Lou Barletta

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and working with me on this important issue. I also thank leadership for recognizing this issue and working with me to fix the problem. I am proud to rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2581, the Verify First Act. My bill is intended to stop fraud in the distribution of healthcare tax credits and protect taxpayer dollars. It is simple: the American people expect that we are verifying that someone qualifies for taxpayer money before that money goes out the door. This is about the Federal Government being good stewards of the money our constituents send to Washington. Every Federal dollar that goes to someone committing fraud is a dollar that is not going to a person who truly needs and deserves assistance. No one should be allowed to commit fraud at the taxpayers' expense. No business would give a refund without first verifying a receipt. Yet this is exactly what is happening under our current healthcare system. The law claims that taxpayer money will only go to people who qualify for it. Yet no one is being held responsible for making sure that that happens. My bill does that. Under current law, the Federal Government pays tax credits to individuals without first verifying that they qualify to receive them. If individuals cannot verify their legal status, the IRS is then forced to chase after the money. This pay-and-chase model of distributing tax credits has greatly increased costs to the taxpayers. A 2016 Senate report revealed that, under ObamaCare, $750 million in taxpayer-funded healthcare subsidies went to people who did not qualify for those benefits. We could fix this problem and save time and money so that IRS agents are helping people, instead of trying to recover improper payments by verifying legal status first. My bill simply requires the IRS to work with the relevant Federal agencies to verify that an individual is a citizen, national, or lawfully present in the United States before tax credits go out the door. This can be done by verifying an applicant's Social Security number or other immigration documents. Again, the American people expect that we are already doing this. Under my bill, everyone who applies for the advance premium tax credit will be verified for legal status. Most people won't even know that this is happening because the verification check is so quick. My bill also includes protections that ensure that individuals who are legally entitled to these tax credits are not penalized if there is a delay in verifying their documents. I first raised this issue last year with the previous administration. I am raising it again this year because there is no evidence that anything has been done to address it. Nobody wanted to take responsibility for mismanaging $750 million of taxpayer money. Everyone pointed fingers at other people. My bill holds people accountable. While I received assurances from the current administration that it would implement and follow a process to verify legal status, my bill would require it in law. This issue is too important to be left to the changing positions of unelected Federal bureaucrats. The American people deserve to know that their representatives are doing everything in their power to protect taxpayer money. The Verify First Act provides that certainty and upholds the integrity of the health insurance premium tax credit by putting an end to fraud and abuse. Mr. Speaker, I thank the cosponsors of my bill for their support. They include Diane Black, Mo Brooks, Jeff Duncan, Jimmy Duncan, Mike Kelly, Doug Lamborn, Mike McCaul, David McKinley, Kristi Noem, Jim Renacci, Mike Rogers, Lamar Smith, Jason Smith, G.T. Thompson, and Joe Wilson. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters of support from NumbersUSA and FAIR, two groups that have been working with me to protect the interests of the American worker and legal immigrants. NumbersUSA, Arlington, VA, May 23, 2017. Hon. Lou Barletta, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Congressman Barletta: NumbersUSA, on behalf of our more than 8 million activists, applauds you for introducing the Verify First Act to ensure that health care tax credits are not paid to illegal aliens or other disqualified aliens. As you know, NumbersUSA opposed the ineffective verification provisions in the Affordable Care Act because we knew they would result in taxpayer-funded subsidies being sent to illegal aliens. Our concerns, unfortunately, were confirmed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, which reported that more than $700 million in Obamacare subsidies had been paid to ineligible aliens by 2015. Like you, we recognized that these same ineffective verification procedures in the American Health Care Act (AHCA) would result in the payment of health care tax credits to illegal or otherwise ineligible aliens. The Verify First Act will require the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to actually verify the citizenship or immigration status of every applicant for a credit under the AHCA before the Treasury Department issues the credit. Both SSA and DHS have established, proven methods of verifying status in a timely and efficient manner, including the E-Verify system, which relies on data from these two agencies to verify work authorization, and the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) system, which uses DHS data to establish welfare eligibility. Hard-working Americans and legal residents already are struggling to pay for their own health care. There is simply no excuse for the Federal government to force them to subsidize health care for illegal aliens through taxpayer- funded credits. For this reason, NumbersUSA is delighted to support your Verify First Act and we look forward to working with you to make sure it is enacted into law. We also applaud House Republican Leadership and the House Ways and Means Committee for working with you to close this expensive loophole in our health care system. Sincerely, Anne Manetas, Vice President, NumbersUSA.

Mr. BARLETTA. Additionally, this legislation is supported by Citizens Against Government Waste and Americans for Tax Reform. Finally, I include in the Record a Statement of Administration Policy noting that the President would sign this bill into law. Statement of Administration Policy H.R. 2581--Verify First Act--Rep. Barletta, R-PA and 14 cosponsors The Administration supports H.R. 2581, the Verify First Act. Under Obamacare, millions of dollars in advance payments of the premium tax credit may have been paid on behalf of individuals who were likely ineligible beneficiaries, including illegal immigrants. By eliminating the practice of providing advance payments while an applicant's immigration status is being verified, this bill stems the flow of payments to ineligible individuals under Obamacare and strengthens the ability of the Administration to ensure premium tax credits will be appropriately provided to eligible individuals under the American Health Care Act of 2017 (AHCA). By protecting the integrity of Federal funds, this bill furthers the President's vision of a more efficient Federal Government that respects taxpayer dollars. H.R. 2581 would prohibit advance payments of premium tax credits to individuals under current law and the AHCA, unless the Secretary of the Treasury receives confirmation that the individual is a citizen or a national of the United States, or is lawfully present in the United States. H.R. 2581 would also strengthen the AHCA, as passed by the House of Representatives on May 4, 2017, which the Administration continues to support strongly. If H.R. 2581 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend that he sign the bill into law.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge passage of my bill.

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I honor my good friend, Neal DeAngelo, and congratulate him on being named the 2017 Distinguished Citizen of the Year by the Greater Hazleton Area Boy Scouts. With years of success with his family business, and his commitment to giving back to Hazleton and the broader community of Pennsylvania's 11th district, it comes as no surprise to me that he has been chosen to receive this honor. Neal has been an instrumental figure in the Hazleton community. I can say with certainty that there are few people who have done as much for Hazleton as Neal. He has served on the boards of several non-profit organizations, including the YMCA and United Way. He has also served as the President of the Professional Lawn Care Association of America, and is a founding member of the State Association, for which he also served as President. Neal has been a longtime supporter of Scouting in the Greater Hazleton Area. Through his generosity and commitment, Neal has helped make a positive difference in the lives of more than 500 young men throughout our community, providing them with an opportunity to participate in Scouting's character-building and leadership programs. Not only is Neal one of the most charitable people I know, he is also a well-respected businessman. Neal co-founded DBI Services with his brother in 1978 and grew the company into an international diversified services enterprise, exceeding $250 million annually with a global network of over 50 locations and 1,800 employees. His hard work made it possible for his company to spur growth in and bring quality service to Hazleton, as well as the rest of the Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, please join me in recognizing Neal for all he has contributed to the Hazleton community and once again congratulating him on being recognized as the Greater Hazleton Area Boy Scouts' 2017 Distinguished Citizen of the Year.

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1679) to ensure that the Federal Emergency Management Agency's current efforts to modernize its grant management system includes applicant accessibility and transparency, and for other purposes.

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material on H.R. 1679.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The purpose of H.R. 1679, the FEMA Accountability, Modernization and Transparency Act of 2017, is to enhance FEMA grant applicants' access to information. I commend my colleague from Louisiana for working so hard for the people of his State to tackle the challenges those communities and individuals have been facing in the wake of last August's floods and other disasters. On average, FEMA distributes almost $6 billion a year in assistance to individuals, communities, and organizations impacted by disasters. That taxpayer money must be managed in an efficient and transparent way to prevent duplication and provide disaster survivors with needed access and visibility. More efficient and transparent delivery of disaster assistance will help speed disaster recovery and reduce the administrative burden on applicants. This legislation requires the FEMA Administrator to include online access and information sharing as the agency modernizes its disaster grant delivery system. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1679, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1665) to ensure that the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency considers severe local impact in making a recommendation to the President for a major disaster declaration, as amended.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1665, as amended.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The purpose of H.R. 1665 is to ensure that, in making a recommendation to the President for a major disaster declaration, the Administrator of FEMA looks at the intensity of the impact in a localized area as well as the impact on other recent disasters. My colleagues from Illinois are to be commended for working so persistently on this bipartisan piece of legislation. Their Illinois districts have been impacted by several devastating disasters, but each time the communities were told that the damage was not severe enough to warrant Federal disaster assistance. In recent years, there has been more evidence of devastated small and rural communities not receiving disaster assistance in a fair manner compared to other larger communities and neighboring States. I know all too well how devastating this can be for those affected by disaster, as I am dealing with a similar issue in northeastern Pennsylvania. In March, much of the area I represent was hit with a crippling snowstorm that dumped as much as 30 inches of snow or more. Municipalities had to exhaust much of their yearly budgets on snow removal efforts and emergency services. However, due to the fact that the statewide threshold needed for Pennsylvania to request reimbursement funding from the Federal Government was not met, local municipalities were left with massive holes in their budgets. This bill helps ensure the severe, remote, and localized impact endured by communities like those in Pennsylvania and Illinois get due consideration and they get the help they need when disaster strikes. The House adopted similar language last year when it passed the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act. Again, thank you to the gentleman and gentlewoman from Illinois for working with the subcommittee on this legislation to address the concerns of their constituents and other communities in this situation. I urge my colleagues to support this bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Rodney Davis).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. LaHood).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Louisiana (Mr. Graves).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1665, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. BARLETTA

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1678) to amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act concerning the statute of limitations for actions to recover disaster or emergency assistance payments, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1678, as amended.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. The purpose of H.R. 1678 is to establish a statute of limitations for FEMA to recover disaster assistance payments. This bill would provide some finality in disaster assistance, and it would minimize administrative costs. This is a bipartisan issue, and I appreciate my colleagues from Florida for their continued leadership on this issue. H.R. 1678 reinstates the 3-year statute of limitations on FEMA's ability to reclaim funds when there is no evidence of fraud, waste, or abuse. In my district, I have seen FEMA tell a community that a project is eligible for funding, allowing the town to move forward to complete a disaster recovery project, only to have FEMA change its mind years later and take the money back. Not only is this devastating to the community and to disaster recovery, but the administrative time and red tape involved in second-guessing is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Again, my thanks to the gentlewoman from Florida and the gentleman from Florida for their continued work on this issue and for introducing this bill. The House adopted similar language last year when it passed the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast).

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on H.R. 1678, as amended. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARLETTA. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.