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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 114 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 161 WASHINGTON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2015 No. 155 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was from the highway trust fund. It is sim- newspapers, and in small newspapers called to order by the Speaker pro tem- ply an empty shell. all across the country. There really is pore (Mr. FLEISCHMANN). It really doesn’t have to be this hard. no controversy. There is a single solution that is sup- f Indeed, in the over two dozen States ported by everyone outside of Capitol that have raised transportation rev- DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO Hill, one that has been employed by six enue since 2012, the legislators who TEMPORE red Republican States already this voted for more transportation revenue The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- year and championed by Ronald got reelected by a higher percentage fore the House the following commu- Reagan when he was President: raise than the legislators who voted against nication from the Speaker: the gas tax. Our problems are that we it. It is broadly supported, not politi- are trying to fund 2015 infrastructure cally controversial, and is desperately WASHINGTON, DC, with 1993 dollars—the last time we October 22, 2015. needed. I hereby appoint the Honorable CHARLES J. raised the Federal gas tax. I am glad my colleagues were able to FLEISCHMANN to act as Speaker pro tempore I have a bill that will accomplish this reach a compromise on the Transpor- on this day. fact. H.R. 680 provides that assurance tation and Infrastructure Committee JOHN A. BOEHNER, and certainty by phasing in a gas tax and put forward some interesting ideas. Speaker of the House of Representatives. increase over 3 years. It will permit us It gives a hint of what could happen if f to fully fund a 6-year reauthorization we had a real funding source, which we for the first time since 1998 without re- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE don’t; and the bill being marked up sorting to gimmicks. It is cosponsored raises more questions, therefore, than The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- by over three dozen House Members, it answers. Even if the House were to but, more importantly, it enjoys the ant to the order of the House of Janu- embrace it unanimously, we would still broadest base of support for any major ary 6, 2015, the Chair will now recog- be where we were 3 months ago, 6 nize Members from lists submitted by piece of legislation before Congress. Is there any other bill of any signifi- months ago, and many times before the majority and minority leaders for that. morning-hour debate. cance that is endorsed by the U.S. Chamber and the AFL–CIO, countless We are facing another short-term ex- The Chair will alternate recognition tension—this will be the 35th—and are between the parties, with each party business and trade associations, as well as individual unions, the American providing zero assurance or long-term limited to 1 hour and each Member certainty to the many who rely on our other than the majority and minority Trucking Association, representing that industry, and auto users, rep- transportation system. No country be- leaders and the minority whip limited came great building its infrastructure 8 to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- resented by AAA? The answer is ‘‘no.’’ months at a time. bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. The coalition includes bicyclists, en- We can have markups and pass a re- f gineers, local government, transit authorization shell on the floor of the House; but until we embrace H.R. 680 TRANSPORTATION agencies—virtually anyone who builds, and raise the gas tax, finding revenue REAUTHORIZATION maintains, or depends upon our trans- portation system. that is sustainable, dedicated, and big The SPEAKER pro tempore. The For all the rhetoric about ‘‘strength- enough to do the job, we are still going Chair recognizes the gentleman from ening the economy,’’ this will be the to be spinning our wheels; and America Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- one proven way of putting several mil- will be stuck. utes. lion people to work at family-wage jobs f Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, while it reduces the deficit and ASHLEY MITCHELL today, the House Transportation and strengthens our communities from Infrastructure Committee will consider coast to coast. Every State, every met- The SPEAKER pro tempore. The a surface transportation reauthoriza- ropolitan area, every rural region of Chair recognizes the gentleman from tion. Unfortunately, calling it a ‘‘reau- America would benefit both by the Louisiana (Mr. ABRAHAM) for 5 min- thorization’’ doesn’t make it so. transportation improvements as well utes. This legislation calls for a 6-year pe- as the economic impact this work will Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise riod of reauthorization and hopes to be create. today to highlight the accomplish- funded for 3 years, but it doesn’t actu- This has been recognized by inde- ments of a truly remarkable lady in ally provide a single dime of revenue pendent analysts, editorials in major my district. b This symbol represents the time of day during the House proceedings, e.g., b 1407 is 2:07 p.m. Matter set in this typeface indicates words inserted or appended, rather than spoken, by a Member of the House on the floor. H7093 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:03 Oct 23, 2015 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 7634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A22OC7.000 H22OCPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H7094 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE October 22, 2015 Ashley Mitchell is a student at Alex- the only way we can help protect the Pennsylvania (Mr. ROTHFUS) for 5 min- andria High School in Louisiana, and people, the infrastructure, businesses, utes. her hard work and dedication to the and ecosystems that are already Mr. ROTHFUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise sport that she loves so much has paid threatened. We know that societies today to paint a picture of the incred- off in huge dividends. have adjusted to and have coped with ible progress of an industry that is Miss Mitchell just broke two world changes in climate with different de- making my district in western Penn- records while participating in the grees of success; but our modern life is sylvania a better place to work and World Powerlifting Championships in tailored to the stable climate we have live. the Czech Republic. Those records were been accustomed to. As the President For many years, the coal industry the deadlift at 326.5 pounds and the recently pointed out, our climate is has been an important part of the econ- other at 762 pounds. Now, those are im- changing faster than we are adapting omy in Pennsylvania. Historic mining pressive numbers, but even more im- to it. activity, unfortunately, left behind pressive when you keep in mind that While climate change is a global large piles of coal refuse. These piles this young lady is 94 pounds. She rep- issue, it is often felt on a hyper-local consist of lower-quality coal mixed resented the United States well and scale, so our cities have to be at the with rock and dirt. has returned home as the world cham- front line of adaptation. We need com- For a long time, we did not have the pion for the United States of America. munities that have better flood de- technology to use this material, so it It is young people like Ashley, who fenses, plans for dealing with higher accumulated in large piles in cities and are leaders among their peers and who temperatures and heat waves, as well towns, close to schools and neighbor- will be leaders in our communities very as better management of our water hoods, and in fields across the region. soon, whom we encourage. storage and use. Some cities are al- This has led to a number of environ- I urge my colleagues to keep these ready taking steps to create these ad- mental problems: vegetation and wild- young people, their potential, and their aptation plans. Roughly 20 percent of life have been harmed, the air has been impressive accomplishments in mind cities around the globe have adopted polluted, acid mine drainage has im- as we do our jobs here in D.C. I com- adaptation strategies. My city of Chi- paired nearby rivers and streams, and mend Ashley for her talent, for her cago is included on that list. problems compound when these piles tireless effort, and for representing this The most obvious changes that Chi- catch fire. country on an international stage in cago is dealing with are hotter sum- The cost to clean up all of this is as- such an impressive manner. mers and more intense heat waves. In- tronomical. Pennsylvania’s environ- f creased temperatures are leading to mental regulator estimates that fixing countless unforeseen consequences, abandoned mine lands could take over CLIMATE CHANGE AND such as heat-related illness and a dete- $16 billion, $2 billion of which would be ADAPTATION rioration in air quality. Higher tem- needed for the coal refuse piles alone. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The peratures are also boosting the demand We needed an innovative solution to Chair recognizes the gentleman from for electricity, placing stress on our this tough challenge. A commonsense Illinois (Mr. QUIGLEY) for 5 minutes. power plants. Heavy rains and snow are compromise was necessary to get the Mr.