Jim Matheson

Look, we all know that the internet and use of broadband is only increasing.

I also think we have to be very careful about saying we only want to serve unserved, but underserved don't matter anymore.

Connectivity is everything, whether it is healthcare, business, education.

I think USDA is uniquely positioned to be an important voice in this circumstance because USDA, number one, understands rural America.

Broadband is so important to day to day life, we want to make sure we all have access, but it has got to be at the right speed, it has got to be scalable to the future it has got to be affordable.

Let me just close by saying rural electric cooperatives are deeply committing to bridging the digital divide and connecting rural homes and businesses with reliable and sustainable high-speed broadband service.

If the United States leads in that opportunity and develops that technology here, I think that that may have the impact globally over time.

I do think it is important, your statement that we should continue with fossil fuel research.

Simply put, America's electric cooperatives are focused on responsibly delivering reliable and affordable electricity.

Seems to me in this hearing we are talking about this consumer right to know. I find it interesting, this is on an issue where everyone has acknowledged there is no health or safety risk here.

I have one more speaker, and I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Meng).

I appreciate the comments of the gentleman, once again emphasizing the fact that this is one of those where we can agree in a consensus way across party lines. And I hope we can get this legislation to repeal this tax up for a vote soon…

I think this year we have an opportunity to really get something done, and I think we should all embrace that opportunity to try to work together.

I have an amendment at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 25, line 5, after the dollar amount, insert ``(increased by $9,600,000)''. Page 30, line 5, after the dollar amount…

I think the RxTEC proposal represents a consensus of a lot of the stakeholders. It does agree on a one-size-fits-all for the country and not 50 different State approaches.

I have worked with drug supply chain stakeholders in crafting legislation to develop a national system to better protect our Nation's drug supply against counterfeiting threats.

I have grave concern for a couple of reasons. One is, of course, I want folks in the United States to have access to the best devices possible to maintain their health and safety, number one, and secondly, the medical device industry is…

As I said, let's not do apples and oranges here. Let's do apples and apples. If this Congress wants to act in a way to pass a balanced budget, it doesn't require a supermajority. If this Congress wants to make a decision to deficit spend…

I think it's the same threshold that requires us to make a decision to deficit spend. It's the same supermajority for that as well. So I think that what we do is we're putting a requirement in where, if you want to default or if you want…

I have an amendment at the desk, Mr. Chairman. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will report the amendment. The Clerk read as follows: Page 27, line 10, after the dollar amount, insert ``(increased by $10,000,000)''. Page 33, line 20, after the…

Reclaiming my time, if no one is going to claim time in opposition, I am happy to close. Again, I appreciate Mr. Pearce's work on this and I appreciate Mr. Petri's ongoing discussions on this. It's been a bipartisan effort. I encourage my…

I greatly appreciate the comments of my colleague Mr. Petri. And, again, I also commit to work with you to refine this to make this in the best possible form.

This amendment would cut funding in the CR, other than the Department of Defense and the U.S. Postal Service, other than those two, by $280 million. Now, $280 million is the amount of money that would be saved if Federal civilian agencies…

I just want to point out, absent concerns of a point of order I would have prescriptively said this is specific to do with nonessential travel of Federal employees. Due to concerns about a point of order, we structured this amendment where…