[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[House]
[Pages H3280-H3283]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
2017
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 743 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. 5055.
Will the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Ribble) kindly take the chair.
{time} 1030
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. 5055) making appropriations for energy and water
development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September
30, 2017, and for other purposes, with Mr. Ribble (Acting Chair) in the
chair.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole House rose on May
25, 2016, an amendment offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr.
DeSantis) had been disposed of and the bill had been read through 80,
line 15.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I move that the Committee do now rise and
report the bill back to the House with sundry amendments, with the
recommendation that the amendments be agreed to and that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
The motion was agreed to.
Accordingly, the Committee rose; and the Speaker pro tempore (Mr.
Lucas) having assumed the chair, Mr. Ribble 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. 5055)
making appropriations for energy and water development and related
agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2017, and for other
purposes, directed him to report the bill back to the House with sundry
[[Page H3281]]
amendments adopted in the Committee of the Whole, with the
recommendation that the amendments be agreed to and that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under House Resolution 743, the previous
question is ordered.
Is a separate vote demanded on any amendment reported from the
Committee of the Whole? If not, the Chair will put them en gros.
The amendments were agreed to.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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.
Motion to Recommit
Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is the gentleman opposed to the bill?
Mr. LANGEVIN. I am opposed to the bill in its current form.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to
recommit.
The Clerk read as follows:
Mr. Langevin moves to recommit the bill H.R. 5055 to the
Committee on Appropriations with instructions to report the
same back to the House forthwith with the following
amendment:
In the ``Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation'' account on page
53, line 11, after the dollar amount, insert ``(increased by
$20,000,000)''.
In the ``Federal Salaries and Expenses'' account on page
54, line 14, after the dollar amount relating to the National
Nuclear Security Administration, insert ``(reduced by
$20,000,000)''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Rhode Island is
recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill,
which would not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted,
the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended.
Mr. Speaker, this amendment is simple. It adds $20 million to nuclear
nonproliferation accounts so that nuclear materials do not fall into
the wrong hands.
The possibility that terrorists or rogue nations will acquire nuclear
weapons, fissile material, or radiological material that could be used
in a dirty bomb are among the gravest threats facing our Nation and the
international community.
Right now, luckily--though there are, of course, exceptions--these
most dangerous weapons are in the hands of responsible actors. We
cannot allow that dynamic to shift, and we must ensure that these
weapons never fall into the hands of bad actors who would seek to do us
or the rest of the international community harm.
However, today, there is more fissile material in the world than at
any other time in our history, and the bad actors are taking notice.
According to several studies conducted at Harvard, at least two
terrorist groups--al Qaeda and the Japanese terror cult Aum Shinrikyo--
have made serious efforts to buy, steal, or otherwise obtain nuclear
weapons in recent years.
There is clear evidence that ISIL would, if given the opportunity,
strive to do us great harm. After all, it only takes a grapefruit-sized
amount of highly enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon, and there
are hundreds of metric tons of material out there, some of which is
still vulnerable to theft. Now, according to reports, ISIL has been
monitoring a senior official of a Belgian facility, by way of example,
with substantial stocks of highly enriched uranium.
We absolutely cannot assume the risk that the United States would be
ambushed by a rogue nuclear threat, and we must not leave ourselves
exposed to a threat that would forever change our American way of life.
While we can never protect against every threat, we can, however,
mitigate it by working with our international partners, Federal
agencies, national laboratories, and the private sector to more quickly
secure and eliminate vulnerable nuclear materials.
Small investments, such as the ones offered in this amendment, can
yield significant national security benefits. By moving $20 million
into the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account, we would ultimately
make our country--and the world--a safer place to live.
Mr. Speaker, Congress has worked across the aisle on this issue many
times before, and we have seen some incredible success stories that
have a profound impact on the security of our nuclear materials.
During the fiscal year 2012 Energy and Water Development
Appropriations bill, the House approved an amendment--by a voice vote,
no less--offered by Congressman Fortenberry and Congresswoman Sanchez
to do exactly what this motion to recommit seeks to do today.
Their amendment to increase appropriations for the Global Threat
Reduction Initiative under the Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation account
was enthusiastically supported on both sides of this Chamber, securing
an important bipartisan victory for the international effort to secure
vulnerable fissile material and keeping our Nation safe from the threat
of nuclear terrorism.
Mr. Speaker, this House did not cower when faced with this challenge
back then, and we must not do so today. Let today be another one of
those bipartisan success stories. Let us redouble our efforts to
prevent the proliferation and catastrophic abuse of sensitive nuclear
materials and technologies across the globe and here at home.
I beseech my fellow Members, adopt this amendment, keep our Nation
safe, and deny the nuclear terrorists who would seek to do us harm
their own success story.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to
recommit.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Idaho is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5055, is a good bill that invests
$37.4 billion in priorities we can all support--national security,
critical water resources, infrastructure projects for our districts,
and energy independence--through an all-of-the-above approach.
First and foremost, this legislation is a defense bill. $19.44
billion out of the 37.4 billion, or 51 percent, is dedicated toward our
national security. Carrying out our Nation's nuclear deterrence mission
is, in part, the responsibility of the Department of Energy; while DOD
provides delivery vehicles and operators, DOE provides nuclear warheads
themselves.
Congress provides funding for this critical defense mission through
the Energy and Water Development Appropriations bill. As we drafted
this bill, we carefully considered 2,700 Member requests. This
legislation addresses 95 percent of those requests in one form or
another. This included four requests from Democratic Members to fund
nonproliferation programs at the budget request level of $1.8 billion,
which this bill does.
I agree that nonproliferation is a critical part of our overall
nuclear defense strategy. We need to be doing everything we can to keep
dangerous nuclear materials away from rogue nations and terrorists.
Extra funding for DOE nonproliferation programs, however, is not the
only way to do this. We must also provide for a strong defense
capability, and this bill accomplishes that.
While I appreciate the passion for the nonproliferation and securing
these materials abroad, I would also like to see the same passion for
securing these materials at home. While the prospect of a terrorist
getting hold of nuclear materials in the Middle East, Africa, or East
Asia is terrifying, the prospect of them getting ahold of these
materials in Tennessee, Texas, or California is even more so.
In 2012, three peace activists--a drifter, an 82-year-old nun, and a
house painter--penetrated the exterior of the Y-12 National Security
Complex in Tennessee, supposedly one of the most secure nuclear
facilities in the United States. If they had been terrorists armed with
explosives, that scenario would be frightening to imagine. That is why
this funding in this bill is so critical.
The bill increases funding $30 million above the request to improve
security at aging nuclear weapons facilities to make sure our own
nuclear materials are secure on our home soil and address a backlog of
$2 billion in security upgrades needed at nuclear weapons facilities.
In a tight fiscal environment, we need to be making these investments
at our own nuclear facilities, not spending American taxpayer dollars
to perform work in Russia's nuclear facilities.
[[Page H3282]]
In addition to these investments, the bill also continues
prohibitions on funding for nonproliferation projects in Russia, which
is spending billions of dollars on its own nuclear modernization.
In all, this is a fiscally responsible, economically smart, and
critically important national security bill. It deserves to be passed
quickly without further changes or delays.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote against this motion and to
support the underlying bill.
Lastly, let me say, Mr. Speaker, I appreciate every Member of this
body, on both sides of the aisle, for the 2 days of debate we have put
in for the amendments that we have debated and the respectful debate
that we have had on a lot of important issues. It has been a good
debate, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues on the other side of
the aisle who had some of their amendments adopted now voting for this
bill because of the amendments that were adopted in the Committee of
the Whole.
So I would urge my colleagues to vote against this motion to recommit
and vote for passage of the bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is
ordered on the motion to recommit.
There was no objection.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion to recommit.
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule
XX, this 15-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by
5-minute votes on passage of H.R. 5055; ordering the previous question
on House Resolution 751; and adoption of House Resolution 751, if
ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 178,
nays 236, not voting 19, as follows:
[Roll No. 265]
YEAS--178
Adams
Aguilar
Ashford
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bera
Beyer
Bishop (GA)
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Bustos
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Carney
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Duckworth
Edwards
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Esty
Farr
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Graham
Grayson
Green, Al
Green, Gene
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hahn
Hastings
Heck (WA)
Higgins
Himes
Hinojosa
Honda
Hoyer
Huffman
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson, E. B.
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lee
Levin
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Matsui
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Moore
Moulton
Murphy (FL)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
Pallone
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Pocan
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Richmond
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Sewell (AL)
Sherman
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
NAYS--236
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Babin
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Benishek
Bilirakis
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Brat
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Burgess
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Chaffetz
Clawson (FL)
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costa
Costello (PA)
Crawford
Crenshaw
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Dold
Donovan
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Ellmers (NC)
Emmer (MN)
Farenthold
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foxx
Frelinghuysen
Garrett
Gibbs
Gibson
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Granger
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guinta
Guthrie
Hardy
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Heck (NV)
Hensarling
Hice, Jody B.
Hill
Holding
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Hunter
Hurd (TX)
Hurt (VA)
Issa
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Jolly
Jones
Jordan
Joyce
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Knight
Labrador
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lance
Latta
LoBiondo
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lummis
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Massie
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (PA)
Neugebauer
Newhouse
Noem
Nugent
Nunes
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Perry
Pittenger
Pitts
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Pompeo
Posey
Price, Tom
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Rigell
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney (FL)
Ros-Lehtinen
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce
Russell
Salmon
Sanford
Scalise
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smith (TX)
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Stutzman
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Westmoreland
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Wittman
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Young (IN)
Zeldin
NOT VOTING--19
Cardenas
Castro (TX)
Cramer
Duffy
Fattah
Fincher
Franks (AZ)
Hanna
Herrera Beutler
Jenkins (KS)
Johnson (GA)
Lamborn
O'Rourke
Rangel
Rice (NY)
Takai
Whitfield
Yarmuth
Zinke
Announcement by the Speaker Pro Tempore
The SPEAKER pro tempore (during the vote). There are 2 minutes
remaining.
{time} 1103
Messrs. POE of Texas, SHUSTER, and ROHRABACHER changed their vote
from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Ms. EDWARDS, Mr. RYAN of Ohio, and Ms. McCOLLUM changed their vote
from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to recommit was rejected.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the passage of the bill.
Under clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
This will be a 5-minute vote.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 112,
nays 305, not voting 16, as follows:
[Roll No. 266]
YEAS--112
Ashford
Barr
Benishek
Bishop (UT)
Boustany
Brady (TX)
Brooks (IN)
Bucshon
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chaffetz
Coffman
Cole
Collins (NY)
Comstock
Cook
Costa
Costello (PA)
Crenshaw
Cuellar
Culberson
Curbelo (FL)
Davis, Rodney
Denham
Dent
Diaz-Balart
Dold
Donovan
Emmer (MN)
Fitzpatrick
Foxx
Frelinghuysen
Gibbs
Gibson
Granger
Green, Gene
Grothman
Hardy
Hill
Hunter
Hurd (TX)
Hurt (VA)
Issa
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (OH)
Jolly
Joyce
Katko
King (NY)
Kinzinger (IL)
Kline
Knight
LaHood
Lance
LoBiondo
Love
Lummis
MacArthur
Massie
McCarthy
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meehan
Messer
Newhouse
Nunes
Paulsen
Peterson
Poliquin
Pompeo
Price, Tom
Reed
Reichert
Renacci
Rigell
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney (FL)
Ros-Lehtinen
Royce
Salmon
Scalise
Schweikert
Shimkus
Simpson
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Vela
Walden
Walters, Mimi
Wilson (SC)
[[Page H3283]]
Womack
Woodall
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Young (IN)
Zeldin
NAYS--305
Abraham
Adams
Aderholt
Aguilar
Allen
Amash
Amodei
Babin
Barletta
Barton
Bass
Beatty
Becerra
Bera
Beyer
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (MI)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Blumenauer
Bonamici
Bost
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brat
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Brown (FL)
Brownley (CA)
Buchanan
Buck
Burgess
Bustos
Butterfield
Capps
Capuano
Carney
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Chabot
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clawson (FL)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Collins (GA)
Conaway
Connolly
Conyers
Cooper
Courtney
Crawford
Crowley
Cummings
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
Delaney
DeLauro
DelBene
DeSantis
DeSaulnier
DesJarlais
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Duckworth
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Edwards
Ellison
Ellmers (NC)
Engel
Eshoo
Esty
Farenthold
Farr
Fleischmann
Fleming
Flores
Forbes
Fortenberry
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Franks (AZ)
Fudge
Gabbard
Gallego
Garamendi
Garrett
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gosar
Gowdy
Graham
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Grayson
Green, Al
Griffith
Grijalva
Guinta
Guthrie
Gutierrez
Hahn
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hastings
Heck (NV)
Heck (WA)
Hensarling
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins
Himes
Hinojosa
Holding
Honda
Hoyer
Hudson
Huelskamp
Huffman
Huizenga (MI)
Hultgren
Israel
Jackson Lee
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Johnson, Sam
Jones
Jordan
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
Kennedy
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
King (IA)
Kirkpatrick
Kuster
Labrador
LaMalfa
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Latta
Lawrence
Lee
Levin
Lewis
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Loebsack
Lofgren
Long
Loudermilk
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
Lujan Grisham (NM)
Lujan, Ben Ray (NM)
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean
Marchant
Marino
Matsui
McCaul
McCollum
McDermott
McGovern
McNerney
Meadows
Meeks
Meng
Mica
Miller (FL)
Miller (MI)
Moolenaar
Mooney (WV)
Moore
Moulton
Mullin
Mulvaney
Murphy (FL)
Murphy (PA)
Nadler
Napolitano
Neal
Neugebauer
Noem
Nolan
Norcross
Nugent
Olson
Palazzo
Pallone
Palmer
Pascrell
Payne
Pearce
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Perry
Peters
Pingree
Pittenger
Pitts
Pocan
Poe (TX)
Polis
Posey
Price (NC)
Quigley
Rangel
Ratcliffe
Ribble
Rice (SC)
Richmond
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Roskam
Ross
Rothfus
Rouzer
Roybal-Allard
Ruiz
Ruppersberger
Rush
Russell
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta
Sanford
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, Austin
Scott, David
Sensenbrenner
Serrano
Sessions
Sewell (AL)
Sherman
Shuster
Sinema
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (MO)
Smith (TX)
Smith (WA)
Speier
Stutzman
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Thompson (PA)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Trott
Tsongas
Van Hollen
Vargas
Veasey
Velazquez
Visclosky
Wagner
Walberg
Walker
Walorski
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Welch
Wenstrup
Westerman
Westmoreland
Williams
Wilson (FL)
Wittman
Yoder
Yoho
NOT VOTING--16
Cardenas
Castro (TX)
Cramer
Duffy
Fattah
Fincher
Hanna
Herrera Beutler
Jenkins (KS)
Lamborn
O'Rourke
Rice (NY)
Takai
Whitfield
Yarmuth
Zinke
{time} 1112
So the bill was not passed.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________