Michael Doyle

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania, the Honorable Mary Gay Scanlon, be permitted to take the oath of office today. Her certificate of election has not arrived, but there is no contest and no question has been raised with regard to her election.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I would invite all of my Pennsylvania colleagues to come up and join me if you would like. Mr. Speaker, as the dean of Pennsylvania's congressional delegation, it is my great pleasure to welcome our newest colleague. For the last 35 years, Mary Gay Scanlon has been a public interest lawyer, working for voting rights, equitable education funding, immigration, and criminal justice reform. She is an advocate for low- income families, children, women, veterans, and seniors. She and I worked together on securing asylum in this country for the internationally recognized Sudanese human rights activist Hawa Saleh, who was imprisoned and tortured by the Sudanese Government for speaking out against it. And I am pleased to note that Hawa is here in the House gallery today. Mary Gay's career reflects her deep commitment to aiding and giving back to her community. She has worked tirelessly to help those in need in Pennsylvania, and she now plans to continue that work at the national level here in Congress. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to welcome such a dedicated individual to this body. I know we all look forward to working with her and our colleagues in the Pennsylvania delegation to serve the Commonwealth and this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson), the senior Republican member of the delegation, for some remarks also.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Scanlon).

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to object, although I don't object, I rise today with a heavy heart. A few short weeks after a gunman entered the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh, my hometown, and took the lives of 11 innocent people and injured 6 others, I ask the House to pause now to remember those who were taken from us: Joyce Fienberg, Richard Gottfried, Rose Malinger, Jerry Rabinowitz, Cecil and David Rosenthal, Bernice Simon, Sylvan Simon, Daniel Stein, Melvin Wax, and Irving Younger. If we could pause for a moment of silence for these people. I would also like to honor the law enforcement officers, the first responders, and the medical professionals who heroically responded to the attack. And I continue to wish a full and speedy recovery for those who are wounded. The attack happened because one man had a dark hatred in his heart for the Jewish people. But the Jewish community in Pittsburgh and the city as a whole have proven to be stronger than hate. I want to thank the Bipartisan Taskforce to Combat Anti-Semitism for their support and all of the American people who have reached out with their comforting words and support. We all must do more to combat this hate in our neighborhoods and stop these tragedies from happening. This resolution is just a step in the healing process for our city and our country. Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone. I appreciate the opportunity to speak about the Nuclear Utilization of Keynote Energy Act, or the NUKE Act. I thank my colleague, Adam Kinzinger, for introducing this bill and working with me to advance it. I also thank Chris Bowman and Claire Borzner from my staff, as well as Mr. Kinzinger's staff, and the Energy and Commerce Committee staff for their diligent work to get this bill to the floor. This legislation is very timely as the nuclear industry is facing pressure from a variety of factors. Nuclear energy provides nearly 40 percent of Pennsylvania's electricity, and it employs thousands of skilled workers in Pennsylvania. However, increasing NRC fees and uncertainty in the nuclear export process threaten this carbon-free and reliable source of baseload power. Addressing some of these issues is necessary to protect jobs in Pennsylvania and across the country, as well as to meet our Nation's climate goals. This bipartisan legislation will take important steps to modernize the NRC's fee structure, set achievable and flexible timelines for application reviews, and look to future reforms that will ensure the NRC can continue to effectively protect public health and safety. The bill addresses a serious reality facing the nuclear industry. As nuclear power plants retire, the remaining fleet will be faced with increasing fees from the NRC. We need to support our existing nuclear plants while ensuring that the NRC is able to fulfill its mission, and I believe that this legislation accomplishes those goals. So once again, I thank Mr. Kinzinger for his work, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Health Center Week and commend Community Health Centers for their important role in America's health care system. For over 50 years, Community Health Centers have provided high- quality, affordable, comprehensive primary and preventive health care in our nation's underserved communities, delivering value to, and having a significant impact on, our health care system. Today, Community Health Centers serve as primary care for more than 27 million Americans in rural and urban areas. Often, these Health Centers are the only accessible and dependable source of primary care in their communities. In Pennsylvania, Community Health Centers serve more than 800,000 patients at more than 300 sites every year. In Pittsburgh alone, there are seven different Health Center organizations that serve over 44,000 patients at 33 delivery sites, including mobile health clinics. These Health Centers provide access to a variety of primary care services such as vision, oral, and behavioral health, as well as preventative care services for chronic illnesses such as diabetes, asthma, heart and lung disease, cancer, and HIV/AIDS. Community Health Centers also help the American economy by generating $24 billion in savings for our health care system annually. Their facilities offer care for patients outside of the emergency rooms and hospitals which place a greater financial burden on our health care system. Health Centers also generate $45.6 billion in economic impact in areas with slower economic growth and employ more than 200,000 physicians, nurses, and staff across the country. Congress has spent a great part of the past year debating the future of our nation's health care system. Despite uncertainty about the Affordable Care Act and instability surrounding our health care markets, Community Health Centers have remained a core source of care for low-income Americans and underserved populations. It is with their help that we can make affordable, high-quality healthcare accessible for all Americans regardless of geography, income, and insurance status. It is also with their help that we will overcome our nation's most pressing health crises such as the opioid epidemic, public health threats, and care for veterans. I encourage all Americans to observe National Health Center Week by visiting their local Health Centers, learning about their services, and thanking the Health Center staff in their communities. I believe the best way to recognize National Health Center Week is to support full funding for Community Health Centers and to advocate for programs which help patients to access their services. I will continue to support Community Health Centers and I hope my colleagues will join me.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the artistic ability of a young woman from my congressional district, Haley Peretic from Cornerstone Christian Preparatory Academy. Ms. Peretic is the winner of the 2018 14th Congressional District of Pennsylvania's High School Art Competition, ``An Artistic Discovery.'' Ms. Peretic's artwork, a drawing in colored pencil and marker entitled ``Happy Heart,'' was selected from a number of outstanding entries in this year's competition. In fact, 90 works from 19 different schools in Pennsylvania's 14th Congressional District were submitted to our panel of respected local artists. It's a real tribute to Ms. Haley's skill and vision that her work was chosen as the winner of this year's competition. I should add that Haley won fourth place in the competition last year for her pencil and colored pencil drawing entitled ``Every Day People.'' Ms. Peretic's artwork will represent the 14th Congressional District of Pennsylvania in the national exhibit of high school students' artwork that will be displayed in the United States Capitol over the coming year. I encourage my colleagues as well as any visitor to Capitol Hill to view Ms. Peretic' s artwork, along with the winning entries from the high school art contests held in other congressional districts, which will be on display in the Capitol tunnel. It is amazing to walk through this corridor and see the interpretation of life through the eyes of these young artists from all across our country. Laurel Black from Springdale High School was awarded second place for her oil painting ``Sweet Innocence.'' Derek Kotecki from Baldwin High School received third place for his charcoal reduction drawing entitled ``Self.'' Rachel Simcic from Springdale High School was awarded fourth place for her composition involving mixed media, digital art, and markers entitled ``Thief,'' and Taylor Rebyanski from Westinghouse Arts Academy, was awarded fifth place for her colored pencil drawing ``Iris.'' In addition, Honorable Mention Awards were presented to works by Summer Bernotas from Baldwin High School, Nicole Ellwood from East Allegheny High School, Julia Conway from Gateway High School, Erin Douglass from Gateway High School, Aliza Hamid from Gateway High School, Shaina McKinney from Gateway High School, Anwitha Sherigar from Gateway High School, Jennifer Gustafson from Highlands High School, Sophie Gatesman from Oakland Catholic High School, Madison Pastore from South Allegheny High School, Kathleen Marsili from Springdale High School, and Sophia Lebiere from Winchester Thurston School. I would like to recognize all of the participants in this year's 14th Congressional District High School Art Competition: Summer Bernotas, Morgan Bell, Meghan Bradley, Brian Genovesi, Derek Kotecki, and Tina Odato from Baldwin High School; Sam Chickini from Carlynton High School; Haley Peretic from Cornerstone Christian Preparatory Academy; Larrissa Bloom, Nicole Ellwood, Makenzie Freed-DePastino, Marissa Riggs, and Taya Tassone from East Allegheny High School; Kiera Harrell- Danks, Emma M. Harvey, Alexis Kentebe, Calista Martin-Singer, Lowrie Woodside, and Chiara Zuccoli from The Ellis School; Julia Conway, Erin Douglass, Aliza Hamid, Shaina McKinney, Ava Parker, and Anwitha Sherigar from Gateway High School; Maddie Cincala, Erik Frantz, and Jennifer Gustafson from Highlands High School; Kira Blenk, Claire Ishiyama, Madelyn Largent, and Emma Miller from Northgate High School; Sophie Gatesman, Noelle Pina, Giovanna Tatananni, Juliia Vrabel, and Angela Zenchak from Oakland Catholic High School; Sarah Artuhevich, Skye Cato, Kylie Meyer, Elizabeth Szurszewski, Mia Walker, and Dania Zaynullin from Penn Hills High School; Eva Curlee, Allison Patton, and Sydney Reyes from Riverview High School; Isabelle Analo from Shadyside Academy; Arianah Bellamy, Kourtnee Duval, Macy Kelly Ernst, Madison Pastore, Robert Nesky, and Morgan Templeton from South Allegheny High School; Laurel Black, Patricia Linderman, Kathleen Marsili, Alicia Matthews, Rachel Selzer, and Rachel Simcic from Springdale High School; Ashton Bowler, Reonna Collington, Renae Darcy, Alexus Frazee, and Alexis Sekinger from Sto-Rox High School; Jenny Rohach from West Mifflin High School; Caden Ferita, Anaeja Halliburton, Angelina Kukic, Alyssa Marchbank, Taylor Rebyanski, Pheobe Elise Richardson, and Allison Riley from Westinghouse Arts Academy; Yixin Allison Cai, Maya Husni, Sophia Labiere, Rivers Leche, and Isel Pollock from the Winchester Thurston School; and Mariah Faith Smith, Juliette Gough, Andre Hilliard, Colleen Malecki, and Erin Reichert from Woodland Hills High School. I would like to thank these impressive young artists for allowing us to share and celebrate their talent, imagination, and creativity. The efforts these talented students have put into expressing themselves in a powerful and positive manner are deeply inspiring. I hope that all of them will continue to utilize their artistic talents, and I wish them all great success in their future endeavors.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the Girls of Steel robotics team on winning the Chairman's Award at the March 2018 Greater Pittsburgh Regional FIRST Robotics Competition in California, Pennsylvania. This prestigious award honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate--and best embodies the purpose and goals of FIRST. This award qualifies them to attend Championships that will be held in Detroit, Michigan, at the end of April 2018. FIRST, which stands for ``For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,'' is an organization dedicated to engaging our students in STEM fields. Hundreds of thousands of students gain practical, team- based engineering experiences through FIRST every year. As a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Robotics Caucus, I believe competitions like these are incredible tools for helping our young people to explore potential careers in STEM. I've witnessed firsthand the incredible economic growth and development that these fields can bring in my home district, and I strongly believe that these fields are crucial to our nation's future prosperity. I want to commend organizations like FIRST for their important work in encouraging young people in these pursuits. The FIRST Robotics Competition allows students to apply creativity and critical thinking in the demanding and competitive field of robotics, all while instilling a strong sense of pride in participants. Thomas Pope, Systems Manager for the Institute for Software Research at Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science, won the prestigious Woodie Flowers Finalist Award at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition. This award is presented to an outstanding mentor in the robotics competition who best leads, inspires, and empowers their team using excellent communication skills in the art and science of engineering and design. Kristina Hilko, a junior from Penn Hills High School, was a FIRST Dean's List Finalist at the Greater Pittsburgh Regional competition. This award recognizes an outstanding student leader whose passion for, and effectiveness at, attaining FIRST ideals is exemplary. In March at the FIRST Miami Valley Regional (MVR) in Ohio, the Girls of Steel won the FIRST Team Spirit award that celebrates extraordinary enthusiasm and spirit through exceptional partnership and teamwork in furthering the objectives of FIRST. This award recognizes the impact that these young women are having in our community as they enthusiastically spread the word about FIRST and STEM--Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. As a result of those efforts, Girls of Steel are often featured in print media and blog posts. For the first time, they were also regional finalists at MVR with their award-winning robot. I think that their remarkable accomplishments speak volumes about the dedication these young women have demonstrated in pursuing STEM careers, their ability to sustain their team, and the thousands of hours they have spent collectively doing outreach in the community. Seventy-one young women from 8th through 12th grades associated with schools located in and around the Pittsburgh area represent this year's Girls of Steel program, and in recognition of their hard work, intelligence, and teamwork, I would like to mention each of these inspiring young ladies by name. They are Alexandria Adams, Aeryn Anderson, Meghna Behari, Emilia Bianchini, Emma Burnett, Gracie Cain, Rosy Chen, Suan Cho, Maria Chutko, Maya Cranor, Claire Cummings, Maansi Dasari, Riley Doyle, Anna Fedele, Rozie Fero, Isabella Florian, Alexandra George, Teadora Gildengers, Corinne Hartman, Sofia Heller, Kristina Hilko, Maia Hochheiser, Anna Jablonowski, Caroline Kenney, Janise Kim, Isabelle Kowenhoven, Mary Laird, Alice Liu, Sally Liu, Eve Mango, Svea McCann, Delaynie McMillan, Sree Mekala, Lauren Michaels, Abbey Murcek, Anna Nesbitt, Anne Kailin Northam, Jimin Oh, Helen Paulini, Lehka Pendyala, Emma Prokop, Grace Raida, Lauren Raida, Ananya Rao, Priya Ray, Sedona Rocher, Rachel Sadeh, Brittany Sadej, Lauren Scheller-Wolf, Sarah Seay, Alexa Selwood, Swathi Senthil, Kriti Shah, Vivian Shao, Lauren Shovlin, Makayla Shreve, Isha Sinha, Amari Smith, Imani Smith, Kavya Soman, Aditi Srivastava, Anna Staresinic, Aditri Thakur, Mikayla Trost, Langley Turcsanyi, Anja Vojt, Janet Wang, Alexandria Westray, Rebecca Wettergreen, Ziya Xu, and Julia Young. Additionally, I want to commend the faculty and staff of Carnegie Mellon University's Field Robotics Center, who have mentored the Girls of Steel since 2010. As a result of their efforts, more young women experience real-world technological challenges and learn from some of the nation's best at solving these problems. These experiences will certainly benefit these young women in the future. I look forward to hearing about their progress as they advance to the FIRST District Championship in Detroit--one of the largest competitions of its kind. It's the equivalent of the Super Bowl for robotics. This will be their eighth consecutive trip in eight years and they will be competing against top teams from all over the world. I want to congratulate the Girls of Steel on their accomplishments. I wish them the best of luck in the upcoming robotics competition as well as continued success in their future academic and professional endeavors.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Phil Coyne, a Pittsburgh icon who has just retired after eighty-one years of service to our community as an usher for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Phil, the brother of Pittsburgh's former Congressman Bill Coyne, served generations of sports fans during his career, pausing only to serve his country in the military for four years during World War II. At 99, Phil retired with a unique store of memories that spanned three different ballparks and six thousand games. Arguably the Pirates' biggest loss of the season, Phil leaves with his own Pirates jersey sporting the number 99, and his presence will be felt not only by the fans sitting along the third-base line in PNC Park, but by the whole city. ``Phil remains number one on our organizational seniority list and will always have a place on our team,'' affirmed Pirates President Frank Coonelly. Phil also ushered at Steelers football games until he was 98--and at St. Paul Cathedral every Sunday. Phil's long career is unlikely to ever be matched or exceeded. While Coyne will not be there to usher for anyone any longer, he will still listen to games and even attend some of them--but now as a fan. On behalf of Pennsylvania's 14th Congressional District, I want to commend Phil and thank him for his many years of dedication to Pittsburgh sports and his community, and I am pleased to honor him as his 100th birthday approaches.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the students, teachers, school districts, and advocates throughout Western Pennsylvania who participated in the March for Our Lives on March 24 in downtown Pittsburgh. It is estimated that about 30,000 people participated--a powerful demonstration of the movement against gun violence. I especially want to recognize the students who have started and fueled this movement. Recently, my office has received many letters from students throughout the Pittsburgh area. These students have written that they are scared and frustrated. One of my constituents wrote, for example, that she sits in each of her classrooms throughout the day, planning out where to run or hide if a shooter enters. But these students have consciously turned their passion about this issue into action to improve their futures. This decision is admirable. I was pleased to join these young people during the March for Our Lives in Pittsburgh on March 24, and I was inspired by their calls for legislative action on this issue. Congress must make greater efforts to ensure these young people see significant new gun legislation enacted. I will continue to support policies that can prevent gun violence tragedies in the future. I would also like to recognize the teachers and school districts that have encouraged their students to think critically about the issues that impact their lives and about their roles in democracy. I applaud their efforts to protect their students and teach a new generation of leaders how to serve their communities. Finally, I would like to recognize my constituents who have been vocal about this issue for many years. When I participated in the sit- in on this House Floor almost two years ago after the shooting in Orlando, we felt that enough was enough. That's so much more true today. I am committed to continuing this fight to curb gun violence as long as it takes, and I believe that the efforts of this new generation will finally tip the scales in our favor and enact new commonsense gun laws.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to welcome our newest colleague. Conor Lamb is a lifelong resident of Pittsburgh, where, incidentally, his family has been active in civic life for generations, and he comes to the House after service to his country as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and an assistant U.S. attorney in the Justice Department. After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, he was commissioned as a judge advocate general officer in the Marine Corps, where he spent several years prosecuting cases in the military justice system. Upon completing his Active-Duty service in 2013, Conor clerked for a Federal district court judge and then was appointed assistant U.S. attorney in the Western District of Pennsylvania, where he successfully prosecuted a number of major drug dealers and gun traffickers. He also continues to serve his country in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to welcome the newest member of the Pennsylvania delegation. He is a lifelong resident. And, incidentally, his family is up in the gallery, and I am sure he is going to be introducing them. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Shuster), the dean of the Republican delegation, for his comments.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Lamb).

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the SENSE Act. This bill is an unnecessary and permanent carve-out for waste coal plants that forfeits scientific and industrial progress. Waste coal plants may be unfamiliar to many of my colleagues here in Congress because the vast majority of them are located in my State, Pennsylvania. These plants take waste coal left over from mining anytime before the late 1970s and use it as fuel. You see, these areas were mined before laws required reclamation or remediation of mine damage. I would just like to remind my colleagues who rail against government regulation all of the time, that the reason we have this environmental catastrophe is because there were no regulations before the late 1970s. This is what happens when we have industry, no government regulations, we get environmental catastrophes and now we are left to clean up the mess. These piles of waste coal have sat covering hundreds of thousands of acres in my home State of Pennsylvania for decades because there was no regulation. Many don't realize, Pennsylvania has produced more coal than any other State. Our mines powered the country while our steel mills built it into the world's greater industrial nation, the arsenal of democracy through two world wars. But now my home State remains saddled with the leftovers, the legacy of nearly 200 years of unregulated mining. These piles can directly affect people's health, their communities, and their environment. These abandoned sites can contaminate local water sources with harmful runoff, or combust and release toxins into the air at eye level. Now, I have seen mining sites reclaimed because of these plants, and the turnaround is remarkable. Over decades of operating, they have cleaned up about 4 to 6 percent of the total affected lands across our State, and they have dramatically improved the land at those sites. They are an important but minor accessory to the use of abandoned mine land reclamation funds. Let me provide some context to that. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection estimates that, using abandoned mine land reclamation funds, the State and outside organizations have reclaimed 70,000 acres in my home State. The most recent industry estimate I have seen on waste coal plants reclaims approximately 200 acres a year. Now, let's hear the arguments in favor of this bill. Waste coal plants help facilitate remediation of abandoned mine sites. Some plants say they are having a hard time meeting clean air standards, so let's loosen those standards forever. But my problem is, we know plants can meet these Clean Air Act protections. Many already are. The scientists at EPA have determined this, and the Federal courts have upheld the EPA's ruling. In fact, the largest plant in Pennsylvania can meet the standards that this bill undermines. I understand it can be difficult to upgrade emission controls technologies in current market conditions. I understand that, with the many issues that are at the nexus of the energy versus environment debate when one side wins and the other side loses. But coal refuse plants present us with an exciting opportunity to have a true win-win. This bill does not. This bill says, let's sacrifice our air quality and the air quality of States downwind, and let's give these plants a pass. Let's sacrifice progress for a few companies' convenience, and let's stick it to those companies that have already invested in upgrading their plants, and let's do this forever. I believe the environmental issues and the energy challenges our country and the planet face will be solved through technological progress and innovation, through scientific advancement and thoughtful policy. For that reason, I oppose this bill. Let me be clear. Pennsylvania has inherited and shoulders a debt, the collective legacy from our Nation's unregulated industrial past. This debt is levied on our land, our children, and our communities. We need help, and we deserve help, to continue righting this wrong. That requires strong environmental stewardship, increased abandoned mine land reclamation funds. The RECLAIM Act would provide greater R&D into making fossil fuels cleaner, and the list goes on. I want to applaud my colleague on the other side of the aisle for highlighting the importance of this issue. This legislation, however, is not the answer. It is still not the answer, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it so that we can try a different, smarter approach. I think we can make great progress on this issue in the coming months. I would welcome cooperation and input from colleagues on both sides of the aisle in doing so. Let's do this the smart way, the right way. Let's not penalize companies that are spending the money to comply, by helping a few companies that claim they don't want to.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, let me just say to my friend--and he is my friend--that none of us have a problem with these plants. They are providing an important service. The largest one in our State is complying. What I don't understand is, when the majority of these plants can comply and are in the process of complying, why do you want to pass a law that would exempt them from having to do that? It seems that when we have this debate, we only define ``burden'' as one way. When I hear my colleagues talk about the burden, it sort of has a singular dimension: money, dollars and cents on a business, on an individual, on a taxpayer. What about the burden of lower air quality? Is it not burdensome to the health of our students, the elderly, folks with asthma to breathe in higher levels of particulate matter? What about those folks? When we have an opportunity and we have the technology to have these plants continue to remediate sites, but to do so in a more environmentally friendly way, why would we not want to do that, especially when there are only 14 of these sites in Pennsylvania, and the majority of them are in the process of complying or are complying? You know, this bill is the same bill you brought here last year that didn't pass the Senate. This bill is not going to become law either. I would just encourage my friend to sit down with members of the Democratic Party, sit down with these stakeholders, and let's work on a solution that is futuristic, not one that takes us back to the past.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, let me just say to my friend that at the rate of 200 acres a year, it will be well into the year 3000 before we reclaim all these sites. So when I say, ``forever,'' there is not going to be any of us sitting here today around to see it, nor will our children, nor will our grandchildren, at that rate. And, by the way, the quote you give from the EPA regarding that was under a different rule, not the rule that we are talking about. This boils down to companies that are already spending the money and complying. Where is the fairness to those companies, their bottom line, their workers, when they are complying with this rule? And then you want, literally, a handful of companies not to comply? And when you talk about customizing a solution, what you are talking about is no rules. I mean, you are basically saying they don't have to comply with anything. So the answer to these 19 plants that operate in the entire United States, of which better than half are in the process or already complying, is to tell the ones that aren't complying there are no rules. Every year, our technology gets better. Every year, technology gets cheaper. Why would we want to give a lifetime exemption to a handful of companies that are reclaiming 200 acres a year? And at that rate, we are going to be into the year 3000. Why would we say you never have to comply with any rules, when most of those companies are? It just doesn't make a lot of sense to me. No one is saying anything bad about these plants. They are providing a valuable service. They can do it in a much more environmentally friendly way because technology is allowing that to happen. And all the EPA and their scientists who study this and the Federal courts, which upheld their decision, are saying is let's make the environment even cleaner. We have seen what happens to our State when there is no regulation. It is called ``environmental catastrophe.'' Let's not go back to saying no environmental regulation to this handful of companies that aren't complying.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. At the risk of beating this horse to death--and this will be my final remarks--I would just say to the Speaker that there are many of these plants that are complying with this rule, and I commend those plants that are doing that. It is not fair to those plants that are complying that we exempt those plants that aren't complying or don't want to comply because they don't want to spend the money to do so. The idea that all of these plants are going out of business if they are forced to do that is simply not based in any reality. I would encourage the gentleman and the Speaker to reconsider this bill, which is going nowhere. It may pass the House, but it is not going any further than that. Let's sit down and work together on a bipartisan basis to come up with a rule that utilizes the best and latest technologies, that continues to improve and get cheaper, help work with these companies that may need a little assistance in complying and help them comply, and then we truly do have a win-win situation.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take a moment to speak in memorial to the late Ray Baum. He was a dedicated husband and father, the staff director for the majority on the Energy and Commerce Committee, and a trusted adviser and friend to Chairman Walden. We were all saddened by his passing, and I would like to express our condolences to his friends and family. The legislation before us today is the product of bipartisan and bicameral compromise. While it is not perfect, it represents a good faith effort by Ranking Member Pallone, Chairman Walden, Senator Nelson, and Senator Thune. This compromise incorporates a number of Democratic priorities, including Ranking Member Pallone's Viewer Protection Act and SANDy Act, and Congresswoman Eshoo's RESPONSE Act and ``Dig Once'' bill, and a number of provisions from other members of our committee on cybersecurity, Tribal broadband, broadband access for veterans, and others. Like Ranking Member Pallone, I am also happy to see bipartisan language included in the bill which makes the FCC inspector general an independent entity. This sends a strong bipartisan and bicameral message to Chairman Pai that he cannot end the FCC inspector general's investigation into collusion between his office and Sinclair Broadcast Group simply by firing the current inspector general. These allegations also require congressional oversight and investigation. I am also happy to see that we have an agreement to provide the remainder of the funds necessary to transition broadcasters as part of the FCC's incentive auction--keeping a promise that we made to them that they would be held harmless. The agreement also includes funds for consumer education about the transition. It is critical that the public be educated about the upcoming television repack and understand the what, when, and where of how it will work. Mr. Speaker, I look forward to continuing to work on this legislation with my colleagues as it moves forward.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to note a major milestone in the life of the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, a federally supported research facility in southwestern Pennsylvania. Three people responsible for founding and building the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center are retiring after many years of stellar leadership there. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center, an institution established and managed by Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh, provides both public and private-sector researchers nationwide with access to high-performance computers for unclassified research. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center is also a leading partner in the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, the National Science Foundation's cyber-infrastructure program. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center was founded in 1986 by two physicists, Michael Levine from Carnegie Mellon University and Ralph Roskies from the University of Pittsburgh, along with Jim Kasdorf, the Manager of Engineering Computer Services at Westinghouse. They believed that the Pittsburgh region needed a national high-performance computing center run by and for researchers. Working with leading-edge suppliers, co-directors Levine and Roskies attracted and fostered a team that has designed and built highly advanced and productive high-performance computing systems. Back in 1986, Jim Kasdorf was the Manager for Engineering Computer Services at Westinghouse, where he was responsible for everything--planning, computer acquisition, systems programming, day-to-day operations, and user support. Despite those demands, he also took on spearheading Westinghouse's support for the new facility. Jim eventually joined the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center as Director of Special Projects, where he assisted with ongoing funding opportunities and technology developments. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center rapidly earned a reputation for acquiring, installing, and deploying systems that were ``serial number 1'' or ``serial number 2'' and/or the first to ship to a customer, making it a highly productive research leader. As a result, each new system enabled a new generation of research to be conducted: In 1987, Levine and Roskies established a biomedical group that created a unique resource for exploring the subcellular structure of the nervous system and also developed unique capabilities in the growing field of bioinformatics and spawned formal graduate and undergraduate programs across the country. In the 1990s, Roskies personally made arrangements for time to be set aside on the center's Cray C90 for tornado prediction efforts that led to today's tornado predictions--the first time a supercomputing center had dedicated time to a single application for such societally important, time-sensitive work. In 2001, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's Terascale Computing System ranked number 2 on the Top 500 list of the world's most powerful computing systems. In 2010, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center formed an internationally respected Public Health Applications Group. Today, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's systems have increasingly focused on Big Data analytics, empowering a new generation of research in artificial intelligence, the life sciences, the social sciences, and the digital humanities. The retirement of these three pioneers from their leadership posts at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center offers an occasion for reflecting on their role in furthering the science of high-performance computing, expanding STEM and economic opportunities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and contributing to the region's expanding role as a hot- spot for computing innovation. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's work has had a profound impact on the Western Pennsylvania region and the Commonwealth as a whole. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has established a tradition of using the latest information technologies for the advancement of research, education and corporate competitiveness in the region and the state. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's culture of encouraging innovation and entrepreneurial activity enabled the creation of the Three Rivers Optical Exchange, which today provides high-bandwidth research networking and/or low-cost commodity Internet to a growing list of institutions in the region and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including universities, research facilities and high schools. To help build the region's STEM workforce, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center offers educational programs for students and teachers at the K-20 level. Open education resource materials (available on the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center website at www.psc.edu) are offered online as well as by many of these programs. The Bioinformatics Education for program STudents exposes teachers to modem molecular biology concepts by incorporating computational biology and bioinformatics into high school curricula. The Bioinformatics Education for program STudents curriculum has been adopted at 15 regional high schools. In economic impact, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has brought over $500 million in outside funds into Pennsylvania, empowering high- performance computing-driven research findings at Carnegie Mellon and Pitt, as well as many of the region's other universities. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has been responsible for generating 1,600 jobs and over $200 million in annual economic activity. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's impact also includes helping to meet the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's need for a growing STEM workforce. In addition to supporting the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has put the state ``on the map'' in the high-performance computing community. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has innovated high-performance computing software and architecture that has helped drive research around the world. The Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's work in networking has helped provide the critical connections that enable researchers to make productive use of powerful resources that their individual institutions would never be able to afford. Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center software researchers have created a family of open-source tools that are helping to power Big Data analytics on a similar scale. Its biomedical and Public Health groups are fueling the fine-scale exploration of brain structure and revolutionizing public health efforts by optimizing medical supply delivery and revealing how offering people more options can encourage vaccination. And its championing of the creation of supercomputers tailored to new communities of researchers with Big Data needs--typified by the new Bridges system, which has set new standards for accessibility to researchers without supercomputing experience--have supercharged research efforts in fields that never before used high-performance computing. This innovative approach to high-performance computing has touched scientists, engineers, and humanities researchers across the country and the world. In collaborations such as the Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment, the National Science Foundation's network of supercomputing centers, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center has played a leading role, providing computational, storage, and human resources that continue to power research projects coast to coast. The result has been a host of tremendous scientific advances made possible by its high-performance computing systems. In the educational sphere, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center's NIH-funded Minority Access to Research Careers bioinformatics program helped 12 minority-serving institutions across the country institute classes or full curriculums in bioinformatics, preparing their students for 21st-century life sciences careers; the Minority Access to Research Careers program's summer institute offered summer recess projects to undergraduate and graduate students at these institutions as well. Levine and Roskies created an environment for innovation at each stage: assembling the team that won the first National Science Foundation award; hiring key people with unique skills; and then empowering them to make innovative contributions. Their 31 years of service in leading the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center fostered a community of scientific and computing researchers that enable scientific discovery by re-thinking the architecture and software of the systems they make available. I want to commend Dr. Levine, Dr. Roskies, and Mr. Kasdorf for their more than 30 years of important contributions to science and the economy of Southwestern Pennsylvania. I want to congratulate them on a well-earned retirement and wish them the best in the years ahead.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, this is a good piece of legislation, and I hope all Members will vote for it when it comes to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I also rise to support S. 96, the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act. It is a bipartisan bill championed by Representative David Young and cosponsored by a number of other Members, including Representatives Welch and Loebsack from the Energy and Commerce Committee. We deal with a lot of technologically complicated issues on the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, but this bill aims to address the most essential function of our telephone system: making sure that all Americans' calls go through. Many people take for granted our modern communications tools. But in rural America, even the basic function of connecting a call is sometimes next to impossible. Consumers tell us often when they call rural areas, they are met with false busy signals or calls not even arriving, just silence. This isn't just an important problem for rural Americans, but also for people in all of our districts who want to reach loved ones across the country and can't. This status quo is unacceptable. We need reliable telephone service to keep us connected. It is too important for everyday life, particularly in the wake of the terrible natural disasters that swept through our country earlier this year. It is clearer than ever that basic phone service is critical when responding to emergencies and critical for everything from finding a job to managing your health. We know that problems with call completion are often related to intermediate providers--the middlemen hired to route calls. This bill requires intermediate providers to register with the FCC and comply with service quality standards. These commonsense steps should make it easier to figure out when providers are cutting corners or not doing their jobs. Ultimately, the bill puts consumers first by helping them make sure that we can stay connected to one another. S. 96 is a bipartisan bill that passed on suspension earlier this Congress and last Congress, and I urge my colleagues to support it today. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Senate amendment to H.R. 582, a bill that passed the House last Congress by voice vote. I agree that we must do all we can to make sure that consumers using multiline telephone systems can directly dial 911 without having to dial additional digits first. These are the large enterprise phone systems that we use in big office buildings and hotels. Many of these phones require consumers to dial an extra 9 to get an outside line. Most of us know that, but too many people do not realize that you also have to dial 9 before dialing 911 on these phones, and if you don't dial the 9 first, you can't reach emergency services. As you can imagine, in desperate situations, being able to quickly reach first responders can mean the difference between life and death. This very issue led to a tragedy in Texas several years ago. Kari Dunn was killed while her 9-year-old daughter tried to call for help. Kari's daughter did what she thought she was supposed to do in an emergency, dial 911. But because the system she was using required her to dial that additional 9 first, she only heard silence on the other end. Building on the Herculean effort of Kari Dunn's family, we are one step closer to fixing this problem once and for all. H.R. 582 is an important step toward making our systems work better in an emergency. But for all the good this bill does, it still leaves work to be done. Specifically, these multiline systems still often fail to deliver accurate location information to first responders. That means that if someone calls 911 from this very building that we are sitting in, for instance, precious minutes could tick by as emergency personnel struggle to figure out where the call came from in this enormous complex. That delay could be the difference between life and death. We must act to correct this problem, too, because making sure the call goes through is only helpful if public safety officials can find the caller. Democrats tried to include such a provision in the version of this bill from last Congress, and at that time we received a commitment from Chairman Walden to work together on a separate bill to address this concern. We were not able to solve this problem last Congress, and we expect the commitment will carry over to this Congress. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, at this time, it gives me great pleasure to yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from the California (Ms. Eshoo), a valuable member of our Energy and Commerce Committee.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. I will close for our side now, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I want to first congratulate Representative Gohmert and Senator Klobuchar for this piece of legislation. I hope that our friends on the Republican side will work with us to improve the location accuracy for these multiline systems. I think that is an important piece of unfinished business that we need to do to make this bill even better. We support the bill. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday evening, I spoke via Skype with a number of young people in Pittsburgh who participated in the Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania's 14th Congressional District, which I have the honor to represent. I had the opportunity to commend all of them for participating in this year's App Challenge, and I announced the winning App in the 14th District competition. The Congressional App Challenge is a competition held each year in many congressional districts throughout the country. The Congressional App Challenge provides an opportunity for students who create their own apps for mobile, tablet, or computer devices to compete with other students and receive feedback from leading experts in the field. It's a great way for Congress to get kids interested in computer programming and technology-related careers. That's good for them, and it's good for our economy, which will depend more and more on such skills in the coming years. This is the first year I have had the pleasure of being involved with the Congressional App Challenge, and I hope there will be many more years to come. Events like this one serve to raise public awareness of the importance and value of quality STEM education programs. I would like to recognize the 14th District's outstanding student coders for 2017. The team from Montour High School consisting of Macen Perkins, Shane O'Malley, Derek Wassel, and Logan Hickey created an app that teaches students that coding languages are easy to understand and very fun with some time and practice. The team from Shadyside Academy consisting of Nick Zana, Fuad Youssef, Peter Wang, and Henry Friedlander created an app that executes all of the main functions of a planner, student ID, and document database. I am very proud of them all. The winner of year's 14th Congressional District App Challenge was the team from Shadyside Academy. Their app will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol and shown on the U.S. House of Representatives web site. They will also be invited to the House of Representatives' Code Demo Day reception in Washington in the coming months. In addition, Carnegie Mellon University has offered to give the 14th District App Challenge winners a tour of its facilities. This is a great opportunity for these students to explore the campus and to learn just how far their interest in coding can take them. I would like to acknowledge and thank the judges for this competition: Josh Lucas, co-founder of Work Hard Pittsburgh, Dr. Alexandros Labrinidis, professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Computing and Information, and Dr. Illah Nourbakhsh, professor at the Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute and director of the CREATE Lab. I would also like to thank the University of Pittsburgh for hosting tonight's event--and Carnegie Mellon University for hosting the winners for a tour of its facilities. These universities' support for the App Challenge speaks volumes about their commitment to education and the local community. Finally, I want to commend all of the participants in this year's App Challenge. I hope that the recognition will, in some small way, demonstrate to these young coders how much we value their efforts and skill. It is my hope that the students who participated in this year's competition will carry their interest in coding with them throughout their lives. I also hope that this competition and others like it across the country will continue to grow and attract many other local promising coders.

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania

Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to inform my colleagues of the death of Brian Shaw, a brave, young police officer who was recently killed in the line of duty in my district on November 17. What began as a routine traffic stop turned into a pursuit on foot and an exchange of gunfire that left Officer Shaw mortally wounded. Brian was just 25 years old when he was murdered doing the job he loved. He was a universally loved and respected member of his community. He was well liked and respected by his fellow officers. His life was brutally cut short, but there is no denying it was a life well lived. Brian was a graduate of Burrell High School, Slippery Rock University, and the Allegheny County Police Training Academy. He served as a police officer in Cheswick, Frazer, and Springdale Township before joining the New Kensington Police Department this June. Friends have said that Brian always wanted to be a police officer. Brian said that he became a police officer because he wanted to make a difference. I want my colleagues and the whole Nation to know that he did. Throughout his service as a police officer, he upheld the law, and he served the communities with dedication, compassion, and a warm smile. He knew the risks that come with being a law enforcement officer, and he accepted them willingly. I had the honor of attending the memorial service for Officer Shaw at Mount St. Peter Church last week. The turnout was amazing. The church was packed to the rafters. Thousands more stood outside, including more than 1,000 police officers. I can't think of a more tangible expression of respect and appreciation for Officer Shaw's service and his sacrifice. In closing, I want to express my deepest sympathy to Officer Shaw's parents, Lisa and Stephan; his brother, Steffan; his fellow police officers; his family; and his friends.