[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 112 (Wednesday, July 28, 2010)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D864-D867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 27 public bills, H.R. 5890-
5916; and 4 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 306; and H. Res. 1565-1567, were 
introduced.                                              
  Pages H6282-83
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H6283-84
Reports Filed: Reports were filed today as follows:
  H.R. 4692, to require the President to prepare a quadrennial National 
Manufacturing Strategy, with an amendment (H. Rept. 111-574, Pt. 1);
  H.R. 3534, to provide greater efficiencies, transparency, returns, 
and accountability in the administration of Federal mineral and energy 
resources by consolidating administration of various Federal energy 
minerals management and leasing programs into one entity to be known as 
the Office of Federal Energy and Minerals Leasing of the Department of 
the Interior, with an amendment (H. Rept. 111-575, Pt. 1);
  H.R. 5781, to authorize the programs of the National Aeronautics and 
Space Administration, with an amendment (H. Rept. 111-576);
  H. Res. 1568, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5893) to 
amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to create jobs through 
increased investment in infrastructure and to eliminate loopholes which 
encourage companies to move operations offshore (H. Rept. 111-577); and
  H. Res. 1569, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 5850) 
making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, and 
Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2011 (H. Rept. 111-578).                
Page H6282
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein she appointed 
Representative Pastor to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H6165
Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the guest chaplain, Pastor Shawn 
Black, Calvary Chapel, Costa Mesa, California.               
  Page H6165
Suspensions: The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the 
following measures:
  National Manufacturing Strategy Act of 2010: H.R. 4692, amended, to 
require the President to prepare a quadrennial National Manufacturing 
Strategy, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 379 yeas to 38 nays, Roll No. 
477;                                           
  Pages H6169-79, H6214-15
  Clean Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Act of 
2010: H.R. 5156, amended, to provide for the establishment of a Clean 
Energy Technology Manufacturing and Export Assistance Fund to assist 
United States businesses with exporting clean energy technology 
products and services;                                   
  Pages H6179-83

[[Page D865]]

  End the Trade Deficit Act: H.R. 1875, amended, to establish an 
Emergency Commission to End the Trade Deficit;           
  Pages H6183-89
  Agreed to amend the title so as to read: ``To establish the Emergency 
Trade Deficit Commission.''.                                 
Page H6189
  Supporting the goals and ideals of ``National Save for Retirement 
Week'': H. Res. 1481, to support the goals and ideals of ``National 
Save for Retirement Week'', including raising public awareness of the 
various tax-preferred retirement vehicles and increasing personal 
financial literacy;                                      
  Pages H6189-90
  Residential Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention Act: H.R. 1796, 
amended, to amend the Consumer Product Safety Act to require 
residential carbon monoxide detectors to meet the applicable ANSI/UL 
standard by treating that standard as a consumer product safety rule 
and to encourage States to require the installation of such detectors 
in homes;                                                
  Pages H6190-92
  Honoring the achievements of Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., to provide 
children with lifesaving medical care: H. Res. 1499, amended, to honor 
the achievements of Dr. Robert M. Campbell, Jr., to provide children 
with lifesaving medical care;                            
  Pages H9192-94
  Truth in Fur Labeling Act: H.R. 2480, amended, to improve the 
accuracy of fur product labeling;                        
  Pages H6194-96
  Fair Sentencing Act of 2010: S. 1789, to restore fairness to Federal 
cocaine sentencing;                                   
  Pages H6196-H6204
  Fee on Lobbyists Act: H.R. 5751, amended, to amend the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995 to require registrants to pay an annual fee of 
$50, to impose a penalty of $500 for failure to file timely reports 
required by that Act, and to provide for the use of the funds from such 
fees and penalties for reviewing and auditing filings by registrants; 
                                                         Pages H6204-06
  Agreed to amend the title so as to read: ``To provide for the 
establishment of a task force that will be responsible for 
investigating cases referred to the Attorney General under the Lobbying 
Disclosure Act of 1995, and for other purposes.''.           
Page H6206
  General and Special Risk Insurance Funds Availability Act of 2010: 
H.R. 5872, amended, to provide adequate commitment authority for fiscal 
year 2010 for guaranteed loans that are obligations of the General and 
Special Risk Insurance Funds of the Department of Housing and Urban 
Development;                                             
  Pages H6249-51
  United States Patent and Trademark Office Supplemental Appropriations 
Act, 2010: H.R. 5874, making supplemental appropriations for the United 
States Patent and Trademark Office for the fiscal year ending September 
30, 2010;                                                
  Pages H6251-53
  Emergency Border Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2010: H.R. 
5875, making emergency supplemental appropriations for border security 
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2010;           
  Pages H6253-57
  Independent Living Centers Technical Adjustment Act: Concurred in the 
Senate amendment to H.R. 5610, to provide a technical adjustment with 
respect to funding for independent living centers under the 
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 in order to ensure stability for such 
centers;                                                 
  Pages H6257-58
  Benton MacKaye Cherokee National Forest Land Consolidation Act: H.R. 
4658, amended, to authorize the conveyance of a small parcel of 
National Forest System land in the Cherokee National Forest and to 
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to use the proceeds from that 
conveyance to acquire a parcel of land for inclusion in that national 
forest; and                                              
  Pages H6259-60
  Directing the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federally 
owned land located in Story County, Iowa: H.R. 5669, amended, to direct 
the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain Federally owned land 
located in Story County, Iowa.                           
  Pages H6260-61
Suspension--Proceedings Resumed: The House agreed to suspend the rules 
and agree to the following measure which was debated on Monday, July 
26th:
  Honoring the educational significance of Dr. Jane Goodall's work: H. 
Res. 1543, to honor the educational significance of Dr. Jane Goodall's 
work on this the 50th anniversary of the beginning of her work in 
Tanzania, Africa, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 416 yeas with none 
voting ``nay'', Roll No. 478.                                
  Page H6215
Suspension--Proceedings Resumed: The House agreed to suspend the rules 
and pass the following measure which was debated on Tuesday, July 27th:
  Protecting Gun Owners in Bankruptcy Act of 2010: H.R. 5827, amended, 
to amend title 11 of the United States Code to include firearms in the 
types of property allowable under the alternative provision for 
exempting property from the estate, by a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 307 
yeas to 113 nays, Roll No. 479.                          
  Pages H6215-16

[[Page D866]]

Military Construction and Veterans' Affairs and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 2011: The House passed H.R. 5822, making 
appropriations for military construction, the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 
2011, by a yea-and-nay vote of 411 yeas to 6 nays, Roll No. 482. 
                                                         Pages H6216-49
Agreed to:
  Holt amendment (No. 1 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that instructs the 
Secretary of Veterans Affairs to set aside at least $20 million for 
suicide outreach prevention via direct advertising and the use of 
online social media;                                     
Pages H6235-36
  Buyer amendment (No. 2 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that provides $10 
million to fund additional professional level VA Vocational 
Rehabilitation and Employment counselors;                    
Page H6236
  Buyer amendment (No. 3 printed in H. Rept. 111-570), as modified, 
that provides $162,734,000 of the amounts appropriated for Department 
of Veterans Affairs (VA) Minor Construction for renewable energy 
projects at VA medical facility campuses;                
Pages H6236-37
  Buyer amendment (No. 4 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that provides $10 
million to fund the second year of the VA-US Paralympics Adaptive 
Sports Program for disabled veterans;                    
Pages H6237-38
  Cuellar amendment (No. 5 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that prohibits 
first class travel under this Act;                           
Page H6238
  Hill amendment (No. 7 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that decreases the 
Veteran's Administration General Operating Expense account by $100,000, 
then increases it by $100,000, for the purpose of directing the VA to 
examine its practices in how it accounts for returned Post-9/11 GI 
Benefit payments from either a veteran or an institute of higher 
learning, and for the purpose of directing the VA to issue a report to 
Congress no later than January 1, 2011, on any changes made or planned 
to be made to increase efficiency and timeliness of accounting for 
returned payments;                                           
Page H6241
  Gingrey amendment (No. 8 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that prohibits 
funds under the Act from being used to exercise the power of eminent 
domain without payment of just compensation;             
Pages H6241-42
  Halvorson amendment (No. 10 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that 
subtracts $10,000,000 from General Operating Expenses and adds 
$10,000,000 to Major Construction Projects;                  
Page H6243
  Peters amendment (No. 12 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that decreases 
the Veteran's Administration General Operating Expense account by 
$50,000, then increases it by $50,000, for the purpose of directing the 
VA to implement a program that would re-label prescription drugs used 
in VA hospitals to be sent home with discharged patients for outpatient 
use. Currently, veterans often have to go right to the pharmacy to 
refill what was discarded;                                   
Page H6245
  Peters amendment (No. 13 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that decreases 
the Veteran's Administration General Operating Expense account by 
$150,000, then increases it by $150,000, for the purpose of directing 
the VA to create a program to review all contracts after every 90-day 
period of inactivity to determine if the funds obligated for the 
contract could be deobligated and returned to the account from which 
the funds were obligated to be put to better use; and        
Page H6245
  Gingrey amendment (No. 9 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that prohibits 
any funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of 
Defense under this Act to be used to renovate or construct any facility 
within the Continental United States for the purpose of housing any 
individual who has been detained, at any time after September 11, 2001, 
at United States Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (by a recorded 
vote of 353 ayes to 69 noes, Roll No. 480).    
Pages H6242-43, H6247-48
Rejected:
  Garrett amendment (No. 14 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that sought to 
increase funding for the Grants for Construction of State Veterans 
Cemeteries account by $7,000,000 and decrease funding for the Grants 
for Construction, Minor Projects account by $7,000,000 (by a recorded 
vote of 128 ayes to 296 noes, Roll No. 481).      
Pages H6245-47, H6248
Withdrawn:
  Flake amendment (No. 6 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that was offered 
and subsequently withdrawn that would have prohibited funding for all 
of the member-requested earmarks for military construction projects; 
and                                                      
Pages H6238-41
  Bilirakis amendment (No. 11 printed in H. Rept. 111-570) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have required the 
Veterans Administration to acquire and construct up to four long-term 
care residential brain injury medical facilities.        
Pages H6243-45
  H. Res. 1559, the rule providing for consideration of the bill, was 
agreed to by a yea-and-nay vote of 243 yeas to 178 nays, Roll No. 476, 
after the previous question was ordered without objection. 
                                                         Pages H6206-14
  A point of order was raised against the consideration of H. Res. 1559 
and it was agreed to proceed with consideration of the resolution by 
voice vote.                                              
Pages H6206-08
Suspension--Proceedings Postponed: The House debated the following 
measure under suspension of the rules. Further proceedings were 
postponed:

[[Page D867]]

  Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that fruit and 
vegetable and commodity producers are encouraged to display the 
American flag on labels of products grown in the United States: H. Res. 
1558, to express the sense of the House of Representatives that fruit 
and vegetable and commodity producers are encouraged to display the 
American flag on labels of products grown in the United States, 
reminding us all to take pride in the healthy bounty produced by 
American farmers and workers.                            
  Pages H6258-59
Senate Message: Message received from the Senate today appears on page 
H6165.
Quorum Calls--Votes: Five yea-and-nay votes and two recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H6213-14, 
H6214-15, H6215, H6215-16, H6247-48, H6248, and H6248-49. There were no 
quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 11:56 p.m.