Virginia Foxx

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I think this piece of legislation is in the spirit of what Congress needs to be doing in terms of updating where we are in dealing with technology and the need for adequate oversight. This bill acknowledges that Federal technology policy has not kept up with the pace of technology integration by our Federal agencies. This bill codifies the position of Federal CIO, emphasizing the importance of the role to the formation of governmentwide technology policy; and this bill promotes organized, cost-efficient, and secure technology used throughout the Federal Government. I would like to again thank the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd) for introducing this bill, along with the many bipartisan supporters of it. I urge my colleagues to support the bill, vote for it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I appreciate very much the comments made by my colleague from Maryland and appreciate particularly the emphasis this afternoon that has been placed on bipartisan bills and efficiency and effectiveness in the Federal Government. Those are values that should not be assigned to any particular party. They are important for our country. They are important for what we do. Madam Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cline), who has been waiting patiently to speak on this bill.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Virginia sharing his comments with us, and I would like to continue my remarks by thanking Representative Jimmy Gomez for helping author this piece of legislation, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act, or GREAT Act. Representative Gomez has been an outstanding partner on this bipartisan bill to create more transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the Federal grant reporting process, and I thank him for his hard work. Madam Speaker, in 2017, the Federal Government awarded $662.7 billion in grants funding to State agencies, local and Tribal governments, agencies, nonprofits, universities, and organizations. This is a lot of hardworking tax dollars, even in terms of Washington-speak. Within our Federal Government, there are 26 agencies awarding Federal grants, and all of them continue to rely on outdated, burdensome, document-based forms to collect and track grant dollars. Society has moved into a new age of information and technology, and it is time that our government follows suit. The GREAT Act represents bipartisan legislation to modernize the Federal grant reporting process. It does so by mandating a standardized data structure for information that recipients report to Federal agencies. Unless the reporting requirements for Federal grants are searchable, the auditing process will continue to yield waste and inefficiency at best, and potentially fraud and abuse at worst. Adopting a governmentwide open data structure for all the information grantees report will alleviate compliance burdens; provide instant insights for grantor agencies and Congress; and enable easy access to data for oversight, analytics, and program evaluation. Digitizing and, therefore, automating the reporting process would have a twofold effect. First, it allows grantees to maximize every dollar they receive from the taxpayers to ensure it goes back into communities, supporting local businesses, organizations, and education. Lastly, the GREAT Act has received broad support from an array of good government groups. The coalition endorsing the GREAT Act includes the Bipartisan Policy Center, American Association of Law Libraries, American Library Association, Association of Government Accountants, Association of Research Libraries, Data Coalition, Demand Progress, Government Accountability Project, Government Information Watch, Grant Professionals Association, National Grants Management Association, National Taxpayers Union, Native American Finance Officers Association, the Project on Government Oversight, R Street Institute, Senior Executives Association, and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition. In order to fix the way Federal grants are reported, we must move from a document-centric reporting system to a data superhighway. I urge my colleagues in the House and Senate to support the GREAT Act and bring grant reporting into the 21st century. Madam Speaker, again, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, we have no further speakers. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues again, along with Mr. Cummings, to support this bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina

Ms. FOXX of North Carolina. Madam Speaker, this week, I am delighted to celebrate the promise of school choice alongside thousands of teachers, students, and their families. Every student deserves an excellent education, and school choice empowers parents to choose the right education for their children. Through school choice, all students have increased access to charter schools, magnet schools, private schools, homeschooling, and other innovative programs designed to help students achieve their goals. When we passed the Every Student Succeeds Act, we advanced reforms to widen the reach of school choice and empower families and communities. I am proud of these accomplishments and look forward to continuing the work to protect and expand school choice and help students succeed.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I commend Chairman Brady and Leader McCarthy for their work related to the retirement security title of this bill, which includes significant and long-overdue reforms that expand access to workplace retirement plans, improve participant savings, and increase transparency in those plans. The Ways and Means Committee and the Committee on Education and the Workforce have a long history of working together to improve and strengthen America's employer-sponsored retirement system. Given our shared jurisdiction over many of these matters, each Committee brings a unique perspective to the table, further strengthening the resulting legislation. The House Amendment to Senate Amendment to H.R. 88--Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018 includes many reforms that have benefited from the work of both committees. Several provisions were the subject of a hearing in the Education and the'Workforce Committee earlier this Congress, such as the authorization of open multiple employer plans, and the clarification of an existing safe harbor for offering annuity products in a defined contribution plan. However, the Retirement, Savings, and Other Tax Relief Act of 2018 overreaches by including a provision allowing for premium reductions for certain cooperative and small employer charity pension plans (CSEC plans), an issue which falls entirely under the jurisdiction of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and which stands in stark contrast to the spirit of this otherwise sensible legislation. As Chairwoman of the committee of jurisdiction, I welcome this opportunity to provide background on the cooperative and small employer charity premiums provision. In 2006, Congress passed the Pension Protection Act, which included provisions to improve the funding of defined benefit pension plans sponsored by a single employer, in order to ensure the solvency of these plans and the retirement security of plan participants. The law exempted certain entities from these improved plan funding requirements. The Pension Protection Act also increased insurance premiums paid to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation by single-employer plan sponsors because the PBGC-administered single-employer insurance program was under extreme stress--it had gone from a $7 billion surplus in 2001 to a $22 billion deficit in 2005. Unlike the Pension Protection Act funding rules, the increased PBGC premiums applied equally to all single-employer plan sponsors. Mr. Speaker, PBGC premiums for single-employer plans take two forms-- a flat-rate, per participant premium; and an additional risk-based variable rate premium. While plan sponsors cannot control the level of the flat-rate premium, they have complete power over the amounts owed for the variable rate premium. The variable rate premium is higher for severely underfunded plans than for well-funded plans, reflecting the higher risk underfunded plans present to PBGC, which steps in to pay benefits if a plan terminates. If a plan sponsor improves the funding of its plan, then its PBGC premium levels will go down. The structure of this variable rate premium not only prevents sponsors of well-funded plans from subsidizing the benefits of other companies' employees, but also serves as an additional incentive for all plan sponsors to fund their plans properly. As such, this variable rate premium is an especially crucial incentive for proper plan funding in certain cooperative and small employer charity plans that are exempt from the Pension Protection Act's more stringent funding rules. For 2018, all single-employer plan sponsors pay a flat-rate premium of $74 per participant, and a variable rate premium is assessed at 3.8 percent of a plan's unfunded vested benefits, capped at $523 per participant. In exchange, the PBGC insures benefits up to $67,295 annually for a 65-year old retiree. Now, a number of organizations that already enjoy funding relief under current law have asked for an additional reprieve from premiums that protect their workers' pension plans. The bill before us grants certain groups this additional break--both the flat-rate premium and the variable-rate premium are reduced exclusively for these entities to pre-Pension Protection Act levels. While all other single-employer plans would continue to pay the current premium amounts, these plans would pay only a flat-rate of $19 per participant and a variable rate premium assessed at 0.9 percent of a plan's unfunded vested benefits. Further, the provision allows these plans alone to use higher interest rates to assume higher funding levels when determining premium amounts, while other single-employer plans must use long-standing specified assumptions that result in more sound funding estimates. As a result, many underfunded CSEC plans would not have to pay any variable rate premium under this provision. Funding levels in many plans that would qualify for premium relief under this provision have fallen in recent years, resulting in increased risk-based variable rate premiums. According to PBGC data, for purposes of determining the variable rate premium, the plan sponsored by Girl Scouts of USA was only 64 percent funded in 2017--but as noted above, this provision would allow the plan to assume a 76.6 percent funding level; the Boy Scouts plan was only 75 percent funded in 2017, but under this provision the plan could assume 88 percent funding. Other plans are in a similar situation. For example, in 2017 Hawkeye Insurance Association was only 56 percent funded and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts' plan was only 58 percent funded. There has been a trend in recent years of certain companies and organizations looking to pension policies for financial relief when they are confronted with difficult situations. Congress should not set the precedent that when a company faces hard times, it can turn to its employees' pensions for a quick fix. Federal pension laws must reflect the purpose for which pension promises are made--they are not offered gratuitously, but as a form of compensation to employees. As such, any changes to federal pension laws should have a long-term, sustainable focus, taking into account all parties, and especially the interests of workers and retirees. Employees of charitable organizations often make great personal sacrifices to do important work that benefits local communities; as much as anyone, these employees deserve a sound pension system and a secure retirement. Once pension promises are made, workers must be able to rely on them being kept. The current variable-rate premium puts the responsibility for premium levels in the hands of plan sponsors, and rewards plan sponsors that care for their employees by maintaining well-funded plans; it additionally serves as a strong disincentive for sponsors to allow their employees' plans to fall to dangerous funding levels. In the aggregate, cooperative and small employer charity plans that would qualify for premium reductions under the bill are underfunded by about $5 billion according to PBGC. A premium reduction benefiting a select few, as provided for in this bill, hands a select group of employers the same insurance at a lower price, at the expense of other employers that also sponsor single- employer plans. Under this provision, PBGC would lose over a billion dollars in premium revenue over the next ten years. It allows a select group of employers to minimally fund promises made to their employees without consequence. Because these groups are exempt from Pension Protection Act rules designed to result in higher plan funding levels, the variable rate premium plays an important role in policing funding levels. PBGC estimates that it is likely that no cooperative and small employer charity plan would owe variable rate premiums under this provision. Finally, this cooperative and small employer charity provision sends the wrong message to workers and retirees that when it comes to pension policy, Congress is willing to tip the scales in favor of certain employers over the retirement security of their employees. Because the good in the bill before us today as a whole outweighs the harm of this one provision, I will be voting yes on the underlying bill. But my ``yes'' vote on this bill is not an endorsement of the CSEC provision which I strongly oppose for the reasons I've just discussed.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I thank everyone who has worked hard on this legislation. S. 3530, the Museum and Library Services Act of 2018, is an excellent opportunity to honor the place of libraries in our diverse communities. As a girl growing up in the mountains of North Carolina, libraries were vital to my own education, and that was the case for everyone in my community. Almost 19 years into the 21st century, libraries continue to provide lifelines to lifelong learners all across this great country. They are as vital as ever. We in the House are happy to do our part in ensuring these local institutions continue to play the important role they do in educating Americans of every age and communities of every size. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Indiana for his role in this.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Mr. Charlie Odell Lovette of Wilkes County in North Carolina's Fifth District. Recently, Mr. Lovette was posthumously inducted into the Wilkes County Agriculture Hall of Fame and 3 miles of Highway NC-16 North were officially renamed in his honor. In addition to being a pioneer of the U.S. poultry industry, Mr. Lovette was an active leader in the community and advocated for the construction of what is now his namesake, C.O. Lovette Highway, connecting Wilkesboro to Millers Creek. Although he passed away in 1978, Mr. Lovette's legacy is fondly remembered and livelihoods continue to thrive along trails he blazed. Charlie Lovette's life is a shining example of the American Dream that North Carolinians remain proud of and hopeful for. At the young age of 14, Lovette left home to drive trucks for his uncle, distributing farm products in the foothills and mountains of Wilkes. In the summers, he put his farming skills to use. At age 19, he returned to public school to improve his skills to be able to turn his work experiences into a business of his own. Starting with a horse-drawn wagon to sell apples and working at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Mr. Lovette was able to acquire necessary startup capital to contribute to the foundation of the modern poultry industry. He bought the first truck in his enterprise in 1924 and developed a weekly schedule of buying barnyard chickens, butter, eggs, hams, dried apples, honey, and other produce from country stores to sell in Charlotte and Winston-Salem. His business provided a market for local farms to sell and trade their products to produce family farm income. This same year, Mr. Lovette married the love of his life, Ruth Bumgarner. Ruth deserves just as much credit as her husband for being a steadfast pillar of support in his business endeavors and encouraging him to succeed. During this time, chicken production progressed from barnyard chickens to hothouse chickens, and Lovette was an early adopter of this farming innovation. In 1928, he built one of the first hothouse chicken houses on his farm, with capacity for 250 birds. A portion of that chicken house is now on display at the Wilkes Heritage Museum. Hothouse chicken farming increased rapidly in western Wilkes in the 1930s and 1940s. During World War II, processing plants were built in the major cities on the East Coast to supply the war effort, and live chickens were delivered to these plants from Wilkes by Mr. Lovette's trucks. In 1946, Mr. Lovette sold his live chicken business to his oldest son, C. Fred Lovette. However, Charlie continued to run a smaller farm- raised food products business and started Lovette Egg Company in North Wilkesboro with his partner, J.C. Bumgarner. Fifteen years later, Fred Lovette consolidated all the chicken and egg operations to form Holly Farms Poultry Industries. During the 1970s, Holly Farms Poultry Industries became the largest chicken company in the world, with chicken operations in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Texas. Additionally, it was the first chicken brand nationally distributed in the United States. Not only was Mr. Lovette a smart businessman with a strong work ethic, he was also known for his good character. If profits were higher than expected, he passed on extra earnings to his suppliers. He was an adored father of seven who, alongside Ruth, instilled values of faith into the Lovette family, and he was an active member of Pleasant Home Baptist Church. Charlie and Ruth were a team in every endeavor and extended their business success not just to their children, but also to their siblings and many nieces and nephews who lived on the farm and worked at Lovette Poultry Company. The Wilkes farming community has been the beneficiary of Mr. Lovette's courage to take risks and his determination to succeed. In 1989, Holly Farms was acquired by Tyson Foods, and in Wilkes, the industry still generates more than $300 million in gross annual revenue, employs 3,300 people, and supports 200 family farms. With a lot of hard work and limited means, Mr. Lovette became a pioneer of the poultry industry, and his legacy is enshrined in the Wilkes community. He is an example for us all of the endless possibilities in our country and what the seeds of big dreams, with the support and collaboration of family and community, can grow into.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Krisann Pearce, who will leave the Education and the Workforce Committee at the end of this Congress after many years of outstanding service. Krisann began her career as a teacher. She brought those lessons with her to Capitol Hill, where she began her work in education policy on the staff of her home State Senator, Nancy Kassebaum. While she has thrived in other opportunities along the way, her main home has been with us, the best committee in the House, where she has served as general counsel since 2011. Krisann has played a major role in every piece of education legislation over the past two decades. She is also one of a very few talented professionals whose counsel has informed both education and workforce policy. Krisann is renowned for her fierce devotion to students, the parliamentary process, and her beloved Kansas Jayhawks. We are grateful to her husband, Evan, and her sons, Carson and Nolan, for all the years of long days and late nights they have shared Krisann with all of us, and we wish her the very best.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor this year's National Christmas Tree Contest winner who hails from my home county of Avery in North Carolina's Fifth District, Mr. Larry Smith. This year, Mr. Smith won the national tree contest hosted by the National Christmas Tree Association, whose members have presented the official White House Christmas tree for display in the Blue Room since 1966. Growers must first win their local competitions in order to qualify for the association's national contest. At the national competition, growers, industry experts, and consumers vote to choose the real Christmas tree grower who will provide the official White House Christmas tree. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to represent this year's winner and was delighted to join Mr. Smith, his family and friends in presenting the First Family with its Fraser fir Christmas tree last week. As a former Christmas tree grower myself, I can attest to the importance of recognizing this often overlooked, yet highly significant, farming industry. Christmas trees have held a historic place in American family tradition since 1850. Long before artificial trees were around, real trees brought Christmas spirit into homes with their evergreen and fragrant branches during the season. Just as importantly, Christmas trees play a vital role in the North Carolina high country's economy by providing jobs and livelihoods for thousands of North Carolinians. The Fifth District is one of the largest producers of live-cut Christmas trees in the country, producing over 20 percent of the real Christmas trees in the United States. Representing over 95 percent of all species grown in the State, the North Carolina Fraser fir Christmas tree is the most popular Christmas tree in North America. It is shipped to every State in the U.S., as well as the Caribbean islands, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Japan, and other points all over the world. Congratulations once again to Mr. Smith, and thanks to Christmas tree growers across the country for contributing to our economy and providing the joy of having a real Christmas tree to families worldwide. Association Health Plans

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share some good news with the House. Over a year and a half ago, we passed the Small Business Health Fairness Act. Small businesses were hit hard by flawed mandates, soaring costs, and limited choices under ObamaCare. The Education and the Workforce Committee worked hard to produce the Small Business Health Fairness Act, which expanded healthcare options and lowered costs for working families by encouraging small businesses to come together through association health plans and negotiate for lower costs on behalf of their employees. In October of last year, President Trump issued an executive order that built on the solutions in that bill, directing the Department of Labor to remove barriers and make association health plans a viable option for businesses and their employees. Well, it is working. In my home State of North Carolina, individuals in the hospitality industry will soon have access to a new association health plan that provides affordable, comprehensive coverage. Nearly half a million workers in North Carolina alone will have options they didn't have before thanks to association health plans. In Oklahoma, chambers of commerce at the State and local level are working with some of the smallest businesses around to form association health plans and allow these talented individuals to keep doing what they really want to do, innovating and creating jobs only they will be able to create. Even farmers in Minnesota and Nebraska are finding ways to come together for better bargaining power that puts people and their healthcare choices first. Association health plans put people in charge. They empower small businesses to offer the same benefits that large companies can provide, and they allow employees to choose coverage options that work best for them. At the Education and the Workforce Committee, we have been proud to do our part to bring about this sustainable healthcare solution for millions of Americans. I welcome the news.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, this is National Apprenticeship Week and a good time to celebrate the renewed attention that apprenticeships have received from the Committee on Education and the Workforce and this administration. Apprenticeships are a centuries-old workforce development tool referenced as far back as the Bible. Nothing can prepare a student quite like the on-the-job experience, and apprenticeships are a tried and true method of preparing students to enter the workforce with the skills they need to succeed. We have a national skills gap with more than 7 million unfilled jobs in the country, and, for the seventh month running, the number of job openings has exceeded job seekers nationwide. A recent survey of U.S. employers showed that nearly half of all job creators struggle to hire employees with the right skills for the job, and, for the sixth year running, skilled trade jobs continue to be the hardest positions to fill all over the world. Apprenticeships are a wonderful solution to closing the skills gap and strengthening the workforce. We at the Committee on Education and the Workforce recognize this, and we have worked hard this Congress to make skills-based education a viable and valuable path for American workers. Over the course of the 115th Congress, we have made historic progress strengthening our workforce development efforts. For the first time, the committee reported postsecondary reform legislation that promotes apprenticeships as key postsecondary education opportunities. The PROSPER Act would improve student access to and participation in industry-led earn-and-learn programs and apprenticeships to allow students to hone their skills in a hands-on environment. This summer, we sent major, bipartisan CTE legislation to the President's desk. The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act was the first legislation in more than a decade to modernize our Nation's CTE programs. The law will create innovative community partnerships while connecting Americans with programs to grow their skills and land in-demand industry jobs. We have also continued to see the ongoing implementation of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, WIOA. WIOA gives employers a seat at the table and encourages collaboration between local leaders as they work to create on-the-job learning opportunities. In September, the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development heard from witnesses about how the law supports the development of locally based apprenticeship programs. The President has bolstered our efforts by listening to the needs of American workers. Since President Trump's first month in office, American employers have hired over 400,000 apprentices. In June of last year, the President issued an executive order creating a Task Force on Apprenticeship Expansion, and, earlier this year, the White House developed the Pledge to America's Workers. This groundbreaking initiative has resulted in over 160 companies and associations pledging jobs, education, and workforce development opportunities for more than 6 million American workers. We made monumental strides over the course of the last 2 years, and we are continuing to look for innovative ways to connect effective education with in-demand jobs. Each of us knows a person with considerable gifts and talents who may not be suited for long-term postsecondary education. A baccalaureate degree is not the only pathway to a good-paying job. Apprenticeships are life changing and can provide countless Americans with the knowledge and skills they need to achieve lifelong success. Thanks to the leadership of this body and the administration, Americans have greater access than ever before to the opportunities they need to excel in the millions of good-paying, in-demand jobs available nationwide.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of National Adoption Day this coming Saturday. National Adoption Day began in 2000 when seven cities opened courtrooms on the Saturday before Thanksgiving to alleviate the backlog of pending adoptions. Since then, more than 65,000 children have had their adoption finalized during a National Adoption Day celebration. The number of North Carolina children in foster care has been increasing, with last year totaling nearly 11,000. There are more than 425,000 children in foster care nationwide, with over 110,000 awaiting adoption by permanent families. National Adoption Day aims to raise awareness of these children and educate the estimated 47 million Americans who have considered adopting a child in foster care. May this year's effort be another success by connecting children awaiting adoption with parents who can provide the love and stable environment they need to realize their potential.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform be discharged from further consideration of the resolution (H. Res. 1138) condemning the anti- Semitic attack on the building housing three congregations, Tree of Life, Dor Hadash, and New Light, honoring the memory of the victims of the attack, and offering condolences to and expressing support for their families, friends, and community, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the text at the desk.

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I have an amendment to the preamble at the desk.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that further proceedings on the motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 5787) to amend the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to give effect to more accurate maps of units of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System that were produced by digital mapping of such units, and for other purposes, may be postponed through the legislative day of November 16, 2018, as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the order of the House of January 8, 2018, regarding morning-hour debate not apply tomorrow.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Joyce Walker of Lewisville, North Carolina. Last month, the North Carolina Association of Municipal Clerks named Ms. Walker the 2018 Clerk of the Year. Ms. Walker had already retired when she entered municipal service and started a new career as Lewisville's town clerk in 2000. During her tenure, she has received numerous designations, including North Carolina Certified Municipal Clerk, Master Municipal Clerk, and a certification from the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administrators. In addition to her duties and accomplishments, she is known by everyone for being a genuinely sweet and pleasant person, dedicated to serving the community through Lewisville's Student Leadership Committee, the Civic Club's Scholarship Committee, Lewisville Historical Society, and Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Congratulations to Joyce Walker on her award of 2018 Clerk of the Year. Lewisville is fortunate to have her as a pillar of institutional knowledge and outstanding community service.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Russell for yielding time. Mr. Speaker, I would like to start by thanking Representative Jimmy Gomez for his comments tonight and for helping all through this piece of legislation, the Grant Reporting Efficiency and Agreements Transparency Act, or GREAT Act. Representative Gomez has been an outstanding partner on this bipartisan bill to create more transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the Federal grant reporting process, and I thank him very much for his hard work. The GREAT Act represents bipartisan legislation to modernize the Federal grant reporting process. It would do so by mandating a standardized data structure for information that recipients report to Federal agencies. Unless the reporting requirements for Federal grants are searchable, the auditing process will continue to yield waste and inefficiency at best, allowing fraud and abuse at worst. Mr. Speaker, in 2017, the Federal Government awarded $662.7 billion in grants funding to State agencies, local and Tribal governments, agencies, nonprofits, universities, and other organizations. Roughly translated, this equates to the gross domestic product of Switzerland or more than the GDP of every country outside the G20. Within our Federal Government, there are 26 agencies awarding Federal grants, and all of them continue to rely on outdated, burdensome, document-based forms to collect and track grant dollars. Society has moved into a new age of information and technology, and it is time that our government follow suit. Adopting a governmentwide open data structure for all the information grantees will report will alleviate compliance burdens; provide instant insights for grantor agencies and Congress; and enable easy access to data for oversight, analytics, and program evaluation. Digitizing and, therefore, automating the reporting process would have a twofold effect. First, it would allow greater scrutiny of how the money is being spent. Second, it allows grantees to maximize every dollar they receive from the government to ensure it goes back into communities supporting local businesses, organizations, and education. In order to fix the way Federal grants are reported, we must move from a document-centric reporting system to a data superhighway. I urge my colleagues in the House and the Senate to support the GREAT Act and bring grant reporting into the 21st century. Again, Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Gomez for his hard work on this bipartisan bill. I would also like the thank Representative Darrell Issa for his authorship of the DATA Act of 2014. It laid the foundation for the GREAT Act by applying data standardization to a pilot universe of Federal grants. And I thank him for his original cosponsorship of this bill. I would also like to thank OMB Director Mulvaney for his office's advice on this legislation and leadership in advancing open data in the grant reporting process this year through the President's management agenda. Lastly, I would like to thank Leader McCarthy for bringing this bill to the floor and for his broader leadership in pursuing an innovative agenda this Congress.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in celebration of Constitution Day this upcoming week. On September 17, 231 years ago, 39 patriots signed their names to a document that changed the course of history. This document chartered a lasting experiment in democracy and put our Nation on the path to becoming the world's strongest and greatest in the history of the world. Since 1789, the Constitution has served as our country's legal foundation. Its wisdom is timeless, and just as George Washington called the Constitution the guide he would never abandon, we should not abandon the brilliance of our Founders' intent. The Constitution establishes the United States of America as a nation of laws where the government derives its limited powers from ``We the People,'' the consenting governed. Those words, I believe, Mr. Speaker, are the most important words outside our Bible. Thanks to the foresight of the Constitution's Framers and their understanding of government overreach and human nature, we have an abiding document that checks the power of the Federal Government and protects the rights of individual citizens. What has happened with our government, though, is that it has expanded in such a manner that it flips the Constitution on its head. Let's take a look at Articles I through III, which outline the powers of each branch of government. In this pocket copy of the Constitution, Article I is eight pages; but it is, by far, the longest of the articles, detailing the powers of the Congress. Article II is only three pages, outlining the powers of the executive branch. Article III is only a half page and establishes the limited powers of the judicial branch. Now, what has happened is that the relative power of each branch is completely inverted. The power to write the law and thereby represent the will of the people has been diminished by both the executive and judicial branches. The judicial branch seeks to write the law through its power of interpretation in setting precedent. The judicial branch has become an instrument for activists to pass agendas that could not be accomplished by passing laws in Congress because they lacked the support of the majority of people in the country. Rather than serving as the least powerful branch of government that acts as a check, the judicial branch has taken the power delegated to Congress and become a much more powerful branch than ever intended. The executive branch has promulgated rules which have the force of law and have circumvented the lawmaking process of Article I, thwarting again the grand design of the Constitution. These trends must stop and the plan of the Constitution reasserted. The Constitution is genius in its brevity, in its endurance, and in its forethought to limit and separate the governing powers established therein. It is an honor and a sacred duty for me to protect and uphold the Constitution in representing the people of the Fifth District here in this Congress.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, the public often has the impression that we in Congress are not caring people who work together on issues. I want to say to the American people that in the last few days, you could not find a group of people more concerned about their fellow Members than we have here. We know this hurricane is hitting North Carolina, it is likely to hit South Carolina and possibly Georgia, and I want people to know how much I appreciate Members on both sides of the aisle who have come up to me to ask what impact this is going to have on me, on my district, on the people of my district, and on North Carolina in general. It is very heartwarming to have those concerns expressed. People have said, ``We are praying for you.'' I know that is the case throughout the country, but I want to particularly say to all of my colleagues--I thanked them all personally--but to all of my colleagues, those who haven't spoken to me but have spoken to other Members, thank you very much for your concerns and prayers. I certainly will pass those along to my constituents, but I think it is important that people know we care a great deal about each other and we express that to each other.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Fairview Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for hosting its third annual Police Appreciation Day last Friday. It was my privilege to attend this inspiring and exciting event in honor of the entire Winston-Salem police force and their families. Fairview Moravian Church did an incredible job of bringing together the community to celebrate the commitment and sacrifices that law enforcement officers and their families make to protect and serve the community. Numerous local businesses also participated in the event by providing a wonderful meal and various door prizes. I commend Police Chief Catrina Thompson, along with her leadership team, for the leadership they provide the police force, and I commend and thank, with all my heart, the Winston-Salem police force and all of the men and women who make daily sacrifices to keep the community safe. They are truly a dedicated group of people. The Fifth District is fortunate to have the congregation of Fairview Moravian Church devote its time and effort to carry out this tradition to show the men and women of the police force the support they deserve every day. May God continue to bless everyone involved.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas, Mr. Arrington, for leading this Special Order and yielding me some time. Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the story of a young American entrepreneur, Eli Herman, who lives with his parents, Teresa and Ritchie Herman, on their farm in Alexander County. I met Eli and his parents at the Alexander County Draft Horse Pulling Contest recently, where he opened the contest by riding into the arena with his ponies and the American flag. It was clear from the beginning of our meeting that Eli is not a typical 11-year old boy. This young man truly embodies the American entrepreneurial spirit and exudes patriotism. At his young age, Eli has big dreams and the self-motivation he needs to accomplish them. Starting at a very young age, Eli raised his own calves and was able to earn some money from that endeavor. He made the decision to use that money to purchase ponies and a wagon. Now Eli owns 11 ponies, which he shows. He participates in events to promote American values, and will be participating in the North Carolina State Fair in October, where I know he will be a big hit. Eli's long-term dream is, one day, to follow in the footsteps of his hero, Randy Derrer, the driver of the Wells Fargo stagecoach. He has my best wishes to achieve that dream, and it is my good fortune to have met him and his parents and know that they are among the many wonderful people in the Fifth District of North Carolina that it is my privilege to represent.

Ms. FOXX

Ms. FOXX. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding time. Mr. Chair, the 115th Congress has been a landmark time for the Committee on Education and the Workforce. Committee members have come together to build the case for historic postsecondary education reforms. With more than $1.4 trillion in student debt and a skills gap that has resulted in more than 6 million unfilled jobs, we have recognized that restoring the promise of postsecondary education isn't simply a good idea; it is our responsibility. The Empowering Students Through Enhanced Financial Counseling Act recognizes that students and families are the most important players in reforming postsecondary education. Giving them all the information they need to make wise Federal financial aid decisions can put a dent in all this debt. Better financial education before a borrower signs on the dotted line will help students and protect taxpayer dollars. Knowledge really is power, especially in how we make practical financial decisions. Student borrowers and parents, if they are trying to help, should understand and control their financial situation; their financial situation should not control them. As chair of the Higher Education and Workforce Development Subcommittee, Representative Brett Guthrie has been a champion for commonsense reforms, and this legislation is the result of his leadership. I commend his work, as well as Representative Bonamici and her many Democrat colleagues for joining in this effort. Mr. Chair, I urge every Member of this body to support this legislation and make sure students and families in their districts know about it.