Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I thank our distinguished chairman for yielding, and I appreciate my friend, Mr. Emmer, for introducing this bill to make this very modest change which does help community banks allocate capital and

make more mortgage loans out there in our country.

I would say to my friend from Minnesota, who knows I have great respect for him and his eloquence, that no one on this side of the aisle is any less interested in justice than he is.

I must say, Mr. Speaker, that, as the chairman noted, this bill does nothing about eliminating protections under the Fair Housing Act or protections under the fair lending act for discrimination in housing or lending for minorities in this Nation.

This is really, instead, about continuing the theme of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, which is to relieve some burden for the smallest financial institutions across the country. The act, for example, exempts institutions with less than $50 million in assets that are in an MSA from requiring any reporting. The act, for example, exempts small banks under $50 million that are not in an MSA from any reporting.

So Mr. Emmer's bill simply continues on that theme while protecting justice and while protecting the ability to have data to make sure that we, in fact, in this country, have fair lending.

If this requirement were enacted, community lenders would be required to collect more than double the amount of data points they do now. It is some 300,000 fields of data on a loan activity report, a LAR, which is how banks measure their compliance with HMDA--300,000 lines of activity. If you have a 10 percent error rate, Mr. Speaker, you are a bad actor and can submit many more challenges to maintain your independence as a bank.

I would also argue that, on the backs of other regulatory burdens on small banks like TILA-RESPA, which was supposed to be a big improvement for consumers, it has actually hurt lending, raised costs, and limited credit. This comes on the back of that.

So, Mr. Speaker, I believe H.R. 2954 provides needed relief for our smallest financial institutions and preserves more lending options for the markets that these banks serve.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Emmer, for his thoughtful work.

Mr. Chairman, I thank our chairman of the full committee and the chairman of the subcommittee, Mr. Barr from Kentucky, for bringing this bill, H.R. 3326, to the floor today because this is precisely what the American people want out of their government in Washington, D.C.: accountability.

Mr. Chairman, our constituents ask us all the time: Do you monitor the money that you send and spend around the world to further America's interests?

There are always a lot of people just kind of looking around. And how do we verify that?

Well, Mr. Chairman, here is an opportunity to verify that. This important piece of legislation would require the World Bank to implement real incentives, particularly through staff evaluation standards, that prioritize antipoverty results and capable project management over just the volume of loans they produce. It is that classic management expertise, quality over quantity.

Of course we want poverty eradicated. The taxpayers of this country wouldn't vote for us to approve spending like this if it wasn't done right to further America's interests around the world and to alleviate poverty around the world.

If the World Bank is serious about that, then it would defend the poorest's freedoms more vigorously. In other words, Mr. Chairman, no reforms like we propose, then poverty is not eradicated; the poor are not helped.

So H.R. 3326 insists on greater efforts by the World Bank to fight corruption in its projects. Just because the World Bank may have to work in corrupt environments does not mean it needs to add to the graft by pouring money in it for the taking. No one is for that. That is why the vote was 60-0.

That is why the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore) was so supportive of this in our subcommittee. It withholds appropriations until the World Bank raises the quality of its work, raises the quality of its forensic audits, which are designed to unmask the systemic corruption we find in the Third World, inadvertently or advertently supported by the efforts of the World Bank.

We are tired of it. That is why, on a bipartisanship basis, we support the foreign policy goals contained in H.R. 3326.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my friend, Mr. Barr, for his thoughtful work to implement this. These are needed changes. These are bipartisanship changes. These improve transparency, end corruption, better spend our taxpayer resources, and demand accountability of the World Bank, which is notoriously unaccountable. I thank Mr. Barr and I thank Mr. Hensarling for their efforts.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, on Religious Freedom Day, to recognize the importance of religious freedom throughout the world and to celebrate the 232nd anniversary of the passing of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

As a Catholic, my faith plays a significant role in every aspect of life and fosters a respect for the religious rights and freedoms of others.

Fundamental American values, among which are commitments to religious freedom and human rights, will always be cornerstones of both U.S. domestic and foreign policy.

Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is the forerunner of the First Amendment protection for religious freedom and the principle of separation of church and state.

As a member of the Religious Minorities in the Middle East Caucus, I will continue to advocate for the rights of individuals to express their feelings without living in fear of violence and persecution.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the Chair for the opportunity to address the House this afternoon.

Beginning in 2013, I began discussing how our economic recovery was subpar in comparison to post-World War II recoveries. That is, in part, due to, as I argued, the wet blanket of the avalanche of new regulatory costs imposed by the previous administration.

Since Congress has a poor track record of regularly enacting all of our appropriations bills, funding the government, and directing agency priorities, the administrative state, that unelected portion of our government, has expanded in authority and filled that void.

The House turned a corner this year, Mr. Speaker, by passing all 12 spending bills, fully vetted through our committees, prior to September 30, 2017. Sadly, only the first time since 2010. Further, it has been more than 21 years since Congress has passed all 12 funding bills and had them signed into law before the start of a new fiscal year.

Likewise, the Supreme Court, in their case, Chevron U.S.A. v. the Natural Resources Defense Council, back in 1984, set up a concept now referred to as the ``Chevron deference.'' This, too, has empowered the unelected, Big Government Washington authorities deferring to their authority, rather than the People's Congress. This has further emasculated the Article I powers of the Constitution. I disagree with this concept of Chevron deference. Before he died, Justice Scalia regretted his defense of Chevron deference and said that it, in fact, ``contravened separation of powers.''

This combination of the Chevron deference and the lack of the regular, predictable oversight and appointments have resulted in this wet blanket of a growing leviathan of a centralized Federal power, negating State authorities protected under the 10th Amendment and curbing freedom for our families and individuals.

Noted New York lawyer and author, Philip Howard, calls this ``The Rule of Nobody.'' In the 2014 book, Howard argues that our administrative state is wearing people out. The process is devoid of human judgment and common sense.

Many of us, in the Congress, are pushing back insisting, like in the VA Accountability Act, that--a shocking idea--bad employees should be fired and, through the public oversight of our committees or in my own Golden Fleece Awards, that we demand accountability of the personnel of the Federal Government and commonsense in the application of our policies.

Howard recalls the U.S. Open golf championship, back in 2011, out in Bethesda, Maryland, when county officials shut down a children's lemonade stand near the course because it didn't have a vendor's license, Mr. Speaker. This mindless, box-checking approach is not limited just to the beltway's Federal mandates.

So enters President Trump, our new President. Last year, I wrote then-President-elect Trump asking him to create a regulatory relief task force to address the overly burdensome regulations from our Federal agencies that, in my view, have hurt, over the past decade, our economic growth, our job growth, our productivity, and, hence, our wage growth.

In February of 2017, President Trump ordered Federal agencies to create a regulatory reform task force to identify rules within their agency that needed elimination or modification.

I rise today to recognize the improvements in the regulatory process in the past year and the significant reductions in cost to the economy, as a result, and I commend the new administration for seeking to continue this momentum into 2018, with the recent release of its regulatory plan and agenda for 2018.

As Phil Howard has demonstrated, and we experience daily, the Federal administrative state is lacking in accountability. It is not just vast and costly; it is unnecessarily intrusive into the everyday lives of hardworking Americans.

In Arkansas, we have seen agency regulations that have had devastating economic impacts on our farmers, small businesses, nonprofits, schools, colleges, universities, and State agencies.

President Trump set the proper tone for reining in this regulatory state by issuing an executive order, in the first 10 days of taking office, directing agencies to eliminate two existing regulations for each new one issued. Common sense.

In 2017, Federal agencies have withdrawn or delayed 1,579 planned regulatory actions, leading to over $8 billion in lifetime net cost savings.

In 2018, the Trump administration plans to raise the bar by issuing 448 deregulatory actions and 131 regulatory actions, a better than 3 to 1 ratio, resulting in more than $9 billion in lifetime costs savings for the economy.

This chart shows the annual cost of new regulations reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget every year, beginning in 2009. You can see the wet blanket that I described growing between 2009 and 2012. But you can see, in the last column, 2017, that there is actually a decline: a $570 million reduction in the cost of new regulations proposed by Washington.

During 2017, here in Congress, we have passed 13 congressional review acts, 11 of which President Trump signed into law this year. By repealing these 11 damaging, large rules, the economy will save some $10 billion over the next 20 years.

These savings and cuts put the control back in the hands of the American people and ensure more accountability and much-needed transparency to the rulemaking process is assured, while providing that local businesses, local farmers, and communities have relief.

Also, we are working with the administration to rightsize regulatory costs through the use of cost-benefit analysis and asserting our Article I oversight authority. Thus, Congress is working, through our committee process, also, to lower and remove the costs and burden of that wet blanket of an overburdened regulatory state.

Naturally, this cost benefit work must be done responsibly by balancing labor and capital, clean air and water, energy security, clean energy, future safe banks, and protected consumers. All that is the responsibility of our elected Members in the House and Senate and their oversight of the executive.

I commend President Trump for cutting the red tape in Washington and giving control back to our States, local communities, and hardworking taxpayers.

Coptic Resolution

Mr. Speaker, I rise, today, to discuss my recent resolution here in the House, H. Res. 673, which expresses concern over attacks on Coptic Christians in Egypt.

I had the opportunity to travel to Egypt last year. In the course of preparing for that trip, and during the trip, as well as after I returned back to the United States, I repeatedly heard about the plight of Coptic Christians in Egypt.

ISIS named the Copts their number one target, and we all know their brutal atrocities against them.

In Libya, back in 2015, ISIS beheaded 21 Coptic Christians, sending shock waves from that photo around the world.

Scores were killed in the bombings of St. Peter and St. Paul's Church in Cairo, in December 2016. Most recently, on December 29, 11 were shot and killed outside of Saint Menas Church in Helwan.

These are just a few of the atrocities carried out against Copts by terrorist groups like ISIS.

I had the opportunity to walk the halls of the St. Peter and St. Paul Cathedral. I reflected on the Gospel of Matthew, when Mary fled to Egypt with baby Jesus to save him from King Herod. The Copts are the Egyptians. In fact, the word ``Coptic'' in Greek means Egyptian.

But there in St. Peter and St. Paul's beautiful cathedral in Cairo, murdered by a coward, as women and children prayed, blood splattered on the walls

marked the horror and chaos of that place of worship and serenity.

Although Coptic Christians have repeatedly been victims of numerous attacks from terrorist groups and extremists, it has been most disturbing to me to learn of the attacks carried out against Copts and Christian churches that are carried out by their fellow Egyptians.

On December 22, 2017, just after Friday prayers, dozens of Egyptian Muslims assaulted a Coptic Christian church south of Cairo in an act that started out as a demonstration. While unsanctioned by the Egyptian Government, this church had been holding services for some 15 years.

According to reports, the individuals called for the church's demolition, destroyed its contents, and assaulted those worshipping inside. Based on similar attacks, it is unlikely, Mr. Speaker, that the Egyptian Government will hold those perpetrators accountable for this egregious action.

This is just the most recent example of the ongoing trend of assaults on Copts, their churches, and their property.

I believe that many of us in Congress were pleased to see Egyptian President el-Sisi join Coptic Pope Tawadros II in participating in last Saturday's Orthodox Christmas mass at the recently opened Nativity of Christ Cathedral in Egypt's new administrative capital east of Cairo.

President el-Sisi's words of tolerance and hope are appreciated by all those who respect peace for all those who live in Egypt and all who favor religious freedom across the globe.

However, while President el-Sisi spoke words of tolerance, there are, in my view, greater actions that both he and the Egyptian Government can take to protect the rights of Egyptian Christians seeking merely to raise their families, pursue their work, respect their leaders, and love their ancient nation.

For this reason, I introduced H. Res. 673 to urge continued progress in religious tolerance in this very important country. There are many constructive steps that will enhance tolerance, provide better security for Christians, and improve the education and opportunities for all Egyptians.

My colleagues and I offer this resolution because of our long friendship and partnership with Egypt. We are partners in regional peace efforts, regional economic growth, and in our mutual desire to defeat militant terrorist groups and nations and those who finance them.

President el-Sisi has set the right tone at the top level of his government, and I believe he has a respectful partnership with the leadership of the Copts and other Christians in Egypt.

But that respect and the resulting legal protections must be passed down to all levels of government and society because the streets, sadly, tell a different story.

The Egyptian people are a proud people with an extraordinary civilization, and I believe this is a great opportunity for Egypt to emphasize the importance that Copts can play in Egyptian society as full Egyptian citizens.

As Coptic Pope Tawadros II told me on my visit to Cairo, all Egyptians, Muslim and Christian, take their water from the Nile.

Egypt is an essential partner in the efforts toward a lasting peace between Israel and her neighbors and in the fight against terrorism and violent extremism.

President el-Sisi told me on two occasions how important counterterrorism is to the Egyptian Government. It is their number one concern, without any doubt, and I commend the President for his partnership with the United States, and especially with Israel, in the field of counterterrorism.

With ISIS carrying out two terrorist attacks last year in Egypt within a month of each, in November and December, that killed Muslims and Christians, the Egyptian Government's concerns about terrorism are legitimate and real.

However, in my view, I do not believe Egypt's march toward modernization and progress and focusing on counterterrorism should come at the cost of sacrificing advances in human rights, education, and religious freedom.

I urge swift consideration of my resolution by the House Foreign Affairs Committee and on the floor of the House so that we can continue to advance religious freedom and civil society with our partner, Egypt.

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 12 o'clock and 31 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Friday, January 12, 2018, at 10 a.m.

Madam Speaker, I rise today on this National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day to recognize this year's Little Rock Police Department recruit class and their efforts to fill dozens of sworn officer vacancies within the department.

Little Rock's police force has suffered a loss in numbers over the past few years, currently with 84 sworn officer vacancies. According to department data, this fall's recruit class is tied for the largest number of starting recruits since 1993.

Earlier this year, City Manager Bruce Moore announced that officers would work mandatory overtime due to the vacancies. So I thank City Manager Moore, Chief Buckner, and Mayor Mark Stodola for their leadership and efforts to address these vacancies and return this department to full strength.

I respect and appreciate the important work of our police throughout the Nation who are charged with the critical work of protecting us in our States and communities.

I wish this recruit class the very best of luck as they pursue their goal of joining the Little Rock Police Department and ensuring the safety of our citizens, our neighborhoods, and our property.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Congressional App Challenge winner from Arkansas' Second Congressional District, Anne Li.

Currently a sophomore at Central High School in Little Rock, Anne aspires to major in computer engineering and has the goal of pursuing a career in programming.

STEM education is education for the future, and having serious skills in computer programming and coding open up tremendous opportunities for our youth. It gives them the skills to compete in a 21st century job market as well as the skills to act on their imagination and engage in their entrepreneurial exploration.

I wish Anne the very best as she continues her studies at Central High School and beyond in this critical field.

As a member of the Congressional STEM Education Caucus and the dad of a STEM student at the university, I want to continue to support the growth of STEM education throughout Arkansas and America.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support today of the Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2017, and I appreciate my good friend, Sean Duffy's work on it.

Over the past 3 decades, I have advocated for responsible shareholder activism and urged for corporate boards of directors to perform their responsibility of careful stewardship, particularly in their essential functions in evaluating corporate strategy, hiring able hardworking executive management, and, critically, capital allocation.

For example, as Berkshire Hathaway's CEO, Warren Buffett, recommends, corporate compensation committees must be composed of ``saber-toothed tigers,'' not ``house cats,'' in their work.

Likewise, investors must take their responsibility to hold boards accountable for their irreplaceable role in maximizing returns for shareholders, while executing a corporate strategy that balances shareholder returns with employees and customers.

So the question is: How can investors effectively lower agency costs and actively meet this accountability mission?

For 20 years, this has been a much-discussed area by thoughtful experts like Warren Buffett, ISS founder Robert Monks, Marty Lipton, and Lawrence Cunningham. Grad schools at UCLA, Stanford, Harvard, Yale all researched this challenge. Organizations of institutional investors and corporate directors all proffer best practices.

And how do we best align these interests for this mission, but make conflicts of interest readily apparent?

The role of proxy advisory firms in the U.S. economy has grown over the last 2 decades and is a major shaper of corporate governance, and it is of national importance. These firms counsel our pension plans, our mutual funds, other institutional investors, which are more and more in the market; 75 percent of the market, compared to when Robert Monks started thinking about the idea in the late 1980s.

Under the current system, two proxy advisory firms now have 97 percent of the market, Mr. Speaker, and this monopolization and the lack of transparency regarding their work means that the writings, analyses, reports, and vote recommendations of just these two firms have a disproportionate effect on the fundamental corporate transactions, like mergers and acquisitions, the approval of corporate directors, and other shareholder proposals.

Also, this has created more of a checklist mentality in the boardroom. Directors today need information, yes, but, more importantly, they need wisdom. And the proxy advisory firms are driving people in boardrooms, in my view, to more of a checklist mentality, regulatory mentality, and less using their business judgment and wisdom to guide our public companies.

Proxy advisory firms aren't immune to conflicts of interest.

Mr. Speaker, these conflicts are provided by providing additional recommendations to the very firms that they are rating.

So, Mr. Speaker, we need balance in this arena, and I think Mr. Duffy's bill provides a step toward that balance, an improvement in transparency in the proxy system, thereby enhancing shareholder access to important investment information. I appreciate his work on it. I thank him for his work in our committee.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to salute the U.S. Navy's newest vessel, the USS Little Rock, and her brave crew.

Commissioned this past Saturday, the new USS Little Rock was built in Wisconsin and is a littoral combat ship that will operate in waters close to shore.

The vessel carries with it the namesake of Arkansas' State capital and the proud history of the former USS Little Rock.

Today, it is also fitting to honor the former USS Little Rock. Completed in World War II, she was one of six vessels to be converted to a guided missile cruiser. She was the first U.S. Navy ship to be named for Little Rock, Arkansas.

The only World War II cruiser on display in the United States, the former USS Little Rock is the sole survivor of the Cleveland class.

The USS Little Rock served with distinction as a flagship for both the second and the sixth fleets.

I thank all of those who served on the former USS Little Rock. I wish the new USS Little Rock the best as she carries out our Nation's critical maritime strategy and protects our interests across the globe.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

I rise in strong support of H.R. 3312, a bipartisan bill. A majority of the majority party and a majority of the minority party on our committee reported this bill to the House floor. It is sponsored by my friend, Chairman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who has spent years studying Dodd- Frank, seven long years of studying the impact of Dodd-Frank, and how to improve it.

This bill removes a requirement that uses $50 billion as an asset test to designate whether a banking company in this country is systemically important and, if they are, subject them to higher regulatory standards.

But instead of ending too-big-to-fail, Dodd-Frank's misguided designation regime just entrenches it, Mr. Speaker.

Authorizing the government to designate large financial institutions as systemically important creates a new class of firms that markets will interpret and assume are too big to fail.

The SIFI designation, as noted by many Members on this side of the aisle, is, in fact, arbitrary, and I respect my friend that other numbers in statute may be arbitrary as well. But this one doesn't have any economic basis on why the participants in designing Dodd-Frank picked $50 billion.

But over the past 7 years, we have had witness after witness tell us that we should look a different direction and not have an arbitrary number of $50 billion.

Several Federal Reserve officials have expressed that similar view. Mr. Frank, as noted, has expressed that view. So here comes Mr. Luetkemeyer with an excellent idea, an idea of an activities-based designation that the Fed has designed itself, Mr. Speaker.

The Federal Reserve has designed the metric we are using to say that an institution is systemically important. It is activities-based so that we can distinguish between levels of risk that might be systemically important to our country.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for the time.

So activity-based standards have already been found effective by the Federal Reserve. They work and they were used in evaluating acquisitions on regional banking companies. So Mr. Luetkemeyer is on to a good idea. Mr. Speaker, instead of using $50 billion that was plucked out of thin air in the dead of night in the conference committee in 2010, let's reflect on 7 years and operate in a better way.

So I urge support of this bill, Mr. Speaker. I thank Mr. Luetkemeyer for bringing it. I urge our Senators on the other end of this building to look at this as a model for how we should reform Dodd-Frank in their own bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the men and women of the National Guard for their 381 years of dedicated service and sacrifice to the defense of our nation.

On December 13, 1636, the first militia regiments in North America were organized in Massachusetts.

From deploying overseas in theaters of war, to being activated by our nation's governors in times of natural disaster, the Guard has been a critical component of our national security strategy, and an integral part of America's military supremacy.

I extend my thanks to Arkansas's Adjutant General, Mark Berry, for his dedication and leadership of Arkansas's Guard.

Thank you to those Guardsmen who are currently deployed overseas, including the Arkansas Guardsmen currently deployed around the world in Kosovo and Kuwait.

But most of all, thank you to those National Guardsmen who have given the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Mr. Williams, for introducing H.R. 4324, the Strengthening Oversight of Iran's Access to Finance Act. This act is needed.

Tonight, we are not here to rehash the failings of the JCPOA, but we are really here to honor Secretary Kerry's commitment of oversight of Iran outside that agreement. He made it quite clear to Congress in his briefings that we would monitor the world's largest exporter of terror around the world; that we would do everything outside the agreement to enforce sanctions; that we would not stop reviewing their behavior.

This piece of legislation comes at an important time, as the Trump administration is taking significant steps to protect our homeland by reviewing actions around rogue regimes and sponsors of terror around the world, including Iran.

Now, my friend from Washington brought up the subject of the American worker, and, of course, we all are blessed by the brilliance and success of Boeing. We couldn't come to our jobs without them.

But there are 5,000 airlines in the world, Mr. Speaker. There are 10,000 Boeing aircraft in service, and there are 5,700 airplanes on order from the Boeing corporation to help make up that $41 billion of annual revenue.

The question here is not about selling airplanes, the question here is about protecting the homeland and interests of our country around the world.

Unfortunately, civil aviation is commingled with military Quds Force action; not just in what has been said tonight about transporting military action to Syria, supporting a war that has killed some 500,000 people, but what about Boeing transport from Damascus to Caracas?

What about the Boeing aircraft operated by the Iranian regime back and forth between Russia and Iran, back and forth between Tehran and Damascus, between Damascus and Venezuela?

It is not just the civilian aircraft, Mr. Speaker, and that is why we want to be alert, and our American citizens need to know if their bank deposits are being used to extend credit to a regime that seeks pleasure in murdering innocent people, murdering our men and women in uniform and even innocent civilians in their own country.

We may differ on our views on the JCPOA, but we can all agree that nothing in the nuclear deal prevents the sharing of information between an administration and this Congress about financing aircraft for the world's largest state supporter of terrorism. That is what this piece of legislation is trying to achieve. That is what Mr. Williams' point is in bringing it to the floor, and I appreciate his thoughtful work to implement this much-needed policy and to help keep the citizens in my district safe from Iran's global terror advance.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman. I want to congratulate my friend, Andy Barr, for bringing this bill back to the floor of the House to be on the side of the consumer, to be on the side of affordable choices, to be on the side of truly affordable housing in so many areas where there is no alternative.

Many in the urban areas of our country, the East and West Coast elites who make financial policy, have no understanding of living out in the country. They don't realize we don't have stick-built alternatives in many rural areas of our country.

As a former community banker down in Ashley County and Chicot County, Arkansas, the most affordable, best alternative for many of our families is a manufactured home, working with a relative for a plot of land. Dodd-Frank has made that unaffordable and unavailable.

And to that point, I want to say I got a letter from a pal at the Army National Guard who said: I was turned down on a loan that would be cheaper, larger, and better for my family.

It was better than the house, the 60-year-old house, that he was renting. That is why we need this bill, and I thank the chairman for bringing it to the floor today.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, during National Adoption Month, to encourage adoption and improvements in our foster care system across this land. Currently, there are roughly 428,000 children in America's foster care system, and nearly 112,000 of those children are waiting to be adopted into safe, permanent, and loving families.

According to Arkansas State data, the number of foster youth has outpaced the number of spots available in foster homes by over 1,200 children. Organizations around the State have been at the forefront of recruitment efforts for our foster families.

One such organization is The CALL, locally directed by Lauri Currier. She notes that a stable, loving home can make a huge difference in a child's life, specifically with regard to escaping the grasp of neglect and abuse.

I am proud to work with our majority leader, Mr. McCarthy, and my colleagues on the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth to shed light on the perpetuation of poverty and dysfunction in our current system. We all must continue to work together and move forward in addressing our foster care system, and I emphasize Ms. Currier's statement on the importance of a loving home for every child.

Honoring Judge Tom Eisele

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of one of our Nation's great lawyers and judges and, for me, a mentor and a great family friend, District Court Judge Tom Eisele, who passed away this past Sunday at the age of 94.

Tom faithfully served our Nation as a private in the Army in World War II; as an adviser to Governor Winthrop Rockefeller in the 1990s; and for the past 41 years as a member of the Federal judiciary, following his appointment by President Nixon in 1970.

During his career, Judge Eisele was named Best District Court Judge in the Eighth Circuit by The American Lawyer and Outstanding Federal Judge by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America. He was a role model and a friend to many across the State of Arkansas and our Nation.

I extend my respect, affection, and prayers to his friends, family, and loved ones.

Love Little Rock Initiative

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce's ``Love Little Rock'' initiative.

This initiative is intended to both attract new business and encourage residents to become ``Love Little Rock'' ambassadors by sharing their pride using the #lovelittlerock hashtag.

As a part of the campaign, the Little Rock Regional Chamber created the lovelittlerock.org website to highlight the numerous advantages of doing business in Arkansas' capital city. Led by Jay Chesshir, president and CEO of the Little Rock Regional Chamber, and Mayor Mark Stodola, this initiative is a powerful instrument for community development and business recruitment. Mayor Stodola proclaimed October 19 as Love Little Rock Day.

I extend my thanks to the city of Little Rock for spearheading this campaign. As a native son, I am proud to ``Love Little Rock.''

Mr. Speaker, this morning I rise to express my concern about the opioid epidemic that is plaguing our Nation, hurting our families, reducing productivity, and, really, one of the most shocking things that we have been experiencing across this land.

I want to recognize some people in Arkansas who are making a real difference. In 2015, 392 Arkansans lost their lives to drug overdose. This crisis is terrifying and is killing our young adults and breaking up our families. They have lost acquaintances, friends, classmates, and family members to the grip of prescription drugs and illegal substances.

In Arkansas, Drug Director Kirk Lane is facing this issue head-on, coordinating the State's drug and alcohol prevention, treatment, education, and law enforcement efforts.

Curt Bradbury, who lost his son to substance abuse in 2010, has been out front and a tremendous ally in the fight to curtail the abuse of controlled substances. His contributions helped start the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program, a database that tracks the prescription of controlled substances across our State.

Jerry Jones' tremendous advocacy efforts in Arkansas led to the passage of Arkansas Act 820, requiring prescribers to check the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program every time they prescribe a Schedule II and Schedule III opioid.

I am proud to recognize these three individuals this morning for their positive efforts at tackling this devastating epidemic affecting our families.