Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today in honor of Viet Bao Daily News and Viet Bao Foundation to recognize and celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Writing on America Awards.

Founded 27 years ago in Little Saigon, California, Viet Bao Daily News serves as one of the main Vietnamese media outlets representing the voice of the Vietnamese American community in the United States. Today, Viet Bao coverage has reached Vietnamese communities in remote areas including those in Southern California; Northern California; Seattle, Washington; Houston, Texas; Louisiana; and Portland, Oregon. The main editorial office is in the heart of Little Saigon in Westminster, California.

Viet Bao Foundation, a non-profit organization, was founded to support Viet Bao Daily News' mission, to promote Vietnamese culture, literature, language, and arts. The Writing on America Essay Contest is one of many programs that the foundation currently manages and run to support this mission.

Writing on America was established on September 1999, with the first Awards Ceremony held at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California on November 29, 2000. From there on, there has been a new story published every day on Viet Bao and Viet Bao Online publications.

A Writing on America Anthology, including 600 plus pages is published yearly. The US Congress, in its July 28, 2010 meeting, officially commended Viet Bao for the cultural and historical values achieved by the American Writing Program. In 2016, the Writing on America Anthology officially entered the Library of Congress for all Americans to enjoy and treasure.

The Writing on America Awards is an Essay Contest held annually, which draws several thousand participants. Started in August 1999, in paying tribute to America, Viet Bao asked their readers to share their ``American Dream'' stories.

Since then, writers from across the country have been sending in their stories retelling their early and hardship days in America as well as their successful stories in achieving their American dreams. The selected stories are published daily on Viet Bao, Vietbao.com website and on the annual anthology title ``Writing on America''.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the Writing on America Awards has published a total of 22 editions, including more than 14,000 pages of stories, from thousand of writers. Writing on America anthology is known as a book of ``live history from thousand writers''.

In addition to the official publication by Viet Bao, thousands of articles were also repeatedly posted on Vietnamese and foreign language websites and books, many of which were reprinted. Regardless of the number of readers, the total impressions on Viet Bao website alone is over 800 million. Some authors have a record of over 1 million impressions. Nearly 5,800 articles of thousands of writers about America are now available on Vietbao.com. The response and support from the community over the last 20 years have been tremendously significant.

Today, Viet Bao offers annual cash prizes up to $35,000 to the essay winners, including one first prize winner worth $10,000 in cash, and many other category prizes worth of $35,000 in cash.

This year, when Viet Bao celebrates its 20th anniversary, the award- winning writings enter its 12th anniversary collection, becoming the longest-standing writing contest ever in the Vietnamese literature award history of the Vietnamese community abroad as well as in the country.

Madam Speaker, as we celebrate Pride Month, we are reminded of the great strides towards equality we have taken.

Madam Speaker, 50 years ago, on the streets outside the Stonewall Inn where the modern LGBTQ rights movement began, the journey towards equality, no doubt, looked endless. Today, we can see the end in sight. And yet, for all of our success, the struggle continues.

We cannot rest; we cannot compromise; we simply cannot allow the demagogues of ignorance, of fear, and of hatred of others, no matter what levels of power they hold, to stop our march forward.

We must redouble our efforts to ensure that life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness applies to each and every American, no matter who they are and no matter whom they love.

I rise today in support of this amendment to provide protections for Vietnamese, Laotian, and Cambodian people who came to the United States as war refugees. I thank my colleagues, Mr. Rouda, Mr. Correa, and Ms. Lofgren for their work on this crucial issue.

Decades ago thousands upon thousands of Vietnamese, Cambodia, and Laotian refugees fled strife, war, and persecution in their own countries and made America their home.

They started families, built businesses, and formed communities.

They have become part of the American tapestry--contributing to a nation that welcomed them and is now their home.

My district is one of the most diverse in the nation, and home to some of the largest Vietnamese and Cambodian communities outside of both countries.

As the co-chair of both the Vietnam and Cambodia congressional caucuses, I am intimately aware of the problems these refugees have faced since arriving in America.

One of the most pressing problems since the current administration took office is the deportation of members of the Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian communities across the nation.

Previous Democratic and Republican administrations put in place safeguards to prevent these refugees from being forced to return to countries that don't want them. These protections are now under attack by the current administration.

These refugees fled war and persecution. America opened its arms and accepted them. We cannot turn our backs on them now.

They are our neighbors, our friends, and our family. Often the case, they also have spouses and children who are American citizens.

Deporting them back to countries ruled by authoritarian governments is inhumane and will separate Americans from their loved ones.

I support this amendment to uphold and acknowledge these refugees' contributions to our nation and to protect them from deportation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my colleagues, especially led by Representative Katie Porter in support of her constituent Michael Nguyen.

I have stayed involved in this case for just about a year, just slightly less than a year, and I want to thank Representative Porter for keeping the Members of Congress involved in this by having periodic, almost monthly, calls with the U.S. Consul office in Vietnam.

I want to thank Ambassador Kritenbrink for making this a high priority of the U.S. mission in Vietnam to attend to the case of Michael, to visit Michael Nguyen in jail.

And what am I talking about?

Michael Nguyen, who was a citizen of the city of Orange, was on a trip in July of 2018, as he frequently did during the past, to visit relatives in Vietnam. On his way from the city of Da Nang to Ho Chi Minh City, or what was known as Saigon, government security officials removed him from his bus and took him into custody. He was detained; he was imprisoned, repeatedly interrogated; and when the U.S. Consul and Members of Congress asked why he was being charged, they were told, almost a year ago: He is under investigation. When we complete the investigation, we will tell you what the charge is.

Michael's family was not notified about his detention, even for 10 days after he was arrested. This violated the agreement between the United States and Vietnam, which said that the Vietnamese Government must notify the United States and our consul within 96 hours whenever there is an arrest of an American citizen.

When he did not return home, Michael's family began to contact U.S. Representatives, including myself from Orange County, asking for help, but we learned very little in this past year about why Michael was arrested and detained.

Some thought that the Vietnamese Government said that he had posted something on Facebook about a plot to overthrow the government, but they have not provided any evidence or any proof of this posting, just what has been said.

As was pointed out earlier, he was arrested for violating article 109 of the Vietnamese penal code, which accuses people of conspiring to overthrow the government. The penalty for just posting is from 14 years to life imprisonment.

While he has received the indictment--he knows exactly why he is being charged, what the issues are--neither his family, the U.S. mission in Vietnam, or Members of Congress who have talked about this over the past year have been told what are the specifics of the case or what he has done.

He hasn't had contact with his family while he is in jail. He doesn't have an attorney; he is not allowed to have an attorney; and most likely, later this month, just before the case comes to court, he will be assigned an attorney.

His wife works for UC Irvine Medical Center. They have four young children. They don't know what is going on.

It is just another example of the egregious actions by the Government of Vietnam.

I call upon the Government of Vietnam to close this case; return Michael to his family. No American citizen should be charged because they publicly criticize a government or fear that, when they visit Vietnam, especially because of speaking out in the past, they are going to be arrested, detained, and tried.

Mr. Speaker, it is time for the Members of Congress to have a serious reevaluation of our economic and diplomatic relationships with Vietnam. Vietnam should know that the U.S. Congress is watching its actions and we expect Michael Nguyen to be freed and returned to his family.

Mr. Speaker, if we hold true to the idea that America

stands for equality, equity, and diversity, then equal rights must apply to and be protected for all Americans.

No American should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Yet, despite the historic accomplishments toward equality over the past decade, LGBTQ Americans still face systemic discrimination.

We know the fight for equality is always on the right side of history, and today's passage of the Equality Act is a much-needed step forward in that fight.

Today's vote allows us to see the moral arc of the universe, as Martin Luther King, Jr., said, bend toward justice.

``The President launched public attacks on the investigation and individuals involved in it who could possess evidence adverse to the President, while in private, the President engaged in a series of targeted efforts to control the investigation. For instance, the President attempted to remove the special counsel; he sought to have Attorney General Sessions unrecuse himself and limit the investigation; he sought to prevent public disclosure of information about the June 9, 2016, meeting between Russians and campaign officials; and he used public forums to attack potential witnesses who might offer adverse information and to praise witnesses who declined to cooperate with the government.'' Volume II, page 157.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, to ensure that the U.S. remains part of the Paris climate agreement.

Report after scientific report has told us that, when it comes to climate change, we are on a precipice. The status quo leads us over the cliff. The only way back is with immediate and earnest action. That is all of us together.

The Paris Agreement was meant to be a collective first step toward beginning to address climate change. We have a duty to ourselves, to our children, and to the rest of the world to not only join in that step forward, but to lead it.

I urge my colleagues to join with me in supporting H.R. 9.

Madam Speaker, I am pleased and proud to stand here in support of H.R. 1, but I am especially proud that H.R. 1 contains the Redistricting Reform Act, legislation that was introduced by Representatives Lofgren, Brownley, and myself.

This legislation would require States to create independent redistricting commissions to draw congressional seats, removing politicians and partisan gerrymandering from the process.

I have worked for decades on this cause. I helped to lead in the California Legislature on redistricting efforts, which ultimately led to the creation of the California independent redistricting commission, which is now recognized as one of the best practices in redistricting.

Let's follow this example across the country. Let's have Members here who represent fair and equitable districts and who are elected to represent their districts and not just to protect incumbency.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly support the passage of this bipartisan public lands package. This broad, sweeping legislation is important because it includes provisions that will permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund, but it will also designate over 1 million acres of wilderness on Federal lands in States across the West, including over 300,000 acres in California alone.

The bill also includes the Wildlife Innovation and Longevity Driver Act, or the WILD Act, a bill I am proud to colead in the House with my Alaska colleague, Representative Don Young.

The WILD Act reauthorizes the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, as well as the Multinational Species Conservation Funds, which will include dedicated funds for rhinos, for tigers, for great apes, for marine turtles, as well as for African and Asian elephants.

The WILD Act will also expand the Marine Turtle Conservation Fund to include tortoises and freshwater turtles, establishing a new source of funding for these priority species.

As we all know, over 60 percent of these 330 modern species are now either threatened, are endangered, or, unfortunately, are now extinct.

The WILD Act will also protect ecosystems and wildlife from invasive species through the development of strategic plans for reducing invasive species populations on land or water managed by Federal agencies.

Finally, the WILD Act also includes a newly created Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize, a concept that will encourage innovation in wildlife conservation, combating wildlife trafficking and poaching, protecting endangered species, as well as other areas.

The WILD Act, and S. 47 more broadly, will help wildlife and land conservation efforts in the United States and around the world. I strongly support this legislation, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, on January 2, 2019, David Arian, a widely-respected community, labor, and city government leader, passed away at the age of 72.

I'm proud and honored to join so many others in celebrating his life. We all know about Dave the union leader--a man carrying on in the footsteps of Harry Bridges. We also know Dave the port commissioner--a man who fought for workers as he was laying out a vision for the future of our ports.

I would like to add Dave the thinker and mentor--who challenged not only me, but many of us, to rethink our positions, learn to defend them, and never give in when we know we are right.

Dave's life, like the man himself, was built on determination and conviction.

Born December 4, 1946, Dave was 18 years old when he took a job at the Wilmington waterfront in 1965. He often joked that at just 130 pounds, union supervisors weren't sure he'd be able to do the physically demanding work of a longshoreman. But like many aspects of his life, Dave proved his skeptics wrong. That first day unloading bananas into boxcars was just the first of many that he would spend working, organizing and leading union workers and causes important to the workers and the San Pedro Bay community.

A proud and fiercely loyal member of the International Longshoreman and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 13, Dave would eventually hold many leadership positions over the years, including three terms as local president. In 1991, at the age of 44, he was elected international president of the ILWU. After his service at the top of the union, Dave returned to the docks at the Port of Los Angeles, eventually retiring in 2009. Within a year, he was appointed to the Los Angeles Harbor Commission by then-Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa and reappointed by Mayor Garcetti in 2013.

During his tenure on the Board, the Port of Los Angeles broke all- time cargo volume records while reducing air emissions, two goals on which Dave was particularly focused.

Concern and support for the community, local workers, and residents were woven into everything Dave did. A tireless community activist from the start, Dave and his family helped found the San Pedro Community Action Center in 1966. Over the years, he was also an active supporter of many local service organizations, including the Toberman Neighborhood Center, Harbor Interfaith Services and the San Pedro Boys & Girls Club, the latter where he played as a youth.

Dave founded the Harry Bridges Institute, an organization dedicated to educating younger workers about the labor movement's rich history and community organizing. He had served as the organization's president since its founding in 1993. Dave also captured the spirit of the Institute in his book ``The Right to Get in the Fight,'' which focused on the ILWU and its philosophies and culture that have kept it alive and relevant over the decades.

His involvement in non-labor-related port policy issues began even before his appointment to the Harbor Commission. In 2006, Dave was named to the joint Port of Los Angeles-Port of Long Beach advisory board for the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, which set the stage for the ports to make unprecedented strides in improving air quality in the San Pedro Bay. Dave also served on the governing board of the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) Joint Power Authority.

A long-time resident of the Harbor area, Dave grew up on 8th Street in San Pedro, and attended Cabrillo Elementary, Dana Junior High School, and San Pedro High School. He is survived by his two children and five grandchildren: son Sean and son-in-law Council member Mike Bonin; daughter Justine and son-in-law Ethan Edwards; and grandchildren Jadyn Rose, Destan, Jacob, Aneka and Keira.

I, like so many others whose lives he touched throughout his amazing life, will miss Dave dearly.

Madam Speaker, on Roll Call 470, in the second session of the 115th Congress, I was unable to vote because of a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Roll Call 472, in the second session of the 115th Congress, I was unable to vote because of a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``nay.''

On Roll Call 488, in the second session of the 115th Congress, I was unable to vote because of a personal conflict. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye.''

Mr. Speaker, first, I, too, would like to thank my colleague, Representative Walters, for yielding and for holding this Special Order. I would also like to thank Representatives Correa, Royce, LaMalfa, and Green for joining us.

Well, we are here once again, and I am outraged. We are speaking on behalf of another American citizen, and that is really important, an American citizen who was arbitrarily detained. He was imprisoned on vague allegations by the Communist Government of Vietnam.

Let's understand who we are talking about, as has been pointed out.

Michael Nguyen is a father of four daughters. He was on a trip to Vietnam with his family--really, with his friends, not so much his family but friends. When he didn't return home at

the end of the trip, his family frantically contacted officials.

Let's see what happened.

He was taken off a bus, as he was traveling from the city of Da Nang to Saigon, by public security officials. He was then detained, imprisoned, and neither his family, and what is also important, nor the United States Government were notified until after 10 days after he was arrested.

As part of an agreement between the Government of Vietnam and the United States, the Vietnamese Government must notify the United States within 96 hours if they have arrested an American citizen, which they have failed to do.

Since then, we have learned very little about why Michael was detained. The government claims, the Vietnamese Government, that he posted on Facebook a plot to overthrow the government, but they have not shown us any evidence that this occurred.

I have also met with Michael's family and his wife, Helen, and they are stunned. They are hurt. They are confused. They are angry. How could this happen to an American citizen who was just visiting Vietnam?

As was pointed out, just a few months ago, another American visiting this country was wrongly detained and coerced into confessing his crime for merely engaging in a peaceful protest. And that, as we have heard, was William Nguyen. He was beaten. He was placed in jail. He has been finally released and returned to America because the charges against him were also bogus.

In part, he was released because a significant number of Members of Congress stood up and championed his cause. And, again, I thank Congresswoman Walters for leading that charge. That is exactly why we are here in Congress: to defend the rights of American citizens.

Michael is yet another victim of Vietnam's egregious human rights violations. As was pointed out, we have engaged in economic development with Vietnam. We have a closer relationship economically with Vietnam, but they have consistently violated human rights of the citizens of Vietnam or anyone who speaks out, anyone who engages in religious freedom. They are an oppressive, prosecutorial society that does not allow any dissent.

As one of the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Vietnam, I joined with my colleagues of the caucus in support of the Vietnam Human Rights Act, which invokes sanctions per the Magnitsky Act, which not only imposes financial and travel restrictions for human rights abusers, but it also calls upon the Vietnamese Government to release those political prisoners and to stop arresting citizens who just champion human rights, freedom, and democracy.

This bill that we are pushing through Congress--and this will push us further toward accomplishing this goal--would also make the sale of military equipment or services to Vietnam conditional on improvement in human rights, and this is one of the classic examples of the lack of human rights that goes on.

So I call upon the Government of Vietnam to quickly close this case and return Michael Nguyen to his family. It is unconscionable that any American of Vietnamese descent or any American who criticizes the Vietnamese Government--I am not saying that Michael did, but anybody who speaks out, anyone--must fear that they are going to be arrested.

If these incidents continue to occur, this is going to lead to a serious reevaluation of our economic and diplomatic relationships with Vietnam. I call upon the government to do the right thing.

Michael was just visiting. He has done nothing wrong. Please release Michael Nguyen back to the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to withdraw as a cosponsor of H.R. 2069.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to the rule. I want to return to the fact that it is a scientific fact that climate change is occurring and that human activity is the primary cause of that change.

Its destructive physical and economic effects are already being felt throughout the United States and, in fact, throughout the world. This resolution simply denies that reality.

Entire American towns are beginning to be displaced due to sea level rise, and desperate attempts to save these communities through costly infrastructure projects are costing American taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

In my home State of California, wildfire seasons are becoming longer. Actually, it is not a season. It is now year-round. They are stronger, they are more destructive, and they are costing, thereto, American taxpayers millions of dollars each year.

Yet despite these rising costs, rather than working on a solution towards this pressing problem, House Republicans have put forth a resolution that denies that climate change is a costly problem and that we are passing it on to our kids and our grandkids. They put forth a resolution that attempts to shut the door on any conversation about policies that can both promote economic growth and at the same time curb harmful pollution and protect the planet.

Mr. Speaker, let's deal with reality rather than denying reality. The Safe Climate Caucus members have been calling for real conversations on the causes, impacts, and solutions of climate change for years.

Instead of proposing ways to reduce carbon pollution or allowing constructive congressional dialogue on how to avoid costly climate damages, the Republican majority continues to refuse to even have this conversation about how to address one of the greatest threats to human survival on this planet. We have not seen any serious solutions put forth by Republicans in Congress in nearly a decade.

Mr. Speaker, this resolution is a waste of time, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would increase STARBASE program funding by $5 million for fiscal year 2019, for a total of $35 million.

STARBASE is currently active in 33 States and Puerto Rico at a total of 66 locations. It engages local fifth grade elementary students by exposing them to STEM subjects through a hands-on curriculum. The program is carried out by the military services because the Department of Defense has identified a shortage of young adults graduating from the hard sciences.

Many students in the program have no prior exposure to real-world STEM opportunities or military services. STARBASE strengthens ties between the military and their communities, and promotes strong STEM skills in the next generation of young people.

Not only do students enjoy the STEM program, the program works. In 2017, for example, knowledge scores of chemistry, engineering, math, physics, and technology increased by almost 30 percent for all students.

It consistently improves favorability scores of math and science. Students were 8.28 percent more likely to say that they liked engineering, for example. Again, I repeat: the program works.

It is one of the most cost-effective programs across the Federal Government, costing only $328 per student. We had 2,952 classes in 2017, serving 1,381 schools. Since its inception, STARBASE has served approximately 1,110,590 students from 40 States.

With these additional resources, STARBASE hopes to expand to Patrick Air Force Base in Florida; the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs; as well as Anchorage, Alaska; Nashville, Tennessee; and many other sites across the country that have asked for this program.

Mr. Chairman, this is very important. I, along with my colleague Representative Cole, urge an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.