Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Richa Awasthi as she leaves public service after four years serving the people of Foster City. In November 2018, Richa Awasthi was elected to the City Council. She ran on a platform of supporting public safety, preserving Foster City's high quality of life, and dealing with traffic and transportation issues.

Foster City is a lagoon-laced community of almost 33,000 resting aside San Francisco Bay. Its residents enjoy a remarkably active life in its tine parks, sports fields, on the bay and lagoon, and throughout the year at various community events. Its schools are superb. During summer evenings in Foster City. the whole family can enjoy a walk along the levee and enjoy sweeping views of San Francisco Bay.

Earlier that year, voters had approved Measure P, a $90 million bond measure to rebuild the levee to meet FEMA accreditation standards. Richa was a staunch supporter of this project. After joining the council, she was dogged in her insistence that the project remain on budget and that the city be transparent about the project. She and her colleagues grew concerned as estimates of project costs rose through the end of 2019 and early 2020, only to shrink substantially once the bids were opened in the early months of the pandemic. As the project got underway, she insisted that communication with the public be improved.

Shortly after she was sworn in, the council agenda contained an item approving the purchase of 22 units of affordable housing in a new development. The price was $7 million. Richa voted to approve the purchase and therefore secured these units for working families. She has always been a strong supporter of affordable housing. For example, during her time in office. Richa supported a council action offering relocation assistance to 74 low-income households, many of them elderly, at Foster's Landing.

In 2021, Richa and one other councilmember supported raising the minimum wage in Foster City to $15.50 per hour and then, beginning in 2022, to $16 per hour with an annual escalator based upon the regional consumer price index. The measure failed passage at the 2021 council meeting, but a revised measure was passed in 2022. In supporting these proposals, Richa indicated that the council needed to consider all community stakeholders including workers, employees, consumers and staff. She noted that, in her view, the city had the power to protect the most vulnerable.

In her initial comments as Mayor, Richa noted the decline in the city's retail and restaurant businesses. She and her colleagues committed themselves to encouraging economic development and to strengthening ties with large businesses in the city.

As COVID and other demands took their toll on city staff, Richa supported securing the services of the current city manager. Mayor Awasthi stated, ``Experience is one of the most important things for us. Having that experience, not just in theory, but actually demonstrating it as a manager . . . that was the number one thing.'' The current city manager has worked hard to recruit needed employees to the city and to keep major public works projects, such as the levee and rebuilding of the recreation center, on target.

Foster City was developed in the 1970's and it owns quite a lot of infrastructure, including numerous bridges, a large lagoon system, pumps, and numerous parks that require a lot of maintenance. The recreation center was built in 1974 and is near the end of its useful life. Earlier this year. Mayor Awasthi was appointed by her colleagues to a three-person task force to select a construction firm for final approval by the council. Their recommendation, from amongst seven applicants, will set in motion the eventual construction of a new $55 million facility, dreamed about since 2016.

Madam Speaker, as Richa Awasthi leaves public service, she has many things of which she may be proud. The city is thriving, and its finances are generally on a sound footing. Its parks remain outstanding, and the city sustained momentum on its levee project. Public services survived the pandemic, and the city made accommodations to its practices to support businesses. Responsible growth and provision for multiple income levels through the creation of affordable housing are widely held community values, and ones that Richa upheld during her council service.

I hope that Richa will remain engaged in her community. We are all strengthened when the voice of experience is lent to resolving public issues. Whether from the dais or the audience, Richa will have that experience and the ability to influence Foster City's future for the better. I wish her all the best in the years ahead.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Sanjay Gehani as he concludes his service on the city council of Foster City. Sanjay was elected in 2018 and is the first Mayor of Indian descent in the city's history. When elected, he likely never imagined that a global pandemic as well as federal and state law would profoundly shape his time in office.

Sanjay is a true child of the Midpeninsula. He was raised in Belmont and moved to Foster City as a child where he fondly remembers playing Little League on Foster City's wonderful sports fields. He and his family have always had a home in the city, although in recent years his parents maintain their primary residence across the bay. As a resident since childhood, he is invested in this community and its traditions.

In his candidate statement, Sanjay listed three top priorities as, ``Take a break from housing production, enable traffic management solutions, improve relationships with the school district.'' During his four-year term, the city created a traffic mitigation measure along Hillsdale Boulevard and Foster City worked closely with a state legislator to change state law to allow cities to access state housing funds to preserve existing affordable housing. Sanjay supported both measures as well as efforts to assist residents of Fosters Landing when they were faced with skyrocketing rents at the end of their guaranteed decades of affordability. While state law made pausing housing construction unlikely, Sanjay expressed his concerns about the law but ultimately worked with colleagues to ensure that Foster City submitted a housing element to the state that the council and staff believed would pass muster.

As COVID continued to rage in 2021, Sanjay Gehani was Mayor. He voted to assist Foster City small businesses and to help families by creating family-friendly events during a time of isolation. For example, he supported the Rubber Ducky Races which returned to Foster City after a 30-year hiatus. As vaccination rates rose, he supported creating hybrid city council meetings where residents could participate through Zoom or in person. He launched the Mayoral Minute video series, offering residents concise updates about city affairs. He supported the creation of a sister city relationship with Inagi City, Japan.

The largest single public works project in the history of the city is the upgrade of the Foster City levee. As a councilmember in 2020, shortly after the pandemic came to Foster City, and amidst all of the uncertainty, Sanjay and his colleagues unanimously voted to accept the bid that commenced construction. At the time of its final permit approval, the Foster City levee was the largest single project in the modern history of the permitting agency. It set several precedents and it is a credit to Sanjay and his colleagues that they were able to get this needed improvement under construction and to keep it on track despite the pandemic impacting nearly all other public works projects. Sanjay and his colleagues also worked very hard to keep a large upgrade to the wastewater treatment system on track and on budget.

Sanjay represents the city as a liaison to, or member of, several regional boards and commissions. These include but are not limited to the Airport Land Use Committee, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the City/County Association of Governments, the League of California Cities, the Foster City Chamber of Commerce, the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, and the South Bayside Waste Management Authority.

Professionally, Sanjay spent 15 years at high technology companies before co-founding a preschool franchising company that is one of the largest in the nation. He is proud to help franchisees become financially independent. His commitment to children goes beyond establishing preschools as he coaches Foster City Little League and serves on the board of directors. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis and an MBA in Marketing and Leading Organizations from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

As Foster City says goodbye to its former Mayor and Councilmember, it will remember his efforts to help better the community. Democracy needs people who are willing to step up and to accept the responsibilities of public office. Sanjay Gehani was willing to serve so that others could concentrate on their private and business lives. He will now rejoin his neighbors in those same roles, and his wife Sweetu and son Veer will now have more time with Sanjay for important family matters. The people of Foster City will no longer have the benefit of that time, but they will always owe a debt to their neighbor who accepted the role of leadership, with all of its blessings and challenges, during one of the most trying times in modern history.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Laurence May upon the occasion of his departure from the Hillsborough Town Council. The residents of Hillsborough have benefitted enormously from Larry's service to the community in an elected or volunteer position since 1989.

It takes a special personality to volunteer or to serve in elective office for 33 years. The word that comes to mind is ``patience.'' Larry served on the school board from 1995 to 2007. During that time, he spearheaded a $68 million bond measure to rebuild Hillsborough's schools. Even now, as a town council member, Larry continues his support of the schools. He supported a measure on the November ballot needed to upgrade the classrooms for modern education in science, engineering, technology and math, to repair roofs and electrical systems, to upgrade classrooms for earthquake compliance, and to install solar when feasible. Prior to joining the school board, Larry served on the Hillsborough Schools Foundation Executive Committee from 1989 to 1993.

Woven into Larry May's story is a family history of dedication to Hillsborough. His mother was a significant volunteer and essentially raised Larry from childhood with a sense of duty towards the community. Today, this duty extends beyond the borders of Hillsborough to include service on countywide organizations such as the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County and Peninsula Clean Energy, as well as the City-County Association of Governments Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He's chaired the Hillsborough Town Council's Audit and Finance Committee and served as Chair from 2021 to the present.

The Town of Hillsborough is a remarkable community of 11,000 nestled in the hills and flatlands of central San Mateo County. The community's spirit is extraordinary, with volunteerism playing a major role in civic life. Larry May has personified this volunteer spirit over decades. During his council service, he's given countless hours of expert legal advice to his colleagues and offered a willing ear to residents seeking a redress of their grievances.

He has also been the council's liaison to the city's Code Enforcement Board, the Architecture and Design Review Board, and served as a commissioner on the Hillsborough Recreation Commission since 2011. One of the most challenging positions was serving on the SFO Airport Community Roundtable. Larry and leaders from neighboring cities tried to find ways to decrease airport noise impacts on the community despite woefully inadequate federal noise protections. In the 1980's, Larry served on the Board of Directors of the Heart Association of San Mateo County and was a member of the Rotary Club of Foster City.

Not all of Larry's nonprofit service has been solely to Hillsborough or to its schools. He is deeply embedded in the health system, having served on the Board of Trustees of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the Mills Peninsula Hospital Foundation and the Board of Trustees of Mills Peninsula Hospital.

Larry was educated at Crocker Middle School in Hillsborough and ultimately received his A.B. in Economics from the University of California. Berkeley and his J.D. Cum Laude, Law, from Santa Clara University School of Law. He served for almost three years as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California before entering private practice in local law firms. He is now retired, but he enjoyed practicing law representing investors and developers of real estate in their transactional activities. He also handled acquisitions, dispositions, leases, and financing as well as appearances before public agencies.

I want to also express my appreciation to Larry's wife, Laurie, their son Aaron, and their daughter Jessica for sharing Larry with the community over all these years. While the time that Larry dedicated to his community improved it enormously over many decades, his family supported him during countless hours when he was performing his public duties. We owe them a debt of gratitude.

My best wishes to my friend Larry May--a local boy who grew up to lead. He is a public servant who left his mark on Hillsborough, and for that we are all grateful that he did.

Mr. Speaker, this NDAA moves us forward in reforming the military justice system. We took sexual assault out of the chain of command last year in the NDAA. This year, we take sexual harassment out of the chain, and we require trained investigators who will investigate cases outside the brigade. Both are critical for the safety of military personnel because sexual harassment begets sexual assault.

Suicide in the military is a crisis. This year, I visited bases in Alaska twice that were hit hard by suicide deaths. This bill expands the military and civilian behavioral health workforce. It authorizes cold-weather pay and offers each servicemember stationed in Alaska a paid trip home in 2023.

We need to increase the pay of military childcare center workers. We have 19,000 families on waiting lists and are only using a third of the capacity in our facilities. This bill provides for a study. I hope we will do the right thing and make sure that these childcare providers are making more than those who are flipping burgers at the local restaurant. This bill also preserves crucial leave and paid travel for servicewomen who must go to another State to receive an abortion.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this measure. I thank my committee and the personal staff.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Mayor Rick Bonilla as his service on the San Mateo City Council comes to a close. Rick's record of accomplishment is impressive.

Rick and his wife Suzanne first moved to San Mateo in 1991. From 1998 to 2011, he was employed as a Field Representative by the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council. His time in public service began in 2001 when he was appointed to the Bay Meadows and Transportation Corridor Citizen's Advisory Committee. Bay Meadows was the largest redevelopment project in modern San Mateo history, and it was key to revitalizing the old site of Bay Meadows Racetrack. Rick offered his vision for land use and transportation, helping to shape the development into today's hub of high-tech industry, housing, local commerce, and recreation.

In 2006, he was appointed to the San Mateo Public Works Commission where he served for six years. He was then appointed to the Planning Commission where he served until 2015 when he was appointed to the San Mateo City Council. He was elected to his full term in 2017.

Rick Bonilla has embraced his public duties with vigor. For many years, he served as the council's representative on the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG, General Assembly). At ABAG, Rick sat on the all-important Regional Planning Committee. This committee established the methodology for determining each city's required housing allocation throughout the nine county San Francisco Bay Area. The numbers that arise from this methodology profoundly influence the cost of living for millions of Bay Area residents. Rick is a very strong advocate for housing, and also sits on the board of the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART).

Peninsula Clean Energy is our local government agency responsible for buying electricity for nearly all businesses and residences in San Mateo County. Rick was instrumental in forming this agency and sits on its board. The agency is at the center of greening San Mateo County by offering rebates across many items that can be electrified, including vehicles and appliances, and by offering clean electricity at a price below that offered by our local public utility.

Rick also represents the council on the San Mateo County Council of Cities, the San Mateo-Foster City Public Financing Agency, and is a board member and Vice Chair of the South Bayside Waste Management Authority. He sits on the Congestion Management and Environmental Quality subcommittee of the City/County Association of Governments, and on a subcommittee of the League of California Cities. He is also responsible for four internal council committee appointments and is the chief representative to my office from the San Mateo City Council.

Now that I've listed Rick's committee assignments, let me take a few moments to speak about Rick Bonilla, the person. He is deeply dedicated to economic opportunity for all persons. Over the years, my staff and I have had countless conversations with Rick about opportunities for high school students to join the skilled trades, the need to build enough housing so that broad segments of the population could afford to live in San Mateo, racial justice, and the need to protect and promote democracy. Rick would regularly attend my town halls and illustrate for the public the connection between local decisions and national issues, providing insights that attendees would not otherwise receive. He also participated as a guest during one of my telephone town halls.

Social justice is a particular passion for Rick. He is also dedicated to promoting public safety and ensuring that residents feel safe when interacting with the San Mateo Police Department.

As he leaves the city council, Mayor Bonilla has a lot of accomplishments of which he may be proud. On all major issues impacting San Mateo for nearly two decades, he's played a role in creating the prosperous future that emerged from those choices. Whether it was Bay Meadows, bicycle paths, the minimum wage or investments in parks, police and the environment, Rick always asked whether the decision made that night would withstand the test of time. He is thus a remarkable leader, dedicated not only to those who currently live in San Mateo but to generations yet to come.

I wish Rick Bonilla well in the years ahead. I know that his wife, retired special education teacher Suzanne Flecker, will want to get him out of their house because the man really has a lot of energy. I therefore look forward to seeing Rick around the Peninsula as he goes to public meetings, continues his volunteer work, and impacts San Mateo's civic life for years to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Eric Rodriguez as he steps down from the San Mateo City Council after serving for five years and ten months, with one year as Mayor.

Eric grew up in neighboring Belmont. Upon moving to San Mateo, he eventually served as his neighborhood's representative to the San Mateo United Homeowners Association and as a member of the Aragon Neighborhood Association Board of Directors from 2013 through 2016. In 2015, he was appointed to the planning commission, serving until 2017.

In that year, he was elected to the San Mateo City Council. In his candidate's statement he argued for effective traffic planning to reduce gridlock, preservation of the neighborhood character of San Mateo, quality public safety and parks and recreation services, affordable housing and fiscal accountability. He received 6,266 votes.

Nowhere in his candidate statement did the word ``COVID'' appear.

Eric led San Mateo as Mayor from December 2020 to December 2021. These harsh times of pandemic required city services to be largely delivered remotely, city workers to support public health by arranging for testing and then early public vaccination sites, and an all-hands- on-deck approach to preserving public health. This included the difficult decision to enforce shut-down orders for public places. As the vital restaurant industry began to be devastated by the disease, Eric and his colleagues swiftly approved outside dining and offered financial support. When racial tensions rose because of actions in other cities that sparked nationwide outrage, Mayor Rodriguez spoke out on YouTube and stated that San Mateo stood united against hatred and all forms of racism. He also spoke in favor of the Police Athletic League (PAL), stating that building relationships between young people and the police was part of the solution to keeping fairness in the community.

During his time in office, Eric was a strong advocate for affordable housing developments to reduce income inequality in San Mateo. To his credit and that of his colleagues, a city parking lot near Caltrain is now under construction. Kiku Crossing is a 7-story apartment building that will offer 225 homes for those earning low incomes, and a new publicly accessible parking garage. This development could have been contentious, but Eric and his colleagues spent many hours educating the public about the benefits of this project.

Also begun during his term of office was a billion dollar+ upgrade to the city's wastewater treatment plant. It takes quite a bit of time to bring this kind of project to the stage of construction, but Eric and his colleagues supported an upgrade that is a credit to the objectives of the Clean Water Act and that will be a vital piece of public infrastructure for decades to come.

In his private life, Eric is presently the CEO of a health information website that he co-founded. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Police Activities League and the Rotary Club of San Mateo. He is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he received his M.B.A., and the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He and his wife Shirley have one child, son Tyler. Now that he is leaving public life, there will be more personal time to enjoy with his family.

When the call of elective public service is made, most people turn a deaf ear. It then falls to a few to assume the reigns of authority, pursuant to endorsement via elections, and to bear the full commitment of time, energy and emotion on behalf of creating a better community for all. Eric Rodriguez answered the call, and the people of San Mateo are better because of his service. I wish Eric and his

family wonderful times in the years ahead. In the coming years, as he leads Tyler through the community, he will be able to point and to say, ``Dad helped make that possible.'' I am certain that his son will be impressed, and perhaps another generation of public service will be born because of those moments. This is one of the chief ways in which American democracy sustains itself. From parent to child. From generation to generation. From local government to national. The accomplishments of all of us add up, and Eric Rodriguez's service is illustrative of this remarkable reality of democracy.

Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my good friend and colleague, Councilman Joe Goethals, upon his departure from the San Mateo City Council after nine years. He began his public service on the San Mateo Public Works Commission and as a Director on the Peninsula Health Care District Board. During his time on the council, he served on the Emergency Services Council, the Grand Boulevard Task Force, Peninsula Clean Energy, the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department board, and the San Mateo County pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Services Group. He served as Mayor in 2019.

When he first ran for city council in 2013, he noted that he was a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and that by that time he had already handled over 50 cases and appeared in court in 25 jury trials involving such violent crimes as murder, rape and kidnapping. Since then, he's worked in the offices of both the Alameda and San Mateo County District Attorneys.

Today, Joe is in private practice as a trial attorney handling criminal defense, murder, sexual assault, wrongful death and personal injury cases. As a city councilman, prosecutor and defense counsel, Joe sees all sides of the criminal justice system.

We live in special times when people question whether our nation will splinter and whether we can continue to live under one body of law. I want to take a moment to speak about Joe Goethals the attorney because from this discipline, combined with public office, he created an unusually authoritative perspective on public policy.

In a 2020 Facebook post, he reposted an image of a man with a ball and chain and the word ``addiction'' on the ball, with the man reaching for a key that had ``hope'' as its name. In 2021, as protests broke out throughout the country Joe, his colleagues, and the Board of Supervisors established a pilot program teaming mental health professionals with police officers to help people in crisis. Joe noted at the time, ``More than half of the county jail are individuals suffering from some form of mental health issues. Interventions like this I support very much because (mental) health professionals are a proven solution to reducing incarceration in favor of treatment and diversion.'' His validation, coming from both a seasoned prosecutor and defense attorney, meant that residents of San Mateo could have an extra measure of assurance that public safety was enhanced by mental health interventions. To borrow a concept from our shared faith, Joe was teaching from the catechism of justice.

As a councilmember, Joe Goethals was on the dais as San Mateo tackled some of its most difficult problems. The city has since initiated major public works projects to fix a flooding problem in the North Shoreview neighborhood, a major intersection problem at El Camino and Highway 92, and a significant deficiency in the city's sewage treatment system. During Joe's years on the council, thousands of new housing units were created, and the city cooperated with the county to establish at least two hotels as new shelters for the homeless. Joe and his colleagues spurred businesses towards financial health despite the pandemic by approving outdoor dining downtown.

Born and raised in San Mateo, Joe grew up along Aragon Boulevard as part of a family of five children. He was outstanding in Little League and coached right through law school. For first through eighth grade, he attended St. Matthew's Catholic School, later moving to St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San Francisco, and ultimately attending Santa Clara University for both undergraduate and law school. Upon graduation with an undergraduate degree in Combined Sciences with an emphasis in microbiology, he was honored with the Santa Clara University Richard J. Riordan Award for Public Service. He actually has two graduate degrees, having attained a Master's in Public Health from San Jose State University before his J.D. degree. He served for five years in public health after his undergraduate studies. As a law student, he won the Honors Moot Court competition and a scholarship to Oxford University for the summer.

Joe and his wife, Sharon, have three girls Samantha, Ellie, and Charlotte. Although they have lived in different locations in recent years, they have always called San Mateo home.

It is time to bid adieu to a passionate advocate for sound government. America lost a champion Little Leaguer when Joe was forced to retire from coaching. It's losing a champion public policymaker as he steps away from elective office, hopefully for only a short time. Now, his family will regain the full-time attention of a loving father and husband. Life is both complete and expanding its joys for Joe Goethals, the boy from Aragon Boulevard who swung for the bleachers and hit a grand slam.

Madam Speaker, I thank my great caucus cochair and good friend, Congresswoman Lois Frankel, for this bill. I thank the chairman for bringing this bill to the floor. I also thank the Speaker for her extraordinary work in this area.

I sit here and think to myself: Are we living on two different planets? Why would any of you on the other side of the aisle want to prevent a woman or a man from speaking up if they were raped by someone in the office? Why would we allow for these NDAs?

Sexual harassment is an abuse of power made worse by the indignity of being silenced and gagged about your experience.

We have heard this morning that a third of the American workforce is bound by NDAs. Now, they were used originally to protect trade secrets. We appreciate that. We get that. But they have now been extended to be a weapon of choice for abusers and those orchestrating coverups.

Let's talk about the Washington Commanders' owner, Dan Snyder, at the NFL. Snyder assured his fans that he knew nothing about rampant and reprehensible harassment suffered by his employees, the women staffers forced to endure harassment and attempted assault. Some testified before the Committee on Oversight and Reform that they were told to avoid him at all costs and other predatory employees.

Snyder even had cheerleaders videotaped without their consent, and some without their knowledge, for a calendar photo shoot. The women posed topless using only their hands and arms or body paint to cover their breasts. Snyder knew they would have to change outfits and be exposed at times, and he made sure that he got the video to watch and share with his cronies.

Surprise: Snyder used predispute NDAs with many of those women staffers.

Abusers like Snyder, Weinstein, Roger Ailes at FOX, and others should not be allowed to be the predators they are in the workforce. Women and men who become victims should be able to call them out.

It is time to end this predatory practice of silencing survivors. It is time for workers to have the freedom to speak out. For those who say that this should be a States' rights issue, remind me: Isn't it your party who wants to ban abortions across the country and not leave it to the States?

Madam Speaker, I rise along with my colleague Anna Eshoo to honor Richard (Dick) Dodge upon his retirement from the Board of Port Commissioners of the Port of Redwood City after 42 years of service to the public. Dick is deeply dedicated to commerce and to the efficient operation of the port, a jewel on San Francisco Bay.

Redwood City's port was first established in 1851 by timber harvesters seeking an efficient route to move redwood from the hills of the San Francisco Peninsula to a new and thriving city, San Francisco. Today, over two million tons of cargo typically moves via the port, annually. Located only 18 nautical miles from San Francisco, and qualifying as a deep-water facility, both liquid and dry cargo transit the docks. These shipments often consist of imported construction materials and metal destined for overseas recycling. Redwood City plays an important role in the orderly operation of the Port of Oakland, allowing shippers to obtain timely service for cargoes not otherwise amenable to being shipped to Oakland via containers.

Dick Dodge was first appointed Commissioner in 1980. At the time of his retirement in July 2022, he was one of the longest-serving port commissioners in the United States. He is also the port's institutional memory and helped shape its Vision 2020 planning document. Through Vision 2020, the port committed to maximizing its value to the public by enhancing public access, preserving the environment, and upgrading its commercial facilities. Dick Dodge has long advocated for ferry service to Redwood City, and the plan reflects his vision. Before the pandemic, Google briefly tested ferry service to the port, and service is identified by the Water Emergency Transportation Authority as a future expansion opportunity. Deepening the channel so that it may handle larger vessels was also a priority for Dick. The United States Army Corps of Engineers continues to work on a determination of the cost of this important improvement.

Over his 42 years of public service, Dick Dodge was past president of the Association of Pacific Ports, and he made numerous presentations before the American Association of Port Authorities. In the community, he served on the Board of Directors of Chamber San Mateo County, the Sequoia YMCA, the Redwood City Rotary Club, a bank advisory board, and the Water Emergency Transportation Authority's Technical Advisory Committee.

Serving as a port commissioner is a volunteer position. In his professional life, Dick Dodge has owned T.H.E. Office City since 1976. It is one of the largest independent office products dealers in northern California. Before founding his own business, he worked for Airborne Express for 12 years. He has a business degree from the University of Southern California. He and his wife, Ginny, have three adult daughters, Kristine, Suzanne, and Michelle, and seven grandchildren.

Madam Speaker, it is rare for busy people to volunteer for serious work. A port commissioner's job is certainly serious. The operations of the port are essential to many businesses and fill an important role in our regional economy. Dick Dodge and his fellow commissioners make multi-decade decisions to maximize the impact on commute patterns, recreational opportunities, commerce, and the environment. The people of Redwood City and the Peninsula were fortunate to have Dick at the dais for over four decades. We wish him well in the years ahead and thank him for his years of public service that will benefit all of us for decades yet to come.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a 1960's Borscht Belt Baby who, of late, has been a distinguished individual serving turkey with all the trimmings in San Mateo County. Bart Charlow, the Chief Executive Officer of Samaritan House, is retiring after eight years on the front lines of human services. We will miss him enormously.

Samaritan House annually serves clients 3,000,000 meals, provides 44,120 nights of safe shelter, and during the time of Bart's leadership increased donations by 100 percent. Samaritan House provides a place for people without fixed housing to recover from hospital care. He led the agency to create a food pantry, added mental health services to the existing medical clinics, doubled food services, quintupled case management and financial assistance, and managed temporary operations of four additional shelter programs--a tripling of shelter capacity during COVID.

The stories told by Samaritan House clients are America's stories. For example, 72-year-old Edwina and Demitrio were living in their car, trying to live on their combined Social Security checks in one of the most costly housing markets in America. They discovered Samaritan House. Due to its free services, they were able to save some money. Then, they were selected for a unit in a new affordable housing complex, a hotel purchased through federal funding. To a large extent, this couple can credit Bart Charlow, and the outstanding staff and volunteers of Samaritan House, for being a rock they could cling to when the storm of pestilence swept them into an economic sea.

During Thanksgiving, I've personally worked next to Bart as we and dozens of volunteers distributed thousands of pounds of holiday groceries to clients. At Christmas during the pandemic, hundreds of families drove through the county fairgrounds picking up free gifts and food. In pre-pandemic times, Bart and volunteers, including me, would wrap hundreds of Christmas presents for children anxious to take their bounty home to place under the tree. Samaritan House is an official portal for safety net services for San Mateo County because the county trusts this agency's management to handle millions of dollars in contracts for services. Its staff follows Bart's belief: Respect human dignity and lift people up.

Bart's come a long way from watching his extended family serve tourists at Charlow's Irvington Hotel in South Fallsburg, New York.

Bart is a painter, and images of the Catskills leap from his canvas. Borscht Belt Babies, a Facebook group, confirms that Bart's upbringing was one of family and a tight-knit community. I was struck by a 1963 photo taken at Charlow's Irvington Hotel. It showed three handsome young men in the shallow end of the swimming pool on what was likely a hot summer day. Two were white and one black. 1963 was the year of the March on Washington and the ``I Have A Dream'' speech by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was also the year that Jackson, Mississippi, drained four public swimming pools and sold another rather than integrate them. At Charlow's Irvington Hotel, all Americans were welcomed and equal. Of the kitchen, Bart remarked, ``I could spend hours watching the baker make batter and knead dough in the giant mixers . . . . he'd fill [baking trays] with hundreds of perfectly shaped little cookies or mounds of bread rolls in just minutes.'' I bet the borscht was also great.

Bart joined Samaritan House in 2014. He was 65, a time when others hope to retire. However, Bart is deeply dedicated to philanthropy and brought with him 39 years of executive experience, largely in the non- profit sector. He was also a licensed marriage and family therapist for 42 years, certainly excellent preparation for leading a non-profit. He has a BA in Anthropology and Sociology from Wake Forest University and a Master's in Education and Counseling, also from Wake Forest.

Please join me in wishing Bart Charlow the time of his life in retirement with his wife Nancy, their sons Alex and Michael and daughter Lisa. Gevald, di mantens! [Wow, the mountains!] is a Yiddish song celebrating the Catskills. One of the lines is that, in the mountains, ``Everybody rests their bones.'' Well, now it's Bart's turn. He may seek his retirement by resting his bones, but he will never truly rest until his fellow Americans are also safe, their health secure, and their weary bones afforded a cooling retreat in the shade created by human dignity.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Tony Giacomazzi, affectionately known as ``Tony G.'', for his commitment to the town of Hillsborough and in particular its children. Tony G. has positively impacted thousands of Hillsborough students as both a teacher and now recreation leader. For his outstanding contribution, he has been awarded the Community Care Award for 2022 by the Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough.

Tony came to Hillsborough as a teacher in 2003 and quickly gained the admiration of students and parents. Originally hired as a substitute, he soon joined the staff in a full-time position, teaching 3rd and 4th graders for eight years. As a remarkable leader at West School, he quickly gained more responsibility as he became president of the Hillsborough Teacher Association. Although he wanted to become a principal, and earned his master's degree in administration, he was drawn to sports and coaching.

Ultimately, Tony couldn't stay away from the sports fields, and he transitioned to the Hillsborough Recreation Department, formed through a joint powers agreement between the town and school district. For the past 12 years, he has overseen preschool programming, elementary after school class offerings, sports programs at Crocker Middle School, and classes for the greater Hillsborough community.

Tony has the remarkable ability to remember the names of every child in the school district along with the names of their siblings and parents. With that kind of memory, the man would obviously be competitive running against any member of Congress, including this one. He's an employee of the district but he is also a parent. He volunteers to coach soccer, baseball, and basketball, referees flag football, and does master scheduling. There's often grass beneath his feet, but it sure doesn't grow there because this is a guy who is always on the move.

The pandemic played havoc with recreation as well as learning. Tony was instrumental in bringing students back to campus during the pandemic. He worked closely with the board of education, faculty and the superintendent to find ways to keep the kids active yet safe. Teachers had childcare support because Tony arranged for it. He oversaw COVID testing at preschools and ensured that providers felt safe returning to schools.

Tony attended both Serra High School and Mills High School. It was at Mills that he met his wife, Jackie. They have two sons--Max (13) and Zach (10). Max and Zach, in Turn, have a dog named Haze that they graciously agree to share with their parents. When not planning the next recreation event or working with the students, Tony enjoys playing golf, basketball and cheering for his favorite teams. He selected three great champions--the Giants, the Warriors and the Niners. Regrettably, from my personal point of view, he also roots for the Chiefs.

In the documents describing his nomination for this year's Community Care Award, Tony Giacomazzi was described as the perfect mix of teacher, coach, friend and mentor, and it was noted that he inspires the children to be their best selves both on and off the court. This is how American is built: one character at a time across generations. Congratulations to Tony Giacomazzi. His career will touch generations, and we are grateful that he is in public service in the wonderful community of Hillsborough, California.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Don Geddis upon the occasion of his being named Citizen of the Year for 2022 by the Associated Parents' Group of Hillsborough. His service to our community is so enormous that I think of Don as being one of the towering eucalyptus trees that populate the town . . . . . without, of course, all the shedding bark.

When Don's children entered Hillsborough schools in 2006, he immediately took a leadership role by joining the School Site Council, placing him on the West Parent Group executive board. For many years he was a highly qualified judge of the West iLab Tech Challenge, bringing his PhD in artificial intelligence and computer science from Stanford to bear on the work product of student tinkerers. He also served for two years as the West Parent Group's trustee representative, giving him extensive exposure to the operations of the school board.

Don took the plunge and ran for school board in 2013. He has served every year since, four times as board president. He combines this volunteer job with service on the recreation commission, a joint powers authority between the school district and the town of Hillsborough. He also serves as trustee liaison to the Associated Parents' Group.

The pandemic hit every school district hard, and every district scrambled to create remote work. The biggest challenge, however, was the creation of a back-to-school safety plan. Don and the District Core Return to School team created testing and other protocols that permitted Hillsborough schools to be one of the first in the state to return to full-time, in-person instruction. As a major leader in the town, Don explained the plan to countless parents and advocated for it at the board. He located testing solutions and helped plan the district's testing policy. The students and parents of Hillsborough will be forever grateful to Don for his dedication to education and to public health.

Measure H was a $140 million school facilities bond measure that recently passed due in no small part to Don's leadership. It paves the way for modern schools in Hillsborough for decades to come. As a school board member, he's also served on the board's negotiation team, mentored new trustees, and been active in the San Mateo County School Boards Association.

Don is not all about work or even civic endeavors. If you visit his website, you'll immediately see a list of 18 major life accomplishments, starting with his bachelor's in computer science at Stanford and ending with his current status as a board member and recreation commissioner.

However, arrayed below that list is another list of ``Completed Bets.'' For example, in 2015 he apparently bet on whether then-Judge Kavanaugh would be appointed to the Supreme Court. He lost a buck. In the 2017 match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor, he bet $10 and won. He's obviously a better boxing fan than reader of Senate tea leaves. Between 2002 and 2020 he bet 34 times on various events paying out donuts (2019) or that dollar, and winning lobster or truffles. Altogether, he's won 21 times, had one draw and there's one bet still outstanding (fusion power, 100MW+ in 20 years from 2018). His site also lists his four other current websites and five previous websites, including one that he says was a joke.

As this list demonstrates, Don is a brainiac, but I can honestly state that he's one of the most personable, and earnest, people that I've ever met. In case you doubt his driven nature, he participates in both Aiki and Brazilian Jiujitsu and has third-degree black belts in both forms of martial arts. As the holder of a brown belt in judo, the conclusion that I draw from his website is that you probably come out better betting cash with Don, and losing, than fighting him and losing.

Despite Don being something of a rocket scientist by nature, he is about as down to earth as they come. For this and many more reasons he will always be an honored resident of our community, and it is my honor to note his contributions to America in today's record of the proceedings of the House of Representatives. Congratulations to Don, his wife Laura and their family on his remarkable achievements. His neighbors and countless friends are betting he'll be a leader for many more years to come. We're not going to lose that bet.

Madam Speaker, I rise to honor the legendary journalist David Louie, who has over five decade some of the biggest stories in the Bay Area and the nation. A familiar and friendly face on San Francisco's ABC7/KGO TV for 50 years, Bay Area viewers will undoubtedly miss his excellent reporting. It has been my great pleasure to run into David at countless events and to be interviewed by him dozens of times during my time in Congress and the California Legislature.

Journalism has been in David's blood since he was a child. He first appeared on camera at age five when one of his neighbors in Ohio who produced a weekly public affairs show invited him to the studio. He was also a newspaper delivery boy and wrote for his high school paper. In 1972, he became KGO's Asian American reporter.

David has a remarkable ability to quickly break down and condense any story, no matter what topic you throw at him. He has covered the emergence of Silicon Valley as a technology and innovation hub. He was part of the first local TV crew to go to China covering the normalization of US-China relations. He went to the Philippines during the People Power Revolution in 1986 that sent Ferdinand Marcos into exile. He was the first reporter to interview U.S. Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta after 9/11. He covered the Patty Hearst kidnapping and the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Among the recognitions and awards David has received for his outstanding work are four Emmy Awards and two lifetime achievement awards from the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and from the City and County of San Francisco. He was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) Gold Circle in 2019, and the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Fame in 1997. David served as the national president of AAJA, the national chairman of the NATAS, and on the board of the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTNDA). This year, he was awarded the Northwestern Alumni Medal.

David earned his bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University, where he began in the Medill Cherubs, a summer institute for high school students interested in journalism careers.

David is also a foodie. Long before the food channels appeared on the air, David did a feature called, ``Friday Feast.'' When he is not out in the field reporting, he is often in his kitchen experimenting with new recipes. He encourages his social media followers to send him risky recipes to try.

Madam Speaker, to say that David Louie is an institution in the Bay Area would not be an exaggeration. I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in celebrating a man in pursuit of the truth and facts for more than half a century. He is a role model for other journalists: thorough, ethical and always curious. I wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement.

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and include any extraneous material during this Special Order.

Madam Speaker, I rise this afternoon to hold this Special Order on a very important issue. It is an issue about abortion access in the military. I thank my colleagues for joining me and elevating their voices on the experience of our troops who are terrified that they will be stationed in a State where they cannot control their bodies.

The Supreme Court decision in Dobbs overturned 50 years of precedent recognizing the constitutional right to abortion. The Court stated that their opinion merely returned the issue of abortion rights to the States, and that women can vote for whom they wish to represent their values.

But servicemembers don't have that right. They don't get to choose where they live. This leaves 230,000 servicewomen who could be ordered to a State that forces them to stay pregnant, even under circumstances where they have been raped, because that is what some of the States in this grand Union have decided is the law of the land in their State.

Let me tell you that this is going to have profound impacts on the issues that really are of great concern to us who oversee the military right now. Recruitment is down. Retention is a problem, and readiness is a problem. That is only going to be exacerbated by having a situation where these servicewomen who become pregnant are going to have to travel long distances to get an abortion.

Access to abortion has long been a struggle for women in the military, especially those overseas and our junior

enlisted with lower incomes. The Dobbs decision has just made matters worse.

This map right here shows all the States in red that have basically prohibited abortions, for all intents and purposes.

Now, one in four women will have an abortion some time during their reproductive years. We now look at the fact that women in the military have a 22 percent higher incidence of unintended pregnancies than women who are in the civilian world.

So now let's look at this. There are actually 128 military installations in these red States. Of those 128 installations that will prohibit abortion, 80,000 servicewomen are on bases in those States. The vast majority of those women are of childbearing age.

Now, the Rand study that was recently commissioned estimated that there are 4,000 servicewomen every year that are getting abortions. Now, of those 4,000 women who will get abortions, 40 percent of them are in States that have severely restricted or no access to abortion.

Now, look at this. You have a situation, where you are in Louisiana or Mississippi, look how far you are going to have to travel, how many States you are going to have to travel through to get to a blue State where you could access an abortion.

Privates in the military make about $2,000 a month. Most of the abortions will happen to young servicemembers. A typical cost, not including travel, to get the medication abortion is $568. To have a first-trimester, procedural abortion it is $625. And a second-trimester abortion is $775.

For a servicemember who must travel for an abortion, for example, from the State of Texas to Kansas, let's say, with a two-night stay in a hotel, the expected cost is $1,100 or more. That is almost half of the monthly salary for a typical junior enlisted servicemember.

In July, we had the very first hearing ever in the House Armed Services Committee on abortion access. Two courageous Active-Duty women who have served in the military, each for over 20 years. So, they have excelled, they are officers in the military, or noncommissioned officers in the military, and they have been so good that they have been retained in the military and promoted.

Let me tell you their stories. Theresa spoke of how her abortion as a junior enlisted servicemember enabled her 20-year career in the Air Force. She used her entire paycheck to cover the cost of the abortion, and her next paycheck to reimburse her friend for the gas money for driving her to the facility.

Another servicemember, whose name is Sharon, spoke of getting an abortion because she wasn't ready to have another child.

Let's remember that 59 percent of the women who get abortions in this country are already mothers. I was one of them.

She and her partner were going to drive to Georgia, but then they learned it had a mandatory waiting-period law. So then they ended up traveling all the way to New York City; and she credits that abortion for her 24 years of Active Duty in the military.

Now, I have more to say, but I am going to yield now to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Lois Frankel), my great colleague, who is one of the co-chairs of the Democratic Women's Caucus.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her powerful comments.

On top of everything else, we passed one law which was the Hyde amendment, that said you can't use Federal funds for medical abortions, so Medicaid was not made available for that purpose. But many States have decided to cover it anyway.

But that wasn't enough for the Congresses some years ago. They decided that we would ban any abortion at a military treatment facility except for rape, incest, and the life of the mother.

So that means a servicemember can't go to the military treatment facility on their base, get the abortion, and pay for it themselves. We make them jump through hoop after hoop after hoop. And then, we ask ourselves, why do we have a recruitment problem? I think it is pretty obvious.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Pennsylvania (Ms. Houlahan), my colleague on the House Armed Services Committee, and on the Military Personnel Subcommittee, and a former servicemember, to comment on this issue as well.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her service then and for her service now. Her comments about young servicewomen just out of high school or college, who find themselves pregnant and seek an abortion, reminds me of a story that I heard at a base here in the United States of a young, single mother, servicewoman, who was struggling to take care of her young daughter in part because the childcare--she was lucky enough to have childcare at that particular base. Many of our bases are impacted with long waiting lists. But she actually had a slot. But the childcare center didn't open until 6 o'clock, and she had to be at physical training and exercises at 5:30, so she was always juggling that situation.

Imagine if you are not even prepared to have a child and you are forced to give birth to that child and have to cope with all of those additional issues as well.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Jacobs), another colleague on the Subcommittee on Military Personnel, a fellow Californian, and a great member of our freshman class.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for her outstanding comments and for her great leadership that she has already demonstrated.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Moulton), a great American leader who has served his country a number of ways, in a number of situations, certainly in the military and now as a Member of Congress.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for those outstanding comments. He is another Member who has shown incredible leadership on the House Committee on Armed Services.

Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow), my good friend and colleague on the House Committee on Armed Services, who again has shown leadership in the military and service in Congress as well, and the author of the recently minted bill to provide greater protections for servicewomen.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for really powerful remarks. This issue doesn't have to be that hard, but because of legislation that has been passed previously, it has made it incredibly difficult.

I am going to share with you now the stories of healthcare professionals who have provided care to these military servicewomen. You have heard from my colleagues about some of the servicemembers' stories. I am now going to tell you about two abortion providers, one who is Active Duty and the other one who is a civilian provider but who spends the majority of her career close to military installations and provides services to our servicewomen.

The Active-Duty provider, Dr. Lamme, had to tell a young woman that her child would not live more than a few minutes following birth due to fetal abnormalities, yet there was nothing she could do but hope that the young woman could afford the care she wanted and deserved off base. She could not even provide her abortion counseling. She had to kind of hint about it.

This particular patient had to hold a fundraiser. Now, think about this. This is a servicewoman who has sworn to put her life on the line for her country. She is in a foreign destination, and she is holding a fundraiser to raise the funds to fly back to the United States to get her abortion.

Just imagine having to ask your friends and family for that money because the military you have dedicated your life to has failed you. She should have been able to get that abortion at a military treatment facility. Until we can lift the Hyde amendment--yes, make her pay for it, but don't make her have to develop a GoFundMe page to get the resources to fly to a destination that actually covers abortions.

Another provider, the civilian provider, Dr. Moayedi, shared her experience of literally watching her patient count quarters--quarters-- to pay for her abortion. Her patient opted to go without sedation to terminate a pregnancy because she couldn't afford any more out-of- pocket costs.

There is nothing humane, nothing respectful, about treating servicewomen like this.

If it is the intention of the military to force women out of the military, to create an all-male force, then maybe this is the way to go. Maybe this is what they had in mind.

But, we do know that we need women in the force. We know that there is a small percentage of men and women who are eligible to serve in the military because of their abilities or lack thereof. It is a small percentage to begin with, and a smaller percentage yet who choose to serve.

Twenty percent of the military now is made up of female servicemembers. We only see that number growing in order to have a ready service to be able to go to war when necessary. But now we are doing things that are discouraging women to even contemplate becoming a member of the service.

Under current law, the DOD is prohibited from providing or paying for abortions except in cases of rape, incest, or a threat to the mother's life. These exceptions are so very narrow and interpreted so narrowly that the DOD has confirmed to me that the number of abortions that have been done at military treatment facilities in a year is between 11 and 21.

Now, the RAND study purports that there are probably 4,000 women in service in this country in the various services that get an abortion every year. Only 11 to 21 of them are done at military treatment facilities. That means 3,980 women in the service have to pay for and also go elsewhere to seek that service. They have to pay out of pocket not only for the care they need but also for other expenses, including lodging, gas, airfare, and childcare.

The Dobbs decision will no doubt exacerbate these challenges, forcing servicemembers to travel greater distances and shoulder greater financial burdens--that is, if they are granted leave in the first place.

Imagine you are assaulted. You want to go get an abortion. You are in the State of Texas, and you have to go to your commander and seek leave. By the way, if you seek leave and you were raped and have, I guess, a police report, they might let you have that leave without having you being docked for it.

But if you are not one of those women who has been raped or the victim of incest, but did, in fact, get pregnant and want to terminate, you have to go to your commander in Texas. Right now, you have to divulge the service you are asking for, and you are going to get docked in leave, as well.

It is inhumane to force women to remain pregnant against their will. It is just fundamental to freedom to be able to have control over your own body. It is arrogant to think that we know better than a woman and her doctor about what is best for her body. It is wrong to create government-mandated pregnancies, and it is wrong for the military to require its servicewomen to jump through so many hoops and spend so much money out of pocket because we have some antiquated law on the books that says you can't get an abortion at an MTF, a military treatment facility.

Access to abortion care is essential to women's health and central to their economic and social well-being. The ability to access abortion should not depend on how much money you have, where you live, or where you are stationed.

That is why I, along with my colleagues, have introduced the MARCH for Servicemembers Act, to enable DOD to provide abortion care once and for all.

At the very least, servicewomen should be able to access abortion care within MTFs and pay out of pocket just like they can for other procedures. The military does not cover IVF, but they will perform IVF at a military facility, and you will just pay for the residual cost.

I am proud to co-lead the Access to Reproductive Care for Servicemembers Act that the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Crow), my good friend, just referenced. It would require DOD to pay any travel expenses associated with an abortion and ensure servicemembers are able to take leave for their care.

There is a part of me that says we have 128 bases and installations in these red States, in these States that ban abortion. Maybe we should just move these bases. Now, that is highly unlikely because we have invested so much, but it just begs the question about what we are really all about if we are going to treat these servicewomen so poorly.

My office has been inundated with outreach from former and current servicemembers who are anxious and despondent about being stationed in what they are referring to as ``forced pregnancy States.''

One Army psychiatrist said to me, ``Even I and some of my female physician peers in the military, with the relative privilege of being officers and physicians, fear someday receiving orders to a State which has banned abortion. Because of the increased maternal mortality in areas without safe and legal abortion, I would not feel safe attempting to become pregnant in such a State.''

Let me repeat that. This is a medical professional in the military who says: ``I would not feel safe attempting to become pregnant in such a State.''

Again, at a time when the military is struggling with recruitment and retention, these bans make things worse.

We must act now to provide the right resources at the right time and the right place so that servicemembers and their families who have no choice about where they live continue to have access to the full reproductive care they need, want, and deserve.

These men and women who serve are our greatest patriots. Are we really going to treat them as second-class citizens? These members of the military defend our freedoms, and we are going to defend them.

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

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor Pacifica Police Chief Daniel L. Steidle for his more than three decades of law enforcement service. Chief Steidle has made Pacifica a safer and more desirable place to live and visit. He never wavered in his commitment to foster relationships between community members and his department.

Dan came to the beautiful coastal town of Pacifica in 1993 and climbed the ranks in the police department from officer to corporal to sergeant to captain. He was then appointed Interim Chief of Police for seven months and Chief of Police in October 2015. He has worked just about every assignment in the department. He has also secured $800,000 in grant funding for personnel and equipment costs.

Before joining the Pacifica Police Department, Dan began his law enforcement career in 1989 as a Reserve Police Officer for the City of Pinole. In 1990, he became a Deputy Sheriff at the Contra Costa County Sheriffs Department where he served for three years. He is a proud graduate of the POST Command College and earned his Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice and a Master's Degree in Strategic Leadership.

During his time in Pacifica, Chief Steidle enjoyed being part of a smaller and tight knit community where he could get to know residents and build trusting relationships. It is very common to see him visit and laugh with people during festivals, parades, ribbon cuttings and city council meetings. He always goes the extra mile to help people. It has been my great honor to work with Chief Steidle during my tenure in Congress on issues such as human trafficking, gun violence prevention and community policing.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Chief Steidle for dedicating his career to public service and for protecting the residents of Pacifica. While I wish him the best for his next chapter in Texas, I have no doubt he will miss the small town feel of Pacifica, its people, and the Pacific Ocean. And in tum, we will miss him.