set of ideals established moral leadership in the world propelled by our respect for freedom, human rights, and the rule of law. yesterday the president's statements and behaviors, as well as his conduct in the preceding weeks, has severely damaged our standing in the world by siding with russia and its thuggish dictator against the united states. he has create add crisis in our beloved country. rather than conducting any oversight of these important issues relating to the integrity of our elections, disgraceful conduct of the president and threat to our democracy, we have this hearing. i would like to begin by associating myself with the remarks of several of my colleagues about this seriously misguided priorities of this committee under republican leadership. >> this hearing under way for about two hours. we have to leave it here. you can continue watching live online at c-span.org. as we take you live now to the house. legislative work about to begin. 15 bills on the calendar today. most will be considered under

suspend the rules. but one is a spending bill dealing with the interior department. and financial services spending for 2019. the speaker: the hou wilbe in order. the prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. chaplain conry: let us pray. eternal godwe give yo thanks for givings another day. strengthen the cotitional commitments of the members of the people's house in their work today. guide and sustain em in your wisdom and inspire all, especial those in leadership, th the insights needed to assist our nation at this time. bless all who are responsible for theecurity ansafety of .ur nation in today's world grant them resolve to execute their responsibilites with integrity and faithfulness.

may all that is done this day for your greater honor and glory, amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause of rule 1 the journal stands approved. for what rpose does the gentleman fm pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompso mr. speaker, pursnt to clause 1, rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speak's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speer's appval of e joual. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. the ayes have it. the journal stands approved. mr. omon: mr. spear. the speaker: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition? mr. thompson: mr. speak, i object to the ve on the grnds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that quoruis n present. he speaker: pursuant to lause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this queson are postned. the plee of aliege abc will be led by the gentleman from -- the pleng of allegiance- pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman om whington. mr. kier: please join ufor the pledge.

i pledge allegiance to thelag of thunited states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and ustice for all. the speer: the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina eek recognition? withut objection. the gentleman is recognized. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, on friy, the "washington tes" correctlyeporteon the front page that the nato cnference that president trump's bare knuckles diplomacy paid off. mr. trump declared the u.s. remained committed to the military alliance. the brussels declarationf july 11 itself confirmed. we'll share fairly the responsibilities of defending each other. we'll progss has been made across nato. ev if we have turned a corner, we need to do more. there would be further progress, nd of quot today i'm grateful to welcome a delegation from bulgaria. as a valued no ally.

chairperson of the forei policy committee of e national assembly who also is chair of the friendship group, bull gare why u.s.a.s. leading a delegation of assembly members to washington, coordinated by the ambassador. it inspiring to see young bulgarians and americans training together to establish peace through strength. in conuon, god bless our troops and we'll never forget september 11 and the global war n terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from washington seek recognition. without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mrspeaker. in 1961 in the facof challenge from the soviets, president kennedy visited the university of washington and he said we're neithewarmongers nor appeasers. neither hard r soft, we're americans. determinedo defend the frontiers of freedom. he pointed out the university's motto is let there be light and

asked what more can be said today regarding the dark and tangled problems we face than this? let there be light. it is the unanimous view of the united states intelligence community that russia used social meeta to introduce our elections in 2016. afte yesterday amicans from all viewpoints called on congress to stand ufor our interests, to protect our election from russian influence. mr. kilmer: i offered the honest add back as an amendment to the bill we're voting on today. this bipartisan bill simply establishes the same disclosure requirements for online ads that currently apply to political ad on television and radio. today congress had the cnce to stand up to russia to pass the honest ads act. but like the president a day ago, this body failed to act. mr.peaker, congress has a duty to refend the production tears of freedom. so let there be light. let's pass the honest ads act and shine a heat on the deepest corners, darkest corners so that russia can never again use

our news feeds to influence our elections. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvan seek recognition. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, request unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from pennsylvania is recogzed. mr. thompson: mr. speaker, i recently introduce the skills investment act of 2018 with my colleagues, congressman derek kilmer, t allow american workers to invest in their own futures. the bill -- this bill would create lifelong learning accounts for workers to use to pay for skills-based education. career related learning, and professional development. in an ever changing economy, i know that such accounts would be put to good use. as co-chair of the bipartisan house career and technical education caucus, i fully support expanding access to skills-based educational opportunities and professional development. the tax treatment of these savings accounts would be similar to a health savings account, mid career workers could contribute up to $4,000 tax free each year with a maximum contribution level of

$10,000. employers would receive a 25% tax credit for contribution to a workers' account can. workers of all ages can use the account at any time to learn skills to make them more competitive as the economy changes. this bill is a commonsense approach to investing in the american worker, and i encourage my colleagues to co-sponsor it today. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? mr. kildee: i seek unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman from michigan is recognized. mr. kildee: thank you, mr. speaker. like many americans yesterday i watched and was dumbfounded by the words of the actions of the president of the united states. and he betrayed our principles and our national interest on the world stage. never before have we seen a president of the united states so quickly surrender our

long-standing values and our national security interests to n adversary. putin. the president's pathetic performance was an embarrassment for the united states. just last week, of course, his own justice department indicted 12 russian intelligence agents for the very act that he denied ever took place when had he a chance to take sides between american interests and the american intelligence community, he wrapped his arms around putin, a k.g.b. spy with a history of jailing his opponents and killing journalists. this is outrailingous. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition. >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, north korea's

nuclear prap perhaps is the greatest threat to u.s. national security. mr. poe: we must never forget the horrendous plight of the north korean people. little kim and his dynasty is guilty of some of the worst human rights abuses in human history. freedom of religion and speech do not exist in north korea. christians are routinely arrested, tortured, imprisoned, and executed. their families sent to prison camps were guilt by association. reports estimate that almost 130,000 political prisoners are suffering brutal conditions and highly secret work camps around north korea. systematic murder, torture, rape, forced abortions, starvation, and overwork are leading to countless deaths every day. and the kim regime is giving no signs of relenting. despite any nuclear agreement,

we must make it clear that the united states will never waiver in its support for basic human dignity. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. poe: of the north korean people. that's just the way it is. the speaker pro tempore: he for what purpose does the gentleman rom illinois seek recognition? without objection. the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. schneider: mr. speaker, president trump's trade war is spiraling out of control and american workers and businesses are paying the price. back home in illinois already more than $3.8 billion next sports have been targeted for retaliation. i have heard from numerous local companies hurt interesting this misguided approach. they are struggling with new high costs and now less able or likely to hire our expand. today i'm introducing legislation to help american businesses affected by the trump tariffs. trade adjustment assistance was created in 1962 to to help u.s. workers and firms adapt

competition caused by changing trade policies. my bill would expand the trade adjustment authority for firms to add reduced exports resulting from retaliatory tariffs as a qualifying factor for the t.a.a. program. i also enthusiastically support similar legislation by my democratic colleagues be introduced this week to provide similar assistance to impacted workers and impacted farmers. president trump needs to end this damaging trade war. until he does, we need to provide relief to the businesses and workers who are adversely struck with the consequences. i urge my colleagues to support this legislation. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from i am now seek recognition? -- from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize and thank my friend, his years of service

and leadership as president of blackburn college. it is nearly five years as blackburn's president he his ye d leadership as president provided tremendous leadership and helped with policies with tuition assistance providing students with valuable work experience. mr. davis: under his leadership blackburn college has grown its enrollment, renovated several buildings, and implemented policies to provide local students provided tremendous with access college. under a program created last year, high school students in the county can attend blackburn college for free if they meet the college's academic standards, participate in the work program, and household income falls below a set threshold. beginning this month john will be moving to a university in ohio where he will serve as president. i wish john nothing but the best in the future and thank him for his leadership, feedback, and most of husband his friendship. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? without objection. swrat is recognized for one minute.

-- the gentleman is recognized or one minute. >> a century old vacant historic landmark that once served as a bustle stop for passengers traveling by boat, ship, and rail. mr. higgins: a plan by the transportation authority to transform this piece of history to a destination that serves buffalo of today and tomorrow. creating a multimodal center for people traveling by rail, automobile, likes, and boats. the donw is a project under consideration for a federal grant to the united states department of transportation's bert identitylizing investments to leverage development. i stand today in support of the am a case for the terminal which serves as a national model for financing infrastructure investments delivering significant economic impact. surrounded by canal side, the cobblestoned district, downtown buffalo, and the buffalo

niagara medical campus the development represents a transformative project building on the economic renaissance of the new buffalo. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> i rise today, mr. speaker, to share the six short months tax reform has transformed lives and businesses in south carolina. i originally sent out two postcard surveys to 55,000 of my constituents asking them how tax reform has affected them. i have received great feedback with over 70% saying they saw increased pay or benefits. one example i received of tax reform at work in the fifth district is the maddox family, a self-employed couple. they said due to their tax cuts this year, they are going to finally be able to buy new equipment for the businesses. they also believe these tax cuts should remain permanent for all middle class families

because the benefits they personally see occurring in their community. mr. norman: as a result of the tax cuts and jobs act, south koreanians are seeing opportunities and -- coming back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i would ask to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for one minute. . doggett: i rise to respectfully call upon our republican colleagues to stand up for america by standing up against and rejecting donald trump's surrender to murderous dictator vladimir putin. putin may vell -- well have elected trump, but he's against us all. democrats and republicans alike. and he's against our democracy. without his congressional republican enablers, trump cannot continue to coddle the russians at the very time his director of intelligence,

coates, republican dan is warning that we're under sustained russian attack. in his embarrassing vaunting praise of putin, trump coates, is warning that we're under sustained expresses no concern for putin's military shooting down a civilian airliner four years ago today. putin's agents' poisoning his enemies and jailing his opponents. putin's invasions of ukraine and georgia. don't await your retirement to stand up and address the truth of trump's betrayal of our country. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? >> seek to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> mr. speaker, with access to millions of americans' personal information, -- the i.r.s. is one of the most powerful agencies in washington. unsurprisingly, the agency has failed to secure the information from abuse.

that is why i was pleased to see the treasury department announce it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations o file personally identifiable information about their donors as part of their annual returns. while the house has taken steps to limit schedule b disclosures of the tax-exempt organizations, the latest announcement from the i.r.s. will exempt some 45,000 nonprofits from the reporting rule, including conservative organizations, but also unions and social welfare groups. mr. emmer: today one's political views can spark passion, hatred, even refusal of service at a restaurant. in an extreme case, your life may be threatened at baseball practice. regardless of political affiliation, americans should feel comfortable donating to a cause or candidate of their choice without living in fear of reprisal. i applaud the administration's recent action and encourage this congress to join their effort in

de-- and defend the first amendment rights of every american. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. ms. kaptur: mr. speaker, last week in columbus, ohio, thousands of american retirees gathered to demand congress act. pension plans for more than one million retirees and union workers are in danger of collapse if something isn't done soon. more than 60,000 ohio workers alone could be impacted and millions across our nation face cuts in their earned retirement benefits. retirees traveled from as far as utah to columbus as the select committee on the solvency of multiemployer pension plans held a field hearing to hear from retirees and employers. their jobs range from coal miners to truck drivers to candy makers, as perry from pennsylvania said at the rally,

we've worked and sweat and toiled into this position and we've earned that pension. and now to know that somebody sitting behind a desk is willing to take that from us, we're going to stand up and fight for that. retirement security is an american value. workers' pensions must be protected. congress must find a solution to their earned pensions. and give security to the retirement years of millions of hardworking americans. i urge this congress to act before this congress ends. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask 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. olson: mr. speaker, countries that were part of the old soviet union are now growing democracies. but they face ongoing interference from the new soviet

union, russia. the country of georgia is one such country. georgia and other nations that were behind the iron curtain are now working to improve their democracies. a strong economy allows these countries to grow and stand on their own. and that's why georgia and others seeking real freedom must work harder on the international stage to keep american and western money flowing. this money goes away if the rule of law is not followed. it's simple. follow the rule of law, prosperity follows. don't follow the rule of law, poverty follows. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. mr. olson: this will make our world more free. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from nevada seek recognition?

mr. kihuen: i ask 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. kihuen: thank you, mr. speaker. today i rise to remember the life of curt vontillo. he attended the route 91 festival in las vegas on october 1. he enjoyed owning his own trucking company in northern california. he would often go to concerts and was happy to be going to the route 91 festival with a number of his relatives. curt and his wife loved to take golfing trips to scotland and ireland and he loved to boat. he was fun, friendly and liked to enjoy good beer. curt is remembered as being very patriotic and a big family man. i would like to extend my condolences to curt's family and friends. please know that the city of las vegas, the state of nevada, and the whole country grieve with you. mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman

from massachusetts seek recognition? without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, h.res. 99 was introduced by eliot engel from new york and basically what it says is that the house of representatives expresses its agreement with the statements of the speaker of the house of representatives, made on july 16, 2018, regarding the russian federation's interference in the 2016 united states elections and related matters. it basically, again, is an endorsement word for word of what the speaker of the house said. a very strong statement, basically making it clear that there was no question that russia interfered in our election and continues to attempt to undermine our democracy here and around the world. it's not just the finding of the house -- american intelligence community, but also of the house intelligence committee. so, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that any committees of referral be discharged from further consideration of h.res. 999, expressing agreement with the statements of the speaker of

the house of representatives made on july 16, 2018, regarding russian federation interference in the 2016 united states elections, and related measures. and i ask for its immediate consideration in the house of representatives. the speaker pro tempore: under guidelines consistently issued by successive speakers as recorded in section 956 of the house rules and manual, the chair is constrained not to entertain the request unless it has been cleared by the bipartisan floor and committee leadership. mr. mcgovern: parliamentary inquiry, mr. speaker. how do i get this cleared? maybe i can yield to the gentleman from oklahoma who can maybe in a gesture of bipartisanship, agree that it would be a strong statement for the house of representatives to come together, democrats and republicans, and get behind the strong words of our speaker of the house. would that be appropriate? the speaker pro tempore: the chair is unaware of clearance of the request by the gentleman

from. -- by the gentleman. mr. mcgovern: how can i get it cleared? can i ask the republicans if hey would agree to it? the speaker pro tempore: the clearance comes from leadership and the committees. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from oklahoma seek recognition? mr. cole: mr. speaker, by direction of the committee on rules, i call up house resolution 996 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house calendar number 168. house resolution 996. resolved, that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for

consideration of the bill h.r. 6147, making appropriations for the department of the interior, environment, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending september 30, 2019, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print 115-81 shall be considered as adopted in the house and in the committee of the whole. the bill, as amended, shall be considered as the original bill for the purpose of further amendment under the five-minute rule and shall be considered as read. points of order against provisions in the bill, as amended, for failure to comply with clause 2 or clause 5-a of

rule 21 are waived except as follows -- beginning with the colon on page 251, line 5, through 2012 on page 251, line 8. where points of order are waived against part of a paragraph, points of order against a provision in another part of such paragraph may be made only against such provision and not against the entire paragraph. no further amendment to the bill, as amended, shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution and pro forma amendments described in section 2 of this resolution. each further amendment printed in the report of the committee on rules 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 as provided by section 2 of this resolution,

and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such further amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill, as amended, to the house with such further amendments as may have been adopted. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, during consideration of h.r. 6147 for amendment, the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on appropriations or their respective designees may offer up to 10 pro forma amendments each at any point for the purpose of debate. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized for up to one hour. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to my good friend, the gentleman from

massachusetts, mr. mcgovern, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cole: during consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cole: mr. speaker, yesterday the rules committee met and reported a rule for consideration of h.r. 6147, the department of interior, environment and related agencies appropriation act of 2019, which also includes the financial services and general government appropriation act of 2019. the rule provides for one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and the ranking member on the appropriations committee. mr. speaker, the appropriations package in front of us is the third installment of the house's effort to pass all 12 appropriations bills on the floor for fiscal year 2019. we've previously passed appropriations bills covering

energy and water, military construction, veterans affairs, legislative branch, and defense. today we turn to the work of the appropriation subcommittee on interior and environment, and financial services and general government. once the house finishes its work for the week we will have passed six of the 12 appropriations bills across the floor. overall the package covers $ 58.65 billion in spending. of those funds, $35.25 billion are allocated to the interior bill and $23.4 billion to the financial services bill. which is equal to the enacted level forever fiss -- for fiscal year 2018 for both of these bills. the package represents many months of work by the appropriations committee. mr. speaker, as i have so often said when discussing appropriations bills, today's package represents the most fundamental duty of congress. to fund the government and keep it open each year, to continue

to provide our constituents with the services they need and deserve. but importantly this package also fulfills an additional duty of congress to the american people. it's fiscally prudent stewardship of the taxpayers' hard-earned money. and to ensure that we appropriately prioritize where and how to spend taxpayer dollars in the most efficient manner. mr. speaker, the interior and environment appropriations bill funds critical programs at the department of the interior, the environmental protection agency, and other crucial areas. among the areas of greatest importance, the bill includes $3.9 billion for the department of the interior and the u.s. forest service to fight wildfires. it includes $500 million for payments in lieu of taxes to help local governments. and it provides $2.6 billion for the clean water and drinking water state revolving loan fund. it funds the national park service at $3.25 billion, an increase of $53 million over

fiscal year 2018. of great import not only to my home state of oklahoma, but to native americans all across the country, the bill honors our treaty and trust agreements by providing $5.9 billion for the indian health service and $3.1 billion for the bureau of indian affairs and indian education. the bill also fulfills an additional commitment to the american people by including provisions to rein in the runaway regulatory agendas of parts of the federal government. . the e.p.a. regulatory programs by $228 million. it also fully repeals the economically damaging waters of the united states rule and includes various prohibitions preventing the e.p.a. from overregulating agricultural operations and exempting livestock producer from e.p.a. greenhouse gas requirements. the financial services and general government portion of this bill provides $23.4 billion across several

important accounts. it provides $7.7 billion for the operation of the federal court system. the bill provides funding to help combat the opioid crisis, including $415 million for the office of national drug control policy, and including $280 million for high intensity drug trafficking areas, and $118 million for other federal drug control programs. it encourages responsible spending at the internal revenue service by appropriating $11.6 billion for i.r.s. activities, an increase of $186 million over fiscal year 2018. it continues stringent oversight and protections of taxpayer dollars that have been included in recent years. the bill provides $1. 6 billion for the securities and exchange commission. and will help grow the economy by providing $737 million, or full funding, in capital to various small business administration loan programs. perhaps most importantly this

bill includes provisions that will finally bring the consumer financial protection bureau under congressional oversight. mr. speaker, as you are aware, when the cfpb was created in the original dodd-frank act, -- consequently since its inception un-elected bureaucrats at the cfpb have been able to operate without congressional supervision. today's bill will remedy that and ensure the cfpb falls under congressional authority, oversight, and supervision once and for all. mr. speaker, i encourage all my colleagues to support this rule and the underlying bill. the package before us represents a fulfillment of our most important responsibility as members of congress and provides appropriate funding in two divisions, interior and vimplete, and financial services and general government. i applaud my colleagues on the appropriations committee for their months of work in making this bill a reality and cheer

their efforts on. moving forward to completion of the f.y. 2019 appropriations process. r. speaker, i urge support for the rule and underlying legislation. with that i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the rule and the gentleman from massachusetts. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i want to thank the gentleman from oklahoma, my friend, mr. cole, for the customary 30 minutes. unanimous consent to revise and extend. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, the measures included here aren't just bad, they are dangerous. take the interior unanimous con revise and extend. appropriations bill. it would put the health and safety of americans at risk by slashing funding to address climate change and enforce the environmental safeguards. the e.p.a., the agency tasked with fighting carbon emissions, is cut by $100 million. that's especially ironic since the majority was completely unwilling to reign in the wasteful spending by former

administrator scott pruitt. this is someone who spent $43,000 on a soundproof phone booth, but the majority was silent. land and water conservation fund is cut by $65 million. that's after republicans cut it by a third in the last fiscal year. as many that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks colleagues land and water conse fund is cut by $65 million. kno champion of the old w.c.f., especially the stateside grant program, where states provide a 50% match to grants that create more recreation and green open spaces in our districts. the people and communities in nearly every congressional district in the country have benefit interested these grants. we should be increasing not cutting lwcf. there is even lang a wadge in this bill that would repeal a rule designed to protect our wetlands and water ways. state revolving fund were cut by $300 million. $150 million cut to clean drinking water, and $150 million cut to clean water scombrokets like water treatment and sewage programs.

mr. speaker, the american people rely on congress to make sure that the water they drink is clean. what is going on with this bill? as always, republicans have again attached several poison pill provision that is undermine the health and safety of our communities and environment. every year, every year provisions like these weigh this bill down. mr. speaker, when will my republican friends realize that harmful provisions like this are why the bill hasn't become law? i'm especially outraged to see what the majority has done with the financial services appropriations bill. especially after what we saw on friday. that's when some of our worst fears were confirmed. as part special counsel robert mueller's investigation, deputy attorney general rosen stein announced charges against 12 russian military russian intelligence officers. they were accused of hacking the democratic national

committee, hillary clinton's campaign, and the campaign committee. the website of a state electoral board was also hacked. voter information was stolen. ven the vendor of voting equipment was targeted for a signer attack. those individuals involved in administering elections were also equipment was targeted for a targeted. these charges are proof that our nation, that our very democracy, is under attack. no troops were sent into combat, not a single gun was fired. instead an adversary turned the internet into a battlefield. that is the new face of warfare in the targeted. these charges are although the methods were different, 21st century. this c be responding the way we always have. by putting partisanship aside and our country first. by doing whatever it takes to ensure we're not left vulnerable again. but, mr. speaker, how is this majority responding? by using the financial services

appropriations bill to zero out funding for grants that help protect our election systems from cyber hacking. that's a cut of $380 million compared to what congress enacted in 2018. the wolf is at the door and my republican colleagues are inviting it inside for dinner. this is insane. the president tweeted shortly after the election, quote, unless you catch hackers in the act, it is very hard to determine who is doing the hacking, end quote. well, mr. speaker, it may be hard, but it's not impossible. because we now have a 29-page indictment from president trump's own justice department providing the road map. the indictment goes into extraordinary detail outlining how russia successfully hacked into our election systems. how candidates and committees were successfully targeted. not by china or somebody sitting on their bed that

weighs 400 pounds, as the president suggested, but by russia. by putin. t is mind-boggling that even after this indictment, after russia's meddling was laid bare, the president did not stand up to putin. he held a summit after this indictment, after russia's instead. he even told with him cbs news interview before his you sit down that he, quote, hadn't thought about raising the issue with putin during their talk. it gets worse, mr. speaker. british investigators believe that current and former agents of the same russian military intelligence service accused of disrupting our 2016 elections are also likely responsible for the nerve agent attack on a former russian spy and his daughter nr england earlier this year. sadly, it is no surprise the president didn't stand up to putin.

never does. when president trump was asked whether he was a friend or foe, he recent thely called computin a competitor, instead. ke this was some real estate deal. calls the free press, journalists in the united states, quote, the enemy of the american people, end quote, time and time again is unwilling to call the leader of russia a foe or even calls the press, journalists in the united states, an adversary. it is disturbing. what kind of hold does putin have on this president, mr. speaker? so much so that the president basically blamed the united states for much of the tensions between the two countries? the president even deflected when asked whether he trusts the american intelligence community or putin. the president may be satisfied by what he calls -- called, putin's strong and powerful denial of election interference, but i'm not, mr. speaker. i'm disgusted. it is clear that an effort to defend our democracy will have to be led by congress because it's not come interesting the

white house. but we're not leading. when we make it easier for an adversary like russia to attack us again. that's retreating. i remember learning about the school. n of poyers in how the legislative branch is seap pratt but equal branch of government. the founders designed it that way so we could provide a check on a president. school. how the mr. speaker, when are the republicans in congress going to provide a check on president trump? he is cozying up to putin instead of holding him accountable for hacking our election. as senator schumer suggested, we should be increasing sanctions on the russians. the republican majority should be joining us demanding the president's national security team that accompanied him to helsinki testify before congress detailing what they know. it is passed time that republicans end their attacks on the department of justice, on the f.b.i., and on the special counsel.

already 32 people and three companies have either been indicted or pleaded guilty under special counsel mueller's investigation. we'll see where else it leads, but there is already evidence of clear wrongdoing. he should be able to finish his work without any interference. the majority should move a bill from representative nadler to the floor immediately so we could protect the special counsel's investigation from the whims of this president. president trump has shown he's willing to fire his f.b.i. director. mr. speaker, are the republicans really going to stand by and make it possible or him to fire robert mueller, too? this majority must also demand the president insists that the 12 russians named in friday's indictment are sent to the united states to stand trial. the president should have too? this majority already done this when he met with putin. but apparently it was an after thought. maybe he was too busy admiring

a strongman to stand up for his country's interests. i wish i were optimistic the republicans would take these commonsense steps to protect our country, but i'm not. not after what we saw in the rules committee last night. the majority failed to make in order an amendment by representative quigley, germane, if they failed to make his amendment in order that would provide $385 million to help states protect the election systems from cyber hacking. this funding should not have been zeroed out in the first place. my republican friends see what's happening? is anybody paying attention over there? russia meddled in our election and your response is to zero out funding for an election security assistance program. then when we pointed it out and tried to put the money back, you blocked the amendment. you won't even allow to us debate the program. that's the smaller step that they could have taken. i stead, we can't even have a debate on the floor. apparently the republicans are afraid of having a fair fight

about protecting our democracy and it's indefensible. if the president isn't willing to do more to prevent putin from doing it again, then this congress has an obligation to act. not gut the accounts that provide for election security. we can start standing up by voting against this rule and the underlying legislation. it doesn't do nearly enough to protect our nation against hostile foreign powers hellbent on attacking our democracy. i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from oklahoma. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i'd like to yield myself such time i may consume. and then turn and yield time to my friend from ohio. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cole: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i want to quickly respond to my friend's concern about the election assistance commission funds. i'm sure he's aware that was the last installment, last year, this fiscal year's, of a

$365 billion authorization back in 2002. currently 39% of those funds or this year are still available to the states. 19 states have yet to submit any request. the legislation itself has not been re-authorized. so if the authorizing committee will re-authorize it, i'm sure we'll revisit this matter. it's also worth noting anything added would overwhelm be available from october 1 -- only be available from october 1 and the election is five weeks after that. the idea we'll do something in that time is a red herring. with that, mr. speaker, i'd like to turn and recognize my good friend from the seventh district of ohio for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from ohio is recognized for two minutes. >> thank you for yielding. mr. speaker, i rise in support of the rule and underlying legislation that provides funding for programs vital to the environmental and economic health of my home state of ohio. and the entire great lakes

region. this appropriation bill includes full funding, $300 million, for the great lakes restoration initiative. the glri is an important program focusing on the critical, environmental restore aprojects such as improving water quality, fighting invasive species, and repairing native habitats for wildlife. the region supports over $200 billion in economic activity anti-world's largest source of fresh water. restoring and preserving the great lakes is good for our environment and thousands of highians whose lively hoods depend on a glean lake erie. mr. gibbs: it repeals the obama era water of the united states rule a bureaucratic overreach that expands the e.p.a. jurisdiction beyond congressional intent and in contradiction with court rulings. . i heard from farmers, ranchers, local and state governments, homeowners and private property rights advocates. all agree the obama administration went too far, creating confusion and uncertainty about what would and

what would not fall under e.p.a. jurisdiction. by repealing the flawed 2015 rule, we are committing to work with state environmental agencies as partners in protecting our nation's part in resources rather than adversaries. finally, this appropriation bill maintains funding for the clean water state revolving fund. a valuable tool for state and local agencies to finance projects to ensure our municipalities have access to clean and affordable water. i encourage my colleagues to support the rule and passage of the legislation, to keep the great lakes healthy and continue to improve our nation's water quality. nd i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: thank you, mr. speaker. my good friend from oklahoma who said 39% of the funds are still left in the election assistance commission account. well, we still have five months left in this year.

and does anybody here really believe that these attacks are going to stop? and shouldn't we have money in the pipeline? shouldn't we be prepared, not just for this election, but for the election after that? i mean, this is about protecting our democracy. and i don't understand why this is controversial. but no matter what you think about mr. quigley's amendment, it was germane. it was relevant to this bill. it should have been brought up and we should debate it. all we're asking for is a fair fight. i mean, we are deeply concerned about what's happening to our country. and we are especially concerned in the aftermath of president trump's disastrous meeting with vladimir putin. mr. speaker, now is the time for congress to stand unified with the unanimous assessment of our intelligence community. i ask my colleagues to defeat the previous question. and if we do, i'm going to offer an amendment to the rule to bring up representative engel's resolution, h.res. -- h.res. 999, which follows word for word yesterday's statement by speaker

ryan, affirming russia's attacks on our democracy. this is the second time today that i'm going to give my republican friends a chance to go on record and agree with the republican speaker of the house, paul ryan, agree with his words, defending our democracy shouldn't be controversial. agreeing with the republican speaker that, quote, the united states must be focused on holding russia accountable, end quote, should not be controversial. i would say to my friends, take yes for an answer. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. and to discuss our proposal, i yield four minutes to the gentleman from new york, mr. engel. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentleman from new york is recognized. mr. engel: i want to thank my friend from massachusetts for yielding to me. and i want to strongly tied eye -- identify with his remarks. mr. speaker, i led the foreign affairs committee democrats last week, urging president trump to

cancel his meeting with vladimir putin. because i knew this was going to turn out badly. but frankly, i didn't know how bad it would be. turns out president trump embarrassed himself and disgraced our nation. standing on foreign soil, the president of the united states questioned america's intelligence community. he attacked america's law enforcement with bizarre conspiracy theories. he lobbed petty political insults and he did it all while standing next to america's chief rival, vladimir putin. when faced head-on with the question, who do you believe? president trump sided with putin. and affirmed putin's brazen lies. this is the tyrant who directed attacks on america's democracy in an effort to elect donald trump and hurt hillary clinton. and as director of national intelligence, dan coates, said, those attacks are ongoing. as we all know, putin is a

ruthless leader who seeks to tear down our alliances, undermine western unity and destroy democracy. with the eyes of the world on them, it's plain that the president of the united states is now putin's willing accomplice. putin's poodle. it's outrageous. it's disgusting. it's dangerous. and it's been met with near universal condemnation. here's what speaker ryan said just yesterday. and i agree with the speaker. and i quote him. there is no question that russia interfered in our election and continues its anticipates -- attempts to undermine democracy here and around the world. the president needs to understand that russia is not our ally. there is no moral equivalency between the united states and russia. which remains hostile to our most basic values and ideals. and that russia must be held accountable, unquote. that's what our republican speaker said. and i agree with him. i've introduced this resolution

so that the entire house can go on record agreeing with the speaker. and affirming that we stand with the speaker. i deeply regret that a member of the speaker's own party just blocked the house from speaking with one voice and taking up this resolution by unanimous consent. we must reject the president's capitulation to putin. we must stand up for american leadership on the global stage. and we must demand that this administration treat russia like the enemy it is. how can you treat putin better than american intelligence? than u.s. intelligence? it just boggles my mind. so, mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent for the immediate consideration of the resolution i've just introduced, which is h.res. 999. the speaker pro tempore: the chair would advise that all time has been yielded for the purpose of debate only. does the gentleman from oklahoma yield for purposes of this unanimous consent request?

mr. cole: mr. speaker, i'm reiterating my earlier announcement that all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only and i will not yield for any other purpose. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma does not yield. therefore the unanimous consent request cannot be entertained. mr. engel: mr. speaker, i urge members to defeat the previous question and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: mr. speaker, i want to -- i'll just reserve my time for now. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, i'd like to yield five minutes to the gentleman from virginia, the distinguished ranking member of the committee on education and the work force, mr. scott. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: thank you. i thank the gentleman for yielding. mr. speaker, federal administrative law judges, commonly known as a.l.j.'s, decide over a million cases a year, covering everything from appeals of social security, disability and medicare claims, to disputes over black lung

benefits and securities law violations. there's cases that can touch virtually all of our constituents. on july 10, president trump issued an executive order that will undermine the quality and independence of a.l.j.'s and the impartiality of the decisions they render. it does so by changing the hiring standards for judges. the current standards guarantee that a.l.j.'s are fully qualified to serve, the executive order will replace those standards with a far more lenient system that will allow a.l.j.'s to be hired based on ideology or cronyism, rather than experience and competence. this executive order entitled, exempting administrative law judges from the competitive service, will open the door for the politicalization of this profession that plays a defining role in the lives of millions of american families. representatives cummings, cicilline, larson and i filed an amendment to defund executive

order and preserve the impartiality, independence and competence of the administrative law judges. unfortunately the majority of the rules committee has refused to allow members to vote or or even discuss our amendment. -- on other even -- on or even discuss our amendments. this was designed to guarantee the legitimacy of their decisions. a.l.j.'s were required to have seven years of trial-level experience as an attorney, and successfully complete a six-part examination. to insulate judicial decision making from agency political pressure, the examination was conducted by the office of personnel management, o.p.m., which maintained a list of highest scoring applicants from which the agencies can then select their candidates. all of that was jettisoned by the president's executive order, which now removes -- which will remove a.l.j.'s from the competitive service. now the only requirement is that an a.l.j. must be a lawyer in

good standing. this executive order is strongly opposed by a broad spectrum of organizations, the federal administrative law judge conference, a nonpartisan voluntary professional organization, warns, now any agency that wants to hire an a.l.j. needs no approval from o.p.m. and can hire an attorney, regardless of skill or experience. the new appointment process will not afford members of the public the due process and fair hearings they deserve. instead they will give agency insiders and political loyalists a job for which they may not be qualified, but which they will feel indebted. the association of administrative law judges, which represents over 1,600 a.l.j.'s at the social security administration, says that the president's order will politicize our court, lead to cronyism and replace independent, impartial adjudicators with those who will do the bidding of political appointees. the american association for justice writes, it is important

for all cases overseen by a.l.j.'s to have a neutral a.l.j. handling the case, not someone who will be behold -- beholden to a particular party, hostile to a particular agency or program, or otherwise politically motivated in their decision making. the american bar association writes, by giving the agency heads sole discretion to hire a.l.j.'s, who may be making determinations affirming or overturning decisions rendered by that agency, the executive order has the potential to politicize the appointment ocess and interfere with the decision independence of a.l.j.'s. the american bar association says further that nothing less than the integrity of the administrative judiciary is at issue here. that is why it is critical that members of congress have an opportunity to participate in the debate and formulate a solution. the -- solution.

the first step is to halt the implementation of the executive order. mr. speaker, i'd like to submit those letters from those four organizations for the record by unanimous consent. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. scott: mr. speaker, unfortunately by refusing to allow this amendment to come to the floor, the majority has denied members the opportunity to have an important debate on this issue. rather than avoiding the issue, the majority should be standing up for a just and impartial review process. rather than refusing a vote on this amendment, the majority should be joining us in holding the administration to account. mr. speaker, i'm disappointed by the majority's opposition to considering this issue that effects so many constituents across the country. i therefore urge members to oppose the rule. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, the majority has filled the

financial services appropriations bill with anti-home rule riders, not one or two provisions, which would be bad enough, but five. one would prohibit d.c. from using its own funding to carry out initiative 77, which eliminates the tipped minimum wage. that's an initiative by the way that passed with -- recently with 56% of the vote. last night in the rules committee, the republicans even made in order the palmer amendment. this would prevent the district from implementing its local individual responsibility requirement. if passed, this amendment would increase health insurance premiums and cause residents to lose access to affordable coverage options. mr. speaker, why the republicans continue to interfere in local d.c. -- why are the republicans continuing to interfere in local d.c. government? where are the small government conservatives? where is the freedom caucus? you all should be outraged by this. congresswoman eleanor holmes norton filed an amendment to

strike these riders and spoke in the rules committee last night. she asked a pretty simple question. don't my republican friends have their own districts to worry about? her amendments complied with the rules of the house, yet they were blocked from getting a vote on the floor. we can't even debate them here. the majority's afraid of a fair fight. we are long past the point of breaking the rule for being the most closed congress in the history of the united states of america. but this is more of the same from the most closed congress in history. but that doesn't make it right, mr. speaker. when will the republicans finally say enough? so enough with the meddling in d.c. affairs. enough with overriding the will of local residents. and enough with the restrictive amendment process. at this point i'd like to yield four minutes to the gentlewoman from the district of columbia, ms. eleanor holmes norton. the speaker pro tempore: the entleman yields. the gentlewoman from the

district of columbia. ms. norton: first, i want to thank the running backing -- ranking member for his very cogent remarks that go to the principle of the matter before the house today. i have to say, i come to the well of the house in outrage against the attack on my district by the republican house. np 1973, that's 45 years ago, congress passed the district of columbia home rule act which created the locally government. understand that after the civil war, it is republicans who first gave the district of columbia the right to have its own home rule. a tradition that this republican majority has repudiated. according to the home rule act, a central purpose of the act was, and i'm quoting, to

relieve congress of the burden of legislating upon essentially local district matters. president nixon, who signed the bill, affirmed that purpose himself when he wrote -- and i am going to quote president nixon. one of the major goals of this administration is to place responsibility for local functions under local control and to provide local government with the authority and resources they need to serve their communities effectiveness. the measure i sign today represents a significant step in achieving this goal in the city of washington. it will give the people of the district of columbia the right to elect their own city officials and to govern themselves in local affairs. as the nation approaches its 200th anniversary of its

founding, it's particularly appropriate to ensure those that live in the capital city the rights and privileges which have long been enjoyed by most of their countrymen. but the measure i sign today does more than create machinery for the election of local officials. it also broadens and strengthens the structure of city government to enable it to al more effectively with its responsibility. signed, richard nixon. how do we square those words and the bipartisan home rule act with the fiscal year 2019 appropriation bill which is the most significant abuse of congressional power over the district of columbia since republicans took control of the house in 2011? this bill repeals two d.c. laws

and prohibits the city from spending its local funds consisting only of local taxes raised in the city by local citizens. not a cent of it raised from this house. either carry out or enact the three laws. i filed amendments to strike all five of these undemocratic riders even though my amendments complied with house rules. the rules committee did not make any of them in order. afraid, apparently, of debate on this matter before the people of the united states. adding insult to injury, the ules committee piled on by making in order two additional anti-home rule riders.

if this bill stands, there will be a record seven anti-home rule riders in it. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. norton: some of these riders come back every year, and yet -- mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentlelady an additional one minute. ms. norton: every year in conference. it republican majority, mostly touts their support of local affairs, a lie as long as that principle stops at the district of columbia border, and republicans interfere with the spending and laws of a cal jurisdiction not their own. pardon me for being angry but i will tell my colleagues that the 700,000 american citizens who live in the district of columbia pay the highest taxes per capita in the united states

and have fought and died in every war since the revolutionary war. yet, they have no voting representation on this house floor, even on their own appropriation, and no representation in the senate at all. hese riders amount to bullying that takes unfair advantage of my district. no wonder the -- we are making headway on our d.c. statehood bill. but it should not take statehood -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman's time has expired. mr. mcgovern: i yield the gentlelady an additional 30 seconds. ms. norton: it should not take statehood for any district to be treated with respect and fairness. we've been successful in cleaning up the d.c. appropriation, and we will be successful again. the people of the district of columbia will not let you get

away with bullying them after they've paid their federal taxes the way every member of this house has. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from washington, d.c. yields. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you, mr. speaker. i continue to reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, may i inquire how many more speakers the gentleman has? r. cole: i'm ready to close. mr. mcgovern: how much time do i have remaining? the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman has two minutes remaining. the gentleman is recognized. mr. mcgovern: when deputy attorney rosenstein announced the charges against 12 russian military officers on friday, he said, quote, we need to work together to hold the perpetrators accountable and we need to keep moving forward to preserve our values, protect against future interference and defend america. well, republicans and democrats working together need to come

together to defend this country. this shouldn't be controversial. it should be common sense and it should be above bipartisanship. but we have a president who probably tunes out anything the deputy attorney general says because president trump is too busy attacking the special counsel's investigation on a near daily basis. he calls it a witch-hunt and worse. and that's despite the justice department has issued more than 100 criminal accounts more than 30 people in three companies. numerous associates of the president have pled guilty and his former campaign chairman is sitting in jail today. maybe more accurately, mr. speaker, the president attacks robert mueller's investigation because of that fact, because the special counsel could be closing in on even more possible wrongdoing. where is there's smoke there's usually fire and there's a lot of smoke so far. given the president's action, we need as a congress to step it up. we need to hold russia accountable and prevent this kind of hacking from ever happening again. because the president who is

unwilling to say even publicly that he trusts the american intelligence community over vladimir putin will not. mr. speaker, i'm asking my colleagues to defeat the previous question so we can go on record as disagreeing and condemning what the president did in helsinki which was so -- such a betrayal of our values. what we're asking to do is vote to endorse the speaker of the house, the republican speaker of the house's words. i mean, quite frankly, we should have a resolution of disapproval on the floor or maybe a censure given what the president said. we're saying, let's come together in a bipartisan way and make a statement what the president did, what his behavior. so vote no on the previous question and vote no on the rule. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. the gentleman from oklahoma is recognized. mr. cole: thank you very much, mr. speaker. let me make a couple comments in response to my friend. it was the last president, not

this president, who told russian leaders that he would be more flexible after an election. it was the last president, not this president, that said russia was not a geopolitical threat and chastised mitt romney when he raised it in the campaign. it was the last president, not this president, that drew a red line and not enforced it. if you look at the record of this administration and this party that frankly has begun to restore america's defenses after years of neglect by the last administration. that's not good news for russia. this administration that has also encouraged and conjold some of our allies -- conjoeled some of our allies to the defense levels. this president twice enforced red lines in syria. it was this congress that administered ever increasing penalties on russian sanctions. so i think if you look at the

actions, the are pretty impressive. i want to get back to the matter at hand, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, in closing, i want to encourage all members to support the rule. today's bill represents the next step toward fulfilling our primary obligation as members of congress -- funding the government of the united states. although not perfect, the bill before us today will lead to the completion of the house's work on two more appropriations bills. we will provide funding for important government activities like fighting forest

consumer financial protection bureau is no longer allowed to operate without congressional oversight. while i look forward to completing all 12 appropriations bills, this legislation represents an important step along the way to fulfilling that goal. i applaud my colleagues on the appropriations committee for their work and with that, mr. speaker, i yield back the balance of my time and i move the previous question on the resolution. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from oklahoma yields. the question is now on ordering the previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker, on that i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those favoring a vote of the yeas and nays will rise. a sufficient number having arisen, the yeas and nays are ordered. members will record their votes y electronic device. pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule 20, this 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question will be followed by five-minute votes on adopting the resolution, if ordered, and agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal, if ordered. 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 230 and the nays are 183. the previous question is now ordered. the question is on the adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. mr. mcgovern: mr. speaker. mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. mr. mcgovern: we ask for a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those favoring a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having

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

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote the yeas are 229, the nays are 184. the resolution is adopted. without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the unfinished business is the question on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal, which the chair will put de novo. the question is on the -- on agreeing to the speaker's

approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. the journal stands approved.

for what purpose does the gentlelady from washington seek recognition? mrs. mcmorris rodgers: i send to the desk a privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report on the resolution. the clerk: house resolution 1,000. resolved that the following named member be and is hereby elected to the following standing committees of the -- mrs. mcmorris rodgers: i ask unanimous consent to dispense with the reading. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the resolution is agreed to. the motion to reconsider is laid n the table.

pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, the chair will postpone further proceedings today on motions to suspend the rules on which a

recorded vote or the yeas and nays are ordered. or votes objected to under clause 6 of rule 20. the house will resume proceedings on postponed questions at a later time. the house will come to order. the house will come to order. please take your conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition? mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i move to suspend the rules and pass s.

the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: senate 717. an act to promote pro bono legal services to empower survivors of domestic violence. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from virginia, mr. goodlatte, and the gentleman from maryland, mr. raskin, each will control 20 minutes. the house will come to order. please take your conversations off the floor. the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on s. 717, 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 i am pleased to be voting on s. 717, the pro bono work to empower and represent act of 2018. otherwise known as the power act. the power act directs that each year the chief judge in each judicial district across the country hold at least one event in partnership with domestic violence service providers or

volunteer lawyer projects to promote pro bono legal services for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. lawyers play a critical role in combating domestic violence. not only do government prosecutors enforce criminal laws, but in the civil realm, lawyers may provide legal representation in matters such as civil protection order applications, which ultimately help keep victims safe from their abusers. while victims are able to apply for these orders pro say, as this bill makes clear, legal representation increases the possibility of successfully obtaining a protective order against an attack, which prevents further mental and physical injury to a victim and his or her family. one study has found that 83% of victims represented by an attorney were able to obtain a protective order, whereas only 32% of victims without an attorney were able to do so. federal courts already promote

many pro bono programs in their judicial districts and have access to local attorneys who may be able to volunteer to work with domestic violence victims. this bill not only requires a public event in each federal judicial district photographer year during a four-year period, -- for every year during a four-year period, it also requires an additional public event to be held every two years during the four-year period in districts that contain tribes or tribal organizations that specifically focus on encouraging pro bono legal services for indian or alaska native victims of domestic violence. i'd like to thank senator sullivan from alaska for introducing this bill and shepherding it through the senate. and would like to thank mr. kennedy from the great commonwealth of massachusetts for introducing this bill in the house. this is an extremely important issue and i hope it will make a real difference in increasing legal services to victims. i urge my colleagues to support the power act and i reserve the

balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from virginia reserves. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. raskin: thank you very much, mr. chairman. mr. speaker, i rise in support of s. 717, the pro bono work tome power and represent act -- tome power and represent act of 2017 or the power act, as amended. it seeks to promote pro bono legal services to promote survivors of domestic violence. domestic violence, sexual assault and stocking -- stalking impact people in all of our communities. this assists victims who find themselves in a domestic violence situation, it far exceeds the ability of free or low-cost legal services and yet research consistently shows, as the chairman of the judiciary committee just pointed out, if you have a lawyer you're significantly better equipped to prevent future domestic violence than if you don't have a lawyer. in fact, those victims who have a lawyer are three times more

likely to be able to prevent future violence than those who are without a lawyer. so this measure is consistent with the spirit and the goals of the legal profession. the american bar association's model rules of professional conduct encourage attorneys to bridge the gap in representation by providing free legal services to people who are unable to pay them and this is an especially vulnerable and often destitute population. one jurisdiction that has stepped up in a very profound way to meet this professional standard and challenge is the district of columbia bar, which has an extraordinary and successful project created by karen barker marku and kathleen buhl biden, which is called the d.c. volunteer lawyers project. they just celebrated their 10th anniversary. they have 2,100 lawyers who have signed up pro bono to offer their assistance to victims of domestic violence, stalking, date rape and so on.

and they serve more than 1,000 clients every single year. they were just given an award by the d.c. bar for the work that they've put together. solely through the volunteer efforts of lawyers in the district of columbia bar. so this legislation would modestly and simply direct the chief judge of each federal judicial district to organize at least one public event annually for the next four years, to promote pro bono legal services for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking in the district in which the court serves its jurisdiction. in districts containing understand indian tribes or tribal areas, they would have to lead one event during each two-year period. people who have experienced and survived these types of violence deserve and will benefit from all the information and assistance that can be provided in such public events. too often survivors simply don't know what resources that are out

there that are available to help them. s. 717 will help survivors of domestic violence vindicate their rights and protect themselves from future assaults. which are still a scourge on the land. i support this legislation. but obviously there's a lot more we can do. congress should work to allocate resources to the recruitment, training and placement of pro bono attorneys through the myriad of already existing bar programs that do focus on assisting victims like the one in the district of columbia. and of course congress should work to re-authorize the violence against women act which provides an indispensable array of programs that help prevent and address domestic violence and sexual assault. we should not let the authorization for these important protections lapse -- lapse. all of these are important and the measure before us will support a comprehensive response to these types of crimes. i support this bill and commend my colleague, representative joe kennedy, for his leadership in offering the house companion to the senate bill. i want to thank the chairman for his leadership and i urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this legislation so that we

may bring it one step closer to enactment. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from virginia is recognized. mr. goodlatte: mr. speaker, at this time it's my pleasure to yield such time as she may consume to the republican conference chair, the gentlewoman from washington. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: thank you, thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, mr. chairman. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from washington is recognized. mrs. mcmorris rodgers: mr. speaker, i rise in support of the power act. survivors of sexual and domestic violence must know that they have a place to turn. where they can step out of the shadows of abuse and find hope. to provide that hope the power act will bring more tools and resources to communities so that survivors can find access to legal services that they need. it will also encourage lawyers across the country to get involved in these cases. and it will help people break free from the dangerous cycle of abuse. no one should ever have to live in fear of being intimidated from seeking justice.

the first step to making sure they courageous lino where they can go safely is to know where they can go for help. today, to build on our work, to make our communities safer, i urge my colleagues to join me in sending the power act to the president's desk to become law. and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. the gentleman from maryland is recognized. mr. raskin: mr. speaker, thank you. i'm going to yield now to my friend and colleague, representative joe kennedy from massachusetts, who is not only a distinguished champion of the rights of women and foe of domestic violence, but he's a former prosecutor who spent a lot of time in massachusetts prosecuting domestic violence cases. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized. ken ken thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. kennedy: thank you, mr. speaker. i want to thank my colleague, mr. raskin, for the kind words, for his leadership on this bill and the legislation, bringing it to this point, and for all of his efforts combating domestic violence as well. i also want to thank my

colleagues, in particular congressman young, congresswoman mcmorris rodgers, the republican caucus chair, congresswoman gabbard, congresswoman brooks, as well as chairman goodlatte for his leadership in making sure that this bill comes to the floor today. as well as senator sullivan from alaska, who has been the original author of this legislation, that's been working with me on the this -- on this for the past several years. grateful for his leadership as well. mr. speaker, i remember far too many times in a courtroom, as a state-level prosecutor, the challenges of bringing domestic violence cases to trial. i remember to this day talking to victims, seeing perhaps a paragraph in a police report and something that didn't quite seem right. doing an interview with a victim and peeling back layer after layer after layer of isolation, of control, of a creation of a state of dependence, of rp