Floor Statements

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

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today to express my support for the Financial CHOICE Act, to express my appreciation to Chairman Hensarling and the committee for all their fine work, and to offer an amendment that will help small community banks, organized as mutual holding companies, attract investors and maintain longevity in communities across America and in upstate New York, which I represent.

Seven years since its enactment, it has become glaringly apparent that Dodd-Frank has worked to advantage big banks on Wall Street; but for many of my constituents, the most detrimental aspects of Dodd-Frank to upstate New York aren't necessarily what is going on on Wall Street but, rather, the damage it has inflicted upon small community banks and Main Street.

As has been highlighted here today, the U.S. is losing community banks at a rate of one per day. These disappearing institutions are neighborhood banks that are willing to make loans to families for mortgages or home equity, to small businesses to cover payroll and investment, investing in our communities, sponsoring our kids' baseball teams, and understanding the core principles of the communities that they serve.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment is quite simple. It seeks to help all community banks that elect to raise capital through a mutual holding company, or an MHC, charter.

Dodd-Frank and the implementing Federal Reserve regulations came down hard on these mutual holding companies, putting onerous, expensive regulations on these mutual holding companies just for them to waive the receipts of dividends, a practice which was common pre-Dodd-Frank, and it worked very well.

In New York State, banks such as the Bank of Greene County, NorthEast Community Bank, Lake Shore Savings Bank, and many others throughout the Empire State and throughout the country have been burdened by Dodd- Frank's nonsensical dividend waiver rules. My amendment cuts the red tape, restores the dividend waiver process to what it was prior to Dodd-Frank, and frees up capital to be reinvested in our communities.

I ask my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. Chair, I have listened to the statement of the gentleman from Minnesota, and I have to say I am reminded of what former Senator Moynihan said about we are all entitled to our own opinion, but not our own facts, and here are the facts.

The banks that are organized as mutual holding companies organize that way. They are owned by their depositors, and they have also been able to sell publicly traded stock, but they keep a majority position in the mutual holding company. Why? Because they want to maintain the community involvement. They want to maintain the community ownership and not have their bank taken over by a distanced series of investors. That is what is exactly happening with the Bank of Greene County, for instance, in my district.

The Bank of Greene County, as a mutual holding company, they own 55 percent of the bank. So it is owned by the depositors, the public shareholders, 45 percent; but because of Dodd-Frank and because of the change in the regulatory process that was eliminated in Dodd-Frank, every time the mutual holding company has dividends, annually, to waive, they must send a notice to every depositor. A depositor who might have $5 in the account or $50,000, they have to mail a notice to them. It costs them $150,000 a year that is simply wasted, and that money can't be reinvested in our community.

Mr. Chair, I regret that the minority is misrepresenting what we are trying to do here. We are defending the interests of small community banks organized as mutual holding companies that want to keep their ownership of their bank local. In fact, the bank that I am talking about, they don't even securitize their mortgages. They underwrite and they keep all their mortgages locally in their portfolio.

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hensarling), the distinguished chairman of the committee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a speech I delivered in Milan on May 28, 2017.

Memorial Day. A day of remembrance to our fallen soldiers.

A day when all Americans are reminded of those who gave their

lives to defend our freedoms. This day is perhaps best

honored by the phrase uttered by Abraham Lincoln at

Gettysburg. They gave to the cause of liberty, he said,

``their last full measure of devotion.''

Memorial Day is significant in that it is an enduring

reminder of those who gave their lives for our nation. We

live in a time when only a small percentage of American

families have someone who is serving on either active duty or

in the reserves. As such, it is all the more important that

we gather together on this solemn day to honor their

sacrifice.

So on this day, our obligation is not just to remember. It

is also to teach our children and grandchildren that our

liberty is more than just the words of the Declaration of

Independence, and the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Those documents are the foundation stones of our system of

government and the truth that governments derive their powers

from the people and not the other way around. And further

that the inalienable rights we enjoy as a free people come

from God and not from government.

But none of this would be possible without the sacrifice of

those we remember today. Inscribed on statuary at the

National Archives Building in Washington is the phrase

``Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.'' We need to

constantly remind ourselves that freedom is not free. Our

liberties are guaranteed us by our Constitution and Bill of

Rights; but they were also made possible by the determination

of multiple generations of Americans who answered their

nation's call and who defended our liberties to the last

breath on the fields of battle.

We stand on the shoulders of the fallen today. We owe them

our eternal gratitude; our respect; and that their collective

sacrifice is forever etched onto our collective memories.

I recently read a quote attributed to the son of a U.S.

soldier killed in Afghanistan. He said of his father: ``his

life was not taken: it was given to his country.''

His life was not taken: it was given to his country. He

gave his life to defend our nation, so that others of us can

live in freedom and liberty. That truly sums up what we

should always remember about those we honor on Memorial Day.

May God Bless our fallen soldiers; may God Bless our

Veterans; and may God Bless the United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a speech I delivered at the Sullivan County Veterans Cemetery on May 29, 2017.

Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished hosts, our Gold Star

Mothers, and all honored guests: Thank you for gathering here

with us on this observance of Memorial Day. It is my great

privilege and distinct honor to speak to you today.

Memorial Day. A day of remembrance to our fallen soldiers.

A day when all Americans are reminded of those who gave their

lives to defend our freedoms. This is perhaps best honored by

the phrase uttered by Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg. They

gave to the cause of liberty, he said, ``their last full

measure of devotion.''

Here in the 19th Congressional District, the history of our

Sullivan County neighbors has made an everlasting

contribution to the priciples of self-sacrifice, patriotism

and freedom we commemorate each Memorial Day.

Sullivan County is the namesake of Major General John

Sullivan, an officer of the Revolutionary War. Sullivan was a

lawyer, politician, prisoner of war and military tactician

who was selected by George Washington to carry out a

difficult campaign against British forces and Loyalists in

what was then the borderlands of New York and Pennsylvania.

Sullivan was a towering figure who believed in the American

experiment and rejected the entreaties of the British to lure

him to their side. He had his feet planted firmly in the soil

of this continent.

During the Civil War, New York provided more men and

munitions to the Union cause than any other state. But it was

Sullivan County that let the men march. Over 80 percent of

all the leather goods used by the Union side where

conditioned in the tanning vats of Sullivan County, including

Monticello's 143rd Infantry Regiment. It has been said with

justification that ``the Civil War was won with boots tanned

in Sullivan County.'' Each step of the journey to preserve

the Union and destroy the evil of slavery began here.

Here at the Veterans Cemetery, we have a visual reminder in

the form of Sgt. Kenneth Von Ronn's M60A3 tank. Sgt. Von Ronn

was killed in action in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was laid

to rest in this place, downhill from his tank, fittingly

inscribed on the marker as a ``trooper and his mount.'' The

vehicle today stands guard for all those here, opposing

America's enemies for all eternity.

At Arlington National Cemetery, the 3rd US Infantry, the

Old Guard, adorns thousands upon thousands of rows of

headstones with American flags each Memorial Day. Each

austere monument stands in perfect symmetry with the next.

This is an act of gratitude to each individual warrior and

the nation as a whole.

Memorial Day is an enduring reminder of those who gave

their lives for our nation. We live in a time when only a

small percentage of American families have someone who is

serving on either active duty or in the reserves. As such, it

is all the more important that we gather together on this

solemn day to honor their sacrifice

So too on this day, our obligation is not just to remember.

It is also to teach our children and grandchildren that our

liberty is more than just the words of the Declaration of

Independence, and the Constitution and its Bill of Rights.

Those documents are the foundation stones of our system of

government and the truth that governments derive their powers

from the people and not the other way around. And further

that the inalienable rights we enjoy as a free people come

from God and not from government.

But none of this would be possible without the sacrifice of

those we remember today. Inscribed on statuary at the

National Archives building in Washington is the phrase

``Eternal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.'' We need to

constantly remind ourselves that freedom is not free. Our

liberties are guaranteed us by our Constitution and Bill of

Rights; but they were also made possible by the determination

of miltiple generations of Americans who answered their

nation's call and who defended our liberties to the last

breath on the fields of battle.

We stand on the shoulders of the fallen today. We owe them

our eternal gratitude; our respect; and that their collective

sacrifice is forever etched onto our collective memories.

I recently read a quote attributed to the son of a U.S.

soldier killed in Afghanistan. He said of his father: ``His

life was not taken: It was given, to his country.''

His life was not taken: it was given, so that others can

live in freedom and liberty. That truly sums up what we

should always remember about those we honor on Memorial Day.

May God bless our fallen soldiers and may God bless the

United States of America.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to congratulate two local businesses, craft breweries, within the 19th Congressional District in New York State. These two local breweries, Brewery Ommegang, located in Cooperstown, New York, and Roscoe Beer Company, located in Sullivan County, New York, tied for first place in the Taste of New York Inaugural Craft Beer Challenge in Manhattan.

This competition was held on May 17 and was announced then in New York City. Seventy breweries from across the State participated in the Craft Beer Challenge. Beers were selected by such foodie favorites like Chef Mario Batali and many other notables in the New York food business.

New York has clearly established itself, as has the 19th Congressional District, as a craft beer destination.

We are especially proud of our local upstate craft breweries, which support our local economy, jobs, farms, and tourism.

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to announce and to congratulate these two fine establishments within the 19th Congressional District.

Honoring Chris Gibson

Mr. Speaker, I am also pleased today to congratulate my predecessor in Congress, Congressman Chris Gibson, for his wonderful service to our country and to Congress.

Chris will soon be honored by the Columbia County Association in the city of New York as man of the year. I have known Chris for over 30 years, and I am blessed to call him and his family my neighbors in the Village of Kinderhook, where we both live.

He was truly a great Congressman and an all-around leader to upstate New York in so many ways. He exemplifies service in its many forms. Chris is a proud patriot. He served 24 years in the United States Army, rising to the rank of colonel. He is a highly decorated veteran who received not only the Bronze Star, but the Purple Heart during his combat deployments.

He was deployed seven times, including four combat tours in Iraq. He made great sacrifices, as did his family, and he fought for our freedom. As a United States Congressman, he continued to fight for the citizens of upstate New York. He served three terms in the 19th Congressional District, fulfilling his pledge to self-imposed term limits.

His legislative priorities were national security, our veteran community, and combating Lyme disease. He always had his fellow citizens' best interests at heart.

Chris Gibson was also a scholar. He graduated from Siena College in Loudonville, New York, where he earned his ROTC commission. He went on to receive not one, but two master's degrees, plus a Ph.D. in government from Cornell University. He was an assistant professor for 3 years teaching cadets at West Point at the United States Military Academy. Today he continues his love of teaching at Williams College as a Visiting Professor of Leadership Studies.

I am proud to call Chris Gibson my friend and colleague, and it is clear to anyone who knows him that he will be successful in all of his pursuits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor former Congressman Christopher P. Gibson. I have known Chris for over 30 years, and I am blessed to call him, his wife, Mary Jo, and their three amazing children, my neighbors in the town of Kinderhook. Chris was truly a great Congressman and an all-around leader to Upstate New York. He has exemplified service in many forms.

Chris is a proud patriot. He served 24 years in the US Army, rising to the rank of Colonel. A highly decorated veteran, he was deployed seven times, including four combat tours in Iraq. He made great sacrifices, was injured in the line of duty, and fought for our freedom.

As a US Representative, he continued to fight diligently for the citizens of Upstate New York. Chris served three terms representing New York's 19th District, fulfilling his pledge to self-impose term limits. Among many legislative priorities, Chris acted to protect our national security, veterans, and those who suffer from Lyme Disease. Without question, he has always held his fellow citizens' best interests at heart.

Chris Gibson is also a scholar. He graduated from Siena college, where he achieved his ROTC Commission, and he went on to receive two Masters Degrees and a PhD from Cornell University. At West Point, Chris taught cadets for three years as an Assistant Professor. Today, he continues his love for teaching and sharing his experience in his role as the Visiting Professor of Leadership Studies at Williams College.

I am proud to call Chris Gibson my friend and colleague, and it is clear to anyone who knows him that he will be successful in all his pursuits.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to draw the House's attention today to the ongoing negotiations between New York City and the States of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania, regarding the Flexible Flow Management Program.

The current Flexible Flow Management Program, which governs New York City reservoir releases into the Delaware River Basin, expires at the end of this month on May 31. This interstate agreement is a critically important water management tool that helps mitigate downstream impacts of New York City's reservoirs.

In addition to supporting the water allocation goals, the Flexible Flow Management Plan helps control the flow of water downstream, decreasing the likelihood of catastrophic flooding events. The FFMP also provides critical support to the Delaware River freshwater trout fishery, which is an important part of the Catskill's regional economy.

Unfortunately, if the Flexible Flow Management Plan is allowed to expire, we jeopardize the safety and well-being of constituents along the entire length of the Delaware River. The progress that has been made towards finalizing the FFMP agreement cannot be lost due to a breakdown in communications among decree party members.

I encourage all parties to return to the table from their respective States and agree to at least a 1-year extension to allow the negotiation process to continue.

Mr. Speaker, I call attention to this important issue because it greatly affects the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands, indeed millions, of people in the entire Delaware River Valley and the Delaware River estuary, which covers New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the State of Delaware.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter I sent to the four States on May 11, 2017, on this important matter.

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC, May 11, 2017.

Secretary Shawn Garvin,

Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental

Control, Dover, DE.

Commissioner Bob Martin,

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Trenton,

Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my support for the American Health Care Act. As I have said from the beginning, when it comes to the Affordable Care Act, we should keep what works and change what doesn't. I urge support for the AHCA because it does just that.

The AHCA stops the Washington, DC, one-size-fits-all approach to healthcare and puts choice and freedom back in the hands of states, counties, families, and individuals. With the AHCA's monumental strides in reforming Medicaid to ensure its solvency for our most vulnerable citizens and repealing burdensome taxes on the middle class, it is a win across the board for all Americans, but specifically Upstate New Yorkers.

Upstate New York residents will see additional benefits due to an amendment which Congressman Collins and I have included in the bill. This language is one of the greatest pieces of state mandate relief that New Yorkers have ever seen. By normalizing the fashion in which New York State funds Medicaid, those in my district alone will see more than $224 million in tax relief every year.

The fact is that New York funds its Medicaid program by imposing a portion of the state's funding responsibility on the counties. Home ownership is burdened by lower property values due to high taxes. This also lessens business competitiveness in areas like Upstate NY. The extent to which New York burdens its counties is unlike any other: of the approximately $9.5 billion in Medicaid costs shouldered by localities nationwide, New York localities account for more than $7 billion of the total. Albany mandates ensure that New York spends more on Medicaid than Texas and Florida combined. This is simply unsustainable.

The people of Upstate New York demand relief: relief from burdensome Albany mandates; relief from rising property taxes; relief from Washington-controlled, bureaucratic healthcare; relief from ACA- imposed, middle-class healthcare taxes. For these reasons, I support the AHCA and urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I wanted to point out to my colleagues that a fundamental change is being made with the new health law we have before us, and that is, we are, for the first time, equalizing the treatment of people who do not have employer-provided health care.

Those of us who have employer-provided health care, 170 million Americans, that is not a taxable event for them. It is not a taxable event where they have to pay tax at the end of the year on the value of that employer-provided health care.

And yet, if you are the person who does not have employer-provided health care, if you are the husband and wife with two kids making 45 or $50,000, and your employer does not provide health care, you receive absolutely no tax subsidy through the Tax Code.

This bill, through the advance refundable tax credits, will, for the first time, give someone the choice to buy health care and give them the opportunity and the means to buy health care that they previously have not had. It is not a markedly important distinction, frankly, from the Affordable Care Act, where you only could buy the health care through an exchange-approved policy.

This policy, under this legislation today, will allow someone the flexibility and the freedom to buy a policy of their choosing, not one dictated by Washington. So that is a fundamental important distinction between the status quo and what this legislation would offer.

Mr. Speaker, and my colleagues, I urge support for the bill. It is not perfect, as we all know, but it is something that is long overdue.

I would also point out that the numbers that my colleague from Kentucky uses are really based upon fantasy. Those numbers are simply incorrect, and the people of our State and our country will have health care under the provisions of this bill, and we will work hard to ensure that they do.

Mr. Speaker, my apologies for not being able to be present for today's recorded votes. My flight from ALB to DCA was cancelled due to a winter storm, and I could make no other flight that would have gotten me to Washington in time. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea on rollcall No. 86, and ``yea'' on rollcall No. 87.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate that, and I appreciate the gentleman from Georgia's hospitality in yielding the floor to me at this time.

Mr. Speaker, indeed, I am privileged to represent the 19th Congressional District of New York State. This encompasses a wide area of the mid-Hudson Valley and the Catskill region. The district touches Vermont in the northeast corner and Pennsylvania in the southeast corner. We go out to Cooperstown, and we have great local locations like Woodstock. Many people are familiar with Woodstock, where the concert was supposed to be back in the late 1960s, but also where the concert occurred in Bethel, New York, in Sullivan County. The district encompasses all or part of 11 counties.

The gentleman from Georgia referenced the fact that I have resided for the last 30, almost 34, years in Kinderhook, New York, the hometown of Martin Van Buren, our eighth President. Our district also has within it the town of Hyde Park in Dutchess County, which is the home of a President who was extraordinarily well-known and recognized for his great contributions to our country, Franklin D. Roosevelt. I encourage people to come visit Hyde Park and the Roosevelt home and mansion, and also Kinderhook.

I would be remiss if I did not also mention that the 19th District has the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where I know a number of Members will be coming up later this year to play a game of baseball in a charitable fundraising event.

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Collins had made reference to the economic condition. The economic condition in upstate New York is extremely difficult. Of the 11 counties in my district, for instance, all 11 have lost population in the last 5 years. What has happened is that people are leaving because of high local taxes and burdensome rules. These come not just from Albany, but also from Washington. This is one of the things that I think the people sent me here to Congress to work on.

I ran on a platform of economic growth. We must get our economy moving, and we must get it moving fast and growing at rates that are not in the anemic 1.5 to 1.8 percent level, but up to 3, 3.5, and 4 percent if we are going to produce enough wealth and opportunity for our children and grandchildren. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow this generation to leave to the next generation a country that is immeasurably poorer and less well off than the country that we were given by our parents and grandparents.

I am privileged to serve on three committees here in Congress: the Budget Committee; the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where I am honored to serve as the vice chairman of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials; and also the Committee on Agriculture. All three of these committees are going to be vitally significant in terms of my tenure here in these 2 years of Congress, but also for the people of our district.

Agriculture, we have a robust and growing agricultural economy. It is dairy, where a lot of dairy farmers are struggling with the low price of milk, but also fruits and vegetables. We have got a remarkable number of new producers--yogurt producers, cheese producers, and beef and pork producers--because we live only 125 to 150 miles away from the city of New York and the tremendous metropolitan area and the tremendous market that that entails.

On the Agriculture Committee, I will be fighting hard to protect the interests of our dairy community and small farmers and to make sure that we encourage our young people to go into agriculture. I am pleased to soon support a measure which will encourage young people to go into agriculture.

On the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I mentioned the Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee. Our district is blessed to have the beautiful Hudson Valley. The Hudson Valley--the Empire State corridor of Amtrak--is one of the busiest in the Nation. It is also one of the profit centers for Amtrak. Many, many people ride the train between Albany and New York City on a daily basis, in fact. It is vitally important to our commerce and to our business interests in our district.

We also have a number of freight rail facilities. I will be working closely with folks out in Otsego County and Oneonta for the project that they are looking at for their rail facility in that community.

Lastly, as I mentioned, I serve on the Budget Committee. Just today, we heard a report from the Congressional Budget Office. The chief of the CBO came before us. He indicated that today we have almost $20 trillion of national debt.

That is just the on-the-books government national debt. He also said to us that within 10 years we are going to be facing another $10 trillion on top of

that. And $30 trillion, my colleagues, is not sustainable. It is, in essence, generational theft. It is saying we would spend today our children's and grandchildren's inheritance and that we are forcing, by borrowing way beyond our means, our children and grandchildren in the future to pay for our spending today.

So this, indeed, is a crisis point. It is a crisis point for our country. It is a crisis point for every man, woman, and child in our Nation.

In fact, if you look at the data, right now our national debt is the equivalent of about $60,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. We have to get this under control. The way to get it under control is we have to deal with growth. We have got to get economic growth. Smart tax and regulatory changes can help us spur the private sector economy to grow this economy, to create more opportunity, to create more wealth and jobs for our families all across the Nation, but particularly, from my vantage point, in upstate New York.

But we also need to take a hard look at reforming entitlement programs. There is precedent for doing this. President Ronald Reagan, Tip O'Neill, the great former Senator from New York State Daniel Patrick Moynihan, and others came together in the early eighties and fixed the Social Security financing problem for over 40 years. Well, the timeline for fixing that problem is running out.

I encourage people at home and citizens all across this country, pull out your Social Security earnings statement. Pull out that statement that the Social Security Administration sends to you each year. If you look at it closely, it will say that, in 2034, just a mere 17 or 18 years from now, Social Security can only pay approximately 75 or 76 percent of the promised benefits.

We have it in our capacity to fix this problem to assure that all the seniors are taken care of and that those close and near retirement will not be affected. But we also have to reform the system so that our children and grandchildren have the prospect of something there for them in the future. We cannot, again, be the generation to leave our kids and our grandchildren holding the bag with a country less wealthy, with less opportunity than the country that our parents and grandparents gave to us.

So I am really pleased to have this opportunity to come before the House today. I am very happy that Mr. Collins has, with his wisdom and experience here in the House, afforded us this opportunity to come here and describe what is going on in our district, why we came here, what we want to do, and what we hope to accomplish over the next 2 years.

Well, I look forward to working with the gentleman from Georgia, and I look forward to working with all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to try to fix what is wrong with our country today, to improve on what we already have, and to create a sustainable future for all Americans. This is why I ran, and that is why I am here.

I thank the gentleman from Georgia for the opportunity to come before the House to speak with him today.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the new chairman of the Budget Committee for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I have listened to the debate and I understand the difficulty that both sides have with fixing this system.

We clearly believe the system needs to be repealed and replaced. Moreover, the system needs to be reformed. And there is perhaps no better prominent Democrat in this country who has made the case for reforming this system. I quote former President Bill Clinton, who said just last October:

So you have got this crazy system where, all of a sudden,

25 million more people have health care and then the people

who are out there busting it, sometimes 60 hours a week, wind

up with their premiums doubled and their coverage cut in

half. It's the craziest thing in the world.

President Bill Clinton.

Mr. Chairman, this is just the first step in terms of fixing this problem. The taxes, the premium increases, the loss of coverage, the small businesses who have been priced out of the market, the discouragement of employment in our country because of the costs that are imposed on the business sector through the ACA have to be fixed; they have to be addressed. Today is just the first step in addressing that.

Later, we will have regulatory changes that come from the Department of Health and Human Services. More importantly, we will all have to come back here to work out a new plan to fix it.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution.

Section 3:

``New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other State; nor any State be formed by the junction of two or more States, or parts of States, without the consent of the legislatures of the States concerned as well as of the Congress.''