Bradley Byrne

Mr. BYRNE

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 819 and the underlying bill. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. As frequently happens around here, the House passed one version of the Zika bill, the Senate passed another version. The Senate version contained $1.1 billion in spending. The House, in our agreement to the conference committee, agreed with the $1.1 billion, so we, essentially, agreed to what the Senate wanted to have in terms of the dollar amount. So we brought that conference report to the floor of this House so that we could go ahead and move that before we went out for Fourth of July recess. But, instead of helping us to pass that, my friends from the other side of the aisle blocked the well, tried to stop us from bringing it up. And I would say this: There was some talk about amendments. We don't normally have amendments to conference reports. That is not typical procedure around here. Perhaps more to the point, we couldn't get to an amendment debate because of the way we had behavior on the floor of the House that evening which, by the way, was in violation of the House rules. So it has been the Republicans that have tried to get something that would help with this Zika virus problem, and we have been blocked, almost completely blocked here on the floor of the House by the Democrats, and then blocked completely over in the Senate by the Democrats in the Senate. The Republicans are taking a responsible, constructive approach, and the Democrats, they just want to block things to try to make some political points and raise money or whatever it is they are trying to do.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I do not, and I am prepared to close.

Mr. BYRNE

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank Representative Adams for her leadership on the issue of HBCUs in general, for her leadership in the bipartisan caucus, and for advancing this particular piece of legislation. I want to thank all of our colleagues that worked with us not just on this legislation, but through the other work of the caucus. HBCUs are an integral part of our higher education system in America, and I am proud of the work we have done to address the unique challenges they face. I look forward to continuing that work as we advance legislation like the HBCU Capital Financing Improvement Act. By enhancing an existing program, H.R. 5530, will help these institutions make worthwhile investments that will benefit their students and the United States of America for years to come. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5530) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to modify certain provisions relating to the capital financing of historically Black colleges and universities, as amended.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as I hope the public is seeing as they watch this and all our colleagues are learning, all of these higher education bills are moving with bipartisan support. Either you have a Democratic sponsor and a Republican cosponsor or a Republican sponsor and a Democratic cosponsor. As they passed through our committee, they passed unanimously, which just goes to show that there are things that we in this Congress can work on together in a bipartisan fashion to make improvements for the American people. I hope that we will build on what we are doing today on these very important pieces of higher education legislation not just in our committee, but throughout the Congress because the American people sent us here to work together to get their problems solved and help them improve their lives. I think it is a very important idea we advance in this bill. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I am prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5530, the HBCU Capital Financing Improvement Act, and I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5530 is one of a number of bills on the floor today with a common purpose: improving our country's higher education system--something that has been a priority of mine for a very long time. As a member of the Alabama State Board of Education and as chancellor of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education, I worked to ensure that schools in our State were preparing students to succeed. As a member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, I have continued that focus and worked to deliver solutions that will provide all students with the quality education they deserve, and that is why I stand here today. An important part of helping students succeed is making sure schools and institutions have what they need to serve them well. That is exactly what H.R. 5530 will do. The bill reforms a program known as the HBCU Capital Financing Program. Congress created this program to provide Historically Black Colleges and Universities with low-cost capital they can use to make infrastructure improvements. It acts as a loan guarantee program so that these institutions can finance or refinance repairs, renovations, and construction on their campuses. The program also includes an advisory board that is intended to inform the Department of Education on the capital needs of HBCUs, how those needs can be met through the program, and how the program can be improved. H.R. 5530 will improve access to the HBCU Capital Financing Program by helping schools better understand the resources available to them. It will also strengthen the oversight program, reinforcing the duties of its advisory board by requiring it to report annually to Congress on the program's financial health. These are simple reforms that will help HBCUs better serve their students and ensure taxpayer dollars are being well-spent. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 5530.

Mr. BYRNE

Mr. BYRNE. I can yield----

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 809 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave

Mr. BYRNE. I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 809 facilitates the process to allow us to go to conference with the Senate on the National Defense Authorization Act. The resolution also provides for consideration of a conference report related to our efforts to combat the opioid crisis that is wreaking havoc in communities all across the United States. I want to talk first about the need to get to conference with the Senate on the National Defense Authorization Act. For 54 straight years, the House and Senate have come together to fulfill our most important responsibility: to provide for the common defense. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle talk a lot about regular order. Well, there is no greater example of regular order than the National Defense Authorization Act. This legislation has gone from the subcommittee level to the full committee, to the full bodies of both Houses; and now we need to continue the process by allowing for this House to enter into negotiations with the Senate. Between the House and the Senate, hundreds of amendments have been adopted to this legislation. Members from both sides of the aisle have had an opportunity to have their input on this legislation, and the separate bills passed both by the House and the Senate have bipartisan support. Now, there are some differences between the House and the Senate versions of the National Defense Authorization Act, and that is why we have to have the conference committee process. This will allow us to iron out our differences. As a member of the Armed Services Committee, I can personally attest to just how important it is we get a strong, reform-based NDAA signed into law this year. Our military is in the midst of a readiness crisis. Aircraft cannot fly due to maintenance issues. There are even reports of mechanics having to take parts off of planes inside museums in an effort to repair damaged aircraft. Think about that for a minute. The United States, home to the greatest fighting force on the face of the Earth, is having to use plane parts from museums in an effort to keep some of our aircraft operational. That is simply stunning. And readiness is so important these days given the serious threat posed by radical Islamic terrorism. Every morning, it seems we wake up to reports of another attack. Whether it is in Bangladesh, Baghdad, Istanbul, Kabul, Saudi Arabia, or right here in Orlando, or San Bernardino, these attacks just reinforce the fact that radical Islamic terrorism must be defeated. The NDAA is also important because it is a great opportunity to put reforms in place at the Pentagon. Whether it is reducing bureaucratic obstacles, improving military health care, or updating the command structure, the NDAA is the perfect tool to ensure efficiency and effectiveness from the Pentagon. So I hope my colleagues from both sides of the aisle will join me in voting to get us to conference so we can keep the streak alive of passing a strong NDAA each year. The other portion of this rule provides for consideration of the conference report dealing with the opioid crisis. I recently heard a story of a young man from southwest Alabama who suffered an injury playing sports. He was prescribed opioid-based pain medication by his doctor, but, unfortunately, he became addicted. Next thing he knew, his addiction had spiraled out of control and he found himself using heroin. Ultimately, he became seriously ill. Thankfully, this young man was able to enter a treatment program and receive help, but not everyone who suffers from opioid addiction is so fortunate. Studies show that approximately 46,000 Americans die because of a drug overdose each year. That number adds up to over 130 deaths a day. Tragically, young Americans are disproportionately impacted. One of the worst things about opioid abuse is that it can start so innocently. Whether it is a high school athlete who suffers an injury or an individual who undergoes a medical procedure as simple as dental work, no American is immune from this tragedy. That is why this legislation is so very important. It authorizes new programs and reforms others to ensure that those struggling with opioid addition can get the help that they need. The bill includes new grants to States to carry out comprehensive opioid abuse responses with education, treatment, and recovery efforts, and prescription drug monitoring programs. The bill also has multiple provisions dealing with prevention, including a new intergovernmental task force to identify, review, and, as appropriate, determine whether there are gaps or inconsistencies between best practices for chronic and acute pain management. Treatment and recovery are also a priority, with reforms to multiple existing grant programs and a new grant program to provide grants to community organizations to develop, expand, and enhance recovery services and build connections between recovery networks, including physicians, the criminal justice system, and employers. The bill also helps women, families, and veterans. This includes reauthorization of a grant program for residential treatment for pregnant and postpartum women who have an opioid abuse disorder and a new pilot program to enhance the flexibility of funds so States can more broadly support family-based services for pregnant and postpartum women and their children. Moreover, this bill contains other commonsense reforms such as clarifying that pharmacists coordinating with a doctor and patient may not fill the entire amount of a prescription for a Schedule II substance, such as opioids. Mr. Speaker, these are just some of the numerous and important pieces of this legislation. I am pleased to report that 200 different organizations from every corner of our country have already come out in support of this conference report. Now, this bill probably doesn't do everything that every Member would like for it to do. In my time up here, I have yet to see a perfect bill. But this is a good bill, and I honestly doubt there is anything in this bill that my colleagues disagree with. I understand some of my colleagues have concerns over funding, but let me remind my colleagues about the important distinction between appropriations and authorizing. This bill authorizes programs to address the opioid crisis. The Appropriations Committee has made clear that they are going to do everything that they can to provide funding for these programs, and I take them at their word. But putting funding in an authorization bill is not the proper way to address this issue. Mr. Speaker, I worry we are seeing a larger issue here that started with the Zika virus legislation a few weeks ago. My colleagues on the other side demand action on issues, the process plays out, the House and Senate work together on legislation, and then my colleagues on the other side announce their opposition to very similar bills to the ones they previously supported. Let's not forget that the House passed our opioid legislation by a vote of 400-5, and the Senate passed their bill by a vote of 94-1. Neither of those bills included funding. So it is stunning that now many of my colleagues on the other side say that they are going to oppose this bill. Mr. Speaker, I worry that this is about politics instead of policy. I fear that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle want an issue to debate on the campaign trail instead of actual solutions to the problems facing our country. I sincerely hope that that is not the case because the American people deserve better than that. They can turn on their TVs every night and get enough political theater. But here in this body we should rise above that temptation and actually work on solutions. The minority will not get everything they want. That is the nature of compromise, and that is the realty of being in the minority. But this has been a truly bipartisan process, and I hope it will not fall victim to political grandstanding. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support House Resolution 809 and the underlying legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I reiterate my earlier announcement that all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only, and I will not yield for any other purpose.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 809 is on the National Defense Authorization Act----

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, we are here to speak on House Resolution 809, the National Defense Authorization Act.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. BYRNE. I do not. Mr. Speaker, I note far the record----

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I ask the Chair to bring the House to order.

Mr. BYRNE. Mr. Speaker, I note for the record that the Member who just spoke has made the same unanimous consent request three times. I would also note that other Members have made the same unanimous consent requests multiple times, and the Chair has indicated that he cannot entertain that request. Mr. Speaker, for the record, at some point, this ceases to be an effort to debate the issue before the House and, rather, becomes an effort to obstruct the House from completing its work. I reserve the balance of my time. Parliamentary Inquiry

Mr. BYRNE. Well, I thought he yielded to me for----

Mr. BYRNE. Do you yield or not?

Mr. BYRNE. You didn't allow me to say a word.

Mr. BYRNE. I reserve the balance of my time.