Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Trine University's men's basketball team for winning the 2024 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Trine clinched their 69-61 victory over the top ranked Hampden-Sydney College in Fort Wayne, Indiana at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in front of a record crowd. 4,546 spectators witnessed the Thunder become national champions in their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance.

This season, Trine has reminded Hoosiers why we love the game of basketball. They have exhibited all the traits that make the game so compelling. Not only have they excited and entertained their audiences in Northeast Indiana and beyond, but their dedication, hard work, and will to win have inspired them.

I commend each player and coach for reaching the pinnacle of success in their division. I know they will continue to grow and achieve, both on and off the court, with the great support of their community behind them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Voices of Unity Youth Choir as they head to Auckland, New Zealand to compete in the 2024 World Choir Games.

This honor is well deserved, considering the setbacks the choir has faced over the last few years. Perhaps the most significant of these recent challenges was the departure of over 40 of their student participants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This did not hinder Voices of Unity; they rallied by launching the ``Rising With Purpose Rebuilding Initiative,'' which engaged a new wave of talented Northeast Indiana youth.

It was with this soulful new chorale group that Voices of Unity achieved this tremendous success. Unity will be representing Fort Wayne across the world in the Gospel Music Category of the ``Olympics'' of the chorale world. This experience will be transformational for the young people involved, and an ideal opportunity for them to represent their community, culture, and Nation to an international audience.

I am proud that our community will be represented by this choir with beautiful song, and I congratulate the singers, staff, and board of Voices of Unity Youth Choir on their great achievement.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Kenny and Tracey Barr for their fifteen years of service to Northeast Indiana's homeless veterans at Shepherd's House.

Shepherd's House is a not-for-profit facility in Fort Wayne, Indiana founded in 1998 to house homeless veterans who struggle with substance abuse and mental health issues. It has been described as a ``lighthouse'' and a ``beacon of hope in a sea of isolation'' by the veterans who have benefitted from their work.

The Barrs serve on staff currently as Directors of Veteran Outreach and Intake Specialists. For twelve of their fifteen years there,

they lived in a small apartment at the Shepherd's House with the veterans they served. This ``ministry,'' as they have referred to it, has not made them wealthy, yet they have pledged to continue supporting our homeless veterans for years to come.

In Tracey Barr's own words, ``The men and women have sacrificed so much for our country; we want to do whatever we can.'' In tending to those who fought for American freedom, they, too, are serving our country. It is this selflessness and devotion to duty that have made Kenny and Tracey pillars of their community and earned them the respect of all who know them.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Garrett, Indiana's FFA Chapter as they celebrate 90 years of community service, leadership, and agricultural education.

Agriculture is at the very heart of Indiana. Indiana has some of the best farmers in the nation, and America has the best farmers in the world. Perhaps no organization has had more to do with this than the FFA, which teaches the longstanding values of American farming to each subsequent generation. Farmers don't just cultivate the land and grow America's food; they serve in other ways too.

The Garrett Chapter of the FFA is an excellent example of this service on display. The students spend many of their days in Northeast Indiana giving back, showing up to community events, and advocating for farmers at every level of government.

The Garrett FFA Chapter has experienced nine decades of often tumultuous history. Since its founding in the 1930s, its members have persevered and fed America through droughts, wars, and other perilous conditions. As such, the students who currently constitute this chapter are the recipients of an impressive heritage of Northeast Indiana farmers. They and their children can be proud to carry on this legacy for the next 90 years or more.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Fort Wayne Police Officer David Tinsley, who five years ago died in the line of duty, and to commemorate the designation of the Officer David Tinsley Memorial Parkway in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Officer Tinsley was known to his colleagues as a committed, professional police officer devoted to the force and to his craft. Across his sixteen years in the Fort Wayne Police Department, he led by example, developing a reputation as a faithful servant to his community, his fellow officers, and his family and loved ones.

The Officer David Tinsley Memorial Parkway will honor its namesake, encompassing a stretch of Fort Wayne's roadway that Officer Tinsley would frequently patrol. It also passes by his home church of Emmanuel Lutheran and serves as a gateway for visitors entering downtown Fort Wayne from the west. I cannot imagine a more fitting tribute.

Each time they travel along the parkway, residents of northeast Indiana will celebrate Officer Tinsley's service and recognize what an indispensable role he played in his community. We will never forget his memory, and the Officer David Tinsley Memorial Parkway will stand as an enduring testament to his valor and service.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the life and legacy of a legendary Hoosier, Coach Bob Knight, I would like to include

in the Record the obituary provided by Indiana University Athletics:

Coach Bob Knight Passes Away at 83

Indiana University Athletics

Bloomington, Ind.--Bob Knight, one of the most successful

and influential figures in the history of college basketball,

passed away on Nov. 1, 2023 surrounded by family and friends.

He was 83 years old.

Knight's coaching accomplishments are legendary. He went

902-371 during a 42-year head coaching career that included

stops at Army (1966-71), Indiana (1972-2000), and Texas Tech

(2002-08). Those 902 wins ranked No. 1 all-time when he

retired in 2008, and currently ranks sixth. He was a four-

time National Coach of the Year, a five-time Big Ten Coach of

the Year, and was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall

of Fame (1991), the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2006),

and the IU Athletics Hall of Fame (2009).

While he enjoyed tremendous success at each of his three

head coaching stops, he became a larger-than-life figure in

the sport thanks to his accomplishments in Bloomington. Hired

by IU at the age of 30 in 1971, he led the program to three

NCAA titles (1976, 1981, 1987), five Final Fours (1973, 1976,

1981, 1987, 1992), and 11 Big Ten Regular Season

Championships (1973-76, 1980-81, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991,

1993) in his 29 years as head coach. Knight's 1976 team,

which went 32-0 on its way to the NCAA title, remains the

most recent to go undefeated on its way to an NCAA title. His

1975 and 1976 teams, meanwhile, each went undefeated (18-0)

in Big Ten play, and no Big Ten team has gone undefeated in a

single season in league play since. Indiana's 37 consecutive

Big Ten wins during that period also established a new

conference standard that has never been seriously threatened.

Knight's dominance at IU stretched through all three

decades that he coached in Bloomington. The 1970s included

four Big Ten titles, two Final Fours, and one of the greatest

teams in college basketball history with the undefeated 1976

national champions. As great as the 1970s were, the 1980s

were even better. College basketball's most successful team

during the decade, Knight's teams captured two NCAA titles

and five Big Ten championships. In the 1990s, the Hoosiers

won two more league crowns, advanced to another Final Four,

earned 10 NCAA tourney bids, and four straight Sweet 16

trips. The 1990s also featured one of Knight's greatest teams

to not win an NCAA title, as the 1993 team went 17-1 in the

Big Ten, was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament,

and featured four players that would eventually be first-

round NBA Draft picks.

In addition to his accomplishments representing Indiana

University, Knight also enjoyed similar success on the

international level. He assembled and coached arguably the

greatest amateur men's basketball team in history, as he led

the 1984 U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in Los Angeles,

and guided the U.S. team to the 1979 Pan American Games gold

as well.

While his teams excelled on the court, Knight's student-

athletes also embodied what it meant to be a student-athlete.

During his IU coaching career, 98 percent of his four-year

players earned their degrees.

Besides being one of the sport's most successful coaches,

Knight was also one of the most innovative. He revolutionized

and popularized the `motion offense,' an offensive style

originally credited to one of Knight's mentors, Henry Iba.

Unlike traditional `set' offensive plays, the motion offense

relied on player movement, proper spacing, passing, cutting,

and screening to create scoring opportunities, It's a style

of play that became synonymous with Knight and his IU teams,

and it remains very much a staple of many of the game's most

successful coaches to this day. Defensively, Knight was

equally committed to a single style, as he had a deeply-

rooted belief in the merits of the man-to-man defense.

The successes of both styles were enormous throughout his

IU tenure, as his Hoosier teams were traditionally one of the

Big Ten's most efficient offensively and one of the most

difficult to score against defensively. As a result, Indiana

won 73.5 percent of its games during Knight's tenure, the

best among all Big Ten programs during that period. IU also

earned 24 invitations to the NCAA Tournament during his 29

years, going 42-21 (.667) in those games. Overall, 28 of

Knight's 29 IU teams earned postseason invitations.

While Knight's system and his unwavering belief in those

coaching philosophies were a big part of his success at IU,

an even more important component of his success was the

abundance of exceptional student-athletes that he attracted

to and developed in Bloomington.

In all, Knight coached nine Big Ten MVPs and 27 All-

Americans at IU. His first Big Ten MVP was Steve Downing, who

earned the honor in 1973 after leading Knight's second

Hoosier team to the program's first Big Ten title in six

years and its first Final Four trip in 20 seasons. The next

to win the award was Scott May, the Big Ten's MVP in both

1975 and 1976 who also became Knight's first National Player

of the Year in 1976. Calbert Cheaney became Knight's second

National Player of the Year in 1993 after guiding IU to a Big

Ten title, an Elite Eight berth, and becoming the Big Ten's

all-time leading scorer with 2,613 points, a mark that stands

to this day.

The list of Knight's legendary IU players doesn't end

there. Far from it. Quinn Buckner was a two-time All-

American, a three-time Big Ten champion, an Olympic gold

medalist, and a future NBA champion whom Knight often

referenced as the greatest leader in program history. Isiah

Thomas was a 1981 All-American who guided IU to the NCAA

title that same season before going on to a Hall of Fame and

championship professional career with the NBA's Detroit

Pistons. Steve Alford was a Big Ten MVP and two-time All-

American who led the 1987 team to an NCAA title. And current

IU coach Mike Woodson was a two-time All-American and 1980

Big Ten MVP who was Knight's first IU player to score 2,000

career points.

Knight was born on Oct. 25, 1940, in Orrville, Ohio. A

multi-sport standout at Orrville H.S., Knight played

basketball at Ohio State for Hall of Fame Coach Fred Taylor

from 1958-62. A key reserve on those Buckeye teams, Knight

played alongside future Hall of Famers John Havlicek and

Jerry Lucas and helped OSU to the 1960 NCAA title and NCAA

runner-up finishes in both 1961 and 1962.

After graduating from Ohio State in 1962, Knight spent one

year coaching high school basketball at Cuyahoga Falls (Ohio)

H.S. before enlisting in the Army in 1963. While in the Army,

Knight accepted an assistant coaching position with the men's

basketball team, and two years later was promoted to head

coach at the age of 24. He went 102-50 in six years with the

program and earned four NIT invitations before IU Athletic

Director Bill Orwig announced his hiring as IU's new head

coach on March 27, 1971.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman for yielding, and I thank him for his leadership on this issue and so many other issues related to our foreign policy and national security.

Mr. Speaker, I am proud to speak today in support of the passage of my bill, the MAHSA Act. As the chairman said, this bill is named in honor of Mahsa Amini, a young woman in Iran who was killed by the Iranian regime nearly almost exactly 1 year ago this week.

Mahsa died after being snatched off the street and brutally beaten by a patrol of the regime's so-called morality police all because she was not wearing her headscarf correctly in public.

Mahsa's murder triggered months of the largest prodemocracy and anti- regime protests in Iran since the 1979 revolution. Iranians called for freedom and chanted ``death to the dictator.'' Iranian women cast off their hijabs and burnt them in protest. They shook the regime to its core and showed the world that the Iranian people despise the Iranian regime. They will no longer tolerate its human rights abuses, corruption, and squandering of their wealth on terrorism.

Nevertheless, the Biden administration refused to take real action in support of the protesters last year and has been looking the other way ever since.

This administration is too afraid to jeopardize their dream of a new nuclear deal with Iran, so it is up to Congress to act instead. That is what we are doing here today.

The MAHSA Act will hold the most malicious elements of Iran's regime accountable while avoiding collateral damage on ordinary Iranians. My bill will require the administration to actually enforce sanctions on the books and to go after Mahsa's killers and funders of terrorism, including the Supreme Leader of Iran and senior regime officials and their money laundering organizations.

I thank all of those from both parties who made this bipartisan legislation possible and to become a reality today. More importantly, I thank all those Iranian-American groups here at home who showed their Representatives how important it is to stand in support of the Iranian people and to finally take action to hold this brutal regime accountable.

I call upon the Senate to immediately take up and pass the MAHSA Act, and I call upon President Biden to stop dragging his feet, listen to the Iranian people, and confront the Iranian regime once and for all.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of my friend, Craig Allen Keith, who passed away at Parkview Regional Medical Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 14, 2023.

Craig was born in Van Wert, Ohio on May 31, 1976. He was a 1994 graduate of Crestview High School in Convoy, Ohio, and earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2003. A consummate professional in domestic and international travel for 20 years, Craig served as Senior Commercial Account Project Manager at SIRVA BGRS Worldwide, Inc.

Craig attended Abundant Life Church for 30 years and held several leadership positions. He loved his church unconditionally and served the Lord with gladness all his days.

Craig loved entertaining and spending time with his friends and family. While grilling and smoking meats or baking his (in)famous chocolate chip cookies, he would tell jokes and fill the air with his full, boisterous laughter. Craig was an avid traveler who loved learning the history of the many destinations he visited. He sang loudly, off key, and with all his heart, in church and to the gospel music he loved so much.

Craig will be immensely missed and forever loved by all. He was preceded in death by his maternal and paternal grandparents. He is survived by his children, Gentry and Pierson Keith; mother, Sheila (Vince) Stone of Columbia City, IN; father, Leroy (Karen) Keith of St. Marys, OH; brother, Adam (Azeesat) Keith of Boston, MA; a stepsister, Tonya Kessler; a godson, Ethan Brownlee of Noblesville, IN; and a host of other relatives and close friends.

In the wake of his passing, I wish Craig's family peace, comfort, and joy in knowing he lived a happy and fulfilled life. Though he is no longer with us, his spirit lives on in the minds and souls of those whom he knew and loved most.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chair, this amendment would prohibit the use of funds to discriminate on the basis of race and ethnicity in admissions to the military service academies.

Currently, all of the military service academies use race and ethnicity as selection criteria for admissions. Not only is this a violation of the Constitution, as recently affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is a violation of the military's longstanding meritocratic principles.

The military service academies are elite universities that train and educate the future leaders of our armed services. We need the best and the brightest, the most fit cadets and midshipmen, regardless of their skin color and ethnicity. To consider immutable characteristics like race and ethnicity is blatantly discriminatory.

For our national security, we must uphold the ideals of our country and put hard work, dedication, and service above all.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Grothman).

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1\1/2\ minutes to the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Mast), a real American hero.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment is simple. It ensures our military service academies are in line with the Supreme Court's recent decision on the unconstitutionality of race-based affirmative action, and it strives to uphold the ideals of meritocracy, which is nowhere more important than in the United States military.

Mr. Chair, I urge all Members to support this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I thank the chairman for yielding and for his incredible leadership in doing everything he can to support our troops and to keep America safe and secure.

That is why I stand here, Mr. Chairman, before you today in strong support of this bipartisan defense bill that was voted out of committee less than 3 weeks ago.

This bill includes Member priorities focused on taking care of our servicemembers and their families to ensure that they are prepared to carry out, without distraction, any mission that they are called upon to execute.

The NDAA continues to support and improve the lives of those who sacrifice for our country on a daily basis by supporting a military basic pay raise of 5.2 percent, authorizing a budgetary change to reduce the 5 percent out-of-pocket housing costs for our servicemembers, and excluding the housing allowance from household income for the purposes of eligibility for the basic needs allowance.

This bill authorizes the establishment of the Space National Guard and sets a new personnel management benchmark with the creation of an innovative personnel management system for the Space Force.

The NDAA also formalizes policy that all military accessions, assignments, selections, or promotions must adhere to merit-based principles and that none may be based on favoritism, nepotism, or quotas, and definitely not politics.

Mr. Chairman, this is an outstanding bipartisan bill dedicated to our servicemembers, their families, and retirees, and gives them the tools and support they need and deserve and have earned to execute our Nation's security strategy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the life of Christopher Lee Juillerat and to commend the inspiring work done by his mother, Theresa Juillerat, in light of Chris's passing.

Three years ago this week on May 12, 2020, at just 23 years old, Chris lost his life to fentanyl poisoning. A graduate of North Side High School in Fort Wayne where he played baseball, he was survived by his young son, Jaxon, and many other family members and friends who miss him dearly.

In the years since, Theresa has been tireless in her efforts to educate other parents and youth about the dangers of synthetic opioids like fentanyl. This is so important, as fentanyl has devastated so many other families across Northeast Indiana and the Nation.

In Psalm 147:3, Scripture tells us of the Lord, ``He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.'' In the wake of her own loss, Theresa has dedicated her life to saving families from enduring the same.

This is a testament to Chris's life and to the selfless service of his mother, Theresa, to save the lives of others. Please join me in praying for the Juillerat family and for all families who've lost a loved one to the fentanyl crisis.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the career of SFC Alan Conrad, JROTC Army Instructor at Concordia Lutheran High School, who is retiring at the end of the school year.

Sergeant Conrad has been the Army Instructor at Concordia Lutheran for a remarkable 29 years. In this role, he's helped fulfill the mission of the Army's JROTC program: ``To Motivate Young People to be Better Citizens.'' For nearly 30 years, his commitment to students has helped shape new generations of leaders.

Prior to his career al Concordia, Sergeant Conrad was active duty in the Army. As a Communication SGT, Conrad was assigned to Special Forces Detachment Alpha where he deployed several times to Central and Latin America between 1983 and 1986 as part of the military's efforts to monitor and arrest the flow of illegal drugs to the United States.

SFC Conrad's service also included multiple deployments to the U.S.- Mexico border to work with the U.S. Border Patrol's BORTAC unit, whose mission is to neutralize terror threats to the American homeland.

With 15 years of active service in the Army, Conrad earned numerous awards and decorations, including the Master Parachutists' Badge, Special Forces Tab, and the Special Forces `S' Identifier. Civilian awards he earned include the Department of the Army Commander's Award for Civilian Service, Independent Colleges of Indiana ``Realizing the Dream'' Award and the WKJG TV Teacher Award.

I wish him the very best as he begins a new chapter of his life. I'm proud to present this official congressional document to him as a token of gratitude on behalf of all of Congress for his service to our community and country. Men like Conrad make our country great, and for him we are most grateful.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the birth and baptism of Briana Juliet Goldberg.

Born to Adam and Rebecca on February 10, weighing 7 pounds and 4 ounces, Briana now prepares to be born again on Sunday, May 7 at Saint Lawrence Roman Catholic Church into the death and life of her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Saint Paul writes in the Book of Romans chapter 6 verses 3 and 4, ``Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.''

I join Adam, Rebecca, and the communion of saints in celebrating this saving flood and washing away of sin, and gift of new life by the Holy Spirit. We hear as Nicodemus did, to whom Jesus said in the third chapter of the Gospel of John: ``Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.''

This stands as testament to the love that Adam and Rebecca, her sisters Sophie and Elizabeth, and that God Himself has for Briana by giving to her life in this world and the next. As Jesus commanded His disciples in the Book of John, chapter 13 verse 34, ``A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as l have loved you, that you also love one another.'' (John 13:34)

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Indiana State Master Trooper James R. Bailey, who was killed in the line of duty last Friday, March 3.

A native of Auburn, Indiana, Bailey was a decorated, nearly 16-year veteran of the Indiana State Police force who was named Trooper of the Year for District 12 in 2012 and earned the combat ``Action Award'' in 2021.

But Bailey's spiritedness and sense of duty wasn't confined to his squad car. In 2010, Bailey was off-duty and leaving lunch from a restaurant with his wife when an 87-year-old man collapsed in the parking lot. He and his wife Amy, a nurse, rendered CPR and saved the man's life. Three times, he was diagnosed with cancer. Three times, he beat it. ``I'm pretty stubborn.'' Bailey said. ``You have two options. One is to go into a corner and pout. The second is to fight and be stubborn.'' That's who James Bailey was: A public servant dedicated to the last, and a warrior whose triumphs he insisted be understated.

In response to being called a hero, Trooper Bailey demurred, ``It's what we do, it's what we are trained to do, and that's why we get into this profession.'' But I want to be very clear, especially to his children, Joseph and Sophia: Their dad was a hero. That is how he will be remembered.

We will never forget his service and sacrifice to Northeast Indiana. God bless the Bailey family and God bless all law enforcement officers who risk their lives every day to keep our families and communities safe.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Master Trooper James Bailey. He was killed in the line of duty 1 week ago today.

Trooper Bailey, a native of Auburn, Indiana, was a decorated, 16-year veteran of the Indiana State police.

He was a warrior. He beat cancer three times.

In 2010, Trooper Bailey was off-duty and leaving lunch with his wife when an 87-year-old man collapsed in the parking lot. Trooper Bailey and his wife Amy, a nurse, began CPR and saved this man's life.

While many people called them heroes, Trooper Bailey simply said: It is what we do, it is what we are trained to do, and that is why we get into this profession.

That is who James Bailey was: a humble and dedicated public servant.

But I want to be very clear, especially to his children, Joseph and Sophia: Your dad was a hero, and that is how he will be remembered. We will never forget his service and his sacrifice to northeast Indiana.

God bless the Bailey family. God bless all of the law enforcement officers who risk their lives every single day to keep our families and our communities safe.