venezuela. we vow to stand with them as they fight for a government that represents their interests and is responsive to their needs. this budget significantly expands our investments in another kind of freedom that the deputy secretary mentioned, the freedom of religion. in particular, we will continue our -- >> and we're going to break away from this and take you live now to the floor of the house. mr. speaker, a message from the president of the united states. the secretary: mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: madam secretary. the secretary: i am directed by the president of the united states to deliver to the house of representatives a message in writing. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20rk the chair will postpone further -- 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.

for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. waters: thank you, mr. speaker. i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1122, the housing choice voucher mobility demonstration act of 2019. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 1122. a bill to authorize the secretary of housing and urban development to carry out a housing choice voucher mobility demonstration to encourage families receiving such voucher assistance to move to lower poverty areas and expand access to opportunity areas. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. luetkemeyer, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: i ask unanimous consent that all members may

have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation, and to insert extraneous material thereon. and i would yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. rigorous studies have demonstrated that giving a low-income family the opportunity to move to a lower poverty neighborhood can have a profound impact, particularly for young children. for example, one study found that young boys and girls in families that use the voucher to move to lower poverty neighborhoods were 32% more likely to attend college and earned 31% more or nearly $3,500 a year compared to their counterparts in families that did not receive a voucher. unfortunately families with housing choice vouchers that want to move to a better

neighborhood can face significant challenges. particularly if it involves moving from one public housing agency jurisdiction to another. in fact, data shows that only one in eight families with children, with the housing choice voucher, use their vouchers to live in low-poverty areas. mr. speaker, h.r. 1122 would help reduce barriers to mobility by establishing a demonstration program that would enable and incentivize public housing agencies to come together, to come up with a regional plan, to increase mobility across their jurisdictions. this is a bipartisan proposal that was included in h.u.d. budget requests under the obama administration. further, $25 million in funding for this demonstration was included in funding year 2019, funding bill for h.u.d. programs, and a version of this bill passed the house last congress 368-19.

this demonstration will not only provide thousands of families with opportunities to move to better neighborhoods, but it will also lay the foundation for how successful outcomes can be replicated at a larger scale across the country. i want to congratulate the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver, and the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. duffy, for introducing this initiative. and i of course would urge all members to vote yes on h.r. 1122. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in support of h.r. 1122, the housing choice voucher mobility demonstration act of 2019. as currently administered, housing vouchers are often insufficient in helping american families get access to neighborhoods with greater

opportunities. that is why h.r. 1122 is so important. a strong body of research shows that growing up in a safe, low-poverty neighborhood with good schools improves children's academic achievement and long-term chances of success. and may reduce intergenerational poverty. a recent groundbreaking harvard study found that young children and families that used housing vouchers to move to better neighborhoods fared much better as young adults than similar children who remain in extremely poor neighborhoods. the study found that young boys and girls in families that use the voucher to move to lower poverty neighborhoods are 32% more likely to attend college and earn 31% more as young adults than their counterparts in families that did not receive an m.t.o. voucher. girls in families that move to lower poverty neighborhoods were also 30% less likely to be single parents as adults. and let us not forget that location also effects adults in many ways. such as access to jobs, the cost of getting to work, the

feasibility of balancing child care responsibilities, the work schedules and other basic goods and services. voucher mobility is key to enable families with children to move to safer neighborhoods with less poverty and thereby enhance their chances of long-term health and success. h.r. 1122 will provide the ability for many of these changes. i thank the people for working on this. with that, i urge passage of 1122 and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i yield to the gentleman from missouri, congressman cleaver, five minutes, the chair of subcommittee on national security, international development and monetary policy. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for five minutes. mr. cleaver: thank you, mr. speaker. let me thank mr. luetkemeyer and, most particularly, the

chair of the financial services committee, congresswoman maxine waters from california. this piece of legislation, mr. speaker, is particularly significant for me. i lived in public housing for five years. i saw what the possibilities were there and i saw people who did not make it. i saw individuals who made it. the one thing that i found difficult to accept was the fact that if you lived in public housing, almost every rule made was designed unintentionally to keep you in public housing. my father didn't tell the truth about the fact that he was cleaning up the office building on saturday, earning some additional money, and then serving parties on the weekends. he had to pretend that this

didn't happen because he was trying to save money, getting the family in its own home. it worked. he is watching c-span right now , hearing his son talk about what could have happened. the essence of this bill was passed as a part of the appropriations package that was signed into law earlier this year. it promotes housing mobility for individuals who rely on housing vouchers. and so under this bill, the department of housing and urban development would establish a demonstration program to allow interested public housing agencies to form consortium to enhance mobility and provide the residents with increased opportunities to move to higher income communities. -- higher-income communities. you know, there's something

contagious about working around only poor people. and if you live in a neighborhood and all you see are people who are struggling, it's easy to come to the conclusion that that's the way life is. that you're just supposed to struggle, you're just supposed to barely make it. and if you don't see the signs of people who are making progress, people who are achieving, you might come to the conclusion that achievement is beyond one's reach. and this was demonstrated with a research project from harvard onomist raj shedy, nathaniel hendirn and laurence katz. who found that children who move to higher-income neighborhoods increase their chances of success. more specifically, the study found that children who were able to use housing vouchers to

move to low-poverty areas were 32% likely to attend college and earn 31% more a year than their counterpart notice lower income neighborhoods. this barrier removes -- this bill, rather, removes barriers to provide families with the tools to navigate a move from one neighborhood to another. h.r. 1122 will allow more families to thrive by increasing their access to higher per for man -- higher performing schools, employment opportunity, fresh and affordably priced foods, and safe playgrounds. now, there's something about home ownership or living in a nice neighborhood. our family was able to move out . my father bought a house in a white neighborhood, where we could not live. and had it moved at night from

midwestern parkway to gerald street, where my father lives today, and my goodness, i wish the world could see what transpired. father's yard is in contention with any yard in town for the yard of the summer. we had a water short and in texas, we had a drought, a serious drought three years ago, and my father would get up at 3:00 a.m. in the morning to trick the city people coming out to see if people were violating the water ordinance, by watering his loan at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 -- lawn at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning. while i'm confessing my father broke the law, the truth of the atter is it pleased me because we had never had a yard in my life until we were able to get

out of public housing. so not only does it give the children an opportunity for higher achievement, educationally, but it also does something for the homeowner. this bill removes barriers and i am supportive of that and i want to thank my colleague and friend and former neighbor -- the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman's time has expired. ms. waters: i yield to the gentleman an additional minute. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for an additional one minute. chao cleave -- mr. cleaver: thank you, mr. speaker. thank you, madam chair. i just want to thank sean duffy who worked with me on this bill, and i'd like to also thank the chair and the ranking member of the committee for their continued support. and with thrk i'm hopeful that we can continue -- and with this, i'm hopeful that we can continue working across the aisle to promote housing opportunities for all our constituents. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the chair recognizes the

gentleman from missouri. mr. luetkemeyer: we continue to reserve, although we are out of witnesses. so we're ready to close whenever the lady's ready to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. ms. waters: if my colleague has no more remaining speakers on his side, i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the chair recognizes the gentleman from missouri. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. with that, we just want to, again, reiterate our support for h.r. 1122, for the bill. and again, i thank mr. cleaver for his personal testimony today. it was very compelling. it's a tremendous story of success and the use of these hings and how changing neighborhoods can really be helpful. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i.a.p. pleased that we were able -- i'm pleased that we were able to work in a bipartisan manner on this initiative. this bill shows we can foster new ideas and help improve

services and flexibility for our citizens who are receiving housing assistance. so i thank the gentleman from missouri, mr. luetkemeyer, for his engagement on the bill, and i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation. with that, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 1122. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 -- then the affirmative, gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: i ask for the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. all those in favor of taking this vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted.

a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20 further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. reserve ederal supervision act. this is h.r. 9746789 the speaker pro tempore: does the gentlewoman move to pass the bill as amened. ms. waters: as amended, yes, sir. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. caller: h.r. 974, a bill to amepped the federal ereserve act to of the federal reserve system to provide a written report and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from missouri, mr. luetkemeyer each

will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their rashes on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. the gentlewoman is rex -- is recognized. ms. waters: this is a very straightforward piece of legislation. it clarifies that the vice chairman for supervision is required to provide testimony along with his appearance before the committee. additionally if the position is vacant, the bill makes clear that the chair of the board shall appear and provide testimony on supervision and regulation efforts. i think it makes good sense to codify who at the board will testify before congress on the stat thousands of fed supervisory efforts regardless of whether there's a person

confirm therd vice chair for supervision or not. when congress passed the dodd-frank wall street reform and consume brother text act it created the position of vice chair of supervision so that there was one fed board governor who was responsible for ensuring robust rulers in nation's largest financial institutions. we now have a vice chairman for supervision at the fed but the position had previously been vacant since its creation in 2010. so it is help to feel clarify how congress will continue to be informed about developments at the fed. this bill already passed the house last year on a voice vote so i thank me gentleman from new jersey, mr. gottheimer, and the gentleman from north carolina, mr. lucas, for introducing this legislation an i urge all members to vote yes on h.r. 974. thank you, mr. speaker, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is

recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. that's ok, a lot of folks have trouble with my name, you did a pretty good job. i rise in orth support of h.r. 974, an important bipartisan bill that will provide congress greater oversight and supervision at the federal reserve. the vice chair of supervision at the federal reserve exercises and oversees the board's supervisory or regulatory authority for a variety of activities. this rule is imperative to stable a safe, sound, way to support the economy. added sures that there's transparency for the american people and increases the fed's accountability. these issues are of high importance to the american people and our financial system. it's crucial that we are able to

hear testimony and ask estionsness -- ask questions on this. i thank mr. gottheimer for working on this resolutionened i urge support of the legislation and i reserve my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i would inquire if my colleague has remaining speaker on his side, i have no further speakers and i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is ecognized. mr. luetkemeyer: i have one witness, i yield three minutes to the gentleman from oklahoma, mr. lucas. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. lucas: i'm here today to tell my colleagues about h.r. 974 and ask that they pass it. dodd frank gave the federal reserve greater regulatory authority and established the vice chair for supervision

position but the first confirm aid pointee to that position took office in 2017, a full seven years after dodd frank. during that time, congress received minimal testimony on regulatory issues if the fed. typically other officials who didn't eversee the regulatory efforts gave testimony in this record. but the key point is dodd frank requiresle on the vice chairman for supervision to give that testimony. while we're grateful that other fed officials decided to speak to congress on regulatory issue, they didn't have to under the law. i introduced this bill last congress as a way to prevent that situation from arising ever again. under the bill if there's no vice chair for supervision, either the fed chair or their designee will be required to give annual testimony on regulatory matters. it's that simple. as a result of this bill -- as a result this bill passed unanimously out of the financial services committee last congress. this bill is about the oversight authority of congress and the

other constituents we represent. it remains vitally important that we and our senate friends hear from knowledgeable regulatory officials at these agencies. particularly when these regulations have a large effect on capital money markets. otherwise our constituents will become even more distrustful of government, transparency is key. in fact, it is one of the largest responsibilities of the members of congress. this promote this is response kt -- responsibility and deserves to be passed. i thank the chairwoman and the ranking member for supporting this by i hope my colleagues will follow this example and vote in favor. i yield back the balance of my time, mr. speaker. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yeels. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: we are done with speakers, i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: i'm pleased with the bipartisan cooperation shown by

this legislation and fully support this efforts of the sponsors to increase accountability and transparency. i want to thank the gentleman from missouri, mr. luetkemeyer, for his engagement on the bill and again urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important h.r. 975. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields. the question is will the hughes howes suspend the rules and pass the bill h.r. 974. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed. without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. waters: i move that the house suspend the rules and pass

fincen h.r. 1414, the improvement act of 20109. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk rill we -- the clerk will report the title of the bill. caller: h.r. 1414, a bill to amend the duties of the financial crimes network, fincen, ensure they work with tribal agencies, protechs against all forms of terrorism and focus on virtual currencies. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters thearninged gentleman from missouri, mr. luetkemeyer, each will control 20 minutes. the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: thank you very much, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation and to insert extraneous material thereon. i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered.

ms. waters: the fincen improvement act will strengthen the financial crimes enforcement network, the fincen. our national security and financial system. a form of this burn bill was introduced last year with the exact same language and it unanimously pass these house on suspension by voice vote. currently, fincen works with law al, state, and local enforcement authorities in its anti-money laundering, counterterrorism objectives. though tribal law enforcement is a strong partner this fighting crime and safeguarding our nation's security, they are not listed in the fincen statute alongside their law enforcement partners. though fincen voluntarily works with tribal authorities, this would make such cooperation mandatory. it will also amend fincen

statute to protect against all forms of terrorism. the underlying statute only requires protection against international terrorism, while the united states -- terrorism. while the united states faces a serious threat from foreign terrorist organizations, the threat from both homegrown, violent extremists and domestic terrorists has sharply increased in the last several years. though this type of terrorism has been less discussed in the news cycle, these terrorists are equally as dangerous as international terrorist organizations, if not more. in fact, a survey of 382 law enforcement agencies conducted with the police executive resorgee forum with funding from the national institute of justice found that 74% of the law enforcement agencies reported anti-government extremism as as

one of their threats. this part of the bill will ensure a proper focus be paid to all forms of terrorism. additionally this bill will require fincen to work with foreign intelligence units on anti-money laundering and counter terror financing initiatives with respect to emerging technologies such as crip toe currencies which are increasingly used by terrorists and transnational criminals. as the threat environment has changed with the birth of crip toe currencies, online marketplaces and the dark web, fincen needs to coordinate with and support our international partners who shear our common anti-money laundering financing guiles. for these reasons i'm proud to support this legislation and i congratulate congresswoman introducing this bill. i urge all members to vote yes

on this important legislation and i reserve the plans of my time. the speaker: the gentlewoman reserves. the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. i rise in strong support of h.r. 1414, the fincen improvement act. this passed the house by voice vote last congress. i'm happy to see my colleague, congressman rigelund of virginia has joined congressman we canton has introduced on the floor. is is the first piece of legislation he's had on the floor and it shows his background in fighting terrorism. h.r. 1414 outlines how the terror landscape in our post-9/11 world has expanded. now we are tasked with protecting the american people not only from traditional threats posed by groups like al qaeda abroad but also domestic

terrorism where crimes are committed on u.s. soil by both foreign and u.s. persons. fincen mandates that focuses on all forms of terror, not just foreign terror campaigns. that is a commonsense update to the statute that will bring clarity to our anti-terrorism laws. h.r. 1414 also strengthens fincen by ensuring cooperation with tribal law enforcement agencies and the prioritization of virtual currencies. some virtual currencies have een shown to frustrate law enforcements' efforts to link transactions to people or i.p. addresses. it is for this reason that fincen needs to be able to thwart terrorism. it is our sworn duty to protech the american people and h.r.

414 allows fincen to adapt its abilities to fight terrorism in our modern age. i urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: ms. waters: i yield the gentlewoman from virginia three minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman is -- is recognized for three minutes. ms. wexton: i thank the madam chairwoman for the yielding of the time. mr. speaker, i rise in support of h.r. 1414, the fincen improvement act. bipartisan legislation i introduced with my financial services colleague and fellow virginian, congressman riggleman. this is a practical bill that will help modernize the duties of the financial crime enforcement network, otherwise known as fincen. the mission of fincen is to safeguard the financial system from crimes or illicit use,

such as terrorist financing. combat money laund -- financing, combat money laundering and promote national security through the dissemination of financial information and intelligence. h.r. 1414 would do three things to further their important mission. first, is in the area of investigation into terror financing. fincen is currently authorized to combat international terrorism but fails to mention domestic terror activities. with international -- while international terror threats remain present and relevant, the threat landscape has expanded considerably, and also includes domestic terror groups that commit crimes to further their agendas. h.r. 1414 will amend the fincen authorizing legislation to clarify its role in investigating and combating terror threats, be they foreign or domestic. fincen is already doing important work to combat domestic terrorism, but the bill will clarify its role and correct this oversight in the statute. second, the virtual currency landscape is rapidly evolving

and many of these technologies did not exist when previous laws and regular lacings -- regulations were written. h.r. 1414 will help fincen combat emerging methods of financing elicit activity, including the use of cryptocurrency. finally, the fincen improvement act builds on existing relations with law enforcement partners by -- by ensuring that fincen has the authority to work with not only federal, state and local law enforcement, but also with tribal law enforcement across the country. i'm proud to co-sponsor this bill, mr. speaker, and i would urge our colleagues to support it. thank you. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: thank you, mr. speaker. with that i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from virginia, one of our man from the resh freshmen class of this fall. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognize for three minutes. mr. rigell: thank you, mr.

speaker. today i'm proud to rise in support of the lead republican sponsor of h.r. 1414, the fincen improvement act of 2019. i would like to thank my colleague and fellow member from the commonwealth of virginia, representative jennifer wexton for her work on this legislation -- wexton, for herk work on this legislation. this is a tangible example of what congress can accomplish whment we put aside our differences and work together. fincen is a critical component of law enforcement. as the agency is charged with promoting national security by safeguarding our financial system. mr. riggleman: terrorists, drug smugglers, human traffickers and other criminal actors are constantly innovating and creating new ways to exploit the system. bad actors know the current limitations of our law enforcement and how to profit immensely from our weaknesses as they are constantly developing their tactics, techniques and procedures or t.t.p.'s based on our security posture. it is fincen's mission to cut the head off the snake and combat these activities. this bill will strengthen

fincen in three key areas. first, by codifying the domestic responsibilities of combating this finance. we know all too well the danger international terrorists pose. but it is equally important that we police criminal financial activity domestically as well by reinforcing fincen's domestic mandate, we are sending a message to all americans that we will not tolerate criminal activity, either at home or abroad. second this bill adds tribal law enforcement to the list of fincen partners. by ensuring robust and comprehensive law enforcement partnerships, we are equipping the agency's charge -- agencies charged with safeguarding our financial systems with the necessary tools and information to execute their mission, partnering with tribal law enforcement closes a potential loophole that terrorists can use to inject this money into the system. finally, and perhaps most importantly, this bill clearly incorporates cryptocurrencies and other emerging technologies that substitute for currency. as financial technology or fintech evolves, do the opportunities for criminals to take advantage of the financial

system. we must ensure that our law enforcement agencies have a clear directive from congress to take on all challenges and risk facing our financial system. mr. speaker, today i would ask all of my colleagues in the people's house to join me and ms. wexton by voting in favor of this legislation. thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: mr. speaker, i'd like to inquire through the chair if my colleague has any remaining speakers on his side. i have no further speakers and i'm prepared to close. mr. luetkemeyer: we are prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from missouri. mr. luetkemeyer: i just want to reiterate our support for h.r. 1414, the fincen improvement act, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. the gentlewoman from california is recognized. ms. waters: mr. speaker, i'm pleased that ms. wexton and mr. riggleman have brought this issue to the full house. it addresses key gaps in our efforts to fight financial

crime, something we all should support. so i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important piece of legislation, and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman yields back the balance of her time. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1414, as amended. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 1414. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? ms. waters: mr. speaker, i move that the house suspend the rules and pass the bill, h.r. 758, the corporate with law

enforcement agencies and watch act of 2019, as amended. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the title of the bill. the clerk: h.r. 758. a bill to provide a safe harbor for financial institutions that maintain a customer account or customer transaction at the request of a federal or state law enforcement agency. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from california, ms. waters, and the gentleman from arkansas, mr. hill, each will control 20 minutes. the chair now recognizes the gentlewoman from california. ms. waters: thank you, mr. speaker. i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on this legislation, and to insert extraneous material thereon, and i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. ms. waters: mr. speaker, h.r. 758, which strengthens cooperation between financial institutions and law

enforcement agencies to better detect, deter and combat terrorism and financial crimes. with respect to bank secrecy act, anti-money laundering are referred to as vsaaml supervisory actions this bill would carve out a narrow safe harbor for financial institutions that keep a customer's account open at the written request of a law enforcement agency. including those at the federal, state, local ands. this cooperation will enable -- local and tribal levels. this cooperation will enable law enforcement to keep track illegal. it ensures financial institutions clarifying they will not be held liable for their cooperation and corroboration with law enforcement in helping to thwart illicit finance. i will note that law enforcement agencies are

currently expected to provide a written notice to financial institutions requesting that the accounts of bad actors remain open to monitor transactions and build stronger criminal cases. however, this practice does not always happen and exposes financial institutions to enforcement actions from their banking regulators. banks should not be put in a position to choose whether or not to help law enforcement out of concern about regulatory consequences. we simply cannot allow bad actors to launder money and finance terror through our banks. h.r. 758 will encourage financial institutions to maintain a strong partnership with law enforcement. in the 115th congress, this bill was unanimously approved by the financial services committee. the house passed the bill by a vote of 379 to four. so i want to thank the gentleman from arkansas, mr. hill, and the gentleman from

illinois, mr. foster, for introducing this bipartisan piece of legislation. this bill is one example of our committee's efforts to fight terrorism, corruption and financial crime. so i urge all members to vote yes on h.r. 758. thank you, mr. speaker, and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady reserves the balance of her time. the chair recognizes the gentleman from arkansas. jarred hill thank you, mr. speaker. i -- mr. hill: thank you, mr. speaker. i appreciate that and i yield myself such time as i may consume. first, let me thank chair waters. i'm delighted the house is considering this important bill, h.r. 758, which i've had the pleasure to work on over the past year with my good friend from illinois, congressman foster. as a former community banker, i've dealt with the conflict of wanting to help law enforcement agencies when receiving a keep-open letter, but not being able to because of the need to

comply with the requirements set forth by a regulator. frequently and often in the middle of a bank exam. today the overall purpose of this bill is to support law enforcement and reduce money laundering and terrorist financing through our banking system. that's why, along with my friend, mr. foster, was pleased to introduce this -- as the chairwoman said -- narrow, commonsense bill. which enables partnerships without repercussions. between law enforcement and our local financial institutions. this legislation allows law enforcement to monitor cash flows associated with criminal investigations at financial institutions. under the bank secrecy act and the anti-money laundering regulations, banks face strict rules for managing accounts so that they can not facilitate money laundering, terror finance, drug running, and other illegal activities.

sometimes banks receive notices from law enforcement agencies known as keep-open letters, to encourage them to keep an account open so that law enforcement can monitor what they think to be and suspect to be criminal activity and track the payments for better monitoring. i've heard recently from banks that they're seeing an increase in the number of keep-open letters, many of which can be attributable to new human trafficking investigations. allowing banks to keep these accounts open will help stop these terrible criminal actions. currently, if banks help law enforcement and comply with the keep-open letter request, they face the risk of being penalized by someone from the same regulatory agency. this commonsense bill supports those efforts by law enforcement, by allowing financial institutions to comply with such requests, maintain a suspicious account without being penalized in the middle of a bank exam. under this bill, no federal

department or agency may take an adverse supervisory action with respect to the financial institution that's keeping the account open. as the chairwoman said last congress, this legislation unanimously passed out of our house financial services committee, and passed under the suspension of the rules. the legislation was also included as a provision in last congress in the jobs 3.0 package. chairman waters, former chairman hensarling have been fighting, making fighting illicit finance a priority for our committee. given the strong bipartisan, i urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this measure it. gives law enforcement the tools it needs to prosecute -- measure. it gives law enforcement the tools it needs to prosecute bad acters who are exploiting our financial system -- actors who are ex employing our financial system. i -- exploiting our financial system. i reserve. ms. waters: i yield to the gentleman from illinois, congressman foster, three

minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognize for three minutes. mr. foster: thank you, chairman waters, for yielding. i'd like to start by thanking the chairwoman for bringing up this bipartisan bill today and for maintaining bipartisan momentum in areas where bipartisan agreement is achievable. chairwoman waters and her staff were instrumental in passing this bill in the last congress, and including it in jobs 3.0. i'd also like to thank my friend, congressman hill, for working on the cooperate with law enforcement agencies and watch act, the claw act, with me. i'm proud to support this bill which passed with very strong bipartisan support in the last congress. 55-0 vote in the financial services committee. 379-4 vote on the house floor. this bill creates a commonsense safe harbor, from bank -- liability for a bank that keeps an account open at the request of law enforcement. for background law enforcement agencies sometimes send what

are called keep-open letters to financial institutions so that they can obtain critical evidence in investigations by following the money. while following these law enforcement requests is optional, agreeing to them does in fact create a technical violation of the bank's secrecy act. this complicates the decision for a financial institution that should be simple. this could in fact undermine our efforts to prevent illicit finance and money laundering. this bill will enhance the ability of the law enforcement community to track funds in a criminal investigation, leading to better evidence and hopefully conviction of criminals higher up in the hierarchy. to be clear, nothing in this bill takes away from financial regulators' safety and soundness powers and financial institutions still have to file something when they have a keep-open letter. this bill requires that the keep-open letters have a definite duration, but does not preclude law enforcement from

sending subsequent letters to extend that period, should the investigation continue. this bill is a great example of how democrats and republicans can come together on matters of common interest. in a world where criminals and criminal interests have access to increasingly sophisticated tools to carry out their criminal activities, we should help level out the playing field to bring them to justice. this bill follows other commonsense bipartisan efforts that i've supported to mornedize our efforts to confront dangerous criminals and criminal ornyizations. i recently -- recently introduced with congressman cus have a bill to combat the crismse transnational organizations and individuals. i'm hopeful that this bill can be passed in the near future with similarly strong bipartisan support. this bill today is an important

measure that allows financial institutions to effectively assist with combating crimes such as money laundering and ill list financing. i urge my colleagues to support this bill and yield back the alance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlewoman from california reserves. e gentleman -- the gentleman is recognized. mr. luetkemeyer: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you. if my colleague has no further speakers, i am prepared to close. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from arkansas is rk niced. mr. hill: let me say we don't have further speakers on this side of the aisle and i'm

prepared to close. i would urge with the work done be mr. foster and myself that we have a strong bipartisan support in favor of h.r. 758 and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman yields back. the gentlelady from california is recognized. ms. waters: thank you, mr. speaker. i'm please tad mr. hill and mr. foster have brought this measure to the housen oa bipartisan basis. it will help provide lawence forcement more access to the critical information it needs in a timely manner. i urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation and i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady yields back. the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the ill h.r. 758 as amended. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair, 2/3 being in the affirmative -- ms. waters: i ask for the yeas

and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in favor of taking the vote by the yeas and nays will rise and remain standing until counted. a sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. pursuant to clause of rule 20, further proceedings on this uestion will be postponed. the chair lays before the house the following message. caller: to the congress of the united states, in just over two years together with the american people we have launch and unprecedented economic boom. since i was elected we have created more than five million new jobs including half a million manufacturing jobs, nearly five million americans have been lifted off food stamps, unemployment is the low nest nearly half a century. african-american unemployment,

hispanic american unemployment and asian american unemployment rates have all reached historic lows. our nation is experiencing an economic miracle and it is improving the lives of all our citizens. we have achieved these extraordinary gains thanks to historic tax cuts and an unprecedented regulatory reduction campaign, through unleashing american energy production, systematically fixing bad trade dreels and remaining absolutely committed to putting the needs of the american worker first, my administration worked with the congress to pass unprecedented legislation to confront the opioid crisis. a sweeping new farm bill, groundbreaking criminal justice reform, major investments to rebuild the military, and historic dotcht veterans reforms to ensure our great veterans have access to high quality health care. we are also making our communities safer. to target violent crime my administration has increased support for federal, state, and

local law enforcement. we have added nearly 200 new violent crime prosecutors across the united states and last year the department of justice prosecuted more violent crimes than ever before. as a result, violent crime is falling. my administration is confronting the national security and humanitarian crisis on our southern border and we are accepting the moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens. this includes our obligation to the millions of immigrants living in the united states today who followed the rules and rped our laws. in the 20th century, america saved freedom, transformed science and defined the middle class standard of living now we must write the next great chapter of the american adventure, establishing a new standard of living for the 21st century. an amazing quality of life for all our citizens is within reach. we can make or communities safer our families strongering our

culture richer, our faith deeper and our middle class big and more prosperous than ever before. we are now addressing our challenges from a position of strength. my 2020 budget builds on the tremendous progress we have made and provides a clear road map for the congress to bring federal spending and debt under control. we must protect our future generations from washington's habitual deficit spending. executive i ask most departments and agencies to cut their budgets by at least 5%. in addition to reflecting those reductions my budget invests in the following priorities. securing our borders and protecting our sovereigntism as president, my highest duty is the defense of our nation which is why finishing the border wall is an urgent national priority. all who are privileged to hold elected office must work together to create an immigration system that promotes wage growth and economic opportunity while preventing

drugs, terrorism, and crime from entering the united states. immigration policies, like all policy, must serve the interests of americans living here today, including the millions of new americans who came here legally to join our national family. the american people are entite told a strong border that stops illegal immigration and a responsible visa policy that protect ours security and our work fomples my budget continues to reflect these priorities and i look forward to working with the congress to finish the border wall and build a safe, just, and lawful immigration system that will benefit generations of americans to come. preserving peace through strength. a strong military fully end grated with our allies and all our instruments of power enables our nation to deter war, preserve peace, and if necessary defeat aggression against united states' interests. to that end my budget requests $750 billion for national defense. an increase of $34 billion or

5%. from the 2019 enacted levels. the budget funds the national security strategy and national defense strategy building on the major gains we have already made throughout the world. protecting our veterans, our nation's bravor warriors and defenders deserve the best care america has to offer, both during and after their active service. last year i signed into law the historic v.a. mission act of 2018 to reform and transform the department of veterans' affairs health care system into an integrated system for the 21st century. my budget fully funds all requirements for veterans health care services and provides additional funding to implement the v.a. act of 2018. investing in america's students and workers. to help protect taxpayer dollars my budget continue misrequest to create the educational finance system that requires post-secondary institutions that accept taxpayer funds to have skin in the game through a

student loan grant sharing program my administration will also continue to seek extended pell grant eligible for high quality, short-term programs in high demand fields so that students and workers can quickly gain valuable skills at a more affordable cost and obtain family-sustaining jobs. we must create and invest in better opportunities for our nation's students and job seekers while ensuring we do so in a more efficient and effective manner. research for childhood cancers. many childhood cancers have not seen new therapies in decades my budget initiates a new effort that invests $500 million over the next 10 years to support this critical life-saving research. defeating hiv-aids in america, the h.i.v. epidemic stig plague ours nation with more than 38,000 americans infected each year. in response, my budget provides $291 million to the department of health and human services to

defeat the hiv-aids epidemic. the goal is to eliminate most new infections within five years, 75%, and nearly all within 10 year, 90%. this initiative will 230e cus efforts on diagnosis, prevention and dream efforts and locations where transmissions of the virus are driving the epidemic. confronting the opioid epidemic my budget continues historic levels of fund for our law enforcement prevention and treatment efforts to combat the opioid and drug addiction epidemic. support ofing working families. america must also lead in supporting families of our work force so that they can balance the competing demands of work and family. my budget includes a one-time mandatory investment of $1 billion far competitive fund aimed at supporting underserved populations and stimulating employer investments and child care for working families my administration has also pledged

to provide paid parental leave to help working parents an we are committed to partnering with a congress who enact -- to enact this important policy. we must always strive to uphold our oath to promote and protect the personal and economic freedom the constitution guarantees to us all. we must work together to renew the bonds of love and loyalty that link us to one another as friends, as citizens, as neighbors, as patriots, and as americans. my budget reflect misadministration's commitment to these worthy goals and it sees to make the united states of america wealthier, stronger, safer, and greater for every american family and neighborhood. signed, donald j. trump, the white house, march 11, 2019. the speaker pro tempore: referred to the committee on appropriations and ordered printed. the chair lays before the house the following communication.

caller: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives, madam, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on march 11, 2019, at 3:14 p.m., that the senate passed senate 752, appointment barry goldwater scholarship in excellence and education foundation. signed, sincerely, cheryl l. johnson. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to clause 12-a of rule 1, the chair declares the house in recess until approximately

including one that requires a federal reserve board member to testify on the status of pending and anticipated fed rulemakings. tomorrow work on bills related to the russian government under president putin's leadership, and several more on public disclosure. and later this week, debate on a sense of congress that special counsel robert mueller's report should be made available to the public and dong. follow the house live on c-span when members return today at 6:30 eastern. >> tonight on the communicators, former f.c.c. chair tom wheeler talk about his new book. >> it's never the primary network that is transformative. but it's the secondary effects of that network. it's how, for instance, the printing press not only enabled

luther, but allowed the .enaissance to come out the telegraph allowed for the creation of a national news media and a national financial system. >> watch the communicators tonight at 8:00 eastern on c-span2. >> a look now at our primetime schedule on the c-span networks -- at 8:30 eastern on c-span 2, senate judiciary committee holds a hearing on human smuggling and a look at current u.s. infrastructure needs. >> c-span's "washington journal