Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and commend the accomplishments of the Airolina Young Aviators (AYA) Program of Durham, North Carolina.

Established in 2016, AYA provides opportunities for high school students--often from disadvantaged communities--to receive professional introductory flight training and mentorship, engaging them in STEM education projects and offers classes and preparing them for flight examinations and pilot licenses. These credentials, enriched by the guidance of AYA mentors, equip students with valuable experience, achievements, skills, and references as they begin to apply to jobs, colleges, and aviation university programs.

The AYA program was founded by Captain Warren Wheeler, a Durham native who established the first African American-owned and -operated air service in the United States. An entrepreneur, aviator, and businessman, Warren paved the way for African Americans and others who wished to pursue careers in the field of aviation. In 1979, he became the first airline owner to use government employment training programs such as the federal Comprehensive Employment Training Act to train unemployed and low-income people of color who sought careers in the airline industry. In addition to providing his students with practical instruction, Wheeler served as their employment negotiator with regional and national carriers to help advance their careers.

Captain Warren continued his mission to expand and support the number of certified minority pilots by establishing AYA as part of Airolina Flight & Music Support, a non-profit organization based in Durham, just two years ago. Through Warren's visionary leadership and the work of dedicated board members and volunteers, AYA currently supports twenty- two students attending flight simulation training, five students presently flying, and two who will take their flight tests to qualify for their pilot's licenses within the next few months.

On behalf of the people of the Fourth Congressional District of North Carolina, I applaud the work of the Airolina Young Aviators Program for empowering young members of our community and helping move the Research Triangle toward a future in which all our students can pursue and achieve their dreams. For these students, the sky truly is the limit.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of a devoted public servant, community leader, and friend, Cora Cole-McFadden, who has recently concluded her service on The Durham City Council and as the city's Mayor Pro Tempore.

A native of Durham, North Carolina, Cora developed her organizational skills and showed a keen sense of justice as early as her teenage years. She and three other classmates desegregated Hillside High School, a defining event that began her lifelong commitment to fighting for equal rights for all members of the Durham community.

Cora's career is marked by many ``firsts.'' She served as the first African American woman to lead a department in the City of Durham and the first African American woman to be named the city's Mayor Pro Tempore. She was also the first recipient of the City of Durham's Diversity Change Agent Award, which is now named in her honor.

In her seventeen years in the Durham City Council and as Mayor Pro Tempore, Cora was a tenacious advocate for safe and affordable housing, accessible healthcare, and empowering youth in the Durham community. She championed the City of Durham Youth Commission's representation at the first-ever Youth Summit sponsored by the North Carolina League of Cities. She helped spur the creation of a local teen center, and constantly sought ways to serve disadvantaged youth.

Cora has served in various leadership positions in the Durham community, including the NAACP, the Housing Appeals Board, the Homeless Services Advisory Committee, the Joint City-County Planning Committee, and the Mayor's Committee for Persons with Disabilities. She has also served on the board of the National League of Cities and has been active in the North Carolina League of Municipalities. Although she is retiring from public office, no one doubts that Cora will find ways to express her love of the people of the Bull City and continue to serve.

I am personally indebted to Cora Cole-McFadden for years of good advice and loyal support--from the time I first learned my district was being redrawn to include Durham right up to the present. She is quick with a smile and a word of encouragement, even in difficult times. Her energy and optimism are infectious--you know you can do the job and you certainly don't want to let her down.

Lisa and I, along with constituents in the Fourth District and colleagues in the North Carolina congressional delegation, want to thank Cora Cole-McFadden for her generous and inclusive spirit and her dedicated service. We wish her and her family the very best as she begins the next chapter of her life.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague, John Garamendi, for taking up the special orders and for doing such a striking job, compelling job, of lining out what the country needs to do in the way of building our roads and bridges and our energy infrastructure. So much that needs to be done that would make a big difference for jobs, for our economy; and then contrasting that, unfortunately, with what the President, after a year of looking forward to this, seems to have come up with. It is just baffling, and I think we need to understand here tonight what is going on and resolve to do better. We have got to do better than this.

Although the President is, of course, onto a major issue, we have always said that. During the campaign, in the early months of the new administration, President Trump spoke a lot about infrastructure, promised to put forward a bold plan to put Americans to work, repairing, modernizing our infrastructure.

Now, many issues divide Democrats and Republicans, but that really isn't one of them. This is an issue that potentially, at least, unifies us, brings us together. During the last election, both candidates were talking infrastructure. It stood out as an area of common ground, potential bipartisan cooperation.

Unfortunately, I am afraid, now, after a year, and after a year of concentrating on other things like repealing healthcare and a massive tax cut for the wealthy, now, finally, the President does come around to infrastructure, and, frankly, it is pretty underwhelming. The plan doesn't make good on the promise that he put forward during the campaign for a serious bipartisan plan. It certainly isn't bipartisan.

It calls for $1.5 trillion in new investment, but it shifts the overwhelming majority of the cost to States and municipalities, forcing them to either raise taxes or to sell off public assets or to cut other critical programs. So it is, on the face of it, just inadequate.

The Federal investment: $200 billion supposed to leverage $1.5 trillion. And it reverses the split in terms of Federal

and State responsibility. That is an 80/20 Federal-State split now, in most cases. Now it is going to go something like 20/80, and the States and the localities are burdened with taking this on with very limited and very inadequate Federal support. So it is inadequate, and it is certainly inadequate as a Federal investment.

Secondly, and my colleague has stressed this very effectively, this is a bait and switch. This is a bait and switch.

I am the ranking Democrat on the Transportation and Housing Appropriations Subcommittee. So we are now, with the budget agreement enacted last week, looking forward, hopefully in a bipartisan way, to writing a transportation bill for the remainder of 2018. Transportation investments that have bipartisan support are now in sight because of this budget agreement. But then along comes, ironically, the President's infrastructure plan alongside his budget proposal, which actually decimates the transportation programs we already have.

Mr. Garamendi stressed that very effectively. I will add just a few specifics, but this is the most incredible part of this plan to me. It not only falls short, but it actually does great damage to the infrastructure investments we are already making.

For example, we are building Union Station in Raleigh, North Carolina, at this moment. It is going to be a multimodal facility. It is going to facilitate transit bus transportation. It is also an intercity rail station with an Amtrak train leaving for Charlotte three times a day. That is going to be increased because it is a very successful run. Union Station, a multimodal facility: the essence of infrastructure, creating jobs.

How do you think Raleigh is paying for that?

It would be known as a TIGER grant, along with State and local participation. The President's budget totally eliminates TIGER grants, which have provided that kind of support around this country for innovative infrastructure projects, particularly multimodal projects.

TIGER grants: eliminated in the President's budget.

Community Development Block Grants: eliminated in the President's budget.

What on Earth are they thinking down there at the White House, to be simultaneously talking about a great infrastructure initiative and, at the same time, taking away the basic bread and butter infrastructure programs we already have?

Aviation: the President wants to cut Federal aviation appropriations.

FAA facilities and equipment: cut.

FAA operations: cut.

What are they thinking?

And then most incredible of all, when you turn to the ground transportation budget, they want to eliminate all new starts for mass transit in this country: cut the so-called capital investment grants radically.

The President wants to cut the very successful Northeast Corridor Amtrak operations radically. He wants even more to cut Amtrak operations in places like the Southeastern United States, the Midwest, and California--these very promising regional routes.

And this is an infrastructure program?

It certainly sounds like an anti-infrastructure program.

It does not add up. It doesn't begin to add up.

I think this is the most outrageous aspect of this: that the President is coming out with what he markets as a new, bold initiative, and, at the same time, he is actually not just trimming, he is radically cutting, as far as I can tell, all modes of transportation, virtually everything we count on to underwrite and support infrastructure at present.

Then, finally, the President is making a big thing out of rolling back environmental protections and limiting the review of projects. Now, we all know--and Democrats and Republicans have gotten together on this in the FAST Act, for example--that review needs to be expedited and review needs to be efficient.

The FAST Act contains many provisions to expedite review, and those aren't even fully implemented yet. But here we come with the President's infrastructure initiative, which proposes the arbitrary shortening of deadlines. It purports to override the National Environmental Policy Act, possibly even the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act. It is hard to tell exactly what he has in mind. There is virtually no investment in clean energy infrastructure, which one would think would be a major forward-looking component of any infrastructure package.

Representative Alan Lowenthal and I co-chair a task force called the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition--so-called SEEC--and we have released in the last couple of days a sustainable infrastructure proposal. When you place it alongside what the President seems to be suggesting, with some details yet to be announced, there is a great contrast.

What we are advocating is that we invest smartly and we invest sustainably. We have no desire to destroy the core environmental safeguards. In fact, we want to have a meaningful, serious review process. We want to incorporate forward-looking sustainability and resiliency initiatives in our infrastructure plan.

So I commend to my colleagues this report, which we just issued, which I hope will gain attention from both sides of the aisle as we attempt to deal with the President's proposal, to deal with the appropriations bills that we are going to be considering here, and try to build into our infrastructure proposals sound environmental practices, and sustainable practices, for example, taking into account climate change--global warming.

The President reportedly has no intention of including that in his proposal. What a shortsighted thing that would be, to be building bridges and highways and other projects, and then some years from now find that the planning was inadequate to deal with the sea level rise, or whatever kind of effects of global warming we might have.

So, again, I thank my colleague for helping us understand what we need to do as a country, but also understanding how we really need, as a Congress--and I would hope both sides of the aisle. We need to assert ourselves, not just assume that this is some kind of Trump proposal that we can't criticize. Or, in fact, we need to not just criticize it, but we need to do far, far better. So I thank the gentleman.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Speaker, I know the gentleman shares

my sense that we need to diversify our transportation system in this country. We, in particular, need to develop high-speed rail in these corridors where it makes so much sense. Raleigh to Charlotte has been a kind of demonstration of what is possible there.

And transit is not a Democratic or a Republican issue. Our cities-- large and small cities--throughout this country are getting into transit: bus rapid transit, light rail, and regional rail.

And the notion that, ironically, especially on the same week you are announcing an infrastructure plan, you would, at the same time, say no new starts in transit is just beyond belief.

Will the gentleman yield?

That appears to be what is happening. Or else the OMB Director and the President's people in the White House doing this infrastructure plan never checked with each other.

I do think the bait-and-switch aspect is the most incredible aspect of this because it really, really would damage transportation efforts that we already depend on.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory and legacy of Deah Barakat, Yusor Abu-Salha, and Razan Abu- Salha, whose lives were taken in a violent hate crime three years ago at their home in Chapel Hill.

Deah was a 23-year-old student in the School of Dentistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and had recently married Yusor, who was set to enroll in the School of Dentistry in the fall of 2015. Yusor's sister, Razan, was a 19-year-old student of architecture at North Carolina State University in Raleigh.

Diligent in their studies, these promising young adults also demonstrated a strong commitment to community service, consistent with the tenets of their Muslim faith. Deah organized food drives and provided free dental supplies to local homeless and underserved communities. Razan utilized her artistic talent through selling portraits reflecting pacifism and tolerance, using proceeds to provide medical and humanitarian aid for children in the Middle East. Yusor, a leader in N.C. State's Muslim Student Association, traveled abroad to provide care for, and share the stories of, refugees displaced by war. In the months leading up to that devastating day, Deah, Yusor, and Razan were fundraising for the Project Refugee Smiles Dental Relief Mission to provide dental care to refugees from war-torn Syria.

These three exemplary lives were extinguished on February 10, 2015 by the acts of an anti-Muslim extremist who had long menaced the neighborhood and maintained an arsenal of lethal weapons. This appalling act of violence devastated our community and served as a harsh reminder of the bigotry and hatred that too many still face.

In the wake of the tragedy, classmates, friends, and family members came together to turn their grief into action by establishing the Our Three Winners Endowment Fund, a foundation to honor and continue the humanitarian efforts of Deah, Yusor, and Razan. The Foundation has provided grants to the annual Project Refugee Smiles Dental Relief Mission and scholarships for students who demonstrate values of academic excellence and community service.

Prejudice and violence against Muslim Americans and other religious, ethnic, or racial minorities has no place in American society, yet many of our fellow citizens continue to experience harassment and discrimination every day. On February 10 of each year, the anniversary of the senseless hate crime that took the lives of Deah, Yusor, and Razan, the people of Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and other communities touched by their lives come together to commemorate their humanitarian legacy and rededicate ourselves to building bridges of understanding, acceptance, and community.

Mr. Speaker, we are 3\1/2\ months into the fiscal year without a budget. Republicans are proposing to lurch along another month with no resolution in sight and no commitment to address critical investments. Democrats will not be a party to further delay.

It is not a great mystery how to deal with this. We have done it each of the last 4 years. We must have a year-long budget in place with a bipartisan agreement to adjust the defense and nondefense caps so that we can pass our 12 appropriations bills. Democrats have been willing to enter into such agreement for at least 6 months.

Republican leaders need to reject their Tea Party extremists and conclude a budget agreement across the aisle.

We also must be assured of progress toward resolving the status of DREAMers, the 800,000 young people who were brought here as children and have known no other country. President Trump created a crisis in removing the DREAMers' protection. He asked Congress to devise a long- term solution; he then blew up the solution. They are dangerously exposed. We must address their dilemma.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Pota Vurnakes Vallas, who died last week at the age of 109, surrounded by her family. A loving wife, mother and grandmother, pioneering businesswoman, and public-spirited citizen, Mrs. Vallas was one of the Fourth District's oldest residents and the matriarch of Raleigh's Greek community. Lisa and I extend our condolences to her family and her many friends and admirers in the Greek community and beyond.

Mrs. Vallas was born in 1908 in the small village of Krissfa, Greece, the eldest of ten children. In 1924 her father, Gus Vurnakes, became the first Greek immigrant to settle in Raleigh and Pota soon followed. Gus opened a fruit and soda stop in downtown Raleigh and Pota assisted him, delivering ice cream and chocolates on a horse-drawn wagon to homes and businesses in Raleigh.

In 1927, she married fellow immigrant George Vallas and began raising her family. She and George were stalwart members of the community, helping to establish a Greek Orthodox Church in downtown Raleigh. Eventually George and Pota donated the land upon which Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church stands today.

George and Pota lost their home and business in the Great Depression. To provide for her young family, she applied to work for the Singer Sewing Company in 1931 and quickly emerged as a talented salesperson and manager. Her dream of owning her own business finally came to fruition in 1944 when she bought the distributorship of the National Sewing Machine Company and opened National Art Interiors, one of the first interior decorating businesses in Raleigh. Pota's store became a landmark for the finest furniture and fabric companies, furnishing many homes and businesses throughout the state. She ran the business with her daughters and other family members until retiring at the age of 94 in 2002.

In addition to managing a thriving company, Mrs. Vallas served on the Boards of First Citizens Bank and the North Carolina Community Foundation. She was a lifelong member of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and a member of Philoptochos. She was honored with the Saint Michael's Award, the highest recognition for a layperson, for her years of dedicated service by the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America.

Mrs. Vallas was one of my most memorable constituents. I often saw her at Raleigh's Greek Festival and treasure the memory of delivering a birthday letter from President Obama to her on one such occasion. She was quick with a smile and an encouraging word. She was a woman of great energy and faith, an indomitable spirit. She leaves behind a community that she loved and that loved her in return. We join with that community in mourning her passing and honoring her exemplary life.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Harold Webb--Tuskegee Airman, North Carolina Director of Personnel, Wake County Commissioner--one of North Carolina's most distinguished leaders. Harold died this past Friday at the age of 92 after a lifetime of devoted public service. My wife Lisa and I extend our condolences to his wife Lucille, their family, and all Harold's extensive network of colleagues and friends as we express gratitude for his extraordinary life.

Born and raised in Greensboro, North Carolina, Harold attended public schools in Guilford County. Upon graduation, he served as a pilot with WWII's legendary Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American unit to fly and maintain American combat aircraft. His unit received a Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 for its military achievements and was instrumental in paving the way for full integration of the Armed Forces. As the Raleigh News & Observer editorialized yesterday, ``Webb was proud to be a member of the Greatest Generation, and it may fairly be said that he was among those who made it the greatest.''

After the war, Harold received a Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Masters Degree in Education from N.C. Agricultural and Technical State University. He then became a teacher and principal in Orange County Schools and served in a variety of state-level education positions, including administrator of Chapter I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in North Carolina schools.

In 1977, Harold was appointed by Governor James B. Hunt to be Director of State Personnel, the first African-American to serve in this position. He then served on the Wake County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2010, and was Chairman from 2008 to 2009.

Harold Webb's board service included The University of North Carolina Board of Governors, Shaw University Board of Trustees, Wake Technical Community College Board of Trustees, Wake County Planning Board, and the National Association of State Personnel Executives. He received an honorary doctorate from NC A&T University and, with Lucille, was inducted into the Raleigh Hall of Fame in 2011. Harold was a faithful member of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church, where he held numerous leadership positions.

Harold Webb made life in Raleigh and North Carolina better for all of our citizens. I and many others valued him as a friend, collaborator, and colleague: a man you wanted on your team. He was a leader who got things done but was quick to share the credit, a kind and generous man skilled at bringing people together, and a great source of encouragement and inspiration. We join with Harold's family, his many friends and admirers, and members of the communities he served, in mourning his passing and honoring his exemplary life of leadership and public service.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding. I am thankful that Mr. Garamendi has taken out this Special Order and that so many colleagues have come out to express their views on this travesty of a tax bill that was passed by the House today and that appears to be on its way to the President's desk.

Speaking of the President and how much he will benefit from that, I am sure my colleagues have heard the saying that he campaigned like a populist and is governing like a plutocrat.

Wouldn't you say this bill is a pretty good exhibit A with respect to that?

It is, indeed. But the Russian role model seems alive and well as we look at the development of the American economy and where we may be going.

Mr. Speaker, I am sure my colleague will agree that our Republican friends know this is a very, very unpopular piece of legislation. It is striking, isn't it? They decided that they were going to go into the hole $1.5 trillion, forget about revenue neutrality. They are going to go into the hole and borrow $1.5 trillion. Even with that, they have not been able to write a bill that most of the American people feel a benefit from. It is extraordinary.

Well, the fact is that most of the American people won't benefit from this bill. I think they are on to that. The latest polling shows that Americans oppose this bill by a margin of 2 to 1. That is, of course, before they have even felt the effects of this bill.

I think Republicans know that this opposition is only going to get stronger the more people figure out what is in this bill. That may be why they have rushed this thing to passage in the most chaotic legislative process I can ever remember.

They released thousands of pages of text on this bill last Friday and expected to vote on it today, of course.

Maybe that is the reason why they held no hearings. The less people know, the better.

Maybe that is why we have had almost no debate.

Maybe that is why they won't even allow for a complete scoring of the bill by the Joint Committee on Taxation or the Congressional Budget Office.

Maybe that desire to cover up the consequences of this is the reason they have added these questionable provisions, to provide a fig leaf of coverage for hesitant Members, skittish Members who want to be able to explain this vote back home.

Mr. Speaker, I have heard for years Republican colleagues decry fiscal irresponsibility, a lack of regular order in these Chambers and a lack of orderly, responsible procedures. They have talked about tax reform that simplifies the Tax Code, that benefits hardworking families.

Well, what we have seen today and what we have seen in recent days as this bill came to the floor is just a total contradiction of all that they have professed to stand for all these years. These words are nothing but lip service and false promises. They have sloppily drafted this bill behind closed doors. They plan to raise taxes on 86 million middle class families, and they plan to add $1.5 trillion to the national debt.

Despite claims that this bill will benefit the middle class, 83 percent of the tax cuts go to the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

And they have also taken aim at healthcare, as if the tax travesties weren't enough. By eliminating the so-called individual mandate, the GOP tax scam will explode premiums, and it will add 13 million Americans to the ranks of the uninsured.

The bill is a windfall for large corporations that want to ship American jobs overseas. They want to cut staff. They drive down wages and salaries. This bill will facilitate that.

Plain and simple, the Republican tax scam asks hardworking families and future generations of Americans to foot the bill for huge tax cuts for corporations and for the wealthiest.

And we haven't seen the end of it yet. Do you know what is coming next? You can bet that, once this bill passes, Republicans are going to pivot. They are going to pivot in a heartbeat to pose as the guardians of fiscal rectitude.

Having abandoned any pretense of revenue neutrality in this bill and having added $1.5 trillion to the national debt and having triggered a $25 billion Medicare sequester cut, they are, all of a sudden, going to sound the alarm: Poor us. We are broke. Our country is broke. We have got to squeeze Medicaid now. We have got to squeeze Medicare. We have got to squeeze Social Security. We have got to squeeze investments in transportation, housing, education, and research.

You can see it coming. We have seen this bad Republican movie before, although never on such an epic scale.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman is absolutely right. This has been in Republican budgets forever, this war on the kind of safety net provisions that so many of our fellow citizens depend on.

Fiscal rectitude, indeed. They are willing to go $1.5 trillion in the hole,

willing to borrow that money, to take the national debt to dangerous levels.

But it is a matter of being able, then, to say: Poor us. Our country is broke. We can't afford to invest in our people. We can't afford to build our infrastructure. We can't even afford to leave intact the safety net that people have spent their lives depending on.

It is a travesty. This tax bill is not just about taxes. It is about keeping faith with the American people; and that faith, this very day, has been broken by the Republican Party.

Mr. Speaker, I should say this. They had an opportunity to do this the right way. This wasn't inevitable. This wasn't written in stone. They could have worked with Democrats in Congress in a bipartisan way to figure out how to grow the economy and how to simplify our Tax Code.

Do you remember that? Simplify the Tax Code and file it on a postcard. This bill makes the Tax Code far, far more complicated. It is a dream bill for tax lawyers and accountants.

So no more simplification. That has been forgotten.

They were going to lower the tax burden for middle class families. We could have figured out how to do that without exploding the debt. There are many, many things we could have achieved together.

We have, here, a once-in-a-decade opportunity, and they have blown it, they have squandered it, and that is a source of great regret. In fact, the Republicans have jeopardized our economic future to give tax cuts, tailor-made, for corporate lobbyists and, as they have actually said, to make their donors happy--to make their donors happy.

Mr. Speaker, we hope against hope that the Senate might yet do the right thing, and when they have to clean up this bill to bring it back to the House for yet another vote, that our House colleagues--it was a narrow vote. It was a narrow vote. It would be wonderful to turn it around. But we certainly need to make sure that there is no mistake how this has happened, what has happened, and we must start, this very day, to figure out how to make our economy and our country whole and to make it work for all of our people.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for this opportunity. This is very, very useful to be able to have this kind of extended discussion. Even though the subject matter is not happy--we have had a very bad day here in the House of Representatives--it is important for us to pick up, move ahead, and realize the task that lies ahead.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of a devoted public servant, community leader, and friend, William V. ``Bill'' Bell, whose tenure as Mayor of Durham, North Carolina ended this month after 16 years in office.

A native of Washington, D.C. who earned engineering degrees from Howard University and New York University, Bill began his career in the private sector, eventually retiring as a senior engineer at IBM in Research Triangle Park. He was first elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 1972 and served until 1994 and again from 1996 to 2000, including three terms as chairman from 1982 to 1994. He was elected Mayor of Durham in 2001 and re-elected six times, making him the longest-serving mayor in Durham's history.

During his more than four decades in politics, Bill was a visionary force behind Durham's transformation from a declining tobacco town into a vibrant, modern paragon of the ``new South,'' bustling with commerce, cultural events and attractions, world-class hotels and restaurants, and a thriving entrepreneurial community. He played an instrumental role in the merger of the Durham County and Durham City school systems, the financing of major downtown amenities such as the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and Durham Performing Arts Center, and, more recently, the

planning for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project.

Even as he has worked to attract new ideas and new investment to Durham, Bill has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Durhamites would benefit from their community's growth. He continues to serve as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the UDI Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the education and economic welfare of low-income and underprivileged Durham residents.

I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Bill during his more than 40 years in North Carolina politics, and especially since Durham became part of the Fourth Congressional District in 1997. We worked together especially on appropriations projects, to improve the corridors to downtown, to remedy a ``food desert,'' and to develop affordable housing and livable neighborhoods. I and many others found Bill to be an ideal collaborator, able and willing to work cooperatively with all sorts of people, ready to embrace new ideas and approaches, loyal to Durham and determined to realize its potential.

Even as he retires from public office, Bill will continue to serve the people of Durham through UDI Community Development Corporation and through his active involvement in other civic and charitable organizations. And his legacy will live on through the countless lives he has touched and the indelible impact he has made on the Bull City, which is today more prosperous, dynamic, and inclusive than ever before.

Lisa and I, along with constituents in the Fourth District and colleagues in the North Carolina congressional delegation, want to thank Mayor Bell for his dedicated service and exceptional leadership and wish him and his family the very best as he begins the next chapter of his life.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in opposition to this bill. The Iran nuclear agreement stands as a major diplomatic achievement that has destroyed Iran's capacity to develop a nuclear weapon.

Detractors point to Iran's bad behavior in other realms--ballistic missiles, support for Hezbollah, violations of human rights. We acknowledge these problems. Nobody is talking about coddling Iran or apologizing for Iran. I resent that implication by the last speaker.

The fact is, we take these problems and these challenges very, very seriously; but we also note that there is not a one of them that wouldn't be much more serious if we were dealing with a nuclear-capable state. So we have got to protect this agreement. We have got to be wary of any proposals that would directly or indirectly threaten it.

And that brings us to the bill before us, H.R. 4324, the so-called Strengthening Oversight of Iran's Access to Finance Act, which would make it much more difficult for Iran to purchase commercial aircraft from firms that do business with the United States.

Now, as we all know, Iran's ability to replenish its aging civil aviation fleet, which was depleted by decades of sanctions, was a key incentive for Tehran to sign on to the JCPOA.

Kenneth Katzman of the Congressional Research Service said: ``Iran would view the bill's enactment into law as a breach of the JCPOA. The agreement contains a clear U.S. commitment to undertake such sales to Iran.''

But this bill imposes reporting and certification requirements that could well prompt the Treasury Department to cease issuing licenses allowing for such sales if this certification were to be contingent on non-nuclear factors, factors outside the deal.

Richard Nephew, the lead sanctions expert for the U.S. negotiating team, put it this way. He said: ``My take on this bill is that, if implemented the way I expect, it probably would violate the JCPOA.''

Now, I suppose we have to entertain the possibility that that actually is what the authors of this bill have in mind. Maybe that is the idea, to give the Trump administration and the Iranian hardliners a way of sabotaging the agreement.

Already, President Trump has tried to undermine the JCPOA by refusing to certify Iran's compliance with the deal when, by all accounts, Iran is, in fact, complying.

Now, by directly blocking a specific provision of the agreement, namely, the permissible sale of commercial passenger aircraft, this legislation would send a clear message to Iran that the United States does not negotiate in good faith. It would imply that we expect to have it both ways, with Iran dismantling its nuclear facilities and getting nothing in return.

The bill before us today would also break faith with our P5+1 negotiating partners in a reckless and dangerous way.

Because of this agreement, Mr. Speaker, the breakout time for Iran to develop enough weapons-grade material for a nuclear weapon went from 2 or 3 months to more than a year.

Because of this agreement, the international community has 24/7 access to Iran's nuclear sites, an unprecedented degree of access, intrusive inspections.

And because of this agreement, we possess an enforcement mechanism to ensure Iran's compliance. Why on Earth would we give up these capabilities by failing to uphold our end of the bargain?

That is the way agreements work. We uphold our end of the bargain. We don't sabotage agreement by deceptive legislation like that bill before us.

So, in light of renewed tensions on the Korean Peninsula, now is especially not the time for the United States to go back on its word to our allies and to the international community.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no'' on H.R. 4324.

Mr. Speaker, the bill before us creates a dangerous race to the bottom, forcing States to accept concealed carry permits from all other States, regardless of their training standards, their background check system, or their safety requirements.

Make no mistake, this bill would make it easier to cross State lines with hidden, loaded weapons, threatening local communities by making it harder for law enforcement to determine who is lawfully caring a firearm. No wonder sheriffs, police chiefs, and other law enforcement agencies oppose this bill.

What a shame it is that, after the terrible mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas, the first gun-related bill this House considers would actually make it easier for dangerous people to carry concealed weapons in more places.

Mr. Speaker, these tragedies aren't inevitable. They are the result of policy choices. We could be working together to enact commonsense measures to respond to the gun violence epidemic facing our country. But as long as Republicans are beholden to NRA extremism, these proposals, I am afraid, will fall on deaf ears.

I urge my colleagues to reject this shameful proposal and to work, instead, to address the root causes of gun violence in this country.

Mr. Speaker, it is increasingly obvious what a sham of a tax plan the Republicans have proposed, slashing taxes on the superrich and large corporations at the expense of the middle class.

What is less well known, and what the Republicans don't want to talk about, is their proposal to repeal tax-exempt private activity bonds and, therefore, to kill the same public-private partnerships that they profess to support.

States, local governments, and private partners around the country use private activity bonds to finance a wide array of infrastructure projects, like highways, airports, hospitals, water treatment facilities, and affordable housing.

In North Carolina, for example, private activity bonds financed and upgraded the terminal at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and are being used by our State housing agency to attract investors for new multifamily housing developments worth more than $700 million.

If Republicans get their way, these projects would die on the vine, and more than 6,200 units of affordable housing would simply disappear.

How does that help working families realize the American Dream?

At a time when funding for housing and infrastructure is continually squeezed, the last thing we should do is push through a plan that would hamstring our State and local governments and destroy our ability to leverage private investment.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to oppose the Republican tax plan.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for yielding, and I commend him for taking up this Special Order and giving Representative Adams and myself the opportunity to participate and to pay tribute to the General Baptist State Convention.

The mention of Shaw University brings me to my feet because I, too, want to reflect on this significant Baptist institution, which is in the Fourth Congressional District, in downtown Raleigh.

Shaw has also recently celebrated its 150th anniversary, a history that parallels that of the General Baptist State Convention.

I was there last week in historic Estey Hall. I have to say--yes, point out the historic building there on the campus--when I first came to the Congress in the 1980s, my first appropriations earmark was for Estey Hall. Believe me, that was just a little bit of seed money. But Shaw has restored that building in a beautiful way. The acting President of Shaw, Dr. Paulette Dillard, is doing a wonderful job of leading that university.

But the occasion last week was an inaugural lecture. The Adam Clayton Powell-Ella Baker lecture is going to be an annual occasion at Shaw. I was honored to give that lecture to a very lively group of students and faculty. Then we had a luncheon in Estey Hall afterwards and a great discussion, just liberal arts education at its best. I appreciated being part of that occasion, and I certainly, over the years, have come to appreciate what Shaw means: a Baptist institution. It is tied very, very closely. Shaw University Divinity School is affiliated--an institution that this convention has nurtured and that, in turn, has served thousands of people, and enriched the life of North Carolina.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for this opportunity.

I would like to conclude by reflecting on some of the outstanding pastors who have led this convention and led the congregations that comprise this convention. I hesitate to name any because there are so many who have served so faithfully and so well.

But I want to share some memories, and I think our listeners in North Carolina will remember these as well. They exemplify what this convention has been all about and the leadership it has offered.

Dr. Charles Ward, for example, long-term pastor of the First Baptist Church in Raleigh, a civil rights leader, a mentor to so many people over the years, and a revered pastor. I remember him so well as I first began to think about running for Congress and sought his counsel. He unfailingly gave wise counsel and encouragement. He, of course, was a leader in the General Baptist State Convention.

Reverend Lorenzo Lynch, from Durham, North Carolina, another former leader of the convention. His son, Leonzo, is now the vice president of the convention. Leonzo Lynch is a powerful prophetic preacher. He had a huge impact on the city of Durham. The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People recently honored his lifetime achievements. And his daughter, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, returned to Durham to be part of that recognition.

I think of C.R. Edwards, former president of the convention, pastor for so many years at the First Baptist Church of Fayetteville, a long- term leader of the North Carolina General Assembly, and special assistant to North Carolina's Governors. Again, a mentor, a wise man, someone who was a good man and who knew how to bring out the best in others.

I think of W.B. Lewis, who recently passed away, another former president of the convention. He was pastor for a long time of the--I say a long time--decades upon decades of the First Cosmopolitan Baptist Church in Raleigh. He was a pioneer in figuring out how to work with the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to form a nonprofit corporation to build affordable housing, which, to this day, stands in Raleigh--rental housing for the elderly.

Finally, I think of John R. Manley, 60-plus years as pastor of First Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, a dear friend of mine. Another former president of the convention, by the way. This was a pattern for these leading pastors to offer that kind of State leadership, as they were offering local leadership. John Manley also was a champion of housing. Manley Estates stands right there in that community. I know how hard John Manley worked on that because we worked together. We have this housing in the community because of his vision.

I can go on and on. But this is such an impressive honor roll of leaders--pastors--who have not only led their flocks, but they have led the State and, in many cases, national religious organizations.

The General Baptist State Convention has enabled millions of people over these years to deepen their faith and to express that faith in ministering to those whom Jesus called, ``the least of these,'' and to advance the struggle for justice in this country.

So I am proud to join my colleagues in this tribute tonight. And I say to the General Baptist State Convention of North Carolina that many faithful members of the congregations, the leaders, may you go from strength to strength, and may you continue to approach the gospel powerfully and be a force for good and justice and right in our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a friend, former colleague, and leader in promoting international cooperation and understanding, who was recently recognized by a key U.S. ally for his outstanding work. Last month, David Dreier received the Order of the Aztec Eagle, the highest honor bestowed to a foreign national by the Government of Mexico.

Those of us who served with Representative Dreier know him as the former chairman of the House Rules Committee, as a faithful representative of his Southern California district for more than three decades, and as a forceful champion of democracy, free trade, and the rule of law. An avowed ``Reagan Republican,'' Dreier was instrumental in crafting many of our nation's trade policies, including the North American Free Trade Agreement.

What some may not realize is that Representative Dreier was also a leader in cultivating closer ties and cooperation between the United States Congress and its partner legislatures around the world. Through our work on the House Democracy Partnership (HDP)--which he served as the founding chairman and I as chairman during the years of Democratic leadership--we had the opportunity to work together to advance the cause of parliamentary democracy, traveling widely and memorably to parliaments from Peru to Pakistan and hosting dozens of delegations of visiting legislators and staff in Washington. During these engagements, Representative Dreier was a consummate diplomat and a skilled mentor, navigating sometimes-difficult bilateral issues but also the practical questions of how parliamentary institutions could be more effective. Our work together epitomized the maxim that partisanship should end at the water's edge--a spirit that persists today under the leadership of current HDP chairman Peter Roskam.

While our work with HDP focused on less developed democracies, Representative Dreier always had a special interest in--and fondness for--the parliamentary democracy on our southern border, Mexico. He was an active member of the U.S.-Mexico Binational Commission, a leader of the U.S.-Mexico Inter-parliamentary Group, a co-chair of the U.S.- Mexico Congressional Caucus, and a frequent participant in congressional delegations to Mexico. During our work with HDP, he often invoked Mexico as an example of democratic development and spoke fondly of his work as an election observer in the country.

It is fitting that Representative Dreier has been acknowledged for this work by receiving the Order of the Aztec Eagle, joining leaders such as President Eisenhower, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth II as well as cultural icons such as Walt Disney, Placido Domingo, and Bono. I know I speak for many in extending him my warmest congratulation, and in wishing him well in his continued post-congressional service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to introduce today's guest chaplain, my friend, Imam Abdullah Antepli.

Imam Antepli has been a pioneer in Muslim Campus Ministry, serving since 2003, in chaplaincy roles at Wesleyan University, Hartford Seminary, and Duke University. He was also a founding member of the Muslim Chaplains' Association.

During his time in the chaplaincy, Imam Antepli counseled students and adults of all faiths and provided an Islamic perspective to discussions of faith, spirituality, social justice, peace, and cultural exchange. He effectively built bridges and promoted an understanding across religious and cultural divides. That was his mission, and it continues to be his mission to this day.

Imam Antepli's leadership roles at Duke University currently include chief representative of Muslim affairs at the Colleges of Arts and Sciences and senior fellow in the Office of Civic Engagement. He has also served as associate director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center. Imam Antepli also serves as senior fellow of the Jewish-Muslim Relations at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.

He joined Secretary John Kerry's Office of Faith-Based Community Initiatives and Secretary Hillary Clinton's religion and foreign policy team to bring a religious perspective to major foreign policy issues. He traveled around the world as an informal ambassador to engage on issues of religious diplomacy.

I am honored to welcome Imam Antepli back to the House of Representatives. He is a prophetic voice for peace and justice, an engaging teacher and counselor, a gifted interpreter of his faith, and an effective promoter not merely of interfaith tolerance, but of positive engagement.

I am happy to count him as a friend and, along with my colleagues, wish to express appreciation for his words of inspiration today.