Moment of Silence in Remembrance of Members of Armed Forces and their Families
Floor Speech
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AMENDMENT NO. 516 OFFERED BY MR. CAMP
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill, before the short title, insert the following:
Sec. X. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used for the opening of the locks at the Thomas J. O'Brien Lock and Dam or the Chicago River Controlling Works.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from Michigan is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. CAMP. Today I offer an amendment that is long overdue. Last June, a live bighead Asian carp was discovered 6 miles from Lake Michigan, north of the locks and well past the electric barrier. This discovery shows that Asian carp, one of the world's most rampant invasive species, are at the doorstep of the Great Lakes.
Weighing up to 100 pounds, spanning over 6 feet, and eating half their body weight daily, Asian carp have the ability to decimate fish populations indigenous to the Great Lakes. These giant bottom feeders would destroy the region's $7.5 billion fishing industry as well as the 800,000 jobs that are supported by it. To prevent this catastrophe, ecological experts have said that closing the locks that separate the Illinois River from Lake Michigan is the single most important step we can take to prevent these species from entering the Great Lakes.
In 2009, the Michigan attorney general filed a petition in Federal court to direct the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to immediately close the locks. This petition was supported by Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, New York, and Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, the court denied the petition. But after the court's decision, I introduced the Carp Act, along with Senator Stabenow of Michigan, that would immediately close the locks. And since then, despite the imminent threat of Asian carp, the administration has refused to close the locks and all we have received is promises of studies that will take years to complete.
You will surely hear arguments from those opposed to closing the locks that doing so will disrupt the movement of cargo and cause serious economic harm to the region. Economists who have examined those claims have found them to be grossly exaggerated.
An economic study conducted in 2010, found on the Michigan attorney general's website at: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/ag/1-Appendix XRenewed X Motion X310133 X7.pdf, found that if cargo passing through the locks had to be transported by land, it would increase truck traffic in the surrounding area by only one-tenth of 1 percent, or the equivalent of adding two additional freight trains to the over 500 leaving the region each day. Any supposed economic impact of closing the locks would pale in comparison to the multibillion dollar industries that would be wiped out by Asian carp.
The State of Michigan's response to the administration's Asian carp framework pointed out, "The Framework's statement that the Chicago lock is the Nation's second busiest ignores the fact that, in 2008, only 39 loaded barges carrying approximately 100,000 tons of cargo, mainly sand and gravel, moved through that lock. Moreover, according to the Corps' own data, the 2008 vessel traffic consisted of 34,000--not 50,000--vessels, mainly recreational water craft." The canal is now only 9 feet deep in some areas.
You will also hear critics claim that this amendment will tie the hands of the Corps in assisting flood emergencies. Again, those claims are not accurate. The Corps has sufficient authority to protect human life and property in the event of flooding and other disasters under the authority granted to it by the Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies Act and other Corps regulations. Those authorities allow district commanders to issue a declaration of emergency and use Corps resources to help State and local authorities respond. Opening the locks to deal with flooding is the exact type of scenario this authority is intended for.
Mr. Chairman, every day of inaction puts the Great Lakes ecosystem, the largest body of freshwater in the world, and the 800,000 jobs sustained at risk. Inaction is unacceptable, and I urge all Members to vote ``yes'' on this amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I simply rise to concur with the last group of speakers who have indicated that they were in opposition to this amendment.
I have worked with individuals in the State of Illinois for the last several years. My congressional district runs right along Lake Michigan, and we have had a tremendous amount of effort to try and resolve this problem. It has not been resolved. And I would plead for more time, more study, more opportunity to come up with a resolution that works for all of the Great Lakes area, not just for some to the detriment of others. I strongly oppose this amendment.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the noes appeared to have it.
Mr. CAMP. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Michigan will be postponed.
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AMENDMENT NO. 214 OFFERED BY MR. KLINE
Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.
The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment.
The text of the amendment is as follows:
At the end of the bill (before the short title), insert the following:
Sec. __X. None of the funds made available by this Act may be used to--
(1) implement, administer, or enforce the final regulations on ``Program Integrity: Gainful Employment--New Programs'' published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66665 et seq.);
(2) issue a final rule or otherwise implement the proposed rule on ``Program Integrity: Gainful Employment'' published by the Department of Education on July 26, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 43616 et seq.);
(3) implement, administer, or enforce section 668.6 of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations, (relating to gainful employment), as amended by the final regulations published by the Department of Education in the Federal Register on October 29, 2010 (75 Fed. Reg. 66832 et seq.); or
(4) promulgate or enforce any new regulation or rule with respect to the definition or application of the term ``gainful employment'' under the Higher Education Act of 1965 on or after the date of enactment of this Act.
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I move to strike the last word.
The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong opposition to the Kline amendment. Although I know that career colleges play an important role in higher education, I cannot support this amendment because the scope of the prohibition is too broad and the timing of this amendment prior to the release of any final regulation preempts the traditional regulatory process.
Together, the amendment's comprehensive ban on the Department's ability to ``implement, administer, or enforce'' any current, pending, or future regulation of gainful employment inappropriately and prematurely restricts the responsibility of the administration to regulate institutions of higher education.
In the many meetings I've had with career college stakeholders, each one of them has admitted that there are bad actors. Despite this uniform recognition, this amendment would tie the hands of the Department of Education from any effort to encourage these schools to improve their practices and protect their students.
I support career colleges, yet I am resolute in my belief that the Federal Government has the responsibility to protect students and hold institutions of higher education accountable--especially those that access public dollars. I stand with over 50 civil rights groups, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and student groups who support strong gainful employment protections for students, including key civil rights groups such as the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, and the Children's Defense Fund; the three HBCU advocacy groups--NAFEO, the United Negro College Fund, and the Thurgood Marshall; and key education groups such as the American Federation of Teachers, the NEA, and the Council for Opportunity in Education.
Let's be clear and make no mistake. The Kline-Foxx amendment is not about protecting low-income minority students. If that was the case, then those concerns would have been expressed by not cutting Pell Grants for over a million students by approximately $845 per student. If the goal was truly to support low-income minority students, the CR would not have cut $200 million in institutional aid from nonprofit HBCUs, predominantly black colleges and universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions. If the goal was truly to help low-income minority students, the CR would not have cut $44 million from GEAR UP and TRIO--programs that are designed to help first-generation students prepare and succeed in college.
The reality is that this amendment completely stops the Department of Education from any form of oversight of career colleges that educate 10 percent of higher education students, receive approximately 24 percent of Federal grants and loans, and account for 48 percent of loan defaults.
I say let's slow down the process. Let's stop now. Let's give the Department of Education an opportunity to review its work and come back to us with some regulations that take care of the needs of students and not protect just the institutions.
I yield back the balance of my time.
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The Acting CHAIR. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Kline).
The question was taken; and the Acting Chair announced that the ayes appeared to have it.
Mr. KLINE. Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.
The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to clause 6 of rule XVIII, further proceedings on the amendment offered by the gentleman from Minnesota will be postponed.
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