Lamar Smith

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, on October 31, the authorization for the United States Parole Commission will expire. H.R. 2944, the United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2011, extends the Commission's authorization for an additional 3 years. I thank Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Crime Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner, and Ranking Member Bobby Scott, who is here on the floor today, for joining me in sponsoring this legislation. The Parole Commission is an independent agency within the Department of Justice that supervises Federal offenders who are eligible for parole. In 1984, Congress abolished Federal parole and replaced it with a determinate sentencing system. Federal offenders who were sentenced prior to November 1, 1987, were grandfathered under the parole system. The Parole Commission has been kept in place since then on a temporary basis to continue supervision of these Federal offenders. In an effort to lower local crime rates, the District of Columbia followed the Federal example and also abolished parole. Under the new D.C. system, the D.C. Superior Court imposes a term of incarceration and supervised release. Congress subsequently expanded the jurisdiction of the Parole Commission to include both parole and supervised release offenders from the District of Columbia. The group of offenders the Parole Commission was originally intended to supervise, Federal offenders who are eligible for parole, is a finite number of offenders that is growing smaller every year. Today, however, the majority of the Commission's workload concerns the District of Columbia offenders. Like the population of Federal offenders eligible for parole, the parole-eligible D.C. offender population is also declining over time, although at a slower rate than Federal offenders. However, because all incoming offenders are now sentenced under the new law, the D.C. supervised release offender population is increasing. At some point in the future, no Federal offenders will remain under the Commission's jurisdiction. At that time, Congress should assess the need to continue a Federal Parole Commission within the Justice Department. In addition to extending the Commission authorization for 3 years, H.R. 2944 requires the Commission to submit a report to the House and Senate Judiciary Committee within 180 days of enactment. The commission last provided such a report in 2006. H.R. 2944 requests the Commission to provide a variety of information relating to each category of offenders under the Commission's jurisdiction for fiscal years 2006 through 2011. The report asks the Commission to provide the projected number of Federal offenders who will be under the Commission's jurisdiction as of October 31, 2014, the date this authorization is set to expire. The report also requests an estimate of the date on which no Federal offenders will remain under the Commission's jurisdiction. This report will inform Congress about where the Commission's resources are being directed, and enable us to decide whether any changes to the Commission are necessary to reflect its decreasing Federal parole responsibilities. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 2944 currently under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2944) to provide for the continued performance of the functions of the United States Parole Commission, and for other purposes.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, liberal media bias gives Democratic candidates an extra 8 to 10 percentage points in a typical election, according to a study by UCLA political science professor Tim Groseclose. For example, Professor Groseclose found that if media bias didn't exist, John McCain would have defeated Barack Obama with 56 percent of the vote. In his new book, ``Left Turn: How Liberal Media Bias Distorts the American Mind,'' Professor Groseclose writes, ``While the job of a journalist is to shine light on facts, they use a prism, bending the light and causing it to make a left turn. The end result is that we, the readers and viewers of the news, are more likely to see facts from the left side of the spectrum.'' As we approach another important election year, the national media should give Americans the facts, not tell them what to think.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, for 2 years, 14 million Americans have been out of work. Yet illegal workers hold 7 million jobs. It is inexcusable that American workers have to compete with illegal immigrants for scarce jobs. Congress has the opportunity to open up millions of jobs for unemployed Americans by requiring all U.S. employers to use E-Verify. This program checks the Social Security numbers of new hires. E-Verify is free, quick and easy to use. Individuals eligible to work in the U.S. are confirmed 99.5 percent of the time. The public also supports E-Verify. According to a recent Rasmussen poll, 82 percent of likely voters think businesses should be required to use E-Verify to determine if a new employee is in the country legally. This is one of the most important job creation bills Congress should pass and the President should sign.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 2480, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2480) to amend title 5, United States Code, to authorize appropriations for the Administrative Conference of the United States for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I offer this bill on behalf of myself, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Coble), and the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen). Lately, the need to reform Federal administrative law has become urgent. Every day the long promised economic recovery seems more like a mirage. Our top priority should be to create jobs. Protecting job creators from overregulation will help create jobs. According to the Small Business Administration, regulations impose a $1.75 trillion burden annually on the American economy. Reducing this burden will hasten our economic recovery. The Administrative Conference of the United States is a small but important institution. It is a narrowly focused, nonpartisan body that offers an outstanding forum to reform Federal administrative law. Regulatory agencies must be efficient, effective, and accountable. This is the heart of the Conference's historical mission. Over the years, its recommendations have saved taxpayers tens of millions of dollars. For example, the Social Security Administration saved $85 million by adopting a recommendation to eliminate an unnecessary step in its appeals process. The Conference's budget was $1.8 million at the time. And the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation saved more than $9 million in the first 18 months of a pilot program implementing an ACUS recommendation to make greater use of alternative dispute resolution. ACUS currently is urging agencies to expand their use of video hearings. The Social Security Administration already has saved $59 million by doing more hearings by video conference. This ACUS recommendation has the potential to save millions more across the Federal Government. Due to a lack of funding, the Conference went dormant in 1996. It was revived in the 111th Congress, and I am glad that once again it is able to contribute to administrative law reform. The Conference is uniquely positioned to generate much savings for very little cost. Recommendations from the Conference save taxpayer dollars by helping agencies work more effectively. The Conference also helps agencies adopt better and less burdensome regulations to reduce that $1.75 trillion regulatory burden on the economy. Additionally, the Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law's December 2006 interim report on regulatory reform contains numerous suggested reforms that ACUS could examine and help agencies implement. During these difficult economic times, everyone has to tighten their belts, including Federal agencies. If American families have to make tough economic choices, so should Congress. The amount authorized by this bill, $2.9 million annually for the next three fiscal years, was a bipartisan compromise. It reduces the Conference's authorization level by almost 10 percent while enabling the Conference to perform its most critical work. The Conference's past successes raise the prospect for a high return on the taxpayers' investment. It is a reasonable authorization level in light of the current need to reduce Federal spending, and I recommend it to my colleagues. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 398) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to toll, during active-duty service abroad in the Armed Forces, the periods of time to file a petition and appear for an interview to remove the conditional basis for permanent resident status, and for other purposes.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on H.R. 398, currently under consideration.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, which provides relief to military servicemembers serving overseas who marry foreign spouses. Our Nation's military should not have to worry about red tape while they are abroad protecting our freedoms. When a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident marries a foreign spouse, that spouse becomes a conditional permanent resident. After 2 years, the couple files a petition with the Department of Homeland Security for the removal of the conditional status. If the petition is successful, the immigrant becomes a permanent resident. The petition generally must be filed before the second anniversary of the spouse's becoming a conditional permanent resident. Upon the filing of the petition, DHS interviews the couple to determine whether there was any marriage fraud. The interview must be conducted unless DHS waives the deadline for the interview or the requirement for the interview. This timetable is reasonable under normal circumstances. However, what happens when the U.S. citizen or permanent resident spouse is serving overseas in active duty status in the Armed Forces? It would certainly be a disruption to the military to have a member of the Armed Forces deployed overseas travel for a personal interview with DHS. Our military's focus should be on defending freedom, not bureaucracy. While it is true that DHS can choose to delay this process in appropriate circumstances, this bill's provision should be standard policy while the spouse is serving abroad. Of course, the petition and interview would still take place when the spouse is no longer on active duty. This bill is good for our military, and I urge my colleagues to support it. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I offer this legislation on behalf of myself and Representatives Cuellar, Hinojosa, Roskam, and Rush. A number of American hospitals have great difficulty attracting nurses. These include hospitals that serve mostly poor patients in inner-city neighborhoods and some hospitals in rural areas. For example, St. Bernard Hospital in Chicago is the only remaining hospital in an area of over 100,000 people and almost all of its patients live in poverty. St. Bernard almost closed its doors in 1992 primarily because of its inability to attract registered nurses. Congress passed the Nursing Relief for Disadvantaged Areas Act in 1999 to help hospitals like St. Bernard. It created a new H-1C temporary registered nurse visa program with 500 visas available each year that allowed nurses to stay for 3 years. To be able to petition for a foreign nurse, an employer had to meet four conditions. First, the employer had to be located in a health professional shortage area; second, the employer had to have at least 190 acute care beds; third, a certain percentage of the employer's patients had to be Medicare patients; and fourth, a certain percentage of patients had to be Medicaid patients. The H-1C program adopted the protections for American nurses contained in the expired H-1A nursing visa program. For instance, a hospital had to agree to take timely and significant steps to recruit American nurses. Also, hospitals had to pay the prevailing wage. The H-1C program contained new protections such as requirements that foreign nurses could not comprise more than one-third of a hospital's registered nurses. The H-1C program was extended in 2006 but expired in December of 2009, though many nurses still remain on 3-year visas issued before that date. Sister Elizabeth Van Straten, president of St. Bernard Hospital, wrote to me last December that ``because of the sunset, in combination with the extended approval period for green cards, nurses are now forced to leave our institution, and the rate of loss continues to increase. This loss cannot be sustained. As the only hospital serving one of the most difficult sections of Chicago, and perhaps the entire country, we need the extension of the visa program to survive.'' I introduced H.R. 1933 to help St. Bernard and other, similar hospitals. The bill reauthorizes the H-1C program for another 3 years. The number of visas that may be issued in each fiscal year cannot exceed 300. An alien may be admitted for 3 years, and this stay may be extended once for an additional 3 years. The H-1C program ensures continued care for patients in inner-city and rural communities. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 1933, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1933) to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to modify the requirements for admission of nonimmigrant nurses in health professional shortage areas, as amended.

Mr. SMITH of Texas

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1103) to extend the term of the incumbent Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. SMITH of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I have no requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time as well.