Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to speak about a great Nebraskan and a great American. His name is Dwight L. Clements. He died last week at 102 years old.

Dwight Clements was born in Elmwood, Nebraska, and he went on to study at the University of Nebraska and got a degree in business.

But this is the interesting part, Mr. Speaker: His education was disrupted by World War II, where he served as an Army combat engineer in France until the war ended in 1945.

After the war, Dwight earned his law degree at the University of Nebraska and then returned to small-town Elmwood to work at the family- owned American Exchange Bank and to join the law firm with his father, Clements Law Firm. He continued in banking and law until he retired in 1985.

But this is the point, Mr. Speaker: Dwight Clements was a humble, dutiful, small-town Nebraskan. But as a member of the Greatest Generation, he served something far larger than himself. Through his sense of duty, selflessness, sacrifice, and patriotism, he represented the kind of person that not only holds Nebraska together but holds America together.

May he rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, on Thursday, December 9, 2021, I missed roll call votes No. 439 and 440 due to the effects of the ongoing public health emergency. Had I been present, I would have voted ``aye'' on 439 and ``nay'' on 440.

Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend, Brett Guthrie, for his kind and generous words. It is very meaningful.

Mr. Speaker, one of the first books that I recall reading as a child was about the life of the famous New York Yankees first baseman named Lou Gehrig. He was nicknamed The Iron Horse due to his athletic ability and endurance. He could hit. He could run. He could field. He was an amazing athlete. And then, everything just changed. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis stole that man's abilities, causing him to lose control of basic functions.

This merciless, cruel, and aggressive neurodegenerative condition mocked Lou Gehrig's famous durability. The disease became known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and today we call it ALS.

Mr. Speaker, there was no cure then, and there is no cure now.

Before he died in 1941, at a ceremony at home plate in Yankee Stadium, Lou Gehrig had this to say. He said: ``For the past 2 weeks, you have been reading about a bad break. Yet today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.''

That story, Mr. Speaker, Lou Gehrig's story, stayed with me as a child. I don't know why, but it did, and I remember it so well.

Now, fast-forward decades later. While serving here as a Member of Congress, this same cruel disease has swept upon my own family.

I want to do this, Mr. Speaker, if you will indulge me. Pictured here is my wife, Celeste, with her little brother and godson, Joe Gregory. In his mid-thirties, Joe began to notice that his hand was shaking. He started a battery of tests, but somehow, he just knew it was probably going to be the worst of the worst. He was diagnosed with ALS, but he faced his plight with both dignity and courage. He volunteered to be a part of an experimental trial. He said: Well, if it doesn't work for me, maybe it will help someone else.

He died when he was 37 years old, and he left behind Melanie, his wife, and four little children. On his tombstone are the words from the prophet Isaiah: ``Here I am; send me.''

Mr. Speaker, as Joe began to die, we as a family quickly learned about this profound trauma that affects so many families all across America. It happens over and over out of view. Most of us never see it.

I soon became acquainted with this amazingly strong and determined ALS community. It was so uplifting to me to meet people filled with so much hope. You have heard that word over and over today, Mr. Speaker, and it is appropriate. So many people filled with so much hope amidst their own suffering but who rightfully sought a different approach and a better way.

Out of this experience was born the ACT for ALS.

Mr. Speaker, for over 50 years now and over 50 clinical trials, ALS patients have submitted themselves to tests, trials, therapies, and placebos in accordance with the rules of the current healthcare policy framework. But progress has been uneven, even debatable, with serious impediments to promising new treatments. Many have sacrificed their lives to science as they weakened and died.

But today, here we are, Mr. Speaker, with over 330 cosponsors from both sides of the aisle, and we are standing for a new way.

ACT for ALS represents a monumental shift in the way in which we approach ALS and other neurodegenerative diseases. At the core of this bill, it does two things. It transforms the paradigm of disease research and regulation, and it creates a new pathway for promising treatments. It drives the hope. With this groundbreaking law, we can break through faster for those who have suffered so much.

I want to publicly say thank you to Representative Quigley for his tireless leadership in driving this hope, and my very close friends, Representatives Anna Eshoo and Cathy McMorris Rodgers, for their leadership in shepherding this bill as well. It is truly bipartisan. It was not easy, but here we are on the precipice of doing something good for so many people.

Mr. Speaker, I may be just a little bit like Lou Gehrig. I, too, am a lucky man, and for this reason: I have met so many beautiful people who have shared their sufferings, their vulnerability, and their gratitude toward this effort today. People of good heart, courageous, and who are fighters have created a family of solidarity to help us creatively rethink how to attack this disease through sound science, through technology, and through improved public policy.

Mr. Speaker, one last note: There are so many heroes who deserve special recognition, but you have heard one singled out today, and I want to single him out as well. This fight's Iron Horse is my friend and founder of the organization I AM ALS, Brian Wallach. As Brian said in congressional testimony in July with his wife, Sandra, there: ``This is our argument for our lives.''

Yes, it is, Brian.

So, Mr. Speaker, I should say publicly: Thank you, Brian; thank you, Joe; and thank you to the ALS community. We could not be here without you today.

Madam Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Florida for yielding. And I also thank Congresswoman Cammack for her powerful, personal testimony. I am glad you are here today. Thank you so much for your leadership.

Madam Speaker, beneath you, right underneath this dais right here, are five very powerful words. And we are so busy in this Chamber debating numerous things we don't even look at them. But there they are, right there.

It says: Union, justice, tolerance, liberty, and peace. And we all say we want unity. We all want justice. We say we want tolerance and, of course, we value liberty. And all of these beautiful virtues point to the possibility of peace. But here is the problem: We leave out one group of persons, expectant mothers and their pre-born children. And the question before us today is why? Why?

That was the question that was debated today right across the street here at the Supreme Court. Why?

We don't have to live like this. What we can do is live in authentic community with one another, where every person matters, including the expectant mother and her pre-born child. That is called a community of care, where a tolerant, just, and inclusive society commits to this journey of life before birth, at birth, and after birth.

Madam Speaker, lifelong Nebraskan, CEO of Kiewit Construction, cofounder of Level 3 Communications, board member of Berkshire Hathaway Energy, the late Walter Scott, Jr., 90, was one of America's leading builders and entrepreneurs. He will be best remembered, however, for his generous and wise philanthropy. Raised during the Great Depression, grandson of an immigrant carpenter from Dundee, Scotland, Walter learned early on the importance of education and of institutions that make it possible for a person to be educated. His philosophy was to enable others to achieve their own personal success.

As friend Warren Buffett said, ``Walter's philanthropy is legendary, even though he doesn't publicize it.'' He left an indelible mark on Omaha and Nebraska: a new veterans' care center, best-in-class exhibits at Omaha's Henry Doorly Zoo, and the Scott Campus at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. His contributions to Colorado State University and the University of Nebraska ensure that future generations of students at those institutions will go on to make their own marks as well.

Walter's vision and passion extended to service on the international stage. He was past Chair of the Open World Leadership Center--now the Congressional Office for International Leadership (COIL)--and a member of the Library of Congress Madison Circle. In both capacities, he was close friend to long-serving Librarian of Congress Dr. James H. Billington. Following Billington's passing in 2018, Walter provided long-term funding for the Billington Initiative at the Wilson Center's Kennan Institute to continue Billington's legacy of scholarship on Russian history and culture.

Walter Scott had this advice to young people: ``The greatest thing you can do in life is to be a giver because the world already has plenty of takers.'' May he rest in peace.

Madam Speaker, the Women's Health Protection Act has a powerfully good name, but the name masks its intention.

This bill would make America the most pro-abortion Nation on Earth. It in no way advances the principles of inclusion and equity routinely championed on this floor. It does just the opposite: it hurts the most vulnerable in our society, expectant mothers and their preborn children.

So, my colleagues, my friends, I urge us, let's please turn from the contradictions here and maybe, just maybe, open our hearts to another way. When there is news of an unexpected pregnancy and that vulnerable moment of uncertainty, suppose that we as a community of care committed to the journey of life to help a mother and her child, before birth, at birth, and after birth. That is called commitment. That is called compassion. That is called love. That is called care for her.

Madam Speaker, had I been present, I would have voted ``nay'' on rollcall No. 241.

Madam Speaker, first, let me acknowledge the leadership of our committee, the chair, Rosa DeLauro, and our Ranking Member Kay Granger particularly, in this sense, for their attempt to navigate this contentious process in which there really are areas of mutuality but are, unfortunately, marked also by irreconcilable differences.

With that said, the agriculture component of this bill does reflect the cooperative spirit of both the American agricultural community as well as this subcommittee.

Agriculture has the unique ability to unite across political, social, and economic divides, and I am particularly grateful to Chairman Bishop and his staff for producing a reasonable base bill here that we all hope can be refined as it moves through the process.

Madam Speaker, production agriculture is a mainstay of America's economy. The vastness of our land, our ingenuity, and our technological prowess allow our Nation to provide the most abundant, low-cost, nutritious, and diverse array of foods found anywhere. Our trade imbalance would be so much greater were it not for this remarkable success.

We are also empowered to meet our country's charitable impulse by moving approximately $2 billion in aid to persons overseas facing food insecurity. Investments in this bill build upon this amazing productivity.

Here are some important highlights. There is:

Support for what I call the Farm of the Future to enhance efficiency, regenerative capacity, and new forms of small-scale niche agriculture that marry high-tech with high-touch and, again, connect the farm to the family;

Support for the Farm to School program, bringing healthy, nutritious food choices to children;

Strengthened partnerships between minority-serving institutions within our land-grant system;

Increased support for rural broadband and what I call the ecosystem of livability;

More resources for unannounced drug plant inspections in China and India as well as a commitment to environmental security through investments in better cover crop practices and control of fertilizer runoff.

Now, here are the needed fixes. Ranking Member Granger has been right and clear in her remarks that the proposed nondefense increases across these bills are way too high, 10 percent in this bill alone.

The bill also contains an unauthorized nutrition program that grants unlimited funding in the final quarter.

That is for the authorizing committee to take up.

The bill also has a provision that makes unnecessary changes to a meat and poultry processing program that Secretary Vilsack originally proposed in the Obama administration.

I believe that we can fix these matters and, hopefully, move toward an agreement as this bill moves through the process.

Madam Speaker, there is another issue that I am compelled to speak about regarding spending here. It is called the Hyde amendment.

The Hyde amendment prevents taxpayer money for abortion, and this has remained a bipartisan compact in this institution for decades. Before now, little in Washington has been this stable or stabilizing, with the American people in clear agreement. Nearly 60 percent of Americans agree that taxpayer money should not be used for abortion. Now it is gone.

When you look at the statistic regarding exporting abortion overseas, which we will potentially do if all of this passes, the percent of American people disagreeing with that jumps to 80 percent.

That is right, we are about to export our most divisive cultural issue, our pain, our woundedness, on to the poor of the world. Pope Francis has called this ideological colonization. It is unfair, it is wrong, and it smacks of arrogance and elitism.

Madam Speaker, we really are living in an age of contradiction. We say we want inclusivity, we say we want tolerance, we say we want to be an authentic community and protect the dignity and rights of all persons except one group of people, the expectant mother and her unborn child. Today we will break a near 50-year-old agreement to not use taxpayer dollars to fund abortion here or overseas. I am heartbroken.

Mr. Speaker, a while back, I visited a small business called Craft Axe Throwing and Beer. What an interesting combination of activities, I thought. I had driven by it a number of times, but I stopped in one day. Seeing this team make a living, enjoying themselves, I thought to myself, that is what it is all about.

Mr. Speaker, the main driver of new jobs in America is small business. The good news is that unemployment has been on a steady downward trend. But now, the hard news: the April jobs report. It was bad. At the same time, small business owners report that they can't fill the job openings that they have. Why? Earlier necessary government assistance during the pandemic is now interfering with the successful transition back to meaningful work.

A little good news: Wages are going up. Let's let America run.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Virginia for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, you might notice a little smile on my face. Honestly, as I was walking over here to speak on the bill, I was reflecting on my own life as a father.

I have five children. When two of my children were little, my wife was away from the house, and I was to meet her somewhere. One needed their diaper changed, and then I had to feed the other. By the time I did that, the other diaper had to be changed. My wife called me, and she said: ``You can't get out of the house, can you?''

Mr. Speaker, pregnancy and motherhood, of course, bring joy and unique challenges and call from all of us a higher sense of duty.

My wife carried my children in their earliest formation, and I carried that burden and opportunity to give them life in other ways. But if we can see pregnancy as a part of community, a journey of life for our good, the good of all, and the good of our Nation, then we accept that it requires reasonable accommodation at work when someone is pregnant, when they are giving life to their child, or if they have necessarily hard conditions. It is only the right thing to do, especially for those who are suffering.

Now, as I have been listening to this debate, a concern has been raised about civil rights and religious organizations, considerations I am surprised that haven't been worked out before now. But let's keep working on that and pass this important bill.

Madam Speaker, I wish to congratulate Pastor Mike Moreno and the entire congregation of Christ Lutheran Church in Norfolk, Nebraska, on their 150th anniversary.

With a shared mission to share God's word, share God's love, and as they say, ``Do it now,'' the community of Christ Lutheran Church is a family. As one member of the congregation said, ``When one is hurting, all are hurting. When one is joyful, we celebrate together.'' How beautiful.

The church also oversees Christ Lutheran School, educating 225 students in grades K-8, in an environment that develops a child spiritually, emotionally, physically, socially to know the personal story and potentiality of each student.

Though we have many hardships and challenges in the world today, Madam Speaker, I am quite certain that Christ Lutheran Church and their community will remain a place of solace and hope for those seeking to hear good news.

Madam Speaker, first of all, let me thank my friends and colleagues, Mr. Soto from Florida and Mr. Westerman from Arkansas, for shepherding this important measure.

Madam Speaker, right outside this door, in Statuary Hall, there is a very large statue with the person's hand extended like that, as if to say welcome, welcome all of America to this institution. That statue is of Chief Standing Bear. And today, I am so proud that we are considering a bill to honor his courage and sacrifice.

As we have heard, here is a bit of his story. Chief Standing Bear and his Ponca people were relocated from their ancestral homeland in Niobrara, Nebraska, to what was called Indian Territory in Oklahoma. As we learned, Chief Standing Bear's son fell ill, and he made his son a promise that he would bury him back in his ancestral homeland. When that happened, Standing Bear took that harrowing journey one cold winter back home, and for that, he was arrested for leaving the reservation.

During his trial, Chief Standing Bear raised his hand and said: ``I am a man. The same God made us both.'' The judge was so moved by his testimony that he declared that Native Americans were to be considered persons for consideration under the law. That wasn't until 1879.

Madam Speaker, Chief Standing Bear didn't seek to be a civil rights leader, but he changed the course of history in that moment, all for the sake of human dignity and human rights. I am proud to offer this bill today in his honor and for the good of all America.

Madam Speaker, a long time ago, I made the decision to stand by the people who grow our food, protect our country, and make our stuff. Now, for a moment, if we could put aside the ever-expanding definition of infrastructure, I think we could agree on a basic principle: if we are going to ask American taxpayers to fund new American infrastructure, then we need to use American companies, American steel, and American labor.

It is especially important that American-made steel not be outsourced for fabrication to nations with lax environmental standards and lax labor

standards. As this pandemic has so forcefully and painfully shown us, an overreliance on a foreign supply chain makes us vulnerable.

Madam Speaker, how about this: a ``Made in America'' label on all products used in American public works across the country. On that, perhaps, we can agree.

Madam Speaker, my district in Nebraska is home to many Native American Tribes, including the Winnebago in the northeast corner of the State. And it is nestled, Madam Speaker, along the Missouri River Bottoms at the beginning of the great plains in a beautiful setting of rolling hills. This Tribal land has been an integral part of Nebraska's history and culture.

But several decades ago, land belonging to the Winnebago was appropriated by the Army Corps of Engineers for development. In 1976, a Federal court found that the United States and the Corps lacked the authority to take this land through eminent domain.

It is time to make this right. So the Winnebago Land Transfer Act is an important bill to return to the Winnebago this piece of land.

Hunters will be able to continue to enjoy this prime spot along the Missouri River through the Winnebago Tribe, Wildlife, and Parks program.

I am appreciative of the bipartisan effort here of our colleagues, Darren Soto of Florida, Sharice Davids of Kansas, as well as Randy Feenstra of Iowa, to once again make this right.

Mr. Speaker, Nebraska is famous for its high-quality beef; and what wine is to France, beef is to Nebraska.

Mr. Speaker, a few weeks ago, a number of us took note when Microsoft founder Bill Gates proposed that the wealthiest nations move to a hundred percent synthetic beef--synthetic beef--to fight climate change.

Now, Mr. Speaker, I have been in meetings with Bill Gates, and I respect his intellect and his desire for social responsibility by the world's wealthiest, and I have no beef with Bill for his desire to see us transition to a much more sustainable economy, and I agree. But making supper from a lab? That is not a solution. That is a chemistry experiment.

Mr. Speaker, America makes food, real food, and we shouldn't disrupt a nutritional food source and management of our animal resources that would have minimal effect on greenhouse gases.

I have an idea. I would like to invite Mr. Gates to the West Point Livestock Auction, and he can present his proposal for lab-based meat to the farmers and ranchers there. We would have a healthy debate.