John Culberson

Mr. CULBERSON

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. Drug courts are a proven way to get a good outcome for people who are arrested for drug offenses. The gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah) and the subcommittee have already funded the drug courts at $41 million, $5 million above the request. I think the gentleman's amendment is a worthwhile increase, and I urge my colleagues to support it.

Mr. CULBERSON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, if I could point out to my good friend from New Jersey what we have done is simply shift the program over to the Byrne JAG Program, because with Byrne JAG you can customize your application for New Jersey, for Philadelphia, or for Seattle. You can hire police officers under the Byrne JAG Program. We shifted the program over to Byrne JAG because it is far more effective and can be tailored to your community. So, Mr. Chairman, I strongly support this amendment because with this amendment we are restoring the funding for the COPS Hiring Program, but doing it through a far more effective and locally tailored program, the Byrne JAG Program. So I would urge all my colleagues to support this bipartisan amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I share my colleague Mr. McClintock's feeling about programs that are unauthorized and share his passion for ensuring we don't spend money we don't have. But as the gentleman from Maine was just out here a moment ago, Mr. Poliquin has a perfect example of one of the really valid and very important functions of the ITA, and that is to identify subsidies that are unfair, that imbalance our trade with a foreign nation. As he pointed out, the Canadian Government is unfairly subsidizing a paper mill right directly across the border from his constituents in Madison, Maine, and caused the furloughing of workers at the Madison paper mill. And as I just pledged to Mr. Poliquin, I want to make sure that ITA is doing its job when it comes to identifying and enacting some measures to counterbalance unfair trade practices like that. I would agree with my friend from California: when it comes to promoting American business, that is the job of the Chamber of Commerce; when it comes to making sure that American businesses get the word out and shares information, that is something American businesses ought to do; but when it comes to unfair subsidies given by foreign governments to their businesses that cause American workers to lose their jobs, that is exactly what the ITA is designed to do. We need trade enforcement, we need countervailing duties, and we need export assistance. The amendment which the gentleman from California has offered looks to be about a 70 percent cut. I would be happy to work with you and find some ways to find savings within the agency when it comes to promoting American businesses because I am a big believer. Let the Chamber of Commerce do it.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. CULBERSON. Well, the scale of the reduction to reduce the agency by $311,788,000 so abruptly is going to eliminate the ability, for example, to help Mr. Poliquin and other businesses like theirs across the country that are suffering from unfair subsidies by foreign governments. So, unfortunately, I need to oppose the amendment. A 70 percent cut is simply not sustainable. And Mr. Poliquin, I think, made a very eloquent case just a moment ago for the type of work the ITA needs to do. So I would need to urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. I would be happy to yield to my friend from Philadelphia.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, but I am not opposed to the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I support the gentleman's amendment. Veterans courts and mental health courts do great work. It is a very important role that they serve. I want to also thank the gentleman for his service as a police officer. We just simply cannot thank our police officers enough for the good work that they do, and I strongly support the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. CULBERSON. I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I want to join him in supporting this amendment. Mr. Chairman, we have a terrible problem in this country with human slavery and with human sex trafficking. My colleague from Texas is exactly right, and I strongly support his amendment. I also share his concern about the American Community Survey, and I intend to pursue aggressive oversight during the months ahead. I do think it is intrusive. Our right to be left alone as Americans is one of our most important rights, so I share the gentleman's concern about the American Community Survey. We have a responsibility to make sure the Census is funded, but this is a very important amendment, and I urge my colleagues to support it to help combat this disgraceful scourge of human trafficking.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, reclaiming my time, I want to point out the Manufacturing Extension program is already fully funded. They have got $130 million set aside for the program in the bill; and, quite frankly, the amendment would endanger the public because we would not be able to proceed with the urgently needed construction of new prison facilities. So I urge my colleagues to join us in opposing this amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I claim time in opposition, but I am not opposed.

Mr. CULBERSON. I understand the gentleman is going to withdraw his amendment, and he has identified a serious problem that he has brought to our attention that I want to work with my ranking member on. I understand that it sounds to me like we have got a clear violation of Federal law involved here, and I am very distressed to hear of this reduction. It is a 95 percent reduction in the time available to individual Americans to fish, which is a very important part to all of us who live next to the Gulf of Mexico who go out and fish for red snapper. I am very concerned to hear about this failure to disclose the conflict of interest, and I would like to work with the gentleman from Georgia to help rectify this and make sure that the law not only is obeyed, but the agency is responsive to the needs of private fishermen. I would like to work with my colleague from Philadelphia on this. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. CULBERSON. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a record level of funding in this bill for weather forecasting, which is where they need to focus their work: predicting the future and telling American farmers, American workers, American industry, and the American people what the future holds. What does the next week, the next month, or hurricane season hold for the people of the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Coast? So, in an era of scarce resources we have funded NOAA with a record level of funding for weather forecasting. We have made sure they have got all the money they need for maritime safety and for supporting and monitoring America's fisheries. We have made sure in this bill that NOAA is focusing on their core function, and that is looking to the future. That, of course, is going to involve looking at climate. But over the past several years climate funding within NOAA has received more than adequate funding, and we have to use the scarce, very precious, hard-earned taxpayer dollars that we are entrusted to appropriate very carefully. We have to prioritize that funding, and within this bill, we have chosen to prioritize weather forecasting. I respect the gentleman's judgment but would ask him if he could withdraw the amendment, and I look forward to working with him to ensure that NOAA has got everything they need to accurately predict the weather in the future. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I understand the gentleman is going to withdraw the amendment, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, could the gentleman be more specific about what it is he is asking NOAA to do?

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, but I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I would like to work with the gentleman from New Hampshire on this issue as we move forward. I understand the importance of the issue. I appreciate very much you raising it here with us today, and we look forward to working with you. We do include language stating that certain funds may be used only for activities related to the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program. We have worked with NOAA for the past several years to reduce their administration costs. We will continue to do so this year, and I will continue to work with you as we move forward through the process. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. CULBERSON. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. CULBERSON. I am still trying to identify what precisely you are asking for because I think we are on the same page when it comes to forecasting and prediction. That is what you are asking for.

Mr. CULBERSON. I yield to the gentleman from Colorado.