Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a proud Bobcat to recognize Montana State University, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary tomorrow on Founders' Day.

Montana State University, a land-grant university in my hometown of Bozeman, was formed in 1893. Originally, the agricultural college of the State of Montana, the school started with eight students in a small classroom in a local high school.

The college quickly grew to include many other degree paths, including engineering and nursing; two programs for which the school is particularly known.

Today, Montana State University serves over 16,000 students each year. This year's spring enrollment set a new record for the tenth year in a row.

Montana State University is a cornerstone of the Bozeman community, and we are fortunate to have such an institution in our State.

The fact is that the success of my business, as well as that of many others, would not have been possible without Montana State University.

Go, Cats, go.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three Montana athletes who will join Team USA and compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Darian Stevens of Missoula, Maggie Voisin of Whitefish, and Brad Wilson of Butte will represent not only Montana, but our great Nation.

This is the second Olympics where Maggie has qualified, and she will compete in the women's slopestyle skiing. Darian, who began skiing when she was 4 years old, will also compete in the women's slopestyle skiing. Brad, who also started skiing when he was just 4 years old and who competed in the Sochi Games four years ago, will compete in the men's mogul skiing.

I look forward to cheering on these outstanding Montanans. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing Maggie, Darian, and Brad success in the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Madam Speaker, because of the tax cuts passed by congressional Republicans and signed by President Trump, small-business owners in Montana are expanding their businesses and giving raises and bonuses to their employees.

An insurance broker in Harlem is giving a pay raise to all of his employees and hiring another staff member. A small business in Stevensville is giving pay raises to all of their employees, and a local grocery store owner in St. Ignatius is giving employees a raise, increasing the starting wage, and providing his workers with a bonus.

The leader on the other side of the aisle may deride these bonuses, raises, and investments as crumbs, but they make a real difference to the folks I represent back in Montana. I look forward to sharing more good news about how the tax cuts congressional Republicans and President Trump enacted last year are benefiting Montana.

Mr. Speaker, last week the House voted to keep the government open with legislation that, on any other day, every Member would have supported. It funded the government and it reauthorized CHIP for 6 years, a program that 24,000 Montana children depend on for their healthcare needs.

On any other day, these proposals would pass with broad bipartisan support, but my colleagues on the other side of the aisle in this Chamber opposed it and 44 Senate Democrats opposed it. And for what?

An unrelated immigration issue that can be addressed before March.

What has been the result of these misplaced priorities?

The government shutdown. More than 2 million servicemen and -women aren't being paid; 9 million American children, including 24,000 in Montana, are losing their healthcare insurance.

My colleagues in the Senate will soon consider reopening the government. I urge them, particularly the 44 Senate Democrats who voted for the Schumer shutdown, to reopen the government, pay our troops, and restore health insurance to children.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the critical work of UDAP Industries, a company in Butte, Montana, that produces self-defense sprays. It was founded by Mark Matheny, a survivor of a grizzly bear attack.

When you are in bear country, bear spray is critically important. Citing concerns about the ozone layer, the EPA moved, in 2015, to ban the propellant used to make bear spray shoot out of the canister. EPA suggested a replacement that was half as effective, undermining safety. Rather than give in and make a less effective, inferior product, UDAP and others petitioned the EPA to reconsider.

After my office and others worked with the EPA to waive the ban for bear spray, EPA did the right thing and waived the ban that would have created a safety hazard. I will continue working with UDAP and others to ensure that they are not burdened by unnecessary Federal regulations.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 117) to designate a mountain peak in the State of Montana as ``Alex Diekmann Peak''.

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.

Mr. Speaker, the Alex Diekmann Peak Designation Act of 2017, introduced by Senator Steve Daines from Montana, would designate an unnamed peak in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in my home State of Montana the Alex Diekmann Peak.

Alex Diekmann was a renowned conservationist who lived in Bozeman, Montana. He dedicated his professional life to protecting the scenic resources of more than 50 district areas in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho and conserving more than 100,000 acres.

Mr. Diekmann brought together communities, landowners, sportsmen, and the general public in his conservation efforts and contributed to the future of natural treasures, such as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, Glacier National Park, and the Cabinet-Yaak Ecosystem.

Mr. Diekmann left a noteworthy impact on the preservation of natural wonders in and near the Madison Valley and Madison Range of Montana. This pristine area is home to majestic scenery, fishing, wildlife, and recreational opportunities that will remain conserved and accessible to the public thanks to Alex's diligent work.

Mr. Diekmann lost his heroic battle with cancer on February 1, 2016, at the age of 52. He is survived by his wife, Lisa, and their two sons, Logan and Liam. He leaves a legacy of conservation across Montana and the northern Rockies that will continue to benefit the United States for generations to come.

The designation of this unnamed peak in the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana will honor the life and legacy of Alex Diekmann. I thank Alex for his work on behalf of the American people and look forward to paying tribute to him by hiking Alex Diekmann Peak this coming summer with my wife and those of my children who can join us.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Hawaii for her help on this, and I would also urge my colleagues to vote for the bill.

Mr. Speaker, 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. 1107) to promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, 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.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1107, introduced by Congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada, is a bipartisan bill that consolidates over 300,000 acres of checkerboard land previously identified for disposal by the Bureau of Land Management in Pershing County, Nevada. This bill conveys land for mining and other public purposes, creates a new wilderness area, and releases certain wilderness study areas, all to benefit conservation, recreation, and economic development in the county.

Mr. Speaker, 85 percent of Nevada's land is owned and operated by the Federal Government. Not only does this deprive the State final say on management decisions in its own backyard, but it also deprives the State of the tax base utilized by other States to fund roads, school districts, and police departments.

Pershing County, Nevada, is no different. Seventy-five percent of the county is federally owned. This bill is a result of over a decade of negotiations between locally elected officials, miners, conservationists, sportsmen, ranchers, and residents in the county. Their hard work and commitment to bipartisanship has resulted in a bill that benefits all parties, guaranteeing that both the economic and ecological future of the county are protected.

This bill, in addition to being cosponsored by all Nevada congressional Representatives, is supported by Pershing County, Friends of Nevada Wilderness, the Nevada Chapter of the Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Coalition for Nevada's Wildlife, and several Nevadan mining companies, including Clover Nevada, Coeur Mining, EP Minerals, Gold Acquisition Corp., and Solidus Resources.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei).

Mr. Speaker, I would echo the sentiments of the gentlewoman from Hawaii (Ms. Hanabusa). I urge my colleagues to vote for this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1532) to reaffirm that certain land has been taken into trust for the benefit of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, 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 to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

H.R. 1532, sponsored by the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne), would ratify the trust status of lands the Secretary of the Interior currently holds for the benefit of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians of Alabama. The lands are located in the State of Alabama, with the exception of 1 acre of land in the State of Florida.

The Tribe's trust lands are used for a variety of Tribal purposes, including the operation of casinos authorized under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, a health clinic, an assisted living facility, and other facilities and development serving the needs of the Tribe and the local communities.

H.R. 1532 applies only to specific tracts of land taken in trust prior to a 2009 ruling by the Supreme Court, a ruling whose significance I will describe in a moment.

Lands held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior have a unique political status. The lands are regulated by Tribes and the Federal Government pursuant to a variety of statutes that restrict their alienation, and protect them from taxation and from State civil and criminal jurisdiction.

In addition, gaming may not be conducted by a Tribe under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988 unless the casino is located on trust or reservation lands.

H.R. 1532 is necessary because there is a cloud of uncertainty over the title of the Poarch Band's existing trust lands. The Poarch Band obtained formal Federal recognition in 1984 and lands for the benefit of the Tribe were taken by the Secretary of the Interior in trust pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, or the IRA.

In a 2009 Supreme Court opinion commonly called Carcieri, the Court held that the Secretary may not use the IRA to acquire land in trust for a Tribe unless the Tribe was under Federal jurisdiction when the IRA was enacted in 1934. While the Poarch Band was not a party to the case, the effect of the Supreme Court case calls into question the lawfulness of the Secretary's acquisition of the Tribe's lands because the Tribe was federally recognized 50 years after the IRA.

H.R. 1532 would clear up any question over the validity of the Secretary's action to take the Tribe's existing lands into trust. It will create a needed certainty for the Tribe to use it for a variety of uses that might otherwise be prohibited were the lands to fall under State jurisdiction.

Because the bill ratifies the trust status for lands acquired by the Secretary prior to 2009, there is no concern that we are ratifying any action taken by the Secretary that might violate the IRA, as defined by the Supreme Court.

There is precedent for this legislation. In 2013, Congress enacted legislation to ratify the trust status of lands for the Gun Lake Tribe in Michigan, a Tribe that was recognized in recent years, like the Poarch Band.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Byrne).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz).

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2897) to authorize the Mayor of the District of Columbia and the Director of the National Park Service to enter into cooperative management agreements for the operation, maintenance, and management of units of the National Park System in the District of Columbia, and for other purposes.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which 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.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2897, introduced by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia, authorizes the District of Columbia to establish cooperative management agreements with the National Park Service to operate, manage, and maintain National Park Service properties within the city limits.

As of 2015, 21.7 percent of the District's total surface area, over 8,000 acres in all, was owned and managed by the National Park Service. This area includes 23 distinct units of the National Park System, the National Mall, and many of the small urban green spaces spread throughout the city.

A significant portion of this land is in disrepair. The District ranks second in the National Park Service's deferred maintenance, with an estimated total deferred maintenance of approximately $1.2 billion.

H.R. 2897 authorizes the District of Columbia to enter into cooperative management agreements with the National Park Service for the operation and maintenance of units around the city.

This bill is a component to a major restorative initiative headed by the Mayor's office and sponsored by local nonprofits, and conversations are already underway between the District and the National Park Service for the improvement and repair of Franklin Park.

The city has set aside nearly $14 million for the restoration of the park, and local public and private partnerships will provide yearly maintenance and upkeep.

Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill for both the citizens of the District and the citizens of our great country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I also urge adoption, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a member of the Greatest Generation, a Montanan whose service to our Nation and Montana stretched across eight decades.

Born and raised in Butte, Phillip ``Herk'' Lyons answered the call to serve following the attack on Pearl Harbor. He joined the Navy and served as a submariner in both World War II and the Korean war.

Phil became active with military service organizations in the 1950s, serving in leadership roles in the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Disabled American Veterans, among others.

Phil was known as ``Mr. DAV.'' He logged more than 50,000 miles, 16,000 hours, and carried more than 1,700 fellow veterans to appointments.

On behalf of all Montanans, I honor the memory of Phil, and I extend my condolences to his daughter, Debbie, his family, his friends, and all those whom his service touched.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill (H.R. 2815) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, as the ``Sergeant John Basilone Post Office'', as proposed to be passed under suspension of the rules, be modified by the amendment I have placed at the desk.

Mr. Speaker, America lost a hero this week, and I lost a friend.

Tim Frable trained at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and flew missions in a P-51 over Japan during World War II. During one mission, he had to ditch into the Pacific. He and a wing mate floated for days before being rescued.

Tim was my science teacher in junior high school. He told his ocean rescue story in 5-minute installments at the end of class each day. Because of his storytelling, no one missed class.

Tim loved Montana. In 1976, he brought me and 17 other classmates from Pennsylvania to Red Lodge to

hike into the back country. We hiked to Black Canyon Lake, Grasshopper Glacier, Froze-to-Death Plateau, and onto the Absaroka Lake Plateau.

Tim had a tremendous impact on many lives in his 93 years, including my own. I will always be grateful for his service to our country and for his dedication as a teacher. I will miss my friend Tim Frable.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4171) to amend title 5, United States Code, to extend the authority to conduct telework travel expenses test programs, 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 to include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 4171, a bill I introduced with Congressman Connolly, to extend Federal agencies' authority to conduct a telework pilot program.

The Telework Enhancement Act of 2010 provided Federal agencies, and specifically the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, with the authority to conduct a pilot program to incentivize telework. The pilot program allows agencies to waive the reimbursement of travel costs for teleworking employees who return to headquarters for mandatory training programs.

Both agencies and employees benefit from this arrangement. Agencies benefit from having an additional tool for recruitment and retention. Agencies also realize cost savings by allowing employees to work at different locations.

For example, according to the USPTO, its telework program saved $77.4 million in fiscal year 2016 alone. The savings are related to lower real estate costs and increased personnel retention.

In turn, teleworking employees can work from almost anywhere in the United States. The teleworking program moves USPTO employees into the communities that they serve. For example, in my State of Montana, the pilot program allowed the USPTO to place patent examiners in Bozeman, Butte, Billings, and Missoula.

Teleworking can grow opportunities in our communities that aren't close to highly populated areas that house Federal agencies. It has the promise of bringing more good-paying jobs to Montana and other rural areas across the country.

Now that agencies are seeing the cost savings associated with telework, this pilot program can be wound down. Absent congressional action, this program expired last week. However, the USPTO has requested an extension in order to allow it to budget for increased travel expenses related to paying for employees to return to agency headquarters in northern Virginia or one of its regional offices. This bill extends the program for 3 years.

I thank the congressman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly), for working with me in a bipartisan fashion to bring this bill to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would make the gentlewoman from Florida (Mrs. Demings) aware that I have no further speakers and I am prepared to close.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1208) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 9155 Schaefer Road, Converse, Texas, as the ``Converse Veterans Post Office Building''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which 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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1208, introduced by the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar). The bill names the United States Post Office at 9155 Schaefer Road in Converse, Texas, after the veterans from Converse. H.R. 1208 honors the veterans of Converse, Texas, for their service to this Nation.

I look forward to hearing more about the brave exploits of the Converse veterans from my colleague and the bill's sponsor, Representative Henry Cuellar.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentlewoman from Florida aware that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

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

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2815) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, as the ``Sergeant John Basilone Post Office''.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which 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.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2815, introduced by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance). The bill names the United States Post Office at 30 East Somerset Street in Raritan, New Jersey, after Sergeant John Basilone.

Sergeant Basilone was among the first wave of marines to storm the shores of Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. I thank Representative Lance for introducing this bill to pay tribute to the life and sacrifice of Sergeant Basilone.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Lance) to explain his bill.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to make the gentlewoman from Florida aware that I have no further speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, 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.