gavel out again until 3:00 eastern when they'll be taking up 16 bills, including ones dealing with veterans' health care and hiring veterans and other bills naming federal buildings.

give they calm and confidence as they prepare for a new role as servants of our nation's citizens. bless the members of the people's house who have been entrusted with the privilege to serve our nation and all americans in their need. grant them to work together in respect and affection faithful in the responsibilities they have been given. as the end of the 114th congress approaches, bestow upon them the gifts of wisdom and discernment that in their actions they will do justice, love with mercy, and walk humbly with you. may all that is done this day be for your greater honor and glory. men.

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 gentleman from georgia, mr. heist. mr. hice: 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 requests for one-minute speeches. for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize the food bank of northeast georgia for more than 20 years of dedication and service to the people of georgia. since 1992, the food bank has

combated hunger and alleviated poverty by feeding children, the elderly, the ill, and those in need throughout the northeast earn part of georgia. just this past october my staff and i had the distinct pleasure of lending a hand to the hardworking staff at the food bank and saw their actions which are indeed remarkable. mr. hice: just this year alone, the food bank has distributed nearly 12 million pounds of food which equals about 10 1/2 million meals. truly an outstanding organization that continues to expand its reach and scope through its charitable contributions. so, mr. speaker, it's my honor to ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing the food bank of northeast georgia for their outstanding service. i'm honored deeply to have them in the 10th district of georgia. i give my best wishes to the food bank. and their staff as they

continue to serve those in need. with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. kildee: well, my hometown of flint, i'm sure you heard me talk about this before, continues to suffer in this crisis. people on 100,000 people, citizens of that city. still can't drink their water. expose the to high levels of led, the crisis is far from ver. they demand eanne we should provide a response from every level of government, including the federal government. that's why i'm pleased and appreciate the fact that democrats and republicans in the house and the senate have come together to make a commitment to help the people of flint. legislation passed in both bodies provides help for flint.

now we have to finish that work before we leave this session.

drive educational discussion, and promote the economic and social needs of farmers in the 150 years since its founding the range has encouraged families and communities, both rural and urban, to come together at the community, county, or district, state, and national level to advocate not only for agriculture but for an array of causes affecting communities. for example the grake played a critical role in developing rural access from elechries tryst it to mail delivery who was an earlier supporter of women sufficient pradge. i congratulate them on a century and a half of excellence. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. smith: mr. speaker, a new

report by the wilson center has found that illegal immigration across the southern border is on pace to break the previous record set in 2014. the record should not come as a surprise. the administration's policies encourage illegal immigration. the number of apprehensions at the southern border in august reached its highest point for that month in the last five years. this record-setting pace of illegal immigration was largely ignored by the media. neither the big three networks nor the national daily newspapers covered the report. the administration's failure to enforce immigration laws has caused the new record surge. americans are understandably concerned about illegal immigration. it's unfortunate that the media does not consider it newsworthy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable, the speak, house of

representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on november 29, 2016, at 9:23 a.m. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 4665. that the senate passed without amendment h.r. 5111. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas. 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 rules of u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on november 29, 2016, at 10:45 a.m. that the senate passed senate 2974. that the senate passed senate 2325. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen l. haas.

the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house recess until approximately 3:00 p.m.

i have been redoing the calendar, one of the roles of the majority leader. especially for the first 100 days of this year. it's not just the idea of oh what day should we be in session? no, it's in concert with working with the new administration and working with the senate what would we be doing that week, the next week, and other week? the house works faster than the senate. time wise. we don't have this gridlock of

first thing you'll find at the beginning, what i found in this past administration, the frustration with the country, is lack of growth. one of the elements happened to be -- especially if you look at the economic, is productivity is down. three straight quarters. that's because you're hiring new people to deal with regulation. we do know -- we no longer have co-equal branches. i think reorganizing what we have co-equal branches, bringing that article 1 back, you are going to see the very beginning eign back the midnight rule, others going through. we have some other elements of certain things we can do from he prospect of the check and balance. we have a congressional review act that allows a different vote number in the senate based upon regulations that have passed.

if you take the first six years of the obama administration, it was almost 500 new regulations through. how do we reign that back in during the congressional review act? those take 15 legislative days o be privileged in the senate. so you can't start on that until the 24th. we have not done a budget for 2017. you'll see a budget start. probably start in the senate. as many of you know from being here, that gives you econciliation. that is an element of how do you deal with the deficit. that's one of the elements that you can deal with obamacare and the repeal of t you can't replace it under that, but you can start the process of repeal. you'll also have a budget for 2018. that gives you another bite at the apple on reconciliation when you want to do tax reform. if you want to do tax reform that way. when it comes to the border, the administration and others want us to get that done quickly. you'll see movement on that. you'll see talk when it comes to infrastructure. we're looking at ways that we make this economy start working again. i know there's administration you have to fill. that's going to take part-time in the senate. supreme court will have an appointment.

but we've got to get work being done and we can't waste any of the weeks and the times. v.a. needs reform. so all these things we have been working on, and a lot of those we have been working on in a better way ahead of time. so you've got a lot of that work through committees done. once january 3 comes you finish populating, we're in a stronger position in the house than probably all the others. the democrats haven't even picked their leadership yet. if there's one person i can root for, i think nancy has more support in the republican conference for her to stay leader than maybe in her own conference. i'm seeing if you're awake. james: you said last week that you feel republicans will have the house majority as long as nancy pelosi is democratic leader. mr. mccarthy: i firmly believe hat.

the term in the senate is six years, file like nancy is at that point. i want to help her. i think that's a good place for her to be. i think it's very helpful -- james: you endorse her? mr. mccarthy: can you believe she puts out that she wants to keep the current d c.c.c. i would look into about firing what those people did. she wants to keep them. more power to them. james: i want to talk about the issues, but while we're on this point, you were part of the -- integral, you were charge of recruiting that 2010 class. you were one of the young guns. if you were giving advice to young democrats, the young guns in that caucus right now besides the pelosi point, what would you tell them? how do you come back from being in the wilderness? you got elected in -- mr. mccarthy: the country has already decided your policies are not where they want to g they rejected your majority. but you kept the same leadership. then their leadership, no disrespect, their leadership is 5 to 76 years old.

that's not the future. when you look at what we did recruiting, you got to stop washington from recruiting. what i did, i went across the country, you don't want to talk somebody into running, you want to ask them why. if they have the right reasons hat they want to run, you want to enhance that but don't pre pick. you want the competition to come from within and represent their own area. we always put measurement, so people had measurements of where to get. and that year of 2010 we defeated 63 democrat incumbents and 61 were young guns. i always tell this one, steven fincher, if i go out and recruiting and barack obama is 70% approval rating, and i sit down with steven fincher and tells me he's from frog jump, tennessee.

and i ask him, why do you want to run? i'm just a farmer. i watch the country change before my eyes i don't know how i tell my children that i did nothing. i said that's a good reason. mr. kevin, don't know film' the best person. why? i have never been elected to anything. that's all right. you don't have to be elected. oh, mr. kevin, i've never even been to washington, d.c., on vacation. i said as of right now you're my top recruit in the ation. he ran -- he announced he was going to run. i cam back to my conference. i said i think i found the person that defines this election. they call laughed at me. i said, here he is having never been to d.c., never run before, but is willing to risk all his finance, all his life because he watched his country hange. it frustrated him that far that he was willing to do it. and truthfully a lot of the media laughed at him.

so once he got in, the democrat opponent stayed in and then backed out. then these other people got in with millions of dollars. steven fincher won. you know what? when you looked at -- in congress, he's retiring right now. een there three terms. the first year the jobs act, which people say was one of the best bills, you know who the author of that was? steven fincher. james: let's unpack some of the issues. the first 100 days, you mentioned several big-ticket things. start with obamacare. we mentioned it with tom price. you mentioned pack stage you're putting something together. mr. mccarthy: ok. we'll repeal obamacare, replacing obamacare you want to make sure you get it right. one thing i always found -- the argument was you need to change the health care system. obamacare will not stand on its own. you look at 23 co-ops when they passed obamacare.

what were they given, $3 billion? now 16 have failed. premiums are up 25%. you did all -- go through all the ramifications. people leaving the market. a lot of states only have one option. we never thought that would succeed, but repealing it, you want to make sure you replace it properly. this is a problem. they closed ranks, they didn't listen to anybody. they made it a political decision instead of a policy decision. we have done a lot of work on this. especially when it came to king-burwell when we thought there was going to be a supreme court case. there was a supreme court case, but the decision was going to do differently. we put a little group together to map out where we would go. at the time it was the chairman of ways and means, paul ryan, tom price, myself, the other thing we did, we brought governors in. listened to governors, you have ideas, too. what we thought would happen, work at the very beginning, is not where we finally ended up because we sat there and talked policy. what's the best policy you can get through and make happen to work the process? what i'm going to do is putting letters out this week to all the governors and insurance commissions, give me your ideas on replacement. we want to make sure we get

this done right. we're going to get it done. we want to make sure it's done right and people are engaged in the process as well. james: when do you think it gets done? mr. mccarthy: well, repealing is easier and faster because that could be a 51-vote. replacing is going to be 60 votes. i don't want to set a time limit that this has to get done by this certain date. i want to make sure it gets done right. james: what do you envision -- there are a bunch of things that are popular. some of which are not that expensive. some of which are. mr. mccarthy: the first thing everybody talks about pre-existing conditions and your children 26. where do those ideas stem from? those are republican policies. it in those two instances i believe those stay. we've got an idea and a better way.

that's one place to start. it's not easy because i sat around the room many times trying to come up with the replacement plan. it wasn't until king-burwell it forced us to make decisions. that will be very helpful. i also want to have the states out there because i think having more competition, having options for people, i always use the analogy, when i want to pick a cable company to watch what i want to watch on tv, i love the options that i have. i love the ability to switch. i love the different packages that i can pick if i like a certain sports team. i want to watch hbo or something else. i can make it just tailored to myself. have health care in a manner we can do something like that. that would be a better option. james: immigration.

you mentioned the new administration is the high priority to do something about the border. what does that look like? is that the wall? is that going to happen? mr. mccarthy: you're going to have to secure the border no matter what you do. yes, this administration cares about t. but i would say that's a bipartisan issue. when you looked at what -- i would say the democrat plan was in the senate, when they did their bill, they put billions of dollars for border security. you have to have a secure border. i think you'll see people work on it. it can't be anybody in this room who thinks our current immigration system works. it doesn't matter what position you are about immigration, if you believe the current system works, you're wrong. if we do nothing on immigration, we perpetuate the problem. 40% of everybody that's here illegally came here legally on a visa. so don't you think that program needs to be changed? the process and idea that if somebody comes here and they get an engineering degree and tell them to leave, but we do this just luck of the lottery and chain migration where you bring your whole family, i don't think that's a system that's working right in america. we're a country that stimulates, believes in immigration. i think we have to have greater control over what that means and how the process we do it. james: do you sense there would

be any appetite for a larger comprehensive reform? mr. mccarthy: i believe there is, but i do not believe there's any trust to do any comprehensive immigration reform without proving you secured the border. there is a lack of trust out there. no matter what you look at from immigration, people believe you have to start with that. let's start with that and move from there. james: you have a lot of relationships in silicon valley. you are the main republican appointment out there. mr. mccarthy: there are a couple others. james: immigration is important to them. they care about some of these visa issues you just mentioned. mr. mccarthy: h1b's and thers. james: how important is the immigration component to what they want? talk about your innovation agenda. mr. mccarthy: i think it's important there. remember where i come in

california, i'm in a very diverse district. so i also understand guest workers program. from the agriculture. two families in my district grow 80% of all the carrots in the country. you ever eat a baby carrot? the little ones? a secret? no such thing. they are regular carrots, we chop them, you buy them, we love you for t we don't charge you more. that's what we do. silicon valley as well. h-1-b's. we want an economy to grow. want people that want to simulate, i think we can find an immigration system that works. james: there is some tension here within the republican party, of course, someone like jeff sessions, he wants to reduce legal immigration. not just securing the border. there is some current of people who supported the current president-elect who want to reduce legal immigration. you would have no appetite for that.

i think that there is a place for legal immigration. mr. mccarthy: i think there is a big place for legal immigration. not one person in this room hat can't trace their family back. i'm irish and italian. we have the best fights in the neighborhood. we know pal dino -- palidino came from italy in 1921. just so happens it's my grandfather. then jeremiah mccarthy came in 1860 from ireland. they made a great contribution to this country. you know what? one of the grandchildren became a majority leader in the house of representatives. we want to keep that dream alive. i believe we can keep that dream alive. we also have to secure our borders. there is a logical way we can go about this that we maintain this, and we maintain the core and tradition of america with also protecting. there are people on the other side that want to have nothing and people just run in. you can't have -- you cannot keep a country strong without the rule of law. if you do not have a secure border, people are breaking the rule of law by coming into the country illegally, you will break down society. there is a value to being an

american. you want to keep that vool you -- value. you know what? people went through the process legally to make that happen. we want to make a legal system that works. james: moving on to tax reform. big-ticket item. president talks about tax uts. do you see any prospect for big tax reform in the coming years, coming congress? what's that going to most likely end up looking like? what do you think? sort of the elements of hat. mr. mccarthy: i would say article 1, section 7 of the constitution says all tax reform starts in the house. we know it starts in ways and means. we did not wait for january to start thinking about this. we have already started working on this. if you look at a better way. you want to know, what would that structure be? it will be simpler and fairer. i think you'll end up with three rates not five. i think there will be a eduction in rates. how do you get the reduction in rates? how you craft it. if i look at across this country the frustration, the movement of what we saw in

these last campaigns, why? the middle class were worth less today than we were eight years ago. the number one thing we have to do is grow this economy. every single budget that last administration sent to us had like a 3.5 or higher annual growth rate in their udget. we'll never achieve that. deal with 1, 1 1/2%. you do not solve the problems. we cannot solve the challenges of america just by cutting government. we have to grow this economy. and tax reform, reg reform those are the key elements making this economy grow. all the things people would try to say to scare you about having donald trump be president, you find they are not true. the market was going to drofment remember? election night, where was the -- best november we ever had. why? because we assume if you look

at the economic factors before, business investment was down, consumer consumption was up. productivity was down. the key factors behind that. we could get business investment up. they know they can get a return. what's a good place to make an investment. productivity up, more people working, tax reform. right now we have a system where structure dictates behavior. you could have a benefit to have a foreign country come by or leave this contry. we punish you to bring in a money back to america. it's all backward. some of my best friends who created companies from scratch somebody took them over simply because our tax advantage was a disadvantage. james: do you think that republicans have been very nervous about deficits the last eight years. they weren't as nervous when george w. bush was president. a lot of your members who have come in the in the last eight years put a high priority on eficit spending. mr. mccarthy: i'm one of them. james: you can do dynamic scoring. you mentioned the dministration's budget came in

with sort of high expectations of growth. how serious are house republicans going to take deficit spending? mr. mccarthy: we're very serious about it. you cannot have a debt equal to your -- size of your economy. every great society has collapsed based upon when they overspent themselves. you could manage debt, but it's different. the size and manage of the debt i have on my home is one i can manage. i still live in the very first home i every bought. instead of going bilinge a million dollar house. i couldn't manage that. how do we solve this? this is what i talked about earlier. one, you have to grow the economy. you have to manage -- one, we were very successful in 2010 where we put the caps on discretionary spending. it's mandatory spending. discretionary is 10.67, right. trillion dollars, in essence. but medicare, social security, interest on the debt, that's

taking up 66% of the budget on its way to 75. during ronald reagan's term that was 25% and discretionary was 75. so we have to get a handle on mandatory. we have to grow the economy to get it out of this problem. that's why tax reform is still important. that's why regulation reform is so important. james: how important when you're moving bills out of the house is it they'll be revenue neutral? one of the things -- we're talking about is infrastructure spending package that would be potentially hundreds of billions of dollars. mr. mccarthy: you want it to be paid for. these different principles and philosophies. is somebody keynesian or not? i believe government lowers

taxes, someone goes out and scores and say we'll get less, what are you going to do with that money? you're going to invest it, growth it, and make it grow faster than government? i believe yes. we'll get more revenue in. history has proven me right. it's where you want to look at it. when you're going into a infrastructure, you want to pay for things. but another key element of infrastructure we're going to find in our conference is, we're frustrated -- we put in a long-term highway bill you haven't had in quite some time. some of the things we did was reforms in it. why does it take 10 years to build a road that you voted for a decade ago? population doesn't stop growing. it moves right by it. can't rebring commonsense reforms where we can streamline the building of that road and others? let's be able to have the benefit of it at the same time. you're going to find a lot of streamlining. james: is part of this infrastructure pack ang. you think infrastructure can get done in the first 100 days? mr. mccarthy: i'm not going to put any time lines on it. i want to get results and get it done right. i put more days in so we get this done. i think there's always a window we know in an election year, things are harder than the first year. we want to get as much done correctly as soon as we k there is an order and basis to do it.

james: do you feel like -- obviously you weren't around as much during the previous republican administration, but -- i guess you were. mr. mccarthy: i game came in the minority. smallest republican class in the history. there was only 13. not one of them beat a democrat. james: that's amazing. 006. do you feel like house republicans are getting to sort of set this agenda? o what extent -- mr. mccarthy: we all work together. i think the house has a greater working majority. the house by creating a better way is better prepared for some of the issues that we're going to deal with. he senate has some odd rules. i think the 60-vote is a uaranteed gridlock rule, but i

also look at democrats who are sit in states that donald trump carried, that will be probably be more helpful in this perspective. schumer will be new than harry reid. aybe schumer is more likely to work with negotiate on something. ur committees are up and better prepared. james: on this bipartisanship point, you mentioned there are these red state democrats -- indiana, missouri, north dakota, vest -- west virginia. on the obamacare replacement you'll need 60 in the senate. what else do you think you'll get democratic votes on not just in the senate but the house? mr. mccarthy: the house is a little different. i've always found if you study history the first nine months that's the length of the time the new president gets. when i came in there was six in 2006 and people were like 300 votes. then it slides down. it depends what we're moving. if there is a big challenge

right now -- yeah, i think nancy wins, i think she's already lost the base of her conference, right? so they are going to be more willing and apt, realize they are signature in districts where a lot of their friends have lost and people voted for want to get this country moving again. i think tax reform. the interesting to see how many of them will vote for repealing obamacare. once it's repealed why wouldn't they be willing to vote for replacement? you have no other options. are you going to play politics with it? reg reform. i think you'll find quite a few that are coming from rural america and others that watched the administration put in where they took out total industries. they watched their own constituents lose their jobs. i think you're going to find quite a few willing -- james: talk about governing, bigger picture. you have very good relationships with everyone in your conference. the house freedom caucus, there ere 20 members or whatever the number was, you were -- mr. mccarthy: it's secret. james: who wouldn't vote for anything even when it was a good deal that had been

negotiated just because it was voting to raise the debt ceiling or it was -- mr. mccarthy: make it a little etter. james: how are those folks -- you know them very well, going to respond when a deal gets cut to get to 60 or whatever -- 70% good. do you think now that there is unified republican control, those guys are going to come along? do you think you're still going to have a dozen, two dozen members who just are going to want perfect be the enemy of the good? mr. mccarthy: do you know our conference? we're a microcosm of society. members are all different. i think structure dictates behavior. there was a perfect structure where you had a different party in the presidency. you had a senate that was slower. you could do those things. and if you -- you utilized the freedom caucus to do that. it made the house republicans weaker because you had to negotiate with nancy pelosi. if we stuck together, then

we're always stronger. i think you're going to see us ticking together more. i think there is less ability nor the freedom caucus to do those types of things -- i'm sure those districts, donald trump did the best in. it would be hard for them to stand up if president-elect trump is asking for this fundamental change and they are saying no to it. i think that's harder. i think we're more united. james: because of the election? mr. mccarthy: speaker ryan has done a great job uniting the conference. james: the sequester, you have military resources in your district. obviously the sequester has been hard -- mr. mccarthy: the sequester part is difficult. because that came from the obama administration. and the challenge of it is we should do our own work to work that out. f you want to do something

investment in the military, that means you got to go do all this other stuff domestically that maybe might not need it or not where the investment s if we're able to be together, i think we solve all that. and we can be. james: can you see lifting the sequester or getting rid of it? mr. mccarthy: you're not going to lift cap. you can talk about where you make the investment. you got enough money, you invest, prioritize where you want to do it. in the sequester you're not eing able to prioritize. i look at the fact that one of the rules if you get elected you should take the responsibility of where you should make the decision where to spend that money. i don't want to go in debt. i got only a certain amount of money, but i want to invest in the right place that. ould solve some of the problems. james: talk about

california. your home state. you are lucky to represent the most republican district. mr. mccarthy: duncan hunter does. james: california is one of the very few states where hillary clinton did better than barack obama. why do you think that -- r. mccarthy: it you talk about this popular -- if you talk about this popular vote and electoral college vote. can you not have an election where you determine the outcome one way and argue after the election you did better here. like if the game of baseball is, you have the most scores you win, but i got the most home runs, it doesn't work, right? but if the game is played, i would have played it differently. she beat donald trump by three million votes. so if you take california out, donald trump won the popular vote in 49 states. so there's other -- there's way that is can always make an oorgment one way or another. -- argument one way or another. if we elect our president by electoral college, whoever got to 270 is going to become the president. you can't argue the other ones are out. california, we did not lose one congressional race in the

democrats played very hard. we came close to winning one against bera in sacramento with scott jones. that wasn't decided until last eek. i still think california is a place that we could teach the rest of the nation how republicans can win. give you an example. the district next to mine is one that 72% hispanic district. david valadao represents that district. david valadao won by 57% of the vote. in a year where hillary clinton did very well. o i think we have abilities to expand. think we can teach the rest how to do it. james: on the popular vote question, following up on hat. donald trump one of the things he tweeted on sunday was he said he would have won the popular vote o if not for

millions of fraudulently cast ballots in california. you're from california. any signs of fraudulent voting? mr. mccarthy: the election is over. i'm not into this recount. i'm not -- we have the campaign. i think everybody was ready for the campaign to be over. we made our decision. now govern. what's interesting is all the arguments that were prior would you respect the election or not, it's over. let's govern. let's move on. james: you didn't see any signs of fraw -- fraud in your home state? mr. mccarthy: i say let's govern. we have elected officials that carry this. county by county is different. i could go through every aspect. do you allow an absentee ballot in one to go and one not. they can make any argument they want. you can put a fact based upon that argument. the election somplete the public wants us to govern now. the recount's not going to be any different as you go through. maybe a few votes one way or another. but it's only counting the votes it has. james: i get what you're

saying. the public does want to move forward. most people don't care about his. it's important for the legitimacy of the election that the american people believe hat the votes were counted fairly. that there wasn't widespread fraudulent lens. mr. mccarthy: let's move on. james: was there? mr. mccarthy: i looked at the election. i saw the results come n i trust them just as i trusted them in the past. ou can trust and verify.

i don't have a problem. i think it's time to go. james: moving on. donald trump sort of the man the leader. you got behind him in may. you agreed to be a delegate for him at a time when a lot of republicans here around town were not willing to do so. you kind of helped in a lot -- mr. mccarthy: i was smart, wasn't i? james: now he's president. he's coming in. we talked a lot about the policy agenda. there is still -- there are some conservatives who are worried about some things about him. kind of touching on a couple of the issues that have come up a lot the last few weeks. the potential conflicts of interest. the fact that he's not following the traditions that some other presidents have followed. does that -- worry you at all? mr. mccarthy: i don't feel that's fair. let me tell you why. i see this in a microlevel where there will be somebody who runs for congress who has never been elected before. has been a small business owner. and they are running because hey want to change the country. they never think before they are going to run i'm going to have to change everything in my business because they don't know. they haven't had to do any of that, right? then when they get elected the ethics committee comes to them and says you have to do this or that. they tell to you do their certain thing and change their mind. they never thought of that. they want to serve. we set the rules up to really punish you if you have been in business. because we start with the idea that you do something corrupt. i think the aspect that when he did don, he took this very seriously.

most of you probably know him. no one's going to tell me he's ot one of the most ethical attorneys he's seen. he knows the law well. i think by naming him one of the very first, he'll work all that out. it's not the role -- film' oing to run for president, it's laying out the -- worrying about what i'm going to do with my bus. if i won, here the legal counsel. i did well in business. i'll let the legal counsel figure out what legal thing i'm supposed to do and not do. by appointing him solves that answer. james: could you envision house republicans doing oversight of the trump presidency if some of these lines did get blurred? mr. mccarthy: i would assume that -- take donald trump out of it. oversight committee is oversight no matter who. ou don't overwhelm -- the same thing for the appointment of the attorney general and others.

he same reason why my office looks across the supreme court and there is a blindfold on. this country has got to come together. we got to stop being red and blue states. we got to stop being just because you are of one party. oversight is oversight. i want oversight to hold me accountable, too. it's not based upon is it donald, it's based upon what is the role of your jobs. carry out your jobs. and put blinders on it. james: you mentioned the party is more unified. people have gotten onboard. mr. mccarthy: winning helps do that. james: we have to wrap up in the next two or three minutes. taking a step back, you got the majority six years ago. if you could go back and talk to kevin mccarthy the end of november, 2010, what advice would you give yourself? mr. mccarthy: 2010? james: now that you have been in the majority for six years. you have been around the track a few times.

mr. mccarthy: i would have asked our members not to make expectations higher than you could actually achieve. i always believe surpass expectations. i think we told the american public certain things that we could do that we couldn't o. we should have brought the public along at each step of the way. but i'll give you this. the senate never would have been a republican majority had the house not become a republican majority. you would not have had corey guard nemplet would you not have had louisiana or others. you watched where this country has trended. if you watch where republicans ere when barack obama took over, the number of governors, number the legislative seats and others, we have never been stronger. but we did not run to win a majority. we ran to change a contry. so we should -- country. so we should not miss this window of opportunity. when you ask me about the number of days am i going to

judge. i'm going to judge on getting the policy right. i'm going to judge on having an honest and fair government. it's not are you going to use your power to benefit one person or party? no. i've watched that. i didn't like all that that took place. why don't we believe a legacy that brings us back to three co-equal branches. that keeps people more honest and in check. the power rests with the people. for everything said about this election, i don't care what side you are on, you should feel good about the country. because the pundits were wrong and everybody else. what does that tell you? nobody controls this government but the people. if the people get frustrated, they can change direction. regardless what everybody -- experts telling them is going to happen. to me, that's exciting. i'm excited and i feel very honored to be able to walk into that building and be a small part of it. let's let history write for

this window, for this moment in time, that we abelieve what we said to the public we would achieve. james: kevin mccarthy, house majority leader, thank you for your time. appreciate it. thank you to everyone who came. [applause] thank you to everyone in our television audience. watching online and on c-span. mr. mccarthy: i read this every morning. i read it all the way through. he puts a loft my instagram picks up. james: follow him. mr. mccarthy: no one does my instagram but me. if you like t. give me credit. if not, tell me to improve. james: thank you again. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> coming up here on c-span at 3:00 eastern time, we'll be back on the floor of the u.s. house which gavelings back in to work on 16 bills, including measures keeling with veterans health care and hiring and other measures naming federal

buildings. one named after the late tennessee senator, fred thompson. later in the week democrats will elect leaders for the next congress. nancy pelosi is being challenged by tim ryan. the look at trump tower as people continue to meet with president-elect. kicking off with a rally on thursday in cincinnati. the transition team announced earlier alabama republican senator jeff sessions hand about tapped to be the next attorney general and british prime minister theresa may spoke earlier with president-elect trump by phone about building close ties between britain and the u.s. and the role of nato. and on capitol hill, c-span's been speaking with some of the incoming freshmen members of congress to get their impressions of working in washington and how their transitions have been going. >> paul mitchell joins us.

he's from michigan's 10th district. filling the shoes of congresswoman candace miller had who's running orientation here. does that give you some extra insight into the orientation process? >> i'm not sure about that. sure does give me big shoes to fill as you menged. she's been here 14 years. been a real leader in congress. high expectations in the part of my district, that's for certain. >> what did you do before you came to congress? >> i spent 45 years in work force development. retrain for jobs. last 27 years of the company, became c.e.o. ultimately and retired in 2011 and decided it was time to do something more to serve. >> how do you feel about going from the c.e.o. of a company where you get to make the decisions and rub things to now being in this legislative body of one of 435? >> i believe a good c.e.o. works with the people around them to develop a condition census to come up with the best ideas. you can issue orders all you wament. everyone exited to moving forward with the plan, you can move things forward.

i think the same approach works in congress. talk to people about ideas, see if you can get a consensus that will move the ball forward. i learned in 35 years in business, there are very few perfect solutions. no decision is a decision, right? make one. do the best you can do with it that day and continue working on it. that's our plan. >> as you go through the orientation process, i know it just started, but what sticks out to you so far? what's been most memorable part? >> listening to the speaker, kevin mccarthy talking about the responsibility we have, i got a text message from kevin the day of the election about my family and recognizing that serving in congress is a rare opportunity and a huge responsibility. very few people get to do this. to treat that with respect and honor. >> there's this debate about how long members of congress should stay in washington, d.c. during the week and should they sleep in their office or should they get a house in the city. how are you dealing with that? how are you dealing with the d.c. aspect of this as somebody from michigan?

>> i have family that -- i have two children still in school. so i'm going to commute back and forth. i'm going to have an apartment. they're going to be here about a week a month depending on how things work out so they can get some advantage of the washington experience. why that make it a family event. but my home is in michigan. i'll be back there. we have 50 acres, chickens, goats, can't just say i'm going to move to washington. that doesn't represent the district well either, frankly. >> there are long-time members who think that washington experience is some of the way that you build consensus, get to know fellow members and move legislation at times when there's so much gridlock. do you think that's -- >> i think we do both. there are going to be many weeks i'll be here. dinners will be -- my families a not going to be here the whole time. dinners will be with members. it's not that you neglect those. it's remembering that home base is home base. my home is in mpping. the people that elected me are from there. my family will be there. i'm going to make sure not to lose track of that. sometimes can be pretty overwhelming here. i figured that out already. the demands are pretty high. >> what committees do you want to serve on?

>> we'll see how that works out. that's not a decision you get to make by yourself. i'm hopeful i get a chance to serve on transportation and infrastructure, which is a huge issue in michigan with the great lakes. and the other is education and work force. i spent my entire career doing. that helping adults develop skills and the challenges through that and how that relates to the current needs of the labor market. i hope to do that. if i can have an impact there, life is good. >> congressman elect mitchell, thank you. we're with congressman-elect john as ifo of new york's 19th district. a republican who won that swing seat. i want to ask you, what is it like representing a swing seat? one that's likely to be targeted again? is it different for you than some of the other freshmen members that you'll be joining who come from very safe republican or very safe democratic seatss? >> undoubtedly i think your approach is probably different than if you're in a one-party district. i've said along, this really fits my political belief as well, that not all the wisdom resides on the republican side or the democratic side.

there are good points that each bring. and i think one of the reasons that motivated my candidacy is that i'm frustrated at washington's inability to get things done and often it's because the left is on msnbc and the right's on fox and they talk past each other. we're all american. we have got serious problems that we've got to solve in this country. there's no one democratic or republican solution to it. obviously i bring my own philosophy. i'm more of a small government, limited government conservative-oriented person. but in order to get things done in this country, we've got to work together and work across partisan lines. i'm hopeful that we can do that to the extent possible. i want to see us grow this economy. that's the biggest issue we face. we have to get more economic growth and that's thank really would respond to the economic anxiety that i think people feel. >> people say often they want to get people to talk more and stop talking past each other. so what do you bring? what's your suggestion to your colleagues as you're getting to know each other during orientation? >> i think that we get to know each other and that we show a

willingness to work across party lines. there are a lot of issues where you'll have a democratic position or a republican position, but there are a lot of issues i think where there's the ability, like on tax reform, corporate tax reform, makes no sense for our corporations who are doing business abroad to then, when they bring their profits home, be double taxed. i think most democrats and republicans would agree with that. double taxation is not an incentive to bring those dollars home. we want those dollars to come home so they can be invested here. so, i think there's a lot of areas on the corporate and personal tax side, we know the obamacare is falling apart by its own weight. so we've got to come up with a consensus on how do we -- what comes next. so these are areas where i want to work across party lines to get things done. >> the 19th district contest was watched nationally. bernie sanders got involved in your race. what should be the lesson of campaign 2016 for party leaders, as they're reflecting on what happened a week ago?

>> i think the lesson in my district is that the most important thing is local. people want -- i responded and i talked about issues that were local oriented. >> what are some examples? >> just in terms of job growth, different areas of the district. we have a large part of our district in the new york city watershed, but the blue stone mining industry is being regulated to death by new york city department of environmental protection. and we can protect the environment but still encourage a vital industry in our area. i focused on local issues in the different areas of the district. whether it was lyme disease, blue stone mining, hospital reimbursement rates in one part of the district. these i think people want a representative to come down here and work on the national issues, but they also want someone that's responsive to the local issues. i think that was a real contrast in our campaigns in that regard. >> you started in local governments, in the 1970's. >>, no i actually started in

the state legislature in 1980. >> in the 1980. what do you bring there from state government to the federal government? what lessons from working in the new york state legislature? >> one thing that -- for instance, certain issues. not every problem is a federal problem. and not every problem has a federal solution. common core is a perfect example. that was an issue, the way it was handled, because of the -- the state was attracted by the federal money in the obama stimulus and they rushed into had no way of knowing what to do and how to do it. and they basically wasted about $800 million along the way. so some issues like k-12 education, that's a staint local issue, not a federal issue. >> congressman faso, thank you so much for your time. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> back to the floor of the u.s. house momentarily which will gavel back in to work on 16 bills today. including measures dealing with veterans' health care and hiring and other measures naming federal buildings, including one after the late tennessee senator, fred thompson.

then later this week, democrats will be electing their leaders for the next congress. current leader nancy pelosi is being charged by ohio democrat tim ryan. >> a look here at the u.s. capitol. washington, d.c. just waiting for the house to

gavel in. also want to let you know to join us this afternoon for a discussion about how some members of congress foresee working with the incoming trump administration. we'll be hearing tonight at 6:00 p.m. eastern from democratic senators of delaware and minnesota. we'll also hear from republican senator james lankford of oklahoma. again, that will be at 6:00 p.m. eastern time. that will be on our companion network, c-span3. and again today in the house, working on 16 bills.

the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 633, h.r. 5458, a bill to provide for coordination between the tricare program and eligibility for making contributions to a health savings account, and for other urposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from nebraska, mr. smith, and the gentleman from washington, mr. mcdermott, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on h.r. 5458, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i rise today in support of h.r. 5458, the veterans tricare choice act of

2016, this legislation introduced by my colleague, ris stute of utah, addresses gaps in the law for tricare coverage people from utilizing a health savings account, or h.a.s. while veterans our their family members that participate in tricare, that have other plans, they are prohibited from contributed to a h.s.a. with a high deductible plan. an individual must permanently renounce their tricare eligibility because no mechanism to allow re-enrollment currently exists. h.r. 5458 addresses this issue by allowing certain tricare eligible individuals to voluntarily pause their tricare coverage for a period of time in which they choose to contribute to an h.s.a. the bill also creates special enrollment periods should these

individuals choose to re-enroll in tricare at a later date. our veterans devoted their lives to defending our freedom. we should not let arbitrary bureaucratic obstacles for them making the best health care choices for themselves and their families. this bill has a mechanism to provides them greater opportunities to save towards their own health care need. it also ensures patients can be more engaged in their own care while eliminating the inconsistency in our tax code. i applaud the gentleman from utah, mr. stewart, for bringing us this good idea today. i urge support and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. r. mcdermott: mr. speaker, while we're here today to ebate h.r. 5458, which focuses on one small part of the transition for veterans completing their service and entering the civilian work force, i wish to take a moment to reflect on a broader issue.

while many veterans enter the work force and some may even be offered a health savings account as part of their insurance coverage, many millions depend on medicare and medicaid. now, we in the congress can't forget that the role these programs play in caring for our veterans and their loved ones. as they return to the work force, as they age or as they live with disabilities. for more than four decades, medicare and medicaid has helped americans from all walks of life by improving their financial and health security, but if you've been paying attention to the news lately, you know these programs are under grave risk next year with a new congress and a new president. o as we speak today to honor veterans' services to our country, we must also think about the safety net that's been place for many years to

offer security. for example, today, nearly one in 10 veterans lacks health insurance at all. more than 340,000 uninsured veterans and their spouses live in states that have chosen not to expand medicaid to cover more residents. if those states offer coverage, these veterans would have insurance. we really care about them but their governors apparently don't. in florida, more than 55,000 veterans and their spouses would be medicaid eligible had the state chosen to cover individuals earning less than $21,000 a year. in north carolina, 32,000 veterans and their spouses. and in texas, 67,000 veterans and their spouses would be eligible, but their governors saw fit not to care.

slashing medicare funding by more than $1 trillion. as the speaker ryan has proposed is not a way to help veterans. yet, that is what will be in store next year. that's what people are talking about is what we're going to do in the new year, turning medicare no a capped voucher. privatizing the program. shifting more costs on beneficiaries won't help either. now, back to the bill at hand. for veterans who are receiving coverage through tricare, using employer coverage that offers health savings accounts coupled with high deductible health plans can cause a problem. eligibility for tricare coverage disqualifies a retiree from h.s.a. eligibility because the tricare program is not a high deductible plan. this, i believe, is a good thing and it keeps health care affordable for veterans, especially those who do not have the option for other coverage. while there is a difference of

opinion in the committee on tax-preferred health accounts, the legislation recognizes that some veterans may have that coverage and could run afoul of current law because of enrollment in tricare. h.r. 5458 would provide these military retirees that may disclaim their eligibility for tricare program. this would allow a retiree who enrolled in a high deductible health plan to receive or make h.s.a. contributions. when we considered this bill in the ways and means committee, the department of defense as well as the house armed services committee, had some concerns about the approach in this bill, in particular that tricare eligibility is a statutory entitlement that cannot be waived. if the ndaa conference language is passed later this week, this legislation will no longer be needed as tricare enrollment will be voluntary and retirees can move between employer-sponsored insurance

and tricare coverage, depending which is best for their need. in other words, this bill will last about three days until we pass the ndaa on friday. i yield back the balance of my time. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield time to the gentleman from utah, mr. stewart, the author of this bill. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. stewart: thank you, mr. speaker. to the gentleman from nebraska, thank you for the ability to speak on my bill. mr. speaker, it was my honor to serve for 14 years as a pilot in the air force and for my family, my wife, my children and i, those were some of the best years of our lives. and i continue to be amazed at the quality of those who serve in our military, and it shouldn't become cliche to say these are some of the finest young men and women that our country has ever produced. th are strong, tenlt, dedicated, -- intelligent,

dedicated, courageous individuals who choose to use their talents to serve the rest of us and it makes me uncomfortable sometimes when i hear those of us who serve in congress be called public servants when we know that the true public servants are the airmen, the seamen, the soldiers, the marines and their families and let's not forget their families and their sacrifices as well. those who spend their career either fighting abroad or preparing for that convenientality. as americans we should make that a habit to thank these service members whenever we see them. as a member of congress, it's our job to be wise in our foreign policy, to give our war fighters the resources they need to win and then to ensure that veterans receive the benefits that we promised them. n fact, about a third of a responsibility -- fixing a glitch, which the gentleman has said already, is just a glitch, just a loophole in the current law, that was brought to my attention by a group of airline pilots. these pilots, many of whom are veterans, realize as veterans

they were unable to take advantage of all health care benefits by their employers. they were legally unable to use tricare coverage. mr. speaker, h.s.a.'s is an innovative health care option that we have advanced as part of a market-driven affordable health care system. in fact, h.s.a.'s are a critical component to the speaker's better way agenda which i think many of us are excited to see signed into law in the coming months. with that in mind, it makes no sense to lock veterans out of this benefit based on the eligibility for tricare. these pilots came into my office and asked give us an off-on switch for tricare. while those who want an h.s.a. who return to tricare in the future can do this if though chose. it made sense so that's what we did with this bill. the veterans tricare choice act allows a veteran to be suspended -- sorry -- to

suspend his or her tricare benefits for the purposes of enrolling in a health savings plan. if for whatever reason the veteran wishes to return to tricare he or she can do so. it's a simple, commonsense fix with broad bipartisan support. i'd like to thank representative tulsi gabbard, a fellow veteran, with the distinguished career in the united states navy, and current member of the hawaiian national guard. representative gabbard and i have been fortunate to work together on this bill for almost three years now and i'm grateful for her work on bringing this bill to this point. i'd also like to thank chairman brady, chairman thornberry, chairman tiberi and chairman heck and each of their staffs for their support refining the bill and bringing it to the floor today. and i'm grateful for similar measures that will be included in the national defense authorization act we will be voting on later this week. football low, i'd like to thank nathaniel johnson, a former member of my staff, a member of the utah national guard, a

former combat medic who served in afghanistan. of course, we called him doc then. i'd like to thank doc who felt compelled to see this bill through to its conclusion. mr. speaker, our veterans deserve our most profound gratitude. nothing about their military service should prevent them from accessing the same benefits as their nonveteran co-workers. the very least we can do is ensure they receive the benefits we promise them and the process that -- goes forward as smoothly as possible. i recognize we have lots to do on that front, but i'm hopeful passage of this bill will be one small step forward in that direction. with that, mr. speaker, i urge a yes vote and yield my time. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from utah yields. the gentleman from nebraska reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. mr. mcdermott: i yield to the gentlewoman from hawaii, ms. gabbard, the -- whatever time she must use. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. gabbard: thank you very much, mr. speaker. this problem that this bill seeks to solve for our veterans

is unfortunately not uncommon. i've heard from many of my fellow veterans who have similarly, as previously been explained, have not been able to access options widely available to their civilian co-workers because of the current limitations in the law. and that's what this bill seeks to do, correct it. the veterans tricare choice act simply gives veterans and their dependents a choice. they can opt out of tricare and contribute to a health savings account with more flexibility and coverage options without fear of permanently losing their tricare coverage. if their situation later changes, they will have the option to re-enroll in tricare coverage, explain and simple. our veterans and their families make tremendous sacrifices in service to our country, and that service should never limit their access to quality health care and their ability to make their own decisions about their own health and the health care for their families in the future. i'd like to thank and congratulate my friend and

colleague, chris stewart, for his leadership on pushing this issue forward and encourage my colleagues to join us in supporting h.r. 5458 today. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields. the gentleman from washington reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. . mr. mcdermott: do you have any more speakers? mr. chairman this bill is -- mr. chairman, this bill is one of those things that you fill time with. i guess it's not going hurt anything. so i would recommend all my colleagues to vote for it. it will be moot on friday when we pass the ndaa. and for that reason i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from nebraska. mr. smith: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: i'd like to take a moment to, again, thank mr. stewart for his efforts. this is a good bill. s the gentlelady from hawaii

hawaii mentioned, it will help many folks. certainly those that she's heard from and i know others have as well. i support more veterans having options and more options, i support the bill's passage and urge my colleagues to support it. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass the bill, senate 546, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: union calendar number 632, senate 546, a bill to establish the railroad emergency services preparedness operational needs and safety evaluation response subcommittee under the federal emergency management agency's national advisory council, to provide recommendations on emergency responder training, and resources relating to hazardous materials incidents involving railroads and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. denham, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. denham: mr. speaker, requesting unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous

materials on senate bill 546 as amended. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. denham: mr. speaker, i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. denham: mr. speaker, for the first time i want to thank you for allowing us to speak on the response act. the rail safety is critical to the transportation of -- transport of goods and services throughout our country. as chair of the railroad, pipelines and hazardous materials subcommittee, i've worked to improve the safety of transporting hazardous materials by rail, especially crude by rail. in the passenger rail reform and investment act of 2015, and later the fast act, congress required response plans and adopted strong national standards for transporting hazardous materials by rail. additionally, the transportation and infrastructure committee has held several hearings at both the full committee and subcommittee levels. to examine how congress can improve upon what is already a very safe rail network.

i personally have facilitated training for dozens of first responders in my district, to ensure they are prepared to respond in an unlikely event of an accident involving hazardous materials transported by rail. recently i traveled with my good friend, ranking member capuano, and congressman farenthold, to colorado and the transportation technology center, to see the first responder community in how they addressed tank car accidents. the investments in our nation's freight railroads are making today to make a safer network. this bill before us today is an extension of these efforts to build an advanced rail safety across our nation. the response act tasks both government and nongovernment experts to develop recommendations improving emergency responder training for hazardous materials and the incidents responding around rail. it requires the evaluation of a number of issues related to rail hazmat incidents, including the quality and

application of training for local emergency first responders. additionally it looks at overlap in training and ways to modernize training for emergency responders, especially those in small communities near a railroad. this bill will further improve rail safety and enhance responses to rail hazmat incidents. i saw how important this hands-on training can be in august at the transportation technology center in pueblo, and i believe this bill will build upon the safety of the rail network in communities like mine. i want to thank the chairman, mr. kind, and senator hute camp, for working on this bill and i -- heitkamp, for working on this bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of this bill as well. i want to thank ranking member denham, chairman shuster and ranking member defazio for taking a lead on this bill. very simply, this is the simplest bill in the world, to be perfectly honest. it gets all the stakeholders together to simply take a look at the current responses we have when there's a disaster relative to rail accidents.

it gets them all in one room to take a look at best practices, to figure out what they can do better, to see if resources are allocated well. it's not just washington insiders. it includes people from the rail industry, people from the labor community, people from the public safety community and local and state levels, it gets everybody on the table to do things that congress is not equipped to do appropriately. we're not the safety experts, they are. this simply says for one year, there's a time limit, this is not one of those endless committees that's going to sit there forever, one year, they get together, work it out amongst themselves, come back with recommendations to us, so that we can do our job well, which is to support the people that actually are suppressing these fires and maintaining the safety of our communities. again, i rise in support of this bill, with that i believe i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. denham: mr. speaker, in conclusion, thanks great bill. i just want to urge my colleagues to join me in

supporting this important legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 546 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition? mr. denham: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 6135. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 6135, a bill to designate fralt building and united states courthouse located at 719 church street in nashville, tennessee, as the fred d. thompson federal building and united states courthouse. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from california, mr. denham, and the gentleman from massachusetts, mr. capuano, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from california. mr. denham: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 6135. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. denham: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield myself as much time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognizes -- is recognized. mr. denham: h.r. 6135 would designate the federal building and united states courthouse located at 719 church street in nashville, tennessee, as the fred d. thompson federal building and united states court house. i'd like to thank the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, for her leadership on this legislation, senator thompson was an accomplished lawyer, actor, u.s. senator and a great friend. we had spent numerous occasions together here in the washington, d.c., area as he got to know new members as we came in in 2010. i have appreciated his counsel, -- counsel, his friendship, and look forward to seeing this bill become -- passed by the

legislature. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. with that i'd like to yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. cohen. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. cohen: thank you, mr. capuano. thank you, mr. speaker. it's my honor to rise on this occasion, on this -- to have the courthouse in nashville named for a distinguished american, a friends of mine, senator fred thompson. who was the only university of memphis graduate to serve in the united states senate. he was an outstanding attorney, federal employee, made tennessee proud when he was the counsel to the watergate committee. in a phenomenal fashion, gave people the good feeling about bipartisan when a republican such as fred thompson stood up and raised the questions that needed to be raised to end the illegal and crime-ridden

episodes of richard nixon that were exposed in watergate. despite the fact that richard nixon was a republican, fred thompson saw that when the president acted in an untowardly fashion, diminishing the constitution, diminishing our government, that all americans should stand up and oppose such. and fred did it. he fred did it a an admirable way. richard nixon resign eventually. gerald ford helped save our country. vments can do that. -- vments can do that. fred served -- vice presidents can do that. red served as a district attorney. he was a private practicing attorney who had a role, had a case concerning pardons. it was when a democrat was doing things that were illegal. ray blanton in tennessee doing pardons that were improper. someone stepped forward and

fred thompson wrote a book about that, exposing an illegal pardons program. somebody who did the script thought fred could make a good actor. fred made a good actor. he did a lot of tv series and movies and had another career besides politician and lawyer. actor. he came to memphis one time i member specifically, i think it was speaking it was speaking to the chamber. and he had a drawl, droll way about him. he said, and i guess he said at other places as well, he said, sometimes when i'm in washington i miss the reality and the sincerity of hollywood. i laughed when fred said it. . think about it often here when he ran for office, he took a little red truck and used it to campaign and drove that

truck around the state and people identified with it. he was ahead of his time, kind of like donald trump eating mcdonald's, i think. related to the c'mon, man with that truck. -- related to the c'mon, man with that truck -- comen man with that truck. i was in one of the last of those regional jets which was kind of like fred's truck with wings on it but we made it. i want to thank fred thompson for all he did as an attorney, as an actor, and as a friend to me. he was bipartisan, was always friendly to me, he was a courteous gentleman. i came up here when he won the national conference of state legislatures award for looking out for states' rights. he was the only member of the senate to vote on a bill that they were in favor of. and he was right that there was a province that belonged to the states, that the federal government ewe certained because it was so wonderful -- usurped because it was so wonderful to do and such good brownie points back home. but fred didn't do that. he stayed at his position, that

states right it's should be first. those areas of tort liability should are remained with the states. i came to see fred get that reward. he has a wonderful wife and wonderful family. one of his sons was a good friend of mine and still is. i'm honored to be a sponsor of this bill and i'm sorry that fred left us, it succumbing to cancer last year, but it's appropriate that we name the u.s. courthouse and federal building in nashville after this great american. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. denham: mr. speaker, i wish to yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank the gentleman from california for his work in moving this legislation forward and also to my colleague from tennessee for joining me on this bill. because it is such an honor to bring it forward and to push

for the naming of the federal courthouse in nashville as the fred thompson courthouse and federal building. you know, it's so interesting, fred learned a lot about life and about the law in working in the current federal building. and as that building has been outgrown, the needs for a new one in the works, it is so exciting to know that fred's name will be emblazoned on that building. it's exciting for all of the residents of lawrence county, tennessee. that's where fred grew up. and that is in the seventh congressional district. then as he decided to go to law school and then came back to nashville, he settled in williamson county, right there in brentwood, suburban

nashville. that's where i got to know the thompson family. i know this is a very exciting day for them, to know that this is actually taking place, that the house is completing their work and we're sending this on to the senate for senators corker and alexander to do their part of the work on this building. and one of the things you would hear people talk about is fred was a character actor but that unassuming manner, the way he valued and embodied integrity, that was just fred. at was how he lived his life and he was a great character actor because he played himself, whether it was marie, whether it was the hunt for red

october, whether you were watching him on the small screen or big screen. he was exactly who he appeared to be. very unassuming, very edicated, very smart and a wonderful attorney and his public service start as a public attorney in the old federal courthouse and that did grow. the watergate committee, as congressman cohen has mentioned, was where fred really made a mark and where he became extremely close to senator howard baker who was such a role model for so many generations of tennesseans and americans and how exciting it would be -- pardon me -- for senator baker to be here to know fred's name was going to be on that courthouse in nashville. this is the right move for the

right person. i encourage all of my colleagues to join in passage of this legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. capuano: thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of our time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts yields. the chair recognizes the gentleman from california. mr. denham: thank you, mr. speaker. given senator thompson's dedication to the law and public service, i believe it's more than fitting to name this courthouse and federal building in nashville after him. thank you and i reserve -- i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 6135. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table.

the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house the following 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 rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on november 29, 2016, at 1:48 p.m. that the senate passed senate 2873. with best wishes i am.

signed sincerely, karen l. haas.

the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass s. 2577, the justice for all re-authorization act of 2016, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2577, an act to protect crime victims' rights, to eliminate the substantial backlog of d.n.a. and other forensic evidence samples to improve and expand the forensic science testing capacity of federal, state, and local crime laboratories, to ncrease research and development of new testing technologies, to develop new training programs regarding the collection and use of forensic evidence, to provide postconviction testing of d.n.a. evidence to exonerate the innocent, to support accreditation efforts of science laboratories

and medical examiner offices, to address training and equipment needs, to improve the performance of counsel in state capital cases, and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on s. 277 -- 2577, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. i goodlatte: mr. speaker, yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: on october 30, 2004, president george w. bush signed into law the justice for all act of 2004. the law contains very important sections related to victims of crime and improving the

criminal justice process. the law protects the rights of crime victims and eliminates the substantial backlog of ndaa samples collected from both -- d.n.a. samples collected from both crime scenes and tests the capacity of local crime laboratories. it establishes the rights of crime victims in federal criminal proceedings and provides mechanisms for enforcing these rights. the bill before us today, s. 2577, the justice for all re-authorization act of 2016, is a bipartisan and bicameral bill that builds on the 2004 justice for all act. it further improves the criminal justice system and ensures public confidence in it. it strengthens crime victims' rights and programs by increasing access to restitution for federal crime victims. the act also further reduces the rape kit backlog and

provides resources for forensic labs while protecting the innocents by improving access to postconviction d.n.a. testing. justice for all works to improve the administration of criminal justice programs by increasing accountability for federal funds and requiring the justice department to assist state and local governments to improve their defense systems. additionally, it ensures the implementation of the prison rape elimination act. i commend the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for his hard work on this bill, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: it's my privilege to ask to consume such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. jackson lee: thank you. i rise in strong support of s. 2577, the justice for all re-authorization act of 2016, and the complementary house bill that was authored by my

good friend and colleague from texas, mr. poe. god friend, colleague from california, mr. costa. this -- good friend, colleague from california, mr. costa. this is an important bill. this bill now comes to the floor of the house as s. 2577. this bipartisan, bicameral legislation advances this congress' efforts to enhance and improve our nation's criminal justice system for victims, law enforcement, the courts and innocent persons while also fostering public trust and confidence in our criminal justice system. it also reinforces the important work that the house judiciary committee has been doing under chairman goodlatte and ranking member conyers. my greatest hope as the subcommittee ranking member on the criminal justice committee that we can finish our work with the bills, sentencing reduction, prison reform, juvenile justice reform. i'd like to optimistically

think we would get these for the holiday season. but s. 2577 would re-authorize and improve upon various programs that began with the initial passage of the appropriately named justice for all act. i was proud to support this groundbreaking legislation in 2004, legislation intended to protect all persons who find themselves involved with the criminal justice system and instill accountability throughout that system. the programs we enacted in 2004 increased resources to boost the testing capabilities of forensic crime laboratories and eliminate the backlog of d.n.a. samples from sexual assaults, crime scenes and convicted offenders. i know this firsthand because harris county, a very large county, fifth in the nation, experienced this calamity along with the city of houston, the fact that these kits and other d.n.a. evidence just couldn't seem to be tested expeditiously. it also enhanced protections

for victims of crimes and establish maneuvers or measures to prevent and overturn wrongful convictions. the time has come to build upon the foundation we laid in 2004. fairness and equal treatment under the law are two fundamental values of our nation's system of justice. when the innocent are jailed for decades for crimes they did not commit, when victims watch their attackers go free because of the physical evidence was misplaced or never tested, or when overworked forensic lab technicians provide false reports, the people's trust and belief in the system is diminished. the bill we are considering today would strengthen crime victims' rights, programs and services. in addition, it would further reduce the rape kit backlog, provide resources to forensic improve ove testing, the overall administration of criminal justice systems nationwide, including increasing accountability, transparentsy effectiveness and

fiscal efficiency. transparency, effectiveness and fiscal efficiency. unfortunately, again in harris county, thousands of pieces of evidence were lost in the possession of one of our local law enforcement structures. we have a lot of law enforcement layers. this happened to be a constable's office. mr. speaker, you know how damaging and dangerous that is to victims' rights, to criminal justice, to the constitution. that's why this bill is so very important. being the victim of a crime is a disoriented experience. we must do our best to erase or ease the suffering of victims and assist them as they work to rebuild their lives. under s. 2577, housing rights of victims of domestic violence would be expanded and violence against women act funding would be protected from reductions due to federal penalties. other victims-centered programs would be re-authorized by this bill, including programs to notify victims' rights to be

heard in court, to provide interpreters for federal crime victims who wish to participate in court proceedings. the government accountability office would be required to determine the potential benefits to crime victims, if any, by broadening the authority of federal courts to award restitution. our crime victims need relief. we need to give them hope and a sense we care about them, and the attorney general will be required to evaluate the effectiveness of the justice department's components, u.s. attorney offices in getting rest tuelings for crime victims. d.n.a. had help identify suspects, to exclude the nnts. this bill will make sure that sexual assault victims are able to see their attackers brought to justice by renewing the d.n.a. backlog grant program and expanding grants for forensic nurse examiners giving priority to hiring full-time nurses, training forensic

nurses. agencies across the country would realize further reductions in their rape kit backlogs because the justice department will be required upped the legislation to use at least 75 of the funds made available for forensic testing or direct testing of crime scene evidence including rape kits. under this measure, debbie smith grant recipients would have to report on the achievement of activities conducted in using grant funds. s. 2577 would require the attorney general to report annually to congress on how these grants will improve testing and reduce the backlogs. i know my good friend, care lynn maloney, -- carolyn maloney, has been involved in this as well. this would re-authorize fund for other d.n.a. grant programs, which helps state and local governments who need it greatly. it speaks to the loss of thousands of pieces of evidence in a local law enforcement office. in that same vain, the attorney general will be required to

conduct a needs assessment for state and local forensic science labs to better utilize felt federal funding. this bill would also enhance protections for the innocent, improving access to postconviction d.n.a. testing, encourage states to test d.n.a. evidence in criminal cases which is untested d.n.a. evidence, postconviction d.n.a. testing funds by narrowing the preservation requirements and authorizing federal postconviction testing for individuals who can show evidence, d.n.a. evidence exists in their case despite having plead guilty. we have a responsibility to make this criminal justice system fit in the four corners of the constitution. that includes due process as one of the elements and certainly the response and caring of those individuals who've been victims. we have a responsibility to ensure the safe, humane treatment of individuals, even if they're convicted of crimes and imprisoned. the prison rape elimination act would be an all but certain result of the incentive structures set in s. 2577 which

requires state and local governments to focus more resources on implementation this legislation's directives, which we really need, while allowing the flexibility necessary to reach full compliance. for example, those that receive assistant grants will be required to set a strategic plan, setting how the grant money will be used. this bill includes various prosignificances to make sure these funds are used effective and efficiently. i believe this bill answers our concerns on the question of criminal justice reform and constitutional protection for all. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation, and i reserve the balance of my time. . the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from texas reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i have no additional speakers and i'm prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i have mr. costa of california who is an original co-sponsor of this legislation, and i

yield to mr. costa for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from california is recognized for two minutes. mr. costa: i thank the gentlewoman from texas for yield two minutes and i want to thank her and -- yielding two minutes and i want to thank her and the chairman, the gentleman from virginia, for their hard work on this very important piece of legislation. as the lead democratic co-sponsor of the justice for all re-authorization act, and the co-chair of the victims' rights caucus, along with my good friend and colleague, congressman ted poe, who i know wanted to be here, who's worked so hard on this legislation, we as the chairs of the bipartisan congressional victims' rights caucus want those groups out there throughout the country to understand how important this legislation is. the broad coalition of groups that are supporting this and the bipartisan group of lawmakers who worked tirelessly to get this legislation on the house floor today is making a difference. the justice for all re-authorization will improve

the criminal justice system, it will strengthen programs for victims of crime. the healing process for the survivors of violent crime, as we all know, can be extremely painful and it can be difficult. this legislation also helps those survivers by providing resources -- survivors by providing resources to help reduce, as has been noted already, the rape kit backlog. it also improves housing rights for domestic violence victims. we have these centers in our congressional districts that many of us are familiar with, where spouses and children go to escape violence. it also assists with hiring full-time sexual assault nurse examiners in every hospital throughout the country. additionally this bill ensures that the guilty are punished and helps to protect the wrongfully convicted by improving access to post-conviction d.n.a. testing. one thing we've learned for

certain over the last decade is that in law enforcement d.n.a. testing has become an important and to prove nd guilt where in fact we did not have that tool before. these strengthened policies will better provide support for victims of crime throughout the country, especially, i ask the gentlewoman -- ms. jackson lee: i yield the gentleman an additional one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. costa: i thank the gentlewoman. these policies will provide better those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. for victims of crime throughout the country, especially those who live in rural regions and we have many rural regions throughout the country. i represent one of those areas in california's san joaquin valley. i urge my colleagues in the house to support this bill and i hope the senate actses visitly, before the end of the year, so this, just for all re-authorization act, is enact before congress adjourns. let us remember, my colleagues,

that these victims of crimes are members of our families, they're our neighbors, they're our people that we know in our communities and in our congressional districts. we know who they are and we know that these are innocent victims of crime. this legislation goes a long ways to address their issues. i urge the support of my colleagues and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlelady from texas reserves. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: my understanding is the chairman has no further speakers. thank you. i will close my remarks by thanking mr. costa for his leadership and we know that our good friend, congressman ted poe, wanted to be here. we thank him for his leadership and many members who have engaged in this important

legislation. the justice for all re-authorization act is supported by a broad spectrum of organizations involved in or affected by our criminal justice system. let me share a few. the national sheriff's association, national district attorney's association, the council of state governments, the u.s. conference of mayors, the national center for victims of crime, the washington lawyers committee for civil rights, the human rights campaign and the innocence project. in closing, i would like to commend my colleagues in the house, including judiciary committee chairman bob goodlatte, crime subcommittee chairman sensenbrenner, and congressman ted poe, sponsor of the house companion, and the work that we've done on the judiciary committee, as i started out my remarks in dealing with the enormity of sentencing, passing legislation that will reduce the impact of mandatory minimums, prison reform that we've passed and certainly looking to reform

juvenile justice. i too hope that the legislation that we're speaking of will help -- will move and be passed before this session of congress ends, and i'd like to think optimistically that we may get some very important bills that we've dealt with in judiciary to be passed as well. i also want to acknowledge senator patrick leahy for his authorship of the underlying statute and for his leadership in the re-authorization of these critical programs, and as i indicated, my senior senator, john cornyn, of texas. i want to conclude by saying that i left texas in the back drop of a federal court hearing that dealt with the broken bail system. another aspect of criminal justice reform where 40% of individuals on miss demeaners who cannot pay $150 or cannot pay $100 remain ins cars rated -- incarcerated. what we're doing today is we are joining in a bipartisan manner to begin to approach

some of those inequities by this legislation and i know that we can move forward on many others. so i urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this legislation today, which is an important bill, s. 2577, and the house companion, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i yield myself the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: i want to thank the gentleman from texas, mr. poe, for his hard work, his leadership on this issue. and i thank the gentleman from california, mr. costa, as well. this is a very good bill and i urge my colleagues to vote for the justice for all re-authorization act of 2016, and yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass senate 2577 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no.

in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass h.r. 5422, to ensure funding for the national human trafficking hotline and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 5422, a bill to ensure funding for the national hafpking hotline and for other purposes. -- human trafficking hotline and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentlelady from texas, ms. jackson lee, will each control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 5422, currently under consideration.

the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. goodlatte: today we consider on suspension h.r. 5422, this bill corrects an inadvertent change made in the justice for victims of trafficking act of 2015, that caused grant funding for the national human trafficking hotline to be processed through the department of justice rather than through the department of health and human services, as it had been historically. the national human trafficking hotline is a toll-free hotline available to answer calls from anywhere in the united states 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in more than 200 languages. languages. the hotline's mission is to connect trafficking victims and survivers to critical support services and -- survivors to critical support services and to equip the anti-trafficking community with the tools to combat all forms of human trafficking. this bill was introduced on june 9, 2016, by congressman ted poe, a tireless advocate

for the prevention of human trafficking and for trafficking victims. and the bill passed out of the judiciary committee on november 16 by voice vote. while congressman poe is undergoing treatment for leukemia, and is unable to be here, i want to once again let him know that he's in our prayers. we are confident in his recovery and continue to a appreciate all his work on these important human trafficking matters. i thank congressman poe for sponsoring this legislation that corrects an inadvertent drafting oversight and urge my colleagues to support the bill and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, i ask to consume such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. ms. jackson lee: let me thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 5422, strongly. a bill that i've co-sponsored. in order to ensure funding for the national human trafficking hotline, a crucial component in the fight against human

trafficking. i also pay tribute to my neighbor, congressman ted poe, and join in wishing him a strong recovery. we look forward to continuing to work against the scourge of human trafficking. we've been told, of course, of houston being the epicenter of such. as i've said many times before, trafficking in human beings has no place in a civilized society. congress decided 150 years ago that no individual deserves to be bought, owned or sold. our country's now faced with a modern day version of slavery that denies victims of their humanity and violates the most basic american ideals of liberty and individual autonomy. human traffic something the second fastest growing criminal enterprise, 4,177 sex trafficking cases and 825 trafficking cases were reported in the first nine months of this year in the united states and its territories. traffickers use trickery and most often coercion and violence to force victims to

provide labor or perform sexual acts. my home city of houston has been identified as a hub for human trafficking, i'm proud to say that houston and the entire state of texas are working hard to stave off this growing threat. in an effort to understand the problem and find real solutions, we held several hearings in 2014, including the first ever field hearing on human trafficking held by the committee that i serve on, homeland security. during that hearing, we heard from victims and survivors of human trafficking that recount indignities they suffered, as well as fm and psychological damage done while they were young, children, but still felt as adults. i'm very gratified that congressman ted poe participated in that hearing and was very constructive and instructive as we tried to continue working on a solution. i traveled to a stash house and witnessed the atrocious conditions under which these people are held and forced to engage. we now know that a comprehensive, collaborative

approach that includes lawmakers, law enforcement, victims' advocates, community organizations and social service providers is necessary to identify victims and lead them to safety, restore them and bring their captors to justice. the national human trafficking resource center plays a critical role in the effort to save, protect and restore victims of human trafficking. the nhtrc is a national anti-trafficking hotline and resource center created and overseen by the department of heament and human services -- health and human services and funded through grant money appropriated to h.h.s. it is very important. in 2015 the nhtrc received more than 24,000 signals regarding human trafficking cases or issues related to human trafficking, which includes phone calls, online tips and emails. the nhtrc is invaluable to victims, survivors and stakeholders involving the fight against human