Andy Barr

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a very special group of Kentuckians. They are the Walker family; Arthur, Sr. (Deceased), Arthur, Jr., Art III and Bryce Walker. They make up the Walker Company, which was created in 1933 and whose corporate office is located in Montgomery County, Kentucky. The Walker Company has been chosen by Gateway Area Development District to receive the Regional Outstanding Business for 2016 Award. They have been a major employer over the years, employing hundreds of people and enabling them to provide a good living for their families. The Walker family has made many philanthropic contributions, mostly anonymously, to needy projects over the years, including GED programs, scholarships for students, and the recent BuildSmart Campaign of the MCTC new Rowan Campus. The Walkers were instrumental in the location of the Maysville Community Technical College Satellite location in Mt. Sterling. The Walkers support recreation and sports in many ways. They have been involved since the beginning with Easy Walker Park in Montgomery County, where thousands of children across many states have enjoyed the park facilities. They also worked with Menifee County on their new Little League Baseball field, where 70 children play every day for most of the year. Disaster assistance is no stranger to the Walkers. If a major event happens in a surrounding county, they drop everything and will even pull off of a job and bring their equipment and operators to help open roads, clear debris, just to help their neighbors. Morgan and Menifee Counties can both attest to this when the tornadoes hit in 2012. The Walkers give of their time to serve on boards on the local, state and federal level and share their business expertise and professional engineering experience with others. The Walker Company members continue to be remembered for their generosity and I am honored to recognize them before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from North Carolina, for his leadership not only of the Republican Study Committee as the new chairman--and I welcome you as the new chairman of the Republican Study Committee--but for his leadership on issues related to the importance of repealing this disastrous law that is making life harder on the American people; and not just repealing it, but replacing it with policy ideas that put power back in the hands of patients, their families, and their doctors instead of driving up costs, forcing people to lose their healthcare plans, forcing the government to ration health care. We need a better way. I am proud to say that we are supporting not just repealing ObamaCare here tonight, but bringing to the American people some constructive, positive ideas that will make life easier for them and improve their lives through better patient-centered health care. Mr. Speaker, Kentucky was once portrayed by President Obama, a red State, as a model of the implementation of ObamaCare. Yet, every day in Kentucky, in my district in central and eastern Kentucky, I hear stories from families and small businesses and individuals who have been hurt by this disastrous law. Now, over the next few weeks, as President-elect Trump comes into office and as this Congress revisits the issue of healthcare reform, I expect we will hear from our friends on the other side of the aisle, arguments like ``Don't repeal ObamaCare. We have 20 million new Americans who have insurance.'' But that statistic needs to be scrutinized because the truth of the matter is ObamaCare forced people to lose their health care. In many cases, and in Kentucky as an example, many of my constituents lost high-quality, private, commercial health insurance through their workplace, and millions of Americans received cancellation notices in the mail. Their small employers told them that they were going to have to change their health plans because of this law. So not only do we see now skyrocketing costs for those who currently have health insurance, but many Americans who our friends on the other side of the aisle say now are insured or covered, these are folks who lost their health insurance before. What happened? They lost high-quality, job-based health insurance, and so they were forced into these exchanges. In Kentucky it was called Kynect. In many cases, they went to the cheapest plan available, which happened to be Medicaid. Well, my fellow Americans, access to a waiting line is not access to health care. Unfortunately, Medicaid is oftentimes access to a waiting line, and it is not access to true health care. President Obama's promise that his healthcare law would help people has not turned out to be the case. In terms of cost, remember, this is called the Affordable Care Act, but it is anything but affordable because even though he promised that premiums would decline by $2,500 a year for the average family, premiums have actually increased for hardworking Americans. Premiums have increased for 11 million people, according to a report by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Millions of Americans, as I said before, lost previous coverage or had to change doctors due to this disastrous law. Take, for example, Laura in my congressional district in Kentucky. Laura is a young mother who had a baby girl, Catherine. Catherine was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect, ventricular septal defect at birth, which is basically a hole in the wall of the heart. They needed high-quality pediatric cardiology to help Catherine. So they got a specialist at Boston Children's Hospital. Of course, a long way away from Kentucky, but they wanted the best, of course, for their daughter. When ObamaCare went into effect, unfortunately they lost their job- based health insurance that allowed them to access these specialists up in Boston for Catherine. The result was, they lost their doctor. What do you think a young mother and a young father are going to do in that situation? Guess what, they had to find a very expensive policy to cover a Boston surgeon out of network out of State, and so their costs skyrocketed. This is the kind of thing that was happening to millions of Americans as a result of ObamaCare. Look, ObamaCare obviously reduced choice and competition. There are now only three plans participating in the ObamaCare exchange in Kentucky, one of which covers a full 78 percent of the State's individual marketplace enrollees. In many States there is only one plan on the exchange. This has left too many families with no choice but to purchase high-deductible, high-premium coverage. In Kentucky, insurance plans have been forced to raise premiums by 23 percent in 2017 alone. There is a better way, and the better way is healthcare reform that is focused on the patient, not putting bureaucrats in charge, not taking away choices, not driving up costs, not creating narrow networks for people, not forcing people out of their high-quality private health insurance into government-run health care, but, instead, empowering patients to access more affordable private coverage. And one of the ways we can lower the cost of health care, make it more affordable for people to access high-quality private health insurance, is medical malpractice reform. Frivolous lawsuits, junk lawsuits, have driven up the cost of health care in this country significantly. One of the fatal flaws of ObamaCare is that it never addressed this cost of healthcare inflation. Over the course of their careers, it is estimated that 75 percent of all physicians will face a malpractice claim. Now, to be sure, some of those cases of medical negligence are legitimate. And, of course, those plaintiffs should be able to fully recover damages for those cases of genuine actual malpractice. But for these frivolous lawsuits, that is driving up the cost of care. The fact that ObamaCare never even dealt with that issue is a fundamental flaw in the previous efforts to reform our healthcare system. So I am a proud cosponsor of the Republican Study Committee's America Health Care Reform Act. In the American Health Care Reform Act is legislation that I introduced with Senator Barrasso called the Saving Lives, Saving Costs Act. This doesn't cap damages for cases of actual malpractice, but if there is a frivolous claim, if the liability climate is producing frivolous lawsuits, what we say is this: If you are a hospital or a doctor or a nurse and you practice in accordance with peer reviewed, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, that there should be a higher standard of proof for that plaintiff to get to a jury trial. We want a safe harbor for our outstanding medical professionals who practice in accordance with the latest state-of-the-art guidelines on how to take care of patients. So this does two things. Number one, it raises the standard of care. We are helping people access better, higher-quality medicine in this country with this legislation; and we are cutting out frivolous lawsuits, this litigation lottery that is driving up the cost of health care for all Americans. This is the kind of reform that, if enacted, would replace ObamaCare with reforms that would actually lower the cost of health care without growing government. I applaud the efforts of the Republican Study Committee for offering real solutions that will put patients and doctors in charge again and not Washington, D.C.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the rule governing these pieces of legislation and, in particular, the underlying legislation, the Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny, or REINS Act, H.R. 26. Mr. Speaker, during the first two terms that I have served in this Congress, the most common question posed to me by my constituents in central and eastern Kentucky is: What is the biggest surprise that you have confronted as a Member of Congress? Regrettably, Mr. Speaker, the biggest surprise that I have discovered as a Member of Congress is that Congress is no longer in charge. Regrettably, unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats in the executive branch run the country. Most of the laws that are enacted in this country at the Federal level come out of unelected bureaucrats in administrative agencies in the executive branch. Members of Congress, even though we are elected by the American people to be the lawmaking branch under Article I of the Constitution, we can't stop it. We can't stop these rules and regulations. So I am proud to have consistently supported the REINS Act because it reasserts the powers of this body and this Congress under Article I of the Constitution, which provides: ``All legislative powers herein granted shall be invested in a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives.'' What does this mean? The most important word in Article I of the Constitution is that first substantive word, ``all,'' implying that none of the legislative powers should be in any other branch of the Federal Government, and it certainly shouldn't be exercised by the executive branch. We know this as the nondelegation doctrine, the principle that Congress may not and should not delegate its administrative power to administrative agencies. The nondelegation doctrine forces a politically accountable Congress to make policy choices rather than leave this to unelected administrative officials. Yet what we have seen over the last several decades, and especially over the last 8 years, has been the rise of an unaccountable, out-of-control administrative state. Over time, legislative powers that are vested exclusively in Congress by the Constitution have been increasingly and unconstitutionally claimed, assumed, and exercised by the executive branch. Now unaccountable, unelected bureaucrats decide how you work, what goods and services you can buy and sell, and what you can do with your own property, all without accountability at the ballot box. So this state of affairs is fundamentally in conflict with the foundational, constitutional principle that Congress alone possesses the Federal legislative power. Look, this has enormous economic consequences. It is costly to our economy, and I don't have to go into that. The estimates are $1.8 trillion in costs to the American economy. But the bigger issue is that none of these rules from these agencies have been approved--let alone, even considered--by Congress, even though they have a profound impact on the economy. So the measure we are considering today would simply require those regulations with the greatest economic impact to be approved by both Houses of Congress prior to their implementation. This has two positive outcomes. First, obviously, it has the effect of blocking costly rules. Secondly, and more importantly, it will no longer allow Members of Congress to delegate their constitutional responsibility to the executive branch. I will conclude, I heard my friend, the gentleman from Massachusetts, make the argument that Congress is not even interested in these regulations and we are not capable of seriously reviewing these rules. This is about making sure that experts with specialized expertise in the executive branch review and promulgate these rules. But what are we doing here if that is true? We should turn out the lights, lock the door and leave, and give the keys of the government to the executive branch. We had a Democratic administration over the last 8 years. We have a Republican administration coming. This is not about Republicans and Democrats. This is not a partisan issue. This is about the integrity of the institution of Congress. Let's stand up for the Congress and pass the REINS Act.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to mark the end of a long, harsh, partisan, politicized campaign, unprecedented in American history. I am not talking about the recent election. No. We are finally at the end of the Obama administration's 8-year assault on Kentucky's and America's coal industry. In two terms, President Obama's policies have successfully put thousands of coal miners and utility workers into the unemployment line. In 2008, then-candidate Obama pledged that any company looking to build a coal-powered electric plant would be bankrupted. The combined regulations of the EPA, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and several other bureaucracies have turned that pledge into a reality, choking off investment in new state-of-the-art, clean-burning, coal-fired electric generation; and it led to the premature closing of existing plants. If we continue on this path, the other promise made by candidate Obama will also come to pass: electricity rates will necessarily skyrocket. And that would be a disaster for consumers, for whom energy prices are often the second or third largest line item in the family budget. I also think about industrial consumers and the many manufacturers in my district and around the Nation who depend on affordable, reliable energy that will face skyrocketing costs if we fail to act and reverse these administration policies. However, it is a new day; and voters-- particularly in the Rust Belt and Appalachia--turned out in November to close the book on this legacy of job-killing regulation and to seek a new path forward. President Obama said that elections have consequences, and this is true; but his administration ignored every electoral outcome since 2010, doubling down on failed policies while the American people called for a different approach. The inverse is also true: consequences drive elections. The consequences of the Obama administration's unilateral decisions decided last November's election, and no place in this country felt those consequences as acutely as coal country. National coal production is at its lowest level in 35 years. Pike County, the long leading coal producer in Kentucky, until losing that title in 2012, is down 89 percent since its peak in 1996. Nationwide, consumption of coal has dropped nearly a third since 2007. In Kentucky, coal employment hit its lowest level in 118 years. To repeat, coal employment in Kentucky is now at its lowest level since 1898. In 2009, 18,850 people were employed by coal. About 73,000 jobs were indirectly supported by that economic activity. Today, only about 6,500 Kentuckians now work in the coalfields, and those losses have rippled throughout the economy. Yet this is the legacy that this administration will earn as it leaves office. Never in the history of our country has an administration singled out and targeted a lawful industry--in this case, an industry that has provided jobs and opportunities for American workers for generations, an industry that has literally powered America, and, through that overregulation, crushed an entire sector of our economy. Now, Obama administration apologists will say that depletion in Appalachian coalfields and new competition from natural gas are the primary factors in those job losses, but they don't give the regulators enough credit. The turnaround in natural gas production on State and private lands has been dramatic, to be sure, but relative price parity with coal does not explain two-thirds of mining jobs in Kentucky disappearing in 7 years. The administration has targeted coal supply and demand, prohibiting production leases, rejecting mining permit applications, stretching the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts against congressional intent, prohibiting new and existing plants from using coal--the list goes on and on. Many of these rules have been halted or overturned by the courts, and several more remain subject to challenge by the States and industry; but since the President could not get Congress' support for his agenda of banning the production and use of coal, most of these regulations can be unwound by the courts or the next administration. I urge the incoming Trump administration to do just that and to engage with Congress in a bipartisan fashion on our Nation's energy and environmental policies. The livelihoods of people in the coalfields, of those working in the manufacturing and rail industries, of families trying to keep their homes warm and their lights on must never again be the collateral damage in partisan warfare. I must address the issue of climate change. Let the last 8 years serve as a lesson to all of us. Let's never again attempt to solve problems through central planning by punishing innocent Americans whose paychecks put food on their table. Instead, let's address problems like climate change the American way: not through central planning or government, but through innovation, science, technology. While it will be a tough road back for coal country and it may never be the same after 8 years of regulatory attack, I do look forward to a new day dawning in the coalfields.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the chairman and his staff for the hard work that went into crafting this legislation, coordinating with the insurance industry and the diverse array of stakeholders and consumers. Mr. Speaker, for about 150 years, the American insurance industry has been regulated at the State level. This has enabled the tailoring of regulations and business models to local circumstances for insurance companies of all types, structures, and sizes. This system has provided our domestic insurance industry a competitive advantage that benefits consumers and the market for insuring against risk. It is a superior model to the concentrated national champion insurance models of Europe. Some of Dodd-Frank's policies threaten to upend this existing regulatory infrastructure by interjecting the Federal Government, and ultimately international regulators, into the oversight of the American insurance industry. Regardless of one's views on Federal oversight of insurance, I think we should all agree that Congress should have a stake in this process and engage in robust oversight of any Federal or international standards. The Transparent Insurance Standards Act achieves just that. The legislation sets clear objectives, or rules of the road, for the Federal Insurance Office and the Federal Reserve that must be met during negotiation and, ultimately, adoption of any international insurance standards or covered agreements. The bill ensures that State insurance commissioners or their designees are directly involved in the negotiation process; and before adoption of such an international standard, the public and Congress must have access to the final text and the opportunity to provide comments. FIO and the Fed would be required to file reports and come before Congress twice a year to brief us on the progress and implementation. If the standards include capital requirements, the Fed must have promulgated a domestic standard first, and this will prevent the tail wagging the dog that we have seen with other international financial standards. These reforms and several other provisions ensure that, if the United States is going down the road of Federal and international insurance standards, the process is transparent, and Congress, the States, and the American people have a say in that process. For these reasons, I am a proud cosponsor of this legislation, and I urge its passage.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 6392, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act, and I applaud the gentleman's excellent work on this bill. The ranking member, my friend, says that this is not about Main Street. Let me talk about what this bill is trying to fix, the problem we are trying to solve here. Dodd-Frank, the legislation that my friends on the other side of the aisle are defending, has produced this: small-business lending from banks is at the lowest level it has been in 20 years, and more than 75 percent of corporate treasurers in this country say that Federal regulations are stifling access to financial services. As a result, new business formation in this country is at a 35-year low. This bill is about Main Street because Main Street cannot access financial services because of Dodd-Frank. This bill is about fixing an arbitrary provision in the Dodd-Frank law that harms consumers and does absolutely nothing to stabilize markets. Dodd-Frank directs the Financial Stability Oversight Council to designate banks as systemically important financial institutions, or SIFIs. These designated institutions are subject to surcharges, additional regulation, and an implicit taxpayer bailout. That's right, their bill is what gives Wall Street a bailout. What we are saying is: let's focus our attention on Wall Street, but let's get regional banks some regulatory relief so that they can serve their customers on Main Street. The primary test for systemic importance is an arbitrary threshold of $50 billion. Above that line, an institution is designated systemically important or too big to fail. Above that line, regardless of the institution's risky activities, it is exempt. This bill that we are supporting does away with this blunt threshold and directs FSOC and its constituent agencies to consider the institution's actual activities to determine if it actually is risky. If it is not, it deserves relief so that it can serve its customers better. Size is not the only issue. It is interconnectedness. It is risky activities. Many of these regional banks that serve my constituents in central and eastern Kentucky, not Wall Street--central and eastern Kentucky. Farmers, small business owners, and homeowners in Kentucky are being crushed and denied access to capital because of a one-size- fits-all regulation from Washington. Unlike Dodd-Frank's arbitrary approach, this will better promote financial stability because it actually targets the enhanced regulation to where it belongs and not on Wall Street. The bottom line is, we are hearing from regional banks around this country, in central Kentucky and other places, that the expense of complying with these enhanced regulations and the SIFI surcharge means less capital for deployment in mortgages, in automobile loans, and in small business loans, it means higher credit card rates, and it means fewer customer rewards. It impacts these institutions' ability to engage in philanthropy and community development activities. Treating these regional banks as complex Wall Street firms is simply illogical. These are not multinational Wall Street firms. These are traditional banks that serve Americans on Main Street.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Commerce Lexington, the chamber of commerce for my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, which has been named the 2016 Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. Commerce Lexington won the large chamber category over the great cities of Brooklyn, New York; Jacksonville, Florida; and Tacoma, Washington. This award is recognition of Commerce Lexington's work to promote economic development, job creation, and overall business growth in Lexington and neighboring communities through its many programs and services. As a member-driven organization, the award is also a reflection of Commerce Lexington's 1,700 members, as well as their volunteers and staff, ably led by CEO and President Bob Quick. In addition to the Chamber of the Year award, Commerce Lexington also received a Grand Award in Communications for their ``Here's Our Proof'' marketing campaign during the 2015 Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships, which showcased central Kentucky and the Bluegrass region as a great place to do business, as well as an ideal location for conventions and tourism. It helped, of course, that American Pharoah did what no other thoroughbred had done in history--win not only the Triple Crown, but also the Grand Slam of thoroughbred racing going wire to wire in the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland Racecourse--Keeneland, of course, a key member of Commerce Lexington. Mr. Speaker, I hope that all of my colleagues will join me in congratulating Commerce Lexington on achieving this national honor, and for their hard work to encourage jobs and economic growth in central Kentucky and to share how special our city and our region are with the world--of course, Lexington, the world's horse capital of the world.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Justin Tyler White of Lexington, Kentucky who is stepping down as my District Director to take on a new role as the President of the Kentucky Coal Association. Tyler served our nation proudly as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He was deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan. On behalf of a grateful nation, I thank him for his service and patriotism. After eight years of service, Mr. White returned to Kentucky. He had great passion for his fellow veterans and was determined to improve the services provided by the Veterans Administration. He came to work in the Sixth Congressional District office, serving as a field representative and then as District Director. In his work in the district office, Mr. White continued to advocate for veterans. He organized a Veterans Coalition that meets regularly and has grown tremendously. He led the way on many successful programs and projects directed at improving the lives of America's veterans. The leadership skills that Tyler learned in the Marine Corps carried over into private life. He built a strong team in the district office and served as a motivating and inspiring leader. He tirelessly served the people of the Sixth Congressional District. He leaves a lasting legacy as a servant leader. I am honored to call Tyler White a loyal and trusted friend. I wish him all the best as he leaves to take on a new opportunity. Thank you to Tyler White for his friendship, his tireless work on behalf of the people of the Sixth District, and his outstanding service to our country.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a decorated World War II Army liaison, an accomplished radio and television broadcaster, and my beloved great uncle, retired Lieutenant Colonel Francis D. Faulconer. Soon after graduating from Lafayette High School in Lexington, Kentucky, Frank Faulconer enlisted in the United States Army in 1943 and was deployed to Europe in the Liaison G3 section of the first United States Army. In this capacity, he traveled with Combat Command A of the 3rd Army Spearhead Division from Meaux, France, to Rottgen, Germany. He earned five Bronze Stars for his service in Normandy, northern France; Rhineland, Central Europe; and the Ardennes. He additionally was awarded the Distinguished Service Award for helping to escort the reserve elements of the Combat Command, at night, from the rear to the forward elements of the battle line. In 1946, Faulconer enrolled at the University of Kentucky under the GI Bill and earned a degree in oratory. He got his first start in broadcasting after he accepted a part-time job at radio station WKLX, where he became the station's official announcer to broadcast the Big Bands from 1948 to 1949 from Joyland Dance Casino. In 1950, Faulconer joined the Officers' Reserve Corps, where he eventually retired from the Army Reserve in 1974 with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Faulconer continued his broadcasting career by joining the WKYT Channel 27 news team in Lexington, where he became the station's first weatherman. He later transferred to Channel 36, where his career soared as a TV and weather broadcaster until 1986. There, he developed a reputation for having a melodious baritone voice with a colorful and entertaining style in delivering the daily weather forecast. Faulconer then became radio station WKQQ's first weatherman, where he became known as Fearless Frank Faulconer, and known for his Fearless Frank's Five Day Forecasts until he retired in 2001. During Faulconer's long and illustrious career, he received various awards both nationally and locally for his unique approach to weather broadcasting. This year, on his 93rd birthday, June 16 was declared Frank Faulconer Day by the city of Lexington, Kentucky, honoring his years of service on radio, television, and as a World War II veteran. I am proud of Lieutenant Colonel Faulconer's service to this country and for the many years of weather broadcasting. He has truly helped keep millions of Americans safe both at home and abroad. We recognize his service to our country, this true patriot and inspiration to us all.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a cutting-edge space technology company located in the Sixth Congressional District of Kentucky. Space Tango has an innovative business model that utilizes the unique environment of microgravity to commercialize new discoveries in exomedicine for various applications on Earth. Space Tango established a test center called TangoLab1, a reconfigurable experiment ecosystem designed for microgravity research aboard the International Space Station. The company, ably led by CEO Twyman Clements and Chairman Kris Kimel, leases this space and provides technical assistance for research across several scientific fields. Space Tango provides realtime data and commanding capabilities using an end-to-end cloud-based portal as well as environmental telemetry and power consumption. I recently had the privilege of visiting the offices of Space Tango in my hometown of Lexington, Kentucky, and learned firsthand from Twyman and Kris and their entire team about the innovative work of this impressive company. I am convinced that, with this technology, we will find the next lifesaving, life-improving medical breakthroughs, and it will happen somewhere other than on planet Earth. I am proud to say that Space Tango and many other aerospace companies call the Sixth Congressional District of Kentucky home, and I am excited to see what innovations and groundbreaking discoveries they will make in the future, both on Earth and beyond.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to represent the concerns of Kentucky's Sixth Congressional District's business, education, and nonprofit leaders who will be negatively impacted by the Department of Labor's final rule on overtime pay. These new regulations will have a crippling effect on businesses' ability to create jobs and even continue operations in our already tough economic climate. Today I want to share some stories from my constituents, who are among the millions of Americans whose businesses and educational institutions and nonprofits will be significantly harmed by the Department of Labor's final rule. Darshana Patel, a first-generation American who emigrated to Kentucky from India, sat in my office with tears in her eyes, voicing concerns to me about the impact of the overtime rule on the three hotels that she worked hard to build and own. As a result of the high cost of the rule, Mrs. Patel's small business will be forced to demote a manager who has worked with her for 14 years to an hourly position on December 1. She also worries that she will have to let go some of her employees. She says she will be forced to take these drastic actions because, with this rule, she will have to come up with about $25,000 per property--money that she did not budget for. This hardworking, first-generation American entrepreneur was crying because she said she came to this country to achieve the American Dream, and the government of the United States is tearing that dream apart with overregulation. According to the Asian American Hotel Owners Association, more than half of hotel managers in the United States start in entry level positions. The Department of Labor rule will reduce employment opportunities for these workers just starting off and significantly limit upward mobility. The Department of Labor's overtime rule will also negatively impact educational employment opportunities at our colleges and universities. The Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, which includes the University of Kentucky, in my district, has stated that the overtime rule will likely place upward pressure on tuition and adversely impact outreach missions of universities. Because of the rule, students who are already facing significant barriers to accessing higher education will be further burdened by increased tuition. Caroline Ruschell, the executive director of the Kentucky Association of Children's Advocacy Centers, also reached out to me about the negative impact of the overtime rule on her organization's critical work with child victims of sexual abuse. To avoid penalties under the overtime rule, many clinics that provide vital exams and treatment to sexually abused children will be forced to reduce the hours of salaried workers, while supplementing those lost hours by overworking other employees. This will result in lower quality care and longer wait times for children to receive the critical treatment they need after facing such horrific trauma. While the Department of Labor bureaucrats claim that the overtime rule will improve economic conditions for middle-class employees, this onerous regulation on businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits will have the exact opposite effect by reducing job opportunities and limiting hours for many workers. Nonprofit and universities doing critical work in our communities will be forced to reduce the reach of their efforts by these burdensome regulations. Mr. Speaker, in 2015, regulations cost us $1.89 trillion in lost productivity and growth. At a time when job creation and small business growth are critical to our recovering economy, the Department of Labor's final regulation will be detrimental for millions of hardworking Americans. This regulation, like so many other regulations in the avalanche of red tape coming out of the Obama administration, hurts the very people that they claim that they are trying to protect and that they are trying to help. Nearly 8 years after the Great Recession, Americans are stuck in the slowest and weakest economic recovery of their lifetimes, and the reason is simple: this administration is burying the American economy in red tape. Enough is enough. Leave the American people alone and let them do their work.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 406, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.'' (By unanimous consent, Mr. Barton was allowed to speak out of order.) 2016 Congressional Baseball Game

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a very special church in Lexington, Kentucky. Christ Church Cathedral was established in 1796. This year they celebrate 220 years of ministry. The congregation of Christ Church has included several prominent members, including statesman Henry Clay, who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, served three nonconsecutive terms as Speaker of the House, and served as U.S. Secretary of State under President John Quincy Adams. Christ Church was the first Episcopal Church congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains. The earliest church building was a small frame church, which was replaced by a larger brick building in the early 1800s. The current church building was designed by the famous architect Thomas Lewinski in the Gothic Revival style and completed in 1848. The first rector of Christ Church was Rev. James Moore, who also served as the first President of Transylvania University. The church is currently led by The Very Reverend Carol Wade and serves a unique downtown Lexington ministry. Some of Christ Church's many community outreach ministries include mentoring at-risk students, serving the homeless through Room in the Inn and Church Under the Bridge ministries, and providing Christmas gifts to needy children through the Angel Tree project. Many lives have been changed by the ministry of this church. Indeed, my own family has been blessed by this vibrant spiritual community: I served in the Christ Church men's and boys' choir during my childhood years; I participated in services as an acolyte as a young man; my wife Carol and I were married in the Cathedral in 2008; and both of our daughters were baptized there. As the Cathedral celebrates its historic 220th anniversary, its members will continue their ministry to worship and serve God through Jesus Christ. My family and I are honored to call Christ Church Cathedral our spiritual home and I am honored to recognize this historic Cathedral before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a very special individual, Father Jim Sichko. He has served as Pastor of St. Mark Roman Catholic Parish in Richmond, Kentucky for the past twelve years. He leaves Richmond soon to begin a one-year appointment from Pope Francis as a Missionary of Mercy. Father Sichko is the youngest of five children. He received an undergraduate degree in vocal performance from the New England Conservatory of Music and performed as an opera singer before deciding to enter the priesthood. He studied theology at Sacred Heart School of Theology and was ordained into the Ministerial Priesthood of Jesus Christ on May 23rd, 1998. As pastor of St. Mark's Parish, Father Sichko is well known for his storytelling. He travels throughout the United States and presents retreats, missions, and days of recollection. He once disguised himself as a homeless man as part of his ministry. He authored a book entitled ``Among Friends.'' Father Sichko has invited many celebrities to his parish for fundraising events over the years, including Dolly Parton, First Lady Laura Bush, Donnie Osmond, and, most recently, Jay Leno. Father Sichko has made quite a difference in his parish and in the Richmond community. He will be greatly missed and I wish him well as he leaves to serve God in a different role. I am proud to recognize and honor him before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American, Frank Hart, Jr. Mr. Hart was born in 1926 in Sharpsburg, Kentucky. While a student at Sharpsburg High School in January of 1944, he enlisted as a reserve in the U.S. Army Air Corps. He graduated in May of 1944. Mr. Hart entered the U.S. Army Air Corps for active duty on August 8, 1944. He was in training as an aviation cadet, but was physically unable to serve. He then volunteered for gunnery school and was shipped to Florida for training. As a new corporal, he was sent in June of 1945 for training on a B-29 bomber crew as a ``Right Scanner'' on an Overseas Training Unit. The training was to end on August 21 and all crews were set to be sent overseas. August 14 was V-J Day and the war with Japan ended. Mr. Hart was promoted to sergeant and later earned another stripe as staff sergeant. Mr. Hart was discharged at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas on June 26, 1946. Following his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Mr. Hart enrolled in the University of Kentucky along with many other veterans. The legendary coach Paul ``Bear'' Bryant began his first year at the University of Kentucky that same year. Mr. Hart married Beulah Moore in 1947 and began his farming career. They have been married more than sixty eight years and have two adult children, three grandchildren, and a new great-grandchild. Mr. Hart, now retired, farmed and raised tobacco crops for fifty years. He also worked in highway construction, ran a service station, and worked at the Lexington Bluegrass Army Depot. As a part of the Greatest Generation, Mr. Hart is to be commended for his service to his country. Because of his willingness to sacrifice, and the willingness of his fellow men and women in uniform, our freedoms are secured. Mr. Hart truly is an outstanding American and an inspiration to us all. I am proud to recognize his service before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the City of Carlisle, Kentucky as it celebrates its bicentennial. The City of Carlisle was founded in 1816 as the county seat of Nicholas County, Kentucky. Carlisle has rich history and its citizens are very proud to call Carlisle home. They have done a wonderful job preserving several historic buildings and keeping the history of the community alive. I always enjoy visiting Carlisle and Nicholas County, where the people are friendly, hard-working, faith-centered, and family-oriented. I congratulate all the citizens of Carlisle on the two-hundredth anniversary of their town's founding and I wish them the best for the future. It is my honor to recognize the occasion before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a very special individual, Colonel Lee Hudson. He currently serves as commander of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky and is retiring from military service following a long and distinguished career. Colonel Hudson was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in 1990 following completion of a BS degree from Auburn University. He holds an MBA from Hawaii Pacific University and a Master's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College. Colonel Hudson has served our nation in many leadership positions over his career, including Commander of the 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne) Support Battalion from 2008-2010 and Commander of the Mission Support Element, United States Army Office of Military Support from 2010-2012, supporting strength-of-force and counterterrorism missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Philippines, and North Africa. It has been my honor to know him as Commander of Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky, where he has led in an exemplary manner and his service is greatly appreciated by the community. Colonel Hudson's awards and decorations include: Bronze Star Medal; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Meritorious Service Medal; Joint Service Commendation Medal; Korea Defense Service Medal; Army Commendation Medal; Iraq Campaign Medal; Global War On Terror (GWOT) Service Medal; and Master Parachutist, Ranger, Pathfinder, and Air Assault Badges. Colonel Hudson is to be commended for his service, dedication, and loyalty to our nation through his years of leadership in the United States Army. I join with a grateful nation in thanking him and wishing him the best in the years to come. It is my honor to recognize this great American before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a very special man, Reverend Thomas H. Peoples, Jr. He serves as pastor of Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Reverend Peoples has led this wonderful congregation, which numbers over 1,300 members, for the past thirty-seven years. Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1790 and is the oldest African-American active congregation west of the Allegheny Mountains. Rev. Peoples is the eighteenth minster to serve the church. Under his leadership, the church has grown in membership and in its community outreach. Reverend Peoples is greatly loved and respected by his congregation and by the Lexington community. Reverend Peoples is a native of Lexington. He is a graduate of Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and Simmons Bible College. Reverend Peoples has been married for fifty-three years to Delma Bennett Peoples. They are the proud parents of five children, including three sons in the ministry. They also have numerous grandchildren and a great-grandchild. Through the ministry of this good Christian man, many people have come to know Jesus Christ and serve Him through Historic Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church and beyond. Countless lives have been changed by this man of God and the world is a better place because of his ministry. It is my sincere honor to recognize him before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American, Frank Hart, Jr. Mr. Hart was born in 1926 in Sharpsburg, Kentucky. While a student at Sharpsburg High School in January of 1944, he enlisted as a reserve in the US Army Air Corps. He graduated in May of 1944. Mr. Hart entered the U.S. Army Air Corps for active duty on August 8, 1944. He was in training as an aviation cadet, but was physically unable to serve. He then volunteered for gunnery school and was shipped to Florida for training. As a new corporal, he was sent in June of 1945 for training on a B-29 bomber crew as a ``Right Scanner'' on an Overseas Training Unit. The training was to end on August 21 and all crews were set to be sent overseas. August 14 was V-J Day and the war with Japan ended. Mr. Hart was promoted to sergeant and later earned another stripe as staff sergeant. Mr. Hart was discharged at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas on June 26, 1946. Following his time in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Mr. Hart enrolled in the University of Kentucky along with many other veterans. The legendary coach Paul ``Bear'' Bryant began his first year at the University of Kentucky that same year. Mr. Hart married Beulah Moore in 1947 and began his farming career. They have been married more than sixty eight years and have two adult children, three grandchildren, and a new great-grandchild. Mr. Hart, now retired, farmed and raised tobacco crops for fifty years. He also worked in highway construction, ran a service station, and worked at the Lexington Bluegrass Army Depot. As a part of the Greatest Generation, Mr. Hart is to be commended for his service to his country. Because of his willingness to sacrifice, and the willingness of his fellow men and women in uniform, our freedoms are secured. Mr. Hart truly is an outstanding American and an inspiration to us all. I am proud to recognize his service before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to mark Building Safety Month, to recognize the importance of building safety, and to congratulate the leadership of the International Code Council that develops and publishes the model building safety and energy efficiency model codes used in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and across the country. Increasingly, these codes, developed in the United States, are being adopted in other nations as a model of safe construction. Every year, there are sobering reminders about the key role that building codes can have. Foreign nations still experience catastrophic losses of life and property due to natural events and poor construction practices. These losses have been greatly reduced in this country thanks to the adoption of sound building practices. Deadly fires, tornados, windstorms, floods, earthquakes, and other events remind us of the critical need for strong buildings. As Congress discusses the need for resilience and greater energy efficiency in our communities, we are reminded in May that key elements of resilience and energy efficiency are sound building and energy codes. I want to congratulate the leaders of the ICC, which has sponsored Building Safety Month in May every year for over 30 years. The theme of this year's Building Safety Month, appropriately, is ``Driving Growth Through Innovation, Resilience, and Safety.'' The leadership board of the ICC, including my constituent, President Alex Olszowy, building inspection supervisor for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government in Kentucky, will join ICC's chief executive officer, Dominic Sims, in Washington next week to discuss the critical need to support the adoption and enforcement of current building codes to make sure Americans are safe at home, at work, at school, and at play. On this occasion, I also want to highlight the good work of the Code Administrators Association of Kentucky, including president Jeff Camp and the other leaders of the Commonwealth's ICC chapter, and to thank the thousands of men and women who work every day to make sure our buildings comply with building and fire codes. Their work, largely unseen and often unnoticed, is critical to keeping the American people safe. The model building codes adopted by ICC members from all 50 States allow every community to share the advantage of adopting building codes that are adaptable to local conditions but, at the same time, incorporate the very latest research, materials, and building practices. This is achieved through a public-private partnership, saving local jurisdictions from bearing the large expense of code revision, updating, and coordination. These model codes are produced through the cooperation of thousands of local U.S. code officials working with the building industry to produce codes that represent the consensus on what the minimum safety requirements are and should be for various building types, all without a dime of Federal taxpayer money. I should mention that the Architect of the Capitol maintains the safety of this building and all House and Senate office buildings by following the requirements in the current International Building Code. So congratulations and a heartfelt thanks to the hardworking members and leadership of the International Code Council during this Building Safety Month.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Reichert--Congressman, colleague, and sheriff--for this opportunity to support National Police Week and, more importantly, to thank him for his long career in law enforcement and his service. Yesterday, Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to meet with the families of fallen Kentucky State Troopers Eric Chrisman and Blake Tribby. Tomorrow I will meet with the families of fallen Nicholasville, Kentucky, Police Officer Burke Rhoads and fallen Richmond Police Officer Daniel Ellis. Each of these men died while doing his job, to defend our communities and to keep our families safe. These families have been deprived of a loved one, endured tremendous pain, and made enormous sacrifices so that all of us can live with greater peace of mind. At a time when some are using the bad actions of a few to attack the dignity of the entire law enforcement profession, let the sacrifices of these men and their families remind us that uniformed officers are putting their lives on the line for our benefit every single day. We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all law enforcement officers throughout this country, and especially to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. My wife, Carol, and I had the privilege and the honor of attending the memorial service for fallen Richmond, Kentucky, Police Officer Daniel Ellis just a few months ago. The memorial service in the Eastern Kentucky University Alumni Coliseum was packed full of family and friends and colleagues on the Richmond police force. But even more impressive, brothers in blue from all over Kentucky and all over the country were packed in that coliseum to pay tribute to this hero to our community. Richmond Police Chief Larry Brock, who was eulogizing his colleague, addressed the crowd, and speaking of Ellis' valor and his kindness, he also expressed the heartbreak felt by all of Ellis' colleagues in blue. This is what he said: `` `As we left the hospital to escort Daniel to Frankfort for the required medical exam, the skies opened up and it poured rain. It was as if the angels themselves were crying at the loss of this special young man,' said Brock, his voice breaking.'' I would like to join all of my colleagues in welcoming the tens of thousands of people who have come across the country to our Nation's Capital in support of National Police Week. I especially want to thank Katie, the widow of Officer Ellis, and Officer Ellis' 3-year-old son, Luke. In the words of the Gospel, John 15:13: ``Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.'' Mr. Speaker, I again thank Congressman Reichert for hosting this important Special Order to recognize the contributions and the sacrifices of police officers from across the country.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 182, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) for his leadership on this issue, and I want to thank my colleague from West Virginia (Mr. Jenkins) for his leadership on this important legislation. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to encourage my colleagues to support his bill, H.R. 4978, the NAS Healthy Babies Act, which seeks to increase our understanding of neonatal abstinence syndrome and would help further strengthen best practices for treating this dangerous but preventable condition. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there has been a dramatic increase in maternal opioid use; and as a tragic result, a baby is born suffering from neonatal abstinence syndrome, or NAS, every 25 minutes in the United States. To help address this public health challenge, this legislation contains language drafted in coordination with my constituent, University of Kentucky pediatrician, Dr. Henrietta Bada-Ellzey, and members of the Sixth Congressional District Drug Abuse Task Force. Specifically, this provision would mandate a study which would gain critical data about the specific treatment options given to newborns with NAS during and after their hospital stay and identify treatment outcomes. This vital information would help lead pediatricians to provide improved care for the most vulnerable in our society. I would like to thank the leader's office and the Energy and Commerce Committee staff for giving me an opportunity to include this important recommendation from the Sixth Congressional District Drug Abuse Task Force in this legislation. The opioid heroin crisis in America impacts every congressional district, and my district is not immune. So I am proud that the people's House is taking up a series of important measures to combat this scourge in our society, and I can't think of any more important measure than dealing with these innocent victims of NAS. General Leave

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a great American, Presley Neville O'Bannon. He was born in Virginia in 1776, where his father served as a captain in the Continental Army. O'Bannon was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1801 and was quickly promoted to First Lieutenant in 1802. He served on the USS Argus, one of many ships used in the protection of United States commerce against the Barbary pirates. In 1805 he was selected for a special mission. During a storm, the USS Philadelphia went aground off the coast of Tripoli and the 180 member crew was captured and imprisoned at Derne. Lieutenant O'Bannon led a few brave Marines through fierce enemy fire, took possession of one of the enemy's batteries, and planted the American flag. He became the first American to raise our flag on foreign soil during a time of war. Weeks of fighting ensued and finally the captured Americans were freed. The bravery of Lt. O'Bannon and others is forever commemorated in the Marine Corps Hymn in the words ``To the Shores of Tripoli''. Hamet Karamanli, the new leader of Tripoli, was so appreciative of the actions of Lt. O'Bannon that he presented him with the now famous blade of Damascus, a jeweled sword with a Mameluke hilt. U.S. Marine Corps officers still wear the Mameluke sword today as part of their dress uniform. Lieutenant O'Bannon left the Marine Corps in 1807 and moved to Logan County, Kentucky to live for the rest of his days. He served in both the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate. He died on September 12, 1850 at the age of 74. The Daughters of the American Revolution removed his remains to the cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky in 1920 and erected a memorial to this ``Hero of the Derne''. Lieutenant Presley Neville O'Bannon was a true American hero and I am proud to honor his memory before the United States House of Representatives.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the boys basketball team at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School in Lexington, which is my hometown, for winning the Kentucky High School Athletic Association's State championship, better known in Kentucky as the Sweet Sixteen. As everyone knows, Kentucky is a basketball-crazy State, and this is a great accomplishment. This is the school's first-ever State championship in boys' basketball and the first championship for a Lexington high school since 2001. In the first three games of the tournament, the Bulldogs posted come- from-behind wins over Mercer County, Bowling Green, and Newport Central Catholic to reach the finals. However, in the final game, led by junior Taveion Hollingsworth, who was the tournament MVP, they led wire to wire, defeating Louisville's Doss High School 61-52. Like any successful endeavor, the victory was won by dedication, hours of practice, determination, and teamwork. I congratulate the students, head coach Scott Chalk, and the entire coaching staff on the State championship. I am proud to honor Dunbar High School before the United States House of Representatives. Honoring Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky