Pete Sessions

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the Rules Committee issued announcements outlining the amendment processes for several measures likely on the floor next week. An amendment deadline has been set for Monday, January 9, at 10 a.m. for H.R. 5, the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2017; H.R. 79, Helping Angels Lead Our Startups Act. And a deadline has been set for 3 p.m. on Monday for H.R. 238, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, and H.R. 78, the SEC Regulatory Accountability Act. The text of these measures are available on the Rules Committee Web site. Please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions you have.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, today's opening prayer is dedicated to Bishop George David Cummins, D.D., Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, of Washington, DC, from 1855 through 1858. Bishop Cummins on this date, Sunday, December 13, 1857, preached the first sermon in the inaugural event of the House Chamber. The House of Representatives held its first sessions three days later on Wednesday, December 16, 1857. The present House Chamber was used as a place of Christian worship on Sundays from 1857 through 1869, as were the original Senate, Supreme Court and House Chambers from 1800 through 1857. Rev. Dan Cummins, D.D., an associate pastor of Skyline Church, San Diego, is a descendant of Bishop George David Cummins, and gave recognition to the significance of this historic day in his opening prayer. Pastor Cummins and his wife JoAnn, along with Dr. James Garlow, Senior Pastor of Skyline Church, and Steve Amerson, ``America's Tenor,'' are responsible for the restoration of those traditional Sabbath worship services in the U.S. Capitol with the weekly Jefferson Gathering worship services for members of Congress and staff on July 30, 2014.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for allowing us--not only the Texas delegation, but other Members of Congress who would wish to come down--the opportunity to express our sincere appreciation and debt of gratitude to the gentleman from Lubbock, Texas, and to his dear and beautiful wife, Dana Neugebauer, and family who are in the House tonight. On behalf of the Texas delegation and as a Member of Congress from Dallas, Texas, I would say from the people of Dallas, Texas-- Texas' 32nd Congressional District--we have long been friends with the gentleman from the 19th District of Texas and appreciate his life and service to this great Nation. Mr. Speaker, you have just heard much of Congressman Neugebauer, much of not only what might be resume information, but, really, what might be, when it plays itself out, information that is about the service that Congressman Neugebauer has given, the leadership that he has provided not only to the committees of service, but, really, to the people of this country. Congressman Neugebauer came to Congress as an exciting young man who was not only full of opportunity, but who came from a vibrant part of Texas with his ideas about freedom, about free enterprise, about opportunity, about collegiality--about the things which he placed high value on. Randy comes from a part of Texas--and I would like to say everybody from Texas might be this way, but it is not true--where a handshake and your word make a difference. The entire time he was here, Mr. Neugebauer didn't oversell and didn't underdeliver. He did the things that were necessary as the proper representation of not only the Texas delegation, but as a man of distinction from Lubbock, Texas--the High Plains. He brought with him the professional attributes that were very necessary within the Texas delegation to be successful. Very early on, he championed those ideas. They were ideas of bringing forth representation from a group of people in Lubbock, Texas, and north Texas who strongly believed in America, who strongly believed that America's greatest days lie in its future. Randy always spoke of not only the ideas that he had, but of the people he represented in terms of real admiration for those people, admiration for hard work, admiration for an honest day's work, admiration for an honest day's pay. So you can see, Mr. Speaker, those who have known Randy the best watched him in his personal dealings not only with Members of our delegation, but also in committees and the hard work and the homework that he did to make sure that he did his part necessary. He rose not only in the ranks of responsibility, but also rose in the ranks of people who admired Mr. Neugebauer. I am one of those people. I looked at Randy, who had come just a couple of years behind me, as not only a champion of words and ideas, but he had the ability to express those ideas, the ability to speak to people in terms of content, of where our country would head. This was a time after 9/11 when we were faced with fear, uncertainty, and perhaps some complexity that might be available to some. It never existed to Congressman Neugebauer. Randy threw all of that out. I would say he threw out the high and the low and lived off of confidence, confidence about not only the way of life that he understood and he represented, but really about the United States military and the men and women who were from his district whom he spoke so plainly about, who we understood where they were. They were committed. Yes, we are Texans, but he really spoke of America, of America as not just this shining city on a hill, but Americans who would dedicate themselves to a principle, to ideas higher than just citizenship as a responsibility, as a necessary part of making sure that this country and where home is back in Lubbock, Texas, in the high plains, that that is what he believed was honorable. People who would go and sacrifice themselves, who would go help people in another land, who were called on because of commitment to service, these are the kind of people that Randy Neugebauer would identify with. These are the kind of people Randy Neugebauer would talk about. These are the kind of people who, at our Thursday Texas delegation--yes, we are a bunch of darn Texans, but we get together, and we celebrate and share not only camaraderie and commonality, but ideas about where we wanted to go. That is Randy Neugebauer. That is what Randy Neugebauer did every single week, faithfully, dutifully, and he knew what he was doing. So I want to say to the gentleman, the young chairman of the Science Committee, thank you for being here for our dear colleague, current colleague Randy Neugebauer. One last point, a point of privilege. Look, when you come up here, you are proud of where you are from, and you want to do a good job. One of those marks is to be thought of as a real conservative. Randy Neugebauer, at least 1 year, and probably 2 or 3, was, by his voting record--this isn't a vote. This is actual delivery of product--number one, the most conservative person in this body. I had that chance for 1 year; I tried for 2. It is hard to outguess the scorecard. Randy Neugebauer is a good guesser also because he knows where he is from--right, wrong, good, bad, up, down, more, less, proper. Mr. Speaker, tonight we honor a real hero of mine, the gentleman from Lubbock, Texas, Randy Neugebauer. And let no one forget his beautiful, young bride who, day after day, gave confidence to so many other people about who they are, what they do. I hope these 46 years turn into 146 years of marriage, Mr. Chairman. I wish Randy Neugebauer and Dana and that entire family the very best. I thank Chairman Smith for allowing me the chance to come down and say to my dear friend and the Neugebauer family: A job well done, Godspeed, and I hope I do well enough to get invited back to Lubbock to see you again.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of The Armed Forces and Their Families on this Christmas and Holiday Season, with a poetic tribute by Albert Carey Caswell. Let us remember their selfless sacrifice, and give a prayer of thanks for those who are separated by death and distance this Christmas. Silent Night Holy Night As a magnificent hero lays down their life all is Bright As our Lord smiles at their light all is Calm All is Bright Way up in heaven where your soul took flight! Round Yon Virgin Mother and Child While, all in her tears your Mother so remembers your smile Holy Infant so tender and mild As once all in your Mother's arms the while Now sleep in heavenly peace my child As your war is over my Daughter, my Son Silent Night Holy Night As your family and your loved ones so miss you this night Silent Night But, your new battle has just begun As an Angel in The Army of Our Lord, my Daughter my Son All is Calm All is Bright And we will hear you on the wind And we will sleep in Heavenly Peace As we awake knowing you are watching over us as where you've been Until, we meet you once again in heaven where all is bright And your Brothers and Sisters in Arms will live a good life For you their best friend by remembering your light Silent Night Holy Night All is Calm All is Bright All because of The Men and Women of The Armed Forces, and Their Families who fight the fight All is Bright Sleep in Heavenly Peace Amen

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear colleague from Dallas for not only yielding, but I want to commend him in working with his committee, including the gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer), on this awesome legislation. Mr. Speaker, the point is simple: Washington has once again gotten in the way of legitimate business and is harming the American people, the American economy, and job growth in this country by imposing unnecessary and burdensome compliance costs on medium-sized banks all across America. Asset thresholds, regardless of how high or low, are disincentives to growth. There will always be an institution that lies somewhere that is slightly above or below some threshold, but the bottom line is that arbitrary numbers tell us very little about the risk that is actually involved. It is the risk to institutions in America that we should be talking about. So, simply put, the SIFI designation is arbitrary. It simply subjects smaller banks to the same standards as trillion-dollar, globally systematic organizations, which is something that would only make sense here in Washington. The bottom line is, it is an impediment to free economic growth, and it is an impediment that is burdening not only our banks but consumers also. I commend Congressman Luetkemeyer for advancing this important, commonsense regulation. By the way, it has taken several years to get here. We now understand that the American economy can move in the right direction. The American economy, with good and proper leadership, not only in Washington but by the rules and regulations that are balanced, will help United States families, small businesses, and specifically smaller banks be more competitive to offer the services that are necessary. I commend the young chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Mr. Hensarling, for allowing this bill to come here today.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, this morning, the Rules Committee issued an announcement outlining the amendment process for H.R. 5143, the Transparent Insurance Standards Act of 2016. The amendment deadline is set for Monday, December 5, at 10 a.m. Amendments should be drafted to the text of the Rules Committee Print 114-68, which contains the text of the bill, as reported by the Committee on Financial Services, with a modification, and can be found on the Rules Committee Web site. Feel free to contact me or the staff if you have any questions.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Sheriff David Byrnes for serving 16 years as Kaufman County Sheriff and for serving a total of 47 years in law enforcement protecting the citizens of Texas. On November 5, 2017 David Byrnes will retire from a lifetime of serving the United States and Texas. Sheriff Byrnes began his career in the Navy before pursuing a career in law enforcement. He began his law enforcement career as a Deputy Sheriff in Tarrant County. Afterwards he joined the Department of Public Safety where he served as a Highway Patrolman in Pecos, Denton, and Fort Davis. He was later promoted to the Texas Rangers and served in Midland, Snyder, and Garland. He retired from the Rangers as the Captain of Company B in 1996. David has now spent the last 16 years as the Kaufman County Sheriff. On behalf of all the people touched by the work of Sheriff Byrnes, I want to thank him for all of his work. We have been blessed to have you protecting us and I wish you a happy retirement.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of all of the men and women of The Armed Forces and their families who have served and serve this day, with a poetic tribute by Albert Carey Caswell. All we hold dear On this day to all hearts beckons here In this home of the brave and land of the free so very clear The most blessed gift of freedom that we all so endear Letting us live our lives in peace so all without fear While, they stand on that wall While, they answer the call Marching out into harm's way standing tall As we stand back in awe Living and dying for us one and all And all they hold dear When, in hearts of gold such brilliance appears Kneeling next to a Fallen Brother or Sister In Arms as comes the tears As half a world away a child in the still of the night cries out in tears As they give all for all of us here and all they hold dear When such magnificence appears Are the ones who come home with such heartache they own With the scars of war which will not leave them alone Stand without arms and legs all in a PTS haze Thank them today while out on your way Take the time to thank them of all you hold dear Bought and paid for by all of them so here And their service to our Nation which brings the angels to tears For all we hold dear Say prayer, give thanks, and shed a tear to The Armed Forces and their families here For all you hold dear On this Veteran's Day here.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman, I want to stand before this body and thank the gentleman, Sam Johnson, and the gentlewoman, Eddie Bernice Johnson, for their support in this important effort. Mr. Chairman, what we are doing here today is most important. We are trying to prepare for future generations of people who will be living in Texas who want and need to make sure that we have water reservoirs that are available and prepared for that growth that will occur. This is not a partisan issue, and it is not a political issue. It is a regional issue. It is something that we have worked on very diligently. Congressman Sam Johnson and Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson have gathered together, and we have worked to make sure that as we talk about this project we have worked with the EPA, we have worked with the Corps of Engineers, we have worked with the North Texas Municipal Water District, and we have made sure that during this process that we have all stuck to our word. This opportunity that we have today is to make sure that we stick to our word, that all of the organizations who have worked with us know that we have set a date by which this must be done. There are lots of ways for people to slip out, find problems, and ignore the things which are team oriented. I think that what Sam Johnson is doing here today makes real sense, and that is why last night at the Rules Committee I made sure that we not only made this in order today, but that we can do this together. I want to thank the gentlewoman from Dallas, Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson), and the gentleman from Plano, Texas (Mr. Sam Johnson), for the work that they have done. I thank the gentleman for the time that he has yielded me.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, H. Res. 892, the special order of business governing consideration of H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016, included a prophylactic waiver of points of order against the amendments made in order in House Report 114-790. The waiver of all points of order now includes a waiver of clause 9 of rule XXI, which requires that if a sponsor of the first amendment as designated in a report of the Committee on Rules to accompany a resolution sits on a committee of initial referral, that sponsor must have a list of congressional earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits in the amendment to be printed in the Congressional Record prior to its consideration. However, it is important to note that the sponsor of amendment 1 in the committee report has since submitted the required statement.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, I would like to take this chance to celebrate the National Day of Taiwan. Taiwan has and continues to be a staunch ally of the United States, one who shares our common values of freedom, human rights, and civil society. I have personally had the privilege of visiting Taiwan and have seen, first hand, its proud democracy and strong economy. As a part of their push for global integration, Taiwan has been seeking inclusion into international organizations. My colleagues and I understand the need for Taiwan to be a part of the global conversation and have passed legislation to help Taiwan receive observer status in international organizations such as: the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol). I am pleased that for the last eight years, the World Health Assembly has continued to include Taiwan. Taiwanese experts have taken this opportunity to share their experiences with their counterparts from other countries around the world and they continue to make contributions to the global health network. As a key aviation hub in East Asia, I would encourage the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to utilize Taiwan's expertise. Close to fifty eight million people each year enter, leave, or pass through the Taipei Flight Information Region. In addition, Taiwan is connected to over 100 cities around the world with hundreds of air-passenger and air-freight routes. In 2013, Taiwan was invited to attend the triennial ICAO assembly as a guest of the ICAO chair of the Executive Committee. It would be beneficial to Taiwan and the international for Taiwan to be included in ICAO meetings. As Taiwan's National Day approaches, I would like to encourage the ICAO to welcome Taiwan's meaningful participation in its Assembly this month, and I hope that we as a Congress continue to incorporate the Taiwanese into the global network.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time, and I move the previous question on the resolution.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, you just heard from one of our brightest new members of the Committee on Financial Services. This committee is full, on a bipartisan basis, of men and women who care very much about growing our economy. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), a senior member of the Financial Services Committee and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, in fact, in this colloquy, I do have an additional speaker, and then I would choose to close.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, by direction of the Committee on Rules, I call up House Resolution 844 and ask for its immediate consideration.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, for the purpose of debate only, I yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Polis), 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. General Leave

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this rule, which is a fair rule that makes in order every single amendment submitted to the Rules Committee. The rule provides for consideration of H.R. 5424, the Investment Advisers Modernization Act of 2016, and H.R. 2357, the Accelerating Access to Capital Act of 2016. This package comes to the floor via the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, Chairman Jeb Hensarling, who brought this package to the Rules Committee because of the needs of the American people and the needs of the financial services industry that is trying to grow jobs, investment, and opportunity for people in America. We have an incredible opportunity before us today, Mr. Speaker, an opportunity to take good ideas, good ideas that come directly from the American people. It is called the financial services industry of the United States of America, men and women who get up and handle our financial needs, many men and women who not only have dedicated themselves to the success of this country, but also to the success of the American people. We are trying to take this opportunity to move those ideas that they bring to us today through the House of Representatives so that we have a bill that we can present on a bipartisan basis to the United States Senate and to the President of the United States and say these are great ideas. Mr. Speaker, I will tell you that your work that you do personally to make sure these ideas are brought forth not only to the Financial Services Committee, but to other areas of this Congress to make sure that we are passing legislation that is about jobs, job creation, and the availability of the American people to have a better shot at the American Dream, is why we are here today. The goal of this rule and the underlying legislation is simple: to keep the flow of capital moving across our capital markets, to make it easier--not harder--to make it easier to overcome barriers for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and startups to have the capital that they desperately need to grow and thrive. Mr. Speaker, this part of the American Dream is someone who has great ideas, the ability, and the desire, and to take those ideas and match it up with the capital, a marketing plan, and the ability to move forth in that plan. That is part of the American Dream to make not only your life better but, along the way, a bunch of other people who meet their American Dream also. Capital is the lifeblood of growing new companies--not a surprise-- and access to capital can literally make or break small business. Mr. Speaker, it can make or break a person's great idea also. That is why we are here today on the floor. Good ideas that come from men and women in the industry, men and women who talk to the Financial Services Committee on a partisan basis, men and women of this Congress bringing these great ideas, and it is all on behalf of trying to give people a better shot at the American Dream through growing companies accessing capital and making the hard break become successful. I have seen firsthand the detriment of overregulation in industries and poorly written laws, and I have also seen the power of the free enterprise system. While serving as chairman on the board of the Greater East Dallas Chamber of Commerce, I saw, firsthand, companies that could not get the capital that they needed because they weren't large enough to qualify or perhaps had some other burden or impediment in front of them. As we know today, because of technology, time, and people's purpose, we have the opportunity for doing something remarkable. We have the ability today to enact legislation that will bolster opportunities for small businesses to secure capital, to reduce the strain of a one-size- fits-all regulatory regime, and to take that and add an opportunity to overcome these by using the American spirit and killing regulatory things that stand in the way. That is why we are here. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman from Colorado's not only observations as a business leader from Colorado, but as a member of the Rules Committee. He recognizes the need for ideas to flow up from the industry to Members of Congress, for us to, on a bipartisan basis, approach these issues to where we can provide safety and soundness for the American people. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Delano, Minnesota (Mr. Emmer), the gentleman who is offering his legislation, which is a part of title II of the legislation.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, we have been talking about thoughtful young members of the Financial Services Committee, who work with people all across the United States who are engaged in financial services to bring more capital to bear, not only for small business, but also better investment tools, investor tools. We have had the advantage of having not only Mr. Polis, a young entrepreneur from Colorado, but we have had Ed Royce. We have had Tom Emmer. We now would like to have another very bright, young man who serves on the Financial Services Committee to talk to us, who brings this bill to us from Winfield, Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Hultgren).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, the Committee on Financial Services has presented a number of their members who have come to the floor today to offer thoughts and ideas on a bipartisan basis, thoughts and ideas that have emanated up from literally financial services experts across the country, commonsense ideas, and investor ideas. They have been vetted. They have been looked at. They have been talked about. They have been marked up on a bipartisan basis; and that is why we are here today, to make capital easier and more available from an investor perspective, as well as from the perspective of the financial services industry. One of the leaders from the Financial Services Committee for a number of years has been our next speaker, and I am delighted to yield 5 minutes to a favorite son of St. Elizabeth, Missouri (Mr. Luetkemeyer).

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I would expect at this time that I have no further speakers and will close when given that opportunity.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to the time I have remaining.

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, thank you very much. I yield myself the balance of my time. Mr. Speaker, I want to congratulate and thank my colleague, Mr. Polis. Today has been a thoughtful exercise where there was some disagreement. That is okay. That does not bother me, and it should not bother him that he had to speak his mind in areas that he felt were important. But today, Mr. Speaker, Mr. Polis has very objectively been able to critique the bill in front of us, to provide his analysis of that bill, acknowledging it is a bipartisan bill, acknowledging that this bill is about jobs, job creation, making life better, albeit that it might be one or two people in a neighborhood. This country is full of neighborhoods and full of people who want a better job, people who want a better opportunity to invest, people who want to have their ideas taken up, and this bill came directly to us today from back home, back home people who have ideas, back home people who are looking at rules and regulations and saying, wow, that is an impediment to my good idea. Mr. Luetkemeyer, Mr. Emmer, Chairman Royce all said, oh, by the way, they have an American Dream they are trying to live up to also, and there are things that are getting in the way of their dream. So they do the things that are necessary to float their ideas up to their Member of Congress. It came to the Committee on Financial Services. The young chairman, Jeb Hensarling, creates ideas that are able to move to legislation. That is why we are here on the floor today, subscribing ideas that provide more capital that is available. The cost of securities regulation continues to fall heaviest on small companies. Small companies are the engine of our economy, where many of the bright people who today, by graduating from college, going to business school, learning things, they realize as they enter the marketplace, wow, there is another hurdle out there. That is why we are here today. They want to bring their ideas to the marketplace. We are here to help them through safety and soundness, through working through the instruments of government, and to do so so that traditional financing options are available for small companies that work. Our predatory administration--that is this Obama administration--is using Dodd-Frank as its main weapon against the free enterprise system today. This administration is using the weapons that they have available to them to stop and stifle and to make more difficult the creation of jobs, the creation of more wealth, the creation of investment, and it is all done. We see this, Mr. Speaker, when we look at GDP growth. Our country is stagnant. Yesterday, when we were having the motion to recommit, the young gentlewoman from the Democratic side acknowledged most forthrightly, these are difficult financial times. All across America there are terrible financial times because of an administration that chooses to strike at the heart of the free enterprise system: the heart of the free enterprise system in health care, the heart of the free enterprise system in banking, and regulations on the energy industry, striking at the heart of people trying to get homes and keep jobs and to move things. This administration has a constant attack against jobs, job creation, and, I believe, the American worker, yet they find it easier to give lots of money to other people but not Americans for our own job creation. That is why we are here today. But we are not going to cast this as what this is about. What this is about is a positive effort about the American Dream, about good ideas, about bipartisanship, about following the rules to get things through a committee, to get things to the Committee on Rules, to get things on the floor, to get people to vote on a bipartisan basis. We have, essentially, four bills in this rule, four bills that I believe are desperately--I will use that word, ``desperately''--needed by small business to grow and innovate ideas. What is on the other side of that? We have already said it 10 times, the American Dream. But it is also freedom. When issuers sell securities to the public, that means more money goes into the company, money that can be used to hire more people, push a product and make it successful. That is why we are here. We are here to take the ideas, a process, in a bipartisan way. Lastly, Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter which addresses an issue that my dear colleague has talked about, and that is the Zika funding issue. The letter was written to the President of the United States on July 14, 2016, and among other things it says: ``The House passed a conference report that would provide an additional $1.1 billion in emergency supplemental funding to continue to prepare for, and prevent, Zika both domestically and internationally. It is unfortunate that Democrats have blocked action on this legislation in the Senate.'' Mr. Speaker, they continue to do it today. This letter--which was signed by the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, the gentleman Hal Rogers; the gentleman Thad Cochran, chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations; Chairman Tom Cole, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services; Roy Blunt, chairman, Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services; Kay Granger from Fort Worth, Texas, chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations; Lindsey Graham, chairman, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations--very clearly says: Mr. President, until that block by Senate Democrats is stopped, we give you authorization to reprogram money that would be available. You seem to find lots of money that is available to bring people to this country who might be displaced in other places around the world. Why don't you spend a little bit of money on important issues like the Zika virus? We are on record. We are waiting for the Senate to move the bill. Mr. Speaker, I want you to know your time that you have allocated today, the precious time of this House, was done today for bills that came to us from ideas from the American people that floated on a bipartisan basis directly up to the Committee on Financial Services, which brought these bills forward. They have been talked about, marked up, and vetted. They are good to go, and I am in full support of not only this rule, but this legislation; and for that reason, I urge my colleagues to continue to support this rule and the underlying bills. Appropriations Committee Sends Joint House and Senate Letter to the White House Urging Action on Zika Funding Washington, July 14.--House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers, along with Senate Appropriations Chairman Thad Cochran and other senior members of the House and Senate committees, today sent a joint letter to President Obama urging White House action on Zika funding. Senate Democrats today again blocked legislation that would immediately fund efforts to prevent and fight the spread of the Zika virus. Chairmen Rogers and Cochran wrote that given the critical need for these funds and absent the funding that was blocked today, the White House should ``aggressively use funds already available to mount a strong defense against the virus.'' The full text of the letter is below: July 14, 2016. President Barack Obama, The White House, Washington, DC. Dear Mr. President: Your Administration has asked Congress to provide additional resources to prepare for, and prevent, the spread of the Zika virus. We have responded by both supporting the reprioritization of existing resources and passing through our respective chambers legislation that would provide additional Zika response funding. On February 18, 2016, we called upon your Administration to repurpose available funds to be spent immediately to fight the disease. On April 6, 2016, you did so through the use of existing authorities, repurposing $589 million for Zika response activities. Given the urgency of your request, we were surprised last week when Politico reported the following based on information shared by Administration officials: ``The Obama administration has so far distributed only about one-sixth of the unspent Ebola funding that it diverted to combat the Zika virus.'' This money is available immediately to prepare for and combat Zika, yet is seemingly not being spent. The House passed a conference report that would provide an additional $1.1 billion in emergency supplemental funding to continue to prepare for, and prevent, Zika both domestically and internationally. It is unfortunate that Democrats have blocked action on this legislation in the Senate. The conference report provides the same amount of funding that every Senate Democrat previously supported. It fully funds vaccine research, and increases funding for mosquito spraying and eradication, Zika surveillance, and advanced development of treatments and diagnostics. The conference agreement provides the same access to health services as your supplemental request, contains no new prohibition on any health service, and expands access to health services in Puerto Rico beyond your initial request. If Senate Democrats continue to block consideration of Zika legislation, we urge you to aggressively use funds already available to mount a strong defense against the virus. We also note that the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bills allow the Administration access to additional funds. The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has transfer authority that can be used as an additional source for Zika preparedness. The previous Secretary did not hesitate to use this authority to support the failing Affordable Care Act Exchanges. The Secretary of State also has authority to reprogram funding to provide additional foreign assistance to address the Zika virus outside the United States. We urge you to use available funding now to ensure our nation is prepared. Sincerely, Rep. Hal Rogers, Chairman, House Appropriations Committee. Sen. Thad Cochran, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Committee. Rep. Tom Cole, Chairman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. Sen. Roy Blunt, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. Rep. Kay Granger, Chairwoman, House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Chairman, Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.

Mr. SESSIONS

Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that it be in order at any time on the legislative day of September 9, 2016, for the Speaker to entertain motions that the House suspend the rules, as though under clause 1 of rule XV, relating to the bill (S. 2040) to deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other purposes.