Floor Statements

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend Yuba Water Agency upon its completion of the Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration Project. This outstanding achievement will safeguard local habitats and provide critical support to Yuba County's infrastructure.

Due to decades of hydraulic gold mining, the Yuba River has faced ecological challenges that harm native fish species, including the chinook salmon and steelhead trout. The innovative Hallwood Side Channel and Floodplain Restoration project will restore fish habitats and reduce flood risk, reversing some of the most severe ecological challenges in the region.

This project has successfully enhanced and restored 157 acres of floodplain habitat, including 1.7 miles of new side channels and more than 6 miles of seasonally inundated side channels, alcoves, and swales. These investments in the Yuba River will benefit its wildlife species, preserving this local habitat for future generations and taking a critical step towards protecting our community's environment and natural resources.

On behalf of the constituents of California's Eighth Congressional District, I would like to congratulate Yuba Water Agency upon the completion of this essential project which will benefit Yuba River wildlife, the surrounding habitat, and the local community.

Mr. Chairman, I thank my colleague Representative Beatty for her leadership.

Mr. Chairman, I rise today in support of this amendment to highlight the importance of the HOME Investment Partnership Program in meeting the needs of working families across America.

Hardworking Americans deserve to have a house, and they deserve to have a home. We face drastic shortages of affordable housing in California and in most every other part of America. Housing costs have skyrocketed significantly, outpacing incomes.

This is why the President's budget rightfully included $1.8 billion for the HOME Investment Partnership Program. This funding will help construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing as well as providing

homeownership opportunities for working families. We must support the funding programs like HOME to ensure that every American has a home.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor and commend TLC for Kids Sports, upon celebrating its 15th anniversary serving the Bay Area community. This outstanding achievement is a testament to the critical work that TLC for Kids Sports has accomplished to give every child the opportunity to safely participate in youth sports.

Originally founded in 2009, TLC for Kids Sports is improving local communities and youth sports by transforming youth sports facilities in underserved neighborhoods. Its work across the Bay Area--including in Antioch, Martinez, and Richmond--helps ensure that every child, no matter where they live, can enjoy the countless benefits of team sports.

TLC for Kids Sports is active in community outreach and frequently collaborates with local businesses and neighborhood volunteers, uniting participants in working toward the common goal of building a better future for our youth. Since its founding, over 5,000 volunteers have worked with TLC for Kids Sports to support communities in need and create safe environments where children can thrive.

The fields built and restored by TLC for Kids Sports are places where our youth can learn sportsmanship, hard work, and confidence, empowering them with the knowledge and skills to build their future. TLC for Kids Sports plays a vital role in improving our communities, supporting our children, and giving youth the resources and space to grow.

On behalf of the constituents of California's Eighth Congressional District, I would like to congratulate TLC for Kids Sports upon its 15th anniversary and extend my sincere gratitude for its years of service to the Bay Area community.

Mr. Speaker, today I introduce a bill cosponsored by every California Democrat and the entire Nevada delegation renaming the Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-506) in honor of the late U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). We recognize her legacy and leadership spanning more than three decades to Keep Tahoe Blue.

Among her many accomplishments, Senator Feinstein secured more than $715 million in authorized federal funding under this landmark 2000 law to conserve Lake Tahoe and the surrounding basin for future generations. Senator Feinstein's 2016 amendments to this law provided new authorities for the U.S. Forest Service to combat wildfires across the Tahoe Basin. These authorities were first employed in combating the devastating Caldor Fire in 2021 and in the recovery since.

Nobody in government has done more to Keep Tahoe Blue than Senator Feinstein. She organized the first annual Tahoe Summit in 1997, while I served as Deputy Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton Administration. The California and Nevada Senators have since rotated hosting the Tahoe Summit annually, which I have been honored to attend over the years.

In 1999, Senator Feinstein sponsored the original Lake Tahoe Restoration Act, the companion of which by then-Congressman John T. Doolittle (R-CA) was enacted into law in the year 2000. In the 114th Congress, I was honored to sponsor the companion to Senator Feinstein's ``Lake Tahoe Restoration Act of 2015'' with then-U.S. Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), which was enacted into law the following year.

Under the Water Resources Development Act of 2020 (Division AA of Public Law 116-260), she worked with Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV), U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), and me to authorize the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers new invasive species in alpine lakes pilot project to safeguard Lake Tahoe. Under the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (Title LXXXI of Public Law 117-263), she worked again with us to secure an additional $25 million in federal funding for restoration efforts across the Lake Tahoe Basin, such as restoration of the Upper Truckee River and Marsh.

This past March, Senator Feinstein sponsored the ``Lake Tahoe Restoration Reauthorization Act of 2023'' with the entire Nevada delegation to provide an additional $415 million in federal funding until 2034. I can think of no better tribute to Senator Feinstein's decades of leadership to help conserve Lake Tahoe than passing this bipartisan reauthorization into law. I am deeply saddened by the passing of this amazing public servant, longtime friend, and treasured colleague. Senator Feinstein will be missed dearly, but her legacy will endure through the lives of the countless Californians she improved during her storied life and career.

My colleagues and I from the California and Nevada delegations are honored to recognize Senator Feinstein's tireless advocacy for our public lands by sponsoring this bill to rename the landmark Lake Tahoe Restoration Act in her honor. Mr. Speaker, I encourage all members to join us in cosponsoring this bill.

Mr. Speaker, later today, we are going to be taking up an extraordinary piece of legislation and voting on whether this Nation is going to be all in on a new nuclear arms race or whether we are going to modulate and think about what it is that we are funding. We are basically going to be funding the potential destruction of all that exists on this planet.

I will also address the House on an issue that occurred yesterday in Maine. Another assault weapon was used to murder at least 16 people, with perhaps another 50 being wounded.

It is time for this House to act on extending the previous ban on assault weapons. This has nothing to do with the Second Amendment. This has everything to do with war on the American people.

Mr. Speaker, I hereby remove my name as a cosponsor of

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

Mr. Chair, I rise today to offer a critical amendment to pause wasteful and unnecessary spending at the Savannah River Plutonium Processing Facility.

This is a responsible measure. It will pause the development of this nuclear facility while we fix the cost overruns and mismanagement associated with this.

Given the rhetoric of the Republican side of the aisle about reining in excessive spending, this amendment should be something that we would all agree on.

The estimated cost of the Savannah River facility tripled from $3.6 billion to nearly $11 billion since the start of the project. It will likely continue to increase since this program is not scheduled to be completed until 2035.

According to the August Government Accountability Office report, it will probably be delayed even further until 2038.

Why are we spending $11 billion on this wasteful facility? You would think it might be part of our critical national security, but that is not the case.

For those unfamiliar with this facility, it is being built to produce plutonium pits, which is the core of a nuclear weapon. We already have thousands of these pits.

Some will stand up here and say, oh, my. We need to replace them because they age out. These pits will last at least 100 years.

Some studies by independent panels of scientists and academics have suggested that these pits have an even longer life cycle.

That is why in the House-passed fiscal year 2024 NDAA, the House Armed Services Committee adopted my amendment for an independent assessment of plutonium-pit aging by experts.

If we really care about responsible government spending, we must ensure there is a need before allocating billions of dollars to rebuild a stockpile that we already have in place and that really should never be used.

To reiterate, this amendment is a pause on next year's spending because we really do need to evaluate the science.

By the way, it is only $858 million, but hey, every dollar counts. This pause is essential, timely and a prudent step.

In our haste to build new nuclear bombs, we must allocate those costs appropriately. A January 2023 GAO report found that the National Nuclear Security Administration lacks a comprehensive schedule or cost estimate on what we are doing here with this particular program. The NNSA has not even identified all of the activities or milestones to achieve an 80 pit per year production capacity.

I am sure that some will argue, wrongly, in my view, that I am undermining national security. They will make exaggerated claims about the necessity to engage in a nuclear arms race.

Well, we are, but the question is, are we doing it wisely? The answer is no. We are spending money unnecessarily and in an ill-advised way.

As a citizen, I am also aware that we face challenges here at home. We have heard many of those. I also know that the new Speaker wants to rein in unnecessary expenditures. I would suggest that this is one.

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

Mr. Chairman, I have a question. I have a question about fairness in the debate. The chair of the subcommittee has offered two pro forma amendments, giving my side of the debate no opportunity whatsoever to respond to the issues that have been raised.

Mr. Chairman, I am curious, is fairness out of order on this floor?

Mr. Chairman, I posed a question to the Chair. Does the Chair have an answer to my question?

Is fairness out of order on this floor?

Mr. Chair, a parliamentary inquiry would be: Sir, how can I achieve, under the rules of the House, a fair debate with equal time on the issue?

Mr. Chairman, I have a parliamentary question before the Chair. Fair is fair, guys.

Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. Chairman, in an effort to achieve that consultation, sir, could the House provide me with information since I do not have before me the rules of the House.

Perhaps they can provide me the rules of the House and I could read it, or perhaps the Chair can provide some advice on that particular section of the rules.

Further parliamentary inquiry, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Chairman, if I might ask another parliamentary question, sir. As the author of this amendment, do I have the opportunity to propose 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 of those pro forma amendments?

Well, then let us get started.

Mr. Chair, I have a pro forma amendment.

How many minutes do I have remaining, sir?

Mr. Chairman, this House has always operated in a fair and evenhanded way. And I must say, the use of the pro forma amendment by my colleagues on the Republican side creates a very unfair debate, in which the points put forward in opposition to my amendment, I do not have time to deal with.

However, I will take whatever time I have remaining and not spend much time on the necessity for fairness in the debate, which has a whole lot to do with the time available.

Now, very, very quickly, since I have only a minute and some seconds left here.

This is not an end to the plutonium pit production. What it says is to pause for 1 year, an $850 million expenditure on what has become not a plutonium pit but a dollar pit. Billions and billions of dollars have been spent on the Savannah facility, first, to somehow deal with the nuclear waste. That didn't work.

It has been repurposed to build plutonium pits. The reality here is there will not be a pit built in Savannah River for at least a decade. So all of this chatter about the safety of this Nation is nonsense. The reality here is we have a money pit.

Mr. Chair, apparently, we want a debate on the plutonium pit issue. Well, let it happen. Let's get some facts here. The 80 pits per year has little to do with nuclear arms, nuclear bombs, it has everything to do with a number that was invented by the committees of this House.

So what are we going to do with these pits?

First of all, the pits will not be built in Savannah River for at least a decade, and quite likely 15 years. Yes, perhaps they will in 15 years produce 50 pits per year. For what purpose?

Specifically, now the pit production is taking place at Los Alamos National Laboratories, which is diligently and wastefully moving forward to produce 30 pits per year.

The first pit at Savannah River--that is the war reserve pit--it is likely to be produced in 3 to 4 years from now, beginning at the rate of one a year and eventually moving to 30 per year, which will probably take a full decade and several billion dollars to do.

What is that pit going to be used for?

Maybe we ought to know before we start talking about the safety of this world and this Nation.

The pits that are going to be built at Savannah River are specifically for a new nuclear bomb, the 87-1, which has not yet been produced.

Presumably, that bomb will go on the new Sentinel missile, which in and of itself is $150 billion that we will spend to replace the Minuteman III missiles that are now in the silos in the upper Midwest.

By the way, the Minuteman IIIs are perfectly good for at least another decade, so why are we spending that money? Presumably because we decided a decade ago that we ought to do it and that somehow the Minuteman III missiles wouldn't continue to work.

In a recent test this year, the Minuteman III worked perfectly well, and there has been no indication that the Minuteman III missile cannot continue to work perfectly well for the next decade or more. We have not yet calculated the full cost of replacing the Minuteman III with the new Sentinel program, but the estimates are well over $150 billion.

For what purpose? To make us safer? No. It won't make us safer at all.

By the way, what bomb will be put on the Sentinel while we await the 87-1? Guess what it is? It is the existing bomb that we have on the Minuteman III. That new weapon, the 87-1, is at least a decade away, and the cost is unknown, but you had better get your billion dollars together because it will surely be in that range.

We need a debate about all of this. This is not about national security. This is about a new nuclear arms race that puts humanity on this planet in serious jeopardy. We have quite enough weapons to deter anybody from using a nuclear weapon, and yes, so do China and Russia.

This is about deterrence. How many bombs, how many weapons, how many delivery systems are necessary for deterrence? If it is a war, yes, all three countries have quite enough to terminate life on this planet. We don't need more to achieve a victory in a nuclear war. We have quite enough already. We can target wherever we need to target--in China, in Russia, wherever. We have quite enough for that.

As a deterrent, we have quite enough for deterrence. Yes, Putin rattled the nuclear saber. To what effect? What effect did his rattling achieve? Nothing.

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

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

Mr. Chairman, I think I will take a deep breath. I was a little wound up a few moments ago. If the opposition to this amendment would like to go through that process of an additional 5 minutes, we will play that game, and I would actually appreciate doing that.

There is a lot that we need to discuss here. There is a lot that this House needs to consider, and it is about the nuclear enterprise. It is about a 10-year mission that we have been on to rebuild our nuclear programs.

One part of that nuclear program is a new nuclear bomb to be put on the new Sentinel rockets that replace the Minuteman III. A moment ago, I discussed the situation. Do we really need to spend $120 billion, $150 billion over the next decade to replace the Minuteman III and a new nuclear bomb? The answer is, we have time. We have time.

As I said a few moments ago, the Minuteman III will work for a considerable period into the future, and the nuclear weapon that is presently on the Minuteman III is going to work for many more years. It is not aging out. It is perfectly reliable.

What is this 87-1 all about? It is a new bomb. It, in fact, is the first new bomb that we have built in many years. Presumably, it will work better than the bomb that is presently on the Minuteman III and will be used on the new Sentinel rocket when it is ready to be placed into new silos upon which we will spend billions of dollars building the silos and the infrastructure.

The 87-1, this brings us right back to the previous question that we had about plutonium pit production. Do we need additional pit production? I ask all of us to take a calendar, look at the years ahead, and begin to put in place the arrival of the new Sentinel, which will surely be at least a decade, if not longer. Then, look at the pit production that will be able to be put in place in Los Alamos, one a year, two, three, four, five. We will be stacking up new pits in Los Alamos well ahead of the need for this new weapon to be put on the Sentinel rocket. We will have an inventory of pits that would be used for the 87-1.

What I am saying here in this amendment is, wait a minute. Take a look at the calendar. Take a look at the way these pieces fit together--billions of dollars in Savannah River to build nuclear pits that will not even be available for at least a decade and a half. Take a look at the pits we are producing and will be able to produce at Los Alamos and the stockpile of pits that would then be available for the timing of the 87-1, should we ever decide that we need it.

We do not need to spend this money today on the 87-1 or on Savannah River. This is a pause. We heard the new Speaker stand right there and tell us that we have a deficit problem.

We sure as hell do have a deficit problem. Part of it is how we spend our money. We ought to take a look at that.

That is what these amendments are about. These amendments are about spending money unnecessarily now. We have things that we desperately need to do. We need to educate, to research, to be in competition economically with China. Yet, here we are. A small amount of money here, pause this expenditure. Pause it. We are not doing away with the 87-1, although that is another argument we might have someday. Right now, why are we spending this money today? Why?

The new Speaker wants to deal with the deficit. Deal with this. Pause this expenditure. We have plenty of time to deal with this.

For those who argue that this has something to do with our current national security, you are dead wrong because this will not be available for at least a decade, and you can argue whether we even need it then.

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

Mr. Chair, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, today I reintroduce the ``Close Agency Loopholes to the Jones Act of 2023,'' which would close nearly 50 years of anti-Jones Act decisions--known as ``letter rulings''--by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

As chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Readiness and having served as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation from 2013 to 2018, I am committed to rebuilding the U.S.-flagged fleet including international and Jones Act vessels. For decades, Congress has stood idly by while federal regulators chipped away at the Jones Act, allowing foreign vessels paying poverty wages to take jobs from Americans working in our maritime industry. That must stop.

In December 2020, Congress enacted my amendment to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act as section 9503 of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116-283) affirming that the application of the Constitution, laws, and civil and political jurisdiction of the United States to the Outer Continental Shelf also applies to non-mineral energy resources and exploring for, developing, producing, transporting, or transmitting such resources. As I stated in my remarks on September 24, 2020 (Congressional Record, Vol. 166, No. 166), Congress always intended U.S. law to apply to any form of exploration, development, production, transportation, and transmission of energy resources under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act of 1953.

On January 25, 2021, President Biden's first executive order (no. 14005) directed federal agencies to maximize the use of American mariners, American-built ships, and U.S.-flagged vessels under the Jones Act. In response to my amendment enacted in the FY21 NOAA, U.S. CBP issued a headquarters ruling letter ``HQ H309186'' on January 27, 2021, correctly holding that the transportation of ``scour protection'' materials from the Port of Providence, Rhode Island to a wind project on the Outer Continental Shelf off the southeast shore of Martha's Vineyard is a coastwise activity under the Jones Act.

On March 17, 2021, the national trade association for the offshore wind industry sent a letter to the Commissioner of CBP requesting that the agency withdraw HQ H309186. In this letter, the offshore wind industry mischaracterized my September 2020 remarks from the Congressional Record as somehow supporting its request that CBP withdraw the January 27, 2021, letter ruling. On March 25, 2021, CBP issued a revised headquarters ruling letter (HQ H317289) contradicting its January 2021 letter ruling and the President's stated policy, allowing foreign vessels to construct energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf.

To be clear, my September 2020 remarks in the Congressional Record stated that my amendment to Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act simply clarified that all forms of offshore energy development are indeed subject to the same U.S. laws that apply to the offshore oil and gas industry. That does not mean that I accept the validity of the many administrative loopholes to the Jones Act created by decades of bad letter rulings and poor enforcement by CBP. Rather, I have long held that many of the activities regulators have incorrectly allowed the offshore oil and gas industry to engage in using foreign-flagged vessels are clear violations of the plain text of the Jones Act and original Congressional intent.

It is now clear to me that the regulators at CBP are unwilling to fully implement the Jones Act, as directed by President Biden's Executive Order 14005. My `Closing Agency Loopholes to the Jones Act' would finally force federal regulators to enforce the law as Congress intended in 1920, maximizing job opportunities for American mariners, U.S.-flagged vessels, and domestic shipyard workers. In effect, my legislation would also compel CBP to implement the President's stated policy by fully enforcing the Jones Act.

On April 26, 2023, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed two key sections from my bill in the ``Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2023'' (H.R. 2741 ). Sections 8 and 9 from my bill are now incorporated as Section 312 (Notification) and Section 313 (Publication of Fines and Penalties) of H.R. 2741.

Section 312 requires foreign-flagged vessels purporting to operate under a Jones Act exemption to notify CBP and post online its legal basis for operating on the Outer Continental Shelf. Currently, CBP uses an honor system for foreign vessels operating on the Outer Continental Shelf and their legal basis for doing, which undermines the agency's' ability to enforce the Jones Act properly and enables outright fraud. Section 313 requires CBP to publish online any penalties against foreign-flagged vessels operating illegally on the Outer Continental Shelf, including for failing to notify the agency of the purported Jones Act exemption in advance.

For this Congress, I also require in my bill that offshore energy developers on the Outer Continental Shelf pay a prevailing wage. Under current law, project developers operating in the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone at sea can pay poverty wages, exploiting foreign workers and undermining American mariners' ability to compete for this work. After decades of failed promises, we are finally building the clean energy economy of the future. American mariners are ready, willing, and able to work in the burgeoning offshore wind industry. But they cannot be expected to compete against foreign-flag vessels paying poverty wages to workers with no legally guaranteed collective bargaining rights or labor standards.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I encourage all members of the House to cosponsor this critical and long overdue legislation.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Tiffanee Danielle Jones as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Tiffanee is the District Director for California State Assemblymember Lori Wilson of the 11th assembly district. She is also the owner and operator of Forward Education LLC., an educational consulting and management business. Tiffanee began her career with the State of Georgia Department of Corrections where she was instrumental in developing a cross agency Juvenile Diversion Program with the County Probation, high schools, and the District Attorney's Office in Gainesville. Upon returning home to Solano County in 2009, Tiffanee worked as an outreach consultant for Oakland Unified School District where she assisted multiple school sites in the development and implementation of programs for identified low performing students. She was the founding member of the West Oakland Health and Safety Collaborative, a cross agency collaboration focused on educating the community in the areas of violence prevention, health awareness, and social justice. Tiffanee continues her work serving students and families in the City of Vallejo as the Co-Director for the Willie B. Adkins Scholars Program, a college preparation program focused on increasing African American enrollment in and completion of college. Through her compassionate and generous public service, Tiffanee has touched the lives of thousands of people within our district and beyond.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Tiffanee Jones for her positive contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Virgie Roy as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Virgie is a dedicated and caring nurse at the David Grant Medical Center on Travis Air Force Base. Her patients and colleagues describe her as a talented nurse who is dedicated to patient care and staff development. Her colleagues describe her as the backbone of her hospital unit and a talented nurse dedicated to patient care and staff development as well as a mentor to others. Virgie has also used her firsthand experience to advocate for solutions to the United States' nurse shortage. When not tending to her patients or advocating for reform, Virgie volunteers with the Red Cross Northern California Coastal Region and Service to Armed Forces. Virgie is a beloved part of her community and has been nominated for numerous local and state awards celebrating her positive impact on the lives of her colleagues, patients, and the community.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Virgie Roy for her positive contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Velma Wilson as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Velma is a dedicated parent and passionate community member who finds every opportunity to help others. Velma currently serves as Executive Vice President of the District Parent Teacher Association for Contra Costa, engaging with parents, teachers, and community members to promote the wellbeing of schoolchildren. For her efforts, Velma was awarded the prestigious National President Award. Velma also serves as Parent Liaison for Antioch Unified School District, ensuring

parents are informed and involved in their children's education. In addition, Velma is Director of the Delta Veterans Group and holds executive positions at the Celebrate Antioch Foundation and Antioch School Education Foundation. Her variety of volunteer pursuits demonstrates her dedication to providing resources to all parts of our community. Velma gives generously of her knowledge, expertise, and time to help others.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Velma Wilson for her positive contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise to recognize the 349th Air Mobility Wing (Reserve), assigned to the Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, II. The 349th, celebrated its 80th anniversary on October 14, 2023.

The 349th AMW (Reserve). located at Travis Air Force Base, California, is the largest associate wing in the United States Air Force Reserve. 349th AMW personnel fly the C-5 Galaxy, the C-17 Globemaster III, and the KC-10 Extender, and are now transitioning to the KC-46 Pegasus. The missions of the wing's aircrews include airlifting personnel and material worldwide as well as aerial refueling a wide variety of aircraft.

The 349th AMW is also home to the 349th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, responsible for treating patients during medical airlift; the 349th Airlift Control Flight, tasked to enter austere locations and prepare for USAF aircraft arrival; and the 349th Medical Squadron, capable of providing hospital services worldwide, in a contingency environment.

The mission of the 349th AMW is to ``generate and sustain combat- ready mobility Airmen.'' This makes the wing responsible for training almost 3,500 Reservists who, in turn, work side-by-side their active- duty counterparts in the 60th AMW, also stationed at Travis.

In November 1943, 349th Troop Carrier Group was activated at Sedalia Army Air Field, Missouri. The 349th TCG had five troop carrier squadrons assigned, including what is now the 312th Airlift Squadron, which is still assigned to the 349th.

The 349th, like the other reserve troop carrier wings, was completely equipped and ready to move with only a few hours' notice as was the case during the Cuban call-up. Only four hours after the first call to report for duty was made, 95 percent of the wing's flying personnel had checked in and were ready to move. This proved the value of the Air Force Reserve's ``Ready Now'' concept and the wing's motto ``In Omnia Paratus.'' In all things prepared.

A recall to active duty was again initiated on January 26, 1968, for the Vietnam War, and many hundreds of tons of cargo were carried across the Pacific. Upon deactivation in 1969, the 349th moved to Travis AFB,

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Rose Akoro as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Rose is a proud mother of 8 children, an active member of her church, and a dedicated caregiver who provides for the needs of elderly clients. She has been a caregiver with 24 Hour Home Care for many years where her experience and compassion help her provide care to individuals unable to perform the tasks of daily living without assistance.

Beyond her work, she is an active member of River Town Community Church in Antioch, where she has volunteered her time to provide groceries and school supplies to local children and families in need. She is passionate about educating and providing for the next generations, taking the time to counsel and advise the youth of her community. Rose is a hardworking and dedicated community servant who makes our district more compassionate and inclusive for the most vulnerable members of our society.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Rose Akoro for her positive contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Sylvia Serrano as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Sylvia is a dedicated and passionate leader who has touched the lives of countless members of her community. Sylvia proudly represents her home of Hercules as the President

of the Bay Front Chamber of Commerce where she works to help promote local small businesses. Since joining the Chamber of Commerce, Sylvia has demonstrated outstanding leadership and played an instrumental role in fostering economic growth and development in Hercules. She has demonstrated her commitment to growing the economy of Contra Costa County by helping local businesses navigate a way out of the COVID-19 pandemic. She also serves as Director of the Hercules Education Foundation where her work has helped enhance the educational opportunities for youth in Hercules.

She has helped raise contributions from individuals, organizations, businesses, and institutions to enhance the quality of the classroom experience in Hercules's public schools. Sylvia is known to go above and beyond to engage with her community and approach everyone with a warm and compassionate nature.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Sylvia Serrano for her positive contributions to our community.

Mr. Speaker Pro Tempore, I rise today to recognize the contributions of Tamuri Richardson as she is honored as one of California's 8th Congressional District's Women of the Year.

Tamuri is a dedicated and passionate leader and advocate who has touched the lives of countless members of the Solano County community. Tamuri is President of the Solano Black Chamber of Commerce where she works to support, uplift, and build Black businesses. Under her leadership, the chamber has expanded its membership, growing from 50 paid participants to over 700, established the first Fairfield Juneteenth festival, established a Business Entrepreneurship Academy providing mentorship to over 25 new businesses, and secured multiple grants to assist local small businesses. She has also led the way in building relationships between the Chamber and elected officials, allowing her to advocate effectively for the needs of businesses in her community.

Tamuri is also a business owner herself as President and CEO of TLeanne Speaking Pros. She is an international best-selling author, motivational speaker, and mental health advocate who is known for her strength and resiliency.

On behalf of the people of California's 8th Congressional District, it is my pleasure to honor and recognize Tamuri Richardson for her positive contributions to our community.