Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, during the week of January 6, 2015 I missed recorded votes #1-#16. I was unavoidably detained due to the death of my brother in California.

I would like to reflect how I would have voted if I were here and sworn into office:

On Roll Call #1 I would have voted present (Quorum Call).

On Roll Call #2 I would have voted for John Boehner for Speaker.

On Roll Call #3 I would have voted yes (Motion to Table).

On Roll Call #4 I would have voted yes (Previous Question).

On Roll Call #5 I would have voted no (Motion to Recommit).

On Roll Call #6 I would have voted yes (Passage of House Rules Package).

On Roll Call #7 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 22, the Hire More Heroes Act of 2015).

On Roll Call #8 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 26, the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act).

On Roll Call #9 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act).

On Roll Call #10 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 23, the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Act Reauthorization).

On Roll Call #11 I would have voted yes (Previous Question).

On Roll Call #12 I would have voted yes (Rule for H.R. 3 and H.R. 30).

On Roll Call #13 I would have voted no (Motion to Recommit).

On Roll Call #14 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 30, the Save American Workers Act).

On Roll Call #15 I would have voted no (Motion to Recommit).

On Roll Call #16 I would have voted yes (Passage of H.R. 3, the Keystone XL Pipeline Act).

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support H.R. 4329, the NAHASDA reauthorization act of 2014. Over the last 2 years, I have had the privilege of working with a bipartisan group of my colleagues on this crucial legislation. I would like to first start by thanking and commending Mr. Pearce for his leadership in sponsoring this bill. This bill wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of Mr. Cole, Ms. Moore, Mr. Denny Heck, Ms. Hanabusa, Mr. Kildee, and all the others. I also would like to thank Chairman Hensarling for his dedication in moving this bill through the committee and for his statesmanship in resolving the difficult issues.

I would be remiss without thanking Alex on my staff, who has done great work on this legislation for the good of the First Americans.

Finally, it is important to acknowledge the many tribes and organizations that contributed to this legislation. These include the National American Indian Housing Council, which has developed a foundation for the legislation, and the Cook Inlet Housing Authority, which has been a tireless advocate in my State.

As my colleagues note, NAHASDA continues to be a successful and well- liked program throughout Indian Country. NAHASDA exemplifies the spirit of self-determination by allowing Native communities to create their own innovative housing assistance programs in ways that best serve their members. This bill upholds the success of NAHASDA and includes improvements to the programs that empower Native communities to better confront their housing challenges.

Furthermore, the bill responsibly streamlines administration of the programs so that both tribes and HUD will spend less time navigating red tape and more time advancing housing that makes a difference for native people.

As we pass this bill, the Senate must act quickly to take up the legislation before the end of this Congress. I call on our colleagues in the Senate to recognize the bipartisan nature of the bill and listen to the voices on this side of the aisle in support of Indian Country. It is my hope that the legislation will be signed into law before the end of the year.

As I said, I urge and I thank those for passage of this bill, H.R. 4329.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5167) to direct the Administrator of General Services, on behalf of the Secretary of the Interior, to convey certain Federal property located in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to the Olgoonik Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation established under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

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

The Wainwright Short Range radar site is an old Distant Early Warning station, commonly referred to as the Wainwright DEW Line site.

Historically, the U.S. Air Force maintained a radar site on the property, but it is no longer operational. The Air Force is in the final stages of cleaning up the property, which is expected to be finished this summer, and the Olgoonik Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, is collaborating on the effort.

When it finishes the cleanup, the Air Force is set to relinquish its right to the property, which is owned by the Department of the Interior and managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

The Native corporation has been working with the Bureau to acquire the site which sits in the middle of land already owned by the Native corporation. However, language in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska Act of 1976 prevents the Bureau from conveying this land.

H.R. 5167 directs the Secretary of the Interior to sell the site at fair market value to the Native corporation. This will allow the Alaska Natives to incorporate the land into their existing land use management plan and policies, thus turning a potential abandoned and unused parcel into a useful property.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill as reported unanimously from the Natural Resources Committee.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3326) to provide for an exchange of land between the United States and the Trinity Public Utilities District of Trinity County, California, involving a parcel of National Forest System land in Shasta-Trinity National Forest, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time so the sponsor, the gentleman from California, Congressman Jared Huffman, may explain the bill.

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

I rise in strong support and congratulate Congressmen Jared Huffman and Doug LaMalfa. This is a good piece of legislation, and I have to go back through history a little bit.

Being originally from California 63 years ago, I remember Trinity County as one of the richer counties when we had a timber industry, and Weaverville was one of the largest timber cities in the country, but it is no longer. It is really a very poor county because of the management of Federal lands and how they do not manage them.

Again, I compliment the two Congressmen for working on this legislation, and I urge the passage of the bill.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4846) to adjust the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest, Colorado, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

The Arapaho National Forest Boundary Adjustment Act of 2014 would adjust the boundary of the Arapaho National Forest in the State of Colorado to incorporate 92 additional acres. This land, if it is acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture, will become part of the Bowen Gulch Protection Area that was established by Congress in 1993.

At markup, the Natural Resources Committee amended the bill to require the written permission of the landowner before a parcel of private land could be included within the expanded boundary. The amendment also requires that any land acquisition in the added area would be achieved only by donation or exchange, and the motorized use provision was clarified to ensure that the bill does not open privately owned land to trespass. With these added property rights and fiscal responsibility provisions, the committee was able to report the bill by unanimous consent, and I support this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, so I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4867) to provide for certain land to be taken into trust for the benefit of Morongo Band of Mission Indians, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 4867 authorizes an acre-for-acre land exchange between the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and a non-Indian landowner to resolve a land use and access dispute.

Under the exchange, the private landowner would transfer clear title to a 41-acre parcel of land he currently owns within the Morongo Reservation, which is located in the State of California, to the Secretary of the Interior, who would then hold the land in trust for the benefit of the tribe. The Secretary would simultaneously transfer to the private landowner clear title to a 41-acre parcel of the tribe's trust land on the edge of the reservation, affording reasonable access for his economic use of the property. The bill additionally authorizes conveyances of easements by the tribe and the city of Banning to address certain city and tribal needs.

The Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs held a hearing on H.R. 4867, which was followed by Natural Resources Committee approval by

unanimous consent. This legislation is noncontroversial, and I urge the House to pass this legislation.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3109) to amend the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to exempt certain Alaskan Native articles from prohibitions against sale of items containing nonedible migratory bird parts, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, since 1918, the United States has signed four migratory bird treaties with Canada, Mexico, Japan, and Russia. In 1997, the Canada and Mexico treaties were revised to allow Alaska Natives to harvest for subsistence use protected migratory birds during the so- called closed season.

Unfortunately, when implementing the treaty language, Congress failed to clarify that the nonedible parts of the harvested migratory bird could be sold in commercial products. As a result, what we have today is a bizarre policy that allows Alaska Natives to hunt, kill, consume, and to also use nonedible parts in handicraft items, but prohibits them from selling those handicrafts.

However, the Fish and Wildlife Service has now decided to cite Alaska Native artists who use migratory bird feathers in a variety of items, including hats, fans, and hunting arrows. It is not illegal to simply throw away these nonedible migratory bird parts.

According to Ms. Jacqueline Pata, the vice chair of the Sealaska Corporation, there are less than 500 traditional artists and a much fewer number that use nonedible parts of migratory birds. In her testimony, she noted that this legislation parallels the existing exemption in the Marine Mammal Protection Act and that ``all we are asking is to be able to begin helping ourselves in a very small way by providing a modest income to severely impoverished communities through a traditional means.''

Mr. Speaker, the Fish and Wildlife Service could have revised their regulations, they could have worked with the Alaska Migratory Bird Co- Management Council, and they could have continued to utilize their law enforcement discretion. In each case, they chose not to; instead, they decided to penalize a Native Alaskan artist who used raven and flicker feathers gathered from road-killed animals.

This is a misguided and wrong policy. This is why I introduced this important legislation on behalf of my Native Alaskan constituents.

I urge an ``aye'' vote on H.R. 3109, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4283) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, timely action on this bill will allow the Forest Service to implement an earlier congressional action intended to allow continued operation of certain commercial recreational services and facilities at Smith Gulch in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho.

Although Congress amended the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2004 to direct the Forest Service to allow established uses and occupancy at Smith Gulch Lodge, the Forest Service believes it needs additional authority to allow the lodge to use power equipment, such as gas generators, mowers, and other equipment needed for routine maintenance and for improvements, such as an in-stream hydroelectric water wheel for renewable energy. H.R. 4283 would authorize limited use of such equipment for the general upkeep of the lodge.

Congressman Simpson should be commended for his attention to this matter, and I urge adoption of this commonsense bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

At this time, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson).

Mr. Speaker, I can only compliment the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson) for his work on this legislation, and it is a practical solution to a problem. Again, I agree with him.

I hope that there is an expedited process which we can fulfill our obligations to this lodge owner and, of course, the intent of the act itself and that the Congress had intended so this could continue.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4527) to remove a use restriction on land formerly a part of Acadia National Park that was transferred to the town of Tremont, Maine, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, enacted in 1950, Public Law 81-629 permitted the National Park Service to convey property, formerly part of Acadia National Park, to the town of Tremont, Maine, to build a new school.

In 1951, the Secretary of the Interior completed the conveyance of approximately 8 acres with a clause that specified the land would revert back to the United States if it was not used exclusively for school purposes.

Tremont is now consolidating schools with a nearby town, and the property will no longer be used for the original intended purpose. However, Tremont would like to retain ownership and continue to use the developed property in the best interest of the community.

H.R. 4527 removes the requirement that the land be used exclusively and perpetually for school purposes, allowing Tremont to use the property to the maximum benefit of its residents.

The Natural Resources Committee has consistently sought to assist local communities in gaining control of property within their boundaries by freeing them from Federal interference. Communities around the country would benefit significantly and immediately if the example of H.R. 4527 was replicated by Congress.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4751) to make technical corrections to Public Law 110-229 to reflect the renaming of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

H.R. 4751 makes technical corrections to reflect a change in the name of the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial. The site will now be known as Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial to reflect a new name adopted by the Board of Commissioners of the Bainbridge Island Metropolitan Park and Recreation District in Kitsap County, Washington.

This legislation has no cost and is only a change in the name, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment Mr. Kilmer in his legislation. I am one of the few people on this floor who lived through that period of time. The reason I remembered it, I was 10 years old. My father happened to be from California--and I myself was born and raised in California--went to the local farm bureau and caused a great disturbance because they started putting Japanese into internment camps, and he actually stood up in that meeting and said, I don't see any Germans serving in internment camps.

It was an unjust thing. Not only were they interned, their property was seized. We have never had a black eye in our history of the United States such as we had during that period of time.

I just hope people in America realize it can happen again. We have to be very aware of what we actually have from people when they are under stress or when they are under, they think, attack by fellow Americans.

So, I compliment you on this legislation. I did have an individual-- actually, three individuals--from Alaska that I know of that served on that island during that period of time. So again, I compliment you, Mr. Kilmer, for your work on this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 120) approving the location of a memorial to commemorate the more than 5,000 slaves and free Black persons who fought for independence in the American Revolution.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, in 2012 Congress authorized a National Mall Liberty Fund to establish a memorial on Federal land to honor the more than 5,000 slaves and free Black persons who served as soldiers and sailors or provided civilian assistance during the American Revolution.

Under the Commemorative Works Act, memorials must be recommended by the Government Service Administration for placement within what is known as Area I, which is generally the location around The National Mall in Washington. A recommendation may be issued if the Administrator finds a proposed memorial is of preeminence and of lasting significance.

On June 3, 2014, the GSA Administrator notified the Natural Resources Committee he found the proposed National Liberty Memorial to be of lasting significance. Under current law, once this notification is delivered, Congress has 150 days to concur with the finding. H.J. Res. 120 provides the necessary concurrence and allows this privately funded project to move forward. Again, I know of no Federal funds that will be used in this memorial.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Michigan, Chairman Camp, for his work on this important legislation.

H.R. 4719, the America Gives More Act of 2014, is a package of bipartisan bills to improve or make permanent several tax rules governing charitable donations. Especially, I would like to speak to a provision in the bill concerning Alaska Native Corporations.

Alaska Native Corporations generally pay Federal corporate tax at the highest marginal rate but are not able to take advantage of many of the corporate tax credits like the other corporations.

Under the current Tax Code, the Federal Government provides favorable tax treatment for conservation easements donated by certain corporations owned by farmers and ranchers. Considering that in Alaska, Native corporation lands have high conservation value and lack access to many other corporate tax credits, it makes sense to extend these favorable tax benefits to Alaska Native corporations.

I must make it clear this provision does not mandate the creation of conservation easement, but allows Alaska Native landholders to determine themselves which lands will be best suited. I strongly support this provision and underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, it is always interesting. We talk about our good chairman's proposal for tax reform. If I remember correctly, that side of the aisle criticized that tax reform badly, and did not do it when they were in the majority. They passed ObamaCare, they passed cap-and- trade, they passed the stimulus package, and they passed Dodd-Frank. They didn't address this issue of being fiscally responsible. That amazes me.

Now I hear from that side ``be fiscally responsible.'' Well, what we are trying to do here is give an extension for those who want to give instead of going through this Congress. Let's let the private individual be the one that is able to help his neighbor, not through a bureaucracy. I mean, it is amazing to me how this changes, how somebody on that side can say, well, we need reform, we need reform, and it was criticized by that side of the aisle.

I want to compliment the chair again for his hard work, and especially my provision. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to go through history. The former chairman of the Infrastructure Committee on the last large highway bill, SAFETEA-LU, that was passed, I had a dear friend from Minnesota named Jim Oberstar who served beside me and worked with me to write that piece of legislation. Finally, he became the chairman. What is impressive about that, this gentleman had more knowledge about transportation probably than anyone in this House has ever had, including myself.

I will tell you what was the biggest disappointment of his life is he wanted to write a transportation bill, a long-term transportation bill, and fund it. And guess who said no. Our President, Mr. Obama. His Secretary, a dear friend of mine, came down and said there is no way we are going to pass a long-term bill with full funding. He did not support Jim Oberstar.

What I wanted to do was to fully fund it, and I was opposed then by the seated President, George W. Bush.

In fact, if Mr. Oberstar had the opportunity, with the Senate being in the control of the President's party and the House being in the control of the President's party, we would not be here today. We would have infrastructure, bar none. We wouldn't be discussing what we are doing today.

This measure today is a stopgap measure. But this Congress has to wake up, and the President should have woken up then when he had control to pass legislation for the infrastructure of this country.

So, when we get accused on this side of not doing anything and making a stopgap measure, go back through history. This President has failed to recognize the importance. And for those interest groups, they should have been on him at that time in support of Mr. Oberstar.

So, Mr. Speaker, I say respectfully, this is a two-way street. We have to understand this is a really important piece of legislation to keep us going, but then we have to solve it permanently. Let's be leaders on infrastructure, which we do not have down on Pennsylvania Avenue right now at this time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding to me. With all due respect to the gentleman offering this amendment, yes, we are one State; but if you took all of the land from the tip of Maine to the tip of Florida, from the Mississippi River over, that is part of Alaska. That is a big State, not a little State, like Ohio.

This Commission has work. And I have to say one thing, it is being referred to as the ``IG report by Mr. Marshall''--totally incompetent. It has been unfounded. His finding was unfounded. In fact, we can't find him. We would like to find out where he is. He no longer exists. What he said about this Commission is totally inaccurate. It has worked. It will work, and we are a rural area.

What it has done, one thing when it was created was to move the fuel tanks away from the waters that EPA said they couldn't be close to. These communities could not do that, and the process of the Federal Government and the other agencies, it would have taken too long. So we moved these fuel tanks across. And yes, it was used for clinics, and yes, it has been used for sewer and water. Forty-four of our villages don't have water yet, don't have sewage. They carry ``honey buckets.'' Why they call them ``honey buckets'' I have no idea.

But this Commission is to take and provide the proper things for, just as your constituents use every day and take for granted. This Commission has worked. We want to keep the money, and I want to thank the chairman for understanding this. This amendment has been offered time and time again. And as he said, this is a very small amount of money. That is not what I am arguing. It is money well spent. If we don't spend it on this type thing to cut out the middleman, and they keep saying there are other agencies. That is not true. Those agencies do not function. Most of our agencies today do not function because there are too many layers and nothing gets to the constituent, nothing gets to solving the problem.

So I am suggesting, and we have done some work on this. I asked for a GAO investigation; I did, to find if this has occurred. It has not been reported back to us yet. It will be. In fact, it will show that the IG's report is false, and that is one of the things I am looking forward to.

I urge my colleagues to reject this amendment. It is time we accept the fact that this system works, as the other commissions do, for those communities that are less fortunate than the communities in which most people live in who are in this body. I come from a rural State. I want to serve my rural State, and I am sure the Commission does also.

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize and thank Mr. Randy Erickson, a constituent from Kodiak, Alaska.

Recently, on behalf of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association's International Foundation, he traveled from Kodiak, Alaska, to South Sudan. While there, Mr. Erickson repaired and serviced power generators for the two utilities that provide these towns with electricity. This work is part of the Electrification Sustainability Program in South Sudan, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development.

One project has evolved into a self-sustaining municipal electric cooperative serving approximately 1,300 consumer members. The other project also serves approximately 550 customers, including household, commercial enterprises, public institutions, and nongovernmental organizations.

After the 2005 peace agreement in South Sudan, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International Foundation sent a team of experienced engineering and management staff to establish the first electric cooperative, and later to build two more rural utilities in other areas.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International team provided training at these utilities to strengthen the competency of their directors, management, and employees.

Civil unrest broke out again last December, and many people were evacuated. Recently, USAID and the State Department began approving travel for its employees and partners to South Sudan, and Mr. Erickson volunteered his time and skills for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association International Foundation to help ensure that, despite the unpredictable situation, the people in these areas could still have electricity.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Erickson for his hard work.