Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for giving me this opportunity.

Unlike Mr. Walden, who met him back in 1988, I did not have the opportunity to fall within Ray's orbit until he became the staff director at the Energy and Commerce Committee about 13 months ago that I got to know him. I didn't serve on the Communications and Technology Subcommittee, so I never had any opportunity to work with him.

I found him absolutely delightful to work with, extremely intelligent, always caring about the issues, passionate about his work, his honesty, and his forthrightness. You could always go and talk with him.

Then I was particularly struck when it became clear that he was well aware of the severity of his illness and how he handled that, Mr. Speaker, with courage and grace.

But knowing that the Energy and Commerce Committee would be handling and involved with the great issues of the day, he and I had several conversations about how he wanted to continue working and spending time, helping Chairman Walden on these issues, helping the committee, and helping our great country.

So to his wife, Kristine, and their children, I thank them for sharing their great American husband, father, and citizen servant. We will all miss Ray Baum.

He certainly did. It was remarkable and memorable. I will certainly always remember that great attitude and just all his other great attributes that we heard about tonight.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Walden and Chairman Upton for their cooperation and input. The teams on both sides of the aisle, the chairman of the full committee, and the chairman of the subcommittee have worked really hard to advance this important bill, and I thank them.

Hydropower is an essential component of an all-of-the-above energy strategy. We have a tremendous opportunity to expand renewable hydropower production. However, without some much-needed licensing improvements, we risk losing investment opportunities in new hydropower infrastructure.

In particular, closed-loop pumped storage hydro projects offer the opportunity to store energy for use when it is needed. In essence, it is a giant natural battery. H.R. 2880, the Promoting Closed-Loop Pumped Storage Hydropower Act, establishes an expedited licensing process for these projects.

This bill cuts unnecessary red tape that currently accompanies approval of these projects, hindering energy security and job creation.

I am excited about the possibility that some are exploring to build these facilities in abandoned mines and/or the coal fields of central Appalachia. As a part of this, H.R. 2880 also requires FERC to hold a workshop to explore the potential opportunities for development of closed-loop projects in abandoned mine sites.

I am hopeful this will be a real benefit to our coal field regions in the form of jobs, economic development, and energy security; and I am proud of what we are doing here in an effort to make this happen.

If we can repurpose some of these mines or bring jobs in to central Appalachia that don't currently exist, it is an energy region and it is a region that understands the energy issues, and as people want to get rid of coal--I support keeping coal--but all of the above requires we also do hydropower.

I urge my colleagues to help us create new jobs in these regions by supporting this bipartisan, commonsense legislation promoting closed- loop hydropower development.

Mr. Speaker, I was absent for today's vote series due to family considerations. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 655 and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 656.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in tribute to the life of Wesley Lee Fox of Blacksburg, Virginia. Colonel Fox died on November 24, 2017 at the age of 86. He devoted his life to his country and the United States Marine Corps. The many decorations he earned throughout his storied career included the highest military award our country can give, the Medal of Honor.

Colonel Fox always sought action throughout his career. Growing up as a farm boy in Virginia, he was inspired to enlist by his cousin's service during World War II. After completing basic training at Parris Island, he fought in Korea and was wounded. The war ended, but he remained in the Marines.

When the Vietnam War intensified, Colonel Fox knew he wanted to be on the front lines. He received a temporary commission as second lieutenant and served for a time advising South Vietnamese forces. Eventually he achieved his goal of taking the fight to the enemy by assuming command of a Marine rifle company.

On February 22, 1969, Colonel Fox's company came under heavy fire from a larger, hidden enemy force in the A Shau Valley. His company at that time had less than 90 men active out of 240. According to his Medal of Honor citation, he steered the unit into a better position to prepare a plan of attack. Colonel Fox and many of the company's leaders were wounded when it went into action, but he coolly continued to lead his men in the fight. After his company fought off the enemy, Colonel Fox refused medical attention while other wounded Marines were evacuated. In the words of the citation, ``His indomitable courage, inspiring initiative, and unwavering devotion to duty in the face of grave personal danger inspired his marines to such aggressive action that they overcame all enemy resistance and destroyed a large bunker complex.''

After Colonel Fox retired from the Marines in 1993, he served for eight years as Deputy Commandant of Cadets at Virginia Tech. He also wrote three books and spoke regularly with high school classes about his experiences. I had the honor of meeting Colonel Fox at a ceremony recognizing him with the unveiling of a Medal of Honor postage stamp at the Blacksburg Post Office in 2015.

Colonel Fox leaves his wife of 56 years, Dotti, his three daughters, and nine grandchildren, as he goes now to rest with the heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life of James Henry Ford of Martinsville, Virginia. Jim passed away on October 28, 2017. He was a fine man who always had the interests of his community at heart.

Jim grew up in Martinsville and made his career practicing law there for 58 years after he studied at Roanoke College and the University of Virginia Law School. As an active member of the Martinsville and Virginia State Bar, he served two terms on the Virginia State Bar Council. I came to know Jim when we served together on the Blue Ridge Boy Scout Council, which covers 21 counties and nine cities in Virginia, in the 1980s and 90s. I greatly respected his contributions as well as his commitment; whenever the council met, he would drive over an hour from Martinsville to Roanoke. This level of dedication was typical of Jim, who found every venue he could to serve the community around him. Along with the Boy Scout Council, he served as president of the Martinsville Jaycees, the YMCA, and the Kiwanis. He helped found and later led the Piedmont Arts Association. As a lifetime member of Martinsville's First Presbyterian Church, he served variously as Deacon, Elder, and Clerk of Session. For many years he served as Chairman of the Martinsville Planning Commission and as Secretary of the United Fund of Martinsville and Henry County. He was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Patrick Henry Scholarship Fund.

Jim garnered honors for his work with these organizations, including the Scout's Silver Beaver Award, the highest award a volunteer can receive at the council level, and the Jaycees' Distinguished Service Award. His service was a gift to the people of Martinsville and its surrounding communities. Our society counts on people like Jim, the men and women who dedicate their time, their resources, and their passion to the places they call home. They do so not in search of monetary gain or the acquisition of power, but out of a sense of duty to their community and joy in improving the lives of their fellow citizens.

Jim is survived by his wife Sandra, his daughter Margaret, his son Martin, and his grandchildren Wesley, Sandra, Jimmy, and Charlotte. My thoughts are with them in this difficult time. The Martinsville/Henry County area is diminished by his passing, as we all are.

Mr. Chairman, hydropower is an essential component of an all-of-the-above energy strategy.

We have a tremendous opportunity to expand renewable hydropower production. However, without some much-needed licensing improvements, we risk losing investment opportunities in new hydropower infrastructure. In particular, closed-loop pumped storage hydro projects offer the opportunity to store energy for use when it is needed.

I have introduced separate legislation, H.R. 2880, with the goal of making the review process of these projects as efficient as possible. Both H.R. 3043 and H.R. 2880 will allow the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to impose licensing conditions only as necessary to protect public safety, or that are reasonable, economically feasible, and essential to protect fish and wildlife resources.

I am excited about the possibility some are exploring to build these facilities in abandoned mine lands. This renewable energy solution for power could be a real benefit to our coal field regions in central Appalachia in the form of jobs, economic development, and energy security. I am proud of what we are doing here in an effort to make this happen.

Industry and labor groups alike support H.R. 3043 because a modern regulatory framework for hydro is good for jobs and good for consumers. The following groups have written in support of the bill:

The American Council on Renewable Energy, the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and many others.

Mr. Chairman, I include in the Record the letter containing the names of supporters.

November 6, 2017.

The undersigned groups are writing to express strong

support for H.R. 3043, the Hydropower Policy Modernization

Act of 2017, and to request your vote as it is considered on

the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

Hydropower is America's single largest provider of

renewable electricity, making up almost one-half of all

generation from renewable resources. Given that hydropower is

an important source of domestic, emissions-free, flexible

power needed to ensure consistent and reliable electric

service, we must

look to preserve and protect our existing hydropower system

and promote new expansion opportunities.

H.R. 3043 provides a framework that adds accountability and

transparency, eliminates inefficiencies and redundancies, and

unlocks innovation and advancements in technology and

operations, while protecting environmental values, public

participation, and all existing authorities of federal and

state decision-makers in the licensing process

The current regulatory environment is placing hydropower at

risk. The licensing process can result in both new and

existing projects taking up to ten years or longer to receive

their approvals. This not only creates uncertainty for

project owners and developers alike, but burdens electricity

customers with additional unnecessary costs and only delays

important environmental measures that the industry, resource

agencies, and the environmental community agreed upon during

the licensing process and want to see deployed.

Additionally, the fleet of almost 2,200 hydropower projects

across the country supports approximately 118,000 ongoing

full-time equivalent jobs in operations and maintenance and

25,000 jobs in construction and upgrades. By maintaining our

existing fleet and supporting growth in the sector, the

hydropower industry could support close to 200,000 jobs.

Further local economic development in other industries is

also spurred due to access to affordable electricity from

hydropower projects. However, we will not realize the full

measure of these jobs and economic opportunities without

improvements to the licensing process.

We believe H.R. 3043 is a moderate proposal developed with

bipartisan input and, as such, deserves strong support by

both Republicans and Democrats. Please contact any of our

organizations for additional information or assistance on

this bill.

Sincerely,

The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE),

American Public Power Association (APPA), Business

Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE), Edison Electric

Institute (EEI), International Brotherhood of

Boilermakers (Boilermakers), International Brotherhood

of Electrical Workers (IBEW), International Federation

of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), Large

Public Power Council (LPPC), Laborers' International

Union of North America (LiUNA), National Electrical

Contractors Association (NECA), National Hydropower

Association (NHA), National Rural Electric Cooperative

Association (NRECA), North America Building Trades

Council (NABTU), United Brotherhood of Carpenters and

Joiners of America (Carpenters).

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

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent that the amendment be modified in the form I have placed at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the consideration of what was two amendments that we just merged into one because they went hand- in-glove.

My amendment restores critical funding to three additional Appalachian States, the same number of States currently funded by the Abandoned Mine Reclamation Fund, for the reclamation of abandoned mine lands in conjunction with economic and community development and reuse goals.

Now, let me explain the program quickly.

This was the brainchild of Chairman Rogers a couple of years back, and what the idea was, originally, when they did the Abandoned Mine Land program, you could just restore the land. They came up with the concept in the hard-hit devastated areas of central Appalachia that we should not only allow it to be a restoration of the land, but that that land could be used and looked at as an economic purpose, a reuse the community could use for community development or economic development, and that was important.

Funding for these reclamation grants was first established in fiscal year 2016, but it was originally provided only to the three Appalachian States with the greatest amount of unfunded reclamation needs.

Unfortunately, that didn't, of course, reach all the States, and so last year, an additional three States were added, those States being Virginia, Ohio, Alabama, the original three being Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky.

This year, as things were working through, Virginia, Ohio, and Alabama were not currently included. My amendment basically makes sure they are included. We have worked with the team on the Appropriations Committee to word it correctly. We think we have got it worded correctly so that we now have the ability to add in all three States.

I think this is important. Folks often say to us: Those of you in coal country, in central Appalachia, need to transition your economy. Well, we can't transition our economy if we have huge blocks of land which we can't use because they are unusable due to prior acts that left them in a condition where we know they need to be reclaimed, but you can't reclaim them looking at economic development.

So this is a way to retool. Chairman Rogers came up with it. We would like to extend it to the other States that would be greatly helped by this, the three that I mentioned previously, Ohio, Alabama, and Virginia, and that is what my amendments do.

I would ask all to support this amendment to help those areas that are economically devastated in central Appalachia and expand on a program which is already showing signs of success.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert).

Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to help us transition the economy in central Appalachian support to the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life of Mozelle Reynolds Dobyns, who passed away on June 29, 2017 at the age of 102. Mozelle and her late husband Garner were always wonderful people, and they were always giving people. Mozelle loved Republican politics, but she loved her God more.

Mozelle was born in a Roanoke County farmhouse in 1915, in a farmhouse without electricity or running water. In an early sign of her tenacity, Mozelle proved wrong the doctors that had told her parents she would not live more than a few days. She attended Andrew Lewis High School in Salem and contributed to the war effort in World War II as a worker at Radford Arsenal. She then worked at Burlington Hosiery Mill until it closed in 1963.

Mozelle put her faith first. It guided how she lived and how she cared for others. She attended Ft. Lewis Christian Church in her early years, spent 65 years at Melrose Christian Church, and in 2014 returned to Ft. Lewis. While at Melrose, she served as the first female Elder, as Elder Emeritus, and as Chairman of the Board. She taught Sunday School for decades and worked along with Garner as a counselor for Christian Endeavor, a nondenominational youth group. Generations of young people benefited from her guidance.

Mozelle was not expected to live long at birth, but she kept going until near the end of her life. Even at 95 years of age, she still bought groceries for a neighbor. She drove until she was 96, and mowed her own lawn until she was 98.

Mozelle lived her life well, and many are better for it. I will miss this good woman, but as her many ``children'' from her Sunday school classes and youth groups will tell you, she always knew her Lord, Jesus Christ.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I would like to read the amendment because I think there must be some confusion on this, and it will become important later in the debate:

``The Budget Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office, comprising 89 employees with annual salaries aggregating $15 million is hereby abolished. The duties''--underlined duties, because it is only duties--``imposed by law and regulation upon the employees of that division are hereby transferred to the Office of the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.''

That is the simple amendment, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Meadows).

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 2 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, we have heard some of the problems with CBO from Mr. Meadows. We heard from Mr. Perry immediately before on his amendment.

The CBO is meant to help Congress evaluate legislation. But I do not believe the agency, as currently constituted, has or can do so effectively.

Too often, predictions made by CBO turn out to be far off the mark.

We heard about the 2002 farm bill and the 2008 farm bill from Mr. Meadows. That is true, but people back home may not realize that, in fact, we don't do a farm bill every year. We do one roughly every 5 years, sometimes a little later than that, so there have not been so many to score.

One of our favorites on the Energy and Commerce Committee, on which I am pleased to serve, is the fact that, in 2015, we decided we would push forward and sell, as a nation, some broadband spectrum. CBO said zero dollars would be yielded from that sale.

Now, I use this all the time when I am talking to high school students, because you don't have to be a CBO person living in the ivory tower that they must live in to understand that broadband spectrum has value in today's society, and zero is not the right score. In the end, it brought in $44 billion. When you take away the costs, it brought in a net $40 billion. CBO was wrong.

CBO has overestimated on a number of things. Mr. Perry talked about ObamaCare. But time after time after time, they have gotten things wrong. They said it cost more or didn't save as much.

In fact, I just saw, today, a report put out by Xcenda that the per- patient oncology drug costs were 0.06 to 2.3 times lower than what CBO said they were going to be from roughly 2003 to 2013, according to that study.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, we have heard from our colleagues on the other side of the aisle that we ought to trust the CBO, that the referee should be taken at their word and that they are doing the best they can. But let's look at this amendment.

The CBO scored it, and they said:

CBO estimates that your amendment would have no net effect

on budget authority or outlays in fiscal year 2018.

No net effect. Who here actually believes that eliminating 89 positions, as the gentleman from Virginia, my friend, just said it is going to affect his people, who believes that 89 people being eliminated and $15 million in aggregate salaries has no net effect on budget authority or outlays? I don't think any of us believe that.

So here is the conundrum that my friends have on the other side of this issue: a ``yes'' vote means that you agree with me that something needs to be reformed at CBO; a ``no'' vote means that you agree with CBO's assessment that this amendment abolishing 89 employees will have no effect. Therefore, I would submit to you that the CBO has, in effect, determined that their budget analysis division has no value. Therefore, if you actually support CBO, you must vote ``present.''

Mr. Chairman, I ask my colleagues to join me with a ``yes,'' and let's start the reform at CBO so we can get accurate numbers. If you don't agree with this reform, I ask that you vote ``present,'' or else you, too, are agreeing with the CBO that the budget analysis division has no value.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the life Mr. William Sinkler, 79, a dedicated educator who spent his life committed to serving the children and schools of Southwest Virginia. William (Bill) Sinkler was born on October 9, 1937, in Eutawville, South Carolina and his contributions to his community, particularly to young students, are impressive.

Mr. Sinkler was a true Southern gentleman, dignified, and held in high regards by all of us who him. As an educator, he set high expectations for his students and modeled respect and integrity.

At the time of his retirement, Mr. Sinkler had spent 40 years as an educator, and was the first African-American to serve on the Salem School Board. For his commitment to the young minds of Lynchburg, Roanoke, and Salem, Mr. Sinkler received a Virginia General Assembly Resolution to recognize his devotion to the students. In the Resolution, he was recognized for his life motto, ``I've got to be me,'' and how he brought his personality and talents into each endeavor he undertook.

He grew up in South Carolina, graduated from Morris College in 1960, and then served in the United States Army. After his service in the armed forces, Mr. Sinkler studied at Virginia State College and earned a Master's Degree in Education at University of Virginia. He taught Math and Science, and served as an Assistant Principal and a Principal. By the time of his retirement, Bill was the Vice-Chairman of the Salem School Board, where he had served from 1993 to 2009.

I remember Mr. Sinkler's friendship and his ability to work closely with officials on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Sinkler was a very involved member of the community, for years he served on the City of Salem's Fair Housing Board and Planning Commission, and was an active member of the Salem Rotary Club, Boule, The Links, Inc., NAACP, Kappa Delta Pi, and Phi Beta Sigma. He was also a dedicated member of the Shiloh Baptist Church, in Salem, Virginia. There, he served as a member of the Board of Trustees, and the superintendent of the church's Sunday school, as well as teaching Sunday school classes.

Mr. Sinkler was recognized through numerous awards, such as the Salem Police Depart Citizen Academy Certificate of Recognition,

and Roanoke Valley Father of the Year, for Education.

My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Sinkler's wife of 52 years, Marzetta; two sons, William and Wayne; two grandchildren, Karis and Mitchell; Sister Mary Q. Sinkler, and numerous extended family, as well as friends and loved ones.

It is impossible to measure the impact of such a dedicated educator. Mr. Sinkler's legacy as an educator will live in the achievements of all the students who were positively impacted by his hard work and devotion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 446, which would extend the construction commencement deadline for a hydroelectric project at the Gathright Dam in Alleghany County.

Extensive coordination between the hydroelectric project developer and the Army Corps and the current difficulties in obtaining a power purchase agreement have necessitated this construction's start-date extension.

This legislation has passed the House previously unanimously and was included in last Congress's House comprehensive energy bill. It is my hope that this legislation will once again receive overwhelming support in this Chamber. I appreciate the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 447, which would extend the construction commencement deadline for a hydroelectric project at the Flannagan Dam in Dickenson County.

Extensive coordination between the hydroelectric project developer and the Army Corps and the current difficulties in obtaining a power purchase agreement have necessitated this construction start-date extension.

This legislation passed the House last Congress unanimously and was included in the last Congress' House comprehensive energy bill. It is my hope that this legislation will once again receive overwhelming support in this Chamber. I appreciate the support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

Mr. Speaker, this bill guarantees access for all. And when I say ``access,'' let me be clear: it is access for all.

When you have insurance companies that are pulling out--today we learned Aetna is pulling out of Virginia--and when you have counties across these United States that no longer have anyone who is willing to provide the ObamaCare insurance, that is not access;

When you have a situation where somebody comes up to you at the local county fair and says, ``You have got to get me out of ObamaCare. It is killing me. It is killing our family's finances because we have such a high deductible, because we have such a high copay, and my husband is very sick,'' he may have a piece of paper, Mr. Speaker, he may have a piece of paper, but it is not really health insurance when you can't really use it without having to sell off what little assets you may have or worry about whether or not you can afford to have a roof over your head any longer.

This is not working. ObamaCare is not working. This bill will bring some sanity back to the system. It will take us a couple of years, but the rates of insurance will, in fact, come down.

This business that we keep hearing that all these people are going to be without availability of insurance, it is just fake news. It is not true. This bill does everything that people want it to do, but it gives them choices--not mandates from the Federal Government, but choices-- about their health care.

I have been interested to hear some people saying that you all are just ramming this through because the bill wasn't posted until last night. What wasn't posted until last night was the Long-Upton amendment, or the Upton-Long amendment. It is two pages. I invite my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to read it. The McSally bill is a page and a quarter. The MacArthur amendment, which has been out for over a week, is about 8 pages. They could have read it while we have been standing here debating this bill.

But they don't choose to read the bill, they don't choose to learn the facts, and they don't choose to tell the American people the truth. They want to scare the American people to make them believe that this is a bad bill.

This is a good bill, and I urge everyone to vote ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I am joined today by Members of the Virginia delegation and Members who were affected by the horrific attack by a gunman at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007. Today, we ask that all pause to remember the victims of this attack.

Although 10 years have passed, those whose lives were tragically cut short or altered forever will not be forgotten. As we approach April 16, I ask that we keep the families and loved ones of the victims in our thoughts and our prayers.

May God bless the Hokie community, their courage, their spirit, and their determination to honor the memory of those not here today.

Accordingly, I would ask that all Members join me at this time in a moment of silence.

Mr. Speaker, I submit these remarks in honor of the life and service of Carroll County Sheriff's Deputy Curtis Allen Bartlett, 32, who passed away while on duty in a tragic crash on March 9, 2017.

Deputy Bartlett was a graduate of Galax High School. From 2004 to 2007, he dutifully served as an infantry soldier with the U.S. Army. Deputy Bartlett spent time working in the private security field and graduated from the New River Criminal Justice Training Academy in 2013.

He joined the Carroll County Sheriff's Office in June of 2013 and since that time Deputy Bartlett was dedicated to serving the people of Carroll County. The Sheriff's Office will remember Deputy Bartlett for his commitment to public safety and said that his loss is being felt by everyone within his family at the Carroll County Sheriff's Office.

An accomplished public servant, Deputy Bartlett earned instructor certifications through the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) for firearms, Taser, and fitness training. Furthermore, he was certified through the U.S. Department of Defense as a K9 handler.

Deputy Bartlett also achieved an FAA Airmen Certification as a successful pilot from the Federal Aviation Administration. He will be remembered for his dedication to health and fitness, as well as motivating others and promoting a healthy lifestyle as a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.

I ask that you, and my fellow Members of Congress, join me in keeping his family and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers, including his parents, Sam and Linda Bartlett of Galax, and four siblings.

Deputy Bartlett dedicated himself to protecting the people of Southwest Virginia and I am honored to pay tribute to this great man.