[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 78 (Tuesday, May 17, 2016)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D521-D525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 14 public bills, H.R. 5258-
5271; and 3 resolutions, H.J. Res. 94; H. Con. Res. 131; and H. Res. 
734 were introduced.                                  
  Pages H2699-H2700
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H2700-01
Reports Filed: Reports were filed today as follows:
  H.R. 3484, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to enter 
into certain leases at the Department of Veterans Affairs West Los 
Angeles Campus in Los Angeles, California, and for other purposes, with 
an amendment (H. Rept. 114-570);

[[Page D522]]


  H. Res. 735, providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 
4909) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2017 for military 
activities of the Department of Defense and for military construction, 
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for 
other purposes (H. Rept. 114-571); and
  H. Res. 736, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 4974) 
making appropriations for military construction, the Department of 
Veterans Affairs, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2017, and for other purposes; providing for consideration 
of the bill (H.R. 5243) making appropriations for the fiscal year 
ending September 30, 2016, to strengthen public health activities in 
response to the Zika virus, and for other purposes; and for other 
purposes (H. Rept. 114-572).                                 
Page H2699
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed 
Representative Duncan (TN) to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H2431
Recess: The House recessed at 10:48 a.m. and reconvened at 12 noon. 
                                                             Page H2436
Guest Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Rabbi Jay 
Weinstein, Young Israel of East Brunswick, East Brunswick, New Jersey. 
                                                             Page H2436
Suspension: The House failed to agree to suspend the rules and pass the 
following measure:
  Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act: H.R. 897, amended, to amend the 
Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and the Federal 
Water Pollution Control Act to clarify Congressional intent regarding 
the regulation of the use of pesticides in or near navigable waters, by 
a \2/3\ yea-and-nay vote of 262 yeas to 159 nays, Roll No. 199. 
                                               Pages H2446-55, H2457-58
Motion to Instruct Conferees: The House rejected the Esty motion to 
instruct conferees on S. 524 by a yea-and-nay vote of 182 yeas to 236 
nays, Roll No. 198. The motion was debated Friday, May 13th. 
                                                         Pages H2456-57
  Subsequently, the Chair appointed the following conferees:
  For consideration of the Senate bill and the House amendments, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Upton, Pitts, 
Lance, Guthrie, Kinzinger (IL), Bucshon, Brooks (IN), Goodlatte, 
Sensenbrenner, Smith (TX), Marino, Collins (GA), Trott, Bishop (MI), 
McCarthy, Pallone, Ben Ray Lujan (NM), Sarbanes, Gene Green (TX), 
Conyers, Jackson Lee, Judy Chu (CA), Cohen, Esty, Kuster, and Courtney.
  From the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for consideration 
of title VII of the House amendment, and modifications committed to 
conference: Representatives Barletta, Carter (GA), and Scott (VA).
  From the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for consideration of title 
III of the House amendment, and modifications committed to conference: 
Representatives Bilirakis, Walorski, and Ruiz.
  From the Committee on Ways and Means, for consideration of sec. 705 
of the Senate bill, and sec. 804 of the House amendment, and 
modifications committed to conference: Representatives Meehan, Dold, 
and McDermott.                                               
Page H2458
National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017: The House 
began consideration of H.R. 4909, to authorize appropriations for 
fiscal year 2017 for military activities of the Department of Defense 
and for military construction, and to prescribe military personnel 
strengths for such fiscal year. Consideration is expected to resume 
tomorrow, May 18th.                  
  Pages H2438-46, H2455-56, H2458-98
  Pursuant to the Rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 114-51, modified by the 
amendment printed in part A of H. Rept. 114-569, shall be considered as 
adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole, in lieu of the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on 
Armed Services now printed in the bill. The bill, as amended, shall be 
considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment 
under the five-minute rule.                       
Pages H2438-39, H2455
Agreed to:
  Thornberry amendment (No. 1 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that clarifies that the special transfer authority in section 1702 is 
subject to appropriation Acts;                               
Page H2667
  Thornberry en bloc amendment No. 1, as modified, consisting of the 
following amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569: McKinley 
(No. 4) that increases the National Guard Youth Challenge Program under 
Civil Military Programs by $15 million and decreases by the same amount 
Operations and Maintenance, Defense-wide; Guthrie (No. 5) that 
authorizes the Secretary of the Army to continue to provide for the 
production, treatment, management, and use of natural gas located under 
Fort Knox, Kentucky; Gallego (No. 6) that requires each branch of the 
Armed Services to monitor prescribing of medications to treat PTSD 
among Service Members; Graves (MO) (No. 7), as modified, that requires 
the DOD to report to the Armed Services Committee on the agency's use 
of a two-phase procurement process; Jackson Lee (No. 8) that requires 
outreach for small business concerns owned and controlled by women and 
minorities required before

[[Page D523]]

conversion of certain functions to contractor performance; Jackson Lee 
(No. 9) that requires the Government Accountability Office to include 
in its annual report to Congress a list of the most common grounds for 
sustaining protests related to bids for contracts; Hunter (No. 15) that 
expands the use of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential 
(TWIC) regarding access at DoD installations; Royce (No. 17) that 
prohibits any action to impair U.S. jurisdiction and control over Naval 
Station Guantanamo Bay unless authorized or provided by subsequent 
statute or treaty, based on unique legal history of that U.S. base; 
Moore (No. 20) that expresses the sense of Congress regarding the 
intentional targeting of and attacks against medical facilities and 
medical providers in Syria; Forbes (No. 21) that requires that the 
Secretary of Defense submit a report at the end of each fiscal year 
listing each request received from Taiwan and each letter of offer to 
sell any defense articles or services under the Arms Export Control Act 
to Taiwan during such fiscal year; Graves (MO) (No. 23) that reins in 
SBA's authority to fund initiatives outside its current authorized 
authority; and Adams (No. 27) that provides for online entrepreneurial 
counseling services through the Service Corps of Retired Executives 
(SCORE) program and requires SCORE to submit a study and report on the 
future of the program through a strategic plan that covers the course 
of the next 5 years;                                     
Pages H2667-73
  Westerman amendment (No. 2 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that provides an additional $82.4 million for the Surface-To-Air 
missile MSE program that mitigates critical shortfall in Army War 
Reserve requirements; takes $82.4 million from Atomic Energy Defense 
Activities, National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Nuclear 
Nonproliferation, Material management and minimization account; 
                                                         Pages H2673-75
  Thornberry amendment (No. 11 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that amends Section 101 of the National Security Act of 1947 to address 
the National Security Council's enlarged staff size and subsequent 
micromanagement of military operations, which is inconsistent with its 
statutory advisory and coordination roles; also increases oversight and 
accountability by requiring Senate confirmation of the National 
Security Advisor if the staff size of the National Security Council 
exceeds 100 employees;                                   
Pages H2677-79
  Walorski amendment (No. 13 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that amends the Freedom of Information Act to include the National 
Security Council (NSC) and makes the FOIA requirement effective after 
Senate confirmation of National Security Advisor;        
Pages H2681-82
  Thornberry en bloc amendment No. 2 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569: Calvert (No. 19) that 
requires a report on the Department of Defense civilian work force and 
contractors; Collins (NY) (No. 28) that requires the Secretary of the 
Army to consider using cost-competitive technologies that minimize 
waste generation and air emissions as alternatives to current disposal 
methods when reducing munitions in the stockpile of conventional 
ammunition or B5A Account; Russell (No. 29) that expresses the Sense of 
Congress that the Dept. of Defense should reassess their guidelines on 
how they evaluate motor carrier safety performance; the GAO found that 
DOD lowered standards to Dept. of Transportation standards, even for 
the transport of hazardous materials; Costa (No. 30) that directs the 
Secretary to report to the Committees of jurisdiction regarding the 
efficacy of prioritizing training exercises for National Guard IRT 
teams with well drilling capability in locations in disadvantaged 
communities with drinking water supplies that have been impacted as a 
result of drought; McKinley (No. 31) that requires the Secretary of 
Defense to establish an electronic tour calculator so that reservists 
could keep track of aggregated active duty tours of 90 days or more 
served within a fiscal year; Meng (No. 32) that requires GAO report on 
admissions practices and gender composition of military service 
academies; Palmer (No. 33) that allows for the award of a Distinguished 
Service Cross to 1st LT Melvin M. Spruiell for his acts of valor during 
WWII as a member of the Army serving in France with the 377th Parachute 
Field Artillery, 101st Airborne Division; Sewell (AL) (No. 34) that 
allows cyber institutes to place a special emphasis on entering into a 
partnership with a local educational agency located in a rural, under 
served, or underrepresented community; Takano (No. 35) that includes in 
the report to Congress on the direct employment pilot program for 
members of the National Guard and Reserve (Sec. 566) a comparison of 
the pilot program to other DOD and VA unemployment and underemployment 
programs; Grayson (No. 36) that requires the inclusion of information 
concerning the availability of treatment options and resources 
available to address substance abuse (including alcohol, prescription 
drug, and opioid abuse), as part of the required servicemember 
preseparation counseling; Bost (No. 37) that makes a technical change 
to impact aid program; and DelBene (No. 38) that eliminates the 2-year 
eligibility limitation for noncompetitive appointment of military 
spouses to civil service positions when a member of the Armed Forces is 
relocated in connection with their service;              
Pages H2682-85

[[Page D524]]


  Kelly (PA) amendment (No. 16 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that prohibits funds from being used to destroy anti-personnel landmine 
munitions unless the Secretary of Defense submits a report on research 
into operational alternatives to these munitions;        
Pages H2687-88
  Walorski amendment (No. 18 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that requires the United States Government and the government of a 
foreign country to enter into a written memorandum of understanding 
regarding the transfer of an individual from Guantanamo Bay and 
transmitted to the Congress;                             
Pages H2688-90
  Thornberry en bloc amendment No. 3 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569: Turner (No. 22) that 
expresses a Sense of Congress that the United States should take 
certain actions relevant to maintaining NATO's solidarity, strength, 
and deterrent capability in addition to promoting NATO enlargement at 
the July 2016 NATO Summit in Warsaw, Poland; Hanna (No. 24) that 
directs Small Business Development Centers to provide, to the extent 
practicable, cyber assistance to small businesses; requires the Small 
Business Administration and the Department of Homeland Security to 
develop a joint ``SBDC Cyber Strategy'' to provide necessary guidance 
to Small Business Development Centers regarding how they can improve 
the coordination and provision of federal cyber assistance to small 
businesses; Bera (No. 39) that requires the Secretary of Defense, in 
consultation with the Secretaries of the VA, Education, and Labor, to 
submit a report to Congress detailing the transfer of skills into 
college credit or technical certifications for members of the Armed 
Forces leaving the military; McGovern (No. 40) that requires the 
Secretary of Defense to design and produce a military service medal to 
honor retired and former members of the Armed Forces who are radiation-
exposed veterans (Atomic Veterans); Grayson (No. 41) that requires the 
Secretary of Defense to consider ``comparable quality of service'' as 
criteria used to determine partnership agreements between facilities of 
the uniformed services and local or regional health care systems; 
Carter (TX) (No. 42) that places specific reporting requirements on the 
Defense Department when prescribing and distributing Mefloquine to 
members of the Armed Forces, and requires the Secretary of Defense to 
conduct an annual review for each Mefloquine prescription; expands the 
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic 
Brain Injury's mission to include the study of the adverse health 
effects of Mefloquine; Wilson (SC) (No. 43) that modifies Section 
825(f) of the FY17 NDAA to sunset the required report after five years; 
Wilson (SC) (No. 44) that modifies the effective date for section 
901(a)(1) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2015 by extending it one year to February 1, 2018; Beyer (No. 45) that 
ensures that DOD is using LPTA in an effective and appropriate manner 
as a source selection process. States that it should be DOD policy to 
avoid LPTA use in circumstances that potentially deny the Department 
the benefits of cost and technical tradeoffs in the source selection 
process; Burgess (No. 46) that requires a report ranking all military 
departments and Defense Agencies in order of how advanced they are in 
achieving auditable financial statements as required by law; Turner 
(No. 47) that requires the Secretary of the Air Force to provide a 
briefing to the House Armed Services Committee on the process used to 
include proximity to certain commercial airports as part of its 
Strategic Basing Process; Frankel (FL) (No. 49) that expresses 
Congress's appreciation to American veterans disabled for life and 
supports the annual recognition of these individuals each year; and 
Beyer (No. 50) that pairs the FAA and the DOD to study possible changes 
to these routes and altitude caps to minimize the impact from these 
overflight operations;                                   
Pages H2690-93
  Thornberry en bloc amendment No. 4 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569: Zeldin (No. 48) that 
requires the United States Navy to specifically assess synthetic 
aperture sonar systems and subsequently report on whether they are a 
suitable for incorporation on the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS); Trott 
(No. 51) that states that the President shall instruct the U.S. 
Ambassador to the United Nations to use the voice and vote of the 
United States to seek the establishment of a United Nations processing 
center in Erbil, Iraq to assist internationally displaced communities; 
Vela (No. 52) that requires the Department of Defense to submit a 
report to Congress on the impact of cartel violence in Mexico on U.S. 
national security; Thornberry (No. 53) that requires the Secretaries of 
Defense and State to submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a 
report containing a description of the steps the United States has 
taken, plans to take, and will take to provide Taiwan with arms of a 
defensive character in accordance with the Taiwan Relations Act; Nolan 
(No. 54) that prohibits funding from the Syria Train and Equip program 
to recipients that the Secretary of Defense has reported as having 
misused provided training and equipment; Aguilar (No. 55) that creates 
a pilot program to improve the ability of the Army and Air Force, 
respectively, to recruit cyber professionals; Dold (No. 56) that 
extends the authorization of a 2014 project for barracks at Great 
Lakes, IL; Judy Chu (CA) (No. 57) that ensures that the Small Business 
Administration considers the population density of the area to be

[[Page D525]]

serviced by women's business centers when reviewing and selecting 
eligible entities for WBC grants; Perlmutter (No. 58) that allows deed 
restrictions on former U.S. Army land at Rocky Mountain Arsenal to be 
modified or removed should an environmental risk assessment determine 
the property is protective for residential or industrial uses; Pompeo 
(No. 59) that requires the Director of National Intelligence to 
complete a declassification review of intelligence reports related to 
the past terrorist activities of individuals who were transferred or 
released from GTMO, and make available to the public any information 
declassified as a result of the declassification review; and McSally 
(No. 61) that places a prohibition on enforcement of military 
commission rulings preventing members of the Armed Forces from carrying 
out otherwise lawful duties based on member gender, such as guarding 
high-value detainees at Guantanamo Bay;                  
Pages H2693-95
  Rogers (AL) amendment (No. 26 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that fences 50% of the funds for the Office of the Secretary of Energy 
until he provides a specific report to the specified congressional 
committees; and                                          
Pages H2696-97
  Zinke amendment (No. 60 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569), as 
modified, that ensures the security of our land-based nuclear forces 
and ensures an acquisition strategy that will field a UH 1N replacement 
aircraft in fiscal year 2018; adds a new section titled Requests for 
Forces to Meet Security Requirements for Land-Based Nuclear Forces. 
                                                         Pages H2697-98
Rejected:
  Garamendi amendment (No. 3 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that sought to reduce the authorization for the Ground Based Strategic 
Deterrent program by $17.93 million, the amount identified by the 
Government Accountability Office as in excess of program need for 
Fiscal Year 2016; increase the authorization for Air Force procurement 
of Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures by $17.93 million to address 
an unfunded requirement identified by the Air Force; and 
                                                         Pages H2675-76
  Larsen (WA) amendment (No. 25 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that sought to amend waiver on prohibition of use of atomic energy 
defense funding for work with Russia to allow the Secretary of Energy 
to issue waiver if activity will significantly reduce the nuclear 
threat, regardless of backlog at DOE defense nuclear facilities. 
                                                         Pages H2695-96
Proceedings Postponed:
  McKinley amendment (No. 10 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) 
that seeks to require the Secretary of Defense to ensure that every 
tactical missile program of the Department of Defense that uses solid 
propellant as the primary propulsion system shall have at least two 
fully certified rocket motor suppliers in the event that one of the 
rocket motor suppliers is outside the national technology and 
industrial base;                                         
Pages H2676-77
  Nadler amendment (No. 12 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569) that 
seeks to remove funding prohibitions on the closure of the prison at 
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; and                                
Pages H2679-81
  Poe (TX) amendment (No. 14 printed in part B of H. Rept. 114-569), as 
modified, that seeks to insert a proposed new text for Sec. 1048. 
                                                         Pages H2685-87
  H. Res. 732, the rule providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 
4909) was agreed to by a recorded vote of 234 ayes to 181 noes, Roll 
No. 197, after the previous question was ordered by a yea-and-nay vote 
of 239 yeas to 177 nays, Roll No. 196.                   
Pages H2455-56
Recess: The House recessed at 6:39 p.m and reconvened at 11:51 p.m. 
                                                             Page H2698
Presidential Message: Read a message from the President wherein he 
notified Congress that the national emergency declared with respect to 
Burma is to continue in effect beyond May 20, 2016--referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed (H. Rept. 114-
135).                                                        
  Page H2446
Senate Messages: Messages received from the Senate today appear on 
pages H2446, H2677.
Senate Referral: S. 2040 was referred to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.                                                   
  Page H2698
Quorum Calls--Votes: Three yea-and-nay votes and one recorded vote 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H2455-56, 
H2456, H2457, H2457-58. There were no quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 11:53 p.m.