Kevin McCarthy

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the motion to refer. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Miller), the distinguished chair of the Committee on House Administration.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for bringing this resolution to the attention of the House. As I have said many times before, I am a big believer in the committee process to discuss all issues that come before the floor, especially one of this importance. I think this resolution should be referred to the Committee on House Administration to give other Members an opportunity to weigh in. I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Mississippi (Mr. Thompson) for the purpose of debate only.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at noon tomorrow, and further when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet on Tuesday, June 23, 2015, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. I will answer your question, but, first, I just want to make sure I clarify as to your earlier question. I am just reading here from Politico, as you have been able to read other statements. It says here that the Senate Democrats are prepared to shut down the government. Leader Reid outlined Senate Democrats' obstructionist plan for the summer. They have a title and a time for it, obstructionists for the summer, warning that, because of the Democrats' plan to block appropriations bills, we are heading for another shutdown. Unfortunately, as I read in other articles of this same time period, I believe the incoming leader on the other side, too--Senator Schumer-- said he was actually working with the administration on this. I do not think this is helpful. For the history of why we are where we are, sequester was an idea from this administration. The President is the one who put that into the bill. We are writing appropriation bills to the law. That is what our rules are and what we are doing. We are getting our work done, and we are hopeful that this Democratic plan of obstructionists throughout the summer will not come true. Now, you asked about the highway bill. This is a very good question and is one that I do want to work with you on because we were working together on this, Republicans and Democrats, from our committee. Unfortunately, as the gentleman may know, a month or so ago, your side of the aisle said they had to stop working with us. Part of the reason we were given was that it fell into the obstructionist plan for the summer, that it wasn't just about appropriations, but that you wanted to somehow shut down transportation, which we do not want to do. We want to get to a 5-year plan, and we were working with you on offsets to be able to pay for this throughout the rest of the year. Unfortunately, when the Democrats decided to stop this program, we had to just go to July. We know we have some time left, and we are very committed to getting this done. We think it is important for America to keep them working, and we hope you will come back to the table and work with us because we will be more than willing to work with you. I yield to the gentleman.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As the gentleman knows, this is the earliest we have ever started the appropriation process. The gentleman is correct that we are halfway through the 12 bills, having passed 6 already, and we are bringing up Interior next week. It is our intention to do the work that we are responsible for in finishing the appropriation process.

Mr. McCARTHY. There is no action scheduled for this House, no.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. The gentleman did say he knows my stance on this issue; and, no, there is no action scheduled before the House.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, no votes are expected in the House. On Tuesday, the House will meet at noon for morning hour and 2 p.m. for legislative business. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday and Thursday, the House will meet at 10 a.m. for morning hour and noon for legislative business. On Friday, the House will meet at 9 a.m. for legislative business. Last votes of the week are expected no later than 3 p.m. Mr. Speaker, the House will consider a number of suspensions next week, a complete list of which will be announced by close of business tomorrow. In addition, the House will consider H.R. 2042, the Ratepayer Protection Act, sponsored by Representative Ed Whitfield. This bill is essential for families all across the Nation. If we do not act, the electricity bills could skyrocket as a result of EPA's clean power plan rule. The House will also continue the annual appropriations process with consideration of fiscal year 2016 Interior appropriation bill sponsored by Representative Ken Calvert.

Mr. McCARTHY. I appreciate the gentleman's comments. Hopefully, I can take from the gentleman's comments that he is willing to work with us on highways and on coming back to the table. I appreciate that. We may disagree on whether the administration put it in the bill in sequester, but I think history will prove me right. I look forward to it just as we worked throughout this week and passed two bills today on a bipartisan level. You may have disagreed with one, but 28 on your side of the aisle agreed with it, so did your President. We look forward to getting this work done for the American people. We work within the current law. That is what we look to do, and I look forward to continuing to work with you.

Mr. McCARTHY. Again, I thank the gentleman for yielding. There is no action scheduled at this appropriate time.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding for the third time with the same question. There is no pending action before this House for next week.

Mr. McCARTHY. I thank the gentleman for yielding. As the gentleman knows, there is no gridlock here. We have passed half of the appropriation bills already. We have started the process earlier than ever before. As the gentleman knows, with just the bill before--very bipartisan--more than 46 Democrats joined us in repealing the medical device tax. I would probably tell the gentleman that his question really goes to the minority leader on the Senate side, Harry Reid. In reading some of his statements, he wants to create a shutdown, which I think would be wrong for the American people. I think the best way forward is for the Democrats and the Republicans in the Senate to take up DOD appropriations and move that to the President's desk.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I rise for the purpose of an announcement. Members are advised that we are proceeding to votes on the remaining two motions. I would advise the Members that the world is watching, and I encourage every Member of the House to vote ``yes.''

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, before I move forward, I want to thank the gentleman. He has shown true leadership in working, and working with everybody, in this House. Any time you take up a large piece of legislation, there are concerns. I have never seen another Member of this House sit with more meaning, more concerns, and try to find a solution, and I thank the chairman for that work. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, when I was headed home to California from D.C. one weekend, I saw something very troubling, but something actually today we can solve for the future. You see, it was February, and there was a labor dispute. There was a shutdown on our ports on the West Coast. So as the plane descended, instead of seeing the beaches stretched throughout California or the Santa Monica mountains, my attention was drawn to the number of ships sitting idle in the ocean and the number of ships that were just sitting in the port. You see, the docks were shut down and our economy was halted. When Americans cannot have their products moved to willing buyers, the men and women who are part of the creation do not receive the rewards of their efforts. And in California, we cannot afford to waste any of our resources, especially what we have a short supply of--water. So when the trade was shut down, the food that was produced throughout the Central Valley would just rot on the docks. But what was most interesting to me, Mr. Speaker, I remember a phone call I got just another weekend after. It was the president of the Republican freshman class here. He had just done a town hall, and he is from Colorado. He said: Mr. Leader, I have got a big issue in Colorado. The ports of the West Coast are shut down. You see, my small businesses are hurt by that. They are hurt when we are not able to have trade. I remember a big bipartisan press conference we had, Republicans and Democrats alike, the largest one I have ever been a part of in the press room, talking about the ports being shut down, because every single one of their districts were affected, especially the small businesses. When we cannot trade, our economy suffers and our way of life suffers. In fact, during that same period of this crippling shutdown, our economy actually shrank. Today, what we are talking about on the floor is trade promotion authority. It allows us to get to an agreement. You know, we have not had it for a few years. So what has happened around the world while the rest of America sat idle? There have been 100 trade agreements; 100 trade agreements around the world that we would want more of our small businesses to be a part of. You know how many we were a part of during that time? Zero, because we did not have TPA. You know, trade is the difference between rotting produce on the harbor docks and sending California goods around the world. Trade is the difference between the lines of prosperity and the lines of stagnation. We have a unique opportunity today. It is not a trade agreement. It is an opportunity. It is an opportunity that will empower each and every Member of this floor to have input, to have transparency, but what is more important, to empower every single American to make sure they are now at the table, that when there is the next trade agreement between countries who want to engage, America won't be left out, America can lead once more.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I send to the desk a resolution and ask unanimous consent for its immediate consideration in the House and, further, that it be read in full.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 2 p.m. on Monday next and that the order of the House of January 6, 2015, regarding morning-hour debate not apply on that day.

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Chair, I rise for the purpose of making an announcement. Members are advised that no more votes are expected in the House tonight. The House will begin debate on the fiscal year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill immediately following this vote series. Debate will continue late tonight, so any Member wishing to offer an amendment should be prepared to do so at the appropriate point in the bill. Our next votes are expected at approximately 11 a.m. tomorrow. Amendment Offered by Mr. Massie

Mr. McCARTHY

Mr. McCARTHY. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Texas (Mr. Babin).

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Today, we pay Russia $70 million for one astronaut to go to the International Space Station. As commercial space begins to grow, we watched others get into the market--SpaceX--so they could do it for much less. That is what this bill talks about, allowing the commercial space others to join in. I don't think all the answers come from Washington. I think government should be limited, but we should not limit our ability to grow. Why should we complain if we can use private sector money to even increase our capabilities to go higher into space? Mr. Chairman, the next person I am going to yield to knows a great deal about this. He represents aerospace corridor. He comes from a family that is renowned in the development of space in America. Mr. Chairman, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Knight), the son of Mr. Pete Knight, who still holds the record for the fastest man on Earth in an X-15.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, this bill that comes before us today took some time in drafting. In over four hearings in a bipartisan manner, this committee reached out to the minority in October of last year and gave them a draft of the bill. Unfortunately, Mr. Chairman, the minority party did not come back for 5 months. But we want to make clear that everybody understood the bill. We also want to make clear that people didn't make misstatements because, in this bill, the section provides FAA's ability to regulate commercial human spaceflight in order to protect the uninvolved public, national security, public health and safety, safety of property, and foreign policy. It also preserves FAA's ability to regulate spaceflight participant and crew safety as a result of an accident or unplanned event. Mr. Chairman, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from Texas, Chairman Smith, the man who has led this committee in a bipartisan manner.

Mr. McCARTHY. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, when I was a child, I learned that there was more to our universe than just my home and my town. There were people in great cities. There were buildings that stretched to the clouds. There were machines that could explore the character of atoms and telescopes that saw into distant galaxies. There is so much in the world. And in recent decades, we have grown accustomed to seeing it all. Entire continents and countries are a plane ride away. The Internet is a window to the world from the comfort of our homes. In this time of innovation, what was once unimaginable is now common, and what was once distant now feels so close. But we all know there is still so much left to learn. In my heart, I believe man's journey of exploration and discovery has barely begun. For generations, dating back to the dawn of humankind, every man, woman, and child has looked up to the stars in wonder. We imagined that the dots of light could reveal a glimpse of the future. And we thought that each night, we saw the whole heavens stretching above us. But as technology has given us new eyes to see the universe, we discovered that even on the clearest of nights, we can only see a fraction of the stars in one small section of our galaxy. I still look up at the stars with wonder. And I know that we are only at the start of our mission into this great frontier. You see, I spent time in school, just like every kid in America, learning about our first voyages into space and the Moon landing. I remember how much pride I felt, knowing that America did it first and that our flag still flies up there today. But that is not where we were meant to stop. America has always led because it is in our nature to lead. We crossed over the mountains of Appalachia and into the Great Plains. We climbed the Rockies to the golden coast of California and beyond, creating a Nation in this land that has far surpassed all others in truth, hope, and liberty. We are a beacon of freedom and human dignity to every person that longs for the right to choose their own future, and we are a force for good unlike anything this world has ever known. And yet in space, we are losing our ability to lead. We once stood up to the challenge of the Soviet's Sputnik and made it to the Moon. But today our astronauts use Russian rockets, and other nations are working to put people on Mars and beyond. But we must go beyond. We must face the great unknown with that American spirit of adventure and hope. To paraphrase President Kennedy, we must lead mankind into space--not because it is easy, but because it is hard and because that goal brings out the very best of our Nation. There are people--scientists, engineers, astronauts, and entrepreneurs--out in the deserts of California who have a goal, the same goal so many Americans have had before them. It was our forefathers' goal at the founding of this Nation conceived in liberty. It was our goal when two young bicycle repairmen rose above the sand and waves of a North Carolina beach to fly. It was our goal when Chuck Yeager raced through the skies over California and broke the sound barrier. That goal is to make our dreams a reality. Today these 21st century explorers in California and across the Nation want to bring man above the clouds, above the Earth, and above the Moon, itself. And we should let them. Government has great power; that is true. But in America, we believe that power is limited. It cannot, should not, and will not be used to diminish our dreams. I stand here before you today, Mr. Chairman, presenting a bill. This bill asks us to make a decision: Do we concede our future to one of managed decline where others lead? Or do we make a future where America and her people guide us in our journey to the stars? I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill, H.R. 2262.

Mr. McCARTHY. Mr. Chairman, I yield the gentleman an additional 1 minute.