Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, this afternoon the House will consider joint Judiciary and Energy and Commerce Committee legislation, H.R. 5728, the STELA Reauthorization Act of 2014, to ensure that all of our constituents continue to have access to network channels on America's two satellite carriers.

Title II of the legislation extends the expiring section 119 copyright license for another 5 years, as this committee has done on previous occasions, most recently in 2010. This license ensures that when our constituents do not have access to a full complement of local network television stations, they can have access through satellite television carriers to distant network television stations. This helps ensure that consumers in rural areas, like mine in Pennsylvania's 10th Congressional District, have the same access to news and entertainment options that consumers in urban areas enjoy.

Without enactment of this legislation, many of our constituents would potentially lose access to certain networks altogether on December 31, when the current license expires.

I would like to point out that although numerous stakeholders interested in video issues have contacted the committee on a variety of issues, they all agree that this license should not expire at the end of this year. Other issues of interest in this area will be the subject of further discussion as my committee continues its ongoing review of our Nation's copyright laws.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bipartisan, pro- consumer legislation.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2 is a practical bill that would lower costs for energy, create over 1 million long-term jobs, improve our energy security, and substantially reduce redtape.

This is exactly the type of bipartisan legislation Congress should be passing to revitalize our economy and create jobs.

According to an April 2014 report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the average wait time for an environmental impact study in 2012 was running 4.6 years. This is the highest average since 1997 and includes projects with wait times of 10 to 20 years.

The World Bank and International Finance Corporation's recent Ease of Doing Business index embarrassingly ranked the U.S. 34th in the world in the category of ``dealing with construction permits.''

This is no longer a political game. This is costing the United States real dollars and good-paying jobs.

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency and other regulatory bodies are filing numerous claims to deny and delay companies from receiving permits for as long as 10 to 15 years just to break ground.

At a time when our economy is lagging and job creation is moving at a very slow pace, this is an outrage. The RAPID Act would set hard deadlines for agencies to approve or deny permits. The RAPID Act would also crack down on prolonged lawsuits, creating a window of 180 days for any claim challenging a permit decision.

This bill would also substantially streamline the process by empowering lead agencies to manage environmental reviews efficiently from start to finish to avoid waste and duplication of efforts among the bureaucratic agencies.

Mr. Speaker, simply because the leader of the Democratic Senate, Harry Reid, will not allow over 260 bills to go to the floor doesn't mean that we should refrain from continuing to do our job here. My constituents back home deserve this legislation and America needs this legislation, and we will continue to fight on a daily basis to make sure that we improve the economy and create jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I sat here quietly listening to the argument from my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and I find it absolutely amazing that they say because the President would not sign this bill and because the Senate would not pass this bill--they are right, the Senate wouldn't pass it. There are hundreds of bills on Harry Reid's desk that he will not bring to the floor for a vote, and certainly the President would not encourage that to be done.

But we are doing our job here in the House. We have put a lot of time and effort in this. We looked at this law and realized what had to be done. I come from a law-and-order background, and we don't have law and order. We have distrust, we have gangs coming across, we have drugs coming across the southern border, and my colleagues on the other side don't want to do anything about it.

Something that I find quite interesting about the other side, under the leadership of the former Speaker and under the leadership of their former leader, in 2009 and 2010, they had the House, the Senate, and the White House, and they knew this problem existed. They didn't have the strength to go after it back then, but now we are trying to make a political issue out of it now.

What we need to do is pass this legislation, make sure that these children get back to their families, and we need to line up and protect this border from people coming across.

Yes, it is true. I did the research on it. You might want to try it. You might want to try it, Madam Leader. Do the research on it. Do the research. I did it. That is one thing that you don't do.

It works both ways, Mr. Speaker.

With that, I urge my colleagues to vote for this legislation because, apparently, I hit the right nerve.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of Little League Baseball.

Little League was founded by Carl Stotz in my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1938. Little League's success is because of the dedication of the volunteers, coaches, organizers, and especially youth that participate in this organization around the world.

For the past 75 years, Little League timelessly worked to grow the support of baseball and participation of youth in physical activity. Since its inception, over 35 million kids have participated in Little League baseball, with currently 2.4 million children playing in more than 80 countries around the world in over 7,000 programs.

This year, some of these 11- and 12-year-old boys and girls will join in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to celebrate their accomplishments as they play in the 68th Little League World Series.

I am honored to offer my congratulations to Little League Baseball.

I commend the League for continuing to promote the ideals of fair play, sportsmanship, and teamwork; providing a solid foundation of skills and ethics that will assist these children for the rest of their lives.

I am honored to offer my congratulations to all the participants, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, and organizers of Little League and Honor their dedication to the sport of baseball and the improvement of youth around the world.

Mr. Speaker, in early 2013, a pharmacist told me about problems he was having accessing necessary prescriptions for his customers, many of whom were older cancer patients suffering with chronic pain.

What started out as a simple conversation with a constituent soon turned into serious concerns about problems in the prescription drug supply chain, problems that we aim to address here today by passing H.R. 4709, the Ensuring Patient Access and Effective Drug Enforcement Act.

Any legitimate business involved in distributing or dispensing prescriptions welcomes appropriate oversight and regulation. Further, we know these businesses value a collaborative working relationship with agencies like the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies alike are on the front lines every day in the fight to end the prescription drug abuse epidemic. They are making efforts to educate prescribers and patients about the safe use and disposal of prescriptions and working to implement prescription drug monitoring programs that will reduce the illegal diversion of powerful opioid pain relievers.

Despite a strong commitment to being part of the solution, distributors and pharmacists are finding that the unnecessary adversarial regulatory environment created by the DEA is putting effective enforcement outcomes in jeopardy.

As a former district attorney and United States attorney, I have fond memories of working with DEA agents to put away drug dealers. To say that I have the highest regard for the DEA and the work they do does not even begin to convey my respect for the agency and its front-line employees.

I actually went with agents and busted down drug houses. They were watching my back. I trusted them then, and I trust them now. That is why I am so passionate about this subject and why I think it is necessary to pass H.R. 4709 today.

This bill will bring much-needed clarity to critical provisions of the Controlled Substances Act. In doing so, we will ensure that the DEA's authorities are not abused and threatened by future legal challenges; foster greater collaboration, communication, and transparency between the DEA and supply chain; create more opportunities to identify bad actors at the end of the supply chain; and, most importantly, be certain that prescriptions are accessible to patients in need.

We are all in this together. We cannot enforce our way out of this epidemic. Education, treatment, and enforcement are all critical to addressing the problem, but so is collaboration.

The clarity that H.R. 4709 brings will ensure that the current regulatory culture evolves into one that rewards cooperation and brings more successful diversion control efforts in the future.

I want to thank my friend, Congresswoman Blackburn, for working closely with my team and me to develop the bill. I want to thank our champions on the other side of the aisle, Dr. Judy Chu and Representative Peter Welch, for their leadership and efforts to bring us here today.

We could not have achieved this without the efforts of Chairman Pitts and Chairman Upton and their staff on the Energy and Commerce Committee. I also must thank House Judiciary Committee Chairman Goodlatte for his forthright suggestions that made this a more effective measure worthy of consideration by this House.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 406, I was unable to get back in time to vote because my daughter was very ill. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 405, I was unable to get back in time to vote due to my daughter being very ill.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5081.

It is an absolute outrage that between 100,000 and 300,000 American youth are currently at risk for becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking right here in the United States.

Although we know there are many factors that make youth particularly vulnerable to traffickers and exploiters, such as age range, history of abuse, living in an impoverished community, and many others, the most astounding indicator a child will be trafficked is whether or not he or she is in foster care--in the foster care system at all.

In 2013, 60 percent of the child sex trafficking victims recovered as part of an FBI nationwide raid from over 70 cities were children from foster care or group homes. Make no mistake about it. Our foster care system provides an essential service to our communities and our children. In fact, my wife and I have housed children from this system. However, we are simply not doing enough to protect these children from being preyed upon.

This is why I have worked with my colleague, Congresswoman Karen Bass, to introduce H.R. 5081, the Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act of 2014. This bill would make much-needed reforms to the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act to ensure States increase their child protection service plans and that we increase the data being reported to Congress.

To enact good law in Congress, we simply need as many facts at our fingertips as possible. Sadly, criminals in the child trafficking industry have become adept at lurking in the shadows and evading law enforcement, leaving us with very poor records and data on the activity.

This is why Congresswoman Bass and I are calling on States to work with us to strengthen our records and data logs so that we can more effectively craft laws to stop these criminals moving forward.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important bipartisan bill, because when it comes to those who are the most innocent among us, they deserve as much protection as possible.

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

I thank the chair and the ranking member for their hard work and dedication during the appropriations process, and I look forward to working with them on a number of important issues surrounding the treatment of taxpayers by the IRS.

Mr. Chairman, I will be withdrawing this amendment at the conclusion of my allotted time. However, I wish to make a point.

I agree with the steps the committee has taken within this legislation, but feel more must be done to ensure equal treatment for all taxpayers. My amendment would prohibit the IRS from pursuing claims against taxpayers for underpayment where the issue is lost records, except in the case of fraud.

According to its own publications, the IRS recommends that taxpayers keep records up to 7 years--and more in some cases--to respond to potential audits. This is often necessary for individuals and corporations to retain records for years and potentially longer for businesses depending upon the circumstances and types of records.

The loss of records can have significant repercussions for the taxpayer and can result in penalty fees and payments of back taxes with interest. Should these taxpayers be audited, the burden is on them-- yes, the burden is on them--to produce proper records, not the IRS. While these regulations make sense, as we do not want taxpayers improperly withholding taxes they properly owe under the current tax system, it is unfortunate that the one agency promulgating the regulations does not follow these strict standards.

We now know the IRS, through its employee Ms. Lois Lerner, Director of Exempt Organizations, unfairly targeted and scrutinized conservative groups in their applications for tax-exempt status. Under the IRS' rules, Ms. Lerner was required to retain her records discussing policy decisions and discussions in paper form, including those related to the decision to probe conservative organizations. However, Ms. Lerner refused to follow protocol, and to make matters worse, her email copies were lost due to a so-called computer crash.

Given Ms. Lerner's blatant disregard to keep records properly in accordance with IRS rules, it is patently unfair to require taxpayers to follow such burdensome standards. In addition, the IRS Commissioner testified on the topic of Ms. Lerner's emails multiple times before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, suggesting that there would be no issue in producing the emails. However, the Commissioner knew there was an issue with Ms. Lerner's computer in February and that the emails were certainly lost in March. Despite this knowledge, he failed to notify Congress until June.

This is outrageous. While the IRS is trying to evade explaining the loss of records, we should prohibit the IRS from mercilessly pursuing taxpayers for the exact same fault.

With that, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), my colleague and the chairman of the subcommittee.

I do. I am going to do that in my closing, sir.

I thank the chairman for his support of the principle of my amendment. While I recognize this would be legislative language in an appropriations bill, I welcome the opportunity to work with the chair and my other colleagues to properly investigate this situation and ensure that similar situations of government abuse do not arise in the future.

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

Offered By: Mr. Marino

Amendment No. 14: At the end of the bill (before the short

title), insert the following:

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 339, I was unable to get to D.C. to make votes due to a personal conflict, a friend's funeral.

Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 340, had I been present, I would have voted ``yea.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Richard ``Dick'' Welteroth from my hometown of Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Richard Welteroth lived a very accomplished life. He served as a pilot in the Civil Air Patrol for 30 years where he earned the rank of major. He was highly regarded in the community due to his public service which included being an Eagle Boy Scout Troop Leader of Troop 35 at St. Boniface, coaching Sunday school basketball, and helping to hone the talents of prospective baseball pitchers.

Mr. Welteroth is best known for his career as pitcher for the Washington Senators in the late 1940's and early 1950's, where he played against baseball greats like Ted Williams, Yogi Berra, and Joe Dimaggio. He made his debut to the game at the age of 20. In his first season for the Senators, he played in 33 games. Overall, Welteroth played in 90 games for the Senators, with four starts, allowed only 185 hits, 145 walks and 55 strikeouts.

Mr. Welteroth was admired by everyone in my hometown. When he finished his career in baseball, he returned to Williamsport, PA, and worked as a roofer, while continuing to coach baseball to the area kids. He always taught one the value of hard work and good sportsmanship, while never raising his voice in the process. He possessed a knack that developed young players into high caliber athletes who went on to compete at higher levels. He knew what made a great baseball player.

I will never forget all of the lessons that Coach Welteroth taught me as he was helping me to perfect my fastball. He worked countless hours with me to develop my delivery and turned me into, not only the best baseball player I could be, but the best person I could be.

Dick Welteroth will be dearly missed.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to support this legislation.

I was a U.S. Attorney for several years.

My staff and I prosecuted a prostitution ring.

There were several defendants.

All the defendants were convicted.

The convictions were affirmed on appeal.

Women and girls from in their twenties down to their teens, low teens, were kidnapped, tortured mentally and physically, and raped, repeatedly.

A wire tap revealed that the defendants were on the phone complaining that their hands hurt so much from beating the victims to get them to do what they did not want to do.

The sentences of the defendants were lengthy.

In fact, one of the ring leaders, who went by the name William ``Sleazy T'' Williams, an appropriate name, received 45 years in prison.

This is the quintessential reason why we must pass this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I rise in support of this bill.

I was U.S. attorney for the middle district of Pennsylvania for several years. My staff and I prosecuted a prostitution ring. There were several defendants, all were convicted. Convictions were affirmed on appeal.

The victims were women and girls from their twenties down to their teens to their low teens. They were kidnapped, tortured, mentally and physically abused, and raped multiple times. Wiretaps revealed that the defendants, the pimps, were on the telephone complaining that their hands hurt so much from beating the girls into doing what the girls did not want to do.

The sentences of the defendants were lengthy. In fact, one of the ringleaders who went by the name of William Sleazy T. Williams--the name is appropriate--received 45 years in prison.

This legislation must be passed.