Richard Nolan

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, my amendment and the body of the amendments in this bloc are really all about public safety. Mine, in particular, is a bipartisan, commonsense solution to a very limited but seriously dangerous problem. In short, it will help make winter travel safer for truckers, travelers, and pedestrians who live, work, and do business in and around the great seaport of Duluth, Minnesota. I would like to thank Chairman Bill Shuster and Ranking Member Peter DeFazio for working with me on this, and the endless hours that you have put forth in committee and here on the floor yesterday, today, late into the night, and tomorrow for opening up and democratizing this process, making amendments like mine and others possible. Mr. Chairman, I urge adoption of the amendment.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Shuster, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Ranking Member DeFazio, for bringing forth here to floor of the House a long-term transportation bill. It is the product of numerous hearings that have been held over the last couple of years, and those hearings were interesting in that, universally, whether we were hearing from the head of the national Chamber of Commerce, or hearing from the head of the AFL- CIO and/or the trade unions that build our infrastructure, the message was always the same. First of all, it was a recognition of the obvious: bridges are falling down, trains are coming off the track. It is tragic and costly in terms of dollars and loss of life. Secondly, it was pointed out by everybody that this failure is handicapping our economy--our ability to expand business, to create jobs, and to grow our economy. Thirdly, everyone testified that we need a long-term surface transportation legislation so that States, communities, and our Federal transportation officials can do the kind of planning that is necessary to build the kind of transportation system that is needed for a strong economy. Lastly, I want to point out that this legislation before us here today is the product of what has come to be known as regular order; namely, the process where important legislation for the country is brought before the appropriate committees and the committees and all the members of that committee have an opportunity to offer any ideas, any amendments that they want that they think will improve, in this case, our surface transportation system. The fact of the matter is we have hundreds of amendments, and that committee, on which I am proud to serve, examined and considered every single one of those amendments. Mr. Speaker, it is important to remind ourselves here that democracy is a long, arduous, and difficult process, but when you allow the members of a committee who have spent enormous amounts of time getting smart and knowledgeable about the responsibilities of that committee to come together, to offer their ideas, to have them thoroughly examined, and to have them thoroughly debated is how you find common ground. That is how you come together. That is how you build and develop respect for one another, and that is what has happened in the development of this surface transportation bill that we have before us here today. Mr. Speaker, I congratulate the committee, and I congratulate the Congress for recognizing how important and how valuable regular order can be to the process of restoring people's confidence in the ability of the Congress of the United States to fix things, get things done, and end the gridlock. Thank you, my fellow colleagues.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, with all the gridlock and all the partisanship and inability of this Congress to fix things and get things done, we are looking at a great opportunity here where Democrats and Republicans have come together to fix things. The simple truth is that this Ex-Im Bank doesn't cost the taxpayers a penny. It creates tens of thousands of jobs all across the country, and it yields a $7 billion profit for deficit reduction in this country. Life should be so good if we had a few more agencies like that. We are doing such great work for the American people. Let's reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tammy Tisland, from Hines, Minnesota for being named the 2015 Women's International Auctioneer Champion. Tammy won the title at the National Auctioneers Association Conference and Show in July. In addition to her work as an auctioneer, Tammy dedicates much of her spare time to helping veterans and their families in her community. As a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, American Legion Riders, and Patriot Guard Riders she has found helping veterans and their families greatly rewarding. Tammy has been in the auction industry fourteen years and enjoys ``helping folks move from one chapter in life to another.'' During the competition she was judged on everything from her professional presentation to effective selling skills, to her bid call. Tammy attributes her success to a culmination of evolving as a competitor, following the advice of her mentors, and growing not only her involvement with the National Auctioneers Association but also learning to be a giver within the NAA. As 2015 IAC champion she hopes to motivate young auctioneers to give back to the industry and the people it serves as they pursue their goals. Thank you, Tammy Tisland, for your dedication and service to our community.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mark Sertich of Duluth, Minnesota, who continues to celebrate victories on the ice at ninety-four years old. Mark, who during World War II fought in General George Patton's Third Army liberating concentration camps, still puts on his ice skates several times a week to play a pick-up game of hockey. At fifty-nine years old he ran his first marathon and did not stop there. As of today, he has finished five marathons and eleven inline skating marathons. Ice hockey remains his favorite sport, which is why Mark plays every week--no excuses. Forty-two years ago Mark began competing in the annual Snoopy's Senior World Tournament with the late cartoonist Charles Schulz. The two played on the same line together for many years and became good friends. After taking a hard hit on the ice, resulting in two fractured ribs and a punctured lung, doctors said would keep him out of the game for at least six weeks. Mark was back on the ice in just three. His commitment makes him a role model for us all. When asked in a recent interview how he stays motivated to play every week, he responded, ``I say the most important step is the first one out the door.'' I congratulate Mark for not only continuing to play his favorite sport, but also for his victories on the ice, including winning paid skating fees for life in a bet with his teammates when he was eighty years old. Hopefully when I am ninety-four years old I can still lace up my skates and hold my own with players my grandchildren's age--and win a few games too.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, Minnesota suffered a terrible tragedy when we lost Deputy Sheriff Steven Sandberg of Aitkin, Minnesota, in the line of duty last weekend. Deputy Sandberg, a 20-year veteran of the Sheriff's Office, was loved and cherished by his family, by all who knew him, and by the entire region. His daughter, Cassie, recently said, ``I want everyone to know that my dad was so proud to do his job and to serve the entire community.'' Cassie, we want you to know that we are proud, too. We are proud to have had your dad's great service in our community. His bravery and his service will never be forgotten. Today I ask my colleagues to please keep his wife, Kristi, and his daughter, Cassie, in their thoughts and in their prayers. Please remember to thank and to honor all of the law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm's way every day to keep us safe.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Thank you, Mr. Tonko. I want to commend you. There is no more powerful and articulate advocate for good jobs--protecting good jobs and creating new jobs--in this Congress than you, yourself, Mr. Tonko. In that regard, I would be remiss if I didn't also commend Representative Heck for some of his important leadership on this important issue, and Mr. Hoyer for his buy American initiatives. Mr. Tonko, as you and perhaps others know, I spent 32 years of my life in business as an owner and operator of a sawmill, a pallet factory, and an export trading company. In the process, you learn a few things. One is I learned that you expand an economy, you create new wealth, and you create new jobs in three important ways: One is through innovation and discovery, developing new products and putting them out in the marketplace. Another is by providing financial incentives for people to invest in new products and new business. Thirdly, you do it by exporting those products to the rest of the world. That is one of the ways you bring some of your wealth back into your country. That is one of the reasons why it is so vital and that it is so important. That is what the Export-Import Bank is all about, as you pointed out so eloquently, especially for small- and medium-sized companies; because the fact is the big companies, the big multinationals that are based here in the United States, they have got offices all over the world. They have got relationships with all the international banking institutions. They have got all the resources that they need to qualify a buyer or to provide the financing for the production and the sale of their product. But the small- and the medium-sized companies don't have those kind of resources. They don't have those same kind of advantages. Yet they may be small and medium-sized by American standards, but by world standards, they are still big, good-sized companies, and they have got good products the rest of the world wants and the rest of the world needs, things that can improve the life of people all over the world. To succeed in exporting, again, as you have pointed out, they need some help, and they need some support identifying and qualifying a customer. They don't have those offices around the world. Their local banks don't have those kind of offices around the world, so it makes it more difficult for them to secure the financing, to qualify the buyers, and to expand their sales into that export market. That is where the Ex-Im Bank comes in. The Export-Import Bank provides all of these essential services. That is why the banking community supports a reauthorization. That is why the National Manufacturers Association supports reauthorization, and that is why the National Chamber of Commerce supports this reauthorization. Anybody that knows anything about businesses and creating jobs supports the reauthorization of the Ex-Im Bank. Again, as you pointed out, there is bipartisan support for this here if the Speaker would just allow us to have a vote on this because the American Export-Import Bank helps American businesses expand their export operations, increase their profits, and create all kinds of good-paying jobs. Last year alone, Ex-Im was responsible for supporting 164,000 jobs. That is a remarkable, remarkable accomplishment. In my own district, there are at least a dozen companies that are using the Export-Import Bank to support their export sales creating hundreds of good jobs. They exported some of the world's finest products. In fact, Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, Minnesota, one of our Nation's premier aircraft manufacturers, exports more than 30 percent of their products, and they rely on the Ex-Im Bank. Remember--remember--as you pointed out, just as importantly, the Export-Import Bank doesn't cost the taxpayers a penny. The companies, the local bankers, all the parties to these transactions pay a fee for their services, and those fees pay for the Bank's operations. It is an incredible operation. Over the last two decades, the Ex-Im Bank has contributed over $7 billion to deficit reduction from the profits they made through this. We should have more government entities that can do this. However fortunate we are, Mr. Speaker, to have banking services like this and enjoy such broad support from both those who are concerned about reducing the deficit and from those who are concerned about expanding export sales, expanding business opportunities, and creating new jobs, that is what the Export-Import Bank does. It creates jobs, it expands opportunities, and it reduces the deficit. Yet for reasons that truly defy explanation, there are elements in this Congress that oppose reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank and all the good that it does for business in reducing deficit. So I applaud you, and I call on my colleagues to come to their good bipartisan senses and do what needs to be done here. Let's get this Export-Import Bank up and running again, growing our economy, creating good jobs, supporting our entrepreneurs, and bringing down the deficit. Mr. Tonko, thank you so much for this Special Order and all the work you are doing to help bring this about and make it happen.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, the foolish and wasteful squandering of Americans' hard-earned taxpayer dollars are once again on display in the war in the Middle East and in Syria. Before I get to my point, I want to remind my colleagues here that we spent $3 trillion on the war in Iraq. That is right, $3 trillion. Look where it has gotten us. I would like to remind my colleagues that for one of those trillion we could have graduated every college kid in America and vocational school kid in America debt free. Instead, we have saddled them with debt that is crippling their ability to get ahead and our economy to grow. It is no secret that bridges are falling down here in America and trains are coming off the rails. For one of those trillion dollars, we could have rebuilt our infrastructure and transportation system in this country, once again creating good jobs and opportunities and laying the foundation for our economy to grow. For another trillion of those dollars, we could have given the American taxpayers a trillion-dollar tax break. Would they not have loved that and do they not need that? Instead, we are still looking at $2 trillion going forward in taking care of the men and women who served: the warriors, the patriots, the men and women who were willing to stand up and protect us, but who lost arms and lost legs and suffered severe brain injuries. Yes, that is right, $2 trillion going forward, tending to and caring for them. And that is a moral obligation that we are obligated to and must fulfill. Now to my point today. Last year the Congress authorized $500 million to be spent on training the so-called moderate Free Syrian rebels, and now we have learned that only a handful, like four to five, has shown up for duty, according to Lloyd Austin, the U.S. Central Commander for troops in the Middle East. Back in June, Republican Congressman Curt Clawson and I offered an amendment to the Defense Appropriations bill to stop funding this so- called Free Syrian rebel program. Why? Well, the hard, cold fact is that many of their leaders told us at the time that they would not use the money to fight and join us in the fight against ISIL. Now we ask the House not to appropriate an additional $600 million, seeing that the $500 million that was spent has already been wasted and misspent. Unfortunately, our colleagues at the time did not follow our bipartisan recommendation on this important issue, and the House did go ahead and appropriate an additional $600 million for that failed program. Now that we know only a handful are showing up for duty, it is not too late to stop this additional $600 million from going forward for this failed program. I am calling for the immediate removal of that funding. After all, we did pass my amendment prohibiting Congress from funding so-called rebels where there was clear proof that the money was being misspent. Mr. Speaker, the proof could not be more clear in this case. This isn't about agreement or disagreement with our involvement in these Middle East conflicts. This is about the tragic, foolish, senseless, wasteful squandering of $1.1 billion of hard-earned American taxpayers' dollars. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Clawson and I both worked as businessmen for decades before coming to the Congress. Anyone who knows anything about business can tell you this: No private sector company ever succeeded by spending huge amounts of money on employees who never showed up for work or, worse yet, turned their allegiances to an opposition or a competitive company. That is no way to run a business, that is no way to govern, and it is certainly no way to win a war. I plead with my colleagues to come to their bipartisan senses, join Mr. Clawson and me, and help us put an end to this tragic and wasteful spending of hard-earned American taxpayer dollars. The American taxpayers are counting on us. Let's not disappoint them.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, we have 6 legislative days until the Government of the United States shuts down for lack of funding. Why? It is because the Republican leadership here in the House has failed to bring forth critical appropriations bills to fund the government. As a result of that, we are faced with the need to pass a continuing resolution to fund the government; yet we have leading Members of the Congress here threatening to shut down the government rather than to put forth on the House of Representatives here a bipartisan bill for a continuing resolution to fund the government. Instead, we have partisan after partisan after partisan legislative measures brought before the House here under closed rules that the leadership knows isn't going to go anywhere, but it is introduced for the perceived notion of partisan gain. The hard simple truth is that the American people want the Congress to put their partisanship aside and to go to work, start fixing things, finding common ground, rebuilding the middle class, creating jobs, and restoring the American Dream. They surely don't want another government shutdown that puts people's jobs, families, our government, and our national security at risk. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, the Congress of the United States needs to come to Washington and to go to work. If the Congress doesn't do its job and get its work done, then Congress shouldn't get paid. The working men and women of America don't get paid when they don't come to work, why should the Congress get paid? That is why I have introduced the No Government No Pay Act to prohibit Members of Congress from getting paid during a shutdown of the Congress' own creation--because people in this country, they don't want a shutdown. They want to see the Congress go to work, find common ground, fix things, get things done, rebuild America with a transportation bill, not another kick-the-can-down-the-road, short-term fix. They want jobs with good-paying benefits, not a Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement that sends their good-paying jobs overseas. The American people want accessible health care for our veterans, as indeed they should be receiving, not a trip to ``kingdom come'' every time a veteran needs some medical care. The American people, they want to see protection from Social Security and for Medicare and the recognition these are not entitlements, that these are benefits that people worked hard for and started paying for the first day that they ever went to work. They surely don't want to see those benefits turned over to Wall Street and to the big insurance companies. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, if the Congress doesn't go to work, it shouldn't get paid. More importantly, the Congress needs to go to work and bring these measures under open rules before the full House of Congress because that is how you find common ground, that is how you get things done, that is how you fix things in America. The American people want it; they deserve it, and they have every right to expect it.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I want to compliment all of my colleagues for all the time that everyone has spent going through the classified documents, listening to the hearings, listening to the ambassadors from all the other nations, listening to people on every side of this issue. The decision that we have to make right here today is what are the consequences, ultimately, of this decision. And the fact is we have learned that Iran is only several weeks away from the possibility of developing a nuclear weapon. Those are the hard, cold facts that we have been told. They haven't, because of the sanctions and the restrictions that are in place. They have enough fissile material to make 8 to 10, maybe as many as 12 nuclear weapons. So what does this deal do? What makes them give up 98 percent of that fissile material? They won't have enough to build one bomb if this agreement is fully implemented. It makes them get rid of two-thirds of the centrifuges. They will not be able to develop one bomb if this deal is implemented. If this deal is implemented, we retain the support of the international community, all of whom are committed to seeing to it that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon. And for those who prefer a military option, it is not taken off the table. We need to remind ourselves that until all of these conditions are met, none of the sanctions are lifted. They can be snapped back in a minute. We have got 24-hour, 7-days-a-week camera inspection. We have unprecedented inspection. If they violate this agreement, we will know about it. We can snap back the sanctions. And for those who want a military option, that is still on the table. This agreement gives peace a chance. This agreement gives diplomacy a chance. It is something that we can ill afford. The opposite may very well be something that forces us into another war in the Middle East, costing us trillions in treasury, costing us blood, and creating the prospects of a confrontation that is unimaginable and unacceptable. We must give diplomacy a chance. That is what this agreement is all about, Mr. Speaker.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize and thank Tobias Geiger from East Central Electric Cooperative in my district for his service and sacrifice to put into action cooperative principle #6-- cooperation among cooperatives. In March this year, Tobias traveled to Haiti as a volunteer for the NRECA International Foundation where he helped build the country's first electric cooperative. This work is part of a rural electrification project managed by NRECA International and funded by the United Nationals Environmental Program, USAID, and the Inter-American Development Bank. Electricity is a critical element in improving the quality of life and to providing healthcare, education, access to clean water and economic opportunity. In Haiti, less than 15 percent of the population has regular access to electricity. Tobias spent two weeks in the town of Coteaux to help build a distribution system that will interconnect three towns. Upon completion, the diesel-solar hybrid electric system will provide safe, affordable and reliable power to 1600 consumers. His contribution included upgrading and installing new power lines, training locally hired linemen in proper construction methods, pole climbing techniques, proper handline use, and important safety practices. Thank you Tobias Geiger, for your dedication and commitment.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, my amendment would see to it that nothing in this legislation does any harm to Social Security or Medicare. Why? It is because, first of all, they are not entitlements; they are earned benefits that people started paying for the first day, the first hour that they ever went to work. Our seniors rely on their Social Security and Medicare. Nothing has done more to lift more people out of poverty and give them health and life expectancy than Social Security and Medicare. Mr. Speaker, the underlying legislation that we are looking at here proposes to provide relief, but in fact, it proposes to emasculate and do away with the regulatory process and, in the process, do great harm and great damage to the things, the many things that have made this country the great Nation that it is. I have got to tell you, as I look around this room here and the age of this Congress, make no mistake about it; many of you were there when I was there, when our rivers were running sewers, when our lakes were catching on fire, when our coal miners and boat workers were dying young in life from fiberglass lungs and coal dust in their lungs. I spent time in the sawmills; I owned one. You couldn't find anyone that could count to 5 on their hands because they were either missing fingers, hands, arms, or legs or had lost their lives for want of a little ventilation, for want of a safety switch or a guard of some sort. The simple truth is that these laws, these regulations turned all that around. That is right; they turned all that around. Guess what. They doubled our life expectancy--maybe one of the greatest accomplishments of all time. We went from our grandparents, where life expectancy was 47, to darn near 80--what an incredible accomplishment. Now, the question is: Do we want to protect that progress? I hope so. Do we? Do we want to pay it forward? Or do we want to turn it back? I should hope not. Do we really want to paralyze these laws and do away with the rules and regulations that gave us clean water that we can drink and clean air that we can breathe without getting sick? I should hope not. Is that really what we want to do? Do we want to do away with the healthy, safe working conditions that extended life for people who worked hard to build a life for themselves and their families? Is that what we really want to do? Do we want to do away with food safety that protected us from the drugs and the chemicals that ended our lives prematurely? Is that what we want to do? I should hope not. No. No. Do we want to do away with the Wall Street regulations, the billionaires who play so fast and loose with other people's money? Well, we sure as heck don't want to turn Social Security and Medicare over to them, do we? Imagine what they would do with Social Security and Medicare. It is devastating, and it is frightening. Mr. Speaker, my amendment protects both. That is the least we can do. My amendment protects Social Security; it protects Medicare, and that is the least that we can do for a generation that gave us so much. Last, but not least, had it not been for these regulations, had it not been for Social Security and Medicare, half of us wouldn't be here--that is right--because we increased the life expectancy from 47 to 80, so show some gratitude. Show some being grateful. Let's protect Social Security and Medicare. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I am opposed in its current form.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion to recommit at the desk.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, we are besieged daily with news of intensifying brutal attacks on innocent civilians in South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and many more places throughout the world. Women and children are increasingly being targeted. Anthony Lake, the executive director of UNICEF, recently wrote about South Sudan: ``The details of the worsening violence against children are unspeakable, but we must speak of them . . . Survivors report that boys have been castrated and left to bleed to death . . . Girls as young as 8 have been gang raped and murdered . . . Children have been tied together before their attackers slit their throats . . . Others have been thrown into burning buildings . . . Children are also being aggressively recruited into armed groups of both sides on an alarming scale.'' When confronted with such atrocities, our typical response is to send in the bombers and drones, ship military equipment, train ``the good guys,'' or even put our own troops on the ground. By doing these things, we create a state of on-going war. Is it any wonder the result is more violence, rather than less? The UN High Commissioner on Refugees reported last month that 59.5 million individuals have been forcibly displaced worldwide. This is the largest number since UNHCR began keeping records. UNHCR's Annual Report tells us that every day last year, an average of 42,500 people had to flee their homes, a four-fold increase in just four years. That's like everybody in a city the size of Duluth, the largest city in my district, fleeing from their homes every other day. But there are effective alternatives that are protecting civilians and deterring violence in some of the most brutal war zones around the world. You probably haven't heard about them because, unlike terrorists, these nonviolent peacekeepers seldom make the headlines. During this time of crisis, it is imperative that we examine new and less conventional methodologies as we try to fulfill our responsibility to protect our fellow civilians as best we can. One such approach is unarmed civilian protection (UCP), pioneered by Nonviolent Peaceforce, an organization that originated in Minnesota. UCP provides unarmed, specially trained civilians who are recruited from many different countries to live and work with local civil society in areas of violent conflict. Currently there are more than a dozen nongovernmental organizations DIRECTLY protecting civilians, using only nonviolent methods, in places like South Sudan, Colombia, Guatemala, Palestine and the Philippines. Their approaches are strategic, thoughtful, and tailored for each specific situation. These unarmed civilian protectors model peace by practicing it. For example in South Sudan, displaced women leaving the Protection of Civilian areas to gather firewood and water face rape by soldiers lurking at the edge of the sites. The women routinely have to make excruciating choices between their family's sustenance and their personal safety. UCP workers found that when two or more trained, unarmed civilian protectors accompany 20-30 women, the soldiers look the other way. No woman has been attacked when accompanied by an unarmed civilian protector. Imagine if we had 10,000 unarmed civilians protecting civilians in South Sudan, instead of the 150 that Nonviolent Peaceforce struggles to fund. We can afford them, because these unarmed civilian protectors cost a fraction of the cost of a soldier. In their report released on June 16, the UN High Level Peace Operations Review Panel recognized UCP as a key reform for protecting civilians under threat of violent conflict. The Panel Chair, Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos Horta, stated, ``The Panel reviewed the excellent input by Nonviolent Peaceforce, which shared with us its positive experience in protecting civilians in war-torn situations. In our Report, we recommend that the UN engage more of those brave people working in the field, unarmed, to protect civilians''. Crisis demands innovation. We need to respond to violence with methods that are effective and efficient, not just usual and conventional. We need methods that move us towards peace, not those that engulf us in further violence. The United States must incorporate UCP as a key instrument in transforming violent conflict, and in protecting civilians, through our initiatives at the State Department and USAID as well as our positions at the United Nations.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, the simple truth is, as has been articulated so well here today by my colleague, that this Nation desperately needs a long-term transportation funding bill to repair our Nation's crumbling infrastructure, not another kick-the-can- down-the-road, short-term, temporary, convoluted fix. Last week Congress appropriately honored the late chairman of the Transportation Committee, Jim Oberstar, with the naming of his hometown post office in Chisholm, Minnesota. What a wonderful tribute it was to Chairman Oberstar. But here we are once again kicking the can down the road on the issue that Jim Oberstar cared most about. As chairman, Jim worked hard to ensure the committee drafted good, strong, bipartisan legislation, and that is what we need here today. If the Transportation Committee were allowed to do that, I have every confidence that we would indeed write a long-term transportation funding bill. Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the trains are running off the tracks, the bridges are falling down, the wastewater treatment facilities are overflowing. So let's do right by our good friend, former Congressman Jim Oberstar, and let's create a long-term fix to our national transportation infrastructure. Mr. Speaker, I include an article for the Record. [From The Washington Post, July 14, 2015] House Honors the Late Rep. Jim Oberstar as Congress Fumbles His Greatest Passion (By Colby Itkowitz) It was curious timing for House members to honor the late Democratic congressman Jim Oberstar. On Monday evening, they voted to rename a post office after Oberstar in his hometown of Chisholm, Minn. Several members spoke on the floor about his deep institutional memory, passion for everything transportation and all-around collegiality. ``I'd like to ask that we honor him by rededicating ourselves to that spirit of bipartisanship, that spirit of working together, that spirit of getting things done . . . that was the spirit that epitomized Jim Oberstar and that's how so he was successful in getting things done,'' Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), who represents Oberstar's former district, said in floor remarks. But as Oberstar was being memorialized by his former colleagues, a Republican plan was being hatched to place another Band-Aid over the gaping, oozing wound that is federal highway program funding. Whatever short-term fix is agreed to, it will be just another patch to temporarily staunch the bleeding, when what's really needed is invasive surgery. Oberstar knew this. He had a plan. And when he finally earned the gavel of the Transportation committee in 2007 (he'd begun his career as a young staffer on the then-Public Works panel and then, as a new congressman in 1975, climbed his way up from the lowest rung on the committee dais to the chairman's perch), he thought the Democratic majorities in both chambers and two years later the White House would lead to real investment in transportation. But there was no political will then, or now, for the easiest immediate solution to ramp up revenue for the starved highway programs--raising the federal gas tax for the first time since 1993. Instead, Congress is poised to find a short- term fix to bailout the Highway Trust Fund for the seventh time since President George W. Bush first shifted money from the general treasury in 2008 to keep the trust fund solvent. This time, with the highway program set to expire at the end of this month, House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R- Wis.) wants to find savings through complicated tax compliance rules to patch the highway program as lawmakers continue to fight over how to pay for a multi-year reauthorization, which has evaded Congress for years. In 2009, when Oberstar released his six-year, $450 billion plan for surface transportation, he warned that the short- term extensions don't allow state departments of transportation the certainty to plan for bigger, more ambitious projects. It's a sentiment that's been echoed by governors, mayors, big business and labor. Oberstar, who lost his reelection in 2010, believed that if Democrats had passed his bill they would not have lost the House in those mid-term elections because the infrastructure jobs would have been such a boon to the economy. It's of course impossible to know if that would have been true. But Oberstar, who died in May 2014, would probably feel quite conflicted this week--deeply honored by the post office naming and deeply disheartened that Congress still hasn't made transportation spending a priority.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, on July 14th, 2015, I was unavoidably detained in a caucus event with several of my colleagues. Had I been present and voting on Roll Call No. 435, I would have voted yea.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Duncan and Representative Norton for the fine tributes to a fine Member and a real credit to this institution. This bill honors our friend and our colleague, the late Jim Oberstar, in an important way, by naming the United States post office in his hometown of Chisholm, Minnesota, the James L. Oberstar Memorial Post Office. I will never forget the first day that Jim walked into the Chamber through one of the side doors over here as a former Member of Congress. As he walked in and proceeded down the aisle, Members recognized him, and they started spontaneously, Democrats and Republicans alike, to applaud Jim Oberstar. By the time he got to the well, the whole House was engaged in this spontaneous, bipartisan, genuine, loving, and appreciative applause for Jim Oberstar. I, quite frankly, have never seen anything like it. I hope to see a lot more things like it in the days to come, but what a remarkable moment that was. It was a real genuine spirit of affection for someone who worked really hard, knew his material as well or better than anyone, and was such a good nonpartisan when it came to what is good for America; I have never quite seen anything like it. Jim received more honors than he could count in life; quite frankly, he received even more in his passing, but I think it is safe to say that no honor would please him more than being recognized by his colleagues in the hometown of Chisholm where Jim grew up. Chisholm, on Minnesota's Iron Range, is where he learned the value of ideas as a star on his high school debate team. They say he was a pretty good football player, too, but he liked to recall that the editor of his hometown said to him on a couple of occasions, ``Jim, you are a really good debater. You really know how to argue. You might want to keep working at that''--and how fitting that he would end up in the Congress of the United States. It is also in Chisholm where he learned about public service with his first working job for that editor, peddling papers to the miners and to the mining families and learning about the politics of the community. It is also where he learned hard work from his parents. Jim's dad worked in the mines his entire life and hardly ever missed a day's work. Chisholm is also the place where Jim learned those old-fashioned values that brought him to the House of Representatives. He believed that a good idea was a good idea, and it didn't matter if it was a Republican idea or a Democratic idea. All that mattered was that someone had offered the idea; and he had such enormous respect for the process and for his colleagues that he gave every good idea an open, an honest, and a fair hearing. And if it turned out to be something good for the Nation, why, it was good enough for Jim, regardless of the origin. So, in urging my colleagues to honor Jim by passing this bill, I would like to ask that we honor him by rededicating ourselves to that spirit of bipartisanship, that spirit of working together, that spirit of getting things done that enabled Jim Oberstar to accomplish the many things that he did that were cited by my colleagues here just a few moments ago. That was the spirit that epitomized Jim Oberstar, and that is how he was so successful in getting things done. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to pass this legislation.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, I rise in support of the urgent need to reauthorize the Ex-Im Bank. I spent the better part of 20 years of my life in export trading, and I know what a great benefit it has been to the small business community and the banking community. What happens is a small-town bank wants to provide financial support for local business people to export their goods and their products, but they don't know if a sales contract in Timbuktu or Abu Dhabi or Lagos or wherever is a legitimate contract. So they have to rely on some kind of expertise. So that is why the local banks, that is why the local business community, supports the Ex-Im Bank, because they do that. And they do it for a fee. Ironically enough, the Ex-Im Bank has generated almost $7 billion in profits over the last couple of decades, helping us with our deficit reduction and helping our small- and medium-sized companies to export their goods and services. I ask all my colleagues to take a look at their district and see how many small businesses benefit from that and join me in support. There are only a couple of ways to generate wealth, and exporting your goods is one of them.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I want to particularly thank the gentlewoman from New Mexico (Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham) for yielding and for introducing this important amendment. Mr. Chairman, there is an old saying that I know you have all heard, which is that the shadows of those who live on their land are the best protectors and the best stewards of that land. My wife and I have had the good fortune to plant over 100,000 trees on our land, with the help of the kids, and I want you to know they are doing well. I am supportive of this amendment because I think it is high time that the American Indians and the Alaska Natives, who are the first stewards of our lands, be allowed to better exercise their sovereignty and their self-determination in caring for the forests they have called home for untold centuries. We already have 638 contracts that allow the tribes to manage Federal lands in Indian Country. This amendment simply adds a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service to that list. By approving this measure, we help create jobs, protect our forests all across Indian Country, and we all become better stewards of our Nation's great resources. I urge my colleagues to join us in support of this important amendment. I want to again particularly thank Ms. Lujan Grisham for her leadership on this important issue. I thank the chairman of the committee for his support of it as well. And I thank the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson). I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, one of the great failures of this Congress in our time has been the abdication of our responsibility, which could not be more clearly defined by our Founders, for declarations of war and, subsequently, resolutions authorizing the use of force. Clearly, the time is long overdue for this Congress to step up and assume its responsibility for these declarations, these seemingly endless wars of choice that are so costly in blood and in treasure. It is time that this Congress step up and have that debate on whether or not it is in our interest to continue our involvement in these wars. We need to be presented with a rationale. We need to be presented with a strategy. Or, in fact, it is time to put an end to them and to bring our troops home. Mr. Speaker, my fellow colleagues, we owe it to our taxpayers, who have spent trillions of dollars in these ventures. We owe it to our Founders, who knew and understood the importance of having the Congress make these decisions--not executives. And we owe it to our troops. It is time to have that resolution debated and decided here, or it is time to bring the troops home, Mr. Speaker. As Judge Poe would say, ``And that is just the way it is.''

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, the simple truth is these trade agreements are destroying our middle class. They are causing millions of Americans in mining and manufacturing to lose their jobs, millions of others to lose wages and benefits. It now takes two or three jobs to earn the same kind of income that one used to be able to earn from one job before these trade agreements. The fact is, over the last century, we built the strongest middle class in the history of this world with living wages and benefits and protections for health and safety and the environment; but with the emergence of these trade agreements, we are asking Americans to compete with countries who have little or none of these benefits. To compete, Americans would have to give up on all this progress, give up on the American Dream. That is what this is all about. I have reviewed the TPP documents and, make no mistake about it, this is a race to the bottom. The time has come for Congress to say ``no'' to these agreements. The time has come to put an end to them. They have been negotiated in secret for the benefit of a few and kept from the public for the benefit of the few at the top of our economic ladder. The fact is it is destroying the American Dream--the American economy, the middle class, and, with that, the American Dream.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I am glad to join my colleague. I have enormous respect for the chairman and the ranking member's good and noble intentions, but, again, the fact is we have no friends in these conflicts. The weapons that we send inevitably are being used against us. I was here during the Vietnam war conflict, and the arguments that we hear today for continuing this involvement is to somehow make something good out of what hasn't been quite so good, and we finally ended that conflict by cutting off the funds for it. That is how we are going to end our wars of choice in the Middle East, wars of choice that are bankrupting this country and costly in blood and treasury.