Hal Rogers

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Frelinghuysen), the distinguished chairman of the Defense Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to the floor H.R. 4152, a bill providing the authority for loan guarantees for Ukraine. As we all sadly know, Ukraine is facing an extraordinarily difficult time. As a valued partner and friend of the United States, our Nation has a duty to provide the people of Ukraine with help when they now need it most. This bill will provide some stability for the government and the people of Ukraine as they navigate through these troubled waters. The legislation before us will allow funds to be used to guarantee loans for the Government of Ukraine, in support of the Secretary of State's $1 billion pledge this week. This bill does not appropriate new funds, but simply allows funds to be used from existing State Department resources. Ukraine's economy has been in a difficult position for years, but now the country faces, of course, real risks. Russia has punished Ukraine for leaning toward the West and has suspended the assistance they planned to provide. This bill will not solve all of Ukraine's problems, obviously, but it is an important first step that will allow the country to shore up its finances and begin to make its economy more efficient. With this legislation, Congress--and the United States--will show that we stand by those that oppose authoritarian rule. It will show that, as a nation, we will step up to help the people of Ukraine not only with our words, but with our deeds. Ukraine is facing an uncertain economic future, Mr. Speaker, but they are choosing the right path of democracy and reform. The American people will stand with the Ukrainian people as they chart this new course, and today we will take a first step to quickly respond to their present need. Mr. Speaker, this is a critically important bill and one that should pass the House and the Senate and be enacted into law without delay. I urge a ``yes'' vote. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Harris), a distinguished member of our committee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on the consideration of H.R. 4152.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4152) to provide for the costs of loan guarantees for Ukraine.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the members of a program dedicated to improving lives in my region of Appalachia, the Christian Appalachian Project, in honor of its 50th anniversary. Whether employees or volunteers, the exceptional members of this organization work hard to fight the problems which have plagued eastern Kentucky and Appalachia, including natural disasters, domestic violence, and barriers to economic development. The Christian Appalachian Project began in 1964 with Reverend Ralph W. Beiting, who provided clothing, food, and other goods to the people of eastern Kentucky with the help of members of his church and community in northern Kentucky. Over the last fifty years, the organization has grown tremendously to include a vast array of programs for children and families, individuals with disabilities, and the elderly. These programs offer hope and help. Each of these programs is designed to help enrich the lives of eastern Kentuckians and better the community as a whole through an approach that emphasizes providing a hand up and not just a hand out. Each year, more than 1,000 people volunteer from across the nation to help make this project one of the most influential efforts in the Commonwealth. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring an incredible program which helps so many in my region get back on their feet. The program's fifty years of service is a testament to how much this program has done for Kentucky and the whole Appalachian region, and I wish them a bright and exciting future.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of Appalachia's most dedicated allies, Thomas M. Hunter. Tom will retire after 20 years of esteemed service as Executive Director of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC). Over the years, Tom has made a tremendous impact on eastern Kentucky's communities and local economies. The ARC has consistently worked to leverage their funding in order to spur private-sector investment in commercial and industrial development, as well as provide for improved water, sewer, gas, fiber, and road infrastructure projects where they had previously been sorely needed. Many of these investments have occurred in my District, where all 28 of the counties I represent are recognized as a part of the ARC. Specifically, Tom has had oversight of the 3,080-mile Appalachian Development Highway System; noted to be the cornerstone of the ARC's transportation efforts. The ADHS is a system of modern highways that connect with the interstate highway system. The ADHS recently achieved 85 percent completion, and has already proved to be a formidable economic stimulator for a region where roadways have traditionally been difficult to construct and often fall into disrepair. In my district, these vital corridors allow Kentuckians from even the most remote areas a chance to reach interstates with ease; thus opening up entire communities to travel and trade in a way that would have been impossible just a few decades ago. All told, Tom Hunter has his fingerprints on hundreds of improvement projects in eastern Kentucky alone. Over the last 20 years, he has affected the lives of countless Kentuckians by overseeing the installation and repair of water lines, investments in small regional businesses via grant initiatives, and educational programs such as the Appalachian Higher Education Network--a group developed to work with high schools to increase the number of college-ready students in Appalachia. Tom has aided in tourism development with projects such as the Kentucky Artisan Heritage Trails, and actively demonstrated his interest in improving the health of Appalachians with the creation of the Appalachian Health Policy Advisory Council. Tom has done so much for my district, and for Kentucky, that it becomes difficult to fathom how he has likely been an equally significant champion for the other 12 states included in the Appalachian Regional Commission's territory. The ARC has been an extraordinary federal agency due to the constant commitment they have shown in responding to the needs of people throughout Appalachia. There is no doubt that Tom's strategic leadership was a fundamental driver behind the ARC's steady success. As he moves into retirement, Tom leaves behind a legacy of forthright demeanor, an attentive ear, and humility in service. His wisdom, care and passion for the region will be sorely missed. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a true hero of the Appalachian region, Thomas M. Hunter. I wish him all the best in the years to come.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to one of eastern Kentucky's toughest leaders, both in and out of the courtroom, Chief Circuit Judge for Kentucky's Thirty-Third Judicial Circuit, the Honorable William Engle III, upon his upcoming retirement. Judge Engle made a profound impression on Kentucky's Perry County when he first won a special election in 2004 to take the bench. He was determined to restore dignity and honor to the court that was mired by countless drug-related cases. One year earlier, our region was dubbed the nation's ``Painkiller Capital,'' and Judge Engle was determined to implement changes that could save the lives of people who entered his courtroom, and curb the tide of prescription drug abuse in Eastern Kentucky. Fulfilling his pledge, Judge Engle established a Drug Court in Perry County in 2005, volunteering his own time to oversee the program. Drug Courts are designed to reduce the relapse rate of drug abusers and drug-related crime through substance abuse education, treatment, drug- testing, and counseling. With strict oversight, four participants made it to the first graduation ceremony in 2006. Since then, some 60 people have successfully graduated from this impressive treatment-alternative program in Perry County. Additionally, Judge Engle had the foresight to partner with a local workforce center to help Drug Court participants re-enter the workforce and build a career. His work has helped restore thousands of dollars in child support payments, as well as restitution and fines owed by the individuals. Most importantly, dozens of families have been transformed through the program and at least eleven drug-free babies have been born, giving them all a wonderful new beginning. As he passes the gavel, Judge Engle leaves behind a legacy of fortitude in the law, yet humility in his service. His wisdom and passion will undoubtedly be sought after as the people of Perry County choose his successor. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring a champion for drug-free communities, the Honorable William Engle III. I wish him all the best in the years to come.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 458, I call up the bill (H.R. 3547) to extend the application of certain space launch liability provisions through 2014, with the Senate amendments thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Latham), the chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Herrera Beutler).

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the chairman of the Interior portion of the bill.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Crenshaw), the subcommittee chairman that drafted the Financial Services part of the omnibus bill.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Alabama (Mr. Aderholt), the distinguished chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Appropriations.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Dent), a member of our committee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Smith), the chairman of the House Science Committee.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time. If I were allowed to make reference to people in the gallery--which I am not allowed to--I would say we have over my right shoulder up there most of the staff of this committee who are responsible for this bill. If I were allowed to say so, I would want to congratulate and thank them for giving us their Christmas and New Year's and all of the heart and desire they have to bring us to where we are. Madam Speaker, in closing, when you think about this room, this hallowed Chamber where we came together during times of crisis and in times of non-crisis, a place you can almost hear the words echo of MacArthur addressing this body, or Churchill, or President Wilson, and you remember that this is the Chamber where we all came together to survive the Depression, world wars beginning with I, and the dire days of World War II, and all the other wars, this is the place where the Nation found itself coming together. I can't think of a more satisfying time that I have had in this Chamber in these years than now in helping bring together across the aisle and across the Capitol Members of the Senate and the House, doing what we are supposed to do, and that is governing and deciding how we want to spend the taxpayers' dollars for the country. I want to thank all who took part in that. It has been a great chore. We had 30 days to put together a trillion-plus-dollar spending bill, get it approved in the Senate, controlled by another body, and to be signed by the President, another party from ours, on this side. It has been a great pleasure working with all of you. This bill is not perfect, I hate to tell you, but it is a good one, and it represents the best traditions of the country in coming together, recognizing our common problems, then finding a way out of it. I want to thank Mrs. Lowey and our colleagues in the Senate for all the work they put into it, and I urge an ``aye'' vote. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I thank the gentleman for yielding. Yes, the gentleman from Ohio is correct. The bill includes additional funding for flood control studies, and the report direction encourages the Corps to consider economic development and job growth when allocating these funds to individual studies.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Latta) for the purpose of a colloquy.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf), a very hardworking and longtime classmate of mine, chairman of the Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee. (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.)

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today to bring to the floor, Madam Speaker, an amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 3547. This is the consolidated appropriations package that will fund the government for the remainder of the 2014 fiscal year. This omnibus contains all 12 regular appropriations bills for fiscal year 2014--funding every aspect of the Federal Government, from our national defense to critical transportation infrastructure to the education of our kids. In total, it provides $1.012 trillion in discretionary funding--the same level delineated in the Ryan-Murray budget agreement. I am pleased that Senator Mikulski and I were able to come to this fair, bipartisan agreement on funding the government. Although our differences were many and our deadlines short, we were able to come together to draft a solid piece of legislation that meets the guidelines of the Ryan-Murray agreement and keeps the government open. I understand that not everyone will like everything in this bill. That is the nature of compromise. But I believe this legislation reflects the best possible outcome. We made responsible choices to realign the Nation's funding priorities, targeting precious tax dollars to where they are needed the most. We have continued the 4-year trend of reducing Federal discretionary spending, making a total of $165 billion in cuts since fiscal year 2010. In fact, this is the fourth straight year that we have cut discretionary spending. That has not happened since the Korean war. And we have remained committed on our side to our Republican principles: reducing regulatory burdens, fortifying our national security, and enforcing stringent oversight on the executive branch. Throughout the bill, we have maintained pro-life policies and protected Second Amendment rights. We have made sure that this bill provides no new funding for ObamaCare, and have even cut existing ObamaCare funds to the tune of over $1 billion. The Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate, working side- by-side, went line-by-line through thousands of agencies and the 12 regular appropriations bills to make sure that each program was weighed individually and received a funding level that supports their most current needs. We have prioritized funding for the most important and effective programs and reduced lower-priority programs at the same time. For example, we did not include any funding for high- speed rail or three new Department of Homeland Security headquarter buildings, but we targeted funding to essential national defense activities, critical law enforcement programs, and lifesaving efforts, such as medical research. This bill also includes an important provision fixing the Bipartisan Budget Act to ensure that those who have given the most in military service, the approximately 630,000 medically retired personnel and survivor benefit plan recipients, our disabled veterans, receive their full yearly cost-of-living increase. Before I close, Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to thank the many, many people who were integral in getting this bill to the floor today. First, I thank the ranking member of the Appropriations Committee, Mrs. Lowey. Thanks to her partnership and her dedication, we were able to wrap up this omnibus by the deadline, and I know her drive extends to our next challenge--the 2015 bills that we will start next month. In fact, the passage of this bill will allow the Appropriations Committee to get back to regular order, as they say, get the train back on track so that this coming year we can do 12 individual bills brought to the floor separately, as is the practice and is required. I want to thank her for her leadership in helping us get to that point. Secondly, our counterparts in the Senate, whose open-minded approach to negotiations led to many honest and reasonable discussions throughout the many stages of this process. I don't know any appropriations bill that has gone through as many reasonable tests and, I think, wise decision processes as went into this bill. So I appreciated the work of the gentlelady on the Senate side, the chairman of the committee there, Ms. Mikulski, and Senator Shelby of Alabama. We had wonderful times at Christmas and New Year's. Next time, as much as I love these people, I would rather be with my family. Lastly, I want to thank the members and the staffs of the committee. They gave up countless hours of family time at Christmas, New Year's, and during the holidays in order to complete this bill. They really are the A-team. I am lucky to have all of them working for this committee. Without their hard work, expertise on the issues, and their commitment to this legislation, we would not be here today. We should all be grateful for their service. I hope that you will say something to them as you pass. I would particularly like to recognize the clerk of the Agriculture Subcommittee, Martin Delgado. After 16 years, this is his last bill with the committee. How fortunate we have been to have him until the end. No one knows the ins and outs of Agriculture appropriations like he does. He is a true expert in every sense of the word. We will miss him dearly and wish him Godspeed. Let me also mention the chief clerk of the committee, Will Smith, who sits beside me. He has led the effort from day one. He has put in untold numbers of hours--day and night, weekends, all-nights--to bring us to this point. He has been a great staff leader. He has done a fantastic job. I want you to say something to him. On the other side of the aisle, his counterpart, David Pomerantz has been a terrific asset to the committee and to piecing together this very difficult, complex bill. We want to say thank you to David Pomerantz for his great work. Jim Kulikowski, who also sits beside me, the number two clerk in the committee, has been invaluable in getting us to this point. Madam Speaker, in closing, I would like to once again remind our colleagues that providing funding for our Federal Government is one of our chief duties as Members of Congress. In fact, I think it is the chief duty, one that we can't shirk. The people elected us to fulfill this duty and govern. To govern, you have got to pass these funding bills for the government. As we pass these funding bills, the imprint of Members of Congress on these funding bills directs agencies of the executive branch to follow the will of the people represented here in this body. So this bill is a reflection of the need for Members of Congress, under the Constitution, to decide how and when and why money is spent by the executive branch. The people elected us to fulfill that duty, and this bill does just that. Three and a half months into the fiscal year, I would say it was just about past time that we pass this legislation. So I urge an ``aye'' vote on the omnibus. We can send it to the Senate today for their approval and get it to the President for his signature as soon as possible. Certainly, before Saturday. With that, Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Madam Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), the chairman of the Energy and Water Subcommittee on Appropriations.