Frank Wolf

Mr. WOLF

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, the gentleman is absolutely right. I completely agree with him. We will make every effort to make sure this is in there. He has been ahead of almost everybody else here, but I accept the amendment. I think it is a very good amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I reserve a point of order on the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. This bill before the House today also includes for the EDA $5 million to support projects to facilitate relocation to the United States of jobs currently being done overseas. If you have an iPhone, it is made in China. GE has moved plants off of the United States to China. This is in order to fund. It will enable EDA to help work with American businesses to bring back, to repatriate, their manufacturing activities back to the United States. It does not support any projects in my district, but it does support projects in some very, very poor districts throughout the United States. These are areas that are struggling. Because of that, sometimes EDA is only a lifeline, a path, to more economic sustainability. I oppose the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I have no objection to the amendment. I think it is a very good amendment, and I share the gentleman's concern. Out in the western part of my district, in the Shenandoah Valley, I think they had one heroin death in 2011 or in 2012. In 2013 and this year, they are surpassing that, and it is only May. This is going to be an epidemic. It is hitting the country. They are actually finding that growers of marijuana in Mexico are getting out of that business and are growing poppies. So I think it is a very good amendment, and I urge the support of it. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I announce that we are going to postpone the 2020 census and move it to 2021 or maybe to 2022. I am going to accept the amendment, but if we keep taking it from the census, there will be no census unless it is going to be done on a voluntary basis, and we can ask people if they will. I think it is a good amendment. I understand what you are trying to do, but if we keep fining census, census, census, then there will be no census. I accept the gentleman's amendment. He makes a very powerful case, and I think it is a very good issue. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. I have no objection to the amendment. And the gentleman's area has been hit. We have all seen the pictures of the towns in Oklahoma. So I appreciate his efforts and diligence. I just want Members to know the Commerce-Justice-Science bill already includes strong funding for the National Weather Service. The bill is $16 million above the request for the National Weather Service. We restore the $10 million proposed reduction for information technology officers at each weather forecast office. We restored a proposed $8 million cut to the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Program. We restored $6 million in proposed cuts to the tsunami community education awareness program. But I think the gentleman makes a very, very powerful case, and we will work to make sure that this stays in until we go to conference. As he said, we can save lives. And that is what we want to do. With that, I accept the amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman for withdrawing the amendment. As the gentleman is aware, the bill before the House today includes $175 million to support the operation of NOAA's research vessels. This amount is the same as the request--a $5 million increase above the enacted level. We will take a look at it, and I appreciate the gentleman raising it. We will stay with him as we go to conference.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chairman, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I rise in support of the gentleman's amendment. I think Mr. Nugent makes a very powerful case. As more veterans return from combat, we are seeing the increased involvement in the justice system. The committee did establish the Veterans Court program in fiscal year 2013 and has increased its funding for this year. The President did not request funding specifically for this program. The Mental Health Court Program is important as well and, given that a significant percentage of the justice-involved population have mental health disorders, these courts help with recidivism. I think Mr. Nugent again, as I said, makes a very powerful case, so I support the amendment and urge its adoption. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I am going to oppose the amendment. We are just taking out of census, and so the Members know, this is the same as last year's level, so there are not any big major cuts here. Also, we are above the request. We are $3 million above the request, so I don't question what the gentleman says. He knows a lot more about salmon than I do. He has probably forgotten more about salmon than I will ever know, but we can't keep going into the census and going into the census. Since it is $3 million above the request, it is at the same level last year, we added money into the salmon in the full committee, and so I am going to ask for a ``no'' vote on the amendment. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. WOLF. I thank the gentleman for withdrawing the amendment. I understand how important the horseshoe crab is. I have been to Lewes, Delaware, many times; and I understand. You make a very powerful point, but as the gentleman is aware, the bill before the House today includes $72 million for stock assessments, which is the same as the request, and a $3 million increase above the enacted level. We will continue to work with the gentleman, and I appreciate his comments.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the last word.

Mr. WOLF. I rise in strong support of the gentleman's amendment, and I thank him for taking the initiative and doing what he has done. Enforcing existing laws that keeps guns out of the hands of prohibited individuals is a goal we all share. The bill already includes funding over 6 percent above the President's request for NICS grants. The level is $40 million above the fiscal year 2013 level. We can maybe even get it up higher than the gentleman has when we go to conference. I think what he is doing is very important. I am going to ask for a roll call vote on this. I think it is very, very important. It is not enough to just talk about something; I think it is important we do it. I thank the gentleman and strongly support his amendment. I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I reluctantly rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment. The Commerce IG performs an important oversight for the Department and for our subcommittee and committee. I understand that the inspector general has asked the Integrity Committee of the Council of Inspectors General for Integrity and Efficiency for an objective review and recommendations concerning this matter taking into account all the facts; the OIG has implemented each of the corrective actions proposed by the Office of Special Counsel, and that those actions were accepted by the Office of Special Counsel to address concerns contained in its report as a result of its investigation. Further, I understand there was no testimonial or documentary evidence that the inspector general had committed any prohibition with regard to personnel. It appears also that the IG has asked the counsel--they call it the CIGIE--to further review this matter. Until that process is concluded, it could be premature to reduce the common inspector general funding. Because of that, I rise in opposition to the amendment and yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I move to strike the requisite number of words.

Mr. WOLF. Madam Chair, I understand it takes a million from Attorney General Holder's office and puts it into the immigration area. I think she makes a powerful case. I have no objection.