[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 126 (Wednesday, July 26, 2017)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D840-D844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page D840]]




                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 42 public bills, H.R. 3399-
3440; and 3 resolutions, H. Con. Res. 73; and H. Res. 476-477, were 
introduced.                                              
  Pages H6464-66
Additional Cosponsors:                                   
  Pages H6467-68
Reports Filed: Reports were filed today as follows:
  H.R. 2937, to amend the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 
1977 to authorize partnerships between States and nongovernmental 
entities for the purpose of reclaiming and restoring land and water 
resources adversely affected by coal mining activities before August 3, 
1977, and for other purposes (H. Rept. 115-260); and
  H. Res. 478, providing for further consideration of the bill (H.R. 
3219) making appropriations for the Department of Defense for the 
fiscal year ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes, and 
providing for consideration of motions to suspend the rules (H. Rept. 
115-261).                                                    
Page H6464
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein he appointed 
Representative Coffman to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                             Page H6301
Recess: The House recessed at 11:19 a.m. and reconvened at 12 noon. 
                                                             Page H6309
Guest Chaplain: The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Reverend 
William D. Johnson, Jr., Harbour Lake Baptist Church, Goose Creek, 
South Carolina.                                          
  Pages H6309-10
Unanimous Consent Agreement: Agreed by unanimous consent that the 
instructions in each of amendments numbered 60, 61, and 66 printed in 
House Report 115-259 be modified by striking ``the division'' and 
inserting ``division D''.                                
  Pages H6326-27
Suspensions: The House agreed to suspend the rules and pass the 
following measures:
  Securely Expediting Clearances Through Reporting Transparency Act of 
2017: H.R. 3210, amended, to require the Director of the National 
Background Investigations Bureau to submit a report on the backlog of 
personnel security clearance investigations;             
  Pages H6327-28
  Escambia County Land Conveyance Act: H.R. 2370, to authorize Escambia 
County, Florida, to convey certain property that was formerly part of 
Santa Rosa Island National Monument and that was conveyed to Escambia 
County subject to restrictions on use and reconveyance; 
                                                         Pages H6328-30
  African American Civil Rights Network Act of 2017: H.R. 1927, 
amended, to amend title 54, United States Code, to establish within the 
National Park Service the African American Civil Rights Network; and 
                                                         Pages H6330-31
  Calling for the unconditional release of United States citizens and 
legal permanent resident aliens being held for political purposes by 
the Government of Iran: H. Res. 317, amended, calling for the 
unconditional release of United States citizens and legal permanent 
resident aliens being held for political purposes by the Government of 
Iran.                                                    
  Pages H6331-35
Unanimous Consent Agreement: Agreed by unanimous consent that during 
further consideration of H.R. 3219, pursuant to House Resolution 473, 
amendments numbered 32 and 35 printed in House Report 115-259 may be 
offered out of sequence.                                     
  Page H6428
Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2018: The House began 
consideration of H.R. 3219, making appropriations for the Department of 
Defense for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2018. Consideration is 
expected to resume tomorrow, July 27th.     
  Pages H6335-6428, H6428-37, H6437-62
  Pursuant to the Rule, an amendment in the nature of a substitute 
consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-30 shall be 
considered as adopted in the House and in the Committee of the Whole. 
The bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for the 
purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be 
considered as read.                                          
Page H6371
Agreed to:
  Love amendment (No. 2 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that expands the 
permissible uses of MRA funds that have been designated for Member 
security to include residential security systems that do not constitute 
structural improvements to Members' homes;               
Pages H6409-10
  Kildee amendment (No. 3 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that increases 
the House Wounded Warrior Program by $250,000; this program provides 
wounded veterans with employment opportunities with the House of 
Representatives;                                         
Pages H6410-11
  Cicilline amendment (No. 6 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
increases funds in order to provide designated baby changing stations 
for members of the public who visit publicly accessible buildings 
controlled by the Architect of the Capitol, including in both male and 
female publicly accessible bathrooms;                        
Page H6415

[[Page D841]]


  Russell amendment (No. 9 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that prohibits 
the printed distribution of the Federal Register to House offices, 
unless an office requests a printed copy;                
Pages H6417-18
  Dent en bloc amendment No. 1 consisting of the following amendments 
printed in H. Rept. 115-259: Barr (No. 12) that transfers $5 million 
from the Department of Veterans Affairs General Administration account 
to the VA's Equine Assisted Therapy Grant Program; Kilhuen (No. 14) 
that cuts and restores funding for medical services in the Department 
of Veterans Affairs in order to emphasize the responsibility of the 
Department Veterans Affairs to provide services to veterans and 
maintain health care clinics in rural communities; Beyer (No. 15) that 
requires Vet Centers develop a program to partner with organizations 
that provide outdoor experiences for veterans as part of a continuum of 
care that helps support veterans in developing a community of support 
to treat combat-related injuries; Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM) (No. 16) 
that prioritizes funding for hiring more doctors, nurses, and medical 
staff at VA medical centers; Norcross (No. 17) that specifies $5 
million of funds for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD) research 
for the purpose of studying the issues affecting veterans with PTSD and 
an opioid dependency; Keating (No. 18) that directs the VA to create an 
opioid abuse healthcare kit for community healthcare providers; Jackson 
Lee (No. 22) that increases the amount of funding for Supportive 
Services for Veterans Families by $2 million offset by a reduction of a 
$2.5 million in the funding for the VA's Information Technology 
Systems; Jackson Lee (No. 25) that prohibits the use of funds in 
contravention of the U.S. Code regarding benefits for homeless veterans 
in training and outreach programs; and Connolly (No. 26) that prohibits 
the use of funds for charging homeless veterans a fee to obtain a 
veterans identification card;                            
Pages H6419-21
  Ratcliffe amendment (No. 20 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
prohibits funds from being used to propose, plan, or execute a new 
round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC);            
Pages H6422-23
  Brat amendment (No. 21 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that prohibits 
the Department of Veterans Affairs from spending money on a study that 
causes significant pain or distress to dogs; clarifies that training 
programs or studies of service dogs are not included in the ban on 
funding;                                                 
Pages H6423-24
  Bergman amendment (No. 27 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that increases 
the Investigations account under the Army Corps of Engineers by 
$1,000,000 and reduces Army Corps Expenses by the same amount; 
                                                             Page H6425
  Simpson en bloc amendment No. 2 consisting of the following 
amendments printed in H. Rept. 115-259: Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM) 
(No. 29) that provides $10 million for environmental infrastructure for 
authorized reimbursements for projects with executed project 
cooperation agreements that have completed construction or where non-
federal sponsors intend to use the funds for additional water resources 
development activities; Welch (No. 30) that funds the following 
projects at the authorized level of $10M: section 1177 of the Water 
Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act (PL 114-322) authorized 
efforts to construct control gates, spillways, and dam safety 
improvements for aging flood control reservoirs built by the Army Corps 
of Engineers; Curbelo (No. 33) that increases funding within the 
Construction account for Army Corps Environmental Infrastructure by 
$45,000,000 and decreases the Construction account by $45,000,000; 
Nolan (No. 34) that increases the Army Corps' Operation and Maintenance 
budget by $325,000 with the intention to provide more funding for the 
Aquatic Nuisance Control Research program currently funded at $675,000; 
Larson (CT) (No. 45) that increases funding for EERE Hydrogen and Fuel 
Cell Technologies program; Takano (No. 47) that restores the Energy 
Innovation Hubs in the Office of Science, Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy, and Nuclear Energy; DeSaulnier (No. 48) that restores 
$1.2 million in funding for the Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator 
Fellowship Program; Stivers (No. 66) that states that none of the funds 
made available by division D may be used for the Cape Wind Energy 
Project on the Outer Continental Shelf off Massachusetts, Nantucket 
Sound; Gallagher (No. 67) that provides $10,000,000 for ``Department of 
Energy--Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability'' for energy 
storage systems demonstrations as authorized by section 641 of the 
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 and decreases The 
Department of Energy-Departmental Administration by the same amount; 
Brownley (No. 68) that states none of the funds made available by this 
Act may be used in contravention of section 2102 of the Water Resources 
Reform and Development Act of 2014 or section 210 of the Water 
Resources Development Act of 1986; and Rodney Davis (IL) (No. 69) that 
makes no funds available to the Army Corps of Engineers (Civil Works) 
to require an economic re-evaluation of any project authorized under 
title VIII of the Water Resources Development Act of 2007; 
                                                         Pages H6426-27
  Mast amendment (No. 32 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that increases 
Aquatic Plant Control Research Program by $500,000.00 and aims to (1) 
provide science-based guidance on developing or using new technologies 
for managing, preventing, and monitoring aquatic invasive species; (2) 
improve the

[[Page D842]]

efficacy and diversity of available management options; (3) reduce the 
impacts of aquatic invasive species on federally listed (threatened and 
endangered) species; (4) reduce operations and maintenance costs 
associated with aquatic invasive species management; and (5) develop 
solutions regarding these species based on field needs; 
                                                         Pages H6429-30
  Heck amendment (No. 35 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that provides 
funding for a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study on the extent to which 
the agency has used low impact development to comply with Sec. 438 of 
the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (P.L. 110-140); 
                                                         Pages H6430-31
  McKinley amendment (No. 42 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
increases fossil energy funding to 2017 funding levels; 
                                                         Pages H6436-37
  Perry amendment (No. 43 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that increases 
funding for EERE by $15,000,000 and decreases funding for Department of 
Energy departmental administration by $15,000,000;       
Pages H6437-38
  Jackson Lee amendment (No. 49 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
redirects $1 million in funding within the Departmental Administration 
account in order to address environmental concerns in both urban and 
rural settings;                                          
Pages H6439-40
  Foster amendment (No. 51 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that reduces 
the NNSA Weapons Account by $10,000,000 and increases the account by 
the same amount, to be used to fight bioterror;          
Pages H6441-42
  Jackson Lee amendment (No. 56 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
allocates an additional $3 million for post-disaster watershed 
assessment studies (by a recorded vote of 234 ayes to 192 noes, Roll 
No. 425);                                         
Pages H6446-48, H6454
  Jackson Lee amendment (No. 57 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
allocates an additional $100 million for Army Corps of Engineers 
construction projects related to flood control;          
Pages H6454-55
  Jackson Lee amendment (No. 58 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
prohibits use of funds in contravention of the Department of Energy 
Organization Act and addresses the need to increase programs that 
educate minorities in science, technology, engineering and math; 
                                                         Pages H6455-56
  Gosar amendment (No. 59 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that prohibits 
use of funds in contravention of the Department of Energy Organization 
Act and addresses the need to increase programs that educate minorities 
in science, technology, engineering and math; and        
Pages H6456-57
  Burgess amendment (No. 61 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that states 
that limitation amendment pertaining to lightbulb energy efficiency 
regulations.                                             
Pages H6458-59
Rejected:
  Connolly amendment (No. 1 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
increase funding for the Government Accountability Office (GAO); 
                                                         Pages H6408-09
  Shea Porter amendment (No. 8 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought 
to prohibit the use of funds from Members Representational Allowances 
to mail any unsolicited mass mailing larger than the size of a standard 
US postcard;                                             
Pages H6416-17
  Mitchell amendment (No. 36 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought 
to reduce by 10% the general administrative expense accounts of the 
USACE, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, 
Department of the Interior, and Department of Energy. Transfers the 
savings to the Spending Reduction Account;               
Pages H6428-29
  Kaptur amendment (No. 37 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
strike section 108 on page 277, line 12, which authorizes the 
Administrator of the EPA and the Secretary of the Army to withdraw the 
WOTUS rule without regard to any provision of statue or regulation that 
establishes a requirement for such withdrawal;           
Pages H6431-32
  Quigley amendment (No. 40 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
cuts $921 million from the Department of Energy nuclear weapons 
activities account and add $921 million to the Office of Energy 
Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE);                    
Pages H6434-35
  Polis amendment (No. 41 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
increase funds for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy account 
by $986,292,000 (to FY17 level) and decrease funds for Fossil Energy 
Research and Development by $634,600,000 and reduce the National 
Nuclear Security Administration Weapons Activities account by 
$352,000,000;                                            
Pages H6435-36
  Kihuen (No. 55 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to strike 
language that would prohibit closure of the Yucca Mountain project; 
                                                         Pages H6445-46
  Perry amendment (No. 4 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
reduce the appropriation to the Congressional Budget Office (by a 
recorded vote of 107 ayes to 314 noes, Roll No. 416);   
Pages H6411-12, H6448
  Griffith amendment (No. 5 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
eliminate the Budget Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget 
Office and transfers the duties of that division to the Office of the 
Director of CBO (by a recorded vote of 116 ayes to 309 noes, Roll No. 
417);                                             
Pages H6412-15, H6449
  Takano amendment (No. 7 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
appropriate $2.5 million to re-institute the Office of Technology 
Assessment

[[Page D843]]

(OTA), offset from funds from the Architect of the Capitol's Capital 
Construction and Operations Account (by a recorded vote of 191 ayes to 
236 noes, Roll No. 418);                       
Pages H6415-16, H6449-50
  King (IA) amendment (No. 23 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought 
to ensure that no funds are used to implement, administer, or enforce 
the Davis-Bacon Act (by a recorded vote of 178 ayes to 249 noes, Roll 
No. 419);                                         
Pages H6424-25, H6450
  Castor (FL) amendment (No. 38 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that 
sought to increase funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 
by $177,000,000 and reduce funding for Fossil Energy Research and 
Development by $355,000,000 (by a recorded vote of 181 ayes to 246 
noes, Roll No. 420);                               
Pages H6432-33, 6451
  Norcross amendment (No. 39 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought 
to add $161.725 million to the Office of Energy Efficiency and 
Renewable Energy for research and development to advance energy 
efficiency and renewable energy technologies (by a recorded vote of 186 
ayes to 241 noes, Roll No. 421);               
Pages H6433-34, H6451-52
  Esty amendment (No. 44 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
increase funding to the Advanced Manufacturing Office within the Office 
of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by $20 million by cutting $40 
million from the Fossil Energy Research and Development; additional 
funding would enable the research, development, and deployment of 
industrial efficiency and clean energy manufacturing technologies (by a 
recorded vote of 203 ayes to 224 noes, Roll No. 422); 
                                                  Pages H6438-39, H6452
  Garamendi amendment (No. 52 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought 
to reduce the Weapons Activities--Recapitalization--Infrastructure to 
the President's Budget level and increases the Defense Nuclear 
Nonproliferation account by the same amount (by a recorded vote of 180 
ayes to 247 noes, Roll No. 423); and           
Pages H6442-43, H6452-53
  Pingree amendment (No. 54 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that sought to 
strike section 505 on page 325 that pertains to National Ocean Policy 
and Ocean Planning (by a recorded vote of 192 ayes to 235 noes, Roll 
No. 424).                                    
Pages H6444-6445, H6453-54
Withdrawn:
  Bergman amendment (No. 11 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have reduced the Veterans 
Benefits Administration's General Operating Expenses account by 
$30,000,000 and increases the Information Technology Systems 
Development, Modernization, and Enhancement account by the same amount;
                                                             Page H6418
  Al Green (TX) amendment (No. 13 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have increased Homeless 
Veteran Treatment by $70 million, and decreased General expenses 
account by $70 million;                                      
Page H6421
  Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM) amendment (No. 50 printed in H. Rept. 
115-259) that was offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have 
prioritized funding for the construction of facilities that NNSA needs 
to meet its mission;                                     
Pages H6440-41
  Rosen amendment (No. 53 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was offered 
and subsequently withdrawn that would have transferred to the Spending 
Reduction Account funding for Department of Energy disposal of defense 
nuclear waste, including acquisition of real property or facility 
construction/expansion;                                  
Pages H6443-44
  DelBene amendment (No. 60 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have ensured the Army 
Corps of Engineers is using taxpayer dollars on American-made anchor 
chain;                                                   
Pages H6457-58
  Budd amendment (No. 64 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was offered 
and subsequently withdrawn that would have prohibited the use of funds 
to be used to implement, administer, or enforce the prevailing wage 
requirements in subchapter IV of chapter 31 of title 40, United States 
Code (commonly referred to as the Davis-Bacon Act); and      
Page H6461
  Mitchell amendment (No. 70 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that was 
offered and subsequently withdrawn that would have ensured none of the 
funds in this act are used to delay the release of the USACE Great 
Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study (GLMRIS) Brand Road Study.
                                                         Pages H6461-62
Proceedings Postponed:
  Blackburn amendment (No. 62 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that seeks 
to provide for a one percent across the board cut to the discretionary 
spending levels in Division D of the bill; and           
Pages H6459-60
  Perry amendment (No. 63 printed in H. Rept. 115-259) that seeks to 
prohibit the use of funds to implement or enforce the final rule 
published by the Secretary of Energy entitled ``Energy Conservation 
Program: Test Procedures for Central Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps''.
                                                         Pages H6460-61
  H. Res. 473, providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 3219) was 
agreed to by a recorded vote of 232 ayes to 192 noes, Roll No. 415, 
after the previous question was ordered by a yea-and-nay vote of 230 
yeas to 193 nays, Roll No. 414.                          
Pages H6313-26

[[Page D844]]

Quorum Calls--Votes: One yea-and-nay vote and eleven recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H6325-26, 
H6325, H6448, H6449, H6449-50, H6450, H6451, H6451-52, H6452, H6453, 
H6453-54, and H6454. There were no quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 10 a.m. and adjourned at 12:22 a.m. on 
Thursday, July 27, 2017.