Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, to ensure environmental progress, we must let technology lead the way. However, the liberal media often ignores news about innovations that would mitigate climate change.

A recent report by the Environmental Protection Agency shows that U.S. greenhouse gas emissions have declined by 11 percent since 2005. No other industrialized country has made so much progress. Investor's Business Daily points out in an editorial, ``How U.S. Slashed CO2,'' that breakthroughs in technology, and not one-size- fits-all regulations, are the reason for U.S. success in reducing emissions.

The IBD article also notes that many countries that signed the Paris accord continue to increase their emissions. Instead of innovating, these countries are regulating. Regulations set impossible targets for carbon emissions and have little impact on the environment. The media should report on technological innovations that address climate change. Instead, they use scare tactics to promote more government regulations and government control of the economy.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman from Pennsylvania, the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Mr. Shuster, for yielding me time.

Mr. Chairman, I support the FAA Leadership in Groundbreaking High- Tech Research and Development Act, or FLIGHT R&D Act, incorporated in H.R. 4 as Title VII of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018.

Title VII's FLIGHT R&D Act will ensure America remains a world leader in aviation innovation. By making prioritized and strategic investments today, our Nation will continue to push the boundaries of aerospace technology, maintain a safe and secure aviation transportation system, and foster a healthy and growing aviation economy.

Mr. Chair, I thank Science Committee member Steve Knight for introducing this important legislation and Chairman Shuster for including it in his bill.

The safety of the flying public is of paramount importance. That is why Title VII's FLIGHT R&D Act prioritizes research and development to improve aviation safety.

Title VII authorizes increased funding for aviation safety research and development. Improving aviation safety is the fundamental mission of the FAA's research and development agenda.

Title VII establishes an FAA associate administrator for research and development to manage and oversee all FAA research and development programs and activities. These will include the R&D provisions in this bill regarding unmanned aircraft systems, cybersecurity, the national aerospace system, aviation fuel, air traffic surveillance, remote and computer piloting, and spectrum use.

In closing, Mr. Chairman, I strongly support Title VII, the FLIGHT R&D Act, and urge my colleagues to support this fiscally responsible, commonsense initiative to ensure that America remains at the forefront of civil aviation, innovation, and safety.

Mr. Speaker, last week Southwest Flight 1380 was flying from New York's La Guardia Airport to Dallas Love Field when one of the plane's engines exploded.

The pilot, Tammie Jo Shults, a constituent who lives in Kendall County, heard the noise and knew what had happened. She remained calm as the plane shook and shuddered and reassured her 144 passengers and five crew members while she also coordinated with air traffic control.

Captain Shults kept a bad situation from becoming worse and safely executed an emergency landing in Philadelphia.

Shults is no stranger to high-pressure situations. She had years of experience as one of the Navy's first female aviators who later served as an F/A18 Hornet instructor in which she played the ``aggressor'' pilot in mock dogfights. That's where she met her husband Dean, who is now a commercial pilot too.

Tammie and Dean have two adult children, one of whom, Marshall, I appointed to the United States Air Force Academy. I'm happy to have the Shults family as constituents in Texas' 21st District.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2809) to amend title 51, United States Code, to provide for the authorization and supervision of nongovernmental space activities, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 2809, the bill now under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, today, we give space exploration a booster rocket in the form of H.R. 2809, the bipartisan American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act.

The commercial space industry is poised to begin a major new vehicle for discoveries in space and national economic growth. It represents hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and the creation of thousands of jobs across the United States.

For years, there has been uncertainty about which Federal agency has responsibility for approving nontraditional space activities and ensuring conformity with the Outer Space Treaty. This uncertainty has cramped capital formation and innovation and has driven American companies overseas.

The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act remedies this situation by establishing a new, novel, legal, and policy framework that unleashes American free enterprise and businesses, assures conformity with Outer Space Treaty obligations, and guarantees that the U.S. will lead the world in commercial space activities throughout the 21st century.

H.R. 2809 increases American competitiveness and attracts companies, talents, and money that would otherwise go to other countries. In short, the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act ensures that America and its workforce will benefit from the new space economy.

The need for this legislation became evident during the previous administration when legal uncertainty arose after U.S. space exploration companies sought payload approval from the Department of Transportation for its nontraditional space activities. But the DOT payload approval process is not designed to satisfy the requirements of complying with the Outer Space Treaty, so the Federal Government has been unable to assure the private sector that new and innovative space activities would be approved for launch.

The American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act uses a commonsense approach to establish a sound legal foundation upon which U.S. industry can rely and flourish. It creates a self-certification process for the nongovernmental space activities that provides regulatory certainty for the U.S. commercial space sector, it assures U.S. compliance with Outer Space Treaty obligations, and it addresses national security concerns in the least burdensome manner.

Existing regulatory authority is currently spread across three Federal agencies, which has caused the review of commercial remote sensing applications to grind to a halt. H.R. 2809 consolidates this authority into one Federal agency, the Secretary of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce. The result, America gets a one-stop-shop for authorizing outer space activities.

Without H.R. 2809, America's space industry would continue to face legal uncertainty. Innovation would be stifled by burdensome and open- ended regulatory processes.

Other policies and interests of the United States are affected by private sector space activities, national security, in particular, but the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act improves national security by including remote sensing reform. By requiring a national security risk assessment during the remote sensing permitting process, this bill ensures that national security concerns are addressed.

H.R. 2809 improves the permitting process by creating a single decision point, increasing transparency, avoiding unnecessary reviews of technologies that have already been approved, and preventing the interagency process from indefinitely delaying decisionmaking. These changes allow our remote sensing industry to continue to lead the world.

The bill also goes farther than current law in providing for the physical safety of government assets in orbit. After operations are certified, the government can conduct an assessment of physical safety issues that will prevent disastrous collisions and help protect the safety of government and private assets.

Cosponsors of the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act include Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin and recent Science, Space, and Technology Committee member and now NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine. Both Chairman Babin and Administrator Bridenstine have worked diligently to move this legislation forward. And Representatives Perlmutter, Kilmer, and Soto also helped develop this commonsense, bipartisan regulatory reform bill. Many thanks to all of them.

This transformative and ground-shaking legislation facilitates commercial liftoff and declares that America is fully open for business in space. American innovators, driven by ingenuity, competitive spirit, and bold vision are the future of space exploration.

Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act.

Mr. Speaker, today we give space exploration a booster rocket in the form of H.R. 2809, the bipartisan American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act. The commercial space industry is poised to begin a major new initiative for discoveries in space and national economic growth. It represents hundreds of billions of dollars in investments and the creation of thousands of jobs across the U.S.

For years there has been uncertainty about which federal agency has responsibility for approving non-traditional space activities and ensuring conformity with the Outer Space Treaty. This uncertainty has cramped capital formation and innovation and has driven American companies overseas.

The Space Commerce Act remedies this situation by establishing a new, novel legal and policy framework that unleashes American free enterprise and businesses, assures conformity with Outer Space Treaty obligations, and guarantees that the U.S. will lead the world in commercial space activities throughout the 21st century.

H.R. 2809 increases American competitiveness and attracts companies, talents, and money that would otherwise go to other countries. In short, the Space Commerce Act ensures that America and its workforce will benefit from the new space economy.

The need for this legislation became evident during the previous Administration when legal uncertainty arose after U.S. space exploration companies sought payload approval from the Department of Transportation (DOT) for its nontraditional space activities.

But the DOT payload approval process is not designed to satisfy the requirements of complying with the Outer Space Treaty. So the federal government has been unable to assure the private sector that new and innovative space activities would be approved for launch.

The Space Commerce Act uses a common sense approach to establish a sound legal foundation upon which U.S. industry can rely and flourish. It creates a self-certification process for non-governmental space activities that provides regulatory certainty for the U.S. commercial space sector. And it assures U.S. compliance with Outer Space Treaty obligations and addresses national security concerns in the least burdensome manner.

Existing regulatory authority is currently spread across three federal agencies, which has caused the review of commercial remote sensing applications to grind to a halt. Space-based remote sensing is the use of satellites to detect and classify objects on Earth, including on the surface and in the atmosphere and oceans, based on electromagnetic radiation. H.R. 2809 consolidates this authority into one federal agency--the Secretary of Commerce's Office of Space Commerce. The result: America gets a ``one-stop shop'' for authorizing outer space activities.

Without H.R. 2809, America's space industry would continue to face legal uncertainty. Innovation would be stifled by burdensome and open- ended regulatory processes.

Other policies and interests of the United States are affected by private sector space activities, national security in particular. But the Space Commerce Act improves national security by including remote sensing reform. By requiring a national security risk assessment

during the remote sensing permitting process, this bill ensures that national security concerns are addressed.

H.R. 2809 improves the permitting process by creating a single decision point, increasing transparency, avoiding unnecessary reviews of technologies that have already been approved, and preventing the interagency process from indefinitely delaying decision making. These changes allow our remote sensing industry to continue to lead the world.

The bill also goes farther than current law in providing for the physical safety of government assets in orbit. After operations are certified, the government can conduct an assessment of physical safety issues that will prevent disastrous collisions and help protect the safety of government and private assets.

Co-sponsors of the Space Commerce Act include Space Subcommittee Chairman Brian Babin and recent Science Committee member, and now NASA Administrator, Jim Bridenstine. Both Chairman Babin and Administrator Bridenstine have worked diligently to move this legislation forward.

And Representatives Perlmutter, Kilmer, and Soto also helped develop this common sense, bipartisan regulatory reform bill. Many thanks go to all of them.

This transformative and ground-shaking legislation facilitates commercial lift-off and declares that America is fully ``open for business'' in space.

American innovators, driven by ingenuity, competitive spirit and bold vision, are the future of space exploration. I encourage my colleagues to support the American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act.

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

House of Representatives, Committee on Science, Space,

and Technology,

Washington, DC, April 23, 2018.

Hon. Bill Shuster,

Chairman, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Mr. Chairman: I am in receipt of your letter to the

Speaker of April 20, 2018, regarding H.R. 2809, the

``American Space Commerce Free Enterprise Act.'' H.R. 2809

was referred solely to the Committee on Science, Space, and

Technology. The Science Committee ordered H.R. 2809 reported

on June 8, 2017. Your assistance in ensuring its timely

consideration is greatly appreciated.

I agree provisions in the bill are within the jurisdiction

of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I

acknowledge that by withdrawing your request for a sequential

referral of H.R. 2809, your Committee is not relinquishing

its jurisdiction. A copy of our letters will be placed in the

Congressional Record during floor consideration of this bill.

I value your cooperation and look forward to working with

you as we move ahead with this legislation.

Sincerely,

Lamar Smith,

Chairman.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Bera), the ranking member of the Space Subcommittee, for the comments that he just delivered, and also for cosponsoring this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 8 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin), the chairman of the Space Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Perlmutter) for his enthusiasm about space.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Rohrabacher), who is a very active member of the Science, Space and Technology Committee and of the Space Subcommittee.

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

Mr. Speaker, I just want to thank, publicly, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy for cosponsoring this legislation as well. I encourage my colleagues to support it, and I appreciate the remarks by the gentleman from California (Mr. Bera).

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Webster), a valued member of the Space, Science, and Technology Committee for yielding me time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5086, the Innovators to Entrepreneurs Act. The bill extends the reach of the National Science Foundation's Innovative Corps, or I-Corps, program, which trains and prepares scientists and engineers to advance their research results into entrepreneurial opportunities.

H.R. 5086 expands who is eligible to participate in I-Corps courses, allowing a portion of small business innovation research grants and small business technology transfer grants to be used to cover I-Corps training expenses. The bill also allows any private citizen to apply to participate and pay out-of-pocket.

H.R. 5086 authorizes a new I-Corps course for commercial-ready research ventures that teaches skills involving company organization, attracting investors, and hiring.

In research labs today lie the seeds for breakthroughs in new fields like quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and bioengineering. These breakthroughs will continue to transform our lives and the world we live in.

Many scientists and engineers are not trained for commercializing those ideas and did not go to business school or take any business development classes. I-Corps gives researchers tools to maximize the taxpayer investment in basic research and to spur innovation. H.R. 5086 builds on the success of the I-Corps program in building connections between academia and the private sector to create more startups and more jobs.

We thank the Research and Technology Subcommittee Ranking Member Dan Lipinski and Representative Daniel Webster for taking the lead on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, a recent poll of Texas voters shows that they want to reduce and reform legal immigration and save jobs for Americans.

The Pulse Opinion Research survey found that 63 percent of Texans favor less immigration than the current annual level of 1 million. Notably, 56 percent support cutting the number of green cards by at least half. Only 14 percent of the voters questioned want to increase immigration.

The poll also determined that Texas voters, by a 2-1 margin, want to end chain migration and only admit spouses and minor children of immigrants. Also, respondents strongly support workforce verification to prevent illegal immigrants from taking jobs away from citizens.

Congress should listen to Texans' views on immigration policy. With a 2,000-mile common border with Mexico, Texas continues to bear the burden of our current misguided immigration system.

Mr. Speaker, Morning Consult recently asked Americans about their views of television's political bias.

Respondents were four times as likely to say television programs present a more liberal perspective than a conservative one. The liberal media, including Hollywood studios, have dismissed the views of most Americans. They portray American life in their own liberal image. News reports, movies, and TV shows reflect the liberal leanings of the media producers, not most American's values.

To be fair and balanced, the media should represent American families and their values, not just the producers' political and cultural philosophy.

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I thank the gentleman from Virginia, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for yielding me time and also for his tireless efforts over the years to pass a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution.

Mr. Speaker, today the House of Representatives votes to protect future generations from our debilitating debt. Thomas Jefferson believed that ``the public debt is the greatest of dangers to be feared.'' He wished ``it were possible to obtain a single amendment to our Constitution taking from the Federal Government the power of borrowing.''

It is past time that we listen to Jefferson's commonsense advice. American families balance their checkbooks. States and local governments balance their budgets. So should the Federal Government.

The last balanced budget occurred in the 1990s. The previous balanced budget was during the Eisenhower administration. Surely it is not too much to ask that we take a major step towards having a balanced budget in our future.

Mr. Speaker, only a balanced budget amendment wil guarantee that the Federal Government puts its fiscal house in order and keeps it that way.

Mr. Speaker, the United States and its allies are aware that the Russian government is engaging in ongoing information warfare against democracies around the world. Beyond its targeting of the U.S. election systems and critical infrastructure, Russian influence efforts have been reported in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Serbia, Latvia, Ukraine, Spain, and Mexico, among others. Most recently, the United Kingdom has been attacked physically by Russia through its use of nerve toxins against perceived enemies of Russian President Vladimir Putin on British soil.

The Kremlin needs to hear clearly that we will not tolerate its continuing bad acts.

The Department of Treasury's newest sanctions against the businesses, entities, and people included in special counsel Robert Mueller's February 16th indictment is an important step in holding Russia accountable for its interference in the American election process. My colleagues and I passed the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act last summer with this purpose in mind.

The Kremlin Report list published by the Treasury Department currently names businessmen like Yuri Shefler, who has been protecting his company, SPI Group, against Russian attacks for almost twenty years.

I urge the administration to develop a broader policy response to Russian interference in American politics. A strong first step to accomplish this goal is publishing a report on businessmen who are actually close to the Kremlin.

Mr. Speaker, activist judges have joined liberal Democrats to stop President Trump's policies. Federal trial judges have abused their authority by issuing almost two dozen nationwide injunctions to block the Trump administration's actions. According to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, these injunctions have far exceeded their historic use. In fact, the number of injunctions surpasses all those approved in the past 200 years.

Nationwide injunctions encourage forum shopping by opponents of the President's policies who file claims in courts with liberal judges. These judges place their personal views and politics above the rule of law. They do a real disservice to the justice system.

It is time to rein in these activist judges. The people's respect for the law is at stake.

Mr. Speaker, I supported H.R. 620, the ADA Education and Reform Act last month on the House floor. The bill will improve compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and curb lawsuit abuse. H.R. 620 requires the Department of Justice to develop a program to educate state and local governments and property owners on strategies for providing improved access to public accommodations for persons with disabilities. The legislation also gives owners and operators of public accommodations, after receiving written notice of ADA violations, an opportunity to address those violations before being sued.

The bill's notice and cure provisions apply to the owners and operators of public accommodations just like the underlying ADA statute. They are in the best position of control over the condition of their premises and compliance with the ADA. It is appropriate that disabled individuals who have been subject to discrimination in violation of the ADA should seek redress from owners and operators.

This does not affect the ability of owners and operators to seek indemnity from design and construction entities. However, such intent is not meant to authorize direct lawsuits against design and construction entities with or without compliance with notice and cure requirements on owners and operators under H.R. 620.

Mr. Speaker, the special counsel investigation has pushed way beyond its authorized purpose.

Recent reports indicate that individuals have been questioned about President Trump's business activities prior to his entering the 2016 campaign. The private interests of Trump family members also are being probed.

These lines of investigation clearly violate the scope of the special counsel, which is limited to: ``. . . any links and/or coordination between the Russian Government and individuals associated with the campaign . . .''

In the interest of justice, the investigation must be limited. The Deputy Attorney General should do so immediately to ensure a fair process.

A rogue investigation should not be allowed to continue.

Mr. Speaker, today we commemorate the life and service of Supervisory Special Agent Donald W. Lemka (Don) who passed away at the young age of 41 late last year after a valiant battle with cancer. He is survived by his wife, Tracey, and daughter, Madison Bridges.

Don served his country in the U.S. Marine Corps where his assignments included work on Marine One as Crew Chief and at three U.S. embassies. He then continued his service to our country as a special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Don's first office assignment was at the San Antonio Field Office's Resident Agency in Austin, Texas, where he worked until 2015.

Given the confidential nature of his work, many of his accomplishments cannot be made public. The people of South and Central Texas are more secure today because of honorable Americans like Don who protect them from global and domestic threats they are often not aware of. We owe Don a debt of gratitude for a life well lived in service to his country.

Mr. Speaker, there is a legal term called ``fruit of the poisonous tree.''

If the evidence, or tree, is tainted, then anything gained from the evidence, the fruit, is tainted as well.

A former FBI Director intentionally leaked questionable memos about President Trump, hoping it would lead to the appointment of a special prosecutor. It did. Since the evidence for a special prosecutor was tainted, the appointment of the special prosecutor was tainted, too. If the premise is faulty, the conclusion is faulty.

To continue the investigation is to violate a legal principle and dishonor our system of justice. The process is poisoned. The special prosecutor should cease and desist.

Mr. Speaker, the welfare system in America has a problem and the great majority of Americans want to fix it.

Since 2000, the amount of Federal dollars spent on Medicaid that goes to able-bodied adults has increased 713 percent. The amount spent on food stamps for able-bodied adults has increased nearly 500 percent. These figures do not include seniors or individuals with disabilities.

Every welfare dollar that is spent on able-bodied, working-age adults diverts resources from the very individuals the program was designed to help--the truly needy--and from other important priorities such as education and public safety.

The solution is a work requirement. Able-bodied adults on welfare should be required to work, get training, or perform community service to receive benefits. An overwhelming 90 percent of voters support this reform, which could move 10 million able-bodied adults off of welfare.

Those who can work, should. Work is essential to helping individuals regain their independence and self-worth.