Several other measures, including u. S. Partnerships with mexico and can dand naming several post offices. Later in the week in the house, two financerelated bills dealing with iran. [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. Visit ncicap. Org] the speaker the house will be in order. The prayer will be offered by our chaplain, father conroy. Chaplain conroy let us pray. God, father of us all, we give you thanks for giving us another day. Ever faithful to your promises, we ask your presence with your people, now and forever. The sun grows dim and the daylight is measured, in the darkness phantoms loom. The eye the company discern as the distance cannot discern as the distance fades. Be for us light. Help the members of Congress Make clear judgments that will propel us into a blessed future. Remove any shadowy clouds so that they might follow the patterns of your inspiration. O lord of the ages, ever faithful to your promises, be with us throughout these waning days of the session. And may all that is done in the peoples house be for your greater honor and glory, amen. The speaker the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentleman from arkansas, mr. Westerman. Mr. Westerman i pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and stice for all. The speaker the chair will entertain up to 15 requests for oneminute speeches on each side of the aisle. For what purpose does the gentleman from South Carolina eek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Wilson mr. Speaker, im grateful to recognize that this is a day december 14, to recognize Law Enforcement and their families dedicated to protecting american families. I appreciate the hard work of cassie in recognizing her husband in such a positive way with greg eller day, giving back to the community and recognizing his service to the American People. Greg was a fine young man and also a sevenyear veteran of the Forest Acres Police department. I was fortunate to have the privilege to travel with greg in Boy Scout Troop to the scout ranch in new mexico. I learned then what a dedicated person he was. His legacy and courage will live on through the great work of his wife, cassy son, cal, and parents. To the many Law Enforcement and families across the country, we thank you for your service, dedication and sacrifice which over the weekend i saw with sheriff michael hunt of richland and sheriff kohn of lexington. In conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. The speaker pro tempore the time of the gentleman has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from tennessee seek recognition . Mr. Cohen to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Cohen thank you, mr. Speaker. Today i recognize the career of hall of fame Magazine Editor regan carter. Regan carter is one of the great journalist of our time. He retires today after 25 years of editor of vanity fair. He cofounded spy magazine which he also editied as well as the new York Observer. In vanity fair he gave Michael Lewis and Dominick Dunne a venue and Christopher Hitchins, one of the great journalists of our time. One said about Christopher Hitchins that he was a charmer and trouble maker and he was a gift from, dare i say it, god. From the beginning at spy magazine, and through his days in the new York Observer and vanity fair he talked about the shortcomings of donald trump. And he gave him the name short finger vullgarian. He i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from West Virginia eek recognition . The gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to honor Gunnery Sergeant dale significantler of West Virginia. Mr. Mckinley dales life has been one of leadership and service to his community and country. At the age of 17 during the height of the world war ii, he got his parents permission and enlisted in the United States navy. Even before he had finished high school. He served in the navy until 1946 before returning home to finish his education. Then upon graduation he then joined the marines and led an exemplary military career as a Gunnery Sergeant. He retired after 20 years of military service but his desire to service the community didnt stop there. He went on to serve as chaplain for the local chapters of the american legion, the veterans of foreign wars, and the marine corps legion and was recently named lifetime of Achievement Award for his dedicated service. Gunnery sergeant significantler, we salute you d sigler, we salute you and offer you appreciation. Thank you and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, so ordered. Mr. Jeffries republican tax scam will raise taxes on 36 million middleclass americans, undermine medicare, and explode the deficit. It will saddle our children and grandchildren with more than 1 trillion in additional debt. Simply to pay for an unnecessary, unamerican, unconscionable tax cut for millionaires, billionaires, special interests, corporations, and big donors. And to justify this reckless ponzi scheme, the Treasury Department has produced a onepage analysis. Really . One page. Thats the best that you can do . You are insulting the intelligence of the American People, insulting the intelligence of this congress, insulting the intelligence of our democratic republic, the American People deserve a better deal. The speaker pro tempore the time of the gentleman has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Speaker, i rise today to recognize a truly remarkable family from the fourth Congressional District of arkansas. Mena was family of recognized arkansas farm of the year. Mr. Westerman they have angus cattle, chicken houses in polk county. Not only is the family which includes sons ryan and dre, active in traditional farming, but the austins are also a leader in arkansas agritourism with a variety of crops bringing families across the region to Holly Springs homestead. Their work supports the polk county economy and brings pride to friends and neighbors. I send my congratulations to the Austin Family on this prestigious honor as well as all the Arkansas County farm family winners. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition . Without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Higgins mr. Speaker, the Trump White House and the u. S. Treasury secretary continues to issue formal reports about the republican Corporate Tax cut plan. These reports are devoid of fact or credibility and have been categorically rejected by each and every respectable tax expert. These tax cuts will pay for themselves and fuel new 2 trillion in Economic Growth over the next decade. Not true. Tax cuts have never come close to paying for themselves not once or ever in human history. Corporate tax cuts will trickle down to increase annual Household Income in america by between 2,000 and ,000. No one believes this or them. For the White House Council of economic advisors to say this is official misconduct and a blatant fraud perpetrated against middle america. Mr. Speaker, this big Corporate Tax cut is a massive giveaway to Corporate America and a major takeaway from middle america. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentlelady from florida seek recognition . Ms. Roslehtinen i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Roslehtinen thank you so much, mr. Speaker. I rise to celebrate the career of maria diaz who will be retiring after more than 35 years serving at the Social Security administration in my hometown of miami. My staff and i have had an opportunity to know and work with her over the last 17 years as she served as Public Affairs specialist. Throughout that time shes been an invaluable resource to us and to our constituents. Maria started working at the Social Security administration in 1982 in what she thought would be a temporary job, but she quickly grew to love her work and those she had an opportunity to serve. Over the last three decades with her calm demeanor and her everpresent smile, maria has made a Significant Impact in the lives of countless individuals in our community. Mr. Speaker, maria diaz is the embodiment of the ideal Public Servant. She has dedicated her life to faithfully and diligently serving those most in need in south florida. So on behalf of a grateful community, i wish her the best of luck in the next exciting chapter of her life. Felicidades, amiga. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from new york seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized. Mrs. Maloney mr. Speaker, yesterday a terrorist tried to attack the lifeblood of new york city, our subway system. It is another somber reminder that new york city, a beacon of hope and freedom, remains a target for terrorists. We had the First World Trade Center attack in 1993. Another one on 9 11 01. We had the Chelsea Bombing last year. Earlier this year the truck attack, and yesterday another bomb attack. In addition to the new York Police Department talks about 27 other attempts to harm new yorkers that was stopped. By now it should be clear, we cannot play politics with federal funding for local Law Enforcement and Homeland Security. The funding for states and cities, especially highthreat areas, must not be delayed or diminished or cut off. While we are still learning about this latest attack, one thing is clear, the terrorist wanted to strike fear into the hearts of every new yorker but they failed. New yorkers will always persevere in the face of adversity. Our trains are running, our people are back to work. I wish the three people injured yesterday a swift and speedy recovery and want to express my gratitude to the Law Enforcement of new york city and for the heroic response of our first responders. We are all very grateful to them for what they do for us every day. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the time of the gentlewoman has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Without objection, so ordered. Thank you, mr. Speaker. You know, its amazing, in the past little over a year theres 25 more percent forest tree deaths. Mr. Lamalfa than was previously. This past spring and summer, after record prescription, were seeing the beetle kill, the tree dieoff in amazing amounts. As we see the forests that devastate the west each year, you see them in southern california, not necessarily all forested areas, but you see what the effects looks like in communities on the east side of the state and the north. The devastation must end. We must be managing forests. We have the beetle kill. We have trees dying off. More tree deaths. Billions that are dying off that are assets to the American People that we should be taken out of the good, used it positive, having our forests managed in a way thats sustainable, thats good for the habitat, good for the wildlife. We need action to be taken by usda and u. S. Forest service. Were meeting with those folks there to try to get a new direction for that. Under the Previous Administration we got a lot of talk and a lot of smoke. We need action thats going to be positive so that the west doesnt have to burn every year and have all those negative effects to air quality and the peoples economy. Mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from illinois seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Bustos thank you, mr. Speaker. Youve been hearing a lot about this tax plan, but really its a tax scam. Its not a mistake that Congressional Republicans are going after hardworking middleclass families. In fact, it is an intentional attack against them. Let me explain briefly. They have laid out a simple threestep process. Here they are. Step one pass a tax scam that they know will raise taxes on millions of middleclass families in order to give tax cuts to corporate special interests and billionaires. That alone will saddle our children with more than 1 trillion in debt. Step two, flip out about this new debt. Step three, then demand cuts to Social Security and medicare. For months, Congressional Republicans have denied that this is what theyre doing. Well, let me tell what you happened last week. Speaker ryan, and i quote, said this, word for word. Were going to have to get back next year at entitlement reform, which is how you tackle the debt and deficit. End quote. He says that entitlements are what hes going to go after. Well, you know what indictments are . Medicare and social entitlements are . Medicare and Social Security, under his definition. I urge my colleagues to reject this tax scam. Instead, lets offer a better deal to the american public. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the time of the gentlelady has expired. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition . Without objection, so ordered. Ms. Lee thank you, mr. Speaker. Today i rise with a very heavy heart upon learning of the passing of a great human being, San Franciscos mayor, ed lee. My thoughts and prayers are with his family, his wife, anita, and two daughters, and the entire city and county of San Francisco and the bay area. My condolences also are with leader pelosi and congresswoman jackie speier, who san fran leaders who loved ed and will San Francisco leaders who loved ed and will miss him deeply. He was a tireless Public Servant and personally a friend. He always put a smile on my face when he considered me and called me his sister. Being two lees. He was such a kind and thoughtful person and a truly great leader. Even before he was mayor, ed was a champion for the people of San Francisco as a Community Organizer and civil rights attorney. As the first Asian American mayor of San Francisco, he broke new ground for the city. As mayor he fought to expand Affordable Housing, address the homelessness crisis, and ensure that residents could earn a living wage. Ed will be missed tremendously. He helped so many people in his life and he touched so many lives. Mayor lee set the highest standard for mayors and all elected officials as a true Public Servant. As we grieve, we take comfort in knowing that he has left an inspiring and Lasting Legacy of uplifting and empowering families. We will always remember his beautiful smile and his passion for making life better for others. Ay his soul rest in peace. The speaker pro tempore the time of the gentlelady has expired. For what purpose does the gentlewoman from michigan seek recognition . Without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Lawrence mr. Speaker, i rise today to address the republican spending plan. Republicans in congress have passed a tax giveaway to corporations and left behind everyday americans. Now rep