Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today because I am frustrated, I am fed up, and I am concerned for our soldiers, their families, my constituents, and all Americans. People are filled with uncertainty. They are confused, and, honestly, so am I.

Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats shut down the government over a deadline that does not exist. They voted against a bill they have no issues with. Democrats have recklessly put 9 million children at risk of losing their health insurance. Over 2 million members of our military, the men and women who risk their lives to protect us, are not being paid.

It is time for Senate Democrats to join us and reopen the government. They need to join us in passing the Children's Health Insurance Program, and they need to join us in putting our military readiness, our American soldiers, and our country before political gamesmanship.

Stop the Schumer shutdown.

Mr. Speaker, today I include in the Record a tribute that means a great deal to me, my family, and my staff. Tomorrow we bid farewell to my Chief of Staff of five years, Christian Morgan.

Every day, Christian has exemplified the conservative principles for which my office fights. His love for his family, faith in Jesus Christ, and undying belief in what our country stands for have led my office from the day I was sworn in, and his presence will be felt

long after his departure. Christian led by example; he was always the last to leave the office and the first to arrive. He guided, motivated, and empowered my staff and myself through fiscal cliffs, our historic fight against human trafficking, and countless pieces of legislation that improved our community in St. Louis.

I owe Christian a great debt of gratitude that I will never be able to fully repay, and today we bid him, the man who steered the ship, a fond farewell. It is a sendoff to a person who always kept a level head, was slow to anger, and quick to listen and lead with a spirit of humility. Christian truly embodies our guiding mission to serve a cause greater than oneself and be a voice for the most vulnerable. We wish him the very best moving forward, and we are grateful for Christian Morgan's service and sacrifice to our office, the Second District of Missouri, and our Great Nation.

May he always remember these words in Romans 5: 4-5, ``Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.''

Mr. Speaker, thank you for demonstrating that the House of Representatives stands with the people of Iran and condemns the country's brutal regime.

I rise today to applaud the Iranian people, who are struggling for dignity, human rights, and economic security under a shadow of oppression. We are a hemisphere away, but our hearts are with the brave men and women who are raising their voices in hopes that they will finally be free from the reins of tyranny.

The Iranian people are protesting the abuses of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and we must support their outrage by severely punishing and containing the IRGC with suffocating sanctions.

We must work with our allies to help Iranians communicate on the internet without restrictions. We must broadcast footage from protestors and hold authorities accountable for abuses.

America is an enthusiastic friend of the Iranian people. We are thrilled to support their aspirations for justice and liberty, and we stand with them as they take to the streets and demand an end to oppression.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Hensarling for his support and for yielding me this time.

I am proud to rise today in support of my colleague, Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer, and urge immediate passage of his bill, the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2017.

H.R. 3312 uses a commonsense approach which would allow regulators the opportunity to weigh multiple factors before deeming a financial institution systemically important.

More importantly, the bill would allow the Financial Stability Oversight Council, FSOC, to more precisely identify systemic risk by differentiating between stable activities and those that would truly threaten the financial stability of the United States.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve was given never-before- seen regulatory power to supervise those that were deemed systemically important. Unfortunately, the Fed has chosen to ignore tailoring their regulatory standards and continues to base them on asset size alone.

If an institution, indeed, is a minimal risk, then it is vital to make sure those standards reflect that lower risk.

Finally, it is important to note that an arbitrary threshold does matter to those caught in the SIFI web. These financial institutions often face significant compliance costs under a SIFI designation, redirecting resources that otherwise would provide consumers with affordable financial products.

Chairman Luetkemeyer's bill creates a framework that promotes responsible regulations and enforces market discipline, all while protecting taxpayers from unnecessary bailouts.

Mr. Speaker, again, I want to applaud my friend, the gentleman from Missouri, Chairman Luetkemeyer, for his leadership on this issue. H.R. 3312 is about smarter regulation. I urge all my colleagues to support Chairman Luetkemeyer's bill.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 672.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 656.

Personal Explanation

Madam Speaker, it is about time we ge something real done for the American people. The people of Missouri's Second District sent me to Washington to secure their jobs and to keep a little more of their hard-earned money, and at long last we are finally doing just that.

I vote ``yes'' to fix our broken tax system. I vote ``yes'' to help reignite the American economy. I vote ``yes'' to make it a little bit easier for that single mother of two, that firefighter, that teacher, that shopowner, that family of four, that veteran. I vote ``yes'' for bigger paychecks, better savings, and a more secure future.

I ran for Congress to fight for the people of Missouri and to ensure that every hardworking American can realize their own American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman of the Capital Markets, Securities, and Investments Subcommittee, my friend and colleague, Mr. Huizenga, for his support.

Mr. Speaker, first, I also wish to thank the ranking member and Congressman Foster for his support of this issue both in the 114th Congress and the 115th Congress.

H.R. 3911, the Risk-Based Credit Examination Act, makes the criteria required in annual reporting by nationally recognized statistical rating organizations, or NRSROs, just that: risk based.

In 2008, the financial crisis taught us many lessons. It also highlighted how NRSROs regularly gave high ratings to mortgage-backed securities. As we now know, these mortgage-backed securities led to one of the largest financial collapses, which some economists have put on par with the Great Depression of the 1930s.

In 2010, with the passage of Dodd-Frank and in an attempt to prevent previous mistakes, these organizations were hit with new requirements aimed at enhancing their disclosures and transparency. Unfortunately, the one-size-fits-all annual reporting requirements mandated under section 932 of Dodd-Frank placed unnecessary burdens and compliance costs on small NRSROs that were in no way the cause of the financial crisis.

Contrary to what some might believe, more regulation doesn't solve everything; in fact, it doesn't solve most things.

After the Office of Credit Ratings was created in 2012 and the new requirements were put into place, smaller NRSROs found it difficult to enter the marketplace. Ironically, the large credit rating agencies-- which, again, had a hand in the financial crisis--are getting bigger, driving out small credit rating agencies and making it clear that these new regulatory requirements missed their intended mark and placed unnecessary requirements on smaller NRSROs.

Mr. Speaker, a move to a risk-based model will alleviate the burden on small NRSROs and provide competition while continuing to maintain oversight and transparency over the industry. The marketplace needs this fix. As the chairman noted in a 2013 letter, SEC Chairman Mary Jo White concurred with these conclusions.

Let's be clear. This bill does not eliminate reporting requirements for credit rating agencies; instead, it simply makes the criteria required in annual reports risk based. Credit rating agencies will still be held accountable, while allowing real competition in the market.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation that is both bipartisan and commonsense, something we don't often see in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that, in the engrossment of H.R. 3903, the Clerk be authorized to make such technical and conforming changes as may be necessary to reflect the actions of the House in amending the bill.

Mr. Speaker, the world is an ugly place right now. It seems that at every turn there is another crisis--another barrier to peace and prosperity, another obstacle to fight, or another cross to bear. More of our citizens, women, children, and grandkids are turning to something--anything--to mute the pain and create a false sense of peace. Society has been infected by drug addiction, a disease fueled by a loss of hope.

We see it on the news, we watch it online, we feel loss in our communities. This disease is killing our friends and neighbors. Last year alone, over 64,000 lives were lost. That is more casualties in a year than we saw during the height of the Vietnam war.

And this is a war, too--a war being fought in the streets and in our homes. And we are losing. Mothers, sons, daughters, and fathers are dying--from the cold streets of major cities to the quiet fields of rural America--we are all feeling the effects of the opioid crisis.

What can be done? That is a question I have asked countless law enforcement officials, doctors, nurses, addiction treatment professionals, and community leaders. There is no one solution to stopping the opioid epidemic in this country.

This is a man-made disaster. We must face it head on with education and awareness, addiction and recovery services, funding, prescription drug monitoring programs, and prevention. We need to prevent our loved ones from being dragged into the abyss of addiction and hopelessness.

According to the CDC, three out of four new heroin users report abusing prescription opioids before using heroin. There is an easy step each of us can take to help with prevention. We can get rid of our old opioid prescriptions at home. Why chance someone taking them? Why chance your loved one being a statistic?

This year alone, 153 individuals in St. Louis County have already died of an overdose. How many of them started with prescribed opioids? How many started by taking prescriptions from a parent or a family member? If we could have saved just one of these lives by throwing away old prescriptions, then isn't it worth it?

This Saturday, October 28, local law enforcement and the Drug Enforcement Agency will be set up all around the country and in our neighborhoods for National Prescription Drug Take Back Day. They are providing safe and easy locations for you to throw away unused prescription drugs.

I have no idea how many people can, and will, be saved by this one simple act. But multiply this one act times thousands, and now we are getting something done. Mr. Speaker, this is an epidemic this Nation has never seen. This is a disease of our own making.

This week, there is something we all can do. Think about your household. Go into your hidden cupboards and see if you have old prescriptions. I bet you do. Take them. Find your nearest drug take back location and throw them away.

We need to restore hope in this fight, and it won't happen overnight. It will take work, prayer, patience, and vigilance. Hope can be restored. If and when we band together to fight this epidemic, it will happen.

So let's restore a little hope this week. Let's all join the fight to end the opioid epidemic.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise because our family will welcome its first grandchild in the coming months. This is her 17-week ultrasound, and I cannot wait to meet her. This child is already known by her mother, Julia, quoting Psalm 139: ``For You created my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.''

Mr. Speaker, this child is a gift from God, a gift that we have far too often abandoned in this country.

Today, we know so much more. We know that, after 3 weeks, my granddaughter had a heartbeat. After 7 weeks, she began kicking her mother, like any good Wagner child would. By week 12, she could suck her thumb, and at week 20, my granddaughter knew the sound of her mother's voice and could feel pain.

Mr. Speaker, I stand for life, from conception to natural death. I stand for H.R. 36, the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act. And on behalf of my granddaughter, I will continue to fight for the day when abortion is not only illegal, but it is unthinkable.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to remind my colleagues that October 10th is Taiwan's National Day--also known as Double Ten Day. As this day approaches, I would like to congratulate the people of Taiwan, both on this occasion and on building one of the world's great democracies.

Over the past 30 years, Taiwan has come to embody the same principles we hold dear: constitutional government, democracy, freedom, and entrepreneurship. Through the democratization over the last three decades, Taiwan now serves as a strong example of democracy for not only the Asia-Pacific region, but also the world. Yet it is not just our commitment to democratic and constitutional values that ties our two countries together.

Taiwan and the United States have together faced a number of challenges, and have time and again displayed a steadfast commitment to one another's security and prosperity. The Taiwan Relations Act (TRA) was enshrined in 1979, and later supplemented by the Six Assurances given by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. The TRA and the Six Assurances form the cornerstone of our relations with Taiwan, and I would like to express my strong and continuing support for these foundations to our relations. I reaffirm it today, and again congratulate the people of Taiwan on this important occasion.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for his leadership and support.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 311, the resolution I was honored to introduce with my colleague Representative Castro, to commemorate the Association of South East Asian Nations' 50th anniversary, and the 40th anniversary of U.S.-ASEAN relations.

We intend for this resolution to raise awareness within and outside of Congress about Southeast Asia's critical role in the global order. Southeast Asia has tremendous cultural, political, historical, and religious diversity.

The Association of South East Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, was formed in 1967, in part, to create a bulwark against communism in the region among the five founding nations.

Today, ASEAN's goals have evolved, and the region is experiencing tremendous growth. ASEAN now includes 10 major countries in Southeast Asia, which together have established a major regional economic integration agenda.

ASEAN is our fourth largest goods exports market. $102 billion of U.S. goods and services are exported to ASEAN, meaning this market rivals our $113 billion market in China.

According to the ASEAN Matters for America report, 20 U.S. States send over $1 billion in goods exports to ASEAN annually, and over half of the U.S. congressional districts export over $100 million to ASEAN each year. These numbers are astounding, and they will only grow, Mr. Speaker.

In January, I cofounded the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on ASEAN, along with my partner Representative Castro. The caucus acknowledges America's strategic partnership with ASEAN and attests that America must be the foremost trade and defense partner for ASEAN countries.

H. Res. 311 was one of the caucus' first initiatives. The resolution encourages the enhancement of economic and defense cooperation with ASEAN. It reaffirms the U.S. commitment to continue joint efforts with ASEAN to halt human smuggling and human trafficking and urges ASEAN to improve assistance to refugees and migrants.

Standing alongside our ASEAN peers is important this fall, given the rise of Chinese aggression in the South China Sea; the ethnic cleansing of Rohingya Muslims in Burma; the need to seriously engage ASEAN leaders on our North Korean efforts; the typhoon and flooding affecting the region; the enormous investment opportunities; and

the upcoming ASEAN summit that the President will attend in November.

I am grateful that the Speaker and the chairman, Chairman Royce, support our efforts to engage ASEAN, and I look forward to watching H. Res. 311 pass the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my support of the Russia, Iran, and North Korea Sanctions Act. These countries actively undermine U.S. national security and threaten the safety and freedoms we enjoy in the United States.

Yesterday, Congress acted swiftly, voting 419-3 to defend the interests of the American people. I commend the leadership of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Royce and Majority Leader McCarthy for moving forward strong, meaningful legislation targeting the regimes carrying out brutal human rights violations against vulnerable peoples across the globe and threatening our national security.

The Obama administration, time and again, failed to hold these regimes accountable, and the outcomes of that inaction have had lasting ramifications on global stability and security.

U.S. officials are warning that North Korea will soon be able to launch a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile. And, to be clear, North Korea will soon have the capacity to kill American citizens on American soil. These are alarming developments and the United States must act aggressively to strengthen our own missile defense and immediately restrict North Korea's access to cash.

Murderous, tyrannical regimes have no place in the world, and I am confident that these bills will hold corrupt dictators accountable and advance justice for some of the world's most repressed populations.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to call on the U.S. House of Representatives to bring my bipartisan Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act to the floor.

Yesterday, The Washington Post revealed that backpage.com hired a contractor to solicit and create illegal sex trafficking ads. This confirms yet again what we have long known about Backpage: it is an online slave market that actively sells America's innocent women and children for sex.

If a business in America held a slave auction, it is impossible for me to imagine that the auctioneer would be able to carry on with impunity. After all, we amended the U.S. Constitution to ban slavery of all forms in the United States many years ago. But this is exactly what is happening with backpage.com. Backpage is selling our children into sex slavery, and we must hold them accountable.

Backpage and other online slave markets can sell America's children over and over again because courts have misinterpreted section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to shield websites from criminal liability for the sex trafficking advertisements that they facilitate.

But the Communications Decency Act, passed over 20 years ago, was never intended to create a lawless internet where people can commit sex crimes online that they cannot commit offline. In fact, this misinterpretation of the CDA is the height of irony.

Speaking in favor of the CDA in 1995, then-Senator Exon said: ``The information superhighway should not become a red-light district. Once this bill passes, our children and families will be better protected from those who would electronically cruise the digital world to engage children in inappropriate communications and introductions.''

How sad his words ring today. The CDA, meant originally to protect children, has become now a safe harbor for America's pimps. The tech industry is rallying against any changes to the CDA, but freedom of speech online and the enforcement of the Nation's sex trafficking laws are in no way mutually exclusive. Sex trafficking is not a prerequisite of the free and open internet.

Last year, in Jane Doe v. Backpage, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit made clear that legislation is the only remedy to any conflict between the CDA and America's sex trafficking laws.

In other words, Congress must clarify to the courts that the Communications Decency Act does not protect sex trafficking, and that is precisely what the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act will do.

We must bring this legislation to the floor and take a stand for victims across the country. We cannot claim to be antitrafficking advocates, then close our eyes and give a free pass to the websites that sell our children.