Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 601, on the amendment offered by Rep. Holt to H.R. 2728, Protecting States' Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act. Had I been present, I would have voted ``no.''

Moment of Silence in Remembrance of Members of Armed Forces and Their

Families

Thank you to the chairman of this committee, and thank you to the sponsor for your leadership on this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Retail Investor Protection Act.

Fifth District Virginians and Americans across the country are working hard to save for their futures, whether it be for their retirements or college tuitions for their children. Unfortunately, these hardworking Americans are being faced with the prospect of increased costs and fewer choices for the financial products that they currently rely on for their investments.

Currently, the Department of Labor and the Securities and Exchange Commission have indicated they will move forward with rulemakings to make changes to the fiduciary standards that would decrease the availability of financial advice for retail investors and increase the cost of financial advice for retail investors.

We must protect the ability of these Americans to choose the financial professionals who best meet their investment needs, and this bill is an important step in that direction. The Retail Investor Protection Act ensures that retail investors, including many American families, are not affected by unnecessary regulations that have been put in place without sufficient economic analysis or regulatory coordination.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bill so that Washington does not stand in the way of Americans' ability to seek the best financial advice for their needs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a devoted public servant, Mr. Phillip R. Roberts, who will be retiring from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) this month after a distinguished 32- year career in Federal service.

Mr. Speaker, Phil has provided a career full of exceptional leadership and strategic vision that have significantly contributed to safeguarding U.S. national security interests and strengthened our national intelligence and military intelligence capabilities during a challenging period in our nation's history. Throughout his career and in assignments around the globe, Phil has demonstrated an unyielding dedication to duty and an innate ability to inspire enthusiasm and the commitment to serve in those around him.

Mr. Speaker, I have seen firsthand the fruits of Phil's labor in my Congressional District where he was instrumental in the development of the DIA BRAC relocation effort to Charlottesville, VA. Since 2010 Phil has served as the first Chief of DIA's Field Support Activity at Rivanna Station in Charlottesville, working to bring onboard over 800 analysts to the Rivanna Station site to support DIA's Military and Counter-Proliferation Analysis and Scientific & Technical Collection efforts. Phil has worked tirelessly to ensure that DIA has been a good neighbor to the local community forging many important relationships with Charlottesville area governments, charities and institutions such as the University of Virginia.

Prior to his assignment in Charlottesville, Phil served three years as the DIA Chief of Staff. As Chief of Staff, Phil functioned as the

Agency's Chief Operating Officer and supervised the Agency's acquisition, financial, human capital, information technology and mission services elements spanning DIA's global footprint of over 150 countries.

Earlier assignments for Mr. Roberts include a tour in London as DIA's Chief Liaison to the United Kingdom and a tour as the Vice Deputy Director for Analysis for DIA where he oversaw over 2,000 military and civilian personnel, providing all-source intelligence analysis to the Combatant Commands including deployed U.S. and allied forces; the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff; and the Secretary of Defense.

Mr. Roberts has represented the Director, DIA at the NATO Intelligence Board and has also served as the Chief, Operational Support Group, where he was responsible for the production of all- source intelligence on foreign infrastructure and operational environment related issues, in support of deliberate and crisis planning requirements worldwide.

In August 1998, Mr. Roberts became a member of the Defense Intelligence Senior Executive Service when he was selected to be the Chief, Office for Counterproliferation Support:In this capacity, he was responsible for the production of all-source intelligence on foreign, nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare programs in support of U.S. counterproliferation efforts. From 1993 to 1998, Mr. Roberts was the Senior Intelligence Officer, Office for Counterproliferation Support.

From 1991 to 1993, Mr. Roberts served as the Director, Office of General Military Intelligence Functional Management. In this capacity, he oversaw program planning and budget execution for approximately $520 million and over 7,000 personnel. During this period, Mr. Roberts chaired the Council of Intelligence Producers where he played a key role in the largest reallocation of Defense intelligence resources in the post-Cold War period. From 1989 to 1990, as the Special Assistant for Intelligence Production, Directorate for Research, he directed the production of finished intelligence and data base maintenance of over 800 analysts. Prior to 1989, Mr. Roberts served in other supervisory and analytical positions including Chief, North Korean Military Capabilities Branch, and Senior Intelligence Officer, Asia Division.

A career intelligence professional, Mr. Roberts has received the Presidential Rank Award of Meritorious Executive and is a recipient of the Defense Intelligence Agency medals for Exceptional Civilian Service and Meritorious Civilian Service, two Defense Intelligence Agency Director's Awards, and the Director of Central Intelligence Diversity Management Award.

Mr. Speaker, while DIA and the Intelligence Community will be losing a leader who has answered the call of public service at such critical points in our nation's history, I know that Phil will be happy to spend more time with his wife Teresa and children Taylor, Jonathan and Jordan. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a grateful nation and my colleagues in the United States House of Representatives, I thank Phil Roberts and his family for his years of service to our country and wish him the very best in his retirement from the federal government.

Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased that the House has acted once again to fund critical operations of the Federal Government.

Last night, we adopted legislation that would provide funding for the National Institutes of Health and for reopening monuments like our World War II Memorial. The NIH provides critical funding for work ranging from the treatment of traumatic brain injuries suffered by our soldiers to cancer therapy for our children. NIH is the largest source of Federal research funding for the important work in these areas at the University of Virginia, located in Virginia's Fifth District.

This critical funding should not lapse because the Senate majority leader refuses to come to the conference table to work out a reasonable spending agreement for the Federal Government.

This critical funding should not lapse because the Senate majority leader insists on protecting health care waivers for Washington special interests while leaving Virginia families in the cold.

The critical funding should not lapse because the Senate majority leader insists on protecting special health care

subsidies for Members of Congress while leaving Virginia families to pay the price.

I urge the Senate to come to the conference table today. Let's get this done.

Mr. Speaker, July 30, 2013, Virginia witnessed the passing of Senator Harry F. Byrd, Jr., of Virginia. Senator Byrd was a dedicated public servant and an exemplary figure in the history of our Commonwealth.

Born in Winchester, Virginia, Senator Byrd spent his life dedicated to Virginia. He attended both Virginia Military Institute and the University of Virginia, served our nation during World War II, and spent 78 years leading the Winchester Star, his family's newspaper. His 36 years of public service as a Virginia Senator and as a United States Senator set a high standard for integrity and leadership.

Senator Byrd always provided a strong voice for limited government and economic conservatism. He was at the center of many major policy discussions that shaped the future of this country. The late Senator is remembered for his positive, bipartisan approach to the great debates of his time, and his commitment to fiscal responsibility. During the 77th Congress, Senator Byrd proposed a commission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. Named after its creator, the ``Byrd Committee'' was tasked with cutting unnecessary federal spending, which led to billions in savings during its first few years.

Senator Byrd's time was marked by great domestic and international transformation, and he played a crucial role as a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy, a Virginia and U.S. Senator, and as a journalist. His many contributions to the Commonwealth of Virginia and the nation as a whole will long be remembered.

On behalf of myself, Leader Eric Cantor, and Representatives Frank Wolf, Bob Goodlatte, Randy Forbes, Rob Wittman, Morgan Griffith, and Scott Rigell, I am honored to pay tribute to Senator Byrd's legacy. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 453. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, in response to the minority leader's statement, I would suggest that this is in fact a jobs bill. This is a bill about health care. It is about the quality of health care. It is also about preserving jobs for this country.

I rise in support of the Fairness for Families Act, a House initiative that would delay the enforcement of the individual insurance mandate, a central element of the President's health care law. This bill would provide hardworking individuals and families with the same relief that the Obama administration recently gave to American employers.

As I travel throughout our district, I consistently hear about the law's devastating effect it has on our families, our workforce, and our struggling economy. Whether it's the community college in Danville that is cutting employee hours because it simply cannot afford to comply with the law or the family in Charlottesville that is coping with skyrocketing insurance premiums, there is no question that the people of Virginia's Fifth District continue to be negatively impacted by this law.

While the administration continues to praise this legislation, the American people are left with nothing but broken promises.

At a time when too many across this country are out of work, it only makes sense that we act to reduce the burden on individuals and families by suspending this mandate while continuing our efforts to repeal this flawed law and replace it with market-oriented policies that will lower costs for all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 308 on ordering the previous question on H. Res. 288, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2609) making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 309 on H. Res. 288, providing for consideration of the bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014, and for other purposes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for rollcall vote No. 310 on approval of the journal. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1564) to amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to prohibit the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board from requiring public companies to use specific auditors or require the use of different auditors on a rotating basis, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous materials for the Record on H.R. 1564, as amended, currently under consideration.

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

I rise in support of H.R. 1564, the Audit Integrity and Job Protection Act, a bipartisan bill I introduced with my colleague, Representative Meeks. I thank him for his leadership on this issue.

If enacted, this bill would eliminate the threat of mandatory audit firm rotation by prohibiting the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which is the self-regulatory organization charged with overseeing the auditors of public companies, from moving ahead with a potential rulemaking that would have serious negative consequences for American businesses, investors, and consumers.

In 2011, the PCAOB issued a concept release to impose mandatory audit firm rotation, which is a directive requiring public companies to change their independent auditors every few years.

Implementing this proposal would significantly impair the quality of public audits, reduce the supervision and oversight of audit committees, and impose significant, unnecessary costs that impede investment and harm investors and consumers. In fact, a GAO study conducted pursuant to Sarbanes-Oxley found that initial-year audit costs under mandatory audit firm rotation would increase by more than 20 percent over subsequent-year costs in order for the new auditor to acquire the necessary knowledge of the public company.

Additionally, the GAO noted concerns about negative effects on audit quality during the initial years of a new audit firm's tenure. The consequences of the costs imposed by audit firm rotation would decrease access to capital and investments in our communities that help our local businesses and get people back to work.

Beyond harming the competitive position of American public companies, I have heard from private companies in Virginia's Fifth District, including from many of our biotech firms and our banks, that mandatory audit firm rotation would create one more disincentive to go public in light of the increased costs and an already complex regulatory scheme.

Both the SEC and Congress have previously rejected mandatory audit firm rotation. Most recently, the JOBS Act explicitly banned audit firm rotation for emerging growth companies. In exerting its legislative prerogative to ensure this harmful policy was not enacted on these emerging companies, Congress took away this disincentive from companies exploring accessing the public markets.

Now Europe is considering imposing an audit firm rotation regime, in part, because it believes that the United States will move forward on the PCAOB's concept draft. Despite the overwhelming opposition to the concept release--over 90 percent of the more than 700 comments filed-- the PCAOB has left this issue unresolved. To my knowledge, the concept release has not been withdrawn nor have there been any statements from the PCAOB that it will not be moving forward with a proposal. This continued uncertainty is having a detrimental effect on American businesses. The decision of changing an audit firm is best left to companies' audit committees, not regulators, who are trying to impose a one-size-fits-all approach.

H.R. 1564 will make clear that Congress does not believe that mandatory audit firm rotation will provide additional protections to investors or consumers and will stifle growth of job-creating small businesses while decreasing audit quality.

I would like to thank Chairman Hensarling and Ranking Member Waters of the Financial Services Committee for their support and leadership on this issue as we were able to achieve a unanimous, bipartisan vote from the committee.

I ask my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on H.R. 1564 and pass this good bill from the House so that we may strengthen audit quality, remove the threat of unnecessary costs, and refocus the PCAOB on its mission to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and, most important, independent audit reports.

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

Mr. Speaker, as we are prepared to close, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I would just simply close by saying I think this is a good bill, a bill that not only strengthens investor protection, but also reduces unnecessary costs. It reduces uncertainty in the marketplace. We need certainty in the marketplace. This helps reduce that for public companies. So it is my request that this body pass this piece of legislation.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, a bill that will create thousands of new jobs in Virginia while lowering the cost of energy for all Americans.

Last month I traveled throughout my district, visiting local communities to discuss the impact of high energy prices. At each stop the same message rang clear: the cost of energy continues to have a significant negative impact on our small businesses, our farmers and our families.

Not only do we see higher prices at the gas pump, but high fuel prices have triggered higher prices across the board. People are paying more for groceries and are witnessing their utility costs rise at a time when they can least afford it. There is no question Americans continue to suffer from Washington's failure to adopt a sensible energy policy.

The President's consistently failed to lead on this issue. The administration continues to restrict leasing permits for oil and gas exploration off the coast of the Commonwealth, preventing Virginians from utilizing our natural resources.

Reopening the lease sales off our coast enjoys broad bipartisan support in Virginia, yet Washington continues to insist that it knows best what is best for the Commonwealth.

At a time when too many people in my district and across the country are out of work, it is critical that we, in the House, do everything we can to encourage creation of new jobs and reduce the burden on our hardworking families, our farmers and our small businesses.

If adopted, this act will lead to the creation of over a million new American jobs. In addition, this legislation will lead to lower energy prices, economic growth and strengthened national security.

As the House continues to lead on creating a sensible domestic energy policy, it is my hope that the Senate and the President will join us.

I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation. And I thank Chairman Hastings for his leadership and his committee for its leadership on this important issue.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Northern Route Approval Act, another House initiative to pave the way for construction of the Keystone pipeline. I support this measure because approval of the pipeline will lead to lower fuel prices and it will create jobs.

As I've traveled my rural Virginia Fifth District, I have spoken to our

small business owners, our small farmers, our volunteers, our students, and our parents, and there can be no question that the energy policies coming out of Washington under this President are hurting our local communities. That is why the immediate approval of the Keystone pipeline is so important, because it will reduce our dependence on foreign dictators, it will give us affordable energy, and it will create the jobs that we desperately need.

After 4 long years, this bipartisan plan to create jobs and lower fuel prices should wait no longer. It is high time for the President to heed the wishes of the American people. Stop the excuses and approve the Keystone pipeline.

I thank the chairman for yielding and thank him for his leadership on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of the bill that's being offered by Mr. Garrett. This is a bill that will ensure the SEC will abide by simple cost-benefit analysis requirements.

All Federal agencies, but especially the SEC, affect the efficiency and the success of our Main Street businesses--our Main Street businesses across Virginia's Fifth District and all across this country. The SEC primarily exists to protect investors, maintain fair and efficient markets, and to facilitate capital formation. This positions the Commission as a critical component of our small businesses' ability to access the capital they need to grow jobs. If access to capital continues to be constrained by overly burdensome regulations, we will not see the economic growth in the jobs that we need in my district and across the United States.

While it is critical that the SEC be able to promulgate certain rules to implement congressional legislation, it is also critical that Congress clearly set forth its legislative prerogatives. As Members of Congress, we must ensure that the rules that the SEC adopts are with good purpose and that they are not unduly adding more burdens on hardworking Americans at a time when our economy is struggling.

Indeed, I believe that all Federal agencies should be held accountable by the Congress to ensure that the cost of the rules that they promulgate will not be greater than the benefit of those rules to the American people.

Congressional oversight is our constitutional responsibility, and I'm proud to support this legislation to ensure that excessive Federal regulations are not unnecessarily hindering job creation at a time when the people across Virginia's Fifth District need jobs the most.

I urge passage of this good bill.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 1062, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act, introduced by my friend, Chairman Scott Garrett. His bill is an important step forward to ensure the SEC abides by the President's executive order and also enhances the SEC's existing cost-benefit analysis requirements.

My amendment ensures that rules adopted by the PCAOB, the MSRB, and other national securities associations under the purview of the SEC have the same requirements as the SEC itself and requires the SEC to attest that these associations are in compliance with its own economic assessment standards.

These subordinate organizations can develop standards and rules that have the same effect as Federal regulations. As rules put forth by these organizations generally go through a final SEC rulemaking process, they should be subject also to that same cost-benefit analysis.

As we saw with the SEC's proxy access rule that was thrown out by the D.C. Federal court for lack of a proper assessment of the rule's economic costs, not only is this practice good governance, but it's common sense.

In light of reports that the SEC is considering discretionary rulemakings that would impose additional unnecessary costs resulting in little or no benefit and being of questionable constitutionality, we must ensure that the SEC and the associations under its purview abide by sound economic analyses.

With our economy still struggling and many areas of Virginia's Fifth District nearing double-digit unemployment, we must ensure that our regulations are making it easier for our businesses to access the capital they need to create the jobs in our communities.

I thank Chairman Garrett for his work on this important issue, and I urge support for my amendment.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I'm prepared to close and would like to insist on my right to do so.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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

I would just say a couple of things in closing. First, what this bill is not is a bill that does anything to amend or change the mandates of the SEC.

We know what those mandates are. They are to ensure fair markets, efficient markets. They are to facilitate capital formation and, finally, investor protection. They are all designed to work together. This bill does nothing to change that mandate. In fact, the bill, if you look at it, talks about cost-benefit analysis repeatedly throughout the entire bill.

I would suggest to you that investor protection includes liquid markets, formation of capital. If we want to protect investors, obviously we need to have healthy markets. That's what this bill ensures by requiring the SEC conduct the most simple, routine cost- benefit analysis, something that the President, by the way, has offered up and required of most Federal agencies that are affected by his executive order. This simply makes them a part of that.

In addition, the SEC chairman stated earlier that that was what her belief should be for the SEC in conducting the cost-benefit analysis. So this simply codifies, as is our responsibility as Members of Congress, to do just that.

With that in mind, I would ask that this body adopt our amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise in support of the full repeal of the President's health care law. I believe we must repeal this law and replace it with patient-centered, market-oriented reforms that will improve patient care, broaden patient access, and reduce patient costs.

From the beginning, the President promised that his health care law would improve the quality of health care for all Americans. He said if you wanted to keep your doctor, his plan was for you. If you wanted to keep your health care plan, his law was for you. He said that if you wanted lower insurance premiums, his law was for you.

Well, the bill passed, and the people of Virginia's Fifth District are getting a full dose of it, and they don't like what they see. As I've traveled across Virginia's Fifth District, I've heard from our constituents, our Main Street businesses, our local governments, and our health care providers that this law is not living up to the President's promises.

In fact, people are not able to keep the health care plans that they've always counted on. People are being hit with spikes in insurance premiums, and people are having to take second jobs because they can't afford to live on a 29-hour workweek.

This repeal bill is important because it is an expression of the sentiment of the people I represent. They want real health care reform, not government mandates.

I encourage my colleagues to support the rule and support this bill.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding. I appreciate the committee's leadership on this important measure.

I rise today in support of the Working Families Flexibility Act, a House of Representatives initiative that will give families and individuals across the Fifth District the freedom of workplace choice and limit the Federal overreach in our daily lives. At a time when our economy is struggling, we must look for ways to help our hardworking families and individuals.

Under current law, public employees can choose between using overtime hours for pay or for paid time off. Unfortunately, this same option is not afforded to those who work for private companies. With small businesses and family farms being the engine of our rural economy, this option is therefore not available to many of my constituents.

This bill before us today changes all of that. By ensuring private workers can accrue paid time off instead of overtime compensation, we will provide Fifth District Virginians greater flexibility in balancing their work schedules with the demands of family life. And we will take these important decisions out of the hands of Federal bureaucrats and place them into the hands of hardworking Americans.

It is high time that this outdated regulation be replaced with the principles of individual freedom and individual choice. I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense legislation.

I thank Representative Roby for sponsoring this important initiative.

Mr. Speaker, the American people know that a budget is one of the most important documents produced by any legislative body. It is a document that reflects the values and priorities of our government and our Nation; and while it is a document that is a reflection of today, more importantly, it is a document that lays out a vision for our Nation's future--the future for our children and the future that they will inherit.

So now, for the first time in 4 years, the American people are able to compare, side by side, the three competing visions for our future as proposed by the House, as proposed by the Senate, and as proposed by the President. Two of these proposals would give to our children more taxes, more spending--and neither ever reaches balance. There is only one proposal, the House budget, that would instead give to our children a balanced budget and a brighter future of freedom and opportunity.

Now is the time to choose the budget that reflects our American values. The American people and future generations of Americans deserve a balanced budget.