[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 136 (Friday, July 31, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E712]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2021

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. ROBERT C. ``BOBBY'' SCOTT

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 30, 2020

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of three 
amendments to H.R. 7617.
  My amendment, offered with Mr. Wittman, Ms. Luria, and Mr. Beyer, 
reflects the need to adequately fund the important work done at 
Jefferson Lab. JLab, in my district in Newport News, is home to the 
Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility, also known as CEBAF, the 
primary research tool in the U.S. for enabling basic research on the 
quark and gluon structure of protons and neutrons. Worldwide, a 
community of more than 1,700 scientists from over 275 institutions 
depend on this facility for their research.
  The City of Newport News has agreed to transfer ownership of a 
building to the Lab to support its work, but the $2 million included in 
this year's appropriations bills fall short of the $9 million needed to 
transfer that building and move forward with the renovation and 
expansion of CEBAF, for which the Department of Energy has already 
approved Critical Decision 0.
  I also rise today in support of the amendment offered with my 
colleagues, Mr. Wittman, Mr. McEachin, Ms. Luria, Ms. Spanberger, and 
Ms. Wexton, in regard to the urgent need for robust funding to the U.S. 
Army Corps of Engineers for coastal construction projects. The Army 
Corps has worked to keep America's waterways and ports open to trade, 
while working with our communities to ensure that they can continue to 
live with the water that surrounds Hampton Roads.
  My district is home to the Port of Virginia which is one of the 
largest and busiest ports on the eastern seaboard. With 95 percent of 
our nation's trade moving by water, it is essential that the port is 
able to maintain operations. The Port of Virginia is responsible for 
nearly $40 billion in economic activity in the Commonwealth of 
Virginia. It is critical to our financial well-being that we ensure 
that the Port is able to handle to the increased number and size of 
containers. The Port and the Army Corps of Engineers have undertaken 
the dredging and widening and deepening of the Norfolk Harbor to enable 
safe and efficient two-way passage of the new larger container ships. 
The project will require a New Start designation to keep the projected 
time line intact.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting additional funding to 
support our National Labs and the construction at the Norfolk Harbor to 
keep both of these essential projects moving forward.
  I also rise in support of Rep. Murphy's amendment which I was proud 
to cosponsor, as co-chair of the Modeling and Simulation Caucus, along 
with Rep. Bergman, an active caucus member. This amendment emphasizes 
the importance of funding for the Synthetic Training Environment (STE) 
account. Funding for the Synthetic Training Environment program is an 
investment in simulation technology to help service members train 
virtually for their missions. Advancing modeling and simulation 
technology is a long-term investment that enables us to remain 
competitive in with innovations in medicine, training, and 
transportation and I urge my colleagues to support these investments.

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