Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in order to honor the achievements of Steven A. Hildreth, Specialist in Missile Defense, Congressional Research Service, on the occasion of his retirement from the Service on August 31, 2018.

Steve Hildreth served Congress with distinction for more than 32 years at the Library of Congress as a Specialist in U.S. and Foreign National Security Programs for the Congressional Research Service. He earned a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, a master's degree in international relations from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. graduate work at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. and master's degree in national security strategy from the National War College in Washington, D.C.

Steve is recognized throughout Congress, the military Services, the defense community, and the arms control community as an expert in U.S. nuclear weapons and ballistic missile defense, arms control, military space, and nonproliferation issues. He wrote extensively on missile defense programs--from the Strategic Defense Initiative in the 1980s through the current Ground-based Midcourse Defense and Aegis programs. He also assisted the House Armed Services Committee, after the first Gulf War, with assessments of the effectiveness of the Patriot system in taking down Iraqi scud missiles. In that capacity, he assisted Congress in eight hours of testimony, leading a group of Congressional Research Service researchers, in providing open source analysis of the international aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks before the 9/11 Commission. Halfway through, the staff director for the Commission told Steve, ``I never believed in open source analysis until today.''

Steve also exercised true leadership at the Congressional Research Service. For nine years he headed up the Central Research Unit in the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division of the Congressional Research Service, where he created and managed an extensive internship program and oversaw many of the research experts of the Service.

Steve published many influential Congressional Research Service reports on such subjects as challenges to the United States in space; Iran's ballistic missile and space launch programs, long range ballistic missile defense in Europe, ballistic missile defense in the Asia-Pacific region, ballistic missile defense and offensive arms reductions, cyberwarfare, and the Strategic Defense Initiative. Additionally, he provided objective, expert analysis on a number of issues, ranging from Israeli missile defense capabilities to the proposed U.S. Space Corps, to Congress, to the House Armed Services Committee, and to me personally--analysis for which I am very grateful.

After retirement, Steve will head to Vashon Island, Washington, with his family, to enjoy an idyllic and relaxing life.

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

Mr. Chairman, the Office of Environmental Justice, also known as the OEJ, was established within the Environmental Protection Agency, the EPA, in 1992, in order to assess environmental concerns with the potential of affecting disadvantaged communities.

To bring about this goal, the OEJ set in motion the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program in 1994. While this grants program initially sought to overcome environmental issues that could hurt underprivileged communities, it has, unfortunately, devolved into a platform for political activism, in addition to offering services typically powered by State and local governments.

Furthermore, in recent years, the Environmental Justice Small Grants Program has been used for purposes entirely unrelated to the office's stated mission. Examples would be: funding educational programs on urban gardening, creating healthy environments for nail salons, or the so-called negative consequences of automobile dependency.

While some of these projects may be commendable, the bulk are not within the scope of the constitutional responsibilities delegated to the Federal Government.

Our country currently shoulders $21 trillion in debt and we should not be subsidizing what would otherwise be State initiatives and local projects. It is for these reasons that I have introduced my amendment to discontinue funding for the OEJ Small Grants Program. This will allow the EPA to refocus millions of taxpayer funds toward the Agency's core mission over the next decade, and I would ask my colleagues to support this amendment. I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I would, again, just reiterate the fact that this grant program is not doing the job that it was designed to do. It is not even doing things that are related to the stated mission. It is a waste of taxpayer dollars, and for that, it is not something that we should continue funding.

It has lost its purpose. It has lost its mission, and it just simply is not necessary to continue funding. When we talk about the issues happening in Puerto Rico or other parts of the world, we have FEMA and we have other avenues to deal with serious problems like what happened in Puerto Rico and other places in our country, and those means are working effectively.

But to simply waste funds on a grant program that directly is involved in activities unrelated to their own mission statement, is not something that we should be involved in. As a result, this amendment has been endorsed by a number of organizations, such as: the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Heritage Action, Citizens Against Government Waste, Club for Growth, FreedomWorks, Free Market America, and a host of organizations who are concerned about the direction our country is going financially and are supportive of stopping the waste here.

So I ask my colleagues to support this amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I appreciate these comments. What we are dealing with would simply do away with funding of the small grants part of this program where those funds are not being used according to the mission.

Mr. Chair, I continue to ask for support from my colleagues, keeping in mind the multiple organizations that are supportive of this amendment. I ask my colleagues to support this, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome Reverend Josh Smith as our guest chaplain here at the U.S. House of Representatives, and I greatly appreciate his leading us in prayer this morning. He has been serving in ministry for nearly 20 years.

Josh has faithfully dedicated his life to the Gospel and currently serves as senior pastor of my home church, Prince Avenue Baptist Church in the Athens, Georgia, area.

In addition to earning a bachelor's degree in cross-cultural studies, a master of divinity, and a doctorate of ministry in expository preaching, he has worked to spread God's Word on both a national and international level.

As a pastor myself, it gives me absolute pleasure to recognize Josh for his spiritual leadership and guidance.

I also welcome, today, his wife, Andrea, to the people's House; and we send our best wishes to their five children, Lily, Gracie, Josie, Annalee, and Josiah, back home in Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I would ask everyone to join me in thanking Pastor Smith for leading us today and opening this session in prayer. It is my deep privilege to not only be a member of his church, but also be a co- laborer with him for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am grateful for his outstanding spiritual leadership to the Athens community and the world abroad.

Mr. Speaker, I deeply appreciate my good friend from North Carolina for affording me the opportunity to speak.

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that when those from the other side have an empty argument, their answer is to yell loud and to rail on issues that are unrelated to that which we are currently discussing.

Mr. Speaker, our Founders made it very clear when they drafted the Constitution that we have a system of government that keeps each branch accountable to the Constitution and the rule of law. For nearly 18 months now, the Department of Justice has attempted to shield itself from the legislative branch's duty to conduct oversight. That is, and ought to be, both alarming and absolutely unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, we know clearly from the IG report here recently, text after text, email after email, that there were a number of FBI agents who were extremely biased against the Trump administration, the Trump candidacy, and in favor of Hillary Clinton. We know that bias existed.

We also know that many of them were willing to use their position, their status, to try to influence the election. These are things that we know. And we, as a legislative body, have not only the responsibility to do oversight, but we have got to have the information in order to do that oversight.

That is what this resolution is all about. I think it is important for all of us to come back to the understanding, the realization, that oversight is necessary to prevent corruption. That is what this is all about.

The American people, not just Members of Congress, have the right to get answers to the questions that are before us. This is all for the purpose of preventing corruption that may exist and to prevent it from going further.

This resolution is a clear message to the Department of Justice that the U.S. House of Representatives is determined to get the documents that have been requested. Even a single page from these missing documents could be critical to the overall congressional investigation that is underway. It is all necessary.

There are irrefutable facts, Mr. Speaker. The Department of Justice is accountable to Congress. Another fact: They are hiding documents. They are refusing to cooperate. We have, even beyond that now, the chilling reports that the Deputy Attorney General personally threatened staff members on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. This is unacceptable.

So under this resolution, the full force of the House is being brought to light, Mr. Speaker. We have got to get to the bottom of this.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mr. Ernie Simons, a longtime Georgia resident, a brave hero of the Vietnam war, and a dedicated public servant who has worked tirelessly on behalf of the men and women who have served in our Armed Forces.

Having first served as a marine in Vietnam, Mr. Simons continued to serve as an employee of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service. During his 30 years there, he worked in a number of capacities, including as the director of the Georgia Veterans Memorial Cemetery and director of the Health and Memorials division of the Georgia Department of Veterans Service.

In April, the community renamed Veterans Drive, a road adjacent to the veterans home where Mr. Simons dedicated so many years, as Ernie Simons Veterans Way. There is perhaps no better tribute for a man who has given countless hours and his undivided attention to our local heroes than to have this road named in his honor.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to please stand with me to honor the life and legacy of this Georgia hero, greatly deserving the respect of all Americans.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of my bill, H.R. 4467, the Strengthening Aviation Security Act.

Mr. Speaker, last year, I learned that, while the Federal Air Marshal Service considers its travel budget and the number of personnel when determining which flights will be covered by air marshals, they do not consider risk.

This current system might maximize the number of flights covered by air marshals, but it does not ensure that the highest risk flights-- those likely to be hijacked by a potential terrorist--would be covered by air marshals. The Strengthening Aviation Security Act would fix this flawed policy by requiring the Federal Air Marshal Service to incorporate risk in its deployment strategy in three ways:

First, this legislation requires the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy when allocating resources between international and domestic flight coverage. Currently, the Federal Air Marshal Service does not account for risk when it sets its annual target numbers of average international and domestic flights to cover.

Second, this legislation requires the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize a risk-based strategy to support domestic allocation decisions. Currently, these decisions are made based on the professional judgment of subject matter experts. Without documented risk assessments, the Federal Air Marshal Service cannot justify to the TSA, the Department of Homeland Security, or Congress why it chooses to deploy air marshals on certain flights and not on others.

Third, this legislation requires the Federal Air Marshal Service to utilize

a risk-based strategy to support international allocation decisions.

Shockingly, the Federal Air Marshal Service does not currently document the rationales for their international allocation decisions. Without this documentation, there is no verifiable method to determine whether the decisions are intelligence-driven, risk-based, or even in compliance with the TSA or DHS directives. Unless the Federal Air Marshal Service accounts for risk at every level of its deployment strategy, it cannot ensure that it is devoting its resources to cover the highest-risk flights.

It is incumbent upon us in Congress to address any vulnerabilities to our national security and to enable our Federal agencies to effectively deter, detect, and disrupt any attacks planned by our enemies, and this legislation does just that.

I would like to thank Chairman McCaul and Chairman Katko for their strong support of this legislation, and I urge all my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, what an honor it is to likewise stand.

I remember the first live crusade I ever went to where Billy Graham was there in Atlanta in the early 1970s. As a young pastor and as a pastor for almost 20 years, I likewise had the opportunity to meet him. As a young pastor, he signed a Bible for me, which today still remains a treasure.

But what we don't need to forget is the message that he gave us. It is the message of Scripture. It is the message of God. It is a message that talks about all of us and our condition, that we are sinful, that we are separated from God, that we have committed things that separate us eternally unless they are dealt with.

That gospel message from the Scripture that Billy Graham so eloquently shared was that God loves us, and He gave His son to die in our stead.

I noticed the other day we are told that archeologists may have found the signature of the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. When I thought of that, I actually thought of Billy Graham and how he would have taken that Isaiah passage in chapter 53 and made a gospel message from the Old Testament prophet, where he said in chapter 53 that all of us, like sheep, have gone astray, that every one has gone his own way. Yet God has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Here we are, and here is our sin. Here comes Christ without sin, and God laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

As much as we remember Billy Graham these days, let us never forget the importance of his message and never forget the message.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and I urge America to hear the gospel message and to respond in faith to the love and the grace of God through Jesus Christ that Billy Graham so powerfully presented to all of us.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of Officer Chase Maddox, a brave Locust Grove Police Department officer who was killed on February 9, 2018, while assisting two Henry County Sheriff deputies who were dispatched to answer a minor, routine call that turned violent.

Mr. Speaker, Chase Maddox, a graduate of Ola High School in McDonough, Georgia, was only 26 years old when his life was taken. Known as a smart and charismatic young man, Officer Maddox dedicated himself to his family and service to our community. He leaves behind his wife, Alex, and two young sons, one of whom was delivered just four days after Chase passed away. I'm praying for his widow, that precious new life, their family, and future, and I know that I am joined by many, many more whose hearts also go out to this grieving, young family.

Mr. Speaker, on Saturday, hundreds of mourners filled pews, hallways, and overflow rooms at Glen Haven Baptist Church, standing in salute to this fallen officer. The outreach from family, friends, and strangers in the area has been overwhelming, and I'm proud of the fortitude and encouragement displayed by our neighborhood.

Mr. Speaker, our law enforcement officers deserve the respect of all Americans for putting their lives on the line on a daily basis in order to keep us safe. I ask my colleagues to join me in a moment of silence and prayer to honor the life of Officer Chase Maddox, who will be sorely issed by so many in the 10th District of Georgia.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of Mrs. Margaret Faye Schmittou, one of the first female Marines to serve our Nation and who recently joined our Heavenly Father at the age of 96.

Mr. Speaker, known by most as Faye, Mrs. Schmittou was a WWII veteran who proudly answered the call of duty when the Marine Corps first opened to women in 1944 and devoted more than 27 years of service to the Navy Exchange.

Mr. Speaker, in addition to her outstanding service to our military, she also set an example of service to her children and grandchildren and was described as a person who ``would give you the shirt off her back.'' She is survived by two granddaughters and a great granddaughter and will be remembered as a guiding force in the community through her work with the Athens Detachment in Georgia's 10th District and Helping Hands in Colbert, GA.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing her remarkable legacy of service and unyielding commitment to our great Nation

Mr. Speaker, I rise today with a heavy heart in the wake of the University of

Alabama's win over my beloved Georgia Bulldogs in the National College Football Playoff Championship last week.

Despite the loss, which came after an unbelievable game, the Georgia Bulldogs played their hearts out, and I am so very proud of our team. It is an honor to represent the great University of Georgia as the Representative from Georgia's 10th District and have the privilege of wearing the red and black of this outstanding institution and incredible team.

Under the leadership of awesome Head Coach Kirby Smart and a special group of young men like Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, and Jake Fromm, the Dawgs won the SEC Championship and had one of the greatest seasons that they have had in years, reaching the national championship for the first time in more than 30 years.

At the end of the day, it was a great game on both sides, and while it pains me to admit it, my friend and colleague Congresswoman Terri Sewell represents an outstanding football team. Congratulations to Alabama's Crimson Tide. And true to my word, I will be providing her office and her with barbecue and wearing the Alabama tie after their overtime win.

Congratulations to them for another national championship title, but for us: Go Dawgs. Go Dawgs. Go Dawgs.

Mr. Speaker, what an honor it is to be here with Mr. Smith of New Jersey. I thank the gentleman for leading and managing not only the calls but this Special Order this evening.

It is amazing to me that here we come, yet again, on the anniversary of another Roe v. Wade, 45 years, some 60 million children who have gone. Along with that is another anniversary, the March for Life, that has been taking place now itself for over 40 years.

I am thrilled that this weekend there will be students, teachers, nuns, pastors, priests, and families from all across this great country marching in the streets right here in Washington, D.C., from the National Mall to the Supreme Court and all across various streets across this country standing up for life. What a powerful thing that is.

When we talk about life, it is not an issue between Republicans or Democrats. This is an issue protecting 10 fingers and 10 toes. It is about protecting a precious heartbeat. Yes, we have been able, in this Chamber, to support and pass some significant legislation like the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. That is a great thing. There should be no taxpayer funds going toward abortion. We have passed the pain- capable bill, another great bill.

I wear this little lapel pin, a footprint in a heartbeat. I am hopeful that we will be able to vote on and pass the heartbeat bill. We have all heard abortion stops a beating heart. It is time now that a beating heart stops abortion; that if a heartbeat can be detected, a baby will be protected. I am hopeful that we will be able to get that on the floor here for each of us to have an opportunity to vote for that.

I am pleased as well that we made the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act. It defunded Planned Parenthood-- something many of us have been fighting for for years, for decades-- and, in particular, ever since the horror of seeing the videos of Planned Parenthood selling baby parts, it is time that we finally accomplish that.

I just am so grateful for my colleagues here tonight taking a stand for life; taking a stand for what is the greatest, first, and most important right of all, the right given by Almighty God, the right that President Reagan said himself, ``without which no other right has any meaning.'' So I thank my colleagues for being here tonight for taking a stand.

There is obviously more work to be done. The people of America gave us a united government in this past election and sent us here to stand for the platform that we ran on that includes saving lives.

I want to encourage each of us to stay in the fight and each one watching to stay in the fight. We have come a long way. There is more to go, and, with God's grace, we will see it happen. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey for allowing me the opportunity.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the subject of my Special Order.

Mr. Speaker, today I rise to speak on an issue that is just now beginning to gain momentum and traction. Already, this issue of great importance is bringing great alarm and concern, as well as focus. I speak specifically in regard to the Obama administration's apparent decision to sacrifice the opportunity to take down Hezbollah and bring terrorists to justice.

What most Americans know about Hezbollah is that it is an Iran-backed proxy militia based in Lebanon, which was responsible for a string of terrorist attacks against Americans in the 1980s, including the attack in 1983 of the Beirut barracks, which killed 241 American servicemembers.

Since that time, Hezbollah has openly attacked Israel. They have propped up regimes supported by Iran, like Bashar al-Assad in Syria. They are defined by their violence and human rights abuses.

But what most Americans are not aware of, Mr. Speaker, is that over the last 30 years, Hezbollah has evolved beyond its origins as Iran's attack dog in the Middle East and they now run one of the world's most expansive and dangerous multinational criminal networks in the world.

Hezbollah works directly with corrupt governments, like Venezuela and others, to create criminal networks across Latin America, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. They have literally moved tons--metric tons--of cocaine across the world, laundered money, and trafficked weapons and individuals. They are a critical part of a network responsible for the use of IEDs in the Middle East, which have killed literally thousands of American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hezbollah, Mr. Speaker, is a scourge not only in the Middle East, but throughout the entire world. The reason we know this--which has just, in recent days, started to become public--is because, in 2008, the DEA launched a campaign known as Project Cassandra, which amassed evidence over 8 years of investigation regarding Hezbollah's criminal activities. They used wiretaps, undercover operations, informants, and so forth to map Hezbollah's illicit networks with the help of some 30 different U.S. and foreign security agencies. These DEA agents traced the activities all the way to the inner circles of Hezbollah and its state sponsors in Iran.

But--and here is where all of this starts coming into play--when the time came to extradite and prosecute these terrorists, the Obama administration's Department of Justice and Department of State refused to move forward.

That is unthinkable to me. It is unthinkable to many people in our country.

The Justice Department refused to file criminal charges against suspects that were already in custody in Europe. The State Department refused to put meaningful pressure on allied countries to extradite Hezbollah leaders to the United States.

Why? Why did they refuse to get involved?

According to an Obama administration Treasury official, in her written testimony to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, investigations to Hezbollah were tapped down for fear of rocking the boat with Iran and jeopardizing the nuclear deal.

The nuclear deal is already deeply, deeply flawed in so many ways. The Iran nuclear deal apparently took precedence over crippling a foreign terrorist organization directly responsible for the deaths of American citizens and one of the world's largest drug and weapons trafficking networks.

Hezbollah is responsible for procuring parts for Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program, the very program that the nuclear deal was supposed to curtail. Hezbollah is supplying parts to them.

Instead of prosecuting the leadership of Hezbollah and shutting down Iran's weapons pipeline, the Obama administration legitimized Iran's nuclear program and let Hezbollah leadership slip through the cracks and let them totally off the hook.

After the conclusion of the Iran nuclear deal, the Obama administration shut down Project Cassandra. We lost all that we had gained in 8 years of investigations--all the information. We had them in our grasp, Mr. Speaker, after 8 years of investigation. We lost unprecedented insight into these global criminal networks.

Mr. Speaker, this is morally reprehensible. It is stunning that we had our previous administration and that administration's Justice Department and State Department evidently involved, engaged, and deliberately letting these criminals off the hook.

How in the world can our allies in the global war on terror trust us when we won't prosecute terrorists when we have the chance to do so?

How can our allies in Latin America trust us when we refuse to prosecute leaders of one of the world's largest drug trafficking networks?

I have a few colleagues here tonight who are going to address this issue as well. Before I introduce the first one, I want to bring up one more point.

Ali Fayad is a suspected leader in Hezbollah. He is an operative and a major weapons supplier. He has been indicted on charges of planning the murders of U.S. citizens, attempting to provide materiel support to a terrorist organization and attempting to acquire, transfer, and use antiaircraft missiles.

For nearly 2 years, this terrorist was held in custody in the Czech Republic. For 2 years, the Obama administration failed to provide enough pressure to the Czech Republic, our NATO ally. The Obama administration refused to put pressure to extradite that terrorist to the United States.

Ali Fayad now, as we speak here tonight, is a free man and alleged to be back in the business of arming militants in Syria. This is inexcusable.

Mr. Speaker, I want to personally thank those who served on Project Cassandra for their service to our Nation and for the work they did. I want them to know that what they did mattered.

I am appalled that the Obama administration did virtually nothing to stop Hezbollah's criminal activities. I think this warrants an investigation by the U.S. House of Representatives, and that is what this Special Order tonight is all about: getting to the bottom of what is yet another example of a swamp that stinks to high heaven that needs to be cleaned up and drained out.

We need an investigation into what happened in the Obama administration, the Department of Justice, and the Department of State in allowing these

terrorists and this terrorist network to get off the hook.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Biggs), a good friend. He has been a leader in issues such as this, bringing to our attention both the highlighting of dangerous, harmful activity such as this tonight. He has been a great champion.

Mr. Speaker, this highlights the importance of the issue that we are dealing with and the need for an investigation.

Hundreds, even thousands, of lives have been put in danger, not to mention our own Nation's national security interests.

Next up is a tremendous leader, not only here in Congress, but in our military. He is a general who has done an outstanding job. I don't know that anyone understands the importance of the issue any more than my good friend.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry). I am honored to have him here addressing this issue.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman so much. I just think it is critically important that in a Special Order such as this we have someone who has been there, on the front line, who knows exactly from the perspective of a soldier defending our country what has been taking place. I appreciate his expertise and his willingness to talk about it here this evening.

Another colleague who is going to address the seriousness of the issue this evening is Ken Buck from Colorado, a good friend and another leader on this issue and many others like this. The American people deserve to know what happened. The dots are coming into play. The dots are being connected. We need to finish connecting those dots to find out what went on and let the American people know.

Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Colorado (Mr. Buck).

Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Buck in his leadership on this, as well.

Mr. Speaker, I just want to say, not only to Mr. Buck, but to all of the participants in our discussion this evening, a big thank you for coming and being a part of this.

As more information is beginning to come to light, I am convinced that we are just at the tip of the iceberg of gaining information as to what has taken place here that has jeopardized our national security. I believe it is incumbent upon Congress at this time to fulfill the obligation that we have to exercise oversight over the executive branch and follow through with a thorough investigation of the Obama administration's refusal--absolute refusal--to follow through on the work that was done by the DEA.

We had these terrorists in our grasp, Mr. Speaker, and we let them go. How could this happen? The American people deserve to know why, and we need to get to the bottom of this.

That is why tonight we are calling for an investigation into all aspects of this Hezbollah scandal, regardless of where it leads us: to the very top of the Obama administration, the Secretary of State, the previous Department of Justice, wherever it may lead. We need to get to the bottom of this, and we are calling for an investigation.

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

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz) for yielding.

I am greatly honored to be here to participate in this important discussion. We all want transparency, and for that to be in our government is critical to all of us. I am honored to be on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee where this is part of the responsibilities entrusted to us.

But after repeated scandals and misconduct, it is patently obvious to me that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plays by her own rules, and simply does so because of her own status, her own positions of power and influence in the government, and has been in those roles for decades. She has been getting a free pass to follow or ignore the law as she chooses, whereas it seems, on the other hand, as has already been discussed this evening, President Trump and his administration seems to get a special counsel just for sneezing. It is insane what is going

on, and we, as Americans, must prioritize equal justice under the law.

Lady Justice must remain blind, and her scales must remain balanced. This is a fundamental principle for all of us as Americans--something we cherish and something we hold on to--and we are watching it change right before our eyes. It seems as though Lady Justice is peeking underneath that blindfold, and that is simply unacceptable.

Mr. Speaker, I am honored that we are coming to draw attention to this horror and this change that is taking place. The principle of blind justice is one of the most basic fundamental principles that we have in this country, and without it we are watching individuals like Mrs. Clinton and her allies act above the law and get away with things they simply ought not be getting away with. And the truth is, a breach of justice for one is a breach of justice for all of us.

Let me give you a quick example. Back in August of 2016, The New York Times reported on generous foreign donations to the Clinton Foundation, and this was done while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State. That, in itself, ought to raise some red flags, shouldn't it? Foreign countries. And then we find out that many of these foreign countries had already tremendous human rights violations: Kuwait, for example, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and several others, just to name a few, yet they are giving tons of money to the Clinton Foundation, while she is Secretary of State.

And then the Clintons say: Well, we were open; we disclosed all of the information about who was giving what. They tried to convince us that they went above and beyond to disclose their donors, but they did not do so.

For example, we found they failed to disclose $2.35 million in donations from a family foundation that was linked to the mining company, Uranium One, which we happen to be talking about tonight.

Well, who is Uranium One?

Of course, we know by now that this is a company that was taken over by Russia's state-owned nuclear energy firm, Rosatom, another decision that was signed off by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The dots are pretty easy to start connecting. We, at least, have some red flags here.

Furthermore, there was a whopping $145 million given to the Clinton Foundation by Uranium One's owners. I don't know about everyone else here, but I would certainly know it if I received over $100 million from Russian donors. Talk about Russian collusion. Shall we talk about it? Let's have this discussion. That is the whole point of what we are talking about here this evening. I would also be very concerned that someone receiving this kind of money was free of bias or coercion when they are getting this type of money.

But let me land the plane here. There is a full-fledged investigation going on here into President Trump's interactions with Russia, but where is the investigation on Hillary Clinton's activities with the Russians?

The Obama administration attempted to sweep this situation under the rug. They let her off the hook. That is a disgrace. It is in complete disregard for our Nation's laws. And, perhaps, that in itself ought to be something else that is looked into: the Obama administration's role in all of this.

I am grateful that Attorney General Sessions is taking these allegations seriously. I am hopeful that we can get to the bottom of this and ensure that justice is served.

The FBI must investigate this thoroughly. We must have transparency to make sure that Hillary Clinton is held accountable and reaffirm that no one is above the law.

Enough is enough. We have got to go into this further.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the good gentleman from Florida (Mr. Gaetz) for his leadership on this.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, we all know that the United States Secret Service is one of the Federal Government's premier law enforcement agencies.

The agency's critical mission is to protect the President, his family, and other senior government officials. Agency personnel may also provide protection at high-profile events. It has a zero-fail mission; therefore, it is vital that the Secret Service is fully staffed with nothing but the best.

Unfortunately, the agency has faced tremendous staffing problems. The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform released a bipartisan report in 2015, finding the Secret Service has faced challenges related to hiring and retaining personnel.

The report states that the staffing crisis threatens to jeopardize its critical mission. Staffing issues have persisted, although the agency has implemented a series of reforms to help get its hiring and attrition problems under control.

The consequence of these hiring and attrition problems is that the agency does not have enough personnel to fulfill its zero fail protective mission. This means existing personnel are working excessive overtime.

With all the overtime, many Secret Service personnel have reached the cap on premium pay set in law. As a result, agents are not paid for overtime hours if doing so would result in compensation above the cap during any biweekly pay period. These max-outs, as they are known, contribute to the agency's low morale and unsurprisingly cause the rate of attrition to spike.

Congress first lifted the pay cap for the Secret Service in 2016 to help the agency handle the demands of staffing the Presidential campaign. However, nearly 1,300 employees are at risk of exceeding the pay cap in 2017.

Due to the extraordinary staffing problems facing the agency, this bill extends the pay cap waiver provided last year until the end of 2018. Employees will receive compensation up to the basic pay currently given to members of the Executive Schedule, Level II.

Every Secret Service employee who has exceeded the cap or who is at risk of doing so because of excessive overtime will receive additional compensation under this bill.

I want to be clear. This bill is narrowly targeted to fix a problem currently facing the agency and does so in a timely manner.

The Secret Service cannot continue to rely on expensive overtime, and Congress fully expects the agency to get its hiring attrition problems under control. To this end, the bill also requires a report by the Government Accountability Office focused on the Secret Service's implementation of recommendations found in the 2014 Protective Mission Panel report.

Mr. Speaker, the recommendations, which include reforming the recruiting and hiring process, hiring additional personnel, and implementing a zero tolerance disciplinary system, are instructive and will help the Secret Service develop a world class human resource system.

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I would like to thank the House Judiciary Committee, the Homeland Security Committee, along with the Oversight and Government Reform Committee on putting forth this important legislation and bringing it to the floor in a timely manner.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the extra time and I urge all Members to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the bravery of one of my constituents and an American hero, Staff Sergeant Richard Hunter. Staff Sergeant Hunter was recently awarded the Air Force Cross in recognition of his outstanding courage in the line of duty.

Staff Sergeant Hunter was deployed to Kunduz province, Afghanistan, as part of the U.S. Army Special Forces team. On November 2, 2016, his team found themselves under heavy machine-gun fire from insurgents. Despite the barrage of enemy fire, Hunter charged forward to shield the wounded and, ultimately, repelled the enemy's encroachment. He initiated the launch of the quick reaction force and casualty airlift for wounded members in his group.

After discovering an injured fellow Special Force soldier, Hunter dragged him 30 meters to safety with one hand, while he directed radio airstrikes with his other. When they fell under fire once again, Hunter eliminated the threat, and helped load the wounded into a helicopter to be evacuated. In total, Staff Sergeant Hunter's actions that day eliminated 27 enemy forces and saved his team.

For these measures of extraordinary bravery in the most dire of circumstances, Staff Sergeant Richard Hunter earned the Air Force Cross award. Without his help, many American servicemembers surely would have been lost that day.

Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the heroic actions of Staff Sergeant Richard Hunter, a true American hero.