Andy Barr

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Stivers), my Republican colleague, who is the co-chairman of the Financial Literacy Caucus in Congress and someone who has worked in a bipartisan way very productively with Congresswoman Beatty on this important initiative.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Ohio (Mrs. Beatty) for her leadership and her work on H.R. 2162, the Housing Financial Literacy Act of 2019. The Federal Housing Administration currently provides government- backed mortgage insurance to more than $1.3 trillion in loans. FHA insurance allows a wide array of borrowers to qualify for mortgages, including many low- and moderate-income families who might not otherwise have access to credit through traditional underwriting. In fiscal year 2018, the FHA endorsed over 1 million forward mortgages, including over 775,000 purchase loans, nearly 83 percent of which were to first-time home buyers. Given the large population of first-time home buyers using the FHA, it makes sense to encourage those individuals to seek out ways to strengthen their financial knowledge and better prepare themselves for the challenges of homeownership. Right now, current law states that FHA has the ability to provide first-time homeowners with a discount on their FHA upfront premiums if they complete an approved homeownership financial counseling course-- makes a lot of sense. However, the statute is drafted in such a way that the provision only applies in particular circumstances when FHA upfront premiums exceed 2.75 percent. Since FHA upfront premiums are currently set at 1.75 percent, a rate that has not been exceeded in a decade, FHA does not currently provide an upfront premium discount to first-time homeowners who complete a financial counseling course. This bill, H.R. 2162, would amend current law to require FHA to provide a 0.25 percent upfront premium discount from the prevailing rate in effect at the time for other borrowers to first-time home borrowers. This equates to a $625 savings off the current premium structure on a $250,000 mortgage. The hope is, by making such a discount mandatory, more first-time homeowners will seek out financial literacy counseling and produce better outcomes for a traditionally at-risk group of homeowners. The bottom line is that FHA is a valuable tool to help expand the universe of mortgage credit in our housing system, and we ought to be doing all that we can to make sure that we are using our limited public resources to encourage all borrowers to be well-prepared for the commitment of homeownership through financial counseling or any other effective means of creating more stable and reliable borrowers. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I am prepared to close. Mr. Speaker, again, I would thank Congressman Green and Congressman Huizenga for their leadership on this extending of whistleblower protections, and I yield back the balance of my time. General Leave

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in support of H.R. 2515, the Whistleblower Protection Reform Act of 2019. I would like to thank my colleagues, Congressman Green and Congressman Huizenga, for their work on this commonsense, bipartisan legislation. Mr. Speaker, whistleblowers play a very important role in rooting out bad behavior that harms the market as well as mom-and-pop investors. Additionally, businesses have a self-interest in detecting and eliminating illegal activity as swiftly as possible within their organizations. To that end, clarifying the concept of encouraging employees to report alleged securities fraud activities to their employers without fear of retaliation just makes simple common sense. Businesses typically strive to comply with the law, and they have incentives to do so from market pressures, but it is also because unlawful activity hurts the company itself and it hurts its investors, driving down the company's value, tarnishing the company's reputation, repelling business partners and customers, and damaging the overall marketplace. That is why, frankly, the vast majority of actors in the private sector do the right thing. For these reasons, many companies have implemented strong internal reporting measures to detect and mitigate potential wrongdoing before harm spreads. But if internal whistleblowers who report potential securities law violations internally are not protected from retaliation, what good are these internal reporting systems that these companies have voluntarily established? That notion might seem counterintuitive, but last year, in the Digital Realty Trust case, the Supreme Court held that the whistleblower antiretaliation protections of the Dodd-Frank Act do not extend to internal whistleblowers; only those who report to the SEC are protected from retaliation. Now, this is not an error in the Supreme Court's judgment; it is simply a faithful interpretation of the flawed drafting of the Dodd- Frank law. This bill solves this problem by amending section 922 of Dodd-Frank to clarify that whistleblowers who report alleged misconduct internally with their employers but not to the SEC are protected by Dodd-Frank's antiretaliation provisions. By clarifying that Dodd-Frank's antiretaliation protections also apply to internal whistleblowers, this bill addresses the Supreme Court's interpretation and aligns Dodd-Frank's whistleblower protections with other major whistleblower laws. Again, I want to thank Congressman Green and Congressman Huizenga for this important bipartisan legislation, which I proudly support. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2515. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Once again, I thank the sponsor of this legislation, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott). I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin) for his continued leadership on this legislation. I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Levin), whom I have the privilege of serving with on the Veterans Affairs' Committee as well, for his leadership in getting this bipartisan legislation to the House floor and to this point. I thank the chairwoman of our full committee, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), for her leadership in helping navigate this legislation forward. Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, this is an important piece of legislation. It is bipartisan recognition of a problem created unintentionally by a law passed last year, and it is about providing two basic protections for veterans: protecting veterans who are seeking the dream of homeownership from predatory practices and from this practice of churning, and preserving liquidity in the secondary market for VA loans, which, in a nutshell, means that our veterans will have access to more affordable housing. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friends on the other side of the aisle, and I thank Mr. Zeldin for his leadership. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I am prepared to close.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Georgia, for his bipartisanship and his willingness to fight for veterans. I appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Zeldin), my Republican colleague on the House Financial Services Committee, a veteran himself and a servicemember who has been a champion on legislating this fix.

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1988, the Protecting Affordable Mortgages for Veterans Act, introduced by my friend, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. David Scott). This bill is an important continuation of work that our colleague Lee Zeldin from Long Island, who is a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, started last Congress to better protect our Nation's veterans from financial fraud. This Congress, I was pleased to join Congressmen Scott and Zeldin as an original cosponsor of this legislation, along with my colleague on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Congressman Levin, to assist with advancing this bill through both this committee, the Financial Services Committee, and the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. Last year, Congress enacted S. 2155, the most pro-growth banking bill in a generation. Section 309 of that legislation included a provision to impose a new seasoning requirement for the securitization of loans insured by the VA. This provision addresses the questionable practice of churning; that is, the refinancing of a home loan over and over again just to generate fees and profits for lenders with a slight short-term benefit for the borrower but at an increased life-of-the-loan cost. Unfortunately, that provision created a technical issue for a group of VA loans that fell into no-man's land, if you will, between the date on which the mortgage was issued and the technical requirements of the new law, increasing the risk to lenders and making the loans less attractive to investors. Congressmen Zeldin and Scott took quick action to correct this unintended consequence, but Congress ran out of time last year and it did not become law. The bill we are considering today, H.R. 1988, is a continuation of their efforts to address this unintended problem and ensure that these VA loans receive the equitable treatment they deserve. To some, this bill today might seem to be just a technical fix, but it is an important one. Our Nation's veterans should not be subject to suspect practices like churning. I am pleased that this bill, along with the ongoing efforts of the VA loan securitizer Ginnie Mae, will stamp out churning and better protect veterans. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1988 and, once again, commend my colleague from Georgia (Mr. David Scott), and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Steil), the author of this legislation.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, as I said before, the gentleman from Virginia who is going to speak has personal experience in the private sector, is an entrepreneur, and knows a lot about rural America and rural America's need for access to capital as an entrepreneur. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Riggleman), who is an outstanding new member of our committee.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on behalf of my constituents at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Richmond, Kentucky. Established as an ammunition and general supply storage depot in 1941, the Blue Grass Army Depot is now one of two remaining Army installations in the United States that stores and destroys chemical weapons. The important work of the employees at the depot ensures America's worthy task of destroying our chemical weapons stockpiles and making good on our commitment to the Chemical Weapons Convention. I am proud that operations to get rid of these stockpiles began earlier this month, a process that will result in the destruction of thousands of chemical rockets and projectiles over the next several years. This vital task could not be achieved without the support and input of members of the Madison County community who serve on the Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens' Advisory Commission. I want to personally thank community leaders like Craig Williams--who has literally worked for decades on the safe destruction of these chemical weapons--and County Judge Executive Reagan Taylor, who have continually advocated for the safety of their community and have made an enormous impact on the operations of the depot. I look forward to seeing my district continue to set the international standard for chemical demilitarization.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker. I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2196, which would amend the credit hour requirement for the Edith Nourse Rogers Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Scholarship program and the Forever GI Bill, named after Congresswoman Edith Nourse Rogers, who served 18 consecutive terms in Congress and was a tireless advocate for veterans throughout the 21st century. This legislation follows the spirit of this pioneering Congresswoman and ensures that our veterans are able to access the benefits that they have earned. The Rogers STEM Scholarship provides up to 9 months of additional Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits to qualifying veterans and Fry Scholars seeking an undergraduate STEM degree or who have earned a STEM degree and are seeking a teaching certification. Our bill makes a necessary and timely change to the eligibility requirement for the Rogers STEM Scholarship program from 128 required credit hours to a much more common 120 credit-hour requirement. After passage of the Forever GI Bill, the VA discovered that there were only three States where the average STEM degree exceeds 128 required credit hours, meaning that the vast majority of veterans would be unable to access this benefit. This scholarship is set to launch August 1, as was recently said, of this year, and it is incumbent on Congress to make this fix before then to ensure that more student veterans pursuing STEM degrees are able to utilize the additional funding Congress provided for them in the Forever GI Bill. I would like to thank my colleague, Congressman Levin, for his support in introducing this bill, as well as Ranking Member Roe and Representative Radewagen for their cosponsorship as well. This is a win-win. There is a labor supply shortage, especially in critical STEM fields, and so employers need STEM-educated workers. At the same time, there is no better group of people than veterans who know teamwork, who know about putting a cause greater than themselves, and who, in many cases, have skills that are particularly adaptive to the STEM fields where this is a win for them, as well, in their movement to civilian life. I am proud to see this legislation pass by voice vote in our committee, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation to ensure we are setting up our veterans for success and job security after their service to our Nation.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Paul Sears, of Lexington, Kentucky. Born in 1924, Dr. Sears enlisted in the Army Air Corps on October 25, 1942. He was assigned to the 100th Bomb Group, also known as the ``Bloody Hundredth'', in the 8th Air Force. Sears was a tailgunner on a B-17. On his very first mission, half of his 6 plane squadron was lost. On his tenth and final mission, Dr. Sears' aircraft, ``Salvo Sal'', was hit over Germany on October 8, 1943. Sears bailed out over the Netherlands and was captured by the Germans. He was held in solitary confinement for 17 days in Frankfurt, Germany. After a 3-day ride in a cattle car, he was taken to Stalag 17b where he spent the next 19 months just trying to survive. Conditions were brutal, with prisoners living on small portions of black bread and cabbage soup that included worms. Sears lost 65 pounds, contracted a severe respiratory infection, and almost died. In April of 1944, Sears and around 4,500 other POWs were forced to march over 200 miles west, away from the Russian Army and towards the American lines. The prisoners were liberated by General Patton's 3rd Army on May 3, 1945. Dr. Sears returned home and married Juanita Reed Sears. Together they raised 2 girls, Anne and Elizabeth ``Lizzy'' Sears Brown. Under the G.I. Bill, Paul Sears entered the University of Kentucky where he earned a B.S. in 1950 and a Ph.D. in 1953. He spent most of his professional career at the University of Kentucky as a chemistry professor. He was recognized with two Outstanding Teacher Awards, recognized internationally for his research, and held several leadership positions at the University of Kentucky. He retired in 1990. Dr. Sears and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Dr. Paul Sears before the United States Congress.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, on rollcall no. 377, I mistakenly voted ``no'' when I intended to vote ``yes''. Amendment No. 128 Offered by Ms. Wasserman Schultz

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss my amendment to H.R. 2740, the Defense appropriations bill. With the cosponsorship of my fellow Kentuckian, Congressman Guthrie, my amendment increases Army, Army Reserve, and Army National Guard operations and maintenance by $2 million each for training support. This funding will support the training of National Guard and Reserve components by the Army in order to improve readiness. General Lengyel of the National Guard Bureau, earlier this year before the Appropriations Committee, said: ``There is only one standard of readiness in fighting America's wars. This readiness requires the National Guard to be deployable, sustainable, and interoperable with our Active components.'' As the representative for Kentucky's National Guard headquarters, it is essential we support training and coordination between the components of our Armed Forces. I was proud to advocate for this important increased funding, which will allow Active-Duty Army personnel to more frequently advise, assist, and train with Guard and Reserve units on drill weekends to ensure both are meeting the same level of readiness. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues for adopting this amendment.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the oldest franchise restaurant in America--A&W. Today is its 100th birthday. As the automobile opened new horizons for Americans, A&W Restaurants pioneered the drive-in restaurant and made the Root Beer Float a household treat. These small businesses are a source of fond memories for generations of Americans. A&W's beloved mascot Rooty the Great Root Bear is known from coast to coast. A&W opened doors of opportunity so people could start their own businesses as franchise owners. These iconic restaurants became hubs in towns across America, and A&W developed a culture of giving back, reflecting the very best of heartland values. Today begins their annual fundraising drive for Disabled American Veterans. A&W has raised over $800,000 for veteran-related charities since 2011. A&W is owned by its franchise partners, who independently operate nearly 600 U.S. restaurants. The National A&W Franchisee Association headquarters is located in Richmond, Kentucky. Madam Speaker, please join me today in welcoming the A&W family to Washington to celebrate their 100th Anniversary.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, not just DOL-registered programs, but also apprenticeship programs tailored by the employers for those particular jobs. So, while the economy does need to utilize these DOL-registered apprenticeship programs, a one-size-fits-all solution is not the answer. Many employers need specific, tailored apprenticeship programs, and I urge support for the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Arkansas, for his leadership on this very important issue, providing employers with flexibility. Yes, we want to support Department of Labor-registered apprenticeships, but we need employers to be able to fill these job openings with skilled workers using apprenticeships that are actually tailored for the jobs that are available. When I visit the employers in central and eastern Kentucky, they all tell me the same story: Because of tax cuts and deregulation, the economy is booming, they are creating jobs, but they can't find workers. There is a labor supply shortage in this country, and we need more skills. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that labor force participation among prime-age men has dropped from 86 percent in 1950 to a rate currently of 71.5 percent. We have got to get that labor participation rate up, and, because of that, we need skills. That is why I am proud, as chairman of the Republican Study Committee's American Worker Task Force, to support the Hill amendment, which would allow Federal grant funds to be used for apprenticeship programs that are not just DOL-registered.

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, I rise today to offer my amendment to increase funding for the Building Communities of Recovery program. We all know that the opioid epidemic is a major health crisis that has impacted every community and every congressional district. My home State of Kentucky suffers from the fifth highest overdose mortality rate in the country, and we learned from the CDC that last year 72,000 of our fellow citizens died of an opioid overdose. This is a national crisis. Last fall, Congress passed a historic package of legislation to address the opioid epidemic to research treatment and prevention. The SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act builds upon past resources authorized and funded by Congress, including the 21st Century Cures Act and the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act. Additionally, Congress has appropriated $4 billion, the largest Federal investment to date, to address the opioid epidemic, but there is more work to be done. We cannot continue to focus our Federal efforts on prevention and treatment without looking toward long-term recovery through housing, job placement, financial literacy, and life skills. Not all recovery is the same. Everyone has a different recovery journey, and we must not prioritize one pathway to recovery over another. If there is one thing I have learned talking to folks who are struggling through an addiction recovery is that what works for one individual may not work for another. I have heard from my constituents of the need for funding to be made available for programs that provide alternatives to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Obviously, medication-assisted treatment is considered evidence-based and the gold standard in many cases for helping people to recovery, but there are alternatives, and some individuals need a different course. Currently, the Building Communities of Recovery program is one of the only sources of funding for nonmedication for opioid-use disorder. According to SAMHSA, non-MAT programs are ineligible for the State Opioid Response Grants which constitute the majority of opioid funding. My office has been told time and time again that the reason they cannot receive funding is because they do not offer medication-assisted treatment. I would like to emphasize that I am not critical of medication- assisted treatment programs, but I do believe that non-narcotic alternatives to recovery complement medication-assisted treatment for certain individuals. As we continue to combat this crisis, we must make critical, nonmedication resources for recovery available to those who need them. Treatment programs that choose to offer non-MAT recovery options are doing incredible work despite their inability to access most Federal grant programs that we enacted last year. I would like to highlight the story of Zachary Thomas, my constituent, and a prime example of someone who successfully worked through addiction to recovery. At the age of 18, Zach dropped out of Mercer County Senior High School just 4 months before graduation. He was hooked on methamphetamines, heroin, and alcohol and was homeless. At age 19, Zach was in the Boyle County Detention Center on drug charges. Upon recommendation of the county attorney, Zach was sent to the Shepherd's House, a recovery residence in Lexington, Kentucky, that provides transitional residential treatment for men 18 years and older. Shepherd's House has been providing treatment for clients who suffer from drug and alcohol issues for the past 30 years. It offers structured programs that promote personal responsibility and accountability for those seeking sustained abstinence from mood and mind-altering substances. Zach now works at DV8 Kitchen, a Lexington restaurant owned by Rob and Diane Perez that has a practice of hiring employees in recovery from drug and alcohol addictions. Zach's success is just one example of the great work of the people at the Shepherd's House and the great work that these nonmedication- assisted treatment recovery programs are doing to combat this crisis. The Shepherd's House's desire is to live in the solution of recovery, to make a positive economic impact on the communities we serve, and to one day put a small dent in the national crisis that we know as addiction. Another example I would like to highlight is my good friend, Jenell Brewer, in Powell County, Kentucky, the SPARK program. It is an advocacy center that helps families navigate addiction, educates them on addiction, and connects them with recovery resources in the State. At a time when many families don't know what to do, SPARK offers a personal approach and an outlet for those coping with this crisis. But these great organizations, SPARK and the Shepherd's House, are not eligible for many of the Federal grant programs that we have funded. And so this amendment would simply provide increased funding for that program, the Building Communities of Recovery program that would provide funding for these alternatives that are desperately needed. I encourage my colleagues to vote in favor of the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BARR. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Mr. Alvin Huston Perry of Lawrenceburg, Kentucky. Mr. Perry is part of a special group of heroes that served our nation during World War II. Mr. Perry was born in August of 1923 and grew up on a farm in rural Anderson County. He was drafted into the United States Army in November of 1943. He was assigned to the 331st Infantry Regiment, 83rd Infantry Division. Mr. Perry's unit was part of the second wave of men to land on Omaha Beach after the D-Day invasion. German forces surprised Perry's company as fighting ensued in the hedgerows in Normandy. Mr. Perry was injured in the shoulder and his company was captured. He was taken to a German field hospital in Ruins, France where he was treated, From there, he was taken to Stalag XII-A in Limburg, Germany and later to Stalag VII-A in Musburg, Germany. He and his fellow prisoners lived in boxcars and were taken to Munich every day to work. He was a prisoner of war from July 1944 to April 1945. Following liberation by American forces, Mr. Perry returned to serve stateside. At the war's end, he farmed and created a milk route delivering milk containers from dairy farms to distribution plants. He married his sweetheart Oneida, who he met in grade school. Mr. Perry earned a Purple Heart, a Prisoner of War Medal, a Good Conduct Medal, and a WWII Victory Medal. He will be honored on June 7, 2019 with the French Legion of Honor, the highest decoration bestowed in France. Mr. Perry and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Mr. Alvin Huston Perry before the United States Congress.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a special man, Mr. Karl Michler of Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Michler is part of a special group of heroes that served our nation during World War II. Mr. Michler celebrates his 99th birthday on June 5. Mr. Michler enlisted in the service at the age of 22. He was a proud member of the United States Army. He served as a medical corpsman. His assignments took him to locations in the United States, France and Germany. He served for 4 years and was honorably discharged in February of 1946. Mr. Michler returned home and married Jean Vogt. Following his service in the Army, he took over the family business, Michler's, which was started by his grandfather Carl Michler in 1900. He continued that very successful business for many years. His son, John, and later his grandson, Robin, kept the business growing and thriving. Mr. Michler and his fellow veterans are true heroes. As members of the ``Greatest Generation'', they willingly served to protect and defend the freedoms that we enjoy today. I am humbled to honor the service of Mr. Karl W. Michler and to celebrate his upcoming 99th birthday before the United States Congress.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Chair, I thank Ranking Member McHenry for yielding. Mr. Chair, this legislation, H.R. 1500, the so-called Consumers First Act, neither puts consumers first nor puts in place the reforms that are needed to make the CFPB a stronger and more accountable regulatory agency. In reality, this bill is an attempt to politicize consumer protection. It represents my Democratic colleagues' genuine expression of frustration with the current CFPB leadership, but that frustration is misdirected, Mr. Chair. That frustration really is more about their inability to provide meaningful oversight over this Bureau, a Bureau that they themselves created in the Dodd-Frank law. I would submit that my Democratic friends' frustration should not be directed at former Acting Director Mick Mulvaney or current Director Kathy Kraninger. Their frustration is, in fact, a product of the very structure, the very flawed structure, that they themselves created and now stubbornly defend. Today's legislation does absolutely nothing to address the fundamental structural flaws of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which could be remedied on a bipartisan basis with simple reforms that my Republican colleagues and I have supported since the Bureau's creation. I think, now that the leadership has shifted and there is a new administration with new appointees in the leadership, many of my Democratic friends are having regrets about the structure that they originally created. What would be the reforms that we should together as a body on a bipartisan basis support? A bipartisan commission; subjecting the Bureau to congressional appropriations with my legislation, the Taking Account of Bureaucrats' Spending Act, which would restore the power of the purse over this agency; an independent inspector general, which would hold leadership of either party accountable. Mr. Chair, this is just a messaging bill. It is not a true attempt to legislate. This bill does nothing to get at the lack of accountability of this Bureau. To further make this point, my friend, the chairwoman, talks about the need to add supervisory authority to the Bureau over enforcement and compliance with the Military Lending Act, but the bill doesn't do that. I have a bill that does that. In fact, I offered the bill as an amendment, but Monday night, in the Rules Committee, they made this amendment out of order. This is not about actually giving the Bureau supervision over the Military Lending Act. If they really wanted that, they would have approved my amendment. We would be voting on my amendment to give the Bureau supervisory authority over enforcement of the Military Lending Act. But, no. This is just about making a political point. Sure, they have findings that there should be supervisory authority over Military Lending Act compliance. Well, then why not make this Republican amendment in order to make it a bipartisan bill? They don't want a bipartisan bill. They want a political message. This reaffirms our point that this legislation is not about consumer protection. It is not about putting consumers first. It is about politics. It is about giving lip service to protecting our servicemembers while excluding the necessary action to actually do it. Mr. Chair, I encourage a ``no'' vote on this bill. Let's roll up our sleeves. Let's defend this institution. Let's work together in a bipartisan way to truly enact the reforms, the structural reforms that will strengthen consumer protection that will make this Bureau accountable to the American people through their elected representatives. Let's make this a bipartisan commission. Let's give this institution, both Republicans and Democrats, the power of the purse over this agency so that when a Director from the Trump administration is in place, this body will have the ability to provide meaningful oversight, and when there is a Democratic appointee heading this agency, this body will also be able to exercise meaningful oversight. Mr. Chair, I urge a ``no'' vote. Let's do real reforms. Let's not just make political points.

Mr. BARR

Mr. BARR. Mr. Speaker, if this unanimous consent request cannot be entertained, I urge the Speaker and the majority leader to immediately schedule the born-alive bill so we can stand up and protect the sanctity of human life; and I would ask all others to join in this request.