Frank LoBiondo

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from California for the kind words and for his service to our country, and I say ditto about an honor to serve with him and everyone else in this body. I rise today to urge passage of H.R. 6602, to reauthorize the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail. This was something that I worked on with the late Senator Frank Lautenberg a number of years ago. Since its inception in 1988, the Coastal Heritage Trail has been a major success throughout my district, as well as the entire State. Now, although there are 12 Members of Congress from the State of New Jersey, the Second Congressional District, which I have had the honor of representing, is about 40 percent of the State geographically, so this trail spans nearly 300 miles, covering much of New Jersey's coastline. It was designed to provide an educational and enjoyable understanding of the natural, maritime, and cultural sites of our coast, which, I must admit, are many. The Coastal Heritage Trail is divided into five regions linked by the common heritage of life on the Jersey shore, as well as the Raritan and Delaware Bays. Finally, this trail has been a great example of the work that can be done through collaboration with public and private partnerships, and I think the success of the trail is really because of these collaborations and the different, various groups that have come together to understand how working together can really make a difference. Through partnership with the National Park Service, Congress, and local organizations, the Coastal Heritage Trail has received support and has been beautifully maintained until authorization recently lapsed. With this lapse of authorization, the public sector groups and the private sector groups were not able to maintain the trail, which they had most of the resource to take care of this. So it has been a big problem with the lapse. Mr. Speaker, it is time to redesignate this trail so it can be enjoyed by countless residents and visitors to New Jersey for many years to come. I urge passage of H.R. 6602. I thank my colleagues for considering this, and I very much appreciate the opportunity to move this bill.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Shuster for yielding. It is an honor to have represented the Coast Guard's only recruit training center in the Nation which is in my district. It is an honor to have represented the Coast Guard Air Station in Atlantic City, which is the largest helicopter air station that the Coast Guard has. Most of all, I want to recognize the men and women of the Coast Guard whom this bill will benefit. There are very few issues that have been so bipartisan across the board in my time here in Congress. When I first came, I didn't really understand the commitment that the men and women of the Coast Guard continue to make for our Nation, always being asked to do more and given less to do it. In many respects I wish we could have done more over the years, but to be able to move forward with a bill like this that is so bipartisan I think speaks to our commitment as a legislative body to the men and women to whom we owe so much that protect our country. I want to particularly thank Geoff Gosselin who is now with the full Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, but was on my staff for a number of years and really did an amazing and outstanding job with Coast Guard issues for me in helping me to understand them and move them forward. So I want to thank all of my colleagues who have made this day possible.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. As you heard Chairman Shuster say, this has not happened since 1982. So for the men and women of the tech center, for the heart and soul that you have put into our system, God bless you and thank you for doing the great job that you do.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, this is a day we should all celebrate. It is not that often we have an opportunity to have a bipartisan, bicameral bill that does so much to help America. There are a lot of thank yous to go around. You have heard about the particulars of the bill. I want to thank Bill Shuster, who has been a very good friend and has put his faith and trust in allowing me to chair the Aviation Subcommittee 6 years. I thank Peter DeFazio and Rick Larsen for their help. Rick has been a partner with me on Coast Guard and aviation issues. Also, the staff doesn't get enough thanks for the time and energy and work they put into it. I thank Holly Lyons, Naveen Rao, and Hunter Presti for all they have done over the years to make this committee move forward. And very special thanks to Geoff Gosselin, who was my legislative director for a number of years and has been a part of the major committee staff for a long time. This is really important to me. Aviation and the FAA has been a passion for me for all of my years in Congress. I have the honor of representing the Federal Aviation Administration's crown jewel technical center, which is in my district. The technical center is the heartbeat of aviation and the FAA in America. It is, as I said, the crown jewel for safety and security, and for keeping our Nation safe with the greatest aviation system in the world. But it is not because of the sophisticated laboratories and equipment. Yes, we have all that. It is the thousands of men and women who work there who put their heart, soul, energy, and enthusiasm into the dedication of making sure that our aviation system in the United States of America is the finest and the best. This bill will give the certainty and stability for them to do their job for 5 years.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I thank Chairman Shuster for yielding. I rise in very strong support of H.R. 4, the reauthorization bill. The Subcommittee on Aviation began the reauthorization process over 3 years ago, a very long process. In that time, we have held a series of roundtables and hearings on the state of the FAA's certification and safety processes, regulatory efforts, airport grant programs, customer service, and the air traffic control system. The subcommittee also had more than 200 stakeholder meetings in order to gather feedback and hear from various constituencies to understand what would work in the real world--not what 535 Members of Congress may think, but to get input from the people who have to make it work every day. I want to thank those who came to the table willing to share their thoughts and to work together with us. With the passage of H.R. 4, we will be taking an important step toward ensuring the FAA and our aviation industry does not suffer through another long series of extensions. Unfortunately, it seems like just about every year Congress is voting to keep the government open, while the FAA and nearly 4,000 of the FAA's incredible employees, who are my constituents working at the Technical Center in Egg Harbor Township, which is at the Atlantic City Airport, are forced to make preparations in case they have to shut down. Now, just so everybody understands, when we do an extension, we generally don't act on it until the last minute. These dedicated employees, these engineers in these laboratories that only exist at this Tech Center, are forced to stop their work and prepare for a shutdown. This costs a tremendous amount of dollars each time we do this. Hopefully, with the passage of this bill, we will be able to avoid that. H.R. 4 also provides the long-term authorization of the FAA, which will allow us to avoid the shutdowns and these threats of shutdowns. This means that important safety projects will be able to move forward without the inefficient starts and stops and they come without any hesitation, as we have seen in the past. Most importantly, FAA employees, including, again, dedicated employees of my Tech Center--now, just keep in mind, this is the premier facility in the Nation for safety, security, research, and development. As I mentioned before, these laboratories don't exist anywhere else. Many of these engineers' expertise doesn't exist anywhere else. This will enable them to help keep the United States premier in the world. Mr. Larsen referenced our position in the world. We don't want that challenged. We want this bill to be able to allow us as an economic driver. When you start looking at the numbers of what aviation means to the economy of the United States, you get an understanding of how critically important this is. We have worked closely with a number of constituency groups, and I think we have included their provisions in this bill. I want to point out that some of these battles take a while. And very diligently and very forcefully, the flight attendants have made their case for the 10-hour rest period. As mentioned by Mr. DeFazio, this is something that we don't want flight attendants being fatigued no more than we want pilots being fatigued. Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Shuster for including this in the bill. Mr. Chair, as we move forward, I want to particularly thank Rick Larsen, who has been a great partner. For those who may not be aware, Rick and I have been together first through the Coast Guard and Maritime Subcommittee and now through the Aviation Subcommittee. I think the relationship that we have and what we have been able to do is a model that can and should be worked for the rest of Congress. It is one that I cherish and value. And, Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Larsen again very much. Mr. Chair, I also want to thank Peter DeFazio for being a good partner and thank Bill Shuster for helping me become Aviation chair 6 years ago, putting his faith in me. I think we have had a great partnership. Mr. Shuster has been a great leader in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. I value our relationship. I value our work together. Mr. Chair, I urge everyone to support this bill. I think it is going to move America forward.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I will miss votes scheduled for Wednesday, February 14 and Thursday, February 15, 2018 due to the planned funeral of my oldest brother George LoBiondo in Rosenhayn, New Jersey.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Montana for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring H.R. 4285, to designate the facility of the United States Postal Service located at 123 Bridgeton Pike in Mullica Hill, New Jersey, as the James C. ``Billy'' Johnson Post Office Building, to the floor for consideration. Second Lieutenant Johnson was born and raised in my district in Richwood, New Jersey, in 1920. Due to his strong desire to serve his country, Billy enlisted as a private in the United States Army in 1941. He was later commissioned as an officer. He was assigned to the 370th Infantry Regiment, 92nd Division during the height of the Italian Campaign in World War II. Second Lieutenant Johnson made the ultimate sacrifice for his country when he was tragically killed in action in October of 1944. It is because of his steadfast commitment to his country, along with his valor and dedication to his country, that I support the naming of this post office after Second Lieutenant Johnson. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of this legislation.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Ms. Waters, Mr. Hensarling, and Mr. Duffy, for their work on this bill, and especially to my good friend, Steve Scalise. I know there was an effort to do this the right way, but I rise in opposition for a couple of reasons. First, I am disappointed. I am disappointed because we, in this body, had an opportunity to have a bipartisan bill that would have probably generated more than 400 votes, that we would have had a big high-five moment, and we could have moved forward. The Senate would have taken it. The President would have taken it. But now we have a situation that makes me angry--angry because we are picking winners and losers, angry because the misery index for some Members is more important than the misery index in my district or the Northeast. Five years ago, we were about a month after Superstorm Sandy. We had political hand-to-hand combat to get what the rest of the Nation has gotten almost automatically with every natural disaster in the whole course of our Nation's history. But no, Superstorm Sandy, there had to be an offset. We barely got the help we needed. This is all tied in together because we still have people suffering in New Jersey and New York and the Northeast from the aftermath of Sandy, and it is tied into this with Federal flood insurance. It is critically important. And why should it be that the concerns of my district and the people who I represent have any less of an influence on what happens here? I am angry, and I am disappointed that I have to fight with my own party on these issues. I am not at all sorry to stand up as strongly as I can for the constituents who deserve this--hardworking people who are trying to stay in their homes. I know the program has problems. I know we have to do this in a different way, and we have had an opportunity to do it in a bipartisan way, where all of our constituents should have been helped, instead of picking winners and losers. I am sick and tired of having to defend the people in my district and the people in the Northeast from policies that don't mean the right thing for us. Please do the right thing; vote ``no.'' Let's come back with a bill that makes sense.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 276.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 276) a bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to ensure reliable air service in American Samoa, as amended.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 276, as amended. This bill will improve transportation in American Samoa by making air service between its islands more reliable and predictable. Specifically, the bill streamlines a burdensome Federal regulatory process that artificially inhibits economic growth and jobs on the islands. The Senate unanimously passed similar legislation in the last Congress, and I am hopeful they will join with us this year in addressing this issue. I want to thank the sponsor of the bill, the gentlewoman from American Samoa (Mrs. Radewagen), for her tireless efforts on behalf of her constituents and for working with us to bring a bill that benefits so many of them to the floor. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 276. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen) and the staff for their help on this. I urge all Members to support H.R. 276, as amended. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to amend the title of the bill.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart and tremendous gratitude that I express my deepest appreciation to my Chief of Staff, Mary Annie Harper, for her more than 29 years of incredibly loyal service at my side on behalf of South Jersey residents. In May 1987, Mary Annie joined in helping me as my Chief of Staff as I started my freshman term as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly. For almost three decades I have relied daily on her invaluable insights and sound judgment. She has helped me remain focused and motivated, reminding me daily to stay grounded and always remember my South Jersey roots. Her clear passion for public policy and politics is evident to anyone who has worked with her. Without any hesitation I can say that there will never be another Mary Annie Harper in my office or my life. Her heart and humor will be two of her many character qualities I will miss going forward. On behalf of all of the residents of South Jersey, the staff and myself, I wish Mary Annie a very rewarding and well-deserved retirement and thank her both for her steadfast friendship and loyal service to South Jersey.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table the bill (S. 2683) to include disabled veteran leave in the personnel management system of the Federal Aviation Administration, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 5957, the Federal Aviation Administration Veteran Transition Improvement Act, allows an important federal benefit to be extended to newly hired veterans at the FAA. This commonsense piece of legislation corrects an oversight in the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act that was passed last year. This act inadvertently excluded FAA employees from coverage. One out of three veterans who served after September 11th report having a service-connected disability and more than two-thirds of those disabilities are rated 30 percent or higher. Mr. Speaker, just in my district, there are more than 40,000 veterans, of whom many have the skill-sets and aviation background needed to succeed in highly technical FAA positions. This bill can help ensure that a veteran's service will not become an obstacle for future employment. I appreciate the leadership and partnership of Mr. Larsen on this simple, important fix to an employment barrier for veterans in our nation. I urge my colleagues to support the passage of H.R. 5957.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Shuster, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Larsen, and the other committees responsible for this very important legislation which I strongly support. In my district in New Jersey, I have the privilege of representing approximately 4,000 FAA employees and contractors who work at the FAA's premier flagship technical center. Their extraordinary energy and dedication ensures American aviation continues to move forward. Without them, American leadership in aviation would suffer, and we cannot afford to send them home because Congress failed to do our work and pass an authorization bill. A lapse in authorization would result in the halting of certification and registration of new aircraft and disruption of our aerospace industry. It would needlessly jeopardize good-paying jobs and cause pain to hardworking Americans. This long-term extension averts these self-inflicted injuries. It also makes safety-critical reforms while capitalizing on the momentum of FAA's long-delayed small UAS rule. The resolution moves the ball forward for advancing UAS applications while ensuring they do not pose a threat to aviation, critical infrastructure, or the general public. It also gives the UAS test sites established under the 2012 FAA bill--one of which operates in my district--the certainty and stability they will need to conduct critical research and development on UAS integration. Mr. Speaker, this long-term extension promotes a stable aviation system, improves aviation security, and strengthens aviation security. It also has strong safety measures. I urge all of my colleagues to support this well-thought-out measure.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, the Senate counterpart to my legislation, H.R. 228, that will reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Act, comes during a momentous week in law enforcement--National Police Week, starting this Sunday. Thank you, as well, to the gentleman from Indiana, Mr. Visclosky, for working with me on this legislation since its original passage in 1999. Recent tragic events highlight the threats our men and women in uniform face each day. However, these all-important vests cannot protect the lives of those who do not have access to them. Now more than ever, it is imperative that we give law enforcement the tools they need so they may do their jobs and carry out their duties safely and effectively. The Bulletproof Vest Partnership program is one of those critical tools. In fact, we know from some of the most recent statistics, that 14 of 33 officers saved by bulletproof vests, were purchased using funds from the Bulletproof Vest Partnership program. Since 1999, over 13,000 jurisdictions across the country have participated in the BVP program. I encourage those law enforcement officials and concerned citizens listening, especially those in South Jersey, to apply for this vital program. The deadline to do so, May 16th, is quickly approaching.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank Chairman Shuster, Chairman Gibbs, Ranking Members DeFazio and Napolitano, as well as my colleagues Mr. Larsen, Mr. Posey, and Mr. Murphy of Florida for helping to draft this legislation and reauthorization. We all share the hope that this is the last go-around to get this done. Estuaries across the country, including the Delaware Bay and Barnegat Bay estuaries in my district, have immeasurable economic, ecological, and environmental benefit. They deserve continued congressional support. This version of the National Estuary Program reauthorization is a bipartisan, fiscally responsible compromise with the Senate that reduces the authorization by $8.5 million. The important part is it ultimately increases the amount of money each estuary program will receive. Unlike many programs under the Clean Water Act, the National Estuary Program is a nonregulatory program, uniquely designed to support the collaborative, voluntary efforts of Federal, State, and local stakeholders to restore degraded estuaries. Unfortunately, the NEPs have been losing money due to increasing EPA administrative costs. We have heard that before, but, in this particular case, it is really hurting. To correct that, our legislation details precisely how the EPA is to spend the authorized and appropriated money. By setting limits of 5 percent for the EPA's administrative costs, we can guarantee 80 percent of the funding goes directly to the needs of the estuary and not bureaucratic salary and red tape. Also, in this year's reauthorization, we have set aside 15 percent of the funding for a competitive award program. This program seeks applications to deal with urgent and challenging issues that threaten the ecological and economic well-being of coastal areas. By structuring how the money is spent and lowering authorization levels, this legislation strikes the right balance of fiscal and environmental responsibility. I want to thank my colleagues once again for their strong support of this, and I urge all Members to support the bill.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4239) to require intelligence community reporting on foreign fighter flows to and from terrorist safe havens abroad, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 4239.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, terrorism remains one of the greatest threats facing our Nation today. As a member of both the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Armed Services, I have seen how the brave men and women of our Nation's Armed Forces and the intelligence services battle this threat on a daily basis. But the recent terrorist attack in San Bernardino has highlighted that this is not just a threat to be faced by our servicemen and - women. We face this threat here at home, in our communities, from individuals who have been radicalized abroad and entered our country with the intent to do us harm. We must focus our intelligence efforts and bring them to bear directly on the problem of individuals radicalizing abroad and traveling to commit terrorist acts here at home. We must ensure that this important information gets into the hands of our Nation's representatives here in the United States Congress. The bill we are debating today will do just that. The Tracking Foreign Fighters in Terrorist Safe Havens Act requires the intelligence community to report to Congress three important categories of information: The total number of foreign fighters who have traveled to terrorist safe havens, including their country of origin; The number of U.S. citizens present in terrorist safe havens; and The total number of foreign fighters who have left terrorist safe havens or whose whereabouts are unknown. This information is crucial to policymakers. It will help Members understand the size and scope of the threats we face, the potential risk of terrorism at home, and how terrorist safe havens can undermine our national security. By ensuring that this information goes to a wide range of congressional committees, the bill ensures that relevant committees of Congress can begin to address this growing threat. This legislation is also bipartisan. I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Swalwell) for cosponsoring this legislation. I want to also thank Chairman Nunes and Ranking Member Schiff and my colleagues on Homeland Security, Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Thompson. Before closing, I want to take a moment to thank the men and women of this country who serve our intelligence community and our Armed Forces. I am honored to know so many of them in the course of my oversight work and to see their diligent efforts in helping to keep our Nation safe. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. McSally).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hurd).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Katko).