Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Batavia Business and Professional Women's Club on its centennial anniversary.

The Batavia Business and Professional Women's Club was founded in 1921, at a time when all other local clubs were exclusive to men. Its mission was clear from the start: for women to meet and contribute meaningfully to the greater community. Under the leadership of its first president, Miss Lilliam Bender, the club garnered notoriety remarkably fast. Miss Bender received telegrams from countless esteemed individuals--President Harding, Vice President Coolidge, General Pershing, and Marshal Ferdinand Foch--all extending their congratulations for her work to establish such a progressive organization. By the end of 1921, the club had attracted more than one- hundred new members.

The Batavia Business and Professional Women's Club has been a key resource for local communities throughout its one-hundred-year history, including in recent years. More recently, the club has provided meals and snacks to Habitat for Humanity volunteers, donated baskets to the Holland Land Office's annual Christmas fundraiser, and sponsored a family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Members of the organization have also routinely volunteered with the Salvation Army, the United Way, and the Batavia Public School System. Sponsoring fundraisers for local women owned businesses is another way the club supports its community. The organization holds fundraising events for several other purposes each year, such as events to raise money for college scholarships and service organizations.

The Batavia Business and Professional Women's Club is proud to attract a diverse membership. Since its inception, the club has brought together small business owners, schoolteachers, local government officials, self-made entrepreneurs, medical professionals, and countless other women from an array of fields and occupations. Among the members today, I would particularly like to recognize the teachers and employees of the Batavia City School District, the professionals at Genesee Cancer Assistance, and the small business owners from local favorites, such as Foxprowl Collectables and Jeanne's Table, both located in Batavia.

I thank all the women of the Batavia Business and Professional Women's Club for their unwavering commitment to local growth through community service and their many impressive professions, and I again congratulate the club on its centennial anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 3985, the ALLIES Act.

For almost two decades, American troops have fought the war on terror in Afghanistan. Over the course of the war, thousands of native Afghans put their lives on the line to support our American servicemembers. They served as translators, guides, contractors, and more. Their support was critical to the safety of our servicemembers and the success of our operations.

They showed true bravery and risked their lives in pursuit of an end to the Taliban's regime and a free nation. Now, their decision to help Americans is seen as traitorous by the Taliban, and many of these Afghans and their families have been marked for death.

This danger has only been compounded by the Biden administration's hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. No plans were originally put in place to help these individuals evacuate, and now, many face dire consequences.

We have a moral imperative to support those who served alongside our men and women in uniform and cannot leave them behind. While the administration has announced plans to evacuate some of our Afghan allies, they should not have been an afterthought.

I call on the administration to expeditiously process SIV applicants and expand their efforts to get these individuals and their families out of harm's way immediately.

In addition to those efforts, I am pleased the House is considering this critical legislation today. It expands and amends the Special Immigrant Visa program to better support our Afghan allies and their families. These combined actions are the least we can do to help them for their service to us.

Anyone who puts their life on the line to stand alongside American servicemembers deserves not only our gratitude, but they deserve our protection. That is why I am proud to vote in favor of the ALLIES Act of 2021, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, the Biden administration announced that it would once again extend the U.S.-Canada border closure for nonessential travel until August 21.

This is yet another example of the President's failure on this issue. His second day in office, he signed an executive order calling for a plan. That never happened.

We have sent multiple letters from my office calling for answers. They have gone unanswered.

Reporters have asked for clarity. The White House has dodged.

Families and small businesses have pleaded for action so they can reunite and recoup lost revenue. They have been ignored.

Canada has announced that they will allow fully vaccinated Americans in the country starting in August. This is long overdue but still light years ahead of our President.

This extension is unacceptable, ignores the science, and extends the suffering of families and small businesses in my region.

Reopening the border for nonessential travel can be done safely. The time for stalling and silence has long passed. The Biden administration needs to act immediately and reopen our shared border.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 18, the No Taxpayer Funding For Abortion Act. This bill would make the Hyde amendment permanent and government-wide.

Mr. Speaker, Hyde saves lives. For more than 40 years, this amendment has protected vulnerable, unborn life by preventing taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. Named after Illinois Congressman Henry Hyde, the Hyde amendment has enjoyed decades of broad, bipartisan support.

During this time the Charlotte Lozier Institute estimates the Hyde amendment has saved over 2 million lives. I am proud to stand up for vulnerable life. As the father of a beautiful two-year-old girl, I have come to appreciate the sanctity of newborn life in a profound way. We owe it to them, and to each other, to protect their lives in every way possible.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Ways and Means, and the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 18, and I ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Town of Evans, New York on its bicentennial anniversary.

The Town of Evans, New York was founded on March 31, 1821, when the Legislature of New York State proposed and passed an Act for the purpose of establishing the Town of Evans. The Town of Evans has a rich history, and I am honored to represent it in Congress.

The Town of Evans was named after David Ellicott Evans who served as an agent for the Holland Land Company. He worked dutifully for the Holland Land Company, emphasizing the importance of respecting the pioneers that settled the lands. Mr. Evans' unwavering kindness towards the pioneers and everyone he encountered prompted the State Legislature to name the town in his honor.

Many great businesses and businesspeople have hailed from the Town of Evans, including Willis Haviland Carrier, the inventor of modern air conditioning. From Evans' Village of Angola, Carrier crafted a temperature-controlled future that countless people around the world continue to rely on today.

Today, the Town of Evans is a robust, generational farming community with livestock, maple syrup, horticulture, and commercial crop farms that provide essential goods to local residents and surrounding communities. Located on Lake Erie and south of the City of Buffalo, the town also offers 12 miles of scenic coastline. Residents enjoy the town's numerous parks and beaches, as well as Sturgeon Point Marina which serves as a key launch for boaters and fisherman on the lake. Nature trails and picturesque sunsets over Lake Erie attract visitors from all over the country.

I thank the Town of Evans for its commitment to preserving 200 years of history, and I again congratulate the town on its bicentennial anniversary.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the Help Wanted Act, which would reinstate work search requirements for unemployment benefits and end disincentives to work.

We have now gotten two job reports that fell short of projections. Meanwhile, it was reported that there were a record 9.3 million job openings in the United States.

In my home of western New York, there are reports that restaurants are turning customers away when they need them most because they are short-staffed.

In February, the Congressional Budget Office published a report stating our economy would return to pre-pandemic strength without additional government spending. Yet, the President and Democrats forced through a highly partisan and unrelated $2 trillion package.

The result is it has now become more lucrative to stay at home than to seek employment, a detriment to our overall economic recovery.

Vaccines are rolling out; the CDC has updated their guidance; and positivity rates are dropping. It is time to get back to work.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express my support and gratitude for the members of law enforcement bravely serving my home in western New York and around the Nation.

This National Police Week gives us all a chance to pause and appreciate the dangerous, selfless, and, unfortunately, sometimes thankless job our police officers do. But we should not only honor them 1 week every year, we must continually show our support by resisting any and all attempts to defund our police.

Every day, our police officers wake up, put on a uniform, and go out into the communities that they serve to protect us not knowing if they will return home to their families that evening. They continually put their lives on the line.

I recently was humbled to honor numerous officers in my home of Orchard Park, New York, and Lancaster, New York, who rescued residents from burning buildings and brush fires while they were off duty.

We need police, and we need more young people to seek out a career serving their communities in law enforcement. Unfortunately, the recent stereotyping of police over the last year has been a severe deterrent to new members joining and also caused massive retirements of existing law enforcement, making all our communities less safe.

The assault from the left on our police must come to an end. It is imperative that we properly fund, equip, and support law enforcement on the local, State, and Federal level.

To conclude, our police are heroes and deserve to be honored as such. I join my colleagues in thanking them this week for their bravery and their service.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the accomplishments of an extraordinary man and hero, Private Second Class Robert Harold Sudbrink of Youngstown, New York.

Robert was born and raised in Astoria, New York, the son of William Sudbrink, an electrician who worked on the World Trade Center, and Mary Normoyle Sudbrink, a homemaker. He is the sixth of seven children. Two of his older brothers, William and Thomas, worked as New York City firefighters.

Robert was named after his uncle, Robert J. Sudbrink, who also had a decorated military career--he received the Silver Star from General John ``Blackjack'' Pershing for his service in World War I.

Continuing his family's history of decorated military service, Robert enlisted in the Army after graduating from Valley Stream South High School in 1968 at age seventeen. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. He went on to complete his Airborne infantry training at Fort Gordon, Georgia, Airborne School at Fort Benning, Georgia, and Special Forces training at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

On July 4, 1969, Robert was deployed to the Central Highlands of Vietnam as part of the 173rd Airborne Infantry Brigade. There, he worked closely with the South Vietnamese Army.

On March 13, 1970, Robert distinguished himself in the village of Loc Thai. There, he encountered a home in flames and acted on his instincts to assist the family inside. Instead of waiting for help, he entered the home multiple times to save a child's life, the family's food supply, and their personal belongings. He also helped the village extinguish the fire before it could spread to the rest of the village. For his heroic efforts, Robert was awarded the Soldier's Medal two months later.

After the war, he was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army and returned home to New York City. In 1982, he met his wife, Bonnie Sudbrink. Together, they moved to Western New York and eventually built a home in Alden, New York.

In Alden, Robert worked as a mail handler for the United States Postal Service for twenty-two years. Now retired, Robert enjoys traveling, playing the banjo, and creating artwork in his free time.

He and his wife Bonnie have two daughters, both residing in New York: Courtney Lennon, an author and historian; and Maggie Matullo, an artisan. He also has two granddaughters: Gia and Olivia.

Our country could not be prouder of Private Second Class Robert Harold Sudbrink, a fellow New Yorker and true American hero. Madam Speaker, please join me in honoring Robert for his heroism, in thanking him for service, and recognizing him as the New York 27th Congressional District's Veteran of the Month of May 2021.

Madam Speaker, I would like to take a moment to recognize a recent event that generously contributed to and positively impacted the welfare of our community and citizenry here in the 27th Congressional District of New York. I gladly welcomed the Department of New York of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. to my hometown of Buffalo, New York for their 84th Convention on April 9-10, 2021.

I recognize the American Gold Star Mothers, women that share the tragedy of having children that died in connection to military service or are missing in action. These Gold Star Mothers strive to keep the memory of their sons and daughters alive by working to help veterans, those currently serving in the military, their families, and their communities. I am grateful for their efforts to come together to respect and honor our fallen service members, especially considering the immense hardship they have experienced themselves.

There are many instances in the Congressional Record of service flags being adopted-that precede the creation of the American Gold Star Mothers organization--and I would like to highlight two in particular. In 1917 Ohio veteran and businessman Robert L. Queisser created the Blue Star Service Flag to honor his two sons serving in the First World War and other service members of the U.S. military. The Congressional Record of September 24, 1917 reflects the adoption of this service flag. This flag recognizes those who give so much for liberty and acknowledges that the dearest thing to a father and mother are their children.

Later, in 1918, President Woodrow Wilson approved a suggestion by the Women's Committee of the Council of National Defense that mothers who lost a child in World War I wear a gold star on a traditional black mourning armband. This led to creation of the Gold Star Service Flag, where a gold star was placed inside the flag's blue star, signifying a service member has died.

The Gold Star Service flag adoption was, of course, followed by the creation of the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc, an organization that offered its 65 original charter members the opportunity to find strength in fellowship. In 1928, twenty five mothers of American service members lost in World War I met in Washington, D.C. under the leadership of Grace Darling Seibold, the mother of U.S. Army First Lieutenant George V. Seibold killed in action, to establish the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. The organization was officially incorporated on January 5, 1929.

That same year, Congress provided funding for these mothers and widows to travel to cemeteries in Europe to visit their loved ones. In 1930, a group of 231 Gold Star women sailed from Hoboken, New Jersey aboard the passenger liner SS America on the inaugural pilgrimage to the European graves of their sons and husbands who died in World War I. When this program ended three years later, nearly 6,700 Gold Star women had journeyed across the Atlantic to bid a final farewell to loved ones laid to rest in war cemeteries in France, Belgium, and Great Britain.

Congress later granted a federal charter to the American Gold Star Mothers, Inc. and designated the last Sunday in September as ``Gold Star Mother's Day.'' Congress also authorized and requested President Franklin D. Roosevelt issue a proclamation in observance of this occasion. Each year on this day, we express the love, sorrow, and reverence of the people of the United States for American Gold Star Mothers.

We especially recognize our American Gold Star Mothers and their fallen soldiers in New York's 27th District. At the Buffalo & Erie County Naval & Military Park resides the U.S. Navy destroyer USS The Sullivans (DD-537). This National Historic Landmark has been a public memorial and museum ship since 1979, and is sponsored by Alleta Sullivan, a Gold Star Mother whose five sons were killed in action. George, Francis, Joseph, Madison, and Albert Sullivan-brothers from Waterloo, IA--died when their cruiser was sunk at the First Naval Battle of Guadalcanal in 1942.

I am glad the Gold Star Mothers recently had the opportunity to gather in Buffalo, New York for the 2021 Convention of the Department of New York of the American Gold Star Mothers. I remain incredibly grateful for and humbled by the Gold Star Mothers' commitment to honoring and reflecting on the legacies of their sons and daughters lost in service to our Nation; finding strength in the fellowship of each other; and helping veterans, current military servicemembers and their families, and our communities.

Madam Speaker, on March 17, 2021 I missed the vote on H.R. 1652, the VOCA Fix to Sustain the Crime Victims Fund Act of 2021. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 89.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, the Dairy H-2A Eligibility Act.

As I have traveled around my district and met with dairy farmers, their number one need has consistently been a reliable workforce.

Currently, dairy farms do not have access to the H-2A visa program because their work is not considered seasonal. My very simple one-page piece of legislation would simply make dairy workers eligible for these temporary work visas.

Farming is the largest economic driver in my district, and dairy farming is a critical part of the American economy and food supply.

We need to ensure that farmers have the resources and workforce they need

while enforcing our immigration laws and preventing illegal immigration.

This change would put dairy farmers on equal footing with other H-2A employers and adhere to the same rules and regulations in force today.

As larger reforms to the agriculture workforce are debated, I ask for the consideration of this urgent fix to ensure American dairy farmers can continue to provide for the American families and thrive for generations to come.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the budget resolution put forth by the majority.

Rather than seek bipartisan consensus, Democrats are effectively shutting out Republicans through this reconciliation process. The Democrats are proposing to spend $1.9 trillion, one of the largest single expenditures in U.S. history.

They will be funding this historic expenditure by dramatically increasing our national debt, and these unprecedented and historic obligations are being undertaken without engaging in the Budget Committee at all.

Just because the Democrats have control of both Houses and the Presidency does not mean they should be abusing this power, bypassing the important and deliberative role of the legislative process instead of working in earnest with the Republican Members.

In the 116th Congress, we were able to find bipartisan consensus on COVID relief, and I believe we can do the same here now.

This go-it-alone approach is very unfortunate because there are many provisions in President Biden's proposal that I could support. I have been calling for additional aid to local governments since I arrived here in Congress this summer. Further, we most definitely need more resources to ensure a more robust deployment of vaccines throughout the Nation.

This partisan approach to relief legislation is damaging and unproductive. I hope the majority will reconsider this process.

I want to believe President Biden's calls for unity, bipartisanship, and cooperation. I was encouraged to see the talks between the White House and the Senate Republicans. This is exactly how we should be working to address the needs of the American people.

During these very challenging times, I stand ready and willing to work with the Biden administration and any of my colleagues across the aisle to help the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the waiver allowing General Lloyd Austin to serve as Secretary of Defense.

Civilian leadership at the top of the Pentagon is desirable and necessary. I believe this should only be reserved for unique circumstances. Regularly nominated candidates who require waivers is not a precedent we should set.

However, examining General Austin's credentials and the circumstances facing our Nation lead me to believe the approval of this specific waiver is warranted.

The COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing. China is growing bolder and more

aggressive, using espionage, cyber warfare, and manipulation to undermine U.S. and global security. Iran remains an ever-present threat to the Middle East and the world. North Korea continues to pursue an ambitious nuclear weapons development program.

These issues and others require the steady hand of an experienced and qualified Secretary of Defense. General Austin meets these requirements and is more than qualified to oversee our Nation's military.

Mr. Speaker, I urge the support of this waiver. I look forward to working with Secretary Austin to confront these very real threats to our national security.