[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 73 (Wednesday, May 22, 2013)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D488-D489]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page D488]]




                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 39 public bills, H.R. 2083-
2121; and 5 resolutions, H.J. Res. 47-48; H. Con. Res. 38; and H. Res. 
231, 233 were introduced.                                
  Pages H2909-13
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H2913-14
Report Filed: A report was filed today as follows:
  H. Res. 232, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 1911) to 
amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to establish interest rates for 
new loans made on or after July 1, 2013, and for other purposes (H. 
Rept. 113-89).                                               
Page H2909
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed 
Representative McClintock to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H2841
Recess: The House recessed at 10:56 a.m. and reconvened at 12 noon. 
                                                             Page H2848
Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the guest chaplain, Dr. Ken 
Whitten, Idlewild Baptist Church, Lutz, Florida.             
  Page H2848
Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities--
Appointment: Read a letter from Representative Pelosi, Democratic 
Leader, in which she appointed Mr. Robert E. ``Bud'' Cramer of 
Huntsville, AL to the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect 
Fatalities.                                                  
  Page H2852
Moment of Silence: The House observed a moment of silence in honor of 
the victims of the devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma and Texas. 
                                                             Page H2861
Northern Route Approval Act: The House passed H.R. 3, to approve the 
construction, operation, and maintenance of the Keystone XL pipeline, 
by a recorded vote of 241 ayes to 175 noes with 1 answering 
``present'', Roll No. 179.                               
  Pages H2852-95
  Rejected the Bishop (NY) motion to recommit the bill to the Committee 
on Transportation and Infrastructure with instructions to report the 
same back to the House forthwith with an amendment, by a yea-and-nay 
vote of 194 yeas to 223 nays, Roll No. 178.              
Pages H2892-93
  Pursuant to the rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 113-11 shall be 
considered as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the 
five-minute rule, in lieu of the amendments in the nature of a 
substitute recommended by the Committees on Transportation and 
Infrastructure, Energy and Commerce, and Natural Resources now printed 
in the bill.                                                 
Page H2875
Agreed to:
  Cohen amendment (No. 9 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that requires 
TransCanada to submit its oil spill response plan, and any updates to 
the plan, to the Governors of each State in which the Keystone XL 
pipeline operates. TransCanada is required to develop such a plan under 
current law and regulations; only certain Federal agencies receive and 
review the plan and                                      
Pages H2884-85
  Weber (TX) amendment (No. 1 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that adds to 
the findings in Section 2 highlighting the State Department's 
scientific and environmental findings which conclude that the Keystone 
XL pipeline is a safe and environmentally sound project (by a recorded 
vote of 246 ayes to 168 noes, Roll No. 169).   
Pages H2876-77, H2886-87
Rejected:
  Waxman amendment (No. 2 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
add a finding that ``the reliance on oil sands crudes for 
transportation fuels would likely result in an increase in incremental 
greenhouse gas emissions'' in the United States, resulting in 
additional greenhouse gas emissions equal to 4.3 million passenger 
vehicles. Also provided that the bill would not go into effect unless 
the President found that TransCanada or tar sands producers will fully 
offset the additional greenhouse gas emissions (by a recorded vote of 
146 ayes to 269 noes, Roll No. 170);              
Pages H2877-78, H2887
  Johnson (GA) amendment (No. 3 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought 
to require a study on the health impacts of increased air pollution in 
communities surrounding the refineries that will transport diluted 
bitumen through the proposed Keystone XL pipeline (by a recorded vote 
of 177 ayes to 239 noes, Roll No. 171);        
Pages H2878-79, H2887-88
  Connolly amendment (No. 4 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
require a threat assessment of pipeline vulnerabilities to terrorist 
attack and corrective actions necessary to protect the pipeline from 
such an attack and to mitigate any resulting spill (by a recorded vote 
of 176 ayes to 239 noes, Roll No. 172);        
Pages H2879-80, H2888-89
  Rahall amendment (No. 5 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
strike section 3 of the bill (Keystone XL Permit Approval). Section 3 
eliminates the requirement for a Presidential Permit to construct the 
Keystone XL pipeline across an international border. Section 3 further 
deems the new application for the Keystone XL pipeline approved, based 
on a final environmental impact statement

[[Page D489]]

issued by the U.S. Department of State for a different pipeline route 
(by a recorded vote of 177 ayes to 238 noes, Roll No. 173); 
                                                  Pages H2880-81, H2889
  Esty amendment (No. 6 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
remove the mandate to allow one specifically named company to never 
receive appropriate oversight through the permit process for operation 
and/or maintenance--in perpetuity, while allowing construction permit 
fast-track (by a recorded vote of 182 ayes to 234 noes, Roll No. 174); 
                                               Pages H2881-82, H2889-90
  Jackson Lee amendment (No. 7 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought 
to lengthen the time period for filing a claim under the Act from 60 
days to 1 year (by a recorded vote of 182 ayes to 234 noes, Roll No. 
175);                                             
Pages H2882-83, H2890
  Chu amendment (No. 8 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
requires the GAO to conduct a study and prepare a report of the 
Keystone XL pipeline to determine the total projected costs of pipeline 
spill cleanup, including the potential impacts of a petroleum spill on 
public health and the environment and the quantity and quality of water 
available for agricultural and municipal purposes (by a recorded vote 
of 185 ayes to 231 noes, Roll No. 176); and    
Pages H2883-84, H2890-91
  Holt amendment (No. 10 printed in H. Rept. 113-88) that sought to 
increase American energy independence by requiring that all oil and 
refined fuels transported through the Keystone XL Pipeline be used here 
in the United States and not exported, unless the President finds that 
an exception is required by law or in the national interest (by a 
recorded vote of 162 ayes to 255 noes, Roll No. 177). 
                                               Pages H2885-86, H2891-92
  H. Res. 228, the rule providing for consideration of the bill, was 
agreed to by a recorded vote of 228 ayes to 185 noes, Roll No. 168, 
after the previous question was ordered by a yea-and-nay vote of 223 
yeas to 194 nays, Roll No. 167.                          
Pages H2860-62
Meeting Hour: Agreed that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to 
meet at 9 a.m. tomorrow.                                     
  Page H2895
Suspensions: The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the 
following measures:
  Improving Postsecondary Education Data for Students Act: H.R. 1949, 
amended, to direct the Secretary of Education to convene the Advisory 
Committee on Improving Postsecondary Education Data to conduct a study 
on improvements to postsecondary education transparency at the Federal 
level and                                                
  Pages H2895-98
  Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2013: 
H.R. 271, to clarify that compliance with an emergency order under 
section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act may not be considered a 
violation of any Federal, State, or local environmental law or 
regulation.                                              
  Pages H2898-99
Migratory Bird Conservation Commission--Appointment: The Chair 
announced the Speaker's appointment of the following Members on the 
part of the House to the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission: 
Representatives Wittman and Dingell.                  
  Pages H2899-H2900
Military Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission--
Appointment: The Chair announced the Speaker's appointment of the 
following individuals on the part of the House to the Military 
Compensation and Retirement Modernization Commission: Mr. Dov S. 
Zakheim of Silver Spring, MD and Mr. Michael R. Higgins of Washington, 
DC.                                                          
  Page H2900
Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission--Appointment: Read a letter from 
Representative Pelosi, Democratic Leader, in which she re-appointed 
Representative McGovern as Co-Chair of the Tom Lantos Human Rights 
Commission.                                                  
  Page H2900
Senate Message: Message received from the Senate by the Clerk and 
subsequently presented to the House today appears on page H2852.
Quorum Calls--Votes: Two yea-and-nay votes and 11 recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H2860-61, 
H2861-62, H2886-87, H2887, H2887-88, H2888-89, H2889, H2889-90, H2890, 
H2890-91, H2891-92, H2892-93 and H2894. There were no quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 9:11 p.m.