Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, today I wish to honor the life and legacy of Mr. Robert W. Davis of Cortland, Ohio who passed away surrounded by his loving family on Thursday May 23, 2019. I rise to pay tribute to his life's work as an educator and mentor who instilled a strong and deep understanding of government and civic responsibility to the generations of young people he taught throughout his distinguished career at Maplewood High School in Northeast Ohio.

Bob was a 1967 graduate of Hubbard High School in Hubbard Ohio, and in 1971 graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Education and later a Master's Degree from Youngstown State University.

Mr. Davis was a government and social studies teacher at Maplewood High School for 35 years, retiring in 2006, where he also was an assistant principal and taught driver's education. He also was the past president of Lakeview Band Boosters. He enjoyed sharing his love for music and social studies with young people. But most importantly, he encouraged his students to be active and informed citizens who participate and appreciate our democratic process.

He was presently employed by the Trumbull County Board of Elections, and an active member of the Trumbull County Republican Party. Bob was a member of Grace Lutheran Church of Hubbard Ohio, a former Sunday School Superintendent, and also started the recycling center at the church. It is evident that Bob lived a life of full of service to his community, and applied his deep values and principles to all aspects of his life.

He will be sadly missed by his family; his wife the former Deborah A. Drummond whom he married August 2, 1975; his son William Paul Davis and his wife Alison of Dublin, Ohio, and two grandchildren Jacqueline Clare and Parker Joseph. Beside his parents, he was preceded in death by his in-laws William D. & Dorothy Drummond, and his sister-in-law Marsha S. Drummond.

I extend my deepest sympathies to the many family and friends whose lives were blessed by Bob Davis.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the brave men and women of Ohio's law enforcement. As a former prosecutor, I know all too well the danger our heroes in blue face every day to protect us and our families, and I applaud the efforts made to ensure their safety.

Just the other night, in observance of National Police Week, I was proud to vote to reauthorize the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program, which provides critical resources to state, local and tribal jurisdictions to purchase bulletproof body armor for law enforcement officers.

For 30 years, bullet-resistant body armor has protected law enforcement officers. According to the Bureau of Justice Assistance, in 2012 alone, protective vests were directly attributable to saving the lives of at least 33 law enforcement and corrections officers in 20 different states.

However, much of the body armor used today slows down and fatigues our officers due to overbearing weight and discomfort levels. As arms and ammunitions continue to become more powerful, we must do the necessary research to develop next generation body armor that addresses these challenges.

I am proud to say that we have organizations in Ohio, like ShotStop, that are doing just that. Due to their light weight and dynamic material, ShotStop's bullet-resistant products create a safer environment for the brave men and women in blue who put their lives on the line every day to protect our communities.

Madam Speaker, please join me in applauding ShotStop and all other organizations that are working to ensure our officers are better equipped to return home safely to their loved ones at the end of each shift. I am proud to support Ohio's law enforcement officers, not just during National Police Week, but each and every day, and commend those who are doing all they can to protect them.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the passing of a dear friend and a model public servant from my district, Ms. Barbara Ricca of Newbury Township in Geauga County. Ms. Ricca passed away peacefully on Saturday morning, March 23, at the age of 95.

Barb proudly served as the legal secretary for Geauga County for over 30 years. She worked under five different prosecutors from both parties. In fact, when I became prosecutor, Barbara was my very first secretary.

She worked tirelessly until her retirement, but Barb did not retire from life. She worked just as hard as a volunteer at University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center and could be found baling hay on their family farm.

For relaxation, she played in the Great Geauga County Fair Band, of which she had been an original charter member since 1938. Most recently, I had the honor of pinning Barb at the Geauga County Fair to commemorate her 80th year of playing in the fair band.

Barb will not only be missed by her loving family and friends but by the entire Geauga County community.

May Barbara Ricca rest in peace.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this bipartisan conference agreement, and I thank my ranking member for yielding time to highlight several items in the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies division of this agreement.

I also want to thank my colleague, Ken Calvert, the former chairman of the subcommittee, for his leadership on this bill last Congress.

The highlights I am about to summarize are really a result of efforts to negotiate a reasonable compromise with the Senate and our mutual friend and current chair of the subcommittee, Betty McCollum.

Division E of the conference agreement provides $35.6 billion for the Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, the Smithsonian Institution, and more than a dozen related agencies.

This conference agreement enhances our Nation's economic prosperity in many ways:

By cutting an additional $15 million from the EPA regulatory programs;

By fully funding the Payments in Lieu of Taxes program, which is critical to the counties with Federal lands; and

By increasing America's investment in its own abundant energy resources.

Additionally, this conference agreement promotes health and safety by providing targeted increases to accelerate the cleanup of America's most polluted lands, waters, and airsheds;

By providing an additional $300 million for healthcare, law enforcement, and related programs to honor our country's sacred trust and treaty obligations to American Indians and Alaska Natives; and

By providing $3.9 billion for the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Forest Service to fight devastating wildfires that threaten our communities, and to reduce the severity of future wildfires.

Finally, this conference agreement continues to make critical investments in our Nation's infrastructure, including:

$47 million to reduce the maintenance backlogs at our Nation's national parks, wildlife refuges, and other public lands;

$2.9 billion for the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Loan Funds; and

$68 million for the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act program, which will be leveraged with private investments to finance more than $7 billion in water infrastructure projects, nationwide.

Personally, I have a vested interest in the resources provided in this bipartisan package. Having grown up in northeast Ohio, I cherish my memories of fishing and swimming in Lake Erie with my family and friends. My wife, Kelly, and I have been proud to share the importance of protecting this precious resource with our children.

The Great Lakes are one of the greatest natural resources and economic powerhouses in the United States. They constitute the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth and hold 95 percent of the United States' surface freshwater. The lakes also support over 1.5 million jobs and provide $62 billion in wages, annually.

Protecting the Great Lakes is not a red issue or a blue issue. Many Members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle understand the important role the lakes play in our lives and understand the importance of protecting them.

My colleague Betty McCollum has been a great partner to work with in my fight to protect the Great Lakes, and I am happy to report that the conference agreement provides full funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, which helps us address invasive species like Asian carp, reduce phosphorus runoff that causes harmful algal blooms, and protect and preserve the Great Lakes for future generations.

In closing, I want to sincerely thank the staff on both sides of the aisle for their hard work, their professionalism, and their ability to work together under extremely difficult circumstances in order to get an annual appropriation bill over the finish line once again.

I also want to thank the many thousands of Federal employees who carry out the programs funded in this conference agreement. Your dedication to serving your fellow Americans in spite of the sacrifices asked of you by your government--especially this year--is the glue that helps us bind together as one nation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this conference agreement.

Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize the incredible life and career of Fire Chief Tim Black. Chief Black is retiring after 36 years of dedicated service to the City of Macedonia. Originally hired as a Parks and Recreation employee, Chief Black rose through the ranks and was promoted to Fire Chief in 1995. Chief Black facilitated the growth of not only the fire department but of the City of Macedonia as a whole, all while protecting and serving the residents of Macedonia. In his retirement, Chief Black hopes to spend more time camping with his wife, Mary, and his children and grandchildren. I applaud and congratulate Fire Chief Tim Black on a life of service and dedication to his community. While I am sure he will be missed serving in this role, I am certain he will continue to serve Northeast Ohio and wish him the best in his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking member from Texas for yielding and the chairwoman from New York.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored to be speaking here today as the newly appointed ranking member of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. I am honored to be paired with the newly appointed chair of the subcommittee, my friend and fellow Great Lakes advocate, Congresswoman Betty McCollum from Minnesota. I am thrilled to be working with her in this capacity, and I look forward to many years of bipartisanship and collaboration on behalf of our constituents, our States, and our country.

The Interior division of the omnibus bill before us today was negotiated in good faith by both House Republicans and House Democrats. It reflects bipartisan priorities and represents many months of hard work by the House Appropriations Committee.

I am pleased that the bill includes $3.9 billion for the Department of the Interior and the United States Forest Service to fight devastating wildfires; $9 billion to increase the Federal commitment to our treaty and trust agreements with American Indians and Alaska Natives; over $3\1/2\ billion to improve our Nation's aging water infrastructure and improve public health; and $1.9 billion to reduce maintenance backlogs in our Nation's parks, trails, and wildlife refuges.

However, the Interior piece of this bill was negotiated as part of a comprehensive package funding numerous critical government functions, including securing our Nation's southern border. House Republicans conditionally agreed to drop several high priority provisions in the Interior bill in exchange for other priorities in this comprehensive package, including strengthened border security.

We were so close to finishing that package last year before the holidays, which would have fully funded our government, addressed the crisis at our southern border, and ensured all our Nation's Federal workers would continue receiving their paychecks, but, sadly, that is when the negotiations on border security broke down, and, shortly, thereafter, the government shut down.

There is an old saying in negotiating that nothing is agreed to until everything is agreed to. And since a compromise has not been found on border security, this Interior bill and the other bills before us today are not a true conference agreement. To suggest otherwise would be to mislead the public in an attempt to gain political high ground on an issue that most of our constituents expect us to instead find common ground.

We all agree that strengthening our borders is necessary, not only for our Nation, but also for the welfare of those willing to risk everything to enter this country illegally in pursuit of a better life. Let us be willing to risk the criticism that too often gets in the way of compromise. Let us have the courage to meet each other in the middle.

Our constituents have been counting on us to reach agreement on border security and immigration policy since long before this government shutdown even started. So let's stop using the shutdown as an excuse to avoid a negotiation because no one wins in a shutdown and no one wins if the border isn't secure.

I am willing to work with any and all of my House colleagues to break this impasse as quickly as possible. Until then, I must oppose this unfinished package before us today, and I urge my colleagues to do the same.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight some of my concerns with H.R. 266.

As a Representative from the great State of Ohio, I know full well how important it is to provide programs that ensure we are protecting our natural resources and preserving them for future generations.

One of the greatest natural resources and economic powerhouses we have in the United States and for the world, for that matter, is the Great Lakes system, which my district is lucky enough to have a portion of. The lakes provide more than 35 million people with drinking water. They support more than 3,500 species of plants and animals. Studies have shown that 1.5 million jobs are directly connected to these five lakes, generating $62 billion in wages. That is why I have fought so long and so hard for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

As Members of this House, we have a responsibility to properly represent the people who sent us here to fight for their priorities and needs. Unfortunately, this bill falls far short of fulfilling that responsibility. The fact is, there is bipartisan, bicameral report language that would not go into effect if the bill before us were signed into law.

It leaves out important language to reduce the growth of harmful algal blooms, which have been recorded in every State and have become a concern nationwide. In fact, in 2014, a harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie affected the drinking water for more than 500,000 people in Toledo, Ohio.

The bill also leaves out language encouraging the EPA to fund research grants that help promote scientific progress toward preventing and controlling harmful algal blooms. It doesn't include language to help both rural and urban communities control nutrients in their watersheds. It doesn't include language about working to understand the risks of exposure to toxins that result from harmful algal blooms. These toxins can come through our drinking water and can be extremely harmful to humans.

In the end, this bill does not include the priorities that many Members fought for to help their constituents. It does not include language that supports programs that impact Ohio, as well as many other States across the country. I cannot in good faith support legislation that does not treat our Great Lakes as the national treasure they are or invest in them to the fullest extent.

Mr. Speaker, please stand with me today in sending a message to protect our Great Lakes. I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill in its current form. We can do much better than this. We, as Members of the House, must not abdicate our responsibility to craft these spending bills in the best interest of our constituents.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to honor the life and service of a constituent of mine, Madison Village Police Officer Michael Huffman. Officer Huffman, a 19-year veteran officer, unfortunately passed away while on duty on Wednesday, November 14, 2018. Originally from Painesville, Officer Huffman enjoyed working on cars and spending time with his wife, Viola, and his family. His legacy and dedication to public service will always be remembered. My prayers are with Officer Huffman's family, his friends, the Village of Madison, and the Madison Village Police Department during this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School for being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2018. Since 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has recognized public and private schools for academic excellence. Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School is an exceptional center for learning and preparing students for all stages of life. I'd like to congratulate the teachers and staff of Brecksville-Broadview Heights for creating an environment where students can excel. As a father of three children, I believe there is no greater cause than educating the minds of the future. Most of all, I'd like to congratulate the hardworking students for a job well done. I am proud to have such an example of academic excellence in Northeast Ohio and I congratulate Brecksville-Broadview Heights Middle School on this well-deserved recognition.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to acknowledge Maplewood Elementary School for being recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2018. Since 1982, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has recognized public and private schools for academic excellence. This year marks the third time the Maplewood Local School District has been awarded this honorable distinction. Maplewood Elementary School holds high academic standards for each and every student. The Blue Ribbon recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the students, teachers, and administrators of this outstanding school. There is no greater cause than educating the minds of the future. As a father, I know the amount of trust parents put into the hands of our educators. I am proud to have this example of academic excellence in Ohio's 14th Congressional District and I congratulate Maplewood Elementary School on this well-deserved recognition

Mr. Speaker, I would like to recognize Painesville Police Officer Ryan Cueni for receiving the Medal of Honor on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. Officer Cueni was awarded the honor by the Lake County Chiefs of Police Association for his actions of bravery taken when facing an armed suspect on February 2, 2017. After responding to a reported break-in, Officer Cueni and his partner arrived to the scene to an armed suspect holding a mother at knifepoint while her two children were hiding.

Without regard for his own safety, Officer Cueni climbed over a dresser, turning his back to the armed suspect, and ushered both children to safety. Officer Cueni proceeded to free the mother from knifepoint. The suspect was ultimately tasered by Officer Cueni's partner. Because of Officer Cueni's bravery, all three victims were unharmed.

I am extremely proud to have such a courageous and hardworking officer in my district. After 21 years of service, the City of Painesville is honored to have Officer Cueni protecting its citizens.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 959, the Title VIII Nursing Workforce Reauthorization Act of 2018.

First, I want to thank Chairman Walden and Ranking Member Pallone for moving this legislation through the Energy and Commerce Committee. It is easy to see why nursing consistently ranks as the most trusted profession in America. As the husband of a nurse, and co-chair of the Congressional Nursing Caucus, I know the amount of dedication and support nurses put into their daily task of caring for every patient.

An estimated 10,000 baby boomers are turning 65 years old every day. In order to meet this increased demand for care, we need to grow the largest group of healthcare providers: nurses.

Despite the importance of nurses to the wellbeing of patients, we face a projected nursing shortage that will leave too many patients without the care that they need. The shortage will affect the entire healthcare system, so we need to do all we can to make sure that those individuals are interested in this valued career path and have access to high-quality education opportunities.

My bill authorizes funds for loan payback programs and grants for advanced education, workforce diversity, and nursing recruitment programs. This bill will expand our Nation's trained nursing workforce so they can provide the highest quality care American patients need.

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the incredible bipartisan support this bill has received on behalf of the Nation's nurses, and I urge my colleagues to support this important legislation.

Mr. Speaker, today, I want to honor the life and service of a brave constituent of mine, Mentor police officer Mathew Mazany.

Officer Mazany, a 14-year veteran officer, was killed in a tragic hit-and-run on Sunday morning while helping with a traffic stop.

He achieved his dream by following in the footsteps of his father, who also served as a police officer for 34 years in Maple Heights, not too far from Mentor.

His coworkers and those who knew him best described him as a happy- go-lucky kind of guy who enjoyed the Mentor community.

Officer Mazany leaves behind a son, a brother, a father, and countless others who had the pleasure of knowing him.

His legacy and dedication to public service will not be forgotten.

My prayers are with Officer Mazany's family, his friends, the city of Mentor and the Mentor Police Department during this difficult time.

Mr. Speaker, today I want to honor the life and service of a brave constituent of mine, Mentor police officer Mathew Mazany. Officer Mazany, a 14-year veteran officer, was killed in a tragic hit-and-run on Sunday morning while helping with a traffic stop.

He achieved his dream by following in the footsteps of his father, who also served as a police officer for 34 years in Maple Heights, not too far from Mentor. His coworkers and those who knew him best described him as a happy-go-lucky kind of guy who enjoyed protecting the Mentor community.

Officer Mazany leaves behind a son, brother, father, and countless others who had the pleasure of knowing him. His legacy and dedication to public service will not be forgotten.

My prayers are with Officer Mathew Mazany's family, his friends, the city of Mentor, and the Mentor Police Department during this difficult time.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I thank Chairman Shuster for his tireless work on this bill and for the fantastic job he has done throughout his career as the chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Our Nation owes him a lot for his fine work.

My amendment requires the Army Corps to complete its final report for the Brandon Road Study by February 2019, which is the originally established deadline. The purpose of the Brandon Road Study is to evaluate options and technologies near the Brandon Road Lock and Dam site to prevent aquatic invasive species from reaching the Great Lakes; in particular, the Asian carp.

The study began in 2015. We were supposed to see the draft report by January of last year. It was delayed 6 months. We cannot afford any more delays. The sooner the final report is released, the sooner we can begin to implement methods and technologies that will keep the invasive Asian carp out of the lakes, which account for more than 20 percent of the world's fresh surface water supply.

Asian carp would devastate the ecosystem and the economy of the Great Lakes region. Studies show the impacts would include declines in native fish species and a one-third reduction of the total fish weight in Lake Erie.

We need to ensure that the Brandon Road Study is released by the February of 2019 deadline so we can move forward with the recommendations from the study and stop the invasive Asian carp from infiltrating one of the Nation's most critical water resources.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support my amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I urge the support of my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.