Buck McKeon

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wittman).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, may I inquire as to the time that is remaining.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Carter).

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 5652. Fifty percent of the savings that we have already generated this year have come from the military cuts, and we're talking about adding another $500 billion to $600 billion on top of that next January with sequestration. That's over a trillion dollars a year coming out of the military over the next 10 years, while defense spending only accounts for less than 20 percent of our budget and while we're fighting a war in Afghanistan and facing other uncertainties around the world. Let me remind everyone here of the major consequences of sequestration. There will be 200,000 troops taken out of the Army and the Marines, bringing our force level down below pre-9/11 levels. The ability to respond to contingencies in North Korea and Iran and other hot spots around the world will be put in jeopardy. We will have a fleet of fewer than 230 ships for a Navy that has protected the sea lanes around the world and our commerce. Ninety-five percent of our commerce travels on the sea. They've protected that since World War II. They'll be taken down to pre-World War I levels. We'll have a smaller Air Force than at any time since the Air Force was created and two rounds of base closures. That's why Secretary Panetta has said, It's not shooting ourselves in our foot with sequestration; it's shooting ourselves in the head. That's why 31 organizations representing more than 5\1/2\ million American troops and veterans have called on Congress to act immediately to prevent these catastrophic cuts to our military. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support our troops, support our national security, and support this bill.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding, and I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 2157. I want to thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Markey, as well as Subcommittee Chairman Bishop and Ranking Member Grijalva, for giving my legislation a fair hearing and moving the bill through the committee. Mr. Speaker, the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area is located in the northern half of my district in the eastern Sierra Mountains. Mammoth provides between 10 and 30 percent of the total employment in Mono County, and it's a primary recreation destination for tourists all throughout California and the United States. Each winter, Mammoth sees an average of 1.3 million visitors. These visitors pump vital money into the local economy by populating hotels, motels, restaurants, and stores throughout the region. Tourism is the lifeblood of the eastern Sierra. Mammoth has operated on a special use permit from the U.S. Forest Service since 1953. The base area of the mountain is aging rapidly and is in need of renovation and redevelopment in order to provide a safer, more enjoyable experience for visitors to Mammoth Mountain; however, these renovations are difficult to achieve under the terms of the special use permit. Since 1998, Mammoth Mountain has been working with the Forest Service to complete a land exchange between their main base parcel and other desired Forest Service acquisitions. These acquisitions include high- resource value lands in the Inyo, El Dorado, Stanislaus, and Plumas National Forests. The exchange would allow the main base to undergo significant and needed renovations. My legislation is meant to supplement and codify this agreement. It is needed for two reasons: Number one, the two parcels that the Forest Service wants are outside Inyo National Forest boundaries. Both parcels are currently leased by the Inyo National Forest from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power; Number two, there's more value in the Mammoth Mountain parcel than in all the land parcels exchanged in total. So Mammoth needs legislation for permission to pay a cash equalization to the Federal Government that will be used for future forest acquisition. The agreement is widely supported by the local community because residents, business owners, local governments understand the great value of having Mammoth Mountain in their community. Besides jobs and recreation, Mammoth supports a significant portion of the tax base providing needed revenue throughout the region. We've received numerous letters of support from community members, including those from Duane Hazard, chair of the Mono County Board of Supervisors; Vikki Bauer, member of the Mono County Board of Supervisors; the Mono Lake Committee; the Eastern Sierra Land Trust; and the Mammoth Lakes Town Council. Mr. Speaker, thank you for giving my bill time on the floor. Mammoth Mountain has been a good steward of the environment, a solid partner in economic vitality for the region, and an honest party in negotiations with the Forest Service. This land exchange will be mutually beneficial for all parties involved, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 2157.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Madam Chair, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2117, the Protecting Academic Freedom in Higher Education Act. I want to first thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for sponsoring this important piece of legislation and Chairman Kline for giving H.R. 2117 the attention it deserves. In October of 2010, the Department of Education introduced a regulatory package that aimed to improve the integrity of student financial aid programs, such as Pell Grants and federal student loans. However, the outcome was an introduction of two new burdensome rules, the credit hour and state authorization regulations. Two more prime examples of the current Administration's overreaching regulatory agenda. I have deep concerns about the impact these regulations will have on college affordability. Under the new credit hour regulation, federal student aid would be awarded to students based on the number of credits they take each term with the federal government defining a credit hour. This would discredit and negatively impact the traditional role of colleges and universities. Not only would this undermine colleges and universities but it would also overrule a state's determination of whether an educational program is a credit hour. In turn, this could lead to students receiving less federal aid or taking a slower path to graduation which results in fewer choices for students looking for postsecondary options to further their education. Overall students should be measured by how much they learn in the classroom instead of how much time they spend in the classroom. The State Authorization regulation would impose a one-size fits all approach to America's higher education community and weaken what is currently a strong and diverse community of institutions, each with their own unique missions. This new management style would result in unnecessary and excessive costs not only on states and universities but as well as the students. Furthermore, it would give states unprecedented authority over private and religious institutions. H.R. 2117 puts the right foot forward by repealing these burdensome regulations and instead focuses on the student and fosters an environment that enables them to learn and grow in a cost-effective manner. This legislation not only protects the student but also the academic institutions enabling them to focus on the individual by helping them excel in the academic community rather than having to worry about big government and its regulations.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from South Carolina, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Mr. Wilson.

Mr. McKEON. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. I do, and I will be happy to work with you to that end.

Mr. McKEON. I agree completely.

Mr. McKEON. I do.

Mr. McKEON. I yield myself an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. McKEON. I yield to the gentleman from Louisiana.

Mr. McKEON. This conference report does no such thing. It in no way affects the rights of U.S. citizens.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Texas, vice chairman of the committee, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, and a member of the conference committee, Mr. Thornberry.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Maryland, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces and a member of the conference committee, Mr. Bartlett.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 493, I call up the conference report on the bill (H.R. 1540) to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act conference report. As you know, the NDAA is the key mechanism by which the Congress fulfills its primary constitutional responsibility to provide for the common defense, and this year will mark the 50th consecutive year we've completed our work. The NDAA passed the Armed Services Committee with a vote of 60-1. It passed the full House by a wide margin of 322-96. Likewise, the Senate adopted its version of the bill by a vote of 93-7. We negotiated every provision in the two bills and have delivered this conference report using regular order. This is a bipartisan product from start to finish, with a wide base of support. Let me further assure Members that the bill's authorization levels have been reduced to comply with the Budget Control Act. The bill would bring the total authorized funding for the national defense to $554 billion for the base budget and $115.5 billion for overseas contingency operations. This represents a $19 billion reduction from last year's authorization. Nonetheless, what makes our bill such an important piece of legislation are the vital authorities contained therein. Our bill provides for pay and benefits for our military and their families, as well as the authorities that they need to continue prosecuting the war on terrorism. In addition, we include landmark pieces of legislation sanctioning the Central Bank of Iran and strengthening policies and procedures used to detain, interrogate, and prosecute al Qaeda, the Taliban, and affiliated groups, and those who substantially support them. However, I must be crystal clear on this point: the provisions do not extend any new authorities to detain U.S. citizens and explicitly exempt U.S. citizens from provisions related to military custody of terrorists. The conference report covers many more critical issues, but I will close in the interest of time. However, before I do, I would like to thank my partner, the gentleman from Washington, Adam Smith, the ranking member on the committee. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to my friend and colleague, the gentleman from Missouri, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Seapower and Protection Forces and a member of the conference committee, Mr. Akin.

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute to engage in a colloquy with my friend from Louisiana (Mr. Landry).

Mr. McKEON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the conference report to accompany H.R. 1540.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, I send to the desk a concurrent resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Madam Speaker, pursuant to clause 12 of rule XXII, I move that the managers on the part of the House on H.R. 1540 be permitted to close to the public any of the conference at such times as classified national security information may be broached, providing that any sitting Member of Congress shall be entitled to attend any meeting of the conference.

Mr. McKEON

Mr. McKEON. Reserving the right to object, I understand that I did that once myself, yield back my time inadvertently. With that, I would be happy to see that my colleague has the balance of her time to close, and I withdraw my reservation.

Mr. McKEON. No. I think we've probably said enough. What I would say at this time is we do support this. The bill was overwhelmingly supported out of committee 60-1, 322-96 in the House. We're moving strongly on this issue. We will support it through the conference and do our best to see that it remains in the bill because it is such a very important issue. With that, I yield back the balance of my time.