aren't the only ones who are waiting for health care. Everyone is affected.

Adding more patients to an already burdened system will not be a panacea.

That is why I am working with members of the committee on legislation that will shore up our VA health care system by increasing the number of medical residency programs at VA hospitals in areas that are facing a physician shortage. By increasing our investment in physician training, we will not only help our veterans in the short run, but we will be taking a step toward addressing the long-term nationwide physician shortage.

I hope that I will find support for that as we move forward, and I thank the chairman for his work on this important issue.