Steve Daines

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4562, sponsored by the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), allows farmers to repay accelerated or lump sums of capital debt owed to the Bureau of Reclamation. In many cases throughout the West, current Federal law does not allow landowners to make such early repayments on Federal irrigation projects. These outdated Federal hurdles are similar to a bank prohibiting a homeowner from paying his or her mortgage early. Congressman Smith's bill removes the Federal Bureau of Reclamation repayment prohibition for individual landowners within the Northport Irrigation District. In return for such payments, these farmers will no longer be subject to the acreage limitations and the paperwork requirements in the Reclamation Reform Act. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill could generate up to $440,000 in Federal revenue. The bill is based on two recent precedents that passed in both Republican- and Democrat- controlled houses, and today, we should continue those efforts by adopting this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Smith), also a former member of the Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers. I urge approval of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I, too, strongly support the passage of this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. In 2001, President George Bush signed Public Law 107-62, which authorized the Adams Memorial Foundation to create a commemorative work on Federal land in the District of Columbia. When completed, the memorial will honor former President John Adams, along with his wife, Abigail Adams, former President John Quincy Adams, and their legacy of public service. The Foundation has been working towards securing a location for the memorial, but a previous extension to their authority expired in 2013. H.R. 3802 authorizes an extension to this authority so that the Foundation may continue development and planning until December 2, 2020. No Federal funds are involved in the creation of this memorial and this extension has no impact on the Federal budget. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3802) to extend the legislative authority of the Adams Memorial Foundation to establish a commemorative work in honor of former President John Adams and his legacy, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Hinchliffe Stadium is a historic 10,000-seat municipal stadium in Paterson, New Jersey, built between 1931 and 1932, surrounded by the city's national historical landmark district. It is one of only a handful of stadiums surviving nationally that once played host to Negro League baseball. H.R. 2430 adds the historic Hinchliffe Stadium into the boundaries of the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, which was created in 2009. This legislation amends the park's boundary to include the stadium, but an amendment adopted by the Natural Resources Committee prohibits Federal ownership. The stadium will remain as it is today, owned by local government. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2430) to adjust the boundaries of Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park to include Hinchliffe Stadium, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Amodei), who I served on the Natural Resources Committee with recently.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 3716 is a bipartisan bill sponsored by Congressman Amodei of Nevada. The legislation ratifies a water rights agreement between the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Fish Springs Ranch. Although the bill does not authorize the expenditure of American taxpayer dollars, it is necessary due to the Federal trust responsibility for the tribe and because it decreases the Federal Government's potential liabilities related to those trust duties. H.R. 3716 allows a water pipeline project to go forward while codifying an agreement that allows non-Federal payments to mitigate for water supply damages associated with the pipeline. This is a win for the American taxpayer, this is a win for the tribe, and this is a win for water users. I commend Congressman Amodei for his leadership and urge adoption of the legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3716) to ratify a water settlement agreement affecting the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and for other purposes.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Hearing that water services delivery could be in jeopardy for 60,000 acres of some of the most productive farmland in my home State of Montana, I was happy to introduce this legislation that ensures that irrigation in southwest Montana is protected. H.R. 4508 protects irrigation and water supplies in the Beaverhead Valley by extending the district's contract while an updated contract is pending approval by the Montana Water Court. This contract extension is necessary since the Montana court system is in the middle of conducting a necessary State-required review of the new contract between the irrigation district and the United States. This bill does not prejudice the outcome of that examination but keeps in place the existing 1958 contract so area farmers and ranchers in the Beaverhead Valley of Montana have water supply certainty for nearly 60,000 acres. The legislation has no cost to the Federal Government and is based on congressional precedent. In fact, Congress has extended this 1958 contract a number of times, since an extension provides an irrigation district with an absolute right under Federal law to negotiate a new contract with the Bureau of Reclamation. This bill simply adds 6 additional years to the last extension, thereby extending the 1958 contract until December 31, 2019, or until a new contract is executed. This bill is the result of hard work that is being done in Montana. I especially want to thank Mr. Bill Hritsco and the East Bench Irrigation District for their leadership and for working with me on this legislation to provide Montana farmers and Montana ranchers with much- needed certainty about their water supply. Mr. Hritsco, the Dillon, Montana-based attorney representing the Irrigation District, provided expert testimony on this bill before the House Natural Resources Committee earlier this year. The Irrigation District's work with me on this bill represents how Montanans can roll up their sleeves and get good things done. As a result, water will continue to flow in the Beaverhead Valley's fields for years to come if this legislation is enacted. I urge adoption of the bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the America Gives More Act because it encourages charitable giving. This bill includes the Conservation Easement Incentive Act, which is very important to the people of Montana. Rising property values and estate taxes make passing down working lands to future generations very, very difficult. In fact, in 2010, the Leep family, a family that has farmed in the Gallatin Valley, my home county, since 1926, faced the challenge of transferring a family farm to the next generation. Because of this incentive, the Leeps were able to donate land to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust, an organization that works on conserving working lands and other areas valued for wildlife habitat and for outdoor recreation, and kept the land in production and in the family's ownership. The America Gives More Act makes this provision permanent and gives landowners the assurances they need to make long-term estate planning decisions. It is a commonsense, smart tax policy that makes a real difference in the lives of Montanans. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this measure.

Mr. DAINES

Mr. DAINES. Mr. Speaker, Montanans have long known that ObamaCare's taxes and mandates are a direct threat to thousands of jobs, and this fact is becoming all too clear for in-home care providers. ObamaCare's burdensome employer mandate would force in-home care businesses to cut jobs or employee wages and, in turn, hurt the elderly, the disabled, and low-income Montanans who rely on them for critical services. The Ensuring Medicaid and Medicare Access to Providers Act protects Montanans' access to care by exempting their health providers from ObamaCare's oppressive employer mandate, and it protects health care workers from losing their jobs or getting their hours or their pay cut. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5098 and help ensure that disabled and vulnerable Americans can continue to receive critical health services in the comfort of their own homes.