Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I was unable to be present to cast votes on May 23. Had I been present, I would have voted: yea on Roll Call No. 222, yea on Roll Call No. 223, yea on Roll Call No. 224, yea on Roll Call No. 225, nay on Roll Call No. 226, yea on Roll Call No. 227, nay on Roll Call No. 228, yea on Roll Call No. 229, yea on Roll Call No. 230 and yea on Roll Call No. 231.

Madam Speaker, earlier today I was not present to cast a vote on the Combined Rule. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 131.

personal explanation

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 156, which I was proud to cosponsor, calling for justice in the 2015 murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.

On the evening of Friday, February 27, 2015, Boris Nemtsov was shot in the back and killed by cowards just outside of the Kremlin in Moscow.

Mr. Nemtsov was an important figure in Russia because he stood up to Vladimir Putin and the Russian Federation as he called for democracy in a country dominated by oppression.

Before his assassination, Mr. Nemtsov was planning to run for President in 2018 against Vladimir Putin. One can only think of what Russia's future could have been today with Mr. Nemtsov as its leader.

Since that day in February 2015, suspects have been charged and sentenced for murder, but we still don't have all the answers or truly know why Mr. Nemtsov was killed. However, we do know that there has never been any questioning of additional suspects or any investigation into evidence that the convicted gunman was a member of a Russian unit that was stationed and backed by Chechen dictator and thug Ramzan Kadyrov.

Furthermore, Russia continues to put up roadblocks to outside investigators from the European Union and the OSCE to prevent more investigations into the sequence of events that fateful night. Four years after his murder, Boris Nemtsov and his family are still without answers or the justice that they deserve.

The House resolution uses the voice of Congress to hold his killers and their accomplices accountable. Specifically, this resolution condemns the Putin regime for targeting political opponents and using the Russian Government to cover up the murder of Mr. Nemtsov. It also calls on the U.S. Government to use its capabilities to identify those who support the murderers and to impose strict sanctions for their actions.

Last February, on the anniversary of his death, we saw a fitting tribute to Mr. Nemtsov's calls for freedom and democracy when the street in front of the Russian Embassy here in Washington was renamed the Boris Nemtsov Plaza. We can take another important step towards justice by passing this important resolution.

I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for bringing this up in such a bipartisan way.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, in closing, I want to thank Chairman Engel and the ranking member, Mr. McCaul, for offering up this important resolution which seeks justice for Boris Nemtsov's brutal murder.

At a time when we are seeing the Russian people protesting tighter restrictions on their access to the internet, we should not forget the brave leadership of Mr. Nemtsov, a man who stood up to the oppressors in Russia and advocated bravely for freedom. We should honor his memory by continuing to seek justice for his assassination.

It is also important to note, Madam Speaker, the strong bipartisan showing in this Chamber of, really, any Russian resolution that comes up because we are united, as the prior speaker said, with the Russian people in fighting oppression, as we have for so long and we will continue to do.

I urge all Members to support this legislation.

Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with the majority, also in strong support of H.R. 596, the Crimea Annexation Non-recognition Act. I am proud to cosponsor this legislation, which clearly states that America will not recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea.

Ukraine continues to face significant challenges from Russia, from their meddling, and from their aggression. In Congress, we know the true intentions of Vladimir Putin when it comes to Ukraine. Vladimir Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin are tearing Europe apart.

Russian-backed separatists continue their shelling of Ukrainian military positions in Eastern Ukraine, which has killed civilians in many areas.

Additionally, Russia recently violated Ukraine sovereignty and territorial integrity when it fired upon and captured three Ukrainian vessels and 24 sailors. Russia continues to hold these sailors on bogus charges that they violated Russian borders, even though the Kerch Strait is determined to be neutral waters.

While Russia maintains that Ukrainian soldiers were threatening the construction of the Crimean bridge, which is currently under construction between the territory of Russia and Crimea, we know this is fake news from Putin and his thugs.

We need to continue to send a strong message to the Russians that the United States does not and will not

recognize their claim of sovereignty over Crimea, not now and not ever.

I commend Secretary Pompeo for making the Crimea Declaration last July that articulated this policy of the United States, and I believe Congress should have a voice in this as well.

Madam Speaker, the bill is simple. It states that the policy of the United States Government is to never recognize sovereignty over Crimea, and it prohibits all U.S. Government agencies from taking any action with respect to acknowledging that Russia has any claims over the territory.

As Vladimir Putin seeks to impose his iron-fisted will over former Soviet republics, we must continue to stand with our allies to counter that aggression.

I commend the work of my friend from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) and my friend from Ohio (Mr. Chabot) for their leadership on this issue. By reaffirming congressional support for Ukraine's territorial integrity and by holding Russia accountable for its continued violation of Ukraine sovereignty, I believe we will continue to stand with Ukraine legislatively and most effectively from here and into the future.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), a senior member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the primary cosponsor of this bill.

Madam Speaker, I have no more speakers. I am prepared to close. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I include in the Record a February 27, 2019, statement by Secretary Pompeo on Crimea and Ukraine.

U.S. Department of State

Office of the Spokesperson

[For Immediate Release--February 27, 2019]

Statement by Secretary Pompeo

Crimea is Ukraine

Five years ago, Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Crimean

peninsula fueled an escalation of Russian aggression. Russia

attempted to upend the international order, undermined basic

human freedoms, and weakened our common security. The world

has not forgotten the cynical lies Russia employed to justify

its aggression and mask its attempted annexation of Ukrainian

territory. Russia's use of force against a peaceful neighbor

must not be tolerated by reputable states. The United States

reiterates its unwavering position: Crimea is Ukraine and

must be returned to Ukraine's control.

The United States remains gravely concerned by the

worsening repression by Russia's occupation regime in Crimea.

During the past five years, Russian occupation authorities

have engaged in an array of abuses in a campaign to eliminate

all opposition to its control over Crimea. As part of this

campaign, Russia has arbitrarily detained and wrongfully

convicted individuals for peaceful opposition to the

occupation, and in some cases has forcibly transferred these

individuals from occupied Crimea to Russia. The United States

calls on Russia to release all of the Ukrainians, including

members of the Crimean Tatar community, it has imprisoned in

retaliation for their peaceful dissent. This includes Oleh

Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Volodymyr Balukh, Ruslan

Zeytullayev, and approximately 70 others. We call on Russia

to cease all its abuses immediately, to end its occupation of

Crimea, and, in the meantime, to comply with its obligations

under international law, including the law of occupation.

In the Crimea Declaration of July 25, 2018, the United

States reaffirmed its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's

claims of sovereignty over Crimea. The United States also

condemns Russia's illegal actions in Crimea and its continued

aggression against Ukraine. The United States will maintain

respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian

government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully

implements the Minsk agreements. The United States reiterates

its unbending support for Ukraine's sovereignty and

territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized

borders, including its territorial waters.

Madam Speaker, the Secretary writes: ``In the Crimea Declaration of July 25, 2018, the United States reaffirmed its refusal to recognize the Kremlin's claims of sovereignty over Crimea. The United States also condemns Russia's illegal actions in Crimea and its continued aggression against Ukraine. The United States will maintain respective sanctions against Russia until the Russian Government returns control of Crimea to Ukraine and fully implements the Minsk agreements. The United States reiterates its unbending support for Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters.''

Madam Speaker, in our history, we have always seen the impact that our Nation has on others. When we stand up, we help them achieve a better tomorrow. We must continue to help Ukraine achieve that better future for its citizens, particularly one that is free from Russian aggression.

Recently, we sent the USS Donald Cook to transit through the Kerch Strait as a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Actions like these, and support for this bill, will further send the message to Vladimir Putin that the U.S. will never waver in our support for those who seek to push back against Russian oppression and coerced influence.

This is a great bill that shows the unity between Republicans and Democrats in this House, the legislative body, and the administration. I urge all Members to support this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

I want to start by saying something: Everybody here in this Chamber means well. Everybody here in this Chamber believes they are fighting for the right thing for this country.

Unfortunately, sometimes with these debates, they get heated and we begin to ascribe bad motives to the other side. I ascribe no bad motives to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, and there are no bad motives on our side. It is just a little bit of a difference in how we see it.

We are all passionate about this issue, which is evident by the quality of the debate we are having here. But I am going to tell you why I came to believe that this was a national emergency.

I was sent down to the border with the National Guard. I went down and did 2 weeks with my unit, which is down there for 2 months.

As part-timers, we go down and we fill in and augment different amounts of time. I fly a surveillance aircraft. It is called an RC-26.

We actually work with Border Patrol, and what we would do is, through technology, some of the technology that exists, they would get indications of a group coming over the border. We would have a central authority that would see these groups coming over the border and would take the limited air assets we had and put them on these groups to surveil them and then coordinate with Border Patrol, or whatever, to come in and get them. And what we saw, frankly, was pretty eye-opening for me.

First off, Arizona has some very rugged territory.

I have worked Texas, by the way, three times doing this exact same mission. I am going to give you an opportunity to guess who the President was when I did this mission three other times. It was President Obama, because he understood the need for the guard on the border.

So we would see these groups come over. They would go through this rugged terrain.

By the way, I never worked an area in Arizona where there was a barrier. We never had to. But there is a lot of area that isn't.

We would then respond, and basically, 9 times out of 10, any time these groups got any indication that Border Patrol was nearby or there was an aircraft overhead, they would do what we call a bomb burst. It looks like that on the infrared we are using. They would run in all different directions, and many people would get separated.

But do you know who the first to bomb blast away from that group was? The first people, every time, were the coyotes who they paid their life savings to to bring them over the border--every time.

In fact, one time that exact scenario happened, and a lady was left lost in the desert, hunkered down in a bush. Had Border Patrol not found her--sure, she will be deported for that because she came in illegally. But if Border Patrol had not found her, I believe that there is a chance that she could have been one of the at least 200 bodies that they find every year in the desert because they are abandoned by their drug traffickers, by their coyotes who are paid for and who pay money to the drug cartels.

That is a big part of where these cartels in Mexico get their money, funneling people over the border, human trafficking. We know the statistics of the chance of assault during that. We know that kind of stuff.

It wasn't my mission, but my crew was on a mission, the very first one, where an illegal was apprehended, and he had 70 pounds of methamphetamine on him.

Now, I know there is way more than 70 pounds of methamphetamine out there in the United States, but there are way more people we are not seeing come over that border as well.

People sometimes look at the rugged terrain of Arizona and say, well, with mountains and hills, that is the natural wall.

By the way, I went hiking on those mountains and hills during my time off, I will say that.

But the other interesting thing is a significant amount of the people we were following were actually on those mountains and hills. They were on the mountains and hills because that rugged terrain is just as difficult for Border Patrol to navigate as them.

In fact, I watched as a Border Patrol helicopter followed a man probably 100 feet away. This is on video. Border Patrol can release this video if they want. The man was running. The Border Patrol cannot insert Border Patrol agents to capture him. This guy is still gone today. He had to have been a coyote or a drug trafficker.

Seeing this repeatedly made me realize this is not a national emergency because of immigration. I actually believe in comprehensive immigration reform. I want to work with the other side of the aisle to fix all these problems that I think we really actually all agree on. We just can't admit we agree on all this stuff. I look at this and I say this is an 80 percent solution that we can fix.

But when I came back from the border and I came back from seeing the real issue that makes this a national emergency--drugs, human trafficking--that is when I realized something had to be done.

A wall and a barrier is not compassionless. I think border security and compassion actually go hand in hand. Because what we are saying is: Come over to the United States of America, but do it the right and legal way, because, otherwise, these coyotes in the cartel are going to take advantage of you, take your life savings, and take you through a very dangerous route. And when the going gets tough, they are going to leave you to die, because they did that to 200 of them last year in Arizona.

It was an eye-opening experience.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the passion everybody has in this. I respect everybody's debate in this. This is how I came to the conclusion I did.

Please vote ``no'' on this.

Madam Speaker, due to my Air National Guard unit being mobilized to assist operations on the southern border, I was unable to be present and cast votes during the week of February 11. Had I been present, I would have voted: ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 76; ``yea''on Roll Call No. 77; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 78; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 79; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 80; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 81; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 82; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 83; ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 84; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 85; ``nay'' on Roll Call No. 86; and ``yea'' on Roll Call No. 87.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 676, the NATO Support Act.

For almost 70 years, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization has formed the cornerstone of national security policy for the postwar world order. Through this alliance, we have successfully defeated communism, halted genocide in the Balkans, defended against threats from terrorism in Afghanistan, and maintained cohesion with our like- minded democratic partners. By forming these relationships, we have successfully defended our values and principles in the face of repression and tyranny. While we no longer face the same existential threat posed by the Soviet Union, NATO's resolve and stability has helped maintain peace in a world drowning with strongmen. That is why I stand in support this bipartisan legislation.

H.R. 676 codifies Congressional support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, while calling on our allies to modernize their capabilities and meet the Wales Defense Investment Pledge. Five years ago, NATO members agreed to reverse their declining defense budgets and balance the responsibilities that come with our partnership. While it was an ambitious goal, we have already seen many of our partners increase their commitments to our mutual security by meeting the agreed upon threshold of spending 2 percent of GDP on defense.

As part of our commitment, we must continue to support the European Deterrence Initiative, by maintaining a robust U.S. presence throughout the European theater. Most importantly, this legislation would ensure that no matter which way the political winds blow no administration could use funds to withdraw from this treaty without the consent of the coequal branch of government in Congress.

NATO is not some outdated relic from past conflicts. We are living in a world where repression is on the rise, and human freedom is increasingly in jeopardy. What our partnership stands for, what NATO defends--it gives hope to the repressed. That is why I urge my colleagues in joining me in passing this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 512) to modernize the regulation of nuclear energy.

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 in the Record on the bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, S. 512 makes targeted, commonsense reforms to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's fee structure. The current fee structure threatens to unnecessarily increase the Nation's nuclear fleet, including the four plants I am so proud to represent in Illinois.

This bipartisan bill will ensure transparency, predictability, and fairness in the regulatory process, which will help keep the United States as the global leader of clean, safe, and reliable nuclear power.

This bill reflects thoughtful bipartisan and bicameral consensus on what is needed for a robust nuclear industry going forward, and I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to enact these important reforms into law.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from California (Mr. Issa).

Mr. Speaker, in conclusion, I ask my colleagues in the House to support this bill. I thank my colleagues on the other side of the aisle for their hard work, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, we have got a lot of really important issues we talk about every day out here. I want to talk about something that is happening a few thousand miles away but affects us all. I want to talk about what is going on in Syria.

Mr. Speaker, I remember back, I think, in 2011 being in Israel and standing in the Golan Heights and looking over towards Syria, and our guide at the time made the comment that there is a little disturbance over there. There was some concern about where that was going to lead, and we all know what has happened since.

There is a lot of attention focused on Yemen right now, but in Syria there are 500,000 Syrian civilians who have been killed by a brutal dictator, Bashar al-Assad, 50,000 of which are children. Some of those children, in spectacular displays, were murdered by the use of chemical weapons, and I give great credit to our President and this administration for responding, as an America that believes in morals and strength should, by bombing and destroying some of the facilities that did that and holding to our red line.

But the war hasn't stopped, and the egregious nature of the war continues. I actually believe that the nature of that war is creating another generation of terrorists, people who feel that they don't have hope, people who feel that they don't have opportunity. And when hope and opportunity don't exist, people turn to extremes, and this is one case.

I want to talk specifically, though, about a really sad situation, a lady from Chicago, an American citizen, Layla Shweikani, who was murdered by the Assad regime. She was Chicago born and, a few years ago, basically made the decision that she had a passion for the people of Syria and decided to go and be an aide worker in Eastern Ghouta.

Two years ago she disappeared. We know that she was put into Assad's prison camps and tortured for 10 months--an American, by the way-- before being transferred to a military court.

Unfortunately, a few weeks ago our worst fears were confirmed: Miss Layla was actually tortured to death and executed on December 28, 2016, the first American we know who was tortured and killed by Bashar al- Assad.

We know there are other Americans in captivity, and we know this is something that needs to be addressed.

Mr. Speaker, there are some in our Government, in this Chamber and in the other Chamber, that express sympathy to Bashar al-Assad and believe the antiquated theory that oppression of civilians is the only way to prevent terrorism.

I would argue that, in an age of information, in an age of knowledge, oppression only leads to more terrorists. Oppression leads to hopelessness, to a lack of opportunity, and to turning to the only option they know at that time, which may be ISIS or al-Qaida, because they don't see any other opportunity or hope.

Mr. Speaker, these people in our Government who express sympathy, while I believe that is something they have to answer with their creator ultimately someday, I am curious now what the response of everybody is when we find out that an American woman was tortured and killed in the prison camps of Assad.

We have a bill called the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act. Caesar was a brave hero from Syria who took tens of thousands of pictures of torture victims of Assad, smuggled them to the United States, brought them in front of my committee in Foreign Affairs, and showed some of these pictures.

There was an act that would sanction many members of the regime that was passed unanimously out of Foreign Affairs, passed out of the House, largely supported in the Senate, and is being held up by a junior Senator from Kentucky.

I call on the other side of this blessed Capitol to pass the Caesar Syrian Civilian Protection Act. I call on the administration--as they said they support this--to sign this, put this on the Resolute desk.

We talk a lot about the importance of women and equality, and I couldn't agree more; but in that debate, I think it is important to remember that, in Syria, an American civilian woman was tortured to death.

We look in places like Afghanistan and know the oppression of women that occurred there. We know that America stands for something greater, and it is not just through the use of the military but through what we believe and what we stand for and the light that we shine.

Mr. Speaker, this is a terrible situation, Miss Layla's death, but let us learn from it and let us go forward, and let the people of Syria be free.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding and for his many years of service.

I rise today in strong support of H.R. 4591, the Preventing Destabilization of Iraq of 2018, which I introduced with my colleague, Representative Suozzi.

Since the toppling of Saddam Hussein, Iran has been working to gain access and influence in Iraq by dismantling American efforts to stabilize the country and the region. It is abundantly clear that Iran is working to gain influence in Iraq to further their radical agenda, and we must do everything in our power to counter their tyrannical regime and provide hope for the Iraqi people.

I am troubled by the growing influence of Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces, which are being set up as a parallel military structure to undermine the Iraqi security forces.

Just this week, we saw the head of a powerful PMF, which would be sanctioned under this legislation, demanding that the Iraqi Government allow these militias to secure the border with Syria. Not only would this legitimize the PMF, but it would also give the Iranians one of their greatest desires, a secure land bridge to supply weapons and troops from Tehran to the Mediterranean.

Over the past few months, we have seen the security situation in Iraq slip further into despair. The U.S. compounds in Baghdad and Basra were attacked by Iranian-backed groups, resulting in the latter shutting its doors.

I believe retreating will only hurt the Iraqis and make the region a more dangerous place, a lesson that we have already learned once.

Following the elections in Iraq this year, we saw Iranian proxies and militias, as well as Iraqis working on behalf of the Iranians, attempting to form a coalition government in Baghdad.

This act, which passed the committee unanimously, would impose sanctions on Iranians or any other person who threatens the peace and stability of Iraq. It will also sanction several terrorist organizations, as well as their leaders, many of which are trained and funded by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Passage of this legislation ensures that the Iranians are not given a free pass to meddle in the affairs of the Iraqi people. I thank all my colleagues for their work on this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained yesterday, November 13, 2018. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 416; and YEA on Roll Call No. 417

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and recognize Nathan Pratt Jennings, a Corporal in the Illinois Army National Guard and my constituent from Machesney Park, for his heroic actions in saving the life of his fellow citizen.

On August 3, 2018, Mr. Jennings was driving home from work along Interstate 90 when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a big splash in a retention pond by the side of the road. Being an avid duck hunter, he knew that something was wrong. He pulled his car over and ran to the pond where he saw an upended vehicle, rapidly sinking into the water.

Mr. Jennings' military training kicked in and he acted decisively, taking off his suit and jumping into the muddy water. After his first attempt to find the driver failed, he asked another individual to hold his feet while he dove into the submerged vehicle. After what felt like an eternity, he managed to find the driver and pulled her limp body from the car.

As Mr. Jennings brought her to shore, he was certain she had drowned. Luckily, a group of Good Samaritans were waiting and ready to administer CPR until the paramedics arrived. While the others worked to save the life of the female driver, Mr. Jennings went back into the water to ensure that no one was left behind.

Mr. Speaker, had it not been for Mr. Jennings' quick actions, August 3rd could have ended tragically. I am glad to say that the driver of that car is alive and well thanks to Mr. Jennings and the other Good Samaritans who helped in her rescue. On behalf of Illinois' 16th Congressional District, I ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Mr. Nathan Pratt Jennings for his heroic actions in saving the life of his fellow Illinoisan.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Madam Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bill, H.R. 1320, the Nuclear Utilization of Keystone Energy Act, which I proudly introduced with my colleague, Mike Doyle. I want to also share my compliments to his staff and my staff working together very well on hammering out a lot of the technical issues and getting this done. It shows that hard work matters.

The United States is home to nine nuclear power plants--my district has four of those--which provide reliable, carbon-free electricity to thousands of American homes and businesses.

Unfortunately, nuclear power is at a critical impasse, and many of these plants are facing early retirements, which means a loss of clean energy, good jobs, and our global leadership on vital issues like safety and nonproliferation.

This legislation, the NUKE Act, makes commonsense reforms to increase transparency, predictability, and accountability at the NRC. Because nuclear plants pay to be regulated by the NRC, these reforms, including a predictable fee recovery structure, caps on annual fees, and keeping overhead costs in line with similar Federal agencies, will not only increase stability at our operating plants, but it will also pave the way for the next generation of nuclear technology.

I also think it is important to point out that many times in the energy battle, we sometimes find out we needed to do something when it is too late and you spend a lot of time playing catch-up. This is a proactive way to make sure we maintain this strong fleet of which America is a leader.

In closing, I urge my colleagues to join me and Congressman Doyle in supporting H.R. 1320, the NUKE Act, and help ensure a safe and strong future for American nuclear power.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 2018 recipients of the Congressional Veteran Commendation in the Illinois 16th District.

The six veterans receiving this commendation have served this country honorably and fought for the freedoms we hold dearly. These veterans answered their country's call during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War, and they served with honor and distinction. As a fellow war veteran, I thank them for their patriotism and sacrifices on behalf of our nation.

After these veterans served their country, they came home to serve their communities. They are civic leaders, active citizens, and many continue to serve their military brothers and sisters through veteran service organizations. Although their mission has changed since returning to civilian life, their leadership and tenacity have not.

The recipients of the 2018 Congressional Veteran Commendation are: Cpt Michael Ebert of Morris, IL; Sgt Francis Killelea of Ottawa, IL; Engineman First Class Clifford Parker of Ottawa, IL; Specialist William (Bill) Phillips of LaMoille, IL; Master Sgt Eugene Thompson of Marseilles, IL; and Seaman Lowell Wagner of Belvidere, IL.

I am proud and honored to be able to recognize these notable veterans. The recipients of this commendation serve as the embodiment of both military and civil service, and it is my hope they will inspire the next generation.

Mr. Speaker, I was not present for votes yesterday, July 16, 2018, as I was unavoidably detained due to flight delays.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 329 and YEA on Roll Call No. 330.