Chaplain, father conroy. Chaplain conroy let us pray. Eternal god, we give you thanks for giving us another day. We pause in your presence and ask guidance for the men and women of the peoples house. Enable them, o god, to act on what they believe to be right and true and just, and to do so in ways that show respect for those with whom they disagree. Send your spirit of peace upon our nation. Endow the members of this house and all our governmental leaders with the wisdom to respond with whatever policies and laws might be needed to ensure Greater Peace and security in our land. Bless us this day and every day and may all that is done be for your greater honor and glory. Amen. The speaker pro tempore the chair has examined the journal of the last days proceedings and announces to the house her pproval thereof. Pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1 the journal stands approved. For what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition . Mr. Daines mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. The speaker pro tempore the question is on agreeing to the speakers approval of the journal. Those in favor say aye. Those opposed, no. The ayes have it, the journal stands approved. For what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition . Mr. Daines madam speaker, i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and i make a point of order that a quorum is not present. The speaker pro tempore pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postponed. The pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlewoman from ohio, ms. Fudge. Ms. Fudge thank you, madam speaker. 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 justice for all. The speaker pro tempore the chair will entertain up to five requests for oneminute speeches on each side of the aisle. For what purpose does the gentleman from arkansas seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Thank you, madam speaker. Today i rise to honor the 50th anniversary of my good friends and fellow arkansans benny and nelda speaks. They met in mountain home, arkansas. Nelda having returned home from Business College in springfield, missouri. They were married on december 6, 1963. They have one daughter, two grandchildren and blessed with one great grandson. Madam speaker, its no easy task making it to the 50year anniversary. It takes great commitment, a willingness to compromise and listen and a loving spirit. These qualities serve as a testament to the rest of us. Mr. Crawford they truly care about arkansas and devote much of their time giving back to the community. I thank the speaks for their friendship over the years. I wish them a happy 50th anniversary this december 6. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. For what purpose does the gentlewoman seek recognition . To address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Ms. Lee thank you, madam speaker. Because of the Affordable Care act. In fact one constituent wrote me reently after receiving a letter from his insurance company, after looking at the plans offered through covered california, he was able to find coverage that was both more affordable and better for him and he told me that he does not want to put Insurance Companies back in charge and pay higher premiums for less coverage. Yet every time republicans vote to repeal or dismantle the Affordable Care act, they make it perfectly clear that charging women more for being a woman is ok, that denying victims of Domestic Violence coverage is ok, and allowing Insurance Companies to increase premiums, to increase profits is ok. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from montana seek recognition . Mr. Daines i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Daines madam speaker, this weekend the boozman High School GirlsCrosscountry Team will be in portland, oregon to run in the Nike Cross National championship. These dedicated and talented young women have won seven consecutive Montana Class aa state championships and have competed for five consecutive years at the nike cross northwest regionals. This year after securing their seventh state championship, they came in first at the nike cross northwest regionals in boise, idaho. They will now advance and compete this saturday against High School Runners from across the country at the Nike Cross Nationals. As a graduate of boozman high school and a boozman hawk, i couldnt be more proud to see the boozman girls Crosscountry Team representing montana at the Nike Cross Nationals. I join all montanans in wishing them the very best on saturday. Go, hawks. The speaker pro tempore for what purpose does the the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentlewoman is recognized for one minute. Thank you. Ms. Fudge madam speaker, prior to the passage of the Affordable Care act, 23 of highians ohioans with incomes below 1 of the Poverty Level were uninsured. Thanks to the expansion of medicaid in my home state of ohio, all of the almost 600,000 residents who are uninsured are incomes below 138 of the federal Poverty Level will now have access to medicaid coverage. In my district alone, an additional 72,000 people became eligible for medicaid. And next monday, december 9, all of these individuals will be able to begin signing up for Health Care Coverage that begins january 1. No longer will i receive calls from constituents like bran done who told me he was too rich for medicaid but too poor for subsidies. This is the way Affordable Care act is designed to work. Finally, all ohioans will have access to quality and Affordable Health care. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition . I ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker, i rise today to pay tribute to an incredible man of faith, with the true calling and heart for serving the lord, wish yol wellington boone. He was ordained in the ministry in 1973. In that same year he married his childhood sweetheart, katherine. Mr. Broun today bishop boone not only celebrates 40 years of ministry, but 40 years of loving of a loving marriage with his wife. In todays world it is unique and certainly admirable to see a couple celebrate 40 years of marriage. Their long lasting marriage is a testament to not only their commitment to each other, but their dedication to serving the lord. Bishop boones 40 years of leadership and service to ministry is also a tremendous accomplishment and one that deserves recognition. Through his work bishop boone has faithfully led others in their quest to glorify and serve the lord. Mr. Speaker madam speaker, i ask you to join me in congratulating bishop boone as he celebrates 40 years of ministry and 40 years of marriage with his loving lovely wife, katherine. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from california seek recognition . Madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. Revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Waxman i rise as a member of the safe climate caucus to call attention to a new report from the nations premiere scientific body, the National Academy of sciences. We typically associate Climate Change with gradual, longer term problems. According to the academy, Climate Change could also pose a risk of rapid hard to predict environmental changes that have the potential to cause widespread damage in the near term. The report warns that the collapse of the polar sea ice could send sea levels soaring. The destruction of the coral reefs could cause mass extinction of sea life, the elimination of summer sea ice in the arctic could alter the worlds weather patterns. These tipping points could happen suddenly. Its reckless to do nothing in face of these threats. If there is a 10 chance that these threats would happen, its irresponsible for us to ignore it. Dr. Richard alley, one of the authors said, you cant see it coming. You cant prepare for it. Congress is irresponsible if we dont take this issue seriously. To pass on our planet worthy of our children and grandchildrens future. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The National Park service i urge families and individuals across missouri to attend these hearings and oppose the Obama Administrations changes to our riverways. Let me reiterate that i have said to the secretary of interior, sally jewell, and the director of the National Park service, jonathan jarvis, that we oppose the oppose this by limiting the public use of waterways. This will keep my constituents from enjoying the riverways that belong to them. Mr. Speaker, i urge my constituents to attend Public Meetings in salem and even kirkwood to show opposition to Obama Administrations park service attempts to restrict ur access to our rivers. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from texas seek recognition . To address the house for one minute and to revise and extend. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from texas is recognized. Mr. Green thank you, madam speaker. Madam speaker, i want to thank congressman Christopher Smith for leading a codel to the philippines. I, along with congressman trent franks were members of the codel, and i want people to know that there is still great work to be done for our friends in the philippines. This picture depicts some of the damages that we were able to see while we were there in a province of the philippines. This is another picture that shows actual homes. This is a usaid sign, and this is where people are dwelling at this time. The number one problem that they have right now is shelter. I would also add that our military has done an outstanding job. I had an opportunity to meet with many of our military people who were there with heavy equipment, and i commend them for what they have done. Finally, id like to say this. We have h. R. 3602, which would accord people from the philippines in the United States, temporary protective status. This would allow them to stay here as opposed to go home where the income is less than 2 a day for more than 40 of the people. My hope is we can pass h. R. 3602. It does not give any pathway to citizenship. It will only allow them to send money back home while theyre here working in the United States. Thank you, madam speaker. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. For what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition . To address the house for one minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The speaker pro tempore without objection, the gentleman from illinois is recognized for one minute. Mr. Hultgren thank you, madam speaker. I rise to congratulate the Batavia High School bulldogs for winning their firstever Illinois State football championship. On saturday, november 30, batavia faced off against Richards High School which shares the same nickname. As the stadium in dekalb, an estimated 12,000 batavia fans where the quarterback threw for two touchdowns and the running back, anthony, ran for three more. Both teams fought hard, but batavia prevailed, capping their virtually undefeated season with a 3414 victory. Commend coach dennis and the entire Bulldogs Team for their hard work that went into a strong 131 season and the class 6a state championship. Go, bulldogs. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. For what purpose does the gentleman from virginia seek recognition . Mr. Goodlatte madam speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h. R. 3309, which will soon be under consideration. The speaker pro tempore without objection. Pursuant to House Resolution 429 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h. R. 3309. The chair appoints the gentlewoman from North Carolina, ms. Foxx, to preside over the committee of the whole. The chair the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h. R. 3309 which the clerk will report by title. He clerk a bill amedamed to amend title 35, United States code, and the leahysmith america invents act to make improvements and technical corrections and for other purposes. The chair the gentleman from virginia, mr. Goodlatte, and the gentleman from michigan, mr. Conyers, each will control 30 minutes. The chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. Mr. Goodlatte madam chairman, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The chair the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Goodlatte today we are here to consider h. R. 3309, the innovation act. The enactment of this bill is something i consider central to u. S. Competitiveness, job creation and our nations future economic security. This bill takes meaningful steps to address the abusive practices that have damaged our patent system and resulted in significant economic harm to our nation. During the last congress, we passed the america invents act. Many view the a. I. A. As the most agree hencive overhaul of our patent system since the 1836 patent act. However, the a. I. A. Was in many respects a prospective bill. The problems the innovation act will solve are more immediate and go to the heart of current abusive Patent Litigation practices. This bill builds on our efforts over the past decade. It can be said that this bill is the product of years of work. We have worked with members of both parties in both the senate and the house with stakeholders from all areas of our economy and with the administration and the courts to ensure an open, deliberative thoughtful process, we held several hearings and issued two public discussion drafts in may and september of this year which led to the formal introduction of the innovation act in october. I believe that it takes the necessary steps to address abusive Patent Litigation. Abusive Patent Litigation is a drag on our economy. Everyone from independent inventors to startups to mid and largesized businesses face this constant threat. The tens of billions of dollars spent on settlements and litigation expenses associated with abusive patent suits represent truly wasted capital. Wasted capital that could have been used to create new jobs, fund r d and create new innovations and technologies that promote the progress of science and useful arts. And thats what innovation is really about, isnt it . If youre able to create something, invent something new and unique, then you should be allowed to sell your product, grow your business, hire more workers and live the american dream. The innovation act puts forward reasonable policies that allow for more transparency and brings fundamental fairness to the patent system and the courts. The innovation act is designed to deal with systemic issues surrounding abusive Patent Litigation as a whole and includes a number of provisions. Within the past couple of years, we have seen an exponential increase in the use of weak or poorly granted patents against american businesses with the hopes of securing a quick payday. Many of these abusive practices are focused not just on Larger Companies but against small and mediumsized businesses as well. These suits target a settlement just under what it would cost for litigation. Knowing these businesses would want to avoid costly litigation and probably pay up. The patent system was never intended to be a playground for litigation extortion and frivolous claims. The innovation act contains needed reforms to address the issues that businesses of all sizes and industries face from patent trolltype behavior while keeping in mind several key principles, including targeting abusive behavior rather than specific entities, preserving valid patent enpoursment rules, preserving patent Property Rights, promoting invention by independent and Small Businesses and strengthening the overall patent system. Congress, the federal courts and the c. T. O. Must take the necessary steps to ensure that the patent system lives up to its constitutional underpinnings. And let me be clear about Congress Constitutional authority in this are