Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague from Colorado, Doug Lamborn, for yielding to me.

As we celebrate the 77th annual National Bible Week, I want to remind you that it falls on the same week as Thanksgiving, a very appropriate time for a book that I am very, very thankful for, a book that men like William Tyndale died for. He was burned at the stake simply for translating the Bible into English.

I come to the floor today to speak on what the Bible means to me.

Simply put, the Bible means everything to me. It has shaped the way that I live my life. It has helped me serve the people of the 36th District of Texas through two terms.

It has not always been an easy job, but through the trials and hard days, I find comfort in the words from some of my favorite Scriptures. The same is true on the good days. I rejoice that the Lord has chosen me to serve in such a time as this.

Our country was founded on great principles, many of which are Scriptural. Our Founders wanted this country to have a strong Judeo- Christian faith. We see this truth throughout our Constitution and through the writings of the time: ``We hold these truths to be self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,'' one of the most profound phrases in our Declaration of Independence that acknowledged God's role in our founding.

America was founded on our covenant with our Lord, and that covenant is spelled out in the only written record that we have of these great truths, and that is the Bible.

It saddens me to see our country moving away from these great principles who many consider passe. It is a roadmap for our lives if we would look. These same principles have allowed our country to endure war, division, and depression.

I worry about the future of my 14 beautiful grandchildren if we as a nation do not return to the Bible as it continues to weather the test of time. It is the only one thing that we as Christians have that is divinely inspired, perfect in every way, immutable, never changing, and never will.

Its principles and teachings can be applied to every season, every year, and throughout every stage of our lives. It also gives us a picture of the perfect love and the perfect sacrifice of our Savior.

John 3:16 tells us: ``God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.''

We all fall short in sin. None are perfect, but no matter how egregious the sin, through Jesus, we are all forgiven.

There are no words to express everything that the Bible has done for my life. From my youth to my marriage, to my time raising my family in east Texas, my career as a dentist and my time here as a Congressman, I have relied on the God-inspired words in both the Old and New Testament to guide me and teach me, and it has never let me down.

I will leave you with an encouraging verse from Job in the Old Testament, that our souls are indeed eternal:

For I know that my Redeemer lives,

And He shall stand at last on the Earth;

And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,

Whom I shall see for myself,

And my eyes shall behold, and not another.

How my heart yearns within me.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 418.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank a great man for his military service, William D. ``Bill'' Antone. Mr. Antone is a one hundred year old World War II veteran of the United States Army.

Bill Antone was born on August 23, 1918, in Clarksdale, Mississippi, two and a half months before the end of World War I. Bill is the last remaining of his four siblings. Bill moved to Houston in 1929 where he attended Harris Elementary on Broadway at Manchester, Deedee Junior High School, and Sam Houston High School. During the depression in 1932, the family moved to Bryan, Texas where Bill graduated in May, 1935. Bill married Ammye Boggs on April 29, 1939. On October 29, 1937, Bill applied and was hired by Shell Refinery in Deer Park.

In April 1944 Mr. Antone was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Infantry. He was stationed at Fort Sam Houston and Camp Fannin in Tyler, Texas and was assigned as company clerk of Company A 59, 12th Regiment. Eventually, the Army sent Bill to Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. After returning to Camp Fannin, the war ended and Camp Fannin was shut down. Bill was transferred to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas where he was discharged from the Army in May 1946.

Following his discharge from the Army in May 1946, Mr. Antone returned to Shell Deer Park where he worked for over thirty-eight years. Bill and Ammye are parents to three children, five grandchildren, and many great grandchildren. Ammye went to be with the Lord on September 10, 2004. Bill was later blessed with eleven years of marriage to Jocelyn M. Williams-Antone who passed in 2017.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Antone for his selfless military service to this great nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Pasadena Livestock Show and Rodeo Veteran's Committee in celebration of Military Appreciation Night.

The Pasadena Livestock show and rodeo, located in Pasadena, Texas has been entertaining the citizens of Pasadena and surrounding cities since 1949 with Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) rodeo action; livestock and home economics competitions; and concerts. One of the main goals of the Rodeo is awarding scholarships to students from Pasadena, Deer Park, La Porte, and Clear Creek school districts.

Since its inception in 2012, the Veteran's Committee has continually recognized local veterans and provided veterans and their families an opportunity to become more involved in the Rodeo. Thanks to the work of the Veteran's Committee, veterans are picked up from the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston and provided a police escort to the rodeo grounds. At the rodeo veterans receive: a barbeque dinner, special tour of the agricultural barn, recognition during the rodeo performance, and VIP seating. Active Duty military personnel are also recognized on Military Appreciation Night.

In 2014, the Rodeo and Veteran's Committee started a new tradition when Army recruits received their Oath of Enlistment on the arena floor in front of the rodeo audience. This event has grown into a joint branch swearing in ceremony. Members of the Veteran's Committee and Active Duty military personnel join the recruits on the floor establishing a past, present, and future military presence during the ceremony.

Mr. Speaker, as a former guardsman and Air Force officer, and as the father of a highly-decorated Navy SEAL, it is a tremendous honor and privilege to be asked to administer the Oath of Enlistment to these young men and women on Saturday, September 29th.

This year the Rodeo is honoring heroes who were declared Missing in Action (M.I.A.). America must never forget these service members and their families.

May God richly bless our Nation's veterans for their sacrifice. May He continue to protect those who are serving and those who will be serving. My prayers are also with the families of those who lost love ones and those who are Missing in Action.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember John George Zarcaro who passed away on August 18, 2018 at the age of 85 from a rare and aggressive type of kidney cancer.

The son of two Italian immigrants, John was born May 6, 1933, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. He graduated high school from LaSalle Military Academy in Long Island, New York. Much to his mother's chagrin, he went on to graduate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with a degree in Aeronautical Engineering.

After college, John joined the United States Navy and became a pilot. He flew several planes, but his favorite was the A-4 Skyhawk. John often told the story of flying an S2F Tracker over the Atlantic during a storm when he bypassed landing on a Navy carrier thirteen times because of the ferocious pitch of the sea in darkness. When Zarcaro finally landed the plane on the carrier, the crew celebrated this act (a ship record) by baking him a cake. The story illustrates much about this remarkable man: grace under pressure, determination and skill, and humility.

John continued to serve the country when he joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) during Project Mercury. In 1984, he started his own business, Geo-Control Systems, with the help of friends and investors. There, Zarcaro continued his service to the space program. He loved his military and civil service careers and treasured his time working with the immensely talented men and women of this nation's space program.

John or ``Z'', as many of his friends knew him, spent a lifetime cultivating happiness, adventure, and joy. He met the love of his life, Rose Veronica Gonzalez, in Kingsville, Texas, and they married October 4, 1957. Rose and John celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary and a lifetime of love last year with their family.

John leaves behind a family that will miss him greatly: his loving wife Rose; son John Joseph, daughter-in-law Sandy, and grandchildren John Anthony, Ariana, Sophie, and Nicholas; son Michael, daughter-in- law Sarah, and grandchildren Michael and Emily; daughter Rosanne and partner Chuck, and son Anthony.

Mr. Speaker, as chairman of the House Subcommittee on Space, it is my honor to remember the life of space pioneer, John George Zarcaro.

Mr. Speaker, I represent a working coastal community. Our communities in Texas District 36 were hit very, very hard by Hurricane Harvey, and our Nation's energy security relies on those communities.

Coastal energy and petrochemical refining facilities like the 150 that I represent cannot function without a steady and reliable workforce, and that workforce cannot exist without a stable housing market.

I am hopeful that my House colleagues will have the wisdom to see the necessity of passing S. 1182, so that we can maintain this national security issue.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act.

Not only does this bill reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which is long overdue, but it also updates the language of the act to put more power in the hands of local councils to manage their fisheries effectively. One-size-fits-all approaches rarely work, so I am proud to cosponsor this bill which allows local councils to tailor management plans to the needs of their regions.

Further, this bill would lift burdens of outdated, arbitrary scientific practices and data which limit the American people's access to affordable domestically caught fish. The seafood industry is economically booming and it is past time that we lift these restricting regulations and allow a win for not only the recreational fishermen, which I have been a lifelong proponent of and a participant, but also of our commercial fishermen, the American people will be a winner as well, so I urge a vote for this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my gratitude to a great woman for her military service, Mrs. Anna ``Andy'' Louise Richards Koenning. Andy is a 96-year-old Lieutenant Junior Grade veteran of World War II. During her service in the United States Navy, from 1945 to 1946, her efforts were instrumental in ensuring the safety of our nation's aircraft.

Andy was born in Ogden, Kansas in 1922. One of 8 siblings, she quickly learned the values of hard work and persistence. She spent time working for Beech Aircraft before joining the United States Navy in 1945 after being persuaded to pursue the opportunity by a close friend.

During her year of service, Andy traveled by train from Kansas to New York for basic training. She served by assisting other female cadets through their daily routine. Following this, she returned by train to Corpus Christi, Texas, where she spent time manufacturing tools and airline materials. It was here where she worked alongside a predominantly male team that gave her the nickname ``Andy'', as well as where she met her husband, Eddie Lee Koenning. She was honorably discharged in 1946.

Andy currently resides in Deer Park, Texas, and thoroughly enjoys fishing and watching the Houston Astros. She and her husband have five daughters: Peggy Jones, Bobbie Koenning, Patty Mayes, Debbie Bragg, and Kathy Preston.

I thank Mrs. Koenning for her selfless military service to this great nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is an honor and it is a privilege to work with Representative Mo Brooks on the Space Subcommittee advancing our Nation's priorities and doing our part to ensure strong leadership in America's space program.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman for this important bill. He is a true champion of Marshall Space Flight Center, the center's employees, and the important work they do every day to keep America first in space.

The excitement and enthusiasm about our Government and private space activities have been building toward a fever pitch. The fine scientists, engineers, and technicians at Marshall Space Flight Center have for more than half a century led the world in the development of rocket propulsion.

This bill recognizes the impressive accomplishments of Marshall as well as the vital, ongoing work they continue to do to ensure continued American leadership in space.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to have worked on and cosponsored this legislation with my colleague, Mr. Brooks. As our future in space looks bolder and brighter, I am confident that the Marshall Space Flight Center will continue to be a reliable, powerful, and dependable team player moving this Nation forward.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague, the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Bill Posey, for his tireless efforts in drafting the Commercial Space Support Vehicle Act and his leadership in the Space Subcommittee in moving this bill to the House floor today. He has always been and continues to be one of the leading champions in Congress for American leadership in space. I am pleased to be a cosponsor of this bill.

Simply said, this bill will create jobs and economic growth in the Nation's commercial spaceports, and it will streamline licensing requirements so that our innovators in the hybrid launch vehicle market can train future space flight crews and participants. These innovators are at the forefront of providing aerial platforms for very important microgravity research.

GAO recommended in its report that the FAA examine the FAA's current regulatory framework for space support vehicles and suggest legislative or regulatory changes as applicable. I believe H.R. 5346 provides the appropriate regulatory approach by authorizing the Secretary of Transportation to develop the regulations by March 1, 2019, which will allow licensed space support flights.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Liberty Lady Panther Softball Team for winning the 2018 Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) 4A High School Softball State Championship. This is the first championship for girl's athletics at Liberty High School.

The Lady Panthers amassed a record of 31-14 during their historic season with playoff wins against: Houston Yates, Bridge City, Hudson, Robinson, Lorena, and Beeville A.C. Jones high schools. On June 2, 2018, the Lady Panthers defeated the Vernon Lady Lions by a score of 3- 1 at the University of Texas' McCombs Field. Coaching, preparation, calm under pressure, and teamwork propelled the Lady Panthers to victory.

Four players were named to the All-Tournament Team: Jaylen Prichard, Baylee Chandler, Mikaelah Burkland, and Abby Phillips. Kaci West was named the Tournament's Most Valuable Player. Jaylen Prichard, Baylee Chandler, and Kaci West were also named to the All-State Team. These young ladies have shown incredible persistence, hard work, passion and commitment to accomplish this feat. I applaud each and every one of them.

I would like to personally recognize each student and their coaches. Players: Jo McGinnis, Jaylen Prichard, Karli Beam, Baylee Chandler, Sarah Lopez, Kara Cannon, Harley Davis, Abby Phillips, Kaci West, Mikaelah Burkland, Bailey Webb, Kennedy Evans, Kamryn Turner, Abbie Knepper, and Molly Barnette. Head Coach: Karen Slack. Assistant Coaches: Joe Slack and Katherine McAdams. Manager: Claire Bond. Trainer: Tish Hooper. Athletic Director: Chad Taylor. Principal: Dr. Chad Barrett. Superintendent: Dr. Cody Abshier.

I wish each one of them continued success on and off the softball field. Go Lady Panthers.

Mr. Speaker, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yea'' on rollcall No. 261.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Alabama- Coushatta Tribe of Texas on the occasion of its 50th Annual Powwow. The Alabama-Coushatta are a federally recognized tribe of the Alabama and Koasati people in Polk County, Texas between Livingston and Woodville.

The Alabama-Coushatta nation have called the Big Thicket of East Texas home since the mid-1700's and even pre-date the State of Texas by more than 70 years. The Tribe established a meaningful relationship and friendship with General Sam Houston in the 1800's.

The annual Powwow is a signature celebration for the Alabama- Coushatta. Neighboring tribes throughout the United States and Canada join together to participate in traditional and contemporary Native American dances. This celebration has become a tradition for friends and neighbors to join with the Alabama-Coushatta to celebrate their culture and Native American history.

Mr. Speaker, it is my distinct honor to recognize the history, culture, and tradition of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas as they celebrate their 50th Annual Powwow. May God continue to bless the people of the Alabama-Coushatta nation.

Madam Chairwoman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chairwoman, I thank the chairman of the committee. As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee who has the

great privilege to represent four Texas ports in my district in Texas, it is truly an honor to offer this amendment today on their behalf.

Right now, the Corps of Engineers is in the midst of a study of the Houston Ship Channel to evaluate potential improvements. This study will examine the process for widening the channel and extending the 45- foot depth further inland. This is a necessary and well-intentioned study for an extremely worthy project.

However, everyone involved in producing it is discovering that the Corps processes involved are outdated and inefficient. These processes are unable to adequately evaluate the national benefits of the improvements being studied or the implications of major operational changes in the future.

As a result, unless reforms are made, this Corps study and others like it will not recognize the benefits of widening a waterway like the Houston Ship Channel in certain areas; areas that can lead to a restriction of one-way traffic in the future, as vessels become larger and larger over time.

The Houston Ship Channel is the busiest waterway in the Nation. It supports the top exporting region and the largest petrochemical manufacturing center in the United States. Ensuring an efficient waterway now and into the future is critical for the region, for the State of Texas, and for the Nation.

This amendment takes a first step in righting this process by having this Congress to make clear to the Army Corps of Engineers the importance and the benefits of projects to improve two-way traffic safety in high-volume areas in deep draft navigation channels.

And while I certainly want to go further and eventually get these formulas fixed into the law, I understand that this needs to be an incremental process.

I want to thank Chairmen Shuster and Graves, and Ranking Members DeFazio and Napolitano, and their staffs, for working with us to get this process underway with this very commonsense amendment.

Madam Chairwoman, I urge adoption of my amendment and the underlying bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Chair, I also rise in strong support of amendment No. 8, by the gentlewoman from Connecticut (Ms. Esty).

I am very proud to be the lead Republican cosponsor. The Texas Gulf Coast is not just the export capital of the United States and energy capital of the world, it is a national treasure lined with vibrant communities, fisheries, key military assets, and outdoor recreation that millions call home.

But as we saw with the 1900 Galveston hurricane; Hurricane Rita in 2005; Hurricane Ike in 2008; and Hurricane Harvey just last year, all of those great assets that I just spoke of are at risk of finding themselves literally in the eye of the very next storm.

That is why leaders in my State have come together to produce this, the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan, a roadmap for the local, State, and Federal officials to study and construct projects to keep our coastal communities safe, restore and preserve our beaches and wetlands, and provide energy security for all Americans.

A summary of the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan by the Texas General Land Office can be found at: http://www.glo.texas.gov/coastal- grants/projects/texas-coastal-resiliency-master-plan.html.

Madam Chair, this amendment will require the National Academy of Sciences to study and report on whether the Army Corps should measure the cumulative benefit of a holistic plan like the Texas Coastal Resiliency Master Plan when determining benefit-to-cost ratios. I am confident that the answer will be yes. This study is an important step to get us there.

Madam Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, imagine if someone came up and introduced himself to you and said: ``Hi, I am Nick. I am a school shooter.'' According to those who knew him, Nikolas Cruz, the deranged Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School murderer, was known to do just that.

He attacked a neighbor's car. He shot their animals. He was known to vandalize and steal property. He made alarming social media posts and was expelled from school. There were multiple reports to local police and the FBI, and many other egregious red flags waving long before 17 innocent lives were taken and another 17 wounded on February 14, 2018. In the 7 years leading up to the shooting, police visited Cruz' home 39 times--incredibly.

Mr. Speaker, the Parkland shooting should have never happened. Every warning sign was there. They were not missed. Officials just failed to connect the dots.

I wish that I could say that this failure is unique to Parkland, but, sadly, it is not. Nearly 20 years ago, high school junior Brooks Brown came across a website where a fellow classmate threatened to kill him and his family. Brown's parents alerted the local police, who were already aware of concerning behaviors from that website's author and another involved student.

Within only a few months, these same students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, would murder 13 and wound 24 Columbine High School students in what has been called the first modern mass shooting. Again, the red flags were detected, but the appropriate steps were not taken.

This is not a new phenomenon. In 1966, Charles Whitman sought help from a psychiatrist at the University of Texas for ``overwhelming periods of hostility,'' including wanting to, ``go up in the tower . . . and start shooting people.'' Six months later, he would carry out his sick fantasy exactly as he described: 16 dead and 31 wounded.

Mr. Speaker, unfortunately, this list goes on and on: the Pulse nightclub, the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, the Boston Marathon, the Washington Navy Yard, the attack on Congresswoman Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Sandy Hook Elementary School, the Aurora theater, Virginia Tech, the Norwegian summer camp, West Nickel Mines Amish school, the Charleston church massacre, the attack on Republican Members of Congress at baseball practice, and even the YouTube and Tennessee Waffle House shooting just a few weeks ago.

Mr. Speaker, all of these horrifying events on this nonexhaustive list have something in common: every single one of these attacks was carried out after someone close to the killer observed and reported concerning behavior to the authorities.

The good news is there is something that we can do to fix this. These killers were under law enforcement's watch, but a proactive threat management structure, in large part, does not exist in the culture and fabric of contemporary law enforcement today.

For starters, our local law enforcement is simply undertrained, understaffed, underequipped, and have no integrated system in place to effectively identify and address these types of threats. The lack of information-sharing capabilities between the local, State, and Federal law enforcement, school officials, mental health professionals, social services, and other community-based organizations prevent these key players from implementing an effective intervention strategy directed at those who are on the pathway to violence.

For decades, there has been an effective system in place, pioneered by the Secret Service, that has successfully worked to protect our Presidents and other public figures. I believe that it is time to take a page out of the Secret Service's playbook and address this critical national security issue by implementing their established and proven threat management process for identifying, investigating, evaluating, and mitigating threats as a critical means to protecting our communities.

Currently, threat assessment and protective intelligence is used as a method for gathering and evaluating information about a person who may have the motive, intention, and capability to mount an attack against public figures. The Secret Service will gauge a potential threat, assess the vulnerability of the targeted individuals, and guide an intervention when necessary. This proactive process leaves no stone unturned.

This approach is entirely different from what the FBI and local law enforcement currently use because it compiles information from a variety of comprehensive sources to build out a threat assessment, and it works. Since the 1981 attempted assassination of President Reagan, nobody has even come close.

If this system works to protect the life of the President, elected officials, foreign dignitaries, and even celebrities, why couldn't this also work to protect our children and local communities?

Whether it is a shooting, a stabbing, a weaponized vehicle, or a bombing, mass casualty events are occurring more and more frequently at home and abroad. It is more important now than ever that we act.

Incorporating threat assessment and protective intelligence into all facets of law enforcement will save lives. If we can properly recognize the warnings and act, we can prevent targeted violence. It is time that we put an end to

the politicized gun-grabbing rhetoric and start tackling the real root of this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).

National Police Week

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