Jared Polis

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, I offer my amendment along with Representative Huffman from California. It is a very simple amendment. It would require the National Academy of Sciences to study and report to Congress about the impact of flooding on oil and gas facilities and the resulting instances of leaking and spills from tanks, wells, and pipelines. Sadly, this is an issue that hits very close to home. In my district in Colorado, we recently suffered from the great flood of 2013. Many counties in my district were declared Federal disaster areas. Many of those counties are also home to significant extraction operations. Floods can happen anywhere, and this one occurred well outside of a floodplain; but it is important to understand how to minimize damage to oil and gas infrastructure in the event of a flood. Constituents in my district in Colorado are rebuilding. We are working hard, and we wish we had the kind of information that this study would produce years before the flood so we could have better prepared with regard to our oil and gas infrastructure and the safeguards around it. We do know a few things about the impact of the floods so far with regard to oil and gas facilities in northern and northeastern Colorado. Over 43,000 gallons of oil and 26,000 gallons of produced water have spilled from the tanks, wells, and pipelines in the floodwater. If we learn a lot from this experience, I hope that future areas impacted by flooding, as well as ours, because we never know whether the next flood is decades or years or centuries away, will be able to avoid these kinds of spills in our communities. On September 25, I did join Representative DeFazio in sending a letter to Chairman Hastings requesting a hearing to understand the consequences resulting from the flood. I continue to hope that the gentleman will be open to scheduling that hearing with regard to the impact of flooding, or perhaps more generally disasters, and how we can better safeguard our oil and gas infrastructure in this country. The floods in Colorado did shed a light on the need to better understand how we can safeguard our oil and gas infrastructure from disasters generally and, in our case, a terrible flood that had seven confirmed fatalities and hundreds of millions of dollars of property damage. We would all benefit from learning more about how disasters like the Colorado flood can impact communities, States, and, indeed, the Federal Government. Local elected officials, first responders, experts in oil and gas technology innovation, and the Academy of Sciences can help enhance our understanding of how to prevent damage to oil and gas infrastructure and avert spills and leaks in other communities. We don't want our communities to have to learn the hard way, as ours has done. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, again, regarding the language of the amendment, of course it is not designed to apply narrowly to Colorado. That would be considered an earmark, prohibited under the rules of the House. In addition, it is not designed just to serve the needs of my district. This amendment is designed to learn from this so other areas of the country don't go through the same damage from flooding to our oil and gas infrastructure that occurred in my district. The language is very limiting with regard to the report to Congress, very boilerplate language that we have used for other studies which have been successfully accomplished by the Academy of Sciences, reporting to Congress ``on the effect of flooding on oil and gas facilities, and the resulting instances of leaking and spills from tanks, wells, and pipelines,'' precisely what has occurred as a result of the flooding in Colorado and could, of course, occur as a result of flooding in other areas of the country that have a significant presence of the extraction industry. I hope that my colleagues will support this measure that Mr. Huffman and I have brought forward. I think it would be a commonsense report that would be of great value to this Congress in protecting our infrastructure and our environment from the impact of flooding. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Chairman, I do want to again elaborate a little bit. The gentleman from Washington brought up germaneness and jurisdictional issues. This amendment has been advanced to the floor by the Rules Committee with the necessary waivers granted, so it does not need to go through any other committee. It is here for the full House to consider. I appreciate it being included in the rule. I encourage Members to make the decision on the merits. It has been granted the necessary waivers to be considered on the House floor. Again, I do think this study would be of value to Congress, if, in fact, the 43,000 gallons of oil don't represent any kind of danger or risk that will be included in the report. The National Academy of Sciences will have access to the information that we as policymakers will need and my State will need for future planning and other States that have an extraction industry will benefit from in the event of a flood. This can save the health of people, it can save lives, and it can save costly infrastructure in the oil and gas industry. It is a commonsense measure, a useful study. I encourage my colleagues to vote ``yes,'' and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. I yield myself 30 seconds to respond. To be clear, there is not an effort in Colorado, as the gentleman insinuated, to somehow prevent the extraction of fossil fuels from occurring in Colorado. In fact, quite to the contrary. Because of the lack of meaningful State regulations, many cities and counties are banning extraction; and four of the five biggest cities I represent have moratoriums or bans on fracking precisely because there are insufficient Federal and State guidelines. So it is really working with counterpurposes and hurting the very prospects for the extraction industry that the gentleman aspires to assist by not having adequate regulation to safeguard people's homes and families. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson Lee).

Mr. POLIS. I yield the gentlewoman from Texas an additional 15 seconds.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I would inquire whether the gentleman from Utah has any remaining speakers. If not, I am prepared to close.

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, there are a number of ways that we can improve upon the Affordable Care Act. One of the ones that I would like to highlight that we could be bringing here to the floor today that the Senate already passed is comprehensive immigration reform. H.R. 15 here in the House, a bipartisan bill that I am confident would pass if brought to the floor, would finally make a dent in the fact that there are more than 10 million people here in this country illegally, the vast majority of whom don't have any access to health insurance. So American citizens are essentially being forced to pay for the health care costs of people who are here illegal every day until we pass comprehensive immigration reform. We are wondering why rates are going up. It is no surprise, Mr. Speaker. When somebody doesn't have insurance, their costs are shifted on to other people who do. Now, yes, there are Americans who don't have insurance, and the Affordable Care Act helps increase the access that many Americans have to insurance, but it doesn't do a thing about the fact that there are more than 10 million people here illegally in this country in violation of our laws who do not have health care insurance. If we can pass H.R. 15, Mr. Speaker, people who are here illegally will have to get insurance on their own instead of forcing Americans to pay for their insurance. I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on this rule, defeat the previous question. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. If we defeat the previous question, I will offer an amendment to the rule that will allow the House to vote on a substitute that allows Americans to keep their insurance if they like it. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of the amendment in the Record, along with extraneous material, immediately prior to the vote on the previous question.

Mr. POLIS. Is the gentleman prepared to close?

Mr. POLIS. If I may inquire, does the gentleman have any remaining speakers?

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Becerra), the chair of the Democratic Caucus.

Mr. POLIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Fattah).

Mr. POLIS. The Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Democratic leader.

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

Mr. POLIS

Mr. POLIS. So your district is similar to mine in that respect.

Mr. POLIS. I would ask the gentleman from New York, just to make sure my district isn't atypical, have you gotten more letters or calls about the need to take up asbestos reform or immigration reform?

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko) for his impassioned words. Here in the spirit of Veterans Day week--of course we all honor our veterans every day of the year. This past Monday was Veterans Day. This week, in particular, we are honoring those who serve our Nation. I would like to share the stories of several immigrants who serve in our Armed Forces. This is Augustus Maiyo, who serves in Colorado with the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program at Fort Carson. I am proud to say that he won the Marine Corps Marathon last year and led the team to victory. He is a runner and has done remarkable times and ended up winning it. He was fortunate to get the run done right before Hurricane Sandy impacted our Nation. We are proud, of course. I want to thank Augustus Maiyo for his service and for being a role model for so many others. One of the hats I wear in Congress is I cochair the U.S.-Nepal Caucus, and I am particularly proud to be able to share the story of Saral Shrestha, a Fort Bragg soldier from Katmandu, Nepal, who was selected as the 2012 Soldier of the Year. He came to the United States in 2007 from Nepal. He went to college in Nebraska, joined the Army in 2009, and was deployed in Afghanistan. We should be proud of the contributions that our 2012 Soldier of the Year has made, himself an immigrant, an inspiration to all the men and women who serve, including those who were born in other nations. As many of you know, the contest for Soldier of the Year is a very rigorous competition. Shrestha has been promoted to sergeant since he began the competition. We are particularly proud that the announcement was made during the Association of the United States Army annual meeting in Washington, D.C. There were many others, Madam Speaker, that we would like to be able to share the stories of, who want to lay down their lives to defend our country and to serve with distinction but, under current law, are prevented from serving in the Armed Forces, even though under the deferred action program they are able to work, they are able to attend school in our country, and all that many of them ask is to be able to risk their lives to defend the country they love, the country they know, the United States of America. H.R. 15 and the Senate bill address this situation and would allow these brave young men and women to serve. It is time, Madam Speaker. It is time to bring this bill forward. It is time to have a simple ``yes'' or ``no'' vote. It is what the American people are demanding. The American people are not demanding that we spend our precious hours and days debating asbestos reform. The American people are not demanding that we only work a dozen days before the end of the year here in Congress. The American people are demanding that we solve problems. More than 70 percent of the American people support comprehensive immigration reform. It would improve the security of the Nation. It would honor the service of our veterans. It would secure our borders. It would reflect our values. It would improve our economy. It would reduce the deficit--and it would create jobs for Americans. What is not to like? Let's pass comprehensive immigration reform now. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, I am happy to yield to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Tonko).

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from California. And just to highlight how we can improve our security as a Nation and honor the tradition of contributions that veterans have made to the security of our Nation, by simply allowing young people loyal to our country, who have lived here and it is the only country they know, who are able to work legally under DACA, simply allowing them, if they choose to, to put their lives on the line for the country that they love, that will make us all safer, Madam Speaker, and is part of H.R. 15 and comprehensive immigration reform. I yield to another leader in the effort to fix our broken immigration system, a gentleman from a large district in Texas that covers a lot of the border, my good friend, Mr. Gallego.

Mr. POLIS. Madam Speaker, we have here another leader from the great State of California (Mr. Cardenas), my friend.

Mr. POLIS. One way to honor the Speaker's word and not go to conference would simply be to take up the Senate immigration bill and advance it directly to the President. Perhaps we can also call upon the Speaker to honor his word in not having to go to conference by actually bringing the Senate bill before this body. The conference would not be necessary; is that correct? It would go right to the President.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Florida. It is not the desire, I don't think of any of us, of the Democrats, of our leader, of our Members, for this to be a political issue that one side is demonized on, that is used to generate political support. Rather, we would like to solve it. We would like this issue to go away. We would like to fix our broken immigration system; but if that doesn't happen, of course candidates are going to run on fixing it and the American people, with overwhelming support, will elect candidates who want to fix it. If Members of this body won't lead, frankly, Madam Speaker, they will need to get out of the way, whether by their choice or whether by the people's choice. The Americans are demanding action. I yield to the gentleman from California, a leader on immigration reform.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman from Miami for his impassioned words. It is rare, in my experience here, that more than two-thirds of the Senate can agree to solve an issue. They always talk about reaching the 60-vote threshold. There are only 54 or 55 of one party. How do we get to 60? This was 68 votes, more than two-thirds of the United States Senate. This House could act tomorrow. As you know, Madam Speaker, what many Americans wonder is if it could pass, why aren't we debating it? Why aren't we discussing it? What we spend our time on and the bills that we debate in this Chamber are determined by the majority leader and the Speaker. That is why we need their ability to bring these bills to the floor. If people want to stand in opposition, let them be public with that and say they don't want to solve immigration. But I am confident that the votes exist today with support of more than a third of the Republicans in the Senate. I think the numbers would be similar here. I think it could be a quarter, it could be a third, it could be 20 percent of the Republicans in this body that would agree it is time to fix our broken immigration system. I yield to the gentleman from Miami.

Mr. POLIS. I thank the gentleman. Mr. Speaker, I have a letter to submit to the Record from the Evangelical Immigration Table, and to quote in part, the Evangelical Immigration Table and the faith-based community, with strong support from the Catholic Church as well as from evangelical churches across the spectrum, have been strong supporters of immigration reform, from the pews and here in the Halls of Congress. The Evangelical Immigration Table endorsed value-driven immigration reform that respects the God- given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and those who wish to become permanent residents. I am proud to say that H.R. 15 honors the values of evangelical leaders, of Catholic leaders, of Jewish leaders, of Muslim leaders, of Americans across the faith spectrum, ensuring that our values as Americans and as people of faith are reflected in our immigration system. Dear Representative, The time has come to fix our broken immigration system. We are pleased that the Judiciary and Homeland Security Committees have worked on several bills each addressing a part of the immigration reform puzzle. As leaders of evangelical churches and organizations we write to offer our support and encourage further bipartisan cooperation towards enacting common sense immigration reform. Evangelical leaders from across the country came together in June 2012 to form the Evangelical Immigration Table. The Table has issued broad principles for reform, which have been endorsed by prominent evangelical pastors, denominational heads, leaders of national parachurch ministries, and university and seminary presidents. We are working across the country to educate and mobilize our fellow evangelical Christians in support of a just and fair bipartisan policy solution to immigration that: Respects the God-given dignity of every person, Protects the unity of the immediate family, Respects the rule of law, Guarantees secure national borders, Ensures fairness to taxpayers, and Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents. We applaud the significant progress toward legislation that would secure our borders, marshal additional resources for border enforcement and internal enforcement, and require the Department of Homeland Security to submit, implement and report on a detailed border security plan. The bills take steps to elevate respect for the rule of law--strengthening E-Verify, establishing a legal guest worker program for agricultural workers, a more workable program for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) visas, and increasing passport and visa security. We are encouraged by reports of other bills being drafted that would address the need for more low skill visas and the legal status of children, adults, and asylees; addressing these needs is vital to fixing all the components of the current system. The work the House has done on immigration reform thus far is commendable. However, we remain concerned about several provisions of H.R. 2278, The Strengthen and Fortify Enforcement Act (SAFE Act), that could have unintended consequences adversely affecting religious communities, law enforcement agencies, and the people they are called to serve. The SAFE Act, in its current form, criminalizes unlawful presence and includes broad prohibitions on ``harboring'' undocumented immigrants that could make criminals of the family members of undocumented immigrants and others, including fellow church members, who assist them with everyday activities. This is a significant problem for our pastors, faith leaders and others in our community, who as an extension of their faith, care in tangible ways for the immigrants (regardless of status) within their community. Pastors, faith leaders and others in our communities should not have to decide between following the law and giving water to a thirsty traveler in the desert, providing food to those who are hungry or giving rides to church for those without transportation. While collaboration and communication between federal, state, and local law enforcement is an essential part of effective policing, it must be structured in a way that fosters buy-in from those agencies and does not compromise their rapport and cooperation with immigrant communities. As you continue to work towards a complete legislative solution for immigration reform, you and your staff are in our prayers. We appreciate the complexity of designing a system that meets our country's needs and that can meet with broad public acceptance. Through Bible reading, prayer, and public education campaigns we have mobilized a broad base of evangelical support for immigration reform. But while Congress debates reform proposals, immigrant families and workers continue to suffer under our broken system. Now it is time to finish the job. Please prioritize work to finalize immigration reform legislation this year. May God bless you and your staff in the days ahead. Sincerely, The Evangelical Immigration Table I now yield to the original sponsor of H.R. 15, a leader in this House on the fight for immigration reform, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Garcia).

Mr. POLIS. I thank you, Mr. Speaker. Before I get to my remarks, I briefly want to address the nuclear proliferation issue in Iran. The gentlelady from Minnesota, as well as myself, and the vast majority of Members of this body, have been supportive of crippling sanctions against Iran. Many of us believe that that has helped drive Iran to the negotiating table. We hope for, of course, a peaceful outcome that takes nuclear weapons off the table and prevents Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons; and, of course, we continue to keep the use of force on the table if our diplomatic solution fails to be enacted that reaches President Obama's objective of preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons. The issue has had strong bipartisan support, nearly unanimous, here in this Chamber, with regard to continuing the pressure on Iran to rejoin the responsible nations and renounce the acquisition of nuclear weapons. But I am here today to talk about something closer to home, Mr. Speaker, in fact, at home, Mr. Speaker, namely, the need to act on immigration reform. It has been 138 days since the Senate passed a commonsense bipartisan immigration reform bill. I was proud to be part of a bipartisan group of Members here in the House that introduced H.R. 15, a companion bill to the Senate's immigration reform bill that makes additional improvements on outcome-based border enforcement and would address our broken immigration system and replace it with one that reflects our values as Americans, helps create jobs here at home, reduces our deficit by over $100 billion, and restores the rule of law here in our country, which is currently being undermined by the presence of 10 million, 15 million, 8 million--nobody knows how many people are here illegally. The issue will not resolve itself, Mr. Speaker. I call upon this body to act immediately and bring to the floor H.R. 15 and pass comprehensive immigration reform. Later on in my remarks, given that this is the week of Veterans Day, I will be talking about the contributions that many members of our military have made who are from immigrant backgrounds, including the talent that our military is missing out on today, including DACA, or deferred action recipients, who are able to work legally in our country, but are not allowed to serve in our military. H.R. 15 would solve that issue, and we will be talking about the many contributions that immigrants have made and continue to make with regards to our military. My colleague, Mr. Tonko from New York, is here; and I would be happy to yield to him for a moment.