Kay Granger

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, due to a personal conflict, I was unable to make votes. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 530, and YEA on Roll Call No. 531.

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, due to a personal conflict, I was unable to make votes. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 532, ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 533, ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 534, ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 535, ``Nay'' on rollcall No. 536, ``Yea'' on rollcall No. 537.

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, today I rise in strong opposition to this amendment. As a former chairwoman of the State, Foreign Operations Subcommittee, I worked very closely with the U.S. Institute of Peace. From firsthand experience, I can tell you how important their mission is. They send staff to some of the most volatile areas of the world to promote peace. For instance, in Afghanistan, the Institute facilitated peaceful elections in 2014, despite Taliban calls for violence. Also, in 2015, the Institute facilitated a local Sunni and Shia agreement in Iraq that averted bloodshed and let 380,000 internationally displaced people return home. Let's not forget that it was under President Ronald Reagan that the Institute of Peace was created. Funding the Institute of Peace is an important investment. It is for these reasons that I strongly urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment.

Ms. GRANGER

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentleman raising this issue. I am supportive of efforts to ensure that the Department of Defense takes responsibility for any potential contamination issues. That is why this bill provides more than $1 billion for environmental restoration accounts, nearly $48 million more than fiscal year 2017. The bill includes an increase of $10 million specifically to support water contamination efforts. In addition, the committee provided an additional $57 million for those efforts in the fiscal year 2017 supplemental appropriations. The committee has already provided a generous amount of funding to address water contamination, and the Department of Defense has assured me that they are addressing each side on a priority basis. The amendment offered by the gentleman provides additional funding that the Department may not be able to execute, and the funding comes at the expense of the warfighter readiness account. Therefore, I must oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I am prepared to accept the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, the amendments included in the en bloc were made in order by the rule for consideration of division A of H.R. 3219 and have been agreed to by both sides. Mr. Chairman, I support the amendment and urge its adoption, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Will the gentleman yield?

Ms. GRANGER. 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 further consideration of H.R. 3219, and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 478, as the designee of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), I offer amendments en bloc.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chair, I share many of the gentleman's concerns, and I appreciate him raising this issue. I support environmental remediation efforts that ensure that drinking water is safe in communities across the Nation. That is why this bill includes $1 billion for environmental restoration. The amount represents $48 million more than the fiscal year 2017 level and includes $10 million above the request to specifically address PFC contamination. In addition, we include an additional $57 million for drinking water cleanup in the fiscal year 2017 supplemental appropriations. This committee has included significant funding to address drinking water contamination issues, and I am concerned that the Department will not be able to execute the additional $60 million offered by this amendment; therefore, I oppose the amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Will the gentleman yield?

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his amendment. The amendment proposes to add funding back to the JLTV program, cutting the House defense bill due to a lack of information provided by the Army budget justification. The cut to the JLTV program reflects the committee's concern with the Army's failure to provide the full budget justification information for an $804 million program. Failure to provide this information makes it impossible for the committee to exercise its fiscal oversight responsibilities. However, the JLTV program is important to the warfighter and is executing well. I do not oppose this amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chair, will the gentleman yield?

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chair, the committee has no objection. The amendment's funding for major test facilities is critical to ensuring our military retains its competitive lead over our competitors. We are prepared to accept the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the gentlewoman's concern to provide adequate funding for this very important research, and we have spoken about it. I am a strong supporter of funding for research in this area, and that is why the bill already provides $125 million toward grants for PTSD and traumatic brain injury research, including CTE, which has previously received millions of dollars in research grants under this program. A previous amendment would create a new research program, focused solely on CTE research. And since CTE research is already eligible under the PTSD-TBI research program, it is much more appropriate to add funding to the PTSD-TBI program, rather than create a new research program. Therefore, I oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky).

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his remarks, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, these important revisions have been included in several appropriations bills for several years running. They represent a strong and enduring consensus in Congress that Guantanamo should remain open and that detainees should not be transferred to the United States for any reason. Striking these provisions would have unknown consequences for U.S. communities. It is impossible to know how many detainees might be brought here, where they might be held, and the impacts on communities and facilities holding them. It is also impossible to know what the potential costs could be. Putting detainees in U.S. prisons, as the administration originally proposed, would be disruptive and, potentially, disastrous. Former FBI Director Mueller has stated: ``To transfer detainees to local jails could affect or infect other prisoners or have the capability of affecting events outside the prison system.'' The idea of bringing detainees for trials in the U.S. quickly collapsed as local jurisdictions voiced their strong opposition. As everyone here is aware, several detainees who have been released from Guantanamo have gone back to the fight and killed and wounded Americans. The threat is real, and Guantanamo is already equipped to handle the detention and military trial of these individuals, as appropriate. Any proposal that results in these detainees being sent to the United States, for any reason, is simply the wrong policy. I, therefore, oppose the amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote against this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.