[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 209 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H10394-H10403]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BLUE CAMPAIGN AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2017
General Leave
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1370.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 670, I
call up the bill (H.R. 1370) to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002
to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to issue Department of
Homeland Security-wide guidance and develop training programs as part
of the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, and for other
purposes, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate
consideration.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the Senate
amendment.
Senate amendment:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Homeland
Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act of 2017''.
SEC. 2. ENHANCED DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY COORDINATION
THROUGH THE BLUE CAMPAIGN.
(a) In General.--Subtitle C of title IV of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 231 et seq.) is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 434. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY BLUE CAMPAIGN.
``(a) Definition.--In this section, the term `human
trafficking' means an act or practice described in paragraph
(9) or (10) of section 103 of the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).
``(b) Establishment.--There is established within the
Department a program, which shall be known as the `Blue
Campaign'. The Blue Campaign shall be headed by a Director,
who shall be appointed by the Secretary.
``(c) Purpose.--The purpose of the Blue Campaign shall be
to unify and coordinate Department efforts to address human
trafficking.
``(d) Responsibilities.--The Secretary, working through the
Director, shall, in accordance with subsection (e)--
``(1) issue Department-wide guidance to appropriate
Department personnel;
``(2) develop training programs for such personnel;
``(3) coordinate departmental efforts, including training
for such personnel; and
``(4) provide guidance and training on trauma-informed
practices to ensure that human trafficking victims are
afforded prompt access to victim support service providers,
in addition to the government assistance required under
section 107 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(22 U.S.C. 7105), to address their immediate and long-term
needs.
``(e) Guidance and Training.--The Blue Campaign shall
provide guidance and training to appropriate Department
personnel and other Federal, State, tribal, and law
enforcement personnel, as appropriate regarding--
``(1) programs to help identify instances of human
trafficking;
``(2) the types of information that should be collected and
recorded in information technology systems utilized by the
Department to help identify individuals suspected or
convicted of human trafficking;
``(3) systematic and routine information sharing within the
Department and among Federal, State, tribal, and local law
enforcement agencies regarding--
``(A) individuals suspected or convicted of human
trafficking; and
``(B) patterns and practices of human trafficking;
``(4) techniques to identify suspected victims of
trafficking along the United States border and at airport
security checkpoints;
``(5) methods to be used by the Transportation Security
Administration and personnel from other appropriate
agencies--
``(A) to train employees of the Transportation Security
Administration to identify suspected victims of trafficking;
and
``(B) to serve as a liaison and resource regarding human
trafficking prevention to appropriate State, local, and
private sector aviation workers and the traveling public;
``(6) utilizing resources, such as indicator cards, fact
sheets, pamphlets, posters, brochures, and radio and
television campaigns--
``(A) to educate partners and stakeholders; and
``(B) to increase public awareness of human trafficking;
``(7) leveraging partnerships with State and local
governmental, nongovernmental, and private sector
organizations to raise public awareness of human trafficking;
and
``(8) any other activities the Secretary determines
necessary to carry out the Blue Campaign.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents of the
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-296) is amended
by inserting after the item relating to section 433 the
following:
``Sec. 434. Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign.''.
SEC. 3. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS.
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall ensure, in
accordance with the Department of Homeland Security-wide
guidance required under section 434(d) of the Homeland
Security Act of 2002, as added by section 2, the integration
of information technology systems utilized within the
Department to record
[[Page H10395]]
and track information regarding individuals suspected or
convicted of human trafficking.
SEC. 4. REPORT.
Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit a
report to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Homeland Security
of the House of Representatives that--
(1) describes the status and effectiveness of the
Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign; and
(2) provides a recommendation regarding the appropriate
office within the Department of Homeland Security for the
Blue Campaign.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated $819,000 to carry
out section 434 of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, as
added by section 2.
Motion to Concur
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the motion.
The text of the motion is as follows:
Mr. Frelinghuysen moves that the House concur in the Senate
amendment to H.R. 1370 with an amendment consisting of the
text of Rules Committee Print 115-52.
The text of the House amendment to the Senate amendment to the text
is as follows:
In lieu of the matter proposed to be inserted by the Senate
amendment, insert the following
DIVISION A--FURTHER ADDITIONAL CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018
Sec. 1001. The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018
(division D of Public Law 115-56) is further amended--
(1) by striking the date specified in section 106(3) and
inserting ``January 19, 2018''; and
(2) by adding after section 142 the following:
``Sec. 143. Notwithstanding section 104, amounts made
available by section 111 for `Department of Homeland
Security--Coast Guard--Retired Pay' may be obligated to carry
out Retired Pay Reform, as authorized by part 1 of subtitle D
of title VI of the National Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2016 (Public Law 114-92, as amended), and the
matter under such heading in division F of the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2017 (Public Law 115-31; 131 Stat. 409)
shall be applied during the period covered by this Act by
inserting `payment of continuation pay under section 356 of
title 37, United States Code,' after `payment for career
status bonuses,'.
``Sec. 144. In addition to amounts provided by section
101, amounts are provided for `Department of Health and Human
Services--Indian Health Service--Indian Health Services' at a
rate for operations of $11,761,000 and amounts are provided
for `Department of Health and Human Services--Indian Health
Service--Indian Health Facilities' at a rate for operations
of $1,104,000, for an additional amount for costs of staffing
and operating newly constructed facilities; and such amounts
may be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to
staff and operate newly constructed facilities.
``Sec. 145. Amounts made available by section 101 for
`Department of Health and Human Services--Administration for
Children and Families--Refugee and Entrant Assistance' may be
apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to
maintain program operations for carrying out section 235 of
the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection
Reauthorization Act of 2008 (8 U.S.C. 1232) and section 462
of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 279) at the
level provided in fiscal year 2017.
``Sec. 146. Notwithstanding section 101, amounts are
provided for the purposes described in the third paragraph
under the heading `Department of Health and Human Services--
Office of the Secretary--Public Health and Social Services
Emergency Fund' at a rate for operations of $112,000,000; and
such amounts may be apportioned up to the rate for operations
necessary to prepare for or respond to an influenza pandemic.
``Sec. 147. Notwithstanding section 251(a)(1) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 and
the timetable in section 254(a) of such Act, the final
sequestration report for fiscal year 2018 pursuant to section
254(f)(1) of such Act and any order for fiscal year 2018
pursuant to section 254(f)(5) of such Act shall be issued,
for the Congressional Budget Office, 10 days after the date
specified in section 106(3), and for the Office of Management
and Budget, 15 days after the date specified in section
106(3).''.
Sec. 1002. (a) Notwithstanding the dates specified in
section 403(b) of the FISA Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law
110-261; 122 Stat. 2474), the amendments made by such section
shall not take effect until the date specified in section
106(3) of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 (division D
of Public Law 115-56), as amended.
(b) If during the period beginning on the date of the
enactment of this Act and ending on the date specified in
section 106(3) of the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018
(division D of Public Law 115-56), as amended, any Act
amending the dates specified in section 403(b) of the FISA
Amendments Act of 2008 (Public Law 110-261; 122 Stat. 2474)
is enacted, this section shall be repealed.
This division may be cited as the ``Further Additional
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018''.
DIVISION B--MISSILE DEFENSE
The following sums are appropriated, out of any money in
the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the fiscal year
ending September 30, 2018, and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I--MISSILE DEFEAT AND DEFENSE ENHANCEMENTS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE
Operation and Maintenance, Navy
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Navy'' for necessary costs to repair damage to the U.S.S.
John S. McCain and the U.S.S. Fitzgerald, $673,500,000:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
Operation and Maintenance, Air Force
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Air Force'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend
against the use of ballistic missiles, $18,750,000: Provided,
That such amount is designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
Operation and Maintenance, Defense-Wide
For an additional amount for ``Operation and Maintenance,
Defense-Wide'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and
defend against the use of ballistic missiles, $23,735,000:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
PROCUREMENT
Missile Procurement, Army
For an additional amount for ``Missile Procurement, Army''
for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend against the
use of ballistic missiles, $884,000,000, to remain available
until September 30, 2020: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Missile Procurement, Air Force
For an additional amount for ``Missile Procurement, Air
Force'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend
against the use of ballistic missiles, $12,000,000 to remain
available until September 30, 2020: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Other Procurement, Air Force
For an additional amount for ``Other Procurement, Air
Force'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend
against the use of ballistic missiles, $288,055,000 to remain
available until September 30, 2020: Provided, That such
amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Procurement, Defense-Wide
For an additional amount for ``Procurement, Defense-Wide''
for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend against the
use of ballistic missiles, $1,239,140,000 to remain available
until September 30, 2020: Provided, That such amount is
designated by the Congress as an emergency requirement
pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget
and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST AND EVALUATION
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Army
For an additional amount for ``Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Army'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat,
and defend against the use of ballistic missiles, $20,700,000
to remain available until September 30, 2019: Provided, That
such amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Navy
For an additional amount for ``Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Navy'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat,
and defend against the use of ballistic missiles, $60,000,000
to remain available until September 30, 2019: Provided, That
such amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Air Force
For an additional amount for ``Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Air Force'' for necessary costs to detect,
defeat, and defend against the use of ballistic missiles,
$255,744,000 to remain available until September 30, 2019:
Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as
an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, Defense-Wide
For an additional amount for ``Research, Development, Test
and Evaluation, Defense-
[[Page H10396]]
Wide'' for necessary costs to detect, defeat, and defend
against the use of ballistic missiles, $1,010,220,000 to
remain available until September 30, 2019: Provided, That
such amount is designated by the Congress as an emergency
requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the
Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.
TITLE II--MISSILE CONSTRUCTION ENHANCEMENTS
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
MILITARY CONSTRUCTION, DEFENSE-WIDE
For an additional amount for ``Military Construction,
Defense-Wide'', $200,000,000, to remain available until
September 30, 2022, to carry out construction of a missile
field in Alaska: Provided, That such funds may be obligated
or expended for planning and design and military construction
projects not otherwise authorized by law: Provided further,
That such amount is designated by the Congress as an
emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of
the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985.
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 2001. Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
funds made available in this division are in addition to
amounts appropriated or otherwise made available for the
Department of Defense for fiscal year 2018.
Sec. 2002. (a) Funds made available in title I of this
division shall be allocated to programs, projects, and
activities in accordance with the detailed congressional
budget justifications submitted by the Department of Defense
to accompany the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Amendments requested
by the President on November 6, 2017: Provided, That changes
to the allocation of such funds shall be subject to the
reprogramming requirements set forth in the annual
appropriations Act.
(b) Funds made available in this division may be obligated
and expended notwithstanding sections 102 and 104 of division
D of Public Law 115-56.
Sec. 2003. Each amount designated in this division by the
Congress as an emergency requirement pursuant to section
251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act of 1985 shall be available only if the President
subsequently so designates all such amounts and transmits
such designations to the Congress.
This division may be cited as the ``Department of Defense
Missile Defeat and Defense Enhancements Appropriations Act,
2018''.
DIVISION C--HEALTH PROVISIONS
TITLE I--PUBLIC HEALTH EXTENDERS
SEC. 3101. EXTENSION FOR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS, THE
NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE CORPS, AND TEACHING
HEALTH CENTERS THAT OPERATE GME PROGRAMS.
(a) Community Health Centers Funding.--Section 10503(b)(1)
of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C.
254b-2(b)(1)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
and
(2) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) $550,000,000 for the period of the first and second
quarters of fiscal year 2018; and''.
(b) National Health Service Corps.--Section 10503(b)(2) of
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C.
254b-2(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (E) the following:
``(F) $65,000,000 for period of the first and second
quarters of fiscal year 2018.''.
(c) Teaching Health Centers That Operate Graduate Medical
Education Programs.--Subsection (g) of section 340H of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 256h) is amended--
(1) by striking ``To carry out'' and inserting the
following:
``(1) In general.--To carry out'';
(2) by striking ``and $15,000,000 for the first quarter of
fiscal year 2018'' and inserting ``and $30,000,000 for the
period of the first and second quarters of fiscal year 2018,
to remain available until expended''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(2) Administrative expenses.--Of the amount made
available to carry out this section for any fiscal year, the
Secretary may not use more than 5 percent of such amount for
the expenses of administering this section.''.
(d) Application.--Amounts appropriated pursuant to this
section are subject to the requirements contained in Public
Law 115-31 for funds for programs authorized under sections
330 through 340 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
254b-256).
(e) Conforming Amendments.--Section 3014(h) of title 18,
United States Code, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ``section 10503(b)(1)(E)
of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C.
254b-2(b)(1)(E)), as amended by section 221 of the Medicare
Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015'' and inserting
``subparagraphs (E) and (F) of section 10503(b)(1) of the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (42 U.S.C. 254b-
2(b)(1))''; and
(2) in paragraph (4), by inserting ``and section 3101(d) of
the CHIP and Public Health Funding Extension Act'' after
``section 221(c) of the Medicare Access and CHIP
Reauthorization Act of 2015''.
SEC. 3102. EXTENSION FOR SPECIAL DIABETES PROGRAMS.
(a) Special Diabetes Program for Type I Diabetes.--Section
330B(b)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 254c-
2(b)(2)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following:
``(D) $37,500,000 for the period of the first and second
quarters of fiscal year 2018, to remain available until
expended.''.
(b) Special Diabetes Program for Indians.--Subparagraph (D)
of section 330C(c)(2) of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 254c-3(c)(2)) is amended by inserting ``and
$37,500,000 for the second quarter of fiscal year 2018''
before the period at the end.
SEC. 3103. PREVENTION AND PUBLIC HEALTH FUND.
Section 4002(b) of the Patient Protection and Affordable
Care Act (42 U.S.C. 300u-11(b)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ``each of fiscal years
2018 and 2019'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2018'';
(2) by redesignating paragraphs (4) through (8) as
paragraphs (5) through (9);
(3) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new
paragraph:
``(4) for fiscal year 2019, $800,000,000;'';
(4) in paragraph (5), as so redesignated, by striking
``$1,000,000,000'' and inserting ``$800,000,000''; and
(5) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by striking
``$1,500,000,000'' and inserting ``$1,250,000,000''.
TITLE II--CHILDREN'S HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM (CHIP)
SEC. 3201. FUNDING EXTENSION OF THE CHILDREN'S HEALTH
INSURANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Appropriation; Total Allotment.--Section 2104(a) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(a)) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (19), by striking ``and'';
(2) in paragraph (20), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(21) for fiscal year 2018, for purposes of making 1 semi-
annual allotment--
``(A) $2,850,000,000 for the period beginning on October 1,
2017, and ending on March 31, 2018.''.
(b) Allotments.--
(1) In general.--Section 2104(m) of the Social Security Act
(42 U.S.C. 1397dd(m)) is amended--
(A) in paragraph (2)(B)(ii), in the matter preceding
subclause (I), by inserting ``and paragraph (10)'' after
``clauses (iii) and (iv)'';
(B) in paragraph (5)--
(i) by striking ``or (4)'' and inserting ``(4), or (10)'';
and
(ii) by striking ``or 2017'' and inserting ``, 2017, or
2018'';
(C) in paragraph (9)--
(i) in the heading, by striking ``fiscal years 2015 and
2017'' and inserting ``certain fiscal years'';
(ii) by striking ``or (4)'' and inserting ``, (4), or
(10)''; and
(iii) by striking ``or fiscal year 2017'' and inserting ``,
2017, or 2018''; and
(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
``(10) For fiscal year 2018.--
``(A) First half.--
``(i) In general.--Subject to paragraphs (5) and (7), from
the amount made available under subparagraph (A) of paragraph
(21) of subsection (a) for the semi-annual period described
in such subparagraph, the Secretary shall compute a State
allotment for each State (including the District of Columbia
and each commonwealth and territory) for such semi-annual
period in an amount equal to \1/2\ of the amount described in
clause (ii) for the State.
``(ii) Full year amount based on growth factor updated
amount.--The amount described in this clause for a State is
equal to the sum of--
``(I) the sum of the 2 semi-annual allotments made to the
State under paragraph (4) for fiscal year 2017; and
``(II) the amount of any payments made to the State under
subsection (n) for fiscal year 2017,
multiplied by the allotment increase factor under paragraph
(6) for fiscal year 2018.''.
(2) Conforming amendments.--Section 2104(m)(2) of such Act
(42 U.S.C. 1397dd(m)(2)) is amended--
(A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``2010 through
2016'' and inserting ``beginning with fiscal year 2010''; and
(B) by striking ``the allotment increase factor under
paragraph (5)'' each place it appears and inserting ``the
allotment increase factor under paragraph (6)''.
(3) Application of regular expenditure rules.--Amounts
allotted to a State under section 2104(m)(10)(A) of the
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(m)(10)(A)) (as added by
paragraph (1)) shall be subject to the same requirements of
title XXI of such Act and applicable regulations of the
Secretary of Health and Human Services as apply to other
allotments made to States for a fiscal year under section
2104 of such Act.
(c) Extension of CHIP Allocation Redistribution Special
Rule for Certain Shortfall States.--
[[Page H10397]]
(1) In general.--Section 2104(f)(2)(B)(ii) of the Social
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(f)(2)(B)), as amended by
section 201 of Public Law 115-90, is amended--
(A) in the clause heading, by striking ``first quarter''
and inserting ``first half'';
(B) by redesignating subclause (III) as subclause (VI); and
(C) by striking subclauses (I) and (II) and inserting the
following:
``(I) In general.--For each month beginning during the
period beginning on October 1, 2017, and ending March 31,
2018, subject to the succeeding subclauses of this clause,
the Secretary shall redistribute any amounts available for
redistribution under paragraph (1) for fiscal year 2018, to
each State that is an emergency shortfall State for the month
(as defined in subclause (II)) such amount as the Secretary
determines will eliminate the estimated shortfall described
in subclause (II) for such State for the month (as may be
adjusted under subparagraph (C)) before the Secretary may
redistribute such amounts to any shortfall State that is not
an emergency shortfall State. In the case of any amounts
redistributed under this subclause to a State that is not an
emergency shortfall State, such amounts shall be determined
in accordance with clause (i).
``(II) Emergency shortfall state defined.--For purposes of
this clause, the term `emergency shortfall State' means, with
respect to a month beginning during the period beginning
October 1, 2017, and ending March 31, 2018, a shortfall State
for which the Secretary estimates, in accordance with
subparagraph (A) (unless otherwise specified in this
subclause) and on a monthly basis using the most recent data
available to the Secretary as of such month, that the
projected expenditures under the State child health plan and
under section 2105(g) (calculated as if the reference under
section 2105(g)(4)(A) to `2017' were a reference to `2018'
and insofar as the allotments are available to the State
under this subsection or subsection (e) or (m)) for such
month will exceed the sum of the amounts described in clauses
(i) through (iii) of subparagraph (A) for such month,
including after application of any amount redistributed under
paragraph (1) for a previous month for fiscal year 2018 in
accordance with this clause, to such State. A shortfall State
may be an emergency shortfall State under the previous
sentence without regard to whether any amounts were
redistributed to such State under paragraph (1) for a
previous month in fiscal year 2018.
``(III) Funds redistributed in the order in which states
realize funding shortfalls.--The Secretary shall redistribute
the amounts available for redistribution under paragraph (1)
to emergency shortfall States described in subclause (II) in
the order in which such States realize monthly funding
shortfalls under this title for fiscal year 2018. The
Secretary shall only make redistributions under this clause
to the extent that such amounts are available for such
redistributions.
``(IV) Proration rule.--If the amounts available for
redistribution under paragraph (1) for a month during the
period described in subclause (I) are less than the total
amounts of the estimated shortfalls determined for the month
for emergency shortfall States described in subclause (II),
the amount computed under subclause (I) for each emergency
shortfall State shall be reduced proportionally.
``(V) Unobligated redistributed funds.--The Secretary shall
withhold any funds redistributed under paragraph (1) for
fiscal year 2018 before January 1, 2018, but which have not
been obligated for amounts expended by a State as of that
date, and shall redistribute such funds in accordance with
the preceding subclauses of this clause.''.
(2) Rule of construction.--Nothing in the amendments made
by paragraph (1) shall be construed as authorizing the
Secretary of Health and Human Services to de-obligate any
funds redistributed under clause (ii) of section
2104(f)(2)(B) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
1397dd(f)(2)(B)) that have been obligated for amounts
expended by an emergency shortfall State described in such
clause as of January 1, 2018.
This division may be cited as the ``CHIP and Public Health
Funding Extension Act''.
DIVISION D--OTHER MATTERS
SEC. 4001. VA CHOICE.
There is appropriated, out of any funds in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, $2,100,000,000, to remain available
until expended, to be deposited in the Veterans Choice Fund
under section 802 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and
Accountability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113-146; 38 U.S.C.
1701 note).
DIVISION E--BUDGETARY EFFECTS
SEC. 5001. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.
(a) In General.--The budgetary effects of division C and
each succeeding division shall not be entered on either PAYGO
scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.
(b) Senate PAYGO Scorecards.--The budgetary effects of
division C and each succeeding division shall not be entered
on any PAYGO scorecard maintained for purposes of section
4106 of H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress).
(c) Classification of Budgetary Effects.--Notwithstanding
Rule 3 of the Budget Scorekeeping Guidelines set forth in the
joint explanatory statement of the committee of conference
accompanying Conference Report 105-217 and section 250(c)(8)
of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of
1985, the budgetary effects of division C and each succeeding
division shall not be estimated--
(1) for purposes of section 251 of such Act; and
(2) for purposes of paragraph (4)(C) of section 3 of the
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 as being included in an
appropriation Act.
SEC. 5002. BUDGETARY EFFECTS OF RECONCILIATION ACT.
(a) Definition of Reconciliation Act.--In this section, the
term ``reconciliation Act'' means an Act enacted into law
before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act that
was considered pursuant to the reconciliation instructions in
H. Con. Res. 71 (115th Congress), the concurrent resolution
on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
(b) PAYGO Scorecard.--The budgetary effects of the
reconciliation Act shall not be entered on either PAYGO
scorecard maintained pursuant to section 4(d) of the
Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 (2 U.S.C. 933(d)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 670, the motion
shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the
chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations.
The gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen) and the gentlewoman
from New York (Mrs. Lowey) each will control 30 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to present the House amendment to the
Senate amendment to H.R. 1370.
This legislation keeps the government fully open, funds important
national security priorities, and temporarily extends critical
government programs like the Children's Health Insurance Program, the
National Flood Insurance Program, and section 702 of the Foreign
Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Our duty to the American people is to keep them secure and to ensure
they have access to the government programs and services they depend
on.
The House must pass this bill now, today.
Without acting on this bill, existing government funding will expire
tomorrow, and the government will shut down. This legislation provides
a simple, clean extension of current funding levels through January of
2018.
This additional time will allow House and Senate leadership to
complete their negotiations on overall spending levels. Once that is
determined, my committee will complete negotiations with the Senate on
all 12 appropriations bills for the rest of fiscal year 2018.
In the meantime, it is essential that Congress maintain government
programs and services--for our Nation's stability, the stability of our
economy, and for the security and well-being of the American people.
This bill also supports national security by providing an additional
$4.7 billion in emergency funding to bolster missile defense, to
protect against growing threats, and to repair damaged Navy ships.
In addition, the bill also includes $2.1 billion in mandatory funding
for the VA Choice Program. This funding will guarantee that our
veterans continue to have access to the medical care they need and
deserve.
Along with important funding for our Armed Forces and veterans, this
bill contains temporary extensions of several critical programs that
millions of Americans rely on. These include the Children's Health
Insurance Program, the National Flood Insurance Program, and section
702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
Mr. Speaker, before I close, again, I would like to thank the 12
Appropriations chairs, our 12 clerks, and the very professional staff
of the Appropriations Committee for working overtime to bring this bill
and others before the House today.
We cannot delay on passing this critical legislation, funding the
government, protecting our Nation, and extending essential programs
that hardworking Americans rely on every day.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the bill, and I
reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this epic failure of governing.
Nearly 3 months into the fiscal year, the Republican majority is
advancing
[[Page H10398]]
its third temporary continuing resolution with no foreseeable path
forward on enacting full-year appropriations and no evident urgency to
address priorities that are critical to American families and
communities.
Completely preoccupied with showering tax breaks on corporations and
the wealthiest Americans, the majority has failed to clear the
extremely low bar of charting a course to keep the government open and
meet deadlines they have set for themselves.
In short, the Republican majority has made a complete mess of the
very basics of governing. Now they want Democrats to bail them out by
carrying a bill that neglects our priorities.
This continuing resolution should include the bipartisan Dream Act,
protecting from deportation young people who were brought to this
country as small children and only know the United States as home. But
this bill tells those facing deportation that their plight is not our
concern.
It should include a bipartisan reauthorization of the Children's
Health Insurance Program, providing long-term certainty for 9 million
children and families who depend on the program. Instead, this bill
tells children and families their medical needs are not our priority.
It should include an agreement to raise caps for defense and
nondefense spending with parity so that appropriators can get to work
on a full-year spending package that keeps America secure and
prosperous. Instead, the bill tries to make an end run around solely
the defense cap by slipping in nearly $5 billion in new spending for
the Pentagon.
It should not clean up the mess the majority made triggering
automatic reductions to Medicare because of their deficit-busting tax
bill.
The majority wants to pass this bill and go home for the holidays,
somehow content with its performance on behalf of the Americans they
represent. In every sense, this bill fails to live up to our
responsibilities as legislators and as Representatives. Given these
failures, I urge a ``no'' vote.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1600
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Oregon (Mr. Walden), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce
Committee.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague, the
chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Mr. Frelinghuysen, for
his incredible and tenacious work to bring us this legislation.
By the way, all 12 appropriations bills have already been passed by
the House individually and sent to the Senate.
A vote against the CR is a vote to shut down the government. It is
that simple. Today is the day we keep the government operating. We are
not going to take the irresponsible path of voting to shut it down.
I stand here in support of the continuing resolution. This
legislation before us today not only keeps the doors of the Federal
Government open and the services to our constituents available, but
also provides short-term funding for the State Children's Health
Insurance Program, also known as CHIP.
This program provides vital health coverage for approximately 9
million children nationwide. So, when my colleagues on other side vote
``no,'' know that they are also voting against these 9 million children
who need access to this health insurance.
While I am glad we have this short-term funding, I, too, am
disappointed to stand here today without Congress having completed its
work to fully fund CHIP for the next 5 years. We did that in the House
on a bipartisan basis.
This bill also provides critical short-term funding for community
health centers. They are essential. In my district, 63 different
facilities take care of men, women, and children in the community
health center network. It takes care of teaching health center graduate
medical education and special diabetes programs as well. So a ``no''
vote today is against all of those programs.
It is worth noting yet again that the House passed a comprehensive
bill, the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act, in November. It was a
bipartisan vote. It will fund the CHIP program for a full 5 years.
Community health centers will be funded for 2 years, and the other
public health programs will be funded for 2 years.
It would also prevent billions of dollars of cuts to our safety net
hospitals. Those cuts will be triggered in January because of inaction
in the Senate.
Unfortunately, our friends on the other side of the Capitol have yet
to move our bill or reach full agreement on some different combination
of offsets to pay for extending these important programs. This is
disappointing since it means Congress has not yet been able to provide
certainty to families across Oregon and the country who rely on these
vital programs.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hultgren). The time of the gentleman has
expired.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 1
minute.
Mr. WALDEN. We are well past the time in which we should have had
this done. The Energy and Commerce Committee has acted. The U.S. House
of Representatives has acted. The Senate Finance Committee has acted.
But the full Senate has yet to do so.
I know that Chairman Hatch and Ranking Member Pallone believe this
must be done as soon as possible. We have been working closely
together, along with my fellow Oregonian, Senator Ron Wyden, to figure
out how to get a bill to fund CHIP and public health extenders across
the finish line. So, while we are frustrated we will not complete our
work today, we are determined to continue to work with my colleagues to
get this done early in January.
I urge my colleagues to support the CR and these necessary funding
extensions.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the ranking member of the Interior,
Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this continuing
resolution.
The Federal Government's fiscal year started 3 months ago. The
Republican Congress still hasn't passed a full year of Federal
spending. Rather than protecting our Nation and meeting the needs of
the American people, we are now debating a third continuing resolution
to kick the can into January.
Republicans control this House, the Senate, and the White House, but,
clearly, they do not take their responsibility to fund the Federal
Government seriously. Frankly, they should be embarrassed.
For the past 3 months, Democrats have sought to work with Republicans
to secure a budget agreement and responsibly pass appropriations bills,
but Republicans have been too busy to meet this basic responsibility.
Instead, they have spent months working in secret on their deficit-
busting tax scam.
Let's be clear: the Republican tax scam is part of this CR as well.
The CR contains language to exempt the Republican's lavish tax cuts for
big corporations and billionaires from the statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act.
Republicans passed their tax scam knowing it was fiscally
irresponsible and that it would trigger cuts to Medicare, the Crime
Victims Fund, and other vital programs, and trigger an increase in
Federal student loans. Now they are asking Democrats to help bail them
out.
While I didn't vote for the Republican tax scam and I am not going to
paper over their mistakes so that President Trump can sign it into law,
here is what I will do, Mr. Speaker.
As the ranking member of the Interior, Environment, and Related
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee, I know Republican appropriators
are as frustrated I am. I want to work with them to find common ground
and to responsibly fund our government. It is time for appropriators to
do our jobs and for Republicans and Democrats to work together. It is
time for us to get back to work and fund the Federal Government
responsibly.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member of the Energy and Water
Subcommittee.
Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Lowey for yielding,
and I rise in opposition to this continuing resolution that some might
consider ridiculous.
[[Page H10399]]
No matter how you look at it, Republicans have control of all of the
reins of the Federal Government; yet we find ourselves, again, locked
in an artificial crisis of their own creation on the third punt to try
to run this government for another couple of weeks.
First in September, then again 2 weeks ago, and now here again today,
the government will be set on automatic pilot because President Trump
and his fellow Republicans refuse to pass a real budget under regular
order so the Appropriations Committee can get its work done within
strict budget parameters. These last 3 months, Congress has been left
to twiddle its thumbs while the list of unmet priorities for Americans
has steadily grown.
Most notably, let me address the Children's Health Insurance Program,
or CHIP, that covers over 9 million children in our country and more
than 220,000 in Ohio. In fact, that insurance program expired 81 days
ago. It covers half the children in my district.
How do you think it makes those families feel? What are they going to
do after the end of March?
Unfortunately, this spending bill only provides enough funding for
the CHIP program through March 31, again kicking the can down the road.
Let me mention, too, the budgets for community health centers, which
also expired last September 30. They serve more than 25 million
patients and are the Nation's largest source of primary comprehensive
care for people in need. Don't they deserve full respect from this
Congress for the life-giving work they do?
Mr. Speaker, I will close with this. Up to 10 million private
pensions are at risk across our country through no fault of the
workers. Congress must act. But where is the leadership? Our solution
is the Butch Lewis Act, which ensures America's private pensioners
receive the benefits they earned.
So whether it is helping our retirees or caring for our children,
time and again Republicans are ignoring real middle class Americans.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from Ohio an
additional 15 seconds.
Ms. KAPTUR. Yet, the Republicans had no problem finding trillions for
billionaires who end up funding their campaigns, too.
This prescription simply is bad medicine for America, and I ask my
colleagues to vote ``no.''
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman
from Tennessee (Mr. Roe), the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs
Committee.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the provision
within this legislation that would authorize and appropriate $2.1
billion for the Veterans Choice Program.
Choice was created by Congress in 2014, following a nationwide
Department of Veterans Affairs access and accountability crisis. Make
no mistake about it: Choice has certainly not been without its faults
in the last 3 years; however, the program has also resulted in millions
of veterans receiving care they otherwise would have had to wait longer
or travel further for--or maybe not receive at all.
Absent passage of this provision, the Choice Program is expected to
run out of money in early 2018, which could jeopardize the care that
veterans across the country are receiving in their communities. This is
totally unacceptable.
The committee has been working diligently to create a permanent care
in the community program to replace and improve upon Choice. In fact, I
was proud to introduce H.R. 4242, the VA Care in the Community Act,
last month. That legislation was favorably reported out of my committee
just this week, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on
community care reform. In the meantime, we cannot allow the care our
veterans receive in the community through the Choice Program to be
jeopardized by lack of funding.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter Secretary Shulkin sent
me earlier this month.
The Secretary of Veterans Affairs,
Washington, DC, December 12, 2017.
Hon. David P. Roe, M.D.,
Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: I write to raise issues for your
consideration regarding the financial status of the Veterans
Choice Program (VCP), established by the Veterans Access,
Choice and Accountability Act of 2014, Public Law 113-146, as
amended (Choice Act). Current projections indicate that VCP
could be unable to create new referrals or authorizations
within several weeks. Without additional funding before the
end of the year, there will be a dramatic impact on the
ability of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide
care to Veterans.
As of December 7, 2017, VA has approximately $490 million
in VCP funds remaining, once December obligations of
approximately $300 million and reserve funding of
approximately $300 million are accounted for. The average
spend rate of VCP funds ranges from $200-$400 million per
month, with the possibility that unexpected obligations would
push this above and beyond the reserves. As a result, we
believe we have 3 to 5 weeks of funds left, which could
change based on Veteran utilization.
Nearly 1.9 million unique Veterans have sought care through
VCP since its implementation. VA has focused on improving VCP
through streamlined business processes, contract
modifications and implementation of statutory changes. Unless
additional funds are provided, Veterans utilizing the current
VCP will be less able to access timely health care as close
to their homes as possible. The Veteran Coordinated Access &
Rewarding Experiences (CARE) Act, proposed by VA to Congress,
would satisfy the funding requirements if passed.
The challenges of the transition from VCP to a new
Community Care program should not be underestimated, and VA
will need to take steps soon to responsibly prepare for the
termination date. If no action is taken by Congress in the
next 3 to 5 weeks, VA could have to discontinue authorizing
VCP care and transition Veterans to VA or other community
care programs. VA's other community care programs will not
have the capacity to handle all of the patients who will
transition from VCP, and the wait time for appointments at VA
facilities will rise if large numbers of Veterans return to
VA to seek care. Taking these actions would have a number of
negative consequences, including decreased access to care,
damaged community partnerships and interrupted care
continuity for Veterans.
Should you have any questions, please have a member of your
staff contact Mr. David Brant, Congressional Relations
Officer.
Sincerely,
David J. Shulkin, M.D.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. In this letter, Secretary Shulkin explicitly
stated: ``Without additional funding before the end of the year, there
will be a dramatic impact on the ability of the Department of Veterans
Affairs to provide care to veterans.''
A vote against the continuing resolution is a vote against funding
medical care for our Nation's heroes. The Secretary's message is clear,
Mr. Speaker.
I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting an additional
$2.1 billion for the Choice Program.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Lee), a member of the Appropriations Committee.
Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for
her tremendous leadership on so many issues as a ranking member.
As a member of the Appropriations and Budget Committees, I rise in
strong opposition to this continuing resolution, which really could be
called the ``Failure to Govern Resolution.''
This bill, as my colleague from Ohio said, shamefully kicks the can
down the road once again, this time until January 19.
Why? Republicans have been too busy passing the greatest tax scam in
history rather than responsibly funding the government.
This reckless, short-term resolution ignores our critical year-end
priorities like passing a bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the
Children's Health Insurance Program or a DACA program.
Every day, 122, DACA recipients are losing their protections. They
are afraid. They are fearful. There is so much anxiety. We should not
do this today without protecting them.
This continuing resolution does not honor the temporary protected
status for immigrants. It does not raise the budget caps equally for
defense and nondefense spending. Much-needed funding for the opioid
epidemic, community health centers, and our veterans is also not
included.
I could go on and on about the problems with the CR, but I just have
to tell you that the reality is this bill, like the tax giveaway,
underscores the majority's complete lack of regard for everyday
Americans and struggling families.
[[Page H10400]]
Continuing resolutions leave the American people out on a limb, with
no confidence in their Federal Government.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentlewoman from California an
additional 30 seconds.
Ms. LEE. I guess we should not be surprised by this approach, since
the playbook for this administration from day one has been, as Steve
Bannon said early on, that their goal was deconstruction of the
administrative state. That is exactly what is happening with this CR.
This is unacceptable.
By passing a short-term spending bill that entirely neglects urgent
and vital needs and underfunds job training, affordable housing, and
education, we really are selling the American people short.
Unfortunately, this is another effort to disregard the lives of
millions of people. It is totally irresponsible, and it does nothing to
help create jobs, better wages, or a better future for our children and
their families.
I urge a ``no'' vote on this bill. We need to begin to try to do our
job here.
{time} 1615
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of the Military
Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for
yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing
resolution, which is, yet again, a complete abdication of our
responsibilities as Members of Congress.
What we have before us today is evidence that the so-called
Republican leadership simply cannot deliver on the promises they have
made to the American people. Instead, this Congress has decided to
continue taking the ludicrous approach of funding the government for
just a few weeks at a time, while ignoring the pressing issues that
demand our attention.
Over the last few weeks, Republicans in this Congress have decided to
focus only on pushing through legislation designed to further enrich
giant corporations, while adding $1.5 trillion to the deficit.
Yet, to the DREAMers who teach our children, care for our sick, and
serve our Nation, Republicans continue to say: You just have to wait.
For millions of our most vulnerable--young kids suffering from
illness and debilitating disease, who are reliant on the Children's
Health Insurance Program--Republicans have made it clear their
priorities lie elsewhere.
And to those who have served our country with dignity and pride, the
Republican majority has failed to provide urgently needed resources to
address the dire shortfalls at the VA.
Well, Mr. Speaker, the DREAMers cannot wait. The threat of
deportation looms over these courageous individuals every single day.
Sick children deserve our attention now. They should not be used as
bargaining chips in this reckless debate. And our Nation's veterans
need to know we have got their backs without delay. We cannot deny them
the healthcare that they have earned.
Don't tell me that we don't have the funds to support those who need
us the most, when this Congress just gave a handout to those who need
it the least.
This pathetic continuing resolution fails to address the needs of the
people who sent us here. It doesn't even come close.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``no.''
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of
my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from
Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the ranking member of the Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I strongly oppose this continuing
resolution. Yet again we are punting one of our core obligations as
Members of Congress: funding government programs.
The Republican majority has failed to respond to the needs of the
American people. They put services and investments that are critical to
our families and our communities at risk: from apprenticeships to
education for students with disabilities, child care, afterschool
programs that help working families make ends meet, and financial aid
for students attending college.
We should be negotiating spending levels for 2018 for both defense
and nondefense spending. We should have spent the last 2 months
fulfilling our responsibility as legislators by writing bipartisan
bills to fund programs that help the middle class and the vulnerable,
support evidence-based scientific research, and help working people get
the skills that they need to find good jobs with good wages.
Instead, the Republican majority squandered the last 2 months focused
on their tax scam, rewarding big corporations, millionaires, and
billionaires who wrote the rules to make government work for them. Our
Republican colleagues were their comrades in arms in rigging the game
against the middle class.
I am horrified by the majority's decision to put the future of the
Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, in jeopardy: kids'
checkups, shots, prescriptions, dental and vision care, hospital care,
and the list goes on.
States are beginning to cut children off because of the majority's
delay--my own State of Connecticut. The hardworking families that
depend on CHIP deserve to know that it will be there for their children
for the long term.
How can the majority go on vacation while millions of children worry
about losing their health insurance?
This is a disgrace. This bill also cuts $750 million from the
Prevention and Public Health Fund, which supports programs such as
heart disease and stroke prevention, diabetes prevention, immunization
and vaccination programs.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentlewoman from Connecticut.
Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it was only yesterday that our Republican
colleagues voted to spend $1.5 trillion of taxpayers' money on tax cuts
for millionaires. Eighty-three percent of the tax cuts go to 1 percent
of the people in this Nation. Instead, they are cutting nearly $1
billion from public health programs that protect them and their family.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject this continuing
resolution because it fails to meet the obligations that we are
entrusted with, the moral responsibility that we have to the American
people.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of
my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the Democratic whip.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Lowey for yielding.
Here we are again, Mr. Speaker. Two weeks ago, the Republican
majority asked for another 2 weeks to write an appropriations package
to fund the government, yet now they are asking to kick the can down
the road one more time.
We all knew that those 2 weeks were a pretense for getting the votes
to pass their tax bill. We didn't make any progress on a bipartisan
appropriations bill.
Before that, Republicans asked for an additional 12 weeks in
September. We all voted to give that 12 weeks.
All of us know exactly why the can keeps being kicked farther and
farther down the road. It is because the majority cannot muster a
majority of their own Members to support bipartisan funding bills.
Because the governing party, which controls the House, the Senate, and
the White House, has not been able to govern.
Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn said on Sunday: ``The can always
seems to be kicked down the road.''
Yet here we are again with Republicans doing exactly that.
Mr. Speaker, let's call the CR for what it is: a chaotic retreat from
rational, regular, and fiscal responsibility. We have alongside it a
supplemental funding bill that provides some
[[Page H10401]]
additional emergency relief to those affected by natural disasters, but
it ought to do more, in my opinion, to help those in Puerto Rico and
the Virgin Islands.
It has been 3 months since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated
Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and since Hurricane Harvey visited
so much water on Houston.
Many still do not have electricity or running water in Puerto Rico.
These are our fellow Americans. We owe it to them and to ourselves to
help them in their time of need.
Mr. Speaker, Congress can do better, and it should do better. We
should act in a bipartisan way.
I was on the Appropriations Committee as an active member for 23
years. I was a member of the Labor, Health and Human Services,
Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. I told people that you
could take the 13 of us--we were eight Democrats and five Republicans--
and thrown us up in the air, we would have come down in random seats,
had a markup, and you would have been hard-pressed to identify the
Democrat or the Republican, because we believed our responsibility was
to fund the priorities of this country.
Now, I know that we passed 12 bills.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the
gentleman from Maryland.
Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, the Appropriations Committee used to be an
extraordinarily bipartisan committee where we worked together, not on a
partisan basis, but on a basis of trying to determine which priorities
were important for our country, what funds were needed so that agencies
could operate in an effective way. That, unfortunately, is not
happening the way it did.
So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my Republican friends, who control this
House, and all the levers of government, to work with Democrats on
making sure that all those who need emergency disaster relief, as well
as those who need funds to operate their government agencies in a way
that serves America best--I urge us to work together toward that end. I
urge us because nobody believes these CRs are good policy, but they,
unfortunately, are becoming regular, if not regular order.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of
my time.
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, once again, this is an epic failure of governing.
How many more times will we have to pass a continuing resolution,
which not only denies certainty to men and women in uniform and all
Federal employees, but is an inefficient waste of taxpayer dollars?
How many more times would the majority stumble from crisis to crisis,
narrowly averting a shutdown?
It is long past time that the majority work with Democrats to
increase the budget caps and write full-year spending bills. The
Appropriations Committee stands ready to do our job. I hope that
Republican leadership finally does its job and agrees to permit
reasonable spending bills that invest in America's future.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to vote
``yes'' to keep the government open for business, and I yield back the
balance of my time.
Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this
Continuing Resolution because we can't keep kicking the can down the
road, and that is all this CR will do.
Since Republicans took control of the House in 2011, their approach
to governing has been to pass short term extensions and Continuing
Resolutions that merely delay the hard work of making decisions on the
big issues facing our country.
Eventually, after not completing their work on time, Republicans
regularly force through an extension in order to deal with another
crisis of their own making. This has happened over . . . and over . . .
and over.
And here we go again. We passed a CR in September and another one two
weeks ago, and now we are being asked to give Republicans even more
time to get the job done.
Governing by repeated CRs means federal agencies can't plan for the
future or begin new initiatives. This undermines our national security;
endangers our homeland security, restricts investments in
groundbreaking research to treat and cure diseases, and threatens the
accuracy of the next decennial Census.
This repeated inaction means we must now worry about keeping our
government open at the same time we are trying to address several other
large national challenges. For example, we are about to hit the
nation's debt limit; Americans need help recovering from the hurricanes
that hit Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Florida, and Texas and the
wildfires that have ravaged California; people who depend on community
health centers and the Children's Health Insurance Program are about to
lose their healthcare; and we must protect the hundreds of thousands of
Dreamers whose immigration status has been thrown into question.
President Trump himself created this particular crisis for the
millions of Dreamers living in this country. These young men and women
are American in every way but their citizenship, and due to the
President's actions, nearly 13 thousand of them have lost their DACA
protections, an average of 122 per day. Tens of thousands more Dreamers
will eventually lose their jobs and their protection against
deportation if we do not take action.
As the author of the Dream Act in the House, I believe it is inhumane
to force Dreamers to live in fear and uncertainty for longer than
absolutely necessary. We must act now. We can't afford to wait until
the last minute for a solution, as Republicans have done so often while
running Congress.
We cannot keep kicking the can down the road. I oppose this CR and
urge my colleagues to vote no so we can get the job done now.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the continuing resolution
before us today.
First, I'd like to acknowledge the Chairman of the Appropriations
Committee, Chairman Frelinghuysen.
Under his leadership, the Committee reported, and the whole House
considered and passed, all twelve appropriations bills for fiscal year
2018. That doesn't happen very often anymore, and the fact that we did
it this year is a credit to our Chairman.
We've heard complaints about considering another CR rather than full
appropriations bills. And I agree that continuing resolutions aren't an
ideal solution to funding our government. Ideally, all twelve
appropriations bills would be enacted by October 1st.
That process provides the Congress with its best opportunity to set
priorities across government programs, and it provides the most
stability for agencies to carry out those programs in an efficient and
effective manner.
But sometimes we need more time to complete those negotiations. For
example, in 2010, the Democrats controlled both the House, the Senate,
and the White House. Guess what happened when they hadn't completed the
appropriations process on time?
They passed a CR until the end of September. When they hadn't
completed their work yet, they passed another CR until December 2nd.
When they hadn't completed their work--they passed another CR until
December 22.
Then, when we took the majority, we ended up finishing the
appropriations process.
So while CR's aren't ideal, supporting a CR to keep our government
functioning is the only responsible vote today--for national security,
for our economy, and for the general welfare of the American people.
As Chairman of the Energy and Water subcommittee, I am very familiar
with the positive impacts the federal government has in each of these
areas--whether it's the Department of Energy maintaining our nuclear
weapons stockpile, the Corps of Engineers dredging our ports and
waterways so goods and materials can move freely, or the Bureau of
Reclamation providing tens of millions of people with water.
We must avoid disruptions to these vital activities by passing the
continuing resolution before us today and then working towards
completing our work on final appropriations bills as quickly as
possible.
Will we get all our work done by the end of this next CR? I don't
know.
But one thing I can guarantee is that we will not get it done by
tomorrow, and a vote against this resolution is a vote to shut down the
government.
I urge my colleagues to vote yes on the continuing resolution.
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, Republicans have moved on from doing
nothing to help middle-class America, to actively undoing everything
America's middle class relies on. First, they cut taxes for
corporations and the wealthy, instead of lifting up the middle class.
And they did it twice. Now they're kicking the can down the road while
millions of Americans suffer through the holidays. They've left
millions of kids in the lurch for months by letting the Children's
Health Insurance Program expire instead of protecting sick children in
need of care. They have woefully underfunded recovery efforts in Puerto
Rico, the Virgin Islands, Florida and Texas instead of guaranteeing
clean water and electricity to our fellow Americans. And the icing on
the cake: Republicans would leave 800,000 DREAMers--
[[Page H10402]]
Americans in every way but on paper--wondering whether their Christmas
gift will be deportation papers. I cannot support Republicans'
heartlessness. I cannot support Republicans' recklessness. I cannot
support this bill without a fix for DREAMers.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about H.R. 1370,
``Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign Authorization Act of
2017'' [Further Continuing Resolution].
This resolution is an imperfect vehicle for appropriations for FY
2018, because it does not reflect an effort to include bipartisan
solutions to remaining Democratic priorities.
H.R. 1370 not only fails to address remaining unsolved issues, but it
also fails to fund the government through the end of FY 2018.
Republicans have not consulted Democrats on anything that is included
in this year-end legislation, accordingly the majority should not
expect Democrats to vote on a bill that does not include the following
priorities:
A bipartisan, long-term reauthorization of the Children's Health
Insurance Program (CHIP):
CHIP, which provides health coverage to 9 million children, expired
nearly three months ago.
Republicans have only put forward legislation that cuts other
critical health programs, an unacceptable trade-off.
States have already begun taking steps to shut down their CHIP
programs, and I will not vote for a Continuing Resolution (CR) that
prevents children from obtaining health coverage.
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program:
According to a report by the Center for American Progress, 122
DREAMers are losing their protection every single day that Congress
fails to act.
Disaster aid:
My district--Houston, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are
short-changed in the supplemental proposed by the majority.
Among other glaring omissions, the Republican supplemental fails to
include funding for their Medicaid programs, which are facing
unprecedented demands following these ruinous hurricanes.
An agreement to lift the Budget Control Act (BCA) spending caps:
In the three months since a CR was passed in September, Republicans
have not worked on a budget agreement that ensures Congress can
adequately fund defense and nondefense priorities and adhere to the
principle of parity between defense and non-defense spending.
H.R. 1370 would provide $4.5 billion in emergency funding for the
Department of Defense, as requested by the Trump administration on
November 6.
Most of that money is allocated for missile defense programs
primarily targeting North Korea, an area that President Trump has
failed to approach diplomatically and instead, has resorted to
inflammatory threats, tweets, and other non-presidential approaches
typical of this administration.
In contrast, H.R. 1370 would provide a mere four-week extension of
current funding for domestic needs.
This continuing resolution would force both parties to revisit the
domestic programs in January.
Mr. Speaker, I will not accept this scheme and I highlight the
importance of parity between defense and domestic programs in order to
provide adequate funds for veterans' health, a pension bailout, opioid-
fighting programs, and medical research.
Another major concern of this bill includes the unrevised extension
of government surveillance powers; Congress has yet to agree on a
proper revision of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance
Act.
Section 702 of FISA was intended to be revised this month; however,
the majority has failed to address that issue, adding one more
unresolved priority to the list of neglected legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed that we have again been placed in the
position of having to fund the government through the device of a
continuing resolution rather than through the normal appropriations
process of considering and voting on separate spending bills usually
reported by the Committee on Appropriations.
The reason for this last minute resolution is due to the Republican
leadership being solely focused on cutting taxes on the wealthy rather
than coming up with a plan to keep the government open and serving its
citizens.
Republicans control the House, Senate, and the White House--they
should have the votes to pass a CR on their own if they refuse to
compromise with Democrats.
The government shutdown of 2013, which was manufactured by the
Republican majority lasted 16 days and cost taxpayers $24 billion.
The enormous harm and disruption of the lives of federal employees
and the people they serve, however, was irreparable.
As I stated, Mr. Speaker, this Continuing Resolution is not perfect
and it only funds the government until January 19, 2018.
As seasoned Members of Congress, we have been in this challenging
position before.
But working together in a spirit of goodwill, bipartisanship, and
realism, I believe we can reach a long-term agreement that will avert a
shutdown of government operations and the disruption a shutdown causes
to the lives of millions of Americans who depend upon federal programs
to do their jobs, educate their kids, care for their parents, and
contribute to their communities.
Our constituents look to the Congress and the President to make
responsible choices and decisions to keep the nation safe, the economy
prosperous, and to make necessary and prudent investments in education,
healthcare and research, transportation and infrastructure, economic
development, science, the arts and humanities, and the environment.
This is, after all, just another way of saying that the American
people expect their leaders in Washington be guided by the
Constitution's Preamble and pursue policies and provide the resources
that will:
establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure
the blessings of liberty.
The funding priorities that have been floated by the Trump
Administration fail this essential test of leadership because they are
irresponsible, impracticable, unrealistic, and, in many respects,
insensitive or indifferent to the deleterious impact they will have on
the lives of real people living in the real world.
They do not command majority support in the Congress or of the
public.
To win such support, I believe that it is essential that any
subsequent continuing resolution or omnibus appropriations bill
achieves the following goals and objectives:
``To establish justice'' and ``To promote the general welfare'':
1. Full funding for the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights
Division and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights so that
they have funds needed to enforce laws protecting civil rights, voting
rights, and prosecuting hate crimes.
2. Fully funds community development block grants and low income
housing programs in urban and rural communities.
3. Fully funds the Legal Services Corporation so that working and
low-income persons who lack an army of lobbyists to represent them in
Washington will at least have the assistance of counsel to defend their
legal rights in courts of law.
4. Fully funds programs providing food assistance to housebound
seniors, such as Meals on Wheels.
5. Fully funds programs that provide students from low and moderate-
income families access to affordable access to higher education and
provides students with special needs the support needed to receive the
free appropriate public education (FAPE) in the least restrictive
environment (LRE) guaranteed by the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA Act).
6. Fully funds before and after school programs and other student
enrichment programs that help students succeed.
7. Fully funds programs that make federal housing safer through
energy efficient heating and cooling systems.
8. Preserves tax credit programs that help revitalize low income
communities.
9. Fully funds the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of
Energy programs developing the next generation of clean energy and
transportation technologies.
``Provide for the common defense'':
1. Provides robust funding for the Department of State and USAID to
advance national security interests in places like Iraq and Afghanistan
and to end violent conflicts in trouble spots which could threaten the
security interests of the United States.
2. Provides adequate funding for United Nations peacekeeping missions
throughout the world and distribution of food aid to people in
developing and famine stricken countries, such as South Sudan, Somalia,
Yemen, and Nigeria.
``To ensure domestic tranquility'':
1. Fully funds cost-sharing reduction subsidies, or CSRs, to
compensate insurers for reducing deductibles and out-of-pocket maximums
for low-income customers on the Affordable Care Act exchanges.
2. Protects the adequacy, solvency, and integrity of the Medicare and
Medicaid programs, which provide health sustaining support for 70
million Americans.
3. Fully funds the National Institutes of Health research programs so
that patient access to lifesaving treatments is not delayed.
4. Does not convert funding for the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention into block grants which would hindering the nation's ability
to respond swiftly and effectively to public health crises like Ebola,
Zika, and HIV/AIDS.
Mr. Speaker, I believe that if all members of the House and Senate
work together, we can reach agreement on an appropriate budget
framework that that invests in the American
[[Page H10403]]
people, preserves our national security, and keeps faith with the
values that have served our nation well and made the United States the
leading nation on earth.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
Pursuant to House Resolution 670, the previous question is ordered.
The question is on the motion by the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr.
Frelinghuysen).
The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that
the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, this 15-
minute vote on the motion will be followed by 5-minute votes on:
Passage of H.R. 4667;
The motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 1532; and
The motion to suspend the rules and pass S. 1766, if ordered.
The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 231,
nays 188, not voting 13, as follows:
[Roll No. 708]
YEAS--231
Abraham
Aderholt
Allen
Amodei
Arrington
Babin
Bacon
Banks (IN)
Barletta
Barr
Barton
Bergman
Bilirakis
Bishop (GA)
Bishop (MI)
Bishop (UT)
Black
Blackburn
Blum
Bost
Brady (TX)
Brat
Brooks (IN)
Buchanan
Buck
Bucshon
Budd
Burgess
Bustos
Byrne
Calvert
Carter (GA)
Carter (TX)
Chabot
Cheney
Coffman
Cole
Collins (GA)
Collins (NY)
Comer
Comstock
Conaway
Cook
Costa
Costello (PA)
Cramer
Crawford
Crist
Culberson
Curtis
Davidson
Davis, Rodney
Delaney
Denham
Dent
DeSantis
DesJarlais
Diaz-Balart
Donovan
Duffy
Duncan (SC)
Duncan (TN)
Dunn
Emmer
Estes (KS)
Farenthold
Faso
Ferguson
Fitzpatrick
Fleischmann
Flores
Fortenberry
Foxx
Frelinghuysen
Gallagher
Garrett
Gianforte
Gibbs
Gohmert
Goodlatte
Gottheimer
Gowdy
Graves (GA)
Graves (LA)
Graves (MO)
Griffith
Grothman
Guthrie
Handel
Harper
Harris
Hartzler
Hensarling
Herrera Beutler
Hice, Jody B.
Higgins (LA)
Hill
Holding
Hudson
Huizenga
Hultgren
Hurd
Issa
Jenkins (KS)
Jenkins (WV)
Johnson (LA)
Johnson (OH)
Johnson, Sam
Joyce (OH)
Katko
Kelly (MS)
Kelly (PA)
King (IA)
King (NY)
Kinzinger
Knight
Kustoff (TN)
LaHood
LaMalfa
Lamborn
Lance
Latta
Lawson (FL)
Lewis (MN)
LoBiondo
Loebsack
Long
Loudermilk
Love
Lucas
Luetkemeyer
MacArthur
Marchant
Marino
Marshall
Mast
McCarthy
McCaul
McClintock
McHenry
McKinley
McMorris Rodgers
McSally
Meadows
Meehan
Messer
Mitchell
Moolenaar
Mullin
Murphy (FL)
Newhouse
Noem
Norman
Nunes
O'Halleran
Olson
Palazzo
Palmer
Paulsen
Pearce
Pittenger
Poe (TX)
Poliquin
Posey
Ratcliffe
Reed
Reichert
Rice (SC)
Roby
Roe (TN)
Rogers (AL)
Rogers (KY)
Rohrabacher
Rokita
Rooney, Francis
Roskam
Rothfus
Rouzer
Royce (CA)
Ruiz
Russell
Rutherford
Ryan (WI)
Sanford
Scalise
Schneider
Schweikert
Scott, Austin
Sensenbrenner
Sessions
Sewell (AL)
Shimkus
Shuster
Simpson
Sinema
Smith (MO)
Smith (NE)
Smith (NJ)
Smucker
Stefanik
Stewart
Stivers
Taylor
Tenney
Thompson (PA)
Thornberry
Tiberi
Tipton
Trott
Turner
Upton
Valadao
Wagner
Walberg
Walden
Walker
Walorski
Walters, Mimi
Weber (TX)
Webster (FL)
Wenstrup
Westerman
Williams
Wilson (SC)
Womack
Woodall
Yoder
Yoho
Young (AK)
Young (IA)
Zeldin
NAYS--188
Adams
Aguilar
Amash
Barragan
Bass
Beatty
Bera
Beyer
Biggs
Blumenauer
Blunt Rochester
Bonamici
Boyle, Brendan F.
Brady (PA)
Brown (MD)
Brownley (CA)
Butterfield
Capuano
Carbajal
Cardenas
Carson (IN)
Cartwright
Castor (FL)
Castro (TX)
Chu, Judy
Cicilline
Clark (MA)
Clarke (NY)
Clay
Cleaver
Clyburn
Cohen
Connolly
Cooper
Correa
Courtney
Crowley
Cuellar
Cummings
Curbelo (FL)
Davis (CA)
Davis, Danny
DeFazio
DeGette
DeLauro
DelBene
Demings
DeSaulnier
Deutch
Dingell
Doggett
Doyle, Michael F.
Ellison
Engel
Eshoo
Espaillat
Esty (CT)
Evans
Fudge
Gabbard
Gaetz
Gallego
Garamendi
Gomez
Gonzalez (TX)
Gosar
Green, Al
Grijalva
Gutierrez
Hanabusa
Hastings
Heck
Higgins (NY)
Himes
Hollingsworth
Hoyer
Huffman
Hunter
Jackson Lee
Jayapal
Jeffries
Johnson (GA)
Johnson, E. B.
Jordan
Kaptur
Keating
Kelly (IL)
Khanna
Kihuen
Kildee
Kilmer
Kind
Krishnamoorthi
Kuster (NH)
Labrador
Langevin
Larsen (WA)
Larson (CT)
Lawrence
Lee
Levin
Lewis (GA)
Lieu, Ted
Lipinski
Lofgren
Lowenthal
Lowey
Lujan Grisham, M.
Lujan, Ben Ray
Lynch
Maloney, Carolyn B.
Maloney, Sean
Massie
Matsui
McCollum
McEachin
McGovern
McNerney
Meeks
Meng
Mooney (WV)
Moore
Moulton
Nadler
Neal
Nolan
Norcross
O'Rourke
Pallone
Panetta
Pascrell
Payne
Pelosi
Perlmutter
Perry
Peters
Peterson
Pingree
Polis
Price (NC)
Quigley
Raskin
Rice (NY)
Richmond
Rooney, Thomas J.
Ros-Lehtinen
Rosen
Ross
Roybal-Allard
Ruppersberger
Rush
Ryan (OH)
Sanchez
Sarbanes
Schakowsky
Schiff
Schrader
Scott (VA)
Scott, David
Serrano
Shea-Porter
Sherman
Sires
Slaughter
Smith (WA)
Soto
Speier
Swalwell (CA)
Takano
Thompson (CA)
Thompson (MS)
Titus
Tonko
Torres
Tsongas
Vargas
Veasey
Vela
Velazquez
Visclosky
Walz
Wasserman Schultz
Waters, Maxine
Watson Coleman
Welch
Wilson (FL)
Wittman
Yarmuth
NOT VOTING--13
Bridenstine
Brooks (AL)
Foster
Frankel (FL)
Granger
Green, Gene
Jones
Kennedy
Napolitano
Pocan
Renacci
Smith (TX)
Suozzi
{time} 1653
Messrs. HOLLINGSWORTH, McNERNEY, PETERSON, and ROSS changed their
vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.''
Mr. GOHMERT, Ms. SEWELL of Alabama, Messrs. LAWSON of Florida, and
DELANEY changed their vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.''
So the motion to concur was agreed to.
The result of the vote was announced as above recorded.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
Stated against:
Ms. FRANKEL of Florida. Mr. Speaker, had I been present, I would have
voted ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 708.
____________________