[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 11 (Thursday, January 18, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H521-H536]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FEDERAL REGISTER PRINTING SAVINGS ACT OF 2017


                             General Leave

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the further consideration of 
H.R. 195.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hultgren). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 696, I 
call up the bill (H.R. 195) to amend title 44, United States Code, to 
restrict the distribution of free printed copies of the Federal 
Register to Members of Congress and other officers and employees of the 
United States, 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:


[[Page H522]]


  

       At the end, add the following:

                TITLE II--KEVIN AND AVONTE'S LAW OF 2017

     SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE.

       This title may be cited as the ``Kevin and Avonte's Law of 
     2017''.

     Subtitle A--Missing Alzheimer's Disease Patient Alert Program 
                            Reauthorization

     SEC. 211. SHORT TITLE.

       This subtitle may be cited as the ``Missing Americans Alert 
     Program Act of 2017''.

     SEC. 212. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE MISSING ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE 
                   PATIENT ALERT PROGRAM.

       (a) Amendments.--Section 240001 of the Violent Crime 
     Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12621) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the section header, by striking ``alzheimer's 
     disease patient'' and inserting ``americans'';
       (2) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following:
       ``(a) Grant Program To Reduce Injury and Death of Missing 
     Americans With Dementia and Developmental Disabilities.--
     Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out 
     this section, the Attorney General, through the Bureau of 
     Justice Assistance and in consultation with the Secretary of 
     Health and Human Services--
       ``(1) shall award competitive grants to health care 
     agencies, State and local law enforcement agencies, or public 
     safety agencies and nonprofit organizations to assist such 
     entities in planning, designing, establishing, or operating 
     locally based, proactive programs to prevent wandering and 
     locate missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as 
     Alzheimer's Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as 
     autism, who, due to their condition, wander from safe 
     environments, including programs that--
       ``(A) provide prevention and response information, 
     including online training resources, and referrals to 
     families or guardians of such individuals who, due to their 
     condition, wander from a safe environment;
       ``(B) provide education and training, including online 
     training resources, to first responders, school personnel, 
     clinicians, and the public in order to--
       ``(i) increase the safety and reduce the incidence of 
     wandering of persons, who, due to their dementia or 
     developmental disabilities, may wander from safe 
     environments;
       ``(ii) facilitate the rescue and recovery of individuals 
     who, due to their dementia or developmental disabilities, 
     wander from safe environments; and
       ``(iii) recognize and respond to and appropriately interact 
     with endangered missing individuals with dementia or 
     developmental disabilities who, due to their condition, 
     wander from safe environments;
       ``(C) provide prevention and response training and 
     emergency protocols for school administrators, staff, and 
     families or guardians of individuals with dementia, such as 
     Alzheimer's Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as 
     autism, to help reduce the risk of wandering by such 
     individuals; and
       ``(D) develop, operate, or enhance a notification or 
     communications systems for alerts, advisories, or 
     dissemination of other information for the recovery of 
     missing individuals with forms of dementia, such as 
     Alzheimer's Disease, or with developmental disabilities, such 
     as autism; and
       ``(2) shall award grants to health care agencies, State and 
     local law enforcement agencies, or public safety agencies to 
     assist such agencies in designing, establishing, and 
     operating locative tracking technology programs for 
     individuals with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's 
     Disease, or children with developmental disabilities, such as 
     autism, who have wandered from safe environments.'';
       (3) in subsection (b)--
       (A) by inserting ``competitive'' after ``to receive a'';
       (B) by inserting ``agency or'' before ``organization'' each 
     place it appears; and
       (C) by adding at the end the following: ``The Attorney 
     General shall periodically solicit applications for grants 
     under this section by publishing a request for applications 
     in the Federal Register and by posting such a request on the 
     website of the Department of Justice.''; and
       (4) by striking subsections (c) and (d) and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(c) Preference.--In awarding grants under subsection 
     (a)(1), the Attorney General shall give preference to law 
     enforcement or public safety agencies that partner with 
     nonprofit organizations that appropriately use person-
     centered plans minimizing restrictive interventions and that 
     have a direct link to individuals, and families of 
     individuals, with forms of dementia, such as Alzheimer's 
     Disease, or developmental disabilities, such as autism.
       ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are 
     authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
     $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 2022.
       ``(e) Grant Accountability.--All grants awarded by the 
     Attorney General under this section shall be subject to the 
     following accountability provisions:
       ``(1) Audit requirement.--
       ``(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term `unresolved 
     audit finding' means a finding in the final audit report of 
     the Inspector General of the Department of Justice that the 
     audited grantee has utilized grant funds for an unauthorized 
     expenditure or otherwise unallowable cost that is not closed 
     or resolved within 12 months from the date when the final 
     audit report is issued.
       ``(B) Audits.--Beginning in the first fiscal year beginning 
     after the date of enactment of this subsection, and in each 
     fiscal year thereafter, the Inspector General of the 
     Department of Justice shall conduct audits of recipients of 
     grants under this section to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse 
     of funds by grantees. The Inspector General shall determine 
     the appropriate number of grantees to be audited each year.
       ``(C) Mandatory exclusion.--A recipient of grant funds 
     under this section that is found to have an unresolved audit 
     finding shall not be eligible to receive grant funds under 
     this section during the first 2 fiscal years beginning after 
     the end of the 12-month period described in subparagraph (A).
       ``(D) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the 
     Attorney General shall give priority to eligible applicants 
     that did not have an unresolved audit finding during the 3 
     fiscal years before submitting an application for a grant 
     under this section.
       ``(E) Reimbursement.--If an entity is awarded grant funds 
     under this section during the 2-fiscal-year period during 
     which the entity is barred from receiving grants under 
     subparagraph (C), the Attorney General shall--
       ``(i) deposit an amount equal to the amount of the grant 
     funds that were improperly awarded to the grantee into the 
     General Fund of the Treasury; and
       ``(ii) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the 
     fund from the grant recipient that was erroneously awarded 
     grant funds.
       ``(2) Nonprofit organization requirements.--
       ``(A) Definition of nonprofit organization.--For purposes 
     of this paragraph and the grant programs under this section, 
     the term `nonprofit organization' means an organization that 
     is described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 and is exempt from taxation under section 501(a) 
     of such Code.
       ``(B) Prohibition.--The Attorney General may not award a 
     grant under this section to a nonprofit organization that 
     holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding 
     paying the tax described in section 511(a) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986.
       ``(C) Disclosure.--Each nonprofit organization that is 
     awarded a grant under this section and uses the procedures 
     prescribed in regulations to create a rebuttable presumption 
     of reasonableness for the compensation of its officers, 
     directors, trustees, and key employees, shall disclose to the 
     Attorney General, in the application for the grant, the 
     process for determining such compensation, including the 
     independent persons involved in reviewing and approving such 
     compensation, the comparability data used, and 
     contemporaneous substantiation of the deliberation and 
     decision. Upon request, the Attorney General shall make the 
     information disclosed under this subparagraph available for 
     public inspection.
       ``(3) Conference expenditures.--
       ``(A) Limitation.--No amounts made available to the 
     Department of Justice under this section may be used by the 
     Attorney General, or by any individual or entity awarded 
     discretionary funds through a cooperative agreement under 
     this section, to host or support any expenditure for 
     conferences that uses more than $20,000 in funds made 
     available by the Department of Justice, unless the head of 
     the relevant agency or department, provides prior written 
     authorization that the funds may be expended to host the 
     conference.
       ``(B) Written approval.--Written approval under 
     subparagraph (A) shall include a written estimate of all 
     costs associated with the conference, including the cost of 
     all food, beverages, audio-visual equipment, honoraria for 
     speakers, and entertainment.
       ``(C) Report.--The Deputy Attorney General shall submit an 
     annual report to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives on all conference expenditures approved under 
     this paragraph.
       ``(4) Annual certification.--Beginning in the first fiscal 
     year beginning after the date of enactment of this 
     subsection, the Attorney General shall submit, to the 
     Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on the 
     Judiciary and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
     Representatives, an annual certification--
       ``(A) indicating whether--
       ``(i) all audits issued by the Office of the Inspector 
     General under paragraph (1) have been completed and reviewed 
     by the appropriate Assistant Attorney General or Director;
       ``(ii) all mandatory exclusions required under paragraph 
     (1)(C) have been issued; and
       ``(iii) all reimbursements required under paragraph (1)(E) 
     have been made; and
       ``(B) that includes a list of any grant recipients excluded 
     under paragraph (1) from the previous year.
       ``(f) Preventing Duplicative Grants.--
       ``(1) In general.--Before the Attorney General awards a 
     grant to an applicant under this section, the Attorney 
     General shall compare potential grant awards with other 
     grants awarded by the Attorney General to determine if grant 
     awards are or have been awarded for a similar purpose.
       ``(2) Report.--If the Attorney General awards grants to the 
     same applicant for a similar purpose the Attorney General 
     shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 
     and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
     Representatives a report that includes--
       ``(A) a list of all such grants awarded, including the 
     total dollar amount of any such grants awarded; and
       ``(B) the reason the Attorney General awarded multiple 
     grants to the same applicant for a similar purpose.''.
       (b) Annual Report.--Not later than 2 years after the date 
     of enactment of this Act and every year thereafter, the 
     Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
     Judiciary

[[Page H523]]

     and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate and the 
     Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on 
     Appropriations of the House of Representatives a report on 
     the Missing Americans Alert Program, as amended by subsection 
     (a), which shall address--
       (1) the number of individuals who benefitted from the 
     Missing Americans Alert Program, including information such 
     as the number of individuals with reduced unsafe wandering, 
     the number of people who were trained through the program, 
     and the estimated number of people who were impacted by the 
     program;
       (2) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement 
     or public safety agencies that applied for funding under the 
     Missing Americans Alert Program;
       (3) the number of State, local, and tribal local law 
     enforcement or public safety agencies that received funding 
     under the Missing Americans Alert Program, including--
       (A) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement 
     or public safety agencies that used such funding for 
     training; and
       (B) the number of State, local, and tribal law enforcement 
     or public safety agencies that used such funding for 
     designing, establishing, or operating locative tracking 
     technology;
       (4) the companies, including the location (city and State) 
     of the headquarters and local offices of each company, for 
     which their locative tracking technology was used by State, 
     local, and tribal law enforcement or public safety agencies;
       (5) the nonprofit organizations, including the location 
     (city and State) of the headquarters and local offices of 
     each organization, that State, local, and tribal law 
     enforcement or public safety agencies partnered with and the 
     result of each partnership;
       (6) the number of missing children with autism or another 
     developmental disability with wandering tendencies or adults 
     with Alzheimer's being served by the program who went missing 
     and the result of the search for each such individual; and
       (7) any recommendations for improving the Missing Americans 
     Alert Program.
       (c) Table of Contents.--The table of contents in section 2 
     of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
     is amended by striking the item relating to section 240001 
     and inserting the following:

``Sec. 240001. Missing Americans Alert Program.''.

                   Subtitle B--Education and Outreach

     SEC. 231. ACTIVITIES BY THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND 
                   EXPLOITED CHILDREN.

       Section 404(b)(1)(H) of the Missing Children's Assistance 
     Act (34 U.S.C. 11293(b)(1)(H)) is amended by inserting ``, 
     including cases involving children with developmental 
     disabilities such as autism'' before the semicolon.

                    Subtitle C--Privacy Protections

     SEC. 241. DEFINITIONS.

       In this subtitle:
       (1) Child.--The term ``child'' means an individual who is 
     less than 18 years of age.
       (2) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the 
     meaning given that term in section 4(e) of the Indian Self-
     Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
     5304(e)).
       (3) Law enforcement agency.--The term ``law enforcement 
     agency'' means an agency of a State, unit of local 
     government, or Indian tribe that is authorized by law or by a 
     government agency to engage in or supervise the prevention, 
     detection, investigation, or prosecution of any violation of 
     criminal law.
       (4) Non-invasive and non-permanent.--The term ``non-
     invasive and non-permanent'' means, with regard to any 
     technology or device, that the procedure to install the 
     technology or device does not create an external or internal 
     marker or implant a device, such as a microchip, or other 
     trackable items.
       (5) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the 50 States, 
     the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, 
     the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and 
     the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
       (6) Unit of local government.--The term ``unit of local 
     government'' means a county, municipality, town, township, 
     village, parish, borough, or other unit of general government 
     below the State level.

     SEC. 242. STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES FOR USE OF NON-
                   INVASIVE AND NON-PERMANENT TRACKING DEVICES.

       (a) Establishment.--
       (1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
     with the Secretary of Health and Human Services and leading 
     research, advocacy, self-advocacy, and service organizations, 
     shall establish standards and best practices relating to the 
     use of non-invasive and non-permanent tracking technology, 
     where a guardian or parent has determined that a non-invasive 
     and non-permanent tracking device is the least restrictive 
     alternative, to locate individuals as described in subsection 
     (a)(2) of section 240001 of the Violent Crime Control and Law 
     Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12621), as added by this 
     title.
       (2) Requirements.--In establishing the standards and best 
     practices required under paragraph (1), the Attorney General 
     shall--
       (A) determine--
       (i) the criteria used to determine which individuals would 
     benefit from the use of a tracking device;
       (ii) the criteria used to determine who should have direct 
     access to the tracking system; and
       (iii) which non-invasive and non-permanent types of 
     tracking devices can be used in compliance with the standards 
     and best practices; and
       (B) establish standards and best practices the Attorney 
     General determines are necessary to the administration of a 
     tracking system, including procedures to--
       (i) safeguard the privacy of the data used by the tracking 
     device such that--

       (I) access to the data is restricted to law enforcement and 
     health agencies determined necessary by the Attorney General; 
     and
       (II) collection, use, and retention of the data is solely 
     for the purpose of preventing injury to or death of the 
     individual wearing the tracking device;

       (ii) establish criteria to determine whether use of the 
     tracking device is the least restrictive alternative in order 
     to prevent risk of injury or death before issuing the 
     tracking device, including the previous consideration of less 
     restrictive alternatives;
       (iii) provide training for law enforcement agencies to 
     recognize signs of abuse during interactions with applicants 
     for tracking devices;
       (iv) protect the civil rights and liberties of the 
     individuals who use tracking devices, including their rights 
     under the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
     States;
       (v) establish a complaint and investigation process to 
     address--

       (I) incidents of noncompliance by recipients of grants 
     under subsection (a)(2) of section 240001 of the Violent 
     Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 
     12621), as added by this title, with the best practices 
     established by the Attorney General or other applicable law; 
     and
       (II) use of a tracking device over the objection of an 
     individual; and

       (vi) determine the role that State agencies should have in 
     the administration of a tracking system.
       (3) Effective date.--The standards and best practices 
     established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall take effect 90 
     days after publication of such standards and practices by the 
     Attorney General.
       (b) Required Compliance.--
       (1) In general.--Each entity that receives a grant under 
     subsection (a)(2) of section 240001 of the Violent Crime 
     Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12621), as 
     added by this title, shall comply with any standards and best 
     practices relating to the use of tracking devices established 
     by the Attorney General in accordance with subsection (a).
       (2) Determination of compliance.--The Attorney General, in 
     consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
     shall determine whether an entity that receives a grant under 
     subsection (a)(2) of section 240001 of the Violent Crime 
     Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12621), as 
     added by this title, acts in compliance with the standards 
     and best practices described in paragraph (1).
       (c) Applicability of Standards and Best Practices.--The 
     standards and best practices established by the Attorney 
     General under subsection (a) shall apply only to the grant 
     programs authorized under subsection (a)(2) of section 240001 
     of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 
     (34 U.S.C. 12621), as added by this title.
       (d) Limitations on Program.--
       (1) Data storage.--Any tracking data provided by tracking 
     devices issued under this program may not be used by a 
     Federal entity to create a database.
       (2) Voluntary participation.--Nothing in this title may be 
     construed to require that a parent or guardian use a tracking 
     device to monitor the location of a child or adult under that 
     parent or guardian's supervision if the parent or guardian 
     does not believe that the use of such device is necessary or 
     in the interest of the child or adult under supervision.

                            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. 195 with an amendment consisting of the 
     text of Rules Committee print 115-55.

  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, insert the following:

      DIVISION B--EXTENSION OF CONTINUING APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2018

       Sec. 2001.  The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 
     (division D of Public Law 115-56) is amended--
       (1) by striking the date specified in section 106(3) and 
     inserting ``February 16, 2018''; and
       (2) by adding after section 147 the following:
       ``Sec. 148.  Funds appropriated by the Department of 
     Defense Missile Defeat and Defense Enhancements 
     Appropriations Act, 2018 (division B of Public Law 115-96) 
     may be obligated and expended notwithstanding section 
     504(a)(1) of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 
     3094(a)(1)).
       ``Sec. 149.  Amounts made available by section 101 for 
     `Department of Agriculture--Food and Nutrition Service--Child 
     Nutrition Programs' to carry out section 749(g) of the 
     Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-80) 
     may be apportioned up to the rate for operations necessary to 
     ensure that the program can be fully operational by May 2018.
       ``Sec. 150.  Amounts made available by section 101 for 
     `National Aeronautics and Space

[[Page H524]]

     Administration--Exploration' may be apportioned up to the 
     rate for operations necessary to maintain the planned launch 
     capability schedules for the Space Launch System launch 
     vehicle, Exploration Ground Systems, and Orion Multi-Purpose 
     Crew Vehicle programs.
       ``Sec. 151.  Amounts made available by section 101 for 
     `Department of Energy--Energy Programs--Office of the 
     Inspector General' may be apportioned up to the rate for 
     operations necessary to sustain staffing levels achieved on 
     June 30, 2017.
       ``Sec. 152.  Amounts made available by section 101 for 
     `Small Business Administration--Business Loans Program 
     Account' may be apportioned up to the rate for operations 
     necessary to accommodate increased demand for commitments for 
     general business loans authorized under section 7(a) of the 
     Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)).
       ``Sec. 153.  For 2018, the Secretary of Housing and Urban 
     Development may make temporary adjustments to the Section 8 
     housing choice voucher annual renewal funding allocations and 
     administrative fee eligibility determinations for public 
     housing agencies in an area for which the President declared 
     a disaster in 2017 or 2018 under title IV of the Robert T. 
     Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 
     U.S.C. 5170 et seq.), to avoid significant adverse funding 
     impacts that would otherwise result from the disaster and 
     that would otherwise prevent a public housing agency from 
     leasing up to its authorized level of units under contract 
     (but not to exceed such level), upon request by and in 
     consultation with a public housing agency and supported by 
     documentation as required by the Secretary that demonstrates 
     the need for the adjustment.''.
       Sec. 2002.  The Further Additional Continuing 
     Appropriations Act, 2018 (division A of Public Law 115-96) is 
     amended by striking section 1002.
        This division may be cited as the ``Extension of 
     Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018''.

                      DIVISION C--HEALTHY KIDS ACT

     SEC. 3001. SHORT TITLE.

       This division may be cited as the ``Helping Ensure Access 
     for Little Ones, Toddlers, and Hopeful Youth by Keeping 
     Insurance Delivery Stable Act'' or the ``HEALTHY KIDS Act''.

     SEC. 3002. SIX-YEAR FUNDING EXTENSION OF THE CHILDREN'S 
                   HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM.

       (a) Funding.--
       (1) In general.--Section 2104(a) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(a)), as amended by section 3201(a) of the 
     CHIP and Public Health Funding Extension Act (division C of 
     Public Law 115-96), is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (20)(B), by striking ``; and'' and 
     inserting a semicolon;
       (B) by striking paragraph (21) and inserting the following 
     new paragraphs:
       ``(21) for fiscal year 2018, $21,500,000,000;
       ``(22) for fiscal year 2019, $22,600,000,000;
       ``(23) for fiscal year 2020, $23,700,000,000;
       ``(24) for fiscal year 2021, $24,800,000,000;
       ``(25) for fiscal year 2022, $25,900,000,000; and
       ``(26) for fiscal year 2023, for purposes of making two 
     semi-annual allotments--
       ``(A) $2,850,000,000 for the period beginning on October 1, 
     2022, and ending on March 31, 2023; and
       ``(B) $2,850,000,000 for the period beginning on April 1, 
     2023, and ending on September 30, 2023.''.
       (2) Prevention of duplicate appropriations for fiscal year 
     2018.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, insofar as 
     funds have been appropriated under subsection (a)(21) of 
     section 2104 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd), 
     as such subsection is in effect on the day before the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, to provide allotments to States 
     under the State Children's Health Insurance Program 
     established under title XXI of the Social Security Act (42 
     U.S.C. 1397aa et seq.) (whether implemented under title XIX, 
     XXI, or both, of the Social Security Act) for fiscal year 
     2018--
       (A) any amounts that are so appropriated that are not so 
     allotted and obligated before the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, are rescinded; and
       (B) any amount provided for CHIP allotments to a State 
     under this section (and the amendments made by this section) 
     for such fiscal year shall be reduced by the amount of such 
     appropriations so allotted and obligated before such date.
       (b) Allotments.--
       (1) In general.--Section 2104(m) of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(m)), as amended by section 3201(b) of the 
     CHIP and Public Health Funding Extension Act (division C of 
     Public Law 115-96), is amended--
       (A) in paragraph (2)(B)--
       (i) in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking 
     ``(19)'' and inserting ``(25)'';
       (ii) in clause (i), by striking ``and 2017'' and inserting 
     ``, 2017, and 2023''; and
       (iii) in clause (ii)--

       (I) in the matter preceding subclause (I), by striking 
     ``and paragraph (10)''; and
       (II) in subclause (I), by inserting ``(or, in the case of 
     fiscal year 2018, under paragraph (4))'' after ``clause 
     (i)'';

       (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ``2018'' and inserting 
     ``2023'';
       (C) in paragraph (7)--
       (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
     ``2023'';
       (ii) in subparagraph (B), in the matter preceding clause 
     (i), by inserting ``(or, in the case of fiscal year 2018, by 
     not later than the date that is 60 days after the date of the 
     enactment of the HEALTHY KIDS Act)'' after ``before the 
     August 31 preceding the beginning of the fiscal year''; and
       (iii) in the matter following subparagraph (B), by striking 
     ``or fiscal year 2016'' and inserting ``fiscal year 2016, 
     fiscal year 2018, fiscal year 2020, or fiscal year 2022'';
       (D) in paragraph (9), by striking ``2018'' and inserting 
     ``2023''; and
       (E) by amending paragraph (10) to read as follows:
       ``(10) For fiscal year 2023.--
       ``(A) First half.--Subject to paragraphs (5) and (7), from 
     the amount made available under subparagraph (A) of paragraph 
     (26) of subsection (a) for the semi-annual period described 
     in such subparagraph, increased by the amount of the 
     appropriation for such period under section 3002(b)(2) of the 
     HEALTHY KIDS Act, 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 the first half ratio (described 
     in subparagraph (D)) of the amount described in subparagraph 
     (C).
       ``(B) Second half.--Subject to paragraphs (5) and (7), from 
     the amount made available under subparagraph (B) of paragraph 
     (26) 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 the amount made available under 
     such subparagraph, multiplied by the ratio of--
       ``(i) the amount of the allotment to such State under 
     subparagraph (A); to
       ``(ii) the total of the amount of all of the allotments 
     made available under such subparagraph.
       ``(C) Full year amount based on rebased amount.--The amount 
     described in this subparagraph for a State is equal to the 
     Federal payments to the State that are attributable to (and 
     countable towards) the total amount of allotments available 
     under this section to the State in fiscal year 2022 
     (including payments made to the State under subsection (n) 
     for fiscal year 2022 as well as amounts redistributed to the 
     State in fiscal year 2022), multiplied by the allotment 
     increase factor under paragraph (6) for fiscal year 2023.
       ``(D) First half ratio.--The first half ratio described in 
     this subparagraph is the ratio of--
       ``(i) the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount made available under subsection 
     (a)(26)(A); and
       ``(II) the amount of the appropriation for such period 
     under section 3002(b)(2) of the HEALTHY KIDS Act; to

       ``(ii) the sum of--

       ``(I) the amount described in clause (i); and
       ``(II) the amount made available under subsection 
     (a)(26)(B).''.

       (2) One-time appropriation for fiscal year 2023.--There is 
     appropriated to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, 
     out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 
     $20,200,000,000 to accompany the allotment made for the 
     period beginning on October 1, 2022, and ending on March 31, 
     2023, under paragraph (26)(A) of section 2104(a) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(a)) (as added by 
     subsection (a)), to remain available until expended. Such 
     amount shall be used to provide allotments to States under 
     paragraph (10) of section 2104(m) of such Act (as added by 
     paragraph (1)) for the first 6 months of fiscal year 2023 in 
     the same manner as allotments are provided under subsection 
     (a)(26)(A) of such section 2104 and subject to the same terms 
     and conditions as apply to the allotments provided from such 
     subsection (a)(26)(A).
       (c) Extension of the Child Enrollment Contingency Fund.--
     Section 2104(n) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1397dd(n)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (2)--
       (A) in subparagraph (A)(ii)--
       (i) by striking ``2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016'' 
     and inserting ``2010 through 2014, 2016, and 2018 through 
     2022''; and
       (ii) by striking ``fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2017'' 
     and inserting ``fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2023''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (B)--
       (i) by striking ``2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2016'' 
     and inserting ``2010 through 2014, 2016, and 2018 through 
     2022''; and
       (ii) by striking ``fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2017'' 
     and inserting ``fiscal years 2015, 2017, and 2023''; and
       (2) in paragraph (3)(A), in the matter preceding clause 
     (i), by striking ``or a semi-annual allotment period for 
     fiscal year 2015 or 2017'' and inserting ``or in any of 
     fiscal years 2018 through 2022 (or a semi-annual allotment 
     period for fiscal year 2015, 2017, or 2023)''.
       (d) Extension of Qualifying States Option.--
       (1) In general.--Section 2105(g)(4) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ee(g)(4)) is amended--
       (A) in the heading, by striking ``through 2017'' and 
     inserting ``through 2023''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``2017'' and inserting 
     ``2023''.
       (2) Technical amendments.--Section 2104(f)(2)(B)(ii) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd(f)(2)(B)(ii)), as 
     amended by section 3201(c) of the CHIP and Public Health 
     Funding Extension Act (division C of Public Law 115-96), is 
     amended--
       (A) in subclause (I), by striking ``for the month (as 
     defined in subclause (II))'' and inserting ``(as defined in 
     subclause (II)) for the month'';

[[Page H525]]

       (B) in subclause (II), by inserting ``, as in effect on the 
     day before the date of the enactment of the HEALTHY KIDS 
     Act,'' after ``section 2105(g)(4)(A)''; and
       (C) in subclause (VI)--
       (i) by inserting ``, as in effect on the day before the 
     date of the enactment of the HEALTHY KIDS Act'' after ``, 
     section 2105(g)(4)''; and
       (ii) by inserting ``, as so in effect'' after ``under 
     section 2105(g)(4)''.
       (e) Extension of Express Lane Eligibility Option.--Section 
     1902(e)(13)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1396a(e)(13)(I)) is amended by striking ``2017'' and 
     inserting ``2023''.
       (f) Assurance of Affordability Standard for Children and 
     Families.--
       (1) In general.--Section 2105(d)(3) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1397ee(d)(3)) is amended--
       (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``until october 
     1, 2019'' and inserting ``through september 30, 2023''; and
       (B) in subparagraph (A), in the matter preceding clause 
     (i)--
       (i) by striking ``2019'' and inserting ``2023''; and
       (ii) by striking ``The preceding sentence shall not be 
     construed as preventing a State during such period'' and 
     inserting ``During the period that begins on October 1, 2019, 
     and ends on September 30, 2023, the preceding sentence shall 
     only apply with respect to children in families whose income 
     does not exceed 300 percent of the poverty line (as defined 
     in section 2110(c)(5)) applicable to a family of the size 
     involved. The preceding sentences shall not be construed as 
     preventing a State during any such periods''.
       (2) Conforming amendments.--Section 1902(gg)(2) of the 
     Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(gg)(2)) is amended--
       (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``until october 
     1, 2019'' and inserting ``through september 30, 2023''; and
       (B) by striking ``September 30, 2019,'' and inserting 
     ``September 30, 2023 (but during the period that begins on 
     October 1, 2019, and ends on September 30, 2023, only with 
     respect to children in families whose income does not exceed 
     300 percent of the poverty line (as defined in section 
     2110(c)(5)) applicable to a family of the size involved)''.
       (g) CHIP Look-Alike Plans.--
       (1) Blending risk pools.--Section 2107 of the Social 
     Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1397gg) is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(g) Use of Blended Risk Pools.--
       ``(1) In general.--Nothing in this title (or any other 
     provision of Federal law) shall be construed as preventing a 
     State from considering children enrolled in a qualified CHIP 
     look-alike program and children enrolled in a State child 
     health plan under this title (or a waiver of such plan) as 
     members of a single risk pool.
       ``(2) Qualified chip look-alike program.--In this 
     subsection, the term `qualified CHIP look-alike program' 
     means a State program--
       ``(A) under which children who are under the age of 19 and 
     are not eligible to receive medical assistance under title 
     XIX or child health assistance under this title may purchase 
     coverage through the State that provides benefits that are at 
     least identical to the benefits provided under the State 
     child health plan under this title (or a waiver of such 
     plan); and
       ``(B) that is funded exclusively through non-Federal funds, 
     including funds received by the State in the form of premiums 
     for the purchase of such coverage.''.
       (2) Coverage rule.--
       (A) In general.--Section 5000A(f)(1) of the Internal 
     Revenue Code of 1986 is amended in subparagraph (A)(iii), by 
     inserting ``or under a qualified CHIP look-alike program (as 
     defined in section 2107(g) of the Social Security Act)'' 
     before the comma at the end.
       (B) Effective date.--The amendment made by subparagraph (A) 
     shall apply with respect to taxable years beginning after 
     December 31, 2017.
       (h) Availability of Unused Fiscal Year 2018 Redistribution 
     Amounts.--Any amounts that have been redistributed to States 
     under subsection (f) of section 2104 of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1397dd) for fiscal year 2018 that are not, or 
     will not be, expended by the end of that fiscal year shall 
     be--
       (1) adjusted by the Secretary before the end of fiscal year 
     2018 to reflect an updated estimate of shortfalls under 
     subsection (f)(2)(A) of such section; and
       (2) available for redistribution under subsection (f) of 
     such section for subsequent fiscal years.

     SEC. 3003. EXTENSION OF CERTAIN PROGRAMS AND DEMONSTRATION 
                   PROJECTS.

       (a) Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project.--Section 
     1139A(e)(8) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-
     9a(e)(8)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and $10,000,000'' and inserting ``, 
     $10,000,000''; and
       (2) by inserting after ``2017'' the following: ``, and 
     $30,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2018 through 
     2023''.
       (b) Pediatric Quality Measures Program.--Section 1139A(i) 
     of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320b-9a(i)) is 
     amended--
       (1) by striking ``Out of any'' and inserting the following:
       ``(1) In general.--Out of any'';
       (2) by striking ``there is appropriated for each'' and 
     inserting ``there is appropriated--
       ``(A) for each'';
       (3) by striking ``, and there is appropriated for the 
     period'' and inserting ``;
       ``(B) for the period'';
       (4) by striking ``. Funds appropriated under this 
     subsection shall remain available until expended.'' and 
     inserting ``; and''; and
       (5) by adding at the end the following:
       ``(C) for the period of fiscal years 2018 through 2023, 
     $90,000,000 for the purpose of carrying out this section 
     (other than subsections (e), (f), and (g)).
       ``(2) Availability.--Funds appropriated under this 
     subsection shall remain available until expended.''.

     SEC. 3004. EXTENSION OF OUTREACH AND ENROLLMENT PROGRAM.

       (a) In General.--Section 2113 of the Social Security Act 
     (42 U.S.C. 1397mm) is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ``2017'' and 
     inserting ``2023''; and
       (2) in subsection (g)--
       (A) by striking ``and $40,000,000'' and inserting ``, 
     $40,000,000''; and
       (B) by inserting after ``2017'' the following: ``, and 
     $120,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2018 through 
     2023''.
       (b) Making Organizations That Use Parent Mentors Eligible 
     To Receive Grants.--Section 2113(f) of the Social Security 
     Act (42 U.S.C. 1397mm(f)) is amended--
       (1) in paragraph (1)(E), by striking ``or community-based 
     doula programs'' and inserting ``, community-based doula 
     programs, or parent mentors''; and
       (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(5) Parent mentor.--The term `parent mentor' means an 
     individual who--
       ``(A) is a parent or guardian of at least one child who is 
     an eligible child under this title or title XIX; and
       ``(B) is trained to assist families with children who have 
     no health insurance coverage with respect to improving the 
     social determinants of the health of such children, including 
     by providing--
       ``(i) education about health insurance coverage, including, 
     with respect to obtaining such coverage, eligibility criteria 
     and application and renewal processes;
       ``(ii) assistance with completing and submitting 
     applications for health insurance coverage;
       ``(iii) a liaison between families and representatives of 
     State plans under title XIX or State child health plans under 
     this title;
       ``(iv) guidance on identifying medical and dental homes and 
     community pharmacies for children; and
       ``(v) assistance and referrals to successfully address 
     social determinants of children's health, including poverty, 
     food insufficiency, and housing.''.
       (c) Exclusion From Modified Adjusted Gross Income.--Section 
     1902(e) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396a(e)) is 
     amended--
       (1) in the first paragraph (14), relating to income 
     determined using modified adjusted gross income, by adding at 
     the end the following new subparagraph:
       ``(J) Exclusion of parent mentor compensation from income 
     determination.--Any nominal amount received by an individual 
     as compensation, including a stipend, for participation as a 
     parent mentor (as defined in paragraph (5) of section 
     2113(f)) in an activity or program funded through a grant 
     under such section shall be disregarded for purposes of 
     determining the income eligibility of such individual for 
     medical assistance under the State plan or any waiver of such 
     plan.''; and
       (2) by striking ``(14) Exclusion'' and inserting ``(15) 
     Exclusion''.

     SEC. 3005. EXTENSION AND REDUCTION OF ADDITIONAL FEDERAL 
                   FINANCIAL PARTICIPATION FOR CHIP.

       Section 2105(b) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
     1397ee(b)) is amended in the second sentence by inserting 
     ``and during the period that begins on October 1, 2019, and 
     ends on September 30, 2020, the enhanced FMAP determined for 
     a State for a fiscal year (or for any portion of a fiscal 
     year occurring during such period) shall be increased by 11.5 
     percentage points'' after ``23 percentage points,''.

     SEC. 3006. MEDICAID IMPROVEMENT FUND.

       Section 1941 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396w-1) 
     is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by inserting 
     before the period at the end the following: ``, and, in 
     accordance with subsection (b)(3), for the purposes of 
     subparagraph (B) of such subsection''; and
       (2) in subsection (b)--
       (A) in paragraph (2)--
       (i) in the first sentence, by inserting ``pursuant to 
     paragraph (1)'' after ``in the Fund'';
       (ii) by inserting after the first sentence the following 
     sentence: ``Amounts in the Fund pursuant to paragraph (3) 
     shall be available in advance of appropriations but only if 
     the total amount obligated from the Fund does not exceed the 
     amount available to the Fund under such paragraph (3).''; and
       (iii) in the last sentence, by striking ``sentence'' and 
     inserting ``sentences''; and
       (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) Additional funding for state activities relating to 
     mechanized claims systems.--
       ``(A) In general.--In addition to the amount made available 
     under paragraph (1), there shall be available to the Fund, 
     for expenditures from the Fund in accordance with 
     subparagraph (B), for fiscal year 2023 and thereafter, 
     $980,000,000, to remain available until expended.

[[Page H526]]

       ``(B) Purposes.--The Secretary shall use amounts made 
     available to the Fund under subparagraph (A) to pay to each 
     State which has a plan approved under this title, for each 
     quarter beginning during or after fiscal year 2023 an amount 
     equal to--
       ``(i) 100 percent minus the percent specified in clause (i) 
     of section 1903(a)(3)(A) of so much of the sums expended by 
     the State during such quarter as are attributable to the 
     activities described in such clause;
       ``(ii) 100 percent minus the Federal medical assistance 
     percentage applied under clause (iii) of such section of so 
     much of the sums expended during such quarter (as found 
     necessary by the Secretary under such clause) by the State as 
     are attributable to the activities described in such clause; 
     and
       ``(iii) 100 percent minus the percent specified in section 
     1903(a)(3)(B) of so much of the sums expended by the State 
     during such quarter as are attributable to the activities 
     described in such section.''.

         DIVISION D--SUSPENSION OF CERTAIN HEALTH-RELATED TAXES

     SEC. 4001. EXTENSION OF MORATORIUM ON MEDICAL DEVICE EXCISE 
                   TAX.

       (a) In General.--Section 4191(c) of the Internal Revenue 
     Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``December 31, 2017'' and 
     inserting ``December 31, 2019''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by this section 
     shall apply to sales after December 31, 2017.

     SEC. 4002. DELAY IN IMPLEMENTATION OF EXCISE TAX ON HIGH COST 
                   EMPLOYER-SPONSORED HEALTH COVERAGE.

       Section 9001(c) of the Patient Protection and Affordable 
     Care Act is amended by striking ``December 31, 2019'' and 
     inserting ``December 31, 2021''.

     SEC. 4003. SUSPENSION OF ANNUAL FEE ON HEALTH INSURANCE 
                   PROVIDERS.

       (b) In General.--Section 9010(j) of the Patient Protection 
     and Affordable Care Act is amended--
       (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (1),
       (2) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (2) and 
     inserting ``, and ending before January 1, 2019, and'', and
       (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
       ``(3) beginning after December 31, 2019.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to calendar years beginning after December 31, 
     2018.

                     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.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 696, 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 as much time as I may 
consume.
  I rise this afternoon to present the House amendment to the Senate 
amendment to H.R. 195, the Extension of Continuing Appropriations Act 
of 2018. This critical legislation extends government funding through 
February 16. Our current funding expires tomorrow night, and if 
Congress does not pass this bill and the President does not sign it 
into law before then, the government will shut down.
  It is our congressional duty to prevent that from happening and to 
ensure that the American people have access to government programs and 
services they depend on. The additional time, just under a month, will 
allow congressional leadership and the White House to come to a final 
budget agreement.
  This legislation includes a very limited number of technical changes 
to ensure good governance. The bill also includes language to continue 
the Children's Health Insurance Program through fiscal year 2023 to 
help sick children from low-income families get better and to ensure 
they have healthy and happy futures. Additionally, this proposal 
extends several healthcare-related tax provisions.
  Mr. Speaker, a continuing resolution is not the preferred way to 
conduct the Nation's fiscal business, but at this point it is 
absolutely necessary to avoid a costly, destabilizing government 
shutdown. It is my hope that this will be the last continuing 
resolution, that leadership of the House and Senate and the White House 
will quickly come to an agreement on top-line spending levels and that 
we can complete our appropriations work for fiscal year 2018 in short 
order.

                              {time}  1645

  It is critical that we enact all 12 full-year funding bills to ensure 
that our Armed Forces have the resources they need to accomplish their 
missions both at home and abroad and that our government supports and 
maintains programs that are important to the lives and livelihoods of 
all Americans.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this critical legislation, and 
I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Since President Trump's draconian budget was released, Democrats have 
warned Republicans that a bipartisan budget agreement was needed to 
adequately invest in American families and communities.
  Without a budget agreement, programs as diverse as Head Start, job 
training, and terrorism prevention grants are in danger of inadequate 
funding at best, yet Republican leadership and the White House have no 
appropriations strategy other than endless continuing resolutions.
  Mr. Speaker, the most powerful country in the world now being 
completely run by a Republican government can't keep the lights on 
longer than 4 weeks at a time. How did we get here? If this bill 
passes, is there any reason to believe we will not be back in the same 
place next month?
  Stumbling from one crisis to another is an irresponsible way to 
govern. Attempting to avoid a shutdown every month denies Federal 
agencies budget certainty and wastes taxpayer dollars.
  Several of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have lamented 
the damage that the CRs inflict on our military. I agree with them, yet 
time after time, they vote for the exact same strategy they bemoan.
  I encourage my colleagues to take action; hasten agreements on 
immigration and spending caps that would lead to responsible funding 
bills that keep Americans safe.
  It is also unconscionable that, instead of helping advance a solution 
to this impasse, the President personally reneged on his word and 
rejected a bipartisan compromise on immigration. Protection of American 
teens and young adults from impending deportation to a country they 
don't know is the key to unlocking a responsible, bipartisan spending 
agreement. How can we expect to ever fund the government responsibly 
when the President cannot be trusted to keep his word?
  The majority has failed to address a number of high-priority items, 
like funding to combat the opioid epidemic, pension protections, and 
funding for community health centers.
  The continuing resolution lacks an important anomaly requested by the 
administration to provide additional disaster loans for the Small 
Business Administration while the disaster supplemental is stalled in 
the Senate. Without this language, the Small Business Administration 
will run out of funds by the end of January and will be unable to 
continue approving loan applications from Puerto Rico.
  Mr. Speaker, this is not how the appropriations process is supposed 
to work. It is time to protect young Americans, lift budget caps, and 
allow Chairman Frelinghuysen and all of our committee members to roll 
up our sleeves and get to work.
  Instead of wasting dollars on time, on further CRs, we should, 
instead, immediately pass a budget agreement and help DREAMers, which 
would facilitate full-year funding bills the committee could begin 
writing today.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

[[Page H527]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), the chairman of the Transportation, 
Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill.
  This short resolution, this continuing resolution will give us time 
to negotiate it, but it addresses our Nation's priorities. Let's be 
very clear. If this does not pass now, go to the Senate, pass there and 
then sent to the President for his signature and signed, the Federal 
Government will shut down this week.
  So we all know, as the chairman said, that short-term CRs, that is 
not something that we want to do. That is not our preference. But 
again, if this one does not pass now, the Federal Government will shut 
down.
  This is no time to shortchange our first responders, our military as 
we continue to recover from natural disasters in places all throughout 
our country and, again, respond to the threats that face us abroad. 
This is no time to shut down the Federal Government.
  The CR supports ongoing transportation safety missions, including air 
traffic control.
  Again, we cannot allow the government to shut down and put all of 
that in jeopardy.
  It allows us to continue to house the most vulnerable families, 
especially our veterans. This is not the time to let them down by 
shutting, again, the Federal Government down.
  It also funds medical care for millions of children, blocks 
burdensome health insurance taxes, and, again, supports mission-
critical defense activities. This is not the time to let them all down 
and shut down the Federal Government.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, this short-term CR will allow us to work 
together to find common ground on, again, full-year 2018 bills that 
meet both our defense and domestic priorities.
  Something else, Mr. Speaker. I want the country to know that we also 
have to deal, have to solve the issue of DACA. Both sides have been at 
fault for, in many cases, refusing to sit down in good faith to 
negotiate a solution. This CR gives us some time to make sure we solve 
that issue.
  It is not time now for political games and gamesmanship and politics. 
We need to be able to solve the issue of those young folks. We can't do 
that if the government is shut down.

  It is time for leadership, for courage. Let's sit down, work out our 
differences, help secure the border, and provide a solution for these 
deserving kids.
  For that reason and for so many others, Mr. Speaker, it is essential 
that we do not allow the Federal Government to shut down. Voting 
against this resolution is a vote to shut down the Federal Government. 
I believe that will be highly irresponsible, so I urge a strong ``yes'' 
vote.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the Democratic whip.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, we are now 4 months into the fiscal year and this is our 
fourth continuing resolution. The gentleman says now is the time to 
work things out. Every Democrat voted to extend the fiscal year by 90 
days. Nothing was worked out. Why? Because you spent all your time on a 
tax bill giving 83 percent of the resources to the richest people in 
America.
  Republicans control all the levers of the legislative process: the 
House, the Senate, the White House. They have the votes on their own to 
keep the government open or choose to shut it down, as they did by 
policy some years ago for 16 days.
  We don't want to shut down the government. Keeping the government 
open by passing appropriations bills is the most basic responsibility 
of any governing majority. This governing majority has not sent a 
single--not one--appropriation bill to the President of the United 
States, not one.
  Republicans ought to have gotten this work done in the spring and 
summer, but they wasted their time trying to repeal the Affordable Care 
Act. That is all they did.
  After failing to do so, they asked for more time in September, and we 
voted, every one of us, to give them that time. They squandered it. 
They had to do two more extensions. They squandered that time, and now 
they want us to have another time where they can squander more time.
  Instead of using the extra time to do the job of governing, they 
wasted it on passing a tax overhaul that added $1.5 trillion in new 
deficit spending and raised taxes on the middle class. So here we are 
again, Mr. Speaker.
  Americans are right to be frustrated by the inability or 
unwillingness of the Republican-led Congress to do its job and keep the 
government open.
  You have 241 votes. Get them. Get them. You have the authority to do 
it, and you have the responsibility to do it. Get the votes.
  Even some Republican lawmakers are openly expressing frustration with 
their own leadership. Let me quote Representative Mark Meadows. He hit 
the nail on the head yesterday when he asked: ``What's the plan? When 
are we going to deal with immigration?''
  The previous speaker talked about dealing with it. We haven't dealt 
with it. Put something on the floor. You haven't done it.
  ``When are we going to deal with spending?'' This is Mark Meadows. 
``At what point do you quit kicking the can down the road''--this is 
Mark Meadows, Republican, not me--``and passing just another continuing 
resolution in hopes that things get better in a few weeks?''
  Democrats don't want the government to shut down.
  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. We don't have the power to shut it down either. It is 
entirely in the hands of the majority.
  By the way, on that previous CR, 90 of your Members voted against it. 
Did they vote against the military? Did they vote against the first 
responders? Did they vote against education funding?
  And we wring our hands about the military funding. Do you think it is 
any easier to run a nondefense agency with a CR? You are wrong if you 
think that. They undermine our domestic agencies as well, and I hope 
that they are equally worried about the impact that doing one short-
term funding bill after another has on the domestic side.
  Americans are frustrated that their Congress can't agree on what we 
agree on.
  Republicans have previously supported the principles of parity when 
raising spending caps. That was the Paul Ryan deal. He is the Speaker. 
He said, yes, we will increase military and domestic the same. That was 
his deal, Paul Ryan, the Speaker.
  That is all we are asking for, ``Paul Ryan, make your deal again,'' 
and he won't do it. Instead, he just wants to keep kicking the can down 
the road once, twice, thrice, now four times.
  Yes, we want, as the previous speaker said, all DREAMers to stay in 
this country. We all want to reauthorize the CHIP program to prevent 9 
million children from losing their health insurance. I dare you to put 
it on the floor. It will pass with every vote in this House. No, you 
want to blackmail us into passing something that we don't like and we 
don't think is good for the country.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Maryland.
  Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, we want to address other urgent health 
priorities as well. You want to pass CHIP, but you do not want to pass 
the community health centers. My colleague Betty McCollum told us about 
that. Many CHIP children will have no place to go--you pass the bill, 
but no place to go. So why don't Republicans sit down and reach 
agreement?
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues across the aisle, don't shut down 
the government. I implore them. Use your majority not to delay but to 
govern. And I tell them, Democrats are still ready to work with you, as 
we have

[[Page H528]]

been throughout, to sit down and reach bipartisan compromise on our 
most pressing challenges. We voted to give you 120 days to do that; now 
you want some more time.
  You come to the door and ask for some cake, and your neighbor says, 
``Come back tomorrow,'' and you come back tomorrow and you ask for the 
same thing, and he says, ``Come back tomorrow,'' and you go back the 
next day, and he says the same thing, ``Come back tomorrow.'' That is 
what the Republicans are saying, ``come back tomorrow,'' ``come back 
tomorrow,'' ``come back tomorrow,'' but there has been no tomorrow.
  Vote against this CR.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.

                              {time}  1700

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Brady), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
  Mr. BRADY of Texas. Mr. Speaker, you can tell from the previous 
speaker how eager our Democratic colleagues are to shut down this 
government: Get the votes to keep this government open because we won't 
provide them; get the votes to keep funding our military and security, 
but we won't provide them; get the votes to provide healthcare long-
term for our children and families, because our Democratic colleagues 
won't provide not one vote; get the votes to delay the damaging impact 
of ObamaCare taxes, the health insurance tax, the Cadillac tax, and 
medical device; you get those votes, Republicans, because we are not 
going to give you even one of them.
  These taxes are so damaging to our families, to our workers, and to 
our job-creators, it is sending jobs out of America overseas.
  Get the votes, Republicans, because we claim we support this, we just 
won't support it with our votes.
  It is regrettable because these are bipartisan issues, and politics 
are shutting this government down.
  I urge my Democratic colleagues to stand with Republicans on behalf 
of children, and families, and workers. Keep this government open.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the ranking member of the Energy and Water 
Development Subcommittee.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, let me just say that our side hasn't been 
consulted.
  The Republicans have 238 votes to pass anything here. They have the 
vast majority. You only need 218 votes, so if you wanted to pass it, 
you could do it right now. You could have done it a month ago, you 
could have done it 2 months ago, you could have done it 3 months ago.
  But there is something fundamentally wrong on that side of the aisle, 
and, of course, you have to deal with the other body where you hold a 
majority, and you can't get it done there either.
  Now, in football, you would call this fumbling the ball. In baseball, 
you would call it flubbing the ball.
  Honestly, if you can't consult with our side of the aisle, why would 
you expect anybody would want to work with you anyway? You treat us 
like we are from, I don't know, Borneo. Why would you think we would 
want to vote for something that we can't agree with because of its 
essential unfairness?
  I really can't understand why you are putting the Republic through 
all these contortions.
  You don't have a budget. You know, we have been asking for a budget, 
and you don't make decisions about departments until you have a budget 
because you might underfund one department or overfund another 
department, so we want to do this in a very orderly way.
  But our Republican friends appear to hope the government will 
function with no road map. Are they really asleep behind the wheel of 
the car? They are sure careening, and they might even hit a brick wall.
  If the Republicans cannot put together a framework agreement for a 
vote this week, it is safe to say they have fumbled and flubbed every 
opportunity they have had. It reminds me of the old Looney Tunes 
character Elmer Fudd. They can't even catch Bugs Bunny when he is 
staring them right in the face. They aren't making progress and, 
indeed, are losing ground.
  There was hope on September 8, when we voted the first time for a 
short-term extension, that you could actually reach agreement. But here 
it is, the brand new year, and we still don't have agreement.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mrs. LOWEY. I yield the gentlewoman from Ohio an additional 30 
seconds.
  Ms. KAPTUR. So here we are, January 18, 2018, 1 day before the risk 
of another shutdown, and their fiddling is unprecedented. Don't have a 
budget framework; can't make decisions; don't consult with our side. 
Why should we be in a helpful mood?
  We were always told Republicans are stern taskmasters. Not only have 
they failed to pass a budget, now they have added a trillion more 
dollars to the deficit and the long-term debt because they wanted to 
give tax giveaways to all their donors.
  I urge my colleagues to oppose this sinking effort and demand action 
for a final, full-year funding plan. That is what is responsible. That 
is essential, and that is what the American people expect.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are again reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman 
from Oregon (Mr. Walden), chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I am not quite sure what the people of 
Borneo did to deserve the wrath of my colleague from Ohio, but perhaps 
she can explain later to them.
  But here is the deal. The Energy and Commerce Committee did work 
across the aisle, or attempted to, to fully fund the Children's Health 
Insurance Program, to fully fund community health centers, to fully 
fund extenders; and, at every step of the way, when my colleagues and 
friends from the other side of the aisle asked me to stop and work with 
them, we tried. We couldn't reach full agreement on the pay-fors at the 
time, but we tried, and we worked in good faith with each other.
  Fifteen Democrats on the House floor voted to extend the Children's 
Health Insurance Program for a full 5 years. By the way, that equals 
the longest extension and the most generous funding to help children 
and pregnant women that has ever been done for that program. We sent it 
over to the Senate. Unfortunately, they couldn't find agreement; so we 
came back, and we kept extending it.
  By the way, the Democratic leader of the House, Mr. Speaker, Ms. 
Pelosi, said what we are doing today, by putting full funding for 
Children's Health Insurance Program for the longest extension in the 
history of the program, a full 6 years, is, and I quote, sadly: ``A 
bowl of doggy-doo, put a cherry on top and call it a chocolate 
sundae.'' Is that what this has devolved to?

  We have an opportunity today, with the help and leadership of the 
chairman of the Appropriations Committee, to fully fund our States' 
Children's Health Insurance Program for not 5 years but a full 6 years. 
This is the longest extension in the history at the strongest funding 
level in history.
  So when you vote ``no'' today, as you all apparently are going to do, 
you are voting to close the government and deny our States, but, more 
importantly, the children and pregnant women, access to children's 
health insurance. The cancelations that go out, the notices, are on 
your terms.
  Let me tell you what the children's hospitals have said to Congress:
  ``Kids cannot wait, fund CHIP now.''
  ``Congress has a chance to pass a long-term extension of CHIP that 
will provide security for millions of kids. The continuing resolution 
being considered by Congress includes a 6-year extension of CHIP. 
Children's hospitals support a long-term extension of CHIP and urge 
Congress to take this opportunity to pass CHIP this week. The time is 
now to extend funding for this lifeline millions of children and their 
families count on every day.''
  That is children's hospitals. Can't we put the partisan divide aside 
and at least fund children's health insurance for children and pregnant 
women in this country and keep the government open? That is the 
question before us today.
  The question before us today is: Do you want to keep the government 
open

[[Page H529]]

and the services provided and 6 years of full funding for children's 
health insurance and pregnant women, or will you vote against it? It is 
as simple as that. The rest is just political rhetoric.
  So let's fund CHIP. Let's take care of our families and kids and keep 
the government open.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members once again are reminded to please 
address their remarks to the Chair.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone), the well-informed ranking 
member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I have the greatest respect for my 
Republican chairman from Oregon, but he just forgets completely, as so 
many speakers on the GOP side have, that they are in the majority, and 
they have a significant majority. They can do whatever they want.
  For him to suggest that somehow he can't bring up a CHIP bill that 
also includes all these other health programs he mentioned, the 
community health centers--I could also mention all the Medicare 
extenders that are not included in this bill.
  This bill basically either lets expire or continues to expire so many 
things that are important for the health of the American people, not 
only the community health centers, which expire in a few weeks; not 
only the Medicare extenders, which includes the therapy caps for 
seniors and Medicare; the home visiting program for seniors; the 
special diabetes program; the teaching health centers; the National 
Health Service Corps; all of these things; also, the safety net 
hospitals. As of January 1, the DSH or safety net programs for all 
these hospitals around the country that have to take care of so many 
poor people, that funding has expired and they have actually had to cut 
the funding.
  So how do you stand up here and say to me and the American people 
that somehow you care about these things, you want to deal with these 
things? You are not dealing with these things.
  What are you doing here again? Once again, you are bringing a bill to 
the floor that has all kinds of repeal of taxes. I don't even want to 
get into the deal. These are the taxes that help fund the Affordable 
Care Act, the medical device tax; there are several of them.
  All you do here is bring up tax cuts, or tax repeals, and now you are 
trying to give the impression, because you have the 6-year 
reauthorization for CHIP and have eliminated funding and help for all 
of these healthcare programs, that somehow you care.
  Well, when the kids that get the CHIP funding can't go to a community 
health center or can't go to a hospital because they are suffering and 
don't have the funding, where do they go?
  We know that CHIP is a great program, but many of the kids who have 
the insurance under CHIP have to go to community health centers. And 
all I hear from my community health centers and other teaching 
hospitals is they are ready to send out the pink slips. They may have 
to close. They are not sure they can help these people.
  So it is a complete joke to suggest that somehow you care. You have 
the votes; you can do whatever you want. You are not doing it.
  Sure, I also agree that DACA, the DREAMers, are going to suffer 
because that is not being addressed either. But the main thing I want 
to stress is, you are not addressing all these other healthcare 
programs that are just as important as CHIP, just as important, and 
make CHIP essentially not viable because they are not being addressed.
  So please don't suggest to me that you care. The right vote here is 
to vote against this CR.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are again reminded to please address 
their remarks to the Chair.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Barton), the vice chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee.
  (Mr. BARTON asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. BARTON. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from the Garden State of New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone), my good friend, just told you all the things that 
weren't in this bill that he wished were. My distinguished chairman, 
Mr. Walden, just whispered in my ear that we have put everything you 
talked about in bills, subcommittee, full committee, and on the floor, 
and you voted against them every time this year, every time.
  Now, where I come from, you vote for what is in the bill, not what is 
not in the bill. I wished we had a balanced budget amendment to the 
Constitution in this bill. I wish we fully funded our military for the 
rest of the year in this bill. I wish we, by an act of Congress, gave 
Texas A&M the national championship in football in this bill. That is 
not going to happen.
  What is in this bill? We fully fund the Children's Health Insurance 
Program for every State of the Union and the territories for 6 years; 
never been done before. Fully fund children's health insurance for 
every State and territory in the Union for 6 years, at existing levels, 
and it increases each year for the next 6 years. It is fully paid for, 
fully offset.
  Not every Democrat, but almost every Democrat, has voted against that 
already twice, and if they vote against it this evening, they will vote 
against it for the third time.
  I am the manager of the Republican baseball team. If you strike, if 
you miss it three times, it normally means you are out. I hope that 
some of my friends on the minority side will, tonight, vote with us to 
fund SCHIP and to fund the government for the next month.
  I am one of the Republicans who support DACA. I am on the Dream Act. 
I am also on the Republican alternative. I would love to vote for DACA, 
but the deadline for DACA is not until March. The SCHIP programs 
expired in September. We need to pass this CR and send it to the 
Senate. Vote ``yes.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members once again are reminded to please 
address their remarks to the Chair.

                              {time}  1715

  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 of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this legislation, 
which ignores the urgent need of the American people. The Federal 
Government's fiscal year started October 1 of last year.
  But instead of fulfilling their responsibility to fund our government 
in a timely manner, President Trump and the Republicans spent months 
working to pass their tax scam.
  Now, because they didn't do their jobs, Mr. Speaker, Republicans are 
asking us to vote to kick the can down the road again. This is no way 
to run a government.
  The American people deserve immediate action on the critical issues 
that matter to our country. We need a budget agreement in order to do 
that. We need to keep our government open. We need to protect our 
national security, and we need to meet the needs of our community and 
these hardworking families.
  We need to protect workers' pensions by enacting responsible reforms 
that will save struggling pension plans. We need to provide disaster 
relief to our fellow Americans who were hit hard by hurricanes and 
wildfires last year. We need to reauthorize the Special Diabetes 
Program, which funds treatment and prevention programs for Native 
Americans. And, yes, we need to pass a Dream Act, which protects 
children from President Trump's cruel termination of DACA.
  The American people overwhelmingly support these priorities, but you 
won't find them in this bill. Instead, Republicans have turned this CR 
into a tax bill that has provisions that didn't make it in their 
original tax plan.
  While this legislation does finally reauthorize the Children's Health 
Insurance Program, it abandons our community health centers, where 
parents take their children to get the care that they need.
  Make no mistake, this bill will cause layoffs at clinics, which means 
fewer people in my district throughout Minnesota will get the care that 
they need.
  Mr. Speaker, the Republican Party has total control in Washington, 
but instead of working for the American people, President Trump and his 
allies in Congress are ignoring them.

[[Page H530]]

  Minnesotans and Americans deserve a better deal than the one that 
they are getting from this Republican Congress. It is time for 
President Trump and the Republicans to end the chaos, to truly work 
across the aisle to find ways that we can fund this government 
responsibly, and to address our national priorities.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the chairman of the State, Foreign 
Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee of the Committee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill.
  Here it is in a nutshell: Chairman Frelinghuysen saw to it that we 
passed all 12 of the appropriations bills and sent them to the Senate, 
where not a single one has been allowed to come to the floor because of 
Democratic Senators who profess they want to keep the government going 
but vote ``no.''
  And because the Democrats in the Senate have barred the consideration 
of any of these bills, here we are. We have no choice but to vote for 
this bill if we want to keep the government open. It is the only game 
in town.
  And those on the other side who profess they want to keep the 
government going today will vote ``no.'' I don't understand that logic.
  Mr. Speaker, this is the only chance we have to keep the government 
operating to be sure that the American taxpayers' money is being spent 
properly and adequately, but for the purpose of keeping our government 
open.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this bill, and let's move on.
  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 oppose this continuing resolution. It is 
staggering that yet again we are punting one of our core obligations as 
a Congress: funding government programs.
  We should be negotiating spending levels for 2018 for both defense 
spending and nondefense spending. We should have spent the last few 
months fulfilling our responsibility as legislators by writing 
bipartisan bills to fund programs that help working families and the 
middle class and the vulnerable, to support evidence-based scientific 
research, and to help working people get the skills they need to find 
good jobs with good wages.
  Instead, Republicans have continued their irresponsible trend of 
continuing resolution after continuing resolution. They fail to govern. 
They create chaos.
  This bill fails to support community health centers, which serve as 
the primary healthcare provider for over 27 million people, including 
disproportionately rural and low-income populations.
  In 2016, over 376,000 patients across Connecticut received care at 
the Connecticut Community Health Center. They cut taxes for insurance 
companies while failing to fund community health centers. It is 
shameful.
  They won't work with Democrats to set budget numbers and ensure 
parity for defense and nondefense spending. They put services and 
investments critical to families and our communities at risk; from 
apprenticeships to education for students with disabilities, to 
childcare, to afterschool programs that help working families make ends 
meet, and to financial aid for students attending college.
  They include an extension for the Children's Health Insurance 
Program, but they cut out the Medicare extenders and other healthcare 
programs. But they should be ashamed of the months of fear and turmoil 
they have caused to children and their families who will be unable to 
get help at community healthcare centers.

  They had the time to cram a tax scam through the Congress before the 
end of the year.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Yet, for the vulnerable children, we have dragged our 
feet for months. Shameful.
  Let me just say, the President Trump and the Republican majority who 
try to cast the blame for this shutdown on the Democrats--let me just 
remind this body and the American people that 9 months ago the 
President said: Our country needs a good shutdown in September to fix 
this mess.
  Well, the President may get what he wants and what he desires as a 
government shutdown, but it is not because of the Democrats. It is 
because of the intractability of the Republican majority in this House 
and this administration to move forward on behalf of the American 
people. It is not the Democrats. President Trump has called for a 
shutdown of this government.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Upton), the chairman of the Energy and Commerce 
Committee's Subcommittee on Energy.
  Mr. UPTON. Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the prior speaker that, 
in fact, the President issued a Statement of Administration Policy in 
support of this bill, which keeps the government open.
  But I also rise in support of this bill and in strong support of a 6-
year, long-term funding for CHIP.
  We all came to Congress to fight for our district, and particularly 
our kids. The Michigan CHIP serves nearly 40,000 kids, and if CHIP 
isn't reauthorized long term, it is going to be disastrous for our 
communities, which is why they are depending on us, which is why it is 
in this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, back in 2015, I helped broker the bipartisan, bicameral 
deal that led us to the last reauthorization of CHIP. It wasn't easy, 
but we got there by working together. Over the course of the past year, 
we have been steadfast in our resolve to reauthorize CHIP.
  In our committee, we worked tirelessly to advance commonsense 
legislation that is going to extend CHIP, as well as community health 
centers. Last November, we passed the comprehensive bill on the House 
floor. Later in the year, we passed a CR that included short-term 
funding for CHIP.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill does that. I would urge my colleagues to vote 
``yes.''
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from 
Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of the 
Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, 
and Related Agencies.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding to me.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this continuing 
resolution, which is, yet again, a complete abdication of our 
responsibilities.
  Instead of adopting fully funded appropriations bills or an omnibus 
with an actual chance of passing this Congress, we are mired in this 
unbreakable habit of passing continuing resolutions.
  The Republicans' most recent proposal does nothing to renew funding 
for the more than 1,400 community health centers across the country or 
the 25 million Americans they serve after they let funding run out in 
September.
  According to the National Association of Community Health Centers, if 
Congress does not act soon, 28,000 sites could close, 50,000 staff 
could be laid off, and 9 million Americans could lose access to care.
  When did this program, which has always had bipartisan support in 
this body, become a partisan issue?
  These abdications are simply immoral. Our Republican colleagues say: 
We don't have the money to fund these programs, but somehow they were 
silent on that issue when they gave a handout to giant corporations 
that add more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit.
  While their donors rested peacefully over the holidays knowing that 
their tax cuts were safe, Republicans continued to torment 800,000 
hardworking young people by refusing to pass the Dream Act. 122 
DREAMers lose their protected status every day, and Republicans have 
not been brave enough to do what is right.
  These courageous individuals are teaching in our schools, working in 
our communities, and serving in our military.
  I have had the privilege of meeting DREAMers in south Florida and in 
the Halls of this Capitol. Their hopes and hard work signify what is 
best about America, and by any reasonable definition, they are 
Americans. This is their home.

[[Page H531]]

  It is past time for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to 
work on a bipartisan spending package that promotes the middle class, 
protects DREAMers, and finally assures the American people that their 
government is working.
  I simply will not support any spending bill that fails to do so. Make 
no mistake, Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White 
House. A government shutdown will land squarely in their lap.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from 
Georgia (Mr. Carter).
  Mr. CARTER of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the 
decision to attach a 6-year extension of the Children's Health 
Insurance Program, as this is much overdue.
  CHIP, which is known as PeachCare for Kids in Georgia, has been a 
very successful program in covering the medical needs in our State.
  However, this isn't the first time we have tried to extend this 
program that is so vital to children all across our country.
  We passed legislation out of the Energy and Commerce Committee 
addressing a long-term fix in October. We then passed it in the House 
in November. We funded a short-term fix in December.

  It is time our colleagues across the aisle quit holding children's 
healthcare hostage. Now is the time to pass this and continue 
discussions on community health centers, graduate medical education 
programs, and other extenders.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Walden, Chairman Burgess, and 
my colleagues from the Energy and Commerce Committee for their work. I 
urge my colleagues to pass this and help our Nation's children.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pascrell).
  Mr. PASCRELL. Mr. Speaker, this habit of short-term funding 
extensions and kicking the can down the road--I heard that a few 
times--are irresponsible and have to stop. We need a long-term funding 
bill.
  Democrats have come to the table and offered bipartisan solutions. 
Republicans have dismissed them. Let's put a bill to help the DREAMers 
on the floor.
  This leadership is acting out of fear, and their intransigence and 
incompetence is going to lead to a shutdown.
  Instead of using 9 million kids as a bargaining chip, I bet the 
majority could pass a permanent children's health extension today. 
There are 9 million children at risk of losing health coverage, 200,000 
of them in my home State of New Jersey, and we could save $6 billion.
  I cannot believe that this bill has an unpaid-for delay of the 
medical device tax, Mr. Speaker. That was part of the Affordable Care 
Act. That industry agreed to pay that tax. We just did a tax bill for 
corporations that added over $2 trillion in deficit.
  Last I checked, medical device companies are corporations.
  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 New Jersey.
  Mr. PASCRELL. What are we doing putting it in place in a tax law and 
a budget bill now and then a month later?
  Just this week, The New York Times ran a piece titled: ``Can Your Hip 
Replacement Kill You?''
  The article describes a man named Dr. Stephen Tower, who was given an 
artificial hip with a defect in the device.
  It is in your bill.
  Doctors had to do a second surgery. They found cobalt leaking from 
the device, causing a condition called metallosis, destroying muscle, 
tendons, ligaments, harming Dr. Tower's heart and brain as well.
  Despite Dr. Tower's complaints to colleagues and the manufacturer, 
they continued to market it.
  How dare the Speaker of the House question why we want DACA in this 
legislation when he has got a bill that--32 million Americans use 
medical devices. There is no Federal FDA test for most of those 
devices.

                              {time}  1730

  They have got the court, they bribed doctors, and it is in your bill, 
but we could not take care of those 800,000 people. Mr. Speaker, we 
need a different issue.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to my 
colleague from New Jersey (Mr. Lance).
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this legislative 
package to fund the government and to authorize CHIP, the longest such 
authorization for CHIP ever.
  Chairman Frelinghuysen secured passage of all 12 appropriations bills 
before the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1. It is the 
Democrats in the Senate who have refused to permit these bills to come 
to the floor. No good explanation has been given as to why that 
occurred.
  Chairman Walden brought through the Energy and Commerce Committee a 
CHIP reauthorization package that passed this House in November. We 
must continue to ensure governmental operations such as paying our 
troops on time and making sure our homeland security apparatus is fully 
operational.
  The CHIP portion of this bill is a major accomplishment. Nine million 
low-income children depend on CHIP, and the Congressional Budget Office 
estimates that CHIP will actually save taxpayer funds in the long run. 
Let's keep the government open, and let's fund CHIP.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a strong bipartisan vote in favor of this 
legislation.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, we are back again for the third continuing 
resolution this fiscal year. This makes no sense, and it is no way to 
govern. And let me be clear and repeat what my colleagues have said: 
Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House, but 
they just can't seem to pass a real budget.
  If Republicans want Democratic votes, they need to have our 
priorities reflected in that budget--priorities like protecting the 
American Dream for 1.5 million DACA recipients with the Dream Act, 
thousands of young people who fear deportation because of the cruel 
termination of the DACA program; priorities like community health 
centers and protecting the retirement savings of working families; 
priorities like addressing the opioid epidemic that ravages our 
communities; priorities like infrastructure, and education, and real 
healthcare protections for everyone.
  So if the Republican majority--yes, the majority--shuts down the 
government because they won't look to get our Democratic priorities 
addressed, then they will have to answer to communities across the 
country who are looking for a permanent budget, not something that 
kicks the can down the road for another few weeks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the 
gentlewoman from Washington.
  Ms. JAYAPAL. Mr. Speaker, this is not a real solution. We will not 
substitute one family's pain for another's gain. This is about the 
lives and livelihoods of millions of people. It is about the soul of 
our country, and Americans deserve a better deal.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Olson).
  Mr. OLSON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from New Jersey for 
allowing me to join this important debate. My friends on the other side 
are showing why the people, the American people, like root canals, head 
lice, and colonoscopies more than Congress. In a brazen act that hurts 
our youth in poverty, congressional Democrats are going to vote against 
basic healthcare for these needy kids.
  The CHIP program is their only choice for their health. Nearly half a 
million young Texans depend upon SCHIP. It expired September 30 of this 
year. This bill we vote on tonight will extend SCHIP for 6 more years.
  Mr. Speaker, I beg my colleagues, listen to your heart, to your soul, 
and the voice of these kids who want basic healthcare. Vote for SCHIP 
today. Vote for the CR.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the

[[Page H532]]

gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis).
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Chairman Walden and 
Chairman Burgess for all of the hard work they put into reauthorizing 
CHIP. This is a 6-year reauthorization of the CHIP program, the longest 
CHIP reauthorization Congress has ever passed. The House already passed 
a full CHIP authorization last year. By the way, we also reauthorized 
the community health centers. Most Democrats voted against that.
  Democrats need to put politics aside and support the bill for the 
sake of our children. CHIP reauthorization will ensure funding for 
200,000 children in Florida's CHIP program. In addition, this bill has 
my legislation that protects CHIP buy-in programs. This allows children 
who aren't eligible for traditional CHIP to buy into the CHIP program. 
It makes sense. Inconsistent guidance from CMS jeopardized these buy-in 
programs. This bill will provide clarity and protect about 12,000 
children in the State of Florida who participate in the buy-in program.
  Mr. Speaker, I support this particular bill. Please, let's 
reauthorize CHIP for the sake of our children.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Flores).
  Mr. FLORES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 195 which 
continues funding the government through February 16. It pays our 
troops and provides for a 6-year extension of the Children's Health 
Insurance Program. Thirty-six percent of the children in my district 
are covered under CHIP, and I am pleased to support this legislation to 
ensure that they continue to have access to care that has been delayed 
by obstructionist Democrats in this body and over in the Senate.

  While I support passage of this bill, I want to draw attention to the 
fact that there are other important provisions that have previously 
passed this House, yet have fallen by the wayside as Members sought a 
compromise on the final bill. I will go through those in a minute.
  Again, I am pleased that we are passing a bill that continues funding 
for the government, pays for our troops, and extends funding for the 
CHIP program.
  Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues, though, not to forget 
other important health initiatives that must be addressed, and I hope 
they will join me in seeing that these initiatives are again taken up 
after passage of the bill. Those provisions that need to be considered 
include two of my bills: first, the Youth Empowerment Act which 
empowers youth to make healthy decisions; and secondly, language from 
the Health Coverage State Flexibility Act also needs to be continued.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes 
to the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Brooks), chairwoman of the Ethics 
Committee.
  Mrs. BROOKS of Indiana. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support the CR, in part, 
because we need to extend CHIP, the Children's Health Insurance 
Program, for the 104,000 children in Indiana who currently rely on the 
program.
  We must provide longer term stability to CHIP, and we have the 
opportunity to do so here today. CHIP is crucial for families who would 
otherwise slip through the cracks. Their income disqualifies them from 
traditional Medicaid, but it is not high enough to afford family health 
insurance. CHIP provides children with comprehensive health and dental 
services, and it has helped decrease the rate of uninsured children in 
Indiana to an all-time low of 5 percent.
  The families of these 104,000 children in Indiana rely on CHIP and, 
this 6-year reauthorization will grant States the much-needed certainty 
in administering CHIP for American children across the country and 
stability for the Hoosier families who depend on the program.
  Furthermore, today's CR includes a 2-year relief from the medical 
device tax. America tops the world in medical innovation, and relief 
from this tax will further reinforce this leadership. The previous 2-
year suspension of this damaging tax has allowed device companies, many 
of which call Indiana home, to invest in research and development and 
invest in high-quality, high-paying jobs and medical innovation, all to 
the benefit of patients who need them the most.
  I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the CR. Not only does it 
provide long-term stability for CHIP and relief from the medical device 
tax, but it also provides government funding through February 16 to 
prevent a shutdown. Like Chairman Frelinghuysen, I hope this will 
provide the time we need to complete the fiscal year 2018 
appropriations bills.
  Voting ``yes'' today is the right thing to do. I urge my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to vote ``yes'' on final passage.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from North Dakota (Mr. Cramer).
  Mr. CRAMER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, the Children's Health Insurance Program provides health 
coverage to low-income children and pregnant women who have an annual 
income above the Medicaid eligibility levels but have no health 
insurance. It provides care, in other words, Mr. Speaker, for some of 
the most vulnerable families in our Nation. It covers nearly 5,000 
children in my home State. In fact, in fiscal year 2016, North Dakota 
received $19 million in CHIP funding.
  I encourage all of my colleagues to now support this important 
program that has historically had bipartisan support. I also want to 
urge my colleagues to quickly take up funding for community health 
centers, the special diabetes program, and other health programs that 
require extension.
  Community health centers in North Dakota are already feeling the 
negative effects of this funding uncertainty, particularly in hiring 
and leasing decisions.
  Mr. Speaker, we must not vote ``no'' on this CR because of what is 
not in the bill, but we must vote ``yes'' because what is in the bill 
is critical to the health of our children.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Costello).
  Mr. COSTELLO of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, we need to keep the 
government open, and we need to keep the government funded, and we need 
to reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program. Now, in the 
Energy and Commerce Committee, we passed CHIP, reauthorized for 5 years 
out of committee in October. We passed it out of the full House in 
November. We are now back to authorize it for a full 6 years. We do not 
need any additional pay-fors.
  This will help 177,000 children in Pennsylvania and millions across 
the country. CHIP funding will be exhausted next month in Pennsylvania. 
Right now, some States already face a shortfall in their funding as the 
program has not yet been fully reauthorized for all of fiscal year 
2018.
  It is past time that we provide a long-term solution and stability 
for families who depend on this quality, affordable coverage. I have 
heard from so many constituents--I have heard from many Democrats--
urging us to reauthorize CHIP. Tonight, we have a vote to keep the 
government open and to reauthorize CHIP. The right vote on this bill is 
a ``yes'' vote. That is the vote I will be taking on behalf of my 
constituents and this country.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I 
commend her for her great leadership as our ranking member on the 
Appropriations Committee--as we say, the almighty powerful 
Appropriations Committee on which I was proud to serve with the 
gentleman, Mr. Frelinghuysen, and Congresswoman Lowey.
  Mr. Speaker, I am disappointed, though, that the legislation that is 
brought to the floor today falls so very short of our responsibilities 
to the

[[Page H533]]

American people. When it comes to considering this bill, which the 
Republicans are bragging supports CHIP, it is important to review the 
facts. The facts are these: the CHIP proposal that the Republicans 
boast was on the floor in October, this or that, was funded by taking 
money from other children's programs, and that is why it was not to be 
supported by us. It is also important to remember that the CHIP 
reauthorization expired September 30.

                              {time}  1745

  So here we are with our fourth continuing resolution. That means, on 
September 30, we were supposed to not only reauthorize CHIP but to pass 
an omnibus bill to fund the government. Republicans were not able to 
make the decisions necessary to do that, so we had one extension, 
another extension, another extension. This is the fourth extension.
  Now, for somebody who doesn't know what a CR is, that is our 
Washington lingo. It is a continuing resolution. What it says is that 
the funding for the country will be continued at the same rate as it 
was in the previous year regardless of the fact that other challenges 
have emerged.
  So, by engaging in the failure to pass an omnibus bill and engage 
instead in these short-term continuing resolutions, this inadequacy 
does not give certainty to our military. General Mattis has told us 
that the military cannot go on these every-2-weeks, every-month CRs. We 
need to know. We need to have an omnibus that recognizes the full 
complement of our needs, and they are different from last year.
  It does not fund the fight against opioid addiction. We have talked 
about this. We have authorized language. We have put up some money. But 
throughout our country, there is an opioid epidemic that needs to be 
addressed with full funding for it--not just conversation or rhetoric, 
but funding.
  It does not address some of the crises facing our veterans, whether 
it is their infrastructure, housing, whatever, or additional funding 
that is needed for our veterans over and above whatever it was last 
year, and this ignores that need.
  It ignores the fact that we have some issues that we have to address 
regarding endangered pensions in our country, which have a direct 
relationship to the economic well-being of America's working families, 
pensions paid into, pensions having a shortfall, to honor the 
responsibility.
  It doesn't protect the DREAMers. We could protect the DREAMers in all 
of this, but it is missing an opportunity.
  This takes us right back to the CHIP. It does not fund community 
health centers that provide primary care for 27 million Americans.
  So these priorities are bipartisan. Nothing I mentioned on this list 
is anything that does not have bipartisan support in the Congress, that 
has not been openly discussed--bipartisanship, transparency, unity--
unifying us around these issues. We did not put priorities forward that 
were partisan, but those that had bipartisan--strong bipartisan--
support.
  So when our colleagues come to the floor and say, ``Oh, we are doing 
CHIP,'' CHIP is a wonderful initiative. It was one of the first bills 
that I passed and sent to President Obama when I was Speaker of the 
House. This is of high value to all of us on both sides of the aisle, 
but not high enough of a value to put it in its proper context. So this 
reauthorization of CHIP that they are putting here, this funding for 
CHIP is not really funding.
  Let me just make a distinction. We wanted 10 years for CHIP, to make 
it permanent--so we don't have to go through this--and remove all 
doubt, remove the uncertainty as to whether this healthcare would be 
available to those children who need it. We said, 10 years, you save $6 
billion; $6 billion, you save. You do 6 years, as in this bill, you 
save $1 billion. Why wouldn't we want to save $6 billion?
  Nonetheless, my concern is that they chose to bring a bill to the 
floor that isolates CHIP away from the other essentials that are a part 
of the delivery of that healthcare service to children. It does not 
reauthorize community health centers which provide, as I say, vital 
care to 26 million Americans. It does not extend the Medicare extenders 
so necessary, especially for our seniors with home visiting care and 
other initiatives.
  It does not address the Medicaid DSH, disproportionate share 
challenge that is across America. Ask your friends in rural America, 
especially, about that. Therapy services, diabetes, and teaching health 
centers for primary care doctors, all are completely out of this bill.
  That is why I am so proud of the legislation introduced by 
Congressman McEachin today which has the full complement. It is nothing 
additional. It is how we have always proceeded with the priority of 
children's health in a package that is about family health and delivery 
of service.
  As the President, himself, tweeted this morning: ``CHIP should be 
part of a long-term solution, not a 30-day or short-term extension.'' 
We like it 10 years; they have it 6 years. But it shouldn't be in this 
bill because this bill is sort of a half-baked facade to make it look 
as if we are keeping government open.
  We are keeping government debilitated by not addressing, coming to 
agreement on the omnibus bill that we know that we have to do that 
addresses the needs of our military, as it recognizes the security 
provisions in the domestic bill that are about security, whether it is 
the State Department, Veterans Affairs, homeland security, or 
antiterrorism activities of the Justice Department; and also, the fact 
that the strength of our country is measured in many ways: certainly, 
our military, which we are very proud of, and the agencies I mentioned, 
but also in the health, education, and well-being of the American 
people.
  So we are here. What does government do?
  Government does transportation. How can you, if you are in the 
Transportation Department, make commitments when you are on a short 
fuse of--what is it?--2 weeks in December, now 4 weeks that they want 
to go forward.
  Why don't we just settle it? Grow up. Take responsibility. Get this 
done for the American people.
  Nobody I know wants a shutdown of government--well, maybe except for 
the President, who said, ``Our country needs a good shutdown.'' He said 
that in May. I think with his experience as President now, he probably 
knows there is no such thing as a good shutdown. We don't want a 
shutdown.
  By the way, if there is one, this would be the first time there would 
be a shutdown in recent history that took place when one party had the 
White House, had the Senate, and had the House of Representatives, had 
full responsibility for managing and for leveraging, for getting the 
job done to fund our country for another year with certainty. This has 
2-year provisions in what we are negotiating with the Republicans.
  So, really, coming to the floor and hiding behind CHIP to hide the 
shortcomings and the lack of taking responsibility for our 
responsibilities to the American people is really a sad thing. That is 
why Mr. McEachin's bill and our previous question, which had the full 
complement to make CHIP really work, was the way to go.
  Sadly, although I object to the process of one short-term continuing 
resolution of last year instead of looking to the future for next 
year--I disapprove of that process--the substance of this legislation 
makes it totally unacceptable, and I urge a ``no'' vote.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman 
from Michigan (Mr. Walberg).
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in full support of this 
funding extension, which includes a vital, long-term reauthorization of 
the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or CHIP. This bill 
provides the longest extension in the history of the CHIP program and 
provides security for millions of kids and pregnant mothers.
  It is important to remember the House has already acted responsibly 
three times to extend CHIP. In November, this Chamber passed the 
CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act on a bipartisan vote. The bill not only 
would have extended CHIP for 5 years, but it also addressed other 
important public health programs like federally qualified health 
centers. Regretfully, partisanship and political gamesmanship left that 
bill to languish in the Senate.
  My constituents remain frustrated that the majority of my Democratic

[[Page H534]]

colleagues in this Chamber have voted three times against CHIP. The 
delays and posturing are inexcusable.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Poe of Texas). The time of the gentleman 
has expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Michigan 
an additional 30 seconds.
  Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I hope everyone in the House votes to pass 
this extension today so we can get to work on quickly reauthorizing 
community health centers and other important public health priorities.
  I encourage my colleagues to put aside the political games, vote 
``aye'' on the bill--the only correct vote--and then tell the Senate to 
do the right thing as well.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New 
Jersey (Mr. Pallone), who is the ranking member of the Committee on 
Energy and Commerce.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I am amazed when I hear my Republican 
colleagues talk about how they brought CHIP to the floor and they 
brought community health centers to the floor. What they forget to 
mention is that every time they did that, they included pay-fors, in 
other words, funding measures that would basically sabotage the 
Affordable Care Act.
  We have seen a concerted effort not only to try to repeal the 
Affordable Care Act, which failed, but then to do everything possible 
to make it more difficult for people to get their health insurance. We 
know that in the tax plan--or tax scam--that they passed a few weeks 
ago that they were so determined to spend all their time on that, what 
did they do? They eliminated the mandate that people have health 
insurance. The CBO estimates that there will be 13 million Americans, 
over the next few years, who will lose that health insurance.
  When they talked about CHIP in those previous times, what did they 
do? They put in provisions that cut the Prevention Fund that funds all 
the programs for children.
  They put in a provision that said that, if you didn't pay your health 
insurance within 30 days, you would lose it. CBO estimated that 
something like half a million Americans would lose their insurance 
because of that provision.
  They put in provisions that said that people who got their Medicare 
had to pay more for it--pay even 100 percent--depending upon their 
income.
  They have done everything possible to sabotage the healthcare system. 
For them to get up and say, ``Oh, we care about kids; we care about 
community health centers,'' nothing is further from the truth because 
everything has been done to sabotage the healthcare system.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from the great State of Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers), who is the 
chairwoman of the House Republican Conference.
  Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, we are about to face a very critical deadline in many 
States, including my home State of Washington. CHIP funding will run 
out.

  More than 60,000 kids in my State count on CHIP and need certainty. 
This funding bill reauthorizes CHIP for 6 years, the longest extension 
in the program's history. Now Democrats are threatening to hold this up 
again for a DACA deal.
  Now, to be clear, I want a DACA deal, too, and I am disappointed that 
we don't have one yet, but that is no reason to punish children across 
the country. Today we are voting to prioritize our Nation's children, 
and it is time for the Democrats to join us.
  I also want to take this opportunity to stress the importance of 
reauthorizing the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education 
Program, which expired in September. These centers face a looming 
deadline of January 31 to decide whether or not to recruit their July 
2018 classes.
  Without a long-term solution, the centers across our country cannot 
make the important decisions that will affect the lives of hundreds of 
residents.
  Unfortunately, one teaching health center in Memphis has already made 
that decision. They closed their doors earlier this year, leaving 25 
residents without a place to continue their medical training and 
reducing patient access to care. Although reauthorization of the 
Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education Program was not 
included in this bill, we must get this done as soon as possible.
  I look forward to working with the chairman and the committee moving 
forward, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support 
this 6-year reauthorization of CHIP.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to close.
  Mr. Speaker, Congress has a responsibility to invest in initiatives 
to defend the country and grow the economy. Instead of continuing down 
a rudderless path of CR after CR, we must pass a bipartisan budget 
agreement and protect DREAMers, which will enable the Appropriations 
Committee to responsibly write full-year funding bills.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``no'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.

                              {time}  1800

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Chairman, I yield the balance of my time to 
the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), the chairman of the Energy and 
Commerce Committee.
  Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, the chairman of the 
Appropriations Committee, for his hard work and cooperation on this 
legislation.
  The choice before us today is actually very, very simple. It is a 
choice the American people are watching. The choice is: Do you fund the 
government while you work out the other differences, or do you close 
the government?
  It is a binary choice. It is not about all the other things I would 
like in this bill or you would like in this bill. The choice before us 
today is to keep the government open or close the government. Whether 
you are Republican or Democrat, if you vote ``no,'' you are voting not 
to keep the government open. It is that simple.
  The other choice before us today is: Do you want to fund the 
Children's Health Insurance Program for the millions and millions of 
children and pregnant women across America?
  That funding, while we have had emergency extensions, literally is 
about to run out in a matter of days. It will run out.
  The choice tonight for this body and every Member, regardless of 
party, is: Do you want to fund the Children's Health Insurance Program 
for children and for pregnant women?
  There are 122,700 Oregonians on this program. There are millions 
across America in our districts. They don't like the fact that we are 
having this fight, but they know the fact is that it is a ``yes'' or 
``no'' vote. That is why the children's hospitals have said: Please 
take this bill and fund the Children's Health Insurance Program. Take 
us out of your fight.
  What we are voting on tonight is a 6-year fully funded Children's 
Health Insurance Program. A ``yes'' vote says you are for it. A ``no'' 
vote says: I will take a pass. Somebody else can carry this program. I 
am not going to do it.
  Well, I am doing it because I support the Children's Health Insurance 
Program, just as I support the community health centers, just as I 
support the teaching hospitals, just as I support the other extenders.
  By the way, your Energy and Commerce Committee, through regular 
order, provided a path forward for all of those essential health 
services. Yes, we took the heavy lift to fund them.
  You heard a couple of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle 
talk about: Oh, they took money out of this fund or took money out of 
that fund.
  The Prevention Fund is funded every year, by law. It is up to the 
appropriators to decide how those funds are spent.
  Using some of the Prevention Fund to fund the Children's Health 
Insurance Program and community health centers and the other programs 
seems like a pretty good investment for an otherwise unallocated batch 
of money. So we used a bit of that.
  Then you heard the scare tactic the Democrats always use: Medicare. 
Let me tell you what this specific pay-for is. It is one that former 
President Barack Obama wanted to use even further than what we did.
  What we said is: If you are making $500,000 a year, we are going to 
ask you

[[Page H535]]

to pay roughly $137 more in your Medicare part B and D, which, by the 
way, is just your share. The government is still going to subsidize 75 
percent of that. It is still a very good deal.
  We figure that somebody who is making $500,000 a year could afford a 
little more, so we can pay for community health centers for the poor 
and the Children's Health Insurance Program for those who need it. That 
is the pay-for you have heard about.
  When we brought the fully funded bill for 5 years for the Children's 
Health Insurance Program and 2 years for community health centers and 
save our DSH hospitals--those are the ones, by the way, that take care 
of the poorest among us--15 Democrats voted with us and I think two or 
three Republicans voted ``no,'' and we sent that bill to the Senate.
  We did our job in this House in a bipartisan way. Now we need to do 
that job again, because the Senate hasn't acted. They couldn't get 
enough Democrats there to support the proposal in the Senate. So we are 
back here.
  But the choice is a clear one: shut down the government and don't 
fund CHIP; or keep the government open and fund CHIP. That is the 
choice before us tonight that we need to make.
  Now, we have heard all kinds of rhetoric on this floor and out in the 
public about this is somehow a cherry on top of dog doo-doo. Sorry to 
use those words, but they are the ones that the gentlewoman from San 
Francisco used in the press. I find it offensive. It is unnecessary. It 
doesn't help bring us together.
  When you vote ``no,'' you vote to shut the government down and you 
vote against the Children's Health Insurance Program. This bill fully 
funds the Children's Health Insurance Program for 6 years. There is no 
argument about the pay-fors now because there aren't any in there.
  So if your argument for voting ``no'' was the pay-fors before, what 
is your argument today, other than a partisan one?
  Mr. Speaker, I ask Members of the House to approve this legislation.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, we are five months in the 2018 
fiscal year, yet here we are again getting ready to vote on another 
short-term government funding bill.
  Has this become the norm in the new Republican-led government?
  I'd like to point out that this will be the fourth continuing 
resolution since September.
  Our country isn't winning when our military, government agencies, and 
important federal programs are operating under short-term spending 
bills.
  The American people are tired of the partisanship that has kept 
Washington from doing its job. They expect results and it's our job to 
deliver.
  It's our job to fund the military and domestic programs, deliver 
protections for DREAMers, keep our quality community health centers 
open, reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program, and for 
those whose districts were impacted by natural disasters, it's our job 
to pass disaster aid for the families and small businesses that were 
impacted.
  There's broad bipartisan support for all the priorities that I 
mentioned.
  It's my hope that the Republican majority will roll up their sleeves 
and get to work for the American people.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this 
Continuing Resolution because we must stop kicking the can down the 
road, and that is all this Countinuing Resolution will do.
  The Republican approach to governing has been to pass short term 
extensions of programs and Continuing Resolutions that merely delay the 
hard work of making decisions on the big issues facing our country.
  This is now the fourth stop-gap Continuing Resolution for Fiscal 2018 
that we are being asked to consider. Each time Republicans have said 
they need more time to deal with this crisis of their own making. And 
yet each time, they have failed to negotiate with Democrats to make any 
progress toward the bipartisan budget agreement that we need in order 
to develop responsible appropriations bills.
  Instead, Republicans are again bringing a bill to the floor that 
fails to address the big challenges our nation faces. This CR does not 
help Americans recovering from the hurricanes that hit Puerto Rico, the 
Virgin Islands, Florida, and Texas and the wildfires and mudslides that 
have ravaged California. It does not fund community health centers that 
people depend on for their healthcare or help those who need assistance 
battling opioid addiction. It does not protect those in danger of 
losing their pensions, and it will not stop our nation from hitting its 
debt limit.
  Republicans have also failed to negotiate in good faith on a solution 
to the crisis that President Trump himself created for the millions of 
Dreamers living in this country.
  Dreamers are American in every way but their citizenship, and due to 
the President's actions, more than 16 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 we must act 
NOW. It is inhumane to force Dreamers to live in fear and uncertainty. 
They can't afford to wait until the last minute for a solution, as 
Republicans have done so often while leading Congress.
  Governing by repeated CRs is neither governing nor leading. It leaves 
federal agencies such as our Department of Defense unable to plan for 
the future or begin new initiatives, which undermines our national 
security and leaves our homeland more vulnerable. This is not how the 
appropriations process is supposed to work.
  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.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to Rules Committee 
Print 115-55, legislation extending the Continuing Resolution now in 
effect for another month, or until February 16, 2018.
  But before I proceed further, I want to note--and Americans needs to 
know--that this is not a spending bill; it is instead an affirmation of 
the House Republicans' inability to govern.
  This is the fourth time House Republicans have chosen to kick the can 
down the road rather than work with Democrats to come to a necessary 
bipartisan agreement to lift the Budget Control Act (BCA) spending 
caps, giving appropriators the direction they need for full-year 
funding bills.
  The reason given for passing each of the prior Continuing Resolutions 
was that the extra time was needed to reach a comprehensive agreement 
to fund government operations in a fair and balanced way.
  Yet, even with the extra time, House Republicans made no progress 
during any of the previous extensions.
  This should not be surprising; the House GOP is carrying the water 
for the president, who a few months ago said ``we need a big beautiful 
shutdown.''
  Mr. Speaker, I cannot support a CR that does not include full funding 
for disaster recovery, extends additional health access for veterans, 
provides funding to combat the opioid epidemic, and protects pensions.
  Most important, it is outrageous that House Republicans would bring 
to the floor and request support for a fourth CR extension that does 
not address and resolve the crisis the Republican Administration has 
inflicted on 800,000 Dreamers and their families, including 124,000 
Dreamers in my home state of Texas.
  Instead of acting responsibly to address these issues and fund the 
government for the remainder of the fiscal year, House Republicans 
continue wasting time.
  This is not appropriations; this is a stop-gap funding measure to 
save ourselves from collapse.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us includes a six year 
reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 
which provides health coverage to nine million children, and which 
Republicans allowed to lapse on September 30, 2017.
  This is not a meaningful extension.
  In contrast, making CHIP permanent would not only provide long-term 
stability for families, providers, and states, it would save $6 billion 
according to the Congressional Budget Office.
  Republicans are only just now getting around to reauthorizing the 
program because they wasted months on efforts to repeal the Affordable 
Care Act and enact unpaid for tax cuts for the wealthy.
  I know firsthand about the important work done through CHIP.
  My state is home to the Texas Children's Hospital. Any Republican who 
believes it is acceptable to play politics with children's health 
clearly does not appreciate the work done there.
  This CR includes additional tax cuts totaling over $26 billion, 
including a two year delay of the medical device and Cadillac taxes, 
and a one year delay of the health insurance tax.
  At the same time, the resolution fails to address numerous other 
expired and expiring health priorities, from funding for community 
health centers to waiving caps on therapy services for seniors on 
Medicare, to preventing cuts to safety net hospitals.
  Mr. Speaker, despite controlling the House, Senate, and the White 
House, Republicans have not funded the government for the entire year, 
even though we are already four months into the fiscal year.

[[Page H536]]

  Democrats, meanwhile, have done the work with which we were tasked. I 
am a member of the Budget committee and we Democrats proposed a budget 
that:
  Respected the needs of all Americans, including those who serve 
bravely in the Department of Defense;
  Honored the sacrifice of our heroes in uniform;
  Protected programs like CHIP, made investments in infrastructure and 
ensured that Americans have access to quality healthcare.
  Because Republicans refuse to work with Democrats and compromise on 
how to provide relief from the BCA's sequester level spending caps, 
they are lurching from CR to CR--degrading the readiness of our 
military and preventing government agencies from properly serving the 
American people.
  This is not a responsible way to govern; therefore, I cannot support 
this bill.
  House Republicans need to work across the aisle with Democrats and 
get our work done--including upholding the long-standing precedent of 
agreeing to parity when providing relief from sequester caps.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 696, 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, further 
proceedings on this question will be postponed.

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