Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the words of Mr. Hoyer.

As most of you know in this Chamber, my previous career was in law enforcement, 33 years. And there are some Members in here who have served their community as a police officer.

In my experience in 33 years, I felt the pain of the loss of a partner and a best friend. I felt the pain of the loss of a neighbor and a very good friend and academy graduate friend.

As the sheriff, I lost officers during my term, 8 years as sheriff in Seattle.

I appreciate the time that we take today to honor those who have died to protect Members of this body, and to recognize all of those law enforcement officers across the country, across the world, for that matter, who are protecting us each and every day.

But I think one of the most important things we can do, ladies and gentlemen, is not only remember them and their service, but remember their families. Their families lost a husband. They lost a father, a brother, an uncle, a grandpa.

This is real life-and-death stuff that these folks face every day.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Cantor), the majority leader.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to also add my compliments to Chairman Camp.

Not to be repetitive, I think it is important to mention some of the fine work that Chairman Camp has done in his time here in Congress, which has inspired all of us, I think, to move the legislation that we are discussing today. He has left an indelible stamp on our Nation's child welfare policy during the years he has served in Congress, and especially throughout his service on the Ways and Means Committee. He has a whole list of bills and initiatives and amendments that he has been associated with to champion this cause, but I think, suffice it to say, Mr. Camp has probably done more than most in the last 20 years of his service here for the people of America to help children, and especially focused on foster care and adoption.

Again, I want to join in praising and thanking the chairman for his service and dedication to the children of this country and families in general.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support of H.R. 4980, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act.

This bill, as the chairman said, reflects bipartisan agreement and bicameral agreement. So, after we pass this bill tonight, it goes back to the Senate, and this will go to the President's desk, I am sure, and be signed within, I hope, the next month or so.

This bill is designed to prevent sex trafficking involving youth in foster care. It is designed to strengthen families by increasing adoptions from foster care, and it is designed to improve child support collections.

This issue is a very personal issue for me. I have listened to the speeches tonight, and I appreciate the enthusiasm and the dedication and the focus that Members of Congress have put on this issue over the last year especially. This is our second week this month, I think, that we have focused on human trafficking in foster care.

Mr. Speaker, some people know that my previous career was in law enforcement. I spent 33 years in the sheriff's office. Many of those years were spent investigating a case that has been entitled the Green River murder case. We finally arrested that person. He says that he killed somewhere between 60 and 70 young girls in Seattle--60 to 70 children's lives taken. I collected a lot of those bodies, Mr. Speaker. I remember them, where they lay, 15-year-old girls.

We are not talking about a bill today, ladies and gentlemen and Mr. Speaker. We are not talking about a bill--legislation--that is just a piece of fluff, that is just a piece of legislation, that is just words. We are talking about the lives of children and the monsters who are out there--and they have been discussed tonight--who are ready to prey on them, who are ready to take their lives, even if it is just to take a piece of their lives away from them for a moment, or maybe 20 times a night they take a piece of their lives. They survive physically, but mentally and emotionally, their lives have been ripped apart and so have the families'.

If you were to just drive down this street and see 10 young ladies standing on a street corner, Mr. Speaker, who were involved in human trafficking, six out of those 10 would be foster kids. These are kids we have responsibility for, whom we as a nation have the responsibility for--all of us in each one of our States who take care of foster children. We place them in foster homes, and they run away, and we don't find them, and we don't search for them, and they go on the streets, and they get scooped up by somebody who says: I love you. Stay with me. I will buy you clothes. I will buy you jewelry. I will put you on the street, too, and that is how you are going to make the money to buy those things--and guess what. You are going to provide me with some of those things, too.

It just makes me sick. It should make every American sick to his stomach. We need to stop this.

I have seen it with my own eyes for 19 years in having been involved in this case, trying to bring this monster, who not only took away their souls, but who also eventually ended up taking away their lives. He ripped those lives out of the families' hands--gone. My 15-year-old daughter--gone. Can you imagine?

That is why we need to help folks. This is such an important piece of legislation. One of the young ladies who was one of the first victims in this case was Wendy Coffield. She was a foster kid. She ran away from her foster home, and she ended up on the street, but nobody looked for Wendy Coffield until we found her one day, floating in the river just south of Seattle--dead.

One of the things that I wanted to do as the chair of the Human Resources Subcommittee was to help educate this country and other Members about this issue. We held hearings, and we had experts from DSHS and the State of Washington and human resources all across the country who were directors of DSHS, and we had social workers. They all provided great information.

But do you know? One of the most powerful witnesses and speakers we had was a young lady named Miss Ortiz Walker Pettigrew. She goes by the name of ``T.'' She was recently named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. She is a young lady who spent the first 18 years of her life in foster care, and 7 of those years were in human trafficking. She is now one of the most 100 most influential people in the world. She was trafficked on the streets. She was trafficked on the Internet. She was trafficked on the back pages of newspapers. Now she is speaking out, and she is the one--and people like her are the ones--who provides us with that information.

I think that we can all agree that our Nation's children deserve better, because her statement was and her comment was: I felt like I was part of a family. I identified with my pimp and with the other young ladies who were out working the street. That was my family-- versus having a family that could hold them and love them.

This bill requires States to identify victims of sex trafficking and provide them with the services they need to heal. It will also improve data on instances of child sex trafficking so better policies can be developed to prevent it.

Also, on the prevention front, this bill makes sure that kids can be kids, that foster kids can participate in after-school events, which would, I think, make them less vulnerable, anyway, to getting involved in street activity and getting sucked into the life of human trafficking. It encourages States to move children out of the foster care system and into loving families more quickly.

The approach we are taking is practical. It is bipartisan. It is based on experiences from States around the country. It is evidence- based, and it is also real life experience-based. This bill incorporates a wide range of ideas gleaned from bills introduced by members of the Ways and Means Committee--like from Mr. Paulsen, who will speak soon--and by other Members of the House and from over 150 pages of public comments received on our December 2013 discussion draft.

I want to thank the subcommittee's ranking member, Mr. Doggett, who joins me on the floor today, as well as to thank the chairman, Mr. Camp, and the ranking member, Mr. Levin, for their support of this legislation and for their help throughout its development.

I also want to thank the many outside groups that offered their feedback and their support. As of today, we have received support for this bill from 48 child welfare groups, which is an indication of the high importance of this legislation. I can't think of a more important or a more bipartisan topic than

protecting vulnerable children in foster care and working to find loving homes for each of them.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen).

Mr. Speaker, I will insert in the Record a list of the organizations in support of this legislation.

Organizations in Support of the Preventing Sex Trafficking and

Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980)

1. American Academy of Pediatrics (letter)

2. American Psychological Association (letter)

3. Association on American Indian Affairs (email)

4. Central Council Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska

(letter)

5. Cherokee Nation (letter)

6. Children Awaiting Parents (Senate)

7. Children's Defense Fund (letter)

8. Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption (letter)

9. Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (letter)

10. Eastern Shashone Tribe (letter)

11. First Focus Campaign for Children (letter)

12. Fort Belknap Child Support Program (letter)

13. Foster Club (letter)

14. Foster Family-Based Treatment Association (letter)

15. Generations United (letter)

16. Holt International (letter)

17. Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (letter)

18. Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

19. Love 146 (letter)

20. Menominee Tribal Child Support Agency (letter)

21. Mescalero Apache Tribe (letter)

22. Meskwaki Nation Child Support Services (letter)

23. National Adoption Center (letter)

24. National Child Support Enforcement Association (letter

with concerns)

25. National Children's Alliance (letter)

26. National Foster Parent Association (letter)

27. National Indian Child Welfare Association (email)

28. Nebraska Families Collaborative (letter)

29. Nez Perce Tribe (letter)

30. North American Council on Adoptable Children (letter)

31. NYS Citizens' Coalition for Children (letter)

32. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (letter)

33. Oregon Post Adoption Resource Center (letter)

34. Penobscot Nation Child Support Agency (letter)

35. Red Cliff Tribal Child Support Services Agency (letter)

36. Rights4Girls (letter)

37. Stockbridge-Munsee Community (letter)

38. Suquamish Tribe (letter)

39. The Adoption Exchange (email)

40. The Attachment and Trauma Network (Senate)

41. The California Alliance of Child and Family Services

(Senate)

42. The Child Welfare League of America (letter)

43. The Donaldson Adoption Institute (letter)

44. The National Crittenton Foundation (email)

45. Tribal Child Support Enforcement, Modoc Tribe of

Oklahoma (letter)

46. Voice for Adoption (letter)

47. You Gotta Believe (letter)

48. Yurok Tribe (letter).

Mr. Speaker, this legislation, as I said earlier, represents bipartisan, bicameral progress in protecting our Nation's most vulnerable children.

So, in plain language, the House of Representatives cooperated together and developed a bill. The Senate cooperated together, Senators Hatch and Wyden worked together to develop a bill on the Senate side. They agreed and passed a bill, we agreed and passed a bill.

This bill that we are talking about today is one of those rare moments in history where not only did Democrats and Republicans agree, but the Senate and the House agreed this was a good bill, and here it is today.

After we pass this bill tonight, it will move to the Senate, and we already know we have agreement there. It will be passed in the Senate, hopefully, some time early next week, and move on to the President's desk for signing.

We are focused tonight on this bill, with foster kids, because this is the jurisdiction that I have, as the chairman of the Human Resources Subcommittee, and that Mr. Doggett, as the ranking member, has too. We are focused on foster kids and human trafficking, and helping them find loving homes so they can have a productive life, so they can have hope, hope for the future.

We need to pass this bill tonight.

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

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a young man from my district who is truly a hero. On June 5, 2014, Seattle Pacific University was faced with tragedy when a shooter opened fire in one of the university's residence halls. A student was killed, and it was only thanks to the actions of Jon Meis from Renton, Washington, that more lives were not taken.

Mr. Meis is himself a student at SPU and when he was placed in a dangerous situation, he gave no thought to his own life. Instead, he acted to protect his fellow students by pepper-spraying and tackling the gunman, allowing the police enough time to get to campus and take control of the situation.

As a former police officer, I know just how critical Mr. Meis's actions were in apprehending the shooter and saving lives. I am so proud of this young man: for his courage, his dedication to his community, his selflessness. I am proud of the way our greater Seattle community has banded together to support the SPU community during this difficult time, and I mourn with them for the young man who died that day. As Mr. Meis himself pointed out, it takes a tragedy to make a hero. I know we all wish such an event had never taken place, but Mr. Meis ensured that further tragedy was prevented. So, once again, I thank him and I honor him.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 394, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Ellensburg High School Varsity Baseball Team. On Saturday May 31, 2014 the team won the Class 2A Washington State Championship, the first baseball state championship in the school's history.

This group of young men overcame adversity and, through extra practices and hard work, came to finish their season with a 10 game winning streak and winning 14 of their last 15 games. It is this perseverance that earned them this incredible championship. None of this would have been possible, of course, without the exemplary leadership of the Bulldog's Head Coach Todd Gibson, who has inspired and directed these student athletes for the past 5 years.

The young men on the team deserve individual recognition as well. They are: Xander Orejudos, Travis Lyman, Cameron Curtis, Cameron Campbell, Kyle Hickman, Bobby Ward, Tyler Wyatt, Dalton Mandelas, Garrett Hull, Junior Ledgard, Tyrel Panter, Alex Ponchene, Alonso Bibiano, Ceanu Strom, Kyler Watts, Taylor Smith, and Million Zimmerman. The coaching staff also: Brian Kelley, Travis Gibson, Casey Kelley, DJ Smith, Ryan Kellogg, and Gage Gibson.

I am honored to have Ellensburg High School as part of the Eighth Congressional District of Washington and I congratulate them on their success, and earning the 2014 Class 2A State Championship. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, on rollcall No. 356, I was unavoidably detained. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes.''

Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 616, I call up the bill (H.R. 4453) to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to make permanent the reduced recognition period for built-in gains of S corporations, and ask for its immediate consideration.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 4453.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support for H.R. 4453, the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014.

Since we started the tax reform process in January of 2011, one of the main themes coming up again and again is the need for certainty for individuals to plan and businesses to thrive. Nowhere is this more true than for small businesses.

Pass-through businesses, like S corporations, account for more than half of all jobs in the United States. In my home State of Washington, they are particularly important, providing 1.4 million jobs, with S corporations providing more than one in four private sector jobs.

Permanence in the tax law is especially important for these privately-held businesses because they can't go to the public markets every time they want to invest in new equipment or hire workers. They need certainty to plan how to most effectively deploy their capital.

A perfect example of an area of the Tax Code that is ripe for permanence, so that S corporation businesses can plan to access and redeploy their own capital, is the built-in gains, or BIG, relief provision that is before us today.

The BIG tax, as it is called, is a double tax on S corporations that want to sell their assets after converting from C corporation status. Currently, S corporations have to wait 10 years after converting before selling their assets to avoid the punitive double tax.

Traditional year-to-year tax extender legislation has reduced this holding period to 5 years, holding to the original antiabuse intent of the rule, yet providing significant relief for businesses nationwide. H.R. 4453 would permanently reduce that holding period to 5 years.

As we heard from Jim Redpath, a small business witness who is an accountant--he testified before one of our Ways and Means hearings several weeks ago--the BIG tax causes S corporations to hold on to unproductive or old assets that should be replaced.

He gave the example of a road contractor that is holding onto old equipment and trucks that are sitting in the junkyard that he can't sell. He can't even sell them for parts. Rather than selling them, if he did, they would be subject to the BIG tax, the double tax that I talked about earlier.

The other impact here is, if businesses are allowed to sell these assets and used equipment, it would benefit other small businesses, starting businesses, for example, that may not be able to afford the newest and the latest equipment and technology, but they can start their businesses with used equipment.

Instead of selling assets and using the proceeds to hire new workers or invest in new equipment, businessowners sit on the sidelines. This is a perfect example of Tax Code influencing business decisions, and this needs to stop.

According to the IRS, tens of thousands of corporations convert to C corporations each year. We can't continue to leave this capital locked up. We need to give it back to the small businesses that make this country thrive.

The second part of this bill is also a commonsense provision that will give S corporations certainty in the value of their charitable donations. The S corporation charitable basis adjustment provision simply ensures that S corporations get the same value for their deductions as all other small businesses.

These two commonsense provisions will give S corporations the certainty they need to create jobs and grow our economy in this country.

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), the distinguished chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield as much time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from Kansas (Ms. Jenkins), who is also a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I insert in the Record a letter of support signed by 35 different organizations in support of this legislation. These signees include organizations as diverse as the National Grocers Association, the National Electrical Contractors Association, and the Association for Manufacturing Technology.

June 11, 2014.

Pass the S Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014

Dear Member of the U.S. House of Representatives: As

representatives of America's closely-held businesses, we ask

that you support legislation (H.R. 4453) making permanent the

5-year recognition period for built-in gains, as well as the

basis adjustment for charitable giving by S corporations.

Small businesses are the engine of America's economic

growth and S corporations are the cornerstone of the small

business community. There are more than 4.5 million of them

nationwide. They are in every community and every industry

and, according to Ernst & Young, they employ one out of every

four private sector workers.

Unlike public corporations, these closely-held businesses

have little or no access to the capital markets. Instead they

rely on banks, relatives, and their own savings to fill their

investment and working capital needs. An overly long built-in

gains recognition period makes this disadvantage worse by

preventing companies that have chosen to become S

corporations from accessing their own capital and putting it

to better use.

Locking up a company's capital for an entire decade is

simply unreasonable. Past Congresses have recognized that a

decade is too long and voted to reduce the recognition period

on three separate occasions, but those temporary measures

have expired and the 10-year rule is back in effect.

Enacting a permanent shorter recognition period would

sustain the original intent of the rule while providing S

corporations with much needed certainty. It would allow them

to make decisions based on what is best for the company

rather than the dictates of the tax code. At a time when our

economy badly needs increased investment, allowing more

companies to access their own, locked-up capital is an

important step.

Furthermore, making permanent the basis adjustment to stock

of S corporations that make charitable contributions of

property would help bring consistent treatment among flow-

through businesses, and would allow America's S corporations

to be more active and supportive of much-needed charitable

activities.

On behalf of America's Main Street business community, we

respectfully ask that you vote in favor of the S Corporation

Permanent Tax Relief Act of 2014.

Thank you for your consideration.

Aeronautical Repair Station Association, Air Conditioning

Contractors of America, Agricultural Retailers Association,

American Council of Engineering Companies, American Institute

of Architects, American Rental Association, American Supply

Association, American Trucking Associations, Associated

Builders and Contractors, Inc., Associated Equipment

Distributors, Associated General Contractors of America, Auto

Care Association, Financial Executives International, Food

Marketing Institute, Heating, Air-conditioning and

Refrigeration Distributors International, Independent

Community Bankers of America, Independent Electrical

Contractors.

Metals Service Center Institute, National Association of

Wholesaler-Distributors, National Beer Wholesalers

Association, National Electrical Contractors Association,

National Federation of Independent Business, National Funeral

Directors Association, National Grocers Association, National

Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, National

Roofing Contractors Association, National Small Business

Association, S Corporation Association, Small Business

Council of America, Small Business Legislative Council,

Subchapter S Bank Association, The Association For

Manufacturing Technology, Truck Renting and Leasing

Association, United States Business and Industry Council,

Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America.

Small businesses across the country recognize just how crucial it is to give access to capital to businesses in our struggling economy today.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

The gentleman from Maryland spoke very eloquently on this topic. I just want to note that his past action shows something a little bit different. He has voted for this provision three times in the past.

No, I will not.

I will not yield my time.

Point of Order

Mr. Speaker, I would still say that the gentleman from Maryland--to clarify my point--has voted for the extension of these policies three times for a total of 8 years, and that is a fact. That is part of the voting record.

I do not yield.

Mr. Speaker, I would just reiterate that the gentleman has voted for this extension of this policy three separate times for a period lasting 8 years.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Camp), the chairman of the committee.

I am. I have no other speakers.

Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. Speaker, just to be honest, I also might want to mention that Mr. Levin has voted five times to extend these policies, for a total of 12 years.

Congress--Democrats and Republicans--have repeatedly reauthorized these tax policies without paying for them. Democrats have agreed with the policy of these bills before us today. Making them permanent gives businesses certainty that they will always be a part of the Tax Code, and it is a more honest way of budgeting. Increasing taxes to pay for these policies makes no sense.

We all agree that small businesses impacted by my bill need more access to their capital, which my bill gives them. Making the policies in this bill permanent, while raising taxes in the area of the economy, defeats the purpose of freeing up capital in a way that encourages job creation and moves the economy ahead.

Again, Mr. Speaker, this legislation will give businesses what they have been asking for since I came to Congress, and that is the certainty in the Tax Code, so that the Tax Code is working for them and they are not working for the Tax Code, so they can plan ahead, so they can grow their business, so they can hire more workers, and so that we can get this economy moving again and get people back to work.

In order to do that, Mr. Speaker, they need the ability to access their capital, so they can invest, again, in their businesses; reenergize their businesses; buy new equipment; sell new equipment; create jobs; and, again, grow the economy.

So I urge my colleagues to vote for the bill before us today, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor the life of Command Sergeant Major Martin Barreras, who died on May 13, 2014 from wounds suffered while serving in Afghanistan. CSM Barreras was serving with the 2nd Battalion, 5th Infantry Regiment when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire. CSM Barreras joined the Army in 1988 after serving five years in the Marine Corps and served 22 years in the 75th Ranger Regiment in both 1st and 2nd Battalions. During his time in the Ranger Regiment, he served in a large range of positions and completed multiple combat deployments to Iraq, Afghanistan, Operation Just Cause in Panama, Operation Restore/Uphold Democracy in Haiti, and other special operations missions.

His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with V device, Bronze Star with three oak leaf clusters, Purple Heart with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Joint Service Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Iraqi Campaign Medal with three stars, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with four stars, Combat Infantryman Badge with one star, Expert Infantryman Badge, Ranger Tab, Master Parachutist Badge with bronze star, Military Freefall Badge and Pathfinder Badge.

CSM Barreras was respected by both his community and colleagues, and deeply loved by his family and friends. He was 49 years old and left behind a wife, a young son and two daughters.

This husband, father, and friend cannot be replaced, but his sacrifice will always be remembered and his legacy of compassion and service will live on after him. He is gone but not forgotten.

Mr. Speaker, I salute Command Sergeant Major Barreras, and I thank him for all he gave back to the people of this great Nation.

Madam Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Madam Chair, I rise today to offer a critical amendment with Representatives Pascrell, King, Grimm, Welch, Johnson, Reed, Enyart, DeFazio, and others.

This amendment funds the highly successful COPS hiring program at the fiscal year 2014 level. Ensuring the safety of our communities and neighborhoods should be one of our first priorities, and we cannot afford to do that without a sufficient number of capable police officers trained across our country.

I became a law enforcement officer because I wanted to serve and help others. I brought that same desire to Congress. The COPS program helps others do the same. We cannot protect this Nation without adequate funding for law enforcement. Their service is our gain.

Madam Chairman, this program is vital. I was in law enforcement for 33 years. I started out in a patrol car and was actually hired in 1972 under a Federal grant. After 30 some years or so, I became the sheriff of King County, and I was able to use those grants again to hire additional police officers in the sheriff's office, and those additional police officers are used to be a part of Federal teams, Federal law enforcement task force efforts, across this country. To mention a few, the cyber security task force we have in some of the major cities across this country is integral to protecting this Nation, not only our entire country, but our communities. You cannot do that with just Federal resources.

We always talk about the Federal, State, and local partnerships as Federal representatives, and the FBI came to me when I was the sheriff and said that we want to work with you; provide a police officer to our joint terrorism task force, provide a police officer to our task force to fight gangs, and provide a police officer to be a part of our DEA effort to impact the use of drugs and reduce the use of drugs in our communities.

Well, Madam Chairman, local police departments and sheriff's offices don't have the money to continue to supply police officers to these Federal efforts. But they know they are needed.

I would like to join everyone in congratulating the chairman on his distinguished career and his efforts here today in support of protecting our country. Mr. Wolf has done an outstanding job over his years of service. From my perspective, though, we really need to strengthen this partnership, and the way that you do that is you allow these grants to be fully funded, you allow police chiefs and sheriffs across this country to hire additional police officers to be a part of a national effort to reduce human trafficking. And I know this is one of Mr. Wolf's passionate issues right now, as well as other Members of Congress. It has been highlighted, and we need to highlight it still. But the Federal Government cannot stop human trafficking alone. They need the help of those local police officers and detectives on the street. If we don't have the people, we won't be putting them on the street.

If they are not on the street, if they are not working these cases, they will not solved, and if they are not solved, Madam Chair, our children will be at risk, so I stand today to offer this amendment because I know it is the right thing to do.

I know it creates a partnership, a true partnership between the Federal, the State, and the local agencies. It is critical. It is vital to our local law enforcement communities to have access to these grants, to be a part of the national effort, and to fight not only local crime, but those crimes across State borders; and international crimes are something that we also get involved in.

I thank you for the opportunity to speak, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Chelan County Sheriffs Deputies Adam Musgrove and Ryan Moody. Deputies Musgrove and Moody were awarded the highest law enforcement honor in Washington State, the Law Enforcement Medal of Honor for meritorious conduct.

Like the other officers who received medals of honor that day, Deputies Musgrove and Moody are accustomed to running toward danger instead of away. In this instance, their heroic actions not only put themselves at risk but resulted in a saved life when they rescued a man from burning building in September 2013. I am honored to call them both my constituents and to serve on their behalf in Congress.

The award was presented on Friday May 2, 2014 by Governor Jay Inslee and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. They were two of only eleven to receive this prestigious honor.

Mr. Speaker, I salute Chelan County Sheriffs Deputies Adam Musgrove and Ryan Moody, and I thank them for all they have given back to the people of Washington State. Thank you.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor Sergeant Kyle White. Sgt. White was awarded the highest honor in the military, the Medal of Honor for meritorious conduct, by President Barack Obama on May 13, 2014.

Like his fellow soldiers, he is accustomed to running toward danger instead of away, but Sgt. White's courage is above and beyond the ordinary. He repeatedly ran the gauntlet of enemy fire to get to wounded and fallen soldiers, regardless of his personal safety. In an ambush in November of 2007 Sgt. White, who was barely 20 years old, stayed with a wounded and fallen soldier for the duration, calling in reports and directing others so that the wounded and dead could be safety evacuated. It is my privilege and greatest honor to represent our Veterans in Congress and I applaud the decision to award him with this medal. It is well deserved.

Mr. Speaker, I salute Sgt. Kyle White, and I thank him for the many sacrifices he has made in service to our nation.

Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill (H.R. 4058) to prevent and address sex trafficking of youth in foster care, as amended.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of the bill under consideration.

Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today to urge the support of H.R. 4058, the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Improving Opportunities for Youth in Foster Care Act.

This is a bipartisan bill that I strongly believe will help end sex trafficking, especially of children in foster care.

Madam Speaker, I don't know if you know or the other Members who may be listening today or anyone else who may be listening know that, if you are driving down the street and you see 10 young girls standing on the street corner, that six of those 10 young girls who are in human trafficking, six of those are in foster care--six out of 10--and those are young children that the State, that the taxpayers, that we as citizens of this community--of our communities--are responsible for, and they are on the street.

I am pleased to have worked with my colleague and ranking member on the Human Resources Subcommittee, Mr. Doggett. There are many colleagues who have also supported this legislation.

Today, I am here. This is the beginning of my 10th year in Congress. Prior to that, I was in law enforcement, for 33 years, in the King County Sheriff's Office in Seattle, Washington.

For 19 of those years, there was a team created to go after the most notorious serial killer that this country has ever seen. His name was Ridgway. My quest in that case, to find Gary Ridgway, started in 1982. I was a 31-year-old detective.

One body on August 12, two more bodies on August 15; I found a third body on that same day, going down to the riverbank to recover the other two bodies. These were 16-year-old girls.

This is a topic that we should be talking about here in Congress.

When I was 32 in 1982 and I started working on this case--and we finally arrested Ridgway in 2001, so 1982 until 2001--Ridgway said he killed 60 to 70 women. He pled guilty to 49. We closed 51 cases. I collected the bodies. I collected the bodies of 15 and 16-year-old girls.

They were buried in shallow graves or thrown in a river to drift away. Madam Speaker, some of these victims were pregnant, thrown in a grave along with their unborn child, their life cut short and taken. In some weeks, we collected six bodies.

Can you imagine the horror of the children when they were abducted and drawn into this killer's car or taken to his home? They knew they were being killed. They were strangled, and they fought for their lives.

Can you imagine the horror of the parents, the grandparents, the aunts

and uncles, the brothers and sisters, and the children lost forever, their life ripped away?

That is why we are here today. That is why we are discussing these bills. This is about life; it is about death, and we can save lives. Some Members here have mentioned that we can save lives today. I hope the Senate has the courage to follow through on these bills. We are doing our work here in the House of Representatives.

When I was on the banks of the Green River in 1982, I wondered who in the world is there who cares; and after 15 years of working the case, who cares, who cared about these young girls?

I can tell you, after talking to a number of those young women on the street and girls and children, they were wondering, too: Does anybody care? Does anybody even know I exist? Does anybody even know I am here and what I am going through? I need love. I need help.

One of those girls that I found in early 1982, that was found in 1982, was a young woman named Wendy Coffield. Wendy Coffield was a foster child. She had run away from home before; and this time, when she ran away from home, nobody was looking for her. No one cared. She disappeared, and no one cared, and then she was found, she was found dead.

These are the kids we have to help. My bill focuses on foster kids. Six out of 10 involved in human trafficking today are foster kids.

We had some hearings, of course, over the past few months, and there were some courageous young women who came forward to tell their stories in our subcommittee, and I want to mention their names because it took a lot of courage to come forward and tell their stories about their lives and what they went through and the feeling of nobody caring.

Withelma ``T'' Ortiz Walker Pettigrew is a sex trafficking survivor who experienced 14 foster care placements and was exploited into the sex trafficking trade as a child. This year, though, she was recognized by Time magazine as one of the top 100 most influential people in 2014. Talk about turning around your life and having an impact and influence on other people. ``T'' Ortiz Pettigrew has done it.

Noel Gomez, Seattle Organization for Prostitution Survivors, Gomez survived 15 years in the sex trafficking trade and is working to help kids stay out and to get out of the sex trafficking trade.

Mandy Urwiler, she entered foster care at the age of 15 and had remained in care throughout her extended foster care program. She testified about her personal experience in foster care and her exposure to the sex trafficking world.

Talitha James, a former foster youth from California, was able to leave the system at age 14 after her aunt gave her a stable home.

After hearing from her and many other experts, Mr. Doggett and myself introduced bipartisan legislation to help every State better protect youth in foster care from sex trafficking. This bill requires States to identify victims and to provide them with the services they need to heal. It would also improve data on instances of child trafficking.

On a preventative front, the bill makes sure that the youth can participate in age appropriate activities so they are less vulnerable to trafficking. It encourages States to move forward, moving children out of foster care and into permanent, loving homes.

The approach we are taking is practical. It is bipartisan. It is based on the State's experience. This bill incorporates a wide range of ideas gleaned from bills introduced by members of the Ways and Means Committee like Mr. Paulsen, as well as ideas from over 150 pages of public comments that we received from our December discussion draft.

I am confident that this legislation will ensure that all States take real steps to better understand the problem and keep kids safe while in foster care. I urge all Members to support this legislation.

I want to thank Mr. Doggett, who joins me on the floor today. I want to thank Chairman Camp for his support, Ranking Member Levin for his support, and all those others who have signed on to the bill.

We are here today, as I said, to protect vulnerable children in foster care and work to find them loving homes. That is why we are here. We are here to save lives. Both parties have worked together.

We have received support for this bill from the American Bar Association, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the American Public Human Services Association, Children's Defense Fund, the Human Rights Project for Girls, National Children's Alliance, and eight others. They proudly indicated their support for this important legislation.

I invite all Members to join us in supporting this important bipartisan legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, I want to thank Mr. Doggett for his support.

Just as we were listening to each other and talking to each other regarding the issue that existed prior to bringing this bill to the floor, I am interested in continuing to work with Mr. Doggett on the other issues that he has mentioned in his opening statement.

Now I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Tennessee (Mrs. Black).

Madam Speaker, I should have also mentioned that Mrs. Black is a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Now I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Roskam), also a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Paulsen), who has introduced his own bill connected to this issue, H.R. 3610, Stop Exploitation Through Trafficking Act. Mr. Paulsen is also a member of the Ways and Means Committee.

Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentlewoman from Missouri (Mrs. Hartzler).

Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Madam Speaker, may I inquire as to how much time is remaining.

Madam Speaker, at this time, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Huizenga).

Madam Speaker, in closing, I do believe that this bill can help end sex trafficking, especially when partnered with all of the other legislation that we have been talking about today. It is a holistic approach, and it touches on almost every one of the intricate issues surrounding protecting young children from being victims of human trafficking.

After we are done today, there will still be another bill, presented by Mr. Smith, that will add to the power of the movement that we are making today and that will add to the voice that we are expressing today in support of young children, in support of families--in support of protecting lives. We are going to save lives.

With these bills today, somebody does care. As I said in my opening statement, when I was 31 years old and was on the banks of the rivers, collecting the bodies of teenage girls, I wondered if anybody cared, and their families wondered.

Today, that question has been answered. We care. All the way to the United States Capitol, we care. We can make a difference. Our daughters are not for sale, and the time is now.

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

I thank the gentlelady for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I support charter schools--I want to be clear about that--and I support this bill. However, I also believe that families should be able to choose schools within the public system that best meet their needs.

When it comes to students' education, we definitely know that one size does not fit all. The same is true for charter schools. Different systems work better for different communities.

We agree that it is wrong when the administration forces its vision for education reform on the States through grant programs, like Race to the Top, but that means it is equally wrong when Congress uses grant programs to do exactly the same thing.

This bill seeks to force States to remove existing caps on charter schools by giving priority to grant applications from States that do not have caps.

By doing this, Congress is punishing 20 States and Washington, D.C., whose charter laws have caps, including my home State of Washington.

There may be legitimate reasons these States have caps, but this bill doesn't recognize that. Charter schools for the sake of having charter schools definitely is not the answer. It won't help students.

That is why I am extremely disappointed that my bipartisan amendment was not made in order. It would have simply removed the provision that punishes certain State-designed charter systems, allowing States to compete equally for grants.

As the voice of the people, Congress should do better than the unelected bureaucrats down the street at the Education Department. Let's start saying ``no'' to top-down education reform and ``yes'' to states' rights.

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the American Research and Competitiveness Act. This bill takes a couple of important steps in improving a tax credit that supports tens of thousands of jobs in my home State of Washington State.

First of all, it makes the credit permanent. This credit has been extended 15 times since it was first enacted in 1981, making it impossible for businesses to plan their research and development activities in the future.

When businesses have certainty, they can plan for the future, and when they can plan for the future, they have the confidence to hire workers and to create jobs.

Second, Mr. Speaker, there was a time when it was understood that businesses would perform their research and development activities right here in the United States of America. Today, that is not the case.

In my home State of Washington, we don't have to look too far to see exactly what other countries are doing to attract research and development. Let's just take Canada, for example, which is just right north of Washington State.

In Canada, not only have they reduced their federal corporate tax rate to 15 percent, but they have made it permanent. On top of this, the various provinces and territories have added their own research tax incentives.

For example, in British Columbia, there is an additional 10 percent research and development tax credit. We can't compete with that in the United States of America. We can't compete with that in Washington State.

Mr. Brady's bill helps get us back in the game of competing for research and development dollars. It provides a permanent tax credit of 20 percent and allows expenditures on supplies and software to be a part of the credit's base.

This bill represents a step in the right direction of fixing our Tax Code, making our economy competitive. Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, this bill is about creating jobs for Americans, so I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Mr. Ramon Rivera from Malaga, Washington. Mr. Rivera is the founder of the Mariachi Huenachi program at Wenatchee High School and also the director of that remarkable music group. Recently, he was honored by the Seattle City Club with one of the 2014 Washington State Jefferson Awards.

The Jefferson Award is an award for ``unsung heroes'' who have committed themselves to volunteer service and improving the lives of those around them, and, in doing so, improving the world. So far, over 300 students have participated in the mariachi program pioneered by Mr. Rivera, a program which has received national attention. Not only do his students learn about the rich cultural heritage of mariachi music but they are also expected to achieve academic excellence and are encouraged to pursue higher educations, something that many of Mr. Rivera's students would never have considered otherwise.

I am honored to have met Mr. Rivera during the Spring Recess and am even more honored to represent him as my constituent. I congratulate him on the success of his endeavors and earning this prestigious recognition.