Alan Mollohan

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, we commend the gentlewoman for bringing this to the attention of us, and we have no objection to the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, we have no objection to the amendment. The gentlelady's insights into this issue are clear. The committee actually welcomes the thought, the amendment, and we accept the amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, we have reviewed the amendment, think it's a good amendment, and we are willing to accept it.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, this amendment, as we understand it, is merely a restatement of current law, which already prohibits the employment of unauthorized aliens. We don't read into it that it imposes any new burden on those who are using funds appropriated under the act. It is fully consistent with current legal obligations imposed on all employers, regardless of whether or not they use such funds. We would accept the amendment, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise and report the bill back to the House with sundry amendments, with the recommendation that the amendments be agreed to and that the bill, as amended, do pass.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the motion to recommit. If I heard the gentleman from California correctly, I believe he misspoke and said that he encouraged a vote against the motion to recommit. Of course he's not against the motion to recommit, but if he were, that would be the only place that I agree with him on this amendment. Obviously this is a killer amendment. This is the ``I got you'' amendment. It provides for promptly returning the bill back to the House. That means that the bill will not pass today on the Floor. That's the ``got you'' part of each one of these motions to recommit. It means we wouldn't be able to pass the bill here today. Additionally, the amendment asks for additional funding for the Department of Justice immigration law enforcement capabilities. We just had a number of amendments proposing across-the-board cuts during this proceeding. Many of their supporters have argued that there's too much money in these bills and in these accounts. We're funding this bill substantially above the President's request, $3.2 billion above last year and $2.3 billion above the President's request. It would always be good to have additional funding in law enforcement, but we're proud of how robustly we are funding law enforcement, and particularly for State and local law enforcement, which is $1.7 billion above the President's request. Those funds help with the local law enforcement, including prosecutorial, incarceration programs, and many others across the board. While this bill is well in excess of the President's request, much of that is for funding for law enforcement above last year's levels. The other provision of this motion to recommit would fund the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program at the level authorized. Let me just suggest that the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program is a privileged account in this bill. We began funding through subcommittee at $375 million. In full committee, it increased to $405 million. On the floor, this program was again increased now to $460 million. It is certainly getting its fair share of funding relative to other accounts in the bill. Indeed, if this motion to recommit were passed and were acted upon, we would have to go back and cut State and local law enforcement, FBI, DEA, and meth programs. We would have to cut law enforcement funding that puts police on the streets, that hires additional FBI agents, additional DEA agents, and funds meth programs. If we approve this motion to recommit, we would really have to go back and cut all of that funding. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Zoe Lofgren).

Mr. MOLLOHAN. I yield to the gentleman from Maryland.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

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

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, we have no objection. We accept the amendment.

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

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I want to support the gentleman from Maine's program. This funding supports scientific staff who monitor the health of Maine lobster fisheries, a crucial industry in his area and a crucial resource for the whole country. The funding provides infrastructure to improve science research efforts in this regard. Funding is crucial to understanding the health of the lobster fishery industry, and he stresses that in his remarks. This amendment is supported by the subcommittee. It's a good earmark, it's a good project, and this Member has concluded that it's essential in his area and to support this very important industry in his area. The subcommittee strongly supports this Member's project in this regard.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. I move to strike the last word.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment. The gentleman alludes to the Defense Department. He could save a lot more than $2 million for the United States Government if he turned his attention to the Defense Department and some of the contracting activities that are certainly going on in Iraq. And perhaps that's something he will want to look at. But let me say with regard to the textile-designated funding in this bill, I don't know a project that has actually had more scrutiny, or more broad-based support than this project. And in a time when our industries are competing internationally, the textile industry is particularly under siege around the world. This initiative has probably saved the textile industry that continues to struggle to exist in this country. To the extent that this program has been able to save it, the research and development that has come out of the textile industry's research can largely take credit for that. I want to commend the Members who represent these areas. And it's not one area. It's not two areas. There are eight universities involved in this, focusing on this and being ahead of the problem enough in order to be able to fund, promote, and facilitate the research that has allowed the textile industry to be as competitive as it is around the world. It is only research, it is only new discoveries, it is only new materials, new ways of manufacturing that have allowed the textile industry in this country to survive. So actually, these gentlemen are to be commended, each and every one of them for their foresight in supporting this project. I think I heard the textile industry has 60,000 employees across this country, and is a $60 billion industry. This is really a small amount of money which has had a huge pay-off for the textile industry and the economy of the country. It's a good project, Mr. Chairman. I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, under this project, funds would be used to support the East Coast shellfish aquaculture industry. I think the gentlelady has eloquently stated the merits of this request. The committee has looked at it, vetted it, spent hours going over all projects, including the gentlelady's, who serves as a distinguished member of our subcommittee, and we strongly support this project and oppose the amendment. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, will the gentleman yield?

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I totally agree with the gentleman with regard to the appropriate forum to deal with this issue. We will count on the gentleman to move that and get it to the floor even before we get to conference so that it will be a good result.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the rule for consideration of the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Science and related agencies. I would first like to thank distinguished Chairwoman Slaughter, Ranking Member Dreier and the entire Rules Committee for this open rule. Mr. Speaker, we bring before you today a balanced appropriation bill that's responsive to Member input on both sides of the aisle and reflects the legislative priorities of this Congress. This bill is creative in addressing problems that face our Nation, such as the rising crime rates that can only be addressed through additional law enforcement resources, the need for scientific research and discovery to inspire our youth and maintain our competitive edge in an increasingly competitive world economy, and the need for our country to understand and address the documented phenomena of global climate change. In this diverse bill we have gone to great lengths to address these and many other issues, and, Mr. Speaker, I think the House will be pleased with the result. And again, I urge support for this rule.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. 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. 3093 and that I may include tabular material on the same.

Mr. MOLLOHAN

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, today we're considering the fiscal year 2008 appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies. Before I get into the substance of the bill, Mr. Chairman, I want to thank my ranking member, Rodney Frelinghuysen, for his important contributions to this bill. He's done an outstanding job. He's been a terrific partner, and I respect and appreciate the expertise that he brings to our subcommittee. He has a strong commitment to our law enforcement agencies and grant programs for at-risk individuals. Mr. Chairman, he's demonstrated a real desire to make sure that the U.S. has adequate resources to negotiate fair trade agreements and the means to obtain an accurate census. I thank him for his assistance. I sincerely also want to thank his personal staff, Katie Hazlett and Nancy Fox, and minority staff, Frank Cushing and Mike Ringler, for their help during this whole process. Mr. Chairman, I also want to express my thanks to Chairman David Obey who has done an excellent job leading the Appropriations Committee through a hectic year that began with a continuing resolution. I also want to express my sincere gratitude to a tremendous subcommittee staff. This bill would not have been possible without the extreme hard work of Michelle Burkett, Meg Thompson, Marjorie Duske, Tracey LaTurner, Dennis Dauphin and Jennifer Eskra, who sacrificed long hours many days to complete this bill. I also appreciate the strong efforts and expertise of the full committee, including majority staff director Rob Nabors, John Daniel, David Reich, and Leslie Turner. Lastly, I want to recognize my personal staff for their hard work, Sally Moorhead and Julie Aaronson, who have done a tremendous job working on the bill as well. Now, Mr. Chairman, turning to the substance of the bill. Mr. Chairman, this bill totals $53.6 billion in spending and was formulated with input gathered from 24 hearings, including agencies that had not had a hearing since fiscal year 2005. We also heard expert testimony from outside witnesses regarding law enforcement needs, the importance of scientific research for our Nation's competitiveness, and the need for Federal investment in local and regional economic development. Through these hearings, we developed a fair and bipartisan appropriations bill that responds to legislative priorities supported on both sides of the aisle. Those priorities include both programmatic funding and congressionally directed spending for projects in individual districts. Pursuant to the strong rules put in place by the House and the full Appropriations Committee this year, designated funding has been cut in half from the fiscal year 2006 enacted level, and oversight has been increased by examining closely and carefully each earmark request and the accompanying certification letters. In several areas in the bill, Mr. Chairman, this subcommittee has eliminated earmarks and instead has created competitive accounts in which eligible entities may compete by submitting proposals to the agency for Federal funding. This process will increase transparency, spur innovative solutions, and allow programs nationwide to compete in the marketplace of ideas. Mr. Chairman, I'm particularly pleased that this subcommittee, which funds the major science agencies for the Federal Government, has taken on the issue of climate change. This bill funds $1.9 billion worth of climate change initiatives, an increase of $164 million above the President's request. Now that the scientific community has determined that global warming and the resulting climate changes are real phenomena, we must identify steps to be taken and strategies to be adopted in response to global climate change, and this bill does so by funding new programs in the Department of Commerce, in NASA, and in the National Science Foundation. Some of the climate change initiatives in this bill include: Funds to improve data collection associated with understanding global climate change, including restoring critically important sensors on the National Polar-orbiting Operating Environmental Satellite System, NPOESS; Second, funding increases for competitive climate research grants in NOAA's operating, research and facilities account; Third, two new education programs directed at climate change as recommended by the National Academies; Fourth, additional funds to the Marine Mammal Commission for monitoring mammal adaptation to climate change; And, finally, Mr. Chairman, $6 million in NOAA for an investigation and study by the National Academy of Sciences on climate change. This climate change study by the National Academy of Sciences will be a science-driven report examining the climate change data that has been collected in the last decade to provide the Federal Government, the business sector and other interested parties with an understanding of what we know and what we don't know about climate change and the options for how to proceed in the future. This landmark study process will begin with a 3-day climate change summit, at which top experts in the field will gather to determine the study's scope and topics. This subcommittee will take great efforts in this process to assure that agency agendas and politics do not get in the way of good science guidance to this country which it needs to move forward. Mr. Chairman, perhaps the most vital theme in this bill is law enforcement and protection for our communities. The job of funding the Department of Justice was made more challenging by funding holes in the President's inadequate budget request. In this bill, we increased funding for the Department of Justice above the President's request by $1.68 billion for a total funding for the Department of Justice of $23.9 billion. The President requested $1.475 billion for State and local law enforcement. Well, this was $1.4 billion below the fiscal year 2007 enacted level, thus creating a huge hole in the bill. The bill provides $3.195 billion for State and local law enforcement, and that is a 53 percent increase above the President's request and a 10 percent increase above fiscal year 2007 levels. The President's request would eliminate the existing Office of Justice Program's formula program and discretionary grants, and create three vaguely defined initiatives to be administered under the sole discretion of the Attorney General. This bill rejects the administration's proposal and provides funds directly to State and local law enforcement. Other key funding increases in the Department of Justice include two new competitive grant programs. The first is the Youth Mentoring Grants, funded at $100 million. The second, a $10 million program, will provide competitive grants to programs of national significance to prevent crime and improve the administration of justice or assist victims of crime. This bill provides $725 million for the Community Oriented Policing Services programs, which played a vital major role in reducing crime in the 1990s. Within this total, $100 million is for restarting the COPS hiring program, which has not been funded since 2005. Many Members contacted the subcommittee and myself and the ranking member with regard to the COPS program. I am very pleased that we were able to restart this COPS hiring program, which was extremely effective in reducing that crime rate in the 1990s. This bill also offers comprehensive funding to help State and local law enforcement address the methamphetamine epidemic, including $600 million in Justice Assistance Grants, $85 million for meth-specific COPS grants, $40 million for Drug Court programs, $10 million for State Prison Treatment Drug Programs, and $20.6 million for DEA Mobile Enforcement teams, which Mr. Frelinghuysen was so instrumental in advocating. The President proposed to terminate all of these programs. The bill also provides funding for Southwest Border Methamphetamine Enforcement. The bill increases funding for Violence Against Women Act, the VAWA programs, by $60 million for a total funding of $430 million, and rejects the President's proposal for VAWA's 14 grant programs. Tremendous interest among both the parties, Democrats, Republicans, for VAWA, and we are very pleased to bring a bill to the floor that can increase the violence against women programs by $60 million, I repeat, for a total of $430 million. Lastly, within the Department of Justice, the bill provides $25.4 million and increases for several Federal law enforcement agencies to implement the Adam Walsh Act of 2006. Increased funding is provided in several accounts within the Department of Justice for the apprehension and prosecution of sex offenders. An increase of $14 million, for a total of $61.4 million, is also provided for the Missing Children programs. Mr. Chairman, the Department of Commerce recommendation is $7 billion, a little over $7 billion, an increase of $497 million above the President's request. In the bill the committee restores funding for a number of programs that the President cut or eliminated, including the Advanced Technology Program, the Manufacturing Extension Program, and the Public Telecommunications Facilities Program. In the Census Bureau, funds were restored for the Survey of Income and Program Participation, an extremely important program with great interest among the body, and community partnership program has been restored as well. For the Economic Development Administration, an increase of $100 million was provided to reverse a recent downward trend in funding. The bill also rejects the President's proposal to consolidate the economic development programs into a single regional development account. Mr. Chairman, for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the bill provides robust funding of almost $4 billion. The bill establishes competitive funding in the Coastal Estuarine and the Land Conservation Program and the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and also competitive funding in the education account. In support of the Innovation Agenda, the committee funds the National Institute of Standards and Technology at $831 million, an increase of $190 million above the President's request, and provides $6.5 billion to the National Science Foundation to continue the goal of doubling the National Science Foundation funding in 10 years. The bill also provides an increase of $72 million in National Science Foundation over the President's request for education programs. In NASA, the bill provides $17.6 billion, an increase of $313 million above the President's request. This funding restores the cuts made by the administration in science and aeronautics and the education portfolios, and provides the funding in a new account structure to improve transparency and understandability of NASA's submissions. We have tried in a small way to give NASA the increases that it needs where the President has been negligent. The President's budget request made an ambitious proposal in the Vision for Space Exploration for the United States to return to the moon and to eventually go to Mars; however, by all accounts, he did not fund his vision adequately. The most recent telling evidence of this shortfall is the fact that the President's proposal assumes the inability of the United States to access space for a gap of 4 years between when the space station retires and when the CEV launches on its first official flight, the crew exploration vehicle. This leaves the United States with no guaranteed source of transportation during that gap to the space station. I want to make clear to Members that the gap has nothing to do with the continuing resolution of last year. Full ownership of this gap resides with the President. His unfunded mandate of the vision, as well as the fact that NASA had to pay for return to flight after the Columbia accident out of its own hide, has resulted in NASA being forced to rob Peter, science and aeronautics, to pay for Paul, shuttle, space station and exploration. In the end there is not enough for either Peter or Paul. The President has to acknowledge his inadequate budget request in this area. We invite him to reinvigorate and legitimize the Vision for Space Exploration by asking for necessary funds for returning to the moon and for going to Mars eventually and for other key NASA missions through a budget amendment or through an adequate fiscal year 2009 request. Otherwise, limited U.S. access to space and stagnation of key NASA programs will be, in this area, the President's legacy, the President's legacy in space. This bill makes positive changes in some of the smaller agencies. We have added $66 million above the President's request to the Legal Services Corporation for a total of $337 million. We have added $5 million to the EEOC to reduce the backlog of pending cases, and included a provision to eliminate the outsourcing of the EEOC call center. We have restored funding for the National Veterans Business Development Corporation, which was zeroed out in the President's request, and we have provided additional funds to the Marine Mammal Commission for monitoring mammal adaptation to climate change. There are many worthwhile programs in this bill. This reviews the highlights of them, and this bill represents a responsible bipartisan approach to funding these priorities, and we are pleased to bring it to the body today. [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH25JY07.001 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH25JY07.002 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH25JY07.003 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH25JY07.004 [GRAPHIC] [TIFF OMITTED] TH25JY07.005 Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MOLLOHAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as he might consume to the distinguished chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, Mr. Obey.