Richard Neal

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Dean).

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, we have been whisked here this morning in one of the grave challenges of our lifetimes. Usually, in March, we talk about brackets. Well, the brackets this morning are clear. Those brackets are about the health of the American people and the economic security of the American family. This is not about corruption. This is not about military conflict. Certainly, it is not about malfeasance. Our country is weathering an unprecedented public health crisis that demands an unprecedented response from the United States Government. I am really proud of the critical solutions our Ways and Means Committee colleagues and I contributed to this legislation. This legislation could be called the families' health and economic security stabilization act because that is what we are doing this morning, providing stability. The healthcare workers on the front lines of this crisis are being pushed to their limits, both financially and physically. They need more masks, tests, ventilators, and beds to combat this virus. This legislation will help them secure these fundamental resources with $100 billion in funding for hospitals and our healthcare system. As we work to protect the health of all Americans, we are also focused on the health of our economy. Just yesterday morning, we learned that this week's unemployment claims skyrocketed by over 1,000 percent. As we face this record economic challenge, families need benefits that will allow them to cover essential expenses like food, rent, and medication. From the beginning of this crisis, Ways and Means Democrats have understood that expanding unemployed benefits must be a top priority. The additional $600 per week in unemployment benefits that we fought for is the least we can do to help those who, through no fault of their own, find themselves without a paycheck. Similarly, the direct infusion of $1,200 in cash for American adults whom we fought for will help families through these challenging times. We also fought to include provisions to shore up the financial health of small business and other struggling employers. We were adamant about the inclusion of the employee retention credit because we know that the American economy will bounce back from this, and employers who take action to keep their employees on the payroll should be rewarded. This legislation is the product of two very different sides coming together to protect the health and financial security of all Americans in the face of this crisis. I thank the many Members on both sides of the aisle, and the Capitol, who have worked to get us to this bill this morning. I also thank my Ways and Means Committee staff who have been working around the clock since this crisis began and have provided the committee and the Congress with unparalleled technical expertise and counsel. They deserve our appreciation. We are facing this grave enemy in COVID-19. It is dark and uncertain times that we are witnessing today, but that is why we are here. We are here to fight for things that matter to America, to prioritize their health and economic well-being. We have a responsibility to take this bold action this morning so that our economy will keep going for workers and small business and to give families the peace of mind they can depend upon so that their government can help keep them whole in this crisis. That is what we did in this bill. There will be a phase four, which will be real stimulus as opposed, I think, to the stabilization effort we make today. We wish our colleagues and the American people the best at this time. Take care of one another. But I fully support this legislation being passed in a timely manner. That means this morning.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important legislative package to protect Americans' health and financial security as our Nation confronts the coronavirus crisis. I want to highlight quickly three policies that the Ways and Means Committee contributed to the measure before us this evening. First, we are ensuring that the coronavirus testing is provided free of charge. It is imperative that anyone who needs to be tested for coronavirus is able to afford that testing. If individuals worry that they can't afford the cost of the test, they will forgo it and risk endangering themselves and their community. To provide Americans with the necessary confidence they need to seek testing, we have included a provision that ensures free coronavirus testing in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, as well as for people enrolled in private insurance, the uninsured, Tribal communities receiving care outside of Indian health facilities, and our military families. Second, we are making a historic emergency commitment to paid leave for the American family members affected by coronavirus. One of our top priorities was to get Americans affected by coronavirus emergency paid leave so that they can pay their bills. After intense negotiation with Treasury, we have agreed that this is an emergency. We will require employers to provide the leave and reimburse them for the full cost via tax credits. Affected self-employed workers would be eligible for refundable tax credits. In the long run, we need a comprehensive paid leave program like the one in the FAMILY Act. If we had that now, we would be in a far better place with options available to us as workers confront these challenges. Finally, we are implementing measures to stabilize the unemployment insurance system and make sure that workers can access their earned benefits. These provisions will immediately help States deal with spikes in unemployment and prepare them for any future local or national recessions. These provisions give States necessary flexibility to provide unemployment insurance to coronavirus-affected individuals without delays caused by waiting periods and work search requirements. I want to acknowledge, in closing, that despite the urgency with which we have worked, this legislation had the benefit of extensive bipartisan negotiations and thoughtful consideration. My staff has worked around the clock, as always, working with Ranking Member Brady's staff to get bipartisan input into these provisions. The Speaker and I have spent much time on the phone with the Secretary of the Treasury to ensure, along with Mr. Mnuchin, that this bill is a solution that the administration and both parties in this institution can support. As a result, we have a very good product here. I am confident this measure will pass Congress with full bipartisan support and reach the President's desk without issue. As we face this challenge, Americans are looking to their government leaders to come together and present real solutions. Today, we are doing that. We are taking decisive action to help limit the spread of coronavirus, allow Americans critical access to testing, and provide families financial security in the near and the long term. Lastly, let me acknowledge the committee staff at the Ways and Means Committee for the work that they have put into this legislative achievement. Legislative counsel truly put in a Herculean effort to assemble this bill, along with leadership staff. They worked around the clock, all hours of the day and night, to create the immediacy of this legislation that will slow the spread of this virus, support American workers and families, and save lives. In particular, I want to acknowledge the teams on our Health, Worker and Family Support, Select Revenue Measures, and Social Security Subcommittees for their excellent contributions. The American people will be better equipped to weather this crisis thanks to their important bipartisan work. Mr. Speaker, I urge full support of this legislation.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 2877, to make Irish nationals eligible for temporary admission to the United States through the existing E-3 visa program. And I thank the gentleman from North Dakota for his offering today and his support. I worked last year with Chairman Sensenbrenner on this as well. Mr. Speaker, this legislation has broad support, and last session it passed the Congress unanimously. Created in 2005 as a result of the U.S.-Australian Trade Agreement-- which I voted for, supported, and spoke in support of--the agreement said, essentially, that the E-3 visa program, as constructed, would make 10,500 visas annually available to skilled Australian nationals for temporary work. This program has been a successful pathway for qualified Australian citizens to gain valuable professional experience in the United States. However, our Australian friends have only used roughly half of the available visas during the past decade. E-3 visas are limited to professionals visiting the United States to perform services in specialty occupations in a confirmed job from a United States employer. E-3 visa applicants also must have a university degree, or its equivalent, as a minimum for entry into the United States. The E-3 visa allows the holder to stay in America for 2 years with the option to renew. This legislation--and I want to make sure that we emphasize this-- this legislation does not change the requirements of the current E-3 visa program recipients or increase the number of visas made available. In broad strokes, my bill will simply enable qualified Irish workers to annually access unused Australian E-3 visas from the previous fiscal year. Once passed, the Irish Government has pledged to adopt a reciprocal arrangement that would allow Americans to work in Ireland under the same guidelines. The E-3 visas, combined with these reciprocal arrangements, would provide a welcome and long overdue movement of citizens between Ireland and the United States in both directions, which is so important to Irish America, the United States, and, indeed, Ireland. As many of you in this Chamber already know, legal migration between the United States and Ireland has been extremely limited now for many, many years. Mr. Speaker, in closing, I note the support that we have across the United States and unanimously in the Congress. It has the backing of both the White House and the Irish Government, whose prime minister, Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach, will be welcomed to the Capitol on Thursday for the annual St. Patrick's Day luncheon. In my opinion, this bill is a win-win opportunity for the United States and for Ireland, and for the citizens of both countries who will benefit from this very innovative and beneficial exchange program. Mr. Speaker, I thank the Committee on the Judiciary chairman, Jerry Nadler, and Judiciary's Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship chairwoman, Zoe Lofgren, for swiftly moving this legislation to the floor. And I do take special note of Jim Sensenbrenner's contribution for helping us get to this moment. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 2877.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I support H.R. 2339, which will address the epidemic of rising youth smoking across the country. Importantly, the bill before us today incorporates a proposal reported by the Ways and Means Committee that would establish a Federal excise tax on nicotine products, including vaping products. I thank Tom Suozzi, who has really done a great job on this, in a bipartisan effort, to ensure that e-cigarette products are taxed the same as traditional tobacco. Studies show that excise taxes reduce both adult and underage smoking. In general, every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes reduces the number of kids who smoke by 6 to 7 percent and reduces overall cigarette consumption by 3 to 5 percent. In recognition of the effort that we are making this morning, measured by the effectiveness of excise taxes as they reduce youth smoking, the World Health Organization recommends that e-cigarettes be treated and regulated in the same way as traditional tobacco products. The Surgeon General has said that raising prices on cigarettes is ``one of the most effective tobacco control interventions'' because it reduces smoking, particularly among kids. With this legislation, we are simply building on what we already know works. We are ensuring that nicotine will be taxed at approximately the same rate, whether you get it from e-cigarettes or traditional cigarettes. The revenue that we raise by creating parity here will be reinvested into important public health work such as smoking cessation, colorectal screening, and increasing access to treatment for people with chronic lung disease. Specifically, we will provide needed financial protection for Medicare beneficiaries undergoing important colorectal cancer screenings. I want to thank Representative Payne for leading efforts on this commonsense policy that would reduce out-of-pocket costs for seniors to access this effective preventative care. In addition, H.R. 2339 allows high-deductible health plans to cover inhalers and nebulizers for treatment of chronic lung disease. Under this provision, patients will receive coverage before reaching their deductible and remain eligible for health savings accounts. For patients with chronic lung disease, lower cost and easier access to these treatments reduces the use of more expensive medical care, including hospitalization. I thank Mr. Cox and Ms. Sewell for leading on these provisions. This legislation will protect our children from significant health consequences that come with nicotine addiction, while helping seniors and patients with chronic lung disease. Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to step up this morning and vote for this very important measure.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Fiona Heckscher, a valued member of the Office of House Legislative Counsel, who we lost over the February recess. At just 33 years of age, Fiona was one of only four members of the prestigious tax drafting team; her skilled draftsmanship can be seen throughout the tax code. From her work on the TCJA, to her work on important initiatives in the 116th Congress such as the Economic Mobility Act, the Lower Drug Costs Now Act, and the Protecting American Lungs Act, the knowledge and creativity that Fiona brought to the tax drafting process has left a lasting impact on our nation's laws. A graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Law, Fiona began with the Office of House Legislative Counsel in 2014. Since that time, Members and staff alike had come to rely on Fiona's wisdom beyond her years, the depth of her knowledge of the tax code, and the patience and warmth she exuded day in and day out, no matter how stressful the job got. Fiona was an institutionalist and deeply believed in the worth of the non-partisan work done by the Office of the Legislative Counsel: for the members, their staff and most of all for the American people. She often said that she felt lucky to be doing work that could further bipartisan collaboration. Fiona will be remembered for her dedication to the Congress, for the passion she showed for her work, and for the kindness with which she treated others. Fiona and her fiance Neal Desai had scheduled their marriage to take place when Congress would be in recess for the 2020 election. Her parents, Lavinia Hall and Charles Heckscher, her brothers Alexander and Dylan, and her fiance Neal mourn the loss of her light in their lives. I send my deepest sympathies out to them, and to all of Fiona's close friends and colleagues, and I ask my colleagues to do the same. Please know that Fiona's good work has left a meaningful and lasting mark on the Congress, and on the country.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Chair, I thank Chairwoman Lowey for yielding me the time. I am happy to stand in support of this legislation today. This is a disaster relief package that I worked on with Chairwoman Lowey, Congresswoman Velazquez, and Resident Commissioner Gonzalez-Colon. In addition to providing supplemental appropriations to respond to the recent natural disasters that affected Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories, H.R. 5687 includes the Puerto Rico Disaster Tax Relief Act. These provisions will help Puerto Rico rebuild its homes and communities and provide much-needed relief to workers and families after these devastating earthquakes. Specifically, H.R. 5687 provides additional allocations of the low- income housing tax credit, which will allow critical investments in new affordable housing throughout the island. It also makes additional allocations to the new markets tax credit in Puerto Rico, allowing the island to make important investments, like rebuilding community centers and hospitals in low-income neighborhoods. This legislation helps Puerto Rico and other territories implement the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit, two of the most powerful tools we have to combat poverty. Last year, the Committee on Ways and Means reported out similar provisions in our consideration of H.R. 3300, the Economic Mobility Act. Today, many Puerto Rican residents can be taxed into poverty from the U.S. payroll taxes that they pay. With our changes to the tax credit, we are creating long-awaited parity between the residents of Puerto Rico and the residents of the 50 other States. Additionally, the earned income tax credit is one of the most important work incentives we have in our code. This bill certainly rewards work. And, Madam Chair, I want to acknowledge Bill Pascrell from New Jersey, who did much of the good work in helping get to those success stories. We encourage work, we reduce poverty. This is a win-win for the island. As Puerto Rico and other territories try to recover from natural disasters, it is appropriate that we are taking action to ensure that these territories have access to these critical tools for community development and poverty reduction. It is impossible to deny the suffering on the ground today on the island of Puerto Rico. It is my hope that Congress will come together, as it has in the past, to help all members of the American family. We also urge full support on the other side. We took into consideration what they had to say at the committee. Madam Chair, I want to thank Chairwoman Lowey for moving this legislation swiftly to the floor today.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my condolences to the family and friends of Chris Allen, a valued member of the Senate Finance Committee staff. Chris was a leader on an issue that is of particular importance to me, retirement security. Chris will always be remembered for his tireless work ensuring the solvency of the pensions of thousands of workers in multiemployer pensions--and his leadership in making it easier for Americans to save for retirement in the SECURE Act. An alum of Loyola College in Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, he worked on pension and benefit issues and exempt organization issues for the Senate Finance Committee, under both Chairmen Chuck Grassley and Orrin Hatch. Before he joined the Finance Committee, he worked as a senior economic policy adviser for Senator Pat Roberts. And before that, he worked as a consultant and advisor for various groups, including the Financial Accounting Foundation and the National Association of State Treasurers. Widely known and widely liked, Chris will be remembered for his dedication, his passion, his candor and his sense of humor. His was a warm presence that lightened the tone of meetings and briefings. And he worked hard for what he believed in. Not just widely known and widely liked, Chris will also be widely missed. We hold in our hearts those closest to Chris, especially his wife Lynda, his daughters Sophie and Lucie, and the rest of his family and friends. I send my deepest sympathies to the Allen family, to his friends, and to Senator Grassley and to our other colleagues in the Senate, and I ask my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, this is an opportunity to call attention to some of the suggestions that have been made by this President and this White House as to the economic growth that he claims credit for. On the day that Barack Obama became President, America was losing 800,000 jobs a month. When Barack Obama left the White House, there were 14.3 million new jobs that had been created. That is a real turnabout. This notion that there was this dismal economy that President Trump inherited is simply not true. So let's even go back to the end of the Clinton years, which, despite what President Trump says, the greatest economic growth spurt in American history took place during Bill Clinton's Presidency--plus four balanced budgets. So, when Bill Clinton said good-bye to the country, we were staring at a $15 trillion projected surplus over the next 10 years. Let's do the math. A $1.3 trillion tax cut in 2001, a $1 trillion tax cut in 2003, and, borrowing, $2.3 trillion tax cuts in 2017. So let's take a look at this with some precision for a moment. That means, when you add the borrowing cost, meaning principal and interest, to what actually was embraced by two Republican Presidents, that means we have cut taxes, over about a 15-year period, by $5 trillion, added a trillion dollars to the debt this year, and now a national debt of $20 trillion, all based upon the theological notion--that is what it is, theology--that tax cuts pay for themselves. You cannot find a mainstream economist in America who will say that tax cuts pay for themselves. When we look back at what was done with the tax bill in December of 2017, it goes like this: A major piece of legislation was written in 51 days, without one hearing, without one professional witness, without one economic forecast, but again, this fundamental belief that, as the President said in a meeting at the White House with some of us, he didn't see why we couldn't have ``6 percent growth.'' He completely suggested that Obama's economic growth spurt would be far surpassed by his, yet that has not happened. We have had, during the Clinton years, 2.3 to 5 percent quarters of economic growth, averaging, in the end, the highest of any President in the last century--really remarkable. And then this suggestion, even though mainstream economists kept saying, no, the economy, even with the sugar high of the tax cut, will settle back down to less than 2 percent, so we are at 1.8 percent with $20 trillion worth of debt. The Obama years, even climbing out of the recession, averaged north of 2.3 to 2.4 percent of economic growth, given the worst recession, as the majority leader said, since the Great Depression. The argument was that we were going to have this unparalleled economic growth because of the Republican tax bill. That has not happened. The issues have settled back, and it has flat-lined, but here are a couple of things that I want to mention here that I think really bear noting. Productivity, which is probably the most important part of raising quality-of-life measures for the American people, a growth spurt of productivity, that has really not happened. Here is another key element of economic discernment: worker participation rates. If you really want to know what is happening, that is what you focus on. The postwar norm is about 66 percent, meaning two-thirds of the American people got up and went to work every day. Where are we now? At about 63.8 percent. The tax cut did not issue one response to one of the most fundamental challenges facing the American people, the American family, and the American economy. Madam Speaker, 2 million people have left the workforce because of opioid addiction. Two million people have left the workforce because of addiction. We wondered why Social Security disability climbed during those years. It was because of opioid addiction. Back to that issue about labor participation rates and productivity, there has been no change. Poverty rates remain stubborn. Here is something we should all be concerned about: There are still 40 million Americans who receive food stamps. If you give those people a choice between good jobs and food stamps, they will always take the good jobs, always take the good jobs. The number of people who are working in this gig economy with uncertain hours, no benefits, two jobs, three jobs, where they would all like to have one that gave them some decent benefits and a good retirement, those are the challenges we face. Think about this number--again, numbers are stubborn--40 percent of the American workforce every day gets up, goes to work, and is not in a qualified retirement plan. Their retirement is going to be Social Security. All of these numbers that we have depicted here portray a very different story about the President's suggestions when compared to the reality of where we find ourselves. The uncertainty every day, largely based upon some of the bombast, the unpredictability of where we head, all are part of the challenge that we face. But this idea that this economic growth period has all been because of President Trump, it is simply not true. He inherited a very good economy from Barack Obama.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I want to say, in support of the position that was adopted by my friend, Mr. Shimkus, there are a lot of things that the appropriators do around here that I don't like. I rise today in full support of H.R. 535, the PFAS Action Act of 2019. This important piece of legislation will significantly help communities around the country that have contaminated water supplies due to their PFAS chemicals. This bill is also an extension of the good work that the House accomplished last year with many provisions relating to PFAS contamination in the National Defense Authorization Act. One community in my district, Westfield, Massachusetts, has been particularly affected by these substances because of the past use of certain types of firefighting foams for the aircraft fires at Barnes Air National Guard base. Unfortunately, the situation at Westfield is hardly unique. For years, cities and towns around the Nation have been trying to resolve this problem with very little help from the Environmental Protection Agency. Provisions in this bill, however, will ensure that the EPA finally does their part to set safe drinking water standards and to include these hazardous chemicals in the Superfund regulations. Additionally, this regulation will require health testing for all PFAS substances and establish a grant program to help those communities affected to clean up their water supplies. Mr. Speaker, as someone who has worked for many years with the city of Westfield, and heard from my constituents aggressively on this issue, I am glad the House is providing some aid to many of these communities and ensuring our drinking water is clear of these chemicals. As a member of the Congressional PFAS Task Force, I want to applaud the hard work that has gone into this legislation and the effort of citizens from areas affected by PFAS for their advocacy.

Mr. NEAL

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Buffalo, New York (Mr. Higgins).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. DelBene), whose well-acknowledged efforts on behalf of the best and most important trade State in the country, Washington, as well as being a knowledgeable forecaster of international economics for all benefit all of us on the committee.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Alabama (Ms. Sewell), who, again, was an invaluable member of the Trade Working Group. Her advocacy for people in her constituency is well known to all.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Larson), a member of the working task force that assembled the document in front of us today, again, whose keen mind and good sense is always very helpful to these debates.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Judy Chu), another invaluable member of the Committee on Ways and Means whose knowledge about southern California is very important to all of us.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Stanton).

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Schneider), a very knowledgeable member of the Ways and Means Committee whose district I visited not that long ago.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. So on this occasion, Mr. Speaker, we conclude after 14 months of negotiating a hemispheric trade agreement--no small matter and no small accomplishment. It included a visit with the delegation to Mexico to meet with the President of Mexico, President Lopez Obrador. It included a delegation that visited Prime Minister Trudeau in Canada and intense negotiations in both countries, and I think it is fair to say that the conversations in both countries were indeed very spirited. But before I go to more of the specifics, we would not have gotten here without some very important and critical moments of focused and diligent work by Members of the House and the staff that got us to where we are today. First, an acknowledgment to Speaker Pelosi, who from day one said that the game plan is to get to yes. Her leadership to get the deal across the line, I think, was matched almost by her top trade adviser, Katherine Monge. Let me thank the working group members, Trade Subcommittee Chairman Blumenauer and his staff Laura Thrift and David Skillman; Representative Thompson and his staff, Jennifer Goedke; Representative Larson and his staff, Scott Stephanou; Representative Terri Sewell and her staff, Rob Nuttall; Representative Jim Gomez and his staff, Sam Negatu; Representative Rosa DeLauro and her staff, Jack Spasiano; Representative Schakowsky and her staff, Syd Terry and Osaremen Okolo; and Representative Suzanne Bonamici and her staff, Allison Smith. I want to thank the House Legislative Counsel, Mark Synnes and Kalyani Parthasarathy for their expertise, creativity, and many hours of hard and good work with our staff to prepare this legislation that is more than 200 pages long. They represent the very best of this institution's professionalism. For the support of colleagues and staff that I received from the diplomatic corps in Mexico City and Ottawa, we should express our gratitude as well to Ms. Elizabeth Hoffman at our Embassy in Mexico City for her extraordinary talents and efforts to support our attempts as we got to yes. I have great confidence and belief in the staff members at the Ways and Means Committee, and, yes, on both sides. So I want to thank my committee staff who have worked tirelessly on this agreement: Chief Trade Counsel and staff director of the Trade Subcommittee, Katherine Tai, who led us through the process along with her staff, Keigan Mull, Julia Friedman, Katie White, Alexandra Whittaker, John Catalfamo, and Kate Connor Linton. They were supported by a cast of very bright fellows and interns, Brishailah Brown, Chenoa Lee, and Tiffany Venmahavong. I also want to thank our colleagues across the aisle. Especially I want to acknowledge today the role that Ambassador Robert Lighthizer played in this. There is something to be said for the experience of Capitol Hill and having been a former staff member. Time and again we thought we weren't going to get to where we wanted to be. And there were some moments, I would say, of incendiary commentary back and forth. Though there were many threats to leave the negotiation, it never materialized because a long walk through this Capitol can solve a lot of challenges. Mr. Brady was invaluable as well, and his committee staff, Angela Ellard, Josh Snead, Blake Harden, and David Giordano all played a very important role here. This really is a bipartisan agreement, and I hope and expect that the challenges to USMCA will allow H.R. 5430 to enjoy broad, bipartisan support. I certainly am urging support for this because of the following: it bolsters workers' rights; it corrects earlier Trump administration backsliding on environmental obligations to get us to this trade agreement; it eliminated many big giveaways to companies that would have locked in high medicine prices, and it preserves Congress' freedom to legislate to bring those prices down; and it incorporates the strongest enforcement mechanisms, including specifically enhanced mechanisms for enforcing labor rights in any U.S. trade agreement. There are three titles that are devoted to the United States Government and our role: monitoring and enforcement of USMCA partners' obligations, monitoring and enforcement of USMCA partners' environmental obligations, and more than $843 million over 4 years that will be dedicated to monitoring and enforcement of labor and environmental obligations, including funds for education and training of workers and inspectors. We would not have gotten here today, however, without the important considerations of organized labor and the honorable men and women of the AFL/CIO and the Teamsters. We had broad support by including them in the negotiation and the discussions. This agreement is much the better for it, but it also is the signature accomplishment for all of us who had a chance to participate in it. Every once in a while, Mr. Speaker, you get to participate in these it-will-never-happen moments, and I believe that this indeed is one of them. So we also thank the NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, American Chemistry Council, Association for Accessible Medicines, Coalition of Services Industries, Farmers for Free Trade, Information Technology Industry, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Council of Textiles Organizations, The Software Alliance, and, indeed, many others. I hope that this will serve as a template going forward for the two sides to reach a combination on many of the priorities that expire this year that we will include next year. But, also, I think it is an example of when men and women in this institution of goodwill--not just in the season--but men and women of goodwill can find common occurrence and common ground on an issue, in the end, that is really important to all members of the American family. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NEAL. Mr Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. NEAL. Madam Speaker, it is always an honor to endorse the Speaker of the House and to welcome her to the floor, but also to point something out. On weekends, from Brussels, from Madrid, from Paris, she called me. And on the final weekend, time and again, with the U.S. trade rep on the line, the three of us went back and forth with Rich Trumka, who was in Pennsylvania on vacation, who couldn't have cell access until 5 o'clock in the evening. The Speaker was totally involved in this endeavor. But most importantly, she called me in the middle of a Patriots game, and I was smart enough to take the call. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi).

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Michigan (Mrs. Dingell), a very capable Member of the House.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Davis), a very capable Congresswoman.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Delgado), a very capable Congressman and my neighbor.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Levin), my friend.

Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman from Michigan an additional 30 seconds.