Transcripts For CSPAN U.S. House Of Representatives 12112017 20171211

Previously postponed. Votes will be taken in the following order. H. R. 2706 by the yeas and nays. And h. R. 1730 by the yeas and nays. The first electronic vote will be conducted as a 15minute vote resm maining electronic votes will be conducted as fiveminute votes. The Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from missouri, mr. Luetkemeyer, to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 2706 as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 2706 a bill to provide requirements for banking agencies when requesting or ordering them to terminate a ecific customer account, and requiring documents related to subpoenas of the reform act of 1989 and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the question is will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a 15minute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 395, the nays are two. 2 3 of those voting having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed and, without objection, the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The Unfinished Business is the vote on the motion of the gentleman from virginia, mr. Goodlatte, to suspend the rules and pass h. R. 1730 as amended, on which the yeas and nays are ordered. The clerk will report the title of the bill. The clerk h. R. 1730, a bill to amend title 18, United States code, to provide for the protection of Community Centers with religious affiliation and for other purposes. The speaker pro tempore the question is, will the house suspend the rules and pass the bill as amended. Members will record their votes by electronic device. This is a fiveminute vote. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc. , in cooperation with the United States house of representatives. Any use of the closedcaptioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u. S. House of representatives. ] the speaker pro tempore on this vote the yeas are 402. The nays are two. 2 3 having responded in the affirmative, the rules are suspended, the bill is passed, and without objection the motion to reconsider is laid on the table. The chair lays before the house the following personal request. He clerk leave of absence requested for mr. Danny davis of illinois for today, and ms. Jackson lee of texas for today. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the requests are granted. The house will be in order. The house will come to order. The speaker pro tempore the ouse will be in order. Members, please take your conversations off the floor. Members, please take your conversations off the floor. The chair will now entertain requests for oneminute speeches. For what purpose does the entlelady rise from florida. Ms. Roslehtinen tore address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. To address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Roslehtinen mr. Speaker, id like to recognize the Miami Jewish Health system as they break ground on their cutting edge memory scare facility, to be called the s. Donald susman village. This will serve as an essential resource to many elderly individuals in south florida who find themselves in need of Mental Health services. The care village will also host researchers working on cutting edge memory care treatment. This facility is just the latest accomplishment in the Miami Jewish Health systems long tradition of service in our community. For over 75 years, this wonderful organization and its staff have provided Compassionate Health care with dignity and respect and helped those most in need in south florida to live longer, healthier and more enriched lives. Mr. Speaker, i am honored that such an amazing institution is located in south florida, and its a pleasure to recognize that the s. Donald susman empathy care village is now a reality. Mjhs and in, to mozell to have for a job well done. And i dont know if the gentlelady would like to make an entry through my speech. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition . He house will be in order. Mr. Langevin i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Langevin mr. Speaker, the house is not in order. The speaker pro tempore members, take your conversations off the floor. The gentleman may proceed. Mr. Langevin mr. Speaker, the passed h. R. 3359, the and i would like to commend Homeland Security chairman mccaul and Ranking Member thompson for their efforts getting it through the house along with my colleagues on the Homeland Security committee. This makes long overdue changes to the organization of the National Protection and programs directorate, or nppd, a and despite it being mponent, nppd is home to the Cyber Response teams, information sharing hub and the Resilience Division tasked with supporting other agencies in defending their network. Under the National Cyber incident respond plan, h. R. 3359 recognizes that these activities go far beyond the original mission and raises the renamed component on par with customs and border protection, or the t. S. A. Mr. Speaker, i hope the bill makes critical clear d. H. S. Is the primary agency for domestic cybersecurity during peace time and i encourage young people joining this new agency. I look forward to its swift passage and consideration in the senate and i yield back the alance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Mr. Poe mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Poe mr. Speaker. The auctioneer shouted, does anybody want to buy a worker . Heres a worker. Big strong man. Whats the bid . Sold to the highest bid of 400. Mr. Speaker, west africans go to libya thinking they will get a job in europe, but instead are sold in libya to labor and sex traffickers. These africans simply seek a new life free from terrorism, persecution and famine. However, they become victims of modern day slavery. In the years following the United States overthrow of the libyan government, the nation became a failed state. Seeking further into despair, the state the failed state became a brothel of slavery. Human sex and labor trafficking. People are bound to the slave block and sold at the marketplace of sex slavery and labor trafficking. Mr. Speaker, slavery is a crime against humanity, and the United States must exercise caution when toppling regimes without understanding the longterm consequences, like human slavery. And thats just the way it is. Ill yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from new jersey seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to congratulate the money Claire High School Football Team montClaire High School Football Team for winning their championship against the eagles. Daniel webb returned the opening kickoff 92 yards for a touchdown, only 13 seconds after the game began. They never lost. They beat union city 3514 and won new jerseys north 1 group 5 state championship. This was their third perfect season and fourth state championship in the past six years. The championship is a big win for everyone in new jersey. For weeks local businesses and Community Groups came together to support the mounties. At the championship game on december 1, more than 1,500 fans turned out to cheer their team on. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating head coach john and the Football Team for their big win and a stellar year and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition . To address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to speak in support of the preventing maternal deaths act. Mr. Paulsen this bill would strengthen states ability to combat pregnancy related and pregnancy nancy associated deaths. Unfortunately pregnancy associated deaths. In fact, the number of these deaths increased in the United States according to the c. D. C. We have the highest Maternal Mortality rate and we are the only country where maternal deaths continue to rise. Thats why this bill is so important. It helps states establish and support Maternal Mortality review committees, to examine the causes of these deaths, and then identify solutions that fit their community. It addresses disparities in Maternal Health outcomes and allows to collect the tools they need to address and hopefully eliminate the causes of this unnecessary tragedy. Minnesotas would benefit from minnesota would benefit in additional resources. It could reduce the number of unnecessary pregnancy related and pregnancy associated deaths and by taking this important death we can and we will save lives. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentlelady from hawaii seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Gabbard thank you, mr. Speaker. In three days, the internet as we know it could change forever. On december 14, the f. C. C. Will be taking a vote on whether or not to get rid of Net Neutrality protections that keep the internet open, fair and equal for everyone. Repealing these protections will allow Internet Service providers like verizon, comcast and at t to control the levers of the internet, stifrlinge access, deciding which websites you and i can visit and use and making it virtually Small Businesses to compete against industry giants. It will hurt our students, entrepreneurs, working families and all who rely on the internet for things like education, health care, employment as a level Playing Field of opportunity. The f. C. C. Must protect the people its supposed to be serving, not big corporate interests and make sure the internet remains a place where everyone has a seat at the table. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from pennsylvania seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in support of the farmers of tomorrow act, a bill congresswoman cheri buse oast d i recently bustos and i introduced. Farmers can purchase new land. New beginning farmers can obtain ownership loans from usda to buy land. But too many experience difficulty due to outdated requirementes that do not take into account the variety pastfuture farmers can take to prepare to run their operations. The farmers of tomorrow act allows new beginning or veteran farmers to count various experience to make it easier to access usda financing. This includes an Honorable Discharge from the United States military. Successful completion of a Farm Management curriculum. At least one year as a hired farm labor with management responsibilities and more. Access to land is essential for supporting the next generation of farmers. This legislation will help get more americans involved in agriculture while strengthening Rural Communities and i encourage all my colleagues to support it. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman rom illinois seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one inute. Mr. Speaker, this week the Republican Leadership will reconcile the house and senate tax proposals. In doing so i strongly urge my colleagues to put politics aside and put working families first. To do this we need to enable employers and workers to invest in new skills for emerging jobs in our evolving economy. Mr. Krishnamoorthi we need to spur infrastructure investment, we need to spur new business formation. We need to ensure every american has access to a quality education that prepares them for a successful career. We need to do all of this without exploding the national debt. The plans before the committee do not pay for themselves. Unfortunately, they do not guarantee against cuts to medicare, medicaid, and Social Security either. And they do not put working families first. For the sake of our economy, for the sake of our seniors, students and working families, i strongly urge the conferees to produce a bill that focuses on their needs. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore for at purpose does the house will be in order. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does gentlelady from new york seek recognition . Ms. Velazquez permission to address the house for one minute. S. Tenney i recognize founder of the Central New York veterans center. Sergeant scalise has served our nation and deployed in afghanistan and iraq. Sergeant scalise has responded to multiple natural disasters and was awarded the new yorks governor morris citizen soldier award. In 2008, he saw an opportunity serve vacant building to veterans and their families. Sergeant sca lies vision and hard work has created a refuge. Has a food pan try for veterans and their families among a variety of other services. Work has begun to construct Housing Units and it has been awarded its grant. I commend his dedicated service to our country and community and our fellow veterans and wish the center many more years of growth and success. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Mr. Garamendi the recent passing of my director talk about albert a. Orta. He began his career in the us air force in 1947 where he became an expert on radar and communications and aquifment and in 1949, he got married and that resulted in 12 children, 31 grandchildren. He was a busy man and served his country after leaving the us air force and became an expert in radar and communications working 336 and b523 and fighter jets. His outstanding accomplishment and willingness to serve our nation brought him praise from president carter, host of generals all around this nation. So, mr. Speaker, i ask my colleagues in the United States of representatives to join me in honoring him for his Proud Service to our country. Thank you, mr. Speaker. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . Address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection. The gentleman is recognized for ne minute. He mr. Speaker, the bible says angels came down from heaven. On december 9, 2006, god called angel home. Her name was Chelsea Campbell nd died of cancer at age 16. She is in the hearts of two dear friends, trish and kevin kline. They started a Foundation Trend all kids cancer. Vin is a d. J. On a morning show. They call kevin. He is joined by two partners,. Rica and tim very christmas, in the texas Childrens Hospital for a radiothon. They are aired from parents and kids who are fighting cancers. Please tune in and listen closely. Youll hear chelseas voice and feel her heart. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does gentlelady from washington seek washington . Permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Jayapal i recognize West Seattle High School students weth and aiden as the winners of the challenge. They developed an app to help students and teachers by ought matting the checking of attendance which takes several minutes of class. They let students tag into class sing a key card similar to our access cards which allows to pay their bus and train fare. Our judges praised will and jadens ingenuity. They called it quote a great idea to bring to life because time is the most important asset we all have and other judges suggested scaling it up. Will and aidens project is a model for us to use our technology that we create to improve our communities. Congratulations, will and aiden. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for gentlelady does from North Carolina rise . Ms. Foxx permission to address the house for one minute. As we approach christmas, many of us consider the season of giving. Equally when many consider giving back or cookies, they think of the girl scouts. It is important to note that girl scouts do more than sell cookies. They work to improve their communities all year long. Five girl scouts in our county received the bronze and silver awards for outstanding service. Few troops received awards. Another girl scout taught a free dance class so children who couldnt afford lessons wont miss out. One sought to end hunger and wrote thank you cards that provided hungry families. These young women are a credit to our parents and our communities. I congratulate these young women on their wellearned awards and look forward to their continued success. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . Permission to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Carter i rise today to ecognize the life of william autocat to passed away at 98 years of age. He was a true patriot and american war hero and serving in world war ii, korean war and vietnam war. He received a purple heart, even though he and the rest of the forces faced heavy resistance. E led his men into the omaha beach. Huddled in their fox holes they faced heavy mortar attacks, through his bravery, training and leadership, he led to a completion of their mission. William was a Living Legend and here oofer and i could not be honored to recognize this man from the greatest generation on the house floor today. He will truly be missed. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition . Address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. There is an intract i believe bias and prejudice that ineffects Robert Muellers investigation. K. At peter strz omp he cleared the statement from grossly negligent to extremely careless and he gets drafted in the Mueller Probe and starts ending pro clinton text to his mistress. And approximate to their interactions. And now we have learned that the wife of bruce the wife of a senior official in this investigation was moonlighting and working for fusion g. P. S. Bringing up accusations against the. And defying a direct order from the president. It is time to bring this witch hunt of an investigation to a close and move on to make America Great again and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore under the speakers announced policy of january 3, 2017, the gentlewoman from North Carolina, mrs. Adams, is recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader. Ms. Adams i ask members have five legislative days to include any extraneous material on the subject of this special order. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Ms. Adams thank you. For the next 60 minutes, we have a chance to speak directly to the American People on issues of great importance to the Congressional Black Caucus, to the congress and our constituents and all americans. I acknowledge all the members of the Congressional Black Caucus who are here and most specifically congressman richmond, who helped to organize this special hour. As we convene tonight, we are hbcus recognize our and more specifically the nine hcbus under the caption of 150 years of excellence. Our e today to honor historically black colleges and universities and the nine schools. As a member of the cbcs task force and as cochair of the bipartisan caucus, i have the distinct pleasure of honoring the following schools in the hcbu nine for this achievement. Alabama State University, barbara scotia, Howard University, morgan State University,st augustine university, tag diegoa university and from my own district, johnson c. Smith university. The achievements of these schools over the past 150 years are beyond remarkable and incubators of innovation and black leadership is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself. These schools have been able to persevere despite discrimination and neglect in order to provide africanamericans a firstclass education. I stand here today as a living testament to the necessity and importance of hcbus. My mother was not an educated woman and not able to obtain a High School Education and didnt attend an hcbu but she understood how important. She cleaned other peoples house and she understood how important it was for me to go to school. Ke those visionaries who understood the horrors of slavery, she understood the dream for me. And i couldnt recognize the potential in my myself, and it was North Carolina that saw something in me and made a committed investment. They gave a poor black girl from newark, new jersey an opportunity because it believed in opportunity and the importance of education that and moore said the world struggled, the right to learn is the most fundamental. And took me where i was and got me where i needed to be and molded to me what i could become. As our hcbus have done for our colleagues me, our hcbus are response i will for educating 20 members of this body and one member of the u. S. Senate. But that is only a small part of the story that these schools are continuing to tell. Hey contribute 50 of Public School teachers and contribute 25 of all africanamerican stem graduates and 40 of all africanamerican engineers, 50 of africanamerican lawyers and 50 of africanamerican judges. Hcbus are responsible for building todays africanamerican middle class. This is a record to be proud of. Of all of these accomplishments without the assistance and support from the government and our private sector partners that they need and deserve. As we stand here tonight as the c. B. C. To honor hcbus we remain vigilant about the current dangers they sufficient. There are barriers. And the overall financial instability of both the students they serve and the institutions themselves due to a lack of access to funding. One of my first tasks was to launch the bipartisan hcbu chairing with representative sewell and beeney thompson and we have witnessed fortunate growth to a total of 58 representatives and two senators and we came together to create a National Dialogue around hcbus for our members and their staffs about the issues impacting our schools and we also came together to draft meaningful legislation and accomplishing the first aim, the willingness of members to attend illustrates that a National Dialogue has begun. Our members and staffs who couldnt join us tonight will learn and know the issues to achieve the third legislative goal, it will take the collective effort of all of us who have been entrusted to work here in the peoples house. Tomorrow, my colleagues on the education and Work Force Committee will debate the Higher Education act, a flawed piece of legislation that in many respects will devastate hcbus and their students. So i ask my colleagues tonight to dedicate dedicated to achievement of hbcu students and graduates to come together to work to increase access in Career Opportunities and i hope we can vow to take substantive action and recognize that government cannot take on this aim and this challenge alone. And lets work with our private partners to create pathways of opportunity for our students, placing them in fields that will make the africanamerican middle class larger and stronger than ever. And lets vow to continue listening to our hbcus and their abled administrators to ensure they have the tools and the resources to make that happen. For only then can we ensure that these valuable institutions not only survive but that they thrive. We have a number of universities in North Carolina, four public hbcus and six private hbcus, and were so very proud of all of our hbcus throughout this nation. At this time id like to yield to my colleague from mississippi, representative thompson. I thank the gentlelady for yielding. Mr. Speaker. I represent the Second District of mississippi. Id like to pay tribute to those four historically black colleges and universities who reside in the Second District, but before i do i want to for the record make sure that people understand the role of historically black colleges and how they actually came to exist. Or those who think education was here for anyone who wanted it, i want to take you back to that 150 years ago that my colleague from North Carolina talked about. The that 150 years was beginning of people recognizing that africanamericans should have the opportunity to go to school just like anyone else. But unfortunately in this country if you were of color there were no provisions for you to have a College Education. So for a lot of people in this country it didnt matter how bright they were. It was the fwact there were in institutions fact there were no institutions available for you to go. So its important, also, to look at my situation in my area that i represent, mr. Speaker. When i went to college, i had never met an africanamerican doctor, lawyer, dentist, or anything, because they didnt exist. When i got to college, my College Physician was an africanamerican, but i went to Tougaloo College. He was a graduate of tougaloo. He had to go to medical school out of state because no medical school would admit him. But the most important thing im saying is, for a lot of professionals who wanted to do good in their communities, they had to go out of state. And so historically black colleges were created. I met Martin Luther king on the campus of Tougaloo College when i was a student. Tougaloo college and russ college in another district were the only two institutions of Higher Learning that would allow Martin Luther king jr. To speak on their campus. And they both were historically black colleges. So if for no other reasons historically black colleges helped level the Playing Field. They exposed a number of africanamerican students to a broader view in terms of life and what happens. Ut also they were put in situations, madam speaker, in an environment they could relate to. So Tougaloo College, i salute you. Jackson State University is the largest historically black college in the state of mississippi. Well renowned. They have over 10,000 students on its campus. Its the only statesupported university in the capital city, so we pay special tribute to jackson state. Theyre noted for a number of graduates. Too many to name. But they continue to excell in very passette of academia. Alcorn State University, the oldest africanamerican Land Grant College in america. Alcorn State University turns out a number of students who have gone on to compel, not just in agriculture excel, not just in agriculture but in medicine, medicine, law. Mississippi valley State University. Mississippi valley State University located in itta bena, mississippi, was created to avoid integration. If you look at the charter for Mississippi Valley state, it was created so negros could go to school in the mississippi delta and not be forced to integrate into the white colleges. So for whatever reason, Mississippi Valley state was created, and it thrives to this point. The most important thing, madam speaker, id like to say is when i was a student at jackson State University, i participated in a lawsuit that lked about equity in funding for historically black colleges. It took us 27 years of litigation, mississippi institutions of Higher Learning, it took us 27 years of litigation to prove that the black schools were not getting the same resources as the white schools. And so we won the lawsuit, and we are now talking about equity in those institutions. So as important is not just having the institutions but those who are state supported, to have proper resources so their students can become and be the best that they can be and so its fitting and proper that we celebrate not just the nine hbcus but lets talk about all of them and their merit and worth they have given to this country. Mr. Speaker, i pay special tribute and i think there are about 103 or 104 historically black colleges 106, i stand corrected. So, again, they are doing a wonderful job, but its the purpose for which they were created and some people will try to convince that theres no issue with race in America Today and i beg to differ if it were not for these historically black colleges, a lot of individuals would not be where they are today. If you talk to those 20 members of the United States house of representatives who are graduates of historically black colleges, they will talk to you and tell you about what the fabric and representation going to those schools provided to them. Im happy to say that not only my daughter a graduate of two hbcus, my granddaughter is also attending Xavier University in new orleans, louisiana. She really didnt have a choice in the matter. She thought she did, but at the end of the day, shes a secondyear student there and im happy to say she wouldnt have it any other way. So that hbcu education is already sinking in, and whatever she chooses to do, im convinced that her perspective will be far broader because of her attendance at Xavier University in new orleans. The that i yield back to gentlelady from North Carolina. Ms. Adams i want to thank the gentleman from mississippi for not only that valuable information but for the work that hes done over the years and for making an hbcu choice and i did the same thing for my daughter. I said, you go wherever you want. My money is going to an hbcu. Mr. Thompson amen. Ms. Adams nothing could be finer than being at an hbcu. It really does so much to get our students to where they need to be and especially those who come the way i did not fully prepared. At this time i want to thank the gentleman very much. At this time i want to yield to the gentleman from the Second District of georgia, congressman bishop. Mr. Bishop i thank the gentlelady for yielding. This is certainly a very, very appropriate tribute. Morehouse t of college, i know the importance of hbcu in empowering our leaders. Morehouse college this year is celebrating his sess quinn tennial year. Morehouse college has made a significant mark on our state, our nation and the world. Here many notable men gained the knowledge and training that enabled them to become some of the greatest influencers of our time. Including dr. Martin luther king jr. Noted theologian dr. Howard thurmon. Civil rights leader. Spike lee. Edwin moses. C. E. O. Of the Silicon Valley community foundation, carson. And many more. Morehouse principals often instill a desire for Public Service to benefit mankind. In the United States congress, representative cedric richmond, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, as well as many Staff Members and former members of congress hold degrees from morehouse college. S. President s have relied on alumni such as former secretary eh omeland security j johnson, former u. S. Ambassador to the united nations, james neighbors. Around the country, state and local governments have been led by alumni such as main ard jackson, the first africanamerican mayor of atlanta, georgia maynard jackson, the first africanamerican mayor of atlanta, georgia. Albany State University and fort valley university, i have the honor and privilege of representing these two hbcus. Albany state with its rich history dating back to the trials and the triumphs faced by joseph holley. Albany was first founded as the Albany Bible Institute in 1903. The school gained state funding in 1917. Joined the University System of georgia in 1932, and began offering degrees in 1943 and came back strong after severe loods in 1994, and 1996 as albany State University offered graduate programs and advanced degrees. Today, the university has a total Economic Impact of 143 million and supports 1,493 jobs in the albany area. Its educational contributions are significant. Albany state is the third in the nation for bachelors degree in education for africanamericans. It offers 35 degree programs in education, nursing, criminal justice, business administration, public administration, and albany State University has produced doctors, nurses, nasa engineers, military officers, College University president s, teachers, preachers, mayors, legislators, business people, millionaires and olympic medalists. This university was founded 120. Georgias only 1890 Land Grant Institution charged with empowering its students and surrounding communities. 1890 institutions were created to increase access to Higher Education and agricultural and Natural Resource sciences to serve the underserved and reach the unreached. Forth valley has not only ained to tomorrows talented leaders. And their skill sets and experiences and their perspectives. And it has exceled at this job. The Economic Impact of 109 million for its local economy and generates 11 million jobs. It estimated that forth valley increases its graduates lifetime earnings by 61 . As you can see, historically black colleges and universities are a vital part to the fabric of our educational system. I congratulate them to their contributions and i look forward to them continuing educating our future leaders for this country and the world. And with that, i yield back. Ms. Adams thank you very much. I want to thank the gentleman from georgia, the morehausman. Thank you for your contributions tonight and for all that you have done. Mr. Speaker, can i inquire how much time we have left . The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman has 39 minutes remaining. Ms. Adams at this time, i would like to yield to the gentlelady from ohios Third District, ongresswoman beatty. Mrs. Beatty it is indeed my honor to join my colleagues tonight to recognize and celebrate 150 years of xcellence in education at hb crew. Adams for leading the charge tonight and to our c. B. C. Chairman, congressman richmond, thank you for allowing us to come forward and not only tell our story about the 150 years, but to demonstrate to all of those, mr. Speaker, who are watching tonight, that we set an example for others to follow. The nine hbcus celebrating their 150th anniversary there year have been educating black students across this nation into leaders. For 150 years, they have weathered the violence of jim crow laws, funding cuts to continue to be the life in many of our overlooked communities. While my college, central State University hasnt been here for 150 years, it was established in 1887. And in 2014, it received the zpegs of a land grant university, the last of the hb have yous to become a land grant. Central State University has been that light, that Training Ground for trinamerican changemakers. Africanamerican changemakers in a nation like you see in this picture. It was just a few months ago as i traveled back for my homecoming to celebrate with friends and classmates 130 years. 130 years of a university that like duced classmates nancy wilson, leon price, orlando brown, arsen yeoh hall, United States marine who was there after 9 11 and rescued people. Also we have people like elizabeth illford, one of the little rock nine, a group of africanamerican students who we remember in 1967 was the first black students ever to attend classes at little rock high school. Im thankful for 40plus years of friendship with individuals brown and we call her lulu for organizing this picture and we represent all sectors. Central state provided an education from this little girl from dayton, ohio and my mother and father sat down and put their dollars and cents together to not only send me but ever one f my siblings to an hbcu university. Little did they know i was standing in the halls of ngress and advocate for hbcu universities. Attending central State University changed my life. And its important for you to know when we talk about hbcus, i know it all too well. Yesterday, i sat at our Kitchen Table with my grand babies and their parents and my husband and our conversation, i was so proud, because it was Howard University, Morehouse University and Spellman University that produced us. When you think about my husband, an attorney a graduate of Howard University and think of a graduate of morehouse college, when you think of laurel beatey blunt, a common pleas judge and graduate of spellman college. When i looked at my grand babies and as lea, because she was wearing a teeshirt that said im spellman bound and spencer who will be going to morehouse, thats because we stand on the shoulder of so many. Why do we come tonight . 40 of all black members of congress are graduates of hb crew. 12. 5 graduates. Half of all the black professors. 50 of all black lawyers aduates of hbcus and 80 of all black judges graduates of hbcr yous. When i think about today with Trumps Administration and with their proposals to cut pell grants and the threats to halt construction grants and when i think about republicanss assault on students in the republican tax scam hike, its a sad day in america. We come today because we want our voices to be heard, because we know in the words of one of our own, barbara jordan, education remains the key to both economic and political em pourment. That is why schools charged with educating africanamericans have perhaps the deepest challenge of all. Mr. Speaker, let me end by saying two things, in the words of Nelson Mandela and i think it sums it all up, education is the most powerful weapon you can have to change the world. And that is why i stand here with my colleagues, standing up for hbcus. Standing up that this administration will understand that we expect no, we demand to get the appropriate funding so our children and grandchildren and generations yet unborn will have the same opportunities that i have had and so many more. Cause when hbcus succeed, america succeeds. Thank you alma adams. Ms. Adams i thank the gentlelady from ohio for her participation and for all of the work that she continues to do and we are so very proud of your acknowledgement tonight of our hbcus. I want to combreeled now, mr. Speaker, to the gentlelady from the 14th district in the michigan, congresswoman lenda lawrence. Mrs. Lawrence mr. Speaker, i thank congresswoman adams for representing the great state of North Carolina and endless passion of education for the next generation and her strong support of our hbcus. And i want to acknowledge our chairman, sed rick richmond. Mr. Speaker, i stand here to recognize something truly incredible. This year, nine historically black colleges and universities are celebrating their 150th anniversary. 150 years of excellence, of endurance and of new opportunities, collective strength and the core belief in the valley of education. Mr. Speaker, we so often talk about the American Dream and we talk about that ladder of success that any american can have if they work hard and get education. We all know that first running of that ladder is clearly education and if we do not keep our promise in america to educate, we are failing in our american commitment to excellence in developing all young people to obtain their greatness. As we look upon these accomplishments of 150 years, we are reminded how important and how vital these schools have been to the advancement of africanamericans. Mr. Speaker, by establishing these amazing places or institutions of learning against all odds and by turning them into worldclass institutions, africanamerican leaders have made it clear that we hold the belief in the education just as dearly as anyone else in america. However, to assure that someday we can celebrate these amazing institutions 200 and 300 anniversaries, its critical that we, as a country, resist the shameful attacks on our education system. Unfortunately, mr. Speaker, the current tax plan being negotiated from my republican colleagues threaten our educational system like never before. It pains me to stand here tonight congratulating 150 years of Academic Excellence while a small group of republicans are working behind closed doors to strip Educational Opportunities from millions of americans. I do not believe that this is what the constituents voted for. U. S. Citizens did not vote for a higher student loan payment. Teachers digger deeper in their pockets to supply the basic needs for their students. And a punishing tax on university endowment. This is truly a tax scam. But perhaps the most senseless attack on this success are coming from the white house. Earlier this year, i was horrified to see the president fer to the hbcus as unconstitutional simply because they were the answer to a fundamentally unequal education system. And let me be clear. Hbcus were created because there were no other choices. However, this feeling of being horrified or disappointed, i had frequently this year. While im horrified, unfortunately its no longer a surprise. After all, this is a president who refused to denounce the blatant racism in harlottesville and his educational secretary called the schools of choice. She doesnt know the choice because there was no choice. And while this can be unfortunate, disappointed and ven sickening, hbcr yous were born out of adversity. Cus ed to protect our hb for tomorrows leaders because is antinue to see equality fight, equality is a process. I know a day will come and i pray i will be able to see with my own eyes that equality in education and equality in this country is a reality. But until then, we must acknowledge todays successes, the successes of these amazing places of institutions of learning and continue to fight for tomorrows dream of our next generation. With that, i yield back my time. Mrs. Adams i want to thank the gentlelady for her support of historically black colleges and universities. Mr. Speaker, how much time do we have remaining . The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman has 24 1 2 minutes. Mrs. Adams thank you. At this time, id like to yield to the gentleman from the Third District in virginia who is the Ranking Member of education and the work force, congressman bobby scott. Mr. Scott thank you, mr. Speaker, i thank the gentlelady for yielding, and i want to thank her for her leadership in organizing this special order and her leadership of the historically black colleges and universities caucus. Hbcus provide a great value to america and im honored to represent a Congressional District thats home to two hbcus, Hampton University which celebrates its 150th anniversary next year and norfolk State University. Since their inception, hbcus have been the cornerstone of Postsecondary Education for the africanamerican community. This was true 150 years ago and remains true today. Hbcus account for no more than 3 of all colleges and universities, yet they enroll almost 10 of all africanamerican undergraduate students and produce about 15 of all bachelors degrees earned by africanamericans. Also produce 25 of africanamerican stem graduates and 33 of africanamerican science and engineering ph. D. S. Approximately half of all africanamerican teachers graduated from hbcus, many of them choose to teach in high minority, lowincome School Districts where they serve as role models for their communities. As Ranking Member of the committee on education and the work force, i know the prominent role that hbcus play in our Higher Education landscape. I believe that strengthening and supporting them must be a key priority as congress looks ahead to taking action on the reauthorization of the Higher Education act. However, it does not appear that the majority shares that belief. Committee on education and work force meets tomorrow morning at 10 00 to mark up h. R. 4508 a partisan rewrite of the Higher Education act that was drafted in secret, introduced less than two weeks ago and is now being considered in Committee Without a single hearing on the bill. Mr. Speaker, hbcus, those who lead them, those who support them, those who hope their children might one day attend them, should be gravely concerned with h. R. 4508, this is a bad bill for students, bad deal for schools and a bad deal for working families. This bill would decimate the federal student aid for low income students. It would significantly reduce available aid for grants, money that students dont have to pay back, forcing them to borrow more money. It leaves the Pell Grant Program as the only remaining grant aid and it fails to incress federal dollars, fails toin crease pell echanics mum maximum awards for education, expands eligibility to low qualt programs without federal oversight. This bill changes the available terms for federal student loans, making them far less generous than current law and eliminates this Public Service loan forgiveness program. A program that attracts the best and brightest to forego higher salaries in exchange for Public Service. H. R. 4508 caps loan amounts on graduate students and family, pushing them into higher interest private markets, even bars graduate students from participating in federal work study. The republican bill fails to reauthorize the Perkins Loan Program a campusbased aid program that allows low income students to access lowcost loans and eliminates other forms of campusbased aid. Mr. Speaker, theres no way around it. This is a bad bill. H. R. 4508 will force students to borrow more money, pay more money, pay more to borrow more and pay more when they pay that money back. It makes college more expensive at every step of the process, putting college and graduate degrees further out of reach for lowincome and minority students. Those are groups that are already underrepresented in our Higher Education system and served at higher rates by hbcus and other minorityserving institutions. Further the bill makes no additional investment in minority serving institutions and other underresourced institutions, institutions that tend to serve communities of color. It eliminates Grant Programs that support minority students who want to pursue postgraduate degrees. It would even incentivize institutions to forego enrollment of highrisk students. The bill prioritizing low or noquality Work Force Training over more advanced credentialing, potentially exacerbating whats set to come a twotiered track of Higher Education, college and postgraduate for the wealthy, and Work Training for the poor. While not every student wants to pursue a College Degree every student should have the option to make that choice. According to the United Negro College fund, we remain deeply concerned h. R. 4508 falls short of enabling College Success for minority and lowincome commedge students who can help our country compete and win the economy. It causes low income students to pay more to earn their College Degrees at a time when they should have been paying less. Were concerned that it highlights shortterm training options, a fouryear College Degree has higher payoff in general with higher earnings. This payoff may be the greatest minority and low income students. Further significant short coming of the bill, it fails to make any new investment in hbcus that go above their weight in producing africanamerican College Graduates and worse, it cuts the current federal investment in these institutions. Mr. Speaker, the problem with mr. Speaker, we want to ask what problem h. R. 4508 is trying to solve . Does the majority think theres too much money to send poor and Minority College students to college . Do they think theres too many minority students accessing and completing a College Education . Does the majority think that inequality in Higher Education is solved . Mr. Speaker, as we rise to commemorate 150 years of hbcu excellence, let us remember that we still have a fight to fight. 8 and reject h. R. 450 fight for a Higher Education act that honors hbcu excellence and builds on it by investing in stuventes and working families. I again want to thank the gentlelady from North Carolina for organizing this special order and yield back the balance of my time. Mrs. Adams id like to thank the gentleman from virginia for his comments and his work in education. At this time, mr. Speaker, id like to yield to the gentleman from the Second District of pennsylvania, congressman dwight evans. Mr. Evans thank you, mr. Speaker. Id like to i too, would like to thank my good colleague from the great state of North Carolina and her leadership on this very important issue. Im proud to stand here with so many of my friends and colleagues tonight for a topic near and dear to my heart, to continue the viability and success of hbcus. Our hbcus play a Critical Role in stability and strength in our nation. I trueably hi believe in order to build stronger neighborhoods, better schools and other sustainable institutions we must go block by block. We must celebrate the diversity and salute the rich history of the hbcus and the phenomenal contributions that they have made that will continue and will continue to make to our communities nationwide. Im so proud to say that for years, our hbcus have reduce produced amazing leaders that not only contribute to their respective fields but also have pride in themselves and making sure the next generation of africanamericans succeed. The commonwealth of pennsylvania is the proud home of two exceptional hbcus, Chaney University and lincoln university. They shir the distinction of being the first two hbcus found in america. A point of great pride to the people of the commonwealth of pennsylvania. Many of my fellow members of the c. B. C. Have hbcus in their state, but it started in pennsylvania. Many students and residents in the second Congressional District call lincoln and chaney their alma mater. Chaney was found february 5, 1837, three decades before the emancipation proclamation. This year they celebrate their 180th anniversary. Its located outside of pennsylvanias second Congressional District, its the oldest hbcu in the country. For years, it was known as the Teachers College and has played an incredible, viable role in within the commonwealth ensuring that elementary, secondary and middle school and high School Teachers in philadelphia and across the commonwealth of pennsylvania are prepared and have necessary skills to train our students for success in the classroom and beyond. That brings us to lincoln university. Lincoln was established as our nations first degreegranting hbcu. It was designated as the First Institution in the world to provide higher ed in the arts and sciences for the young africanamerican male and its lions of two of the africanamerican history, Langston Hughes and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood marshall. Our hbcus nationwide are critical to the strength and stability of our nation just like our cities, our schools, compete for people. We have the power to continue to define the rich history and the legacies of our hbcus. Im proud to stand here today with our friends and colleagues to seand strong message that it is on us, it is our job to ensure that we protect these institutions that are true treasures and recognize the significance their significant societal contribution by continuing to ensure their success. I salute the Lincoln Lions and chaney wolves, both of these nstitutions are proud im proud they are in the commob wealth of pennsylvania. I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Mrs. Adams id like to thank the gentleman from pennsylvania for not only his support but for his contributions to our historically black colleges and universities. At this time id like to yield tour final speaker, the gentleman from the sixth district of South Carolina, the democrat assistant leader, congressman james clyburn. Mr. Clyburn thank you very much. I thank the gentlelady for yielding me the time. Mr. Speaker, i stand before this house tonight as the proud representative of a Congressional District that has seven of the eight hbcus in South Carolina within its borders. Allen and benedict and columbia, clapton and South Carolina ate, in orangeburg, mars and denmark oorhees, and tech in denmark, South Carolina, and Clinton College in rock hill, South Carolina. I listened intently as some of the speakers spoke before me and i would like to give just the a brief overview of the history of hbcus. Youve heard from the previous speaker that the first hbcu was chaney state in 1837. Well its kind of interesting hat school was created a few decades before the emancipation proclamation. Society means that before lavery was abolished, hbcus existed. What was the interesting thing that took place during the civil war was the creation of something called the moral act, tissue the morrow act a gentleman from vermont, Justin Morrow, introduced legislation to train people not just in agriculture but in the military training. That law that law was signed by president lincoln july 2, 1862. Now the interesting thing is the he law was enacted Southern States refused to implement that law on behalf of people of color. Person ld not allow any of color to attend those schools. Consequently, Justin Morrow went before the congress and in 1890, created a second morrow act. This time mandating that these schools be established in the former slave states for people of color. Now i bring that up tonight, because one of the speakers talked about President Trump signing a bill earlier this year nd issuing a, what we call a signing statement. In his statement, he said that he is going to sign the bill, though he questioned the constitutionality of that section of the bill that funded historically black colleges and universities. Just think about this. Its history of this country was to deny Educational Opportunities to people of color. And now we have a president of the United States today that those schools that were established for the express purpose of educating those citizens, that legislation is unconstitutional. If nothing else, we have heard from this president it bothers you one thing that should bother every person in the United States of america. Now i have talked about those schools that im proud to represent. I met with the president. Unfortunately i heard stuff all over the weekend about the Congressional Black Caucus refusing to meet with President Trump. Thats not true. The leadership of the Congressional Black Caucus did, in fact, did meet with him. And they invited me to go along. And so i sat with the president and i told the president that i want to share with the listeners tonight about hbcus. Said to the president , i told him the story of a young man that a lot of people heard of, ronald mcnare. Ronald mcnare was an astronaut who lost his life in the blowup of the challenger. Small mcnair came from a town in South Carolina in the district that i represent and i got to know him and his family very well. And as he was getting ready to retire from the Astronaut School the fact, the accident, challenger was to be his last flight flight. Wes coming home to be a professor at the university of South Carolina. He said to me that when he graduated from high school in lake city and went off to north take a amt, he had to remedial courses. I shared with the president and i told him, everybody talked about him having a degree from m. I. T. , nobody talks about the fact that he went to North Carolina, he never would have made it. Why . Because it was on that small campus, he was nurtured when they saw in him, he had the ability to be a great scientist, the ability to be a great astronaut. What he did not have was the background, the educational preparation that was not provided for him in that rural town that he grew up in. And the same thing is taking place today. Already communities in my district that young people come from communities from the sea coast, those islands off the sea coast where they are smart, highly intelligent, but know only the culture that they grew up in. So they may not know how to link the subject and verb agree. When they go to college they have to take a remedial course to get those veshes agree. But they are very bright students and they have been intentionally undereducated by the states that many of them come out of. I know for more than 20 years the legislature in South Carolina did not fund these schools properly and we went before the state Supreme Court. That case lasted for over 20 years and recently the Supreme Court decided to take the School Districts from under that order that was should sometime ago. So these communities have been intentionally underfunded for their Public Schools. And these students graduate high school and go off to college, they need the nurturing that they get from eastern hbcu. If anybody tells you that hbcus are unconstitutional, that ought to tell you all you need to know to stay away from that person. I want to close by talking about y South Carolina State University. There are a lot of good things to say about South Carolina state. And check the record. You will find if you check all the schools in the country that s, officersed general in the military, general officers of color, you will find that South Carolina State University and South Carolina tate college before it has produced more africanamerican general officers than any other school in the country. And that includes the service academies. So im very proud of what hbcus have done and im proud of the hbcus that i have attended and im very proud that representative adams that is the cochair of the hbcu caucus allowed me to speak about it this evening. Ms. Adams i thank the gentleman from South Carolina and i associate my remarks. , too, enrolled at North Carolina and they made a committed investment in me and i was able to receive my degree only because of the northerly carolina and hbcu, which has done so much for all of us students. I want to acknowledge he Elizabeth City state, north winston, my alma minor, salem State University, bennett college, johnson c. Smith university in my 12th district, and shaw university, all of these colleges reside in North Carolina and we are proud of the work they are doing and enter into the record a letter from congresswoman Eddie Bernice johnson who sent us her statement on not only support for this special order hour but also support of her school in her district called quinn college. And mr. Speaker, how much time do we have . The speaker pro tempore one minute. Ms. Adams let me thank all of my colleagues for coming out tonight and to say that we are very proud of our schools and we celebrate they will tonight and every day and we acknowledge the work that they have done. We acknowledge all of the all f the corporate folks who have pledged to work with our hbcus, our Tech Companies in connection with Howard University and all of the other tech corporations that have stepped forward to help us and help our schools and to continue to enable the young people who so deserve a College Education are able to do that. I thank all of my colleagues who came tonight and those who will join us as we continue to work on behalf of historically black colleges and universities so they not only continue to survive but they thrive. Thank you, mr. Speaker. And i would ask that we i move now that the house do now adjourn. The speaker pro tempore the question is on the motion to adjourn. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it. The motion is adopted. Accordingly, the house later this week, debate on iran finance related bills including one that would require the treasury secretary geithner or two congress on assets held by top iranian leaders. Follow the house live on tuesday at 10 00 a. M. For morning speeches and a new for legislative work. Cspans washington journal, live every day with news and policy issues that affect you. Coming up tuesday morning, minnesota republican congressman will join us to talk about republican tax Reform Efforts and the upcoming fiscal deadline. The latest in the investigation into whether russia interfered with the 2016 president ial election. Be sure to watch cspans washington journal, live at 7 00 am eastern tuesday morning. Join the discussion. Watch cspan3 thursday at 10 30 a. M. Eastern for live coverage of the fccs vote on Net Neutrality. The boat is to roll back at neutrality is passed during the Obama Administration and intended to reduce regulation on the internet. Live thursday at 10 30 a. M. Eastern on cspan3, or listen live with the free cspan radio app. Former ambassadors from the u. S. , canada, and mexico on negotiations of the north American Free trade agreement. The case recording Sports Betting outside of las vegas. After that, three women who accuse President Trump of Sexual Harassment call for congressional investigation. Later todays White House Briefing where secretary sanders sponsored questions on the president prosecutors. Next, former ambassadors representing the u. S. , canada, and mexico on the potential consequences of the u. S. Exiting the north American Free trade agreement, known as nafta. Issues included the cost of everyday purchases and the automobile and and error coulter sectors as well as the u. S. Role in the world. This is an hour and 20 minutes