Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, our Nation is in a crisis. We are facing a real crisis at our southern border. As I speak, hundreds of migrants are crossing into the United States right now because the Biden administration has made it clear to the world that the border is open and the rule of law will not be upheld.

Now, instead of working on solutions to address the ongoing border crisis, the majority has brought forward legislation that would cripple our Nation's screening process for individuals entering at U.S. ports of entry.

Currently, a right to counsel does exist, but it only occurs once a screening turns from questions on the admissibility of people or goods to a custodial interrogation relating to a criminal offense.

More efficient, says my colleague from the other side.

This bill would place a significant burden on the men and women of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, who, prior to the pandemic, processed over 1 million people daily at various ports of entry. The CBP regularly conducts over 17 million secondary inspections each year. That is not more efficient with this legislation.

This legislation would severely limit the CBP's ability to ensure thorough inspections of all travelers, not only those referred to secondary inspection, creating unnecessary delays and significant impacts on daily operations.

This bill misuses taxpayer dollars, puts the interests of foreign citizens above the interests of American citizens.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Rion-Bowman VFW Post in Harrisonburg, Virginia, which recently celebrated its 100th anniversary.

Founded in 1921, VFW Post 632 was the first Veterans of Foreign War chapter founded in the Shenandoah Valley and is one of the oldest in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Combat veterans of every conflict since World War I have called this post home, and it has been led by 73 dedicated commanders over the years.

Current Senior Vice Commander Christopher Rexrode noted the significance of celebrating this milestones during the pandemic, which has forced far too many veterans' clubs across the country to close. He is thankful his post has been able to keep its doors open and continue to serve as a place for veterans to gather, connect, and share experiences and comradery on a daily basis.

Congratulations to VFW Post 632 on this great achievement, and I wish them another 100 years of success.

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

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

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California, my friend, for his work on this issue, and I thank the chairman for his work on this issue and their great leadership on this important initiative.

Madam Speaker, in 2010, the National Bankruptcy Conference Small Business Working Group released and presented to Congress a report that identified a problem regarding small businesses and the bankruptcy law, and recommended amendments to the code to add a new chapter for small business reorganizations.

As a result of this recommendation, I introduced the Small Business Reorganization Act, which was signed into law in August of 2019, and I am pleased to say it has been a great success for small businesses.

It is my understanding that 80 percent of small business debtors have chosen to proceed under subchapter V, and preliminary data indicates that these cases are achieving confirmation far more often than small businesses who filed prior to SBRA.

However, the Small Business Reorganization Act implemented only a month before the COVID-19 pandemic caused the State-mandated temporary closure of thousands of businesses.

Seeing the need to ensure that this new lifeline would be even more impactful, the CARES Act passed in March 2020 increased the amount of debt a business can have to be eligible for small business bankruptcy procedures from $2.7 million to $7.5 million and allowed debtors experiencing hardship because of COVID-19 to modify bankruptcy reorganization plans entered into before the law was enacted.

I have heard from bankruptcy judges and lawyers in the Western District of Virginia who have said that their experience with the Small Business Reorganization Act has been extremely positive. According to the American Bankruptcy Institute, as of last Sunday, 1,651 cases have been filed.

In addition, according to the Federal Judicial Center's Integrated Database, as of September 30, 2020, there were 759 subchapter V cases filed in the 6 months from the time the debt limit was raised to the end of fiscal year 2020, with information on liabilities available for 548 of these cases. Of those, 28 percent involved debtors whose liabilities exceeded the original limit of $2.7 million. These debtors would not have been eligible for subchapter V without the temporary increase provided by the CARES Act.

Without this bill to keep the debt limit at $7.5 million for another year while we continue to navigate this pandemic, about 30 percent of businesses that would choose to use it would no longer be eligible.

Preservation of the business benefits both the creditor, which should receive a higher recovery because of the debtor's restructuring than they would if the business liquidated, and the debtor, who will now be able to remain in business rather than liquidating.

Our districts depend on their small businesses. They are hotels, convenience stores, restaurants, and pharmacies. Those who endeavor to open and run a small business are proud of their work and their standing in our communities.

Unfortunately, they also take on a sometimes-insurmountable financial burden. As we have seen over the last year, when they are forced to close, it has a great impact on the rest of us. That is why the year- end spending and relief package omitted recovery rebate payments from bankruptcy estates and blocked utilities from stopping or denying service to some individuals in bankruptcy. This bill would extend those provisions by 3 months but wouldn't affect other provisions in that law that are already scheduled to expire later in 2022.

I am proud to have introduced this legislation along with Chairman Nadler to support our small businesses and our families, and I urge its passage.

Mr. Speaker, enough is enough, which is why I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 8 and to offer a motion to recommit the bill.

This bill is nothing more than a coordinated effort by the authoritarian left to strip away the constitutional rights guaranteed to Americans by the Second Amendment.

Instead of criminalizing the innocent actions of law-abiding gun owners, American citizens, we should be focused on stopping real crime in our local communities and enforcing the laws that are already on the books.

One way we can do that is by ensuring that ICE is notified when unlawful aliens attempt to purchase a firearm illegally. The FBI reported just last month that NICS had over 10 million people listed as an illegal alien. In fact, this ranks as the number one prohibited category in the FBI's NICS Indices.

Since 1998, over 28,000 illegal aliens have been denied a firearm after failing a NICS check. With over 2,700 in 2019 alone, this means over 28,000 criminals have been allowed to stay in the United States when ICE should have been alerted about their criminal act but were not.

Mr. Speaker, H.R. 8 fails to do anything to prevent crime, which is why I am offering this motion to recommit, so our Nation's laws are enforced. And if you will recall, this MTR passed in 2019 with a strong bipartisan majority.

Mr. Speaker, if we adopt the motion to recommit, we will instruct the Committee on the Judiciary to consider my amendment to H.R. 8 to ensure that the FBI alerts ICE anytime an illegal alien is denied a firearm because of NICS.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert the text of my amendment in the Record immediately prior to the vote on the motion to recommit.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to H.R. 1446 and the last bill we spoke about, H.R. 8.

These bills continue the systematic and coordinated attempt by the Democratic Party to undermine our Second Amendment rights.

I was sent to Washington by my constituents to uphold and defend the Constitution. I will not stand by and allow our rights to be stripped away. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle claim that these bills will save lives. However, nothing in them would have stopped any of the recent mass casualty shootings that have occurred in our country.

Rather than go after criminals who break the law, Democrats want to create a false narrative that will criminalize private gun ownership. Democrats will tell you that these bills close loopholes, but the loophole they believe exists is that law-abiding Americans are even able to own guns in the first place.

The sole objective of this gun control package is to remove constitutional safeguards and put in place criminal penalties that would unjustly go after responsible gun owners.

The Second Amendment is crystal clear, the right to bear arms shall not be infringed. Our Founding Fathers wrote the Constitution to protect us from a tyrannical government, and wrote the Second Amendment to ensure that the rights of Americans to protect themselves was secured.

These outrageous proposals put government between the American people and their constitutional freedoms to protect themselves, protect their families, and protect their communities, and I vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Parry McCluer High School boys indoor track and field team for once again winning the Virginia Class 1 State championship last week.

This victory marks back-to-back State titles for this incredibly talented squad led by Coach Poluikis.

After the Fighting Blues graduated a number of their starters last year, Poluikis wasn't sure if his team could go the distance.

With only five Blues competing at the State tournament he said: ``I knew we could win, but everything had to go perfect.'' And everything did go perfectly.

Trevor Tomlin swept the 1600 and 3200. Brenden Plogger won the 1000, and Zavery Wallace took the shot put.

Kedryn Chandler contributed points with a second-place finish in the 3200 and a third-place finish in the 1600, while Omar Massenberg added points in the shot put.

When all was said and done, Parry McCluer had come out with a two- point lead over runners-up Altavista.

This win was made all the more impressive by the fact that all of the team's 58 points were scored in just four events.

Congratulations to this Fighting Blues team on a remarkable season. You have earned it.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to call up H.R. 682, the Reopen Schools Act, to get our kids out from behind screens and back into the classroom.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Stanley Police Officer Nick Winum, who was tragically killed in the line of duty this weekend.

Originally a successful tomato farmer on the Eastern Shore, Officer Winum followed his calling to serve others and joined the Virginia State Police. After working for more than a decade as a State trooper, Officer Winum transitioned into the Stanley Police Department in 2016, where he served until his passing.

For the last 15 years of his life, he put the well-being of his neighbors above his own, and our community is forever grateful for the sacrifice he made while keeping our streets safe.

Officer Winum is survived by the love of his life, his wife, Cara; his children, Jedediah, Aubrey, Jackson, and Nicki; his granddaughter, Willa; as well as his parents, siblings, and 24 nieces and nephews.

He is remembered as a man of honor and principle who loved the Lord, his family, and his country.

To honor this patriot, those who knew him will continue to carry on his legacy of kindness, compassion, and service to others. I join his law enforcement colleagues in mourning his passing and extend my deepest condolences to his family.

Mr. Speaker, the Constitution vests primary responsibility in State legislatures to set the times, places, and manner of congressional elections, allowing States and localities to determine how best to conduct elections that suit the needs of voters in their communities.

But the bill before us today, and this amendment also, reverses the longstanding history of State control over the electoral process, makes unconstitutional changes to our election laws through a top-down Federal power grab, and places unprecedented limitations on political speech.

Rather than strengthening the election process by working with Republicans to find bipartisan solutions, H.R. 1 was written without any input from Republican Members. Some of the most egregious provisions include mandating that States allow ballot harvesting, mandating same-day registration in all 50 States, abolishing the signature requirements for mail-in ballots, mandating absentee ballots be accepted up to 10 days after election day, mandating that States send ballots in the mail proactively, and, finally, forcing taxpayers to pay politicians to campaign for office.

This bill is nothing more than an attempt by Democrats to cement their fragile and fleeting majorities at taxpayer expense.

The bill would limit the free speech of my voters, use my voters' tax dollars to fund candidates, and violate the Constitution by superseding the Commonwealth's ability to determine their own laws on voter eligibility.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in opposing this misguided and radical legislation.

Madam Speaker, the death of George Floyd last year led to communities across the Nation to come together to speak out against injustices, call for additional accountability and transparency in policing, and advocate for solutions that could move us forward together as a nation.

But instead of working with Republicans to find a bipartisan solution, the Democrat majority has, once again, written a partisan bill to ram through the House with no committee markup,

no open amendments, and no meaningful bipartisan collaboration. That is not what the American people sent us here to do.

This legislation will impede the ability of good police officers to do their jobs effectively and uphold the rule of law. Our dedicated police officers who serve our communities work tirelessly to ensure that lawlessness does not prevail in our streets and neighborhoods.

The effect of this bill on law enforcement is to levy unfunded mandates on local governments, force law enforcement to leave the profession, and, yes, defund the police.

Madam Speaker, as you said, defund the police is not a slogan, but a policy demand.

Madam Speaker, I will vote ``no'' on this, and I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Madam Speaker, we all want to beat this virus, but you can't beat a COVID pandemic with 91 percent pork barrel spending in the bill. Only 9 percent of the funding in this bill is going to COVID programs.

$1,400 checks at what cost? $13,000 per taxpayer?

If we have any additional relief we need to pass for addressing COVID, it must be targeted, temporary, and tied to the pandemic.

What is not targeted?

$350 billion in State and local bailouts that reward States that continue to shut down their economies.

What is not temporary?

A $1.5 million bridge to Canada or $112 million for an underground subway to Silicon Valley.

What is not tied to COVID?

$86 billion to bail out the multiemployer pension plans that were poorly managed in Democrat-run States before the pandemic even started, $50 million in taxpayer dollars for abortion on demand.

This liberal wish list masquerading as COVID relief will cripple our economy, harm our ability to reopen our Nation, and burden our children and grandchildren with unsustainable levels of debt.

Madam Speaker, I strongly oppose this spending package, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Luray Bulldogs Girls Basketball Team who won the Virginia Class 2 State championship this weekend.

After falling just short to Gate City in last year's state title game, the Lady Bulldogs were ready to enact their revenge in Saturday's rematch.

It was a nail-biter of a game as the two teams traded leads heading into the fourth quarter. And with just a minute and 40 seconds remaining, the game was tied at 54 apiece.

Following back-to-back steals and uncontested layups by senior, Brynlee Burrill, the Lady Bulldogs pulled ahead by four and maintained their lead. When all was said and done, Luray had avenged their previous loss to Gate City with a 61-56 victory. This win capped off a perfect 13-0 season and was the first State title in the program's history.

The team has had a remarkable 2 years, with an overall record of 42- 2; and after battling obstacles all season, the win shows true toughness, determination, and resiliency.

Congratulations to Coach Lucas and the entire Lady Bulldogs squad on this incredible achievement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Parry McCluer High School boys' basketball team that won the Virginia Class 1 State championship this weekend.

After trailing by 8 in the first quarter to Altavista, the Fighting Blues lived up to their name and battled back--leading by 2 at halftime. In the locker room, Coach Cartolaro told his team to go out and attack in the third quarter. And attack they did. Quickly outscoring 10-2, the Blues opened up their lead and never looked back. When the final buzzer sounded, Parry McCluer had pulled off a 17-point victory, securing the school's best-ever boys' basketball championship and closing the season with an impressive 12-1 record.

I applaud Coach Cartolaro and the entire team for their fortitude and perseverance these past few months. They overcame every obstacle presented to them and brought home the trophy to Buena Vista.

Congratulations to the Blues. This achievement is well-deserved and their community is proud of their hard work.