In 2018 letters from both the director of naval reactors, aled miller caldwell, from the secretary of the navy, richard spencer, all stating the negative impact that low enriched uranium would have on the capability of the navy. We look, too, at the dollars being proposed to offset this. The 20 million reduction in the National NuclearSecurity Administration would reduce salaries in that area by 15 . Mr. Wittman and according to nssa, this reduction would likely require a reduction in force to achieve this staffing level. They will let people go if this money is transferred to another study, a study thats been done multiple times in the past, with the same outcomes that this would have a harmful effect on the National NuclearSecurity Administration. It would negate improvements in oversight and accountability and slow down the execution of critical Nuclear Security and safety programs and affect weapons modernization and Nuclear Nonproliferation efforts, the same thing the gentleman from rhode island that said it would address, it actually takes money away and would inhibit physical and cybersecurity and Environmental Remediation programs. Not only has this study been done multiple times, but take money away from the critical elements that are being proposed if this study would seek to find out ta the conclusions have already been reached and the impact of l. E. U. Which has already been identified. I would yield excuse me, i would reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from rhode island is recognized. Mr. Langevin let me just say we must invest in research and development. Then chair of the naval directors testified before the House Armed Services committee that with current technology, he said the potential exists ta we could develop an advanced fuel system that might increase uranium loading while still meeting the requirements for naval reactors on nuclearpowered war ships. I want to mention that this house already addresses the concerns of my colleague, that 20 million was included in the energy and water appropriations package that passed the house on june 19 which included an increase to salaries and expenses. So these spending levels have been set by the house. I reserve the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from virginia is recognized. Wittss witness i remind witt this is not another appropriations bill so this is spefpk to the use of these dollars for these dollars specifically. And i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from virginia. The chair the gentlewoman from irginia is recognized. Focusing on limited resources that will make our forces more reliable. I oppose this amendment and allocate the money to develop low enriched. Drawing on my 20year navy experience, it makes little sense to divert these resources. High enriched uranium design delivering a critical leg of our Nuclear Deterrent and our aircraft carriers. There is no need for this amendment. Top Navy Leadership and the secretary of energy clearly state that low enriched uranium for naval propulsion would react in a design that is less capable and more expensive and unlikely to support submarine reactors. The director says that investing in l. E. U. Would negatively reactor size and ship costs. And the success is not assured. I have no doubt we could eventually develop a design using l. E. U. But would it continue to meet our operational and defense feeds . No. It would make our platforms less capable, less operationally available and more expensive to operate and in turn require more of these assets to accomplish the same objective. If the amendment is to advance issues of nonproliferation, it makes little sense to draw down the budget of the very agency that is tasked with the security of Nuclear Weapons and nuclear fuel. We need to commit our resources where are used to support our National Defense. These dollars are best spent on the National NuclearSecurity Administration. Yield the balance of my time. The chair the gentleman reserves the balance of his time. The gentleman from rhode island. Mr. Langevin may i inquire how much time is remaining . The chair two minutes. The gentleman from virginia has threequarters of a minute. Mr. Langevin i urge my colleagues to support the amendment. And i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from illinois, the only nuclear physicist, mr. Foster. The chair the gentleman from illinois is recognized. Mr. Foster i rise as the only physicist i have designed and led the construction of giant Nuclear Equipment and high risk and successful r d programs. Because of its importance to National Security and Nuclear Nonproliferation i have stud yield at length the high enriched uranium and received numerous and highly technical briefings and examined reactor cor specification and visited the fabrication fall silt in virginia and continuing the research supported by this amendment is worth pursuing for the reasons given by my colleague. Several factors must be dealt with in determining utilizing and l. E. U. And the total energy and the volume of the core and the enrichment of the fuel, reactivate and the transfer for a given power level. It is complicated but a 2016 report conclusion that using an existing optimized l. E. U. Design could result in a more compact core. This would be a true operational advantage and one that we should not give up by abandonning this r d program for years. I would point out that im not alone in this. This is not only optimizing submarine performance. It is crucial for nonproliferation that we set a good exble example for the rest of the world and not use it where it is not required. Countries like france do not use weaponsgrade uranium in their submarines. We should do likewise. This r d program will enable this by continuing it in the next decade. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment. The chair the gentleman from virginia is recognized. I point to the 2016 report that assessed the additional refuelings would increase navy fleet operating costs by several billions dollars a year. That means ships that will not get built that will mean less operating capability and ships will need to be at dock for longer periods of time for maintenance and for refueling. Larger submarine reactor core which d. O. D. Said would be required for l. E. U. And makes the submarines less capable and less efficient and requires massive designs and interrupts construction programs. All of those have significant impacts on the capability of the navy. The 323year ship expect tabblet, it would cut it by a third. Thank you, with that, i yield. The chair the question is on the amendment from the the gentleman from rhode island. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. He amendment is agreed to. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the gentleman from washing seek recognition . I offer amendments en bloc number 5. The speaker pro tempore the clerk will designate the amendments en bloc. The clerk en bloc number 5 consisting of amendments number 148, 149, 47, 147, 154, 155, 52, 15 , 164 and, 161, 162, 163, 165 printed in part b of house report 116143 offered by mr. Smith of washington. The chair pursuant to House Resolution 476, the gentleman from washington, mr. Smith, and the gentleman from texas, mr. Thornberry will each control 10 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith im pleased to yield two minutes to the gentleman from california, mr. Sherman. The chair the gentleman from california is recognized. Mr. Sherman i thank my amendment and this is cosponsored. Russia interfered in our elections. A few individuals have been told they cant get visas to visit the United States and never see disneyland. This amendment provides real serious sanctions on the russian state by saying no u. S. Person can make additional purchases of russian sovereign debt. It provides a mechanism for removing these sanctions. If the administration concludes that russia can go one election cycle without interfering and if Congress Agrees with that conclusion then these sanctions are lifted. And the amendment narrowly defines interference in our electrics. It makes it plain if Russian Television wants to editorialize or putin puts out a tweet, that is fine. Voter tabulation or voter recommendation processes where russia steals information for the purpose of influencing our election or where Russian Hackers use false Flag Communications pretending to be American American when they are not. We need a serious mechanism to punish russia what they did in prior elections and deter them. This amendment does that. Im pleased to include it in the en bloc. I yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from texas. Mr. Thornberry i yield one minute to the gentlelady from north carolina, ms. Foxx. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Ms. Foxx i thank the gentleman for including my amendment in the en bloc. Mr. Chairman, i rise in support of the en bloc package and would like to thank chairman smith and Ranking Member thornberry and the importance of this issue. My amendment sends a clear signal to the European Union on the importance of the nato. As some european capitalists push for the European Union army, my amendment expresses the importance of nato centrality over our defense policy architecture and interoperability and burden sharing. The increase of the european capability must be made by our european allies to comply with their nato obligations. Investments in the form of the pakistan and European Defense fund consider risk interoperability and difficult veering gent spending. E. U. Investments should take place under the nato umbrellas to ensure capability. I thank my colleagues for their support of this amendment and i yield back. The chair the gentleladys time has expired. The gentleman from washington. Mr. Smith i yield a minute and a half to the gentlelady from washington. Ms. Jayapal my amendment in this package would help curb the corrupt influence of foreign money in our politics. The amol youments requires retired military officers to receive permission from their service and the state department and disclose the nature of their work. My amendment would make the approved activities available to congress and to the public. We still have a long way to go to constrain crummings in washington. We saw this with general flynn who concealed his work with the turkish government during the 2016 president ial election. We trust our retired military first to speak in the best interests of the United States and when they are being paid to further another countrys countrys agenda we need to know. I reserve the balance of my ime. Mr. Thornberry i yield three minutes to the distinguished gentlelady from br. Ms. Gonzalez colisten thank ou for include miss gonzalezcolon thank you amendment in my this en bloc amendment. There are four water craft vessels in puerto rico, they were instrumental in the Recovery Process after Hurricane Maria and were responsible for delivering food and other essentials. This role should be taken into account as part of the review process prior to divesting any of the army water craft systems. Specifically, considering the multiple jurisdictions that have been impacted by natural disasters. Amendment 163 seeks to help us speed up the cleanup and con tam decontamination process in former military ranges, specifically my amendment directs the General Accounting Office to complete a study and a report to the congressional Defense Committees on the stat toufs the process including anage soifs the pace of ongoing Environmental Restoration efforts and potential charges and alternatives to accelerate their completion. This comprehensive study will allow us to explore the most effective and secure methods to complete the cleanup process in viecas which is vital to improve the quality of life of island residents. Amendment 164 highlights the importance of the department of defense sponsored operations in that zone. It expresses the sense of congress that conveying transnational organizations in the region. It is critical to the National Security of the United States and that the department of defense shall work with the department of Homeland Security and the department of state and other relevant partners to improve surveillance capabilities and maximize the effectiveness of counteroperations in the region. Fish this reason i strongly urge my colleagues to support this effort and thank you for including these amendments in the en bloc package. I yield back. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith i yield one and a half minutes to the gentlewoman, mrs. Torres. The chair the gentlelady is recognized. Mrs. Torres i worked as a 911 dispatcher for 9 1 2 years. I coordinated Police Vehicle and foot pursuits, talking to suicide callers, negotiating with barricaded suspects and talking to their victims. One call that has stayed with me, a call that change midlife and threw me into a political world that i never wanted to be a part of. I answered a call from a little girl who was murdered at the hands of her uncle. I was her only witness. I heard her scream. I heard her head being bashed against the wall. I heard five shots that ultimately took her life. Her last words, uncle, please dont kill me, it is not my fault. This work required a lot of training and tough attitude to deal with critical emergencies. Unfortunately, the federal government currently classifies 911 dispatchers as clerical workers. Secretaries. My amendment would finally recognize the critical work they do by reclassifying them as protective service occupations. This provision costs nothing, zero. But it would bring 911 professionals, civilian workers, primarily single mom the dignity that they deserve. I urge its passage and yield back the balance of my time. The chair the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Fitzpatrick. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Fitzpatrick i stand today in strong support of this bipartisan amendment which 9 11 es language from the safe act. Public safety telecommunicators play a Critical Role in crises affecting our communities. By directing the urgent concerns of the public to Law Enforcement officials, Public Safety telecommunicators work tone sure Emergency Services are delivered where needed. Today there are nearly 100,000 Public Safety telecommunicators serving in over 6,000 call Centers Across the United States. Their diligence, dedication to public well being and steady demeanor in the presence of turmoil is needed now more than ever and im proud to partner with my colleague from california, a former 911 dispatcher herself, mrs. Torres, to ensure these dedicated Public Servants receive the protected Service Classification from o. M. B. Which they the serve. We owe this to those who are often the First Respond to emergencies in our communities each and every day. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The chair the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from washington is recognized. Mr. Smith im pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from florida, ms. Shalala. The chair the gentlewoman is recognized. Ms. Shalala thank you. I rise in strong support of the torres number 65 amendment which recognizes the lifesaving work performed by our nations 911 call takers and dispatchers. Mr. Speaker, all of the emergency activities in my own district, the police, the fire, the emergency responders, strongly support this amendment and so i wanted to stand with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle. Simply stated these professionals save lives and more than giving 911 call takers and dispatchers the recognition they deserve, it would make the standard occupational classification system more accurate and therefore more useful as a statistical resource. I urge a yes vote and yield back to the gentleman. The chair the gentlewoman yields back, the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Thornberry im pleased to yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from virginia, mr. Wittman. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Wittman thank you, mr. Chairman. Id like to refer to my amendment number 403, involving the cable ship program. I know theres been issues pointed out regarding coastal commerce and i look forward to working through those issues as the bill gets to conference. With that, i yield the balance of my time to the gentleman from connecticut, mr. Courtney. The chair the gentleman from connecticut is recognized. Mr. Courtney i want to join my colleague from virginia, mr. Wittman, that i look forward to working with him on the and the Conference Committee to make sure that that question is resolved. Both of us understand the issue and again i look forward t