Bob Goodlatte

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 180) 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, as amended.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, America's workers and families are in a jobs depression. Since 2009, 9.5 million people have dropped out of the workforce. America's workforce participation rate is the lowest since Jimmy Carter was President. Millions looking for full-time work can find only part-time jobs. Overreaching Federal regulation is a big reason for this jobs disaster. The Obama administration's onslaught of new major regulation is unprecedented. Every day, Federal agencies erect more roadblocks to economic growth and a jobs recovery. The House Judiciary Committee is working hard to provide relief. It passed the REINS Act last month and is at work on other groundbreaking legislation to reduce unneeded regulation. This legislation is critical to the growth and recovery America needs, and the Judiciary Committee will do all it can to achieve it.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of legislation to give the FAA and DOT flexibility to use unobligated funds to ensure the safety of our nation's air transportation system. Specifically I rise to affirm the intent of this legislation that grants the Secretary of Transportation the ability to use unobligated balances of the Airport Improvement Program account to prevent the closure of 149 contract air traffic control towers and halt the furloughs of air traffic controllers. Our nation's air transportation system is a comprehensive network of intertwined departments, one of which is the air traffic control towers who guide our pilots safely between airports. I want to be very clear, maintaining service at all contract air traffic control towers is intrinsic to the authority given in this legislation to ensure a safe and efficient air transportation system. Many Members of Congress have expressed grave concerns over the closure of contract towers and furloughs of air traffic controllers, both of which contribute to the overall safety of our nation's air transportation system. I should also clearly state that the inaction of the Department of Transportation to request sequester reprogramming authority and maintain some level of service at all contract towers has led to this legislation. The safety and efficiency of our skies have been put at risk and it has become incumbent upon the Congress to direct this authority to the Secretary of Transportation.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brady) as a cosponsor of H.R. 1461.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the Dairy Freedom Act with my colleague, the gentleman from Georgia, David Scott. This legislation will ensure that the American public will not run into another ``DAIRY CLIFF.'' Last Congress, we did not get to vote on a Farm Bill because, among other things, there was a major problem with the dairy policy section. Every member that represents a Congressional District with dairy farmers is acutely aware of how our current programs failed dairy farmers and the hardship these families experienced. There is no single farm district member who disagrees on the need for fundamental reform of our dairy program. We all agree on the need to reform and improve our current dairy policies--and our bill would do just that. However, our bill would strike the proposed ``dairy market stabilization program.'' This highly controversial piece would attempt to manage the U.S. milk supply, and in the process penalize both consumers of dairy products, and dairy farmers who expand their operations. This program was proposed to be included in the extension of the 2008 Farm Bill--but it was resoundingly rejected by the House and Senate leadership. Do we really want to run into this wall again? I don't think so if we want to get a Farm Bill done this year. I would ask Chairman Lucas and Ranking Member Peterson to include the Dairy Freedom Act, what we consider to be the compromise, in the Chairman's Mark of the Farm Bill. Our bill is largely based on the Dairy Security Act offered last Congress by Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN) and is anticipated to be included again in the underlying Farm Bill. The only fundamental difference is that it would exclude the supply management program, and require more fiscally responsible risk management insurance premium levels for large farmers. Supply management runs contrary to the goals of limited government and economic growth. A supply control program that will directly intervene in markets and increase milk prices will ultimately hurt producers as well as dairy food manufacturers by stifling industry growth. A national dairy policy that allows the market to determine prices paid--with the addition of a new risk management tool such as Margin Protection Insurance--will help dairy producers withstand unforeseen market conditions. This is no different than how other commodities are treated in the Farm Bill. Our bill also represents a true compromise on dairy policy. We agree that our dairy programs need to be reformed and we have accepted over 80% of the proposals that have been made by Ranking Member Collin Peterson. We agree a strong safety net is needed for dairy farmers. What we reject is the idea that government also needs to intervene in dairy markets by controlling milk production, and ultimately milk prices. Many have labeled the disagreement about supply management as a fight between dairy producers and dairy processors. The truth, however, is that because supply management programs are designed to have government artificially manipulate prices, they are opposed by a wide variety of groups. Consumer advocates point out that increased dairy prices mean families will be forced to stretch their food budgets further, and perhaps purchase less nutritious products than dairy. Food manufacturers, retailers and restaurants know that increased dairy prices will hurt their businesses as well. And, finally, all of our major, non-cooperative owned dairy exporters agree that supply management will have a negative impact on their ability to be reliable suppliers in the world market. Dairy regulations are complex, outdated and inefficient. Proposed reforms in the Farm Bill should not reduce exports, cut jobs, and add more regulations. The Dairy Title should allow the dairy industry a chance to compete and grow without government regulating the amount of milk a farmer can produce. Our citizens and the world population deserve an abundant, affordable and sustainable food supply. Mr. David Scott and I have developed a viable, bipartisan alternative. Join us to support a revenue insurance program that will help dairy producers without including a government controlled supply management program.

Mr. GOODLATTE

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. 1067 currently under consideration.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1067) to make revisions in title 36, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current and make technical corrections and improvements.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California for her remarks, and she is correct that this is bipartisan legislation that makes technical but important changes to title 36 of the United States Code. With that, I urge my colleagues to support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to bring before the House H.R. 1067, a bill Ranking Member Conyers and I introduced to make revisions in title 36, United States Code, as necessary to keep the title current and make technical corrections and improvements. All changes made by this bill are purely technical in nature. This bill was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives as part of its ongoing responsibility to prepare and submit periodically to the Committee on the Judiciary proposed bills to maintain titles of the United States Code that have been enacted into positive law. H.R. 1067 is an important bill because it ensures that the U.S. Code is up-to-date and usable. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1068) to enact title 54, United States Code, ``National Park Service and Related Programs'', as positive law, as amended.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume and rise to bring before the House H.R. 1068, a bill to enact title 54, United States Code, ``National Park Service and Related Programs'', as positive law. Until now, laws relating to the organization and management of the National Park System have been clarified as part of title 16--not in one distinct place but, rather, dispersed throughout the title. Over time, these code clarifications have become very cumbersome to use. Ranking Member Conyers and I introduced this bill to organize all of the provisions relating to the National Park System and restate them as a new positive law title of the United States Code. The new positive law provisions replace the existing provisions which are repealed by the bill. All changes made by this bill are purely technical in nature. This bill was prepared by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives as part of its ongoing responsibility to prepare and submit periodically to the Committee on the Judiciary, one title at a time, a complete compilation, restatement, and revision of the general and permanent laws of the United States. The bill was prepared in accordance with the statutory standard for codification legislation, which is that the restatement shall conform to the understood policy, intent, and purpose of Congress in the original enactments, with such amendments and corrections as will remove ambiguities, contradictions, and other imperfections. H.R. 1068 will ensure that the U.S. Code is accurate, up-to-date, and usable. For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, 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 H.R. 1068 currently under consideration, as amended.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Bass, for her support in helping us move this legislation through the House today. It is a technical correction, but an important improvement to our United States Code; and I urge my colleagues to support it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. I thank the gentleman from Maryland, the ranking member, for not only yielding me this time, but also for the great work that he has done, and also the great work that Chairman Rogers has done. They have worked together in a bipartisan fashion to accomplish something very, very important to accomplish in terms of fighting cyber terrorism, cyber crime, and making sure that we are safe in this country from cyber attacks to which we are very vulnerable today. I also want to thank the gentleman from California for his amendment. I support efforts to make it absolutely clear that this legislation does not in any way authorize the surveillance of American citizens. I also want to thank Chairman Rogers and Ranking Member Ruppersberger for working with me to enhance the liability provisions in the legislation, for working with me to address some jurisdictional issues in the bill that affected the Department of Justice and the House Judiciary Committee. I would also like to note that the President's statement in opposition to this bill insists on exposing our best technology providers to even more lawsuits when they are simply helping to defend our Nation against cyber attacks. The President's opposition statement expresses a deep distrust of private industry that America has rejected since its founding. The bill before us today instead welcomes the private sector and acknowledges that we need the best minds in the country to help protect our citizens from ever-evolving cyber attacks by the likes of China and Iran. And the work done by the chairman and the ranking member to improve the provision of this bill, working with my committee and my staff to make it clear that we have a definite definition of what constitutes good faith and what constitutes circumstances under which a business that does not act in good faith would be exposed to lawsuits and liability, is one that helps protect the privacy of American citizens, because those citizens will be assured they will know under what circumstances a business has exceeded its authority under the law and be protected and have a clear right to bring an action under those circumstances. And the businesses themselves will be protected because they will not share information if they know they are not acting in good faith, because they know what the definition of good faith is in the bill. So the gentleman from Michigan, the gentleman from Maryland, the chairman and ranking member, have done a great job with this legislation. I support their efforts and urge my colleagues to do the same. Mr. LaMALFA Mr. Chair, again, thank you to my colleagues. The ranking member from Maryland (Mr. Ruppersberger), I really appreciate your kind words and your strong support. To my colleague from Virginia, thank you for your kind words on the amendment as well. And to my colleague, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Rogers from Michigan, thank you for letting me offer this amendment here. It does strike the balance I think we need with cybersecurity. The great threat to many of our institutions in this Nation is something that we do have to act upon, but also finding that balance with personal privacy that is so key to the elements of the founding of our Nation. I'm proud to be able to carry this amendment. I ask for your support, Mr. Chairman, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I have long been a critic of the renewable fuel standard and we must act now to fix this broken policy. While the livestock industry has been witnessing the effects of the RFS mandate for several years, the drought last year highlighted for many the extreme reach of the RFS throughout our economy. But even before the drought, by diverting feed stocks to fuel there have been diminished corn supplies for livestock and food producers. Tightening supplies have driven up the price of corn. The higher cost for corn is passed on to livestock and food producers. In turn, consumers see that price reflected in the price of food on the grocery store shelves and restaurants. This year, the U.S. is expected to hit the blend wall--where the ethanol mandate will require more ethanol be produced than can be safely blended into gasoline. In order to address the blend wall by reducing the RFS mandate, EPA is working to push E15. EPA has granted a partial waiver to allow E15 blends for model cars 2001 and newer, despite the fact that a study from the Coordinating Research Council, commissioned by U.S. automakers and oil companies, found that 25 percent of cars approved by the EPA to run on E15 experienced engine damage--and even failure. The EPA should not be promoting fuel that is unsafe on the roadways just to meet a mandate. EPA administrators from both parties have constantly refused to use the flexibility granted to them by law to alter the RFS, so Congress must act. That is why I am introducing two bills that would alter this artificially created government market. The first bill, the Renewable Fuel Standard Elimination Act is simple; it would eliminate the RFS and make ethanol compete in a free market. The government should not be creating a market to sustain an entire industry. While, I believe that we should completely eliminate the RFS, I recognize that there may not yet be the political will in Congress to completely eliminate this mandate. And while there may not yet be the political will to eliminate this mandate we have to address the reality that we are being confronted and reform the broken RFS policy. That is why I have joined with several colleagues in introducing legislation to reform the RFS. The Renewable Fuel Standard Reform Act eliminates the corn based ethanol requirements and caps the amount of ethanol that can be blended into conventional gasoline at 10 percent--a level that is safe for all vehicle models. And this legislation will require the EPA to set cellulosic biofuels levels at production levels--oil and gas refiners should not be fined for not being able to blend products that do not exist. More than 40 diverse organizations are joining us to call for action to address the problems created by the RFS mandate. This is no longer just a debate about fuel or food. It is also a debate about jobs, small business, and economic growth. This mandate has wide reaching and negative impacts on a broad swath of industries. Congress created this artificial market that is distorting the food and feed market, and we must provide relief of its unintended consequences. I urge the Congress to pass this legislation.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. I want to thank the gentleman from Minnesota, the chairman of the Education and the Workforce Committee, for his outstanding work on this. I want to say to all of us that we should be sure that the people who are needing job training in this country are being trained and prepared for the jobs of the future, the jobs of opportunity, the jobs that are being created in the communities; and whether people are teenagers or women who have been the victims of domestic violence or anyone else, they can be sure that, with the kind of flexibility and creativity in this legislation, they will have the best opportunity to be trained for those jobs. As we stand here today, there are approximately 12 million Americans without jobs. The numbers get worse the closer you look at them. Over 40 percent of these Americans have been unemployed for more than 6 months, and the percentage of Americans participating in the workforce has recently fallen to under 64 percent, which is the lowest number since 1981. The situation is even bleaker for America's youth, who should be at the dawn of their careers. For people between the ages of 18 and 29, the unemployment rate is a shocking 12.5 percent. This is simply unconscionable. It is time for Congress and the President to take steps to address both the high unemployment and unsustainable debt that is shackling this country. The SKILLS Act is an important first step. This bill streamlines duplicative Federal programs related to job training, and it reduces bureaucracy so that more funds and support can go to the people who need it--and not to Washington bureaucrats. Specifically, the bill requires increased coordination among Federal, State, local, and tribal agencies to ensure that money is well spent, including on the Federal reentry programs that are focused on helping prisoners reintegrate back into society. Also, within the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction, the bill ensures that employment and training services for refugees are provided through the streamlined system set up in the Workforce Investment Act as opposed to through several different systems. I would like to thank the gentleman from Minnesota again for working with the Judiciary Committee on these provisions; and I support this commonsense legislation that seeks to solve a serious problem by making better use of the limited resources that we have, an approach that I hope can be applied more broadly. I commend the gentlewoman from North Carolina (Ms. Foxx) as well as Chairman Kline for their leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 338) to amend title 18, United States Code, to include certain territories and possessions of the United States in the definition of State for the purposes of chapter 114, relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Cigarette trafficking is a very lucrative crime both here in the United States and abroad. It is estimated that illicit cigarettes account for over 10 percent of the more than 5.7 trillion cigarettes sold globally each year. Here in the United States alone, approximately 4 billion of the cigarettes sold each year are illicit. Cigarette smuggling is generally carried out by large criminal organizations that take advantage of the significant disparity between the taxes levied on cigarettes across the States. These differences create a highly lucrative market for individuals to evade State and local sales taxes by purchasing cigarettes in one locality and transporting them to another for resale below market value. It is estimated that criminals can make a profit of as much as $1 million on just a single truckload of illicit cigarettes. Cigarette smuggling is not just profitable for criminal networks; this crime also harms State and Federal revenues. According to the Justice Department, this illicit activity costs the States and the Federal Government an estimated $5 billion each year. This is money that could and should be put to better use. In 2009, Congress took steps to curb contraband cigarettes with the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking, or PACT, Act. The PACT Act prohibits the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products over the Internet and made changes to the criminal anticigarette smuggling statutes. H.R. 338, the Stop Tobacco Smuggling in the Territories Act of 2013, provides a technical correction to ensure that the criminal prohibitions against cigarette smuggling apply to the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands just as they do in the rest of the country. Without this fix, cigarettes sold in these territories without evidence that taxes were paid do not fall within the definition of ``contraband cigarettes.'' This is a modest but important change that will help to discourage crime and increase tax revenues in these United States territories. I want to thank Mr. Faleomavaega for his work on this issue, as well as the ranking member on the full committee and the subcommittee for their support of this effort, and the chairman of the Crime Subcommittee, Mr. Sensenbrenner, as well, and I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill. I reserve the balance of my time.

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 within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 338, currently under consideration.

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

Mr. GOODLATTE. I will close simply by saying cigarette smuggling is a serious problem and revenues lost to the territories that Mr. Faleomavaega and others represent are lost revenues that they can use to meet legitimate obligations, and we want to help them combat that. So I strongly support the legislation and urge my colleagues to do the same, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. GOODLATTE

Mr. GOODLATTE. I thank Chairwoman Miller for bringing this legislation forward and for the hard work of both herself and Congressman Brady on this issue, and I rise in support of the Academic Competition Resolution of 2013. This resolution establishes an academic competition in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, STEM, which shall be held each year among students in each congressional district, and allows the Committee on House Administration to prescribe the regulations that will govern this competition. This resolution will allow the Congressional Internet Caucus the ability to create the first Congressional App Challenge. Modeled after the Congressional Art Competition, the Congressional App Challenge promotes STEM learning and innovation by recognizing and incentivizing America's young programming talent. In the 17 years since the formation of the Congressional Internet Caucus, technology policy issues ranging from cybersecurity and intellectual property have gained more prominence with each passing Congress. This challenge allows Members to experience the technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship that take place on a daily basis in their own districts. This firsthand knowledge will be able to serve as a resource to Members as they consider legislation dealing with technology issues. This competition will motivate our young people to further pursue programming and other technology-related educational opportunities. It will also enable them to showcase their programming skills on a national stage while at the same time promoting the value of STEM education and careers. I want to thank the chair of the Committee on House Administration, Congresswoman Miller, and Ranking Member Brady for bringing this resolution to the floor, and I look forward to working with them to craft regulations that will make the congressional app contest a huge success to both Members and our constituents. I also look forward to working with my Congressional Internet Caucus cochair, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Eshoo), in bringing this competition to fruition.