Floor Statements

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chair, as Members may recall, during the climate negotiations leading up to the Paris conference, participants called for a Green Climate Fund that would collect $100 billion a year by 2020. Although Congress has yet to appropriate a single dollar specifically allocated for the Green Climate Fund, the U.S. contributed over $800 million under the Obama administration through the Economic Support Fund.

However, a July 2018 report by Transparency International concluded that funding allocated from the Green Climate Fund was extremely vulnerable to fraud, embezzlement, and rigged bidding since corruption risk of processes in infrastructure-related procurement is extremely high.

Mr. Chair, I urge Members to support the amendment, and I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the amendment, even though I am not opposed to it.

Mr. Chairman, we have no objection to this amendment.

The amendment deals with issues under the jurisdiction of the United States International Boundary and Water Commission, which is one of several such commissions funded under this act.

The IBWC's mission is to provide binational solutions to issues that arise during the application of United States-Mexico treaties regarding the boundary demarcation, national ownership of waters, sanitation, water quality, and flood control in the entire region, in the border region.

This amendment addresses a long-running problem involving a pipeline, the International Outfall Interceptor, it is called, that transports sewage from both sides of the border to the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant. That plant is co-owned by the IBWC and the city of Nogales.

Mr. Chairman, we can all understand the desire to enjoy clean, safe water, and we have no objection to this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Gosar).

Mr. Chairman, I yield such time as she may consume to the gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey), the chairwoman of the full committee.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, the funding directed in this amendment is a significant increase above current levels. It could result in funds being cut from important partners in Europe facing Russian aggression. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to oppose this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding the time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of this amendment.

This amendment would double the amount withheld from assistance to Pakistan until Dr. Shakil Afridi has been released from prison and cleared of all charges relating to assistance provided to the U.S. in locating Osama bin Laden.

I note that U.S. aid to Pakistan has been substantially decreased in recent years, including the suspension of all security assistance funding for the Pakistani military because of insufficient cooperation on counterterrorism. Similarly, the 2020 request for economic assistance to Pakistan has been reduced from $200 million to $48 million. Remaining U.S. programs in Pakistan help combat violent extremism, support the rule of law, and counter narcotics, including along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

Nonetheless, this amendment sends a strong signal that the United States views the charges against Dr. Afridi as baseless and that we will continue to press for his release.

Mr. Chair, I urge support of the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to the amendment.

This en bloc amendment contains several measures that could have enjoyed broad support. Unfortunately, it also includes several amendments that some on our side are unable to accept.

This includes an amendment offered by the gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) relating to the Trump organization. We regard that amendment as a partisan stunt that would jeopardize the safety and security of State Department personnel and foreign dignitaries.

The proposed funding prohibition would have serious consequences for the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service. The mission of Diplomatic Security is to protect the people, places, and vital information that allow the United States to be a leader in world events.

That includes protecting the personal security of the Secretary of State when he is tasked by the President with attending summits at one of the properties listed in the amendment.

The President, not the Secretary of State, selects travel locations. The Diplomatic Security is also charged with protecting foreign dignitaries and heads of State when they are in the U.S. on official business. They must do this no matter where they might stay. The restrictions in the amendment would make these officials, American and foreign, less safe.

Another amendment, offered by the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline), would prohibit funding for a new Commission on Unalienable Rights.

The State Department recently announced its intent to stand up this commission, which will regularly provide the Secretary with advice on human rights matters. The State Department recently announced that this would take place.

At a time in which these crises are widespread, I can think of no reason why we shouldn't bring new voices into the discussion. This is especially so considering the commission's focus on unalienable rights, the founding principle on which our country was built.

Finally, I also have concerns about the inclusion of the amendment offered by the gentleman from California (Mr. Cox). The programs referenced in the amendment are either concluding or are not supported with U.S. assistance.

For these reasons, Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to oppose the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I continue to reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentlewoman yield?

Mr. Chair, I rise in opposition to the gentleman's amendment as well.

Across-the-board cuts are the coward's way out of making hard decisions. The committee has expertise on the spending policies of the country, and we apply that wisdom, experience, and research on which agencies to fund and which ones we should not.

The wise selection of spending priorities is what the appropriations process is all about. An across-the-board cut cuts good programs as well as perhaps some that should be cut.

Nevertheless, the judgment of the Congress should be exercised on the expenditures that we make across the government, not a slash-and-burn 2 percent cut or what have you.

This amendment would cut everything across the board, and that includes the $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel. Now is not the time to cut $69 million in essential security assistance for our ally, Israel.

I urge Members to oppose this amendment.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Will the gentleman yield?

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I rise in support of his amendment.

The Paris Agreement is an unworkable, unrealistic policy solution to climate change. If implemented, as the gentleman has said, the Paris accord could cost as many as 2.7 million American jobs by 2025 and imposes no meaningful obligations on the world's leading polluters like China and India.

I can't condone dedicating precious Federal funds to a half-baked solution. This amendment would strike funding provided for implementing that agreement, as well as language that attempts to prevent President Trump from withdrawing.

I urge Members to support the gentleman's amendment, and I thank him for yielding.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would ensure that veteran- and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses are able to effectively compete for State Department contracts and grants.

We have a moral obligation to help our veterans, and especially our wounded veterans, to live a fulfilling life after they have hung up that uniform.

This is a worthy addition to the bill. I urge its support and thank the gentleman for bringing this amendment up.

Mr. Chair, I yield such time as she may consume to gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Lowey).

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I thank the distinguished Republican ranking member on the committee for this time but also, more importantly, for her wise leadership of this committee.

Mr. Chair, I rise in reluctant opposition to H.R. 2740, the first appropriations measure to be considered by the House for fiscal year 2020.

In February, while completing the fiscal year 2019 appropriations process, I began my remarks by drawing attention to the crisis at our southern border. Four months later, the crisis is even worse, and the bill we have before us today would only throw fuel on the fire.

Our committee prides itself on staying above the partisan fray, but this package significantly constrains the administration's ability to respond appropriately. The partisan policy riders are misguided and dangerous.

In addition to these substantive problems, the bill before us today provides funding for numerous departments and agencies without a bipartisan, bicameral budget agreement supported by the President.

Budget uncertainty is nothing new, but overall spending increases of this magnitude are neither realistic nor sustainable without a plan.

While this package does provide modest increases for total defense spending, it is still $17 billion below the President's request, risking the great strides we have made to rebuild our military.

Despite these challenges, Chairwoman Lowey and Ranking Member Granger have worked hard to tackle many problems this year. Just yesterday, for example, we marked up the last two appropriations bills in full committee.

As ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, I offer my thanks to Chairwoman Lowey for her collaboration. I am pleased that the chair decided to lead our subcommittee, in addition to her duties of chairing the full committee, given our long relationship. She cares deeply about these programs and, despite our differences, remains a reliable partner.

Division D, the State and Foreign Operations Appropriations bill for fiscal year 2020, includes $48 billion in base funding. That is nearly a 5 percent

increase over fiscal year 2019. With the additional $8 billion in overseas contingency operations, OCO, the total is $56.3 billion.

Within that total, this bill includes funding for many key priorities that are critical to our national security. Chief among them is $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel. We don't need to look further than the recent headlines to understand how important and timely our support is for Israel's security.

The bill also maintains funding at last year's level for other close partners in the region, including Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia.

Another shared priority is the safety of our diplomats and development experts serving abroad. This bill supports those efforts with robust funding for embassy security.

Funding is also included to strengthen our efforts on the international front to combat the flow of drugs into our country. Overdose deaths, Mr. Chair, from synthetic opioids like fentanyl jumped 45 percent in just 1 year from 2016 to 2017, increasing in all demographics and virtually every State.

We should all be concerned that cocaine and methamphetamine use in the U.S. is climbing again at an alarming rate.

Funding is provided in the bill to help Colombia better control its coca production as counternarcotics efforts are redoubled in the region. We need to get this drug epidemic, this calamity, under control, and I believe this funding is a step in the right direction.

Despite these worthy investments, partisan policy riders included in this portion of the bill mean it has no hope of becoming the law of the land. Sweeping measures, like those that overturn the President's expanded Mexico City policy, go well beyond what was done previously.

The bill also prohibits funds from being used to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement and allows for a contribution to the unauthorized Green Climate Fund. The President is well within his authority to back out of this agreement that would cost billions of American jobs, harm domestic manufacturing, and damage our growing economy.

I look forward to debating amendments on these and other issues in the bill.

Therefore, without a budget agreement, in light of partisan riders blocking pro-life policies and overturning bipartisan agreements on climate change, as well as efforts to undermine an adequate response to the crisis at our southern border, I urge my colleagues to oppose this bill.

Madam Speaker, May is National Drug Court Month, and I rise to recognize these remarkable facilities on their 30th anniversary. Since 1989, drug courts have provided countless addicted Americans referral to treatment and a lifesaving alternative to incarceration.

When I first started Operation UNITE in my district in 2003, there were only five drug courts in the whole district of 30 counties. Today, we have one in all 30 counties, and those volunteer judges are changing more lives than ever before.

At this moment, drug courts are providing a new lease on life to 144,000 Americans around the country. Thank you to the countless professionals who make up our 3,000 drug courts. We have got a long road ahead, but I look forward to ensuring drug courts remain a central part of that journey.

Madam Speaker, on Monday, April 8, 2019, my flight was delayed and I was unable to make votes. Had I been present, I would have voted YEA on Roll Call No. 157; YEA on Roll Call No. 158; and NAY on Roll Call No. 159.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Bishop for yielding me this time and mainly for his support of the Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument Act, which is included in this great package before us today. And he did it the right way, Mr. Speaker.

The nonprofit Mill Springs Battlefield Association has worked tirelessly for nearly three decades to preserve and maintain more than 900 acres to honor and commemorate the first major Union victory in the Civil War, even constructing a 10,000-square-foot visitor center and museum at the site where the national cemetery is located.

I was proud to introduce legislation that would add this historic battlefield in Kentucky's Wayne and Pulaski Counties to the national park system. Enactment of S. 27 today will ensure that this national treasure is protected, preserved, and promoted well into the future.

I, therefore, urge your support.

And especially to Mr. Bishop, who, over the years, as chairman of the committee, worked with us in great detail on this project, I want to especially say my thanks to Ranking Member Bishop and the committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak for those who can't speak for themselves: the souls of our Nation's unborn and newborn children.

I have long championed pro-life legislation and initiatives, but recent events have shaken me and millions across our country, compelling me to address this body.

The act of abortion is tragic and heartbreaking; however, the termination of human life for abortion survivors is something worse-- criminal, subhuman. But proposals exist in our State governments that would allow just that.

Allowing an infant to die or intentionally killing an abortion survivor is a disgrace and must not be allowed to happen in any circumstance.

I echo the calls from Republican leadership to immediately pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act to ensure the sanctity of life remains a fundamental principle in this country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation, but first, I want to congratulate our committee's distinguished chair and ranking member on their masterful work in shepherding this compromise to the floor. This is a historic dynamic duo that we have in charge of our committee, and they have produced the historic product that we have before us tonight.

Mr. Speaker, we have a crisis at our southern border, period. There is no denying that our Nation's security is threatened by the seemingly unending flow of drugs that find their way into nearly every American community, as well as the violence of the brutal cartels that profit from this trade.

Where does it take place? On that border. So we do have a problem. It is an emergency. President Trump is absolutely correct that we can't allow this ruthless criminality to continue unchecked.

This bill takes important steps to secure this country: $1.3 billion for further construction at the border for a wall and additional resources for DHS to hire more personnel and deploy advanced technology in the region.

In addition to the security crisis, there is also a very real humanitarian crisis that we simply can't ignore. Thousands of vulnerable women and children are seeking a better, safer life in the confines of this country. It is not the American way to turn our backs on these people, and that is precisely why we have processes under Federal law to facilitate legal entry into our country.

This bill also takes important steps to enforce our current immigration laws. The bill funds an expansion of the Alternatives to Detention program. It also increases attorney and courtroom staffing to reduce the backlog of currently pending immigration cases.

While the challenges at our border have rightly grabbed headlines, the bill also funds a number of other important Federal agencies through the end of the fiscal year. Importantly, it ensures that our dedicated public servants can continue to show up to work without fear of losing another paycheck.

In my Kentucky district, for example, hundreds of Federal prison employees showed up to a dangerous, difficult, often thankless job for over a month, not knowing when the next paycheck would come, if at all. I thank them, and I am pleased to support this bill that will continue to support the Bureau of Prisons.

Also for Kentucky, this bill continues our momentum in combating the opioid epidemic by fully supporting community prevention efforts and drug courts to get people into treatment.

This bill also provides $115 million for the abandoned mine lands pilot program, which helps create economic development in Appalachian coal communities.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, as the ranking member of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee, I am especially pleased that this bill includes significant funding to secure our diplomatic posts and to support critical allies like Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Georgia, Ukraine, and others.

The bill also continues vigorous oversight of U.S. assistance programs, prohibits funding for the Green Climate Fund, and respects the sanctity of life around the world.

Mr. Speaker, this bill is not perfect. It is not everything we wanted, but it is a true product of compromise. I urge my colleagues to support it.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the memory of Donald Wattenbarger of London, Kentucky, a retired Laurel County Sheriff's Deputy who dedicated more than 20 years as a bailiff for district and circuit courts.

In addition to his commitment to serve and protect the people of Laurel County, Don had a generous heart for local youth. He was a former chairman and avid supporter of the

local Shop with a Cop program, providing children in need with the opportunity to go shopping during the holidays with an officer or first responder from the Sheriff's Department. He and his wife, Virginia, were instrumental in bringing the program to London in 1996. As a result of their perseverance and fundraising efforts over the last two decades, Shop with a Cop has continued to grow and give hope to children who need it the most. Don was also a board member of the London-Laurel County DARE program for many years, where he tirelessly worked to prevent drug abuse through school education programs.

Don was a faithful member of the Calvary Baptist Church and a member of the C.D. Ward Masonic Lodge and Oleika Shriners Temple in Lexington, Kentucky. He was also named a Kentucky Colonel by Governor Paul Patton. In fact, Don was so beloved by his hometown, he was voted a ``London Living Treasure'' in 2018, an award presented to those who have given a lifetime of service to London and Laurel County.

Don's commitment to Laurel County is a testament to the impact one person can have on a community. My wife, Cynthia, and I send our heartfelt condolences to Virginia and the host of family, friends and community members whose lives were affected by this great man. We deeply appreciate the compassion he shared and the service he gave to his community.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the late Don Wattenbarger for a lifetime of dedicated service in southern Kentucky.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleagues, full committee Chairwoman Lowey, and Ranking Member Granger.

This six-bill appropriations package represents a lot of hard work for many of us on the Appropriations Committee. Broadly speaking, this package is a fine example of compromise--Members working across the aisle to do the important work of funding our government in an efficient and thoughtful manner. Our Appropriations Committee delivered.

Nevertheless, while this legislation addresses many bipartisan concerns, I fear that it has no chance of becoming law in its current form without a compromise on border security. That is truly unfortunate. We are holding up the government, we are causing a lot of people a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering, and we need to get this done.

Regarding funding for the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and other related programs; this portion of the bill provides important resources for our national security. It supports our allies and partners, including $3.3 billion in foreign military financing for Israel--a $200 million increase from last year, by the way. It also maintains funding at or above last year for Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia, as well as countries facing Russian aggression, such as Ukraine and Georgia. In our own hemisphere, the bill supports programs to counter transnational criminal organizations and the flow of illegal drugs.

I am pleased to say that in collaboration with Chairwoman Lowey, this bill also reflects a number of bipartisan priorities, including $800 million for

basic education and important increases in global health, such as additional funds to combat tuberculosis. It also maintains current levels for embassy security during these dangerous times.

Despite the strength of this division of the bill, Mr. Speaker, the larger package is regrettably incomplete. It is as if we worked together to carefully piece together a complex puzzle, and there, right in the middle, is a glaring missing piece. These six bills that we have worked through together are good bills, but we need to find that missing piece and reach a compromise that will fund border security, reopen the government, pay our faithful employees who are now struggling to make ends meet, and get back to the business of serving the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to my dear friend, Danny Howard, upon his retirement after dedicating 24 years of public service as Mayor of Harlan, a historic coal mining town in Kentucky's Appalachian region.

Learning from his father, who served as a long-time magistrate and Sheriff for Harlan County, Danny wanted to serve the beloved small coal town where he was born and raised. Despite his father's warning that the ``spot doesn't pay,'' my friend moved forward with his courage of conviction to help the people of Harlan and was elected in 1993.

It was not the first time Danny Howard chose Harlan. An alumnus of Harlan High School, he graduated in 1973 from Mercer University College of Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. At a time when many young people were moving away from small towns in the Appalachian coal fields, he and his wife, Debby Webb Howard, returned to Harlan to start their family. They raised two children, Seth Howard and Whitney Howard Mendiondo in the shadow of the mountains. Since then, the Howards have never had an empty nest, with Earl Raglin and Jordan Foster joining their family in 1995 and 2006, and generously opening their home to three other children over the years.

Danny not only served people from his post at City Hall, but also as a practicing pharmacist. He is known for his personable style, often walking around the counter to give customers an entertaining dose of local tales and jokes that demonstrate his love for his small hometown. His genuine interest in others always shines through, winning people from all walks of life.

As Mayor of Harlan, Danny has always faced a challenging economy with a small municipal budget strapped by a shrinking tax revenue and a deteriorating infrastructure. However, he has worked diligently for economic development projects, infrastructure improvements, flood control, environmental cleanups and much more. In fact, we became close friends through our work together for the Eastern Kentucky PRIDE program, removing illegal dumps from our hillsides, cleaning up litter along our roadways, and expanding access to clean water and sanitary sewer across the county. He has also been a trusted partner for first responders and Operation UNITE, supporting narcotics investigations, treatment and education efforts across the city to combat the drug epidemic.

Additionally, Danny effectively boosted tourism and community development efforts, through the establishment of the Harlan Tourism Commission and construction of The Harlan Center in the heart of the city. Today, the tourism industry has an annual economic impact of approximately $18 million.

Danny's expertise in both city management and pharmaceuticals have been highly coveted by numerous boards and commissions, including the Housing and Urban Development Board on which he served many years. He worked tirelessly, advocating for projects that would provide housing for those most in need.

Without question, Danny Howard's loyal leadership will have a long- lasting impact in the City of Harlan and throughout the county. I wish Danny, his wife, Debby, and their family many blessings, joy and peace in the years ahead.