Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Jack Clawson, who recently passed away at the age of 90.

Jack was a highly respected resident of our district, not only as the father of my predecessor, Congressman Curt Clawson, but also as a passionate family man and follower of Jesus Christ. He led a remarkable life, having grown up working on his grandfather's farm in Utah and a shipyard in Seattle. As a member of the greatest generation, he joined the U.S. Army and fought for our country during WWII, in Japan between 1945 and 1947 while serving on the staff of General Douglas MacArthur. For three years thereafter, he would serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Denmark. His service to his church would continue throughout his life.

A graduate of Brigham Young University and Harvard Business School in the 1950s, he began a successful business career, serving as the President of Thonet Manufacturing Corporation, DeSoto Furniture and Hill-Rom Company. As with every other aspect of his life, Jack instilled a sense of belonging and caring at each of the companies he led. To his friends and family, however, Jack Clawson was known as a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed by those who knew him and well-remembered by all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of Melanie Allen and her recent recognition of being named the 2018 Patriot League Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Ms. Allen, an extraordinary tennis player, is also a cadet at the United States Military Academy.

Melanie recently finished the season in West Point's No. 2 singles position where she had a record of 19-9 in singles matches and 21-3 in doubles matches, both of which boast as single-season personal bests. Not only is Melanie an excellent athlete, but she also holds a 3.65 GPA as a Psychology major.

I congratulate Melanie Allen on her recent recognition for, and her dedication to, both athletics and academics. I look forward to hearing of her successes in the armed forces and beyond in the years to come.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss a creative solution to enacting term limits without amending the Constitution, H.R. 5539, the Thomas Jefferson Public Service Act of 2018.

Under this proposal, after six terms in the House or two in the Senate, Members of Congress will only receive $1 a year in compensation for their service, effectively implementing real term limits. Again, no constitutional amendment necessary.

Critics may say this will create a Congress full of rich people, but, in fact, people using this argument are exactly the career politicians we need to weed out. If a person were to ignore the effective 12-year term limit, regardless of how much money they might have, the culture of term limits would be set in and they would be widely opposed, criticized, and should be thrown out.

Eighty-six percent of our customers, the voters, want term limits. As a businessperson, I am just figuring out how to get them what they want. That is what we do in the real world: satisfy customers.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to remove my name as a cosponsor from H. Res. 774.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that when the House adjourns today, it adjourn to meet at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 1, 2018.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to continue to talk about how dangerous the offshore drilling business is for the eastern gulf and our environment in Florida.

Blowouts reached an all-time high offshore in 2016. For every 1,000 new wells offshore, 20 blowouts occur.

For 14 years, Taylor Energy has had a well off of south Louisiana that has leaked. It has leaked hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil every year.

Leaks from LL&G's pipeline leaked 392,700 barrels of oil in 2017, and in 2016 Shell Oil had a similar leak in one of their pipelines. That is really bad because Shell Oil is one of the best companies in the industry. It shows you that human error cannot be eliminated from offshore drilling, and we should ban it in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to discuss the dire need we have for term limits in the Congress. Eighty-six percent of Americans agree, but it is possible that Congress doesn't.

I have introduced the Thomas Jefferson Public Service Act of 2018 to create a limit of 12 years without amending the Constitution, something which we all know will never happen. It is time for Congress to ``fish or cut bait.''

To the argument about the value of seniority, I would humbly suggest that we ask the 18- to 25-year old millennials in our country, these folks here, who will be voting and taking over the workforce. As you can see here, they voted massively for Democrats in 2016--that is the blue--and would have left an electoral college of 504 Democrats and 23 Republicans.

Across the business world where I come from, employers are responding to the millennials' lack of concern for seniority, refusal to wait their turn, and questioning deference to authority. I am not making a value judgment. I am telling you, that is the way they are; and if you want employees and good people, you have got to deal with their concerns. The digital age is different.

We Republicans have a chance of convincing them that we are nimble, flexible, and responsive by adopting this law. If we stay in our rut, like Hamlet, we deserve our fate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the Thomas Jefferson Public Service Act of 2018, a bill that will effectively put term limits in place without amending the Constitution.

The act will reduce the salary of an elected Member of Congress to $1 a year after they serve six consecutive terms in the House, or two consecutive terms in the Senate, and does not require a constitutional amendment.

My home State of Florida passed term limits with 76 percent approval. A recent nationwide poll showed that over 82 percent of the American voters support term limits for Congress.

Is it possible a disruptive game-changing measure such as this could instill confidence in Congress and set the stage for a wave of innovation and accomplishment?

From Cincinnatus to President George Washington, history is replete with examples of leaders who served their country for a time and then returned to private life or other public service.

It is time to return to the concept of the citizen legislator.

Mr. Speaker, this week marks the eighth anniversary of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the central Gulf of Mexico.

Accordingly, I rise today to, once again, vigorously oppose any effort to allow energy exploration in the eastern gulf. The ban on drilling east of the Military Mission Line, 86 degrees, 41 minutes west, was put in place in 2006 and is going to expire in 2022. We need to make it permanent.

Our tourism industry in Florida and our residential development need protection from offshore drilling. We need protection from the oil companies.

Another spill like Deepwater Horizon would be an existential threat to Florida. The clockwise loop current, which runs all down the west coast, would carry any chemicals that get into the water all down the west coast to Key West.

We don't need the eastern Gulf to become self-sufficient in energy, either. Technology and the shale revolution have taken care of that.

The Western Hemisphere is already independent and the U.S. itself will be before long. It is estimated that the U.S. will supply 30 percent of Mexico's gas by 2030. In the Permian Basin alone, one of the three producing sands is estimated to hold over 20 billion barrels of oil equivalence.

As the CEO of Shell said recently: We will see peak demand for gasoline and oil within the decade.

Shell's latest offshore platform, the Vito, has been scaled back 80 percent from 40,000 tons to 8,900 tons because it is just not productive.

Shell is investing in alternative energies.

Mr. Speaker, please protect Florida and make the ban permanent.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Hugh Brittenham, a fine young man from Estero High School. At the FSU relays, Hugh was able to both break his already national record setting 800-meter event time, and snag another national record for the 1,600- meter event.

I congratulate Hugh for his exceptional commitment to the Estero running program. I also extend my congratulations to Hugh's family, Estero running coaches Mike Bumpus, Ben Pignatone, Leigh Williamson, Brian Olitsky and the late former athletic director Jeff Sommer, who made the Estero running program into what it is today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Sergeant Sammy Gonzalez. A Lee County Sheriff's Office deputy since 2007, he has made an incredible commitment to run from their headquarters in Fort Myers to the Fallen Officer Memorial in Tallahassee, Florida.

This effort, a run of approximately 400 miles, is being made on behalf of family members left behind following the on-duty death of a law enforcement officer. Sergeant Gonzalez is raising funds and awareness for Concerns of Police Survivors (C.O.P.S.), a not-for-profit organization that assists the families of fallen officers. C.O.P.S. pays for counseling, summer camp, and other programs for family members of officers killed in the line of duty.

This nine-day run, which the Sergeant refers to as the ``Run for the Fallen,'' will require Gonzalez to cover approximately 45 miles each day. The venture, in its entirety, equates

to the completion of over 15 consecutive marathons. Good luck and Godspeed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 90th anniversary of the founding of the American Gold Star Mothers. American Gold Star Mothers dates to 1928 and was founded under the Wilson Administration by Grace Darling Seibold. In 1917, during WWI, families hung banners displaying a blue star for each loved one serving overseas and a gold star for each of those loved ones that made the ultimate sacrifice. Today, the American Gold Star Mothers organization continues to aid and comfort the families of men and women who died while serving their country.

On March 24th the Southwest Florida Gold Star Mothers Chapter will hold an event commemorating the 90th anniversary of the American Gold Star Mothers and the 2nd observance of the National Vietnam War Veterans Day. We honor those mothers and families who have lost sons and daughters in recent conflicts around the world, and thank the Southwest Florida chapter for all they do for our fallen heroes and our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to not only congratulate the Florida SouthWestern State College men's basketball team as they head to the NJCAA tournament for the first time in only their second season of competition, but also to wish them continued success throughout the tournament.

The Bucs clinched the Suncoast Conference Title and head to Kansas with a 29-2 overall record on the season. They are seeded sixth in the tournament. I congratulate Coach Marty Richter and all of the players for their hard work this season--best of luck and continue to make us proud.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to not only congratulate the Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) women's basketball team as they head to the NCAA tournament for the fifth time in seven seasons, but also to wish them continued success throughout the tournament.

The Eagles fought hard to beat Jacksonville and clinch the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Championship. I congratulate Coach Karl Smesko and all of the players for their hard work this season--best of luck and continue to make us proud. Wings up.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Thomas Cronin, a generous citizen of Southwest Florida who peacefully passed away on February 16, 2018.

After attending St. Francis Xavier Catholic School and Fort Myers High School, he proudly served his country in the United States Army. Then, he returned to Southwest Florida and served his community as a businessman and philanthropist.

He was instrumental in the founding of the Southwest Florida Regional Hospital, now part of LeeHealth. Further serving our community, he worked on projects such as the development of Hodges University, the City of Palms Park Stadium, and the revamping of worn-down properties to increase the beauty of our paradise coast.

His leadership is shown through his active roles in local projects such as the Lee County YMCA, the Shell Factory and Nature Park in North Fort Myers, the United Way of Lee County, and the Jaycees and Octagon Wildlife Sanctuary.

The Southwest Florida community celebrates him for his cheerful Irish spirit, kind heart, and selfless service to his community. I want to extend my condolences to his wife, Pamela Cronin, his son, Thomas Cronin, Jr., his daughter Constance Martine Cronin, and the rest of his loving family and friends.