Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Dr. Kerstin Wasson, the research coordinator to the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, one of the many environmental crown jewels in my district on the central coast of California.

This week, Dr. Wasson received the 2018 National Wetlands Award for Science Research. This prestigious award recognizes Dr. Wasson's extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of our Nation's wetlands. For more than 18 years, Dr. Wasson has distinguished herself as a researcher, conservationist, and mentor at the Elkhorn Slough. It is a great fit for her as it is one of California's few remaining coastal wetlands and a valuable, ecological asset to our community and, I believe, our country.

The Elkhorn Slough reserve manager, Dave Feliz, said Dr. Wasson is a secret weapon to protect our Nation's estuaries. She has been instrumental in informing coastal decisionmakers and implementing initiatives that protect the Elkhorn Slough.

I thank Dr. Wasson, a wetland hero, for her work and congratulate her for this honor.

Mr. Speaker, I recognize National Police Week; however, every day I am aware that officers protect and serve, put their lives on the line each day they serve, and some give their lives for that service.

I also recognize what officers realize, that their sacrifice and service is for everybody: people they know and don't know, and people who love them and people who hate them.

That is a big part of why our officers should be recognized, because no matter who it is, no matter what the danger is, police are trained to and police do what we naturally don't do as civilians: they run towards the danger, not away from it.

As a former prosecutor, I worked with many law enforcement officers that I will never forget. More importantly, there are victims and victims' family members who will never forget the service of police, including the family of Azahel Cruz, a 6-year-old that was killed in a drive-by shooting.

The case went unsolved for 5 years; however, due to the dogged determination of Officer Tom Larkin and DA Investigator Peter Austin, witnesses were found, evidence was presented, I proved the case at trial, and a murderer was convicted and removed from the streets for good.

Police work will never replace the life of Azahel, but that service and the service and sacrifice of our officers is exactly why we recognize our police officers this week.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and celebrate the 150th Anniversary of the Congregational Church of Soquel. Established in May of 1868, the Congregational Church of Soquel has built a legacy of providing a safe and supportive environment for many of my constituents in the 20th Congressional District of California. The church has a history of service and sanctuary, while actively engaging in acts of compassion, justice, and a sense of responsibility.

The Congregational Church of Soquel--also known as the Little White Church in the Vale--has served as a pillar of the Soquel community since it was first organized by Joshua and Narcissa Parrish in 1868. The Church, both as a brick-and-mortar institution and as a family, persevered through many adversities while maintaining a sense of service to the community. The Church has repeatedly served as a shelter and temporary fire station during natural disasters. Even through the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake which devastated much of our community, the Church remained indomitable.

The Church not only provides opportunities for satisfying spiritual needs, but also works to provide tangible solutions to community needs, including hunger and homelessness. Currently, the Church fulfills its mission of addressing food insecurity and homelessness through its partnership with many crucial organizations in my district such as Meals on Wheels, the Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Homeless Services Center. In addition, the church also partners with The Great Chili Cook-Off, which supports the Mid-County Homeless Coalition-- Shower Trailer Program. Through these partnerships, local organizations can ensure that many of those in need are provided with emergency food and housing.

The Church not only looks for opportunities to help within our community, but also beyond our country's borders. The Church continues to address food insecurity internationally through its work with the Panamerican Institute in Tijuana, Mexico. There, the Church provides food baskets for families of the Institute and motivates both youth and adults to make improvements in schools and homes in the area. In addition to the church's service in Mexico, they also participate in Solehope, which provides shoes to children in Uganda. In Kenya, the church supports Happy Life Children's Home, which helps to find homes for abandoned children. These missions and services that the church participates in locally and globally show their dedication to uplifting communities.

Mr. Speaker, it is my honor to recognize the dedication and commitment to compassion and justice that the Congregational Church of Soquel provides to the 20th Congressional District. We are fortunate to have an institution like the Congregational Church of Soquel call the central coast of California home. I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Congregational Church of Soquel.

Mr. Chair, as I have told you, it is an absolute honor to serve on the Committee on Agriculture, under the leadership of the chairman as well as the ranking member. There is no doubt about that. But I mainly say that based on the work that this committee does, the work that this committee does to serve those in agriculture and what that

service can do for the backbone industry of our country.

However, as a Representative on this committee and as a Representative of the salad bowl of the world on the central coast of California, my country and, yes, my community expected more out of this farm bill.

Look, in my area, with its flourishing specialty crop industry, we wanted more funding for the specialty crop research initiative. Because of our specialty crops, we have a labor shortage because of the people who are needed to pick those crops. Therefore, we needed stronger language in the bill for mechanization to help with our labor issues and to bridge that gap from the Salinas Valley into the Silicon Valley.

With our burgeoning organic industry, we needed more funding and less cuts for the Organic Certification Cost Share Program so that we can properly invest in beginning producers.

In addition to this, the majority is trying to implement an untested and unproven change to title IV of the SNAP provision. Such a change threatens to remove over a million people from the program and deeply affects the 74,000 people who are recipients of SNAP living and working in my community.

We can do better by our farmers. We can do better by the families across our country by getting back to our bipartisan roots. That is how we help our agriculture. That is how we help our country.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of an organization that displays the unique artistic virtue of my district. The Santa Cruz Symphony has served my district on the central coast of California by promoting, fostering, and furthering musical cultural enrichment, appreciation, and innovation. This year the Santa Cruz Symphony is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary. Since its founding in 1958, the Santa Cruz Symphony has fostered the musical arts by organizing thousands of concerts, community events and productions over the years.

The Santa Cruz Symphony has helped children in Santa Cruz County with their youth education program. Since 1996, this program has engaged elementary school students throughout the county by coordinating year- long classical music listening programs, providing musicians who attend classrooms to

discuss and demonstrate their instruments, and hosting free youth concerts for over 4,000 4th and 5th graders. With a deep commitment to education, The Santa Cruz Symphony has also established the Mueller Scholarship Fund which provides financial assistance to aspiring young musicians.

The Santa Cruz Symphony has a greatly talented array of musicians and composers and has hosted many notable concerts. The Symphony takes great pride in working with and being conducted by Maestro Daniel Stewart's remarkable musical genius and artistic talent. During their 60th anniversary season, the symphony's most recent production, Celebration, has generated much acclaim. By featuring renowned soloists like Yuja Wang and promoting the works of living composers, The Santa Cruz Symphony continues to add to the musical richness of our community by delivering outstanding performances.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize the dedication and cultural enrichment the Santa Cruz Symphony has provided to the Central Coast, Santa Cruz, and the entire State of California. I ask my distinguished colleagues to join me in recognizing the Santa Cruz Symphony as an indispensable cultural asset of our community.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today alongside my colleagues, Congressman Jim Costa and Congressman Jeff Denham, to celebrate the life of Rick Lester Antle, a pioneer in the Salinas Valley agriculture industry. From the age of 26, Rick was the President and CEO of Tanimura & Antle, one of the largest leafy greens and vegetable producers in the region.

Rick always put family first, whether it was his beloved wife, grandchildren, or his own children--two of whom followed in their dad's footsteps to work with the family-run company. The value of family was instilled in Rick, with his business growing out of a long partnership between the Tanimura and Antle families. After being placed in an internment camp during World War II and losing their farmland, the Tanimura family rebuilt their farming operation in the Salinas Valley. Rick's grandfather, Bud Antle, was a prominent shipper and salesman at the time, and formed a natural partnership with the Tanimura family as a supplier. For years, the two families worked together to benefit each other. In 1982, the two families decided to go into business together by forming Tanimura & Antle, with the Tanimura family continuing to tend the land and the Antle family handling the shipping and selling of produce.

Following the lead of his father and grandfather, Rick worked to keep family at the heart of T&A's mission. He saw his employees at T&A as family and always worked to put them first, investing time and money into making their lives better. When Rick realized his employees were having a difficult time affording housing in the Salinas Valley, he established an initiative in Spreckels, California to provide housing for 800 T&A employees. This project set the gold standard for farmworker housing and highlights the level of care Rick had for his workers.

Following the establishment of the Spreckels Crossing housing project, Rick transitioned his company to offer an Employee Stock Ownership Plan, allowing T&A employees to own a stake in the company. Rick recognized that the success of his business was due to his dedicated employees, and believed everyone should benefit from this shared achievement.

In addition to investing in his employees, Rick was on the forefront of advancing specialty crop innovation. From developing machines that reduce production inputs to implementing entire growing systems focused on conservation, Rick's commitment to good stewardship of land, air, and water was reflected in his practices. Under his leadership, T&A has continuously shown how and why investments in agriculture technology are necessary.

We each have benefitted from personally knowing Rick. As members of Congress, he helped us improve our understanding of the California agriculture industry and those who work in it. He always made a point to stress the value of the farming communities in our districts. After all, they were his family. Rick's leadership in the Salinas Valley has transformed the region, further establishing the area as the ``Salad Bowl of the World,'' and his legacy will continue to propel this industry forward. A true giant in both personality and professional impact, Rick's presence in our community will be profoundly missed.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital on its 65th anniversary.

In 1941 Bruce Church, a local businessman and philanthropist, had a vision to build a hospital for the people of Salinas. He donated land to the project and twelve years later his vision became a reality. In recognition of this philanthropic endeavor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent Mr. Church a letter congratulating him which read, ``The people of the Salinas Valley have every right to be proud of this admirable example of local self-reliance and initiative.''

On April 20, 1953, the 138-bed hospital triumphantly opened its doors, supported by one-hundred employees and forty-five physicians. The hospital's founders envisioned a technologically advanced hospital of the highest quality to serve the residents of the Salinas Valley. Salinas Valley Memorial has lived up to the founders' vision in providing state of the art health care services.

Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital has grown to hold 266 beds and employs 1,600 people and 300 board certified physicians with a myriad of specialties. The hospital's successful medical research and use of revolutionary health care technology has been facilitated by its bold partnerships with both local organizations and leading global institutions for science and medicine, such as NASA and Stanford University.

Salinas Valley Memorial provides comprehensive health care and offers patients a variety of specialty care by working with partners to address important health issues like diabetes, obesity, and cancer. This hospital's dedication to expanding health care into underserved communities has fostered increased education and wellness, allowing the diverse citizenry to make permanent lifestyle choices for a healthy community.

I am honored to recognize the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and the many contributions it has made to the Central Coast of California. It has bolstered and encouraged the health and well-being of our community throughout the last sixty-five years. Through investing in the latest medical technologies, conducting clinical research, and providing education to the community, this hospital has, from its inception, played an invaluable role in the lives of the residents of the Salinas Valley.

We continue to be proud of the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital and everyone who has been involved in its extraordinary work and mission over the last sixty-five years. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the house join me in congratulating the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital for a triumphant sixty-five years of excellence.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the National Day of Silence, a day of silence to bring attention to the discrimination and harassment faced by our LGBT youth across our country.

Eight out of ten LGBT students are harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity by the time they graduate from high school, students like Annie Hsu, at Santa Cruz High School in my district on the central coast of California, who has said that ``we must be unafraid to stand up against marginalization.''

This month, those of us on the LGBT Equality Caucus took that stand by introducing the Student Non-Discrimination Act. This bill would prohibit discrimination in public schools based on actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity, and it would protect students from the intimidation and violence they may receive.

By standing up and speaking out, Annie and other LGBT students give us motivation to push forward and pass laws that will protect every student in every school across every community so that they are not afraid to be themselves.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my good friends and colleagues Mr. Denham and Mr. Costa, to recognize somebody, as you can tell, who clearly impacted not just the lives of the three of us but the lives of many people on the Central Coast of California, the Central Valley of California, and across this Nation.

Today we obviously commemorate, we celebrate, Rick Antle and what he has done for the Salinas Valley agriculture industry and what he and his family at T&A did to claim that area as the Salad Bowl of the World. Let me tell you, he did it through innovation, and he did it through ingenuity, in dealing with the specialty crops and the technology and practices that are needed in order to grow those types of crops.

He was on the forefront of innovation when it came to precision farming, from growing hydroponic lettuce to plant tape, to a Robovator. The farming at T&A used less water and less pesticides, and that led to less harm to our environment. Yet they still continued to grow a vast amount of vegetables.

I can tell you it wasn't just his investments in innovation that set Rick apart; it was his ingenuity and foresight that inspired him to implement standards to protect our community, our environment, to invest in making his employees' lives better, and to strive to impact policies that would improve the agricultural industry.

Rick clearly was a steward of our environment, from T&A's packaging and energy use, to maintaining soil health, to monitoring water usage. T&A was dedicated to ensuring long-term sustainability to benefit our community, our planet, and yes, our next generation.

Rick was committed to making his employees' lives better, from providing that state-of-the-art housing that my colleagues mentioned to offering employees stock options so that they could be a part of that company, they could have a stake in that company.

Yes, Rick was always a tireless advocate for the agriculture industry. We definitely valued his voice and his advice. And I can tell you, like I said, it wasn't just us but clearly his family that he influenced. I will never forget his son Brian talking about the best piece of advice that he got from Rick. It was when he was in high school. Rick was getting him out in the fields. And Rick's advice to Brian was: Look, the best fertilizer a farmer can have is his farmer's own shadow. Being there, showing up. That is what Rick did.

As you can see, Mr. Speaker, Rick was and he is a legend, not just on the Central Coast, not just in the Central Valley, but in the agricultural community. Carrie and I will miss him, and we know that his spirit will continue to be felt, not just in the Salad Bowl of the World but in all of our worlds.

Mr. Chairman, I thank Ranking Member DeFazio and Chairman Shuster. Our families have some history, but I also appreciate your friendship and leadership on this issue.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of my amendment to H.R. 4. My amendment will ensure that the FAA studies alternative ways to measure sound over a period of time, such as actual noise sampling, to properly capture the experience of those on the ground.

I offer this amendment for my constituents in Carmel Valley to Capitola to Santa Cruz. Those are people who lived in communities that were once quiet until the FAA NextGen changed the routes over their houses back in 2015. Their health, their sleep, their pets, their well- being were all affected by the sound of jet engines, air brakes, and landing gear.

I appreciate the work that FAA has done to get us close to quieter skies in my community, as well as the Select Committee on these issues and their work with the FAA. However, like many Members who have districts who have faced these types of airplane noise concerns, I believe that the existing day-night level 65-decibel standard is out of date, out of touch, and inadequate to measure the amount of sound pollution impacting our communities.

My amendment would ensure not just alternative ways, but proper ways to study noise sampling. I appreciate the committee for including this amendment en bloc.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the passing of Rick Antle, an absolute legend of the agriculture industry in our Salinas Valley and all across our great Nation.

Rick was the president and CEO of the produce giant, Tanimura & Antle. T&A's success was due to Rick's and his family's stewardship of the environment, as well as his employees. For the farmworkers, who he called the backbone of his business, he provided state-of-the-art healthcare and housing, and invited all of his employees to join a stock option program so that they could become owners of the company. The way he ran T&A was a testament to his caring personality and his political philosophy.

Yet, for Rick, nothing was more important than family. A beloved son, a devoted husband and soulmate to his wife, Tonya, a doting grandfather, and a dedicated father, Rick's love for his family, generosity to his employees, and contributions to the agriculture community and to our community will never be forgotten.

That is why I will never forget his son, Brian, recounting the best piece of advice Rick ever gave him, which was that ``the best fertilizer a farmer can ever use is his shadow.'' To me, that philosophy sums up Rick and the Antle family, and that is why he will always be there, and that is why Rick Antle will always be with us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the University of California at Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, specifically, their rocket team, the so-called Rocket Slugs, for not only being selected to compete in NASA's elite Student Launch Week, but for medaling in the Best Rocket Fair Display.

The annual competition in Huntsville, Alabama, allows students to research and develop projects related to NASA's Space Launch System. That is America's deep space exploration rocket that is built to return astronauts to the Moon and possibly even send them to Mars.

Their work is a testament to UC Santa Cruz and team cocaptains Kent Roberts and Zafar Rustamkulov. These students pushed the limits of design and engineering, pushed themselves through trial and error, and proved that they can push their dreams to the Moon and beyond.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Santa Cruz Yacht Club as they celebrate their 90th anniversary. For 90 years, the Santa Cruz Yacht Club has dedicated itself to the enrichment of our community by supporting yachting and sailing.

The Santa Cruz Yacht Club was established in 1928 by local businessmen Bruce Sharp, Charlie Towne, and Sam Leask Jr. Despite low membership and meager availability for meeting venues in the yacht's early years, the club persisted and soon held their first sponsored race from Long Beach to San Francisco.

Over the next 20 years, the Santa Cruz Yacht Club grew into a community institution. In 1938, they began hosting the premier local sailing event, the Windjammers Race, which remains popular today. In the 1970s, the Santa Cruz Yacht Club was at the forefront of the ultra light displacement boat (ULDB) movement, which revolutionized yacht racing. In the late 1970s, Santa Cruz Yacht Club member Bill Lee's ULDB Merlin shattered the Trans Pacific Race record, signaling to the rest of the world that Santa Cruz ULDBs could compete at the highest level. Merlin held that record for 20 years.

To this day, the Santa Cruz Yacht Club hosts numerous local, regional, national, and international regattas. The Santa Cruz Yacht Club also serves the community by providing a variety of sailing programs and scholastic programs for students of all ages. Additionally, the club offers educational materials on accident prevention and promotes environmentally friendly practices to ensure a clean environment for generations to come.

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to recognize the Santa Cruz Yacht Club for their service to the central coast of California.

Mr. Speaker, as a Representative of the salad bowl of the world, the 20th Congressional District in California, I commemorate and celebrate National Ag Day.

In my district, the number one industry is agriculture, yes, because of the fertile land, but also because of the fearless attitude of farmers and farmworkers, growers, and families and friends of those in agriculture.

Having grown up on the central coast, we understand that the key to their success is based on that willingness to take risk. We know that risk-taking attitude is the foundation of our country, but since then, the seed of risk taking has been sown in our culture and spread across our agricultural community.

People in agriculture are constantly using that trait to deal with Mother Nature, to overcome government mandates, to transform for the changing market conditions, and to contend with the lack of immigration reform right here in Congress.

Nevertheless, with that risk-taking attitude, people in agriculture don't shrink from those challenges; they stand up to them. That is why they not only survive, they succeed. That is why we in Congress shouldn't just recognize people in agriculture today; we should learn from them every day.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service and character of a great American on the occasion of his retirement from civilian service with the United States Navy. Peter G. Dausen, or simply Pete as he is known to all, has given his entire adult life to the service of his family and country. He has set a towering example to all of us fortunate to know him. As Pete steps down from the position of Deputy and Technical Director for the Naval Support Activity Monterey, we all know that his influence has reached far beyond the strict confines of the job title.

Pete graduated from Kent State University in 1974 and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the United States Army. He served in uniform for nearly 30 years as a signals officer with tours of duty across the United States and abroad. He oversaw signals operations in Somalia during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. He served as a peace keeper in Bosnia. He led soldiers and mentored young officer and NCOs. Along the way he earned two Masters Degrees and graduated from the Army War College, in Strategic Studies. Upon promotion to Colonel, Pete came to the Monterey Peninsula to serve as the Garrison Commander Presidio of Monterey, home of the Defense Language Institute and Ord Military Community. Although at first Pete was reticent to shift from warrior to city manager, he excelled in this last Army command.

Upon retirement from active duty at the conclusion of his Garrison Command, Pete transitioned into the civilian position managing the facilities for the Naval Postgraduate School also located in Monterey. This role, which grew into the fully fledged Naval Support Activity Monterey during his tenure, became vital to the success of the military missions located in Monterey. He successfully advocated for new investments in the facilities at the NPS, the Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanographic Center, the Navy Research Lab and the Navy War College. These efforts included helping to secure over $212 million in MilCon funding to update and improve facilities and advance these missions. He was also instrumental in standing up the new RCI housing and strengthening MWR programs for military families. Pete takes particular pride in the new academic fence that rings the public frontage of NPS.

Pete has been a tireless advocate of the broader military mission in Monterey. He has played a vital role in the mission of TEAM Monterey, which has been crucial in advancing our national security interests by fostering long-term, positive community relationships between military facilities and public officials. Throughout his career, Pete has been a role model for the men and women who have been lucky enough to serve under him, as exemplified by his recent selection as a recipient of the Superior Civilian Service Award.

In honor of his service, I would like to express my gratitude for Peter G. Dausen for his dedication to this country and our community. I wish him all the best and I am sure that he is looking forward to continuing his impressive portfolio of artwork, and spending time with his loving family.