Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Chief Warrant Officer Five (CW5) Mark S. Marini, Sr. for his dedicated service to our Country, the United States Army, and the Connecticut National Guard.

This week, Mr. Marini retires from the Connecticut Army National Guard after 42 years of uniformed service. For over four decades, Mr. Marini has served the State of Connecticut and our Country with the utmost dignity and respect, and it is my profound honor to recognize him as he retires this Thursday from his position as the Command Chief Warrant Officer of the Connecticut Army National Guard.

CW5 Marini's accomplishments while serving at home and with his unit deployed into harm's way are extensive-his full engagement, leadership and contributions have had a significant and long lasting impact upon the numerous formations that make up our Connecticut National Guard. His dedication to his country, the National Guard, and the men and women of the state is unparalleled.

I extend my deepest congratulations to CW5 Marini upon his retirement, and extend my appreciation to him for enduring so much for so long on our behalf.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, I was not present for roll call vote 223. If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: Yea on roll call vote 223.

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, I was not present for roll call vote 215. If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: Yea on roll call vote 215.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with the entire Connecticut delegation to recognize a dedicated leader, respected academic, and a dear friend, Walter Harrison, on his retirement as the President of the University of Hartford. His retirement marks the end of 19 years of an incredibly successful term as President and the end of an era at the University.

A graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, Walt began his career of service and experience in higher education, receiving his Masters from the University of Michigan and went on to serve for three years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He then completed a doctorate at the University of California-Davis and worked in the administrations of Colorado College and the University of Michigan before joining the University of Hartford.

Walter Harrison played a critical role in revitalizing the University of Hartford after he became President in 1998. Under his guidance, the University increased and diversified its enrollment, financial stability and academic performance. During the time that Mr. Harrison served as President, the University of Hartford renovated dorms, dining halls and athletic facilities to completely change and modernize the campus. New undergraduate and graduate academic programs were added in science, technology and the fine arts. Undergraduate enrollment increased by 20 percent. His genuine affinity for students and his authentic concern were evident every time I walked the campus with him.

Walter has also been an engaged leader for the city of Hartford. He serves on multiple boards in the area including on the boards of Saint Francis Hospital and the MetroHartford Alliance. He is one of the founders of the Connecticut Science Center and a past president of Hartford Stage. Walter made engagement with the city a priority of his tenure, and was involved in the effort to incorporate Hartford public schools into the campus of the University, resulting in the University of Hartford Magnet School and the University High School of Science and Engineering. Walter also played a key role in reforming the NCAA and was recognized by his peers for his outstanding leadership.

What I admire most about Walt is the easy manner and grace in which he engages students, faculty, and the greater community the University serves. His humanity and well-rounded nature makes him a man for all seasons: cultured, passionate, affable, and witty, truly a Renaissance man. He is just as comfortable at Augie and Rays as he is at Hartford Stage; talking sports, politics, or theater. I have valued our friendship, admired his leadership and academic acumen, and consider myself a better person having benefitted from our relationship and his wisdom.

Walt will be truly missed at the University of Hartford. His vision and leadership have shaped the University into the institution it is today, and I am proud to call him a friend. The word retirement doesn't become him; he is too committed and essential to the heartbeat of life to retire. He will simply engage. The entire CT delegation joins in thanking him for his service to the University and the city of Hartford.

To paraphrase George Barnard Shaw, Walt has been a splendid torch that has burned brightly for the University and now he is handing it off to the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, I associate myself with Mr. Neal's remarks, and especially him framing this issue from the outside about the arc of history.

As we have witnessed in this Chamber time and again, dating back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, when you look at the impact of 24 million people, you have to look at your colleagues on the other side of the aisle and say: Are you frozen in the ice of your indifference to what impacts the daily lives of people who have showed up at our forums and the forums that you have conducted?

The sheer humanity of what is taking place across this country cries out for a solution. Yet all we have heard, as Mr. Neal said, is the helter-skelter back and forth of who is winning politically, what is happening with the Freedom Caucus, what is going to--if Trump loses, is Ryan out?

The American people don't care about that. They care about their families. And this is the institution that we were sent to to work on their behalf. It is up to us to come together and work on behalf of the American people.

This is not a healthcare bill. This is a tax bill. We are going to work on that later on, but we shouldn't start by saying that we are going to have a transfer of wealth in this Chamber from people who are begging and pleading and showing up at the townhalls and asking for our help, and our answer is a transfer of wealth in a tax bill. Everybody wants to know why we are taking this up first and not taxes. Because it is a tax bill, that is why.

Mr. Speaker, on March 22nd, 2017--I was not present for rollcall vote 185. If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on Thursday, March 9th, 2017, I was not present for roll call votes 138 and 139. If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: ``Nay'' on roll call vote 138, ``Nay'' on roll call vote 139.

personal explanation

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Torres, Representative McClintock, Chairman Bishop, and Ranking Member Grijalva for all of their hard work on this.

As the chairman indicated, this bill did pass on a voice vote last year. Unfortunately, our colleagues in the Senate did not take it up last year. This year they have, and I am glad that it is before us again. This is truly a collaborative effort.

Especially from a small State like Connecticut, I want to thank the larger States. We just heard two Members from Oregon talking about Mount Hood. In most of the national parks in the West, you could fit the entire State of Connecticut.

I especially thank the committee for understanding the historic significance of Coltsville itself, and also the work not only of Samuel Colt, who gets most of the credit for a gun that was aptly named the gun that won the West, but of who it actually was brought to market by, Elizabeth Colt.

Samuel Colt died in 1862 at the beginning of the Civil War. Of course, that gun and those weapons that they produced also played a critical role in the North's victory.

Elizabeth Colt, however, continued the company. While she could not vote, she was part of what back then would have been a top 10 manufacturing company in the entire Nation. They ended up being the first American manufacturer to establish a plant abroad because their production scheme was that great.

She also established the concept of firewalls, which was important to a then-budding insurance industry in the State of Connecticut.

She also came up with the concept of housing workers. A large number of immigrants who poured into the country, who were skilled workers from all around the globe, but mostly from Europe, who came to Hartford at that time, were able to settle in housing.

The Park Service has been magnificent in setting up and reviewing this. I thank James Woolsey, who is the park's superintendent, but also the people in the area: Larry Dooley of Colt Gateway; the Church of the Good Shepherd; the Sheldon Charter Oak neighborhood groups; and, of course, the current mayor, Mayor Bronin; and Governor Malloy. Three other mayors have come before Congress and before the committee to testify on this bill, its importance, its significance, and its heritage. We are extraordinarily proud of this.

I would be remiss if I didn't point out the extra effort that Chairman Bishop put into this, especially his understanding in grappling with a very small State like Connecticut and what one would consider, by National Park Service standards, a very small piece of history with an enormous impact.

Henry Ford came there to take a look at the assembly line techniques that were developed there. Pratt and Whitney were both interns there, which led to, in my hometown of East Hartford, the most incredible aerospace engines, the arsenal for democracy in the State of Connecticut, a company that went on to produce 70 percent of all the engines utilized in the Second World War.

All this from Samuel Colt and, of course, Elizabeth Colt, who took over and became such an incredible philanthropist.

Hartford, at that time--because of all the manufacturing, including typewriters, bicycles, and even the automobile--got its start there. It also led this incredible sage from Missouri to locate there, write, and publish books, named Mark Twain.

So there is quite a story that comes, and it just demonstrates the value of manufacturing. We all know here and we talk frequently about value added, a four-to-one enterprise today.

Beyond that, everything else--the ideas that it spun, the innovation that it spun, and the creativity--is something that is very much worth celebrating and remembering. I thank the committee in general for all of their hard work. I am thrilled with this.

I know, having worked with Speaker Ryan on a number of important issues, that he would be happy to know that AmeriCorps is also involved in the area as well.

I thank the committee for sticking with this. It took over 14 years to get this passed. Now, with the passage of this legislation, it will officially open this spring.

I hope the committee will come out, and we will plan a great celebration and welcome you there as well.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for roll call vote 59. If I had been present for this vote, I would have voted: Nay on roll call vote 59.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the ranking member, and certainly, I want to thank the chairman. I won't take the 2 minutes, but I want to thank them for their incredible cooperation on this most important of issues.

Derek Denfeld, from my district, lost his life. There has been sadness and the coming together of the community. Our hearts go out to his wife, Heather; to his son, Felix; and certainly to his parents, Deb and Chris, whom I know personally.

I thank the ranking member. I thank the sergeant major for his sponsorship of this bill, and I thank the ranking member and the chairman for what is an important piece of legislation.

As noted, we can't wait another day for this to take effect.

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

I want to start off by certainly extending congratulations to Representative Barletta for his persistency in continuing to bring this legislation forward. As he has pointed out, it has been bipartisanly supported, and it deserves passage. It passed unanimously, as he indicated, in both the Ways and Means Committee and also unanimously on this floor, which is no small order.

Of course, it comes in the midst of controversy. I say ``controversy'' because--well, our distinguished chairman is to be congratulated as well for not only bringing this bill forward, but also for the great victory that was won by the Green Bay Packers yesterday.

In a moment, because I do want to continue my praise of the Aaron Rodgers look-alike.

Today, our distinguished chairman announced that he is not running for President. We think that it is so that his look-alike, Aaron Rodgers, may fill that void. I know that it was an outstanding victory by the Packers yesterday, but it was not without controversy on our own committee.

I know that Kenny Marchant, Kevin Brady, and Sam Johnson are very concerned about this, but as the chairman said, ``The rules are the rules,'' and we should proceed from there.

But I also want to thank all of those, and especially the chairman, who raised the point about volunteer firefighters. All of us have that visual in our minds, of course, of those going up the stairs so that people can come down the stairs. And since September 11, and noting that volunteer firefighters cover more than 70 percent of this country, this clearly is a bill that was worthy of the unanimous approval and consent that it received and, as I indicated, is bipartisanly supported by our entire delegation.

I want to commend the gentleman from Connecticut, Representative Courtney, who will speak later, and also the gentlewoman from Connecticut, Representative Esty, and also the National Volunteer Fire Council, which has been 1,000 percent behind this and also other tax issues that are going to be coming before our committee that have been bipartisanly supported as well by Representative Reichert, Tom Latham, and others. And I know that we share the bipartisan spirit in this.

I also would like to say that, along with firefighters, the many people who are emergency medical volunteers could benefit from a number of volunteer tax breaks that we could provide as well. I look forward to working with our distinguished chairman and, again, commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Representative Barletta.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

We are especially gratified, though, in a true show of compassionate conservatism that you reached out to the chief fan of the Jersey Cowboys--excuse me--the Dallas Cowboys, Chris Christie, to provide him with both a hug and a sincere gesture from Wisconsin.

Mr. Speaker, I really deeply appreciate the words of my colleague and fellow member of the Ways and Means Committee. Again, I want to commend the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta).

I want to submit for the Record a letter from the Department of the Treasury that, at the bequest of a number of Members bipartisanly submitted and they made the changes to the rules.

B. Exclusions From Definition of Hour of Service

Commenters requested that hours of service performed in

certain capacities not be counted as an hour of service. The

final regulations adopt the following changes in response to

these comments.

1. Volunteer Employees

Commenters requested that hours of service performed in the

capacity of a volunteer for a government entity or tax-exempt

organization not be counted as hours of service for purposes

of section 4980H. Under the definition of hour of service

outlined in these regulations, an hour of service is

generally defined as an hour for which an employee is paid or

entitled to payment. Accordingly, hours worked by a volunteer

who does not receive (and is not entitled to receive)

compensation in exchange for the performance of services are

not treated as hours of service for purposes of section

4980H.

Commenters noted, however, that some volunteers receive

compensation in the form of expense reimbursements, stipends,

contributions to employee benefit plans, or nominal wages.

Local governments, for instance, noted that many volunteer

firefighters or other emergency responders are paid a salary

or an hourly wage, generally at a rate lower than the rate

paid to non-volunteers performing services in a similar

capacity. Other volunteer firefighters or emergency

responders may receive expense reimbursements or other fees

each time they respond to a call. Commenters generally

expressed concern that volunteer service would be discouraged

if volunteer hours were required to be counted when

determining whether the individual is a full-time employee

for purposes of section 4980H.

In response to these concerns, the final regulations

provide that hours of service do not include hours worked as

a ``bona fide volunteer.'' For this purpose, the definition

of ``bona fide volunteer'' is generally based on the

definition of that term for purposes of section

457(e)(11)(B)(i), which provides special rules for length of

service awards offered to certain volunteer firefighters and

emergency medical providers under a municipal deferred

compensation plan. For purposes of section 4980H, however,

bona fide volunteers are not limited to volunteer

firefighters and emergency medical providers. Rather, bona

fide volunteers include any volunteer who is an employee of a

government entity or an organization described in section

501(c) that is exempt from taxation under section 501(a)

whose only compensation from that entity or organization is

in the form of (i) reimbursement for (or reasonable allowance

for) reasonable expenses incurred in the performance of

services by volunteers, or (ii) reasonable benefits

(including length of service awards), and nominal fees,

customarily paid by similar entities in connection with the

performance of services by volunteers.

Mr. Speaker, I think it is both appropriate and right that we codify this and put it into a law.

With that, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut, Joe Courtney, one of the chief sponsors who, along with Elizabeth Esty, helped engineer this bill.

I yield the gentleman an additional minute.

I have no further requests for time.

Joe Courtney said, ``Don't forget to mention the Patriots,'' so I would be remiss if I didn't.

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

I want to thank Representative Courtney also for recognizing the Volunteer Responder Incentive Protection Reauthorization Act, as I mentioned earlier, which is something that has been bipartisanly cosponsored in the past by Representatives Reichert, Latham, myself, and others.

The distinguished chairman and I, who are classmates, who came into this Congress together--he has also been a great proponent and advocate for making sure that these volunteers, who never were intended in both the case of Mr. Barletta and also in the case of the IRS, something that is administratively burdening for the IRS, this is, as Mr. Kelly so passionately said, something that is common sense, that we ought to work on together, and that we ought to provide the relief for, those who provide more than 70 percent of the volunteer aid across this country, especially when it comes to fighting fires. And our National Volunteer Fire Council is supportive of this as is the Fire Chiefs Association. I am looking forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to ensure this.

Again, with that, I commend and congratulate the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Barletta) and thank him for his fine work in this area, and I look forward to supporting him on future endeavors.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, on January 7, 2015--I was not present for rollcall votes 8-10. If I had been present for these votes, I would have voted: ``aye'' on rollcall vote 8--H.R. 26; ``nay'' on rollcall vote 9--H.R. 37; ``aye'' on rollcall vote 10--H.R. 23.

Mr. Speaker, because of a technical malfunction, I wish to be recorded as having voted ``no'' on H.R. 5759.

Mr. Speaker, I wish today to honor Christopher Carswell, an inspirational young man who has faced numerous medical struggles with grace and poise and has used his experiences as motivation to start his own non-profit organization, 1Boy4Change, when he was only 13 years old. Today, he is 16 and has a story that we all could learn a lesson from.

Throughout his decade and a half of life, Chris has suffered a tonsil adenoid surgery that resulted in the need for a feeding tube, multiple hand reconstructive surgeries, as well as a connective tissue disorder that put him in a wheelchair for a time. Then, he started having seizures that put him into respiratory/cardiac arrest as well as a stroke which robbed him of the right half of his field of vision. But through this long list of challenges, Chris has remained an upbeat person and has dedicated himself to the service of others.

In 2010, Chris was matched up with Bronx, a service dog who became his constant companion, ensuring he would never face what life threw at him alone. Shortly after that, he started 1Boy4Change, with the mission of raising awareness and providing support for individuals and families with disabilities. In the early days of the organization, Chris helped match up 70 service dogs to veterans and children.

Since then, he has expanded his mission to support others who have also chosen to live a life of service: our soldiers and police officers. In that capacity, Chris has started programs meant to help out K9 units by providing them comprehensive first aid kits as well as car heat alarms that can save the lives of dogs that are left in patrol cars.

Chris is to undergo brain surgery in January, and his doctors are hopeful that the procedure will stop his seizures. I hope all of my colleagues in the House will join with me as we wish Chris a successful operation and a speedy recovery so he can come back and continue the good work he's doing.

Mr. Speaker, I submit these remarks today to honor William H. ``Bill'' Detrick, who passed away at the age of 87 on September 19, 2014. Bill Detrick was the long-time coach of the Central Connecticut State University Basketball team, and after that was the coach of Trinity College Golf team coach. He was everything that embodies a passionate, tough, and tenacious coach and person. He taught college sports until the age of 86, which is something that very few can claim.

Throughout his 29 year tenure as the Central Connecticut basketball coach, he won 468 games with two undefeated seasons out of 24 winning seasons. He brought the program to six Division II NCAA tournaments and ushered them into Division I basketball, where they remain today. The standard and foundation set by his legacy at Central Connecticut will continue on for the future of their athletic programs.

As a coach, one must assume the responsibility of developing younger generations of people as students, athletes, and most of all as people. Bill Detrick knew this as well as anyone and was able to impact the lives of each of those he coached even to this day. He instilled the same values in his three children and six grandchildren as he did his players: Hard work and dedication to what you love will always prevail in the end. Always go the extra mile in your endeavors. He preached these kinds of lessons to his children and players in order to prepare them not just for the game, but for their entire lives ahead.

A great example of his attitude in life came from a friend and golf partner of many years, who said that Bill would never ride in a cart, and always insisted on walking. Just a week before he passed away, he walked nine holes at the age of 87. Always push yourself, even if it is during a game of such relaxation such as golf.

Mr. Detrick is survived by his wife Barbara, three children, and six grandchildren. I would like to extend my condolences to the family of Mr. Detrick during this difficult time. I hope the Holiday season reminds everyone in his life of the joyful memories that he brought, and the importance of enjoying every moment they had together. Let us all remember the values that William Detrick brought to everyone around him, and try to implement them in our everyday lives in order to strive to be the best people we can be.