Rob Bishop

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, let me also say that, as a former teacher and a future teacher, I appreciate Mr. Stewart actually working on this piece of legislation that goes to help education in the State of Utah. No one else is doing that. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4528) to make technical amendments to certain marine fish conservation statutes, and for other purposes.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today, we are considering an amendment to the Billfish Conservation Act that was passed in 2012. Unfortunately, when it was passed, there was a loophole in the bill. What this bill today does is close that loophole, preserving the original congressional intent, while also preserving traditional markups in Hawaii, as well as in our Pacific territories. It is supported by everybody and their third cousin. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a 2-page letter of support from a broad coalition of sportsmen's groups, manufacturing associations, and conservation groups, plus a full list of the supporting organizations for this bill. December 19, 2017. The Hon. Rob Bishop Chairman, House Committee on Natural Resources, Washington,

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, it is a good bill. I urge its support, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Brian D. Petersen upon his retirement from over thirty-six years of dedicated service as a public school instructor primarily in the field of Choral Music from Bear River High School in Tremonton, Utah. Mr. Petersen is a native of Box Elder County, Utah, and received a Master of Education and Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music from Utah State University. A talented and accomplished vocalist, musician and composer, he has taught and mentored thousands of students over the course of his long career, including students from Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, as well as Preston Idaho High School where he first began. For many years, Mr. Petersen was a member of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and has gained national recognition for arranging and composing choral music, including arrangements used for productions associated with various veteran's ceremonial programs, as well as completing arrangements for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is a Member of the American Choral Directors Association, including service as President of the Utah Chapter from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Petersen has shown a willingness to share his talents to enrich the community and is often in demand as a performer, conductor and a judge for choral music competitions nationwide. His career has demonstrated a high standard of professionalism and caring for his craft which has undoubtedly blessed the lives of many people and will continue to do so. Mr. Petersen is a devoted husband to his wife, Carol Jean, the father of seven daughters, and has eleven grandchildren. It is fitting that we recognize and honor him today.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Brian D. Petersen upon his retirement from over thirty-two years of dedicated service as a public school instructor primarily in the field of Choral Music from Bear River High School in Tremonton, Utah. Mr. Petersen is a native of Box Elder County, Utah, and received a Master of Education and Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music from Utah State University. A talented and accomplished vocalist, musician and composer, he has taught and mentored thousands of students over the course of his long career, including students from Mountain View High School in Orem, Utah, as well as Preston Idaho High School where he first began. For many years, Mr. Petersen was a member of the world-renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and has gained national recognition for arranging and composing choral music, including arrangements used for productions associated with various veteran's ceremonial programs, as well as completing arrangements for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He is a Member of the American Choral Directors Association, including service as President of the Utah Chapter from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Petersen has shown a willingness to share his talents to enrich the community and is often in demand as a performer, conductor and a judge for choral music competitions nationwide. His career has demonstrated a high standard of professionalism and caring for his craft which has undoubtedly blessed the lives of many people and will continue to do so. Mr. Petersen is a devoted husband to his wife, Carol Jean, the father of seven daughters, and has ten grandchildren. It is fitting that we recognize and honor him today.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1026) to revise the authorized route of the North Country National Scenic Trail in northeastern Minnesota and to extend the trail into Vermont to connect with the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The North Country National Scenic Trail is about 4,000 miles and links scenic, national, historic, and cultural areas across seven States. It goes from basically North Dakota through New York and will eventually end up in Vermont. The issue at hand here is a section in Minnesota which is about 93 miles that has not been built because it is a swamp. You can't build it there. So what this would do--and it is strange we have to pass legislation to do it--is simply authorize to build a trail and go around the swamp which may add some additional miles to it, maybe around 400. It also authorizes at the other end about, maybe 66 miles of potential road from Vermont so that they can all connect to the Appalachian Trail which will create one of the most significant trails, the longest trail that we have to be able to use in this country. I should say the National Park Service has studied this, they have approved it; and nonetheless, it is still a good idea. I urge its adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to have been able to work on a bill that makes the assumption that someone actually does want to walk to Vermont. If indeed you can find that individual, we will provide an opportunity for it to take place. General Leave

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5956) to incentivize the hiring of United States workers in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and for other purposes.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support H.R. 5956. The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands had a political union with the United States back in 1986. As part of that covenant, which has several different elements that make it unique among all of the territories as well as the other States, it authorized a local level of established programs to permit foreign workers to enter into the Northern Marianas. In 2008, I believe it was, Congress established this law to create a standard with the goal of actually trying to reduce the annual number of permits given to foreign workers--eventually, hopefully, to zero--to stabilize so that the workforce became more American. Three years later, they finally came up with a way of implementing that--relatively quick for U.S. Government standards. But the citizenship program that was established, the CW permit program, unfortunately, it doesn't quite work as we had thought it might do. So, in 2017, GAO reported that, since 2013, demand for these permits had doubled, and in fiscal year 2016, the demand exceeded the numerical cap that we have on these particular permits. The bottom line is simple. This idea of having the American workforce is wonderful, but if you have an area with a small population with a good economy, which means there is low unemployment, and for some reason there is not a whole lot of Americans who want to travel a 15- hour plane ride to get to their work destination, there is a need for a foreign workforce on these particular islands. And in some areas, it is unique. It was estimated that 80 percent of all the hospitality and construction jobs need to be filled by a foreign workforce. In the hospitals there, if we don't make a change in this, all of the nurses will no longer be eligible to stay on the island and do that needed service. And, actually, if we don't make some kind of adjustments in these caps, it could have a negative impact on the economy of the Northern Marianas, anywhere between 30 and 60 percent, sharply changing their gross domestic product. The intent of this particular bill in this version is threefold: number one, we want to increase the percentage of U.S. workers in the total workforce in the Marianas while maintaining a certain number of non-U.S. workers to meet the demands of the Northern Marianas economy; number two, encourage the hiring of U.S. workers into the Northern Mariana workforce; and number three--and this is perhaps the important one--to ensure that no U.S. worker is at a competitive disadvantage compared to any non-U.S. worker or is going to be displaced by a non- U.S. worker. But until that is accomplished, this bill will have some flexibility on those caps, and it will be permitted to extend beyond the 2019 date to 2029 so we can see how it does or does not work. This bill gives necessary relief to the Northern Marianas. I want to thank the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands (Mr. Sablan) for working with us on this bill. I am also grateful to the government of the Northern Mariana Islands. Governor Torres has been in constant communication with us. He is supportive of what we are attempting to do. Oddly enough, I want to thank our colleagues in the Senate who are also supportive of this particular idea, even if they drafted somewhat of an inartful piece of legislation so we have to come at it one more time. But there is agreement that this is the proper thing to do so this Commonwealth can actually maintain a steady workforce and maintain an economy that will continue to grow in the future. All the significant players on the island in the territory are in support of what we are attempting to do. Mr. Speaker, I obviously urge adoption of this measure, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I wish to thank the gentleman from the Northern Mariana Islands for helping me with this particular bill. I am very grateful also to Governor Torres of the Commonwealth and to the business community there. I think we have found a practical solution to a real problem that could create harm for this Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, I am very proud of that area. I visited it once, and I hope to go back there again and notice the economic growth that continues there in the Northern Marianas. Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2991) to establish the Susquehanna National Heritage Area in the State of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Smucker), the author of this particular bill.