Congressional Record United States Th of America PROCEEDINGS and DEBATES of the 114 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION
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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, SECOND SESSION Vol. 162 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2016 No. 33 House of Representatives The House met at 10 a.m. and was tration back in the late 1980s. It is a of commercial traffic. Ninety-five per- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- treaty which has been endorsed by cent of the world’s commodities go by pore (Mr. DONOVAN). Democratic Presidents, Republican sea. Their intentions are crystal clear. f Presidents, Condoleeza Rice, and mili- Admiral Harris, when he testified the tary leadership of all stripes, to create other day, made it also very clear that DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO a system of rules of the road in terms ‘‘acceding to the convention’’—the Law TEMPORE of maritime disputes. of the Sea Treaty—‘‘gives us the moral The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- As I said, the military leadership of high ground to criticize those countries fore the House the following commu- this country has been adamant and that would seek to inhibit freedom of nication from the Speaker: consistent year in and year out about maneuver in the oceans and airspace WASHINGTON, DC, the need for our country to join 166 around the world, including the Asia- March 1, 2016. other countries in the world in terms Pacific region.’’ I hereby appoint the Honorable DANIEL M. of ratifying this treaty. As Marine Interestingly, the following day, Gen- DONOVAN, Jr. to act as Speaker pro tempore General Joe Dunford said a short time eral Philip Breedlove, the commander on this day. ago, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of NATO, European Command for the PAUL D. RYAN, of Staff: ‘‘We undermine our leverage U.S., came in and without any prompt- Speaker of the House of Representatives. by not signing up to the same rule ing testified to exactly the same policy f book by which we are asking other position because what he is seeing in MORNING-HOUR DEBATE countries to accept.’’ his region of the world is that a resur- Today, as this map shows, all the gent Russia is militarizing the Arctic The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- purple countries are those that have Circle, that they are using this, again, ant to the order of the House of Janu- ratified the treaty, and the blue coun- melting of the ice cap as an oppor- ary 5, 2016, the Chair will now recog- tries are those that have not. The tunity to militarize that region of the nize Members from lists submitted by United States joins the following com- world and try and control what is going the majority and minority leaders for pany in terms of refusing to ratify this to be a maritime passage, where both morning-hour debate. treaty: North Korea, Iran, Syria, military assets and commercial traffic The Chair will alternate recognition Libya, and Venezuela. are going to move back and forth. between the parties, with each party Now, again, this is a measure which General Breedlove, again, made ex- limited to 1 hour and each Member has been debated over the years, and it actly the same point: we need to get other than the majority and minority has been, I would argue, sort of a Wash- into the game. This was made crystal leaders and the minority whip limited ington, D.C., parlor game in terms of clear just a few months ago. The Gov- to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- the theoretical impact that it may or ernment of the Philippines, to its cred- bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. may not have; but in recent months, it, has challenged China. They filed an f the need to do this has become much application before The Hague, citing sharper and clearer. the Law of the Sea Treaty, that what UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON This past week at the House Com- they are doing in the South China Sea THE LAW OF THE SEA mittee on Armed Services, which I blatantly violates international law. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The serve on, and I am the ranking member The United States asked not to par- Chair recognizes the gentleman from of the Subcommittee on Seapower and ticipate directly as a party, because we Connecticut (Mr. COURTNEY) for 5 min- Projection Forces, Admiral Harry Har- haven’t ratified the treaty, but simply utes. ris testified. He is our commander of to be an observer, to be a friend of the Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, in a PACOM. He has all of Asia-Pacific, the court to be able to contribute ideas and few moments this morning, I will be in- region of the world where China today data—which our Navy has more than troducing a House resolution, a bipar- is blatantly violating maritime law by any other Navy in the world—and we tisan House resolution, with Congress- creating islands out of nothing, cre- were denied observer status because we man DON YOUNG from the State of ating landing strips and militarizing have not ratified this treaty. Alaska calling on the Senate to, once those new land masses in a clear at- So right now people are hard at work and for all, ratify the U.N. Convention tempt to, again, violate the U.N. Con- in The Hague writing the rules of the on the Law of the Sea Treaty. vention on the Law of the Sea Treaty road in terms of maritime issues that Mr. Speaker, this is a treaty which by creating an economic zone that is are going to determine budgets. And, was negotiated by the Reagan adminis- going to interfere with the free passage again, I am the ranking member of the 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. H1047 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:34 Mar 01, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A01MR7.000 H01MRPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H1048 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE March 1, 2016 Subcommittee on Seapower and Pro- roasted. The American chestnut was wide as it is when we consider the ap- jection Forces, so this is driving a lot truly a heritage tree. proach that my friends on the Repub- of decisions about building submarines However, the booming trade industry lican side have taken with respect to and surface ships and stronger muni- introduced fungal diseases that would the absolutely essential constitutional tions because of what is happening in change the species composition of east- duty of appointing a Supreme Court the South China Sea. ern North American forests. A root rot Justice. It is also going to be driving the out- disease, thought to have caused mor- So I am going to break with my past comes of what is happening with resur- tality of chestnuts in low, moist areas pattern and read briefly from the Con- gent Russia. Putin is not kidding infested southern populations of the stitution, Article II, section 2, which around in terms of what he is doing in American chestnut and constricted its reads: the Arctic Circle or in the North Atlan- natural range. This fungal disease was ‘‘He shall have power’’—that is refer- tic. General Breedlove made that very followed by the more commonly known ring to the President—‘‘by and with clear. We are playing, right now, zone chestnut blight, which spread through- the advice and consent of the Senate, defense in terms of what is happening out eastern hardwood forests at a rate to make treaties, provided two-thirds in that region of the world. of up to 50 miles per year. of the Senators present concur; and he It is time for the Congress to listen, By the 1950s, virtually all mature shall nominate, and by and with the if nothing else, to our military leader- American chestnut trees had suc- advice and consent of the Senate, shall ship and recognize the international cumbed to the disease, and this catas- appoint Ambassadors, other public Law of the Sea Treaty, which 166 na- trophe became known as one of the ministers and consuls, Judges of the tions in the world have ratified. It is worst ecological disasters in the United Supreme Court.’’ time for the U.S. to get in the game, States. The American chestnut has And there it ends. He shall appoint get off the bleachers, and be able to set been relegated to a minor understory Justices of the Supreme Court. There those rules because it is going to deter- component, existing as sprouts from it ends. mine, for decades to come, decisions old stumps and root systems. There is nothing there about he that this body is going to be stuck with Today modern techniques are being won’t do that in an election year. if we are not part of that process. used to bring the species back from There is nothing there saying that if Again, our military leadership, the near extinction, but the success of there is not enough time, he won’t ex- Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, these efforts will be the result of dec- ercise his constitutional authority. our CNO of the Navy, the head of the ades of genetic hybridization. The There is nothing there that, maybe be- American Chestnut Foundation has Coast Guard, they have all been very cause then-Senator BIDEN said some- embarked on an elaborate and time- clear and public about the fact that it thing 25 years ago, he won’t appoint a consuming breeding program to de- is time for this Nation to get into the Supreme Court Justice.