Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa), who is the chairman of the Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee and a strong supporter of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, 30 seconds, is that the total amount of time the other side has?

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. From the founding of the American Republic, this country has been engaged in a profound debate about the responsibilities and the limits of our Federal Government. The tension between these two essential functions of the government did not suddenly spring into existence in this age of cyber attacks and terrorist plots. Americans have long grappled with their need for security and their innate desire to protect their personal liberty from government intrusion. Benjamin Franklin is often quoted as saying: Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. After the horrific attacks on September 11, the country was determined not to allow such an attack to occur again. The changes we made then to our intelligence laws helped keep us safe from implacable enemies. Today, we renew our commitment to our Nation's security and the safety of the American people. We also make this pledge that the United States of America will remain a nation whose government answers to the will of its people. This country must be what it always has been, a beacon of freedom to the world, a place where the principles of the Founders--including the commitment to individual liberties--will continue to live, protected and nourished for future generations. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bipartisan legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Forbes), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and an original cosponsor of this legislation.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I yield to the next speaker, I want to say to him and his colleagues on the House Intelligence Committee that they did marvelous work in protecting not only the national security, but the civil liberties of Americans. They worked with the Judiciary Committee together to prove that we can have very high levels of civil liberty and very high levels of national security. I thank Chairman Nunes and his staff for that outstanding work. Now, it is my pleasure to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Nunes), the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd).

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 255, I call up the bill (H.R. 2048) to reform the authorities of the Federal Government to require the production of certain business records, conduct electronic surveillance, use pen registers and trap and trace devices, and use other forms of information gathering for foreign intelligence, counterterrorism, and criminal purposes, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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.R. 2048, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Mimi Walters), a member of the House Judiciary Committee and an original cosponsor of this bill.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, at this time, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Sensenbrenner), the chairman of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigation Subcommittee and the chief sponsor of this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, as we speak, thousands--no, millions--of telephone metadata records are flowing into the NSA on a daily basis, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Despite changes to the NSA bulk telephone metadata program announced by President Obama last year, the bulk collection of the records has not ceased and will not cease unless and until Congress acts to shut it down. Not even last week's decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals will end this collection. The responsibility falls to us, and today we must answer the call and the will of the American people to do just that. When we set out to reform this program 1 year ago, I made the pledge to my colleagues in Congress and to the American people that Americans' liberty and America's security can coexist, that these fundamental concepts are not mutually exclusive. They are embedded in the very fabric that makes this Nation great and that makes this Nation an example for the world. Mr. Speaker, the legislation before the House today--H.R. 2048, the USA FREEDOM Act--protects these pillars of American democracy. It affirmatively ends the indiscriminate bulk collection of telephone metadata. But it goes much further than this. It prohibits the bulk collection of all records under section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, as well as under the FISA pen register trap and trace device statute and the National Security Letter statutes. In place of the current bulk telephone metadata program, the USA FREEDOM Act creates a targeted program that allows the intelligence community to collect non-content call detail records held by the telephone companies, but only with the prior approval of the FISA court and subject to the ``special selection term'' limitation. The records provided to the government in response to queries will be limited to two ``hops,'' and the government's handling of any records it acquires will be governed by minimization procedures approved by the FISA court. The USA FREEDOM Act prevents government overreach by strengthening the definition of ``specific selection term''--the mechanism used to prohibit bulk collection--to ensure the government can collect the information it needs to further a national security investigation while also prohibiting large-scale, indiscriminate collection, such as data from an entire State, city, or ZIP Code. The USA FREEDOM Act strengthens civil liberties and privacy protections by authorizing the FISA court to appoint an individual to serve as amicus curiae from a pool of experts to advise the court on matters of privacy and civil liberties, communications technology, and other technical or legal matters. It also codifies important procedures for recipients of National Security Letters to challenge nondisclosure requests. The bill increases transparency by requiring declassification of all significant FISA court opinions and provides procedures for certified questions of law to the FISA court of review and the United States Supreme Court. Additionally, Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2048 requires the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence to provide the public with detailed information about how the intelligence community uses these national security authorities, and provides even more robust transparency reporting by America's technology companies. The USA FREEDOM Act enhances America's national security by closing loopholes that make it difficult for the government to track foreign terrorists and spies as they enter or leave the country; clarifying the application of FISA to foreign targets who facilitate the international proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; increasing the maximum penalties for material support of a foreign terrorist organization; and expanding the sunsets of the expiring PATRIOT Act provisions to December 2019. From beginning to end, this is a carefully crafted, bipartisan bill that enjoys wide support. I would like to thank the sponsor of this legislation, Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner; full committee Ranking Member John Conyers; and Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerry Nadler for working together with me on this important bipartisan legislation. I also want to thank the staffs of these Members for the many hours, weeks, yes, even months of hard work they have put into this effort. Furthermore, I would like to thank my staff, Caroline Lynch, the chief counsel of the Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee, and Jason Herring, as well as Aaron Hiller with Mr. Conyers and Bart Forsyth with Mr. Sensenbrenner for their long hours and steadfast dedication to this legislation. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Washington, DC, May 4, 2015. Hon. Bob Goodlatte, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Goodlatte: On April 30, 2015, the Committee on the Judiciary ordered H.R. 2048, the USA Freedom Act of 2015, reported to the House. As you know, H.R. 2048 contains provisions that amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is within the jurisdiction of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. As a result of your prior consultation with the Committee, and in order to expedite the House's consideration of H.R. 2048, the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will waive further consideration of the bill. The Committee takes this action only with the understanding that this procedural route should not be construed to prejudice the jurisdictional interest of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence over this bill or any similar bill. Furthermore, this waiver should not be considered as precedent for consideration of matters of jurisdictional interest to the Committee in the future, including in connection with any subsequent consideration of the bill by the House. The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence will seek conferees on the bill during any House-Senate conference that may be convened on this legislation. Finally, I would ask that you include a copy of our exchange of letters on this matter in the Congressional Record during the House debate on H.R. 2048. I appreciate the constructive work between our committees on this matter and thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Devin Nunes, Chairman.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 255, I call up the bill (H.R. 36) to amend title 18, United States Code, to protect pain-capable unborn children, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

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.R. 36, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Since the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade, medical knowledge regarding the development of unborn babies and their capacities at various stages of growth has advanced dramatically. To give you a sense of how much technology has advanced, here is the issue of The New York Times announcing the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. It contains ads for the latest in advanced technology, including a computer the size of a file cabinet you could rent for $3,000 a month that only had one-thousandths the memory of a modern cell phone and a basic AM radio that was as big as your hand. Thirty-five years later, in the age of ultrasound pictures, the same newspaper would report on the latest advanced research on the pain experienced by unborn children, focusing on the research of Dr. Sunny Anand, an Oxford-trained neonatal pediatrician who held an appointment at Harvard Medical School. As Dr. Anand has testified regarding abortions: ``If the fetus is beyond 20 weeks of gestation, I would assume that there will be pain caused to the fetus, and I believe it will be severe and excruciating pain.'' A few years later, the terrifying facts uncovered in the grand jury report regarding the prosecution of late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell would contain references to a neonatal expert who said the cutting of babies' spinal cords intended to be late-term aborted would cause them ``a tremendous amount of pain.'' Congress has the power and the responsibility to acknowledge these developments in our understanding of the ability of unborn children to feel pain by prohibiting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, postfertilization, the point at which scientific evidence shows the unborn can experience great suffering. The bill before us would do just that. It also includes provisions to protect the life of the mother and additional exceptions for cases of rape and incest. Some Members, last Congress and today, have called this bill extreme; but such claims are clearly false, as evidenced by the polls, which show astounding support for this bill. A Quinnipiac poll found that 62 percent of people surveyed supported a ban on abortions after 20 weeks or earlier. A clear majority of men, women, Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, married people, and single people support a ban on abortion after 20 weeks or earlier. Among women, 68 percent of women support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks or earlier, including 66 percent of single women and 71 percent of married women. Even 49 percent of the Democrats polled support a ban on abortion at 20 weeks or earlier, significantly more than those who opposed it. A Washington Post poll similarly found 66 percent support for this bill, and a Huffington Post poll found support at 59 percent. Today, America is one of the few countries on Earth, including North Korea and China, that allows permissive late-term abortions. These polls show the American people want to change that. Today is the second anniversary of Kermit Gosnell's conviction for first degree murder. Following the Gosnell trial, we were all reminded that when late-term babies are taken from the womb and cut with scissors, they whimper and cry and flinch from pain. Unborn babies, when cut inside the womb, also whimper and cry and flinch from pain. Delivered or not, babies are babies, and they can feel pain at least by 20 weeks. It is time to welcome young children who can feel pain into the human family, and this bill, at last, will do just that. Finally, I would note that it is rare for the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office to be so confident that a bill would save lives that it makes an estimate as to the number of lives that would be saved were the bill to be enacted; but the CBO did just that, conservatively estimating that this bill, if enacted, would save 2,500 lives each year. It could save many thousands more. Let that sink in for a moment. This bill, if enacted, would probably save, at a minimum, thousands of lives per year. It would give America the gift of thousands more children and, consequently, thousands more mothers and thousands more fathers, with all the wondrous human gifts they will bring to the world in so many amazing forms, including their own children, for generations to come. I congratulate Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice Chairman Trent Franks for introducing this vital legislation, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black) be permitted to control the remainder of the time as my designee.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce legislation to transfer land from the U.S. Department of Interior to Rockingham County, Virginia. For over 25 years, Rockingham County, Virginia has managed a small area of land in my congressional district as if it belonged to the County to meet the needs of the community and serve the public good. Although this land was already transferred from the Federal Government to the County, it was not done effectively. This legislation will finalize the efforts of a previous Congress and fully transfer this land to the County, while continuing to meet public needs. Since 1989, a little over 3 acres of land and its associated buildings, previously wholly held by the Federal Government, have been maintained by Rockingham County and the Plains Area Daycare Center. In that year, the Department of the Interior deeded this land, which it no longer used, to Rockingham County for public good. Prior to this official declaration, Rockingham County had already been maintaining the lands around the facility. The land and building had been used as a garage and maintenance facility for the National Forest Service. However, it was no longer being utilized, and the County was performing upkeep on the land. PL 101-479 was approved in the 101st Congress to allow the buildings on this land to be used for the particular use of a non-profit day care that serves the County. Unfortunately, because of the narrow way Public Law 101-479 was drafted, any extension or maintenance of the physical structures has required approval by the Department of the Interior. Given that the building is used for a child care facility, this impedes the ability of the day care to move efficiently to make any necessary upgrades. The building is currently in need of repairs; however, because of the terms of the deed, the daycare center has been unable to get a loan to complete the needed renovations. To be clear, the center and the playground are the sole reason that this previously abandoned government land is being used by the public today. The Federal Government no longer has a vested interest in the land. Mr. Speaker, my legislation, which was approved by the House of Representatives in nearly a unanimous manner in the 113th Congress as H.R. 5162, is a simple formality. I have been pleased to visit the Plains Area Daycare Center on many occasions. By passing this legislation and allowing Rockingham County more authority over the land, it will ensure that more children and more of the community will be served by this land. I urge swift consideration of this bill in the 114th Congress.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Chair may postpone further proceedings today on a motion to recommit as though under clause 8 of rule XX.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, as the Roanoke community prepares to celebrate the 25th Annual Local Colors Festival, I want to take this opportunity to express my deepest thanks to my constituent, Pearl Fu, for her leadership of the Roanoke Valley's annual celebration of our diverse heritage. Pearl is a truly special individual and has played an instrumental role in bringing the Roanoke Valley together over the last quarter century. She has offered Local Colors as a special event to remind us that, as Americans, we are one country out of many nationalities that have preceded us on these shores. In Local Colors, she solidified a celebration of the varied cultures that make up the Roanoke region. She helped increase awareness of our history--a melting pot of origins, races, and ethnic backgrounds. Late last year, Pearl marked the culmination of her leadership of this event. Local Colors is known by many for what they encounter at the festival--a day to share food and fellowship; enjoy music, arts, and crafts; and, experience the languages, attire, and traditions of the more than 100 countries whose roots have been planted in Roanoke and its neighboring cities, towns, and counties. However, I also want to recognize Pearl for what she did day in and day out for so many years. Through Local Colors, she worked with many other individuals and organizations to offer language translations and conflict resolution, publicity in the local media, and multicultural education for schoolchildren, community organizations, government officials, and businesses. Without Pearl at the helm, none of this would have been possible. I fondly remember selecting Local Colors as a ``Local Legacy'' project in 1999, bringing national recognition from the Library of Congress that has permitted so many people around our nation and around the world to experience what Local Colors is all about. They can visit the Library of Congress, view the digital recognition on the Internet, or visit the festival to see all that it has become. Local Colors is truly one of America's proud traditions. Pearl can stand assured that she has been responsible for its success and the community is thankful to her for helping them experience such a memorable event over so many years. As Pearl steps away from the leadership of Local Colors, I and so many others will continue to support and experience Local Colors as a way of showing the world that we are truly one nation. I extend my gratitude to Pearl for making it all possible for us and for her deep spirit of goodwill.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and if the gentlewoman from Texas is prepared to yield back, I am prepared to do the same.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 665) to encourage, enhance, and integrate Blue Alert plans throughout the United States in order to disseminate information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty, is missing in connection with the officer's official duties, or an imminent and credible threat that an individual intends to cause the serious injury or death of a law enforcement officer is received, and for other purposes.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. This week in Washington, D.C., we are celebrating National Police Week. This annual tradition, which draws tens of thousands of law enforcement officers from around the country, is a time to celebrate the critical role that police play in maintaining a free and safe society. It is also a time to mourn our Nation's fallen heroes. Last year, 127 men and women gave their lives while protecting Americans' public safety, including three officers in my home State of Virginia. The average age of these fallen officers is just 40 years old, which is too young to be taken from their loved ones. The Blue Alert system, which is currently in place in 20 States, is a cooperative effort among local, State, and Federal authorities, law enforcement agencies, and the general public. S. 665, the Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu National Blue Alert Act of 2015, seeks to expand on these existing programs by encouraging an enhanced nationwide system for the distribution of time-sensitive information to help identify and locate a violent suspect when a law enforcement officer is injured or killed in the line of duty or when there is an imminent and credible threat against an officer. Similar to the AMBER Alerts for missing children and Silver Alerts for missing seniors, Blue Alerts broadcast information about suspects, including a description of an offender who is still at large and, if available, a description of the offender's vehicle and license plate information. Like AMBER Alerts, Blue Alerts are intended to hinder the offender's ability to escape and will facilitate their capture. S. 665 directs the Justice Department to designate an existing employee as the Blue Alert national coordinator, who will establish voluntary guidelines for the program and encourage those States that have not already done so to develop Blue Alert plans. The House has passed similar versions of this legislation in the past two Congresses, but those bills were not taken up by the Senate. The version of the Blue Alert bill that we consider today is different for two important reasons: First, unlike the Blue Alert bills from prior Congresses that passed this body only to wither away in the Senate, S. 665 will be sent directly to the President's desk for signature following House passage. I urge him to sign this legislation without delay. Second, S. 665 is named after New York City Police Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, who, in December 2014, were murdered in cold blood by a malevolent killer who traveled from Baltimore to Brooklyn with the stated intention of shooting police officers. Officer Ramos left behind a wife and 13-year-old son. Officer Liu left behind his wife of just 2 months. This bill, a tribute to their service and sacrifice, will hopefully spare other families from the pain of losing a loved one. I thank Senator Cardin, Mr. Reichert of Washington, and the many bipartisan cosponsors of both the House and Senate bills for their work on this important legislation. I also thank the many outside law enforcement organizations that have tirelessly promoted the Blue Alert program over the past several years. This bill reaffirms Congress' commitment to ensure the safety of the men and women in our Nation's law enforcement communities and the citizens they serve and protect every day. I urge my colleagues to support this bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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 S. 665, currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Reichert), the chief sponsor of the companion House legislation.