[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 159 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H9040-H9047]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONFERENCE REPORT ON H.R. 6157, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS 
                               ACT, 2019

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1077, I 
call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 6157) making 
appropriations for the Department of Defense for the fiscal year ending 
September 30, 2019, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate 
consideration.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Rouzer). Pursuant to House Resolution 
1077, the conference report is considered read.
  (For conference report and statement, see proceedings of the House of 
September 13, 2018, at page H8258.)
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. 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.


                             General Leave

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my honor this afternoon to present the conference 
report for H.R. 6157. This conference report provides full-year funding 
for the Department of Defense and for the Department of Labor, Health 
and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies. It also includes a 
continuing resolution through December 7, 2018, for Federal Government 
programs and agencies not covered by the enacted appropriations 
legislation.
  Congress has no greater duty than to provide for our common defense. 
This legislation fulfills this constitutional responsibility. The 
Department of Defense is now set to receive its full funding on time 
for the first time in over 10 years.

[[Page H9041]]

  Providing this stability and predictability to our military leaders 
is a necessary and welcome step as we rebuild our Armed Forces. For far 
too long, their dedication to duty has been weakened by declining and 
uncertain budgets.
  Congress has turned that around, beginning with significant 
investments in last year's omnibus and continuing this year with an 
additional $17 billion in base funding for the Department of Defense.
  In total, the conference report provides $674.4 billion for our Armed 
Forces, consistent with levels that are authorized. This funding 
ensures our troops have the resources they need to defend our Nation 
and succeed in their global missions. This includes funding to sustain 
ongoing overseas contingency operations and to support increased troop 
levels.
  It also ensures our warfighters have the training, readiness, and 
other resources needed to prepare for their missions, and a pay raise 
of 2.6 percent.
  This conference report also replenishes our military might, investing 
$148 billion in new and modernized equipment and weapons platforms and 
$96.1 billion for research and development to improve the lethality, 
effectiveness, and safety of our defense systems.
  In addition to this critical funding for our national defense, this 
legislation also includes funding for vital domestic programs. The 
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations bill provides $178 billion for programs that protect the 
health, education, and labor standards that all Americans deserve.
  Funding is directed to programs that have wide national benefit, in 
particular, the National Institutes of Health, which receives a $2 
billion increase to bolster its lifesaving research.
  Notably, funding to fight the opioid abuse epidemic receives historic 
funding levels, totalling $6.6 billion. This will support treatment, 
prevention, research, and other efforts to end this national crisis.
  Another top priority is increased funding to keep our children safe 
in schools. This includes funding for mental health and other 
protective measures.
  Lastly, the Labor-HHS bill invests in our future, creating economic 
opportunity and helping students get ahead and be part of a well-
trained 21st century workforce.
  In addition to these two appropriations bills I mentioned earlier, 
the conference report includes a continuing resolution through the 
remaining areas of the Federal Government not covered by this or 
previous bills that have already been signed into law. This will ensure 
that the government, indeed, stays open for business.
  Upon enactment of this legislation, Congress will have provided full-
year funding for three-quarters of the Federal Government, but there is 
more work to be done on the remaining appropriations bills.

  Mr. Speaker, this legislation is yet another step forward to our goal 
of returning to what we call regular order and fully funding the 
Federal Government for the fiscal year. It is a product of months of 
hard work on the part of our conference committee, led by Chairwoman 
Kay Granger and Chairman  Tom Cole, along with Ranking Member Peter 
Visclosky and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro.
  I thank them, of course, and I especially thank my counterpart, the 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), my ranking member, who has 
worked with me through this process as well as earlier bills. We have 
had a friendship for well over 20 years of service jointly on the 
Appropriations Committee.
  And, yes, I thank our Senate counterparts for helping us complete 
this work as well.
  This conference report would not be on the floor today without the 
Appropriations Committee's dedicated professional and associate staff. 
I extend to all of them my deepest gratitude for their dedication, 
service, and hard work.
  In the front office, as we call it, Nancy Fox, my staff director; 
Maureen Holohan; Shannon O'Keefe; Jason Gray; Tammy Hughes; Rachel 
Kahler; Jennifer Hing; Marta Hernandez; Parker Van de Water; and Tom 
Doelp; and in working closely with us in the minority, Shalanda Young 
and Chris Bigelow, and others. I am grateful to all these men and women 
for their professionalism and dedication.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the conference 
report, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I join Chairman Frelinghuysen in strong support of this 
bipartisan legislation. The Defense and Labor-HHS-Education bills carry 
out some of Congress' most important constitutional responsibilities. 
We should all be pleased that we have completed our work on these bills 
on time.
  This conference report provides ample resources for our armed 
services and strengthens military readiness. It also upholds our 
commitments to our servicemembers and their families, more funding to 
repair Department of Defense schools, additional resources to assist 
victims of military sexual assault, and more support for military 
medical research.
  Turning to the Labor-HHS-Education division, I am pleased that 
Congress has resoundingly rejected President Trump's budget and 
restored $10 billion in proposed cuts that would have hurt working 
families. Instead, we have won increased funding for a number of 
important priorities.
  This bill boosts biomedical research at the National Institutes of 
Health, expands opioid abuse treatment and prevention programs, and 
launches new initiatives for maternal and child health.
  The bill increases funding for Head Start, childcare, and after 
school programs on which working families rely. It lifts the maximum 
Pell grant to help more students access postsecondary education, and it 
invests in the 21st century workforce with more support for registered 
apprenticeships and career and technical education.
  Finally, this bill stands up to President Trump's cruel family 
separation policy, with more transparency and oversight of child and 
family detention.
  Just as important is what this bill does not include: the unnecessary 
partisan riders that caused House Democrats to oppose the Labor-HHS-
Education bill in the Appropriations Committee. And while it is 
unfortunate that we have no choice but to include a continuing 
resolution for many important Federal programs, I look forward to 
completing our remaining appropriation bills when Congress returns in 
November.
  I appreciate the hard work of Chairman Frelinghuysen, Chairwoman 
Granger, Chairman Cole, Ranking Member Visclosky, Ranking Member 
DeLauro, and our Senate counterparts to get us to this point.
  Of course, we appreciate our hardworking staff. We couldn't get to 
this point without them.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill and sending 
it to the President for him to sign.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman 
from Texas (Ms. Granger), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on 
Defense.
  Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge my colleagues to support the 
FY19 Defense and Labor-HHS Appropriations conference agreement.
  Congress' number one responsibility is to provide for the defense of 
this Nation. This agreement enables us to fulfill that most fundamental 
constitutional duty.
  Since becoming chair, it has been my goal to ensure that this bill 
reflects the needs of our defense and intelligence experts so that they 
have the resources needed to combat the threats of today and in the 
future.
  I want to thank Members for their participation throughout this 
process. Their input on how we can best address the needs of our 
military has been invaluable. This agreement includes many of their 
ideas and priorities by taking into account the over 6,600 requests 
submitted by Members.
  With this agreement, we will be able to do something that has not 
been done in a decade: provide our military with the funding they need 
on time so we can rebuild our Armed Forces.
  This is an agreement we can all be very proud of. It provides 
Secretary of

[[Page H9042]]

Defense Mattis with the resources he needs to implement the new 
National Defense Strategy and restore our military.

                              {time}  1500

  This conference agreement includes major investments in air 
superiority, shipbuilding, and the ground forces, including strong 
support for the National Guard.
  This bill provides 18 C-130 aircraft, including 8 for the Air 
National Guard; 24 F-18 Super Hornets; 58 Black Hawk helicopters; 66 
Apache helicopters; 93 F-35 Joint Strike Fighters; 13 V-22 aircraft; 13 
Navy ships, including 2 Virginia-Class submarines, and 3 Littoral 
Combat Ships; upgrades for 135 Abrams tanks, and $1.3 billion for 
additional National Guard and Reserve equipment.
  This agreement also invests in the research and development needed to 
maintain our technological superiority, including critical investments 
in space, hypersonics, nuclear forces, and missile defense, including 
the Israeli cooperative programs.
  Finally, this agreement strongly supports our servicemembers and 
their families by funding the largest pay raise for our troops in 9 
years;
  Growing the force by fully funding the authorized increase in end 
strength; and,
  Investing in the defense health program, including critical medical 
research.
  I would like to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen. This is his last 
defense bill, and we are thankful for his leadership on our national 
security.
  I would like to thank Ranking Member Visclosky for being a great 
partner on this bill.
  I would also like to thank the members of the Defense Subcommittee, 
as well as the staff, for their many hours of work on this bill.
  On our majority staff: Jennifer Miller, Walter Hearne, Brooke Boyer, 
BG Wright, Allison Deters, Collin Lee, Matt Bower, Jackie Ripke, Hayden 
Milberg, Bill Adkins, Sherry Young, and Barry Walker.
  On our minority staff: Becky Leggieri, Jennifer Chartrand, and Chris 
Bigelow.
  On my personal staff: Johnnie Kaberle and Spencer Freebairn; and on 
Mr. Visclosky's staff, Joe DeVooght.
  In closing, I, again, urge my colleagues to support this agreement 
and fund our national security. It is vital that we pass this agreement 
this week and have it signed into law. The men and women of our Armed 
Forces deserve no less.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), the ranking member of the Defense 
Subcommittee.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding.
  Fiscal year 2019 starts on October 1, and it is wonderful to be here 
in September considering a conference report on two additional 
appropriation measures.
  I would like to commend Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member 
Lowey for bringing a semblance of order back to the appropriations 
process. Along with their Senate counterparts they have managed to 
navigate an upset political situation that has completely stymied the 
process for years. When this two-bill package is signed into law, it 
will be the first time in 22 years that there have been five 
appropriation bills enacted before the start of the fiscal year.
  I actually wish we had seven more bills conferenced and ready for 
enactment, but it appears those will have to be deferred until 
December. I hope that maturity, bipartisan cooperation, and responsible 
governance will also apply to their consideration and prompt enactment. 
Timeliness is as important as final dollar determinations.
  I also would like to recognize and thank the Chairwoman, Kay Granger. 
She has been a joy to work with and a fine leader. She, along with 
every member of our subcommittee and our tremendous subcommittee staff 
and associate staff, have conducted themselves in a professional, 
bipartisan and collegial manner. As a result, this bill reflects the 
will of Congress.
  Specific to the Department of Defense, this will be the first time in 
a decade that our military will not begin the fiscal year under a 
continuing resolution. Having timely appropriations should improve and 
stabilize budgeting at the Department, the services, our allies, and 
contractors.
  I expect that this certainty will also allow the Department to better 
adhere to congressional direction, to spend the funding as 
appropriated, to increase transparency for budget exhibits, and to 
improve the quality and timeliness of communications to the committee, 
as has been referenced on pages 8, 9, 10, and 21 of the House Report.
  Again, I thank my colleagues, Chairwoman Granger, and her wonderful 
staff.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), chairman of the Labor, Health 
and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, today marks a victory in the return to regular 
order on the Labor, Health and Human Services appropriations bill. I am 
proud of the hard work that brought this bill to us, and I want to 
highlight just a few of the many provisions in the Labor, Health and 
Human Services section of the bill that all Members can be proud of.
  First of all, I want to note that, while the Defense portion of the 
bill is up $18 billion, the Labor-H portion of the bill is actually 
only up $1 billion. It is no secret that our friends on the other side 
wanted a $5.5 billion increase. Our friends in the Senate version 
actually got a $2.2 billion increase. In the end, the Labor-H bill 
allocation actually only increased by $1 billion. In fact, almost 
three-quarters of the bill in front of us is dedicated to defense.
  The Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education portion of the 
agreement boosts funding for the National Institutes of Health by $2 
billion, continuing our quest to cure diseases like Alzheimer's and 
cancer, and unlock the secrets of genetic conditions like Down 
syndrome. We have provided increases to help our Nation prepare for 
public health emergencies, and included $6.7 billion to fight and, 
hopefully, end the opioid abuse epidemic, including $1.1 billion of 
grants to States.

  I am also proud to say that the agreement includes $50 million for a 
new Infectious Disease Rapid Response Reserve Fund. The fund will not 
only save American lives, it will save money too. By banking resources 
now that only can be used in the event of a future infectious disease 
public health emergency, we will provide the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services with immediate access to the funds to respond to a new 
outbreak, without waiting months for Congress to pass a costly 
supplemental bill.
  The conference agreement also increases funding for education and 
training programs, including a $70 million increase for career and 
technical education, a $60 million increase for TRIO and GEAR UP 
programs to help more students obtain solid workplace skills and a 
career of their choosing.
  We increased funds for Impact Aid and charter schools, and provided 
funds for our veterans to integrate back into the workforce.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Weber of Texas). The time of the 
gentleman has expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield the gentleman 
from Oklahoma an additional 1 minute.
  Mr. COLE. We invested in TRIO and GEAR UP, and also in early 
childhood education.
  We have increased programs to help people with disabilities live 
independently, and to fund early intervention and education services 
for children with disabilities. We have increased school safety and 
mental health programs, and increased funding for graduate medical 
education to train more primary healthcare providers.
  Finally, the bill continues the existing pro-life riders, including 
the Hyde and Weldon amendments. We didn't give an inch on pro-life 
matters in this bill.
  This is a good agreement. I want to thank my colleagues on both sides 
of the aisle, particularly Chairman Frelinghuysen, and my good friend, 
Ranking Member Lowey. I also want to acknowledge my working partner and 
good friend, Rosa DeLauro from Connecticut, and all the Members that 
participated in the process.

[[Page H9043]]

  But I particularly want to thank the outstanding staff that made this 
possible: Susan Ross, Jennifer Cama, Justin Gibbons, Kathryn Salmon, 
and Karyn Richman and Lori Bias on the majority staff; and minority 
staff Stephen Steigleder and Robin Juliano for their diligence in 
bringing this across the finish line for the first time in 22 years.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has again expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. I yield the gentleman from Oklahoma an additional 
15 seconds.
  Mr. COLE. So I look forward to the floor passage and the President's 
signature.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the distinguished ranking 
member of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee.
  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the conference report 
which includes the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education 
appropriations bill.
  The Labor-H funding bill for 2019 makes important investments in 
health, education, and in our families. It is a $1 billion increase 
over 2018, leaving us to deliberate $178.1 billion. Especially when I 
view that the Trump administration is pursuing the fundamental 
hollowing out of our Federal agencies, we secured critical investments 
in Democratic priorities that boost the middle class.
  First, let me talk about health. This bill includes an increase of $2 
billion for NIH research. It also includes increases across the Centers 
for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources and Services 
Administration, particularly to address health threats to pregnant 
women and babies.
  We also secured increases for our country's youngest children and 
their families, including an increase of $50 million for childcare and 
$200 million for Head Start, including $50 million more for Early Head 
Start.
  Turning to education, we won an increase for after-school programs 
and a raise in the maximum Pell grant, $100 for $6,195, to help 
students afford the rising cost of a college degree.
  The bill also eliminates two longstanding riders. They had prohibited 
school districts from using education funding for transportation to 
address segregated schools.
  So, from health, to childcare, to education, we achieved several 
great wins for the American people.
  Importantly, the bill before us maintains the bipartisan amendments 
that House Democrats introduced to condemn the administration's policy 
of separating families, to demand a reunification plan, and to ensure 
that HHS upholds the highest standards of care for children in our 
custody.
  I am proud of what we included. I am also proud of what we kept out. 
We held the line and kept out harmful ideological riders that would 
have sabotaged the Affordable Care Act, undermined women's health, and 
overturned the Flores settlement to allow the administration to keep 
kids in cages indefinitely.
  All that being said, the bill is not perfect. For example, I am 
disappointed we missed an opportunity to say, once and for all, that 
the authors of the Every Student Succeeds Act never intended for 
Federal dollars to arm teachers, which, as I understand, is current 
law.
  And I believe the Labor-HHS bill continues to be shortchanged. Based 
on the overall increase of $18 billion for non-defense discretionary 
spending, this bill should be receiving an increase of $5.5 billion.
  Nevertheless, on the whole, this bipartisan, bicameral compromise is 
a positive result that helped provide the American people a better 
chance at a better life, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
  I also take this opportunity to say a thank you to my working partner 
and good friend, Chairman Cole. I also want to say a thank you to the 
ranking member of the full Appropriations Committee, my colleague, 
Congresswoman Nita Lowey, and to the chairman of the Appropriations 
Committee, Rodney Frelinghuysen. I thank him for the great work on this 
effort, and we know you will not be joining us again next year, so 
thank you for helping us get this across the finish line.

  For the Democratic staff: Stephen Steigleder, Robin Juliano; to my 
staff: Leticia Mederos, Liz Albertine, Caitlin Peruccio, Will Serio, 
Kris Fetterman; to the majority staff: Susan Ross, Jennifer Cama, 
Justin Gibbons, Kathryn Salmon, Karyn Richman, and Lori Bias.
  Mr. Speaker, our names appear on the doors of the congressional 
offices, but it is the labor every single day of these outstanding 
staff people that help us put these bills together on behalf of the 
American people.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to 
the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), chairman of the State, 
Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, my predecessor.
  Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I simply want to add my 
appreciation and thanks to the chairman and ranking members that you 
have just heard from for this momentous agreement before us today. And 
I would like to especially commend our big chairman, Frelinghuysen, for 
the work he has done on this bill, but, more importantly, the work he 
has done throughout his career in this body.
  Mr. Frelinghuysen, you are a great friend, a great Member of this 
body, a great leader, and you will be missed.

                              {time}  1515

  Once again, we are demonstrating that the Appropriations Committee 
can and will do everything in our power to get the job done. I 
especially appreciate the committee's continued commitment to address 
the addiction crisis.
  This bill maintains a comprehensive focus on prevention, treatment, 
and education, following the holistic model of Operation UNITE in my 
congressional district, and it provides a record $6.6 billion toward 
those programs.
  You have all heard me talk endlessly, if you will, about the 
devastation brought by opioid abuse touching so many lives around the 
country over the last 20 years. Chairman Cole has been a truly 
incredible leader and partner in combating this epidemic, and I am 
confident that this bill will bring substantial relief to our 
communities in need.
  I would also like to thank the conference committee for their work to 
ensure that the Department of Defense not only receives the funding it 
needs, but that its funding is finalized before the beginning of the 
fiscal year to allow them to plan.
  For too long, some say 22 years, we in Congress have not delivered 
this bill in time to allow the Department to operate as it should with 
its full allotment of funding on October 1.
  When combined with the Energy and Water and MILCON-VA bills that are 
already law, this bill does exactly that and provides the Department of 
Defense with the funds it needs to defend American interests and values 
around the world, including a well-deserved pay raise for the men and 
women in uniform who serve bravely under our flag.
  Thank you again for your collective leadership. This is a great 
agreement, and I urge its support.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum), the ranking member of the 
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Committee.
  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman 
Frelinghuysen for his service in the U.S. Congress. He will be greatly 
missed by me and by many of us.
  I would like to thank Ranking Member Lowey and the subcommittee 
chairs and the ranking members and all of their staffs for their hard 
work on this bipartisan legislation.
  This bill makes robust investments in the Department of Defense, 
improving the readiness of our troops and, as has been pointed out, 
providing them with a well-deserved pay raise.
  I am also pleased with this bill's commitment to the environmental 
cleanup of Defense Superfund sites, providing $184 million over the 
request for defense cleanup efforts. This is much needed.
  The Labor-Health and Human Services portion of this package provides 
vital resources that will impact the lives of every American. A $2 
billion increase to the National Institutes of

[[Page H9044]]

Health will give our researchers the tools they need to find the cures 
for diseases such as Alzheimer's and diabetes.
  The community service block grants, however, did not receive the 
House level of funding but still got an increase. This is very 
important for families and communities that can use some of this 
funding, as they have come up with proven programs on how to make 
opioid recovery successful.
  I am particularly proud of the inclusion of my amendment to allow 
individuals diagnosed with cancer to defer payments on their public 
student loans while they undergo lifesaving treatments.
  I would like to thank Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and 
Representative Perlmutter, as well as Chairman Cole and Ranking Member 
DeLauro, for their bipartisan leadership on this important issue.
  With more than 70,000 young adults diagnosed with cancer each year, 
they will now be able to focus on what is more important: beating 
cancer and getting healthy, not worrying about making their student 
loan payments while receiving chemotherapy.
  I support this spending package, and I look forward to the fact that 
we have a continuing resolution included in here so that the government 
doesn't shut down.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the chairman of the 
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee on 
Appropriations.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the fiscal year 2019 
Defense Appropriations and Labor-Health and Human Services 
Appropriations conference report.
  First, I would like to take a minute to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen, 
who has led the effort to return the Appropriations Committee to 
regular order. He knows too well the crippling impacts of a CR on the 
Department of Defense, and today he delivers on a promise to ensure our 
men and women in uniform are provided funding on time.
  Personally, I am grateful to the chairman for the many years of 
friendship. His steady leadership will be greatly missed.
  I also want to commend Chairwoman Granger for her good work in 
getting this bill here today and, certainly, Pete Visclosky, the 
ranking member, for his work in getting this bill here today, and also 
Ranking Member Lowey, the full committee ranking member, for her great 
work.
  We are all here today, together, in a rare moment of bipartisanship 
to fund our military and to fund Labor-Human Services, which hasn't 
been passed here for some time.
  I served on the House Appropriations Committee for many years, and 
providing for our men and women in uniform is a privilege and one of 
the most important things that we do.
  This conference report provides vital funding for the armed services, 
including a 2.6 percent pay raise. This bill is an investment in our 
future superiority on land, air, and sea.
  I might point out that, yesterday, Secretary Mattis made comments at 
VMI that, when he took the helm of the Department, he asked for the 
strategy, and he was told there was none. Well, thankfully, under 
General Mattis' leadership, not only does the Department have a clear 
strategy, but the roadmap to achieve that strategy as well. It requires 
Congress to do our part, which we are going to do today.

  We are in a unique time in history that depends on U.S. leadership 
throughout the world. A strong U.S. military with our allies creates 
stability.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to 
the gentleman from California.
  Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, the security of our Nation and the peace of 
the world depend on a strong U.S. military, and I urge my colleagues to 
support the conference report.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the ranking member of 
the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies 
Subcommittee.
  Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for 
yielding.
  I, too, join my colleagues in commending Ranking Member Lowey and 
Chairman Frelinghuysen for their stewardship of the appropriations 
process in the House. We are moving in the right direction. We have 
partial regular order, and, hopefully, with every passing fiscal year, 
it will get better and better. But, truly, it is an accomplishment.
  I also want to commend Subcommittee Chairwoman Granger and Ranking 
Member Visclosky for producing a Defense Appropriations bill that 
provides the resources necessary for our armed services to perform the 
critical role of securing our Nation.
  Additionally, I thank Subcommittee Ranking Member DeLauro and 
Chairman Cole, my dear friends, for their hard work on the Labor-Health 
and Human Services-Education funding bill.
  The bill before us funds both the assets our armed services need and 
invests in our servicemembers. It provides for a much-needed 2.6 
percent increase in military pay.
  The bill also includes over $1.4 billion for congressionally directed 
medical research programs, including $130 million for breast cancer 
research, a personal issue to me.
  I am proud to say this bill retains my language protecting access to 
lifesaving mammograms, particularly for women between 40 and 50 years 
old, and provides $5 million for my ongoing initiative, the Breast 
Cancer Education and Awareness Requires Learning Young Act, or the 
EARLY Act, which will continue to help increase the quality and 
quantity of life for young women with breast cancer.
  The bill increases funding for the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention by $125 million and funds programs that fight the spread of 
the Zika virus, as well as combats the use of tobacco.
  It also provides vital funding that will benefit seniors, and it 
includes $5 million to help Holocaust survivors and their families.
  Mr. Speaker, I represent one of the largest Holocaust survivor 
populations in the United States, and with every passing day, they are 
getting extremely elderly, and we are losing more and more of them each 
and every day. Honoring them and allowing them to live with dignity in 
the last years of their lives is critical.
  I would be remiss if I didn't mention that this bill will help us 
shine a light on an inhumane family separation policy perpetrated by 
this administration. This legislation--and I very much appreciate 
this--includes my amendment to allow Members of Congress immediate 
access to immigration detention centers. We must remain committed to 
seeking justice for families that have been needlessly torn apart at 
our borders.
  The administration, actually, repeatedly stopped Members of Congress 
from being able to immediately access these detention centers to 
conduct our proper oversight role, and this amendment, when it is 
signed into law by the President, will allow us to conduct that 
oversight as a coequal branch of our government.
  Mr. Speaker, more importantly, before yielding back, I just want to 
take a moment to thank Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen. It has really 
been an honor to serve with this gentleman, in the truest sense of the 
word. He has done a remarkable job serving his constituents. It has 
been fun being a member of the Appropriations Committee both while he 
was a chairman, a ranking member, and now the chairman of the full 
committee. We will miss him, and I know his constituents will miss his 
service.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support this appropriations bill.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to 
the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter), the chairman of the Homeland 
Security Subcommittee on Appropriations.
  Mr. CARTER of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this 
conference report.
  I have been honored to be able to serve on the Defense Appropriations 
Committee and also to represent Fort Hood, the great place, the tip of 
the spear of our United States Army land forces.
  I am very proud of what we are doing for those men and women who 
stand in

[[Page H9045]]

harm's way on our behalf. We are giving them a 2.6 percent pay raise 
for all of our troops, wherever they may be. And they have earned this 
money because they stand in harm's way on our behalf. We are taking 
care of our military families that are just as important a part of the 
fight as our warriors, and this is a long time coming. This is the 
largest pay raise in 9 years.
  This bill contains accelerated efforts to modernize our armored 
brigade combat teams, including modernizing a significant number of 
Abrams tanks and Strykers so they can meet the needs of future war. 
They are the tip of the spear. This is good for us and good for those 
who stand in harm's way on our behalf
  We are particularly proud of the fact that we have stood up the Army 
Futures Command in Austin, Texas, which is just south of my home, and 
we are going to learn about how to fight the next generations of wars 
through the Futures Command.
  I am very proud that we have support for General Mattis' goal of 
ensuring our military is ready to fight the next fight--and fight it 
tonight, if necessary.
  Critically, this bill provides this funding on time, ensuring money 
can be spent in its most efficient, effective way and that we are able 
to accomplish our goals accordingly.
  Mr. Speaker, I want to thank everyone both in the majority and the 
minority who were involved in this bill and this conference, and I 
thank them on behalf of the men and women who stand in harm's way on 
our behalf and who live in my district.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Cuellar), a member of the Appropriations 
Committee.
  Mr. CUELLAR. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member Lowey for 
yielding, and I want to thank her for her leadership that she provides 
in the Appropriations Committee.
  I also want to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen. As Ms. Wasserman Schultz 
said, we are going to miss you. We appreciate your leadership, and we 
thank you. You are a decent human being, and we really appreciate your 
friendship.
  I also want to thank the staff and the Members on both sides of the 
aisle who have worked in a very bipartisan way to address these issues 
that are important.
  Every year, we have to pass the appropriations bill. It is the train 
that has to pass every year. And I certainly want to thank Mrs. Lowey, 
the chairman, and the folks responsible for making this happen.
  First of all, let me talk about defense.
  I certainly agree with the Members that this provides billions of 
dollars to make sure that we restore critical military readiness 
programs. We have to make sure we have a strong military, and with this 
funding, we will. I certainly appreciate the sacrifice that the men and 
women make to protect our country, and this is what this appropriation 
bill does.
  We also fully fund the 2.6 percent pay raise for our military 
families because, again, we have to make sure that we support them 
because they are under very difficult times.
  There are a lot of other things in the Defense Appropriations bill, 
whether it is the assistance that provides $50 million for specialized 
counseling programs to meet the unique needs of military children or 
whether it is the National Guard's counterdrug program to help reduce 
the illegal drugs from coming into the United States. Those are areas 
that are strong for our military.

                              {time}  1530

  Let me move over to the Labor-HHS bill. There are so many things that 
both Chairman Cole and Ms. DeLauro also provided that they worked so 
hard on; let me just highlight a couple of them.
  The Pell grant is so important because we increased the amount by an 
extra $100. Now the maximum amount is $6,195. You have to have Pell 
grants so that we can have our young students go off to college.
  $10 billion for Head Start. There was a $200 million increase. I want 
to thank our folks for adding that money.
  The Federal TRIO program and the GEAR UP program are moneys that we 
added.
  I certainly want to say thank you also for the $907 million for 
senior nutrition programs to help our seniors.
  The title I grants for school districts, $15.9 billion that we added.
  And the last thing I want to talk about is the Low-Income Home Energy 
Assistance Program, we have increased the funding to provide that type 
of assistance.
  So, again, I want to say thank you to the chairman, to our ranking 
member, Mrs. Lowey, and all of the staff on both sides, I thank them 
for a job well done.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to thank both the 
chairman and chairwoman of the full committee and all of the chairs and 
ranking members for their outstanding job, particularly on bringing us 
to this point, though much work needs to be done.
  I am going to speak as fast as I can, but I am very grateful for the 
$7.9 billion in the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund, which will include many 
of us who have suffered from Hurricane Harvey in 2017, but, more 
particularly, will help those who are suffering with much devastation 
after Hurricane Florence.
  I am grateful for the 2.6 percent raise of our military personnel, 
and the $40 million for the historically Black colleges and 
universities that we have worked on, and minority serving institutions 
for basic research programs.
  And then I worked on the issue dealing with triple-negative breast 
cancer, and I am pleased with $374 million for cancer research and $130 
million for breast cancer research, being a breast cancer survivor.
  And particularly, though, I would have wanted the Violence Against 
Women Act to be on the floor and pass the full bill. I am glad for the 
$35 million for continued implementation expansion of the Sexual 
Assault Special Victims Counsel Program under Defense.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 1 minute to the 
gentlewoman from Texas.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. And I am grateful for the death gratuities for 
troops in the case of a government shutdown.
  And the funds prohibited to use outside of the War Powers Resolution 
in Syria and Iraq.
  But, most importantly, my constituents are suffering from a lack of 
healthcare because of the undermining of the Affordable Care Act that 
we are still fighting for. So I am very grateful for the $39.1 billion 
for the National Institutes of Health; $4.4 billion for programs that 
respond to the opioid crisis; $7.9 billion for the Centers for Disease 
Control, and, of course, what is so important to our constituents in 
Houston and Texas is that our community health centers that are our 
first line of defense to those who don't have healthcare; $678 million 
for a maternal and child health block grant--we have some of the 
largest numbers of maternal death in Houston among African American 
women; $10 billion for Head Start; and then specifically I want to talk 
about the unaccompanied children, $1.3 billion, but I am grateful for 
the language that demands of this administration to tell us who is 
there that has not been reunited with their families, and then the 
12,000 that are in the jurisdiction of HHS. We have got to get those 
individuals united with their families and we have got to be able to 
have ICE arrest the sponsors. Finally, Mr. Speaker, $10.3 million for a 
domestic violence hotline.
  In any event, this bill speaks to education and healthcare, and I 
want to ask my colleagues to recognize that more work has to be done.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly).
  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend from New York for 
her leadership. I also thank Mr. Frelinghuysen for his leadership, and 
I wish him well in the next chapter of his career.
  While this combination of a CR and a minibus is a half-measure by 
definition, I certainly urge its adoption in

[[Page H9046]]

order to avert what would be the third government shutdown just this 
year. As a representative of northern Virginia, I do not share the 
President's idea that there is ever such a thing as a good government 
shutdown.
  I look forward to working with the committee to complete the rest of 
the appropriations bills for fiscal year 2019 in order to address 
pressing issues, especially providing our hardworking Federal employees 
with a raise.
  Again, I thank Chairwoman Granger and Ranking Member Visclosky for 
including in the defense appropriations bill an authorization for the 
Secretary of Defense in the event of a government shutdown to make 
military death gratuity payments to families of fallen servicemembers. 
I have made this a cause of mine for a number of Congresses now. I am 
so glad this is finally going to be enshrined in law, and I thank the 
Appropriations Subcommittee and full committee for their cooperation in 
including this provision.
  I commend the committee for including this overdue provision, and I 
know the families of the fallen appreciate it. It was shameful that 
Congress would ever allow the government to shut down and allow 
grieving military families who made the ultimate sacrifice to go 
without this small, but very important, measure of the country's 
gratitude and recognition of their loved one's ultimate sacrifice.

  Again, I thank the leadership of the committee, the subcommittee, and 
their staffs for providing this bipartisan bill. I certainly urge its 
passage and look forward to supporting it.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 3 minutes to the 
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a senior member of the 
Appropriations Committee.
  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, first, I thank our ranking member for yielding, 
but also for her tireless work, day and night, to really help shape 
this bill to be, in many ways, a bipartisan bill, but also, each and 
every day, looking out for the American people and making sure that the 
American Dream is real for everyone in this country. So I thank again 
Congresswoman Lowey.
  Also, to all of our ranking members and to Leader Pelosi, I want to 
just say that the input they have received from all of us on our 
staff--and I want to thank our staff and the phenomenal work that they 
have done--it has been just amazing.
  As a member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education 
funding subcommittee, I am pleased to see many good provisions in this 
bill. This bill eliminates hundreds of poison pill riders ranging from 
efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, eliminate teen pregnancy and 
title X to dismantling of critical labor and consumer protections.
  The bill also includes $60 million for a competitive grant, which we 
have been working on for years, for computer science funding for young 
girls, young people living below the poverty line, and people of color. 
I thank Mr. Fleischmann and others for helping us work on this, because 
this truly is a bipartisan effort. We included robust increases in job 
training, education, and childcare, as well as for historically Black 
colleges and universities. Now, my State of California has the highest 
number of students coming to HBCUs, so I am very grateful for those 
increases.
  Even with these increases, Mr. Speaker, this conference report still 
falls short of what we need to just return to the funding levels before 
the sequester 8 years ago. Adjusted for inflation, we are still way 
below the 2010 levels for domestic spending.
  What is worse, while underfunding our needs here at home, the bill 
includes an increase in $19 billion in defense. This includes a $2 
billion increase for the overseas contingency fund, which really I 
think should be part of our base budget for the Pentagon funding. We 
know that the Pentagon doesn't need this excessive increase in funding 
to ensure our national security.
  A Washington Post report in 2016 exposed a report detailing $125 
billion in waste, fraud, and abuse, yet we are increasing this by $19 
billion, not to mention that much of this funding is dedicated to 
continuing the endless wars that we are waging around the world, wars 
that, I might add, Congress has still not debated or voted on.
  Put simply, the defense spending will be the single largest increase 
for the Pentagon since the beginning of the Bush so-called war on 
terror. Enough is enough, Mr. Speaker. We need to really make sure that 
our defense spending ensures our troop readiness and our national 
security, but we also need to work on the American people and stop 
these outrageous increases to defense funding.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of 
my time.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my time.
  Mr. Speaker, should the President sign this package into law, three-
quarters of all base discretionary spending will be enacted prior to 
the start of the fiscal year. While Chairman Frelinghuysen and I would 
have preferred to finish everything, we should be proud of the work 
that we have done--all the members of the committees working together--
and it is a testament to the chairman's leadership.
  For me, it has really been an honor and a privilege to work with him. 
I know we have a little more work to do. But I thank him again for his 
hard work and commitment to doing the right thing in serving the 
American people.
  I also thank the staff for their work, including Rebecca Leggieri, 
Jennifer Chartrand, Stephen Steigleder, and Robin Juliano of the 
minority staff, along with clerks Jennifer Miller, Susan Ross, and the 
rest of the majority staff.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill, I urge support, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the remainder of my 
time.
  Mr. Speaker, I just want to correct the record. I introduced Judge 
Carter as the chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. I want to 
acknowledge his former chairmanship of that committee and his able 
leadership of the Military Construction Subcommittee.
  And also I forgot to recognize my personal staff, Katie Hazlett, and 
the wonderful people in my office--which is I think true of all of our 
offices--that make us look as good as they possibly can.
  And lastly, as we gather here this afternoon, we recognize that so 
many young men and women are serving around the world, leaving their 
families on multiple deployments. We honor their service and sacrifice. 
They are truly doing the work of freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SOTO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge the Joint 
Explanatory Statement to the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 6157, 
the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2019, and Senate Report 
115-290 which provide an additional $30 million in funding for Defense-
Wide Manufacturing Science and Technology Program's Advanced 
Manufacturing within the Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, 
Defense-Wide Account. These funds will allow the Department of Defense 
to establish a Microelectronics Cybersecurity Center.
  Microelectronics support nearly all Department of Defense activities, 
enabling capabilities such as the global positioning system, radar, 
command and control, and communications. Ensuring secure access to 
leading-edge microelectronics, however, is a challenge. The changing 
global semiconductor industry and the sophistication of U.S. 
adversaries, who might target military electronic components, require 
us to update our domestic microelectronics security framework.
  Defense-Wide Manufacturing Science and Technology is an investment 
mechanism that allows the Department of Defense to advance state-of-
the-art, defense-essential, manufacturing capabilities through the 
development of technologies and processes necessary to produce defense 
systems. This funding increase will allow the United States to achieve 
a rapid modernization of domestic state-of-the-art foundry operations, 
through the use of not-for-profit public-private-partnerships, to 
produce trusted microelectronics.
  I support rapid modernization of domestic state-of-the-art foundry 
operations that produce trusted microelectronics and thank the 
conference committee for all their work on the issue.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the conferees on H.R. 6157 
for rejecting a proposal by the Trump administration to use this 
appropriation measure to impose a new

[[Page H9047]]

$700 fee for businesses in the Northern Mariana Islands that employ 
foreign workers under the Commonwealth Only Transitional Worker (CW) 
program.
  Working with Chairman Bishop, Ranking Member Grijalva, and other 
colleagues here in the House of Representatives, I was recently able to 
enact the Northern Mariana Islands U.S. Workforce Act, Public Law 115-
218, including a new requirement for employment of those workers: the 
U.S. Department of Labor must first certify that no U.S. worker is 
able, willing, and available for the job that would be filled.
  This is the same kind of certification required prior to issuance of 
an H-2B visa for temporary foreign workers, but which is free for that 
purpose. In my view the certification should be free to employers in 
the Marianas, as well. I can understand that the Department may face 
new costs in standing up and operating this service for the Marianas CW 
program. The Department, however, had the opportunity during the 
drafting of the U.S. Workforce Act to ask for the authority to levy a 
fee. They did not nor is it likely I would have agreed.
  Nevertheless, it is in the interest of our businesses and the 
Marianas economy that the new certification requirement be initiated 
without delay. The conferees have ensured that will be the case by 
providing in Section 118 of H.R. 6157 for the rescission of $8.25 
million in unobligated funds from the H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner 
Account to be used in fiscal year 2019 for processing applications for 
foreign labor certifications, including activities related to wage 
determinations and associated tasks, submitted by Marianas employers. 
Again, I thank the conferees for adopting this win-win solution.
  I wish also to record my support for extension of the Violence 
Against Women Act in the Continuing Resolution through December 7, 
although, of course, a reauthorization for a multi-year period is still 
wanting. I was an original cosponsor of the reauthorization in 2013 and 
included a provision in Section 201 that doubled funding allocated to 
the Northern Mariana Islands for the Sexual Assault Service Program. 
And Section 809 allowed women who petition for status as victims of 
human trafficking or violence to count the time lived in the Northern 
Marianas as time present in the United States, so they can more quickly 
adjust to a permanent immigrant status. I am also an original cosponsor 
of reauthorization of VAWA in this Congress, H.R. 6545.
  Lastly, I strongly support the 2.6 percent pay increase for our 
uniformed services, mandated in H.R. 6157. Our country asks so much of 
these brave men and women and we owe them, at the very least, a wage 
that keeps pace with costs.
  Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Conference 
Report to Accompany H.R. 6157, the Defense and Labor, Health and Human 
Services, Education Appropriations Act for FY2019.
  I commend Ranking Members Nita Lowey, Rosa DeLauro, and Pete 
Visclosky, as well as Chairmen Rodney Frelinghuysen and Tom Cole and 
Chairwoman Kay Granger and our Senate counterparts for coming together 
on this bill. And I would be remiss if I did not recognize the 
outstanding efforts of both the majority and minority LHHS subcommittee 
staff--Susan Ross, Jen Cama, Kathryn Salmon, Justin Gibbons, Lori Bias, 
Stephen Steigleder, and Robin Juliano--for their dedication, 
professionalism and responsiveness to staff on both sides of the aisle 
throughout the entire appropriations process.
  While I wish the bills had come to the floor separately under regular 
order to give proper time to debate and discuss all the issues, I am 
pleased that the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and 
Related Agencies bill is getting a vote on the floor for the first time 
in more than 10 years.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. It rejects the draconian cuts the 
Trump administration proposed and strengthens our commitment to our 
constituents by funding critical programs. It also ensures our national 
defense remains strong in a dangerous world.
  I am particularly pleased that HHS programs received such robust 
funding in this Conference agreement.
  The bill increases funding for three of my top legislative 
priorities: fighting underage drinking, supporting newborn screening, 
and reducing maternal mortality. At a time when this country is 
experiencing the highest rates of sexually transmitted diseases in 
history, this bill restores both the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program 
and all Title X Family Planning dollars that help our teens gain 
critical access to reproductive health care and education. And as this 
country faces a growing demand for health care providers, the 
conference report reinstates the Health Careers Opportunity Program to 
increase workforce diversity and restores funding for the Community 
Health Centers and the Nursing Workforce Programs to their FY18 funding 
levels.
  As Ranking Member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, I was 
particularly pleased that the bill includes amendments from our markup 
to protect unaccompanied migrant children, including allowing Members 
of Congress to access facilities funded by the Office of Refugee 
Resettlement for oversight visits. Finally, I am glad that we were able 
to maintain funding to help separated children deal with trauma.
  Among Education and Labor programs, I am glad the maximum Pell award 
will get an increase, which I called for during our committee markup. I 
am also pleased we were able to work together to provide modest 
increases to Head Start and TRIO programs to serve students with the 
highest needs. Finally, the bill provides modest increases in funding 
for apprenticeships and maintains language that directs those funds to 
proven registered apprenticeships.
  In the Defense section bill, I am pleased that we maintained the 2.6 
percent military pay raise and that we express support for a civilian 
pay raise as well. The bill also ensures that families can receive 
death gratuities during government shutdowns. Finally, I am grateful 
that we were able to continue to show bipartisan support for assisting 
survivors of military sexual assault.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill funds vital programs and ensures that our 
government will remain open through December. I am proud to vote in 
support of the bill, and I encourage my colleagues to join me so that 
we can safeguard the health and well-being of the most vulnerable in 
our country and keep our nation secure.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired.
  Pursuant to House Resolution 1077, the previous question is ordered.
  The question is on adoption of the conference report.
  Pursuant to clause 10 of rule XX, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this question 
are postponed.

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