Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor this year's Penn Brad Oil Museum's annual Yellow Dog Winner, Joyce Cline.

Joyce has provided exceptional service to the cause of preserving the oil and gas heritage of the Bradford, Pennsylvania, region. She has been a dedicated member of the community who has given her time and leadership to many organizations.

Joyce graduated from Lawrence Park High School in 1959 and was a teacher with the Bradford Area School District for 19 years.

In 1974, she married Bill Cline. He owned a small oil-producing company, and Joyce began her journey in the oil industry. In 1982, she joined the Derrick Club of Bradford, where she served in various roles, including president in 1983 and 1984.

Joyce and Bill became members of the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers Association in 1986, 1 year after the organization was formed. This turned into a lifelong commitment for the Clines. In 2012, Joyce and Bill were honored with the Gary Hovis Memorial Award for their service.

Mr. Speaker, throughout her life, Joyce has shown her dedication to the industry. I wholeheartedly congratulate her on this outstanding achievement.

Mr. Speaker, many of us in this House will attend Memorial Day ceremonies over the weekend. I actually had four over this past weekend. I was privileged and honored to be there as we honor those who have died in the service of this great Nation to defend our rights and our liberties.

Observed on the last Monday of May, Memorial Day is one of America's most solemn occasions. The traditional Memorial Day dates back to 1864, in Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, not too far from my home in Centre County, Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District, as the birthplace of Memorial Day. Three ladies decorated the graves of fallen Civil War soldiers, and the custom has continued every year since then.

Boalsburg still puts on a traditional Memorial Day celebration complete with a parade, a community walk to the cemetery, speeches, military enactments, and much more.

On Memorial Day, communities across the country will pay tribute to our fallen veterans who never returned home. Many of us will gather with family members and friends and neighbors as we keep those we lost in our hearts.

So as we raise the Stars and Stripes, as we lay wreaths at monuments, memorials, and cemeteries, let us remember that our freedom is thanks to those who died and served in sacrifice.

Mr. Speaker, Memorial Day weekend also marks the ninth year that the National Endowment of the Arts and Blue Star Families begins Blue Star Museums. This program provides free admission to our Nation's Active- Duty military personnel this summer from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend of 2018.

This is an initiative of the National Endowment of the Arts in collaboration with Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense, and more than 2,000 museums nationwide, including children's museums, fine art museums, history and science museums, zoos, and nature centers.

Blue Star Museums are one way our Nation's museums can express appreciation to our military for their service and share with them America's cultural treasures. Blue Star Museums also provide a way for military families to feel connected to their community, especially for those families that have recently relocated through a change of station.

Blue Star Families build communities that support military families by connecting research and data to programs and solutions, including career development tools, local community events for families, and caregiver support. Since 2009, Blue Star Families have engaged tens of thousands of volunteers and served more than 1.5 million military family members.

Mr. Speaker, Blue Star Families will be celebrating with every American this weekend as we commemorate Memorial Day in honor of so many who are no longer with us. May God bless them, and may God bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Struthers Library Theatre in Warren, Pennsylvania, on its 135th anniversary. It has been a community treasure since it opened in 1883.

In 1882, local citizen Thomas Struthers generously offered to erect a building that would house a library. It included a public hall and rental space where the profits would be used by the Library Association.

The Struthers building would eventually become the center of the town's cultural activity, and Thomas Struthers would long be remembered as a visionary.

It has celebrated many milestones over the years:

In 1919, the new Library Theatre opened, after a complete gutting and remodeling of the auditorium, with a popular Broadway play.

In 1983, the Library Theatre celebrated an extensive renovation and its 100th birthday with a gala reopening featuring various performances throughout the night.

In 1984, the Library Room was restored to its original splendor and outfitted for special events and gatherings.

Mr. Speaker, the Struthers Library Theatre continues to be a cultural gem in Warren that is enjoyed by all. It maintains the fantastic legacy of its founder, Thomas Struthers, who would certainly be so proud today.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

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 rise today to honor the life of Mrs. Delphine Gibson from Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, who passed away on May 10, 2018. At the age of 114, Mrs. Gibson was America's oldest living person. She became the oldest living person in February of 2017.

Mrs. Gibson was born in South Carolina on August 17, 1903, where her family owned and operated a local farm. After her marriage to Taylor Gibson, the couple moved to Mount Union, Pennsylvania, in 1928, and together they had three children: Frank, Moody, and Ella.

Those who knew Mrs. Gibson speak of her great sense of humor and bright smile. She was known to sing and hum her favorite tunes around the nursing home where she resided and shared the gospel with her fellow residents. She credited her longevity to her faith in God and her church, Mount Hope Missionary Baptist, where she proudly worshipped.

Having lived in Pennsylvania for 90 years, Mrs. Gibson left a lasting impression on all who knew her, and, Mr. Speaker, she will certainly be missed.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment. As chair of the Nutrition Subcommittee, I have been out West. This amendment not only helps preserve our forests, but it prevents mudslides in California, it prevents erosion, and it prevents the killing of fish. Without managing the understory, the intensity of these wildfires will caramelize, or bake, the soil to where no water is absorbed. It runs off, takes everything with it, including soil particles, and increase turbidity in streams. My point is that clean watersheds depend on this amendment as well.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. It is an incredibly important amendment.

Ms. Stefanik talked about just one of many invasive species. This body, uniformly and united, put a lot of money into a significant threat to our forests, which was wildfire funding. Those of us who live on the East Coast, we have wildfires, Mr. Chairman, but they are more limited in scope. We don't have, certainly, the devastating effects of the half a million acres that I saw when I visited Washington.

Our primary threat is invasive species. The hemlock woolly adelgid is one of those. That is actually our State tree that it goes after in Pennsylvania, so we take that pretty personal. When the hemlock woolly adelgid kills the hemlock trees, it warms our trout streams, which we are known for, and that is an important part of our number two industry, which is tourism.

We have a new threat that has just recently come into this country from somewhere in Asia. It might have been China, I am not sure. It is called the spotted lanternfly. The spotted lanternfly is the most beautiful butterfly you have every seen, Mr. Chairman, but it is the most deadly to grapes, apple trees, pear trees, all fruit trees, and hardwoods. That is a big part of our economy, certainly in Pennsylvania and on the East Coast.

Mr. Chairman, I really support this amendment. We need research, we need not just solutions on how to deal with these invasive species, but we need to find solutions that are landscaped, that can be applied broadly, because it is very difficult to do it tree by tree. We are doing that with the hemlock woolly adelgid, but we do need more research. The U.S. Forest Research Lab is a great part of the U.S. Forest Service.

I appreciate the work also on restoring those forests. A good healthy forest, which means we are actively harvesting and we are maintaining and we are preventing wildfires and dealing with invasive species, provides us with clean air and clean water. They are the largest carbon sinks in the world, a good healthy forest.

Mr. Chair, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Mr. Faso for his amendment. I have had the privilege and honor of visiting his district, where we had one of our listening sessions that we did.

This is only my second farm bill to participate in, and the last one was very good. Chairman Lucas did a great job. But this one, we kind of broke the barriers, I think, in terms of transparency and in the amount of listening sessions that we had.

I appreciate we were in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where each January, we have a farm show, the largest indoor agriculture exposition in the country--that was a shameless plug, I know--but we were also in New York, and I appreciate what Mr. Faso is offering here with his amendment.

I certainly speak in favor and support of his amendment. Identifying the geographic sources is so incredibly important, Mr. Chairman, because then we can see what are the natural enemies to these bugs, these fungi, the invasive species that really today are having such a devastating effect.

In the Allegheny National Forest, we are proud of our hardwood cherry. We are very afraid of the spotted lanternfly because of what that could do.

Compared to the West, we are probably what are considered a puny or very small National Forest, about 513,000 acres, but it is the most profitable National Forest because of the value of our timber, and invasive species go right after the value. Today, standing in that forest, we have a lot of ash--which makes great baseball bats, among other things--that are dead because of the emerald ash borer.

So the gentleman's amendment, which would track and really provide the tools that the Forest Service--it builds on the tools that the Forest Service has. These are additional tools that they need to have.

It is so incredibly important when you look at the economic threat, and that is the way I look at invasive species. It is not just forest health, but these are assets. Our national forests were created not to be national parks. That is why they are managed by the Department of Agriculture, not the Department of Interior.

They are meant to provide resources, timber, energy resources, minerals, and the invasive species represent just a tremendous threat. So we should do anything that we can to protect the value of that taxpayer-owned asset.

Again, everybody benefits from a healthy forest. It takes CO2 out of the air, it creates oxygen. They are the largest carbon sinks in the world. It keeps our watersheds healthy.

Mr. Chair, I appreciate all parts of this gentleman's amendment and I thank him for his amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Conaway), the chairman of the Agriculture Committee.

Mr. Chair, just once again, let me thank the gentleman for his amendment.

Let me also say that this farm bill, from my perspective, is groundbreaking with what is in the base language with healthy forests, and the series of amendments that we have seen made in order. The people that will vote for this farm bill today are ones that are concerned with too much CO2 in the area, because the work that we do as a result of this farm bill, if you are concerned about climate change and you are concerned about CO2, this is probably the most effective piece of legislation to deal with that in my 10 years serving here in Congress, because, once again, these forests--and I am a little biased. I am from Pennsylvania, Penn Wood. We have more trees today than we did when William Penn got the charter.

Our healthy forests are our largest carbon sinks. It is the most effective tool that we have to take CO2 out of the air and to deal with any impact that CO2 may have on climate change. So certainly anyone who is concerned about that, talks about that, needs to support this amendment and certainly needs to support the underlying bill.

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

Madam Chair, I just want to thank my colleague and friend from Pennsylvania for this amendment. Yes, the USDA has existing authority, but I think this expresses the intent of Congress and our recognition that one of the biggest issues that we face in the agriculture industry--which is the number one industry in Pennsylvania, one out of every seven jobs comes directly or indirectly from agriculture--it is our succession planning. It is where is the next generation of farmer coming from? Congress recognizes the need of having this type of leadership designated so that there is somebody on point overseeing, and pointing, and administering the young and beginning farmer programs that we have put in place for the past couple of farm bills.

It is actually a crisis, given the average age of farmers across this Nation. And I appreciate the fact that we are going to help to certainly further express the intent of this Congress on the importance of this, and provide a direction so that resources can be administered to meet this need. I appreciate the gentleman's effort.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, I was absent for the evening vote series. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 181; YEA on Roll Call No. 182; and YEA on Roll Call No. 183.

Mr. Speaker, this week is National Salvation Army Week, and it is a time to recognize the good that this organization does, but also a time to raise awareness about the challenges faced by more than 40 million Americans who are living in poverty, many who are stuck in poverty, quite frankly, because of programs and regulations put forth by Washington, D.C., for decades that serve as a spiderweb and makes people feel more comfortable living in poverty, which is nothing we should ever do.

We should always be working to provide our friends, our neighbors, our neighbors in need with a pathway to opportunity. The Salvation Army is a great organization, actually, that accomplishes that.

With the help of 3.2 million volunteers, the Salvation Army serves nearly 25 million Americans through a range of social services, including food for the hungry, relief for disaster survivors, clothing and shelter for the homeless, and opportunities for underprivileged children.

National Salvation Army Week began in 1954 when Congress approved the joint resolution for President Dwight D. Eisenhower to proclaim a week to recognize the humanitarian efforts of the Salvation Army.

The Salvation Army is one of the Nation's largest and oldest faith- based health and human services providers.

With a presence in every ZIP Code across the country, the Salvation Army uniquely understands the demands facing Americans in need.

Last year, the Salvation Army served more than 56 million meals and provided more than 10 million nights of shelter.

The Salvation Army is on the front lines of the opioid crisis, serving more than 173,000 Americans in 139 rehab centers across the United States.

Since the 1900 Galveston hurricane, the Salvation Army has served survivors and first responders of every major natural disaster and numerous man-made disasters. In any given year, it helps more than 275,000 survivors receive hope, healing, and comfort.

Through a wide variety of job training programs, including culinary, hospitality, and landscaping training, the

Salvation Army helps Americans build the skills they need to acquire gainful employment and lift themselves out of poverty, help them achieve food security.

The Salvation Army takes a holistic approach in addressing people's needs. It supports the physical, emotional, and spiritual development of those that they serve. Data shows that those who utilize the Salvation Army's spiritual and emotional care programs are more likely to reclaim their lives and get back on their feet.

Mr. Speaker, the Salvation Army was established in London in 1865, and for more than 135 years, it has been supporting those in need without discrimination.

Together, we can all join the fight for good. I am proud to honor this outstanding organization that for more than a century has given scores of Americans the help they need during trying times.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Mr. Gosar for offering this commonsense amendment.

Good Neighbor Authority was one of the hard-fought achievements in the 2014 farm bill that has proven useful in improving our national forests and our rural communities. I was pleased to expand the Good Neighbor Authority to Indian Tribes in the base text of this bill, and I am happy that my colleague continues to improve the forestry title with this amendment authorizing counties to be eligible.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank Mr. Gianforte for offering this important amendment for Montana and, quite frankly, for our National Forest System as a whole.

Over the past several years, fires have had a devastating impact on our forest system lands, resulting in deteriorated landscapes. I have witnessed this firsthand across the country as the former chairman of the Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry.

It is vital that the Forest Service has the right tools, the ability to restore these landscapes as quickly as possible to preserve habitat, clean air, and the significant impact that these incidents can have on clean water.

Unfortunately, litigation stalls many of these projects. As Madison County, Montana, Commissioner Dave Schulz noted before the House Natural Resources Federal Lands Subcommittee in May of 2015, due to the threat of litigation from outside groups refusing to meet or collaborate with the community, what started out as a consensus proposal for 100,000 acres of fire salvage and reforestation was reduced to less than 2,000 acres of salvage. ``Fear of litigation prevents the Forest Service from thinking big.''

In another quote, he offered, a ``significant factor in preventing responsible management of our Nation's forests.''

Mr. Chair, I certainly support this amendment. It has already passed the House. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment by my good friend and colleague from California. I do that respectfully.

H.R. 2 includes a substantive, enforceable, and supportive work requirement for work-capable adults 18 to 59. That is 20 percent of the population, 6 million individuals.

Waivers and exemptions were modified and even tightened to ensure that only the most vulnerable work-capable adults were waived from the requirement. Waivers take into consideration those areas with excessively high rates of unemployment, while exemptions assist those who need short-term reprieve because of temporary hardship.

Allowing for married couples to fulfill one requirement disengages recipients from the workforce. Work is more than just a paycheck. It provides dignity, social impact, opportunity, and creates the only path to self-sufficiency. One spouse fulfilling a 20-hour-per-week requirement does not lead to self-sufficiency. It does the exact opposite; it creates a lifetime dependency trap.

H.R. 2 provides equitable treatment to all households when promoting work, including those that house cohabiting adults or married adults.

Currently, 42 States choose not to use education and training funds to invest in childcare, which is an allowable investment. Reducing the age of the child from 6 to 3 is an undeniable barrier that disincentivizes employment more so than the current programming.

Requiring education and training providers to use E-Verify on all participants who depend on them for services is just plain cruel. SNAP has eligibility standards in place, and illegal immigrants are not eligible for benefits. This is simply a means to shut out the very organizations and entities that provide these necessary supports for individuals in need.

Mr. Chairman, I oppose this amendment and urge my colleagues to do the same.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I am pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Faso).

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Delaware (Ms. Blunt Rochester).

Mr. Chairman, first of all, I ask support in opposing this amendment from my friend and colleague from California.

To my friends across the aisle who keep asking for bipartisan opportunity, you blew the first one. That was in subcommittee, where we could have amendments, and we are not seeing amendments from Members here. So there has been plenty of opportunity for bipartisan work.

I do appreciate the recommendations that my Democratic friends made in writing to both the ranking member and the chairman. All of those points and all the titles, I believe, were--I know in the nutrition title they were all incorporated into the base bill.

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

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

Mr. Chairman, we have heard about broad-based categorical eligibility. If this was a SNAP brochure, Mr. Chairman, and I hand this to you, regardless of what your income is, if you accept this SNAP brochure, you are now eligible for SNAP. That is broad-based categorical eligibility.

Mr. Chairman, if somebody offers you an 800 number to call regarding SNAP, which is a good thing, as is the brochure, and you use that number, under broad-based categorical eligibility, you are now eligible for SNAP, no matter what your income is.

So, if it has been found that some families will come off, it is because it has been found that there are families who already exceed the income.

Now, here is the thing. If they just go and fill out the application, they can be eligible for SNAP if they meet those financial and asset requirements.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of the International Association of Lions Club, Multiple District 14, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Lions Multiple District 14 will host its 95th annual convention at the Penn Stater Conference Center today through Sunday. They will proudly welcome the Lions Club International president, Dr. Naresh Aggarwal, of Batala, Punjab, India.

Mr. Speaker, this group is near and dear to my heart, as I am a member of my local Lions Club, having served also as a Scoutmaster of that Lions Scout troop.

The Lions are the world's largest service club, with more than 18,900 Lions in Pennsylvania and nearly 1.45 million Lions worldwide.

The Lions focus on five areas of service: diabetes; environment; hunger relief; pediatric cancer; and probably the most well-known area of service, vision. Thanks to the 692 Lions Clubs in Pennsylvania, residents benefit from services like chartering units of the Boy Scouts of America, operating a year-round camp for people with vision challenges, supporting a camp for children with health challenges, and offering scholarships for students.

Mr. Speaker, the Lions do so much for so many in need. I wish them the best of luck as they host their 95th convention and live out their motto: We serve.

Mr. Speaker, I was detained in my Congressional District due to the Primary Election. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 181; YEA on Roll Call No. 182; and YEA on Roll Call No. 183.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Police Week. Tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from across the country are in Washington in honor of National Police Week.

Established by joint resolution of Congress in 1962, National Police Week pays special recognition to those law enforcement officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty for the safety and the protection of others.

National Police Week is a collaborative effort of many organizations dedicated to honoring America's law enforcement community. It is also a time where we pause to remember officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice and lost their lives in the line of duty protecting and serving others.

This week honors the men and women in blue who gave everything to protect their country and their communities. Our officers put on their uniform each day knowing that they can be in harm's way at any moment.

Mr. Speaker, I say thank you to all of our officers who answer the call to serve, and I wish each and every officer a happy National Police Week.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman of the Agriculture Committee so much for yielding, and for his tireless work on this important legislation in order to support rural America and our most vulnerable.

Over the past 3 years, the Agriculture Committee has spent countless hours talking with constituents, performing outreach, and holding hearings with stakeholders to see how we can improve upon the 2014 farm bill.

Contrary to the claims of some, this legislation was not created in the dead of night or without input from my friends across the aisle.

Mr. Chairman, I have before me a letter that was sent to Chairman Conaway and Ranking Member Peterson with priorities identified by the Democratic Members that I am proud to serve with on the Agriculture Committee. I am proud to see--under nutrition specifically--all of these, and I believe all of these titles, these priorities were incorporated into the farm bill.

Over this 3-year period, we held 21 hearings and heard from 81 witnesses at the Nutrition Subcommittee alone. Members of the Agriculture Committee traveled to every corner of the country to participate in listening sessions and obtain vital input from our farmers, our ranchers, and our growers.

As the farm bill was in development at the committee, every Member had the opportunity to provide input and that input was considered during this process. Yet, even with an open process, no amendments were offered during the committee markup by my

friends across the aisle. That is an opportunity for refinement, as is being on the House floor an opportunity for refinement.

From voluntary insurance programs, to conservation in rural development programs, to agriculture research, H.R. 2 contains critical supports for our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and rural America.

On the farm side, I am especially pleased with the continued reforms to the Margin Protection Program for Dairy, as well as the forestry provisions in title VIII. Now, while I could go on about all of these good policies contained in H.R. 2, this legislation ultimately is about supporting American food--both on the farm, and on the consumer side.

Food is a national security issue. And whether we realize it or not, every American shakes hands with a farmer at least three times a day. As chairman of the Nutrition Subcommittee, I am proud that we maintain nutrition assistance for our most vulnerable through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Approximately 65 percent of these dollars directly provide food to children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities who rely on benefits of SNAP when times get tough.

H.R. 2 also does make historic changes to SNAP by providing new job opportunities for work-capable adults. This bill does this by reinvesting significant dollars within our budget into education and training programs.

By providing the States the increased resources to do this, every work-capable SNAP recipient will be guaranteed a slot in a job-training program, leading to ultimate food security. By doing this, we can help folks elect a pathway to long-term employment, self-sufficiency, and a way out of poverty.

Mr. Chair, I ask that Members support H.R. 2.