Joseph Morelle

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to spend some time on the floor with my distinguished colleague from Texas, though we disagree strongly about this. I would just once again reiterate that the CBO estimate on this is nowhere near 4 million jobs lost. That is not mentioned anywhere in the CBO report. It talks about a range from zero to 3.7 million. The median is 1.3 million. But, again, this is as much a question of values and what we stand for and a moral imperative as it is for statistics, because the statistics would argue for it. 1.3 million Americans would be lifted out of poverty the moment we pass this and this becomes law. Nearly 30 million Americans would see their annual wage increased, in some cases dramatically. And this, as I indicated earlier, makes certain that, as a matter of public policy, we make certain that there is no erosion of the purchasing power of the minimum wage because of the indexing on this. I really feel, Mr. Speaker, that those are the statistics that we ought to be mindful of, not just the worst possible, which is overstated by my colleague and friend. There should be, Mr. Speaker, no place in this great Nation where a minimum wage employee working full-time cannot afford the basic essentials. The work we are doing here today does not dictate a one-size-fits-all model for every State. It simply creates a floor, but a floor that is important, a Federal standard that says, if you work full-time in this country, if you put in the effort to earn for yourself and your family, you will achieve, at a minimum, a wage that lets you afford the basic necessities of life. I believe this bill is just; I believe it is moral; I believe it is long overdue; and I look forward to supporting its passage. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues for their words of support for H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act. I would especially like to thank Chairman Scott for his leadership and his commitment to this effort, and Chairman McGovern of the Rules Committee for his work to move this significant legislation to the floor. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on the rule; I urge a ``yes'' vote on the previous question.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record letters from the American Association of University Women, the Patriotic Millionaires, the National Education Association, and the NAACP, all in support of H.R. 582.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, although the gentlewoman from Indiana (Mrs. Walorski) did not actually talk about the minimum wage increase which is before us, I do note that about 40 percent of the workers in her district would be affected by this, with annual average raises of $3,200 a year. Before I just make a couple of other points, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following letters: The first letter is from the Service Employees International Union, SEIU, and the second is from the Communications Workers of America, both sharing overwhelming support for H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I note that using that logic, people might have said the same thing about my grandparents who came over from Italy at the turn of the previous century, who came to work in this country as carpenters and bricklayers and pipefitters. What we really need, if the gentleman is serious, is a path to citizenship to allow people, as we did a century ago, to come and fulfill and be a part of the American Dream. The truth is it also avoids what is happening, which is we have a shortage of workers in the country. Every week I try to visit employers in my community and get a sense of the pulse of what the challenges are that they face in continuing to seek economic growth and more opportunities. Repeatedly, I hear the same thing over and over again: We need good workers. Send us more workers. Do whatever you can. This is the time while our economy continues to grow following the policies of the Obama administration, continuing today, economic growth is now at a 10-year sustained path, but we need workers. You see this all the time. We can talk, and I am happy to talk about the impacts of automation and robotics and AI, but the truth is that, even among some of the biggest technology companies in the United States, there are thousands and thousands of openings for jobs. This is hardly a job killer. This is rewarding people who put in long hours, who look to climb that ladder of success in the American economy. I just note, also, for my colleague, Mr. Brooks, that 34 percent of the workers in his district in Alabama would receive an average raise of $3,700 a year by implementation of this wage increase. And I would also remind my colleagues, 65 percent of Americans, when asked, believe that increasing the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 is the right policy for Congress to take. So this has the backing and support of the American public. It has a clear path to making sure that there isn't erosion of income in the United States by people at the lowest end of the economic scale. It is an opportunity for us to think about a path to citizenship, to end the challenges faced by so many employers who seek good, hardworking workers. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), my good friend and a distinguished gentleman.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I often reflect on the wise words of Margaret Mead: ``Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.'' Never has this proven more true than when women of all ages and circumstances gathered in Seneca Falls in upstate New York 161 years ago this week and changed forever the course of history. These thoughtful, dedicated, passionate women stood up and declared to the world that all men and women are created equal. The convention sparked a fire in women across the country, formally birthing the women's rights movement and eventually paving the way for women's suffrage. We hear the echoes of their voices today as we continue the fight they began so long ago. Let this anniversary reinvigorate us as we carry on its legacy, fearlessly committed to securing equal rights, equal pay, and the fundamental right of every woman to choose what happens to her body.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, my district in Rochester, New York, has the second-highest rate of childhood poverty in America. Children in poverty face overwhelming barriers to academic success because it is impossible for them to learn when they are hungry or suffering from family trauma. These barriers are exacerbated in the summer when children lose access to educational opportunities, causing them to fall further and further behind academically. Low-income children lose 2 or more months of reading achievement every summer. By the fifth grade, children without summer learning opportunities are 2 years behind their peers. Students need a safe, stable place to learn over the summer. That is why I am so proud to have introduced legislation to help close the achievement gap and reduce food insecurity. The Summer Meals and Learning Act will help fund summer reading programs at schools that already serve as summer meal sites, providing the support and stability at-risk youth need to grow and thrive. Every child deserves the opportunity to achieve their goals. It is my hope that this legislation will help students stay on the path to success.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I thank the distinguished gentleman with whom I have the privilege of serving on the Rules Committee for his distinguished leadership of that committee and for yielding me the time. Madam Speaker, I rise today to applaud the work of the Appropriations Committee in finally upholding our obligation to invest in gun violence prevention. The legislation before us this week would increase funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives by over 9 percent. That additional funding will enable ATF to train more agents and hire more inspectors to fulfill the agency's mission of keeping illegal firearms out of criminal hands. More than 30 percent of guns identified in a crime have been stolen, yet ATF has long been denied the resources to properly inspect Federally licensed firearms dealers and respond to the flow of illegal guns onto our streets. This funding and the additional personnel it can provide will help ATF reach its inspection goals and enforce our existing gun laws, making communities across the Nation safer. Madam Speaker, I thank the committee for their hard work, and I urge my colleagues to support both the rule and the underlying bill.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend the University of Rochester Medical Center, which has just been awarded a $3.75 million grant for their Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. This significant award recognizes their world-class medical and educational expertise, while helping to cement their position as a leader in the geriatrics field. Investments like this are essential to strengthening health outcomes and ensuring a high quality of life for our loved ones as they age. The grant will support the Finger Lakes Geriatric Education Center, helping to fund specific education and training for Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. It will support the broader goal of creating a comprehensive age-friendly health system and work toward making Rochester and the Finger Lakes region a dementia-friendly community. I am so grateful to the University of Rochester for their continued dedication and commitment to supporting the needs of older adults. I congratulate them on receiving this exciting grant award and look forward to continuing our work together to provide high-quality care to everyone who calls our community home.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, we mark the beginning of Gun Violence Awareness Month clouded in tragedy and heartbreak as our Nation yet again mourns the loss of innocent life and confronts another act of senseless gun violence. As a Nation, we grieve with the Virginia Beach community. We must now ask ourselves how many more lives will be allowed to be lost before we finally say enough is enough? How many children, how many neighbors, how many colleagues and friends must we lose before we finally take action to make commonsense gun reform a reality? ``Run, hide, and fight'' should no longer be a phrase our children must learn along with their ABCs. Each day that passes without universal background checks, without a ban on military-style assault weapons, without safe storage and red flag laws, we risk the loss of more innocent life. This Gun Violence Awareness Month should serve as a wake-up call to all Americans. What are we waiting for? The time to act is now.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, as States like Alabama move forward implementing medieval laws that seek to imprison doctors and punish women for their personal healthcare decisions, I want to make one thing absolutely clear: I will always stand up and defend a woman's fundamental right to choose. These near-total bans on abortion are not only unconstitutional, but they also endanger the lives of countless women who will be forced to turn to unsafe procedures. In 1930, illegal abortion was listed as the official cause of death for almost 2,700 women, nearly 20 percent of maternal deaths recorded that year. We have come too far in the fight for women's equality to retreat to an era when women lacked the basic right to autonomy over their own bodies. My district of Rochester, New York, is the proud home of Susan B. Anthony. Today, we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, but the fight for women's rights is far from over. We must remain resolute in our commitment to protecting and upholding Roe v. Wade. We must support critical healthcare programs like Planned Parenthood. We must ensure that every single woman across America has the right to make her own decisions.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Chairman, I yield the remainder of my time to the gentlewoman from Virginia (Ms. Wexton), my colleague.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to offer an amendment intended to detail the full harm done to our Nation by the White House's sabotage of the Affordable Care Act. Last summer, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced a 70 percent cut, $26 million to the navigators program that provides in-person assistance to people who wish to sign up for insurance through the Affordable Care Act. In just 2 years, funding for this program has plummeted from $62.5 million to just $10 million. The President also cut digital TV and radio advertising by 90 percent, reducing investment from $100,000,000 to $10 million. The failure to use Federal funding for these activities leaves it to the States to fill in the gaps and puts on them the burden for the continued success of State and Federal exchanges. My amendment directs the U.S. Government Accountability Office to conduct a study of these cuts to detail how reduced funding has harmed enrollment across the Nation and the resulting costs to our Nation's families. Funding for ACA outreach is essential to ensuring that Americans know their options and their healthcare benefits. Without public messaging campaigns, many people have been left confused about the open enrollment process, when they can begin signing up for coverage, and the deadline for enrolling before the new year. As we approach planning for the 2020 enrollment season, we need to fully understand the results of the cuts to outreach and advertising that were put in place in recent years. That is what my amendment seeks to do. I want to thank my colleague Congresswoman Wexton for joining me in these efforts, and I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. I thank the chair and the ranking member for their work, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, across our Nation, we face an epidemic. In schools, in churches, on our streets, Americans are dying from gun violence. We have a moral responsibility to do everything in our power to prevent more people from suffering the loss of a loved one to the scourge of illegal guns. That is why I have introduced the Gun Theft Prevention Act. Last year, more than 500 gun shops were burglarized nationwide, releasing thousands of deadly weapons onto our streets and into the hands of criminals. In my district, a single gun shop was broken into twice in the same week, seven times in the span of a decade. Yet licensed gun dealers are not required to take even the most basic precautions, like locking their doors at night, to prevent these dangerous weapons from falling into the wrong hands. My bill requires gun shops to meet minimum security requirements, like locked cabinets and video surveillance, creates strong enforcement mechanisms, requires reporting of stolen guns, and authorizes 650 new ATF inspectors. This is commonsense legislation that will save lives, and I will work tirelessly to ensure its passage.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge that any long-term infrastructure agreement reached between Congress and the President must invest in the resiliency of coastal communities. Lake Ontario is already over 11 inches higher than average, and as rain falls and water levels continue to climb, my community and others like it are bracing for yet another season of devastating flooding. We must take proactive steps to adjust to changing weather patterns, the impacts of Plan 2014, and improve our community's ability to withstand, recover, and adapt to weather-related events. The Army Corps of Engineers will soon be conducting a study to develop a coastal resiliency plan, and it is imperative that any long- term infrastructure agreement include significant investments in these findings. I look forward to working with my colleagues towards a comprehensive infrastructure package that makes these investments a reality and better protects my district and the Great Lakes coastline.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. ``After it was reported that Cohen intended to cooperate with the government, however, the President accused Cohen of `making up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (taxicabs maybe?),' called Cohen a `rat,' and on multiple occasions publicly suggested that Cohen's family members had committed crimes. The evidence concerning this sequence of events could support an inference that the President used inducements in the form of positive messages in an effort to get Cohen not to cooperate, and then turned to attacks and intimidation to deter the provision of information or undermine Cohen's credibility once Cohen began cooperating.'' Volume II, page 154.

Mr. MORELLE. ``Congress can permissibly criminalize certain obstructive conduct by the President, such as suborning perjury, intimidating witnesses, or fabricating evidence, because those prohibitions raise no separation of powers questions. . . . The Constitution does not authorize the President to engage in such conduct, and those actions would transgress the President's duty to `take care that the laws be faithfully executed.' '' Volume II, page 170.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because our Nation is facing a crisis. Each day, 20 veterans take their own lives. That is over 7,000 veterans a year, more than the number of U.S. soldiers we lost in the entire Iraq war. We have a moral responsibility to do more to protect those who have so courageously put their lives on the line to defend our country. Recently, it was revealed that the Veterans Administration spent only $1.5 million of its $6.2 million budget toward suicide prevention media outreach in fiscal year 2018. That is why I have introduced legislation called the Reach Every Veteran in Crisis Act, to ensure those resources are used effectively and efficiently to provide veterans with the support services they need and so richly deserve. It is my hope that this legislation will help our veterans during their time of need and, hopefully, save the lives of our Nation's heroes. I encourage any veteran who is facing crisis or anyone who is concerned about a loved one to call the Veterans Crisis Line: 1-800- 273-8255.

Mr. MORELLE

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I appreciate my good friend, the gentleman from Oklahoma's comments. Those on the other side may say this is messy, but do you know what is messier? Another government shutdown. We just endured, earlier this year, a 35-day government shutdown, the longest shutdown in our history. In this committee, we are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent that from happening again. We want to make sure we can move forward with appropriations legislation, and this provision is a safety net to assure that process can begin. Whenever a budget bill comes up, whenever we begin that appropriations process, we will have a path forward. My good friend raised the question of the President. I have to admit I am new here, haven't been here very long. I have been involved in the budget process in the State of New York for many years. Frankly, watching the budget and looking at the budget submitted by the President, I would be embarrassed. I think it is no wonder that my friends on the other side of the aisle didn't submit, as an amendment, the President's budget. The President's budget is devastating. I look to how it would devastate the people in my home State of New York: repeals the Affordable Care Act, eliminates health insurance for 2.2 million New Yorkers, abolishes protections for people with preexisting conditions, substantially increases premiums for older Americans. If the budget that Donald Trump submitted became law, a 60-year-old living in New York making $25,000 a year could see their healthcare premiums increase by up to $5,000 annually, from $1,600 to $6,300 in 2020, a quarter of their income. It cuts funding for New York's Medicaid program by $159 billion over the next 10 years. Nationally, the Trump budget proposes to cut Medicaid by $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, 36 percent in 2029 alone. College would be more expensive for 179,000 New Yorkers by completely eliminating the Direct Subsidized Loan Program and taking away grants for 108,000 students by abolishing the Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant program. At a time when people need to have knowledge more than at any other time in human history to safeguard their economic future and those of their families, to cut college programs is reprehensible. But I don't care just about New Yorkers, Mr. Speaker. My friend from Georgia, I have a brother who lives in Georgia. His children live in Georgia. I care a great deal about the people in Georgia as well. The Trump budget: Eliminates after-school programs for 41,000 Georgia students by zeroing out the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program; Takes away high-quality childcare and early education for 4,200 low- income Georgia children by cutting Head Start by 17 percent in the final year of this budget; Eliminates nutrition assistance for up to 395,000 Georgians, 90 percent of whom live in households with at least one child, elderly person, or a person with a disability, by cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by $220 billion, nationally, over 10 years; Takes the food out of the mouths of 4,000 pregnant women, new moms, babies, and toddlers in Georgia by cutting the Women, Infants and Children program by 13 percent in the final year of this budget. I could go on and on, Mr. Speaker, but I will spare my colleagues a long dissertation on the Trump budget, other than recognize that this House is moving forward. We are beginning this process. We have established a safety net. This is what Americans want. They don't want another shutdown. And we are going to do everything in our power--together, I hope, in a bipartisan way--to make sure that we continue to move forward in the years to come. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, let me just make a few brief comments, and I always appreciate the passion that Mr. Woodall, my distinguished friend and colleague, brings to this discussion. I do want to say what this is. First of all, the rule before the House has both a resolution, which I talked about, which is really the safety net, it establishes the $1.295 trillion for discretionary spending and, in addition, allows us to do IRS enforcement--$400 million is in the resolution--and the census 2020, which is upcoming and which will take thousands and thousands of people to conduct the census in the way that the Framers identified it to be. It also has a budget bill. And I do want to just mention just a few points that relate to what Mr. Woodall said. The major components of the budget are in the budget bill. It provides a top line for discretionary spending, provides allocations to the authorizing committees, provides a revenue floor, enforces all these 302 allocations, and sets new caps for discretionary spending, gives allocations to authorizing committees, all of these things which will match the CBO's baseline, I might add, and enforcement through regular Budget Act points of order. So this does have a budget bill. What we do with the resolution, however, is critically important because it makes sure that we begin this process. I think the thing that we all want to avoid in the greatest possible way is a shutdown. We saw that happen, and 2018 made history. Although the House, the Senate, and the White House were all controlled by the same party, we ended Congress for the first time in U.S. history in a government shutdown, an inglorious end to the 115th Congress. We need to do anything we can. This starts that process, creates a safety net, and jump-starts the budget process. So this is a completely appropriate and, in my view, mandatory way to start this process. And I will perhaps, if I get a moment or two, talk about the budget that the President submitted to us. I also want to just mention for a moment, if I can, the comments raised by my colleague relative to the net neutrality bill. This, under the current rule, has enormous exposure to consumers and businesses. It does not impede innovation, what we are attempting to do. In fact, in my view, it will spur innovation, and it provides predictably for all users, consumers and businesses alike. I do note that the rule that we reported out last night ensures that we do everything we can to reaffirm that commitment to fair access. The rule made in order 12 amendments, both from Democrats and Republicans. It is a structured rule. Some of those amendments I agree with, some of those I disagree with, but every single one is worthy of debate on the floor. I am very proud, and I want to also congratulate the chair of our committee, Mr. McGovern, for making sure that we have amendments from both sides to discuss on this floor. I do want to just mention a couple of them. Several amendments aim to strengthen access to broadband internet in rural and underserved communities. Mr. Brindisi, for instance, has an amendment which we will take up which requires the GAO to produce a report about the ways the U.S. government can promote the deployment of broadband to rural communities. Representative Wexton has an amendment requiring the FCC to submit to Congress a plan on how the Commission would address problems in collecting data on deployment of broadband. By fixing these problems, we can have a better understanding of those communities that are served by broadband and ensure every community has access. We have an amendment by Representative Waters asking the Comptroller General to submit a report on how net neutrality helps ethnic and racial minorities and how those rules will help disadvantaged groups, rural populations, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. Without that full information, we cannot ensure that everyone is receiving the same treatment. We have an amendment from Representative Davids directing GAO to submit a report examining the FCC's efforts to assess competition. Colleagues are worried about how net neutrality rules will impact competition, but they have no data to back up their claims, so let's collect the data we need. Good policy is always backed by good evidence. We also made in order an amendment by Representative McAdams which would affirm that ISPs can still block unlawful content, such as child pornography. Some content has no place on the internet, nor anywhere in our homes, and we want to make sure that ISPs block this, as they should, and that nothing in the bill will prevent them from doing so. There are several other amendments made by Democrats that will be on the floor. I won't go into them any further. But I do want to acknowledge, also, that we have amendments in order submitted by Republican colleagues as well. Mr. Latta submitted an amendment requiring the FCC to share the list of 700 rules that will be permanently forborne once this bill becomes law, which makes sense to me. We had this conversation in rules yesterday, to ask the question what those 700 rules are. The FCC has determined them to be unnecessary and burdensome. Let's look at them and see what they are. Let's see the list. Let's show the American people that the government was not regulating for the sake of regulating and that, when those regulations are no longer appropriate, we will remove them. Finally, my colleagues on the Rules Committee made Representative Burgess' amendment in order. It directs the GAO to initiate a study to examine the virtuous cycle of the internet ecosystem and the effect of net neutrality on that ecosystem--again, an amendment which was made in order to make sure that we have bipartisan discussion here on the floor. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, on Monday, the Rules Committee met and reported a rule, House Resolution 294, providing for consideration of H.R. 2021, the Investing for the People Act, under a structured rule. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on the Budget. The rule makes in order three amendments, each debatable for 10 minutes. The rule also provides for consideration of H.R. 1644, the Save the Internet Act. The rule provides 1 hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The rule makes in order 12 amendments, each debatable for 10 minutes. Additionally, the rule deems as passed House Resolution 293, which will immediately put in place an enforceable top-line discretionary spending level so that the Appropriations Committee can begin its work. Finally, the rule provides standard recess instructions through April 26. Mr. Speaker, the Investing for the People Act is a 2-year budget bill that will raise the defense sequestration caps for defense and nondefense discretionary spending for fiscal year 2020 and 2021. I believe my colleagues from both sides of the aisle fully understand the devastating effects of sequestration. Across-the-board, mandatory cuts to every Federal program are not a successful path to fiscal responsibility. Without taking action to lift the caps established by the Budget Control Act, nondefense discretionary funding will be cut by $54 billion. Such drastic cuts threaten public health, the environment, access to education, job training, and lifesaving social services like food and housing assistance. Cuts to nondefense discretionary funding would also impact our national security. Nearly one-third of investments in this area fund veterans' programs, homeland security initiatives, diplomatic operations, foreign aid, and Justice Department activities. If an agreement on lifting the cap is not reached, defense programs also stand to lose $71 billion. In a dangerous world, those cuts would be, in my view, harmful to national and global security. Only a few months ago, the American people felt the harsh effects of a government shutdown. It is time to come together to take decisive action to avoid another blow to essential Federal programs that help hardworking Americans in every State. This legislation ensures working families will be able to rely on continued Federal funding for the programs that keep them safe, support their jobs, and invest in their children. In fiscal year 2020, defense spending would be capped at $664 billion, with nondefense discretionary spending capped at $631 billion. The Investing for the People Act would also provide up to $8 billion, annually, for nondefense overseas contingency operations, OCO, activities that do not count against the spending caps, while limiting OCO designation of defense spending in 2020 and 2021 to no more than the fiscal year 2019 level of $69 billion dollars. In his budget, President Trump proposed continued spending on defense measures but massive cuts to domestic programs like public health research, infrastructure investment, and support for low-income families. Even as our Nation draws down from our overseas war operations, domestic spending remains at a historic low as a percentage of our economy. H.R. 2021 provides a pathway for improving the lives of Americans in every community and renews our commitment to spending to meet the needs of our communities and invest in our economy. In addition to protecting Americans from spending cuts, the House will be considering protections for a product all of us here today rely upon to do our jobs and live our lives, just like millions of Americans: the internet. This rule also provides for consideration of essential protections for American consumers who use the internet. The Save the Internet Act would reinstate the Open Internet Order of 2015 that classifies broadband internet services as common carriers that are prohibited from preferentially treating or discriminating against groups of persons. An overwhelming 86 percent of Americans opposed the FCC's rollback of net neutrality protections. All this legislation does, Mr. Speaker, is restore those protections. Fair and reliable internet access is absolutely essential to millions of working families and small business owners. Practices like blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization harm the ability of every American to experience the internet in the same way, regardless of provider or how much money you pay. The Save the Internet Act includes enhanced transparency protections and enacts specific rules against throttling, blocking, and other violations of net neutrality. The FCC would be empowered to investigate consumer and business complaints and impose necessary fines against internet service providers for violations of the Communications Act. The bill also provides pathways to internet access for every American, especially those in rural communities who are being left behind by modern, high-speed internet infrastructure. The Save the Internet Act would once again allow the FCC to fund rural broadband through the Connect America Fund. Additionally, this legislation revives the Lifeline program, created under the Reagan administration to subsidize phone service for low- income families. Under this legislation, the FCC would again have authorization to use the Lifeline program to expand access to broadband for low-income Americans, especially seniors, students, veterans, and disabled Americans. In response to concerns raised by our Republican colleagues, the Save the Internet Act also ensures that the FCC has the power to protect access to the internet but does not have authority to make decisions over internet content or the power to impose taxes and fees for internet access. This legislation forbears the FCC from applying more than 700 regulations under the Communications Act that are unnecessary to protecting an open internet, such as rate setting. Internet service providers have long claimed that they were hamstrung by net neutrality protections and that strong consumer protections were preventing them from investing in higher speeds and advanced broadband infrastructure. In reality, ISPs actually increased speeds and invested huge amounts in improving their broadband during the time when net neutrality protections were enforced by the FCC. Moreover, many of the largest providers have failed to keep their promise of increased investing after the Trump FCC repealed those protections, with investments actually shrinking in recent years. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote for this rule and for both pieces of legislation underlying it, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. MORELLE. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Woodall), my friend, pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. General Leave