Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that Mr. Clay Higgins of Louisiana be removed as a cosponsor from H.R. 1146.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of Sheriff Rob Giordano on the occasion of his retirement. Sheriff Giordano has served with distinction over the course of his twenty-two-year career in law enforcement and was the leader the public needed during one of our region's most destructive wildfires to date.

Born in Concord, California, Rob Giordano was working as a mechanic when he felt a calling to join law enforcement. He began his law enforcement career in 1989, serving as a police officer for the Pittsburg Police Department in Contra Costa County. Seven years later, Officer Giordano moved to Sonoma County to serve as a Deputy for the Sonoma County Sheriff's office. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2003, where he supervised the main office patrol, the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, and the Violent Crimes Unit. Sergeant Giordano continued to prove himself as a leader and was promoted to Lieutenant only three years later, where he managed the Investigations Bureau and Internal Affairs Bureau, among others. Lieutenant Giordano was promoted again in 2012, this time to Captain of the Field Services Section. In 2014, after eighteen years with the department, Captain Giordano was promoted to Assistant Sheriff.

By August of 2017, Assistant Sheriff Giordano was promoted to Interim Sheriff when the seated sheriff stepped down for health reasons. His status as Sheriff was made official by the Board of Supervisors shortly thereafter, and he was appointed to serve the remainder of the previous Sheriff's term. Sheriff Giordano never sought the role, and in fact, he pledged to not seek election to the position following to the term's conclusion. He wanted to ensure continuity for the department and the public prior to the next election. However, Sheriff Giordano probably didn't expect was that within two months, his leadership significantly changed the way the community engages with the Sheriff's Office.

On October 8, 2017, one of the most destructive fires in California history caused in Sonoma County. Upon receiving the news, Sheriff Giordano and his team sprung into action, not only saving lives but actively communicating with a frightened public. To many watching the events unfold from afar, Sheriff Giordano became the face of the community, holding press conferences daily while the fires were still being contained. His actions as a communicator, along with the office's increased use of social media not only helped calm a community in shock but also saved lives by sharing critical information in a timely manner. By the time the fires were contained, many called for Sheriff Giordano to forgo his initial pledge and seek election to continue on as the county's Sheriff. Sheriff Giordano remained committed to his pledge and instead focused on getting the Sheriff's Office ready for the transition to new leadership while continuing to build good will between the department and the public.

Madam Speaker, Sheriff Giordano's law enforcement career is a sterling example of leadership that prioritizes service to the public above personal gain. Over the course of his time with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office, he has not only improved the performance of the divisions and units he has overseen, but has also greatly improved the way the community engages with law enforcement. Therefore, please join me in honoring Sheriff Giordano on the occasion of his retirement and wishing him success on his future endeavors

Madam Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, Representative Jackie Speier and Representative Mike Thompson, to honor Victor Gonella for his enduring commitment to the protection and restoration of California's salmon fisheries, and his exemplary service as the founder and president of the Golden Gate Salmon Association.

Born in San Francisco, Victor developed a childhood passion for fishing that has greatly informed his public service throughout his life. His focus on salmon began after his family moved to Mill Valley: he fished off the waters of Sausalito on his first boat when he was still in high school.

Following high school, Victor began to race motorcycles and started his own repair and custom engine fabrication facility. He rented a workspace from a local auto dealership, and eventually ran the dealership's parts and service center. Victor would go on to buy the dealership and move it to Petaluma, adding a second dealership soon thereafter.

As Victor built up his dealership and custom racing business, he never lost sight of his passion for salmon fishing. In 2008, when California experienced the first closure of ocean salmon fishing, Victor took action and founded the Golden Gate Salmon Association to restore California's largest salmon runs. In doing so, Victor would make California history by bringing together disparate stakeholders, including leaders from the commercial and sport fishing industries, conservation groups, and businesses connected to fishing, for a common cause. Over the next few years, Victor developed the financial and logistical backbone of the organization, coordinated fundraisers throughout Northern California, and assembled community leaders to support the organization's mission.

After establishing Golden Gate Salmon Association, Victor spearheaded its development of a plan to restore Central Valley salmon runs, utilizing available science and research funded by the organization. This process would be the beginning of a number of critical

restoration projects that the organization sponsored and successfully completed, with many still underway.

Madam Speaker, as ocean life continues to decline all over the world, organizations like Golden Gate Salmon Association are critical in protecting the natural habitat, wildlife, and fisheries that we all rely on and cherish. We therefore ask our colleagues to join us in thanking Victor Gonella for his tireless efforts to not only protect valuable natural resources but the communities that rely on them.

Madam Speaker, I regret that I was absent from votes last week for personal reasons.

Had I been present, I would have voted NAY on Roll Call No. 72; YEA on Roll Call No. 73; NAY on Roll Call No. 74; and YEA on Roll Call No. 75.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Joseph Russ IV, who passed away on January 12, 2019. His advocacy for ranching and timber communities was vital to rural areas in Humboldt County and throughout California.

Joe was born to Joseph and Annette Russ III in 1936 and attended the one-room Capetown Elementary School on the windswept Lost Coast in the northern part of my congressional district. He graduated from Ferndale High School in 1953 at the age of 16 and the next year was elected president of the California Future Farmers of America. He attended the University of California at Davis, then graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in business administration. Joe later enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. Joe married Karen Lane in 1963. They were married for 55 years and had three children and eight grandchildren.

Joe's civic engagement spanned decades and resulted in many public benefits. He served 20 years on the Humboldt County Planning Commission, and he was president of the Humboldt Del-Norte Cattleman's Association, the Humboldt County Farm Bureau and the Humboldt Woolgrowers Association. Joe also became president of the California Woolgrowers Association, sat on the California State Board of Forestry, the state Chamber of Commerce, and the California State Fair Association. He was a founding member of the Stockmen's Bank of Commerce, the Buckeye Conservancy and the California Rangeland Trust. Notably, he was key to the development of the Williamson Act, which governs property tax rates on agricultural lands in California.

Throughout his career, Joe knew the value of understanding politics and regulation as it related to the ranching and timber industries. His deep involvement in state and local associations and boards helped leave a permanent mark on rural agricultural policy in California. Joe was known to many as a vast resource for all things related to agriculture and had a deep sense of the region's history. He was a guiding example for ranchers trying to balance the hard work of ranching with the need for advocacy at the state and local levels.

Madam Speaker, Joseph Russ IV's contributions to agriculture and the communities of the Second Congressional District and the state of California, and his service to the country, are commendable and worthy of recognition. I urge my colleagues to join me in my deep appreciation of him.

Madam Speaker, on roll call vote 20, I inadvertently voted Yea. I had intended to vote No.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for yielding, and I rise today in support of this bill to reopen our national parks and end the Trump shutdown.

Over the last 3 weeks, the conditions in our national parks have reached unacceptable and unsafe levels as park employees are furloughed without pay and forced to keep quiet about the ongoing damage.

Here is what some of it looks like: dirty diapers, coffee cups, and burrito wrappers. That is just the start of what Congresswoman Jackie Speier and I saw this past weekend as we joined volunteers for a trash cleanup at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which we both represent. It took only a few minutes for us to fill two 32-gallon trash cans with waste.

We may soon have enough trash building up in our national parks to build a wall.

Is that the idea, Mr. Trump? Is that the backup plan, to have our parks, park visitors, and our professional park staff pay for the wall you said Mexico would pay for?

Mr. Speaker, the damage from the Trump shutdown does not end there. I have more than 25 federally recognized Tribes in my district. Each of those communities faces serious financial insecurity as a result of this shutdown. I refuse to stand by as Indian Country suffers, as our national parks suffer, and as millions of Americans suffer, so that Donald Trump can pretend he is building a medieval border wall.

We need the House and Senate to pass the Interior appropriations bill. We need the President to sign it to prevent further degradation of our public

lands and protect the health and safety of Tribal communities.

This government does not belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to the American people. It is time to reopen the government.

Mr. Speaker, I urge a ``yes'' vote.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Courtney Callejas. After joining my team as an intern in my first term in office, she departs this week, more than four years later, as a trusted legislative assistant covering a wide range of important issues.

Courtney is a native of the second congressional district of California, the most beautiful district in the country, and her fondness for the people and places of the North Bay have served her very well in her work. She graduated from Sonoma State University in 2012, and after attaining a Master of Science in International Relations degree from Kingston University in London, she returned to her hometown of Petaluma for a job with the family-owned Straus Family Creamery, a leading organic dairy in our region. Her work ethic and enthusiasm brought her success in that role, but then--fortunately--her desire to get involved in public policy brought her east to Washington,

Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Peter Arrigoni, who passed away on December 18, 2018, at the age of 87 after a lifetime of public service to his community.

Born in 1931 in San Francisco, Mr. Arrigoni later settled in Fairfax, where his extended family had lived for more than 100 years. He

graduated from St. Ignatius High School as an all-city athlete and attended the College of Marin where he was an all-conference halfback on the football team. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he attained the rank of second class petty officer while serving in the Korean War, Mr. Arrigoni finished his college education at the University of Arizona. He was an honor roll student and was once again named all-conference for football. After graduating with a degree in business and economics, Mr. Arrigoni started working as a stockbroker. During this time, he became involved in many volunteer activities. He was a little league coach, joined the Fairfax Park and Recreation Commission, and served on the Fairfax School District's site selection committee.

As his passion for public service grew, Mr. Arrigoni ran for public office, and he was elected to the Fairfax City Council in 1964. He went on to serve as Mayor in 1966, and then decided to run for Supervisor in 1968. He won that election and many more to keep his seat on the board of supervisors until he retired in 1976. During his tenure as Supervisor, Mr. Arrigoni led the way for historic planning policies that have protected West Marin's ranchland for decades. He was also a member of many community organizations such as the Golden Gate Bridge board, the county pension board, the Bay Area Pollution Control Board and the Association of Bay Area Governments. More recently, Mr. Arrigoni was honored by the Marin County Free Library for his dedicated leadership when the library's community room was named for him. Mr. Arrigoni also enjoyed membership with the St. Rita's Church Men's Club and Fairfax Parlor No. 307.

Mr. Arrigoni was known to many in Marin County as a pioneer in helping to restructure local government and leadership to make the governing process more efficient and open to the public. He as been aptly described by many as being largely responsible for saving the true character and nature of Marin County by fighting against major wholesale developments and to protect open space preserves and canyons, which still exist today thanks in large part to his tireless work.

On a personal note, I met Mr. Arrigoni in 1994 when I first ran for public office, a seat on the Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD). He was a strong environmentalist, and he was running the Marin Builders Exchange at that time. We came from different generations and political parties, but we became good friends. I will remember with fondness the tours he led for me of remote parts of the MMWD watershed where he used to go fishing and deer hunting as a kid. I could always count on him for a good joke, or an old political war story, or just some good cheer.

Mr. Arrigoni is survived by his loving wife Pat, his sons James and Robert, his brother Robert, and one grandchild. While he will be greatly missed, Mr. Arrigoni's legacy will live on through the indelible positive impact he had on his community and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dave Turner, who is retiring on December 10, 2018, after eighteen years of service to the City of Fort Bragg.

Born in Fort Bragg at the old Coast Hospital in 1951, Dave and his family relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1960. He went on to attend Stanford University where he majored in ``Social Thought and Institutions,'' a political science honors program. While at Stanford, Dave opened a specialty sleep shop to help pay his way through college. The sleep shop, FloBeds, was so successful that in 1992, Dave and his wife Anne moved their family and business to Fort Bragg. They wanted to raise their four children in a town ``where the community watches out for kids.''

Dave's love of community drew him to public service where he proceeded to dedicate many hours as a public servant. He served two years as planning commissioner before being elected to the Fort Bragg City Council in 2002. He was re-elected in 2006, 2010, and 2014, serving sixteen years on the City Council. He served as Mayor of Fort Bragg for eight years, from 2004 to 2006 and again from 2010 to 2016.

As a Fort Bragg City Councilmember, Dave served on the City's Finance and Administration Committee as well as the Public Works and Facilities Committee. He was an active member of numerous Ad Hoc Committees on the following topics: Inflow and Infiltration, Mill Site, Technology, and Town Hall Dais. Dave also served as the City's representative to the Fort Bragg Fire Protection Authority and the Mendocino Solid Waste Management Authority.

After eighteen years of public service, this day marks Dave Turner's last Fort Bragg City Council meeting and his 67th Birthday. I hope you will join me in recognizing his dedicated years of service and send him best wishes on his birthday and retirement from the City Council.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of John Brown, a consummate public servant who is retiring from his role as City Manager of the City of Petaluma, California, after ten years of excellent service.

Born into a family with a strong emphasis on the value of public service, John Brown embarked on what would be a 35-year career in local government beginning in 1983. For 25 years, Mr. Brown worked directly for three cities and one county in Northern California and Oregon. His roles during this time steadily evolved in responsibility, from financial and project analysis to city management and county administration. Mr. Brown developed a reputation for his acumen in producing balanced budgets while ensuring economic growth and sustaining important government services. This expertise became invaluable in 2008, when Mr. Brown left his position as City Manager of the City of Woodburn, Oregon, to become the City Manager of the City of Petaluma.

When John Brown took over as Petaluma City Manager, the city was feeling the full impacts of the global recession. Seemingly unphased by the challenge before him, Mr. Brown spent the next ten years dramatically re-shaping the city's budget while maintaining important city services. He spent the first three years of his tenure reducing general fund spending by a third, while also cutting non-essential city staff. These cuts were difficult at the time, but they allowed the city to outpace the fallout of the financial crisis. Following this period of austerity, Mr. Brown focused on growing the city's local amenities and opportunities for economic development by bringing in new retail, tourism, and mixed-use developments into the city. He also worked tirelessly to tackle the city's lingering debt repayment issues, improving the city' s credit rating in the process. Altogether, these policies eventually paid dividends and the city rebuilt its reserve fund to pre-recession levels, hired back city staff and expanded city services. Today, the City of Petaluma is on firm economic footing, and prepared for a bright future. None of this would have been possible without John Brown's leadership.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing deep appreciation for John Brown's extraordinary leadership in the face of a global recession, and to congratulate him on his retirement.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to this bill for a number of reasons, but I would specifically like to address how the bill undermines science.

Congress enacted the ESA to conserve and protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats in the U.S. and abroad. Congress also recognized that scientists, not Members of Congress--even me, ones like me with political science degrees--scientists have the necessary expertise to make decisions about species' protection. So the ESA requires that the Fish and Wildlife Service make the decisions regarding species listing and delisting. The law entrusts the Service's scientists to determine what is best for imperiled species, such as the gray wolf, using the best available science.

The ESA is credited as being one of the most science-based laws on the books, but this bill completely eliminates scientists from the decisionmaking process. It mandates that all gray wolves be removed from the ESA in the lower 48. In doing so, it short-circuits the law's science-based process

that determines when species have recovered and when protections are appropriately removed.

Despite years of Republican efforts to ignore the science behind the ESA, we know it has been a huge success. Ninety-nine percent of listed species have continued to survive, and 90 percent are on schedule to meet their recovery goals. So we should be working to make the gray wolf another one of those ESA success stories, not eliminating the protections that have helped put it on a path to recovery.

When the gray wolf was listed in the early 1970s, there were only a few hundred left in the wild. Since then, scientists have shown that the reintroduction of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies has been a huge ecological and economic success. I was able to see gray wolves in Yellowstone with Mr. Beyer and Mr. DeFazio earlier this year and to see the ecosystem that has rebounded since their reintroduction.

We are on the right track, but science shows that ESA protection is still needed. Currently, these wolves occupy only 5 percent of their historic range and only 36 percent of their suitable habitat. So while it is encouraging that the wolves are recovering and even coming into California for the first time in 90 years, a handful of these animals hardly shows that it is time for them to be delisted.

Instead of enacting a new law to eliminate protections, we ought to be working with landowners, local and State agencies, and others to prevent conflicts so that we and wolves can both thrive.

I would like to point out that if American citizens believe an agency does not follow the letter of the law, under the ESA, they have the right to hold the government accountable in court. It is part of the system of checks and balances that must be protected.

Politically driven, species-specific legislation like this sets a dangerous precedent for delisting. It opens the door to future partisan attacks on vulnerable species. Legislative delisting measures like this one undermine the scientific process fundamental to the success of the Endangered Species Act. Scientists, not Congress, should make these decisions.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote ``no.''

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of John Vernon, who was honored as Humboldt County Citizen of the Year on October 20, 2018, an award he richly deserves.

John Vernon and his wife Barbara bought a home in Ferndale in 2005 and became a resident there in 2011. The couple became involved in the community as Court Appointed Special Advocates. Mr. Vernon joined the Salt River Watershed Council as a board member in 2014, and also volunteered at the Ferndale Senior Resource Center.

John Vernon and a group of 40 friends from Ferndale formed Indivisible Ferndale after the 2016 presidential election. Under Mr. Vernon's leadership, Indivisible Ferndale began holding monthly potluck meetings and began organizing civic engagement activities. Indivisible Ferndale members started attending local school board and city council meetings, made phone calls and wrote letters to state and federal representatives expressing their views.

By 2018, Indivisible Ferndale became a 501(c)4 nonprofit, and under Mr. Vernon's leadership, the civic engagement of this group led to thousands of contacts with officials on a wide variety of issues. The membership of Indivisible Ferndale now numbers more than 60 people who actively engage with the community and elected representatives on a regular basis.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing deep appreciation for John Vernon's extraordinary devotion to the democratic process and congratulating him for his service to the North Coast community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of Heidi Benzonelli-Burden, who was honored as Humboldt County Citizen of the Year on October 20, 2018, an award she richly deserves.

Heidi Benzonelli-Burden's contributions to the Eureka community are exemplary. As program director for the Westside Community Building Initiative and president of the Westside Community Improvement Association, Ms. Benzonelli-Burden has been a driving force for the improved health and livability of Eureka's Westside. Ms. Benzonelli- Burden worked with these groups and law enforcement, code enforcement, and neighbors to address 30 chronic nuisance properties and 10 alleyways in West Eureka, and alleviate graffiti, trash, drug houses, and other hazards to clean up blight.

Among the Westside Association's greatest achievements has been the rehabilitation of the Jefferson Community Center and Park, which transformed a boarded-up elementary school into a thriving social center. The center hosts square dances, movie nights, a safety fair and more. Ms. Benzonelli-Burden was even the cook at the community center for its first two years, helping feed and nurture neighborhood children. In 2017, she was awarded the Kiwanis of Henderson Center Non- Profit Businesswoman of the Year award.

Ms. Benzonelli-Burden attended Humboldt State University, earning a bachelor's degree in Environmental Resources Engineering and a master's degree in Business Administration with a focus on Strategic Sustainability. She is now a research analyst at Humboldt State's California Center for Rural Policy and putting her education to good use for the benefit of others.

Mr. Speaker, please join me in expressing deep appreciation for Heidi Benzonelli-Burden's commitment to bettering her community and congratulating her on her service to the North Coast.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the accomplishments of Ellie Cohen, who is stepping down as the President and CEO of Point Blue Conservation Science after 20 years oftransformative leadership. Recognized internationally for her work, Ellie Cohen has turned Point Blue from a regional bird observatory to a globally recognized powerhouse in climate-smart, multi-benefit conservation.

Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Ellie Cohen earned a bachelor's degree in Botany from Duke University with honors. After moving to California in 1979 to conduct field studies in butterfly ecology, Ellie went on to earn a Master in Public Policy degree from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. There she was honored with the first annual Robert F. Kennedy Public Service Award, voted on by her fellow students, as well as the coveted Policy Analysis Exercise Award.

In 1999, Ellie Cohen became President and CEO of Point Blue (founded as Point Reyes Bird Observatory). During Ellie's 20-year tenure, she managed significant growth of the organization, from 30 employees with an annual operating budget of $2.5 million, to 180 employees with an operating budget of $14 million. She also established a strong financial foundation including securing the organization's 20,000 square foot headquarters and the Rich Stallcup Conservation Science Intern Center, both in Petaluma.

Ellie Cohen was an early leader in promoting healthy ecosystems as essential to the climate change solution's tool box for both mitigation and adaptation. In 2017, she secured recognition of Point Blue as an official observer organization to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and oversaw Point Blue's contributions to the UNFCCC's considerations of how agriculture can be part of the climate solution.

During Ellie Cohen's impactful tenure, Point Blue's scientists helped secure the largest Marine Protected Area in the world at the Ross Sea Antarctica, helped protect 400,000 acres of post-fire Sierra forests for birds and other wildlife, and guided changes in shipping lanes of California's coast to protect whales from ship strikes.

Beyond improving Point Blue's financial, research and conservation capabilities and impact, Ellie Cohen worked tirelessly to expand the organization's partnerships which today include thousands of local, regional, national and international agencies, governments, private landowners and fishers, as well as NGO's, collaboratively bridging cultural divides through conservation science to advance a healthy future for wildlife and human communities.

Mr. Speaker, Ellie Cohen's leadership has transformed Point Blue Conservation Science, and in the process has helped governments, private land owners, and our communities better prepare for the challenges of climate change through nature-based solutions. Therefore, please join me in thanking Ellie Cohen for her two decades of leadership and service to the public.