Floor Statements

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of my amendment, which directs the Secretary of Defense to develop a plan for a pilot program to train skilled technicians for placement in the defense industrial base, including critical shipbuilding skills such as welding, metrology, quality assurance, machining, and additive manufacturing.

Mr. Chair, I would like to begin by thanking my friends, colleagues, and fellow Virginians, Representatives Luria, Wittman, McEachin, and Beyer, for their partnership on this amendment.

Our Nation's defense industrial base is a critical aspect of our Nation's national security and economic prosperity. We must continue to adapt this industry to respond to the emerging challenges and global realities that face our country. One such challenge is training a workforce that can maintain the required tools and products our Armed Forces need.

The Defense Industrial Base report to the President dated October 2018 stated: ``Without concerted action that provides both a ready workforce and continuously-charged pipeline of new employees, the U.S. will not be able to maintain the large, vibrant, and diverse machine tools sector needed.''

This amendment helps the Department of Defense close the gap in our Nation's workforce that threatens our global competitiveness and military capabilities. It will help America modernize its workforce and create a pipeline of new employees who support our security apparatus.

Mr. Chair, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I have to support my good friend from Wisconsin as we go forward. I am also in a very small business type of atmosphere in Virginia. I own a small business, a distillery, and for us, small businesses are one of the most important things we can support as we go forward.

I am here today to support my colleagues and to support Democrats in a bipartisan fashion. This is something that we need to do, we have to do, and I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I don't need the 2 minutes to actually make sure that this happens. I urge my colleagues to support this bill and make sure we support small businesses in everything that we do.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Representative Mooney, and I would like to also thank my colleague, Representative Axne, for introducing this legislation.

I rise today to speak in support of this bill, the Expanding Access to Capital for Rural Job Creators Act.

This bill will expand the mission of the SEC Advocate for Small Business Capital Formation to identify the unique challenges facing rural small businesses and give them expanded access to the capital they need.

As someone who, along with my wife, started a distillery business in the rural part of Virginia, I know many of the challenges faced by small business owners in rural areas. These small business owners are the backbones of communities across America and pillars of the local economies that help these areas thrive.

According to Census data from 2017, one in five Americans live in a rural area. In my district, the Fifth District of Virginia, approximately 65 percent of the population resides in a rural area. These people deserve the same access to the financial system as urban dwellers and urban businesses.

Running a rural small business is a challenge, and it is important for me as the Representative of the Fifth District to advocate for the needs of these small business owners. By expanding their access to capital, we can help small businesses grow and sustain rural communities.

This bill will allow the SEC to help job creators and improve rural economies across the country. I look forward to working with the SEC and my colleagues to accomplish this mission.

For these reasons and many more, Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation, and I urge everyone else to do the same.

Madam Speaker, congratulations to the University of Virginia Cyber Defense Team on their national championship victory at the 2019 National Collegiate Cyber Defense Championship.

The students won the Alamo Cup by defeating 139 other teams over the course of the competition. The NCCDC is a competition built to simulate the defense of cyber security networks. Each student team assumes administrative and protective duties for an existing ``commercial'' network and is responsible for protecting the network and responding to outside threats. I am proud that these UVa students are taking the lead to protect our economy and keep our nation safe and I look forward to what they will accomplish in their blossoming careers.

These future leaders showcased their determination, ingenuity, and teamwork to bring home their second national title in as many years. Congratulations to the University of Virginia students for their continued leadership.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to take from the Speaker's table H.R. 3401, with the Senate amendment thereto, and concur in the Senate amendment. This bipartisan bill passed the Senate with 84 votes and could be sent to the President's desk for his signature today.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as a small business owner

concerned about the PRO Act, a bill that will harm both job creators and their employees.

The PRO Act would amend the National Labor Relations Act and repeal right-to-work laws. Right-to-work laws protect employees from being fired for not paying monetary support to a union they don't want to join.

The PRO Act also takes away employers' rights in National Labor Relations Board cases by taking away their standing and giving employers no recourse to the NLRB.

My district is home to over 2,100 small franchise business owners that could be negatively impacted by this bill. It will hurt businesses like Arrington Enterprises, Inc., which operates Dairy Queens, Bojangles' Famous Chicken `n Biscuits, and Exxon stores in Franklin County.

Aside from delivering a quality product, Arrington Enterprises, Inc., has collected close to $18,000 for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals and donated $4,800 to local schools so far this year.

In closing, this bill would hurt local businesses and local workers.

Madam Chair, I thank the gentleman from Maryland, Representative Trone, with whom I have developed a bipartisan partnership that has resulted in these two amendments.

The first amendment increases funding for Community Connect Grants to connect broadband deployment into rural communities that are underserved by private sector investment.

Our rural communities, including some in my district, need access to broadband to keep up with the demands of the modern economy.

This amendment will help communities close the digital divide, which is critical to enhancing economic opportunity, job creation, access to healthcare, and education in rural America.

The next amendment, dear to my heart, increases funding for the Rural Health and Safety Education Program to combat the opioid epidemic in rural communities.

Representative Trone and I and too many others in this body and in our country at large have seen friends and family members suffer and even pass away from the opioid crisis that has ravaged our country. Just last week, I lost my cousin to a heroin overdose.

This funding is an essential step to turn the crisis around.

Madam Chair, I urge my colleagues to support these two amendments.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the sacrifice made by our brave men in uniform on the shores of France 75 years ago this week.

As the dawn hours rose on June 6, 1944, the choppy waters of the English Channel were filled with American and Allied soldiers. Thirty of those brave men were from the town of Bedford, Virginia, a small hamlet nestled in the southern part of my district. These boys, who competed for the honor of being the first to reach Omaha Beach, etched their hometown into history as one with the highest per capita loss of life.

By the end of that fateful day, when the sun had set on Omaha Beach, 19 Bedford soldiers were dead. Four more died in the Normandy campaign. Every one of them was a hero.

Seventy-five years have passed, and yet, their heroism stands the test of time.

Madam Speaker, last week The Tony Awards announced that Theater Director Madeline Michel from Monticello High School in Charlottesville, Virginia, will receive the 2019 Excellence in Theatre Education Award. A panel of judges comprised of the American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon University and other leaders from the theatre industry selected Michel from finalists across the nation.

The Excellence in Theatre Education Award was co-founded in 2014 by the Tony Awards and Carnegie Mellon University to recognize exceptional drama teachers and to celebrate arts education. Michel will receive her award at the 73rd Annual Tony Awards on June 9, 2019, at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Teachers throughout the nation have the great responsibility of helping to develop the next generation, and Madeline Michel has demonstrated herself to be an exceptional educator; having received praise from many students, parents, and theater professionals across our community. Michel has shown through her creative, innovative approaches to theater, that she is committed to both training her students in theater arts and developing their character and integrity outside of the classroom.

Madam Speaker, I hope you'll join me in congratulating Madeline Michel for her outstanding achievements in theater education for the students of Virginia's 5th Congressional District.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on the Judiciary be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 962, the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, if this unanimous consent request cannot be entertained, I urge the Speaker and the Majority Leader to immediately schedule the Born-Alive bill.

Madam Speaker, this week marks National Hospital Week. As such, I'd like to recognize the important work being done by one of my constituents, Ms. Barbara Stanfield. Barbara works at LifePoint Health's Sova Health in Danville, Virginia, and has been selected as a 2019 Hospital Hero by the Federation of American Hospitals, an award recognizing hospital employee for their dedicated work inside and outside the four walls of their hospital.

Barbara Stanfield has been a fixture at Sova Health for over 40 years and is best known for small acts of kindness that have a significant impact on those around her. Barbara works to comfort those receiving a difficult diagnosis, as she battled both multiple sclerosis and cancer. She further channels her experience with illness through her service on the hospital's cancer committee, which focuses on improving care, resources, and education for cancer patients in the community.

Barbara's commitment to those in need doesn't stop when she leaves the hospital though; she also supports the Relay for Life, United Way, and the Boys & Girls Club.

Madam Speaker, I hope you'll join me in congratulating Barbara Stanfield for her recognition as a Hospital Hero of 2019.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember David King, an indomitable family man, a constituent of mine who passed away after a hard-fought battle with cancer on May 2.

David was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Virginia in 1995 and spent over 2 decades there. He will be remembered for his lasting contribution to the Virginia wine industry and his King Family Vineyards. It is one of my favorite places for a glass of wine.

David served as a chairman of the Virginia Wine Board and worked tirelessly as a free-market advocate for vineyard agriculture and agritourism in Virginia. He leaves an enormous legacy in both the wine industry and his local Crozet community.

David is survived by his loving wife, Ellen; his six sons and daughters-in-law, Carrington and Corie, Stuart and Ali, James and Kelly; as well as his eight grandchildren.

One of David's favorite phrases was this: ``A rising tide lifts all boats,'' and David lived by that, lifting up those around him in success.

We will miss him dearly.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 1037, the Banking Transparency for Sanctioned Persons Act of 2019.

I thank the chairwoman of the committee, Ms. Waters, as well as Ranking Member McHenry for their support and willingness to bring this legislation to the House floor for a vote. I also thank my colleague Josh Gottheimer for cosponsoring this legislation.

This bill requires the Department of the Treasury to report on financial services provided to a state sponsor of terrorism or sanctioned person. This is a commonsense reporting requirement that will further assist Congress in its oversight functions, including financial sanctions against state sponsors of terrorism, human rights abusers, and other bad actors targeted with certain U.S. sanctions.

This legislation is simple yet essential. It requires the Secretary of the Treasury to submit to Congress every 180 days a report with two sets of information: first, a list of the licenses it issues to financial institutions to provide services to countries and persons subject to certain U.S. sanctions, and this would include state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, North Korea, or Syria; second, Treasury would have to provide a list of any foreign banks that conduct significant transactions for persons that have been sanctioned for human rights abuses or corruption. This report will support Congress by ensuring that sanctions are being legally and appropriately applied across the board.

The information in these reports will inform Congress about how sanctioned states and individuals engage in financial transactions. Additionally, the increased transparency will help us understand the impacts of sanctions on targeted individuals.

With a clear idea of how certain foreign countries are undermining U.S. efforts to combat corruption and human rights atrocities, we can adjust our sanctions policies so they have the intended effects.

Finally, this bill will aid Congress and the executive branch to tailor secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions, as well as better determine how those sanctions should be effectively designed and what the unintended consequences might be, if any should exist.

This will be a useful oversight tool and a powerful disclosure requirement that can help Congress understand existing sanctions and design a more effective program for the future.

Mr. Speaker, this bill unanimously passed the House in the 115th Congress, and I invite all of my colleagues to join me today and pass

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about an issue of grave concern in my district. The Skyline Drive corridor in central and western Virginia has become the center of a drug trafficking problem that is ravaging my district.

This challenge has warranted the creation of a Skyline Drug Task Force to combat drug problems in the community. This counter-drug team has carried out searches and made arrests, including of an individual suspected to be a high-level member of a Mexican drug trafficking organization, a cartel, who had, according to the judge, caused unfathomable damage to the community.

The damage caused by this organization and the many others trafficking in our communities and in the Fifth District of Virginia is very real and very lasting.

It is necessary, for the safety of my constituents, to have the region designated as a High Intensity Drug Area to give law enforcement the funding and support they need to continue the fight against the dangerous drug dealers.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with some great news for the residents of my district, the Fifth District of Virginia.

Southern Virginia was selected as Microsoft's newest TechSpark community. The goal of the TechSpark program is to accelerate economic growth through expanding broadband connectivity, career pathways in digital transformation.

This $5 million investment has a potential to be a game changer for southern Virginia, and this project partners perfectly with the work I have been doing in Congress providing rural broadband and increasing economic opportunities in Southside Virginia.

Private investment is always encouraged and preferred, but we also need to use private-public partnerships to expand access to broadband.

Communities in my district are in desperate need of broadband access, and this investment in South Boston will be an example of how we can encourage innovation and spur economic growth that will help families around this country.