used to sell the transmission assets of the three p.m.a.'s and the t.v.a. mr. chairman, i come before the house today as a champion for the bonneville power administration and advocate for public power and a steadfast representative for rate payers across central washington state. the greater pacific northwest, and the entire nation. i encourage the administration to listen to this resounding bipartisan message that i bring along with my colleagues today. we reject this proposal and prohibit the di vestment of the assets. with that, mr. chairman, i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the chair: the gentleman reserves. does anyone seek time in pposition? the gentleman from washington. mr. newhouse: thank you, mr. chairman. i'd like to give 30 seconds to the good lady from tennessee,

mrs. blackburn. the chair: the gentlewoman from tennessee is recognized for 30 seconds. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. i want to thank the gentleman for the amendment. and the tennessee valley authority is something that is important to us and to the nearly 10 million tennessee valley ratepayers that they serve each and every single day. as he said, something is not broken, so it does not need the federal government to come in and try to fix it. so, i stand with him, supporting the p.m.a.'s, the t.v.a., and those that are utilizize -- utilizers of this service and support -- i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from washington. mr. newhouse: mr. chairman, i am proud my amendment is co-sponsored by 18 -- at least 18 bipartisan colleagues. and i would humbly urge the rest of my colleagues to support and

vote yes on this amendment. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from washington. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 34 printed in part b of house report 115-711. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from tennessee seek recognition? mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 34 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 918, the gentlewoman from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman.

this is an amendment that i propose each and every year because i think this is something that is worthy of discussion. we are facing $21 trillion in debt in this nation. we have annual deficits that continue to climb. and we have to look at how you are going to grow your way and cut your way out of this nation's debt. now, we know that this appropriations bill is something that is at $44.75 billion. a lot of hard work by the members of the appropriations committee has gone into this. and we appreciate that they have made an effort to keep the spending down. even some years they have been below the level that was actually enacted the previous year. this year's not the case. they're a little bit above.

but they are working diligently. and i'm grateful for that. i think we need to work a little bit harder and that is why i bring this, a penny out of a dollar, one penny, making that type rescission in what we are spending, making certain that we're engaging rank and file federal employees after they receive their appropriated funds. saying, let's go back to the drawing board, let's take one penny out of every dollar we spend. we're doing it for our children and our grandchildren. facing the fact that our nation has a climbing debt. now, admiral mullin said july 6, 2010, the greatest threat to our nation's security is our nation's debt. this is an issue that deserves a better effort.

we have given it good efforts. let's give it a better effort and give it our best effort. to get this spending under control. he reason, with thighs discretionary funds, we say, let's do it with the across the board cuts, because across the board spending reductions work. it has been proven by many of our states where democrat and republican governors have made across-the-board reductions in order to get budgets in balance. it's done by cities. it's done by counties. it's done by the private sector. it is done by families. it is time for us to engage the bureaucracy and say to them, find one penny out of a dollar and help us preserve, help us preserve our freedom for future generations. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves the balance of her time.

does any -- for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: claim time in opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: mr. chairman, this would not be an appropriation bill if we didn't have this amendment before us. every year this amendment's been offered and the good lady from tennessee and i have debated this many times in the past. while i commend my colleague for her consistent work to protect the taxpayers' dollars, this is not the approach that i would endorse, nor can i support. the bill in its current form balances many of the needs. the bill prioritizes funding for national security and critical infrastructure. yet the gentlelady's amendment proposes an across-the-board cut on every one of these programs, including increases in funding that are sorely needed to modernize our nuclear weapons stockpile, and to protect our nation's electrical grid from emerging cyber threats.

across-the-board cuts make no distinction between where we need to be spending or investing in our infrastructure, promote jobs and meet our national security needs, and where we need to limit spending to meet our deficit reduction goals. that's what we actually do when we write a bill in the appropriations cane. -- committee and have the hearings and so forth. the main reason this bill is $1.5 billion above last year, and the reason that the chairman gave this allocation to the energy and water subcommittee, is because there was a need in rebuilding our nuclear security infrastructure. that's where a majority of that money went. the next majority portion of it went to the army corps of engineers to build the waterways and infrastructure that needs to be replaced. there is something like $1 trillion, i don't know if that's the exact number, or i know it's not the exact number, but don't know if that's the correct number, but it's pretty close, of backlog of needs within the

army corps of engineers, with an aging infrastructure. locks and dams, harbors that need to be maintained for our economy, that need to be dredged. that's where a majority of that money went. that's why the appropriations committee put the $1.5 billion additional into this. yes, reducing the deficit and addressing the -- our debt are critical things that need to get done too. but everyone here, everyone here , including the good lady from tennessee, who is my good friend, knows that it's not the discretionary spending that is driving this debt and deficit each year. it's the huge increases in mandatory spending. those are primary social security, medicare, medicaid, interest on the debt. that's what's driving the debt. if you looked back 40 or auto -- 50 years ago, out of the entire

federal budget, 70% of it was discretionary spending. that's what we spend money on that everybody thinks of as government when they think of government. about 30% of it was the mandatory programs. it's reversed. now a little over 70% of the federal budget is mandatory, it's on auto pilot. unless we change the law underneath it and have the courage to do that, it continues to grow. if you look at our budget today on the discretionary side, we spend less today than we did in 2006. no, 2010. that's eight years later. we spend less today on discretionary spending than we did in 2010. that's the reality. so while i appreciate the effort to address the debt and the deficit, this is not the way to do it. and it's not addressing the main problem that's driving our debt.

i would yield to the gentlelady from ohio. the chair: the gentlelady from ohio is recognized. ms. kaptur: i thank you very much and thank the gentleman for yielding. i rise in opposition to this amendment. and just say, you know, there used to be an old expression, they asked jesse james, why do you rob banks and he said, that's where the money is. and so i think about the situation we face in our country today. i am not willing to take the money out of this budget, which i consider critical to america's ecurity, at home and abroad, and meanwhile, on other -- in other fora, to give trillions of dollars to the top 1% in this country who, you know, aren't really interested in what we're doing here much, don't appreciate it sometimes. i'm not willing to leave off the

hook the wall street bankers that took us into the 2008 recession, not a single one went to jail. it's interesting where the gentlelady's looking for money. one of the reasons i chose to be on this subcommittee is i'm sick of going to war for energy. too many people from my region have died. i think part of america's solution is becoming energy independence and being able to conduct war where we have to. this bill allows us to do that for the sake of the republic. i think the gentlelady has a good intention to try to balance the budget. i think she's looking at the wrong end of the telescope. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman from idaho's time has expired. the gentlelady from tennessee. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. when you talk about where you're looking for money, it's coming out of the hardworking taxpayers' pocket. and what they say is to do something about the debt. because they're the ones that are footing the bill. now, you know, it is easy for us to say, yes, the mandatory

spending eats up most of the budget. that is very true. the chairman is correct on that. but is that a reason to not do something about discretionary? absolutely not. should we continue to exercise the ability to find efficiencies, to try to do more with less? absolutely, we should. should we make government more effective, more efficient, and more responsive? should we utilize new technologies? absolutely, we should. because every penny that we appropriate in this chamber comes from the taxpayers of this nation who are working hard. they know government never runs out of an appetite for their money. they know that government is always going to ask for more. they are looking at the $21 trillion in debt.

let's take these steps, let's cut a penny out of a dollar and do it. because we know this debt is going to land on the heads of our children and our grandchildren. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from tennessee. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mrs. blackburn: mr. chairman, i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from tennessee will e postponed. it is now in order to consider amendment number 35 printed in 115-711. house report for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 35 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by ms.

jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 918, the gentlewoman from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: mr. chairman, all over the nation we face a series of disasters that come in many different forms. heavy volcanoes, and rain. my amendment deals with the u.s. army corps of engineers and the important aspect of its work. by redirecting $3 million for increased funding for postdisaster watershed assessment studies that are typical for across the gulf region. and even up the east coast, where we know hurricane sandy was devastating just a few years ago. the u.s. army corps of engineers plays a critical role in

building, maintaining and expanding of the most critical of the nation's infrastructure. my amendment would address the question of pre-preparedness. and as we were facing the disaster of hurricane harvey, so many wondered how much more we should have pre-prepared. many were aware of the fact that we flooded in 500-year and 1,000-year flood areas. we're aware of the devastation in puerto rico and the u.s. virgin islands. the army corps of engineers can be very instrumental in assessing ahead of time the potential impact of flood and storm damage, and through the vestigations can reduce this and create savings. i'm optimistic as we go forward, and hopeful that we will receive in the gulf region, a regional watershed asessdzment flood risk

feasibility study. i think it's important to note that we're probably not from under the weather of future disasters. april 15, 2016, 240 billion tpwhrons of water fell in the houston area over a 12-hour period and as well, 2016, another major flood. causing major damage. finally, which is not a kip -- which is not atypical as it seems as we watch the hurricane season last year, all over the gulf region and until we found hurricane harvey drop 21 trillion gallons. 300,000 homes were lost. the investigatory part of the army corps of engineers is an important tool for the whole nation when it comes to dealing with preparedness and assessing how we can do better in natural disasters. i'm asking my to support the jackson lee amendment.

the chair: the gentlewoman reserves. for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: claim time in opposition though i'm not opposed to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. simpson: i understand my colleague's addressing flood risk in her district and we have worked hard to prioritize these in the supplemental bill earlier this year in the fiscal year 2018 appropriation act and this fiscal year 2019 bill before us today. since the amendment does not change funding level witness the bill, i will not oppose the amendment, and encourage my colleagues to support it and yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the gentlewoman from texas. ms. jackson lee: let me thank the chim of the committee for what has been ongoing support of our efforts and i hope he sees that this is efforts for across the nation as well and to be clear, i am glad that we do not

alter the account but we dre re-direct and focus moneys on this important investigatory area and thank him for his support and i'm mape to yield to the ranking member who likewise has helped me over the year address this question of flooding but i want to make the point, what we saw in the last hurricane season is that it reaches across the gulf region, including the u.s. virgin islands and of course puerto rico. i'd like to yield to the distinguished ranking member, mazz kaptur. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. kaptur: i want to thank congresswoman jackson lee for yielding and for the incredible work she does representing the gulf region in its fullness. and i understand -- and i understand through her and through my own studies the damage done by hurricane harvey and the need for studies such as these to advance flood control projects to mitigate future damage. i think she's been such an articulate spokeswoman reminding us of times are changing and we have to pay attention to coastal communities. i have to also mention there are funds in the supplemental bill

we passed yerl they are year for purposes such as these and we've plused up the army corps budget in this particular bill so i think that will serve texas very well and you mentioned the virgin islands and puerto rico, we're all deeply concerned. so i thank my colleague for offer -- offering this amendment and i thank her for her leadership and urge my colleagues to support this amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: thank you. let me take this moment again to acknowledge the funds that have been put into this bill that focuses on what we experienced in the last year and i would indicate that the investigatory account which will see this focus is important but well the dollars that we have received from this congress i do appreciate and the final word i would say in closing is we work and hope to work with the administration for those funds to get to the local jurisdictions, year right in the middle of trying to get those

dollars down from washington into our local jurisdiction. with that, i thank the manager and the chairman and the manager who is ranking member again and ask my colleagues to support the jackson lee amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields. the squone the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 36 printed in part b -- part b of house report 115-711. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i have an amendment at the desk. choi the clerk will dez ignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 36 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by ms. jackson lee of texas. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 918, the yom from texas, ms. jackson lee, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from texas.

ms. jackson lee: mr. speaker, this is an educational amendment if you will. it is to emphasize the importance of the department of energy's program that deals with the emphasizing of educating a minority -- educating minority students across america with stem. now we moved in advance to steam that includes arts. but the office of minority impact that is in the d.o.e. has as its major focus and we're still behind in the numbers to ramp up the numbers of men and women and minorities in the stem effort. women and minorities make up 70% of college students but only 45% of undergraduate stem degree holders. and if we are to be a 21st century and 22nd century country and as i was sitting in some meetings today, competing with countries on the question of

cyber security, i know we're in the energy and water appropriations but if we are to reach beyond the boundries of research to help in energy and water i think it's important we continue to try to do outreach to continue the numb of women and minorities to go into the stem fields. the programs funded in part by this bill will help ensure members of underrepresented communities are not placed at a disadvantage when it comes to environmental sustainability, preservation and health. the larger point is we need more stem educators and more minorities to call for for those positions. mr. chairman there's still a great many scientific riddles yet to be solved and prance one of these day, a minority engineer or biologist will add to the others and will come up with some of the major solutions in our time. i would offer to say that education efforts with teachers and students under this program

is ex-trenally important because the students of today, teachers who are teaching the students of today are the scientist and problem solvers of tomorrow. so i again want to emphasize to my fellow texan, secretary perry, secretary of the department of energy, to focus and to grow the department that deals with educating young people in the science, technology, engineering and math. we are waiting for them. we need them and the nation needs them. i ask my colleagues to support the jackson lee amendment. with that, i reserve my time. the chair: the gentlewoman reserves her time. does any member seek time in opposition? the gentlelady from texas. ms. jackson lee: i conclude by saying, let's provide more opportunity for these students. i want to emphasize the energy institute high school in houston

and as well to cite high schools across the nation that are working to provide these students with this kind of training and i hope these dollars will help them do so. i ask for the support on my amendment. i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back this equestion is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from texas. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the schare the ayes have it. he amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 37 printed in art b of house report 115-711.

it is now in order to consider amendment number 38 printed in 115-71 ort 115-17 -- 1. for what purpose does the gentleman rise? mr. desantis: i have an amendment. the chair: the clerk will report the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 38 printed in the house report 115-711. offered by mr. desantis of florida. the chair: the gentleman from florida, mr. desantis, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. mr. desantis: this is a simple limitation amendment. knoll money may be used to purchase heavy water in iran. iran is the leading sponsor of terrorism, fund hag mas and the gaza strip and hezbollah in

lebanon. iran provided deadly military grade explosives to militias in iraq, killing hundreds of american service members during operation iraqi freedom. iran has never been held accountable for that. they still have major control over portions of iraq and the shiite militias they back are running rampant. furthermore we know they're working to be the key player in syria, an effort to expand if the persian golf to the mediterranean sea. executivewas an obama agreement, it was sold using lies and propaganda, provided iran with an economic lifeline, provided iran with $150 billion in sangs relief, and even airlifted $1.7 billion in cold, hard, cash to tai tehran. jed we -- yesterday we learned that the obama administration secretly granted a license authorizing conversion of iranian assets worth billions of u.s. dollars using the financial

-- the u.s. financial system despite assurances that iran would not be granted access to the u.s. financial system. the obama administration offered gratuitous concessions to iran, that went beyond the concessions contained in the iran deal. that's where this heavy water limitation comes. in the obama administration was using tax dollars to purchase heavy watter from iran. that's money over and above what the iran deal provided. and that damage has been significant. now president trump has withdrawn the u.s. from the jcpoa. my amendment though is simple. we just should not use tax dollars to subsidize iran's nuclear activity thruts purchase of heavy water. i don't think the president would want to do that. but i think it's important that we continue with this in law which we've had now for over a year. i think it will ensure the misthivings past are not repeated and i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman

reserves. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? ms. kaptur: i rise to claim time in opposition. the chair: the gentlewoman is recognized for five minutes. ms. kaptur: thank you very much. i rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment, though i think he intends it well. i want to inform him that the department of energy has said it does not have plans to purchase additional heavy water from iran. so i think this amendment is really irrelevant. i don't know, frankly, i would rather that the united states take whatever iran has rather than letting them sell toyota russia or somebody else but the department of energy has clearly said they don't have plans to purchase additional heavy water from iran so the gentleman's amendment is unnecessary and i urge my colleagues to oppose it. i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back. the gentleman from florida.

mr. desantis: i'm prepared to close. the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. desantis: mr. speaker, i just urge my colleagues to vote yes on the amendment. it's been in law before. we've passed it out of this house two years in a row. we should do it again. i reserve the balance of my time. the chair: does the gentleman yields back? mr. desantis: i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from florida. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed to. it is now in order to consider amendment number 39 printed in art b of house report 115-711.

it is now in order to consider amendment number 39 printed in part b of house report 115-711. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina eek recognition? mr. norman: to address the body and to extend my remarks as needed. the chair: does the gentleman have an amendment? mr. norman: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment.

the clerk: amendment number 39 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mr. norman of south carolina. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 918, the gentleman from south carolina, mr. norman, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from south carolina. mr. norman: mr. speaker, i have an amendment at the desk. with the passage of the bipartisan budget agreement back in february, congress essentially gave themselves a blank check to spend billions and billions more taxpayer dollars over the next two fiscal years. our national debt stands at over $21 trillion and would sign to spend more. how does that make any sense? people back home ask me why our government keeps spending and spending. you know what i tell them, i have no idea. i have no idea why members of congress willingly go along with this abysmal continued spending. i have no idea why we would cut taxes for millions of americans,

grow our economy exponentially and then decide to spend more. if anything, now's the time to get spending under control. now's the time to rein in reckless spending habits. mr. speaker, my amendment should not even be controversial. it simply cuts spending back to what they were last year. $1.5 billion is a drop in the bucket compared to our national debt. we need to start somewhere. i yield back. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. does any member claim time in opposition? the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: i claim time in opposition to the amendment. the chair: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. simpson: mr. chairman, i rise in opposition to this amendment. while i agree with my colleague that we need to be finding savings where possible, this amendment is not the approach that i can support. the bill in its current form takes a balanced approach to meet a number of needs. not just wants or wishes or anything else, but actual needs. the bill prioritizes funding for national security and critical infrastructure.

and reduces funding for certain activities that did not need sustained funding at prior-year levels to accomplish their mission in fiscal year 2019. these tradeoffs were carefully weighed for their respective impacts and the increases proposed are responsible and in some cases are absolutely essential. approximately half of the funding in this bill is for national defense activities. this bill includes $15.3 billion for the department of energy's nuclear weapons security program , which provides funding to maintain our nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. and for the navy's nuclear propulsion program that supports our navy's fleet of submarines and aircraft carriers and for nonproliferation activities that are reducing global nuclear threats. in february the administration released a nuclear posture review that described a sobering view of the current global

nuclear threat situation. russia is modernizing its full range of nuclear systems. china is modernizing and expanding its already considerable nuclear forces, pursuing entirely new capabilities. north korea's nuclear provocations threaten regional and global peace. iran's nuclear ambitions remain an unresolved concern. global nuclear terrorism remains a tangible threat. this amendment would slash funding for the activities in this bill that are an integral part of the united states' national security strategy to address these nuclear threats. for that and many other reasons i would oppose the gentleman's amendment and suggest that maybe we ought to look at what's causing the debt to go up and that's the mandatory spending and not the discretionary spending that we have. and i would urge my colleagues to vote against the amendment and i would reserve the balance f my time.

the chair: the gentleman has the only time remaining. the question is on the amendment mr. simpson: i yield to the gentlelady from ohio the balance of the time. the chair: the gentleman yields to the gentlewoman from ohio. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. i just wanted to say, the gentleman who's offering this amendment, i oppose the amendment and you and i view the world very differently. i view the government of the united states as a bulwark for social and economic stability in this country. if i look at why we have a deficit, going back, one of the reasons is oil wars. this department is one of the most important departments in the country to lead us to energy independence as a country. i don't think we should do what you're asking us to do here. if we look at our trade deficit,

we haven't had balanced trade accounts since the mid 1970's. adding trillions of dollars to our trade deficit every year, making it harder to fund social security, medicare, programs that are essential to social stability in this country. crash and at the 2008 the money that cost us as a country. nobody on wall street went to jail. it's interesting to me where people want to pick away, pick away, pick away, when you look at the big money, the big money, the moneys for war, the money for paying for imported goods as opposed to producing here at home the causes of what happened in -- at home. the causes of what happened in 2008 and there was no justice that was given to the republic. to me, energy independence is critical. if you look at the trillions we've added to the deficit because of wars. so we look at the country through different ends of the telescope, i think. and i urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment. i really think the result of your amendment will be less investment in the republic, less

investment in water resource infrastructure and energy development, and less investments that create good jobs and have substantial returns on investments such as modernizing our ports and all of the infrastructure that helps us to achieve social and economic stability in this country, which isn't easy to do. so, i thank my colleagues for listening and i would urge opposition to this amendment and i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from idaho. mr. simpson: i yield back the balance of my time. the chair: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from south carolina. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the noes have it. the amendment is not agreed to. mr. norman: mr. speaker. mr. speaker. i ask for a recorded vote. the chair: pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from south carolina will be postponed.

for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: i move the committee do now rise. the chair: the question is on the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: madam chair. the chair: the committee of the whole house on the state of the union, having had under consideration h.r. 5895, directs me to report that it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 5895 and has come to no

resolution thereon. for what purpose does the gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: 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 material in the consideration of h.r. 5895, and that i may include tabular material on the same. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. pursuant to house resolution 923 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house. will the gentlewoman from new york, ms. tenney, kindly resume the chair. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole on the state of the union for the further consideration of the bill, h.r. 5895, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for energy and

water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2019, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of the whole rose earlier today, pursuant to house resolution 918, a request for a record vote on amendment number 39, printed in part b of house report 115-711, offered by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. norman, had been postponed. pursuant to house resolution 923, the further amendment printed in part a of house report 115-712 shall be considered as adopted. no further amendment to the bill as amended shall be in order except those printed in part b of the report and available pro forma amendments described in section 4 of house resolution 918. each further amendment printed in part b of the report shall be considered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, may be

withdrawn by the proponent at any time before action thereon, shall not be subject to amendment except amendments described in section 4 of house resolution 918 and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question. it is now in order to consider amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 115-7 126789 -- 115-712. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? mr. nolan: i have an amendment at the desk. the chair: the clerk will designate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 115-712 offered by mr. nolan of minnesota. the chair: pursuant to house resolution 923, the gentleman from minnesota, mr. nolan, and a me observe -- and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentleman from minnesota. mr. nolan: thank you, madam chair. i'd like to begin by thanking

chairman simpson and ranking member kaptur. i wish the whole country could be here to watch how hard you have worked. not just tonight, but throughout the year, to bring this important legislation before us. it would give them great hope and faith in the process. and i commend both of you, your committee members and your staff for the work that you're doing here. i'll be brief. my amendment would add $1 million to the u.s. army corps of engineers' aquatic nuisance program. in fact it would double the annual funding to $2 million. for the important and critical research that's needed to combat some 1,500 terribly destructive invasive species in our lakes and in our waterways. including, by the way, six new invasive species that were just discovered in lake superior.

some zoo plankton. nooth not sure where it came from and -- not sure where it came from and what damage it will do. a little quick history here. my amendment to the 2014 water resources bill added fish and other aquatic creatures to the official definition of invasive species, a definition that had been previously reserved only to plants. so that opened the door for us to have a way to combat these aquatic species. and in so doing the congress gave the army corps the authority to do the research, to eradicate invasive species like asian carp and zebra mussels and so many hundreds of others that are causing so much damage to sport and commercial fishing, to shipping, navigation, to harbor maintenance. the aquatic nuisance control program is supposed to be leading the way with cutting-edge research. and it's doing a good job. but the fact is, it's terribly underfunded. leaving little resources to address the influx of the aquatic species.

as a result, the aquatic invasives like zebra mussels have infested more than 130 lakes in my own state and thousands of lakes across the country. to give you an idea of how fast these zebra mussels, for example, spread. a female zebra mussel can produce a half a million offspring each year. and the simple truth is these zebra mussels are just choking off all kinds of snails and clams and other native fishes. even bird species. in fact, they've killed over 10,000 loons in lake erie alone, because they ate something that had zebra mussels in them and the zebra mussels had a botulism that killed 10,000 loons. that's how devastating these things can be. for outdoor recreation, our people are getting their feet cut and getting all kinds of injuries by stepping on these zebra mussels. housands of good jobs,

slowdowns ofor our economy are caused, -- slowdowns of our economy are caused, slowing down ships as they're painstakingly have having to remove these zeeb -- having to remove these zebra mussels. it's just one of more than 1,500 invasive species. so i urge my colleagues to approve this amendment so the arpa-e corps can get to worm -- so the army corps can get to work cleaning up our lakes and waterways and putting an end to the invasive species that are causing so much costly damage and destruction to our lakes and waterways. thank you, mr. chairman. i yield the balance of my time. ms. kaptur: i thank the gentleman for yielding me the time. talk about working hard, you're here at 9:00 in washington and the day started early. we thank you for being here and defending this egreat lakes. i support your amendment, i personally represent about 200 miles of lake erie's coast, the

shallowest and most ecologically diverse of the great lakes. know what zebra mussels and and about aquatic plants that are invading and causing problems along our shores. law e aquatic nuisance works in other parts of the country. in our area we have a fishery and zebra mussels are spreading rapidly. there's an explosion, there's no way to fix it. they came in in ball last water. we tried ball last water regulation so it has to be dumped further up the st. lawrence waterway, now we have this to contend with. we're trying to keep invasive species out of our lake. we are threatened by asian carp and trying to fish those out temporarily while we find a more

genetically impactful solution. but i want to thank the gentleman for transfering a million dollars from the corps' operation and maintenance account to reduce, to increase the corp.'s aquatic nuisance species program. i commend you for that and thank you for working so late into the night. your constituents are lucky you're here, congressman nolan. thank you and i yield back any remaining time to the gentleman. the chair: the gentlelady's time has expire. the gentleman yields. does anyone seek time in opposition? seeing none. the question is on the amendment buffered a-- offered by the gentleman from minnesota. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. the amendment is agreed. for what purpose does the

gentleman from idaho seek recognition? mr. simpson: i move the committee do now rise. the chair: the squone the motion that the committee rise. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the motion is adopted. accordingly the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: madam chair. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union having d under consideration h.r. 5885 directs me to report it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee

has had under consideration h.r. 5895 and has come to no resolution thereon. the chair lays before the house the following enrolled bill. the clerk: h.r. 1900, an act to designate the veterans memorial and museum in columbus, ohio, as the national veterans memorial and museum and for other urposes. the speaker pro tempore: the unfinished business is the vote on the passage of h.r. 3. the clerk: h.r. 3, a bill to rescind certain budget authority proposed to be rescinded in special messages transmitted to the congress by the president on may 8, 2018, in accordance with title 10 of the congressional budget and impoundment control act, 1974. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on the passage of the bill. members will record their votes

by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 2 10rk the nays are 206. the bill is passed. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid upon the table. pursuant to house resolution 918 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house for the further onsideration of h.r. 5895. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the further consideration of h.r. 5895, which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30rks 2019, and for other purposes -- september 30, 2019, and for other purposes. the chair: when the committee of

the rose earlier today, pursuant to house resolution 918, a request for a recorded vote on amendment number 39 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. norman, has een postponed. pursuant to clause 6 of rule 18, proceedings will now resume on those amendments printed in part b of house report 115-711 on which further proceedings were postponed in the following order. amendment number 13 by mr. songailaas of massachusetts, amendment -- tsongas of massachusetts, amendment number 18 by mr. beyer of virginia. amendment number 24 by mr. gosar of arizona. amendment number 26 by ms. lee of katrina. amendment number 27 by mr. connolly of virginia. amendment number 29 by mr. gosar of arizona. amendment number 31 by mr. lowenthal of california. amendment number 34 by mrs.

blackburn of tennessee. amendment number 39 by mr. norman of south carolina. the chair will reduce to two minutes the time for any electronic vote after the first vote of this series. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment 13 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by the gentlewoman from massachusetts, ms. songailaas. of which further proceedings were postponed and on which the noes prevailed by voice voice -- by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 13 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mistsongas of massachusetts -- by ms. tsongas of massachusetts. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device.

this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of epresentatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 201, the nays are 217. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 18 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by the gentleman from virginia, mr. beyer, on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 18 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mr. beyer of virginia. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. members, you are reminded, this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this this 204, the nays are 214. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 24 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by the gentleman from arizona, mr. gosar, on which further proceedings were postponed and the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 24 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mr. gosar of arizona. the chair: a recorded vote

having been requested, those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. members be reminded, this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: the amendment is not adopted. the the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on on amendment number 26 in 115-711 house report on which the noes prevailed. the clerk will redreeth the amendment. the clerk: offered by ms. lee of california. the chair: a recorded vote has been requested. a sufficient number having

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

the chair: the yeas are 177. he amendment is not adopted.

the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 27 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mr. connelly of virginia the chair: a a sufficient number having arisen have risen, members will record their votes by electronic device. members, this is a two-minute vote [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: the yeas are 19 and the nays are 239. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on on amendment number 29 printed 115-711 and the knows prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 29 printed in part b of house report 115-711 offered by mr.

gosar of arizona. the chair: those in support of a recorded vote will rise. ordered. vote is members, you are reminded that this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: the nays are 276.

the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 31 in part b house report 115-711 and the knows prevailed. the clerk: amendment number 31 printed in part bmp of house report 115-711 offered by mr. lowenthal of california. the chair: those if will rise and be counted. mbers will record by a electronic device. members are reminded, this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: the amendment is not adopted.

the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on on amendment number 34 printed in part b of house report 115-711 on which first proceedings were postponed. the clerk will rezregget. the clerk: amendment number 34 offered by mrs. blackburn of tennessee. the chair: a recorded vote having been requested. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members, you are reminded that this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 153, the nays are 263.

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 15 5rk the nays are 260 -- 155, the nays are 260. the amendment is not adopted. the unfinished business is the request for a recorded vote on amendment number 35 offered by the gentleman from south carolina, mr. norman, on which the noes prevailed by voice vote. the clerk will redesignate the amendment. the clerk: amendment number 39

printed in part b of house report 115- 11 offered by mr. norman of south carolina. the chair: a vorded vote having been requested sporks support. a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered -- those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise and be counted. . a sufficient number having arisen, a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a two-minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the chair: on this vote the yeas are 128, the nays are 289.

the amendment is not adopted. there being no further amendments under house resolution 918, the committee rises. the speaker pro tempore: mr. chair. the chair: mr. speaker, the committee of the whole house on the state of the union, having had under consideration h.r. 5895 directs me to report it has come to no resolution thereon. the speaker pro tempore: the chair of the committee of the whole house on the state of the union reports that the committee has had under consideration h.r. 5895 and has come to no esolution thereon. for what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition? >> thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that the committee on veterans' affairs

be business charged from further consideration of the bill, s. 2246, and ask for its immediate consideration in the house. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 2246. an act to designate the health care center of the department of veterans affairs in tallahassee, florida, as the sergeant earnest i. boots thomas v.a. clinic and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: is there objection to the consideration of the bill? without objection, the bill is read a third time and passed. and the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to house resolution 923 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5895. will the gentleman from illinois, mr. hultgren, kindly ake the chair.

the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for further consideration of h.r. 5895 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: bill making appropriations for energy and water development and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, twifpblete and -- 2019, and for other purposes. the chair: the when the committee of the whole rose earlier today, pursuant to house resolution 923, amendment number 1 printed in part b of house report 115-712 offered by the gentleman from minnesota, mr. nolan, had been disposed of. the house will be in order. the committee will be in order. the committee will be in order. members, please remove your conversations from the house floor. he committee will be in order.

he committee will be in order.

it is now in order to consider amendment number 2 printed in art b of house report 115-712. it is now in order to consider amendment number 3 printed in art b of house report 115-712. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? esch esch mr. chairman, i have an -- ms. eshoo: mr. chairman, i have an amendment at the desk. the clerk: amendment number 3 printed in part b of house report 115-712 offered by ms. eshoo of california. the chair: the gentlewoman from california, ms. eshoo, and a member opposed each will control five minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. eshoo: thank you, mr. chairman. first, i want the house to know

that it is a -- this is a bipartisan amendment. and i don't think the house is in order, mr. chairman. the chair: the gentlewoman is correct. the gentlewoman will suspend. the committee will be in order. the committee will be in order. members, please remove your conversations from the house floor. he committee will be in order. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. eshoo: this amendment provides a $1 million increase for the office of energy efficiency and renewable energy to fund the development and deployment of high efficiency linear generator technology. linear generators convert fuel and air into electricity with the same efficiency and near zero emissions as the highest performing fuel cells on the market. and they're superior to many legacy fuel cells. but instead of using an

electrochemical process like fuel cells, linear generators use an electromechanical process that relies on only two moving parts. and no oil. which reduces capital and maintenance costs and results in a life span three to four times greater than a traditional fuel cell. equally as important, linear generators are dispatchable and can provide electricity, even when the electricity grid is down. this is especially valuable in areas recently hit by hurricanes, like puerto rico and houston and other extreme weather events like last year's wildfires in northern california. linear generators also provide resilient baseload power which eliminates the need for expensive, unreliable and dirty

diesel backup generators. at its heart, this amendment is about investing in the future of energy production. it's about laying the groundwork for the innovators in our country to do what they do best, outperform the status quo and outcompete the rest of the world. the united states has been a global leader in the development of energy efficiency technology, reducing energy costs, and increasing reliability for consumers. but we're in danger of falling behind our foreign competitors. mr. chairman, linear generator technology was born in my silicon valley district by some of the best and the brightest minds from sanford, university -- from sanford university. and although this technology is substantially similar to fuel cells, it faces an uphill battle and an uneven playing field in bringing these products to

market, despite the many benefits of the technology itself. this amendment will ensure that the fuel cell technology's office at the d.o.e. invests in the next generation of fuel cell technologies and maintains u.s. leadership in this critical field. and that's why i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment. i reserve the balance of my time. . the chair: the gentlewoman from california reserves. . the chair: who seeks time in opposition? the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. eshoo: it's nice not to have any opposition. i urge my colleagues to support the next generation of fuel cell technologies and vote yes, and i yield back. the chair: the gentlewoman from california. the question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from