Continue beyd 110 a. M. Eacmember other than the majority anminority leaders and the minority whip shall be limited to five minutes. The chair now recognizes the gentleman fromennsylvania, mr. Thomon, for five minutes mr. Thompson thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, this coming sunday of s the 26th anniversary the house of representatives passing the northern American Free trade agreement, nafta. This agreement with our two closest trading partners, canada outdated , has become as time has passed. Economies have flourished. Now, we are in desperate need of updating nafta to meet modern day economic demands. Many of us have staff who are younger than nafta, and we world hasree that the changed an awful lot in the last three decades. Needs to bring the United Statesmexciocanada or usmca, to a vote immediately to keep trade fair. Nd a vote on usmca is long overdue. 400 days more than since President Trump announced this historic agreement, and have often anada given usmca the green light. Or farmers, ranchers, manufacturers, and everyone in between, we must follow suit. So many Different Industries can benefit from a modern trade agreement. In pennsylvania, nearly 43,000 depend on manufacturing exports to canada and mexico. Pennsylvania e, in products billion to canada and mexico. There is no telling what lies ahead ential with a new revamped trade agreement. In pennsylvania, agriculture and the , in particular, is backbone of the commonwealths economy. Smcas elimination of canadas class 6 and class 7 Dairy Pricing programs would be a big farm families. These programs have unfairly limited our export potential the years. Signing usmca into law will also major trade er partners like china and japan that were serious about these of deals and we are committed to a Bright Future for american exports. We cannoto reason why pass usmca before end of the year. Create more jobs, boost wages, and spur the nations economy. Waiting for . Each day that passes without a opportunity. Sed lets get to work and hold a vote immediately. I nk you, mr. Speaker, and yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman maryland, mr. Hoyer, for five minutes. Mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak out for five minutes and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Hoyer mr. Speaker, we are nvolved in a very serious process to determine whether the the United States as committed high crimes and misdemeanors. The constitution provides for he removal of high officials who violate their oath of violate the powers of their office, and who commit treason or high crimes and misdemeanors. Process, rse of that e have been involved in numerous people asking for the whistleblower to testify. Not speak to the substance of the consideration ongoing with respect to the impeachment of the president of the United States. Want to speak pointedly from so many that identified. Lower be he whistleblower, of course, has no direct evidence to offer. The whistleblower is is somebody who responded to, if something, say something. We have witnesses to wrongdoing all over this country and all world, and our Police Departments have a line that is Anonymous Tip Line so sees omebody that something will say something. It is anonymous so that we o not intimidate those people r expose them to danger for coming forward, to out criminal behavior. The united t of to es has made an analogy this information coming forward spying, treason, know, accordingl to the president , can subject one to capital punishment. We have a whistleblower statute . Whistleblower statute, mr. Speaker, because we want want to encourage people, and we want to not xpose them to danger or intimidation, including from the most powerful person on earth, the president of the United States. Etaliation yet, we continue to hear, tell the whistleblower is. Let us throw the whistleblower into the lions den. Of course, what we do know is that the whistleblower information that brought forward, a, led to he release of funds to the ukrainians just shortly thereafter. Has led to ion, substantive testimony the information that the whistleblower either heard. If you see something, say something. It is rresponsible, wrong, and in fact, in almost there are diction, riminal penalties for hreatening a witness, for impeding justice. Speaker, when people here say, show me the whistleblower, what theyre doing is not only intimidate that whistleblower, theyre every othertimidate whistleblower who might come forward because they saw or heard something. All of my e olleagues would think to themselves, why do we have a statute . Ower federal nt 62,000 employees, and very frankly, i confidenceo have the to come forward if they see rongdoing in the federal government. Even if its about the president of the United States and even if the united t of states wants to make an analogy capital offense. Despicable. Ndermining of the very essence of why the congress of the United States enacted a and the ower statute essence of why police over the United States have Anonymous Tip Lines. Every state has a criminalhich imposes a penalty for the intimidation of witnesses. Laws, not of n of men. We are proud of that. But if we are to be a nation top leaders try to come date those who would forward, if they see something something and that they say something, then we will be a lessor nation, less focused on a of laws. Hope that , i would embers on both sides of the isle, political pundits and commentators and, yes, the president of the United States, cease and decised from intimidate this whistleblower and all those who might be whistleblowers. The intent of that legislation, the intent of those protections, intent of witness protection intimidation of witnesses is so that we will get the truth and that our thernment of the people, by people, and for the people will onnest, will be more will be more honest, will be will be more just, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman budd, rth carolina, mr. For five minutes. Mr. Budd thank you, mr. Speaker. I rise today to discuss an issue that has afflicted nearly every and can, including more, its the influx of annoying and robocalls. Hese seeming loedis ruptive calls these expose millions dangerous s to financial scams. A prime example of the insidious last se calls occurred year in new york where scammers pretended to be from the chinese consulate and demanded money about what they considered to be names. Esounding last as a result, 21 chinese total of 2. 5 a million. In another instance, they tried phish personal information by calling people and threatening hem with fines unless they signed up with hurns. These incidents are financially farstating and happening to too many people across our country. If theres one thing that republicans and democrats should its that agree on, congress can no longer sit back and ignore this problem. Ur efforts must be focused on adding teeth to the federal governments ability to detect nd punish individuals and organizations that abuse automated dialing technology. Mind, i am proud to be a cosponsor of the traced friend, oduced by my david kustoff, and this legislation expands the the time frames under which the federal Communications Commission can callers and pursue civil action. This is entirely bipartisan, and the senate last may 971. Traced act, the f. C. C. Ofld be able to impose fines up to 10,000 for each individual scam calls. Elemarketing scammers face a maximum fine of only 1,500. I am confident that increasing penalty up to 10,000 will deter many scammers getting the cost of caught simply too expensive. To make these harsher penalties exception, not the the f. C. C. Must be able to give perpetrators of robocalls. The period on which a robocall and found stigated will and found liable will be tripled from one year to three years. This important provision will with the ckstep increased fines. The s. E. C. Has told congress hat extending the statute of limitations in this way will improve the commissions enforcement efforts. Time in office, i have heard frustration from countless constituents on this issue. Robocalls frequently interrupt our daily life, ringing our hones during important workhours and distracting us from our time being spent at families. Our the traced act is an important bipartisan bill that is supported by attorneys generals 50 states, along with ajit pai. Irman it seems like common sense that updated to uld be fight back. No matter which side of the aisle we find ourselves on, we all be able to agree that it is time for these illegal andcalls to be stopped once for all. With that, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentlewoman from florida, mrs. Murphy, for five minutes. Mrs. Murphy mr. Speaker, i rise to honor thaddeus see more senior who passed away at the able of 91. In an obituary that appeared in the hometown paper, he was described as one by one of his many admirers as a community treasure. I think that sums up his life and legacy perfectly. Ed that thad moved with his wife and children to orlando over 40 years ago when he was named the 12th president of Rollins College where i had the privilege to teach before i was elected to congress. Thad served for several years as the president of rollins from 1978 to 1990. Although he had long left by the time i arrived, his name was spoken on campus with respect and afeak shun. Thad was recognized as a popular and leader of the institution, helping make this gem of a school shine even brighter. One decision thad made during his tenure may seem modest, but it was meaningful to people who know rollins best. In the 1950s, one of thads predecessors had established fox day. Each spring as finals loomed and on a day considered too beautiful to sit in a classroom, the schools president would cancel classes and provide students with the surprise day off. The tradition was ended during the vietnam war. But thad brought it back. As thad would recall years later, the world had grown so grim i thought we needed to cheer ourselves up. Its a choice that underscores thads love of life and his belief that at core a college should be a Close Knit Community where young men and women live together, learn together, and in many cases become lifelong friends. Because it helped foster the sense of community and shared experience, thad believed it mattered. Thad left rollins in 1990 but never left Central Florida or caring about our community. He literally helped build it. Cofounding a chapter of habitat for humanity. There is a wonderful picture of thad in the Orlando Sentinel obituary. Hes helping construct a home for someone less fortunate. Hes perched on a ladder and a broad smile on his face. Thats how ill always remember him. Happily helping, happily building. Rest in peace, president see more seymore. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from mississippi, mr. Kelly, for five minutes. Mr. Kelly mr. Speaker, i ask unanimous consent to speak for five minutes and revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Mr. Kelly mr. Speaker, i rise today to recognize the former speaker of the Mississippi House of representatives, the honorable billy mccoy, pictured here. Rmer mississippi billy mccoy passed away november 12 after an incredible year of Public Service. He was responsible for revolutionizing the economy of mississippi and bringing thousands of jobs to our great state. As speaker, speaker mccoy championed the 1987 infrastructure plan that created four lane highways throughout mississippi. The four lane highway brought industries and added more than 1,300 miles to the state highways to the state. Billy was also dedicated to improving Public Education in mississippi and giving every child a chance for success. His influence on the lives of numerous mississippians will not be forgotten but his demeanor and commitment will be greatly missed. I just think back to being at a courthouse that predates the civil war in mississippi, where mr. Speaker mccoy was from. And whether you are a republican or democrat, when you got ready to run, you better go pay homage to the great speaker billy mccoy who did so much for mississippi. I can still see him sitting on the front lawn in front of the trailer with the hey hay bells on it and knowing i went by and got advice from him even though we were on opposite political parties. R. Speaker, rest in peace. Mr. Speaker, i also rise today to recognize judge Sadie Holland. Another icon in history and thank goodness shes still here with us. Shes just retiring. Shes retiring from Lee County Justice Court as a judge after 16 years of service in that capacity. She also has a history of being lee countys first female Justice Court judge. She served before that as the tip low Court Administrator and mayor of a Small Community in lee county. Her influence in the community has been so significant, lee county proclaimed november 3 as Sadie Holland day. I also have to mention one of her sons is retiring as a state representative of over 36 years who ill recognize next and her other is a supervisor in her home county of lee county. The holland are icons in lee county and i thank her for her service. Mr. Speaker, today i rise to recognize former about to retire former Mississippi House of representatives steve holland. Steve has served in the house of representatives in the Mississippi Legislature for 36 years. He was also a desk mate of the former speaker mccoy and they were good friends. Steve has represented the th district of mississippi proud the 16th district of mississippi proudly and represented all the people of his district. Hes a true mississippian who prioritized legislation that would create a Brighter Future for mississippi. If you never met steve holland, he is a character who is not large enough for this body to contain. What a gentleman. Always for the state of mississippi and true mississippian at heart but always with a quip and quick humor who was always willing to never take himself too seriously, although all the matters he achieved were very serious. Steve is an icon in mississippi picks. I look forward to working with steve in his retirement and thank him for his service. Mr. Speaker, i just want to talk a little bit about this impeachment process or whatever you want to call it that we have going on. The American People deserve the facts. And just the facts. Not is up significance from witnesses who have second and third and fourth and fifth hand information. They have a right to not have lawyers and alleged whistleblowers who the lawyer has the coop has started in 2017 as soon as our president took office. Or impeachment next. Mr. Speaker, the people of america deserve the facts. They dont deserve secret proceedings, leaks, misinformation, disinformation. I just want to make a small point. A whistleblower is not afforded anonymity by the statute. They are afforded the protection rom firing or retaliation, not anonymity. It is not a hotline or Anonymous Tip Line. Mr. Speaker, i ask that the misinformation and disinformation stop. Just the facts. With that i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the chair recognizes the gentleman from connecticut, mr. Courtney, for five minutes. Mr. Courtney thank you, mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, last friday, november 8, the department of health and Human Services announced that the new Medicare Part b premiums for starting in january, 2020 will increase by 9. 10 a month, a 6. 7 increase over last year. In dollars and cents this means that premiums will go to 144. 60 a month up from 135 a month. As seniors know all too well, that 144 will be deducted automatically from their Social Security checks which is a bitter pill given the fact that Social Security itself is slated only to rise by 1. 6 starting january 1. Very simply, that 9 a month increase for millions of seniors will chew up a large part of any cola that they can possibly receive starting in january. Mr. Speaker, i just want to footstep that plate about the fact that the Social Security systems cola, which is tied to general inflation in the economy, is going up 1. 6 , whereas the Medicare Part b premium, tied to health care osts, is going up 6. 7 . This is something we know is endemic throughout the health care system. In the state of connecticut the department of insurance increase, commercial insurance rates that went up again above inflation, and identified the fact that Prescription Drug costs was the primary cost driver. The center for Medicare Services last friday when they announced the Medicare Part b premiums also confirmed the fact that it is Prescription Drug costs, which is driving that 6. 7 increase. The increase in Prescription Drug costs that medicare paid from 2018 to 2019 was 10 . And they are projecting that ts going to go to 10. 10 in 2020. Thus we have a 9 increase coming up in terms of peoples premiums. This is not going to come as great surprise to the American People. If you go back to last years election in 2018, the exit polls showed that the number one issue that people cared about