Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Gertrude Pauline Whitener Milburn on turning 100 years old later this week on March 14th.

Gertrude Pauline Whitener Milburn was born on March 14, 1925, and grew up in a small textile community known as Brookford, located in Hickory, North Carolina She had two brothers and a sister.

Gertrude met Bill Milburn while he was serving in the Navy during World War II, and they married in December 1945 after his discharge. They had two children, Patricia Milburn Link and Randolph Lee Milburn, and lived in Lincolnton, North Carolina, until 1967, when they moved to Lake Norman.

Gertrude spent her entire career in the textile industry. She is the proud grandmother of four, with ten great-grandchildren and five great- great-grandchildren. She is not shy to be blunt and share her many years of wisdom with the younger generations.

On behalf of all of Western North Carolina, I congratulate Gertrude.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following newsletter to give an update to my constituents on Hurricane Helene recovery efforts and legislation to protect U.S. communities.

Dear Friend,

The 119th Congress is well underway, and I'm excited to

continue serving the people of Western North Carolina from my

seats on the House Appropriations and Budget committees.

In addition to serving on the Appropriations Committee's

Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, I am

honored to have been appointed to the role of vice chairman

of the National Security, Department of State, and Related

Programs Subcommittee.

Under a unified government, the new majority has a rare

opportunity to reverse America's spiraling debt and create a

safer and stronger future for our Nation. I'm eager to walk

with my colleagues to make real changes that will better the

lives of the American people, continue to bring federal

resources to aid in WNC's recovery, and fix how Washington

works.

The people of WNC are not forgotten

It was a privilege to welcome U.S. Transportation Secretary

Sean Duffy to our mountains and accompany him to see the

devastation brought by Hurricane Helene as well as our

efforts to clean up and rebuild,

During his time in Haywood County, we surveyed the damage

at I-40 near the Tennessee line, and it was confirmed that I-

40 is set to partially reopen on March with one lane

available in each direction.

The people of Western North Carolina continue to be

reminded that we are not forgotten, and I appreciate

Secretary Duffy for his attention to helping out mountain

folk rebuild.

Fixing a broken agency

It's an honor to be named by President Trump to the FEMA

task force to fix how this broken agency works.

After being on the ground throughout the Hurricane Helene

response, it's clear that an overhaul of FEMA is necessary to

more effectively and efficiently respond to natural

disasters.

I'll be lending the insights I've gained so that our Nation

will be fully prepared to prevent and respond to future

disasters, and to save lives.

Protecting U.S. communities from the fentanyl and border crisis

In the House, we have voted on and passed multiple bills--

including the HALT Fentanyl Act and the Agent Raul Gonzalez

Officer Safety Act--to make out communities safe again by

combatting the fentanyl and border crises wrought by the

previous administration's open border policies.

The temporary order designating fentanyl-related substances

(FRS) as a Schedule I drug is set to expire soon. If this

designation expires and is not made permanent, these

substances will become street-legal, taking away law

enforcement's authority to seize fentanyl and allowing drug

traffickers to continue funneling deadly drugs into our

country.

I voted in support of the HALT Fentanyl Act to permanently

classify FRS as Schedule I drugs as defined by the Controlled

Substances Act. Schedule I drugs have high potential for

abuse with no accepted medical uses, and this bill would make

sure that law enforcement has the resources to keep these

drugs off our streets and allow for further research of FRS.

In addition to the fentanyl epidemic, many Americans have

paid the price for illegal immigrants breaking our laws and

engaging in high-speed chases to avoid detention. The Agent

Raul Gonzalez Officer Safety Act would make it a criminal

offense to operate a vehicle within 100 miles of the southern

border while fleeing from Border Patrol agents or any law

enforcement officer assisting Border Patrol, including jail

time and being prohibited from ever receiving legal status in

the U.S.

Streamlining the FEMA application process for disaster victims

After Helene hit Western North Carolina, I saw how

complicated and difficult the disaster recovery assistance

applications were. Many folks had to apply to multiple

agencies, including FEMA, the SBA and USDA, for disaster

assistance, each of which had its own extensive applications.

That's why I introduced the Disaster Survivors Fairness

Act, which would streamline FEMA's application process and

improve coordination among federal agencies to more

effectively aid disaster victims.

This bill would direct the FEMA administrator to develop a

universal application for federal disaster assistance to be

used across agencies and authorizes information sharing

across these agencies. This is an important step toward

making sure we are prioritizing the people and not the

bureaucracy after disaster strikes.

With my warmest regards,

Chuck Edwards,

Member of Congress.

Mr. Chairman, first of all, I acknowledge the great work that our Budget Committee chairman has done to bring us to this point today. It has taken him hundreds of hours and tested his blood pressure quite seriously to get us to this point.

Mr. Chair, I rise today in firm support of this resolution.

In November last year, 77 million Americans demanded changes in how our Federal Government is working for them, particularly changes in the disastrous policies from the last 4 years. I plan to help deliver on those demands by fixing how Washington works and implementing President Trump's agenda to make America first.

This resolution gives us the framework that we need to meet the demands of those 77 million Americans. Those demands include fixing our border crisis once and for all. This resolution does that. Those demands include unleashing American energy. This resolution does that.

Mr. Chair, I urge strong support for this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following newsletter to give an update to my constituents on the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act.

Dear Friend: H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry

Reciprocity Act, that I'm co-sponsoring fixes a disjointed

system in which a law-abiding citizen who holds a concealed

carry permit in one state can become a criminal for simply

crossing states lines with a firearm without having a

concealed carry permit from the second state.

The Second Amendment doesn't stop at state lines and this

bipartisan bill is a commonsense solution to make sure that a

concealed carry license or permit from one state is valid in

all 50 states, protecting your constitutional rights as well

as the right to self-defense across states lines.

With President Trump declaring that he would sign a

concealed carry reciprocity bill if such a bill reached his

desk, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity could be

signed into law soon.

This bill is a huge win for the American people, and know

that I'll continue to defend the Second Amendment rights of

law-abiding gun owners across our mountains and Nation.

With my warmest regards,

Chuck Edwards,

Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record the following newsletter to give an update to my constituents on the 119th Congress agenda, the Equal Representation Act, and disaster recovery.

Dear Friend: With a House speaker elected and a

presidential election certified, we look ahead to the

inauguration that will pave the way to a new era for the

American people and better position us to fix how Washington

works.

I was proud to cast my vote for Mike Johnson as Speaker of

the House for the 119th Congress, and to concur with the

certification of the presidential election.

Speaker Johnson has a good working relationship with

President Trump to be able to pursue and deliver an America

First agenda.

It was essential to swiftly elect a speaker to kick off the

119th Congress so we can get to work for the American people.

Western North Carolinians have struggled over the past four

years under high prices, less-safe communities, disastrous

open-border policies, and crippling regulations.

As we begin this new Congress, I'm eager to move policies

forward that benefit the hardworking families in our

mountains, especially as we rebuild from Helene.

Only American citizens should be represented in Congress

The first bill that I re-introduced in the 119th Congress

is the Equal Representation Act, which would prohibit illegal

immigrants from influencing Americans' congressional

representation.

Citizens across our mountains and nation are demanding that

we protect our nation's sovereignty and secure our borders.

This bill addresses one of the many consequences of the

Biden administration's open border policies, which allowed

millions of illegal immigrants to pour into the U.S.,

increasing the country's non-citizen population.

Mass illegal immigration has unfairly skewed political

presentation in the U.S. House and Electoral College by

including illegal immigrants in the total population count

that determines how many representatives a state receives, or

is apportioned.

This is diluting the voices of U.S. citizens in the

political process. The Equal Representation Act will address

these problems by asking a very simple, commonsense question

on the U.S. Census, ``Are you a citizen of the United

States?'' so that non-citizens are not counted toward

congressional district and Electoral College apportionment.

Americans deserve fair and equal representation in their

federal government, something that will not be possible until

we eliminate the influence of noncitizens in our electoral

process.

$16 billion headed to WNC for disaster recovery

Upon returning to Washington after Hurricane Helene, it was

my top priority as a member of the House Appropriations

Committee to craft a supplemental disaster funding bill to

aid in WNC's recovery.

As the sole co-sponsor of the American Relief Act--also

known as the disaster supplemental--I fought for and secured

nearly $16 billion to come directly to Western North Carolina

for disaster recovery. It's customary that the chairman of

the committee be the lead sponsor of a disaster supplemental

bill, and the committee only rarely names a co-sponsor for

such bills.

As a lifelong resident of Western North Carolina, I'm

grateful that House leaders--including Speaker Johnson,

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, and Appropriations Committee

Chairman Tom Cole, sought my unique understanding of the

challenges WNC residents are facing in the aftermath of

Hurricane Helene. I am grateful for their strong support for

our mountains, for their leeway in letting me craft this

legislation, and for passing this historic disaster

supplemental bill.

Welcoming Mitchell and Avery County

We are excited to welcome Mitchell and Avery counties to

North Carolina's 11th congressional district. The Carolina

Cruiser has already made four stops in these counties, and

members of my team were glad to meet some new faces and hear

what's on the minds of our newest constituents.

It is a privilege and honor to serve each and every one of

you, and my team and I are looking forward to getting to know

you, whether at Carolina Cruiser mobile office hours or at

one-on-one Chat With Chuck meetings.

If you're experiencing issues with FEMA after Hurricane

Helene, you can call my office at 223-FIX-FEMA for

assistance.

You can also stay informed on NC-11 news and legislative

updates by subscribing to my newsletter here.

Announcing Senior Caseworker Madeline Lehman

Congratulations to Madeline Lehman, who has been promoted

to senior caseworker in my district office. Madeline has been

a part of my team since my first day in office. Her strong

work ethic and can-do attitude have allowed her to advance

from the position of staff assistant to caseworker, and now

to senior caseworker, in little more than two years. She also

did this while simultaneously obtaining her master's degree

in public administration.

Madeline has diligently worked to take my office's case

management to a new level and it's this kind of strong

performance that has led my office to have the reputation far

and wide as ``First in Constituent Services.''

With my warmest regards,

Chuck Edwards,

Member of Congress.

Mr. Speaker, it is with sorrow and gratitude that I rise today to honor the life of Deputy Charles James ``Jim'' Lau for his service to our country and community as a security officer at the Macon County Courthouse in Western North Carolina. Jim drowned in the floodwaters of Hurricane Helene and was found dead on September 28.

Jim lived a life dedicated to public service in every role he undertook. Jim served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of Master Sergeant and fighting in the Vietnam War, before beginning his successful career in law enforcement.

As a member of the Volusia County Sheriff's Office in Florida, Jim spent over 20 years working as a deputy, working primarily in the Major Case and Crime Scene units and pioneered a crime scene program which trained hundreds of deputies.

Jim was described by the Sheriff's Office as a hard worker, dependable and was well-liked. After full retirement from the police force in 2005, Jim moved with his then wife Millie to Franklin, North Carolina to be closer to family; Millie died in 2007 after a battle with breast cancer.

Even in his retirement, Jim felt called to serve others and chose to serve his community as a volunteer with REACH of Macon County, a domestic violence, rape crisis, and human trafficking center, and as a security officer at the Macon County Courthouse.

On Friday, September 27, Jim showed up to work to serve the people of Macon County amidst the devastation of Hurricane Helene, with the worst storm conditions Western North Carolina has seen in recorded history. Jim was reported missing after he failed to return from lunch and his body was found in his truck, still trapped in the floodwater, the following day.

Jim was known as a family man and loved nothing more than being a grandfather. Jim leaves behind his wife, Judie; children, Kimberly, Destiny, Cameron, Brittany and Tyler; and many grandchildren and extended relatives.

After decades of working to protect others, Jim made the world a better and safer place, and I thank him for his lifetime of public service. I offer my deepest condolences to the Lau family and will continue to keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Brevard High School boys' cross-country team for winning the 2A state championship. This is the Brevard ``Blue Devils'' second 2A state championship in a row and third in the last four years, solidifying their dominant status as a dynasty.

The Brevard High School girls' cross-country team placed 7th at the state cross country meet.

Congratulations to the Blue Devils. Their continued success is a testament to countless hours of training, hard work, and a genuine passion for running.

They have made Western North Carolina proud.

May the future bring many more years of success as we continue to celebrate the legacy of your exceptional cross-country program.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great sadness that I rise today to honor Major Michelle Quintero of the Madison County Sheriff's Office who was killed as Hurricane Helene hit Western North Carolina on September 27.

As director of operations at the Madison County Detention Center, which includes Madison Juvenile Detention Center, Michelle was known for her positive influence on inmates and as a source of comfort and strength for young people.

Michelle's family and friends described her as a second mother to juvenile inmates, employees, and members of her community, even bringing juvenile inmates Christmas presents, making sure no one felt left out. On the morning of Friday, September 27, in the midst of Helene's destruction, Michelle thought only of serving others and attempted to get to work from her home in Yancey County.

Michelle was quickly surrounded by the rising flood waters after going outside to enter her car and became caught in the current; Michelle's neighbor, Chris Robinson, jumped into the flood water and made attempts to save Michelle's life but she was fatally injured by the falling trees and waves of debris in the water. Michelle was 48 years old. Michelle made a lasting impact on the law enforcement community and on those who were lucky enough to know her.

The Division of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention of the North Carolina Department of Public Safety posthumously awarded Michelle the Raising the Bar award, for her lifetime of public service and going above and beyond to help create better outcomes for incarcerated youth.

Michelle spent nearly 18 years working at the sheriff's office and came from a family dedicated to public service. Michelle leaves behind the love of her life and husband, Isaac Quintero; daughter, Ashlyn Quintero; son, Isaac Quintero; and many extended family members.

I thank Michelle for her contributions to Western North Carolina and for the positive influence and safe environment she provided for youth in her care.

I offer my deepest condolences to the Quintero family. I will continue to keep them and their loved ones in my thoughts and prayers. Michelle will be remembered for her lifetime of service and in every life she touched.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Michael Haskin and Sofi Alexander, the boys and girls individual cross country winners of North Carolina's 4A state championship race, both belonging to Asheville High School.

Asheville High senior Michael Haskin ran his second fasted time of the season in a neck and neck race to win the boys individual 4A championship.

In the girls individual 4A race, junior Sofi Alexander took home first place for the Asheville High Cougars. Sofi is the first Cougar to win a girls cross country state championship.

Both runners, Michael and Sofi, won their races by less than two seconds, a testament to the determination of both athletes and the highly competitive fields.

On behalf of all of Western North Carolina, congratulations to Michael and Sofi.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Swain County High School girls cross country team on their fourth consecutive North Carolina 1A girls cross country state championship title.

The Maroon Devils girls went above and beyond this season by posting their best score yet out of their four straight championships.

Additionally, Swain County senior, Arizona Blankenship, won her second individual 1A cross country title.

Once again, congratulations to the Swain County High School girls cross country team. Their streak of success is a testament to the dedication and passion of their runners and the exceptional culture of their program.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the West Henderson High School girls volleyball team for winning the North Carolina 3A volleyball championship game.

This is the Falcons' sixth volleyball championship and first since 2008.

The West Henderson girls persevered through the challenges brought by Hurricane Helene, which interrupted their season for two weeks as many of the players were without power and water.

On and off the court, the West Henderson girls battled all season long to finish with an impressive 26 and 2 record and the championship title.

Congratulations to the West Henderson High School Girls Volleyball team, they have made all of Western North Carolina proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Polk County High School girls volleyball team for winning the North Carolina 1A volleyball championship game with a score of 3-0.

This is the Wolverine girls' second consecutive 1A volleyball championship title.

Making their championship win all the more impressive, the team did not have practices or games for a period of 19 days during the middle of their season due to Hurricane Helene.

Congratulations to the Polk County High School girls volleyball team. I commend their work ethic, fortitude, and determination that resulted in an outstanding season.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Dawson Connell, for his work as an intern serving in my D.C. office. I would like to take this opportunity to thank him for his hard work and recognize the meaningful contributions he has made to the office this fall.

Dawson is from Waxhaw, North Carolina, and is currently a getting his Master's in Political Science at American University. Dawson is a graduate of Mars Hill University in western North Carolina and majored in History with both Pre-Law Studies and Political Science minors. Dawson was on the varsity baseball team at Mars Hill and is an impressive golfer.

Interns work with staff to serve constituents in North Carolina's 11th congressional district. Dawson was chosen from a competitive pool of applicants and exceeded every expectation with his positive attitude and impressive work ethic.

It was a pleasure to work with Dawson, and I am so proud to have such an intelligent and ambitious intern representing my office. Dawson exemplified the spirit of public service and represents the best that our Nation has to offer. I congratulate Dawson on this successful completion of his internship, and thank him on behalf of the people of Western North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart to honor Battalion Chief Tony R. Garrison who was killed in the line of duty on September 27 when Tropical Storm Helene hit Western North Carolina. Tony was a native of Western North Carolina and by every account, Tony was a great man.

Known for his outgoing personality and compassionate nature, Tony enjoyed woodworking, fishing, and most of all, spending time with his family. Tony leaves behind the love of his life and wife of 28 years, Mary Chantelle Garrison, his daughter Hannah, and his son Dylan.

I would like to extend my appreciation for the work he accomplished during his time with the U.S. Forest Service, as a volunteer with the Garren Creek Fire Department, member of the Buncombe County Task Force, and as an instructor at A-B Tech in Asheville. Tony dedicated his life to serving others and protecting his neighbors.

As a Battalion Chief with the Fairview Volunteer Fire Department, Tony was used to running towards danger when others would run away. Friday, September 27 was a day of confusion and destruction in Western North Carolina.

Helene made landfall Thursday night and by Friday morning millions of people were left

without cell service, power, or any way to contact the outside world as trees fell and landslides washed away their houses, neighbors, and family members.

Tony's community of Fairview saw historic levels of flooding and suffered from catastrophic damage. During the confusion, Tony did what he was trained to do and what he spent his life doing--helping save others. While Tony worked with his nephew Brandon Ruppe to rescue neighbors during a landslide, a second landslide occurred and both Tony and Brandon tragically passed away from their injuries.

I offer my deepest condolences to the Garrison family. I will continue to keep them and their loved ones in my thoughts and prayers. Tony is a hero and will be remembered for his lifetime of service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of the American Relief Act. We all know the basis of this bill is a continuing resolution to fund the government and to prevent us from shutting down until sometime in the first quarter.

I admit I think we all know a continuing resolution is neither the best way to fund our government nor be responsible for our taxpayers' dollars. We have an appropriations process that should work. To the credit of Chairman Cole, that did work through the Appropriations Committee. I certainly appreciate the chairman's strong leadership in getting us through that.

It is noteworthy that he pointed out the Appropriations Committee by itself does not get to determine how we fund our government.

We have got many needs and necessary reasons to keep our government functioning. The American people are counting on us. Our military and our border guards are counting on us.

Our enemies are watching. We all know North Korea, Russia, China, and others do not have to face issues such as a government shutdown.

Keeping the government open is critical to the district that I represent in western North Carolina.

I would like to take a moment and speak specifically to the disaster relief portion of this bill. As most of my colleagues are aware, North Carolina was hit by Hurricane Helene on September 27 of this year. We experienced unprecedented disaster and destruction.

It is going to cost North Carolina about $58 billion to rebuild. This storm was the most deadly in North Carolina's history. We lost 126,000 homes that were either damaged or destroyed. Countless people are now homeless.

I thank Speaker Johnson for personally visiting western North Carolina, getting his boots muddy, and seeing what we are dealing with there. I thank Leader Scalise for visiting western North Carolina. Chairman Cole also took time to come down. Many other Members were there.

We are going see a number of Members on this floor argue against this bill. Mr. Speaker, I need to remind you that folks in western North Carolina have been paying their taxes for decades, taxes that have gone toward funding disasters in every other part of this country, from California to the Midwest to the Gulf Coast, without argument.

Mr. Speaker, now North Carolina needs our help. They need the help of this body. I am sure some folks are going to speak against this bill. I urge them to think about the disasters that they may have experienced and what they have seen in the news and what they are hearing from me about the need in western North Carolina.

I even heard one Member last week refer to recipients of disaster relief as ``coastal elites.'' I represent about 783,000 people in the mountains of western North Carolina. I can promise you not one single one of those people is a coastal elite. Those are hardworking, taxpaying Americans that deserve the help of this body at this time. I urge passage of this bill.

I must also say that I am disappointed. Even though there is $110 billion in here to help begin to rebuild my great State, there is a provision for private roads and bridges that was stripped out of this for some reason in the last moments of pulling this bill together.

The folks from FEMA in western North Carolina have told me that the most significant difference they see in this disaster versus those they have dealt with in other areas is the number of private roads and bridges that we have.

So, I am hoping, and I appreciate Chairman Cole offering to help me, to get this provision back in with some other vehicle at some other point in the future.

Mr. Speaker, I urge Members' support of this bill. North Carolina deserves and needs the respect and the help to rebuild.