[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 111 (Wednesday, July 16, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H6316-H6323]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
FINANCIAL SERVICES AND GENERAL GOVERNMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2015
General Leave
Mr. CRENSHAW. 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 material on the further consideration of H.R.
5016, and that I may include tabular materials on the same.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Yoder). Is there objection to the
request of the gentleman from Florida?
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 661 and rule
XVIII, the Chair declares the House in the Committee of the Whole House
on the state of the Union for the further consideration of the bill,
H.R. 5016.
Will the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas) kindly take the chair.
{time} 1237
In the Committee of the Whole
Accordingly, the House resolved itself into the Committee of the
Whole House on the state of the Union for the further consideration of
the bill (H.R. 5016) making appropriations for financial services and
general government for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and
for other purposes, with Mr. Lucas (Acting Chair) in the chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole rose on Tuesday,
July 15, 2014, a request for a recorded vote on an amendment offered by
the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn) had been postponed, and
the bill had been read through page 152, line 15.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Florida is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I yield to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Stivers) for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy.
Mr. STIVERS. Chairman Crenshaw, I rise today to address a proposed
amendment I was going to offer related to the Securities and Exchange
Commission's Municipalities Continuing Disclosure Cooperation
Initiative, or the MCDC. This is a program that was announced by the
Securities and Exchange Commission in March, which is related to the
issuance of municipal securities.
Under the MCDC, the SEC is asking municipal bond issuers and
underwriters to self-report potential technical inconsistencies
associated with the financial information recording practices of State
and local governments.
On its face, this seems to be reasonable. However, the States and
localities that the SEC is trying to protect do not support this
program and feel it is very punitive.
In fact, the Government Finance Officers Association, or GFOA, which
represents the Nation's State and local government finance directors,
supports my proposed amendment because the MCDC initiative is both
costly and unreliable for government issuers, taxpayers, and
underwriters. In addition, the proposal changed rules midstream,
applying one standard when the regulators' reporting apparatus was not
even operable.
I appreciate the chairman's time and his willingness to agree to work
with me and the Financial Services Committee to find a resolution to
this problem should the SEC not choose to curtail this program on their
own. We want to make sure it is fair and equitable to our States and
local municipalities.
Mr. CRENSHAW. I thank the gentleman from Ohio for bringing this
initiative to my attention.
As he said, the SEC recently announced that issuers and underwriters
of municipal securities are required to self-report violations of the
Federal securities laws relating to representations and bond offerings.
I understand the gentleman's concern that this is a massive
undertaking, and to identify all the series of bonds sold and to make
sure that all disclosures are made accurately and timely is a huge
undertaking.
So I look forward to working with you regarding your concerns and to
find some solutions.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Engel
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to lease or purchase new light duty vehicles for any
executive fleet, or for an agency's fleet inventory, except
in accordance with Presidential Memorandum--Federal Fleet
Performance, dated May 24, 2011.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from New York and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Chairman, on May 24, 2011, President Obama issued a
memorandum on Federal fleet performance that requires all new light-
duty vehicles in the Federal fleet to be alternate fuel vehicles--such
as hybrid, electric, natural gas, or biofuel--by December 31, 2015.
My amendment echoes the Presidential memorandum by prohibiting funds
in the Financial Services Appropriations Act from being used to lease
or purchase new light-duty vehicles except in accord with the
President's memorandum.
This amendment has been supported by the majority and minority on
appropriations bills eight times over the past few years, and I hope it
will receive similar support today.
Our transportation sector is, by far, the biggest reason we send $600
billion per year to hostile nations to pay for oil at ever-increasing
costs, but America doesn't need to be dependent on foreign sources of
oil for transportation fuel. Alternative technologies exist today that,
when implemented broadly, will allow any alternative fuel to be used in
America's automotive fleet.
The Federal Government operates the largest fleet of light-duty
vehicles in America. According to GSA, there are over 660,000 vehicles
in the Federal fleet. By supporting a diverse array of vehicle
technologies in our Federal fleet, we will encourage development of
domestic energy resources, including biomass, natural gas, agricultural
waste, hydrogen, renewable electricity, methanol, and ethanol.
When I was in Brazil a few years ago, I saw how they diversified
their fuel by greatly expanding their use of ethanol. When people drove
to a gas station, they saw what a gallon of gasoline would cost and
what an equivalent amount of ethanol would cost and could decide which
was better for them.
If they can do this in Brazil, then we can do it here. We can educate
people on using alternative fuels and let consumers decide what is best
for them.
And let me say, my amendment, cosponsored by the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), would demand and mandate that all cars
produced in America be flex fuel cars. It would cost less than $100 per
car to do that. And we are foolish, in my opinion, not to do that as
well.
But here in the Federal fleet, expanding the role that energy
resources play in our transportation economy will help break the
leverage over Americans held by foreign government-controlled oil
companies and will increase our Nation's domestic security and protect
consumers from price spikes and shortages in the world oil market.
So I would ask that my colleagues support the Engel amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
{time} 1245
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Engel).
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Florida is recognized for 5
minutes.
[[Page H6317]]
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I would like to enter into a colloquy
with Mr. Wenstrup from Ohio, and I yield to him.
Mr. WENSTRUP. Well, thank you, Mr. Chairman.
The IRS has admitted to paying politics with our Tax Code, going as
far as singling out certain groups for having ``patriot'' in their
name. Unfortunately, much of the targeting that occurred happened in my
district's backyard, in the IRS field office in Cincinnati. Americans
have the right to be outraged, and they deserve better.
I want to thank the chairman of the committee for ensuring that free
speech rights are protected in this bill.
Mr. Chairman, I wrote to you in April asking that we prohibit funding
to implement proposed rules on 501(c)(4) organizations, and my
constituents are appreciative that you acted. By prohibiting funding
for certain IRS activities, this bill would prevent these IRS abuses
from becoming law. Importantly, this bill is designed to make sure the
government works for its citizens, not against them.
While the House continues its efforts to get to the bottom of the IRS
political targeting, this is a meaningful action we can take now to
make sure the behavior isn't repeated. Every American has the right to
participate and engage in civic debate and must be protected from
partisan bureaucrats.
IRS targeting isn't just an affront to the Constitution, but a threat
to all Americans seeking to exercise their First Amendment rights. I
thank the chairman and his committee again for their diligent work on
this bill.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Well, I thank the gentleman for his kind words. I share
his outrage over the Internal Revenue Service giving extra scrutiny to
certain 501(c)(4) groups based on their political ideology.
This bill includes numerous, but necessary, provisions in response to
their numerous inappropriate activities. These activities must not be
tolerated, and voting for this bill will go a long way toward making
Congress' and the public's displeasure felt.
So I thank the gentleman for bringing this forward, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Garrett
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to--
(1) designate any nonbank financial company as ``too big to
fail'';
(2) designate any nonbank financial company as a
``systemically important financial institution''; or
(3) make a determination that material financial distress
at a nonbank financial company, or the nature, scope, size,
scale, concentration, interconnectedness, or mix of the
activities of such company, could pose a threat to the
financial stability of the United States.
Mr. GARRETT (during the reading). Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent
to dispense with the reading.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from New Jersey and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in an attempt to prevent
government regulators from expanding the corrupt doctrine of ``too big
to fail'' into even greater parts of our economy. You see, under Dodd-
Frank, FSOC, the Financial Stability Oversight Council, has the power
to designate companies as SIFIs, systemically important financial
institutions.
I have heard people say that SIFI status does not mean too big to
fail, but that is a ridiculous claim--on par with the reassurances we
used to get that there was no implicit guarantee with Fannie and
Freddie, the GSEs.
In the real world, everyone knows that the Federal Government will
never allow a SIFI to fail. It is basically the government's stamp of
approval, if you will, that says that we really care about this
company. And every time FSOC designates a SIFI, it exposes all of us,
the American taxpayers, to literally billions and billions of dollars
in potential losses.
You see, first FSOC designates the megabanks as being too-big-to-fail
SIFIs. Now they are claiming that nonbank firms such as insurance
companies and asset managers also should be designated as SIFIs, as
well. I really don't think that FSOC will be satisfied until every
company in this country is a SIFI. So, obviously, this has got to stop.
That is why I am offering an amendment to prevent the Secretary of
the Treasury and the chair of the Securities Exchange Commission, both
voting members of FSOC, from designating any additional nonbank
companies as SIFIs. You see, SIFI status puts nonbank companies under
Federal Reserve regulation. And then the Fed, which only understands
banks, imposes its bank-type capital standards on them, and it doesn't
really seem to care if that makes no sense at all for these companies.
I guess basically if all you have is a hammer, then everything else out
there looks like a nail.
And so when companies become SIFIs, they cease to be part of the free
market. Instead, they become something else. They become protected
entities that are spared the costs and consequences that normal
companies face. And, so, over time, the combination of this protected
status and the Fed's risk-averse regulation will sap the energy and
also the competitiveness from these companies.
Do you know what? Creative thinking and management will be seen as
too radical, and innovative business structures will be stamped out as
too risky. Meeting some G-13's definition of ``safety'' will take the
place of building shareholder value. Instead, lobbying and political
donations will become the biggest, highest, and best use of capital for
these companies. And government will corrupt the private sector and, in
turn, it will corrupt government.
You only have to look at the corporate culture over at Fannie Mae to
see what sheltering a company from market discipline does to it. What
do I mean by that? If you like the GSEs, then you are going to love
SIFIs. And so we should not allow too big to fail to take root in the
nonbank financial sector. These companies are too important as a
counterbalance to the megabanks for us to ruin them with crony
capitalism.
You see, Dodd-Frank was based on a faulty premise, and this is it:
that the financial crisis was caused exclusively by the greed of large
financial institutions and that intrusive government regulation could
have prevented all this and prevented the crisis by keeping them from
making all these risky investments.
So with these ideological blinders on, it is no surprise that we
ended up today with FSOC and SIFIs. Instead of solving the problem of
too big to fail, Dodd-Frank basically codified it.
FSOC is not working out as intended. And with every reckless
designation of a nonbank company as a SIFI, FSOC steps in and makes our
economy more dangerous and makes it more unstable. As they say, if you
find yourself in a hole, you should do what? Stop digging.
So I respectfully request that you support my amendment, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New York is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, Dodd-Frank does not designate any entity
as too big to fail, as paragraph 1 of the Garrett amendment suggests.
Instead, Dodd-Frank provides regulators with the tools to address the
risks posed by large, complex, and interconnected financial
institutions, both banks and nonbanks alike. This is crucial to
addressing one of the main regulatory gaps we witnessed leading up to
the 2008 crisis: too many nonbanks were in the shadows and escaped
critical regulation that could have prevented the crisis.
The Garrett amendment is an attempt to roll back the critical rules
of the road we passed in the wake of the greatest financial crisis
since the Great Depression.
Large financial institutions are fighting the SIFI designation
because they know that being identified as SIFI
[[Page H6318]]
means being subject to regulation above and beyond current
requirements, including living wills that will help regulators plan how
to wind down the firms in an orderly fashion in the event they become
insolvent.
The heightened regulation also includes the ability for regulators to
stress-test the entity to see if it can withstand financial distress,
demand more capital, or to demand more stringent reporting.
Former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, a Republican appointee, noted in
congressional testimony after the passage of Dodd-Frank that ``many
institutions are vigorously lobbying against such a designation'' and
that being designated as a SIFI will in no way confer a competitive
advantage by anointing an institution as too big to fail.
The capacity to designate nonbanks as SIFIs is critical to the U.S.
financial system for appropriate regulatory oversight. The designation
process already has in place multiple procedural safeguards and
opportunities for appeal via a lengthy process. Therefore, we urge you
to oppose the Garrett amendment as not necessary.
Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Chairman, obviously the markets have already
disagreed with the gentleman by the pricing of their shares.
Mr. Chairman, at this point, I yield such time as he may consume to
the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), the chairman.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Well, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I just
want to rise in support of this amendment.
Mr. Chairman, I think this amendment points out that you have got to
have a thorough review, and if you don't consider the true implications
on the U.S. economy and the U.S. taxpayers, then you have got a
problem. So it is a good amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support
it.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. GARRETT. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Garrett).
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Gallego
Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
TITLE--ADDITIONAL GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used to implement or enforce Revenue Ruling 2012-18 (or
any guidance of the same substance).
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the
gentleman's amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. A point of order is reserved.
Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman from Texas and a
Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. GALLEGO. As the Chair knows, I find several of the Federal
agencies very frustrating, but among the most frustrating is the
Internal Revenue Service.
One of the more interesting rulings of the Internal Revenue Service
deals with the reclassification of certain gratuities as wages when
they were meant to be tips. And having grown up in the restaurant
business, I will tell you that there is a tremendous difference--not
only to the employer, but to the employee--as to whether a wage is
classified as a wage or whether it is classified as a gratuity. I know
that firsthand from growing up in a family-run and local restaurant.
Revenue rule 2012-18 has forced businesses to change the way that
they have traditionally handled consumer checks, and that has resulted
in a burdensome and logistical challenge for small and local businesses
across the country.
Mr. Chairman, for over 50 years, restaurants have had a longstanding
practice of treating these automatic gratuities as tips. For example,
if you have a large party of 50 people, then you want to make sure that
your waiter or waitress is well taken care of. And for a while there it
was 15 percent, now it is about 18 percent, that is added on as a
gratuity. That gratuity is meant to go to the waiters and waitresses
who have helped your party.
Yet, the way the IRS would treat that, the IRS would treat that not
as a tip, not as a gratuity, but as part of their wage, which means it
is counted against the employer for income purposes, and then it is
counted again against the employee for income purposes. The revenue
ruling clearly, clearly, clearly is against years and years and years
of practice by the IRS.
Now, a lot of bigger restaurants may have the ability to forgo the
automatic gratuities without experiencing any significant challenges,
but for small and local restaurants, that is a big deal. Wait staff are
often subject to inadequate tips on large parties. And if restaurants
continue to utilize automatic gratuities, if they continue to say,
please put an additional 15 percent on here for your waiter or
waitress, then they can no longer take advantage of the Fair Labor
Standards Act tip credit for employees who serve these tables, even if
the restaurants distribute these gratuities to the employees. So even
if the employee gets the money in the end, it is still counted against
the restaurant as income and taxed in one place, and then it is again
taxed as income to the employee.
For many small businesses, an inability to collect this tip is a
really big burden. It is very difficult to determine wages for
employees when they are simultaneously performing tipped and non-tipped
work because you cannot add that gratuity for large parties without it
being classified in one direction, but for smaller parties you can do a
different thing.
Restaurants have treated automatic gratuities as tips for years, and
they have been passed on to the employee. That is very important to the
employees. It is a big part of the money that they make. And so as the
champion of small and local businesses, I have very real concerns about
the implications of the revenue rule 2012-18. I would like the IRS to
delay it and reconsider their characterization of these tips and
service charges.
I want to thank the chairman of the committee for allowing me to step
forward and raise my concerns, as well as the ranking member. Mr.
Chairman, thank you so much for the opportunity.
At this point, because of the point of order, I ask unanimous consent
to withdraw the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from Texas?
There was no objection.
{time} 1300
Amendment Offered by Mr. Massie
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act,
including amounts made available under titles IV or VIII, may
be used by any authority of the government of the District of
Columbia to enforce any provision of the Firearms
Registration Amendment Act of 2008 (D.C. Law 1-388), the
Firearms Amendment Act of 2012 (D.C. Law 19-170), or the
Administrative Disposition for Weapons Offenses Amendment Act
of 2012 (D.C. Law 19-295).
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from Kentucky and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Kentucky.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment that
would stop the District of Columbia from taking any action to prevent
law-abiding citizens from possessing, using, or transporting a firearm.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in District of Columbia v.
Heller that struck down the D.C. handgun ban, as well as the
unconstitutional gunlock provision, it is still difficult for D.C.
residents to exercise their God-given right to bear arms.
Congress has the authority to legislate in this area pursuant to
article I, section 8, clause 17 of the U.S. Constitution, which gives
Congress the authority to ``exercise exclusive legislation in all cases
whatsoever'' over the District of Columbia.
[[Page H6319]]
Through unreasonable regulation, arbitrary time limits and waiting
periods, and a ridiculous registration renewal process for guns that
have already been registered, the government bureaucrats in the
District continue to interfere with the D.C. residents' rights to self-
defense.
As The Washington Times reported earlier this year, the District of
Columbia has passed the first law ever in the United States that
requires a citizen who has already legally registered a gun to pay a
fee for re-registration, go to police headquarters, and submit to
invasive fingerprinting and photographing.
This is pure harassment. Why would the D.C. government want to punish
and harass law-abiding citizens who simply want to defend themselves?
As everyone with even the smallest bit of common sense knows,
criminals, by definition, do not follow the law. They will get guns any
way they can. Does anyone actually believe that strict gun controls
laws will prevent criminals from getting guns?
Strict gun control laws do nothing but prevent good people from being
able to protect themselves and their families in the event of a
robbery, home invasion, or other crime.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New York is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. SERRANO. It is amazing. Like President Reagan once said to
President Carter in debate, here you go again.
I rise to oppose the amendment. We often hear people running for
office rail against politicians who have gone Washington. This
amendment is an interesting representation of that phenomenon. We are
part of a group of folks here who would like to treat Washington, D.C.,
as their own little colony. Back home, they tell the world they want no
part of Washington, but over here, they not only want part of it, they
want to tell her how to act.
This amendment would limit commonsense gun regulation put in place by
the elected representatives of the District of Columbia. Under our
Constitution, States and localities, including D.C., have the ability
to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their citizens.
Even the Supreme Court has recognized that some level of regulation
is necessary in order to uphold those goals. The Republican Party
usually stands for states' rights, but not when it comes to the
District of Columbia.
Our former colleague, the great David Obey, used to say that if
Members of Congress wanted to get involved in the District of
Columbia's affairs, then perhaps they should run for the D.C. City
Council. That may be an option that the gentleman from Kentucky would
like to consider.
I strongly oppose the amendment. I think it continues to be more than
just a gun amendment. It is an anti-D.C. amendment, and we should stop
this behavior once and for all.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Kentucky has 3 minutes
remaining.
Mr. MASSIE. As John Lott, author of ``More Guns, Less Crime,'' says:
The District of Columbia should have learned the problems
with gun control the hard way. There is only 1 year after
D.C.'s handgun ban went into effect in 1977 where its murder
rate was as low as it was prior to the ban. The D.C. murder
rate rose dramatically, relative to other cities after the
ban, with its murder rate ranking either number one or number
two among the 50 most populous U.S. cities for half the time
the ban was in effect and always in the top two-thirds.
However, as soon as the ban and, more importantly, the
gunlock regulations were struck down in 2008, the murder rate
fell, dropping by 50 percent over the next 4 years. Indeed,
every place in the world that has banned guns has seen an
increase in murder rates.
This experience can be seen worldwide. Island nations supposedly
present ideal environments for gun control because it is relatively
easy for them to control their borders, but countries such as Great
Britain, Ireland, and Jamaica have experienced large increases in
murder and violent crime after gun bans.
For example, after handguns were banned in 1997, the number of deaths
and injuries from gun crimes in England and Wales increased 340 percent
in the 7 years from 1998 to 2005.
Mr. Chair, I would like to point out that the other side of the
aisle, when we talk about voting rights, they are very opposed to voter
ID and to photograph IDs for voting. I think they would be very opposed
to fingerprinting and photographing in order to exercise that basic
fundamental right to vote, which is what they often say.
Well, I would remind them that the Second Amendment says a right to
bear arms is a basic right. If they argue that fingerprinting and
photographing is invasive and disproportionately disenfranchises
minorities from that basic right to vote, how can they not argue the
same thing about the basic right to own and bear guns?
In closing, my amendment states that none of the funds made available
in this bill to the District of Columbia will be used by the D.C.
government to prohibit the activity of people in possessing, acquiring,
using, selling, or transporting firearms.
It defunds four laws passed in the wake of Heller that constitute an
attempt by the D.C. government to overrule and ignore the Heller
decision. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of this commonsense
amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have left?
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New York has 3\1/2\ minutes
remaining.
Mr. SERRANO. I would like to first say that we only oppose certain
regulations about voting issues when they are meant to suppress the
vote.
I would like now to yield the balance of my time to the gentlewoman
from the District of Columbia (Ms. Norton) who--get this--is the only
elected Member from Washington, D.C., who is in this Congress at this
time.
Ms. NORTON. Mr. Chairman, I thank my good friend for yielding.
Mr. Massie of Kentucky is not accountable to the residents of the
District of Columbia, but he is offering an amendment to effectively
wipe out all of the District's gun safety laws now and in the future.
Even if one were to agree with him, his is an entirely inappropriate
amendment on an appropriation bill. A pending bill right now in this
House would accomplish this end. He is a Member of the majority. If he
wants to end gun laws, he has the authority to bring that bill to the
floor.
This amendment is being offered by a Member who claims, at every
turn, to support the principle of local control or local affairs, yet
he is using the big foot of the Federal Government to overturn local
laws.
Turning to the amendment itself, if this amendment passes, every gun
law in this big city--which shares the same gun violence issues with
other big cities and is also the Nation's capital--would be gone.
While we are still reviewing the full effects of this amendment, it
appears to prohibit the District government, including the Metropolitan
Police Department, from enforcing almost all of the gun laws of the
District of Columbia, making the District perhaps the most permissive
gun jurisdiction in the country.
The D.C. government would not be able to stop a person from carrying,
openly or concealed, an assault weapon, including a .50-caliber sniper
rifle with a magazine holding an unlimited number of bullets on any
street and in any building except, of course, Federal buildings, like
the one where we now stand.
You want to buy a gun in a private transaction without undergoing a
background check? The D.C. government couldn't stop you if this bill
passed. Angry, want to buy a gun right now with no waiting period? The
D.C. government couldn't stop you.
Want to buy 100 handguns today? The D.C. government couldn't stop
you. Want to carry a gun in a D.C. government building, including a
polling place or the DMV? The D.C. government couldn't stop you.
Convicted of a violent misdemeanor this week and want to buy and carry
a gun? The D.C. government couldn't stop you.
Every single Federal court that has ruled on the constitutionality of
the District's post-Heller gun laws has upheld them. They have upheld
our assault weapons ban, upheld our ban on large capacity ammunition-
feeding devices, and upheld our registration requirements.
[[Page H6320]]
The Supreme Court only struck down D.C.'s effective gun ban law,
holding only that a resident is entitled to have a gun in his home
only. This bill goes well beyond the Supreme Court. It is a flagrant
abuse of democracy by a Member who comes here with Tea Party principles
that says power should be devolved to the local level.
He is playing with the lives of American citizens who are not
accountable to him, who live in my city, and he is playing with the
lives of the Federal officials and visitors from across the country who
we are charged to defend and protect while they are in our city.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Massie).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes
appeared to have it.
Mr. MASSIE. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further
proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Kentucky
will be postponed.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Ellison
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. The amounts otherwise provided by this Act are
revised by reducing the amount made available for ``Supreme
Court of the United States--Salaries and Expenses'', and
increasing the amount made available for ``The White House--
Salaries and Expenses'', by $2.13.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from Minnesota and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota.
Mr. ELLISON. Mr. Chairman, based on the debates and discussions we
have had in this Chamber, I have come to the conclusion that my friends
on the other side of the aisle believe that $7.25 is enough to raise a
family on in America. That is the current Federal minimum wage.
Since we haven't had any ability to change it, to move it up, I
assume that they assume that it is good enough for people, but I can't
imagine that they think $2.13 is enough, but that is the Federal
minimum wage for tip workers in America today. That is the Federal
minimum wage for tip workers, and it is an appalling condition, and it
should be an outrage for all of us.
Mr. Chairman, 3.3 million Americans are trying to make it on $2.13 an
hour, plus tips; and 75 percent of those, Mr. Chairman, are women.
{time} 1315
What does it translate to? What does it all mean? It means that
millions of Americans go to work every day and are forced to interview
every time they serve a customer for their money. Every time they meet
a new customer and take an order, they have to do a tryout or an
interview to see if they are going to get paid. It is wrong, and we
shouldn't tolerate it in this society. Tip workers are twice as likely
as other workers to fall below the poverty line and three times as
likely to rely on food stamps to close the gap between what they are
paid and what they have to survive on.
Mr. Chairman, the companies that pay them these tip wages in many
cases are relying on us, the Federal Government, through the food stamp
program, to make up the wages that they will not pay. At least we
should make them pay their own freight for their own workers. People
don't want to go to food stamps, but they need to, and the Federal
Government helps them by setting food stamps.
What if the employers themselves were required to pay a better wage?
Tip workers are likely to experience wage theft. From 2010 to 2012, the
Department of Labor conducted investigations of full-service
restaurants and found violations in nearly all, including tip
violations. A tip violation might be when an employer refuses to ``top
up'' the pay to ensure that they are getting at least $7.25 when tips
are low. Tip violations could also include making employees do work
that doesn't earn tips, like cleaning or cooking, but still paying them
$2.13 an hour. It happens, and it shouldn't happen.
If we lifted the minimum wage to $10.10 for all tip workers, 700,000
tip workers would be lifted out of poverty--half of whom would be
people of color--and $12.7 billion in more wages would be pumped into
the economy.
Mr. Chair, in February, President Obama signed an executive order
requiring Federal contractors, including those with contracts to
provide concessions like restaurants, to pay $10.10.
No one who works full-time should have to live in poverty. I urge
adoption of the amendment, and I urge all Members of this body to at
least demand that we don't have to make up wages that are not paid in
the form of government supports.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Florida is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I think when you look at the amendment,
the gentleman wants to take money away from the Supreme Court and give
money to the White House. What he had to say didn't seem to bear any
relevance to what the amendment said. It was entertaining talk. I know
he is free to offer any amendment he wants to offer. He could come down
and do a 1-minute and talk about what he just talked about, and he
could do a 5-minute Special Order and talk about what he talked about.
I am not sure that the amendment that he offered is serious in the
sense of why he is tampering with Supreme Court funding and tampering
with White House funding. I just would urge my colleagues to say we
enjoyed the chat. I appreciate him bringing that to our attention.
I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this amendment, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Ellison).
The amendment was rejected.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Rokita
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. (a) None of the funds made available by this Act
may be used to propose, make, finalize, or implement any
rule, regulation, interpretive rule, or general statement of
policy issued after the date of enactment of this Act, that
is issued pursuant to section 553 of title 5, United States
Code.
(b) The prohibition in subsection (a) shall not apply with
respect to rules, regulations, interpretive rules, or general
statement of policy excepted under section 553(a) of title 5,
United States Code, or that are made on the record after
opportunity for an agency hearing under sections 556 or 557
of such title.
Mr. ROKITA (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the
gentleman's amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. A point of order is reserved.
Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman from Indiana and a
Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Indiana.
Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Chairman, I understand my amendment is subject to a
point of order due to scoring or budget concerns. While I intend to
cooperate and withdraw this amendment, I would like to acknowledge that
this body has a history of waiving points of order on similar
legislation that would result in substantive regulatory reforms, which
is exactly what my amendment could accomplish.
One specific example would be the REINS Act, of which I am a
cosponsor, passed in this Congress and passed in the last Congress,
which would very meaningfully overhaul our rulemaking system, much like
this amendment would. Prior to the passage of that bill, we rightfully
waived all points of order, including one being applied
[[Page H6321]]
against my amendment here this afternoon, presumably.
Mr. Chairman, I would propose that this body should wave points of
order on legislation that would significantly and positively reform our
regulatory process so that we can significantly help our economy by
getting the boots of the regulatory and bureaucratic systems off the
necks of those who create jobs in this country.
For too long, the executive branch has continued to build its power
through expanding the regulatory state. The agencies that we in
Congress have tasked with the execution of the laws we now pass is in
contravention of our intent, acting improperly as legislative bodies,
with no really direct accountability to the voter.
Whether through ``interpretive rules,'' ``general statements of
policy,'' or through regulations themselves, administrative agencies
have placed extreme burdens on all Americans without the transparency
or electoral accountability that our Founders envisioned.
Today, that process has yielded nearly 175,000 pages of regulations,
growing by roughly 1,500 pages per week, written by unelected people
who rarely consider the impact on our economy or the lives of the
people the rules impact. In fact, the only thing growing faster around
here, Mr. Chairman, is our public debt load. This has been a decades-
long abdication of duty by Congresses past, and we must correct it.
Currently, informal rulemaking is the method of choice for proposing
rules and regulations around here and simply requires: one, publication
of a rule; two, an opportunity for public comment, but has no
requirement to give weight to those comments from the public. In fact,
any time I have questioned an agency witness during my 3\1/2\ years
here, not one has been able to answer one simple question, and that is:
What weight do you give public comments during the rulemaking process?
What formula do you use? They can't answer the question because the
answer is this: they don't care; it doesn't matter. What everyone wants
or what the comment may be, if it stands in the way of the agenda of
the rule, it gets no weight.
So I am offering this amendment today to require all new rules and
regulations to follow the formal rulemaking process which is already in
law--it is in the Administrative Procedure Act--while leaving in place
existing emergency exceptions to the rulemaking process, fully
recognizing, though, that we have to address the definition of
``emergency'' at some point as well.
Several reforms passed by this House go a long way in providing
relief to the end of the regulatory process--at least to improving it.
My amendment provides relief at the beginning of the rulemaking
process, slows the regulatory state, and increases transparency of this
increasingly opaque and secret bureaucracy.
Formal rulemaking requires a trial-like procedure, requiring parties
to make their case for or against a rule in public. As a result, the
administration, no matter the party, must prove the worth of their
rules and regulations on the Record rather than relying on a closed-
door balancing of public comments. Again, there is a record made, so we
know--just like all of America knows from the proceedings on the floor
of this House, we know the reasons for the final makeup of the rule;
and, if need be, we can further challenge the rule.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment is consistent with the intent of the 79th
Congress, which created this law for the agency rulemaking process. In
the Judiciary Committee report of the law, the committee stated that:
Matters of great import, or those where the public
submission of facts will be either useful to the agency or a
protection to the public, should naturally be accorded more
elaborate public procedures.
The formal rulemaking process, Mr. Chairman, does that. So while, Mr.
Chairman, I think that, in order to protect the public and the
Republic, the rampant regulatory state must be stopped and agencies
must afford the public weighted input and transparency during
rulemaking.
Out of respect for the chair and its appropriations process, I ask
unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment at this time.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from Indiana?
There was no objection.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Crowley
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. The amounts otherwise provided by this Act are
revised by reducing the amount made available for ``Supreme
Court of the United States--Salaries and Expenses'', and
increasing the amount made available for ``The White House--
Salaries and Expenses'', by $7.25.
Mr. CROWLEY (during the reading). Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous
consent to dispense with the reading of the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from New York?
There was no objection.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from New York and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New York.
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Chairman, my amendment--and I say this in
anticipation and hope that the Chair and the gentleman from Florida
doesn't think I am tampering. Tampering has a very negative connotation
to it. What I would like to think we are doing is legislating today,
and I would hope that it is taken in that light.
Mr. Chairman, my amendment would decrease part of the bill before us
by $7.25 and increase the budget of the White House by that same
amount.
Why would I offer this amendment? It is such a small amount of money
after all--$7.25. But just ask the millions of Americans who make only
$7.25 an hour, otherwise known as the current minimum wage.
What can the executive branch do with this money? They can buy pens,
Mr. Chairman. They can buy pens that the President could use to keep
signing executive orders focused on raising the wages of hardworking
Americans.
Last February, in light of no action from this Republic-controlled
Congress, the President took the small but legal step of raising the
minimum wage of employees working on Federal contracting projects, such
as fast-food employees in Federal buildings and on our military bases.
What has become crystal clear is that the Republican majority has no
intention of putting forward an agenda focused on lifting hardworking
Americans out of poverty. They have no intention of putting forward a
jobs agenda. They have no intention of helping to foster economic
growth in our country, but this administration wants to. And where
Congress has failed, the administration has not faltered.
Today, let's give $7.25 to the President so he can keep up that
necessary work. If Republicans would join us in raising the minimum
wage and lifting up American workers instead of putting language in
this bill to forbid the President from trying to raise the wages of
hardworking Americans, we wouldn't have this conversation today.
That is right. Apparently it is not enough for Republicans to refuse
to bring legislation for a vote that would raise the minimum wage; now
they are also trying to stop the President from taking the small steps
that he can do to raise the wages of Federal contractors, like those in
the fast-food industry.
They added sections 203 and 204 to this bill to specifically prohibit
an executive order to do just that. I mean, come on, give us a break.
Not only won't they allow a vote on the minimum wage, but now they want
to tie the President's hands so that he can't help advance the issue
either when they won't.
Why are they fighting so hard against supporting working people in
American families? No one working full-time should live in poverty. At
$7.25 an hour, that is the reality facing 16.5 million Americans.
So, when you hear that Congress is debating another huge spending
bill, I want America to know that the Republican majority has snuck in
language into this bill that actually prevents working people from
getting a raise in their hourly pay. Democrats have a bill to raise the
minimum wage and it is
[[Page H6322]]
ready to go, but Republicans in Congress refuse to allow a simple up or
down vote on that bill.
What would happen if the Congress raised the minimum wage for every
American from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour? 16.5 million American
workers would see a raise, not just the 2 million workers on Federal
contracts.
{time} 1330
We would experience a boost to the economy, since more people with
more money equals more spending in our economy; and we would be helping
families and breadwinners, since the facts show adults make up 88
percent of the low wage workers. The average age of a minimum wage
employee is 35 years of age.
Raising the minimum wage helps others as well. It also helps people
who earn more by reducing the need for full-time workers to rely on
public assistance such as food stamps and Medicaid. So raising the pay
of our lowest paid workers is not only good for minimum wage workers,
but for all taxpayers.
No one who works full-time should live in poverty. We need to raise
the minimum wage, and we need to prevent any and every effort by House
Republicans to roll back any incremental increases in pay the President
can legally give to workers on Federal contracts.
Let's pass this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Florida is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman's effort in
terms of minimum wage legislation, but I would simply remind him that
this is an appropriations bill. The Appropriations Committee is not the
committee of jurisdiction as it relates to minimum wage.
As he points out, if he has legislation ready to go, I would just
encourage him to introduce that at the appropriate place, have the
appropriate discussions, and move forward there. But this is not the
time or the place. Again, I appreciate his effort to legislate.
With that, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no,'' and I yield back the
balance of my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from New York (Mr. Crowley).
The amendment was rejected.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Lankford
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available in this Act may
be used to study, promulgate, draft, review, implement, or
enforce any rule pursuant to section 913 of the Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act or amendments
made by such section.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from Oklahoma and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, this is a study in unintended
consequences.
This body determined that they wanted to have more oversight over
people that are called broker-dealers of investment funds. They would
be handled the exact same way as investment advisers that handle high-
end, large investments from wealthy individuals across the country. So
the two are trying to be merged together. The Department of Labor and
SEC are both trying to come up with their own version of a set of
rules.
Here is the unintended consequence that is coming at America: those
folks on the lower end and the middle end of America are about to lose
a lot of people that helped them with investment advisers.
Here is how it works:
Say you have a newlywed couple, just out of school, just getting
started, making $26,000 a year combined, as a couple, and determine
they are going to do the responsible thing. They are also going to open
up a retirement account and get started thinking about decades from
now. We encourage that couple to start thinking about their retirement.
Would that couple making $26,000 a year, with what they are going to
put into retirement--$15 a month, maybe--are they going to be
attractive to an investment dealer? No, they are not going to be
attracted to them. It is a very small amount; $15, $20. But one of
these broker-dealers, that is what they love to do. They sign up
couples just like that.
The rules coming down from Dodd-Frank will put a new set of standards
on those individuals that are providing retirement investment
opportunities for people at the very beginning of their investment
time. This hits exactly the wrong people, and the benevolent thoughts
at the beginning are now coming down to unintended consequences across
our country that there will actually be a disincentive to provide
retirement vehicles for those with lower and middle income.
The middle-income Americans should have every incentive and every
opportunity to save. This simply says to the SEC they cannot promulgate
that rule. They need to set it aside and keep the same standards that
are already in place. This is not an unregulated industry. They are a
heavily regulated industry already.
Keep the same standards in place, and do not discourage investments
for retirement from going into lower- and middle-income Americans.
With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from New York is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.
The gentleman may not remember the financial meltdown of 2007-2008,
but one of the causes was lax oversight by the previous
administration's financial regulators. Dodd-Frank has addressed many of
these issues and restored safety and security in the marketplace. It
has increased oversight over the financial sector in order to protect
those on Main Street from abuses on Wall Street.
This is not the time or place to change that landmark legislation.
Any attempt to do so will create greater uncertainty in the marketplace
and among many Americans, including retirees, who depend upon Federal
regulators to protect them. We should not undermine the much-needed
reforms of Dodd-Frank, let alone in an appropriations bill.
This is yet another example of the other side attempting to add
legislative riders to must-pass legislation that they could not pass
through their regular legislative process. I oppose the amendment, and
I urge my colleagues to do the same.
I would remind everyone that we continue to find ways to try to undo
either the Affordable Care Act, or ObamaCare, which is already law and
approved by the Supreme Court, or Dodd-Frank, which is the law of the
land. The sad part of it all is that we seem to have very short
memories. We seem to forget that we are still suffering from the
effects of 2007 and 2008 and what happened in my city on Wall Street
and how it had the effect throughout the Nation.
We have to regulate, whether we like it or not. We don't have to
overburden industry; we don't have to harm anyone; but we can't allow
people to do what they did before, which is hurt the economy and put us
in the bind we are still in.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from
Florida (Mr. Crenshaw).
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of this amendment.
I think we all believe in commonsense regulation--and we have plenty
of that--but the gentleman has pointed out that so often well-
intentioned rules and regulations have unintended consequences.
I don't think anybody believes that we don't have enough regulation.
Any time there is a problem, somebody suggests that we spend more
money, we pass another rule, we pass another law.
What I think we need and what this gentleman is talking about is that
we need common sense. We need to protect investors, but we need to do
it in a reasonable way.
So this is an amendment that I think makes the point that so often
the rules
[[Page H6323]]
are bad for investors, they are bad for the economy, and that shouldn't
be the case.
So I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, I would just close by saying the 2008
financial meltdown was not caused because middle-income Americans
didn't have access to retirement funds.
This is a way to be able to protect middle-income Americans, protect
their retirement, and to encourage them to save in the future, not
decreasing the number of options they have out there. I would like to
have lots of folks out there encouraging lots of Americans to be able
to save in not just the largest investment dealers in the country,
trying to go after the largest, highest-income Americans. So this is
something that we should support to maintain the regulations that are
already in place and not decrease the options for Americans.
I yield back the balance my time.
The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the
gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lankford).
The amendment was agreed to.
Amendment Offered by Mr. Lankford
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the
following:
Sec. __. None of the funds made available by this Act may
be used by the Federal Communications Commission to make any
changes to its policies with respect to broadcast indecency.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 661, the gentleman
from Oklahoma and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oklahoma.
Mr. LANKFORD. Mr. Chairman, last year, the FCC published a notice
that stated they had greatly reduced their backlog of complaints on
indecent and obscene language and images on TV and sought comments on
whether they should change their policy on enforcement moving forward.
However, they reduced their backlog by 70 percent by closing out
roughly 1 million cases that seemed too old to pursue or, as they
believed, not within their justification to enforce. The end result was
that the FCC unilaterally decided to leave complaints of incidents
where TV content was offensive or inappropriate to be aired at times
children are likely to be in the audience to be uninvestigated and
unenforced.
Moving forward, they asked the public if the FCC should make it the
official policy of the Commission that they should only investigate the
most serious violations of indecency on television. For instance, they
wanted to know if a complaint against repeated expletives in a program
warrants enforcement, while maybe an incident of one or two expletives
does not. To many parents, this is an unreasonable distinction to make.
As Chief Justice Roberts has mentioned in some of his opinions on
this, this is not an incidence of only having a brief instance of
nudity, that that shouldn't be warranted, when extensive nudity is not.
While the FCC has not acted to formally finalize this regulation, it
is in the public's best interest that they not continue down this road.
If they do institute it, it will give the FCC the ability to decide, on
behalf of the viewing public, what is indecent and what is not based on
the rules that they have now.
This is a significant shift away from the standards that have been
set, and the American public wants to be able write in and complain
about what their children have access to. Many of us as Americans have
real concerns about what is happening in television and the enforcement
now of existing law.
Quite frankly, Mr. Chairman, it is difficult to even allow your
children to watch commercials nowadays, much less the television during
the children's viewing hour. This is simply a statement to say to the
FCC that they should retain and continue the current enforcement they
already have.
I understand that there are some issues with this amendment. I
understand full well there are some issues we need to deal with in the
FCC in days ahead.
Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman
from Oklahoma?
There was no objection.
Vacating Demand for Recorded Vote on Amendment No. 2 Offered by Mr.
Meehan
Mr. SERRANO. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my
request for a recorded vote on amendment No. 2 offered by Mr. Meehan of
Pennsylvania to the end that the amendment stand disposed of by the
voice vote thereon.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will redesignate the amendment.
The Clerk redesignated the amendment.
The Acting CHAIR. Without objection, the request for a recorded vote
is withdrawn. Accordingly, the ayes have it and the amendment is
adopted.
Mr. CRENSHAW. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.
The motion was agreed to.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Jolly) having assumed the chair, Mr. Lucas, Acting Chair of the
Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union, reported that
that Committee, having had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5016)
making appropriations for financial services and general government for
the fiscal year ending September 30, 2015, and for other purposes, had
come to no resolution thereon.
____________________