Richard Nolan

Mr. NOLAN

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

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

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, my amendment would transfer $1 million from the Secretary's some $30 billion general operation and maintenance fund to lung cancer research under the Defense Health Program. I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky for the additional funds that have already been placed into the legislation for cancer research. My amendment is presented out of the hope that we can still do better and get us back to a point where we were some years ago. I know $1 million won't make but a dent in the Secretary's general operating fund, but it would make an enormous difference--an enormous difference--in battling lung cancer, a disease that already affects many of our military men and women and kills over 159,000 Americans every year. As many of you know, my daughter, Katherine, a young mother of four, ages 9 to 16, was diagnosed with nonsmoking lung cancer earlier this year. I would be remiss if I didn't thank my many colleagues for their prayers and their good will and all their expressions of hope and concern and thank the committee for the money that they have provided here for medical research because, make no mistake about it, the combined prayers, good will, and medical research have provided Katherine and her family and her friends and many people throughout this country with hope for their recovery. We have come a long way, and we are getting very close to discovering a cure for this and many of the other cancers that so tragically take the lives of our loved ones. It is my hope that with this amendment, we can do a little bit better, get us a little bit closer to that cure, and give people going forward the same hope that my daughter, Katherine, has been able to receive as a result of these prayers and this research. I urge my colleagues to adopt this amendment and ask for its support. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I would like to begin by taking a moment to thank Chairman Frelinghuysen and Ranking Member Visclosky. As one who served a long time ago when everything came up under an open rule, we don't see as much of that. I can't commend both of the gentlemen and their committees enough. I wish everybody in America could see how hard they have worked in their committees and here on the House floor. The country should know that there are no two more highly regarded people who are serving in this Chamber than our chairman and our ranking member. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment that will save us a lot of money and, quite frankly, end a sad chapter in American history. My amendment eliminates funding for the Iraq Train and Equip Program and applies that money to reducing the deficit. The administration, as we all know, is now urging strategic patience with Iraq. The truth is we have had a failed strategy there from the very beginning. The fact is that this is a century-old conflict. The fact is that we have no friends in this conflict. The history of it is clear. I happened to be up in Tora Bora back in the seventies, and I learned that we were funding and training and equipping the Mujahedeen to fight against the Russians under the notion that the enemy of our enemy is our friend. We were wrong. They morphed into al Qaeda, and they were the people who bombed the World Trade Center. Then we supported Saddam Hussein in the war against Iran. We knew he had used chemical weapons, because we had the sales receipts. We had supplied them. After that, we deposed him. Then we put the Shiites in power, and the Shiites proceeded to tell all of the Christians and the Jews and the Catholics, ``Get out of town, or we will kill you.'' They shut down all of the synagogues and the Catholic churches. Then we decided we would have a Sunni awakening. That was supplying arms and weapons to the Sunnis because the Shiites were persecuting them. They ultimately morphed into what we now have as ISIL. Now here we are. We find ourselves fighting the Shiites in Yemen, and we are supporting the Shiites in Iraq. We are not sure if we are for them or against them in Syria. The simple truth is that we have been on every side of this conflict. We really have no friends in this conflict. Inevitably, our goodwill, our good intentions have resulted in the arms and the weapons, as Judge Poe just said, ending up in the hands of our enemies, and they use them against us. The fact is we have spent $3 trillion on this conflict. Think about that--$3 trillion. For $1 trillion of that, we could have graduated debt free every kid in America from college and vocational school. Just think about it. We could have rebuilt our transportation and infrastructure system in this country. For another $1 trillion, we could have given the Americans a tax break. Mr. Chairman, instead of 13 years of war, the administration now admits that we have no strategy. The Secretary of Defense admits that the Iraqi Army has no will to fight ISIL. When they took over Ramadi, all they did was growl at them, and they ran like rabbits. They left their Humvees, and they left their tanks, and they left all of their weapons, and we resupplied ISIL, once again, to use those weapons against us. The weapons we have supplied and the people we have trained have ended up in enemy hands time and time again and have been used against us. Mr. Chairman and colleagues, you know the old definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior, is repeating the same behavior, is repeating the same behavior over and over and expecting some different result. To paraphrase the old Serenity Prayer, let me say, Mr. President and colleagues: Let us change what we have the power, the wisdom, and the courage to do before we bankrupt this country.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, I want to join my colleagues in rising in opposition to this important consumer and farmer protection legislation. Someone said it earlier; knowledge is power. When people know where something comes from, it gives them some very clear ideas about what the content of it may be. Furthermore, the legislation, as has been pointed out here, is really quite, quite, quite premature. We need to let this process play itself out. There may very well need to be a fix here on this whole matter, but right now, it hasn't really been conclusively proven that the Canadian and the Mexican claims are valid. There has been some suggestions that perhaps they are not. Of course, this legislation goes way beyond the scope of the dispute at hand here. I want to thank my ranking member, Mr. Peterson, and all my other colleagues for standing up in opposition to this legislation. Let's let the process play itself out, and then, when and if it is necessary, we can fix things at that time.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, on June 1, 2015, I was unavoidably detained due to inclement weather. Had I been present and voting, I would have voted Aye on Roll Call #264 (Dingell of Michigan Amendment), Aye on #265 (Lowenthal of California Amendment), Aye on #266 (Motion to Recommit) and NO on Roll Call #267 (Final Passage of H.R. 1335).

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, Members of the House, as Congresswoman Schakowsky and Congresswoman Sanchez just pointed out their involvement in Head Start, I want you to know I directed a 19-unit Head Start program up in north central Minnesota in my youth, and so I am proud to join them in celebrating this 50th anniversary that served over 32 million children, because I was able to see firsthand how this impacted children's lives. And what a testimonial it is to see one of the first participants go on to become a Member of the United States Congress and running for the United States Senate. Clearly, Head Start is so critical to our national commitment to every child, regardless of their circumstances at birth, to have an opportunity to succeed in life, developing that wonderful spark for learning that sets kids up for success. So once again, hats off to the educators, to the directors, to the faculty, and to the parents, all those who have made this program such a wonderful, great success for children all across America.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker and Members of the House, this failure to write a long-term, paid-for surface transportation bill for this country has become a national embarrassment. Quite frankly, it is an international embarrassment. Passenger trains and oil trains are coming off the tracks, are taking lives, are causing untold amounts of damage. The simple truth is that we can't fix those lives who were lost, but we can fix our transportation system. Isn't it about time that we do that? It is not only a national embarrassment, our failure here, but it is a failure of the Congress. It is a failure of the legislative process. It is a failure of the committee process. That is what is happening here. We held hearings in the last session. We heard from the Chamber of Commerce; we heard from the unions; we heard from the retailers; we heard from the truckers. Everybody said three things: one, our transportation system is falling apart. They had that right. Two, it is hurting our ability to grow our economy and to create jobs. They had that right. Three, they said we need to find some new revenue. None of it could be more obvious. Yet the Transportation Committee held hearings from all of those people in the last session, and we held hearings again in this session, but we never took up the markup and the writing of a transportation bill. That is the simple truth, Mr. Speaker, and I am calling on the leadership here to either instruct the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure or allow the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure to write a transportation bill. I have absolute confidence that we can come together if we do. It is through the committee process that we find common ground. That is where we reach our bipartisanship. That is how we fix things here in the Congress. That is how we get things done. Mr. Chairman, Mr. Speaker, allow or instruct the committee to do its job, to do its business, and we will write a transportation plan for this country that gets this country moving again, saves lives, and builds an economy.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman and Members of the House, as Mr. Walberg just pointed out, we have spent literally trillions of dollars in the Middle East in what many would describe as wars of choice and nation building. I want to applaud the committee for this underlying legislation to ensure some accountability of how that money goes. All too often, the moneys have made a mockery of our good intentions and ended up in the wrong hands and, in many cases, used against us. The underlying legislation requires the Defense Department now to require them to give us a list of who money has been given to in Syria and Iraq to fight ISIL, and my legislation says that, when they find evidence that those funds have been misused by any one of those parties, they can no longer be recipients of our funding and our intentions in this regard. Mr. Chairman, I urge the adoption of my amendment and the bloc as well.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I was detained for votes on Tuesday, April 21st. Had I been present and voting, I would have voted AYE on Roll Call #162, authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition.

Mr. NOLAN

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

Mr. NOLAN. I am in its current form.

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

Mr. NOLAN. Madam Speaker, this is the final amendment to the bill which would not kill the bill or send it back to committee. If adopted, the bill will immediately proceed to final passage, as amended. Madam Speaker, years ago, when I first went into public life, my father,--as fathers could be expected--gave me a little fatherly advice. He said: Son, I will always be proud of you if you just do a couple of things. I said: What is it, Dad? He said: Number one, be honest. I don't want my kids getting in trouble. Tell the truth. Secondly, he said: If you're going to go in public life, commit yourself to working for the common good. Don't worry too much about the rich. They have got a way of taking care of themselves. Well, my father never had any money to speak of, but, boy, he sure understood that. If you look at this chart here, this is what this bill is really all about. This bill is about giving $270 billion in tax benefits to the richest of the rich. That's right. This is America, and here is that less than 1 percent of the 1 percent, $270 billion tax break, 5,500 individuals over the next 10 years. That means the rest of the country is going to have to pay for it. Have these people benefited from the greatness of America where people can work hard, prosper, and become successful? Yes, of course, they have. They are the richest of the rich. Here, we want to give them another tax break? Talk about greed. Talk about carrying the water for the richest of the rich. What are we talking about here? Do you know what, it gets even more egregious, and that is what my amendment is about here today. Under my amendment, this little percent, this little 1 percent of the 1 percent, if they have engaged and been found guilty of tax fraud as it relates to inheritance and gift taxes, they are going to benefit from this. They amass fortunes through illegal activities as it relates just to this very specific tax; and we want to give them a tax break on the fortunes that they amassed illegally? The least we can do--and that is what my amendment does--my amendment says that, if you have been found guilty of tax fraud trying to get more than you already have illegally and criminally, then you are not going to get the benefit of this tax exemption. I am confident that if my good friends and good colleagues here on the floor of the House on both the Republican and Democratic sides look at this thing honestly, they will say: I have got to support that amendment. I can't go back home and tell my folks how people who are found criminally guilty of trying to cheat the taxpayers of this country out of taxes that were due should be entitled to benefit from that. We can't do that. I want to remind everybody that here we are looking at this country at a time when the disparity and inequality of income in this country is the worst of any developed nation in the world. People like Pope Francis are concerned about it. Leading economists like Al Greenspan are talking about it. By God, when Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz announce their candidacies for the Presidency because they are concerned about the growing disparity and inequality in income, we have a problem in this country. Mind you, this gift tax, we are here talking about farmers and businessmen. Well, I am a businessman. I spent 32 years of my life in business. Let's tell the truth. Let's tell the truth. Ninety-nine percent of the people in this country are not required to pay any estate or gift tax because the value of their farm, their business, their accumulation in life does not exceed the limits that are allowable under the law--which, by the way, are $5.5 million per individual, $10 million, $11 million for a family. That is a pretty nice gift at the end of the day for something that, quite frankly, you were not the hard-working, creative, innovative person who made all that money. You are just the beneficiary by wealth the old-fashioned way: you inherited it. Do we all aspire to wealth and success? Yeah. That is something we want to applaud. It is something we want to celebrate. This is about celebrating the gift of inheritance, and there is plenty of it here in this legislation. At the end of the day, this bill is really about the other 99 percent because they are the ones who are going to have to make up the $270 billion in gifts that we gave already to the richest of the rich. That is not how you fix this problem of growing disparity that is threatening our economy and threatening our well-being. Madam Speaker, I urge the adoption of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Jason Short of International Falls, Minnesota and the work of the Falls Hunger Coalition under the leadership of Nancy Anderson. I am sure many of my fellow Members have seen the nightly weather reports indicating that International Falls has the coldest temperatures in the United States. Jason is a young adult working as a delivery driver for UPS in the International Falls region that covers a 300-mile route. On one brisk day, one of his package recipients noted that Jason was wearing shorts and told him he was crazy for dressing like that in the cold weather. He took that craziness and his love of wearing shorts to Facebook to initiate a challenge to his friends and posted, ``Until I raise 1,000 dollars for the Falls Hunger Coalition Food Bank, I'm going to wear shorts no matter if it's snowing, 30 below, rain, sleet, or snow.'' Soon the amount turned into $2,000, $3,000, $4,000, $5,000, $6,000 to $7,192 at the end of the year. The comments on his Facebook ranged from, ``We need to dress this young man,'' or ``I don't know, maybe we want to keep Jason in shorts all winter. However, he did stop wearing his shorts when he reached $5,000 with contributions from friends and strangers all over the United States. He modestly says, ``It's all about paying it forward. Everyone can use a helping hand once in a while and you never know if the shoe was on the other foot, you never know if you're going to need something yourself so why not get out there and help somebody.'' The Falls Hunger Coalition served over 8,000 people in 4,178 households in calendar year 2014. That added up to over 164,000 pounds of food distributed through Bonus Bucks, Senior Select, the Nutritional Assistance Program for Seniors, and the Summer Snack Packs and Summer Meals. Population wise, it's a small county but the coalition is doing an outstanding job of serving the needs of many. I understand that Jason is planning to hatch another fundraising later this year and as a former UPS employee during my college days and spending time on a ride-along-driver ``in the browns'' this past summer in Duluth, I know he has the determination to once again achieve great success. With one out of five children in this country going to bed hungry every night, I am so proud of this young man for stepping up and trying to alleviate the issue of hunger in his own community. Let's just hope for warmer temperatures during his next fundraising phase.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share a story of how a conversation at the National Association of Secondary School Principals Conventional last year in Dallas turned into a transformational life experience. Glen Stevens, who serves as the Assistant Principal at North Branch Area High School, was offered an opportunity to have an expense-paid volunteer trip to the Dominican Republic to help in the building of a vocational center of a local school. He submitted an application and his name was thrown into a large pool of educators willing to have the experience. He said, ``When you're 13 or 14 in the Dominican Republic, and you're done with elementary school, unless you have phenomenal talent or potential, you're not going to high school.'' Because sixty percent of the Dominican Republic's vegetables come from the Constanza area where he was volunteering, many of these families only find work in the fields, earning perhaps $4 to $5 a day. Stevens could see the disparity of the income gap between workers and the wealthy land owners. Fortunately, Glen was able to speak some Spanish, but it took him a while to understand what the school children were trying to communicate when they kept saying ``espaldas.'' After a short time, he found out the children wanted to ride on his big, strong shoulders. During his volunteer stint from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm each day, he was moving blocks and mixing concrete all day. Though he had a short break for lunch, children would come clamoring for attention and suddenly his weariness was gone. He explained, ``It was like a big ``boom'' and your energy level would be back up again.'' He was heart-warmed from the warm reception he received from all the Dominicans. ``Even though most of the volunteers spoke little or no Spanish, and the Dominicans didn't speak English, a bond had formed between them than transcended language. He said he came back a different person and knows the next group of volunteers coming to finish painting and completing the electrical work will find the same spirit. This school, founded by Pastor Angel Moreta, will give children more options than working in the fields after elementary school. They will be adding programs for culinary arts, beautician trades, music and woodworking in addition to building on their skills in reading and mathematics. Glen Stevens has hopes and dreams for these children to achieve success with new-found skills. I am certain he came home with far more than he brought with him and will share this new message to the students at the North Branch Area High School.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Sue Poser of Pierz, Minnesota who has been named the 2015 Quilter of the Year by Minnesota Quilter's Inc. Not only is she an exceptional quilter, she is also the third generation owner of Gruber's, which many people liken to a ``Laura Ingalls Wilder'' style shop and community hub--and award- winning quilting mecca in Genola. Her quilting business began with Poser's grandparents and a small general store serving a town of a population of 75 and perhaps another 100 in the surrounding farms and townships. The store eventually included everything from quilting supplies to movie rentals, although it was particularly famous for its meat market and quilting parties. An often-told story in the area tells of a man who brought a bear into the meat market for procession and while negotiating, he saw a group of 50 women enjoying margaritas from the bar across the street for a quilting party. Curious to find out more about the party, he stopped in only to hear one of the spirited woman say, ``We have to get back to the convent before they lock the doors at eight!'' The meat market, like so many small businesses, no longer operates-- though the quilting shop prospered and has expanded to other locations. Gruber's now operates with 20 employees in Waite Park and has been voted one of the best quilt shops in the nation. Sue is the common thread that binds huge sections of the quilting community together, not only as a crafter but as an encourager helping a lot of people find success in the quilt and pattern-design industry. Some years ago, she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis--but that doesn't stop her from doing what she loves. She said, ``If God gave me MS, it was to slow me down because otherwise I'd never stop.'' She is such an inspiration to others. People who struggle with a recent health diagnosis or life changes often come to her for support and a ready ear to listen. In our rural areas, weekly or monthly quilting bees are still a time for women to leave their cares at home and join in the laughter, fellowship and wisdom of others--and often a potluck lunch or dinner, and yes, the occasional margarita shared with a group of nuns. Sue Poser exemplifies the embodiment of utilizing creativity and hard work to build a small business success while staying rooted to family, friends and community.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize three very compassionate fifth-grade school children for their leadership in protecting us against the silent killer of carbon monoxide poisoning. The students who have stepped forward to meet an important community need are Bryanna Kliegle, Alexa Aagenes and Ani Jovanovich of Hermantown Middle School. I don't think I have to remind anyone that winters in Minnesota can be very cold. We Minnesotans are hardy souls and deal with it. But with the cold temperatures, there is a silent killer that unfortunately creeps into our communities every year as people try to warm their homes. This killer is called carbon monoxide poisoning. Bryanna had a friend who died from carbon monoxide poisoning just a few weeks before Christmas. She turned her grief into action, reaching out to two friends to help her so others would not be lost to this killer. They formed a group and went door-to-door raising donations to buy carbon monoxide detectors for local families. These detectors cost only about $20.00 each, but within a short span they formed Hopes of Faith to handle the donations. To date, they have raised more than enough money to buy 200 detectors and then received 100 more from Safe Kids Minnesota and Kiddie, a company that makes the units. Bryanna recently spoke at a school assembly and told her classmates, ``We didn't think we could do this much at first. We're just fifth- graders. Regular fifth graders, but we reached out and wanted to take a chance.'' How many times do we look around our communities and think something should be done and wait for others to lead the way? Bryanna, Alexa and Ani are exceptional young students we can look to as leaders. They saw a need, stepped forward and did something about it. I am so very proud of them.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Randy M. Hiti of Rice Lake, Minnesota. Mr. Hiti died suddenly on Wednesday while responding to a fire call as a member of the Rice Lake Volunteer Fire Department. During his 26 years of service, I am told that it was a very rare occasion that you would not see him show up when the Fire Department called. He was awarded the Firefighter of the Year Award and taught fire prevention to the Homecroft Elementary School third graders for over ten years. He wasn't just a firefighter. He was a friend to many in all his volunteer activities, which included the Rice Lake Halloween Carnival and Rice Lake Day. Randy also was an eager volunteer for the Grandma's Marathon each year. He was the kind of guy who would drop anything for a family member, friend in need or anyone he saw outside of his driving hours to provide roadside assistance or help with day-to-day tasks. It was only recently that his daughter, Katherine Hiti, was inducted into the Volunteer Fire Department and I am sure it was a very proud moment. I extend my deepest sympathy to his wife, Laura, his daughters Anne and Katherine, his mother Millie, and his brothers Brian and Leon. He will be missed in his community as he touched so many lives with his spirit of generosity and time.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize two citizen volunteers from the Lincoln Park neighborhood in Duluth. The have used their talents to give back to the community by assisting with policing efforts. Pam Kleinschmidt regularly staffs the Lincoln Park and West Duluth police stations by answering phones and assisting with walk-in traffic. Pam, who is often referred to as the ``Mayor of Lincoln Park,'' goes out of her way often at her own expense to take phone calls from concerned citizens at all hours of the day and night. In addition to helping the police build relationships with residents and small business owners in the neighborhood, she organizes monthly meetings for citizens and makes sure their concerns are addressed. Pam has been instrumental each week in keeping an eye on problem areas in the neighborhood and works with the police to help find solutions. When the police department found itself needing help with managing seized cars used to commit crimes, they were fortunate to find a multi- faceted volunteer in Jerry Lawson. They needed a mechanic, an accountant and a customer service representative. He fulfills all these tasks and the police department frankly says they couldn't manage the impound lot without him. Jerry's volunteer efforts as he helped establish the ``Vial of Life'' program, which provides medical information to first responders as well as helping expand and improve the citizen patrol program. They were recently honored by receiving the Police Chief's Citizen Partnerships Awards by Duluth's Police Chief Gordon Ramsay. I stand today to salute these exceptional volunteers who are making a true difference in their community.

Mr. NOLAN

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

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, I would like to begin by thanking Chairman Kline for his work on this important legislation; of course, Ranking Member Bobby Scott as well; and the members of the committee and the Rules Committee for allowing us to offer this amendment here this evening. Mr. Chairman, in short, my amendment ensures that Indian children will not be expected to attend school in buildings that are dilapidated and dangerous. Under title V of House Resolution 5, the Federal Government has an obligation to fund and to maintain these schools. It is time to honor that obligation and send the message to our students in Indian Country that their education and their success in life are important to all of us, and expecting them to go to school in facilities in utter disrepair simply does not send that message. According to the Department of the Interior, there are 63 schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Education that are listed in poor condition. For example, the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School on the Leech Lake Reservation in my district is housed in an old pole building--cold and drafty in the winter, hot in the summer, unfit for children or teachers in any season. I operated my sawmill and pallet factory in a pole building. I think we all agree that we want something better for our children when they go to school. Look around us right now, Mr. Chairman. We have a magnificent Capitol here to symbolize the importance of the work and the purpose of what we do here. Sure, as a practical matter, we can conduct our Nation's business in a pole building, but we don't and for good reason. Architecture needs to carry with it not only a sense of function but a sense of importance and a sense of purpose. The simple truth is architecturally distinctive schools deliver a message to students that their education is valued, that it is important. The Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School I mentioned, like so many others, has an incredibly long list of serious problems. Students endure rodent and bat infestations, roof leaks and holes, mold and fungus, a faulty air system, uneven floors, poor lighting, sewer problems, and dangerous electrical configurations with wires just crisscrossing all the hallways and the rooms in a dangerous way. This building is literally at risk of collapse. It has earned the nickname ``Killer Hall'' from the local emergency responders. Students and faculty throughout the 63 schools in Indian Country face similar serious health and safety risks every day at schools like this, thus perpetuating lower graduation rates and difficulties retaining qualified teachers. In fact, Chairman Kline, himself, called for action on tribal school construction in a letter to the Bureau of Indian Education just last week, and I want to applaud him for that. Regarding the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, the chairman said: ``This appalling situation not only adversely affects the quality of education these students receive, but also their health and safety.'' The chairman is right. Our children deserve better, regardless of where they live. I want to particularly thank the gentlewoman from Minnesota, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, for her continued support on this issue, as well as Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona, Congressman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, and Congressman Raul Ruiz of California for cosponsoring this amendment. I am pleased the administration requested more money for the Bureau of Indian Education construction funding in its most recent budget, but we can do better. We can do more. Minnesota's MinnPost reporter Devin Henry recently wrote a story entitled, ``Where Republicans and Democrats Agree the Government Needs to Spend More,'' and that item is funding for Indian education and construction. I will include that article in the Record. [From MINNPOST, Feb. 9, 2015] Where Republicans and Democrats Agree the Government Needs to Spend More (By Devin Henry) Washington.--From budget limits to the national debt, much of the debate Washington today focuses on cutting spending. But on at least one line item in President Obama's budget, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle agree that the government needs to spend more. Minnesota Rep. Betty McCollum, a Democrat on the budget- writing Appropriations Committee, said she and a group of members, including Republicans, are looking for ways to boost funding for school construction on tribal lands around the country, even after Obama proposed pumping millions in new money into it. Tribal school construction has been neglected for some time, so even though Obama proposed more than doubling its modest budget next year, it's not nearly enough to confront the problem of broken down schools around the country. In Minnesota, the Leech Lake Reservation's Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, typifies this--it's housed in a used pole barn and students have taken to wearing winter coats while in the school. When winds reach 40 miles per hour, teachers move children to other buildings. The administration sees Obama's proposal as a first step of a multi-year effort to improve the system, but Indian education advocates are looking for more money right now to kick-start new school construction down the road. Still, officials are heartened that the issue is at least on the radar--the Bug School, for example, isn't funded in Obama's plan, but tribal chairwoman Carri Jones issued a statement saying the tribe is ``extremely pleased and grateful'' that the president included new funds in his budget. On Capitol Hill, funding for Indian education, especially school construction, is an area of relative bipartisanship: last year, for example, both parties agreed on a large spending increase for replacement school construction around the country, above what even Obama proposed. McCollum credits this to trust and treaty obligations the United States government has to tribes across America--the U.S. has a responsibility to support tribes, and it's one Congress takes seriously. There are still a lot of questions about what McCollum and others are trying to do, like how much money they're looking for, and where it will come from. For now, she's not getting into details, except to say that she thinks more money could be on its way. ``This is not enough money and we need to come up with a plan that would have tribal nations, American children who are members of tribal nations, going to safe schools, 21st century schools,'' she said. Obama's plan wins bipartisan support Obama has proposed a $1 billion budget for the Bureau of Indian Education in 2016--a $150 million increase over current levels. That includes $45 million for new school construction. The budget represents a big increase over what Obama has looked for in the past--new school construction saw a big influx of funding in the stimulus act in 2009, but his $3.5 million request last year was his first since 2011. Even so, the problem is much bigger than what's in Obama's budget. His proposal would go toward building the last two buildings on a 2004 list of replaceable schools, but that would still leave behind a $1.3 billion backlog of dilapidated schools nationwide. Members on both sides of the aisle greeted the request as a welcome change of pace after what McCollum described as a ``time out'' for BIE construction funding. Republican Rep. Tom Cole, an Oklahoman on the Appropriations Committee with whom McCollum has worked on Indian issues, said the proposal ``is an area where we can cooperate and hopefully make a lot of progress on.'' Minnesota Rep. John Kline, who chairs the House Education Committee, said in a statement that he's ``pleased'' by the proposal and vowed to ``look more closely at this issue and demand better for these students.'' All that said, everyone recognizes the plan only accounts for two schools-worth of funding. When Interior Secretary Sally Jewell introduced Obama's plan to reporters last month, she acknowledged that $45 million isn't enough to made major inroads in the school construction backlog. She called it ``just step one in a multi-year approach'' to fixing the backlog, and said it ``was as far as we could reasonably go'' to fit funding into the overall budget and get lawmakers' approval. Happy with the plan, but looking for more Congress has a history of going above and beyond what the Obama administration requests on BIE issues. Last year, for example, Obama requested $3.5 million to plan construction of a new BIE school in Maine. Congress appropriated $20.1 million to straight-up build the school instead. Since Obama's 2016 budget covers the money needed to rebuild the schools still on the government's list, any money above that could go toward planning the schools that might be included on a new replacement list, McCollum said. ``When we see the list and we have a dollar figure off the list, then we need to have the big idea, the big plan on a way forward so we can get these schools reconstructed so they can be repaired, and rebuilt where they need to be taken down,'' she said. To that end, she and other budget writers are scouring the budget--from the Interior Department and beyond--trying to find funding to pump up BIE construction even further. It's a bipartisan effort: McCollum said she, Cole and a group of other Republicans began discussing additional funding schemes while they toured Indian Country in Arizona last month. ``We were literally at dinner like, `what if we try this, what if we try that, well we're going to talk to Treasury, we're going to talk to OMB, let's talk to the White House,' '' she said. There is danger here, of course, that partisan budget fights could delay or derail the whole process. The Interior budget is relatively small, which McCollum said makes it difficult to shift funding toward a bipartisan priority like Indian schools when there are other areas--clean air and water, wildfire prevention--that need funding. It's easier to find money for Defense Department schools (the only other school system the federal government runs) because the DOD budget is so big. But that's what negotiations are for. McCollum and Oklahoma's Cole both said they expect to eventually find a path forward on this. ``The trick is always finding the money, because the president is proposing this having disregarded the budget caps,'' Cole said. ``But it wouldn't be the first time, on Interior Approps, we've been able to rob Peter to pay Paul. And the Democrats might not like the Peter, but we all agree on the Paul that needs help, in this case Indian Education.'' Bug School could get on new list The Leech Lake Reservation's Bug School has gained some notoriety in the Indian education community. Jewell visited it last summer and in announcing Obama's funding request, mentioned it as the type of school that needs to be replaced. Lawmakers did the same in a budget bill Congress passed in December. When officials made their list of replacement schools in 2004, they left off the Bug School. The Interior Department has now assembled a team of experts from the Department of Defense' school system and the Interior Department to write a new list and come up with criteria meant to more accurately identify replaceable schools. For example, McCollum said, the last list considered the condition of all the schools in an individual district, and because Leech Lake's elementary schools are in comparably acceptable condition, the Bug School was less likely to make the cut. Its inclusion in a budget bill, and the attention Jewell has given it, indicates its inclusion on a new list, which is expected this spring. ``We are extremely pleased and grateful that the President's budget includes substantially more funding for BIE school construction and rehabilitation than in years past and that it begins to recognize the significant need in Indian Country for a safe learning environment for our students,'' Jones, the Leech Lake tribal chairwoman, said in a statement to MinnPost. ``We are fighting to give our community a new high school facility because our children deserve the best educational opportunities.''

Mr. NOLAN. Mr. Chairman, the choice today is simple. No child should be expected to endure deteriorating school rooms to get an education. I urge my colleagues to adopt the amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. NOLAN

Mr. NOLAN. Well, thank you. The House historian tells me that my 32-year hiatus is the longest in the history of the House of Representatives.