[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 218 (Monday, December 21, 2020)] [House] [Pages H7301-H7315] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] UNITED STATES-MEXICO ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP ACT Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1271, I call up the bill (H.R. 133) to promote economic partnership and cooperation between the United States and Mexico, with the Senate amendment thereto, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the Senate amendment. Senate amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``United States-Mexico Economic Partnership Act''. SEC. 2. FINDINGS. Congress finds the following: (1) The United States and Mexico have benefitted from a bilateral, mutually beneficial partnership focused on advancing the economic interests of both countries. (2) In 2013, Mexico adopted major energy reforms that opened its energy sector to private investment, increasing energy cooperation between Mexico and the United States and opening new opportunities for United States energy engagement. (3) On January 18, 2018, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the Department of State stated, ``Our exchange programs build enduring relationships and networks to advance U.S. national interests and foreign policy goals . . . The role of our exchanges . . . in advancing U.S. national security and economic interests enjoys broad bipartisan support from Congress and other stakeholders, and provides a strong return on investment.''. (4) According to the Institute of International Education, in the 2015-2016 academic year, more than 56,000 United States students studied in other countries in the Western Hemisphere region while more than 84,000 non-United States students from the region studied in the United States, but only 5,000 of those United States students studied in Mexico and only 16,000 of those non-United States students were from Mexico. SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. It is the policy of the United States-- (1) to continue deepening economic cooperation between the United States and Mexico; (2) to seek to prioritize and expand educational and professional exchange programs with Mexico, including through frameworks such as the 100,000 Strong in the Americas Initiative, the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative, Jovenes en Accion (Youth in Action), the Fulbright Foreign Student Program, and the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program; and (3) to promote positive cross-border relations as a priority for advancing United States foreign policy and programs. SEC. 4. STRATEGY TO PRIORITIZE AND EXPAND EDUCATIONAL AND PROFESSIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAMS WITH MEXICO. (a) In General.--The Secretary of State shall develop a strategy to carry out the policy described in section 3, to include prioritizing and expanding educational and professional exchange programs with Mexico through frameworks such as those referred to in section 3(2). (b) Elements.--The strategy required under subsection (a) shall-- (1) encourage more academic exchanges between the United States and Mexico at the secondary, post-secondary, and post- graduate levels; (2) encourage United States and Mexican academic institutions and businesses to collaborate to assist prospective and developing entrepreneurs in strengthening their business skills and promoting cooperation and joint business initiatives across the United States and Mexico; (3) promote energy infrastructure coordination and cooperation through support of vocational-level education, internships, and exchanges between the United States and Mexico; and (4) assess the feasibility of fostering partnerships between universities in the United States and medical school and nursing programs in Mexico to ensure that medical school and nursing programs in Mexico have comparable accreditation standards as medical school and nursing programs in the United States by the Accreditation and Standards in Foreign Medical Education, in addition to the Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing, so that medical students can pass medical licensing board exams, and nursing students can pass nursing licensing exams, in the United States. (c) Briefing.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall brief the appropriate congressional committees regarding the strategy required under subsection (a). SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means-- (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. SEC. 6. SUNSET PROVISION. This Act shall remain in effect until December 31, 2023. Motion to Concur Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I have a motion at the desk. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will designate the motion. The text of the motion is as follows: Mrs. Lowey moves that the House concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 133 with an amendment consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-68. =========================== NOTE =========================== December 21, 2020, on page H7301, the following appeared: Ms. Lowey moves that the House concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 133 with an amendment consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-68. The online version has been corrected to read: Mrs. Lowey moves that the House concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 133 with an amendment consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 116-68. ========================= END NOTE ========================= (For text of the House amendment to the Senate amendment, see Book II of this Record.) The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1271, the motion shall be debatable for one hour, equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Appropriations. The gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey) and the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Granger) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from New York. {time} 1815 General Leave Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 133. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from New York? There was no objection. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to present legislation that comprises all 12 fiscal year 2021 appropriations bills, a number of items agreed to on a bipartisan basis between authorizing committees, and a coronavirus relief package. The 12 appropriations bills include a strong increase in nondefense discretionary funding, allowing Congress to make important investments for the people. I am particularly proud that we have been able to fund better education for our students; more affordable housing; food security initiatives; safer communities, with funding to address America's gun violence epidemic; clean air and water; action on the climate crisis; and care for our veterans, with a special emphasis on suicide prevention and gender-specific care. As chairwoman of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, I am also proud that this legislation bolsters international security and stability. In particular, the Middle East Partnership for Peace fund will support people-to-people exchanges and economic partnerships between Israelis and Palestinians. Turning to the coronavirus relief portion of the legislation, the bill provides $892 billion to confront the pandemic. While Republican intransigence means the legislation doesn't include the State and local relief that is desperately needed, the amounts it provides for education, public health, and transportation will greatly benefit our local communities. Of particular importance to me, the $4 billion for GAVI will help children [[Page H7302]] across the world receive the coronavirus vaccine, though far greater investments are needed to support international COVID-19 response. President-elect Biden has spoken about the dark winter that we face because of this pandemic. It is my hope that this bill will be a source of light as we face that winter. I am proud that, through the careful use of Federal funds, the appropriations in this bill will help set our Nation on a course to build back better. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this bill that will provide funding for the Federal Government through the end of the fiscal year as well as provide another round of desperately needed relief for those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. The appropriations package we will consider today is critical because it will allow us to prevent an unnecessary government shutdown and avoid a wasteful continuing resolution that simply straight-lines funding until the end of next year. The bill makes us safer by ensuring we have the funding and the tools necessary to both discourage our enemies and defend ourselves against them. The funds provided in this bill are also critical to continue the fight against public health threats both at home and abroad. The bill ensures that longstanding provisions to protect life, reduce burdensome regulation, and preserve our way of life are retained. I would like to highlight some specific programs in the appropriations package. This bill supports another significant increase for the National Institutes of Health, including funding for vital research on Alzheimer's disease and to find cures for cancer. It provides more than half a billion dollars for NASA, to help maintain our superiority in space. We will need to continue to do more in future years to establish a sustainable presence on the Moon. The bill also funds the U.S. Space Force so the United States has a leading edge against China and Russia. The bill keeps us safe by providing the same level of funding as last year for the border wall. It also rolls back attempts to limit the President's authority to provide additional funds, if needed. The bill continues to rebuild our military, modernize our nuclear weapons stockpile, and strengthen our allies, such as Israel. This bill strongly supports our veterans and our troops by increasing pay for our military; addressing the healthcare needs of our brave warfighters and their families, as well as those who previously served; and ensuring that the United States military has cutting-edge equipment, such as the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the V-22 Osprey, so that they can discourage and take on any fight against our enemies. The bill retains longstanding Second Amendment and pro-life protections that my colleagues on the other side of the aisle wanted to eliminate. In fact, it secures the largest pro-life victory in a generation by maintaining the Trump administration's Title X Family Planning regulations. It drops the dangerous policy provisions my colleagues on the other side of the aisle included in the House bills, including riders aimed at defunding the police. Billions of dollars of unnecessary emergency spending that the majority included in their bills is stripped away in this package. Many of these provisions are considered poison pills that were opposed by Republicans and the White House. Also before us today is another round of coronavirus relief. Specifically, our package will: ensure the timely distribution of vaccines across the country; help small businesses affected by the economic downturn; and provide much-needed relief for airports and the airline industry, which is so important for thousands of hardworking Texans in and around my district. I am glad we were able to come together on this agreement today, and I want to thank my colleagues, Mrs. Lowey, Senator Shelby, and Senator Leahy, for working together in good faith. Plain and simple, this package is good for our economic security and our national security because it addresses the most pressing threats we face as a country. I hope it will be supported. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur), the distinguished chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, America is grateful for Mrs. Lowey's years of honorable, dedicated, and enlightened service. We will so miss her leadership, bright smile, and affable nature. I would also like to thank Ranking Member Simpson, who has been a constant and truly valued partner, as well as our wonderful subcommittee staff: Jaime Shimek, Scott McKee, Mark Arnone, Farouk Ophaso, and Mike Brain, who have labored tirelessly to produce this bill. The Energy and Water division of this bill captures the American spirit of ingenuity and national energy independence. It provides the foundation of critical investments to meet the challenge of climate change, to which $12 billion, or 24 percent of our overall bill, is dedicated. Without question, our Energy and Water bill is this year's most important climate change legislation, with our overall bill dedicated to sustaining life on Earth. Instead of the President's shortsighted and devastating cuts, our bill invests in the future to meet serious national priorities: real jobs, as we achieve building back better by providing $7.8 billion for the tremendous Army Corps of Engineers, $145 million above 2020; real innovation to invest into the future in partnership with our universities and private-sector innovators; providing $39.6 billion for the Department of Energy, $1 billion above 2020; real security within the Department of Energy, as we responsibly fund a nuclear deterrent while boosting nonproliferation. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur). Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, we achieve real impact, as our bill increases the Department's Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy program, ARPA-E, Advanced Energy Research, and the Office of Science. In sum, the Energy and Water division of this bill invests in innovative programs to yield future opportunities for new-age jobs. I don't support the cuts in the ATVM program related to advanced technology for vehicles, but I will say that I support the legislation overall and believe that our bill is needed more than ever to heal our Nation and advance our leadership globally. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Rogers), the former chairman of the full committee and ranking member of the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. Mr. ROGERS of Kentucky. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill, but I want to first congratulate our committee's chair and ranking member for their great work on putting together this enormous and enormously important bill. First, I want to say how rare this day really is in another way. It is the first time that we have had a ranking member who is a female, Ms. Granger, and the first female chairman of the committee, Nita Lowey. We will miss her enormously on this committee and in the Chamber. This bill is enormous. It is not perfect, but it reflects a fair compromise that includes funding for many important priorities at home and abroad and vital assistance for all those negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. As ranking member of the Committee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, I want to tell you, this bill provides critical funding for our national security. This includes $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel and robust support to combat transnational crime and the flow of illegal drugs. The bill is also tough on China, as it commits serious resources behind our Indo-Pacific strategy. This includes exposing the censorship and propaganda wielded by the Chinese Communist [[Page H7303]] Party and countering Beijing's debt-trap diplomacy through well-funded, open, and transparent U.S. development by the Development Finance Corporation and the Countering Chinese Influence Fund. This bill also protects our core values. It maintains all pro-life protections from last year and rejects efforts to undo the President's historic policies that protect the sanctity of life. This bill is also great for my district in Kentucky, if I can be parochial. It provides the resources we need to continue to fight the opioid epidemic, which is now more important than ever. It fully funds my AML pilot program, which is truly breathing life back into my southern and eastern Kentucky communities. It helps our small businesses and so many Kentuckians who are fighting tooth and nail to survive the coronavirus pandemic. This package does not have everything that we wanted, but it is a good bill, and I think a fair compromise. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues' support. Mr. Speaker, I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas. {time} 1830 Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr. Clyburn), the distinguished majority whip. Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, while today's vote to provide relief to families who are suffering due to circumstances far beyond their control is welcome, it is long overdue and insufficient to fully meet their needs. Democrats put forth our priorities last May to bring relief to those who are sick, unemployed, homeless, and hungry. Republicans instead chose to ignore and obfuscate the widespread suffering. This short-term package will provide direct payments and unemployment benefits extension and some assistance to help families afford rent, food, water, and broadband. I applaud our Speaker for negotiating these critical provisions and my colleagues who came together in a bipartisan way to drive this compromise, but this package must be viewed only as a downpayment. Most of us can hardly wait to begin the new year with renewed hope. Our resolve as we come into 2021 with a new Congress and a new administration is to provide the leadership and support Americans need and deserve to get us beyond this pandemic. There can be no greater pursuit in 2021. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Idaho (Mr. Simpson), the ranking member of the Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the fiscal year 2021 omnibus appropriations bill, and particularly the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. As ranking member of the subcommittee, I am pleased this bill is significantly improved from the House bill in many ways. First and foremost, the bill strongly supports our national nuclear security programs, providing $15.3 billion for the Weapons Activities account, an increase of $2.9 billion above fiscal year 2020. This funding supports the maintenance and modernization of our nuclear weapons system, which will ensure a credible and reliable nuclear deterrent. One of my personal priorities is promoting innovation and growth in nuclear energy. This bill provides almost $1.4 billion for research, development, and demonstration activities, including increased funding for the Advanced Small Modular Reactors Program and the Advanced Reactors Demonstration Program, both programs focused on building the next generation of carbon-free technologies to be deployed here and abroad. The bill also includes critical water storage projects in the drought-prone West, such as the Anderson Ranch Dam raise in my district in Idaho. Mr. Speaker, before I yield back, I would like to thank the full committee ranking member, Kay Granger, who has so ably led our Republican Conference on appropriations matters all Congress long. And full committee Chairwoman Lowey deserves our thanks for her many years of service in this committee and to the Nation. We will miss her. Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur and I, again, worked well with our Senate partners, Lamar Alexander and Dianne Feinstein, to advance national and constituent interests throughout the programs that are funded in this bill. Finally, I would like to thank staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work--extremely hard work--particularly this last month, working to help bring this bill to completion. Mr. Speaker, this appropriations package, which includes the Energy and Water division, is a strong bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Visclosky), the chairman of the Subcommittee on Defense, who has spent the last 35 years in the Congress. Mr. Speaker, we all share his knowledge, which he shares with us so willingly, and we appreciate his service, not just to the committee, but to the Congress, to the country, and we wish him the very, very best. We thank him for his service in the Congress and on this committee. (Mr. VISCLOSKY asked and was given permission to revise and extend his remarks.) Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairwoman for yielding and her kind remarks. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues support H.R. 133. The Defense portion of this bill continues to focus on the well-being and morale of those in uniform. For example, the bill provides an additional $116 million for upgrades to childcare facilities and directs the military services to present innovative ideas to address the serious backlog for childcare. However, I must also share my concerns over DOD and its lack of compliance with many congressionally directed reporting requirements. For example, last year, the committee directed the Department to submit a report on its contracts for advertising services with socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses. The report was 5 months late. The Department has also habitually redirected funding in contravention of congressional intent. One DOD official referred to these transfers of billions of dollars as anomalies. I refer to them as habitual abuses. I hope in the future it will recognize Congress' constitutional prerogatives. Mr. Speaker, finally, since it was mentioned, this will be my last floor statement after nearly 44 years of working in the House. I want to thank all of the wonderful staff who have made what successes we have enjoyed possible. I also want to thank my parents, John and Helen Visclosky, and my sister, Annamarie Visclosky, who believed in me when I was an unemployed, young former staffer and made my incredible life journey possible. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the ranking member of the Defense Subcommittee. Mr. CALVERT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. First, I want to thank Chairwoman Lowey for her hard work and her dedication to this institution, and I wish her well in her retirement. And I certainly want to thank our ranking member for her hard work and all the things that went into getting this bill together. I know it is difficult. We certainly appreciate it. And, finally, Chairman Pete Visclosky, not only my chairman, but my close friend, who has worked hard on this bill, and he has done a wonderful job over the years and is certainly a patriot who deserves the credit in putting this Defense bill together. The Constitution grants Congress the explicit and sacred responsibility to provide for our Nation's defense. This bill before us today does just that. It provides funding for many key programs consistent with the National Defense Strategy and its focus on great power competition with China and Russia. The bill prioritizes and funds programs essential to our continued military dominance. It provides our combatant commanders with the resources and equipment they need to carry out their missions around the world. We continue key investments in fifth-generation combat aircraft, ships, [[Page H7304]] and two Virginia-class submarines, while also continuing to invest in the essential research and development of new technologies essential to maintaining U.S. military superiority. We continue to prioritize the health and welfare of our men and women in uniform. The funding in this bill reflects the longstanding concerns that so many of our Members have had with Defense health programs, sexual assault prevention, suicide prevention, and the long-awaited electronic health record, which we need to get fixed. We must get this bill signed into law as soon as possible. According to the DOD comptroller, a continuing resolution wastes $1.7 billion per month and stops many of the modernization priorities that are the cornerstone of maintaining our military's superiority over near-peer threats such as China and Russia. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that we were able to overcome politically charged issues to negotiate this final passage. I urge all the Members to vote for it. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. DeLauro), the chair of the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, and now the chair of the full committee, where I know she will serve with her great knowledge with distinction. Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from New York, and I hope to fill her shoes in what she has done to promote the welfare of the lives of the people of this country. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support this bill. We are at a critical moment. We are not just living through a public health crisis, but an economic one; two crises, which have magnified existing inequalities. Tens of millions of workers are unemployed. Millions of families are facing hunger, many for the first time in their lives. Small businesses are going under, and over 300,000 Americans have lost their lives. The COVID relief package that we are voting on today is a start, and I thank my colleagues in the House of Representatives for elevating it to provide important relief. It brings back the enhanced Federal unemployment insurance, direct payments, a second round of PPP loans, $13 billion in emergency food assistance, and a temporary boost to the monthly food stamp program. And, critically, it includes my Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes Act. Despite strong Republican opposition, it provides nearly $2 billion to maintain the paid leave option. I will fight for paid sick days and paid family and medical leave in the new year so that no worker is left behind. In the Labor-HHS provisions, we were able to secure $155 billion in life-or-death funding: $73 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services and $82 billion for the Department of Education. However, it is only a start, and we must do so much more. We need aid to cities and States. We need a child tax credit and much more money for childcare. Let us act and get the people the help they need. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Oklahoma (Mr. Cole), the ranking member of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Mr. COLE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased today to have the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies' bill included in this important appropriations package. As we have done every year since I have served on the subcommittee, we have been able to reach a compromise. I want to highlight a few of the many provisions in the Labor-HHS section of the bill. The agreement boosts funding for the National Institutes of Health by $1.25 billion. I am proud to say this increase represents the sixth straight year of sustained increases for the NIH, thanks to bipartisan and bicameral support. And funding resources, expertise, and investments we have made over the past 6 years in biomedical research, along with public health planning through mechanisms like the Infectious Disease Rapid Response Reserve Fund, are helping us come out of this pandemic faster than predicted. Make no mistake, this is not an accident. It is a result of years of quiet investment, planning, and scientific dedication. I am glad this conference agreement continues these investments in biomedical research. It will benefit the Nation. Finally, the bill also funds the President's childhood cancer initiative and continues support to end the HIV epidemic. This conference agreement before us today also increases funding for education and training programs, including $52 million for an increase in career and technical education, a $10 million increase for TRIO and GEAR UP. We have increased funds for Impact Aid and special education and provided funds for veterans to integrate back into the workforce. Finally, the bill continues existing funding restrictions, including those important to the pro-life community, and drops new controversial language. Mr. Speaker, I would like to conclude by thanking Ranking Member Kay Granger and Labor, Health and Human Services Chair Rosa DeLauro. Ms. Granger has been a valiant leader navigating our members through some difficult decisions to bring us here today. Mr. Speaker, I also want to acknowledge the negotiating skills of the chair of the Labor-HHS Subcommittee, Ms. DeLauro. I very much look forward to serving with her as both the chair of my subcommittee, as well as the chair of the full committee in the next Congress. Last, but certainly not least, I also want to thank our full committee chair, Mrs. Lowey, who has had an outstanding career and navigated us to this point. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz), the chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. {time} 1845 Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise to support the combined fiscal year 2021 government spending and coronavirus relief package. The package before us today does not have everything the American people need. It shortchanges key relief programs, like aid to our first responders and State and local governments. But the American people are suffering and need immediate relief. Support from Congress is long overdue. The package includes critical Democratic priorities we fought for, like money for small businesses, extended unemployment benefits, individual stimulus checks, and public health funding to eradicate the coronavirus. It contains legislation I authored to reauthorize the EARLY Act, which educates young and at-risk women with breast cancer. The appropriations bills in this package advance key priorities, like $250 million for Everglades restoration, fighting child exploitation on the internet, and protecting migrants and holding DHS accountable. As chair of the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee, we fund improved healthcare for veterans, modernize the VA electronic health record system, and improve military infrastructure to ensure readiness. And we did not include funding to reimburse the President for his theft of military funds for the racist border wall. The Democratic House passed our coronavirus relief bill in May and our appropriations bills in July. Republicans failed to do their job. They have showcased unprecedented incompetence and cruelty this year. Why did Republicans block this relief package until now? They thought we were too generous with the American people, and they wanted to protect corporations who put workers in harm's way, and then tried to shackle the Federal Reserve in a last-minute effort to make it harder for the Biden administration to help struggling small businesses. Democrats will keep fighting for additional aid once President-elect Biden takes office. That cannot come soon enough. [[Page H7305]] Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Moolenaar), a member of the Appropriations Committee. Mr. MOOLENAAR. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, I support the legislation finishing the appropriations process for 2021 because it funds important priorities for Michigan families. It includes funding for the construction of a new lock at the Soo Locks, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, rural broadband internet access, and NIH research into cures for cancer and Alzheimer's. Of course, there is more work to do. Many communities have been affected by disasters this year, including my district, where two dams failed and communities were flooded. Congress should do more to help all communities affected by natural disasters this year, and I will be doing everything I can to help those in my district apply to receive Federal assistance. I am glad we have this bill done for the American people, and I look forward to working with my colleagues across the aisle to craft bipartisan legislation again in the new year. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia, (Mr. Scott), the chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding and for her long career helping working men and women throughout the Nation. I rise in support of this historic legislation. Under this bill, we were able to secure expansion of Pell grants to make it easier for students to access aid by streamlining the free application for Federal student aid. We were able to eliminate the ban on Pell grants for incarcerated students. We were able to discharge debts for many historically Black colleges and universities. And we were able to invest $82 billion in schools and colleges. I am particularly proud that we were able to provide an end to the legal prohibition of the use of Federal funds in transportation to promote school integration. That is right. It is still illegal until this bill passes. Finally, I want to praise the inclusion in this legislation of the fact that we are finally ending surprise medical bills and the problems along those lines. Mr. Speaker, I hope we will pass the bill and do a lot for students and workers. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Diaz-Balart), the ranking member of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Subcommittee. Mr. DIAZ-BALART. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I also thank the chair, Mrs. Lowey, for her long career helping working men and women throughout the Nation. I thank Chairman Price for working with me on the transportation and housing title of this bill. Mr. Speaker, this bill includes $230 million for port infrastructure programs, which is crucial to coastal States, but also, frankly, to our entire freight network. I am particularly pleased that this bill includes $390 million to the Maritime Academy Training Ship Program. This bill also renews housing assistance for millions of Americans in need. It is our duty to meet this commitment, especially for our elderly; our disabled; and our heroes, our veterans. I am also very pleased the bill provides $3 billion for homeless assistance grants. I have seen the results of those programs firsthand, as we effectively eliminated homelessness among veterans in Miami-Dade County. As a final point on the THUD bill, I would note that this agreement drops the controversial riders, allowing us to move forward. This omnibus itself continues strong investments also into our national defense. It funds Everglades restoration and prioritizes school safety initiatives. Once again, Chairman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger led the way through these very difficult times by working day and night and never giving up. A final word to Chairwoman Lowey as she manages her final bill. You know, you can agree or disagree with this honorable Member from New York, but she is always honorable, straightforward, a true gentlewoman, and she has been a huge asset to this institution and to our country. Godspeed, Madam Chairwoman. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone). We came to Congress together, and he is the chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. I rise in strong support of this final omnibus package that includes critical legislation from the Energy and Commerce Committee. First, this agreement includes $69 billion to crush the coronavirus by supporting the rapid and equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, as well as critical testing and contact tracing. Second, this package finally ends surprise medical bills for American consumers. These surprise bills have burdened millions of patients with crushing medical debts. It saves money, which pays for a 3-year extension to fund community health centers and other vital healthcare programs. Third, the bill phases down HFCs. This is a big win in the fight against climate change, along with the reauthorization of the Pipeline Safety Act, which reduces methane leaks. And, fourth, we provide major assistance for struggling families to better afford their internet service. These are just a few of the key provisions from the Energy and Commerce Committee. But I want to end by thanking the chair, Nita Lowey. As she mentioned, she and Eliot Engel, myself, and Rich Neal are the last in our class. I hate to say it that way. She has been an outstanding legislator and a great friend. My only regret is that she is going to just leave Richie Neal and myself to carry on here. So I really wish she would not leave, but I know she wants to, and I wish her the best. I love you, Nita. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr. Fortenberry), the ranking member of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee. Mr. FORTENBERRY. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member for yielding. I also add my thanks to my good friend, Chair Lowey, upon her retirement from Congress. Thank you so much for your grace-filled leadership all these years. I am very happy for you in this new phase of life. Also, Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Agricultural, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Subcommittee publicly here, Chair Sanford Bishop. He has such a professionalism and courtesy and a working, friendly bipartisan spirit. I really think it is important that America hears that. Mr. Speaker, this bill underwrites the stabilization policies for our farmers and ranchers, the protection of our drug supply, and what I call the farm of the future. Now, these elongated deliberations have created extra time for us here in Congress. I know you would probably prefer to be in Maryland. I certainly would prefer to be in Nebraska. But we have had important work to do here. Given the extra amount of time, I took some liberties and I visited with a young farmer near here, Mr. Speaker. He lives in the Shenandoah Valley. And on a cold Virginia night, I actually sanitized my own shoes and walked with him in his poultry house, and we talked. We talked about costs, fertilizer reuse, mechanical versus digital monitors, and options for integrating renewable energy into his operations. Checking his birds is a routine he dutifully performs. And that is what America's farmers are about: constancy, vigilance, hard work. And whether it is in the field or among livestock, the day in and day out life of the farmer in Nebraska or Virginia or Georgia is what keeps America strong and helps feed the world. This bill supports our production agricultural system in many traditional ways, while we also witness an opportunity to expand the farm family. New forms of small-scale niche agriculture marry high-tech with high-touch, connecting the rural to the urban, the farmer to the family, and the farm to the table. This is the future of farming. [[Page H7306]] Of particular importance, the bill supports rural broadband, as well as protecting our drug supply. It is an important bill from the constructs of the most basic systems in America. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 30 seconds to the gentleman from Nebraska. Mr. FORTENBERRY: Mr. Speaker, the bill supports rural broadband. And that is more than wires laid. It is about creating an ecosystem of livability so that the benefits of telehealth and tele-education and telework, along with precision agriculture, can be distributed equitably throughout the country. The inspiring COVID vaccine approvals by the FDA have shown us what we can do together, and this bill also protects our drug supply while keeping unsafe drugs out. Mr. Speaker, it is important that these provisions make it into law. That is why I am happy to support this bill. Again, Chair Lowey, thank you for your leadership. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Waters), the chairwoman of the Committee on Financial Services. Ms. WATERS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. The relief in this bill is desperately needed, as families struggle during the pandemic crisis. The negotiations were difficult. They were tough. I wish we could have done even more, but I am pleased we have done as well as we could have done to provide relief for so many in desperate need for their government to come to their aid. As chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, I am proud to have secured $25 billion in emergency rental assistance. We need much more. We also got an extension of the eviction moratorium and $12 billion in low-cost, long-term capital and grants to the minority depository institutions and the credit unions and the community development financial institutions. I thank Ranking Member McHenry, Chairman Crapo, and Ranking Member Brown for working with me on these provisions. I am so pleased that the legislation includes stimulus payments for families and individuals. Not enough, but I am pleased. I am also pleased it includes new funding for unemployment insurance. Not enough, but I am pleased. I am also pleased we have support for Los Angeles International Airport in my district and small business forgivable PPP loans. This bill will also expand the amount of PPP loans for which restaurants are eligible by a considerable amount. Let me be clear: Much more is needed, but this bill is a most important first step, and I am very pleased that we are able to come to the aid of all of our constituents. I thank Nancy Pelosi for the tremendous job that she did in negotiating to get us to this point. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Fleischmann), the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee. Mr. FLEISCHMANN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. Before I begin, I wish to convey my warm thoughts and sentiments to Mrs. Lowey from New York, who is chairman of this committee. It has been a privilege to work with you for almost a decade in my capacity, and I wish you the best in your future. And I thank you for your service to this great House. {time} 1900 Mr. Speaker, tonight, I rise in support of the bill we have before us, which is the result of months of negotiations on how best to manage our government's resources in fiscal year 2021 and respond to the COVID pandemic that has gripped so many of our communities. Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the Homeland Security Subcommittee, I thank my full committee leader, Ms. Granger, for her great leadership in pulling this omnibus together. I also thank Subcommittee Chairwoman Ms. Roybal-Allard from California, along with Senators Capito and Tester across the hall, for their work and comity in resolving these difficult and challenging issues. It is a pleasure to have served with Chairwoman Roybal-Allard in this role. Mr. Speaker, I think we have a very balanced agreement. We continue to provide $1.375 billion for border security and funds flexibility for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to respond to detention needs. Further, we have significant investments in many of our Nation's security components, including the great United States Coast Guard, cybersecurity and infrastructure, and FEMA grants to our States and localities to respond to disasters. Further, the bill before us eliminates the riders and policy provisions contained in the House-reported bill that would have inhibited the Department of Homeland Security from fulfilling its law enforcement responsibilities at our borders and in the interior of our country. Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote on this package. It is time for the fiscal year to get underway. Mr. Speaker, I wish all a happy and healthy new year. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Lee), a senior member of the Appropriations Committee. Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, first, let me thank Chairwoman Nita Lowey for once again doing such a phenomenal job. I am going to miss her tremendously. Let me just say how much I support this survival bill, which provides a few months of relief for those suffering from the severe impacts of COVID. Mr. Speaker, I also thank Congresswoman Chair DeLauro and Chairman Pallone for their work with our Tri-Caucus to include $2.8 billion for testing and vaccine support in the communities of color hardest hit by COVID. Mr. Speaker, I also thank our subcommittee chairs and staff for including so many of our priorities and for their diligent work on this. It is really shameful that it has taken Republicans so long to realize that their constituents are desperate for help and need their government to give them a lifeline during this terrible time, also. Eight million people have slipped into poverty since the start of this pandemic, and one in four adults are suffering from hunger during COVID-19. 318,000 people have died from the Trump administration's scandalous mismanagement. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman has expired. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield an additional 15 seconds to the gentlewoman. Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I support this bill. Let's give this lifeline to people. Let's move forward and build on this downpayment. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Arrington). Mr. ARRINGTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation to provide relief to our fellow Americans, accelerate our Nation's economic recovery, and ensure our great Nation comes back better, stronger, and healthier than ever. I don't want to belabor my deep concerns with the process except to say, Mr. Speaker, that it is fundamentally broken and that it was unnecessarily prolonged for purely political reasons. The American people waited, and waited for months. They deserve better, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, I thank my dear friend, fellow Texan and ranking member, Kay Granger; our leader, Kevin McCarthy; Kevin Brady; and many others who helped finalize this agreement. It is far from perfect. I haven't met perfect legislation since coming to Washington. But it does a good job of supporting our struggling families, small businesses, healthcare professionals, teachers, and other frontline workers at a time when many desperately need it, and all of this at a fraction of Speaker Pelosi's $3.3 trillion bailout bonanza, which included cash for illegals, legalizing marijuana, and a host of other unnecessary and irresponsible provisions. Mr. Speaker, it is no small feat to keep our annual spending below the budget cap, and I commend my colleagues, including Chairwoman Lowey, for that. To do that and prevail in protecting troops and including their pay raise, funding for the border wall, preserving [[Page H7307]] the sacred protections for our unborn, I have got to tell you, that is pretty darn good. It is hard for me to stand for some of this stuff in this bill, this omnibus. But on balance, it is good for the country, and I am standing with Chairwoman Lowey, and I am standing with my fellow Texan, Kay Granger. God bless America. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), my friend for 32 years in the House, the outstanding Speaker of the House. Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for bringing this important legislation to the floor. I thank her and Ranking Member Kay Granger for bringing this in a very strong bipartisan way. I spoke this morning at some length, so it is on the record as to my attitude here. I salute the legislation that is here and urge passage, but I do want to take a minute to thank the Madam Chair. She has served in the Congress for a long time. We have sat side by side over the years with Rosa DeLauro, Steny Hoyer, and Mr. Clyburn as appropriators. I have seen her writings-based astute political knowledge, her strategic thinking, her encyclopedic knowledge of the legislation produce the results, understanding what the process will bear and what the country needs first and foremost. So, Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairwoman Lowey. I don't know how many more times we will thank her, but hopefully, when the coronavirus goes away, we can all join in embracing her great leadership and expressing gratitude. Mr. Speaker, I want to just again take a moment in recognition of the other chairs who worked to make this legislation so, so effective with direct payments through the employee retention tax credit, the unemployment insurance, to name a few. Congresswoman Velazquez with Small Business, under her leadership and working in a bipartisan way, small businesses, which are the heart of our economy, have received almost $1 trillion in these coronavirus bills, almost $1 trillion. We support that, but I also would hope there would be some commensurate recognition of the jobs of small business, the jobs of State and local government. They have received only $160 billion in all of these bills, $160 billion. Does that sound familiar? That is exactly the amount of money that the Republicans put in the CARES bill to give to the wealthiest in our country, yet for all the States and localities, and it was retroactive, having nothing to do with coronavirus, $160 billion. They thought that was commensurate with the responsibilities of our healthcare workers, our State and local police and fire, first responders, transportation, sanitation, food workers, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. So, yes, there is more work to do, and it will cost some money, but it will protect jobs. Most importantly, it will meet the needs of the American people to crush the virus and to do so in a way that brings us all into the future in a very safe way. I thank Congresswoman Velazquez for her extraordinary leadership in that regard. Mr. Speaker, I thank Maxine Waters for coming to the need of people, renters, landlords, et cetera, with her important legislation--of course, we want more, but for now, this will see us through--her Community Development Financial Institutions legislation, her MDIs, making all that available in the small business piece, available to so many more people. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Scott from Virginia. Student loans, childcare, I thank him for making it right. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Pallone for his leadership again and again. Vaccines, the vaccine issue is so important, how it is delivered, how it is produced, distributed. Going from vaccine to vaccination, from lab to arm, so much is required, and much of it is in this bill. Testing and tracing are still needed. We still need to provide a relief fund that goes along with that. I thank him for the personal interest he took in broadband. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. DeFazio on transportation and WRDA. Yesterday morning, we didn't even have WRDA in the bill. That is why this all has taken longer to do. So, I thank him for the important role that he played. We all know about the airlines and the rest, but there is so much more. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Peterson for his work on nutrition. People are hungry in our country, and we had to fight for nutrition money, but I thank him for his persistence. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. McGovern for his advocacy in the Congress for children and hunger, as well as Rosa DeLauro. But Mr. McGovern has gone on hunger strikes and the rest. He really values what is in this bill on nutrition to feed the hungry in our country. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mrs. Maloney for saving our Postal Service. Just a brief reference to say thank you. This has been a long, difficult negotiation. These chairs, their members of the committees, and their staffs have been invaluable. Shalanda and Chris, I thank them so much for making all this happen. Mr. Speaker, I reference the statement I made this morning about one thing and another, about the attitude we have to this and the need for us to recognize this as a first step and the need for us to address the important contribution of our health workers, police and fire first responders, sanitation, transportation, food workers, our teachers, our teachers, our teachers. If we are going to safely reenter the economy and our schools, we must crush the virus. I have hope to crush the virus. That is why we could support this bill. It doesn't go all the way, but it takes us down the path, a first step. I have hope of crushing the virus, and I have hope because of the election of Joe Biden as President of the United States, a President who will follow science. He will follow science, and he will recognize that we have to meet the needs of all the American people wherever they live in our country, especially addressing Barbara Lee's concerns about the communities of color that have been underserved in so much of what we have done. Mr. Speaker, I have great appreciation for Madam Chair Nita Lowey. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Hoyer), the majority leader. Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Madam Chair for yielding, and I thank Ranking Member Kay Granger for her work. Mr. Speaker, I had the opportunity to do a video, as we all are communicating with one another virtually, about my colleague and friend with whom I have served for over three decades, Nita Lowey. I went to school in Nita Lowey's district many, many years ago. When she came here, we became friends. Shortly thereafter, she came on the Appropriations Committee, and we served together, as Speaker Pelosi said, on the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. I served on that committee for 23 years. I have great affection for that committee. We served under a gentleman named Bill Natcher from the State of Kentucky. He used to stand when he presented that bill to the floor and say: ``This is the people's bill.'' Mr. Speaker, this is the people's bill. {time} 1915 This is a bill that must pass. They say that good things come to those who wait. They have waited too long, had too much pain, physically; too many deaths; too much psychological damage; too many lost jobs. This is, however, a good thing that will come to those who need it so badly. I want to thank Chairwoman Lowey, who has performed such extraordinary service on the Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies for a long time; and the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs for a long time; and for the Appropriations Committee. I want to thank my friend, Kay Granger. We are perceived as being awfully partisan, and this has been a partisan project as well. It took us from May 15 until today to get this done. We passed, in the interim, October 1, another bill of substantially lesser sum than the one we passed in May, and a little more than what we are passing--actually, twice what we are passing today. All of it was needed. [[Page H7308]] The American people have been waiting and watching and hoping that Congress would not only be able to avert a shutdown but also to provide much-needed COVID-19 relief. Mr. Speaker, we now have a bipartisan agreement, and the legislation will achieve both of those aims. Kay Granger, as I said, is somebody who was a mayor in Texas, and mayors know they have to get things done, and Congresswoman Granger has been somebody who wants to get things done. She and Nita Lowey have been a team in getting things done. I thank both of them. This bill completes the appropriations process by investing in the American people, in our national defense, in economic opportunity, in strengthening safety net programs that keep Americans out of poverty. As I said, I thank both Nita Lowey and Kay Granger. I particularly want to thank an extraordinary Member of this body. She is not called a Congresswoman. She is not a Member of this body, but she is a person without whom we would not be nearly as successful as we have been over this last year. She has made this year less painful for millions and millions and millions of Americans. Her name is Shalanda Young. She sits right behind me, an extraordinary talent whose leadership makes seminal contributions to all the sections of this bill and to previous bills dealing with appropriations and the COVID-19 pandemic. She is, in many ways, an indispensable person when we come to dealing with bills of this magnitude. She works for Mrs. Lowey, as does Chris Bigelow. Both have done extraordinary service. Shalanda Young, Mr. Speaker, represents the best of us. I say that because she represents a lot of the staff we have here. She is extraordinarily talented, extraordinarily patriotic, and extraordinarily dedicated to the work of the American people, and extraordinarily underpaid. Members are going to be underpaid in this bill, too. We beat our chest, and we have money in there that says we don't get a COLA one more time. Aren't we so courageous. I am disgusted by that, Mr. Speaker, and I want all of America to know; I want all of my constituents to know. Every Member in this place, whether I agree with them or not, is worth a COLA, at least trying to keep them even with the cost of living in this country. We struck it one more time, as we pretend that we think the COLA is unjust. However, that is de minimis to this bill, but, certainly, will not dissuade me or ought not to dissuade anybody from voting enthusiastically, energetically, and proudly for this bill. As a result of this omnibus, the next President will be able to start his administration focusing on immediate challenges instead of trying to finish the previous year's work. I want to say something on that one more time. I have talked to Ms. Granger, who is going to be here. There is no reason, Mr. Speaker, why we can't pass appropriation bills by September 30, the ending of the fiscal year, October 1 being the beginning of the new fiscal year. I am frustrated, as the majority leader who is supposed to be able to make things work here, with my colleagues. We did make it work here, but our Senate colleagues did not pass a single bill prior to the election, so here we are. In addition, this end-of-the-year package includes critical clean- energy legislation passed by the House earlier this year that makes important progress toward addressing the climate crisis while ensuring that America can create good jobs by leading the clean-energy economy. We were also able, in this bill, Mr. Speaker, to include legislation that protects patients from surprise bills by removing them from the fight between insurers and providers and implementing a fairer process for resolving disputes. On COVID-19 relief, while we were unable to secure agreement on every priority that Democrats and some Republicans wanted--we don't always get everything we want. So be it. That is the process. We were able, however, to include many of the provisions we included in previous bills on May 15 and October 1, which I referred to earlier, for which Democrats have been fighting for months and that Americans desperately need. These include resumption of expanded unemployment benefits, another round of direct payments, relief for renters, and assistance to make sure that Americans can put food on the table. In the richest country on the face of the Earth, we have people in food lines who can't feed themselves. That is not only wrong, but it is immoral and inconsistent with my faith and, I think, the faith of most. There is additional help for small business--appropriate--and resources to help schools reopen safely. In addition, we secured another $3.36 billion for GAVI, and I thank the chair. It is a small program, relatively speaking, but it is about keeping people healthy around the world. We are a shrinking globe, and this COVID crisis came from abroad-- wherever it came from, Europe, contrary to the President saying it came only from China. It came from Europe; it came from China. We have a moral responsibility to make sure that it doesn't keep coming and that we help our brothers and sisters abroad as well so that we, too, can be healthy. In the new year, we will continue to work to ensure that our country can meet the challenges of COVID-19, including help for State, local, Tribal, and territorial governments that are on the front line. Who is delivering the shot in the arm? States and local governments. No compromise is perfect, of course, and this is not perfect. So many people have said that, but that goes without saying. We don't do perfect. We are human beings. If we do the right thing, we do the best we can. It is essential that we move forward and do our jobs for the American people. That is why the House did its job by passing the Heroes Act in May and again in October and why we passed appropriation bills to fund nearly all of government by July 26. It is disappointing, as I have said, that the Senate waited until November to begin serious consideration of appropriation bills. I don't mean the subcommittees didn't work; they just didn't report anything out. Thankfully, though, we are taking action together. America, we are taking action together. And you can be pleased when you see the board light up, mostly overwhelmingly green. I urge the President to sign this legislation without delay, just, Mr. Speaker, as I urge him to sign the National Defense Authorization Act in which you played such a critical role, Mr. Speaker, and we passed earlier this month. I fear that he will veto this bill for an unrelated, totally nongermane issue, and we may be back here on the 28th. If we are not here on the 28th, again, Nita Lowey, I want to say to you: Thank you. How much we appreciate your contribution, and how much we appreciate the contribution of all of those who might be leaving either voluntarily or involuntarily. We thank them for their service. Mr. Speaker, let's finish the work of the 116th Congress. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Brady), the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee. Mr. BRADY. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank Ranking Member Granger for her terrific leadership on this bill and throughout this session. This agreement is a big, important win for American workers, healthcare providers, Main Street businesses, and families. In this agreement, we have Republican tax relief for American families. We permanently make it easier to deduct high medical costs and lifetime learning costs. We extend for 5 years the tax credit for paid family and medical leave, plus we take it one step further by helping businesses pay off student loans for workers. We have big wins for patients and families together. We end surprise medical bills when you visit the ER or have scheduled medical procedures. We require that patients be given a true and honest bill ahead of a scheduled procedure, and we make it easier to find in- network doctors and providers. In addition to helping patients, we also help our doctors. We increase their pay and stop two-thirds of planned Medicare cuts for certain providers. We also increase doctor pay by over $3 billion and add 1,000 new graduate medical education slots to help train more doctors. [[Page H7309]] We took needed action to improve healthcare in rural areas. It also contains strong antifraud safeguards for unemployment. We offer crucial tax help for millions of Americans and small businesses with another round of stimulus checks, more funds and flexibility for PPP loans. We also include important technical corrections to the new U.S.- Mexico-Canada Agreement, which will help our economy rebuild from this pandemic. Maybe most importantly, we have big wins in this package to help us defeat the virus once and for all with billions more in funding for vaccines, testing, distribution, and more. This bipartisan solution is so important to the American people. This is a strong and needed package. Its benefits will be felt for years to come. I also want to finish by thanking our committee chairman, Richie Neal, who worked so closely with me and all of our committee members on these wins for the American people. It has been an honor to work with him this Congress. I am also very proud of the work and leadership that Republicans have exemplified throughout this Congress, especially among the Ways and Means Committee. I will gladly and strongly vote in support of this bill, and I encourage all of my colleagues to do the same. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Before I close, I want to take a moment to recognize my good friend and our full committee chairman, Nita Lowey, as this will be the last bill that she will take to the floor. She is the first woman to hold the gavel of the Appropriations Committee, and her retirement is a huge loss to our country, to our committee, and to me personally. When I was named as ranking member and she was named as chair, she called me into her office. We really had never worked together. We were on different committees. I will never forget what she said. She said: We are going to do it on time and on budget, and we will become best friends. {time} 1930 I wasn't sure she wasn't crazy, but I said: I will do that. We became good friends, and we did things on time and on budget. Everything was a joy working with her because she always knew what she wanted and what she wanted to do. She was inclusive, and we did turn and have a friendship that I will always cherish. So I wanted to make sure that you knew that I realized I had a unique opportunity in working with you. I learned a lot, and we had a good time, didn't we? I also want to take a minute to thank the members of our committee and our staff for their hard work this year. This really is a must-pass bill that I look forward to getting signed into law. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in voting in favor of these bills, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I rise to address this House for the final time. For 32 years, it has been my privilege to serve as United States Representative from New York; and in the 116th Congress, it has been my distinct honor to be the first chairwoman of the House Appropriations Committee. By wielding the power of the purse, this bill will make a profound difference in the lives of millions of Americans and people around the world. I am proud to have worked with so many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to assemble this bill and other legislative successes. You have challenged and inspired me, and I treasure the friendships that we have made. My dear friend, Kay Granger, it has been such an honor getting to know you. Texas values, New York values, no matter what they say, we became good friends and worked so well together. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I would be remiss if I did not thank the talented staff who have worked so hard to put this bill together, led by Clerk and Staff Director Shalanda Young, the extraordinary Shalanda Young, who is way back there. Thank you, Shalanda Young. And also the extraordinary deputy staff director, Chris Bigelow. What a team. They manage. No matter how much paper and no matter what the challenge, they seem to be able to put it all together and get it right. Shalanda and Chris, I thank you--and always with an assist by my chief of staff, Elizabeth Stanley. I do want to thank the staff director of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, which I chair, Steve Marchese. There is one principle that has guided my 32 years in public service: When you see a problem, whether it is here or in the district or in another community, do something about it. Too many people see a problem. They are good people, but they will all go off to this personal activity or another personal activity. Members of Congress know, when they see a problem, we have a responsibility to address it and do something about it to make life better for our community, the Nation, and the world. This bill does something to crush this virus and set us on the course for a strong and equitable recovery. Mr. Speaker, for the last time and with a deep sense of gratitude for the honor of serving in this House, I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 that funds our government and provides desperately needed relief to American families. I'm proud to support many of the provisions in this legislation, understanding that no compromise is perfect. Frontline workers, including public health workers, firefighters, and other essential workers employed by state and local governments continue to need our support. The bill before us today provides a lifeline to those who are struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it has caused. It extends critical programs first authorized by the CARES Act including $300 per week in additional unemployment benefits, a second round of direct payments of up to $600, $284 billion for additional small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program, and $13 billion in nutrition assistance for Americans facing hunger. It also provides $25 billion to help renters pay their rent and stay in their homes. I'm deeply disappointed that the Administration and the Senate Majority Leader would not allow restaurants and their workers to receive our help. With over 300 bipartisan cosponsors on the RESTAURANT Act, these businesses and their workers should have been in this legislation. In addition to pandemic relief, the bill funds the government through the remainder of the fiscal year, avoiding a costly government shutdown before the holidays, and invests in critical priorities, including clean energy, affordable housing, public schools, and broadband. I'm proud to have secured $100 million for the electrification of Caltrain, $8.9 million for environmental conservation of the San Francisco Bay, $33 million for construction of the Linac Coherent Light Source upgrade (LCLS-II) at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, and $85.2 million for the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) at NASA Ames. Our country is in the midst of the worst public health crisis in a century, and I'm proud to say that the Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, which I have had the privilege to lead, have stepped up to the challenge by securing provisions that include the following: Provide billions to ensure the free, timely, and equitable distribution of safe, effective vaccines and more resources for a national testing strategy: End surprise medical billing. No patient will face an unexpected, expensive bill just because they are caught in a web of providers. Assist doctors and public and rural hospitals survive the pandemic by stopping planned Medicare and Medicaid cuts. Provide three years of funding for critical public health programs including Community Health Centers, Teaching Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and the special diabetes programs. Restore Medicaid coverage for the citizens of the freely associated states living in the U.S., to whom America has for too long abandoned its commitments to. Improve Medicare coverage for beneficiaries across the country by simplifying Part B enrollment; permanently authorizing the use of telehealth for mental health care; eliminating cost-sharing for colorectal cancer screenings; and extending coverage for immunosuppressive drugs for kidney transplant patients. I'm especially proud to have co-led and championed the immunosuppressive drug coverage legislation to correct a short-sighted coverage policy [[Page H7310]] which will save 375 kidney transplants each year. This provision appears in Section 402 of Division CC and is based on H.R. 5534, the Comprehensive Immunosuppressive Drug Coverage for Kidney Transplant Patients Act of 2019. Improve the Medicaid program by expanding access to certified community behavioral health clinics; eliminate spousal impoverishment for partners of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving home and community- based services; and continuing the Money Follows the Person rebalancing demonstration which makes it possible for people on Medicaid to transition to a safer home or community-based environment and still maintain Medicaid funding. Lower health care costs by strengthening parity in mental health and substance use disorder benefits; removing gag clauses on health price and quality information; ending a loophole that allowed drugs for opioid use disorder to benefit from the orphan drug designation; and making it easier for biosimilar products to come to market by increasing patent and exclusivity transparency. This final provision appears in Section 325 of Division BB, and it is a bill I'm proud to have sponsored, H.R. 1520, the Purple Book Continuity Act. It requires patent information for biologics to be submitted to the FDA and published in the publicly-available ``Purple Book.'' By creating a single, searchable list of licensed biologics, manufacturers will be able to plan a pipeline of lower-cost biosimilar products for years to come. I'm also proud to have several health appropriations which I requested included in today's agreement. These items represent the critical advancement of life-saving research and care, including: $15 million for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Program at the DOD, which I've long championed and which comes as the world continues to mourn the deaths this year of several iconic Americans from this very aggressive cancer, including Congressman John Lewis and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg; $42.9 billion for the NIH for forward thinking investments in medical research; $597 million for critical biodefense and public health emergency preparedness at BARDA, which my legislation created. Another $19.7 billion is in the COVID-19 relief agreement for BARDA to manufacture and procure vaccines; $350 million for the Children's Hospitals Graduate Medical Education Program to support pediatric medical residents' training; and $5.4 million for research on Chronic Fatigue Syndrome at the CDC to better understand this terrible disease. There's still so much more the American people need. We must increase federal funding for the Medicaid program during this health and economic crisis, including home-and-community-based services, improve infection control and quality in our nation's nursing homes, and address the public health crises that continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as America's unacceptable rates of maternal mortality, suicides, and overdoses. I'm proud of what we've accomplished in the Health Subcommittee this year and energized to continue the fight in 2021. Today's agreement includes important clean energy provisions, including my legislation, H.R. 1420, the Energy Efficient Government Technology Act, which appears as Sections 1003 and 1004 of Division Z. The bill requires government agencies to develop plans to implement best practices for energy management, purchase more energy efficient information and communications technologies, and submit to periodic evaluation of their data centers for energy efficiency. Data centers are a critical part of our national infrastructure and are found in nearly every sector of our economy. The federal government alone has more than 2,000 data centers which store everything from Social Security and tax records, toe-books at the Library of Congress. Despite their importance to our government and our economy, many are extremely inefficient when it comes to energy use. The good news is many data centers can significantly reduce their energy use using existing technology and best practices. This will reduce not only the government's carbon footprint but also its energy bills. My bipartisan legislation has the potential to save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in reduced energy costs in the future, while setting an example for the private sector to reduce energy usage at data centers. We must ensure students in need can continue their studies during the pandemic as colleges begin another semester of remote learning, and I'm proud that our agreement includes funding for these students. Section 902 of Division N is modeled on H.R. 6814, the Supporting Connectivity for Higher Education Students in Need Act, bicameral legislation I introduced on May 13, 2020. The provision provides $285 million to expand connectivity for historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and other minority-serving institutions, their students, and minority-owned businesses near those colleges. The funding can be used to purchase routers, modems, wi-fi hotspots, tablets, and laptops. Funding recipients must prioritize low- income students. The legislation also establishes the Office of Minority Broadband Initiatives within the NTIA to carry out programs expand access to broadband at and in communities around HBCUs, TCUs, HSis and other MSis. Between 2012 and 2018, over $1.2 billion in 9-1-1 fees were diverted to uses other than 9-1-1. While most states curtailed this horrific practice, four states continue diverting 9-1-1 fees: New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Nevada. I first co-led the bipartisan 9-1-1 Fee Integrity Act to require by statute that 9-1-1 fees can only be used for 9-1-1 purposes on September 14, 2018. I'm pleased that the legislation appears in Section 902 of Division FF. I'm pleased that today's agreement includes funding for AI R&D. The Joint Explanatory Statement for Division B includes direction for AI R&D to expand at NSF and NIST, including with a focus on increasing AI workforce diversity and developing a framework for ethical and safe AI. I've twice written to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies requesting robust AI R&D funding, and I thank them for their leadership in taking an important step to increase AI funding. I'm pleased that this legislation includes funding for several technology and telecommunications matters that are priorities for me and for our country, including $3.2 billion for a $50 per month emergency broadband benefit for low income families, Pell Grant recipients, students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and recently unemployed individuals; $1.9 billion to `rip and replace' telecommunications equipment made by insecure supplies, like Huawei and ZTE, which I first asked the FCC to investigate in 2010; $250 million for the FCC's COVID-19 Telehealth Program; and $65 million to develop reliable broadband maps which are critical for the federal government and all states to know where broadband support funding would be most effective. Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise to emphasize the appropriate application and interpretation of Section 404 of the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which has been included as Division W of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Section 404 was authored by Chairman Bennie Thompson of the Committee on Homeland Security. Its essence is to establish a specialized fellowship program related to cybersecurity and intelligence within the Department of Homeland Security. The program is meant for certain undergraduate students from diverse racial, ethnic, cultural, and other backgrounds. And the Secretary of Homeland Security--who shall administer Section 404--also will have authority to hire successful fellowship participants as Department employees, and into positions involving cyber or intelligence. The broader and most compelling goal being, of course, to ensure that the Department and the Federal government are doing their utmost to recruit, hire and retain a highly diverse workforce. The language of Section 404 must be interpreted and implemented by the Department broadly, with a mind towards attainment of this lawful objective; under no circumstances should it be read in an inappropriately narrow or needlessly restrictive fashion. Although Section 404 does not require that students attend Historically Black Colleges or Universities or Minority-Serving Institutions in order to participate in the fellowship program, the Secretary of Homeland Security--who will administer this authority-- should make extensive efforts to promote the fellowship among students from HBCUs and MSIs. Together with the other Members of the Homeland Security and Intelligence Committees, I will look forward to receiving the report required by Section 404, which will permit Congress to confirm that, in fact, the Department is conducting the necessary outreach to HBCUs, MSIs, and other Institutions of Higher Education; and, consistent with the approach I have set forth here, reading and applying Section 404's language in a manner that fulfills the initiative's overarching goal. Mr. ADERHOLT. Mr. Speaker, I would like to lend my support of this fiscal year 2021 appropriations package. I thank the Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Mrs. Lowey, and my friend, Chairman Serrano, as they prepare to retire for their many years of dedication and hard work to this institution and I wish them both well. I also want to thank Ranking Member Granger for her outstanding leadership this year. I'm pleased that this bill supports the Trump Administration's Moon to Mars Artemis initiative and rejects radical demands to defund the police. It also restores long-standing Second Amendment protections that have enjoyed historical, bipartisan support yet were excluded [[Page H7311]] from the House-passed Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act. I am also pleased that this bill rejects issues which previously held up a COVID relief agreement. This bill provides individuals, families, health care providers, and businesses the assistance which we can agree on, to help everyone get through this pandemic. It also looks to the future by providing additional funding to expand internet access in rural areas. Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, The House amendment to the Senate amendment to H.R. 133, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, includes many important provisions. Among them is Section 203 of Title II, Division BB, based on H.R. 7539, the Strengthening Behavioral Health Parity Act--an important step forward in improving the effective enforcement of mental health parity laws that govern group and individual health plans and coverage. I am pleased to see this legislation advance as part of our continuing efforts to ensure the promise of parity is realized for all. As Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, which has legislative jurisdiction over employee health benefit plans (including provisions of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act or ERISA) as well as oversight jurisdiction over the United States Department of Labor, I would like to provide additional clarification for the record regarding the interactions between this legislation and existing enforcement and compliance efforts by the Secretary of Labor. First, no provision of Section 203 in any way restricts, alters, or otherwise interferes with the existing enforcement and oversight authority of the Secretary of Labor, including the Secretary's authority to investigate, audit, and seek equitable or other relief to enforce any requirements of federal law. The requirement that the Secretary examine the comparative analyses of at least 20 plans annually serves as a floor, not a ceiling, on the Department's enforcement actions, and the Department remains authorized to continue to utilize its broad authority under Sections 502, 504, 506 of ERISA and other laws to enforce all requirements of this bill, Part 7 of ERISA, and any other requirements of federal law. Second, no provision of Section 203 in any way restricts, alters, or otherwise interferes with the rights of group health plan participants to bring an action to enforce their rights under Section 502 of ERISA, nor does it impact judicial review of any statutory violations. This bill also should not be interpreted to create any additional presumption in favor of health plans and issuers during judicial review of nonquantitative treatment limitation (NQTL) determinations, and the Secretary remains authorized to seek equitable or other relief, including relief regarding the re-adjudication of claims. All provisions should be interpreted to ensure the broadest access to relief for plan participants. Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the 900 billion dollar economic relief package which has been agreed to by Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle. While this package is far from what is actually needed, it is necessary to act right now and we do not have any additional time to wait. This bill will direct billions of dollars in aid to unemployed individuals who are suffering with no other hope or help in sight. It will provide up to $600 in stimulus checks, it will extend unemployment benefit checks, extend a moratorium on evictions for 1 month, 325 billion for business relief with 275 billion going to paycheck protection, 82 billion for schools, 20 billion for vaccine distribution. While this is not quite exactly what I was looking for, it will hold us until President Biden takes the reins and leads us on. Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, the American people are incredibly frustrated, and rightly so. This relief package, while a step forward, should have been passed months ago. House Democrats first passed the Heroes Act in May; at the same time, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for a `pause' and Senate Republicans refused to act until now. More than 315,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. Experts have said if we had made a larger investment in testing and tracing, many of these deaths could have been prevented. Millions of Americans are unemployed and many are facing food insecurity. Our state and local governments, including first responders, have been on the frontlines of this pandemic but are being left out of this relief package. We can and we must do more. As I have said before, we cannot get the economy up and running until we conquer the virus. Today's relief package makes significant investments in testing and tracing efforts, vaccines, therapeutics, and medical supplies and funding for underserved communities, all of which are critical to crushing this pandemic. This package provides help for the millions of Americans who are struggling right now. It strengthens critical programs for those who are unemployed by extending and enhancing unemployment insurance and rental assistance. It also offers $600 in direct payments to low- and moderate-income Americans and includes a $13 billion increase in food assistance programs to help the millions of families facing food insecurity. This bill also includes vital funding for small businesses, including specific funding for arts and cultural programs and smaller businesses who weren't able to access the initial relief funding. These are welcome steps forward, but they are just a down payment on what needs to be done. Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which includes my bipartisan Water Power Research and Development Act. As we work to mitigate the climate crisis and transition to a 100 percent clean energy economy, we cannot ignore our ocean. It covers more than 70 percent of the surface of our planet, and we can capture the power of its waves, currents, and tides to power our homes, buildings, and communities. Marine energy has tremendous potential as one of the last untapped renewable energy sources, and federal investment can help unlock it. Earlier this year, I was pleased to work with my House Oceans Caucus CoChair, Congressman Don Young, and another marine energy enthusiast from the east coast, Congressman Ted Deutch, to introduce the bipartisan Water Power Research and Development Act. The bill would reauthorize funding for research, development, demonstration, and commercialization of marine energy within the Department of Energy's Water Power Technologies Office. Importantly, the bill authorizes funding for existing and new National Marine Energy Centers, including the Pacific Marine Energy Center--operated by Oregon State University, the University of Washington, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Researchers at Oregon State University are leading the way on this innovative work. Through the Pacific Marine Energy Center, OSU is currently in the process of developing PacWave, the first of its kind wave energy test facility off the Oregon Coast. Their leadership scaling up the PacWave testing facility will catalyze this nascent industry. Additionally, we are fortunate to have the advanced manufacturing capacity of companies like Vigor, which recently constructed an 826-ton wave energy device that was deployed off the shores of Hawaii. It was not until I visited Vigor to see the device that I grasped the scale of this resource and what we can gain from it. I appreciate the support of Chairwoman Johnson in helping to secure the inclusion of the Water Power Research and Development Act in today's comprehensive energy package and end of year spending bill, and I am thrilled that it will soon be signed into law. I urge all of my colleagues to support this bill, which is an important step forward in advancing ocean climate action. Ms. VELAZQUEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this relief bill because the American people cannot wait another day. Over 315,000 Americans are dead. Three out of every 4 small businesses have seen their revenues fall, and thousands have shut their doors for good. Food insecurity has doubled for families with children, and millions of Americans are turning to food banks for the first time. In most states, 1 in 5 households are behind on rent. More than 10 million people are unemployed. But it's been over six months since the House passed the Heroes Act, comprehensive legislation to address these issues months ago. And all this time, Republicans have refused to lift a finger to provide relief to struggling families. It is shameful that it took this long for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to come to the table. And let me be clear--$600 in direct payments and an additional $300 per week in unemployment is not enough--in fact, it's just half of the aid that we passed in the CARES Act. So, while I am disappointed in my Republican colleagues and recognize this bill is not ideal or as comprehensive as the Heroes Act-it will provide some much-needed relief to the American people until we can pass a more robust stimulus under the Biden Administration. I'd particularly like to thank all the staff from member offices, to committee offices, to leadership and floor staff, who worked long hours and through the weekend to help put this package together. For small businesses, this bill takes action to authorize a second round of PPP loans to the hardest hit businesses. Importantly, it will set aside funding reserved for small businesses with 10 or fewer employees and those in underserved communities. It also utilizes small banks and mission-based community lenders to guarantee fair access to small employers. And finally, this bill provides for what we have been hearing on the ground from small [[Page H7312]] businesses--the need for cash infusions through grants. By establishing new guardrails and allocating $20 billion to the EIDL grant program, we are targeting the hardest hit small businesses to receive these grants. Meanwhile, as shuttered entertainment venues, including our cultural institutions and movie theaters, that depend on large crowds to survive have been closed by the pandemic and faced difficulties accessing PPP and other SBA programs, this bill creates a new $15 billion dollar grant program to target these establishments that have experienced a dramatic decline in revenue. But our efforts do not end here. We will continue to seek more assistance next year because Main Street, especially our independent restaurants, and working families deserve for us to come back to the table to provide a lifeline while we await vaccine distributions. So today, I'm voting yes but I urge my fellow members, let's not stop here. Let's come back in January and pass more relief for the American people. Mr. HUFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call attention to one of the many important provisions of today's legislation. In particular, I rise to discuss Section 1109 of Title XI of Division FF, relating to aquatic ecosystem protection, which comes from the FUTURE Western Water Infrastructure and Drought Resiliency title that I authored in H.R. 2 earlier this year. Today's provision is an improved version of that legislation, and it is the result of the ongoing bicameral water infrastructure negotiations between the committees of jurisdiction. I am grateful for the work done on both sides of the Capitol and both sides of the aisle to bring this to fruition. This aquatic ecosystem protection provision is designed to fund broadly-supported fish passage projects in the western states, and the specific intent is to help projects like the one in the Eel and Russian River basins in California, where we have a chance to significantly improve fish passage and habitat on the Eel River while providing long term certainty and reliability for Russian River water users. The Potter Valley Project Ad Hoc Committee has been refining this effort for several years, and we now have a Two-Basin Partnership that is taking the next steps. The intent of this new aquatic ecosystem protection statute is to support the important work of the Two-Basin Partnership, as well as other community-supported restoration projects like it around the west. I am including in the Record letters of support from the Round Valley Indian Tribes, Humboldt County, Sonoma County Water Agency, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and California Trout-- collectively known as the Two-Basin Partnership--as well as from the Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and California Trout--collectively known as the California Salmon and Steelhead Coalition. I thank my colleagues for working with me to bring this legislation to fruition, and thank the staff in both the House and Senate who have helped in this effort, especially Matthew Muirragui from the House Natural Resources Committee and John Driscoll, Logan Ferree, and Ben Miller on my personal staff. I look forward to working with the next administration to support this win-win outcome for the North Coast and North Bay. Dear Chairman Huffman: The Round Valley Indian Tribes, Humboldt County, Sonoma County Water Agency, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and California Trout, collectively known as the Two-Basin Partnership, write in strong support of the aquatic ecosystem restoration provision included in H.R. 2, which we understand you and your staff have negotiated for inclusion in the omnibus appropriations bill. The Potter Valley Project is a hydroelectric facility that, in addition to generating a small amount of electricity, diverts water from the Eel River into the Russian River basin. The Project's main facilities include two dams on the Eel River, a diversion tunnel and a hydroelectric plant. Citing economic concerns, current Project owner Pacific Gas & Electric announced in January 2019 that it would not seek a new license from Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to continue operating the facilities. PG&E's decision to not re- license the Project left an uncertain future for both Eel and Russian River interests. Instead of leaving it up to the utility and federal regulators to determine the region's water future, local leaders decided to work together to protect the interests of both river basins. The Two-Basin Partnership is a direct outgrowth of that collaborative effort, which brought together diverse stakeholders to develop a compromise solution for the future of this aging and non-economically viable hydroelectric project. The Partners have joined together as the applicant for the Project, with the collective goal of restoring 288 linear river miles of spawning habitat at the headwaters of the Eel through the removal of Scott Dam, while ensuring water supply reliability on the Russian River. Additional components of the proposed Project Plan include improving a water diversion infrastructure at Cape Horn Dam and developing infrastructure to provide water to meet summer irrigation needs for farmers and ranchers in Potter Valley. As you know, this legislation would directly support the Two-Basin Solution's shared objectives, which include: minimizing or avoiding adverse impacts to water supply reliability, fisheries, water quality and recreation in the Russian River and Eel River basins; improving fish passage and habitat on the Eel River sufficient to support recovery of naturally reproducing, self-sustaining and harvestable native anadromous fish populations including migratory access upstream and downstream at current project dam locations; and protecting tribal cultural, economic, and other interests in both the Eel and Russian River basins. On behalf of the Two-Basin Partners, we strongly support this inclusion and your continued support of our efforts on the Eel and Russian Rivers. Sincerely, Kathleen Willits, Councilmember, Round Valley Indian Tribes. Grant Davis, General Manager, Sonoma Water. Hank Seemann, Deputy Director-Environmental Services, Humboldt County Public Works Department. Janet Pauli, Chair, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission. Curtis Knight, California Trout. ____ December 18, 2020. Dear Chairman Huffman: The Nature Conservancy, Trout Unlimited, and California Trout, collectively known as the California Salmon and Steelhead Coalition, write in strong support of the aquatic ecosystem restoration provision included in H.R. 2, which we understand you and your staff have negotiated for inclusion in the omnibus appropriations bill. The Coalition is a strategic partnership founded to increase streamflows in California's North and Central Coast watersheds, with the goal of restoring and protecting wild salmon and steelhead and creating water reliability for people. We are working toward a California where water use management harmonizes and meets the needs of people, needs of fish and ecosystems. It is for these reasons that the Coalition is working together to support the Potter Valley Project relicensing effort as a major restoration opportunity. The current Potter Valley Project Plan is built around a unique collaboration among conservationists, county governments, tribes, farmers and other water interests to shape a new future for the Project, a set of obsolete hydroelectric facilities in the upper Eel River and Russian River Watersheds. This effort, if successful, will implement one of the largest dam removals in the history of the United States while strengthening the security of local water supplies. The project consists of two dams on the upper Eel River-- Scott and Cape Horn--as well as a system of trans-basin tunnels that divert approximately 60,000 acre-feet of water per year from the Eel to the Russian to generate hydroelectric power. This water ultimately flows to agricultural and municipal users in the Russian River Watershed. But, perhaps more importantly, the project blocks fish from reaching 288 linear stream miles above Scott Dam that were once the spawning grounds for some of the largest salmon and steelhead runs in California. In January 2019, PG&E chose to discontinue its efforts to renew the project's license, which expires in 2022, from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This left the door open for a different entity to license the project. Seeing this as an opportunity to remove the dams blocking the headwaters of the Eel River, California Trout joined with a diverse coalition--Sonoma Water, Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, and Humboldt County--to notify FERC that they would explore taking over the re-licensing of the project. Over the subsequent year, those parties--joined by the Round Valley Tribe--worked with a team of technical consultants to develop a proposed plan to take over the project and implement a ``Two-Basin Solution'' that would remove Scott Dam, improve fish passage at Cape Horn Dam and build new infrastructure to deliver secure water supplies to farmers who currently rely on the project. In the spring of 2020, the three Coalition groups helped negotiate an initial plan proposing the removal of Scott Dam and the implementation of a Two-Basin Solution to modernize this project to improve water supply reliability for farms and communities in the Russian and Eel River Basins; the plan will also help to restore struggling salmon and steelhead runs by reconnecting the river to its headwaters. In April the Coalition secured a $1.1 million CDFW grant that will be used to develop that proposal into a complete re-licensing plan. We have also made inroads with the communities that would be most affected by dam removal and lobbied for state and federal funding that will be needed to further develop and implement the plan. [[Page H7313]] We strongly support the inclusion of aquatic ecosystem restoration funding in the omnibus that could facilitate the watershed-level restoration of a key salmon river in California. Thank you for your leadership and support. Sincerely, Curtis Knight, Executive Director, California Trout. Matt Clifford, Staff Attorney, California Water Project, Trout Unlimited. Jay Ziegler, California Director of External Affairs and Policy, The Nature Conservancy. Mr. HALL. Mr. Speaker, the first wave of stimulus spending proved frustrating for a lot of small and medium sized business. Many mom and pop businesses ran in to loan processing problems because there were problems with their applications. Many applicants did not know that their applications needed to be cured from any defects or that there were defects with their application. Some other small businesses were rejected because their lender ran out of allocation because the lenders were focused on larger loans. That is why, Democrats were able to secure $325 billion in small business aid this time around. Democrats secured critical funding and policy changes to help small businesses, including minority-owned businesses, and nonprofits recover from the pandemic. This deal includes over $284 billion for first and second forgivable PPP loans, dedicated set-asides for very small businesses and lending through community-based lenders like Community Development Financial Institutions and Minority Depository Institutions, and expanded PPP eligibility for 501(c)(6) nonprofits, including destination marketing organizations, and local newspapers, TV and radio broadcasters. $20 billion is included for new EIDL Grants for businesses in low-income communities, $3.5 billion for continued SBA debt relief payments, and $2 billion for enhancements to SBA lending. This deal also includes $15 billion in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions. Small businesses that took a PPP loan and saw their revenues fall by 25% will be eligible for a second loan. Congress will also allow PPP borrowers to take tax deductions for covered business expenses. The SPEAKER pro tempore. All time for debate has expired. Pursuant to House Resolution 1271, the previous question is ordered. The question of adoption of the motion is divided. The first portion of the divided question is: Will the House concur in the Senate amendment with the matter proposed to be inserted as Divisions B, C, E, and F of the amendment of the House? The question is on the first portion of the divided question. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 965, the yeas and nays are ordered. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 327, nays 85, not voting 18, as follows: [Roll No. 250] YEAS--327 Adams Aderholt Aguilar Allen Allred Amodei Arrington Axne Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Bergman Beyer Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bost Brady Brindisi Brooks (AL) Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Buchanan Bucshon Burgess Bustos Butterfield Byrne Calvert Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Carter (GA) Cartwright Case Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Chabot Cheney Chu, Judy Cicilline Cisneros Clark (MA) Clay Cleaver Cline Clyburn Cohen Cole Collins (GA) Conaway Connolly Cooper Costa Courtney Cox (CA) Craig Crawford Crenshaw Crist Crow Cunningham Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Davis, Rodney Dean DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings Deutch Diaz-Balart Dingell Doyle, Michael F. Emmer Engel Eshoo Estes Evans Ferguson Finkenauer Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fletcher Flores Fortenberry Foster Foxx (NC) Frankel Fudge Fulcher Gaetz Gallego Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (TX) Gianforte Gibbs Golden Gonzalez (OH) Gottheimer Granger Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green, Al (TX) Griffith Grothman Guest Haaland Hagedorn Hall Harder (CA) Harris Hartzler Hastings Hayes Heck Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Higgins (NY) Hill (AR) Himes Holding Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hudson Huizenga Hurd (TX) Jackson Lee Jacobs Johnson (GA) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Johnson (TX) Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kaptur Katko Keating Kelly (IL) Kelly (PA) Kildee Kilmer Kim Kind King (NY) Kinzinger Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Kustoff (TN) LaHood LaMalfa Lamb Lamborn Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latta Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (NV) Lesko Levin (CA) Lieu, Ted Lipinski Loebsack Lowenthal Lowey Lucas Luetkemeyer Lujan Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Sean Marshall Matsui McAdams McBath McCarthy McCaul McCollum McEachin McHenry McKinley McNerney Meeks Meuser Mfume Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Morelle Moulton Mucarsel-Powell Murphy (FL) Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Newhouse Norcross Nunes O'Halleran Olson Palazzo Pallone Palmer Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Pelosi Pence Perlmutter Peters Peterson Phillips Pingree Porter Price (NC) Quigley Reed Reschenthaler Rice (NY) Richmond Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (KY) Rooney (FL) Rose (NY) Rouda Rouzer Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Rutherford Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scalise Scanlon Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, Austin Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sherrill Shimkus Simpson Sires Slotkin Smith (MO) Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (WA) Smucker Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stauber Stefanik Steil Stevens Stewart Stivers Suozzi Swalwell (CA) Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Thornberry Tipton Titus Tonko Torres (CA) Torres Small (NM) Trahan Trone Turner Underwood Upton Van Drew Veasey Visclosky Wagner Walberg Walden Walorski Waltz Wasserman Schultz Waters Watkins Wenstrup Westerman Wexton Wild Williams Wilson (FL) Wittman Womack Woodall Yarmuth Young Zeldin NAYS--85 Amash Armstrong Babin Banks Biggs Bishop (NC) Blumenauer Boyle, Brendan F. Buck Budd Burchett Castro (TX) Clarke (NY) Cloud Comer Correa Cuellar Curtis Davidson (OH) DeFazio DeSaulnier DesJarlais Doggett Escobar Espaillat Gabbard Gallagher Garcia (IL) Gohmert Gomez Gonzalez (TX) Gooden Gosar Green (TN) Grijalva Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hollingsworth Huffman Jayapal Jeffries Jordan Keller Kelly (MS) Kennedy Khanna Lee (CA) Levin (MI) Lofgren Long Maloney, Carolyn B. Massie Mast McClintock McGovern Meng Mooney (WV) Moore Mullin Norman Ocasio-Cortez Omar Perry Pocan Posey Pressley Raskin Rice (SC) Rose, John W. Roy Schakowsky Schweikert Sensenbrenner Steube Takano Taylor Tiffany Timmons Tlaib Vargas Vela Velazquez Watson Coleman Weber (TX) Welch NOT VOTING--18 Abraham Bishop (UT) Brooks (IN) Carter (TX) Duncan Dunn Guthrie King (IA) Loudermilk Marchant Murphy (NC) Rogers (AL) Spano Walker Webster (FL) Wilson (SC) Wright Yoho {time} 2025 Messrs. GRIJALVA, JEFFRIES, and WEBER of Texas changed their vote from ``yea'' to ``nay.'' Mr. McCARTHY changed his vote from ``nay'' to ``yea.'' So the first portion of the divided question was adopted. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. members recorded pursuant to house resolution 965, 116th congress Allred (Wexton) Axne (Davids (KS)) Barragan (Beyer) Bera (Aguilar) Bishop (GA) (Butterfield) Blumenauer (Beyer) Bonamici (Clark (MA)) Boyle, Brendan F. (Jeffries) Brownley (CA) (Clark (MA)) Bustos (Kuster (NH)) Cardenas (Carbajal) Carson (IN) (Butterfield) Case (Cartwright) Castor (FL) (Demings) Cisneros (Carbajal) Cleaver (Davids (KS)) Cohen (Beyer) Costa (Correa) Davis (CA) (Scanlon) Dean (Scanlon) DeFazio (Davids (KS)) DeGette (Blunt Rochester) DelBene (Cicilline) DeSaulnier (Matsui) Deutch (Rice (NY)) Doggett (Raskin) Escobar (Garcia (TX)) Eshoo (Thompson (CA)) Finkenauer (Underwood) Fletcher (Raskin) Frankel (Clark (MA)) [[Page H7314]] Garamendi (Sherman) Gianforte (Suozzi) Gonzalez (TX) (Gomez) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Haaland (Davids (KS)) Hastings (Wasserman Schultz) Heck (Kildee) Jayapal (Raskin) Johnson (TX) (Jeffries) Kelly (IL) (Clarke (NY)) Kennedy (McGovern) Khanna (Sherman) Kilmer (Kildee) Kim (Davids (KS)) Kirkpatrick (Stanton) Lamb (Sherrill) Langevin (Lynch) Larson (CT) (Cicilline) Lawrence (Kildee) Lawson (FL) (Demings) Lieu, Ted (Beyer) Lipinski (Schrader) Lofgren (Jeffries) Lowenthal (Beyer) McEachin (Wexton) McNerney (Raskin) Meng (Clark (MA)) Mitchell (Spanberger) Moore (Beyer) Moulton (McGovern) Mucarsel-Powell (Wasserman Schultz) Nadler (Jeffries) Napolitano (Correa) Neal (Lynch) Neguse (Perlmutter) Pascrell (Pallone) Payne (Wasserman Schultz) Peters (Kildee) Peterson (McCollum) Pingree (Cicilline) Pocan (Raskin) Porter (Wexton) Price (NC) (Butterfield) Richmond (Butterfield) Rooney (FL) (Beyer) Rouda (Aguilar) Roybal-Allard (Garcia (TX)) Ruiz (Dingell) Rush (Underwood) Ryan (Kildee) Schakowsky (Underwood) Schneider (Casten (IL)) Schrier (Spanberger) Serrano (Jeffries) Sewell (AL) (Cicilline) Shimkus (Pallone) Sires (Pallone) Smith (WA) (Courtney) Speier (Scanlon) Thompson (MS) (Fudge) Titus (Connolly) Vargas (Correa) Veasey (Beyer) Velazquez (Clarke (NY)) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Welch (McGovern) Wilson (FL) (Hayes) The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Mfume). The Chair will now put the question on the second portion of the divided question. The question is: Will the House concur in the Senate amendment with all of the matter proposed to be inserted by the amendment of the House other than Divisions B, C, E, and F? The question is on the second portion of the divided question. The question was taken; and the Speaker pro tempore announced that the ayes appeared to have it. Ms. GRANGER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3 of House Resolution 965, the yeas and nays are ordered. The vote was taken by electronic device, and there were--yeas 359, nays 53, not voting 17, as follows: [Roll No. 251] YEAS--359 Adams Aderholt Aguilar Allen Allred Amodei Arrington Axne Bacon Baird Balderson Barr Barragan Bass Beatty Bera Bergman Beyer Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Blumenauer Blunt Rochester Bonamici Bost Boyle, Brendan F. Brady Brindisi Brown (MD) Brownley (CA) Buchanan Bucshon Bustos Butterfield Byrne Calvert Carbajal Cardenas Carson (IN) Carter (GA) Cartwright Case Casten (IL) Castor (FL) Castro (TX) Chabot Cheney Chu, Judy Cicilline Cisneros Clark (MA) Clarke (NY) Clay Cleaver Cline Clyburn Cohen Cole Collins (GA) Comer Connolly Cooper Correa Costa Courtney Cox (CA) Craig Crawford Crenshaw Crist Crow Cuellar Cunningham Davids (KS) Davis (CA) Davis, Danny K. Davis, Rodney Dean DeFazio DeGette DeLauro DelBene Delgado Demings DeSaulnier Deutch Diaz-Balart Dingell Doggett Doyle, Michael F. Emmer Engel Escobar Eshoo Espaillat Estes Evans Ferguson Finkenauer Fitzpatrick Fleischmann Fletcher Flores Fortenberry Foster Foxx (NC) Frankel Fudge Fulcher Gallego Garamendi Garcia (CA) Garcia (IL) Garcia (TX) Gianforte Gibbs Golden Gomez Gonzalez (OH) Gonzalez (TX) Gottheimer Granger Graves (LA) Graves (MO) Green, Al (TX) Grijalva Guest Guthrie Haaland Hagedorn Hall Harder (CA) Harris Hartzler Hastings Hayes Heck Hern, Kevin Herrera Beutler Higgins (NY) Hill (AR) Himes Holding Horn, Kendra S. Horsford Houlahan Hoyer Hudson Huffman Huizenga Hurd (TX) Jackson Lee Jacobs Jayapal Jeffries Johnson (GA) Johnson (LA) Johnson (OH) Johnson (SD) Johnson (TX) Joyce (OH) Joyce (PA) Kaptur Katko Keating Kelly (IL) Kelly (PA) Kennedy Khanna Kildee Kilmer Kim Kind King (NY) Kinzinger Kirkpatrick Krishnamoorthi Kuster (NH) Kustoff (TN) LaHood LaMalfa Lamb Langevin Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latta Lawrence Lawson (FL) Lee (CA) Lee (NV) Lesko Levin (CA) Levin (MI) Lieu, Ted Lipinski Loebsack Lofgren Long Lowenthal Lowey Lucas Luetkemeyer Lujan Luria Lynch Malinowski Maloney, Carolyn B. Maloney, Sean Marshall Mast Matsui McAdams McBath McCarthy McCaul McCollum McEachin McGovern McHenry McKinley McNerney Meeks Meng Meuser Mfume Miller Mitchell Moolenaar Moore Morelle Moulton Mucarsel-Powell Murphy (FL) Nadler Napolitano Neal Neguse Newhouse Norcross Nunes O'Halleran Ocasio-Cortez Olson Omar Palazzo Pallone Palmer Panetta Pappas Pascrell Payne Pence Perlmutter Peters Peterson Phillips Pingree Pocan Porter Pressley Price (NC) Quigley Raskin Reed Reschenthaler Rice (NY) Rice (SC) Richmond Riggleman Roby Rodgers (WA) Roe, David P. Rogers (KY) Rooney (FL) Rose (NY) Rouda Rouzer Roybal-Allard Ruiz Ruppersberger Rush Rutherford Ryan Sanchez Sarbanes Scalise Scanlon Schakowsky Schiff Schneider Schrader Schrier Scott (VA) Scott, Austin Scott, David Serrano Sewell (AL) Shalala Sherman Sherrill Shimkus Simpson Sires Slotkin Smith (NE) Smith (NJ) Smith (WA) Smucker Soto Spanberger Speier Stanton Stauber Stefanik Stevens Stivers Suozzi Swalwell (CA) Takano Thompson (CA) Thompson (MS) Thompson (PA) Thornberry Titus Tonko Torres (CA) Torres Small (NM) Trahan Trone Turner Underwood Upton Van Drew Vargas Veasey Vela Velazquez Visclosky Wagner Walberg Walden Walorski Waltz Wasserman Schultz Waters Watkins Watson Coleman Welch Wenstrup Westerman Wexton Wild Williams Wilson (FL) Wittman Womack Woodall Yarmuth Young Zeldin NAYS--53 Amash Armstrong Babin Banks Biggs Bishop (NC) Brooks (AL) Buck Budd Burchett Burgess Cloud Conaway Curtis Davidson (OH) DesJarlais Gabbard Gaetz Gallagher Gohmert Gooden Gosar Green (TN) Griffith Grothman Hice (GA) Higgins (LA) Hollingsworth Jordan Keller Kelly (MS) Lamborn Massie McClintock Mooney (WV) Mullin Norman Perry Posey Rose, John W. Roy Schweikert Sensenbrenner Smith (MO) Steil Steube Stewart Taylor Tiffany Timmons Tipton Tlaib Weber (TX) NOT VOTING--17 Abraham Bishop (UT) Brooks (IN) Carter (TX) Duncan Dunn King (IA) Loudermilk Marchant Murphy (NC) Rogers (AL) Spano Walker Webster (FL) Wilson (SC) Wright Yoho {time} 2108 Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ changed her vote from ``present'' to ``yea.'' So the second portion of the divided question was adopted. The result of the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the table. Personal explanation Mr. KING of Iowa. Mr. Speaker, I was unable to vote on December 20, 2020 and December 21, 2020 due to not being in DC. Had I been present, I would have voted as follows: ``no'' on rollcall No. 248; ``no'' on rollcall No. 249; ``no'' on rollcall No. 250; and ``no'' on rollcall No. 251. members recorded pursuant to house resolution 965, 116th congress Allred (Wexton) Axne (Davids (KS)) Barragan (Beyer) Bera (Aguilar) Bishop (GA) (Butterfield) Blumenauer (Beyer) Bonamici (Clark (MA)) Boyle, Brendan F. (Jeffries) Brownley (CA) (Clark (MA)) Bustos (Kuster (NH)) Cardenas (Carbajal) Carson (IN) (Butterfield) Case (Cartwright) Castor (FL) (Demings) Cisneros (Carbajal) Cleaver (Davids (KS)) Cohen (Beyer) Costa (Correa) Davis (CA) (Scanlon) Dean (Scanlon) DeFazio (Davids (KS)) DeGette (Blunt Rochester) DelBene (Cicilline) DeSaulnier (Matsui) Deutch (Rice (NY)) Doggett (Raskin) Escobar (Garcia (TX)) Eshoo (Thompson (CA)) Finkenauer (Underwood) Fletcher (Raskin) Frankel (Clark (MA)) Garamendi (Sherman) Gianforte (Suozzi) Gonzalez (TX) (Gomez) Grijalva (Garcia (IL)) Haaland (Davids (KS)) Hastings (Wasserman Schultz) Heck (Kildee) Jayapal (Raskin) Johnson (TX) (Jeffries) Kelly (IL) (Clarke (NY)) Kennedy (McGovern) Khanna (Sherman) Kilmer (Kildee) Kim (Davids (KS)) Kirkpatrick (Stanton) Lamb (Sherrill) Langevin (Lynch) Larson (CT) (Cicilline) Lawrence (Kildee) Lawson (FL) (Demings) Lieu, Ted (Beyer) Lipinski (Schrader) Lofgren (Jeffries) Lowenthal (Beyer) McEachin (Wexton) McNerney (Raskin) Meng (Clark (MA)) Mitchell (Spanberger) Moore (Beyer) Moulton (McGovern) Mucarsel-Powell (Wasserman Schultz) Nadler (Jeffries) Napolitano (Correa) Neal (Lynch) Neguse (Perlmutter) Pascrell (Pallone) Payne (Wasserman Schultz) Peters (Kildee) Peterson (McCollum) Pingree (Cicilline) Pocan (Raskin) Porter (Wexton) Price (NC) (Butterfield) Richmond (Butterfield) Rooney (FL) (Beyer) Rouda (Aguilar) Roybal-Allard (Garcia (TX)) Ruiz (Dingell) Rush (Underwood) Ryan (Kildee) [[Page H7315]] Schakowsky (Underwood) Schneider (Casten (IL)) Schrier (Spanberger) Serrano (Jeffries) Sewell (AL) (Cicilline) Shimkus (Pallone) Sires (Pallone) Smith (WA) (Courtney) Speier (Scanlon) Thompson (MS) (Fudge) Titus (Connolly) Vargas (Correa) Veasey (Beyer) Velazquez (Clarke (NY)) Watson Coleman (Pallone) Welch (McGovern) Wilson (FL) (Hayes) ____________________