Frank LoBiondo

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. First, I want to thank Mr. Shuster, Mr. Gibbs, Mr. Bishop, and Mr. Larsen for helping me bring H.R. 5266, the National Estuary Programs Reauthorization, to the floor. I also want to thank my colleagues, Mr. Posey and Mr. Murphy of Florida, in helping me get this legislation drafted and ushered through the committee in a bipartisan way. This version of the National Estuary Programs Reauthorization is fiscally responsible by reducing the authorization levels by $8 million, while ultimately increasing the amount of money each estuary program will receive. This reauthorization will detail just how the EPA is to spend the authorized and appropriated money. Unlike many programs under the Clean Water Act, the National Estuary Program is a nonregulatory program; instead, it is designed to support the collaborative voluntary efforts of Federal, State, and local stakeholders to restore degraded estuaries. Unfortunately, National Estuary Programs have been losing money due to the EPA administrative costs. By setting limits of 5 percent for administrative costs for the EPA, we can guarantee 80 percent of the funding goes to the end user and the NEP and not bureaucratic salaries and red tape. In this year's reauthorization, we have also set aside 15 percent of the funding for a competitive award program. This program will seek applications meant 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 responsibilities. I urge all Members to support H.R. 5266. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Posey).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I continue to reserve the balance of my time, but I do not have any more speakers.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, again, I thank my colleagues Mr. Bishop, Mr. Larsen, Mr. Shuster, and Mr. Gibbs. I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this important legislation. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Stone Harbor, NJ resident Colonel Paul G. Humphreys of the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) who will retire from the United States Army on July 1, 2014, after twenty-eight years of distinguished service. Colonel Humphreys significantly contributed to the global fight against IEDs during his final tour of duty as JIEDDO's Chief of Staff. His efforts improved the safety and security of our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines as they operate in areas plagued by IEDs. Colonel Humphreys is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, Class of 1986. During his 26-year career as an infantry officer, he has commanded from the platoon to battalion level and served in numerous staff assignments from brigade to Joint headquarters. He completed five combat tours to include Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Storm, Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom I and III and most recently Operation New Dawn. Colonel Humphreys has earned numerous awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and the Army Achievement Medal, among others. I am proud to share in the celebration of Colonel Humphreys' military career. I would also like to congratulate his wife, Tammy, and his children, Devon, Brandon, Aubrie and Rhianna--whose love and support has aided and strengthened Colonel Humphreys as he has served our great Nation. I wish him all the best in his retirement.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. I thank you, Chairman Frelinghuysen, and also want to thank Ranking Member Peter Visclosky for setting an example of how to take care of our Nation's dramatic needs and do it in an inclusive, bipartisan fashion. Chairman Frelinghuysen has shown great leadership in providing the resources our warfighters need to successfully defend our Nation, both here and abroad. He and I have often worked together on issues of shared interest, and I thank him for engaging with me on this very important issue. Currently, the aircraft that are meant to protect our Nation's sovereign air space from both domestic and foreign threats, and also are routinely deployed, with the big Air Force, into war theaters overseas have gone without much-needed upgrades. The F-16 Block 30 aircraft are tasked with a mission that absolutely cannot fail. The 177th Fighter Wing out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, along with other Air National Guard wings throughout the country, are assigned this critically important task of ensuring our home defense and, again, being able to integrate fully with the big Air Force into conflicts overseas, as they have done multiple times and, in fact, they are doing right now as we speak. Due to the reduction of modernization programs, these F-16 Block 30 aircraft are without key combat avionic upgrades, such as the Scalable Agile Beam Radar. Threats to our Nation continue to grow all over the world, from sovereign countries and terrorist organizations alike. The diversity of threats means that these aircraft must have the latest capability to make split-second decisions to protect our Nation here and abroad. I ask that the chairman work with me to ensure that our Nation's airspace is properly defended, and that these F-16 aircraft are properly fitted for the threats of the 21st century. With that, I yield to my good friend, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen).

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Chairman, I rise for the purpose of engaging in a colloquy with the gentleman from Virginia, Chairman Wolf, and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Keating). NOAA's habitat restoration programs yield substantial, long-term economic value and help create jobs, not only along the Jersey Shore, but among all coastal areas throughout this Nation. It is my understanding that the fiscal year 2015 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill provides $25 million for habitat conservation and restoration, including sustainable habitat management, but it appears that no funding is specifically designated for the fisheries habitat restoration. As you move forward with this bill, I ask that you try to fund NOAA's fisheries habitat restoration programs and thereby allow NOAA to continue supporting community-based restoration and provide expertise to the natural resource damage assessment restoration efforts. Fisheries habitat restoration directly supports the volunteer rebuilding of sustainable fisheries and recovery of these federally listed species.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield to the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I thank the chairman. I thank Mr. Keating.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania.

Mr. LoBIONDO. I thank the chairman, I thank my colleagues, and I yield back the balance of my time. Amendment Offered by Mr. Polis

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, let me start out by thanking my colleagues for bringing together an incredibly complicated, difficult issue that probably as recently as a couple of months ago no one thought possible. Tremendous, tremendous accolades to Chairman Rogers, to Mr. Ruppersberger, to Mr. Sensenbrenner, to Mr. Conyers on a whole host of issues that, again, are critically important to our Nation. You have heard the chairman and Mr. Ruppersberger outline some of the key portions of this, but I think it is critically important to stress that the protection of Americans civil liberties must always be a top priority and always will be a top priority. This bipartisan bill underscores the importance of that while keeping our Nation safe. The USA FREEDOM Act increases transparency. That is something that people have demanded: increased transparency to the American people, and it allows for greater oversight, something else that we listened to that people wanted to see. It firmly, as Mr. Ruppersberger and Mr. Rogers have stated, ends bulk collection of records. This is critically important. It reforms the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, or FISC, to ensure greater checks and balances are placed in such sensitive national security programs. But as we discuss this, let's not miss the bigger picture. I have had the opportunity to see firsthand in some pretty dark and remote places on the Earth how our enemies are plotting not just on a daily basis, but on a minute-by-minute basis of how to find a chink in our armor, how can they find some gap which will allow them to attack our homeland, to attack our citizens. This is a constant and ongoing threat. This bill strikes a balance to allow that transparency for civil liberties while it underscores the ability of our intelligence community to be able to do their job. And having been, as Mr. Rogers indicated, firsthand in some very remote places on the Earth, we have got some incredibly dedicated people who are putting their lives at risk every day to protect this country. This is a good bill. Let's pass it.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4005, the ``Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act.'' I want to commend Chairman Hunter, Ranking Member Garamendi, and their staffs for the amount of work they put in to have this bipartisan measure brought to the floor. This important legislation contains a provision based on the ``Commercial Vessel Discharges Reform Act of 2013'' introduced by myself and Mr. Larsen. This provision puts in place a permanent moratorium from Environmental Protection Agency, state regulations and fines governing incidental discharges from commercial fishing vessels and all other commercial vessels less than 79 feet. With our stagnant economy, the government must not enact federal penalties which could discourage economic growth and job creation. The fines that are scheduled to be levied against our commercial fishermen for incidental charges will be devastating to our national and local South Jersey businesses. In conclusion, I'd also like to praise the tireless efforts on behalf of all Coasties that our colleague Mr. Coble has worked on during his entire career in the House. A Coasty himself, he has always fought for the men and women serving in this distinguished uniform and we will surely miss him. I urge all my colleagues to support H.R. 4005.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I rise in very strong support of this legislation, and we are about to do something tonight that doesn't happen around here very often. We are going to do a bipartisan effort that has common sense and fiscal responsibility, something that we ought to be doing more often. This is an issue maybe that doesn't affect everyone, but if you are from a district where your constituents have had their lives and their dreams ripped apart--first by Superstorm Sandy and then by the miserable implementation of a flood insurance policy that was well- intended, but not put together--how do you go back and say you are not going to fix it? This gives us an opportunity to give them hope for the future, to give them a chance to rebuild. 16 months later, I have still got constituents who aren't able to get back into their homes. How do you tell them they are going to have such an outrageous increase on their flood insurance, which will force them to throw their hands up and give it up? Congress is doing the right thing tonight. We need to follow through on this, have it changed, and understand that this is the approach for the future.

Mr. LoBIONDO

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 3578) to ensure that any new or revised requirement providing for the screening, testing, or treatment of an airman or an air traffic controller for a sleep disorder is adopted pursuant to a rulemaking proceeding, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 materials for the Record on H.R. 3578.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 3578. Let me begin by thanking some of my colleagues--first and foremost, Congressman Larsen, also Congressmen Bucshon, Lipinski, and Graves--for their help and support in introducing this very important bill. Before I explain the bill, I would like to enter into the Record letters of support for H.R. 3578. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3578 addresses the medical certification process for pilots and air traffic controllers as it relates only to sleep disorders. Currently, pilots and controllers are required to be medically certificated by the FAA at varying intervals. The duration, as well as the type of medical certification, depends on the type of activity they are seeking to perform--airline pilot, private pilot, et cetera--and all other factors, such as age. Regardless, pilots and controllers undergo a thorough medical review process, and the FAA ultimately decides whether or not to issue them a medical certification. Further, there are no certain medical conditions that the FAA automatically deems as disqualifying. Currently, pilots with one or more of those conditions, including sleep apnea, are required to seek a special certificate, which is issued at the sole discretion of the FAA and only if the applicants can prove they will not endanger public safety. Neither process is perfect, but it is a process that works. In November of 2013, the FAA announced a proposal to significantly and arbitrarily modify the medical requirements for airmen who might be at risk of having a sleep disorder, such as sleep apnea, even in the absence of any clinical evidence. The FAA's proposal would effectively assume overweight pilots have a sleep disorder based solely on their body mass index and would require them to prove otherwise at their own expense. It is a scenario of being guilty before proven innocent. The potential cost to these pilots could be thousands of dollars. The FAA proposal, announced without any input from the stakeholders, is neither reasonable nor effective. However, health issues can arise unexpectedly, which is why I have always supported reasonable, effective, and proactive efforts to improve aviation safety; but the FAA's action related to sleep disorders was carried out behind closed doors, with no input from stakeholders, and based upon controversial assumptions. While I applaud the FAA for seeking stakeholder input recently, it is too little, too late. Safety is my top priority as chairman of the Aviation Subcommittee. That is why the legislation we are considering today, H.R. 3578, does not prohibit the FAA from implementing new medical certification requirements for sleep disorders, but it does require the FAA, in the case of pilots, to conduct an open rulemaking process and, in the case of air traffic controllers, to use a process established under current Federal employment law. Finally, it is important to note that H.R. 3578 does not change the FAA's medical certification process or otherwise prevent the agency from responding to new medical issues in a timely manner. This legislation applies only to proposed changes to the medical certification process for sleep disorders. In addition, the rulemaking process required by this legislation does not apply to the enforcement of requirements providing for the screening, testing, or treatment of pilots and controllers for sleep disorders in force prior to November 1, 2013. H.R. 3578 is a bipartisan bill that is supported by a wide range of stakeholders, and I urge my colleagues to support it. With that, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Graves), who has been a big help on this issue.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I would like to yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Hanna).

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, how much time remains?

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I now yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Bucshon). I thank him for his help on this issue.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I do not have any more speakers, and I am prepared to close when Mr. Larsen is finished.

Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I again thank my colleague Mr. Larsen and colleagues who were interested in this issue. I would like to reiterate that this bill is about transparency and about working with stakeholders, two areas in which the Federal Government desperately needs to improve. I strongly urge all of my colleagues to support the bill. I yield back the balance of my time.