Andrew Ogles

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the courage of Falun Gong practitioners, who for more than two decades have faced severe persecution in China because of their beliefs--beliefs centered on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance, and on a desire to revive traditional Chinese culture and values.

According to documentation compiled by Minghui.org, at least 5,910 Falun Gong practitioners have died as a result of repression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The CCP has also subjected Falun Gong practitioners to arbitrary detention, torture, and forced organ harvesting--an atrocity that shocks the conscience.

I also rise to recognize the Tuidang Movement--translated as the ``Quitting the CCP Movement''--and to commend the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party, known as the Tuidang Center, for its work in support of freedom of conscience and human dignity.

In December 2004, The Epoch Times published a report titled Nine Commentaries on the Communist Party, an account of the Party's history. According to that report, the CCP has been responsible since 1949 for the unnatural deaths of 60 to 80 million Chinese people, and by now likely more. It also highlighted the hundreds of millions of abortions committed under China's coercive population control regimes, and in 2013, China's own health ministry corroborated this when it released data showing that more than 300 million abortions had been performed since 1971.

Over the following two decades, according to organizers, millions of copies of the Nine Commentaries were reproduced and distributed within China by Falun Gong practitioners, often at great personal risk. That effort helped give rise to the Tuidang Movement, through which individuals can renounce their affiliation with the CCP, the Communist Youth League, and the Young Pioneers, frequently using pseudonyms to protect their safety.

The Tuidang Center, based in New York, collects these withdrawal statements through volunteer networks and tracks the movement's growth. Its volunteers outside China also reach Chinese citizens by phone, message, and email to share information about withdrawing from the CCP and its affiliated organizations. In recent years, Chinese immigrants have publicly announced their withdrawals at Tuidang rallies in Flushing, New York, receiving certificates memorializing their decisions.

According to the Tuidang Center's records, as of July 2026, more than 464 million people have submitted statements dissociating themselves from the CCP or its affiliated organizations. This movement of nonviolent resistance to totalitarianism represents an awakening of conscience, grounded in a desire to reclaim China's cultural and moral heritage. Such resistance helps lay the moral foundation for a future of greater freedom and justice in China, while also standing against the spread of communist ideology worldwide. The witness of those who participate in this movement should also remind Americans of the continuing dangers posed by communist ideology.

The CCP has a well-documented history of transnational repression, and the Tuidang Center states that its own work has faced intimidation and disruption here in the United States. According to the Center, it received eight threatening letters between April 20 and 28, 2025, and its public booths in Flushing were vandalized on April 29, 2025. Transnational repression targeting advocates on American soil is a serious matter, and such conduct has no place in the United States.

Mr. Speaker, the right to hold and peacefully express one's beliefs, and to associate or disassociate freely, is a fundamental human right. I honor the courage of Falun Gong practitioners and the volunteers of the Tuidang Movement, and I commend the Global Service Center for Quitting the Chinese Communist Party for its work on behalf of freedom of conscience. I urge my colleagues to join me in standing with all who peacefully advocate for human dignity and the freedom to believe.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a son of Tennessee whose courage still echoes across generations, a man who represents the very best of Middle Tennessee and the very best of this country, John Harlan Willis.

Born in Columbia, Tennessee, John Harlan Willis was one of those young men who didn't wait for history to call his name. At 19, before the United States had entered World War II, he stepped forward and enlisted in the United States Navy. He became a pharmacist's mate, a corpsman attached to the Marine infantry where his duty was clear and unforgiving. When others hit the ground, he got up, and he moved forward and went straight into the fire to keep his fellow Americans alive.

On the black sands of the Battle of Iwo Jima, one of the most brutal battles in American history, Willis stood shoulder to shoulder with Marines under relentless enemy fire. He moved forward when others were forced down, crossing open ground under artillery and mortar fire to reach the wounded. Even after he himself was struck by shrapnel, he refused evacuation. He did not step back. He went forward again.

Then came the moment that defines him. As enemy grenades began landing among his fellow Marines, Willis did something almost impossible to comprehend. He picked them up, one after another, and threw them back toward the enemy, not once, not twice, but eight times. He chose the lives of others over his own. Eight times he placed himself between death and his fellow Americans. On the ninth grenade, there was no time left. It detonated in his hand. He was 23 years old.

In that instant, John Harlan Willis gave everything he had so others might live, not because anyone ordered him to, not because anyone was watching, but because that is who he was.

He left behind a widow, Winfrey Willis, and a young son, John Harlan Willis, Jr., a family that carried forward his name and his legacy. Today, that legacy belongs not just to Columbia, not just to Tennessee, but the entire Nation.

We live in a time when words like ``courage'' and ``sacrifice'' are often used lightly. If we want to understand what those words truly mean, we should look to the men like John Harlan Willis. He reminds us that greatness is not found in titles or positions but in decisive moments when a person chooses others over themselves.

Naming the United States Post Office in Columbia in his honor is more than a symbolic act. It is a statement about who we choose to remember. It is a commitment that future generations walking into that building will see his name and ask who he was. When they learn, they will understand what the country expects of its sons and daughters.

John Harlan Willis is not just a hero of the past, he is a standard for the future.

Madam Speaker, before I close, I would ask this body for a brief moment of silence for Pharmacist's Mate First Class John Harlan Willis; for his widow, Winfrey Willis; and for his son, John Harlan Willis, Jr., a man who had to grow up without his father; and for all of those who gave everything so that we may stand here today free.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 2659, the Strengthening Cyber Resilience Against State-Sponsored Threats Act.

Earlier this year, I introduced this legislation because the United States is facing an increasingly coordinated and persistent effort by malicious cyber actors linked to the Government of the People's Republic of China, the PRC. These groups represent one of the most serious national security challenges confronting our Nation today.

Reports from Federal agencies and private-sector partners over the past several years have shown that Chinese state-sponsored cyber actors, including Volt Typhoon, Salt Typhoon, and other PRC-affiliated groups, have been targeting the systems and services that Americans rely on every single day.

In committee, there has been testimony that 98 percent of our municipalities operate under cybersecurity poverty, meaning they don't have the resources to defend themselves. These intrusions have affected communication providers, energy operators, water systems, transportation networks, and other sectors that are fundamental to public safety and economic stability.

What has become clear is that these actors are not simply trying to collect information. In many cases, they have attempted to position themselves inside sensitive systems for long periods of time, for years, in some cases, before being discovered.

Their activity indicates preparation for the possibility of major disruption during a time of crisis, including potentially over Taiwan. This is a serious strategic concern, and it demands a serious national response.

These groups often use advanced techniques that allow them to operate quietly within everyday system activity. They rely on legitimate tools and access privileges to conceal malicious behavior. This makes detection extremely difficult and allows intrusions to remain unnoticed until long after a compromise has taken place.

While Federal agencies have taken important steps to respond, the overall effort has revealed significant challenges in the way our government organizes its cybersecurity responsibilities. Multiple agencies share roles in protecting critical infrastructure, but they operate under different missions, structures, and authorities. Through fast-moving or complex incidents, these differences can slow the exchange of information and create uncertainty about responsibility and response actions.

H.R. 2659 addresses these gaps by directing the creation of a joint interagency task force led by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, CISA, in partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This task force will bring together the agencies that serve as sector risk management agencies, along with the intelligence community and other Federal partners with responsibility for critical infrastructure security.

The goal is straightforward: Federal actions must be aligned, coordinated, and based on a shared understanding of the threat environment.

The legislation also requires the task force to provide Congress with a detailed initial assessment, followed by annual reports for 5 years. These reports will offer insight into the tactics used by PRC- affiliated cyber actors, vulnerabilities across sectors, the potential impacts of disruptions during a major crisis, and any additional tools or authorities Federal agencies may need.

Classified briefings will ensure that Congress receives timely and accurate information necessary to evaluate our nationwide posture.

This bill strengthens unity and effort. It improves coordination. It increases visibility and accountability. It ensures that the United States can respond to foreign cyber aggression with preparation rather than reaction.

H.R. 2659 reflects lessons learned from real-world incidents. It elevates our national approach to cybersecurity, and it helps protect American communities from adversaries who are actively working to compromise the systems that support our way of life.

We cannot let a bureaucracy stand in the way of defending our Nation's cybersecurity. I strongly urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.