Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Chair, I understand that the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) has the right to close.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Chairman, I raise a point of order against the provision beginning with the colon on page 327, line 22, and continuing through the word ``crime'' on page 328, line 2, of the Rules Committee print because it violates clause 2 of House rule XXI. Under clause 2(b) of rule XXI, a provision that changes existing law may not be reported in a general appropriations bill. Section 510 of Division C provides that 5 percent of the amounts available for obligation from the Department of Justice's Crime Victims Fund be made available for grants to Indian tribal governments in fiscal year 2018. This provision violates rule XXI because it changes existing law. The Victims of Crime Act already provides a statutory distribution formula of the Crime Victims Fund for fiscal year 2018. Section 510 would change the formula. This statutory formula is squarely in the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. As this amendment would change current law by altering a statutory formula, it is a violation of clause 2(b) of rule XXI. Therefore, I insist on my point of order.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, For 125 years, the city of Buena Vista, Virginia, has stood at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains by the Maury River. Though Buena Vista has seen many changes during this time, I have always known this community to be home to hardworking people who are eager to welcome a neighbor and lend a helping hand. The city's origins can be traced back to the opening of a simple tannery by Benjamin Moomaw. In the early days, the community was known by several names, including Green Forest--a fitting name given the beautiful surrounding landscape. On February 15, 1892, Buena Vista was granted its city charter. Buena Vista is well-known for a number of outdoor recreation opportunities, like the 315-acre Glen Maury Park. Glen Maury Park hosts numerous music events each year, including the Maury River Fiddlers' Convention and the annual Beach Music Festival. Buena Vista is also an Appalachian Trail community and a welcome respite for many through hikers. Whether giving a lift to an AT hiker or welcoming fiddlers to the competition stage, Buena Vista residents take pride in their city. Community is built and evidenced by the spirit of volunteerism which reigns across many projects and programs that benefit both residents and visitors, like arts promotions, beautification efforts, and local endeavors to protect historic structures. Education has long been a hallmark of life in Buena Vista. The campus of Southern Virginia University, a private, 4-year liberal arts college, is located in the city. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Buena Vista is also home to Parry McCluer High School, the Fighting Blues! Generations of former students come together during each sports season to support their team with resounding, ``Go, Blue'' cheers. Academic success is celebrated as well, not only by parents but by the community, witnessed by the multitude of academic scholarships presented to PMHS graduates each year. The annual Labor Day Parade is a true Buena Vista tradition. Since the initial Labor Day Parade held in the early 1970s, folks from across the Commonwealth have gathered to watch as the parade marched down Magnolia Avenue from downtown Buena Vista to Glen Maury Park. It's traditionally known as the kickoff to the political season leading up to the November elections, and I always look forward to the parade and the many friends I see along the way. The city of Buena Vista is a special place to me. After marrying my wife of more than 40 years, Maryellen, we both worked in the Buena Vista community. Maryellen was a secretary at First National Exchange Bank, and I painted school buses at the Bluebird Factory. We will never forget our experiences there. The city has also endured several horrific flooding events over the years. Working with its partners, the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Buena Vista implemented the James R. Olin Flood Control Project, and it was my pleasure to lend a hand in that effort. Through it all, the city of Buena Vista has remained steadfast for 125 years. I am proud to represent Buena Vista. I congratulate the city and its people on this milestone, and I wish them great prosperity for the future.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I have worked long and hard to preserve the availability of fair, affordable arbitration to consumers. Hearings before the Judiciary Committee have demonstrated repeatedly that arbitration allows consumers to resolve disputes quickly, fairly and at lower costs than litigation. It also helps consumers to preserve relationships with companies with whom they contract, by avoiding the acrimony of litigation. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's Arbitration Rule threatens to undo all of that, not to benefit consumers, but to benefit one special interest--the plaintiffs class-action trial bar. By prohibiting consumers and companies from contracting to arbitrate individual matters, rather than litigate disputes through class actions, it ensures a steady stream of class-action litigation--and handsome class-action attorneys' fees--for the trial bar. But for consumers, it burdens their freedom of contract, subjects them to long, drawn-out class-action litigation, and sets up scenarios in which large portions of any recoveries they obtain will go, not to them, but to class-action lawyers with whom they are forced to deal. For companies, meanwhile, the Rule threatens to force them into choosing whether to continue to fund their arbitration programs or, instead, to shutter those programs to preserve funds for high-dollar class-action defense. I urge my colleagues to vote for this resolution and against the CFPB's special-interest, anti-consumer rule.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee for yielding and for his longtime work on this authorization. Authorizing all of the Cabinet Departments is important, but it is crucial that Congress reauthorize the Department of Homeland Security. The American people must have faith that DHS will serve to protect this Nation, and this authorization demonstrates Congress' commitment to the critical missions being performed daily by this diverse Department. This bill is the product of collaboration between several committees, and the Judiciary Committee greatly contributed to this bill as it authorizes three component agencies within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee: the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States Secret Service. Make no mistake: we authorize the Department and its agencies to carry out each and every duty and utilize every tool necessary to keep America safe. While the bill does contain much of the authorizing language as reported out of the Judiciary Committee, it does not reflect all of our important work on the ICE and USCIS authorizations. It is critical that these two DHS components have all the tools necessary to carry out their functions. H.R. 2825 should have explicitly included such tools as the clear congressional intent to ensure that these agencies have them at their disposal in order to enforce the laws. I do support this bill because it is an important step in ensuring that ICE and USCIS can continue to perform at a very high level. This Congress must soon finish the job, however, and ensure that these agencies have the resources and legislative support that they need to enforce our immigration laws in the interior of the United States. The House must pass the Judiciary Committee's enforcement bills, including the Davis-Oliver Act, the Protection of Children Act, the Refugee Program Integrity Restoration Act, and the Legal Workforce Act, among others. I intend to see these bills on the House floor in the near future, and I look forward to fulfilling our promise so that DHS can truly fulfill its mission.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to say that this has been a good bipartisan collaborative effort. I thank Minority Whip Hoyer, Congresswoman Comstock, and the other Members from the region for their work to assure that safety measures do move forward with regard to the Metro here in the Washington, D.C., area. And this legislation is critical to accomplish that, so I urge my colleagues to support it. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time

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

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

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. H.J. Res. 76 grants Congress' approval to the Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate Compact, an interstate compact entered into recently by the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The safety record of the D.C.-area Metrorail system and other public transit systems in our country has been a matter of increasing concern for some time. To better address public transit safety needs, including metrorails, Congress included in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or MAP Act or MAP-21, and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, or FAST Act, provisions strengthening the Federal Transit Administration's safety oversight authority and related safety requirements for public transit systems. Pursuant to these acts and through the Metrorail Safety Commission Interstate Compact, Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia have committed to establish a new Washington Metrorail Safety Commission to act as the State safety oversight authority for the Metrorail system. The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has informed the Judiciary Committee that the new compact's provisions satisfy the requirements of the relevant Federal statutes. The jurisdictions completed, in March of this year, their adoption by legislation of their respective compact instruments. In the meanwhile, however, due to delays in the adoption of the instruments, the FTA invoked on February 9, 2017, authority to suspend the distribution of transit funds to the jurisdictions until the new safety commission is established. By passage of H.J. Res. 76, we can hasten the day by which Metrorail safety will be improved and funds obligated for other impacted transit systems in the compact jurisdictions can be made available for release. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 76) granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to a enter into a compact relating to the establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, as amended.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock).

Mr. GOODLATTE. 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.J. Res. 76, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. 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 materials on H.J. Res. 92, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, H.J. Res. 92, introduced by my Virginia colleague, Representative Comstock, concerns the Washington-area transit system. The resolution makes needed administrative amendments to the longstanding Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Regulation Compact. These amendments are required under section 3026 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation, or FAST, Act. That section transferred from the Administrator of General Services to the Secretary of Transportation sole authority to appoint Federal directors to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority board of directors. It further required Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia to adopt any necessary conforming amendments to the Washington Area Transit Regulation Compact. The jurisdictions adopted the needed amendments as required. H.J. Res. 92 accordingly grants Congress' approval to the amendments. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I thank Members on both sides of the aisle, including Congresswoman Comstock, for their good work on this. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Mrs. Comstock), who is the chief sponsor of the legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this fine legislation. I thank everybody for their good work, and I yield back the balance of my time

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the joint resolution (H.J. Res. 92) granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to amend the Washington Area Transit Regulation Compact.

Mr. GOODLATTE

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler), the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to thank Members on both sides of the aisle for their hard work on this, especially the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler) for taking the lead on this, also the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Clay), as well as the ranking member of the full Judiciary Committee, Mr. Conyers; and of the subcommittee, Ms. Jackson Lee; and the subcommittee chair, Mr. Sensenbrenner. Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to support this very important legislation that will help direct important resources to State and local governments to reduce demand for sex trafficking, and help to maybe protect and save a few young people and other people from this horrible crime. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2480) to amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to include an additional permissible use of amounts provided as grants under the Byrne JAG program, and for other purposes.