Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I thank the ranking member for the opportunity to speak.

Madam Speaker, you don't need to identify as a Republican or a Democrat to want free and fair elections. Frankly, ask any American and I am pretty sure they will agree that the cornerstone to any legitimate democracy is the ability to freely choose their leaders.

I am also pretty sure that they will agree that money has a way of corrupting just about anything--including elections; which is why I shake my head at the language in this bill that provides a 6-to-1 match for donations up to $200. Last Congress, they tried to do it with taxpayer money. That didn't go over so well, so now they try again; this time, with some crazy shell game to accomplish the same result.

I also believe that most Americans will agree that the right to vote is among the most precious we have. It is more important than getting on an airline. It is more important than buying an adult beverage. It is more important than cashing a paycheck at your local bank.

Why we would weaken our ability to prove certain the identities of people voting in our elections is a mystery to me.

Trying to convince us that H.R. 1 is for the people is like saying, You are with the Federal Government and you are here to help us.

No, thank you.

Madam Speaker, I think a little honesty is in order tonight. It is no secret that this so-called American Rescue Plan Act has little to do with the hardships placed on Americans by COVID.

When 90 percent of a spending plan, rammed through on a sham of a budget resolution, gets spent years down the road, with much of it having little to do with the coronavirus, we should at least be honest with our constituents. It is apparently Christmas again.

Here is an example. What does the multiemployer pension issue have to do with the pandemic? Remember the failed joint select committee that was supposed to solve that problem back in 2018? That was long before COVID. But here we are, about to spend $85-plus billion on this bailout. That is double the amount of money we give to the National Institutes of Health. Look, before we ask future generations to float us another $2 trillion to pay off these liberal promises, let's at least have the integrity to admit that this really isn't about COVID.

Madam Speaker, I thank my friend from Oklahoma for leading in this discussion.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of the question on consideration. We should be taking up the Senate-passed bill. It has already been mentioned that it passed 84-8.

We don't have a CBO score for the changes made by the House amendments to the bill, and without a CBO score, we don't know the cost this bill would have on State and local governments.

Yesterday, in a budget hearing on matters of immigration, we heard testimony from the mayor of Yuma, Arizona, which clearly demonstrates the economic impacts and costs that States and local governments are incurring due to the crisis at the border.

My friends just said changes made by the House on this Senate-passed bill take tens of millions of dollars away from the Department of Defense for reimbursement and limit the ability of Customs and Border Patrol to adequately pay for the services incurred as a result of this ongoing crisis.

Madam Speaker, Democrats have had many opportunities to advance bipartisan solutions that would provide the kind of relief to these communities and begin to address the crisis at the border, and for nearly 2 months, they have refused to act.

This week has been an unfortunate loss of precious time. This is a situation where Congress clearly needs to come together and act swiftly. I am sorry to say, we are falling short in this basic obligation of the duties of the Congress of the United States of America.

Madam Speaker, again, I rise in support of the question that we have under consideration.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my friend, French Hill from Little Rock, for leading on this very important issue, and I rise in strong support of his amendment.

I am a proud cosponsor of this important amendment that restores funding for the Regional Innovation Cluster program within the Small Business Administration. The Regional Innovation Cluster program provides region- and industry-specific technical assistance to startup businesses. This program focuses on helping startups scale up to meet the growing needs of their customers.

While there are success stories from across the country, one is near and dear to my heart. The Ozarks Regional Innovation Cluster is based in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in my district. Last year alone, the Ozarks Regional Innovation Cluster serviced 572 small business owners. It created 517 net jobs, raised $81.5 million in capital and received eight new patents for their work.

Nationwide, businesses participating in the Regional Innovation Cluster program have seen tremendous growth both in jobs created and in revenue.

As we know, startups and small businesses account for about two- thirds of all new jobs and the growth that comes with these new jobs. Let's support

them today by restoring funding for this important program.

Mr. Chair, I urge adoption of the amendment of my friend from Arkansas.

Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

I am in its present form.

Mr. Speaker, here we are, in the people's House, charged with the responsibility of taking taxpayers' money and making sure that it is spent properly, with proper oversight. And yet, we are about to vote on a bill that is set to top-line numbers; that has not been subject to debate in this Chamber.

Let's revisit how we got here. Our friends on the other side of the aisle said they were going to do a budget, and they didn't do a budget. They couldn't produce the votes.

So then, they decided, Mr. Speaker, that they were going to do a caps agreement, and they proposed a caps agreement; and only because of a self-executing rule did they deem the numbers to which the appropriators should write the bills. No debate, none at all; just pull the numbers out of the air, put them in a self-executing rule, and that is what we will write to.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is going nowhere. It is a waste of time for the House of Representatives to have been spending on a bill that is absolutely going nowhere.

My motion sends this bill back to the committee where, hopefully, we can come to some form of agreement on a caps number.

Now, we have got a lot to worry about. At the end of this year, if we don't have an agreement, we are going to trigger a sequester that nobody wants. It could be devastating to our country.

But, instead of spending our time, Mr. Speaker, on working out an agreement among ourselves that the people expect us to do--it is our job--here we are, spending our time on late-night votes on amendments, and then, finally, to move a bill across the floor of the House that is going nowhere. We are all frustrated by it.

Last year, Mr. Speaker, I spent the better part of a year, with a number of my colleagues on this side and that side, and some from the Senate, on a process reform package, and we got close to the finish line. We didn't make all the changes that everybody wanted. We didn't have the votes for that.

And remember, the threshold for passage was five Republicans and five Democrats out of 16 people. That is a pretty high threshold in this Chamber, and we got our five Republicans to agree.

I have got to commend guys like John Yarmuth and Derek Kilmer on the other side because they were yeahs, because they recognized how important changing this process was to this institution.

But four Democrats voted present; present, on a package that would fundamentally change, for the better, the budget and appropriations process that we use in the House of Representatives, in the people's House.

The people deserve better, Mr. Speaker, so it is my intent to refer this bill back to committee.

Now, it doesn't stop there with just top-line numbers. Besides the failure to write a budget; to have a debate on a caps deal; to put forth workable legislation, Democrats have also neglected the humanitarian and security crisis at our border.

Today marks 50 days since the administration request came for supplemental funds on our border. You can't deny the issues down there: 144,000 apprehensions on our southwest border last month; 4,500 people a day that we are apprehending.

We have tried 17 times to bring up legislation to address the humanitarian crisis on our border, and 17 times we have been denied; food and shelter for migrant families and unaccompanied children; funding urgent medical care and transportation; paying the growing overtime costs for DHS men and women on the front lines.

So, Mr. Speaker, my point is pretty simple. It is not cute. It is not a gotcha moment. It is not an underlying policy issue that is hard to explain. It is simply this: Let's send this bill back to the appropriators. Let's work collectively to get a caps deal so that we can save our country from us.

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

Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

I claim the time in opposition to the gentlewoman's amendment, Madam Chair.

Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentlewoman's amendment, and count me as one who stands in support of the Trump administration's proposals for short-term, limited duration health plans and association health insurance plans.

With all due respect to my friend on the other side of the aisle, this has everything to do with giving our citizens options. These plans serve as an affordable alternative to ObamaCare health insurance plans, particularly for individuals and families not eligible for ObamaCare tax subsidies.

I have heard from countless small businesses in my district that say they

can't afford health insurance for their employees. These alternative plans, Madam Chair, can and often do have lower premiums and deductibles and provide access to the same healthcare providers as some of the ObamaCare plans.

I believe that this amendment needs to be defeated, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I will finish by saying that all through this healthcare debate that we have had over the last 10 years--and I have been here 8\1/2\ years of that--it has all been about access to healthcare. This gentlewoman's amendment, Madam Chair, limits access to healthcare.

Either they want more access to healthcare or they don't. I think if my colleagues pass this amendment, Madam Chair, they are limiting access to healthcare. It is for that reason that I believe we should defeat the amendment.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H. Res. 415, a rule providing for House consideration of H.R. 6, the American Dream and Promise Act of 2019.

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), H.R. 6 increases the deficit by at least $30 billion over ten years. CBO indicates that this is additional mandatory spending. Under current projections, mandatory spending is set to increase from 69 percent to 78 percent of the federal budget over the next decade. Adding to this already unsustainable projected growth, mandatory spending threatens to crowd out necessary spending on defense, homeland security, veterans, infrastructure, public health, education, and other discretionary priorities. Absent the waiver made by this rule, H.R. 6 would be vulnerable to a PAYGO point of order.

The rule providing for consideration of H.R. 6 waives all points of order against the bill, including clause 10 of rule XXI, the House PAYGO, or ``Pay-As-You-Go,'' rule, which requires any legislation increasing the deficit to be offset with spending cuts or tax increases.

Unsurprisingly, this rule was met with strong objections at the start of the 116th Congress by many progressive lawmakers who viewed PAYGO as an impediment to costly proposals such as the ``Green New Deal'' and ``Medicare-for-All,'' which is projected to cost at least $32 trillion on top of what the federal government is already spending. After much debate, the PAYGO rule was adopted by the new House majority on January 3, the first day of the 116th Congress. Immediately after this new House rule was adopted, a number of stories circulated in the press indicating that my colleagues in the Democratic Leadership intended to waive the PAYGO rule any time they needed to. In a sign of more division on that side of the aisle, Democrats introduced bills to repeal the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, even though they had just voted for PAYGO in the House rules package.

From a budget enforcement perspective, it's clear Democrats continue to circumvent their own rules. l hope this waiver does not continue the practice that the House PAYGO rule will be waived by the House Rules Committee whenever a bill is non-compliant, feels inconvenient, or stands in the way of advancing their costly agenda.

I oppose the rule for H.R. 6, since it enables a fiscally irresponsible bill to move forward without following House rules. Budget enforcement should be an important priority of the House Budget Committee. I hope the House will limit the extent to which future legislation increases already unsustainable budget deficits.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor one of Arkansas' most successful football coaches, Tommy Tice of Huntsville, Arkansas, who retires this month after 42 years in coaching and athletic administration.

Coach Tice coached more football games as a head coach than anyone in Arkansas history: 454 games. He had a combined record of 288 wins, 160 losses, and 6 ties, an overall winning percentage of 63 percent.

He was selected head coach of the Arkansas All-Star football game six times. He had a State championship, 13 conference titles, and 19 playoff appearances.

An Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2016, Coach Tice has been a teacher and mentor to dozens of coaches throughout the State of Arkansas.

He is one of my best friends, and I can't think of anyone more impactful on student-athletes than Coach Tommy Tice. I congratulate him on a remarkable career, and I wish him well in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, this Sunday, the Reverend Dr. Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas, will deliver his final sermon in a joint service of the many campuses at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Dr. Floyd has served as senior pastor at Cross Church for almost 33 years. He has presided over an unprecedented expansion of the church over four campuses in Arkansas and Missouri, with a combined membership of nearly 28,000.

Under his vision and leadership, just under 23,000 have come to know Christ as their personal savior, and Cross Church has an enviable reputation of bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Nation and the world.

Average weekly attendance has grown from 1,800 people in 1986 to nearly 10,000 today.

Dr. Floyd will become the president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's executive committee on May 20 in Nashville, Tennessee.

I speak for the entire congregation of Cross Church in wishing Dr. Floyd and his wife, Jeana, the Lord's blessings during this transition to a new and exciting ministry and thank him for 33 terrific years at Cross Church.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of the late Joe Steele, the founder of Steele Canning Company in Arkansas.

Joe grew up in northwest Arkansas and eventually enrolled at the University of Arkansas. To cover his tuition, he began canning tomatoes. This side job quickly turned into the Steele Canning Company.

The business continued to grow and relocated to Springdale. There Joe made history by shipping the first trainload of canned food in the United States and introducing Popeye brand spinach. During World War II, 70 percent of Steele's products were sent to our brave troops. One soldier even commented on the beans, saying that the

reason they are so good is because they were canned in Arkansas.

His legacy also includes the creation of the Beaver Water District, which is the primary source of water for northwest Arkansas.

For these contributions, he was posthumously inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. I congratulate his family on this great honor.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and legacy of Arkansas businessman and Tyson Foods founder, the late John William Tyson.

John spent his life building Tyson Foods into one of the world's leading food companies and was equally committed to serving northwest Arkansas.

In 1931, John Tyson moved his family to Springdale with only a nickel in his pocket. There, he laid the foundation for a future Fortune 100 company.

John transformed the poultry industry. He developed a novel in- transit feeding system, hatched chickens, and produced commercial feed himself. With each new venture, John diversified and grew his business.

In 1947, Tyson Feed and Hatchery was incorporated. Over time, the business expanded to become the successful company that we know today.

He exemplified the entrepreneurial spirit of our State, and it is for his contributions to the Arkansas economy that he is being posthumously enshrined in the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame.

I congratulate his family for this terrific honor.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the retirement of a pillar of my community, an exemplary businessman, dedicated public servant, dear friend, and an all-around great American, Dick Trammel of Rogers, Arkansas.

Most know him as Mr. Northwest Arkansas. No one I know of has loved, served, and promoted northwest Arkansas more than Dick Trammel.

A native of Pocahontas, Arkansas, Dick was recruited to the northwest part of our State by Walmart founder, Sam Walton. Since moving to the area in 1975, he has been the area's most avid cheerleader. Cheerleading came natural for Dick, who was a University of Arkansas cheerleader back in the 1950s.

Nothing of importance in our area has happened in the last 40-plus years that doesn't have Dick Trammel's fingerprints on it. He was the only man to lead the Arkansas State Highway Commission for 4 years. He has been a mainstay in Rotary International, higher education, programs serving our youth, Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas, and dozens of other charitable causes.

Dickey Ray, congratulations on a terrific career and a life of serving your fellow man.

Madam Speaker, federal employees should not be harmed by Congress's inability to do its work and fund

the government. And while I supported S. 24 for this reason, I have serious concerns about the legislation's funding structure.

Though federal employees are generally paid through discretionary accounts, as written and passed, the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act of 2019 does not require salaries for furloughed and excepted staff to be funded with annual appropriations during a shutdown. This opens the door for the creation of new entitlement spending. I do not believe this was the legislation's intent, and in the future, I will work with my colleagues to provide for these salaries through their appropriate discretionary accounts.

I have consistently expressed concerns about the growth of autopilot mandatory spending and its impact on our nation's debts and deficits. Rather than perpetuating this problem, we should resolve ourselves to fixing the budget and appropriations process to ensure that Congress fulfills its duty and government shutdowns and pay for federal employees are taken off the table.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage all of us to stay committed to reforming the Federal budget and appropriations process.

Here we are, operating under a continuing resolution and scrambling to adopt another, our third of fiscal year 2019 alone. Despite good work being done to fund 5 of the 12 annual appropriations bills, after 2\1/2\ months and two continuing resolutions, our work remains unfinished.

Mr. Speaker, the power of the purse is the most important constitutional responsibility granted to Congress, yet we have regularly and repeatedly ceded our duty to fulfill this essential role. It is unacceptable, and it is clear that the Federal budget and appropriations process is broken. The American people deserve better.

As you know, the Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform laid the groundwork for bipartisan, bicameral reform this past year. Our proposal began taking steps in the right direction to improve the process. While our efforts were unsuccessful, where we stand today highlights just how desperately our work was needed. It, Mr. Speaker, is now more necessary than ever.

I will continue to champion budget process reform and the ideas put forth by the joint select committee next year. Today, I sent a Dear Colleague letter outlining our year of work, which I include in the Record.

I encourage all Members to review it and join me in this essential effort. We owe the American people this process. Let's fix this.

Dear Colleague: In the Second Session of the 115th

Congress, I was honored to Co-Chair the Joint Select

Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform. As

members of the U.S. House of Representatives, Article I

entrusts in each of us the power of the purse. This is an

awesome responsibility that I, and I know each of you, take

very seriously. We owe it to the American people to have a

process that works, and that was the goal of the Joint Select

Committee--to produce recommendations to reform the federal

budget and appropriations process.

As you know, our Joint Select Committee produced a

bipartisan, bicameral consensus package of reforms in advance

of our statutory deadline of November 30, 2018. During our

markup, amendments were subjected to a supermajority

threshold to ensure those that passed reflected a true

consensus of the panel. Some amendments passed unanimously.

During the final debate on the bill, many members indicated

that they had no objection to the package's underlying

reforms. However, the bill and report developed over many

months of hard work failed to secure the necessary

supermajority of votes to pass under our Joint Select

Committee's rules.

Despite the unfortunate outcome of the Joint Select

Committee's work, there is no refuting that the federal

budget process is broken. It is vital that Congress continues

these efforts to reform the budget and appropriations process

this year, next year, and in the years beyond. I have

assembled in this Budget Committee print all the relevant

materials to this year's work. I urge all Members to review

this information. In this Committee print, you will find:

The report of the Joint Select Committee on Budget and

Appropriations Process Reform;

The Co-chair's mark, as amended, and voted on, by the Joint

Select Committee;

The votes of the Joint Select Committee;

Hearing transcripts of the Joint Select Committee's five

public hearings; Congressional Budget Office briefing

materials prepared for the Joint Select Committee;

Congressional Research Service briefing materials prepared

for the Joint Select Committee;

H.R. 7191--a bill introduced in the House by myself and

Representative Yarmuth, a Joint Select Committee Member and

Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee; and

The press release to accompany the introduction of H.R.

7191.

It is my sincere hope that this important work will

continue in the 116th Congress on a bipartisan and bicameral

basis. I believe Members of Congress, Executive Branch

officials, outside budget experts and academics, as well as

engaged citizens, will find this material useful for future

reform efforts.

I would like to thank the Members of the Joint Select

Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform, our

hardworking staffs, particularly Dan Keniry, David Reich, and

Mary Popadiuk, as well as the House Rules Committee staff,

Bob Weinhagen and Tom Cassidy in the Office of Legislative

Counsel, budget experts at the Congressional Research Service

and the Congressional Budget Office--particularly Mark Hadley

and Teri Gullo--and House Parliamentarian Tom Wickham and his

office, for the year of dedication.

If you have any questions or would like additional

information, please contact Dan Keniry, Staff Director of the

House Budget

Committee or Mary Popadiuk, General Counsel of the House

Budget Committee.

Steve Womack,

Chairman, Committee on the Budget.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet on Monday, July 16, 2018, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.