September 21, 2012 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H6237 

POW/MIA RECOGNITION DAY 

(Mr. MILLER of Florida asked and 

was given permission to address the 

House for 1 minute and to revise and 

extend his remarks.) 

Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, 

I rise today to honor the more than 

83,000 Americans still listed as missing 

in action or prisoners of war. Today is 

National POW/MIA Recognition Day. 

I would like to bring to the attention 

of my House colleagues the efforts 

made by the joint POW/MIA Accounting Command to recover and return 

home to their families our unaccounted 

for servicemembers. 

Also, let us recognize groups such as 

Rolling Thunder, the Vietnam Veterans of America, the American ExPrisoners of War, the National League 

of POW/MIA Families, and numerous 

others who ensure those who remain 

missing are never forgotten, and that 

our Nation remembers their sacrifice. 

This includes Army Private First 

Class Ithiel Whatley of Escambia County, Florida, who was last seen on July 

12, 1950, in Korea and who is remembered every day of the year by his 

brother Nat. 

We salute our POWs and MIAs who 

have given to this Nation more than we 

can ever repay. The United States will 

not rest until each is home and has received the proper burial on American 

soil they deserve. 

Please offer a prayer for those who 

remain on the battlefields of the past 

and of the present, and let us pledge 

that not one is left behind. 

f 

VOTER SUPPRESSION 

(Ms. SCHAKOWSKY asked and was 

given permission to address the House 

for 1 minute.) 

Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, 

this is Constitution Week, when we celebrate our fundamental rights as 

Americans. Today, one of the most 

cherished rights, the right to vote, is 

under serious attack. 

Recent efforts to suppress voter participation are designed to silence the 

voice of American voters, especially 

seniors, people of color, the poor, and 

young adults. 

In Florida, new restrictions on voter 

registration led the League of Women 

Voters to suspend their efforts until 

the law was halted by the court. Republican legislatures have passed strict 

voting requirements, although Pennsylvania could not provide even one example of voter fraud. Even elderly veterans, who risked their lives for our 

country, may be turned away from the 

polls because they lack the proper IDs. 

Five million Americans could be disenfranchised. 

Anyone who values our Constitution 

should encourage voting, not erect barriers based on false claims of voter 

fraud. 

STOP THE WAR ON COAL ACT OF 

2012 

GENERAL LEAVE

Mr. WHITFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask 

unanimous consent that all Members 

may have 5 legislative days in which to 

revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 3409. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. 

FLEISCHMANN). Is there objection to the 

request of the gentleman from Kentucky? 

There was no objection. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 788 and rule 

XVIII, the Chair declares the House in 

the Committee of the Whole House on 

the state of the Union for the further 

consideration of the bill, H.R. 3409. 

Will the gentleman from Kansas (Mr. 

YODER) kindly take the chair. 

b 0918 

IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE

Accordingly, the House resolved 

itself into the Committee of the Whole 

House on the state of the Union for the 

further consideration of the bill (H.R. 

3409) to limit the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue regulations before December 31, 2013, under 

the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, with Mr. YODER

(Acting Chair) in the chair. 

The Clerk read the title of the bill. 

The Acting CHAIR. When the Committee of the Whole rose on Thursday, 

September 20, 2012, amendment No. 7 

printed in House Report 112–680 offered 

by the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 

HARRIS) had been disposed of. 

b 0920 

AMENDMENT NO. 8 OFFERED BY MS. JACKSON

LEE OF TEXAS

The Acting CHAIR. It is now in order 

to consider amendment No. 8 printed in 

House Report 112–680. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. 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: 

Strike section 503 of the committee print. 

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to 

House Resolution 788, the gentlewoman 

from Texas (Ms. JACKSON LEE) and a 

Member opposed each will control 5 

minutes. 

The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Texas. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. 

Chairman, this is an amendment, I believe, that common sense would allow 

us to work together and pass. 

This amendment would simply maintain the current deadline that existed 

under the previous administration of 90 

days under the Clean Air Act by striking section 503 of the bill which artificially limits agency comment periods 

on water quality permits to 30 days 

with no possibility of extension. This 

existed under President Bush’s administration. 

Why, then, would my friends on the 

other side of the aisle not join with me 

to say let’s have regular order? Let’s 

ensure that we give everyone a reasonable opportunity for a response on 

their quality of life. 

On the surface, the intent of H.R. 3409 

appears to be to prevent the Interior 

Department from revising a Bush administration midnight regulation that 

significantly weakened mountaintop 

protections on the destructive practice 

of mountaintop removal mining. Let 

me remind you, they did not alter the 

comment period. Mountaintop removal 

mining, as many of us know, is a very 

challenging, environmentally difficult 

process. For many, they say, it creates 

jobs. 

What we are trying to do is to ensure 

that there is a balance between that industry and, as well, the fairness of allowing those to be able to comment. As 

it’s presently drafted, this bill would 

reach, in fact, it would make it much 

more difficult, if you will, to deal with 

the question of rulemaking. 

The people in the State of Texas and 

the city of Houston appreciate the ability to drink cool, fresh water. So does 

everyone else. The idea of not being 

able to comment on the impact of this 

particular process is challenging. 

I ask my colleagues to consider the 

importance of coming together and extending, or going back to, the 90-day 

comment period to balance, if you will, 

the timeframe and to ensure that all 

are heard on any aspects that would 

impact the environment, impact the 

environment of this particular procedure. 

With that, I reserve the balance of 

my time. 

Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in 

opposition to the amendment. 

The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman 

from Ohio is recognized for 5 minutes. 

Mr. GIBBS. Mr. Chairman, I object to 

the amendment. 

I reserve the balance of my time. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. Mr. 

Chairman, may I ask how much time 

remains. 

The Acting CHAIR. The gentlewoman 

from Texas has 21⁄2 minutes remaining. 

Ms. JACKSON LEE of Texas. I yield 

1 minute to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. DEUTCH). 

Mr. DEUTCH. I thank the gentlewoman for yielding. 

Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the gentlelady’s amendment to 

yet another bill that will never become 

law, another bill that feeds into the 

biggest problem we have here. 

The 112th Congress has actually set a 

sad new low for our democracy. We all 

know that President Harry Truman famously dubbed the 80th Congress in 

1948 as the ‘‘do-nothing Congress.’’ Yet 

the do-nothing Congress of 1948 has 

nothing on this one. That Congress 

passed over 900 laws, while the 112th 

Congress has passed just over 100. 

Among the countless laws blocked by 

the Republican majority is the American Jobs Act, which economists say 


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