Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today to honor a great legislator, a consummate public servant, and a man whose legacy will leave an indelible mark on this institution and every American he served during his 59 years in the House of Representatives. As the Dean of the House, John Dingell holds the distinction of being the longest serving member in the history of Congress. However, it's not the length of his tenure that will earn him a place in the history books, but his many accomplishments that have improved the health of our entire nation and its citizens.

John Dingell presided over this chamber during passage of Medicare in 1965, just one of the laws he shaped over the course of his distinguished career. He helped write the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Air Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. He has fought diligently to protect Social Security, a program his father helped create, and he was a champion of the Affordable Care Act following years of advocacy on his own part to create an accessible and affordable system of universal health care.

Those of us who have been lucky enough to serve with Representative Dingell will remember him as a man of unparalleled fortitude and passion, tempered with a sense of respect for his fellow colleagues and the legislative process, who raised the overall tenor of discourse and debate in the House of Representatives. Although we are extremely sad to see his service in this chamber come to an end, his contributions will continue to impact our country for years to come, and the Dingell name will continue to grace the halls of Congress through his wife, Debbie, who will carry the mantle of public service on behalf of Michigan's 15th District.

Representative Dingell, on behalf of a grateful country, I thank you for your service to this Congress and to our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I first want to thank Chairman McKeon and Ranking Member Smith for their work on this bill. The NDAA gets done year after year not because it is easy but because it is absolutely critical to our national security, and it is absolutely critical to honoring and supporting our men and women in uniform who have put themselves in harm's way every day to keep our Nation safe.

Mr. Speaker, this year I am particularly proud of what Chairman Thornberry and I were able to accomplish in the Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee. I thank Mr. Thornberry for his partnership, especially on issues relating to intelligence and cybersecurity issues, and I congratulate him on becoming the incoming chairman of the full committee.

This bill supports important investments in areas from emerging technologies such as electric weapons, including railguns and lasers, to broad-based R&D that will support the next generation of disruptive technologies and to the STEM education efforts that will inspire the innovators of the future.

It will also strengthen DOD's cybersecurity posture by identifying the tools needed to recruit and retain a qualified workforce, further our understanding of the threats we face in cyberspace, enable access to test and training ranges, and provide for operational and ready force. It extends critically needed special operations authorities while working to combat the alarmingly high rate of suicide among our Nation's special operators. Finally it strongly supports the critical undersea programs such as the Virginia-class submarines that continue to be so important to our security.

I also applaud the inclusion of language to address economic or industrial espionage in the United States. Earlier this year I successfully advocated for efforts to understand how we as a nation should diagnose and respond to economic warfare, which is abetted on a large scale by the freedom of cyberspace and is an insidious and pervasive threat to our national well-being.

I also note the valuable inclusion not just of public lands legislation important in my home State of Rhode Island but also the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act. While more must be done to address our challenges in cyberspace, this long-needed update to existing law is important progress.

With that, again, I applaud the chairman, the ranking member, and the committee, especially the staff, for their efforts, and I urge support of the legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of November as Epilepsy Awareness Month. Each year, more than 200,000 people are diagnosed with epilepsy, yet research for this condition remains vastly, vastly underfunded, impeding scientific advancements for better treatments and a potential cure.

We are extremely lucky to have organizations like the Epilepsy Foundation and the Matty Fund active in Rhode Island. They help raise awareness, provide support, promote safety, and improve the quality of life for children and families living with epilepsy.

The Matty Fund is the product of two loving and dedicated parents who, sadly, lost their 5-year-old son, Matty Siravo, on Mother's Day 2003 following a grand mal seizure. The Siravos honor their son's memory every day by continuing to raise awareness about epilepsy.

I am so proud to represent such an inspiring family, and I hope everyone will take a moment to reflect on what they can do to support epilepsy awareness, not just in November, but every day of the year.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of National Career Development Month.

In conversations with businesses across my home state of Rhode Island, I have been hearing a constant refrain: Employers have job openings but are unable to find local, skilled workers with the expertise necessary to fill the open positions. Meanwhile, job seekers find it hard to acquire these skills without the proper training, a vicious cycle that continues to hold back our economy.

As Co-Chair of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus, closing the skills gap is one of my top priorities. In order to match students with the skills they need, I have introduced the bipartisan Counseling For Career Choice Act. This bill would help to make sure that school counselors and students know of the full range of options available to them post-graduation. By tracking

workforce trends and increasing collaboration between employers and educators, we can help students to make informed decisions regarding their career paths.

Comprehensive career counseling is a vital component of skills training and helps to better align school curricula with local workforce trends and available post-secondary opportunities. While not every job will require a college degree, some sort of postsecondary education will be necessary. Whether it comes from a community college, a skills training program, or on-the-job-training, we need to change what it means to be college- and career-ready. We need to provide students with the knowledge and experience that will truly prepare them for what's next.

However, we cannot neglect the skills gap that remains for people already in the workforce. Many workers need to learn new skills to advance their careers, and although they may not have the option to work with a school counselor, they can foster connections with career development professionals.

Across the nation, career development professionals help students to achieve their goals by providing professional development resources, scientific resources and advocacy. Each November, career development professionals celebrate the achievements of their clients with career- focused events and activities including the National Career Development Association (NCDA) Poetry and Poster Contest. In fact, this year marks the 49th successful competition, which is appropriately titled, ``Reimagining Life's Possibilities: Celebrating First Jobs Through Encore Careers.''

NCDA represents a broad range of members that provide career intervention and support services. Members include school and college counselors, One Stop Career Center counselors, Veterans Administration counselors, and private practice counselors, coaches and consultants. NCDA supports its members by providing research, advocacy and training. Last year, NCDA celebrated its 100th year of providing professional service to individuals seeking career advancement and success.

I would like to thank all career development professionals for their dedication to helping Americans improve their skillsets, find quality employment and achieve their professional and personal goals.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a great sense of disappointment that I deliver my remarks today. For the past 21 months, this House has failed to take any meaningful action to reduce unemployment or boost job creation in America. We know what the solutions are, and yet unconscionably the Republican leadership has chosen to engage in divisive political gamesmanship rather than taking on the more challenging task of governing, which is what our constituents sent us here to do.

In my home state of Rhode Island, employers are still struggling to find qualified employees to fill available jobs. This skills gap keeps the unemployment rate stubbornly high, while many middle class families are still struggling to make ends meet.

H.R. 4 contains provisions from several bills that have already passed the House and failed to gain traction in the Senate. Instead of more duplicative messaging bills, we should be working with our colleagues across the aisles, and across the Capitol, to incentivize companies to bring jobs back home, invest in advanced research and development, educate and train our workforce for a 21st Century economy, and modernize our infrastructure to improve safety, boost commerce and create jobs.

Certainly the House and Senate have different visions about how to proceed. But when disagreements arise, the process should involve working together to find a solution that can pass both houses and reach the President's desk. Instead, House Republican leaders have decided the best course of action is to revisit bills that we already know are unacceptable to the Senate. As a fitting coda to the 113th Congress, we will again squander an opportunity to act while millions of Americans still need our help.

This Congress is set to go down in history as the least productive ever. Many members have taken a ``death or glory'' approach to legislating, demanding that either we give them everything, or nobody can have anything. It was a year ago that we suffered the first government shutdown in 17 years; a shutdown caused by the House Majority's inability to contemplate negotiation.

Even by the Speaker's own criteria of ``laws repealed'' instead of laws passed, we have been remarkably unproductive. Without any coherent legislative strategy, the Republican majority has attempted to repeal or undermine the Affordable Care Act over 50 times. However, we still cannot find the time to extend long-term unemployment insurance, fix our broken immigration system, or tackle any of the other challenges that our constituents sent us here to fix.

One of the easiest steps we can take would be to re-authorize the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. This main source of federal funding for career training programs was last re-authorized in 2006 and expired in 2012. There is broad, bipartisan support for revisiting Perkins and updating its provisions to reflect the realities of the 21st Century economy. Advocates across the country support re- authorizing Perkins. Unfortunately, this did not become a priority for the Committee and we are left waiting for action yet again.

There is too much work to be done to waste time on this petty political squabbling. We have the capacity to meet the challenges that face us, but a lack of courage on the part of House leadership keeps us from doing so. It is my sincere hope that in the 114th Congress we return to regular order, negotiate instead of digging in our heels, and solve problems instead of creating them.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the amendment offered by Chairman McKeon, and I want to be very clear about what is at stake here today.

The terrorist group ISIL poses a direct threat to our allies and friends in the Middle East; and, of equal importance, left unchecked, their nihilistic vision could pose a direct threat to the United States, particularly given the number of individuals fighting with ISIL who have American and Western passports.

I am gravely concerned that those individuals could return home and carry out acts of violence against the homeland. We have a clear imperative to act.

These terrorists have brutally murdered two unarmed American journalists and an aid worker from the United Kingdom. They have slaughtered thousands of innocent Muslims, killed children, and committed unspeakable atrocities against women and religious minorities.

ISIL and its agents operate without regard to international borders, and any strategy to degrade and defeat these terrorists must acknowledge this reality. In Iraq, the United States and its allies are operating in support and at the request of the sovereign Government of Iraq, as well as Kurdish forces. We have friendly boots on the ground and U.S. advisers in place, but, in Syria, we lack that clear partnership.

I believe the President has rightly committed to an approach that does not involve U.S. combat troops fighting on foreign soil, but the opposition needs training and equipment that the U.S. and its allies are able to provide.

Our commitment, however, needs to be matched by that of other countries in the region, including Sunni countries with whom the United States has a rich history of partnership. After all, ISIL is not just a problem for the United States. It is also a problem for the many Western countries with citizens fighting overseas.

It is a problem for our NATO allies, for whom Syria is a neighbor, and it is a problem for the safety, security, and the stability of the entire region.

We can't simply kill terrorists and expect to see democracy flourish. We must carefully consider the full range of possible outcomes in Syria and what risks we may incur in a nation and region already riven by years of civil war, the use of weapons of mass destruction, and a terrible humanitarian crisis.

This is an exceedingly complex task but one that we must address. If we do not act, we face a darker, more uncertain future. Congress and the administration must do their parts. Today's amendments are only a down payment on what will assuredly be years of difficult oversight, debate, and discussion.

It is far from a blank check. It will require a great deal of hard work, and there are many legitimate questions that remain unanswered, but we need to act, and I believe that this amendment represents a prudent first step.

I urge my colleagues to support the McKeon amendment.

Mr. Speaker, too many middle class families are still struggling to make ends meet. Income inequality continues to grow, and unemployment remains unacceptably high, particularly in my home of State of Rhode Island. Our constituents deserve solutions that will promote job creation and increase economic opportunities for everyone.

One of the most important things that we can do for our country is to ensure that our workers have 21st century skills for a 21st century economy. In particular, I have been proud to work across the aisle to expand career and technical education, securing a $52 million increase for funding for Perkins Act career training programs this year alone.

However, skills training is only one piece of the puzzle. We must incentivize companies to bring jobs back home, increase the minimum wage so that full-time workers aren't living in poverty, and invest in infrastructure to ensure safety, boost commerce, and create jobs.

Mr. Speaker, economic opportunity should not be subject to partisan politics. It is time to act on these commonsense policies and provide all Americans with the means to make it in America.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend we celebrated the 24th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, signed into law by President Bush on July 26, 1990. Twenty-four years later, the ADA remains one of the most significant and comprehensive civil rights laws of our time. Its enactment affirmed our collective belief in America's fundamental promise of equality and opportunity for all. Today, the ADA and the subsequent ADA Amendments Act--which I was proud to help pass in 2008--continue to open doors and ensure greater access, inclusion and justice for millions of people living with disabilities.

On this anniversary, we honor the civil rights pioneers who championed the ADA and express our sincere gratitude to those who continue the fight to fulfill its promise and expand opportunities for the entire disability community. As someone who has lived with the challenges of a disability since the age of 16, I know firsthand the positive impact the ADA has had on everyday activities for countless Americans. It has broken down barriers to education, employment and technology. It has made public transportation more accommodating, improved voting accessibility, and reduced the prevalence of discrimination throughout communities nationwide. I am proud future generations will live in a world that is more inclusive, more accessible, and increasingly recognizes the unique talents and abilities of individuals with disabilities.

As we celebrate progress, however, we must also acknowledge areas where we have not yet accomplished our goals. Equal employment opportunities and fully integrated community living has not been fully realized; recent data shows 31 percent of disabled individuals live below the poverty line and less than 34 percent are fully employed. It is more important than ever that we educate businesses and connect them with proper resources to create more employment opportunities. We must ensure that transportation is available and accessible to everyone so they can get to their job, the doctor, or the grocery store. We must also address changes that accompany the modern age, such as fully accessible internet services. And we must ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to reaffirm our country's longstanding role as a leader in global disability rights.

Clearly, our work is far from done. As we approach the silver anniversary of the ADA, I look forward to reaffirming our commitment to equal opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities everywhere.

I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3696, H.R. 2952, and

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, first of all, thank the gentleman from Arizona, Congressman Salmon, as well as Chairman Kline and Ranking Member Miller for their work in bringing this very important bill to the floor.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would allow entities receiving funds under this bill to report the number and percentage of students who are able to find employment in a field relating to their program or course of study and would allow the director of IES to provide technical assistance to such entities upon request.

Basically, my intent is to give situational awareness to both educators and students and also an understanding of how well our dollars being spent in terms of educating both our young people and people who are looking for a second career, looking for other job opportunities, so that they know that their time and effort will be well spent.

I am proud to be joined in offering this amendment by my good friend and colleague, Congressman G.T. Thompson from Pennsylvania, as cochairs of the bipartisan Career and Technical Education Caucus.

Representative Thompson and I are committed to providing all students with the information necessary to make informed career decisions.

Many of the students who will be served by this bill are nontraditional students, working parents, students with full-time jobs, and many others who are seeking a different education than what a traditional 4-year curriculum affords, so these are the very people who would benefit the most from clear and accessible career market information.

It has become obvious that high school diplomas are really no longer sufficient training for the modern job market, and while not every job will require a college degree, some sort of postsecondary education will be necessary, and students, Mr. Chairman, deserve accurate information to help them find the career pathway that best fits their goals and abilities.

My amendment will help these students by encouraging schools to report on the number of students who are able to use their education to find a relevant career, data that students will be able to use in the coming years to inform their own decisions and choose an academic path that will lead to a well-paying job.

This amendment has been scored by the CBO as budget-neutral and will not result in any additional spending.

With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his comments and the exceptional work that he does and that we do collaboratively with respect to career and technical education, and I appreciate his cosponsorship of this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, again, in closing, this amendment would help to give situational awareness to students, to educators, and to all those who want to understand, is the time and effort, the investment that people are making worth that investment, and is it a clear path forward, particularly for those who are looking for a new career or who are looking to, as we do right now, trying to close the skills gap that we have not only in my home State of Rhode Island, but across the country, as people are trying to get the right skills for the right jobs that are good paying going forward.

This will give them the data to understand the best career paths to follow, where it would be best to invest their time and their energy, as well as their resources.

So with that, I urge all of my colleagues to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak today in support of the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014. I would like to thank my good friend and colleague, Congresswoman Karen Bass, for introducing this bill and for all she does on behalf of foster youth.

Foster youth are some of the most at-risk children in our society. They are often victims of abuse or neglect, and too many face trials and tribulations beyond their years. So much that we take for granted-- a stable home, living with our siblings, or returning to the same school year after year--are constant obstacles for these children.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation before us today will specifically address the link between girls in foster care and sex trafficking, and it will require States to develop a child protection plan to identify and assess all reports involving children known or suspected to be victims of trafficking.

Additionally, States must provide training plans for child protective services workers to appropriately respond to reports to child trafficking and have procedures in place that will connect child victims to public or private specialized services.

So I want to echo the comments of so many of my colleagues who have spoken here today. I commend Congresswoman Bass and Congressman Kline, and all those who have had a hand in this legislation and who are looking out for the welfare of our children. I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Madam Speaker, for a decade, the United States, the international community, and the Iraqi people sacrificed immeasurably in support of the Iraqi people and their future. Generations of Americans and Iraqis bear the indelible marks of this conflict. Unfortunately, the gains wrought at such cost are now jeopardized by the shortsightedness and malfeasance of Iraq's political leaders.

To survive, Iraq needs a government that is inclusive and representative. And if we are to support Iraq militarily or in any other way, our Nation must know that we are supporting such a government, a condition that I do not believe the Maliki regime meets.

Moreover, if the U.S. is to assist Iraq beyond current efforts, the President must seek a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force from Congress. I believe that authorization and that debate is absolutely essential, and I am concerned about the slippery slope we are going down.

We must not become further embroiled in another Iraq conflict without both a thorough debate and a legitimate partner in the Iraqi Government.

Mr. Chair, I want to thank Ranking Serrano for providing me the opportunity to enter into a colloquy on the topic of cybersecurity, specifically, SEC disclosure guidance relating to cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents. This is an issue that is of critical importance not only to our national security, but also to our economic security, affecting every American consumer and investor.

It is no secret to anyone here that the challenges we face in the cyber realm are immense. Certainly, the news is rife with attacks, be it the massive Target breach of personal information by cyber criminals, Iran's reported denial-of-service attacks on U.S. banks, or the recently disclosed ongoing attacks on the hedge fund industry. The Center for Strategic and International Studies recently estimated that almost 1 percent of global income, or $445 billion, is lost each year to cyber crime and economic espionage. That is a stunning tally, yet such costs are rarely, if ever, reflected in financial statements.

Protecting intellectual property, trade secrets, and custom information must be a priority for government, corporations, and consumers. I know this is a concern of yours, and I hope it is of equal concern to the committee.

Institutional investors, consumers, private investors, and public pension funds need sufficient information to make informed decisions concerning a firm's cyber controls, just as Members of Congress and our staffs must have access to the best information possible to conduct proper oversight and make the best public policy decisions.

The committee rightfully points out that ``corporate disclosures are at the core of investor protection''; however, there are real questions about the disclosures that companies are making to their boards and shareholders regarding their vulnerabilities in cyberspace. While the SEC made some limited efforts in 2011 with cybersecurity, there is no finish line. So it is incumbent on all of us to continue evolving as the threat evolves.

In my current positions on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, I devote a significant amount of time to tackling this continuing problem. I remain extraordinarily concerned about the systematic and wholesale theft of corporate property for economic advantage.

I firmly believe that we need to do more as a country to secure our Nation against the threat of cyber penetrations and attacks, and we must do more so that investors can have the very best information available when making their investment decisions.

I yield to the gentleman from New York for any comments he would have.

I thank you, Ranking Serrano, for your continued interest in this issue. I look forward to working with you as we move to conference to ensure that the SEC has the tools necessary to update their cybersecurity disclosure guidance and that the SEC includes an update on cybersecurity disclosure guidance in the report to the committee.

Madam Chair, on rollcall 393 I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Amendment Offered by Mr. LaMalfa

Madam Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for H.R. 803, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). This bill passed the Senate by a vote of 95-3, and I hope it will clear the House with similar support so it can be quickly signed into law by the President.

It is expected that by 2022, the United States will face a shortage of 11 million workers with the necessary level of postsecondary education, including 6.8 million workers with bachelor's degrees, and 4.3 million workers with a postsecondary vocational certificate, some college credits or an associate's degree.

As co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus, reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act has been one of my longstanding priorities. The Workforce Investment Act was originally passed in 1998 in an effort to improve federal job training programs. Since the law expired in 2003, it has been supported by annual appropriations, but funding levels have not been adjusted to reflect the many economic changes that have taken place over the past 16 years.

One of the biggest challenges confronting our economy is the skills gap. In conversations with businesses across my home state of Rhode Island, I constantly hear that they are unable to find workers with the skills necessary to succeed. WIOA modernizes and improves existing federal workforce development programs and helps workers attain skills for 21st century jobs, while helping businesses find the skilled employees they need to compete. Among its many provisions, the agreement also reauthorizes and amends the Rehabilitation Amendments of 1973 to improve disability-related workforce training, employment, independent living, and research programs.

Under this bill, workers, employers, and educators will be able to better coordinate on workforce development programs and skills training, and ensure that individuals with disabilities have the skills necessary to be successful in businesses that provide competitive, integrated employment. Meanwhile, local workforce investment boards will be able to tailor services to their region's employment and workforce needs.

WIOA also makes significant improvements to Job Corps. In Exeter, RI, we are fortunate to have one of the nation's top-performing Job Corps centers. Now we can build on our past successes through increased data collection and greater technical assistance from the Department of Labor, while allowing operators of high-performing facilities to compete for contract renewal.

The bill before us today is the product of bipartisan negotiations between the House and Senate. Both parties and both chambers have worked hard on this, and I am pleased that we are now taking action. Every community across the country benefits from workforce training programs to provide the skills necessary to drive job creation and economic growth. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.