[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 71 (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D521-D525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 16 public bills, H.R. 5278-
5293; and 8 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 277; and H. Res. 1351-1357 were 
introduced.                                              
  Pages H3440-41
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H3441-42
Reports Filed: There were no reports filed today.

[[Page D522]]

Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein she appointed 
Representative Serrano to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H3313
Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the guest Chaplain, Reverend Dr. 
Timothy Goble, Grace Evangelical Free Church.                
  Page H3313
Suspensions: The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the 
following measures:
  Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010: S. 3333, to 
extend the statutory license for secondary transmissions under title 
17, United States Code;                                  
  Pages H3317-30
  Clarifying the health care provided by the Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs that constitutes minimum essential coverage: H.R. 5014, 
amended, to clarify the health care provided by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs that constitutes minimum essential coverage, by a \2/
3\ yea-and-nay vote of 417 yeas with none voting ``nay'', Roll No. 260;
                                               Pages H3330-33, H3355-56
  Supporting the goals and ideals of National Learn to Fly Day: H. Res. 
1284, amended, to support the goals and ideals of National Learn to Fly 
Day;                                                     
  Pages H3336-38
  Agreed to amend the title so as to read: ``Supporting the goals and 
ideals of International Learn to Fly Day, and for other purposes.''. 
                                                             Page H3338
  Expressing the sense of the Congress that general aviation pilots and 
industry should be recognized for the contributions made in response to 
Haiti earthquake relief efforts: S. Con. Res. 61, to express the sense 
of the Congress that general aviation pilots and industry should be 
recognized for the contributions made in response to Haiti earthquake 
relief efforts;                                          
  Pages H3338-39
  Recognizing National Nurses Week: H. Res. 1261, amended, to recognize 
National Nurses Week;                                    
  Pages H3341-44
  Officer Daniel Faulkner Children of Fallen Heroes Scholarship Act: 
H.R. 959, amended, to increase Federal Pell Grants for the children of 
fallen public safety officers;                           
  Pages H3344-46
  Expressing support for the goals and ideals of Children's Book Week: 
H. Res. 1333, to express support for the goals and ideals of Children's 
Book Week;                                                   
  Page H3347
  Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act: 
S. 1067, to support stabilization and lasting peace in northern Uganda 
and areas affected by the Lord's Resistance Army through development of 
a regional strategy to support multilateral efforts to successfully 
protect civilians and eliminate the threat posed by the Lord's 
Resistance Army and to authorize funds for humanitarian relief and 
reconstruction, reconciliation, and transitional justice; 
                                                         Pages H3409-16
  Recognizing the close friendship and historical ties between the 
United Kingdom and the United States: H. Res. 1303, amended, to 
recognize the close friendship and historical ties between the United 
Kingdom and the United States;                           
  Pages H3416-17
  Agreed to amend the title so as to read: ``Recognizing the special 
relationship and historic ties between the United Kingdom and the 
United States.''.                                            
Page H3417
  Commending the Community of Democracies for its achievements since it 
was founded in 2000: H. Res. 1143, amended, to commend the Community of 
Democracies for its achievements since it was founded in 2000; and 
                                                         Pages H3418-20
  Commending the progress made by anti-tuberculosis programs: H. Res. 
1155, amended, to commend the progress made by anti-tuberculosis 
programs.                                                
  Pages H3420-21
Suspension--Proceedings Resumed: The House agreed to suspend the rules 
and agree to the following measure which was debated on Tuesday, May 
11th:
  Supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's Health Week: H. 
Con. Res. 268, to support the goals and ideals of National Women's 
Health Week, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 418 yeas with none voting 
``nay'', Roll No. 261.                                       
  Page H3356
Suspensions--Proceedings Postponed: The House debated the following 
measures under suspension of the rules. Further proceedings were 
postponed:
  Expressing the sympathy and condolences of the House of 
Representatives to those people affected by the flooding in Tennessee, 
Kentucky, and Mississippi in May, 2010: H. Res. 1337, to express the 
sympathy and condolences of the House of Representatives to those 
people affected by the flooding in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi 
in May, 2010 and                                         
  Pages H3333-36
  Recognizing the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps: H. Res. 
1338, to recognize the significant accomplishments of AmeriCorps and to 
encourage all citizens to join in a national effort to raise awareness 
about the importance of national and community service. 
                                                         Pages H3339-41
America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010: The House began 
consideration of H.R. 5116, to invest in innovation through research 
and development and to improve the competitiveness of the

[[Page D523]]

United States. Consideration is expected to resume tomorrow, May 13th. 
                                            Pages H3347-55, H3356-H3409
  Pursuant to the rule, the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on Science and Technology now printed in 
the bill, modified by the amendment printed in part A of H. Rept. 111-
479, shall be considered as an original bill for the purpose of 
amendment under the 5-minute rule.                           
Page H3364
Agreed to:
  Gordon (TN) en bloc amendment consisting of the following amendments 
printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479: Matsui amendment (No. 3) that 
ensures that Smart Grid technologies are included in the list of 
research, development, demonstration, and commercial application 
activities that may be undertaken by a DOE Energy Innovation Hub; 
Matsui amendment (No. 4) that ensures that the development of new smart 
grid technologies are an important part of the Office of Science's 
research activities as it continues to strengthen its collaborations 
with the rest of DOE to accelerate the advancement of new energy 
technologies; Wu amendment (No. 5) that requires ARPA-E to make awards 
designed to overcome the long-term and high-risk barriers relating to 
its goals and to facilitate submission, where possible by small 
businesses and entrepreneurs, of funding opportunities; McCarthy (NY) 
amendment (No. 11) that ensures that any assessments and studies on 
improving emergency communications build upon conclusions made in 
existing reports on the matter; Clarke amendment (No. 18) that ensures 
that STEM evidence-based education programs increase participation by 
women and underrepresented minority students; Cohen amendment (No. 19) 
that expresses a Sense of Congress encouraging the incorporation of an 
engineering curriculum in K-12 schools; Cuellar amendment (No. 20) that 
directs the Director of the National Science Foundation to conduct 
outreach efforts to encourage applications from underrepresented 
groups; Honda amendment (No. 25) that coordinates federal STEM 
education programs with the work being done by state-level P-16 and P-
20 councils to coordinate, integrate, and improve education throughout 
all grade levels and the common core standards being developed by the 
states by adding facilitating improved coordination between these 
efforts as one of the responsibilities of the Advisory Committee on 
STEM Education created in the bill; Jackson Lee (TX) amendment (No. 27) 
that requires the STEM Industry Internship Program report to include an 
economic and ethnic breakdown of the participating students; Moore (WI) 
amendment (No. 47) that expands the bill proposed climate and 
environmental science research of the Earth's atmosphere and biosphere 
to include the Great Lakes in addition to oceans; and Hare amendment 
(No. 39) that declares that it is the sense of Congress that when more 
than one applicant applies for STEM education programs or activities 
authorized under the COMPETES Act and are considered equal in merit, 
that the grant making authority shall give additional consideration to 
the applicant who has not previously received funding and those 
institutions of higher education in rural areas;         
Pages H3391-93
  Gordon (TN) amendment (No. 7 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that ensures that biomass technology systems and related courses are 
included in the list of fields that would be encompassed by the energy 
systems science and engineering education programs;      
Pages H3393-94
  Gordon (TN) amendment (No. 8 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that ensures that students enrolled in two-year, certificate, 
associate, or baccalaureate programs are eligible for STEM programs. It 
also calls for a report of agency approaches to increase minority 
participation in STEM careers;                           
Pages H3394-96
  Gordon (TN) en bloc amendment No. 2 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479: Loretta Sanchez (CA) 
amendment (No. 14) that includes the membership of elementary school 
and secondary school administrator associations to the President's 
Advisory Committee on STEM Education; Bishop (NY) amendment (No. 15) 
that directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to 
develop, or assist in the development of, reference materials, 
standards, instruments and measurement methods for nanomaterials and 
derived products and also calls on NIST to develop data to support the 
correlation of properties of nanomaterials to any environmental, 
health, or safety risks; Barrow amendment (No. 16) that requires the 
inclusion of manufacturing education and training in the strategic plan 
developed by Federal agencies; Carney amendment (No. 17) that requires 
the National Science Foundation to conduct outreach encouraging rural 
colleges and private sector entities in rural areas to participate in 
the internship grant program; Herseth Sandlin amendment (No. 22) that 
urges NSF to respond to the recommendations of the National Academy of 
Sciences and National Science and Technology Council regarding 
investments in facilities, and to make joint investments with the 
Department of Energy where possible; Childers amendment (No. 35) that 
requires the NIST Director to carry out a disaster resilient buildings 
and infrastructure program; Kissell amendment (No. 42) that requires 
the Secretary to consider the amount of the obligation when determining 
application fees for the

[[Page D524]]

newly established Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing Loan 
Guarantee Program; Klein (FL) amendment (No. 43) that instructs the 
director of the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) 
within NIST to evaluate obstacles unique to small manufacturers that 
prevent them from effectively competing in the global market, and 
design a comprehensive plan to support MEP centers in meeting the needs 
of these small manufacturers; Perriello amendment (No. 49) that 
provides that the President's advisory committee on STEM can provide 
advice to Federal agencies including through the section 301 
interagency committee; Holt amendment (No. 23) that requires the 
Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to 
submit to Congress a national competitiveness and innovation strategy; 
Holt amendment (No. 24) that expresses the Sense of Congress that peer 
review is an important part of ensuring the integrity of scientific 
research and that in developing public access policies, the National 
Science and Technology working group established under this section 
should take into account the role of scientific publishers in the peer 
review process; Minnick amendment (No. 46) that requires the 
President's Advisory Panel on STEM Education to coordinate with state 
and local workforce programs to better meet their needs; Patrick J. 
Murphy (PA) amendment (No. 48) that includes in the list of STEM 
education programs and activities at the Department of Energy a 
competitive grant program for colleges and universities, including 2 
year colleges, to create or expand courses and degree programs in the 
areas of energy systems science and engineering; and Kanjorski 
amendment (No. 9) that permits a Regional Innovation Center to use 
funding for interacting with the general public and state and local 
governments in order to meet the goals of the cluster;   
Pages H3401-03
  Gingrey (GA) amendment (No. 21 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that directs the National Science Foundation to establish the Green 
Chemistry Basic Research and Development program and provide merit-
based grants to support green chemistry applications. Green chemistry 
is chemistry that involves the design of chemical products and 
processes that reduce or eliminate the use or generation of hazardous 
substances, and it focuses on preventing pollution and waste from 
forming in the first place;                              
Pages H3403-04
  Gordon amendment (No. 1 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) that 
makes technical and clarifying changes to the bill. Also amends Section 
243 (``Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program'') and Section 702 
(``Persons with Disabilities), and add new Sections 412 (``Report On 
the Use of Modeling and Simulation'') and Section 704 (``Budgetary 
Effects''), Section 705 (``Limitation''), and Section 706 
(``Prohibition on Lobbying''), among other changes (by a recorded vote 
of 417 ayes to 6 noes, Roll No. 262);                    
Pages H3405-06
  Markey (MA) amendment (No. 10 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that establishes a program to support the development and commercial 
application of clean energy technologies through a Clean Energy 
Consortium selected competitively by the Secretary of Energy. The 
Consortium would be regionally based and include research universities, 
national labs, industry, and other state and nongovernmental 
organizations with research or technology transfer expertise in clean 
energy technology. The Consortium would have a technology focus to 
which at least 50 percent of support would be directed. The grant to 
establish and operate the Consortium is for an amount not more than 
$10,000,000 per year and is for a period not to exceed 3 years (by a 
recorded vote of 254 ayes to 173 noes, Roll No. 264); 
                                                  Pages H3396-98, H3407
  George Miller (CA) amendment (No. 12 printed in part B of H. Rept. 
111-479) that requires public institutions of higher education, with 
respect to employees who are represented by labor organizations and who 
work on activities or programs supported by this Act, to maintain a 
policy to respond to union information requests, for information to 
which the union is legally entitled, on a timely basis in order to be 
eligible to receive facilities and administrative costs provided by any 
of the funding sources authorized by this Act. Failure to comply with 
such a policy would result in suspension of payments to the institution 
for facilities and administrative costs until compliance is achieved 
(by a recorded vote of 250 ayes to 174 noes, Roll No. 265); and 
                                            Pages H3398-H3400, H3407-08
  Reyes amendment (No. 13 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) that 
requires the STEM coordinating committee under OSTP to describe the 
approaches that will be taken by each agency to conduct outreach 
designed to promote widespread public understanding of career 
opportunities in the STEM fields. It also requires the establishment 
and maintenance of a publicly accessible online database of all 
federally sponsored STEM education programs (by a recorded vote of 413 
ayes to 10 noes, Roll No. 266).                
Pages H3400-01, H3408-09
Rejected:
  Hall (TX) amendment (No. 6 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that sought to strike title V of the bill (Innovation) (by a recorded 
vote of 163 ayes to 258 noes, Roll No. 263).         
Pages H3393, H3406

[[Page D525]]

Proceedings Postponed:
  Boccieri amendment (No. 34 printed in part B of H. Rept. 111-479) 
that seeks to increase the authorization level for funding for Federal 
Loan Guarantees for Innovative Technologies in Manufacturing from $50 
million to $100 million.                                 
Pages H3404-05
  H. Res. 1344, the rule providing for consideration of the bill, was 
agreed to by a yea-and-nay vote of 243 yeas to 177 nays, Roll No. 259, 
after the previous question was ordered without objection. 
                                                         Pages H3347-55
Moment of Silence: The House observed a moment of silence in honor of 
fallen law enforcement officers.                             
  Page H3406
President's Export Council--Appointment: The Chair announced the 
Speaker's appointment of the following Members of the House of 
Representatives to the President Export Council: Representatives 
Reichert and Tiberi.                                         
  Page H3421
Presidential Messages: Read a message from the President wherein he 
notified Congress that the national emergency declared with respect to 
the stabilization of Iraq is to continue in effect beyond May 22, 
2010--referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered printed 
(H. Doc. 111-108).                                           
  Page H3422
  Read a message from the President wherein he transmitted to Congress 
the text of a proposed Agreement Between the Government of the United 
States of America and the Government of the Russian Federation for 
Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy--referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs.                     
Pages H3422-23
Quorum Calls--Votes: Three yea-and-nay votes and five recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H3354-55, 
H3355-56, H3356, H3405-06, H3406, H3407, H3407-08, H3408-09. There were 
no quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 10:17 p.m.