Floor Statements

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

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

Mr. Chairman, the underlying bill provides $5 million for the CBP Camera Technology Initiative. My amendment would simply double the funding for this initiative by providing an additional $5 million for a total of $10 million.

In 2015, CBP released the findings of a yearlong body-worn camera feasibility study, concluding that body-worn cameras would have ``positive benefits.''

The study found numerous benefits, including enhanced training capabilities through the utilization of footage as a learning tool; strengthened officer and agent performance and accountability; reduced hostilities between officers/agents and citizens; a reduction in the number of allegations and complaints; and increased officer and agent safety by influencing public behavior.

Law enforcement agencies across the country are quickly adopting body-worn camera technology because they see similar benefits. However, body-worn cameras are expensive, so it is necessary to provide additional resources for CBP to deploy the technology more effectively and in greater numbers.

We need to ensure that we outfit as many Border Patrol agents with body cameras as we can for the current 19,000 agents, as well as the additional 5,000 Border Patrol agents this bill would provide for.

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

Mr. Chairman, earlier this year, DHS Secretary John Kelly told the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that he did not oppose requiring agents to wear body cameras, as long as Congress provides the necessary funding. My amendment would do just that.

There are tremendous safety and accountability benefits to having video records of law enforcement interactions with the public, both for law enforcement officers and for the public.

I would note that a few years ago, when we debated body cameras for law enforcement, at that time, the majority accepted my amendment to increase body camera funding for law enforcement officers by $10 million. In fact, my hometown of San Antonio, I believe, now every patrol officer is outfitted with a body camera.

I respect the chairman's concerns about the cost of storage, but I would ask the chairman and my colleagues to consider the fact that the cost of storage, this $10 million, is a small cost when we are talking about people's lives. That could be the lives of the agents themselves or the lives of people that they interact with in the public.

Law enforcement, by and large--putting aside CBP agents for now, police departments across the country have accepted this technology as not only the thing of the future, but the thing of the present, what they are using now.

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

Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

Mr. Chairman, again, I understand those concerns. But just as we have cameras here, so that the public can listen to every word that is being said in this Chamber, it is important that when law enforcement officers, including CBP officers, are interacting with the public--and that includes many U.S. citizens, not just immigrants who are coming across the border or folks who are coming across checkpoints, but United States citizens and legal residents. And for the sake of the agents, who may also have false accusations made against them, that is why this is important. Because there are sometimes accusations that are made that can be rebutted by this evidence.

The American people, just as they want this process to be transparent, they want that process to also be transparent with as much accountability as possible. And for the United States Congress not to move forward with that and commit what is really a poultry sum of $10 million and show a willingness to do that, I think is ignoring what most of the American people want.

As I mentioned before, I worked with the San Antonio Police Department. They came to me and said: Will you help us get these body cameras?

We put in a request for a grant. We got $1 million to cover the officers who were on patrol. I have not heard in San Antonio a complaint from those officers about body cameras. And studies have shown that, as I mentioned, it has reduced the tension between law enforcement officers and the public.

I respect the gentleman, and I understand the arguments, but I think that, on a whole, this is a matter of transparency, accountability, and people's lives, and we ought to do this.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

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

Mr. Chair, in its report accompanying this bill, the Appropriations Committee states that: ``ICE is currently evaluating the use of body- worn cameras for potential use in its field enforcement activities, and notes that such cameras can be important tools for both holding law enforcement personnel accountable and for exonerating officers accused of wrongdoing.''

My amendment would support ICE's use of body-worn cameras by providing $10 million exclusively for ICE to deploy this technology.

The citizens of this country have come to expect law enforcement officers to wear body cameras even when

enforcing immigration laws, and law enforcement agencies throughout the country are quickly adopting this technology.

Body-worn cameras are widely supported, because they are important tools that improve officer interactions with the public, deescalate conflicts, and improve public trust in law enforcement, but this tool is expensive, so we need to provide the resources ICE needs to get its program up and running.

The $10 million in this amendment mirrors the amount of money I am requesting for border patrol agent cameras.

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

Again, Mr. Chairman, this is an issue, fundamentally, of transparency and accountability; and the argument that I hear coming from the other side is that this is an evidentiary issue and that it is going to be too much of a hassle, so we don't want to hear or see what is in these cameras or on this video. That cannot be a responsible approach to law enforcement or to our judicial system.

I am asking in this amendment for $10 million. We spend more in furniture in this Chamber, in this House of Representatives, than the amount of money that I am requesting in this amendment. We spend more on Member travel every year than the amount of money that I am requesting in this amendment to make sure that both agents and the public are safer.

Let me give you an example, one example of what body cameras recently found in Baltimore, Maryland.

An officer was seen on camera, a body camera recorded an officer planting drugs that he then pretended to find on a suspect. A week later, another officer was also found to be planting evidence. Are we saying tonight that the American people and our judicial system don't want to see that evidence because of some storage problem?

And, by the way, technology and the cloud have made storage a lot cheaper, so I think that information is outdated. The argument on that side is outdated.

To vote ``no,'' to recommend against this amendment, is to say that we are going to see no evil, hear no evil, and we are, instead, going to let both agents who may face false accusations, as they did, I'm sure, in the 1960s and 1970s and 1980s and 1990s, and others who were victims of the use of force in the 1970s, we are just going to turn a blind eye and continue that practice.

That cannot be the policy of this Congress. That is not the future of the American judicial system and our policing system.

I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, how much time do I have remaining?

People's lives are at stake. When we talk about policing practices and transparency, accountability, the use of body cameras, these things have made people safer in their communities. They have made law enforcement safer.

The concern about what could happen or what might happen, this technology is already being widely used among police officers and police departments across the country. The chairman gave the example of the Department of Public Safety using dash cams.

Dash cams have been used on law enforcement vehicles for a long time, and that did not break the bank of the State of Texas. The State of Texas has a $10 billion rainy day fund right now, a surplus.

$10 million, which is what this amendment requests, is a small amount of money compared to the amount of money that we spend on furniture in this place. Are we saying that we don't want to discover whether somebody is planting evidence or whether somebody is making a false accusation against an ICE agent who is just trying to do his or her job, that, instead, we are going to turn a blind eye to that because we would rather spend it on leather seats or Member travel or something else?

This is the future. These cameras are going to be used at some point by Border Patrol, by ICE, by law enforcement. As I said, law enforcement stepped forward and requested my assistance in getting money for body cameras in San Antonio, and so I hope that my colleagues will find it in themselves to support this amendment.

I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

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

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

Mr. Chairman, my amendment would prohibit the Department of Homeland Security from entering into contracts

with privatized immigration detention facilities for fiscal year 2018.

A study done by the Homeland Security Advisory Council's Subcommittee on Privatized Immigration Detention Facilities found that privatized detention facilities experienced a multitude of issues, including deficiencies in staffing, subpar medical care, inefficient abuse reporting systems, and a lack of transparency.

Further, an in-depth report on two of the country's private detention facilities show further injustices, such as inadequate access to legal information and services.

It is best that DHS is prohibited from doing business with these facilities until these issues are resolved and it is shown that these facilities meet ICE's Performance-Based National Detention Standards.

This amendment is necessary, as the government's reliance on privatized facilities will continue to grow, based on trends in detention. In fact, only 9.2 percent of detained individuals are in ICE-owned facilities. We must ensure that detained individuals are treated humanely and that they have access to due process.

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

Mr. Chairman, studies have shown repeatedly that these private detention centers are of a lower quality than publicly owned facilities.

There is something very perverse about an industry in the private detention and private prison industry that basically profits off of mass incarceration and that has an economic incentive to get more people into detention, into jail, into prison, and, at the same time, tries to do everything that it can to cut costs and cut corners. In doing so, it fails not only its public charge and its duty, but also terribly fails the people entrusted to it.

The fact is that these private prisons, the detention centers, the companies that own them, hired lobbyists in California, for example, within the last few years. They had 70 lobbyists. One of the companies had 70 lobbyists on staff. They lobby for harsher criminal penalties. Why? Because the more people that have to be detained, the more money they make.

That simply is not how the criminal justice system should work and that is not how we should do detention within the immigration realm.

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

Mr. Chairman, this is about treating people as humanely as possible. When profit is the main thing that drives the decisions on detention, incarceration, the conditions in which people are detained, then we are doing a severe injustice to those folks. Because of that, I ask my colleagues to support this amendment.

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

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Madam Speaker, I will spare you that.

Madam Speaker, I voice my support for H.R. 3180, the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2018.

The men and women of America's intelligence community, the best in the world, protect our country every day. They serve beyond the front lines of conflict to collect and analyze intelligence on our adversaries.

In addition to being highly effective, America's intelligence community adapts as the threats our country faces shift on a daily basis. Their effectiveness is amplified when they are in close

cooperation and coordination with policymakers.

I want to thank my fellow members on the committee, especially Ranking Member Schiff and Chairman Nunes, for working with me to add language into this bill requiring the intelligence community to brief Congress on our intelligence capabilities in the South China Sea.

Over $5 trillion in ship-borne commerce flows through the region each year, including the vast majority of sea-borne energy imports by close U.S. partners such as Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

The security of the United States and those of these partners is closely linked to the ability of the United States to guarantee the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

Our ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea threaten the principles of a rules-based order and the security of the United States and our allies.

The language in the IAA allows Congress to more effectively understand the needs of the intelligence community. It allows for a two-way conversation so that Congress can act to provide the intelligence community the tools and authorities it needs to inform policymakers.

Madam Speaker, I rise today to offer my condolences to the loved ones and families of the 10 victims who died in the tragic human smuggling incident that took place in my hometown of San Antonio, Texas, over the weekend. Many before them have sought to come to our country by land and sea, and have perished.

These were not Americans, but they are children of God. This was, above all else, politics aside, a human tragedy.

Please join me in a moment of silence to remember the victims and the countless others like them who have lost their lives in pursuit of the American Dream.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Engel for yielding.

I also thank Chairman Royce for his leadership on the sanctions package. The American people have been waiting some time for the sanctions package to finally pass.

This bill dials up our current sanctions on North Korea, Iran, and Russia to hold their governments accountable for their destabilizing actions.

The Russia piece in this package is particularly necessary. Russia has flagrantly violated international law by invading Ukraine and interfering in American and European elections. These sanctions are a clear signal that the United States will hold President Putin and his close associates accountable for their actions. They are also a declaration that Congress can and will act, even when President Trump refuses to do so.

In addition to these sanctions, Congress must continue to investigate to determine the scope of Russia's attack on America's democracy and establish which Americans, if any, aided in those efforts.

Again, I thank Ranking Member Engel, Chairman Royce, and everyone in this Congress who has supported these sanctions.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Jaime Martinez, a son of San Antonio and civil rights leader who left an indelible mark on our city and nation. He was raised on the West Side of San Antonio by his grandparents, immigrants to the United States who had an appreciation for President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that resonated with Jaime in his youth. They involved him at an early age in La Sociedad Mutualista Mexicana, which taught Jaime the importance of serving the community and helping others.

After attending Lanier High School, Jaime pursued his passion for music, and toured with a number of bands across the United States and Canada before returning to San Antonio in 1966. Shortly after, he joined the International Union of Electrical Workers (IUE, now the IUE- AFL-CIO) Local 780. Jaime went on

to become the Secretary Treasurer for the Executive Board of IUE District 11, the first Mexican American to do so at the national level, and served as the National Labor Coordinator for Coordinadora 96.

A talented and passionate organizer, Jaime served as first vice president for the Central Labor Council of the AFL-CIO and as president of the national Labor Council of Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). Also a strong advocate for immigrant rights, Jaime founded and was president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council No. 4626 in San Antonio. Later, he became the National Chairperson of the Immigration Committee tor LCLAA and treasurer of LULAC at the national level. For nearly two decades, until his passing, Jaime also served as the founder and chairman of the Cesar Chavez Legacy and Educational Foundation.

Jaime is survived by his wife, Maria Guadalupe Martinez; his daughter, Sarah Marie Martinez; his sons Ernest J. Martinez and Christopher Michael Martinez; his daughter-in-law Joyce A. Martinez; and his granddaughters Erika, Kayla, Amanda, and Sophia. I wish the entire Martinez family comfort and solace at this difficult time. Jaime's life of leadership and service improved the lives of workers and immigrants across the country. He will be missed.

Mr. Speaker, every day, millions of Americans from every corner of our Nation get up early in the morning, leave their families, go off to work. They work hard to support themselves and their families. Many of them work two or more jobs at a time. Some come home very late, miss seeing their kids go to bed. These are folks, again, in every part of the Nation who don't ask much from their government. The only thing that they ask is that we live in a country where there is opportunity to pursue their American Dreams.

That means different things for different people. Some kids dream of growing up and being a teacher, an engineer, a lawyer, a firefighter, many things. As parents, we want to see our kids succeed, to live in a nation that remains the preeminent Nation of opportunity around the world.

Unfortunately, over the last 6 months, the policies pursued by this administration are endangering the United States' infrastructure of opportunity, endangering our position in the world. Today we are going to have an opportunity to talk about some of those policies that are harmful to America now and America in the future.

President Trump's proposals on the budget, for example, would hurt the creation of jobs, the ability of people to get healthcare, would be bad for the environment, would do so much harm in so many ways. So I am honored tonight to be with three of my colleagues, all of us from different parts of the country: Myself from Texas, the congresswoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Moore), the congresswoman from Washington State (Ms. Jayapal), and the congresswoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

First I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin, Congresswoman Gwen Moore, because I know that she has some very strong opinions and perspectives on healthcare.

This week, I thought it was astounding, in the course of less than 24 hours, the Senate was unable to pass a healthcare bill. The President had promised for months that there would be a new healthcare bill to replace so-called ObamaCare. That failed in the Senate. And then the strategy after that became: Well, we are just going to repeal this, and we are going to give ourselves 2 years to come up with a replacement.

That failed today, and I think it failed for good reasons, because that would be disastrous for the American people; 32 million people would be dropped from the healthcare rolls if all you did was repeal.

So what were you hearing in this whole debate in Wisconsin from your constituents and your voters up there?

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.

Sixty-four percent of long-term nursing home stays are paid for by Medicaid.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

And, Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz, in the 1990s, my grandmother was in her eighties. In 1993, she went into a nursing home and stayed there for about 3 years until she passed away. My grandmother suffered most of her life from type 2 diabetes, and before the end of her life, she had to have one of her legs amputated, and finally succumbed to congenital heart failure, but there is no way that my family, my mom, would have been able to afford to pay for 3 years of a nursing home stay but for the effect of this program.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.

And, by the way, Congresswoman Moore, that is why a lot of people were referring to these cuts as cruel. I mean, it really is cruel.

That is right. You bring up a great point, and then I want to talk real quick about the budget.

There is this underlying tone from the President and from other politicians that some of the folks who are on Medicaid are somehow undeserving, that they are somehow freeloading, and that is just not the case. It is a complete misunderstanding of who these Americans are.

We talk about how healthcare failed. It seems like the President promised healthcare, but it didn't happen.

One of the things that they wanted to do before healthcare, which hasn't happened either, was tax reform. That is going to be very difficult, especially when one of the foundations of your new tax plan is giving a tax cut to the wealthiest folks, literally who need it the least, but it raises a question of the budget and what the budget does for the American people.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Congresswoman, you bring up a great point, and you focused on the environment there and how the President's budget proposal and the majority's budget proposal is damaging to the environment.

I think about a series that I saw yesterday in Texas. The Texas Tribune is an online publication, but it is kind of like the State newspaper, and they did a series called ``A Pass to Poison.'' And in the series, they noted that in 2016, I believe, there were about 3,700 incidents of air pollution in Texas, and the regulating agency in Texas, which is TCEQ, only gave out fines for 20 of those incidents.

So you talk about breathing harmful air. I can't help but think what will happen if these cuts that are being proposed under this budgetary situation go through, are we going to have 5,000 incidents now, and you are still only going to fine 20 people?

I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

Mr. Speaker, when Americans think about their main concerns--I have a bread and butter district where people are thinking foremost about their work. They want to make sure that they can support themselves and their family members, but there hasn't been much in the way of anything from the White House to create jobs.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington (Ms. Jayapal).

I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Washington.

I yield to the gentlewoman from Wisconsin.

I hear you. I wanted to give Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz the last word.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Wasserman Schultz).

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

Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 6 o'clock and 55 minutes p.m.), under its previous order, the House adjourned until tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at 10 a.m. for morning-hour debate.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in memory of Corporal Frank Sandoval, a Korean War veteran who was laid to rest at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio today.

Corporal Sandoval was taken as a prisoner of war and died in a North Korean POW camp when he was just 20 years old. His family was notified that he was missing in 1951, and told of his death in 1953. Sadly, at the time, Corporal Sandoval's remains were misidentified and interred at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii.

Thankfully, through DNA analysis, the Department of Defense was recently able to correctly identify Corporal Sandoval's body, and he has returned home to San Antonio after more than 60 years.

That Corporal Sandoval will now permanently rest in San Antonio provides his family with long-awaited closure. His sons, Alex and Frank, who were just babies when their father left to serve the United States overseas, have finally had the opportunity to welcome him home. I join the San Antonio community in wishing the Sandoval family well and honoring the return of a patriot who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the life and legacy of Florentino ``Tino'' Duran, a publisher, veteran, and philanthropist who worked tirelessly to help San Antonians.

Born in San Antonio, Texas in 1934, Tino graduated from Lanier High School and went on to serve in the U.S. Air Force. He attended San Antonio College where he first flexed his journalism muscle while working on tbe school paper, The Ranger. After earning his bachelor's degree in political science, Tino continued his education and completed a master's degree in public administration at St. Mary's University.

Tino later became general manager of Dallas newspaper El Sol de Tejas and then served as president and CEO of Fort Worth's El Infomador Hispano. But his crowning professional achievement was his tenure as publisher of La Prensa De San Antonio, the first bilingual publication in Texas. According to his family, Tino strove to inform, educate, and inspire San Antonians, particularly the Hispanic community.

A compassionate, generous man who understood the power of education, Tino established. the La Prensa Foundation in 1995 with his wife Amelia ``Millie'' Duran to award college scholarships to local students. Since its creation, the La Prensa Foundation has provided more than 200 students with over $2 million of financial assistance to attend institutions throughout Texas.

Tino is survived by his beloved wife of 62 years, Millie; his three sons Tino Jr., David, and Steve, and their wives Susan, Norma and Virginia; his daughters Nina and Margie, and Margie's husband Kenneth; 13 grandchildren; and 18 great-grandchildren.

I offer my condolences to Tino's family and share the gratitude so many San Antonians have for Tino's tremendous service to our community.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this measure.

I want to thank the bill's authors, Representative Schakowsky and Representative Noem, for their years' worth of work on this measure. I also want to thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for helping move it forward.

Wherever there are conflicts around the world, women and girls face particular vulnerabilities, but they also possess unique abilities to bring peace and prosperity to their communities.

Research has shown that getting women involved in conflict resolution and peace building leads to better outcomes. That is why the Obama administration launched its executive order on Women, Peace, and Security in 2011 to make sure women had a seat at the table when it came to conflict prevention and resolution.

Thanks to the Obama administration's efforts, the United States has worked to include women in conflict prevention, negotiation, and resolution. We have promoted efforts to enhance the physical and economic security of women around the world, and we have sought to break through the barriers that have stopped women from being full participants in peace processes.

The bill we are considering will make these policies permanent. It would build on what the Obama administration has accomplished by making sure agency personnel across our government are fully trained on the unique strengths women bring to conflict prevention and resolution. It would also require annual reporting so Congress can stay apprised of these efforts.

Making this strategy permanent is absolutely imperative. It is important that we fully recognize and appreciate how women's participation can help make our foreign policy stronger.

I am pleased to support this measure, and I urge all my colleagues to do the same.

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

Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure to yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Illinois (Ms. Schakowsky), the coauthor of this bill, a true advocate for women, and my colleague.

Mr. Speaker, seeing no other speakers on my side, I am prepared to close as long as there are no other speakers on the majority side.

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank, once again, Chairman Ed Royce, Ranking Member Engel, and Representatives Schakowsky and Noem for their hard work.

I again urge a ``yes'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen and Congressman Albio Sires for their incredible work on this issue and all of their passion. I also thank the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee chairman, Congressman Duncan. I know how much he has worked on the issue of Venezuela, and Latin America also.

The people of Venezuela are in dire need of humanitarian assistance to endure critical food and medicine shortages. The desperation, oppression, and violence in Venezuela really are reaching a breaking point.

Three out of four Venezuelans have lost significant weight during the last year due to food shortages.

In 2016, the nation suffered a homicide rate of 91.8 per 100,000 people, making Venezuela the second most violent country in the world outside of a war zone.

We have reason to believe more than half of Venezuelans want to leave their home country.

Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Colombia should expect an ``avalanche'' of Venezuelan refugees, an influx that

could complicate this critical time for Colombia's own peace agreement. Meanwhile, President Maduro's government is taking increasingly antidemocratic actions in violation of Venezuela's own constitution.

Since Venezuela's supreme court attempted to dissolve the country's legislature in March, the Venezuelan people have sustained massive protests, leading to a brutal crackdown from government security forces. The best outcome for this political crisis is a Venezuelan solution: a peaceful return to free and fair elections.

At the same time, the United States has a responsibility to work alongside our allies at the Organization of American States and the United Nations to hold Maduro's government accountable and to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Venezuela.

Last week, President Trump authorized sanctions against the members of Venezuela's supreme court who attempted to shut down the legislature. While U.S. sanctions against individuals in the Maduro regime are justified, sanctions work best when implemented multilaterally. More importantly, unilateral actions are no substitute for collective, coordinated pressure.

The OAS has scheduled a meeting of foreign ministers on the situation in Venezuela to take place on May 31 here in Washington, D.C. This meeting presents an opportunity to work with our partners and Venezuela's neighbors to support a return to democracy and respect for human rights. I hope Secretary Tillerson will represent the United States at this meeting and demonstrate our Nation's support for the Venezuelan people.

One of the reasons that I chose to join the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee when I was already part of the Foreign Affairs Committee is because I believe that there are many things that happen in Latin America that don't get the attention that they deserve here in the United States.

It is amazing to think that there is a human rights crisis going on right now in our own Western Hemisphere. Of course, there are many challenges around the world. We know that because of the war in Syria and the unrest in the region, Europe, over the last few years, has faced its largest migration crisis since World War II.

There are challenges with human rights and freedom in every continent just about. But we have to make sure that we attend to the things that are happening in our own backyard, so to speak.

So I thank each of you for being here tonight to speak up on this issue of human rights in Venezuela and the crisis that they are going through.

Mr. Speaker, Republicans, over the last few months, have said that they would fundamentally change health care in the United States, and it is clear today that they have. They have made it much worse.

I want to highlight one provision that allows for States to permit insurers to get rid of essential healthcare benefits and charge people more who have preexisting conditions. Think about that for a second.

In my home State of Texas, the Governor and other State leaders have already turned their back on so many people, allowing foster care children to sleep in State offices, allowing sex trafficking and human trafficking victims to go to jail because there is nowhere else to put them.

You should ask yourselves: What will your leaders do? Will they allow insurers to charge you more for preexisting conditions like diabetes and hypertension and cancer and asthma?

Do you think, and do you trust, that they are going to do the right thing by you? Because today, this plan allows them to abandon you.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor the patriotic service of Manuel Troy Coronado, who recently retired from a distinguished career in the Army National Guard.

Troy was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1962. The son of a career military officer, he attended elementary school in Germany and Panama, and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in San Antonio in 1980. He attended the University of Maryland in Munich, Germany and later graduated from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

In 1986, Troy enlisted in the U.S. Army and shortly after gained acceptance into the Army's Officer Candidate School. He attended the Armor Officer Basic Course in Fort Knox, Kentucky and served a tour in Germany before taking time to pursue a civilian career, including jobs as a teacher and guidance counselor for troubled teens.

Drawn back to military service, Troy eventually reenlisted in the Army. Through his work, he lived in several places in the United States, including Arlington, Virginia; Houston, Texas; and Fort Benning, Georgia. Troy was deployed to Afghanistan in 2006 to serve as an embedded team trainer. Ultimately, Troy rose to the rank of Branch Chief in the National Guard Bureau's SOUTHCOM Joint Staff.

Troy's loving wife, Lisa, and their three daughters, Raquel, Jaqueline, and Mindy, have provided him with a great deal of support throughout his various deployments and assignments.

I join my fellow Texans and all Americans in thanking Troy for his years of admirable, selfless service to our nation.

Mr. Speaker, I thank Ranking Member Engel for yielding me this time. I rise in support of H.R. 1644, the Korean Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act, legislation that would more effectively cut off the Kim regime's access to hard currency and equipment for its ballistic missile and nuclear programs.

This legislation updates and expands the range of sanctions available for the United States to use against persons or entities that violate existing U.S. sanction laws and United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding North Korea. The bill also requires the President to report to Congress on foreign countries' compliance with those Security Council resolutions.

The United States is determined to preserve the stability in the Asia-Pacific region. Our Nation will uphold its treaty commitments to Japan and South Korea and will defend their security in the face of the North Korean threat.

I urge my colleagues to join me and vote in favor of this legislation, which makes clear that the United States will target individuals, companies, and banks that continue to do business with North Korea.