Austin Scott

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of H.R. 1847, the Swap Data Repository and Clearinghouse Indemnification Correction Act of 2015. I want to thank Mr. Hurt and Chairman Hensarling for allowing the Agriculture Committee to manage time with them today. The members of our committee have always appreciated the close working relationship that we have with the Financial Services Committee on these financial and regulatory issues. H.R. 1847 is a targeted correction to remove barriers to information sharing. Dodd-Frank currently requires indemnification agreements from foreign regulators requesting information from U.S. swap data repositories or derivatives clearing organizations. The agreements state that the foreign regulators will abide by certain confidentiality requirements and indemnify the U.S. commissions for any expenses arising from litigation relating to the request for information. Unfortunately, the concept of indemnification does not exist in many foreign jurisdictions. Therefore, some foreign regulators cannot agree to these requirements. This may hinder our ability to make workable data sharing arrangements with those regulators and, ultimately, fragment the marketplace by encouraging them to establish their own data repositories. H.R. 1847 addresses this potential data sharing problem by removing the indemnification requirements from current law, while maintaining existing provisions requiring confidentiality obligations. This technical correction has been a longstanding priority for Congress. Similar legislation passed the House in the 113th Congress by a vote of 420-2 and passed the House again this year as part of H.R. 37, the Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act. Additionally, this identical language was included in H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, after a small technical change was offered by Ms. Moore and Mr. Crawford and accepted by the House. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 1847 to ensure that regulators and market participants have access to a global set of swap market data. I reserve the balance of my time. House of Representatives, Committee on Agriculture, Washington, DC, July 13, 2015. Hon. Jeb Hensarling, Chairman, Committee on Financial Services, House of Representatives, Washington, DC. Dear Chairman Hensarling: I am writing concerning H.R. 1847, the ``Swap Data Repository and Clearinghouse Indemnification Correction Act of 2015.'' This legislation contains provisions within the Committee on Agriculture's Rule X jurisdiction. As a result of your having consulted with the Committee and in order to expedite this bill for floor consideration, the Committee on Agriculture will forego action on the bill. This is being done on the basis of our mutual understanding that doing so will in no way diminish or alter the jurisdiction of the Committee on Agriculture with respect to the appointment of conferees, or to any future jurisdictional claim over the subject matters contained in the bill or similar legislation. I would appreciate your response to this letter confirming this understanding, and would request that you include a copy of this letter and your response in the Committee Report and in the Congressional Record during the floor consideration of this bill. Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Sincerely, K. Michael Conaway, Chairman.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Crawford) and thank him for his continued work on this technical but critical issue.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1633, the DHS Paid Administrative Leave Accountability Act of 2015, introduced by my colleague from Georgia, Barry Loudermilk. Over the span of 2 years, Department of Homeland Security employees racked up approximately 1.5 million days of paid administrative leave, which amounts to hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars. Some of these employees were placed on leave due to investigations into alleged misconduct. Stopping wasteful government spending has been a top priority for me during my time in Congress, which is why I am proud to cosponsor this piece of legislation. This bill increases government transparency by establishing an accountability system within the Department of Homeland Security. This system is essential in safeguarding against waste, fraud, and abuse. I am glad that it is a bipartisan measure. I look forward to its passage, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 1633 and stand with this commonsense legislation that saves taxpayer dollars.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. 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 the bill under consideration.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise in strong support of H.R. 2620. This bill would amend the United States Cotton Futures Act to allow for the creation of a world cotton contract listed on the United States exchange. Current law, which requires sampling and classing by the USDA of every bale of cotton tendered under contracts listed on a U.S. exchange reflects an antiquated picture of the global cotton market. Some market participants need to hedge price fluctuations in foreign markets, and the current law limits their ability to do so. We need to update our law to reflect the modern nature of this marketplace. H.R. 2620 accomplishes this by providing an option for cotton produced and delivered in foreign markets to be classed by rating facilities closer to the point of delivery rather than by the United States Department of Agriculture. It makes no changes to the treatment of domestically produced and delivered cotton. This legislation will allow any willing exchange to meet industry demand to design a world cotton contract. For example, ICE Futures U.S., which has already worked with market participants, has publicly announced their intention and preference to list a world cotton contract side by side with the domestically focused Cotton No. 2 contract they already list. H.R. 2620 allows for an important new contract for cotton hedging to be developed, which would be beneficial to commercial hedgers. However, it is important specifically to me and to others to note, it would not disrupt the industry's benchmark hedging contract, the No. 2 contract, which is relied upon by U.S. cotton producers in my district and around the country. Before I close, I would like to thank Chairman Conaway both for his continued leadership on the Agriculture Committee and his efforts on this legislation. Additionally, I want to thank Ranking Member David Scott for working with me on this issue over the last few months. And I would like to acknowledge Lynn Westmoreland's work in this as well. He was instrumental in advancing this issue. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of H.R. 2620. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, as my colleague, Mr. Scott, and I have said, this is simply a necessary, minor change. I would just ask all Members to support passage of H.R. 2620. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 2620) to amend the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude certain cotton futures contracts from coverage under such Act, as amended.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chair, I rise today in support of H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act. I firmly believe this legislation represents the kind of thoughtful and bipartisan approach to policy-making that is often lacking in Washington. It represents simple good governance by reauthorizing the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which has been operating without authorization since 2013. The bill includes needed reforms to clarify Congressional intent, minimize regulatory burdens, and most importantly, preserve the ability of necessary risk management markets to serve those who need them. The Agriculture Committee, specifically the Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit of which I serve as Chairman, heard diverse perspectives from end-users, market participants, and regulators through many hours of testimony on this reauthorization earlier this year. That testimony, coupled with testimony from numerous other hearings at the subcommittee and full committee level over the course of the last two Congresses, was instrumental in drafting the legislation before us today. Time and again, we have heard how end-users, who were not the cause of the financial crisis, have been the collateral damage of Dodd- Frank's reforms. These end-users are our farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and electric and gas utilities, and they rely on the derivatives markets to manage their risk, and, thereby keep consumer costs low. The cost of unnecessary regulatory burdens on these end-users, and the uncertainty these regulations cause, will ultimately be borne by American citizens in my district and in districts around the country. Therefore, it is essential that we provide them with much-needed relief and clarity. This legislation includes several such end-user relief provisions. It requires the Commission to vote to change the current threshold for the swap dealer de minimis exception, rather than the automatic and arbitrary reduction slated to occur in December 2017. It also preserves end users' ability to hedge against anticipated business risks under the definition of a bona fide hedge transaction, provides common sense record-keeping relief for grain elevators, farmers, and other commercial market participants, and clarifies the exclusion of contracts with volumetric optionality from the definition of a swap. Additionally, this legislation codifies several new regulatory customer protections, borne out of lessons learned from the Peregrine Financial and MF Global failures. Finally, it makes important reforms to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, including the creation of a new Office of the Chief Economist and a more stringent requirement for cost benefit analysis of proposed rules. With this legislation, we have the opportunity to ease the regulatory burden on those who use the derivatives markets, not to speculate, but to hedge risk. Ultimately, this bill is about protecting the American producer and the American consumer. I want to close by thanking Chairman Conaway for his strong leadership on the House Committee on Agriculture. His thoughtful and bipartisan approach to policy-making is reflected in the legislation before us today. Additionally, I want to thank the Ranking Member on the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee and my colleague from Georgia, Mr. David Scott, who has been a steady partner throughout this effort. We have worked diligently to produce legislation that provides needed reforms to ensure our regulatory framework protects the integrity of our markets while not limiting the ability of end users to access these tools to conduct their business. I am proud to support H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, and urge my colleagues to join me in voting for this legislation.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this resolution and the underlying legislation, H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act. As chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit, I want to thank our chairman, Mr. Conaway, for his strong leadership and for making this reauthorization process a productive one through the full Ag Committee. I also want to thank my colleague from Georgia and the ranking member of the Commodity Exchanges, Energy, and Credit Subcommittee, Mr. David Scott. He has been a tremendous partner throughout this effort, and we certainly continue to work well together. I thank him for that. Derivatives markets exist to meet the risk management needs of farmers, ranchers, utilities, manufacturers, and other end users. To be clear, these hedging activities directly benefit the American citizen by helping to keep consumer costs low and reducing the risk of manufacturing in the United States. The ability of producers and end users to use the derivatives markets to hedge risk has a direct impact on the cost of living in my district, Georgia's Eighth Congressional District, and every other district around the country. It is essential that we have strong markets that our farmers, ranchers, and end users can utilize to meet their needs effectively. Earlier this year, our subcommittee held three very productive hearings that built upon the work done in the past two Congresses on this reauthorization effort. In many hours of testimony we heard diverse perspectives from end users, market participants, and regulators that were instrumental in drafting this legislation. Their testimony included outlooks on the unintentional impacts that the market reforms enacted following the 2008 financial crisis were having on the end user community. Despite congressional attempts to exempt end users from some of the more costly and cumbersome mandates, end users continue to face unnecessary regulatory burdens and uncertainty. With this legislation we have the opportunity to erase that. H.R. 2289, the Commodity End-User Relief Act, seeks to clarify congressional intent, minimize regulatory burdens, and most importantly, preserve the ability for those necessary risk management markets to serve those who need them. I believe we have met these objectives of ensuring that our regulatory framework protects the integrity of our markets while not limiting the ability of end users to access these tools to conduct their business. I am proud to support both this resolution and the underlying legislation, Mr. Speaker, and I urge my colleagues to join me in so doing.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, let me say that I thank the chairman and ranking member. This is something that needs to be rectified. If an illegal action was taken, it needs to be reversed. Based on your commitment to work with us on this amendment at this time, I look forward to having those discussions, and I ask unanimous consent to withdraw my amendment.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I would like to take a minute to tell you how we got here. As someone who fished in the Gulf of Mexico long before I got elected to Congress, when they started reducing the snapper season back in 2007, we had approximately 190 days to fish as the recreational angler. They have now taken that down to 10 days. Through the Gulf councils, the National Marine Fisheries Service has worked through the councils to reduce the American recreational fishermen's opportunity to fish for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico by 95 percent since 2007. At the same time, they have increased quotas and allocations for the commercial sector. And most recently through the Gulf council, they cast a vote, 7-10, to split the recreational sector, and they gave the for-hire recreational sector 45 days and the not-for-hire 10 days. Now, let me just explain what that means to you. It means that if you want to just take your family fishing, you have 10 days to do it. If you want to go in the other 35 days of that recreational season, you have to pay a charter boat captain to take you out. What happened with the council is three of the members who voted had a vested interest in the charter boat industry that they did not disclose prior to the vote, even though Federal law required that they do it. Then, they turned around and cast that vote which personally benefited them, which, again, was illegal. I appreciate the committee working to put in the money for more data in an effort to get the recreational season back for the not-for-hire recreational angler, but to be honest with you, if you give them all the data in the world, no matter what it says, if they continue to conduct themselves in that manner, it won't matter. They will simply allocate themselves more fish. So with that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chair, first I would like to thank the Parliamentarians for helping us work with this language. I would like to especially thank both the majority and the minority staff for giving me the courtesy of presenting this. I know it is late, and we certainly hoped to close by 2 a.m. It is the third day of what has been designated as the 10-day red snapper season for a man or woman who simply wants to take their child fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. The commercial fishermen get to fish 365 days a year. The charter boat anglers get to fish 45 days a year. What this amendment does is it says that the National Fisheries Service cannot enforce a rule that was adopted that is, quite honestly, probably going to court. And then it says that as they go forward and they pass the rules in the future, the recreational fishermen should receive at least 20 percent of the number of days as the commercial fisherman does with regard to the red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. That is effectively what it does. It still allows them to set the seasons. It does have some restriction in that they just can't take from the recreational fishermen. They have to give the recreational not-for-hire and for-hire 20 percent of the number of calendar days that they give the commercial fishermen to fish for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. With that, Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Yes, sir. They can fish year-round for red snapper. It is different for different species. This is tailored specifically to this species.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank Mr. Perry for his work on this. I have a friend in my district who has been seen on TV many times because they have to carry their child to Colorado for this treatment. And I have had extensive discussions not only with people in Georgia who need this treatment for their kids, but with the sheriffs of my district as well. I certainly wouldn't support the cannabis oil and the use of cannabis oil and those type of things if my local sheriffs were not in favor of it. You might be interested to know that the Georgia Sheriffs' Association actually endorsed a piece of legislation a couple of years ago that would allow the use of cannabis oil for these children with seizures.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Yes, sir.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Yes, sir. This is the third day of the 10-day season for the Federal waters for the recreational fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, I would like to say that as a dad, honestly, I would like to say thank you for doing this. And certainly, if there are unintended consequences, I would look forward to working with you to resolve those unintended consequences. Again, as a father of a son named Wells and a daughter named Carmen and a lovely wife named Vivien, I just want to say thank you.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. I thank the chairman, and I would also like to thank Don Young for helping those of us recreational anglers as we try to remedy an injustice that has been done to the American sportsmen of the Gulf of Mexico. I have listened to some of my colleagues say we should be fair and people should come to the table. Let me tell you what is happening at the table. Mr. Chairman, the commercial fishermen get to fish 365 days a year for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. They get to use long lines and winches; yet the National Marine Fisheries Services and Dr. Roy Crabtree, through the Gulf Council, have chosen to limit to 10 days the man and the woman who just want to take their kid fishing, 10 days. They think, by expanding the recreational season back to where it was before, that somehow that would hurt the fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Now they tell us that the reason they have had to cut us to 10 days is because there are so many more fish today and they are so much larger today that the recreational fishermen simply catch them much faster. Well, in 2007, the recreational angler had 194 days to fish with their families in the Gulf of Mexico--194 days. In 8 years, they have taken the American family, the American sportsman, down to simply 10 days. It is proof that the American sportsman doesn't have a chance with the Federal Government in charge of the rulemaking process in the Gulf of Mexico with regard to the recreational snapper season. The Garrett amendment, which I support, as I support the chairman's main piece of legislation, would simply give the States the right to set, based on science--not some arbitrary number, but based on science--the recreational seasons and bag limits for the recreational angler in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Chairman, that is the only way--that is the only way--that the recreational season will be restored as we, the recreational anglers, were promised it would be restored when the stocks came back. Now, one of the things I think we also need to discuss as we go forward with regard to snapper is who do the snapper belong to.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Chairman, there are about 300 people that are currently allocated about 50 percent of the fish, the red snapper, in the Gulf of Mexico. When the commercial quota goes up, they automatically get an increase. Those fish belong to the public, and I think it is time to discuss whether or not any increase in the commercial quota should actually come and be auctioned as any other public resource would be when we made those additional resources available. For now, the Garrett amendment goes a long way towards restoring the rights of the American angler, and I certainly hope that this House will support it.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the American recreational fishermen that, like myself and my family, used to have the opportunity to fish for red snapper in the Federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. I can't help but think how sad it is that we have people in here articulating why illegal drugs should be made legal while we continue to allow Federal agencies to take away the rights of the American sportsmen and the men and the women who just want to take their kids fishing. Maybe if we spent more time outdoors fishing and hunting, we wouldn't have the problems that we have in this country with drugs. Now, technically, Mr. Speaker, we still have the right to fish in the Gulf of Mexico in the Federal waters, as long as you can do it in the crumb of the season that has been left for the recreational fishermen. Dr. Roy Crabtree and the National Marine Fisheries Services have left a 10-day season for the not-for-hire recreational angler who just wants to take his or her kid fishing, 10 days. In 2007, Mr. Speaker--if you want to know how fast this has gone downhill--we got to fish 194 days; so, in the short span of about 8 years, they have taken 95 percent of the opportunity of the American sportsmen to fish in the Gulf of Mexico's Federal waters for red snapper away from them. When they started the reductions, they promised that, as soon as the stock was restored, the season would be restored. Now, they give us the excuse: Well, because there are so many of them and they are so much bigger, you are catching that many that much faster. You see, Mr. Speaker, this makes no sense. The commercial fishermen, ships, long lines and winches, and their powerful lobbyists, they get to fish year round for the same species. Dr. Roy Crabtree and the others at the National Marine Fisheries Services again virtually eliminated the fishing season for the recreational angler, reducing it to 10 days. Now, I support the commercial fishing industry. I like to buy a piece of red snapper at the restaurant. I like to buy it at the grocery store. There is plenty of fish out there for all of us. The 10 days that we have as recreational anglers--if it is bad weather, well, that is just too bad. If you have got to work that day, well, that is just too bad. You see, they pick the days. You don't get to pick the days, Mr. Speaker; and, if you can't fish on that day, that is just too bad for you. If you can afford it, the charter boat season now is 45 days. Now, I will just tell you, I have never seen this much bias in anything I have ever done, especially in the rulemaking process, unless someone is being bribed or blackmailed or had a personal financial interest in the rulemaking, which brings me to the next point. The vote to split the recreational season at the expense of the American angler, who just wants to fish with their family--not being forced to hire a charter boat--this was done by the Gulf Council on a split vote of 7 to 10 in which, according to news sources, 3 of the members that voted to do this didn't disclose that they sit on the board of a group that lobbies for the charter boat industry. Again, I support the charter boat industry, but the idea that someone could sit there and vote to make a season for themselves 45 days as long as you can you pay them to take you, but 10 days if you don't pay them--Mr. Speaker, to be quite honest, Federal law stipulates those with a conflict must disclose it and shall not vote on those issues where a conflict exists. The conduct of the National Marine Fisheries Services in allowing that vote is in direct contrast to the rights of the Americans who just want to fish in the Gulf of Mexico. I, for one, am not going to sit back and let this continue; and, when the CJS appropriations act is on the floor, Mr. Speaker, I hope that we have the opportunity to correct what I believe to be illegal actions by the National Marine Fisheries Services and Dr. Roy Crabtree.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge my fellow Republicans and other Members to support the fiscal year 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. My colleagues and I on the Armed Services Committee came together in a bipartisan fashion to pass this legislation out of committee with a vote of 60-2. That seems pretty bipartisan to me. And it should be. Our Nation's security should not be a partisan issue. The committee had a goal of implementing some lasting reforms to ensure that our military is better prepared for the challenges that we face. Part of facing these challenges is ensuring that our military has the very best training and weapons systems for the fight. This legislation recognizes that need by preserving the A-10, which is the best close air support aircraft, and flown out of Moody Air Force Base. This bill also invests in the future replacement of the JSTARS, an important ISR platform that flies out of Robins Air Force Base. It is as honor to serve as a voice for Robins and Moody in Congress, and I urge my colleagues to pass this legislation for our Nation's warfighters who bravely serve so that we may remain the land of the free.

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia

Mr. AUSTIN SCOTT of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember two great civil servants from the great State of Georgia who passed away this week: Pete Wheeler, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service, and former State representative and transportation board member Jay Shaw. Mr. Wheeler served in the Army infantry and in the Georgia Army National Guard, retiring as a brigadier general and receiving several awards for his service, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars Silver and Gold Medals of Merit. He was a longtime attorney who used his past military service to advocate on behalf of veterans in Georgia. Mr. Wheeler served as VA commissioner for 61 years. If you couldn't get it done any other way, you just called Pete. Mr. Shaw began his public service as mayor of Lakeland for 10 years. He also served in the Georgia House of Representatives, supporting improvements to the transportation system in Georgia. Mr. Shaw was an active member of the Georgia State Transportation Board and served as its chairman in the past. These two Georgians did so much for our great State, and I offer my condolences to their families and friends, and I would like to thank them for their service.