debate and final passage are expected later today. and now live to the floor of the u.s. house here on c-span. the speaker pro tempore: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, reverend tyrone m. thomas, charity church, baltimore, maryland. the chaplain: let us bow for a word of prayer. o lord, our lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. we come before you today, first thanking you for another day you have allowed us to see, and partake. in we thank you for your grace, mercy and loving kindness. you have extended to us on this day. god, we thank you for allowing us to arrive at destinations free from hurt, harm ordaininger. we ask you now, god, that you will allow our day to be productive, purposeful, and a

peaceful day. creator and god, we ask that you allow us to remain focused and on task as we go about our day to day responsibilities. we ask your continued blessings upon every member of the house of representatives who are represented here today. we ask that you would lead, guide and strengthen their ability to make sound decisions for your people. god, as we conclude our day, we want to hear you say, well done, thy good and faithful servant. we ask all these things in the name of god, who created all, and who made all things. amen. the speaker pro tempore: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from ohio, mrs. beatty. mrs. beatty: please remain

standing and join me in the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from north carolina seek recognition? ms. foxx: i ask unanimous consent to address the for one minute, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. foxx: thank you, mr. speaker. today is national agriculture day where we recognize and celebrate the important role that agriculture plays in the united states. as a life-long farmer on a small scale at times and a longtime christmas tree grower, i'm committed to actively engaging in the creation of sponsible farm policies that

help taxpayers while protecting farms. the fourth district of north carolina has a rich agriculture tradition and it's a privilege to work with local farmers to ensure they have the tools they need to continue producing their outstanding commodities. i will keep looking for legislative innovations that ensure north carolina's farmers are free to compete, adapt and seize opportunity to maximize safely production and meet the needs of america and the world. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? mrs. beatty: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. beatty: mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the young women of girl scouts daisy troop 1944, ages 6 to

almost 7 years of age who recently visited my office. after meeting with them, i was truly inspired. mr. speaker, they alerted me to all their great work, from volunteering at a local animal shelter to hosting a birthday party for homeless children. we also discussed the importance of civic engagement and honoring our nation's veterans. the members of this impressive troop are, roxanne, kirsten, arley, cecilia, aubrey, kylie, brooklyn, d'alenea, lily, eorgia, allison, kaylee, and illabell. during women's history month, let us pay tribute to the next women leaders, like daisy troop 1944. mr. speaker, please join me in

recognizing the works of the 1.9 million girl members of girl scouts as well as individuals who volunteer to help them as troop leaders. their parents and the girl scout's c.e.o. anna maria chavez. all who strive to make the world a much better world. daisy troop, u, job well done. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized. >> madam speaker, in honor of women's history month, i rise to celebrate an inspiring woman who now has a permanent spot in minnesota's history books. mr. emmer: sandra became the first brigadier general. general best was a 20-year-old college student when she joined the air national guard in 1984.

during her 32 years of service, best has proven her dedication to this nation and to minnesota through a variety of leadership positions. in her new position as brigadier general, best will serve as the chief of staff for the minnesota national guard and she will be in charge of e 133rd airlift wing and the 148th fighter wing. general best is a true trailblazer. she has broken down barriers and forged a path that other women are sure to follow. it is with great respect and great pride that i recognize her today. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlelady from california seek recognition? the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. sanchez: thank you, madam speaker. i rise today to honor the life lara. juan francisco

dr. lara had access to the university of california system for all students. he was involved for over 35 years at ucla and at the university of california at irvine. in many roles, including dean, professor and assistant vice chancellor. at u.c.i., dr. lara played a pivotal role in making a collaboration, the santa ana partnership, an educational partnership between u.c.i., cal state-fullerton, santa ana college and the santa ana unified school district which is now the national model for collaborative education. dr. lara was a devoted husband, father and grandfather known for his commitment to community but also to his family. i counted him as my friend. he believed in the power of knowledge, and he believed that

with kindness and education we could change the world. on behalf of the people of california's 46th congressional sdribblet, i'm proud to honor this in-- district, i'm proud to honor this inspiring and incredible man, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcclintock: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise to express the heart-felt gratitude of the people of the tahoe basin for chief mike brown of the north lake tahoe fire department. on march 18, chief brown will close a distinguished career of 26 years with that department, including nine years as its chief and a total of 37 years as a firefighter. the greatest environmental threat to the tahoe basin is catastrophic wildfire. chief brown has led the fight

to develop community wildfire protection plans, promote best practices for fire management and educate the public for maintaining defensible space. his success is measured not only in the fires he has exting wished but far more -- extinguished but far more important is the fires he's prevented. chief brown has been a tireless advocate for restoring sound management to our public lands to protect our communities and tahoe has been most fortunate to have had him. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for ne minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to mourn the loss f roderick "rod" during ham, a tallahassee teacher, actor,

community leader, role model and dear friend. ms. graham: rod was born in maryland in 1964 and moved to tallahassee in his teens. he graduated from leon high school in 1982 with my sister, sissy, and then returned to teach there in 1997. however, rod was far, far more than a teacher. he was a role model. his students knew they could trust to confide in him or look to him for inspiration in difficult times. his personality was larger than life. he embodied joy and happiness. his positive energy would fill any room with smiles, love and laughter. his loss is heartbreaking for so many in north florida, but i am blessed to have called him my friend and our community

will be forever grateful for his service and spirit. rest in peace, dear friend. rest in peace. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from indiana seek recognition? mrs. walorski: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. mrs. walorski: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to congratulate the penn high school girl's basketball team for winning the basketball championship. this achievement is the first title. the kingsmen team entered the game fourth in the nation but that did not deter them. the momentum continued when after a pair of big runs the team opened a 19-point lead early in the fourth quarter. the kingsmen rolled passed the columbus north bulldogs to win the championship 68-48.

they finished the night shooting 62% from the floor and after getting outrebounded in the first half topped the ball dogs in the last minutes. it's a truly exciting victory and it's because of the coach and hard work of these student athletes that this honor has been earned. on behalf of the people of the indiana second congressional district, i applaud christy for building this team, thank the student athletes for their determination and congratulate them on an amazing season. mr. speaker, i'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert the names of the students and coaches into the record. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mrs. walorski: thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from nevada seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. every day is a good day to honor the achievements of strong men in our lives, but march is a special time of year to highlight the stories of

trail blazing women who serve as leaders in our communities and around the nation. mr. hardy: this women's history month i'd like to talk about jeannie levin, a woman who knows a thing or two about breaking through those glass ceilings. in fact, the air force's first female fighter pilot, the sky has always been her limit. colonel levin will soon take command of the 57th wing of the air force base back in my district, becoming the first woman to ever do so. this will make her the highest ranking female officer ever in nellis and will place her in charge of the military's most important air combat testing and training assets. while colonel levity's distinguished career of the united states air force has been filled for many first for women, it's important to remember that her achievements are the result of her being the best officer and commander for the job, man or woman. and with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the

gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition? pohl i ask permission to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. polis: mr. speaker, the time to fix our broken immigration system is now. the time to make sure that families are unified and children aren't taken from their parents, the time to make sure we secure our southern border to prevent the illegal flow of people and drugs, the time to make sure we know who is in our country and to make sure they don't represent a security threat to american citizens. the time is long overdue. i hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle appreciate that we need to work together to restore the rule of law, secure our border and make sure there's a path to legalization for the 11 million people who work hard every day and contribute to make our country even greater. in doing immigration reform, we can reduce our deficit by over $200 billion. that's an estimate of the

nonpartisan congressional budget office. part of those savings go to securing our southern border and enforcing our laws which remain completely unenforced because they are unenforceable. i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work together to finally fix our broken immigration system with one that works, restore the rule of law and recognize that we are a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants and i yield back the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. duncan: mr. speaker, wmla radio in washington reported yesterday that a group affiliated with bernie sanders tweeted out a congratulations to those who forced the cancellation of the trump rally in chicago this past friday, calling it, quote, a great victory. this morning a co-host of the morning joe television program said one post showed that 88% said mr. trump had actually been

helped by the extremism of the anti-trump demonstrators in chicago. then joe reported that mr. trump had gone up six points in one poll in florida since the chicago protests, despite having $25 million in negative ads against him. it was sad to see such hateful intolerance on public display this past friday and i'm pleased that no conservatives are doing things like this to clinton or sanders' rallies. i have no not endorsed anyone in -- i have not endorsed anyone in this presidential campaign, but these anti-free speech thugs and their leftist supporters should realize that all they did was make donald trump more popular. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from florida seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. ros-lehtinen: mr. speaker, as the first hispanic woman elected to serve in congress, and as the 2016 republican co-chair of running start, i am

proud to recognize the great work that running start does to empower young women to become engaged in elective office. since its inception, almost 10 years ago, running start has trained over 10,000 young ladies, many of whom are currently assisting in our congressional offices throughout the star fellowship program. i have seen firsthand the level of commitment and professionalism that these young women possess. my office was introduced to whitney holiday, our first star fellow, in 2009. since then, we have hosted a number of remarkable young women, including lucinda, alexandra, sara and shannon. and one of my staffers, taylor johnson, is also a proud alumni of this wonderful running start program. they've all proven to be resilient young women with the skills necessary to thrive and

become the leaders of tomorrow. thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize senator tommy williams and his retirement from the georgia state senate. mr. carter: since first being elected to office in 1998, senator williams has penalty is the last 18 years representing -- has spent the last 18 years representing his constituents in extraordinary fashion. through the years, senator williams' hard work and pass hags -- passion has flourished as he's moved through the ranks from majority leader to president pro temp, always working to keep georgia's economy growing. as a true conservative from lyons, georgia, a great friend and a passionate lawmaker, senator williams' service to the state of georgia will be missed. i wish my friend the best of luck in his future endeavors.

thank you, mr. speaker, and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in celebration of national agriculture day. today we celebrate the farmers and ranchers who literally work to put the food on our dinner tables. last week i was in michigan and met a family that are growing hundreds of thousands of potatoes each year that families across the country will enjoy. the next time you put a cherry on your ice cream sundae, think of glen and ben, who work full time raising cherries in northern michigana and also manage a food processing business to make delicious products like cherries and pie fillings available in michigan and around the country. mr. benishek: farmers, ranchers and agri-business owners and works don't just provide food and fiber for the nation,

they're an important part of our economy. in michigan alone the agriculture industry contributes over $100 billion annually to the economy, accounting for 1/4 of michigan's work force. as a member of the house agriculture committee, i want to thank the farmers, producers and agri-business workers who feed and clothe america's families. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, sir. pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the ruse of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 15, 2016, at 9:29 a.m. appointment, united states commission on international religious freedom. ith best wished, i am, signed, sincerely, karen l. h.s.a. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from ohio seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, at the direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 640 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 95. house resolution 640. resolved, that upon adoption of this resolution, it shall be in order to consider in the house he bill, h.r. 4596, to ensure that small business providers of broadband internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment rather than compliance with cumbersome regulatory requirements. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on energy and commerce now printed in the bill shall be considered as adopted. the bill, as amended, shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, are waived. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill, as amended, and on any further amendment thereto, to final passage without intervening motion except, one, one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on energy and commerce, two, the further amendment printed in

part a of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution, if offered by the member designated in the report, which shall be in order without intervention of any point of order, shall be considered as read, shall be separately debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question, and three, one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 3797, to establish the bases by which the administrator of the environmental protection agency shall issue, implement, and enforce certain emission limitations and allocations for existing electric utility steam generating units that convert coal refuse into energy.

the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on energy and commerce. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. the bill shall be considered as read. all points of order against provisions in the bill are waived. no amendment to the bill shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read shall be -- read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such

amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for one hour. >> mr. speaker, during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. and i now yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, mr. polis, pending which time i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. stivers: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. stivers: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, on monday, the rules committee met and reported out a rule for h.r. 4596, the small business broadband deployment act, and h.r. 3797,

the satisfying energy needs and saving the environment act. house resolution provides a structured rule for consideration of h.r. 4596, and h.r. 3797, the resolution provides each bill one hour of debate equally divided between the chair and ranking member of the committee on energy and commerce, additionally, the resolution provides for consideration of five amendments offered to h.r. 3797, as well as one amendment offered to h.r. 4596. finally, mr. speaker, the resolution provides for a motion to recommit for each bill. mr. speaker, i rise today to support the resolution and the underlying legislation. the sense act would modify the e.p.a.'s cross-state air pollution rule and mercury and air toxin standards as they apply to coal refuse, to energy power plants, while still requiring those facilities to reduce their emission. there are only 19 coal refuse to

energy facilities in the united states, but they provide an estimated 1,200 direct and 4,000 indirect jobs, many of them in economically depressed areas. in addition to providing well paying jobs, and generating affordable energy, these power plants also address issues presented by coal refuse at no cost to the taxpayer. coal refuse is a waste product of coal mining found near many abandoned coal mines. and they prevent -- present environmental and safety hazards to communities around the country. they're a major source of fires, pollution, they pollute waters, they're eye sores, a threat to economic development in the surrounding areas. in pennsylvania alone, the cost of addressing coal refuse is estimated to be $2 billion. coal refuse to energy plants use coal refuse as an energy to

generate affordable and reliable electricity. it's estimated that these facilities have removed $214 million tons of coal refuse from the environment. again, at no cost to the taxpayer and they also generate electricity, in addition to removing this coal refuse. however, only a few of the most recently built coal refuse to energy plants can comply with the e.p.a.'s cross-state air pollution rule. and their mercury and air toxic standards. neither of which took the unique characteristics of these facilities into account. because coal refuse is a waste product containing varying levels of sulfur and other regulated contaminates, the -- contaminants, the plants using it need rules that reflect this variability. the e.p.a. refused to provide any flexibility, placing the continued operation of these coal refuse to energy plants in doubt. one way the sense act would

correct this is by making adjustments to sulfur allowances for these plants, without lowering the overall cap on emissions. forcing these plants to close would harm our communities, and it would actually hurt jobs and it would make our environmental problems worse, not better, and it would cost our taxpayers more money. the other bill in consideration is the small business broadband deployment act, and it would exempt internet service providers with 250,000 subscribers or fewer for having to implement the s.e.c.'s enhanced transparency requirements under the 2015 open internet order. under this legislation, the exemption would remain in effect for five years, enabling these small internet service providers to focus on expanding their networks and improving connecttivity. this is a major issue for my congressional district, which includes a lot of rural communities. and they're in need of faster internet.

many of the communities i serve in rural, southeast and southwest ohio, do not have 4-g-like connection and i know that this is an issue that is shared by many districts across the country, many members across the country from both sides of the aisle. so i'm hopeful that this measure will pass with strong bipartisan support. it's also important to note that the small business broadband deployment act does not prevent consumers from accessing information as the disclosure requirements from the 2010 open internet order remain in effect. i look forward to debathe these bills with my -- debating these bills with my colleagues. i urge support for the rule and the underlying pieces of legislation and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: i thank the gentleman for yielding me the 30 minutes. mr. speaker, i rise in opposition to this rule and the first of the two underlying bills. the second one is largely

uncontroversial. the first, the satisfying energy needs and saving the environment bill, so-called saving the environment bill, actually leads to greater risks and more contamination, as i'll discuss. the second, the noncontroversial bill, is called the sense act. small business broadband deployment act, a little curious as to why we're going through this particular rule process, this could be scheduled for a suspension vote, we could have possibly even done it with unanimous consent and probably finished it yesterday. but apparently the republicans don't find that there's anything important that america wants congress to address, so they have us debating bills that are largely not controversial, that we could get done in a matter of minutes. and instead spending several hours debating these bills. one of which will go nowhere. the other of which we could have done very quickly. to avoid this congress having

the real discussions that i believe the american people want us to undertake. . when i go back home and have town halls and hearing constituents, i have a cry for our congress that will actually pass a budget and you'll see later in my remarks i'll mention that our previous question motion will be one that would require congress to stay in session until we pass a budget because there's been discussion, i hope it's not true, that the republicans are thinking of giving up on passing a budget in the house and simply sending all of congress home for a vacation. i think already congress' scheduled to finish wednesday of next week. most americans have to work thursday and friday of next week. i don't know why congress has to work 2 1/2 days, but that's what they're telling us, and if we can't even accomplish a budget during those 2 1/2 days, i don't know what we expect the american people to think we're doing. so we should be talking about the tough decisions we need to make. how do we reduce the deficit and make the necessary

investments in growth? how do we pass a budget? how do we fix our broken immigration system with one that works, one that secures our borders, unites families, has a pathway to citizenship for those that work hard and contribute to our country? how do we make sure we can improve and build upon the successes of the caroline garcia, recognize the short come united states and make the improvements necessary -- success of the affordable care act, recognize the shortcomings and make the improvements necessary. this won't do necessary to satisfy america's energy needs and help the environment which is why it's opposed by many environmental groups. the sense act is anything but sense -- makes anything but sense. what would make sense, of course, is discussing and voting on a budget. what would make sense is passing immigration reform. what is make sense is balancing our budget.

investing in research to cure cancer. what would make sense is doing our best to make america secure. but, no, instead we are discussing something that the republicans have given the title, the sense bill to, perhaps to overcompensate for the fact that it simply doesn't make sense. now, the republicans know the sense act won't become law. yet, instead, we're spending -- i don't know -- half a day, 3/4 a day to bring up another partisan attack on the environmental protection agency whose job it is to protect our air. we all breathe air. democrats, republicans, independents, animals, plants, we all breathe air and what we need is common sense to improve our air quality and move forward. what we need is solutions to break through congressional gridlock and, again, this set of rules in this bill which i call upon my colleagues to vote down the rule is clear that the republicans are not serious, either unable or unwilling to

bring forward fresh ideas or address the issues that our constituents are crying out we need to deal with. this bill is simply another form of pandoring, when we should be take advantage of the few remaining weeks we have in session to address the real problems of our nation. now, these two bills under one rule is completely unrelated. when the speaker came into office he promised we would move bills through regular order. i don't understand why we can't pass a noncontroversial one, have gotten it done already and would have more of an open process. we did an amendment in rules committee to allow for an open amendments process on the sense act but it was voted down on a partisan vote. but the two are combined under one rule and i'm very disappointed it's not an open rule. we need to move forward on f.a.a. reform, making sure re-authorized federal aviation administration to keep our skies safe and open that we rely on for commerce and tourism.

we face an imminent expiration of that. we need to re-authorize the childhood nutrition act, the higher education act. find a solution to the affordable housing crisis. yes, we need to pass bauget. now, all of these things need to get done before we give congress another vacation. that's common sense. we wonder why in poll after poll congress has an approval rating of 12% or 14%. you know, i sometimes wonder who those 12% are. i wonder who those 12% are because i haven't met any of my constituents that have said congress is doing great, keep on doing what you're doing. i think they misunderstand the uestion and they're probably answering in the negative because i don't understand how they could be satisfy with a congress that punts and punts and punts on issue after issue and yet spends its entire days and weeks on the rare occasion it is in session debating bills that won't go anywhere and sign into law and promptly give themselves additional vacation time as an extra bonus while

patting themselves on the back. that's not the congress that the american people want. first, let me talk about the small business broadband deployment act. again, it's a bipartisan bill. i think we could have done it on suspension or unanimous consent on monday. we could have finished it. you know, i come from the private sector. i operated several businesses. grew them over time and played various roles. you know what, in the private sector when you can get something done quickly, the last thing you want to do is draw it out, to spend a couple days on it. so if we have something that congress could have finished monday evening so that we could get moving and discussing and debating the important issues that the american people are crying out for congress to address, why didn't we do it then? why didn't we do it then? if they're drawing out something and having us spend half a day on something that i think, because of the hard work of many members who collaborated on this, we could probably complete in 10 or 15 minutes. this legislation is important,

of course. i think we can pass it. the bill would make the temporary exemption that the f.c.c. granted to i.s.p.'s with 100,000 or fewer subscribers and extend and expand the cap to i.s.p.'s with 250,000 or fewer subscribers, addresses bipartisan concerns about speeds and cost and gives regulatory certainty to internet service providers, keeps the exemption level at a level that protects consumers, keeps the internet free and open, conet allow large internet service providers that favors some content over others. and congress should take notice of the administration statement which cautions about bills that move towards threatening the open internet. on this exemption, specifically, i don't think we have enough information to know whether it needs to be made permanent. i support this bill. again, i think there's a lot of democrats and republicans that have worked hard on this bill. we probably could have

dispensed with it on monday. but, hey, here we are. we're dealing with it under this rule. i thought if we're going through the rulemaking process we should at least offer an open rule. i mean, every piece of legislation, even if it's passable, ought to encourage ideas from democrats and republicans and amendments that make it better. but, no, under this rule, the rules committee shut down the open amendment process and is not allowing democrats or republicans to offer germane, relevant amendments on the floor to the small business broadband deployment act. now, moving on to the sense act, or the nonsense act, as i'd like to call it, won't become law. we spend a lot of time debating bills that won't become law. this house, for lack of anything more important to do, has voted to repeal the affordable care act over 60 times. well, the good news is we're not doing that again today. thank you, mr. speaker, for not having us repeal the affordable care act for the 65th time this week. that would have been a waste of time. instead, the republicans are

being creative about how we're going to waste our time. this is a new way to waste our time rather discussing the budget or the f.a.a. re-authorization or childhood nutrition or balancing our budget or fixing our broken immigration system, rather than doing these important things, we've found a new and clever way to waste the time of the united states congress and debate a bill that will not become law. now, thank goodness it won't become law because the nonsense act is bad for americans and poor for our health. it's a convoluted senseless manner going after the environmental protection agency's cross-state air pollution rule which is called caspar, and going after the mercury and air toxic standard, which is called mats. specifically, this bill would change the requirements for -- ts that use coal ref use. ef it would provide sulfur

emission allowances. so this bill is effectively a of the takeover regulatory structure. again, it's a particularly creative way to waste congress' time. it's ironic as the republicans often attack efforts to take away control from the states. they say how dare you democrats suggest anything can be done better at the national level, how dare you suggest that, how dare you suggest something that contraconvenients the 10th amendment. in this bill the republicans propose taking away state authority and a federal takeover. because currently states have control over the incentives and work with coal refuse plants. but this says the federal government should override that work. now, that seems hypocritical. it seems against the philosophy that many republicans have come here arguing and it leaves you

to believe that many proponents of this bill seem to value their special interest pork over their philosophical integrity. now, this bill would create a system that the government picks winners and losers rather than markets. csapr has a trading plan that allows them to conform to emission standards in different ways, like trading emission allowances and that program, that market-based program would be thrown out of the window with this legislation and hand the keys over to the federal government. even for astonishing it allowing coal refuse plants balancing our credits makes it harder for regular coal plants to meet their pollution reduction goals. i don't know if the republicans have thought about the impact of this bill or what it would do. now, again, knowing that it a simply e law,

creative way. i think the republicans have ten a-- accused some democrats of engaging a war on coal. but in this particular bill, they are the ones attacking the coal industry. the republicans claim that this legislation is needed to allow coal refuse plants to meet various coal standards under the mats rule. yet, throughout the entire rulemaking process there is no evidence they can't meet the standards already in place. that was recently confirmed by the d.c. circuit court. now, it's apparent that both pr and mats rule can abide in flexible ways. now, look, i want to be clear. to allow coal refuse plants to seep into the ground is unacceptable and we need to be able to clean it up. but doing so with a weak compliant system is harmful to

our health, our homes, our communities, the environment. simply put, this bill is an unnecessary odd prudent bill that does nothing to help our environment or put our country on the right track. i oppose the rule in addition to h.r. 3797. today we have shown the american people -- today, we could have shown the american people that congress can come together and do something. just solve important issues in a bipartisan manner, to keep our skies safe and open, protecting commerce by re-authorization the f.a.a., to pass a bipartisan budget, which balances our budget, deals with our deficit, to improve the childhood nutrition act, the higher education act. any of the myriad challenges that i hear about and frankly i believe my republicans heard about in their town halls. i don't think when we're home and hearing from our constituents -- by the way, i haven't received a single let ber this coal refuse bill.

i haven't gotten phone calls from my constituents. we have 84 days of session left in this congress. by the way, congress works 84 days. most americans have at least 14r5 days that they go to work -- 145 days that they go to work. and as a example of that, congress will be leaving town, scheduled to leave town next wednesday have two days off of that week, then two weeks off. then another day off. so i mean, that's the type of schedule we're running here. people wonder -- they wonder what congress is doing. well, the answer is we're not doing anything. when we're here, we're spending more time than necessary on noncontroversy bill and we're debating bills that won't become law. and then we all go home and take a vacation. that's the republican congress. that's the image of what the republican congress is and how they are running this institution. spend a lot of time debating something that you don't even need to, spend other times

spending things that won't become law, like repealing the affordable care act over 64 times and like this nonsense act, and then give congress much great irbecation time than the american people -- vacation time than the american people enjoy. because apparently the republicans think this congress is doing so good so we deserve a lot of vacation. look, democrats want to stay here and work on the budget. that will be our previous question. we'd like it to be a bipartisan budget. that is a govern majority. we encourage the republicans to pass a budget. you know what, if they don't have a vote, by all means, let's do a bipartisan budget that makes sense for our country. . you'll find us willing petroleum up our sleeves and work, -- roll up our sleeves and work. let's get this done. this is work that the american people want to see done. they want to see a budget. they want to see competence. we knee to -- need to show people that congress and competence are not mutually exclusive.

and yet we continue to do the exact opposite by this course, under this rule, of debating a bill and wasting a day that won't even become law. now, look, we have an opportunity here, and the vote on this rule is an important vote for that reason. if we defeat this rule, and i call upon my colleagues on both sides iflet to do so, -- sides of the aisle to do, so we can truly send a message that we want to spend time debating the issues that american people care about, we want to fix the budget, the deficit, immigration, health care, let's roll up our sleeves and get to work, rather than continue to blame the president for this or that. blame the democrats for this or that. i'm honestly curious that if we can't blame the president because he was on time with his budget, and you can't blame the democrats because we're willing to roll our sleeves and work with you on a budget deal, who are the republicans going to blame if they can't deliver a budget? i remember republicans asailing democrats for not delivering budgets. i'm sure my colleague will remind me of that yet again.

but again, that's something that you criticized us on. and if you can't deliver a budget yourself, what's the use of the american people in even having the republicans here? what use was that criticism of the democrats for not delivering budgets on time if republicans themselves don't have the ability to deliver a budget? look, we can deliver a budget with you. if the republicans are unable to, because there's, a you know, freedom this or liberty that or all these different buzz words out there for people who don't want to vote for a budget, we're happy to work with the republicans on a budget. because ultimately what comes out of this process, between the house and the senate, is usually some bipartisan buy-in to the budget anyway. we're happy to start here with you. the perfect time to do that is now. the perfect time to do that is next thursday and friday and the following week. i think we owe the american people a budget. rather than an enormous vacation, a paid vacation for members of congress.

look, we can do better. by voting down this rule. i promise you we will do better. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. stivers: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to clear up some stuff. with regard to the calendar, mr. speaker, i don't know how the gentleman from colorado manages his calendar. when i go home to my district, i won't for every member of congress, it is certainly not a vacation. i'm hope meetinginging with constituents, touring businesses -- meeting with constituents, touring with businesses, let my constituents talk to me so i know what they think, so i can do my job of representing them. that's how most of the 435 members of this chamber treat the district workweeks. and to assume that we are only working when we're in washington , the other side of the aisle might love washington, i prefer to be home in my district working with people and then come back to washington to represent them. with regard to things we've done, the gentleman talked about the affordable care act, but he

ignored the fact that i believe, and i may get this wrong but i'm close, seven of the changes to the affordable care act were signed into law. the gentleman talked about a budget. he did finally acknowledge, when the democrats were in charge, mr. speaker, they didn't pass a budget. i've been here since 2011 when we took over the majority. and we have passed a budget every year. and we've passed a budget that balances. i believe we're going to pass a budget this year. i hope not to be proved wrong, mr. speaker. but we're working hard at it. with regard to the rule, the gentleman seems to want to have it both ways. he says that the small business broadband development act should have been done on suspension on one hand. then he wants an open rule that would eat up even more time on the other hand. i'm that sure which he wants here -- i'm not sure what he wants here. on the sense act, the gentleman from colorado ignores the fact that this bill does not change the overall admission cap. he wants to talk about how it loosens the overall emissions cap. it does not. let's be clear. it does not change the overall emissions cap. it provides flexibility for only

19 refuse to power plants across this country. and it saves money because it would cost $2 billion in pennsylvania alone just to clean up that refuse around these coal mines. it's dangerous, the bad for the environment. so providing this flexibility does not change our overall emissions. but it does help get those reclamation sites cleaned up cheaper, not at a cost to the taxpayer, and provides an additional benefit of jobs and energy. that sounds pretty american to me. i think it's time to end this war on coal, that some people in this administration and the other side of the aisle have. and that's what the sense act would do. i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: thank you, mr. speaker. you know, the gentleman from ohio talked about what we do when we're back home. of course we tour businesses and

meet with people and do all of those wonderful things. what i hear from them is, why aren't you back in washington solving problems? look, i represent one of the most beautiful districts in the entire country. winter park and veil and the beautiful flat irons near bolder and rocky mountain national park and estes park and the great art center of loveland and fort collins. and i love nothing more than going home. but when we get elected to this position, mr. speaker, we promise to our constituents that we will make a sacrifice. and parent of that sacrifice -- part of that sacrifice is saying, we're going to take some time away to leave our friends and family, to work for the good of the country, to roll up our sleeves and actually solve problems. and as much as i would like to be back in colorado right now in my beautiful district, right now, and i'd rather personally be, you know, hiking in the hills above our home in north boulder than i would be debating the finer points of coal refuse

policy with the gentleman from ohio, that's what i signed up for. and i know, mr. speaker, that that's what he signed up for too. we signed up to do work. and we owe the american people a budget. and we should stay here until we complete that budget. even if it means canceling the vacation that we have scheduled. and yes, that vacation, we're back home, we can't do legislative work. sure, we can put on an apron and visit a local kitchen and we do. and i do. and it's part of the job. happy to do it. but we can't pass a single law while we're back home. it is impossible, mr. speaker, to pass a budget while we are all back home and congress is not in session. not possible. congress not in session. the gentleman asked, what's a better way to proceed with this noncontroversial bill and the controversial bill? look, on the non-- either way is fine if we had an open rulemaking process, open rule, at least there would be some point to these discussions on the floor. there would be republicans and

democrats who might have ideas to make these bills better, that would be bringing them forward, at least there would be some point to it. but no. there's no point to it. because we're debating it, we know the outcome. and republicans and democrats can't even offer their bills to enhance it, and we're prohibited during all of this time, debating one bill, that's largely noncontroversial, and one bill that isn't going anywhere and won't become law, we're spending the entire week debating these bills or most of the week, i know we'll be back to discuss another court case relating to imgration later this week. but the bulk of the week is debating this. rather than the budget, securing our border, keeping the american people safe, growing the economy, creating jobs, investing in infrastructure, f.a.a. authorization, any of those issues. that when i am back home and visiting businesses i hear about from my constituents. you'd think with all the time we spend back home, that the gentleman from ohio calls nonvacation time because we're always listening to people,

you'd think we would listen more and do what they say. do what the american people say. are the american people saying, address the miniscule aspects of the coal refuse a plant? let me be honest, mr. speaker. until this debate, i thought casper was just a friendly ghost. because the american people back in my district are not really about casper and mats. once i understood them, i thought they sound good. they're market-based approaches. i don't think this federal takeover that the republicans are propose is a good idea -- proposing is a good idea. instead, if we're spending all this time listening back home, which we certainly are, because congress is hardly working here, then at least let's listen to what the american people say. i believe they're speaking strongly with one voice, whether they're republican or democratic, i hear the same things from my constituents, the unaffiliated constituents, the republicans, the democrats, the greens, the libertarians. what they all tend to say, what they all say is, go do your job.

pass a budget. pass a budget. democrats believe that, republicans believe that. unaffiliated voters believe that. greens and libertarians and american constitutional party believe that. if i've left out any other parties, i'm pretty sure in saying that they also think that americans should have a budget. we have budgets for our household. i have a budget for my household. we have budgets for our states. doesn't the american congress owe the american people a budget? mr. speaker, if we defeat the previous question, i'll offer an amendment to the rule to prohibit the house from going on recess next week until we do our job and pass a budget. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the record. along with the extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. stivers: mr. speaker, i'd just like to remind the gentleman from colorado that when the democrats were in charge of congress, they went on , for his, i'll use his word,

vacation, four years in a row without passing a single budget. not a single budget. we've passed a budget every year. i believe we're going to pass a budget this year. so just a reminder to the gentleman of what happened when, you know, i think he wants to have it both ways again. i'd just like to remind him, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania who listened to his constituents, to deal with an issue that's very important to him, and i'll let him address it, the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. rothfus. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from pennsylvania is recognized for five minutes. mr. rothfus: thank you, mr. speaker. i thank the gentleman for yielding. and in addition to listening to my constituents, i've been listening to my good friend from colorado. about wanting to come here to solve problems. the sense act is about solving a problem. i too have a beautiful district. i consider it the most beautiful district in the country. you get on top of some of those mountain vistas and it's breath taking. but unlike the gentleman from

colorado, you know, there are some scars when you look out am some of those vistas. the scars are a vestige of ages ago mining. that's why the sense act, mr. speaker, is a smart and important legislative fix to ensure that the coal refuse to energy facilities can be held to strict but achievable standards. coal refuse, as some of you may know, and perhaps this is an education moment for people in this country to learn more about what we have up there in pennsylvania, coal refuse is a byproduct of historic coal mining operations. anyone who has driven through coal country has seen the towering black mounds of this material that loom beside cities and towns and countrysides. these mounds catch fire. burning uncontrollably and sending hazardous smoke into the air. rain water leashes terrible

chemicals from these mound -- leaches terrible chemicals from these mounds. the coal to refuse industry turns this material into energy. and uses the profits and beneficial residual material to remediate these formally -- formerly polluted sites at no cost to the taxpayer. it is really the only feasible solution to this massive environmental problem. i have seen the tremendous work done by the hardworking men and women in this industry firsthand. i have stood on coal refuse piles in the process of remediation and i have walked on the restored sites. parks and meadows now regarded as community assets rather than liabilities. despite all the good that this industry does for pennsylvania, coal refuse to energy facilities are under attack from the e.p.a. the people of my state and other coal states expect us to stand up for them as their environment and livelihoods come under threat from washington. as we debate the rule for this legislation and prepare for

general and amendment debate, i wanted to share a few stories from the people in this industry. these are people who are proud of the great work they have done for their communities. unfortunately, their way of life is currently in danger. bill turner is a ship supervisor at the a.c. coal refuse facility. bill has served there for 22 years. he's a long-time resident of western pennsylvania and has lived alongside coal refuse piles for many years. bill and his colleagues are proud of the reclamation work that his plant and others in the area have been able to complete over the years. he was able to put three kids through college, thanks to his job. and i should mention that these kids grew up playing soccer on a field reclaimed from a coal refuse site. when i asked him about the proprospect that his industry might be destroyed by the e.p.a., he remarked, to see it disappear would be a travesty. tim is an operations shift

supervisor, a younger man in his early 30's with a wife and two small kids. wages at his plant are well above the area average and he's planning on building a newhouse near the plant for his young family. again, mr. speaker, these plants are in economically challenged areas, these jobs that these individuals have are not replaceable. . to shutter his plants, a plant that suss supports family sustaining jobs and repairs the local environment would be a disaster for tim and his family. at least 5,200 jobs are at stake. and each one of those jobs is more than just a number. each job lost is a tim or a bill. each job lost represents a major hardship for an american family. as we debate the sense act,

please keep in mind what the bill's supporters are fighting for. the sense act is about protecting families, sustaining jobs, and ensuring the continuation of the slirle suck -- environmental success story of the coal refuge to the energy strifment i urge all members to support this rule and the sense act today so we can begin to solve problems. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio reserves the baffle his time of the the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i would like to remind the gentleman from pennsylvania that my mountains are higher than his mountains. i also want to let the gentleman know that my district is no stranger to coal mining as well. coal mines in northern colorado existed throughout my district and near my district in superior and lewisville, lafayette, eerie -- erie, the mines employed thousands of people and just two years ago we observed the 100th anniversary of the ludlow massacre which was an attack by the colorado national guard and colorado fuel and iron company guards on a tent colony of 1,200

striking coal miners and their families april 20, 1914. and unfortunately in that tragedy two dozen people were killed in that black mark on our nation's labor history. i would like to think how far the united mine workers have come and how far we have come in protecting workers' rights. certainly we understand the legacy of not just coal mining in my district. the gentleman mentioned abandoned mines in the mountain territory of our district. we have many abandoned silver and gold mines. we have an active mine near my district. many workers live in my district. of course mining remains an important part of the west and of course the east as well. but again, i would certainly advance the argument that even coming from a mining district congress spending an entire week basically debating these two bills is not something that justifies our time here.

the gentleman from ohio rightly mentioned that the democrats had not produced a budget. yeah. the american people, that might have been one of the reasons the american people said, ok, republicans, we'll give you a chance. you guys produce a budget. you know what? if you don't produce a budget you are blowing that opportunity, mr. speaker. if the republicans can't deliver a budget, i think the democrats have learned from experience, i certainly will go out and campaign on, i think many of my completion will say, look, the epublicans could not deliver a budget. us democrats have learned our lesson. we'll get back in the majority and deliver a budget to the american people. i'll work very hard to do that. i'm proud to be about one of 16 democrats and similar number of republicans that voted for a bipartisan budget in the last congress. didn't pass, it was the only budget that had democrats and republicans supporting it. it also had democrats and republicans opposing it in greater numbers, unfortunately. that's the spark. the kind of idea we need to pursue to be able to work

together to govern this contry. rather than spinning our wheels, spending a lot of time debating a bill that isn't controversial a debating a bill that isn't going anywhere, we should take up important legislation. we should address immigration, comprehensive immigration reform, secure our borders, make sure that workers that are important to our country have a way out of the shadows. unite families. protect the security of the american people rather than wasting time trying to change commonsense rules for 20 coal ref fuse plants, rules that are working and have been affirmed by the district court. we could be addressing the nation's pressing issues like climate change and carbon emissions and out-of-control student debt or how we can improve opportunities for the struggling middle class. rather than wasting the american people's time and taxpayer dollars debating a special interest provision, we could take up the email privacy act which would protect the american people's privacy. there's 312 co-sponsors, more than any other bill in this

congress, and solid veto-prove majority. we could take up criminal justice reform which i know many people on both sides of the aisle feel very strongly about. and i strongly support. which could improve our economy, reduce crime, reduce costs. a moral imperative. or as i mentioned, we could take up our budget. as is the duty and responsibility of congress rather than i'll go back to our districts and put on aprons and serve lattes and meet people people in our local diners. i urge the house majority to pieces hese important of legislation supported by the majority of americans critical to our economy and aligned with our values rather than debating stale, unnecessary miner bills that won't even -- minor bills that won't even become law. he i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i'd just like to remind the gentleman from colorado that it's not a minor bill for the 5,200 people whose jobs are on the line every day right now.

mr. polis: would the gentleman yield? mr. stivers: i yield. mr. polis: it is a miner bill. i was spelling miner different than you. mr. stivers: i take back the balance of my time. thank you. we have one last speaker. i am prepared to close. i want to recognize the gentleman from georgia, an esteemed member of both the rules and budget committee, mr. woodall. the speaker pro tempore: for? mr. stivers: yield him as much time as he may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. woodall: mr. speaker, thank you very much. i thank my friend from ohio for yielding the time to me. i hadn't planned on coming down here today, mr. speaker. i know we are on the clock. we are trying to get some things done, but i heard the passionate words of my friend from colorado. and he is my friend from colorado. i think about the what is a sadly sometimes short list of folks that you can go and grapple with the really difficult issues of the day with in this institution who are on the other side of the aisle.

mr. polis is one of those folks that you can always go to and have a very candid and serious conversation about things. even though things on which you disagree. which i think is why it's so distressed me to hear some of the words that he had to share today. i confess that this is sometimes part of the show down here on rules committee day. and sometimes folks have the talking points and they are obligated to go through those talking points. but as a member of the budget committee, as a relatively young member this this institution, i would say to my friend from colorado, the reason the approval ratings in this institution are so low is because you and i stand up here and we tell our constituents that they are supposed to be so low. instead of telling our constituents we have been working on a budget the way we are supposed to work on a budget, line by line, word by word, because it's a serious challenge that deserves a serious solution, we tell folks we are just throwing up our

hands and quit. not true. i sit on the budget committee tomorrow from dawn until dusk. we'll be in that hearing room doing nothing but budgeting. we will hear every single idea, every single alternative, every choice that can be made, we are going to make tomorrow. that's not just one day of budgeting, that's the culmination of days, weeks, and months of working together trying to get this budget done. my friend is right. when i hear constructive criticism about how republicans ought to work to pass budgets, i know that doesn't come from this decade because democrats haven't passed a budget this decade. this house has. together we have. and i'm very proud of that. every year since i came to this institution five years ago, we have come together and we have passed a budget. last year we came together, we passed a budget for the entire united states of america, first time in a long time, we got the senate to move. this is a cooperative exercise and i'm proud to be in it, but

we can't tell people that we are letting them down when we are delivering. i look at my friend from pennsylvania delivering on the sense act. i think the nonsense act is a clever term, but the truth is the nonsense is suggesting he's doing anything except the job his constituents sent him to do. he has facilities in his district that are closing down. he has families in his district that are losing their jobs. he has people depending on him, his bosses, back home in the district depending on him to come and make a difference for them. i get it. folks over here might not like it, folks over here might not like t. folks over there might not like it, but it's what he gets paid to do, to suggest that bringing his ideas down here is a waste of time. i reject it in the most forceful terms. he's doing what he's supposed to dofment i will tell you that if we all spent more time -- do.

i will tell you if we spent more time on being good servants to the people who sent us here, those approval ratings would take care of themselves. these campaign seasons drive me crazy. folks spend 18 months not doing their job and six months raising money trying to convince people they were. i believe if we do our jobs, we are going to get rewarded for it. if we don't, we'll be punished for it. but we have to be clear about what our job is and keeth rothfus' job is not to make anybody in the great state of georgia happy or great state of colorado happy. his job is to stand up for families who can't stand up for themselves in pennsylvania. i applaud him for it. his job is to do the things that nobody else in this institution's going to do because he works for them. this is not a waste of time today. this is exactly what we are supposed to be doing. don't you worry about that budget. your budget committee's going to

deliver for you and you're going to be proud of the work product we dofment but we have got to tell folks that representative government still works. we have to tell folks that congress still works. we have to tell folks that they are still the boss of the united states of america. you look at this bernie sanders phenomenon, this donald trump phenomenon, folks think they are no longer the boss. i look at keith rothfus' state and i know the good andmen and women of pennsylvania who sent him here to do to stand up in the face of attacks from all sides, he's delivering for his people back home. vote yes, vote no. it's your voting card. do what you want to with t never impugn one of our colleagues for doing exactly what they were sent here to do and that's stand up for the men and women we represent back home. again i say to my friend from colorado, when it comes to the really hard issues of the day, there is no one that i'm more comfortable working with. there is no one more willing to reach across the aisle and i admire that vote on the bipartisan budget that he took. that was the very first year

that i arrived here. but we can't let these political seasons turn into telling each other why everybody up here is a scoundrel and cheat. there are some good men and women up here. the gentleman from colorado is one. the gentleman from ohio is one. and the gentleman who brings the sense act here before us today is one. i'm proud to serve with each of you. with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio reserves. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis:00 does the gentleman from ohio have any remaining speakers? mr. stivers: i'm prepared to close. mr. polis: i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for 2 1/2 minutes. mr. polis: certainly there is no one in this debate that has called anybody a scoundrel or anything of the sort. the specific concerns of mr. rothfus would best be addressed in harrisburg. the republicans are taught -- that's the capital of pennsylvania, i had to ask, that's where it can best be addressed. they talked a lot about empowering the states to solve problems rather than always coming to washington to solve

our problems for us. guess what? harrisburg is empowered to deal with this issue today. and the gentleman from pennsylvania would be best served to spend time with his governor, state regulators, state legislature to address the very issues he's trying to do this end run to come to congress to spend our time here debating. the gentleman from georgia also mentioned they are hard at work in the budget committee. i hope so. i trust the gentleman. i'm sure they are. they are working. i hope that this congress will stay in session long enough to see the results of that. and to pass a budget. that's what our previous question motion would do. it would simply say that we prohibit the house from going into recess until we do our job and pass a budget. it's entirely consistent with the work that the budget committee is doing that will ultimately have to then be reflected in the rank and file membership on both sides. being a part of that process as well. and we owe it to the american people to let that process be completed and to pass a budget.

i urge the republicans to take up these important pieces of legislation that i have talked about. a budget, the f.a.a. re-authorization, the childhood nutrition act, securing our border, balancing our budget, investing in infrastructure, tax reform. these are actions that i hear about back home every day i'm back. and i think it's important that we act on, they are important to our economy. they are important to our values as americans. rather than debating built that might feel good but won't become law. and ultimately are not the right way to solve our problems. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to vote no and defeat the previous question. i urge a no vote on the rule and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from ohio. mr. stivers: thank you, mr. speaker. before i close i would like to urge my colleague from colorado to use his five legislative days to ensure the congressional record does appropriately say -n-e-are. er act,-m im

it's a distinction with a difference and he made the statement earlier. i hope he does use his five legislative days to correct the record on that. mr. speaker, i urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. i yield back the balance of my time, and move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the question son organized the previous question on the resolution. so many as are in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have t mr. polis: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, nord. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20. pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess for a period of less "han 15 minutes.washington jourl

continues. host: we are joined at our desk at north carolina republican congresswoman, virginia foxx, senior member of the powerful house rules committee, a member of gop leadership. s are headed voter to the polls today. guest: we have lots of primaries today. we have a senatorial, a gubernatorial primary and the presidential primary, primaries for all of our offices. it's going to be an exciting day in north carolina. host: let's focus on the presidential one. have you endorsed or have any predictions on that? guest: i have not and door to me

only prediction i have is the ones i have seen in the news and that is that mr. trump's leading i believe senator cruz, according to the polls coming in second place and senator rubio is in third place. host: i want to get your thoughts. there was a lot of attention on violence at the donald trump rallies. it started with this incident in fayetteville that was caught on camera. there are news reports that donald trump was the insider of that right in the sheriffs office eight they will not indict him for inciting a riot in that event. what you make of donald trump rallies and the language used at the rallies? do you blame donald trump of the violence? guest: i never condone violence. even watch a violent movie on tv or go to a violent movie.

i deplore violence of all kinds. i think the people who are committing the violence are the most responsible for what's happening. it's up to them to behave are not behave. there are times i think when people can use inflammatory language but that's really no excuse for any kind of violence. should think any of us be doing anything that week could prevent from doing to encourage people to be violent. host: the speaker of the house said in an interview yesterday that there is never an excuse for condoning violence or even a culture that presupposes violence. who do thisd those for political gain. he said i think the candidates have an obligation to prevent this from happening and tamp down anytime tatian from this to

get out of control. do you think it's getting out of control? guest: i have not in at any of the rallies. i don't go to rallies and i don't know. all i know is what i see in the news media. i am very grateful for the police who were there, putting their lives on the line every day. i think our police and the capital every day for doing that because they are there to keep order. emphasisere were more on policy issues. i don't even think the debates have done a very good job of bringing out the differences in policy. and focusing on what i think are irrelevant things. focused onher we be bringing out policy issues to the american public were different people stand. i do my best to focus on those things and never to bring up things that would cause folks to be distracted.

this is an important election in this country. every election is important but has the in particular potential for setting the course for the country for a long time and making a huge difference. i wish we could really focus on what's important and those are the issues. member of thea house gop leadership and secretary of the republican conference. what is your role in that job? guest: one of my main roles is to help with the messaging from the republican conference. people position to have out speaking on the issues of the day and the issues better concerning the american people. that is one of my jobs. the secretary always does, we keep minutes of all of our meetings. and we have a lot of meetings. i am also there to assist members in getting their jobs done.

i am generally available to help members with all kinds of rings. bank for- we run a job the republican conference where people can post jobs if they have jobs available in their offices and people looking for jobs can come to the job bank and see if they can find a fit with their skills and the jobs that are available. we do a whole bunch of things. my staff responds to a lot of staff requests for information and things we might be helpful for them. monthit's women's history and you are the fourth woman to represent north carolina in the house. what is the messaging this election on women's issues for republicans? guest: every issue is a woman's issue. i don't think there is anyone issue that's a woman's issue. national security is as important to women as the mystic

issues are two women. there are no women's issues, they are all the issues. one of the main things that we want to get across is that women have suffered a great deal in the last seven years under this administration in terms of the economy. our wages have been stagnant, opportunities are not there, we have the highest number of people on food stamps. are trying tons say to the american people as we have an alternative. tohave lots of alternatives the situation we have been facing in the last seven years with this administration and particularly in the area of promoting opportunity and helping people get out of poverty. there are currently 84 women from 31 states serving in the house of representatives. republicans and

62 are democrats. you talk about promoting opportunity. our republicans doing enough to promote opportunities for women to run for ingres's? guest: you mean in the republican party? oh, yes. i think very much so. we see the difference in numbers pointed out a great deal. it is not that republicans are not promoting women to be involved. it takes a long time generally to get to be in congress. one needs to start early early in life a lot of times and get involved at the local level. many republican women are august on their amylase. many of them are small business owners and they cannot of or the time away from their business or they are involved in a larger business their family might own. it's often much harder for them to break away from family responsibilities and to -- to be able to run for public office.

i began as a member of the school board in watauga county. i went to a school board meeting one night and the school board was being particularly incompetent and a friend of mine was there and said why don't you run for the school board. i said no, i'm not qualified. and imy masters degree was teaching at appalachian state university and i was an administrator. but many women feel that way that they are not qualified even though they have the qualifications because they truly have not focused on serving in that particular way. iran for the school board and i lost the first time. then i ran and i was elected three times. then i ran for the state senate and then for congress. women don't see the opportunity to serve in that way or they are serving in other ways. homemakers full-time and they are involved in lots of career activities.

the schools are delighted to have mothers serving and working with children and doing volunteer work. they are serving in other ways. host: virginia foxx is our guest. we will start on the phone in north carolina and put up a numbers. tyrone is up first. caller: good morning. please don't cut me off. you just sit there and blame president obama for everything. you say you will obstruct everything he does. hewere in a recession when started and you all have stopped everything this man has tried to do when you should be ashamed of yourself of putting the blame on president obama. solidvernor we have is a governor. governor we've ever had

come and you're not representing north carolina. god is going to bring the republicans out. host: i will you respond. guest: i don't blame president obama for everything bad that has happened in this country in the last seven years. disagree withusly his policies because i think they have taken us in the wrong direction. street,t's go to maryland, where bonnie is waiting on the line for republicans. you are on with virginia foxx. caller: i have two quick points. trump, ile say drop -- see him like the father who said mccain got captured, he's a nobody. that was just to get him in the news. they say he is self funding -- no he is not. he lent money to his campaign, and he will get it back with interest. and the woman in florida who said she is going to switch over from democrat to republican because trump will stop the

visas, that's all he uses in florida. host: bonnie, who are you supporting is republican? either johnink kasich or ted cruz. anybody but trump. i think that he is bringing in these people to start these riots. it's all about trump. you don't hear him talk about what he's going to do for other people. it's when he comes into these, he said i think i'm going to buy some property here. this man has never done anything since his father died in 1999. host: virginia foxx, i will you respond to some of the concerns about the trunk campaign coming from a republican. know, one of the most wonderful things about this country is it is a free country. and people are absolutely free to state their opinions, and we

are a very diverse country in many ways. and so i don't really have any response to her. that one of the questions republican elected officials are getting a lot lately is that if donald trump comes the nominee, could you support him in the general election. where do you stand on that? caller: i've always supported -- guest: i've always supported the republican nominee for president, because that person has been chosen by the majority of the american people. i have no plans to do anything other than that this year. i think that is what we should be doing. any republican is going to be better than secretary clinton. int: let's go to beverly washington, north carolina on the line for democrats. beverly, good morning tim. caller: we call it little washington. thank you for having me on. i would like to say to represented a foxx, as far as

,he last eight years of gone the reason that she is quoting all of these things about that have been going on as far as not being able to have jobs and women not being able pay -- this congress has tried to break up the unions, beginning with wisconsin. they also have not been supportive of even raising the minimum wage. that's why people are on food stamps. and then to go little bit further, i will agree that definitely women do need to be taking a role in the leadership. i think that woman should be hillary clinton. but my comment is for donald trump is concerned, i have noticed that no one has mentioned the donald trump, this decisiveness is not new. triedther in 1928 was with the kkk lawyer representing

him as well as the kkk member and donald trump never made his money, about a quarter of his money, because he's not a billionaire is a quotes. host: i apologize come i don't know that story. where do you get your information on donald trump? caller: on donald trump's father, that's relatively out there, all you have to do is google it and look that up. host: a lot there to go through. minimum wage, women's issues, donald trump. guest: i would just say in terms of women's wages, republicans have always supported equal pay for equal work. there is issue involved there with us. there are laws on the books to support that. and we have always supported that. host: let's go to the line for republicans. michael is in alabama. good morning. caller: yes, i would just like to comment on the wages and

stuff. i don't see what that has to do with congress. if a company give somebody a wage, that should be on them. i was going to say something a we'll leave this here and return to live coverage now of the u.s. house. ort. -- order. ordering the previous question on house resolution 640. adopting house resolution 640, if ordered. suspending the rules and passing h.r. 2081, and suspending the rules and passing h.r. 3447. the first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15-minute vote, remaining electronic votes will be conducteded a -- conducted as five-minute votes. the unfinished business is the vote on ordering the previous question on house resolution 640, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. the clerk will report the title of the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 95, house resolution 640, resolution providing for

consideration of the bill, h.r. 4596, to ensure that small business providers of broadband internet access service can devote resources to broadband deployment rather than compliance with cumbersome regulatory requirements, and providing for consideration of the bill, h.r. 3797, to establish the basis by which the administrator of the environmental protection agency shall issue, implement and enforce certain emission limitations and allocations for existing electric utility steam-generating units that convert coal refuse into energy. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the previous question. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 233. the nays --

the speaker pro tempore: on this this 235, the nays are 177. the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. he ayes have it. for what purpose does the gentleman from massachusetts seek reck fission? mr. mcgovern: on that i ask for a vorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having

arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a five-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this ote --