Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today along with my colleagues, Mr. Valadao, Mr. Cicilline, and Mr. Zeldin, Co-Chairs of the Congressional Portuguese Caucus, to recognize the recipients of the 21st Annual Portuguese-American Leadership Awards as bestowed by the Portuguese American Leadership Council of the United States (PALCUS). These recipients are unique individuals who have accomplished much throughout their careers and continue to uphold their cultural traditions and lead the next generation.

Receiving the Leadership in the Arts Award, Ms. Ana Ventura Miranda founded the Arte Institute on April 11, 2001, an organization dedicated to promoting Portuguese culture, highlighting multiple aspects of Portuguese art including literature, music, dance, and film. This institute serves as a platform for Portuguese artists to connect and showcase their work in New York. In 2011, Ms. Ventura Miranda organized the first New York Portuguese Short Film Festival showing a total of twenty films, providing Portuguese film directors an opportunity to share their work.

Receiving the Leadership in Scholarship Award, Dr. Francisco Cota Fagundes of the University of Massachusetts Amherst is in his thirty- ninth year of teaching. Dr. Fagundes's studies are focused on contemporary Portuguese literature, specifically of the Portuguese North American diaspora. At the University of Massachusetts Amherst, he is a Professor of Spanish and Portuguese Studies. Dr. Fagundes has also written over thirty books and numerous articles on a wide array of topics.

Receiving the Leadership in Entrepreneurship Award, Ms. Maria Lawton ``the Azorean Green Bean'' is known for her authentic, Azorean cooking. With her popular cookbook Azorean Cooking: From My Family's Table to Yours, Ms. Lawton continues her quest to recreate her family recipes for everyone to enjoy.

Receiving the Leadership in Education Award, Mr. Alan Tenreiro is the President of Mt. Saint Charles Academy, a Catholic Junior and Senior High School located in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Over the years, Mr. Tenreiro has been recognized for his leadership work as a principal. During his tenure at Cumberland High School, the school saw a significant rise in test scores, major drop in disciplinary issues, and an increase in the amount of advanced placement classes offered.

Receiving the Leadership in Community Service Award, Ms. Rosa Leal is the Founder & President of the Daughters of Portugal. Ms. Leal is the founder and main organizer in the Mineola Portugal Day Parade. This year she was honored as the Grand Marshal of the event. In addition, Ms. Leal also serves as the Vice President of the New York Portuguese- American Leadership Conference.

Receiving the Young Portuguese-American ``Promessa'' Award, Mr. Adam Costa is also a 2017 United Kingdom Fulbright Scholar recipient. As a graduate of Bridgewater State University in 2017, Mr. Costa will be using his Fulbright Scholarship to begin a master's program in politics abroad in England at the University of Manchester. He will continue his comparative research which he started at Bridgewater State on youth violence reduction programs.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that we ask our colleagues to join us in recognizing and honoring the 21st Annual Portuguese-American Leadership Award recipients. These individuals are exemplary leaders who continue to inspire the next generation of Portuguese American Leaders.

Mr. Speaker, I have been saying for years that the American immigration system is broken, and it is about time we fix it. We must pass comprehensive immigration reform. This will obviously require bipartisanship and a deliberative policy process to make it happen.

In the meantime, we ought to do what we can where we can agree to do it, and that is why I am working towards this effort to protect our DREAMers now. This is why I signed the discharge petition to bring to the House floor a bipartisan, bicameral Dream Act which will permanently protect these people who were brought here as children, who are in school, who are serving in our military, who are working and contributing to our economy, that will permanently protect DREAMers and offer them a path to earned citizenship.

At Fresno State University, we have 1,200 DREAMers who are enrolled; at UC Merced, we have 600 DREAMers who are enrolled. We have thousands of young people in the San Joaquin Valley who are impacted, and that is why we must change this law and that is why I am here today, calling on the House leadership to bring the Dream Act to the floor. It is the right thing to do. It is the American way in which we solve problems.

I will continue to do everything in my power to bring the Dream Act to the House floor to vote and to work for a comprehensive and a longer term immigration policy so that we don't have to continue to have the political posturing and the fight that has endured way too long. Let's fix this for the DREAMers now.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about three issues that are very important to my district and the Nation.

First, I want to talk about the immigration policy or the lack of an immigration policy that we have in this country; a, in essence, broken immigration system.

For years I have been saying that we need to fix it, and we need to do that in a bipartisan way because it is the only way we are going to be successful. I supported bipartisan efforts in 2013, the legislation that came out of the Senate by a vote of 68-13. Prior to that, I supported President Bush's efforts and, more recently, President Obama's efforts; but, unfortunately, we have not been successful through these efforts.

That is why today I think we need to be focusing on at least one segment that would have been addressed if, in fact, we fix this broken immigration system. And that is those DREAMers, those young people covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that was initiated by President Obama that is now going to expire.

These people came here at the average age of 6 years. Most of them don't know the country they came from. Most of them consider themselves, in essence, Americans. They are going to school. They are in our military service. They are serving in many different ways. They have jobs. They are part of families in which some are here legally and some are not. You are talking about breaking up families.

Yesterday I signed a discharge petition to bring to the House floor the bipartisan, bicameral Dream Act, which will permanently protect these DREAMers by offering them a path to earned citizenship, not amnesty.

I will continue to do everything in my power to bring the Dream Act to the House floor for a vote and to work then, after that, for comprehensive immigration reform, which is what we really need to do so that we don't keep up ending back here like a continued broken record.

I want our DREAMers to know that many of us in Washington and across the Nation stand with them. The overwhelming majority of Americans believe that we ought to fix this. And I hope, before the end of this year, in a bipartisan fashion, we will do just that.

Congratulating Sloane Stephens Winning U.S. Open in Tennis

Mr. Speaker, about a month ago, we had the United States tennis championship, and I would be remiss if I didn't congratulate Sloane Stephens on her winning the U.S. Open in tennis earlier.

Many of you may not realize, but she came from the San Joaquin Valley, from the area that I represent in California, and we are proud of her. She did, after all, start playing her tennis in Fresno, where she lived until she was 10 years old.

But her win makes many of us in America proud, as she showed the world a level of hard work, determination, and grit rarely seen on the tennis court. Ms. Stephens had to fight her way back to the court after a stress fracture and surgery in January that took her out of training and completely off of her feet and off of the tennis court.

And then she came back--and, wow, did she come back--to beat the world's best, including one of her heroines,

Venus Williams, to become the Women's Singles U.S. Open champion. We are so proud of you.

I also want to thank Ms. Stephens for all that she has done in the valley because she has never forgotten where she came from, where her mother raised her, contributing to the tennis programs at Edison- Bethune Charter Academy in Fresno, which introduces young children to the sport of tennis, and also to help expand tennis programs at other local elementary and middle schools throughout the Fresno County Office of Education. A real shout-out for Sloane Stephens and the incredible accomplishment at this year's United States tennis championship for the United States Open. Congratulations.

Celebrating California's Wine Industry

Mr. Speaker, lastly, I would like to turn to something that has been important not only in California, but across the country and around the world, and it also puts smiles on people's faces.

For over 250 years, California has been producing the best wine, I think, in the world. California is the fourth largest producer of wine. This is, in large part, due to a lot of hard work, innovation, and craftsmanship of the State's 4,700 vintners and almost 6,000 growers. They make a difference every day, and they do it not before its time.

Roughly 24 million people visit California's wine regions each year, making our State the most visited State for food- and wine-related activities. We are, after all, the number one agricultural State in the Nation, not only in wine production, but half of the Nation's fruits and vegetables, number one in citrus production, number one in milk production, number one in almonds and pistachios, and the list goes on and on and on.

So as we near the end of California Wine Month this year, I would like to take a moment to celebrate our vintners, growers, farm workers--without the farm workers, we couldn't make this wine possible--and all those who contribute to this industry that provides healthy food as a part of a healthy diet that we all deserve and enjoy.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in celebration of Mrs. Maytha Sebasto's 80th birthday. Maytha is a beloved wife, mother, teacher, and friend to many.

Maytha Sebasto was born in Merced, California to M.O. and Bertha Richards. Her parents were true pioneers and farmed in Merced and later in the LeGrand area. Maytha graduated LeGrand High School in 1955 and went on to Fresno State where she earned her degree in elementary education in 1960. While in high school, Maytha belonged to her local 4-H club and was a member of Job's Daughters and President of the Girls League.

Maytha began teaching at LeGrand Elementary School in the fall of 1958 with a provisional credential. Her teaching philosophy was simple: Always give your students a strong foundation for their future success.

In 1960 she taught at Eastin Arcola in Madera County and then in 1961 she joined Fresno Unified School District, teaching primary grades at Tielman Elementary, Birney Elementary and Columbia. Maytha joined the faculty at Ewing Elementary in 1967. In 1990 she joined the faculty at Ayer Elementary where she remained until her retirement after more than 35 years of teaching. Maytha was beloved by her students and spent the last 15 years of her career teaching Kindergarten.

Maytha caught the eye of a young soldier, Alfred Sebasto at a church party. The two were married on December 29, 1962. For the first year of their marriage, Maytha and Alfred lived in Augsburg, Germany, where Alfred was stationed in the U.S. Army. Thereafter, the two moved back to the Sebasto Family Farm on the Eastside of Fresno County to raise their family. Maytha and Alfred are the proud parents of two loving daughters, Theresa and Alfreda.

Maytha not only assists her husband in the family farming operation, but she also volunteered for the Farm Bureau ``Ag in the Classroom'' program, teaching students and teachers more about the industry of agriculture and its importance to our community. Since her retirement from teaching, Maytha has become an accomplished water color artist.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Maytha Sebasto as she celebrates her 80th birthday. I ask that you join me in wishing her and her family continued health and happiness.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and service of Mr. Irwin Holland. Irv Holland was a brave and courageous man who served our country in a multitude of ways and will forever be remembered as a member of one of the great generations.

Mr. Holland was born in 1917, eldest child to first generation immigrants. He grew up in New York where he graduated high school and attended night school but never graduated with a college degree. In 1943, he joined the United States Army Air Corps, and became an Army Air Corps navigator, eventually reaching the rank of Second Lieutenant. In the midst of World War II, and on his maiden mission, the navigational instruments on his B-17 failed. In the dark and over the ocean Mr. Holland led three B-17 airplanes to the Ashen Islands where they landed safely. After taking off from the Ashen Islands they continued to the European Theater and in June 1943 he and several other crew members were shot down over Germany. Irv bailed out and was taken as a prisoner of war. He was a prisoner of war from June 13, 1943 to May 22, 1945, and endured difficult conditions in camp Stalag Luft 3-- Sagan-Silesia, Bavaria, eventually moving to Nuremberg, Germany. Mr. Holland was liberated by the Americans at the end of the war.

After his release in 1945 from Prisoner of War Camp, he returned to the U.S. and shortly afterwards traveled to the west coast to begin a new chapter in his life. In 1947, he met and married Barbara Donner Schwartz and soon became the father of three.

``Irv'' and Barbara moved to Fresno in 1952 from the Bay Area and Irv established the Irwin Holland Advertising Agency. He was a community minded individual with involvements in the civil rights movement, community education and the Jewish community, but politics was his real love and passion. Irwin Holland was a political animal and felt a commitment to participate and improve his community. With that in mind, he ran for several political offices in the San Joaquin Valley as well as becoming the advance man for every National Democratic Candidate who traveled the Central Valley from the mid '50's to the end of the 1970's, including John F. Kennedy (before his presidency), Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, Rose Kennedy, Pierre Salinger, Humbert Humphrey, and others.

All during this time he was active in the Fresno Democratic Central Committee. From 1962 to 1970 he served as Administrative Assistant for former California State Assemblyman and Senator George Zenovich and in 1974 Irv was named District Director for former U.S. Congressman John Krebs, serving at his pleasure for the two terms that Mr. Krebs was in office.

In 1979, following a dream, Irwin and Barbara moved to Jerusalem, Israel. Once they became established in Israel, Irv worked as a freelance writer, writing articles about his experiences in Israel for the McClatchy Newspapers. While adapting to a new country and language Irv continued his community involvement and was involved with the Americans and Canadians in Israel, Democrats Abroad, and the San Francisco Jewish Federation's Office in Jerusalem for several years.

After fully retiring he began his ``personal campaign'' to provide ``behind the scenes'' insights about politics in the region to his friends and family at home. He forever felt that connection between the place of his birth and his new home.

Mr. Speaker, it is with great respect that I ask my colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to recognize a mentor and a friend, Irv Holland. A gentleman, who felt the obligation to serve both his community and country of birth as well as his new-found home. He is survived by his wife of 69 years, Barbara, who still lives in Israel and their three children: Francine, Amy, and Robbie, their five grandchildren: David, Sarah, Rachel, Hannah, and Naomi, and their four great-grandchildren: Ami, Ophir, Arbel, and Ella.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to our Nation's infrastructure. I am talking about our roads, our bridges, our rail corridors, our waterways and dams, the investments that over two centuries have made America great, the greatest economy in the world.

We have a long history of investing in the infrastructure in America, starting with the canal and rail systems in the 19th century, the highways and air transportation systems in the 20th century. However, over the last 25 years, we have lived off the infrastructure investments our parents and grandparents made in the previous generations.

Why? Because there has been a lack of political will here in Washington, D.C., to make new investments. But Congress, working with the President, must face this challenge head-on.

I believe there is bipartisan support for infrastructure investment, having been part of a bipartisan conversation this year with Members of Congress and with the administration. There is an attempt to offer a proposal to make major investments in our Nation's infrastructure.

We are talking about four different areas. First, there needs to be an incentive component. I strongly support incentivizing States and local governments to provide their own funding for these efforts. We know infrastructure projects move forward most effectively when local, State, and the Federal Government all do their part.

In the San Joaquin Valley in my district, Merced, Madera, and Fresno Counties have all increased their local sales tax to pay for critical transportation projects. Earlier this year, California enacted a bill to increase State gas tax and vehicle fees to provide over $52 billion over the next 10 years in California for much-needed transportation projects. And while more needs to be done in California, we know that, if we provide incentives across the country, States ought to come up and do their part as well.

The second focus of the administration's action is to support projects in rural areas. On Wednesday last week, the Agriculture Committee held a hearing in which we discussed strategic infrastructure investments in rural areas with a goal of increasing opportunities. The importance of investing in our rural areas cannot be overstated. Too often, rural America gets left behind in the infrastructure and development conversation. I know because I represent a large part of rural America in the San Joaquin Valley in California.

The third focus is transformative projects, projects that make creative and dramatic changes. I have always supported and will continue to support these projects, such as high-speed rail in California, California WaterFix.

Water is so critical to the West, especially in the San Joaquin Valley. Water provides the food that we have on America's dinner table every night. It is a national security issue.

These projects support deeper, systemic change, and they can have a large-scale and lasting impact on the future development of our Nation. They are investments in our future, like those our parents and grandparents made in the past.

Lastly, the administration talks about a loan program. These can be helpful.

Overall, I support these four components. But first we must not pick winners and losers when improving our Nation's infrastructure. This is, of course, very challenging. We need to have a policy that must rank priorities and decide how much we spend and where we spend.

We also must establish criteria to ensure infrastructure decisions promote fair distribution and cost effectiveness, doing the most good in critical areas.

Second, while I support public-private partnerships, they should not provide subsidies to projects that the private sector would already finance themselves.

Sound infrastructure is literally and figuratively the foundation of our Nation's economy. It is what has made America the greatest economy in the world. Countries around the world are making investments in their infrastructure while the United States sits on the sidelines engaging in a political debate that does not reflect the reality of the policy choice we have and the decisions we must make.

Mr. Speaker, we must come together as Democrats and Republicans to address these serious problems of our Nation's infrastructure, and as Americans in a bipartisan way because no transportation system, no water infrastructure system, no improvement in our energy grid, and all the other elements of our infrastructure are Democratic or Republican. They are the basis of an investment in America, and that is what we should be doing as Members of Congress with this administration.

So let's act as legislators. Let's act and show that we can work together in a bipartisan fashion. Let's show some profiles in courage.

Mr. Speaker, I rise to speak about the American Dream and those who need protection who are striving to fulfill it. These are individuals who have come to this country as children, as infants, through no fault of their own, and America is the only country they have ever known. In essence, they are Americans.

Recognizing these realities, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was created in 2012, otherwise known as DACA.

Since that time, DACA has granted hundreds of thousands of young immigrants the stability and the protection needed to pursue a college degree and seek employment, to be a part of America's future.

If we eliminate DACA, these students could see their pursuit of the American Dream swept away beneath them. In California's San Joaquin Valley, this could happen to over 500 students at the University of California, Merced, who I represent, as well as over 1,000 students at Fresno State University.

Some here in Washington plan on trying to eliminate DACA in coming months, and I stand here to say we cannot let that happen.

I urge the administration and those to stand with those of us who want to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and allow these folks to pursue the same American Dream that our parents, grandparents, and previous generations were able to do. Let's keep

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

As one of the three co-chairs of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of Democrats committed to bringing our Nation's deficit and debt under control, I rise in opposition to this amendment.

This amendment would, in fact, eliminate the division in the CBO area. Frankly, it serves, as we all know, a valuable role as a nonpartisan adviser to Congress on the costs and tradeoffs on legislation and the budget of the United States.

Although you don't see these folks on TV every day, the CBO staff consists of professionals who put facts and transparency first. Forecasting the economic impacts of legislation is complicated, and no estimate will ever be perfect, let's face that. The CBO, though, is transparent about that.

That said, estimates provided by the CBO are objective and are based on facts and transparent calculations. The staff who make these estimates up aren't swayed by the political rhetoric on either side of the spectrum on the House floor, and that is what lawmakers need in order to govern responsibly.

Without the CBO, lawmakers in Washington would be flying blind, developing major legislation without knowing what the real consequences are. Just like you wouldn't drive a car while blindfolded, you shouldn't be voting on legislation without knowing the real costs, intended or unintended. After all, these are taxpayer dollars.

This amendment is dangerous for our Nation, and there is no other way to describe it. As a society, one must accept facts as they are, whether the facts are in our favor or not. Facts are facts, I guess, unless you believe in alternative facts.

In fact, CBO acts as an umpire for us here in Congress, calling balls and strikes as best it can. You may not like the call, you may not like the strike zone, you may think it is simply wrong, but you don't attack the umpire. That is what this is: attacking the umpire because you don't like the call. If you attack the umpire, why don't you improve your game?

At the end of the day, what we are talking about here is taxpayer dollars. We need to keep the Congressional Budget Office intact, and I oppose this legislation, as do all of the Blue Dogs.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about one of the most basic rights that serves as the cornerstone of our democracy, and that is freedom of speech, freedom of expression for all Americans guaranteed in the First Amendment in our Bill of Rights. It is the freedom of press; it is the freedom of assembly; it is the freedom to petition.

This morning, I joined with several fellow Members of Congress and other Americans to exercise this First Amendment freedom in a demonstration outside the Turkish Ambassador's residence, the same place where members of Turkish President Erdogan's security forces attacked 11 peaceful Americans who were exercising their freedom of speech on May 16.

This morning, we stood together to demand the protection of the freedom of expression. We stood together to say that we will never stop fighting for those basic freedoms that are enshrined in our Bill of Rights and protected by our Constitution.

Americans have fought for over 241 years and shed blood to protect our basic freedoms that we hold most dearly. As Supreme Court Justice Cardozo stated in 1937, freedom of expression is ``the indispensable condition of nearly every other form of freedom'' that we cherish in our country.

Mr. Speaker, we rise today to pay tribute to the life and service of Mr. Mike McGarvin. Mike was the beloved founder of the Poverello House, a homeless shelter in Fresno which provides programs and support services to hundreds of people every day. For decades Mike touched the lives of countless disadvantaged people in the Fresno area using one simple message, ``Listen with compassion; give with a warm heart and a smile.''

Mike, or ``Papa Mike,'' as he was affectionately known by many, was born in San Francisco, California in 1944. After early struggles in life, he found solace in a coffee house in San Francisco called Poverello that served those in need. The coffee house was run by a priest, who later asked Mike to volunteer there, an opportunity that proved to be life changing.

After seven years of volunteering at the San Francisco Poverello, Mike and his wife Mary moved back to her hometown of Fresno where he worked as a photographer for the local newspaper, The Fresno Bee. After observing Fresno's homeless population, Mike was reminded of the kindness shown to him at Poverello in San Francisco, and he pledged to find a way to give back.

Mike initiated his legacy by passing out peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the homeless and the hungry from the back of his car. Soon after, he purchased a small storefront and opened the Poverello House to help those in need in Fresno, naming his small outfit after the place in San Francisco that saved his life. Since its modest beginnings, the Poverello House has grown. It now provides three meals a day, 365 days a year to those in need as well as many other services, such as clothing distribution, emergency food bags, a medical clinic, the Men's Resident Rehabilitation program, and temporary overnight shelter for men and women. The Poverello House is truly a source of salvation for countless individuals in our community.

Mike has been recognized many times throughout his life for his invaluable work, including an honorary doctorate from California State University, Fresno and the Pope John XXIII Award from the Italian Catholic Federation in honor of his years of humanitarian service.

Mike will be remembered by all for his boundless kindness and deep compassion. He leaves a legacy of service and selflessness, both through the Poverello House and in the hearts of the people whose lives he touched. He is survived by his wife of 46 years Mary, daughter Clare, and grandson Tyler.

Mr. Speaker, we ask our colleagues to join us in honoring the life and achievements of Mike McGarvin, whose passion for service and kindness has forever changed the lives of those in need in our community. I join Mike's family and the Poverello House in honoring his life. He will truly be missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and achievements of Mrs. RoseAnn Burkart Serrano. Mrs. Serrano dedicated her life to serving her family and her community. She was a volunteer, member, manager, board member, and president of many organizations, both in Le Grand and in the surrounding areas of Chowchilla, Merced, Fresno, Mariposa, and Planada. Mrs. Serrano is a shining example of what it means to make a difference in the world, and she serves as a model of determination and selflessness for all who knew her.

Born in Fresno, Mrs. Serrano graduated from San Joaquin Memorial High School in 1962 before earning a degree in Liberal Studies from Fresno City College. Mrs. Serrano continued her education at California State University, Fresno, where she was a music and history major. At Fresno State, Mrs. Serrano served as the district secretary for the college Catholic organization and met her future husband, David Serrano, through her membership in the Newman Club at the St. Paul Newman Center. After their marriage, Mrs. Serrano began working with her husband at his agricultural business, and she soon became an integral part of Serrano Farms. Besides being a full-time homemaker and mother, Mrs. Serrano irrigated, ran machinery in their almond orchards and cotton fields, and managed the farm's business records and payroll.

In addition to her role at Serrano Farms, Mrs. Serrano was active in numerous organizations, such as California Women for Agriculture, USDA Farm Services Agency Committee, the National Federation of Independent Business, and the Plainsburg Elementary

School Board. Mrs. Serrano also volunteered in more local settings, from planning the Le Grand Community Day and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Dinner, to serving on the Plainsburg Election Board and helping the Plainsburg Library. Additionally, Mrs. Serrano was a regular accompanist and choir singer at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, where she became the local go-to pianist and organist for weddings and funerals.

Mrs. Serrano was recognized for her accomplishments and service on numerous occasions. In 1994, she and her husband were awarded the State of California Governor's Small Business Award for Small Business Person of the Year. In 2008, they were also recognized as Le Grand Community Day Citizens of the Year. In 2014, the California Agricultural Leadership Foundation at California State University, Fresno selected Mrs. Serrano as a ``Common Threads Honoree,'' honoring her for community service and philanthropic endeavors.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in recognizing the life and achievements of Mrs. RoseAnn Burkart Serrano. The Merced community mourns Mrs. Serrano's passing, but rejoices in her lasting impact and legacy. She could always tell when someone needed her help or a smile, and she was always willing to extend her hand in friendship and open her heart with compassion. Her wisdom, mentorship, and persevering spirit continue to inspire her family and countless others to strive for excellence and serve their communities.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the life of Mr. Mike McGarvin, a role model for one and all, and a gentleman who truly made a difference in his lifetime.

Mike was the beloved founder of the Poverello House, a homeless shelter in Fresno, California, which provides three meals a day, 365 days a year, to those in need, as well as clothing, medical services, and temporary shelter for those who are most vulnerable and have challenges in their life.

For decades, Mike served countless people in the Fresno area using one simple message: ``Listen with compassion; give with a warm heart and a smile.''

Think about that: Listen with compassion and give with a warm heart and a smile.

The lives of hundreds and thousands of individuals were made better because of Mike's helping hand. He will be remembered by all for his deep compassion and boundless kindness.

Mike was a role model for me and for all who knew him. He leaves a legacy of service and selflessness, both through the Poverello House and in the hearts of those people he touched throughout the years.

I join Mike's family and the supporters of the Poverello House over the years in honoring his life.

Congratulations to Valley Children's Hospital

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate Valley Children's Hospital for their recent recognition as one of the Nation's top 50 children's hospitals in the country, which I represent. I have been there and know of the work they do.

In their annual Best Children's Hospitals report, U.S. News & World Report ranked the hospital in a host of key critical areas as among the top in pediatric orthopedics, pediatric diabetes and endocrinology, and pediatric gastroenterology and GI surgery.

To see these preemies in their beds and these young, little lives being saved as a result of the overall effort of the children's hospital is truly heartwarming.

We in the Valley have known for decades how highly skilled and dedicated the nurses, doctors, and staff are at Valley Children's Hospital. It was founded more than 60 years ago with the mission to provide high-quality, comprehensive medical care to children, regardless of their ability to pay, and to continuously improve upon the health and well-being of these children. That is why, in part, the cuts that are being proposed to Medicaid are so devastating all around the country, but especially among our children who are not in a position to afford this kind of care.

Valley Children's Hospital has grown and is now the second largest children's hospital in California. It has many more patients than any other pediatric hospital north of San Diego. The hospital's emergency room is the only dedicated pediatric emergency room between San Francisco and Los Angeles.

Valley Children's Hospital has been designated as a magnet nursing hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center, which is a recognition of true excellence in nursing care. Less than 3 percent of all hospitals in the United States earn this designation.

Once again, I am a regular visitor to this hospital. When you see the staff, who have an incredible heart, and all the loving care they provide, and you see the parents and families with their young babies and young children, you know that something special is going on here.

On behalf of my constituents in the Valley community, I would like to congratulate Valley Children's Hospital for their recent recognition as one of the Nation's top 50 children's hospitals.

I would also like to thank all of the dedicated staff, once again, who are committed to improving the health and well-being of not only the children of our Valley and in California, but across the Nation. We know that all of the nurses and physicians make a difference throughout our country.

Mr. Chairman, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.

We, in the San Joaquin Valley, know that where food grows, water flows. That is not just a saying; that is the truth. It takes water to grow the food that we rely on to sustain ourselves.

Luckily, this year, we have been blessed with an abundance of rain and snow on the mountains--a record year. However, it is only because of the wettest year in California's historical record that the agricultural heartland of California, a place where half of our Nation's fruits and vegetables are grown, is, this year, free from drought.

Only 1 year ago, over 83 percent of California was in a moderate drought or worse. We know that the next drought is sure to come, threatening valley families and farm communities. It is either feast or famine. We measure water on 10-year averages. That is why we need solutions that solve this long-term challenge.

I commend Congressman Valadao for continuing this effort. As I noted in a letter I wrote to him in February, though, I have concerns that this legislation, without some improvements, will fail to be that long- term solution that the valley and our State so desperately needs. This solution must be, at the end of the day, multifaceted, must not pick winners and losers, as California water policies in the past have so frequently done, to the detriment of both the agricultural economy, which we have felt, and California's ecosystems. Sadly, some of the provisions within this legislation, in my opinion, I think fail to meet this test.

Language within titles 1 and 3 would pose threats to the wetlands of Grasslands Ecological Area, the largest wetlands west of the Mississippi, a vital component of the Pacific Flyway, in an area that contributes nearly $73 million a year alone to Merced County, which I represent.

Section 106 would drastically cut collections to the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund, which pays for refuge water conveyance--that is very important--and that would transfer oversight of the fund to other water users. It would also, I think, supersede State laws in some areas that, frankly, over the experience I have had, in many years, will create more problems than it solves.

In addition to these concerns, I know from having worked on water solutions for over 30 years that both here and in Sacramento, the only path to legislative success is through bipartisan, bicameral action, as we experienced in December with the passage of the WIIN Act that, by the way, authorized four reservoirs that was contained in the WIIN Act that Senator Feinstein and I and Republicans in the House worked on together in a very constructive way.

So, as always, I stand ready to work with my colleagues in both the House and the Senate on a bipartisan basis to improve this legislation and get solutions to fix California's broken water system to the President's desk.

I support moving this legislation forward to the Senate. But let's be clear, this is a work in progress, and much more work remains for this legislation, I think, to be successful.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

This amendment is about rescheduled water, and this is a technical term that, for people who aren't familiar with water use in California and other parts of the country, it allows people with water rights, whether they be senior or junior water rights, to reserve that water, in other words, to reschedule it, to hold it off for another time when it might be more valuable to use. And so this is an important tool.

I agree with Congressman LaMalfa that water users throughout California should have flexibility to use their water supplies in ways that are most beneficial to be able to reschedule it.

I do have some concerns that this amendment may have unintended consequences with other water users downstream should it become law without changes. Specifically, it is critical that those with more junior water rights, like some of the areas I represent south of the California delta, are not negatively impacted when they reschedule their water from senior water rights holders.

Water is precious. You have water shortages. So if I want to reserve it for later in the year or for the next water year, that means rescheduled water. So for these water users, we want to protect that ability.

Additionally, in the event that a future wet year causes spilling of rescheduled water, it is critical that the priority of the water spilling is addressed in a fair and equitable manner.

I would like to work with the gentleman to address these concerns. And I thank him, and I thank the gentleman for yielding me the time.

Will the gentleman yield?

I thank the gentleman for yielding.

That is correct. I know this was offered 5 years ago. I would like to point out, though, in the last 5 years of the drought conditions, we have learned a whole lot more about the flexibility and how you can and cannot use rescheduled water and, of course, how valuable it is.

So I respect and thank the gentleman, Congressman LaMalfa, for working together on this to ensure that we protect all of the water users in their ability to have flexibility, especially during drought times.

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

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

I would like to first thank the Rules Committee chairman, and the ranking member, Ms. Slaughter, for making my amendment in order.

Mr. Chair, groundwater storage is a central element of drought resilience in the San Joaquin Valley and throughout California. Recharging our groundwater that has been overdrafted is critical in terms of our overall strategy to use all the water tools in our water management toolbox.

California's hydrological cycle is varied, with each year's intense rainfall and flooding like this year followed by prolonged periods of droughts like the previous 5 years. As a matter of fact, in California, it is either feast or famine. We don't have enough or we have too much water.

This varied hydrological cycle means that regions like the San Joaquin Valley rely heavily on groundwater to supply regional water needs during the dry years, and that is how the overdraft takes place. An attempt to refill that pumped water during wet years comes all too infrequently.

The recent record drought, coupled with previous droughts and policy changes that have led to shifting of water supplies from agriculture water uses to environmental uses over the last 25 years, has literally resulted in ground sinking beneath the feet of the people of the San Joaquin Valley.

These depletions led the State of California to pass a law in 2014 that regulates the use of groundwater, with the objective of creating groundwater balance over time. It is called the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, otherwise referred to as SGMA.

Obviously, we ought to make our groundwater sustainable, and there are a lot of different ways in which we can do so in terms of that water strategy. This amendment purports to address part of that.

Many groundwater basins have been overdrafted for long periods of time. Twenty-one of California's 515 groundwater basins now are considered critically overdrafted. That is a real, real serious crisis.

It is critical that efforts are taken to recharge these groundwater aquifers so that the water is available during the dry years, which we know will surely come. This is all about sustainability. We know that the performance of any projected groundwater recharge and recovery project is reliant on a thorough understanding of how the surface and subsurface waters interact with a geographical region.

Without thoroughly developed and field-verified information about the geophysical characteristics of California's groundwater aquifer systems and best areas for groundwater recharge projects, compliance with California's recently enacted Sustainable Groundwater Management Act-- it is simply infeasible for us to expect that we are going to do that without having all of the information together.

What we are trying to do in this legislation is provide the opportunity to ensure that we have a reliable water supply so that we have food security. After all, food security, I believe, is a national security issue for America. It doesn't get looked at that way, but it is.

California's Department of Water Resources has identified a number of gaps in the scientific body of knowledge that need to be filled in order to effectively recharge groundwater aquifers. Some of these studies show that simply irrigating lands in the Central Valley with right soil conditions for groundwater percolation could lead to an additional 2 million to 6 million acre-feet of groundwater infiltration. That would double the level of recovery rate in a post- drought winter like 2017.

This amendment would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation, partnered with scientific agencies, the United States Geological Survey, and the University of California, to conduct surveys for groundwater aquifers to identify, one, subsurface aquifer systems framework, including the geometry of areas where water can move more easily; two, aquifer storage and transmission characteristics; and three, land areas of greatest recharge potential.

I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

I yield to the gentleman from California.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 30 seconds to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), who is from Marin County.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, I would like to first, again, thank the Rules Committee chair and Ranking Member Slaughter for making my amendment in order, as well as acknowledge my colleague from California, Congressman LaMalfa, for his work on this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, a record drought and the most destructive wildfire seasons on record have brought renewed attention to California's headwaters. These forests, meadows, and other source waters play a vital role in California's water supply and management system, and they are under threat from a host of factors, including wildfires, climate change impacts, and poor management policies.

More effective forest and headwaters management practices, such as increased use of forest thinning and watershed restoration, have demonstrated the potential to provide a measurable increase in water supply to the Central Valley Project reservoirs that receive runoff generated by these headwaters in the Sierra Nevadas, the beautiful mountains that we have in California.

The Sierra Nevada mountain range, many people don't realize, generates nearly 60 percent of California's developed water supply--60 percent. And that is why the abundance of snow on the mountains during the wintertime is so critical.

Some estimates indicate that simply by instituting more effective headwaters management policies, that up to 300,000 acre-feet of additional water supplies--300,000 acre-feet--could be generated each year.

Now, that is a significant yield of water when you look at the overdraft crop problems that we have and some of the other authorization of surface storage that we have made last year during the WIIN Act.

As a matter of fact, the Bureau of Reclamation has analyzed that some of the projects that I support, such as raising Shasta Dam 18 feet, would generate anywhere from 75 to over 100,000 acre-feet of water annually. So if we can generate an additional 300,000 acre-feet by better managing our headwaters, this is almost three times that yield.

Simply managing our forests better could, in many instances, quadruple our water supply and better produce environmental outcomes for our forest ecosystems.

To put this in context, this is enough water to irrigate over 100,000 acres, of which we have significant overdraft of land, or provide daily water for an additional 500,000 homes in California for an entire year.

My amendment would authorize the Bureau of Reclamation to enter into partnerships to determine the amount of water that could be untapped by doing these kinds of efforts.

Fixing California's broken water system, as I have said repeatedly, means using all of the water tools in our water management toolbox. Included in this amendment, we would be having the opportunity to improve our headwater management in an integrated and multidisciplinary approach that is responsive to the changing conditions that we face as we know that will continue to occur.

Mr. Chairman, I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from northern California (Mr. Huffman).

Mr. Chairman, this is a commonsense amendment that has bipartisan support. Frankly, I think as we learned so much more about how the hydrology of California's water systems develop, we need to take advantage of that knowledge. And this amendment will allow us to do so in a way that makes this so valuable resource that we sometimes take for granted--that is our water supply--to allow us to use it in a way that makes sense and will provide the water needs for all Californians.

Mr. Chairman, I urge the support of this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Fixing California's broken water system, as we all know, involves multiple strategies. Recycled water, on-farm recharge, and other innovative methods of increasing water supply, we have found, improves the situation, but there is no silver bullet to solving California's long-term water challenges.

In the Valley, we understand that, and this is why many communities moved forward on efforts to diversify their water supplies. For example, the Del Puerto Water District has partnered in northern Merced and Stanislaus Counties with the cities of Modesto and Turlock on a project that uses treated wastewater to irrigate agricultural fields, creating significant water security for about 30 percent of Del Puerto's Central Valley water supply that is rarely delivered.

This is cost-effective and costs less than other alternatives. We are partnering with local water districts in the city of Mendota and the city of Fresno.

So this is a very valuable source of water, and we ought to encourage it whenever possible. More efforts like this are necessary.

Mr. Chair, I support the amendment.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring attention to the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, and that is Alzheimer's disease.

Since 2000, deaths from Alzheimer's disease have increased by 89 percent. Right now, there are more than 5 million Americans with Alzheimer's, and that number is expected to grow to 14 million--to almost triple--by the year 2050.

Alzheimer's and other dementias can be especially devastating both physically and emotionally for those who have these diseases and for their loved ones, your family and my family--for me, too many aunts and uncles, including my mother.

When Lena Costa was diagnosed with the disease, she took it on with the same strength and courage she had used to beat cancer and survive heart disease. She was in her late eighties. Upon hearing the diagnosis, she turned to my sister and to me and said calmly and bravely: ``Jim, Bette, I will just do the best I can.''

Today, there is no cure for Alzheimer's and there is no effective treatment for it. There is no proven way to prevent the disease or no method for slowing its progression.

Unlike my mother, we are not currently doing the best we can. We must come together to support additional Alzheimer's research--more funding. That is what we did in April when we in the House called for additional support for Alzheimer's research at the National Institutes of Health. But we must do more.

Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. We must stand together, calmly and bravely, like my mom and so many of our loved ones who have been affected by Alzheimer's throughout our country.

Just as importantly, we must fix America's healthcare system. Certainly, in the last week, we have proved that there is no Republican way or Democratic way, but there is an American way, and that is if we work together as Members of Congress to improve America's healthcare system for all.

Executive Order 9066--Japanese Internment

Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to speak also about Executive Order 9066, which was issued 75 years ago--75 years ago--by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The order authorized the evacuation and relocation of all persons deemed to be a threat to national security. What it did, however, was lead to one of the most shameful times in American history, and that was the internment of Japanese Americans. These were American citizens.

From 1942 until 1945, the U.S. Government detained over 120,000 American citizens of Japanese ancestry and of resident immigrants forcing them to live in internment camps, taking them away from their homes, their farms, and their businesses, many in California, in the San Joaquin Valley.

As American citizens, the internment denied them their constitutional right of due process. These were U.S. citizens who were robbed of their rights and their freedoms. Yet, some of these Japanese Americans, while their families were forced to live in internment camps, never forgot their patriotism.

Many served in our Nation's military in World War II in the European theater. The 442nd Infantry Regiment Combat Team was made up of Japanese-American soldiers.

The 442nd is the U.S. Army's most decorated infantry regiment ever. We must remember this time in American history and not repeat it.

We had three assembly centers in the San Joaquin Valley under Executive Order No. 9066, locations where Japanese Americans were forced to relocate and stay for weeks before they were finally sent to the larger internment camps in other parts of the West.

The centers in my district were the Pinedale Assembly Center, the Fresno Assembly Center, and the Merced Assembly Center. They were fairgrounds. Today, we have three memorials on these sites to ensure that we will always remember and never again treat Americans in this reprehensible way.

As Americans, let us never again give into our fears and turn our backs on our fellow Americans. Let us never forget the sacrifice of American values in the name of protecting our great country. These are some of the lessons of American history that we should never, ever forget.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about posttraumatic stress disorder, otherwise referred to as PTSD. Roughly, 5.2 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed in a given year with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Many of these individuals are men and women who have bravely served our Nation's military.

The Department of Veterans Affairs indicates that between 15 and 30 percent of Vietnam veterans have had PTSD in their lifetime; about 12 percent of Desert Storm veterans have been diagnosed with PTSD in a given year; and between 11 and 20 percent of those serving in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom have also been diagnosed with PTSD in a given year.

So today, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Awareness Day, I call on all of us to do more to help our fellow Americans. We can do more, and we must do more.

We must be able to look at those Americans with PTSD in their eyes and say: You are not alone, and we are with you, and we are going to continue to give you the same service that you have given our country.