Jeb Hensarling

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Budd), a very hardworking member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Tenney), another hardworking member of the House Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I received a letter not long ago from a constituent, Jim, from Dallas County. The first three words were: I need help. In the letter, he talks about his grandson, Joshua, who is a good kid. Jim became his guardian at age 6, but Joshua took a bad turn at age 16. It was at age 16 he started using opioids. His life has never been the same. Jim writes that at first his grandson started out with pills and then, later, street drugs and ended up on heroin. No surprise here, Mr. Chairman: His usage escalated, and he ended up dropping out of school in the last semester of high school. Along the way, he found a menial job here, a menial job there, but he couldn't hold one down because of the drug usage. Jim tried to help him every way he could. He said that in the summer of 2014 his opioid usage brought him almost to death. I won't say the story has a happy ending, but at least he is now trying to turn his life around. He is off of opioids, and he is on other medications: methadone, Xanax. He has actually gone back and gotten his high school diploma. He has learned how to operate a forklift, but because of the damage that has been done, he can't hold down a job. His drug costs are expensive. He still needs help. Mr. Chair, you know what is unusual about this story? Regrettably, nothing. Nothing is unusual about this story. Again, although it doesn't have a happy ending--and we don't know how this story is going to end--at least it doesn't have a tragic end, because far too many stories like it end in the tragedy of death. And my guess is, Mr. Chair, that every single Member of this body could read a similar letter as I read from Jim from Dallas. I have been in this House now for eight terms. Rarely--rarely--does a week go by that somebody doesn't use the term ``crisis.'' And most of the time I don't give it much thought. But Mr. Chair, when somebody says there is a crisis of opioid use in America, I could not agree more. How negligent this body would be if we didn't declare war on this crisis and do what is right and what is smart to address this crisis. So today, out of the House Financial Services Committee, I am bringing up a bill by the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), a member of our leadership team. I want to thank him for his leadership, because I know how heartfelt the pain he knows from his district is. What the gentleman from Kentucky is bringing before us is that we have seen evidence that transitional housing can be a proven method to really help thousands and thousands of Americans like Joshua that I describe, to help them maintain their sobriety after completing rehab and as they are gaining skills and training and trying to get back into being independent, productive members of society. So the gentleman from Kentucky says: It is time for a demonstration project, because we have some evidence. We have evidence already. And out of the 2.2 million Section 8 housing vouchers, the government's largest means-tested housing assistance program, let's take less than 1 percent of them--in fact, 0.5 percent of them--and on a temporary basis let's allocate some of these Section 8 housing vouchers to people who are literally dying of opioid addiction every day and need transitional housing options in a recovery evidence-based program. I really think, Mr. Chairman, it is the least we can do today. I am sorry that this is not on the House's suspension calendar. Demonstration programs are done every single day in the government. Again, I would hope that this is something that we could join overwhelmingly on both sides of the aisle to do. Apparently, that is not the case, but I don't think this House will be deterred. I do not think this House will be deterred. I think, very soon, people like Joshua who are getting their life turned around can at least have transitional housing options to support their recovery. When they do, we will thank the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr). Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Barr), the chairman of the Monetary Policy and Trade Subcommittee of the Financial Services Committee and author of the Transitional Housing for Recovery in Viable Environments Demonstration Program Act, or THRIVE Act.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Kentucky.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I am very pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Duffy), the chairman of the Housing and Insurance Subcommittee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Wisconsin.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), chairman of the Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment Subcommittee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), vice chairman of our Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments Subcommittee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chair, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), a valued member of the Financial Services Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Georgia (Mrs. Handel), a member of the Judiciary Committee and the Education and the Workforce Committee.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I anticipate no more speakers. I am prepared to close.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire how much time I have remaining.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Chairman, in my congressional career, I have experienced a number of surreal moments. I think perhaps I am experiencing another one, and that is, typically, within my career, next to a study, I think the least controversial provisions we take up in this body are demonstration projects. We do it all the time, and it is good that we do it all the time so we can find out if what is happening in a small subset within our society is going to work, and so we will roll out the program throughout our country. Typically, these receive very strong bipartisan support. I couldn't help but notice, there are only two, two Members on the other side of the aisle, who are against this opioid housing recovery program, and we had almost a dozen Republicans on our side of the aisle come to support it. I listened very carefully to the ranking member who, on more than one occasion, said we should not rob Peter to pay Paul. Well, what happens when she or other Members on the other side of the aisle decide to submit budgets that aren't balanced? We just had a balanced budget amendment come to this floor, and if memory serves me right, it was not supported by the ranking member. So thus, she appears to be robbing Peter to pay Paul. If that is of great concern, I will certainly be happy to go to our leadership and see if we can bring that vote to the House floor, so that we might balance the budget. I heard it said, well, this demonstration project may take away a voucher from a veteran, somebody homeless, somebody disabled. Who do you think these people who are suffering with opioid addiction are? They are veterans. They are homeless. They are disabled, Mr. Chairman, and that is why it is so critical that we reach out and we help them. Then I continue to hear from the ranking member, well, this doesn't make a dent. This doesn't make a dent in the problem. So let me get this straight. If we can't help everybody, we ought to help nobody is, I think, the logic of that argument. Well, we reject that. We reject that argument, Mr. Chairman. So, again, I just cannot believe something that should be on our suspension calendar, something that should be receiving overwhelming bipartisan support apparently has to come with what we call a rule bill. But we know that 42,000 people have died in the last calendar year, to where we have the data, due to opioid abuse--up tremendously. So there is just an urgent need to target resources for substance use treatment services, to make effective treatment more widely available. We have an opportunity, right here in this House, right now, today, to say that we have the evidence. Let's take some Section 8 vouchers and make sure that they are part of the solution. And so I thank the gentleman from Kentucky. What a wonderful leader he is on our committee in trying to help--and we are not helping everybody. I admit it.--to begin to put people in transitional housing. Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support the THRIVE Act. We can make a difference today. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for coming and offering this very simple amendment. I thank him for his kind words for the gentleman from Kentucky, who has been an outstanding leader in this effort. The amendment will simply allow Congress to work its will on the report from the Secretary and allow us to have our own full analysis. I think it is a helpful amendment. I would urge its adoption. Finally, I would just echo what my friend from Kentucky, the leader of this effort, has said. We are an authorizing committee, not an appropriating committee under the rules of the House, and we authorize programs based upon priorities. We do demonstration projects all the time, and if there were ever a worthy one that should be considered by this body in the midst of, again, a legitimate crisis on opioid addiction, it ought to be this program. We have had several amendments that have been agreed to by the majority. I think all have probably improved the underlying legislation. But again, this is something that should have been on the suspension calendar, I don't understand why we have to take so much floor time on this. I don't understand the argument that, if you can't help everybody, then don't help anybody. I don't understand the argument that, since you are not an appropriating committee, then don't authorize the help. I simply don't understand that. Again, we have the opportunity in this Congress, on this floor, at this moment to make a difference, a huge difference, in the road to recovery for thousands of opioid addicts who are trying to get their lives back together. If we believe in their hope and if we believe in their cause, then we should support the THRIVE Act of the gentleman from Kentucky. Mr. Chairman, I certainly support the amendment from the gentleman from Arizona, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. HENSARLING

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I now am very pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren), the author of two different provisions in S. 2155 to give more flexibility to private companies and small banks with respect to their call reports.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 905, I call up the bill (S. 2155) to promote economic growth, provide tailored regulatory relief, and enhance consumer protections, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am now very pleased to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Rothfus), the author of two different provisions in S. 2155 to bring clarity to the complex capital rules and flexibility to our savings associations.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer), the leading voice in Congress on trying to bring rationality to the SIFI designation and accountability to the Financial Stability Oversight Council, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Tipton), the author of the MOBILE Act, Making Online Banking Initiation Legal and Easy.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and submit extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 3 minutes. Mr. Speaker, for far too long, far too many people in our country have struggled to make ends meet. They have struggled to buy a car. They have struggled to buy a home. They have struggled--they have struggled for their version of the American Dream. I hear from these people frequently, Mr. Speaker. I hear from Colton in Terrell, Texas, who said that he and his wife have been unable to get a mortgage due to credit and that they were 25, 30 years old and they had good credit but they were getting denied. They needed a home to provide a sense of stability, but they couldn't get it due to Washington's bureaucratic regulations. Mr. Speaker, I heard from Dirk in Dallas. He said he used to have a $100,000 line of credit from his bank. He had an unsecured signature line of credit that he used for working capital for his small business. He often paid it down to zero, and cash flow was ample, but then the bank canceled it because of the bureaucratic government burden on the banking system. I heard from Sherry in Eustace, who said: After a divorce 4 years ago, I needed to buy a car because my car was over 10 years old. I had a checking account in my name at my credit union, but they didn't loan me money for the car. Mr. Speaker, we hear these stories far too often. The Main Street banks and credit unions that these people depend on have been suffering for years under the weight, the load, the volume, the complexity, and the cost of heavy Washington bureaucratic red tape. They haven't been able to serve these people to help get them into homes and to help get them into cars. As one west Texas banker told me, Mr. Speaker: ``My major risks are not credit risks, risk of theft, or risk of some robber coming in with a gun in my office, my number one risk is regulatory risk.'' We have been losing a community bank or credit union every other day in America and, with it, the hopes and dreams of millions. But today, that changes. Help is on the way with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Mr. Speaker, this is the most pro-growth banking bill in a generation. You would have to go back to 1999 to Gramm-Leach-Bliley. Although we didn't have a formal conference with the Senate, I am proud that over half of the bills in this package, including three-quarters of the regulatory relief provisions, came from the House. These are the provisions to help hardworking, struggling taxpayers get into home mortgages, get into car loans, and get into their small businesses. This is what will help drive 3 percent economic growth, which is the birthright of all Americans. Today is an important day in the history of economic opportunity in America, and I encourage all of us to support the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. HENSARLING. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga), the lead voice in the House for capital formation for our start-ups and small businesses, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Securities, and Investment.