Stephen Fincher

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, on May 31st, 2015, two 17 year old girls from Tennessee's 8th District, Maddie Kruse and Rachel Lynch, were killed when struck by a drunk driver. The man behind the wheel was out on bond for his sixth DUI charge when he struck the van carrying Maddie and Rachel. Each of the five local courts where the driver had pleaded guilty for DUI failed to report his conviction to State or Federal criminal databases. Had they reported his convictions to the National Crime Information Center (``NCIC''), a database accessible by law enforcement officers all over the country, the driver would have faced much stiffer penalties for his additional offenses. To address some of the inherently mobile and cross-jurisdictional nature of driving, I have introduced the States against Drunk Driving Act of 2016. The SADD Act of 2016 would incentivize states to require all court clerks to report convictions for offenses involving driving under the influence to the NCIC and any applicable state-run crime information database. The benefits of information sharing are apparent in this particular case. A court prepared with a complete record of a repeat criminal offender would be better prepared to keep those drivers off the road. As my term comes to an end with the 114th Congress, I have shared this story and the legislative language with my successor, Representative-Elect David Kustoff. It is my hope that Mr. Kustoff will continue to work on this important issue so that tragic events like this are less likely to happen in the future.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and career of Mr. John Austin Werthing Sr. of Jackson, Tennessee. On June 25, 2016, hundreds of family, friends, and former students gathered for the dedication of LaBelle Street as ``John Austin Werthing, Sr. Boulevard.'' I sincerely congratulate Mr. Werthing on this great honor. Mr. Werthing was born, raised and schooled in Lexington, Tennessee and completed his education with a Chemistry degree from Lane College. Upon graduation in 1952, Mr. Werthing was drafted into the United States Army where he served two years and is a veteran of the Korean War. While in uniform, he married Sallie Russell of Jackson. The two met in chemistry class years earlier while attending Lane College. In 1954, Mr. Werthing began teaching in Lexington, Tennessee. Three years later, he moved over to Merry High School and joined the Jackson- Madison School System where he would dedicate the next 40 years of his life to educating students. Throughout his tenure, he touched the lives of thousands of students as a principal of Washington-Douglass, Merry Jr. High, Parkway Jr. High, and Northeast schools. Mr. Werthing's lifelong love for education continued as he attended several institutes including St. Louis, Tennessee State, Memphis State, and Indiana University where he earned his Master's degree in 1960. Along with education, he participated in numerous community activities including Lane Alumni, Boys and Girls Club, the Airport Authority, NAACP, and was a member of Macedonia Baptist Church for over 60 years. For his unwavering devotion to education and the children of Jackson-Madison County, Mr. Werthing certainly deserves this appreciation and recognition from his students, friends, and entire community. On behalf of Tennessee's 8th Congressional District, I would like to congratulate and wish the best of luck for all future endeavors to the family and friends of Mr. John Austin Werthing Sr.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in recognition of the life of U.S. Air Force Captain James Arch Foulks Jr. and his service as a B-29 pilot in the 372nd Bomber Squadron. On Friday, June 17, 2016, surrounded by his family, Captain Foulks was presented with nothing less than full military honors and a customary fly-over in Arlington Cemetery. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Captain Foulks made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom on October 23, 1951 during the Korean War, when his plane was shot down near the Yellow Sea. Though some of his crew survived, including a handful of Prisoners of War, he and others on his crew were listed as Missing in Action. I sincerely express my gratitude to Captain James Foulks for his service and his membership in the ranks of those who have sacrificed their lives in the name of freedom.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Lillie Kay Mitchell on being named the 2016 Germantown, Tennessee Lions Club Citizen of the Year. This award is indeed a fitting tribute for all the time and sacrifice that Ms. Mitchell has made on behalf of the people of Germantown and all of Shelby County, Tennessee. After graduating from Leadership Germantown in 2004, Ms. Mitchell has become an active member of the Alumni Association, including serving as the organization's secretary in 2010. She has spearheaded multiple projects including the annual Neighborhood Association Seminar, thus putting her experience of founding the Neshoba North Neighborhood Association to practical use for the betterment of our community. For the last 10 years, Ms. Mitchell has been a member of Germantown Public Safety Education Commission, including serving as Chair for five years. Along with completing both her CPR and CERT training, she launched Germantown's Safety City while volunteering in that capacity. Ms. Mitchell is also an energetic leader in the annual Germantown Charity Horse Show, her church, Germantown United Methodist Church, and many more philanthropic endeavors. Indeed, the Germantown Lions Club could not have made a better selection for their Citizen of the Year than Ms. Lillie Kay Mitchell. On behalf of Tennessee's 8th Congressional District, I would like to congratulate Ms. Mitchell and wish her the best of luck in the future.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, on December 18, 2015 I missed a rollcall vote. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 705 on Amendment No. 1 to the Senate Amendment of H.R. 2029 and providing for appropriations for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2016.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, this already is allowed in the current charter. I know the gentleman from Georgia wants to play political games, but this is already happening. Yes, it is. This is just another attempt to try to kill the Bank--to keep it dead, to bury it. It is sad, Mr. Chairman. We worked on this reform package--this Republican reform package--for a year and a half. Where was the gentleman from Georgia with his amendment? Mr. Mulvaney with his amendments? and the other Members in this body with their amendments during this year and a half? We didn't get to have a committee process, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Chairman, where was the process by which he could offer his amendment? No, Mr. Chairman. They wait until they could try to bury the Bank here tonight and kill thousands of jobs and reward China and Russia. We have to vote ``no'' on all of these amendments. Kill them all. Let's revive American jobs and do what is best for our constituents.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Chairman, once again, let's go back to the facts. The facts are this is a Republican reform bill. The gentleman from South Carolina is listening. This doesn't cost the taxpayer a dime. The scare tactics from my colleagues that are trying to kill the Bank are not going to work. This returns $500 million to $1 billion per year to the Treasury to help pay down the debt. My colleagues that are in opposition to this talk about us picking winners and losers, the supporters of the Ex-Im Bank. Well, do you know what? We are picking winners: American jobs. Those are the winners here. This is shameful that we are having this debate tonight at 10:00 on an issue that could have been handled in our committee a year ago. And the gentleman talks about hearings. Well, we haven't had any hearings in how many months? I don't know if we have had any this Congress. We had some last Congress. We haven't had any this Congress. This is how we fix issues. We have hearings, we have markups, we debate them in committee, and then we move items to the floor. But that didn't happen this time. So what we have is we have 10 amendments. As the gentleman from Oklahoma said a few minutes ago, the Bank is already dead. They succeeded. But they want to bury the Bank now. Let's put American jobs first and put political scorecards and trying to out-conservative each other for some ranking in some book last. Let's work for our districts and not play political games, Mr. Chairman. I urge my colleagues, once again, to vote ``no'' on all of these amendments. Let's put people back in charge.

Mr. FINCHER. I thank the gentlewoman. Mr. Chair, again, let's go over the facts. We are getting off base. The Bank doesn't lose taxpayer dollars. It returns money to the Treasury every year, $500 million to $1 billion. We are reforming. This is a Republican reform bill. We should be happy when Democrats want to cross the aisle and support Republican ideas. This is a Republican reform bill. And to the gentleman that makes the argument on this amendment, the aircraft section of the portfolio is over on collateral 1.4 to 1. These are bogus arguments. These are amendments to kill the Bank. This is sad when people put their political scorecards above their constituents. This is about jobs in all of our districts. They are not using the facts. The facts are that this creates lots of jobs at no cost, and we are reforming the Bank. Read the bill. Read the bill, Mr. Chairman, and maybe we would have more than 313 votes next time we vote on this.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Chair, to the gentlewoman's comments, this does show an attempt to kill the Bank. When we go back home to our districts, a lot of times we are on the tail end of jokes, being Congressmen and Congresswomen, and sometimes they talk about us being a little slow. So let me go over the facts one more time for the gentleman from South Carolina. The Bank doesn't cost the taxpayer a penny. We are doing more in the way of reforms than since President Reagan. It returns $500 million to $1 billion a year back to the Treasury. Now, I know that they have taken the position to kill the Bank, but this kills jobs. This is about jobs in Tennessee, jobs in California, jobs in Oklahoma, jobs in Illinois. This is not a level playing field. China, Russia, and all of these other countries are just hoping that we make the mistake and we don't reauthorize the charter of the Export-Import Bank. Let's be responsible adults. Let's not play politics as usual and worry about these outside groups and our political scores, Mr. Chairman. Isn't it sad that we would worry about some score with an outside group more than our districts and more than our constituents that have jobs because of the Export-Import Bank? We should be ashamed of ourselves. I again urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on all these amendments, and let's get to the serious business of the people's House.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Chair, again, I know great public speeches, but this is the biggest package of reforms since President Reagan. The Bank actually returns on an average of $500 million to $1 billion to the Treasury every year. It is not costing the taxpayer a dime. These are a few companies: Abro Industries, South Bend, Indiana; Auburn Leather Company, Auburn, Kentucky; Metropolitan Air Technology, Chicago, Illinois; Advanced Protection Technologies, Clearwater, Florida. Several companies, Mr. Chair, that will not be in business if we kill the Export-Import Bank. All you hear from the opposition are excuses, trying to kill the Export-Import Bank. It is a shame when the facts don't matter, Mr. Chairman, but the facts are this doesn't cost the taxpayers. The facts are we are doing more to reform the Bank than has been done in 40 years. This is a Republican reform package. Let's put the politics aside here and do what is best for our constituents, the folks back home.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the ranking member. Again, we continue to make these great speeches and get all wound up, but we don't talk about the facts. The facts are that Bank customers already have to certify. The facts are that all of the people offering the amendments want to kill the Export-Import Bank, which creates thousands of jobs. The facts are that we could have done this in committee a year ago. The facts are none of us wanted to be here tonight having this debate because we wanted to do this in regular order. But, Mr. Chairman, the facts are that, if we allow these amendments that are just aimed at killing the Export-Import Bank to pass and thousands of people are going to lose their jobs and our competitors all around the world are going to benefit, we must vote ``no.'' We need to defeat this amendment. I appreciate my buddy from South Carolina offering it, but I just think it is in the wrong order, and we need to defeat it.

Mr. FINCHER. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Madam Chair, one more time let me talk about the facts. The facts are, as the gentleman from Washington just stated, 90 percent of the Bank's transactions go to small businesses, 3,340 transactions. The facts are that section 201 in our reform bill that is actually reforming the Export-Import Bank takes the target--not the requirement, but the target--from 20 percent to 25 percent. What we need to make sure that we are focused on here tonight is not punishing people that want to grow their businesses or not trying to put a cap on people that want to create jobs. Again, I am from a little place called Frog Jump. This is not about Boeing, and this is not about GE. This is about jobs all over this country that don't cost the taxpayer one penny--not one penny--Madam Chairman. This is just about killing the Export-Import Bank and killing jobs. It breaks my heart, but we must defeat these amendments. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for yielding. A lot of times we don't see eye to eye, but we have a fair and spirited debate. This time we do, and I appreciate her willingness to support me in this effort. We have talked a lot today about many different things, but I am going to end on the note of facts. And so many times in Washington, the facts get lost. A few minutes ago, my colleague from Wisconsin, a friend of mine, one of my colleagues from Wisconsin, who probably will be the next Speaker of the House, stood up and, really, spoke against our efforts in trying to save the Export-Import Bank. I was reminded of just a few years ago, of a couple of very serious votes that happened in the House: one was the automotive bailout, and one was TARP. I have a quote from the gentleman from Wisconsin: The TARP vote was necessary in order to preserve this free enterprise system. If we fail to do the right thing, heaven help us. Now, Mr. Speaker, let me say, none of us are perfect. I am a long way from perfect. You ask my wife and she will tell you. But we are here to make the government work better, make it more accountable, make it smaller, and make sure the environment in the country is better for job creation and the job creators to create jobs. That is what the Export-Import Bank does. The facts are, it doesn't cost the taxpayer a dime. The facts are, it returns money to the Treasury every year. The facts are, this is a Republican reform bill. We are fixing almost everything that has been-- almost every problem that has been raised we are addressing in this reform bill. Those are the facts, Mr. Speaker. Eighty years old; 60 other countries have them. This is about us being competitive all around the world and making sure that we keep American jobs here at home. I urge my colleagues today, on both sides of the aisle, let's put American workers first. Let's make sure that we are working for the folks back home in our districts. Let's put these politics aside for today and put the country forward.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield my remaining 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Lucas).

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I have one remaining speaker. How much time do I have remaining? I want to reserve the right to close.

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

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Maxine Waters).

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Kinzinger), who has done great work on this supportive piece of legislation.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer).

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Even though discharge petitions have rarely been invoked in modern history, they nevertheless embody democracy and its fundamental principle of majority rules, a principle that the gentleman has already talked about earlier. This discharge process offers the only means by which a majority of House Members can secure a vote on a measure that is opposed by the chairman of the committee of jurisdiction and House leadership. What makes the gentleman's remarks a few minutes ago particularly ironic is the fact that the discharge rule evolved from a precursor rule adopted in 1910 as part of the Cannon revolt. The Cannon revolt was a revolt against Speaker Joseph Cannon. It was a remarkable event in the history of this House and is relevant today in more ways than one. Speaker Cannon was, at the time, the longest-serving Republican Speaker in the history of the House, serving as Speaker from 1903 to 1911. Referred to as ``Uncle Joe,'' Speaker Cannon ruled with an iron fist. Historians have not painted him as a great legislator. No. Historians have painted him as a great obstructionist. He blocked legislation, including child labor laws and the right for women to vote. What was his reasoning for blocking this progressive legislation? ``I am tired of listening to all this babble for reform,'' he said. Several times, Republicans tried unsuccessfully to curb Speaker Cannon's broad powers, which included his chairmanship of the Rules Committee and his power to dole out committee assignments, among other powers. But that changed in March of 1910 when 42 Republicans joined with the Democrats introducing a resolution containing a rules package that would strip Speaker Cannon of his many powers. Speaker Cannon tried to filibuster this revolt, speaking from the chair for 26 straight hours while allies tried to round up additional allies who were out celebrating St. Patrick's Day, but it didn't work. Speaker Cannon finally ruled the resolution out of order, but the House overruled the Chair, thereby adopting far-reaching reforms, including the precursor of today's discharge rule. I ask my colleagues to join me in returning power to rank-and-file Members by voting on the motion to discharge and supporting American jobs. With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, there has been a lot of conversation here tonight about what we are doing and how this happened and what we are going to do next. Mr. Speaker, the reason why we are here tonight, I didn't sign up to come to Washington from Frog Jump, the place I live, to do discharge petitions. The reason I did come to Washington was to work for my district and try to make sure that hardworking men and women all over this country and my district have jobs. Mr. Speaker, that is what the Export-Import Bank does. It helps create thousands of jobs, specifically, 200,000 jobs each year. Now, let me be clear because there has been a lot of misconception or misperception, whatever you want to say, about what this costs the taxpayer. Mr. Speaker, this is at no cost to the U.S. taxpayer. In fact, the Export-Import Bank returned $675 million to the U.S. Treasury in fiscal year 2014. In 2013, it returned more than $1 billion, Mr. Speaker. This is not a minority procedure, this is not a Democrat procedure that is happening tonight. This is a Republican-led position. This is a Republican reform bill that we are doing. More reforms than have been done in probably 50 years. I haven't looked specifically, but I think President Reagan did a lot, and other Presidents have done them. But this is about jobs, Mr. Speaker. Think about this. We go home to our districts every weekend, and we talk to constituents every weekend. Think about constituents that come up to us and say: Congressman, have you balanced the budget? We say: No, we are working on it, but we haven't done it yet. I don't want to offend any of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. I am probably going to, but I don't mean it. Our constituents say: Well, Congressman, have you repealed ObamaCare? I say: Well, no, not yet, but we are working on it. Then they look at us and they say: Tell me, Congressman, you have done away with the only thing that we know of that helps create thousands of jobs all over this country and possibly would help create the job that they had because of some ideology or some conservative group that is scoring a Member of Congress, and now I don't have a job, and I am on unemployment. Mr. Speaker, our constituents and hardworking Americans deserve better. They deserve better than Members of Congress playing political games because of scorecards. I serve under one of the most principled chairmen, probably the most principled chairman in Congress, and I agree with him on 99.9 percent of everything that we do in our committee. We just happen to disagree on this one issue. My chairman is passionate and principled, and I never would doubt that. Mr. Speaker, I won't take much more time. If America is going to get out of the hole we are in as a country, then Congress must start working together. Mr. Speaker, we should applaud. We should be happy on the day--and I don't want to offend the gentlewoman from California who spoke earlier, but we should be happy on the day when Democrats want to join Republicans on legislation that helps move the country forward. They are clapping, that is awesome. We are trying to do what we think is best, and the Export-Import Bank doesn't cost the taxpayers a dime. It helps create thousands of jobs all over this country and makes sure we don't lose thousands of jobs to 60 other countries that have these credit agencies. Mr. Speaker, I don't know what else to say. This is regular order, this closed rule. I am going to close in 10 seconds, but this is all about regular order. We could have had amendments. We could have had a thousand amendments in our committee, but we chose to go this route. We didn't choose it. Some of us chose to go this route. We are dealing with this today. Our constituents deserve better, and we have to do better. With that, Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the rule and the underlying bill. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. parliamentary inquiries

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, I think my friend from South Carolina, the gentleman, is out of order. This is regular order. We are moving on as procedure.

Mr. FINCHER. Yes.

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 2 of rule XV, I call up motion No. 2, to discharge the Committee on Rules from the further consideration of House Resolution 450, providing for the consideration of the bill (H.R. 597) to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank of the United States, and for other purposes.

Mr. FINCHER

Mr. FINCHER. Mr. Speaker, on September 18, 2015 I was unavoidably detained during a series of Roll Call votes. Had I been present, I would have voted ``NAY'' on Roll Call number 504 the Motion to recommit H.R. 3134 with instructions. I would have voted ``YEA'' on Roll Call number 505 Passage of H.R. 3134 the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, and Roll Call number 506 Passage of H.R. 3504 Passage of the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protect Act.