opportunity to really rethink this government from top to bottom. they also recognize that we must get this economy growing. we must create jobs. and we must get us -- unleash innovation in this contry. they are very pleased to see we're rolling back the regulatory burden that has been suffocating our economy. as i listened and traveled around eastern washington i held a number of coffees with kathy and conversations with kathy whether it was with farmers or talking infrastructure or health care. people see this as an opportunity for to us think big. get the results. and i come back re-energized because of that. i am committed to making a difference for them using this as an opportunity -- >> can you see this briefing online at c-span.org. search house republican agenda. we'll show it to you in our schedule later. leaving here to take you to the house floor for legislative work. just one bill on the agenda today. a bill that would make the position of register of copyrights, the director of the u.s. copy right office, subject

to a presidential nomination. and senate confirmation. votes expected this afternoon. we'll take you live now to the house floor here on c-span. the speaker: the house will be in order. the prayer will be offered by the guest chaplain, the reverend michael d. gutierrez, st. john the baptist catholic church, baldwin park, california. the chaplain: god the source of goodness and mercy, today we pray that you touch the minds and hearts of the members of congress, grant them wisdom and insight to make effective decisions that benefit the common good of our nation,

respecting all ethnicities, genders and faith traditions. we pray, lord, that our representatives may listen to one another, so that they may seek what is good and true for all people. we ask you, lord, to guide them and grant them courage to act in peace and justice that other nations may see the goodness of our nation and our leaders. god, may this day be a continued exchange of ideas and prosperous debate that people may see that our representatives are being guided by you, god, and that your wisdom be reflected in their decisions. we lift up this prayer in your holy name. amen. the speaker: the chair has examined the journal of the last day's proceedings and announces to the house his approval thereof. pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1,

the journal stands approved. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, pursuant to clause 1 of rule 1, i demand a vote on the -- on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. the speaker: the question is on agreeing to the speaker's approval of the journal. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? mr. wilson: i object to the vote on the grounds that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present. the speaker: pursuant to clause 8 of rule 20, further proceedings on this question are postpone. the pledge of allegiance will be led by the gentlelady from ohio, mrs. beatty. ms. bay di: please join me for the -- mrs. beatty: please join me for the pledge. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, the gentlewoman from california, mrs. napolitano, is recognized for one minute.

mrs. napolitano: thank you, mr. speaker. i am very pleased to introduce to the house a welcome to father gutierrez today, he's the pastor of st. john the baptist church and school in the city of balledwin park in california. thank you, father. for coming from balledwin park and the wonderful prayer. father mike as he is known, father mike, leads a parish of 10,000 families with a focus on filipino and hispanic communities. he has increased participation in religious and educational progress youth and family ministry. and allows the church to bring attention and encourage activism on issues impacting the area. he is an integral part of the 32nd district, my district, annual immigration clinic event and known for his jovial and consistently smiles. since my move to the california 32nd, he has been helpful in many issues and events that i

have put forth. recognizing by the state california legislature and the archdiocese of los angeles for support of social issues. father, thank you. thank you for today's blessing and for working for you to spread and promote gospel throughout the san gabriel valley. may god continue to bless you and your ministry. yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair will entertain up to 15 further requests for one-minute speeches on each side of the aisle. for what purpose does the gentleman from south carolina seek recognition? mr. wilson: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. wilson: mr. speaker, this saturday marks 100 days in office for president donald trump. an important milestone for congress and this administration. since being sworn n. president trump has stood strong, upholding his pledge to froket american people in the face of world threats. he has stood up to the dangerous regime in north korea by supporting our allies in the region and deploying the thad

missile defensecies tefment he took swift, decisive action against the dictatorship in syria for using both military and by using military force and economic sanctions after the brutal dictatorship executed a chemical attack murdering innocent civilians. additionally the president's taken strong action to win in the global war on terrorism by destroying isil-controlled tunnels in afghanistan. i appreciate president trump for being a strong president and model of rond reagan promoting peace through strength. congratulations to him on remarkable first 100 years -- days in office. i look forward to continuing to work with the president to protect american families while successfully creating jobs. in conclusion, god bless our troops and we will never forget september 11 and the global war on terrorism. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from rhode island seek recognition? mr. cicilline: i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. cicilline: mr. speaker, throughout the presidential

campaign donald trump promised to create good-paying manufacturing jobs. but nearly 100 days into his administration we're learning this was just another broken promise. since taking office, president trump has failed to use american steel for the keystone pipeline, promised $-- proposed $2.5 billion in cuts at the labor department which will reduce funding for critical job training in advanced manufacturing. and proposed a complete elimination of the manufacturing extension partnership a federal initiative that provides critical matching grants to support regional manufacturing economies. if president trump were serious about putting working people first, would he work with democrats to pass bills we have already introduced to strengthen manufacturing. bills like the make it in america manufacturing communities act i introduced to revitalize manufacturing economies and legislation to modernize and strengthen buy america provisions. if donald trump wants to keep the promise he's made to working people, needs to start working with democrats to deliver results. we're ready to go. we have introduced bills to strengthen american manufacturing. all we need now is a real partner in the white house.

a president who is more concerned with results than tv ratings. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. speaker, i rise today along with my colleagues in the ohio delegation to congratulation congressman steve stivers on his promotion from colonel to brigadier general of the ohio national guard. ohio is a state rich in history and a long list of american leaders who call it home. steve's promotion marks another milestone in our great state's history. steve stivers, a native rippley, ohio, proud ohio state buckeye, is the first brigadier general since rutherford b. haste to represent ohio in congress. he represented my district, second district of ohio, from 1865 to 1867, before going on to serve as governor of ohio and then president of the united states. on behalf of the ohio delegation, we offer

congratulations and our gratitude for steve's service. mr. speaker, steve stivers' leadership adds to our state's storied legacy of servant leaders and citizen soldiers. our state and our nation are fortunate that steve stivers has dedicated his life to defending the cause of freedom both in the ranks of the national guard and in the halls of congress. mr. wenstrup: with that i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from ohio seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. speaker, i rise today with my ohio colleagues to congratulate congressman steve stivers on his promotion from colonel to brigadier general of the ohio army national guard. his promotion comes after more than 30 years in the national guard. he is now one of the highest ranking national guards member to also serve as a member of congress. congressman stivers served in

the united states overseas during operation iraqi freedom in kuwait, iraq, and djibouti, where he was awarded the bronze star for leadership throughout the deployment. we're proud to have him leading the national guard soldiers who protect us at home and abroad. congressman stivers, on behalf of the ohio delegation and the citizens we represent, congratulations on this distinguished honor. i'm proud to call you a colleague and ohioan and a friend. mr. speaker, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, thank you for this opportunity. i want to join my colleagues in congratulating steve stivers on his promotion to brigadier general. i served for 26 1/2 years in the united states air force and i can tell you that every officer that puts on the

uniform in a quiet moments of their own minds, they dream of the day that maybe someday they might aspire to become a flag officer or to attain the rank of general officer. i can tell you that from my perspective it's a lot easier to get elected to the house of representatives than it is to earn the rank of general. mr. johnson: at least that's what my experience shows. i can tell you i never served under steve stivers and his command. but if his military leadership and performance is anything like his performance here in the house, he's going to represent the state of ohio and our nation very well. so congratulations to my colleague, steve stivers. god bless you and thank you for your service to our country. with that, mr. speaker, yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from new york seek recognition? without objection. >> mr. speaker, while the president continues to drone on

about his southern border wall, a wall that he told america, mexico would pay for, which of course they will not, a wall that the massachusetts institute of technology reports that it will cost americans $40 billion, there's no discussion of a promise $1 trillion infrastructure bill. a higgins: this week reuters report named my hometown of buffalo, new york, as among the most dangerous lead hot spots in america. the lead water lines in places like buffalo, new york, and flint, michigan, are more than 1u7bd00 years old and need to be replaced. 40% of kids in lead hot spots could suffer from cognitive delay and other neurological problems. mr. speaker, the president needs to stop talking about an expensive and ineffective wall and start taking action on removing the toxic levels of lead from our nation's drinking water system, particularly in places like buffalo, new york, and flint, michigan.

i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> today i want to congratulate my colleague, my friend, and fellow buckeye congressman steve stivers on his promotion to brigadier general. i am thankful to be joined by my colleagues in the house and our senators, senator brown and senator portman, as we applaud our colleague. he is the first ohio national guard officer in more than 100 years to concurrently serve as a member of congress. one of the few people in the u.s. history to have held both positions simultaneously. congressman stivers joined the national guard in 1985 and has served for over 30 years. i and many other ohioans appreciate your years of service both in the military anti-united states congress. congratulations, brigadier general stivers, and thank you for your service. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to

address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today in support of the conrad 30 waiver program set to expire at the end of this week. this program helps match medically underserved communities both rural and urban, with much needed doctors. currently foreign medical students studying here using j-1 visa must return to their home country and wait two years before they can apply to work in the united states. this makes no sense. the american medical education system attracts the best and the brightest and produces the best medical graduates in the world. mr. schneider: when so many of our communities are struggling to attract medical professionals, we should be creating incentives for these newly trained doctors to stay. through the conrad 30 program a limited number of new position can stay if they can commit to

work three years in underserved communities. continuing the conrad 30 waiver program is a commonsense step towards helping underserved americans. i'm proud to introduce h.r. 2141 with congressman issa of california to extend and expand this program. i urge my colleagues to do the same. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? >> unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you. mr. speaker, i rise today along with my ohio colleagues to congratulate our colleague, steve stivers, on this great momentous occasion of being promoted brigadier general. i have known my friend since our days in the ohio general asemiand i remember when you were deployed and for your service that you have so unselfishly given to your nation in uniform. if i go back, steve, go back in history, it was 242 years ago last week that on april 18,

1775, that paul revere rode across the countryside and said the regulars were out. it was on the morning of the 19th that men left their shops, left their plows, and went to that call. mr. latta: it was that citizen soldier that went out there to make sure that this nation attained the freedom that we have today. . from the national forward and all our men and women serving in uniform, it's because of you eff the -- that we have the right to stand here today. i applaud you on your promotion to brigadier and congratulate you along with our colleagues in the senate and i want to thank you very much. thanks for your service. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. mr. speaker, i rise today as the proud sponsor of the resolution honoring earth day. for more than 40 year, people have come together on earth day

to support protections for our air, water, and land, and to increase appreciation for mother earth. but every day, not just on earth day, we must renew our commitment to preserving our planet. one way to to this is by continuing to build upon the paris agreement and other efforts. mr. mceachin: that's why countless members marched last weekend for sinals and even more will turn out for this weekend's climate march. it's also why tomorrow i will co-announce the development of the climate task force, a voice for communities of color and other marginalized groups disproportionately impacted by environmental injustice. alongside my colleagues, congresswoman jayapal and others, we will promote a task force that strives for justice. the task force will strive to protect the rights of all for

clean water, clean air, equal protection from environmental health hazards and guaranteed access to the tig making process. those who -- like those who celebrated earth day in 1970, we have an obligation to ensure that future generations inherit an ecologically stable planet. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from ohio seek recognition? without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to recognize two members of our congressional delegation and two of my friends. congressman steve stivers and congressman brad wenstrup upon their military promotions. now brigadier general stivers in the ohio national guard and colonel brad wenstrup in the united states army reserves, they both have served their country beyond the boundaries of their district. today i'm humbled and honored to join my colleagues in congratulating them on their distinguished public and military careers.

congressman stivers, 30 years ago, as a young buckeye, assumed the title, one very important to him and us, as citizen soldier. in 1998, congressman wenstrup joined the u.s. army reserves after already establishing himself as a doctor in the cincinnati area. mr. tiberi: today congressman stiebers -- stivers and congressman wenstrup, as faithful representatives to their constituents, as members of our military, and veterans of the iraq war and recipients of the bronze star, have always put service to our country first. thank you from a grateful congress and grateful nation. congratulations on your respective promotions. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. here we are, 100 days into president trump's presidency, and all we have seen is this

president break the promises that he made when he campaigned for president. he promised, for example, that we would have, quote, everyone covered with health care. mr. kildee: everyone. then as president , he broke that promise. last month we saw him put forth his failed and terrible health care bill, trumpcare, which we kick -- which would kick 24348. -- 24 million people off their health care and even for those who would receive health care they would pay more for less coverage, high edeductibles, higher prescription cost, no guarantee of hospital coverage or other essential benefits. he's not looking out for the middle class. trumpcare 2.0 is even worse. taking away a guarantee that a person with a pre-existing condition can get essential life-saving health care.

president trump, i just have one message. stop it. stop. turn back from this terrible path you're taking us on. ensure that all americans have health care. work with democrats and republicans to fix the problems we see in the affordable care act. but stop this terrible path that you're taking this country on. with that, i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from minnesota seek recognition? without objection. >> mr. speaker, i rise today to remember the life of minnesota's very own dan co-burn. dan coburn, a native son of the minnesota community, recently passed but his memory will live on. mr. emmer: he will be remembered as an executive who helped his family's business grow and succeed. he will be remembered as a loving husband and father whose wife and five children meant the world to him. perhaps most importantly, dan

coburn will be remembered for his charity and generosity. over the span of his life, dan coburn gave to a number of charities including the st. cloud area ymc asks, big brothers and sisters of minnesota, and the boys and girls clubs of central minnesota. in addition to financially giving back to these charity he also gave his time by serving as a board move the st. cloud hospital in the soft rapids rice schools. in addition to serving as a founding move the united way of central minnesota. dan ocoburn was a hero in our community and his passing is a massive loss to us all. -- to us all. i wish his family peace in this difficult time and i promise his life's work won't be forgotten. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? without objection. >> mr. speaker, across the

board, the president's first 100 days have been marked by nothing but broken promises. instead of creating jobs , he has made it a prior toy repeatedly push for a trumpcare bill that will increase costs for family and rip away care from more than 24 million people. ms. matsui: the american supreme made it clear time and time again that trumpcare is a bad bill but the president refuses to listen. he and congressional republicans remain intent on pushing through legislation that undermines the care of people like a social worker in my district in sacramento who before the affordable care act went into debt in order to pay for a few routine medical tests. the president should spend some time thinking about our country's future instead of taking reckless actions that put the health and well being of american families on the line. thank you, mr. speaker.

i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from illinois seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> mr. speaker, after more than a year, the obama administration's iran nuclear deal remains deeply unpopular. at the time of the agreement, the american people believed they had given up too much and they were right. we already knew the administration had paid cash in exchange for american prisoner bus this week we learned from an investigation by politico that the obama administration was also not truthful about the iranian prisoners we released. mr. lahood: these prisoners were not, quote, civilian, accused of trade violations as the administration claimed. they were men who posed a threat to our national security, accused of supplying iran with materials for the nuclear weapons program. it had taken hundreds of hours for our law enforcement and intelligence services to track down and build cases against these men and the obama

administration was willing to undo all of that to use these men as -- as a bargaining chip. undermining our national security is not in the best interests of our country, nor is being dishonest with the american people. as we move forward, we must be clear-eyed and vigilant with the iranian regime and its intentions while supporting and strengthening our intelligence community. that is a path toward a nuclear-free iran. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from california seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. it looks like congress has avoided another government shutdown for now. we'll probably pass another short-term spending bill or two before this latest stopgap bill runs out. threatening to bring us to the brink once again. mrs. torres: this is no way to govern. as a former mayor and state

ledge slay -- legislator, i know that our states and cities need to be able to plan ahead. they can't do that if federal funding is up in the air and subject to the latest political tug of war. if we expect 50 states to pass a budget every year, there is no reason congress can't do the same. it's time for congress and the white house to stop playing games and do the job that we were sent to washington to do. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition? without objection. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today in celebration of world intellectual property day. strong intellectual property protections are grounded in the constitution and have never been more critical to our economy's success as they are today. mr. collins: it contributes more than $60 million tour economy

annually. in my home state of georgia there's an estimated 1.9 million i.p. related jobs that contribute $30 billion per year in manufacturing exports. i.p. protections undergird our economy by promoting competitiveness, ensuring good-paying jobs and rewarding ideas that have value. in georgia which is the third largest state for film production in the nation, as well as home to payment 3r0 sessor alley, musician and video game designers, strong intellectual property rights mean our state can continue do grow and thrive. i urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing world i.p. day and protections at home and abroad. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman seek recognition? >> i ask unanimous consent to address the house for one minute and revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. >> thank you. mr. engel: for seven years republicans have talked about repealing the affordable care act and replacing it with something better.

in the first 100 days of the trump administration, republicans offered a plan that would have raised premiums. mr. nadler: would have raised premium, raised deductible, eproposal was a cowardly, cynical effort to impose taxes on americans, strip away protections from hardworking families and dismantle medicare and medicaid. it would make americans pay more to get much less. when this horrible deal fail, president trump did what he does best , he lashed out he lashed out at the american people, threatening to stop critical cost-sharing subsidies that ensure the sickest and some of the poorest americans can afford health care. health care, mr. speaker, is not a game. it is a matter of life and death for millions of americans. health care and every other issue, president trump's first 100 days have been nothing more than a string of broken promises, empty words, and extravagant lies. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman rom michigan seek recognition?

without objection. >> mr. speaker, we are seeing president trump attempt to repeal the affordable care act, both breaking his own promises and making it worse for american families. mr. levin: he promised to protect americans with pre-existing condition bus any state could allow insurers to raise premiums for americans with pre-existing conditions and make their insurance too expensive to afford. any state could jeopardize access to mental health, emergency, maternal, and prescription drug coverage. and any state could charge older workers an age tax that would devastate middle class families. the proposals will steal $1 trillion from medicare and medicaid. in exchange for giveaways to the

very wealthy and corporations. the president and republicans are turning their backs, both on their own rhetoric and the real needs and lives of american families. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from florida seek recognition? without objection. >> big tuck and broken promises. that's what we've seen. and as trump's first 100 days come to a close, we see desperate times are leading to desperate measures. first, a push to revive trumpcare. really? mr. soto: 24 million americans would be kicked off health insurance in the first year. 15% to 20% increases in premiums, according to the

congressional budget office. and the big change, to get a compromise, taking away essential benefits. pre-existing conditions, the foundation of making sure americans have health care. second, we see trump's threats to defund the subsidies. this is a blatant violation of law. seven million americans would lose health care immediately if that happened. and third, we see trump's threats to cut medicaid and medicare by $1 trillion. bloke grants will mean cuts to seniors' health care. cuts to children's health care. with these 100 days coming to a close, we see trump as the least popular, least productive president in modern histry. while trump is breaking his promise, our constituents are depending on us to keep ours. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from colorado seek recognition?

>> permission to address the house for one minute. and to revise and extend my remarks. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: every day we wake up and we have a choice of how we can look at the world. through the murkiness of fear or through the clarity of truth. i challenge you to choose clarity. choose a perspective that's grounded in truth and love. today president trump announced the opening of victims of immigration crime engagement office, or voice. an office that will a spew propaganda, highlighting crimes committed by immigrants as opposed to equally harmful crimes committed by nonimmigrants. it's a waste of taxpayer money that will manipulate law enforcement data in an attempt to play on fears and anxieties. i'm countering the opening of voice with a save by american immigrants task force. the task force will collect and share stories of the countless immigrants who have saved american lives through heroic acts. i'm calling for stories like the story of nathan, a coloradoan who grew up in

baghdad. he aspired to be a veterinarian, began his studies. worked with the american army as a translator. and had to leave because of the increasing violence and came under a special immigrant visa. he started school in america. he's now a registered nurse, saving and transforming lives in america every day, including those of veterans. let us reject attempts to fear monger and tear apart american families. families that are just like ours, families that are ours. i yield back the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentlewoman from texas seek recognition? ms. jackson lee: i ask to address the house for one minute. revise and extend. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. speaker, e: % of americans disapprove of president trump's service to this nation in this first 100 days. i didn't say members of

congress. i didn't say party. i said 53% of americans disagree. and i understand why. a health care promise that did not come to fruition. families now looking with his potential bill of higher health care costs for our working families. 24 million more americans off of insurance. and what about the age tax for hardworking americans, 50 to 64 years old, paying upwards of $12,000 to $14,000 for their premium. then the last insult to those hardworking americans who now receive medicare, deleting the, depleting, taking away, destroying $100 million from the medicare trust fund. there is no other answer. there is no other answer than disapproval because why would yone who leads this nation

destroy the very health care, the very arm of opportunity and rest that americans have when they become sick. i think the disapproval is probably too low. let us fix the health care system. let us not destroy t i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the chair lays before the house a communication. the clerk: the honorable the speaker, house of representatives. sir, pursuant to the permission granted in clause 2-h of rule 2 of the rules of the u.s. house of representatives, the clerk received the following message from the secretary of the senate on april 26, 2017, at 9:16 a.m. appointments, alice berra and walter on commission of native children. with best wishes i am, signed sincerely, karen lst l. haas. the speaker pro tempore: for what purpose does the gentleman from georgia seek recognition mr. collins: by direction of the committee on rules i call up house resolution 275 and ask for its immediate consideration. the speaker pro tempore: the clerk will report the resolution. the clerk: house called number 41, house resolution 275.

resolved,that at any time after adoption of this resolution the speaker may, pursuant to clause 2-b of rule 18, declare the house resolved into the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of the bill h.r. 1695, to amend title 17, united states code, to provide additional responsibilities for the register of copyrights, and for other purposes. the first reading of the bill shall be dispensed with. all points of order against consideration of the bill are waived. general debate shall be confined to the bill and shall not exceed one hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the committee on the judiciary. after general debate the bill shall be considered for amendment under the five-minute rule. in lieu of the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the committee on the judiciary now printed in the bill, it shall be in order to consider as an original bill for the purpose of amendment under the five-minute rule an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of rules committee print

115-13. that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be considered as read. all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute are waived. no amendment to that amendment in the nature of a substitute shall be in order except those printed in the report of the committee on rules accompanying this resolution. each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question in the house or in the committee of the whole. all points of order against such amendments are waived. at the conclusion of consideration of the bill for amendment the committee shall rise and report the bill to the house with such amendments as may have been adopted. any member may demand a separate vote in the house on any amendment adopted in the

committee of the whole to the bill or to the amendment in the nature of a substitute made in order as original text. the previous question shall be considered as ordered on the bill and amendments thereto to final passage without intervening motion except one motion to recommit with or without instructions. section 2, house resolution 254 s laid on the table. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia is recognized for one hour. mr. collins: mr. speaker, for the purpose of debate only, i yield the customary 30 minutes to the gentleman from colorado, pending which i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. collins: during consideration of this resolution all time is yielded for the purpose of debate only. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members may have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks. and include extraneous material on house resolution 275, currently under consideration. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. i am pleased today to bring forward this rule on behalf of the rules committee. the rule provides for consideration of h.r. 1695. the registered copyright selection and accountability act of 2017. the rule provides for one hour

of debate equally divided between the chairman and ranking member of the judiciary committee. the rule also provides for a motion to recommit and makes in order amendments by representatives deutsch and chu. yesterday the rules committee had the opportunity to hear the committee chairman goodlatte and ranking member conyers. their testimony reflected the strong bipartisan support for this legislation. and the work both members have invested in moving it forward. i would like to personally thank chairman goodlatte and ranking member conyers anti-judiciary committee staff on both the majority and minority sides for their work on this legislation. as a mefment judiciary committee, i had the opportunity to prtiss pate in the committee markup where we debated numerous amendments and enjoyed a author low discussion -- thorough discussion of this bill. the judiciary committee adopted an amendment by my colleague from texas, congress wop ms. jackson lee, to strengthen the will. h.r. 1695 passed the judiciary committee in a show of overwhelming bipartisan support by the vote of 27-1. the register of copyright

selection and accountability act is supported by numerous outside groups, including the american conservative union, the afl-cio, council for citizens of government waste, creative futures, m.p.a.a., the gospel music association, the american chemical society, the church music publishesers association and many others. these groups represent only a sampling of the broad support behind this bill and, mr. speaker, as you can tell h.r. 1 of 95 has brought together many groups that people who don't traditionally have similar interests. from creators to labor organizations to conservative groups, the diversity of support behind this legislation speaks to its significance in the copyright industry and our economy as a whole. h.r. 1695 also enjoys the public support of our two former registers of copyright, individuals who filled the very position this bill seeks to a dress. former registrars mary beth peters and ralph allman have both made clear their belief the importance of an independent copyright advice

straight and true from the expert agency, to congress. these former reg strares correctly point out this fill bill addresses a structural not personal or political issue between the library of congress and the copyright office. despite what some may say, this s what the bill simply does. this bill is a necessary first step towards larger efforts to modernizing the copyright office. it helps ensure that the registrar can implement policy and advise congress effectively and this legislation will ultimately help strengthen our copry right system. this is particularly lellvant today as today is world intellectual property day. as i discussed earlier today, the importance of strong i.p. protections, including a strong copyright system is clearer than ever. the copyright system in our country is so critical that our nation's founder sought to recognize it in the constitution article 1, section 8, clause 8 of the constitution gives congress the power to promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for

limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. while robust intellectual property protections have always been foundational principal of, today there are an economic driver creating and fueling the american dream. in fact, core copyright industries in the united states are now responsible for $1.2 trillion in g.d.p. representing nearly 7% of our economy and employing more than 5.5 million people. in my home state of georgia alone, more than 19,000 copyrights are registered annually to state residents. yet the head of the copyright office which oversees such a massive sector of our economy is unilaterally selected by the librarian of congress. this is the case despite the fact that the copyright office is designed as a congress' advisors and the massive role of the copyright plays in our economy and our society. i want to be clear, i think the role of the library is critical and the library performs many important duties. historically they have not been an expert in copyright and

isn't expected to be. does it make sense to expect the librarian, any, to be solely responsible for the person selecting responsible for the copyright policy? i don't think it does. the current process more an accident of history than example of careful conceivedpolicy. by waive background in 1870 the librarian of congress believed it make sense tore copyrighted works remain in the library to grow the collection. while this made sense at that point in history and while they are still an important function, this provide neither requires nor justifies the roll of registered copyrights be subordinate to the lie brarery. today with the major role the copyright plays, we can no longer justify the head of the copyright office and congress' designated expert advisor being hired by the umbrella of the high brare riff congress. currently, the registrar's hired according to the same unilateral process as much more junior positions are filled. under today's system the

registrar can serve for an unlimited duration without review or removal despite the importance of this position. finally the registrar is not presidentially appointed and there have been questions in the courts regarding the authority of the copyright office to conduct rule makings. we need a copyright system for 291st century, take us into the future to promote innovation. copyright is the foundation of innovation and innovation is the force that drives our economy. a strong system allows the millions of kids and young adults throughout our 50 states to make their dreams a reality. to build a career out of what they produce this their minds and image andations. today's rule provide for an underlying bill that helps ensure our system is equipped to rise to the challenges of the future and support americans as they strive to make their hopes, dreams, and ambition noose reality. the underlying bill promotes american innovation by recognizing the importance of the position. the bill would create a committee composed of bipartisan, bicameral congressional leadership anti-librarian of congress.

to recommend candidates to the president for nomination. the bill would establish a senate confirmation process for the position and establish a 10-year term for the registrar of copyrights position. the legislation represents the product of more than four years of bipartisan collaboration. it reflects the consensus that the copyright office is better position to serve the public if the registrar is no longer treated like a subordinate individual but the seat of expertise and property protection regardless who is the librarian or president may be. this issue has been under discussion since before anyone the other librarian would be leaving or new one would be taking over. when these discussions began, there was a democrat in the white house and it was clear our next president would be possibly a democrat as well. yet both republicans and democrats have supported the reality that undergirds this bill and we have supported what is good for american innovation and our creators and dreamers rather than worry about what a specific president may make the

next appointment to this office. the legislation is the first step in the work to modernize the copyright office which is needed more than ever. as the vice chair of the subcommittee, i will continue to push that effort forward and to look at ways to promote better infrastructure and technology at the copyright office and to work to update our music licensing laws. h.r. 1695 is the beginning rather than the end. and our commitment to copyright modernization and support of these ideas underpinning it continue to receive broad support. the bill provides for good policy. it's not about one individual but selecting the right process. the bill would increase accountability within the copyright office and take the first steps. i want to reiterate, mr. speaker, that i think the chairman of the full jew dish -- i thank the chairman of the full judiciary committee and the

ranking member for their work and ms. sheila jackson lee of texas who offered an amendment that actually strengthens this bill and will bring all parties some semblance of structure and form as we move forward in this process, beginning, i said, the first step in a modernization of our copyright office. with that, i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman reserves. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. polis: i want to begin by wishing my colleague from georgia happy international copyright day, right up there along with thanksgiving and christmas as holidays. first of all, 60 hours, we have less than 60 hours before the of the united states will shut down. and here we are filling time with a bill, of course, the concept deserves to be debated and fleshed out, but is it really what we should be talking about when we're 60 hours away from the shutdown of the federal government? it feel like we've been here before. sometimes it's because

unfortunately we've been brought to the brink of economic disaster, just as republicans seem to do every time government fund thoring debt ceiling is about to expire. we know it's happened before. we know it's happened -- will happen again. maybe it's time for a short-term c.r., maybe it's an omnibus. but look. that's what we should be doing right now. there'll be plenty of time. plenty of time to figure out the i wantry kacies of copyright and oversight of the office after we make sure that the basic functions of government are able to continue. after 60 hours. even if we keep the government open, all we're doing is kicking the can down the road, not allowing mesh businesses or individuals to plan for the future. can you imagine if your family didn't know if you'd have a job or what salary you'd be at every few months. congressional salaries are exempt from government shutdowns, if they weren't, perhaps we'd be discussing the

government shutdown before other federal workers are prevented coming to work. we have a continuing resolution, expires midnight on friday. those are the priority issues that the american people want taos focus on. when we deal with what's urgent, that will allow us the time and space for thoughtful consideration of copyright office oversight. we need to get past this bitter partisanship and this brinksmanship. even the rule we're considering today is problematic and partisan which is why i'm in such opposition. it doesn't allow the amendments to come to the floor, include one from my colleague, ms. lofgren, that i tried to amend the rule to allow, it was turned down in rules committee by partisan vote. we don't have an open rule as speaker ryan promised to provide as we got back to what was called regular order, allowing our democratic and republican colleagues to improve and enhance bills. offer their ideas up for consideration. if the majority adopt them they could be included in the overall bill. instead, we're considering an

overall rule that brings forward a politically motivated bill about thed of the copyright office. simply put this bill would take the authority of hiring and firing the copyright register who is thed of the coppy right office from the librarian of congress and give it to the president with senate approval. effectively politicizes the office of the head of copyright office. now it sounds innocuous but what it means is special interest will be involved with picking the person to make decisions over who receives a copyright. yet again through this bill congress is choosing a big, powerful interest over the consumers, over innovation, and over the little guy. as the electronic frontier foundation said, this bill is, quote, designed to allow powerful incumbent interests to use their lobbying power to control this increasingly politicized office. while the librarian of congress still oversees the copyright

office, the librarian of congress would not be able to remove the registrar no matter how poorly they perform in their job, unquote. under this bill, it will be another political position and will frankly stall one of the great projects they were embarking on, the modernization effort that is desperately needed at the copyright office. the last thing we need is political cronyism in the office of the copyrights. let's talk a little bit about the history of the position of the head of the copyright office. most of the first century of american -- of america, u.s. district court clerks processed copyright applications themselves. that was inefficient and in 1870 congress centralized the power of copyrights in the library of congress. seven years later, the copyright office was created as a separate department within the library and the register of hoppy rights was established as the head of that why depart from history? why give nip to increasing

executive authority at a time when many of us are concerned about the growing powers of the presidency? frankly some of this seems to be about the personal dislike of the librarian, dr. carla haden or for egeneral situation with the most recent register, who departed last october, maria polonte. dr. pears some believe haden should not have re-signed, but the inspector general's report stated ms. polonte was deficient in our duties. one example, the inspector general discovered the copyright office wasted six years and nearly $12 million attempting to implement an electronic licensing system. based on the i.g. report it seems the librarian had a valid reason to reassign the copyright register and had every right to do. so the last thing we want is politically motivated decision making in a personnel process around performance at the

library of congress. since the librarian of congress, dr. carla haden, was appointed in 2015, she's been pulling the library of congress and the copyright office into the 21st century. if we move the appointment -- the appointment into the hands of the president we're taking away the ability for the librarian to supervise the office of copyright. we're going to stop progress dead in its tracks. with hundreds of presidential appointees who haven't even been nominated, no less approved, a thnd eglashese pace of congress it could be years before a librarian is confirmed under this new scheme. look, we all understand and agree this there's problems that we need to work on together with regard to the copyright process to bring it into the 21st century. again work 60 -- we're 60 hours away from a government shutdown now might be the time to focus on keeping the government open and perhaps having a more thoughtful debate, removing the passions around the personnel involved after we continue to keep government open. this bill unfortunately does not solve the problems with

copyright. it makes the situation worse because it slows down a desperately needed modernization indefinitely, and would hurt the public and consumers. the last thing we need is a less autonomous copyright office. after the obscene wasting of taxpayer dollars do we want to provide more more politically motivated decision maybing within the office of the copyright? i think the answer is no, that's why i oppose the rule and oppose the bill. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: we'll have more time to discuss the i.g. report but at this time it's my privilege to represent another strong advocate in our protections of copyright and other, intellectual property, the gentlelady from tennessee, mrs. blackburn, for two minutes. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. mrs. blackburn: thank you, mr. chairman. i rise in support of h.r. 1695, the register of copyright selection and accountability act

and i am an original co-sponsor of this bipartisan legislation, it was introduced by chairman goodlatte and ranking member conyers, making this register of copyrights a position nominated by the president and confirmed by the senate. it was passed out of the house judiciary committee by a vote of 27-1. it is completely appropriate that we bring this provision to the floor. as a co-chair of the congressional song writers caucus and a representative of middle tennessee, which is the nashville area, it's home to many content producers and creators, in particular to song writers. creators deserve to know that they will have a register who will do a couple of things really well. is accountable to the people through their elected representatives, and will

provide independent and expert advice to congress. according to a report prepared by the international intellectual property alliance, e total copyright industry employed nearly 11.4 million workers in 2015, accounting for 7.95% of all u.s. employment, 9.39% of all private employment in the u.s. the average annual compensation paid to employees of the total copyright industries in 2015, per employee, $82,117. it exceeds the average annual wage by about 21%. intellectual property must be protected. copyrights must be protected. congress has a role in making certain that these constitutional provisions are

held and also making certain that the office is responsible to congress. i urge me house to move forward on this common sense measure. i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentlewoman from california, me distinguished ranking member of the judiciary subcommittee on immigration and border security, ms. lofgren. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized. ms. lofgren: thank you, mr. speaker. this is a bill that should be opposed. and i agree with mr. polis that it's unfortunate that it's being rushed because this may be one of the more significant votes we will take about our economy in this congress. i heard a lot of rhetoric, this isn't about the librarian. i'm sorry, it is about the librarian. doctor carla haden is probably the most qualified librarian of congress who has ever served.

she has done more in the last six months to advance modernization in the library and the copyright office than her predecessor did in the prior two decades. if we prevent her from appointing a new register, that effort will be stalled. and i think that would be tragic. it's been mentioned that somehow by making this a political position it would be more accountable. i beg to differ. mr. polis has mentioned the view of the electronic frontier foundation that this would enhance special interests. what they've actually said, and i think it's very pertinent, is that the bill would allow powerful incumbent interests to use their lobbying power to control this increasingly politicized office. no president is going to select

an appointee who will be shut down by the special interests. that's quite different than the librarian, who removed the prior register because of, i believe, the i.g. -- the inspector general's scathing report about he failure to computerize that office, essentially wasting $12 million while misrepresenting that fact to the librarian and to the congress. the national library groups, including the national copyright alliance, the american library association, and the like, say this -- it's difficult to understand how the public or congress itself would benefit from plitization of the register of copyrights position by making it subject to presidential appointment and senate confirmation as this legislation proposes. such po litization of the

position necessarily would result in a register more actively engaged in policy development than in competition management and modernization. and that's what we want out of a register. we don't want a partisan for one side of the issue. we want somebody who can run in an efficient way. the y right office. now a word about the amendments that has been bandied about as somehow giving congress a greater say. i value and -- i value the friendship of my colleague, sheila jackson lee, who i served with for so long but i fear her amendment does not accomplish what she said. because the president's power to appoint is limited only by senate -- mr. polis: yield an additional 30 seconds. ms. lofgren: the president's power is only limited by confirmation, not limited by a list of from congress. if there's a conflict of

interest, the librarian cares only about the public interest, it is donald trump who has the 30 copyrights and i don't think we should ask president trump to take this position with that conflict of interest, something that all of us have been concerned about. i yield back the time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. look, this is again, this is about policy. this is about moving forward in the modernization process. i believe ms. haden is fully qualified to be librarian of congress. i think the issue comes in the copyright registrar's office. it has been interest, i've been involved in this my whole time in congress this issue of copyright protection and i would have to say, electronic frontier foundation, we disagree, many of us in the content community work the views of a more open or less inhibited copyright protection which we believe she heart beat of the innovative system protecting the copyright as we go forward so just simply to have somebody say if you're

looking at the -- i'm looking out for the single song writers, the person right now in their home pecking out their first novel, working on their first article, these are the kind of things that need protected, this is making this modernization, we're going to continue to move forward, we have differences of opinion that's fine but i think in looking at this big picture we're talking about a register office that has so much work in our economy as a whole, we're just simply looking toward the first step of modernization. with that, i reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i yield two mr. polis: i yield two minutes to the gentlelady from washington, ms. delbene. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for two minutes. ms. del bone ben: i ask my colleagues to take a step back and occur the unintended consequences of this legislation. ms. delbene: i had the opportunity to hear firsthand from a very diverse range of stakeholders on their experiences in dealing with the copyright office and one of the most common refrains i heard

was the dire near for modernizing the office and updating their i.t. systems to be more user friendly so i was very disturbed to learn $12 million was wasted on another failed i.t. project this time at the copyright office. this is unacceptable and any legislation to reform the office ought to have successful modernization as its primary goal. and this legislation fails that test. h.r. 1695 sets back the clock on considerable progress that's been made already under the leadership of the new librarian of congress, dr. carla haden. it puts the head in the hands of the president while around seats had about 200 empty. it seems this bill is just another solution in search of a problem. a vote for this bill is a vote to stop progress, a vote to

continue the west of tax dollars and a vote to add one more person to the list of positions that president trump seems to have no interest in filling. i'm very concerned that this is a misguided experiment without a clear purpose and that taxpayers will be the ones who foot the bill when it doesn't succeed. i urge my colleagues to vote no and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i'd like to yield three minutes to the gentleman from new york, the distinguished ranking member on the committee of courts, intellectual property and the judiciary, the gentleman from new york, mr. nadler. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for three minutes. mr. nadler: thank you. i rise in support of the underlying ligs which i view is a great step -- legislation which i view is a great step forward. mr. speaker, we have heard about the misdeeds alleged of the prior librarian -- prior register of copyrights, we heard what a wonderful librarian. i agree carla haden is a

wonderful librarian. this is not whether the last register is a good or bad register. it is not whether she knew she knew about modernization. this bill is against politicizing. this bill is for strengthening and enhancing the stature of the office of register of copyrights. the committee held four years of hearings on the copyright act. many -- there are many contentious issues that we will be bringing to the floor on that. this is not one of them. this issue had broad support. everybody agrees that the office of the -- excuse me -- copyright must be modernized. what this bill does is to take it, give it a little more independence from the library of congress. the librarian of congress is an interested stakeholder. there are many stakeholders in copyrights. librarians are stakeholders, tech people are stakeholders,

content creators, movie studios, lots of authors, editors, lots of different stakeholders. no stakeholder should be in a controlling position. the librarian of congress is in a controlling position, and there is a consensus that ought to be reduced. i personally, and a lot of people think the register's office should be taken out of the library entirely but this bill is a compromise. it doesn't do that. it enhances the stature of the copyright office by making it a presidentially appointed office for a 10-year term. you talk about politicizing. right now president trump could, if he wished, fire the librarian tomorrow. the librarian serves at his pleasure and the register of copyright serves at her pleasure so the president totally controls the librarian of office and the register at anytime. this bill would say the president, with the advice and consent of the senate, would appoint the region strar and -- would have -- region

registrar and would undertake the modernization. what we saw is the modernization requirements at the library of congress are different from the modernization requirements at the copyright office and one seemed to take precedence one over the other which is not surprising. so this bill would increase the stature of the copyright office. it would make it less political giving the incumbent 10 years doing good behavior, powerful interests -- there are powerful interests who have an interest and they would be one step further removed because of the 10-year tenure. this is a bill that has broad bipartisan support. almost every interest group that deals with the copyright office is in favor of this, from the authors to the directors to the songwriters, to the motion picture people, you name it. i urge adoption of the bill but opposed to the rule.

the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: well, mr. speaker. hopefully we will get this rule passed and we'll get to the bill so the gentleman can be in support of this. at this time i'm going to continue to reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: mr. speaker, today president trump plans to unveil a tax cut proposal that would vastly reduce the business tax rate for international corporations and even for his own real estate empire. now, we have no way of knowing how many millions he personally might save through this so-called trump loophole. no idea. unless he releases his tax returns. democrats have been calling on the president to release his tax returns for this reason and so many others. we can't allow the white house to be used as a tool to enrich the president and his family. up until now, every president since gerald ford has disclosed his tax return information. this has provided a basic level of transparency to help ensure the public's interests are placed first. the american deserves the same level of disclosure from this

administration. if they continue to refuse to provide it, we as the people's elected representatives should hold the executive branch accountable. if not us who? mr. speaker, when we defeat the previous question i'll offer an amendment to the rule to bring up representative eshoo's bill which would require presidents and major party nominees for the presidency to simply release their tax returns. mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the record along with extraneous material immediately prior to the vote on the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: without objection. mr. polis: to discuss our excellent proposal, i yield four minutes to the distinguished gentlewoman from california, ms. eshoo. the speaker pro tempore: the gentlelady is recognized for four minutes. ms. eshoo: thank you. i thank my colleague from colorado for his leadership and for yielding me time. here i am again. i rise in support of the -- in opposition to the rule and the underlying bill, and i urge my colleagues to defeat the previous question so that my bipartisan -- this is both republicans and democrats --

this bipartisan legislation, the presidential tax transparency act be made in order for debate and a vote. the presidential transparency -- tax transparency act would require -- it's very simple. it would require this president , all future presidents and presidential nominees from both major parties to publicly disclose their tax returns. until recently, most americans thought that this was required by law, but it actually has been a tradition. it's been voluntary disclosure by every president of both parties since watergate. this long disclosure tradition exists because, a, the american people demand a baseline level of transparency from the highest office holder in the land and each one of the presidents wanted the american people to know that their first

and top priority was the american people's interests and not their own financial interests. this last saturday, april 15, thousands of americans and 1 -- in 125 cities across the country participated in tax marches calling for the president to release his tax returns. y did they do it on holy saturday? because they are concerned about his conflicts of interests and his foreign business entanglements. his refusal to release his tax returns is one example of the lack of transparency as we near the 100-day mark of the administration. as questions about his associates' ties to russia continue to swirl, yesterday the white house refused to provide information about general flynn's russia contacts to the house oversight committee. just before the easter holiday,

the white house also announced that it will break with precedent and will not make its visitor logs public. this is added to the fact that the president's meetings in his properties in florida, new jersey and elsewhere where he has so far spent 1/3 of his presidency, according to "the washington post" are also off the books. who is the president meeting with? who does he listen to? do his personal financial interests come first or do the interests of the country come first? the president's business empire make him more susceptible to conflicts of interest than any president in our history, and yet he's done less to address these conflicts than any president in modern history. since 1978, every president has placed their assets in a real blind trust.

instead of following this tradition, the president has turned his business over to his sons in an arrangement that the nonpartisan office of government ethics called, quote, meaningless from a conflict of interest perspective. it was later revealed that the president can draw profits from this trust at any time and his son acknowledged he will provide his father with periodic reports about the state of his family's businesses. this is not right. this simply does not pass muster for anyone in the country. this is not republican or democratic. this is not partisan. the president should release his tax returns. now, as the gentleman said previously, this is, again, critically important because it's reported that the president's going to come out with a tax plan today and reportedly cut the tax rate on pass-through entities. mr. polis: i yield an additional 30 seconds.

ms. eshoo: for awful these reasons, mr. speaker, and all -- for all of these reasons, mr. speaker, and for all of these conflicts of interests, it's why the president needs to reveal his tax returns. it's why we have bipartisan legislation. we should defeat the previous question, sign onto the discharge petition so that this bipartisan legislation can come before the full house to ensure that the president provides transparency to the american people now and in the future. thank you. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: we reserve. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. -- collins we have no other speakers. -- mr. collins: we have no further speakers. mr. polis: we might have someone coming. i have some remarks to give. thanks.

i yield myself such time as i may consume. look, when i think about this bill, what i really think about is president trump wanting to put a big business friend in charge of an office that can do personal favors for him and his family. now, look, we know the president and his family have or are seeking dozens of copyrights. here's a great one. here's a copyright on a book. "trump: the best golf advice i ever received." now, don't get me wrong. i'm sure he deserved the copyright. i'm sure a ghost writer had a contract with him. since he spends his weekends doing his golf the last thing we want to do is put one of his golfing buddies in charge of the copyright office. who's to say the next copyright won't be disputed. places his friends, business associates and, yes, golfing partners in high places could help tip the scales in his s for providing profit

him and his family. i'd like to speak about the few of the defenses. there is one that the president would pick the register from a list of experts provided by a group including the librarian but guess what, the list is nonbinding so the president can ignore the recommendations and do whatever he wants which is what this president usually does anyway. i also heard the argument that it will be be more transparent. hogwash. that's the opposite of the truth. there is much transparency for nonpresidential appointee as a presidential appointee once in their position and it's much less likely that a president is going to demand the resignation of the register than the librarian is going to reassign them as they did last year when the register was failing as confirmed by the inspector general report. finally, there seems to be the argument there were a large number of hearings in the committee on this issue and somehow this is the work of those hearings.

there was not one hearing on this bill, there were hearings on general copyright reform. there was no hearing on how this bill might delay modernizing the copyright office, there were no hearings on whether this could benefit the president and his family at the expense of the american people. s that problematic bill you should a problematic rule that doesn't allow good ideas to come forward and be debated. we aren't even able to debate helpful amendments. i know of at least one important amendment not being allowed to be detpwhinet floor, representative lofgren's amendment which would allow the librarian to fill the vacancy and when that reg sfer leaves, the process could apply. why can't we get a simple vote on that amendment? i say again this bill is a solution in search of a problem. frankly, this bill makes the problem worse by giving the president the chance to put his business associates and golfing

buddies in charge of his own copyrights. i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: i reserve. mr. polis: i'm prepared to close if the gentleman is. the speaker pro tempore: the chair would remind members to refrain from engaging in personalities toward the president. the gentleman from colorado. mr. polis: i'm sure the president's personality is perfectly charming. i wouldn't disparage his personality. i'm talking about him putting a friend or golf buddy in a position that he receives income frfment it's nothing about the president's perfectly charming, he's charming in person, i'd be happy to have dinner with him. the copyright office has an important function. in order to fulfill that function of registering copyrights it needs to be a neutral arbiter. by making thed of the copyright office a political appointee, appointed by the president and

confirmed by the senate, it will increasingly politicize copyright the basic protection americans rely on regarding the tradeoff between payoffs for innovation and the right of consumers for dissemination. there's no chance of political appointee will be neutral by the nature of them being a political appointee. a political appointee will likely be the puppet of big corporations and the administration in their decisions around registration of copyrights. that doesn't help the budding author, doesn't help the budding musician in a dispute and it certainly doesn't help anyone trying to navigate and outdated and archaic system that needs to be modernized and this bill will delay the modernization process. i encourage my colleagues to vote no on this rule and known bill. the last thing we need is president trump's golfing buddies to be in charge of his own copyrights to further benefit the president and family, who have pleasant

personalities. do we want to give more power to the administration so they can do favors for themselves and their friends? i hope not. we should be doing a bill to keep government open instead of waiting until the last second and hurting businesses and americans with a huge amount of uncertainty. i encourage my colleagues to vote no on this rule, no on this bill and i yield back. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from georgia. mr. collins: thank you, mr. speaker. again, irregardless of the last discussion, there are things about this bill that i have talked about when we first started and doing this actually brings us into a position of modernizing the copyright office which has been discussed a long time. i want to address briefly, there has been some discussion about an i.g. report, there's been discussion about, especially the former register of copyrights and as i made clear in the talks this has nothing to do with that being brought up, especially taking the former register of copyrights and implying things that were out of this i.g. report is basically attempting a

character assassination of the former register of copyright. i think in doing so, it has to be understood that even in that i.g. report that is so discussed about, one of the library's own responses back to the concerns of the i.g. we rt -- report was that in 2015, the inspector general found the library of congress was compliance, and the software with support registration functions were all in compliance. i think it's interesting what we look at here. but what this i.g. report did say was there were a lot of other problems. the g.a.o. report said the library doesn't have the leadership to address i.t. management. that's why the copyright office was having to look at this also in august 20 15, because the -- ecause of the library's poor response in modernization, which we're looking toward and how much it will affect our economy, because of the library's problem

the electronic licensing system went down and for 10 days no one could register a copyright. in fairness, you may not like this bill, you may not like the current structure, and that's fine but when we discuss the library there are a lot of issues, i'm sure the relevant committees will address this i.g. report in their committee oversight. that's what they're designed to do. what we're designed to go here is not take and pick and choose what parts of the report we want to talk about was every -- because we're troying to justify the current library's decision last fall. when we understand this, we'll begin to move forward on the copyright modernization act. let's get back to the functionality of who this is, not who is appointed but how they're appointed but the fact that this millions to millions of people and accounts for trillions of dollars in our industries across the world. the register of copyright selection accountability act is important and bipartisan step. it came out 27-1 out of the judiciary committee. mr. speaker, i serve on that committee. that is not a usual vote on

legislation that is making a positive, large lasting impact that we're seeing on this it is the first step rather than the last step in modernization. as we look forward to this, i will simply say, this is a good bill, it has been perfected by both republicans and democrats, as i have said before, sheila jackson lee, the congresswoman from texas, had a very help -- has been very helpful in putting this package together along with the chairman and ranking member and both sides of the aisle. it is sort of a shame that when we come to this bill, we diverge into rabbit trails away from the real issue. and the real issue is, let's help those folks who depend on the copyright office, let's make it the modernization, let's make it the tool it's supposed to be. that's advisor and the expert in these issues. when we do so, our economy continues to flourish, we get aside from the theatrics and get back to the poshes of the bill. with that, i yield back the balance of my time and move the previous question. the speaker pro tempore: the question is on ordering the

previous question on the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the opinion of the chair the ayes have it. mr. polis: i request the yeas and nays. the speaker pro tempore: the yeas and nays are requested. those in support of the request for the yeas and nays are requested. members will record their votes by electronic device. this is a 15-minute vote. pursuant to clause 9 of rule 20 the chair will reduce the time for vote on adoption of the resolution. this is a 15-minute vote on ordering the previous question. [captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: on this vote, the yeas are 234. the nays are 191. the majority voting in the affirmative, the previous question is ordered. the question is on adoption of the resolution. those in favor say aye. those opposed, no. in the ponch the chair the ayes have it. mr. polis: mr. speaker, on that i request a recorded vote. the speaker pro tempore: a recorded vote is requested. those in support of the request for a recorded vote will rise. a sufficient number having risen a recorded vote is ordered. members will record their votes by electronic device. this will be a fife-minute vote. -- a five-minute vote.

[captioning made possible by the national captioning institute, inc., in cooperation with the united states house of representatives. any use of the closed-captioned coverage of the house proceedings for political or commercial purposes is expressly prohibited by the u.s. house of representatives.]

the speaker pro tempore: the yeas are 237, the nays are 186. without objection the motion to

reconsider is laid upon the table. the speaker pro tempore: the

chair would ask all members to plose take their conversations rom the floor. chair would ask all members to please take their seats, take their conversations from the floor. does the gentleman from virginia eek recognition? >> mr. speaker, i ask unanimous consent that all members have five legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous materials on h.r. 1695. the speaker pro tempore: without objection, so ordered. pursuant to house resolution 275 and rule 18, the chair declares the house in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for consideration of

h.r. 1695. the chair appoints the gentleman from idaho, mr. simpson, to preside over the committee of the whole. the chair: the house is in the committee of the whole house on the state of the union for the consideration of h.r. 1695 which the clerk will report by title. the clerk: a bill to amend title 17, united states code, to provide additional responsibilities for the register of copyrights and for other purposes. the speaker pro tempore: pursuant to the -- the chair: pursuant to the rule the bill is considered read for the first time they have gentleman from virginia, mr. good lat and the gentleman from michigan, mr. conyer, each will control 0 minutes. house will be in order. members please remove conversations from the floor. members please remove onversations from the floor.

the chair recognizes the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. good lat: intellectual property is a critical and growing part of our nation's economy and the register of copyrights is a crucial role in the numerous copyright issues that impact it. four years ago the judiciary committee considered how to modernize our copyright laws including how the copyright office is structured, making the register subject to the nominate d concept process with nominees chosen from a list considered by a panel was among many changes considered. the house is not in order.

the chair: the house will be in order. members please remove conversations from the floor. so that the house can proceed. the gentleman from virginia. mr. goodlatte: thank you, mr. chairman. because the director of the patent and trademark office who has an equally important voice on patent and trademark issues is already subject to the nomination and consent process, it provided a precedent for this approach. however, unlike the patent and trademark office, the copyright office is part of the legislative branch. thus it is appropriate to also follow the precedent set for other legislative branch agencies that gives congress a greater say in selecting candidates for the head of legislative branch entities to ensure those agencies are more accountable to congress. because the register position is now vacant, filled on an acting

capacity by a well-regarded actiq -- acting register, ranking member conyers and i introduced this bipartisan legislation to update the register selection process. to mirror a recent change to the librarian of congress position that is now subject to a 10-year term limit, the legislation also makes the register of copyrights position subject to a 10-year term limit. the selection panel would be bipartisan and would consist of leaders of the majorities and minorities of the house and senate and would also include the librarian of congress. in the past, the authority of the register of copyrights to issue rule makings has not been challenged in the courts because the register is not subject to the nomination and consent process. this legislation would remedy that question once and for all. h.r. 1695 was reported by the house judicial committee by a bipartisan vote of 27-1. in addition to strong support from t