Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in favor of H.R. 2874, the 21st Century Flood Reform Act.

This act is near and dear to my heart. That is how I make my livelihood. I am a real estate developer. We build houses. We build commercial projects. All that stops unless reform is made in the Flood Insurance Program. This bill proposes major reforms to one of the Federal Government's most broken programs, the National Flood Insurance Program.

The Government Accountability Office has labeled the NFIP a high-risk program mainly because policyholders often pay premiums well below the actual risk of flooding on their properties.

H.R. 2874 requires FEMA to conduct an annual actuarial review of the status of the NFIP that will allow FEMA to adjust rates appropriately and help maintain the program's financial stability.

Currently, there are 4.92 million NFIP policies providing $1.23 trillion in coverage to Americans. Many of these properties are what this bill defines as multiple loss properties, where NFIP claims have been filed repeatedly.

This bill requires FEMA to raise premiums on multiple loss properties by 15 percent annually if the premiums do not reflect the full risk. This is just another step toward FEMA improving the financial stability of the NFIP.

Often, with the Federal Government, there are changes and agreements made behind closed doors with little or no public comment. H.R. 2874 requires FEMA to publish an explanation and to hold public hearings in regards to any changes to premiums on policies. This is an excellent example of making the government more transparent and helping policyholders more accountable.

Lastly, the 21st Century Flood Reform Act requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study on how we can simplify the NFIP. With our country being battered by hurricanes and heavy rainfall, we need to ensure that the NFIP is placed in sound financial footing for future generations.

Mr. Speaker, for these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this all-important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, as I listen to my liberal colleagues, the answer to every business is more government, more regulations. The American people are rejecting that.

As a small-business owner, I can tell you the stifling effects of overregulation. That is what this bill takes away. That is what this bill accomplishes.

So I strongly support H.R. 2201, the Micro Offering Safe Harbor Act. This bill is a critical step to reduce unnecessary burdens on economic growth and ensure that small businesses have access to the capital they need. I applaud Representative Emmer for championing this legislation.

As a member of the House Small Business Committee and a businessman myself, I understand the need of the number of challenges faced by small businesses, especially if that business wants to grow through tapping into the capital markets. Due to onerous SEC regulations, the cost of registration is expensive and out of reach for so many of the businesses wanting to expand.

We all know that the SEC provides an important function, which is to prevent securities fraud and protect the integrity of the market. However, we must be wary of a regulatory regime that fails to provide sufficient flexibility for businesses to raise capital while not providing any additional protection for investors.

The central purpose of H.R. 2201 is to strike the proper balance between protection and investment. The bill achieves this objective through empowering businesses to sell a limited number of securities to a limited numbers of investors without needing to comply with a number of SEC registration requirements.

Also, it is important to note that this narrowly tailored exemption only applies to investors that have substantive preexisting relationships with businesses.

Finally, nothing in this bill undermines existing investor protections. Fraud is still illegal and the SEC and the Department of Justice has the authority to prosecute bad actors.

I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation to implement a commonsense solution and stimulate small business growth.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a great American whom I had the privilege of meeting at the Library of Congress, Mr. Joseph Douek.

Mr. Douek hails from a great family. His father came penniless to America some 70 years ago. He did what is now becoming a lost art in this country--he went to work.

He went to work as a laborer and, eventually, worked his way up to where he owned a successful photography shop. He bought real estate, and he has now retired to a great retirement life, which he has earned.

Joseph, his son, has dedicated himself to public service. He has been on the New York City Planning Commission for 5 years, and he was just reelected. He is an example of somebody who has given his time, his tithe, and his talent to serve in the great State of New York and our great country.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in celebrating what he has done and really encouraging other people to do what he has done in that he has gone to work. He has done what Americans do.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in adamant support of the rule and, in particular, of H.R. 3441, the Save Local Business Act.

Let me say for my good friend from Massachusetts, you know, the amendments that he is referring to that have been rejected, they have been rejected because they are against small business and they are for Big Government, which American voters have rejected and will continue to reject.

It may be cliche to say that small and local businesses are the backbone of our economy, but, at the end of the day, there is no denying that statement. Small businesses truly are the engine that keep our economy moving, and when they suffer, our whole economy suffers.

Just take the last 8 years with the minimal growth that we have had. Since 2015, when the National Labor Relations Board adopted an expanded definition of the joint employers standard, upending decades of precedent and redefining who an employer is, there has been much confusion and ambiguity. For example, since then, there have been over 65,000 letters sent to Congress expressing confusion and asking for clarity in the aftermath of this rule.

This is unacceptable. Locally owned franchises are America's unseen small businesses, and in my district alone, the Fifth District of South Carolina, there are roughly 2,000 establishments that provide over 15,000 jobs with an economic output of over $1 billion.

Small business development, economic growth, and entrepreneurs will continue to be hurt by the National Labor Relations Board's excessive broad definition of the term ``joint employer.'' Until Congress finds a concrete solution with this piece of legislation, it will continue to do so.

This bill, Mr. Speaker, provides clarity for small and local businesses as to what it means to be a joint employer, restoring necessary clarity for employers and employees alike.

I strongly encourage all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill helping small businesses all across the Nation, and I congratulate the Congressman from Alabama for proposing this bill.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of H.R. 3922. Listening to my Democratic friends, it was said right by Chairman Walden. It is cynical, and it is amazing that they could vote against this bill.

Not only does this bill reauthorize public health programs vital to Americans who need them most, but it does so in a fiscally responsible manner. Reauthorizing CHIP for a 5-year period was an important priority of children's healthcare providers in my district, but doing so while saving billions is an impressive feat.

On top of that, providing funding for community health centers will drastically improve rural health in South Carolina's Fifth District. This bill is proof that the American people can trust their government to provide essential services to citizens who cannot provide for themselves, without saddling our children and grandchildren with debt.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend my colleague, Chairman Walden, for his impressive efforts in striving toward a greater government.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2521, the South Carolina Peanut Parity Act of 2017.

I am proud to join Representative Joe Wilson, who has been a real leader in the area, and the entire South Carolina delegation as a cosponsor of the South Carolina Peanut Parity Act of 2017, an important bill for South Carolina's peanut farmers. I also commend Harry Ott of the Farm Bureau who has been a great leader in this effort.

Mr. Speaker, South Carolina has experienced explosive growth in peanut farming in recent years, going from producing very few peanuts in the early 2000s to becoming the fourth largest peanut-producing State today, led by Brent Cogdill from Sumter. This legislation will finally give South Carolina peanut farmers their much-deserved representation on the Peanut Standards Board.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation for South Carolina's peanut producers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the fiscal year 2018 budget resolution, which is a critical first step to achieving comprehensive tax reform and making the American economy great again. I also applaud Chairwoman Diane Black for her leadership in producing this budget.

Our Nation has not significantly reformed our Tax Code in more than three decades, which has allowed the Tax Code to explode in complexity and unnecessary burden on hardworking American families and businesses. Moreover, while the United States is a world leader in innovation and entrepreneurship, we have failed to reduce our corporate tax rate, which stands at 35 percent, the highest in the developed world. And I would add, corporations don't pay tax; the American people pay tax.

The unified framework unveiled earlier this year will simplify the Tax Code for everyone, eliminate wasteful tax loopholes, and reduce taxes on businesses. I am also pleased to see that the plan eliminates the death tax on farmers and moves to full expensing. Under this plan, the average family will see an increase in income between $4,000 and $9,000, annually.

While I believe this budget is necessary to spur economic growth and increase wages, I am extremely disappointed that the Senate removed the $203 billion of mandatory spending cuts, given the challenge the national debt poses to our great United States. However, we should not make the perfect the enemy of the good, and I understand that issues as complex as the budget and tax reform require compromise.

I appreciate the leadership of Speaker Ryan, Chairman Brady, and the rest of the leadership team for their hard work on tax reform, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to moving tax reform over the finish line and to President Trump's desk.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in overwhelming and adamant support of H.R. 469, the Sunshine for Regulations and Regulatory Decrees and Settlements Act, which will strengthen Article I powers for Congress.

Let me begin by briefly quoting Article I, Section 8 of our Constitution, the Necessary and Proper Clause: ``The Congress shall have the power . . . to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers . . . in the government,'' meaning, Congress must continue to respect and reinforce the idea of the separation of powers in our government, but, at the same time, Congress can ultimately decide when, whether, and how to legislate the powers and authority of another branch of government.

Mr. Chairman, this piece of legislation will go a long way in fortifying the balance of powers and reestablishing Congress' authority set forth by James Madison and our Founding Fathers and Article I of the United States Constitution.

Furthermore, we must be sure to use our constitutional authority to effectively guarantee and ensure that government is more efficient, transparent, and accountable to all American citizens of our great Nation, and this bill will do just that.

It is time for Congress to establish procedures for honest regulations, transparency within the Treasury Department, and judicial intervention in unconstitutional court cases.

Mr. Chairman, again, I rise in full support of H.R. 469, and I urge all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both Chambers to make sure this is a government not only of the people, but for the people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2105, the National Institute of Standards and Technology Small Business Cybersecurity Act. This bill directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to issue guidance for small businesses to use voluntarily to assist them in identifying and assessing, managing, and reducing the cybersecurity risk.

As has been said, small businesses in the U.S. account for 54 percent of sales and 55 percent of U.S. jobs. However, a 2016 Symantec Internet Security Threat Report indicated that businesses with less than 250 employees are facing increased cybersecurity threats, up from 18 percent in 2011 to 43 percent in 2015.

Mr. Speaker, I recently passed our real estate small business to my son Warren, so I understand the importance of equipping small businesses with the tools that will enable them to meet the emerging challenges.

I urge passage of H.R. 2105, which will help prepare small businesses in the future, and I urge my colleagues to pass it.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to support the Republican Study Committee's three promises in 3 months' pledge to repeal ObamaCare, secure the border, and enable comprehensive tax reform.

I applaud RSC's Chairman Mike Walker for his leadership on this and on this initiative. On the promises to repeal and secure, the House has begun to deliver by passing the American Health Care Act and providing $1.6 billion in border wall funding.

Tonight, I want to focus on the third promise: passing comprehensive tax reform. Our Nation's Tax Code affects every family, business, and worker and is a key driver behind America's economic competitiveness. Congress has not passed comprehensive tax reform since 1986. That is 31 years.

The average cost of a new house then in the United States was $89,430. For a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, the average price was $8,350. Mr. Speaker, it has been way too long before we have taken comprehensive tax reform into consideration.

Since then, the number of pages in the IRS code has increased by nearly 50,000 pages. The corporate tax rate is at 35 percent, which is the highest in the industrialized world. Ireland's, to give you an example, is 12 percent. This is inexcusable.

Congress took an important step forward last week through passing a budget resolution, and now it is time for the Senate to do their job on the budget so that we can deliver comprehensive tax reform for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, our tax reform plan is both profamily, and proworker. The typical American family will receive a $4,000 pay raise under our plan and will turbocharge the economy through enabling gross domestic product growth to reach 3.2 percent minimum for the next 5 years.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with the House leadership, Chairman Brady, and all of the congressional Members to pass this fair and simple tax reform package to make this country as great as it can be.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of the proposed budget resolution, which will provide the spending cuts that Washington needs and give a pathway to reconciliation for tax reform.

Our national debt sits at an astronomical $20 trillion and is projected to reach close to $30 trillion within 10 years. Washington's out-of-control spending hinders our economy, Mr. Chair, and by kicking the can down the road, it puts the financial burden on the backs of our children and of our grandchildren.

Not only is our debt unsustainable, but high levels of government debt needs substantial resources, and taxpayers' dollars must go to servicing our debt. Over the next decade, the cost to service our debt will rise 219 percent, meaning we will spend close to $800 billion by the year 2027 simply to pay the interest on our debt.

This budget reduces spending by $5.4 trillion over a 10-year window. It does not expand the size of Federal Government. It does not encroach on State or local authority.

This is a conservative path forward and will help us accomplish what we came here to do: meaningful tax reform.

While I would like to see our government make even more wise choices with taxpayers' dollars, this budget resolution puts us on the road to achieving that goal. With this resolution as a vehicle for updating our outdated Tax Code, Mr. Chair, I truly believe we can accomplish something that has not been done in over 30 years.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this budget resolution.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in opposition to this proposed amendment to the budget resolution.

I think it is very important, when discussing spending such as suggested before us, to remember that we do not live in a fantasy world. We live in a world where resources are limited. We have to make difficult choices. These are the same choices every family makes with their budget every day of the year.

Currently, our national debt rests at over $20 trillion. The entire U.S. GDP in 2016 was only $18.57 trillion.

Should we continue to spend money that we don't have without restraint?

This proposal never balances. It does raise taxes, though. With the tax increases in this proposal totaling $3.9 trillion, one would expect this budget to balance.

What this does do is add over $1 trillion in new spending. What is another trillion when you are only $20 trillion in debt?

I challenge the supporters of this proposed budget to research the potentially catastrophic impacts of defaulting on our national debt. We are saddling future generations with an unsurmountable burden.

When our grandchildren and children look back on what we have done here, do we want this work to be that we left our country broke?

I don't think so.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to not kick the can down the road and to not pass this proposed amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my colleague from Arizona's bill, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, as well as the rights of the unborn. As a father of 4 children and a grandfather to 15 grandchildren, I strongly believe that life begins at conception. I wholeheartedly feel that nothing is more precious or beautiful than a life. I will do everything in my power to continue to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

Since the passage of Roe v. Wade in 1973, nearly 60 million abortions have been performed. Mr. Speaker, this is a moral atrocity. I am a proud cosponsor of H.R. 36, which would make it illegal to attempt or to perform an abortion if an unborn child is 20 weeks or older with exceptions. Science has proven that babies are capable of feeling pain at the start of the third trimester. It is imperative that we protect the lives of the unborn.

Our Nation was built upon the idea of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We guarantee that every American citizen has a right to pursue absolute happiness. Our Constitution guarantees that every American has the right to liberty and justice.

Should we, as Americans, not guarantee that every American has a right to life as well?

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge all of my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill and the protection of the sanctity of life for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3823, the Disaster Tax Relief and Airport and Airway Extension Act of 2017, which provides additional time to debate the future of our Nation's air traffic control system.

Earlier this week, I visited Charlotte Douglas' air traffic control tower and learned firsthand from the controllers about the importance of modernizing our traffic control system. Fortunately, Chairman Bill Shuster exercised leadership through spearheading H.R. 2997, the 21st Century AIRR Act, that does just that, by shifting the current bureaucratic and broken air traffic control to a stakeholder-managed, not-for-profit corporation. With NextGen projected to ultimately cost $120 billion, it is imperative that we fix our air traffic control in this Congress.

Importantly, the 21st Century AIRR Act also strengthens air service in rural communities through ensuring that general aviation will have full access to U.S. airspace. It advances the remote air traffic control tower program, which means that rural communities are fully integrated into our Nation's air traffic control system.

Mr. Speaker, I look forward to working with my colleagues on this critical issue facing the Fifth District of South Carolina.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to seek support for my en bloc amendment to H.R. 3354.

As we all know, drug overdose deaths in our country have dramatically increased since the turn of the century. Over the past decade alone, overdose deaths have increased by more than 400

percent. In 2015, more Americans died from opioids than in the Vietnam war. Mr. Chairman, that is astonishing.

This is a national emergency. I have seen the effects firsthand in my district. In 2016, nearly one-fifth of all opioid-related deaths in South Carolina took place in my district.

My amendment would provide more funds to opioid prevention by transferring $7 million from the DOJ General Administration account to the opioid abuse reduction activities. More than ever, we must provide as much funding as possible to defeat this national epidemic.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to join me in combating this crisis.

Madam Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

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

Madam Chair, I rise today to seek support for amendment 77 to H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act, which is supported by the Taxpayers Protection Alliance and key voted by the National Taxpayers Union, Club for Growth, Heritage Action for America, and FreedomWorks.

Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, has been guided by the idea that every dollar spent by the Federal Government must be scrutinized. I took this principle to heart as I examined the President's budget request, which stated: ``Everyone believes in and supports safe food supplies and clean air and water. But the agencies of the Federal Government have gone way beyond what was intended by the Congress.''

Madam Chair, while traveling around my district this August, I heard the same sentiment put more plainly: ``Washington is off the rails.''

As our national debt grows in excess of $20 trillion, each of my 15 grandchildren is being saddled with a $61,000 share of the debt. Now, Madam Chair, my 16th grandchild is on the way. I would really like to start tackling Washington's spending problems now before grandchild 16 joins us in early December.

I am encouraged by the leadership of President Trump's administration with its budget request, but I strongly believe Congress must do its part to stop this debt from crushing our Nation. That is why I have submitted an amendment that would reduce EPA appropriations by $1.869 billion to the administration's requested level of $5.655 billion.

In his testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt emphasized the need for the EPA to get back to the basics of statutory authority of ensuring access to clean water, clean air, and land.

Madam Chair, the amount of overreach and wasteful spending the EPA is responsible for is endless. Allow me to share with you a few recent examples.

For overreach: first, look to Sackett v. EPA, where the EPA imposed $75,000 cost per day on a couple for placing gravel on dry land to build a home within the existing subdivision.

And then there is Andy Johnson, the Wyoming rancher who was facing $20 million in fines for his stock pond, which the EPA alleged violated the Clean Water Act. This is despite the fact that stock ponds were exempt from Federal law, and that he had obtained the necessary permits. It took Mr. Johnson 5 months in court to reach a winning settlement which freed him from any obligation to pay the EPA.

The waters of the United States rule, which I am happy to see this administration working to roll back, embodied the overreach perfectly, as the Obama EPA pushed the limits of its power under the Clean Water Act to even regulate some ponds and manmade ditches.

Now, for wasteful spending: there is an Environmental Justice Program, a program that is supposed to support business development in disadvantaged communities, which funded an effort to increase knowledge of environmentally-friendly nail salon practices in California nail salons.

The estimated price tag was $73 million over the course of 2016-2025.

There was an EPA environmental education program which funded ``educational projects'' that have included learning how to build rain gardens, the significance of urban forests, poster contests on sun protection, asthma awareness and radon and schoolyard habitat restoration.

There was even $300,000 in grant money going to fund the Chesapeake Bay Journal, an environmental newspaper in Maryland.

Madam Chair, these are just a handful of recent instances of the EPA's bureaucratic waste at the expense of the American taxpayer.

The Presidential budget request for the EPA provides the roadmap for trimming the Agency back to focus on its core mission. Funding for the Agency is focused on infrastructure, elimination of duplicative programs and programs that extend past the EPA's statutory authority, and ensuring that funds are not lost to bureaucratic waste.

Madam Chair, Congress has an incredible opportunity to practice what we preach in tackling an out-of-control Federal Government.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.