Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the life and honor the passage of one of my great constituents, Lee Jernigan of Oroville, California.

During Lee's lifetime, he had joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and served as an aerial gunner and airplane mechanic on a B-17 during World War II, where he flew 23 missions in the Asian Pacific.

Lee graduated from Chico State in 1950 and received his master's degree in 1959 in education. Lee was known specifically for his passion and commitment to God, his family, and for educating the young people of our community.

It should come as no surprise that Lee was a beloved elementary and middle school teacher and then went on to be my principal at Central Middle School in Oroville, California, for 54 years of career. Lee was known to be kind, with a sense of humor, and this was one principal I was never really in trouble with.

Lee was devoted to teaching, but also devoted to his loving wife, Hazel, whom he married in 1948 and remained with for 72 years until his passing.

Lee was a man of extreme dedication and commitment to his wife, to his country, and to learning for the children of his community. Of course, we can all learn from that, as well.

Madam Speaker, God bless Lee Jernigan and his family.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a great man and a great patriot from Redding, California, in my district. His commitment to his fellow veterans is certainly unparalleled. Major John Cleckner, Sr. passed away on May 11, but he leaves behind a tremendous legacy of service.

During a 22-year military career that began in 1957 in the 82nd Airborne Division and later the U.S. Army Special Forces, John received far too many awards and honors to list in this time. During his time as a veteran of the Vietnam war, he was wounded multiple times and received three Purple Hearts and two Bronze Stars.

In 1969, he was assigned to the 5th Special Forces Group. Upon arriving, he initiated a massive rebuilding of their camp's defenses and intelligence gathering when he heard of increased activity by North Vietnamese units in the area. Not long afterward, a North Vietnamese heavy weapons regiment laid siege to their camp for 5 months, but, thanks to John's efforts, the camp held.

After receiving his third Purple Heart, John was medically retired in 1979.

As impressive as his military service record is, it might even pale in comparison to his 35 years of dedicated

service to his fellow veterans, both in northern California and across the United States. Much like his military career, his accomplishments as an advocate for veterans are too numerous to properly list in this format.

He has worked closely with me and my office and others previous to me over the years as an adviser on all things veterans related and as a tireless partner and champion of programs and legislation that can make a real impact to help our veterans thrive.

He was a leader in every sense of the word. John was instrumental in getting a new VA clinic in Redding, whose groundbreaking will be very soon, and started the quest for a veterans' cemetery in Shasta County, both of which have now come to fruition, thanks to his relentless efforts.

John even collaborated with country music legend Merle Haggard, who is a Redding resident, to coordinate a national fishing tournament for combat-disabled veterans to have a chance to get out and relax and enjoy the outdoors with people who they can relate to. For him, it was all part of making the lives of veterans better in any way that he could.

When John discovered that many veterans struggled to obtain legal help, he went back to college at the age of 62 to get a degree that would allow him to serve as a legal assistant to in-need veterans at no charge to the veteran. That is amazing service. That is the kind of person John Cleckner was.

For his impressive track record, both on the battlefield and in civilian life, the Special Operations Center of Excellence at the U.S. Army John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School inducted John into the Distinguished Members of Special Operations Regiment in 2010.

I know this: Major John Cleckner was an American hero, on and off the battlefield. He devoted his life to his country, and when he could no longer serve his country, he devoted himself to improving the lives of his fellow veterans.

I have seen it firsthand. I consider myself fortunate to have known him as a friend, and I am grateful for the things he helped us--in my office and others--do to accomplish things for veterans in northern California.

John was tough, even a little scary, especially if he thought you weren't being true to what you were saying you would do. But if you were, you wouldn't have a stronger ally than Major John Cleckner in what we pursue to help our veterans, to help our Nation be strong, to be true.

His commitment has only strengthened my own resolve to further some of the initiatives he started and we have helped with and to never stop fighting for our veterans who deserve it.

I thank John for his service, his sacrifice, his dedication. We will miss him in northern California but will ensure his legacy lives on through our efforts--all of us--to help our veterans, to help our Nation remain strong.

God bless Major John Cleckner, his faithful wife, Doris, his amazing family, and all that he has ever had touch with during his life of service to his nation and to his brothers.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Roe and Chairman Takano for including my legislation, H.R. 1126, within H.R. 1947. It is greatly appreciated. This is an oversight that was pointed out by northern California veterans to me a while back, the choice of being able to have a family member, a spouse, inscribed on a grave marker, simply the difference being that it is in a Federal cemetery or one that is private. That is really the bottom line on this.

This bill changes that oversight so that the choice can be at any recognized cemetery. That is simply what we are after: to have our veterans who have served us honorably know that, when they are at their final resting place, that this oversight cannot happen for their family member that they held so dear to share that gravestone with them.

So, whether it is a private cemetery or a VA, or whatever other type you might have as your choice, veterans need to have this choice as well.

Madam Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Roe and Chairman Takano for including this so we can take care of this oversight quickly and have our veterans have the choices that they feel they deserve and, indeed, do deserve. I appreciate it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a great woman and a doctor who is from my district in northern California, who earned an incredible honor over the weekend.

Dr. Debbie Lupeika has been named as the 2019 National Clinician of the year by the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved.

She teaches residents at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, and Shasta Community Health Center, which serves mostly underserved or uninsured patients.

Dr. Lupeika has helped treat many families that were displaced from their homes in Shasta County by the Carr fire last year--everyone from children to adults.

In rural communities like ours, it is even more important to have great doctors who truly care about their patients and their craft when also faced with these rural issues that are so difficult for retaining doctors in rural areas. Dr. Debbie Lupeika fully embodies that in every way.

Madam Speaker, I thank her for her commitment to improving healthcare in our rural communities, and I congratulate her on receiving this prestigious award.

Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to celebrate the centennial of the House passing an amendment granting women the right to vote in all States in this country.

One hundred years ago, the unrelenting efforts of women suffragists over the course of a 72-year campaign paid off in the passage of the 19th Amendment.

For example, the first woman to hold Federal office, Republican Representative Jeannette Rankin of Montana, was actually elected 3 years before women were allowed to vote at the Federal level in all the States at the time. She went on to introduce legislation similar to what would eventually become the 19th Amendment.

My home State Republican Senator, Aaron Sargent from California, introduced the first legislation to amend the Constitution and grant women the right to vote. It failed on the Senate floor, but it represented the beginning of an unstoppable movement that culminated in the ratification of the 19th Amendment in August 1920.

This Chamber is where it all began. I am proud to be standing here today and joining my colleagues from both sides of the aisle to celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great victory for women and the values of our Republic.

Madam Speaker, I rise to commend the Federal Railroad Administration and the Trump administration for putting a stop to the wasteful Federal spending on California's high-speed rail boondoggle. This will save nearly $1 billion that can be used for anything else to help Americans' transportation system.

At a time when tax increases on every mile you drive are being contemplated ostensibly for our highway needs, how can we keep wasting dollars on a project that ``has repeatedly failed to comply with the terms of the 2010 agreement and has failed to make reasonable progress''?

It is no longer even a high-speed train project nor does it even connect San Francisco to L.A. but, instead, terminates in an almond orchard somewhere north of Bakersfield.

It has tripled in price since 2008, when put in front of the California voters, and is still at least $70 billion short of the $100 billion tripled price or more. That $70 billion will not be coming from this Congress.

Let's channel these hard-earned tax dollars into highways people need, want, and can actually use, or water storage, or just about anything else.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Police Week.

Thousands of police officers from around the country are in Washington, D.C., this week, and I want to welcome them with the recognition and appreciation they deserve and that they don't always receive these days.

I thank the Capitol Police officers, Officers David Bailey and Crystal Griner, who saved many of my colleagues' lives less than 2 years ago when they took down an armed gunman at that baseball practice that we so famously heard about.

I am very thankful for our officers that we have in northern California, many who have had to work around the clock with some of the disasters we have had in recent years with the dam and the fires, who really helped make an orderly situation out of a lot of chaos.

Nationally, I hate to have to relate these statistics, but 163 police officers died in the line of duty last year, 52 from gunfire. Any number greater than zero is unacceptable.

In California, we lost 11 officers in 2018. This year, we tragically lost 22-year-old Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona, one of the most heartbreaking ones you might ever see. She was following in her father's footsteps, who was an officer for a long time in Colusa County.

Indeed, these men and women know it is a higher calling, a higher, 24-hour duty that they answer to for all of our safety. We appreciate them. We love them, and let's always be sure we remember to show them that.

Mr. Speaker, pursuant to clause 1, rule I, I demand a vote on agreeing to the Speaker's approval of the Journal.

Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight the recent violence taking place in Israel and the Gaza Strip.

It all started when snipers from the Gaza Strip, unprovoked, fired over the border upon Israeli soldiers. This was an unprovoked attack by Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization. Israel has every right to defend itself, so they did, as they should.

Following a responsive Israeli airstrike, hundreds of rockets were launched from Gaza into Israel. People died on both sides of this bloody conflict. Hamas fired these rockets from schoolyards, hospitals, and everywhere else they could use human shields that they thought would keep them safe from retaliation.

While some in the media and even in this Chamber attempt to blame our allies in Israel and downplay the actions of Hamas, most of us have a firmer grip on reality. Israel is not the bad guy here.

This is yet another example of peace being interrupted by Hamas terrorists. If any other country in the world were on the receiving end, no one would dare question the right to respond accordingly.

I can assure you that I join President Trump in standing 100 percent with our friends in Israel. They have every right to defend themselves from terrorist attacks.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize National Small Business Week.

There are over 30 million small businesses across the country, and over half of the American workforce is either employed by a small business or operates one.

With April's strong jobs report and the unemployment rate reaching the lowest in 50 years--a truly unprecedented level of 3.6 percent--it is clear American small businesses are thriving.

There is no bigger job creator. Small businesses are the mainstay of our economy, a big reason why it is booming.

Two out of three jobs created in the U.S. are within a small business. Last month, there were 263,000 nonfarm jobs created, surpassing most predictions.

Indeed, our economy is doing quite well and, as a result, so are our small business owners. I believe the progrowth policies of the last Congress and this administration, such as tax reform and regulatory reform, have quite a lot to do with it.

I will always be a strong supporter of small business, and I hope this body will as well and continue to support the policies that will help them succeed.

I thank those who are hanging in there in the small business community--keep going, and keep creating.

Mr. Speaker, sadly, I rise today to honor a fallen U.S. marine from my district in northern California.

Staff Sergeant Joshua Braica from Auburn, California, tragically died on Sunday, April 14, when his vehicle rolled over during a training accident at Camp Pendleton in California.

We, like many in Placer County in northern California, are mourning the loss of one of our own, one of our best and brightest.

Joshua had been in the Marine Corps for more than 8 years, deploying twice and serving as a critical skills operator with the 1st Raider Battalion.

By all accounts, Joshua was an all-American guy who was greatly admired by his friends, neighbors, and his fellow Marines.

At such a young age, he is a decorated and highly trained soldier, with many awards and many medals to his name.

He is the oldest of five siblings and is survived by his wife and his son.

I am praying for all of them, and I hope that all Members will join me in doing so as well at this difficult time.

One thing is for sure: Joshua has certainly made his community and his country proud.

God bless Joshua and his family again at this time of need and tragedy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to join our friends in Israel and in the Jewish communities around the world in recognizing Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day.

President Trump took the unprecedented step of proclaiming this week Holocaust Remembrance Week, and solidarity is one of our strongest allies in the entire Jewish community.

With the recent rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric amongst some, even in this House, it is important that we remember just how horrific and dangerous these ideas truly are.

More than 6 million Jewish people died at the hands of the Nazis during the Holocaust. Many who survived will never be able to escape the horrors of their experience. They emerged into a world that has changed them forever.

But the world has changed since then, too. No longer is that sort of hatred and bigotry to be accepted, and that is what we must affirm on this National Day of Prayer, via prayer, via our actions, for Jewish people as well

as Christians being massacred around the world.

I thank the President for once again reaffirming America's commitment to supporting Israel and the Jewish people. This week, today, and always, we are with you.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Arizona, Mr. Gosar, for hosting this Special Order on this important topic and for his very good work on the Congressional Western Caucus.

As we know, this week, the House will vote on H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act. In light of the United States' incredible efforts and achievements in becoming more energy independent and a global leader in energy development and production, we should call it the U.S. Energy Disadvantage Act.

This shortsighted legislation would seek to prevent President Trump from withdrawing from the misguided 2016 Paris Agreement enacted by President Obama. Of course, this agreement was passed without consent from Congress and no economic impact or cost-benefit analysis.

The American people deserve to know what a plan like this is going to cost them. According to several reports, the Paris Agreement could cost the U.S. $250 billion and 2.7 million jobs by just 2025 and many more jobs over a longer period, and even as much as $3 trillion by 2040.

Furthermore, this bill is completely one-sided. It received no congressional hearings or feedback from the administration, stakeholders, or outside experts.

Bottom line, this bill would result in an unfair economic playing field against the United States and in favor of all the other countries.

We have already seen the results of this agreement in the city of Paris itself, where protests have erupted over their own gas price increases.

Just like the Green New Deal boondoggle, enacting this legislation would have an almost insignificant effect on decreasing global emissions. Indeed, the United States is already by far the leader in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has lowered our levels of emissions by 18 percent between 2000 and 2014, leading other major countries and producers.

Why do we need to be in the Paris accord when we are already leading the way? We need to drag the others along in this process and have them do more about their own emissions, such as China, which emits more carbon dioxide than the U.S. and the European Union combined.

Why are they let off the hook in this until the year 2030? Why is India let off the hook until 2030? I guess American consumers and the higher prices they are paying at the pump, especially Californians at over $4, would like to know the answer to that question.

It is another attack by the left to undermine the responsible production of energy in America. We don't need to be in the accord to achieve these reductions, as we have already seen these results.

If forced to stay in the Paris climate agreement, the U.S. economy will suffer while achieving no meaningful benefits or reduction in global emissions.

This is like many climate change schemes that are focused on transferring power via taxation and regulation to the government away from the producers of this country.

Are we going to have the power in the hands of elected officials and bureaucrats or the people that innovate better ways of doing things, better forms of energy, and more efficient forms of energy, and have them produced right here in the U.S., including California, which is a leading producer of energy?

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this measure and any other climate change scheme that hurts our economy and our energy production when we are the innovators of doing things better around the world.

Mr. Speaker, as Members have all heard, this weekend our Nation experienced another horrific attack on the Jewish people during Passover, this time in a shooting at a San Diego-area synagogue.

This is something that I am afraid is becoming too commonplace, and we are becoming comfortable with this type of violence against Jewish people around our country and even around the world.

Multiple people were injured. One person even lost her life, Lori Gilbert-Kaye. Eyewitnesses claimed she died while shielding the Rabbi from gunfire, her friend of more than 30 years.

Almog Peretz shepherded many children away from the gunfire and toward safety.

While most people, understandably, were fleeing this violence, Army veteran, Oscar Stewart, instinctively ran towards the gunfire, which froze the shooter. He was shouting and intimidating the shooter which eventually chased him off.

From there, off-duty U.S. Border Patrol Officer Jonathan Morales joined him in the parking lot with a handgun and shot several rounds at the shooter's car which made him continue to flee.

There is no telling how bad this could have gotten without the heroics of these folks. And as Oscar Stewart alluded, a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun, and it happened in this case.

Join me in praying for Lori Gilbert-Kaye and her family, and for all those who were injured. God bless those who stepped up and saved the lives of others.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Bishop and Mr. Van Drew for their work on this effort here tonight.

I am very excited about the support for this bill, and of course, I rise tonight in support of H.R. 317, which is the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians Land Affirmation Act.

It has always been a bipartisan effort to affirm the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for the benefit of the Chumash Tribe, codifying agreements reached between the Tribe and the county of Santa Barbara after much work.

I am very proud of the good faith, bipartisan effort that has gone into this bill both in Congress and in the local community.

For the several years I have been involved with this legislation, I have seen the Chumash Indians and the local government work together to build trust and act as good neighbors to forge an agreement that works for everyone.

There is nothing controversial about this bill. It simply ensures the Tribe has the ability to provide housing for its members. I can't think of anyone who really should take issue with that effort.

In fact, last Congress, this bill was passed both out of the Natural Resources Committee and on this House floor with unanimous consent.

Mr. Speaker, I thank, in the committee, Chairman Grijalva and Ranking Member Bishop for their hard work in support of this legislation through the whole way.

Mr. Speaker, I also thank my colleague Congressman Salud Carbajal from the Chumash homeland area who has been the region's representative and an original cosponsor of this bill. He has played a key role in facilitating these discussions at the local level, and I appreciate it.

Located in Santa Barbara, the recorded history of the Chumash reaches back to the earliest arrival of Europeans in California when the Spanish explorer Cabrillo recorded his encounters with the Chumash in 1542.

The Chumash have a strong and unbroken connection to the Camp 4 parcel, which is what this is known as, Camp 4, which is located close to their current reservation.

Starting in the early 1800s, the Chumash became wards of the Spanish mission in Santa Ynez, which included Camp 4. Later, lands were granted to them that included Camp 4 as well. A commission recognized that the Tribe continued to reside in the Camp 4 area, though only 99 acres were ultimately taken into trust at that time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Van Drew for pointing out that the Chumash face a significant housing crisis. Fewer than 17 percent of the Chumash members and lineal descendants are able to reside on the Tribe's existing reservations, which consists largely of hillsides, wetlands, and streambeds unsuitable for housing, and areas that they want to preserve.

To address this shortage, the Chumash used their own resources to purchase the Camp 4 parcel, the 1,400 acres, with the intent of construction of homes on a small part of it.

The Tribe applied to take Camp 4 into trust administratively. After the formal BIA process, the Department of the Interior completed the fee-to-trust process in January 2017.

That same year, the county ratified an agreement with the Chumash, ensuring that any impacts of Camp 4 housing on local infrastructure and other resources would be addressed. The Department of the Interior approved this agreement that same day.

In order to enable the Chumash to address their housing crisis and ensure any impacts to local governments are addressed, H.R. 317 affirms and ratifies the action of the Department of the Interior to take the land into trust and codifies the agreement ratified between the county and the Tribe addressing local impacts.

At the request of the Tribe, it also prohibits the operation of gaming facilities on this parcel, which is a key element the people would have been concerned about, and it protects and respects the rights-of-way held by local stakeholders.

The bill represents, again, the culmination of years of good faith negotiations by all parties and should be considered a model for maintaining positive working relationships between Tribal governments and local governments.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the measure. I thank everybody who has helped with this in a bipartisan effort.