Bill Shuster

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. Mr. Chairman, I agree with the ranking member, Mr. Larsen. This amendment requesting the GAO study makes a lot of sense to me. The outlook of the future supply of individuals in the workforce, we know there are some shortages out there. This report will inform us about the current aviation workforce and needed actions to ensure we do have an adequate supply of workers in the future. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for his leadership and thank him for offering this amendment, and I urge all Members to support it.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chair, I thank Mr. Lewis and I thank the gentleman for offering this amendment. The Metropolitan Planning Organizations were created to ensure that local officials drive the decisions about how Federal and highway transit funds are spent. Unfortunately, for the gentleman's district, a loophole in the law undermines elected officials. This amendment ensures the structure of MPOs can consist of locally elected officials. This is a fair and commonsense amendment, so I urge all Members to support this amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, the amendment is a re-regulation of the airlines that was soundly defeated in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. It would force airlines to interline, which refers to agreements among airlines to carry each other's passengers. Most airlines already have interline agreements with other airlines, and the freedom to do so is important to preserve. Forcing all airlines unwilling into such deals will have unintended consequences. Customers will be punished and forced to bear the burden of the service fares of other airlines. The problems caused by this amendment would be most acute in smaller communities that have few flights per day. H.R. 4 includes provisions requiring air carriers to prominently disclose to passengers what services will be offered in the event of widespread disruption. The underlying bill contains a number of other consumer protections that are widely supported by stakeholders and Members alike. Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for his leadership on this issue, but I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Washington (Mr. Larsen).

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my request for a recorded vote on amendment No. 67 to the end that the Chair put the question de novo.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I reluctantly rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend and, actually, my classmate, Mr. Lynch. You, myself, and Joe Wilson are the last of the special election eight that came in 2001, so with me leaving, it will just be up to you and Joe Wilson. But I appreciate working with you. I appreciate the intent of your amendment. Again, I reluctantly oppose it because of my high regard for you and the work you have done here. I might add too that what you are talking about, the registration--your amendment, I am familiar with it; I think it might have had some unintended consequences. But I also believe that what they do in Oklahoma City at the registry would put some language in this bill to change that process out there. I intend to go out and see it firsthand, because there are problems out there with the way they operate out there in Oklahoma City. Again, I understand what you are talking about. But I do rise, reluctantly, to oppose the amendment. The amendment would require the FAA to undertake a very unclear task, I believe, facilitating opportunities for air carriers to install noise reduction devices. If you come onto the House floor with an FAA bill, the number one amendment that we have--many, many amendments that we have deal with noise. So it is a problem out there. But the air carriers do have an incentive to, again, operate and reduce the noise of their aircraft, and each new generation of aircraft continues to reduce the noise. I know that in Connecticut, I believe, Briggs & Stratton has a facility up there, United Technologies, and they were talking about a jet engine that will reduce noise by as much as 70 percent. Again, technology. A lot of smart people are out there trying to figure out innovative ways to reduce noise on these aircraft. Having the FAA involved in these air carrier business decisions, I believe, would stifle the innovation and would set back that development. But again, I thank the gentleman for his leadership. I am well aware of the issue. I at this point would urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment, but I do oppose it. This amendment would require the FAA to develop a global-scale guidance system related to convection activity. The FAA already has extensive resources for obtaining necessary weather information for safe flight operations, including thunderstorm information, lightning, and so on. Additionally, the FAA is currently engaged in such weather- modeling development and is actively working towards deploying such capability in the future. However, this amendment will likely require significant budgetary resources from both the FAA and NOAA, and, unfortunately, the brevity of this amendment and the lack of details results in a vague mandate that may distract the FAA and NOAA from their ongoing efforts. If the intent is to improve forecasting efforts, then let's not distract them from those efforts they are currently involved in. For these reasons, I urge all my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding and rise in support of his amendment. Again, this amendment does address the concerns of the people on Long Island. As the gentleman pointed out, this was put in place without public comment, without talking to the folks that live and have to live under these overflights, so I applaud him for his efforts and commitment to his constituents on this issue. Again, he has worked tirelessly for the last two Congresses on this issue and been a tremendously effective advocate. I thank the gentleman for his continued leadership, and I thank him for his amendment and encourage Members to support Mr. Zeldin's amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I do not oppose the amendment.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentlewoman for offering this amendment. It is a good amendment. The cybersecurity workforce will play a greater role in the aviation industry in the years ahead. Mr. Chairman, I encourage all of my colleagues to support Mrs. Lawrence's amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. On behalf of the Pennsylvania Republican delegation, I rise today to welcome the newest member of the Pennsylvania delegation, representing the 18th District, Conor Lamb. As Mike mentioned, he continues the Lamb family tradition of public service and politics. Again, as a prosecutor and as a marine, we thank him for his service to his nation. I would also like to point out that Conor and I share a unique bond. Obviously, both of our families have been involved in public service and politics for a number of years. We both hail from western Pennsylvania, the Lambs from the South Hills, the Shusters from the Mon Valley; we share counties in our districts; we were both elected in a special election; but most importantly--most importantly--we come from the same side of the aisle: Steelers fans, not Eagles. Western Pennsylvania is in our blood, and we like to think the importance of family, understanding the value of hard work, and, of course, rooting for the black and gold are what we share with our constituents back home. Conor, I look forward to working with you, and on behalf of all the Republicans in the House of Representatives, I welcome you to the House of Representatives. Welcome, Congressman Lamb.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, as Co-Chairman of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, I would like to take time to recognize the anniversaries of two tragedies in the history of this great American ally. On January 20th 1990, heavily-armed Soviet troops stormed the capital city of Baku in a final attempt to quell anti-communist uprising. The day is most commonly known as ``Black January'' due to the terrible human losses and subsequent military rule. 26,000 soldiers fired into crowds of civilians targeting women, children, hospitals, and ambulances. Fighting lasted for three days and resulted in 131 fatalities, over 600 injuries, 841 arrests where detainees were subject to torture, and to this day an unknown number are still missing. These horrific acts did not have their desired effect in the slightest on Azerbaijan who won independence less than two years later. The second occurred on this day, February 26, twenty-six years ago in the city of Khojaly where several thousand ethnic Azerbaijani people were trapped in a blockade by Armenian troops seeking to lay claim to the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Citizens of the city were told that they may escape if they left immediately but regardless, hundreds of innocent citizens, including women, children, and the elderly, were brutally murdered or taken prisoner on that day. This was the largest massacre as part of a conflict that is still ongoing. As the first nation to lend its support to the United States following the attacks of September 11th, so too does Azerbaijan deserve our support and condolences for their losses. These were terrible crimes against humanity which we must never forget, and I urge my colleagues to commemorate them on this day.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Monessen Police Chief John D. ``Mando'' Mandarino on his recent retirement from the Monessen Police Department in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Chief Mandarino first joined the City of Monessen as a police officer in May, 1990. From that point on, John became a decorated officer within the local force and the State because of his leadership in helping combat the ongoing opioid crisis that his community and Pennsylvania faces. His dedication propelled him through the ranks, eventually he became Chief of the Department in June of 2013. In 2003, Mandarino was presented with the Outstanding Police Performance Award from the Pennsylvania Narcotics Officers Association and an accommodation from the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office for his work investigating and arresting three illegal drug dealers within the City. As his career continued, Mandarino became vital in arrests in both the City of Monessen and Westmoreland County. Not only is John respected amongst his peers on the force, he is also a respected member of the community where his heroism to the people of Monessen will never be forgotten. Today I am honored to recognize John Mandarino for his exceptional law enforcement career and his many accomplishments. His impact on the community has been too great to put into words, and he has represented Western Pennsylvania and Westmoreland County with great distinction. May God continue to bless Chief Mandarino, his wife Kelly and son Gianni, and may he continue to bless all the men and women in the law enforcement community.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize David Arbutina, MD, FACS, Founder and Medical Director of Tyrone Regional Health Network's Breast Cancer & Women's Health Institute. Dr. Arbutina is a board certified general surgeon with a focused area of expertise in breast cancer surgery. He is a Fellow in the American College of Surgeons and a retired Colonel of the United States Air Force. During his military career, Dr. Arbutina served at United States Air Force bases in Japan and California. He served as Chief of Surgery and Chief of Hospital Services in Japan at Misawa Air Base. He also served as the Commander of the second largest department of surgery in the Air Force at Travis Air Force Base. Dr. Arbutina is a nationally recognized educator and leader in surgery. Since 1988, he has dedicated his career to the treatment of breast cancer and has personally treated over 1,000 breast cancer patients. As Medical Director of the Breast Cancer & Women's Health Institute, he has provided educational programs in the community and authored articles on breast health and breast cancer topics to educate community members and raise breast health awareness. Dr. Arbutina is recognized for his unwavering commitment to educate women on breast health issues and provide guidance to empower them with the knowledge they need to make the right decision regarding their care.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank the chairman and the Appropriations Committee for bringing forward this extremely important legislation, which includes important FEMA reforms which were approved unanimously by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee partially in response to this year's historic hurricane season. The bipartisan, bicameral Disaster Recovery Reform Act addresses the rising costs of disasters in the United States. It reforms Federal disaster programs to ensure our communities are more resilient and better prepared for the next hurricane, flood, earthquake, wildfire, or other disaster. It focuses on predisaster planning and mitigation and creates incentives for communities to build better and smarter to speed recovery when disaster does strike. This will save lives, and it will also save money. Putting our focus on mitigation is good government and is fiscally responsible. For every dollar we spend on mitigation, between $4 and $8 is saved in avoided disaster recovery costs later. This is good policy that will benefit every single congressional district across the country. I want to thank many Members who contributed, but especially to my Democratic colleagues who contributed to this effort: Congressmen Johnson, DeFazio, Huffman, Wilson, Maloney, Ruiz, Sinema, Frankel, and Nadler. And again, many, many others contributed to this important reform legislation. Many Americans are still recovering from hurricane damage, and California is in the middle of fighting massive wildfires. This is extremely important legislation. I would urge all my colleagues to support it.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an effective public-private partnership used to put fugitives behind bars. For the last ten years, the FBI has partnered with outdoor advertisers in the search for the nation's most wanted criminals. The partnership started in my state of Pennsylvania in 2007, Mr. Speaker, where a graduate of the FBI Citizens Academy suggested digital billboards be donated to local law enforcement to aid in the apprehension of fugitives. After initial success in Pennsylvania, the concept grew to what it is now a nationwide partnership where the FBI is able to relay and receive critical crime-fighting information with the general public at no cost to taxpayers. In the 10 years of the partnership's history, tips from the public generated directly from billboards have resolved 57 FBI cases. Seven years after the program began in Pennsylvania, it was used prominently in one of the largest manhunts in recent history. In 2014, Pennsylvanians were on high alert after a man opened fire on a state police barracks, killing one state trooper and injuring another. The suspect quickly fled into the woods, and local communities were terrorized by a killer on the loose. The FBI, in partnership with the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, plastered the suspect's picture and the number for their tip line on hundreds of billboards across Pennsylvania and five other states. The manhunt would continue for 48 days until Eric Frein's arrest, and Pennsylvanians were given the peace of mind and sense of safety when hundreds of billboards were updated to proudly say ``CAPTURED.'' Mr. Speaker, as this effective public-private partnership enters its next decade, I commend the FBI and outdoor advertisers for finding a creative solution to fight crime and keep our streets safe.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Committee on House Administration be discharged from further consideration of House Resolution 615, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Falling Spring Elementary School on being honored as a 2017 National Blue Ribbon School. The outstanding nomination from the Pennsylvania Department of Education comes after a vast amount of activities and efforts which were implemented at the Falling Spring School for the betterment of their students. Falling Spring Elementary School has shown outstanding academic achievements through continual improvements of resources and materials provided to the students, the application of strategies that engage students in their learning, maximizing instructional time with students, and presenting a model of expected outcomes for students to follow. The integration of SMART boards and iPads in each classroom allows for teachers to better incorporate realistic examples of materials, motivate students with fun activities, and provide more direct communication. Not only is Falling Spring Elementary laser focused on student learning, but it also offers additional opportunities for students to grow. The school garden allows students in grades K-5 to come together as one through planning, planting, and maintaining garden beds, and provides them the chance to have fresh produce tastings in the fall and spring. In addition to the school run garden, they also have a recycling and composting program where students assist with composting and recycling of materials from within the school cafeteria. Falling Spring Elementary School offers a wide variety of clubs that appeal to the interests of all students. These clubs range from the STEM club with activities focused on science, technology, engineering and math, to the Compassion in Action club which has raised awareness for kindness in the school and the community. One exemplary program offered at Falling Springs is the SOAR or Student Leadership club. Over the years, SOAR has developed the school pledge, addressed bullying issues, and organized a positive incentive program. The school has also incorporated a Parent Teacher Association which consists of parents who are deeply committed to supporting students and contributing to the success of the children within their community. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to congratulate the students, staff, and parents of Falling Spring Elementary School for this outstanding nomination. The level of care and dedication to the success of the students necessary for an award such as a Blue Ribbon School is clearly shown in Falling Spring Elementary School, and it is an honor to recognize them for this wonderful achievement.

Mr. SHUSTER

Mr. SHUSTER. Mr. Speaker, according to their website, ``The Office of the Legislative Counsel provides legislative drafting services to the Committees and Members of the House of Representatives on a non- partisan, impartial, and confidential basis. Our goal is to work with Committees and Members to understand their policy preferences in order to implement those preferences through clear, concise, and legally effective legislative language.'' For the last 30 years, no one has performed all of the above more professionally and more successfully than Curt Haensel. Curt has specialized in transportation law his entire career. His sharp mind and relentless pursuit of perfection (sometimes in spite of staff and Member interference) ensured that bills considered by the Committee and the House were clear and coherent expressions of legislative intent. I and my predecessors have relied on Curt's expertise and creativity to draft legislative solutions to many complex issues. Even under immense pressure, Curt's guidance was always calm, balanced, and fair. I don't know how many bills or amendments Curt has drafted (it must be in the thousands), but I can tell you that a great many of our Nation's most profound laws bear his fingerprints. Curt not only cared about the work product, but more importantly, he cared about the people he was working with. He has infinite patience, is humble, and is kind. He served as a mentor and tremendous professional example to many young legislative counsels and Committee staff over the last 30 years. On behalf of myself, the staff of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and the entire House of Representatives, I want to express my sincere gratitude to Curt for his years of service. His contributions to this institution have been invaluable and the impact of his guidance will be felt for many, many years to come. I wish him, his wife Meg, and his two children well. I wish him good luck with his future endeavors. He will be missed.