Suzanne Bonamici

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to this disastrous partisan tax plan that cuts rates for wealthy corporations and millionaires while leading to higher taxes for about 38 million working families. There is a lot to not like about this bill. It actually eliminates the student loan interest deduction. That will increase the financial burden for about 12 million Americans who are juggling their student loan debt with housing, groceries, and childcare. The cost of higher education is already out of reach for too many. We should be making it easier, not harder for Americans to access higher education. On top of that, removing the State and local tax deduction threatens funding sources for public education and will most certainly lead to cuts to America's public school budgets. Mr. Speaker, across the country, families are working hard to get ahead. Let's not take away their opportunity. We need a Tax Code that leads to better jobs, better wages, and a better future for America, for our children and our grandchildren. This bill fails the test, and we should reject it and get back to working together.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 2936, the Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017. The fire season this year was devastating in Oregon and across the west. It destroyed forestland, reduced air quality, and left a lasting mark on our communities. Congress must increase funding for wildfire suppression and fire prevention actions on public lands. At the same time, Congress can and must do this while maintaining foundational environmental laws. I cannot support this bill because it undermines the bedrock science- based decision-making processes undertaken by land management agencies, and would make it more difficult for states to receive federal funding for wildfire disasters. I strongly support provisions in the bill that would find new and innovative ways to use wood as a building material for tall wood buildings. Cross-laminated timber and other innovative wood products create sustainable building materials, generate more value from timber harvests, and translate into more jobs in rural Oregon and around the country. This legislation does not do enough to help communities fund wildfire suppression. It includes a process that would slow local access to much-needed funds, and it calculates funding without regard to true wildfire disaster needs. I joined my colleague, Congressman Schrader, in submitting an amendment that would address these problems and increase available funding for wildfire suppression. Unfortunately, the amendment was not accepted for floor consideration by the Rules Committee. I have heard from counties, families, teachers, and school administrators in forest counties in my district who have told me they will face great hardship if they do not receive the Secure Rural Schools payments they are owed. The last authorized Secure Rural Schools payment was distributed in FY 2016. Earlier this year, I joined my colleague Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers in introducing bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the program through FY 2017. I am frustrated the majority did not use this opportunity to reauthorize the Secure Rural Schools program and provide certainty to the forest counties who rely on these funds to educate students. I am also concerned that this bill limits public participation in the management of public lands. It reduces the consideration of forest management alternatives to two options--action or no action. It creates overly broad exclusions for projects to skirt environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act. In addition, it reduces opportunities for the public to engage meaningfully in these decisions. As a former consumer protection attorney, I am concerned about the inclusion of an arbitration pilot program that would force many challenges to federal forest management decisions to go through an agency-run arbitration process instead of through the judicial system. We must manage our federal forests better, but we can do so without including these harmful provisions. I urge my colleagues to come back to the table and develop a more appropriate and effective solution.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill. It will not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Mr. Speaker, the bill we are debating today is another assault on hardworking Americans who are desperately trying to put food on the table for their families, scrape together enough money to pay for child care, and have a roof over their heads. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle are saying that they need this bill to save local businesses. We all support local businesses in our community. But my colleagues suggest that unless they pass this law, franchisors will become joint employers. Well, if they act like franchisors and control brands and standards, and they don't do things like hire, fire, and supervise the franchisees' employees, they won't be. In other words, if they act like a franchisor and not an employer, they won't be considered a joint employer. In fact, this bill could actually harm franchisees and take away their independence because it would allow franchisors to indirectly control the labor relations of its franchisees, but be insulated from liability for violations that might arise from that control. Now, my amendment would require that if a franchisor directs a franchisee to take an unlawful action that would violate labor laws, then the franchisor shall be considered a joint employer for the purpose of the violation. In other words, if a franchisor acts like an employer, then they should be held accountable for their actions as an employer. Workers must be able to get their hard-earned overtime pay and the wages they are owed. This is common sense. This motion would protect small businesses, promote the independence of franchisees, and, importantly, cure the defect in the bill that insulates franchisors from liability for exercising control over their franchisees' labor or employment relations. Mr. Speaker, this legislation currently is an attack on workers' rights. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to adopt my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, this legislation would leave workers behind and would give a free pass to unscrupulous companies that violate labor laws. Please oppose this legislation.

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

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Ms. BONAMICI. I am in its current form.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Scott for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the so-called Save Local Business Act. This administration and this Congress have already weakened workplace protections that keep Americans safe from discrimination at their jobs, and make sure that they receive fair pay and provide additional opportunities to save for a secure retirement. Joint employer provisions make sure that employers cannot escape liability for violating worker protection laws. This standard makes our laws on overtime pay, on safe workplaces, on minimum wage enforceable. What this bill does not do is turn franchisors into employers unless they act like employers. I spent years as a lawyer representing franchisees, and I know this won't turn franchisors into employers. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter from the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance. They oppose this bill because it would put law-abiding small businesses at a competitive disadvantage with unscrupulous companies that don't respect worker's rights and don't pay workers the wages they have earned. Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance, Saint Paul, MN, October 5, 2017. Hon. Paul Ryan, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Hon. Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. Speaker and Leader Pelosi: I am writing on behalf of the Signatory Wall and Ceiling Contractors Alliance (SWACCA) to express our strong opposition to H.R. 3441, the ``Save Local Business Act.'' This legislation will not benefit honest small businesses that create good jobs with family-sustaining wages and benefits. It will actually place such employers at a permanent competitive disadvantage to unscrupulous companies that seek to thrive solely at the expense of their workers and taxpayer-funded social safety- net programs. SWACCA is a national alliance of wall and ceiling contractors committed to working in partnership with our workers and our customers to provide the highest-quality, most efficient construction services. Through the superior training, skill, and efficiency of our workers SWACCA contractors are able to provide both cost-effective construction services and middle class jobs with health and retirement benefits. Our organization prides itself on representing companies that accept responsibility for paying fair wages, abiding by health and safety standards, workers compensation laws, and unemployment insurance requirements. Unfortunately, however, we increasingly find ourselves bidding against companies that seek to compete solely on the basis of labor costs. They do so by relieving themselves of the traditional obligations associated with being an employer. The news is littered with examples of contractors who have sought to reduce costs by willfully violating the laws governing minimum wage, overtime, workers compensation unemployment insurance, and workplace safety protections. The key to this disturbing business model is a cadre of labor brokers who claim to provide a company with an entire workforce that follows them to job after job. It is a workforce that the actual wall or ceiling contractor controls as a practical matter, but for which it takes no legal responsibility. In this model workers receive no benefits, are rarely covered by workers compensation or unemployment insurance, and are frequently not paid in compliance with federal and state wage laws. The joint employment doctrine is an important means for forcing these unscrupulous contractors to compete on a level playing field and to be held accountable for the unlawful treatment of the workers they utilize. As an association representing large, medium, and small businesses, we oppose H.R. 3441 because it proposes a radical, unprecedented re-definition of joint employment under both the FLSA and the NLRA that goes far beyond reversing the standard articulated by the NLRB in Browning- Ferris or returning to any concept of joint employment that has ever existed under the FLSA since the Act's passage. H.R. 3441's radical and unprecedented redefinition of joint employment would proliferate the use of fly-by-night labor brokers by ensuring that no contractor using a workforce provided by a labor broker would ever be deemed a joint employer. This is because the bill precludes a finding of joint employment unless a company controls each ``of the essential terms and conditions of employment (including hiring employees, discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions and tasks, and administering employee discipline)''. H.R. 3441 goes further by expressly countenancing a company using labor brokers retaining control of the essential aspects of the workers' employment in a ``limited and routine manner'' without facing any risk of being a joint employer. Simply put, H.R. 3441 would create a standard that would surely accelerate a race to the bottom in the construction industry and many other sectors of the economy. It would further tilt the field of competition against honest, ethical businesses. Any concerns about the prior administration's recently-rescinded interpretative guidance on joint employment under the FLSA or the NLRB's joint employment doctrine enunciated in Browning-Ferris can be addressed in a far more responsible manner. Make no mistake, H.R. 3441 does not return the law to any prior precedents or standards. It creates a radical, new standard. This standard will help unethical employers get rich not by creating more value, but instead by ensuring their ability to treat American workers as a permanent pool of low-wage, subcontracted labor that has neither benefits nor any meaningful recourse against them under our nation's labor and employment laws. On behalf of the membership of SWACCA, thank you in advance for your attention to our concerns about this legislation. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or require additional information. Sincerely, Timothy J. Wies, President.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the dangerous tax plan that is currently being considered by the House Ways and Means Committee. House Republicans wrote this proposal behind closed doors and then presented it to Congress and the public just last week. This is not the kind of bipartisan tax plan we need to help lift up working families, grow our economy, and lead to a better future for our constituents. In fact, under this proposed plan, about 80 percent of the benefits will go to the wealthiest 1 percent. While helping out wealthy individuals and corporations, the proposal hurts many working families by getting rid of deductions for State and local taxes and medical expenses, for example. Mr. Speaker, there is another place where this bill will hurt working families. Mr. Speaker, Benjamin Franklin said: ``an investment in knowledge pays the best interest.'' When it comes to education, this plan is an inexcusable lost opportunity. Education is one of the smartest investments we can make, and tax policy is a place where there is tremendous potential to do great things. Unfortunately, this tax proposal shortchanges America's schools, students, and teachers. Ninety percent of students attend public schools, yet this tax plan starves public education by making changes to the property tax deduction and reducing funding sources for the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. On top of that, the plan would turn 529 college savings plans into a Trump-DeVos private school voucher scheme that will primarily aid wealthy families and will further undermine our public education system. This tax plan doesn't just hurt our students, it also hurts teachers. Right now, across the country, teachers pay an average of $500 a year out of their pockets to help stock their classrooms with supplies like pencils, notebooks, and materials to enhance learning, and that has been offset by a $250 classroom supplies deduction, which is the least we could do to help those hardworking, underpaid teachers, but this bill eliminates that deduction for classroom supplies. We should all also be deeply concerned about the consequences of this GOP tax plan for families who invest in higher education. The bill eliminates the student loan interest deduction, making it harder, rather than easier, for millions of Americans who are working to pay off their student loans. On top of that, the bill repeals the lifetime learning credit and the Hope scholarship credit, has major reductions in tax credits for tuition, and will make employer-paid tuition count as income. That is the wrong direction. We need a tax proposal that helps, not hurts, students and working families. This proposal takes away important investments in education, and at the same time will add about $1.5 trillion to the deficit, leaving our children and grandchildren to pay the bill. Mr. Speaker, this plan will limit opportunities for people to get ahead. That is wrong. We should come back to the table and craft a plan that works for all Americans, not a plan that strongly and wrongly favors those at the top.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Ruthie and Connie LGBT Elder Americans Act, legislation I am introducing to support our country's LGBT seniors. The LGBT senior population is growing and is estimated to include nearly 6 million Americans by 2030. Unfortunately, the same generation of LGBT people who fought for rights in the workplace, equal marriage, and societal recognition are once again marginalized as they age. LGBT seniors have fewer support services, higher poverty rates, more social isolation, and inadequate access to healthcare services compared to the rest of older Americans. One of the primary barriers to providing services to LGBT seniors is a basic lack of information. The Older Americans Act, or OAA, already requires the Administration on Aging to collect data on the individuals receiving OAA services and the efficacy of OAA programs; but if we collected data on sexual orientation and gender identity, we could better understand this population and provide services that best fit their needs. Unfortunately, the data we do have shows that the poverty rate is higher for LGBT seniors, which is likely because many have faced discrimination while working, they have historically been unable to legally marry, and they have experienced gender and racial inequalities. We also know that LGBT elders are less likely than their peers to have community support and caretakers to help them. I know from speaking with LGBT seniors that many fear discrimination when receiving home healthcare services. They are twice as likely to be single and four times more likely to not have children. These are complex and important issues that require a personalized solution. The bill I am introducing today with Colorado Senator Michael Bennet and Florida Representatives Ted Deutch and Charlie Crist would help bridge the gap between LGBT seniors and the services they need. The bill is named for Ruthie Berman and Connie Kurtz, who sued the New York City Board of Education years ago for domestic partner benefits, and won their landmark case in 1994. In the decades since, Ruthie and Connie have continued their advocacy and fight as champions of LGBT rights. Our bill would amend the Older Americans Act to improve services for LGBT seniors and require data collection on sexual orientation so better decisions can be made. Additionally, the bill would permanently establish a National Resource Center on LGBT Aging and provide grants for organizations working to improve LGBT services, including access to healthcare and long-term care. The resource centers and the grants will help States and localities reach out to LGBT older adults and provide culturally competent support. By requiring specific consideration for LGBT seniors in the Older Americans Act, we can provide needed support to a vulnerable yet overlooked population. I thank my colleagues for their work on this important issue, and I hope many others will join us in supporting this bill to help our LGBT senior communities.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Lipinski for yielding and also for organizing this Special Order for the Climate Solutions Caucus. I also want to thank the founders of the Climate Solutions Caucus, Congressman Ted Deutch from Florida and Congressman Carlos Curbelo also from Florida, where they can see at their doorstep what issues like sea level rise mean to their communities. Mr. Speaker, I am really pleased to join with my colleagues from the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus this evening to highlight the importance of taking action on climate change, something that matters so much to my constituents at home in Oregon, but also to the country and to the planet. This is an important issue that really is a moral imperative. This is about preserving our natural resources for our children, our grandchildren, and for generations to come. Addressing climate change is also vital to our Nation's economy, as we have had some discussion about that this evening, and also to national security, but, really, the health of the planet. Now, the district I am honored to represent out in Oregon is breathtakingly beautiful, and it is really full of potential. The majestic Columbia River is the northern boundary of the district, and the rugged Pacific Ocean is on the western boundary. It has a thriving outdoor recreation economy. As my colleague from New York mentioned, that is an important sector that cares a lot about the changing climate. I also have in my district the heart of Oregon wine country. People in my district fish. They fish in our rivers, our lakes, and our ocean. They hike in our forests. They ski in our back country and on our mountains. We rely on those natural resources in our backyard to support a significant part of our economy, but we are very vulnerable to the effects of climate change. My constituents are already experiencing challenges: Our wine and agricultural industries are concerned about drought as global temperatures continue to rise. Coastal communities are worried about the vitality of the commercial fishing and shellfish industries as high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere change ocean chemistry. I was really thrilled that we had an Oregonian from Oregon State University come to the Climate Solutions Caucus and talk about adapting to ocean acidification. Our region has faced higher spring and summer temperatures and earlier snowmelt, and, as a result, a snowboard shop in my district is now selling more skateboards and fewer snowboards. Climate change is not a partisan issue. Nationwide, fishers, farmers, small-business owners, and our servicemen and -women are changing the way they do their jobs because of climate change, regardless of political affiliation. The economic, health, and environmental consequences of climate change are well known, and our understanding about how to address climate change continues to improve. People in the United States and around the world are facing threats from rising sea levels, from ocean acidification, from more frequent and severe weather events from record droughts and flooding and rising global temperatures. We can no longer sit back and debate whether we should take action. The time is now. It is critical that we support scientific research about the climate and that we build on, rather than break down, decades' worth of progress on this issue. Now, one important area of research is the connection between extreme weather events and climate change. Although it is not possible to say that climate change causes one particular extreme weather event, it is critical that we know more about climate change and how it increases the frequency and the severity of these events. Learning more about this correlation can help families, communities, and businesses make informed choices and adopt climate strategies. Now, this year has seen poignant example after example with so many devastating extreme weather events. We need to do everything we can to make sure our communities are prepared to keep families safe. We have had wildfires in the Western United States for a long time, but since the mid-1980s, they have been increasing in frequency and in duration, threatening lives, threatening public health and property. It has been unusually hot and very dry in the Northwest. Fires and severe smoke create dangerous conditions for all populations. In Portland, Oregon, on Labor Day, the sky was gray, full of smoke from wildfire. This is especially problematic for pregnant women, for seniors, for children, for anyone with chronic health conditions like asthma. Residents and communities miles away from the wildfires saw ash falling on their homes, their cars, and throughout their neighborhoods. This year's hurricanes have devastated communities, of course, across Texas, across the Southeast, and in the U.S. islands. About 70 percent of our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico are still without power. These storms are increasing in frequency and severity, and lives are being lost every year. Mr. Speaker, it is so important that we take action, and that is why I am so pleased to be here today to help highlight the importance of this issue. As Representative Lipinski noted and others have, Mr. McNerney and others, we can take action to address climate change and grow the economy. It is not an excuse to say this will be bad for the economy, because we can grow those renewable energy industries. There is so much potential in wind power, wave energy, solar energy. Those are good, high-paying, family-wage jobs. We can grow those economies and address climate change at the same time. Mr. Speaker, addressing climate change is going to save lives; it is going to save property. I am so pleased to be part of this bipartisan group that is working together in equal number of Democrats and Republicans to call attention to this important issue, and I will continue to work with the caucus to emphasize the importance of congressional action. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus for their dedication to this effort. I know it is quite a relief to my constituents back home in Oregon to know that there are bipartisan Members who are committed to addressing this critical issue. Again, Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for their dedication to this effort. I look forward to the progress that we will make together on behalf of our constituents, our communities, our country, and our planet.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to be on the floor this morning to introduce bipartisan legislation with my colleague on the Education and Workforce Committee, Congressman Drew Ferguson from Georgia. Our bill, Promoting Apprenticeships Through Regional Training Networks for Employers' Required Skills Act, or PARTNERS Act, will help close the skills gap by increasing opportunities for small- and medium- sized businesses to establish apprenticeships and work-based learning programs. When I visit communities in northwest Oregon, I hear from many Oregonians who still feel left behind because they don't have the skills they need to compete in today's economy. They are not alone. Many jobs today do not require a 4-year degree, but do require more than a high school diploma. In fact, those jobs make up about 53 percent of today's labor market, but only 43 percent of today's workers are trained at this level. This creates a skills gap, leaving businesses struggling to find workers with appropriate skills, and workers without meaningful pathways to better paying jobs. I hear from employers and workforce organizations about the importance of a qualified workforce. They want to identify new opportunities to strengthen skills training. Apprenticeships and work-based learning programs are a win-win. They provide individuals with paid, on-the-job training and classroom instruction. Employers can align training with the skills they need at their workplaces, and workers can learn while they earn. Unfortunately, small- and medium-sized businesses often lack the infrastructure and resources to establish apprenticeships or work-based learning programs on their own. So the PARTNERS Act addresses this by establishing a grant program to support the creation and expansion of industry and sector partnerships that will help small-and medium-sized businesses develop work-based learning programs and provide support programs for workers. Industry and sector partnerships will bring together employers, education, training, labor, and community-based organizations to develop work-based learning programs that benefit workers and the economy as a whole. In Oregon, these partnerships could address, for example, workforce development needs in rapidly growing sectors like healthcare and technology. Under the PARTNERS Act, the partnerships would use grant funds to recruit workers, develop training curriculum, and provide workers with access to tools, work attire, transportation, childcare services, and mentorship support. These support services help businesses retain employees and help workers balance caring for and providing for their families. Importantly, Mr. Speaker, this bill results in no additional cost to taxpayers because it authorizes the use of 50 percent of the funds deposited in the H1-B nonimmigrant petition account, and these will be used by the Department of Labor for the partnership grants. This funding source was suggested by the administration in a June 2017 executive order on apprenticeships. Through stronger investments and work-based learning programs, we can build pathways to get more people back to work, to provide our Nation's businesses with the workforce that will improve productivity and efficiency. I thank Mr. Ferguson for his leadership, and I urge my colleagues to join us in supporting this bipartisan legislation that will help people in our districts across the country access good jobs.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge the immediate passage of the Dream Act to bring certainty to the more than 10,000 DREAMers in Oregon and DREAMers across the country. I have met with DREAMers in my State of Oregon, and tearing them away from their lives would be a tremendous loss for our communities. DREAMers like Daniel, a dedicated second grade teacher, DACA allowed him to come out of the shadows and give back to his community. But with President Trump ending DACA, Daniel is rightly anxious about his future. He worries about the effect on his students if he is forced to leave abruptly in the middle of the school year. When we threaten DREAMers, we put their futures at risk, but we also risk harming the many people who rely on them, like Daniel's students. Mr. Speaker, we must work together and pass the Dream Act immediately. We just pledged, ``with liberty and justice for all.'' Let's bring justice to the DREAMers and pass the Dream Act.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Madam Speaker, today I rise for Eva, an Oregon doctor who is one of the compassionate providers women turn to when facing an unintended or dangerous pregnancy. Oregon has rejected restrictions on abortions, but because of bans or restrictions in other States, Dr. Eva provides healthcare services, including abortion, to women from around the country. One patient was a high school senior who could not get an abortion in her home State. She spent weeks saving every penny she could to buy a plane ticket and pay for the procedure. Instead of making women fly across the country, instead of debating this bill, and instead of cutting programs like the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program, which my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have done, we should be focused on preventing unintended pregnancies, and we should be expanding access to comprehensive reproductive care, something the Oregon Legislature did when they passed the landmark Reproductive Health Equity Act. Madam Speaker, when abortion is banned, it does not go away. It drives women to unsafe back alleys and to dangerous self-induced abortions. We must stop efforts to stand between women and their healthcare providers. Please vote ``no'' on H.R. 36.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge swift reauthorization of the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Community Health Center Program. CHIP keeps kids covered by providing basic healthcare to about 9 million children and pregnant mothers, including thousands of Oregonians. The providers and families in our States deserve certainty that that funding for these programs will be there when they need it. The lapse of these programs is already hurting our constituents and our communities. At Virginia Garcia, a teaching health center in my district, payments for their residency program stopped abruptly. The clinic's executive director said that they cannot, in good conscience, stop these residencies, but they are very nervous about spending precious reserves when they had anticipated these grants would be fully funded. There is no excuse for delay when it comes to the health of our children and families. We must continue commonsense investments in our Nation's health by reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance Program and the Community Health Center Program immediately.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my bipartisan amendment to H.R. 3354 to increase funding for State Assessment Grants. I want to thank my colleague and friend, Representative Costello for his continued leadership on this issue, and for his commitment to a successful implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). In the last Congress, we passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, a bipartisan bill, to leave behind No Child Left Behind. After 14 years, Democrats and Republicans in both Chambers came together on a compromise legislation to update federal K-12 education policy and reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. ESSA ensures equity protections for America's students. It supports our most vulnerable and underserved students and works to close the achievement gap. ESSA gives states and school districts flexibility to develop their own plans for holding schools accountable, measuring student success, and encouraging improvements. It also recognizes the important role of assessments in education. Assessments serve as a tool to monitor student progress and gauge how students are performing across each state. Assessments also inform teacher instruction by providing valuable information to support student learning. ESSA includes provisions from the SMART Act, a bipartisan bill I authored with Representative Costello to help make assessments more effective. Our amendment would provide full funding for ESSA's State Assessment Grants. State Assessment Grants provide critical resources to help states and school districts build high-quality assessment systems that support teachers and students. By fully funding State Assessment Grants, states and school districts can audit their assessment systems and reduce excessive, repetitive testing. This funding can also help states--like my home state of Oregon--develop new assessments to strengthen student learning. Oregon is preparing to pilot a K-3 formative assessment to improve student outcomes. The good work being done in Oregon is an example of what is possible if states have the resources and flexibility they need to focus on student success. I thank my colleague Representative Costello for his partnership, and I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my amendment to highlight the importance of each of the individual Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs, including Advanced Education Nursing; Nursing Workforce Diversity; Nurse Education, Practice, and Retention; and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program. Title VIII programs are a critical lifeline for America's nursing workforce and the patients they serve. Demand for healthcare services provided by nurses continues to grow, so we should be expanding not cutting programs that maintain a highly-educated nursing workforce. Just last year, Title VIII supported more than 61,000 students in almost every state. Additionally, Title VIII programs create a culturally diverse workforce to make sure that our increasingly diverse patient population is cared for by culturally aware providers. Title VIII programs also prepare nurses to serve the most vulnerable communities and regions, such as rural areas that are in desperate need of providers. I was disappointed to see that this bill condensed funding for the Title VIII programs into a single-line item. Each of the programs is designed to target specific needs within the nursing workforce and patient population, and that is why it's imperative that we preserve funding for each individual program. I will continue to advocate for Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development and hope my colleagues will join me in supporting continued funding for the individual programs.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to H.R. 3354, the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. I am grateful to the Chairman and Ranking Member for including many of my policy priorities in the bill, but I cannot support the final measure because of the devastating cuts to education funding, environmental resources, and our nation's healthcare system. In 2015, Congress passed the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act. It is our responsibility to provide the resources necessary for states and localities to fully serve students as authorized by ESSA. Unfortunately, the bill we are voting on undermines one of the great successes of the ESSA by significantly underfunding the Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants. Congress intended these grants to go to school districts so they can provide locally-tailored programming and supportive services for students, including school-based mental health programs, drug prevention programs, expanded access to arts, music, and foreign language programs, and other programs that fit the needs of districts. I am grateful that my amendment to highlight the need for full funding of this program was included in the bill, but I am deeply disappointed that we have not committed to providing this critical resource to local communities. Another central tenet of the ESSA was a commitment to reducing student testing, and making sure that states and school districts are able to audit their assessment systems and eliminate duplicative and ineffective tests. The State Assessment Grants provide funding for these efforts, and I thank the Appropriations Committee for accepting my bipartisan amendment to fully fund these efforts. The final bill includes my bipartisan amendment to increase funding for Women in Apprenticeship and Nontraditional Occupations Grants, which will provide tradeswomen in Oregon the support and assistance necessary to advance their careers and retain good-paying jobs. The bill also includes my amendment to fund Title VIII Nursing Workforce Programs through separate line-items, which will preserve funding for the individual programs, including Advanced Education Nursing; Nursing Workforce Diversity; Nurse Education, Practice, and Retention; and the Nurse Faculty Loan Program. Additionally, my amendment to provide critical resources to combat coastal climate threats by highlighting the need for funding ocean acidification programs was adopted, as was my amendment to increase funding to mitigate harmful algal blooms. Ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms are decimating our oceans and lakes, destroying wildlife, and crippling our local economies. Increasing funding for NOAA's ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms programs will give our coastal communities additional resources to understand and address these threats. Despite these victories, the bill did not earn my support because of the harmful cuts and policy riders that remain. The bill underfunds the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and undermines the National Oceans Policy. It eliminates Title X Family Planning, and eliminates funding for Teen Pregnancy Prevention Programs. The bill undermines the Affordable Care Act by prohibiting funding from being used to further provisions of the law, including ACA navigators. As Congress continues work on an FY2018 funding package, I urge my colleagues to put aside their partisan policy priorities and advance a bill that invests in our communities and sets them up for success.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment to increase funding for senior nutrition programs under title III of the Older Americans Act. My amendment funds these programs at levels authorized by the House just last year. We are in the middle of an unprecedented demographic shift as this country ages. The population of older adults is growing faster than at any point in history. As we grow older, we all want people across the country to be able to age with dignity, health, and independence in their own homes and communities for as long as possible. For more than 50 years, the Older Americans Act has supported community-based providers that reach more than 11 million seniors and caregivers annually in each and every one of our districts providing person-centered assistance to help people age in place. These critical OAA services include home-delivered and congregate meals to make sure that older adults are getting the nutrition needed to keep them healthy and engaged, which reduces the risk of falls, depression, and other negative outcomes. Just a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining dedicated volunteers to deliver Meals on Wheels to seniors in northwest Oregon. I highly recommend this to my colleagues. You can see firsthand the value of these programs and how important these meals and visits are to our constituents who rely on them. The Older Americans Act also covers transportation to get older adults to the doctor, the grocery store, or even to a local senior center to engage with friends and avoid isolation. The OAA funds critical disaster assistance response efforts for seniors and communities like those just devastated by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Unfortunately, funding for the Older Americans Act has drastically lagged behind the growth in the older adult population, the increasing need for services, and the rising cost of delivering these supports. This stagnant and, in some areas, eroding Federal investment in OAA programs costs us more in the long term. When seniors can't stay healthy at home, they end up in hospitals paid for by Medicare or in institutional long-term care, often funded by Medicaid. Both are far more expensive than adequate investments in the Older Americans Act to keep seniors healthy at home for as long as possible. Support for the Older American Act is strongly bipartisan. Last year, Congress voted without opposition to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, a bill that included modest increases in authorized funding levels. Unfortunately, annual appropriations still fall woefully short of these amounts we clearly and firmly approved. This amendment will increase funding for core OAA programs delivered through title III--which include critical nutrition, home- and community-based support, and caregiver services--to the amounts that were just so broadly supported last year. These investments in OAA are necessary if we are to provide the person-centered, cost-effective in-home services and supports needed to keep our expanding older population healthy and independent in their homes and communities. This amendment is an essential first step toward rectifying the recent depletion of these important funds for these vital programs. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott), who is the ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and is someone who understands the importance of these investments.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, may I please inquire as to the remaining time.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to be in Washington, D.C. on September 5, 2017 because my flight from Oregon was delayed due to weather. Had I been present, I would have voted in favor of H.R. 2864, the Improving Access to Capital Act, and H.R. 3110, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Insurance Member Continuity Act.

Ms. BONAMICI

Ms. BONAMICI. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the en bloc amendment, which includes my amendments to increase funding for the ocean acidification program and increase coastal monitoring and assessment of algal blooms. Oregon's economic vitality is dependent on the ocean economy. Ocean acidification and harmful algal blooms threaten ocean health, the tourism industry, and our valuable fisheries. Communities along the coasts are vulnerable to the effects of our changing climate. I applaud NOAA's acidification program and coastal monitoring and assessment programs that give our coastal community the tools they need to understand and address these threats. I thank the chairman and ranking member for including these amendments and for their hard work on this bill.

Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of the en bloc amendment, which includes my bipartisan amendment to highlight the need to fully fund Student Support and Academic Enrichment grants. These grants are critical to the successful implementation of title IV of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Schools across the country can use the Student Support grants to give all students access to a well- rounded education. The grant program is also important because it was created to allocate funding by formula, which levels the playing field so small school districts can get their fair share of funding. I am disappointed that this bill funds Student Support grants significantly lower than the original $1.65 billion authorized in the Every Student Succeeds Act, and I hope there will be an opportunity in the Senate to increase funding for these critical Student Support grants. I thank the chairman and ranking member for including my amendments in an en bloc package and for their hard work on this bill.