Scott Tipton

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Colorado Delegation of the U.S. House of Representatives, I am highlighting an issue of importance to Colorado and its community of senior citizens. Earlier this year, Congress passed the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2016 and sent it to the President for his signature. This reauthorization ensures that a wide range of social and nutritional services, directed to assist senior citizens, is not disrupted. While the reauthorization improves the status quo for the state of Colorado, I still have concerns about the continuing inequity in funding going to our state in comparison to the rest of the country. In an attempt to protect certain states with shrinking senior populations, Congress in 2006 changed the Older Americans Act funding formula to ensure states received a guaranteed funding level. This is known as the ``Hold Harmless Funding Formula.'' Due to Colorado's growing senior population and this provision from 2006, Colorado (among other states) saw massive cuts during sequestration when other states did not. Instead of allowing the funding to go to states with growing senior populations, the hold harmless funding formula in the current reauthorization continues the disproportionate trend. It prevents funding in states with lower senior populations from going to states with growing levels of senior citizens. While I am supportive of the services provided by the Older Americans Act, Congress' priority should be ensuring the stability of the programs upon which millions of seniors around the country depend. I believe that moving forward, it is imperative that steps are taken in future reauthorizations to safeguard services for all seniors regardless of their state of residence. It is my hope that as Congress continues to address issues that are important to all senior citizens, we find a path forward to address the issue I've raised today.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the late Marine Corps Captain Jeff Kuss. Captain Kuss was a native of Durango, CO where he attended Durango High School and graduated from Ft. Lewis College with a degree in economics. His life was tragically cut short during a training accident on June 2, 2016 while he and the other Blue Angel pilots were practicing for an air show near Smyrna, Tennessee. Captain Kuss was a loving family man and is survived by his wife Christina Ferrarese Kuss, their two young children Calvin and Sloan, and his parents Michael and Janet of Durango. Captain Kuss possessed a passion for aviation which took root at a young age. After a great deal of hard work and perseverance, he became one of the Navy's most talented pilots, being selected in 2014 to join the elite Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron. The Blue Angels are one of the world's most renowned squadrons, representing the men and women who serve in the nation's Armed Forces and showcasing the incredible training, skill and capability of our nation's elite military pilots. Since 1946, the Blue Angels have inspired patriotism and wonder in millions of fascinated spectators. Each pilot is hand-picked by current members of the squadron to join--a selection process that is a testament to the respect that his colleagues had for the talent and ability Captain Kuss possessed. The entire Durango community is incredibly proud of Captain Kuss for his service to our nation and what he was able to achieve. When he was brought home to rest in Durango citizens lined the streets to pay their respects to this fallen hero, a testament to Captain Kuss' service, deep ties to the community and a life well-lived. The host of active duty members that have and continue to pay tribute to Captain Kuss are a tribute to the many lives he impacted over the course of his career. Mr. Speaker, Captain Jeff Kuss exemplified the very best of Colorado's Third Congressional District and of the brave men and women who risk all in service to our nation each day. We honor his service and memory, and offer our condolences and prayers for his family and friends. May they find peace during this most difficult time.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Madam Speaker, the opioid abuse epidemic has tragically touched every corner of this Nation with over half of all drug overdoses linked to prescription opioids. At least once a day someone in my home State of Colorado loses a friend or family member due to drug abuse. In 2013, Colorado was ranked as having the second most prevalent epidemic prescription drug abuse in the country. The Colorado Consortium was created that year to form a collaborative group dedicated to finding solutions to opioid addiction and abuse. Efforts like the Colorado Consortium can help supplement existing programs in areas where they already operate. However, without raising national awareness of the heroin and opioid epidemic, these local efforts will continue to struggle to gain the resources they need. There is no silver bullet. It will take multifront, coordinated approaches to aid communities in combating the opioid epidemic. Beyond securing our borders and enabling law enforcement to do their jobs, expanding opioid abuse prevention and education efforts and treating those afflicted with addiction are the most important actions that Congress can take. That is the focus of our work in the House on the bipartisan heroin task force.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. I thank the chairman. I thank my colleague from Minnesota, Representative Emmer, for offering this piece of legislation that is under consideration today. Mr. Speaker, the Financial Stability Oversight Council Reform Act places the FSOC and the Office of Financial Research under the regular appropriations process and will require the Office of Financial Research to submit activity reports to Congress. Bringing FSOC under the appropriations process ensures greater accountability for a council that has continuously failed to fully disclose its SIFI designation methodology and that has yet to provide concrete guidelines for designated entities to lose their SIFI status. Most importantly, this legislation will bring much-needed transparency to the Council. FSOC is intended to be a forum for discussion and analysis of financial regulator issues, but, unfortunately, the Council has continually failed to address the consolidation and failure of our Main Street banks. On its own, a single community bank failure will not pose a systemic risk to the financial system. However, losing these small banks at an accelerating pace is a clear warning signal that the financial system is not healthy, and losing community banks as a whole certainly qualifies as systemically risky. Instead of closed-door deliberations, the Council, which is made up of financial regulators who have been acknowledging this exact problem, should be working to address this pressing issue in a transparent manner before it is too late. This legislation is a logical next step in reforming the Financial Stability Oversight Council to ensure that it actually addresses threats to our financial system. I am happy to lend my support to this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense measure. Again, I thank the gentleman from Minnesota for his efforts on this legislation.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, the United States is blessed with nearly 30 percent of the world's coal reserves--more than twice that of the nearest coal reserve country, Russia, and three times as much as China. Colorado is America's 10th leading coal producer. In Colorado's Third Congressional District, mines in communities like Craig and Delta provide critical jobs and tax revenues as they responsibly produce reliable, affordable electricity on which countless Americans rely. One thing is certain: the people who work in Colorado's mines and coal-fired power plants take great pride in their communities and the natural environment. They want to develop the land's abundant resources as responsibly as possible with as small a footprint as possible. I do not support the President's Clean Power Plan and have voted to stop this onerous Federal overreach multiple times. However, as industry continuously searches for safer and more efficient ways to produce energy, we will need to incentivize the improvement of technology. Passing the Carbon Capture Act will help facilitate that. Our economic, national, and energy security are all served through ensuring that the ability to use our natural resources responsibly to provide abundant, affordable energy continues.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, at this time of year, we are starting to work on budgets in Washington, D.C. The President recently proposed his eighth budget. If we want to give credit to the President, he is consistent. He believes that we are just one tax increase, one regulation, one more government program away from prosperity in America. But the reality is, Americans in my district are struggling. They are struggling to be able to maintain the jobs they have. Far too many Americans are struggling to be able to find a job. One area where we have had an opportunity to be able to provide good- paying jobs has been in responsible energy development in this country. Today, I would like to be able to speak to some of the deeply flawed logic by the Obama administration in trying to eliminate the use of fossil fuels in America. Mr. Speaker, over the last year and a half, despite the administration's best attempts to stifle production, one of the few areas of the economy that has provided some financial relief to the poor and middle class has been the low price of energy. The cause of this has been the result of American productivity and American ingenuity driving down the costs, making it more affordable for people. It is a surprise to no one then that, with his latest budget proposal, the President is trying in earnest to take the little savings Americans have welcomed into their wallets and now feed it back to Big Government. Effectively, what the President is stating is that government-- Washington--needs those resources more than the American people do. Two days ago, the President presented a budget that included a $10 per barrel tax on crude oil. His budget stated that if tax would result in $319 billion in revenues that would be used to fund transportation infrastructure, ``reduce America's reliance on oil,'' and ensure ``electric cars and other alternatives to oil-based vehicles have the technology and charging infrastructure they need.'' I believe we need to be clear. I firmly back the notion that we need to have an all-of-the-above strategy. That is highlighted in the bill I have introduced in this Congress, Planning for American Energy Act, which literally calls for all of the above. It explicitly states as such. Those resources and technologies are only part of what should be a multi-pronged strategy. If true energy independence is our goal, we cannot simply price ourselves out of using traditional energy resources and transportation fuels. Yet, that is unmistakably exactly what the President is proposing. So, while cheap energy is one of the few things keeping the economy out of a nose dive into a further deep recession, the President proposes a tax cut on crude oil--whether produced domestically or abroad--that will cut directly into already low revenues, and will undoubtedly be passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices at the pump. An additional $10 per barrel will be a significant sum, even with a healthy commodity price, but on the day that the President submitted his proposal, the spot price for a barrel of oil was just under $30. Given that our oil and gas energy sector is already struggling mightily with this downswing in price, what exactly does the President hope to accomplish by wresting away a third of that sum? The economic impacts of this policy on an industry that is already struggling would be extremely harmful. Now, I assume that when we envision who the industry is, the picture comes to mind of large, multinational corporations. Make no mistake: they, too, will feel the impacts. But the brunt of an ill-conceived policy, such as what the President has put forward, will fall squarely on the shoulders of small- and medium-sized companies that make up the backbone of our domestic oil and gas industry. It will also fall squarely on the many contractors who work in those companies. They are geologists, engineers, construction companies, well servicing companies, and the hospitality industry. They are the many hardworking Americans working to provide for their families and working to provide the rest of us with an invaluable resource that we too often take for granted. The President wishes to move us away from oil as a transportation fuel, so he pursues a purely ideological strategy to force it, never mind who is trampled in the process. The President wishes, instead, to pursue electric vehicle sales, which, in 2015, accounted for less than 1 percent of the total car sales in the country. Yet, he takes measures to halt coal leasing and bludgeon coal-fired power plants into nonexistence. Coal, of course, is the single largest source of electricity in the United States. These two incoherent policy pursuits are a perfect demonstration of the complete lack of vision this administration has when it comes to achieving actual energy independence. Let's stand up for the American consumer and American jobs and reject the President's budget proposals.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. I thank the chairman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, we found some common ground. The ranking member was just talking about listening to Operation Choke Point. I think that is important for every American, because we are talking about freedom. We are talking about reining in an out-of-control bureaucracy. We are talking about actually preserving freedom in this country, to take it back for the American people and for businesses as well. I want to applaud Chairman Luetkemeyer for his leadership on this issue. It prevents Federal banking issues from pressuring banks and credit unions to terminate customer accounts with legal businesses. Although it is important to be able to prevent fraud in the banking system, Operation Choke Point has largely been abused by the agencies and their regulators, pressuring and manipulating financial institutions based on personal prejudices of Federal bureaucrats. In my district and many others across the U.S., legitimate businesses have found themselves shut out of the banking system after years of longstanding relationships with banks and credit unions. Oftentimes, this derisking means that these legal businesses are further shunned by other financial institutions fearful of civil and criminal liability as well as greater regulatory scrutiny. Thankfully, this legislation puts commonsense restraints on regulators that have been running amok. By requiring Federal banking agencies to provide a material reason other than reputational risk for terminating a customer account, this bill establishes necessary, clear standards to avoid further abuses. Instead of relying on implicit or explicit threats from regulators, this legislation requires written justification of any request to terminate or restrict customer accounts. It is clear that, despite several letters, hearings, and warning by Congress, financial institutions continue to face unwarranted pressure from the regulators. These requirements provide the necessary oversight to ensure banks, credit unions, and their customers are treated in a fair manner. I am happy to lend my support to this bill, and I encourage my colleagues to support this commonsense measure. I again thank the gentleman from Missouri for his efforts on this legislation.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Mr. Mike Gibson. Mr. Gibson served as the manager of the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, and recently retired after serving 14 years to the area. He is a standout citizen, demonstrated by his hard work and dedication to his former job, and was recently named Water Manager of the Year by the Colorado Division of Water Resources, Division 3 of the Rio Grande Basin. This is the second time he received this award in seven years. Mr. Gibson's ability to effectively manage water reinforces his commitment to excellent service to the people of Southern Colorado. The Colorado Division of Water presents this award to a person involved in water management within the Rio Grande Basin who has shown outstanding effort in the management of their water, and demonstrated leadership in the larger water issues facing the basin. Water is a scarce resource in Colorado and the effective management of it is a top priority. Mr. Gibson has consistently demonstrated his ability to manage water and, as a result, has earned multiple Manager of the Year awards, respect from his colleagues, and the gratitude of the Southern Colorado communities which he serves. Mr. Gibson's passion for water related issues was reflected not only by his work at the San Luis Valley Water Conservation District, but also by his leadership on other organizations, including the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable, Rio Grande Natural Area Commission, and his past duties as president of the Colorado Water Congress. His willingness to collaborate and volunteer speaks to his dedication not only to protecting the basin's water resources but to educating its citizens as well. Mr. Speaker, Mike Gibson truly deserves the admiration he has received from the Colorado water community over the years. His services were immensely important for the communities in the San Luis Valley, and he is among the very best of the water managers in the Third Congressional District of Colorado. Mr. Gibson's work has been invaluable over the last several years. I applaud him for his outstanding accolades and his successful career, and I wish him well in his retirement.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to address an ongoing environmental review process within my district that I firmly believe represents yet another in a long line of abuses of private property rights by the Federal Government and, more specifically, the land management agencies that oversee the majority of the land in the United States. The outcome of this process will likely set a disturbing precedent under which the integrity of contracts that the Federal Government enters into with private parties is undermined. The Bureau of Land Management is currently reviewing 65 existing oil and gas leases issued in White River National Forest beginning in 1993. This retroactive review was prompted by a 2007 decision on three of the leases by the Interior Board of Land Appeals in which the BLM was found to have not formally adopted a Forest Service environmental policy analysis that was utilized to make these leasing decisions--basically, what amounts to an administrative oversight. It should be emphasized that there are extensive environmental reviews that did, in fact, take place and that the BLM played a significant role in that process. The agency argued as much to the Board of Land Appeals during the review. The fault was simply that the BLM needed to sign on the dotted line, and the Board expressly made this option available to remedy the problem. However, instead of adopting that commonsense approach, the BLM succumbed to political pressure from the environmental extremists and determined to revisit every one of the leases issued since 1993. The new proposal from the BLM deals with leases in one of two ways. It either imposes new, significantly restrictive stipulations that were not in place at the time of the original leases when they were acquired or it outright revokes the leases. The Federal Government is acting as nothing more than a highway robber in this case and in many others, robbing citizens and businesses of property that they have bought and paid for, telling us that we should simply be grateful that there is someone looking out for our greater interests. I highlight this particular process because, should the BLM follow through with certain of its proposed actions, it will set a precedent not only for oil and gas development, but for any lessee or permittee who, in entering into a contract in good faith with a Federal agency, may see their lease or permit threatened with retroactive revocation or severely restricted based on any flimsy pretext. Many important industries rely on Federal leases and permits, including livestock grazing, recreation, and renewable energy; and no business can successfully operate if its license to do so no longer enjoys protections against arbitrary cancelations or changes, depending on the ideology of the current occupant of the White House. Numerous stakeholders and local governments recognize that the BLM's final decision would have impacts far beyond those of the specific leases in question and undertook efforts to draft detailed and substantive feedback to the agency. This is a very laborious and time-consuming process. Yet the BLM provided only the bare minimum public comment during this period required by law, and the agency's scheduled comment period overlapped with Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year's Day holidays. It also overlaps another environmental review comment period for the well-known Roan Plateau, which involves many of the same stakeholders and local governments and has been under review in some form since the late 1990s. As such, several stakeholders and local governments, with the support of several members of Colorado's congressional delegation, requested a modest extension of the comment period. These extension requests are routinely granted by Federal agencies in recognition of the technical nature of these issues: interruptions due to Federal holidays and when there are several similar issues under simultaneous review. Despite this, the requests in this instance were dismissed out of hand. One can only conclude that the BLM is afraid of the scrutiny that could result from them effectuating a government taking of property rights under the guise of rectifying an administrative error from over 20 years ago. It is abundantly clear that the BLM intends to ramrod through a decision that will trample on lease owners' rights by canceling or altering leases to the point as to make them economically unviable. This is, unfortunately, in line with a disturbing trend of Federal agency abuses of private property rights, whether it is the Forest Service's repeated attempts to leverage special use permits to forcibly acquire private water rights, or the EPA's determination to classify every ditch and puddle as a ``water of the United States'' to further insert itself into the everyday lives of ordinary, hardworking Americans. Property rights and the integrity of contracts are at the very foundation of our economic system, yet too often Federal agencies casually cast these important considerations aside. If the BLM is confident that it is making the right decision and is willing to defend it, then they should have no problem providing additional time for the public and other interested stakeholders to be able to comment on the proposed actions in the White River National Forest.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor both the Pueblo East High School and Bayfield High School football teams, who are the 2015 Colorado State Football champions of the Colorado High School Athletic Association's 3A and 2A divisions, respectively. The Pueblo East Eagles defeated the Roosevelt Rough Riders, in a 57- 30 rout in front of their fans at Dutch Clark Stadium in Pueblo, Colorado. With this victory, the Eagles are now back-to-back State champions, making them the latest in what is a long line of powerhouse high school football teams from the Steel City. The season began with East losing to a team they had beaten a year before, but their resiliency in the face of adversity saw them win 12 consecutive games en route to the state title, and making the Eagles Pueblo's only high school football team to have ever won consecutive state football championships. The Bayfield Wolverines traveled to Kersey, Colorado and capped their perfect season with a hard fought 28-20 victory over the Platte Valley High School Broncos, winning their first state championship in football since 1996. The last time Bayfield High School won a state championship in any sport was back in 2005, making this victory that much sweeter, and ensuring that the players and coaches of this season can look back and be proud of their hard work which ended the drought. Mr. Speaker, the Pueblo East Eagles and the Bayfield Wolverines deserve a tremendous amount of recognition for their hard work. A football season in Colorado is filled with long trips over diverse terrain to play unfamiliar opponents, injuries, and the unpredictable elements that Colorado weather provides. With exceptional displays of grit and determination throughout their seasons, the Eagles and the Wolverines have brought an immense amount of pride to the Third Congressional District of Colorado. I am honored to represent these exceptional high schools and congratulate them for their recent accomplishments.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Ryan Moore. Mr. Moore teaches science at the Liberty Point International School in Pueblo West, Colorado, where every day he engages and motivates his students through his unique high-energy teaching style that has resulted in improved achievement scores for his students. In recognition for his hard work and dedication in the classroom, Mr. Moore was recognized recently as one of only 40 educators nationwide to receive the prestigious Milken Education Award. He was the sole recipient from Colorado this year. Mr. Moore's passion for teaching not only keeps his students engaged and interested in learning, but has also consistently improved their performance over the course of his seven year tenure. Mr. Moore's public service extends beyond teaching. He is a former United States Army Staff Sergeant, with 10 years of service that included three deployments to Iraq. Mr. Moore credits the leadership qualities he developed in the military as helping him succeed in the classroom, earning him a reputation as a well-respected educator among both students and his peers. Mr. Moore is also active in his community, volunteering his free time with the Boy Scouts of America and the Pueblo West Department of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Moore is an incredible individual with an exceptional history of selfless service. He has a limitless ability to inspire the students he teaches and represents the best of educators in the Third Congressional District of Colorado. I am confident that Mr. Moore will continue to be a tremendous asset to his students and the Pueblo West community. I want to thank him for his service and wish him continued success for many years to come.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Katrina Ruggles. Ms. Ruggles is a school counselor at Center School in Center, Colorado and has recently been awarded the Colorado Secondary Counselor of the Year for 2015 by the Colorado School Counselor Association. School counselors throughout Colorado compete for this award and the recipient must demonstrate leadership, professionalism, as well as a willingness to assist in students' ability maximize their personal, social, and academic development. Amongst these qualities, the counselor must demonstrate evidence of implementation of a comprehensive, data-driven counseling program as well as holding responsibility for further development of programs supporting students' career, personal, social and academic development. Ms. Ruggles is an outstanding counselor, who has served in Center, Colorado schools for 14 years. Not only has she been a statewide name among professionals but she has become a successful grant writer, earning close to $300,000 in scholarships for students year after year. Mr. Speaker, Ms. Ruggles' passion and drive to help her students succeed should not go overlooked. Students living in rural areas can often find themselves with limited resources. Ms. Ruggles' dedication to her students' success ensures that limited resources do not hinder their academic experience. Ms. Ruggles exemplifies the best qualities of academic professionals from the Third Congressional District of Colorado, and I congratulate her for her achievement and wish her continued success in the future.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Ohio for the opportunity to be able to provide some remarks this evening. It is no secret that American coal production and coal-fired electric generation is experiencing regulatory and legal obstacles at every turn. In 2008, the President famously outlined an energy vision in which he stated, ``So if someone wants to build a coal-fired power plant, they can. It is just that it will bankrupt them.'' There is no ambiguity in that statement. The administration is certainly not seeking to encourage coal production. Indeed, it is just the opposite. The Environmental Protection Agency just finalized its so-called Clean Power Plan, a carbon emissions rule that will force States to submit complex plans to meet federally mandated emission goals. The EPA estimates the annual cost of this rule to be anywhere from $5.5 billion to $8.8 billion annually, but other credible estimates are much higher, ranging from $366 billion to $479 billion from 2017 to 2031. Now, why is this important? Oftentimes, when we are talking about fees about taxes that are going to be applied, we assume that someone else gets to pay them. Here is the real reality: These costs are being shouldered by hardworking Americans who will see their energy bills increase. They impact the most vulnerable people in our society, including senior citizens on fixed incomes and low-income families who will have to make tough decisions in their already tight household budgets just to be able to heat their homes. In my own district in rural western Colorado, upwards of 500 coal mining jobs in Delta County, with wages and benefits exceeding 66 million, have already been lost and more are threatened due to anticoal lawsuits. Another 220 are threatened in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties for the same reason. There is no shortage of examples such as these in the coal-producing States. Now, I think we need to be very clear. As Americans, people in Colorado, we want to be able to see blue skies and clear streams. Here is the opportunity for us to be able to demonstrate that we can create a win-win with the technologies in place. If you want to be able to see blue skies and a coal-fired power plant, come with me to Moffat County, visit Craig, Colorado, to be able to see hardworking people in the coal mining industry and a coal-fired power plant being able to do it the right way and being able to provide affordable electricity for the citizens at home. The Department of the Interior has also laughably announced it will be reviewing whether the public is receiving a fair return on coal production when it is in the Federal Government's own policies and the actions of its lawsuit-happy allies that are actively suppressing the production of coal and its associated revenues. Proposing to raise the royalty rate, which cuts into the profitability of coal production and makes it less attractive to mine, while simultaneously pushing other policies like the Clean Power Plan that make coal less attractive as a power source will mean the death of the industry. These are the same industries that are providing tax revenues that help support our children's schools, help support the public library in rural areas like mine to be able to help provide the revenues that are needed for the volunteer fire departments to be able to provide that public assistance. Let us not forget that those royalties are only a portion of the revenues and benefits that are generated by responsible coal mining. There are bonus payments as well, received at the time of the lease, as companies seek to outbid one another for the development rights. Again, higher demand will result in higher bonus payments. There are annual rental fees as well. State and local governments also accrue revenues through their own assessed taxes and fees on equipment and production, and the high wages of employees are definitely a boon to local economies. All told, coal production contributes some $2.8 billion to Colorado's economy and provides 64 percent of its electricity. While it is true that our energy portfolio is made stronger through diversity, coal can, does, and must continue to fill a vital role in that equation. Responsible coal production provides a reliable fuel for baseload electrical generation. Its low cost equates to savings for average Americans on their monthly energy bills, an especially critical consideration, as I mentioned, for lower income families, for seniors and others on fixed incomes, and its abundance domestically contributes toward American energy security. It is well worth the meetings that I have had, and I know my colleague from Ohio has as well, looking into the eyes of families that rely on the coal industry to be able to provide for their families. They will do it right. They will provide low-cost energy to be able to support this country and that all-of-the-above strategy. Over the course of the next few days, I look forward to a robust debate on the floor this week as we continue to push for policies that will secure all of the above when it comes to establishing American energy independence. Mr. Speaker, again, I would like to thank my colleague from Ohio for this opportunity to be able to address an important American issue: jobs and affordability.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. I thank the chairman. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Kentucky, Representative Barr, for offering this piece of legislation. This bipartisan Portfolio Lending and Mortgage Access Act responsibly expands access to mortgage credit without creating additional risk to the financial system or to the taxpayer. By allowing insured depository institutions to hold residential mortgage loans in portfolio and have them treated as qualified mortgages, this bill encourages strong underwriting standards for lenders while also giving access to credit for young families and first-time home buyers. These are people who may not otherwise be able to meet the ability to repay requirements. Existing mortgage rules are overly restrictive and have made it difficult and, in some cases, impossible for banks to be able to make otherwise safe and sound loans to creditworthy borrowers. This bill puts the ``community'' back in community lending. Mr. Speaker, in my district and many others across the U.S., access to mortgage credit is crucial. Unfortunately, many smaller community banks have been forced to stop mortgage lending since they could not afford the expensive compliance and personnel associated with those costs. They simply made too few mortgage loans to be able to cover their costs. In rural areas, this is a significant problem because customers often do not have the alternative to find a lender to be able to approach for mortgage products. Thankfully, this legislation promotes the type of lending that will boost the housing market in a safe and responsible manner without taxpayer exposure. Portfolio lending is among the most traditional and lowest risk lending in which a bank can engage. Loans held in portfolio are well underwritten and conservative by their very nature since the lender retains 100 percent of the credit and interest rate risk on their own books. Mr. Speaker, I am happy to lend my support to this bill and encourage my colleagues to be able to support this commonsense measure. Again, I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for his efforts on this bill.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, I rise today to give my voice in strong support for the Native American Energy Act. I would also like to be able to thank Chairman Young and Chairman Bishop for their leadership and support of Native American energy development. Energy resource development on Native American lands is important and becoming increasingly significant year after year. For example, in 2014, responsible conventional energy development on Native American lands alone generated revenues of $24 billion. This revenue figure does not include renewable energy development on tribal lands, which is the potential to increase revenues, jobs, and household incomes for Native American communities. I am privileged to be able to represent the Southern Ute Indian Tribe located in southwest Colorado. Some of my colleagues know that the Southern Ute Indian Tribe is a model of tribal governance and economic development. The tribe is widely known as the premier natural gas developer and the largest employer in the region. I am extremely proud that the Southern Ute Indian Tribe continues to take the lead in demanding that the Federal Government respect self- determination and tribal decisionmaking when it comes to energy and environmental regulation. To his credit, Chairman Young continues to hold numerous oversight hearings and legislative hearings to allow tribal leaders to illustrate the challenges they face daily as they attempt to develop their natural resources so that they can provide programs, services, and jobs for their nations. The result is H.R. 538, which will remove a number of these barriers. The legislation streamlines the appraisal process that must be undertaken by the Department of Interior because the status quo has resulted in delays that have caused the tribe to miss out on royalty payments totaling more than $95 million. The legislation also amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004, to direct the Department of Interior to enter into agreements with tribes to carry out demonstration projects that promote biomass energy production on Native American forestland and in nearby communities by providing tribes with reliable supplies of woody biomass from Federal lands. It also prohibits the Interior rule regarding hydraulic fracturing from having any effect on land held in trust or restricted status for Native Americans, except with the express consent of the Indian beneficiaries. The Southern Ute's repeated attempts to ensure tribal lands were not included in this misguided rule were completely disregarded by this administration. Fortunately, H.R. 538 promotes Native American self-determination, strengthens tribal sovereignty, and reinforces our commitment to tribal self-sufficiency. I urge my colleagues to support this vital legislation. Once again, I thank Chairman Young for his leadership and Chairman Bishop on this issue.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sydney Hughes of Meeker, Colorado. She was recently awarded a National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association student athlete scholarship for her excellence on and off the field. The National Athletic Administrators Association awards scholarships to high school students based on their academic achievement and athletic accomplishments. Ms. Hughes was selected to the second team All-state girls' basketball team for the 2014-2015 season and was the only player from the Third Congressional District of Colorado to hold such honor in division 2A girls' basketball. She was also selected to the Western Slope Grand Mesa All-Conference teams in volleyball and track and field, all while maintaining a 4.2 Grade Point Average throughout her high school career. Excellence in academics and athletics provides a wealth of life-long advantages, not least because they instill qualities of discipline, perseverance, and teamwork that are hallmarks of future success. Ms. Hughes embodies all of these qualities and knows that her resiliency and dedication in high school athletics and academics will continue through college and beyond. Mr. Speaker, I am privileged to represent inspiring high school students like Ms. Hughes and I wish her nothing but the best as she continues through life's challenges. She is a terrific role model for her peers and represents the best that the Third District has to offer.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, community banks are a crucial source of credit for many across the Nation, but these banks are currently facing an ever-increasing regulatory burden that they can no longer shoulder. These misguided regulations are resulting in a devastating impact on small banks, forcing consolidation or failure and stifling creation of new banks in communities that need access to credit. In rural areas, such as my district in western Colorado, oftentimes the only access to credit for small businesses is a community bank. Unfortunately, rising compliance costs and complicated regulatory requirements have dried up bank credit for those in need of it most. For these reasons, I introduced, along with Representative Lacy Clay and Representative Barr, the Small Bank Exam Cycle Reform Act, a targeted relief effort designed to allow additional well-managed financial institutions to qualify for an 18-month exam cycle. Full-scope, onsite examinations of insured depository institutions are a rigorous event for banks of all sizes, especially small banks that may not have dedicated compliance staff. These examinations require significant preparation leading up to the examination, as well as attention to the onsite examiner during the exam itself. Whereas larger banks can absorb the work hours and compliance costs associated with these onsite examinations, community banks, much smaller institutions, do not have the economy of scale to deflect the burden. However, a longer exam cycle permits well-run community banks to focus their time and resources on the surrounding community rather than on the exam process, opening up opportunities for sustainable economic growth in towns across the United States. The Small Bank Exam Cycle Reform Act amends the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to increase the qualifying asset threshold from $500 million to $1 billion for small banks. This relief measure is only for well-managed community banks that did not cause the financial crisis but are now living with regulatory blowback. As part of the examination process, financial regulators rate financial institutions on several criteria, including safety and soundness and their compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. To qualify for the 18-month exam cycle, an institution must have earned an outstanding or good rating on their most recent examination. Only smaller, well-rated banks, those which pose little risk, can qualify for extended exam cycles. The banking regulators also support an increase in the qualifying asset threshold. In February, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency sent draft legislative ideas for regulatory relief to the House Financial Services Committee, including a proposal that is the framework for H.R. 1553. The Comptroller of the Currency, Thomas Curry, publicly stated such a change would reduce burdens on well-managed community institutions. It also was applauded by the FDIC and the OCC during committee hearings earlier this spring. Not only will this legislation provide relief for community banks, it will also allow examiners to focus their resources, working with banks that need the additional attention or present supervisory concerns. This bipartisan legislation enjoys the support of the American Bankers Association, the Independent Community Bankers Association, the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, as well as 19 bipartisan cosponsors. The legislation was voted out of the Financial Services Committee with a unanimous 58-0 vote. Congress last raised the threshold for outstanding-rated institutions in 2006 and granted agencies discretion to increase the threshold for good-rated institutions in 2007. It is time again to raise the threshold in statute so these small banks can continue to serve their important purpose in our communities: providing capital for small business growth and banking products for their local communities.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. I thank the chairman and the ranking member for their support on this legislation. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1554 is a straightforward bill, which Congressman Polis and I introduced, to reconfirm the private ownership of 140 acres of land in my congressional district. The lands concerned were patented into two private ownerships via the United States land patents issued in 1914 and 1917 and 1957, but their ownership has come into question by virtue of the 1949 government survey, which showed them to be national forest land rather than private land. Long-held U.S. law specifically states that a government resurvey cannot take away private property or private property rights. Mr. Speaker, the Forest Service and the private landowners of the Elkhorn Ranch only became aware of the potential title issue in the early 2000s. Thereafter, the Forest Service conducted a lengthy and thorough review of the matter. Upon the completion of the review, both the supervisor and surveyor of the White River National Forest concluded that the ownership of the 140 acres should be confirmed in the successors in interest to the original patentees, namely the Elkhorn Ranch. In reaching this conclusion, the Forest Service noted that the land has never been managed by the national forestland and, indeed, has been fenced and occupied with stock ponds to develop springs, roads, and other private improvements, and it has been used as private land for ranching and agriculture for the better part of the past 100 years. Mr. Speaker, this bill is a simple matter of fairness and equity to a private landowner to honor government land patents that were granted to the landowner's predecessors 60 to 100 years ago. The bill is supported by both the surveyor and the supervisor of the White River National Forest, the Garfield County Surveyor, the Garfield County Commissioners, the city of Rifle, Colorado Club 20, which represents 20 of Colorado's counties, and Piceance Energy, which has the lease on part of the area. In addition, at our hearing on H.R. 1554 in mid-June, the administration testified that this bill is a practical and workable way to address the longstanding title issue.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Speaker, mines in Colorado's Third Congressional District provide not only critical jobs, they also provide the reliable, affordable electricity on which countless Americans rely. The future of one such mine, operated by Colowyo in Moffat County, is now in jeopardy after a Federal judge sided with a radical environmental group notorious for filing lawsuits, at the expense of taxpayers who often end up footing their litigation bill. I am urging the Department of the Interior to take swift action to prevent the impending closure of the Colowyo mine, and I want to thank Senator Cory Gardner for his partnership in this effort. On May 8, 2015, the Federal district court for the district of Colorado issued an order determining that the Office of Surface Mining failed to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act in 2007, when it issued a mine plan for approval of the Colowyo coal mine. The court gave OSM 120 days to be able to prepare a new analysis and issue a new decision. If OSM does not complete the process in 120 days, the court stated that it would vacate the mine plan, effectively shutting down the mine on September 6. Unfortunately, despite repeated insistence from myself, Senator Gardner, county officials, and the surrounding local communities, this administration decided against appealing the court's ruling. We have to ask the question: Does not the executive branch have a duty to defend its permitting actions? Of course, it does. The Federal Government must vigorously defend the legality of its permitting actions and leave policy debates over the role of coal in the legislative and rulemaking proceedings where those debates belong. Here is where we stand as the September 6 deadline approaches. The livelihoods of thousands of northwest Coloradans are in peril, as they rely on an administration with a track record of attacks on the mining industry and affordable electricity to do the right thing. Unfortunately, this administration hasn't done much to allay our concerns. A mine closure would jeopardize 220 direct jobs and millions in economic activity. While 220 jobs may not sound like much, to the town of Craig, population 9,400, that has a significant economic impact on this community. To properly be able to understand the scale of this potential catastrophe, this is equivalent to the President's hometown of Chicago shedding 63,000 well-paying jobs. The adverse effects of shutting down this mine go beyond the jobs at the mine that would be lost. Coal produced by this mine, located in Moffat and Rio Blanco Counties, is used to generate power at Craig Station. The mine is a critical supplier of western Colorado's energy. It provides reliable, affordable electricity in much of the western half of the State. Last week, I attended a meeting to discuss the future of the Colowyo mine in Glenwood Springs with Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell; Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze; and a number of western Colorado community leaders, including Moffat County Commissioner John Kinkaid and Craig Mayor Ray Beck. While it would have been preferable for the Secretary to make time to be able to meet with the miners in Moffat County who are facing the loss of their livelihood, look them in the eye, and hear their stories, she did meet with this group; and I hope that she received a better understanding of the important impact of the Colowyo mine on the impact of the economy in northwest Colorado. I was pleased to be able to hear Secretary Jewell assure us before the meeting that the Department of the Interior is on schedule to be able to complete a new environmental assessment by the court's deadline of September 6; and, if for some reason they fail to meet that schedule, they will request an extension. I hope the Secretary realizes that the decisions made in Washington have lasting impacts on everyday working Americans. Unfortunately, we have seen repeated attempts by this administration to impose drastic and, in some cases, outright unattainable mandates on the existing electricity sources. Communities such as Craig have expressed concerns that these proposed regulations will work to the detriment of the local economies by shutting down local power plants, negatively affecting Colorado's mining industry, and needlessly burdening Coloradan families and businesses with higher energy costs; yet here we are on the cusp of leaving over 220 honest, hard-working people without a paycheck. This battle offers a vivid and all too familiar lesson in how environmental special interests, if not balanced against the practical need for a healthy and growing economy, can wreak havoc in the everyday lives of Coloradans. The careful balance between environmental protection and economic prosperity is regrettably missing from this administration's policies. The most troubling part of all of this is that the effects of these misguided regulations won't actually result in cleaner air overall, but will jeopardize the reliability of the electrical grid and have a severe economic impact. The people of Moffat County are the people who are feeling these impacts. The people of Moffat County need to know that they are not alone in this effort. I am committed to doing everything within my power to be able to fight for affordable, reliable, and responsible energy production.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of the Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015. My Water Rights Protection Act, incorporated as part of H.R. 2898, would uphold State water law and priority-based systems and provide water users with a line of defense from increasingly brazen Federal attempts to take private water rights without compensation. These Federal water grabs undermine long-held State water law, priority-based systems, and our private priority rights. By extorting water rights from those who hold water rights under State law, the Federal Government is overreaching, violating private property rights and the U.S. Constitution. Federal land management agency attempts to take or to control private water rights and circumvent State law have put the ski community, grazers, municipalities, and local businesses at risk. These private property rights are vital to Colorado and to the Western U.S. when it pertains to water. Many businesses depend on them as collateral to be able to get loans, expand, and create jobs. Water is our lifeblood. Water users need certainty that the Federal land management agencies are prohibited from future attempts to take privately held water rights. This legislation offers a sensible approach to preserve those rights. I urge its passage.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, Congress has previously authorized fire liability provisions for stewardship contracts. My amendment simply provides the same fire liability provisions for long-term stewardship contracts awarded by the Forest Service prior to February 7, 2014. These contracts have valid concerns over their potential liability, and it is prohibitively expensive to obtain liability insurance to cover the costs of large forest fires. The amendment provides these contractors with the same protections as all Federal timber sales and integrated resource timber purchasers and other integrated resource stewardship contracts that they already have. I urge my colleagues to support the amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, the challenge that we face in the West is very obvious. Overgrown forests, bark beetle devastation, threat to our watersheds, threat to habitat, threat to public property that sensible people have long called for a solution to be able to have rendered. I would like to be able to applaud the hard work of Chairman Bishop, the committee, and particularly the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) in putting commonsense pieces of legislation forward in H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forests Act. The concept of being proactive rather than being reactive, putting the health of our forests, protection of our watersheds, habitat for wildlife, and saving private property while bringing some control back to our States and our communities is long overdue. Forward-looking and innovative legislation like the Resilient Federal Forests Act speaks to the very heart of responsible forest management. This is a piece of legislation, which is long overdue. We have seen the impact in pilot projects of healthy forests, the opportunity to be able to get the forests again in a healthy state, creating abundant ground cover and forage for our animals and protecting those watersheds. This is a commonsense piece of legislation that I would like to encourage my colleagues to be able to support.

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, we are talking about fairness. We just had an amendment that was presented by my colleague from Colorado that talked about fairness, and I think Chairman Bishop spoke very eloquently in regards to allowing that process to be able to work through the private sector. Yet, when we are talking about forest health, Mr. Chairman, wouldn't it be an appropriate thing to make sure that we have a level playing field when it comes to liability? If we want to be able to get in and actually protect those forests, to be able to protect those watersheds, to be able to protect endangered species and the other wildlife in the forests, let's make sure that we have a process to be able to do that so that that liability is not going to become a liability to something that I believe we all share as common ground, and that is the health of our forests. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. TIPTON

Mr. TIPTON. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.