Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a groundbreaking Veterans' Service Group in my District, Victor Six Health and Fitness Organization. Victor Six was founded by decorated Vietnam Veteran, David A. Christian, with the mission to improve the physical and mental health of Veterans in the community.

On April 24, 2022, I had the honor of celebrating the graduation of Victor Six's inaugural class. The course promoted the mutual improvement of the physical health and mental well-being of the Veterans, fulfilling the mantra that a strong body fuels a strong mind. This was made possible by a partnership with the Newtown Athletic Club, which graciously offered their space, equipment, and personnel to the program. Nine Veterans, ranging from 39 to 74 years of age, completed a rigorous 12-week physical training program. The nine Veterans are:

Ronald Warren Brand, United States Army

Robert Peter Cassalia, United States Navy

Daniel Marion Christian, United States Army

William Charles Farence, United States Marine Corps

Carla Estelle Figuerora, United States Marine Corps

James Taylor Ford, United States Army

Tanya Marie Rinkus, United States Air Force

William Patrick Schultz, United States Air Force

Rodney Darnell Wyatt, United States Marine Corps

Participants completed pre- and post-assessment measures of upper and lower body, core strength, cardio endurance, and flexibility as well as a self-evaluation of their mental status. An individualized personal training plan for each Veteran was formulated by trainers based on their assessments. The Veterans were introduced to various private group exercise classes such as aqua exercise, yoga, dance, strength, and cardio training.

The program built camaraderie and esprit de corps by providing a safe haven from stressors and improving the mental well-being of all. In the continuing battle against Veteran and Servicemember suicide, organizations like Victor Six provide the tools necessary to fight back and give hope to our Nation's heroes. We are incredibly grateful for the positive impact that this organization has already had on our community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an incredible young woman from my district, United States Navy Ensign Nicole Spohn. It is my honor to announce that on May 6, 2022, Ensign Spohn commissioned into the United States Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer. Ensign Spohn commissioned out of The Citadel Military College of South Carolina where she received numerous awards and distinctions. Among these honors was a cumulative GPA of 3.94, being named on the Dean's List in every semester, and serving as a Cadet Company Commander. Our community is immensely proud of and humbled by Ensign Spohn's dedication to our country and I wish her great success with her career in the Navy.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the tremendous accomplishment of the 2020 Pennridge High School women's varsity soccer team.

At a time when our schools were just reopening, the Pennridge women's soccer team seized the moment and went on to win their first PIAA Class 4A title on November 21, 2020.

This victory was years in the making, following a 2018 overtime loss in the final tournament game. Thanks to the visionary leadership of Coach Audrey Anderson, the Pennridge women's varsity team pushed past the adversity and clinched the championship win.

With both teams battling through a contentious 80 minutes of regulation and 27 minutes of overtime, freshman forward Tori Angelo chipped a pass over to junior Leah Malone to score the game-winner with just a few minutes remaining.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize these champions today for their leadership and their outstanding efforts in their 2020 season, and I formally enter their names in the Record:

Head Coach Audrey Anderson, Assistant Coach Jason Lollar, Assistant Coach Erin Stevenson, captain Lindsey DeHaven, captain Leah Malone, captain Maddie Angelo, captain Emily Kriney, Sierra Shaeffer, Cady McKean, Anna Croyle, Zoe Sabol, Liv Grenda, Riley Hepler, Tori Angelo, Kera Dam, Casey Malone, Brielle Tasher, Jess Levush, Joey Tomlinson, Lauren Atchley, Lavi Baldovin, Lindsey Balmer, Raina Adelman, Sophie Craig, Aubrey Long, Avery Drumbore, Danae Luecke, Lauren Moylan, Maggie Hayes, Ryan Hodder, Sammi McBride, Sam Kiwak, and Phia Lowery.

Madam Speaker, along with that victory, it is with a heavy heart that I recognize the team's assistant coach who recently passed away, Robert Lee Miller.

Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Robert knows that he could always be found on the soccer field, lending his strengths and gifts to coach dozens of teams and mentor thousands of youth players.

As our Bucks County community mourns his loss and remembers his passion for the game, I would like to offer a moment of silence for Robert Miller.

Madam Speaker, we are incredibly grateful for the inspiration and impacts that the coaches of the entire Pennridge women's soccer team and, of course, the team's parents have had on our community. They are a tremendous asset.

We are very proud of all of them, and I look forward to seeing them all and presenting them with flags individually that were flown over the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Speaker, I ask to have my name removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1297, the Air America Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge an outstanding constituent from my district, Lillian J. Gardner, who has served the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for nearly four decades. After achieving both a bachelor's degree in Business Logistics and a master's degree in Business Administration from the Pennsylvania State University, Lillian joined the Defense Personnel Support Center (now the DLA) in 1983 as an Inventory Management Specialist. Since then, she has held a number of different positions within the agency, working tirelessly to support our Nation's warfighters and becoming an expert in the acquisition field.

Now, after 38 years of dedicated public service and professional leadership in the Department of Defense, Lillian is entering retirement. She concludes her impressive career as the Director and Chief of the Contracting Services Office. Widely respected for her accurate, strategic, and creative acquisition support to DLA's leaders, Lillian has also demonstrated an extraordinary ability to overcome complex and innumerable challenges, including those that have arisen because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Her dedication and diligence have contributed to keeping our military mission-ready.

We are incredibly grateful for the positive impact Lillian has had on our community and country throughout her time in government service, and we wish Lillian countless blessings during her retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize an amazing young man and Scout in my community in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Alex Goglia. After completing his Arrow of Light Award in Pack 1 of the Scouts, Alex crossed over into Scouts BSA Troop 1 in Sellersville.

Since then, Alex has moved up through the ranks of Scouting and recently became a Life Scout. As a member of Troop 1, Alex has held several leadership positions, including assistant patrol leader, patrol leader, and now senior patrol leader. His leadership through the ranks sets an excellent example for the younger Scouts to follow.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to recognize Alex Goglia before this Congress as an individual who lives the words of the Scout Oath and Law in his everyday life and is steadfast in his commitment to better our community back home in Pennsylvania.

Madam Speaker, recently, in the midst of an emergency medical situation, Alex used his lifesaving skills he learned in Scouting to save the life of a young child who was choking on a piece of food in a restaurant where Alex was employed.

Alex's calm, quick, and heroic response was recognized by the National Boy Scouts of America, which awarded him the BSA Medal of Merit, a rare award offered by the Scouts.

We are incredibly grateful for Alex Goglia's meritorious acts and for the positive impact that he has had within Scout Troop 1 and our entire community.

Madam Speaker, we wish Alex much success as he pursues the rank of Eagle Scout, and for all his other future endeavors.

Well done, Alex.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the inauguration of Dr. Anne Prisco as the sixth president of Holy Family University. After achieving a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, a master's degree from Fordham University, and a Ph.D. from Columbia University, Dr. Prisco has gone on to faithfully serve a number of higher education institutions in a variety of roles. Over the course of her impressive career, she has worked as an administrator, faculty member, researcher, and consultant. Prior to her new post at Holy Family. Dr. Prisco was President of Felician University in New Jersey from 2012 to 2020, leading the school through a transformational period. Under her leadership there, the university grew and is now thriving with record-breaking increases in enrollment, growing net revenue, continued facilities enhancements, and a focus on inclusive excellence and shared governance. Dr. Prisco was appointed as the next President of Holy Family University in July 2021 and will be officially installed in that on April 8, 2022. We have no doubt that she will bring the same commitment that she brought to her previous academic posts to Holy Family University. As Dr. Prisco fully begins this new journey, we are incredibly grateful for the positive impact that she has already had community and wish her well in her new role.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a remarkable non-profit organization in my district, the College Settlement Summer Camp. Founded in Horsham, Pennsylvania, College Settlement works to shape the lives of underserved young people and instill in them a respect for self, others, and the natural world. Their mission to deliver a unique, growth-focused camp experience has improved the lives of countless boys and girls. In neighborhoods and communities that are often divided, College Settlement offers an invaluable sense of belonging. The camp's commitment to public service, inclusion, and affordable programming is admirable, and this year, as they celebrate 100 years of connecting our children to the outdoors, we express our appreciation for the impact that College Settlement Summer Camp has had on Bucks and Montgomery counties and the greater Philadelphia area.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Kaptur for all she does for Ukraine.

Mr. Speaker, I stand here not only as the co-chair of Ukraine Caucus, but also the ranking member of the House Subcommittee on Europe, Energy, the Environment, and Cyber; and a commission on the Helsinki Commission, having previously served and lived in Ukraine, in Kiev, standing side by side with the Ukranian people, and growing to love them for their heart, their passion, their desire for independence, their desire for closer ties to the West, and their craving for freedom, something that they are striving for more and more every single day.

With all of those things in context, Mr. Speaker, this moment before us, unfortunately, has not come as a surprise. Over the last 8 years, the amazing people of Ukraine have endured Russia's illegal and violent occupation. To date, some 14,000 innocent Ukrainians have perished, many of whom were civilians with more than a million displaced.

The autocratic regime of Vladimir Putin has engaged in countless humanitarian violations and challenged international norms of sovereignty over the last 30 years, and it is imperative that the United States and our NATO allies meet this moment with deterrence and diplomacy and strength in unity.

America must, as we have in the past, stand up against Russian authoritarianism. The people of Ukraine share our Western values and deserve freedom from Russian oppression. The people of Ukraine share a steadfast commitment to regional cooperation resisting polarization and shining a light on corruption. The United States has moved to supply

Ukraine with lethal aid to maintain its borders in the wake of increased Russian aggression.

The United States has committed just recently an additional $200 million in security assistance, and we must encourage our NATO allies to act in a similar fashion. We applaud those NATO allies who have stepped up to the plate and encourage those who have not that they must do so now to maintain the NATO alliance. We have already stepped up to defend democracy in so many other areas of the world and this must be no exception.

It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that more of our ally countries will take this charge seriously and realize what is at stake. It is also my hope that our allies can look to decouple with the Russian economy, recognizing the larger threat Putin's destabilizing regime poses throughout Europe and throughout the world. Taking decisive action in implementing economic sanctions to the harshest degree is necessary, and we must weigh all of our options given the severity of this moment, along with a wide, bipartisan coalition in both Chambers of Congress.

My colleagues in Congress have called for sweeping sanctions on the kleptocrats that keep Putin's regime operable. As it has before with other rogue powers, the international community must send a clear and unequivocal message. If Russia insists on threatening the sovereignty of another state and jeopardizing global security, there will be the harshest of consequences.

I would like to thank my co-chairs for being here today as well as Representative Victoria Spartz, the first-ever Ukrainian born Member of Congress, an immense source of pride for the people of Ukraine. We are here to send a bipartisan, bicameral message to Vladimir Putin and his corrupt regime that these consequences will far outweigh any benefit he may perceive of further aggression in Ukraine.

If the Euromaidan Revolution should have sent any message to Russia, it is that you never underestimate the heart and the passion of the soul of Ukrainian people to defend their own independence.

The overwhelming majority of Ukrainians were born after 1991, after their independence. They do not want any part of Russia regardless of what Vladimir Putin thinks. And we will stand behind them unequivocally and unapologetically to call for the harshest of consequence should Vladimir Putin take one step across the Ukrainian border.

I personally will make it my mission here in this body to see that they receive the harshest consequences, the least of which will be ending Nord Stream 2 and removing Russia from the Swiss banking system, cutting off their economy, targeting sanctions to Vladimir Putin himself and his surrounding oligarchs.

I say to Mr. Putin that that will be just the beginning of what he will face.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge an outstanding constituent from my district, Paul William Beatty, who has served as a volunteer firefighter at the Goodwill Hose Co. No. 3 Station in Bristol, Pennsylvania for nearly four decades. Following in the footsteps of his father and brothers, Paul became a volunteer firefighter and fought over 500 fires, helping save countless lives and giving comfort to those who had lost everything.

I am proud to honor Paul as an exceptional member of our community and celebrate his retirement. Whether at noon or midnight, the dead of winter or the heat of summer, Paul has always answered the call for help when it was needed. He has demonstrated extraordinary bravery and leadership over the past 39 years and his hard work has contributed to the safety of our community.

I am incredibly grateful for the positive impact Paul has had on others throughout his long career of service, and I wish him countless blessings during his retirement.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Postal Service Reform Act.

As my colleagues have pointed out here, this is a long-overdue reform measure that will ensure 6-day delivery, eliminate the prefund mandate which, by the way, applies only to the U.S. Postal Service. Not a single other government agency across this Nation

has been subject to this wildly outrageous provision that has significantly undermined the financial stability of the post office.

Madam Speaker, the very first Postmaster General was someone from my hometown of Philadelphia, a man by the name of Ben Franklin. His annual salary was $1,000 a year. And you look at the history of the U.S. Postal Service, all the way up to and including the time of the COVID- 19 pandemic where they were up there on the front lines serving our communities, serving our constituents, making sure that our country continued to run. We owe them this support to reform these measures and ensure the stability and strength of our hero letter carriers and postal workers across our Nation.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of a very respected member of our beloved Bucks County community, Eileen Reed.

Born in Macon, Georgia, as an Army child, Eileen often relocated before eventually settling in our beloved Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Eileen enjoyed a long, successful career with New Jersey Bell Telephone, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies, before retiring in July 2000 to devote more time to her two granddaughters.

Eileen was a lifelong learner with a keen interest in understanding the detail of exactly how things worked, especially in technology. Our community will remember Eileen for her strong passion and commitment to a number of local and national political, social, and charitable organizations.

Mr. Speaker, the story of how I met Eileen is she was actually a protestor outside of my office who I got to know. I invited her up to my office and quickly saw her passion, her intellect, and her love for our country. Eileen taught me a lot. She taught our staff a lot. There is no question that Bucks County is missing a very, very special person today without Eileen in it.

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of myself, my family, and our entire staff, we send our deepest condolences to Eileen's family and all who knew and loved her. Eileen will be deeply missed and remembered for her love and devotion to her family, her friends, and her community.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a notable public servant within my district, Robert Winkler. After serving his community as a Zoning Officer, Code Enforcement Officer, and Building Inspector for twenty-four years, Robert ran for office and was chosen by the Borough of Penndel to be their Mayor.

Throughout his twelve year tenure, Mayor Winkler worked diligently to improve the borough and the quality of life of all its citizens. Through his relationships with other elected officials at every level of government, as well as business owners and industry executives, Robert improved the delivery of municipal services. He increased communication between residents and businesses through the establishment of a semi-annual newsletter. Through his office, Mayor Winkler actively coordinated community events such as holiday parades, the Penndel Borough Community Day, and food drives. His work did not go unnoticed: not only was he re-elected three times, but Robert was also honored by the Pennsylvania State Association of Boroughs as Mayor of the Year in 2019.

Today, I am proud to recognize Robert Winkler as an exceptional man of proven leadership who never wavered in his commitment to serving our community and country. We are incredibly grateful for Robert's decades of public service and the positive impact that he has had on his beloved home of Penndel and the entirety of our Bucks County community.

Mr. Speaker, it is with a heavy heart that I rise today to pay tribute to the life and legacy of an extraordinary person, Mrs. Janice Gallagher, who our community tragically lost.

Born in Philadelphia, Janice was a lifelong resident of Bensalem and was a proud graduate of Archbishop Ryan High School and Holy Family University.

Janice worked at her family's farm market, D-G's Farm Market, for over 30 years. Janice went on to own and operate her own market, J&M Deli and Produce for many more years. Janice spent the last 5 years, Mr. Speaker, working at the Bensalem Police Department, a phenomenal organization of tremendously courageous women and men where she was widely respected by our law enforcement community throughout Bucks County.

A longtime volunteer of St. Ephrem Catholic Church, Janice will always be remembered for her kind and giving spirit.

I send my deepest condolences to Janice's beloved husband of 45 years, District Judge Mike Gallagher, her son, her siblings, and all who knew and loved her. I know I speak for our entire community when I say that we are all grateful for Janice's contributions during her incredible 66 years of life on this planet.

Mr. Speaker, may the spirit of her generosity and service continue to inspire everybody in our community and everybody in this Chamber.

National Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Mr. Speaker, today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, and I rise in support of the more than 40 million men, women, and children, who are victims of this global tragedy.

Human trafficking is a $150 billion criminal industry that exploits vulnerable individuals and strips them of their fundamental human rights.

Mr. Speaker, while this criminal conduct may seem a world away, it is very often taking place right in our own backyards. Human trafficking is reported in cities, suburbs, and rural areas in all 50 States in this Nation. Last year alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 221 cases of human trafficking in my home State of Pennsylvania and more than 10,000 cases nationwide.

These staggering and horrific numbers underscore the need for increased victim support services, education and awareness, and legislative advocacy surrounding human trafficking.

On this National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, let us renew our commitment to the global fight to end this abhorrent crime against humanity and redouble our efforts for the millions of survivors and their victims.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the exceptional young women in my district who received the Girl Scout's highest honor, the Gold Award, in 2021. Our community is proud of their achievement and grateful for their commitment to service.

Sabrina Adler, Troop 2697.

Chakrika Aluri, Juliette.

Julia Cunningham, Troop 2147.

Olivia Davis-Egan, Troop 2992.

Grace Dudek, Troop 754.

Genevieve Eirich, Troop 2974.

Elayna Frost, Troop 230.

Sarah Hamer, Troop 2285.

Kaitlyn Harrington, Troop 753.

Julia Henry, Troop 2020.

Natalie Landis, Troop 21809.

Jane Macaulay, Troop 21275.

Juliana Marino, Troop 2697.

Chloe McNabb, Troop 21733.

Maura Ott, Troop 2578.

Autumn Robinson-Davis, Troop 23.

Kelly Schieder, Troop 2060.

Tara Shevlin, Troop 2147.

Ashley Shup, Troop 2367.

Emma Smirk, Troop 2105.

Taylor Smith, Troop 2385.

Reagan Ward, Troop 2268.