Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleagues on the House Committee on Natural Resources. I appreciate this opportunity, and I appreciate their support of H.R. 8413.

The Swanson and Hugh Butler Reservoirs Land Conveyances Act would begin the process of transferring ownership of roughly 77 acres of land from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Counties of Hitchcock and Frontier together. Importantly, this land does not include any water or power assets.

I am proud to represent Nebraska's Third District, which is home to both reservoirs impacted by this legislation. Over the last few years, working closely with impacted stakeholders, as well as Senator Deb Fischer, it is clear how important this transfer is to the local communities.

The current management of the land supports local marinas, housing communities, and areas for local economic activity. However, should the Bureau of Reclamation maintain ownership, impending changes to land use policy would force the removal of these businesses and communities from the land.

When the Bureau of Reclamation announced the planned management changes, it spawned extensive collaboration between the local communities, businesses, and housing owners. This collaboration generated outstanding support for a land transfer that would allow for increased local control of the recreational areas.

Further, this would provide long-term certainty for the businesses that depend on revenue brought in by tourism, the locals who enjoy recreational activities at the reservoirs, and some 180 housing owners from three States. These owners and their families have spent generations creating these homes away from home.

Tourism cultivated by current land use arrangements is vital for the local economies. Both counties are highly rural, with Frontier County covering over 700 square miles with just 2,600 residents. There are three restaurants in the entire county, one of which is a marina included in this transfer.

The 110 leaseholders at Swanson Reservoir bring in approximately 500 people multiple times throughout the year who support other local businesses in the area as well.

To put this into perspective, small businesses throughout Frontier and Hitchcock Counties estimate they would lose nearly $1.5 million in revenue if these leases are terminated. Additionally, the marinas facilitate community activities and drive economic development, which would not occur if not for the patronage generated from the broader communities.

When the public and the Federal Government disagree on how land intended for public access should be used, the reasonable solution is to empower local control, which best suits the local community and visitors, especially considering all the discussion here this afternoon.

Additionally, the transfer comes at no cost to the Federal Government, as the legislation ensures taxpayers are reimbursed at fair market value and public access is maintained.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chair and ranking member for their work to move this bill forward and certainly Senator Fischer for her partnership in the Senate, and I urge passage of H.R. 8413.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7507 for the purpose of, as somewhat outlined by my colleague from Maryland, honoring by naming a post office in Lexington, Nebraska, after former Congressman Bill and his wife, Elsie Barrett.

Bill Barrett was born in Lexington, Nebraska, in 1929. Following his service in the U.S. Navy during the Korean war, Bill returned to his alma mater, Hastings College, graduated, then served as vice president for student admissions and later on the college's board of trustees for 32 years.

In 1978, he was elected to the Nebraska legislature, the unicameral, serving for 12 years, with his last 4 as speaker. He was then elected to represent the Third District of Nebraska in the U.S. House.

Known for his ability to cultivate consensus and connect with anyone, Bill was the president of his freshman congressional class, a group that even included the future Speaker of the House, John Boehner.

Tirelessly focused on issues important to Nebraska's farmers and ranchers, as we heard earlier, Bill's former staff have recounted how he would always ask: Does this help the Third District?

During his 5 years in Congress, he served on the House Agriculture Committee and coauthored the 1996 farm bill.

He also presided over the weekly bipartisan prayer breakfast and was eventually appointed chairman of the National Prayer Breakfast. He set a lasting standard of dedicated statesmanship and summed up his approach to public service as a high calling with the quote: Service to others is the best work of life.

Bill's wife, Elsie Carlson Barrett was born in 1930 to a Swedish immigrant family in New London, Connecticut. Elsie and Bill met while Bill was stationed in New London for naval service, and the two married in 1952. They settled in Hastings, Nebraska, where Elsie worked as a nurse before the family moved to Lexington. In Lexington Bill and Elsie raised four children.

Her passion for improving the lives of children blessed many as she served on the Nebraska Foster Care Review Board and as president of her local Philanthropic Educational Organization chapter. Bill and Elsie were an extraordinary team and worked together to help host the National Prayer Breakfast in 1997.

Whether serving in the Navy, the Nebraska unicameral, or in the U.S. House, Bill always put Nebraska first, and Elsie leaves behind a great legacy of bettering the lives of others.

It is a great privilege to sponsor this bill which would name the post office located at 203 East 6th Street in Lexington, Nebraska, for Bill and Elsie Barrett.

I thank my colleagues in the Nebraska delegation who joined in this effort to honor Bill and Elsie, and I urge support for this bill. As Bill would say in this body, we all have an armchair to history.

I am honored to represent the same great district that Bill Barrett did.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 466.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 436.

Mr. Speaker, on Roll Call No. 433, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained.

Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 364.

Mr. Speaker, earlier this year I was unable to be present for votes due to a family funeral. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 153; YEA on Roll Call No. 154; YEA on Roll Call No. 155; YEA on Roll Call No. 156; YEA on Roll Call No. 157; YEA on Roll Call No. 158; YEA on Roll Call No. 159; YEA on Roll Call No. 160; YEA on Roll Call No. 161; YEA on Roll Call No. 162; YEA on Roll Call No. 163; NAY on Roll Call No. 164; YEA on Roll Call No. 165; NAY on Roll Call No. 166; YEA on Roll Call No. 167; NAY on Roll Call No. 168; YEA on Roll Call No. 169; NAY on Roll Call No. 170; and YEA on Roll Call No. 171.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 10 a.m. tomorrow; and further, when the House adjourns on that day, it adjourn to meet on Monday, May 6, 2024, when it shall convene at noon for morning-hour debate and 2 p.m. for legislative business.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 143, YEA on Roll Call No. 144, and YEA on Roll Call No. 145.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to offer my condolences and thoughts to Nebraskans impacted by recent, severe wildfires and recognize the extraordinary response of emergency personnel across the Third District of Nebraska.

Last week, central Nebraska wildfires claimed over 70,000 acres in 24 hours in the counties of Lincoln, Custer, Dawson, and Logan. While the windswept flames forced evacuations and destroyed livestock, structures, supplies, pasture, and miles of fence, thanks to the courageous efforts of responders to ensure the safety of Nebraskans, no lives were lost.

From across the State, emergency personnel, pilots, and more than 50 local and volunteer fire departments came together to contain the blaze. Countless private citizens pitched in to move livestock, disk fields, and transport water.

In fact, the Red Willow Rural Fire Department testified to the vital help of community members, saying: We couldn't do what we do without area farmers and ranchers.

My deep gratitude goes out to Third District volunteers and businesses who came together to assist in recovery. From local businesses donating livestock feed and fencing repair supplies to GoFundMe recovery efforts, the remarkable generosity in the face of disaster shows what Nebraskans are made of: quick to lend a hand, with greater concern for their neighbor than for the cost to themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Third District banker, community servant, and World War II veteran, Jim Black.

As the oldest World War II veteran living at the Norfolk, Nebraska, veterans home, Jim turned 100 years of age in January and has lived a life full of service to his community and his country.

A native of Fullerton, Nebraska, Jim's undeterable desire to serve led him to enlist in the Navy after he was initially denied enlistment by the Army and the Army Air Corps for supposed medical issues.

During the war, he served on three different submarines, including the USS Silversides, which is credited with the sinking of 23 enemy submarines.

After the war, Jim returned to Nebraska to work at Fullerton's First National Bank and Cones State Bank in Pierce.

For his remarkable dedication to bettering the world around him, he was honored with the title of 2008 Citizen of the Year for his championing of the Discovery Bridge project linking Cedar County, Nebraska, and Yankton, South Dakota.

Jim exemplifies Nebraska values of determination, patriotism, and civic engagement. Today, he lives in Norfolk, Nebraska, and is a model for giving back to the community.

His enduring willingness to serve and can-do attitude represents the best of Third District Nebraskans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of this tax bill.

I am particularly pleased this bill includes language that I introduced to ensure capital-intensive industries can fully deduct the cost of interest from their taxes. This is particularly important right now as Americans continue to deal with recent high inflation and higher interest rates.

Alongside provisions ensuring domestic research and development in small business capital expenses are fully deductible, this bill enhances the opportunity to develop new products in America, create jobs, making those products here, and then sell those products around the world.

I am also glad this bill includes language ensuring Americans living, working, and investing in companies within our ally, Taiwan, do not face double taxation.

Also, I especially appreciate that the language of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act applying to the child tax credit is continued in this bill.

Mr. Speaker, this is a strong bill. It deserves strong bipartisan support. I look forward to voting for it. I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Nebraska Third District pilot, farmer, soil conservationist, and now centenarian, Eddie Harms.

An extraordinary pillar of consistency in his southeast Nebraska community, Eddie turned 100 years of age on December 22, 2023.

Eddie and his wife, Millie, raised two children. He worked as a farmer and soil conservationist for more than 80 years, only recently selling his long-used Caterpillar bulldozer. He is known by neighbors for his dogged Nebraska work ethic, willingness to lend a hand, and deep sense of personal responsibility.

Growing up with his 12 siblings on the family farm near Adams, Nebraska, Eddie said from an early age: ``We learned what we needed to do.''

Demonstrating love for family, community, and the land throughout his life, Eddie exemplifies Nebraska values of stewardship, neighborliness, and conservation.

Today, he lives in Syracuse, Nebraska, and continues to visit family and friends around the community. His daughter, Tanya, attests that he loves taking care of the land and being busy doing things.

Eddie's character and contributions to his community are outstanding and highlight all that is great about small towns all across America.

Recognizing Nebraska Agriculture Academy and FFA

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the efforts of Third District agriculture educators and the record-breaking number of FFA members in Nebraska and across the Nation.

As the sixth State chartered by the National FFA Organization upon its founding in 1928, Nebraska FFA provides outstanding career growth opportunities, which build character and develop competence in our next generation of ag industry leaders who will feed and fuel the world.

In public, private, and homeschooling settings, student interest and participation in FFA is at an all-time high. According to the Nebraska FFA Foundation, there were 10,454 student FFA members in Nebraska during the 2021-2022 school year.

Despite a shortage of agriculture educators, the Nebraska Agriculture Academy is providing opportunities to students who are homeschooled and in remote communities where an FFA chapter may not be operating. Through supervised agricultural experience projects, these students are gaining hands-on experience to help our communities thrive, such as raising their own cattle herds.

Through career connections and preparation to excel, FFA continues to be an outstanding opportunity for students. With 945,988 student members nationally, which is an increase of 11 percent from last year, the number of FFA student members and chapters across the United States continues to grow.

The future of American agriculture is bright because our future farmers, ranchers, food scientists, veterinarians, product merchandisers, ag teachers, and others are eager to learn and grow.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, Mr. Moore of Utah, for his efforts here today and certainly to all of my colleagues for having an exchange and conversation that I think is vital for our country.

It is important that we always examine what is taking place across America, what is appropriate for the Federal Government to do, not to do, and how best to do what is good for the American people within certainly the Constitution and its parameters.

There is a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF. Many caseworkers across America are familiar with TANF, and beneficiaries are, as well.

As far as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, it has come about that the administration is excluding various women in need of care for their pregnancy if they seek care or conversations within the delivery method of a pregnancy center. I find this disturbing.

I have been inspired, actually, by the work that these pregnancy centers do in meeting the needs of women. If a woman finds herself in a crisis pregnancy, if they present information and they ultimately offer care and a friendship, if you will, to a person in need to make decisions in their interests, certainly the interests of a little one, then the administration excludes this care.

I think it is important to note that it is one thing to be pro-life and it is quite another to make sure that a child is cared for and receives what they need for nourishment and care, hopefully with the mother and hopefully, with the father, as well.

As we sort out all of these policies that we see coming and going here through this institution and through Congress in general, I think it is vital that we certainly uphold the purposes of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in making sure that those in need receive the resources that they need and that they would select.

I would say that the administration's policies of excluding pregnancy centers is actually restricting a young mother, a prospective mother, from information and approaches that they would prefer to have.

So as we look at all of TANF and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, I hope that given the fact that we allow States much latitude in carrying out what they think they need to do with these tax dollars that flow through the Federal Government but ultimately from taxpayers, I think it is absolutely incumbent upon us to make sure that those dollars end up where they need to go and can be expected to make a positive difference.

This is a very reasonable proposition.

As a Federal policymaker, as these dollars flow out across America, I believe that we would expect those dollars to be wisely spent.

For the critics of pregnancy centers, I urge all of them to visit a pregnancy center themselves. These pregnancy centers exist all across America in communities small and large. I have been very impressed hearing from the clients themselves of how they appreciated the care that they found through the pregnancy centers and that they had someone to walk with them through a very difficult moment in life, perhaps, and also taking a difficult moment in life and realizing that that can become a very triumphant moment, as well.

I certainly urge my colleagues to support our legislation later this week so that pregnant women will have access to information that they would select themselves and that we can honor those options that these expectant mothers should have along the way and that the Federal Government would not stand in the way of an expectant mother receiving information and the care that they would choose to have.

Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, Mr. Moore of Utah, for holding this Special Order that I think is vital for our country and certainly vital to the future of America.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 1568) to amend the Tariff Act of 1930 to protect personally identifiable information, and for other purposes, as amended.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.

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

Mr. Speaker, the legislation before us today, the Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act, takes an important step to protect the privacy of all Americans, especially our veterans and servicemembers returning from overseas. It requires Customs and Border Protection to remove personally identifiable information from any shipping manifest before CBP makes the manifest information available to the public.

Under current law, Customs and Border Protection is required to make certain shipping manifest information available for public disclosure. Unfortunately, there is no requirement to ensure these manifests do not contain Americans' personal information. Instead, U.S. citizens returning home from military postings or job opportunities abroad are expected to navigate a complicated and bureaucratic system--that often experiences significant delays, I might add--to request that any personal information be removed from manifests to protect their identity from fraudsters and scammers.

Our brave men and women in uniform, as well as Americans whose employers or family commitments have required them to relocate overseas, already face numerous hurdles when they return home. Ensuring U.S. Customs and Border Protection proactively removes this data from manifests is a simple, straightforward, and actually long overdue step to protect their identities.

I applaud Representatives Michael Waltz and Bill Pascrell for their leadership on this legislation and Senators Daines, Stabenow, and Peters for leading this effort in the Senate. I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to follow the Ways and Means Committee's lead and unanimously pass this bipartisan legislation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz), an expert on this topic.

Mr. Speaker, my colleagues have sufficiently described the details of this bill, why we need to do it, and that we should do it immediately.

I certainly urge my colleagues to support it so that we can get this done, especially to assist our men and women in uniform.

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

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.