Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of David Thomas Pangelinan Perez, who passed away on February 16, 2026. He is preceded by his wife, Maria Luisa Cruz Paulino, to whom he was married for 53 years; and survived by seven children, fifteen grandchildren, seventeen great-grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren. David was born in Guam on August 19, 1937. He retired as a Department of the Army civilian after 35 years of service, traveling on assignment in Asia, Europe, and throughout the U.S. After retiring he worked with the government of the Federated States of the Micronesia living in Pohnpei, and then in Guam and Tinian as an elementary school and Chamorro language teacher. He was one of the founding members of the Guam Society of America in Washington, D.C., serving as both president and treasurer. He was a WWII history buff and enjoyed watching Japanese historical dramas and Sumo. He was also his family's de-facto record keeper, with an extremely knowledgeable memory of the ``Gollo'' family genealogy. David was a bright and affable man, always able to bring smiles to those around him. He was a dear friend to me, as was his wife, Maria. I cherish his memory and kindness as he goes to his final resting place alongside her. He was beloved by many and will be sorely missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the Polynesian Association of Alaska (PAOA), a non-profit organization that is celebrating their 20th Anniversary. Over the span of two decades, this organization has committed itself to educating Pacific Islanders across various domains, including health and social services, employment, culture, language, voting, education, immigration, and more.

PAOA was founded on November 16, 2004, in Anchorage, Alaska, following a Samoan Computer Language Senior Class led by Lusiana Tuga Hansen. This non-profit entity was formally established and registered in the City of Anchorage and the State of Alaska on February 1, 2005, and achieved 501(c)(3) status on June 16, 2006. Since its establishment, it has functioned as the leading organization for the Pacific Island community in Alaska from 2005 to 2025.

PAOA's mission is to empower and educate individuals and families while promoting pride and acceptance of all cultures and instilling the best values they embody. The organization currently has 53 registered members and 19 Board Members. Their vision is to ensure that the Pacific Island community in Alaska and beyond receives support in education, employment, and cultural enrichment. I want to thank the group for their continued dedication to Polynesian cultural and community values in Alaska and for their contributions to the Pacific Islands region at large.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the South Pacific Tuna Treaty Act.

I represent the beautiful islands of American Samoa in the South Pacific. This bill implements into statute the most recent changes to the South Pacific Tuna Treaty that was negotiated between NOAA and other signatory countries to the treaty.

These changes are important to support the American fishing fleet in the South Pacific, of which many boats call American Samoa home. These changes improve the operational conditions and flexibility for the fleet, which is America's last true distant-water fishing fleet.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the bill's cosponsor, the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case), for his support of this legislation.

``Live long and prosper.'' ``Soifua ma ia manuia.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Staff Sergeant Isaako Fa'atoese Malotumau, as we mark the 10th anniversary of his passing. Isaako Malotumau was born on October 18, 1950, in Aoa, American Samoa. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 9, 1970, and completed basic and infantry training at Fort Ord, California, by November 1970. His first assignment was as a rifleman in South Vietnam from December 1970 to April 1971, followed by service with the Rangers until he was captured on April 24, 1971. After 704 days as a POW, he was released on March 27, 1973. He served in various roles, including Test Supervisor at Fort Ord and Redeye Team Chief in West Germany, until his honorable discharge on June 26, 1978. Isaako died on September 10, 2014, and was buried in Tacoma, Washington.

His Bronze Star Medal citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized

by Executive Order 11046, 24th August, 1962, takes pleasure

in presenting the Bronze Star Medal to Specialist Fourth

Class Isaako Fa'atoese Malotumau. United States Army, for

meritorious achievement as a Prisoner of War while engaged in

operations against an opposing armed force in North Vietnam

during the period of February 1971 to May 1972. In an

atmosphere of enemy harassment and brutal treatment, he

continued to establish and maintain communications through

unusual and ingenious methods, which resulted in American and

Allied prisoners presenting a posture of increased resistance

to the enemy's wishes and at the same time improving prisoner

morale. His loyalty, diligence and devotion to duty were in

keeping with highest traditions of the military service and

reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United

States Army.

SSG Malotumau was a Pastor of the New Life Samoan Assembly of God, Tacoma. WA with over 2 decades of ministry. He is survived by his lovely wife of 40 years, Pr. Talatalaga Finau Mikaele--Malotumau, whom he married on April 27, 1974. They had 6 children and 9 grandchildren at the time of his passing. We honor his legacy and thank him and his family for their public service that continues to benefit the Pacific Islander community to this day.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 3764) to extend and authorize annual appropriations for the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom through fiscal year 2026.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, religious persecution is a tragic reality in many parts of the world, whether it be against Uyghur Muslims in China, Christian minorities in parts of Africa and the Middle East, the Baha'i in Iran, or religious communities attempting to worship without official control by repressive regimes in Burma, China, or North Korea. Anti-Semitism is on the rise.

This bipartisan bill, which unanimously passed the Senate, will continue the good work of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, or USCIRF.

Congress created USCIRF as an independent Federal entity in 1998. Although the fundamental freedom of religion was under siege around the world, it did not receive enough attention in U.S. foreign policy.

USCIRF is a body of experts who speak out on behalf of persecuted believers of any faith and push for accountability beyond what the State Department or the White House may view as diplomatically comfortable.

The commission's independent voice remains critical today, as the State Department too often pushes religious freedom to the side.

Although the law requires the department to designate countries of particular concern for religious freedom violations, their list of CPC countries never includes all the countries that meet the statutory criteria.

Thankfully, USCIRF continues its truth telling to identify the other persecutors that should be designated. Those countries include Vietnam, where Communist authorities severely repress Christians, Buddhists, and other believers who attempt to worship outside of state control. They also include Nigeria, where Islamist militias murder Christians with impunity.

They include Afghanistan, where the brutal Taliban have retaken power and moved that country back to an intolerant darkness. If any countries are countries of particular concern for serious violations of religious freedom, then those should be among them.

S. 3764 is a simple extension of USCIRF's statutory authority so that the commission can continue its bipartisan, nonsectarian work on behalf of our Nation's first freedom, religious liberty.

I am very pleased that this is a clean reauthorization and does not include any of the previous attempts by some in the other body to make USCIRF more partisan or to dilute its mandate with extraneous issues.

Through robust oversight, we also must work to ensure that USCIRF remains focused on its true, bipartisan statutory mandate; namely, ``the annual and ongoing review of the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom.''

I thank Senator Rubio and his bipartisan colleagues who introduced this bill in the Senate where it received unanimous support.

I also recognize the important work of the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Global Human Rights Subcommittee, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), who is the author of the House side reauthorization. He has been a leader on religious freedom issues throughout his 43-year career in this House.

We need to pass this bill immediately to help ensure that freedom of religion under threat from extremists and authoritarian governments around the world remains front and center.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, religious freedom flows from the inherent dignity of every human person and should be protected wherever it is threatened.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom remains an independent voice on behalf of religious believers everywhere. USCIRF will continue to enjoy bipartisan support so long as they focus on their core mandate, which is the protection of religious liberty around the world.

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

Mr. Speaker, attempts to distort definitions of religious freedom to cover unrelated or partisan issues will quickly squander that support and endanger the extension of USCIRF's mandate in the future. S. 3764 will ensure that the Commission continues its nonpartisan mission of promoting the right of religious liberty that we hold so dear as a nation. It deserves our unanimous support.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6606) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 relating to the statement of policy.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 6606. Export controls are an important tool to ensure that American technology and items which are normally sold for commercial purposes cannot be used for nefarious purposes by our adversaries.

Currently, those adversaries are using technological and economic espionage to steal everything they can from the American people and to undermine our security and our industrial base.

H.R. 6606 clarifies U.S. policy to ensure that export controls can be used against those who want to steal America's trade secrets. It ensures that the most powerful tools we have in our policy toolbox can be used against economic espionage, as well.

This bill is a clear and important message to our adversaries. We will not allow the stealing of American trade secrets. H.R. 6606 deserves our unanimous support.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for bringing to the floor my bill ensuring that our adversaries do not continue to steal American technology and trade secrets is a bipartisan priority. I urge all Members to support H.R. 6606, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1056) recognizing the importance of trilateral cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution underscoring the vital importance of trilateral cooperation among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea. I thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) and his 22 bipartisan cosponsors for introducing this text, which received unanimous support from the Committee on Foreign Affairs at our markup 4 months ago.

As the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea work to destabilize the Indo-Pacific region, we find ourselves in a pivotal moment where democracies must unite against authoritarianism. A trilateral partnership among the U.S., Japan, and South Korea exemplifies this unity, with two of our allies putting aside their historical differences to tackle the pressing challenges of our time.

This resolution acknowledges that as China and North Korea escalate their military activities in the region, our three nations are fortifying defense capabilities to deter and address these threats. It also promotes increased collaboration in technology, economics, and diplomacy while celebrating the shared democratic values that underpin our alliances.

By working with Japan and South Korea, we can dissuade the CCP and North Korea from acting recklessly.

Democracy will, and always will, prevail.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 1056, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers, and I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the right to close.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Connolly as well as Chairman McCaul and Ranking Member Meeks for this opportunity to recognize the importance of trilateral cooperation between the United States and our allies South Korea and Japan.

Our shared democratic values and strategic cooperation are critical to the peace and security of the Western Pacific, especially as we face challenges and provocations posed by the Chinese Communist Party and North Korea.

Mr. Speaker, I urge unanimous support for this resolution, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4741) to require the development of a strategy to promote the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure worldwide, and for other purposes.

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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4741, the Securing Global Telecommunications Act, introduced by my colleague from North Carolina, Congresswoman Manning, and the gentlewoman from California, Congresswoman Young Kim.

Telecommunications, including 5G, are critical to U.S. national security. The United States cannot let Chinese military companies, like Huawei, attempt to dominate this sector through unfair trading practices, including IP theft and illegal subsidies.

Because of the CCP military-civil fusion strategy, we know that any valuable information flowing through a Huawei network can and will be sent to the CCP and its military.

The United States and our partners and allies must lead in the development of this technology and set the rules of the road at multilateral bodies, such as the International Telecommunication Union. Cooperation among partner and allied countries is critical for ensuring that trusted vendors are the backbone for this infrastructure.

The Securing Global Telecommunications Act will help us outcompete the CCP in this foundational technology. This bill requires the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to promote secure telecommunication infrastructure globally, including mobile networks, data centers, and 6G and beyond.

It also requires reports on how the CCP and Russia are undermining the ITU and how we are coordinating with partners and allies to counteract their malign influence. The United States cannot sit back and allow a CCP military company to build the networks that carry the world's data.

For these reasons, I urge my colleagues to support the Securing Global Telecommunications Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

I yield myself the balance of my time.

In closing, I thank Congresswoman Manning and Congresswoman Young Kim for leading this bipartisan effort to take on Huawei and other CCP companies. I urge all Members to support H.R. 4741, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7159) to bolster United States engagement with the Pacific Islands region, 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 this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 7159, the Pacific Partnership Act. I was proud to be the lead Republican on this bipartisan bill introduced by the gentleman from Hawaii (Mr. Case).

As a grateful and proud Pacific Islander, I remind my colleagues that the United States is a Pacific nation, from the West Coast of the continental U.S., to Hawaii, to American Samoa, to the Northern Mariana Islands, to Guam. The Pacific is critically important to American interests, American values, and to the Americans I have the privilege to represent.

However, in recent years, the Chinese Communist Party has mounted an aggressive campaign to increase its influence among Pacific Island countries. The 2022 security pact between Beijing and the Solomon Islands was seen by many as an alarming wake-up call. The CCP is pressuring island nations to overturn their recognition of Taiwan, illegally fishing in their exclusive economic zones, and bribing local law enforcement to influence local elections.

While Congress has done its job to extend the Compacts of Free Association for another 20 years, those only focus on three Pacific Island countries. There are 11 other countries who need our attention.

The United States has enduring cultural, historic, economic, and people-to-people connections with the Pacific Islands. We just opened up an embassy in Vanuatu, but we must do more.

Pacific Islands are strategically crucial to the United States. For that reason, the Pacific Partnership Act requires the State Department to submit to Congress a Strategy for Pacific Partnership that describes our goals for engaging with the Pacific Islands in the diplomatic, defense, and economic domains. It gives Congress the oversight visibility to ensure that the executive branch formulates and implements a strategy that addresses the many shared threats facing Pacific Island countries.

It also requires that we coordinate and collaborate with our allies and partners, like Australia, Taiwan, Japan, and New Zealand, to ensure that our programs directed toward the Pacific Islands are nonduplicative and complementary. The Pacific Partnership Act will help to better focus the United States' engagement with Pacific Island nations.

Mr. Speaker, I support the bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I thank, again, my friend from Hawaii, Mr. Case, for leading this bill that we introduced together.

The Pacific Partnership Act will help ensure that our area of the world receives the attention it requires in U.S. diplomatic, defense, and economic policymaking.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1608) to provide for the expansion of the Starr-Camargo Bridge near Rio Grande City, Texas, and for other purposes.

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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for S. 1608, the Starr-Camargo Bridge Expansion Act, introduced by Senator Cornyn from Texas and passed unanimously by the Senate.

The development of critical infrastructure is vital for maintaining the smooth flow of goods and services. The Starr-Camargo International Bridge, a privately-owned toll bridge on the U.S.-Mexico border, serves as a crucial link spanning the Rio Grande. It connects Rio Grande City in Texas with Camargo in Mexico. This bridge is a significant commercial transit point, facilitating many hundreds of millions of dollars in trade every year.

Expanding this bridge will enhance international trade and help to reduce costs for American families by improving the flow of goods. The planned upgrades will ease commercial traffic and help address supply chain issues.

The proposed legislation will allow the bridge's private owners to finance the expansion and improvements through toll revenue without the use of taxpayer funds. Because it is an international port of entry, expanding the bridge requires statutory changes, which have been carefully reviewed and approved by the State Department, the Department of Transportation, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

As mentioned earlier, the Senate passed this measure with unanimous, bipartisan support. A House side companion bill was adopted by the House Foreign Affairs Committee by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 46-0.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, allowing for the expansion of the Starr-Camargo Bridge at no cost to Federal taxpayers will make a real difference in the lives of American families, especially in Texas. I urge all Members to support S. 1608, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 7089) to authorize the Diplomatic Security Services of the Department of State to investigate allegations of violations of conduct constituting offenses under chapter 77 of title 18, United States Code, and for other purposes, as amended.

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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support for H.R. 7089, the Global Anti- Human Trafficking Enhancement Act, introduced by the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. James).

We all believe that people have inherent dignity and possess equal human rights. Unfortunately, not everyone in the world respects that dignity and those rights.

Each year, millions of individuals are exploited through human trafficking. They are forced to work in dangerous, brutal jobs for little or no pay. They are forced to engage in commercial sex. They are forced to marry people they don't know or to join the Armed Forces before the age of consent.

All of us here believe that human traffickers must be caught, prosecuted, and punished to the full extent of the law. That is why the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Enhancement Act is so necessary.

This bill authorizes the State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security to investigate criminal violations of U.S. Federal antitrafficking statutes that occur overseas or involve foreign persons.

Most people are not aware that Diplomatic Security is the most widely represented U.S. law enforcement agency overseas, with agents operating in over 270 foreign posts.

This new authority will serve as a force multiplier for the FBI and foreign country law enforcement, who are on the front lines of pursuing traffickers and protecting victims.

With this authority, Diplomatic Security agents would be able to investigate the dozens of Federal antitrafficking cases every year that currently are not pursued because of time and resource constraints at FBI and other Federal law enforcement agencies that do not have people in the far corners of the world.

This proposal has been lauded by the Department of Justice, advocacy groups, and others. It responds to the National Action Plan's mandate to increase trafficking prosecutions and fight modern slavery.

It was adopted in the Foreign Affairs Committee by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 46-0.

Let's empower our diplomatic security agents to assist in the mission of investigating violations of U.S. anti-trafficking laws that have overseas elements by passing H.R. 7089, the Global Anti-Human Trafficking Enhancement Act.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. James), chairman of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa and the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time, and I again thank Mr. James and his bipartisan cosponsors for the bill before us today.

We need to unlock the investigative potential at the U.S. State Department. We need to give our Diplomatic Security agents the authority to assist in the mission of catching criminals who violate our anti-trafficking statutes.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H.R. 7089, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 6614) to amend the Export Control Reform Act of 2018 relating to licensing transparency, as amended.

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 on this measure.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, introduced by my colleague from Texas (Mr. Jackson) along with Foreign Affairs Chairman McCaul.

Export controls are one of the most powerful tools we have to constrain China's military modernization and rebuke its severe human rights abuses.

Ultimately, the strength of our export control regime hinges on the ability to approve or deny a license to sell sensitive technology to China. That process is overseen by the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security, or BIS.

On multiple occasions, in response to persistent committee requests, BIS has provided the House Foreign Affairs Committee with licensing data--information on whether BIS approved or denied licenses to China.

The committee found that even for companies like SMIC and Huawei with deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party and military, BIS rarely, if ever, denied a license.

This data has been essential to our committee's oversight efforts. This bill will ensure better oversight of the Commerce Department's export control policies and licensing practices.

Every 90 days, the Secretary of Commerce will submit a report to Congress on activities related to items affected by export control policies, including licenses granted to foreign persons and entities on the entity list.

This bill will finally give Congress the visibility it needs to conduct real oversight on licensing decisions and will help us assess where and how BIS is drawing the line on U.S. national security.

At the Foreign Affairs Committee markup, H.R. 6614 was adopted by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 43-0.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the Maintaining American Superiority by Improving Export Control Transparency Act, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Jackson), a Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the author of this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time to close.

I thank Chairman McCaul for his leadership in moving this bill through committee and to the floor. I also thank my bipartisan committee colleagues for their unanimous vote to ensure greater congressional oversight of export controls.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to vote in favor of H.R. 6614, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, H.R. 6062, which repeals the outdated statute requiring amendments to American Samoa's Constitution be ratified by Congress.

I want to thank Chairman Westerman and Subcommittee Chair Hageman for their efforts to move this bill through committee, and I thank Ranking Members Grijalva and Leger Fernandez for making this a bipartisan effort. I would also like to extend my sincere gratitude to my fellow territorial Delegates, Delegate Moylan and Delegate Sablan, for their cosponsorship and support.

The original piece of legislation that H.R. 6062 repeals was moved through without regular order, and over the past several decades, multiple attempts were made to walk back the bill and allow the necessary hearings and oversight to occur. Today that misstep has been corrected.

H.R. 6062 provides equal treatment among the U.S. territories, as no other territory has a similar restriction on editing their local laws. It is a critical and key piece of legislation for American Samoa, allowing us to enact constitutional changes as approved by our people without the burden of unnecessary bureaucracy in Washington.

This bill is designed to restore the essential structure of our government to what it was intended to be, providing a much-needed adjustment to the previous 1983 law. The 1983 law, as it stands, is inconsistent with the principles of local self-government over local affairs, an area where Congress has rightly delegated local authority to us. The current law imposes restrictions that are outdated and counterproductive, hindering our ability to govern ourselves effectively.

This bill is about more than just procedural changes. It is about reaffirming our commitment to self-governance and democratic values. By removing unnecessary obstacles, we are reinforcing the principle that the people of American Samoa have the right and the ability to govern themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Tini Apelu Manuleleua who passed away on Friday, June 7, 2024, at the age of 84. Tini was born and raised in Pago Pago, American Samoa, and was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

Tini joined the Air Force and proudly served from 1956 to 1960. He held an E-4 High Security Clearance to code and decode messages as a Teletype Operator, typing 133 WPM. He went on to work at RCA, Watkins and Johnson, and Santa Clara County as a Counselor specifically working with the Polynesian community. We honor his legacy and thank him for his service.

He is survived by siblings Katherine Bitgood, Tolu Misa, Alavine Tuala, and Laila Manuleleua as well as his children, Eddie Achica, Lucy Achica-Woods, Mona Lozada, George Achica, Eugenia Delatorre, Virginia Manuleleua, Jerry Manuleleua, and Daniel Peters and their families made up of 10 grandchildren, 19 great grandchildren and 1 great-great grandchild.

He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Lieutenant Colonel Kelsey Rousey for her dedicated service to the people of American Samoa and all the Pacific Islands as Deputy to the House Liaison Division in the U.S. Army's Office of the Chief, Legislative Liaison.

In American Samoa, our men and women of the Armed Forces are very important to us The people of our islands take great pride in being patriotic Americans and our people are known for a high rate of service in our military In particular, our U S Army recruiting center ranks number one in the nation in enlistment rate.

To that end I would like to recognize all the work LTC Rousey has done to serve our country throughout her career, so far. She received her commission through the ROTC program at John Carroll University, as Transportation Officer.

She has an extensive list of military awards and decorations including the Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Meritorious Volunteer Medal. She was instrumental in sharing the Army message throughout the House of Representatives and Congress.

In congratulating this outstanding officer today, we also express our deep appreciation to all who serve, including the many in uniform from American Samoa serving with distinction all over the world.

In thank Kelsey for her outstanding leadership and her commitment to our Soldiers, American Samoa, and our great Nation. Best wishes to her and her family as she departs for Pennsylvania and the U.S. Army War College I thank her for her service and her tone dedicated to our beautiful island.

God bless you on your journey (Fa'amanumia le Atua i ou ala. Soifua).