Blake Farenthold

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I do urge all Members to join me in support of this bill. I yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3564) to extend the Public Interest Declassification Act of 2000 until 2014 and for other purposes.

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

Mr. FARENTHOLD. I yield myself such time as I may consume. S. 3564, the Public Interest Declassification Board Act, reauthorizes the Public Interest Declassification Board, or PIDB, for an additional 2 years. Without congressional action, the PIDB will sunset on December 31, 2012. The PIDB is an advisory committee tasked with improving and modernizing the process used to classify and declassify government information. The volume of classified information has skyrocketed in recent years, due to the rapid increase in electronic communications, as well as an institutional bias that prefers overclassification as a risk-avoidance strategy. Over classification can unduly hinder much- needed public transparency and the ability to rapidly share information across the government. The chief goals of the PIDB are to help develop effective modern standards and processes for classification and declassification to address the problems by overclassification and promote the fullest possible public access to national security records through efficient and timely declassification systems. S. 3564 will further the cause of transparency by maintaining an expert advisory group to ensure the executive branch is classifying and declassifying records in a timely and responsible manner. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. As we've heard, this bill promotes bipartisan- supported transparency in the government. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of the Public Interest Declassification Board Reauthorization Act of 2012, S. 3564, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6016) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide for administrative leave requirements with respect to Senior Executive Service employees, and for other purposes, as amended.

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

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Earlier this year, the Committee on Government Oversight and Reform held a hearing concerning the wasteful spending that occurred during the planning and execution of the General Services Administration 2010 Western Regional Conference. As you may recall, the GSA spent more than $820,000 on a conference originally budgeted at $250,000. The GSA has no triggers or controls in place to stop this flagrant overspending. GSA employees, including Jeff Neely, a career member of the Senior Executive Service, failed to follow GSA policy, Federal procurement law, and basic common sense. H.R. 6016 helps ensure Senior Executive Service, or SES, employees are held accountable for their actions. It allows an SES employee to be fired for misappropriation of funds and gives the agency head discretion to place an SES on unpaid leave, all while maintaining that employee's existing due process rights. I'd like to commend my colleague, Mr. Kelly, for his work on this bill, and urge all Members to support its adoption. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. At this time I yield such time as he may consume to my friend, colleague, and neighbor on the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Kelly).

Mr. FARENTHOLD. At this point, Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and my colleague on the Government Oversight and Reform Committee, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mica).

Mr. FARENTHOLD. As we have heard from both sides of the aisle, this is a bill designed to prevent the worst kind of overspending, one of the worst examples that we've seen. I understand Mr. Clay and agree with his concerns that we cannot violate the due process rights of government employees. We've worked to protect that, but we've also worked very hard to do the job that we were elected to do, and that is to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money. This bill, the Government Employees Accountability Act, H.R. 6016, Mr. Kelly's bill, does just that; and I urge my colleagues to support the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4062) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1444 Main Street in Ramona, California, as the ``Nelson `Mac' MacWilliams Post Office Building''.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. 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 materials on H.R. 4062.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.R. 4062, introduced by the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter), would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 1444 Main Street in Ramona, California, as the Nelson ``Mac'' MacWilliams Post Office Building. The bill was introduced on February 16. Mr. Speaker, Mr. MacWilliams served in the U.S. Navy for 22 years and retired as a Navy chief in 1999. Upon returning to civilian life, he was a small business owner. Mr. MacWilliams served his community in San Diego in many ways, including with the Ramona Chamber of Commerce. He is responsible for assisting local fire victims and military personnel in Mr. Hunter's district office. Sadly, nearly a year ago, on December 20, 2011, Mr. MacWilliams passed away. He is remembered fondly by his wife, brother, sons, daughters, and several grandchildren. Mr. Speaker, Mr. MacWilliams is a very worthy designee of this postal facility naming, and I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. At this time I'd like to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter).

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I, too, urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4062, the Nelson ``Mac'' MacWilliams Post Office Building naming, and yield back the remainder of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6587) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 225 Simi Village Drive in Simi Valley, California, as the ``Postal Inspector Terry Asbury Post Office Building''.

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

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to my colleague, the gentleman from California (Mr. Gallegly).

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I urge all the Members to support the passage of H.R. 6587. I can think of no more fitting a way to honor Postal Inspector Asbury than naming this building after him. I do urge all Members to support passage and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. FARENTHOLD

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6379) to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6239 Savannah Highway in Ravenel, South Carolina, as the ``Representative Curtis B. Inabinett, Sr. Post Office''.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 6379.

Mr. FARENTHOLD. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6379, introduced by the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), would designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 6239 Savannah Highway in Ravenel, South Carolina, as the Representative Curtis B. Inabinett, Sr. Post Office. This bill was introduced on September 12. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Inabinett is a longstanding and faithful citizen of South Carolina. He was born there in 1931 and attended grade school, college, and graduate school in the State. Later, he taught at Baptist High School in Charleston County and was appointed to the Charleston County Election Commission. He became the mayor of Ravenel, South Carolina, and joined the South Carolina House of Representatives where he served until 2001. Mr. Speaker, Representative Inabinett is a worthy designee of this postal facility naming, and I urge all Members to join me in support of this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.