Tom Rice

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Clemson University football team on their 2017 national championship. In a nail-biting rematch of the 2016 national championship game between the Clemson Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Tigers came back with something to prove--and boy did they, with their 35-31 win. While every member of the team played their hearts out, I would like to recognize a very special player who hails from the Seventh District of South Carolina, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow. A native of Horry County and graduate of Socastee High School, Mr. Renfrow has had an outstanding season, catching 44 passes, including 6 touchdowns, for a total of 495 yards this season. He joined the Tigers as a walk-on, earned a scholarship, and last week, with 1 second left, caught the game-winning touchdown in the championship game. I would also like to extend special congratulations to two of Clemson's finest alumni: my wife, Wrenzie, and my friend, Congressman Jeff Duncan. I know few people who take more pride in their alma mater and enjoyed this win as much as they did. This national title is a win for all of the great State of South Carolina. In fact, two national titles currently reside in South Carolina: the NCAA football championship in Clemson and the NCAA College World Series at Coastal Carolina University. Congratulations Clemson, and go Tigers.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, it is a privilege and honor to rise today to congratulate the Clemson University football team on their 2017 National Championship win over the University of Alabama. In what was a nail-biting rematch of the 2016 National Championship game between the Clemson Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Tigers came back this year with something to prove--and they did just that with their 35-31 win over the Tide. While every member of the team played their hearts out, I'd like to recognize a very special player who hails from the Seventh District of South Carolina, wide receiver Hunter Renfrow. A native of Horry County and graduate of Socastee High School, Mr. Renfrow has had an outstanding season--catching six touchdowns and receiving 44 passes for a total of 495 yards this season. Perhaps even more impressive than his talent on the field is his determination and hard work that got him there. He joined the Tigers football team as a walk on, later earning himself a scholarship and this year catching the championship-winning touchdown with just one second left in the game. This National Title is a win for Mr. Renfrow, the players, the coaches, Clemson University, and all of South Carolina. Congratulations Clemson and Go Tigers.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following proclamation: Whereas, it is the privilege and duty of the American people to commemorate the two hundred and twenty-ninth anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention; and Whereas, it is fitting and proper to officially recognize this magnificent document and the anniversary of its creation; and Whereas, public law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America designating September 17 through 23 as Constitution Week; Now, therefore, I, Tom Rice, by virtue of the authority vested in me as Representative of the Seventh District of the State of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 17 through 23, 2016 to be Constitution Week and ask our citizens to reaffirm the ideals the Framers of the Constitution had in 1787.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I am so excited to rise today to congratulate a small university of 10,000 students in Horry County, South Carolina: Coastal Carolina University. Coastal Carolina may be small in size, but it is huge in achievement. CCU has had a couple of remarkable achievements in the last several weeks. You see, Coastal Carolina is the alma mater of 2016 U.S. Open champion, Dustin Johnson, and the home of the 2016 NCAA World Series champion, Coastal Carolina University Chanticleer baseball team. After falling behind in game one, the Chants came back to win the final two games in a nail-biting best-of-three series. The Arizona Wildcats were an admirable opponent and came to play, but the perseverance, dedication, and true love of the game carried the Chants to victory. Year after year, the Chants field remarkable athletes in every sport, and their achievements are often oversized. But this year's Chanticleer baseball team ran the table, and when the last pitch was thrown in Omaha, they brought the national title home. Not only is this the first NCAA title for CCU baseball, it is the school's first national title in any sport. I want to recognize a few players who hail from the Seventh District of South Carolina: infielder and pitcher, Jordan Gore; first baseman, Kevin Woodhall, Jr.; and the all-star designated hitter, G.K. Young. Of course, this team's success wouldn't be possible without the leadership of head coach Gary Gilmore and his remarkable coaching staff. A graduate of CCU himself, Coach Gilmore has led the Chants baseball team for 22 successful seasons. This national title is a win for all the players, the coaches, CCU, and all fans across South Carolina. Congratulations, Coastal Carolina University. Go, Chants.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I would like to start by thanking Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their hard work on this important legislation. My amendment transfers $2.2 million from the Department of Energy, Departmental Administration account, to the Army Corps of Engineers' construction account. The intent of this amendment is for additional construction funds to be used for the Army Corps' shore protection mission. Shore protection projects are critical safeguards for life and property in coastal districts like mine, protecting millions of lives and billions of dollars of property. These projects protect against storm surge, erosion, and flooding, which are all too common. Not only are our beaches an important safety buffer, but they are also economic drivers. The State of South Carolina knows this well after suffering the devastating flood event associated with Hurricane Joaquin last October. As a result of this major disaster, the authorized Myrtle Beach shore protection project suffered damages of approximately 700,000 cubic yards of sand and $17 million. My amendment would protect projects across the country like the Myrtle Beach project. I want to thank the chairman for working with me in the wake of the disaster on pertinent flood and storm damage accounts in this year's funding bill. I also want to thank the Army Corps for working with project sponsors for inclusion in this year's work plan. Two of the reaches of the project fit Public Law 84-99 emergency criteria, resulting in a Corps recommendation of action. The Corps, while they recommended action, did not have available resources to address both reaches this year, imposing a safety and property vulnerability in our area. For that reason, I think it appropriate to increase the Corps' construction account to allow significant projects like the one in north Myrtle Beach, which lost 241,850 cubic yards of sand in October, to compete for funding. Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Harry Charles. I met Harry Charles in the mid-1980s at Trinity Episcopal Church. Harry was a gentleman, a gentle man, in every sense. Brilliant, soft- spoken, and dignified with a shock of white hair and a sparkle in his eye, I liked him instantly. He and his wife, Jane, were loving, giving people. They were very involved in the community. The best compliment I can give them, or anyone, is that they were full of God's grace. They were graceful. Folks often came to Harry after he'd retired for legal advice. Many of those, Harry would send to me, which meant a lot to a young lawyer. I understate to say Harry and I were friends, and he was a great influence to me. But I want to share one aspect: He came by my office one day, looked me in the eye, and asked about my community involvement. When he deemed my answers inadequate, he said ``I guess we'll have to put you to work.'' Over the next 20 years, Harry appointed me to a commission to study emergency services, then to 6 years on the Board of Zoning Appeals (ouch), then to 2 terms on Ocean View Foundation. Harry made sure my civic duties were fulfilled. I may have complained once or twice along the way, but I have no doubt that the people I met, and the lessons I learned carrying out Harry's assignments vastly broadened my perspective and eventually led me to the United States Congress. Harry will be greatly missed.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I thank the distinguished gentleman for yielding. The Gullah/Geechee culture is infused throughout the low country of South Carolina. In fact, it is a big part of what makes the low country of South Carolina so unique. From Daufuskie on the southern end to Little River Neck on the northern end, that culture permeates our geography and our people. My father's family, my grandfather's family, my brother, and myself were raised in the midst of the Gullah/Geechee culture. In all of our cities--again, from north to south; in Charleston, Myrtle Beach, and Georgetown--you can see those traditions infused throughout those communities. The traditions of the Gullah/Geechee arts, oral history, literature, music, cuisine, and others, have made a distinctive impact on the coastal Carolina culture. Growing up on the coast, I have fond memories of the Gullah/Geechee people and their way of life. Authorizing the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission is important to preserving and managing the uniqueness of their important traditions. I support the reauthorization of the Commission and the passage of H.R. 3004.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Barry Coates, a United States Army veteran from McBee, South Carolina. Barry passed away last week from terminal cancer that was left untreated by the VA for over a year. Even as he battled his illness, Barry remained a champion for improving medical access and care for all veterans. Mr. Speaker, I join with the people of South Carolina in recognizing the life of Barry. Together, we honor his service and dedication to the fight for better treatment for our veterans. His contributions to this fight leave an indelible mark that will always be remembered. Barry will be greatly missed and I ask that we keep Barry's wife, Donna, his five children, Scotty, Breanna, Shane, Troy, and Tyler, and the rest of his family in our thoughts and prayers. Mr. Speaker, we must do better for our nation's veterans.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, yesterday two terrorists murdered 14 people in a gun-free zone in San Bernardino, California, and my heart certainly goes out to the residents of San Bernardino, all of California, and all of this country. The President's response today, after revelations that these people had been radicalized and had traveled to the Middle East recently was that he felt they had ``mixed motives.'' His solution to this is to propose restrictions for law-abiding citizens' access to guns. I have two questions for the American public: One, do you believe that further restricting law-abiding citizens' access to guns would have solved this tragedy? Two, do you believe that this is the last time we will see radical Islamic terrorism on our shores?

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life of Mr. George Joseph Parness, a distinguished American hero, who spent his life improving the lives of others. George joined the United States Navy just days after Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was ordered to report to the USS Nicholson, and also served aboard the USS LeHardy, the USS President Hayes, the USS Phelps, and the USS Randall. After WWII, George returned home only to eventually reenlist during the Korean Conflict. He served aboard many ships including the USS Achernar. After returning from war George met his wife, June, and on February 12, 1954, they married. George then went on to work in the newspaper business, served as Mayor of Suffern, New York, and served as Rockland County Legislature. George and his wife then retired to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. George will be greatly missed and I ask that we keep his family in our thoughts and prayers.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Madam Chair, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I certainly appreciate and respect the chairman's hard work in gathering up this bill. While I respectfully disagree with him that the bill adequately addresses tourism, I think a national committee reporting directly to the Secretary of Transportation, similar to other aspects of the travel industry, like freight, trucking, and other things, would certainly benefit the tourism industry and give a more balanced perspective. I rise in support of this amendment. It is important for the Department of Transportation not to lose focus on the movement of people in their strategic planning of our Federal network. Congestion is at an all-time high, and new construction is at an all-time low. To best address these issues, the Department of Transportation should consult with experts in moving people efficiently: the travel and tourism industry. Creating a national advisory committee on travel and tourism will ensure that most knowledgeable private sector stakeholders have a role in the planning of our most important corridors. Travel and tourism supports 15 million jobs in the United States and is important to every region of the country. Establishing a forum to collaborate, strategize, and develop infrastructure that allows the industry to exist is necessary to ensuring America's competitiveness in the tourism global market. Determining a long-term plan for anything is rare here in Washington. That is exactly what this amendment does; it determines a long-term strategic plan for the travel and tourism industry. Madam Chair, in my district in South Carolina, Myrtle Beach welcomes over 16 million visitors annually. Tourism is the driver of our economy in the Grand Strand. We are one of the most visited destinations in the country and do not have interstate access. In fact, we are the most visited destination that does not have interstate access. If a destination attracts 16 million visitors without an interstate, imagine what areas like ours could do with one. The national advisory committee on travel and tourism will identify, prioritize, and make recommendations to the DOT on areas in need of infrastructure advances, like Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. That is why I am a cosponsor of this important amendment.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of our Gold Star Mothers. As we honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, we pay tribute to their families, who have made tremendous sacrifice for the sake of our country. On this day, we give due honor to those mothers whose sons or daughters have given their lives while defending our nation. The Congress, by Senate Joint Resolution 115 of June 23, 1936 designated the last Sunday in September as ``Gold Star Mother's Day.'' Now, therefore, I, Tom Rice by virtue of the authority vested in me as representative of the Seventh District of the state of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 27, 2015 to be Gold Star Mother's Day. I encourage the American people to display the flag and hold appropriate ceremonies as an expression of our nation's sympathy and respect for our Gold Star Mothers.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I would like to submit the following proclamation: Whereas, it is the privilege and duty of the American people to commemorate the two hundred and twenty-eighth anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States of America by the Constitutional Convention; and Whereas, it is fitting and proper to officially recognize this magnificent document and the anniversary of its creation; and Whereas, public law 915 guarantees the issuing of a proclamation each year by the President of the United States of America designating September 17 through 23 as constitution week; Now, therefore, I, Tom Rice by virtue of the authority vested in me as representative of the Seventh District of the state of South Carolina, do hereby proclaim September 17 through 23, 2015 to be Constitution week and ask our citizens to reaffirm the ideals the Framers of the Constitution had in 1787.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, my amendment withholds funding for permitting of offshore oil exploration until the Secretary of the Interior reaches revenue-sharing agreements with coastal States. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's 2017-2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program opens the mid- and south Atlantic regions to oil and gas development after several decades of being off- limits. While advanced drilling techniques and spill response have made environmentally safe access to oil and gas reserves in the Atlantic possible, coastal States should consider and prepare for impacts that offshore energy development present. Sharing of revenues with coastal States will help address the risk and responsibilities that States and coastal counties assume with offshore energy development. These revenues would help State governments expand coastal management and conservation, build necessary infrastructure, fund emergency preparation and response, and expand public service to support the influx of new industry and workforce. Involving the coastal infrastructure and management will add to the overall economic well-being of the coastal communities. Before our coastal States agree to share in the burden of offshore drilling, we ought to ensure that our coastal States are able to share in the economic blessings of such drilling. My amendment would prohibit funding for implementation of BOEM's plan until the Secretary of the Interior enters into a revenue sharing agreement with the States affected. While it may not be possible this evening to adopt my amendment for coastal States, as we move forward with energy exploration off our coastlines, please be mindful of revenue sharing. Because I understand my amendment is subject to a point of order, I plan to withdraw this amendment. But before I withdraw my amendment, I ask for the chairman's consideration to assist in development of revenue sharing agreements to compensate the coastal States and help them to mitigate risk.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Reclaiming my time, I appreciate the chairman's consideration. I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Speaker, today is the official start of Hurricane Season. As a lifelong resident of a coastal area and a representative of a coastal district, hurricane preparedness is a priority of mine. I would like to recognize a young man in my district who is committed to hurricane safety, Bobby Walters. Bobby is a resident of Georgetown County, South Carolina, and has spent the last three years marking 861 street signs with their corresponding hurricane evacuation zone. Now, Georgetown residents can easily determine which evacuation zone they are in, and should inclement weather occur, proceed to the nearest evacuation route. Bobby is a member of Boy Scout Troop 360 in Pawleys Island and completed this project to earn his Eagle Scout rank. On behalf of the Seventh Congressional District, thank you Bobby and Troop 360 for all of your hard work to keep our community safe.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank Chairman Simpson and Ranking Member Kaptur for their work on this good piece of legislation. Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw the amendment.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chairman, so many things we do here in Washington are nonsensical. Our tax system is not competitive; our immigration system is not competitive; our regulatory system is not competitive, and our infrastructure is deteriorating. Our ports are certainly a very, very critical part of our infrastructure. When we have a situation where it takes 15-plus years to get environmental permitting done for the Port Everglades, when we are on the fourth year of studying the Charleston port--one of the most efficient ports on the East Coast--and when it has been 10 years since we have had dredging funds for the small Port of Georgetown in my district, our infrastructure continues to deteriorate; the country becomes less competitive, and thousands more American jobs are lost. With limited funds, it is increasingly difficult for small harbors to compete with larger projects. Given this competition for scarce funds, very few small projects make the President's budget and receive funding. What my amendment proposes to do, Mr. Chairman, is to remove $4.5 million from the Army Corps' regulatory budget, which the regulatory division of the Army Corps of Engineers continues to grow and promulgate more regulations that make our country even less competitive, such as the expansion of the Clean Water Act that are currently proposed. This would take money from that regulatory division and put it into the operating and maintenance division so that these moneys can be used to actually make our ports work again. The bottom line is our harbors are showing, and we need to increase money to maintenance accounts so that our harbors can compete. In my district, the Port of Georgetown has not received maintenance dredging in over a decade. This is a port that handled 1.7 million tons of cargo in the year 2000. The economy in the area is largely dependent on the port, and the port is getting more and more shallow each year. The State of South Carolina has pledged $18 million for port dredging. The ports authority in South Carolina has pledged $5 million, and even the Georgetown County voters have passed a referendum that will apply $6 million to dredge the harbor. Currently, Georgetown is waiting for the President or the Army Corps of Engineers to realize its importance and fund the Federal portion of this project. It is vitally important for the Corps' maintenance account to be sufficient, which is why my amendment transfers $4.5 million from regulatory activities to maintaining our harbors. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. If the chairman is going to oppose my amendment, I will withdraw it out of respect for the chairman.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I wish you would.

Mr. RICE of South Carolina. I thank the gentleman for yielding. South Carolina thanks you. What an honor it is to stand here before this group to talk about the Federal budget. These were a couple of slides that were actually handed out to the Budget Committee that illustrate very wonderfully the challenge that we face. The total revenue for the Federal Government for fiscal year 2014 is $3.02 trillion, most of it from individual income taxes. And then social insurance is the payroll taxes we pay for Social Security and Medicare, and then we have the spending. You can compare the two. Revenues are $3.02 trillion. Spending is $3.5 trillion. Our deficit is half a trillion dollars, roughly, projected this year. That sounds terrible. Of course, 3 years ago, just before I was elected to Congress, it was a $1.4 trillion deficit. So it has, in fact, been cut well down. It is about 40 percent of what it was. And I will take all the credit for that. Actually, it has come down dramatically. But we are still on an unsustainable path, and it is projected to rise, largely because of demographics. The baby boomers are retiring, and the need for social insurance is going to rise in the coming decades. It will overwhelm us if we do not prepare for it. Republicans, Democrats, the Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget, and any known economist will tell you that if we don't deal with this issue, it will overwhelm us. We are on an unsustainable path. We are piling billions and billions of dollars in debt on our children and our grandchildren every year. Right now, we stand at $18 trillion in debt. On our current path, I believe the number $25 trillion is what they are projecting at the end of 10 years if we don't do something to deal with it. If you look at the spending, you can see the red areas are what they call entitlement spending or mandatory spending, Social Security being the biggest part of that, and Medicare, Medicaid. Then interest on the debt is here at $229 billion a year. And then other mandatory, which would be unemployment, welfare; the ObamaCare insurance subsidies will be in that. You can see that red area is about two-thirds of our total spending of $3.5 trillion. The blue area is what they call discretionary spending. Discretionary spending is the only part that Congress has a play or a say in every year. If you break that down further, the discretionary spending, defense is this part here in dark blue that is about half of it, and nondefense discretionary is the remainder. Nondefense discretionary is the thing most people think of as government; the FBI, the CIA, the White House, the Department of the Interior, Park Service, EPA, Army Corps of Engineers, all these things are in nondefense discretionary. People think: Well, gosh, we should cut the Department of Education, we should cut the EPA. Well, that is great. If you cut every dime of nondefense discretionary spending out of the budget, every cent of it, we would still have a deficit. If you eliminated every part other than defense, we would still have a deficit, so you see how severe the problem is. Another thing people don't understand is, because of the sequester, defense and nondefense discretionary have been whittled down over the last several years; and, in fact, nondefense discretionary spending is below 2008 levels right now. It is as low as it has been since President Barack Obama has been in office because of the sequester spending. Defense spending has been cut to the bone. It is below levels that the Pentagon is telling us are necessary to maintain our readiness in this troubled world. Now, there is always waste, and there is always further room to cut. The point of all that is, with these things having been whittled as low as they have, it is very obvious that we will not be able to handle our budget problems. We will never be able to reach a balanced budget unless we deal with this area in red, what is called mandatory spending, the entitlement programs. There is no way to fix this problem without dealing with those. Now, you say: Well, why don't we just raise taxes? Right now, we are taking in, I believe it is, about 17 percent of our gross domestic product in tax revenues. It is more money in real dollars than this government has ever received. We are getting more revenue than we ever have, and it is a higher percentage of our gross domestic product than has been received on average over the last 40 years. We are already at a higher level of revenue. Revenue is not the problem. The problem is that spending is out of control. For the last 3 years, the House Committee on the Budget has issued its own budget. It has been called the Ryan budget. It has been called the House Committee on the Budget budget. It has been called the Path to Prosperity. That budget takes reasonable steps to balance the budget over a 10-year period. Now, the President issued his own budget this year. The way this is supposed to work is the President is supposed to issue his budget by the end of January. This is the first time since he has been in office that he has actually done that. We actually got it on time. The House is supposed to issue its budget, I think it is, about March 15th. It goes over to the Senate; they do their version. The House and the Senate conference, and then we send it to the President. For the first time since the President has been in office, we are on track to actually have a budget. It is an amazing fact to me that, since President Barack Obama has been in office, we have not had a budget. You can't run your household without a budget, you can't run a bakery without a budget, and here we are, trying to run the most complex institution on Earth without a budget. It is not just a lack of long- term planning; it is a lack of even planning for the current year. You have to have a budget. Anyway, we are on track to have a budget. The House Committee on the Budget has put one out for the last 3 years. The President has issued his budget now. The House Committee on the Budget's budget over the last 3 years would have balanced in 10 years. I anticipate we will do the same thing this year. We will put forth a budget that has reasonable adjustments and balances in 10 years and stops piling mounds of debt on our children and our grandchildren. The President's budget, on the other hand, increases spending from $3.5 trillion a year to a little over $4 trillion a year. It adds $2 trillion in taxes over the next 10 years, and it never balances, ever. It continues to pile debt on our children and grandchildren. The House Committee on the Budget's budget doesn't raise taxes, and it does balance in 10 years. This is the projection by the Congressional Budget Office-- nonpartisan, not Democrat, not Republican--of the path that we are currently on. The cutoff of the blue area there is where we are today. You can see with the demographics and with the burden that we are going to be placing on our social safety net and our entitlement programs--Social Security and Medicare--right now, where we are, if you look back in history--this goes back to 1941--never in the history of the United States has the debt as a percentage of our gross domestic product been as high as it is right now. The debt is about 70 percent of our gross domestic product, the debt held by the public. The only other time that it was this high was in World War II. We can adopt changes. We have time. We can adopt some modifications to bring this back under control; but, if we do not, you can see the mushrooming effect of the additional debt, interest rates climbing, the interest that we pay on our debt rising, the effect of the entitlement programs, running our debt to over 100 percent of our gross domestic product, which will make it difficult for us to recover from.