Floor Statements

Section 3:

``No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a Member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States . . .''

Mr. Speaker, as the House is set to begin debate on H.R. 26, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act, commonly referred to as the REINS Act, as a cosponsor of this bill, I rise to express my strong support for its passage.

This bill requires that any Federal regulation with a significant economic impact be subject to an up-or-down vote in both Chambers of Congress. Currently, the President has the power to implement regulations over executive agencies on a broad basis with little congressional consent.

The balance of power in Washington has often shifted increasingly toward the executive branch. This enables executive agencies to create regulations that Congress would never have approved. The pace and volume of Federal regulations and rules are increasing. In 2016 alone, the Obama administration broke all records in printing more than 97,000 pages and by issuing more than 3,800 rules and regulations in the Federal Register.

Unfortunately, the bureaucracy has been empowered to create punitive regulations rather than promoting collaborative efforts with States, businesses, and the average citizen. Mr. Speaker, I encourage each of my colleagues to think of the American people and vote ``yes'' on the REINS Act.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to mourn the loss of Pennsylvania State Trooper Landon Weaver, who was killed in the line of duty on Friday, December 30.

Trooper Weaver had been on patrol for 1 year with the Pennsylvania State Police. He was investigating a domestic incident in Juniata Township, Huntingdon County, in Pennsylvania's Fifth District, when the situation turned deadly and he was fatally shot by the suspect. Flags throughout Pennsylvania are flying at half-staff in honor of Trooper Weaver being taken from us too soon.

I rise today to speak about who Trooper Landon Weaver was: a son, a brother, a husband, a friend, a hero.

Trooper Weaver's law enforcement career had just begun. He was 23 years old, and he married his high school sweetheart, Macy, in June. They graduated from Central High School in

Martinsburg in 2012, and he went on to study criminal justice at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He was proudly on the dean's list.

In December 2015, he enlisted to join the Pennsylvania State Police Academy in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the State Police Academy in June, was assigned to Troop G of the Pennsylvania State Police, and served at the Huntingdon Barracks. He loved his family, and he loved being a police officer.

Trooper Weaver attended Zion Lutheran Church and enjoyed spending time with his family, and especially his wife, Macy. To him, family was everything.

Trooper Weaver is the 97th member of the Pennsylvania State Police to be killed in the line of duty.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his parents, Eric and Christine Weaver of East Freedom; his brother, Larett Weaver of East Freedom; his paternal grandparents, Merrill and Christine D. Weaver; as well as other family members and friends. He grew up in a small town where there is a deep sense of community. Many hearts are broken over this tragic, senseless situation.

One of Trooper Weaver's teachers at Central High School in Martinsburg remembered Trooper Weaver from his days as a student. Teacher Joe Logan said Trooper Weaver was a ``great kid'' whom you could call on during times of need and he would be there. He said he was ``beside himself with grief and sadness.''

He went on to say: ``He would do anything for you. He was humble, dedicated, and a loving person to his wife and family. You'd be proud to call him a colleague or friend.''

Trooper Weaver was one of Pennsylvania's finest. He was committed to his family, to his profession, and to the community that he loved. His dedication to service embodies the values of law enforcement officers across the Nation. Our law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to help people.

Trooper Weaver put on his uniform that day and went to work like he had done so many days before, knowing that any moment he could be in harm's way. That is a commitment our officers make to serve and protect the public and uphold the law. That is the commitment that Trooper Weaver made to serve the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

May we all honor Trooper Weaver's memory. He was a young man just starting out in life. He was a newlywed with so much to look forward to. In one moment, he was gone.

On behalf of the Congress of the United States and the people of the Fifth Congressional District of Pennsylvania, I offer my sincere condolences and prayers to his family, especially to his wife, Macy, during this tragic and difficult time. He risked his life to keep all of us safe.

Trooper Landon Weaver is a hero who was taken from us too soon. May we mourn his loss and honor his memory. May God bless Landon Weaver and his family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the Pennsylvania Farm Show that opens this weekend in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This weeklong event is the largest indoor agricultural expo in the country. It showcases 6,000 animals and thousands of agricultural exhibits.

There will be a Member listening session on Saturday, January 7, at 1:30 p.m. Proudly, Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway and I have organized a public forum for Members to hear directly from farmers and farm families.

We invite all Members of the House to join us at this tremendous expo that celebrates Pennsylvania's rich history and the agriculture industry. We will tour the show and visit various exhibits. Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding will also join us.

Agriculture is the number one industry in Pennsylvania and generates nearly $6.9 billion in agricultural cash receipts. Almost half a million jobs are tied to this industry in the Commonwealth. This show has been widely attended for generations. In fact, this year marks the 101st show.

Come join us Saturday in Harrisburg as we celebrate the prominence of the agriculture industry in Pennsylvania and its importance to this Nation. We hope to see you there.

Mr. Speaker, soon the House of Representatives is expected to vote on H.R. 5, the Student Success Act. H.R. 5 represents a long overdue rewrite of the current No Child Left Behind with new policies that aim to ensure that every student in this country has access to a quality public education.

For years our Federal education policy has been failing our Nation's students--the statistics do not lie. Today only 38 percent of seniors in high school can read at grade level, and just 26 percent are proficient in math.

While I do not believe that any Member can be in total agreement with every aspect of the proposed bill, it is important to recognize the underlying goal of reducing the Federal Government's role in education while empowering States and especially local school districts with discretion over academic standards and testing.

While truly well intentioned, the current law places undue pressures upon young learners and has turned hardworking, compassionate teachers into test proctors. This is not fair to those who have worked tirelessly to ensure our children are receiving a quality education, nor is it fair to our children, who are not receiving a well-rounded education but memorizing answers to specific test questions.

It has become overwhelmingly clear that the Washington bureaucrats don't know how to educate our children. I can assure you that parents, administrators, and local school boards understand what is best for their children. It is time for our Federal Government to take a backseat and give power over education back to the States, the true laboratories of innovation.

Mr. Speaker, we are not going to agree upon every issue when it comes to education. However, now is the time to act. Our children deserve as much, and our Nation's future depends on it.

Mr. Speaker, over the weekend, Penn State University held its annual IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon, more commonly known as THON, at the Bryce Jordan Center on campus.

THON, which is the largest student-run philanthropy in the world, is a yearlong effort to raise funds and awareness for the fight against pediatric cancer.

Since 1977, THON has raised more than $127 million for the Four Diamonds Fund based out of Penn State Hershey Medical Center. With the support of students all across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and supporters around the world, this year's event raised over $13 million.

Mr. Speaker, as a graduate of Penn State University, I could not be more proud of these students and future fellow alumni. I congratulate them on yet another spectacular year.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday marked the sixth anniversary of when Continental Flight 3407 crashed into a home in Clarence Center, New York, and tragically took the lives of all 49 passengers on board, including one expectant mother.

In the wake of this tragedy, Congress passed the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010, which was the largest overhaul to aviation safety in over 40 years.

The legislation introduced many new guidelines for airline safety and required airlines to put well-trained pilots in every cockpit. Although this law has helped to prevent accidents like that of Flight 3407 from happening again, there is still work to be done.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this week, I met with some of the families of the victims of Flight 3407, and, yesterday, I joined a group of bipartisan Members in urging the committee of jurisdiction to continue to support the implementation of the Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Extension Act of 2010.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the committee for their continued support and their efforts in helping to make commercial airline travel safer. As we move forward, the House should be clearly focused on ensuring tragedies like Flight 3407 never happen again.

Mr. Speaker, I rise as cochair of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus in order to recognize February as National Career and Technical Education Month.

With my friend and cochair, Jim Langevin of Rhode Island, the CTE Caucus remains focused on ensuring individuals have access to high- quality career and technical education programs.

In the previous Congress, a bipartisan CTE Caucus was successful in highlighting the need for robust funding for the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. As we begin working on funding for fiscal year 2016, again our priority will be focused on ensuring adequate funding for CT programming across the country.

Now, more than ever, our young people need assurances that the skills that they attain will lead to good-paying, family-sustaining jobs. CTE programming can make those assurances.

Mr. Speaker, as we celebrate National Career and Technical Education Month, I encourage all my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to join us as members of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus.

Mr. Speaker, in the administration's national security strategy unveiled last week, they went as far as to identify climate change as a threat on par with terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.

I agree that we need to continue to be cognizant and attentive of the impacts of the climate, but it is downright dangerous to equate the issue to the very real and direct threats that terrorist organizations and networks around the world pose to the lives of American citizens.

Mr. Speaker, Americans saw firsthand and will never forget the horrors of September 11, 2001.

Mr. Speaker, I also believe that thousands of U.S. troops who have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the families and friends of the thousands of Americans who have paid the ultimate price, would respectfully disagree with the President.

Mr. Speaker, just this morning, the White House circulated a proposal to Congress to authorize military action to fight Islamic State terrorists--a day after it was confirmed that an American aid worker had been killed by the terrorist group.

This is a clear indication that the threat of terrorism has posed and continues to pose a much more immediate challenge to our national security and the safety of every American than climate change.

Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, the House of Representatives is expected to vote on Senate-passed legislation-- something that has already passed out of the House--that would immediately authorize the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.

For the past 6 years, President Obama has hidden behind political motives to delay a decision on the pipeline. While this administration has continued to engage in partisan politics, the American people have missed out on lower energy costs, thousands of new jobs, billions of new tax revenue, and a heightened level of energy security that would have been created by the pipeline's approval.

As the father of an Army soldier who was wounded in the Middle East, I believe that we should do everything we can to end dependence on Middle East energy.

This isn't about whether President Obama wins or loses. This is about doing what is right for the American people. The Keystone project is about ensuring a reliable energy source from our allies to the north-- Canada--while creating tens of thousands of American jobs in the process. Approving the Keystone XL will also help to substantially reduce our imports from overseas.

Later this week, the President will have an opportunity to put politics aside, show real leadership, and sign the Keystone XL pipeline into law. Unfortunately, a veto threat still looms.

Mr. Speaker, this country needs a responsible, affordable, and reliable energy supply. The American people deserve as much. The approval of the Keystone XL pipeline is a great first step.

Mr. Speaker, as cochair of the German- American Caucus, I rise to highlight this important juncture in European security strategy, the shared economic opportunities, and the future prosperity of both nations.

Yesterday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel visited the United States for bilateral meetings with the Obama administration. While the primary topic was mutual security, the visit also afforded an opportunity to display the strong ties between our two great countries.

This relationship is immediately visible through the thousands of businesses, on both sides of the Atlantic, which provide employment and help support local economies. As two of the world's largest economies, opportunities for trade and investment are plentiful. Annually, hundreds of thousands of tourists from our respective nations travel to experience the landmarks, culture, and elements that define both as nations.

Mr. Speaker, I know that I speak for many of my colleagues when I say that Chancellor Merkel's visit was certainly welcomed, and we look forward to building on our relationship.

Mr. Speaker, small businesses, the backbone of our economy, continue to be unfairly saddled by one-size- fits-all regulations. Most small businesses do not have the capacity to retain in-house legal or compliance departments, and unfortunately, many agencies often neglect their duties of assessing how new regulations may impact small businesses. There is also a pattern of Federal agencies providing inadequate analyses of the long-term economic costs of the rules that they propose.

Despite the President's promise in January of 2011 to ``eliminate excessive and unjustified burdens on small businesses,'' very little has been done by this administration.

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 50, the Unfunded Mandates Information and Transparency Act of 2015, which would require greater transparency of the Federal Government costs associated with unfunded mandates. I joined my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to approve a commonsense solution to reducing cost by improving transparency, awareness, and accountability in our Federal agencies. Just moments ago, the House passed H.R. 527, which would require better economic analyses of direct and indirect costs on small businesses.

I thank my colleagues in both parties for supporting these commonsense reforms.

Mr. Speaker, while I am very proud to represent Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, we woke up on Groundhog Day to a budget proposal that feels like the infinite loop--loaded with the same tax-and-spend policies that have not worked for the President or for the American people.

The President's budget proposal is a hard left U-turn that attempts to undo the three consecutive years of more responsible, less discretionary spending. While Congress only has the power of the purse, this budget altogether ignores our staggering national debt, which is more than $18.1 trillion.

Despite $2.1 trillion in proposed tax increases, President Obama's budget never balances--ever. Since 2009, $7.5 trillion has been added to the national debt, and expenditures amount to more than $21.1 trillion. The President's budget request recommends adding a staggering additional $8.5 trillion to the debt.

Mr. Speaker, we need smart budgeting to fund our priorities without doing harm to families, small businesses, and future generations. The American people deserve no less.

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its 129th annual Groundhog Day celebration.

Each year, I am honored to be a part of this celebration, being in the Pennsylvania Fifth Congressional District, but a snowstorm moving across the region forced me back down to Washington sooner than expected.

Punxsutawney Phil was awakened from his burrow yesterday at 7:28 in the morning and, despite overcast skies, saw his shadow and predicted 6 more weeks of winter.

Groundhog Day is not only about Phil's prediction of the future and how soon the next season will be upon us; it is a celebration of our past, the Commonwealth heritage, and a time for

communities to come together and carry on this great tradition for generations to come.

It is truly an honor to have this celebration take place in my home district, and I want to thank President Bill Deely of the Groundhog Club Inner Circle and everyone from Punxsutawney and the surrounding area for their hard work and planning to make this year's Groundhog Day such a special event.

Mr. Speaker, the Twenty-Five Percent Fund Act of 1908 required 25 percent of tax receipts of timber harvested from U.S. national forests to be returned to the counties where the tax receipts originated.

Since local property taxes cannot be levied on Federal lands, these dollars along with payment in lieu of taxes, or PILT, funding are critical for counties located in national forests and other Federal lands. This is because the 1908 law specifies that they directly support local schools and road activities in national forests.

Unfortunately, timbering has dramatically decreased in the National Forest System since the late 1980s. According to the Forest Service, the agency was annually harvesting over 12 billion board feet by the end of the 1980s, but today, this amount has decreased to less than 2 billion board feet per year.

Make no mistake, timbering activities, such as removing unhealthy wood waste and potential fire fuel, plays a fundamental role in the core mission of the Forest Service and lends the forest health.

Leading up to the turn of the century, declining timber production has resulted in less forest management and, therefore, decreased forest health, fewer local employment opportunities, and dramatically less funding for schools and roads in forested communities.

As a result, the Secure Rural Schools program was created in 2000 to help offset the lack of funding for essential local activities. Unfortunately, the program was allowed to expire at the end of September 2014, resulting in payments to counties reverting back to previous law which again requires 25 percent of the tax receipts from timbering to be returned to the counties of origin.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the parent agency of the Forest Service, announced that 25 percent of receipts will be paid to 41 States throughout the coming months in 2015.

These funds are very much needed in rural communities located on Federal lands, including the Allegheny National Forest, where four counties in northwestern Pennsylvania directly benefit.

While these funds amount to nearly $50 million nationally, they represent only one-sixth of the funds that were provided the previous year through the Secure Rural Schools program.

Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Education and the Workforce Committee and a former school board president, I can attest that there is no school district in America that could have 94 percent of a funding stream pulled out from underneath them and still manage.

Make no mistake, the Secure Rural Schools program has gone a long way in helping communities bridge the financial shortfalls for the lack of taxable land over the past 15 years, but the program alone does not solve the underlying challenges faced by counties and communities colocated in national forests and other Federal lands.

In order to ensure the long-term ecological sustainability and economic prosperity of our national forests and our local communities, the Forest Service must adhere to its historical mission of active forest management and timber harvesting for our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, let us not be confused. National forests are not national parks; they are home to the people's resources. We must encourage sustainable and increased production of the public's resources which directly support those communities that are colocated on Federal lands. This would be a win-win for the country. The American people deserve as much.