John Kline

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Michigan for his tremendous leadership on this issue and so many more. I rise today in strong support of H.R. 6094. In 2014, the Department of Labor began an effort to update Federal overtime rules. There would have been strong bipartisan support for that effort if the Department had pursued a responsible approach. In fact, we have spent years engaging in this issue because we believe Federal overtime rules need to be modernized, both to strengthen protections for workers and to provide more clarity and certainty for employers. Unfortunately, the Department took a different approach and finalized an extreme rule that will hurt those it is supposed to help. As we have heard from witnesses at hearings and constituents back home, the rule will leave individuals with less flexibility at work and fewer opportunities to further their careers or pursue jobs they want or truly need. We have also learned that the rule will make college less affordable and make it more difficult for charitable organizations to serve people in need. The purpose of the legislation we are considering today is to provide some relief--even if temporary--to those who will be harmed the most: men and women working hard to grow their own businesses and employees trying to provide a better life for their families, students pursuing the dream of a higher education, and countless Americans relying on nonprofits for help and support. It took the Obama administration more than 2 years--27 months--to complete this rule, but they have given the American people just 6 months to make the difficult choices necessary to implement it. According to one report, almost half--49 percent--of small businesses aren't even aware the new rule exists. Imagine how many schools and nonprofits are in the same position. This legislation will give these men and women more time to implement the rule and help mitigate its impact on students, workers, and vulnerable individuals. But the clock is ticking. Important decisions about payroll and staffing have to be made and quickly. If we fail to act now, it may be too late. I want to thank Mr. Walberg for introducing this important legislation and for his continued leadership in championing efforts to responsibly--responsibly--update Federal overtime rules. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5963, the Supporting Youth Opportunity and Preventing Delinquency Act. Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve a lifetime of success. That's what this legislation is about--helping more children realize that success is possible. In some cases, that means keeping at-risk youth out of the juvenile justice system and showing them a life of crime is not their only option. In others, it means giving children who are already in the system a second chance to turn their lives around. And in every case, it means helping kids acquire the skills they need to grow into productive members of society. That's why this bill includes reforms that will empower state and local leaders to better serve vulnerable children in their communities. We know there are important efforts already underway, including right here in our nation's capital. Earlier this year, I visited a community-based program called Boys Town DC, and I had the opportunity to meet a young man named Terraun. At Boys Town, Terraun was learning how to be responsible for household chores and to resolve conflicts respectfully. He was also improving his cooking skills, which he hopes one day will lead to a successful career as a chef. Terraun is holding himself accountable and thinking about the future. And regardless of his background and past mistakes, he is on the right path. Unfortunately, not every vulnerable youth has the same experience. But with this important legislation, we can help more kids just like Terraun work toward a brighter future. I want to thank Representative Curbelo and Ranking Member Scott for all of their hard work on this bipartisan bill and for delivering these important reforms. I also want to thank Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, for the work he has done to advance many of these reforms in the Senate. Mr. Speaker, this is an important bill that will have a positive impact on communities across the country, and more importantly, it will help some of our nation's most vulnerable children achieve a lifetime of success. I urge my colleagues to support the bill.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania for his leadership on this issue and for yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act. A quality education is vital to succeeding in today's workforce. However, it is important to know that a quality education doesn't have to mean a 4-year college degree. Career and technical education can be just as valuable, and, for many individuals, it is the path that is best for them. Earlier this year, members on the Education and the Workforce Committee heard from Paul Tse. Paul struggled as a student, but his life changed when he enrolled in a CTE program at the Thomas Edison High School of Technology in Silver Spring, Maryland. Today, he has a fulfilling career and not a dime--Mr. Speaker, not a dime--of student loan debt. There are countless other success stories just like Paul's. The CTE classes Rob Griffin took as a high school student in Whitfield County, Georgia, prepared him for a successful career at one of the Nation's leading steel fabricators. The hands-on experience Alex Wolff received at the Santa Barbara County Regional Occupational Program led to a rewarding career in electrical engineering. And Jasmine Morgan from the Atlanta area found her passion through CTE coursework and landed a job as a sports marketing specialist. The goal of this legislation is to help more individuals write their own success stories. This bipartisan legislation will empower State and local leaders to tailor CTE programs to serve the best interests of the students in their communities. It will improve transparency and accountability, as well as ensure Federal resources are aligned with the needs of the local workforce and help students obtain high-skilled, high-demand jobs. These positive reforms are an important part of our broader agenda, A Better Way, which is aimed at helping more men and women achieve a lifetime of success. I want to thank Representatives Glenn Thompson and Katherine Clark for their leadership. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding and for his hard work on this and so many other bills in the Education and the Workforce Committee. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in strong support of this package of legislation. This bill is one of several bipartisan reforms the House is considering today that will help strengthen higher education and put more Americans on a path to success. A quality education is crucial to succeeding in today's workforce. Unfortunately, our costly, bureaucratic, and outdated higher education system leaves too many Americans behind. We all know the tough challenges that exist. College costs continue to rise. A dizzying maze of student aid programs discourages students from pursuing a degree or credential. Complex Federal rules impede innovation and make it harder for students to pursue a degree more quickly and at less cost. The net result is that it has become harder and harder for Americans to realize the dream of a higher education. Without the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workforce, many men and women struggle to find good-paying jobs and earn a living that provides for their families. Those who are fortunate enough to earn a degree are often saddled with student debt they can't afford and unprepared to start their careers in an increasingly competitive and changing economy. We have to do better, Mr. Speaker. We have to open more doors to opportunity and help more Americans reach their full potential. The bipartisan package of higher education reforms we are considering is a positive step toward achieving that goal. Together, these reforms will empower students and their parents to make informed decisions, simplify and improve the student aid process, enhance existing support for institutions serving minority students, and ensure strong accountability for taxpayer dollars. We have more work to do to strengthen higher education, but today we are making important progress. I want to thank my Republican and Democratic colleagues for putting their differences aside and working together to help more Americans pursue their dream of a college degree. Mr. Speaker, I urge Members to support these important proposals.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to stand with the American people today and protect access to affordable retirement advice by voting to override the President's veto. I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Barletta for yielding the time and for his leadership on this issue. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act. Like many of the bills the House has slated to consider this week, this legislation will help address the growing opioid epidemic that has swept across America, focusing specifically on the most vulnerable among us. This crisis has led to a number of painful consequences for individuals and families across the country. But few are as tragic as those suffered by infants born to parents struggling with an opioid addiction. As is often the case with addiction, the parents' struggle affects those around them, including their newborns. In fact, according to a recent Reuters investigation mentioned earlier by Mr. Barletta, more than 130,000 babies born in the United States in the last decade entered the world addicted to drugs. This report described the pain suffered by newborns going through withdrawal and told the stories of infants who actually lost their lives because of a terrible addiction. Many of the stories are too disturbing to even mention. But perhaps even more disturbing than the details is the fact that these deaths should have been prevented. Current policies, including the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, are meant to prevent these tragedies from ever happening. The law is simple. If a State wants to receive Federal funding, then the State has to provide some basic assurances about their child welfare policies. The Department of Health and Human Services has a responsibility to ensure those policies are actually in place. As we now know all too well, this important Federal law is not being properly followed and enforced. Earlier this year I sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services to better understand how it works with States to ensure they are meeting current child welfare requirements. Not surprisingly, the Department passed the buck and suggested recent changes to the law somehow absolved them from their enforcement responsibilities, a disappointing response, to say the least. Fortunately, thanks to the work of Mr. Barletta and Ms. Clark, we are here today to consider our response to this preventable problem: the bill before us today. I appreciate their leadership in developing a bipartisan bill that will require the Department to do its job and assist States in their efforts to prevent and respond to child abuse and neglect. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation and to help ensure the most vulnerable victims of the opioid epidemic receive the help and care they desperately need.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. I thank Chairman Chaffetz for yielding the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of the SOAR Reauthorization Act, which will renew our vital investment in the children who live in the District of Columbia. In passing the Every Student Succeeds Act last year, we took important steps to support and encourage greater school choice for students and their families. These reforms empower parents to do what is best for their children's education, and they help ensure that all children are able to receive the excellent education they deserve regardless of their family's background, income, or ZIP Code. Helping students escape failing schools so they can pursue brighter futures is an important priority, and that is exactly what the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program does for children in our Nation's Capital. For more than 10 years now, the program has enabled thousands of students to pursue the quality education necessary to excel both in the classroom and later in life--and excel they do. In fact, last year, 90 percent of 12th graders who received a scholarship through the program graduated from high school, and nearly 90 percent of them, Mr. Speaker, went on to pursue college degrees. The traditional D.C. public school system can make no such claim. These are very impressive results. Despite the claims of those who oppose these schools for, apparently, purely ideological, partisan reasons, with results like these--90 percent graduate, and 90 percent of those go on to college-- it makes those claims that these schools are not performing well, frankly, laughable. This legislation also authorizes support for D.C. public schools, and it will provide critical resources for its charter schools. I agree with the gentlewoman from the District of Columbia that the public charter schools in the District are performing well. They are giving some hope to mothers and fathers and grandmothers and grandfathers that their children will have a chance in life. I am very proud of those public charter schools. There are also parents--Presidents of the United States and so forth--who choose to send their kids to private schools, and that opportunity ought to exist for more children--for more students--in the District of Columbia. That is what the Opportunity Scholarship Program does. It provides another chance-- another avenue, another road to hope--for children in our Nation's Capital. Together, these measures are working to improve the traditional public schools that are struggling and that are still, too often, failing students--which is why there is a waiting line to get into charter schools and into private schools--and will make a positive impact in the lives of students across the District and will create much-needed educational opportunities for these children. I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. For several years now--about 7--we have heard from Americans, we have heard from employers, and we have heard from families that the American economy, the American people, and employers are under an assault from a blizzard of regulations. In the last year, as we near the closing months of this administration, the blizzard is almost a whiteout. You can hardly see, they are coming so fast. This is one such regulation, and it is everywhere in industries across America. It is choking us. We have got to stop it. Please, please, let's start here today and support this bill.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time. I rise today in strong support of this legislation reauthorizing the Older Americans Act. Since it was first enacted, this act has been a vital resource for America's seniors and their caregivers. Through a wide range of services, it has helped older individuals enjoy their independence and stay active, both in their homes and in their communities. However, much has changed in the last 50 years. Today, Americans are living longer, and the senior population is significantly larger and more independent than it once was. What hasn't changed is the responsibility we have to take care of our seniors. That is why, in addition to continuing the vital support established by the Older Americans Act, this reauthorization makes a number of important improvements to ensure the law is still providing the kind of help American seniors need. First, it provides better protections for our most vulnerable seniors. The bill promotes best practices for responding to abuse, neglect, and exploitation, strengthens protections for all residents of long-term care facilities, and improves the coordination of activities between State and local aging offices. Other important updates include measures to streamline and improve how the programs under the law are administered. Too often taxpayer dollars go to programs that are outdated, ineffective, or simply not being used as they could be. That is why this bill streamlines programs and makes improvements to ensure program coordination and efficiency. The legislation also makes changes to nutrition services programs to account for geographic changes in the senior population. Furthermore, the bill better aligns job training services for older Americans with the broader workforce development system. In 2014, Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to provide a more efficient, streamlined workforce training system that would help put Americans back to work. This legislation builds on that law by providing seniors access to a less confusing and more seamless workforce development system. These are just some of the things this bill does to better serve those individuals the law is intended to support. We have made a commitment to help those who want and deserve to enjoy independence and contribute to their communities as they grow older. This bill will help ensure that we are not only honoring that commitment, but that we are honoring it well. In closing, I want to thank my colleagues--Representatives Carlos Curbelo, Virginia Foxx, Suzanne Bonamici, and Ruben Hinojosa--for their continued leadership on this issue and in helping move this important piece of legislation forward. We are grateful for their efforts. I urge my colleagues to support the legislation.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a historic promotion in the Minnesota National Guard. Today, the Minnesota Guard will conduct a promotion ceremony for Colonel Sandy Best, who will become the first female general in Minnesota National Guard history when she is promoted to Brigadier General. General Best will be the Air Chief of Staff responsible for command supervision, oversight, and leadership of the 133rd Airlift Wing at the Minneapolis-St. Paul Joint Air Reserve Station, and the 148th Fighter Wing in Duluth. Mr. Speaker, General Best began her career more than 30 years ago when she, a Minneapolis Edison High School graduate, enlisted in the Minnesota Air National Guard in 1984 as a Personnel Specialist. In 1991, she was commissioned through the Academy of Military Science at McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee, contributing to the Minnesota Guard in a variety of positions ever since. General Best's passion for our soldiers, their families, and our country as well as her advocacy for the National Guard has been exceptional. I have always appreciated our meetings in Minnesota and in Washington and I look forward to working with the new Brigadier General. Mr. Speaker, this promotion is well deserved and I wish General Best my best, and congratulate her and the Minnesota National Guard on this historic achievement.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize a great American, a great Marine, and a champion of lasting friendship between the people of the United States and Japan. As our nation prepares to recognize the 71st anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, it is timely to recognize a veteran of that iconic struggle in the Second World War. Lieutenant General Lawrence F. Snowden was born April 14, 1921 in Charlottesville, Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1942. Prior to graduating, General Snowden enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in February, 1942 and was called to active duty in May, 1942. He was commissioned as a Marine Second Lieutenant on July 18, 1942. Assigned to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, he served initially with the 23rd Marine Regiment, assigned to the 3rd and then the 4th Marine Divisions. From February, 1944 until March, 1945 he saw combat as a Company Commander with the 23rd Marines in the capture of Roi-Namur in the Marshall Islands, the capture of Saipan and Tinian, and the legendary assault on Iwo Jima which commenced on February 19, 1945. It was Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz who, when speaking of the Battle of Iwo Jima, stated that, ``Uncommon valor was a common virtue.'' General Snowden is the senior surviving American veteran of that battle in which he was wounded twice. General Snowden retired from the Marine Corps after more than 37 years of active service in 1979, serving his last years as Chief of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Marine Corps. His commitment to our nation and healing the wounds of the war did not end at his retirement. General Snowden became a regular traveler to Japan and to Iwo Jima leading a ``Reunion of Honor'' with his fellow veterans of the battle from both the United States and Japan. His mission is a solemn one of reconciliation. As the widow of the Japanese commanding general said to him, ``Once enemies, now friends.'' General Snowden himself has stated, ``Those men didn't want to be here any more than we did. They were doing their duty. You don't hate anybody for that.'' As a further sign of his commitment to goodwill, General Snowden was here in this chamber in April, 2015 as a guest of the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe when he addressed the Congress. At his side was the grandson of the commander of the Japanese garrison on Iwo Jima while General Snowden's efforts were recognized by the Prime Minister. As a 25-year veteran of the Marine Corps I am honored to recognize the historic anniversary of the Battle of Iwo Jima, and I am pleased to call attention to this great American, Lieutenant General Lawrence F. Snowden. I applaud his contribution to the past, present, and future of our great nation as a Marine and a statesman.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Price for yielding. I rise today in strong, strong support of the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act. We have all heard the stories and the statistics, seen the charts. ObamaCare is wreaking havoc on our country, on small-business owners, on working families, and even on students. It is a flawed law that has led to higher costs for consumers, fewer full-time jobs for workers, and less access to trusted healthcare providers for patients. That is why we in Congress have been relentless in our efforts to put an end to ObamaCare and its harmful consequences. It is why we have worked to protect hardworking Americans who are still paying the price for the President's government takeover of health care, and it is why we are here today. The bill before us will eliminate key provisions in the President's healthcare law that are hurting families, small businesses, and schools. Under this proposal, the tax penalty levied against individuals who fail to purchase government-approved health insurance will be gone. The tax penalty levied against small businesses and schools that fail to provide costly, government-approved health insurance will be gone. The onerous and arbitrary limits on personal health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts will be gone. The punitive tax on medical innovation will be gone. These and other provisions in the bill will dismantle a fatally flawed law as well as reduce Federal spending and rein in our Nation's deficits by roughly half a trillion dollars. These are priorities the American people sent us to Washington to address, and we owe it to the men and women we represent to do just that. We have a responsibility to support this bill and to send it to the President's desk. I believe the President has a responsibility to sign it. If he does, it wouldn't be the first time the President has helped roll back his own healthcare law. In fact, on more than 15 separate occasions, the President has signed legislation repealing provisions in the law, not to mention the dozens of changes to the law his administration has carried out unilaterally. The legislation is an opportunity for the President to work with us to move the country in a better direction and show the American people that their priorities are our priorities. It is also an opportunity to demonstrate once again we are serious about reducing the size and cost of the Federal Government, serious about dismantling a healthcare law that is doing more harm than good, and serious about paving the way to real reform that expands access to affordable coverage. That is why I urge my colleagues to support this bill. In closing, I want to thank Chairman Tom Price and all of our colleagues who serve on the House Committee on the Budget as well as those who serve on the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce. Their hard work has made it possible to send this important legislation to the President's desk. I am grateful for their efforts. Let's get on with it.

Mr. KLINE

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Andrew Mekelburg, Vice President of Government Affairs, upon his upcoming retirement after more than 36 years with Verizon and its preceding companies. Andy began his career with Bell Atlantic and the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of D.C. Originally from Needham, Massachusetts, Andy came to Washington to attend Georgetown University, where he majored in accounting and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He also earned a Master of Science in Special Studies of Telecommunications Policy from George Washington University. At the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone (C&P) Company he supervised a team processing telephone bill payments. Andy next served as a Supervisor and then Manager in Corporate Accounting before becoming a Manager of External Affairs, State Regulatory, Financial and Accounting Matters at Bell Atlantic, the parent company of C&P. From 1991 to 1992, Andy was a Brookings Institution Congressional Fellow assigned to serve in then-Congressman Amory ``Amo'' Houghton's (NY) office. During his fellowship, Andy founded a coalition of community leaders and worked with them to develop and implement economic development activities, including the Western New York Tourism Coalition, throughout the congressional district. He also initiated and founded HealthNet, one of the first Telemedicine networks in the nation, which was comprised of twelve rural and urban hospitals and a number of technology companies that worked together to use telecommunications technologies to solve health care challenges. After his fellowship concluded, Andy served as Director of Infrastructure Initiatives for Bell Atlantic. In that capacity, he worked with the General Services Administration, the Vice President's National Performance Review, and the City of Hagerstown, Maryland, to establish the first Federal Telecommuting Center in the Washington area. He also continued to initiate other Telemedicine and Distance Learning projects throughout the Bell Atlantic territory. In 1995, Andy was promoted to Director of Federal Relations for Bell Atlantic and continued to work in Government Affairs after Bell Atlantic merged with NYNEX to become part of the new Bell Atlantic. A later merger with GTE created Verizon in 2000, and later mergers with MCI and the purchase of Vodafone's interest in VerizonWireless created the current Verizon where Andy is finishing his distinguished career. He has also served as Chairman and in a leadership capacity with Signal Credit Union for many years. Andy has continued to focus on health care and telemedicine policy but also worked on labor, immigration, environment, and other issues. He is well known and admired for his expertise, effectiveness, friendliness, and generosity as well as his ability to forge effective coalitions with diverse memberships. Additionally, he is a proud member of ``Red Sox Nation'' and a long-time fan of the New England Patriots. Andy is a long-time resident of Maryland and resides in Adamstown with his wife, Linda. Together they have two adult children, Cory and Elise. In retirement, Andy and Linda are looking forward to spending time at their homes in Massachusetts and Maryland.

Mr. KLINE

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

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

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

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I want to start by thanking my colleagues on the committee in the House and in the Senate, particularly the Ranking Member, Mr. Scott, Senators Alexander and Murray, and their staffs. We would absolutely not be here today without their hard work. Today is a big day. We have an important opportunity to approve a bill that will replace No Child Left Behind with new policies that reduce the Federal role, restore local control, and empower parents, three principles that will help every child in every school receive a quality education. This effort began in earnest almost 5 years ago. It was February 10, 2011, when the Education and the Workforce Committee held its first hearing under the new Republican majority to examine the challenges and opportunities facing K-12 classrooms. Since that first hearing, we have held dozens of hearings and multiple markups and spent many hours on the floor considering amendments and debating competing ideas for improving education. All of those efforts are reflected in the final bill we have today. Behind all of that hard work was a team of dedicated staff. They put in long hours and sacrificed a great deal to draft the House and Senate proposals, move them through our respective committees and chambers, and then went to work developing this bipartisan, bicameral bill we are discussing today. My friend and colleague, the ranking member, Mr. Scott, talked about members of his staff and what a fantastic job they have done, and I know from many reports that they put in an awful lot of hours. In fact, Mr. Speaker, this process has been underway for so long that some staff who started this journey with us have now moved on to other endeavors: former staffers, including James Bergeron, Alex Sollberger, Casey Buboltz, Heather Couri, Dan Shorts, Matt Frame, Angelyn Shapiro, and Barrett Karr. And then there are those who are with us today and many who have been a part of this effort from the beginning. I wish I had time to recognize everybody, but I have a few minutes and am going to recognize quite a few of them: Republican staff members on our committee, including Janelle Belland, Krisann Pearce, Lauren Aronson, Dominique McKay, Lauren Reddington, Sheariah Yousefi, James Forester, Kathlyn Ehl, Leslie Tatum, Mandy Schaumburg, Brian Newell. Of course, I would like to recognize the Republican Staff Director, Juliane Sullivan, who always leads the team with patience, skill, and determination; Amy Jones, our education policy staff director, who was a firm, yet fair, negotiator throughout the entire process. And last, but certainly not least, our senior education policy advisor is Brad Thomas, sitting here patiently beside me today. According to our most recent estimates, Brad has spent more than 60 straight days here at the office working out the details of this final bill. We could not have done it without his knowledge, expertise, and dedication. Brad, we are grateful for your service. Again, because of the hard work of both Republican and Democrat staff on the Education and the Workforce Committee, as well as the staff of Senators Murray and Alexander, we will soon have a new education law that helps every child in every school receive an excellent education. I would remind all of my colleagues that, when we come in to vote a little later this afternoon, it is a binary choice. You can vote for this new direction, give our children a better opportunity, or you can vote to keep No Child Left Behind the law of the land. It is an either- or choice. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the conference report to accompany S. 1177. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Allen).

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Bishop), another member of the committee.

Mr. KLINE. Mr. Speaker, in an effort to balance the speakers on each side, I will reserve the balance of my time.

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