Alcee Hastings

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, as a result of the government shutdown, middle class and working poor Americans all across this country are suffering, including fishing guides whose livelihood depends on tourism in Florida's Everglades National Park. On October 9, 2013, nine days into the government shutdown, more than 100 boats gathered outside the shuttered Everglades National Park to rally support for re-opening park waters. I wholeheartedly support the efforts of these hardworking fishing guides. One guide stated that he has lost $10,000 in revenue since the waters were closed. There are around 350 such licensed guides in the area alone, not to mention the hundreds of employees who work in and around the park. It is time that Speaker Boehner and his Republican colleagues stop this charade, end the government shutdown, and let people get back to work. This shutdown exemplifies government at its worst. American families should not fall victim to Washington's dysfunction. Wrong-headed cynical politics is interrupting the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of American workers who have done nothing wrong. Government is supposed to help its citizens, not make it harder for them to put food on the table. Mr. Speaker, the bottom line is that Congress must re-open the government. South Florida's fishing guides are ready to work. It is absolutely outrageous that politics is standing in their way.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentleman, my good friend from Texas, who yielded the time. I rise today obviously in strong opposition to this measure. I would say to my friend, I just heard him just a moment ago, Mr. Speaker, say that the people from Texas sent him here to do things. Well, the people from Florida sent me here to do things just like him. There are 435 Members in this institution, in addition to delegates from around our territories, and each one of them has an unequivocal and clear understanding about how to go about budgeting in this particular matter. Forming a working group is forming another group up above that group. I don't need that, and I don't believe he needs that. I don't need it. Evidently, we haven't done very well when we've had it. From the newspapers today, I gathered that we had a Simpson-Bowles Commission, which people forget was the legacy of the 2010 debt ceiling increase. We had the Domenici-Rivlin commission. We had the Cantor-Biden talks. We had the Obama-Boehner debt ceiling negotiation, the Gang of Six talks, the supercommittee, and then the Obama-Boehner fiscal cliff talks. Not one of them worked, and this mess isn't going to work either. It's sort of like, Mr. Speaker, moving the hostages, since they're taking them one by one here with this rifle-shot approach to legislating, when, in fact, all they have to do is put a clean CR on the floor and we could pass it, and they know that. But basically what they're doing is saying, Okay, we're going to take some hostages over here; then we're going to put them in another room with some more people so that they can talk to them. I said in the Rules Committee, and I repeat: this is a gimmick wrapped in a con inside a scam, and nothing tells me anything different about my friends across the aisle who've offered gimmick after gimmick instead of doing what they know is right. We can open the government, and that's easy to do. We can put Americans back to work, and that's easy to do. We can keep our country from defaulting on its obligations. This measure will do none of those things, not one of them. In all that talk about the President, the President made it very clear today that he's willing to negotiate. Evidently--and I picked up on this--my friends on the other side must have poll-tested conversation. Well, conversation allows, among other things, that you have an exploratory understanding with people in an informal setting. What have we been talking about around here for 2 years? We've been talking about this mess. This didn't just come up last night or the day before yesterday. Democrats have already offered seven times to take up the Senate-passed continuing resolution. The House GOP has blocked a vote on the measure each and every time. For 6 months, we've been asking these people to conference. To the House Republican leadership I say, Mr. Speaker, let us vote on a clean CR. Let us raise the debt ceiling. Why prolong this shutdown when you know that the votes are here in the House of Representatives? My friends across the aisle know they've made a mistake. The goalposts have not only moved; they have vanished completely from the field. First, they want to defund ObamaCare. Then they only want to delay ObamaCare. Then when that didn't work, they said, well, we don't want to shut the government down, so let's open it up piece by piece. Evidently, that isn't working either, so they're now down here, moaning and groaning about the fact that the Senate isn't going to take up something that's foolish because they've made it clear that they want this to be a measure that's not a part of any negotiations or conversation; and the President made it clear that he will converse with anybody about anything but not with a gun at his head and not with the kind of undertaking that you are going forward here. So now it's a working group, another supercommittee. How did that work out for you the last time, I ask my friends, if you would, Mr. Speaker? So tell me, where does it all end? In all seriousness, what do my friends across the aisle hope to achieve? Speaker Boehner has said: ``My goal here is to have a serious conversation''--he said it 27 times ``conversation'' on Sunday; I was looking at him when he said it--``about those things that are driving the deficit and driving the debt up, and the President's refusal to sit down and have a conversation about this is putting our Nation at risk of default.'' At 11:38 today, the President's office issued a statement wherein they had a conversation today with John Boehner, in essence, telling him virtually that we can do this with a clean CR. What have we been talking about? Why are we even here? What are we talking about now? Are we having a conversation, or are we just talking past each other here in the House of Representatives? Republicans have shut down the Federal Government and taken us to the brink of a global economic catastrophe because, evidently, they want to have a conversation that we are already in the middle of. Guess what? The Senate CR is at the levels you wanted--$986 billion. That's what they voted on. Sequestration is the law, as my friend from Georgia is fond of saying, ``the law of the land.'' You've already gotten what you wanted. Let's just vote on a clean CR. Let us raise the debt ceiling. This shutdown and looming debt ceiling breach are failures of the majority's leadership to stand up against the extremists within their own party, elected on a platform of obstructionism that borders on insurrection. Leaders, you say on the other side, must be strong. Leaders must be courageous. This has become not a democracy that was intended by Jefferson and Madison and Adams and all of those that were our Founders, the Franklins and the Washingtons. They founded a democracy in spite of their divisions. They did not want to have mobocracy. That's what you've allowed to stand up in your part of this institution, a mob. Mr. Speaker, let us end these games with a strong bipartisan message. We can show the rest of the world that the United States is ready to end its political brinksmanship. When I was a child and I would speak out of turn, my dad and my grandmother would say: Sit down and shut up. We don't need a shutdown. We don't need people being shut out. What we need to do is shut up and let the American people cause us to listen to them and go about the business of bringing a clean CR down here. That's what I'm hearing from the American people, both Republican and Democrat, liberal and conservative, that they want us to sit down and shut up and open up this government with a clean CR. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, would you be kind enough to tell both sides how much time remains?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I thank the Speaker. At this time, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from New York, Mrs. Nita Lowey, my good friend and an appropriator supreme.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Chairman, I put to you most sincerely: Do you not feel that by cherry-picking what it is that you want to do with these rifle shots, that it is causing a morale problem in the rest of the government? Let's assume that you have 150 that you are going to do, and the group that would be going back to work the latest would be sometime the week after next or sometime 2 weeks from there.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. In the vernacular, they just say ``bring it.'' Put all 150 of them down here and we would have a clean CR. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), one of the most distinguished Members that has served in the House of Representatives, my good friend, the minority whip of my party, who may very well answer that question that I asked about morale.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thought we were here about the working group, but it does come out in the wash: we really are here about ObamaCare. I am pleased to yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Van Hollen), the ranking member on the Budget Committee.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield the gentleman an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 1\3/ 4\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin). (Mr. LEVIN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield the balance of my time to my good friend, the distinguished gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Price).

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy because of the death of one of my dearest friends in Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter, the pastor emeritus of New Mount Olive Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale. An extraordinary theologian, teacher, missionary, and exemplary servant of God, he was truly a preacher's preacher. I was deeply saddened to hear of Dr. Carter's untimely passing at the age of 66, and mourn with his many relatives, friends, and the New Mount Olive family during this most difficult time. Dr. Carter was born and raised in Ocala, Florida. At the age of five, he answered the call to spiritual service and began preaching as a young man, having pastored his first church at the age of 19. In 1967, he received an Associate of Arts degree from Central Florida Community College, followed by a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1970 from the University of Florida. Dr. Carter went on to receive a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1976 and a Doctorate of Ministry degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1978. A lifetime educator, he also did additional studies at Florida Memorial College in Miami, and received honorary doctorate degrees from Bethune-Cookman College and Florida Memorial College. Prior to his pastorship at New Mount Olive, Dr. Carter served Calvary, Watula, and St. John Baptist Churches in Ocala, as well as Green Castle Baptist Church in Prospect, Kentucky. In 1981, Rev. George E. Weaver, then pastor of New Mount Olive, invited Dr. Carter to become his co-pastor before passing the torch to him in November 1982. Under his leadership, the congregation grew from about 2,800 to more than 10,000 members. During his tenure, Dr. Carter established a television ministry and created the Mount Olive Development Corporation, a faith- based organization focused on revitalizing low and moderate-income communities. Widely considered to be one of America's great African American preachers, he also traveled throughout the United States and abroad preaching, teaching, and lecturing. Each year, preachers and churchgoers would fill to capacity Dr. Carter's regular classes at the Congress of Christian Education's National Baptist Convention. Dr. Carter had an uncanny ability to combine his learned biblical scholarship with the folkways of the traditional African American preacher, interweaving everyday situations and current events into his sermons to make a biblical point. His energy and faith were contagious, inspiring many to preach and countless others more to study the Bible. Dr. Carter was a mentor to more than 100 pastors across Florida and the country as a whole, including Rev. Dr. Gerald Kisner, Minister of Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church in West Palm Beach, and another dear friend of mine, the late Rev. Lance Chaney of St. John's Baptist Church in Boynton Beach. After serving 27 years at New Mount Olive Baptist Church, Dr. Carter decided to move on in 2009. At the time, he was fighting a battle against veritable health problems. However, his faith and duty to teach and preach were unshakeable. Dr. Carter joined New Birth Cathedral of Faith International in Miami-Dade County, where he also taught Bible study. In addition, he taught at St. Ruth Missionary Baptist Church in Dania Beach and, most recently, preached one of the Easter Sunday sermons at New Birth, one of Florida's largest Black churches. Despite his declining health, Dr. Carter found the strength to continue preaching with energy and passion. Furthermore, he authored four books: A Catechism for Baptists, To Calvary and Beyond, A Quest for Freedom, and Interpreting the Will of God. A devout husband and father, Dr. Carter is survived by his wife of 40 years, Patricia A. Thomas Carter; daughters Annalisa Robinson-Melton and Pamela Latrice Johnson; and grandchildren Brittany N. Robinson and Carter Nathaniel Johnson. I am truly privileged to have known Dr. Carter's friendship. We talked politics a lot, and he would remind me always of the admonitions of Leviticus and Ecclesiastics. My childhood friend and District Chief of Staff, Mr. Art Kennedy, also knew him for many years, recalling fondly, ``Dr. Carter, Dorsey Miller and I always had dinner on Mother's Day with our wives at Tropical Acres. In addition to being a powerful spiritual force, he was also a great sports historian.'' Our close friend, Dr. Dorsey Miller, will always remember that, ``Dr. Mack King Carter was a beacon of light in a sea of despair for those who sought hope, love, truth, and knowledge. He was the ultimate preacher, teacher, and practitioner of God's holy word.'' Mr. Speaker, one of Dr. Carter's favorite words was ``delicious.'' Without a doubt, our lives have been deliciously enhanced because of the profound Christian teachings of a son of Ocala, Florida. For almost 50 years, he dedicated his life to spiritual and community service, sharing his wisdom and love for teaching with countless others. While Dr. Mack King Carter will be dearly missed, his wife, Pat, and the family know that heaven has been ``deliciously'' improved.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, my heart is heavy because of the death of one of my dearest friends in Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter, the pastor emeritus of Mount Olive Baptist Church. He was an extraordinary theologian, teacher, missionary, and an exemplary servant of God. His wife, Pat, and the family know that heaven has been ``deliciously'' improved. Mack was a preacher's preacher. I mourn with his many relatives and friends and the Mount Olive family. One of his favorite words was ``delicious.'' Our lives have been deliciously enhanced because of the profound Christian teachings of a son of Ocala, Florida, Dr. Mack King Carter. We talked politics a lot, and he would remind me always of the admonitions of Leviticus and Ecclesiastics. I would remind this ``shutdown'' place that we have a responsibility to the least of us in this society.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Thank you very much, Ms. Slaughter, for yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, in the face of the President saying that he will veto any measure that seeks to defund ObamaCare and in the face of the Senate Majority Leader saying that he will accept nothing in the Senate other than a clean continuing resolution, I can't believe that my colleagues on the other side really believe that they are going to prevail and cause the President, with his signature legislation, to change his mind or that of the Senate Majority Leader. The Senate doesn't come back in until Monday at 2 o'clock, and that means the clock will run out. You say on the other side that you don't want to shut the government down, and yet exactly what you are doing here this evening will do exactly that. It will shut the government down. Now there's a certain amount of absurdity that carries throughout our history. I would commend to my colleagues on the other side that they read Jon Meacham's book, ``Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power.'' At a point in the course of that book, Jefferson becomes the President. And when he becomes the President, in his inaugural address he commented about the majority needing to protect the minority. He said, If you do not do that--this is in his inaugural address--you become an oppressor. That's exactly what's happening. You have one wing of your party, a rump group, that are strong and united. They're entitled to that particular undertaking, but all they're doing, when all is said and done, is hurting America. They're not helping anyone but themselves. The simple fact of the matter is that in your majority you let a mob of 40 people--probably as many as 60--determine what democracy is going to look like for insurance for the rest of America. I call that mobocracy, not democracy.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, on September 6, 2013, Professor William Gordon McLain III lost his 19-month long battle with lung cancer. On that day, the world lost a champion for the powerless and a brilliant legal mind. Will, as he was known and distinguished from his first born son, William G. McLain, IV, was not unaccustomed to battles. He confronted his cancer diagnosis with the same ferocity, toughness, and wry humor that he exhibited in every fight, especially his lifelong battle to make the ideals of equality and justice under the law a reality for all. Born and raised in McComb, Mississippi, in 1945, Will, an only child, lost his father who was also a lawyer, at an early age. But the die had been cast--the quest for justice was in his blood. Fueled by memories of his father and his lovingly feisty mother, Doris ``Cleo'' McLain, Will pursued his undergraduate education at Tulane University in his beloved second home, New Orleans, Louisiana. Although he entered the legal profession later than most, graduating from the Antioch School of Law in 1983 at the age of 38, Will lost little time throwing himself behind causes he believed in, no matter how unpopular. Indeed, some would say that the less popular an issue of Constitutional justice, government excess or fundamental fairness became, the more Will was compelled to stand up for it or fight against it. Will surprised many of his liberal friends with his dogged defense of an individual's right to bear arms under the Second Amendment--but that was him, consistent, principled, smart, and especially happy when he could shock folks a little. Clarence Darrow liked to call himself the ``Attorney for the Damned''--well, in our lifetimes that was Will McLain. I first met Will in the late 1980s when he joined the legal team assembled by my chief counsel, University of Miami Professor Terry Anderson, to represent me in an ongoing impeachment proceeding before the U.S. House of Representatives, a body in which I now serve. Will quickly became an indispensable member of my defense. He continued working behind the scenes providing invaluable strategic advice and exhaustive legal research in the federal case that ultimately declared that my impeachment and Senate trial were in violation of due process. I am told that he found that legal victory and my subsequent election to Congress gleefully gratifying. I will be forever grateful for his contribution. Many others are indebted to Will for his passion to serve the disadvantaged and powerless in society. He worked tirelessly--often without compensation or recognition--on behalf of death row inmates and other criminal defendants who faced trumped up charges or other government abuses. He deplored racism and homophobia and provided legal counsel to those who were victimized by discrimination. Will was also a staunch advocate for the freedom of the press. Together with his lifelong friend and colleague, Professor Tom Mack, Will successfully represented a journalist against the threat of compelled disclosure of a source. Most recently, he also associated with his former law student, and then soon to be son-in-law, Stephen Mercer, head of the Maryland Public Defender's forensics unit, to devise challenges to state and federal practices that allowed the warrantless collection of DNA of persons who are not convicted of a crime. Will was very disappointed by the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2013 that authorized those practices. But he was also encouraged that the 5-4 decision united arch-conservative and liberal Justices in dissent. In his view, that combination holds promise that someday fourth amendment protection will be extended to arrestees and end this practice. His passion for justice never let up--even in his final months when many would have been understandably preoccupied with their own condition, he would rail about the NSA and the great civil liberties challenges and disappointments of our time. The litany of cases and clients Will handled over the years, while impressive, are eclipsed by the legion of students he educated and inspired. Following Hurricane Katrina, Will co-created and co-taught Katrina and Beyond: Disaster Law at the University of the District of Columbia's law school. The course included field trips to New Orleans where students were exposed first hand to the devastation and human suffering left in Katrina's wake. Will's legal expertise was multidimensional and superior to most of his peers. But his ability to impart knowledge in digestible and accessible terms to his students and to motivate them to, not only learn but also, yearn was simply unmatched. He was the consummate professor, teaching wherever he found an audience. Will made learning fun, but he was not always gentle. He had an uncanny mix of southern charm, always greeting women with a peck on the wrist, and an unapologetic irreverence, keeping everyone on their toes (and sometimes knocked a bit further back than that!) with his incorrigible, irascible, withering wit. He was passionate, and as many who've worked in these halls know, that comes hand-in-hand with being brutally direct and unwilling to suffer fools gladly. In fact, Will gladly made fools suffer! He was also old fashioned, drafting his briefs by hand on yellow legal pads. He often ``held court'' at the Tune Inn, a Capitol Hill institution, where swarms of law students, colleagues, and more than a few members of our own Institution would parade in and out hungry for the opportunity to gain his insights on law, life, and the future. Will's future was cut short when in the winter of 2011 he received the agonizing diagnosis that he had terminal cancer. Like he did with all of his legal battles, Will did not take the diagnosis lightly. As he fought through chemo treatments that weakened his body, he altered his routine very little. He continued to teach the students he loved. He read the Washington Post and the New York Times daily. He played Gin Rummy at the Tune Inn sipping vodka and watched the Saints and Redskins on Sundays with his young grandson, Sam, with whom he enjoyed a special relationship. As his body grew weary, Will hosted his own farewell party held in the backyard of what would become his final home in Rockville, Maryland. Over one hundred people attended, including Will's big, complicated, extended family--a world of people from all walks of life brought together by their shared love and admiration of Will. That was the thing about Will--he mattered to the people whose lives he touched, whether they loved him, grudgingly respected him, or found him simply infuriating (but irresistibly so). Will was elated when his former student, Stephen Mercer proposed marriage to Will's oldest son, William. He never thought he would see the day when same-sex marriage would be a legal reality for his first born. He simply willed himself to find the strength to see that day. And he did. Will was alert, lucid and enthusiastic at the wedding, just weeks ago. Although he had become very frail, he independently raised a glass to toast their union. In his final days, Will spoke sporadically, clutched his New York Times, gripped the hands of his family and friends, and always provided a kiss followed by the words, ``I love you.'' Will passed away five days after the wedding he never thought possible. He was surrounded by the three most important people in his life--his now son-in-law, Stephen, his oldest son, William, and his youngest son, Pierce. Will McLain lived his life with vigor, commitment and generosity of mind, heart and spirit. On September 6, 2013, the world lost an unsung legal giant. I lost a treasured friend. And his family and close personal friends lost the center of their universe. I am honored to rise today to salute his memory and leave this permanent record in the annals of our nation of the great man who was Will McLain.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of one of my most distinguished constituents, Mr. William ``Popsie'' Thompson, and the young people who work with him as part of ``The World Famous Rainbow Crusaders'' community musical group. A gifted performer, he uses his talents and abilities to keep our children safe and prepare them for a brighter future. In 1986, Popsie noticed a group of bored children gathering around his tailor shop in Sunrise, Florida. It occurred to him that what these kids needed was an activity to boost their self-esteem and academic potential. This inspired Popsie to form The World Famous Rainbow Crusaders, a diverse troupe of over 200 young singers and dancers ranging from ages 2 to 20. The group has since become a fixture at local celebrations and parades in the south Florida area, representing the community values of tolerance and racial harmony. Furthermore, they are the first drug awareness program to be officially recognized by the Boy Scouts of America. Popsie and his Crusaders have traveled throughout the country, with performances in Tennessee, Georgia, and Washington, DC being among their most notable appearances. Mr. Speaker, due to their continued efforts to promote the values of anti-drug use, education, and racial harmony, I am proud to recognize Popsie Thompson and The World Famous Rainbow Crusaders. Thanks to them, hundreds of children and young adults in south Florida have greater opportunities to excel and make a difference in their community.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, the gentleman from Utah, for yielding me the customary 30 minutes and, Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I deem necessary. Mr. Speaker, the House faces a number of pressing issues that everybody in America knows that we should be addressing. Instead, we are here today on H. Res. 347, a structured rule, and the underlying bill, H.R. 761, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2013. I get it that my friends from areas that have these minerals in public spaces would like for us to proceed apace to extract them. I understand their feelings. I come from yet another of the critical areas of our country that we have to protect much of the space of, and that would be the Everglades. I don't understand why Congress is trying to provide even more breaks to the United States mining operations when we do have these urgent domestic issues that we are confronted with and, somehow or another, that we were unable to undertake. We haven't done all of our appropriations. We are having difficulty getting a continuing resolution. We will soon be faced with lifting the debt ceiling. And somehow or another, we are dealing with something that, I might add, we have voted on before, that came out of the House of Representatives, that did not pass the Senate, and H.R. 761 is not going to pass the Senate either. So H.R. 761 guts important environmental protections offered through the National Environmental Policy Act, referred to as NEPA. It fails to require adequate financial assurance, and I will have an amendment on the floor that will address that subject, and offers other benefits to mining companies. Mining operations in the United States benefit already from multiple Federal tax breaks, exemptions to regulation under existing environmental laws, and no royalty payments to the United States for mining operations, even on U.S. land. Mining companies limit their liability for environmental restoration and cleanup by operating with U.S. subsidiaries to foreign parent companies. This relationship shields the parent company from liability and has allowed parent companies to draw profits from United States mining operations. So what happens when companies do not pay for environmental damage caused by their operations? The people of the United States pay. They pay through a contaminated environment. They pay through sickness, including cancer. They pay through taxes, because taxpayer dollars are ultimately needed to clean up these sites. It would seem that we should have learned from our mistakes with the 1872 General Mining Law. Mining companies should be held accountable so that their operations will not impose additional burdens on the American people. H.R. 761 not only takes away valued natural resources for hiking, fishing, canoeing and other recreational activities, it shifts the burdens of mining cleanup and restoration to the American taxpayer. Furthermore, H.R. 761 classifies domestic mining operations for strategic and critical minerals on Federal lands as infrastructure projects. Using a broad definition that encompasses virtually every type of mine, this legislation allows mines to take advantage of a Presidential order from 2012 which requires Federal agencies to streamline the permitting process for infrastructure projects. However, building a mine is not the same as building roads and highways that are much needed in this country, or replacing rotted sewerage that is much needed in this country, which is, in fact, the country's infrastructure. Bills like this are why, in my opinion, the American people are so frustrated with us here in the United States Congress. We have a number of issues that we could--no, not that we could, that we should be working on--and, yet, we are rehashing a bill that went nowhere last Congress, ain't gonna go nowhere this Congress and, most importantly, is bad for the Nation. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I'm very pleased to yield 3 minutes to my good friend from Oregon, (Mr. DeFazio), the distinguished ranking member of the Committee on Natural Resources.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. If we defeat the previous question, I'm going to offer an amendment to this rule that will allow the House to hold a vote on the Bring Jobs Home Act. This bill will help to boost the economy by encouraging businesses to bring more jobs to America and discourage companies from shipping jobs overseas. To discuss our proposal, I yield 3 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pascrell), my good friend.

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.