Bruce Westerman

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 675 employees at Aerojet Rocketdyne's Camden, Arkansas, production facility and their upcoming achievement of the milestone shipment of the 2,700th PAC-3 Cost Reduction Initiative Rocket Motor, 500,000th PAC-3 Attitude Control Motor, and completion of the first full rate production contract of the PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement Rocket Motor, to Lockheed Martin and the United States Army. Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile, space propulsion, and armaments markets. This most significant milestone will be commemorated with a celebration ceremony held in Camden, Arkansas, on Thursday, December 8, 2016. The PAC-3 missile, powered by Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion, is a high velocity interceptor that defeats incoming targets by direct, body-to-body impact. The ``hit-to-kill'' PAC-3 missile is the world's most advanced, capable, and powerful terminal air defense missile, and when deployed in a Patriot battery, significantly increases the Patriot system's firepower. It is capable of defeating the entire threat of tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and aircraft. One hundred percent effective in Operation Iraqi Freedom, the PAC-3 missile is a quantum leap ahead of any other air defense missile when it comes to the ability to protect the Warfighter. Aerojet Rocketdyne has manufactured the PAC-3 Solid Rocket Motors and Attitude Control Motors since 1998 at its Camden facility. Production of the Missile Segment Enhancement Rocket Motor began in 2014. The PAC- 3 rocket motors are a noteworthy element of Aerojet Rocketdyne's industry-leading tactical propulsion portfolio produced in Camden, generating significant employment opportunities for the area. On the occasion of this milestone, I am proud to recognize the dedicated, hardworking employees of Aerojet Rocketdyne in Camden and their achievements so far. These Arkansans are working hard to ensure our men and women in uniform have the resources they need to carry out their missions effectively and quickly, and they deserve our sincere appreciation.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in 2012, the Arkansas Department of Agriculture began the Arkansas Century Farm Program. This program honors those Arkansas farm families who have owned and farmed the same land for at least 100 years. Since 2012, 297 Arkansas farms and families have been inducted in the Arkansas Century Farm Program, and on Tuesday, November 1, 2016, an additional 44 families were recognized by the program, including 14 families representing 10 counties in Arkansas's Fourth Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, there is something special to be said for those families that continue to dedicate their time and treasure to the land that has provided for their families over many generations. They wisely manage our natural resources, tend to livestock entrusted to their care, drive our economy forward, and pass down a special way of life to future generations. Our farm families know and understand that, if they take care of the land, it will, in turn, take care of them. I know that the families that have been recognized by the Arkansas Century Farm Program understand this concept the best. I congratulate these families on their induction into this prestigious program and wish them another productive century.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, Monday, October 10 is Taiwan's National Day--also known as Double Ten Day. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my early best wishes to the people of Taiwan. The United States and Taiwan enjoy a longstanding friendship based on shared values. I visited Taiwan earlier this year to witness the democratic process and the peaceful transfer of power. I applaud Taiwan's embrace of individual political freedom. Taiwan is also a strong economic partner. In 2015, Taiwan became the United States' 9th largest trading partner, and is my home state of Arkansas' 6th largest export market in Asia. Our economic ties help us to foster our relationship with Taiwan, and ensure an atmosphere of cooperation. Additionally, the 39th Triennial Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) will take place in Montreal, Canada, beginning on September 27, 2016. Three years ago, the U.S. Congress passed a bill, later signed into law, supporting Taiwan's inclusion in the ICAO as an observer state. Taiwan was first invited to the assembly in 2013, and I am happy to see that Taiwan will be invited again this year. The Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR), administered by Taiwan, provided over 1.53 million instances of air traffic control services. FIR also handled 58 million incoming and outgoing passengers in 2015, serving as an indispensable part of the global air transport network. Again, I wish the people of Taiwan a happy Double Ten Day. I would like to congratulate Taiwan on the occasion of Double Ten Day, and I hope the friendship between our two nations continues to grow in the years ahead.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, on roll call no. 508, I was at a meeting off Capitol Hill, and did not make it to the House Chamber in time to vote. Had I been present, I would have voted AYE.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, in recent months, our Nation's police have come under attack. Last month, the violence against our police hit home as Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sheriff's Deputy Corporal Bill Cooper was shot and killed responding to a call for help on August 10. In the days and weeks since his untimely death, thousands of Sebastian County residents paid their respects to Corporal Cooper by remembering his dedication to God, his family, the sheriff's department, and the country he loved. I don't pretend that my words will fill the void left by his death, but I hope my words can properly honor a man who paid the ultimate price upholding the oath he swore to defend. I thank him for his service, and I thank his family for sharing him with the community. Psalm 34:18 says: ``The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.'' May God bless and comfort Deputy Cooper's family and friends during this time of grief.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend my colleagues in the House for passing the Zika bill and sending it to the Senate, and I hope that the Senate Democrats will at sometime put that bill on the President's desk. Mr. Speaker, I also rise today as an advocate for ``A Better Way.'' This blueprint put forth by Speaker Ryan and my colleagues in the House Republican Conference is our vision for a more confident America. We have a framework that is a better way to free millions from poverty, a better way to make America strong and safe, a better way to create an environment for Americans of all walks to experience true economic growth and opportunity, a better way to govern by returning to the rule of law outlined in our Constitution, a better way to lead healthy and productive lives by replacing a failing ObamaCare with a healthcare system that works for the American people, and a better way to pay for essential government services by creating a simpler, fairer Tax Code. As we dream of an America with a future that outshines our blessed past, I urge my colleagues to embrace this vision, work to see its proposals implemented, and leave to our posterity evidence of our good stewardship of this most portentous responsibility.

Mr. WESTERMAN

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

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume. I rise today in support of my amendment. My amendment would bar implementation of a Federal court decision issued on March 29, 2016, that stopped implementation of the 2014 U.S. Fish and Wildlife's decision to issue an Environmental Assessment extension for the issuance of depredation permits for double-crested cormorants. Since 1998, Fish and Wildlife has allowed the issuance of depredation permits for cormorants that threaten commercially raised fish stocks. In 2003, Fish and Wildlife issued the Public Resource Depredation Order through a final Environmental Impact Statement which allowed for the Federal Government, State officials, and tribal leaders to take cormorants found committing depredations of public supplies of fish. Environmental Assessments in 2009 and 2014 renewed both of these depredation orders. On March 29, 2016, the U.S. Court for the District of Columbia issued a decision stopping implementation of the 2014 Environmental Assessment extension as a result of a special interest lawsuit. In the meantime, Fish and Wildlife Service is beginning a new Environmental Assessment, but new depredation permits are not being issued to many farmers whose fish stocks are being depleted by cormorant populations. This is leading to considerable losses for farmers. Farmers are constantly living on the margin and just getting by. My amendment prevents the use of funds by Fish and Wildlife for the enforcement of the March 29, 2016, court decision. It ensures that a successful depredation program continues so that our farmers continue to farm and feed America. Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman Calvert, for the opportunity to offer this amendment. I ask my colleagues to support this amendment. Let's stand up for small farmers in our communities who find themselves under constant pressure economically. They should not have to compete with bad rulings from activist judges. Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Chair, I must say, as I rise in opposition to this amendment, that I serve on the Natural Resources Committee with the gentlewoman from Michigan, and I know that we hold a common idea to be good stewards of our resources. We just happen to have a difference of opinion on the best way to do that on this issue, so I must rise in opposition to her amendment. Our Nation's forests are in dire health, and Congress must provide the Forest Service additional tools to allow more management of our national forest system. This amendment would needlessly deny the Forest Service an opportunity to more quickly address a forest system that is overgrown and prone to wildfire, disease, and insect infestation. Last summer I was proud to sponsor H.R. 2647, the Resilient Federal Forest Act, which passed the House with a strong bipartisan majority. This bill included several provisions to allow the Forest Service to engage in urgently needed restoration in a more timely fashion. These are forest stands that are already being destroyed by natural occurrences; and in order to restore those forest habitats, we have to act in an urgent and a timely manner. One specific provision would allow the Forest Service to treat up to 3,000 acres of land at a time under a categorical exclusion from NEPA within limited circumstances. Some of these circumstances include treating a forest infected by invasive species, if a forest has been affected by a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado, or if work is needed to protect a municipal water source. This provision was based on a carefully crafted provision in the 2014 farm bill that the Forest Service has used successfully to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire in our rural communities. I am pleased that Chairman Calvert chose to include this provision in the fiscal year 2017 Interior Appropriations bill. The Natural Resources Committee has heard testimony from stakeholders across the country about the dire need to better manage our forests. We have heard from the Forest Service that nearly 60 million acres of land are in need of some form of treatment. While we wait for the Senate to act on wildfire legislation, we must continue to seek opportunities to help reduce the threat of wildfire to communities across the country. This amendment would strip this important provision from the appropriations bill. We should be doing more to shorten the timeframe for the Forest Service to engage in restoration work. I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this amendment.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Chair, healthy forests are critical to clean air, clean water, better wildlife habitat, better recreation opportunities, and more biodiversity. This amendment will promote healthy forests, and I urge a ``yes'' vote. Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Chair, I would like to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman Calvert, for allowing me the opportunity to offer this important amendment. I rise today in support of my amendment. My amendment is simple. It removes $12 million from the EPA's environmental programs and management account and places $10 million into the U.S. Forest Service's forest and rangeland research account, which funds important scientific research through the Forest Inventory and Analysis Program and the Forest Products Laboratory. This will free up money from the Federal bureaucracy for use in on-the-ground scientific research into forest health, wood products, biomass, and threatened species. To make sound forest management decisions, it is imperative to quantify the amount of standing timber, the harvest and usage rates, how much is lost to insects and disease infestation, how many trees are lost to wildfire, and how much net growth occurs in our forest. The Forest Inventory and Analysis Program does just that. The data is used to assess the quantity and quality of our forestlands, both public and private. It lets us know if we are gaining or losing forestland, and it tells us if we have a net loss or net gain in trees and tree volume. This data is critical to calculate how much carbon storage we have in our forest, and without this data, we cannot understand our total carbon balance. The Forest Service often finds itself on extended sampling periods, sometime as many as 6 or 7 years, leading to delayed analysis of our Nation's forest landscape. This forces States to increase their matching contributions in order to have sound, timely scientific data for statewide forest management plans. FIA takes proactive, positive steps in the area of better forest management. FIA leads to scientific forest management practices that increase carbon storage and reduce the threat to wildfire. Additional funding to FIA will also give wood products and timber industries certainty in making business decisions. Forestry employs approximately 2.8 million people nationwide, and this is larger than the automotive industry. The forest and rangeland research account also funds the Forest Products Laboratory. The Forest Products Laboratory conducts significant scientific research into wood products, forest biomass, the use of wood in tall buildings and threats to various species, such as white-nose syndrome. This amendment is a win-win for a healthy environment and scientific research. Madam Chair, I again want to thank the gentleman from California, Chairman Calvert, for the opportunity to offer this amendment.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, these harmless seafood products are treated as if they were listed under the Endangered Species Act or listed as injurious under the Lacey Act or in violation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, which these products are not. They are being regulated by both the Fish and Wildlife and the FDA, and they will still be regulated under the FDA. I encourage a positive vote on this amendment. Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN. I believe these are fresh products.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise on behalf of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. MacArthur). Prior to 2008, squid, octopus, and cuttlefish exports were permitted exclusively by the FDA as fish intended for human consumption. In 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Service also began regulating these species as protected species even though they are not. This allows them to charge excessive fees to seafood processors and to delay perishable shipments. This amendment will prohibit funding from going to the Fish and Wildlife Service to inspect squid, octopus, and cuttlefish. The FDA will still regulate these products for food safety, as they do other fishery products that are meant to be consumed as food. It is a simple amendment. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chair, I rise as the designee of the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. MacArthur), and I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to Benjamin Wiggins of El Dorado, Kimberly Monterosso of Camden, Parker Ross of Hot Springs, Nicholas Amerson of Pearcy, and Krisanna Reynolds of Smackover. These star students from the Fourth District of Arkansas will have the honor of attending the service academies this fall. Benjamin, Kimberly, and Parker will be headed to West Point; Nicholas and Krisanna to the Air Force Academy. Arkansas has a history of academy alumni. These include General Douglas MacArthur, Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific during World War II, and Brigadier General William O. Darby, leader of what would later become the Army Rangers. Their example is one of courage and excellence under any circumstances. With this rich tradition before them and through their own accomplishments, there is no doubt these students will do their very best, bringing honor to themselves, their families, and their State. I wish them well in their service careers and success in whatever they pursue.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of H.R. 5278. I thank the gentleman from Wisconsin, Congressman Duffy, and Chairman Bishop for their work in crafting this bipartisan legislation. H.R. 5278 is a compromise bill designed to save Puerto Rico from economic calamity and prevent a taxpayer bailout. Mr. Chairman, I suggest that the admission from both sides of the aisle that this bill isn't perfect is a testament that this bill is the best solution. Puerto Rico is in a crisis. The territory has already missed payments on its debt, and more and larger missed payments are on the near horizon. The fiscal and economic conditions of Puerto Rico are unsustainable. Based on the constitutionally delegated power of Congress ``to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging to the United States,'' we have a responsibility to take action on this matter. This unsustainable debt burden brought on by poor decisions, unfulfilled promises, and bad investments has crippled their economy. Their unemployment rate is 12.2 percent, and since Puerto Ricans are American citizens, thousands of young people come to the mainland each year to find work. Puerto Rico is spiraling out of control, and it is our constitutional responsibility to put our territory on a different path and change the economic trajectory. H.R. 5278 establishes a 7-member oversight board that will have the authority to establish budgets for the territory, require the scoring of legislation so the people of Puerto Rico know the true costs of government programs, and the power to veto contracts and executive orders. Once again, I would like to thank Congressman Duffy and Chairman Bishop for their hard work in crafting a bill to get Puerto Rico on the right track without a taxpayer bailout. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 5278 to stop Puerto Rico's economic death spiral and to lay a foundation for a brighter future in Puerto Rico without spending taxpayer dollars.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Mr. WESTERMAN

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis).

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. LaMalfa).

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Valadao).