Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, you may notice my sharp jacket tonight. It is a madras jacket worn in honor of my dear friend and colleague, Howard Coble.

Howard was not always known for just his colorful jackets. Back when he first came to town, Howard Coble was known for his many colorful suspenders. In fact, I don't know how many he had, but it was well- known that he would always have those bright, colorful suspenders on.

Next he became known for wearing distinctive hats. In fact, in the nineties, Tim Russert used to refer to Howard Coble as ``the man with the hat.''

Then it was Tim Russert's son, Luke, who first noticed the madras jackets a few years ago, and he actually put on his Twitter account that the jacket Howard Coble is wearing tonight looked like ``an exploding turtle.''

So the Russert family has long acknowledged Howard's unique sense of style, as have many of his constituents and his friends here in Congress.

Howard Coble has been known for his sense of humor. He once remarked that if he put on a brandnew suit, it would immediately look rumpled like an unmade bed.

Howard has always had a self-deprecating humor and a personality that draws people to him. Everyone loves him. I learned that as a candidate for Congress, Mr. Speaker, because I inherited three counties from Howard Coble's former district, so when I would go ask people for votes, I had to immediately tell them I wasn't running against Howard Coble because, otherwise, they didn't want to talk to me.

Howard Coble is legendary in his constituent services. He has always taken care of his constituents. They know they have a friend in their Congressman Howard Coble.

He set a standard, Mr. Speaker, to which we can all aspire to in terms of the integrity with which he has conducted himself, the love for people that everyone knows and can sense and is drawn to, and the constituent service.

Mr. Speaker, it has been a privilege to get to know Howard Coble. It has been an honor to serve with him, and I call him friend. I will miss seeing him in Congress every day, but I know that he will not be a stranger.

I just say, God bless you, Howard Coble, and Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5462) to amend title 49, United States Code, to provide for limitations on the fees charged to passengers of air carriers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

I rise in strong support of H.R. 5462, a bill I introduced to address executive overreach affecting the traveling public.

Specifically, this bill would lower fees for certain airline passengers by clarifying congressional intent and setting a mandatory cap on the fees that TSA collects for round trips.

Since 9/11, aviation user fees have helped to defray security costs and ensure that our vital transportation network remains safe. However, when the Bipartisan Budget Act increased these fees, TSA took the language to mean that it was authorized to collect an even higher amount than Congress intended, and it eliminated its own longstanding cap on round trip fees.

Bipartisan Members of the House and Senate, including the authors of the Bipartisan Budget Act, agree that TSA is not authorized to collect these higher fees from travelers, which will add $60 to $70 million annually to the cost of air travel.

H.R. 5462 looks to correct this overreach and save American taxpayers from having to shell out millions of dollars in extra fees. Reducing the burden on airline passengers benefits everyone--from helping families save money when taking a vacation to cutting costs for our small businesses whose employees travel for work.

I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I would like to thank Ranking Member Richmond, Chairman McCaul, Ranking Member Thompson, and Ranking Member Jackson Lee for their work on this issue, and I appreciate the comments the gentlewoman had tonight. I would echo that I appreciate the bipartisan nature in which she works on issues on the Homeland Security Committee. I appreciate the relationship we have had. I respect the gentlewoman very much. I appreciate the advice that she has given me, and I appreciate the cooperation under which we have worked throughout this Congress.

I think this product that we bring to the floor today is an example of bipartisanship of the best kind--where we can come together, Republicans and Democrats, and work for the betterment of the American people. I thank the gentlewoman for that very much.

Mr. Speaker, I would also like to submit a letter from the airline industry in support of this bipartisan bill.

September 16, 2014.

Hon. Mike McCaul,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Richard Hudson,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Bennie Thompson,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Hon. Cedric Richmond,

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman McCaul, Chairman Hudson, Ranking Member

Thompson and Congressman Richmond: On behalf of Airlines for

America (A4A), I am writing to reiterate our strong support

for H.R. 5462 that would require the Transportation Security

Administration (TSA) to cap the September 11th Security Fee

($5.60 per one-way trip) for a round-trip at twice that of a

one-way trip (i.e., $11.20).

In an effort to streamline the passenger security fee and

eliminate a ``per-enplanement'' fee structure, Congress

applied a flat fee of $5.60 per one-way trip under the

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013 (Pub. L. 113-67). The intent

was to simplify the fee assessment and cap the passenger

security fee for a round-trip at twice that of a one-way

trip, as has been TSA's long-held policy. Unfortunately, when

TSA implemented the higher fee on July 21, 2014, the agency

eliminated the round-trip cap.

While the Act simplified the fee structure, Congress

otherwise intended to leave the pre-existing regulatory

structure in place. This is unmistakably clear from the

limited revisions to the statute. Congressional intent has

been emphatically underscored by the Members of Congress who

were responsible for drafting these revisions, House Budget

Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senate Budget

Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-WA), in a letter to TSA

an Administrator John Pistole (May 6, 2014). This change was

made against the backdrop of the existing cap on the fee for

a round-trip that was twice the maximum one-way fee.

Under H.R. 5462, which would require TSA to honor the

round-trip cap, passenger security fees would be limited to

$5.60 per one-way trip and $11.20 per round-trip. Airlines

and their passengers are already paying more than their fair

share of federal taxes and fees. The passenger security fee

increase that took effect in July will cost airline

passengers--who paid a near-record $2 billion in aviation

security taxes in 2013--over $1.2 billion annually or $12.6

billion over the next decade. As a result of the passenger

security fee increase, government-imposed taxes and fees now

constitute $63, or 21 percent, of the cost of a typical $300

domestic round-trip ticket. To add insult to injury,

eliminating the round-trip cap will result in airline

passengers paying about $60 million more per year than

Congress intended.

Thank you for your leadership and for fighting for the

traveling public on this important issue. We stand ready to

help ensure swift, bipartisan approval of H.R. 5462 by the

House.

Sincerely,

Nicholas E. Calio.

As the chairman of the Transportation Security Subcommittee, I am committed to finding commonsense solutions that reduce taxes and make air travel more accessible, leading to more frequent trips, increased tourism, and more dollars invested in our local economies.

I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

I thank the gentleman for his work on this important piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4803, the TSA Office of Inspection Accountability Act of 2014. Again, I would like to commend the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for developing this commonsense bill, which increases accountability within TSA and saves precious taxpayer dollars by requiring the agency to correctly designate criminal investigators within the Office of Inspection.

According to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, TSA does not ensure that its criminal investigators in the Office of Inspection are meeting the Federal workload requirements for law enforcement officers, even though they are considered law enforcement officers and are receiving premium pay and other benefits.

If nothing is done to correct this problem, the misclassification will cost taxpayers roughly $17 million over the next 5 years. This type of waste is simply unacceptable.

As chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation Security, I held a hearing on this topic and was both surprised and encouraged to hear the head of the Office of Inspection admit that his office would reduce the number of criminal investigator positions based on the office's workload.

Although an acknowledgement is a step in the right direction, TSA needs to go one step further. It is time for them to take real action on this issue and achieve tangible results, which is precisely what this legislation requires.

In addition to ensuring that the proper classification is placed on criminal investigators, the Committee on Homeland Security agreed to an amendment offered by the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Thompson, that would require TSA to submit to Congress any materials associated with the Office of Inspection's review of the Federal firearms license by Federal Air Marshals Service officials to obtain discounted or free firearms for their own personal use, as well as specific actions that will be taken to prevent air marshals from exploiting their positions to obtain free or discounted firearms from vendors for their personal use.

I have been concerned with TSA's failure to notify Congress of the ongoing Office of Inspection investigations into potential unethical activity related to the acceptance of free and discounted firearms for personal use among FAMS employees, including senior officials.

I am pleased that this bill would ensure the committee receives access to information that is necessary to carry out its important oversight role, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. Speaker, again, thank you to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Sanford) for this commonsense legislation. Also, I would like to thank the ranking member of the committee, Mr. Richmond, for not only his work on this bill, but in the way we have worked together to make a difference for the American people.

The American people sent us to Congress to get things done, to make their lives better, and to make sure we are scrutinizing every tax dollar that is spent here. I think this piece of legislation, as my colleague from Louisiana said, is a commonsense piece of legislation that does just that.

So I am proud to stand here in support of it. I am proud of the work that Mr. Sanford put into this bill, and I would urge my colleagues to vote for this piece of legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill

(H.R. 4802) to improve intergovernmental planning for and communication during security incidents at domestic airports, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4802, the Gerardo Hernandez Airport Security Act of 2014. As chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security's Subcommittee on Transportation Security, I introduced this bipartisan bill to improve the state of preparedness at our Nation's airports in response to the shooting that occurred at Los Angeles International Airport in November of last year.

The shooting that occurred at LAX, which took the life of Transportation Security Officer Gerardo Hernandez and wounded three other people, served as a tragic wake-up call to the relative ease with which someone can wreak havoc in one of our Nation's busiest airports.

In March of this year, the Subcommittee on Transportation Security conducted a site visit and field hearing at LAX to examine the response to the incident and better understand the actions that have been taken to improve incident response in the wake of this tragedy. Subsequently, my subcommittee held a followup hearing to receive testimony from additional representatives of the law enforcement and airport communities on security incident response.

Over the course of these activities, through this process, the subcommittee found that while the Federal, State, and local response to the LAX shooting was heroic and swiftly executed, there is room for improvement in how airport operators, TSA, and other stakeholders coordinate the response and communicate in the crucial moments after a major security incident like this.

Based on months of careful review and stakeholder input by the subcommittee, as well as detailed after-action reports by the Los Angeles World Airports and TSA, H.R. 4802 would require the Transportation Security Administration to provide assistance to all airports where TSA performs or oversees screening to verify that each airport has detailed, practiced plans for responding to security incidents. This includes plans for evacuating travelers, establishing unified command, testing radio equipment, and conducting joint exercises among responding agencies.

This legislation would also make TSA a clearinghouse for security incident response and communications best practices, which was a key recommendation from testimony the subcommittee received in May. In addition, the bill would require TSA to certify to Congress that all screening personnel have participated in an active shooter training, which is a requirement TSA appropriately instituted on its own following the LAX shooting.

The bill will also require TSA to assess whether interoperable communications capabilities exist among responding agencies at airports where TSA performs or oversees screening. We know interoperability is an ongoing challenge among many first responders, despite billions being spent to achieve better communications since 9/11, but, at this point, no one has done an overall assessment to determine what weaknesses exist in terms of communications at our Nation's airports.

Finally, the bill requires TSA to examine how it can increase its reimbursement of law enforcement officers who protect the screening checkpoints.

These men and women are the front line of defense in protecting the traveling public. While TSA's funding for law enforcement reimbursement has decreased in recent years, the critical role these officers play at our airport checkpoints has never been more important.

This bill is a necessary step towards countering the threats facing our Nation's airports, without placing an undue burden on airport operators, law enforcement, or the taxpayers. In fact, according to TSA, the cost of providing assistance to airports will be incidental and would not require additional appropriations. This bill, nonetheless, makes it clear to TSA that no new funding is being authorized to carry out any of the provisions of this bill and that existing appropriations should be used to carry out this act.

I want to thank the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Mike McCaul, for his support of this bill and for moving it through the full committee, as well as the ranking member of the full committee, Mr. Thompson, and the ranking member of the subcommittee, Mr. Richmond, for cosponsoring this legislation and for working with us to produce this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member, Mr. Richmond, for his kind comments and for the great working relationship we enjoy on this committee. It is a privilege to work with him.

Mr. Speaker, with the threats to our Nation's transportation system constantly evolving, we must work to ensure that airport security is prepared to respond effectively and efficiently to a variety of security threats. The shooting at LAX was a tragedy that will not soon be forgotten by those of us who are committed to enhancing security at our Nation's airports and protecting the traveling public. This bill will provide for more extensive collaboration and coordination between airports, law enforcement, first responders, and TSA, which will result in safer airports across the country.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to honor the memory of Transportation Security Officer Hernandez and support this important, bipartisan legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4812) to amend title 49, United States Code, to require the Administrator of the Transportation Security

Administration to establish a process for providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services for veterans traveling to visit war memorials built and dedicated to honor their service, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 4812, the Honor Flight Act. This bill would improve the airport screening processes for veterans traveling to visit our war memorials by providing expedited and dignified passenger screening services.

I am pleased TSA is currently implementing the requirements outlined in this bill by working with the Honor Flight Network to expedite the screening process for veterans visiting war memorials here in Washington, D.C. Codifying this commonsense policy will ease airport access for our Nation's heroes, who have made incredible sacrifices and deserve our utmost respect.

Not only will this legislation help to simplify their passage through airports, it will also improve efficiency by freeing up TSA screeners to focus on real threats. This is a positive step for our veterans and ultimately our transportation and national security.

I would like to commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond) for his work on this issue, as well as Chairman McCaul for moving this bill through the committee.

The Committee on Homeland Security has long advocated for less burdensome airport screening for our men and women in uniform and our veterans. In fact, this bill builds upon previous bipartisan legislation promoted by the committee and signed into law requiring TSA to provide expedited screening to Active Duty military traveling on official orders, as well as severely injured or disabled veterans and members of the Armed Forces.

Each and every day, we are humbled and inspired by the incredible sacrifices of all our veterans. This should serve as a powerful reminder of our duty to do all we can to honor the sacrifices they have made for our freedoms and treat them with the dignity and respect they deserve.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, as we walk around our Nation's Capital and visit the numerous war memorials, we are reminded of the incredible sacrifices that have been made by our veterans over many decades. H.R. 4812 is a simple and commonsense way to recognize and honor those sacrifices.

Mr. Speaker, I again want to commend the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Richmond) for his work authoring this legislation. I am proud that we moved this forward in a bipartisan way. As the gentleman said earlier, this is not a political issue, this is not a partisan issue; this is an issue of right or wrong, and it is right for us to honor our veterans and it is right for us to expedite their travel when they visit Washington, D.C. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman, my neighbor from South Carolina, Mr. Duncan. I appreciate your leadership on this issue. I couldn't agree with you more.

Many of our constituents back home in North Carolina and South Carolina are entering the second half of the summer. They are preparing to take trips to the beach, maybe trips to the mountains, maybe going to visit relatives. Many of our constituents are contemplating those trips and, frankly, are experiencing a little sticker shock as they factor in the cost of gasoline and what it is going to cost their family.

Many of our constituents are struggling. They either are not in the job they want to be in or they are looking for a job, and it is tough to make ends meet. If you add the high cost of energy to that, it is a real burden on people. It affects real people back home.

Frankly, it doesn't have to be that way because we have got tremendous opportunities to have American sources of energy. It is just a shame we are not going after them.

I agree also with my colleague there are not a lot of things that President Obama and I agree on, but I do applaud his decision to allow us to do seismic mapping off the shore of the Atlantic Coast. We have tremendous opportunities in North Carolina, as well as Virginia and South Carolina, to find these large reserves. We know there is natural gas there. We know there is petroleum there. We need to find out what is exactly there.

So this is an important first step to get this seismic permitting so that we can know what kind of energy resources we have exactly. But I want to get North Carolina in the energy business. We have got the opportunity to put people to work.

As my colleague mentioned, North Dakota pays a $2,000 signing bonus at McDonald's because they can't find enough people because everybody has a job, and I look at North Carolina and my neighbors who are struggling to find work. Let's put people in energy jobs. Not only will it bring down the cost of energy for us at the pump, but it will put people to work.

There is another phenomena happening out there. We have lost a tremendous amount of manufacturing jobs in North Carolina, particularly in my part of the State, but we are seeing some of those jobs start to come back. The reason they are starting to come back is because of energy costs.

Even despite the fact that the current President won't allow any new permitting on publics lands, through fracking and other technology, we find it on private lands. We are being able

to bring down some of our energy costs through exploration.

Imagine what we would do if we could unleash American energy by allowing us to go after all of our resources, whether they are on public lands or offshore. We can have a manufacturing renaissance in this country by having affordable American energy. We can start creating jobs like you wouldn't believe. There is no reason why we are not doing that.

So I am happy to be here tonight with my colleagues to talk about the importance of this. I am just ready to unleash the American energy and ready to bring those jobs back.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk, Hudson No. 36.

Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening to offer an amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would prohibit the funding for any program included that is not authorized by law.

For far too long, Congress has continued to appropriate spending on government programs with little to no oversight. Our country has essentially been on autopilot towards a cliff of fiscal and economic disaster.

This has resulted in a massive and out-of-control bureaucracy that is wasteful and inefficient. In this bill alone there are 23 unauthorized programs. Some of these programs were last authorized in 1981, and there are others that have never been authorized. In total, these unauthorized and unchecked programs in this legislation receive around $25 billion.

With over $17 trillion in debt, we owe it to our constituents to review each agency and program to determine if they are the best use of taxpayer dollars to serve the public need.

Additionally, the rules of the House require that appropriations may only be made for purposes authorized by law. The prohibition on unauthorized appropriations cannot be enforced because the rules that bring appropriation bills to the floor routinely prevent a point of order from being raised.

My amendment prohibits spending on unauthorized programs, but it exempts defense-related programs because these were authorized by the House when we passed the defense authorization bill in May.

This amendment parallels with my bill, H.R. 3847, the Federal Sunset Act of 2014, which would force Congress to evaluate each agency and program and consider recommendations to reform or abolish specific entities to ensure the best use of our resources.

Mr. Chairman, this type of sweeping reform would dramatically overhaul the way that Washington budgets and spends hard-earned tax dollars and allow Congress to finally take back control, scale back our bloated bureaucracy, and provide accountability to the Federal Government.

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

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening to offer an amendment to the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that would cut spending back to the fiscal year 2008 level.

While I appreciate the work of the Appropriations Committee in crafting this important bill that does decrease spending, we must all recognize that a cut of $50 million is a rounding error here in Washington.

My amendment makes an across-the-board cut of 7.48 percent to the bill in order to decrease the amount back to the fiscal year 2008 level. The Congressional Budget Office confirms my amendment would reduce budget authority by $1.34 billion. Defense accounts are exempt from these savings because this House just addressed defense programs in the National Defense Authorization Act a few months ago.

Mr. Chairman, we are on a path to a horrific debt crisis in this country. When I ran for Congress, I repeatedly said the first step we must take to reduce spending and get our fiscal house in order is to go back to 2008 levels, and then let's go program by program and find savings, find duplicative programs that we need to cut, find the waste.

Again, Mr. Chairman, we have got to get our fiscal house in order, get ourselves back on track. My amendment

does just that, allows us to return to a point where we can finally get serious about making real substantive cuts to begin to pay down our debt and save future generations from this horrific debt crisis that we are on a collision course with as things now stand.

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

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the comments from my colleagues. I appreciate, particularly, the work Chairman Simpson and his staff

have done preparing this bill. I understand the challenges they face, and I appreciate the cuts they have made.

But, Mr. Chairman, we are on a path to absolute ruin in this country. If we don't spend one new dollar, we are headed toward a fiscal crisis in a very short time, and we have got to get off that path. One way to do it is to go back to 2008 spending levels, and then let's do the work that the Appropriations Committee has done on this bill. Let's start at 2008 and look at which programs we want to keep, which programs are duplicative, where is the waste.

But we have got to start somewhere. And, frankly, $50 million is a start, but it is not a big enough start. So I would encourage my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, I submit the following exchange of letters:

Coalition for Derivatives

End-Users,

June 17, 2014.

Re End-User Support for Adding Derivatives End-User Bills to

the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Reauthorization

Bill.

Hon. Frank D. Lucas,

Chairman, House Committee on Agriculture, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Hon. Collin C. Peterson,

Ranking Member, House Committee on Agriculture, House of

Representatives, Washington, DC.

Dear Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson: The

Coalition for Derivatives End-Users is writing to thank you

and the other members of the Committee on Agriculture for

incorporating language into H.R. 4413 that would protect

derivatives end-users from harmful and unnecessary margin and

clearing requirements. H.R. 4413, the Customer Protection and

End-User Relief Act, reauthorizes the Commodity Futures

Trading Commission (``CFTC'') and was approved in your

Committee by voice vote on April 9, 2014. The Coalition

strongly supports your bill and hopes that it will pass the

House on a bipartisan basis.

Your bill incorporates H.R. 634, the Business Risk

Mitigation and Price Stabilization Act of 2013, which would

ensure that non-financial derivatives end-users are not

subject to unnecessary margin requirements. This bill passed

the House of Representatives last year 411-12. Your bill also

incorporates key provisions of H.R. 677, the Inter-Affiliate

Swap Clarification Act, which was reported favorably out of

both the House Financial Services and House Agriculture

Committees last year. These provisions would exempt certain

swaps with centralized treasury units (``CTUs'') of non-

financial end-users from clearing requirements.

A recent Coalition survey of chief financial officers and

corporate treasurers, released on March 26, 2014, underscores

the urgent need for the end-user provisions contained in your

reauthorization bill. The survey found that 86 percent of

respondents indicated that fully collateralizing over-the-

counter derivatives would adversely impact business

investment, acquisitions, research & development and job

creation.

Nearly half of our survey respondents use CTUs to execute

OTC derivatives. The CFTC has issued no-action relief so that

some end-users that employ CTUs may avail themselves of the

clearing exception. However, our survey found that, of those

respondents that utilize a CTU structure, 69 percent do not

qualify for the CFTC's no-action relief or are unsure about

whether they could rely on the relief.

We thank you for your efforts to address the concerns of

derivatives end-users. Throughout the legislative process,

the Coalition has supported efforts to increase transparency

in the derivatives markets and enhance financial stability

for the U.S. economy through thoughtful new regulation while

avoiding needless costs. Your bill would help end-users to

focus their efforts and capital less on needless regulation

and more on innovation, growth and job creation.

Sincerely,

Agricultural Retailers Association.

Business Roundtable.

Financial Executives International.

National Association of Corporate Treasurers.

National Association of Manufacturers.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today to urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4413, which includes language from my bill, H.R. 3814, the Risk Management Certainty Act.

This bill would require CFTC Commissioners to partake in a formal rulemaking process before placing undue burdens on job creators. Without this critical piece of legislation, a misguided CFTC rule will automatically lump costly new regulations on public utilities, energy companies, and other end users that played no part in the financial crisis.

As the regulations currently stand, if a company does more than $8 billion worth of swap business per year, it must register with the CFTC as a swap dealer. Despite rules requiring a study to determine if the threshold is appropriately set, the CFTC is set to arbitrarily lower that level to $3 billion without a vote.

In today's world, where the cost of living continues to rise for millions of American families, we cannot afford for our Nation's job creators and energy providers to bear the brunt of yet another regulatory burden without a full and fair debate and a vote. This bill solves that problem and gives the public the ability to weigh in before a decision is made.

I remain committed to protecting consumers and reducing regulatory burdens on our job creators, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise this evening to offer an amendment to the CJS appropriations bill that would prohibit the funding for any program that is not authorized by law.

For far too long, Congress has continued to appropriate spending on government programs with little or no oversight. Our country has essentially been on autopilot towards a cliff of fiscal and economic disaster.

This has resulted in a massive and out-of-control, bloated bureaucracy. In this bill alone, there are 141 unauthorized programs. Some of these programs were last authorized in 1993, and there are others that have never been authorized.

In total, these unauthorized and unchecked programs in this legislation receive $57 billion. With over $17 trillion in debt, it is time for us to say: enough is enough.

Yes, I will yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania when I get a second.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment prohibits funding in the bill for unauthorized programs. It parallels my Sunset Act of 2014, H.R. 3847, which would force Congress to actually do oversight and evaluate each individual program.

This type of sweeping reform would dramatically overhaul the way Washington budgets and spends hard-earned taxpayer dollars, and it would allow Congress to finally take back control, scale back our bloated bureaucracy, and provide accountability for the Federal Government.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Offered By: Mr. Hudson

Amendment No. 31: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 239th anniversary of the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence.

This date marks an important moment in our Nation's history, when brave North Carolinians, bound by their common pursuit of freedom, became the first Americans to declare independence from the tyrannical crown of Great Britain. This courageous act of defiance paved the way for our great experiment in democracy.

It is no wonder that, with these type of bold leaders, British commander General Cornwallis was unable to hold his occupation of the city of Charlotte and was, therefore, prompted to write that it was a ``hornet's nest of rebellion.''

Mr. Speaker, it is also worth noting that, on this very day today, the Charlotte Bobcats--excuse me, the Charlotte Hornets--finally and rightfully get their buzz back.

I am so proud of our heritage and for the leadership that the State of North Carolina continues to provide this great Nation.

Mr. Speaker, on this festive day, I want to congratulate the city of Charlotte and all North Carolinians, and I welcome each and every one of my colleagues to join me in celebrating this important moment in our history.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Army Command Sergeant Major Edward James O'Neal and to commemorate his service to our great Nation. O'Neal was a great friend of mine and a champion of his fellow veterans in Richmond County and all of North Carolina.

He began his distinguished military career at a young age, enlisting in the Army in 1956 at the age of 17. After basic training, O'Neal quickly rose up the ranks, training and serving from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. After 20 years of dedicated service, including four tours in Vietnam and being awarded three Purple Hearts, O'Neal retired in November of 1976.

O'Neal's service to our country did not end once he retired. He became a fierce advocate on behalf of his fellow veterans, assisting local veterans with the help of his beloved wife, Mary.

Mr. Speaker, O'Neal was one of the greatest American soldiers and patriots, and he was also a loving husband, a faithful friend to many, including me. We are forever indebted to him and other American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who dedicate their lives to defend our freedom, secure our homeland, and protect our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of United States Army Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Edward James O'Neal and commemorate his valiant service to our great nation. CSM O'Neal was a great friend of mine and a champion for his fellow veterans in Richmond County and all of North Carolina.

He began his distinguished military career at a young age, enlisting in the United States Army in 1956 at the age of seventeen. After basic training, CSM O'Neal quickly rose up the ranks, training and serving from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. His career is legendary--making First Sergeant in 10 years and CSM in 14.

After 20 years of dedicated service, including four tours in Vietnam and being awarded three Purple Hearts, CSM O'Neal retired in November of 1976. I applaud CSM O'Neal's bravery and service, and I thank him for his heroic and selfless actions during his active military career.

But CSM O'Neal's service to our country did not end once he retired. He became a fierce advocate on behalf of his fellow veterans, assisting local veterans with the help of his beloved wife, Mary. Their dedication and service represent the best our nation has to offer.

Mr. Speaker, CSM O'Neal was one of our greatest American soldiers and patriots, and he was also a loving husband and a faithful friend to many including me. North Carolina boasts some of the finest warfighters the United States has ever seen. The Eighth District is no stranger to heroes like CSM O'Neal, and he will forever be remembered for his service and his faithful support of his fellow veterans.

We are forever indebted to him and other American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who dedicate their lives to defend our freedom, secure our homeland, and protect our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Army Command Sergeant Major (CSM) Edward James O'Neal and commemorate his service to our great nation. O'Neal was a great friend of mine and a champion for his fellow veterans in Richmond County and all of North Carolina.

He began his distinguished military career at a young age, enlisting in the Army in 1956 at the age of seventeen. After basic training, O'Neal quickly rose up the ranks, training and serving from Fort Bragg, North Carolina to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

After 20 years of dedicated service, including four tours in Vietnam and being awarded three Purple Hearts, O'Neal retired in November of 1976.

But O'Neal's service to our country did not end once he retired. He became a fierce advocate on behalf of his fellow veterans, assisting local veterans with the help of his beloved wife, Mary.

Mr. Speaker, O'Neal was one of our greatest American soldiers and patriots, and he was also a loving husband and a faithful friend to many including me.

We are forever indebted to him and other American soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who dedicate their lives to defend our freedom, secure our homeland, and protect our democracy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate May as Let Freedom Race month at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and thank the folks who have worked hard to honor our brave men and women in uniform with this outstanding celebration.

Speedway Motorsports and Charlotte Motor Speedway are both in my hometown of Concord, North Carolina. While I am incredibly grateful for the impact both have on our local economy, I am also appreciative of their continued support for our Nation's military, veterans, and their families.

This Memorial Day weekend marks the 55th Let Freedom Race celebration, and more than 100,000 fans will gather at the speedway to celebrate and honor our military heroes.

This tradition will, once again, showcase America's military strength, while displaying our pride and appreciation for those we have lost, our veterans, those who continue to serve, and our military families.

We are so fortunate to have heroes who stand committed to serving in our Armed Forces.

Mr. Speaker, I commend the work done by the racing community to honor our veterans, and I join them and other North Carolinians to salute our warfighters who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedom.

Mr. Chair, I move to strike the last word in order to engage in a colloquy.

Mr. Chairman, we are all aware of the tragic backlog that deeply affects so many of our Nation's heroes all across this country, and particularly in my district back home in North Carolina. Fixing this issue needs to be one of the highest priorities of Congress and this administration. We owe it to our veterans, and I know that many of my colleagues agree that we owe them to do this.

However, the solution is not necessarily to continually throw money at the problem. We have done that for years without the results we are looking for. The reality is the fiscal situation we find ourselves in today means that we can no longer afford to be so shortsighted in our approach.

In order to reform the VA--or any other department, for that matter-- we need to have a clear understanding of what costs are associated with running their programs so we can evaluate their effectiveness and root out those that are wasteful, duplicitous, and are underperforming.

Mr. Chairman, I know you have been a leader on this issue and have tried for years to get from the VA a clear breakdown of what their administrative costs are. Is that correct?

I yield to the gentleman from Texas.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for his hard work and commitment, and I share his frustration. I have had a very difficult time, as well, trying to understand how the VA deals with its overhead. In fact, I have got a story I just heard from a veteran in my district that is probably not unique.

This gentleman went to the VA center in Winston-Salem for an appeals hearing. A veterans service officer, one of the very hardworking veterans service officers around the country, accompanied him to this meeting. He sat down with the VA employee, and he asked the employee: Do you have my file? I don't see it sitting on your desk. The employee said: Well, we computerized all the files, so I have got it all here in the computer. The veteran said: Well, just so I know where you are, which page are you looking at? Somewhat sheepishly, the VA employee said: Well, actually, I don't know how to access the files in the computer.

It is outrageous. It got worse from there.

They went forward with the hearing. At the conclusion of the hearing, the employee turned off a tape recorder and popped out the cassette. The veteran said: Well, what do you do with that cassette? He said: Well, we send that to San Diego so they can transcribe it. In about 6 weeks, we will get the transcription back and then we can start processing your claim.

Mr. Chairman, this is not what we intended when we asked that we go to a computerized VA system, and it is outrageous that our veterans are having to see these kind of delays. I would just ask that you work with us to try to resolve this problem.

It is absurd.

I appreciate your commitment to this, the time you put into it. Our veterans deserve the best we can give them. They deserve to be treated with the highest respect, and they deserve to not have to wait these extraordinary amounts of time just to be heard.

Mr. Chairman, I commit to working with you to continue to deal with this issue, to take care of our veterans not just in North Carolina's Eighth District, but around the country.

I yield back the balance of my time.