Doug LaMalfa

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, reflecting on Pope Francis' historic engagement with us here in the House yesterday, he opened with gratefulness for our freedom. We know we have that freedom because of the brave that our respective homelands have blessed us with. He spoke of the responsibility that we, as leaders, are to help grow a nation and the freedom with it. Freedom is essential in that success. Pope Francis said it is for all Americans--not just its representatives in this room and others like it--to help sustain society with action and the service attitude of organizations that are truly helpful for those truly in need. Through faith, not its misuse or extremism, but with humility, with that attitude of service, we are a better people. But it requires religious freedom, a cornerstone of our Nation's founding, indeed, important enough to be articulated and underlined in the First Amendment of our Bill of Rights. With that amendment, it has brought us peace and prosperity and helped the USA to be a beacon of hope and service to the world. Hand in hand with that religious freedom goes the respect of innocent life and preserving the family. As Pope Francis closed his remarks on the legacy for our youth, these ideals of life and family are the spirit we can all endeavor to pass to our youth, their future of a great land filled with freedoms and opportunity, that comes with all of us at that service. For all of us Americans, that is our job.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 25th year of September being National Rice Month. Today I want to pay special tribute to the hard-working American farmers, millers, merchants, suppliers, and the consumers who make rice not only such a wholesome food, but an important part of our economy. Rice farming in America actually predates our Nation's founding, beginning some 300 years ago in the Deep South. Today, America's rice industry creates 125,000 good-paying jobs and contributes an estimated $34 billion to our Nation's economy. America's rice farmers have also a longstanding commitment to protect and preserve natural resources. Today, U.S. rice farmers produce more rice, using less land, energy, and water, using cutting-edge technology in land-leveling, in yield, and in technology for using less chemicals. The process is much more efficient than it was 20 years ago, while providing critical waterfowl habitat for hundreds of species. I know personally because I have leveled many of these fields myself. America's rice farmers continue to serve as leaders in the farming community by producing a healthy, conservation-friendly rice crop that generates jobs and economic opportunity. I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing September as National Rice Month.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, this year, 8\1/2\ million acres so far have been consumed due to wildfire. This is approaching the record that we don't want to break of 10 million that happened in 2006. Recently, the Forest Service in this year's wildland fire season has spent $243 million just in the last week of August alone. We have 30,000 American firefighters deployed, as well as hundreds from Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Despite this dedication, the current Federal firefighters are given erroneous job titles, such as wildland technician or forestry technician. H.R. 3363, the Federal Wildland Firefighter Recognition Act, would give them the proper title of wildland firefighters and allows those who risk their lives to be recognized properly and given the respect they deserve. Let's pass H.R. 3363 to give them their proper title.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, the California almond industry has shouldered the brunt of the drought finger-pointing over the last year. The reality is that almond trees use about the same, if not less, the amount of water of any fruit or nut in the State of California. It is like the old story of the frog in the pot of boiling water. If the pot has no water, then you have no frog nor agriculture in California. We need to build water storage. That said, our almond industry employs over 100,000 people and brings in $21 billion to the State each year. In addition to being scapegoats on water, they also face a potential $4 billion loss if the European Union chooses not to extend the maximum residue levels allowed on fosetyl-aluminum. This chemical is not even used in almonds and poses no health risk. Inaction to extend this MRL will prevent almonds from being exported into the EU, depressing prices worldwide. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask Secretary Vilsack and the USDA to stand up for California and our agriculture and help obtain this critical extension.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I wish to express thanks to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) for leading this discussion tonight. It is very important to many of us in rural America. Of course, my district, which includes seven national forests, has experienced increasingly devastating forest fires caused by overgrown, mismanaged, or even nonmanaged forests, and has been economically strangled by restrictions on forest management. Our Nation has already lost over 8\1/2\ million acres to wildfire, and the year isn't yet over. We are on pace to exceed the record of 10 million acres burned back in 2006, and that is not a record we want to break. Our rural communities, public lands, and the environment are being destroyed through neglect. The habitat is gone, erosion into our lakes and waterways goes unchecked, and the people's asset, the value of the trees, is wasted. In light of Forest Service surveys finding that over 12 million Sierra Nevada trees have died in the last year, we cannot afford to wait another year. That is why we need Mr. Westerman's bill, H.R. 2647, which will return active management to our forests by increasing flexibility, cutting red tape, and, most importantly, acting to manage forests before fires occur, not afterwards. Streamlining review process means that forest management can occur when it is actually needed to address dangerous conditions, not after years of legal roadblocks. Allowing categorical exclusions for post-fire salvage and rehabilitation hastens forest recovery and prevents fuel buildup that can contribute to future fires. Expanding local involvement in forest management will improve the data and know-how available for planning and also respect local priorities. Finally, the budget impact of forest neglect can no longer be ignored. Just this week, the Forest Service diverted yet another $250 million from forest management to fighting fire. That brings the Federal spending total so far this year on firefighting to $700 million, money that, though we agree, needs to fight fire this year, could surely be used better if we properly managed forests in the future. This bill will end the borrowing by funding fires, as we do hurricanes, earthquakes, and other disasters, making them eligible for FEMA disaster funds. In California, over 1,000 homes have burned. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from their homes or communities. Firefighters have lost their lives, as well as some residents now. This is a needless loss of life, needless suffering in rural America. Let's start by keeping H.R. 2647 moving in the process through the Senate and on to the President's desk. I again thank Mr. Westerman for his leadership and allowing me to speak on this important topic here tonight.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this week, as we somberly memorialize the tragic attacks of 14 years ago, we can also rejoice in our constitutional values being upheld by a Federal court this week, in that the President's overreach on the Affordable Care Act will be heard under our separation of powers. The court has confirmed the U.S. House has standing to preserve legal claims on the President's overreach once again, this time, illegally overstepping his bounds on the Affordable Care Act and handing out $175 billion to insurance companies. It is very important for the people's voice to be heard on an action that was never voted upon or even seen in the public light of day on the Affordable Care Act and its inability to meet its goals of being affordable. Instead, the price is going up. Rates are going up. So this action is, indeed, a strike for our constitutional values, the ones we fought for, the ones we memorialized, the ones that are dear to our country.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, well, once again, with the end of a summer vacation that still has, in California and the West, the onset of fire season, California has seen twice the number of acres of trees burned so far this year, and fire season is far from over. While we are working to pass reforms to return responsible management to our national forests, the work doesn't stop when the fires are put out. Every single day that a tree lies dead on the floor of the forest means it loses more and more of its salvage value and then becomes a cost of the taxpayers to remove later, and it is also more dangerous fuel for the next fire. It is imperative that the Forest Service act rapidly to salvage these downed trees and conduct replanting and forest recovery or we will simply end up with more fuel on the ground the next time an area burns. While the Forest Service estimates there are 12 million dead trees already in the Sierra Nevada, virtually no work is being done to remove these dead trees from these forests. We must stop the barriers to getting the work done that is needed for our forests to be healthy and safe.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Mayers Memorial Hospital in my district, the First District of California, in Fall River Mills, eastern Shasta County, not only for their commitment to deliver exemplary healthcare services to the northeast area of rural California, but also in congratulations for, after years of planning and diligence on their part, Mayers was recently awarded a $21 million USDA rural development grant to address the hospital and region's most urgent needs, including replacement facilities for emergency departments, acute care, and diagnostic services, while making the facility compliant with California's rigid earthquake mandates that will make the building in seismic code by 2020. Access to healthcare services is already critical and a big challenge in rural areas of California, so ensuring our hospitals and doctors have the tools they need to continue offering primary care and emergency health services is very critical for our area. I have no doubt this project--one that I was happy to help support-- will have a positive impact on the community and the whole northeast region, generating jobs, and making sure the people of eastern Shasta County, as well as northeastern California, have the healthcare services and emergency services they need.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, as you know, the House adjourned for the month of August for time to be in the districts with our constituents. Before that, we saw the breaking story in mid-July of Planned Parenthood and the videos that came out of the barbaric practices that were happening in there on aborted babies. Indeed, America was horrified as each of the videos unfolded to see that these are the practices that our tax dollars are somehow helping to fund in that organization. The House did not completely take time away from Washington. Indeed, several of our committees started immediately taking action in July and then during August with letters transmitted to Planned Parenthood and others to make this more well known to the public, letters to invite them to explain themselves to committees--Energy and Commerce Committee, Judiciary Committee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee--which upon each video, as they became available to the public, Americans were more and more horrified with what was going on. The actions in the House were to ask the first person in the first video, Dr. Nucatola, to come and present her case of what that video was about and why it happened to the committee. Planned Parenthood responded that they probably wouldn't make Dr. Nucatola available; but indeed, finally, a month later, on August 27, the committee was able--a month later--to interview Dr. Nucatola. Today, the Judiciary Committee will resume these hearings this morning, almost as we speak now. Indeed, later on, Oversight and Government Reform later this week and Energy and Commerce Committee this week, will be doing more investigations, more hearings, on this, as is our prerogative in the House with Oversight and Government Reform because the American people, no matter how they feel about the question on abortion, post-abortion, when Planned Parenthood appears to most people to now be the equivalent of a chop shop for baby parts, they are outraged. They are going: Why are my tax dollars going to this organization? This isn't about women's health. There are lots of options for the health issues that women do need that don't have to be funded by an organization that is doing these practices. The House will continue its work on the investigations that are needed here, and we will continue on our work, seeing to it that tax dollars can be pulled back from supporting such an organization with such barbaric practices and with such a callous attitude as they discuss them over a glass of wine, on camera, at lunch. Indeed, this is our time in Congress, through this investigative process, to stand up for life, for what is right, for what is moral, and we dare not shirk from that responsibility.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, one of the most important votes we will maybe ever do in this House will happen probably later this week. I am talking about the Iran deal. Indeed, the original premise of the Iran nuclear deal was that Iran would be a nuclear-free, nonmilitary nuclear zone. That has already been conceded to in the deal we will be voting on here soon in the House and, I guess, over in the Senate as well. This is going to greatly affect the security of our allies like our good, solid ally, Israel, as well as others we do trading with in the Middle East. And if you don't think it affects U.S. homeland, then why does the deal include provisions not only after 5 years for being able to trade arms on the open market for Iran, but for them to have intercontinental ballistic missiles within 8 years? What do you do with ICBMs? I will guarantee it isn't delivering forget-me-not bouquets to the United States. Our security is on the line in this deal. Seventy-three percent of Americans don't even believe that we can strike a deal with Iran and have them keep their word. The Associated Press--and this is the real kicker--reported here recently that Iran would be self-inspecting, self-reporting on the deal. We can put no faith that they will uphold this deal and that they will adhere to any of the provisions in it. We need to vote ``no'' on this.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Thank you to my colleague, Mr. Culberson. It is really, really good and proper that you are having this time here tonight, and I am glad to be able to join you with that. Madam Speaker, it is amazing to me that we even have to have this conversation. It is always a good conversation to have to honor our officers that put their lives on the line in so many aspects of our lives, whether it is highway patrol or sheriff or city police, park rangers, fish and game. All of them out there have some level of risk in order to maintain what it is we want in a free society for our security. What is so tragic about what is happening lately is it is coming down to a racial issue, so much that the sides are becoming much sharper and sharper as to what America is or what Americans are about. We need to get together on this. The enforcement of the law, the upholding of the law, the protection of families, of homes, this cuts across all lines. Indeed, I just saw a bit on the news a few minutes ago here where a gentleman in Florida--his name is George Cooper, as I recall; he happens to be Black. He came to the defense of an officer who happens to be White who was being beaten in some type of an altercation there where he was trying to do his job. There are examples where, as the gentleman said in the interview, it isn't a race thing, it doesn't matter who is White or who is Black in this thing, it is about upholding the law and about having safe neighborhoods for all of us for Americans to be able to thrive. It is tragic that so much is going on trying to pit Americans against each other. Yes, we have problems; we have issues that need to be resolved within how some may enforce the law, but we have protocols for that. We need to make sure that they are followed and they are prosecuted, but it doesn't make the whole aura of law enforcement somehow wrong. Indeed, the effects we are seeing with cities now where cops are backing off, crime rates are going up, murders are going up in some of these cities here dramatically--I heard in one of the cities that it is 96 percent. This is not what we want. It is not good for the families, for the moms that have to watch their kids go out the door and wonder if they are going to come back because there isn't that law enforcement. I want to share with you a piece, though, that I think really encapsulates this, by a great American, Paul Harvey, from some years ago: What are Policemen Made Of? A policemen is a composite of what all men are, mingling of a saint and sinner, dust and deity. Gulled statistics wave the fan over the stinkers, underscore instances of dishonesty and brutality because they are ``new.'' What they really mean is that they are exceptional, unusual, not commonplace. Buried under the frost is the fact: Less than one-half of 1 percent of policemen misfit the uniform. That's a better average than you'd find among clergy. What is a policeman made of? He, among all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He's a strangely nameless creature who is ``sir'' to his face and ``pig'' or ``fuzz'' to his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won. But . . . if the policeman is neat, he's conceited; if he's careless, he's a bum. If he's pleasant, he's flirting; if not, he's a grouch. He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make. But . . . if he hurries, he's careless; if he's deliberate, he's lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints, and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn't hurt. He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being ``brutal.'' If you hit him, he's a coward. If he hits you, he's a bully. A policeman must know everything--and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake. A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal--and tell you where the criminal is hiding. But . . . if he catches the criminal, he's lucky; if he doesn't, he's a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn't, he's a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stake out 10 nights to tag one witness who saw it happen--but refused to remember. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy, and a gentleman. And, of course, he'd have to be genius...for he will have to feed his family on a policeman's salary. This is just a sample of what officers go through across this country where they, giving of themselves in service many times, especially in this present environment, feel like they are somehow made wrong for having done so. We are here to uphold that tonight and tell them: You are doing it right. We support you and appreciate the thin blue line.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Chairman Jeff Miller and the members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs for their work in helping pass H.R. 1994, which passed the House today. The measure contains commonsense reforms so that any VA employee who engages in misconduct or is performing poorly can be terminated or demoted. I am also very pleased that H.R. 1994 contains additional important protections for VA whistleblowers. We have worked with several of them over the last couple years out of the Oakland office and other centers that have been retaliated against for speaking out about gross mismanagement and possible violations of law. This is a very important covenant we would have with our whistleblowers so they could come forward and help us to have better VA performance. It is very critical we have the ability for them to come forward. I am glad that we have this measure here. I hope the Senate will take it up and pass it so we have better service for our veterans through the VA.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the House passed a measure I cosponsored, H.R. 427, known as the REINS Act, to end this administration's disregard for the separation of powers. The bill rightly reasserts Congress' proper role in writing our Nation's laws by requiring that any regulation written with a cumulative impact of over $100 million be reviewed and approved by Congress before going into effect, instead of the stifling of innovation that we have seen the effects of. Too often, we have seen this administration attempt to use creative interpretation of the law or aggressive rulemaking that have had a massive negative impact on our State's economy, resulting in higher prices, thousands of dollars per cost additionally per family per year, lower wages, fewer working hours, or complete loss of job opportunities altogether. For example, the proposed waters of the United States regulation would insert the Environmental Protection Agency in local land use planning areas across the Nation. Do we really need the Federal Government telling us how to landscape our own backyards? Is that even proper? I think not. Do we really think the Federal Government should be regulating manmade ditches along country roads or fields or dry streambeds and puddles which hold water only during and immediately after rainstorms or irrigation and drainage ditches which wouldn't even exist if not created by water districts and the people involved? What a giant leap of grab of power by the Federal Government in asserting itself over these private properties via these regulations written by bureaucrats and not overseen by Congress directly. In my district, Federal bureaucrats are unilaterally deciding, with no evidence or science, that small depressions in fields are linked to distant waterways, placing vast areas of land out of production. Despite bipartisan congressional opposition, the administration is attempting to move forward with this aggressive regulation, waterways of the United States. Mr. Speaker, the examples of this administration's aggressive and careless decisions, increasing costs, eliminating jobs are almost too numerous to count. In 2014, Federal regulations cost our economy $1.88 trillion in higher prices for food, energy, and goods, averaging about $14,000 per U.S. household. This price tag has spiked, thanks to the President Obama administration, which added nearly 500 new regulations, 184 of which have combined to raise costs to Americans of about $80 billion. The result is 81 new major regulations per year. Mr. Speaker, unelected bureaucrats shouldn't be imposing their will on the American people at a cost of billions of dollars each year. This is not the way to stop the difficult headwinds our economy faces. Indeed, this is causing more economic problems for us to recover from in this Nation. It is time for the Senate to join the House and send H.R. 427, the REINS Act, and help with our job economy, with the boost we all need-- that we have needed for so long during this last 6 years. The REINS Act is needed to indeed rein in an out-of-control government. Even the President himself said in his State of the Union Address in January 2011: To reduce barriers to growth and investment . . . when we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we need to fix them. The REINS Act is that fix. Let's get it done. Let's get the Senate to get it done.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, just this past week a Federal district court in California found that facilities built to hold illegal immigrants while immigration officials determine whether their asylum claims are valid or not were not properly operated and ordered the release of thousands of illegal immigrants within 90 days. The lawsuit alleged that, despite the fact that detention centers provide schooling for underage detainees, they still believe the facilities are insufficiently hospitable. Despite brand-new facilities built to address the present surge in illegal immigration last year, advocates of illegal immigration will use any avenue to expand and promote policies that entice immigrants to make dangerous journeys and put themselves under the influence of smugglers and human traffickers. The ruling gave the government until August 3 to submit a plan for releasing the illegal immigrants within 90 days. Of course, the Department of Justice's own data tells us that what will happen when these illegal immigrants are released is fully 85 percent will never show up for their immigration court hearings. The end result of this lawsuit will simply be the release of thousands of illegal immigrants who have not been vetted for criminal backgrounds, outstanding warrants, or any other characteristics that should prevent the release into our society. The situation raises a number of questions: Why did illegal immigration advocates file a lawsuit in California rather than in Texas, where these detention facilities are located? We know why. California is the lawsuit capital of the world and the home of courts like the Ninth Circuit, which most times is overturned, many times overturned at higher levels of court. They figure they could get a loose deal in California on immigration. Why did these illegal immigration advocates file a lawsuit knowing full well that the administration intends to release any detainees who provide a credible asylum request? Is even the most cursory review of illegal immigrants to determine whether they are dangerous to Americans too much for these attorneys? Will this administration appeal or does this ruling simply support their goal of unrestricted immigration and policies which ensure that the vast majority of illegal immigrants who are detained are released into our country almost immediately? Mr. Speaker, I believe we already know the answer to these questions. Both the Obama administration and the lawyers who file these frivolous suits have but one interest: continued unrestricted illegal immigration that places both Americans and immigrants in danger and makes a farce of our rule of law.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, earlier today, a third Planned Parenthood video surfaced, with a small warning of graphic content, the content being video of a freshly aborted fetus being dissected on a dish while, once again, senior staff uses casual rhetoric to describe how they obtain and sell baby parts, stating: I think a per-item thing works a little better, just because we can see how much we can get out of it. Americans are horrified by this and other videos, which already prompted House and Senate committees, as well as eight States, to launch investigations into Planned Parenthood. Faithful protestors nationwide are speaking out against this absolutely disgusting practice, including a rally occurring today in Sacramento; yet in that State, we have an attorney general actually, instead, leading a review of the group who filmed the videos. Using unborn babies as human capital? That is totally fine. Journalists exercising their First Amendment rights to expose illegal and gruesome activities? The government must intervene. Under Federal law and California State law, the sale or purchase of human fetal tissue is a Federal felony that carries a fine of up to $500,000, a number still less than the annual salary of Planned Parenthood's president. Mr. Speaker, these are unborn babies we are talking about. At the very least, we need to put a stop to this organization until we can investigate fully.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, well, we have yet another reminder why we need for the Senate to take up H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forest Act of 2015. We need to bring active management back to our forests. Why is this important? Because now in California as well as the rest of the Western States the fire season is upon us. In my district, the Lowell fire is burning near Alto, California. It has already consumed over 1,700 acres since Saturday, and it is only 20 percent contained. This is one of 12 fires burning in California. It is unknown how many throughout the West. Sadly, four firefighters have already been injured in this blaze, two from the State and two from the Federal level. Thankfully, three of the men have been released, though one is still hospitalized with severe burns. Thankfully, they are nonlife-threatening. Nonetheless, the nonmanagement of our forests are roadblocks that get thrown up by a few environmental groups to the type of wise management we need, especially in the time of drought, especially in the time we have millions of dead trees in the Western States and in California. They should be thinned. They should be managed. We should have a forest where it will be better for the habitat, better for everybody, and better for everything involved. Instead, we have roadblocks. We need this bill. We need a much better attitude on managing our forests because, again, this is hurting our firefighters, putting them at unnecessary risk, as well as the homeowners in the area, the wildlife, the habitat, and the economy that used to come from those areas.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in favor of H.R. 3009, Enforce the Law Against Sanctuary Cities Act. Why does it take tragedy after tragedy before this Congress and America gets behind the idea that we don't have to have more tragedies like Kate Steinle in San Francisco or one that almost may be forgotten about, Jamiel Shaw, Jr., in southern California some years ago, all at the hands of illegal immigrants that should not be here, should be deported? Why do we keep doing this? Indeed, sanctuary cities not only don't enforce the law, they intentionally cause people to be in harm's way because they are not enforcing the law. Denying funding to them is one strong message to sanctuary cities, over 300 of them now in the United States, that they are doing the wrong thing and needlessly endangering or losing the lives of Kate Steinle to illegal immigrants that are here causing this crime. Mr. Speaker, I urge passage of H.R. 3009, and for the Senate to timely take it up and pass it as well.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 1599, the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act. I also have great appreciation for the effort by Mr. Pompeo for a thoughtful and bipartisan bill that will be successful. Some of the opponents of this bill, based off clear speculation and fear-mongering, are again trying to deny America's first industry-- farming--the necessary technology it needs to grow more food to meet consumer demand in this generation and the next. In what other industry do we discourage innovation? Why is it that farming technology meets such scorn perpetuated by activist groups that stand to gain financially by tearing down modern agricultural practices? Across numerous States, including my home State of California, voters resoundingly rejected State-mandated GMO labeling. The facts are clear. Biotechs have facilitated the growth of more nutritious crops, all the while reducing pesticide spraying by an estimated 975 million pounds. Biotech crops have also increased crops produced, saved over 300 million acres of land, and helped alleviate poverty for 16.5 million small farmers and farm families, while reducing agriculture's--wait for it--greenhouse gases. While some of the colleagues across the aisle have advocated consumers have a right to know--and I agree--but mandated labeling will only cause more consumer confusion, while drastically increasing the cost of foods for families at the store shelf across the entire Nation. This bill allows consumers to have a choice by establishing a voluntary non-GMO labeling program, much like the successful national organic program. It is about common sense and delivering consumers what they want, choice and confidence while buying their foods without unnecessary confusion and high costs. A uniform, 50-State standard helps achieve that goal.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, today I would like to draw attention to the excellent work that the Architect of the Capitol has been doing in repairing and restoring the dome of our Capitol Building. I was recently briefed with an update on the progress they are making about halfway through the project. I am very impressed so far with the work. Starting last June, they installed 52 miles worth of scaffolding at 25 layers around the dome. It only touches the dome at three areas so that the weight-bearing structures do not affect and damage the dome. I am glad to know, also, that part of the repair devices come from California. In order to repair the cracks that they have in the iron structure that happens over the years, a company from Turlock, California, devised a drill and self-tapping mechanism here that requires no welding, no cornices, none of the complications you get with cast iron, therefore making repair of the dome effective and very good for the long term. They have removed 12 layers of paint and will put on three new good layers to make the dome gleam. We have some really excellent folks, 100 people in construction at any one time, helping to make our dome gleam. That is something we can all be proud of in our country, which is what I think this Capitol symbolizes: the greatness of the United States of America. So my hat is off to the great work of the Architect of the Capitol in restoring our dome.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Madam Speaker, I rise tonight to note the passing of a true gem, a jewel to northern California, LaVerne Grell of Yuba City. Now, my family has the unique experience of having my grandmother, Marjorie, and LaVerne born on the same day in the very same small town amidst the rice fields of northern California. My grandmother, Marjorie, and LaVerne spent many years together celebrating birthdays, music, life, and friends. We were blessed with my grandmother for 77 years. But LaVerne, in northern California, we were blessed with for 100 years. So LaVerne's loss indeed makes a big ripple. She made a big ripple in her life with all the people she touched and her love of music. Indeed, she was a talented musician and freely gave her time and her talent for decades through teaching music at Yuba College, participating in Handel's Messiah for almost 75 years and playing the organ at Marysville's First Presbyterian Church for 20 years. Indeed, when we lose somebody, we have what we call a celebration of life. Her celebration of life was last November when she reached her 100th birthday, and she had the best party I have ever seen with an orchestra, cellos, and everything. She got on the keyboard herself and showed us what 100 years of life and vigor in northern California looks like. We will miss her, but we will always smile when we think of LaVerne Grell.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arizona (Mr. Franks) for yielding me time, but also your longtime steadfast, earnest, and passionate leadership on this issue. It is much needed, especially in light of what we have seen this past week. We hear the euphemisms, the terms that are used talking about the unborn humans, the unborn babies. We hear terms like cell masses, cell clumps, specimens, calvaria when referring to a baby's head. A calvarium, is this even a term anybody in real life uses, especially when applied to an unborn baby's head? Is this a word that would apply to what ISIS does in beheading humans around the world? We don't use euphemisms like that. Why would we apply this to the unborn? These euphemisms disappear when there is a value assigned to the parts that can be harvested from the unborn. We hear descriptions of the techniques in this harvesting actually on the video that we have been hearing about and seeing, less crunchy techniques. The callousness of a terminology like that, less crunchy techniques, in order to preserve more parts for harvest. Are we talking about cheese puffs here? No; yet that is how callous this is. We talk about the price of parts in these videos. They have a value in this market they are talking about. Are we talking about cuts at a butchers' convention in pricing these parts? This is what it is like. It is unconscionable, Mr. Speaker, how callous, how base these terms are when we are talking about the unborn. We hear about how, for this process to happen, that consent is required. Well, who is being consented on this? The unborn donor, do they have a say in this? Obviously not. Mr. Speaker, and for all Americans, this issue is now right out in front of everyone in bright, vivid, bold, blood red colors for all to see what the attitude is, what the modus operandi for Planned Parenthood is and has been and will continue to be unless this body does something about it. We are right to call for investigations to get to the bottom if there is criminal activity here of what we have seen and is alleged with these videos. We are right to move forward with Mrs. Black's bill, should these come true. Even beyond that, for years, the millions of dollars that have been given to this organization, Planned Parenthood, to do what they do, it is time to defund them. It also is time to move on my colleague from Arizona Mr. Franks' carefully crafted and obviously correct bill on the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act because what kind of a country are we, what kind of a society are we to continue to allow these things to happen and not take action? I call on the Senate to take that bill up and pass it and put it on the President's desk, and he can explain to the American public his position on this issue. As we review, again, the grisly tactics of Planned Parenthood and others that would do as they do and the recent criminal prosecution of Kermit Gosnell--who isn't that much different than what we are talking about right here--if we don't take action, then we should be ashamed because, for all of us, the Lord is watching what we do. I thank my colleague.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. LaMALFA

Mr. LaMALFA. Mr. Speaker, this week, the first closeup images of Pluto were released thanks to the first-ever mission to explore this world 3 billion miles away. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft launched at a speed well above 30,000 miles per hour, making it the fastest spacecraft ever launched. The New Horizons probe was launched almost 10 years ago; yet NASA was able to predict its arrival time within 1 minute only a few thousands miles from the planet. New Horizon's successful mission reaffirms the leadership role the United States plays and must play in the future in space exploration. This helps foster innovation and new technology. The space program also inspires future generations to pursue degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. As New Horizons begins the process of transmitting data, we will learn even more about Pluto, as well as the Kuiper belt, on its next mission beyond Pluto. Mr. Speaker, NASA's New Horizons team needs to be congratulated for its historic accomplishment, and it is one that all Americans can be proud of as a testament to America's ingenuity and determination. Once again, NASA has expanded the reach of space exploration, and we applaud their efforts and the New Horizons team.