E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 115 CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION Vol. 164 WASHINGTON, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2018 No. 28 House of Representatives The House met at noon and was stayed his visa but had been checking many members of the community as called to order by the Speaker pro tem- in periodically with Immigration and possible. Individuals and families with pore (Mr. MEADOWS). Customs Enforcement, ICE, as he was a combined income of $54,000 or less are f told to do. But on January 24, as he eligible for assistance through the pro- was getting ready to take his kids to gram. Volunteer tax preparers receive DESIGNATION OF SPEAKER PRO school, ICE officers pulled up, put him training and need to pass an exam to TEMPORE in handcuffs, and arrested him. be certified. Others can assist in sup- The SPEAKER pro tempore laid be- As was talked about this morning on port roles such as greeting visitors and fore the House the following commu- most of the stations, they threatened scheduling. nication from the Speaker: his children that they too would be ar- The program is sponsored by the IRS WASHINGTON, DC, rested if they tried to hug him good- and supported locally by the Bucks February 13, 2018. bye. He was detained for several weeks County Foundation, KeyBank Founda- I hereby appoint the Honorable MARK without the ability to contact his fam- tion, and First National Bank & Trust MEADOWS to act as Speaker pro tempore on ily. of Newtown. this day. Despite his lawyers’, the commu- Mr. Speaker, we offer our thanks to PAUL D. RYAN, nity’s, and my efforts, he was set to be the Bucks County Opportunity Council Speaker of the House of Representatives. deported yesterday. He was on his way for all they do for our community. f to Bangladesh, where he probably f would have been killed, when an emer- MORNING-HOUR DEBATE A SAFE HARBOR FOR gency appeal was successful. He was re- HOMEOWNERS The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- leased in Hawaii but is still in limbo. ant to the order of the House of Janu- I will be working across party lines The SPEAKER pro tempore. The ary 8, 2018, the Chair will now recog- with Representative JENKINS to see a Chair recognizes the gentleman from nize Members from lists submitted by pathway to citizenship for Mr. Jamal Connecticut (Mr. COURTNEY) for 5 min- the majority and minority leaders for and his wife. I am calling on ICE to utes. morning-hour debate. bring Mr. Jamal home to be with his Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, last The Chair will alternate recognition family while the court decides his case. Tuesday, the IRS and the Department between the parties. All time shall be Over 96,000 people have signed a peti- of the Treasury issued a ruling which equally allocated between the parties, tion to stop his deportation. was good news for folks who live in and in no event shall debate continue f north central and eastern Connecticut beyond 1:50 p.m. Each Member, other as well as western Massachusetts. In a than the majority and minority leaders RECOGNIZING THE BUCKS COUNTY nutshell, what the IRS did was extend and the minority whip, shall be limited OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL a property casualty loss deduction for to 5 minutes. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The homeowners who had foundations built f Chair recognizes the gentleman from over the last 20 years from material Pennsylvania (Mr. FITZPATRICK) for 5 from a quarry which contained a metal MR. SYED JAMAL minutes. substance called pyrrhotite which, The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I when exposed to moisture over time, Chair recognizes the gentleman from rise today to recognize the Bucks spiderweb cracks and, in fact, the Missouri (Mr. CLEAVER) for 5 minutes. County Opportunity Council for their houses are subject to full collapse. Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I rise commitment to serving members of I have here a photograph which today to remind my colleagues and the our community. The Opportunity shows, again, a contractor who was re- American public about what is hap- Council will be offering free income tax pairing one of the foundations of an af- pening to families around this country preparation assistance to low-income fected home which shows, again, how and why this Congress must enact com- residents of Bucks County through its fragile the concrete foundation be- prehensive immigration reform as Volunteer Income Tax Assistance pro- comes as a result of this condition. quickly as possible. gram. Last year, the IRS issued a ruling Syed Jamal is the father of three, a Trained and certified volunteers will that said that homeowners who make husband, and a chemistry professor be available in Levittown, Warminster, the repairs—which can cost up to from Bangladesh who has lived in the Quakertown, and Newtown between $150,000 to $200,000 because, again, you United States for 30 years. He had over- February 1 and April 15 to serve as have to lift the house, pull out the old 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. H1077 . VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:12 Feb 14, 2018 Jkt 079060 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 4634 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A13FE7.000 H13FEPT1 SSpencer on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with HOUSE H1078 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE February 13, 2018 foundation, pour a new foundation, and after $2,000 of benefits for prescription Pursuant to clause 1, rule I, the Jour- relower the house on top of it—would drugs covered under the law would nal stands approved. at least be able to get a deduction then have to pay a full 100 percent de- f under an IRS deduction provision that ductible until their prescription drug goes back decades, the property cas- costs reached $5,000. It was like buying PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ualty loss provision, which was good a car, making a monthly payment, and The SPEAKER pro tempore. Will the news. then after 2,000 miles having to get out gentleman from Illinois (Mr. SCHNEI- Unfortunately, in the tax bill which and walk for the next 3,000 miles until DER) come forward and lead the House was signed into law by President you again hit the trigger for the dough- in the Pledge of Allegiance. Trump in December, one of its most nut hole to kick back in for coverage. Mr. SCHNEIDER led the Pledge of boneheaded provisions actually nar- When we passed the Affordable Care Allegiance as follows: rowed the scope of the property cas- Act in 2010, we started the process of I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the ualty loss to only those property cases narrowing that doughnut hole, again, United States of America, and to the Repub- which happened in an area that has by 50 percent in year 1. It was again up lic for which it stands, one nation under God, been declared a federally declared dis- to 35 percent in 2017, and the bill that indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. aster, which, again, because this, so passed on Friday night will actually do f far, FEMA has ruled is as a result of a the final step to eliminate the dough- CELEBRATING THE LIFE OF RON manmade product, concrete, does not nut hole entirely in 2019. PARISH qualify for that FEMA designation. The really impressive part of that Thankfully, we have some out- provision is that narrowing is not (Mr. HULTGREN asked and was standing people at the IRS, Assistant going to be paid for by the taxpayer. given permission to address the House Secretary of the Treasury David The pharmaceutical companies are the for 1 minute and to revise and extend Kautter, who, again, looked at the tax ones who will have to bear the brunt of his remarks.) bill that was signed into law and basi- narrowing that cost so that seniors will Mr. HULTGREN. Mr. Speaker, on cally issued the ruling on Tuesday that again have huge savings in the scope of Saturday morning, Ron Parish of allows, at least for the next 3 years, thousands of dollars because of that Yorkville, Illinois, passed from the lov- homeowners to claim this deduction, provision. ing arms of his wife, Becky, into the again, using an amended return for Again, this is an example of where open arms of Jesus. 2017, as a way of getting the full benefit the bipartisan work that was done on Ron was a lifelong salesman whose before the tax bill steps in in 2020 and that budget bill actually resulted in a career included RC Cola, Nabisco, eliminates this avenue of relief. very concrete, tangible benefit for McCormick spice company, and more. This was a provision which never be- America’s seniors. I think that will be After he retired, he faithfully served longed in the tax bill. It affects a much welcome news for those who are bear- our community’s homeless at Kendall broader cross section of Americans, not ing the high cost of prescription drugs. County PADS. just folks from homes with crumbling Ron’s people skills served him well in f foundations who are not in declared business and in his relationships. He disaster areas. RECESS was always reaching out to friends and I know that members on the House The SPEAKER pro tempore.