Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an American hero, Air Force Captain Joe Smith, as he makes his final flight home.

Though it has been nearly half a century since the 25-year-old fighter pilot was fatally shot down during the Vietnam war, he will finally be laid to rest in his hometown of Assumption, Illinois.

Thanks to the efforts of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, a group which searches the world for missing American veterans, the remains of Joe Smith were identified, along with his plane, by using DNA analysis. The effort made to bring him home all these years later is a true testament to the military's motto of no soldier left behind.

Those who knew Joe remember him as being a bright, polite young man, who was well educated, earning his master's degree in business at the University of Notre Dame and Washington University.

Though he did not have to, Joe went willingly into the service, where he began as a first lieutenant and quickly worked his way up to the promotion of being a captain.

With the help of the Assumption Historical Society, Joe's widow, Elaine Mills, a native of Decatur, has worked hard to keep his memory alive and honor his service to our Nation.

I hope to do the same by recognizing him today on this House floor. Joe is a true hero. This country and this House will long remember his valor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize my friend Gary Letterly for his dedication to the agricultural community and congratulate him on his retirement after 25 years with University of Illinois Extension.

For nearly three decades, Gary has worked at the Extension office in Christian County, contributing to local economic development projects within the county. In this role, Gary was able to establish an Enterprise Zone along Route 29 and create ``Community Swaps'' which helped connect community leaders and elected officials to similarly- sized communities in the state as a way to help those officials learn and grow in their positions.

As his career progressed, Gary's unique specializations and insight helped to broaden the focus and expand the impact of the University of Illinois Extension Office. His broad range of skills greatly impacted the production of local row-crops as well as homeowner lawn and pest issues.

I am proud to recognize Mr. Letterly's work on behalf of the agricultural community and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory of my friend Roy Hertel, who passed away Thursday, May 25, at the age of 68.

Roy was a true public servant and community leader in Montgomery County, Illinois. Throughout his life and career, he held many roles in the region and had an immeasurable impact on countless lives, including mine.

As a teacher, circuit clerk, county board chairman, and administrator for the county's Department of Health and Human Services in the State of Illinois, Roy's career was defined by his dedication to bettering the lives of those not only in Montgomery County, but also throughout central Illinois.

His involvement in the region went far beyond his career. Roy was an active member of the Disciples of Christ in Hillsboro; a 45-year member of the Lions Club, where he had held all offices, the district lieutenant governor and district governor in 1991 and 1992; a member of the Mt. Moriah Masonic Lodge Number 51 A.F. & A.M. in Hillsboro; president of the Circuit Clerk's Association; a member of the Hillsboro Moose Lodge Number 1377; part of the Hillsboro Sports Association; and served as chairman, until his death, of the Montgomery County Board.

Roy also served as a coach for both youth baseball and soccer leagues, and was a dedicated fan and supporter of every sports team that his son played on and every child played on in Hillsboro, Illinois. He was especially fond of the Hillsboro Junior High Dragons that his son started on, clear up until his son played for the Gateway Grizzlies.

My thoughts and prayers are with Nanci and the rest of Roy's family and friends, as central Illinois has lost a leader whose presence will be tremendously missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory of one of Illinois' great journalists, Dave Shaul, who passed away this month at age 75.

For decades, Dave provided countless central Illinois residents with their local news as an anchor, producer, and news director at WCIA in Champaign, Illinois. During his storied television and radio broadcast career, Dave covered the biggest local, State, and national news, including covering every Presidential election from 1964 through 2016. Dave was known for his honest and trustworthy coverage of local and national politics.

Dave won a number of awards during his career as a journalist. In 1980, he won the UPI Best Television Sports Play-by-Play Award for his coverage of Illinois basketball. And in 1999, he was honored with the Associated Press Mark Twain Lifetime Achievement Award, was named to the Eastern Illinois University Hall of Fame, and was designated a lifetime member of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Dave also received an Emmy Award for his career accomplishments in 2011.

Dave leaves a long legacy as a trusted figure on the news and in the Champaign-Urbana community. His family and friends continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Florida, and I thank my colleague from Virginia for supporting this piece of legislation put forth by our friend and colleague from California, Congressman David Valadao.

The Social Security Number Fraud Prevention Act is a bill that should gain unanimous support in this institution. According to the Justice Department, identity theft affects nearly 18 million people, costing more than $15 billion in 2014 alone. This represents roughly 7 percent of all Americans age 16 or older. In my home State of Illinois alone, in 2014, it was recognized that the FTC saw a 65 percent increase in identity theft. More than 14 percent of the victims are elderly.

We all know that Social Security numbers are the link to a key piece of information criminals use to steal people's identities. This commonsense piece of legislation takes a very important step to ensure that our Federal agencies, our government, funded by the hardworking taxpayers of this country, are not making this problem even worse.

This bill, as you have heard today, would restrict the use of Social Security numbers on documents sent via mail by the Federal Government unless the head of a department or agency determines the inclusion of such number is necessary--which I can't think of a single instance where that would be necessary, but I guess we have to put that in there anyway. This seems like a no-brainer, but we in this institution have to pass a bill to make sure that it happens, which is why I am a proud cosponsor of this bill.

I want to thank Congressman Valadao again. I also want to thank Congress' newest father, our colleague from California, Eric Swalwell, for being a cosponsor of this legislation, too. This bill will have a real impact on reducing identity theft in this country, and I want to commend, once again, everybody on the floor today for their support.

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today also in support of H.R. 953, the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act of 2017. The House Committee on Agriculture, which I serve on, as does Chairman Gibbs, passed this bill out of committee every Congress since the 112th Congress. The bill language was likewise included in the 2012 farm bill, reported out of the committee, as well as in the 2013 farm bill the House sent to conference. It was also included in the committee-reported text of the FY 2012 Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill. But it has never reached the President's desk.

For more than 100 years, the Federal Government has administered its responsibilities under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, FIFRA, to review and register pesticides in a responsible way that protects human health and the environment.

Under the Clean Water Act, the EPA or a State authority issues a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, NPDES permit, and that regulates the discharge of pollutants. NPDES permits specify limits on what pollutants may be discharged from point sources and in what amounts. Since the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972, the EPA has interpreted its responsibilities related to pesticide use such that compliance with FIFRA would mitigate the need for duplicative permitting under the Clean Water Act.

As litigation in the early part of this decade began to challenge this interpretation, the EPA ultimately responded with the promulgation of a regulation on November 27, 2006, to clarify how these two laws operated. Under the EPA's final rule, the Agency codified its earlier interpretation that permits for pesticide application under the Clean Water Act were unnecessary where pesticides were used in accordance with their regulation under FIFRA.

Following the finalization of this regulation, the rule was challenged in numerous jurisdictions. The case was ultimately heard in the Sixth Circuit wherein the government's interpretation of the interaction of these two laws was not given the deference we would normally expect. The final court order nullified the EPA's regulation and imposed what is viewed as a burdensome, costly, and duplicative permitting process under the Clean Water Act for literally millions of pesticide applications.

This order has imposed a burden on the EPA, State regulatory agencies, and pesticide applicators, costing our economy in terms of jobs as well as severely threatening the already critical budgetary situation facing governments at all levels. It is particularly unfortunate that this court order imposed a new requirement that has imperiled our water resource boards, our mosquito control boards, and our forestry and agricultural sectors, yet has provided no additional environmental or public health protection. On the contrary, by imposing this costly burden on public health pesticide users, it has jeopardized public health as it relates to protection against insect-borne diseases such as the Zika virus, West Nile virus, various forms of encephalitis, and Lyme disease.

I recently heard from the Macon County Mosquito Abatement District in my district based in and around Decatur, Illinois. They can attest that the price of complying with NPDES permitting is very high. Though they had in place a reliable system of tracking chemical usage and treatment areas for years, the added burden of the NPDES requirements have caused them to spend a large portion of the district's annual budget on software strictly just for compliance and reporting processes. The recurring yearly fees associated with the software are a never-ending burden needlessly placed on abatement districts. The fear of litigation dictates the detailed tracking of EPA-approved products and diverts those funds from their actual purpose of controlling mosquitoes.

The EPA has provided technical assistance to draft this very narrow legislation. The goal of this legislation has been to address only those problems created by the decision of the Sixth Circuit and to be entirely consistent with the policy of the EPA, as stated in their November 27, 2006, final rule governing application of pesticides to waters of the United States in compliance with FIFRA.

I urge all Members to vote for this legislation.

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

Mr. Chairman, we agree that no one thinks this bill is going to harm anyone. We are trying to look for commonsense provisions, and I am thankful to my colleague for making this a bipartisan solution.

I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Yoho).

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and memory of a lifelong resident of my hometown of Taylorville, Illinois, my good friend, Michael Welge. Mike was a veteran, public servant, devoted husband to his wife, Judy, father, grandfather, and, again, my friend.

Mike passed away on May 4, but he left a long legacy of dedication to his family, his country, and his community. As an Army veteran who served his country, Mike continued his service to military members as the commander of American Legion Post 73.

Mike worked at Peabody Mine No. 10 for years before beginning a 22- year career at the Illinois Department of Corrections. Mike served as a member of the Taylorville Planning and Zoning Committee for 25 years and was a member of many groups like the Taylorville FFA Association, the American Farm Heritage Museum in Greenville, ABATE, and Moose Lodge 1516.

Mike is survived by his wife, Judy, son, grandson, and brother. He will be truly missed by all who knew him, and I consider myself blessed to have known Mike Welge as a friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the teachers and staff of the Regional Alternative School (RAS) in Bloomington, Illinois for their service to the students at the request of senior Logan Smith who graduates this month.

The Regional Alternative School serves students in four counties under the jurisdiction of the Regional Office of Education No. 17. That includes two counties that I serve, McLean and DeWitt, along with Livingston and Logan counties, RAS is dedicated to providing education programming for students considered to be at-risk of dropping out of school.

In April I had the opportunity to visit the school where I received a tour from three Student Ambassadors--Sabrina Ridgeway, Corrie Gardner, and Logan Smith. I got to see first-hand the excellent work the school is doing to better student lives. For most, the school is their best hope at graduating high school, gaining vital life skills, and transitioning to college or the workforce. This quality education and caring mentorship would not be possible without the hard-working, dedicated staff at the Regional Alternative School.

I am proud to help Logan honor and thank the teachers and staff of the Regional Alternative School. Thank you for dedicating your lives to supporting students and helping them realize their unlimited potential. And congratulations to Logan and his fellow graduates, I wish you all the very best of luck.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1177) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to release on behalf of the United States the condition that certain lands conveyed to the City of Old Town, Maine, be used for a municipal airport, and for other purposes.

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 today in support of H.R. 1177, Removing Outdated Restrictions to Allow for Job Growth Act.

In the early 1980s, the city of Old Town, Maine, purchased land from the Federal Government to be part of the Old Town airport. The deed included a use restriction, as required by a 1941 amendment to the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937, limiting use of the land to a municipal airport or other public use.

Old Town has invested heavily in this land in order to attract businesses, but the outdated deed restriction needs to be lifted before further economic development can occur.

H.R. 1177 provides for the removal of the deed restriction on the parcel of land around the Old Town airport to allow for business development. The bill allows the City of Old Town to send a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture detailing which lands it would like released from the deed restriction and directs the Secretary to release that land to the city of Old Town.

Passage of this commonsense provision will allow economic development in Old Town to move forward, creating as many as 200 much-needed jobs. This legislation will provide certainty to private investors in the community and help the local economy thrive.

I would like to thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin) for addressing this issue, and our chairman on the

House Agriculture Committee, Chairman Conaway, for moving this bill forward.

This is a good government bill that eliminates red tape to unleash private investment. At a time when rural America is struggling--it is people like Representative Poliquin and all of us--we must do all we can to encourage growth and development in rural communities, many that we all serve, but also the one that Representative Poliquin serves in Old Town, Maine. I urge all of my colleagues to support this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for supporting this legislation.

I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Poliquin), who actually was the one who brought this bill to the attention of the House Agriculture Committee and to the floor here today. It is his hard work, and there are not many in this institution who work harder than Representative Poliquin in addressing the needs of rural America.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support passage of this commonsense legislation, H.R. 1177.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2154) to rename the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, as the Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center, 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.

I rise today in support of H.R. 2154, to rename the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, as the Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center. And this, Mr. Speaker, is in spite of the fact that it is located at North Dakota State University, which, in January of 2015, beat my Illinois State Red Birds for the FCS football championship and caused me to have to bring cupcakes from Normal, Illinois, to pay a bet with my colleague who is the author of this bill, Congressman Kevin Cramer. So I still support this bill in spite of those actions because it is a good bill, Mr. Speaker.

Ed Schafer served as North Dakota's Governor from 1992 to 2000, and as our Nation's Secretary of Agriculture from 2008 to 2009. Renaming the Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center in Fargo, North Dakota, to honor Secretary Schafer is a fitting tribute to his distinguished career in public service.

Located in Secretary Schafer's home State and at one of the Nation's premier land grant universities, this research center continues to advance its vital work on improving crops to strengthen our Nation's food security. I greatly appreciate the work--in spite

of the cupcakes--that Congressman Kevin Cramer has put forth on this bill, his leadership, and I urge my colleagues to join me today in supporting this legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, again, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Peterson) for supporting this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer), the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I agree with my colleagues from Minnesota and North Dakota. I urge all Members to support this bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a man who has dedicated his life to protecting and educating the public. James Hicks will be retiring this May from the Pana Fire Department after 45 years of service.

During his career with the fire department, James pioneered an Explorer Post, which he led for 34 years. This program allows youth and young adults become involved with and learn more about firefighting and fire responder careers. Under James' leadership, many of the explorers were inspired to protect their communities and become firefighters.

Hicks has also worked to keep the area schools informed on fire prevention techniques and spent many hours volunteering with the Pana Ambulance Service as an Emergency Medical Technician.

I am honored to recognize Mr. Hicks and wish him all the best in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of our Nation's heroes.

On April 27, Army Ranger Sergeant Joshua P. Rodgers of Bloomington, Illinois, was killed in action serving his third tour in Afghanistan.

At age 22, Sergeant Rodgers had already earned the prestigious Ranger Tab, Parachutist Badge, Marksmanship Qualification Badge Expert-Rifle, and many others.

Sergeant Rodgers leaves behind his parents, Kevin and Vonda; sisters, Emily and Hannah; brother, Ashton; and countless others whose lives have been forever changed by him.

I never had the honor of meeting Sergeant Rodgers, but those who knew him best remember him as a warrior, tenacious, humble, determined, a true inspiration to everyone who knew him.

We are forever grateful to Sergeant Rodgers and the men and women who put country above all else, a debt which we can never repay. It is because of Sergeant Rodgers and many like him that we live in the land of the free. It truly is because of the brave.

On Saturday, Sergeant Rodgers will be laid to rest as his family and friends gather to celebrate his life, a life filled with patriotism, honor, and service. This House and his country will never forget Sergeant Rodgers' sacrifice.

May God bless his family and the brothers and sisters he served alongside.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Barletta and Ranking Member Johnson. I also look over this House floor and thank my colleague, Mrs. Bustos, from Illinois, for joining me in this effort because, if you travel to my district or Mrs. Bustos' district in central and, in my case, southern Illinois and you ask my constituents about their opinion of FEMA's disaster declaration process, they are going to tell you that it is broken.

You don't have to look any further than the State of Illinois to see how FEMA's public assistance formula is failing hardworking families across this country because it simply does not put all communities on a level playing field.

In 2012, tornadoes devastated Harrisburg in southern Illinois, but the State was denied public assistance while Missouri and Kentucky received aid due to the damage inflicted by the exact same storm. Just a few short years ago, the towns of Gifford and Washington in central Illinois were denied public assistance as well, despite those communities suffering millions in damage. And just last year, Illinois was once again denied public assistance following extensive damage done in late December 2015 and early January 2016 caused by severe storms and flooding in the central and southern parts of our State.

Under existing regulations, FEMA currently takes into account several factors when determining the need for public and individual assistance. However, there is currently no standard to determine which factor is more important than another during the disaster declaration process. This leads to highly subjective and uncertain processes that leave States and communities in limbo for weeks as their application is considered.

By working with the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last year during the markup of the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act, we were successful in including important language based on legislation I introduced that requires the administrator of FEMA, when making recommendations to the President regarding a disaster declaration, to ``give greater weight and consideration to severe local impact.'' This bill ultimately passed out of the House under suspension last Congress, but, unfortunately, the bill died in the Senate.

This Congress, I have introduced this language again, along with my friend and colleague from Illinois (Mrs. Bustos), as the Disaster Declaration Improvement Act.

Passing this bill will have a real impact on States like Illinois, where a large portion of the population is concentrated in a small northeastern corner of our State. Because of the population density in the northern part of my State, rural parts, where I live and where I represent, are having to meet an arbitrarily high standard in order to qualify for a disaster declaration. Enacting this language is going to help level the playing field and help ensure rural areas are given a fair chance when disaster happens and help is needed.

During our March markup of this bill, we also added important language that strengthens the bill by way of an amendment offered by my friend, the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves). This language also requires FEMA to place more consideration on recent multiple disasters, to take into account the cumulative impact such events can have. So I want to thank Chairman Graves for working with my office on including this language and for being a cosponsor of my bill.

I also want to express my personal gratitude to Chairman Shuster and Ranking Member DeFazio for working with us during the last Congress and this Congress, and for moving this bill so early. Again, I want to especially thank Chairman Barletta for being a cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, central and southern Illinois just experienced another flooding event this past weekend. And while it is not yet clear what the damage is, it is clear that Congress must act to

ensure that folks get a fair shake if it is determined that Federal assistance is needed.

I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 242.