[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 142 (Friday, October 11, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H6497-H6502]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  NATIONAL NUCLEAR SECURITY ADMINISTRATION CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS 
                            RESOLUTION, 2014

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 371, I 
call up the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 76) making continuing 
appropriations for the National Nuclear Security Administration for 
fiscal year 2014, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the joint resolution.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 371, the joint 
resolution is considered read.
  The text of the joint resolution is as follows:

                              H.J. Res. 76

       Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
     United States of America in Congress assembled, That the 
     following sums are hereby appropriated, out of any money in 
     the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, and out of 
     applicable corporate or other revenues, receipts, and funds, 
     for the National Nuclear Security Administration for fiscal 
     year 2014, and for other purposes, namely:
       Sec. 101. (a) Such amounts as may be necessary, at a rate 
     for operations as provided in the Full-Year Continuing 
     Appropriations Act, 2013 (division F of Public Law 113-6) and 
     under the authority and conditions provided in such Act, for 
     continuing projects or activities (including the costs of 
     direct loans and loan guarantees) of the National Nuclear 
     Security Administration that are not otherwise specifically 
     provided for in this joint resolution or in the Pay Our 
     Military Act of September 30, 2013, that were conducted in 
     fiscal year 2013, and for which appropriations, funds, or 
     other authority were made available by such Act under the 
     following headings:
       (1) ``Weapons Activities''.
       (2) ``Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation''.
       (3) ``Naval Reactors''.
       (4) ``Office of the Administrator''.
       (b) The rate for operations provided by subsection (a) for 
     each account shall be calculated to reflect the full amount 
     of any reduction required in fiscal year 2013 pursuant to--
       (1) any provision of division G of the Consolidated and 
     Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013 (Public Law 113-
     6), including section 3004; and
       (2) the Presidential sequestration order dated March 1, 
     2013, except as attributable to budget authority made 
     available by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013 
     (Public Law 113-2).
       Sec. 102.  Appropriations made by section 101 shall be 
     available to the extent and in the manner that would be 
     provided by the pertinent appropriations Act.
       Sec. 103.  Unless otherwise provided for in this joint 
     resolution or in the applicable appropriations Act for fiscal 
     year 2014, appropriations and funds made available and 
     authority granted pursuant to this joint resolution shall be 
     available until whichever of the following first occurs: (1) 
     the enactment into law of an appropriation for any project or 
     activity provided for in this joint resolution; (2) the 
     enactment into law of the applicable appropriations Act for 
     fiscal year 2014 without any provision for such project or 
     activity; or (3) December 15, 2013.
       Sec. 104.  Expenditures made pursuant to this joint 
     resolution shall be charged to the applicable appropriation, 
     fund, or authorization whenever a bill in which such 
     applicable appropriation, fund, or authorization is contained 
     is enacted into law.
       Sec. 105.  This joint resolution shall be implemented so 
     that only the most limited funding action of that permitted 
     in the joint resolution shall be taken in order to provide 
     for continuation of projects and activities.
       Sec. 106.  Amounts made available under section 101 for 
     civilian personnel compensation and benefits in each 
     department and agency may be apportioned up to the rate for 
     operations necessary to avoid furloughs within such 
     department or agency, consistent with the applicable 
     appropriations Act for fiscal year 2013, except that such 
     authority provided under this section shall not be used until 
     after the department or agency has taken all necessary 
     actions to reduce or defer non-personnel-related 
     administrative expenses.
       Sec. 107.  It is the sense of Congress that this joint 
     resolution may also be referred to as the ``Nuclear Weapon 
     Security & Non-Proliferation Act''.
        This joint resolution may be cited as the ``National 
     Nuclear Security Administration Continuing Appropriations 
     Resolution, 2014''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill shall be debatable for 40 minutes, 
equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member 
of the Committee on Appropriations.
  The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) and the gentlewoman 
from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous materials on House Joint Resolution 76, 
and that I may include tabular material on the same.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present critical legislation that will 
ensure our Nation's nuclear security, the Nuclear Weapons Security and 
Nonproliferation Act, the joint resolution just mentioned.
  This legislation continues funding for the National Nuclear Security 
Administration at the current level provided in fiscal year 2013 until 
December 15, or until full-year appropriations have been signed into 
law. There are no new anomalies and there is no special treatment, but 
continuing these activities without interruption is vital to our 
national defense.
  The National Nuclear Security Administration is responsible for 
maintaining our nuclear deterrent, securing vulnerable nuclear 
materials around the world to keep them out of the hands of terrorists, 
and supporting our Navy's nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft 
carriers.
  Funds will be used to keep the doors open so our scientists and 
engineers can keep our nuclear arsenal at the ready and our nuclear 
fleet operating efficiently.

                              {time}  0915

  These vital programs keep our country safe and secure and require 
well-trained, dedicated personnel.
  So far, these high-priority national security missions have been 
sustained during this shutdown by operating off prior-year funding. 
While most of the Department of Energy's science and energy 
laboratories have enough carryover funding to operate through November, 
the national security laboratories and stockpile production sites of 
the NNSA are not in that same position.
  This week, the NNSA sites began notifying workers that they would be 
shutting down as early as October 17 to preserve remaining funds for 
essential functions like protecting nuclear materials. By the end of 
the month, 90 percent of the personnel at our nuclear weapons sites may 
be laid off, halting work to keep our nuclear weapons reliable. Once 
laid off, some of these vital workers may never return.
  Suspending an ongoing nuclear production operation is no simple task. 
That interruption will lead to higher costs and only make it more 
difficult to maintain an aging stockpile. We must act now to prevent 
disruption of these important nuclear security activities.
  We must also sustain the critical work the NNSA's nonproliferation 
experts perform overseas. Despite hopeful press reports, Iran has not 
turned off its centrifuges; North Korea may have restarted its reactors 
to make more plutonium; and the Russian and Chinese Governments 
continue to build nuclear-armed ballistic submarines.
  The technical expertise provided by our nuclear security experts is 
essential to our Nation's ability to monitor and respond to 
international developments such as these. We simply cannot afford to 
lose this oversight of nuclear weapons and their potential for 
proliferation.
  Finally, our nuclear deterrent relies on the mission of our 
submarines, the very capable assets of which are maintained by the 
Naval Reactors Program at the Department of Energy. We must ensure they 
have adequate support to perform their mission across the globe.
  Colleagues, I do recognize that this bill will not solve the larger 
funding problem. We must enact full-year annual appropriations to meet 
today's requirements, as voted on earlier this year, and not rely on 
continuing resolutions to keep the government open.
  In this regard, my thanks to Ranking Member Kaptur for her leadership 
and support of our annual appropriations process. Until we get back to 
regular order, this bill will provide critical funding to our Nation's 
security, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

[[Page H6498]]

  I want to thank my colleague, Congressman Frelinghuysen, for his 
comments though, obviously, I have serious reservations about this bill 
because our country has been the world's shining example in how a 
democratic Republic can actually work efficiently, successfully, and 
democratically. Yet, today, we continue with the shenanigans from a 
minority of the majority, wasting God's good time.
  For my colleagues who are listening, and for the country, let me say 
this bill should be coming to the floor at a level of $31 billion to 
meet the national security, energy, and water needs of this country. 
The measure before us today contains $10.6 billion and only deals with 
the nuclear security portion of the legislation. That is simply not 
sufficient for this great country.
  We cannot continue to be governed by staggering from manufactured 
crisis to manufactured crisis, and the folly--some would say madness--
of what is going on here must be stopped. It is creating great 
uncertainty inside this economy, and it is harming us globally with our 
trading partners and with countries who simply can't understand what is 
happening here.
  Over the course of the last several weeks, my Republican colleagues 
have loudly called for compromise. They have said, Negotiate to reopen 
the government, but, all the while, changing their demands daily and 
moving the goalpost. They moved it up the field, down the field, off 
the field. We start the day and never know exactly where we are.
  Mr. Speaker, the Democratic Members of this House have agreed to a 
total spending level that is the Republican level of $986 billion for 
all of our bills. That is not a number I personally agree with. It will 
not meet our Nation's needs, but it is a compromise offered in good 
faith to move our country forward.
  My advice to all those who are listening is to bring that clean 
continuing resolution with the Republican budget number in it to the 
floor. Let's reopen the government, and we can deal with our tangential 
issues that have nothing to do with operating the Government of the 
United States.
  Our economy is still in the process of recovering from a horrible 
Great Recession. We have still not come back to the preemployment 
levels in this country that were so deeply harmed by the Wall Street-
induced housing crisis. Shouldn't we be debating ways to spur economic 
growth, not continuing to debate a shutdown that is slowing economic 
growth?
  Under the Obama administration, we have had 42 consecutive months of 
economic growth. We are crawling out of a mammoth hole. The American 
people view the disarray here as very, very destabilizing to their own 
security because they are worried about their futures, and what is 
going on here adds to their anxiety.
  For the entire country, the Republican shutdown is already having 
real and negative consequences. Over 800,000 workers have been 
furloughed. They are having to borrow on their credit cards because 
they don't know how they are going to make their mortgage payment. They 
have to put their kids in school. They have to buy groceries.
  From coast-to-coast, we know--although we don't have people in place 
at the Department of Labor right now--that over 66,000--up to 300,000--
more unemployment claims have now been filed in the country because of 
what is going on due to these 800,000 more people that have gotten some 
form of a pink slip.
  For the entire country, this shutdown is wrong and unnecessary. The 
impacts will be felt across this economy--and already are--in the 
services that the American taxpayers pay for and that the Federal 
Government has, up to now, provided. As we continue to shortchange 
critical energy and infrastructure investments so vital to a strong 
economy, we will witness, as dusk follows dawn, the slowing of economic 
growth and the hindering of American competitiveness.
  Let me turn to what is not funded by the piecemeal approach that this 
bill represents. Our bill should be coming to the floor with all the 
parts of the Department of Energy and Army Corps of Engineers and 
National Nuclear Security Administration in it. The bill should be 
coming to us at a level of $31 billion. The bill is but one-third of 
that. At a level of $10.6 billion, it is two-thirds underfunded.
  Let me turn to what is not funded in the bill that is before us.
  First of all, the Corps of Engineers, one of the most important 
instrumentalities in our government to create jobs, is not even in this 
cynical bill. Communities across our country will continue to feel the 
consequences of this decreased investment. We should be doing more to 
prevent flooding, to build infrastructure, to create jobs, not less.
  For those of you who have been yelling from the rooftops about the 
Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund, this bill does nothing--zero--for your 
ports and harbors.
  This bill does not fund any of the energy technology accounts so 
critical to our Nation becoming energy independent again. As our 
foreign competitors double down to develop 21st century technology--
look at the Chinese stealing our solar technology--and undermine our 
markets through illegal dumping and intellectual property poaching, our 
choice in this bill: do nothing.
  So, renewable energy will receive cost competitiveness by whom? Which 
countries will succeed? Who will develop it and own that technology? 
According to this, we are ceding the turf to them, ceding the field to 
them.
  If you look at U.S. trade accounts, you don't have to be a 
mathematical genius. What is the number one category of trade deficit 
of this country? Imported energy. And what is the number two category 
of trade deficit? Automotive and automotive parts. It is all connected. 
If America doesn't heal those accounts, we become weaker as a country; 
we have fewer jobs here at home, less wealth creation here at home.
  And this particular bill is absent any forward thinking about new 
energy systems for our country. The United States has spent $2.3 
trillion importing petroleum just since 2003.

  I hear my colleagues on the other side of the aisle say we have a $17 
trillion debt that we have to pay off. We sure do. And where do you 
think it has come from? It has come from the lack of wealth creation 
inside this country for a quarter of a century, starting with imported 
energy.
  This represents thousands and thousands and millions of jobs across 
this country lost and dollars out of the pockets of working-class 
Americans who see their purchases of fuel transferred to build giant 
hotels in Dubai, supporting universities in Dubai, all across the 
Middle East, while we see companies close, communities shut down, 
Detroit go bankrupt; and all these problems because we are not energy 
independent and we are not transportation independent.
  These are dollars spent not in much-needed job creation but siphoned 
off overseas, assisting our competitors in developing their economies 
and their energy futures, not our own.
  Is it any wonder that America has a debt? It is rooted in very major 
holes inside this economy. You could start with two wars. What did 
those cost us? Probably $4 trillion to $6 trillion--unpaid for. There 
wasn't any war tax imposed when President Bush took us to war.
  I remember Donald Rumsfeld saying, Well, you have got to go to war 
with the military you have. Well, they borrowed to do that, and now 
this President has begun to keep his promise to the American people. We 
are out of Iraq and we are moving out of Afghanistan, as we try to hold 
those sad places together with our allies.
  The housing crisis of 2008, it is anybody's guess what that cost us, 
but we know it hollowed out money creation in this country. We have the 
largest transfer of wealth and loss of equity in modern history. Do you 
think you crawl out of that in a month or 2 months? It takes years. We 
have had 42 months of steady job creation.
  The trade deficit, America hasn't had a balanced trade account in 
three decades. Since 1975, the cumulative trade deficit of this country 
was $8.4 trillion. There was more petroleum coming in here from abroad 
than American energy exports out, more cars and auto parts in here from 
abroad than cars and auto parts out, and more electronics components 
coming in here than American electronics exports out.
  So if you add up $8.4 trillion of trade deficit, $6 trillion of war 
expenditures,

[[Page H6499]]

if you take the cost of the meltdown on Wall Street--only God knows how 
many trillions that cost us--is it any wonder that the United States 
has a budget deficit and debt and the Federal Government is trying to 
hold the Republic together and our 50 States from coast-to-coast? It is 
pretty clear to me what is going on here.
  So we look at this bill. Our Republic will not compete in the 21st 
century and beyond if we further reduce investments in energy and cede 
our energy future to other countries. The bill before us today does 
nothing about that. In fact, in one of the most important related 
sectors to us, manufacturing, this bill does nothing in manufacturing.
  One of the reasons we don't have as much economic muscle in this 
country is because every community you go to, what do you see? 
Shuttered factories. Every product you pick up, what does it say? 
``Made in China.'' Anytime I go to the store and find anything made in 
America, I buy it in hopes that it will help somebody somewhere along 
the way.
  This bill does nothing for manufacturing. We have lost 15 percent of 
our manufacturing jobs. And it isn't just because of technology; it is 
because they have been shipped out, outsourced, made in China, not made 
in the USA, made in countries some of my constituents don't even know 
where they are, and these goods come in here. And every time American 
jobs get displaced in the manufacturing sector, 8.8 million 
manufacturing jobs disappear.

                              {time}  0930

  Manufacturing is one of the most important drivers in our economy, 
and yet we have a huge trade deficit in manufacturing. There is little 
merit in using Federal dollars to foster technological advances or 
breakthroughs for products that are not ultimately manufactured 
domestically in our country. This bill usually provides a means for us 
to do more to reverse the trend of domestic firms shifting 
manufacturing overseas because, to put it simply, domestic 
manufacturing drives domestic innovation, and that drives wealth 
creation and job creation in our country. This bill does nothing in the 
advanced manufacturing sector--off the table.
  How sad. How sad for those people across our country who know the 
value added from manufacturing.
  This bill does nothing for science or advanced science and energy. 
Return on investments from our publicly funded research and development 
ranges from 20 to 67 percent. What a bang for the buck. With this rate 
of return, we should be passing a bill that invests in science and high 
sciences, but that is not happening inside this bill. In fact, across 
this country, at all of our major labs, the workers are furloughed or 
have the threat of being furloughed hanging over them--at Livermore, at 
Sandia, at Argonne. The brain power of this country is being put on the 
shelf while they watch this charade here inside this Chamber.
  This bill does nothing to address the funding for the Office of 
Environmental Management, whose mission is to complete the safe cleanup 
of what they call an ``environmental legacy'' and that I call a 
``nuclear mess,'' brought about by five decades of nuclear weapons 
development and government-sponsored nuclear energy research.
  So what do we do to clean up nuclear mess around our country in this 
bill? Zero. We do nothing.
  What about our promises to the people who live near those 
communities? What about those who sacrifice so much for America's 
nuclear superiority? We shut the door. So long. Nothing. There is 
nothing in this bill.
  This energy and water bill is one of the most critical investments we 
can make in this country. It should promote job creation. It should 
ensure national security. It should protect and promote our vital 
infrastructure and advance American competitiveness through energy 
independence and through strengthening manufacturing and scientific 
capability right here at home, right here in the good old USA. 
Unfortunately, a minority of the majority of Republicans is choosing to 
ignore all of these critical investments in order to execute a 
blatantly political stunt that is already harming our country, 
upsetting our people, and tamping down on job growth.
  Mr. Speaker, our Nation is stronger when we come together. We as a 
people can solve the serious challenges facing our country; yet here we 
find ourselves today again, wasting time on a lopsided bill which only 
extends the GOP-driven shutdown. We should be spending our time passing 
a clean continuing resolution, not holding the entire country hostage 
to a reckless political stunt that some must get great pleasure out of 
but that is such a sadistic approach to the governing of this country. 
We ought to work together toward a long-term solution, not continue to 
award a faction of one party which has no interest in governing this 
country.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to 
the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the full 
Appropriations Committee.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for yielding me this 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Nuclear Weapon Security and 
Non-Proliferation Act.
  Yes, it is a narrow scope, but it is a terribly important piece of 
the government. Like the bill we passed yesterday, this legislation 
addresses matters of critical importance to our national security. The 
National Nuclear Security Administration maintains our nuclear 
deterrents here at home, but it also helps to ensure that nuclear 
weapons and materials don't fall into the wrong hands--those of 
terrorists and other enemies of our Nation.
  H.J. Res. 76 provides funding for the NNSA to continue this vital 
work--to keep our nuclear arsenal at the ready and our Navy ships 
powered--and, ultimately, to keep this country safe and secure and 
protected.
  This is particularly important at a time when we face multiple 
threats from unpredictable nations and groups. When our government shut 
down, it did not also shut down nuclear power reactors, research and 
testing in Iraq, Iran, or North Korea. Funding is provided at the 
current annual rate of $10.59 billion to sustain the national labs, to 
continue the work of skilled workers and scientists, to conduct ongoing 
nonproliferation intelligence operations, and to maintain the safety 
and readiness of our nuclear stockpile.
  As with the prior 14 mini-CRs this House has passed in the last week, 
this language is essentially identical to what was included in my 
initial short-term continuing resolution. So this is a clean bill, Mr. 
Speaker, adhering to the Senate's demands in that regard. Also, as with 
the prior bills, this funding will last until December 15 or until 
full-year appropriations are enacted. It is my hope that the latter is 
what happens.
  Our Nation deserves the certainty of an adequately funded government 
with appropriations bills that reflect current needs but also current 
fiscal restraints. To achieve this, we must come together with our 
Senate counterparts and have a meaningful discussion that establishes a 
single, common, top-line number for discretionary spending that Members 
of both parties and both Houses of Congress can work toward.
  The ongoing standoffs are not productive. They aren't getting us any 
closer to reopening the government. While it is not the ideal path 
forward at this time, passing this funding bill does get us a step 
closer to ending the shutdown, which I know is the goal of my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle.
  So far, this House has voted on a bipartisan basis to reopen critical 
government functions, including the support for those who serve the 
country in the Department of Defense. Our nuclear security efforts are 
equally important to our defense and should have ongoing funding to 
keep the country safe and sound. So I urge my colleagues to support 
this bill, Mr. Speaker.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, might I inquire as to the time remaining on 
this side, please.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Ohio has 4\1/2\ minutes 
remaining, and the gentleman from New Jersey has 12 minutes remaining.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlelady 
from New York, Congresswoman Nita Lowey, our esteemed ranking member.

[[Page H6500]]

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the Republican 
shutdown.
  Of course we support funding for nuclear weapon security and 
nonproliferation activities, but this bill does nothing to address a 
number of other critical energy and water priorities, including the 
Army Corps of Engineers, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, 
ARPA-E, and the Office of Environmental Management, which is 
responsible for cleaning up five decades' worth of weapons development 
and nuclear energy research.
  Even if House Republicans' irresponsible, piecemeal bills were 
enacted, at the rate they are going, it would take until after 
Christmas before the government would be fully up and running.
  We could end this shutdown today if Republican leadership would just 
allow a vote. The claim that Democrats won't negotiate is a farce, my 
friends. Throughout the year, we have pleaded with Republicans to sit 
down and negotiate a broader budget agreement; and dozens of times 
Republicans have refused. Now, after wasting the first 10 months of the 
year and after shutting down the government as they steer the country 
towards economic catastrophe, they claim they want to negotiate. 
Democrats and the President have already agreed to the Republicans' 
funding level. If only Republicans would allow a vote, we could have 
the government reopened tonight.
  Vote ``no'' on this bill, and let's vote to immediately end the 
Republican shutdown.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann).
  Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Chairman, thank you.
  To all of my colleagues in this great United States House of 
Representatives, I want to ask each and every one of you to support 
this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to represent the Third District of 
Tennessee. In the Third District of Tennessee is a very special city. 
It's called Oak Ridge. At one point in time, it was called the Secret 
City. That's where we had the Manhattan Project and brought World War 
II to a close because of the efforts of the men and women who worked 
there and who succeeded there. We won the Cold War there.

  Today, this bill does one very specific thing: it honors the almost 
5,000 workers who work every day at the Y-12 National Security Complex 
for our nuclear deterrent.
  Let me be clear: this is not a matter of partisan politics; this is a 
matter of national security. So I stand here, putting a very human face 
on this for the workers who work hard every day, who have toiled for 
years. They deserve better, and this bill does that.
  Again, let me be clear: Y-12 is going through an orderly shutdown. We 
cannot allow this to happen, not as Republicans, not as Democrats, but 
as Americans. The Nation's security is at risk. This bill keeps Y-12 
open, and this is exactly what we need to do.
  Let's put aside the partisan rhetoric, and let's honor the 
hardworking men and women of Y-12. Let's keep them working, and let's 
keep the greatest Nation on the face of the Earth safe and secure.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute and 15 seconds to the 
gentleman from New York, Mr. Hakeem Jeffries.
  Mr. JEFFRIES. Mr. Speaker, this is day 11 of the reckless Republican 
shutdown of the United States Government, and you have still failed to 
provide a way out of the mess that you have created.
  The communities that I represent in Brooklyn and Queens are still 
struggling from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy; yet this bill 
fails to fund the Army Corps of Engineers.
  This was a wholesale government shutdown, and all that is offered is 
a piecemeal reopening. You have burned down the entire house, but offer 
only to rebuild the kitchen. That is a shameful dereliction of duty and 
a woefully inadequate remedy. This shutdown is hurting the American 
people. It is undemocratic, unconscionable, unnecessary, unreasonable, 
and unjust.
  It is time to get back to doing the business of the American people. 
Let's reopen the entire government. Vote ``no'' on this piecemeal 
approach.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Thornberry), a member of the Armed 
Services Committee.
  Mr. THORNBERRY. I commend the gentleman from New Jersey for his 
leadership and for bringing this measure to the floor.
  Mr. Speaker, the bill the gentleman brought to the floor on 
Wednesday, just the day before yesterday, passed the House, passed the 
Senate, and it was signed into law by the President last night. So the 
argument that you can't fund any of the government unless you fund all 
of the government is, obviously, not true. Every single Member of the 
House voted for the bill that the gentleman from New Jersey brought to 
the floor that was dealing with military death benefits.
  We have set priorities. We have said the military has to be paid, and 
this bill also sets priorities because the nuclear deterrent is 
absolutely central to our national security just as the military is.
  For 60 years, the centerpiece of our country's security has been the 
nuclear deterrent that has helped keep us secure. These are aging 
weapons, however, and so that means there are maintenance issues, there 
are safety issues, there are reliability issues, which a very highly 
skilled, dedicated workforce must address every single day.
  So that's what this bill does. This allows that work to continue, as 
well as the very important work in dealing with nonproliferation, as 
well as keeping our nuclear-powered ships operating. All of those 
things central to our country's security are empowered by this bill.

                              {time}  0945

  Mr. Speaker, it is the easiest excuse any of us can use to oppose a 
bill because of what it does not do.
  What we ought to do is look at what a bill does do. What this bill 
does do is keep the central part of our country's security operating 
even as we sort out our other budget woes.
  I think it deserves the support of all Members of the House, and I 
encourage them to vote for it.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the esteemed gentleman 
from New Mexico, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan.
  Mr. BEN RAY LUJAN of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, funding for the NNSA is 
critically important to my State of New Mexico, for we are home to both 
Los Alamos and Sandia National Labs. However, this bill denies these 
national security labs the funding they need as it locks in the deep 
cuts of sequester for 2 more months.
  There is not a Member of this body--Democrat or Republican--that says 
they like the sequester, Mr. Speaker, but my Republican colleagues 
refuse to lift it. They say they want to keep the government open, but 
they place conditions on it.
  This piecemeal approach in this bill to the Department of Energy and 
to the NNSA is picking winners and losers with employees that are going 
to be furloughed. This is a shame, and it is a sham--this Republican 
charade that is going to go home to my State of New Mexico and direct 
the Directors of the labs to tell employees who is going to go home 
without a paycheck and who will not--because there is still not 
assurance that the Secretary of Energy, through the Department of 
Energy, will make these employees whole through allowable costs that 
will be accepted. Enough is enough.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a shame. Let's do the right thing and open the 
government.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Heck), also a member of the House Armed 
Services Committee.
  Mr. HECK of Nevada. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), for bringing this important 
measure to the floor.
  Since the start of this partial shutdown 11 days ago, the House has 
focused on one of our core constitutional functions: funding key 
portions of the Federal Government.
  We have come together in a bipartisan way several times over the past 
few days to pay our troops, provide benefits for the families of fallen 
soldiers, reopen the NIH, provide money

[[Page H6501]]

for disaster relief efforts, and fund other crucial governmental 
departments and operations.
  These are the types of tough spending choices the American people, 
and people in my district, demand we make. When you are nearly $17 
trillion in debt, you have to prioritize, just like any business or 
family does when funds are tight.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, we turn our focus to a critical issue of national 
security and public safety. That is ensuring that the National Nuclear 
Security Administration has the funding it needs to secure our nuclear 
stockpile and materials.
  Recent reports indicate that the Department of Energy may begin 
furloughing employees and contractors at the eight NNSA sites around 
the country starting October 21. Sites such as the Nevada National 
Security Site, which is home to approximately 2,500 employees and 
contractors, will reduce staffing to levels sufficient to maintain 
``minimally safe operations.'' This situation presents a threat to 
national security, public safety, and our economy.
  The Nevada National Security Site is charged with supporting our 
national stockpile. Additionally, the Security Site oversees the 
administration of training for first responders in the prevention of, 
protection from, and response to possible terrorist use of radiological 
or nuclear material. With critical functions such as these, ``minimally 
safe operations'' is simply not an option.
  The same is true at NNSA sites around the country. The men and women 
who work at these sites not only have critical duties, but they are 
also critical to our local economies.
  In fact, contractors at NNSA sites may reduce their workforce by as 
much as 80 to 90 percent. Such attrition would take a great deal of 
money out of the economy at a time when States like mine, with an 
unemployment rate of 9.5 percent, can ill-afford to lose jobs.
  H.J. Res. 76 maintains our national security and prevents harm to our 
economy.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important measure.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I yield the remainder of my time to the 
gentleman from Oregon, Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
  Mr. BLUMENAUER. I appreciate the gentlelady's courtesy.
  Mr. Speaker, one of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
talked about our being the ``greatest Nation in the world,'' but 
Republicans are running it like a banana republic. People who ran out 
of this Chamber gleeful that the government was going to shut down have 
suddenly discovered that there is 20 percent of the government that 
they want to operate.
  There is a simple way to resolve this impasse. If you want to 
negotiate truly, appoint the conferees to the Budget Committee. The 
Republicans have refused to do that for 6 months. If you want to 
control spending, bring your own appropriations bills to the floor and 
see if your people have the fortitude to slash government spending 
further.
  Remember, they stopped operation on the Transportation-HUD bill 2 
months ago. It can be brought up today. But they refuse to do so 
because their spending levels are so unrealistic their own Members 
won't vote for them. They would rather deal in the abstract. They would 
rather hold America hostage. It is shameful. It is unnecessary.
  Bring a continuing resolution to the floor and put the government 
back to work.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Wilson), a member of the Armed 
Services Committee.
  Mr. WILSON of South Carolina. Thank you, Congressman Rodney 
Frelinghuysen, for yielding. I am very grateful for your leadership on 
this issue.
  Mr. Speaker, funding our national security interests within the 
Department of Energy must be a priority in order to protect every 
American family. Today, the House will pass an important measure that 
will fund the National Nuclear Security Administration. The NNSA will 
provide necessary resources that are critical and allow our country to 
continue operations for dozens of vital national security missions.
  I am fortunate to represent the Department of Energy Savannah River 
Site in Aiken and Barnwell Counties, South Carolina. I especially 
appreciate its personnel, as the only Member of Congress who has 
actually worked at the site.
  The passage of this bill is essential, as it will provide our 
dedicated workers who are handling these operations the security they 
need to complete their vital missions. Our Nation is a much safer place 
because of ongoing tritium operations and the mixed oxide fuel 
fabrication facility currently under construction at SRS. These 
missions are essential to our Nation's national security, as they allow 
us to service our nuclear stockpile and honor international nuclear 
obligations of nonproliferation.
  Additionally, the Savannah River Site, which established victory in 
the Cold War, has thousands of committed employees working on 
Department of Energy environmental management projects. These 
professionals also provide crucial services to our country through 
their nuclear nonproliferation and environmental cleanup efforts.
  Although I am encouraged by today's legislation, I remain hopeful 
that Congress can work together to provide necessary funding for these 
projects as well.
  I appreciate Chairman Hal Rogers for bringing this bill to the floor 
today and urge all of my colleagues of both parties to vote in support 
of this legislation.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Turner), a member of the Armed Services 
Committee.
  Mr. TURNER. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen for 
his dedication and commitment to the important issue of our strategic 
assets.
  When we look at the NNSA, they have had for a number of years 
difficulty in getting support from this administration for the 
important efforts of modernizing our nuclear weapons infrastructure and 
ensuring the strategic assets that are so essential to our Nation's 
security.
  This issue also is one that represents, I think, a great analogy to 
the difficulty that we are having in resolving this conflict. We have 
the President of the United States, who openly states that he will have 
negotiations with Russia on our strategic assets, on our nuclear 
weapons. He will even have secret negotiations--as we saw in his open 
mic incident--with his secret deal with the Russians concerning our 
missile defense systems; yet, the President openly says he will not 
negotiate with the legislature. He will negotiate with Syria, he will 
negotiate with Iran, but he won't negotiate with the legislature.
  Also, this issue illustrates some of the difficulties that we have in 
this House itself. We are putting on House bills that should have 100 
percent unanimous support. Yet when these bills come to the House, 
these bills predominantly have been divided on a partisan basis because 
people want to say, Well, it doesn't fund everything.
  Everyone knows when you have a disagreement, you start first upon the 
things you agree. The bills that have been coming forth on this House 
floor should be the things that we agree on, but partisan politics 
continues to divide us where, instead of the House coming together on 
all of these bills and saying, yes, these are the things that we agree 
on, and we will put aside the things we disagree on for later, we have 
difficulty in getting even the important things done, and this is an 
important one.
  I want to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen for his commitment to ensure 
the safety of our nuclear deterrent, the workers, and the important 
work that is being done at the NNSA.
  This is a discussion, though, that needs to go beyond just this 
stopgap bill and even the issue of a CR. This administration has 
continually cut the resources for our nuclear deterrent in ways which 
jeopardize the future of our strategic assets. We need to make certain 
that this conversation continues.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Ms. Kaptur, do you have any further speakers?

[[Page H6502]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentlewoman from Ohio's time has 
expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. I would be happy to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur).
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I would thank the chairman for that courtesy 
and just say that I would urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this 
particular piecemeal continuing resolution. Hopefully, others will come 
to their senses and we will be able to vote for a clean continuing 
resolution, which I think the majority of members of our subcommittee 
would appreciate, so we can reopen the government and deal with all of 
the responsibilities that we have under this particular bill and meet 
our responsibilities to energy and water across this country.
  I thank the gentleman for his courtesy, and I hope to reciprocate 
sometime.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, it has been a pleasure to work with 
Ms. Kaptur.
  In closing, Robert Spalding wrote in The Washington Post recently an 
article called ``Nuclear Weapons are Instruments of Peace.'' In his 
close, he wrote:

       The sensible path to peace starts with the realization that 
     peace can be secured only through strength. Nuclear weapons 
     represent that strength. We must embrace it through funding 
     and rhetoric.

  Indeed we do. Nothing is more important than the reliability of our 
nuclear weapon stockpile, as is obviously our responsibility to the 
world to prevent nuclear proliferation, and one of the ways that we 
protect America and provide for a strong national defense is to have a 
strong naval reactor program so that our aircraft carriers and subs can 
truly do the work of freedom.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 371, the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on the engrossment and third reading of the bill.
  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, and was 
read the third time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 1(c) of rule XIX, further 
consideration of House Joint Resolution 76 is postponed.

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