Adam Putnam

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence). (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Kingston).

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Blackburn).

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Murphy).

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished chairman of the Rules Committee the gentleman from California (Mr. Dreier). (Mr. DREIER asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, America's heart and America's wallets have been opened for those who have been so devastated on the gulf coast just as they were a year ago for those Floridians who suffered four storms. It is a tragic thing and we are very sorry for the loss and the continued suffering that goes on. There have been a number of things discussed this evening as part of the kickoff of this debate about being truly serious about reducing the size of our deficit. I began by talking about the myths. All around America, the people who would be discussing what is going on here would have to find that something is odd about a budget that goes up 7 percent every year but is labeled a cut. They would find it an interesting juxtaposition that the only thing mean and ugly about what is going on in here has been the rhetoric. The action is to eliminate the waste from all of these areas, including FEMA. Including those areas. Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge this House to support the rule and the underlying bill. Amendment Offered by Mr. Putnam

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I offer an amendment.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, the amendment addresses two issues, food stamps and Medicaid transformation grants. On the issue of food stamps, it ensures that recipients of noncash TANF benefits will continue to be categorically eligible for food stamps and it addresses high growth States with regard to Medicaid transformation.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the amendment and on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Res. 560.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McGovern), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. PUTNAM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, as always, the gentleman from Massachusetts' rapier wit is as sharp as ever, but in this case misdirected as his faults are with the underlying bill itself and not with the rule. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Massachusetts comments and certainly share his concern about the need to deal with world hunger problems. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Pence), a gentleman who represents a group of people who are doing their own part to fight that. He represents the breadbasket of the world. (Mr. PENCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments of the speakers on both sides of the aisle. I agree with them that Chairman Bonilla has led a very balanced process as we move agricultural policy in this country into the 21st century. It is a large appropriations bill. It covers a wide array of needs in this Nation, from WIC and child nutrition programs, to the conservation side and all that that entails in terms of making sure that we are not eroding our valuable topsoil, making sure that we have wildlife habitat, and making sure that environmentalists understand that farmers are the true stewards of that land. And frankly, at the root of the bill, the most important service, is to allow American farmers and ranchers to continue to grow the safest, most affordable, most abundant food supply and be able to feed not only our country but the rest of the world as well. It is a real tribute that there is bipartisan support for this legislation to make sure that we are competitive in the 21st century, that we are compliant with our global trade agreements, that we are continuing to push ahead in fighting the war against hunger, making sure that we continue to fight the war against obesity, and allowing our farmers and ranchers to be competitive. So it is a testament to the bill, and it is a testament to the authors of that bill on both sides of the aisle. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 520 is a rule providing for consideration of the conference report on H.R. 2744, making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006. According to the rule, all points of order against the conference report and against its consideration are waived. The conference report shall be considered as read. Mr. Speaker, today I am proud to present for consideration the rule for the conference report for agriculture appropriations for fiscal year 2006. I would like to commend Chairman Bonilla, Chairman Lewis, and the entire Appropriations Committee for their hard work this year. The congressional budget is an important tool of Congress, allowing us to establish our priorities for the coming fiscal year. The agriculture appropriations subcommittee has reported out a bill that provides important resources to ensure that our Nation's farmers and ranchers remain competitive in the 21st century. The legislation enhances our ability to safeguard our food supply and addresses the nutritional needs of children and the most disadvantaged in our country. The bill also works to maintain and build fiscal discipline. In total, the bill provides $17.1 billion in discretionary resources. This level represents an increase of $258 million, only 1\1/2\ percent over the fiscal year 2005-enacted level. The bill continues our commitment to protecting human health and safety. In an effort to combat harmful pests and disease that threaten American agriculture, the Food Safety and Inspection Service is increased by $20 million over last year for a total of $838 million, an increase of $127 million above the President's request. And APHIS, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, activities are funded at $7 million above last year for a total of $820 million. I am pleased that the conference report fulfills our commitments to important food and nutrition programs. Child nutrition programs are funded at $12.7 billion, $879 million above last year and $245 million above the President's request. To provide quality nutrition for Women, Infants, and Children, the WIC program is funded at $5.3 billion, $22 million more than last year. In addition, the conference report supports American farmers, ranchers, and rural areas. The Farm Service Agency salaries and expenses are funded at the President's request of $1 billion, allowing the continued delivery of farm and disaster programs. To unlock much- needed advances in agricultural research and allow American farmers to have the tools necessary to continue to produce a safe and wholesome, affordable food supply, the Agricultural Research Service is funded at $1.266 billion. USDA's Conservation Observations are increased by $72 million over the President's request, bringing 2006 funding to $840 million, an increase over last year. This will allow farmers and ranchers to achieve important conservation and environment goals, recognizing that farmers and ranchers are the original environmentalists. This appropriations bill is an example of how Congress can attain fiscal discipline and still fund our necessary programs. The conference report on H.R. 2744 funds programs over the President's budget request, increasing funding in strategic areas, while maintaining fiscal discipline. I am impressed with the work of the conferees, and I am certain the appropriations process this year will serve as a model of how we can achieve responsible and responsive funding simultaneously. Mr. Speaker, I represent a congressional district in Florida that is among the top in the Nation in production of certain agricultural goods. And I want to personally thank Chairman Bonilla and Chairman Lewis and the agriculture appropriations subcommittee staff for their ongoing commitment to the needs of Florida's agriculture, which has been ravaged now by a number of hurricanes over the past 2 years and a number of invasive plants, pests, and diseases. I particularly thank Chairman Bonilla for his understanding and diligence in fighting the spread of citrus canker in the groves of my State. I know that the people of Florida deeply appreciate the subcommittee's tireless efforts to assist our State's agriculture economy. I urge Members to support the rule and the underlying conference report. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 520 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Chairman, the intent of Sec. 25 of H.R. 3824, the Relationship Between Section 7 Consultation and Incident Take Authorization Under Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 is to clarify that when regulations set forth under the Endangered Species Act conflict with regulations set forth under the Marine Mammal Protection Act during the review process for issuing dock permits, it is the regulations set forth under the Endangered Species Act that are the governing authority.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, House Resolution 469 is a rule that provides for consideration of House Joint Resolution 68, making continuing appropriations for the fiscal year 2006. This rule provides for 1 hour of debate in the House, equally divided and controlled by the chairman and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. The rule waives all points of order against consideration of the joint resolution. The rule provides one motion to recommit the joint resolution. Additionally, the resolution provides that suspensions will be in order at any time on the legislative day of Thursday, October 6, 2005, and the Speaker or his designee shall consult the Minority Leader or her designee on any suspension considered under the rule. Lastly, the rule provides that a motion to proceed pursuant to section 2908 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 shall be in order only if offered by the majority leader or his designee. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) and the entire House Committee on Appropriations on both sides of the aisle for sticking to the timetable they laid out at the start of this legislative session. In an impressive display of bipartisanship and just sheer hard work, the House passed all 11 appropriations bills prior to the July 4 District Work Period. Since July, the Senate has returned to us only the interior and legislative branch appropriations bills, which have each been signed into law by the President. Additionally, the Senate has passed six of its remaining 10 appropriations bills. These six are awaiting closure in conference. We are now just anticipating action from the Senate on those last four appropriations bills so we can move forward, finish the appropriations process, and avoid a cumbersome omnibus funding bill. Unfortunately, the appropriations process within the two bodies has not been completed prior to the start of the new fiscal year which, of course, begins this October 1. We must institute a continuing resolution in order to allow the government to function through November 18, 2005, while we complete consideration of the remaining appropriations bills, waiting on the Senate to complete their final actions, and for the conference committees to do their work. This rule allows consideration of the imperative funding measure. I am most impressed with the work of the Committee on Appropriations on this continuing resolution. Throughout the appropriations process, the committee has shown its commitment to the budget resolution and to fiscal responsibility. The committee has funded programs and activities at the lowest level of the House-passed level, the Senate-passed level, or the fiscal year 2005 current rate. For agencies for which the Senate has not passed a bill by the start of a new fiscal year, the funding rate is at the lower of the House-passed level, or the fiscal year 2005 current rate. The legislation includes language prohibiting agencies from initiating or resuming programs or procurements not funded in the fiscal year 2005, and prohibits agencies from awarding new grants and certain other forms of assistance during the period of the CR, which, of course, is through November 18 of this year. I again congratulate the gentleman from California (Chairman Lewis) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Ranking Member Obey) and the entire committee for their hard work this year. I urge Members to support this rule and the underlying CR so that we can finish the appropriations process, move down the road to responsible funding for the needs of this Nation, and avoid a cumbersome omnibus funding bill. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I thank the gentlewoman for her comments. I certainly agree that this debate about the budget and the appropriations process is always a debate about our future, and it is a debate about priorities. Clearly, we have had a shift in priorities since that budget resolution passed. As a State that was hit by four hurricanes last year and had the beginnings of Katrina come across our State this year, our hearts go out to our brothers and sisters on the gulf coast, and we recognize that this government has a commitment to help lift up those citizens on the gulf coast and, where appropriate, we have a Federal responsibility in the rebuilding and reconstruction process in Louisiana and Mississippi and Alabama, and a lot of other places. So I think that that reinforces the need for us to move ahead with this continuing resolution and allow our appropriations process to work, instead of positioning ourselves to a situation where we end up with an omnibus bill that I do not think either one of us thinks is the appropriate way to go. There is an opportunity here for us to reprioritize, using regular order, using the strength and talent that sits on our committees, and bringing about a measured approach to doing that. It is going to require offsets. The numbers that are coming out of there fluctuate wildly, and it is important that we have a handle on what those needs truly are. It is important that we recognize that had we not taken some of the steps that we have taken in the past, we would not have eliminated $100 billion off of the deficit in the last year. We would not have been in a position where revenues to the government would have actually been higher than they were as a result of the lower taxes and the growth in the economy that has come about as a result of that. But that is a debate for another day. This is a debate about the continuing resolution and the need for us to make sure that the government does not shut down. The House has done its work. I think we can all be very proud of our appropriators finishing their schedule before July 4, and now we are in a position, unfortunately, of being in a bit of a holding pattern, waiting on the Senate and our conference committees to do their work. But it is important for us to pass this rule and allow the CR to move ahead. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui), pending which I yield myself such time as I may consume. During consideration of this resolution, all time yielded is for the purpose of debate only. (Mr. PUTNAM asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. I applaud the gentleman's bipartisan effort to find ways to pay for these unanticipated expenses that we have come across, and I wish him the best in that effort. I think it is important that we all recognize on both sides of the aisle that offsets are going to be necessary and that we do have to reprioritize. As the gentleman knows, the President submitted a list through the regular budget process of 150 programs to cut or eliminate earlier this year, and some of them received some attention and others received more attention than others. It is certainly a difficult proposition in this town to eliminate any program, but the President led early this year with that thought in mind and he had mixed success. Again, recognizing the importance of your bipartisan effort and recognizing the facts that we are going to have to have these offsets, this bill, this rule that we are here to consider essentially keeps the government from shutting down while we have that debate. It appears that there is genuine broad support for the CR and for the rule, and I appreciate that. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Matsui) for her work on the Rules Committee and what is essentially a broad commitment that we have to have this CR through November 18. Frankly, it is not for lack of effort on the House side. Both parties have a lot of reasons to be proud of the efforts of our appropriators and the entire House. We had a Herculean effort this summer to move these bills on schedule, move them out before July 4th, and because of Supreme Court nominations and everything else obviously the Senate has had other issues on their agenda, and we are in a holding pattern on the appropriations. Nobody wants to see the government shut down after Saturday, so it is important that we move this rule, move the underlying CR, and allow the regular order, the talent and skills that exist within this House, to work their magic as we deal with these unanticipated effects from two gulf storms, and we are not even finished with hurricane season yet. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution. The previous question was ordered.

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 469 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. PUTNAM

Mr. PUTNAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to draw the House of Representative's attention to September 22 as Elephant Appreciation Day, a day designated to pay tribute to one of the most iconic members of the animal kingdom. Elephants have always generated a special and unique affection from young and old alike. One need only ask the millions of Americans who visit zoos and circuses each year to learn that for most, the elephants are by far the biggest attraction, both figuratively and literally. While we admire their strength, we also recognize their vulnerability as highly endangered species, challenged by fragmented habitats and scarce resources in their natural range. Asian elephants, in particular, have had a long, rich history living and working with humans, however, today there are fewer than 35,000 remaining in the world. Although ivory poaching is a factor in Asia, the primary threat to Asian elephants is the loss of habitat and the resulting conflicts with an ever-expanding human population. Most experts agree that the future survival of this species relies on several factors: habitat preservation, public conservation education and successful captive breeding. Today I would like to talk about one of the success stories in the fight to save the Asian elephant--one which takes place right in my backyard in Polk County, FL--home to the largest and most genetically diverse population of Asian elephants in North America. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation or CEC. The Ringling Bros. CEC is a state of the art facility dedicated to the research, reproduction and retirement of Asian elephants and reflects the commitment and stewardship of Ringling Bros. and the Feld family to the future survival of this magnificent species. Located on over 200 acres of central Florida wilderness, the Ringling Bros. CEC is home to dozens of Asian elephants, as well as the most successful breeding program outside of Asia. With 18 young elephants born in the past decade, the Ringling Bros. program accounts for over 40 percent of Asian elephant births in North America during this same time period. In addition, the CEC is a focal point for researchers from around the world who come for the unique opportunity to study elephant reproductive and behavioral science in a hands-on setting. Information gleaned from our Florida herd is applied to wild and managed populations in Asia in an effort to promote better conservation, preservation and husbandry. Ringling Bros.'s commitment to conservation and the future of this beloved circus icon goes beyond its work at the CEC. Ringling Bros. is also committed to educating its patrons about the challenges facing Asian elephants in the wild and the need to support conservation efforts. In addition, Ringling Bros. is an active member of the International Elephant Foundation, providing financial support and technical, hands on expertise. Ringling Bros.'s elephant managers and veterinarians have participated in workshops and symposia in Thailand, India and Sumatra and have worked side by side with their Asian counterparts in elephant camps and wildlife parks. According to Jack Hanna, director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo, ``[a] concerted effort to save the Asian elephant is imperative. Zoos are doing their best with the resources they have, but most can't afford to maintain a large breeding group of elephants. The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Center for Elephant Conservation is dedicated to saving the Asian elephant and has both the resources and the commitment to succeed.'' Thanks to this commitment, Elephant Appreciation Day of 2005 finds the fate of the world's Asian elephants a little more secure. I urge my colleagues to continue their efforts in support of this trend through continued funding for the Asian and African Elephant Conservation Acts. I want to congratulate Kenneth Feld and Ringling Bros. on the occasion of the 10 anniversary of the Center for Elephant Conservation and I invite my colleagues to come and visit this unique and inspiring facility.