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, THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016 No. 4 Senate The Senate was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Monday, January 11, 2016, at 2 p.m. House of Representatives THURSDAY, JANUARY 7, 2016 The House met at 10 a.m. and was ican workers who seek jobs that pay This claimed labor shortage is unsup- called to order by the Speaker pro tem- enough to support their families. ported by jobs or wage data and is po- pore (Mr. LAHOOD). In December, on less than 72 hours’ litical bunk. Per Federal labor statis- f notice, Congress and President Obama tics, 57 percent—57 percent—of Ameri- shoved down the throats of Americans cans without a high school diploma had DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO a 2,000-page, financially irresponsible, no job in 2015’s second quarter. That TEMPORE $1.1 trillion omnibus spending bill that bears repeating. Fifty-seven percent of The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- not only risks America’s solvency, it Americans without a high school di- fore the House the following commu- also threatens American jobs for Amer- ploma had no job in 2015’s second quar- nication from the Speaker: ican workers. ter. That is a lot of Americans who Under old law, 66,000 H–2B foreign WASHINGTON, DC, would love to have those jobs President January 7, 2016. worker visas could be issued each year. Obama and Congress denied Americans I hereby appoint the Honorable DARIN Buried deep inside the 2,000-page omni- and gave to foreigners. LAHOOD to act as Speaker pro tempore on bus spending bill, on page 701, is an ob- Economics 101 explains that wages this day. scure provision without even a heading rise if there is a labor shortage and fall PAUL D. RYAN, that, according to labor expert John if there is a labor surplus. According to Speaker of the House of Representatives. Miano, increases available H–2B visas Census Bureau data from 2007 to 2014; f up to 264,000 per year, effectively quad- wages for security guards went down rupling visas for low-skilled, tem- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE 6.1 percent, for cooks down 4.4 percent; porary nonagricultural foreign work- for janitors down 1.2 percent; for ush- The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- ers. ers, lobby attendants, and ticket tak- ant to the order of the House of Janu- Making matters worse, on New ers, down 7.1 percent; for hotel, motel, ary 5, 2016, the Chair will now recog- Year’s Eve, while America focused on and resort desk clerks, down 7 percent. nize Members from lists submitted by football games and celebrations, Presi- The list of falling wages for low-income the majority and minority leaders for dent Obama issued a 200-page proposed American workers goes on and on. This morning-hour debate. rule to illegally bust statutory green falling wage data is compelling evi- The Chair will alternate recognition card immigration caps by approving dence that there is no shortage of between the parties, with each party unlimited numbers of work permits for American labor and, to the contrary, limited to 1 hour and each Member foreigners who don’t have green cards. that there is an oversupply of Amer- other than the majority and minority This White House action is yet another ican labor that demands cutting for- leaders and the minority whip limited brazen display of contempt for immi- eign labor, not expanding it. to 5 minutes, but in no event shall de- gration statutes, the rule of law, and Mr. Speaker, while these surges in bate continue beyond 11:50 a.m. American workers. foreign worker visas and foreign labor f The White House argues importing work permits is a huge victory for spe- foreign labor is necessary because of a cial interests that profit from sup- VISAS AND WORK PERMITS claimed shortage of American labor. pressed wages, it is a debilitating loss The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Similarly, House Speaker PAUL RYAN for struggling American families. Chair recognizes the gentleman from claims increasing foreign worker visas Unemployed and underpaid Ameri- Alabama (Mr. BROOKS) for 5 minutes. ‘‘helps small businesses who cannot cans desperate for a good-paying job Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speak- find labor when there’s a surge in de- have every right to be angry at a Fed- er, Washington has, once again, under- mand for their labor, like seafood proc- eral Government that takes American mined and betrayed struggling Amer- essing or tourism.’’ jobs from American citizens and gives 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. H105 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:40 Jan 07, 2016 Jkt 059060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4636 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A07JA7.000 H07JAPT1 smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H106 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE January 7, 2016 them to foreigners. Americans have was pursued, the public was left with Care Act, or the ACA. With yesterday’s every right to be angry at Washington the consequences and the cost of clean- passage of the bill, it marks the first elected officials who care more about up, if it ever occurs. time repeal of the ACA has been sent special interest campaign contribu- The longstanding battles over Amer- to President Obama’s desk. tions than American voters who elect- ican rangeland between competing In the past year, several significant ed us. I hope those Americans will re- owners and between competing uses, problems with this law have become member their anger during 2016’s pri- like cattle and sheep, were not pretty. ever more clear. We have seen a large mary and general elections. That is the There is no doubt that there are still number of healthcare co-ops go under. way to force Washington to represent significant problems dealing with pub- One major healthcare provider, us. lic land management, in part because UnitedHealthcare, announced it is pull- Mr. Speaker, I can’t speak for any- the rules of the game are still set by ing out of the ACA exchange. This sys- body else, but, as for me, MO BROOKS the Mining Act of 1872 and the Taylor tem is just not sustainable. from Alabama’s Fifth Congressional Grazing Act of 1934. Late last year, the Congressional District, I fight for the economic inter- All but the most reckless individuals Budget Office released a report stating ests of American citizens and against would agree that if these statutes were that the ACA will lead to a reduction policies that undermine the struggling written today they would look fun- of work-hours equivalent to 2 million American voters who sent us here. damentally different with more protec- jobs over the next decade. The CBO at- That is part of the reason why I voted tions and clarity. It was into this void tributes this reduction to healthcare against December’s financially irre- that Teddy Roosevelt stepped, declar- subsidies tied to income, raising effec- sponsible omnibus spending bill—and ing critical national monuments. He tive tax rates for Americans, and cre- am proud of it. established wildlife refuges to benefit ating a disincentive for people seeking f countless generations to come. promotions or new, higher paying jobs. These amazing treasures are not just It also points to higher taxes and pen- MALHEUR NATIONAL WILDLIFE scenic wonders. They hold extraor- alties as a reason for the reduction in REFUGE dinarily valuable habitat for wildlife, work-hours. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The waterfowl, helping preserve the land In comparison, the Restoring Ameri- Chair recognizes the gentleman from and the water and the ecosystem that cans’ Healthcare Freedom Reconcili- Oregon (Mr. BLUMENAUER) for 5 min- goes far beyond what is simply spectac- ation Act will reduce the Federal def- utes. ular to look at. icit by more than half a trillion dollars Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, This is America’s heritage. We strug- over the next 10 years. It will also with the odd drama playing out in Or- gle on an ongoing basis to recover from eliminate costly provisions, such as the egon where armed thugs have taken the reckless, thoughtless exploitation individual and employer health insur- over a Federal wildlife facility, it is of the last two centuries. The vast ma- ance coverage mandates, the Cadillac important to reflect on what the wild- jority of the American public supports tax on high-cost plans, and it will en- life refuge system is all about. this effort, even if they never visit the hance the solvency of Medicare. It also If these people had any argument remote Western regions. Indeed, the ensures that Federal tax dollars will with the President, it was with Presi- fact that they are often inaccessible is not go to providers of abortion. dent Roosevelt, who 108 years ago es- the only way that they are preserved. Mr. Speaker, over the past several tablished the Malheur National Wild- Imagine tour buses, motorized vehicles, years, dozens of ACA reforms have been life Refuge as a response to protect hordes of tourists, their infrastructure signed into law. However, we have only natural resources, especially the and their litter, and the destructive ef- scratched the surface when it comes to slaughter of wild birds for feathers to fects that would have.