Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to celebrate the life and remember the accomplishments of Congressman James H. Bilbray. Jim was a native son of Nevada who served as a judge, a university regent, and a State legislator before being elected to the House of Representatives from Nevada's First District where he served from 1987 to 1995.

Congressman Bilbray was a man ahead of his time. He was an early environmentalist before going green was considered cool. His legislation to protect Red Rock Canyon preserved a special place for future generations. His legacy will live on in the magnificent formations, Native American petroglyphs, and iconic wildlife and flora and fauna found there.

Madam Speaker, I ask now that the House observe a moment of silence in his honor.

Madam Speaker, I was absent from the floor and missed the vote on Tlaib

Amendment No. 11 to H.R. 4350. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 271--Amdt. No. 11 to H.R. 4350 on agreeing to the Tlaib amendment.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure be discharged from further consideration of House Concurrent Resolution 41, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding.

I rise in support of the INVEST in America Act, which focuses on rebuilding our Nation's highways, transit systems, railroads, and water systems.

These investments will spur economic development, tackle the climate crisis, and put people to work in good-paying union jobs.

I am proud that the Act includes some issues that I fought for that will benefit the State of Nevada, provisions to support projects of regional impact, like the completion of I-11 between Las Vegas and Phoenix; an expansion of the RRIF program to help with the development of high-speed passenger rail; projects to reduce congestion and improve air quality in our environmental justice communities; and resources for child passenger safety programs in our underserved communities.

Finally, I am glad to see Congress reassert its authority to direct funding to priority projects in a very transparent manner.

Critical infrastructure projects in southern Nevada will see $20 million in funding to support congestion relief, transit, and safety enhancements on roadways that cross and crisscross the district.

The INVEST Act sends a clear and strong message about our priorities, and I congratulate our chairman for his hard work on this issue.

Madam Speaker, I first want to thank the Bureau of Land Management and Friends of Red Rock Canyon for helping facilitate today's event. I also want to thank our guests for joining me in commemorating the 30th anniversary of the designation of Red Rock National Conservation Area. Although we were not able to celebrate on the date it was signed, November 16, because of COVID, I felt it was important to honor the man who introduced legislation to preserve Red Rock Canyon for future generations, Congressman James Bilbray.

Congressman Bilbray served as the Representative for Nevada's First District from 1987-1995. In that role, he led the legislative effort to permanently protect more than 83,000 acres of Red Rock Canyon. On November 16, 1990, President George H.W. Bush signed Congressman Bilbray's bill, H.R. 4559, The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Establishment Act. In 1994, Congressman Bilbray successfully spearheaded an effort to expand the conservation area to more than 176,000 acres to protect Joshua tree and desert tortoise habitat. H.R. 3050, The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area Boundary Expansion, was signed by President Bill Clinton in November of that year.

Congressman Bilbray was ahead of his time. When he introduced legislation to protect Red Rock Canyon, the environmental movement was just in its beginnings in Nevada. It wasn't as easy or as popular to pass this kind of legislation, but he had the vision to know that this area was special and should be preserved for his grandchildren and future generations to enjoy.

Saving this area from development was personal for the Congressman. A lifelong Nevadan, he camped in the area as a Boy Scout and frequently visited it with his family on picnics and hikes. Red Rock Canyon also holds significant cultural resources for the native Southern Paiute Tribe. Within the canyons exist rock walls with extensive petroglyphs, as well as indications of prehistoric inhabitation, such as shelter caves and agave roasting pits. The area is home to burros, bighorns, and desert tortoises, as well as unique flora. And in contrast to nearby Las Vegas, a town emphasizing entertainment and gaming, Red Rock offers respite and recreation of a different nature. It is because of Congressman Bilbray that Nevadans and visitors from around the globe can enjoy this unique desert landscape, the natural crown jewel of Southern Nevada.

In honor of Congressman Bilbray's public service, a new plaque will be installed at the entrance of the Red Rock Canyon Visitor Center where over 2,000 people enter each day. We will see, know, and get to read about the incredible man who made this possible.

Madam Speaker, the Department of Homeland Security's staff, like all our government agencies, should reflect the diversity of this country. That is why I rise to offer H.R. 367, the ``Homeland Security Acquisition Professional Career Program Act.''

Due in large part to the American Rescue Plan, the United States is well on its way to crushing the virus that has plagued us for over a year. As a result, domestic travel is increasing.

Accordingly, we must ensure that airports, like McCarran International in Las Vegas, have the equipment and trained personnel they need to safely and efficiently welcome travelers.

We can and should fill these frontline jobs, ranging from TSA agents to cyber security analysts, with veterans and graduates of HBCUs and Hispanic-serving institutions. That is exactly what my bill seeks to do.

Each year, the Department spends billions of dollars acquiring the goods and services needed to carry out its many missions. In addition to COVID-19 supplies, this includes everything from Coast Guard ships to the screening technologies that the Transportation Security Administration uses to secure our nation's travel infrastructure.

Unfortunately, a Government Accountability Office review found that 51 of these DHS major acquisition programs experienced workforce shortfalls.

In an effort to address said shortages, DHS established the Acquisition Professional Career Program.

This 3-year development program affords individuals rigorous training and on-the-job experience within DHS.

It also provides rotations to other components or offices within the Department, mentorship, and additional career development opportunities.

As a result, program participants graduate as certified acquisition professionals in their respective fields, such as contract specialists, cost estimators, and systems engineers.

H.R. 367 will ensure this program remains in place for years to come so that DHS maintains a pipeline for qualified acquisition leaders.

My bill will also require DHS to provide Congress with key information on the program for the next 5 years.

H.R. 367, if enacted, would help DHS strengthen and diversify its acquisition workforce by directing recruitment efforts to historically underrepresented individuals.

This will ensure that the Department, specifically including our TSA officials, is more representative and is more sensitive to the needs, cultural differences, and societal expectations of our heterogenous population, including the traveling public.

With that, I urge my colleagues to vote `yes' on its passage.

Mr. Speaker, I stand in favor of the PRO Act. And what a perfect acronym it is, because this bill is, indeed, proworker, procapitalism, proeconomic recovery, profamily, prowomen, just pro- American.

I am proud to represent a State with a large union presence, a large organized labor presence that has over 161,000 union members, just as I am proud to vote for this bill.

We have seen firsthand how unions enable workers to have better pay, better benefits, better working conditions. Unions also help address the gender wage gap and promote diversity. Indeed, they are the tide that lifts all ships; yet, across the country, the right to unionize has come under assault.

In the face of these attacks, the PRO Act is the strongest upgrade to workers' collective bargaining rights in nearly a century.

It will empower workers to exercise their rights and hold employers accountable when they try to stand in the way.

I include in the Record a letter from UNITE HERE also in support of the PRO Act.

Unitehere!,

Office of the President,

Las Vegas, NV, March 9, 2021.

Re Support the PRO Act (H.R. 842).

House of Representatives,

Washington, DC.

Dear Representative: I urge you to support the Protecting

the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, H.R. 842. Like President

Biden, the workers we organize in the casino, hotel, and food

service industries believe the union is the path to the

middle class. The PRO Act will remove many obstacles to

joining a union and achieving a union contract through

collective bargaining. It will give millions of workers a

real opportunity to lift up themselves and their families

into the American middle class.

One of the most significant provisions of the PRO Act is to

introduce meaningful, enforceable penalties for breaking

federal labor law. President Biden has spoken forcefully for

the need to hold corporate executives personally accountable

for interfering in union elections and violating other labor

laws. We should hold corporate decision makers personally

responsible in order to protect employees against illegal

anti-union actions just as we hold executives responsible in

order to protect investors against illegal financial

reporting practices under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

In Las Vegas, workers at the Station Casinos chain have

fought for over a decade to unionize. These workers--cooks,

food servers, bartenders, cocktail servers, porters, hotel

housekeepers--have seen their efforts thwarted every step of

the way by Station Casinos. The company and its two

billionaire owners have faced little consequence for the

company's long-running anti-union campaign of threats,

intimidation, promises, and other interference in employees'

efforts to exercise their right to join a union as well as

Trumpian refusals to recognize workers' democratic decisions

to unionize without costly litigation. The experience of

Station Casinos workers shows exactly why it is vitally

important to pass the PRO Act to provide for real penalties

to corporate and executive wrongdoing when it comes to worker

rights.

In September 2012, the National Labor Relations Board ruled

that Station Casinos broke the law dozens of times in its

initial response to worker organizing at its Las Vegas

casinos. As a remedy, the NLRB required the company to post a

notice at all its properties promising not to do so again.

Given this mere slap on the wrist by the government, it is

perhaps unsurprising that Station Casinos would continue to

use certain of the same tactics to oppose unionization that

it promised it would not engage in.

Notwithstanding their employer's opposition, Station

Casinos workers persevered and won NLRB-conducted

representation elections at several of the companies'

properties. They did so amidst Station Casinos' ongoing anti-

union campaign: at Boulder Station, 67% of workers voted Yes

to joining the union in September 2016; 78% voted Yes for the

union at Green Valley Ranch Casino in November 2017; 83%

voted Yes at Palms Casino in April 2018; 82% voted Yes at

Sunset Station in June 2019; 85% voted Yes at Fiesta Rancho

Casino in June 2019; and 57% voted Yes at Fiesta Henderson

Casino in September 2019.

But these election victories have not led to bargaining

victories. Station Casinos refused to accept the results of

several of these landslide results. Instead it mounted a

time-consuming litigation campaign through the NLRB and, in

two instances, the courts, seeking to overturn workers'

democratic choices. It did so despite public statements that

it would respect the results of NLRB elections.

Even after Station Casinos stopped litigating election

results and started to negotiate with the union, it has made

massive unilateral changes in what the Union alleges is an

effort to frustrate the possibility of reaching collective

bargaining agreements. While the Union expects that the

NLRB's Acting General Counsel's office will do everything in

his power to address these alleged unfair labor practices, he

still has no better remedies available to him than when

Station Casinos was first cited with lawbreaking in 2012.

Years of facing no real consequences culminated in a

frenzied campaign by Station Casinos to stop workers at its

largest property, Red Rock Resort, from voting for the union

in December 2019. The company's action was so brazen and

egregious that the NLRB is currently seeking a rare federal

court injunction against it. But it should not have gotten to

this point for there to be potentially real consequences for

a company that repeatedly breaks federal labor law.

Recidivism should have consequences.

Station Casinos has been able to attack its employee's

federal rights to organize and collectively bargain for years

with impunity because the company and its decision makers--

ultimately its billionaire owners--have not had to pay,

literally and figuratively, for management's breaking the

law, denying workers' right to organize, and refusing to

recognize the democratic decision to unionize.

The PRO Act would begin to change this unfair situation by

putting real teeth into the National Labor Relations Act,

including permitting the NLRB to impose personal liability on

corporate directors and officers who participate in

violations of workers' rights or have knowledge of and fail

to prevent such violations. This and other changes are

necessary to change the anti-union behavior of those who are

insulated from the consequences of lawbreaking by their

enormous amount of legal and other resources at their

disposal.

Real monetary penalties and personal liability--including

jail time, as President Biden has argued--are what will make

corporate decision makers understand that it is the national

policy of the United States, enshrined in the National Labor

Relations Act, to encourage unionization and collective

bargaining. With the PRO Act, we can begin to modernize our

legal system to advance American workers' rights to organize

and collectively bargain in accordance with that national

policy.

I urge you to vote Yes on the PRO Act.

Sincerely,

D. Taylor,

President.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the Equality Act.

For far too long our Nation has failed to read and live up to the words that adorn the front of the United States Supreme Court: Equal Justice Under Law.

We now have a rare opportunity to explicitly push our Nation to live up to its founding ideals and make that phrase ring true for all Americans. No matter who you are or whom you love, under the Equality Act you will be guaranteed the exact same protections as everybody else.

LGBTQ individuals should not have to worry when they try to access a small business loan, seek healthcare, or buy a home.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to cosponsor this historic civil rights legislation, and I look forward to casting my vote in support of its passage.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Las Vegas Councilman Bob Coffin on the occasion of his retirement from political life. Councilman Bob Coffin was elected to represent Las Vegas Ward 3 on Tuesday, June 7, 2011, and was sworn into office on Wednesday, July 6, 2011. Councilman Coffin has deep roots in downtown Las Vegas, having been a resident in and around Ward 3 for more than 60 years and now lives less than a mile from his boyhood home.

Councilman Coffin's commitment to Southern Nevada can be seen through his decades of public service. He was first elected in 1982 to the Nevada Assembly, where he served for two terms. He continued his public service in the Nevada State Senate, where he served until 2011. During that period, he served on many influential committees as a ranking member of the powerful Senate Finance Committee as well as chairman of the Taxation Committee. On these committees he fought to balance budgets and cut unnecessary government spending. Fiscal responsibility continued to be a priority as he served Ward 3 along with ensuring public safety, cleaning up older neighborhoods, and attracting new development.

During his childhood in Las Vegas, Councilman Coffin developed a passion for two things--his Mexican-American heritage and the sport of golf. His ancestral family emigrated to Southern California from Mexico, and he saw firsthand the discrimination his mother faced as a young woman. Accordingly, the Councilman has spent much of his career fighting this injustice. He has traveled to Central America to monitor elections and to help children and families. He has also been a longtime active member in the Latin Chamber of Commerce.

Bob remained in Southern Nevada as a young man attending Bishop Gorman High School and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, where he earned an accounting degree. He went on to serve his country in the United States Army and later ran a successful insurance business. While concentrating on his studies at UNLV, Bob continued to focus on his favorite pastime, golf, and was named the Nevada Amateur Golf Champion at the age of 27.

Councilman Coffin has been recognized for his community service, receiving dozens of awards during his career. Most recently, he was named Person of the Year by the Southern Nevada Chapter of the Professional Golfers Association and received the Charles Dick Medal of Honor Award from the United States National Guard. He has twice been honored by the Latin Chamber of Commerce with its Hispanic Citizen Award and Public Service Award.

He continues his commitment to the public by serving on a number of boards and commissions, including the Board of the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame, Chief Local Elected Officials Consortium, Commission for the Las Vegas Centennial, Debt Management Commission, Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition, and the Southern Nevada Water Authority.

Bob is also a dear friend who paid my very first filing fee when I ran for the Nevada Senate in 1988. I have looked to him over the years for advice, support, and encouragement. I am also close to his lovely wife, Mary Hausch and look forward to spending quality time with them in their retirement. Bob has left an incredible legacy and all Nevadans owe him a great debt of gratitude.

Madam Speaker, I was absent for the following vote on June 12, 2019. Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll No. 250-- On Motion to Adjourn.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on behalf of over 15,000 Dreamers and TPS holders who live in the heart of Las Vegas. They ask for nothing more than a shot at the American Dream.

They are teachers, nurses, entrepreneurs, and, more importantly, they are our neighbors, our friends, our colleagues.

These courageous individuals contribute so much to our communities where they have spent most of their lives and they call home. They have made the United States their own country and their own home.

Yet, over the last 2 years, the Trump administration has attacked Dreamers and TPS holders by rolling back immigration protections and tearing families apart.

That has got to stop.

By passing the American Dream and Promise Act, this House is going to be standing up to the hateful anti-immigration policies that have come to define the Trump administration.

The symbol of the United States must always remain the Statue of Liberty. We should be putting out a welcoming mat, not building a wall.

Madam Speaker, I was absent April 29, 2019 through May 2, 2019. If I were present, I would have voted on the following: Roll no. 168--H.R. 91--On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill: YEA; Roll no. 169--JOURNAL--On Approving the Journal: YEA; Roll no. 170-- H.R. 1876--On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill: YEA; Roll no. 171--H. Res. 328--On motion to suspend the rules and pass the resolution: YEA; Roll no. 172--H. Res. 329--On ordering the previous question: YEA; Roll no. 173--H. Res. 329--On agreeing to the resolution: YEA; Roll no. 174--H. Res. 304--On motion to table the measure: YEA; Roll no. 175--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Espaillat Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 176--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Gosar Amendment No. 10: NAY; Roll no. 177--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Gosar Amendment No. 11: NAY; Roll no. 178--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Porter Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 179--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Fletcher Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 180--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Schrier Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 181--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Van Drew Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 182--H.R. 9--On Agreeing to the Engel Amendment: YEA; Roll no. 183--H.R. 9--On Motion to Recommit with Instructions: NAY; Roll no. 184--H.R. 9--On Passage: YEA.

Madam Speaker, I was absent April 8, 2019. If I were present, I would have voted on the following: Roll no. 157--H. Con. Res. 19, On motion to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution: ``yea''; Roll no. 158--H.R. 1331, On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill: ``yea''; and Roll no. 159--JOURNAL, On Approving the Journal: ``yea''.

Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise with Representative Eric Swalwell today to offer our congratulations to Mr. Samuel S. Lionel, a resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, who is celebrating his 100th Birthday on April 7, 2019.

The son of immigrants, Sam Lionel grew up in the Bronx in New York City. He graduated law school at St. John's University in 1940. Shortly after he finished law school, the United States entered WWII, and Mr. Lionel joined the war effort. He fought with the 5th Army in the campaign to liberate Italy. After the war, Mr. Lionel taught at the United States Military Academy at West Point. He retired from the reserves as a Lieutenant Colonel Judge Advocate General.

Mr. Lionel passed the Nevada Bar exam in 1954. Together with the late former Nevada Governor Grant Sawyer, he founded the Lionel, Sawyer, and Collins Law Firm in 1967. The firm quickly became one of the largest and most prestigious in the state, and Mr. Lionel represented many key gaming operators and resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. Throughout the course of his more than a half-century career, Mr. Lionel has been widely considered the ``Dean of the Nevada Bar,'' and he served as the Chairman of the Board of Bar Examiners for several years.

Mr. Lionel has accumulated numerous awards and honors, including three honorary doctorate degrees from St. John's University, the California Western School of Law, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He is the first recipient of the Jurisprudence Award from the Nevada Anti-Defamation League. He won the 2012 Liberty Bell Award, and in 2013 he was named Las Vegas Best Lawyers' Lawyer of the Year.

Samuel Lionel is a fellow with the American College of Trial Lawyers, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Nevada, and the Clark County Bar Association. He served as a member of the Ninth Circuit Senior Advisory Board from 1990 to 1996.

Remarkably, Mr. Lionel still practices law as a Director at Fennemore Craig, and can be found at the local courthouse waiting his turn to argue a case before the judge. Mr. Lionel, along with his wife Lexy, continue to be active members of the Southern Nevada community. On the occasion of this centennial birthday, we wish him the very best.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio be removed as a cosponsor of H.R. 1155.