Floor Statements

Madam Speaker, I am honored to use this time to recognize the 15th anniversary of the General Federation of Women's Clubs Dominion Woman's Club (DWC) in Virginia's 10th District. The DWC is a volunteer organization in Prince William and Fauquier Counties that is dedicated to improving our community by advocating for critical issues and providing volunteer services. Some of the DWC's work has involved supporting our schools and libraries, meeting the needs of the underserved, calling attention to the problems of child and domestic abuse, and working to promote conservation through volunteer service.

The DWC was founded in 2007 under the guidance of the General Federation of Women's Clubs of Virginia (GFWC-VA). The GFWC-VA, founded in 1890, focuses on promoting culture and education, increasing domestic abuse awareness, and establishing smaller, local clubs across Virginia. The DWC's first President was Nanette McKeel Petrella, and many current members credit the club's early success to her leadership and vision.

Today, the DWC supports a wide variety of organizations and groups across Prince William and Fauquier Counties, including Bull Run Mountain Conservancy, Leopold's Preserve, the Haymarket Regional Food Pantry, PACE West School, Suella Gilbert Ellis Elementary, Gravely Elementary, Friends of Homeless Animals and more. The members of the club come from a variety of backgrounds, including teachers, counselors, professional women, moms, and women involved in various communal volunteer organizations. While their levels of participation and interests may vary, each member shares the common goal of empowering one another through community service.

The club's current board, led by President Martha Feeney, has done an admirable job of guiding the club during the COVID-19 pandemic. She implemented creative methods to navigate remote outreach and ensured that the club's community impact remained resilient. Under their leadership in 2021, the club participated in 42 volunteer programs, contributed 4,734 volunteer hours, and donated over $20,000, including in-kind donations, to fund their community outreaches.

Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the GFWC Dominion Woman's Club for its steadfast commitment to serving our community for the past 15 years. I wish the women of this entire organization all the best in their future endeavors and commend their desire to ``be the change that you wish to see.''

Mr. Speaker, the job of a Federal air marshal is exhausting and isolating.

Data from the Air Marshal Association show that air marshals are at high risk for extreme fatigue due to the long hours they spend on planes and their irregular sleep schedules. Many marshals also report mental health issues and a reliance on medications and alcohol to fall asleep.

Tragically, several marshals have died by suicide in the last decade, including three officers in the last 3 years who were assigned to the Washington, D.C., field office and served out of National Airport.

We here in Congress know firsthand how important it is to ensure that law enforcement officers have access to mental and peer support, and I am very glad H.R. 903 includes provisions that

allow TSA to work with air marshals to address mental health and suicide rates.

My amendment simply ensures that work schedules, rest periods, equipment, and training are also a part of that conversation.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for my amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my colleague, Congresswoman Kim, to honor the winners and participants of 2021's Congressional App Challenge.

Since the competition's inception in 2013, this official initiative has given middle and high school students from across the country the ability to participate in a program designed to inspire them to pursue computer coding and careers in STEM.

Congresswoman Kim and I have had the privilege of shepherding this year's initiative, which yielded more than 2,100 fully functioning apps from over 7,000 students across the country.

Mr. Speaker, 340 of our fellow Members held challenges in districts spanning all 50 States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Washington, D.C.

As excited as we are about this year's participation in the challenge in terms of sheer numbers, the program would not be possible without the students who invest their time and efforts into their passion projects.

Congresswoman Kim and I are honored to co-chair this effort and offer our remarks here today as a testament to the dedication of these students who embody the future of American ingenuity.

To all the winners of this year's competition, we offer our sincere gratitude and congratulations on your work.

Madam Speaker, today I recognize the month of February as Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN) Awareness Month.

Multifocal Motor Neuropathy (MMN) is a rare disorder in which focal areas of multiple motor nerves are attacked by one's own immune system. Typically, MMN is slowly progressive, resulting in asymmetrical weakness of a patient's limbs. Patients frequently develop weakness in their hand(s), resulting in dropping of objects or sometimes inability to turn a key in a lock. The weakness associated with MMN can be recognized as fitting a specific nerve territory. There is essentially no numbness, tingling, or pain. Patients with MMN can have other symptoms, including twitching, or small random dimpling of the muscle under the skin which neurologists call fasciculations.

The clinical course of MMN is chronically progressive without remission. The prevalence of this very rare disease is estimated to be 0.6 cases in every 100,000 people, which makes it even rarer than GBS, a spontaneously self-limiting disorder in which 1-2/100,000 cases occur each year in North America and Europe.

It is now established that intravenous immunoglobin (IVIg), a preparation of antibodies obtained from healthy volunteers, can be readily given through an arm vein and provides benefit to patients with MMN. It is the only treatment for this disorder that is approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and regulatory agencies in Europe and Canada. IVIg can lead to improved motor function in most patients with MMN, with the response varying from minimal to very large. Early treatment shortly after symptom onset is always more effective. The treatment usually does not completely reverse all of the symptoms, and those patients who do respond will require repeated treatments to maintain their improvement.

Founded over 40 years ago, the GBS|CIDP Foundation International is the preeminent global nonprofit organization supporting individuals and their families affected by Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS), chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), and related syndromes such as multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) through a commitment to support, education, research, and advocacy.

On behalf of my constituent Brenda Perales, an MMN patient, member of the Board of Directors of the GBS|CIDP Foundation International, and Co-Chair efforts to raise awareness of MMC, I call on my colleagues to join me in recognizing the month of February as Multi focal Motor Neuropathy (MMN) Awareness Month.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize Mark A. Shaffer, Unit Chief of Human Rights Violators and War Crimes, Homeland Security Investigations. Mr. Shaffer retired from his post with the Department of Homeland Security on December 31, 2021, after 30 years of federal service.

The Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit (HRVWCU) is dedicated to identifying persons involved in the commission of atrocities throughout the world, preventing them from entering the United States and if located within the jurisdiction of the United States, work with HSI field offices to investigate, prosecute and remove them from the United States.

As the HRVWCU Chief, Mark oversees ICE's Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, an HSI-led multi-agency effort to ensure those individuals and organizations responsible for the commission of human rights violations and war crimes are held accountable.

Prior to joining the Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Unit, Mark served as the Chief of HSI's Worksite Enforcement Unit and as a Domestic Operations Chief at HSI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Prior to his service at HSI Headquarters, Mark served as the ICE Attache in Mexico City and as the ICE Deputy Attache in Bogota, Colombia.

As a field Special Agent and Supervisor, Mark conducted a wide variety of criminal investigations in the areas of terrorism, gangs, fraud, narcotics, financial and worksite investigations. Mark began his federal career as a staffer for a California U.S. Senator and then as an agent with the Immigration and Naturalization Service in 1993. Over the last 30 years, he has served the agency in various capacities.

Mark is a graduate of the University of California at Davis. He and his wife Kristen have two children, daughter Sofia, and son Jean- Claude.

I would ask my colleagues to join me in thanking Mark for his service to our country and wishing him all the best in life's next chapter.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Judith Ann McKiernan, wife, mother, public servant, and community leader. Mrs. McKiernan passed away on November 30th.

Judy is survived by her husband of twenty-nine years, Michael and their two children, Hannah, and Adam. Lovingly known to Judy as, Team McKiernan.

A native of Shreveport, Louisiana, Judy grew up in Houston, Texas and made her way to Winchester in the late 1980s. Judy dedicated her life in Winchester to community service, as a social worker, public school counselor and administrator for over thirty years, and as a Member of Winchester City Council. She was currently serving as Director of Student Support Services for the Winchester Public Schools.

Judy was known for her spirited personality and fierce determination to advocate for those she loved. She enjoyed dancing, being out in nature, and welcoming all who came through her door. She loved serving her community and found great joy in supporting the development of making it a more equitable place to thrive and grow. Judy supported the many organizations whose missions aligned with her values, including Bright Futures, Winchester Area Thermal Shelter (WATTS) NAACP, and many others.

Judy McKiernan leaves behind a lasting legacy of dedicated public service and will be missed by family, her many friends and the community she served.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in remembrance of Dr. Terry Sinclair of Winchester, one of the most respected physicians in Virginia's 10th Congressional District. Dr. Sinclair passed away on November 26th.

Dr. Sinclair is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Diane, two daughters, one son, and eight grandchildren. Diane tells us, ``he loved his family passionately, we laughed, we had fabulous experiences. We were blessed.'' In any setting, whether as a physician, administrator, musician, or community leader, he was known for his compassionate and caring nature.

As a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the University of Michigan Medical School, he then completed his surgical residency at the University of Missouri. He then went on to serve his country for two years with the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War.

Moving to Winchester in 1974, he first practiced vascular and general surgery. However, his service in the Navy during Vietnam provided him with a significant amount of experience in trauma-related surgery, and he began to develop an expertise in the field. During that same time period, he joined the staff at Winchester Medical Center and eventually became vice president of medical affairs for the hospital's corporate parent, Valley Health. By 1976, he was at the forefront of bringing Emergency Medical Services to the area, serving as President of the Lord Fairfax EMS Council for twenty years, and as a member of the governor's EMS Advisory Board and Virginia Federation of EMS Councils.

Since the 1970s saw the creation and development of some of the original free health clinics, it meant that those who were unemployed, uninsured, or couldn't afford medical help could receive treatment. On October 23rd, 1986, Dr. Sinclair spearheaded the opening of the Free Medical Clinic, now known as the Sinclair Health Clinic. Today, the Sinclair Health Clinic is the second-oldest free medical clinic in Virginia.

The current director of the clinic notes that, ``His legacy is woven into the memories of everyone he's touched in the clinic--all of the people who work here, the volunteers that make things happen and the thousands of patients who have passed through our doors.''

As his loving wife Diane said to him gently in his final moments, ``it was OK to go. Well done now, good, and faithful servant. You can rest.''

Dr. Sinclair will be missed by the many lives he touched.

Madam Speaker, I rise today with great pleasure to extend my best wishes and congratulations to my constituent, Ms. Katherine Burch, on her 100th birthday.

Ms. Burch was born on November 28, 1921 in Baltimore, Maryland, where she lived until her marriage to John Thomas Burch when the couple moved to Virginia. John and Katherine Burch were married for 60 years and have two sons, Thomas and William. Ms. Burch currently resides in Morningside House of Leesburg.

Ms. Burch has lived through remarkable times in our country, progress and change unimaginable at the time of her birth. Our community is blessed by her experience, accomplishments, and the family she has built.

I would ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the grace and wisdom that comes with such longevity and wish Ms. Burch many more happy years of celebration.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Meeks, Speaker Pelosi, and Chairman McGovern for bringing this important legislation to the floor and shining a light on the atrocities taking place in Xinjiang.

I represent the largest Uyghur diaspora in the U.S. and this legislation is critically important to the Uyghur community.

I am proud to be an original cosponsor of this legislation that will prohibit the importation of goods from Xinjiang unless it can be proven by clear and convincing evidence that they were not made with forced labor.

Despite international condemnation, the Chinese Government's brutal campaign of repressive surveillance, mass detention, forced labor, and even genocide, is rapidly expanding, and we must take steps to ensure that U.S. companies and consumers are not complicit in the abuses.

This legislation will hold the PRC accountable for these heinous acts and will make it clear that the U.S. will not turn a blind eye to the plight of the Uyghurs. I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Meeks for bringing this bill to the floor and to Speaker Pelosi for her steadfast commitment to holding the PRC accountable for its human rights abuses. Thank you also to my colead on the resolution, the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Waltz). It has been a pleasure to work with him in such a bipartisan way.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my resolution calling on the People's Republic of China to immediately guarantee the safety and freedom of Peng Shuai and condemning the International Olympic Committee for its shameful handling of the situation and failure to uphold its own human rights standards.

Over 1 month has passed since tennis superstar and three-time Olympian Peng Shuai was censored and disappeared after alleging her rape by a senior member of China's Communist Party.

Within minutes of posting the allegations on Chinese social media site Weibo, the post disappeared, and shortly thereafter all mentions of Peng on social media did, too.

Since then, Peng has not been seen or heard from in public and has only been seen in videos released by the Chinese state media, raising serious questions about her safety and freedom and leaving the world to ask: Where is Peng Shuai?

Her case has drawn support from all over the world, including from tennis stars Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, and Novak Djokovic. The hashtag ``Where is Peng Shuai'' has trended globally on Twitter.

Women's Tennis Association CEO Steve Simon called for a full and transparent investigation into Peng's allegations and eventually suspended all WTA tournaments in China, citing concerns about the risks players could face at the hands of the PRC.

The WTA's actions and Peng's bravery in coming forward stand in stark contrast to the IOC, which is undermining efforts to secure Peng's safety by working hand-in-hand with Beijing to cover up her allegations and disappearance.

Instead of prioritizing the safety of an Olympian who may be in danger, the IOC is once again putting its bottom line over athletes' safety and allowing itself to be used as a tool by the world's worst human rights abuser.

In a matter of weeks, our athletes will be in Beijing for the opening ceremonies of the 2022 Winter Games, and the IOC's complicity in this coverup raises serious questions about the organization's ability or even their willingness to protect our athletes.

Today, we are calling on the PRC to provide independent and verifiable proof of Peng's whereabouts and that she is safe and to allow Peng to communicate directly with the WTA and the United Nations.

The IOC must call on the PRC to undertake these actions immediately, stop legitimizing Beijing's coverup, and uphold its own human rights commitments to protect the safety and speech of Olympic athletes. The world is watching.

Madam Speaker, I rise today in strong support of the Build Back Better Act to deliver on the promises we have made to the American people.

This bill is about families and fairness. Even before the pandemic, parents in Virginia and across the country have been weighed down by the cost of raising their kids, caring for their elderly parents, and providing for their families. The Build Back Better Act will lighten that burden.

The investments we are making with this bill, universal pre-K, affordable childcare, and lower prices for healthcare and prescription drugs, will bring everyday costs for families down and set all of our children up for a bright future.

It will take long-overdue action to tackle the climate crisis by making the historic investments that we need to create a clean energy future for our kids, while creating millions of good-paying American manufacturing jobs in the process.

We have the opportunity to enact once-in-a-generation change that will improve the lives of our families and keep our economy on a path to a strong and full recovery.

Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support a swift passage of the Build Back Better Act.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life and legacy of a young constituent, Gabriella Miller, who passed away on this day 8 years ago due to an inoperable brain tumor.

Gabriella was a fierce fighter not just in her own battle with cancer, but as an advocate on behalf of the millions of other children who have suffered from this disease. In the months following her terminal diagnosis at age 9, Gabriella became a national force for change, urging Congress to grant increased funding and to develop better treatments and cures for childhood cancer.

Her passionate plea for lawmakers to ``stop talking, start doing'' helped deliver a successful push to pass the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, bipartisan legislation named in her honor. Gabriella's family joined sponsor Representative Eric Cantor from Virginia and President Barack Obama in the Oval Office in 2014 for the bill signing.

The Kids First program established a 10-year Pediatric Research Initiative Fund and led to the creation of the National Institutes of Health Kids First Pediatric and Data Resource Center. It has allocated millions of dollars to research grants looking into pediatric cancer and rare diseases, supporting over 60 research projects.

I am honored to carry on Gabriella's mission by sponsoring the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0, which would deliver a new sustained and expanded funding source for this lifesaving program.

It has been 8 years since we lost Gabriella, and there is still a long fight ahead to better understand, treat, and ultimately cure childhood cancer. The 2.0 bill would give a dramatic boost to that fight and help demonstrate that Congress is serious about ensuring that no other family has to go through what the Miller family has.

Madam Speaker, I share Gabriella's story today so that her legacy continues to live on. May Congress have the courage to answer Gabriella's call to ``stop talking, start doing'' and deliver the resources needed to treat and cure childhood cancer.

Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate Ms. Tina Ballard on her retirement and thank her for 30 years of dedicated federal service. Most recently, she served as the Executive Director of the Commission, an independent federal agency responsible for directing and managing the AbilityOne  Program through which federal activities purchase products and services from nonprofit agencies associated with National Industries for the Blind (NIB) and SourceAmerica . AbilityOne Program procurements provide high quality products and services needed for the operation of the Federal Government while providing employment and training opportunities for tens of thousands of people who are blind or have other significant disabilities.

She served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army (Policy and Procurement) as the Army's principal acquisition and procurement policy authority for all Army acquisition programs, responsible for the management and execution of the Army's contracting function worldwide

As Functional Chiefs Representative for the Army Contracting and Acquisition Career Program, Ms. Ballard was responsible for the recruitment, training, education, and professional development of the contracting professionals who are part of the Army's acquisition workforce and industrial base policy.

As Director of Combat Support Operations and the Deputy Executive Director of Contract Management Operations in the Defense Contract Management Agency, she managed agency policy in multiple theatres of military operations.

Ballard joined the Federal service as a Stay-in-School and continued her service as a college Cooperative (Co-op) Education student. Upon graduation, she began as Contract Specialist and Procuring Contracting Officer with the Aeronautical Systems Division, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base She later transferred to Air Force Plant Representative Office, Boeing Military Airplanes, Wichita, Kansas where she was the Principal Administrative Contracting Officer and the Director of Contract Operations.

In 1994, Tina Ballard became the Director of Pacific/Caribbean Contract Operations in DCMA International, where she served as a liaison to the Air force Materiel Command for four years with responsibility for more than 200 personnel located in six countries. In January 1999, she accepted an assignment in the Office of the Secretary of Defense where she led several projects for the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

Ballard received her B.A. in English (1980), a M.S. in Management (1989), and a M.S. in National Resource Strategy (2001). She has completed the Industrial College of the Armed Forces Senior Acquisition Course and Leadership for a Democratic Society at the Federal Executive Institute. Ballard has received the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Excellence, two DLA Meritorious Civilian Service Awards, and Department of the Army Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service (2008), Department of the Army Outstanding Civilian Service Medal (2003) and named the Federal Executive Association Unsung Heroine.

Madam Speaker, I ask that you and our colleagues join me in recognizing the outstanding contributions Ms. Tina Ballard has made over the course of her career to the military, the commonwealth, and the country. On behalf of a grateful Nation, we wish her continued success in her future endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my legislation, H.R. 1444, to rename the Winchester, Virginia, post office in honor of country music legend and proud daughter of Virginia, Patsy Cline.

In January 1957, Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts introduced their live television audience to Patsy Cline, from Winchester, Virginia, and launched her to stardom after her winning performance of ``Walkin' After Midnight.''

Virginia Patterson Hensley was born in Winchester in my home district in 1932. She spent her childhood years there growing up in the beautiful northern Shenandoah Valley. It was also where she discovered her dream of becoming a singer.

The only thing that matched Patsy Cline's talent was her determination. From the local Winchester radio station to the Grand Ole Opry, she sought out opportunities to showcase her abilities in bold ways--writing letters, approaching other singers backstage, and even showing up at a studio waiting room to request an audition.

That talent and determination took Patsy Cline to places no woman country music singer had gone before. Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 1960 and the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973.

CMT has ranked Patsy Cline as the number one greatest woman in country music history. She continues to inspire generations of future artists.

Her tragic and untimely death in 1963 took Patsy Cline away from us too soon. But her trailblazing legacy and her music live on.

Mr. Speaker, it is important to me that among the many great and well-deserved honors this American icon has received, she should be forever remembered in her hometown of Winchester, Virginia.

I am proud to sponsor this legislation to rename the post office along Winchester's pedestrian walking mall after Patsy Cline.

Her legacy is still very much felt in her hometown. The Patsy Cline Historic House, where she lived from 1948 to 1953, is in the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register and remains a popular tourist attraction in the Winchester area. Patsy Cline's final resting place is just a few miles south of the house, in Shenandoah Memorial Park, where a bell tower was built in her memory in the 1980s.

Renaming this post office will serve as further acknowledgement of Patsy Cline's legacy in the Winchester community and of Winchester's influence on Patsy Cline.

The support this bill has received from across our great Commonwealth shows the enduring legacy of Patsy Cline and the popularity she still holds. Nearly 60 years after her death, people still ``fall to pieces'' over her music, and this bill proves that we are still ``crazy'' about her.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a leader in our business and transportation community, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer Jerome L. Davis, on his upcoming retirement. As the Airports Authority's highest-ranking executive under the president and CEO, Davis has overseen the Office of Revenue, which includes Marketing and Consumer Strategy, Concessions, Airline Business Development, Real Estate, Commercial Parking, Communications and Government Affairs. Davis' retirement caps off a career that has spanned more than four decades as a key executive in major U.S. corporations.

Under Davis' leadership, overall passenger traffic at Reagan National and Dulles International airports increased by more than nine percent, led by growth at Dulles International through the addition of 30 new international routes and 15 new airlines. Davis' efforts to increase non-airline revenue boosted it to an unprecedented 57 percent of total revenue, a $90 million increase since 2015. In addition, he led a 2015 rebranding of the corporation, including the creation of a new logo to more closely tie the organization to the air travel industry and the National Capital Region.

Davis also led an expansion and upgrade of the airports' concessions program, recruiting many popular global and local brands to provide a greater ``sense of place'' for the National Capital Region. His accomplishments in this area included the complete redevelopment of over 180 concessions locations, including shops and restaurants in Reagan National's newly constructed concourse; launching new valet parking services; and executing agreements for new passenger lounges, including the American Express Centurion Lounge coming to Reagan National in 2022.

Prior to joining the Airports Authority, Davis held key executive positions in corporations including Procter & Gamble, Maytag, Waste Management, Electronic Data Systems and Frito-Lay. He also recently retired from the boards of two public companies, Apogee Enterprises and GameStop Corp. Davis also has represented the Airports Authority on the board of directors of Destination DC, the District of Columbia's official convention and visitors' bureau.

Madam Speaker, I am proud to honor Mr. Davis and his service to our regional economy, the traveling public, and the gateways for our nation's capital, and I wish him all the best in retirement.