Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Major Mario Flores, U.S. Army, for his outstanding work on behalf of the Department of Defense. Major Flores served as a Department of Defense legislative fellow in the U.S. Senate, and later as a congressional liaison for the Army Reserve. Mario commissioned in the United States Army in 2011 through the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program at DePaul University, Chicago, Illinois where he received a B.S. in Business and later an M.S. in Legislative Affairs from George Washingtdn University.

Through various assignments with 3rd Special Forces Group, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Targeting Directorate, and Special Operations Command, Mario has made direct contributions to the U.S. National Security Strategy and National Defense Strategy. Mario specializes in strategic and tactical targeting operations and is a graduate of the Joint Targeting School, the Joint Special Operations University's Special Operations Intelligence Course, and the Special Forces Combat Course--Support, and the Basic Airborne Course.

Mario is also a committed advocate for our Nation's veterans. In 2020, Mario was appointed by then-Virginia Governor Northam to serve a four-year appointment on the Virginia State Board on Veterans Services. In this role, he is responsible for advising the Virginia Department of Veterans Services on relevant policies in support of Virginia's veterans.

In addition to his military service, Mario's civilian background includes extensive government and private sector experience including being a Public Policy Congressional Fellow for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Fellowship Program, having various roles at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and joining General Dynamics Information Technology. Following his completion of his next level of military education in early 2025, he will be returning to the civilian workforce while also continuing his service in the U.S. Army Reserve.

Mario has been instrumental as an Army Reserve congressional liaison, especially working with my office to support Fort Knox. I thank Mario for his dedicated service, for his professionalism, and for his passionate service to our country and to our community. I also want to thank his wife, Jazmine, and I wish them both the best in their future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 670) to amend title IV of the Public Health Service Act to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to establish a clearinghouse on intellectual disabilities, 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 the bill.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 670, the Think Differently Database Act led by Representative Marcus Molinaro.

This legislation will make it easier for individuals with disabilities to understand what Medicaid covered services are available to them.

The Medicaid program provides health coverage to nearly 80 million people, and in 2021, an estimated 9.5 million people were enrolled in Medicaid on the basis of their disability.

As a jointly funded Federal-State program, Medicaid program eligibility and coverage can differ significantly from State to State. One caregiving report found that online information about caregiving services can be hard to find, confusing, inconsistent, and not consumer-oriented.

This bipartisan bill would direct HHS to establish a website that is designed to help people with disabilities determine their Medicaid eligibility, making it easier for them to get to the care they need.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Molinaro for his tireless work as a champion for people with disabilities. I encourage my colleagues to support this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from New York (Mr. Molinaro), my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my good friend's leadership when he said everybody of every ability. He is here and he has served everybody in the 118th Congress. He is going to be missed and his leadership is going to be missed and we appreciate him very much.

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

Mr. Speaker, I, again, thank my good friend from the Hudson Valley, my Rockbound Highland home, who, unfortunately, didn't beat Navy this weekend. He is from a great area of our country, a beautiful place, and has well represented the Hudson Valley. I look forward to working together again at some point in some place.

Mr. Speaker, it is a great bill. I encourage a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (S. 1351) to study and prevent child abuse in youth residential programs, and for other purposes.

I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1351, the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act.

In 2022, there were approximately 34,000 children and adolescents placed in these youth residential treatment programs. These programs play a pivotal role in helping young people navigate mental health and behavioral health challenges. Unfortunately, there have been many instances of youth being mistreated in certain residential treatment programs. This is unacceptable.

S. 1351 will require the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study examining the state of youth residential programs. It also requires recommendations on how to improve oversight, disseminate education and training resources, and enhance interagency coordination, among others.

Every residential treatment program should be a secure place for children to

heal. Parents and guardians deserve transparency.

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

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Carter), my good friend.

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

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

Mr. Speaker, I want to close by saying that there has been quite a bit of hard work put into this bill and quite a bit of persistence. Without referring to anybody in the gallery, I know there are people here who have worked really, really hard to get to where we are now.

Mr. Speaker, I support this bill, and I encourage all of my colleagues to vote ``yes.'' I yield back the balance of my time.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend for yielding. I appreciate that.

Mr. Speaker, I am here to honor one of my dear friends. When I first got on the Energy and Commerce Committee, the battle that was going on in that committee was over healthcare policy, and Dr. Burgess knew it frontward and backward.

As a matter of fact, I always liked looking at his copy of the Affordable Care Act. I think it was tabbed, and he even diagrammed sentences, I believe, in that to make sure he understood it and could explain it and tried to figure out how to fix it. He was always going that direction.

I was on the committee when he was chair of the subcommittee, and I became his vice chair. That is when he became more than a friend; he became a mentor. He was somebody that I just admired the way that he studied, he learned. He was an expert on whatever subcommittee you were on, particularly healthcare.

He mentored me. He set a standard that I tried to live by when I had the chance to become the subcommittee chair, now chairing the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is a privilege.

Congress truly is a snapshot of America. We come from all walks of life. We bring different perspectives. Chairman Burgess being an OB/ GYN, I will never forget the series of hearings we had on maternal health. If you controlled the studies for all the things you think was causing a problem in maternal health, we still were having issues with maternal health and the life expectancy of the mother.

We had detailed hearings because he brought his experiences, his care, and said this is a problem that should not exist in this country. One of the hearings I remember most is when we had Parkland Hospital from Dallas and other hospitals from New York talk about how we take care of the mothers of our children after they give birth and policies came out of that.

I think it is a legacy you will have about tying your career and your political drive, but, most important of all, you love Texas and you love this country, and that is infectious.

I appreciate your chairmanship in the Rules Committee and your mentorship of me.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Michelle Hines on her retirement from 33 years of working in community service with the Barren River Area Development District (BRADD).

A Logan County native, Michelle was born, raised, and resides in Auburn, Kentucky. After graduating from Logan County High School and Western Kentucky University, Michelle's first job out of college was with the Barren River Area Development District. In her tenure, which spans over three decades, Michelle has been a faithful servant to her community, advocating and supporting citizens throughout the region she oversees. She has been part of many critical initiatives including supporting the 2021 Tornado Relief fund, countless food drives, and BRADD's Veterans Directed Care Services expansion.

Mrs. Hines can best be described by all who know her as devoted, humble, and ready to act. Her devotion throughout her career has inspired many people and enriched the lives of countless constituents. I want to thank Michelle for her work that has put the needs of others first and give recognition to her tenured career as she enjoys retirement spending more time with her husband, Kevin, and daughter, Rachel.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my friend and dear colleague, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for her service to our country and the committee, everything that she did with the committee, and the way it affected our Conference, this Congress, and this country.

First and foremost, I have been honored to serve with Cathy, our chair for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, for more than 10 years, the last 4 years as our leader. What an outstanding job she has done. Under her leadership, we have worked together on healthcare policy. She put her faith in me to make me the subcommittee chair for the Health Subcommittee.

By doing that, I was able to gain expertise. I am a manufacturing guy by background, and I really dug in and learned healthcare and learned other parts of the committee. As I think my good friend from Tennessee just said, I was honored by the selection to follow her in her wonderful footsteps. I have big shoes to fill, and I look forward to having the opportunity to do so.

Under her leadership, we took on some difficult things. She has fought to force the sale of TikTok, something that is really hurting all our youth and a lot of people in our country, in a way that the court has said works. She took a while to do it, but she wanted to make sure it was right. She wanted to ensure that people have access to TikTok, people can use TikTok. She did not ban TikTok. All she said was a foreign adversary cannot own this type of business in our country.

Thank you for your leadership and for what you do, but more importantly, thanks for your friendship.

When my friend from Tennessee talks about prayerful leadership, that is absolutely the case. When the chair says, I am praying for you, you know that she is, and it is really heartfelt.

Not only do I get the opportunity to follow in your great, great path, but I also get to continue to follow you and your young and beautiful family.

What I always say, what happens in this House affects people in their homes. Congress is a snapshot of America, and our chair is a fantastic wife and mother. The experiences in her home I know she brings here, and it affects families across this country because of her leadership.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my good friend, Debbie Lesko, and her service to our country.

What a great Member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. I have to say I know that people should be excited that she is going to come back home and serve.

We are really disappointed that you are leaving because you are so good at what you do. As many speakers have said tonight, you are a fighter. You are absolutely conservative, and you are a fighter. You always bring people along with you. You can track people because you want to bring them into the fold and not try to fight everybody outside of the tent.

It has just been a pleasure working with you and your grasp of issues and the way you work before big hearings. You know Debbie is going to be prepared. You know Debbie is going to be there and is going to make things happen. It has just been a great privilege.

I remember when you said that you were running for county supervisor in Maricopa County, I first thought is--because I used to serve in the state legislature, and every legislative body in the country is so vital and so important--I couldn't help but think I first thought, you are going to leave the United States House of Representatives and serve in county government. It just shows that it is not a title to you. It is how you can best serve.

It just means a lot. I had friends of mine and others who say: Do you think I should run for this or the other? I'd say: You are doing a great job where you are. Every level of government is important.

I remember when Janice Hahn--I don't know if you remember when she was here--she left to go be on the L.A. Board of Supervisors. I said: You are leaving to go back to run for the county board? And she said that it is bigger than a congressional district. Yours probably is, as well, or close to it.

It is a great privilege to be here to know that I am with someone who is about service, not about her own title.

We are going to miss you. I am going to say that first and foremost, but we are also excited for you. We are excited for the people of Maricopa County because they are getting one heck of a fighter. They are getting one heck of a believer.

They are getting somebody that is going to give all their heart and soul. We are going to miss you here, but they are going to love you there, as they already do, but they are going to love having you home. God bless you. You are a dear friend.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and remember the life of John Edward Allgeier who passed away on October 24, 2024.

Born on October 17, 1930 in Louisville, Kentucky, John graduated from Fern Creek High School in 1948 and served in the United States Army before he received a Bachelor of Science in Ornamental Horticulture from the University of Kentucky in 1958. Upon graduating, John began his long career working at Olin Chemical Plant before retiring after 33 years of service.

A devout Christian, John was a dedicated member of St. John the Apostle Church and volunteered at many church picnics and was the pitcher for the church softball team. John was also an active member of his community, volunteering at the MARC Anchor House and at Churchill Downs. He enjoyed spending time fishing, hunting, and participating in community sporting events such as the local bowling league.

A loving father, grandfather, and husband of 65 years, John is survived by his wife Verna, sons Gary and Charlie, daughters Linette and Gwen, and several grandchildren. My thoughts and prayers are with is family during this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Dr. Abraham Williams. I am proud to join the Bowling Green community in celebrating his retirement as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Bowling Green.

Dr. Williams began his career as Executive Director of the Housing Authority of Bowling Green in September of 1995. Since then, he has been an inspiration to the community working to make everyone around him better. Aside from overseeing 600 Units of public housing, 36 Section 202 units, and 20 elderly housing units, Dr. Williams served on the Kentucky Housing Board of Directors and numerous other local boards dedicated to community service. Dr. Williams' career was devoted to empowering people to be self-sufficient and creating six non-profits under the Housing Authority and seeing great success with eighty percent of the Reach Higher's program graduates achieving full-time employment. For his dedication, he and the Bowling Green Housing Authority have been the recipient of many honors including HUD's Housing Authority of the Year and NAHRO's National Award of Excellence. In 2022, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Public Service from Western Kentucky University.

A proud husband, father, and grandfather, Dr. Abraham Williams is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Mildred, and his family. I thank him for his career of service and dedication to the people of Bowling Green.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my good friend from Iowa for yielding. I also appreciate her leadership on this issue. So many of the bills we are debating and talking about tonight under her leadership are complementing and bringing in her medical expertise to the Energy and Commerce Committee, particularly the Health Subcommittee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight in support of my bill, H.R. 7218, the Building Our Largest Dementia, or BOLD, Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act of 2024.

Nearly 7 million Americans aged 65 and older are currently living with Alzheimer's. I know my good friend from Iowa said her mother has dementia. I just lost my mother-in-law almost a year ago to Alzheimer's.

By 2050, this number is projected to rise to 12.7 million. This means that over 10 percent of people over the age of 65 have Alzheimer's. Sadly, one in

three seniors dies with Alzheimer's or another dementia.

The cost of this disease is tremendous, particularly in the human costs of what it does to families, what it does to the person suffering with Alzheimer's, the families' emotions, the exhaustion of dealing with this very emotional and difficult disease.

It is also tremendously costly, with long-term healthcare costs projected to reach $360 billion in 2024 and nearly $1 trillion in 2050, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

The BOLD Infrastructure for Alzheimer's Reauthorization Act would enable continued research into Alzheimer's disease, invest in caregiver support services, including more hands-on educational resources for those caregiving for their loved ones, and help support local efforts to detect and diagnose Alzheimer's disease sooner, especially for those in rural and medically underserved communities.

The more we know about this disease, the sooner we will be able to appropriately treat it, giving patients more precious time with their loved ones and easing the significant caregiver burdens associated with Alzheimer's and related dementias.

I look forward to continued progress in ushering in a new era of innovation. I appreciate the bipartisan action that the Energy and Commerce Committee has taken on this bill, and I appreciate everybody working together.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to continue to show bipartisan action by supporting the underlying bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the retirement of Lieutenant General Steven Basham after thirty-six years of service in the United States Air Force. A native of Bowling Green, General Basham received his commission in 1989 through the ROTC program at Western Kentucky University and went on to fly over 3,400 hours as a bomber pilot in the B-1, B-2, and B-52 planes. Lt. Gen Basham then proudly served as the Legislative Director for the Department of the Air Force as a two-star general. His distinguished record of service and accomplishments are a result of his selfless and supportive family, so I thank his wife Angie and his daughters Lauren and Sarah for their sacrifice and support. Sarah even served as an intern in my office and possessed the same determination and work ethic as her proud father. Lt. Gen. Basham will complete his military career as the Deputy Commander for the United States European Command which oversees more than 64,000 military personnel and is responsible for U.S. defense operations and relations with NATO and 50 countries.

His career of service brings great pride to every Kentuckian, and I wish him and his family the best during his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kim Huston on her retirement from nearly 30 years of working in local economic development in Nelson County.

As President of the Nelson County Economic Development Agency and Bardstown Industrial Development Corporation, Kim has been a tireless advocate for Nelson County and ensuring their economic success. During her time in economic development she has overseen more than $1,500,000,000 in investments in her area and made sure Nelson County had a seat at the table in a global economy by building relationships with business leaders worldwide.

Kim has been a champion for making Nelson County a global tourist destination. Alongside keeping Bardstown the Bourbon Capital of the World, she oversaw the city being named the most Beautiful Small Town in America by USA Today and Rand McNally in 2012. Her passion for Nelson County is felt by everyone who has met her and she captured that passion by proudly authoring three books about her hometown.

I want to thank Kim for her work in Nelson County and wish her a happy retirement as she spends more time with her family.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Elaina Murphy for her service to Kentucky's Second District. A Nicholasville, Kentucky native, Elaina obtained her Bachelors Degree from Centre College in 2015 and her Masters Degree from George Washington University in 2017.

Nearly a decade ago, I welcomed Elaina to my team as a summer intern in July 2015 before she transitioned to become my Staff Assistant until December 2015. In August 2016, I welcomed her back to my office as my Legislative Correspondent. She has since advanced to roles as Legislative Assistant, Senior Legislative Assistant, and most recently Senior Policy Advisor. Elaina has worked tirelessly in nearly every legislative area in my office with particular interests in foreign affairs, energy, and telecommunications. She has been essential to many projects in my office, including spearheading the Spectrum Caucus, and has been a passionate advocate for America's gold standard military installation, Fort Knox.

I want to thank Elaina for her work serving her home state and Kentucky's Second District as a constant, reliable member of my team. I wish her the best as she excels in this next chapter of her career on Capitol Hill expanding her work in foreign affairs as she goes to work for the House Intelligence Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1023.

Mr. Speaker, this legislation cuts President Biden's $27 billion green new deal slush fund.

At a hearing, I had asked an administration witness if any of this money could go indirectly to China. He could not definitively say no.

This bill also repeals EPA's proposed natural gas tax which would increase costs for Americans, kill jobs across the country, and undermine our national security.

Mr. Speaker, if you think those are just words, then I encourage my friends across the aisle to look at Europe and see what is going on there today. All of those have come true.

I am committed to ensuring Kentuckians have access to affordable and reliable American-made energy and keeping taxpayer dollars out of the hands of the Communist Party of China.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend from Alabama for his leadership on this issue. I thank my friend from Washington, the chair, for yielding, and I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I want to emphasize this bill does not ban TikTok. It simply would require the Chinese Communist Party-affiliated ByteDance to sell TikTok and divest their interest.

I was asked: Does this affect TikTok?

No. It is any foreign adversary or any app that is owned, controlled, or unduly influenced by any foreign adversary.

We must protect our national security and help keep America's private data out of the hands of our foreign adversaries.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support of this bill.