Floor Statements

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

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself 4 minutes.

Mr. Chairman, I would like to echo the comments of my colleagues, particularly the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Schweikert), about the importance of transparency. An open government with transparent rules and regulations is at the core of our democracy, but I also believe in the unassailable value of science.

When this country's greatest minds come together to tackle our greatest problems, we are a stronger Nation. Whether we are talking about advancements and achievements in cancer treatment or clean water, science makes us healthier, stronger, and richer.

Unfortunately, the bill we are considering today takes science off the table for the EPA, the very Agency entrusted with keeping our air clean, our water safe, and our homes clear from toxic substances. The bill before us leaves the EPA with unworkable standards, prohibiting it from using certain studies simply because they contain information that, by law, cannot be made public. My amendment would fix this oversight.

The Kennedy-McGovern-Clark amendment clarifies that the EPA can and should use the best scientific information available, so long as that data complies with the highest academic peer-review protocols.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the EPA relies on roughly 50,000 scientific studies every year. As written, H.R. 4012 would drastically shrink this number. The bill before us could even prohibit the EPA from using other government-funded research, like NIH studies linking toxic substances to premature births or CDC research on mitigating the impact of natural disasters and human health.

Imagine if we took this approach across the whole of government. The results could be catastrophic. You don't just have to take my word for it. I have got here, Mr. Chair, a letter from the Conference of Boston Teaching Hospitals who write:

Research conducted at our hospitals, while not originally

undertaken for environmental protection purposes, is

sometimes relied upon by the EPA and other Federal agencies

to develop scientifically-based policies. Much of this

research uses personal health data which is protected by both

Federal law and our institutional review board guidelines.

Why would we want to lose research by the best and brightest minds in medicine that could protect the American people?

I am proud to say that the Conference supports my amendment, stating:

By allowing the EPA to consider peer-reviewed scientific

publications in its work, this amendment would ensure that

the best available science is the foundation for the EPA's

important work.

Mr. Chairman, I would now like to submit that letter for the Record.

Conference of Boston

Teaching Hospitals,

Boston, MA, November 18, 2014.

Representative Joseph Kennedy,

Longworth House Office Building,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative Kennedy: On behalf of the Conference of

Boston Teaching Hospitals, I would like to thank you for your

introduction of the amendment to H.R. 4012 and offer our full

support for the amendment.

As currently drafted, H.R. 4012, The Secret Science Reform

Act of 2014, would greatly impede the EPA's mission to

protect public health and the environment by making it nearly

impossible to develop policies founded on the best available

scientific information.

Research conducted at our hospitals, while not originally

undertaken for environmental protection purposes, is

sometimes relied upon by the EPA and other federal agencies

to develop scientifically based policies. Much of this

research uses personal health data which is protected by both

federal law and our institutional review board guidelines.

Under the proposed law, this valuable research would not be

able to be used when developing EPA policies. By allowing the

EPA to consider peer-reviewed scientific publications in its

work, this amendment would ensure that the best available

science is the foundation of the EPA's important work.

Thank you again for your leadership on this important

issue.

Sincerely,

John Erwin,

Executive Director.

Furthermore, CBO, in its analysis of the bill, made some troubling conclusions. For each scientific study used, the EPA could incur additional costs of up to $30,000.

If the EPA continues to operate as it does today, this bill could cost taxpayers an additional $1.5 billion every year, so this bill ensures that the EPA would have to spend more money, use fewer studies, all without being able to use the best science available.

There are several protections in place already to ensure that the science that the EPA uses is the best science available and that it is credible.

First, any and all studies go through a significant peer-review process that includes an independent analysis.

Second, the Office of Science and Technology Policy is already working to ensure that all publicly-funded research is available online.

Third, public comment periods allow for anyone, an individual or organization, to submit evidence supporting or opposing a proposed regulation. However, this bill puts limits on the public comment period. It would prohibit the EPA from taking into consideration valuable studies that come to light along the way during that open comment period if they provide private information.

Mr. Chairman, this makes no sense. I urge the House to accept my amendment to clarify that the EPA may use the best science that is peer reviewed and published, while upholding the necessary protections for confidential information.

I yield myself an additional 20 seconds.

I would also like to thank my colleagues from Massachusetts, Congressman Jim McGovern and Congresswoman Katherine Clark, for supporting this amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to my colleague from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to begin by thanking my colleague and friend, Tom Reed, for being a partner as we built momentum and support for this bill from the very beginning.

I would also like to thank the chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Chairman Lamar Smith, and Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson for their leadership as we worked out this bill through our committee.

By many metrics the economic picture in this country continues to improve. Unemployment rates are down, businesses are growing, and innovation is occurring at a breathtaking pace. But there is a flip side to that coin that we cannot ignore: our economic recovery to date has left far too many behind.

In my district, proud industrial cities like Fall River, Taunton, and Attleboro are working tirelessly in the face of stubborn unemployment rates to adapt their workforce, infrastructure, and industry to the realities of a modern, global economy.

Our manufacturing sector is a critical vehicle for bringing industrial cities and working-class communities across the country into the fold of the innovation economy, providing a critical link between our middle class workforce and fast-growing fields like biotech, robotics, or clean energy.

The resurgence in American manufacturing has already reaped enormous economic gains, currently supporting over 17 million jobs with an average annual salary of over $77,500.

There is a lot more potential on that table, and that is the idea behind RAMI. This bill creates a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation to improve our competitiveness, stimulate R&D, spread the risk of investment to bring new products and ideas to market, educate the next-generation workforce, and facilitate peer-to-peer exchange and best practices.

These public-private centers for manufacturing innovation will leverage limited and targeted government funding matched dollar for dollar with private sector investment and expertise.

Each center will be based on a new technology.

Partnerships will include large and small businesses, universities, community colleges, career and technical schools, Federal labs, and nonprofits.

Centers will leverage the regional assets to overcome communal challenges.

Groups will apply for funding, putting the reins back where they belong: in the hands of industry and researchers facing the next big manufacturing challenge.

Each application will go through an open, transparent peer and merit review process, minimizing conflicts of interest and ensuring the best practices and best proposals move forward.

It is a model that we have already seen proven successful across the country, where institutes are creating jobs and bringing products to market in diverse fields such as 3D printing, clean energy, semiconductors, and digital design.

I urge my colleagues to help propel this growth by supporting the Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Kilmer).

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to quickly address an issue of future appropriations for the network of manufacturing innovation. As recently as the fiscal year 2014 omnibus appropriations act, Congress included language in the explanatory statement, pointing out that the appropriations bill did not address a manufacturing network as Congress had not considered or approved a legislative proposal.

Well, the bill before us today solves that problem. It would authorize agencies to use funds to spur innovation and boost domestic manufacturing.

Even more recently, the fiscal year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill that passed the House on May 30, 2014, included report language on this topic showing an openness to further funding. Congress had been waiting for this bill to come to the floor to formally authorize this important program.

After we pass this bill, I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to provide much-needed funding for the network of manufacturing innovation.

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

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have left?

Mr. Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Honda).

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

Mr. Speaker, with cosponsors and supporters in every corner of the country and each side of the aisle, we must pass this bill and move forward with a national manufacturing policy.

We are here today as part of a process that involved many, many people. Last month, we held a markup in the full Science Committee, adopting several amendments and addressing concerns from members on both sides of the aisle.

Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, this bill represents how Congress is designed to work, ideas from across the country coming together in open, honest discussion to formulate policy that will move our country forward.

I would like to mention the significant staff work of the House leadership offices and the Science Committee for their tireless efforts for bringing us to this point and echo some of the names that Chairman Smith already mentioned.

From the Science majority, if I may, Jamie Brown, Cliff Shannon, Kirsten Duncan, Chris Shank, Chris Weigel. From the minority staff, Dick Obermann, Dahlia Sokolov, Marcy Gallo, Kim Montgomery, John Piazza. From Congressman Reed's office, former staffer Laura Ringdahl and Drew Wayne. From Senator Brown's office, Chris Slevin and Nora Todd. From Senator Blunt's office, John Smedile and Tracy Henke. And from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Jim Schufreider.

Mr. Speaker, through the revitalization of our manufacturing industry, we can provide access to a modern economy for millions of Americans. Our

manufacturing industries these days make far more than just the cheapest widget and Cheetos.

By supporting partnerships between the private sector, government, and academia, we can capitalize on the opportunity offered through growing industry such as life sciences, biotech, precision manufacturing, and many, many others.

I urge my colleagues to vote in support of this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 15, a bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform bill to properly address the humanitarian crisis at the border.

Mr. Speaker, I, too, rise in strong opposition to this bill.

I have been deeply saddened and distressed to see the images and hear the stories of so many unaccompanied minors at our border.

But from Massachusetts, I have also read other stories. I have read the stories of the over 150 overdoses from heroin that we experienced in Taunton, with over ten deaths.

I recently met with the DEA officials in Massachusetts, who indicated that the heroin drug trade alone with Mexico is over $40 billion a year; that the cartels have moved up into owning trafficking corridors throughout Mexico; that despite many of my other colleagues who are calling for the destruction of aid and reduction of aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador, the United States bilateral aid is less than $200 million a year. Gang violence in Los Angeles alone costs over $1 billion a year.

If we are truly going to address this problem, we have to get to its core. We have to take a good, hard look at what is driving an economic instability that is pushing young kids to figure that they have a better life by getting on a bus by themselves to our border.

This is what our country is supposed to be all about: a better future for young children trying to make a life for themselves. I hope that we come to that conclusion.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from California for allowing me a chance to share some words today, and I thank her for her leadership on this issue.

To my colleagues Mr. Kinzinger and Mr. Blumenauer, thank you for your continued leadership on this issue and many others. It has been through your persistence and perseverance that this day comes, and you deserve quite a bit of gratitude and recognition for your work.

Throughout the war in Afghanistan, U.S. servicemen and -women worked alongside thousands of Afghan partners who were employed as translators, as drivers, as cooks, as NGO staff, cultural advisers, and janitors. These Afghans risked their lives on a daily basis to come to work. They faced the very same violence, attacks, and threats as U.S. troops, but bravely put themselves in harm's way to aid in our shared mission.

As has frequently been the case in the past, when the United States began

to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, Congress created a Special Immigrant Visa program open to foreign nationals who served in critical roles and supported the American war effort. To date, more than 9,000 Afghans have benefited from the Special Immigrant Visa program. I am pleased to hear that the State Department has accelerated the processing time for these special visas in recent months, especially since there are over 6,000 still in the pipeline. However, as a result of this progress, the State Department is quickly running out of visas previously authorized by Congress.

The bill before us today will authorize 1,000 visas for the remainder of 2014 so that the State Department can continue processing applications for Afghan men and women who assumed enormous risks to aid our troops. Most importantly, this bill sends a message that the United States is a loyal partner, that we keep our word and we honor our promises, that we stand with those who stand with us in an ongoing fight for a fairer, freer world.

I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday marks the 40th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. On July 20, 1974, Turkey invaded the Republic of Cyprus as tensions between Turkish and Greek Cypriots rose. This invasion cost thousands of lives and forced an estimated 170,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes. The Greek Cypriots who remained in the Turkish occupied territory and those refugees who fled to the south lost property and possessions and continue to face restrictions on their ability to access and worship at religious sites.

Throughout the years leading up to the conflict and the past forty years of division, our country has been committed to a peaceful solution and a unified Republic of Cyprus. Fifty years ago, President Lyndon Johnson helped delay the occupation by strongly urging the Turkish Prime Minister against intervening in Cyprus. In a letter to the Prime Minister, President Johnson insisted that ``a final solution of the Cyprus problem should rest upon the consent of the parties most directly concerned.'' Since the invasion, our government has supported a peaceful resolution that brings both parties together in an effort to end the division and restore unity.

Today we have reason for increased optimism as leaders from both sides on the Island have reengaged in negotiations. The calls of Greek and Turkish Cypriots for a unified Republic have grown louder, and I hope this anniversary will increase the urgency to restore the rights of all Cypriots and create a lasting peace on the Island.

I thank the gentleman from Colorado for yielding.

Madam Speaker, in January of this year, I joined over 90 of my House colleagues in filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in advance of the arguments in Hobby Lobby v. Sebelius.

The free exercise of religion is one of our country's foundational principles and greatest strengths, but so too is the fundamental commitment to equality and fairness--the core idea that the rights and privileges of one American never snuff out the rights and privileges of one's neighbor's.

We are disappointed in the Court's ruling that closely held corporations can now place themselves between patients and doctors. We are disappointed that it is yet another blow to women's health. We are disappointed in yet another threat to the economic security of women and families, and we are disappointed that, for the first time, our Supreme Court gave a religious exemption to a generally applicable law to a for-profit corporation.

For-profit corporations do not exist to advance the interests of individuals with a shared religious faith, and in fact, they are prohibited by law from hiring, firing, or structuring their memberships on the basis of religion.

I am proud to stand with Representatives Slaughter, DeGette, and Nadler in offering legislation to keep private medical decisions between patients and their doctors, and I look forward to the day that our laws acknowledge that corporations are not people and that the constitutional rights of an individual are what this country is formed to enshrine and protect.

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

I rise today in support of H.R. 1216, which designates the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center in Prescott, Arizona, as the Dr. Cameron McKinley Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Center.

Dr. McKinley was a dedicated and greatly admired public servant in Prescott, Arizona. As chief of psychology at the Prescott VA Medical Center from 1981 to 1996, he earned the respect and honor of many veterans' service organizations. His tireless efforts to support the mental health needs of Arizona servicemembers and their families made a huge difference to many veterans.

Dr. McKinley was a groundbreaker. He established a 24-hour information center, teams of support groups, and was responsible for establishing a veterans' mental health and rehabilitation center.

For his ``exceptionally meritorious and conspicuous service to his community,'' he received the Military Order of the Purple Heart. He was also made a charter member of Chapter 95 of the Vietnam Veterans of America, who cited his dedicated efforts on their behalf.

A Shreveport, Louisiana, native, Dr. McKinley was an avid outdoorsman, capturing the beauty he experienced fishing, hiking, and canoeing with his camera and on canvas as an artist and calligrapher.

An avid reader of student history, Dr. McKinley also volunteered for the Veterans History Project of the Library of Congress. He helped to preserve firsthand accounts of veterans he met at the veterans center he helped establish. In 1997 to 1998, he volunteered at the national Vietnam Wall in Washington.

While Dr. McKinley is no longer with us, his longstanding commitment to our Nation's heroes lives on. He is the ideal candidate for the naming of the Veterans Affairs Vet Center in Prescott.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers at this time. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1216, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

I want to start, Mr. Speaker, by thanking my colleague from Mississippi for coming down to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, this simple resolution, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent last week, would authorize the use of the Capitol rotunda for a ceremony to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres. The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian honors; and Shimon Peres, Israel's President, is most deserving of this noteworthy award.

During a recent trip to Israel last year, I had the distinct honor of meeting President Peres who, even at 90 years of age, is as devoted as ever to a strong and unbreakable bond between our two nations.

Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres will put him in a distinguished category of only nine individuals who have ever been awarded both the Congressional Gold Medal and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which President Obama awarded Peres in 2012. Of the dual medalists, four are also Nobel Peace Prize laureates, an honor also bestowed on President Peres.

The resolution before us today is particularly timely, as President Peres is scheduled to visit the United States next week. With passage of this resolution, Congress will be able to hold the commemoration ceremony with him in attendance.

I would also like to take this time, Mr. Speaker, to thank the hardworking folks at the U.S. Mint, who have been working around the clock to be sure the medal will be ready on time.

Also, I thank the staff on the Financial Services Committee and members of leadership from both sides of the aisle in the House and the Senate, as well as their staff, for their support.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Massachusetts for yielding me this time. I would also like to thank the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Franks), who is here as well, for his diligent and important work on this bill.

It has been a pleasure to work with him and see him gather his fellow colleagues to support an extremely important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan bill would award the Congressional Gold Medal to Israel's President, Shimon Peres, in honor of his pivotal role in forging the strong and unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel.

The Congressional Gold Medal is one of the highest civilian honors. It is not lightly conferred or frequently granted. President Peres is most deserving of this extraordinary recognition.

During my last trip to Israel, I had the distinct honor to spend some time with President Peres. What impressed me most about the President was, even at 90 years of age, he is as committed to peace in his beloved Israel as never before.

During the time that I and my colleagues spent with President Peres, particularly as someone who was, at that point, not even a year and in his first term in Congress, the opportunity to listen to Mr. Peres' words of wisdom and counsel over his decades of service was a true gift.

Over his tenure in public life, it is Israel's future that has always lit his way. Throughout our travels in the country, we met with politicians young and old. We visited sites from Jerusalem to Ramallah to the Dead Sea; and in each historic site, every meeting, every church or shrine was a poignant reminder that, without the courage and strength of leaders like President Peres, Israel's story would be very different than it is today.

A few days ago, we celebrated Israel's 66th independence day, and we are also in the midst of Jewish American Heritage Month. Awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Shimon Peres is a timely and fitting acknowledgement of a man whose influence has touched so many lives in Israel, across the Middle East, and around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I urge that my colleagues support this bill. I would also like to thank, for the Record, Stanley Treitel, Lee Samson, Rabbi David Baron, Robert Rechnitz, Joe Stamm, and Hassan Ali Bin Ali, who have been instrumental in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Staff Sergeant Nicholas Lavery from Medway, Massachusetts.

Nick graduated from UMass with a degree in criminal justice and enrolled in the Special Forces in 2007. After graduating as a distinguished honor graduate from the Special Forces Qualification Course, he became a Green Beret.

There is an excerpt from a letter that I wanted to share with you that Nick left his loved ones when he first deployed.

If I should fall, do not let your heart fill with sadness.

Know that I passed doing what I love to do, what I believe

in, what brings me happiness, that is protecting those who

cannot fend for themselves, protecting the United States of

America, and all those who I love so dearly. Look back on me

with kindness and happiness, be happy knowing that I could

not have chosen a better way to go.

With love filling my body for my friends and family, I

tried to always be there for you all. Whether the shirt off

my back or somebody's teeth, if you needed it, I would get it

for you. Happiness was brought to me through the eyes of my

loved ones. Seeing you all happy brought me such joy.

I live for you. I never wanted money, accommodations, or

even any sort of recognition. None was necessary. I hope I

served you all well. I gave it my all. No need for thank you.

The pleasure was all mine.

Mr. Speaker, this weekend, Nick Lavery will be coming home, loved, alive, and a hero.

Since enlisting in 2007, Nick has been awarded three Purple Hearts. In the spring of 2013, Nick and his team were involved in a green-on- blue attack, which is a strike against coalition members by people dressed in their own uniform. Nick sustained injuries to his right leg during that attack and subsequently had it amputated below his knee.

He will receive a Silver Star with Valor and a Bronze Star with Valor at Fort Bragg on March 27.

After over a year in Walter Reed, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and the town of Medway is proud to say to Nick: welcome home.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to bring up H.R. 3824 to end the Republicans' refusal to extend unemployment benefits that protect nearly 63,000 workers in Massachusetts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to advocate for the 1.3 million Americans and their families who have been hit hardest by this recession. Affording the most basic necessities--food, transportation, rent, and health care--just got even harder. Their needs are not extravagant. The benefits of unemployment insurance are not a blank check. They are a modest lifeline for families who are in need of desperate help over the holidays and in a cold winter.

Since Congress has failed to act, over 60,000 residents of Massachusetts have lost access to these benefits. If we fail to do so, 140,000 more residents of our State are in jeopardy. At a time when the State's overall jobless rate is around 7 percent, and rises to 12 or 13 percent in some of our most challenged communities, to not extend these benefits today is wrong.

My colleagues that are blocking this bill will tell you they are concerned with the number of people accessing these benefits. Well, you know what? So am I, and cutting those benefits off today is wrong.

The funding that we seek today is an essential lifeline for these individuals at a time when we need to be expanding workforce development programs, workforce training programs, community colleges, vocational schools, and STEM education. We have to support our small businesses, an economic engine for so many American communities. I am in support of transportation upgrades, investments in infrastructure, and affordable housing.

While there is a whole lot we should be working on right now, getting our economy going again and getting people back up should be priority number one.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this piece of legislation. I want to thank the chairman and the ranking member for their diligence and their hard work in bringing this bill to the floor.

I also want to recognize my esteemed college from Wisconsin for his service in the Peace Corps and his dedicated public service ever since, and recognize my fellow returned Peace Corps volunteers that are on the floor as well.

Mr. Speaker, this piece of legislation seeks to recognize the commitment not just of Peace Corps volunteers, but some of the core values and ideals of our country. As a returned Peace Corps volunteer myself, serving in the Dominican Republic, I got to see some extraordinary, dedicated American citizens working day in and day out in some very tough circumstances over the course of their over-2 years of service.

And of all of the memories that come up in my 27 months abroad, one has particularly stuck with me. About a year or so into my service, I was on my way back into Santo Domingo, the nation's capital, on a bus initially designed for probably about eight, but with about 20 people crammed into it.

I was in the second-to-last row with a backpack on my lap, when an older gentleman tapped me on the shoulder and asked, in Spanish, Cuerpo de Paz, inquiring if I was actually a Peace Corps volunteer. Apparently, I didn't blend in quite as well as I had hoped.

The gentleman explained that he grew up on the outskirts of Santo Domingo in a rural village that, at the time, didn't have any running water, and a Peace Corps volunteer arrived and helped construct an aqueduct to bring clean water to the village.

He, at that point, thanked me, not for my work, but for the work that that other volunteer had done decades before. He never asked my name. He never asked where I was from. He never asked what I did. He just said thank you; and a few moments later, the bus stopped, he got off and I never saw him again.

It is that generosity of spirit, that dedication to the ideals and values of this country that Peace Corps represents and that this monument will seek to commemorate in our Nation's Capital for time to come.

I am so grateful for the support of our other Peace Corps volunteers that are serving in Congress and want to thank them for all the work that they did to make this day come to fruition.

I want to thank my colleague from Illinois (Mr. Schneider) for his important work and leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 3212. I want to thank and recognize my colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee, the chairman of the subcommittee, Chris Smith, and the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Royce, for their important leadership and hard work on this bill.

Mr. Speaker, as a cosponsor of this bill, I speak on behalf of all left-behind parents and, in particular, on behalf of a constituent of mine from Newton, Massachusetts, Colin Bower. Colin was granted full custody of his children, Noor and Ramsey, in 2008. In 2009, the boys' mother unexpectedly took them out of school, boarded a plane, fled to Egypt, and has never since returned. Through all that time, she has refused to return the children.

It has been nearly 2 years since Colin has seen or spoken with his sons. Despite the custody ruling of a U.S. court and a subsequent Egyptian court order granting him the right to visit with his children, Colin has been denied the opportunity to see his children time and time again.

I just got off the phone with Colin a few moments ago. He recapped the details of his ordeal yet again to me, but I guess, in the words that he said most poignantly: No parent should ever have to go through this.

Between the years of 2008 and 2012, Mr. Speaker, parents reported more than 4,800 cases of abduction involving more than 7,000 children, according to the State Department. Currently, 89 countries are party to a Hague treaty that provides a legal framework for children who are victims of international abduction.

This bill would require the Secretary of State to enter into a memorandum of understanding with those countries that have not signed the Hague agreement, creating a mechanism where none exists to bring children home safely. Additionally, it would provide better reporting to parents and to Congress.

No parent should have to suffer the unbelievable heartbreak that Colin has experienced over the past 5 years. No child should be torn away from a safe home and loving family because their country didn't have the proper protections in place to protect them.

We can do more to ensure that these children find a way home. I ask my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the House bring up the Senate amendment to H.J. Res. 59, to open the government and go to conference on a budget so that we can end this Republican government shutdown today.