Joe Courtney

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2810, and I want to begin by congratulating Chairman Thornberry and Ranking Member Smith for their really skillful bipartisan guidance of this measure. The vote that took place last summer when the House passed it the first time through was the largest bipartisan vote, since 2008, for an NDAA, and that didn't happen by accident. It was because of their great work. I also want to thank my colleague, Mr. Wittman, on the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee. It is a very bipartisan effort, and the result, I think, really demonstrates that, when you do it that way, you get good results. I also want to congratulate the staff, Dave Sienicki, Phil MacNaughton, and also Lieutenant Commander Dominic Kramer, a Navy fellow who is here today. Their support and work were invaluable in terms of getting the seapower portion of the bill to the really solid place that it is today. Again, last year, 2016, the Navy came forward with a force structure assessment that said: Based on national security needs around the world, our fleet size needs to grow. When the President's budget came over last May, unfortunately, there were only eight new ships in that budget; but our committee, again, showing its independence as a coequal branch of government, produced a seapower mark that boosted that build rate to 15 and, again, has us now on a pathway to achieve the goal that the Navy identified last year. In particular, in terms of the undersea fleet, our combatant commanders, whether it is an Asia-Pacific or a European command, have been loudly warning Congress that we should not allow the decline in the fleet size to occur. This bill, again, authorizes $5.9 billion for the Virginia-class submarine program and provides multiyear procurement authority to enter into a contract for 13 Virginia-class, allowing for a build rate to move from two a year to three fast-attack submarines in 2020, 2022, and 2023. The National Sea Based Deterrence Fund, which, again, our committee created in 2014, extends continuous production authorities which the Navy has told us will save $383 million in the Columbia-class program, which, again, is about smart procurement, which Mr. Smith referred to at the beginning. Again, there are other provisions in the bill that I would just note. There was no BRAC that is authorized in this bill. We also gave authority to the United States as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative to provide medical treatment to wounded Ukrainian soldiers, as well as training to Ukrainian healthcare specialists, which our allies desperately need. Again, it is a very, I think, smart move by the committee. Mr. Speaker, as has been noted, this is the 57th year in a row that we have produced an NDAA. It is because we follow regular order. It is because we respect both sides of the aisle in terms of the contribution that they make. We still have meat left on the bone to get the 2018 spending bill done, and hopefully the example that Mr. Thornberry and Mr. Smith set in terms of allowing the process to breathe is the way we are going to get to a successful result, just as we did with 2017. Again, I want to congratulate the leadership of our committee, and I strongly urge all the Members on both sides of the aisle to support passage of this measure.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate my dear friend Mr. Bill Stanley on being named this year's William Crawford Distinguished Service Award winner by the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut. A native of Norwich, CT, Bill began his outstanding public service career in journalism, writing for local publications like the Norwich Bulletin and the New London Day. He then transitioned to government, working briefly as a campaign press secretary for Governor O'Neill before spending the next six years at Rome, Frankel & Kennelly. In 1996, Bill became Director of Corporate Communications for the William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich, where he worked until 1999. He currently serves as vice president of Development and Community Relations at Lawrence + Memorial Hospital. On a personal note, I have known Bill since my days as a rookie state legislator at the Connecticut General Assembly. He is deeply involved in the politics and community of his beloved Southeastern Connecticut, willing to throw himself into any cause that improves the region. Although passionate in his beliefs, he is a true gentleman and respectful of any and all people he interacts with, which is a lot. Throughout his full and prestigious career, Bill has always found time to volunteer for numerous causes across Eastern CT. Currently he is Board Chairman of his alma mater's foundation, the Three Rivers Community College Foundation. He also sits on the United Way of Southeastern Connecticut's board of directors. Bill served nearly 20 years on the board of directors for the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut, including two terms as chairman. He previously served as chairman of the New London Redevelopment Agency and was a board member at St. Jude Common and the USS Connecticut Commissioning Committee. From 1996 to 1999, he was Chairman of the American Heart Association's Southeastern Connecticut Heart Walk and continues to serve on its Executive Leadership Team. Mr. Speaker, please join me in congratulating my dear friend Bill on receiving this noble recognition. May others always look to him for a great example of leadership and service.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 50th anniversary of Conval, Inc., located in Somers, CT. In 1962, WWII Navy veteran, Chester ``Chet'' Siver designed a line of high-pressure, forged steel valves in his basement in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. After a brief period overseeing Hamilton Standard's use of his design, Mr. Siver eventually regained the rights to his product and set up shop. Conval, or ``Connecticut Valve'', was founded on November 7, 1967. Today Conval is the premier manufacturer of high quality, high temperature, and high pressure forged steel valves in the world. Conval valves are used in a variety of industries, including fossil power, nuclear power, pulp and paper, and water treatment. As the town's largest private employer, Conval has become an institution in Somers. This family-owned and operated small business, now overseen by Chet's son, Frank Siver, is an American success story that has stayed true to Siver's commitment to making Conval ``a nice place to work.'' For example, when it came time to expand, Conval elected to stay close to home to accommodate its employees and their families. Their new facility, located in nearby Enfield, CT, is set to open in February 2018. Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring Conval for their fifty-year commitment to great American manufacturing and community. May they enjoy continued success for years to come.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, it has been just about 100 hours since the House Republican leadership released their tax plan finally, not only to the American people, but also to their own rank and file Members. I represent a great district, it is eastern Connecticut, it is about half the State geographically, and it is home to the University of Connecticut, Electric Boat shipyard, Groton Navy base, Coast Guard Academy. I am very proud of the fact that these are really sharp folks, and in that less than 100-hour period, I have had about 700 emails and calls into my office from people who have looked at this plan, have run the numbers, have looked at what the existing Tax Code provides, and looked at what the net impact will be if this plan were ever to become law. Louis from Norwich, Connecticut, who is a tax preparer, describes a neighbor of his who is 68 years old, she lives by herself, she earns $33,000 in pension and Social Security income, only of which $21,000 is taxable, and she has a small mortgage. She looked at the Republican tax plan, which includes a standard deduction of $12,500, and that is it. Her new tax will be $1,014 if that plan were to go into effect. Under existing law, the itemized deductions that she can claim today are roughly about $12,500, the same amount as the standard deduction, but she is also able to claim a personal exemption, which every American is entitled to under the existing Tax Code. With that existing plan, her net taxes are $445. So this tax plan will more than double her taxes. Now, $33,000 a year for a 68-year-old, I would say that is barely middle class, but certainly it is middle class under a lot of definitions as a homeowner, yet this tax plan is increasing her taxes by over 100 percent. Mark from Clinton contacted me about the fact that this tax plan is going to eliminate the deduction for qualified medical expenses above 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. What does that mean? If you have got medical expenses for eyeglasses, hearing aids, or you have someone in a nursing home that you are paying out-of-pocket expenses for, or you have a home healthcare aide coming into your home that is not covered under your insurance, you can deduct that off of your taxes to the extent that it exceeds 10 percent of your adjusted gross income. Mark from Clinton is one of those people. Clinton, Connecticut, is a very middle class community. His taxes are going up. That qualified medical deduction, again, is something that was repeated over and over from individuals who contacted my office, who can't believe that, again, they are doing the right thing, they are paying their bills for their healthcare--for themselves or for their kids or for their aunt or their parent--and they are losing that deduction. I am sorry. The standard deduction that is being offered as a compensation doesn't come close to helping an individual in that situation. In addition, the State tax deduction, which the present Tax Code allows, is gone under this proposal. In the State of Connecticut, they have calculated that families that earn between $50,000 and $200,000 a year will see their taxes increase by 14 percent under this proposal. So, Mr. Speaker, we are talking about a plan which was sold to the country as a tax cut for the middle class. Again, there are lots of other economic incentives that they put in there supposedly for corporations to cut their corporate tax rate and cut the rates for people in the top 1 percent. Again, it is totally imbalanced, but I am going to set that aside for the moment, because what was also guaranteed and promised was that middle class Americans would see their taxes going down, people like Louis from Norwich; Mark from Clinton; and Jason from Niantic, who is going to lose his college student loan interest rate deduction. They eliminate the college student loan interest rate reduction. Again, we are living in a time right now where student loan debt is $1.3 trillion. One of the few ways that you can manage that debt is being able to deduct it off of your taxes. That is being eliminated under the House Republican plan. Now, if I sound a little worked up, it is because, literally, within minutes, the House Ways and Means Committee is going to start marking up this bill. Not one hearing is being held for outside voices to sort of at least crunch through the numbers of this proposal. The plan is for Speaker Ryan to force a vote next week. We are talking less than 10 days for rewriting the U.S. Tax Code, which has not been rewritten since 1986. When it was done under President Reagan, it took a year for the process to unfold, and that was the right way to do it, to allow the subcommittees to take a look at their provisions of the Tax Code on the Ways and Means Committee, to hold hearings, to actually have an intelligent, thoughtful exchange of ideas before you mark it up, rather than jamming it to the floor, when you are taking away people's qualified medical expenses. Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The deduction that people get for dependent care assistance programs--if you have a kid who is developmentally disabled and needs a personal care attendant in your home right now, you can deduct that-- that is being taken away. This is a bad plan. We need to slow down; we need to give the American people a chance to understand this better. Again, I call on the Ways and Means Committee to, again, slow down and cancel the markups that are scheduled this week.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Mr. William Henderson of East Lyme, upon his retirement, for his outstanding 47- year career with the Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers/CWA and a lifetime of service to his community, country, and family. Mr. Henderson has dedicated himself to the Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers/CWA as a steward and eventually as CWA Local 1298 president. Throughout his distinguished career, Bill has fought for justice and an even playing field in the workplace for men, women, and minorities. As a member of the CWA's Family Care Committee, he has worked diligently to assist employees in balancing work and family life. Additionally, Bill has served his local communities of Waterford and East Lyme in countless roles, including as a member of the East Lyme Board of Education and the Waterford Board of Selectman, and as chairman of the Waterford Democratic Town Committee. He has coached little league, basketball, and lacrosse, and taught Sunday school. He is currently a deacon at Flanders Baptist Church and a justice of the peace. Bill has served not only his local community but also his country in the submarine force as a Navy sonar technician, achieving the rank of Second Class Petty Officer. He is the loving husband of Brenda and a father to four children and six grandchildren. On a personal note, Bill was a tireless supporter of mine in every campaign I've run--even when it wasn't so easy during my first two races as a challenger. I will be forever grateful to him for his loyalty, amazing energy, and friendship over the years. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Henderson on an impressive career of service with the Connecticut Union of Telephone Workers and Communications Workers of America. We thank him for his unrelenting dedication to his community and wish him a wonderful retirement.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, going back to the days of Teddy Roosevelt, it has been a bipartisan principle that protecting the public health in America's environment is the sacred obligation of all of us who have the honor to serve this Nation in elective or appointed office. Unfortunately, the Administrator of the EPA, Mr. Scott Pruitt, didn't get that memo. Yesterday, Mr. Pruitt announced that he is precipitously going to strike down the Clean Power Plan rule sometime later today, which will turn the clock back in this country in terms of trying to get our arms around the issue of rising carbon emissions that scientists from across all sectors have universally recognized are causing rising sea temperature, rising sea levels, affecting climate, and clearly are linked to manmade carbon emissions that have been tracked for decades going back in time. Mr. Pruitt's argument is based on the discredited view that carbon pollution does not fall under the Clean Air Act, which is what the last administration was proceeding on when they actually designed the Clean Power Plan rule. The facts are these: In 1963, this Congress passed the Clean Air Act. It was signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson and has been amended a number of times on a bipartisan basis to strengthen and enhance the protections that were built into that law when it was, again, enacted many years ago. In fact, in 1990, George Herbert Walker Bush signed the last update and upgrade to the Clean Air Act, which is exactly what the prior administration was proceeding under when they designed the rule. The Supreme Court has weighed in on this question about whether or not greenhouse gases are covered under the Clean Air Act. In 2007, in Massachusetts v. EPA, a Republican-majority Court ruled in favor of the fact that greenhouse gases are in fact covered under the statutory umbrella of the Clean Air Act. This is what the Court said: Because greenhouse gases fit well within the Clean Air Act's capacious definition of ``air pollutant,'' we hold that EPA has the statutory authority to regulate the emission of such gases. In 2014, the Court reenforced that ruling in a decision written by Antonin Scalia, the godfather of conservative lawyers all across this country, which reiterated the fact that greenhouse gases emitted from power plants are, in fact, subject to the scope and authority of the Clean Air Act. Unfortunately, today, the EPA Administrator is completely striking down that important advance in terms of protecting the public health of this country and putting nothing in place. There is no alternative that Mr. Pruitt is putting out there in terms of trying to get this country to move forward on clean power. It is unfortunate because, as the International Energy Agency announced this morning, for the first time ever, solar energy production now surpasses any other form of power production in the world. The same thing is happening here in the U.S. because of the renewable energy tax credits. In my State of Connecticut, renewable energy solar panel jobs far exceed any other power production job in the State. We are seeing an incredible proliferation of people installing panels on their homes and businesses. The U.S. Navy in Groton, Connecticut, now has solar panels on all Navy housing as well as a solar field to power the Nation's oldest submarine base, which is there. The decision by Mr. Pruitt is not a pro-growth, pro-economic decision. It is simply responding, unfortunately, to political forces that drove this administration to power from the fossil fuel industry. The only saving grace of Mr. Pruitt's order is that he allows a large and long public comment period for the people of this country who do care about clean air and who do care about our environment to weigh in on this reckless decision that turns the clock back for public health and safety and for our economy. That is where the growth is going to be, in renewables, and not power production of the past. It is not a war on coal. Coal production is not singled out in the Clean Power Plan regulations. But what it does say is that any plant, whether it is coal, natural gas, or solar panels, you have got to address the question of carbon emissions. You don't get to produce that power and then leave a mess behind you. That is a very simple principle that I think every American can understand. Unfortunately, it is about to be torpedoed by the EPA Administrator, who, by the way, was in the courtroom trying to argue against this in the courts back in 2014 and came out on the losing decision. I guess he got his revenge not just on the Court but, unfortunately, all of us who have to live with this terrible rule. Mr. Speaker, again, let's reverse that decision. Let's move toward the future with a type of power that will protect the environment and grow jobs.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Ms. JoAnn Eaccarino upon her retirement from the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut. For 23 years, JoAnn served the Child and Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut's school-based health centers through skilled and compassionate care for children, steady support for the centers' medical and behavioral health professionals, and integration of these services with the agency's child care, after-school, and outpatient behavioral health services. Prior to her service in the health centers, JoAnn served her country with distinction as a nurse in the United States Air Force from 1974 to 1977, before being discharged with a Commendation Medal at the rank of Captain. Through her distinguished career, JoAnn has dedicated herself to improving the health and well-being of individuals in a variety of hospital, outpatient primary care, military, and private, non-profit settings. JoAnn has been a passionate, statewide advocate for improved access to quality medical and behavioral health care through her years of leadership within the Connecticut Association of School-Based Health Centers. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Ms. Eaccarino's career-long dedication to improving the health status of Connecticut's children and families through compassionate, direct care and tireless advocacy.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Colonel Christopher J. Barron upon his retirement from the Army Corps of Engineers. For 27 years, Colonel Barron had dedicated himself to serving our nation with the Army Corps of Engineers. Colonel Barron, a native of Goshen, New York, was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers in 1991. His overseas deployments include combat, reconstruction, and peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Haiti, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Iraq. In his last assignment, Colonel Barron served as District Commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New England from July 31, 2014 to July 19, 2017. Prior to this post, Colonel Barron served as the U.S. Army War College's Visiting Defense Fellow at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada. While serving as District Commander of the New England District, Colonel Barron had many accomplishments including dredging projects, navigation improvement, flood risk management, and environmental restoration. It was an honor to work with him on a wide array of dredging projects in my district and across the Connecticut coastline, and I will certainly miss his knowledge of and passion for water resource programs in our area. He was always accessible and open to input from my office which I greatly appreciated. Please join me in congratulating my friend, Colonel Barron, on an impressive career of service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and wishing him a wonderful retirement.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Enfield Police Explorers. The Enfield Police Explorer program was founded in 1967 by the late Chief Walter J. Skower to serve as a lifeline for troubled youth and as an opportunity for those interested in law enforcement. At its inception, the program was the first in the state of Connecticut and the second in the nation. The Enfield Police Department provides its Explorers with a firsthand view of what it's like to be a Law Enforcement Officer. They receive CPR and first aid training, physical fitness instruction, and traditional classroom education designed to prepare them for a career in Law Enforcement, military or community service, and related careers. The Explorers use their training to support the police department and community by providing traffic control and security at various events, volunteering their time and efforts to support many local and national charities, and even aiding in emergency situations including storm response and locating missing persons. Each year Explorers attend various competitions and a week-long academy, where they consistently earn accolades and awards. While many members have indeed gone on to become Law Enforcement professionals and members of the Armed Forces, most importantly, Explorers become responsible citizens and contributors to their communities. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the Enfield Police Explorers program. In its fifty years, the program has become a bridge between the law enforcement and youth, fostering public safety as a career opportunity, while working to make the community a better place.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, Albert Einstein is reported to have once said: The definition of insanity is trying to do the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Using that definition, the men in the white coats with large butterfly nets have plenty of wacky patients to catch in the Senate, where this week--tomorrow, in fact--the Republican leadership is once again, for over the 60th time, trying to jam through a so-called healthcare bill which will repeal the Affordable Care Act without a coherent replacement. Once again, the Republican leadership will force a vote without analysis by the Congressional Budget Office of the Cassidy-Graham bill, no hearings at the healthcare committee; and in the face of a tidal wave of opposition from the healthcare world, patient groups, healthcare givers, and even Republican Governors have had one message over the last week, which is to vote ``no.'' Mr. Speaker, just to give you a small sample of some of the patient groups that have spoken out over the last week in opposition to this measure, they include the ALS Association, the American Cancer Society, The American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Arthritis Foundation, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the National Kidney Foundation, the Down Syndrome Caucus, the American Foundation for the Blind, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Amputee Coalition of America, the Autism Speaks group, the Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose, and AARP. These are mainstream, trusted organizations, which all of us have donated to, done walkathons, done everything we can to help their missions, which is to help America's patients. They are unanimous that the Senate should reject this measure and that we should move on to a new approach--following Mr. Einstein's advice--to try and fix the American healthcare system. Incredibly, American provider groups, who at many times are at each other's throats in terms of different healthcare legislation, have also taken the same position: the American Medical Association; the American Nurses Association; the Association of American Medical Colleges; the American Hospital Association; the Catholic Health Association of the United States; and the American Health Care Association, which represents thousands of nursing homes like the one that just cared for that gentleman that we heard such kind words about a moment ago from Louisiana. Again, incredibly, the National Association of Medicaid Directors from all 50 States--Republican States and Democratic States--issued an extraordinary letter last week. Again, these are folks who run the system. They are actually on the ground. They are in the real world, not in the political bubble of Washington, and they have unanimously begged the Senate to vote ``no,'' and to stop this rush to undermining and creating a catastrophic damage to America's healthcare system. The RAND Corporation issued a report just a couple of days ago that talked about the impact of this measure on America's veterans. 1.75 million American veterans use the Medicaid program; many in nursing homes, maybe like Mr. Hunter, who we just heard about. The RAND Corporation has told us that passing this measure will undermine our promise to America's veterans, the people who wore the uniform of this country, that they would have access to coverage through the Medicaid program. That is what this bill does. Mr. Speaker, in the real world, at the end of this week, the Children's Health Insurance Program, a bipartisan measure that passed a couple of decades ago, expires its authorization. The law that provides authorization for America's community health centers, that expires at the end of this week. The National Health Service Corps, which allows young Americans to get the opportunity for affordable medical education, that expires at the end of this week. That is what we should be focused on; not another mindless rushed judgment to satisfy a political promise that the American people don't want and we know, from all the folks who are out there in the real world of America's healthcare system, won't work. Vote ``no.''

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I rise in support of my amendment numbered 86 to Division C of H.R. 3354 printed in House Report 115-297 to direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to establish standards for acceptable levels of pyrrhotite in concrete aggregate, and to continue providing technical assistance to those interested in pyrrhotite detection, prevention, and mitigation tools. Pyrrhotite is a rare natural mineral that has been found in higher than normal concentrations in stone aggregate used in concrete poured for residential foundations in northern Connecticut and Massachusetts. Over time, pyrrhotite oxidizes, expanding within the foundation and causing the foundation wall to bow and crack. Severe cracking weakens the foundation to the point of collapse over a period of 10-15 years, and potentially thousands of homeowners in the region could see their homes collapse. By establishing standards for pyrrhotite content, NIST could prevent a similar problem from occurring in residential buildings in other areas. In addition, providing technical assistance to those already affected by this problem will help establish best practices for mitigation of pyrrhotite-related damage. I look forward to continuing to work with the Appropriations Committee and the agency on this important issue, and I urge the adoption of my amendment.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. I yield to the gentleman from Connecticut.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the en bloc amendment which contains an amendment offered by myself and the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), which directs that funding at the Department of the Treasury shall be used to develop a revenue procedure related to a deduction for casualty losses for homes that are suffering crumbling foundations in north-central and eastern Connecticut and western Massachusetts. It is related to a pyrrhotite material which cropped up in a quarry that was used for aggregate in concrete foundations and is sweeping the area. Thousands of homes are affected by it. Mr. Larson and I are actively working with Treasury Secretary Mnuchin for this purpose.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, this, I think, is a very modest amendment, which just simply seeks to restore a cut to the existing 2017 level of support for the Magnet Schools Assistance Program, which is a program which has been around for quite a while. It actually was reauthorized in the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, which was a great bipartisan success for K-12 education. And again, this program provides support for magnet schools all across the country. There are 4,340 magnet schools in the U.S. 3.5 million students benefit from magnet programs, which again, are administered by local school districts and utilize a variety of academic themes such as STEM, Language Immersion, Career and Technical Education, Visual and Performing Arts, just to name a few. Again, it is a strategy which also provides a regional structure to the student population and promotes diversity. It has done great things in terms of Connecticut in terms of ending racial isolation. Again, unfortunately, the magnet schools have sort of seen a steady sort of decline from 10 years ago in terms of Federal support for it, and this amendment really is just basically saying enough. I mean, we should, again, restore an amount, which I indicated is very modest, of $1.1 million to this account, and offset and paid for. And again, I think it just will allow a lot of school districts and communities to continue the great work that they are doing with magnet programs. I want to conclude my initial remarks by, again, thanking the chairman and also Congresswoman Lee for their kind remarks about my colleague and neighbor from Connecticut, Rosa DeLauro, who lost her mother, Luisa DeLauro, a 103-year-old amazing woman. We all marvel at Rosa's energy and passion, but if you have ever met Luisa, you would understand where it came from because she was an amazing woman, just a great inspiration for her daughter who, I think, made her so proud in terms of the great work that she has done in the Congress. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee).

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, may I ask how much time I have left.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, again, briefly, I appreciate the gentleman's comments. I would just note, though, if you go back 10 years ago, the disparity between charter school funding at the Federal level versus magnet schools was two to one in favor of charters. We are at a point today where, with this budget, it will be four to one in terms of disparity between the two. I would acknowledge the gentleman's comments that there are some areas where charter schools have provided great benefits, but there is no question that, in terms of breaking down racial isolation, magnet schools have a much better batting average, and that has been studied and reported over the years. My daughter attended a magnet school in the Hartford area, and again, with a totally diverse population, and again, it is probably the most highly rated high school, secondary school, in the State of Connecticut, according to U.S. News and World Report. So again, the quality of magnet schools, I think, are high in the record in terms of their goal, which is to break down racial isolation. I think it surpasses charter schools. This amendment would leave a 7.7 percent increase in funding for charter schools. It is not an attack on charter school funding. It just simply restores last year's level of spending for magnet schools, a very modest measure. And again, I look forward, hopefully, to working with the gentleman, but I really believe strongly that this is not asking too much to protect magnet school funding, and that is why I would ask the Chamber to support this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I unfortunately missed one vote during a vote series on September 8, 2017. Had I been present, I would have voted: No on Roll Call No. 484, on the Pearce amendment (H. Amdt. 361) to the Make American Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018 (H.R. 3354).

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chairman, this amendment, which I introduced with my colleague Congressman John Larson also of Connecticut, will address a serious escalating problem in north central and eastern Connecticut. Thousands of homes there are currently at risk of collapse due to crumbling concrete foundations. A mineral identified as pyrrhotite was present in stone aggregate mined in a quarry in Willington, Connecticut, and used in concrete to pour home foundations in at least 36 towns in the region from the 1980s through the early 2000s. Exposure to moisture causes the pyrrhotite to rust in the foundation over time, causing the foundation walls to bow and crack, eventually deteriorating to the point where homeowners can literally see through the cracks and even remove chunks of the foundation by hand. This is a complex issue, and our amendment is a critical step to bring assistance to the region. It directs HUD to develop applications of Community Development Block Grants to pyrrhotite-related residential damage under its antiblight programs and procedures. It is our belief that HUD, State, local, and private sector stakeholders can develop a collaborative basket of solutions to ease the burden of homeowners and prevent damage to the broader real estate market and economy of the region. Mr. Chair, I urge passage of this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Chair, I want to thank the chairman for his remarks, and I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), my colleague.

Mr. COURTNEY

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Payne for his leadership on the Homeland Security Committee and also for his hard work on this legislation, which, again, has been closely watched back home in Connecticut and on the other side of Long Island Sound, as Mr. Zeldin indicated as well, in the State of New York. Again, I rise in strong support, with my colleague, for passage of H.R. 2182, the Plum Island Preservation Act. This has been an effort that has been ongoing since Congress, unfortunately, took, I think, a wrong turn when they enacted legislation in 2009, with the goal of trying to create funding for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility in Kansas; but in the process of doing that, it set up a truncated sale of this property, which really deviated from the normal GSA process of trying to exhaust other beneficial uses before putting it up for sale to the highest bidder. Again, that has been the struggle for people on both sides of the Long Island Sound, who have been frustrated by the fact that, because Congress mandated a sale without any other options, the incredible, pristine environmental quality of this precious piece of property was basically pushed down the food chain in terms of, again, the way the Federal Government was operating. Again, I think it is important to recognize--and my colleagues from New York, Mr. Donovan and Mr. Zeldin, understand this--this still is the most densely populated area of America. The boat traffic, the maritime traffic that flows through Long Island Sound, again, is the busiest in the country. And to have a piece of property that is this precious and this pure--which Mr. Zeldin visited, and I think he can attest to that personally, and I have sailed past it--is really an opportunity that really we just cannot possibly allow to go to a developer that would make that quality forever lost. So this legislation, which stops the 2009 process in its tracks, has GAO step in and do a full complete analysis across the board in evaluating all options. In particular, the options of preserving this unique environmental asset is the right move for our country, and, again, it will be to the benefit of generations to come. Again, I want to congratulate Mr. Zeldin for his persistence. Again, we did get it through the last Congress, the 114th.