Floor Statements

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

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Tom MacArthur is absolutely correct. I ask for an ``aye'' vote.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congressman Tonko for the leadership that he has provided and the opportunity to rise to urge all of my colleagues to support S. 2076, the BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act.

I congratulate Senator Susan Collins for shepherding this bill through the Senate. I join together with my colleagues, Representatives Brett Guthrie, Paul Tonko, and Chris Smith, to introduce the House version of this bill in order to promote early detection and diagnosis, support caregivers, and reduce health disparities related to the care and treatment of Alzheimer's patients.

As the House Democratic co-chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer's Disease, I know how devastating this disease can be for patients, families, and caregivers. Alzheimer's affects more than 5 million Americans, and it is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. There is no effective treatment, no means of prevention, and no method for slowing the progression of the disease.

Alzheimer's is very costly to society. In 2017, the direct cost of care for Alzheimer's and other dementias was approximately $259 billion, with 67 percent of those costs paid by Medicare or Medicaid. At the current rate, the direct costs of care for these tragic conditions will reach more than $1 trillion by 2050.

Most Alzheimer's patients require constant care and attention, especially when they are in the final stages of the disease. More than 15 million Americans provide unpaid care to family and friends living with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The Alzheimer's Association calculated that caregivers provided more than 18 billion hours of unpaid care for people with dementia in 2016, at an estimated value of more than $230 billion.

Alzheimer's has a devastating impact on caregivers. Compared with caregivers for people without dementia, twice as many caregivers for people with dementia indicate substantial emotional, financial, and physical stress.

The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Act establishes Alzheimer's centers of excellence around the country to expand and promote innovative and effective Alzheimer's interventions. These interventions will support early detection, reduce the risk of hospitalizations and cognitive decline, support caregivers, and reduce health disparities. The BOLD Act will also improve data collection on the incidence and prevalence of Alzheimer's and related dementias.

So, Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be here with my colleagues today, and I would certainly urge all of my colleagues to support this important legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take some of my time to tell Mr. Duffy: Just calm down. This is easy. We are all together on this. I want to make sure he doesn't damage himself in all of the display that he is doing today.

It is disappointing that we find ourselves on the House floor yet again to temporarily extend the National Flood Insurance Program's authorization.

The NFIP provides flood insurance coverage to more than 5 million families across the country. Communities rely on NFIP for flood maps and mitigation assistance, and small businesses rely on the NFIP to pick up the pieces when the inevitable storm hits. Yet the long-term stability of this critical program continues to fall victim to our inability to agree on a number of items.

Mr. Speaker, Americans across the country are experiencing natural disasters of an absolutely catastrophic magnitude. Just this month, the Camp fire devastated California, amounting to the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. Current estimates are that 88 individuals have lost their lives and tens of thousands of structures, including over 13,000 single-family homes, have been destroyed.

2017 was an absolutely catastrophic year in terms of hurricanes. In 2017, for the first time on record, three Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the United States. Hurricane Maria decimated Puerto Rico.

Meanwhile, the administration's National Climate Assessment, which is a report prepared by 13 Federal agencies and more than 3,000 scientists, recently documented the numerous impacts of our warming climate. According to the report, climate change is costing billions of dollars in property damage from sea level rise. High tide flooding has increased by factors as high as 10 in some communities, and fire season is now over 80 days longer than a couple of decades ago.

Faced with these realities, we stand here today still lacking a credible plan to end the partisan problems that we have that has brought the NFIP to the brink of a lapse several times already in this Congress.

I, too, and others, are disappointed that we have missed opportunities to responsibly help homeowners, businesses, and renters who all need access to affordable flood insurance by taking sensible steps to stabilize flood insurance premiums, deal with the NFIP's

debt, and invest in up-to-date and accurate flood maps.

Thankfully, the American people have demanded a change in Washington; and I am sure that, if we continue to concentrate on this issue, we can find bipartisanship and get something done.

Given the critical importance of the NFIP to our housing market, I am pleased that we are taking this small step today of reauthorizing the program through December 7 to at least avoid its doors from shuttering. But our work is far from done.

I have led the effort for years to provide long-term reauthorizations of the NFIP so that we could ensure the affordability and availability of flood insurance. I will continue to do so in the Financial Services Committee next Congress.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Financial Services Committee and someone who has been extremely active in monitoring the aftermath of the devastation from Hurricane Harvey.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crist), a member of the Financial Services Committee and long-time supporter of affordable flood insurance coverage.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), a friend from the opposite side of the aisle who is a true expert on flood insurance issues.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee), who serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, and the Committee on the Budget.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, while I would prefer a longer term reauthorization of the National Flood Insurance Program, I strongly support today's extension to provide homeowners, businesses, renters, and communities with the certainty they deserve. Let me just say that I think we are all aware that for those people who are trying to obtain homeownership that live in flood zones, they won't be able to do it if they cannot get the insurance that is provided by the National Flood Insurance Program. And just think what that is going to do to the real estate market. So we have to do this in order to deal with the fact that this program literally shuts down at the end of November.

And let me just say that I have been in cities and towns that have been devastated by floods and by storms, and I want you to know the time that I spent after Katrina, helping to get people who were abandoned on highways, putting them in buses, and traveling down through the various cities, was heartbreaking. I want you to know that I went up to Baton Rouge and I was in Mississippi, and I understand the pain and the destruction that is caused by these storms.

And I am absolutely committed, make no mistake, I remain committed to putting partisanship aside and working with my colleagues on the opposite side of the aisle to come together on commonsense reforms that protect the continued affordability and availability of coverage, a long-term reauthorization of the NFIP that ensures that affordable flood insurance continues to be available to communities across our country. It must be Congress' priority when we start the 116th Congress.

And let me just say, Mr. Speaker, that despite the fact that my colleague and chairman of the committee and I worked very hard to try and deal with some of our concerns and even differences, we not only both have demonstrated our commitment to long-term NFIP, and while we did not get exactly where we wanted to go, we were able to provide protection for those families who were in desperate need of insurance and to continue, even though we have had to do it on a short-term basis.

So I would like to take this moment to just thank him for the opportunity that I have had to work with him. Now, everybody knows we didn't always agree, but they didn't know what we were laughing about as we sat next to each other exchanging a few jokes every now and then. So I am going to miss him as our chairman. I don't know if this is his last time on the floor and whether or not we are going to be able to put flood insurance reauthorization into the continuing resolution.

If we are not, perhaps I will see him again, but I don't know. I just wanted him to know that his presence here in the Congress of the United States has been noted in the history of the Congress of the United States, and whether or not he was agreeing or disagreeing, he had a powerful voice on a powerful committee, and I am going to miss the times that I have spent with him, good times and bad times, and I just wish him well on his future. Thank you very much.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to support H.R. 6, the SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act, a bipartisan bill to address opioid addiction and other forms of substance abuse.

A comprehensive, common-sense, and compassionate approach to substance use disorders is long overdue. For far too long, many communities throughout the United States have been devastated by substance use disorders. However, despite the widespread suffering that millions of people--particularly African Americans during the crack cocaine epidemic--endured and still endure today, our federal, state, and local governments, in many instances, have pursued punitive measures in lieu of effective solutions to ensure that all communities can adequately heal from the devastating impacts of addiction.

I am especially pleased that this bill now includes my amendment to the House version of H.R. 6, which requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to conduct a review of the organizations, government agencies, and other entities that receive federal funding to provide substance use disorder treatment services. In addition, the amendment directs HHS to develop, and submit to Congress, a plan to direct appropriate resources to address the inadequacies in services or funding identified through the review.

I am also pleased that this bill addresses concerns that I raised about the opioid legislation in the House that allowed states to use Medicaid funds to provide treatment to persons with opioid use disorders in Institutions for Mental Disease (IMDs), but did not allow similar treatment for persons with other types of substance use disorders. In order to seriously address substance use disorders in communities throughout the United States, it is critical that we include persons who suffer from all types of substance use disorders, including those that involve alcohol, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as opioids.

I offered an amendment to the legislation in the House aimed at addressing my concern about the exclusion of non-opioid forms of substance use disorders from treatment in IMDs. While my amendment was not accepted, I am pleased that efforts were made to address my concern. The final version of H.R. 6 allows states to provide Medicaid coverage in IMDs for persons with all types of substance use disorders and also includes safeguards to ensure that states do not reduce the availability of community-based treatment for persons suffering from substance use disorders.

While I appreciate the work that has been done on many components of this bill, I still have some important concerns. As the Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, which has jurisdiction over housing programs, I am concerned that this bill falls short when it comes to providing housing for people with substance use disorders. The bill includes a provision that creates a new grant program to provide temporary housing assistance to help people with substance use disorders, but this new funding will only be available in half of the states. This will leave the other half of the states continuing to struggle with the challenges of helping people with substance use disorders who are in need of housing. Furthermore, this bill does nothing to address the overly punitive and unfair policies governing our federal housing programs that create unnecessary barriers to housing for people who have criminal backgrounds related to substance use disorders.

I am encouraged that there is bipartisan support for addressing the housing needs of persons suffering from substance use disorders, but I am disheartened that Congress continues to fall short in its efforts to provide comprehensive solutions that will help people suffering from substance use disorders in every state of the country. As we work to address the opioid crisis at hand, let's not forget that Congress still has a lot of work to do in the way of criminal justice reform to address the ongoing harmful and discriminatory impacts of the war on drugs era.

Despite these concerns, I believe this bill includes some valuable bipartisan solutions that represent a step in the right direction. I urge all of my colleagues to support H.R. 6, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues to address the scourge of substance use disorders in communities throughout the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman Jamie Raskin for organizing a Special Order to follow the 1 minutes to honor the memory of our dear friend and former colleague, Congressman Ron Dellums.

Ron Dellums was an unabashed progressive icon, and a strong and outspoken advocate for his constituents, veterans, people of color, and other vulnerable communities during his 13-term tenure in the United States Congress.

Understanding the unique problems facing the African-American community, Ron Dellums joined with 12 fellow civil rights giants, including Lou Stokes, Bill Clay, Shirley Chisholm, to create the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. True to his creed, the CBC remains the conscience of the Congress today and has grown to a historic 48 members.

As a former U.S. Marine, Ron Dellums was one of the most outspoken opponents of the Vietnam war. In Congress, he led an effort to educate the American public of war crimes that were committed during the Vietnam war.

In 1993, he also made history as the first African American chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

However, one of Ron Dellums' greatest achievements is one that is also dear to my heart, ending apartheid in South Africa. As a member of the California State Assembly and a national board member of Trans Africa, I had the privilege of working with Ron Dellums to pass legislation at the State and Federal level that forced the United States to divest from apartheid, the regime in South Africa.

I would like to thank Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Congressman Jamie Raskin for organizing a Special Order Hour to honor the memory of our dear friend and former colleague, Congressman Ron Dellums.

Ron Dellums was an unabashed, progressive icon, and a strong and outspoken advocate for his constituents, veterans, people of color, and other vulnerable communities during his 13-term tenure in the U.S. Congress.

Understanding the unique problems facing the African American community, Ron Dellums joined with 12 fellow civil rights giants, including Louis Stokes, Bill Clay, Sr., and Shirley Chisholm, to create the Congressional Black Caucus in 1971. True to its creed, the CBC remains the `Conscience of the Congress' today, and has grown to a historic 48 members.

As a former U.S. Marine, Ron Dellums was one of the most outspoken opponents of the Vietnam War. In Congress, he led an effort to educate the American public of war crimes that were committed during the Vietnam War. In 1993, he also made history as the first African American Chair of the House Armed Services Committee.

However, one of Ron Dellum's greatest achievements is one that is also dear to my heart: ending apartheid in South Africa. As a member of the California State Assembly and a national board member of TransAfrica, I had the privilege of working with Ron Dellums to pass legislation at the state and federal level that forced the United States to divest from the apartheid regime in South Africa.

While I authored, and fought to enact California Assembly Bill 134, which passed in August 1986 and made California the first state to divest its $12 billion in state pension funds tied to the apartheid regime in South Africa, Ron Dellums was simultaneously championing similar legislation in the U.S. Congress. His historic bill, the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act of 1986, gained enough support to not only pass in both chambers of Congress, but to also override President Ronald Reagan's veto in 1986.

Though he retired from Congress after 27 years of service, Ron Dellums maintained his dedication to his community and was elected mayor of his hometown, Oakland, California, in 2007.

The incomparable Ron Dellums--a passionate drum major for peace, inspiring community leader, effective politician, and lifelong public servant--left an indelible mark on the City of Oakland and in the hearts of so many people across this country who also love him.

Though our hearts are heavy, I join the Congressional Black Caucus and the entire U.S. Congress in celebrating his service to our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the work of Financial Services Committee Democratic staffer Daniel McGlinchey on the title of this bill pertaining to reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, S. 488 would not have been possible

without the hard work of staff. I thank them for their efforts and include in the Record the following names:

Katelynn Bradley, Kris Erickson, Eric Hersey, Bruce Johnson, Erika Jeffers, Erica Loewe, Esther Kahng, Marcos Manosalvas, Charla Ouertatani, Lisa Peto, Courtney Robinson, Glen Sears, Katy Strohmeier.

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

Mr. Speaker, since the National Flood Insurance Program's multiyear authorization expired on September 30, 2017, ideological differences have led Congress to pass six short-term extensions, and have even allowed the program to briefly lapse twice since the government shutdowns.

More than 5 million families rely on the NFIP for affordable flood insurance coverage. Communities rely on the NFIP for flood maps and mitigation assistance, and small businesses rely on the NFIP to pick up the pieces when the inevitable storm hits. Yet, the long-term stability of this critical program continues to fall victim to partisan politics.

Mr. Speaker, 2017 was an absolutely catastrophic year in terms of hurricanes and other national disasters. In 2017, for the first time on record, three Category 4 hurricanes made landfall in the United States, serving as painful reminders of the importance of affordable and accessible flood insurance.

While Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria may be a distant memory for some, families affected by these storms are still just beginning their long road to recovery, and we continue to learn about the challenges that families in Puerto Rico face with no signs of leadership from the Trump administration.

We are here today in the midst of the 2018 hurricane season with no credible plan to do anything differently from the partisan gamesmanship that has brought the NFIP to the brink of a lapse several times already this Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I am deeply disappointed that Congress continues to miss opportunities to responsibly help homeowners, businesses, and renters who all need access to affordable flood insurance by taking sensible steps to stabilize flood insurance premiums, deal with the NFIP's debt and invest in up-to-date and accurate flood maps.

Instead, the House has passed controversial and ideological reforms that make flood insurance more expensive, less available, and less fair, which is, obviously, going nowhere in the Senate.

Given the critical importance of the NFIP to our housing market, I am pleased that we are taking the small step today of reauthorizing the program for 4 months to at least provide some level of certainty to businesses and families, but let us not be fooled into thinking that our work is done. I have led the effort for years to provide long-term reauthorizations of the NFIP that also ensure the affordability and the availability of flood insurance, and I will continue to do so when this latest short-term extension expires in November.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Cleaver), who is the ranking member of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Missouri an additional 1 minute.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al Green), who is the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer), who has long pushed for reducing flood risk in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves), who has been a true leader on the National Flood Insurance Program. He comes with a very, very important background. He was chairman of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. So I am pleased to have worked with him, to have talked with him, and to understand that we need him when we are working on the reforms that we will work on after we pass this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Palazzo), continuing in this bipartisan effort to pass a clean bill. He has long been a champion of the National Flood Insurance Program.

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I am so pleased to hear that some of my friends on the opposite side of the aisle are going to cooperate in a reauthorization bill, taking into consideration many of the concerns.

I do want you to know that I sent a letter out just July 18, Mr. Speaker, 61

Members signed this letter for reauthorization. I want you to know that I understand that we have differences, and I understand that I am focused on affordability as one of the important aspects of any reauthorization bill.

I do know that some on the other side are concerned about how many times flooding will take place where people will have to be reestablished, the homes rebuilt, repairs done, how many times. I know all of that. We know all of that. But we are here now, and we have no choice. We have got to pass this bill this evening. A clear bill that will reauthorize for 4 months, and then let's have Mr. Duffy have another shout out loud about how we are going to do a long-term reauthorization bill when we take up the bill after the 4 months.

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.

Mr. Speaker, partisan gamesmanship and harmful reforms passed out of the house stalled the NFIP's long-term reauthorization for long enough. While I would prefer a longer term reauthorization of this important program, I strongly support today's 4-month extension to provide homeowners, businesses, renters, and communities with the certainty they deserve.

But make no mistake. This short-term reauthorization does not absolve Congress of its responsibility to reauthorize the flood insurance program for the long term. It is past time for Congress to do its job and pass a long-term reauthorization that will ensure Americans are protected this and every hurricane season to come.

Mr. Speaker, flooding is truly a humbling and equalizing force. It brings out the best of America during the worst of times, with everyone putting aside their differences to come together to help one another in our time of need.

Now it is time for Congress to do the same thing. We must put partisanship and ideology aside and ensure the continued affordability and availability of coverage for millions of Americans. The long-term reauthorization of the NFIP that ensures affordable flood insurance continues to be available to communities across our country must be Congress' priority when we return from the August recess.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the child abuse at the southern border.

Three months have passed since the Trump administration announced the zero-tolerance policy that led directly to the humanitarian crisis we now witness today. Three months later and, still, thousands of children remain separated from their families.

This week, Federal judges announced a complete, one-week pause on all family deportations, as well as mandatory

counseling for traumatized children. The courts seem almost as fed up with this administration as the American people and have set deadlines for the Trump administration to act.

The deadline to reunite all remaining separated families is just 6 days away. If the Trump administration fails to meet the deadline for even just one single child, then Congress must hold all those responsible for this national tragedy accountable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of South African President Nelson Mandela on what would have been his 100th birthday.

President Mandela, or ``Mandiba'' as he was affectionately called, was a revolutionary and transformative leader, who forever changed the world through his steadfast dedication to freedom, equality, and human rights.

After spending 27 years in prison, Nelson Mandela became the first Black South African to be elected President in what was also the first free, multiracial, democratic election in South African history.

While President Mandela used his administration to dismantle apartheid, combat institutional racism, and begin the process of racial reconciliation in his country, his efforts also taught the world the power of one man having the fortitude to sacrifice his own ideals for a cause greater than himself.

To me, Nelson Mandela is more than a world-renowned hero. I had the distinct honor and privilege of calling him a friend. His leadership of the international antiapartheid movement encouraged me to take action here in the United States, where I served as the Los Angeles chair of the Free South Africa Movement, organized countless antiapartheid rallies in Los Angeles, led a sit-in at the South African Consulate General's office in Los Angeles, and was even arrested during a protest at the Embassy of South Africa in Washington, D.C. I was also a board member of and worked nationally with TransAfrica, one of the most prominent antiapartheid advocacy groups in the United States.

As a member of the California State Assembly at that time, I fought for the passage of Assembly Bill 134, which forced California to divest $12 billion in State pension funds tied to the apartheid regime in South Africa.

In 1990, I chaired the committee in Los Angeles that brought over 90,000 people together in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to welcome Nelson Mandela into the United States, and I also traveled with the official U.S. delegation to South Africa in 1994 to attend his inauguration as President of South Africa.

In 1998, I was honored to welcome President Mandela to the United States once again, this time to receive the United States Congressional Gold Medal.

In honor of his 95th birthday in 2013, I organized an event here in Washington, D.C., called the Celebration of the Life, Legacy and Values of Nelson R. Mandela in Emancipation Hall of the United States Capitol Visitor Center. The celebration was attended by my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, leaders from both the United States House and Senate, and representatives of national and international civil rights and humanitarian groups.

As we reflect on Nelson Mandela's memory today, let us remember what he once said: ``What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.''

Few embody this quote better than Nelson Mandela himself, and it is my

sincere hope that my own career in public service can live up to his extraordinary example.

Mr. Chair, during rollcall Vote No. 342 on the amendment (No. 25) to H.R. 6147 offered by Rep. Raul M. Grijalva of Arizona, I mistakenly recorded my vote as ``no'' when I intended to vote ``aye.''

Amendment No. 27 Offered by Mr. O'Halleran

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

Mr. Speaker, this bill is an example of true bipartisanship. I want to thank Chairman Hensarling, the members of the Financial Services Committee, and the staff on both sides of the aisle for their work on this legislative package.

S. 488, the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018, is evidence that Democrats and Republicans can come together to strengthen our Nation's small businesses and entrepreneurs, bolster investor confidence, protect consumers, promote financial stability, and counter human and drug trafficking.

S. 488 helps small businesses grow by encouraging capital formation and requires the Securities and Exchange Commission to consider unique issues facing rural small businesses and small investment advisers. When entrepreneurs are looking to retire, S. 488 allows them to easily sell their businesses.

The bill also requires several rulemakings and studies to encourage small businesses to go public, including by protecting them from excessive underwriting fees.

Main Street investors and consumers also benefit from S. 488. One provision, which I authored, cracks down on corporate insiders engaged in illegal insider trading.

Democrats also led provisions to enhance disclosures about outsized insider voting power.

The bill also creates a task force at the SEC to protect seniors and their financial best interests.

Additionally, the bill helps nonprofits, like Habitat for Humanity, continue to extend affordable mortgages to low-income families aspiring to the dream of homeownership.

Thanks to Mr. Ellison, the legislation enables millions of Americans with thin credit files to improve and build their credit by allowing alternative types of data, like the on-time payment of rent and utilities, to be included in their credit reports without preempting State law.

S. 488 also improves financial stability. The bill directs regulators to improve the calculation for bank capital held to offset risk in the options and derivatives markets so that riskier products are covered by more capital

Finally, S. 488 strengthens our government's efforts to stop drug and human trafficking by preventing criminals who engage in these unconscionable acts from accessing the financial system.

There are several provisions that we did not reach bipartisan agreement on in time, including reforms to private offerings under regulation D that requires issuers to file disclosures before their first sell and after the termination of the offering. I am pleased that the chairman has offered to continue working on this and other issues with me, and I hope that the Senate has its own chance to make these and other changes.

Throughout my work on this legislation, I insisted that nothing could be included that would weaken Dodd-Frank's financial reforms, harm consumers, or provide giveaways to Wall Street. Instead, building on the bipartisan work of the Financial Services Committee, S. 488 includes measures that will help small businesses grow and protect hardworking Americans who entrust their savings to the capital markets.

Mr. Speaker, I again thank my colleagues for their strong bipartisan support on this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney), the ranking member of our Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee, and the leading sponsor and Democratic cosponsor of several of the bills in this package.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and the leading Democratic cosponsor of several of the bills in this package.

Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Himes), a member of the Financial Services Committee, the chair of the New Democrat Coalition, and the author of one of the bills in this package that ensures companies aren't paying excessive fees to go public.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster), who is a member of the Financial Services Committee and a leading Democratic cosponsor on several of the bills in this package.

Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Illinois an additional 20 seconds.

Will the Speaker please check the minutes again? We have calculated differently, and we think I have 9 minutes.

I am sorry. What is the Chair saying about the time that I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty), who is a member of the Financial Services Committee who helped ensure that this bill cracks down on the use of digital currency in human trafficking.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Gottheimer), who is a member of the Financial Services Committee and author of one of the bills in this package.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield myself the remainder of my time to close.

I once again thank my colleagues for their outstanding bipartisan work on this carefully crafted bipartisan legislation. S. 488, the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act of 2018, is an example of Members on both sides of the aisle working together to support our Nation's small businesses and investors.

S. 488 facilitates access to capital for small businesses, increases protections for consumers and investors, fights the scourge of drug and human trafficking, and promotes financial stability.

S. 488 is supported by institutional investors, angel investors, venture capitalists, biotech companies, credit unions, small businesses, entrepreneurs, and exchanges. This bill will help entrepreneurs, small businesses, and investors to thrive in our economy.

Finally, I would like to thank Mr. Hensarling for his foresight in knowing that this was possible because both sides of the aisle really support small businesses. It was Mr. Hensarling who said: Given that we do both support small businesses, why can't we come together around a package where we have already shown our support on individual bills either in committee or on the floor and put it all together?

He did that. He provided that leadership. I joined with him.

Our staffs are to be congratulated because they worked very hard on both sides of the aisle to work out any concerns that we may have, any differences that we may have. They did a magnificent job, and they are responsible for helping us to understand what certainly is and was possible.

So despite this, if I may say, there are many onlookers who never thought this could happen. There are many pundits, those who come from special interests, those who come from right here in the House on both sides of the aisle, who are still questioning.

Mr. Speaker, I had one inquiry from one of the magazines, I believe it was, who said: Tell me what happened in the background, what was really going on. How did this all come together?

I want the gentleman from Texas to know I told him it is none of his business. It really happened, and we are pleased about it. We worked very hard on that.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Hensarling and all of the members who worked so hard to make this happen, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague from California, Congressman Correa, for leading this important discussion.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to reiterate my alarm about the child abuse at the border.

Due either to complete incompetence, deliberate indifference, or both, this administration failed to fully comply with one of the first court-ordered deadlines to reunite innocent children with their parents from whom they were separated.

The Trump administration failed to implement an effective system for identifying and reconnecting children with their parents before executing its family separation policy. As a result, they have been unable to accurately report the number of children in their custody, the location of each child, and the immigration status of the parents, many of whom who have already been deported.

Adding insult to injury, it was recently revealed that one of the detained children under the age of 5 may actually be an American citizen. Such a mistake should never happen and should shock every American to their core.

This is a despicable humanitarian crisis created by Donald Trump, and one which the Trump administration has shown no ability to solve.

Despite the President's attempt to divert attention from the crisis, thousands of children remain separated from their families. This is a national disgrace. Every parent, every grandparent, and every patriotic American should be appalled by the harm that this President has inflicted on children.

We must all exercise our First Amendment right to speak out against this unconscionable family separation crisis. I urge my colleagues in Congress to make every effort to ensure that these children are reconnected with their parents. If the crisis proves impossible for the administration to fully solve, Congress must hold accountable those who are responsible.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6139, the Improving Investment Research for Small and Emerging Issuers Act.

I first would like to thank Mr. Huizenga for working with me to develop a bipartisan approach to identifying and addressing gaps in investment research coverage for small issuers.

Investment research helps to raise investor awareness, understanding, and interest about a company, which can, in turn, promote liquidity and overall trading in the company's securities. Unfortunately, research of small public companies has been on the decline in recent years.

According to a report from Capital IQ, nearly two-thirds of companies with less than $100 million in market capitalization have no research coverage at all. At a recent Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment Subcommittee hearing, Tyler Gellasch, executive director of the Healthy Markets Association, testified about some of the factors contributing to low research coverage of small issuers.

According to Mr. Gellasch, one such factor is the bundling of research and execution services by investment banks, which ``increases cost for investors and competitively disadvantages smaller independent research providers versus their larger peers.''

H.R. 6139 directs the SEC to study competition in the research market and other factors affecting the availability of research coverage for small issuers, including emerging growth companies and companies considering an initial public offering. It also directs SEC to consider any unique challenges faced by minority women and veteran-owned businesses in obtaining research coverage.

Finally, the bill directs the SEC to report its findings to Congress within 6 months, along with recommendations to improve the quality and availability of investment research for small issuers. This bipartisan effort will help identify the barriers small businesses face when attempting to get their story out to investors in our public capital markets.

I would urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.