Donald Beyer

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva), my colleague, the ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fitzpatrick).

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Oregon (Ms. Bonamici).

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend the Alexandria Harmonizers, one of the premiere men's a cappella choruses in the nation, as they celebrate their 70th anniversary this year. The Alexandria Harmonizers have been based in Alexandria since their founding in 1948. The nonprofit organization specializes in four-part harmony, one of a cappella's most challenging forms, and regularly performs with 80 to 100 men on stage. The Alexandria Harmonizers have won four International Championship gold medals and numerous other awards while performing at notable venues such as the White House, United States Supreme Court, United States Capitol, Kennedy Center, and Carnegie Hall. The Alexandria Harmonizers regularly contribute to local Alexandria and Northern Virginia communities through a variety of activities, such as free public concerts, community music events, free singing valentines, and performances at senior centers and retirement homes. A prime testament to this involvement is the Alexandria Harmonizers' youth harmony festival, which introduces local high school students to the joys of a cappella singing. On a global scale, the Alexandria Harmonizers have served as international ambassadors through varying performances across Europe and Asia. For example, to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, the Alexandria Harmonizers travelled to Normandy, France and sang at a series of commemorative events. The group's poise while representing the United States abroad truly demonstrates their patriotism and dedication to the American people. Through their commitment to artistic quality, the Alexandria Harmonizers continue to fulfill their mission of ``entertaining, educating, and enriching lives through excellence in a cappella harmony''. I commend the Alexandria Harmonizers for their devout service to Virginia, the United States, and the world.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Christian Relief Services Charities, an international charitable organization located in Alexandria, Virginia, for its 33-year history making a difference for hundreds of thousands of children and their families in America and abroad. Christian Relief Services Charities has always had one overriding goal: connecting with those in need, caring for them, and making a sustainable difference in their lives. Working through local churches and civic organizations, they strive to give fellow Americans and others a ``hand up, not a handout.'' Christian Relief Services Charities' aid spans from the struggling towns of Appalachia to the desolate plains of the Native American Indian Reservations in South Dakota as well as children's homes and medical clinics in the poorest countries in Africa. Specifically, the organization's aid seeks to ensure that people have not gone to bed hungry, are able to heat their home, have clean water to drink, receive lifesaving medical care, and finish school to obtain good jobs. Christian Relief Services Charities is a family of nonprofits focused on long-term development and self-sufficiency by providing impoverished children and their families with the necessities of food, clothing, decent living conditions, and access to education and healthcare. Through its affiliate programs, Christian Relief Services Charities delivers many basic commodities we take for granted. For families, including Veterans and the disabled, they provide warm winter clothing, medicine, medical equipment, safe water systems, housing, materials for home repair, and equipment for organic gardens. For children specifically, their programs provide books, school supplies, fund youth programs such as summer lunch buses, camps, after-school enrichment classes, project grants to Native American youth and teachers seeking to improve their communities and other programs that build self-esteem. Working in partnership with public and private non-profit agencies, Christian Relief Services Charities provides over 3900 units of affordable, transitional and permanent housing, and resident related services in Virginia, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Ohio and Iowa to persons with very low to moderate incomes, chronic mentally and physically ill adults, homeless families and individuals. In Northern Virginia, Christian Relief Services Charities offers a program that provides transitional housing to victims of domestic violence and their children, with victim advocacy therapy and case management support. Christian Relief Services Charities is highly esteemed throughout the country and is one of the original accredited charities of the Better Business Bureau having consistently met their rigorous standards of excellence. As great as our Nation is, poverty and need sadly still exist. It is comforting to know that, for a third of a century, Christian Relief Services Charities has been making an impactful difference in the lives of many people in the 8th Congressional District, American Indian Country, Appalachia, and across the United States. Each day the number of served grows. I commend Christian Relief Services Charities for its service to humanity and thank them for making the world a less harsh place, feeding those who are hungry, providing housing and medical supplies to the homeless and sick, and giving hope to those who had none.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Dr. Channavajjala M. Prasad for his exceptional contributions to the international medical community. Dr. Prasad has spent over four decades researching, practicing, and teaching psychiatric medicine. He is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at George Washington University, Attending Psychiatrist at the INOVA facility in Fairfax, VA, and the Medical Director of Neighbor's Consejo, a nonprofit organization that helps the homeless Hispanic population in Washington, D.C. Dr. Prasad's started his long and illustrious career as an undergraduate student at Andhra University, India. He went on to get his Master of Science in Pharmacology from the University of Baroda, India, his PhD. in Pharmacology from the University of Bombay, India, and his Medical Degree from the Universidad Autonoma de Cd. Juarez, Mexico. Dr. Prasad began practicing medicine in the United States in 1984 and has been an active member of the Virginia and Washington, D.C. medical communities ever since. Throughout his career, Dr. Prasad has developed an expertise in psychiatric medicine with a focus on Geriatric, Correctional, and Emergency Psychiatry as well as Addiction and Pain Management. He is a proud member of several distinguished medical societies, including the American Psychiatric Association, Virginia Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, American Association of Addiction Management, American Association of Pain Management, and International Society of Addiction Medicine. Dr. Prasad also serves as a Board Member for the American Association of Social Psychiatry. Dr. Prasad's outstanding work within his local, national, and international communities has garnered recognition throughout his career. He has received numerous awards for his commitment to the practice of Psychiatric Medicine, including the Non-Resident Indians Institute's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas award in 2012, the Global Indian Association's International Excellence Award in 2013, and the National Republican Congressional Committee's National Leadership Award in 2011. In honor of his lifelong commitment to the practice of Psychiatric Medicine, I recognize Dr. Prasad and thank him for the good work he has done in Northern Virginia, Washington, D.C., and other communities across the globe.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Whitaker Foundation and its pivotal role in developing the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES), which is now in its 50th year. The Whitaker Foundation was founded in 1975 by Uncas A. Whitaker and other residents of Arlington, VA. Since its inception, the Whitaker Foundation has nurtured educational opportunities at universities across the United States through grants, faculty recruitment, and new educational programs, including no fewer than 30 biomedical engineering programs. These programs have increased the size and diversity of our engineering workforce by attracting the broadest representation of students to the pursuit of biomedical engineering. BMES began in Atlantic City, NJ with a gathering of 83 founding scientists and engineers eager to make an impact upon medical care and human health. Since then, BMES has nurtured new disciplines within engineering, biomedical engineering, and bioengineering, which have led to new industries, career opportunities, and educational programs across the globe. We honor the Whitaker Foundation today for its investment in BMES as we also celebrate BMES's 50th anniversary. In promoting BMES, the Whitaker Foundation created a permanent home for the educational and career development of biomedical engineers nationwide and promoted the development of biomedical engineering as the distinct discipline it is today

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of the Hollin Hall Village neighborhood in Fairfax County. This historic milestone is a testament to the strength and spirit of both Fairfax County and Northern Virginia. The neighborhood of Hollin Hall Village was established in 1943 under the leadership of developer John McPherson, Sr., who believed in the future of both the community and Fairfax County. During the 1950s, the fledgling Hollin Hall Village witnessed an explosion of home development and expansion. Since then, generations of residents have called Hollin Hall Village their home and enjoyed the small-town feel located just 10 miles south of Washington, D.C. Today, Hollin Hall Village is a community of approximately 700 single-family homes and businesses located in Fairfax County's Mount Vernon District. Hollin Hall Village contains two shopping centers with community staples and specialty stores, a seniors' center, Mount Vernon Park, and a baseball field that countless little league teams call home. A community's health can be judged by its level of civic engagement. The Hollin Hall Village Citizen's Association brings together locals who faithfully volunteer to support their community, represent their neighborhood at County meetings, and serve on County boards and committees. Thanks to those efforts, Hollin Hall Village has grown and thrived while maintaining the small-town feeling that early residents envisioned. Mr. Speaker, Virginia's 8th Congressional District remains one of the best places in the country in which to live, work, and raise a family. Behind this achievement are generations of individuals who have, in the spirit of Hollin Hall Village's founders, worked tirelessly to maintain the area's undeniable charm. I commend the Hollin Hall Village Citizen's Association for its work and congratulate the citizens of Hollin Hall Village for reaching this historic milestone. I ask my colleagues to join me in wishing them great success in their future endeavors.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to oppose the rule that would permit a House vote on the most shortsighted, antimarket sense of the House on a carbon tax. For decades, economists across the ideological spectrum have argued that carbon price is the most efficient way to discourage the use of fossil fuels and the best way to encourage the growth of energy efficiency measures, alternative energy sources, and market decisions on everything from housing to transportation. Indeed, this is the preferred solution to climate change by those on the right, by the Republican public intellectuals and think tanks, which is why it is baffling that a Republican congressional leadership would want to attack their preferred policy option. It is axiomatic economics that we tax the things we want to discourage. The scientific evidence continues to accumulate in prodigious amounts that carbon pollution is profoundly changing the climate of our Earth. The costs of inaction are staggering, into the billions. Carbon pricing is the most market-oriented policy action we can take to combat this. Designed well, the economic dividend will put much more money into the hands of the American people and will grow our economy more quickly. History will look back on this House resolution with sadness and regret. Once again, we will have chosen short-term profits of the fossil fuel titans over the long-term survival and prosperity of mankind on our planet.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, neither of the amendments that I offer tonight have much to do with the appropriations we are addressing. They are not about specific budget provisions, although I very much enjoyed listening to the many amendments tonight and am impressed with how often the discussion has been cordial. Instead, this amendment seeks to preserve current Clean Water Act protections for our rivers, streams, and wetlands. Our Nation's river systems and wetlands provide irreplaceable resources: natural water quality improvement, flood protection, shoreline erosion control, recreation, general aesthetic appreciation, and natural products for our use at no cost. Yet section 430 of this bill seeks to undermine the critical balance between protecting these waters and the day-to-day operations of our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Under current law, you do not need a Clean Water Act permit if discharges of dredged or fill material are associated with normal farming, ranching, or silviculture activities. This exemption pertains to normal farming and harvesting activities that are part of an established, ongoing farming or forestry operation. Only when the activities change or convert the use of a waterbody to a new purpose or impair the historic flow or reach of a stream or wetland does the exemption no longer apply. What this means is that farmers can continue to plow their fields, plant their seeds, and harvest their crops without ever having to obtain approval under the Clean Water Act; but if a farmer wants to use the current exemption to convert his farmland into a residential development, he can't do that unless he gets a permit. A rancher couldn't use this exemption to plow under a wetland to expand the reach of her grazing lands, and forestry operations can't use this exemption to change the course of a local stream to improve drainage on their growing lands. Section 430 of this bill seeks to provide an absolute exemption for impacts to any streams or wetlands that happen to be on agricultural, ranching, or forestry lands. This is a fundamental change to the Clean Water Act and one where the impacts have never been explored. This amendment would be a departure from almost 40 years of implementation of the Clean Water Act by eliminating the existing provision requiring that the exemptions are limited to established, ongoing farming practices. It could result in the loss or impairment of thousands of acres of valuable wetlands. Mr. Chairman, we shouldn't be using an appropriations bill to change Federal policy related to the protection of our Nation's rivers and streams. To the best of my knowledge, no hearings or investigations on the impacts of this provision have ever been held. If Congress intended to overturn almost 40 years of Clean Water Act precedent, regular order would require hearings before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, which has sole jurisdiction over the Clean Water Act, and approval by that committee before consideration on the floor. Mr. Chairman, this rider is bad policy for the protection of our environment, for the protection of human health, and for the protection of public safety. Mr. Chair, I urge support for my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I tried to listen very carefully to my friend from northern California. Number one, I would love to come visit and talk to his farmers and his ranchers, with his permission and accompaniment. Number two, I think if there is administrative misuse, if there is a reinterpretation of a law that has been in place for 40 years, let's address that. Let's do that through the Department of the Interior. We have, I believe, from the gentleman's perspective, a very friendly administration. Let's make sure that they are implementing the law appropriately. By the way, I agree with the gentleman, it was never intended to punish farmers. The gentleman's northern California experience is different from ours here. My mom and dad both grew up on farms in northern Virginia, which are completely residential developments right now. We want to make sure that we don't, with this rider, make it possible for a farmer to change from farming to suburbia without ever obtaining a permit, and that is essentially what we have done. By the wholesale nature of this repeal, of the nonstop to the exemptions, we essentially really shortcut the Clean Water Act. I urge us to look for a middle ground solution that answers the needs of farmers without opening wide this exemption for any farming, ranching, or grazing activity, forestry activity that might result in this full repeal. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I certainly respect the opinion of the chair, but I do take issue with the notion that it is a misguided WOTUS rule. There were 1 million comments, 400 meetings, and I served on the Science, Space, and Technology Committee and National Resources Committee in the last 2 years of the Obama administration when EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy came to us and said that after the original publication of the intended new clean water rule, there was so much feedback that she went back to the drawing board for another year of hearings and comments to address the many concerns that were raised by farmers, cattlemen, and others, most of which were resolved at the time. Mr. Chair, I respect the notion that a new administration has the right to go through the same process, the same hearings, and the same public comment to modify the rule to evolve it as we move forward. But to just throw out the old rule by a rider to an appropriations bill, seems the wrong way to make law, the wrong way to govern. Mr. Chair, I encourage my few colleagues here at a little bit before midnight to vote ``yes'' on this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, my amendment would strike section 431, which repeals the current Clean Water Rule. Without this Clean Water Rule, the streams that supply public drinking water systems to one in three Americans will remain at risk. Mr. Chairman, everyone agreed that clarity was needed in light of the Supreme Court decisions in 2001 and 2006 that created uncertainty about the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act. Calls for EPA to issue a rule even came from such organizations as the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation, the Western Business Roundtable, and the National Association of Manufacturers. The EPA and the Corps solicited comments to clarify the scope of waters protected under the Clean Water Act, and that included a lengthy and inclusive public rulemaking process that included over 200 days for public comment. The comment period was even extended twice in response to extension requests. The final rule reflected over 1 million public comments in the proposal, the overwhelming majority of which supported the Clean Water Rule. They had 400 meetings across the Nation with various stakeholders. The final Clean Water Rule was robust and ensured that water sources were protected by taking into account the connected systems of water, from wetlands and seasonal bodies of water to large rivers and lakes. The requirements of the rule were meticulously developed and addressed longstanding uncertainty, improving our national commitment to protect not only America's water, but the American people. About 117 million Americans get drinking water from streams that were vulnerable to pollution before this new Clean Water Rule. Our health and our lives depend on clean water, our economy depends on clean water. Mr. Chairman, what is unusual is the Trump administration is already working to replace, revise the 2015 rule, so I am baffled why this rider is necessary. Does the rider mean the Republican Party can't trust its own EPA to write the rule to their requirements? So I stand here today to denounce this unnecessary rider and to defend clean water for the American people. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Arlington, Virginia's Halls Hill Station No. 8, which is being honored at the African American Fire Fighters Historical Society's 8th Annual Salute Dinner. As the Civil War ended, freed slaves in Arlington set out to build a community and independent life. Many settled in the Halls Hill neighborhood, making it North Arlington's first African American community. There they built a supportive community with sprawling businesses, civic organizations, and support services. One of the most respected and treasured of those service organizations is Fire Station No. 8. In 1918, twenty years after Arlington County's first firefighting company was established, a group of African American men formed a volunteer fire department to bring fire protection to the African American community of Halls Hill. At the time, the Halls Hill African American community, which began as a home for freed slaves after the Civil War, was kept separate from adjacent white communities, in part, by an 8-foot wooden fence. Initially, the Halls Hill firefighters had only a 60-gallon chemical tank--pulled by six men over unpaved and muddy roads--that was housed on the grounds of the John Langston Elementary School. In 1925, the seven-year-old Halls Hill Station No. 8 held its first elections and, through door-to-door canvassing campaigns, raised enough money to procure the Station's first motor- driven engine. In 1927, the Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department was officially incorporated and moved to a new location on Lee Highway, which featured a telephone by which fire calls were routed through the chief operator of the local telephone company. With Arlington County starting to fund equipment and utilities for volunteer fire companies, the 1930s proved much more rewarding for the previously neglected Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department. With County support, the Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department obtained its first pumper as well as a 1929 Diamond-T truck. The Hicks family, who owned several community businesses, also offered property for a new firehouse, which quickly became a de facto community center for local news and conversation. The new firehouse featured such attractions as a pay phone and soda machine as well as a blaring siren to summon volunteers to the firehouse. Around this time, the Arlington County Fireman's Association was founded as a network for Arlington fire companies, but did not include Halls Hill Volunteer Fire Department. In 1940, Arlington County began funding professional fire staff to work within the volunteer companies. Eleven years later, Halls Hill became the last firefighting company in the county to be assigned paid professionals. The original professional firefighters assigned in 1951 to Station No. 8, in order of hire, were Alfred Clark, Julian Syphax, George McNeal, and Archie Syphax. Later, Hartman Reed, James K. Jones, Carroll Deskins, Henry Vincent, Carl Cooper, Ervin Richardson, Jimmy Terry, Wilton Hendricks, Bill Warrington and Bobby Hill were also hired. As a segregated station, Halls Hill Station No. 8 sought to prioritize serving the immediate community. However, firefighters assigned to the Station were routinely dispatched on calls outside their first due area. On these dispatches, firefighters were often berated, even by the residents the firefighters were attempting to help. Career advancement opportunities for African American firefighters at that time were limited to Fire Station No. 8. Nonetheless, in 1957, Alfred Clark became the first African American fire captain in the County and continued to serve at Station No. 8. His daughter Kitty recalls that when the station later became integrated in the 1960s, some white firefighters said they ``would not serve under a `Ni. . .' and even wrote it on the chalkboard. The battalion chief, upon arriving, ordered it removed and told the white firefighters they will serve and respect Captain Clark.'' As the main social and community center for families of the Halls Hill African American community, Station No. 8 was on the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement. There, community members advocated for a variety of causes, including the desegregation of public schools and integration of lunch counters. In 1962, construction began on a new Station No. 8 facility, which served a growing Arlington County population. However, in 1999, a study for the County Manager identified Station No. 8. for possible ``relocation, consolidation, replacement or closure.'' In 2016, after community pushback, the Arlington County Board voted to build a new Fire Station No. 8 at the Lee Highway site where the Station remains today. 100 years after its formation, Station No. 8 has a fully paid staff that serves the very community that preserved Station No. 8 as a Halls Hill institution. Arlington County has committed to building a new Station No. 8 that will memorialize the countless people who have sustained this community asset.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three remarkable women--Teresa Carlson, Keri Shull, and Gina Stracuzzi--who are being honored by the Institute for Excellence in Sales on June 15, 2018. These awards promote and advance corporate and organizational sales excellence by recognizing individuals that have demonstrated outstanding leadership and strategic vision in Sales. Teresa Carlson is receiving the Lifetime Achievement in Sales Award. Ms. Carlson is one of the top female leaders in technology today. Teresa Carlson leads the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector business--involving state, local, central and regional governments; educational institutions and Ed Techs; and non-profits and nongovernmental organizations (NGO)--and acts as an advisor to Amazon Public Policy on global policy issues. Since starting AWS's public sector business in 2010, Ms. Carlson has driven the business's growth that, today, accounts for 2,000 government, 4,500 education, and 17,500 nonprofit customers, and a vast partner ecosystem across all geographies. Keri Shull is receiving the Women in Sales Executive Leadership Award. Ranked as the #1 Real Estate Team in Virginia, Ms. Shull and her team sold 321 homes in 2017. Ms. Shull has developed an extensive team of marketing specialists who implement aggressive strategies using innovative technology to ensure maximum exposure for their clients' homes. Gina Stracuzzi is the Institute for Excellence in Sales Member of the Year. Ms. Stracuzzi has led the IES Women in Sales program since 2016. She is a business development expert who has helped world-renown organizations substantially grow.

Mr. BEYER

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, this amendment seeks to preserve our current Clean Water Act protections over our rivers, streams, and wetlands. Our Nation's river system and wetlands provide values that no other ecosystem can: natural water quality improvement; flood protection; shoreline erosion control; recreation; general aesthetic appreciation; and national products for our use at no cost. Yet section 107 of this bill seeks to undermine protection of streams and wetlands and the critical balance between protecting these waters and the day-to-day operations of our Nation's farmers, ranchers, and foresters. Under current law, farmers, ranchers, and foresters can carry out their normal operations in any water body without requiring a Clean Water Act permit. What this means is that farmers can continue to plow their fields--including potential wet areas that have been farmed for decades--plant their seeds, and harvest their crops without ever having to obtain approval under the Clean Water Act. Any normal farming, ranching, or forestry exemption is going to include minor limitations. For example, a farmer cannot use the current exemption to convert his farmland to a residential development without obtaining a permit; a rancher can't use this exemption to plow under a wetland to expand his grazing lands; and forestry operations can't use this exemption to change the course of a local stream to improve drainage on their growing lands. In short, the way the Clean Water Act currently operates is to allow normal ranching, farming, and forestry operations to continue without a permit unless the activity either changes or converts the use of a water body to a new purpose or impairs the historic flow or reach of a stream or wetland. If the planned activity triggers either of these limitations, current law obviously would require that activity to obtain a permit. Section 107 of this bill, in essence, would provide an absolute Clean Water Act exemption for impacts to any streams or wetlands that happen to be on agricultural, ranching, or forestry lands. Mr. Chairman, this is a fundamental change to the Clean Water Act, and it is one where the impacts have never been explored. This amendment would be a significant departure from almost 40 years of implementation of the Clean Water Act by Democrats and Republicans by eliminating the existing provision requiring that the exemptions apply only to normal--as in established, ongoing--farming practices. Mr. Chairman, we should not be using an appropriations bill to change Federal policy related to the protection of our Nation's rivers and streams. To the best of my knowledge, no hearings or investigations on the impacts of this provision have ever been held. If this Congress is interested in overturning almost 40 years of Clean Water Act precedent, regular order would require hearings before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and approval by that committee before consideration on the floor. This rider is bad policy for the protection of our environment, bad policy for the protection of human health, and bad policy for the protection of public safety. Mr. Chairman, I urge support for my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, the Beyer-Eshoo-Esty amendment simply restores funding to the Advanced Research Project-Energy, ARPA-E, to the FY18 enacted level that was already approved by this Congress earlier this year. ARPA-E was created to replicate the successful DARPA model by incentivizing researchers to develop promising research into game- changing technologies that can meet our future energy needs. Mr. Chairman, despite the huge payoff, the private sector does not often and cannot invest efficiently in kind of high-risk, high-reward energy research. ARPA-E has already demonstrated incredible success in advancing energy technology solutions that neither the public nor the private sector has been willing or able to support in the past. Since 2009, 136 of these projects have attracted more than $2.6 billion in private sector follow-on funding. And please note, the amendment does not cut fossil energy research. It simply reduces the plus-up for the account. The Fossil Energy R&D will still receive $30 million more than last year and 50 percent more than President Trump's FY19 request level. I urge my colleagues to support the Beyer-Eshoo-Esty amendment to make ARPA-E whole. ARPA-E is a smart bet on America's proven ability to turn creative ideas into market-creating, job-growing businesses. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. BEYER. Mr. Chairman, there is virtually nothing my friend from West Virginia said that I disagree with, except the idea that we are somehow taking money from fossil fuel research that is untoward. Just remember, this is a $30 million step up from last year and 50 percent more than President Trump has even asked for. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo).